Oliver calmed down after he had been running for what felt like an eternity. His lungs were burning as if they were about to collapse any second. Even so, it was somewhat reassuring. After the numbing pain and fear back in the apartment, reality advected back into him. Oliver breathed in sharply and clenched his teeth. He did leave the numbness behind but the raging storm of emotions did not vanish.

He dragged his shaking body around a little longer until he found a set of stairs he could rest on for a while. Ignoring the judging eyes of the people passing him by, he calmed down his breathing a little more and rubbed his eyes.

Even though he had brought up the courage to run away from Fukase, he felt horrible. For a second, he wondered whether the redhead was fine like this. He had left him his phone with an emergency call running, but he couldn't tell how it went. Oliver shook his head. That was not the problem here.

Oliver staying with Fukase would have only made matters worse. He was too blinded by his own emotions to make any sort of rational decision anyway. Merely recalling how helpless Fukase was rolling around in his bed left him with a bitter aftertaste of his own immobility.

Oliver rubbed his face once more and sighed in his palms. This was all his fault. He wanted to be the strong one and lead the two of them out of their miserable life but he caused the exact opposite. Fukase could have died back there and it was all because of his lack of responsibility. Oliver's body shivered. He tried to suppress the thoughts of how different things could have turned out if he hadn't noticed him in time.

Oliver's head staggered and then tilted back into his neck; his sight was spinning all of a sudden. Accompanied by growing rustling in his ears, he fought with his sense of orientation and dropped on his back. The hard ground gnawed on his body but he tried to ignore the pain as much as possible.

His gawky hands searched his face to rub the first black spots out of his eyes, and Oliver tried to calm down again. He knew he was overwhelmed and scared of what was going on, but there was no time to dwell on emotions. He wanted to quickly move forward and instead search for a solution to make things turn for the better, but nagging guilt ate up on his last bits of hope.

The dizziness worsened as he weakly pulled himself up the railing to stand back up. Hoping to find more reassurance in wandering around, he set the first step but shortly fell back on his knees again. At this point, it was obvious that Oliver couldn't move much on his own anymore and he brought up the last strength to sit back on the set of stairs. 

His head leaned against the thin metal pole, but the cooling barely did any good. The heaviness in both his mind and limbs overshadowed the last bit of willpower he had just a moment ago, and just like that, he gave up and let darkness take over his senses.

"Oliver?"

Oliver's body flinched and turned to where the sound came from. His eyes met with Kazehiki's and froze in place, surprised to find his coworker here all of a sudden. The two of them didn't move for a moment but Kazehiki collected himself again.

"What are you doing here?"

Oliver forced a smile and shrugged his shoulders, hoping to get to shake off his friend without much suspicious. He really wanted to be left alone right now.

"Nothing. Just sitting down for a bit."

"But you're drenched."

Oliver looked down and noticed only now that he was soaked in water. A quick glance to his surroundings confirmed that it must have rained a bit earlier. He started shivering once he felt the coldness embracing his body.

Unsure of how to evade this issue, the blond decided to just stay quiet and fix his eyes on the streets. Looking into Kazehiki's eyes wasn't easy when he gave Oliver this peculiar look of worry. His friend squatted down next to him, eyeing him with a hunch of anticipation. He sighed and fiddled with the umbrella in his hands.

"My car's right up the corner," Kazehiki said and stood up. Oliver still didn't lift his head. "Are you coming?"

"I'm fine like this, don't worry," Oliver pressed out between his lips. He looked up eventually and casted a quick smile but Kazehiki didn't react to it. He continued to stare down the blond with a puzzled look and picked back up his bag.

"Obviously not. C'mon, get up."

They shared a few silent stares until Oliver sighed eventually and got up. He knew that there was no point in resisting now; Kazehiki saw right through him once again. They walked across the cobblestone quietly, merely picking up the pace as the first raindrops landed on their heads once again. Oliver rubbed his arms, but pressing his soaked shirt against his skin made him shudder only more.

Oliver halted in front of the car,  taken aback that such a prestigious car belonged to his friend. Their pay was anything but abundant, after all. For a moment, he hesitated out of embarrassment. Sitting in there drenched in rain would make him feel even more miserable for sure.

Kazehiki unlocked the car and looked up, noticing that Oliver has retrieved back in his thoughts. He put on a cocky smile and called out for his friend, who quickly looked up again.

