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Autumn winds steadily get colder as winter approaches. The air has mostly lost its crisp autumn scent, now only burning your lungs with each deep breath. The low hanging sun hardly warms the ground, much less the people walking on it. A day like this deserves to be appreciated— from inside one's home that is.
A group of teachers, half unwilling, gather in an izakaya . Starting their weekend off with leisure drinking.
“I don’t get why my students aren’t motivated.” Obanai complains. “Especially the blond boy, always whining for one reason or another.”
“Well in order for the students to feel motivated, the teacher needs to be motivated!” Kyojuro adds, “No offense, but you don’t exactly seem too happy to be in your profession!”
Obanai scoffs. “I am motivated! By the desire to spread knowledge about chemistry!”
Kanae giggles, “But you’re so glum, and Kaburamaru probably scares them.”
“They should let him and the threat of a bottle rocket crucifiction motivate them!”
Sanemi watches the scene with mild amusement; he and Giyuu had been dragged to a cheap bar by the other teachers— i.e. Tengen —for a night out.
(‘Because why not.’ Was the only reason given earlier that week, even though he’s sure they all had papers to grade and exams to make).
Which landed him here, not even buzzed and surrounded by mostly drunken colleagues.
Sanemi leisurely sips his first drink, he’s the one who will be driving after all, as he sits amongst his fellow teachers. Seated between Kanae and..
thump!
..his drunk boyfriend. How could he forget? Giyuu’s face is squished against his shoulder as he fades in and out of consciousness.
As adorable as it is to see the normally stoic Giyuu like this, he really shouldn't have brought him here. Clearly, Giyuu can’t handle alcohol. Sanemi doesn’t even remember what exactly the man had to drink, but from his breath it was something fruity.
He nudges Giyuu awake, internally cooing as Giyuu blinks and looks around confusedly. He resists placing a kiss on his forehead. Even though he’s inebriated, Sanemi will respect Giyuu’s wish of little to no pda.
He turns to the rest of the table, “You all have fun, we’re getting out of here.”
“Leaving already? We’re only a couple hours into the night!” Tengen groans.
Sanemi stands and grabs Giyuu under each arm, trying to drag the man out of the booth. “We’d stay, but someone here can’t hold their liquor.” Sanemi looks upon Giyuu’s sleepy, drunk face with a fond smile.
Kanae hides a smile behind her hand. “Alright, well, please get him home safely.” To which Sanemi nods.
“Why’d you bring him if he can’t stomach his drinks?” Obanai questioned, it seems even outside the workplace he can’t stand Giyuu.
Sanemi scoffs, “Like you can talk.” If Giyuu were awake he’d have told Sanemi to forget it, but he isn’t , so Sanemi will defend him all he wants.
“And why can’t I?”
Tengen points to the delirious Giyuu from across the table, “Because he at least had something to drink.” before focusing on Obanai again. “All you’ve had is tea!”
“Because I don’t want to end up like that.” They all know he’s talking about Giyuu.
“A single shot won’t hurt, will it? Tengen goads, messily pouring Obanai a drink and waving it near his face which earns him a sharp glare and string of curses from the smaller male.
“Oh leave him alone Tengen.” Kyojuro butts in, very much sober and having a better time than Sanemi just was. “I think it’s quite nice we get to see this side of Tomioka! I’m rather curious to find out what kind of drunk he is.”
Tengen huffs and leans back in his seat, “Clearly he’s a sleepy drunk, look at him!”
All eyes turn to Giyuu hanging limply in Sanemi’s grasp and looking around with glossy eyes. In all honesty, Sanemi thought he’d be more of an emotional drunk. The complete opposite of how he presents himself around their friends. This turn of events however is not unappreciated. If Giyuu was an angry or hyperactive drunk, Sanemi would be inclined to ban him from ever consuming alcohol.
Their friends go back to their conversation, which Sanemi tunes out. The most important thing on his mind is getting Giyuu to the car and then home. But even leaving the bar is proving to be rather difficult with Giyuu weighing him down. While Sanemi is strong, it’d be better for the both of them if Giyuu could wake up enough to at least stumble outside.
He has half a mind to toss Giyuu over his shoulder, but the sight of carrying an unconscious man to your car at night understandably raises too many red flags.
Sanemi will have to wake him up.
Sanemi shakes him a little, Giyuu’s hair swaying as his head bobs back and forth. “Oi shithead, we’re going to the car now.” When Giyuu blinks up at him, Sanemi gets a good look at how out of it he really is. Eyebrows drawn up and lips curved in a small pout. Confusion and uncertainty clouding his pretty blue eyes.
“..Who’re you..?”
Giyuu looks up at him with glazed and tired eyes. Likely confused of who or what he’s seeing.
