A warm, comforting feeling. Reaching for hope, his hands hold onto tightly. This peace and quiet is only temporary.

Oliver couldn't remember the last time he had been sleeping with Fukase in one bed. Usually they'd let go of each other shortly before bedtime and mind their own businesses. However, not this time. Instead, Oliver woke up to the feeling of arms wrapped around him. The heat emitting from Fukase was pressing against his back, making it for Oliver uncomfortably warm. Trying to move as little as possible, Oliver turned around to check on the sleeping Fukase. His lips formed a small smile when he looked at his calm lover. For once, he looked like an angel.

As much as Oliver would have waited for Fukase to wake up, he had no time for that. Work was waiting for him and he was already running late. He peeled himself out of Fukase's clingy grip and carefully left the room with the things he needed. Even though he didn't like anyone being in his room all alone, he also didn't want to wake up Fukase now – he really didn't need any inconveniences.

Oliver's heart dropped for a second as he took another glance at the clock. Freeing himself from his lover's embrace as cautiously as possible robbed him more time than he had. There wasn't even time for a morning shower, and Oliver grunted irritated. Leaving the house befuddled and unprepared was one of his pet peeves. Yet, he had no other choice than to grab an apple, change into his business attire and entangle his hair with his fingers while packing his bag.

Rushing out of the house and to his car, there was a strange feeling that followed Oliver. It felt as if he had forgotten about something, but he couldn't recall right away. The stress of appearing too late to work was more prominent in his mind.

A heavy sigh escaped the blond's lips as he plumbed down on his seat. He in fact made it on time – mind the whole running across the parking lot of his company. With a quick hand gesture, Oliver wiped off the faint layer of sweat that covered his forehead and breathed out heavily. He had to get to his work now.

It was a fairly quiet day at work for Oliver. He managed to do most of his work without much interruption and avoided unnecessary chitchats with colleagues either. His lips formed a small smile when reminiscing about his morning and about how – ignoring all the stress and running in the morning – relaxed his day was. Oliver didn't get to think that often.

However, this harmonious state got interrupted quickly by a certain coworker passing by at his office. Kazehiki initially beamed a smile that dropped quickly though, and so did the rest of his face. Oliver frowned at this sudden change of reaction. He was just about to ask what was wrong as Kazehiki hurried over to the blond.

"What happened?" Oliver looked up startled when he heard Kazehiki's shaking voice. Confusion and worry reflected in Kazehiki's eyes while he was staring down at Oliver. His eyes shifted up and down the blond's torso. It took a while for Oliver to realize, but once he did, his heart dropped. The both of them merely stared at each other in great tension. Oliver barely dared following his counterpart's eyes, but he did so anyways. He had no other choice.

Oliver's eyes widened in shock when he saw the bruises beaming through his shirt. Suddenly, the subtle pain emitting from them was staggering. His face was covered in jabs as Oliver remembered what he had forgotten this morning. It was a huge mistake to not have covered the bruises as usually before leaving the house.

Gulping hard, Oliver forced a smirk and shook his head.

"Oh, nothing. I just hurt myself accidently."

Kazehiki frowned and looked around for a second - he was checking whether anyone was near enough to get to eavesdrop - before turning his attention back on Oliver. He leaned in to get to speak in a lowered voice.

"Oliver, I'm not stupid. These bruises are more than just accidents. What happened?"

Oliver remained silent and just stared back at Kazehiki, too much in concern over the situation to say anything. His coworker's worry caught him enough by surprise for it to be impossible to fully act like nothing was wrong. Yet, he didn't know where to go from there. Silence took over the situation as Kazehiki gave a small smile for reassurance.

"You can tell me, don't worry. I won't tell the manager."

Oliver knew this was the truth. His coworker was someone to take rules rather lightly if he needed it for his own comfort. However, this was not what he was concerned about. Rather, he couldn't stand the idea of anyone knowing of his and Fukase's issues. Solely the thought of anyone having his partner on his mind infuriated him.

"I don't get why you wouldn't believe me when I'm speaking the truth."

Oliver's tone was harsher than expected, making him and Kazehiki flinch in surprise. The blond stared back at the bewildered face of his counterpart, not reacting to it any further. Oliver's prior thoughts returned and upset him.

"And now let me get back to work."

