Work Text:
《 / \ 》
Ochobot was minding his own business when he was dragged into Tok Aba’s kitchen by Gopal, the power sphere feeling his head spinning a little from how fast everything had turned around.
Once he regained his balance, he looked around and found that Ying, Yaya and Gopal were all in the kitchen, matching serious faces on each of them as they squinted their eyes skeptically at the power sphere.
“What are you guys giving me that look for?” Ochobot asked straightforwardly, wondering if his friends were alright or if he needed to call a doctor.
14 year old Ying clicked her tongue at Ochobot’s question.
“ Haiya, don’t act dumb! You should know your owner, right? So tell us what is happening with him!!”
Ochobot made a confused noise, and looked around only to find Boboiboy nowhere to be seen.
“Uh… what do you want me to tell you? Boboiboy is not here??” Ochobot asked, genuinely puzzled by his friends’ demeanor.
Gopal looked like he was skeptical of Ochobot, grabbing the yellow power sphere and shaking it wildly as he insisted.
“ Dey , don’t play dumb lah ! Boboiboy was acting all weird yesterday when Fang had dropped by! Surely he told you something!”
Ochobot furrowed his non-existent eyebrows and blinked a few times.
“He didn’t tell me anything.”
The three people in front of him visibly deflated, sighing dejectedly as they all started whispering hushedly and huddled together.
“ Ish , Gopal ni ! See? You shouldn’t be jumping into conclusions! Now I just feel bad for thinking Boboiboy was possessed because you told me he was too giddy about meeting Fang! I have to apologize to him…” Yaya chided before her tone took a guilty turn, a frown on her lips.
“ Dey . You can’t just go up to him and say you’re sorry! Then he would know we talk behind his back! That doesn’t sit right with me!” Gopal countered, crossing his arms in disapproval.
“We are currently talking behind his back though…” Ying unhelpfully pointed out.
Gopal sighed, sounding like an exhausted father who worked a 9 to 5 job everyday to feed his family of five, before clicking his tongue a few times.
“Don’t bother with the details, Ying. Point is, we are not talking behind his back; we’re just discussing his well-being like any concerned friend would.” Gopal pressed, nodding along to his own words as if he was trying to convince himself - when in actuality he was trying to convince his dear friends that were too honest..
Not wanting to have any part in whatever his friends were doing, Ochobot excused himself and made a beeline to Boboiboy’s room.
Upon entering, he immediately noticed Boboiboy was on a call with someone as he seemed to be working on his homeworks that Papa Zola had given to him.
Ochobot purposefully sneaked up on Boboiboy, and found that Boboiboy was talking to a dark-haired guy - who also seemed to be working on some homework. Although it didn’t look like Papa Zola’s homework.
“Oh! Hi Ochobot!” Boboiboy greeted when he noticed his power sphere was present, grabbing the yellow power sphere and started shaking it in front of the camera enthusiastically.
“Fang, Fang! Remember how Uncle Pian and ayah ikes to build robots and stuff? Way back then when we were like in kindergarten and they had a lot of free time in their hands? Guess what? This is one of the power spheres they made! And they gifted it to meee!” Boboiboy exclaimed all excitedly, shaking Ochobot for emphasis.
Ochobot hadn’t been here yesterday when Fang dropped by, since the yellow power sphere was busy helping out with Tok Aba Kokotiam.
So this was the Fang that Boboiboy was always talking about…
Apparently, Fang’s adopted father, Uncle Pian, was close friends with Amato back then. So it was natural for Fang and Boboiboy to be best friends too. They hung out with each other most of the time, but then Uncle Pian had to move, because he had to work somewhere else. So Boboiboy and Fang ended up being separated.
It was only a few days ago when Fang had returned and moved into Pulau Rintis so he could be enrolled into the same school as the one Boboiboy was in.
Fang rolled his eyes, continued on writing on his book as he propped his chin on his hand, looking bored and uninterested.
“Yeah, sureee. My father sure likes you more than me.” Fang drawled, continuing on scribbling on his paper.
Boboiboy gasped, and pretty much threw Ochobot from how hard he pushed the yellow power sphere away from the camera.
“Nooo that’s not it!! They just thought it would be nice if we could share this power sphere! You know; since friends share things all the time ! Don’t be sulking now!” Boboiboy consoled his friend earnestly.
Fang finally looked at the camera, scoffing about how he was not sulking and that he had grown up, saying he didn’t need this ‘power sphere’ because he was already so awesome.
“Why is it called a power sphere anyway? It’s not like it gives you powers.”
“It does, actually?”
“What power? Controlling the elementals or something?”
“Confidence, duh . Walking around with Ochobot by my side is a huge confidence boost for sure.”
“You’re an idiot.”
And then those two started bickering, and Ochobot found himself slowly floating away from the scene - unable to stop himself feeling like a third wheel.
Seriously, those two were reunited just yesterday, yet they looked like they hadn’t been separated for years!
Ochobot went to his charger to rest, and, with nothing to do, found himself observing his owner bickering with his childhood friend.
