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Three weeks before Joshua's tenth birthday, Father revealed his present: after an eternity of asking, his youngest was finally deemed old enough to be taken on a trip to Moogleland, the most extravagant theme park on the continent. It was nothing less than a dream come true, and Joshua nearly hurled from excitement whenever he thought of being able to witness the incredible place he had only seen in commercials and glossy pictures in travel magazines. He could already picture himself meeting with a Moogle in real life—and just maybe, if he asked very nicely, he might even be allowed to touch their pom-pom!
As Joshua crossed over each day on the wall calendar counting down to the trip, his anticipation mounted higher…only to make the eventual drop back to earth more devastating.
On the morning preceding the trip, Joshua was struck by a fever that brought all plans to a screeching halt. Mother lamented the non-refundable tickets as she cancelled the hotel rooms and the exclusive dining experience in the park's premier restaurant, while Father patted Joshua's shoulder, telling him that the summer was yet long and they could reschedule.
The sickness didn't last longer than a few days, but by then other plans had taken priority. The weeks went by and Father was continually busy with work, Mother filling the remaining time with endless high society events and visits to relatives and family friends. Joshua had been hopeful at the beginning of his recovery, but as the remaining summer holiday kept dwindling, he was starting to come to terms with the reality that there would be no Moogleland trip this year.
Clive, for his part, did his best to cheer Joshua up despite the circumstances. Even in the summer, he was busy with his fencing classes and a dozen other things, but he always made time for taking Joshua for ice cream at the corner store or reading a book with him in bed. When the last week of the summer holiday began—one which Father would spend entirely away from home on a business trip—Clive suggested he and Joshua take an overnight visit to Mr. and Mrs. Murdoch's house in Eastpool.
"Just the two of us," he clarified, "Mother has already agreed to help plan the menu of her sister's wedding anniversary cocktail party."
Joshua was already elated about a chance to spend time with Clive, but that last detail made him all the more eager to get out of the way—Mother and her sister always talked in that strange way that made the atmosphere tense even when both of them were smiling. It would be wise to not be around when the two of them met.
With that, it was decided, and the two brothers woke up early to have their breakfast and head for the familiar bus stop. However, when Clive raised his hand to signal an approaching bus to stop, Joshua pulled at his sleeve.
"Clive…that's not the bus to go to Eastpool."
Clive merely grinned at him.
"That's because we're not going to Eastpool—at least not right away."
The little hairs at the back of Joshua's neck stood up from excitement as the meaning of the words dawned on him, and he nearly tripped over his feet in his hurry to board the bus while Clive paid for two under-16 tickets. He motioned for Joshua to take a window seat, and their adventure commenced.
"Mrs. Hanna's got us covered," Clive explained. "If Mother calls the house before we make it there, she'll tell her that you were tired from the trip and are taking a nap. It's not like Mother will ask for me to come to the phone, anyway."
Just the two of them, with no way for Mother to know what they were doing and where. The thrill of it coiled tightly in Joshua's body, and he clenched and unclenched his hands repeatedly on his lap to release some of the tension.
"But where are we going?" Joshua asked, but Clive remained firm on secrecy, only giving a self-satisfied smile.
"You'll see."
They got off at an unfamiliar stop about twenty minutes away from home. Clive checked the direction from the way-finding sign next to the stop, and told Joshua to follow him. Joshua thought they must be getting close, as he saw more and more people walking in the same direction, many of them families with children. Even so, nothing could prepare him for the feeling when they turned around the corner and he saw the big arch decorated in bright reds, blues, and yellows.
"I saw in a flyer that the travelling carnival is in town, just for this week," Clive said, hands propped on his hips and visibly proud. "It's not quite Moogleland, but…"
Joshua found that he absolutely didn't mind that it wasn't.
"Let's go!"
They left their backpacks—Joshua's small one and Clive's big one with most of their actual necessities for an overnight trip—in the lockers near the entrance, Clive only taking a shoulder pouch to put his valuables in. Then, he paid a visit to the ticket booth to get a string of bright red cardboard tickets.
"So, what do you want to try first?"
Just walking around the carnival grounds was overwhelming: there were so many people and colours and movement, music and the clanking and hissing of the machinery all around, smells from the food stalls and the dry sand field the whole thing had been built on. Each ride looked more amazing and intimidating than the next, and Joshua was secretly a little relieved he wasn't quite tall enough to get on the big rollercoaster that made people scream so loudly. He and Clive got on the teacups, the carousel and the swinging pirate ship before lining up for the Ferris wheel.
