Chapter Text
It was after the final examination. The trio had survived theirs three days ago and Tsukishima had just aced his last subject this afternoon.
They had made plans to celebrate the occasion. Tsukishima would spend the weekend packing and getting together with Kuroo-san, Bokuto-san and Akaashi-san. He would meet up with Yamaguchi next week and they would all go camping together. Tsukishima knew a great place with both lakes and mountains. It was perfect for summer break because one, it was magically cheap when booking in groups and two, they all couldn’t afford air-conditioners. They needed a break to relax before summer heat blasted with full force.
Tsukishima was going to the club with the seniors tonight to “experience life,” Kuroo-san said. Bokuto swore it would be fun and even Akaashi-san claimed it could be enjoyable.
Kuroo-san had instructed Tsukishima to wear the clothes on the daring side of his closet because he was the only one who hadn’t been to a club and didn’t know the dress code.
“But not anything you would be uncomfortable in!” Bokuto-san chirped in, Akaashi-san agreed.
They picked him up at ten and Tsukishima had to remind Kuroo-san to keep his eyes on the road constantly because apparently, he didn’t expect Tsukishima to wear clothes that daring. He had picked Starry Night’s most recent collection, whose theme happened to be bewitching and mystical.
The frilly top was double-layered. The inner layer’s purpose was mostly to provide more coverage with Australian Aboriginal fabric . It had a snakeskin pattern in greyish silver and black background. Tsukishima loved the eccentric feeling it brought upon close inspection. The outer layer was loose french net with golden embroidered patterns. It was pinched several places on the front while leaving his back bare. Akaashi-san couldn’t rip his eyes off that exposed part of his skin for a long, long moment.
The bottom was quite simple, it was a long slit pencil bottom with a safety-measure inner layer which kept the dress from revealing too much of his thighs. He was told that his legs looked divine in it. Bokuto-san kind of short-circuited when he saw Tsukishima stepped on the car.
He also put on a pair of crescent-moon-shaped golden teardrop earrings . They twinkled whenever Tsukishima moved. He liked the way they highlighted his jaw and neck.
Tsukishima thought he underestimated the power of his outfit choice. There were audible gulps whenever he shifted his legs.
Behind Kuroo-san, Bokuto-san was all red and whining at Akaashi-san's neck. “Akaaaaashiiii, it’s not fair to let people see Tsukki like this! Why do we only see this now? I don’t want to share him or let anyone look his way at all!”
Next to him, Akaashi-san didn’t even look away from Tsukishima’s neck as he quietly responded, “Yes, I agreed that I would very much want to keep this Tsukishima to ourselves but sadly, we hadn’t suggested him dressing like this sooner. It was a grave mistake on our part and now we would have to bear with it and maybe salvage the loss of beautiful Tsukishima in private later.”
Over the sound of radio music, Tsukishima feigned looking out of the window, pretending he didn’t hear anything at all although it was flattering. He knew they were indirectly convincing him to dress up for them later. It’s not like he opposed but he wanted to hear this out a little more. It was fun.
He also wanted to pay them back for not telling him that they would dress up that nicely to the club. Now he couldn’t stop thinking about Bokuto-san’s net tank top or Kuro-san’s ripped jeans or Akaashi-san’s luminous galaxy make-up.
When they arrived, it took them no time to wait in the line because Kuroo-san knew the security guy, Jay. He claimed to know the place inside out as he led them to a vacant booth. Akaashi-san and Bokuto-san introduced him to the beverage variety and side dishes. They served chicken wings and Bokuto-san loved them. Tsukishima settled for a cocktail first, not wanting something too strong.
Tsukishima went with Kuroo-san to get their first round of drink because he told him the bartenders’ skill was amazing. They were, in fact, impressive. The four of them worked in rhythm with the booming background music while both taking and bringing out orders without making mistakes. Bottles and cups flew around the bar as people oo-ed and ah-ed at their performance.
One of them spotted Kuroo-san and yelled his name. “Tetsurou, you hyena! Where have you been? Haven’t seen you around for weeks!”
“Yo, Kiri! University was killing me with projects and finals but I’m all free now! How are you bro?” Kuroo-san laughed like a hyena.
“Well, busy as always. Especially with universities taking a break.”-He spotted Tsukishima, then winked- “Now who is this beauty? Kuroo, don’t you tell me you have got another boyfriend when you were away!”
Tsukishima quirked an eyebrow. “Oh? So he brought others than me here?”
Kiri-san’s face turned ashen,he jerked, “Holy shit! Bro! You didn’t tell him that you have others? You were cheating on both him and them?!”
“Is that so Tetsurou-san?” Tsukishima spoke chillingly, “You are cheating on me?”
