A/N Okay, before anything I have a short explanation. I wrote this story a while back. Since then I've come across Butterfly by Maiden of the Moon. Apparently, this fic is very similar to hers. However, since I've already written it I'm going ahead and uploading it. I just want to make it clear that the similarities between the two fics was unintentional. I'm not stealing anything from anybody!
Anyway, my reasoning behind this (other than wanting to write something with Joshua and Chrno) was that as much as he teased Rosette, I don't think Joshua could have resisted teasing Chrno a little too. I hope he didn't come across as obnoxious or anything, I've sort of modeled his teasing after what I took off my own brothers. Also, the italics are Chrno sort of talking to himself.
A slightly confusing spot has been fixed, thanks to OtherCat1 for pointing it out to me! I hope it's better now!
Enjoy the fic!
xXxXx
It was unusually warm and spring faded into summer with only the faintest of changes. With the advent of clear blue skies as the season's rains moved on, the forest would lose that still peace it held through the cold months.
Chrno was looking forward to it.
The children (his friends, he often reminded himself) came to see him several times a week as it was, but better weather would hopefully mean more time they would spend with him. He loved it. It had only been a few weeks since the Christopher siblings had barged into Mary's tomb, pulling him from the darkness of the grave. With each day that had passed, he knew that he was changing somehow. Little by little, his world was getting brighter. Those children he had grown to love had done that to him.
Chrno smiled to himself. He was perched upon the massive rock that jutted out over the small river, one of his favorite places. In the near distance, he could see a small figure weaving in and out of the trees, moving steadily in his direction. He waited, basking in his little patch of sunlight until the boy drew close to him.
"Chrno!" Joshua called and waved happily. Balancing a small basket in one arm, he tried to scramble up the side of the boulder. The demon smiled, reaching out to pull him up the last part of the way.
"Joshua, you didn't have to come all the way out here to give me this!" he said as the boy sat cross-legged beside him. Joshua set the basket on his friend's lap, grinning.
"Aw, you love it."
"Yeah, I do." they laughed as Chrno pulled a small cookie from the basket, eating it in one bite. For a moment he chewed at it happily, before suddenly gagging and spitting it into the river below.
"Chocolate chip? Rosette made those for you."
"I noticed..." Joshua grinned as he made an awful face and tried to spit the taste out of his mouth. The demon had the vague feeling that the boy enjoyed having someone else be subjected to his sister's cooking once in awhile.
"Sarah made the sugar cookies on the bottom. They should be okay." Chrno dug down to the plain cookies, hesitantly nibbling the edge of one. It was much better. He always felt a little bad when Rosette made him things. He couldn't help it, though, she just wasn't good at baking.
"Oh...wait!" he glanced around after a moment, realizing something was amiss. "Where's Rosette? Didn't she come with you?"
"Nah. She hit Billy and pushed his face into the dirt. Ms. Jean said she had to spend the rest of the day in her room." they both laughed. Rosette was as rough-and-tumble as any boy at Seventh Bell and news like that was never surprising.
"I'm surprised she hasn't snuck out yet!"
"She can't. Her room doesn't have a window like mine does."
"Won't she be mad when she finds out you came to see me without her, Joshua?"
"She knows." the boy frowned and dug into the basket. He pulled out one of his sister's cookies and tossed it into the water before fishing out one of the sugar cookies. Munching at it, he glanced around awkwardly. "Um...Chrno?"
"Huh?"
"She...she wanted me to take care of you hair. I didn't want to, but she said it was important." Chrno didn't say anything, he wasn't sure how he should feel about Joshua braiding his hair for him. Joshua didn't seem happy about the suggestion. "I don't know how to braid. It's kinda...girly. Can I just knot it a few times instead?"
Chrno stiffened, a hand flying defensively to the back of his head. "No, no...don't worry about it." Joshua looked relieved. He shifted position, laying on his stomach and hanging over the edge to drop bits of chocolate chip cookie into the water below. Chrno sighed, a little disappointed. He had always let his hair just hang wherever it wanted to. It annoyed Rosette to no end that he let it get into his way like that. The young girl had taken it upon herself to fix it for him. It was a sort of routine after a while. The siblings brought picnics to share with him, and after they had eaten he would tell them stories as she sat happily behind him, playing with the violet strands until they were woven into a thick plait. It was a ritual he had come to look forward to. In all honesty, once he thought about it, Chrno wasn't sure that he'd be comfortable with any one other than Rosette touching his hair. He hoped she'd be allowed back the next day...
Joshua made a sound something like a snort, pulling Chrno rather suddenly out of his thoughts. The demon's ears perked slightly, his head snapping around to stare worriedly at his friend. The boy tried to suppress another small cough, lying very still for a moment.
"Joshua?"
"I'm fine." he went back to dropping cookie crumbs into the water, chuckling quietly. "Heh, even the fish won't touch this stuff..." Chrno frowned, letting himself relax a little. It had been several days since the boy had had a fit. He would need to keep an eye on him. If something were to happen, if it were a really bad one...the demon wasn't entirely sure he could get his friend home quickly enough. After a moment's silence Joshua glanced up at him, dusting crumbs from his fingers. "Hey, Chrno...you ever want to leave the forest?" he asked. Chrno closed his eyes, considering how to answer the question.
"No, I don't."
"Why not?"
"I've spent a lot of time out there, but to be honest, it's much nicer here." Joshua frowned, looking up at the other's face.
"But...nothing ever happens here."
"Exactly."
