Archive of Our Own

"Mikey, that’s nuts.“

„It’s not!”

“That’s a whole custom job, not something I can just pull out of my ass.”

“I’m not asking you to do that, I’m just asking you to find something matching what I want.”

The Mimosa in front of him didn’t seem like an appropriate drink to have this conversation to. He should have asked for something stronger; Vodka maybe. What did it matter that it was only two in the afternoon and they were having lunch, who said that alcohol was reserved for evening events anyway.

Koko took a sip nonetheless, eyes pinned on the man sitting across from him, the oh-so-on-brand pout plastered on his face as he stared him down just as intensely with large pleading eyes that have never really worked on him, waiting for a reply.

He shoved a fried shrimp into his mouth, flushed it down with another sip of the Mimosa. “Do I look like a magician?” Koko hissed, pulse already rising.

“Why are you making such a fuss about this?” Mikey whined, slouching in his chair with his arms crossed in front of his chest. So they had reached that stage now.

“It’s called being realistic,” Koko elaborated, gesturing with a hand, the fork still between his fingers, “we don’t have anything even similar to your wishes listed right now.” Noticing his awful mannerism he frowned at the cutlery and put it down and leant forward instead, hands folded neatly under his chin. “Why do you even want that? What do you need a waterpark in your own home, can’t you just go to one like everyone else?”

A scowl settled on Mikey’s forehead, almost as if to indicate how dense Koko behaved in his opinion. But the only dense one in this case was Mikey for not getting that the world is not build around those stupid little dreams of his.

“Because privacy? And then nobody could disturb Draken and me when we-“

“No! TMI, not in front if my salad!” He’s not about to have his appetite ruined by Mikey just because his filter was non-existent, “But isn’t a simple pool enough?”

“Boring. Swimming is only fun when you have different slides too.”

“Oh my God, can’t you grow up at last?”

“Can you stop bitching around?” Mikey snapped, his head thrown back, causing some strands of hair to fall out of the haphazard bun. “You’ve always made the impossible possible, I’m counting on you here.”

One day, Mikey would be the reason for Koko’s impending aneurism. Just like he’s already the reason he needed to bring his next Botox appointment forward a few weeks. And yet he put up with him again and again and he couldn’t seem to learn his lesson. Maybe it’s the one soft spot he had for him after all after years of friendship, if one wanted to call it that. But those years were also the reason he knew he wouldn’t get out of this with telling him no if he didn’t want to fall victim to desperate and passive aggressive text messages for months.

With his free hand, Koko rubbed over the throbbing vein on his temple. “Okay, here’s the offer. I will look for a place with an indoor waterpark and look out for buildings currently under construction that could have such change implemented. Is that fine with you?”

Apparently, it was enough to please him, or maybe he didn’t fully get the hint of Koko never promising anything, but at least his pout disappeared to be replaced by a flashy grin, bright and almost too happy for Koko’s sour mood.

“I knew you could do this little favor for me! You’re the best.”

“The things I do for you,” Koko grumbled.

He reached for his flute and finished it with one large gulp, the drink disgustingly warm. He tried to remember if Ran had some projects under his belt that they could offer to Mikey as soon as possible, but he came up empty; though that didn’t have to mean anything.

“And there’s nobody else I’d trust with that other than the best realtor in the entire country.”

“Because I’m the only one willing to put up with you,” Koko replied, but the exaggeration putting a smile on his lips. He couldn’t deny that a little part of him enjoyed the masochism of dealing up with those silly ideas from time to time. They made his job a bit more challenging.

“I better get a great bonus from you in addition to my provision once I manage to pull this one off,” Koko then added in a joke. Okay, half-joke, because he’d never say no to a gift, and Mikey’s always pretty generous.

“I’ll think of something,” Mikey nodded, still grinning from ear to ear like a child that had been offered candy.

A phone started to buzz, and Mikey quickly fished his out of his jeans to have a glance at the notification before pocketing it again and getting up from the table.

“Shin’s texting. I need to get back on set, just put the food on my tab, I’ll pay for it later,” he explained, reaching for the flannel draped over the back of his chair.

Unfazed, Koko swallowed a piece of cucumber. “No, you won’t.”

Mikey always forgot to pay. No expectation.

But the other didn’t stay to argue, heading towards the exit already with a wave of hand. Then he was gone, and Koko was left alone with his food and an unfinished kid’s meal on the other side of the table. Nothing new. And because it didn’t matter anyway, he stole a fry or ten from the abandoned plate before finishing his own bowl without hurry, appreciating the new silence.

