Side Story Two

Magic Stones

Ratio looked fondly at the stones in his hands, and was reminded of their story. It was six years ago. Birthday and Ratio went catching bugs in the late afternoon to the nearby park, but instead they decided to play with the turtles and feed them, and in the evening they watched the fireflies. Unfortunately the next day Birthday landed in the hospital, because he had a small seizure, so Ratio came to visit him.

Yellow sunlight lit the room like dancing golden flecks, accompanied by a warm, spring breeze. In the background the steady beating of a heart-monitor could be heard. A pale blond child wearing a blue hospital gown sat in his bed amidst many wires and machines. His slightly awkward looking companion approached the sick boy, clutching a small gift-box. Noticing his friend's arrival the bedridden boy's tired eyes began to sparkle with delight and mischief.

"Huh? What's the occasion? It's not like I have a birthday or anything!" stated the blonde boy, not yet called Birthday, winking.

"It's a get well soon gift. Open it, please!" asked the dark haired boy, sporting an eye-patch, while pink dusted his cheeks.

"Okey dokey," approved the blonde, fumbling with the wrapping.

"By the way, I dig the eye-patch; it's very badass" commented Birthday. "Hmm, is it Nick Fury~ish, or like some classy pirate?" his eyes narrowed in concentration.

Ratio breathlessly waited for his response. Something twinkled in the blonde boy's eyes; indicating that surely an equally brilliant yet crazy idea has been formed inside his mind.

"I vote for pirate lord! You just need some headscarf, eyeliner, dreadlocks and a beard, and voila, ready to go!"

"I won't be the only one wearing make-up! After all a really despicable and feared captain needs a capable first mate too!" exclaimed Ratio shuttering, then fuming, but unconsciously a smile found a way to his face.

"Finally, I thought the tension would kill me!" sighed Birthday, in response Ratio muttered a sorry.

Then the blonde opened the box and he became overly joyful.

"You remembered!" he said hesitantly fingering the smooth pebbles. "And they match us!"

Finding the perfect pebbles was time-consuming, but oh so worth! One butterscotch and one obsidian black, small enough to be hidden in a hand and cool to the touch, just like the stones they played with on the day watching the fireflies. Ratio contemplated.

"They bring good-luck!" replied the future dark doctor with satisfaction.

"Our special friendship stones! We could play phantom thief and cop with them," Birthday proclaimed blissfully.

"Or wizards protecting their land from an evil lord" Ratio suggested with a soft smile.

"Or we could pretend to be K and J from Men in Black, and the stones would be our super-secret mini galaxies!" Birthday said high-fiving Ratio.

The End

Notes:

Ratio's flashback is set after his dizzy headache, and during the wait for Birthday's return.

References:

Nick Fury is a Marvel character (thus belongs to Disney), the director of the secret organization S.H.I.E.L.D. He is a badass eye-patch hero.

The phantom thief and cop is homage to Detective Conan/Magic Kaito by Gosho Aoyama, but could also refer to Arsené Lupin vs. Sherlock Holmes.

Protect the land from the Dark Lord is a famous fantasy trope. Ratio and Birthday are Tolkien fanboys, so this is a reference for Lord of the Rings.

The hidden mini galaxy is a reference to the first Men in Black movie (1997).