Chapter Text
It was hot out, nearly unbearably so. The sky was pale and dripping with stifling humidity, the lasts wisps of dew steaming and curling up and away under the 6 am sunrise. Asahi Azumane was riding on the morning train, sleepy bodies of businessmen and university students swaying as one united being. The brunette felt anxiety stirring quietly beneath his skin; it was muted and gentle, still buried beneath the pillows of a sleepy mind and medication. He was too wary of his peers to flick through his reports, trying his very best to run through all of the animals that he would be seeing that day.
Asahi was an exotic vet, and a good one at that. Though he would never be able to muster up the confidence to proclaim himself as anything above just decent, he had a large group of patients and subsequently, a fairly large paycheck. So, why was he riding the community train? The answer was simple. While he was anxious about being in such close proximity to other people, he was even more anxious about the inevitable doom that greenhouse gases would bring to him and his fellow homosapiens. It was a small way to pay his rent on the earth, he figured.
Lost in thought, Asahi nearly missed his stop. As the resident metal capsule slowly swayed to a halt, he clutched his backpack closer to his chest and made his way narrowly out of the train and onto the platform, doing his best to squeeze and shrink around the other people in his car. It was a bit of a feat, given his size. Of course, he had to graze a few bodies here and there; he had to do that every day.
Once Asahi had made his final trek to work, he fished a large wad of keys out of his pocket, untangling a particular metal piece and carefully pushing it into the lock. The cool tiles beneath him squeaked as he made his way into the cool and dark office, sounds of animals of all kinds chirping and squawking and clattering in the back room. The brunette took a moment to appreciate the quiet of the room, his eyes scanning the sterile waiting area of his office. The office he had built for himself, overtaken from his father. The building that he spent so long just helping in, and years at school to uphold. Asahi steadied himself, straightening up his spine and inhaling the faintly clinical aroma of 409 cocktailed with the ever present stained-in smell of animal musk. He flicked on the lights, looking on as cool bulbs washed the tile floors with light. He drew the blinds open with a fwush, letting in the warm heat of the sun and feeling it mingle quietly with the cool air that swept over his skin.
Asahi made his way down the hall and into one of the rooms in the back, unlocking the door and beholding a closet-sized area filled with neatly organized wires and dials all over the plaster walls. He curled his coffee-colored fingers around a dial and turned it backwards, down from 75 to 60. After closing the door behind him, the doctor made his way around the front desk and into the real back room.
As the squeaks and screeches got ever more present, Asahi felt anticipation rising in his chest. This morning, he would find out whether or not Squiggles the ball python was responding well to his new antibiotics. He would find out if Pumpkin the parakeet had somehow managed to twist her hurt wing up again, no matter what sort of cast Asahi’s crew of talented doctors and interns were able to dream up for her. He pushed open the door and flicked on the many dim bulbs that were built in the ceiling, slowly making his way around the cages and incubators. Carefully, he pulled the mesh top of Squiggles’ cage off, undoing the clasps, and scooping him up into his hands. Asahi lifted the reptile to his ear, listening in the dim quiet for the telltale whistling and popping of a respiratory infection. It was soft, though audible, and Asahi exhaled easily. The infection seemed to be dissipating. He would have to call the owners as soon as the clinic opened. Soon enough, Asahi checked through the rest of the cages. Pumpkin looked to be sleeping, her cast ripped unevenly at the top, closest to her beak. She had finally given up on popping open the cast. A small smile welcomed itself on Asahi’s face, his feet carrying him back to the front of the building. He was anticipating what would come his way today. ***
Soon enough, his other technicians and interns were filing into work. The brunette nodded a good morning to each and every one that he saw, warm and friendly and unafraid. After all, he knew these people. They were his family, proven time and time again that they remained at the clinic for more than just the payroll. As soon as the clinic opened, the place seemed to roll into action. It was slow and gradual, like a freight train. People around the office spoke quietly, and with the constant animal noises, there was always something to be seen. Typical Wednesday.
The day seemed to rotate on endlessly. But just as Asahi was heading for the door to check on something outside, somebody else beat him to it. Somebody shorter, more urgent, and carrying a soft mesh animal cage in his two small hands. Asahi jumped back as fast as he could, apologizing before holding the door open for the short man.
“S-sorry,” was all that Asahi could muster, eyes trained on whatever was inside of the carrier. That was...a miserable animal. “N-no, it’s fine. Hey, uh, I couldn’t really--well--my friend tried to call here, like, half an hour ago, and I, we,” he had to stop and take a deep breath. “My roommate’s stupid fucking bird got to my bearded dragon!”
The man before him was short, about 5’2, with huge eyes that were filled with golden pools of light and hazel. He had particularly sharp canines, especially the prominent lower ones, which shone white like little gemstones in the shoreline of teeth striking lip. The man looked like a whip of a storm, a tornado in a coca-cola bottle. His eyes buzzed with three times as many emotions as Asahi even knew a human could possess, mouth parted and breathing the air around him all in a frenzy. His legs were small, little wiry things with obvious muscle and power beneath the taut skin. The same could be said about his arms, and his hands. Tough calloused fingers connected to small palms, a vein curling like a river beneath the skin of his right hand. His nails were short to the skin, looking bit down.
“Dude? Please, help me!” Asahi snapped out of his observant haze, kicking himself mentally and wincing from the embarrassment of it all, and a surge of urgency flooded through him as he nodded in quick, apologetic understanding.
“Y-yes, alright!”
