A very small hint of it, but what can you expect when they are kids :))
"Come on Joshy, I want to beat them there"
Tobi anxiously tugged on the hem of Josh's grey shirt as he urged Josh to walk towards the park, but was easily shrugged off by Josh.
"Hold on Tobi, I just need to tell my mom"
Josh quickly ran in the direction where his mom was sitting on the bench beside Tobi's mother while Tobi shuffled his feet as he realized he was suddenly alone in the midst of a park. He glanced around and was startled when Josh ran at him, grabbed his hand, and pulled him towards the park.
Tobi struggled to keep up with Josh as he was shorter compared to all of their friends except Vik.
"Slow down Joshy, I'm only 6" Tobi panted as he wrung his hand from Josh's grip and came to a complete stop.
Josh stopped running and held onto the corner of Tobi's white sweatshirt.
"Sorry, but I'm only 7. Not even that much older than you"
Tobi gently pushed Josh forward as he pointed to the playground that was only a mere couple hundred feet away from them.
"Go, I'll catch up"
Josh slowly began walking away but nervously turned his head around and headed back to the younger boy. He grabbed his hand and pulled him as they both walked to the park.
"I promised your mommy I would stay with you"
Tobi vaguely hid behind his now-pulled up hood as he bit back a remark about him not needing to be looked after. Instead, he perked up at the loud chatter that he recognized as his friend's voices.
Josh soon recognized the voices as well and they began to walk faster to the playground where they saw Simon attempting to carry a 4-year-old Vik on his back as JJ looked down at them in amusement from the monkey bars.
"Vik stop moving or I'll drop you"
Vik seemed to understand the message and wrapped his arms tighter around the older's neck in an attempt to stay grounded. He settled down and seemed to realize his other friends had joined them which caused him to began squirming again.
"Tobi! Joshy!" he quietly whispered as he pointed at them while staying nestled in Simon's hoodie.
Tobi released his grip on Josh's hand and raced his way towards the large-eyed boy, only barely making it there without tripping over the large rocks scattered throughout the ground.
"Hi Vik, what are you doing"
Tobi attempted to hug the younger boy but found it difficult with the blonde between them. He settled for bouncing on his feet and giving Simon a quick, but bright smile. Vik just shrugged his shoulders and continued to hold onto the blonde's neck.
Tobi beamed up at Vik clearly anxious to go and play on the playground.
"Do you want to go play on the slides with me?"
Vik vigourously nodded his head up and down and tapped on Simon's shoulder as a signal to put him down. Simon slowly bent down, his arms still securely hooked under Vik's legs until he was nearly touching the ground. Vik released his grip around his neck and slowly jumped off of Simon's back, immediately running up the stairs towards the slides, with Tobi quickly behind him.
Surprisingly, JJ has been fairly quiet throughout this exchange as he was content with sitting on the monkey bars swinging his legs up and down.
"Come on JJ, let's go swing"
A small joyous shriek was heard as Vik slid down the slide and waited for Tobi to join him. He waved at Josh as they walked towards the swings, which Josh returned just as happily as received. Simon and Josh sat beside each other on the swings while JJ decided it was best for him to attempt to stand up on the swings, which he succeeded in.
"Do you like first grade Josh?"
Josh suddenly interested in digging a hole in the mulch beneath him answered "I don't know, I wish you were all in my class"
Simon sighed as he listened to the loud yells of Tobi and Vik. It seemed like these were the only times they could see each other, especially Vik, him being in a different grade and all.
"At least you have Tobi, I'm stuck with JJ"
JJ stuck his tongue out at Simon and got off the swings. He stuck his hands in his black short's pocket as he moved the mulch around with his shoes as he had previously seen Josh done.
"Don't be mean Simon" JJ retorted and he picked up a small amount of the playground mulch and playfully threw it at Simon, the bunch not even making it to the blonde's feet.
