The electronic bell rang to alert Amari of the arrival of another customer, the familiar sound almost nothing but background noise as he blindly welcomed the shopper to the store while ringing up a newly bought chew toy for an elderly woman's Pekingese. He smiled and bagged her purchase before she took it and left, her small dog aware of its new toy and bouncing alongside her.

Amari lifted his head up to scan the store for the new customer to see if he was correct, and sure enough, a head of unkempt obsidian hair was spotted between the ferret and bird aisle. A pigeon was seated on his shoulder, and it was obvious from its color and markings that it was different than the one that came in with him two weeks ago.

The man's name was Tazaki, from what Amari could get out of him. He never disclosed just where he worked, but Tazaki would show up biweekly around the same time every visit to pick out a basketful of various bird toys and treats for his pets. Amari had mostly seen him with pigeons, but every now and then, a dove or a parakeet would accompany him during his shopping trip.

If Amari hadn't known any better, he would have thought that Tazaki was spending all his paycheck on his birds. That didn't stop him from worrying about the man's finances, unfortunately.

Amari watched as Tazaki moved out from between the aisles and turned around to walk towards the checkout line, the cashier quickly averting his eyes and pretending to organize the box of dog treat samples in front of him to make it look like he wasn't staring.

Soon enough, Tazaki was coming into his line with his basket crammed full of wooden chew kabobs, activity toys, and rope for his feathered friends to lounge on. It was the most he'd ever seen him buy in one shopping trip, but Amari wasn't discouraged by it after working at PetSmart for so long.

The basket was unloaded and Amari began the process. "Good afternoon, how are you?" He had refrained from ever addressing Tazaki by his name because he thought it would have sounded too informal for his job and was against making Tazaki uncomfortable. The greeting, however, was mandatory. "Did you find everything you needed?"

"I did." Tazaki's bird waddled from one shoulder and began to maneuver around the dip of his neck, its feet avoiding the crease of his shirt collar and moving to his other shoulder. The action was adorable, but distracting. "I noticed that most of your bird products were on clearance today."

"Oh." Amari looked down at the toy block in his hand and slid it over the barcode scanner. He hoped that Tazaki didn't see him fumbling with the package. "Our store is actually going to stop selling bird-related items by the end of the month." His manager had explained it to him while he was going through their inventory earlier that week, but he never received answer as to why. "We will still be selling birds, though."

"That's unfortunate." Tazaki's voice didn't sound any different to the situation, but from the way his face contorted, Amari knew that he didn't take the news in a positive light.

"We're selling them online, though. You can just log into our website and browse through the selection to have them ordered to your house." Amari pressed the pack of millet spray to the scanner after it wouldn't beep the first time, slowly growing frustrated at himself for not paying attention.

Tazaki's bird flapped its wings a few times, jumping from his shoulder to test the surface before it launched and landed on Amari's arm, its talons finding purchase, and it decided to chirp. Well, it was a chirping sound Amari had never heard before.

Amari was used to dogs circling around his feet while he worked. Cats even attempted to climb their way up his uniform when their owners weren't looking, but Amari had never had a bird decide that his arm was a decent resting spot while he was in the middle of ringing up a customer.

"I'm so sorry," Tazaki was quick to take the pigeon, his hand cupping around its wings and pulling it away from him, "I haven't trained him enough to sit still yet." The pigeon in question looked up at him and chirped again, wanting to flap its wings even in his hold. It looked restless, like it wanted to fly around instead.

"Have you clipped him yet?" Amari wasn't an expert, but from what he could tell, most birds needed to be clipped if they were kept indoor to prevent injuries. It had flown some feet away, but that distance was normal and it was difficult to see if the feathers were trimmed at all.

"He's only four weeks old, so I haven't gotten the chance to do it yet." Tazaki led the bird to climb its way up his arm and back onto his shoulder, its beak poking at the shell of Tazaki's ear before it shifted its legs and huddled its wings together. "He's learning to wean right now and he tends to get antsy if I stay in one place too long with him." Tazaki smiled and gently rubbed his thumb and forefinger around the pigeon's head, the bird leaning into the touch.

"That's cute." Amari watched how Tazaki handled the bird, his arm dropping momentarily and the bag of treats he was holding beeped against the scanner again, ringing up the product twice. Amari caught it when he heard it go off, the man looking down to see what had happened. He definitely wasn't paying enough attention today. "I'm sorry, I'll fix it."

He hit the correct error key and it disappeared as quickly as it showed up, Amari bagging the item and making sure that his mistake wouldn't happen twice. Simple blunders happened from time to time, but Tazaki's presence at his register always made him slip up one way or another. It was embarrassing for a customer to see him like that. Amari took pride in being reliable and efficient, he even won employee of the month twice, so handling a single bird-loving patron shouldn't have been as difficult as it was. Amari blamed it on the man's charm.

The rest of the items didn't give him a problem and Amari rung up his total, Tazaki swiping his card in the machine to complete the transaction. "Do you need any help carrying your bags?" There was always a lot when they were finished, but—

"No, thank you."

—Tazaki said no every time. Amari hardly ever had a bagger at his station so he felt it was polite to offer his assistance to people who couldn't carry heavy loads, like the elderly or disabled, but Tazaki was a customer that always bought too much. The balancing acts he would perform to take his purchases to his car was something Amari could never comprehend.

