Nowhere Haven

Circling Mind Games

"You've been acting off lately."

Oliver looked up from his bowl, finding Kazehiki to be watching him, his head leaned on his hand. He had an uncertain expression, making the blond gulp down his food uncomfortably. His glance lowered down to his coworker's yet untouched food; the steam has gone off by now.

"Don't you want to eat at some point?" Oliver said, hoping to evade the question but he only received a shrug as a response.

"Dunno. Don't feel like eating when seeing you like this."

"What's so different about me?" Oliver emptied his bowl and put it aside, and Kazehiki still didn't move. They looked at each other in silence for a while until the blond started shifting in his seat. Kazehiki's uncertain expression unsettled him.

"I can't really tell. You just act different than normally," his friend sighed and leaned forward, looking in Oliver's eyes once more, "And I get the feeling that has something to do with Fukase."

Oliver sighed and looked away, watching a group of coworkers passing them by. He and Kazehiki had decided to spend their lunch break with instant noodles in the office's kitchen, but Oliver started to hate it. The vivid movements and chatters around him shook him up only more, as if Kazehiki's pushy comments weren't doing enough of a job already.

He tried to ignore the rummaging around him, but it was gnawing on his nerves. Like that, he could neither find the right composure nor the right words to shake off his friend properly. Rubbing his temples, Oliver hoped to find back to their conversation.

"Everything's fine at home."

Kazehiki leaned back and rose an eyebrow. He figured Oliver wasn't up for any uncomfortable chatter, but he wouldn't drop the topic just yet. His friend's off behavior looked more like a chance to him to approach the topic from a different perspective.

"Well, at least you don't show up covered in bruises anymore. I'm surprised why all of a sudden but I won't question it. That's a step to the right direction."

Oliver still didn't look at him and Kazehiki sighed heavily. He looked at his bowl and wondered whether taking a break from the topic for a while would help him, however, he didn't see much hope in it. He watched Oliver put his bowl in the dishwasher, fiddling with the coffee machine a moment before sitting down again reluctantly.

Oliver raised his eyebrows, asking whether they were finished now, but Kazehiki shook his head. He stared at the blond a little longer.

"You know me. This is not enough for me. I'm still telling you that you need to find a way out of the relationship. It's just hurting you further, even if he might not be as violent anymore. Who knows for how long?"

Oliver frowned and fished his phone out of his jacket pocket, pretending to be busy with it. He had barely received a message from Fukase asking him when he'd come home but he ignored it for now.

"It's going to be fine," he grumbled and opened and closed a few more apps, hoping his friend wouldn't notice. However, Kazehiki pushed down the phone to the table, forcing Oliver to look back at him. The blond gritted his teeth, wondering how else he could evade the situation.

"Oliver, please, just listen to me," Kazehiki muttered almost desperately at this point. Hearing his shaky voice, Oliver did look up again, forcing himself to listen in a bit longer. Even though the repetitive advices started to bore him, he couldn't just walk away; both his curiosity and Kazehiki would follow him anyway.

"But for how long is it going to be fine? I'm worried, Oliver. You really don't have to go through that. He doesn't deserve someone like you if he treats you this way. You staying is not for anyone's sake."