"Just get in. You can sit on washing rags, don't worry."

Oliver huffed and a flat laugh escaped his throat. His coworker threw a pile of old clothes his way as he stepped over to the passenger seat. He sighed relieved once he could sit down in the car. The heating system worked much better than the one of his car; Oliver could feel the first warm blows of air reach his body.

"Your car is so important to you though, huh?" Oliver said and threw a spare rag over to Kazehiki. The latter caught it and stored it away with a huff.

"If you knew how much in debt I am for it, you'd understand why."

Kazehiki put on a smile and started the engine. He was driving the opposite direction of Oliver's apartment. Not that the blond expected to get a drive back home—Kazehiki didn't know where he lived anyway—but his friend was also steering away from the rest of the city center. He watched him pass by a few more buildings but spoke up eventually.

"Where are we going?"

"My place. I won't bother driving anywhere else," Kazehiki said with a stern expression. Oliver couldn't tell whether that was supposed to be another one of Kazehiki's jokes and leaned back on his seat, looking out of the window.

"Not that I mind."

The car was heating up too much at this point and Oliver could feel his eyelids getting heavy. The prior incident as well as his time on the staircase both tired him out and he had trouble fighting off the fatigue. He knew that he couldn't fall asleep at this moment, but he allowed himself to rest a little and closed his eyes.

Kazehiki's glanced over to the passenger seat, surprised to not hear any further complaints coming from the blond and smiled amused to find his friend resting against the window like this. He knew that something must have happened again but couldn't tell yet how to talk about it without losing the bit of trust Oliver showed towards him.

His eyes focused on Oliver a little longer as he was waiting on a red light. As amusing as it was to find his friend like this, it was out of character for him to present himself so vulnerable without trying to cover it up. Unsure of what was the meaning behind it, Kazehiki's mind drifted off. Only the honking of the car behind him scared him out of his pondering again. Oliver flinched just as hard and they exchanged glances for a second until Kazehiki mumbled an apology and drove off once he noticed that the light has already switched.

The rest of the drive went by in complete silence. Oliver continued to doze off, with his head rocking back and forth with every little movement the car made. It was a little show Kazehiki had trouble keeping his eyes from, which is why he decided to drive a bit of a detour this time. However, they arrived at his place eventually. Oliver's eyes fluttered open only reluctantly as he heard the engine shutting off. He turned his head over to Kazehiki who stared at him with an uncertain expression.

"Something's wrong?" Oliver breathed out and yawned a bit. His tiredness has not quite worn off yet and the headache from dozing off in the car only contributed to his hazy mind. Kazehiki froze in his movement a little longer until he blinked confused and shook his head. He got out of the car, gesturing the blond to do so as well.

Oliver gasped as the harshness of the weather clashed against his body. The change in temperature made him shiver once again but at least his tiredness wore off as well. His jaw clenched while looking up the sky. The dark clouds didn't promise any good and he didn't bring money with him to get a taxi. 

Oliver quickly got interrupted in his thoughts as Kazehiki passed him and walked towards a row house. He suspected that Kazehiki would be living in an apartment complex just like him but he was wrong. For a moment the blond wondered whether they really had the same job.

He followed Kazehiki in the house without any commentary albeit feeling awkward about it. His senses started to catch up again and he got reminded why he was following his friend in the first place. Kazehiki most likely caught up on the fact that something has happened to Oliver, and now that he was at his place, it would be a lot more difficult to evade any unpleasant questions.

Kazehiki nodded towards the table at the kitchen and boiled water while he waited for Oliver to sit down. No words continued to fall between the two and they merely stared into nothing while waiting.

Oliver looked up as Kazehiki pushed a cup of tea towards him. The scent was familiar and he looked up with a frown.

"You'll need it," Kazehiki merely said and took a sip of his glass of water. He stared at Oliver for a while, but the blond did not budge. His eyes merely shifted between his coworker and the cup in front of him.

"You brought me here for a reason, didn't you?" Oliver said eventually and received a nod as a response. He nodded slowly himself and looked out the window, biting the inside of his cheek.

"I don't need or want any help anymore though. I'm fine," he continued, unable to hide the hint of shakiness in his voice, "I'm better off without anyone."

Kazehiki leaned his head on the palm of his hand and sighed. "Is that so? I couldn't tell when you were sitting on the staircase back then."

