Work Text:
Despite what some people might think about it, Niragi likes his job.
Bartending in a semi-popular club during weekends is fucking stressful, but also rewarding. He gets to meet a lot of people he normally wouldn’t, especially those that like to stay at the bar and nurse a drink or two, just enjoying the music or the atmosphere.
His favorite regular has to be Tatta, the guy who, in the beginning, looked like he wanted to be anywhere but here. When asked, he’d revealed that he was the designated driver for a few of his friends, and that while he didn’t particularly enjoy being in a club, he didn’t mind staying at a bar that offered such a wide variety of really tasty virgin cocktails.
Now he’s already part of Niragi’s Saturday routine. Get behind the bar, get set up, wait an hour and watch the man with a love for flannel shirts stroll up, smile at him and order something fruity.
He’s friends with Karube as well, who is Niragi’s fellow bartender, so sometimes they talk, but mostly, Tatta keeps Niragi entertained with mindless chatter whenever Niragi isn’t busy tending to other club-goers.
They even realized that they share more friends than just Karube. One of the people Tatta regularly drives home is Arisu, who is dating Chishiya, the infuriatingly smug man that Niragi kind of hates but also really respects for fixing him up that one time when a fight had gotten out of hand and Niragi had decided to step in, earning himself a knife to his side.
Tatta also introduced him to Kuina, who Niragi already knew because they go to the same martial arts club, and to her girlfriend Ann, who seems just as out of place as Tatta does, if for entirely different reasons, but somehow still fits into their group regardless.
So yes, with people like Tatta around, Niragi really fucking enjoys his job.
What he doesn’t enjoy, however, are the people who don’t seem to understand what fucking “No” means.
When the guy first comes and speaks to Tatta, Niragi’s kind of amused by how Tatta clearly didn’t expect that sort of attention from anybody. He’s nice about it though, keeping his voice neutral and thanking the man, but ultimately declining the invitation to dance.
And that should have been it.
It’s just that the guy isn’t leaving. He stays and keeps talking to Tatta, who gets more and more uncomfortable the longer it goes on.
“Hey”, Niragi finally decides to intervene. “He said no, so how about you go and look for somebody who’s actually interested.”
The man throws him a nasty glare but gets up, muttering something that sounds suspiciously like “fucking straights shouldn’t be allowed in here”, and disappears in the crowd.
Tatta smiles at him weakly. “Thanks. I’m not very convincing, I’m afraid.”
“You shouldn’t have to be”, Niragi says, his eyes still on the back of the retreating guy. “A ‘No’ is fucking answer enough.”
Tatta hums, his fingers playing with the almost empty glass in front of him. “Is it bad that it kind of bugs me now that he thinks I’m straight? Like, I kinda want to go and find him just to tell him that I’m not; and that I'm just really not interested.”
Niragi snorts. “That’s a cool name for a cocktail”, he says while he mixes Tatta another drink. “I’m not straight; I’m just really not interested.”
It feels like victory when Tatta laughs.
After that, the night gets progressively more hectic and between mixing drinks, cleaning glasses and restocking the fridge, Niragi doesn’t get to talk to Tatta all that much anymore.
He does observe, however, how the guy from before comes back, keeping his distance but staying at the bar, with his eyes on Tatta most of the time.
It’s when Niragi turns to get a bottle of the more expensive Whiskey from the higher shelve, that he sees movement out the corner of his eyes. He turns his head just in time to see the guy take a few steps into Tatta’s direction, something small and white in his hands. Before Niragi can even react, the guy sprinkles the contents into Tatta’s drink.
Tatta, who has his hands still curled around the glass, but his eyes on where his friends are dancing and having fun.
No.
Not on his fucking watch!
Niragi is there faster than the guy can even discard the tiny sachet in his fingers. And it seems to be just in time because Tatta is turning around, about to raise the glass to his lips.
“Don’t fucking drink that”, Niragi snaps and puts his hand between the rim of the glass and Tatta’s lips like a lid. Then, he turns to the guy next to Tatta, but he only sees his back disappearing between the countless dancing and grinding bodies on the dance floor.
