The Prior
Disclaimer: I don't own anything.
:: This is a oneshot, partly AU. A bit short and light but I hope you like it.
--
The eight years old Kimberly Hart pulled her knees to her chest and rested her chin on them. A soft sigh escaped her lips as she continued watching her friend doing some basic karate moves. His dark chocolate hair was pulled back to a tight pony tail and inspite of the funny look he'd given her; he used her pink hair band to hold it back.
"Tommyyyy…," After toying with the hem of her shirt for five minutes, Kim placed her nearly empty coke can on the ground beside her and stood up from the big rock. She brushed her pants. "Come on! You promised we'd play hide and seek,"
Tommy continued kicking and punching the empty air and somehow managed to answer between breaths. "It's no fun to play hide and seek with just the two of us,"
Kim pouted, her hand coming up to twirl her hair around her small and slender fingers. She walked closer to the boy and stopped right in front of him.
"Kim!" Tommy yelled, pulling his fist back to his side and rolled his eyes at Kimberly's stubbornness. "I nearly hit you there,"
"You've been practising since we got here. I thought you said we're going to play or do something fun," Kim said, her doe eyes looking up at him. "It's boring to just sit back and watch you,"
The park was slightly crowded and he could see their mothers talking with their teacher from school. That reminded him of something he needed to tell Kim. Tommy glanced down at her.
"Tommy!" Kim slightly protested, putting her hands on her hips. "Don't stare. It's not polite to stare at people,"
"Kim… I have something to tell you," Tommy started hesitantly. He wiped his sweaty face with the back of his hand, making Kim cringe and hand him her hankie. "Thanks,"
"So?"
Tommy grabbed her hand and guided her to the big tree across the pond. He watched as confusion fell over her face and he put his hands on her shoulders. "My dad said that we're going to move,"
Kim's eyes widened at the statement. "What? Move? I don't understand,"
"Mom said there's a better job for Dad in Canada, so she said we'll be moving there," Tommy explained grimly, recalling what his mother had told him the day before. He had refused, and at some points, he was ready to cry just because he had to leave this town, all his friends and his house.
Kim was his first bestfriend. They met in the kindergarten; she kicked him for pulling at her pigtails and that's what started their friendship. The past three years had been wonderful and now he had to leave her.
Quite predictable, Kim's eyes began to water, her lips quivering. "You can't go. If you go, whom am I going to play with?" She stammered as her emotion took the best of her and the first salty tears hit her cheek. "You promised me you would teach me karate so Bulk and Skull wouldn't be able to tease me anymore…"
Tommy used his thumb to brush away the tears from her now pink cheeks. He looked around him warily. The last time Kim cried when he was with her, his mom gave him a speech that was pretty long enough for an eight year old. 'Girls should be treated with respect and gentleness. Now what have you done?' "Kim, don't…,"
"Why can't you just stay here? Tommy…," Kim sniffled, biting her lips hard.
If there's one thing that Tommy hated to see, it was to see a girl crying. Sometimes it could be annoying, and even though it wasn't the first time Kim broke into tears in front of him, he's still confused as to how to calm her down.
"Mom said we'd leave soon. Maybe in three or four days…," Tommy continued carefully and watched new tears forming in her eyes.
"So soon?" Kim's voice was tiny when she asked.
Tommy seemed to be thoughtful and while Kim dried her eyes, he wandered off and back within half a minute. He grinned secretively at her. Kim was the first girl who could get close to her; he didn't get along girls much. Not that he had many friends actually. He appreciated their friendship; all the good and the bad, even all the fights they had had and Kim's major fondness of the color pink, something that he couldn't fully comprehend until now.
"I will be back, you can have my words and you know I never lied to you before," Tommy pulled his hand from his back and with a wide smile, taking Kim's small hand in his. "I swear,"
He lifted his hand and showed the ring he just made three minutes ago. The idea came from out of nowhere. The flower he chose was Kim's favorite and it's just the right size for what he had in mind. He rolled the stem to a small ring with the white flower at the top. Tommy smiled with satisfaction, admiring his handiwork.
"It's beautiful," Kim whispered in awe when Tommy slipped the ring on her finger. Her fingertips touched the little white petals carefully.
"Of course it is, I made it," Tommy replied smugly with mirth in his voice. "So, don't be upset, okay? I'll be back one day… and we can always write to each other,"
Kim eyed the 'ring' Tommy just gave her. "Wait here," She scrambled back to her abandoned rock and for a while, struggling with something. Tommy couldn't see what she was doing since Kim had her back toward him. Tommy leaned back against the tree, waiting patiently. Finally the short brunnette trotted back with a satisfied smile plastered on her face. "Give me your hand,"
Tommy reached out and she grabbed it fast. "Hope this fits," His eyebrow raised when he saw Kim trying to slip her coke's ring pull to his finger. Fortunately, it slided smoothly and for a moment he just stared at it. "You promised me, Tommy. You have to get back and return this to me. I don't care if it gets rusty, you just must," Kim insisted.
"It's…," Tommy paused then he smiled. "I promise,"
"You're the best of friends I have ever had, Tommy," Kim said in a hush voice and moved forward to wrap her small arms around him. "I'm going to miss you so much!"
A faint smile touched his face and he returned the hug. He tightened his hold on her when feeling her body shaking, signaling she's crying once again. "I'm gonna miss you too,"
--
Angel Grove Karate Expo
1992
"Good luck, Bro," the African American boy in the red t-shirt tapped his friend's shoulder.
Trini nodded eagerly and joined the circle of her friends. "I personally think you won't be needing it that much. Jason definitely will do just fine,"
"Affirmative," Billy agreed. The genius boy stood beside Trini with his hands shoved deep in his pockets.
The martial artist grinned at his friends. "Thanks,"
"Who's your opponent, Jase?" Kim asked, pulling a strand of hair to the back of her ear. "He has to be careful, because you're so gonna kick his ass," she added with a laugh.
Jason looked around and spotted a young man standing near the score board. The man in green tank top lifted his hands and put on a necklace around his neck. Jason turned back to his friends and pointed at the guy. "I guess that's him. Never saw him before though, a new student perhaps?"
All five pairs of eyes automatically moved to the direction Jason'd pointed. Zack whistled, seeing the guy doing some warms up. "That guy looks pretty tough,"
"Nothing Jason can't handle," Trini said, giving his friend an encouraging smile and Billy gave him two thumbs up.
The conversation was broken when Kim sighed longingly and spoke loud enough for them to hear, inviting a round of groans from her friends.
"He's really cute…,"
:: If she only knew … lol. Thanks for reading and review please. No flame though. Thanks.
- Yuuri ;)