He took the little mesh carrier and set his salad down on the way into the emergency room. He set the dragon down on the cold operating table, radioing for a couple techs. “I have a bearded dragon that was attacked by a bird. It looks severe, I have to go back out and ask the owner some questions. Please come and clean its wounds with hydrogen peroxide, and check its vitality.” He said, before walking back into the waiting room to be faced with a very distressed young man.
Asahi was caught off guard. Sure, he had dealt with plenty of distressed or anxious pet owners; it was the majority of people he saw every day. However, the anxious pet owner that stood in the middle of the waiting room looked to be a different kind altogether.
The room was perceptibly silent as the veterinarian made his way to the middle of the cold tile floor, his own eyes mirroring anxiety as he looked in awe at the electric man standing before him. A dark storm felt like it was curling in the air, even the tacky fluorescents feeling dim against the creeping scenario.
“I’m Dr. Azumane,” he said softly. He didn’t know exactly what else could be said, but perhaps an introductory would help.
“Um, uh, N-Nishinoya Yuu,” squeaked the man that stood about a foot below him. “And the dragon...is Bolt.” He managed, fingers of a left hand twisting in the hem of his Adidas tank top, while the other one jutted out to shake with Asahi’s own. It was clammy, cold, and the touch felt like a zap. Upon retrieving his hand, he looked perturbingly like a child. “Will he...I mean, Is he gonna be okay?”
Asahi swallowed thickly and nodded. “I believe so. Bolt will have to have the wounds cleaned, and depending on the severity, he may need a stitch or two.” That was a fair response, wasn’t it? Asahi had definitely seen worse.
Nishinoya’s eyes lit all the way up and smoothed out all at once. Wary relief. “Thank you!” He breathed, a grin splitting across his face like a busted seam on a baseball. “Um, I...sorry about that. You know, the running in here thing. I just got really worried! I’ve never seen Bolt bleed before, I just…” he had to stop and shake his head in dismay and worry. “Sorry.”
Asahi shook his head slowly. Now that his mind had pulled itself out of Heroic Doctor Mode, he had to deal with the immense Nishinoya-induced anxiety that was welling up in his chest. “Ah, um...It’s okay. Please don’t worry. We’re here for that.” He managed to say, his heart already starting to twist and hammer in his chest. He remembered his medicine, so why was he so anxious? Maybe it was the intense absolution of Nishinoya’s eyes, the way they bore deep into his being and looked him over. Maybe it was how flurried and windswept their meeting had been, without time for Asahi to ease into the conversation. He would hate to run into Nishinoya in a public setting. “Anyway, erm...I have to ask you some questions about what happened to Bolt,” he said softly, watching Nishinoya carefully. Somehow, he seemed just as rapt as Asahi felt. He was staring up at the brunette’s face, his eyes wide and filled with some sort of quicksilver interest. Shiny, slippery, intangible. It took a few seconds for Asahi’s words to sink in, Nishinoya’s interested gaze skipping to a hard halt. “Uh….oh. Oh, yeah,” he laughed awkwardly, scratching the back of his head. “Uh, well, ask away, I guess.”
For a moment, Asahi mused as to how somebody could switch moods so easily. Packing all of those feelings would run him out of energy in minutes. Nishinoya appeared to be winding down, or at least pretending to. Asahi noted the hands still fisted in his tank top, the oily sheen of sweat gathered at his forehead. Winding down? Nervous. Asahi nodded. He took a clipboard and a report sheet from the front desk, and turned to look Nishinoya up and down carefully. “What kind of bird was it?”
Nishinoya thought for a moment. “An African Grey,” he responded, and Asahi nodded.
“How long ago did this happen?” He watched Nishinoya shrug a little, his caramel eyes casting downwards.
“About an hour ago, I think. I rushed him here as soon as I could; my friend drove me.” Nishinoya was flushed still, adding quickly, “Uh, b-but I have a car! And a job!” Asahi paused for a moment. Why was that a big deal? Nishinoya felt scarier and more unpredictable by the minute. “Alright…” he laughed, barely so, a breathy exhale of a noise, more out of politeness than anything else.
He went on with a few more questions, Nishinoya giving generic and fairly easy replies to them all. “I think that’s all I need. We’ll probably have to keep Bolt for a night or two to keep his wounds cleaned,” he said softly, before making a soft little noise of remembrance. “Would you fill out a report, please?”
Nishinoya nodded quickly, and walked over to the counter, continuing to steal looks up at the vet, his eyes wide and his movements still a little bit fidgety. It made Asahi nervous. Was something wrong? Did he look funny? Or was it just the sheer fear of the situation, still permeating the air around them?
“Suga, could you give me a report paper, please?” He asked, and watched the receptionist pull out a sheet of paper and a little branded pen. He handed them to Nishinoya and smiled, eyes lingering on him for a moment. It seemed everyone knew things he did not. Asahi took a step back, as the wiry man filled out the sheet. He couldn’t help but watch, his chicken scratch scrawling in scribbly little wormy lines across the paper. It was endearing, in a weird kind of way.
“Done!” Nishinoya pushed that same grin at Asahi, making his brain squirm. “Oh, uh, and actually,” his expression turned soft, more embarrassed. After handing over his credit card for Sugawara to run an initial fee through, he looked a bit shyly up at Asahi. “Do you think I could...like, get your number? Just to be able to check up on Bolt, you know?” he added the last part as a quip, eyes widening in ernest and cheeks getting a little pink. His smile faded into a serious frown, an expression of utmost insistence.
Asahi paused in his motions, swearing that he could hear Sugawara make a noise of interest. “Ah, sure. I’ll give you my card. When you call here, ask Suga for my extension.” He smiled kindly, before pulling a card out of a dinky little clay business card holder on the front desk, shaped like a dog.