Tatta looks at him with big eyes as Niragi grabs one of the walkie talkies behind the counter. Out of the corner of his eye, Niragi sees Karube watching the whole thing unfold with keen eyes, clearly ready to help if needed, but Niragi is already speaking into the walkie talkie.
“Taketora, we got a Code 8 heading your way. Tall, white shirt, light blue blazer, long braid, a bunch of rings on both of his hands.”
The answer comes swiftly in form of a staticky “Aye” and Niragi breathes a sigh of relief. Maybe they’ll get the bastard. Then he turns to Tatta, who is still staring at him apprehensively. Niragi takes his hand away from the opening of the glass. He nods at the colorful drink.
“See that there?”, he asks, keeping an eye on the other man’s hand to make sure he doesn’t try to drink it again, and also silently praising Aguni’s decision to have the bar be sufficiently lit at all times even though it might take away some of the club-like feeling. Like this, they can clearly see remnants of the powder swimming at the surface.
Tatta’s eyes widen.
“Is that…?”
“Yeah, the guy tried to roofie you.”
Tatta shoves the glass away from himself with a dumbstruck expression on his face. He looks up at Niragi who takes it and sets it to the side as evidence for later.
“I thought that only happened to girls.”
Niragi shakes his head. “No, that happens to guys as well. More frequently than you’d think.”
“Really? You’ve had that happen before?”
“Yeah, a few times.”
“Oh.”
He looks down onto his hands, then back at Niragi.
“What…”, he stops, clears his throat, and starts again, “What happens now?”
“Taketora at the door knows now who to look out for. I can’t promise you that we’ll catch the guy, but Tora is usually very good at finding people who want to disappear in the crowd. They’ll have called the police by now, so I am pretty sure I’ll have to leave at some point to make a statement, whether or not we actually get the guy.”
Tatta just nods while he wrings his fingers. Niragi tries to catch his gaze. “You good?”
The man smiles at him, but it’s a weak smile that doesn’t reach his eyes. “Sure.”
“Okay.” Then, after a moment: “You want something else? I can make you that drink again, or I can get you something else. It’s on the house.”
But Tatta only shakes his head.
So Niragi goes back to work, but he keeps a keen eye on the man, waiting, which is why he knows exactly when it starts.
It’s barely noticeable in the beginning, the slight raise of his shoulders, how his eyes flitter from one point to another without staying anywhere for long, like he’s trying to figure out where exactly he is. Then, his breathing gets faster and his hands begin to shake where they are still laying on the surface of the counter.
“Niragi”, Karube says in a low voice behind him, but Niragi is already drying his soapy hands with a towel.
“Yeah, I’m on it. Can you tell your friends where he is?”
Karube nods and Niragi steps through the waist-high two-wing door at the end of the bar and in a few steps, he's standing next to Tatta who is staring blankly into space.
“Hey”, Niragi says in a low voice, trying not to raise too much attention to the both of them. He’s relieved to see that Tatta manages to focus on his face, even though his eyes seem a little distant. “I’m gonna touch you now, okay?”
In a slow, careful move, he lays his hand on Tatta’s shoulder. "Come on, let's get you somewhere a little quieter. Karube is over there, you see him, he knows I'm going with you, and he's telling your friends where we're going right now. They'll know where you are as well, and they’ll be there soon.”
"Okay."
Tatta slides from the bar stool, swaying on his feet. He’s still breathing relatively fast, and he has a hard time focusing on anything, but his shaking has stayed at a minimum and he manages to walk where Niragi leads him to.
They end up in one of the backrooms, where Niragi and the others store their stuff during work. It's not particularly big but it has a comfortable couch that Niragi guides Tatta to as soon as they enter the room.
He crouches down in front of Tatta and looks up at his face.
"You here with me?"
Tatta nods. "What's happening?", he whimpers and Niragi's heart clenches in his chest.
"You're having a panic attack."
These words seem to just make Tatta more uneasy because his breathing gets even faster.
