Chapter Text
Toru Oikawa always dreamed of living a life outside of Miyagi. He had always been a starry-eyed boy with dreams of performing somewhere big. Unfortunately for him, luck had never been on his side. When he was seven his mother passed away, he had no other family and was sent off to live in foster care. From the age of seven to eighteen he lived in a total of four different homes. He couldn’t complain though, he at least always had a roof over his head and a bed to lay in at night. Though he couldn’t help but find himself wanting more from life. He wanted to be somebody, something most people didn’t know about him was that he liked to perform. While he had never performed in a formal setting, he felt like he had a decent voice and the ability to follow along to a choreographed number. Even when his dance space was limited to just his small bedroom, he always managed some form of practice. And he knew if he wanted to make it big he knew he had to get to the city.
When he turned sixteen, he started working at a diner close to home. There wasn’t much to it, some would go as far as calling it run down. The paint on the walls was chipped and the decor was outdated, but it was work. Oikawa always came to every shift with a smile and happy attitude, no matter how much he wished he was anywhere but there. His hard work paid off when he turned eighteen, he hit his first goal and saved enough money to get an apartment after leaving his foster home. Now all he had to do was save enough money to get to Tokyo.
It took Oikawa three more years to save up enough money to leave. It wasn’t easy, it was three years of long hours and fake smiles to people who didn’t deserve it but in the end he did it. He had saved up enough money for a bus ticket, a place to live, and a little extra to get him by until he landed a job. It still wasn’t much, but it was enough to get him the hell out of here. All he needed was his last check.
Oikawa was working his last shift at the diner. Today was the day he was finally leaving, all he needed was his last paycheck. After the lunch rush, he sat on top of the counter, he was counting out the cash in the tip jar to split with his coworker.
“16.50 for you, 16.50 for me,” Oikawa says as he slides the cash and change over to Yahaba.
Just as he was putting his cash into his apron, his boss, Kyotani walks into the front. He was in a hurry to leave, but Oikawa stopped him.
“Wait! Can I have my check before you leave? I need it early.” Oikawa hops off the counter, meeting his boss in the middle. The other didn’t stop, he simply kept walking to the door.
“Not now, we’ll talk about this when I get back. Go get ready for the dinner rush.” Kyotani says door now open.
“Please? You still owe me my last check too and I’m done waiting.” Oikawa huffed, his frustration growing.
“I said later,” Kyotani starts to walk out the door.
“I quit! And I mean it this time!” Oikawa shouts, but it’s too late. Kyotani was already out the door.
Oikawa marches over to the register and punches in the code to open it. Yahaba comes over, curious as to what his coworker is doing.
“Oikawa, what are you doing?”
He looked up from where he was counting cash, “I’m only taking what he owes me and nothing else. If he has a problem with it, he can come find me.”
“You’re really leaving, huh?” Yahaba asked softly, looking to Oikawa who nodded.
“I’ve got to, if I don’t do it now, I don’t know when I’ll have another chance.”
Yahaba pulled Oikawa into a quick hug, then held him at arm’s length. “I’ll handle things with Kyotani, you go. Call me if you ever need anything and I mean it.”
Oikawa gave him a soft smile, squeezing the other males arm as a silent thank you. He feared if he tried to say something he might cry. After their goodbye, Oikawa set off on home. While he had plans to leave, he had yet to have his things packed. Once he was home, he pulled his only suitcase out, it was more of an oversized trunk, but it would do. He was only taking his clothes so it wouldn’t matter anyways. When his closet was cleared, he stopped and looked around. His clothes were really the only thing he had to take with him. The furniture would have to stay, he didn’t mind though, he’s sure the sorry soul after him could use it. The last thing he packed was a picture of him and his mother, it was the only thing he had left of her. He wrapped it up in one of his shirts and tucked it safely with his other things. He finally locked it and took it in his hand, he was ready now.
*
At the train station Oikawa bought himself a one-way ticket. It all felt so real now that he held the ticket in his hand. It used to be just a distant dream, but now it was happening. He was really leaving the only place he ever knew as home. Soon his train was called, and he got himself boarded. He tucked his things away and sat in a seat by the window, as he waited, he put his headphones in and waited for the train to take off. It wasn’t long until he felt the jolt of the train and the station start to move from his view in the window. He let out a sigh as he rested his head against the cool glass, there was no turning back. Oikawa found his eyes getting heavy, he didn’t want to sleep but the day’s events were finally catching up with him. He let his eyes clothes and drifted off asleep for the rest of the train ride.
