Work Text:
“Constance!” Noel shouted, giggling as he ran across the room.
“Noel!”
Noel crashed into the shorter girl, laughing as they tumbled to the floor. Constance sat up, squeezing him tight. The kids both calmed down a bit as Constance’s mom came over. Darlene pulled them both to stand. “Are you two excited?”
Noel nodded, reaching into his backpack and pulling out a coloring book. “Yep! I brought stuff to play!”
“Ooh! Does that one have flowers?” Constance asked.
“It has all the flowers,” Noel bragged.
Darlene chuckled, ruffling Noel’s hair. “You two head up to Constance’s room to play. We’ll let you know when dinner is ready,” she said. Constance quickly threw her arms around her mother’s legs.
“Okay, Mama! Love you!” Constance said before rushing to the door.
Noel went to follow her, but stopped as his mother sat on the couch. He ran up to Carolyn and hugged her, kissing her cheek. “Je t'aime maman. Merci.”
Carolyn sighed and quickly hugged him back. “De rien Cherie. Maintenant, va jouer!” Noel nodded, running over to Constance. The six-and-seven-year-olds ran upstairs, already excitedly chatting. Beneath them, Darlene and Scott Blackwood sat down next to Carolyn, who let her smile fall.
___
Noel and Constance’s playdates often consisted of the same things. They’d leave their parents to hang out, go color or draw, play pretend, and eat Constance’s parents’ delicious snacks. Then, after dinner, Carolyn would take Noel home.
Today, however, after they finished dinner, Carolyn leaned over to Noel. “Hey, I just got an awesome idea! Would you like to stay over here tonight?”
Noel gasped, eyes suddenly shining. “Really?! I’d love to! Connie, we could play all night!”
Constance frowned slightly and looked up at her parents. “Really?”
“Yes,” Scott said, leaning over and putting his hands on her shoulders. “Your mom and I think that’s a great idea.”
“But you said I can’t have sleepovers with boys,” Constance reminded him. Carolyn laughed and glanced away.
Darlene waved it off. “Oh, we can make an exception for Noel.”
“Why?” Constance asked.
Carolyn and Darlene exchanged a glance.
“Oh, it’s not like Noel’s gonna try to be your boyfriend,” Scott teased. Noel made a very dramatic and realistic gagging sound. Darlene slapped a hand over her mouth to conceal her laughter.
Carolyn glared at her briefly before she knelt by Noel. “Mr. Scott and Mrs. Darlene know you, Noel. It’s okay.”
“Yeah. We’re fine with Noel sleeping over. He’s your best friend after all,” Darlene said.
Constance nodded excitedly. Noel looked at her with a raised eyebrow. “What?” he said. “I thought Ocean was your best friend.”
Constance shrugged. “Can’t I have two?”
Noel’s face broke into a grin. “Well you’re my best friend too! I’d fight Ocean for it.”
“Noel!” Carolyn scolded briefly.
“What? I will! I’d fuck her up!”
Darlene and Scott glanced at Carolyn, who sighed heavily. “What have I said about that kind of language?”
Noel looked his mother dead in the eye and said, “Dites ‘putain’ en français en présence de Papa.”
Carolyn just looked the other direction, shaking her head. “I- No, don’t cuss! Oi, what am I to do with you?”
Darlene laughed off-key and patted Constance’s head. “You two go upstairs,” she said. “We’ll even let you stay up a little bit.”
Noel and Constance gasped before suddenly bolting out of the kitchen and running upstairs.
Carolyn rubbed her temples, muttering to herself in French. Scott put a hand on her back. “You’re doing great, Cari.”
___
As Constance and Noel hopped up on her bed, Noel asked, “Am I really your best friend?”
“Well, yeah!” Constance said. She folded her legs and grabbed a big plushie to squeeze. “You’re always really nice to me. And way more fun than anyone else.”
“Even Ocean?” Noel asked, smirking. Constance blushed and glanced down.
“Don’t tell her I said that. I don’t wanna hurt her feelings.”
“I don’t wanna upset her either. I won’t,” Noel promised. “She’s still my friend.”
“Good.”
“Is everyone your best friend?” Noel asked.
Constance shook her head. “Nope! You and Ocean. And Ricky, I uh, I guess?” Her face fell and she hugged her knees. “Ricky’s been acting really weird lately. I don’t think he wants to be friends anymore.”
Noel frowned and turned to face Constance more. “Why not? He was always so nice last year.”
Constance shrugged. “I dunno. He’s been quiet this year. I don’t think I’ve heard him talk since before summer,” Constance said. She furrowed her eyebrows and stared at the ground.
“He’s never been much of a talker,” Noel defended. “He usually just meows.”