He hadn’t gotten to take himself out for some time-alone the entire week. Koko let his gaze wander through the little frequented establishment, the few guests’ chatter blurring into pleasant background noise. Nobody expected him back in the office anyway today, he guessed. He could as well stay and finish work here while enjoying some dessert and something to drink – maybe something stronger now.

That’s what he did. When he finished his meal and the leftovers of Mikey’s too, he ordered something sweet and a cocktail he knew tasted heavenly. By the time the waiter returned, he had already reached into his slinger bag by his feet for his notebook that now sat closed in front of him as he mentally prepared himself for the last hours of work. He had some listings to update, some mails to write, but nothing too time consuming or vexing. Were he more stoked, he could start looking into Mikey’s request once he was one with everything else, but he had already decided that that was a problem for tomorrow, when he could discuss it with Ran directly instead of shooting him a text now which would never get answered anyway.

As it wasn’t the first time he worked at this restaurant, the familiar atmosphere and pleasant memories put him at ease after the encounter. He found sometimes he could focus better at places where nobody would interrupt him to talk about the newest client-gossip or try to screw with his clients just for fun. Not to get him wrong, Koko was all for the gossip – who wasn’t – just not when he needed to actually concentrate in order to finish timely. Nobody bothered him here, and the music they played catered more to this taste than whatever Sanzu considered enjoyable when he was in charge of their office Spotify.

Koko took his glasses out of his bag and out of their casket, put them on, and got to work. In just a few minutes, he fell into his typical workflow of typing and texting and within an hour, he got so immersed in his tasks that he didn’t notice how someone walked directly towards him. The sudden voice next to him had him jump embarrassingly.

“Excuse me, sir, may I have a moment?”

Eyes snapping up, the first thing Koko noticed was hair the color of buttercream. The second thing was the frown on the man’s otherwise insanely pretty features, a large scar on his forehead strangely enhancing those even. That beautiful face also doubled as reason why Koko needed a second longer than normally to regain his composure.

“That depends on the matter,” he replied, acting all casual by putting his chin on a hand, looking at him over the rim of his glasses. While the stranger might be a sight for sore eyes, Koko still didn’t appreciate getting interrupted randomly during work.

Licking over his lips, the man’s eyes flickered to something behind Koko before meeting his again, and at the notice of clear blue, Koko’s breath got caught. What about him wasn’t beautiful, he couldn’t possibly be real.

“I just noticed there’s a man with a camera outside taking pictures of you. He’s been there since you’ve been with your companion. Should I do something about that?” the man told him.

At that, Koko pinched the bridge of his nose, glasses sliding up as he did, and sighed exasperatedly. God-forsaken paparazzi; hungry sharks never to be satiated. Too sad they wouldn’t get any high-priced content from Koko, no matter how long they pried on him. Koko prided himself in the fact, that all those years, he had not once played into their hands, his public portrayal nothing but pristine; but not all of them had gotten the memo yet as it seemed if they felt the need to try to catch him doing something frivolous typing on his laptop.

Koko let his gaze trial over his appearance. The guy was wearing the restaurant’s uniform, grey vest over white dress shirt, paired with black slacks, so he obviously worked here as a waiter. However, he must be a new hire because Koko had never seen him before, and he’d undoubtedly remember a face like that; he had a hard time tearing his gaze away already.

“Can you force them to leave when they are not on business grounds?” Koko asked.

“Not really, but I could still try,” the man offered politely, but his expression made it clear that he as well didn’t believe that to be successful.

“Don’t bother then. They won’t listen – speaking from experience.”

Or rather, experiences, as in multiple, but that was beside the point.

“Annoying lot,” the waiter muttered and gave him a sympathetic smile. Then he must have noticed Koko’s open laptop because his head tilted to the side slightly and he gestured at the device. “There’s a free booth in the back behind the bar, out of sight. If you want to work some more in silence, you can relocate there.”

Confused, Koko raised an eyebrow, “Thought they were booked today?” He had tried to get one when calling in for a reservation prior but got told they were all unavailable.

“Someone didn’t show,” the man explained, “Should I help you with your stuff?”

“Appreciated, but I got this, it’s not a lot. Thanks for telling me.”

“Of course.” A pause. Then, the man added with a hint of annoyance in this voice, “and to be honest, he and his ugly camera is getting on my nerves too.”

Koko snorted a laugh, which wasn’t very pretty, but the grim tone in the waiter’s voice got him, perfectly understanding him. Although this for sure wasn’t the first time that happened to him, getting stalked, still an uneasy shudder ran through Koko’s spine at the thought of having been spied on for hours without his knowledge each time. Something about it, probably the lack of control he had over the photographers, reminded him of his own disgusting vulnerability whenever it happened.