“Here,” he handed over the card, worrying his lip in between his teeth. Thankfully, after becoming a vet, he’d been forced to get over the anxiety of speaking on the phone. Nishinoya looked a little bit dejected, but soon enough, he flashed another grin. These complicated facial features seemed to have no end to their arrival. Though the grin was shaky, nerves still alight from the stressful situation that had just transpired, Asahi wondered briefly what it would feel like to be able to smile like that.
“Thanks. By the way, you can call me Noya. I’ll talk to you later! Thank you for taking care of Bolt!” He waved, and turned to jog and hop his way right out the glass door. All Asahi could manage was a weak nod and wave, paling as he caught Nishinoya’s eye all the way out from the parking lot. What a scary, strange person.
“He seems interesting,” Sugawara commented, but otherwise said nothing. Asahi could only nod and swallow. What else could he say? He was right, and Asahi wasn't sure whether it was good or bad. How...nerve wracking. He wondered if there was a single person in the world who could manage to handle somebody like Nishinoya. ***
The day dragged out slowly, with Bolt’s wounds being cleaned, and the clinic’s scheduled appointments dwindling down to a remainder of zero. Asahi looked at the sleepy sunset that was falling kindly over the horizon. Everything turned from glimmery-gold to a deep purple, dew accumulating all over everything in a sheen of brow sweat. His team packed up one at a time, leaving Asahi alone in the calmness of the empty clinic. He heard all of the animals settling down into their heat mats to sleep, or perhaps beginning to wake up after a day of nocturnal rest. It was nearing 9, and then, the phone rang.
Asahi nearly jumped out of his skin. This meant there was either an emergency, or...his brain flew back to Nishinoya’s grin. Or something just short of one. Asahi slowly sat down in Sugawara’s spinning chair, cradling the desk phone in his hands and lifting it to his ear. “Karasuno Veterinary Clinic,” he said, before he heard the telltale voice on the other end.
“Uhh, hi! Could you put me through to Doctor A...wait a minute!” He laughed, and before he knew it, Asahi found himself sweating. Scary.
“Erm...Nishinoya?” He asked softly, everything around him feeling infinitely less simple and comfortable. Why did his hunch have to be right?
“The one and only!” He could practically hear the grin through the telephone wires. Nagasaki’s dim sky and mountains were a quiet blanket, and eerily, it felt like the scenery was wrapping around just the two of them.
“Bolt seems to be healing up well. He’ll be fine in a couple of days, and then we’ll get him right back to you,” he said calmly, reclining with a creak in the worn chair. “He’s got a strong will to get well.”
“Ahh, I’m so glad! Uh, but why isn’t your receptionist here?” Asahi heard the thunderous voice ask, toning down just a little in a goofy way. Asahi curled the coiled phone cord around a finger absentmindedly.
“He went home an hour and a half ago,” came the reply, though he regretted letting out something that felt so familiar, and maybe even sarcastic.
“...Oh. So… Are you closed?” Nishinoya asked, the same childish tone of voice surfing the optical fibers between them.
“Uh, yeah,” Asahi replied.
“Oh, oops. But then why are you talking to me?” Asahi could hear the coy smile on the other end.
“Because...I had to pick up the phone. What if it was an emergency?”
“Well, what if it was me?” Soft, buzzing quiet. The intrusive words hung in the air, and Asahi felt a disdainful recoil in his stomach. How could he admit to having thought that, too? At this point, his brain was treating them like the same thing.
“All of our customers are important.” he said, opting for the safe and easy route.
“You think I’m important, Dr. Azumane?”
“Asahi is fine,” he was nearly whispering by now, sure that there was a faint trickle of embarrassment in his voice. If Nishinoya was going to be calling past his bedtime, he might as well speak to him like an adult. A tiny sliver of control. Call me what I want, if you must call me anything at all. It was arbitrary, sure, but important. Asahi would tell himself that it was for the illusion of control, rather than a polite middle ground. It was what everybody called him, anyways.
Nishinoya paused, and for once, Asahi wondered if he had stunned him into silence. He was too pleased with himself to be very embarrassed of the tone that he took, and the absence of Nishinoya’s question pulled his confidence on. I can play, too.
Suddenly, between the three seconds pause and the little prickle of glee in his ribs, Asahi stole a glance at the desktop monitor’s clock. Shit. 9:34. The last train was at 9:46. Secretly, Asahi was happy for an out. Happy that he could leave this conversation at all, let alone on a fairly high note.
“Nishinoya, the last train leaves in twelve minutes.” he said, untangling thick fingers from the phone cord.
“Ah...huh. Well, Asahi,” Nishinoya said, that finalizing tone in his voice when people talked on the phone and were ready to end their conversation, “I guess I should let you go.” Asahi understood the appeal of a car, just for a moment. Nishinoya sounded genuinely disappointed.
“Yeah...I guess so.” “I’ll check in tomorrow,” came a flurry of rushed words. Asahi has already suspected that as a given. Damn.
“Oh, yeah. Make sure to remember that you have to go through Suga.” He said, in an attempt to stay neutral.
“As long as I get to talk to you,” Nishinoya said, and then it was Asahi’s turn to be quiet. He swallowed slowly, carefully. He didn’t want to lose. “Then...I’ll talk to you tomorrow.” Asahi replied, his voice low and warm, and for just a flicker of a second, sleepy Nagasaki’s lavender little world didn’t feel so typically lonely. “Goodnight then, Asahi.” and then there was a soft click.
