Chapter Text
“Kissing?”
To five year old Hakuryuu, it came as a surprise that, of all people, Judal did not seem to know what kissing was. The older boy seemed to know everything about anything, from why the sun shone to where cook hid sweets before dinner.
“You’ve never been kissed?” Hakuryuu asked curiously, looking up at the boy, perched on a tree branch as usual.
“No. Have you?” Judal returned.
“Of course! Mother and big sister give me kisses all the time.”
“I don’t have a mother, remember?”
Oh. No, he had forgotten, honestly. You couldn’t much blame him, Hakuryuu was only five and the thought that some little boys out there didn’t have two big strong older brothers and a kind older sister and a mother and father sort of baffled him at times. Especially Judal. Judal seemed like the type to have a smiling mother and a tall father who carried him around a lot.
He didn’t though. But for the young prince, the true depth of sadness to that fact was easily brushed aside.
“Well someone must give you kisses.” Hakuryuu insisted.
Judal shook his head, then paused and peered down at the younger boy.
“Tell me what a kiss is, then maybe I’ll know if someone gave me one.” he said. “Maybe there’s just another word for it.”
For a moment Hakuryuu scrunched up his face in thought. He didn’t think there was another word for a kiss… But what would he know, he was only five. Hakuyuu would know, but he wasn’t there just then.
The small boy huffed to himself, thinking of how to tell the other what a kiss was, but gave up quickly. His vocabulary didn’t quite have the words to convey it and frankly, even so, it was a little hard to put into words.
“I’d have to show you.” he said, looking back up at Judal.
“Does it hurt?”
“No, of course not!”
“Is it gross?”
“Sometimes, but I promise it won’t be.”
“…Okay.”
The Magi shifted his weight and lightly leapt down from the tree, landing on his feet like it was the easiest thing in the world. Hakuryuu knew for a fact if he ever tried the same thing he’d probably end up hurting himself, but that was just another thing that made Judal different from other people.
Judal settled himself beside Hakuryuu on the grass, tucking his knees up against his chest and looking over at the prince with those big, ruby eyes of his. Some people seemed to find his eyes disturbing, but personally, Hakuryuu thought they were very pretty.
“So how do you give someone a kiss?” Judal asked, still sounding curious.
“Well it’s different every time, cause there’s a lot of different kinds of kisses.”
“Well what’s your favorite kind?”
Hakuryuu paused to think about this a moment, frowning to himself. Hmm his favorite kind of kisses… Probably the sweet ones Hakuei gave him before bed or whenever she felt like giving him affection, which was pretty often. Yes, that seemed like a good kind of kiss to give Judal.
So, with that in mind, the small prince leaned over and briefly pressed his lips against the Magi’s cheek. It was a quick little peck, and he pulled back with a victorious smile once the action was completed. Judal however, blinked rapidly and raised his sleeve covered hand to rub at the assaulted cheek.
“What was that for??” he asked, sounding equal parts unsure and mystified.
“That was a kiss!”
“What, that’s it???”
“Yeah! That’s the kind of kiss Hakuei gives me.”
Judal stopped rubbing at his cheek and let his sleeve fall back away from his hand. Pale knuckles rubbed at his skin instead, eyes flicking down as he seemed to think about it.
“…Can you do it again? I think I missed it.”
“Sure!”
And he did, to the same cheek as before, though he kept his lips there a little longer just to be sure the older boy felt the pressure before he sat back again. This time, rather than rubbing at his cheek, Judal just touched the spot the prince had kissed with his fingertips.
“That’s all?” he said. “Really?”
“Mmhm.”
“Well I can do that.”
As if to prove this very point, he leaned over and pressed his lips to Hakuryuu’s cheek, holding still a few seconds and then pulling away. Dark hair tickled the prince’s cheek and he laughed, rubbing at the spot Judal had kissed with the back of his hand.
“Did I do it wrong?”
“No! That was fine!” Hakuryuu stifled another giggle. “I just wasn’t expecting it that’s all!”
“Why not? You gave me one, shouldn’t I give you one too?”
Well—Yes actually, now that Hakuryuu thought about it, that did make sense. But he felt he hadn’t quite explained a kiss properly, or why it had surprised him Judal gave him one back.
“You give kisses like that to people who you really really like, or care a lot about!” he explained. “Hakuei says you give kisses to people who’re special to you.”
Judal nodded, and you could almost see him cataloging this information away for later.
“So you gave me a kiss cause you like me?”
“Yeah! And cause I care about you.” Hakuryuu beamed at the apparently startled Magi.
“Oh… Okay.” Judal seemed to come to some sort of mental conclusion and, without further prompting, leaned over and kisses Hakuryuu’s cheek a second time.
“Hey!” the prince squeaked, cheeks tinting pink at the sudden affection. “What was that for?!”
“You said kisses are for people who’re special to you! You’re special to me so I’m giving you a kiss!”
All this succeeds in doing is making the prince’s cheeks flush a little darker, but it also makes him smile. As far as he’s aware, Judal doesn’t really call most people special, and he definitely hasn’t ever given anyone a kiss before. A little part of Hakuryuu selfishly hopes he doesn’t now that he knows what they are.
