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It was little known knowledge that Gao Hakuba had a hamster as a pet, save for the Kamomedai Volleyball Team who had the privilege of hearing almost every detail about it.
Sometimes he’d talk about it in passing conversation, marvelling at how big it had grown over summer break, or how much it would run around much to Gao’s dismay. Sometimes he would go on for longer, having heated discussions on proper living conditions for hamsters, not like the horrible setups they would see in pet shops. He’d describe with nauseating breadth the type of food and treats his hamster preferred as well, and it would drive Kourai crazy.
All of those debates usually ended in one way: him pulling on Gao’s ear to keep quiet, and launching them both into an impromptu wrestling match.
Talking this much about one topic was one thing, but butting in with random hamster facts was another. Time and place, Gao! Time and place!
But he supposes here and now is a good chance as any other for time and place. Right in the middle of Gao’s bedroom, with its janky high ceiling and tall piles of everything, haphazard and messy except for one serene corner of the room.
Reserved for that space was an impressively sized cage with clear walls and thick layers of bedding, with space to stretch and run around enough. Not discounting the tasteful decorations of natural sprays and bark, as well as the small tunnels and a heavy wheel—the cage looked pristine, and Kourai stares at it in awe as Gao replaces the food and water in it.
He doesn’t do a baby voice to the hamster like he thought he would. Not even a coddling, high-pitched one, and instead he speaks to the hamster so delicately and softly Kourai might as well have thought it was coming from a different person.
The hamster chirps happily in response to Gao looming over it with a bag of food, and for this he has to give it some props. Such a tiny creature and yet it wasn’t afraid of the goliath crouching in front of its cage.
But of course, if he’d said it out loud, the damned bastard would just say he was feeling sympathy for his fellow small creature. And then Kourai would have to kill him.
But not today.
He would rather watch Gao’s hamster stuff its cheeks; it was adorable, after all, and rarely did he have a chance like this to see one up so close.
Maybe the things Gao prattled on about did have meaning. Compared to the miserly state of cages in pet shops, the one in front of him seemed downright extravagant. But hey, if it made his hamster happy, who was he to judge?
(Being the only spectator to Gao balancing a sunflower seed on his finger and laughing when it’d all but lunged for it—if he considered it a privilege, that was his own business.)
“You gonna keep feeding it or are you gonna tell me its name?” Kourai half-jests, but finds Gao frozen anyway.
“Uh, well…”
“What? It’s something embarrassing, isn’t it? Don’t tell me you named your hamster Missile Launcher or something?”
“God, no.” Gao pours the remaining seed mix into its bowl, and turns to face Kourai finally. His cheeks are blotted red, and his eyes keep wandering away to glance at his hamster. “It’s…uh. It’s Hoshitaro.”
“That’s not that ba—wait. Did you name your hamster after me?”
He stares at him, incredulous. Everything starts to make sense all of a sudden, from the hamster’s sheer white colour to the star and space-themed decorations, and he can only gape like a fish out of water.
Then, the irony of it all hits him, and he can barely suppress a giggle as he pulls on Gao’s sleeve. “You named your fucking hamster after me? Are you making fun of me?”
“No!” Gao yells, and quickly mutters an apology for being too loud. “It’s just—I thought the colour was perfect, because it’s just like your hair. And it acts just like you sometimes—a brat.”
“There it is.” Kourai grins uncharacteristically at the taunt, too tickled to reciprocate or care about keeping up appearances. “Look who’s practicing association now. Are you gonna feed it Kappa Ebisen too?”
Gao groans, burying his vulnerable face in his hands. “I knew you’d make fun of me for it.”
“Thank you for being honest then.” Kourai pokes at his forehead, feeling his own cheeks glow with mirth. “You’re adorable.”
“Shut up…”
“I mean it, you big dumbass. You love me so much you named a hamster after me. Even though you are treating it better than me.”
“Since when?” Gao snorts, lifting his head and forgetting all his previous embarrassment. “You get much better food from me.”
Kourai wrinkles his nose in mock distaste. “Your standards are in hell.”
“You can’t distract me from the fact that you’re jealous of my hamster.”
Without Kourai pulling on his ear to begin with, they start bickering; grabbing at any exposed skin they can find, poking and kicking to see who can get the upper hand. Gao has hardly talked about hamsters in front of his actual hamster so far, but what he has done is give most of his attention to Kourai. Acting bashful when he had finally asked Gao about hamster-related matters, and it had to be the one thing closest in proximity to him.
Kourai was right. Gao is adorable, and he has no idea what he sees in his hamster to compare it to his likeness, but it flatters him far more than expected anyway.
(Had he spent days and nights thinking of him while peering over into its cage? Did he conjure up poetry in his mind as he cared for his hamster?)
(Surely he did. It was Gao, professionally trained in the dramatics and romantics, but for once he is wrong—Kourai isn’t jealous.)
To be the main inspiration of a pet that Gao loved so much to keep finding new things to talk about—he’s beyond flattered, and he’ll use it as material to tease him about for the rest of his waking days.
Take that, Gao.