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He really needed a drink.
He hadn’t drink anything in almost two years, but that was all he could think of when he left work. The whole week had been nothing but hell, with his boss calling and assigning him complicated tasks, sending him to get stuff between offices, including those that were on other buildings on the other side of the city, and his coworkers giving him part of their work for different reasons. On a regular week he could tolerate those; he had been doing it for years now.
But the new guy was just driving him insane.
Usami joined just two days ago, and it was already making him want to go visit the roof of the office. For some reason, the younger man had something with him; he was following him, constantly ambushing him, and staring at him whenever Kadokura looked up from his work station. He thinks he saw the younger man's eyes follow him from the office.
And their office is on the 50 th floor.
So, yes, he really needed that drink if he wanted to sleep this weekend. He was so desperate that he just decided to enter the first building that was selling alcoholic drinks he saw and get as wasted as he could while still being able to get home by the morning. He was even accepting not getting home and just staying at some hotel nearby; that is how badly he needed this.
It took him fifteen minutes to find a bar; he didn’t pay attention to what it was called or how it looked, just that it served drinks. He beelined to the bar, and after a whole half an hour of trying to get the attention of the bartender, the man kept serving drinks for other customers that kept coming and going. He managed to ask for some beers and an open tab to keep them going.
After making sure the bartender heard him, he sat down on one of the available tables, one in a corner under a dim light that seemed to be about to be turned off. While he waits for his beers, he takes out his phone to check if he has any messages.
He has 694 messages from Usami, and while his phone is in his hand, 10 more arrive.
He never turned off his phone that quickly.
He decides to take his mind off things while people watching. He never came to this bar, so he didn’t know what type of place he was in. The people on it seemed like a regular crowd—lots of young people and workers drinking after a long week. They seemed to be enjoying themselves, and he was hoping he at least got that when his drinks finally arrived.
After looking around the bar a few times, he wasn’t sure how much time had passed since he sat there and was about to risk turning on his phone to check the time when someone picked up his attention.
It was a couple of tables away from his, still close enough that he could hear their voices in between all the bar noise. At least he assumed he could hear them; he couldn’t understand what they were saying. They were speaking in a language he didn’t know, which made him think they may be foreign. It was a group of three men that were drinking and talking—two big men and another one that seemed to be around Kadokura’s size—who had a kind of bandana? over his eyes with a beer in one hand and a cigarette on the other.
There was something about the guy that kept Kadokura's attention.
It may be the ability of the man to drink and smoke with a smoothness he would never be able to accomplish; he probably chokes on one of them after a minute if he wasn’t paying attention. Or it may be the way the man's clothes flattered his figure, or maybe it was the way his sideburns complemented his face, giving him a mysterious look.
He didn’t even realize his beers were delivered until the bartender who took his order almost screamed at him to get his attention. In the process getting other people’s attention, including that of the man who looked in his direction while taking a drag of his cigarette and releasing the smoke, it felt like their eyes connected for a moment before he looked away, and Kadokura felt his face turn red. He looked at the five beers on his table and told the bartender to keep the drinks coming every half an hour until he said so. The man just shrugged and left.
He took a swing from his first drink, quickly followed it up with another, and finished his beer in what felt like a time record and kept going until he lost count of what beer he was on. He hadn’t drank that much in some time and probably shouldn’t have drank that fast, but he didn’t care at that moment.
He wasn’t sure how long he had been drinking, but when he looked up again, his eyes were making him see double. He blinked a few times to make it go away, but it wasn’t working. But suddenly, when he stared in the direction of the other man, for some reason, he was the only thing that was in complete focus; even the smoke that came from the guy's mouth looked clear as day. So, he did the most logical thing and kept staring at the man; it was a handsome break from the blur.
He swears that after a bit, the man looked back at him, throwing him a few glances before focusing back on his companions. Maybe he can also just focus when looking at me, Kadokura thought, smiling drunkenly. That really sounds like a regular thing someone would do—just stare at a random guy at the bar because it is the only thing stopping the room from spinning. them being really hot, it was just a plus.