“NO! Oh my god no! Tsukki! It was just Bokuto and Akaashi! I am not cheating!” Kuroo-san didn’t expect the turn of events. He panicked as Tsukishima took a step away from him, his face was colored with disdain. “Tsukki babe! No! Tsukishima-sama! Believe me! I swear! I only have you, Bo and Akaashi! You knew this!”
He then proceeded to count the number of boyfriends he had, listing names and dating history, with his finger as Kiri-san exclaimed dramatically in the background that he shouldn’t cheat. Kuroo-san looked nearly in tears when it had been five minutes and Tsukishima didn’t look an ounce believe him.
On the opposite, Kiri-san chastised him, “Kuroo, bro! I can’t believe you cheated, look at how sad Tsukishima-kun is-”
“Tsukki no! It wasn’t like that!” Kuroo-san cut him off mid-sentence.
“Kuroo, I have to say, you are”-Kiri-san continued as if nothing happened- “hilarious as hell! Ha ha ha ha!”
Tsukishima burst out laughing too. Kuroo-san’s shocked face was priceless. He couldn’t believe this man studied advanced chemistry.
“It’s been a while Kiri-san. How’s Starry Night?” Tsukishima smiled at Kiri-san. He had always been his favorite make-up artist at the place. They were both mean and sarcastic, clicking almost right away.
“It’s all good! Ta-chan is looking forward to your return, Amaya-kun. How was your examination?”
“It went smoothly. I will be back soon, but not after some destress time.”
Kuroo-san looked dumbly between them, he yelled at last. “Hey! You two knew each other from the start!”
“Yes, haven’t I told you Kuroo-san? He is my colleague.”
“What? You haven’t-....wait. You have. Oh my god! That was the worst prank ever! How could I make the connection? You two are the worst!” He cried.
“Thank you!” They said in unison then burst out laughing again. Kuroo-san looked like he regret bringing Tsukishima here.
They returned to their table with a tray of drinks and some buffalo wings for Bokuto-san. Tsukishima himself got some french fries and shared them with Akaashi-san. They laughed and talked. Kuroo told the rest about Tsukishima's crime of making him nearly have a heart-attack by accusing him of cheating then was left heart-broken when even Bokuto-san laughed at him.
As more drinks were downed, Bokuto-san became restless. Akaashi-san took his cue to lead him to the dance floor before he bounced their whole sitting bench off. They soon disappeared into the sea of people. Kuroo-san asked him if he wanted to dance but Tsukishima declined. He saw no joy in sweating with a bunch of people in a poorly ventilated box.
They drank and flirted for a good time. Tsukishima was a bit buzzed even when he had only had cocktails. They didn’t realize when the drinks had run out. Kuroo-san stood up to order some more for Bokuto and Akaashi when they returned. Tsukishima volunteered to keep their booth because he was feeling a bit dizzy, not wanting to push his way to the bar with his stage.
Kuroo-san left with a nod and told him to come to the bar if there was anything.
Tsukishima let his gaze drift to the people vibrating on the dance floor. He tried to look for Bokuto-san and Akaashi-san but couldn’t even see any face clearly in the dimly lit room. The music was too distracting. Before Tsukishima knew it, there was a stranger approaching him.
He was dressed in black shirt and pants, his collar buttons loosened to expose some skin. Not that it was anything compared to Bokuto-san’s pecs. The man sent Tsukishima flirty eyes and started small-talking, which Tsukishima absolutely hated. He tried to chase him away with short answers and curt attitude but he didn’t seem to take the hint at all.
It took Tsukishima no time to realize that he was being hit on by the most disgusting piece of shit on earth because the moment he declined the guy’s sex offer with “No. I am not and never will be interested in sex with anyone. Now go away, you are being a bother,” shits started to go down.
“What? Are you a virgin?” Somehow, the man dropped everything else in Tsukishima’s sentence and drilled on that part.
Tsukishima twitched, it was getting exponentially more irritating. Nonetheless, he took his reaction as a yes.
“Oh, doe-eyes! How would you know how amazing it is then? You have never had it, have you?” His eyes dragged sickeningly over Tsukishima with sudden hunger now. He licked his lips as his gaze bore into the exposed skin of Tsukishima’s leg. “I know you would love it. Beauties like you are the prettiest sucking my dick. In fact, I would love to have those long legs of yours warped around me.”
The moment he put his dirty hand on Tsukishima’s thigh, he thought “That’s it.”
Tsukishima dumped his last drink on the fucker. Things needed to be sterilized from this rat.
The man, whose hand recoiled to wipe his eyes, sputtered as his eyes burned. What a shame the alcohol didn’t kill him like it did with germs. “What the fuck?!”
“This is your last warning. Fuck off.” Tsukishima clicked his tongue in disgust. “People come here to have fun, not to witness a major failure of natural selection being you. You are a stain of human civilization. Even prehistoric reptiles had more shame than you. No one wants you near their vicinity with that repellent attitude of yours. Stop polluting the air and fuck off.”
