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Chapter Text

  Fukase dreaded walking into school today. It was a new school year and his only friends, Len and Piko, were no longer in his school since they had moved to the high school. How dare they leave him behind! 

  Sitting alone at breakfast wasn't very ideal either. He was known as the annoying memelord kid around school so people avoided him like the plague. It was unlikely he was going to find anyone to befriend. This was unfair. He didn't wanna be alone all year. 

  He gulped down his breakfast and headed to class, determined to become at least acquainted with someone. He didn't care who it was, they just had to get him through the day. He was a natural extrovert, so it shouldn't be too hard. 

  As usual, he sat in the front near the door. Due to his one working eye and his barely working legs, he was always basically forced to sit in the front row. If he had a say in it, he would sit in the back where he could mess around with any friends. 

  Someone sat next to him, and he glanced over to see a blonde white kid. Okay, that's not normal, where did this white kid come from. 

  "Who are you?" Fukase blurted, and the boy looked over at him. Bandages covered the left side of his face, and Fukase's eye widened. 

  The boy blinked at him. "Oliver. I'm an exchange student from London." 

  Fukase pointed to his own left eye. "What happened to yours?" 

  Oliver continued to stare. "Don't you know it's rude to ask? I don't even know your name, and you're already trying to pry into my personal life." 

  "Wha- I'm sorry!" Good job Fukase, first conversation with a classmate this year, and you've already offended him. "I'm Fukase." 

  Oliver looked back at the board. "Well now I don't want to know your name, you already ruined it." 

  Fukase couldn't tell if he was joking or not but decided to go along with it. "Oh come on! Won't you give me a second chance?" 

  "I dunno if you've earned it yet." 

  "How can I earn it?" 

  Oliver hummed and looked back at Fukase. "Treat me to lunch. I forgot to bring money." 

  Fukase's face lit up. "Okay! I can do that!" 

  The edge of Oliver's frown turned up. "Good, then we have a deal." 

  How lucky Fukase was in finding another kid that shared his sense of humor. He would like to hang out with this boy outside of school some time. Was it too early to decide? Fukase didn’t care. 

  At lunch, they sat in a corner, as per Oliver's request, and talked about whatever came to mind. Fukase enjoyed learning about the boy, and he hoped Oliver felt the same. He wondered if it was too early to exchange numbers now. 

  "How are you getting home today?" Fukase asked, sipping at his chocolate milk and propping his head up in his hand. 

  "My brother's picking me up." Oliver replied flatly, eating his pudding with his bare hands and sucking it loudly off his fingers. "After he gets released from the high school of course."

  "Oh, me too!" Fukase grinned. "Maybe we can walk together?" 

  Oliver stared at him, and Fukase gave him puppy eyes (puppy eye?). "... I suppose we could." 

  "Yay! I can even show you off to my brother too." Fukase finished his milk and dramatically slammed it on the table. 

  "Why would you do that? You barely know me." Oliver smiled a sinister smile. "You might come to regret it in the future." 

  Fukase giggled. "What's that supposed to mean? Do you plan to kill me or something?" 

  "And what if I said yes?" 