"Hey, it's fine. Don't worry about it." Niragi still has his hands on Tatta's arm, and he squeezes it reassuringly. "Can you focus on my breathing?", he asks then and forces his own breaths to be slow and obvious.
Tatta nods again and slowly but surely his panic seems to subside.
"Sorry", he murmurs when his eyes finally meet Niragi's again.
Niragi shakes his head. "Don't be."
"But you have to work".
"It's fine. Karube can manage the bar alone for a few minutes and I'll get back once your friends arrive."
"My friends?"
So he hadn't been as responsive as he had made it seem.
"I made sure Karube told them where you went. I didn't want to just whisk you away without any of them knowing."
"You didn't have to do that. They had such a great night; I don't want to ruin that."
"I'm pretty sure they don't mind. And also: Yes, I had to tell them. I couldn't just let you disappear with what is basically a stranger to you, not after what just happened."
"Not a stranger, though."
"What?"
"You're not a stranger."
"Yeah, I am. I could have taken you fuck knows where, done fuck knows what to you."
"...trust you."
Ah. Well, shit.
"You shouldn't"
"Why not? You're a good person, why shouldn't I trust you?"
"I think that's actually what got you into this situation, don't you think?" Niragi asks, harsher than he intended to be. He regrets it immediately when he’s hit with the hurt look in Tatta's eyes.
He sighs. "Sorry, that was fucked up. What happened wasn't your fault and I shouldn't have implied otherwise. But you have to admit that you're quick to trust somebody you know basically nothing about."
"I know you saved me from unwanted advances and now apparently also from sexual assault. That makes you a good person in my eyes."
Niragi gets up and starts pacing. "Do you know why I work here?", he asks.
"Because you like it?"
"Because it's the only job I could get after getting out of prison."
Tatta's eyes widen and Niragi laughs. It's hollow and self-deprecating.
"Yeah, I'm an ex-convict. Out on parole." He gestures around the room. "A lot of people here are. Aguni kind of collects us, takes us under his wing. We are scum, fuckups, and outcasts. The ones no one else would employ. The ones no one wants to be around. Karube’s actually one of the few exceptions to that."
He crosses his arms in front of his chest and looks at Tatta expectantly. It's probably not the nicest thing to do of him, confronting the man with even more upsetting shit after what has already happened to him, but he needs him to see, to understand that trusting him is dangerous.
But Tatta only looks at him with his earnest, wide eyes. "Okay", he says, and then he stays silent.
"Okay?" Niragi frowns. "That's all you have to say?"
"Yeah."
"You don't want to know what I was in for?"
Tatta shrugs. "It doesn't matter to me. You can tell me, obviously, if you want to, but I've already made up my mind about you, and this isn't going to change that."
Niragi rubs his hands over his face, frustrated. He wants to answer something, anything, to get the reality into that fucking skull of his, but at that moment, a frantic Arisu bursts into the room, followed by Kuina and Usagi.
"Tatta, are you okay? Oh my god, I can't believe that vile person would do such a thing."
"Yeah, where is that fucker? I'm gonna go break his nose and then kick his balls in", Kuina announces as she cracks her knuckles.
Arisu turns to Niragi. "Karube told me what you did. Thank you so much for taking care of him, and for stopping that man from doing any harm. You’re a good guy, Niragi."
Niragi rolls his eyes at Tatta's weak chuckle. "Shut up", he points at him. "You guys all need a fucking reality check."
Then he leaves and retreats to the safety of the bar and the never-ending stream of orders, before he does something stupid like starting to believe the nice things people say about him.
♡
“What are you making?”, Tatta asks a week later during a particularly long lull. “No one has ordered anything for a while now.”
Niragi hadn't expected him to come back, not after what happened the week before, and not after the guy managed to slip away without getting caught. But he's certainly not going to complain about the company.
“Trying out something new”, he answers while he arranges a few bottles of liquor in front of him on the counter.
“Ohhh, fancy. Who are you testing it on?”
