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“And you know what, Bambi?” Thumper spoke with a hint of intrigue in his tone of voice to keep his best friend’s interest in the story. Bambi smiled expectantly. “The worst thing isn’t meeting a bear cub in the river when you are washing your ears, but it’s even worse when their mother shows up and growls you to get away from her baby. They weren’t exactly a baby.”
Thumper emphasized the last word as mockery and crossed his arms, glaring at his two sisters—they had begun to hide their giggles behind their forelegs. Violet and Milly had approached them to listen with Bambi the story of their brother, carrying on their soft paws different types of flowers that they found around the rabbit hole.
“And on top of that these two idiots have teased me all the way here.” Thumper sighed, shaking his head. “Sisters, why have them. If all they do is—”
Thumper stopped suddenly when Violet jumped to his side and kissed his cheek without warning, walking away with a giggle and a lazy blink. Bambi threw back his head and opened his mouth and eyes slightly, taken by surprise at Violet’s action. But after a few seconds later, Bambi was laughing along with Thumper’s sisters at their brother’s reaction.
Thumper’s eyes widened to the sky as his ears perked up, rapidly stomping his foot against the ground with his left hind foot. It didn’t take long for him to groan at Violet for the kiss and glare at Bambi and Milly for laughing. Thumper wiggled his nose and wagged his tail, wiping his cheek with his foreleg.
“Ugh, kisses.” Thumper complained. “It’s so cheesy. It makes me shiver.”
As his best friend wiped his cheek, Bambi watched curiously and replayed the moment in his head. He had been amazed that a simple kiss could have silenced Thumper, that just an action could have interrupted him. A surprise kiss on the cheek.
Bambi also thought that kisses were too cheesy, somewhat affectionate, but the method given at the time was enough to make Bambi much more curious.
Bambi let out his last breath as he stopped next to a large rock, feeling like his legs would start to go numb if he kept running. Some deer of the herd also stopped to rest and eat from the grass, and others kept running in a wide circle led by the great Prince of the Forest. Bambi smiled widely at the view of the meadow in spring, unique and beautiful with all its flowers and colors.
Sighing marvelled at the calm, Bambi moved down his head and caught fresh grass between his teeth. His right ear snapped around when he heard footsteps approaching him, but Bambi kept eating.
“Well, well. If it isn’t the young prince.”
Bambi straightened up, recognizing the voice perfectly and turned so fast he thought he heard his neck crack. He ignored that and swallowed the grass.
Ronno was standing right in front of him, stretching his front legs to look like he was puffing out his chest. But Bambi ignored that too and immediately noticed that distinguished smirk that Ronno always put on his face.
Bambi frowned slightly, knowing what would come next.
“You know? You look too tired.” Ronno mocked, undoing his posture and walking slowly towards Bambi, close and defiant. Bambi didn’t back away and Ronno frowned, smirking more. “I have done more laps than you and I’m not tired at all. I actually feel more energetic. But instead, here we have the prince, already resting. You can never beat me.”
Bambi pursed his lips at Ronno’s words, not allowing himself to be fully affected by it. Bambi wanted to say something, but he wondered if someday he could talk with Ronno in a much more normal way, without teasing or challenging. Without bad words or derogatory gestures. Then Bambi remembered the moment he replayed in his head, and stopped pursing his lips, thinking.
He could kiss Ronno on the cheek to shut him up.
Ronno snorted at Bambi’s lack of words, “Just because you’re a prince doesn’t give you the right not to—”
Bambi squeezed his eyes shut and leaned forward.
He wanted to do it like Violet did to Thumper, but their heads didn’t meet at the angle Bambi would have preferred and instead, he kissed Ronno on the lips, bringing their snouts together. All because Ronno had turned his head in the last moment, all because Bambi had closed his eyes in the first place.
Bambi half-opened his eyelids at the new feeling and watched, a bit dizzy, at Ronno opening his eyes up to the sky, raising his ears and tail. Ronno moved away from him a second later, as if their mouths together had burned him. He took several steps back, his expression set between confusion and disbelief, his breath slightly catching the meadow breeze.