Asahi ran a hand over his forehead, his eyebrows knitting up and together for just a moment. What...was that? and why did everything feel so personal? Asahi couldn’t tell Nishinoya off, or ask him to hang up because he didn't want to talk. it was terrifying, because Asahi found Nishinoya just a little bit endearing. But realistically, the conversation was exhausting. He had to be quick to squash the idea that this was anything more than an odd and intrusive customer. ***
Asahi made it to the train just as it rolled up to the station, stepping inside and casting a bare look to the few sleepy businessmen and women that inhabited the fluorescent ecosystem of the cab. He had other things on his mind, or rather, a single Other Thing. Of course he wouldn’t be able to rid himself of the thoughts that curled within him. His therapist labelled him a “chronic overthinker” for a reason.
Once he got home, the brunette was finally able to curl his hands around a hot mug of tea. He let the warmth heat up his palms, and made himself a tupperware of beef stew. The night was lovely and warm spent under the roof of Asahi’s spacious apartment, alone. Bright eyes seemed to swirl in his head, and a pair of sharp canines to accent a nervous grin. Frustrating, electric Nishinoya.
He fell asleep soon, sooner than usual. Today had been brutal. ***
The phone call came at lunch. “Asahi, there is someone on the phone for you asking about his bearded dragon,” Sugawara’s voice sung through the receiver, always acting like a mom, like he knew something Asahi just couldn’t grasp. But that didn’t matter now.
“Hey, Asahi,” Nishinoya said, and Asahi swallowed his turkey sandwich down quickly. “Hi,” he replied, twiddling a pen in his fingers.
“Bolt is looking good. I don’t think he’ll be needing any stitches, but he might have some…” Asahi paused, hoping that what he was about to say wasn’t too insensitive. “Battle scars.”
Nishinoya exploded in a flurry of laughter on the other line. Asahi lifted the phone just a little from his ear. The laugh was jarring, and charming. “Asahi, that’s so cool! You should see the other guy!” He laughed again, and Asahi couldn’t help but join him, quietly. He wasn’t often one to make fun of the injury of animals, but perhaps it wasn’t the joke he was chuckling at.
“If he’s that bad, I might have to.” He replied.
“As long as I get to bring him,” Nishinoya quipped back, a little bit faster than Asahi was expecting. Had he been planning to say that, or was it impulsive? Did Nishinoya plan anything?
“Well, you should have your roommate with you,” Asahi finally replied, looking rather longingly at his food. He was awkward and hungry as hell. “Cool, of course. But um...well, how’s your day been?” Nishinoya asked into the receiver.
Asahi scraped his pen against the table deliberately. Nishinoya was kind of getting personal, huh? It was a little bit off-putting, and really, why didn’t this get under his skin more? Maybe it was just his medicine talking for him.
“Well...I’ve already had to take two rocks out of a parrot’s stomach. I neutered a pig, too.”
Nishinoya gasped. “Woooaaahhh! You did?! That’s so cool!” He whistled.
“Ah, not really,” Asahi replied, and felt his cheeks get warm. “It’s just protocol…”
“But you’re helping so many animals! You’re making the world a better place, Asahi. That’s really cool. Not to mention that you’re able to perform surgery on parrots and pigs. You’re like a superhero!”
Asahi felt his hands start to sweat. “N-no way,” he replied nervously, biting his bottom lip. “I’m not…” Fake flattery, he told himself. Nishinoya wanted a discount, or something. He was lying.
“Ahh, yeah, you are. We could go back and forth all day. Just take my compliment.” Nishinoya sounded so convinced. He clearly didn’t know Asahi well enough. That, or he was a great actor. “,
Ah, well, thank you…” he said quietly, pausing at the muffling on the other line.
“Shit, Asahi, I gotta go. Sorry, my break is over,” he said, and Asahi looked down at his desk.
“A-Alright,” Asahi replied quietly, before looking up at the wall. Was this all he would be talking to Nishinoya tonight? In the daylight, their conversation didn’t feel half bad. “Oh, wait a moment. “Would you leave me your number? I'll be able to update you about Bolt later tonight.”
"Ooh...after-receptionist hours?” Nishinoya purred. Asahi felt his face getting warm. How outrageous.
“I…I can't, erm, promise anything.” he replied, his eyes cast down at the sandwich sitting lonely on his wood-patterned desk.
“Well...okay! Here’s my number, then. I really wanna hear from you later...I won't stay too busy.” Nishinoya then started to recite a lump of numbers, and Asahi scrambled to get them down.
“I'll call you later, then. Goodbye, Noya.” “Bye, Asahi,” Nishinoya held a fond and soft lilt of his words, and they made Asahi’s chest twist up a little. Kind of sweet.
Click.
Asahi checked the clock. The majority of his lunch break had been eaten up by Nishinoya, and he realized suddenly that he could have easily told the other man that he was on break. He had an out, so why didn't he use it? ***
After Asahi walked out of his neat office, he caught sight of two of his co-workers talking. Namely, Sugawara and Daichi.
“Ah, Asahi! Come over here!” Suga beckoned him, pale hands curling towards himself, and Asahi had to drift forwards.
“Um...hi. What’s going on?” Asahi replied, bottom lip worried between his teeth.
“We were just talking about your newest customer. Nishinoya Yuu, right? It seems like he likes you.” He smiled, cheeky and refreshing, in a way. Suga always had a way of smoothing Asahi’s mind out. “He called and asked for you by your first name. I didn’t know you guys were on that kind of basis already.”
Asahi pinked. “Um, well...I told him he could call me Asahi, I guess,” he shrugged, offering a nervous kind of smile.
