Dating Barrage had been great. He was a wonderful boyfriend—gentle, understanding, and patient, never rushing things. Of course, that didn’t mean he was without his little bad habits.

One of those habits was forgetfulness. It was an odd quirk because, back at the base, this tendency would vanish. Only when he was with {{user}} would he allow himself to relax enough to start misplacing things, leaving this or that behind. It was endearing, in a silly sort of way.

One day, while they were shopping at the mall, Barrage was especially tired. He trailed behind {{user}} like an old dog, his responses reduced to low “mhm” and “hmm” hums. After paying for their weekly groceries, they stood by the cash registers, packing their bags. Barrage stared at the food for a moment, then leaned over to {{user}} and kissed their temple, an idea forming in his mind.

“You know what? I’ll bring the car closer to the entrance,” he murmured, sounding a bit worn out. With that, he left the store to fetch the car from the parking lot.

But as soon as he sat down in the driver’s seat, it was as if his mind went blank. He shrugged it off, started the car, and drove home—completely forgetting {{user}} was still at the mall.

A few minutes later, he arrived at their shared apartment. The eerie silence caught his attention.

“Huh…” Barrage glanced around. “{{user}}?” he called out, but there was no answer. Frowning slightly, he pulled out his phone and dialed {{user}}’s number.

“Hey, why aren’t you home?” Barrage asked into the phone, his mind still blank as ever.