A Matter of Tradition
author: Lily Maxwell
rating: PG
comment: Lucian/Crysthian
Because I promised. Because it wouldn't be your birthday without me writing something for you. Like it's always been, ever since we were 13. Has it really been 7 years? I can barely wait for the next seven. Perhaps you'll have grown tired of my writing by then, but hey. You ain't getting rid of me.
Happy twenty one, Crystal.
Based on true events, with only the best hints of originality I could manage.
A Matter of Tradition
By Lily M.
“For the last time, Crysthian, it’s not that big of a big deal.”
He wasn’t listening, per always. The taller of the two - the speaker - sighed, warm breath becoming mist in the cold air. A cold air he wasn’t even supposed to be suffering from, to begin with, if it wasn’t for his incredibly hard-headed best friend. He liked the cold and the snow as much as the winter lover next door, but it was a lot nicer indoors.
If this wasn’t his best friend he was talking about, and if he wasn’t fussing like a goddamn girl over something that was actually relevant, he would probably have drowned him in the nearest snowman a long time ago.
He sighed, again.
“Yes, it is. Shut up. It’s my fault to begin with.”
You’re damn right it is.
“Look, Thi, it’s just jewelry. To even wear those bracelets after so many years is bordering gay.”
His best friend looked deeply offended.
“It’s not! It’s a symbol of young friendship! I wore mine all the time!”
“Which is the whole reason you lost it,” the other said with an eyebrow raised. The blush on Crysthian’s pale cheeks looked vivid against the December scenery.
“I’m going to find another pair of bracelets, Lucian. With the same kanji. Just you wait.”
Reasoning with a door would be probably easier, Lucian concluded. And so they traveled through the busy streets, full of families trying to find the perfect Christmas present for their loved ones, full of couples kissing under mistletoes, full of children singing Christmas Carols Lucian was so fond of, and that made Crysthian hold back all his intentions to throw snow balls at.
Finding matching bracelets - wait, the perfect matching bracelets with the “friendship” kanji, and that looked less girly than the previous pair because Crysthian was very offended, thank you very much, was harder than both of them thought. Not that Lucian had any high hopes to begin with.
It wasn’t so much about finding a perfect new pair. He remembered, quite clearly, the time his best friend graced him with the one he still owned, and that was well kept in a box of precious belongings that he hid fondly. They were just entering middle school, and Crysthian was ecstatic at the fact that they would be able to be in the same class again, that they went out to “celebrate” - mostly talk about new rumors about a torture chamber in the Principal’s office and eat junk food, when Crysthian had the impulse to buy a pair of bracelets, in brown leather and with a small plate of gold with the kanji of friendship carved on it that they found on a random store window.
They weren’t looking hard for it; they were having fun and it just sort of… popped up.
They met Christopher and Alex on the following day.
Lucian had ever since believed that some things were meant to happen, and that the best things came when you weren’t trying to hard to find them. So the search they were performing for hours and hours and bloody hours would, most likely, end up to be in vain. And he knew it was upsetting, but not for him, but the airhead he had for best friend.
It wasn’t snowing - although that didn’t make it any less cold - when they gave up on their search and sat down on a nearby bench. Crysthian looked like he would cry any moment, out of frustration or anger or sadness, Lucian wasn’t entirely sure.
“Thi, it’s going to be alright. You can get me something nice on my birthday to make up for it?” His smile was genuine, but Crysthian wasn’t even looking at him. When he laid his elbows on his knees, supporting his chin on his palms to glare at a random spot ahead, the bells hanging on a cord in his coat made a cute jingling sound.
He shook his head suddenly, like when he had one of his weird brainstorms. Knowing something was coming, Lucian simply raised an eyebrow, smiling softly when the brunet turned his head to look at him. He gave him a grin.
Oh God, what now?
The cord in his coat was in his hood, supposedly for the owner to tie it a little tighter around their heads in cases of extreme wind and cold. Crysthian slid it off, the two ends with the bells singing a sweet song that matched the carols being sung around the corner. He dug in his pocket for a pocket knife and cut the cord in two.
“Hold out your right hand.”
Blinking, Lucian did as he was told. The cord was tied not too tightly, but firmly, around his wrist. The bell greeted him happily when he brought the makeshift bracelet closer to his eyes, to inspect it. With much effort, Crysthian managed to make himself a bracelet too, on his left hand.
“There!” The shorter of the two, with his much glossy glasses, held his fist against his friend’s, the two bells, once always together and now separated, met again in joy. “Now it’s perfect.”
Lucian fought back a smile. It was a child thing, really; like they were eleven all over again. But it did look incredibly cute - as did the grin on Crysthian’s face.
“This has to be the cheapest gift ever, Thi. How old are you? Five?”
A light punch on the shoulder, another blush against pale cheeks. “Shut up! It was the best I could manage!”
A moment of silence, except for the two bells jingling against each other, as Lucian held his best friend’s hand.
“It is perfect,” he said, the smile he had been fighting against finally surfacing. He could swear the blush on Crysthian’s cheeks got worse. “Now how the hell am I going to repay you on your birthday?”
“You don’t have to repay me, you dork.” Crysthian rolled his eyes.
“Yes I do. It’s a tradition.”
“I don’t care.”
“I didn’t ask you to.”
“H-Hey! I really… don’t want you to spend anything on me every year! It makes me feel bad!”
“Shut up.”
They went back home soon, after that, the twin bracelets remarkable on their wrists.
On Crysthian’s birthday, the brunet was internally surprised to see his friend empty-handed first thing in the morning. He usually made sure to give him his present pretty early - sometimes, he even woke him up at midnight to be the first to gift him. He was silly like that.
It wasn’t until the end of the classes, when the sun was setting and everyone had mostly left, that Lucian gave him his present. It wasn’t expensive, or fancy, or shiny.
But when his lips turned into a smile against his, Crysthian was sure that it was the best damn present ever.
And when his best friend promptly fainted, Lucian was sure that the brunet was going to have a hard time repaying him when his birthday came around.