It was clear that Sugawara opted not to ask just when that interaction had transpired. “From what I can tell, he might be good for you to hang around more often.” Sugawara’s words made Asahi frown a little.
“Um...is there...something wrong with me?”
“Oh, no! I just mean that he’s a really outgoing guy! Good influence.”
Asahi opened his mouth to say something, but there was already a mom and daughter strolling through the door, with a guinea pig. Suga sat down into his receptionist’s chair, and Daichi slipped away to go pretend to be busy. Asahi only stood in place, wondering all the while why everyone seemed to know more about his relationships with others than he did. ***
The day was otherwise regular. Never slow, never quite too fast, but Asahi didn't have the time to sit down regardless. At 8:30, Sugawara gathered his things to leave. Oh, shit.
For a moment, Asahi contemplated forgetting to call Nishinoya back. But, belatedly, he knew it would be severely unprofessional. He cast a baleful look to the clock.
Asahi had to call Nishinoya back. he made his way into his office, sitting down in his dark leather chair and picking up the landline. he dialed the numbers that rested cheekily on a yellow sticky note, adhesed to his desk calendar.
One ring. Two rings. Click.
“Hello?” Came a hurried reply, as if Nishinoya had been genuinely excited to pick up the phone.
“Nishinoya,” Asahi said quietly, before pausing. He...hadn't even checked on Bolt since the beginning of the afternoon.
“It’s me,” Nishinoya said, and Asahi could hear the grin. But Asahi did have one bit of knowledge about Bolt.
“Bolt can leave, tomorrow. He looked good this afternoon, just a bit of scabbing. I’ll go over the details tomorrow, whenever you can come in.”
The office was silent now. nobody was left, and Asahi was surrounded by the soft nothingness of buzzing fluorescents and animal noises. And of course, Nishinoya.
“Uh. Ohh, okay! Well, that was faster than I thought! You work fast, huh?” He sounded...sad.
“Well, I think that maybe Bolt is just tough,” Asahi replied, and found himself smiling, searching the room for something to stare at.
“It was a team effort, then.” Nishinoya said, “what time should I come in?” “How’s eleven?” Asahi responded.
“Eleven is good...I’ll see you soon, then? Tomorrow, I guess?”
Asahi hummed in affirmation. “Ah, yeah. I’ll see you.”
“Uh, wait. Do you wanna talk some more? You know, I mean, you don't have to!” Nishinoya sounded like he was backing out.
“Ah, well...Sure. I have about an hour until I have to be at the train station. What do you want to talk about?” What. Oh, no. He couldn't help but notice how personal this all felt. It had started to rain, as Asahi could see, outside of his window. Little sprinkles of water smattered his window, cool and silencing. The occasional car rumbled by every once in a while, and Asahi could only see the headlights from his view of the courtyard.
“Okay, well...Tell me about your day today. How was everything?”
What had he done today? “Hmm...well.” Asahi found himself genuinely thinking about what might please Nishinoya. “A guinea pig got out. Daichi--one of my coworkers--had to catch her with a big net. He had to lock himself in the Animal Room. Afterwards, he went and took a break down behind Suga’s desk.”
Nishinoya listened intently. “Ohh, shit. At least it sounds like the thing is feeling better!” Asahi let slip a breathy chuckle. “It was only getting some required shots.”
“Ohh. Well, hey! You take care of them, then. How’s the parrot that ate the rocks? And the pig?”
“Ah…I’m sort of surprised you remembered that stuff. They’re both doing pretty well. The pig went home today and the parrot is going home either tomorrow or the next day.”
“Sure I remembered! I’m glad that they're on the mend...and it's all thanks to Doctor Azumane, here to save the day again.”
Asahi laughed again. He slowly ran a hand through his hair, pulling it out of its tie. “I don't know about all that…”
“Hey,” Nishinoya stopped him suddenly. “Do you...uh. Well, it sounds stupid. But I’m the king of saying stupid shit. So...do you talk to anybody else after the secretary leaves?” His words turned soft and quiet, threading and waving through the fiber optics.
“I...no,” Asahi mumbled, searching around his office for something to let him focus on. Something to get him out. How would he have time to talk to anybody else, anyways?
“Oh. Well, hey. Me, neither, uh.”
Asahi exhaled softly. “I see. Oh! I guess that I didn't...I didn't ask about how your day went.” This felt exceedingly personal.
“Oh, my day! Well, it was pretty boring, I think. Tanaka--my friend--came over. we hung out and played video games, then we went out to eat. Uh...I talked about you. A little.” Nishinoya got quiet, and Asahi bit his lip.
“Suga talked about you,” he admitted. “To Daichi.”
“What did he say? Was it good?” Noya asked, sounding a little anxious.
“Ah, yeah. Just said you were friendly, to me.” He left out the other, more suggestive parts of the conversation he’d overheard.
“That’s good! And true, I guess,” Nishinoya seemed to trail off. “Anyways. I really, uh. I like to talk to you. Like, maybe more than I should.”
Soft static filled the line for just a moment, when Asahi didn't know what to say. This all felt so personal, so juvenile.
“Uhh, but anyways! I’ve got to go! So, yeah! I’ll talk to you tomorrow! At eleven! Bye Asahi!”
Click.
It was time to go home, and Asahi didn't quite want to. His fingers twitched for the phone, staring at it like maybe it would start to ring out of nowhere, like Nishinoya would reach back out and all Asahi would have to do was pick up. It was easy to keep recieving, when there was no need for him to reach out.
