Chapter Text
Oikawa Tooru had a nasty habit of filling the emptiness in his chest with bitter drinks that made his throat burn and thoughts fade away. It wasn’t even like he was drinking to forget someone, he wishes it were that simple. Instead, the poison he was throwing down his throat was to numb the pain of the nothingness that was his life. Sure, he had money, his preferred job in public relations for a successful magazine, and a brand new apartment overlooking the best part of the city. But none of that meant anything to him if he didn’t have someone to share it with. Someone to wrap their arms around him after a hard day at work, someone to curl up against before falling blissfully asleep, someone to greet with him a smile and a kiss on the cheek. Instead, the only things that greeted him after a long day was empty white walls and dirty dishes.
Having been fed up with the silence in his apartment for the fourth time that week, Oikawa found his way to a new bar that had just opened up a few days prior. Within twenty minutes, he could barely feel his face, let alone the pathetic hollowness haunting him.
He slammed his empty glass on the bar, having chugged it’s bitter contents all in one steady swig.
“One more!” Oikawa exclaimed, eyes slightly out of focus and cheeks flushed pink as all the other ‘one mores’ started to hit him. He clumsily caught himself on the edge of the bar as the room began to sway beneath him.
“Mr. Bartender~” Oikawa sang, waving a finger. “If you take to long, I’ll lose my buzz~.”
He stumbled once more, bumping into a couple to his left. Oikawa turned to mutter an apology but as he met the harsh glare of the one with black hair, he forgot what he was going to say. Instead, Oikawa’s gaze flickered between them, from the tall black haired boy then to the short orange haired boy standing behind him. After a few long, tense moments, Oikawa finally reached out to balance himself on the taller man’s shoulder. With his spare hand, he playfully poked the man’s chest.
“Cute jacket.” Oikawa said through a chuckle and then turned back to the bar. His beer was still M.I.A.
“Mr. Bartender, where’d you go?” He adopted a childish whine.
Oikawa leaned over the counter and eyed one of the many hoses below. A mischievous smile set on his lips as he looked around to make sure the bartender was no where near the soon-to-be crime scene.
Reaching to grab the nozzle, he whispered, “This ones on the house.” With that, Oikawa brought the hose to his mouth and poured his long desired drink himself.
He choked a little bit to start but sure enough, he was soon smoothly chugging beer directly from the tiny, retractable hose.People had started to gather around him, bouts of laughter filtered into Oikawa’s ears and he thought he could hear them chanting, “Chug, chug, chug, chug!” Although he wasn't completely sure, as Oikawa was pretty far gone at this point and people and sounds alike were blurring together in a foggy haze.
His few moments of glory came to a screeching halt, quite literally, as the bartender came rushing over and yanked Oikawa away from the back of his neck. An unwelcome, shrill cry sounded directly at Oikawa’s ear.
“What the hell are you doing?!” He shrunk away from the bartender’s fury and glanced down at the whitening knuckles at his collar.
Once he cleared his throat, dragging it out dramatically, Oikawa raised a slim finger and replied matter-of-factly, “Getting the drink you failed to get me.”
A few ‘Oohs’ and ‘Oh, shit’s came from the crowd that had excitedly gathered around the action.
“Bastard.” The bartender’s lip curled, scowling as he pushed Oikawa backwards towards the exit.
“Just hand over the money for the drinks and then get your worthless ass out of here.” He dropped his hold on Oikawa and held his hand out for the cash.
“Sure, sure.” Oikawa waved his left hand as if to say ‘no big deal’ as his right scoured his pockets.
Moments passed filled with his own mindless whistling as his hand kept coming up empty. In front of him, the bartender tapped his foot impatiently, jaw clenching and unchelching. Oikawa opened his mouth to reply when an obnoxious burp escaped instead, right into the ever reddening face of the bartender. He wondered if it was possible for a man to pop. Desperately trying to fend off a smirk, he raised his heavy lidded eyes to the bartender’s seething ones.
“What is your policy with IOUs?”
Whether it was because the abundance of alcohol in his system or perhaps because the bartender had superhuman speed, but Oikawa did not see the fist coming straight for his nose until it was on him. Pain erupted from the center of his face and little white sparks cascaded across his line of vision. Warm blood trailed down his face, pooling into the creases of his lips as he falls flat on his ass.
“Don’t bother coming back.” He heard the bartender shout above him, slamming the door shut hard enough to rattle the glass windows.
He laid there for awhile, the cold from the concrete seeping into his skin, helping to cool him down from the liquid heat in his veins. Above him, a blue fluorescent sign reading Northstar Lounge sways noisily in the wind, creaking each time it swings on it’s hinges. It’s not exactly peaceful, but Oikawa finds himself fighting off the urge to sleep, right here with that awful sign screeching at him and the bass of the music deep inside the lounge threatening to shatter the windows. He wonders if it’d be bothersome if he did end up sleeping here for the night. As if to answer his unspoken question, the door swings open.
