Work Text:
Having just settled in at the hotel, Imai began to set his alarms. He didn’t have to be up until 7AM, but he set his alarm for 4AM instead. That didn’t give him much time to sleep; they only arrived at the hotel at 10:30 that night, and he had just spent an hour playing Mario Kart with his bandmates--minus Hide, who fell asleep as soon as they arrived. But still, Imai was committed to waking up at that time.
The reason Imai wants to wake up so early was a simple one: waffles. He didn’t know why, but he was in the mood for them. They wouldn’t be able to have waffles that morning because there was a Cracker Barrel next door and Atsushi already called dibs. He could’ve gotten up at around 6AM to have breakfast at the hotel before the others woke up, but he knew that wouldn’t cut it. Imai wanted some good waffles, and he knew exactly where to get them.
The nearest Waffle House was about a half hour away, but he figured it wouldn’t even take that long. The GPS was taking traffic into account, and at 4:30AM--the time Imai expected to leave the hotel--no one would be on the road. The Waffle House was open 24 hours, so the early time wouldn’t be a problem.
As Imai went to bed that night, he thought about Waffle House. He isn’t like Atsushi; he wouldn’t have strong feelings over a restaurant chain. Still, he appreciated how convenient Waffle House is. They usually have really good hours, and there are always interesting characters there, adding to the experience. Ultimately, it’s a convenient, simple, and occasionally fun place to get waffles--the one breakfast food Cracker Barrel lacks--making it a good place to stop at road trips. When Atsushi doesn’t have choice in restaurant, that is.
Then, Imai heard the alarm go off. He didn’t remember falling asleep, but he must have at some point while he was thinking about how Waffle House is the antithesis to Cracker Barrel. About how Cracker Barrel is there to make guests feel special, while Waffle House is there to give customers their waffles. And while he would have loved to continue thinking about his Cracker Barrel-Waffle House dichotomy just as an excuse to stay in his warm bed, Imai knew he had to get up and get ready.
Imai started to force himself out of bed when he felt Atsushi’s hand touch his. Imai could hear the drowsiness in the other man’s voice when he asked, “Where are you going?”
“Did my alarm wake you?” Imai responded, instead of answering Atsushi’s question. “I’m sorry. I just wanted to get up early today.”
“What time is it?”
“Six,” Imai lied; he knew Atsushi would have more questions if he told him the actual time. “Go back to sleep. There’s still time before we have to be up.”
Atsushi took a moment to respond, presumably because he was so tired. Imai began to worry that Atsushi’s excitement for Cracker Barrel would set in, and he would refuse to go back to sleep, but the vocalist listened: “Oh. Okay.”
Before getting out of bed, Imai kissed the vocalist man on the cheek. “Sleep well.”
Imai started getting ready, staying as quiet as possible out of fear of waking Atsushi again or making Hidem, Yutaka, and Toll--who were staying in the conjoining room--aware of the fact that he was awake, if any of them were. That, and the fact that he was tired, made it take him longer to get ready, so it was around 4:45 when he was finally ready to leave the hotel. Imai checked to make sure Atsushi was asleep one last time before leaving.
Besides a few weird looks from the woman behind the front desk, Imai was able to get out of the hotel and into his car without incident. As he walked to his car, he thought about how beautiful it was at that time of night, especially during the summer, and how rare it was he got to see it. Before pulling out of the parking lot, he took out his phone, put on a playlist of a pop group he liked, and then set up the GPS to guide him to the nearest Waffle House.
Though he was right in thinking that he would get there faster than the GPS claimed the night before, it still took him longer than he expected. There was no traffic on the road, but it was dark out--even with the uniform streetlights on each side of the I-95--so he drove carefully. It was okay though, because he had a good time driving. He sung along to the songs in his playlist, feeling slightly nostalgic about their older music. The experience reminded him that he needed to renew his fanclub membership though, so he decided he would do it when he got back to the hotel.
When he finally parked in front of Waffle House, Imai noticed that there was only one car in the parking lot. He wasn’t surprised though; it made sense for there to not be that many employees for the graveyard shift.
Imai walked into the Waffle House, which was the only illuminated building in this particular commercial center. However, the entire building was empty. Or, at least that’s how it seemed. “Hello?” Imai said as he sat down at the bar. “Anyone here?” No answer.
Imai figured whoever was there was in the back somewhere, so he waited for a while. Since it was the evening in Japan, he decided to check social media and talk to his friends. He also renewed his membership for that fanclub, since there was nothing else to do. Once he was done on his phone, he looked at the time. Fifteen minutes had passed, and no one showed up, even though he called multiple times throughout that time. He tried calling out again, but no one came.