It was odd; because the two of them were bickering, yet from where Ochobot was sitting, he could see how hard Boboiboy was trying to stifle his smile.
As the one who always had to listen to whatever Boboiboy wanted to say, it was undeniable that Boboiboy talked a lot about Fang even though years had passed - so maybe reuniting with his friend was what had gotten him so happy and cheerful.
“What is today’s date again?” Boboiboy asked, scratching his head a little in confusion.
“Goldfish brain. It’s the 15th of February.” Fang managed to sneak in an insult before answering the 15-year old boy’s question.
The orange-capped boy rolled his eyes, but then he blinked a few times and snapped his fingers.
“ You came back to me on Valentine's day! ” Boboiboy exclaimed, somehow looking all too cheery at the revelation.
Fang raised an eyebrow at the observation.
“So?”
“So we’re literally meant to be!” Boboiboy annoyingly wiggled his eyebrows before bursting into yet another fit of laughter, ignoring how the person on the other line was completely not amused nor having as much fun as he was.
“You don’t even celebrate Valentine's Day.” Fang deadpanned.
Seriously… Fang was kind of a stick in the mud…
“We don’t have to call it Valentine's Day! Let’s just make it our day! Like, mark on your calendars that this date is reserved for us or something!” Boboiboy all too excitedly exclaimed, reaching for his own calendar before picking up a pen and scribbling on the calendar with his tongue out.
Ochobot was pretty sure he heard Fang huffed, but he also pretty sure he heard the dark-haired guy scribbling on something that was not his papers.
“So? What are we reserving this date for?” Fang asked the real question.
Boboiboy scribbled a few more words before shoving it on the camera and announcing all too proudly.
“I wrote it as ‘the day Fang finally decided to come back to me because he literally can’t live without me’!”
Fang scoffed, sounding genuinely bewildered as if Boboiboy had insulted his whole family.
“I feel like it would be more accurate if it was the other way around!” The dark-haired guy argued, suddenly all too eager to start listing down reasons why Boboiboy needed him more than he needed the orange-capped boy.
Ochobot didn’t know how long they had talked, but he sure didn’t even realize when exactly did he fall asleep.
(Boboiboy had fallen asleep on his desk.
When Ochobot went to check if his owner’s phone needed to be charged or not, he found that there was an unread message from a contact by the name ‘Fang!!’ that read ‘at least end the call first, you dork. Gn.’)
《 / 1 \ 》
“Oi! Gopal! Wake uppp!”
17 year old Gopal grumbled at the loud voice, burying his face into his pillow as he told the familiar voice to go away.
Weird - his father wasn't supposed to sound so young and so like Boboiboy…
“Oi! I'm not your father lah ! This is Boboiboy! Here to pick you up for yet another day at the arcade!”
Seriously… Boboiboy and his obsession with the arcade… Gopal regretted introducing his friend to the arcade…
It was just another small arcade in one of the shopping malls nearby, but the games were fun - and Gopal simply wanted to share what he found with his best friend.
Gopal would’ve jumped at the opportunity to play some games, but he’s sleepy, and he really couldn’t find the energy to get out of bed.
Along with those words, the blanket Gopal had covering him was pulled, and the dark-skinned boy groaned aloud at the loss of warmth from that action.
“ Go away… I have classes today…” Gopal easily lied - anything for more sleep and for his 16 year old best friend to stop bothering him…
“Aww… such a shame… Me and Fang are planning to go around to try some food… I guess another time, then.”
At the mention of his beloved, Gopa stood up, made his bed, and changed out of his pajamas in record time before bowing exaggeratedly.
“Lead the way, my good sir.” Gopal said.
Boboiboy bursted out laughing, and then started pushing Gopal towards the bathroom, saying the guy should shower properly first before they go out to the public.
Before Gopal was fully in the shower, there were footsteps, and Gopal immediately figured out who it was that had entered, looking at Gopal in disdain before turning to Boboiboy with his arms crossed over his chest.
“You told me it wouldn’t take him long.” Fang said to Boboiboy, an eyebrow raised unamused.
Boboiboy didn’t seem to be deterred by the dark-haired guy’s wet blanket of a mood, grinning all brightly as he managed to push Gopal into the bathroom, reaching into the dark-skinned boy’s drawer and picking random clothes before throwing them at Gopal, effectively covering Gopal’s face.
“Well, if he starts now, it wouldn’t take him long~ Right, Gopal?” Boboiboy sing-songed, nudging the bathroom’s door closed when Gopal was still peeking from the gap of the bathroom door to see Boboiboy and Fang.
Gopal showered as quick as he could, and strained his ears to try and listen in his friends’ conversation.
It’s been a while since Gopal saw Fang.
Maybe a week ago, or something. He was surprised Fang suddenly dropped by with Boboiboy at his place.
Some days, Gopal would bother and annoy Fang by spamming his number with messages and stickers, some days Gopal would leave the guy be, and, if he’s lucky, the guy would be the first to reach out and ask how he was doing.
Still, compared to himself, Boboiboy definitely contacted Fang more often than the dark-skinned boy does. Something about Boboiboy being the kind of guy who wants to know how his friends are doing all the time or something.
