Knocked Noses

Shinjiro braces instinctively when his door flies open. Usually, when Aki runs in yelling his name like that, it’s because he got into a fight, or he’s about to try and fight Shinjiro. And indeed, his face is a little pink, and he’s breathing heavy, and he’s got this distressed look, but it relaxes enough when they make eye contact that Shinjiro thinks it’s probably not too bad.“What?” Shinjiro puts his homework away, wary. “Is something wrong?”“No.” Aki stomps over and stops at the foot of Shinjiro’s bed. His cheeks are puffed out, and he has this determined knit in his brow. The one he gets when he has a really bad idea. Shinjiro heaves a sigh, preparing himself to talk Aki through why he can’t do whatever it is he’s about to suggest.And then Aki says:“I want you to kiss me.”Shinjiro chokes on his own spit.---Shinjiro and Akihiko, age eleven, had their first kiss as practise.