JUST SMILE
- Mmmh…- Forde mumbled, watching the worksheet he had in his hands.
He had felt like it had been a perfect moment for a quick sketch, so he had took paper and charcoal and he had started to trace perfect lines, creating a more and more vivid picture. At first he hadn't even realized what he was drawing, he was just letting his hand go, moved by an unconscious will.
Eventually he regained control over his body and, when he looked down at what he had drawn, he wasn't surprised at all: it was Kyle, his comrade and his best friend. It was a very good picture of him, well, of course it was, since drawing him had became the blonde knight's field: it wasn't the first time something like that happened; he had caught himself sketching his friend more often than he should have done.
However, that time, it was different: Forde wanted to add something new to the picture, which would have been like the others he had drawn before, and he had an idea. He was going to light his friend's face with a beautiful smile.
It would have been a perfect solution, but no matter how hard he tried, no matter how he drew it, that smile just didn't feel right on his face.
Forde tried to recall a time when his friend smiled, but the few things that came in his mind were childhood memories. Was it possible that, as he grew up, the green haired man had never ever smiled? The blonde tried harder, but the only way he could remember his friend was with his typical serious and boring expression. That's why he wasn't able to draw his smile: he had never seen it.
That meant only one thing, that Forde had a new mission: he was going to make Kyle smile, no matter what, then, he could have finished his drawing. Of course, considering his friend's seriousness and his inability to even understand the meaning of the word "fun", it was more easy said than done, but Forde was confident; he still didn't know how, but in a way or another he was going to make it.
Luckily he had promised to his friend that he would have trained with him the next day, so there would be a lot of occasions to try.
- Good morning, Kyle! - the blonde knight greeted his friend at the training camp.
He wasn't used to wake up at such an early hour, however he was cheerful as usual, and that thing preoccupied the green haired knight very much: when Forde was so cheerful, it only meant troubles and headache for him. It was going to be a very long training session.
- Good morning, Forde-, he prudently waved.
- Lovely day, isn't it? It makes me so happy! Aren't you happy, too? - the other asked, smiling warmly and patting Kyle's shoulder.
Confused, the knight looked at his friend and he replied:
- Yeah… I guess-, before taking his sword.
- However-, he added, - Since it is very rare of you to show up to train, there is no point in wasting time with futile conversations-.
Forde snorted; his friend was as straightforward as always. Maybe his mission was much more harder than he had expected, a change of strategy was necessary.
He remembered when he used to make funny faces to calm down his brother, Franz, whenever he was about to cry, and he had always been able to cheer the boy up. He wasn't sure if that could have worked with Kyle too, but it wouldn't have hurt anyone to try.
So, when Kyle noticed that Forde was making strange expressions during their training match, the first thing he thought was that he was sick.
- Forde, are you sure you're all right? - he asked while the two of them were taking a break.
- Of course I am, why? - the blonde replied.
He hadn't been able to make him laugh with his faces, but he hadn't given up yet.
- Well, you acted strangely, before…- Kyle stated.
So, he had noticed, Forde thought, and now he needed to find some excuses to justify his behavior. He couldn't tell the truth because he was sure that the other would have just scolded him for his stupid thoughts.
- I was just… testing you! - he eventually said, and that confused Kyle even more.
- Testing me? - he asked.
- Yes! - the other answered, more confident, - I wanted to see if your concentration's ability was as high as always, and, I must say, you have excelled! Concentration is very important in battle-.
Kyle wasn't fully convinced by the blonde's speech, in fact it was very odd of him to say something like that, but he didn't push his friend for more, and he just said:
- I had thought that you were sick-.
He appeared calm; however his voice betrayed his worries. Forde could even hear the hidden words "you made me worry".
- I'm fine, I'm fine- he assured.
- Geez, Kyle, you're not my mother- he teased, poking his friend's side.
The green haired knight withdrew immediately, his lips had slightly twitched. He shrugged to reply to the other's interrogative gaze, like nothing was wrong.
Unfortunately for him, Forde wasn't a stupid, and he had already understood that something was off. Could it be that Kyle was… ticklish? He needed to confirm that theory.
He waited until the other had let his guard down again and then he launched his attack. Kyle tried to defend himself, but Forde had had the surprise's vantage and he was unmovable.
- Forde, you idiot! Stop it! - he exclaimed, trying to remain firm and serious.
- No way, I'm gonna make you pay for every time you had forced me to train-, the blonde replied.
- No, please, I can't…. ahahahahahahah! - the other tried to reply, but he couldn't hold himself anymore, and he finally burst into laughter.
It was so strange, but also good, for Forde to hear that. He knew that Kyle would have been furious with him at the end, but now he was smiling, and it didn't matter.
Author's note: Hello everyone! Thanks for reading my fanfiction and I hope you've liked it. I wanted to write something for Kyle and Forde because I love them too much (Kyle in particular, since he's my favorite character of FE8).
I love them both as a couple and as friends, so I tried to write something that could have been interpreted as both. Moreover, I love the idea of Kyle being ticklish and Forde taking advantage over it.
If you want, leave a review, it will make me very happy. See you next time! - Feeldespair