They Don't Approve

Remember

Kai whooped loudly, barely heard over the roar of flames. He flipped midair, laughing maniacally as he restarted the fire just before hitting the ground.

Adam smiled, watching. Kai was an idiot; a big, stupid, loud idiot that could get them caught by any type of monster or those kids in seconds, but he couldn't help but chuckle. For the first time in the entire game, and they had decided it for sure was a game, Kai was really happy. Not just for a second on a roller coaster, or feeling the accomplishment of fixing a ship, but truly happy and carefree.

"He was super worried while you were out," Mira said, just behind Adam, following his steps through the deep grass carefully.

"Hm?" He turned around, confused.

"When Reeve got you. He freaked a bit."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah. And then he was pretty much a maniac when that spider took you. Up until you woke up, he was out of it."

Adam couldn't help but smile wider, facing away so Mira wouldn't see. Kai was scared for him. He could have assumed that he would have been worried about losing a teammate, or just a person in general, but if Mira thought it important enough to bring up, it must have been more than that. Right?

He quickly wiped the smile off his face as Kai landed, deciding to scan the ground with sudden interest.

"Pretty cool, huh?" The ginger smiled, shutting the flames off. He made a big show of stomping on the smoldering grass under his feet.

"Yeah Kai, real cool." Adam laughed and a moment of silence covered the group. It was only broken by a yawn from Mira, which Adam could've sworn was fake.

"I'm exhausted. Do you think we could make camp?"

The leader turned to her and raised an eyebrow but she put on an innocent face, holding her hands behind her back. But since he couldn't guess what she was playing at, he shrugged. 

"I guess? Is that cool with you, Kai?" He didn't break their gaze, narrowing his eyes to her big goofy smile. 

"If it's for Mira, then sure."

Adam jumped; Kai had snuck up behind him and pretty much had his head on the older boy's shoulder. Trying to hide the shaking in his hands, he shoved Kai's face away from his. The comment stung for some reason: "If it's for Mira". Adam was pretty sure at this point that Kai had a raging crush on Mira, but for all of their sakes, he didn't bring it up.

He had no idea what their lives were like outside this and for some reason the topic of love made him want to hide. He felt like it was a forbidden topic, almost dangerous to even think about. It also made him think of Kai, but that just made him want to slap himself.

He didn't know why he felt that strong towards the younger boy. They'd only been here for... maybe a week, at most? Time felt weird, but either way, he didn't think it was possible to feel love this quickly. It wasn't, was it?

Adam cleared his throat, "Alright, let's find a clearing in those trees. Staying out here would be suicide."

Kai flinched. It was small, barely more than an eye twitch, but Adam noticed. He turned to him, confused.

"Dude, you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm... I'm good. I think," He fidgeted with his sleeve, "I think I just remembered something for a second. Something from outside."

Mira jumped excitedly, "Oh, what was it?!"

Adam blinked, realizing the word that had made Kai react the way he had. Suicide. He interrupted quickly. 

"We'll talk about it later. Let's set up camp before it gets dark," The two boys shared a knowing look and Kai took a deep breath, shoving his hands into his pockets.

"I'll get firewood."

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The fire wouldn't an issue, thanks to Kai. He got started with the twigs he'd picked up while Mira went to find something to eat, which knowing her, would be nuts and berries. The girl was crazy into veganism.

They had instructed Adam to sit and rest rather than find work to do, since he had just narrowly escaped death and such. He hated to admit, but they were right. As soon as he sat down, leaning against a tree, his energy left in a wave and he was left exhausted and shaky. A sudden cold shock came over him and he brought his knees up to his chest.

Kai had grown uncharacteristically quiet since the incident before, and he arranged the logs in complete silence.

"Hey man, I'm sorry about before. Poor word choice." Adam said, trying and failing to hide his chattering teeth.

Kai looked up from the kindling, only now noticing the state his friend was in. He snapped his fingers, satisfied with his work, and the fire roared to life. With a huff, Kai got up from his knees and walked around the to the campfire.

"You're freezing again." He said matter of factly, sitting next to Adam against the tree. Like before in the ice cave, he let his whole body grow warm and the older boy leaned closer. They sat in comfortable silence, watching the cracking fire and tracing the sparks that drifted into the sky. 

"So Mira told me you kind of lost it when I got hurt."

"I did not!" Kai shrieked, heart pounding. Adam raised an eyebrow, "I couldn't have cared less! I was cool! Hella cool. I was... fine. It was fine." He nodded, as if convincing himself. Adam chuckled.

Kai stiffened up, feeling Adam intertwine their fingers. His mind went into overdrive and everything told him to get up and run, but at the same time he knew this was what he'd wanted for a while.

"It's okay. I'm flattered," Adam smirked, leaning his head back against the tree. The small bit of physical contact sent swells of warmth up his arm, and he convinced himself that's the only reason he was holding Kai's hand. For warmth. Kai was warm, he was cold. That's it.

"So..." Adam started, faltering slightly, "You and Mira, huh? You like her?"

Kai looked down at their hands and his heart pounded. What was Mira to him anyways? A friend, and now that he thought about it, it seemed... just wrong to like her as more than that. Since he'd first seen her in the game, a piece of him felt like he had to act like a love-struck idiot around her. As if some forces were pushing the two together. 

"I've never really thought about it. She's pretty and all but... not my type."

"What is your type?"

An innocent question. Answer it, Kai. Simple question, just answer the damn boy.

He shrugged. Smooth.

Adam opened his mouth to speak, but a rustling in the bush cut him off. Before they could move, Mira walked out from between the trees, using her shirt hem as a pouch.

"This chipmunk showed me some raspberries like a mile out and OMG are they gooood..." she trailed off, noticing how the boys were sitting. They seemed to realize at the same time how they looked and flew apart, immediately missing the contact.

"That wasn't how it looked!" Kai sputtered, making Mira burst out laughing.

"It's about time!"

"Time? Time for what? There's nothing happening here. It's all good. Platonic warming shit. Adam's cold." He pointed at the other boy accusingly, but quickly pulled his hand back when he saw the look on Adam's face.

Mira's laugh died down to a chuckle and she sat down on the dirt, pooling the berries into her lap.

"C'mon, dorks. Dinner time."