“Yeah, but he doesn’t do that around me anymore,” Constance said. “And he never plays with us! Haven’t you noticed? He’s always sitting-”
“Maybe he’s in timeout a lot,” Noel said.
Constance nudged him. “Not everyone is as naughty as you!” Noel pouted. “He’s not in timeout! He gets to color. I just don’t think he wants to play anymore.”
Noel shrugged, pushing his feet off the bed to kick them. “He’s always been weird. His loss if he doesn’t wanna play with us. We’re tons of fun!”
Constance nodded. “Oh, tons! You come up with the best games,” she told him. Noel’s face pulled into a big grin. “Really! Your games are always super fun.”
Noel bounced in place. “Really? Mom says my games are too much. She doesn’t want me playing some of them at school.”
“Booooriiing!” Constance joked. Noel shoved her playfully. After a moment, their laughter died down and they were just smiling at one another.
Constance and Noel sat in silence for a bit after that. Noel started staring into space. At some point, he heard a burst of noise from downstairs. Darlene shouted something, though not angrily, and Scott followed up with something just as loud. His mother’s voice suddenly flicked back at them and then it was quiet.
Noel suddenly teared up. Constance noticed and moved closer to put a hand on his arm. “Hey! What’s wrong?!”
Noel sniffed as he pulled up his knees to his chest. “Does your dad ever yell at your mom?”
Constance looked at the ceiling as she thought. “Yeah. When it’s busy in the cafe and she can’t hear.”
Noel hummed, turning his head away from her. “Does he get angry?”
“No,” Constance said. “I’ve never seen my dad really angry. Not at me or my mom. He just gets angry when he burns cupcakes.” Her eyes suddenly widened, and she leaned close to Noel. “Your dad doesn’t yell when he’s angry… Does he?”
Noel pressed his tongue to the roof of his mouth as the tears spilled over. Constance couldn’t see his face, but she heard his sniffling. “I- I don’t know why. He doesn’t like it when I’m too loud or rowdy. He doesn't like to play with me. He doesn’t like mom’s singing. He doesn’t like when she’s at work.” He buried his face in his knees. Constance heard the muffled words, “He was really mad tonight. I think Maman doesn’t wanna fight. That’s why we’re sleeping over.”
Constance shook her head and wrapped her arms around him. “Noel, I’m super sorry!” Noel turned and clung to Constance. He started crying into her chest, and she held him there, starting to rock back and forth. “Your dad sounds like a big jerk.”
“He can be! Only when he’s mad. And when he’s home…” Noel sniffed and rested his chin on his knees. “Why doesn’t he ever wanna play with me like Maman does? What’s wrong with me? I- I don't know what I did wrong! I don't remember what I did. I must have done something really wrong when I was a baby.”
Constance squeezed him tight. “No! Your dad is just mean!” She pulled back and looked him in the eyes. “He’s also stupid if he doesn’t know how cool you are.”
“You- You think I’m cool?” Noel asked.
Constance nodded. “Super cool!”
Noel hugged her again, this time knocking Constance onto her back. She squealed and rolled onto her side so Noel wasn’t on top of her. “You’re the best, Connie…”
“No, you are, Noël,” she said affectionately.
Normally, the pair would have taken their permission to stay up late as far as possible. But it was really comfy there, and Noel was tired from the events of earlier.
“Hey, Connie?” Noel muttered as he started drifting off in the warmth of her hug.
Constance hummed. Noel didn't respond, so she said, “What is it Noël?”
Noel sniffed. “Are we always gonna be friends? Really close friends?”
“Always,” Constance said, and Noel could hear the smile in her voice. “Best friends.”
“Until we die?”
“Uh… Yeah. Why? It's not like you and I are gonna die for years and years and years and years.”
Noel shrugged. “Just checking.”
“Oh.”
“Will we be best friends after we die?”
“Yeah…”
“And… And I'll hold your hand as we die. If I die first, I'll wait for you.”
“Mhm…”
“Would you wait if you died first?”
“Probably…”
“Unless we die together. What if we get typhoid flu at the same time? Would we die hand in hand?”
“... Yeah-”
“... So when we die-”
“Noëllll,” Constance groaned. “I'm too sleepy for death.”
“Okay fine… Love ya, Connie.”
“Love ya, Noël.”
When Carolyn came upstairs to say goodnight, she found the kids laying together, still half cuddling. She smiled and walked over to pull their shoes off and lay a blanket over them. She kissed both kids on the head before leaving the room. Noel opened one eye to watch her walk out and close the door. He heard her gasp softly and saw her wipe her eyes before she disappeared. Noel whined in concern, but Constance quickly hushed him with a squeeze. He tried to relax, shutting his eye again and letting Constance hold him close.