"Today. Is. Friendship. Day." Nal shouted. 

"TODAY IS FRIENDSHIP DAY!" Neel squealed, running around the camp and screeching. 

Angad was scampering around with an overflowing bowl of punch above his head that kept on sloshing everywhere until their whole camp was red and Hanuman thought someone had gotten killed and accidentally almost destroyed Lanka. 

Meanwhile, Ram chuckled from the side, placing his bow in his lap. Behind him, Lakshman surveyed everything with interest. 

"Prabho!" Angad shouted, dragging Nal and Neel behind him to stand in front of Ram. "In honor of Friendship Day and friends everywhere, we wanted to respect the purity of the relationship of friendship by asking you one question!"

"Go ahead," Ram laughed, obligingly tilting his head.

"Which one of us is your best friend?"

Ram paused, his smile widening. "I'm not sure that really respects the purity of friendship, Angad."

"Well, Prabho, you won't be respecting the purity of friendship unless you answer." Nal countered, crossing his arms across his chest.

Neel shoved him aside, crossing his arms as well. "Don't be shy! There's no harm in saying that I'm your best friend! It's the obvious choice, amongst these hooligans anyways!" 

"Neel, is this your firecracker-"

"SHHH! That's a surprise for the evening! Come on, bevkoof. Wouldn't you want to see Vibhishan's reaction to a big firecracker shaped like a lion while he's drinking his tea?"

Ram exhaled, raising his eyebrows. "Well, everything aside. My best friend is Brahman. He is the one that guides me every day to do nothing but dharm. A best friend always wishes for you to do what is best for you, and will push you to be better. Doing good is what is best for me, and my God makes it so that I don't spend a moment doing something unrighteous."

The whole camp was silent. 

"Uh," Neel began. "Well, that's why we follow you, prabhu, and not Nal. Daily Dose of do-good. Keeps us from doing adharm sometimes. Stealing candy from babies."

"Very funny," Ram replied, eyes squinting in silent laughter.

"No, he was really our second choice."

"HANUMAN!" Angad yelled, pushing Neel and Ram's successor (Nal) over to the large general who was being egged on my Vibhishan to try a sip of green tea. "Which one amongst us is your favorite?"

"Oh don't be stupid," Nal snorted. "Hanuman's best friend is obviously Shri Ram."

Hanuman blushed a bright red. "I-no-it-I-no!" he stammered. "Shri Ram is not my friend!" 

The whole camp gasped. 

Ram placed a hand on his heart. "All these days, Hanuman!" he cried dramatically. "And only today I've discovered that all this time, I was nothing more to you than an acquaintance! A distant memory! Barely existing in your mind, no doubt. Was I never your friend?"

"Prabhu!" Hanuman immediately beseeched, falling to his knees. "You cannot be my friend! Masters and servants aren't friends! I will serve you to my last breath! You are God in my eyes. You must be Trimurti incarnated. Everything you do is perfect. To know that you've chosen a meager and tiny being such as myself to be your companion, your protector? I would be more than honored to be your friend! I don't deserve it! I-I-"

"Take my advice," Neel whispered loudly in Ram's general direction. "Don't be his friend. He might die from absolute bliss, and then we won't have a giant in the vanar sena."

"Well, except for Lakshman bhaiyya." Angad shrugged, before his eyes lit up. "LAKSHMAN BHAIYYA!" 

Once more, Nal and the ever insightful Neel were dragged by their ears like toddlers that had misbehaved towards Lakshman, who tilted his head like Ram.

"Now you must tell us," Angad demanded. "Who is your favorite friend out of us? Me, Nal, or Neel?"

"Uh-"

"ME, NAL, OR NEEL? WE, THE MONKEYS REPUBLIC, DEMAND ANSWERS!"

"You all." Lakshman blurted. "Are my favorite."

Angad awwed. Nal awwed. Neel awwed. Sugriv awwed. Hanuman awwed. The whole army awwed. 

Ram awwed, but in a sad way, like he was expecting to be declared the best out of Angad, Nal, and Neel.

"That's so shweetuu!" Neel giggled, reaching his hands up in a pinching motion like he wanted to pinch Lakshman's cheeks, but he couldn't really reach. "As our best friend, you have to give us some friendly advice!"

"Um," Lakshman scratched his cheek. "You ever get that feeling as if you've killed so many rakshasas, you don't know what to do with the bodies?"

"No, not really." 

"Cool. So, if you ever do get that feeling-"

"Laksh," Ram murmured. "Vibhishan is sitting right there."

They all looked towards Vibhishan, who sat there, traumatized, cup of green tea halfway to his mouth. "Oh, sorry Vibhishan ji." Lakshman muttered, bowing his head slightly. "If it makes you feel better, I really was talking about you when I said my favorite friend."

"Hey!" Neel scoffed, angrily flicking Lakshman's dhoti.

"HEY!" Ram shouted, standing up. "If you were going to choose someone different the second time, I expected it to be me!"

"What can I say?" Lakshman shrugged. "Vibhishanji and I have just become a lot closer as friends these days."

Vibhishan blinked, but nodded rapidly when everyone looked at him.

"Ha!" Ram laughed, hands on his hips. "You don't call a best friend ji! Best friends are supposed to be casual!"

Lakshman bit his lip. "Well, I call you Ram bhaiyya."

"Stop calling me bhaiyya!"

Lakshman's eyes widened in fake alarm. "Am I not your brother anymore?" 

"Bhaiyya, are you normally that pale?" Angad wondered as Lakshman turned a pale white. Then he fainted. 

"No, I don't think he is," Nal decided. 

"MAKE WAY, MAKE WAY, EMT COMING THROUGH!" Angad's shout came, and the crowd around Lakshman parted to make way for him, where he upturned the bowl of fruit punch on Lakshman's face. 

Lakshman's eyes flew open, and scowling, he wiped his face. "Why did you do that?"

"YOU WERE DEAD!"

"I wasn't actually unconscious, guys. It was fake! I was joking. That's obvious."

Everybody stared at him, unimpressed. Ram exhaled, hand on his heart. "Was this really your idea of a joke, Lakshman bhaiyya?" Neel asked, picking at his nails as Nal died from laughter in the background. 

"I thought friends joke around with each other." Lakshman asked, standing back up along with everyone else. 

"AWWWWWW-"

"Shush, Nal, we can't forgive him for this."

Behind them all, Vibhishan cleared his throat. "Amongst friends, there is no forgiveness and no sorry. Only tethered existence and mistakes that both can learn from."

Neel hugged Nal. Angad jumped onto Sugriv's back. Hanuman picked Jambavan up and twirled him around in the air. Vibhishan cradled his green tea. Ram hugged Lakshman until he looked about to faint for real. 

It was happily ever after.

"We still haven't killed Ravan yet, though."

"SHUT UP NAL!"

"Guys, I think I twirled Jambavan too hard. He's choking on his breakfast."

"Quick, get the punch!"

"I used it all on waking Lakshman bhaiyya up."

"Oh no."

A/N: Today. Is. Not Friendship Day actually. I'm pretty late to this. It's also very late here, but I actually did sleep today, I just woke up a little earlier than I expected. I wanted to do something mildly funny for Friendship Day though, so here it is!