What a lovely story, what fucked-up boys. I really, really appreciate how John's backstory is more real, more ambivalent than canon -- he's not just running from a mess with his superiors, but from having done something actually terrible, no matter how unintended. And the kite competition -- that playful competitiveness rarely comes out in an AU, yet it's an essential part of their relationship.

And the gleam of the two kites high in the air -- just gorgeous.