#:'D bbb bouta murder someone for that

[screwzara]

"You've been doing this since you were younger than me, haven't you abang?"

Only years of fighting literal aliens in battle kept Boboiboy from flinching. He turned around to come face to face with one of his oldest friends, well turned his head down. Ali was at least 15cm shorter, a fact that he forever loved to tease the younger boy about.

"Doing what?" Boboiboy asked sarcastically. They've know each other for more than half their lives-he knows Ali well enough to know that the conversation they're about to have is going to be emotionally taxing. Even if it's unhealthy or unproductive (Yaya's words not his) there's a part of him that wants to delay it as much as possible.

But Ali, strong, brave, stubborn-far too much like him Ali bin Ghazali doesn't let that happen. "Being a hero," Ali's voice is hard in a way that reminds him too much of the way his Dad's would shake after waking up screaming in the night, while speaking in hushed voices with his Mom and Mechabot when they think he's sleeping. The walls of their house were never that thick.

"Why," he asks, and stupidly he feels his eyes burn and throat tighten, "Why would you do this? It's not a game, Ali. You could get hurt."

"Of course I know it's not a game," Ali declares, voice cracking in the middle like boys on the cusp of puberty do, the same way his voice did just a few years ago, "I'm not a little kid, okay? Abang please I'm not stupid, you know I'm not. I know what you do is just as dangerous and scary. How do you think I felt whenever you got hurt? Don't ask, don't tell. We promised each other that after Mama died, but I feel like we should break it."

Boboiboy feel his heart break even more when he sees the tears building in the younger boys eyes. They did promise each other that. If you won't tell, I won't ask. It was unconventional with every other adult preaching honesty is the best policy, but they both knew somethings were just too awful to speak about. With parents that were the space version of ambassadors/soldiers, and a newly widowed dad and Uncle pulling away farther and farther each year. They both needed to talk about things that weren't stressful.

It would be hypocritical to be angry at Ali for doing the same thing he did when he was even younger. Didn't mean he almost didn't go into heart failure at the thought of his adik fighting with bloody weapons.

"If you're going to do this," Boboiboy says, voice somehow both resigned and hopeful, "Just promise me something, okay?"

Ali eyes are wide and shining while he nods, but not without the same weight his hold. He looks so young that it makes finding out he's a spy-a child soldier even more heartbreaking. But what can he say when he is but the same just doing it in space, with superpowers.

He can only hope Ali stays safer than him.

"Promise me," Boboiboy says, voice taut with the fact he knows Ali can't keep this promise, no matter how much he wants him too, "You won't die before me." A tear falls down his pale face as he says it.

Ali rears back, shocked. Before a sad look appears on his too young to be fighting, to be killing face. "You know I can't, abang."

He knows, God he knows. Just like he couldn’t promise Ali that he wouldn't get hurt while on his "job". He's not naive enough to think simple words from a mildly traumatised teenager can keep someone safe, as if casting a protective spell over them.

But....

Boboiboy crosses the barely 1m distance between him and Ali in barely a minute. Then engulfs him in a hug only the hecking apocalypse could tear apart. Ali holds just as tight.

"I can still dream, adik."

*sobs into my arms* omg omg omg-

This is.. i... i can't.. *screams*

I can just hear the pain in their voices as they have this conversation(and i see what you did there, taking full advantage of my mention of them seeing each other as their brothers)

I'm loving these, thank you *cries my heart out as i reread it*