When he woke, two hours had passed, and the train had stopped at a new station. Oikawa was finally here; he stretched and grabbed his suitcase. He got off the train and made his way to the street, it was dark now, but the city was still alive. Of course, there were buildings in Miyagi, but none as big as these were. He was in awe as he looked around, taking in the neon lights and crowd. He didn’t realize how long he had been staring until someone had bumped into him.
“Hey! Watch it!”
Right, he was still standing in the middle of the sidewalk. He had to get to the hotel now, Oikawa started to walk in the direction it was located. It wasn’t in the middle of the city; all those were too pricey for him right now. He used his phone to help guide him through the crowd and soon he was walking up to the brick building. It was around five stories and looked as if it had seen better days. The inside wasn’t much better, it was various shades of brown and other than the check in desk had two scratched up leather couches. Oikawa paid the man up front for a few months and collected his keys. He went upstairs to the fourth floor and found his room. He unlocked the door and pushed it open, he stepped inside and dropped his suitcase on the bed.
The room was in similar style to the lobby. The walls adorned various shades of brown, and the beds floral style looked like it hadn’t changed since the eighties. There was a bathroom to the right, the only thing in there a small vanity, a shower, and toilet. The wardrobe and bed took up most of the room, but that didn’t matter Oikawa was sure he wouldn’t be spending much time here anyways.
Once he finished looking around the room, Oikawa started to unpack his bag. He hung up his shirts and folded the rest of his attire, tucking it into one of the drawers. In the bottom of his bag was the rest of his savings, he had the cash in a plastic bag and planned on hiding it in his room. The safest place he could think of was putting it behind the toilet, that would have to do until he had some place better. The last thing he pulled out was the picture of him and his mother. He sat it with the lamp on the bedside table where he could see it, it made him feel not so alone in this new place. Oikawa finally flopped back into bed, tomorrow he would be spending the day looking for a new job. He wanted to be rested, but he didn’t think sleep would come easy. After his nap on the train, his mind was thinking of everything but sleep. Eventually, he found himself dozing off again, lulled to sleep by the sound of the city life outside.
*
The next time Oikawa woke, it was 7am. He was still in his clothes from the night before and was in desperate need of a shower. He rolled out of bed and picked out some clothes for the day, opting for a pair of black skinny jeans, a white shirt, and a light cardigan. As he got his shower ready, Oikawa started going over what he needed to do that day. His first stop would be to the lobby, he was hoping to pick up a paper to help act as a guide as he went job searching. When he finished showering, he got out and dressed. Once Oikawa was ready, he grabbed his keys and wallet and headed out the door.
He started his search at the place closest to his apartment, not having a car would limit where he would be able to travel far for work. Oikawa went to his first interview and was shot down not long after it started. This was not how he wanted to start his day, he was hoping to have this one to think about while he went and checked the other opportunities. He would have to just cross this one as a loss and continue to the next one on the list. The next two were an interview and an audition for a dancer, and both were again a no. Oikawa was starting to lose hope completely, the sun was beginning to set and there were only two more on his list that were a reasonable walking distance from his place. The first was filled by another applicant before he even had a chance, and the second he unfortunately didn’t make it in time before they closed.
Feeling defeated, Oikawa stopped and grabbed a coffee. Since he was already out, he decided to continue his walk around the city. Besides when would he have another free night like this to just explore. He walked around aimlessly, taking in the scenery and the interesting buildings that surrounded him. Figuring he had enough walking for the night, Oikawa started to turn to go home. He stopped though when he heard music coming from one of the nearby buildings. Letting his curiosity get the best of him, he threw away his drink and went closer towards the building. In bright white lights, the sign read:
BURLESQUE LOUNGE
During his observation of the building, he spotted a man on the second story balcony. He was tall with black and white hair and seemed to be dressed in some type of lingerie. He had one of his legs propped on the balcony, fixing the fishnet tights he wore. Oikawa was fascinated by him, what kind of lounge was this? The male seemed to notice him staring and waved down at Oikawa. Before he could break his trance, a black-haired male called for him to come back inside. That was when he decided that he needed to go inside, he needed to see what was going on in the lounge. When he went inside, he was met with a dim lit place, there were tables and chairs surrounding a stage with a bar and live band to his left. He was about to peek inside further when a pink haired man popped up in the ticket booth.
“First time?” he asked, leaning forward, and resting his head in his hand.
“What is this place?” Oikawa asked, looking around at the art on the wall that featured pictures of others dressed just like the man he seen on the balcony.
