#olnf yi

— Autumn had settled in the small town of Golden Grove, a cool chill present in the morning air, the fog covered up the town almost hiding the colorful varieties of the leaves that were scattered all around, some only hanging onto the trees with faint strength, a small gust of wind could’ve been able to bring them falling onto the autumn floor where the other leaves laid acting as color turning the sidewalks into a breath-taking canvas. Although soon the red, orange, and yellow colored leaves would fade into the background as two figures appeared on the sidewalk walking near one another.

Minh Lam, a honey colored boy who was making his way to school in a collected manner as he enjoyed the scenery of the cloudy, damp road. The fog curled around his legs, giving an impression of walking in a cloud, it carried a faint gentle earthy smell. Right beside him someone else kept pace, their footsteps crunching on the few leaves that weren’t entirely soaked from the fog, Qiu Lin, the heart of Golden Grove, otherwise known as Autumn. They were both making their way towards North Acres’ Elementary School as usual, the morning had been just the right start, except for the missing presence of a certain sparkly neighbor. Earlier that morning both Minh and Qiu had invited Tamarack to join them on their morning walk to school and although usually Tamarack would agree today was one of those days where she didn’t want to come to school early, this was most likely due to the fact that she’d been tagging along with them the whole week, she wasn’t a morning girl and she was fine with that.

Qiu glanced at Minh as he kept walking silently, Minh felt the look before he had the chance to turn his head, and when he did he was met with Qiu’s bright eyes. “Hey,” Qiu nudged his head towards the fog, “Doesn’t this fog make it seem like a maze?” Minh hummed as he thought, “Or a perfect place to hide” Qiu blinked, then he grinned. A mischievous smile was plastered on both of their faces, both boys placed their bags on a nearby wall, making sure not to place them on a wet area. Minh faced the wall and closed his eyes, he could hear movement from behind him, the crunches of leaves being walked on, the wind breeze, the sound of birds chirping every now and then. Once he felt that enough time had passed he opened his eyes and took a few steps back, “Ready or not, here I come!!” he announced, there was no reply, “Qiu?” he called again, just in case he slipped up.

Nothing.

Until he felt a hand brush his shoulder, Minh jolted, but when he turned to face who was there the fog had already swallowed their figure, “Oh, okay” he bit back a laugh and grinned with amusement. “Sneaky.” He walked lightly, almost on his tiptoes, trying his best to listen for the sound of crunching leaves, for breathing, for any movement. And just like he planned he heard the giggles of Qiu in the distance, he moved towards the giggles, still keeping light, he held his breath in hopes to catch Qiu off guard. As he grew closer he could see the faint silhouette of someone peeking from behind a tree. They hadn’t seen him yet, once he let out a breath, he prepared to attack, he took three more quiet steps before he lunged at the figure. Qiu shrieked a laugh and tried to bolt, Minh was quick enough to grab Qiu’s sleeve before he could vanish completely, “Gotcha!” he laughed. “Aw, I was so close!” Qiu surrendered but gave a warm smile.

They both stood there, both a little out of breath, maybe from all the running around or from all the laughing, they both didn’t mind. Minh’s hand was still gripped onto Qiu’s sleeve, and Qiu didn’t pull away from it. Instead their laughs softened into something much more quieter, something warm where they stared at each other with a warming gaze. The fog around them swallowed the both of them, hiding the trees and roads, in their eyes they could only see each other. Qiu titled his head, “Minh?” his face along with his ears were starting to grow a faint red color to them, without realizing it he reached out for Minh’s hand, he immediately froze. His eyes widened in concern, “Minh… why are your hands this cold?” Qiu spoke in a sharp quiet tone. Minh blinked, confused, “Are they?” Minh raised one of his eyebrows and tilted his head.

