Paper Bags

Paper Bags 06

The registry was closed for the day so the gang decided they would retire for the night. Haru hummed, shoving his hands into his pant pockets as he walked next to Jason after waving goodbye to his friends, mildly disgusted at how Adam had trailed after Rain like a dog. A brief shiver ran down his spine. If for some world-ending reason his friend decided that the douchebag would be her lover, Haru swore he would gag.

A nudge on his left had him turning his attention to his best friend, raising an eyebrow when those green eyes met his. "What?" Haru asked after a brief silence of nothing from the other man.

Jason chuckled, shaking his head before he turned his head to face their walkway. "Nothing, just... amused at how things have gone, I guess."

"Amused?" Haru supposed he could call what they had experienced funny. But he didn't think everything was entirely amusing. Adam's face flashed into his mind and he sighed, lowly. "I think today had been tiring."

Jason nudged him and before he could ask his friend why he was nudging him again, a strong grip on his arm halted him. He raised an eyebrow, turning his body to look at the other man. "Stay with me tonight. I can make salad with tuna you like so much."

Tuna? That thing was a commodity at the very best. It was hard to get aquatic ingredients into the town when they lived so far from the nearest river or sea. And it wasn't like the importation of them was enough with how long it takes for them to arrive from Bagel Town. By the time Bagel had given them a full three ships of them, the high demands would have cleaned out the stores before Haru could blink.

So for Jason to offer freely tuna salad like this...

His heart skipped a beat and he cleared his throat immediately when his face heated up. Jason's eyes sparkled underneath the lights of the bunker, making him catch his breath in his throat. The air between them that had been so quiet and contemplative shifted into something newer, tighter in tension. It made him want to shift his weight from one foot onto the other and rub the back of his neck.

"Okay," Haru said after a few seconds of silence. He furrowed his eyebrows when Jason smiled, his dimples showing. "How did you get your hands on the tuna?"

His best friend merely let him go and shoved his hands in his jean pockets, shrugging once. There was a certain twinkle in his eyes that reminded Haru of the times when he used to pull strings for him without telling him. And he had a suspicion that this was the same thing.

And that thought made him want to smile back.

"I told you, I got just got paid yesterday," Jason said, moving. "Besides, I think you've earned it. Well, it's also for my benefit. I just went from teaching the children the consequences of exiting the bunker and then next thing I know, I'm on my way to help my friends to reveal the culprit behind the lie!"

Haru hummed, nodding once. "I suppose you're right."

Jason snorted under his breath. "Of course I am. I'm always right."

He rolled his eyes that but this time, he didn't stop himself from smiling. Once they were walking into the similar corridor to the rows of doors hosting people living just on the other side, they stopped at a particular one carrying Jason's name on it. The place was tad smaller than the one Haru lived in, mostly because Jason was a bachelor. He was jealous that his best friend was able to get an approval to move out of his family home, knowing that the House Placement department were stingy lately with shifting.

Out of habit, he took off his shoes at the entrance. Jason didn't hesitate to follow him, smiling when he met his eyes. "Don't worry about it. I got used to doing that too since we've been friends," the shorter man said.