  "I would ask for you to make it quick." 

~~~

  The end of the school day seemed like it couldn't come sooner. Sure, it wasn't so bad since Oliver was there, but gods was it BOOORINGGG!!! He wanted to just be home already and play Fortnite or something. 

  But first he had to survive the wave of kids just itching to leave this hell on earth, too desperate to care about anyone else they might be pushing around in the halls. 

  Fukase felt that mix of dread and relief as the bell rang above their heads. Oliver stood up after quickly shoving all of his things into his bag. He waited against the wall as other kids passed him for Fukase to stand. 

  Fukase shakily stood, using both his cane and desk to hold onto. He went to grab his bag, but Oliver grabbed it before he could. Almost the whole class was gone now except for a few others. 

  "I've got some heavy books in there, are you sure you're okay holding it?" Fukase asked, walking closer to Oliver. 

  Oliver shrugged. "Doesn't bother me." He said and turned towards the door. "Come on, I don't wanna have to stay here any longer than I have to." 

  Fukase felt a jolt of pain as he scrambled to follow Oliver. "C-coming!" 

  Fukase painstakingly tried to keep up with Oliver in the crowds, when he was suddenly pushed aside and had to grab onto Oliver before he fell. Oliver gave the person who pushed him a death glare, and Fukase looked back to see the person's eyes abruptly fill with fear. Quickly the kid jumped away and ran off somewhere. 

  Fukase turned to Oliver to ask what just happened when Oliver grabbed his hand and took him into the bathroom. Fukase couldn't prevent himself from leaning on Oliver. 

  "Let's wait in here until they're mostly gone." Oliver set down their bags and patted Fukase's back with his now free hand. "I'm sorry, I didn't think about your disability when I wanted to leave." 

  Fukase used the wall to push off of Oliver and leaned against the opposite side. "I-it's okay! Well, no, b-but I forgive you!" He hid his mouth using his free hand. "Um, anyway." He quickly recovered. "What happened with that kid? They looked so scared of you. Do you have a reputation already?" 

  Oliver shook his head and shrugged. "I dunno, but I've been told I have a scary eye." Oliver stared silently at him and tilted his head. "What do you think?" 

  Oliver's eye was a beautiful shade of gold. It gleamed in all the right places and, though it lacked a sort of "lively" look, it suited his face perfectly. It was so perfect that it looked like it was painted on him. There were even distinct tangerine and amber brush strokes that really drew attention to his face.

  But Fukase couldn't just say all of that, he didn't want to be creepy. 

  "I think you look kind." Was what ended up spilling out of his mouth, which felt like a significantly more embarrassing answer. 

  Oliver's eye widened, and he picked his head up. "Kind?" He snickered into the back of his hand. "Alright."

  "Wh-what about mine?" Fukase could feel his face become hotter. What kind of stupid question was that? 

  Oliver locked eyes with him and hummed. Fukase could feel insects crawl up his back when the boy didn't immediately answer. 

  "I think it's a very nice shade of red. Not too bright, not too dark." Oliver stepped forward to get a better look. Fukase tensed up. "Very expressive too. I would like to see it when you're afraid." Oliver placed his pointer and thumb above and below Fukase's good eye and pulled the skin apart. "Perhaps I should replace my left eye with yours." 

  "N-no!" Fukase playfully pushed him away with a laugh. "Come on, you can't leave me totally blind!" 

  "Why can't I? With just a spoon and some restraints, I can get the job done nicely." Oliver snickered again. "It'll be very easy to find out where you live." 

  Fukase laughed again. "Stop being creepy, you creeper!" 

  "I'm not from Minecraft, Fukase, I'm the real deal." 

  Fukase's mouth hung open and his eye sparkled. "You play Minecraft?" 

  Oliver picked up their bags. "From time to time." He slung them over his shoulder. "Come on, we should be good to go now." 

  Fukase rambled on and on about the Minecraft world that he and his friends built, suggesting that Oliver should join their adventures, but first he had to meet his friends, and ooh!! They have to get him geared up too, but they had plenty of spare netherite after months and months of mining and exploration so the boy should be set. Oliver looked like he was barely keeping up with whatever was spilling out of Fukase's mouth, but he thinks Oliver enjoyed listening anyway. 

  They went outside to the car pickup area and sat down in the grass. They would have to wait until the high school was let out so their brothers could pick them up, which meant they had to wait until nearly everyone was gone. Why Cul couldn't just come and pick him up and be done with it, he had no idea. Maybe she was just too lazy or something. 

  "What's your brother like?" Fukase asked as they watched the other kids leave. 

  "My brother?" Oliver looked up at the sky and hummed. "He's nice. Always has this sort of awkward, angsty, vampire vibe about him, but he's nice." 

  Fukase turned his head to look at the Brit. "Is it bad that I'm surprised you talk about him so highly?" 

  Oliver shook his head. "No, I get it. I'm mean, so you expect me to be mean about my family, but I love them a lot. Sure I tease my siblings, and I bother my parents to Hell and back, but I would do anything for them." 

  "No, I mean, you guys are siblings. Me and my siblings fight all the time. I think you're nice." 

  "'Nice' isn't a word I'd use to describe myself." 

  "I'd use it to describe you!"

  They continued to talk and laugh until finally Oliver's brother picked him up. Fukase waved at him and watched him go. Arsloid arrived very soon after, and he hopped into the car, kicking his legs as he put on his seat belt. 

  "You seem happy." Arsloid commented as he shifted the car into drive. "Made a friend?" 

  "Mhm!" Fukase pulled out his phone and started replying to the groupchat of him, Piko, and Len. "He's cool. He said he wanted to gouge out my eye." 

  Arsloid nodded and then glanced over at him with wide eyes. "He WHAT?" 

  Fukase smiled up at him. "Don't worry, he's cool! I promise."

Chapter Text

  Days turned into weeks, and Fukase only found himself becoming more and more attached to Oliver. They recently exchanged numbers and were planning on hanging out this weekend with Len and Piko. Fukase couldn't wait to introduce Oliver to his childhood best friends; he was practically shaking with excitement at the thought. Especially now that Len and Piko had also made a new friend who had offered to chaperone them. 

  It was Saturday now, and Oliver's mom dropped him off at Fukase's house. Oliver had said he didn't want anyone to know where he lived, so Fukase had just offered for him to stay until Len and Piko's friend, Flower, arrived to come pick them up. 

  "Hello!" Sachiko greeted the boy as he walked through the door. Fukase went to go hug Oliver, squeezing him tight before letting him go. "Is your mother outside?" 

  Oliver looked up at her. "No. She's already driven off." 

  Sachiko's smile fell slightly. "Did she not want to meet me? What if we ended up being dangerous people? That's not responsible at all." 

  Oliver smiled at her. "Oh, she knows I can handle myself!" 

  Fukase looked up at his mom and tugged at Oliver's arm. He could already sense a lecture about to come from her, and he wanted to spare Oliver from that. "Uh, anyway," He pulled Oliver into the kitchen before Sachiko could say anything more. "Have you eaten? You can help yourself!" 

  Oliver's eye immediately trained onto the fridge. "Don't mind if I do." He wiggled his fingers nefariously before opening the door and looking around. 

  "What's English food like, by the way?" Fukase quipped, leaning on the counter. "I've only ever tried snacks I impulsively bought online, and they were all stale." 

  "You bought snacks online? That was your first mistake." Oliver pulled out something unrecognizable, was that mold on there? "English food is nothing special, I don't think you'd like most of it." 

  "Uh, Oliver, that doesn't look edible." 

  Oliver stared at him. "Don't tell me what is and isn't edible." 

  Fukase tried to snatch it away from him. "Oli, I don't want you getting sick before we go hang out with my friends!" 

  Oliver held it away from him. "I won't get sick." 

  Fukase leaned back and crossed his arms. "Okay then, eat it." 

  Oliver ate the thing, package and all, without breaking eye contact with Fukase. Fukase stared, horrified, as the boy very loudly gulped it down and moved onto something else. He grabbed the soy sauce and drank it straight out of the bottle, and Fukase managed to snatch that away from him. 

  "My mom will actually kill you, stop that!" Fukase said with a laugh, and Oliver pouted. 

  "But Fukase! You said I could help myself!" 

  "I didn't think you'd help yourself to soy sauce and- whatever you just ate! Just eat something normal!" 

  Oliver glared at him, and Fukase stuck his tongue out. Oliver just turned his nose up. "Fine then! Do you have any meat?" 

  Fukase tucked the soy sauce back where it belonged and closed the door. "Um, yeah, but Flower should be here soon so I don't think we'll have time to prepare it." 

  "That's fine!" Oliver opened the freezer and took out the chicken, tearing open the bag and grabbing a piece with his bare hands. 

  "Oliver!!" 

  Oliver turned away and started chowing down on it, and Fukase's mouth hung open. Wow, this guy was disgusting, but it was also kind of endearing? Anyone else would flinch away at the thought of eating frozen, raw chicken or drinking straight soy sauce or eating whatever moldy thing he pulled out from the back of the fridge, but Oliver just ate it all without flinching. He would have to force him to eat toothpaste because there was no way in hell he was going to sit next to him in a car and have to smell that breath. 

  Was Fukase weird for finding it alluring? He was sure that was weird, but he could care less right now. How often can you say you have a friend that will eat literally anything? 

  He felt another presence in the room and turned around to see Cul staring at Oliver from the doorway. There was no judgement in her eyes, just silent shock, and maybe a little admiration as well? Maybe he wasn't that weird. 

  "Hi Cul." Fukase greeted as if this was normal, and Fukase didn't just bring a human raccoon into his kitchen. Oliver turned his head around like an owl and stared at Cul, a piece of bone hanging from his mouth. 

  "Hi Cul." He echoed, turning back around and going back to what he was doing. 

  "Hi." She clicked her tongue. "So this is the friend you've been talking about nonstop?" 

  "SHHH SHUT UP!!" Fukase exclaimed, but Oliver looked like he was too busy to even listen. "Yes this is my friend that I talk about a normal amount! Oliver, this is my sister, Cul." 

  He just waved his hand and continued to eat. 

  "I didn't think it was possible for you to find a friend that was weirder than you." Cul commented and started leaving. "I'll leave you both alone now." 

  "Rude!" Fukase called after her. 

  Oliver finished raiding the kitchen, and Fukase took him into his room where they would reside until Flower arrived. Fukase decided to show him his plushie first. 

  "Oh! Finally you can meet Point!" He sat on his bed and grabbed his bag, and Oliver watched silently as he pulled out a little doll. "I take her with me everywhere, but I never take her out during school." He handed her to Oliver, and Oliver shifted her weight between his hands. "Once, I was sitting with her outside during recess, and Len and Piko were there, and some asshole kid grabbed her and threw her in the mud. Len and Piko jumped on him and pinned him down, and I started biting him, and he never bothered me again!" 

  Oliver nodded and sat down next to Fukase. "She's nice, I like her." He smiled and held her up by her hands and sat her down on his lap. "I think she likes me more than you." 

  Fukase gasped. "No she doesn't! She's just tolerating you right now."

  Oliver snickered and hugged her to his face. "No, she just said that she loved me more." 

  "You dick!" Fukase laughed, stealing Point away from him. "You are cruel and evil." 

  "That's the greatest compliment I could ever receive." 

  Fukase moved on to showing Oliver his Minecraft world and introducing Oliver to all of his pets. Seriously, there were so many pets. Cats, wolves, birds, turtles, horses, so many. Why did he have so many pets. 

  He could barely get through the bird names before Len and Piko threw open his door. Fukase screamed and jumped before realizing who it was and calming down. 

  "You could have said something before coming in!" Fukase shouted at them. 

  "Flower said to come collect you two quickly so she didn't have to talk to your mom for too long." Piko stated, glancing over at Oliver. 

  "Plus it was funny, but too bad we couldn't scare your friend too." Len waved at the other boy. "Hi! I'm Len. This is Piko." 

  "Yes, hello." Oliver greeted flatly. "I'm Oliver." 

  Fukase turned his computer off, and Oliver helped him stand. Fukase didn't let go of his hand as he turned to his friends. "Let's go!" 

  Fukase grabbed Point and said goodbye to his mom before heading out. Flower was much taller than he had expected, or maybe he was just short, but Fukase refused to come to that conclusion and decided that Flower was just freakishly tall. 

  Flower drove them around town, and Fukase excitedly told Oliver a bunch of little anecdotes about the locations they stopped to visit. Oh this is the store where Len broke his ass trying to shoplift, and this is the alleyway where Len broke his ass trying to parkour, and this is the swing set where Len broke his ass trying to do a cool jump off of, etc. etc..

  "Why does Len break his ass so much?" Oliver asked. 

  "He's always been stupid." Piko answered with a disappointed sigh. 

  "Me and Fukase are hospital buddies!" Len chirped, throwing an arm around Fukase. Fukase threw his own arm around him in turn. 

  "I don't think that's something to brag about..." Flower glanced at them through the rear view mirror, wearing an unamused expression that Fukase found rarely changed. 

  "It's okay, I put people in hospitals." Oliver slowly turned to the other blonde. "Maybe you'll be next, Len."

  Len backed up against the window. "Woah, why aren't you threatening Fukase?!" 

  "I've already done that."

  Fukase patted Len's back. "Yeah, it's okay! He threatened to kill me twice on our first day of knowing each other. I think it's just his love language." 

  "Implying that I love you." 

  Fukase dramatically whipped his head around to face Oliver. "IMPLYING THAT YOU DON'T??" 

  This banter in the car continued until Flower stopped for gas and everyone scuttled into the station for snacks. When it came time to pay for the snacks, Oliver made sure he was at the front of the line. 

  "Hi sir, can we get all of this for free?" He asked, innocently batting his eye. The group exchanged looks with each other, reaching a sort of confused general consensus. Was he joking, or was he serious? 

  The clerk laughed, seeming to think the former. "Don't we all wish for that?" 

  "I don't think you understand sir, it's not a question." Oliver's eye narrowed as he stared down this man. 

  The clerk went to make another joke, but nothing came out of his open mouth. Sweat beaded on his brow as he started to shake. He slowly nodded, tears coming to his eyes. 

  "Good man." Oliver looked back at his friends. "Come on lads, let's head off to the next location." 

  Fukase and the rest of the group nervously followed Oliver out to the car. Did they just.. Rob this place? But that man gave them permission to not pay. Why did he get so scared when Oliver stared at him? He seemed to act so cheery just moments before. 

  Fukase decided that he wouldn't question it. Hey, maybe people did find Oliver's stare scary. Or maybe that guy was naturally paranoid or easily scared, so Oliver's stare just happened to work on him. Whatever reason it was, hey! Free snacks! That was good enough for Fukase. 

  They ended up hanging out in a park, playing a card game that Flower bought from a nearby store. It was getting really intense, as Fukase and Len were both extremely competitive, until Flower knocked their heads together to catch their attention and make them calm down. They decided to retire the game for a bit after that when Fukase noticed Oliver staring at Flower's biceps. 

  He looked up at her. "How strong are you, Flower?" 

  She turned to him. "Pretty strong."

  Oliver held up his hand and put his elbow on the table. "Wanna try me?" 

  She blinked. "I would feel slightly bad when I beat you. It feels unfair." 

  "Are you just saying that because you're scared I'll embarrass you in front of your friends?" 

  Flower's eye twitched, because unbeknownst to the group, she was also extremely competitive. 

  "Alright kid." She put her hand up and elbow on the table. "I'll bite." 

  Fukase and Len whooped as Piko clasped their hands together and started a countdown. When Piko let go, Flower and Oliver's hands didn't move, but Flower was very clearly sweating already and exerting as much effort as she could. 

  "An even match?" Fukase suggested in a dramatic announcers voice. "Has Oliver met his match?" 

  "No way, Flower's got this!" Len cheered. "Let's go FloFlo!" 

  Oliver sneered, and the back of Flower's hand was slammed against the table not even half a second later. She stared in horror as Fukase cheered, and Len wailed. Oliver sat back, staring at Flower with a smug grin and a half lidded eye. 

  "I wanna try against Flower!" Fukase blurted, putting up his good hand. "Come on!" 

  Flower silently decided to try against Fukase, winning in less than twenty seconds. She tried against Len and Piko, winning in less than that. So, how did...? 

  "I have to use the bathroom, I'll be back." Oliver announced shortly after, standing up from his seat. 

  "Don't have too much fun without us!" Len chirped, and Flower stared after him as he left. Fukase felt it was the perfect time to ask the question that's been burning in his mind since they started planning for today. 

  "What do you guys think of him? Cool, right?" 

  Len and Piko agreed, but Flower was silent. He prompted Flower again, and she finally answered. 

  "Don't you guys think he's a little weird?" 

  The boys exchanged looks. 

  "What do you mean?" Len asked. 

  "I mean, don't you guys remember the gas station? Why did that guy get so scared of some white kid suddenly? I mean, he's just a little white boy. There's nothing scary about that." Flower motioned vaguely. "And the way he slammed my hand into the table with zero effort? You guys felt how strong I was first hand, and that was after I was already exhausted from Oliver." 

  Fukase blinked. "Are you just salty that he was stronger than you?" 

  "No, Fukase, she has a point." Piko said with a nod. "I thought the gas station thing was weird too." 

  "Yeah..." Len agreed hesitantly. "If I tried the same thing, I would just get laughed at." 

  Fukase looked between the three. What were they suggesting? Sure Oliver was weird. He was abnormally strong, he eats inedible things without getting sick nor even flinching at the taste, and people got scared when he stared at them. But he's Fukase's friend, and he is very considerate and nice under his spiky exterior! So what if he's weird? Everyone here is weird! 

  "I don't know what you're getting at, Flower." Fukase said slowly. 

  "I don't know either, but I'm gonna get to the bottom of it." 

  Oliver came back, and they decided that they were done for the day. Flower drove Oliver and Fukase back to Fukase's house first. They said their goodbyes and headed into the house, where Oliver texted his mom to come pick him up now that the hangout was over. Fukase continued his Minecraft world tour for Oliver until then. 

  It wasn't long until there was a knock on the door, and Fukase and Oliver stood and exited the room. Sachiko was already at the door and talking to a blonde woman who wore a white dress and blue gloves that went all the way up her arms. She also wore blue stockings and white high heels that were only about an inch tall, not that she needed any height added to her. She already towered over Sachiko without them. 

  Fukase liked the black choker around her neck. 

  "I was a little surprised when you didn't come in to size me up." Sachiko was saying. "I just think it's a little irresponsible to drop your kid off at someone's house when you've never met them before." 

  The lady laughed. "Oh, it's fine. Oliver can handle himself." She turned to see her son. "And looks like I was right. He's all in one piece!"

  "Hi mum." Oliver smiled brightly at her, hugging her legs. "I got free snacks from a gas station." 

  "That's wonderful dear." She crouched down to his height, ruffling his hair. She turned to see Fukase. "Hello, you're Fukase?" 

  Fukase paused. "You know my name?" 