The cockroach took a moment to digest what Tsukishima said, then he began fuming. “Bitch, you acted all high horsed leading me and now you insulted me?”
“You clearly don’t understand human language. What part of go away and fuck off that you don’t get, huh?” He scolded.
“Listen here, bitch. Drop the act already. Everyone knows that you women were just asking to be fucked when you mention that bullshit about ‘not interested in sex.’ What were all these slutty clothes for if you weren’t asking for dicks?” The man spat.
Never had Tsukishima ever been so disgusted by a supposed-to-be-intelligent being. His stomach twisted from repugnance. Did the fucker even think before talking shit? His mother must regret him. Tsukishima felt bad for all the girls who came across this revolting presence.
“First of all, your mom must be so regretful to have paid nine months of her precious life just to get something like you in return. Not that you matter but since your mistakes are likely to be associated with the education she gave you, not your rotten personality, you will most certainly disgrace her reputation. You disrespect women despite being given life by one of them. No woman has to please your ridiculously foolish ass. They are way above you and your stupidity. Stop being so arrogant and know your place.
Second of all, it seems besides having a rare case of brain-dead, you are also dull-witted as the person you have been trying to annoy is a man with a dick just like you but with more manners and common sense. I suggest getting your appointment to a neurologist or psychiatrist to have the mush in your head checked as soon as possible. And then maybe, you will have a brain cell to operate on.”
Tsukishima walked away, not wanting to spend any more words on such incompetence of a human. Unfortunately, the said person didn’t want to let it slide. Just as he was turning around, the man caught his arm in a bruising grip, jerking Tsukishima violently back to face him. Tsukishima’s back hit the chair, which hurt like a bitch but he paid it no mind. All his consciousness was on the contacted skin of his arm. The man’s hand was awfully sticky for some reason. Tsukishima chillingly realized that the alcohol in his blood was giving him a hard time jerking away. He tensed, goosebumps raised on his entire arm. He felt gross all over.
Before things escalated, a figure put himself between Tsukishima and the man as their hand pried the offending hand of Tsukishima’s arm. Despite the suffocating air of the club, Tsukishima recognized the familiar cologne. His body relaxed almost instantly.
Kuroo-san stood before Tsukishima, shielding him behind his broad back. He spoke cheerily. “What do you think you are doing to Tsukki here, pal?”
Kuroo-san didn’t seem to mean the word pal at all. There was a sinister factor coloring his signature smirk. The hand he was holding in his was turning white and shaking. The offender’s face twisted in pain. He yelled. “What the hell? Who the fuck are you?”
“Someone you shouldn’t mess with.” Out of nowhere, Bokuto appeared from behind the man, seizing his arms with the killing strength of a spiker. He was also smiling but it was a perversion of his booming good-nature.
“Tsukishima-kun, are you okay?” Akaashi-san approached Tsukishima from his right. His expression was icy and directed to the strange face among their group. He put himself before Tsukishima despite not being that threatening compared to two buffed volleyball players. He bet Akaashi-san’s instinct to protect his junior was kicking in.
“I’m fine,” Tsukishima assured him. “Just some minor inconvenience.”
The offender had just realized his not so favorable situation as he was surrounded by three people and two of them obviously had a physical advantage over him. In a moment of panic, he lashed out.
“The fuck? Are you their bitch too, you pervert?” He looked at Tsukishima then directed his eyes to Kuroo-san and Akaashi-san. “Men don’t dress like that. Only sluts do. Is it fun having a bitch dress however you like? Did he use the “not interested in sex’ to hook you up too?”
“Come on man, you can have way better things than his ass.” He laughed vulgarly at Tsukishima.
Kuroo-san’s face darkened considerably the more the man talked. The smirk on his face had frozen two sentences ago. Tsukishima thought Bokuto-san was ready to kill someone as well with the way veins popped on his forehead. The man was too busy laughing to notice Bokuto-san’s teeth grinding together chillingly.
The sound of fist colliding a face was too sweet. Akaashi-san had cut him with a sudden punch.
“Shut the fuck up.”-It was rare to see him swear- “Don’t you dare degrade him. He is a million times better than you scum. He has the right to dress however he likes, not to please anyone. He is not subjected to anyone opinion on sex, especially garbage like you. He is his own person with his own choice of fashion and level of intimacy. Anything of him deserves to be respected as such!
You are not entitled to judge anyone. If he said no then it’s a no. Do not turn it into some sexist bullshit just because your non-existent pride can’t take a rejection. Instead of making a fool of your pompous ass, you should just walk away with a tail between your legs because we all know barking dogs seldom bite.”
“T-The fuck you just sai-” The man flabbergasted.