“They are a pain,” he said as he packed up all his stuff, apart from the laptop which he pressed to his chest to carry over,  “But you learn to deal with it over time.”

In the meantime, the waiter picked up the empty cocktail glass and plates, balancing them all on one arm, his free one neatly tucked behind his back. He either must be rather new to this, maybe even fresh out of training, because those manners weren’t seen in the usual employees anymore, or believe those exact manners would impress, Koko noted.  Well, whatever it was, Koko found himself indeed a little impressed.

“Probably the best thing you can do since we are unfortunately not allowed to punch them in their faces” the waiter said, matter-of fact, before he nodded towards the secluded back-area as if he hadn’t just delivered the wish for violence with the dryness of Koko’s last glass of wine, “The first one is the empty one.”

A smile formed on Koko’s lips. He might take a liking to this guy.

“Good to know, thank you.”

The waiter took off with a smirk of his own and Koko slid into the booth, out of the paparazzo’s line of sight, immediately feeling the invisible target and pointer on his back disappear. Taking a deep breath, he leaned into the soft leather seats, head falling back. He should have been more attentive, for the sake of giving them less than nothing even. But being out with Mikey brought such instances upon him and they’ve only gotten more ever since he started filming his new movie, so why he didn’t think of checking his surroundings at least once was beyond Koko. He wanted another drink, he could use it.

Apparently, his wishes were heard by some higher force, because magically, a very aesthetically pleasing cocktail appeared in front of him. Following the hand attached to the glass, Koko laid eyes on the same waiter as before. Maybe not some higher force, but an earthly deity then.

“You look like you could need it,” the waiter said.

Koko nodded slowly, picked up the martini glass by its stem with two fingers. “I could say I didn’t ask for one, but you’re right. Nothing more bothersome than paps.”

The turquoise color a bit off-turning, Koko took a sniff first and when he deemed it didn’t smell poisonous, he dared to taste it. To his surprise, it tasted even better than what he had before; sweet, yet slightly sour too, with a definite note of expensive rum. Another sip, and he came to the conclusion it might become a new favorite of his.

Taking the seat across, the other got comfortable, crossing his legs and propping an elbow up on the table while he watched Koko doubt the drink with slight humor in his eyes. “The downsides of being acquainted with the famous Sano Manjiro, huh?” he asked

“The downside of knowing Sano is Mikey himself,” Koko huffed, trying to look serious but a smile snuck onto his lips nonetheless. Yeah, maybe he had his moments, but he liked that little piece of shit despite everything he put him through, or they wouldn’t be talking anymore.

“He’s a friend then?”

“You could say so.” Swirling the drink, a cherry the same shade as his acrylic nails dancing in its middle, Koko nodded. It took him a second to catch the drift. Skeptically, he squinted at the waiter, “And you’re nosy, aren’t you?”

The question didn’t appear to intimidate the other in the slightest though, shrugging in response. “Just curious. I try to remember the more renowned names and faces and the people they associate with. Makes work a bit easier.”

Koko’s brows drew together. “I doubt most celebs care to remember the face of a waiter.”

Maybe that was a mean thing to say, but his statement stood because the truth isn’t always pretty. Most of the people moving in this area didn’t care about commoners, less about those who served them. Hell, quite a handful of them had even tried to treat Koko in a lofty manner back in the days, and Koko already had worked hard for a prestigious reputation then. Working in customer service for them couldn’t be any more pleasant than Hell itself, so he couldn’t see the point in trying to butter them up with such cheap tricks.

Yet, his pessimistic sentiment didn’t appear to align with the man’s opinion. His eyes darted to the drink in Koko’s hands. Koko noticed that his eyelashes were to get jealous over, especially when he had to pay for those on a regular basis. Then, he made eye contact again, his eyebrow curved in slight challenge.

“True, but they like it when I remember their orders. Makes for a good tip that I can use all too well.”

“The luxury treatment, I see.” Koko commented. A one trick-pony, and he didn’t even try to hide it. How bold. He took another generous sip from his cocktail. Damn, it’s really good. “Are you new? I haven’t seen your face around here before,” Koko then asked, curiosity getting the better of him, his interest piqued by the stranger. Something about his attitude was refreshing, different from the clientele Koko had surrounded himself recently.

For the first time, a subtle smile tugged at the man’s lips. “Now who’s nosy? But no, not quite. I usually work in catering though. I’m just filling in for someone else this week.”

“This place offers catering? Oh. I might need to remember that.”