… since when he called other men hot?
The alcohol must be really getting to his head.
He still kept drinking for, like it felt like hours, throwing glances at the man between drinks; every time he saw him, he was either drinking or talking with one of his companions, then suddenly something was different. The guy got up, and Kadokura assumed the men were about to leave, but the other guys stayed at the table. He went in the direction of the bar. Oh, he was getting more drinks; that made sense.
He reached the bar and spoke with a bartender—not the one that had taken Kadokura orders, but another one that seemed to have arrived in the last hour or so. He was a big man with a long scar crossing his face, but his face seemed really friendly in spite of his size. They exchanged a few words, and the bartender gave him a beer, and then the guy walked to his table and then passed it…
…going in his direction.
He has to be wrong.
Kadokura looked down at his drink; he was having the silly idea of the man actually coming in his direction, which was completely ridiculous. Why would a hot man even try to approach him? He let out a laugh, looking back up, and in front of him sat the guy in the chair opposed to his, his head resting on his hands, a lovely smile plastered on his face. Kadokura couldn’t help but think the man was even more handsome up close; his deep, dark eyes, surrounded by the most beautiful crow feet he had ever seen, were like black holes where he thought he would fall forever and ever.
“ I thought you would like another drink. ” The other man said… something in a language he couldn’t understand. Placing the drink in front of Kadokura, who stared at him, confusion must be obvious on his face. His voice was so deep, smooth and hot that he thought he was going to pass out hearing it. “ I saw you looking, so I assumed you wanted to talk? ” He kept talking with a smile, and Kadokura couldn’t help but notice how charming it was, even if he just understood what the other man was saying. “ Are you ok? ” He said this, raising an eyebrow. He seemed to be asking something, and Kadokura just kept staring.
Maybe he was having a stroke.
“ Do you mind if I smoke?” He asked; at least it seemed to be phrased as one. He showed the package of cigarettes and pointed at himself.
“Go ahead.” Kadokura said, hoping he got the hint right. The man smiled while opening the package, and with a smoothness that was just born from habit and ability, he grabbed one. There was a moment of silence while he took the first drag, keeping the smoke in his lungs for a moment before releasing it and repeating the motion again.
It was weird to want to be a cigarette stick?
“ Do you know what beer they sell here? ” He asked, suddenly pointing at the glass on Kadokura’s hand. Is he referring to his hand? Is he asking if he is married? That is silly; maybe he is asking about the beer? The glass? “ Most of it comes from the distillery in Sapporo. I worked a bit there when I was younger; it was not the best place, but I got some free beer, so that is nice. ” He started laughing, taking another drag. Did he say something funny? Was he making fun of him? Probably, he is sure a lot of people do, but still, he felt compelled to laugh with him. The man stared at him for a moment, but quickly a smirk came to his face.
“ Oh, do you find that funny?” At this distance, Kadokura could see the guy's eyes shining with what seemed to be mirth; it seemed like the laugh was a good thing. “ I don’t remember seeing you here before; is this your first time?” He seems to be asking something based on the way he was pointing around the room. "Or is this just the first time we have had the pleasure of meeting?” He said, laying his head against his prompted fist. He doesn’t know how, but the man managed to look more and more attractive with each action he took.
If he just understood what the other man was saying...
………………
This man really looked like he was having a hard time, Kirawus thought, trying to hold a laugh. He knew what he was doing was most likely mean, but he was drunk, so he didn’t care much about it. Maybe in the morning he will, but right now this seemed like a fun thing to do. He saw him staring for a bit too long, and he felt like he had to confront him about it in some way. Now that he was close, he would not lie; he was kind of cute. At the distance, he looked like a sad wet cat, which was charming on its own, but up close, it looked a lot nicer.
