[Fic + Art]: Kiss Me (Down by the Broken Tree House)
Title: Kiss Me (Down by the Broken Tree House)
Artist: essouffle
Author: cs_whitewolf
Team: angst
Prompt: innocence
Word count: 1150 words
Rating: U-Rated
Arthur doesn’t like the new kid. He has a funny voice and a funny name and he dresses kind of funny too, and his mom says he’s foreign, which does explain a lot, he guesses, but really isn’t any excuse for the way he keeps following Arthur around the playground.
His mom says he’s overseas visiting family, that he doesn’t know anyone here and he’s probably just trying to make friends, and won’t Arthur please try to be nice to him? Arthur scowled at that last bit, thinking that the new kid- Eames- doesn’t have any friends because he’s so very annoying and ruins everything.
This week alone he’s already fallen on top of the sandcastle Arthur was trying to build in the sandpit with his best friend Dom who is the bestest builder of sandcastles ever. Of course, Arthur had taken offence to this clumsiness and stormed off only to find upon his return that Eames and Dom were rebuilding the same sandcastle Eames had destroyed, and that they were laughing because Eames was trying to build a moat with sand-crocodiles in it and, well, if Arthur’d accidently stepped on it himself then it was only because he must’ve tripped over the same thing Eames had!
Then there was the day he’d been making mudpies with Yusuf. Or rather, he was watching as Yusuf made mudpies and shouting every time Yusuf pretended he was going to throw one at him. Eames had come along with his stupid grin and his stupid floppy hair and asked if he could play too and before Arthur knew it he’d been forgotten entirely by Yusuf! Eames kept giving him these looks though and Arthur thinks he was just being smug about stealing his friend, but Arthur doesn’t care because he still has more friends than Eames does.
The day after that, Arthur was on the swing set with Saito, trying to see who could go higher (though neither of them were brave enough to go very high at all, Saito was still just a little braver than Arthur was and kept beating him), when Eames came running over and took the third swing, grinning and throwing himself onto it with a whoop.
Arthur hadn’t seen anyone swing as high as Eames did, and even Saito (who didn’t get impressed by anything!) was terribly impressed and wanted Eames to show him how to do it too and before Arthur knew it they were in a proper race to swing really high and Arthur, well… he wasn’t allowed to swing like that, was he?
Another day that very same week he sought out Ari and Mal who were playing clapping games under the broken treehouse. He didn’t usually play with the girls but Eames had already stolen Dom and Yusuf and Saito too from him by the time his mom brought him to the playground. Dom had tried to wave him over but Arthur decided he’d rather play by himself than with Eames and had turned away with a huff.
He’d been having a nice enough time with Ari and Mal, almost forgetting to be annoyed by the loud shrieks of laughter coming from his friends and Eames at the other side of the playground. And then Eames had to go and ruin everything, again, by running over to join them at the treehouse.
“Want to play?” He’d asked them in his funny voice. The girls giggled and Arthur scowled, hating them just a little for it.
“Play what?” Ari had asked sweetly as Dom and Yusuf came running over too.
“Catch and kiss!” Eames grinned, then explained, “One person is ‘It’ and they have to catch someone else and when they catch them they have to kiss them and then that person is ‘It’ and then they have to catch someone else!”
The girls giggled again as Eames talked about kisses and the other boys blushed. Arthur snorted. It seemed like a stupid game to him!
So of course the girls wanted to play, jumping up off the ground and running away with shrieks of laughter as Dom and Yusuf gave chase.
“Want to play?” Eames asked him then and really, Arthur could barely believe the cheek! Eames had just stolen all of his friends and Arthur was going to have to go and play with the weird Fischer kid who was always talking to himself and…
Eames was looking at him with big eyes, as if he actually really wanted Arthur to play. He reached down and plucked up one of the dandelions growing at the base of the treehouse before holding it out to Arthur.
