A Midsummer Night's Wish
Hetalia: Axis Powers © Hidekaz Himaruya
It was a summer night. Tranquility had descended upon the normally bustling neighbourhood, muting the distant screeches of car tires and voices with the chirps of crickets and the occasional hoots of an owl. Lights of houses had been shut and children tucked snugly in beds. Up above, in the dark blue sky, the full moon shone brightly, suspended amongst glittering stars and soft clouds.
In one of these houses, however, two children were wide awake.
"Lovi, the sky looks so pretty from your home!" ten-year-old Antonio exclaimed, his green eyes wide with awe and his chin propped on his skinny arms. The mellow dusk's breeze ruffled his short, tousled curls as he knelt on the wooden floor of the loft, gazing out of the open window at the infinite blue that was the night sky.
Lovino shot a glare at the excitable boy from across the small room. "Shh!" he whispered fiercely, pressing a finger to his lips. "Feli and my parents are asleep and we'll get in trouble if they find out that we're still up!"
"Sorry!" Antonio whispered loudly in response. He turned away from the windowsill to meet the hazel eyes of his irritable friend, who was now padding quietly towards him, and grinned goofily at him.
The smaller boy sat down beside him in the moonlight, clutching a large pillow to his chest. "You're silly," he scoffed under his breath, wrinkling his little nose with annoyance.
Antonio laughed joyfully, covering his mouth with one long sleeve of his oversized pajamas. He turned back to the window and gasped in surprise when he spotted a vivid streak of blue light shooting across the midnight heavens. "Look, Lovi!" he whispered eagerly, grabbing his friend's pudgy hand to gain his attention as he pointed towards the sky. "It's a wishing star! Let's make a wish!"
Lovino scowled and twisted his hand out of the taller boy's grasp, grumbling, "Why? Wishes never come true."
"How do you know?" Antonio asked, cocking his head to the side. "Maybe this time we'll be lucky!" Then, staring at the flying star in the sky with strong determination in his shining eyes, he took a deep breath and announced earnestly, "I wish for me and Lovi to be best friends forever! I want to be with him forever! Forever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and—"
"That's enough 'ever's, jerk!" Lovino interrupted by throwing the pillow that he was holding at him, flustered and surprised by his friend's wish, his cheeks flushing a tomato red. "And you're not supposed to say your wish out loud, or else it won't come true!" he accused.
Hearing this, Antonio's face fell almost immediately. "We can't be best friends forever anymore then?" he asked dejectedly. His lower lip began to tremble.
Lovino sighed, and reluctantly wrapped his arms around his friend's lanky form, pulling him closer to reassure him. "Y-you stupid idiot. You didn't need to make a wish for that to happen," he muttered into Antonio's shoulder.
Those brilliant green eyes lit up with happiness once more. "Really? Thank you, Lovi!" Antonio smiled tenderly and hugged the smaller boy back tightly, pressing his cheek to Lovino's forehead, breathing in the fruity scent of Lovino's downy hair. For once, his stubborn friend did not complain.
The two boys remained like this for a while, simply enjoying the comforting warmth of each other's arms and listening to the soothing sounds of the night, until Lovino finally pulled away and yawned, saying sleepily, "I'm tired. Let's go to sleep, bastard."
So then Antonio had agreed, and hand in hand the two shuffled to their sleeping bags lay out on the moonlit floor of the loft and slid into the cool material, mumbling halfhearted "goodnight"s before drifting off contentedly to a gentle slumber.
And up above, in the dark blue sky, the moon and stars continued to shine, more brightly than ever before, as though they knew of the precious moment shared between the two children—as though they, too, dreamed for Antonio's wish to be granted.