It was almost the end of term, and the weather was starting to cool off a bit, which gave a perfect opportunity. James had a big plan for that afternoon. It was something he had wanted to do since he truly discovered what a book worm Ben was. He'd already explained the plan to his parents, who graciously agreed to lend him Haruki's car. The car was packed with camping equipment and fishing gear, but not a single piece of schoolwork in site.
On the verge of giddy with excitement, James waited as patiently as possible by the school gates. He wasn't sure if Ben had ever been camping, and being the one to introduce him to it made James feel... special.
James decided he couldn't wait any longer, and pulled his phone out of his pocket, beginning to type a message to tell Ben to hurry up. Just as he was about to send it James heard his name.
“James!” Ben called from a few feet away. As James looked up their eyes locked and his stomach did a back flip. It was just excitement for the trip, nothing else. Nothing at all.
“Come on.” James took a large step forward, bridging the gap between them and grabbing his hand. As James turned to pull Ben towards the car, he could have sworn he saw a blush creeping up Ben's neck. No, no. he must have just rushed over. That's all.
Ben didn't question where they were headed. He didn't need to. The two had formed a friendship based on trust, and Ben showed that trust in little ways, like this. James always felt trusted when Ben chose to let him take the lead on things.
As they rounded the corner to a side street just opposite the school Haruki's car came into view.
“We're going on a trip!” James sang out, too excited to hold it in any longer. “I'm taking you camping! We're going to fish and hang out and do absolutely no homework!”. By this point he was almost dragging Ben behind as he power walked to the car.
Not waiting for a reply, James let go of Ben's hand and jumped into the driver's seat, turning the car on and playing with the music. Ben quietly climbed into the passenger seat and buckled himself in. No questions, no refusal to participate, just Ben being his usual quiet self.
James flashed his friend a grin before putting the car into gear and setting off. After a few minutes, Ben seemed to warm up. James had noticed how reserved Ben was. Even though they were close, Ben seemed to need to switch off his distant, almost cold, exterior and let his true self come out. It was a process James learnt couldn't be forced or sped up with coaxing, but every day Ben seemed to come around sooner and sooner.
After 15 minutes on the road, Ben suddenly spoke. “I've never been camping before.”
“Great! I get to be your first!” James joked, peeking a glance at Ben, who happened to be staring at him. James pulled his eyes away as quickly as possible, willing to break the weird tension that was suddenly filling the car. “We, uh, we'll be there soon. It'll be fun. Jed and I go camping all the time, so I can show you the ropes.”
The last 10 minutes of their drive was quiet, save for the music that James was Singing along to. When they arrived, James stopped the car at the edge of a national park.
“I had no idea this place even exists.” He heard Ben whisper.
James climbed out of the car and walked to the back, opening the hatch and pulling out the gear packed in the back. Ben followed, grabbing bags and fishing gear until his hands were full. James grabbed the rest, wordlessly nodding his head towards a path before starting the walk to the campgrounds.
The walk only took about five minutes, but they had to stop a few times for Ben to readjust his items. James offered to take something else, but Ben refused, claiming he was just as strong and capable as James. Anyone would know that wasn't the case simply by looking at them. Ben was fit and muscular, for sure, but James was practically a Greek statue.
They arrived at a clearing on the side of a lake. The perfect spot for a weekend. The cleared space was big enough for a tent and a campfire, and it was right at the edge of a small wooden platform, perfect for fishing.
It didn't take long for them to set up their space for the weekend, and get their fishing rods ready. As they walked up to the platform, though, Ben seemed hesitant.
“What's wrong?” James asked.
“Umm... I kind of don't know how to fish.” Ben admitted. James chuckled lightly.
“I figured you probably hadn't. Don't worry, I'll teach you.”
The two spent a few hours hanging out, talking about nothing important and catching absolutely nothing.
“Wait, explain it to me again.” Ben all but demanded.
“It's not that complicated, honestly. Papa and Ma married when I was like... two? Papa took Ma's last name, which she took when she married my biological Father, Matt. He died just after I was born.”
“... How did I not know this? Wait, how did I not figure it out?” Ben was dumbstruck. For an A student, he wasn't feeling very smart. Now that James pointed it out, it was quite obvious that James didn't look at all like Haruki. James' fair, freckled complexion was nothing like Emilia's Mediterranean skin or Haruki's tanned skin. He was well over a foot taller than his Mother and half a foot taller than Haruki. He was even built differently. Both Haruki and Emilia were of an average frame for their height, but James was built. A solid 6'1” triangle of defined muscles that always looked just perfect despite Ben having never seen him training.
“It's not a big issue, really. If people ask about it we just pretend we know nothing and play with them a bit” James giggled, remembering the numerous times strangers had not so subtly pointed it out, causing a pantomime of sorts to play out.
“So how do you get on with Haruki's family?” Ben asked.
“Ojii-chan and Obaa-chan are like my own grandparents. They treat me the same as all of my cousins. They were pretty pissed when Papa took our name but they got over it. The only negative really is they don't have a close bond with Ma. She can't speak Japanese and they refuse to speak English.”
“Japanese is hard to learn, though, isn't it? Ben asked.
“Nah, I'll teach you a little something if you like?” James offered, giggling when he saw Ben's face light up. “Repeat after me. “O-Shi-ri ta-be-ru.”
“O shiri ...” Ben repeated
“Ta-be-ru”
“O shiri taberu.”
“That's it!” James laughed. You did good.
“What does it mean?” Ben asked.
“It means “I respect you”.” James giggled, barely holding himself together. Ben gave him a quizzical look.
“Why don't I believe you?” He asked, receiving a snort in reply. When he received no answer he took out his phone. A quick translation had him beet red.
“Why would you teach me that?” Ben asked, looking up from his phone to see James in tears, laughing so hard he wasn't making any noise anymore. The site of his friend in shambles tipped him over the edge and he, too, began laughing.
Today was proving to be one of the best days of Ben's life.
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