rubber ducks are ducks made of rubber

part two

part two

osamu never was one for waking up early of his own accord, but this morning was an exception. he wanted to use his gift voucher before atsumu found it and demanded that they share, so it was best to buy something as soon as possible.

the sun was a little brighter today. osamu made a mental note to himself to see more winter mornings; he hadn't experienced much tranquility or quiet recently. especially last night. atsumu had brought his 'gym friend' home and introduced him as sakusa. there wasn't much time for osamu to become acquainted with him, because atsumu and sakusa had spent the entire night in atsumu's bedroom. osamu had never been more thankful for the fact that the walls were soundproofed.

osamu entered the shopping centre and the heated air from the vents above the doors hit his cheeks. he shivered in an attempt to try and unfreeze the rest of his body. he disliked the cold. he hated the feeling of loneliness on his skin whenever goosebumps rose up and how the wind would torment him with bitter gusts.

osamu was not a fan of winter.

he approached the department store where he had collected atsumu's ducks yesterday. it seemed quiet, so he looked through the glass doors to see if anybody was inside, not noticing a person come up behind him.

"you're early," they said as osamu jumped back.

"rin?" osamu recognised him immediately. suna looked down.

"it doesn't open for another thirty minutes."

"oh."

after a moment of deliberation, suna opened the door to allow osamu to enter.

"you can come in, if you want. no one else is working yet."

"won't you get in trouble?"

suna shrugged.

"worst case scenario, i get fired." he dragged his feet against the floor as they walked. "and i don't really care about this job."

"then why are you here?"

suna led osamu to the staffroom and pointed to a small sofa where osamu could sit.

"i'm spending christmas with my parents," he told osamu, hanging up his jacket on some hooks by the door. "it's just something to do to get out of the house."

"i see."

"what about you? are you from around here?" suna asked.

"i'm staying with my brother for a while."

"the duck one?"

osamu rolled his eyes.

"he's stupid."

suna hummed and focused his attention on organising some things on the desk.

"he's annoying," osamu continued, talking more to himself than suna. "he always brings too many people to the house."

"you don't like people?" suna sounded mildly surprised.

"no, i-" osamu struggled with his words. "i don't like his kind of people. loud. boisterous."

"what sort of people do you prefer?"

osamu blinked, wondering how they had gotten to this topic. he didn't usually talk about himself, but around suna, he had subconsciously opened up.

"quieter people, i guess. the only person i talk to is atsumu."

"and me."

"what?"

suna stared at osamu, his expression unreadable.

"you're talking to me right now."

"yeah, but, you're- you're different."

suna raised his left eyebrow.

"good different? or bad different?"

"good different." osamu nervously rubbed the corner of his mouth. "definitely good different."

"thanks." suna pulled a christmas hat over his hair, positioning it just above his hairline. "store policy," he explained as he caught osamu staring.

"you weren't wearing it yesterday."

"my supervisor wasn't working yesterday." suna glanced at the clock. "speaking of which, the store opens soon, so you'll have to leave."

"wait. i wanna-" osamu patted his jean pockets for the coupon he had been given yesterday. "i wanna use the thing you gave me yesterday." he frowned. "i think i've lost it."

suna stepped forward, placing his left hand on osamu's shoulder and sliding his right into osamu's breast pocket. he pulled out the scrap of paper, giving it to osamu.

"i- uh- how did you know it was there?"

"i watched you put it there yesterday." he dusted off his fingers and motioned towards the door. "anyway, you have to go now."

"oh. bye."