And it was charming the way he pretended he understood what he was saying. Other people would have cussed him out at this point or dismissed him for not understanding, but this one just nods along and even voices some agreements. This is probably one of the nicer conversations he had with a stranger at a bar; it almost made him want to drop the act and just speak to him in Japanese.
Almost.
“ You know. I had a long day at work, but talking with you is helping me. I wasn’t expecting much from this, but it is really nice so far. ” He smiled, grabbing for a drink. “ I had a long day at work; you know how it is, probably more than I do; you do look like you were run over by a bear.” He looked him up and down. “ I never saw anyone who looked like the living embodiment of stress.” And he was the one who smoked like a furnace after work.
The other man looked like he hadn't slept in years—almost like he was being followed by some creature. He may be, as far as he knew, maybe not a bear but something else. He couldn’t help but think about how the ragged look really suited the guy—not that he wished he had a hard time to keep that look, but he managed to pull it off.
“So, I work for a maintenance company. It's a temporary job while I’m in Tokyo, which is not the worst but also not what I would like to be doing.” He said, taking a drag from the cigarette, he really wished to be back in Hokkaido, but he needed to make some money to send home. “My father had said we can’t always do what we want, and he was right on that.” He looked away for a moment, pensive. He guessed things could be worse, but at least it had led him to this moment, which had been the highlight of his time in Tokyo.
He was not sure if that was sad or not.
“ So, there is this office. I have to go fix some stuff tomorrow; working on weekends is always the worst, so I went by to check the address on my way here to know quickly where it is. It seems extremely corporate, almost sad; I pity anyone who works there.” The other took a sip from his drink while nodding along as if he understood what he was hearing. “ There was a park nearby; it was pretty, and it seemed like a good place to go on a date.” He hadn’t gone on one for some time now…
It may be time to try again.
He shacked the ridiculous thought from his head; he must have been a lot more drunk than he had assumed; he may have to cut this short and go home soon. It was really a shame; he was enjoying it too much. He could stay another few minutes. He was about to grab another cigarette to see if that cleaned his head a little, and he saw the older man staring at them.
“ Do you want?” He asked, offering the cigarettes. He stared at him for a moment before looking away from his hand.
“I don’t smoke.” Kirawus nodded and grabbed one. His package is running low; he probably should stop for the night.
There was a moment of silence between the two while he smoked. The other seemed to just enjoy hearing him talk, so keep quiet. Not understanding him could be a part of it. Kirawus once again considered dropping the act and started talking in Japanese as if nothing had happened; his expression would for sure be funny, but at the same time, it worried him that he would get mad if he found out.
So better keep stuff as they were.
“ Is that the thing with Japanese salary men?” He asked suddenly, and the older man looked at him, turning his head to the side. Cute. “ Looking like they crawled out of the lake after almost being eaten by fish?” He blinked a few times, his face screwing in thought.
“Yes?” Was his dubious response. Kirawus couldn’t help but smile.
“ As I thought.” He leaned in on the table. “ Has anyone ever told you that your eyes make you look like a tanuki?”
“No.” He said, taking a sip of his drink.
“ Really? ” He asked, exaggerating his confusion and making the other guy sweat a bit. “ Would you like it if I called you that? It seems to suit you. ”
“Eh..” The other guy looked around confused for a moment before replying, “Sure?” he said, scratching at his bear. Kirawus stared at him for a moment. Did the man know what he was saying? His expression seemed to alert the other man, who quickly said, “Sorry, did I offend you? I wasn’t sure what to say, so"
“ So, you just said the first thing that came to mind? ” Kirawus asked, keeping his face emotionless, which seemed to make him more nervous.
"I..." he started, but seemed to regret it almost immediately, closing his mouth so hard that Kirawus could hear the snapping from where he was. The older man looked around, biting his lip, nervous in thought. Some time passed with neither of them saying anything, Kirawus wanting to see if he found the courage to talk.
He didn’t seem like the type, but Kirawus was hoping he would.