“Does that mean I’ll run into you at work again? Might as well tell me your name, I promise I’ll remember your preferred drink until then.”

Koko choked on the cocktail. He quickly covered his mouth with his hand as he tried to keep the coughing down without spitting. Smooth. Very smooth, he had to give him that. Expectant eyes sparkled with humor, and Koko would have maybe been a bitch about it, weren’t they so unbelievably pretty like that, bright and clear, he didn’t even want to take his eyes off the sight.  

He wouldn’t deny; he was already smitten. The man wasn’t only physically attractive but made for entertaining company as well. Koko could hand out a treat to him for that alone.

“Kokonoi Hajime. Want to return that favor?”

“Pretty. Inui Seishu, pleased to meet you, friend of Oscar winning actor Sano.”

“Inui Seishu,” he repeated, testing the sound of it, liking how the name rolled off his tongue. Then he pointed an accusing finger at Inui, “For that one you’ll have to remember more than just my preferred cocktail. I don’t want to be known as Mikey’s side kick.”

“Well, if that’s the case you could tell me a bit about yourself, and I’ll make sure to remember it all.”

Intrigued, Koko skidded forward to the edge of the seat, leaned on his elbows, further over the table, tip of his tongue sticking out the corner of his mouth. Two could play a game.

“Aren’t you at work? Work that you should do?” he teased.

But just when Koko thought he could pull a reverse on the card Inupi played, he was hit square in the face as he had to draw another ten because – God damn. Casually, Inui leaned back and popped a button of his dress shirt open. Then another one, revealing smooth skin and sharp collar bones straight out of Koko’s hottest dreams. Even if he had wanted to leave, no way Koko’s legs would carry him out the front door now.

“I have another ten minutes of my break, my shift ends in less than two hours,” Inui said, an all too well knowing smirk on his features, telling just how aware he of what he was trying he was, and what it was doing to Koko, “I think I’ve got some time for you.”

oOo

Even if he had reckoned with some surprises that day, considering he agreed to lunch with his most chaotic friend, Koko definitely hadn’t written ‘getting-laid’ on his daily bingo card. But there he was, arching his back off a bed not his own, hands fisting the soft duvet of Seishu’s bedding as said one had two fingers up his ass, working him open with torturous patience.

Eyes squeezed shut, a tear pricking at the corner and getting caught in his lashes, the anticipation was slowly killing him from the inside out. Koko rolled his hips into Seishu hand, trying to get more, just a little bit, to feel at least some satisfaction, but Seishu only slowed down, smirking up at him from between his legs. He enjoyed himself to his fullest as he let Koko teeter at the edge for as long as he could and he had no shame in letting Koko know just exactly that.

Koko let out a frustrated whine, rolling his hips again. The breath he took was shaky, every fiber in him strung too tight. He would touch himself just to have that extra stimulation, but his prior attempts had been shut down immediately and it had made Seishu work even slower. Koko couldn’t afford taking that risk again now.

His despair prompted a chuckle from Seishu. “So impatient. But you’re so pretty when you’re needy.”

Koko cracked an eye open, scowling. A snarky remark waited just on the tip of his tongue, but he choked on it when a finger pressed into his prostate purposefully. Sparks of pleasure lit up his nerves, he couldn’t hold back an embarrassingly loud moan, fisting the covers until his nails almost tore through the fabric.

“Fuck. That’s hot,” Seishu breathed.

Koko barely caught a glimpse of the fascination written across his face before his focus got ripped from his grasp again, another finger pushing into him. So slow. Unbearably slow. Koko chased after the feeling, tried to fuck himself on his fingers, spread his legs wider. He didn’t care for the agonizing burn at this point; he just wanted to feel full. He couldn’t stand the teasing much longer, every thrust making him writhe and moan.

“C’mon, is that all you can do?” Between uneven breaths Koko tried to mock him, hoping it would urge Seishu on.

Seishu only laughed at him as he kept fingering him, in and out, spreading his fingers, working him loose. “You know as well as I it’s not.” Thoughtfully, he hummed. “Maybe I’ll help you if you ask for it nicely.”

“Anything else?”

“You don’t want to?”

Koko keened. Fucking shit, yes he did. His body cried for it, begged for it. He swallowed hard, and decided that today was the day he needed to throw the inner voice that made him object away.

“Seishu, please. I want y – haH, fuck,” three fingers curled just the right way to make him lose coherency, the train of thought wiped from his mind.

He writhed, craving whatever Seishu was willing to give him, no matter how little that was. Because he surrendered to Seishu, completely at the man’s mercy. He just needed to be fucked thoroughly.