There was no ring. Asahi stood. He got his things, and began to shut the office down. turn up the air conditioning, lock the rooms, check the cages, sweep up a little bit. Things had already be sanitized and wiped down. Asahi had about fifteen minutes until he needed to leave. He wanted to go now.
And three minutes after Asahi had walked out of the building, there was a ring at the front desk. There were about eight and a half rings, actually.
And there was a message, one that said:
“Hey, Asahi. Sorry for hanging up so soon. I guess you probably left already. But, um. I still mean it. Like, what I said. Okay, bye.”
Perhaps Asahi would have picked up, and maybe they would have talked a little more. ***
As soon as Sugawara walked in and sat down at his desk, he checked the messages and voicemails left on the landline. The most recent, which was second to last, was the one that would cause Sugawara to grin widely and call Asahi behind the desk.
“There is a voicemail for you, specifically.” He said, and held up the receiver, for Asahi to listen. The light-haired man pressed play, and Asahi could feel a kind of ashamed embarrassment curl up in his chest. Maybe he was making friends now, and maybe he didn’t want Sugawara to hear that message.
“Did you guys talk last night?” Suga asked, and Asahi nodded. “Why on the office phones?”
Asahi paused, and looked at Suga. That got his wheels turning, and his friend knew it. “Uh...because he called the office phones? And besides, he’s a customer of mine. Where else would we talk?”
“Dense as ever,” Suga rolled his eyes and smiled, but didn’t say anything else. “Well, alright. He’s coming to pick Bolt up?”
“At eleven,” Asahi responded, glancing at the clock despite himself. An hour and forty-seven minutes. And then, well, then what? Would he still be getting night calls like he had been? Did he even want them? A
sahi sighed. There was still time, there was still hope for a satisfying conclusion...whatever it may be. ***
Nishinoya came barrelling into the building at 10:49. Asahi was in the Emergency Room, sterilizing bleeding Iguana scratches that stretched and clambered up his left arm. He only looked up when Daichi poked his head into the door.
“Somebody is here to see you.”
“Ah...He’s early, then,” Asahi said, but took a warm washcloth with him, applying pressure to his rather itchy arm.
Daichi didn’t comment on the fact that he’d been keeping track of time, or that he knew who it was without having to hear it.
“Hi, Asa--Dr. Azumane!” Nishinoya’s grin soaked the entire room in sunshine. Asahi flushed, knowing well that his two best friends would store that for later. Suddenly, his eyes landed on Asahi’s arm. “Oh, shit! What the hell happened to you?!”
“Iguanas can be pretty mean...Ah. Bolt is ready to go home. He’s in the case that he came in, but I want to make sure that you know a few things, first.”
Nishinoya was staring. When Asahi looked at him, eyes dragging away from the space that was right beside his ear, he knew. “Uh...oh! Yeah, o-okay. Let me, uh, get my phone. And type it out.”
Asahi waited for that to happen, before beginning to list off the requirements for Bolt’s care.
“Wipe down his cuts with diluted hydrogen peroxide every night. Make sure he doesn’t have any loose substrate in his tank, replace it with paper towels. Keep everything inside of his enclosure very clean, and don’t take him out and play with him too much. And...Bring him back in about a week. Call if anything is immediately urgent.”
Nishinoya perked up at the last couple orders. “O-oh, seriously? Okay! Well, I’ll make sure to.” They were quiet for a moment. “A-and Asahi?” Asahi nodded for a moment.
“Yeah?”
“Uh, well. I guess...I’ll call you tonight. Or something.”
Asahi stared at the pet parent in disbelief. He wanted to keep talking? Even after Bolt was home…? He supposed he shouldn’t have been quite too surprised, but he wasn’t sure how he felt about it.
“I’ll be here,” he replied. “But, I’m going to go and get Bolt now.”
Nishinoya nodded, and flashed a grin. It was that same rocketing, goofy smile. Asahi liked it. Especially now that he didn’t have to picture it from over the phone. The air around them felt intense, electrified. Asahi could have sliced into it with a knife.
“Um...okay. One minute.” Asahi slipped away to get Bolt from the Animal Room.
The brunette lifted the pink mesh carrier from a secure shelf against the wall, looking Bolt in his beady eyes. He could have sworn that the lizard had the same quick personality as Nishinoya did. On his way out, Asahi grabbed a spray bottle of reptile-safe disinfectant, for Nishinoya’s cage setup.
Asahi made his way back outside to Nishinoya, and smiled kindly. He handed over the little 8 ounce spray bottle of blue liquid, then more carefully, Bolt.
The look on Nishinoya’s face was gorgeously ecstatic. He lifted bolt straight out of his pink carrier and cradled him against his chest, holding him there and dragging his stubby nails slowly down the reptile’s back. Asahi couldn’t help but to stare at him, feeling one of his soft spots being mercilessly abused by the shorter man. A guy who loved animals. This had to be a worldly punishment.
“Ahh, Bolt! I can’t fucking believe that stupid bird, beating you up like that! I’m so, so sorry. But you’re so cool, you’re such a fighter! I bought you a tub of waxworms for when we get home, you’re in for such a treat! I’m gonna take such good care of you…” He was talking soothingly, quietly, sort of like on the phone. Nishinoya had already set down every other belonging he had to hold his pet in his arms, kissing the top of his scratched up head kindly. “I swear to god, that stupid guy Hinata won’t hear the end of this.”
Asahi just kept on staring. His heart was swelling up by the second, and he knew his face must be the most mushy, embarrassing expression in the world. Sweet, gentle, caring, excitable Nishinoya. Who loved his pet lizard, who called him at night. Who wanted to talk to him. Asahi dragged a hand down his own face, feeling the burning heat beneath it. This was positively the worst.