“Quit fucking with me Giyuu.” Sanemi whispers, hoping not to draw any attention to themselves. If Giyuu is going to act out he’d rather it happen in a more controlled environment like their home . He tugs Giyuu again, dragging him further away from the table before Giyuu thrashes in his grasp.
“Let! Go ‘f me!”
That gains the attention of their colleagues. Four pairs of curious eyes turn to them and watch Giyuu flail around like a dying fish.
“‘M not going..home with you..” Giyuu weakly bumps his head into Sanemi’s chest, trying to put some distance between them. His gaze floats around the bar, dazed and unfocused.
“..Where’s Sanemi?”
Silence envelopes them all as they stare in disbelief at the pair. Giyuu, who had been happily drunk enough to use Sanemi as a pillow, looked scared, not unlike a child who lost their mother while shopping. Sanemi’s mouth opens and closes uselessly, unsure of what exactly to do or say.
He’s right there, how did Giyuu forget?
Saying and doing nothing proved to benefit no one as Giyuu started thrashing in Sanemi’s arms again, albeit weakly.
“My boyfriend can and will kick your ass ‘f you don’t let me go..”
Obanai facepalms, muttering something negative about Giyuu’s presence that night.
Tengen, while leaning heavily on the chuckling Kyojuro, pulls out his phone to record. Kanae looks like she wants to stop him, but ultimately enjoys the entertainment while sipping her drink.
Sanemi isn’t sure whether to be happy that Giyuu’s loyal, or disrespected at how he doesn’t recognize his own boyfriend. He decides on both, mouth pressed into a line as he strongly exhales.
“Listen, Giyuu—“
“N- you listen..!” Giyuu manages to land a hit on Sanemi’s face. Giyuu’s drunken state didn’t allow any force behind the blow, so it felt more like an animal pawing his face.
“I dunno who you are..but my Sanemi is better than you..”
Tengen chuckles, all too prepared to add fuel to the fire. “What’s he like, Giyuu?” The man in question looks at him confusedly. “Your boyfriend! What’s he got that’s better than that man?”
‘That man ’ he says as he points to a seething Sanemi, thoroughly fed up with everyone in the vicinity.
Giyuu takes a quick breath, eyes sparkling. “He’s..the best thing to happen to me..”
The group, minus Obanai whose fake gag Sanemi chooses to ignore, is in quiet awe at the display of affection from Giyuu.
Sanemi rubs his temples. This is becoming too much; Giyuu’s foolishness, which he won’t admit made him feel the slightest bit gleeful , the ever so loud laughter of his friends— Sanemi would laugh too, were he not in this situation —and the many patrons of the bar watching them. The owner looks ready to call someone to escort them out.
Sanemi shoots him an apologetic look.
Tengen whistles, “Don’t stop there! Show this man how inferior he is!”
Sanemi is already envisioning his hand imprinted on the man’s face.
Giyuu sways, holding onto the nearest wall as a dopey grin spreads across his face. “He’s…sweet..and so nice to me..”
“..And of course in bed he—mmf!“
Sanemi covers Giyuu’s mouth, red with embarrassment “Alright, alright! Whatever, let’s just get you out of here.”
He wisely refuses to look back at his friends, or anyone else in the room, as he half carry’s and half drags a confused Giyuu outside.
The nightly autumn wind blows across them, a much needed cool reprieve from the warmth alcohol brings. Giyuu is once again limp at his side, making the journey to the car thankfully uneventful.
Buckling himself and Giyuu into their seats, he rests his forehead on the wheel. It’s both embarrassing and, oddly enough, comforting that Giyuu said all that. Even when it’s just them, he doesn’t always say what he thinks. It’s his actions that speak for him, and Sanemi already knew Giyuu thought all that but hearing it..was something else.
There aren’t enough words in existence to explain how much he loves Giyuu.
“..Nemi..?”
Sanemi startles, hadn’t Giyuu fallen asleep ?
“You’re back.” He smiles, leaning his head into Sanemi’s shoulder. “This man..tried to grab me..and take me somewhere..” He looks more awake, as if the scene he likely doesn’t remember sobered him up a little.
Sanemi should tell him, tell Giyuu that he was the man trying to take him home. He was the man Giyuu had shit-talked and then lovingly praised—but a part of him wants to keep Giyuu’s words to himself.
Sanemi loops an arm around Giyuu, “Yeah I’m back. And don’t worry, I won’t be leaving you alone like that again.”
Giyuu hums and cuddles closer to Sanemi, falling asleep once more.
.
.
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.
Sunlight peeks through the window curtains, shining a beam right across his face. Giyuu groans and turns over, wanting nothing more than to bury himself in blankets. With the hammering of his skull and dry mouth— seriously had he swallowed sand before bed? —he’s sure that something happened last night.
