Chapter Text
"Obsession can be a flaw. But sometimes it can be one's virtue."
BUT WITH YOU I DON'T KNOW
Deviare
Chapter one
The beginning of loss?
October 2010, The Crow, Miyagi Prefecture
4:00 am.
Tobio Kageyama had always wanted to kill his boss. But this time he wanted to do it in the most painful way possible.
He was an asshole.
How dare he say it was his damn fault the glass broke, it was the damn drunk customer who had serious anger issues. Let him rot. Tobio thought as he cleaned the table angrily. And that imbecile of a boss had cut his salary, it wasn't low but it seemed like he wanted Tobio to deal with his problems. A restaurant with a good reputation but his boss was in debt. But how the hell was he going to pay for the miserable apartment he had without that job. Yes, that drunkard. Who the hell did he think he was? A millionaire with thousands of wives, a divorced, indebted idiot, that's who.
He felt a hand on his shoulder, he tensed up immediately, thinking it was one of those imbeciles who would complain to him about any nonsense that happened. "Man, you're all tense!" exclaimed a voice that was really shrill to poor Tobio's ears, who frowned and swatted that hand away.
"Shoyo, you're an idiot,"
"NO! I'm the best thing in your life!" exclaimed Shoyo with a huge smile on his face. "Besides, you looked like you wanted to kill someone with that face! And you're too young to do it, I can't let you ruin your life so young." Hinata put a hand on his face, quote-unquote concerned. Tobio rolled his eyes.
"You're only six months older than me, and I'm 20."
"Excuses, excuses," Shoyo said, waving his hand as if it were a minor problem. Before he could say anything else, Tobio shoved the rag in his face, puffing in irritation. "That hurt!"
"Serves you right for trying to be a joker, imbecile," Tobio commented, rolling his eyes again. "Shouldn't you be leaving by now? Yaichi is already going. I have to stay a little longer, orders from the idiot boss." Tobio put his hand on his hip, arching an eyebrow. "But I'd gladly let you clean the whole place."
"Not a chance! I'm dead tired, inside and out."
"Yeah, yeah, get out of here. I'll be here for like an hour cleaning up all this crap."
"Grumpy, good luck with that." Shoyo slapped his back before saying goodbye to Tobio and heading towards Yaichi, who glanced at Tobio before waving goodbye with a flick of his wrist. Yaichi was wearing a grey jacket with black oversized pants.
The door closed with the sound of the bell.
Tobio continued cleaning all the tables and collecting used glasses, dirty plates, and the like. Great, clean all this crap alone. Tobio thought, cleaning the bar faster, his fist gripping the rag tightly. And it wasn't even my damn fault, and who gets punished. Me, everyone's an imbecile. Tobio huffed, overtime and the worst part, he wouldn't get paid a damn thing for any of this.
The bell rang throughout the place.
"Sorry, we're closed," said Tobio, turning around with a well-contained look of irritation. "You have to leave. Please." Tobio turned around with a serious face, it was 4 in the morning, he didn't have time to deal with two idi—.
Two young men, around 20-25 years old, were standing in front of him. A brunet with a flirtatious smile on his face, running his hand through his really messy but well-kept hair. His lips were full, and his tan skin was free of any imperfection he could see. And his brown eyes looked ahead at everything around him and at him at the same time.
The man behind him, who was surely accompanying the brunet, was a black-haired man with a stern face, but still pleasant to look at. His eyes were brown but darker than the brunet's. Under his eyes were dark circles of fatigue. Surely he worked more than the brunet. He was incredibly handsome.
"I'm Oikawa Tooru, nice to meet you, and this is Iwaizumi Hajime," introduced the brunet with a charismatic smile, his friend huffed in irritation. "And you are?"
"It's not important, Oikawa-san. You can come back when we're open," said Tobio, irritated, while looking at him and still cleaning the bar. Who did these people think they were, coming at 4 in the morning? They weren't a damn 24-hour bar, thankfully.
"We came to talk to your boss, Mr. Sakubaji. Tell him Oikawa and his companion are here. Little crow."
Little crow.