Nishinoya looked up at him, his own face blooming pink, as his smile turned wobbly and embarrassed. “Um, uh, so. This is...ah. A little bit embarrassing.” He flashed his white canines anyways, and Asahi could only shake his head.
“No...I...I’m glad you care about him so much.” He said softly, swallowing around a sandpapery tongue. “It...I’ll have Suga write up your expenses.”
“Oh, yeah! Right, uhh...hold on.” He positioned Bolt to sit on his shoulder by himself, holding him steady while using his right hand to sign papers and pull out his wallet from his cargo shorts. And after all that was done, Nishinoya looked up at Asahi with a pair of big caramel eyes. “So...It’s still okay if I call you tonight, right?” He asked, not even blinking.
“O-oh, yeah. Um, sure.” He smiled, and fidgeted for a minute. Maybe he wouldn’t hate it so much now, knowing a little more about who was on the other end of the line.
“Cool, awesome! Okay! I’ll talk to you...you know when. And I’ll tell you about Bolt, too. Should I clean his cuts tonight?”
“Ah, probably. We cleaned him up this morning, but it never hurts to be extra careful. Make sure to clean out his tank before you put him back, alright?”
“No worries! I did a shit ton of research over the past couple days. It’s already done.” He grinned, which pulled Asahi’s heartstrings right along with him.
“I’m sure Bolt feels very lucky, then.” Asahi responded, and he watched Nishinoya turn pink.
“Oh, well...I let him get all beat up in the first place! It’s the least I could do, right?” If anyone could detect guilt in a voice, no matter how smoothed over it was, it was Asahi.
“Sometimes, things just happen. You can’t hold yourself accountable all the time. I’m sure that you wouldn’t have put him in a dangerous situation by your own free will at all, ever.” He felt lame for saying it, but it was the truth.
Nishinoya brightened up considerably. “You’re a lot harder on yourself than you are on anybody else,” he laughed. “But thank you. I’ll see ya, Asahi.” He packed Bolt back up into his carrier, before giving Asahi one last meaningful look, and walking off to his car. Asahi’s eyes didn’t leave him, and Nishinoya waved to him from the smoldering parking lot. He hopped into his truck, pulling away slowly. What was Asahi going to do about this? What would he label this new thing they kept?
Sugawara’s voice sliced through the electric haze that Asahi was stuck in. “Don’t act like that wasn’t a thing. I’m not even going to beat around the bush this time, Asahi. I know he hit every single base for you, especially with that whole thing about reuniting with his lizard.”
Asahi flushed red. “U-um, what? I don’t know what you mean,” he mumbled nervously, eyebrows knitting together. “Besides, even if I did, what could I even offer him? I’m just me, and you said yourself that he’s a good influence on me, s-so…obviously, I would just drain him.”
Sugawara eased into a sort of smile that only he could procure. “Oh, Asahi,” he sighed, and it made him feel like he was talking to his mom. “You’re sweet, and caring, and wonderful, and you’re just as valuable as he is. And he likes you! As he should.”
The brunette retreated, his cheeks flushing evermore. This was incredibly embarrassing, and this kind of pressure that Sugawara was laying on him was making him flighty and irritated. “I, um, have to go and sort through a couple files. Make some phone calls. And I don’t...I don’t like him. He would be stupid to like me and I would be stupid to like him.
Suga only sighed, and nodded. He procured a weak smile, otherwise going back to tapping away at his computer. ***
Eight forty-seven, was when the secretary phone started to ring. Asahi picked up on the third ring, still apprehensive from what Sugawara has said to him.
“Asahi,” Nishinoya said gently from the other telephone. His line sounded staticky, like he was outside.
“Hey,” Asahi responded, knowing well that he didn’t sound half as frigid as he used to. “How’s Bolt?”
He asked. “Good! Really good. I cleaned his cage a second time before I put him in, and loaded him up on waxworms and other good stuff. His wounds got cleaned, too. He’s sleeping now. And, um...I got after my roommate pretty good, too.”
He could imagine Nishinoya doing that. It sounded about right. “Well, good.” It was Nishinoya’s turn to ask a question. That was how conversations went, right? So Asahi waited patiently, obediently, like a dog.
“How did today go? Anything interesting?” Nishinoya sounded like he’d settled down wherever he was.
“Yeah, um, actually. I finally figured out what was wrong with this turtle that we’ve been keeping. He has a tumor, on his leg. I thought maybe it was MBD, but it was a tumor. Thankfully, it was benign, so I took care of it pretty fast."
“Woah, throwing terms out there that I literally don’t understand at all. Asahi, what the hell is MBD? You kinda hafta dumb it down for me, if you couldn’t tell.”
Asahi hummed in confusion, the tips of his ears pinking. “Metabolic bone disease?”
“Ohhh, right, right! Okay, I know that. Just took me a sec.” He laughed lightly, the tinny noise curling up through the phone receiver. “Sorry.”
“Don’t apologize,” Asahi replied kindly. It was his turn to ask a question now, wasn’t it? “Do you have any other pets?”
“Huh? Oh, nah. Bolt is the only pet I need. He’s basically like a dog, and a best friend, and a super cool lizard, all in one. Total catch. What about you, Asahi?”
“No, I don’t have any pets. I think that taking care of all of the animals here is my substitute. I have lots of pets, in a way.” “Ahh, that makes sense, you’re like a teacher.” Nishinoya laughed, and Asahi found himself smiling along. “Yeah, that’s cool. Do you ever get any days off?”