By the time Gopal had gotten out of his bathroom in the surprisingly cool clothes Boboiboy had picked for him, he stepped out and was greeted by the sight of Boboiboy animatedly talking about something while sitting on Gopal's bed, eyes all bright and filled with wonder as he went on and on about stars or something.
Right - Gopal forgot his friend over here had a huge liking for astronomy - things like stars, planets, the Sun and the Moon. Gopal, personally, didn’t really care about the things that are beyond Earth’s atmosphere; but his best friend does, so yes, Gopal had listened to a bunch of facts about the galaxy thanks to his friend.
While Boboiboy was going on and on about galaxies, Fang was seated beside the orange-capped boy, the two of them thigh-to-thigh as Fang seemed to be paying super close attention to whatever Boboiboy was saying.
“You know how we have only explored, like, 5% of the sea? Well, guess what? We’ve also only had 5% of the known universe! Which is super cool, because with how much we’ve learnt about the world, one would think we’ve discovered, like, half of the things about the world already!” Boboiboy gushed, all excited.
Fang hummed, and Gopal would’ve thought the guy wasn’t listening if not for the dark-haired guy’s next words.
“So what’s your favorite thing to search about?” Fang asked, still looking at Boboiboy and actually looking interested - which was funny, because the guy was not at all interested in astronomy.
Unlike Boboiboy who’s obsessed with the stars and stuff, Fang was more intrigued by animals; always looking extra cheerful whenever Kokotaim would go on outings to the zoo and places alike. In fact, Fang would usually be something like a tourist guide because oh how much he knew about animals.
Seriously, Gopal really did have nerds for friends.
“Stars, definitely! Constellations are a pretty cool thing to know about too! But I just like how stars decorated the night sky and all - it’s always a nice thing to look at. Even if sometimes we can't see them, it’s reassuring to know that they are always there. Stars are super poetic - maybe I’ll shine like stars too someday~” Boboiboy answered his friend’s question lengthily, all too eager to indulge Fang.
“It doesn’t have to be someday.” Fang chose to say out of nowhere.
Why were these two acting like Gopal was invisible anyway??
“What do you mean??” Boboiboy asked, looking slightly puzzled.
Fang cleared his throat, turned on his phone and seemed to be pretending to check messages before he answered casually.
“You’re already blinding enough.”
Gopal didn’t bother to hide how he gaped at the lowkey smooth line from his dark-haired friend, watching as Boboiboy took a while to process Fang’s words before a light flush dusted his cheeks, giggling a little.
And then, probably out of reflex, Boboiboy smacked Fang’s back a bit too strongly.
“Didn’t know you’re suddenly capable of cracking jokes!” Boboiboy commented, scratching his cheek and looking all shy and abashed.
???
What’s with this development-?
“I was not joking though…” Fang muttered, sounding a little bit disappointed.
It was only then did Boboiboy bother to address Gopal who practically had stood by his door for decades waiting for his two friends to finish their conversation.
“ Oh! Finally, Gopal! Took you long enough! I’m starvinggg! ” Boboiboy exclaimed, hopping off the bed he was sitting on before grabbing Fang’s hand to pull the other off the bed with him.
Boboiboy kept his hand holding onto Fang, and Fang remained unbothered through it all.
The orange-capped boy only bothered to drop the dark-haired guy’s friend when the two of them reached Gopal, squeezing themselves through the gap of the door between Gopal who was practically blocking the door.
Gopal has the right to a moment of silence because what the hell was that??
When Gopal had snapped out of it, he quickly followed after Boboiboy and Fang, and found himself still in a daze and confused as Boboiboy kept on talking - as if Fang didn’t just drop the smoothest pickup line and as if Boboiboy didn’t just hold hands with Fang for far too long to be considered normal .
“What’s the date anyway?” Boboiboy asked after saying how the Sun is actually not all that big and that there’s this star called Sirius that is double the size of the Sun.
Fang checked his watch and told them that it was 14th February.
Mentioning that date was all it took to distract Gopal, actually; because he found himself sighing as he remembered how his parents would always make him a third wheel during this time of the year.
It’s not like his family celebrates Valentine, it was just that his Amma would use the day as an excuse to go shopping, and his Appa would comply and drag him with them so he could carry the mountains of shopping bags.
Tough luck being an only child…
Well, at least Gopal had his friends today - so no more third wheeling!
When Gopal was just about to thank his friends for not making him third wheel his parent, he stopped himself, looked at his friends who were suddenly crouched at the sight of the road, with Fang going on and on about something while petting a cat and with Boboiboy listening attentively to Fang, Gopal sighed.
Apparently, it was Gopal’s destiny to be a third wheel.
(On a side note, at least he’s treated better by his friends; sometimes Boboiboy paid for the food, sometimes Fang paid for the food. Either way, Gopal would not be complaining as long as his stomach was full.
…only one complaint though; the two of them shouldn’t be arguing over who should pay every time they wanted to pay for food… seriously, did they think this was a date?? And that the one paying was gonna be more ‘gentleman’-ly?