  "Of course I do! Oliver talks about you all the time." She extended a hand. "My name is Ann." 

  Fukase blushed, fixating on her outstretched hand. He slowly extended his own and shook her hand. "It's nice to meet you Ann-san."  

  She giggled. "It's nice to meet you too, Fukase. I can already tell my Oliver is in good hands." 

  Fukase shuffled to hide behind Sachiko, burying his face in her shirt. He was aware of how childish he was acting right now, but he couldn't help it! Oliver's mom was intimidatingly friendly! And tall!!! He hated tall people!!!! 

  He didn't bother listening to the rest of the conversation, as he was too busy mentally screaming until they finally left. Fukase quickly retreated to his room, deciding to play Minecraft for the rest of the day.

Chapter Text

  Fukase waved goodbye as Oliver entered his brother's car. He looked over the other cars to see if Arsloid was here yet, only to find a different familiar car with familiar faces beckoning him over. Confused, Fukase stood and walked up to them. Len threw the door open and pulled him inside. 

  "What the hell!" Fukase yelled. "Are you guys kidnapping me?!" 

  "Yes." Piko said, helping him sit up. 

  "We're gonna follow Oliver home!" Flower chirped as if that was the most normal sentence she's ever said. "We already told your brother that he didn't need to pick you up, so don't worry about that!" 

  "We're STALKING Oliver??" Fukase tried to open the door and jump out, but Flower immediately pressed the lock button. "I want no part in this!" 

  "We like to call it 'investigating'." Len said slowly. "Besides, if he's normal, then we won't have anything to worry about!" 

  "You guys are fucked up in the head." 

  While Fukase continued to bicker with the three idiots he called his friends, Oliver watched their position through the rear view mirror. Hio pulled out of line and started driving off, and the group followed them.

  "Fukase and his friends are following us." Oliver said, and Hio glanced over at him. 

  "Oh, do you want me to stop? Do they want you for something?" 

  "They would have told me, but I have a hunch on what they're doing." Oliver smiled brightly at Hio. "I may have gotten too silly the other day." 

  Hio raised a brow. "Oliver..." 

  "It's fun, okay? I love fucking with people!" 

  He flicked Oliver on the forehead. "You're gonna get us in trouble again. Go back to eating rocks when you’re bored.”

  Oliver glanced at the rear view mirror again, and they were practically smooching the back of Hio's car. Wow they were not being subtle at all. "I've got a plan to lose them. Go to the market. I'll tell you more when we get there." 

  "You are messed up, Oliver."

  "Thank you!" 

  Hio pulled into the parking lot as Fukase began to calm down and accept his fate. If Oliver caught them, Fukase was sure he'd find this whole situation very funny. So, maybe there's no harm in participating? Whatever, it's not like he had a say in it or anything. 

  Flower parked a few spaces down from Oliver and his brother, and she was the first to jump out. She kept her eye on the two as the boys started filing out of the vehicle. 

  "What about my legs? I get really weak after a school day, you know." Fukase was already feeling the exhaustion weighing on him as he leaned against the car. 

  "We'll put you in a shopping cart." Len said, patting Fukase's shoulder. 

  "I think I'd rather just stay in the car." 

  "Nope." Flower picked him up and threw him over her shoulder. "They're going in now, let's catch up before we lose them." 

  Being carried around by Flower was super humiliating so he decided to settle for a shopping cart. Neither option was very subtle in "investigating" Oliver, but that was their fault for springing this on Fukase last minute. Delaying their "investigation" seemed much more satisfying to Fukase anyway. 

  "Look, they're buying milk." Len said, writing it down in a little notepad. 

  "That's not suspicious!" Fukase barked, and Piko covered his mouth. 

  "It could be." 

  Fukase smacked Piko's hands away. "How could buying milk be suspicious??" 

  "They could be buying milk for a spell." Flower suggested. "Or maybe they're taking it back to their secret cult!" 

  "Just what are you suggesting about Oliver??" 

  Despite their best efforts to frame Oliver, he nor his brother did anything weird the whole time they were following them. It didn't take them long to finish shopping and report to the check out area, but Oliver split away from his brother, and the group followed him to the bathroom. They stood a few feet away from the entrance, waiting for him to come out so they can continue their "investigation."

  But it soon became suspicious by how long Oliver was taking. Flower ushered Len to go check on him, and Len argued for a few minutes before the whole group decided he'd be the best candidate. He reluctantly entered the bathroom, but he soon came back, a panicked look on his face. 

  "What happened?" Fukase questioned. 

  "He's gone." 

  "What?" 

  "He's gone." 

  "Did he escape through a window?" Flower suggested. 

  "I checked, there were no windows to escape from. And the vents weren't busted in or loose or anything!"

  "What the fuck." Piko said. "Did he know we were following him?" 

  Fukase tuned out their arguing as he thought about Oliver. There was no way they could have missed him walking out, and if Len really was thorough in his search, that means Oliver had no escape routes. Maybe his friends did have a point, but what does it matter?! Oliver was nice to him, and Fukase liked him a lot! Who cares if he's some kind of magician? That's cool!

  Fukase was sure, with time, that if Oliver had anything to say to Fukase, he would say it. 

  They left the market, finding Oliver's brother's car gone from its parking space. Flower announced a failed investigation and drove the boys home. 

  Meanwhile, Oliver was giggling his ass off as Hio silently drove them home. "They must be so confused! I wish I could've seen their faces!" 

  Hio couldn't help but crack a smile. "Alright Oliver, you had your fun, would you quit messing with them now?" 

  "Nope! I think it's only gonna get worse from here." Oliver crossed his legs and sat back against his seat. "Maybe I should get Fukase to come sleep over one day!" 

  "Oh god, you're gonna traumatize the poor kid." 

  "Simply the consequences of being my friend."

Chapter Text

  "Fukase, dear, do you know what your friend's family is like?" 

  Fukase looked up from his Nintendo to look at his mom. "No, why?" 

  She didn't glance up from her coupon sorting. "Well, I'd like to invite them over for dinner. If you two will be spending so much time together, then we should get to know each other, no?" 

  "Uh, I guess." Fukase scratched at his head before going back to his game. 

  "Ask Oliver for his parents numbers and we can plan something!" 

  Fukase forgot about his mother's plans until the weekend came and suddenly Oliver and his family showed up. Fukase was standing in the middle of the living room, in his pajamas, while everyone was introducing themselves to each other. How humiliating, his first meeting with Oliver's family, and he's in his pajamas. 

  "You made sure none of the food had garlic in it, right?" Oliver's mother asked Sachiko. 

  "Of course! I wouldn't be so careless to forget such an important detail." Sachiko smiled. "I can't promise some of the dishes will be as good without garlic, but I don't want to poison your son as our first impression!"

  Fukase did his best to sneak off back to his room and change before anyone noticed, but somehow Oliver had gotten there before him. 

  "Hi Fukase! I think you forgot to greet me." Oliver was sitting on his bed, a too innocent smile plastered on his face. 

  "Oli, get out! I have to change." Fukase stomped towards him and pushed him off. 

  "What, you don't wanna say hi in your pajamas? That's not that embarrassing you know~!" He cooed, latching himself onto Fukase's chest. 

  "Oli, please!" 

  "This is no way to treat someone, especially after stalking them at the market the other day." 

  Fukase froze and slowly looked down at Oliver. "FOR THE RECORD, I WAS FORCED TO COME ALONG." 

  Oliver got off of him, touching a finger to his cheek in a mocking way. "Oh, so you aren't obsessed with me? That's a bit disappointing." 

  "I-I am obsessed with you!" 

  Oliver's grin fell into a slightly parted frown. "Oh?" 

  Fukase looked down at his feet and fidgeted with his fingers. "That-that came out wrong!" 

  Oliver's grin returned. "Oh, I'm sure it did."

  Fukase grabbed him by his shoulders and shook him. "I'M GOING TO BITE YOU." 

  "I bite harder." 

  Fukase let go of him, and Oliver fell back onto the bed. He face palmed and walked off to his closet. "Just, don't look." 

  Fukase quickly got changed, keeping an eye on Oliver the whole time to make sure he wasn't peeking, and they went out to see their families. Earlier, Fukase didn't realize how tall both of Oliver's parents were due to the fact that he was more focused on his pajamas, but holy shit, they were massive. Al had to duck under each doorway to get through. What did he eat growing up?!?

  And what did Fukase have to do to get that tall?! 

  Fukase could barely follow the conversations that everyone started. He didn't have time to prepare to socialize, and for some reason, Oliver's entire family was especially interested in learning about him. 

  "What do you like to do in your free time, Fukase?" 

  "Do you get good grades, Fukase?"

  "Do you like horror movies?" 

  "What about video games?"

  Fukase didn't know how to respond to any of them, though he would have been perfectly capable of doing so in a normal situation. Oliver had to help him out with each question, in which he just stated the completely wrong answer, and Fukase had to fire back with his actual response. They eventually stopped hounding him, but Fukase was not confident about his first impressions. They probably thought he was some shy, insecure kid. 

  ... Well, he was, but he didn't want them to know that! 

  After dinner, they stayed over for a little while longer. Sachiko thankfully let Fukase retreat back to his room with Oliver. Fukase could feel his heart racing, and Oliver stared at him with an ominously empty look. 

  "I never got a chance to ask earlier." Oliver started, a devious smirk beginning to stretch across his face. "Why were you all stalking me?" 

  Fukase's face got hot, and he fidgeted with Point. "I-I don't know!! Flower, Len, and Piko somehow convinced themselves that you were some sort of, like, witch or cultist or something!" 

  Oliver leaned forward. "Do you think that about me too?" 

  Fukase leaned away. "N-no." 

  Oliver smiled. "You stuttered. Do I scare you too, Fukase?" 

  Fukase gulped and opened his mouth to answer, only for Oliver to interrupt him. 

  "If those things were true, would you still want to be my friend?" 

  Fukase's heart pounded in his head, but with a firm resolve, he nodded, and Oliver sat back, laughing loudly. "I can't tell if you're brave or stupid." His smile softened as his laughter subsided. "Would you like to see what's under my bandages?"

  "Y-your bandages?" 

  "Yeah." Oliver pulled at the cloth. "The ones on my face." 

  Fukase looked away, hiding his flushed face behind Point. "Is- would that be okay?" 

  "Well yeah, I'm asking you if you'd like to see them." Oliver snickered. "You can't tell anyone what you see though, or I'll strap you to a chair and rip out each of your teeth individually."

  Fukase laughed, leaning forward and pushing Oliver playfully. "Stop being so scary! Just show me already!" 

  Oliver's eye darkened as well as his smile as he began to unravel the bandages. Fukase watched with a baited breath as the bandages fell to reveal a hideous black socket adorned by scars, both deep and shallow, as if something had tried clawing its way out. However, the rips and tears seemed too purposeful to have been from an animal attack. Perhaps someone did this to him? 

  "Cool, right?" Oliver quipped dryly. 

  "Yeah." Fukase's mouth was agape, and he only just realized he had been staring, but he couldn't look away now. It was like the void of his eye socket was sucking him in like an angry black hole. "How are you alive? Did it hurt?" 

  Oliver's shoulders fell as his head perked up. "Um, it stopped hurting after a bit. And-and uh..." He frowned. "I guess I'm just built different." 

  "Did something do this to you?" 

  "Uh, yeah, I guess you could put it like that." 

  Fukase leaned forward, smiling. Oliver leaned back. "When did it happen?" 

  Oliver continued to answer question after question from Fukase as the boy traced the scars on his face. When it came time to leave, Oliver gladly escaped from the house, saying a quick goodbye to everyone before running to the car. He took his seat and looked down at his knees. He scratched at the bandages on his skin as his family filed into the car. 

  He was quiet while they started talking about the night and their impressions on the family. Oliver wasn't listening, only hearing whenever they mentioned Fukase. 

  Fukase, Fukase, Fukase. Oh what was Oliver going to do with him? 

  "Are you alright, Oliver? You've been quiet since we left." Hio started, and Oliver stared out the window as the surroundings blurred by. 

  "You were acting weird when we were leaving too." Ruby softly pointed out. "Is there something you wanna talk about?" 

  Oliver hummed. 

  "It's okay if you don't wanna talk yet." Al cooed. "Just know we're always here for you." 

  "It's just-" Oliver stammered as he tore his gaze from the window to look at his family. They were all looking at him, besides Al who was only half looking at him with one eye while the other was fixated on the road. 

  Oliver fiddled with his fingers as he tried again. "I showed Fukase my eye socket, but he wasn't scared or disgusted like I expected he would be. He was just curious and wanted to learn more about what happened." 

  "Did you tell him?" Ann asked. 

  Oliver glanced down. "He doesn't need to know." He looked back up and gestured vaguely. "I'm- just- I dunno. It's weird." He frowned and let his hands fall to his lap. "I don't know how to put it. This is the first time someone wasn't disgusted or scared." 

  "Isn't that good thing?" Ruby tilted her head with a sympathetic smile. 

  "No. It's not normal." Oliver felt heat creep up his cheeks as he thought about Fukase's star stricken face. He looked so sweet, so ignorant. He pitied that look. He wondered if he would smile like that if Oliver cracked open his skull and stirred his brain around with a rusty pipe. "Ca-can we change the topic? I can't put it into words right now." 

  Hio complied with his request, changing the topic to school and his classmates. Oliver didn't listen for long as he retreated back into his own head.

Chapter Text

  Fukase sat next to Oliver in Hio's car as he watched the world fly by in the window. They were able to convince their families to let Fukase sleep over, and both the boys were absolutely ecstatic. Fukase bounced up and down as he did his best to memorize the way to Oliver's house.

  The car came to a stop sign next to a forest, and Hio turned on his blinkers. After waiting a moment, he turned left onto a dirt road through the forest, one that Fukase had never seen before. He felt Oliver's gaze on the back of his head as he realized this. 

  Fukase felt a bit of anxiety in the back of his mind. He wasn't sure why he felt that way, but there was something about the darkening of the trees around them that just suffocated him. Combined with the unfamiliarity, Fukase couldn't shake the fear that gripped him. He glanced over at Oliver, and Oliver smiled at him. Right, Oliver is here. He will keep you safe. 

  Just when it felt like the drive was stretching on for too long, the dark trees gave way to a large sunny clearing. A mansion stood in the middle of that clearing, seemingly sucking in all the light around it and being stuck in a gloomy permanence. It wasn't until Fukase stepped out of the car when he noticed all the gravestones. 

  "Oliver you live in a MANSION??" Fukase squawked. "What's with all the gravestones??" 

  Oliver smiled as he stood next to Fukase. "The graveyard came with the house. It's what made it so cheap." Hio glanced over at the two. 

  "I've lived here my whole life, and I've never seen this area before. I didn't even know there was a house out here." He gestured to it. "It doesn't even look like a Japanese house." 

  Oliver patted his shoulder, and Fukase could see an ominous grin out of the corner of his eye. "Don't think about it too hard." He started forward, almost skipping. "Come on Fukase! I wanna show you my room." 

  Fukase followed behind as quick as he could, and Hio quickly caught up with him and kept pace beside him. Fukase quickly took note of what he was wearing. A hoodie, pants, and gloves. That wouldn't be weird if it was winter. 

  "How much do you know about Oliver?" Hio asked quietly, though Oliver was so far ahead of them both that he probably wouldn't hear if they were talking at a normal tone. 

  Fukase clicked his tongue. "Uh, as much as he's willing to tell me."

  Hio nodded. "You seem like a good kid so I'm only gonna say it once." He shifted his gaze to look down at Fukase. "We aren't a normal family. Be prepared to accept things beyond your comprehension. If you can't, you might as well stop hanging out with Oliver now." 

  Fukase shifted the bag on his back. Did this guy think he was the main character or something..? Fukase wasn't scared of Oliver, but was Flower really onto something?

  "What do you mean?" 

  Hio didn't answer as they walked up to the porch. Oliver was standing on the first step and helped Fukase up to the porch.

  "He-hey Oliver, is your brother usually so cryptic?" Fukase stared at the taller blonde from behind Oliver. 

  "We kind of all are. Did he say something to you?" Oliver glared at Hio. "What did you say?" 

  Hio put his hands up in mock surrender. "Only what he needed to hear." 

  "I'm the king of cryptic! Speak normally you bloody slag!" 

  Fukase snorted, quickly hiding his smile behind his hand before either boys could see it. Oliver threw an arm around Fukase's waist, and Fukase's heart jumped up into his throat. 

  "Come on, let's go inside. Hio can't bother you anymore while I'm around." 

  "You make it sound like I committed a felony." Hio scratched his chin. 

  "Maybe you did, maybe you didn't. I don't know, 'cause you won't tell me." 

  Hio pulled his hood down and rolled his eyes. "Oh, and I'm sure Fukase would like to hear of your very long, very extensive criminal record." 

  Oliver threw open the door and ushered Fukase inside, closing it behind them before Hio could get in. Hio opened the door, glaring at Oliver. Oliver flipped him off as Ann and Al emerged from a nearby door, and Oliver quickly put his hand down. Hio grinned smugly, and Oliver stuck his tongue out at his brother. 

  "Hello, Fukase!" Ann greeted, crouching down to Fukase's height and shaking his hand. "Welcome to our home, please make yourself comfortable." 

  "Thank you, I will." 

  "We sent Ruby to the store for snacks." Al added. "If you want anything specific, tell us now so we can catch her before she gets home." 

  "Oh, uh." Fukase frowned as he thought for a moment. "Oh! Can you tell her to get some strawberry pocky?" 

  "Of course." He took out his phone to text her. 

  Fukase, smiling, turned to Oliver, only to find him staring ominously at him. Fukase shyly grabbed at his sleeve, and Oliver violently shook his head and smiled back. Oliver grabbed at his hand and held it up in front of his chest. 

  "Come on, let's go to my room!" 

  Fukase let himself be dragged through Oliver's admittedly creepy house. He couldn't help but take notice of the old wallpaper and the creepy portraits separated by candles that aligned the walls. How did nothing catch on fire or how the candles didn't seem to melt, he had no idea. 

  They stopped in front of a door, and Fukase found himself in a staring contest with a portrait. Oliver opened his bedroom door, and the portrait's eyes moved. Fukase stiffened and the hair on the back of his neck rose. 

  "What's wrong, Fukase?" 

  "Uh, n-nothing!" 

  Fukase continued to stare as Oliver pulled him into his room, only stopping when it disappeared from his sight. Fukase glanced around, admiring the gothic Victorian aesthetic of the room when his eye fell on the sight of a bird in a golden cage. It was the brightest thing in the room, and Fukase immediately started for it. 

  "You have a bird!" 

  Oliver seemingly just appeared at his side. "His name is James. Would you like to hold him?" 

  "Is that okay?" 

  Oliver shook his head and unlatched the lock. "Always with your questions." He teased, tapping at James's feet and the little bird stepped up. "Only scratch him on his head and neck." 

  Fukase nodded as Oliver handed him the bird. James chirped sweetly and looked up at him, and Fukase tried copying the noises he made. He sat on the floor, and Oliver sat down with him. 

  "That's not how you speak to him, Fukase." Oliver teased. 

  "Oh yeah? You can speak bird?" 