Qiu stared at him in disbelief, he stayed staring at Minh as if he had just left his hand into a cooler filled with ice, “Minh… they’re freezing.” Minh opened his mouth to say something, maybe to defend himself, maybe to tell a joke, or maybe to tell Qiu not to worry so much. Whatever it was he didn’t get the chance to say anything because before he knew it Qiu had taken both of Minh’s hands and wrapped them around his own, he rubbed them gently, warming them up without any hesitation. Minh could feel his hands getting warmer, in fact he could feel the same heat he felt in his hands start to rise to his cheeks, he wasn’t sure why but his chest started feeling warmer, and his heart was pounding a bit faster than usual. He stared at Qiu as he continued to attempt to warm his hands up, “My mom did this to me when I was little, I got cold pretty easily.” Qiu looked up at Minh and gave him a closed eyed grin, “I didn’t have my gloves before but now I do!” he continued, his grin was bright as ever. Minh smirked at him, “Your gloves are fingerless, I doubt they warm your hand up that much.” Qiu stared back for a while before breaking into a proud laugh, “Well they work because my hands aren’t cold!” He gave a smirk before continuing, “and my hands are definitely warmer than yours.” Minh rolled his eyes at him before breaking into a warm smile.

Qiu’s laughter started fading into something softer as he kept rubbing Minh’s hand, he rubbed circles with his thumbs absentmindedly. Minh started to feel the warmth seeping in and he suddenly realized how cold his hands were until now, the warmth that Qiu provided made him aware of everything else too. The fog that covered the trees, the quiet sound that allowed Minh to focus on Qiu’s breathing, the way Qiu stood just a little closer than necessary, but most importantly the way that Qiu had stopped rubbing his hand and instead held onto it. Minh didn’t pull away, instead he let his fingers curl slightly, fitting more comfortably into Qiu’s palms. For a moment neither of them spoke. The fog wrapped around them, silencing the world around them into a distance hush, the leaves clung to the hems on their branches. Qiu’s fingerless gloves brushed against Minh every time he moved.

Qiu’s ears were unmistakably red by this point, Minh noticed, of course. He always noticed things like that, things like how Qiu didn’t let go of his hand. How their hands stayed linked together like it was the most natural thing in the world, they fit together almost like missing puzzle pieces. Their eyes met as Qiu let out a deep breath, Minh swallowed, neither of them moved. “…We should probably go.” Qiu said at last, his voice a little quieter before. “Yeah,” Minh nodded his head and replied with ease.

Qiu hesitated, then adjusted their grip, his fingers sliding in between Minh’s. “Do your hands feel warmer?” Qiu asked, pretending to look anywhere but at Minh, a glance at their hands intertwined, then back up at Qiu. A smile tugged at his lips, “Yeah,” his eyes didn’t leave Qiu, “They do.” That seemed to be enough, Qiu looked back at Minh, he smiled as he nodded and turned toward the path. They both grabbed their bags before they started walking, still holding each other's hand, matching each other's paces. The fog thinned as they moved forward, the sound of distant footsteps and morning chatter slowly returned. They didn’t talk about it, they didn’t need to.

By the time the first bell rang, the foggy moment from that earlier morning felt like a shared secret that only the two of them shared. Minh lingered by the bike racks as he adjusted his bag, the late afternoon air cooler than he expected. Qiu hovered nearby, just finishing a conversation with another student before making his way towards Minh, “So,” Qiu spoke casually, kicking a leaf with their shoe, “the forest near the cul-de-sac should have moths out. Since it was cloudy.” Minh perked up immediately, “Do you think so?” Qiu smiled at the response, “Yeah. Tamarack found a luna there once, remember?” Minh’s eyes lit up, “Then we should go.” Qiu smiled, neither of them noticed the pause from behind them.

“Bug catching?” Minh turned around just in time to see Tamarack pop up from behind them, eyes sparkling like she had just been handing the winning lottery ticket. “You were going bug catching without me?” She repeated again, yet this time she put her hands on her hips and puffed out her cheeks. Qiu laughed, “You weren’t supposed to hear that!” Tamarack smirked and replied, “Well I did, and I'm coming.” She gave a smug look. Minh smiled, warm and easily, “We were going to invite you anyways.” Tamarack squinted at them, “Are you two holding hands?” Qiu and Minh both froze. Then, slowly, they looked down. Their fingers were intertwined with each other’s, neither of them let go.

