After they had their fair share of candy and were very hyper, they went around the gardens and played all the set-up games the school had. One was an intense game of musical chairs, another was trying to throw a ball to knock pins down, a ring toss, and other school-made games that tired everybody out.

After a couple of hours of staying together, Julian, Ella, and Sarah ended up disappearing yet again. A slow swing song began to be played by the band on stage, and Cailin grinned mischievously down at Finley. The blonde met his stare with a glare. "No."

"Yes."

"No."

Cailin pouted, before forcing his eyes to water, and Finley rolled his eyes. "Okay, fine. One song."

Cailin cheered before straightening his back. He gave a silly but serious look as he bowed to Finley, who blushed wildly. "Finley Daniels, may I have his dance?"

The blonde snorted, taking Cailin's hand with another eye roll. "Yeah, yeah, whatever."

The older boy tugged him to the dance floor, pulling Finley close and the blonde chuckled. He took one of Cailin's hands in his own and set his free one around his shoulders. Cailin's arm wrapped around the younger boy’s waist as Finley tilted his head. "So, when did you learn how to dance?" He asked, teasing, and Cailin's eyes twinkled as he grinned.

"Mother taught me yesterday, of course. I had to be ready for you, Fin."

"Oh yes, I believe you. One hundred percent, I get it."

They both laughed quietly as Cailin swayed in tune with his best friend. He looked at him teasingly. "Did I ever tell you how amazing you look tonight?"

Finley's cheeks darkened, but he played along. He tilted his head, staring at Cailin as he feigned a thoughtful look. "No, no I don't think you did."

"Well, you look amazing tonight." He connected their foreheads, and Finley's heart was suddenly stuttering. "You're beautiful."

Finley's eyes were wide as he tried to make sense of what was happening at that moment. Were they still joking around? Cailin looked fairly serious when he said that.

The blonde swallowed, trying all he might to try and feel around for what Cailin could possibly be feeling, but he caught nothing. He could not decide if that was a relief or not. "Thank you," he decided to whisper back, and Cailin grinned, before it slowly withered away.

His stare became filled with sorrow. "Fin, I’m sorry."

Finley turned his attention back to his friend, now concerned. "Why?"

They still swayed together, unaware of the stares they were getting. Most of them were filled with jealousy from the girls, others shocked and confused. But none of them were disgusted.

The KSDL’s children and staff learn no hate, or at least, they try their best. But there are tons of same sex couples of all ages, two guys or two girls dancing together is not a weird thing to anyone. But people have the permission to still be shocked, even confused. To some, this dance between the two boys meant nothing, and it was just two friends having a good time. But to others, it was something more.

"I've been such a bad friend to you—"

"Cay, I thought we got past this—"

"I will never forgive myself."

Finley turned silent, frowning hard at the sad look on his friend’s face. The blonde hated it when he got like this. "Well, I forgive you," he whispered, looking at Cailin directly into his eyes as the brunette shook his head.

"I completely ignored you, even when I knew you needed me. You can't forgive me for that."

Finley smiled lightly, eyes shining as he tilted his head. He set the hand that laid against Cailin's shoulder to his cheek. "You know, my mother always told me not to dwell on the past. We can’t dwell on the things we can’t change, but we can change what happens later. That’s what is important. That's what I now care about."

Cailin's eyes watered as he stared down at one of the most important people in his life. One he thought he would lose. When Finley got fatally ill years ago, Cailin never imagined they would be standing here together. He did not have much faith, and his little heart thought everything was over. When Finley ended up getting better, Cailin drifted off. When Finley needed him the most.

And the blonde still forgave him. He was still the lovely person he almost left behind, and Cailin did not think he deserved him.

"Life is so short, Cay. I do not care what you did in the past, because you're here now. You learned from your mistakes, and for that, I forgive you."

Cailin dropped his head on Finley's shoulder, both of his arms wrapping his waist. The blonde immediately returned the hug, wrapping his arms around his neck. They stood like that for a couple of seconds, feeling more at ease the longer they stayed connected. They then heard an odd popping sound.

Finley lifted his head and looked up into the star filled sky. Cailin soon followed suit as a firework shell ran through the air, stopping high, before exploding in a range of colors. Soon, more followed it. One after the other, fireworks popped in a beautiful show of colors in the air. Too afraid to look any longer, Cailin kept his eyes on the blonde in front of him. At this point, he was happy to see Finley really smile. He had never seen such a big smile on his face before.

Students and scholars cheered and clapped as the music picked up speed. Then, what felt like rain hit Cailin's skin, and he jumped. He looked around frantically, Finley laughing hysterically at the terrified look on his friend’s face as paint, the same colors as the fireworks, hit his tan skin. "Cailin, the paint cools before it hits you. It's alright," Finley told him through the screaming kids that ran around them, trying to get hit with the most paint they could.