  "Of course I can." Oliver pursed his lips and began twittering gently. James jumped to attention, turning to face his owner, and he started chirping back. Fukase watched, mesmerized, as the two communicated something he couldn't understand. 

  A grin spread across Fukase's face. "What are you two talking about?" 

  Oliver paused his chittering. "We're talking about you." 

  He laughed. "Is that a good or bad thing?" 

  Oliver smirked. "Figure it out." 

  "Oli!" 

  "Hehe, just kidding! We're discussing how we'll eat you tonight." 

  "E-eat me?!" 

  Oliver gave Fukase a very brief tour of the house. Fukase appreciated Oliver for keeping in mind his disability, but he wanted to see more than just a few rooms. Even if all these walls seemed to close in on him and the eyes on the paintings and decorations followed him and the shadows clawed at his ankles, he still wanted to see all of Oliver's home. 

  But Fukase really couldn't strain himself anymore, so the pair settled down to watch a movie. All Oliver had was horror and slasher films, so Fukase just had to suck it up and watch. 

  "Most of the movies I have are in English, but the Japanese movies I have are kinda messed up. I can put on captions for you if you need it, or we can watch the really messed up stuff." 

  "Oh no, it's fine. I can speak English too!" 

  "Why didn't you tell me before? That would've made insulting other students in the class so much easier."

  Oliver allowed only the tv to emit any light, and he lined up snacks on the table and sat next to Fukase. The movie started off slow so Fukase snuggled up close to Oliver. 

  "You're in my space." Oliver commented, looking at him through his peripheral. 

  "Oh, sorry-" Fukase went to move, but Oliver stopped him with a hand on his shoulder. 

  "I was kidding. I don't care." 

  Fukase blushed and snuggled back against him. He pulled the blankets closer around himself. Something moved in the corner of his eye, and he glanced over. He was met with a darkness that threatened to swallow him up. It moved and bent at odd angles, and faces began to form the longer he stared. 

  "Fukase?" 

  He snapped his head back to a smiling Oliver. 

  "Nothing scary even happened, are you okay?" 

  Fukase blinked and started laughing. "Sorry, your house is just really creepy!" 

  Oliver smiled wider. "Aw, well that's too bad. Do you want your mommy or something?" 

  Fukase shook his head and cuddled closer to Oliver, leaning his head on his collarbone. "I'll be fine as long as I'm with you." 

  Oliver's smile fell into a line, and he turned to watch the movie in silence. Fukase jumped at every single jumpscare, even when it was very obviously building up to one, but he felt calmed whenever Oliver made a comment or held his hand.

  There was a knock on the door that scared Fukase, and Ruby came in with a bag of snacks. "What's up lil fucks, here's the snacks you requested." She dropped the bag on the table. 

  "Thank you." Oliver replied, reaching forward and pulling out the pocky Fukase wanted. Fukase grabbed at it and excitedly began to open the packaging. 

  Her gaze on the boys lingered for just a moment before turning her attention to the movie. "Whatcha watching?" 

  "Why, you wanna join us?" Oliver watched Fukase happily crunch away at the pocky. 

  "No way, I've got shit to do." She ruffled their hair. "You guys have fun though!" 

  Fukase shook his head as she began to leave. "Th-thank you!" He shouted after her, and she just gave a thumbs up and closed the door. 

  He tried cuddling closer to Oliver, if that was even possible, and cradled his pocky. Ruby seemed so cool, and he felt like such a total loser compared to her. He wondered if she thought he wasn't good enough to be Oliver's friend too. 

  He focused his attention back to the movie, which wasn't a good idea because it happened to be right as a jumpscare appeared on screen, and he jumped. He wrapped his arms around Oliver's, and Oliver held his hand. Oliver's hand wouldn't stray from Fukase's for the rest of the movie. 

  "You handled that well." Oliver said as the movie ended, and the credits began to roll. 

  Fukase smiled. "I know!" He looked down at his fingers and fidgeted. "It's 'cause you were with me. I-I don't feel so afraid when I'm with you." 

  Oliver stared at him. "If that's the case, do you wanna watch another?" 

  Fukase shook his head. "I don't think I'll be able to pay attention. My attention span usually runs out after one movie." 

  He nodded and began to stand. "I understand. I'll just put one on for background noise then." 

  Fukase snickered. "You put horror movies on as background noise?" 

  Oliver picked out the disk from the CD player. "Are you surprised?" 

  "Not really!" 

  It took Oliver only a few moments to pick a new movie and insert it into the player. Fukase noticed a sketchbook sitting on the ground nearby the table. "You draw?" He asked. Oliver looked up at him and then glanced over at the book on the ground. 

  "Oh, yeah. Would you like to see?" 

  "Yes please!" 

  Oliver grabbed the sketchbook and turned on a lamp. He set it down on the table, and Fukase sat down on the floor to get a better look. Oliver sat next to him and opened up the first page. Fukase was completely enthralled by each dark and gorey drawing as Oliver infodumped about them. They were packed with so much meaning that Fukase could have never thought about on his own. 

  "You said your attention span ran out, but you seem really focused right now." Oliver said. 

  "Well that's because you're talking about something really interesting. I love your art so much!" 

  Oliver blinked. "Okay, now you're just flattering me." 

  "No, I'm serious!" 

  "What about you? Can you draw?" 

  Fukase shook his head. "No way, my hands are too shaky for that." 

  "Really? Your hands don't seem so shaky whenever I hold them." 

  Fukase blushed. 

  "I want to draw with you." Oliver grabbed some pencils from the drawers and handed Fukase one. "Let's draw each other." 

  Fukase really did try his best to draw Oliver. Really. But it didn't even look remotely close to his blonde friend, and he felt so embarrassed to see the stark difference between their drawings. Oliver had such a developed art style already, and Fukase had tried (and failed) to do an anime art style. He could tell Oliver was trying not to laugh at his pathetic attempt. 

  There was a knock at the door and both the boys turned their heads to face it. "Come in!" Oliver called, and Hio opened the door and peeked his head inside. 

  "Mom wanted me to tell you guys that dinner's ready." 

  "Okay, thank you. We'll be there in a minute." 

  Hio nodded and left. Oliver turned to Fukase. 

  "Will your legs last?" 

  Fukase clicked his tongue and set down the pencil. "I should be fine, I think." 

  "I can carry you." 

  Fukase laughed. "So many people want to carry me lately." 

  Oliver stood and casually remarked, "You're small and cute. Who wouldn't wanna carry you?" 

  Fukase blushed furiously. "Wh-what was that??"

  Oliver paused the movie and reached out his hand. "Come on then." 

  He hesitated and shyly grabbed Oliver's hand. The boy pulled him up, and a wave of pain shot through Fukase as he put just the slightest amount of pressure on his left leg. He fell into Oliver's arms.

  "I can bring our plates up here if it's that painful for you to walk." Oliver effortlessly sat him down on the sofa. 

  "I-I don't want to be left alone in here..." 

  "You won't be alone." Oliver pointed to James, who was playing with a block on Oliver's dresser. "You have James and Point. And the others." 

  "The others?" 

  Oliver ignored the question. "I won't be gone for long, unless you really want me to just carry you."

  Fukase held out his arms, and Oliver rolled his eye and picked him up like he was nothing. Fukase happily threw his arms around Oliver's bandaged neck as he walked them out of the room. 

  "How did you get so strong?" Fukase asked. 

  "I was just born like this." 

  "You can't be a newborn with muscles!" 

  "Who says I can't?" 

  "Actually I don't think I've ever seen your arms." Fukase's voice got quiet. "D-do you have muscles?" 

  "No, I don't think I'm even old enough to develop any yet."

  "Dammit." 

  "Why?" 

  "N-no reason!" 

  They arrived in the kitchen, and Oliver helped Fukase to sit down and took his own seat next to him. Fukase did his best to engage in conversation with Oliver's family, but he was still very nervous around them. And it certainly didn't help that he kept seeing things moving around. 

  Inanimate objects like a fork or a spoon would float in the air for a few seconds or a plate would move a few centimeters, and no one else but Fukase would notice. He would try to stick his fork in a vegetable and it would move, and he'd stick the plate instead. He didn't want to bring it up to the family in fear they would think he was crazy. 

  The floorboards creaked beneath him. He stiffly ate his food in silence.

Chapter Text

  The sun finally set over the already gloomy house, casting shadows that were darker than the darkest corners. Fukase was far from tired. How could he be when this house made the hair on the back of his neck stand up? 

  Despite this, he felt safe with Oliver here. They were cuddled up in bed, looking at memes together and laughing. No harm would come to them like this, Fukase was convinced. He started falling silent as they continued to scroll, nuzzling his face into Oliver's shoulder and tightening his grip around his arm. 

  "You seem comfortable." Oliver commented softly. 

  "You make me feel safe." Fukase replied half asleep. 

  Fukase's head fell forward a little, and Oliver glanced over to see the boy had fallen asleep. He smiled as he put the phone down and adjusted Fukase so he could be in a more comfortable position. 

  Oliver stared down at his sleeping form. His chest rose and fell with each breath, and drool escaped the corner of Fukase's mouth where the stitching was. Oliver tried wiping it away with his sleeve but it was only replaced moments later. 

  Something twisted at his blackened heart. 

  How could Fukase sleep so peacefully after today? Oliver knew what he had experienced. After all, he was the mastermind behind it. Yet Fukase looked like he had never even seen or heard anything otherworldly.

  ... Why? Why wasn't he more scared? How did Fukase trust Oliver, of all people, to keep him safe? Oliver was dangerous, his whole family was dangerous, yet Fukase slept so soundly in Oliver's bed that you'd think that he was accustomed to it.

  He scratched at the scars on his face. 

  A part of him was relieved he could sleep like this. That Oliver, somehow, made him feel so secure he could easily dream. It was a nice feeling.

  He stared at Fukase's exposed throat. It would be easy. It would be quick and painless. Fukase would feel no fear. 

  Oliver's claws twitched, and he forced himself to look away. He crawled across the bed and stood up, waving a hand dismissively. 

  "If any of you give him nightmares tonight, I'm gonna exorcise you. Do not touch him for the rest of his stay."

  The spirits faded away, and Oliver stayed still until he couldn't feel their presence anymore. He abandoned his physical form as he disappeared into the shadows and reappeared in his parents bedroom. He solidified and crawled onto their bed and on top of them. He started shaking the both of them until they awoke.

  "It's alive." Oliver commented dryly, and his father's face lit up. 

  "Frankenstein reference! What a way to wake up." He grinned stupidly as he sat up and yawned. He helped Ann sit up as well. 

  "Oh, what time is it hon?" She rubbed her eyes and yawned as well. 

  "Almost 3am." Oliver answered her. "I need help." 

  His parents were fully awake now and deathly serious. It kinda disturbed Oliver how quickly they switched to parent mode even while half asleep. 

  "It's Fukase." He started, scratching at the scars on his face again. "He makes me feel. Confused." 

  "Confused how, dear?" Ann pressed. 

  "He said that I make him feel safe, and I don't understand why. All we've done is terrorize him today." Al pulled Oliver's hand away from his face, and Oliver noticed a bit of blood on his claws. He wiped the blood on his face away and folded his hands over his lap. "But he's not bothered when I'm with him. How messed up is that?" 

  Ann pulled him to sit in between her and Al. She wrapped an arm around his shoulder and combed through his hair with her fingers. "Well I can't say for certain what's on his mind, but to me, it sounds like he really likes you." She squished his non-scarred cheek. "You are very loveable, dear." 

  "But I don't understand! All I do is tease and scare him." He stuttered for a moment before falling silent and trying again. "B-but also, I like that he likes me despite that." He looked up at them. "I didn't mean to be his friend, he just caught me off guard."

  "Why don't you try and accept this?" Al suggested, and then his voice softened. "We know it's hard for you to make friends. It's hard for all of us, but I've never seen you so happy before." 

  "I agree." Ann said. "It's hard making friends because of what we are and what we have to do, but it can't hurt to let your guard down this once, no?" 

  Oliver frowned. "It's gonna hurt when we have to move again." 

  "You can stay in touch and visit him whenever you want." Al reasoned. 

  Oliver frowned more. "But we can't be real friends if he doesn't know what we are. What if he doesn't accept us? Me? An-and." Oliver bit at his lip. "Something about him makes me feel so. Soft? Is that the right word? And because he makes me feel like that, I feel the need to hurt him." He stared at his hands and made a motion like he was strangling someone. "I was staring at him sleeping just a few minutes ago. His throat was exposed, and he was sleeping so heavily. It would have been so easy to just strangle him or slice his neck open." 

  Ann nodded. "We understand." 

  He looked up at his mom. "What?" 

  "We understand." She smiled a little. "You know, when I first got to know Al, I wanted to tear him apart and eat him."

  "Really?" 

  Al nodded. "Yes, and she almost did!" He laughed and kissed her cheek. 

  "He made me feel so many mushy gushy emotions, I felt the need to eat him to combat it." She held his hand. "But we were made for each other, so I could not just make him disappear." 

  Oliver's heart quickened its pace. "Wh-what are you suggesting?"

  There was a knock on the door, and Al called for them to enter. The door creaked open, and Hio peeked his head inside. 

  "I thought I heard talking. What's going on in here?" 

  Oliver answered, eager to shift the topic back. "Fukase's confusing me." 

  "Oh." He closed the door behind him and stood there awkwardly. "Can I help at all?" 

  Oliver shrugged. "You can try." 

  Hio sat at the end of the bed and listened to Oliver recount his feelings. He nodded and fell silent as he mulled it over in his head. 

  "Yeah, I get it." He started. "It's hard being a vampire and trying to make friends. You don't have to hunt anyone when someone's standing right there in your room. It would be easy, but you don't want to hurt them either." 

  "Exactly!" 

  "But the difference is, you don't need human blood to survive." 

  "But the urge is just as strong." Oliver turned to his parents. "How did you deal with it, mum?" 

  "I thought about what I would lose. When the desire got too strong, I would isolate myself until I calmed down." 

  Hio's eyes widened. "You thought about eating dad?" 

  She giggled. "Yes I did." 

  Al grinned. "I'm glad she didn't, else we wouldn't have three beautiful children and a beautiful house... And I wouldn't be able to experience Frankenstein movies." 

  "So," Oliver started, and everyone turned their attention to him. "If I kill Fukase, I would lose a really, really great friend. And then we would have to move away again." He fell silent for a moment. "What if I can't control it?" 

  "While you isolate yourself, I'll teach you some self control methods." Ann offered, tucking a strand of blonde hair behind Oliver's ear. "We won't let you go through this alone." 

  Oliver smiled and hugged her and Al. Al and Hio echoed their support as Oliver turned to hug his brother as well. "Thank you all. I love you." 

  "We love you too, Oliver." Al spoke as Oliver broke away from Hio. He ruffled his hair. "Now run along and let us rest, won't you?" 

  "Okay!" Oliver crawled off the bed and stood. He helped Hio up, and they left the room. 

  Oliver decided he wouldn't dwell on what his mother alluded to as he returned to his room.

Chapter Text

  Oliver allowed Fukase to experience a quiet breakfast with no paranormal disturbances. After last night, he couldn't help but feel bad for scaring him so much. It was weird to feel bad for someone, Oliver thought, but there had to be a first time for everything, right? That's what his father always said, anyway. 

  They were sitting in the backyard patio. Fukase was telling Oliver a story about something he couldn't pay attention to. He tried listening, but all he heard was a garbled mess of nonsense. He put a hand up, and Fukase was silenced. Fukase blinked at him. 

  "Sorry, Fukase. I'm really distracted right now, maybe you can tell me your story later?" 

  "Oh, okay. I can do that!" Fukase smiled at him. "What's up?" 

  Oliver shook his head and sighed. He looked off into the darkened trees. "It's kind of complicated." 

  "Even if I can't understand, I can still listen! It's helpful to talk, you know." 

  Oliver sighed again, propping his head up on his hand. "Why do you like me so much, Fukase?" 

  Fukase fell silent. Oliver thought about slashing open his stomach. 

  "What do you mean? What's there not to like?" 

  Oliver glared at him through his peripheral, careful not to inflict an attack on his brain. "Don't answer my question with a question. Be specific, you wank." 

  "Okay, okay! Fine!" Fukase scooted closer to him, grinning like a child on his birthday. "But where do I even start?" 

  Oliver looked at him fully now, leaning back against the hand rails and crossing his arms. "Flattery doesn't get you anywhere, Fuckass." 

  Fukase gasped at the name. "Well now I won't tell you!" He crossed his arms and turned his nose away. 

  An image of Fukase's mangled corpse flashed through his mind. His eye twitched. "Just answer me already before I skin you alive." 

  "Apologize for the name." 

  Oliver rolled his eye. "Sorry." 

  Fukase beamed again, turning back to Oliver. "You are forgiven!" He chirped. "Anyway, I really liked how nice you were to me on our first day of knowing each other. I mean, you didn't have to help me. Most people don't, really. They just let me be on my own 'cause they think I can always handle my pain since I'm used to it, but you caught on pretty quick that I did need some help sometimes! You're very attentive." 

  Yes, well I kind of have to be when I know your fears and can feel your pain. Oliver sarcastically thought. 

  "And I also liked how funny you were! There was no awkward phase for us, and that's super cool! We have the same sense of humor, and it's really hard to find someone like that or be comfortable around someone enough to joke like that. But you didn't care about that at all, and it made me feel so welcomed."

  Oliver didn't have the heart to tell him he genuinely was trying to get Fukase off his back at first. He was trying to be rude, not funny. He was trying to warn him. 

  "You're so much fun to be around, and I feel a lot more confident with you. You make me feel really safe and like you won't judge me for anything. You didn't judge me for my face, and you didn't judge me for Point. And you understood that I didn't mean anything bad when the others dragged me along to stalk you." 

  That's just being a decent human being.

  Or, decent monster in Oliver's case. 

  Fukase suddenly slumped his shoulders and shifted his feet. He picked at his skirt. "I just like hanging out with you, okay? I can just like you for you!" 

  Oliver wanted to not believe a word Fukase just said, but he knew he wasn't lying. There was not a single ounce of fear in his words other than the general anxiety that always followed Fukase. And though he wanted to be happy Fukase thought of him so highly, he couldn't. 

  There were consequences to being his friend. Consequences that Fukase would find out about if this continued. 

  Oliver scoffed. "You really are stupid, aren't you?" 

  "Hey! I just poured my heart out to you!" Fukase crossed his arms, though there wasn't anything but humor in his voice. "Isn't it your turn to do the same??" 

  "That wasn't the deal." Oliver stood. "Just forget it. Pretend nothing happened." 

  Fukase badgered Oliver about it for the rest of the day. If only Fukase knew anything about him, he would regret not having listened to Oliver in the first place. Oliver could make him forget with just a bit of eye contact, but he wouldn't do that to Fukase.

  He would not hurt Fukase, he could not hurt Fukase, he did not want to hurt Fukase. 

  Ruby drove Fukase home that evening. 

  He could not stand to look at that red haired freak any longer. 