Anyway, that’s none of Gopal’s business - again, as long as his stomach was full.)
《 / 2 \ 》
17 year old Yaya cleaned her kitchen one last time, making sure all the ingredients she had were enough for her to bake a bunch of cookies - since it’s Valentine's Day.
It’s not like she celebrates it - it’s just that she figured she could give her biscuits to someone who needs it on a whim but couldn’t find anywhere to buy cookies since all the cookies and chocolates shops should be flooding with people.
Yaya checked her watch, and wondered how late these friends of hers were going to be.
Boboiboy had asked her what she was going to do on the 14th, and the 17 year old immediately brightened up when Yaya said she was going to bake some cookies - which was odd, because usually everyone disliked it when she wanted to bake cookies.
Well, at least there’s the development.
After that, Boboiboy excitedly took out his phone, messaged someone, and told Yaya that he and another person would be eager to help out with her baking.
Obviously Yaya was elated.
Although, she didn’t know her assistants would be so tardy…
As if on cue, she heard someone knocking on the door, followed by her mother’s footsteps before the sound of the door being unlocked.
There were voices talking, and to Yaya’s surprise, the other person that would be helping her was Fang.
This was huge - Fang had never wanted to get close to Yaya’s cookies!
She wondered what Boboiboy had to do to drag the guy here…
Footsteps could be heard approaching her kitchen, and eventually two familiar friends of hers entered the kitchen; one looking apologetic as he scratched the back of his head and the other one looking like he wanted to be anywhere but in the kitchen.
“Sorry for being late, Yaya… Uh… Fang here is being moody as usual…” Boboiboy apologized before quickly putting the blame on his dark-haired friend, earning himself a glare from the said friend that caused him to flee and hide behind Yaya while chuckling cautiously.
Yaya shook her head from side to side, taking out an orange apron and a purple apron as she said.
“Next time, learn to be on time, both of you. Now let’s get started before the day ends and I didn’t get to distribute my cookies.”
Yaya handed the aprons to the boys, and Boboiboy eagerly put the orange one on, boasting how he’s great at putting on aprons since he would always help Tok Aba out in the kitchen when preparing meals like lunch and dinner.
Fang, on the other hand, seemed to be a bit confused on where to put his head and where to put his hands - which was hilarious to see since Fang most of the time wouldn’t be so clueless about anything.
Fortunately, Boboiboy came to the rescue, standing in front of Fang and carefully directing Fang to put on the apron properly.
Once both boys had worn their aprons, Boboiboy managed to sneak in a short ‘didn’t want you dying because of strangulation from an apron no, did we?’ while Fang managed to smack the back of the orange-capped boy’s head lightly in retort.
With that settled, the three of them started baking.
You see, Yaya had her expectations, thinking maybe the boys would do okay since Boboiboy claimed that he frequently helped Tok Aba while Fang, well, had his competitive streak going on with Boboiboy - so obviously he would try his best.
It all went okay - until Boboiboy decided to cook sausages.
The girl in the pink hijab didn’t mind it of course, since those sausages could be served as a reward for their hard work of baking such a large amount of cookies.
She left Boboiboy to his own devices, while she and Fang shaped the dough they’ve made together.
It was only when they heard a wince from Boboiboy did Yaya and Fang look up from the dough they’ve shaped, exchanging glances with each other before Yaya made her way to where Boboiboy was presumably cutting sausages.
As soon as she saw small drops of blood on the cutting board, she gasped out loud, feeling faint.
“Boboiboy?! How did you manage to cut yourself from cutting sausages?! I thought you would always help Tok Aba in the kitchen??”
Boboiboy had the audacity to giggle at Yaya’s disdain, muttering how he only helped by washing the dishes and wiping them after washing.
Yaya was just about to get a bandaid she was pretty sure she had somewhere when Fang rushed to Boboiboy, grabbed the orange-capped boy by his wrist, and dragged him to the nearest sink before turning on the tap and pushing Boboiboy’s injured finger under the running water.
The orange-capped boy obviously didn’t like the pain that came from the running water hitting his cut finger, but Fang ignored the wince that Boboiboy made in favor of letting the water wash away some of the blood that was still flowing out of the cut.
Once no more blood could be seen, Fang once again dragged Boboiboy to the chair in the kitchen, forcing the guy to sit on it, before conveniently taking out a plaster and going on one knee, inspecting Boboiboy’s finger.
Somehow, ever since Fang had stepped in and dragged Boboiboy to the sink, Yaya felt like those two were in their own world.
“Idiot. You were cutting sausages . How come you managed to cut yourself?” Fang chided lightly, plastering the bandaid over the cut gingerly.
Huh.
Funny how the cut was on Boboiboy’s ring finger.
“Well- This is all your fault! ” Boboiboy suddenly huffed, looking away from Fang and scowling.
Even when the bandaid was secured around Boboiboy’s ring finger, Fang kept on holding the orange-capped human’s hand anyway.
“ You were the one who’s so eager to go into the kitchen. I don’t see how your carelessness could be my fault.” Fang retorted, still holding onto Boboiboy’s hand while Boboiboy didn’t bother to take his hand away.
