bloom. : a fireafy fic

Chapter Four

He had been avoiding going home for a while.

Instead of returning to the shared apartment with Leafy, he opted to spend time after work with Snowball.

He hadn't been out this long in weeks.

Leafy rarely goes out with him anymore. He had nearly forgotten what it was like just to have fun in someone else's company.

He and Snowball walked around the city and casually talked. It's crazy how much the ginger missed mundane shit like that. They went to an arcade. He hadn't been to the arcade since he was in middle school, but he had the most fun in his life. They stopped for burgers. He hadn't eaten at a burger place in months.

"Dude," Firey groaned as he bit into the burger. "I haven't had one of these in so long."

Snowball laughed. "I mean they aren't the best for you."

"I meant a day like this," Firey corrected. "I haven't been out with people for a long time."

Snowball pressed his lips together, as if he was conflicted by something.

Firey furrowed his eyebrows in worry. What was Snowball thinking about? "What's the matter bro?"

Snowball exhaled slowly before biting into his burger. "You can always hang out with me, right?" The whitehaired boy explained, covering his mouth with his hand while he chewed. "Your world doesn't revolve around your girlfriend, you can hang out with other people."

Firey bit his lip. "Well, yeah. It's just... I don't feel like talking to her, and it feels rude to just leave her alone in the apartment."

Snowball shrugged. "That's sort of rude to say, but you can kind of do whatever you want. Who's to stop you?"

Firey blinked. Snowball was right. It was his life, and who was Leafy to stop him?

That statement just solidified his plan even more.

"Why are you staring at me," Snowball was looking at Firey with a weird expression on his face. "You're so weird, stop that."

Firey stood up. "I'm gonna go talk to Leafy," the flame-haired boy explained. "I'm gonna tell her I'm going to Match and Pencil's party." He shoved the entire rest of his burger in his mouth.

"Dude, what the fuck was that?" Snowball's expression had morphed into one of disgust

Firey looked at Snowball, grinning. "What?"

"You just shoved a whole burger into your face you dumbass, what do you mean what?"

"Impressive, isn't it?" Firey replied with his mouth full. He wiggled his eyebrows at his coworker.

"You are so creepy," Snowball's face was growing increasingly disgusted. "Your jaw, like, unhinged."

Firey stifled a laugh. One of his favorite things to do was disturb Snowball. "Did you like it?" he replied, still chewing.

"No I didn't," Snowball replied, his face still contorted in disgust. "It was like you were some sort of snake, or alien, or some shit. Also, cover your mouth while you're chewing."

Firey hopped to his feet and smacked Snowball on the back. The whitehaired boy wheezed.

"Bye bye," Firey laughed, his voice singsong. He skipped towards the bus stop. He was going to tell Leafy he was going to the party, with or without her. He deserved some fun. He hadn't had fun in a while.

He looked towards the bench of the bus stop, wondering if he should sit.

The boy was surprised. The advertisement on the bench was a guy modeling facial moisturizer. That guy was Pen. How desperate was he to pay off his debt?

He decided not to sit his ass on Pen's face.

On the entire bus ride home, he rehearsed what he would say to his girlfriend. He had planned out a list of reasons, he planned out what he would say.

As he walked up the stairs, he mentally dictated how he would say it, the tone he would use, and what words he would use to get her to agree with him. He would be confident. He would be firm, but not forceful. He would be reasonable.

He jammed in his key and opened the door to their apartment.

His eyes fell on her. She was leaning over the kitchen counter, reading a book.

All of his mental practice practically flew out the window.

She looked up at him, saying nothing. Her face was blank. Her green eyes held no expression, no expectation, but it seemed like they were waiting for him to say something.

"Hey babe," he heard himself saying.

"Hi," she responded, her voice dull.

He dropped his keys on the table next to the door before shutting it. He stepped around her and walked towards the bedroom, unbuttoning his work shirt.

"Did you eat yet?" He heard her call from the kitchen.

"Yep," Firey called back to her. He was so disappointed in himself. He threw his shirt into his laundry basket and searched his closet for something casual to put on.

He chose not to put on anything for now. He didn't exactly feel like wearing a shirt at the moment. He walked out of the bedroom, shirtless, and looked at Leafy.

She met his eyes. The green orbs roamed down, and made contact with Firey's bare chest. She made no effort to hide her stare.

Firey smirked.