Myself, Niragi wants to say, but then he stops himself at the last second. It’s probably not a good idea to admit to drinking while on the job.
Instead, he shrugs. “You can try it, if you want”, he says.
“Oh, I’d love to. But, you know, I gotta drive and all that.”
Right. The reason he’s at the club. Driving his friends. Because that’s the only reason he would ever come here voluntarily.
Tatta must have read the look in his eyes wrong, because hastily he adds: “I’m sure I could try a sip at least.”
“Nope, not on my watch. Not if you’re driving later.”
At that moment, Kuina pops out from nowhere, eyes glinting. “I’ll drink it.”
Niragi just rolls his eyes. “Your opinion counts for shit. You’ll drink anything with enough booze in it.”
She rolls her eyes. “Come on, barkeep, just do your magic.”
And maybe, just maybe, Niragi spends the next few minutes showing off a little. He twirls bottles and splashes liquor that arcs and twinkles in the light almost as much as Tatta’s eyes do. People around the bar start to notice the display and when he looks over to Karube, he can see the man roll his eyes at him.
But it’s Tatta’s face Niragi is really focused on. He seems to only have eyes for Niragi’s whirling hands, his head going back and forth to follow their progress.
“That was really cool!”, Tatta exclaims when Niragi sets down the last of the liquor bottles and presents them with the finished drink. It’s colorful, garnished with some fruit and a tacky umbrella. “What’s in it?”
Niragi shrugs. “I have no fucking clue.”
Kuina just laughs and lifts the glass. “Bottoms up!” Her eyes widen after the first sip. “This is really good! It’s a shame you didn’t write down the measurements.”
“Yeah, it’s such a shame your thoughts were entirely preoccupied, Niragi” Karube drawls as he steps closer and pats Niragi on the back. “Don’t worry about it. While you were showing off to your adoring audience, I’ve been keeping track of all the shit you dumped in there.”
Niragi throws him a dirty look but chooses not to comment. Instead, he goes back to sorting liquor bottles, his face uncomfortably warm.
♡
Arisu leans against the bar as he watches Tatta leave for the bathroom.
“You know, if you need to focus on your work, I’m sure we can get Tatta to join us on the dancefloor from time to time.”
Niragi snickers. "Nah, it's fine. Fun even. Besides, the guy needs someone to point out for him when he gets flirted with. He’s really hopeless in that regard."
Arisu throws him a look.
"What?"
"Oh, nothing. I think I just know somebody else who fits that profile. That's all."
Before Niragi can ask what exactly he means by that, Chishiya comes and swiftly takes him away, the sneaky cat.
♡
"How many piercings do you even have?"
Niragi looks up from the glass he has been cleaning and raises an eyebrow at Tatta, who’s been nursing his virgin cocktail for the last half hour. "That’s a rather intimate question, don't you think?"
Tatta blushes nicely, he decides. Not a deep red, but a nice shade over his cheeks and nose.
"I guess you're right", he mumbles. "Sorry."
Niragi smirks. "It's fine, I didn't actually mind." He cleans the next glass, and then adds. "It's eleven, by the way."
For the next few minutes, he watches in utter amusement as Tatta tries to inconspicuously figure out all the potential places his piercings could be hiding. Niragi knows that he can see seven, the one in his left eyebrow, two in each of his ears, one in his lip and one in his left nostril. He also thinks that Tatta knows about the tongue piercing.
He can pinpoint the minute Tatta realizes where the other piercings must be, because the charming red dusting his cheeks returns full force.
Niragi only grins.
♡
The next Saturday, Tatta doesn’t show up. Niragi looks around, seeing Arisu and Chishiya, Kuina, Ann and Usagi, but no Tatta.
"Where is he?”, he finally asks as they gather around to order drinks.
Arisu throws him an amused glance. “At home”, he says. “He has migraines sometimes, and today was one of those days.”
“Okay”, Niragi answers. “How are you guys getting home thought? If he’s not here to drive you?”
They all share a look and Niragi feels like he misses something.