Lifting his head, he’s met with familiar pale gray walls of his and Sanemi’s bedroom. The room is dimmed so he has no idea what time it is, but a quick check to the side table’s clock tells him he should’ve been up hours ago.
His head has never hurt so much in his life though, so he flops back down. Patting the space around his pillow, he finds his phone which won’t stop buzzing , to see several text messages from the teacher’s group chat.
There’s no reason as to why it would be this active on the weekend, though.
Giyuu opens the messaging app, scrolling up to where the conversation had started.
It isn’t until he sees the thumbnail of an attached video, one sent by Uzui, that features him and Sanemi presumably from last night. His answers to last night’s events could only be found here, since Sanemi isn’t in the bedroom at the moment.
He plays the video, and it is unmistakably him, drunkenly shouting at Sanemi about how his boyfriend is better. And Sanemi just looks..tired. The other teachers, namely Kyojuro and Kanae, aren't even hiding their amusement. Near the end— with himself partially struggling while being held back —Sanemi flips Tengen off which only makes him laugh more.
It’s…a lot to take in.
He puts his phone face down, unable to look at himself on the screen anymore. How could he do that? What would Sanemi think of him now? He said he loves him but then called him a stranger!
Hearing the click of the front door, Giyuu is pulled out of his thoughts. He has approximately 15 seconds before Sanemi appears before him, assuming he goes straight for the bedroom. Precious seconds to hide in the bathroom, or bury himself in the blankets, feign sleep to avoid the current situation and his boyfriend. Seconds that are wasted as dizziness overtakes him while trying to stand.
His wobbly legs just about give up on him when familiar hands catch him by the waist.
Looking up, he’s met with those wonderful purple eyes and he knows he’s screwed. “..Sanemi..” He greets dumbly, heat crawling up his face at the sight of him.
Sanemi guides Giyuu back to bed, placing a kiss on his forehead. “You remember me, that’s good.”
Feeling awkward, Giyuu bunches the blanket while avoiding the man beside him. Sanemi holds out to him a cool glass of water which he eagerly downs.
“I assume you saw it?”
Giyuu nods.
“...I didn’t mean to..” he briefly meets Sanemi’s gaze. “..to say all that.”
“Yeah, about that.” Sanemi pulls back, only to get cut off in Giyuu’s embarrassed frenzy.
“Listen, I don’t know what came over me I just—“
“Giyuu.”
“Like, I wanted us to stay kind of hidden but then I did that and—“
“Giyuu please,”
“—and everyone saw it, you and I both know that neither Uzui nor Obanai would let me forget! And Rengoku, though he’s nicer, can—“
Sanemi takes Giyuu’s face in his hands. “Giyuu. I need you to breathe and listen .”
Sanemi takes a breath, “I didn’t appreciate being treated as a stranger, but I know that it was the alcohol.” Affection bleeds through his words, making Giyuu sink into his embrace, being held by his other half. “For defending me against, well, me.” Sanemi laughs. “But it’s the comfort of knowing you’d do that if a stranger really was hitting on you that counts.”
While embraced, Sanemi mumbles, “we’re never drinking with them again, by the way.”
The sincerity of the sweet confession makes him hold on tighter. “..Really?”
“Are you really asking to go drinking with them again?” Sanemi laughs. “If you’re feeling that social we could, but you’re drinking nothing but water til we get home.”
“No, not that.” Giyuu lightly hits Sanemi’s chest. “I meant..” he sits up, arm still clinging to the man but able to make eye contact now. “You really think all that about me.. and the situation?” It’s only natural the conversation went in this direction with Giyuu feeling double the insecurities after last night, but Sanemi wishes he’d have more faith in the both of them.
“One ‘situation’ isn’t enough for me to think otherwise. Sanemi places a kiss on Giyuu's forehead. “Besides, I can’t deny that it’s funny, even if not at the time.”
Giyuu blushes, “I’ve changed my mind, you’re awful.”
Sanemi brings them both to lay comfortably, laughing the whole way down. “I hope for your sake that this all blows over by Monday.”
“With Uzui? That’s not ever happening.” Giyuu laments. He’d be lucky if word doesn't spread to the other staff, and heavens forbid a student hearing about it.
“Let’s just enjoy today, hm?” Sanemi suggests. “Maybe you can finish praising me and my skill in bed? I cut you off y’know.”
Giyuu scoffs, “I’m not sure, last night was hazy.” He pouts, giving a pointed look before continuing. “I could use a refresher, if you’d be so kind?”
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Despite his best efforts, he’s unable to rid himself of embarrassment when next week rolls around. All of the staff at different points in the day glance his way and laugh to themselves.
Oddly enough, the blonde kid— Agatsuma he remembers —acts similarly until told to get back to work, when fear takes over him once more.