“Please?” Eames asked, smiling a little. And Arthur scowled at him, just like his Dad did when he was mad, and then he turned his back on him. He didn’t need Eames, or Eames’ new friends, never mind that they were Arthur’s friends first. He’d just tell his mom he didn’t want to go to the playground anymore. Then he wouldn’t have to see Eames and his stupid big eyes and his pouty mouth and his stupid flower and…
“Oh, okay then,” Eames said in a small voice. Arthur twitched. “I just wanted to be friends.”
Arthur bit his lip. He didn’t know why he suddenly felt like the naughty one. He turned quickly, ready to shout at Eames and tell him that this was all his fault and why did he have to come to Arthur’s playground and steal Arthur’s friends, but before he could open his mouth Eames was suddenly up beside him, his mouth warm and wet as he planted a big kiss to Arthur’s cheek.
And then he ran away.
Arthur’s eyes went wide and he was sure his cheeks were very red too, and by the time he remembered to turn around Eames was gone. He couldn’t remember why he wanted to shout at Eames anymore. Arthur rubbed at his cheek, scrunching his nose at the wetness still lingering there. He looked around and saw that the dandelion Eames had picked up was lying on the ground.
He looked around, careful to make sure no one was watching as he quickly picked it up and stuffed it into his pocket. When he lifted his head again though, it was to find Eames watching him from behind the tree. He stiffened, feeling as though he’d been caught with his hand in the cookie jar, when Eames smiled shyly at him and waved. Arthur shifted, digging the toe of his sneaker into the ground before looking up with a dimpling smile.
And then Arthur ran away.
If he was good, maybe he could get his mom to press the dandelion into a book for him just like his grandmamma did with the flowers in her garden, so that it would last forever.
And maybe he’d come to the playground tomorrow anyway. Maybe Eames would still want to be friends then.
fin.
[EDIT]: Whoops, I had cs_whitewolf and my (essouffle) names switched for artist/author. Fixed now, but in case anyone was confused, cs_whitewolf is the amazing, wonderful author for this piece, not me!
Artist: essouffle
Author: cs_whitewolf
Team: angst
Prompt: innocence
Word count: 1150 words
Rating: U-Rated
Arthur doesn’t like the new kid. He has a funny voice and a funny name and he dresses kind of funny too, and his mom says he’s foreign, which does explain a lot, he guesses, but really isn’t any excuse for the way he keeps following Arthur around the playground.
His mom says he’s overseas visiting family, that he doesn’t know anyone here and he’s probably just trying to make friends, and won’t Arthur please try to be nice to him? Arthur scowled at that last bit, thinking that the new kid- Eames- doesn’t have any friends because he’s so very annoying and ruins everything.
This week alone he’s already fallen on top of the sandcastle Arthur was trying to build in the sandpit with his best friend Dom who is the bestest builder of sandcastles ever. Of course, Arthur had taken offence to this clumsiness and stormed off only to find upon his return that Eames and Dom were rebuilding the same sandcastle Eames had destroyed, and that they were laughing because Eames was trying to build a moat with sand-crocodiles in it and, well, if Arthur’d accidently stepped on it himself then it was only because he must’ve tripped over the same thing Eames had!
Then there was the day he’d been making mudpies with Yusuf. Or rather, he was watching as Yusuf made mudpies and shouting every time Yusuf pretended he was going to throw one at him. Eames had come along with his stupid grin and his stupid floppy hair and asked if he could play too and before Arthur knew it he’d been forgotten entirely by Yusuf! Eames kept giving him these looks though and Arthur thinks he was just being smug about stealing his friend, but Arthur doesn’t care because he still has more friends than Eames does.
The day after that, Arthur was on the swing set with Saito, trying to see who could go higher (though neither of them were brave enough to go very high at all, Saito was still just a little braver than Arthur was and kept beating him), when Eames came running over and took the third swing, grinning and throwing himself onto it with a whoop.