“I can’t understand you.” He finally said it after almost ten minutes, looking down blushing. Kirawus smiled at him; he wasn’t expecting him to actually admit it. He once again debated dropping the act; would the man get angry? In the end, he decided to go for something different.
He calls for his friends to come, tells them what he was doing, and pretends to be translators so he could keep the ruse for a bit longer. His friends laughed and said yes.
The next half an hour, they talk and drink. There was a moment where Kirawus had to excuse himself to go to the bar to ask Ipopte for another box of cigarettes; he refused and instead gave him some candies and a beer. Kirawus went back to the table, grumping.
They first translated the stuff Kirawus asked, and the older man seemed a bit relieved to learn it wasn’t anything too bad and gave his responses, apologizing for not being able to answer before. He ended up asking about his job when they mentioned he worked on maintenance. Not many people cared, so Kirawus found his eagerness to learn about it cute.
An old man like him should be able to be this cute.
He then mentioned his company needed some fixes, and maybe he could come and do them, to which Kirawus said that could be a possibility; he didn’t mind being able to see him again. It was funny when he got red-faced at the Tanuki question, making the Ainu men laugh.
After that round of questions was over, his friends started to ask stuff whenever Kirawus wasn’t able to come up with something else to say. That gave him a chance to stare at the other man; he looked even better when relaxed, but he still had the energy of a trapped animal that was ready to bolt at any moment if he ever said the wrong thing. Like he was used to running away from people for a reason or another.
After his friends spent a good few minutes asking about the man's family life, which seemed to not have been the best idea, seeing it made him act a bit more awkward, and about his sex life, which definitely made him act awkward. Kirawus intervened and proposed to do something else, going back to his table to pick up his backpack, taking out two sets of hanafuda cards, and proposing to play some games.
The tanuki man's face illuminated at the idea, so they set out for a round of koi-koi.
The old man's luck on the game was atrocious, but he seemed to be enjoying himself.
They lost track of time of how long they had been playing; by the time he noticed Ipopte had come to tell them, it was almost closing time, a lot later than Kirawus had intended to stay at the bar considering he had to work the next day. Not that he regretted the night.
They got up, the older man went to the bar to pay for his bill, and for his reaction, it was bad. At least it was Ipopte who was taking the payment; he was at least trying to comfort him. It wasn’t surprising that it was going to be a big tab considering the amount he had drank. Kirawus was amazed he hadn't collapsed yet. The older man joined them at the door and awkwardly said goodbye before turning and going the opposite way they had to go.
A part of Kirawus wanted to follow him and ask for his number, to say they could keep the talk via text and use a translator to converse, but settled for his having this one night with the man.
Who knows? Maybe they will see each other again someday.
.................
The next morning, Kadokura was cursing at anything he could think of. It was just his luck that he was called to work for a last-minute thing. Usami was supposed to deal with it, but the other man had said there were some urgent matters he had to attend to, so Kadokura had to come instead. They needed someone at the office when the people from maintenance came to fix some stuff at the office. It is not like he was going to be alone; there are people on call for Saturday, but for some reason the boss thought he had to be there.
And so, it was how he found himself nursing a headache with as much coffee as his body could handle at the moment, sitting inside the closet to avoid all the office lights. If someone came, he would hear them and go take them to where they had to go, but for now, the closet was his place.
Or would it be if someone didn’t open the door at that moment. Kadokura grunted when the lights of the hallway, which at that moment felt like they were the sun staring directly at him, hit his face. He was about to complain to the other person when he opened his eyes and instantly recognized the man—it was the hot guy from the bar.
The man was dressed in a maintenance uniform… He did mention that was his job, right? He is almost sure that came up in the conversation, or the attempt at conversation; he remembers the man didn’t speak Japanese.
That would make this job a bit complicated.
They stared at each other for what felt like an eternity, neither of them attempting to move, and just when the guy was opening his lips, another guy came from the side; he was from Kadokura’s office.
