Chapter Text
They were in the cafeteria, the buzz of students getting their lunches fading into background noise while Seible approached where his best friend was sitting. Holding a meal tray, running up to the boy. Freodore looked at him and called over to the boy. "Seible. Stop running. If you trip, you'll fling food everywhere."
The brunette reached the table, slowing to a walk. "I'm sorry, Furi-chan, I just got out of a test and I wanted to rant—" Seible sat down next to the other, placing down his tray. "Let's wait for K-chan and Gin-chan. It'll be funnier when they're here."
Seible began to eat his food, thinking of ways to get Freodore's attention. He liked the boy, but it seemed obvious to anyone but him. Luckily, it was easier for him, because, well, he was already his best friend, but still. He couldn't be sure that Freodore did actually like him back. And if he didn't, and Seible just outright stated he liked Freodore, the results could be catastrophic. Seible loved the way he'd cover his mouth with one dainty hand whenever he laughed, the way he was always so serious, whenever someone managed to crack a smile out of him, it was a very welcome surprise. He loved how whenever Freo saw he messed up on something, he'd go to Seible first to ask for help. But he'd rather go through every stage of grief than admit his feelings. And also pine for years on end.
Totally was fine with that. Yup.
Freodore, similarly, was also going through the five stages of grief in his head while waiting for the other two boys. He had first realised he had a crush on the walking hazard after it had begun raining at a train station and Seible had let Freo walk with him to his apartment, where they spent the next few hours playing video games while moonlight had sifted through his curtains, long after the rain had subsided. The way Seible's face brightened when Freo agreed to join him. The way he'd looked so serene when he fell asleep after a long run of Minecraft. The way he'd woken up the next morning and made breakfast for Freo. How he'd been flustered when Freo jokingly called him a housewife. After, he realised wanted his best friend. And God, he wanted to do something about it. But he was too coward to actually tell Seible, so he opted for the 'painfully pine for 3 weeks' option. He knew he wasn't gonna tell Seible. He didn't want to throw off their equilibrium, their friendship built on years and years of shared moments, sleepovers, and moments that were definitely more 'no homo' than not. God, I'm pathetic for him.
Zeal and Kaelix showed up, with Zeal holding a coffee that looked suspiciously microwaved. Kaelix stood next to him with a lazy koala energy, holding onto him. Zeal smirked at the two, not wasting any time.
"What's up, lovebirds?" Kaelix looked at Zeal like he'd just turned into a hamster and exploded. Seible sprayed ramen broth down his shirt. Freo looked at Zeal like he'd just committed an unforgivable sin. (Other than microwaving coffee.) Zeal looked around. "What? I'm just stating the obvious." Seible made eye contact while Freo handed paper towels to him so he could wipe the broth off his shirt. "Gin-chan, what the hell, we aren't dating."
Freo looked at him like he had been caught mid-scandal. "Ginjoka, this might rival your coffee-microwaving problems." Zeal shrugged. "It's efficient. And it tastes good. Plus, it's cheap."
Freodore's eye twitched, then he turned back to Seible. "Help me ignore him. Tell me he's not giving himself IBS."
"It's okay, Furi-chan. You can always count on me not microwaving things that aren't supposed to be microwaved. Like forks, and perfectly good coffee.
Zeal laughed out loud at them, then turned to Kaelix. "Even they don't know they're dating. That's so sad." Kaelix looked back at him, dragging him to sit down, laughing on the way. "Let's…Let's just sit down."
Sitting down at the table, the four boys slowly transitioned into their completely normal conversational topics. Every conversation was a pain when certain people refused to admit their feelings, which had them prancing around any topics involving love, otherwise they'd get so embarrassed they'd just. Bang their heads into the table. All while talking about their feelings.
