Oliver picked up his pace as soon as he locked the car. He was already running late and the unexpected traffic made matters only worse. He didn't know whether Fukase could wait in his room or they threw him out already; his nervousness spiked up. His last hopes crashed once he walked through the entrance doors and spotted his partner in the waiting area. Fukase's head hung low as he clung tightly onto the bag in his lap. He barely noticed Oliver walking up to him. Only the soft greeting made him look up.
With a small smile, Oliver leaned down and picked up the bag from Fukase's lap. His partner stood up reluctantly.
"I'm sorry for the wait," Oliver sighed, still upset about his bad luck. Fukase looked at him and then followed him out of the hospital to the car. The fresh breeze blowing in his face startled him. He wasn't used to it, and now the cold air crawled its way up his sleeves. His body shivered but he kept on moving, trying to keep up with Oliver's fast pace. Luckily, Oliver looked back quickly enough once he noticed the lacking presence.
"You must still be a little hazy," Oliver muttered and tucked their arms together, "Are you okay?"
Fukase nodded and scanned the parking lot for Oliver's car; he was slowly running out of breath. Oliver noticed it but didn't say anything. Fukase surely wasn't up for much chatter. He merely brought him to the car and helped him get in in silence without letting any upsetting thoughts get to him yet. Oliver reminded himself that the doctor had informed him about Fukase's current medication.
Oliver was about to start the engine as sudden rustling on the passenger seat caught his attention. He turned his head, only to find his partner to be pulling something out of his pocket and silently handing it over. Oliver took a closer look at the prescription in his hands.
"We should stop by the pharmacy," Fukase said with his eyes focused on the piece of paper. Oliver stuffed it away and nodded, bewildered by the stoic tone in Fukase's voice. He suppressed shaking his head, started the car eventually and drove off.
The heavy silence followed them through the entire ride. Oliver glanced over every now and then but Fukase continued to stare right outside the window. His torso was swaying with the car's movement, and he woke up out of his trance once Oliver pulled up to their nearby pharmacy. Fukase couldn't react quickly enough as Oliver already got out of the car.
"Stay here, I'll be right back."
Fukase let go off the seat belt again and watched his partner disappear behind tinted glass doors. He leaned his head against the seat for a while and sighed; his sight became blurry again.
He only jumped out of his short-lived rest as Oliver opened the door again and got back in the car. He handed Fukase the small box and fastened his seatbelt. Fukase turned the box around a few times, surprised by the light weight of it.
"Sorry," he muttered almost inaudibly and bit his lip, "This must be expensive."
"It's alright. The insurance will cover most of it." Oliver beamed a smile and brought them back home. Even though it was merely a short sentence, hearing Fukase speak up all by himself relieved him. Being the only one to incite a conversation started to make him feel lonelier than when he was all alone, and it has barely been an hour like this.
Once they got back into their apartment, Oliver feared that things might feel bizarre, now that Fukase was acting off. It did feel weird to not have a loud presence around, but Fukase's curios glances through the apartment couldn't hide from him. Oliver got a bit excited himself to see how much his partner noticed the change. He hid his smile as Fukase glanced back.
"Do you want to eat something?"
Oliver took off his jacket and watched Fukase head towards the living room as he stopped in his tracks. Fukase shook his head and gained a confused frown in return.