“Sorry, this wasn’t the right hallway; it was supposed to be the one from the third floor.” He apologized. Kadokura was expecting the man to nod and go there, but instead...
“There is no issue.” He responded in his hot, deep voice…. in Japanese. “I was supposed to pick something from this closet anyway.” What is going on? Kadokura felt like he didn’t understand anything; the man didn’t speak Japanese, right? That is why he didn’t use any the night before. Or was it just something his drunken mind created? Was it possible? Just imagine a guy speaking another language?
Maybe it was better if he avoided alcohol after all.
The office worker excused himself before leaving; the other man was still there, looking at Kadokura with a hand in his neck. He looked a bit uncomfortable. He assumed it makes sense, is not always that you cross paths again with the guy you saw at the bar the night before. Not to mention the whole language thing that Kadokura is still trying to fully remember; he is almost sure the man spoke another language the whole time.
Maybe he is finally going mad?
“Sorry.” That deep voice took him out of his wondering. “I thought it would be fun to play you a prank.” He looked down, looking apologetic.
“A prank?” Kadokura asked, confused, and he nodded.
“Just pretending I didn’t know Japanese; see how much you could take before dismissing me, but for some reason you didn’t and just indulged me.” He smiled; it was really as lovely as he remembered, even better now that he was in a better light. “I wasn’t expecting to enjoy it as much as I did, and I should have come clean before, but I wasn’t sure if you would get mad.”
“I feel I should.” Kadokura said, crossing his arms looking pensive, who wouldn’t get at least a bit mad after being tricked like that? “But…” He added after considering for a moment. “I had fun too. It had been a while since I actually did.” He scratched his face.
“Me too.” He said while sitting in front of Kadokura. “Kirawus.” Kadokura looked at him, confused, for a moment before realizing he was presenting himself.
Oh, they never exchanged names, didn’t they?
“Toshiyuki Kadokura.” He said it with a little reverence. “The thing about you not being Japanese is true, right?"
“Yes, I wouldn’t lie about something like that; I’m an Ainu from Hokkaido. Like I said, I'm here for job reasons.”
“That must be rough," Kadokura said. “Being away from your family.”
“It's good that I'm not alone; some friends also came, but I do miss my home.” He said with a nostalgic look that Kadokura felt like he should let him have a moment. “At least my time here wasn’t that bad; it did give me a chance to meet interesting people.”
“Oh? Like who?”
“A certain Tanuki that drank as much as four people and still was able to remember the night before.”
“Hey!” He said pushing Kirawus, but there was no anger in his action; it was just playful. "It's something you end up learning after a few years.” He said crossing his arms with pride.
“Something you would be willing to teach?” He asked, looking at him in the eyes, there was something in his gaze that made Kadokura blush.
“I wouldn’t mind if you would like.” Kadokura said, awkwardly scratching at his face. Was the other man flirting? Was he reading him right?
Kirawus nodded before taking his phone, realizing the intention. Kadokura took his, and after exchanging numbers, they stayed talking in the closet for some time. Eventually Kirawus' phone vibrated, and he had to excuse himself to go and do his job.
“I do need it after all.” He said getting up. “It was nice being able to talk to you.” He said this, extending a hand to help Kadokura get up.
“You could have done it like this last night.”
“Where would be the fun in that?” Kirawus said, smiling at him. The man, for sure, must know how beautiful his smiles were with how often he threw them at him.
“If you say so.” Kirawus said goodbye and was about to leave when Kadokura had a thought. “Hey!” he said, stopping him. “Want to go and get some drinks after work?” He asked, feeling his face flush.
“is a date, Kadokura-nispa.” Kirawus said with a smile, turning around and leaving.
Kadokura stayed, looked at him leave, not really wanting to go back to his job, the reason he was here was to give the man directions, not that he actually did his job as intended, staying in the closet and all that, but all ended well after all, and he did get a chance to actually talk with the hot man he saw by chance at a random bar.
Maybe he should thank Usami for causing this encounter.