~~~

  Fukase did not see Oliver at school on Monday. Nor did he see him on Tuesday or Wednesday, or the rest of the week for that matter. He wasn't answering his messages, and there was no explanation from the teacher on why he was absent. 

  He wondered if he had come on too strong to Oliver, but Oliver was the one who asked Fukase about why he liked him so much, so surely he couldn't be at fault for answering honestly? Or what if he was singing so much of Oliver's praise, that Oliver thought he was lying? There was no way Oliver would let it slide if he thought he was lying. 

  Fukase found himself at Len's house with Piko and Flower the following weekend. He was helping himself to a tub of ice cream while his friends sat around him in an attempt to comfort him. 

  "I'm sure it's nothing, Fukase." Piko tried to say. "Maybe he just got sick or he got grounded." 

  "Yeah!" Len agreed. "Just give it a little time." 

  "But what if giving it a little time will just mean pushing Oliver away?" Flower suggested, and they all turned to look at her. "Like, what if he's going through something right now, and he needs a little push?" 

  "Then what's the right decision?" Fukase shakily whispered. 

  His friends exchanged anxious glances, and Fukase put his hands over his ears and closed his eye. He had to stop and think logically, something that was very hard for him to do. But he had to think of something if he ever wanted to see Oliver again. 

  Think, think, think. 

  Oliver wasn't the type to ghost him out of nowhere. Something must have happened to have caused this, and Fukase could sit here blaming himself all day, but it wouldn't fix anything. He would get nowhere without action. 

  But what if that action ruined everything?

  No, he couldn't think that now. He just had to do something. 

  He remembered the way to Oliver's house. Maybe he could just go there and confront him. 

  ... But it would be really hard getting there without a car, and Oliver didn't want anyone knowing where he lived. 

  Fukase stood, having already made up his mind. He started to leave, completely forgetting the other three people in the room before he stopped at the doorway. 

  "I'm gonna go see Oliver and talk to him." He announced. 

  "Let me drive you." Flower offered, standing up as well. 

  "No, I can go alone." He paused and turned around, shyly picking at his fingers "Do you think you could just give me a quick ride to my house? I need my wheelchair." 

  "Of course, Fukase." 

  "Thank you." 

  Fukase now sat in front of the dirt road Hio drove them down. It was so much darker than he remembered. 

  He sucked in a breath and wheeled forward.

Chapter Text

  Fukase jumped at every slightest sound and briefly considered turning back. He couldn't now that he's come this far, and he couldn't just abandon Oliver like this. 

  He wondered if Oliver even cared about him as much as Fukase cared about Oliver. He wondered if that was the reason Oliver was ghosting him in the first place. He wondered if this was all for nothing. 

  He felt something watching him. He slowed down to a stop, hoping that whatever it was would realize he wasn't a threat and leave him alone. He only felt the presence grow closer, but he was too paralyzed to do anything about it. It breathed on his neck, and he still didn't move. 

  If he moved, this thing would kill him, he was sure of it. He couldn't let himself go down, not now. Not until he got to see Oliver again. 

  Sweat trickled down his face, and time stood still as the sound of his own heartbeat rivaled that of the breathing. He was being ridiculous, he tried to tell himself. It was just an animal like a deer or a monkey, he tried to reason. He could hear Piko's voice telling him to get a grip, and Len's voice shouting support. He imagined his mom and his siblings. How sad they would all be if he didn't return home. He closed his eye as it filled with tears. 

  It finally backed off, and the presence disappeared entirely. A breath escaped him like a steam engine as he gasped for air. He sat back and cried. 

  He wasn't strong enough for this. He wasn't good enough for Oliver. He just had to face the facts. Oliver didn't like him, at the very least, not anymore. He wasn't good enough. His hand found Point in his pocket, and he locked his fingers around her soft body. His hands were slick with sweat, but he couldn't care about that now. He just needed Point. 

  He heard Flower in his head. He couldn't give up like this. He couldn't be a pathetic loser in this moment. He had to be brave, he had to be strong. He just wanted to see Oliver again. That's all he wanted. 

  He set Point down on his lap and wheeled forward. The further he went, the darker it grew, but he wasn't afraid anymore. At least, that’s what he tried to tell himself. 

  "You've got a lot of false confidence for someone who was crying just a few minutes ago." A familiar, yet distorted voice rang out around him. 

  Fukase turned his head every which way, searching for where it came from. "You don't scare me, whatever you are!" His shaking voice betrayed him. 

  The voice didn't respond, and Fukase wondered if this was just some elaborate prank Oliver was pulling. That voice sounded strangely like Oliver, right? Or did he imagine it? Were this woods making him go insane? 

  "Do I scare you?" A voice chirped from right on his blind side, and he screamed, grabbing his cane and swinging it right at them. Something thudded to the ground. 

  "You won't stop me! I'll see Oliver whether you want me to or not!"

  "What?" 

  He realized who the voice belonged to, and he swung his head around to see Oliver's sister, Ruby, on the floor, except she didn't look like Ruby. Where her ears were, there were feathers. Where her legs were, there were bird talons. Large red and green wings were sprouted from her shoulder blades, and tail feathers of the same colors jutted from her lower back. Her eyes, instead of their normal green, were a deep red. 

  His jaw dropped, and she stared at him. 

  She sat up. "Okay kid, this isn't really a good time to be looking for Oliver. I'll take you back home. I don't even know how you got here in the first pl-" She started to stand, and Fukase snapped back into reality, backing away and holding his cane out in front of him like a weapon. 

  "I-if I have to fight you to get to Oliver, then I'll do it!" His heart was racing. "I don't know what's going on here, but I just need to see Oliver!" 

  Is this what Hio meant by "things beyond my comprehension"? 

  She sighed and rolled her eyes. She took a step forward and stretched out her wings. "No, seriously, it's not a good time. I'm not looking for a fight." 