He waited a while for Oliver to speak up, but the blond continued to stare holes into the window.

"What happened? You're all over the place."

Oliver turned his head eventually, zoning out towards Kazehiki now. He fiddled with his sleeves, feeling the anxiety from earlier perk back up. Fukase popped up in his head and he frowned. He wondered how his partner was doing now, but there was no way to check on him like this.

Eventually, Oliver shook his head both as a response and to get rid of his worries. Kazehiki rose an eyebrow, but the blond remained certain about it.

"It's nothing."

Oliver pressed his lips together, preventing himself from saying anything that could get him in trouble. He could tell that Kazehiki was listening and observed him closely.

His friend didn't say anything for a while and merely stared at him, wondering whether he would get to hear more than a frail lie. Eventually, Kazehiki leaned closer, and Oliver gulped.

"Why are you suddenly like this again? You've done so well with slowly reaching out to others for help. You were going the right direction. What's wrong now?"

Kazehiki leaned back again and took another sip of water, giving Oliver enough space to relax a bit. The blond stared down at the cup he still hasn't touched and sighed. He has made up his mind a while ago but Kazehiki's words weighed down his heart nevertheless.

The mere thought of leading a life different from what he was used to frightened him. As much as Oliver hoped and fought for a change for the better, imagining the end result of his efforts was something out of his reach. He didn't understand why, but his chest ached as soon as he pondered about it once again.

Oliver's head was heavy. Unable to look up from the wooden surface, he sighed once again. The weight of all his burdens suddenly pushed him down more than ever.

"I don't want a better life. I just want to live with Fukase in peace."

Kazehiki faltered at the faint exclaim. The subtle desperation in it permeated his skin, and his fingers were trembling. He tried to be tough during conversations like these, but he noticed himself to feel sorry for Oliver when seeing him this scared. Kazehiki rubbed his face, staring at the table as well now.

Unsure how to proceed any further, he tried to collect his thoughts once more. He couldn't tell why his usually rational mind started to crumble. The pain in his chest only worsened the situation. Nevertheless, Kazehiki lightly tapped his index on the table in an attempt to distract himself from his own short-lived doubts. He needed to support Oliver with an objective view, after all.

"I have a bad feeling about this. Given by the way he treats you, I'm afraid that will never be possible." Kazehiki sighed and leaned his elbow on the table. Oliver looked over to him but soon returned his glance back to the table, neither saying nor doing anything special. A response stayed off, but Kazehiki knew what to except from his friend anyway.

He gave Oliver the time he needed to process his words, but didn't wait too long to strike to what he initially anticipated talking about. Oliver has caught himself from diving in his thoughts deeper, and even managed to cast a weak smile of reassurance, though it didn't have an effect on Kazehiki.

"I'm gonna have to be honest with you," Kazehiki broke off the silence with a sinister undertone. Oliver turned to him, waiting for what his coworker was referring to. Kazehiki faltered, preparing to attack the blond with words he most likely would have trouble accepting once again. Even so, Kazehiki wouldn't hesitate to repeat himself over and over until Oliver understood.

"You need to focus on yourself. Like I said a while ago, you deserve better than this. I barely know him but from what I've seen I can tell that he's a terrible person. Don't feel bad for someone like him. He's just—"

"Shut up! Leave Fukase alone, he's not the problem. It's not his fault."

Kazehiki flinched at the sudden yelling. He didn't see the shift of emotions coming, nor did he expect it to be of such a caliber. His eyes stuck on Oliver, who has clenched his hands back into fists, glaring his counterpart down with a set of burning daggers.

"So you're telling me he's not the one who keeps beating you up like this? Do you do this all by yourself?" Kazehiki retorted with just as much determination, however, Oliver didn't even flinch. He merely leaned back again, looking down on Kazehiki with nefarious glances.

"You have absolutely no idea what's behind all this so don't assume you know what's best."

"I don't need to know the full story to see that this is wrong," Kazehiki sighed and shook his head, increasingly annoyed at the unpredictable confidence the blond started to show. Oliver was back on resisting just like always. Even so, Kazehiki didn't give up yet; there was a limit to both his and his friend's patience but he was willing to cross it if necessary. 

"He's a horrible person for doing this to you and you need to finally realize that. Don't even try to protect him now."