As their small cabin gradually rose higher and higher, a strange feeling came over Joshua. When the thrill of the faster rides and the bustling crowds was wearing off, the atmosphere was suddenly much more…private. Clive noticed the change in his brother's demeanour and asked if the ride was making him nervous. Not knowing how to explain the real source of his unease, Joshua just nodded and accepted the easy excuse to climb on Clive's lap, the two of them watching the ground grow more distant together. Clive had his hands looped around Joshua's middle and was leaning his head on Joshua's left shoulder, keeping him so close and secure it made Joshua's heart race.
"Still nervous?" Clive muttered next to Joshua's ear.
"We're really high up," Joshua replied, although he wasn't concerned about it in the least.
When they were at the very top, the movement of the wheel stopped, and the cabin swayed in the wind slightly.
"…Is it broken?"
"I don't think so," Clive said as he tilted his head towards the window to see what was happening below. "They just do that sometimes."
Joshua wished the wheel was broken, so they would be stuck up there for a long, long time. He didn't want summer holiday to end, didn't want Clive to have to go to his own school that was so far it took him an hour to get there and another to come back, didn't want him to leave while Joshua was still asleep and come home late with a mountain of homework to get to before he could spend time with his brother. He wished they could live every day like this, with Clive showering him with attention and asking 'what next?' while looking at him with those striking blue eyes. It made Joshua feel…smart and capable, somehow, yet supported at the same time. He liked that feeling a lot.
To his secret dismay, the stillness only lasted for a few minutes before the wheel began to move again, beginning the descent back to the ground and into reality. Joshua slid out of his brother's lap to disembark and the operator opening the cabin door smiled at them kindly, calling him a sweet kid. Clive heartily agreed.
They moved on to the carnival game booth area to spend their remaining tickets. Clive managed to knock all the chocobos off the perch with one ball left to spare, which won him a prize. The honour of choosing went to Joshua, who picked a grey puppy plush that looked a lot like Torgal. One hand wrapped around the plush and the other holding Clive's hand tightly, Joshua thought he must already have seen everything there was to see in the carnival, when something made him stop and stare.
"Joshua?"
There was a small cart, decorated with pink balloons and little lights attached to the canopy. This, however, was not what had captured Joshua's attention. On the cart was a transparent glass case that was missing one wall, and inside, the attendant was doing something that looked like nothing short of magic. She was holding a stick inside the glass and a pink, fluffy cloud was forming around the stick, just on its own.
"What..what is that?"
"Candy floss," Clive answered without hesitation. "Want to try it?"
Joshua beamed, pressing plush Torgal closer to himself.
"Can we?"
Clive walked up to the cart and handed the attendant a couple of coins in exchange for a stick with a full round cloud bobbing on top of it. He directed them to a quieter spot where they could sit on a bench, saying it wasn't a good idea to try and eat while walking. Joshua placed Torgal to sit between them as Clive showed him how it all worked.
"You can take pieces off with your hand, like this," he demonstrated, pinching at the fluff and pulling gently until a piece came off, fluttering in the breeze. "Or, you can just eat it straight up!"
He opened his mouth wide and took a huge bite, pretending to be some kind of ravenous beast. Joshua giggled at the display and leaned over Torgal while making a rawring sound, biting into a spot at the edge of the hole Clive had made on the shape.
"Whoa, careful," Clive laughed.
Joshua forgot anything he might have said in response, because he was too busy experiencing the new flavour. The fluff instantly melted on his tongue like snowflakes, but unlike them, it felt like it sparkled in his mouth, a thousand tiny crystals scattering into even more minuscule ones. And the taste…it was almost overwhelming, the type of intense sweetness that went straight to his head and his toes all at once.
"It's good, right?" Clive asked as he popped the bit he had in his hand into his mouth.
"So good!"
"This whole trip is a secret between us, but you especially shouldn't tell Mother you had one of these, okay? It's practically pure sugar, not exactly a snack she'd appreciate me giving you."
That certainly sounded like it was in character for Mother, who was always scolding Joshua for not eating his vegetables. To think that Mother would keep something as amazing as this from him…
"I forgot how sweet these were," Clive said after his third mouthful.
"You've had this before?"
"Just once, I think. It was when you were still in Mother's belly…Father and Uncle took me to a place like this. I think they just wanted to give her a break, since I was constantly asking her when the baby would arrive. They told me I'd have to wait just a little longer and suggested the outing right after, so I somehow took that to mean I'd get to meet you the minute I got home."
