Chapter Text
Ding Dong Bing Bong!
Finally! Class was over for the day! Today felt particularly long for Fukase since he had been planning since lunch to ask Oliver to walk home with him. To say he was nervous about it would be an understatement. Those rumors that had spread around his class rang in his head. Did Oliver walk home because no one offered, or because he didn’t want to? He hoped it wasn’t the latter option.
He packed his things slowly, waiting for the hallways to clear before heading down to Oliver’s classroom. Piko had told him that Oliver always hung behind after class, so he was betting on today not being any different.
He watched student after student pile out of the classroom, and only swung his bag around his shoulder when he heard the noise of the hallways begin to quiet down. By the time he peeked his head out the door, there weren’t nearly as many people as he was used to seeing in the halls at this time, it almost felt strange.
He made his way down the long, winding hallways, to a part of the school he didn’t usually go to. On rare occasions, he would go to pick Piko up, but usually Piko was the one coming to see him.
When he reached room A-2, and peeked his head in the door, he only saw one student inside, standing in the back near a cage. His out-of-place blonde hair made it obvious who it was. As Fukase got closer, he noticed Oliver was holding a small hamster in his hands. Fukase tried to get closer, weaving through the rows of chairs and desks. As he passed though, he bumped into a chair, which let out a high pitched screeching sound like all low quality high school chairs make.
Oliver jumped, whipping his head around and locking his eyes with Fukase’s, expression softening slightly when he noticed who it was who had snuck up behind him.
“Chill. It’s just me.” Fukase said, putting his hands up in surrender.
“What are you doing here?”
He looked away. Oliver didn’t really give him any time to stall before getting straight to the point. Should he just ask him if he wants to walk home together already?
“I just wanted to see you.”
Wait- no- that sounds even worse than just asking him!
“Um- I mean,” he stammered, “I was going to ask if you wanted to walk home together. In case our houses are in the same direction. Or something.”
Finally, Oliver smiled, putting the hamster back in its cage. “I’ve got somewhere to go after school, actually. But you can accompany me there if you’d like.”
“Really?” Fukase asked, sounding just a bit too excited. “Sure! I’d love to.”
Oliver nodded. “Just let me finish cleaning Kohane’s cage and then we can go.”
“Is Kohane the hamster?”
Duh! What a stupid question! Of course Kohane is the hamster!
“Mhm. She’s our class pet.” Oliver answered. “Do you want to hold her?”
Fukase nodded and Oliver reached into the cage once again, holding her out gently toward Fukase. He reached out to take her, and he felt himself blush a little as Oliver’s warm hands brushed his.
“She’s so soft.”
“She is.” Oliver turned back to the cage and began cleaning again, and Fukase couldn’t decide if he should focus on the hamster he was holding or take the opportunity to stare at Oliver. The hamster sniffed around in his palm rapidly, trying to get a sense for what new person was holding her now. She kind of tickled. Fukase imagined that Kohane felt a bit like how Oliver’s hair would feel.
“Alright, all done here,” Oliver said, turning around and startling Fukase out of his thoughts. He took back Kohane and placed her safely in her cage. He walked over to a desk near the cage and scooped up the bag that was sitting there. “Let’s go!”
The two exited the classroom, Oliver closing the door shut behind them. The halls were already quiet, being deserted by most of the students who were in a hurry to get out of school. The few that had clubs were in their classrooms, and those on committees spoke in hushed voices.
“So… where exactly are we going?” Fukase asked, disturbed by the eerie hush of the school this late.
“To my part-time job,” Oliver replied jovially.
“You have a part-time job?” Fukase asked.
“Mhm.”
“What do you do?”
“I work as an animal caretaker at a shelter nearby. They have cats, dogs, bunnies, and hamsters. I was hoping to work with birds but none of the shelters nearby keep any.”
“Do you like birds?”
“They’re one of my favorites. They’re typically harder to take care of than other animals but that's what makes them fun, I think. They’re stubborn, just like me.”
As they passed through the school gates, Fukase kept his eyes trained on the ground, almost fearful of staring at Oliver for too long. His eyes lit up when he got excited about what he was talking about, and his smile was like the sun.
“You like fluffy animals, right?” Oliver asked, breaking Fukase out of his thoughts again.
“Mhm. The ones that are all big and fluffy and warm and friendly. I just want to hug them.”
“We have this one dog. He’s really big and really fluffy and he has the whitest fur. His name is Snowdrop.”
Fukase smiled, trying to picture the dog that Oliver was describing. Before he knew it, they had already arrived at the train station.
He fidgeted nervously as they approached the ticket machine. He waited for Oliver to buy his ticket, peering over his shoulder to see which option to pick, and then bought his own. They walked in silence to the station platform, finding a bench to settle on until the train arrived. Oliver didn’t say anything after they sat down. He just stared at the station platform waiting for the train to arrive. Fukase felt the need to say something. Anything really. He hated the uncomfortable silence but he didn’t know what to say!
“Ah- so- uhm.”
Oliver turned his head toward Fukase, waiting expectantly.
“I- What kind of things do you have to do? Like, feed them?”
“Mhm. Feed them, give them water, clean the cages, play with them.”
“You get to play with them?”
“Of course. They need exercise.”
“Sounds fun! I’m excited.”
“Mhm.”
Fukase sensed the conversation was dying down and began scrambling to find another topic to continue the conversation. To his relief, he soon heard the rumbling of the train coming in.
Thank God! Train to the rescue.
Oliver got up from his seat and walked toward the train, gesturing his hand to signal Fukase to follow. He got up to walk behind Oliver clumsily, and they both boarded the train long before the doors closed behind them.