“The little black one with a white belly?” Emrys asked.

“Yeah. She had kittens a little while back and finally showed them to us.” Ronan said as he tried to catch a drip before it got on his hand.

“Kittens?” Edith exclaimed dramatically. Ronan groaned. How could he forget her neverending love of cats. Even worse was her love of kittens. She leaned in and gave her best puppy eyes.

“We can see them, right? Right?” She pleaded. Ronan flinched when a drip from her popsicle landed on his thigh.

“Of course, why would he mention it if he wasn’t inviting us?” Emrys chimed in.

No, he wasn’t intending on inviting them when he said that. He just wanted to share his news like they were with theirs. Thanks, Emrys. Now he can’t rescind the invitation without looking like a jackass.

“Come by tomorrow morning. They like to play by the stream so bring wellies.” He said dejectedly.

Edith cheered and Emrys laughed, the cheeky bugger.

---÷---

“Morning.” Edith said. Over his head. He skittered off the bed and nearly rolled underneath it before he noticed that she was in a rather precarious position. He got the bright idea to yank her leg out from under her. She face planted next to him with an exaggerated oof.

They stared at eachother. He grinned and Edith laughed. She swung her legs over his and settled on his thighs. Her hands went straight to his sides. He briefly tried to bat them away but the urge to giggle was too strong. He squirmed and wormed away from her but couldn’t get far before she was on him again.

“Ah, ah! Stop!” He shrieked and her hands flew behind her back. He sat up and she kneeled down beside him, her hands flat and lax on her thighs. Her face pinched as she examined his.

He’d forgotten how seriously she took a ‘No’ or ‘Stop’. It was endearing, to be sure. It was nice to know that she would instantly back off if he wasn’t comfortable. She never made him uncomfortable, she was far too polite for that, but it was nice to know.

“You said there would be kittens.” Emrys said from the doorway. Ronan laughed and dusted himself off.

“I also said they’re usually by the stream.” He said back. He got up and turned to look at Edith. She looked uncharacteristically nervous, especially seeing as there were kittens involved. He smiled and held out his hand. She took it and he hauled her up. He kept ahold of her hand and dusted her off. He put on his boots and smiled at her. He threaded their fingers together and dragged her through the backdoor.

“What am I, the third wheel?” Emrys whined behind them.

“You don’t even know what that means.” Ronan crowed confidently.

“Well- not exactly, but I’m not dumb.” Emrys argued. Ronan just shot him a condescending look. Emrys sputtered. Edith smiled.

He led them down the path to the stream. It had been raining just before they left and the mud was a couple inches thick. He led them through the drier blackberry bushes. His family had used this path often enough that the bushes left just enough room for three kids to get through without pricking themselves if they went single file. He stopped right where the bushes stopped. He could feel Edith’s hair on his shoulder and put his arm out to stop her from going any further, pricking himself.

“Oh, yeah, probably no kittens here.” Edith whistled. The stream’s banks were completely gone, washed away in what must have been a torrential downpour during the night.

“Why not?” Emrys said over Edith’s shoulder. She jumped and lurched forward. Which was not good because she was barely an inch away from him in the first place.

Ronan registered muddy water in his mouth and immediately scrabbled back to the safety of dry land. Edith hauled him to his feet. She looked incredibly guilty and wiped her wet hands on her splattered jeans. Emrys had a firm grip on her shoulders.

“I’m so sorry! I forgot he was there and he scared me.” She said earnestly. He nodded. She had always been notoriously jumpy, he couldn’t blame her at all. Emrys though...

“What’s your excuse?” Ronan asked innocently. Emrys just smirked. Ronan scowled. Then smiled.

“Emrys, give me a hug!” He whined. Emrys’ eyes widened and he took a step back. Edith’s vice grip on his wrist didn’t let him get far.

“Aren’t you going to make up with your good pal Ronan? Hug and make up.” Edith said firmly. Emrys hesitated but gave up struggling. Emrys hugged Ronan just long enough to be considered a hug- barely over a second. He and Edith cackled as Emrys darted off into the bushes.

“Have a look for the kittens!” Ronan shouted. City boy would have a myriad of scrapes even if he realised his mistake early.

“It’s only a couple inches deep, right?” Edith asked as she waded into the stream. Ronan hummed and plopped down on the muddy path. No point in avoiding mud now that he was already soaked.

“Be careful, there are slippery stones in the middle.” He warned. She nodded and leisurely waded through the stream. He looked up at her as he waited for his clothes to dry in the growing heat. Her hair was loose and crammed under a too-big bucket hat. A necklace with her new favourite ring hanging from it swung from her neckline. He snorted as he saw her shirt. He recognised it as definitely one of her older brother’s, seeing as it absolutely swamped her frame, even though it was tucked into her jean overalls. The legs were hiked up to her knees to accommodate her robin egg blue wellies.

He had no room to comment though, he was still in his ratty old pyjamas.

She paused in the middle of the stream, not even reacting to the water pushing her back. “Is that-?” She tilted her head at him and nodded towards a clump of reeds. He hauled himself up and waded into to her. He squinted at the reeds.

“Frogspawn.” He stated. He smirked and scooped up a small portion.

“Why don’t you distract Emrys and I’ll slip these into his pocket?” He whispered to her.

She frowned, “I don’t know, will the frogs be alright?” She asked worriedly.

He grimaced. “Honestly, these are so late in the season. It’s unlikely they’ll ever hatch, if they were even fertilised in the first place.”

“Are you sure?”

“Breeding season starts in January and lasts three or four months. It’s July.”

Edith pouted and sighed. “Are you sure you don’t want me to just shove him into the stream and be done with it?” She whined.

Ronan burst into laughter. “Vindictive, aren’t you? Thanks for the offer, but I believe that revenge is better when it’s a deterrent. No point in starting a war.” He assured her.

“Insightful, aren’t you?” She laughed. He snorted.

“Say, instead of shoving him, why don’t you shove frogspawn down his shirt?” He whispered as he shoved a second handful of frogspawn into her hands.

“Eh, why not?” She shrugged.

The two of them clambered their way back on to the path. They sedately walked with their hands behind their backs. They tried to look like they were totally not preparing to jump Emrys and remembered that they probably should be chatting. They stared at eachother.

“So, how are things?” Ronan asked. A stupid question, since they’d been discussing their lives just the day prior. But she hadn’t spoken much, so he was justified in asking.

She shrugged, “Mom’s bringing me to dad’s tonight. I’ll be there until next week.” She said. It should have been obvious to him by her attire. She tended to wear baggier clothes and pay less attention to her looks when she was going to be at her dad’s. He wasn’t sure if she preferred her usual stylish clothes or the shapeless ones she wore when staying there. He wasn’t sure she knew either.

Her dad didn’t like him, and the feeling was mutual. His brother had called it racism. His mother had called it over-protectiveness. He wasn’t sure if either of those were even right. He didn’t know much about the man. Edith barely talked about him at all and he couldn’t go and find out the man’s character for himself. That would absolutely bomb his relationship with Edith.

He realised he had paused for too long, “Oh, you said your brother and him had a fight? I guess they made up.” He said, gesturing to her shirt.

Her smile dropped. “No, um, he said he’s not coming back...” She muttered.

“Oh...” He cringed. He knew there was tension, but not that much.

“Like, ever.” She murmured. He took a peek at her and saw her staring off into the horizon. He didn’t know what to say so he just stared off into the horizon with her. He was getting a bit concerned that they hadn’t stumbled across Emrys yet. He’d been over before, just not in this area of the property. Ronan was worried that he might have gotten lost in his scramble to get away.