A few of their seniors, spotting them, walked up to their table. Seible looked up, brightening at the welcome distraction from… a certain green-haired boy. He waved at them, beckoning them to continue over to the table and sit down. "Claudenyan, hi!" The boy with hair that was so bleached he could be mistaken for genderbent Elsa waved back. Wilson clapped a hand to his chest. "No greeting for me?! I don't like you anymore." Seible giggled. "Hi, Wilson-senpai, hi Zali-senpai, and hi, Vantanyan~" The other three boys also waved. Seible, inviting them to sit down and talk with them. Freodore faced Seible. "What were you saying about wanting to rant about a test?"
Seible processed, then seemed to remember whag he was saying earlier. "Oh! Yeah. That test made me want to shove the paper in my mouth and eat it. Mr. Jackson kept walking around and staring over random people's shoulders to make sure they weren't cheating. On a ten-question math quiz that doesn't even add to our grade."
Kaelix said something through a mouthful of sandwich. He swallowed, then repeated the sentence. "I said, I think Mr Jackson just hates teaching. Or students in general. Teachers always do.
Seible turned back to Freo, leaning his head over his shoulder and closing his eyes. "I'm bored. Entertain me, Furi-chan."
Freodore bonked him on the head, then ruffled his hair. Seible giggled.
Claude shared a glance with the other seniors. This is like, pre-couple activities.
They all nodded, except for Vanta, who was still deciphering their stare. He realised, then nodded also. The bell rang, and the lunch period ended. Everyone got up to get to class again, with Seible following Freo like a dog. (they shared classes. a lot of them.)
Seible walked with Freodore back to his apartment after school. Looking up, the clouds were rapidly covering the sky. "Furi-chan, I think it might rain soon.." Freodore also looked up, annoyance at the weather arising in his eyes. "I don't have an umbrella and neither do you. Should we rush back to my apartment?" Seible nodded, already seeing the clouds darkening to a shade of gray. The two began running while fat drops of rain began pouring down onto them. Seible laughed while Freodore tried his best to cover his head with his jacket. Seible, probably not caring whether he got wet or not, jogged behind Freodore, careful not to slip. Unfortunately, Freodore slipped on wet pavement, falling backwards. His eyes widened, an arm being thrown backwards to brace his fall. "Shoot—Oh no-"
Seible, watching him just in case, rushed forward to catch him, just before he hit the ground. He breathed a sigh of relief, helping Freo back up on his feet. "Furi-chan, you have to be careful not to slip! I'm not gonna be there to catch you every time." Or maybe I will be.
Freodore looked at Seible with gratitude, profusely apologising for not paying attention. Seible gave a half-stifled laugh, flicking Freo on the forehead. "Let's get to your apartment before we have another accident involving nearly dying."
As soon as Freo unlocked his apartment, Seible burst in, all damp hair and wet clothes, while Freodore, sighing, followed behind him. "Seible. You're getting my clean floors dirty. Go dry yourself off in the bathroom." Seible grinned and nodded, skipping to the bathroom to get the hair dryer. Freodore stood in his kitchen over his electric kettle, making two warm cups of tea to unwind them after his near death experience in the rain.
His cat wove around his ankles, making diesel engine sounds at him. Freodore heard the creak of the bathroom door and turned his head. Seible walked out, spotting the tea. "I hope you're dry now, Seible. If you get my carpeting dirty, I swear to God I will throw you out the window." Seible raised his hands in surrender, and took the blue cat mug. "I'm going to set up your console and set up a Discord call with Gin-chan and K-chan. Also, I'm staying over tonight. I don't want to walk home.."
Freodore nodded, agreeing to let Seible stay over. After all, it wouldn't hurt to have his best friend stay over for a while.
While Seible was setting up the console, Freo took the spare futon out of storage, laying it on his floor with the one cat plushie Seible always stole when he came over. It was a worn-out kitten with a pink and blue tail. The only plushie Freodore had on his bed was of a hedgehog with a red bow that sat near his headboard, a plushie Seible had gifted to him for his birthday. All his other plushies—that Seible and Kaelix and Zeal kept gifting to him—were situated at the foot of his bed, just barely taking the minimum space in his room.
