“Rao… please,” Fenrir said, standing next to Rao aboard The Shoebill while immersed in-game as Rao told him about the events from earlier in the day. All Fenrir wanted to do was fish, but that wasn’t going to happen. After all, when did he ever get to actually fish despite that being his main motivation for playing the game?

Meanwhile, Rao had no idea why Fenrir sounded so tired. “What? Their food tasted pretty good after my help. Then, after I taught them what I knew about cooking, I introduced them to some games where they might be able to pick up girls. They weren’t into fantasy, but there was this zombie shooter MMO game I found that they got pretty excited for. Might try it out with them if I get bored.”

“You… you’re not ready to be teaching others how to cook yet.”

“But they were desperate, bro. I couldn’t say no to them.”

“Why would you start with teaching them how to cook? It’s not like you got your girlfriends by impressing them with cooking. If anything, it sounds like you made them worse cooks.”

“Hmm. Yeah, you’ve got a point about not impressing them with my cooking… yet. But they say food is the way to a man’s stomach! And uh, girls have stomachs too, so it’s probably the same.”

“Rao, that’s not—that’s not even how the saying goes. But yes, food goes to the stomach no matter what the sex involved is.”

“See? You know what I mean.”

“That’s not—” Fenrir dropped it and sighed. “I love you, Rao, but… I’m afraid for your friends. I’m not sure they’re going to… acquire the same results by following the same path as you.”

“Heh, love you too, bro.”

Rao might not have replied to the rest of what Fenrir said, but he made sure to reply to what the most important part of it was.

“Maybe I should take up fishing,” Rao said. After all, he was hanging out with Fenrir and Shogun aboard The Shoebill which was casually floating atop the water right beyond Nameless’s coast. “You love fishing, and your girlfriends love you, so if I learn to love fishing, then maybe my girlfriends will love me even more.”

“I don’t think that they love me because I love fishing,” Fenrir said, the energy draining from his voice with every single response.

“But they love everything about you.”

“Yeah, but—that’s not because of what the things are, it’s because of who I am.”

“Ooh… that’s deep, bro.”

“Rao… have I mentioned that you’re one of my best friends? And that I love you like a brother? And I would do anything for you?”

“Bro… you sound kinda scary right now, but yeah.”

“I just want you to make sure that you know how much I cherish you. How much I genuinely, truly, from the bottom of my heart, love you as a brother.”

“Aww. Thanks, bro. Right back at you. But why do you sound so upset while saying all that?”

“It’s a technique I’ve picked up from Nell on how to manage anger.”

“Woah, I’ve never heard of anything like that before. So, whenever you’re angry, you should tell somebody how much you love them?”

“That’s… one way of looking at it. But yeah. If you love somebody, and you’re angry or upset even though you know you shouldn’t be because they’ve done nothing wrong, then… you can do what I’ve dubbed as ‘aggressive pampering.’ It’s when you funnel all your anger into being loving and caring.”

“Damn. This is why I come to you.” Rao placed a hand on Fenrir’s shoulder and nodded a couple of times. “You’re the master of love. Wait. Does this mean you’re angry at me?”

“I’m not—I…” Fenrir sighed again. “I’m just… I know I offered to help you out with romance and all that… but you’ve been coming to me multiple times a day, every single day, for almost two weeks now, asking me for advice on romance, for advice on how to cook, how to talk, how to dress… I’m kind of starting to feel like I’m your parent instead of your friend, and my mental energy is… running out.” There was also the fact that Fenrir went on a solo fishing mission… but Rao flew over to The Shoebill using Shogun to interrupt Fenrir’s peace and quiet. “And I would normally be fine with it, but I accidentally pissed off Cass earlier, so I’m not really in a good mood today.”

“Damn. Sorry, bro. Want me to leave you alone? Or if you want to talk about it, you can. Whatever’ll make you feel better. Last thing I want to do is bother you.”

“I… guess talking about it might make me feel better.” Fenrir set Rod down against The Shoebill’s railing and leaned on it with his shoulders.

