Hello! This is my first fanfiction ever written, so this is just a test really, I hope you'll like it!

All characters, and so on, belong to You Higuri and Spray, I own nothing.. though I wish I did 3

Here you go:

Takuto's present

What do you give to someone who means the world to you? Someone that you hold higher than yourself in any case, and that you willingly would risk everything for without hesitating?

This certainly was not an easy task for Iwai Takuto, his best friend had his birthday in a few days, and the young man didn't have a clue on what to get. His first thought was a painting of his friend, but he realized that would be too predictable, too easy to guess, and maybe a bit lame, not really showing that he really wanted to put effort into what he was giving away. Of course everyone but Iwai himself considers his works more than good enough as a gift for anyone, even a king, but again, that's not Iwai's own opinion.

The archery captain had always been there for him, ever since he enrolled the academy a few years earlier. The man had been the only one the frail artist had let close to himself, and had been the first person he could actually trust, and now he couldn't even find out what to get for him as a birthday present. Having earlier abandoned the idea with a painting, he set out for something else. What he could do was to take a trip into town to get something for his friend, but even then he didn't know what. Besides, it would be hard to explain to Shinomiya why he had to leave the academy anyway, so maybe that was not a good idea either.

How could it possibly be so hard? Takuto's gaze darted towards the bookshelf on the other side on the room, mindlessly seeking something to give him inspiration, but he got nothing out of it and was close to giving up when he saw a worn out old photo album that he used to keep pictures of his friends at the academy in.

Desperate for ideas he pulled it down from it's place on the top shelf and brought it over to his bed, pushed down some less important school books on the floor and laid down to open the first page.

The first photo he had taken when arriving to the school was one of his room, all clean, with no sign of paint everywhere or random art things spread everywhere. It seemed like ages ago, just like the other pictures of the school grounds, taken a couple of weeks later when he used to walk around alone in his free time, while not painting of course, taking photos and admiring the surroundings.

It was on one of these walks that they had first met, Koji and him. The other man had just been standing in front of him on the path he was walking, all of a sudden, and caught Iwai by surprise.

Since that day they had bonded in a way he had never thought possible, for others maybe, but not for him. Koji had become something like an older brother, a really close friend, someone who would always stand by his side, whatever happened, well at least that was what he had said himself, though the artist did not really believe that the archer would stay with him, not in some certain cases anyway.

The first picture of them together was on the beach in a sunset about three months after he came to Bell Liberty. He remembered Omi taking the picture with his own camera, smiling in the way like he always does. The picture had come out quite good, with the sun creating sparkles in Koji's beautiful dark eyes. Seeing the picture again gave him a gentle tug in his heart, remembering all these wonderful moments with his friend. He remembered how he'd hoped they would never end and the sorrow following a couple of days after, fearing nothing as beautiful would never happen to him again, but it had, Koji had stayed since they first met.

Carefully slipping the photo out of it's case he took it out to examine it further. It really was a really good picture , well balanced and with a depth in colours that made his friend's features come alive in an almost magical way, even lending some of his beauty to the artist by his side. It could be a good gift.

On his birthday Koji found a small package lying on his bed. It was carefully wrapped with thin ribbons holding the paper in place around the object inside. There was no note on it saying who had given it to him, but the neat folding of the wrapping paper and the tying of the ribbon told him that it could not be anyone but his dearest friend, Takuto.

The archer slowly unwrapped his gift, enjoying every second of it until a thin wooden frame landed in his palm. When turning it around he was surprised by photo of the two together on a beach a few years earlier. He remembered that day, still, as one of the most precious ones in his life. He mused for a while over the memory of Takuto's amused yet subtle smile, and the sun in his hair spreading cascades of colours over the picture, before picking up a little note that had fallen out from behind the frame. The artist's thin handwriting read:

Dearest Koji, Happy Birthday!

I hope you'll like my little gift, even though it's nothing much. I just found this photo the other day when I was thinking about what to get you and it really made me feel special. I suppose you might have forgotten everything about that day already, but to me it's still as clear as yesterday in my mind.

I'm sorry if this is totally wrong to give to you.

Yours // T

THE END!

Thanks for reading. Reviews are much welcome!

Thanks // V