Clive laughed, shaking his head at his past childishness.
"When Father said we could start heading back for the car, I was so excited I tripped and fell on my face in the dirt. I got nasty gashes on my knees and forehead, and then they had to comfort me. Uncle saw a stall selling these and he went to get one to distract me from crying."
"Well, I'm glad you're having one with me now," Joshua said before filling his mouth again, and gave Clive a mischievous look. "Don't trip this time!"
"No fear of that," Clive pretended to take him seriously. "I'm not in a hurry to go anywhere now, since you're with me."
Joshua smiled, the words enhancing the sensation of the forbidden treat melting on his tongue.
While they focused on talking, the unevenly eaten candy had tipped to one side, threatening to slide off the stick. When a stronger gust of wind broke the proverbial chocobo's back, Clive reflexively supported the fluffy mass with his hand to re-balance it, and was successful…but realised his mistake too late.
"Crap… Now my hand's all sticky," he grimaced, glancing towards the stalls. "I think they had some napkins there…"
"We shouldn't waste the candy!" Joshua exclaimed, alarmed at the prospect of having the extraordinarily sweet treasure scooped away and thrown into the trash. He grabbed Clive's wrist and pulled it closer to himself.
"I can still eat it."
Whatever plan Clive may have had for dealing with the mess, it crashed and burned when he felt the first kitten lick of Joshua's tongue against the side of his finger.
"J-Joshua, you—"
You mustn't do that. It's dirty. It's inappropriate. It's…
Warm.
His mouth gaped but no words came out. Joshua was craning his neck instead of rotating Clive's hand, as if he really was a little cat. He stuck his tongue out and scooped a fluffy piece of pink off Clive's little finger, then running it over the pad of the finger to wash the residue away. The hot, wet feeling against the sensitive skin between the middle and ring finger made Clive shudder, yet he couldn't shake himself into pulling his hand away, telling Joshua to cut it off, doing anything at all that would have been reasonable in the situation. Joshua's eyes had been focused on Clive's fingers so far, but he suddenly met Clive's gaze just as the index finger sank into his mouth—it could only fit up to the second knuckle, the very tip of the digit brushing against his farthest molars.
When he finally released the finger with a pop, his face was split in a dazzling smile.
"There! None of it was wasted."
Clive's hand was no less sticky than it had been a couple minutes ago. His brain, on the other hand, felt like it had been replaced by something with great resemblance to the pink fluff.
"No way."
Clive followed Joshua's gaze to see what had prompted the reaction, and realised it was the cart selling popcorn and candy floss at the verdant public park. His suspicions were confirmed when Joshua flashed him a curious smile and said he'd be back in just a moment. Indeed, he walked to the cart and acquired a serving of the sweet fluff, although this one had stripes of several colours instead of just one.
"I had no idea they made them like this, too," Joshua said as he observed the piece from all sides. "I suppose the art must have advanced after all this time. It's been…fifteen years? No, more than that."
Neither of them had partaken in this particular treat since the secret visit at the carnival. Taking the first bite, Clive could only conclude that the heady sweetness was somehow more intense as an adult. Before he had time to lose himself in the nostalgia of the taste, a voice beside him called for his attention.
"Say 'ah'."
Joshua had a generous helping of candy floss on his finger, holding his hand out towards Clive. It was easy to recognise as the teasing it was, but Clive had never been one to deny Joshua his fun when he could help it. It was doubly true for this holiday, since they had specifically come to a place where no one knew them—to be able to indulge without worrying about being spotted by someone who was aware of the real reason why they shared a surname.
Clive accepted the fingers into his mouth, letting the sweetness melt on his tongue while keeping his eyes closed. However, when he swallowed and Joshua prepared to pull the fingers out, Clive only leaned in, taking the digits to the hilt and caressing them with his tongue. Even without looking, he could feel in the hitch of Joshua's breathing that the enjoyment of the little game was mutual.
"I don't think there's any candy left on my hand now," Joshua pointed out after the better part of a minute had passed.
Clive detached his mouth to speak.
"I like your taste better."
Joshua's expression didn't change, but he drew a deep breath as he wiped his spit-slick hand on his trousers.
"You know, I was thinking we could spend an hour or two exploring this park before returning to the hotel…but I don't think I can do that, now."
"Park's here tomorrow, too."
"Wise words, brother."
They managed to consume two thirds of the corrosively sweet fluff before abandoning the rest in the trash can at the park exit.