“You’re not breaking up, are you?”

“No, no no. Nothing that serious. I just… was an asshole.”

“Damn… what did you do?” Rao made sure to tenderly stroke Fenrir’s back as they talked.

“I betrayed her trust.”

“Bro, did you cheat on them?”

“No, no, nothing that extreme either.”

“Then what?”

“I… I ate the last slice of pie… that Cass called dibs on.”

“Bro…”

“I woke up in the middle of the night and felt like I was starving. I don’t know what got into me. I seriously felt like I was about to throw up if I didn’t eat something right away, and the pie was the only thing available that I could immediately eat and not have to wait for. And it was really good, too. Like… one of the best pies we ever bought. But I already had my share of it, and so did the others, so only Cass’s last slice of pie was left. Then… while I was in the middle of eating it… she woke up feeling hungry and wanted to come and have her pie as a snack in the middle of the night… and… she caught me leaning over it like some sort of caveman shoving it into my mouth. All I could do was stand there and stare at her while she looked more and more pissed off by the second. Now I know how deer feel when they’re about to get ran over. Except, instead of getting hit by a car, I got hit by silence. She stormed back to our bedroom and locked me out of it, so I had to sleep on the couch. Honestly… I deserved that. And I thought she would feel better once she woke up, and I explained what happened to her, and she said she would forgive me if I went to the store and bought her another pie all for herself. But… they were sold out… and… to make matters even worse.. that one specific pie… was part of a limited time event… and it’s been discontinued. I—I tried buying her another pie similar to it… but it just wasn’t the same. So, she forgave me, and she even apologized for locking me out of the bedroom, but she’s still been cold to me all day. I feel like a walking piece of trash whenever I’m around her. I think another part of the problem is that she’s afraid she’s overreacting and doesn’t deserve to be angry, but that’s not right. She does deserve to be angry. I think she’s trying so hard to not be like her dad that she’s not letting herself express when she’s upset and basically going into the opposite extreme now. So, she’s just bottling up her frustration and trying to ignore it instead of letting it out.”

“Damn. I’m sorry, bro.”

“And it’s hard to talk to her about that because I know how hard she’s tried to change. You only got to know her around the time when she decided she wanted to change, but back then—before that time around when we met you, she was… I don’t want to say abusive, but… she had some anger issues and very casually got physical at times. She has put in a ton of work and I’m so fucking proud of her for moving past that, but she swapped one extreme for another. She never lets herself get angry with any of us no matter how we screw up. I mean, she locked the bedroom door, but that just made her feel guilty and made her feel like she did something wrong when she didn’t. So I feel like shit because I ate her pie she was looking forward to and saving, and she’s upset that I ate it, but she’s also upset that she’s upset. And she probably realizes that she’s being cold without meaning to, so she’s probably upset and feels guilty over that, too. I want her to let her feelings out in a healthy way, not to bottle them in and feel guilty over minor conflicts. Like… it’s alright to be upset. Yeah, it’s not a big deal in the grand scheme of things. It’s just pie. It’s not like I cheated on her or hit her or something else more important. But those aren’t the only times that people are allowed to be upset. They’re allowed to be upset at little things, too, and no relationship is free from all conflict.”

“Yeah, that makes sense.”

“I should… probably talk to her. It’s just… damn it. I’m just as at fault here. Instead of talking to her about any of this, I’m out here running away from feeling awkward around her. And if I look around online and then get Nell to help me out, I can probably make a pie that was just as good if not better than the one I ate. So, what the fuck am I doing out here instead of talking to her and baking her a pie? The only way she can know about any of this is if I tell her. Keeping all my worries to myself isn’t going to accomplish anything. I want her to be the best possible version of herself, and that means making sure she understands that she’s allowed to be upset with me, even over little things.” Fenrir paused, looked at Rao, and wrapped his arms around him for a tight hug. “Thanks, Rao. You’re a great listener.”

