Emil always thought of himself as mature for his age. Being the middle child had that influence on a kid. But now, at age twelve, he was sure that he was too old to indulge himself in childish games like tag, or hide and seek.

So, he was rather irritated when his older brother, Lukas, had dropped him off with his younger brother, Peter, at the playground. Peter, who was eight, gladly ran off when he saw his friend from school crying in the sandbox, leaving poor Emil to entertain himself for who knows how long.

He considered going to the library, but when he started walking towards the parks exit, he received several dirty looks from the older ladies sitting nearby.

Pouting, he shoved his hands into his pocket and let out an annoyed huff. If Michael were here, they could at least kick the younger kids off the basketball court and start their own game. However, considering they were on opposite sides of town and one was in Chinese school, it proved rather difficult.

Crestfallen, he found a small rock and kicked it around. This only kept him entertained for a short time. After a few kicks, he ended up launching it over towards the swing-sets. He rolled his eyes and sighed exasperatedly. Great, just great. He bent over to get a closer look at the grassy area. He didn't think he'd find anything, but it was something to do.

"Hey you!"

Emil turned his head trying to find the source of the voice. On the swing-set sat a blond girl in a red dress, smiling at him. He blinked. Was she talking to…Him? He pointed at himself dumbly. The girl giggled.

"Yes you, silly~! Did you loose something?"

Emil blinked once more and shook his head. He still couldn't get over the fact that someone, a girl, talked to him. A moment later, the girl let go of the chains on the swing and leapt off. She landed in front of him with a light thud when her boots made contact with the ground.

She stood there with her hands on her hips, examining the silver haired boy in front of her. Finally, she leaned back and stuck out a dainty hand. "My name is Lilli Vogel, and I'm ten years old!" she beamed.

Hesitantly, Emil shook her hand. "Er- I'm Emil…I'm twelve."

Lilli's wide green eyes sparkled and she dragged Emil back to the swings, and she sat back down on the one she had jumped off. Emil awkwardly shifted his weight. "Aren't you a little old to be playing on the swings?"

Lilli, skidded to a halt mid swing. She looked genuinely offended, but that expression was quickly replaced with a lopsided grin that reminded Emil of his uncle Matthias.

"Aren't you a little young to be telling me what I can or can't do?"

She got up off the seat once again, and pushed Emil onto it. Before he knew what had happened, she gave his back a big push, and he found himself being lifted off the ground. He sputtered out a few panicked words in his native tongue, but quickly refocused his attention to the giggling girl beside him.

Lilli sat on the swing next to him and started pumping her legs back and forth so she could reach the same height as him. "See?" She smiled. "It's fun isn't it?'

Emil gulped and focused his fear filled violet eyes on the ground below him, watching as it sped toward him, and then away, then back and away again. "A-actually…It's kind of scary…," he answered honestly.

Lilli furrowed her eyebrows in worry. Then she stuck her hand out again. "Here, hold my hand. That way you won't be afraid of falling."

It was logic only a child would find comforting, but for some reason, Emil truly believed that if he held on to this girl's hand, he would feel safer. So he took it. He felt Lilli's swing jerk at the change of direction, and he was frightened that she might have fallen, but she didn't let out a single squeak of fear. In fact, she let out a little "whee~."

"A-Are you okay?" Emil stuttered.

Lilli beamed at him. "'Course I am!"

They sat there for a few minutes with their hands entwined and they swung in sync. "Hey, Emmy…" Lilli started.

Emil was shocked when he realized that it was him Lilli was addressing. He had never had a nickname before. "Um…Yes?"

"If you swing high enough, sometimes it looks like you can touch the clouds. Wanna try?" she asked, her green eyes shimmering in the sunlight. Emil didn't say anything, but she continued to explain. "See, if you reach out with one hand, it'll look like you can touch the sky. When I was little, I used to think that the pink clouds in the evening were cotton candy, and I would always try to reach it whenever I was on a swing."

She laughed at the memory. "I used to cry when I wasn't able to get any, but then big brother, Vash, would always show up with some cotton candy and he would tell me that he got it from the sky. He told me that when I got bigger, I would be able to reach it myself. Kind of silly isn't it?"

She shot a sideways glance at Emil and waited for him to say something, but he didn't.

After a while, Lilli started to go higher, and she let go of Emil's hand. She looked at him with a mischievous grin. "I'm gonna jump!"

Emil blinked. "Wha-, Oh my gosh!"

Lilli let go of the chains and she was airborne. Her red dress poofed out around her, creating what looked like a built in parachute. To Emil's surprise, she landed safely on both feet, granted she did stumble a little bit when she landed to get her balance. She turned on her heels, and smiled at Emil. "C'mon!" she waved. "You try!"

Reluctantly, Emil pried his fingers off the chain and leapt off the seat.

Well…He didn't so much leap as he did fall. He sort of tumbled off the swing, but that didn't keep the experience from being any less terrifying. He saw the ground rush toward him and the wind whistling in his ears. He's pretty sure he blanked out for a second or two, because the next thing he knew he was on the ground with his pants ripped and two scraped knees.

He felt tears prick at his eyes, but he tried to blink them away. There's no way that he'd let a girl see him cry.

Lilli ran up, and plopped down in front of him with a small first aid box in her hands. She gingerly opened it and pulled out some band-aids and disinfectant. She placed a hand behind his knee to hold his leg steady. "This'll sting a little bit, m'kay?"

Emil's leg twitched when he felt the alcohol come into contact with his wound. The tears pricking at his eyes came back. Lilli glanced up at Emil while tending his wounds and smiled. "Don't be afraid to cry. Sometimes it makes you feel better, especially when you get a boo-boo like this."

Emil pouted and turned his head to the side. "I-I don't need to cry. Some pollen flew into my eyes. That's all!"

Lilli giggled and returned to bandage the other knees wound.

When she finished, she closed the first aid kit with a small click. "Can you stand?" she asked. Emil hastily stood up, to prove he was fine.

"O-Of course I'm fine." He said, a faint blush forming on his pale cheeks.

Lilli looked at him worriedly. "Are you sure? Your face is red. You're not getting a fever are you?" she placed her small hand on Emil's forehead, but he swatted it away.

"Emil! Peter! It's time to go!"

Emil was both happy and sad to be called home. He was glad so he didn't have to explain why his face went red, but sad that he didn't get to spend more time with Lilli.

Even still, he couldn't wait to come back tomorrow to play on the swings.

Extended Ending

Five years later, not much has changed.

Emil still goes to the park.

Lilli is still trying to reach those clouds.

Both still go on the swings.

The only difference is that whenever Emil falls off and gets a boo-boo, he also gets a kiss to make it better.

Hope you guys liked this. I absolutely ADORE IceLiech. They need more love in the fandom! Anyway, if you haven't already, I suggest you check out Visayan Sea's IceLiech stories. They're a lot better than this piece of shit. Anyway~ I own nothing. Not Lilli, not Iceland (I really wish I did though...he's so cute :3)

Sorry for any OOC-ness, but just remember, they're kids, and this is simply how I think they'd interact.