Arthur hadn’t seen anyone swing as high as Eames did, and even Saito (who didn’t get impressed by anything!) was terribly impressed and wanted Eames to show him how to do it too and before Arthur knew it they were in a proper race to swing really high and Arthur, well… he wasn’t allowed to swing like that, was he?
Another day that very same week he sought out Ari and Mal who were playing clapping games under the broken treehouse. He didn’t usually play with the girls but Eames had already stolen Dom and Yusuf and Saito too from him by the time his mom brought him to the playground. Dom had tried to wave him over but Arthur decided he’d rather play by himself than with Eames and had turned away with a huff.
He’d been having a nice enough time with Ari and Mal, almost forgetting to be annoyed by the loud shrieks of laughter coming from his friends and Eames at the other side of the playground. And then Eames had to go and ruin everything, again, by running over to join them at the treehouse.
“Want to play?” He’d asked them in his funny voice. The girls giggled and Arthur scowled, hating them just a little for it.
“Play what?” Ari had asked sweetly as Dom and Yusuf came running over too.
“Catch and kiss!” Eames grinned, then explained, “One person is ‘It’ and they have to catch someone else and when they catch them they have to kiss them and then that person is ‘It’ and then they have to catch someone else!”
The girls giggled again as Eames talked about kisses and the other boys blushed. Arthur snorted. It seemed like a stupid game to him!
So of course the girls wanted to play, jumping up off the ground and running away with shrieks of laughter as Dom and Yusuf gave chase.
“Want to play?” Eames asked him then and really, Arthur could barely believe the cheek! Eames had just stolen all of his friends and Arthur was going to have to go and play with the weird Fischer kid who was always talking to himself and…
Eames was looking at him with big eyes, as if he actually really wanted Arthur to play. He reached down and plucked up one of the dandelions growing at the base of the treehouse before holding it out to Arthur.
“Please?” Eames asked, smiling a little. And Arthur scowled at him, just like his Dad did when he was mad, and then he turned his back on him. He didn’t need Eames, or Eames’ new friends, never mind that they were Arthur’s friends first. He’d just tell his mom he didn’t want to go to the playground anymore. Then he wouldn’t have to see Eames and his stupid big eyes and his pouty mouth and his stupid flower and…
“Oh, okay then,” Eames said in a small voice. Arthur twitched. “I just wanted to be friends.”
Arthur bit his lip. He didn’t know why he suddenly felt like the naughty one. He turned quickly, ready to shout at Eames and tell him that this was all his fault and why did he have to come to Arthur’s playground and steal Arthur’s friends, but before he could open his mouth Eames was suddenly up beside him, his mouth warm and wet as he planted a big kiss to Arthur’s cheek.
And then he ran away.
Arthur’s eyes went wide and he was sure his cheeks were very red too, and by the time he remembered to turn around Eames was gone. He couldn’t remember why he wanted to shout at Eames anymore. Arthur rubbed at his cheek, scrunching his nose at the wetness still lingering there. He looked around and saw that the dandelion Eames had picked up was lying on the ground.
He looked around, careful to make sure no one was watching as he quickly picked it up and stuffed it into his pocket. When he lifted his head again though, it was to find Eames watching him from behind the tree. He stiffened, feeling as though he’d been caught with his hand in the cookie jar, when Eames smiled shyly at him and waved. Arthur shifted, digging the toe of his sneaker into the ground before looking up with a dimpling smile.
And then Arthur ran away.
If he was good, maybe he could get his mom to press the dandelion into a book for him just like his grandmamma did with the flowers in her garden, so that it would last forever.
And maybe he’d come to the playground tomorrow anyway. Maybe Eames would still want to be friends then.
fin.
[EDIT]: Whoops, I had cs_whitewolf and my (essouffle) names switched for artist/author. Fixed now, but in case anyone was confused, cs_whitewolf is the amazing, wonderful author for this piece, not me!