“I could watch you come undone at my hand, you know. I don’t think I’ll ever see a picture more beautiful,” Seishu said as if genuinely contemplating.

Koko’s eyes snapped open. “No!”

“No?” Seishu asked back, tilting his head. “You don’t want to come?”

“That’s not what I said,” Koko hissed.

Feigning innocence, Seishu pouted a little, lower lip pushed forward. Koko would have thought it looked cute didn’t it appear ridiculous considering he had three fingers shoved into his ass and the other hand on Koko’s lower stomach, pressing into the tense muscles there and ghosting just above his aching and leaking cock. Just lying there to tease.

What an asshole. Who would have thought all those well practiced manners got discarded once out of uniform. Under different circumstance, Koko would have complained, but then again his patience was already running incredibly thin.

Collecting all his self-control with gritted teeth, despite the remnants of resistance within him, he managed to utter the words Seishu wanted to hear so adamantly through stuttering breath. He’d be doing them both a favor, the told himself.

“I want you to fuck me so hard into the mattress that I can’t walk straight tomorrow. Can you do that?”

Another cocky laugh. Seishu laughed a lot, he came to lean, and he had a beautiful laugh, full and honest. But if Koko had to hear it one more time tonight, he’d slap it off his face personally.

“That’s specific. But sure babe, I can do that.”

The cry that tore from his throat had Koko surprise himself. Seishu now assaulted his prostate, rubbing over it mercilessly, going from nearly nothing to too much with no warning. The overstimulation bordered on painful, but Koko couldn’t get enough of it, breath growing erratic. A tear rolled down his cheek, pleasure fogging up all his senses as it seared within him.

And suddenly, he was empty.

He hated it immediately. Couldn’t bear it. Even if it lasted only a mere minute, ever second was one too many.

Seishu reached for the condom wrapper next to Koko’s head, tore it open and rolled it onto his dick. Koko would have handed him the lube, but his hands didn’t quite follow his command anymore.

Prepped, Seishu moved to align himself, hovering above Koko. Koko looked up at him.

But for as mean as Seishu was with Koko, Koko couldn’t find any of that as he looked him in the eyes. Beneath the teasing they were much softer than he let on, Koko had also come to learn earlier that night; maybe a little bit mean, but playful even more so – eyes of a puppy.

Untangling a hand from the sheets, Koko brought it up to brush an astray strand of hair out of Seishu’s face, uncovering the scar. Another, bigger one that marked him unique, covered half of his back. The tender action had Seishu smile at him. With a thumb, calloused from rough work, he caressed Koko’s cheek, wiping the wetness away. His make-up was undoubtedly ruined by now. Not that Koko cared.

Then, Seishu wrapped that same hand around both their dicks, giving them a few firm, wet pumps, reveling in the blissful feeling of being jerked off and their dicks rubbing together. He felt himself fill out completely in Seishu’s grip.

Koko whimpered. His release wasn’t too far out of reach anymore, but this edging drove him insane, sent his mind reeling with arousal.

“Are you ready to be sore tomorrow?” Seishu asked, breaking through the fog with a grin on his lips as he awaited a response. He always demanded one, loud and clear.

Koko groaned. He let go of the sheets, dug his nails into Seishu’s shoulders instead.

“I’ll sue if I’m not,” he said sternly.

And maybe he couldn’t ever grow sick of Seishu’s laugh after all, not when the other continued to fuck him into oblivion for the rest of the night.

oOo

He was late.

He had barely made it home that morning, almost fallen down the staircase in his apartment complex and now he was speed walking from his car to the office, in one hand balancing six different caffeinated drinks in a cup holder that had cost a small fortune and getting which had made him even later than he already was. At least the coffee designated for himself doubled as his will to live today and an alibi as to why he didn’t show up forty minutes earlier as he was supposed to because had he to endure anyone’s obnoxious questioning today he’d sprout grey hairs.

Inui had most definitely kept his words last night. Koko felt sore in places he didn’t even know were capable of but, Jesus, had it been worth it. Inui had possibly given him the longest yet simultaneously most intense night of his life and if it came to him, he wouldn’t have let it just yet, ready to repeat right away. Well, almost, because he really did hurt in places.

But work was calling, as to be expected did you agree to a hook up in the middle of the week, and not everyone was as lucky as Inui to work late-shifts. When Koko’s alarm had blared in the morning, jolting his exhausted and sweaty self from sleep, he first had to unlatch himself from another frame covering his. And Seishu had a tight grip on him, his arm around Koko’s waist and their legs entangled, keeping Koko warm as the sheets had gotten discarded sometime during the night, now on the floor. A cuddler then, which was fine with Koko. Unexpected, but it felt nice actually.