Boboiboy rolled his eyes, and then finally looked back at Fang, still with a scowl on his face.
“Is it really my fault if I want to try baking with you in someone else’s kitchen aside from mine? Plus, it is your fault because I was trying to cut those sausages into animal-shaped shapes since you like animals so much.”
???
If Yaya was understanding this correctly, Boboiboy had wanted to help her because… he wanted to bake in her kitchen with Fang??
Also, now that she properly looked at the sausages that were cut, she did see something that resembled something like a… octopus? And cats? Yaya couldn't guess.
Okay, but the important question here; was she used as an excuse for these boys to hang out??
Yaya had to postpone asking any kinds of questions out loud, because Fang had broken into a fit of laughter, and Boboiboy was getting concerningly red from embarrassment.
“You’re laughing.”
“Look, Boboiboy, it’s just that- pfft-”
“You’re laughing after I’ve pretty much bleed for you. Haha. Very hilarious. You’re the worst.”
Sulking, Boboiboy finally took his hand away from Fang, and made a beeline to his cutting board and started to aggressively cut the leftovers sausages.
When Fang was mid-laughing and his eyes landed on Yaya, she raised an eyebrow in disapproval as if to say ‘you’re inconsiderate dumbass’ before she went to stand beside Boboiboy to see his progress.
…
Still looked like deformed animals…
“Uh… Boboiboy, how about you try cutting it like this?” Yaya tried cheering up her friend, grabbing a sausage and a knife before successfully cutting a decent looking octopus shaped sausage.
Boboiboy beamed at her sausage, looking determined then as he grabbed at a sausage, stuck his tongue out a little in concentration and tried to copy whatever Yaya had done as she had cut her ‘masterpiece’.
Except Boboiboy’s sausage still looked like anything but animal-shaped shapes.
Boboiboy groaned in annoyance, was about to continue on aggressively stabbing and cutting more sausages, but was put to a stop when a hand suddenly held his hand that was holding the knife.
Yaya wasn’t sure if she was able to hide her surprise properly when Fang really just went to stand behind Boboiboy’s back, practically leaving no space between the two of them as his other hand also went to hold Boboiboy’s other hand.
“Watch closely.” Fang mumbled, sounding a bit fond as he guided Boboiboy to cut a sausage.
It looked way better than the one Yaya had cut.
Boboiboy looked positively happy now, shaking Fang’s hands off his before taking another sausage and started to follow what Fang had done, eyebrows furrowed and tongue sticking out in concentration yet again.
All the while, Fang did not move away from his spot - the only thing that changed was that both of his hands were on the table, and he was basically just… trapping Boboiboy in front of him.
???
The thing was - this looked like it was a norm for them.
Yaya stayed silent, still thinking about what exactly had she witnessed, and only snapped out of it when Boboiboy cheered, taking the barely decent sausage he had cut and turned around - perhaps to show it to Fang.
It was only then did Boboiboy realize how close he was standing to Fang, automatically recoiling backwards and making the table hit his back a bit too strongly as he winced, the sausage in his hand almost dropped.
Fang finally took a step back, crossed his arms, and had a smug smile on his lips.
Boboiboy, on the other hand, had grown a little red at the back of his neck and the tips of his ears.
It was a bit awkward, to say the least - especially for Yaya who felt like she was practically invisible to these two people.
“I- Uh… I did it.” Boboiboy stammered, tips of his ears still red as he attempted a boastful smile on his lips.
“Yeah you did.” Fang agreed, still with that smug smile on his lips - which Boboiboy obviously pointed out.
“What are you smiling so smugly for?”
“Nothing - just the fact that one; that still barely looked like an octopus. And two; you wouldn’t have managed to cut as decent as that. Obviously you need me.”
“I never said I didn’t need you or anything!”
“So you need me?”
“Well, yes, but-”
“All I hear is you couldn’t have survived without me. I know, I’m awesome. ”
“Listen here you little-”
“Oh wow look the bandaid is conveniently on Boboiboy’s ring finger… Haha you guys are practically married at this point.” Yaya found herself saying before she could stop herself, as seeing the two arguing was like seeing an old married couple going back and forth.
Both Fang and Boboiboy froze, rigidly turned to Yaya, before they cleared their throats and laughed awkwardly; Fang’s hands fidgeting at his side as he looked at the suddenly interesting window while Boboiboy kept on scratching his cheek.
…
“So what’s that about you guys wanting to use someone else’s kitchen for once?” Yaya asked - might as well since she was actually getting quite curious.
Somehow, they became even more rigid, and Boboiboy sputtered.
“Ohhh nothing, really. Just Fang and I sometimes uhhh cook together and all that… haha… at my place… yeah… not too frequently or anything… yeah… like, not weekly, totally!”
The only reason Boboiboy did shut his mouth in the end was when Fang practically elbowed his side, making the orange-capped human groan as he toppled over from the strength of the hit.
Fang groaned, crouched and started patting Boboiboy’s back comfortingly, before clearing his throat and deadpanning while looking straight into Yaya’s eyes.
“Nothing suspicious or anything.”
