Oliver casted another glance outside the window in suspicion. Rays of sunshine dazzled his eyes, but the cars outside on the public parking lot were shimmering with a crystal layer covering them. He wasn't the type of person to check the weather report, however, these bizarre changes of temperature haven't been too reliable lately. For a second he wondered whether to bring a thicker jacket.

A shudder shot through his body when thinking about having to go to the closet in Fukase's room. Looking down on the car keys in his hands, Oliver reminisced about the argument with Fukase a few days ago.

Things have been different since then. Neither Oliver nor Fukase brought the issue in the car ever up again, so silence buried the tension eventually. Even so, the blond still kept thinking about his partner's reaction. The sadness in his eyes hit Oliver hard, making it even more difficult for him to provide the right consolation. He felt like he betrayed Fukase by being so straightforward. He knew best that bringing up the past was a bad mistake. If it didn't end in a slap in the face, something inside of him died at the sight of Fukase.

Oliver checked the fridge and sighed at its empty appearance. He couldn't remember the last time he went grocery shopping. Oliver himself most often merely bought takeout; he wasn't too sure how his constantly shut-in lover survived. He didn't bother asking either - not that a healthy lifestyle was a priority for the two of them anyway.

Even so, Oliver packed a bit more of money into his wallet and got ready for work. Fukase had disappeared in his room quite a while ago and didn't make any signs of coming out soon, so he just yelled across the apartment that he'd come home late. He didn't receive an answer, but also hoped for none. That was a sign that things were about to get normal again at least.

Checking the time on his phone, Oliver gulped nervously and remained in the car a little longer. He was a few minutes early and didn't want to come across a certain coworker that always showed up around that time. Oliver hadn't gone to work for a little while; he expected Kazehiki to assail him with questions regarding it. With all his willpower, the blond tried to avoid that. He didn't have the mental strength to bear another obsessive person.

Eventually, Oliver got to work as well and quickly started to catch up to his normal routine. Despite him doing the same work for years, he always needed time to catch up again whenever he had a few days off. His eyes travelled across his surroundings in regular time stamps. He felt glances fixed on him, but couldn't find Kazehiki anywhere. Instead, he noticed another coworker to be turning back to him every now and then. She was a familiar face, but he didn't know her name. He doubted she knew his as well.

Trying to get rid of his assumptions, Oliver got up and walked off to the building's terrace. He wasn't a smoker and thus never used the cigarette break, but he made an exception this time. It was still fairly early, so he hoped for there to not be too many people outside yet.

Oliver breathed in sharply the icy air. Breathing was painful whenever strong waves of wind clashed against his face, but he embraced it as a good way to clear his head. However, this peaceful silence wasn't granted too long to him as a familiar figure entered the terrace as well. Kazehiki let out a heavy sigh as he got out. He halted for a second in surprise as he spotted the blond staring at him.

"Hey, you're back. Where have you been all this time?"

"I still had unused holidays," Oliver said and calmed down a bit again. Kazehiki appeared fairly relaxed and not as curios and concerned as he expected. Instead, the man focused on his cigarette and tried to light it up while fighting against the wind. Oliver's eyes fixated on the floor. This sight didn't seem right to him. Smoking didn't suit Kazehiki at all.

"You're smoking?"

Oliver broke off the silence and immediately received a sigh from his counterpart. Kazehiki stopped for a moment and then shrugged his shoulders.

"Sometimes, yeah," He breathed out and looked down to Oliver's hands. He crammed in his pockets for his pack of cigarettes and reached his arm out to Oliver.

"Want one too?"

Oliver shook his head and looked back to the view in front of him. He felt it was unfitting not to, but he didn't want to embarrass himself by coughing repeatedly either. He rather fully focused on his coworker. Kazehiki was acting off. Oliver didn't know him for long, but the fairly energetic and nosy attitude wasn't present at all. Instead, he appeared worn out and distant. Oliver couldn't tell why that was, but also didn't bother asking. That would only lead to the question to be shot back at him.

"How're you doing?"

Kazehiki glanced at Oliver. He noticed his coworker stared at where he spotted his bruises the other day. The blond gulped hard and noticed his body stiffening. He expected this question, but couldn't fully bring himself to think of a proper response earlier.

"I'm doing good. Really good." Oliver stared right in Kazehiki's eyes to get his intentions straight. "No need to worry about it."

Kazehiki backed off internally at the surprising determination in Oliver's voice. However, this didn't last for long as he merely nodded in affirmation and dedicated his attention back on the view in front of him. Oliver noticed his counterpart was thinking hard and waited for more questions, despite his subtle sign to not want any.

"I've seen you weaving around in my neighborhood the other day."

Oliver didn't know what to say. He remembered the night when he was drunk and naive enough to wander around like a lost child. He was grateful Kazehiki didn't get further into detail, however, like that there was not much to say about it. Oliver had a feeling Kazehiki didn't expect an answer anyway. His semi-distant behavior told him so.

"You know, you can crash at my place anytime you need to," Kazehiki chuckled lightly and looked back at Oliver with a small smile. "Or so a friend would say."

Oliver gave in the short fit of chuckles and used his chance to get off the topic. His body felt much lighter once the tension between the two of them loosened up a bit. Oliver knew Kazehiki did mean it seriously, but decided to wrap it up as a joke. Despite them only knowing each other for a few months, Oliver was surprised to see Kazehiki know him enough to use the right tactics.