Kuroo-san clicked his tongue. He wrenched roughly the shocked man down by the hand he was holding. Bokuto-san loosened his grip almost in sync with him to let the staggering man nearly trip, then yanked him back up. The jerk’s face turned red with anger but there was little thing he could do with Bokuto-san’s vice-like grip as he squirmed like a worm trying to escape.
“You have no right to treat me like this! I will call the police!” He threatened emptily.
“Oh~ Are you now?” Kuroo-san hummed. “But why didn’t you think of the same when you put your hands on people and offended them, huh? First you sexually harassed my friend, then you made statements like that. Tell me, do you really think you can get out of troubles that easily, especially when you just call for it?”
Behind him, Bokuto-san spoke up. “Yeah man! That was not cool at all. Playing victim when you are the troublemaker. I bet I can knock as much of your teeth as the number of digits you dial before the police get here. I think it’s high time he learned a lesson or two about manners, don’t you think Kuroo?”
“Oh, absolutely, Bo!” Kuroo-san taunted.
They went back and forth for a while like that. Listing what they could do with the imbecile. Tsukishima was impressed with how much “fun” Kuroo-san could come up with using just alcohol and a decorating umbrella. He guessed chemistry students were not to mess, at all. Surprisingly, Bokuto-san understood all the stuff and even added more with wilder imagination. Last but not least, Akaashi-san was the most worrisome one with his knowledge of kidnapping techniques and medieval torture methods. Tsukishima didn’t expect that from him.
The man was shaking like a leaf when the security guy, Jay, came up. He looked between the four of them and the captive man, then asked. “Is there trouble?”
“Help me! They came from nowhere and harassed me! That blond one is a pervert who dresses like girls to approach them!” The moron claimed.
“Hey hey hey! That’s not nice at all.” Bokuto-san tutted. “You see, this man right here,”-he shook the man up- “was bothering Tsukki and laid his hand on him without consent. I believe it is not the first time he causes trouble like this. We promise we are good guys, bro. You should be concerned more about him than us. I’m Bokuto, by the way.” Bokuto-san was good at playing strangers too.
Jay looked between the two of them. A girl spoke up from behind, they had gathered a crowd unknowingly. “Bokuto man is right! I witnessed the whole thing. The man clearly was targeting blondie, eh Tsukishima, right?-” she turned to Tsukishima to confirm. He nodded. “-all evening. He made his move when he was alone. He said sexist stuff and harassed him. He was doing the same to my friends the other day!”
“Yeah! He’s the real pervert! He groped me too!”
“He did the same to me!”
All of sudden, people were booing the man, calling him off for his fool. That was enough for Jay to decide who was guilty.
“While we had no rules on patrons’ clothings, there were very strict ones on sexist behavior, sexual harassment and non-consensual acts. Tsukishima-san and dear guests, I am sorry to have let you experience such things in the club.” He bowed slightly to them.“I will take care of this thing from now on. You won’t meet him again.”
“W-What? What are you doing? This is nonsense!” The man screamed. He was soon dragged away by the murderous security.
As the commotion dispatched, Kuroo-san, Bokuto-san and Akaashi-san surrounded Tsukishima, questioning him worriedly.
“Tsukki! Are you alright? I’m sorry for leaving you alone for such a long time! It is too damn crowded today! Fuck, I should have been with you.”
“Tsukkkkiiiii! Oh my god! Are you hurt? Kuroo said he touched you! I just went along with him but are you okayyy? You are not hurt, aren’t you? What would we do if you got hurt!? I am gonna kill that guy!”
“Bokuto-san, please calm down and let the hitting to the security. Tsukishima-kun said that he was fine already but you two were too busy intimidating the guy to listen to him.” Akaashi-san turned to Tsukishima. “However, I would like to confirm your status again. Are you okay, Kei? I was really worried back then.”
“Relax. I’m all good.” Tsukishima rolled his eyes at the frantic men before him. It’s amazing how they turned from predators to mother hens the moment the threat was taken away. “Really. He barely grabbed my arm before Kuroo-san turned up.”
At that, their eyes fell on the red imprint of a hand on Tsukishima’s arm. He sometimes cursed his fair skin because it bruised too easily. His boyfriends’ expression turned grim. “Sorry, we should have been with you.”
“No, stop that. It’s all good now. We came here to have fun, not babysitting me, remember?” Tsukishima huffed. “I could have my own back. Don’t worry, okay?”
“But Tsukki…” Bokuto-san said strangely gloomily. Kuroo-san’s eyes haven’t left his arm. Akaashi-san looked sad somehow.
“What?” Tsukishima asked.
“...Your hands are shaking.”
That Tsukishima did not notice. It hit him like a brick. The hand mark on his hand started to burn all of sudden. Tsukishima couldn’t tear his eyes off it.
“Kei?” Akaashi-san jerked him out of his moment.
The music faded away. He felt sick.
“Yeah.” He answered. “I want to leave, now.”