It was the worst nickname anyone had ever given him. It was a crappy nickname, did that idiot have no more imagination? Little crow, a damn nonsense, really. "And why would I do that, Oikawa-san. You could be thieves wanting to rob the place. I mean, obviously that won't happen," he added, looking at the brunet who smiled shamelessly at him. Tobio huffed, this man was incredible.
"Just call him. We need to talk business with your boss, Little crow." Tobio rolled his eyes at Oikawa's ridiculous nickname. He left the rag on the bar and went up the stairs where his boss's office was. He knocked on the door forcefully, holding back the damn resentment he felt for that wage-thief. A muffled voice that surely said "Come in" was heard by Tobio.
He opened the door slowly, the door creaked loudly. Tobio knew Mr. Sakubaji would tell him to go to hell for interrupting his moment of peace, quote-unquote. That man's only activities were getting drunk with his friends, having sex with prostitutes, yelling, and smoking. The only thing missing was for his damn boss to yell at him with his bad breath and for him to have to put up with it. What a pain in the ass his boss was. He really needed a raise urgently.
"Why are you bothering me. Kageyama!" he yelled. Tobio closed his eyes, holding back the urge to grab a hardcover book and smash it against his boss's head. That imbecile was taking away the little patience he had left. "You should be cleaning, huh! Shame, shame you should feel!" his boss continued. That damn shiny bald guy was really annoying. Tobio looked at the wall behind his boss, the colors were really dull, honestly. And all with those grey stains and broken parts. "Are you listening to me, boy!"
Tobio wasn't listening, it was the last thing he was interested in. Those sermons about being a disgrace. He could be the one feeling shame for cheating on his wife. If he couldn't even control his lustful urges towards another woman, why promise to love her? Besides, his wife was beautiful. But also because of that, Tobio knew that kind of man would never be any good for debts. And he was getting involved by being there. He wasn't stupid, those guys looked like debt collectors, not especially from a bank. And the brunet seemed familiar. Very familiar. And his name too. Well, the boss's problem. Not mine. Tobio thought before saying anything and telling him who was downstairs.
It would never be his problem, he was just a waiter.
And it was the only thing he would be in this life, if he didn't end up dead.
"Well, I just came to say there are two men downstairs, wanting to talk business with you." Tobio stopped talking. Letting his boss look at him expectantly. He huffed before continuing. "They told me their names are Oikawa and he's with his companion or whatever his name is, Iwaizumi. Sir."
It was instantaneous, his boss's face went from being an unconcerned, useless drunk to one of desperation and fear. Tobio suppressed the smile that threatened to form. "Shit, shit." Sakubaji muttered, straightening his sweaty shirt and running a hand over his shiny, sweaty skull. "Serve something good, you hear me? Something expensive. Whatever they ask for. And keep your mouth shut, boy. Don't say a word. I'll be down in 5..."
"My shift is already over, I came here for my pay too."
"I don't give a damn! You leave when I say so!" he yelled at him. Tobio clenched his fists at his sides. His nails digging into his flesh. Tobio turned around, holding back the urge to grab a glass and smash it in his face. The eyes would be better, but too disgusting. The stairs creaked under Tobio's light step. He noticed how the brunet who had said his name was Oikawa was looking with an interest full of disdain at the glass he had cleaned. He bit his lip before saying something. The black-haired man was at the table, sitting and looking at Oikawa with tiredness. Tobio looked at them twice. Iwaizumi looked at Oikawa with the same tiredness Tobio looked at Shoyo with.
They were best friends. But it wasn't important to him.
He saw how Oikawa noticed him out of the corner of his eye, his smile becoming sharper. Tobio avoided looking into those brown eyes. "My boss will be down in five. Would you like something to drink?" Tobio asked, going behind the bar and removing the glass from Oikawa's view, who just huffed in boredom. He really seemed like a kid in charge.
"What you drink when no one's looking, pequeño cuervo," Oikawa answered, leaning his elbow on the bar and his chin on his hand, as if they were in the middle of an intimate conversation, not in a closed establishment at four in the morning.
"Tap water," Tobio replied, turning around to grab some glasses and avoid looking at Oikawa, who surely did this with everyone. "Do you want that or a real drink?"