"Are we friends though?" Oliver inquired with a chuckle. There was a certain speck of truth in it, but he tried to not make it too obvious. Kazehiki gave in the change of topic.

"I sure hope so. After all, I've covered more than enough of your drinks already."

It was surprising how early the sky turned dark. Oliver was used to be at home by now, but he still stopped by the supermarket to go grocery shopping. The conversation with Kazehiki occupied his mind enough that he almost forgot about it and had to take a long detour. Not that it mattered much to him.

Oliver was glad he mostly bought defrosted food for only one person. Whenever he went grocery shopping, he remembered the times when he had helped his mother with it. The masses of food for his family of five were repulsing. Masses of food still disgusted Oliver and he was glad whenever he got out of the store again.

Also this time, Oliver rushed through the supermarket. A heavy sigh escaped his lips as only one checkout was available. The line was long and tiring, and Oliver had trouble not to curse under his breath. He didn't want to be too late home or else Fukase would get suspicious again. Oliver considered calling the redhead for a second, but then stuffed his phone back into his pocket. He didn't feel like having an interrogation now.

Oliver looked up annoyed as he heard a child screaming in front of him. Noise was he least he needed now, however, his annoyance got replaced with curiosity as he spotted a young family in front of him. The little girl pointed to the shelf across the checkout with tears streaming down her face while the father helplessly tried to reassure her. The mother merely smiled apologetic to the other customers and placed her items on the conveyor. Oliver had to smile a little at the embarrassement emitting from the young couple.

The scenario reminded him of how he and Fukase had once talked about possibly adopting a child one day. It has been a long time since they had talked about it. Oliver didn't even consider it anymore. With how things were at the moment, he wouldn't want a child to grow up in such a problematic environment.

Oliver felt a little sad when reminiscing about their future plans. Nothing has turned out the way they hoped for it to be - except for the both of them to still be together. Oliver had long given up on making new future plans. His life somewhat found a rhythm and breaking out of it seemed near impossible. Looking at the young couple in front of him now wasn't annoying or delightful - it was painful. Oliver tried to blend away the sounds and rather think of something else. The bitter taste of the present forced him to.

Fukase was the first thing Oliver saw when entering the apartment. He expected to be hit with dozens of questions about what took him so long, but instead, Fukase remained still. He looked fatigued as he staggered towards the blond and pulled him into an embrace.

Oliver dropped the shopping bags in surprise at the sudden gesture. Hearing the silent sobs coming from his partner, Oliver's heart clenched and he retorted the hug. It was more of a safety grip for the both of them to not fall down.

Even though no words remained unspoken among the two of them, they understood well enough what was the case. Oliver stroke across Fukase's back and whispered reassuring words into his ears. Whenever Fukase was that helpless, Oliver couldn't help but fall into a pattern that made him remain stuck in his current situation. At the moment, he didn't care. Fukase needed him, and he'd be there for him.

Fukase let loose of his emotions entirely as he felt Oliver's warmth wrapping around him. In the depths of comfort, he felt like he could be like that. His grip around Oliver's neck tightened as the blond lift up his lover and carried him to his bed. He continued to reassure Fukase as best as possible until the redhead calmed down from his fit eventually. Fukase was still frowning in pain as Oliver was striking his fingers across his partner's face, wiping off the numerous tears.

"She's not letting me go," Fukase whispered with a rough voice. The cracking of it due to his crying was a stab to Oliver's chest. Even so, he forced a smile and held Fukase's hand tight. He didn't expect the redhead to have fallen back in hallucinations. It's been a while since that caused trouble the last time.

"Just focus on me, okay?" Oliver responded and tried to change topics. Both of them needed it now. "You want to hear a funny story?"

Fukase nodded. He sat up a little and wiped off his tears, slowly calming down again. Oliver smiled reassuringly and chuckled a little when thinking of what his partner's reaction would be like.

"I saw a crying child in the supermarket today. Do you remember when we were young and dumb and thought about having children?"

Much to Oliver's surprise, Fukase's eyes widened in surprise. A wide smile crept up his face as he nodded affermative.

"We've stopped talking about that."

Oliver nodded but remained quiet. He preferred to not make it an option anymore either. He couldn't imagine being able to properly raise a child if he barley managed to take care of himself. He thought Fukase might react even more distant, but it was quite the contrary. He hasn't seen Fukase that excited in a while. His eyes were glistening from the prior crying, however, happiness was reflecting in them. The genuine smile on Fukase's face was an unusual sight either.

As much the blond hoped for another reaction, he couldn't deny to himself that he enjoyed seeing his lover like that. Particularly, after being that distressed.

"Children are nice once they listen. I haven't really thought about it anymore though. What about you?"

Oliver bit his lip, thinking of an answer. He didn't want to upset his partner by saying that he didn't want children anymore because of their relationship. Often enough the truth just was not the right thing at the moment. Fukase took the decision from him though as he chuckled. Oliver's confused expression amused him. He leaned in and kissed Oliver, leaving the blond even more confused.

"You're so cute when you're unsure."

Fukase had to smile even more and pulled his lover closer, making both of them sink in the moment. Forgetting their surroundings for a while wasn't a bad idea since there wasn't much to hold onto anyway. Too bad these moments most often couldn't be cherished anymore either; something inside of Fukase was changing again.