Once he had managed to get up and reached his bag to turn the alarm off, he had been surprised to see Seishu hadn’t even moved an inch, still fast asleep in the position Koko had left him in, now latched onto a pillow and unbothered by any movement or sound next to him, which Koko had been more than astonished by. He envied him a little for his deep sleep.

Seishu had remained in his deep slumber during the entire time Koko needed to collect his scattered stuff and get dressed. Before Koko had skulked out of the apartment though, stressed out because he had completely forgotten he still had to drive to his apartment first to get a shower and a change of clothes and now he had barely an hour left to make it on time, he scribbled his number on a battered shred of paper he had found in his bag and placed it clearly visible on the nightstand.

That didn’t suck. Again sometime?

The electronic bell chimed happily as he pushed the door open with his body weight.

“I have coffee!” he yelled into the Bonten Real Estates office. The door closed automatically behind him again as he made his way straight to his desk.

Attention on him, five heads snapped towards him, comically timed. The entire circus was in today.

“Look who finally decided to show up,” Sanzu grinned as he pushed himself off his table, swirled around in his chair with his arms in the air before getting up to snatch his iced latte from the tray Koko hadn’t even set down on his table yet. The lifted weight put the balance off, Koko struggled to put it down in time without dropping a single cup, his reaction time too slow for such stunts when he hadn’t had a single drop of coffee yet.

“The queen herself,” Izana joked from the sidelines before sliding his chair over to join Sanzu’s side to pick up his chocolate mocha with an amount of whipped cream on top that made Koko gag when looking at it. Chinking cups with Sanzu, they both then leaned back to sip lazily, deciding to let Koko play the role of the office’s maid with satisfaction.

It didn’t help that Koko brought over the flat white to Kakucho, the only sound soul in this madhouse, who thanked him with a nod. At least one person who actually deserved and appreciated his kindness.

Ran, once he could rip himself from his work, raised his hideous big-boss-voice to announce to the crowd, “Kokonoi, yellow card! 40 minutes delay, you’re doing overtime today.”

Koko slammed the fourth cup down in front of him, making the bobble-head on the desk move. He should demand the money for the coffees back from them, or at least ask for an extra one next time someone went for a coffee run, as compensation for the insanity they put him through. His brain didn’t host the capacity for their dumbassery today.

Koko rolled his eyes. “The Hell I’m doing. Shut up and take your disgusting caramel poison.”

Laughing, Ran raised his cup to a toast, an action Sanzu and Izana mimicked.

“Don’t you meet up with Hanemiya today? The Sunny Side House, right?” Rindou asked from the desk next to Ran’s. Well, at least someone still recognized the work environment, but Rindou tended to be more focused than Ran in general. Without him his cooperation probably wouldn’t have been able to exist for as long as it has, but Ran would never admit that, even if they all knew. Ran could count himself lucky he was good at what he did.

Koko hummed as he slid the chai latte towards the younger Haitani and second boss. “But that’s scheduled for early afternoon. Don’t fret, I’ve got it all under control.”

At last, Koko got to drop into his own chair and immediately flinched at the stinging pain shooting through him viciously, down his legs and up his spine. It’s been quite a while since he’d felt his muscles ache as much, and in memory it didn’t feel half as bad, but at least this kind of soreness felt rewarding, so he would bear it with pride. He adjusted the pillow in his back until he was comfortable and then reached for his vanilla cold brew; the true reason he stopped by at the coffee shop. Oh, sweet caffeine, might it keep him alive today.

“Barely in control, you wanted to say, right?” Haru joked, slurping unnecessarily loud as he drank, knowing Koko despised the sound. It made Koko want to throw something at his head. “By the way, your bun is falling apart. Forgot the pins?”

Koko reached into his hair on instinct. He’s right, some strands were coming loose.

“Oh, fuck off, Haru.” If he threw the stapler at Sanzu, would it be enough to take him out for a bit, so Koko could at least enjoy a minute of silence? But still he took the claw clip out to twist his hair anew before putting it up again, the too short strands framing his face falling out immediately again. He didn’t exactly have time to style it into something more spectacular today, so this had to do; Kazutora would have to forgive him later for not being an eleven out of ten today.

Sanzu raised his eyebrows and detached from his straw with a disgustingly slick pop. “You’re so nice today. Are you alright, sweetie?”

“Actually, I’ve never been better, thanks,” Koko deadpanned.

“Really? You look tired. What made you so late?”

“The line for coffee was quite long.”

“Fool someone else, never did you wait forty mins in line. Come on, be honest.”

