THIS CHAPTER IS SET IN 1971, LUKE IS 15, DAISY 14, AND BO IS 13

"What did you just say?" Luke demanded, taking a step towards Bo.

"You swore to me that you wouldn't ask her out!" Bo repeated himself.

"I did no such thing!"

"Yes, ya did!"

"Are you insinuatin' that I'm lying?"

"I ain't insinuatin' nothin, Luke! You swore to me that ya wouldn't, an ya did anyway!"

"I didn't swear nothin to you, Bo!"

"Yes ya did, I remember cause last w-"

"I don't wanna hear it!"

"Well thats just fine, I have to listen to you rant, and then I can't speak my own peace?"

"I didn't rant, Bo! If anyone ranted, it was you!"

"Me? Luke you're the one who started this whole dang thing!"

"Ah, there ya just called me a liar, again!"

"Well maybe if ya didn't lie I wouldn't have to!"

"I ain't never lied to you, Bo... never. An I sure ain't about to start now!"

"How is it not lying to break your word and then deny it?"

"I didn't promise you nothin, Bo! But I'll promise ya somethin right now... a black eye an' a bloody lip!"

Luke threw a punch, but Bo ducked and threw one back. Luke ducked and managed to get Bo in the stomach, then Luke hit him in the face as Bo recovered from the first blow. Bo got two clean shots to Luke's jaw, and in return he received one in the jaw and another in the stomach, which he returned to Luke promptly. Luke rammed his shoulder into Bo's chest and tackled him to the ground. They rolled around for a few minutes exchanging punches, until Luke managed to land a successful blow to Bo's gut, then he managed to wrangle his way on top of Bo.

"You give up?" Luke asked as he applied more force to Bo's wrists, which he had pinned.

Bo grunted his reply as he threw Luke off to the side, digging his elbow into Luke's side.

"Bo!"

That was the safe word: the other cousin's name.

Bo got up from Luke and got to his feet. He was about to ask if Luke was okay, but Luke got to his feet and sighed. "Alright." he said, the sign that he was ready to fight again.

Luke quickly shoulder rammed Bo again, but this time Bo didn't fall. He gritted his teeth and elbowed Luke in the gut, not giving him enough time to recover before he hit him in the jaw. Now Luke was really mad... he shoulder rammed Bo again, this time sending him harshly to the ground. After quite the struggle, Luke was holding Bo down again, this time pinning him with his knees to Bo's chest. Yeah, of course he remembered Bo's asthma...

"Luke!"

Luke got up off of Bo and stood over him.

Bo fought desperately with his constricting airways: the last thing he wanted was for Luke to have to help him now.

Luke stood over Bo, making a face as if he didn't care, but on the inside he was torturing himself for even thinking of using Bo's asthma that way.

"Alright..." Bo panted, although he was not ready to fight again: he just didn't want Luke to think that he was just tryna get out of it.

"No, no... you're not." Luke sighed, pressing two knuckles into his eyes.

Bo slowly sat up, wheezing his lungs out.

"No, no, lay down..." Luke urged, dropping to his knees behind Bo, allowing him to fall back against his knees.

Bo finally allowed himself to cough, and it led to a fit.

Luke took Bo by the arm and dragged him to his feet. "C'mon, I'll help ya." he offered, wrapping Bo's arm over his shoulders. When Bo's legs seemed to fail him, Luke scooped them up with his other arm, starting to run towards the house.

"Y-ya... cheated..." Bo wheezed as Luke set him on the couch. "W-hy'd ya..." Bo was interrupted by more coughing.

Luke pulled an inhaler from his pocket and placed it in Bo's shaking hand, he knew that Bo wouldn't let him do it for him right now.

Bo fumbled with it for several seconds before rolling his eyes and handing it back to Luke, who supported Bo's head from behind from one hand, keeping the inhaler steady in his mouth with his other hand.

"I'm sorry, Bo..." Luke offered in a quiet sigh, as he shut his eyes.

Bo gripped Luke's wrist and pulled the inhaler away from his mouth. "Fer breakin your word?" he wheezed.

Luke rolled his eyes.. they'd have to talk about that later. "No. I'm sorry fer pinnin' ya by yer chest. I knew dang well what I was doin, an I'm sorry."

"Ya wanna tell my lungs that?" Bo wheezed.

Luke didn't know what else to say so, he just put the inhaler back in Bo's mouth. "More, yer still wheezin'." he ordered.

Bo rolled his eyes and accepted the medicine.

After a while Luke pulled the inhaler away and set it down. He was devastated by the fact that Bo thought he'd lie to him, but he was also devastated by his own behavior.

"If ya didn't swear that ya wouldn't ask Marsha out, what did ya swear?" Bo asked.

"Wait, is that what you was mad about this whole time?"

"Well, yeah. You're dang right I'm mad."

"Bo, I didn't even know that that was who you was talkin about."

"Then who the heck did ya think I was talkin about?"

"I thought you was talkin about Linda this whole time." Luke explained.

"Linda? Luke, I was talkin about Marsha. You swore to me last week that you'd never ask her out."

"I did swear I'd never ask Marsha out. This whole time I thought you was sayin that I swore I'd never take Linda out."

"Oh, Luke..." Bo started laughing, not quite the reaction Luke'd expected, but he laughed along with him.

"How'r we gonna tell Uncle Jesse? He don't cotton to us gettin into so many fights, 'specially not with each other."

"We'll just have to burn that bridge when we come to it." Luke sighed. "Again, I'm real sorry-"

"I'm sorry too. And I forgive you." Bo held his left hand out.

Luke smiled and accepted Bo's handshake.