🏕️
The last thing Ari remembers before passing out was the smell of campfire smoke in his nostrils; the first thing he sees is his best friend, Kian, leaning over him.
"Hey, come back to me," Kian says softly, stroking Ari's cheek. "Open your eyes, love. Come back to me. Look at me, Ari, come back. Come back to me."
Someone hands Kian a washcloth. "Is he back?" They asks.
Kian nods. "He's awake." he says, wiping off Ari's face with the washcloth. "Welcome back,"
Ari blushes, taking in a deep breath as Kian pulls him into a sitting position and against his chest, wrapping his arms around Ari.
"You were out for about a minute." Kian says. Ari faints sometimes, they're really not sure why, the doctors don't know either— but Kian's been around for enough of the episodes to know what to do and when. Ari presses his cheek to Kian's, closing his eyes, taking deep breaths.
Ari and Kian are on a camping trip with their class for their senior trip.
One of their friends walks up, holding out a water bottle; Ari takes it, thanking her.
Kian holds Ari against him still, making sure he's okay and won't pass out again.
An hour or so has passed, and Ari gets up to go to the building that houses the bathrooms just a short way away from their campsite. Cameron, Sienna, River, and Tyler all turn their attention to Kian.
"You can't just be 'best friends'." Sienna says.
River, nodding adds, "I have never seen best friends that look at each other like that. You're lying to yourself, Kian."
Kian scoffs. "You're crazy. Ari and I are best friends, we have been since seventh grade."
River rolls her eyes. "You keep saying that, but you haven't seen the way you look at each other."
Kian laughs. "Guys, come on..."
Ari walks back into the circle, plopping himself down on Kian's lap. "What are they doing now?" He asks, turning to look at Kian.
"Nothing," he says. "They're just being dumb."
Ari laughs, resting his head against Kian's. "Come with me." he says softly. When they both stand, River gives him a pointed look, even more so when Ari grabs Kian's hand.
Ari stops just a few feet away, turning to look at Kian with a look in his eyes. Kian nods, grabbing him around the waist as he moves to sit on the ground, putting Ari's head in his lap. Sienna stands up, running to get another cold washcloth, while River, Tyler, and Cameron gather around, just in case extra help is needed. Ari grabs Kian's hand, his eyes fluttering.
"Ssh," Kian soothes, stroking the hair from Ari's forehead as Sienna presses the washcloth against his skin. "You're okay." Kian squeezes Ari's hand to let him know he's still there.
"Is he okay? He's fainted twice now." River asks.
Kian looks up. "We should be worried when it's three or four times. I think it's just the heat."
Ari flinches and Kian puts both hands on his face.
"Come back to me, Ari," he says softly, his thumbs rubbing over his cheeks gently. "Come back to me,"
'Come back to me' became the thing that Kian says to Ari when he starts to come out of these episodes the third time Ari fainted with Kian; Ari mentioned being able to hear Kian's voice, and that it was soothing to him, so he started saying it.
"Come back to me, Ari," Kian says softly, bending his head down. "Come on back... sssh..."
Ari opens his eyes and Kian smiles at him softly. "Hi," he says softly, still rubbing his thumbs over Ari's cheeks. "You okay?"
Ari nods. "I'm okay," he says quietly, looking at Kian. Sienna continues to press the cold washcloth against his skin for another minute or so before standing up.
"I stood up too fast," Ari says after a few moments. "That time was fully my fault."
Kian laughs. "You gotta quit fainting on me." He says. "It never gets any less scary."
Ari smiles tiredly at him. "I love you."
Kian presses his face against Ari's, closing his eyes for a second.
After Ari feels okay enough to stand up, he turns to Kian. "C'mere," he says. "I want to go for a walk,"
Kian looks at him. "You sure you're okay enough?"
Ari nods, grabbing his wrist. "C'mon,"
They walk down to the lake, which is about a half of a mile, if that, from their campsite. The sun has started to set. Ari turns to watch Kian, who looks back when he notices.
"What?" Kian says with a soft laugh.
Ari shakes his head with a smile. "I'm just looking at you," he says.
When they go back to their campsite, the sun has nearly set, and they're preparing the stuff for s'mores.
Ari sits on Kian's lap once again, grabbing Kian's hand and absentmindedly playing with his fingers. Sienna glances over at the two, smiling to herself and nudging River to snap a picture.
"They are absolutely in love." Sienna mutters.
River nods, smiling at her friend. "There's no way they're not. Did you hear the way Ari said 'I love you, earlier?"
Cameron looks over. "He said 'I love you' and that's all!"
River laughs. "It's the way that he said it, Cam. The way his voice was..."
🏕️
Ari falls asleep in Kian's arms as they all sit around the campfire talking; Kian smiles softly when he thinks nobody is looking.
Gently shaking Ari, he says, "Let's go back to the camp hall." Kian says, standing up, holding Ari's body against his. Instead of bringing tents, the school booked one of the buildings for them to stay in, two to a room.
Kian holds the door open for Ari, walking in behind him, and down the hallway to their room.
"I'll be back in a little bit, okay?" Kian says, standing in the doorway. "I want to go back outside for a few."
Ari nods sleepily. "Kian?" Ari calls when he starts to walk away.
Kian turns back around, walking to the door way. "Yeah?"
"Goodnight," he says with a smile.
"Goodnight, Ari," Kian whispers.
"Did you kiss him?" Sienna asks, both her and River bouncing on their heels.
"Why would I kiss him?" Kian asks, his heart pounding at the thought of kissing Ari— but in a good way. "He's my—"
"We know. 'He's my best friend'," River says.
The fire is starting to die down when Sienna pulls Kian aside.
"I'm sorry if we're making you uncomfortable..." she says.
Kian shakes his head. "No, you're... you're fine." He replies, trailing off in the middle of his sentence, thinking about Ari and his lips... how they would feel against his own, his hand tangling in Ari's soft brown hair...
🏕️
Ari is sitting up in his bed when Kian walks in.
"I thought you were going to go to sleep?" Kian says as Ari stands up, meeting him at the door.
"I can't stop thinking about you." Ari blurts. "I know that you're my best friend, and we've been best friends since the seventh grade, but this weekend... Ki... I can't stop thinking about you."
Ari looks up at Kian, grabbing his elbows. "Please say something," Ari pleads softly, his eyes looking back and forth quickly over Kian's.
Kian bends his head, slowly connecting their lips, quickly moving his hands to Ari's face, holding it in his hands and deepening the kiss. Ari kisses him back hard, his hands still holding on to Kian's elbows.
When they pull back to catch a breath, Ari meets Kian's eye for a second, then lays his head on Kian's chest.
🏕️
"Did he pass out again?" Sienna asks in the morning when she finds Ari and Kian sitting on the ground, Ari's head in Kian's lap.
Ari glances up at her, smiling. "Nope, not today," he says.
Kian smiles back, drawing his thumb across Ari's cheek.
Sienna raises an eyebrow, and then says, "Okay... just checking."
When she turns around, Ari looks up at Kian, biting his lip, grabbing his head and pulling him down for a kiss.
"I love you, Ki," he says softly, rubbing his nose against Kian's.
Kian smiles. "I love you too, Ari," he replies softly.
11/7/2022