“Actually, I get Sundays off. We’re technically closed on Sundays, but really, we have people come to take care of the animals and manage them for a few hours in the morning and night. It kind of is me, usually. I guess I get worried that anybody else will mess it up.”
“Wow, you’re so responsible! But it isn’t good to work yourself so hard, you know? What do you do in your free time?” Nishinoya had broken the pattern, and Asahi’s fingers dragged slowly down the desk, agonizing how he had just received the motherly, caring words of somebody who simply didn't approve of his lifestyle.
“Um, well...I go grocery shopping. Sometimes I go out with my coworkers, work out, read.” He paused for a moment, hoping he didn’t sound too boring. Hoping his free time occupations sounded valid enough to impress the person on the other end of the line. “What do you do for work?” Stop talking about me, please.
Nishinoya laughed nervously. “I’m gonna sound so totally lame, but I work two part-time jobs. I coach kids with volleyball at a school nearby, and I work at my family’s restaurant. But I don’t do anything on most of Saturday and all of Sunday.”
Asahi hummed. He had just felt the same way, though more so about his free time. He supposed that it made sense that Nishinoya would find something boring about normalcy, things that didn't show a direct punch of action. “That isn’t lame. I played volleyball in high school.”
“Ohh, no way! So did I!” Nishinoya laughed. “I wonder if we ever played against each other.”
“That would be sort of funny, wouldn’t it?” He replied, and smiled down at his free hand, flexing his knuckles absentmindedly. He briefly had to wonder whether or not they had seen each other in high school. What would be different today if they had connected back then, instead of just now?
“Yeah! I guess high school was a pretty fun time for me. It was one of the most social points of my life.”
Asahi thought back to his time in high school. Anxiety, homework, metaphorical imprisonment. Between dealing with the rumors spreading around about him due to his appearance coupled with figuring out his sexuality, it was a hellish three years.
“What about you?” Nishinoya asked, and Asahi could hear apprehension toeing at the telephone lines because of the silence that Asahi was stringing along. He figured that Nishinoya must not be good with handling silences. But then again, these new silences were not the comfortable kind.
“Oh, uh...I-I guess it was alright for me.” Asahi replied, and winced at how weak his response was. “Liar,” Nishinoya quipped, and Asahi winced. The words weren't harsh or derogatory, but of course Nishinoya knew. He had to, didn't he? “U-um...maybe…?” He wasn’t sure that he wanted to delve deep into his high school trauma right now. His Clonazepam was beginning to wear off, the haze previously smothering his disorder thinning like ice.
“You don’t have to talk about it, just saying. But my high school years weren’t as good as I would like to think, either.” Nishinoya said, voice soft and velvety in the crackly receiver of Asahi’s landline. “So if you ever do want to talk about it, I would really like to listen. And I’ll tell you about me, too.”
Asahi searched for his words. He was always slow to responding to things like this, never quite knew what to say. How could somebody promise to put their feelings out on the table like that? “Thank you. That really means a lot to me, Noya.” He settled on that. Safe, true, soft.
“Don’t mention it, Asahi. Something tells me you don’t talk about your feelings all that much.” Um, okay. Hard blow...but he was right. And Asahi felt that he was in debt to trade back something emotional, now.
“I guess you’re right,” Asahi said softly. “Hey...where are you right now?” He didn't want to sound too desperate to change the subject.
“I’m on the steps of my apartment. Watching the fireflies...my roommate has his boyfriend over. He’s kind of a bummer.” Asahi laughed a little bit, despite himself. “I see. Is he staying the night?” Sweet, sweet distractions. Nishinoya was easy conversation, he realized.
Nishinoya sighed blearily. “Ugh, yeah.” He responded, and Asahi smiled, just a ghost.
“Sorry. They aren’t really respecting your common shared space, I guess.” The brunette replied.
Nishinoya huffed, a puff of static coming through the receiver. “No, they’re not. And I can’t just turn the AC up very high in my room either, because Bolt will get too cold. The ambient temperature will dip too much, so I have to listen all night to...whatever they do in the other room.”
Asahi chuckled low in his chest, his eyelids drooping a little. He was getting a little sleepy, himself. Speaking of that... It was 9:23. He could make it to the stop if he hurried at 9:30.
“Oh, you have to go soon right?” Mind reader. “Uh, yeah, I do,” Asahi replied softly, watching the desktop clock turn to 9:24. Suddenly, he was thinking back to Suga’s words. “Um...wait.”
The line went quiet, before he could hear a small, “yeah?”
“My number. My...cell. If you want to, uh, I-I mean, well,” he cut himself off, fingernails digging into his palms as to stop himself from talking any more.
“Oh, yeah! Please!” Nishinoya said excitedly. “Let me get my notes open.” There was some shuffling around for a moment, tinny clicking. “Okay, ready.”
Asahi paused. “Okay.” He recited the number, before pausing for a moment. “So... I don’t want to keep you.”
“I’ll text you. Or...call you?” Nishinoya said hurriedly.
“Both are okay,” Asahi replied, surprised at his own response. “Ooh...okay.” Nishinoya was probably grinning, himself. Asahi could hear it.
“Anyways, I’ll see you. Or text you, or hear you, I guess?”
“Okay,” he said, checking the time. “I...I’ll look forward to it.”
“Me, too.”
Click.
Asahi felt good. He tried actively not to think about what had just transpired, or that he had just initiated an advance. As he set the phone into the receiver, he gathered his things, and made his way out the door. Asahi locked it up behind him, and kept walking. He would keep his phone on that night.