A/N: 2014 As part of Secret Santa
Smiles and red hair.
Natsuki had only just reached the height where he could kick himself on the swings with relative ease. Whilst he began to push himself and build the momentum with his legs, his sister could barely stand without the aid of their mother's hands. Natsuki watched as Sakura tried to walk to the sand box which was taking too long but his mother did not seem to mind. She was making progress at least.
"Well, Yuki, what shall we play first?" Out of curiosity, Natsuki looked towards the stranger's voice. An old woman was crouched to a young boy, whom he assumed was her grandchild. Other families at the park was familiar but the boy had the most peculiar hair he had ever seen: red. He had never seen such colour on any person's head, except for a presenter, on TV, but his mother had chuckled saying it was not her real hair. But, the child's hair looked as real as Natsuki's black hair.
Whilst Natsuki kept his legs pushing and pulling against the wind, the old woman was still encouraging the boy to try the various mini-attractions in the park. However, the redhead seemed hesitant to leave his smiling grandmother's side. Natsuki watched as the woman pointed to the slide, the sandbox, the merry-go-round asking for the boy's opinion but the boy was reluctant to move from his spot. Natsuki wondered if it was the general fear of the park and if so why would she bring him to the park, in the first place.
Not too soon after the boy shook his head at the merry-go-round, the old woman pointed straight at Natsuki. Hot blood washed over him and his legs stopped swinging, in a fright of pressure that the two were staring at him. He let out his breath with a relief once that woman had asked, "What about the swings?"
Natsuki smiled a little in hope that the boy with bright hair would join him. Remembering his mother's words that a smile went a long way, Natsuki did his best to do so, turning the corners of mouth upwards. Both his mother and father had said he had a nice smile but in the outside world their words held no ground, not when he made eye contact with the red head. The boy's face contorted into a horrific face of disgust; it was so unlike the smile of his grandmother. Betrayed by a boy he had no affiliations with still wounded his small self; Natsuki made it a point to not want him beside him as he gripped the chains and kicked off the ground as hard as he could. He did not look in their direction but went back to watching his sister now patting (quite harshly) at a small mound of sand. As Sakura played with the sand, Natsuki could not think of how he must not have looked welcoming. Was he that unpleasant? Had he not shown the right kind of smile? Those thoughts had already been answered: by the grimace plastered on the unfamiliar boy's face.
Thinking he had done something wrong he did not expect to see the two walk towards them (unless they came to warn him of his attitude).
"Excuse me young man," Natsuki looked up fearing the worst but was met with the softest smile he had seen. "You would not mind if Yuki plays on the swings too."
Natsuki frowned at the boy still pulling the awful face; he would have rejected if the smile on the old woman's face was not so warm. "I guess so," He shrugged and looked away from the boy.
Turning away from him and looking at her grandchild, Yuki, "Will you be alright on the swings?"
There was silence but Natsuki could see a slow hesitant nod from Yuki in his peripheral vision. The woman did not leave but made sure her grandson was comfortable when he sat on the swings. Once they were both satisfied she ruffled his hair and went to a nearby bench. Natsuki had half-expected that his hair would change colour but it stayed its beautiful red.
Just over a minute had passed without the two boys interacting. But Natsuki was becoming bothered by the creases and wrinkles on such young skin. He had to speak up in defence of himself, "Um… you know if you don't like me you don't have to play."
Yuki snapped his head to make eye contact with him. His eyes had widened showing more white than brown. It was long enough for Natsuki to see the confliction. He half-expected Yuki to wave a denial but his mouth was clenched tightly that he bared his teeth (although there was the odd missing tooth). Clenched teeth alone he may have taken it as a threat but the confliction and frown in his eyes said otherwise.
"Do you not mind?" Natsuki asked.
He waited for a verbal reply but received a rigid shake of the head. Natsuki could not help but laugh at the strange boy. His actions were not bad in fact, despite the twisted face he wore the boy was mild.
"Shall we see who can go the highest?" Natsuki offered.
Yuki nodded. His face had relaxed slightly and he began to look more like a young child with smooth skin. The bright red hair that had contrasted his creased features began to highlight the little glints and freckles that made him pretty.
After the count of three, they both pushed themselves on the swings, swinging their legs trying to reach a height higher than the other. Yuki could feel he was being pulled from the water surrounding him and the boy beside him was beginning to sound clearer in his ears than the muffles of acceptance. Yuki glanced to the boy beside him taking in the cool black hair and black frames that would have made Yuki look silly.
Just as Yuki caught the glint in Natsuki's glasses, he turned to him both of them making eye contact. For the first time he did not look away nor drown in the water; the water could not reach him on the swings and the smile on the black haired boy's face. He was having a lot of fun.
They both were.
"Natsuki, why do you always look at Yuki?" Haru grinned.
One little shuffle, from Haru, forced Natsuki to switch his gaze from the red-head screaming "Eno-shima-don!" to the blond alien. Natsuki sighed; Haru could be awfully perceptive of people's actions even if he could not interpret the pragmatics. "I do not always look at him."
"Really?" Haru cocked his head. "I was sure you did."
"If anything, it would be because of that bright red hair of his," Natsuki said. His eyes moving back to his friend. Yuki's natural hair was unforgettable however his jet black hair was generic and in a traditional Japanese school he was easy to miss - even forgettable… He half-hoped Yuki did remember. Then again his hope was only small because their current days were far more memorable than the odd days in the park when you could easily switch playmates but it was harder to switch friends.