Disclaimer: I do not own the Book of Friends or any of the names within. This story was written purely for enjoyment and no profit was made from it.

Warning: Implied shonen-ai. Don't like, don't read, and don't complain about things you were warned about.

Author's Note: Pointless fluff, really. Not my usual gig, but I do love the Yuujinchou fandom.

First Trip On A Ferris Wheel

By Sinnatious

The carriage wheeled ever so slowly into the sky. Natsume sat, hands gripping his knees, warily eyeing the other occupant in the softly swaying compartment.

"Are you scared of heights, Natsume?" Natori asked with a kind smile.

"No," he replied shortly. Flying on Nyanko's back when he transformed was always a thrill. "This is just weird."

"What's weird about it?" Natori's smile didn't falter. His lizard tattoo scuttled across his forehead.

"Two guys on a Ferris wheel is kind of…" Even having Nyanko or Hiiragi along for the ride would have been better, but Nyanko hadn't been interested and Hiiragi too stubborn to admit she was.

"I told you, my agent won't let me bring a girlfriend. And I had the free tickets and it seemed like such a waste!" He delivered the usual excuse in a singsong voice Natsume had learned to distrust.

"Even then… shouldn't you at least sit on the other side?" he asked, deadpan. They sat side-by-side, knees and shoulders almost touching. It was, in a word, cosy.

Natori just laughed. Jerk. Laughter wasn't an answer.

The wheel rose higher, and the wind whistled outside. Natori's whole being seemed to radiate warmth, and his entire left side felt uncomfortably hot.

He eyed the exorcist warily. "This isn't some trick to bait an ayakashi, is it?"

"Natsume! I'm hurt. Can't we hang out just for the sake of it? I had the tickets, you weren't doing anything, and it keeps you out of trouble."

Out of trouble?

"You're planning something," he accused.

Natori held up his hands in defence. "I'm not. Really. Trust me." The tattoo slithered down his neck, disappearing beneath his collar.

Liar.

The word didn't quite escape. Natsume stared out the window. They rose higher into the sky. It was stunningly blue, and the clouds were round and puffy.

There had to be a reason. He'd agreed to come the theme park because Touko had looked so delighted when Natori turned up at the door inviting him, and he could hardly turn him down by explaining the last time the part-time actor took him an on outing he'd been haunted and nearly strangled by a spirit sealed in the inn. But why…

Natsume gripped his lap bag a little tighter, the edges of the hidden Book of Friends digging into his thighs.

Natori didn't know. He couldn't know. He'd kept the Book of Friends secret. But maybe, if an ayakashi told him… Hiiragi might have heard, from one of the others…

"Have you ever been on a Ferris wheel before, Natsume?"

The question jerked him out of his anxious wonderings. "Huh?"

Natori slung a friendly arm over his shoulders – it felt heavy and warm and he was so surprised by the casualness of the touch that he couldn't figure out how he was supposed to react to it. He settled for not reacting at all, and the exorcist steered his attention outside. "It's not the most exciting ride, but there's something special about it, isn't there?"

Natsume looked out the window. The people below were like brightly coloured pebbles on the tiny, creek-like paths in the estuary of the theme park. The sky seemed closer, somehow, even though the fluffy clouds still floated far overhead. There was a giant ayakashi in the distance, too, crouched among the trees, staring at the sun. It looked like the same one that had been blocking his view from the fireworks. This high up, it didn't look so intimidating. It was an entirely new perspective, safely delivered in the comforting confines of a cosy carriage, suspended in the sky.

"Yeah," he found himself saying. "I hadn't…"

Ferris wheels, theme parks, holidays… they were things meant for couples and families. He hadn't even been on a proper hot springs trip until Natori took him.

He didn't voice those thoughts, but a small smile grew on his lips as the wheel reached its apex. "Thanks," he eventually murmured.

Natori just smiled. "You know what's customary, at the top of a Ferris wheel, Natsume?"

"Huh?"

"How about I show you?" Natori's movie-star looks and designer glasses glowed in the warm sunlight, and he leaned in closer, and…

Natsume punched him in the jaw.

Just because he'd never been on a Ferris wheel before, didn't make him stupid.