Buddy's bedroom in the new Holley house wasn't particularly large. None of his rooms ever had been, but this one felt extra small compared to the others. He always felt even more alone than usual when he was inside it. Unless, of course, Vi was there with him. No one could feel alone when you were playing with your best friend forever. And this house was even closer to hers, so he didn't complain much. 

There was enough room in his little space for his bed with the fancy headboard, a dresser with most of his clothes stuffed inside and a toy chest in the corner. A toy chest, but it was more for decoration. His toys were more frequently strewn around the floor. Ella said all the time how she couldn't wait for him to switch out the toy chest for a desk. But she was just joking around, Buddy was sure. Whenever she wasn't complaining about his toys on the floor, she was saying how glad she was that she could have another baby and how she never wanted Buddy to grow up. 

It wasn't like he just left the toys there and never played with them. He and Vi were at it every day, playing out the stories they invented with the horse figurines and the little plastic army men. Most of the stories were about the war being almost lost until one brave horse entered the scene and saved the day with his epic horse abilities like neighing really loud and hurting the enemies' ears enough that they ran away. 

As Thunder, the horse hero in question, rode away into the sunset victoriously for the third time that day, the story was wearing a bit thin for both kids. They could only come up with so many variations of it from the one letter Larry had sent so far. He had told the story about how one of the commanders' horses (also named Thunder; no relation to the figurine) had saved his life by leading a rescue party to where he had fallen off and broken his legs during a battle. Everyone thought he was dead, but Thunder had saved the day. Young imaginations had run wild with the possibilities of what else Thunder could do. But after three months with no new letter, and having had Thunder do everything from launch bombs at the enemies to flying a UFO and kidnapping the enemies, his time as the forefront of their fantasy universe was drawing to a close.

Vi was sitting back against the end up Buddy's bed, lightly stroking the hairy mane of the horse figurine serving as Thunder. She liked to pretend it was real horse hair, but it was more than likely just plastic. Buddy was lining up the little army men in the middle of the floor, selecting the ones he liked to be the heroes and the ones who weren't as cool to be the enemies. His process was simple; if he had a gun, he was cool. If he was just sitting beside some box, he wasn't. He'd go directly into enemy territory. 

Her fingers were moving slowly through the long strands of plastic, but her mind was racing as she watched him. No one had suspected the war would last long enough for Larry to have to go. But he went. And they were getting to be desperate enough for men that Travis was considering signing up before he was allowed, just for the money. What if it kept going long enough that Buddy turned 18 and had to go as well? 

"Whatcha thinkin' about, Vi?" Buddy eventually asked, noticing the vacant look in her eyes as he finished setting up his little men. 

"War n stuff..." She murmured, looking down to the little horse. "It feels like it's been goin' on forever." 

"Ma said it started right around when I turned four, so it hasn't really been forever," Buddy shrugged, taking a seat beside his friend at the end of his bed, overlooking his handiwork.

"Does it scare you sometimes?"

"It used to, but not so much after Larry sent his first letter. He's a big kid; I know he's gonna be okay."

Vi sighed and set the horse to the side. "I just dunno..."

"Don't know what?"

"What I'd do if you weren't here."

"Miss me an awful lot, I hope." His joke made Vi crack a small smile underneath her melancholy attitude. He pulled her in for a tight hug. "Larry'll be home by Christmas, anyway. Ma said so."

"Adults have to say that. It's the law, I think."

"It's gotta be true someday. Why're you thinkin' about all this, anyway?"

"'Cause you're my best friend and I'd miss you if you die in Europe."

"I'd miss you too, Vi."

"You can't miss someone if you're dead."

"Yeah, well I'm gonna, so ha."

The chuckle he drew from her warmed Buddy's heart. He hated seeing Vi upset, for any reason. Especially when the reason was just something she came up with when she was thinking too much. She did that a lot.

"Do you think we'll still be best friends when we get that old?"

"I think so. The magic rock said that we were going to be friends forever," Buddy shrugged, getting back to find more pieces to add to the setup in front of them from the toy chest. Army men and horses were cool, of course, but he needed more. An empty tissue box would make a great tank. He could have sworn he had one that was still in the chest...

"I hope we're going to be better best friends than my parents. They say they're best friends, but they fight so much," Vi shuddered as she crawled away from the end of the bed towards the setup. 

"Mine say that too, but they don't really fight. They yell a little, and then they kiss a lot whenever they get mad at each other." Buddy paused in his searching to close the chest. "Why do you think adults do that?"

"Kiss?"

"Yeah."

"I dunno. Maybe it feels nice," Vi shrugged. In all honesty, she hadn't really thought about it.

"It looks weird when they do it. Two people pushing their lips together. What do you think it's like?" He lowered himself onto his knees on the opposite side of the setup, giving up the hunt for the tissue box. The good guys would just have to go without a tank this time. 

"Do you wanna try it? Just to see what it's like?" Vi asked, suddenly curious now that Buddy had brought it up. "I mean, our parents are best friends and we're best friends, so why not?"

"That is what grown-up best friends do," Buddy nodded, quickly coming around to the idea. "Let's do it."

There was nothing sweet or all too rewarding when both children leaned together with heavily puckered lips and eyes squeezed shut. The kiss, if it could even be called that, lasted for only a second before each one jumped back. Neither was quite sure what to expect, but both were sure it wasn't what they felt. 

"That was so wet and slimey," Vi grimaced, wiping off her mouth with the back of her shirt sleeve. "Why do grownups like it so much?"

"I don't know!" Buddy groaned, feeling equally repulsed. "We can still be best friends and not kiss, right?" 

Vi could only nod. "We've been best friends for more than a year without kissin', I think we can keep going like that."

Both were still thinking about the kiss for a grand total of fifteen minutes before it was almost completely forgotten in lieu of the figurines spread out around them. Kissing, like the truths of war, was for adults only.