fic: beginnings (ficuary)

[csi_sanders1129]

Title: beginnings
Chapters: 1/1
Author:csi_sanders1129
Genre: Friendship.
Ratings: K+
Word Count: 555
Pairings/Characters: Tulio, Miguel
Synopsis: In which Tulio and Miguel meet for the first time on the streets of Madrid.
Comments: Written for Ficuary 2021, Prompt: Childhood. Comments and kudos would be awesome. Enjoy!

Tulio is eight years old and wandering the streets of Madrid all on his own. He's hoping he can find some food before he has to try to sleep tonight, because he's so hungry that he doesn't even feel hungry anymore and that seems like it might be a bad thing.

He's dizzy and the hot afternoon sun overhead isn't helping matters any, so he ducks into a shaded alley and tries not to pass out. His stomach hurts and he feels like he's going to be sick and if he could just get some food then maybe…

"Hey!"

Oh, great, Tulio thinks, doesn't even bother to look up because he's sure whoever it is only wants to run him off – it's not like there have been very many friendly faces in the two months he's been alone. He tries to scramble to his feet, prepared to bolt, but he falters, slams his shoulder hard into the wall. A hand lands on his arm, small and gentle, and he finds himself looking up at a boy a little younger than himself, with pretty blond hair and curious green eyes.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," he snaps, pulling away. He can take care of himself, he thinks, he doesn't need some nosy little kid to help him. His stomach rolls in clear disagreement. The boy frowns at him and Tulio almost feels bad for his attitude. Almost. "Leave me alone," he adds on, because he is losing the battle with his nausea and he doesn't want anyone around to witness his imminent surrender.

But, the boy sits down and urges Tulio to sit beside him. He pulls an apple out of the bag slung over his shoulder. "I think you need this more than I do," he says, "Go on."

Tulio takes it, half-expecting the boy to snatch it away and throw out the catch to his apparent kindness. But the boy asks for nothing. The apple is the best thing Tulio's tasted in days. He tries to eat slowly to keep his stomach in check and thankfully it's settled a bit by the time the food is gone. "Thank you," Tulio offers, once the world stops spinning. "I'm Tulio, by the way."

The boy beams at him, "My name's Miguel."

Before either of them can say anything else, though, a very irate man Tulio recognizes from the market stalls spots them when he rounds the corner with two guards in tow. "You! Thieves!" he shouts at them.

Miguel gasps and jumps to his feet, clearly he hadn't expected to be found. Tulio does the same, since he doubts these guards care that he wasn't involved in whatever Miguel did. Miguel's frozen in fear, though, so Tulio will have to be the one to save them from this situation. "This way!" he says, grabbing hold of the younger boy's hand and hauling him through the alley. He knows these streets well, knows where the crates are stacked so they can scale the wall and get away clean, knows where the guards patrol and where their blind spots are.

The other boy doesn't hesitate, just does what Tulio tells him. He stays close behind as they weave their way out of the danger he got them into for the first time.

It will not be the last.