"Come on Blink! We have time for one more go before we have to get home."
Mush raced up the hill, dragging the battered sled with one hand and his best friend, and boyfriend, with the other.
"I don't know, Mush. It's getting kind of late…" Blink tried to glance at his watch, but Mush had a death grip on his left wrist and he couldn't see it.
"I don't care! I'm pretty sure my mom won't mind if we're a few minutes late. After all," he added, cresting the sledding hill. "We've been late before." He winked brightly at his friend, who was rubbing his wrist with a pained expression.
Blink had to smile at that. His grin widened as he remembered all that had made them break their curfews before.
Mush interrupted Blink's fond memories by jostling his arm. "Come oooooon, Blink. We're going to have to get down this hill one more time to get home. Either we sled down it and have fun, or…" Mush bit his lip, thinking hard. "Or we sled down it and have fun."
Blink laughed, and gestured at the sled. "Age before beauty," he said playfully.
"Hey, I'm only three months older than you!" Mush objected, climbing onto the sled.
"And we're both sixteen, I know, I know," Blink responded, sliding in behind him.
Blink often wondered how old they would be before they stopped sledding together. They had done it every year since they were young children, and now most of their friends only went with their little brothers or sisters. Neither of them had younger siblings to bring, but Mush was so enthusiastic about it that Blink eagerly went along with him. In some part of his mind, he knew that the tradition would have to end sometime. He dreaded the approach of that day.
"All right, Blink, are you ready? Three! Two! One!" Mush pushed the sled and it shot down the hill like a bullet. With their combined weight, the sled was twice as fast and twice as fun. Unfortunately, that extra speed usually resulted in them both flying off at the bottom of the hill.
Mush giggled joyfully as he landed on his back in the snow. Blink laughed with him, rolling over so that their gloves hands touched. Oh how he dreaded the day that they could no longer feel such a simple joy together.