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Please read the part before this for disclaimers and a message!!

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"For the last time, I'm not doing this for you," Fiat exasperates as he reaches up to return the book onto the shelf. His good friend, Ann, is been begging him to go with her to their department trip for a week. He had already expressed his disinterest for the trip when it was announced and she was fine with it. It was not until she heard that her crush, Leo, was going that she pleaded for Fiat to go with her and be her wingman. Leo and Fiat were both in the badminton club and were friendly rivals who enjoyed rallying against each other during practice. Beyond that, the two have no connections with each other outside of the club. Fiat pushes Ann out of the way as she stands in front of the cart. "I hardly know the guy, Pipsqueak. The trip already sounded boring before and I'm not about to go just to talk up a guy for you."

Ann rolls her eyes and helps hand books from the cart as Fiat returns them to their appropriate location. He is having his shift at the school library and Ann loves to interrupt him to talk about her new fantasies. It is nothing new to him and it sort of makes his shift a little better as it is a break from the silence and tediousness.

Fiat looks down at the last book and scans the log. It is from a section he has never needed to return a book to. Ann follows him as she softly comments about seeing Leo just before coming to look for Fiat. He just nods as his eyes scan the aisles for the section. It is all the way to the back and just as he is about to turn in he receives a smack from Ann. "OW! What the hell, Ann!?"

Her hands grip onto his arm making him wince. He looks up, following her gaze, to see Leo at a table with his books spread out in front of him. It is an odd place to study as no one ever really goes this far back. Leo is the same age as Ann and himself, but as he sits at the table he seems older. Leo's eyes suddenly rise to see them. Fiat is stunned as Ann clutches onto his arm even tighter and the rise of a brow finally makes Fiat realize that he is staring. He quickly averts his eyes and pushes the cart into the aisle, missing the smirk that played on Leo's lips.

"Fiat, did you see the way he looked? When he looked up, his eyes bolted me to my spot. You think he knows how gorgeous he is?" Ann rambles on as Fiat distractedly follows the tagged shelves. Just as he is about to approach the correct section, Ann realizes the time and rushes out to go to her forgotten class. Fiat rolls his eyes at his friend. His eyes follows up the shelves before seeing an obvious gap between books on a shelf that is just out of his reach. He maneuvers the cart just right and locks the wheels. Placing his foot onto the lower level, he reaches up. As he gets edge of the book onto the bottom of the shelf a hand settles on his waist and the book is taken from his hand. Fiat's eyes go wide as he looks over to find Leo returning the book for him with a smug look on his face.

"Sorry, about that. I borrowed this. If I had known I would have returned it myself," Leo says softly. Fiat just blinks as he is well aware of the hand still around his waist. Leo glances down and retracts his hand and steps away. Fiat plants his feet firmly onto the ground and shakes his head.

"All borrowed books would need to go through the front desk anyway. It's not like you knew a short guy like me would be the one to return your book," Fiat clarifies as he avoids meeting Leo's eyes and reaches down to unlock the wheels. Leo mumbles something making Fiat throw his head up only to bump it against the cart. He curses under his breath as Leo chuckles and asks if he was okay. "Just perfect. Thanks, though. I gotta go do my data entry. See you at practice?"

"Yeah, yeah," Leo nods. Fiat was about to push the cart when Leo speaks again. "Hey, are you going to our department trip?"

Fiat looks back at him with a raised brow. "Uhm, I was not planning to. My friend is, though. You going?"

"Yeah, I am. I think you should join your friend. Ann right? It might actually be fun. A lot of people from the club are going. Maybe if we get permission we can bring a bit of equipment and play," Leo suggests. Fiat scratches his nape and shrugs. It can be fun, but if he is going to try and be the wingman of Ann then who knows how the trip will actually turn out. He tells Leo that he will think about it and it brings out a smile from the tall man, "Well, hope you do. I'd love to play a game with you."

Fiat just nods and pushes his cart, leaving Leo at the aisle. He had believed the trip would be useless, but the fact that Leo was aware of Ann's existence means that there is a chance for her. He takes note of the new information and proceeds with his work. After a few hours, the main librarian comes by and reminds him of his shift ending. Fiat glances at his watch and lightly curses. He quickly gathers his things and rushes out the door after clocking out. Fiat takes his usual seat near the front and to prepares his space before the instructor steps in. He has a mini heart attack as he fails to see his research. There are only a few more minutes before the instructor would come and he is in the middle of digging through his bag. There is a knock on the table before of him and it makes him jump a little before he looks up in a frantic state to see the same person he met at the library. He could only wonder why this guy was in front of him. All of a sudden a familiar pack of papers are waving in front of him and Fiat's eyes widen. He attempts to lunge for it, but the taller man raises them higher. Fiat feels his blood boil at the arrogant look on his face.

