Childhood

My first fic after my slump! May suck... done for the Summer Spree at Love and Tea~ er, enjoy? Putting some stuff on hold. Got an idea which wants me to keep writing even if I get stuck o_o


It is a clear, crisp day. Two childhood friends are climbing up a little hill to take a shot of the town for a holiday scrapbook. One of them is a blond-haired child with bright green eyes who is bounding up the set of stairs leading up to the 'peak'. He is wearing a short-sleeved, deep blue shirt and brown shorts. The ensemble is complete with a pair of scruffy, used-to-be-white shoes. He goes up a few steps and turns round, shouting and waving to his black-haired counterpart. He is currently wearing a white cap, making his hair stand out more. Brown eyes silently plead for the other to slow down.

"Kiku! Hurry up!" he appears to have missed the message, going up a few more steps and waving energetically to his companion.

"A… sa… kun… you know… I…" he tries to get his breath back. "… can't… run!"

Arthur merely grins. He had dragged his friend here, not at top speed, mind; a couple of blocks from their houses. Now that he thinks about it, he concedes it may have been too much for his Asian friend. "I'll carry you then!"

Kiku shakes his head vehemently. "I'll… just… take… my… time…" he puffs. "Go… ahead…" He removes his cap and fans himself with it. Maybe he shouldn't have worn the double-layered shirt; the outside was white with red inside. The layers weren't too thick though, so it's probably from running. He takes out a handkerchief from a pocket of his cargo shorts and wipes the sweat off his forehead. He makes sure the camera around his neck survived the run.

He doesn't get very long when Arthur jumps down the steps and literally sweeps Kiku off his feet. "A-A-ASA-KUN!"

Both parties are blushing furiously. "I'm only doing this because it's easier! It's not for you!" he fires off, before running up the stairs with the Asian in his arms. Despite himself, Kiku smiles, knowing his friend's 'tsundere' attitude. When he's let down, he says, "Arigato, Asa-kun."

Arthur's blush only deepens. "I-it's nothing. You're not heavy." There's a pause. "How about dropping the honorific? We've known each other for, what, 8 years?"

The other stops meddling with the camera settings. "A… Asa…?" he says hesitantly.

He smiles with satisfaction. "Next you'll be saying, 'call me Arthur'," Kiku adds dryly.

"Huh?" Green eyes meet brown. "I won't. I quite like 'Asa' actually," he blurts, promptly turning red again. "H-hey, why don't we just take the picture? It looks q-quite nice, doesn't it?"

"Y-yes…"

Their little town might not be a place to shout about, but with the clouds looking as though they were just suspended over it, it looked perfect right then.

"Say, Kiku?"

"Hmm?"

"When we grow up, I'm going to marry you."

His face turns scarlet. "A-ASA! We're b-both boys!" he protests.

"W-we can do a lot of things when we're older anyway," Arthur counters, not immune to blushing himself.

"T-that doesn't mean – " he fumbles for words.

He gets a peck on the forehead, resulting in his face turning a deeper shade. "Wow, it looks pretty good," Arthur muses, looking at the camera screen.

"Wha- when-?" Kiku is shocked, wondering when it was removed from his grip. "A-and what looks good?"

A devious smirk forms on the other's face. "A memento."

The picture would be displayed prominently on Arthur's table.