Fang, your red ears were not fooling anyone.
Yaya accepted her fate of being a third wheel for the day.
(In the end, the cookies were baked, and they enjoyed the sausages that Boboiboy had cooked.
Yaya couldn’t help but smile teasingly when Fang was quite possessive over the deformed animal-shaped sausages, munching on them quickly so he could eat most of the deformed ones.)
《 / 3 \ 》
“What came over you to suddenly decide that jogging at night would be a great idea?” 18 year old Boboiboy asked Ying, out of breath and all that as he laid down on the grass at the park.
It wasn’t 17 year old Ying’s fault that her two friends suddenly wanted to join her on her jog.
“ Aiya , stop complaining already! It was you who had asked me what I’ll be doing on the 14th! And it was also you who had voluntarily joined me on my night jog! Now shush! I have to have a moment of peace and silence! Completing all those Additional Mathematics exercises for the whole day was already draining enough. I need tonight to be relaxing.” Ying chided lightly, steadying her breathing as she also laid on the grass.
“I told you Ying is insane.” Fang unhelpfully supplied.
Ying rolled her eyes, didn’t bother to start bantering with the dark-haired guy.
Fang was laid down beside Boboiboy, while Ying was on the other side of the orange-capped boy.
Surprisingly, after Ying had requested, those two did quiet down.
The silence stretched, and it was only when Ying had felt like her head was no longer going to explode from integration and differentiation formulas did she speak up.
“Why did you guys suddenly want to join me anyway? And on the 14th too?”
There was an awkward chuckle from Boboiboy, but when he wanted to answer, Fang cut him to it.
“We’re bored. That’s all.”
Skeptically, Ying glanced at her two friends, then directed her gaze back up at the sky again.
“Why not.. I don’t know, go hiking or something?”
The answer she received was quick.
“Already did.” Fang had said.
Ying blinked a few times, quickly sat upright with her legs crossed, and faced her two friends who looked like they were already dozing off from exhaustion.
“You went hiking?? Without everyone?? EVeryone meaning Boboiboy, Yaya, Gopal and me??” Ying asked, disbelieving and betrayed.
Fang’s answer was worse.
“Oh not without everyone - Boboiboy came with me.”
Ying gaped at her two friends, and felt annoyed when they didn’t seem bothered.
“Well, how about going to an aquarium?”
“Ohhh that was fun! Fang went on and on about the fishies and it was hilarious when he got beet red whenever he realized he had blabbered too much!”
“How about a planetarium?”
“Already did - Boboiboy over here fit in just right among the stars and planets displayed there.”
Ying’s eyes widened like saucers, and she’s a hundred percent her jaw actually dropped at Fang’s answer - especially when Boboiboy rolled his eyes fondly and smacked the dark-haired guy’s shoulder not-so-lightly.
“ Well, okay, how about the waterpark?”
They better not have-
“Ohhh the waterpark was also amazing! We snapped a lot of photos together!! Oh and there was also like a funfair at that time! So the two of us stopped there too! Fang sucks so bad at those clawing machines!’ Boboiboy excitedly gushed, snickering as he dodged a smack from Fang.
And then those two practically forgot Ying was there.
“Well, at least I wasn’t screaming like a girl when we went on that one roller coaster!”
“It was high , okay?! Also, it wasn’t me that wanted to go on the merry-go-round just because the horses there look realistic and you’ve always wanted to ride a horse!”
“Well- Should I be sorry for that?? ”
“Well, no , and you know what? Yeah, let’s make riding a horse on something we should do when we’re bored! So you wouldn’t have to ride merry-go-rounds again.”
“Okay!”
“ Okay! ”
“Great, it’s a date! ”
“ You’re on! ”
…
There was a beat of silence after that, both Boboiboy and Fang breathing a little bit heavily from practically causing a noise disturbance by screaming at each other when they’re literally laying down beside each other.
It took a while, but Ying could see the exact moment when they realized they had an audience; both of them unwilling to turn to look at Ying and keeping their face upward to look at the stars.
It stayed like that for a while before Boboiboy cleared his throat.
“Do you guys know there are 42 animal constellations? And those are practically like, almost half of the 88 official constellations?”
Pitying the boys’ terrible way of changing the topic, Ying went along with whatever Boboiboy was trying to say.
“No, I don’t know, actually. My head’s too full with Newton’s Laws and Distribution Formulas.” Ying answered honestly, casually laying back down as if she hadn’t made a huge discovery about her friends - although she wasn’t sure if her deduction was correct or wrong.
Boboiboy visibly relaxed when Ying played along, suddenly all too eager to raise his hand and point at a bunch of stars in the sky.
“See over there? The bunch of stars over there?” Boboiboy enthusiastically pointed out, probably unaware that his two friends who have no knowledge of constellations or whatsoever probably had no idea what Boboiboy was talking about-
“Canis Major, is it?” Fang answered, making Ying’s jaw drop all over again.
What?? So she has two friends who’re awesome at constellations now??
Boboiboy cheered, sitting upright all of a sudden before turning to Fang and cheering.
