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Kuroh stared down at the tips of his dress shoes, his little feet hanging in the air over the edge of the pew. They were, after all, the most interesting thing to him at the moment, even over his ridiculously short pants.
Being only seven (and a half), most things that involved grown-ups didn't interest him for too long. Unfortunately, he was carted around to all of his father's engagements regardless of the fact that he could probably (strong emphasis on probably) take care of himself for a few hours at the very least. Such arguments had yet to work in his favour.
His large light eyes glanced around at the other people surrounding him, his father on one side, and a woman he'd never seen before that day on his other, as well as more people he'd never seen before on both sides.
He couldn't quite wrap his head around it, Ichigen-sama had only explained it to him the night before, but apparently weddings were a big deal. He didn't really understand why, but it probably had something to do with being tall enough to see over the woman with the bushy hair in front of him. There had been loud music moments before, and people walking down the aisle; and just then, there was a voice--a really monotonous one--coming from somewhere ahead of him, but he couldn't see who it was.
"...And now for the exchanging of vows."
He sighed and slouched against the back of his seat. That sounded boring.
A small hand reached for Ichigen-sama's sleeve, tugging hard enough to garner his attention, those tender eyes Kuroh had come to love looking down at him in question.
"What is it, Kuroh?" he asked, leaning closer to the child so they could talk quietly.
"I have to go to the bathroom," was his answer.
Ichigen-sama only smiled and nodded, giving him the directions so he could go and come back without causing any problems or disturbing the ceremony. The small boy only smiled before hopping off of the bench, squeezing past the woman he'd never seen before that day, and the other people beside her before walking along one of the side aisles quietly.
He felt bad for lying, but he would've done almost anything to get out of that ceremony. A quick glance at other kids who had also been brought along by their parents quickly told him that he was the only one who hated being forced to go. Or maybe he wasn't, and they were just used to it.
Outside of the ceremony, the rest of the building was huge. The ceiling was high and ornately decorated with chandeliers and complicated-looking wood carvings, as well as the walls being covered expensive-looking paintings. Since when Ichigen-sama knew someone who had such tastes, he didn't know. Apparently they were an 'old friend' or something.
Passing a row of large windows, he stopped. Vague thoughts of when he'd finally hit his growth spurt like Ichigen-sama said he would eventually popped into his mind as he struggled to look over the window ledge to peer outside, eyes filled with curiosity. Just where exactly were they? He'd never known a place like the one he was in existed, tracing an invisible line through the front garden with his eyes. Past the rosebeds, past the fern-looking plants, past a bundle of white hair, beyond the different coloured-- Wait. Bundle of white hair...?
Who had hair that colour in the first place?
Watching for a little longer, he waited to see what the person looked like--or if they were even a person at all. Leaving the building didn't seem like a good idea--he was supposed to go to the bathroom and go back. But going back wasn't exactly in his best interest, either.
Lowering himself from his tip-toes, Kuroh quickly decided that he could apologize (both for lying, and for leaving the building) later. The bottoms of his shoes clicked against the polished floor as he went down the steps leading to the main entrance as quickly as he could manage without tripping, the heavy door proving to be the biggest obstacle.
When he finally got outside, he searched the garden from the top of the steps, eyes falling on that bundle of white hair again, following it. Getting a closer look, he could see that it was in fact a person and not some kind of albino animal. The sound of his feet shuffling through the grass alerted the other to his presence almost immediately, a pair of big eyes turning to peer at him from behind messy bangs.
The other offered a friendly smile but didn't stand or turn all the way to face him. Kuroh stared.
"Were you bored too?" the white-haired boy asked with a small smile, his arms folded over his knees while he crouched. Kuroh only stared at him a little longer before nodding, a little smile appearing on his face as well.
"I couldn't see anything," he responded, still staring.
"Me neither," the other boy said. "It's no fun when you're too short to see over someone's hair." He paused for a bit, still smiling. His clothes were dirty and Kuroh could only imagine how bad he would get scolded by his parents once they saw him. "I'm Yashiro. Call me Shiro."
"I'm Kuroh... What're you doing?" he asked, leaning a bit to peek over Shiro's shoulder.