"Tap water it is, then!" exclaimed Oikawa. Tobio huffed before grabbing a glass and filling it with tap water. With a slide, Tobio placed the glass in front of Oikawa, who still had that silly pose. Instead of looking like a mobster, he looked like a model, and that was what irritated Tobio the most. And Oikawa kept smiling at him, why couldn't he just go to hell. It was four in the morning. FOUR. And Oikawa didn't even have a wrinkle or a damn dark circle.
How the hell was the brunet perfect?
He was simply annoying.
He wanted to get out of there and sleep as if nothing had happened, and forget what was going to happen there. He saw Oikawa drink the water slowly and look at him while doing it. Tobio looked away, irritated. "Why so quiet, Tobio-chan?" the brunet asked the blue-eyed boy, who ignored him, cleaning the same spot with force. "Why are you ignoring meee?" Oikawa sang, with his chin resting on his hand.
"Leave the waiter alone, Shittykawa," said the black-haired man, throwing a tired look at the brunet, who barely glanced at him. Because his gaze was still fixed on Tobio with genuine interest.
"It's just a harmless question! Iwa-chan," he defended himself.
"That's not why we came," corrected Iwaizumi. Drinking the whiskey Tobio had given him after giving Oikawa the water.
"Boring," Oikawa sang before turning to Tobio again. "Don't you get tired, cuervito? Being here so late, cleaning up another person's crap." Oikawa said this as if he weren't the very reason Tobio was in that situation. "At your age, I was in university, studying fascinating things."
Really, is he pretending or is he an idiot by nature? Tobio thought, irritated, it was too obvious why he wasn't in university, it was simple, he couldn't afford it, where the hell was he going to get the necessary money from, a tree? And that other nickname 'cuervito'... this crow is going to slowly pluck out your damn eyes. Tobio thought. First it was 'pequeño cuervo' and now this nickname 'cuervito' in spanish, the only thing missing is for Oikawa to nickname him 'Blueberry eyes'. Really, Tobio was tempted to ask him if he was playing the idiot or was born one, but he didn't want to die or worse; get fired. He inhaled and exhaled to calm down, he had dealt with more bald, drunk idiots much worse than two attractive guys who seemed to be in the mafia. But that brunet was draining the little patience he had left. But he couldn't say he didn't like the attention.
"And I'm sorry to disappoint you, oh Oikawa-san," Tobio replied while quickly putting away some glassware. He wanted to leave as soon as possible. "How old are you now? 28, 29?" Tobio took off his apron, revealing a dark blue, tight t-shirt and worn-out jeans. It looked good on him. Tobio didn't wait for an answer. But Oikawa Tooru always answered.
"Twenty-three, cuervito. Only three years older..."
Tobio stopped his movement for a fraction of a second, almost imperceptible. Twenty-three. Only three years older. And yet, Oikawa radiated an authority, a presence that made him seem from another world, someone who had never had to clean up a drunk's vomit at four in the morning. "Twenty-three?" The disbelief slipped into his voice before he could stop it. "You seem older. Or maybe it's just the arrogant attitude."
"I have feelings, you know," Oikawa chided him with that smile that was even more flirtatious and interested in him. Instead of getting angry, he was enjoying himself. He was a psychopath. He didn't get offended easily, and Tobio didn't know if that was lucky or unlucky, he leaned more towards 51% and 49%
"Feelings? I find that hard to believe," murmured Tobio, but he couldn't help a small, sarcastic smile from playing on his lips. It was the first time that night something had felt genuinely funny to him.
Iwaizumi let out a snort that was almost a stifled laugh. Oikawa looked at him with fake offense before turning that bright, mischievous gaze back to Tobio. He smiled shamelessly at him before continuing with an annoying conversation for Tobio.
"So, cuervito, what makes you think I don't have feelings?" Oikawa insisted, spinning the water glass between his long, elegant fingers. "I have dreams, aspirations too... and a deep appreciation for people with blue eyes and irritable dispositions."
Tobio felt an annoying warmth rise up his neck. What the hell? He rejected the compliment with a grunt. "Drink your water and shut up." In response, Oikawa drank his water, but again he did it slowly and staring fixedly at Tobio, who just looked down at where he was cleaning. The bar... it was too early or too late to deal with two damn mobsters.
