Work Text:
The Irish Pub
The pub was crowded, loud, bright and warm. A three-man band stood upon an elevated stage, playing quirky and swift-paced music which almost succeeded in drowning out the buzz of conversation. There was laughter, there was jeering, there was dance...
Standing near the far end of the bar, Yujin was torn between enduring it for a while longer or heading back out into the pouring rain. He hadn't gotten around to purchasing a hat for himself yet; a must for the English gentleman, or so he'd been told. He'd delayed on the matter, for he didn't think of himself as an English gentleman. He was no more than a stranger in this land. A newcomer, at that. He didn't belong here, and everyone could tell. The other patrons in the pub had shot at least two separate leery glances his way. That was nothing compared to the one manning the bar, who had expertly sent seven fiery glares Yujin's way, if not more.
He would have ordered something to drink, had he been able to afford it. The truth of the matter was that he couldn't. His stipend was running out, spent solely on his hotel room. He needed to find cheaper lodging, just as his two fellow students had, but had had no luck so far.
He ought to just leave, he thought to himself. He'd been drawn to the pub not only for shelter, but in hopes of absorbing some of the cheer which had seemed to emanate from it. Now that he was inside, though, he only felt worse.
“Whoever it is you’re waiting for, they aren’t going to show.”
The unfamiliar voice, which had sounded from so very close by, startled Yujin. He wasn’t certain the remark had been directed at him, though as he turned his attention away from the distant door and towards the wall, he ended up crossing a keen gaze. A younger man was now sitting on the barstool by his side- someone who absolutely had not been sitting there only half a minute ago. Yujin couldn’t help but think he might as well have appeared out of thin air.
“I beg your pardon?” he asked, for he was only now attempting to process what’d been said to him.
“It’s been seventeen minutes aaand… About thirty seconds since you first entered this pub. Be it a friend or a lady who has you waiting here so diligently, it’s a lost cause,” the man replied. He slumped a bit on the stool, stretching out one of his legs before crossing it over the other one.
It was surprising that this stranger would know how long Yujin had been inside already, as he hadn’t spotted this person in the pub before the conversation was started. But then, perhaps he too had been skulking quietly in a corner. If so, it was possible he had now sought out company out of sheer boredom. Or perhaps he’d never seen a Japanese man before and wished to have a closer look. Perhaps he wanted to hear whether Yujin spoke with an accent. It wouldn’t be the first time since he’d arrived in Britain.
“Oh, I… I am not waiting for anyone,” Yujin replied, quietly and politely.
“And yet, you are not drinking.”
“No.”
“Nor dancing.”
“... Indeed.”
For a long moment, the man said nothing. His eyes slowly swiveled downward, aimed towards Yujin’s midriff, then further on to his shoes. Long, slender fingers rapped against the bar’s surface. “Should you not have a drink in hand within the next five minutes, you will surely be asked to leave, if not flung out into the street by force.”
“Oh…”
“I have a proposal.” The man raised a hand to the side of his head, brushing some short locks of blond from his forehead. “I will buy a drink for you to hold, if you agree to keep speaking with me. Failing that, you may pretend to speak. It takes far less effort, you see. You may even pretend to drink.”
Yujin blinked, astounded by the suggestion. “What? Why would I do such a thing?” he asked. Then he shook his head and rephrased the question. “Why would you want me to do such a thing?”
“Unlike you, I have been waiting for someone. He’s just entered a minute ago,” said the younger man, and as he did so, his gaze flicked towards something behind Yujin. Reflexively, Yujin turned his head, only for his arm to be grabbed in a somewhat rough manner. His focus returned to the man in front of him, who was now leaning forward on his stool. “Don’t look!” he hissed. “Are you daft? I don’t mean for him to know that I’m observing him.”
Yujin should have left the pub earlier, he realized. No, he shouldn’t have gone in at all. He’d underestimated just what sort of people he might encounter in a place like this. Now apprehensive, he attempted to free his arm from the young man’s hold with a weak “excuse me.” It was best to get out of here as quickly as possible.
“You needn’t assume the worst. I’m not that sort of person,” said the man, though he released Yujin all the same. “It’s for an investigation. I’m attempting to catch a suspected criminal in the act. Evidence is everything, or so they say. He can’t know I’m watching him, and so, I need someone to serve as a shroud of sorts, hiding me from any suspicion.”
That explanation did settle Yujin’s nerves, if only a little. He frowned and took a step backwards, leaving the pub’s exit as a viable option, yet no longer the intended destination. “Oh? Are you employed with Scotland Yard?” he asked, hoping the skepticism wouldn’t bleed into his voice. This person didn’t appear to be older than twenty- perhaps closer to eighteen.
The young man’s lips curled into a smile and once again, his gaze diverted itself to whoever his target was. “The Yard wishes they could keep me under their thumb. No, I am more of a… private inspector. Nay, an investigator. A consultant.”
“Are you not still a student?”
“Well, yes, but that is hardly the point. I may keep up with my studies and observe a criminal at the same time. Now, will you be accepting a drink to serve as my shroud, or will I have to find someone else?”
Yujin took a brief moment to observe the pub’s door, beyond which the rain had already increased its intensity. He could almost hear it hammering at the pavement. Then he scrutinized the questionable stranger once more. It became difficult to estimate whether he was harmless or not. Though… To accept the offer might’ve boiled down to tempting fate, and Yujin rather felt like doing just that.
“All right,” he said, and with that, he took a seat on the stool by the man’s side. “One drink. Whatever is cheapest will do.”
The young man hosted another faint smile, then raised a hand to get the bartender’s attention. True to his word, he purchased two drinks and following that, angled himself on the stool in such a way that he could peer comfortably at the target somewhere behind Yujin. The glass of beer found its way into Yujin’s hand and though he didn’t drink from it, he was reminded of what it’d felt like to spend his evenings in a bar in Japan with his two closest friends. A curious facade such as this one was as good a way as any to spend his evening, he supposed.
“I beg your pardon,” he said, pulling the young man’s attention back towards himself for a bit. “If I’m to serve as your shroud, it might be beneficial for us to be introduced. My name is Yujin Mikotoba.”
A blink, a deep breath, then a hand was extended Yujin’s way. Though it was shaken somewhat clumsily, for the first time that evening, warmth came Yujin’s way, originating from the younger man’s palm and fingertips. It was not a literal heat, as the hand’s owner appeared to have poor circulation. Rather, it was a warm sentiment.
“Sherlock Holmes. A pleasure to make your acquaintance.”