However, the blonde took it as a challenge and began to chase JJ around the small park, leaving Josh alone on the abandoned swings.
But he wasn't alone for long as Vik and Tobi strode up beside him seconds later. Tobi was gently guiding Vik through the park by holding his hand and tugging him in the right direction. It was only then that Josh had really seen the height difference between them. Simon and Josh were fairly the same height, with Simon possibly being a tad taller than him. But Tobi was just about more than half their height and obviously little Vik shorter than all of them.
Josh would never admit it, but it made him look at Tobi differently, he seemed younger. As with Simon, he wasn't afraid to roughhouse with him, but with Tobi, he's afraid of hurting him.
"Vik is tired, he said he wants water"
Josh turned his head in an attempt at finding a water fountain, but none were in sight.
"I'll go ask JJ and Simon"
Josh jogged up to the pair of boys where they were attempting to see who could throw rocks the furthest. He tapped on JJ's back and he immediately turned around.
"Do you guys have water, Vik is thirsty?"
Simon shook his head no, followed by a similar response by JJ.
"I'll take Vik to his mom, I think it's my lunchtime anyway"
They watched as the JJ ran to grab Vik from the swings, reaching his hand out for him in hopes of the young boy to take it. Thankfully he did and JJ started walking away, but not before whispering -
"Say bye-bye Vikky"
Vik happily waved his hands towards the three boys on the playground and walked alongside JJ up the hill where their mothers were sitting close by.
The playground was suddenly very quiet as the two boys made their way over to where Tobi was sat on the stairs staring down at his worn-out shoes.
Tobi let out an exasperated sigh, that sounded quite similar to a noise they made when they bored.
Tobi's face quickly changed and he reached out for both of the older's hands and tugged them to the bars that JJ had previously been seated.
"I want to climb that" Tobi excitedly said as he pointed upwards at the monkey bars.
Simon and Josh shared nervous looks at each other before Josh spoke
"I'm not sure Tobi, we've never done it without our moms"
Tobi was still excited and attempted to reach the first bar, but his short stature made his fingertips just barely touch the bar.
Simon and Josh shrugged their shoulders at each other as they both helped lift Tobi inches above the ground so he was able to grasp the bars.
Josh quickly jumped down the stairs and nervously watched as Tobi moved from one bar to another, his arms slightly out in hopes of catching him if he fell.
Tobi was on his fifth bar when his hand slipped and he began falling towards the ground, emitting a small yell from Simon.
Josh suddenly forgetting that his arms were out in case of this exact situation, quickly moved to cover his eyes with his hands and waited. But he never heard Tobi hit the ground, and instead opened his eyes to see his mother holding a red Tobi with a blushed face.
"What are you doing Tobi" she gushed as she reached her hand out to tickle his stomach, which he replied to in a burst of giggles.
She placed him down on the ground and rubbed both Josh's and Simon's hair.
"Tha- Thank you for saving me Josh's mommy" Tobi stuttered.
"Your very welcome Tobi. Don't go back up there okay?"
Tobi quickly nodded his head and ran off in the direction where his two friends were standing.
No one seemed to want to acknowledge the event that just happened and instead took seats on the mulch where they sat there talking until Simon's mother began to call him.
"Come on Simon, honey. Time to leave. Say bye to your friends."
Simon hesitantly stood up and began walking away when he saw his mother, turning back to quickly wave at his friends again.
"See you guys tomorrow!"
Silence filled the air once again as the two boys were alone in the park.
"Don't do that again"
Tobi lifted his head up in confusion as he twisted his fingers around.
"What?"
Josh seemingly upset as he pointed accusingly at the monkey bars.
"You scared me. Don't do that again"
Tobi only nodded, unsure of what to say, but pulled him into a hug as his way of saying sorry.
Josh pulled Tobi's hands and started to walk back up the hill while swinging their hands between them.
"Want to see if you can sleep over at my place Joshy?"