“ This is exactly why I love you! ”
It took a while, but Boboiboy froze a few seconds after he said those words, before mortification settled on his face as he slowly laid back down with his hands covering his face.
“Sorry- I meant I love constellations. ” Boboiboy tried to fix the damage he had done, yet obviously to no avail…
It was Fang’s turn to change the topic, chuckling a little bit fondly before he cleared his throat.
“Wanna hear a fun fact about dogs?”
Boboiboy nodded, but he still had his face covered with his hands in embarrassment.
So Ying lent him a hand.
“Sure, fire away, future vet or zoologist or whatever.”
Fang rolled his eyes all good-naturedly before he spoke.
“Dogs have dreams too.”
The orange-capped boy finally lowered his hands at the fact.
“What do they dream about?” Boboiboy asked, all curious as he looked at Fang in anticipation while the dark-haired friend smiled at the orange-capped friend in appreciation for indulging him.
Haha yeah. Apparently Ying is now a master at being invisible.
“They say dogs mostly dream about playing or spending time with their owners.” Fang said briefly, shrugging a little as he turned to look at the Great Dog constellation that Boboiboy had pointed out earlier, judging from where his eyes were looking at.
“Do they have nightmares?” Boboiboy asked, intrigued.
“They could.” Fang answered.
Boboiboy let out an ‘ohh’ disheartened sound, also turning to look at the sky before he muttered.
“Must be nice; dreaming about spending time with their loved ones, I mean.”
Fang raised an eyebrow at the orange-capped boy’s statement, turning to look at Boboiboy curiously as he asked.
“What? Never dreamt of your loved ones before?”
Boboiboy shrugged.
“Well… you know how our dreams are; most of the time they don’t even make sense! Sure, there are times when I dreamt of my parents and Tok Aba and everyone. Dreams involving you are few though . I’m not sure how dreams work.”
…
How many times is Boboiboy going to embarrass himself tonight… seriously…
“Well, maybe you just don’t love me enough.” Fang drawled, sticking out his tongue at Boboiboy before suddenly standing up and taunting the orange-capped human.
“We’re sworn enemies anyway - or maybe I’m just too popular and amazing to be included in your dreams. You know, too ethereal and all that your dreams can’t conjure me. Heh.”
Boboiboy got over his embarrassment quickly enough this time, also standing up and started chasing the other around.
Those two ended up chasing each other, and Ying found herself wondering if she was actually younger than them from how childish they were behaving.
Idiots, really.
Speaking of…
“You guys are so dead for going to the waterpark and funfair without us. I’m telling everyone. ” Ying claimed, already messaging their group chat and hitting the send button before the two boys even get to negotiate with her to not tell everyone.
Seriously, were they 18 years old or 8 years olds…
(On their way home, Ying had walked a few steps ahead of the boys, thinking they would want some privacy for whatever reasons.
When she heard them bickering about Fang having too many of his clothes at Boboiboy’s place, Ying felt like she had heard enough for the day.
《 / +1 \ 》
Qually was just a new kid in town.
And, well, yes, he was picked on by a couple of scarily large guys.
Which was hilarious, because despite his short stature, he was literally 19 years old.
Haha.
Just when all hope was gone, his savior came, and it turned out it was this cool guy with an equally cool floating robot that had come to his rescue.
His savior went by the name Boboiboy, whereas his floating robot - he said it was called a ‘power sphere’ - went by the name Ochobot.
The orange-capped boy offered a hand, and Qually gladly took it - if not for his sprained ankle.
So his oh-so kind savior carried him on his back, and Qually found himself almost shedding tears from how grateful and touched he was feeling by the other’s sincere and kind intentions of helping without wanting anything in return.
Oh, Qually would’ve been skeptical if it was any other strangers - but one glance at Boboiboy was enough for him to decide that the orange-capped boy was trustworthy.
Fortunately, they weren’t located very far from Boboiboy’s house, so it only took a few minutes for them to reach it.
Qually had thought the people around Boboiboy would be just as kind and warm as the orange-capped boy.
He was proven wrong when a pair of eyes immediately glared at him upon seeing him on Boboiboy’s back.
“Where were you? You’re late.” The scary-looking and gloomy-looking dark-haired guy huffed, giving Qually yet another glare with his arms crossed over his chest and looking all skeptical.
Qually wasn’t sure what face Boboiboy was making, but the orange-capped boy told this guy - Qually now knows as Fang - that he happened to bump into this ‘poor helpless little guy’ and wanted to help.
Boboiboy entered the house, and carefully put Qually on the sofa.
“What? So you’re like, the savior of the galaxy now?” Fang scoffed, leaning against the wall nearby, still with his arms crossed over his chest and still not stopping himself from sending daggers towards Qually’s way.
Ochobot came out from the kitchen with a first aid kit and handed it to Boboiboy.
“Geez… stop being so sulky… I was only a few minutes late… Look, I’ll help clean this guy’s injuries first, and then we can go to the horse-riding event thingy, and then we could go to the resort and relax as I obnoxiously point out all the constellations you’re probably tired of hearing while we hang out at the beach. We can still make it, really.” Boboiboy tried to maybe pacify his gloomy friend, opening the first aid kit in the process.