They fell into silence, Joshua mulling over the demon's answer and Chrno just happy to be sitting there with his friend. At length the boy pushed himself up to a sitting position, a grin suddenly splitting his face. "I'm sorry to tell you, but we won't be giving you any choice." his grin widened as Chrno gave him a puzzled look. "When me and Sis go see the world, you're going to come with us. Even if it's nicest here, as long as the three of us are together we'll be happy wherever we go, right? Besides..." he casually turned his gaze to the trees across the water. "We'll be stuck with you once you and Sis get married."
Chrno nearly toppled off the boulder. "Joshua! What makes you think I'll be marrying your sister!?"
"We'll have to wait and see, I guess." the demon sighed as the boy gave him a sly grin. Chrno wasn't entirely sure Joshua would understand why something like that wouldn't work.
Why wouldn't it?
Joshua watched him from the corner of his eye, wondering whether he had made the demon too uncomfortable. Chrno mistook the glance as a reproachful look, and he shrugged apologetically.
"It's nothing against Rosette...it's just that I'm so much older than her..."
You were older than Mary too. Wouldn't you have married her if you'd had the chance?
...I don't know...
"How old are you?" he smiled at Joshua's curiosity. Age wasn't something they'd really talked about much.
"Well...if you don't count the time I was sleeping...eighty maybe?" the boy narrowed his eyes thoughtfully, looking the demon over from head to toe.
"You're right, that is pretty old. But it doesn't matter, you look the same age as us. Besides, I'd much rather it was you than any of those other guys. Especially Billy."
"The one Rosette punched in the face?" Chrno felt a strange twinge in his stomach as he thought of it. Maybe those cookies were starting to bother him...Joshua nodded, frowning deeply.
"Yeah, he's always bothering her and picking fights. You can tell she can't stand him." the demon sighed and lay back, his gaze settling on the sunlit leaves waving over their heads. The twinge had gone, but he didn't notice.
"Well, if she can't stand him, then I don't think you have anything to worry about."
"I guess not." they fell silent again and sat together in the warm sunlight, the sounds of the forest loud around them. Chrno had started to doze when the boy leaned over him, blocking his light. "She'll be disappointed." he said reprovingly, staring the demon in the face.
"Who will?"
"Sis."
"Why's that?"
"Because you don't want to marry her."
"I never said that!" Chrno retorted before he realized what he was saying. His eyes widened at Joshua smirking down at him. "Joshua, you know what I meant."
"Yeah, I do."
"Don't you even-"
"It's a good thing you feel that way, 'cause she LOOOOOVES YOOOOOU!!!!" Chrno winced as the boy howled in his face and fell back, laughing wildly at the demon's startled face.
"Joshua! That was terrible!" the red faced demon was ignored by his friend, who was suddenly busy with a bad impression of his sister.
"Oh Chrno, you're so handsome! I dream about you every night! I love you, Chrno, let's get married and have little demon babies!"
"That doesn't even sound like her!"
"Oh Chrno!"
"Knock it off!"
"Kiss me, Chrno, kiss me!"
"It's not funny Joshua." he burst into laughter again, making wet kissy noises at his friend. Chrno glared, clearly annoyed that he was having so much fun at his expense. "It's really not something you should laugh at..." Joshua ignored him, sprawled on his back with his feet sticking out over the water. The demon was still glaring at him, his face growing hot as he wondered over the truth of the boy's teasing. Admittedly, Rosette wasn't really old enough to be having that kind of an interest in him (or so he thought, he hadn't known many twelve year old girls) but she was pretty mature for her age...
Chrno wasn't quite sure how he was supposed to feel about all this...other than being extremely embarassed.
His thoughts were interrupted as Joshua's noise distinctly changed. The laughter took on a sort of strangled sound as they boy began struggling to breathe, his air leaving him in violent coughs.
"Joshua!" mentally Chrno kicked himself. He hadn't been paying enough attention to him. Pulling Joshua up by the arm, he held him up in a sitting position, talking soothingly in an effort to calm him.
After what seemed an alarmingly long time, the boy began to breathe easier, his coughs lessening and finally stopping completely. He slumped against Chrno's side, his face wet with tears and sweat. Not sure what else he could do, Chrno wrapped his arms around him protectively, hoping he was being comforting to his friend.
"Are you better now?" Joshua nodded, his face buried in the front of the demon's cape. The boy groaned inwardly, tired and sick. Every time that he ran around too much or laughed too hard one of these fits would hit him and he was reduced to a heaving, gasping wreck. He hated it. It was good, though, that he was here with Chrno this time. He hated everyone at the orphanage taking care of him. The demon was one of the few who didn't seem to pity him.
No, he didn't pity him, but he hated to see Joshua have a fit. He hated seeing the boy in pain. It really frightened him, more than most of what he had experienced in his life. This was something he couldn't do anything about but sit and watch it happen. He couldn't save Joshua from this. Chrno clung to the boy as much for his own reassurance as to offer support to him.
"You should rest, Joshua." he had a weak grip on Chrno's arm, and the demon felt it tighten fractionally. "Then...you need to go back to Seventh Bell."
"...Uh-uh..."
"You'll be better there. They can take care of you."
"...I'll...never get better..." Chrno held him closer, his heart breaking a little at what his friend was saying. He didn't want to hear that. More than anything he wanted to tell him that wasn't true. He would get better, and live like all the other children. But they both knew that wasn't true...these fits would probably be the death of him one day.
"Just take it easy, alright?" he offered, hesitant to acknowledge what he'd said. Joshua didn't respond. Several minutes passed before Chrno became aware of a tiny snore issuing from his friend's slack mouth. He sighed, shifting the boy around so he lay more comfortably against him. He would take him home later, but now the demon just didn't have the heart to wake him.