For Want of a Nail

Chapter One: Prologue

This was going to end in disaster, Flynn thought as he watched Yuri lean over the side of the road and try to reach the river. They'd seen something shiny glint in the barrier light and Yuri had become determined to find out what it was. Flynn said it was probably just an old belt buckle, but Yuri had gotten the idea it was a lost treasure and refused to give it up. He lay on his stomach, the lip of the road digging into his gut as he reached for the thing caught against a brick that jutted an inch out of the wall.

"Can you tell what it is yet?" Flynn sat away from the river, leaning against a pillar of the covered walkway. Overhead, the barrier provided more light than the moon, which was nothing but a narrow sliver. It was the first warm night of spring and Flynn stretched his legs, enjoying the chance to relax. He'd been washing dishes in the Comet all day to earn their keep, and finally getting to relax a few blocks away was heavenly. He missed the time when he and Yuri could spend all day playing together without a responsibility in the world, but they didn't have that childhood luxury anymore. At thirteen, they were practically grown-ups now.

Which was why it irritated him that adults still acted like he was a kid. Just today, he'd noticed a cook and a server chatting in low voices in the corner of the kitchen. Flynn had turned the water off just in time to hear something about, "…and blood all over, I just can't believe…" before they noticed he was listening and clammed up.

"Not yet." Yuri scooted forward another inch. "Just… a little… more - whoa!" Gravity took over and dragged Yuri over the edge of the road and into the river with a splash.

Flynn leapt to his feet and dashed to the edge. "Are you ok?"

Yuri sputtered and shivered as he tread water. "F-fine. I don't think the river knows winter is over, though."

Flynn got on his knees and reached a hand down to Yuri. "I told you not to bother."

Yuri grabbed the shiny thing now that he was eye-level with it. "Look, money! I told you it was worth it."

Flynn squinted to see in the darkness. "That's one gald. It'll buy you… a piece of charcoal, maybe, if you get a good deal. Worth it?"

Yuri tucked it in his pocket before reaching for Flynn's outstretched hand. "Maybe it'll be a lucky coin."

They clasped hands and Flynn pulled. Yuri kicked against the rough wall to help pull himself up and then he collapsed in a soaking heap on the road. Flynn jerked away just before he landed to avoid getting soaked himself. Sitting up, Yuri hugged himself and shuddered. "Man, it's freezing."

"It is not. It's a perfectly nice evening."

"Fine for you, but I'm soaking wet."

"And whose fault is that?"

Yuri threw himself at Flynn. "Warm me up." He pressed against a struggling Flynn as his wet hair dampened Flynn's shirt.

"Ah - Yuri - dammit!" Flynn finally managed to wriggle free and then Yuri sat back, laughing. He wiped moisture from his cheek with a scowl. "Thanks for nothing."

Yuri grinned at him and then jumped to his feet. "Brr. Let's head back home."

"No. It's still a perfectly nice night and you wouldn't be cold if you hadn't been stupid." Flynn had been at the Comet all day and he wasn't keen on spending his relaxing time there, too.

"Aw, c'mon. I'm cold and I want to take a shower before the stench of river gets embedded in my hair."

Flynn crossed his arms. The innkeeper had warned them not to stay out too late and to stay together, but it was the same warning Flynn's mom gave them when they were little. Frankly, he felt he and Yuri were old enough to be alone at night, whether adults recognized their age or not. "I won't stop you from going back, but I'm staying out here. I'm not having my evening ruined by your stupidity again."

Yuri leaned down and grabbed Flynn's arm. "Come ooooon, there's nothing to do back home without you. Let's go back to our room and play cards."

Flynn half-heartedly tried to pull his arm back as Yuri tugged on it. "We did that all winter. Now that the weather's nice, I'd rather stay outside and enjoy it."

"C'mon, Flynn. Please?"

Flynn stared back at his pleading eyes. His pale face was framed by wet, bedraggled hair that made him look like a wet dog. Half of Flynn stubbornly wanted to sit down here by the river and enjoy the quiet night without his idiot friend causing a ruckus. The other half (the half that was partly fuelled, he was sure, by the way his stomach did weird fluttery things when he looked at Yuri lately, though he hadn't worked out exactly why that was) wanted to join him back at the Comet. The two desires warred until finally Flynn heaved a sigh and said, "Ok, fine, we can go back."

Yuri smiled and pulled Flynn the rest of the way to his feet. Half a block away, they crossed the little bridge and then backtracked toward the Comet. The road took them along the river, parallel to where they'd been sitting before. As they walked, Yuri wrapped his arm around Flynn.

"I'm sure glad you're coming with me. I can use your body heat to keep me warm."

"Get off me." Flynn tried to shove him off as they detoured away from the river to pass around a building on its edge. A taller building on the left blocked the light from the barrier, casting the narrow road into darkness. A few blocks ahead was a staircase leading away from the river and to the more populated parts of the lower quarter, but down here it was just them and one other resident walking a little ways behind them.

"But you're so warm." Yuri hugged him tighter while Flynn was starting to regret agreeing to accompany him.

They stopped in the middle of the road so Flynn could try to wrench Yuri off of him. Yuri did his best to get Flynn as wet as possible by clinging to him and pressing his wet hair against Flynn's shoulder.

"Argh! Stop it, Yuri!" Flynn gave a mighty shove and Yuri stumbled backward, still laughing. He crashed right into the man who had caught up with them while they struggled.

"Whoa! Sorry, mister," Yuri said.

The man caught Yuri before he fell. "Be careful, young man." He helped him right himself. "You ought to watch where you're going in the dark."

"It was my friend's fault. He pushed me."

"He started it," Flynn declared, not at all happy with being blamed. "He keeps trying to hug me." He realized how lame this sounded before he finished saying it. "And he… um…." Flynn hung his head. "Sorry."

The man chuckled. "It's quite all right. Have a nice night, boys."

Flynn and Yuri didn't immediately follow. They waited for him to get far enough ahead before Flynn rounded on Yuri. "Look what you made me do!"

"I didn't make you do anything. You made your own choices."

"Choices I only made because you were being a prat."

Yuri was still laughing, which didn't improve Flynn's mood. "Come on, let's go home. I'm freezing!"

Still annoyed and seriously considering ditching Yuri to enjoy the night alone, Flynn followed him home.

In the darkness, Flynn opened his eyes. He shivered, but it had nothing to do with a soaping wet Yuri like the one in his memory. Flynn squeezed his eyes shut before reopening them, for all the good that did. He hadn't thought about that evening in years. He wasn't even sure why he remembered it at all beyond being one of those random snippets of life. What about that night had been important? Flynn took a deep breath and tried to make himself more comfortable, an impossible feat on the hard floor. Why in the world would anyone be interested in an evening where nothing had happened?

He took a deep breath through his nose and closed his eyes again. What did it matter? He was exhausted and his time would be better spent trying to get some sleep.