Work Text:
Dwalin was peeved. Headmaster Grey had specifically asked him to stay after hours and stack the chairs from the fifth grade graduation ceremony As the Physical Education teacher, he was often selected for jobs that involved manual labor. He hadn't minded in the past, as he was eager to keep his job, but things were getting out of hand. This would be the third time in two weeks that Dwalin was left to clean up on his own. Was he being punished for something? Dwalin couldn't think of anything he'd done to incur the wrath of the headmaster recently, but there really was no telling with Grey.
He put his earbuds in and got to work, eager for the job to be done quickly so he could stop by the pub for dinner before going home and crashing for the night. Dwalin worked in silence for some time, getting to the halfway mark sooner than he thought. The single air conditioning unit in the auditorium was working overtime, but it was not nearly enough to counteract the strong summer sun streaming in through the wall of windows. He was going to burn alive if he didn't take a break, so he moved to stand under the cool air. Dwalin leaned against the brick wall and slid down to the ground, fluffing the fabric that clung to his sweaty chest. He let his eyes flutter shut and enjoyed the cold air hitting his moistened skin, drifting off in the warm light.
Dwalin was startled awake by a tap on his shoulder and found himself face to face with another teacher, the orange of the setting sun illuminating the man's face. Just how long had he been asleep? The teacher's eyes were apologetic, and he offered Dwalin a hand up. He could not recall the man's name, but knew he was a language teacher of some sort. The teacher handed him a notebook, neat print scrawled across the first few lines of the page.
Sorry for waking you, I just wanted to ask if I could help.
My name is Bifur, by the way.
Dwalin set the book aside and began to sign, and Bifur's face bloomed into a fetching smile.
"Sorry, I'm a bit rusty." Dwalin signed, gesturing at the words on the page before continuing. "Don't feel like you have to help. This job was specially assigned to the strongest faculty member." He offered the man a playful eye roll and accepted the hand up. "I'm Dwalin, by the way. PE teacher."
"I know. Nice to meet you though." Dwalin was surprised by this admission, and his face clearly showed it. "I notice you, Dwalin. You're not like the other teachers. You keep to yourself."
"I don't get along with the others all that well," Dwalin admitted, shrugging his shoulders in disinterest. "We have different… lifestyles."
"How ominous." Bifur's eyes danced with amusement. "What exactly does your lifestyle entail?"
Dwalin's laughter echoed through the empty auditorium. "I'm in a band, am covered in tattoos, and spend my weekends partying with friends. I am by no means a proper teacher."
"Since when were PE teachers proper teachers, Dwalin?" His eyes glimmered with mirth, and Dwalin snorted. "Please let me help. It'll get done a lot faster with the two of us."
"I would appreciate it, Bifur. I owe you." Dwalin offered a genuine smile. The two got to work, clearing the rest of the chairs in record time. Dwalin pushed the last stack in the rear corner of the room and sat down with a thump that reverberated throughout the room. He looked up at Bifur and grinned. "Thank you again for your help. It would've taken me so much longer if I'd been working alone."
"No worries, Dwalin. I'm happy to help." Bifur offered a warm smile before turning to leave.
Without thinking, Dwalin shot up and put a hand on the other man's shoulder. Bifur turned around, expression full of curiosity. "How about dinner, since I owe you?" Dwalin smiled sheepishly, scratching the back of his neck in discomfort. It was a nervous habit that he just couldn't break.
Bifur pondered the proposal for a moment before nodding slowly. "I suppose I shouldn't prevent you from paying off your debts."
Dwalin grinned and clapped his fellow teacher on the shoulder. "Good. What would you like to eat?"
The pub down the street was decided on after much discussion, and the two agreed to meet there in an hour and a half. Dwalin was grateful for this, as he was a mess. He didn't ponder too much as to why he would be so eager to impress, or where the idea to invite him to dinner came from in the first place. As a rule, Dwalin did not interact with the other teachers at the school. He didn't believe in befriending coworkers. Regardless, he left the school quickly, eager to shower and meet back up with Bifur.
Forty-five minutes later, Dwalin was showered and moisturized, and he stood in front of his closet agonizing over what to wear. His outfits outside of his job consisted primarily of leather, but Dwalin wasn't sure if that was too much for a night at the pub with a coworker. Perhaps it would be better to throw another one of his boring polos on for the night.
"Oh, fuck me. This shit doesn't even matter." Dwalin grumbled as he hung the polo he'd reached for back on the hanger. He would already be out of his comfort zone tonight, engaging with a fellow educator outside of work. He figured he might as well feel comfortable and confident in his clothes while he did it. Without another thought, Dwalin pulled on a pair of black cargo pants, a faded band tee, and a leather vest. He removed the retainers that were in his various piercings during the school day and replaced them with jewelry. Taking a step back, Dwalin observed himself in the mirror and felt somewhat satisfied with his appearance. He pulled on his black high-tops before heading out the door. Dwalin checked for his wallet and keys before heading out the door and in the direction of the pub.
* * *
Dwalin arrived before Bifur, so he sat at the bar and chatted with the bartender. They had become familiar with each other over the years, but Dwalin still had no idea what his name was. He felt guilty each time they spoke, but he was too embarrassed to ask, with all the time that had passed since their first meeting. The bartender was just telling Dwalin about his day when he cut himself off, eyes lighting up and a giant smile spreading across his face.