“Pay the cover and you can find out.” the man said, pointing to a sign on the wall that stated a twenty-dollar entry fee.
Sparing twenty dollars to get into a club was not something Oikawa was expecting himself to do. He was supposed to saving money, not giving it away because he wanted to see a show. He hesitated a moment, but then put the money in the others outstretched hand.
“Enjoy the show.” the bouncer winked at him.
Oikawa went inside and took a seat at the bar, and just as he did the house lights went down and the band started to play the first song. Red and purple lights lit the stage, revealing the person from the balcony accompanied by five other dancers; another stood between them, his back to the audience. The dancers began snapping their fingers and the fifth person was spun around to face the audience. He was a silver haired man, but he was dressed differently than the others. He wore a black bodysuit, the bodice of it covered in silver crystals, over that he wore a black waistcoat with pink crystal covering the lapels. Oikawa figured he was the lead dancer, as the others wore white crop tops with high waisted black briefs. Red garters were worn on their thighs, holding up matching red fishnets that went into white heels.
The dancing started, a mix of hip and shoulder shaking. The lead dancer even began to sing.
Show a little more, show a little less. add a little smoke, welcome to burlesque
They were all lean, fit, and stunning. That was the only way he could think to describe the scene in front of him. With every beat of the drum, he felt like he was being pulled into the trance more and more.
Everything you dreamed of, but never can possess
They danced with each other, circling around the silver haired man. Then continuing the routine alone, bending over and flashing their asses. The song went on, and Oikawa’s eyes still hadn't left the stage.
You can dream of Bokuto, do it at your risk
The man from the balcony twirled in front of him, his hand grazing the singer's cheek. As he went away two more dancers, who were almost identical, the only thing separating the two being their hair color. They hung on either side of his arms.
The twins grant you mercy, but not your every wish
As the two danced away another approached, he had curly black hair and two beauty marks on his forehead. The man in the waist coat pressed his finger to his lips, like he was mid thought.
Omi keeps you guessing, so cool and statuesque
It was the final dancer's turn; he was one of the tallest out there but still moved with as much grace as the others. He bent himself at the waist and waved his fingers to the crowd
“Behave yourself”, says Kuroo
Welcome to Burlesque
When the number was finally over, Oikawa couldn’t help but continue clapping even long after the rest of the crowd stopped. What finally pulled his attention from the stage was a laugh that came from behind the bar. With a pout he turned to look at the person in question. A shorter bartender dressed in tight leather pants and a matching vest with nothing under it. He topped it off with a black hat and too much eyeliner, even for a place like this. He was cute though; Oikawa would give him that.
“What’s so funny?” Oikawa asked, crossing his arms.
“Nothing, I can always tell when it’s someone’s first time here,” he said while wiping down the glass in his hand.
Oikawa had a light blush on his cheeks, “I was that obvious, huh?”
“It’s hard not to look at them, I remember being that fascinated by them my first time here.” The bartender sat the glass down in front of Oikawa. Pouring a bit of alcohol into it.
“Oh, no I really don’t- “Oikawa went to stop him, but the stranger shook his head.
“Nah, consider it my welcome.”
He took a sip and nodded this head, “Thank you... I’m sorry but what was your name?”
“Iwaizumi Hajime.” He held his hand out to Oikawa
“Oikawa Toru.” He shook the other's outstretched hand.
“Say, Iwaizumi, who do I have to talk to, to get on stage one day.” Oikawa asked, finishing off his drink.
“Take the stairs over to the right up to the dressing room, ask for Sugawara.” Iwaizumi took the glass back.
Toru gave the other a thank you and walked over towards the stairs. He walked up to them, revealing an upstairs dressing room. It was full of blinged out costumes and half-dressed dancers running around trying to get ready for the next number. He managed to dodge one of the dancers, looking around the room for the one named Sugawara. Over in the corner, by the racks of costumes he saw the black-haired man from the balcony. He seemed to be mending a top and not as busy as the others. He approached and cleared his throat softly.
“Uh, excuse me, I'm looking for Sugawara?”
“Who are you? I’m sorry we don’t want anything.” The male glanced at him, giving him a quick look over before going back to his sewing.
“Oh, I’m not here to sell anything. I just wanted to see if you had any openings-” Oikawa was about to go on but was stopped when the silver haired man walked up to them.
“Akaashi, do you- who is this?” Suga, who was now dressed in a robe instead of a sparkly bodysuit, now took his turn to look at Oikawa.