Just when Boboiboy was about to start treating Qually’s injuries, Fang was suddenly there, and practically snatched the first aid kit and grumbled.
“I’ll do it. You helped this guy enough.”
Qually wanted to request for Boboiboy to come back since Fang here seemed determined to make the cleaning of his injuries as painful as possible, but he stopped himself from saying anything when Fang gave him that deathly glare again.
After his injuries were treated and after agonizing minutes of Qually holding in his groans of pain, Qually slumped on the sofa he was sitting on and finally relaxed, feeling safe as he didn’t need to worry about bullies coming into his house.
He did need to clarify that he’s not some ‘little guy’ though…
“How are we going to leave this house if this stranger is in it?” Fang asked Boboiboy, didn’t bother to lower his voice as it seemed that he wanted Qually to hear.
Qually wanted to be mad, but he also felt bad because he’s pretty sure he was intruding and was the cause of the duo’s plan to be delayed.
Boboiboy furrowed his eyebrows in disapproval at his friend’s attitude, rolling his eyes and shaking his head from side to side before turning on the tv and plopping himself beside Qually, an arms casually placed around Qually’s shoulder’s.
“I’ve already called Gopal to come here. Now be quiet; I don’t want to talk to people who are rude to guests.” Boboiboy said with finality, turning up the volume of the cartoon show airing when Fang looked like he wanted to speak.
When Fang realized Boboiboy really didn’t want to talk to him, the dark-haired guy huffed, and went upstairs, followed by the loud sound of a door closing.
That was enough of a signal for Boboiboy to drop his annoyed act and groan into his palms instead.
“ Gosh, he’s so annoying sometimes… ”
Qually looked at his friend - they’re friends now, right? - and turned to look at the stairs before turning back to Boboiboy.
Since they’re friends, surely Qually could give his opinion, right?
“ I think your boyfriend was just jealous. ”
Qually didn’t know how, but Boboiboy was somehow able to choke on air.
It took a few minutes of Qually patting Boboiboy’s back a few times before the orange-capped boy got over his coughing fit, looking positively red as he stammered out not-so-convincingly.
“He’s- Fang is not my boyfriend. He’s just- a very close friend , Yeah. That sometimes gets too overprotective. And we spend the 14th of February together every year. Platonically, of course. Obviously…”
…
This boy was not fooling anyone.
Switching into his wise tone, Qually tried advising his new friend again.
“Boyfriend or not, I think he was just worried that you brought a stranger home - even if with good intentions.
I’m glad you helped me, I really do. But I would feel bad if you and your boyfr- best friend fought because of me. So go talk to him; not like I can walk around to steal cookbooks or anything.”
Boboiboy looked deep in thought before he slowly nodded, going for the stairs before he turned back to Qually, puzzled.
“Why cookbooks?”
“I like cooking.”
“At your age?”
“I’m 19.”
“Oh…”
And then Boboiboy shrugged and climbed up the stairs.
As soon as Boboiboy had disappeared into the second floor, the front door of the house opened, and Qually had thought his luck had run out and the bullies had followed him into the house of his savior - in fact, he was already thinking of how much he needed to pay his kind savior for his generosity.
Apparently he guessed wrong, because a girl in a pink hijab, a girl with round glasses and in yellow and blue, and a dark-skinned boy came at the speed of light and suddenly crowded poor unsuspecting Qually.
“So?? Are those two together??” The boy asked all too eagerly, looking like he had betted his whole life savings on the answer being yes.
(Gopal had, actually.)
Unfortunately Qually also didn’t know the answer to that.
“Uh… I don’t know…?”
All three of them groaned simultaneously - which would’ve been a comical and hilarious sight, if it wasn’t for how overwhelmed he was feeling from meeting so many people in an hour.
But then there were footsteps climbing down the stairs, and everyone quickly took their seats on the sofa, acting all casual.
???
Then Boboiboy and Fang finally popped up, hand in hand , carrying backpacks and all that.
When he noticed his friends were here, Boboiboy let go of Fang’s hand in favor of waving at his friends and greeting them.
From the corners of his eyes, Qually swore Fang was approaching him slowly.
Eventually, when Fang actually did get close enough to Qually who was praying that he wouldn’t be at the receiving end of Fang’s glares, he was surprised by the mumble he heard instead.
“Sorry. For being rude.”
Qually couldn’t help but gape at the dark-haired guy, staring at him as if he had grown another head.
Boboiboy then popped up, and casually - as if it was by instinct or as if it was a natural daily routine of his - grabbed Fang’s hand and intertwined them together, waving at everyone with his free hand.
“Take care of the house for me! Bye!”
Everyone else excitedly cheered, and when they couldn’t see Boboiboy and Fang from the window anymore, Qually turned to the other people in the room:
“ They definitely feel something for sure. ”
Arguments erupted from all sides of the room after that.
(Qually found himself mingling around with the friend group ever since that day.
If only Fang wouldn’t stop glaring at him every time someone talks about piggybacks…)
《 / END \ 》