"Mister book keeper is not that good at keeping his books, or papers in this situation," Leo teases. Fiat rolls his eyes and it makes Leo amused by the reaction. Leo chuckles and lays the stack onto his desk just in time for their instructor to walk in. Fiat glares at the retreating form before going wide with confusion as he takes a seat at the back of the room. Fiat never noticed him before and questioned if he is actually in the class or is messing with him. Leo gives him a little wave and Fiat clenches his jaw before turning back forward as the instructor starts his lecture. He does not have the time to focus on the annoying man at the back of the room. Like he has for most of his academic career, Fiat kept his mind on his school work. Only Ann is able to break him from what is considered an imprisoned lifestyle.

"Ann, you must have saved a village in your past life," Fia mutters as he meets her outside his car. He explains the events that had just transposed as he switches out his school bag for his sports one in his trunk. He gives her thigh a nudge to get off his car so he could shut it and Ann was too busy being overjoyed by the new information, so she does not even care that she is practically pushed away by him. She starts rambling on about her plans and the things Fiat needs to do while he walks her over to her own car. Ann has her own club, but she has purposely chose one that gives her the freedom to come and leave as she pleases. Today is one of the days that she decides to leave early in order to buy things she 'might need'. Fiat lets her talk and opens the door for her and ushers her in wishing she would stop talking. "Drive safe, Pipsqueak. I'll see you tomorrow."

He shuts the door with a sigh of relief and pats the roof of the car. Fiat watches as she pulls out of her spot and waves. He ruffles his hair slightly overwhelmed with his overly excited friend. His eyes catch the sight of his watch and he curses again before running to the locker rooms. He enters the gym heaving and immediately gets called on by the coach. "Fiat! Leo! You're late! Ten laps and you'll both play a game. Loser stays after today's practice and mops down the gym floors!"

Fiat looks behind him to see an uninterested Leo who is stretching his legs to prepare himself for the run. Leo gives him a look to do the same and Fiat quickly follows his lead. He had not even seen Leo at the locker room, so why was he late? Naturally, Leo is faster than Fiat, but keeps a similar pace with the shorter legged boy. It is as if Leo is making sure they are at a match until the moment of their game. Fiat is a lot stronger in this aspect, but it only drives Leo to try harder. It is why they love playing against each other. Leo is the closest to Fiat's skill and bets are being made at the sidelines. Fiat gives a loud grunt of victory as the birdie safely lands within Leo's side of the court. He smirks proudly as he waltzes over to the collapsed form on the other side and offers a hand. Fiat watches as Leo's eyes flicker from his hand to his own hand before taking a firm grasp and hoisting him up. The rest of the day's practice is more training and Fiat is in the middle of assisting one of the other members when the day is called to an end. Fiat observes the girl's form carefully and adjusts her swing by a fraction. He gives a compliment when she makes a perfect hit. "That's great, Cherry. Just continue to practice that."

"Thank you, P'Fiat. You're such a great teacher. You and P'Leo were so good earlier! I couldn't keep my eyes off of you- guys," Cherry quickly covers up her confession as she smiles up at her temporary teacher. Fiat gives a kind smile and nods. He tells her to make sure to stretch and rest as constant practice can cause more injuries than good. He watches her leave and flattens out his hair after removing it from its bind. He starts to clean up the scattered birdies when his foot gets hit. Already exhausted from a full schedule, he whips around to tell the person off only to be met with a deadpan expression.

"Wipe somewhere else. I still gotta pick these things up," Fiat grunts. Leo gives a slow nod and drags the mop to the other side of the gym. Fiat rolls his eyes and finishes clearing the floor. He checks with the coach about the competition at the end of the year and confirms that he will be joining his department for the trip. The coach nods his head and clasps a comforting hand onto his shoulder. The coach actually wants his students to enjoy their youth as much as they can. Confirming his future schedules, Fiat leaves with a busy mind as he rearranges his mental planner. He showers and changes back into his regular clothes. With his towel wrapped around his neck, he carefully organizes his things back into his bag. He swings the bag onto his shoulder and makes his way to his car. Along the way he passes the wide open doors of the gym to find Leo still pushing the mop across the floors. First's eyes glance over at the second mop propped on the side before checking his watch. It was already late in the night and as much as he wants to go eat, he feels a bit bad leaving Leo to finish up the large gym on his own. It is a shared gym and their nets are only taking up a portion of it, but as the last ones to use it for the day, their club is in charge of cleaning. Fiat scratches his head and shuts his eyes. "No, he was late on his own. If he wasn't late it would have been me, but he lost the game. He was late on his own, it's not my fault or responsibility to make sure he is on time."

Shaking his head with a decision, Fiat tightens his hand on the strap of his bag and finishes his journey to the car. He starts it and glances back at the building one last time before giving his head one more shake to clear the guilty feeling as he pulls out of the nearly empty lot. His entire way to pick up his dinner and back to his shared apartment, Fiat groans to himself as he regrets the decision of joining the department trip. It dawns on him that there are a lot of bonding activities that would take place despite the free time that Leo mentioned. Fiat would rather be spending that time working and studying. To him it was all a waste of time. People could bond over studying or as coworkers. There was no need to go on a trip to do it.

