Punk Music and Cupcakes (Oliver X Arthur)

Ch. 3 • Moving In

"Here's the bathroom," Arthur stated dully, gesturing into the room. Oliver peered over his shoulder, seeming overly excited to get the little tour. His eyes looked around as if it was the first time getting to look around the house. Arthur could barely believe that. After all, the strawberry blond broke into it. Surely he had a few looks around. 

Showing off a few more rooms, Arthur was hesitant to present the library to Oliver. It was his special room, excluding the deck he sat on in the mornings and when he couldn't sleep late at night. He didn't know how this newcomer would treat his books. The blond has had those books since he was a child. Not the more advanced ones, of course. Things life White Fang and Harry Potter. Arthur has a love of fiction that has only grown as he got older.

After a few moments of thinking carefully, having to block out Oliver's rambling of how much he adored certain decorations, Arthur decided that Oliver would find out one way or another, and he would prefer to show the maniac himself and be able to lay out the rules. Sighing through his nose, he led the pink haired annoyance to the largest room in his house. 

To his surprise, the moment Oliver seen the rows of books lined along the walls and the comfortable seats and couches around a coffee table in the middle, the freckled lookalike had a sense of calm.

"Oh, wow..." Oliver breathed, his eyes glinting from the yellow light flowing in from the large bay window, of where Arthur found himself reading among the fluffy pillows he had there on many occasions in the afternoons. The Englishman blinked, watching Oliver take tentative steps into the carpeted area. 

"Do you, um... Do you read?" he asked. Oliver smiled. He didn't turn to acknowledge Arthur this time, instead letting his gaze travel over the many books that were almost perfectly aligned in their shelves. "No... I've never been given the chance..." Oliver replied in the still soft tone, carefully pulling out a book and holding it so he could study the cover and the pages inside. Arthur chewed the inside of his cheek, studying the scene of Oliver handling the novel like it could break at one wrong touch. "...Can you read?"

Blue eyes locked with green ones for a moment before Oliver turned his sad smile back to whatever page he landed on. "No. All of these words are foreign to me. Like symbols, to be more accurate..."

Arthur's normally stern gaze softened at the words. He tapped his fingers on his thigh as he thought, before taking a deep breath. "Would you like me to teach you?"

Freezing at the offer, Oliver's wide eyes looked back up to Arthur. He seemed hopeful, but at the same time, he looked like he couldn't believe what he had just heard. "You... would do that for me..?"

Feeling heat rise to his cheeks, Arthur turned his head to stare at the bay window. "I guess I can try. Everyone deserves a chance to read. It's a wonderful experience."

Looking like he didn't know whether to laugh, cry, or hug Arthur, Oliver just smiled much more brightly now, to Arthur's relief. He really wasn't a "hug" person. 

"Thank you..." Oliver said instead, biting his lip as his smile stayed wide. "I-I've always wanted to read. There were only a few books in my world, and most of those went toward fires when we didn't have anything sufficient enough. Even then, I would try to teach myself, but I have no clue what sounds go to what letter, and I just--" 

"Whoa, whoa, okay." Arthur interrupted, pinching the bridge of his nose as he held his other hand up as a sign to stop. "I don't need an explanation. And I can't promise that you will learn. But I will try to teach you."

Oliver's eyes light up, and he nodded. "Okay! I'll try my hardest to learn quickly! Thank you, Arthur!" He almost squealed in excitement as he placed the book back where it went, before scanning the room again. "Ah, there is so many!"