“Get the fuck up.” A voice growls behind him and before Oikawa has a chance to respond, a foot rams into his ribbed cage.
The blow sends the air rushing out of his lungs, his body aching and curled up in a fetal position. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees the man standing over him retracting his leg for yet another kick.
“Whoa, hey! Give him a second.” A much higher, softer voice rang out over Oikawa’s groans.
He feels warm hands on his shoulders, gently helping him up into a seating position. The world around him was spinning, the blue light from the sign streaking across his eyelids in multiple directions. Hoping to make everything stop moving, Oikawa clamped his eyes shut.
“Whatever. Just get him out of here.” The assailant gives an annoyed grunt before disappearing back into the dimly lit club, the door still ajar.
Beside Oikawa, his savior gasped at the sight of him. “Damn, he really got you good.” All Oikawa could do was grunt in response.
The boy sighed. “Here.” He said lightly, his jacket rustling as he moved.
At a sudden pressure at his nose, Oikawa flinched, pain shooting across his face once more causing him to cry out.
“Ah! Sorry, it’s just...there is a lot of blood and….I want to help.”
The unveiled concern in the boy’s voice made Oikawa open his eyes. Immediately, he was greeted with a toothy smile, warm brown eyes crinkling and cheeks slightly flushed. It was the small orange haired boy from earlier, he realized. He was a lot more friendly than his companion, Oikawa thought as he remembered the dark gaze of the boy with black hair from earlier.
Nodding to the small rag he was holding to Oikawa’s nose, the boy said. “Hold this, you’re gonna need it.”
A small wave a gratitude washing over him--which didn’t happen often-- and he replaced Shorty’s hand on the rag with his own.
“Alrighty, so-uh…I’m gonna help you up.” There was a little less confidence in the boy’s voice than before, probably realizing just how much bigger Oikawa was than himself now that he was up close.
Since the boy had come to his rescue, it was now Oikawa’s turn. He held up a hand to fend the orange boy off.
“Don’t fret Chibi-chan, this is not the first time this one man show hit a bump in the road~.” Oikawa flashed him a quick smile, ignoring the ‘what does that even mean’ that the shorty quietly uttered, and rose to his feet just as the world began to spin again.
“Oi Hinata, you have to come s-ouuff!” The figure that had suddenly appeared in the doorway was cut off by a stumbling Oikawa for a second time tonight.
“Whoops!” Oikawa chuckled as he bounced off the ridged frame of the taller boy and into the shorty--Hinata--behind him, who reaches out to steady him. In lieu of a thanks, Oikawa pats the messy orange curls atop Hinata’s head.
“Watch where you’re going, Kageyama!” Hinata launched at the taller boy, whose mouth was set in a seemingly customary thin line.
“I was, dumbass! It’s not my fault this guy is too drunk to walk a straight line. I just-”
“Buzzed.” Oikawa cut him off.
Kageyama stared at him, one eyebrow cocked. “What?”
“I’m only buzzed.” Oikawa wrapped an arm around Hinata’s shoulder--which was a lot lower than he expected-- thinking that feigning nonchalance would make him look somewhat sober.
It didn’t.
Hinata and Kageyama looked at Oikawa with expressions that lingered between amusement and disbelief. After a few beats of silence, Hinata finally shook his head and turned to Kageyama, slightly straining under the weight of a drunk Oikawa.
“What was it that you wanted?”
“I came out here to tell you that Noya-san took more shots while Daichi-san wasn’t looking and is now insisting on giving Asahi-san a lap dance and--” He cut off suddenly and scratched the back of his neck, searching for words and looking embarrassed.
“Well, I just thought that this was something you’d want to see.” Kageyama shrugged, cheeks somewhat flushed.
At the mention of the lap dance, Hinata visibly brightened. His eyes widened to a dreamy sparkle, his mouth forming a wide ‘O’.
Jumping excitedly, he yelled, “Ooh! Maybe Noya-san can teach me!” And then disappeared into the club with such speed that he blurred in Oikawa’s vision. The words, ‘Teach me, Noya-san, teach me,’ fading off as Hinata traveled deeper into the shadows of the lounge.
The sudden absence of Hinata’s body caused him to pitch forward. Though this time, after only a few missteps, Oikawa manage to catch himself without using another body. He smiled lazily at his own small victory. Kageyama, who was still at the door, cleared his throat awkwardly.
“Uhh-um...Do you…” He shifted on his feet awkwardly and tried again. “Are you-”
He gave up his lame attempt at talking when he saw Oikawa raise his right hand to his forehead in a salute.
“I’m off. Make sure you properly thank Chibi-chan for me later~.” He winked at the blushing boy and ambled down the block to the right, moving farther into the city’s nightlife and farther away from his empty apartment as the moon shone overhead.