  He wildly struck out at her when she took another step. "I don't care!" 

  She stared at him like he was the stupidest person in the world, and Fukase felt another presence behind him. 

  "We don't care if you get yourself killed, but Oliver does, so we're not gonna let tha-" 

  Fukase swung his cane at Hio. It made contact, and he fell to the ground with a loud thud. Fukase spun around, ditching his cane and Point, and launched himself at Hio, grabbing a pale arm and biting it with as much force as he could muster. Hio screamed, and Ruby was swift to grab him by the back of his neck and pull him off. He was lifted into the air by her talons firmly grasping him by the shoulders. The beat of her wings were louder than his own thoughts. 

  He clamped his teeth around her leg, but she barely flinched. 

  "That doesn't hurt nearly as much as you think it does." 

  He bit harder. 

  "OwowowOW OKAY OKAY!" She grabbed him by his hair and pulled him off her leg. She flipped him over, grabbing him by his ankles this time. He held down his skirt, and he made eye contact with Hio. 

  He was still on the ground, blood oozing from his forearm. His eyes, the same shade as Ruby's, were narrowed and glowing as fangs poked out from his top lip. Fukase's adrenaline started to fade now, and he was shaking. If Oliver wasn't Hio's brother, he was sure Hio would have killed him without a second thought. 

  Tears formed in his eye. "I just want to see Oliver. Please just let me see him." 

  Ruby stared into the darkness past Hio's shape and slowly lowered him to the ground. Fukase grabbed at Point and his cane, glaring tear filled daggers at Ruby. She crossed her arms as she stood on the forest floor. 

  "Alright, we'll take you to our home. Don't say we didn't warn you though." 

  Hio pushed himself up to stand. "You're lucky we can't kill you, you rabid animal." 

  Fukase wiped his tears and childishly stuck his tongue out at Hio. Hio hissed at him, and Fukase couldn't help but think of Len when he was in his furry phase. 

  "I'll fly you, but you can't bite me." Ruby said, helping him to sit on his chair. "Seriously, don't bite." 

  "I can get there on my own." Fukase pushed her away with his cane, and she face palmed. 

  "Oh my god, you're fucking stubborn." She grabbed his wheelchair handles with her weird bird feet. "Hold on tight." 

  "Wa-wait-!" 

  "Meetcha back home, Hio!" Ruby called before taking flight. 

  Fukase held on tight to the chair, holding Point in his teeth, and his cane was squished between his knees. He squeezed his eye shut, praying for the ride to just be over when he finally felt solid ground beneath him again. 

  He blinked open his eye to see Oliver's house in front of him. Ruby was standing next to him, a hand on her hip. "Go on." She said, gesturing vaguely. 

  Fukase glanced away, letting Point fall onto his lap. He picked his cane up and held it to his chest. "Thanks." He bit the inside of his mouth. "Sorry for biting you." 

  She grinned brightly at him and placed a hand on his head. "No sweat kid! Go get your man." 

  "M-my man..?" 

  “Your boy, whatever.” She took flight, her wings blowing air back in his face, and he cringed. He recovered just in time to see her disappear behind the roof of her house. He frowned. 

  "She could have at least told me where he was." 

  "He'll come to you." Hio answered, walking up behind him. Fukase jumped, looking up at him. 

  "H-Hio!" Fukase fidgeted with his hands. "S-sorry for biting you." 

  "It's cool." He glanced down at him through his peripheral. "I don't blame you." 

  "Th-thanks..." 

  Hio started forward, and Fukase watched him disappear through the front door. Fukase shyly navigated through the graves, and ended up in the backyard. He followed the cobblestone path through the garden that led up to the patio. He scoffed at the sight of the steps and stood from his chair using his cane. He climbed the few steps and sat on the wooden seats, and he waited for Oliver.

Chapter Text

  Fukase felt his presence before he saw him. A shadow on the ground crawled towards his feet and stopped before him, and from the shadow emerged Oliver, a crazed look in his remaining yellow eye. His bandages were off, exposing the black hole of his eye socket, but something was awry. Shadowy hands revealed themselves like snakes from a burrow, reaching towards Fukase. Fukase stiffened as they caressed his non-scarred cheek with their lanky fingers. 

  Oliver hummed ominously. "You just couldn't stay away from me, could you?" Fukase didn't answer, and he made eye contact with eyes inside of Oliver's eye socket. "Not even if it'd save your life." 

  "I miss you." Fukase said simply. His voice wavered, only slightly. "Please tell me what's going on." 

  Oliver tilted his head. "You know, I should kill you for putting on that show with my brother and sister." He stared through Fukase's skull, and Fukase felt slightly embarrassed that Oliver had been watching that after all. "But I don't want to do that. I suggest that you leave here and forget about all of this. About me, especially." 

  "That's not fair." Fukase argued, shaking the hands away. They retreated back into Oliver's eye socket. "I don't care what you or your family are. I just want you. W-with me." 

  Oliver didn't react. 

  "I just want to make sure you're okay." 

  Oliver stepped backwards, his hands at his sides. Only then did Fukase see the impossibly sharp claws of his fingernails. "You have no business being worried about something like me. I'll be fine, you won't if you don't leave." 

  "I don't care about what happens to me!" Fukase snapped, tears forming at his eye again. He tried blinking them away, but they were just replaced with more. "I just want us to be friends again!" 

  Oliver frowned, his eye darkening. "You may not care, but I do. Piss off." 

  Fukase wanted to yell at him, to scream at him, whatever it took to get it through his thick skull that he just wanted them to talk again. He held his tongue. 

  "For as much as you seem to want me gone, you're not giving me much of a reason." 

  His eye narrowed. "Oh, you want a reason? You really want me to show you what I can do to you if you don't leave?" 

  His voice dripped with malice. There was a darkness to his tone that indicated to Fukase that this was his final warning. If he didn't run away with his tail between his legs now, Oliver would give him a real reason to do so. He didn't know what Oliver meant by that, and a part of him didn't want to stick around to find out. 

  With what he's just seen, Fukase shouldn't play around with his life like this. He didn't know what these people were capable of. Hell, he didn't even know if he could call them people. They fit the description of monsters much better than they fit the description of people. 

  But. 

  Fukase didn't care about that.

  All he cared about was Oliver. 

  Fukase (metaphorically) stood his ground. "Try me." 

  Oliver took a step forward, and Fukase shut his eye and braced himself. Seconds of tense silence brought about nothing, and Fukase slowly opened his eye back up, confused. Oliver was looking down at his shaking claws. 

  "... I was about to hurt you." Oliver whispered, looking up at Fukase. His face was etched with so much pain Fukase hadn't thought Oliver was even capable of feeling. "I was about to hurt you, and you were going to let me." 

  Fukase didn't know how to respond. 

  "You're bloody mad, aren't you?" 

  Fukase simply smiled. "Says you." 

  "This is no time for jokes." Oliver hid his face with his hands and shook. "I just seem to keep hurting you, Fukase." He moved his hand up into his hair and stared at Fukase. "Why do you insist on crawling back to me?" 

  "You just stopped yourself from hurting me, so that must mean something, right?" 

  Oliver scoffed. "You don't know anything." 

  "Then make me understand." 

  Oliver glared at him. "You make this all really, really difficult. You know that, right?" 

  Fukase shrugged and sat back, smiling wider. "Story of my life." 

  "You piss me off." Oliver stomped forward, sitting on Fukase's right side and crossing his arms. "You piss me off so much." 

  Fukase turned towards him and crossed his legs while Oliver refused to meet his gaze. "Glad I could do my job right." 

  It took a moment for Oliver to continue. He took a deep breath in and out, and Fukase stopped smiling and leaned slightly forward. 

  "We are a family of monsters. My mom and dad are stitched together, Frankenstein-like abominations. My sister is a harpy, and my brother is a vampire, though I supposed you already figured that out from the fight you put up with them." Fukase blushed as Oliver glared at him for that. "I am a creature born of darkness and fueled by mortals' fears and anxieties. A creature so foul that he can't even make a single friend without wanting to tear him limb from limb and devour him." 

  "Sounds like an edgelord's emo backstory." Fukase blurted and quickly covered his mouth with his hands. Oliver turned to glare at him again. "I did not mean to say that." 

  "You are insufferable." Fukase saw the slight smile he had as Oliver looked back at the ground. "We have to move often because of what we are. Once the new town starts to suspect something's wrong with us, I erase everyone's memories and we move on to the next town. And now, we live here. With you. Insufferable you.

  "When we first met, I genuinely was being mean. I didn't want to get attached to anyone when I knew we would just be leaving soon." He lifted his head, looking past the patio and at his house. "The only constant thing in my life was my family and this house. I didn't want to have to inevitably leave you behind, too."

  Oliver sighed heavily, leaning his head back on a pole. "Yet here you are. I try to run and you come and chase me." He looked at Fukase with a tired eye. "We aren't good together, Fukase. I'm a monster, and you're a wonderful, kind person who doesn't deserve someone as terrible as me. I'm just going to keep hurting you." 

  "I don't think you're terrible." Fukase said. 

  "Then you're much more of an idiot than I thought." 

  "No, really! I don't think you're terrible." Fukase wanted to reach forward and hold Oliver's hands in his, but something about such an intimate move made him feel shy. He elected to just lean forward and place his hands on the bench right next to Oliver's hand. "You're so wonderful, you're all I can ever think abo-"

  Oliver pinched his lips closed. "I do not need to hear this from you again." Oliver pulled away and averted his eye. "You may not think of me as terrible, but I am. You haven't seen this terrible, sadistic side of me. I'm evil and unforgivable. If you choose to ignore all that and continue to pursue me, then I'll only bring you down with me." 

  Fukase frowned, sniffling as tears threatened to escape his eye again. He reached forward, hugging Oliver tight. Oliver didn't react as Fukase nuzzled his face in his neck. "Please stop talking like that." He pulled away, holding Oliver by his shoulders. He tried to smile. "I'm not the best person either. We can be bad people together, if you really want. You seem to think of me as this perfect, can-do-no-wrong type of person, but I've definitely done bad too." He caressed down Oliver's arms and held his hands, no longer caring about his own shyness. "I like your flaws. You wouldn't be complete without them. I wouldn't want you any other way." 

  Oliver stared blankly as his cheeks reddened. 

  Fukase softened his voice and looked away. "Hio told me I had to be prepared to accept things beyond my comprehension, but he didn't know that I was already ready for anything from the start." He looked into Oliver's eye again. "I just knew that I wanted to be with you. Would that be alright?" 

  Wait, what was Fukase saying? Why did it make him feel so fuzzy? This was just something normal to say to a friend, right? 

  Then why did it sound so much like a love confession...? 

  Ba-bump. 

  Fukase didn't know what to do as Oliver continued to stare. He had to save this somehow! 

  "I-I mean," He pulled his clammy hands away and rubbed them against his skirt. "I'd be a pretty bad friend if I let our species get in the way, right? I know what it's like to be different, so..."

  Oliver finally blinked. "Right." He let out a relieved sigh. "I'm sorry for ghosting you. I was gonna come back, honestly. But I was dealing with really complicated monster things so..." 

  Fukase smiled. "I forgive you, but please tell me when you're going to do something like that again, please?" 

  Oliver smiled. "I'll try." He tilted his head. "My head is clear now. Why don't you tell me that story you were on about last week?"

Chapter Text

  Oliver came back to school the next day, and Fukase couldn't be happier. They sat alone together at lunch, like they always do, talking about what happened yesterday. 

  "You really have no problem with me being a monster?" 

  "Why would I?" Fukase sipped at his milk as he watched the other students. "I'd still like you if it turned out you were a serial killer." 

  "... I have great news for you then." 

  Flower (along with Len and Piko) ended up picking them up afterwards and took them to an arcade. Neither of the boys had planned for this so they didn't have money for tokens, but Oliver simply stole some tokens from the machine, and they were set for at least an hour. 

  "What should we play first?" Len asked. 

  "Whatever you want babygirl, I'm paying." Flower patted him on the back, holding a little plastic baggy of tokens in her other hand. 

  "Never call me babygirl ever again." 

  Piko snickered. "Can I call you babygirl?" 

  "No!!" 

  Oliver glanced over at Fukase, unimpressed. Fukase grinned back at him, and Oliver quickly looked away again. 

  "We haven't eaten since lunch, so we'll probably get some snacks first." Fukase said, looping his arm around Oliver's. 

  "We'll be at the DDR machine then." Flower grinned. "I'm gonna embarrass Len  so bad." 

  "You're weirdly confident." Len glared at her. "I'll have you know, I'm the best dancer in the world!" 

  "Move over then, sweetheart, 'cause I'm about to wipe the floor with you." 

  Piko mouthed "help me" before they walked off, and Fukase snickered, turning to Oliver again. 

  "You're friends with very loud people." Oliver said simply. 

  Fukase tilted his head. "You don't seem to mind when I'm loud." 

  "You're just one person." Oliver shrugged. 

  "I guess. Wanna go get some snacks now?" 

  "We don't have money. Do you intend for me to steal us some?" Oliver stared down Fukase, and Fukase poked his fingers together shyly. 

  "Yeah..?" 

  Oliver smirked. "I'm just messing with you, of course I can steal some." 