Kaelix and Zeal's faces appeared on the laptop, greetings being chorused throughout the call. Seible booted up Mario Kart, and the game started, everyone yelling to try and…motivate the racer? God knows what. Freo kept winning, much to the surprise of Seible and everyone else on call. Seible kept losing, causing him to nearly throw hands with the TV screen. "Bro, I'm about to lose my shit, I swear to God—"
Kaelix gasped. Freo looked at Seible like he'd just committed multiple war crimes. Zeal smirked that stupid, smug smirk of his. Kaelix yelled loudly, probably peaking his mic in the process. "Seible!"
Zeal could be heard laughing through his end of the call, while Freodore could be heard smacking Seible on the shoulder. "No cursing in my house."
Seible gave him the wet kitten look. "Sorry, Furi-chan."
Even Freodore's cat seemed to be offended, letting out a meow while batting Seible's arm, as if to tell him, No cursing!
After a couple hours of playing Mario Kart, Kaelix and Zeal decided to hop off call, since it appeared to be getting quite late, as the stars were beginning to faintly appear through the window, and the clouds had cleared up enough to let moonlight flood the room, giving it a quiet, comfortable atmosphere, letting Seible bask in the cozy feel of the room. Seible yawned, stretching. "Furi-chan, what time is it?" Freodore checked his phone. "It's almost midnight. We don't have school tomorrow since we have a spring break, so you can stay up if you want, but I don't wanna ruin my sleep schedule because of Mario Kart. Again. Last time it happened, I didn't sleep for three days straight."
Before Seible could think about the implications of what Freodore had just said, he was pushed onto the couch and forced to give an answer. Freo was sat on his legs, not allowing him to get up. Seible blushed, though it was hidden by the low lighting of the room, only illuminated by the faint glow of the TV, still running Mario Kart.
"Fine, I'll go to bed. Even though I'm still totally awake."
Warm light spilled from the living room as Seible opened the door into Freodore's bedroom. He looked around the room he'd had so many sleepovers in before. The cleanest room
he'd ever seen. Bed made, not a single shirt on the floor. The singular hedgehog plush on the bed. There was already a futon set up for Seible to sleep on. A couple minutes later, (and Seible somehow convincing Freodore to let him borrow a shirt to sleep in), they were ready to sleep. Freodore managed to shut the lights in his sleep-deprived state, and fell asleep within ten minutes. Seible, unfortunately, still may have had some energy left. Looking at Freo, who seemed put-together even while asleep. Looking at the boy who'd likely never love him more than as a friend. Looking at the boy who he'd throw his entire life out the window for. Seible sighed, drifting into a dreamless sleep—yet a sleep still welcoming, filled with warmth from a day not yet come, but surely inevitable.
A sunbeam slipped through the window, situating itself directly into Seible's eyes. With a groan and an arm lazily placed over his eyes, Seible raised his arms over his head, stretching. He turned to look over where Freodore should've been. Freo's bed wasn't fully made, but it seemed recently disturbed, with the hedgehog plushie on the side instead of its usual spot on the headboard, and the blankets being slightly folded over as if someone wasn't fully awake when leaving the bed. Seible tucked the cat plush under his arm and stumbled into the kitchen, still groggy from sleep. The sun's warmth was seeping into the kitchen while sunbeams filtered through the thin curtain. Freodore was brewing two cups of coffee when he saw Seible walk in, barely missing the side of the doorframe. The taller yawned, taking a seat on one of the coffee table chairs.
Seible turned his gaze to Freodore, smiling softly in the morning glow. "Good morning, Furi-chan!" "Morning, Seible. I made you coffee."
Freodore looked at him and sighed, as he walked over to collect that one goddamned cat mug he refused to let go of. Idiot. Why is he cute?