“I’m Oikawa, I wanted to know when the next auditions were.”
Suga seemed to relax now, even letting out a soft laugh, “We’re not looking right now, but leave your name with Akaashi and we’ll let you know when the next auditions are.”
“When do you think that will be?” Oikawa frowned; the man he now knew as Akaashi started to guide him back over to the stairs.
“Look, we’re a little busy right now, how did you even know to come up here?”
“Iwaizumi told me where to find you.”
“Right, why don’t you leave your name and number with Iwaizumi, and you’ll get a call.” Akaashi let go of him when they reached the stairs.
Oikawa went back downstairs and found his way over to the bar again. He plopped down on the stool he was previously in with a sigh. A few minutes later Iwaizumi was back in front of him.
“How did it go?” Iwaizumi asked.
“Not good, they said that they weren’t looking right now.” He pouted and rested his cheek in his hand.
“Maybe you’ll get lucky, and they’ll have an open call soon. Things like that can happen at any time.” The bartender tried to soothe.
“I just really needed a job; I was hoping this would be it.”
“There will be more opportunities out there.”
“Thanks for your help tonight.” Oikawa smiled softly at him, he never had trouble making friends. Iwaizumi was just a bartender, and even though they had just met, he felt like this could be a budding friendship.
Though another job fell through, Oikawa figured he would spend the rest of his night at the club. If he would’ve left he would have just gone home, and he wanted to see the rest of the performances. He stayed on his chair at the bar, occasionally talking to Iwaizumi when the other wasn’t busy fufilling orders. That was how he spent most of his night, a few hours later a couple of tables started calling for the bottle girl. Instead of taking and refilling drinks, she was busy with someone in one of the back booths, but it seemed she was doing a little more than taking the woman's order. Oikawa noticed a tray at the end of the bar, he grabbed it and went on the floor. He gathered the drinks that needed refilling and took a few more orders and then made his way back to the bar. Iwaizumi was standing there waiting when Oikawa sat the full tray down.
“Old fashion, two martini’s, whisky sour, and a cosmopolitan.” Oikawa listed out.
“What are you doing?” Iwaizumi asked, brows furrowed.
“Helping, if I'm not half as good as your other waitress, you don’t even have to pay me.”
The bartender rolled his eyes, “Fine, you got the job for the night.”
Oikawa smiled, and once fresh drinks were placed on his tray he went and delivered them to guests. It went on like this until it was close to closing time. The place was still fairly packed and the guests were keeping him on his toes. He had been so busy that he didn’t even realize that Sugawara and Akaashi had sat down at the bar. The two were watching him, clearly trying to figure out what he was still doing here.
“Iwaizumi!” Suga called for him.
Iwaizumi went over to the club owner, “Something wrong?”
“What is he doing?” Suga asked, gesturing out to Oikawa who was clearing off a table.
“Working,” Iwaizumi shrugged.
“Oikawa!” Suga called for the boy, motioning for him to come over to them.
Oikawa looked up and quickly went over to where Suga and Akaashi were sitting. He was hoping that they wouldn’t be too mad with him, since he technically didn’t get permission from him to help down at the bar. He was prepared to defend himself, but it seemed that Sugawara had other ideas.
“What are you wearing? It looks like you’re going to church, not working at a lounge.”
Oikawa frowned, “It’s cute.”
“It’s not when you’re working here, Iwaizumi will get you a uniform.” The owner motioned for him to go and get one, before giving his attention back to Oikawa.
“Does this mean?” He asked with a smile coming back to his face.
“Yes, but if you ever go behind my back on something like this again. I’ll kick your ass.” Suga said, smiling at Oikawa who looked like he could burst.
“Thank you! You won’t regret it.”
Suga and Akaashi left the bar after that. Akaashi looked over at his friend skeptically.
“Are you feeling okay tonight? That was awfully nice of you.”
Suga shrugged, “I don’t know, I guess I just couldn’t say no this time.”
“You’re getting soft.” Akaashi teased, causing Suga to roll his eyes.
“Just don’t let me regret this.”
*
When Iwaizumi returned to Oikawa, he handed him his uniform. It was like Iwaizumi’s, except the servers wore leather shorts instead of pants. Oikawa eyed it carefully, it was definitely different from what he was used to wearing, but he would get used to it. This was a start, he really could see himself staying here long term. He wanted to stay here so that he could be on stage with the others, he felt like he could belong here. When he finished examining his uniform, he looked up at Iwaizumi with a smile on his face.
“Welcome to the family.”