Watching the man tuck several bags of bird toys under his arms as the pigeon on his shoulder moved to the top of his head, Amari waved goodbye and turned to serve the next person in his line.

Tazaki came back into the store two weeks later with his paycheck cashed into his account and ready to be spent like always. He walked inside with his shoulder feeling rather bare without one of his birds sitting there, Tazaki glancing over to see that Amari was still working at the registers.

His arrival time was late compared to his usual schedule, so seeing the cashier there made him feel a bit more confident. It was probably the last time he would be stepping into the store for a long time, now that the supplies he needed were going to be sold online. With no other pets to care for, Tazaki wouldn't have a reason to show up anymore.

He took the familiar path down the aisles and turned the corner, passing by a few cockatiels that were huddled in a group inside their cage, and Tazaki skimmed the shelves for what was left on sale. The clearance rack was nearly empty, save for a few toys left and bird seed.

Deciding that it wasn't necessary to drain his account this time, Tazaki only took the food and headed towards check-out. He maneuvered around some shoppers and finally made it around Amari's line just as he finished ringing up another customer. Tazaki placed the food on the counter and Amari went through his routine.

"Good evening, did you find—" Amari looked up as he took the food, having read what it was, and finally noticed Tazaki standing in front of him. His smile brightened. "It's good to see you again. I thought you wouldn't show up today."

"I almost didn't." Tazaki admitted, reaching into his pocket to grab his wallet. "I was surprised to see that you were still working at this hour." He had left work late and spent time at home deciding whether or not to bother driving to PetSmart on the off chance that his favorite cashier would be there when he arrived.

"My shift is about to end, actually."

Tazaki pulled his card out and hoped. "When?"

Amari totaled the amount into the machine and Tazaki swiped the card like always. "In five minutes." The transaction went through and Amari slid the bagged item towards the man with another smile.

Tazaki waited for Amari to speak, the two of them making awkward eye contact for another few seconds before Tazaki decided to break it. "You aren't going to ask if I need any help with my bags?"

Amari looked taken aback by the question, the man looking between Tazaki and the single bag of food he purchased. "Well, I mean, this is the least you've ever gotten here. I just…" He trailed off when he saw the grin Tazaki had. Then he looked over towards the aisles to see if anyone else would be getting into his line. "I would love to help you carry it to your car."

Amari went around the counter and grabbed the bag, allowing Tazaki to lead the way. He figured this was his way of telling him that it would probably be the last time they would see each other, so he would finally take Amari's offer of help. The sun wasn't quite setting yet, but the sky was beginning to darken, leaving the open air around them chilly from the dropping temperatures that came with nightfall.

There weren't many cars left in the parking lot either, Amari spotting Tazaki's car when he unlocked it, the headlights flashing and the trunk popping open. "No bird today?" Amari mentioned his lack of company as he handed him his bag, watching Tazaki.

"I left them at home today. I didn't want to bring them someplace they weren't allowed in."

Amari looked at him funny. "PetSmart doesn't have a policy against birds, you know. You've brought them in plenty of times before."

"That's not what I meant." Tazaki shut the trunk door and turned to face Amari, the dark-haired man taking a moment to collect himself before asking, "Would you like to go out to dinner tonight?"

Tazaki held his breath as he watched Amari's face slacken, like he was registering the question. Then his eyebrows furrowed together, and finally his mouth started moving. It took another couple of seconds for him to get his words out, though. "Did you stop here to buy bird seed just to ask me out on a date?"

Tazaki fiddled with the keys in his hands, but it was hard to keep himself from getting too nervous. He had seen Amari harmlessly flirting with other customers before, all female, but he wasn't sure if his friendliness towards Tazaki possibly meant that Amari was interested in him, too. He took a risk and gambled on it, now that he could use his final visit as an excuse to leave if he was rejected.

Amari observed him from where he was standing, surprised to find that he had never seen Tazaki so troubled before. Through what small conversations they had, he seemed like the type that wouldn't dwell too much on his problems. Though, he could imagine what he was going through, asking someone to dinner was nerve-racking. Calling him out on his effort wasn't very kind of him, either. "Can you wait here for a few minutes? I need to clock out and change."

The sound of relief was all too obvious from Tazaki, his kind smile returning to address Amari just like before. "I thought you would say no."

Amari would have never said that to him. Even if he wasn't interested, there was no way he would pass up the chance to know Tazaki better through dinner. "I'd be an idiot if I ever told you that." Amari checked his watch for the time and excused himself so he could end his shift, Tazaki waiting by his car like he promised.

When the doors closed behind Amari, Tazaki finally felt safe to pull back his suit jacket and allow his pet some fresh air. It was the same baby pigeon that had taken a liking to Amari two weeks ago, Tazaki feeling as though it was a sign that a potential relationship would work. His birds were very shy towards most, but the fledgling's behavior to the kind cashier was enough to strengthen his resolve and finally make his move.

He pulled out the treats he had bought from the store earlier that month, holding it out for the pigeon to take and chew on while he rubbed the top of his head. He would have to go back into hiding once Amari came out, Tazaki not ready to explain to the other just why he had him hiding in his jacket in the first place. That, and sneaking him into the restaurant would be difficult through any other means.

He was his perfect little wingman.