Nowhere Haven

A Glimpse of Relief

What does it take to be brave? They knew, and they were scared. The answers fell into their hands, but there was no harm. In fact, there was nothing but love.

Oliver drove back home with a feeling he never expected to be feeling anytime soon. Although his visit at Kazehiki's house didn't exactly go as planned, he took courage from it. The every-lasting worries about being too late to help Fukase any longer wouldn't calm down, but there was one last weapon he was ready to outfling.

He parked the car in front of the front door, not bothering to find a parking spot now. After his long talk with his friend and the detour he took to buy Fukase and him breakfast robbed more of his time than he wanted. He hoped Fukase wasn't up yet.

Once Oliver got home, he sneaked from one room into the next, trying to find his partner up somewhere. There was no sign of Fukase, and Oliver almost wanted to sigh relieved, as he suddenly met a pair of red eyes staring up at him. Just as Oliver made his way to the living room, he found Fukase to be sitting on the couch, his limbs hanging loosely.

There was a hunch of curiosity in those apathetic eyes, and Oliver smiled apologetic.

"Sorry, I went out to get us breakfast."

He put the bags on the table and sat down next to his partner. He didn't turn towards him and Oliver figured that Fukase was feeling particularly fatigued again. He ran his hand through the crimson hair as he received both a flinch and a following sigh. Fukase's eyes fluttered shut.

"Do you want to eat something?" Oliver mumbled. There was no reaction. "I know that it's hard to eat anything right now, but you at least need to try. You can always get rid of it afterwards."

Fukase returned from his dozing and glanced up before lowering his head, giving a faint nod. Oliver smiled and stood up, getting cutlery as well as whatever he could find in their empty fridge ready. It wasn't a fancy breakfast, but it was warm bread rolls, so the morning started off better than without any.

Fukase joined him on the table eventually. His eyes wavered across the table a few times, and Oliver was about to help his partner by spreading a dab of jam on one of the halves of the roll, but a hand reaching beside him stopped him. Oliver watched Fukase take a piece of the bread, taking all the energy he had to prepare it himself.

Oliver wanted to take his mind off what was about to come, but his eyes wouldn't stop fixating on Fukase. He was munching on the edge of his slice with a deep frown, but Oliver appreciated the mere attempt to eat something. Fukase was a lot more cooperative, and while this was the first day and not a routine yet, Oliver was happy. The horrid image of a puppet sitting in front of him distorted with every further time Fukase moved his arms to either take a bite off his breakfast or to reach for the glass of water next to him.

Nevertheless, this was not why he brought the two of them to the table. While the distraction might have made Fukase feel a bit better, there was a profound intention Oliver hesitated to reveal. The mere thought of speaking out his concern shook him up, but there was not much time for bashfulness. As much as he tried to ignore his friend's words, there was one aspect to them he couldn't shake off anymore.

Oliver put his bread roll down and gulped the last bit down only reluctantly. Fukase didn't notice his nervousness yet, and he tried to conceal it further. Even though he knew that was far from strong, he wanted to look like it for the two of them.

"I've been thinking, Fukase." Fukase looked up, his expression unchanging. "I think we should find a therapist for you."

Fukase's jaw stopped moving and he froze. Oliver instantly bit the inside of his cheek, almost expecting the stiff reaction, but it shook him up either way.