A Kiss Between Friends

A/N: For, surprise surprise, the ever wonderful and amazing CorieChan~ Takes place during Happy New Year.

Enjoy~!

"Buford, may I talk to you for a moment?"

A soft tug on his jacket and a familiar voice drew Buford's mind away from the party. He frowned unhappily and turned to face Baljeet.

"Can't you see I'm tryin' ta celebrate here?!" he snapped, balling his hands into fists.

Baljeet furrowed his brows and crossed his arms. "And you cannot take five minutes to talk to me?" he asked, a rather annoyed pinch in his words.

"Finnee. But make it quick, nerdface."

"Good. Let us go."

Baljeet quietly and confidently led them back inside Isabella's house, away from the party and the fireworks and the dancing, but the instant he shut the sliding glass door he began to fidget.

"Alright, whaddya want?" Buford asked, taking a seat unceremoniously on the coffee table. "And make it snappy. I've got moves to bust out there."

Baljeet rolled his eyes as he padded over. As he stopped in front of the other boy, he flushed, and he rubbed his neck.

"Look, I uhm..." he started, but paused a moment to chew his bottom lip. "I was curious about that tradition Isabella mentioned earlier tonight, the uh, the whole 'kiss somebody special at midnight' thing-"

Buford immediately stood up.

"I'm not EVEN going to-" the bigger boy started towards the door, but Baljeet scrambled into his path.

"Wait! Wait! Just hear me out okay!?" he pleaded quickly, pushing at the bulk of a boy. Buford groaned, but gave in and sat back down on the table.

"It is just, I looked it up earlier because I had never heard of such a tradition before. Isabella said you kiss someone 'special' on New Years Eve, but..." the smaller boy chewed his lip again and played with the glove on his right hand, "B-but the truth is, you're supposed to kiss anyone you want to continue to have good relations with for the next 12 months. If you do not want to lose a friend, you... you kiss them."

Buford stared at Baljeet, a stern, frowny look on his face as a silence fell between them. Baljeet shuffled embarrassedly, and Buford could practically see the waves of nervous energy.

"... And?" he finally asked, raising his brows in an unamused fashion.

"And..." Baljeet continued quietly, pulling off his earmuffs. His voice dropped low, "... and you are my best friend."

Buford narrowed her eyes.

"Are you serious? I'm not gunna kiss you man, that's disgusting."

Baljeet felt part of him crumble. He squeezed the band of his earmuffs when his face filled with color from the humiliation.

Baljeet was a firm believer in karma. American superstitions never fit in with the ideals of karma; they were nonsensical things like black cats and walking under ladders or spilling salt, all things that sensible people would not consider neither good nor evil acts. To perform them was not to do harm or good fortune upon another living creature and therefore had no effect to speak of.

And while in his mind he knew a kiss could truly make or break his relationship with Buford, and that it was not guaranteed to keep their friendship strong in the upcoming year, he'd learned not even a week before how wonderful a kiss was. Once Wendy's lips has touched his cheek he was just completely overwhelmed by this amazing, uplifting, indescribable feeling, so much he'd just grabbed her and planted one right on her. And gosh if that hadn't felt better.

He'd discovered right then and there kisses were everything. He'd only been kissed once and now all he wanted to do was share the feeling it caused.

Kissing could end up being considered both a good or an evil in terms of karma, and he knew that with Buford it was going to be the biggest crapshoot, but if this holiday tradition/superstition was right... Then what was he to lose? Besides, Buford had kissed someone before right? He should know where he was coming from then.

"... It is not disgusting," he mumbled, feeling his backbone beginning to walk away. "Kissing is actually very wonderful-"

"Yeah, maybe with a GIRL," Buford spat back, getting to his feet again. "I told ya man, I'm outta here."

"Buford!"

Baljeet seized the larger male's wrist with both hands, stopping him in his tracks. He stared up at Buford with a stubborn, unhappy look upon his dark red face.

"... How do you know it would be disgusting to kiss me?" he asked hotly, still keeping his voice low, "I am not asking for anything but a friendly peck." He hesitated, his eyebrow twitching as an idea flashed in his mind.