“What other kinds of kisses are there? You said there was more right?”
Hakuryuu nodded, rubbing his cheek again and, as most children do, dismissing his previous thoughts completely.
“Yeah but I’ve only ever seen the other kind.” he said. “Hakuei says it’s a kiss adults give each other when they wanna be together.”
Judal tilted his head, which usually meant he was interested in whatever someone was saying, and Hakuryuu elaborated.
“Mother and father do it! Instead of your cheek or forehead, you kiss each other here.”
He pointed at his lips and Judal blinked rapidly.
“What, on the mouth?? Wouldn’t that feel weird?”
“How should I know? No one’s ever kissed me like that!”
“Well—Ah! Hey you’re blushing again!”
“I am not!”
“Are too!”
Judal poked the smaller boy’s cheek and Hakuryuu batted him away, rubbing at his cheeks and pouting. Hakuren always said he had an expressive face and it was easy to read his feelings, which seemed to be the case.
“Don’t tease me! It’s embarrassing okay!”
“Adult kisses are? Why?”
“Cause they’re special! It means you wanna be together for a really long time!”
Like a mother and father were supposed to be! Except he didn’t add that because Judal didn’t have a mother or a father so he probably wouldn’t get what that meant.
“Why’s that embarrassing??”
Hakuryuu puffed out his cheeks and averted his eyes to the ground. He fisted his hands on his knees, shifting slightly as he tried to work up the courage necessary to mumble;
“Cause I wanna try an adult kiss.”
With his head lowered, Hakuryuu completely missed the fact that Judal went from his usually pale pallor to almost the same color as his eyes. He looked down, thinking hard for a few long moments. In that context, he could understand why it would be embarrassing. Maybe he should just leave the topic alone.
But Hakuryuu had been the one to bring up kissing, probably to get to this topic to begin with, so it was probably something that was weighing on him a lot. And Judal didn’t like it when things bothered Hakuryuu.
“…Well…I mean…” he mumbled at last, toying with the frilled end of his sleeve. “Why… don’t we try?”
Hakuryuu’s head jerked up.
“What?! Us?! A-are you sure?”
“You said it means you wanna be together for a really long time, right?”
The prince nodded his head.
“Well do you wanna be together a really long time?”
A pause, and then another nod. It was true, if Hakuryuu had his way, he’d like to be with Judal for a very, very long time. The older boy didn’t remind him so much of his brothers as he did a cat, mysterious and prone to high places. But he was fun to be around, and he was nice to him even if he did tease sometimes, and Hakuryuu liked him very much.
So yes, being together with Judal for a really long time sounded like a very good thing to him.
“Okay, so, then… let’s try and adult kiss.”
“Are you sure?” Hakuryuu repeated. “Really really sure?”
“Really, really, really sure.” Judal assured with a firm nod of his head.
They both inched closer together, scooching across the grass until they were sitting in front of one another, knees touching. Both boys fidgeted, unsure of how exactly to proceed. It seemed a relatively simple concept, just do the same as you did with a cheek kiss, except on the mouth. Well it was a lot more difficult when you actually meant to do it, at least for a pair of children.
Several moments of silence passed before they both had the same idea at the same time and leaned in. This did not end as planned, both knocking their foreheads and noses together before jerking back with matching squeaks of surprise. They rubbed at where they’d knocked together.
“Sorry—“
“No that was me—“
“No I think I—“
“Can we try again?”
“Yeah here—“
“Like this—“
“Yeah okay.”
Hakuryuu rested his small hands on Judal’s cheeks, holding him steady. The small Magi didn’t complain, letting the prince do as he wanted.
“Okay, close your eyes.” Hakuryuu instructed, and he did.
Heart pounding in his chest and stomach twisting into knots that he wasn’t familiar with, Hakuryuu just sat there for a minute, looking at the older boy. He was just sitting there waiting, and he probably wouldn’t forever, so the little prince took a deep breath and leaned up.
This time their noses bumped again, but not nearly as hard, and they managed to do as intended. Two small pairs of lips pushed together in a childish rendition of a kiss, neither quite sure what to do past that. It only lasted a few innocent seconds, and then they pulled apart again.
Hakuryuu sat back again and dropped his hands, blushing down at his knees the same color as Judal’s robes. Judal meanwhile, lifted his sleeve and covered his mouth, hiding his own flush behind it.
“…So… does that mean we’ll be together a really long time?” he mumbled from beneath his sleeve, peeking up at Hakuryuu.
The prince picked his head up and nodded, a silly smile curling its way over his lips.
“Yeah, definitely!”
Judal giggled, flushing brighter pink, but grinning nonetheless.
“Good! Then…” he shuffled his sleeve down again and held out his hand, pinky up. “I’ll learn more about kissing, and when we’re older I’ll give you a proper adult kiss, okay?”
Picking up his own hand, Hakuryuu nodded, linking pinkies with his friend to seal the promise.
“Me too! And I’ll give you lots so we’ll be together a really long time!”
Almost simultaneously, both boys burst into jovial giggles, pinkies still linked as they thought about their future kisses.