Freodore continued toasting some bread, while Seible helped himself to the cereal sitting in Freo's pantry. Freo looked over. "...Why are you eating the cereal dry?"
Seible shrugged, still crunching on cereal. "I don't wanna raid your fridge. Also, last time I ate all your cheese."
Freo nodded, seemingly accepting the explanation, before shuddering at the memory of the last time Seible raided his fridge. Finishing up in the kitchen, he set a plate of eggs and toast in front of Seible, then returned to grab his own. Seible was confused. Not that he didn't appreciate the food, it was just that… Freodore had never done this before. Not once in the years they'd been friends for. Not once, in all those times Seible had had a sleepover at his place. And if Seible was going to be honest, it was cute. Freodore had that relaxed, loving look in his eyes, though Seible couldn't be sure whether he truly did love him, or if it was just the warmth of the morning getting to him.
The sounds of forks and knives clinking resonated through the kitchen as the two ate in peaceful silence, as the air slowly cooled and the steam curling from the rims of their cups subsided, disappearing. Seible was first to finish, putting the dirty plates in Freo's dishwasher and waiting until Freo had also finished to start the wash cycle. He walked back into Freodore's room to grab some random shirts he'd left at Freodore's house last time he was there. Freo came in, not caring that Seible was changing in his room. To be fair, they'd been friends for years and…scenarios like this were commonplace. Opening his closet, Freo picked out a casual shirt and a random pair of pants. He heard the rustling of fabric from the other side of the room as Seible finished changing. The brunette walked out of the room, flopping over onto Freo's couch and pulling out his phone. Kaelix and Zeal were bickering over something dumb in the groupchat, so Seible decided to just watch the carnage that was currently going down. He heard the door open, and Freo came out. "Hey, Furi-chan! Gin-chan and K-chan are fighting in the groupchat. Again."
"What's the argument this time?"
"No clue."
"Ah."
Seible looked at the time on his phone. "It's like…11am. And I have nothing better to do… Entertain me, Furi-channn…"
Freodore ruffled Seible's hair, earning another whine from the boy. He ran his hand through the pink-and-blue streaks, absentmindedly thinking about the dye job. When Seible first dyed his hair, he'd asked Freodore how it'd looked. The school they went to, luckily did not give a flying fuck what they did with their own hair, so Seible strutted around like a peacock showing its feathers off. Well, maybe not strutted. More like showed off to Zeal and Kaelix. Which in turn, convinced Zeal to dye the ends of his hair green. Freodore had initially been confused on why Seible had gone for pink and blue, but as he said, the colours looked good together.
Freodore leant on the side of Seible, absentmindedly stroking his hair while both boys scrolled on their phones, probably with literally nothing better to do, since well, it was 11am and the couple—err, Zeal and Kaelix were probably still bickering in the groupchat about a topic lost to probably two hundred messages. And if not, they'd probably gone back to sleep, because well, spring break. Messaging Wilson, Vanta, Claude, and Zali was also a no-go, because they mentioned beiing on a date of some sort in the big group chat that morning. Finana had bullied Claude because, as she said, Claude wasn't spending time with his big sister. Seible focused on his phone, convincing himself that Freo stroking his hair was just out of habit and there was definitely no ulterior meaning. Almost as if on cue, Freo realised that he was basically petting Seible's head. He flushed slightly, drawing his hand back from the brown locks."Sorry, I didn't realise I was doing that."
Seible leaned back into the sofa. "It's fine, Furi-chan. I liked it. Just kidding."
Freodore choked on air. "Um-Well, my bad for doing that."
The two returned to their regular position on the sofa, both boys doing stuff on their phones. Seible seemed to be struck with an idea. "Furi-chan, since it's not too late, what if we went to go shopping at the local mall?"
Freo seemed to mull it over for a moment, then shrugged. "Sure, Sei. Why not? We can go in half an hour."
Seible lit up, as if the approval of Freodore instantly powered him up by ten percent.