That was when Imai decided to take matters into his own hands. He came for waffles, and he was going to get them.
Imai got up and looked behind the counter. There was his answer. An employee, presumably the only one, was asleep on the floor. Imai approached him cautiously, and started speaking again. However, the employee didn’t wake up. Imai began to worry that something was wrong, so he checked his pulse. He was alive, at least. Imai figured he was probably just tired, and decided to let the employee sleep. He heard about this happening to someone once--going to a Waffle House and cooking for themself because the employees were asleep--so he figured he would try it. It was inconvenient, but a fun story to tell. At least once the trip was over, and it was too late for Atsushi to get mad at him for sneaking out.
Imai quickly familiarized himself with the kitchen, and started making himself a waffle. Fortunately, the waffle batter was already made, so he just needed to put it in the waffle iron--after coating the iron with some non-stick spray, of course. While making the first waffle, Imai wondered if he should’ve added some other ingredients, like chocolate chips or blueberries, into the batter. However, he figured a plain waffle would be good, at least for his first one.
To Imai’s surprise, the first waffle turned out well. At home, the first waffle was always “the bad one,” at least according to Atsushi. Imai never understood what the vocalist meant by that; sure, it looked wrong, but it tasted just the same. But this waffle actually did look good, which was encouraging.
However, when Imai went to set his waffle down on the counter, he got a phone call from SID’s Yuuya, causing his ringtone to blast throughout the Waffle House.
His ringer wasn’t on full volume, and he rejected the call as quickly as possible, but it was enough to wake the employee. Before Imai could run off in embarrassment, the man stood up and saw the plate Imai had just placed on the counter. “What are you doing back here?” he asked.
“Oh, well, you were asleep, so...” Imai felt nervous, so it was hard to explain himself. It didn’t help that he had to explain in English, which was harder to do when nervous. He had certainly put himself in an awkward situation, and he didn’t know what to do.
“This is my kitchen,” the man said, quietly but sternly. Before Imai could say anything else, the man--whose name tag read Gordon--picked up Imai by the collar of his shirt. “And you’ve interrupted my nap. If you were going to trespass and steal, you should’ve at least been quiet about it.”
Imai found it difficult to respond, especially with his legs dangling in the air, but he knew he had to. After laughing awkwardly, he finally explained: “I wasn’t stealing! I wanted to let you sleep, so I figured I would make the waffle for myself. I was planning on leaving the money on the counter, I promise!”
Gordon put Imai down, but still held the guitarist by the collar. “How do I know you’re telling the truth?”
Imai didn’t know how to prove his honesty, so he just begged to be let go: “Please, Gordon--.”
“--If you’re in this kitchen, you will refer to me as Chef.”
Imai didn’t expect the Waffle House kitchen to have such strict rules--enforced on the graveyard shift, of all times--but he listened: “Yes, Chef. Anyways, I just want a waffle. Can I please get a waffle? If you want to go back to sleep while I cook, you can. I promise I’ll leave the money.”
Gordon finally let go. “Alright, fine. I am tired, and I guess if you didn’t decide to take matters into your own hands I’d have to cook for you.” The chef yawned. “Anyways, I am tired, but I’m also hungry. You don’t suppose you could make me a waffle as well?”
“You literally work here.” Imai regretted saying it right away, and immediately prepared for Gordon to get pissed again.
Fortunately, the chef had calmed down. “Please?”
Imai sighed. “Fine. My phone did wake you up, after all. Sorry about that, by the way.”
“Don’t worry about it. Oh, and I was joking about the chef thing earlier. I share a name with Gordon Ramsay, so I wanted to see if I could get someone to call me Chef. None of my actual employees will do it though; you’re the first sucker who gave in.”
Well that was certainly a backstory. “I’d tell you to fuck off, but chances are I’d do the same if I shared a name with him. You can go back to sleep while I make your waffles.” The chef nodded, and closed his eyes.
After turning his phone on silent and eating his first waffle, Imai went back to cooking. He made the ones for his new frenemy plain, since he didn’t know what Gordon liked, but he made himself a few different types. Gordon eventually woke up, and the two started eating waffles together. Of course, Imai used the opportunity to promote Buck-Tick, though Gordon was too tired to pay attention that much. They followed each other on Instagram though, so Imai hoped he would get a chance to promote his group again in the future.
Imai also explained why he was there at that hour, that his bandmate Atsushi was obsessed with Cracker Barrel and that they had to go there the next morning, so he snuck away to have waffles. “That’s a mood, but if he loves you he’d probably be happy to go where you want for once.”