  Fukase laughed, leaning on Oliver as they walked to the front counter. "Stop being so mean to me!" 

  "I'm always mean to you, yet you're still here." Oliver teased, and then looked up at the cashier. "Hi there, can we order something to eat?" 

  "Of course, what would you like?" They replied. 

  Fukase watched, again, Oliver break down this person's psyche by just staring at them. Fukase felt slightly bad, but he and Oliver got some tasty snacks out of it so it didn't really matter. They'd get over it. 

  They sat down at a booth to eat, but Fukase noticed almost immediately the weird stares passerbys gave Oliver. Fukase knew that the both of them got weird stares all the time, so this was probably just another one of those instances. Still, it was annoying that he couldn't be with Oliver alone. 

  Oliver glanced over to the people Fukase was staring at. Fukase snickered as they scampered away immediately, and he looked back at Oliver. 

  "Oli, if you aren't careful, kids are gonna start rumors about you." 

  "Let them." Oliver shrugged and took a bite of his food. "I've got the only person I need." 

  The only person? He could only be referring to me, right? 

  Fukase felt his face warm, and he snorted a laugh. "Well, we-we don't want to, uh, leave the others waiting. Let's hurry up and eat s-so we can join them." 

  Oliver nodded, and they both quickly finished their snacks. Oliver got off the bench first and held his hand out to Fukase. Fukase hesitated. 

  "I-I can get up myself." 

  Oliver blinked at him. "It'll be easier if I help you." 

  Fukase didn't know how to say no to that, so he shyly took Oliver's hand. Oliver helped him up, and even when he started leaning on his cane, Oliver didn't let go. His skin felt prickly and hot as he stared at their interlocked hands. 

  Oliver led him away to go find the others, and Fukase couldn't focus on anything else but the feeling of Oliver's hand in his. His palm was clammy and gross feeling, but Oliver wasn't letting go and for some reason, it was really embarrassing. 

  Oliver quickly navigated through the other people to find their group, and Flower and Len were in an intense round of Dance Dance Revolution. Piko watched intently from the sidelines, his eyes darting from each of their scores as they climbed the ranks. Flower and Len were sweating and panting, but neither of them were letting up. 

  Fukase wished he could dance too. 

  Oliver pulled him away after exchanging a few words with Piko. "Let's let them finish up. We wouldn't want to interrupt their flow." 

  Fukase just nodded sadly, letting out a sigh. Oliver tugged on his hand. 

  "Come on, let's go find something else to do for now." 

  Fukase forgot his misery and ended up having fun with Oliver as they played a game of Space Invaders. The others joined them shortly after the first round, and they took turns as they competed for the highest score. Piko won by a long shot, and Oliver was last on the scoreboard. Though, Fukase suspected he didn't really try that hard and lost on purpose. 

  They moved on to a shooting game, and Oliver watched as Fukase and Len played. He was standing a few feet away with Flower and Piko at a crane machine. Piko was currently trying to get a seal plushie, but Oliver really wasn't interested in anything he was doing, instead keeping his gaze focused on Fukase. 

  "So." Flower spoke up. "You and Fukase worked out your stuff." 

  Oliver clicked his tongue. Fukase was laughing as he got a combo shot on a particularly ugly zombie. "Obviously." 

  "You made Fukase cry a lot." 

  Oliver reluctantly tore his gaze from Fukase, glaring up at Flower. "Do you want me to apologize to you too or something?" 

  Piko jumped in to defend her as the plushie he caught fell from the crane and back into the stack of other brightly colored stuffed animals. "You don't have to be so defensive." 

  "Neither do you." Oliver shot back. "I really didn't think any of you would care that much." 

  "Are you kidding?" Flower crossed her arms. "Do you have any idea the way Fukase looks at you? Of course he would care, and we care about Fukase, so obviously we would care too."

  Oliver waved his hand dismissively. "What I mean is that Fukase can handle himself. I know it was rude to just ghost him out of nowhere, but I really had no choice. I told him I'd try to tell him if something happened again." 

  "What do you mean by no choice?" 

  "You wouldn't understand." 

  Flower scrunched up her nose. "Oh but Fukase can?" 

  Piko put a hand on her shoulder, and she glared at him. "W-wait, Flower. Back off a bit, maybe?" 

  She shrugged his hand away. "Why should I? We don't even know what happened, and suddenly he and Fukase are in love again? Doesn't that sound weird?" 

  Oliver grit his teeth as his voice dipped lower. "What the hell are you implying?"

  Piko was beginning to sweat as his heart beat faster. "Maybe there's a reason neither of them told us. Like- I dunno, maybe it's private?" 

  "Fukase cried so much, how can you not be more upset about that? How are you ignoring how scared he was?" 

  Oliver wanted to rip her to shreds. If Fukase didn't care about her, he would. He would rip her apart and make sure nobody remembered her name. He would if he could. 

  He could feel his physical form lose its shape. 

  "Of course I'm upset, but Fukase seemed to have forgiven him, so can't you just drop it?" 

  Flower turned back to Oliver, and her eyes widened. Since he couldn't physically hurt he, he could mentally hurt her, right? He balled his fists, knowing he couldn't. He stopped his attack, trying to focus on keeping himself solid. Flower clutched at her shirt and stumbled back, her chest heaving with the effort it took to calm herself. 

  "What's happening over here?" Oliver heard Len from behind him. "Flower?!" He rushed past him, holding Flower's arm. 

  Fukase stood beside Oliver, slowly turning to look at him. He opened his mouth to speak, but Oliver interrupted quietly. 

  "I didn't mean to." 

  Fukase stood with his mouth agape for a few more moments before taking his hand. "I'm gonna talk to Oliver." He told the others, but they seemed too focused on helping Flower to hear him speak. He chewed at his bottom lip, tightening his grip around Oliver's hand. 

  He took him away to hide in a corner. They were far from people so they couldn't be disturbed. Fukase shakily sat down, and Oliver quickly followed, closing Fukase's hand between both of his. He stared down at their fingers. 

  "Oli-?" 

  "I didn't mean to. Flower was provoking me. She doesn't trust me, and she thinks I did something to you. She doesn't know anything." Oliver spoke fast, shaking slightly with rage. "You have no idea how much I had to restrain myself just to not kill her." 

  "Woah, slow down!" Fukase chewed on his bottom lip again. "Can't we just tell them everything that happened?" 

  "You really think that's gonna make Flower trust me more? She already thinks I'm a freak, so to just confirm her suspicions? Oh she's just gonna trust me so much more when she knows I can erase her memory." Oliver started to scratch at Fukase's hand but quickly stopped, taking his hands away and pulling down his sleeve to scratch at his arm. Fukase's eye widened at the arrange of deep scars running up and down and sideways on his skin. 

  "Oli-" 

  Oliver interrupted him again. "This is why I can't be around people. This is why I didn't want to know anyone in the first place. I hurt people. I should have stayed home longer. I need my mom." His eye glossed over. "I need my mom." The tear fell. 

  Fukase's heart pounded, and his hands shook. How was he supposed to help? He knew nothing about monsters. He reached out slowly, taking Oliver's hand in his. He couldn't say anything, as his mind was too clouded to even think of something to say, and he pulled it close to his chest. Oliver watched him silently, ceasing his scratching. 

  For a moment, the two sat like this. Fukase could only focus on his heartbeat and the warmth of Oliver's hand in his. 

  "Right. You're here." Oliver said finally. "You're here." He took a deep breath in and slowly exhaled. Oliver directed Fukase's hand to his face and pressed it against his cheek. Fukase could feel a rumbling beneath his skin until it slowed down to nothing. 

  Oliver closed his eye. "Okay. Okay." He gave Fukase his hand back, and he wiped his eye. "That was the first time I've ever cried. That's annoying." 

  Fukase's mouth was agape as he blinked at Oliver. Then he started to laugh. "What..?" 

  "I've never cried." 

  "No-no I mean, what just happened? You seem fine now?" 

  Oliver scooted closer to Fukase until their knees were touching. "You're here." 

  "I-I didn't even do anything..." 

  Oliver interlocked their fingers and looked into Fukase's eye. Fukase's heart skipped a beat. "You being here is enough to help me. Thank you." 

  Fukase's bottom lip shook. He didn't understand what came over him, but Oliver looked so much prettier right now. 

  "There you guys are!" Len called, and Fukase quickly snapped his head towards the sound. Len was being followed by an embarrassed Flower and an exhausted Piko. They stopped in front of the two. "Mind if we sit too?" 

  "Go ahead." Oliver answered, shifting to sit next to Fukase. He didn't let go. 

  They sat down and for a moment nobody said anything. Piko elbowed Flower. 

  Flower patted her thighs. "Um, I might have overreacted." She started, and Oliver so terribly wanted to respond with something snarky, but he held back. "I didn't mean to freak out on you. If Fukase trusts you, then you're right, I shouldn't be suspicious." 

  "No, I get it." Oliver interrupted. "I wouldn't trust me either in your position. It's partially my fault, really." 

  Flower couldn't look at Oliver. "Sorry, Oliver. I'll chill out." 

  Oliver shrugged. "It's whatever." 

  Piko sighed. "Are we cool now?" 

  Oliver nodded, and Flower smiled slightly. 

  "Alright!" Len hopped up. "Let's go play some games!" 

  Oliver noticed Flower trying to make up for her outburst by giving him her tickets and buying him snacks. Oliver didn't really care for it, because he knew that Flower still had her suspicions. He just used his tickets and whatever Flower gave him to win Fukase a new plushie. 

  Sure he could have just stolen it, but it would have been too easy, and what else would he do with these tickets? 

  It was worth seeing the sparkle in Fukase's eye and the big silly grin he gave him. Nothing else mattered than seeing Fukase's smile in that moment. He didn't even notice the others watching them. 

  "When do you think they'll figure it out?" Len asked, playing with a sticky hand he got from the ticket exchange. 

  "The better question is who do you think will confess first?" Piko suggested and crossed his arms. "Definitely not Fukase." 

  "Definitely not Fukase." Len agreed. 

  Flower bonked them on their heads. "Come on, have some more faith in your friend. I think Oliver's too emotionally stunted to say anything." 

  "Oh you're right." Piko looked up at Flower. "I didn't think of that..." 

  "My bets are on Oliver." Flower took out her wallet. "I've got 4000 yen." 

  "I also bet Oliver, but all I've got is 1500 yen." Piko agreed. 

  Len nodded. "Okay, well, to be different, I bet on Fukase for 5000 yen!" 

  Flower smirked. "I hope you're ready to lose 5000 yen." 

  "We should get their families in on this." Piko suggested and the other two turned to him in amazement. 

  "Piko you're a genius, I could kiss you." Len threw an arm around the boy and pulled him in for a side hug.

  "Then let the Olikase speedrun begin." Flower grinned cheekily.

Chapter Text

  Flower felt awkward approaching Oliver's brother like this. She did just blow up on his little brother yesterday over what she was so sure was suspicious. She still believed he was, and surely his family would be suspicious as well. Maybe she could get a closer look at Hio like this as well... 

  No! She was getting distracted. And she definitely didn't want to hurt her friends like that again. If she can't resist her paranoia, she would keep whatever suspicions she had to herself. Before Oliver, she was always so sure of herself. The fact that she's even doubting herself now means that something is definitely weird here. 

  She found Hio during break sitting alone in the library with his headphones on. He was moving his head along to a fast paced song. 

  She tapped his shoulder. "Hey, Hio right?" 

  The blonde turned his head, his gray eyes unfocused and cold. "Oh, yes?" He lowered his headphones and paused his music. 

  Flower sat down with him. "Your little brother hangs out with me and our friends. Do you know Fukase?" 

  A knowing smile creeped on Hio's face. "Do I know Fukase?" He sarcastically quipped, shaking his head. "I know all about Fukase. What do you need?" 

  "Me and two of our other friends started a bet: who will confess first?" She leaned on the table, a cheeky smile on her face. 

  Hio chuckled. "Ooh, that's a hard one." 

  "Right? That's what makes it so fun." 

  Hio closed his eyes and thought for a moment. "Oliver doesn't know what an emotion is, but Fukase could barely speak to me the few times I was around him so I doubt he could ever tell Oliver something so big like that." 

  Flower slammed the table, causing Hio to flinch. "Exactly!" She sat back down and folded her hands over each other. "We currently have 5500 yen bet on Oliver and 5000 on Fukase." 

  "Make that 6500 yen on Oliver." 

  "Your contribution is greatly appreciated, and we'll be in contact with you for when it happens." She got up to leave but paused midway. "Oh, I should start a list." She sat back down and dug through her bag and took out a piece of paper and pencil. "Give me your phone." 

  "What for?" 

  "I'm gonna put my number in there so you can tell me your family's answers as well. We're getting everyone on both sides involved." 

  Hio reluctantly handed over his phone, and Flower saw the song he was listening to before she interrupted. "Good taste in music." She started typing in her number, and Hio blushed a little. 

  "You like this band too?" 

  "Yeah, they're awesome." She handed it back to him and stood with her list in her hands. "See you in class!" She waved and left. Hio shyly stared at the number in his phone. 

  Meanwhile, Len and Piko were tasked with hunting down Arsloid and getting his answer. He was helping a teacher move some heavy textbooks from one classroom to another. 