To think he could get around answering that question had been naïve, considering they usually teased him for his over-punctuality instead. A man could still dream, at least he had tried.

“Had a long night, overslept. Unlucky, won’t happen again,” Koko explained dryly, plugging his laptop’s charger in as they spoke and giving his best to not let Sanzu read anything off his face.

“I see, I see. What were you doing?” Typical, always taunting, always sticking his nose where it didn’t belong.

Koko flipped him off with a perfectly manicured coffin nail. “Your mom.”

Across the room, Ran coughed, trying to cover a laugh. Rindou failed to supress a smile as he pressed his lips together and tried to hide behind is laptop. To be fair, the joke was only funny because the comeback had become uncertified property of Sanzu. Koko had long given up his attempts of breaking him off that nasty habit since the effect it had was exactly the opposite of what he wanted to achieve, and usually, he just bore the vulgar ways of his speech. But he had to admit, when used right, it felt good to say that.

“At least try to be original,” Sanzu fired back, snarling a little at the catchphrase theft. Koko stuck his tongue out at him.

Having listened to their conversation – not that he had any other choice sitting at the desk between theirs – Izana decided to add his two cents, “He got laid, Haruchiyo. That’s what he was busy with.”

Koko had just opened his laptop, but froze in the motion. How–?

“He told you???” Sanzu screeched, almost throwing himself over the desk to be up in Izana’s face.

Hell broke loose. Work became second priority. Questions sounded from the bosses' desks. Even Kakucho turned around to see what was going on and watch the impending spectacle unfold, although Koko couldn’t blame him, he would undeniably do the same.

Yet, it was that moment deep regret washed over Koko for he hadn’t stayed in bed, wrapped in strong arms, and called in sick to avoid the terror his coworkers chose to put him through at every chance they got and on a daily basis too. Maybe he could have gotten a special good-morning treatment out of Seishu even.

Izana laughed and got up. He walked around the table, back to the one Koko sat at until he stood directly behind him, his hands ghosting threateningly over his shoulders. Koko refused to acknowledge him but shrunk into his seat a little as he felt him breathing down his neck hotly, making his hair stand. Ew.

“As if our princess would tell me anything. But-“ Izana said, and then hooked a finger under the collar of Koko’s blouse, pushing it aside to reveal the crook of his neck, “there’s a hickey right here.” An index pressed harshly into the clearly fresh bruise.

Koko hissed in pain and surprise. Fuck. He should have taken a closer look at the mirror. But he had been in a rush, and the shirt had covered it when he had checked his outfit, he didn’t know he had one, even less remembered Seishu leaving a mark at all. Should have told Inui to be careful about that, but too late now.

He swatted Izana’s hand away, exhaling exasperated. He wouldn’t make a fool of himself by denying anything, but that didn’t mean he have to say anything at all, even if the man behind him cooed at him sweetly, trying to coax some information out of him with his hands now back on his shoulders and massaging out a few knots he found. Koko rethought his initial reaction of pushing him away, because if that’s the treatment Koko received for staying silent, he’d be an idiot to open his mouth. He hummed, pretending to at least consider spilling some inside information, only fueling Izana’s advances and bribery with coffee-promises.

“Izana, leave him alone, that’s rude,” Kakucho’s voice sounded from the next to his accusingly. See? The only kind one here. Kakucho truly only ever meant well.

Stopping immediately, Izana turned around, and Koko almost missed the free spa treatment; he really enjoyed it actually. But he was gladder to be freed from the nagging.

“But you love it when I’m mean, baby,” Izana replied to his boyfriend smugly. And every charm he had used on Koko went flying out the window. Nope, Koko didn’t need to hear any of thaty not in the office, especially not today, not ever. He knew too much about everyone’s private time already anyway, just one day without being exposed to those inappropriate conversations, was that too much to ask for?

He pushed Izana away with an elbow, making him leave his small but precious work-space, the other of no use to him if he didn’t continue the massage. “Well, he might. But I’m not your baby, so please, can I just work in peace?”

“Because you said please,” Izana smiled, patting him on the head, before returning to his own laptop and after some more shushing from Kakucho, who got almost as fed up by Sanzu’s ever so persistent interrogations as Koko, the topic was closed, and everyone got to work, the sound of rhythmic typing taking over the space.

The next hour Koko was allowed to work in peace without further interruptions. He started the search for a property according to Mikey’s wishes, but just as he had guessed it compared to searching the needle in the haystack. None of his listings fitted the imposed criteria, and his first search didn’t come up with anything interesting either. Tomorrow, he’d ask Ran for his input, he tended to have a better overview of what’s on the market or maybe he even had a suiting construction project currently – Koko put all his money on that idea, or he won’t find any sleep looking for Mikey’s dream-mansion.