“Yeah, but it’s cute seeing how happy he gets when we go to Cracker Barrel.”
“That’s nice, but consider asking him next time. The next Waffle House employee who you wake up blasting J-pop music might not be as nice as I was.”
“Yeah, yeah. You’re right. Thanks, Chef.”
The Waffle House employee chuckled. “You can call me Gordon.”
By the time Imai finished talking to Gordon, he finished his three waffles. He knew he had to head back, but he was so tired. And full. So, he ended up falling asleep right there.
~
“Imai! Wake up!” Before opening his eyes, Imai recognized the voice of the man shaking him awake.
“Good morning, Yuta,” he replied groggily. “What time is--?” Before he could finish the sentence, Imai remembered what happened. “Shit, are we still--?”
“--At Waffle House? Yeah.”
Imai rubbed his eyes. “How the fuck did you get here?”
“You’re lucky Hide brought his car, Imai. Atsushi was worried sick! He called you so many times, and you didn’t pick up.”
Imai checked his phone, first noting the time. It was around 8AM. Then, he saw all the notifications from Atsushi. He cursed under his breath as he skimmed through them, which included phone calls and text messages from the concerned vocalist.
“And he didn’t know about the locator app we downloaded after he got stranded last time, so he thought there was no way to find you,” Yutaka continued. “He was freaking out until Hide asked him if he checked Zenly.”
“Jesus Christ. I’m sorry for causing you all so much trouble.”
“It’s alright! We’re just glad you’re safe. Come on, let’s get back to the cars.” Yutaka helped a tired Imai get off his stool, and held onto him as they headed for the exit.
Before Imai left the restaurant, he turned back. “Wait. I need to say goodbye to Gordon.”
“His shift ended two hours ago,” another employee, whose name tag read Britney, explained.
“Oh, okay.” Imai figured he would talk to Gordon again in the DMs, so he left with Yutaka.
Before Imai’s eyes could adjust to the bright sunlight, Atsushi ran towards him and hugged him. “Imai! I was so worried about you!”
“Yeah, I heard. I’m sorry for sneaking out like that. And leaving my phone on silent. And falling asleep.”
“It’s alright. As long as your safe.” Pulling out of the hug, Atsushi looked at Imai, who was still squinting from the light. “Ew, you have drool on your chin.”
“Oh, I’ll get that when we get back in the car.”
“‘Back in the car?’ The rest of us haven’t had breakfast yet. You better go wash up in the Waffle House bathroom.”
Imai felt confused, but he figured maybe it was because he was tired. “But don’t you want Cracker Barrel?”
“Too late. We’re here. Besides, Hide seemed really jealous of you for having Waffle House.”
Imai looked at Hide, who was by the car with Yutaka and Toll, waiting for Atsushi and Imai to finish their little reunion. “Why didn’t you invite me?” he shouted.
Imai chuckled, and looked back at Atsushi. “Your shirt is all roughed up, too,” the vocalist said. “Did something happen?”
With how worried Atsushi was, Imai didn’t want to explain his hostile encounter with Gordon right away. “It’s a long story. I’ll explain when you’ve calmed down a little.”
“Oh, okay. And by the way, Imai, if you wanted Waffle House you could’ve just asked.”
Imai had a feeling Gordon would be telling the guitarist he told him so if he were here right now. “But you called dibs on Cracker Barrel.”
“Yeah, but we always have Cracker Barrel. I’m grateful that you always want to do what I want to do, and I need to repay you somehow.”
With all the many, many shenanigans that happened when the two of them went to or ordered food from Cracker Barrel, Imai worried the same would happen with Waffle House if he wasn’t careful. “Well, I’m not as crazy about Waffle House as you are with--.”
“--That’s not what I meant!” Atsushi interrupted. “Just… every once and awhile. If you want something different, just ask. Besides, I like waffles.”
Imai let out a sigh of relief. “Okay, good. I’ll do that. Anyways, you and the others should go get breakfast now. I’ll wash up.”
After greeting Toll and apologizing to Hide for not including him in his early-morning Waffle House trip, Imai went to the restroom to wash his face. Though he was tired and felt bad for worrying Atsushi, Imai didn’t regret sneaking away that night. He got to meet Gordon and had a story that he could tell his friends for years to come. If his road trips with the Buck-Tick members taught him anything, vacations are only as great as the memories one makes on them.
However, now that Atsushi assured him that he would be happy to do what Imai wants every once and awhile, Imai didn’t think he would be getting up that early for waffles again anytime soon. Next time he was going to have a memorable experience at a Waffle House, he hoped Atsushi, and maybe his other bandmates, would be there with him.