Nowhere Haven

Last Cry for Help

Oliver checked the time on the monitor and sped up a little more. He usually didn't care at what time he'd come home, but he promised Fukase to be home by six and he was running late. Had it not been the unusually long line of people ordering at the same food stall, he would be on time, but today was not his day and the blond had to survive it somehow. 

While he was waiting on a red light, Oliver reached over to the passenger seat and checked his order once more. A small smile crept up his face when imagining how excited Fukase will be to see Oliver bringing his favorite dish. He drove a detour just to do his partner a favor, and Oliver couldn't feel any better. After all that has been changing lately, he liked to think that this was a reason to celebrate for once again.

The situation at home has improved drastically. Fukase has not once lashed out on Oliver ever since that day. In general, he has calmed down with showing his anger issues, even though Oliver knew that they were not gone completely. After what Fukase has told him last night, he had been pondering about their situation once more. He enjoyed the progress but couldn't hide from himself that he was worried for Fukase.

His prior smile dropped. Oliver knew that he liked to imagine things to go better than they actually were. Just by guiding the redhead a little bit, their ever-lasting issues were not going to disappear just like this. The light switched to green and Oliver continued his drive. He was a mere few minutes away from home.

He couldn't tell how else Fukase dealt with his emotions if he didn't let them out like he used to. There were times when Fukase had been feeling less chaotic but the blond assumed that had worked so well because he had managed to convert his negative emotions to positive ones. It was clear that trick wasn't going to work this time, leaving Oliver clueless on how to proceed any further like this.

Fukase's words from yesterday popped up in his mind once more. They didn't carry much weight, but they occupied his thoughts the entire day nevertheless. He knew he had to approach the redhead about it before it might have a bad after-effect.

While parking the car and setting everything to go back home, Oliver focused on his breathing a few moments. Pushing his doubts aside for a moment wasn't going to do any harm and he needed to be in a good mood if he actually wanted to reward his partner now. He hinged down the glare shield of his car and looked in the small mirror. Forcing himself to smile did help him improve his mood; he could show himself like this to Fukase.

Oliver quickly walked the rest to their apartment, stepped out of his shoes and put away his jacket. He was feeling a little too excited as he set up two plates and arranged the dishes to look somewhat presentable. Calling out for Fukase to come over to eat, Oliver waited to hear the door fly open, but there was no reaction. At this point, it was surprising to not have the redhead greet him, but Oliver shook it off and brought the plates on the table.

"Fukase, guess what I brought you home," Oliver chanted across the living room with a smile. Assuming that his lover must still be asleep, he decided to wake him up himself but froze in place as he noticed odd noises to come out Fukase's room. He rushed in front of the door and listened in a little longer.

He couldn't quite identify it but the occasional whimpers and muffled groans sent chills down his spine. Without much hesitation, Oliver rattled at the door knob, yelling for Fukase to open the door, but he received no response. Even though he had no explanation for it, something didn't feel right. 

Waiting for Fukase to open the door or just talk to him took too long at some point, and Oliver rushed back in the hallway to the storage room. His heart beat only faster as he threw a box out the closet and crammed through the dozens of utensils in it.

The blond fished out a small box and ripped the lid open, too shaky to fiddle with it otherwise. A rush of relief went through his body as the key he has been hiding from Fukase all this time was still in there. He was glad he had let the janitor give him a spare key.