Work Text:
Sam looked at the little boy in front of him— well… sort of in front of him.
The boy was currently hiding behind his mom’s legs, clutching a frog plush to his chest. Little tufts of reddish orange hair poked out from the hood he pulled tight over his head, like he was trying to hide from the world.
A new family moved into a big house in the mountains earlier in the week and his mom said there was a little boy close to his age. She invited them over to their house, where Sam was now happily introducing himself.
“Hi! I’m Sam!” He bounced over to the other boy, putting his hand out to shake, just like the grownups did when they met each other.
The boy just hid further behind his mom, the woman laughing softly.
“Go on, Sebastian. Say hello.” The boy— Sebastian’s mom gently stepped aside, leaving him to stand in front of Sam with wide eyes.
Sam grinned, all teeth— except for the one front one he had recently lost— waiting for a ‘hello’. He was practically vibrating with excitement over meeting another boy his age.
“H-Hi…” Sebastian muttered softly, slowly putting his hand out to wrap around Sam’s.
“It’s nice to meet you!” Sam shook Sebastian’s hand quickly as he spoke. “It’s great to have another friend! Alex is nice I guess, but he’s real sad a lot. And Haley and Penny and Abigail are girls so they have cooties—”
“Samson Ascher! Don’t be rude!” Sam’s mom scolded him, interrupting the conversation she was having with Sebastian’s mom.
“Well they do,” Sam muttered, looking towards the floor with a pout. He looked up with wide, sparkling eyes at the soft giggle he heard coming from Sebastian, who was smiling at him. It was small and shy, but it was still a smile! And that meant they were friends.
“Come on! Do you like Junimo Kart?! I have two controllers! So we can play together!” Sam grabbed Sebastian’s hand before he could answer, starting to drag him towards his bedroom. “I’ll even let you be the green Junimo! He’s the coolest one!”
“O-Okay,” Sebastian followed, still clutching the frog plush to his chest.
“What’s your frog's name?” Sam asked as he set up the game.
Sebastian hugged the plush close to his chest, looking down at his smiling froggy face. “Uhm… He doesn’t have one I guess.”
“What?! He doesn’t have a name?!” Sam gawked at his new friend, then plopped himself onto his bed, patting the empty space beside him. Once Sebastian was settled at his side, he handed him a controller. “He totally has to have a name!”
Sebastian was quiet for a moment, then said very softly, “Hopper. His name is Hopper.”
“That’s a good name! Nice to meet you, Hopper! I’m Sam!” He shook the frog’s hand with a grin, causing Sebastian to laugh. “Is he your best friend?”
Sebastian shrugged at the question. “I guess. I don’t have a lot of friends.”
Sam nodded, humming in thought before he spoke. “I have a few friends. But I don’t know if I would say any of them were my best friends. Abby might be close, but you know,” he leaned in to whisper, “cooties.”
The two boys fell into a fit of giggles, picking up their controllers and starting the game.
“We could be best friends if you wanted to!” Sam turned to look at the other boy, grinning once more. “I think we could be the bestest of best friends!”
Sebastian thought for a moment, then nodded and pulled his hood off of his head. His hair was so bright compared to the dark blue of his hoodie. But the happy smile he sent Sam’s way may have been brighter. “Yeah. Okay, we can be best friends.”
Sam put his hand out again, the two boys giggling as they shook hands, sealing their pact to be best friends on day one of meeting.