Last Night of Summer

"Daaaan, come oooonnn!" Shibani's voice rang out, rattling around Dan's skull before he was unceremoniously yanked away from his mochi pounding bowl. His mallet nearly clattered to the ground, but his quick instincts — honed after years and years of mochi-making — kicked in before his conscious brain even realized it, and in a smooth motion his hand flashed out to catch the handle and swing it over his shoulder and away from the dirty ground.

"Shibani!" He groaned, chiding the smaller bun, who was still tugging his free hand and merrily dragging him out of his shop. "I almost dropped my mallet—"

"Mallet, shmallet! It's the last night of the summer festival, and you promised me you'd take me to the fair! I want to ride the ferris wheel, and I want funnel cake, and oh! oh! cotton candy!! I heard the pink cotton candy is the best this year! So c'mon, put down that mallet for a night and come out with me!" 

Dan sighed, slinging the mochi pounder off his shoulder and on to its hook by the door as the little bun chattered excitedly about all the sights and smells he'd heard of from the other buns coming in and out of his dango shop. Shibani was an incurable gossip, delighting in hearing all the tales of Burrowgatory goings-on. And lately, everyone had been talking non-stop about the summer fair that had moved into town over the last few weeks. They were closing out their festival with an extra long night of rides, food, and fun, culminating in what promised to be a truly spectacular fireworks display. Dan was less enthusiastic than Shibani about the prospect of greasy foods and rickety rides, but when the soft little bun looked up into his eyes with such excitement and glee, well...how could he say no to that face?

Before long, they were passing through the gates of the fair. Dan handed over a fistful of carats in return for what felt like a mile long string of tickets, and Shibani's hand tightened on his as the bun spotted the swings across the midway. They weaved through the streaming crowds of buns, and Dan dutifully forked over the requisite five tickets each for the swings as Shibani darted ahead to pick out the best set of swings — side by side, of course. Dan scrunched his body into the plastic seat, feeling much...more than his slender companion, who fit the small swings much more nicely. 

The ride lurched into motion minutes later and they were off, sailing out and over the fairgrounds. Next to him, Shibani squealed in delight and kicked his feet, and even Dan felt a spreading warmth in his chest as he watched the bun looking out over the neon lights as they sailed by below them.

He was still smiling softly after they tripped out of the swing ride, Shibani wobbling slightly with the residual motion of the ride. Dan offered his arm to the smaller bun without even thinking, his eyes crinkling at the corners as Shibani gratefully accepted.

Hours later, Dan's arms were full — two giant teddy bears, each nearly as big as Shibani himself and one in particular that was trussed up in toy ropes in a similar style to Shibani's, a half-eaten bag of cotton candy, and two sticks of strawberry tanghulu dangled from his muscled form in ways that didn't entirely make sense — and still Shibani managed to hold on to the little spare space there was, steering him this way and that to win more prizes and feast on more treats. Dan could swear his arms were creaking by the time they reached their penultimate goal, the big, bright ferris wheel at the far end of the carnival. He nearly lost his grip on the funnel cake plate as Shibani squealed and took off towards the gate, pointing back to Dan as the carnival worker held out his hand for tickets. By the time Dan caught up to him, he'd settled in to the ferris wheel's cabin and was reaching for the candies and snacks so Dan could climb in himself.

They were somewhat squished in the little car, what with all the stuffed animals Dan had won for a delighted Shibani — turned out, his hand-eye coordination paid off at even the sketchiest ring toss or target shooting arena — but he squished down the bondage bear under his elbow and stuck the bunny and bull under his legs as Shibani leaned against him, weaving his slender arm through his and bringing a piece of sugar-dusted funnel cake to his lips as the ride started and they lurched upwards.

Dan turned his head slightly, leaning towards his companion as the pale bun squeaked excitedly, pointing out everywhere they'd been in the last few hours. Then the sky lit up with a sudden explosion of colors, and Dan watched them reflected in Shibani's wide eyes as the little bun practically hopped in place. "Dan! Dan, It's the fireworks! We're gonna have the best seat in all of Burrowgatory for 'em!"

"Just like I promised," Dan told him, a bigger smile than he'd ever admit playing across his face as he watched the joy on Shibani's face, reflected in all the colors of the exploding fireworks and the lights of the summer festival. He leaned even closer as another volley went off, and the happy squeak Shibani made was lost in both the kiss he laid on his lover's mouth and the booms of the fireworks — and the wild thumping of both their hearts.