"My brother! How's it going?" The bartender signed as he spoke. Dwalin whirled around and found himself facing Bifur, and he felt his jaw drop. Unlike the Bifur from a few hours ago, this Bifur was a completely different vibe. He was in a full leather outfit and had applied eyeliner. Dwalin was a goner.
"Hi, Bofur. I missed you, bro." Bifur signed to the bartender, or Bofur, as Dwalin was learning.
"Uh, Bifur. Glad you could make it. You two… uh… know each other?" Dwalin asked, his hands moving faster than his mouth. Despite the years of practice, Dwalin still had trouble multitasking.
Bofur nodded and grinned. "Oh, so you're the guy my big brother was talking about."
Something about the way Bofur spoke made Dwalin's ears warm. He was talking about me? What does that even mean? Dwalin wondered why it mattered so much, anyways.
He shrugged off the feeling and turned towards his… colleague? Friend? He wasn't sure what they were. "I was just grabbing a drink, Bifur. Would you like something?"
"That'd be great, thanks. You know what I like, baby brother." He winked at his brother and turned back towards Dwalin. "You and my brother seem friendly, Dwalin. How long have you been coming here? I'm honestly surprised that we haven't run into each other before."
Dwalin felt himself reaching for the back of his neck again. "I've been coming here for a handful of years now, just to unwind on Fridays. I guess we just never crossed paths. I would have remembered you." He belatedly realized how his statement could be taken and just knew his face was turning pink.
"I'm that memorable, huh?" Bifur's words were clearly teasing, but he had a curious look on his face. "I would have remembered you too, though. There aren't a lot of people like us around here." Dwalin wanted to ask what he meant by like us, but Bofur bringing over their drinks interrupted him.
"Alrighty, here's your stout, Dwalin. And Bifur, here's your espresso martini. Have fun, but not too much fun~" Bofur winked at them before helping another patron. Dwalin was floored by the bartender's behavior. He wasn't normally quite this… intense. Perhaps he was just teasing his brother? Clearly it was working, because he saw Bifur's face redden out of the corner of his eye.
Without another word, the two sat down at a cozy booth in the corner and sipped on their drinks. "You got a pretty fancy drink there, Bifur. Is that your usual?" He teased, just enough to lighten the mood after the shift that happened at the bar.
Bifur shrugged, still clearly thrown off by his brother. "Yeah, I'm a big coffee guy so this is right up my alley. Bofur said I should try the stout since it has coffee notes, but I'm not one to try new things."
"You can try mine, if you want." Dwalin offered before thinking better of it. If he had been a decade younger, he would've joked about it being an indirect kiss, but he was a mature adult now. He had to play it cool.
Bifur studied him for a moment before reaching for his pint and taking a tentative sip. His eyes widened and he nodded in approval. "That's not half bad. It may dethrone the espresso martini."
Dwalin grinned, and motioned for him to take another sip. "Please, help yourself. I'll buy us another round later." Bifur took another few sips, and Dwalin laughed as he pulled away with a foam mustache from the creamy head. Bifur cocked his head in confusion, and before he could think better of it, Dwalin reached across the table and wiped it away with his thumb.
Both men's eyes widened as Dwalin yanked his hand back. "Sorry, I shouldn't have done that.." He didn't quite know how to explain it away, but it seemed he didn't have to. Bifur reached out and stopped his hands as they made to sign another apology. Dwalin let his hands drop to the table, and Bifur squeezed gently. Dwalin didn't need any sign language to understand what it meant.
He let his hand rest in Bifur's, relishing the contact. They both startled as the waitress walked up with menus, but neither pulled away from the other. The waitress giggled and yelled across the pub to Bofur, who was shaking a cocktail behind the bar.
"Hey, Bofur! You were right." Dwalin pulled his hand away to translate to Bifur, who shot a glare at his brother. Bofur was far too busy laughing his ass off to notice. The waitress turned back to the two of them, a sheepish grin on her face. "Bofur bet that you would be openly flirting before you got your food. He has a sixth sense about these things, you know." She took their orders and waltzed away, still giggling to herself like a schoolgirl.
Bifur let out a ragged sigh. "I didn't realize my romantic endeavors were so entertaining to my brother."
"Is that what you would call this? Romance?" Dwalin didn't want to get his hopes up at the thought of a true romance, but he couldn't help it. After years of nothing more than going home with a stranger on occasion, he craved something real.
"It could be, if that's what you want this to be." Bifur's expression was nonchalant, but he saw that same feeling of hope in his eyes too.
Dwalin reached over to squeeze Bifur's hand and nodded firmly. "I do want that. Let's take it slow, but I know I don't want this to be a tonight thing. You're special, Bifur."
A pretty flush bloomed on Bifur's skin and he offered Dwalin a warm, genuine smile that made his heart pound. "I don't want this to be a one-off, either. Though, I am not opposed to… tonight being a thing." Bifur winked at Dwalin, and he was sure he had turned tomato-red. He didn't mind, of course. He would do anything Bifur wanted.
* * *
Dwalin could feel in his bones that this was something truly special. For the first time in his life, he found himself looking forward to work each day, and each chance to see Bifur, even if it meant stacking chairs in a hot auditorium. He needed to buy Headmaster Grey a "World's Greatest Boss" mug or something as a thank you for being the inciting incident that kickstarted their budding romance.