Oliver returned his attention back to his screen and started typing incoherent words. Internally, he dearly hoped for his coworker to take this sign as to go away again. Kazehiki kept still for a few seconds, still processing the happening. As soon as he noticed there was not much to do for now, he slowly got back to his place again, his eyes shifting back to Oliver every now and then.

Oliver rarely had any exhilarated thoughts whenever he was on his way back home. Instead, there always was an uptight tearing inside his chest urging him to not return back home yet. After his inconvenient incident at work though, he yearned to find his way back to his familiar housing. There the problems of the outside world didn't find a place to root. Too many other issues were residing there already. Oliver had initial trouble figuring out what kind of strong sensation pierced through his body. It was somewhat arousing his senses but crushing him at the same time. Oliver had to remind himself several times to get his grip back on reality while he was still on the streets. And yet, this deep sensation continued to course around his body, captivating his thoughts and actions.

It wasn't until Oliver opened the front door that he recognized this feeling he had lacked off for so long. Without thinking twice, he dropped his bag and hurried to the living room. The eagerness in his step was stirring. A hint of desperation filled the room when the blond called out his partner's name. Oliver looked around. A smile grew on his face once he saw Fukase sticking his head out of his bedroom perplexed. The redhead looked like he just woke up, startled and confused.

It was new to him to have Oliver storm in that vastly – leave out calling for him. Fukase gasped surprised when his partner hurried to the bedroom only to embrace Fukase tightly. Oliver buried his face in Fukase's chest and tightened his grip.

"I missed you so much, Fukase," Oliver cried out and looked up. A hush of sadness was written on his face. He attacked Fukase with several kisses. The redhead stepped back in surprise and needed a few second until he was able to adjust to the new situation. Even though Oliver's enjoyment of the moment clearly passed on Fukase as well, he pushed Oliver back and breathed in sharply.

"Did something happen today?"

Oliver didn't want to answer honestly. On one side, because he was scared of Fukase's reaction and eventual violent attack, on the other side, he wanted to forget about today's events just in general. He merely shook his head in silence.

"No, I just missed you. I couldn't wait to get back home."

Fukase's eyes widened in surprise. Receiving obvious acts of affection for no certain reason was a rarity to him. In fact, he couldn't remember the last time Oliver behaved that way. A strange feeling spread in his body, a mixture Fukase wasn't sure how to sort out. His stomach twisted at the tight embrace it had on him, however, it did leave a consoling feeling. Fukase smiled and hugged back his lover, who had pressed his face against his chest again.

Oliver noticed his thoughts to go rampant. It was an odd combination of fear and excitement. Feeling somewhat familiar, Oliver remembered this to be emotions he felt relatively early in their relationship - the point where obsession had slowly dug in his heart. He wasn't repulsed or disappointed at this. Quite the contrary, as he allowed this temporary feeling to take control of his mind and action, making him lean closer against Fukase. 

Suddenly, the redhead was all he had in mind. There was no bitterness linked with it this time. Instead, collapsing emotions spread across Oliver's body and numbed him in a relieving way. There were no worries, no sadness, no bitterness left. Only comfort and deep affection that perked up from the depths of Oliver's heart.

Impatience shot up Oliver's body as he hastily searched for Fukase's lips, his eyes still closed. He entangled the two of them back in their own world. With their minds going hazy slowly, their kisses deepened. Much to Oliver's surprise, Fukase was rather careful with responses and didn't take over the situation as usual. However, he didn't waste much thought on it, knowing that this was an uncommon situation to begin with.

"I love you so much, Fukase. I truly love you," Oliver breathed out close to Fukase's lips. His body was frozen in state. His eyes opened only grudgingly, noticing Fukase to be looking at him in curiosity. Oliver retorted the stare for a while until he chuckled lightly. He cupped his lover's face with his hands and kissed him once more.

"I really mean it. There's no one else."

This caused Fukase to fall out of his own frozen state. He blinked a few times until a delightful frown crept up his face. He smirked and retorted a peck as well. His careful, reluctant act dropped as he got rid of the last few inches between their faces and pushed Oliver down to his bed. Oliver smiled when noticing Fukase to be back to his own self again - the self he had been familiar with in their early years. His hazy mind gave in the sensation of their mutual affection. For now, the two of them was all that counted. How much Oliver loved moments like these.

However, this so-called 'love' has long been lost. What was left were the remains of lust and confusion. They captivated Oliver completely, letting him get sunk in memories that only closed the vicious cycle.