Bambi didn’t move and blinked slowly, because—that had felt totally different. He saw Ronno’s fur turn pink under his cheekbones and Bambi felt himself blushing too, because that definitely felt different from the kiss Violet gave Thumper.
Ronno frowned, trying to clear his confusion, “What—”
But Ronno’s eyes focused beyond Bambi, and he was backing away with his ears lowered. Ronno quickly disappeared among the deer that had gathered there and Bambi felt the moment between them shatter into little pieces. He have never felt something like this.
Bambi turned and saw his father, the great Prince of the Forest, motioning him to follow him back home.
“Come on, Bambi.”
Bambi nodded, still feeling that little emptiness when Ronno walked away.
The butterfly landed on Bambi’s nose and gently flapped its wings—they were a blue-green color, occasionally letting the faint rays of the sun enter between its beautiful wings. He didn’t feel like wiggling his nose so that the butterfly to fly away, so Bambi just stared.
That was, until his good hearing caught the sound of a woodpecker. The butterfly flew away and Bambi sighed, getting up from the ground. He looked up at the bird, who was almost at the top of the pine tree, and then looked down. The instant he did, he felt his heart skip a beat in surprise.
Ronno was on the other side of the clearing, scratching the base of a pine tree with his hooves. There were no animals nearby, save for the woodpecker and insects on the flowers. Ronno was perfectly differentiated from where Bambi was.
Bambi felt like he had mixed feelings, between nervousness, confusion and excitement. He found himself watching Ronno from a distance—his dark auburn fur, without the spots, contrasted in different shades of color with the bushes behind him. Bambi wished his antlers would grow already, especially budding antlers, which looked really good on a deer. He also wished to get closer and talk to Ronno again, even though deep down of himself he thought they would never have a civilized conversation.
Just—maybe.
So he did, at least one more try. But Bambi wasn’t the first to do it.
Ronno had met his gaze shortly before Bambi started to approach him. Ronno snorted when he realized it was Bambi, and ignored his task of scratching to walk towards the prince, always defiant.
“Oh, you again, Bambi.” Ronno drawled when they both stopped near each other. “I see that you don’t stop taking breaks wherever you go. I could challenge you to a race on the meadow if you already have the energy, and we’ll see who wins. Or rather, who wins twice now.”
Bambi, puffing out his cheeks with a frown, felt an unique unease.
“Did the cat get your tongue, princess? Because if so—”
Ronno’s voice faded into the air once more time at the pressure of Bambi’s lips on his, determined and without warning. This time, Ronno hadn’t turned his head in the last moment, and this time Bambi had wanted their heads to meet in the correct angle. He had kissed him without incident. Bambi had kissed Ronno for the thrill of shutting him up.
Ronno froze for a few seconds and pulled away as fast as he could from Bambi with his tail bristling.
“You—you’ve done it again!” Ronno snapped, digging his hooves into the grass. “What’s going on with you??”
Bambi blinked, blushing. “I…”
“I don’t know what you intended with that back in the meadow and I don’t know what you intend now. What are you playing at?” Ronno inquired, exhaling through his nose.
Bambi cocked his head in confusion, his ears tilting as well. “Playing?”
“You kissed me. Twice.” Ronno looked like he was losing his patience. “Not just anyone does that, but hey, does the young prince think he is superior for kissing whoever crosses his path?”
Bambi pursed his lips, determined, “It’s not that, Ronno. Just—you should stop bragging if you don’t want me to do it again.”
“Bragging?” Ronno mocked, and Bambi felt a strange tingle rise in his stomach at the sight of Ronno’s expression, at the sight of that smirk. He had felt it before, in the meadow, but this time it was a little more intense. And Bambi wanted to do it again. “While you were resting with your beloved butterflies, I was looking for a good place to hide the acorns of—”
Bambi closed his eyes and leaned closer, pressing a smack kiss to the side of Ronno’s snout. Bambi smiled triumphantly against the soft skin of Ronno’s mouth; once again, Ronno’s words and his bragging had died in his throat. Ronno hadn’t expected that kiss either, and neither had the other two before.