"Niragi”, Arisu says slowly. “Tatta hasn’t done that in weeks. We usually take a taxi, or the bus, or the subway."
"But why would he be here if not to drive you?"
"God, for being so smart you are incredibly stupid sometimes", Heiya, one of the youngest people employed by Aguni, quips.
"Hey, you stay out of this! Why are you even here? Shouldn’t you be manning the cloakroom right now?"
"Because I thrive on drama and I wanna know who's going to win the bet.”
Out of the corner of his eyes, Niragi can see Arisu gesticulating wildly.
"What bet?", he wants to know.
"How long it will take you to figure it out. Most people have already lost, because they all thought you were smarter than this."
“Yeah, it's only me and Usagi now. Even Chishiya had to pay up", Kuina grins proudly.
"Hold on, what the fuck are you even on about? What am I supposed to figure out?"
"That Tatta has been coming here for one thing and one thing only. And it's not because he’s our designated driver."
Niragi is staring at her. "Why would he come here if not for that? He doesn’t like clubs."
Kuina groans. "Because of you, you fucking moron. He comes because he’s-" The rest of her words get cut off behind the hand Ann presses over her girlfriend’s mouth.
"Look", Arisu says now, stepping forward and holding out a piece of paper. Niragi grips it, still confused as hell. "Normally, I wouldn't do this, but it's Tatta we're talking about here. He would never say anything voluntarily out of the fear of losing the people he loves. So he needs a little nudge from time to time. This is his address. Go and ask him yourself if you really want to know. I'm putting my trust in you, so don't make me regret this. And maybe make sure he’s really okay. He has the tendency to downplay when he’s actually sick.”
He reaches over the counter, pats Niragi on the shoulder and then just turns around and leaves.
“Yeah, you could borrow my nurse outfit from last Halloween. Remember that one? It might have a bit of fake blood on it, but it would really bring out those endless legs you have going on!”, Heiya calls as she’s dragged away by the rest of the group.
Niragi is left standing there with a piece of paper in his hands and a big fucking question mark on his mind.
♡
After having a full night of sleepless tossing and turning, Niragi’s quite certain that he has to be the most clueless fucking person alive.
Yeah, he got there in the end. There was no way for him not to, not after they basically spelled it out for him.
It still takes three tries for him to actually ring the bell to Tatta’s apartment. The first two times he chickens out, pacing along the narrow pathway between the house and the street until he realizes how that must look to potential neighbors and passers-by.
But, in his defense, he doesn’t remember ever being this fucking nervous before, except for the time he had to look his mother in the eyes after he got sentenced to three years in prison for aggravated assault. And compared to that, this shit should be fucking easy.
When he finally does ring, it takes a while, but when the door finally opens, Niragi nearly suffers a heart attack.
Tatta is standing in front of him, wrapped in a long fluffy blanket, his hair in disarray and with a confused, but incredibly adorable look on his face.
“Niragi?”, he asks in bewilderment. “What are you doing here?”
“Your friends told me you were sick, so I decided to check on you.”
“Really?” There’s that charming blush again, and Niragi’s nervousness dissipates a little. “How’d you know where I live?”
“Arisu told me”, Niragi says and hopes that’s okay. He doesn’t know what he’ll do if Tatta gets angry with him or sends him away.
But Tatta just sighs. “Of course he did.” Then, his eyes land on the bags in Niragi’s hand. “What’s that?”
Niragi feels his own cheeks turn red. “I… well, I wasn’t really sure how sick you were, so I kinda… came prepared. To make okayu, if you wanted some.”
“Really? You wanted to make rice porridge for me?”
“Yeah. My mom swears by it. Made it for me whenever I got sick as a child. I’m not really sure how much it helps against a migraine, though…” He trails off, unsure of what to say next. He has no fucking idea what he’s doing and he’s probably making a complete fool of himself right now.
But the smile Tatta sends him is just as soft as it always is. “I’m all better now”, he says. “But if you’re really offering, then I’ll take that okayu. I haven’t really eaten anything since noon yesterday.”
