Spread My Wings (Fruits Basket)

Agreements

Sukochi's POV

Soda in hand and a skip in my step, I was heading home from a brief shopping trip when Shigure tapped my shoulder, eagerly pointing to a neon yellow stand next to the arcade. "Look! It's a photobooth!"

We were basking in the dying throes of summer vacation, the branches of the nearby trees waving their sorrowful farewells and casting shadows on the neighboring rooftops. Ah, how quickly those dog days of ragged peace and ankle pains had passed me by,

I swallowed a mouthful of melon soda, barely sparing it a glance. "So what?"

"It's the chance of a lifetime!" he cried out, as if he could not understand my failure to acknowledge the importance of such a thing.

Hatori cleared his throat. "Actually, if we wanted, we could-"

Shigure shushed him, insisting, "We have to get a picture taken!"

"There's no way all of us are gonna fit in there." I scoffed. "Besides, it's really stupid. Who even uses photobooths anymore?"

"Come on, Fujikawa-chan!" he pleaded, putting on his infamous puppy dog face. "It's part of the summer experience, right? 'Never look back?'"

I eyed him apprehensively for a moment, but eventually relented. "Fine. But only if you're paying."

Shigure let out a triumphant whoop, grabbing my arm in one hand and Ayame's in the other and tugging us insistently towards the booth. "Woohoo! This is gonna be so much fun!" Without further ado, he bounded into the booth, reclining on the cracked vinyl as if it were a throne. Grinning slyly at me, he patted his thigh invitingly. "You're right: it is a little cramped in here. Mind sitting on my lap?"

"I think I'll pass." I wrinkled my nose at him, crouching to slip in after Ayame. "Better send that offer Hatori's way."

"No thanks," he mumbled, following us inside and watching as Shigure inserted a couple of coins into a slot. "How do you work these things, anyways?"

"Papa Shigure's got it covered," Shigure assured him, fiddling with the controls and nearly elbowing me in the face; just as I predicted, we were packed more tightly together than I would have liked. "What theme do you guys want? How about friendship and flowers? And...selected!"

"Sounds lovely," I grumbled under my breath, uncomfortably aware of Hatori's weight pressed firmly against my hip.

"Why did you ask us if you were going to pick it anyways?" Hatori asked, looking spectacularly miffed.

Shigure shrugged. "It gives me a sense of self-importance."

"Better not inflate his ego anymore," I advised his cousins, sweat practically cascading down my forehead. "You'll get a total snob on your hands before you know it. Then he'll be more unbearable."

"Ugh, you are such a bully." He pouted, prodding button after button. "Okay, I've got it...ready, set...smile!"

"Huh?"

A ridiculously bright flash illuminated the dank booth, nearly blinding me.

"Again! Peace signs!"

I barely had time to force my fingers into the gesture before the camera went off again, Ayame nearly smacking me in the face in his enthusiasm. "Guys, move the fuck over!"

Shigure ignored me, cupping his hands to his chest. "Hearts!"

This continued for some time, shot after painful shot. After the ordeal had ended, Shigure wiped the sweat off his brow, the system processing our undoubtedly horrible pictures with a loud whir. "Good work, men and woman. Thanks to your undying patience, the memory of our youthful high school lives will last a lifetime."