  "Arsloid!" Len called and the redhead turned his head to look at them. "We have an important question for you." 

  "Oh, okay. I'm kind of doing something right now, can't it wait?" 

  The teacher patted him on the back. "If it's important, you definitely should take a break. Besides, I can get the rest myself." 

  "Are you sure?" 

  "Positive!" 

  They walked off with Arsloid until they were no longer in earshot of the teacher, and Piko started. 

  "We're betting on whether Fukase or Oliver will confess first. Wanna join?" 

  Arsloid's eyes immediately sparked with interest. "Oh absolutely. I can chip in 2000 yen for Oliver. I don't know much about him, but I have no faith in my brother." 

  "You all are so mean to Fukase." Len shook his head, smiling. "When Fukase manages to confess first, I'm gonna be rich you know!" 

  "That's not how you say broke." Piko snickered, taking out his phone to text Flower his answer. "Ask your mom too, we're getting everyone involved." 

~~~

  "Hey Oliver, have you noticed everyone talking about us recently?" Fukase asked. 

  They were sitting underneath a tree at recess, and no kid nor teacher got within a twelve foot radius of them. There were a few kids that got a little close, but were immediately pulled away by their friends. 

  Oliver hummed, uninterested. "Doesn't matter to me." 

  "But.." Fukase couldn't find an argument that would make Oliver care just a little bit more. He decided to crack a joke instead. "Do you care about anything?" 

  Oliver answered quickly, looking at Fukase dead on. "I care about you." 

  Fukase did a double take. Was Oliver trying to say something or was Fukase taking it the wrong way? No, friends care about each other. Oliver expressing that he cared about him meant nothing more than just that. Yeah, that's right. Right? 

  "I care about my family and my home." Oliver added, staring ahead at the school building. 

  Yeah, of course. Fukase was right, there was nothing more that Oliver felt for him. Why did that thought make him feel so sad? 

  Oliver looked at him again, furrowing his brow and frowning. "Why are you afraid?" 

  Fukase forgot about that ability already, but it's not like he could just stop himself from feeling his feelings. He picked at the grass. "Ca-can you not read my emotions without permission?" 

  Oliver tilted his head. "Huh? Why not?" 

  Fukase waved his hand dismissively and leaned against the tree. "I-I don't know, it just feels like an invasion of pri-privacy." 

  "Oh." Oliver looked apologetic. "I'm sorry." 

  Fukase took a moment to just look at Oliver. He's never seen him look so small and..... Cute. He doubted he'd ever see him like this again. He looked away again before his staring became creepy. 

  "It's okay." 

  When Fukase got home, he locked himself in his room and took a quiz on the internet. He stared at his results, his heart pounding in his head. He thought it must have been a fluke, so he took another one. And another one. And another one. 

  Which all yielded the same result. 

  With tears in his eye, he rushed into Arsloid's room. Arsloid jumped as his door slammed open, and Fukase screamed at him. 

  "HOW DO I KNOW IF I'M GAY?" 

  Arsloid blinked at him, anger from being jumpscared having melted away at the question. "Do you like boys?" 

  "I DON'T KNOW." 

  Arsloid sat up, a sympathetic look on his face. He patted an empty space on his bed. "Why don't you come sit and tell me what's up?" 

  Fukase complied and began spilling his guts all about Oliver and all about the quizzes. Arsloid was so overwhelmed by the information, he went silent for thirty seconds to process it all. 

  "I can't really tell you what you are. You have to figure it out on your own, but whatever you identify with, I'll support you." Arsloid patted his head, and Fukase bit him. 

  "You aren't helpful!" 

  Arsloid pulled his hand away with much struggle. "I-it's the truth!!" 

  Fukase stormed out of the room, leaving the door open on purpose. He pouted and went back to his room. He wished this was easier. 

Chapter Text

  It's been weeks since Fukase found out that he might be gay. He didn't want to even think about it, but every time Oliver so much as looked at him, his heartbeat would quicken, and he'd forget how to breathe. The worst part was the sweaty palms whenever Oliver would hold his hand. Oliver definitely noticed, but he didn't say anything, and it didn't deter him from holding Fukase's hand, and Fukase was very grateful for that. 

  It was starting to get to a point where Fukase couldn't stand to be around Oliver. 

  He didn't know what to do, and now he supposed he understood why Oliver had to stay away from him for a bit. He had started making up excuses to stay away from Oliver on the weekends, and being disabled, it was actually incredibly easy to come up with a believable lie. It wouldn't be too bad, right? He just needed some time to figure everything out. 

  He had brought his friends over to his house for a sleepover, minus Oliver. He told Oliver he was in too much pain to hang out, and he told the group that Oliver was busy with something, and that's why he couldn't come. Fukase had planned to tell his friends what was wrong but.

  With all of them here like this, he started getting cold feet. 

  He needed to tell them, he needed to, he needed help. He needed support badly. 

  Fukase's heart beat loudly in his head, and he felt a deep pit of dread in his stomach. Len, who had been laying on his chest as they all watched a movie, noticed this spike in Fukase's mood, and he looked up at Fukase, concern swimming in his blue eyes. 

  "Fukase? Are you okay?" 

  Fukase's chest rose and fell as his breath shortened, and now Piko and Flower were alerted as well. Piko fumbled to pause the movie as Flower sat up and pulled herself closer to Fukase. 

  "Everything okay, buddy?" Flower asked and rested her hand on his upper arm. 

  Tears welled up in his eye and began flowing down his cheek. Piko sat next to Len and held Fukase's hand. Fukase pulled his hand away and tried wiping his tears, but they just kept coming. He couldn't understand why exactly he was crying. He really couldn't. It should be easy, to just spill his heart out when he's been bottling it up for so long. It should be easy. 

  Len hugged him, and Flower and Piko quickly joined in the hug as well. Flower was careful to hug him on his sensitive side. They didn't say anything until Fukase began to calm down. 

  "Wanna tell us about it?" Piko asked gently. 

  Fukase nodded and finally the tears stopped coming as he wiped away the last of it. Len, Piko, and Flower pulled away from him and sat around him. The bed creaked gently under their combined weight. 

  Fukase sniffled. "I-I... I really... I think I'm-..." He struggled to find the right words, and Flower patted his shoulder. 

  "Take a second, gather your thoughts."

  Fukase nodded at her and looked down at his knees as he thought about what he wanted to say, then he spoke again. 

  "I think I'm gay, and I think I have a crush on... Oliver."

  They all stared at him blankly, and then looked around knowingly at each other. 

  "Um..." Len started. "That's great dude! Are you gonna tell him?" 

  Fukase looked at him like he was crazy. "Are you kidding me? I-I can't do that!!" 

  Piko nudged Len and then looked back at Fukase. "What are you gonna do about it then?" 

  "I don't know..." Fukase averted his gaze and scratched at his face. "I was... Hoping you guys would help me out with that." 

  "Well you can't keep it a secret." Len encouraged him, patting his arm. "I think you should tell him!"

  Flower glared at Len. "I think you should do whatever you're comfortable doing." She turned her attention back to Fukase. "How have you been coping so far?"

  Fukase was silent for a moment, his face getting red from embarrassment. He looked away. "Avoiding him..." 

  "Fukase!!" She scolded. 

  Piko stared at Fukase, his brows furrowed. "Isn't that what caused problems in the first place?"

  "I-I know!" Fukase waved his hands in front of his chest. "I just... Needed some time to figure out what... What I'm supposed to do..." Fukase's gaze blurred with tears again. "I-I just... Don't want to ruin anything..."

  Len hugged him again. "Aw, come on. You aren't gonna ruin anything..."

  "Yeah, are you kidding me?" Flower patted his head. "Oliver wouldn't let something like that get in the way of your friendship." 

  Fukase sniffled and looked down at his knees. "I know, but..."

  "But nothing!" Flower grabbed his head like a claw machine and shook him. "Oliver isn't gonna judge you for anything." 

  Fukase suddenly felt something terrible in the pit of his stomach. Dread weighed heavy on his shoulders. He couldn't explain the suddenness of it, and he bit at his fingernails to try and focus on anything but that dread. 

  His voice was quiet and weak. "A-are you sure..?" 

  Piko hesitated before nodding and crossing his arms. "As the voice of reason in this group, yes I'm sure." 

  Fukase tried to laugh. "The voice of reason, huh?" 

  Piko's face darkened with blush. "D-don't laugh..!" 

  Fukase just laughed more at his reaction. He was really trying to ignore the dread he felt by forcing himself to laugh too hard. Flower and Len soon joined in his laughter and then, slowly, Piko did too. 

  They were laughing so much that no one heard the window open. 

  Oliver watched them all laughing. 

  Oliver watched as Fukase finally noticed him. 

  Something dark stirred in Oliver's mind. 

  Fukase lied to him. He lied to him. He lied he lied he lied. 

  Oliver clenched his fists. He grit his teeth. He did everything he could to not slaughter them all right then and there. He didn't even hear what Fukase was trying to tell him. 

  His heart beat loudly in his head as his vision blurred. He didn't respond until Fukase grabbed him, and he pulled away immediately, disgusted. 

  Flower quickly interjected. "Oliver? I thought you were busy?"

  Oliver glared at Flower, his voice dangerously low. "Shut the fuck up." He redirected his attention back to Fukase. By some stroke of luck, Oliver gave the boy a chance. "You have five seconds to explain before I slaughter all of you." 

  The room dropped a couple degrees. The shadows shifted on the walls, and the tv went to static. Something sinister was in the air, and only Fukase knew its source. 

  Fukase stammered. He was the only one that could quell Oliver's rage, and he's fucking stammering, and he can't stop. Len tries to interject, but Oliver's arm extended unnaturally, clamping his claws around Len's mouth. Piko went to scream but Oliver's other arm extended and grabbed Piko by the throat. 

  "W-w-wait, give me more-more time to explain!!"

  "Two. Seconds." Oliver's voice was beginning to sound distorted. 

  Fukase's heart pounded in his head. "I-I li-like you!!!"

  Suddenly, Oliver's hostility vanished as if it didn't exist in the first place. The air around them returned to normal, and an audible sigh of relief was heard from everyone in the room. Oliver furrowed his brow as he stared down at Fukase, then slowly looked around at the group around him. He let go of Len and Piko, and they both fell back, gasping for air. 

  Oliver focused back on Fukase. 

  "What?" 

  Flower quietly ushered the other two out of the room, and Fukase silently thanked her. When Fukase heard the door close, words spilled out of his lips before he had the time to process them. 

  "Oliver, I really, really like you." Fukase grabbed at his shirt nervously as tears came to his eye again. "Like... Like-like you." 

  Oliver's blank expression didn't change, nor did he give any indication on how he was feeling in the moment. His shoulders were still and straight, and his arms were hanging lamely at his sides. He shifted his perched position to sit on Fukase's windowsill for a more comfortable posture. 

  Fukase continued. "I-I've felt this-this way for... For a little while now. I didn't realize until a few we-weeks ago that... That what I was feeling for you was... Um, a crush." The tears spilled out of his eye. "I'm sorry if it ruins things bu-but... But that's how I feel. I'm sorry." 

  "Shut up." Oliver looked down and put a finger to his chin in thought. "Stop apologizing." 

  Fukase stammered, and Oliver waved his hand for him to shut up again. Oliver hummed, his mouth turning down into a slight frown. Fukase watched him carefully, trying to look for any signs on how Oliver felt, but Oliver was impossible to read, not like Fukase was very good at that anyway. 

  For a few long, grueling seconds, the both of them were quiet. Fukase continued to cry silently as Oliver thought about everything. Oliver finally looked back up at him and glared. 

  "You can stop crying." 

  Fukase tried to wipe the tears away, but Oliver pushed his hands away and used his sleeves to wipe them away instead. Fukase froze and let his hands fall to his sides. He leaned into Oliver's touch. 

  Oliver huffed. "... My mom brought up the possibility a while ago." 

  "Huh?" 

  "She suggested that what I felt for you was a crush. I guess it's..." He looked away for a moment. "True." 

  Fukase's heart fluttered. "Really?" 

  Oliver slowly nodded as if he was just figuring this out now. "Yes. I think so." 

  "You think so?" 

  Oliver took his hands away from Fukase's face. Fukase followed his hands for a moment, already missing Oliver's touch. 

  "I've never felt anything like a crush before, so yes, I think I have a crush on you too." Oliver's cheek slowly began to turn red. "If my mom and dad say it's probably a crush, then it probably is. If... What you're saying makes me feel like this, then it probably is." 

  Fukase's eye flashed with excitement. "Then-then does that mean we're dating now?" 

  Oliver's mouth opened and closed a few times like a fish out of water. "I think so?" 

  Fukase pulled him in for a hug and Oliver fell forward, crushing Fukase's legs beneath him. Fukase grit his teeth and a tear fell from his eye, but he was too ecstatic to even care about that. Oliver pushed himself off of his lap before he could hurt Fukase any more than he already has. 

  "Um..." Oliver was the first to speak. "We should probably go find your friends now." 

  Fukase had completely forgotten about them."O-oh, yeah! Do... Should we... Should we tell them about us now?" 

  Oliver shrugged. "I guess so." 

  Fukase grinned and stumbled out of bed, and Oliver was quickly at his side to help him stand. They left the room hand in hand.