Oliver reminded himself over and over again to not give in Kazehiki's words, but the more they clashed down on him, the quicker the sturdy walls wrapped around his conscience started to collapse. Scenes from earlier that day replayed in his head. Fukase had his violent and scary sides, but when seeing him huddled up in pain, Oliver couldn't be mad at him any longer—especially not if he kept reminding himself that this was not actually the man he loved. 

Instead, Fukase has turned into a mere puppet, crafted by whoever pleased. With rough nooks and edges carved where smooth curves were supposed to be, and patchy coloring when he could have shone brightly, the canvas could no longer hold those loose threads together.

Oliver was confused. Was this the fault of the puppet or puppeteer? While he liked to reassure himself that he never put all the blame on Fukase, he couldn't deny his antagonizing thoughts either. He had been pondering about these very scenarios and memories on and off, but mixed with his nagging guilt to have destroyed Fukase a bit himself, he couldn't breath. He didn't want to breath. Hoping to have his heart stopping at this very moment, the blond remained still in his seat, unaware of what was going on around him.

Kazehiki's words poured down on Oliver over and over, yet he could never fully comprehend them. He had pushed his doubts and worries aside and they would not surface anymore, but his friend succeeded every time to bring them back up without much effort. 

Oliver's mind turned into a staggering tornado. He forced himself to at least understand how his friend could be saying such obscure things in this situation, but it scared him more than anything. He clenched his fists resting on his thighs even tighter, feeling the stinging pain from his nails pushing in his palms. His entire body was shaking, but he tried to hold it together a little longer, despite the growing rage dwelling over its borders.

"Why are you so confident in what you say? I don't get it," Oliver muttered under his breath and gulped. His eyes remained fixated on his lap as he watched his hands twitching. His head suddenly snapped up, targeting his surprised counterpart. "You think you can judge him based on the bit of evidence that is just so convenient for you. You don't know what is really going on but you keep judging him like this. You're not giving him a single chance to prove that he can't do anything about it!"

"Why are you suddenly like this? You used to talk about him with hatred in your eyes. It was so obvious, so why are you defending him now?" Kazehiki yelled back just as fiercely but didn't receive the response he was both hoping for and expecting. Instead, Oliver continued to glare him down, clenching his jaw even tighter once confronted with more invasive words. Kazehiki held himself back from letting go of the issue both out of pride and determination, but a shudder crawled down his spine nevertheless. He rarely got to see Oliver this upset.

With another set of insults circling in Oliver's mind, he has reached his limits of self-control. He couldn't think his actions through as he has jumped up from his seat already and walked over to Kazehiki. His counterpart didn't flinch, although the blond could make out a hint of shock reflecting in his eyes.

"It's people like you who destroyed him to the point of no return. You're so disgusting!"

Oliver's hand pulled back as he set in for a hit on the face, but Kazehiki quickly grabbed his arm and squished it under his grip. Oliver wriggled his arm to go free without much success but continued his protests either way.

"Just let him be! He didn't do anything wrong."

Kazehiki stared at his counterpart a little longer, barley minding the arm he was holding off his face until he stood up himself. He has reached his limit of patience as well and slowly approached Oliver, holding both his arms tightly. Oliver struggled a little more but mainly focused on drowning his friend in insults. Kazehiki didn't pay much attention to it and instead used the provocations to push Oliver back on his seat.

The blond went silent and merely stared daggers up his coworker. Kazehiki wasn't much impressed by the passive attack and shook his head with a long sigh.

"I really didn't want it to end like this, but I didn't know about this side of you. I'm sorry I brought you here. This was for nothing."

Kazehiki turned away and held his breath, trying to calm down his own urge to punch back. It was more the disrespect towards his help than Oliver losing his temper that upset him this much, but he knew that he would gain nothing out of a fight now. He breathed in deeply once more and looked back.

"But you should rather go now before I'll have to call the cops. I'm serious."

Oliver stared at Kazehiki for a while, unsure about any subtle intentions. However, after his coworker didn't do anything other than wait, he didn't see a reason to stay in this place any longer and got up. Oliver didn't let his eyes off Kazehiki until he left the kitchen and walked right outside the front door.

Rainy clouds have formed a heavy rug of darkness on the sky, accompanying Oliver on his way back to another blank space—the next place he had hoped to call home one day but ended up seeing as nothing but another painful memory eventually.