Fiat creeps into his home to find his housemates awake. There are four of them in total and they are sharing an apartment after living next door of each other at the dorms the previous year. They stay with their roommates, as it is most comfortable, in their two room apartment. One would not actually consider each other close friends, but they all found each other good roommates and get along fine when living with each other and are living that way for the past year. Fiat politely asks if they ate and even if they did, they crowd around the table as he unpacks the food from the bag. Saint, Fiat's roommate, grabs spoons and forks for everyone and hands them out as the rest start opening the containers. It is not necessary for people to buy for everyone, but if you are going to eat at home, it does not seem proper and everyone in the apartment understood that. Pea and Mean, the other housemates clean up the remains at the end and it is an even distribution of labor. The only thing that is a vast contrast between the four of them are their majors and interests. Sure, once in a blue moon they play video games or watch a movie together, but for the most part, everyone have their own thing to do around the house.

Fiat tucks earphones in as he settles at his desk and opens his books and computer. It is time for him to study while he still has the energy from his exercise and food. He grinds his way through the night and finally calls it when his lo-fi music ends at exactly 00:30am. He quietly groans as he stretches his muscles and cleans up his space and preps for the day. With a short glance towards his roommate, Fiat shuts off his desk light and crawls into his bed with a slight moan as his body finally relaxes.

Like clock work, his alarm goes off at 06:30am and he immediately shuts it off. He peaks through his lashes as a faint light enters the window and looks over with his usual morning sight. Saint is fast asleep with his mouth wide open as his long limbs spread out. Fiat checks to make sure his roommate set his own alarm before preparing for his morning. He bikes to the market just outside of the school's community and does his rounds of running morning errands for the elders running their stalls. Keeping himself on schedule, First takes frequent glances at his watch between each trip. At exactly 09:25am, Fiat makes his way back to the apartment to freshen up and change. Right as he approaches his car, his phone rings. With out a glance, he tucks the phone between his ear and shoulder as he loads his car. There are not a lot of people who calls him, so it is not hard for him to guess who. "Morning, Pipsqueak. Are you ready for today's quiz?"

"Don't even start with me, Garfield. I got your regular. I parked at the usual lot and am sitting at the square of our department." Ann's voice is rough and Fiat could tell that she spent an all nighter. Ann is also a studious person, but likes to spend her free time going out and enjoy herself than anything else. Fiat hums and agrees to meet her there before they end the call. As he makes rounds around the lot, he notices Ann's car and searches for a spot close by. Feeling lucky, he pulls into an open spot a few cars down. "Finally! Did you have a good time meeting all the oldies at the market?"

Fiat rolls his eyes at his friend and takes his usual order from his friend. An iced coffee and a chocolate muffin. He throws a leg over the bench and faces her as he eats his breakfast with her. Ann knew early on that Fiat took on small jobs here and there to make some spare change and living expenses. She first learned about him working at the market when he suddenly arrived to school with lipstick stains on his cheek. It lead to a lot of rumors as he failed to notice and a lot of explanations to his friend. The older woman who treats him like a son or grandson always likes to kiss his cheeks to thank him for his hard work. Unlike his preference to keep to himself, Fiat was actually quite the people person. As if timed, right as he takes the last sip of his coffee, chimes were heard to notify that it was ten more minutes before the hour. The two toss their trash and make their way to their classroom. Throughout the entire time, Ann went on about all of the activities and tricks Fiat can do to help Ann get close to Leo. Fiat humors her and mentally questions why she was so interested in him. "I don't get why you find it hard to talk to him, Ann. You don't seem to have a problem with anyone else."

"Maybe I should be calling you Gordon or Dory. You obliviously can't see or remember all of the amazing things that is Leo," Ann holds up her hands as if his name was on a sign. Fiat internally jumps for joy as the instructor walks in and immediately starts their lecture and cuts off Ann from diving deep into her infatuation with the tall man. The day is like any other, except for Fiat's visit to the department office to confirm his attendance for the trip. The two end their day walking back to their cars snacking on a bag of chips.

"Oi, Fiat!" The pair look over to see a tall tanned man walking a row over. Ann clutches Fiat's arm and he just nods his head to let the guy know that he has his attention. Leo asks if Fiat is going to the trip and gets a nod in response. "Wanna help out on bringing the equipment? I talked to coach and he'll let us bring the rackets, but we have to provide our own shuttlecocks."

"Sure. Uh, do you want me to take the rackets or..?" Fiat tilts his head and sighs in relief when asked to grab the rackets. "Alright. I'll pick up some the practice before we leave."

"Great. See ya, Fiat. Bye, Ann," Leo smirks with a wave and slips into his car. Fiat nearly loses feeling in his arm and he hums in pain as he tries to take Ann's claws off of him.

"Ahh, Ann. Pipsqueak, how do you nearly tear my skin but not crush the chips?!" Fiat exclaims rubbing out his forearm. The sheepish grin from the smaller girl beside him makes him take a deep, calming breath. She can honestly be the reason for the death. Like every other time, Fiat walks her to her car while she talks his ear off and finally shuts the door to end her rants. He sighs rubbing his face and trudges over to his car to go home and possibly get a few extra hours of sleep before grinding through the night once more just to start everything again the next day.

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ʕ•ᴥ•ʔ ♥︎ ฅ^•ﻌ•^ฅ

thoughts?