"Looking at the flowers," he answered, turning back to look at the carnations in front of him. "There are a lot of pretty ones around here. They're a lot nicer to look at, too." Kuroh couldn't argue with that logic. But still. Wasn't Shiro bored? How long had he been out there?
"I guess it's better now that you're out here too," the smaller said, finally standing. "I was starting to get kind of lonely. I don't want to be inside, but it's not much better out here."
Just as Kuroh was about to say something again, the large doors to the building opened, cheering erupting from inside before people flooded out. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Shiro move to stand next to him, watching as well.
"What does it even mean to be married?" the white-haired boy asked after a few moments of silence between them, staring at the commotion as the newly-wed couple emerged from the church and made their way down the front steps. Kuroh had been wondering the same thing, even though Ichigen-sama had given him an answer the night before while reminding him that he needed to wake up early for said event.
"Ichigen-sama says that it means you're spending the rest of your life with the person you love most," he answered.
"Ichigen-sama?"
"My father," the taller answered.
"Why do you call your father 'Ichigen-sama'?" Shiro asked, suddenly disinterested in the topic at hand. He sounded like he thought it was funny. Kuroh turned to look at him, eyebrows furrowed a bit.
"I'm adopted," he said, waiting to see if Shiro would react like some of the other kids he'd told. When the other did nothing but nod, his face softened again. He didn't really think it made much of a difference, but some other kids thought he was weird because he was an adopted child. He didn't have many friends because of it, but he didn't really mind.
"Like getting to pick your parents, right?" Shiro asked after giving the concept some thought. "That's pretty cool!" Kuroh only stared at him again, seeming to have developed a habit of doing so, before laughing a little.
"I guess. Ichigen-sama picked me, though." Shiro grinned.
"What else did he tell you about getting married?" he asked, curious as ever. Like a little brother more than anything. Kuroh's lips pursed a bit before he continued.
"He says that when two people love each other a lot, they get married to show everyone else that. He also said that you have to be friends with the person you marry first, otherwise it won't work properly."
Those large aureate eyes looked at him before Shiro smiled again, moving to stand in front of him.
"That means you and me--we could get married!" Kuroh's eyes widened instantly. He didn't really hate the idea, even though they'd just met. Maybe that's why he responded the way he did. His body leaned back a bit, skepticism spreading over his cherubic features.
"Two boys can't get married!" he nearly shouted. Shiro's smile dropped, his eyebrows furrowing a bit.
"Sure they can," he said softly, looking at the other with a tilt of his head. "It's just like making a pinky-swear with your best friend. Two boys can do that, can't they? Besides, you said that Ichigen-sama said that you have to be friends first."
"I guess..." Kuroh responded, easing up a bit again. He was still a little puzzled, but when Shiro put it like that, it didn't seem as big a deal. "But that would mean that we have to love each other first, right?"
"Well, we're friends already, aren't we?" Shiro asked, blinking up at the taller boy. Kuroh hadn't taken that into consideration, though he supposed they were friends. Ichigen-sama had told him that it was important to care for his friends when he made them--especially because it proved hard for him to do so.
"Yeah, we are," he answered, unable to resist smiling at the other boy.
"Then it's a promise!" Shiro said, excitement overtaking his voice as he thrust his hand towards Kuroh, pinkie poised. "We'll get married when we grow up."
Kuroh stared again; first at Shiro's hand, then at his face. Ichigen-sama had also said that deciding to get married took a lot of time; that getting to know the person you wanted to marry was the most important thing and that it couldn't happen overnight. But looking at Shiro and the large carefree grin on his face, he couldn't really say no. Besides, it was a long time before either of them grew up. They had lots of time.
"Promise," he said with a nod, holding his own hand out and watching as Shiro linked their pinkies tightly.
Even as their parents finally tracked them down and separated them (after a little talking thanks to the new-found friendship), Shiro kept his pinkie out, wiggling it at Kuroh from across the building's front yard. With his left hand in Ichigen's, Kuroh lifted his right, pinkie out and wiggling as well.
"Promise," he murmured to himself, watching as Shiro disappeared with his parents.