He wasn't going to fall for cheap compliments again.
He was just a waiter, and he always would be. He should start getting used to it once and for all.
The creak of the stairs pulled him out of his thoughts. Sakubaji was coming down the stairs. Tobio glanced at him out of the corner of his eye; his boss had tried to look presentable, failing as always. He had a white t-shirt with alcohol stains but with a very worn-out black tie. Tobio closed his eyes for a split second to avoid imagining how to strangle him with that poorly knotted tie.
"Oikawa-san, Iwaizumi-san, I wasn't expecting you today," his boss mentioned with the most fake smile Tobio had ever seen in his life, after Oikawa's, of course. "Would you like something to drink?" Sakubaji turned towards Tobio. "Boy, bring some whis—
"No need, Sakubaji. Your 'boy' is efficient. He even gave us tap water!" said Oikawa, turning his gaze a little. Now cold and annoyed by the interruption of his moment with Tobio. "But we didn't come to drink. You have accounts to settle. And the two-week deadline has passed, Sakubaji. And you know my family doesn't have that much patience." Oikawa smiled, but there wasn't a trace of the warmth he had shown Tobio earlier.
Or he just knew how to act.
It wouldn't surprise Tobio. He was someone. Tobio was not.
He turned around to put the plates in their place. It wasn't important to him. He just had to survive one way or another. And the way he had now was to be a waiter enduring workplace abuse, well, it was his only way. "I wasn't born for anything better," Tobio thought, closing the cabinet. He heard the voices but didn't listen to them at the same time.
'My family?' Tobio thought before glancing at Oikawa out of the corner of his eye. Something didn't add up. 'Brunet, tan skin, brown eyes, unusual beauty.' He wasn't just any debt collector; he was the damn heir of the Oikawas. What the hell was he doing here? It was a minor establishment. And he didn't have to think twice to know that the guy next to him, Iwaizumi Hajime, was his right-hand man. Why were these two at such a low level? Today was his lucky day. Great.
"We've waited too long, Sakubaji. My father is getting fed up, and he doesn't have as much patience as I do. And mine is running out," said Oikawa, looking at him from the bar with disdain. "250 thousand dollars, and you haven't even paid half. You have two options, the first. That you find a way to get the money, and the second, I don't have to tell you."
Tobio wanted to get out of there, damn it. Why today, of all days, did he have to work overtime? And with those two handsome mobsters. Life loved him. It smiled upon him.
"Wait! Just give me a month, Oikawa-san. Please!" exclaimed Sakubaji, desperate, while Oikawa looked at Tobio again with a flirtatious smile, ignoring the man kneeling at his side.
"You know, Sakubaji. We were very patient with you. You're not worth it."
With that said, Oikawa made a gesture with his hand for Iwaizumi to take him to a place Tobio didn't want to know what would happen to Sakubaji. But rather, what would happen to him. Would he be alive by 5 a.m. or just a corpse with no one to identify him?
The body was dragged away from here, Sakubaji howling, desperate for a second chance out of thousands of chances. Iwaizumi was fed up with Sakubaji and even more so with Oikawa. The door closed behind him with a click. He felt Oikawa's gaze fixed on him. "What are we going to do with you, pequeño cuervo?"
Tobio didn't respond.
Oikawa arched an eyebrow.
"You don't like compliments, do you?" he said mockingly. Saying anything. "What a pity, because you really have a pair of beautiful eyes, cuervito." Tobio's frown deepened.
What is this crazy guy saying? Tobio thought, looking at Oikawa cautiously, who was still smiling as if they hadn't just killed his boss in the back room. It didn't surprise him; they had probably done it too many times already. They were the damn mafia, and his ex-boss, who was really stupid to have a debt with them, was dead. What would happen to him? Would they kill him? He didn't care, better for him and his shitty life.
"Cuervito, I don't like being ignored," Oikawa sang. His eyes looking at Tobio who apart the stare for a moment. Tobio's pulse rate was quickly, but why? He thought before answer Oikawa.
"And what do you want me to say?"
"Anything."
"I have nothing to say."
"I do."
Tobio just arched an eyebrow when Oikawa responded like that.
"You wouldn't want to be my assistant, would you?"