“I uh… didn’t do anything. I just listened.”

“Exactly. That’s what being a good listener is about. Having girlfriends taught me that the best listeners are the ones who just… listen. They don’t need to propose a solution or try to fix the problem. They just have to listen.”

“Dang. Deep. But I’m glad to help you out.”

“Alright. Time to get back to Cass. Whether she likes it or not, she’s not ending this day until she’s been upset with me and has allowed herself to feel the full spectrum of emotions without guilt.”

“Well, wait, bro. You shouldn’t say that. That makes it sound like it’s up to you and for your own sake instead of hers. Like… don’t get me wrong, you should tell her how you feel, and tell her everything you told me, but don’t try to force her to do anything. Just let her know that it’s okay to, or something like that, I think. Wait… I’m trying to fix your problem instead of listening… dang, I messed up, just after you praised me and all that too.”

Fenrir sighed again, but not out of frustration or annoyance. It was an amused sigh of anything. “Rao, rules don’t always apply a hundred percent of the time. Maybe this is the fixer in me talking, but if you have a good solution or something that absolutely needs said, I still think you should propose it even if you’re only supposed to be listening. Just… most of the time, only listening and nothing else is more than enough and exactly what’s needed. And this is one of those times where it was good to tell me that, because you’re right. It would make me feel better if she immediately changes today, but this isn’t about me. It’s about her. She needs to know that she can be open and honest about all of her emotions, and when that happens needs to be on her terms, not mine.”

“I wish I could be uh… what’s the word? I forget, but I wish I could word things as well as you. Wait. Articulate. I think. Yeah, that. I wish I could be as articulate as you. You always make everything sound so… right?”

“I’m just talking normally, Rao.”

“Yeah, which makes you even more impressive.”

Fenrir placed a hand on Rao’s shoulder and said, “I can see why they’re so crazy about you.”

Rao titled his head to the side and asked, “What do you mean, bro?”

“He’s still pretty dense, isn’t he?” Fenrir asked, looking past Rao to look at Shogun.

Shogun, with his tail wagging behind him, nodded in response.

Fenrir looked at Rao again and said, “Alright. Let’s get back to port. I’ve got a girlfriend to talk to. And while we’re heading back, it’d make me happy to help you out however you can, even if it’s more cooking advice. So, whatever you want to talk about, just let me know and—”

“I want to let you talk more,” Rao said, cutting him off. “I realized I’ve been coming to you for all sorts of help lately, but I haven’t been helping you at all. So however I can, I want to help you. You’ve already helped me enough and I can probably figure out the rest on my own. It’s your turn to let me help you now. That’s what bros are for.”

“Rao… you’ve managed to accomplish something that Olly tried accomplishing for years.”

Rao looked utterly clueless when he heard that. “I’ve got no idea what you’re talking about.”

“It’s nothing. Anyways… if you’re really that intent on listening to me instead… I could also rant about Serra being so lazy with her clothes. And Nell spoiling the other two too much and always letting them have their way instead of ever saying no even though she should. And Eva got so distracted studying those apes for a couple of days that she didn’t even check in with us at all and had us all worried. Then there was Aza getting drunk and calling me and demanding that I do… things for her over the phone while I was in the middle of shopping, and getting very loud and whiny when I didn’t.”

“Let me hear it all, bro, and I promise to keep it all secret. It’s the least I can do for you.”

“You’re seriously trying to steal best girl status, aren’t you?”

Once again, Rao looked confused. “But I’m a dude.”

“The status of best girl cares for no sex nor gender, Rao.”

“Sounds weird, but I’ll take your word for it. But vent to me first. I want to listen to your problems. The more you talk to me, the better your mindset will be when you talk to your girlfriends.” Rao flashed Fenrir a smile while pointing a thumb at himself. “Lay it all onto me, bro.”

“I’m turning you into a girl and stealing you for myself.”

“Wait, what?”

“Nothing. Anyways, about Serra’s clothes…”