Summer Closure
"What? You're gonna rag on me all day for that? I sure as hell wasn't gonna apologize to her either," Caspian muttered under his breath. Out of earshot from the rest of the summer goers, he had to deal with Luano's constant reprimands.
"She was a Ho-oh."
"So what?" He spun on a dime. He leveled Luano with a glare. He lost his smile. "Just because she's some special bird, I'm supposed to give her some special treatment? Get real."
"Now you're acting childish."
Caspian rolled his eyes. "Tell me somethin' I don' already know." Maybe he shouldn't have said what he said. Maybe she was justified in her harsh remarks at the time. He had to rein in his reaction when she shot back at Luano in an accusatory tone.
His expression darkened. Luano had nothing to do with it. This went deeper than he wanted to talk about right now. She may have been nothing like the ones he experienced before, but just the sight of her unearthed some memories better left forgotten.
"Maybe if you didn't act like you were constantly twelve, I wouldn't have to talk to you like this." Luano sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "We were supposed to have a good time here-"
"I am." Then Caspian frowned. "You weren't?" It hadn't gone unnoticed by Caspian that Luano had attracted quite the crowd. Given his personality, he expected as much. His frown deepened. It was supposed to be both of them having fun.
"I was until I had to step in. Sometimes you gotta keep a level head around here. You know what you are, right? Let's not forget you're a Lugia and the power you'll get later on. You have to be mature," Luano said with emphasis. "Like what your moms have been telling you. Imagine if I weren't here when you and that Ho-oh. And you traded more than just words. You probably would've done something you would regret later."
Always the diplomatic one, Luano was. Caspian paused, folding his arms across his chest. "So what? It would have been my problem to deal with. Not yours."
Luano stopped. "Did you not want me to jump in?" Luano gave him an incredulous look. "Is that what you're saying?"
"That's not what I'm saying!" Caspian raked his hands through his hair. "Just maybe I should have dealt with it on my own." If he got in trouble, it should fall on him. He should be the one to fix it, no one else. It was a blow to his pride to see how easily Luano diffused the situation and flipped it on its head.
"Cas." Luano approached, placing a hand on his shoulder. "That's the whole point of us being friends…" He withdrew with a chuckle. "I knew you were dense, but maybe I need to remember the fact that you probably don't have much experience with this whole friend thing."
Before he could say much, he found himself in a headlock, Luano's arm around his neck, but he was all smiles and grins. "You're such a damn knucklehead. That's why I'm around to set your head straight. Your folks knew it too."
"Hey! Chill!"
Art by @/whisperingfaun
















