pet shop ✰ kagehina

it took time

to come to his senses when he saw shōyō again. he was just shocked to see him- he had truly convinced himself that the boy wouldn't come back.

"hey."

"h-hi."

"sorry i haven't come by in a while," shōyō stared at his hands and fiddled with the yellow hoodie sleeves that came down to his knuckles.

"it's alright," tobio reassures, "hey, i wanted to apologize-"

"no, i have to apologize. you didn't do anything wrong," the peach boy winced, "i had a terrible day that day and i took it out on you. you were just trying to help. i'm sorry, tobio, i didn't mean a word i said."

shock painted the face of the boy with jet-black hair rosy red. he cursed himself for being caught so off guard, then answered, "thank you. it's okay. i assumed you weren't in a good mood,"

"definitely not," shōyō chuckled sadly.

"is it okay if i ask what happened?"

"i- well, i mean-"

at the sight of the embarrassed boy, tobio quickly kicked his idea under the rug. "you know what, nevermind. i don't need to know yet. just let me clean you up a bit, you're still bleeding."

"i am?" shōyō reached up to touch the height of his cheekbone, feeling the blood swelling at the cut beneath his eye, "oh."

"c'mon, i have some supplies in the back."

tobio led him into the break room and took some hydrogen peroxide and bandaids out of the first aid cabinet, setting them on the green-top table beside a few cotton balls and a tube of neosporin.

"you're really busted up, shōyō. this might sting." tobio commented as he pressed the cotton ball to the cut under his eye.

shōyō sucked in a sharp breath and squeezed his fists tightly, scrunching his eyes up at the burning in his cheek. he nodded and let out a tiny, "mhm."

"did you fall?"

he shook his head.

"did someone else do this to you?"

no reply.

"oh, shōyō," tobio muttered softly, pressing a new cotton ball on the cut in his eyebrow, which he seemed to have been picking at because there was a clear spot for a scab but it was opened back up and bleeding once more.

"it's fine."

"it's clearly not. don't think i don't see you crying every time you come into the shop."

shōyō huffed exasperatedly and pouted under tobio's concerned gaze.

"where do you go to school?"

"yukigaoka junior high. i'm a third year."

so he's my age, huh? tobio thought.

"kitagawa daiichi. i'm a third year, too."

shōyō's eyes glimmered with excitement as he exclaimed, "kitagawa? they have an amazing volleyball team! we just played them at the competition, my team lost the first round against them though."