Family Friends: A Tyrus High School AU

24

----------------- THIS TIME 8 YEARS AGO --------------------

"Little Muffin is coming over Mum!" A blond child beamed at his mother. 

He thundered up and down the stairs to grab the essentials that he needed for his play date. Legos, play-dough, moon sand (and he had borrowed a few of his sister's Barbies and Kens because he and Cyrus loved making movies about them).

He waited at the window, for what felt like hours until he could see a small brunette child following behind his two parents could be seen out of the window.

Cyrus saw his freckled friend at the door and tackled him into a bear hug.

"Good to see you, son," Cyrus' dad remarked, patting TJ on the back before walking into the kitchen to catch up with the Kippen parents.

 Cyrus and TJ were giggling for hours after speaking the invented language that they had come up with.

"Why do people get married?" TJ turned to Cyrus, after all - he seemed to understand everything that he couldn't understand.

" Because they can't see themselves spending every day with anyone else," Cyrus answered.

"Let's be married then," TJ responded, after all, he couldn't see himself spending all of his time with anyone else (once it was revealed to him that he couldn't marry his legos or his mother).

"How do grown-ups do that?" Cyrus questioned, his round eyes filled with curiosity.

"They say some special words. Then people throw rice." TJ answered.

" I don't think I could spend all day with anyone else from Sunday school or regular school, so we're married now," TJ said.

"I don't think I could spend all day with anyone else either. They wouldn't swap my cashews for a chocolate-chocolate chip muffin like you. I'll get the rice!" He said, climbing up the worktop table to find some rice.

Once he did, he took fistfuls of it into his pudgy hands and sprayed it everywhere until it was empty.

"Let's go and tell our parents!" TJ exclaimed as the boys went into the kitchen, hand in hand.

"We're married now!" The children exclaimed, showing the empty packet of rice as proof of their union.

They both awaited words of congratulations and wedding gifts like they were used to seeing on television.

But all they heard was silence.

"Kids," TJ's Dad finally spoke. 

"You can't marry each other," Thomas said, running his hands through his slightly thinning hair.

"But you said you marry your best friend. Cyrus is my bestest friend in the whole world." TJ protested and Cyrus nodded his head vigorously.

"You have to find a nice girl when you're older who's your special friend and marry her. It's how the world works, kiddo. Same with you Cyrus," Thomas continued.

"You said we can change the world," Cyrus uttered quietly, then there was a ghastly silence in the room for a while.