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Oliver nervously wandered back and forth outside the lighthouse. It was his day off, and with many un-used days of island leave behind him, he was finally going to go. He would go through a portal for something that was not a mission. Or Ian's weird alcohol run. He was going to go visit a mall with Noemi.

It had been one of those instances where Oliver never quite knew what had happened. Even now the event that led to his current situation was a blur of 'oh my god' and 'aaaaah' that included admitting he didn't know how to use portals and had never taken a day of off-island leave before, and that he had never been to a shopping mall, and that he would accompany her through a portal on an off-island shopping trip.

Equipped with his credit card and off-island ID, Oliver tried to convince himself that nothing was going to go wrong. They weren't going to get lost, or attacked by monsters, and Noemi herself seemed very enthusiastic about it all. What could go wrong?

Oliver's body language was easy to read. When Noemi joined him it was like the tension had disappeared. He couldn't help but smile. Sometimes it seemed out of place to see hunters without the white coats, but his friend looked very much like a regular young lady out for a trip to the mall, rather than a skilled fighter with a magical trident.

He nodded. "I-I think I have everything." A blush crept onto his cheeks as he accepted Noemi's hand, and began heading towards the portals. She sounded so happy- wait.

Oliver felt those nerves sneaking up on him once again. "Wait, y-you've never been shopping at a mall either? We a-aren't going to get lost, are we?"

Oh no, the falling of her mood had Oliver backpedalling as fast as he could. "I-I'm s-sure it will be just fine! W-we can stay together, i-it will be easy!" He reassured, trying to smile more himself. If he acted confident, maybe the actual feeling of confidence would follow...

Besides. Arorangi had said before that adventures were good things. And Oliver held Milo in high regard as well, as one of the most ridiculously confident and brave people on the island.

"I'll help you carry things too, I-I'm not that strong but it's good to have a second set of hands. A-are you ready?" He asked, taking the lead as far as the actual portals themselves. Noemi would have to pick the right one, she was the one who knew where they were going after all.

Oliver managed a sheepish, nervous laugh. Noemi was right, they were adults. And both of them had seen things more frightening than a day at a mall. But he couldn't completely lose sight of his own inexperience, just having Noemi hold his hand and rest her head amicably against his shoulder stirred up butterflies in his stomach.

He didn't have to dwell on his social awkwardness for long, soon she had led them through a portal, and right to the doors of a huge building. Oliver was no stranger to large buildings, but this one had so many people. The parking lot stretched outward around it, there had to be thousands of cars surrounding the mall. The teen couldn't help but stare with wide eyes.

Like Noemi, the deep breath he took calmed him. "Y-yeah, let's go!" He pulled open the door, holding it for her. If she could be so brave, he would try and be brave too.

"We must have," Oliver replied quietly, unaware that large malls could get like this. Even on a regular day. Glancing around he could see at least six ladies clothing stores, right there in front of them, did anyone even need so many different places to shop? His mouth opened, and then closed. The internet was so much easier to navigate...

Suddenly a bright haven amidst the confusing tangle of shops caught his eye. Posters of a new PS4 hung in the window, and just past the electronic alarm gates he could see shelves of videogame cases lining the walls. Never had he seen so many games all in one place. He didn't want to suggest going there first, not when this was Noemi's idea and all, but it buoyed his spirits just knowing such a wonderful place existed.

"We can go wherever you want," he replied in a surprisingly cheerful tone considering his earlier apprehension. "Did you want to walk around, and see if there are any stores that catch your eye?"

"That sounds good!" Oliver replied brightly. "There are so many stores here, it could take all day if we tried to visit them all." He still couldn't quite keep the awe out of his voice. But he was distracted from his tourist-like staring when Noemi spoke up again, right outside the video game store.

The boy began to blush brightly. Noemi had seen right through him.

"Ah, u-um, yeah," he stammered, scratching at the back of his neck. "I-I've never been in a game store before, I a-always had to order everything online..." He trailed off, gently pulling the girl along as he wandered deeper into the store.

Oliver looked like a genie had just offered him three wishes, the way he admired all those those cases displayed on the wall, occasionally muttering things like "Oh, they came out with a new Resident Evil last year..." or showing Noemi this game or that, with bizarre explanations like "This one is really good, it's about zombies infected with a human parasitizing cordyceps, you know, the ant brain fungus in Brazil." He seemed more in his element here than he ever had on the island.

One especially long pause was earned by a game called Monster Hunter. Oliver's eyes practically sparkled with delight. "I used to play this game all the time before I was recruited, it's amazing! Most of the monsters you fight are really huge, there is even one you have to run along it's back to attack the weak points on it's spines, and you need to use the cannon or ballista to break it's tusks! And it's a real time fighting system instead of being turn based, so you need really good timing if you are going to take down any high rank monsters."

Oliver's mouth opened and then closed. For most of his life, he believed this situation was not possible. For many of the store's occupants, mostly teenagers and young adults and almost entirely male, they might have held similar beliefs. Here he was with a pretty girl, who had just asked him to teach her how to play video games.

Wow.

Finally he nodded, and it took a couple seconds after that to find his voice. "Those are pretty expensive, a-and I've heard it takes a lot of money to get it... uh... runicked." Then again, he still had the mentality of a teen doing odd jobs for spending money, and had more to worry about than checking his bank account. "Um... They have pink ones," He added as she picked the blue. "They are pretty... ah... cute?"

If Noemi was going to buy a 3DS, Oliver was a very firm believer in buying one that fit. A handheld system that didn't fit was like a hand-me-down cell phone, functional, but not quite yours.

Oliver smiled. "Sorry, I guess I assumed too much this time," he replied, but around Noemi he didn't feel the need to retreat or walk on eggshells. "I like blue too, but my favourite colour has to be green. Or maybe lots of greens, you know, like the sun through the trees in the summer."

He looked around one more time, taking it all in. Who knows when he would be able to visit this wonderful store again. "I guess I should be checking my account... I've never really needed anything more than what I've already got, because they feed us, and I don't need new clothes very often."

Not to mention that between lab work, coffee runs, and training in the morning and evening, he didn't have much free time on his hands. Usually by the time he got to his room, he barely had the energy to kick off his boots before hitting the bed. But he could make time to show Noemi some monster hunting.