"Do you think I want to kiss you?" he asked, a bit of an uncomfortability crossing him as he mentioned it. "I do not like you, Buford, if that is what you are so afraid of. You can show affection without it being romantic."

He felt himself crack a little again. He might have been lying when he said he didn't like him, but truthfully he wasn't so sure of it himself. He'd thought a kiss from a girl would make him stop being so confused, but in the end all it made him want to do was kiss Buford.

And he felt like a little shit convincing Buford to kiss him in the name of holiday tradition, but if he got it over with and finally learned he'd hate it he wouldn't be confused, right?

...Was a slightly coerced kiss from someone bad karma?

Buford almost looked hurt for a moment.

"... It's against the Bully Code."

"Oh do not even use that on me, I've read the Bully Code and the section Pataki wrote on kissing did not mention jack about holiday traditions."

Buford seemed to grow a little nervous, and his eyes darted about for another excuse. When he couldn't find one, he sighed a little and turned around.

"Look, 'Jeet, you're my friend and all and I want us t' have a good friendship next year 'n all but..." he started, scratching at the back of his neck, "What're people going to think if I tell them my first kiss was my nerd because we were scared to lose each other? Man neither of us would ever live it down as just being friends, and my rep would be totally shot!"

Baljeet blinked.

"Is that all that is keeping you from doing it? Just what other people will think if they find out?" the Indian asked gently, cocking his head to one side. Before Buford could answer, something clicked and Baljeet's eyes widened. "Wait, your first kiss? I thought you had kissed that girl from France!"

Buford's face pinked. "Brigitte didn't like me enough to wanna kiss me," he admitted, letting his arm fall, "No one ever has 'sides my ma, but she's my ma. You're the first person to even mention it to me."

The smaller boy's eyes softened.

"... Okay," he mumbled, letting his shoulders droop slightly in defeat. "Okay. A first kiss is special, I do not want to take that from you. I am sorry."

"Nah, 'Jeet, don't be sorry," Buford said, smiling lightly and ruffling the shorter boy's curls. "The first kiss thing isn't really the problem; it's not something I take too seriously ya know?"

"Well... If your reputation is the problem... If you do not tell anybody..." Baljeet started, putting his earmuffs back on to cover his nervousness, "... I will not tell anyone."

Buford blinked at Baljeet's persistance.

"Why's this so important to ya anyway? Someone as smart as you has to know a kiss at midnight isn't going to guarantee a friendship."

Baljeet rubbed his toe into the carpet, not wanting to push but still wanting to answer truthfully.

"... Is it not worth a shot...?"

There was a quiet moment when Baljeet figured Buford was pondering.

"... That Wendy chick from the math team, she gave you your Christmas wish right?"

Baljeet nodded.

"And are you two better friends now?"

Baljeet nodded. And that was the truth, they'd gotten a lot closer as platonic friends since then.

Another silence. Only this one was making Baljeet REALY uneasy. The minute of quiet felt so long and horrible.

"Look Buford if you do not-"

Baljeet had looked up to tell Buford they didn't have to do it, but he was cut off mid sentence by a pair of thin, chapped, tightly pursed lips pressing rather forcefully against his. His eyes went incredibly wide, and his heart practically stopped, but Buford had pulled away so fast he didn't have much time to register anything at all.

He just stared up at Buford, mouth gaping slightly and his cheeks so red his ears were turning colors too. Buford's own face had gone red, and once he was pulled away he gave his mouth a quick, awkward swipe of his sleeve, then pointed dauntingly.

"If you breathe a word of this to anybody I will ruin you. Got it?" he snapped quickly, clearly flustered as hell and trying not to show it.

Baljeet just nodded dumbly, and watched Buford practically sprint back outside to join the party. But the Indian just stood there, his heart and stomach fluttering pleasantly as everything sunk in. Finally, he placed a shaking finger to his lips.

Buford had actually kissed him.

He couldn't help the grin that formed. As badly performed as that kiss had been, it'd still somehow felt better than when he kissed Wendy.

.

Oh dear, that didn't clear up the confusion at all.