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Shou was excited. It was the first time he had been over at the Kageyama's new house, and he liked to think it would be on much better terms. He had promised Ritsu beforehand not to torch this one.
Gently cupped in his hands was his newly acquired hamster, Tsuntsu. Shou was planning to introduce her to Ritsu, as he'd brought her up quite a few times, but he'd never had the chance to show him beyond blurry pictures on his phone. She didn't like to stay still.
As he saw their home come into view, his stomach twisted. He was nervous; he wasn't sure why, really. After all, he and Ritsu had fought against Claw together. They'd become easy friends. He wondered if he was just anxious about being around someone he admired.
Nonetheless, he approached the door. Even if he was scared, he was not one to back down. Making sure Tsuntsu was secure on one hand, he reached up and knocked on the door three times. Three short, concise knocks.
There were sounds of shuffling from inside the house. After a few moments, the door opened, revealing Ritsu behind it.
"Shou! Weirdly punctual." He greeted with a smile.
Because I was excited, Shou thought. He decided to keep that to himself.
"Hey Ritsu!" He responded, his gaze trailing down. He was never good at eye contact. "I wanted to-"
There, on Ritsu's left arm.
A snake.
Instantly, Shou covered Tsuntsu with his other hand. The hamster squeaked in alarm and scurried in circles, certainly not happy trapped in his hands. "SNAKE!" Ritsu jumped, cringing at the volume of Shou's shriek. "IT'S GONNA EAT TSUNTSU!"
"What?" Ritsu asked blankly. He then glanced down at his arm and, after a moment, puffed out a laugh. "Did you bring your hamster?"
"Stop laughing!" Shou protested, holding his cupped hands close to his chest. "This is serious!!"
"Shou, chill out. Shige is harmless." Ritsu tried to assure. "I won't let him eat Tsuntsu."
"Is everything okay, Ritsu?" A familiar face poked his head out from the hallway. Ritsu's brother, Mob. "I heard shouting…"
"Yes nii-san, just a misunderstanding. Can you take Shige and put him in his enclosure?" Ritsu turned to face his brother, holding the snake out to him. Mob smiled softly and nodded, approaching him.
"Of course I can." As he held out his arm for the snake to climb onto, he looked up, finally noticing Shou. "Oh! Hello Suzuki-kun. I didn't realize you were coming over today."
"Hello…" He replied nervously, eyes still glued to the snake.
"Are you scared of him? I get that, I was kind of afraid at first too. But he's sweet once you get to know him." He lifted the snake up and gently pet its head. "I'm sure he would like you!"
"Maybe, but…" Shou brought Tsuntsu even closer to his chest, if that was even possible at that point. "I don't want him to eat Tsuntsu."
"Tsuntsu…?"
"His hamster."
"Oh. I see."
"Anyways, I won't let him." Ritsu promised, Mob nodding his agreement.
"Ritsu is very responsible. He won't let anything happen to Tsuntsu under his watch." Mob then turned to begin walking further into the house. "It was nice seeing you again, Suzuki-kun! I hope you and Ritsu have fun."
"Th-thanks, Kageyama-kun." Shou slowly uncovered Tsuntsu, waving off Mob nervously. Once Mob disappeared into the house, Ritsu turned back towards Shou. He glanced down, noticing how tense his muscles were, like he was ready to dart away at any second.
"Uh… hey, come inside. Kinda awkward to talk to you in the doorway." He laughed nervously, stepping aside to let him in. He obliged, walking inside and shuffling off his shoes. "Everything okay? Nii-san won't try to scare you, if that's what you're worried about."
"Oh, nah. Just…" He trailed off, puffing out a breath through his nose. "I don't want anything to happen to Tsuntsu. She means a lot to me, y'know?" He scratched the back of his head nervously. "And… I've already lost a lot."
"Oh…" Ritsu frowned slightly. Over a snake…? He shook the thought away and sighed. "Hey, it's fine. Nii-san took care of it. Tsuntsu will be safe here."
Shou bit his lip, still holding Tsuntsu close to his chest. “You promise?”
Ritsu nodded. “Promise. We’ll just be in my room, and Shige will be in his enclosure. They don’t even have to see each other.”
Shou let out a long exhale as they made their way towards the stairs. “Okay.”
Ritsu ushered Shou into his room, which was just as neat and tidy as one would expect from someone like him.
“So,” Ritsu sat on the edge of his bed. “Uhh… what do you want to do?”
Shou blinked.
The two boys stood still for a minute, staring at each other, before Shou let out an awkward chuckle.
“I, uh…” he looked down and gently rubbed Tsuntsu’s fur. “I don’t know what… friends do with each other,” he admitted, flushing slightly. "I didn't really have any growing up and I don’t think the Ultimate Five count… except maybe Mi-san.”
Ritsu was silent, so Shou continued. “And my dad… well, you've met him. It’s just been me and my hamsters.”
A moment passed, and then Ritsu stood up and walked over to Shou, putting a hand on his shoulder. Shou looked up, meeting his gaze with a somber expression.
“Hey,” Ritsu said. He did his best to give Shou a reassuring look, “Animal friends are… still important, and if they were your friends when you didn’t have… normal humans to be around, then… I’m glad.”
Shou smiled. “Yeah?”
Ritsu hesitated for a moment then nodded. “Yeah! Maybe you could show your new friend what you and your hamster friends like to do?”
Shou’s smile turned into a grin, and the two boys sat down to make an obstacle course for Tsuntsu to run around in.
He loved his hamsters, but it was nice to have people friends too.