“Why not?” Niragi asks as he tentatively steps into the genkan and takes off his shoes. He feels the sudden urge to apologize for the intrusion, something he never does because he thinks it’s ridiculous to do that when people already invited him in.
“Doesn’t stay down for long, I’m afraid. Migraines are fun like that”, Tatta says and takes the plastic bag from Niragi’s hand. “Kitchen’s down here. Make yourself at home.”
He pads along the hallway, still adorably wrapped into the cozy blanket, and Niragi wants to do unspeakable things to him.
Things like join him underneath the blanket, wrap his arms around him, and bury his face in Tatta’s neck.
Yes, Niragi really has it bad. There is no going back from that.
♡
The rice porridge is just as good as Niragi remembers. They eat it together on Tatta’s really comfortable couch, in Tatta’s really nice living room, and Niragi kind of never wants to leave.
He can feel Tatta’s eyes on his face from time to time, and he’s sure that Tatta must have a hunch why Niragi’s here, but he doesn’t say anything, seemingly content to sit next to him and eat the food Niragi made for him.
When they’re finished, Tatta leans back against the armrest of his couch and puts his feet in Niragi’s lap. Tentatively, Niragi places his hand on his left ankle and strokes the soft skin between his sock and his pant leg with his thumb. His heart is beating wildly in his chest again, but it’s fine because Tatta is smiling at him, his head leaning against the backrest of the couch.
“My address wasn’t the only thing Arisu told you”, he finally says. It’s not a question, but again, he doesn’t seem angry about it. Fondly exasperated, maybe, but definitely not angry.
Niragi smiles and turns his head, his thumb still moving in small and slow circles. “No”, he says simply. “It wasn’t.”
Tatta nods. “And you still came.”
“Yes”, Niragi says, keeping his eyes on Tatta’s face. “Obviously.”
Tatta smiles. “Wasn’t that obvious, to be honest. And you seemed like you were hesitant to have anyone get too close.”
Niragi shrugs. “Still am. Still think I’m not the best choice. But I realized that I don’t get to make that decision for you.”
“Good.” Tatta leans forward, his feet slipping out of Niragi’s grip and from his lap. “Because I’ve already decided that I want to kiss you really bad right now, and nothing you can say will change that.”
“That’s fine”, Niragi says before leaning forward as well, a small smile on his lips. “And very convincing, by the way”, he adds before capturing Tatta’s lips with his own.
♡
Additional Scene No. 1:
“Oh my god, you have tattoos as well?” Tatta groans. He’s already on the bed, watching Niragi strip out of his shirt.
“Uh, yeah?” Niragi says apprehensively. “Is that bad?”
“Is that… No, Niragi, that is not bad. But it’s going to hold us up for quite a while, I’m afraid, because I have to check out each and every single one of them.” He grins. “With my tongue.”
Niragi is on the bed faster than either of them can really process.
♡
Additional Scene No. 2:
“What’s this one for?”, Tatta asks and traces a finger over the small cluster of stars on Niragi’s left pec.
“My mom. She’s really fascinated by space, always has been.”
Tatta presses a kiss to them before he moves over to Niragi’s breastbone. “And this one?”
“Aguni. I wanted a reminder of all the good he has done for me and how I’ll never be able to repay him for that.”
Tatta just nods and traces the intricate branches of the majestic oak tree spreading across Niragi’s torso.
♡
Additional Scene No. 3:
“I was gonna ask you out eventually”, Tatta admits later, his head on Niragi’s chest.
“Why wait?”, Niragi asks curiously as he lets the tips of his fingers glide over Tatta’s back in featherlight strokes.
“I wanted to make sure Usagi wins.”
The hand on his back stops. “You knew about the bet?”, Niragi asks incredulously.
Tatta looks up and meets his eyes. “Yeah”, he grins. “I was actually one of the first ones to pay. I kinda expected more of you, honestly, I was so incredibly obvious about it. You owe me a nice dinner date now, or one of your really fancy cocktails with lots of alcohol in them.”
Niragi only groans and buries his face in Tatta’s hair.