Cailin looked down at Finley's small frame, then at his face as the paint began to fall faster. It began to feel more like rain, which quickly drenched everyone's hair and skin in color. Finley's blonde baby hairs stuck to his forehead. The hairs that got free hung and shined next to his cheeks. His eyes were bright and smile was large.

He could not remember when Finley looked so happy.

The music picked up even more, and Cailin slowly smiled. He took Finley's hand, pulling him roughly against his body. "I'll just try and ignore it then," he said, earning a laugh from the younger boy as Cailin twirled him in a very ungraceful spin. Finley squealed when the brunette dipped, both of them yelping when Ella, Julian, Sarah, and her friend Camille made a sudden appearance.

Then, they all danced. Way until midnight.

*** 

"Cay?"

"Yeah?"

"I hope I meet my soulmate soon."

Cailin smiled into Finley's hair as they laid in bed. The clock on the wall read one o'clock. Both of them had never felt so tired but could not seem to go to sleep.

Finley was wrapped in Cailin's arms as the blonde rested his head in the crook of the other boy’s neck. "Really? What do you wish they would look like?"

Finley huffed. "I don't care about how they look. I just want them."

"Whoever it is, you'll love them unconditionally. So, I guess it doesn't matter."

Finley was silent for a moment, and the brunette could hear him swallow. "Cay?"

"Yeah?"

"I want you to listen to me."

"I'm listening, bunny."

Finley's heart warmed at the nickname, for he had not heard for a while. Cailin soon started calling him "bunny" after all the times his nose scrunched when he talked about something he did not like, or when he laughed. Cailin told him his nose scrunched like a bunny, and the nickname stuck. Bunnies were always Cailin's favorite animal.

But the other boy had not called him that for a while now, and the name seemed to calm him down. "Do you promise not to get mad?" Finley whispered, and Cailin hesitated.

"I promise."

"Do you imagine your soulmate to be a girl?" He asked, immediately after Cailin’s response, and the other boy shrugged.

"Yes. I always have, why?"

Finley did not answer for a couple of seconds. "I think I want mine to be a boy." Cailin was silent. "I'm confused about it…. I try to think about my soulmate being a girl, but it makes me uncomfortable. A boy always seemed... nicer."

Finley looked up to his friend, not being able to read his face, or even, to his shock, his emotions. "I don't know why. I’ve come to realize that I might have never wanted to have a girl be my soulmate. My mother always tells me when I misbehave, that she wishes I would get a girlfriend because they would shape me up."

Finley tilted his head, eyes still on Cailin, as he gave him a thoughtful look. "But I never agreed with her. I thought in the beginning, it was because I’m stubborn. To me, no girl except my mother would be able to 'shape me up' as she says."

Finley shrugged. "But I think a boy would do a much better job of it. But maybe I am just overthinking things? I never even once thought about girls. I always appreciated the sharp features of other guys. I don't look at girls as much as I look at guys…."

Finley set his head back against Cailin's shoulder, not being able to stop talking, because he had been holding this back for a very long time. "I’m not sure whether I’m scared or not. The KSDL has a lot of same sex couples, but I still have a fear of telling people. Maybe there is something wrong with me? There always is."

Finley looked back up to Cailin, who had not moved, and the blonde frowned. "Cailin, are you even listening to me?"

The brunette stared for a couple of more seconds, before he brought Finley closer. He was beginning to notice the fear that creeped on his face. "Of course, I’m listening. And there is nothing wrong with you, bunny."

Finley relaxed significantly, eyes watering as he hid his face in Cailin's neck again. The brunette shushed him when he felt Finley's tears on his shirt. He slowly rubbed the younger boy’s back, trying to get him to calm down. "You overthink things, Fin. Too much. Of course, there's nothing wrong with you. Why are you crying?"

"I thought you would be uncomfortable around me. I thought you would…." Finley suddenly silenced himself, and Cailin shut his eyes painfully. He winced as he placed his mouth over his friend’s ear.

"I won't. I promise. I would never leave for something as natural as this. You are still the same Fin as last year and the year before that, this changes nothing. Do you understand?"

Finley silently nodded, sniffling violently, as he tried to keep quiet. Relief, and a ton of weight, lifted off his shoulders. He had never felt so great in his life. He was emotional that he had been finally let out of his cage.

Cailin stayed quiet for a couple of seconds as Finley shook his grasp. He hugged him tightly. "I'm glad you told me. It makes me feel good that you trust me again."

"I-I always trusted you—"

"Sh, okay…." He mumbled. He hesitated, before smiling again. “You know, this makes sense now. ‘Girls are scary.’ ‘I will never like any of your girlfriends.’ ‘I hate girls.’”

Finley laughed shakily, remembering all those quotes from when he was younger. "Yeah, I g-guess it does."

They were both silent after this for a couple of minutes.

"Finley?"

"Yeah?"

"This has been the best day of my life because of you."