But this time it was different. When Bambi moved a bit away from Ronno, the other deer hadn’t scooted away like he used to. Ronno remained standing in his place, paralyzed. As soon as Bambi caught Ronno’s gaze, it was he who froze, pinned in place by those eyes of the color of spring itself. Bambi’s heart thundered in his rib cage. Something had changed.
“You were… starting to…” Bambi stammered, feeling his cheeks burn under his fur.
Ronno sighed into a smirk, raising an eyebrow at Bambi. He was still in disbelief at everything that had happened, but somewhat amazed too. Bambi always managed to amaze him.
“Alright, Bambi, two can play this game.” Ronno murmured under his breath, walking forward without stopping, getting closer to Bambi.
Ronno took another step toward him, and another, and another, and Bambi forced himself to back away slowly with each step from Ronno. Bambi’s heart skipped a beat as his hind legs suddenly hit hard, cracked wood. A glance back made Bambi realize that Ronno had pinned him against a fallen tree trunk.
Bambi stared at Ronno and gulped.
“This is not a game, Ronno. You’ve said that several times already and I… I-I’m not playing anything. I’m tired of our rivalry and I just wanted to silence your stupid bragging for once so I can talk to you like a normal deer and—”
Bambi suddenly held his breath in his throat—Ronno had brushed their noses, leaning closer, his eyes never leaving Bambi. The prince immediately went quiet. Ronno’s pupils moved across Bambi’s face, searching, staring, and that smirk appeared on his mouth. That smirk again. Bambi could just blink slowly, mesmerized. They were so close.
Ronno narrowed his eyes and without hesitation, pressed their snouts together. Bambi felt the warmth of Ronno’s body almost instantly, his fur joining into their chests, and he instinctively closed his eyes, letting himself be carried away. Even with his eyes closed, Bambi could feel Ronno’s smile in the kiss, and Bambi’s legs went numb, but he kept his composure. That was, until Ronno slid his tongue slowly up the side of Bambi’s snout.
Bambi’s heart seemed to shoot out of his chest and this time his body shuddered and his hind legs gave out. Bambi’s butt hit the ground beneath the flowers and he opened his eyes when the pressure of Ronno’s mouth was gone from his.
Bambi looked up at Ronno, blinking, and Ronno didn’t take his eye off him, showing his teeth in that remarkable smirk.
“Hey, it works.” Ronno said, wagging his tail. “I have left you speechless, princess.”
Bambi’s jaw dropped a little. Ronno was never expected to return the method Violet had used on Thumper, in turn that Bambi had used on Ronno. But Ronno had done it in a totally different way, and the tingling in Bambi’s stomach grew even more intense.
Still, Bambi couldn’t help but grin, warm and loving, and chuckled softly. Out of the corner of his eye Bambi saw Ronno puff without malice.
“See you around, Bambi.” Ronno mused after a few seconds, pulling away from him. Bambi noticed that there was no challenging, no bad words, no contempt or hatred in his tone of voice.
Before Ronno left the clearing, Bambi got up from the ground and ran towards him.
“Wait!”
Ronno stopped and turned his head to look at him. Bambi skipped around and was beside him in a blink, grinning widely. Ronno rolled his eyes, but didn’t move away from Bambi, instead keeping his body close.
“I still have a race to win.” Bambi muttered, blushing.
Ronno snorted into a smirk, “If you say so.”
Bambi’s tail wagged in excitement, his ears perked up in joy, and they both began to walk out of the clearing.
Maybe they were finally going to be able to talk to each other like normal deer. Maybe that was going to be the beginning of being able to become something, but not rivals or enemies, but something that would make their hearts flutter like the beautiful wings of a butterfly.