To Be Loved ♡ Komahina

thirteen

"Hajime?"

The brown-haired boy looked in Nagito's direction, surprise evident in his puffy, red eyes. He had a hoodie on to protect himself against the October winds, but from the looks of it, the chilly breeze was the least of Hajime's concerns.

"Nagito? What are you doing here?" Hajime's voice sounded weak as he questioned the boy, still sitting on the steps of the building. "Did you forget something?"

Nagito shook his head and looked up to the windows to see if Hajime's father could see them. They lived on the third floor, but Haruto could probably catch them if he stuck his head out.

"No, I'm here to check on you." Nagito still hadn't approached Hajime. In a way, he was kind of scared of doing so. There were lots of overwhelming emotions that could be seen clouding his eyes. "Do you want to talk about it? I may be a lousy excuse of a friend, but I can be a decent listener if it's for you, Hajime."

"Stop insulting yourself, I'm tired of you saying all that shit," Hajime muttered in annoyance. His words sounded bitter and sharp, and it would pierce Nagito deeply if he didn't understand that Hajime was clearly troubled. But he did understand.

"Oops, it's a bad habit of mine. I'm sorry, Haji." Nagito gave him his usual smile to ease the tension on Hajime's side. The nickname caused the brunet to somehow look less tense, though, which Nagito took as a cue to continue.

"Do you want to go somewhere else? Perhaps somewhere to eat since we spent time at your house today. Unless you grew tired of me, which I understand. Who wouldn't be tired of a nuisance like me?"

Oops.

Hajime looked up, his brows furrowed and mouth open as if he was ready to yell, but held back at the last second. He took a few seconds to breathe, closing his eyes for that short amount of time while Nagito waited patiently. Hajime opened them to look at Nagito again.

"Okay." Hajime stood up and dusted his pants until he had a look of realization. "Oh, but uh, let me go inside for a moment. I need to get my money." It appeared his eyes began filling up with even more anger while he mentioned going inside.

"No, Hajime. It's on me."

"Again? No, I feel bad."

"Nope, I want to." Nagito then reached to Hajime's waist but quickly stopped as Hajime flinched. That's right. His father would see if he was near the window. "Okay, let's go then."

The two boys walked quickly until they reached the next block and continued at a comfortable pace.

"You smell like beer."

"Whoops, I should have showered before coming for you."

"Beer is kinda nasty."

"I know."

Nagito knew that alcohol was generally disgusting to many, but he didn't even taste it at that point. It was his comfort. But he's found something new to put his belief in, his hope in, and that person was in distress. He had to at least be there to listen to him.

"Now, let's go wherever you want, Hajime."

-

Hajime is a simple person. If he sees a decent-looking pizzeria, he would have no choice but to walk in. It did look a lot cleaner than the ones around their buildings.