Minh felt it first, the way Tamarack’s stare lingered for just a second longer, the way Qiu stiffened besides him. Slowly, almost reluctantly, Qiu loosened their grip, his fingers slipping away almost as if they hadn’t quite decided if they wanted to part yet. Tamarack’s grin widened, “Oh.” she giggled out knowingly, Minh blinked confusingly at her. Qiu let out a noise that was somewhere between a laugh and a cough, “We’re– we’re going bug catching.” he said, quickly redirecting the conversation. Tamarack smiled and shouted out happily, “Yes! Okay, I’m in, no questions asked.”

With that the three of them set off, cutting through the familiar paths that led to the forest of the cul-de-sac. The sky stayed overcasted, the clouds thick and heavy, the kind that promised rain later but hadn’t quite committed to it yet. It made the air cold and damp, perfect for moths, they had barely reached the edge of the trees where Tamarack had spotted a ladybug when a voice called out to them from behind.

“Qiu?”

Qiu stopped in his tracks, Minh followed along, turning his head around to reveal Darren who was slowly jogging his way up to them. His backpack slugged over one of his shoulders, expression sheepish like he already knew he was interrupting something. “Oh–hey,” Qiu stared for a moment before his eyes widened, “I–sorry, I forgot we were supposed to hang out.” Darren shrugged, hands tucked away in the pockets of his pants, “It’s okay, I figured you just got busy…” The reply was soft and almost a mutter. Tamarack didn’t miss the way Darren lingered, the way his weight shifted like he wanted to say more but didn’t know how. “We’re going bug catching,” she announced like it was the most obvious thing in the world, “You should come.” Darren hesitated, “Bug catching?” Minh perked up immediately, “Moths, mostly,” he added. That seemed to do it, Darren turned towards the forest and then towards Qiu, then finally nodded, “Yeah, okay, I’ll come along.” Qiu smiled softly and relived, “Cool, let’s get going then.”

They moved deeper into the woods together, the ground soft beneath their shoes, leaves crunching faintly with every step taken. Tamarack immediately took the lead, already crouching near tree trunks and fallen logs, shouting whatever she had discovered with excitement. Darren followed her closely, pretending he wasn’t impressed while still reporting every little find to her like it mattered deeply. Minh lingered near the edges, eyes scanning the trees above, drawn to the subtle movement of wings, “Minh,” Qiu whispered with excitement suddenly, “Look.”

He tugged Minh towards another tree, gently pulling him closer, careful not to startle what rested on the tree bark. A moth, pale and delicate, wings pattered like pressed leaves, Minh’s breath caught, “…it’s beautiful,” he murmured. Qiu watched him instead of the moth, “I knew you’d like it,” he smiled gently at Minh, “You always notice them first.” Minh smiled, wide and genuine, “Thanks for showing me, Qiu.” He kept staring at the moth, unaware of Qiu’s ears burning red, unaware of the way Qiu’s chest felt a little too full and warm. Eventually, a familiar yet unexpected voice cut through the woods, “Qiu, Dinner!”

Yi stood at the edge of the trees, hands cupped around her mouth, her eyes wandered until she found her son, she looked around as she took in the scene. “You’re all welcome to stay,” she smiled at the rest, “But I would appreciate it if you would come now.” Tamarack groaned a bit, still wanting to find more bugs, Darren laughed softly, Minh smiled fondly, already tucking the memory away like a pressed lead between pages. Qiu glanced at him one more time before turning towards home, he reached his hand out and offered it to Minh, “Should we go?” Minh looked down before taking Qiu’s outstretched hand and nodded, “Yeah, let's.”

And just like that, autumn carried them forwards.