While he didn’t get a lot done, considering he felt like he’d been run-over by a bus – in a good way – he made reasonable progress with some clients, nonetheless, as well has having opened a new negotiation with a seller; it was enough for him to leave later that day without bad conscience.

But peace only lasted as long as someone opened the cross-fire; and the culprit of this interruption happened to be no other than a special individual that had been on his nerves already.

“Hajime~,” the singsong voice never bode well.

“Yeah?” Reluctantly, Koko stopped typing to raise an eyebrow at Sanzu, hoping it was enough to let on he really didn’t want to talk. It wasn’t.

“You got a minute?”

“You have ten seconds.”

Sanzu launched himself up to sit on Koko’s desk, sliding a document towards him. “Do you have a listing that fits these criteria? My client’s picky and I’m at a loss.”

Koko took the sheet and scanned over the printed document. Some of those whishes were indeed specific, one or two even ridiculously so. Who the fuck insisted on a room with four glass walls unless they wanted a tropic greenhouse at home? The entire thing reminded him a little of Mikey’s inquiry, equally as nonsense, but a lot of those did sound like one of his new, pricier mansions.

“Crescent Rock. Doesn’t check all the boxes, but it could be a fit,” he replied after some thinking, handing back the sheet. He reached for his phone and opened the calendar app to scroll through his schedule to look for a free spot. “I haven’t shown it to anyone yet. Want me to give you and your client a tour later this week? Friday?”

“I’ll check with them but sounds good to me.”

The world having turned against Koko today, his phone lit up with a new message the second he put it down on the desk again, the number on displayed not saved into Koko’s contacts – yet. He only needed a quick glance to know who it’s from. The smile appeared on his lips mostly against his will, but the happy and excited little flip his stomach did reading the message allowed nothing else.

You were quite alright too. Need to try again though to form a final opinion. Tomorrow?

“That you little toy?” Sanzu asked, leaning over and wiggling his eyebrows.

Quickly locking the screen before Sanzu could catch a glimpse, Koko put it on the other side of the table. “None of your business.”

The headache of a coworker was the only reason the eager heat simmering in his lower stomach seeing that text message kept at bay.

“Do you have a picture of him? I wanna see if he’s cute, maybe your taste has gotten better,” Sanzu leaned over further and grabbled for the device not his, which Koko quickly snatched from his hand, holding it out of his reach now as he scowled at his coworker.

“What the fuck? My taste in men has always been excellent, I don’t know what you’re talking about. And I don’t have any pictures, why would I?” Koko could read it on his face, on the catty smile that stretched the scars on the corners of his mouth – the next question Sanzu wanted to ask. “And I’m not telling you his name so you can stalk him on social media, forget it.”

Sanzu rolled his eyes but gave up going after his phone and picked up a ball point pen to play with instead. “Bummer. Is he at least a good lay?”

Yes. Absolutely yes, orgasm-so-good-Koko-couldn’t-speak-for-minutes yes, Koko had never been happier to have gotten picked up. But Sanzu didn’t have to know that. “I’m not talking to you about that.”

Disappointed, Sanzu clicked his tongue, pulling a face. “But I always tell you about my adventures.”

Koko’s scowl deepened. Also, the clicking of the pen got on his nerves. “I never asked for you to tell them. It’s all against my will.”

Sanzu jumped off the table, grinning. “You love them.”

Koko must have heard all the sex stories, under various circumstances, be it when he was drunk, when he was sober, when he was bored, or just whenever one popped into his mind, and he had no qualms about anything. The only condition for him to begin talking was that a certain someone had to be in the room to hear him accidentally too, even he acted as if he was only talking to Koko. But Koko had long understood the real reasoning, and while he still hadn’t figured out if that plan of making Rindou jealous truly worked because, well – not to shame anyone, but some of the stuff he told was vile – he appreciated Sanzu’s persistence. But Koko want to spend more time than he had to thinking about that all. As long as Sanzu stayed within everyone’s boundaries, he would keep himself out of it. They were grown men; they could sort themselves out.

Finally, Sanzu stopped bothering him and began walking away, Koko already returning to a half-finished e-mail, when Sanzu suddenly stopped to open his god-forsaken mouth again.

“Oh, and Hajime? I get 70 percent of your provision if I sell it.”

The email got forgotten immediately. “The fuck you do. No?” Kko spat.

“I bring the paying client.”

Sanzu had the audacity to shrug, acting as if it had already been decided and common practice when most definitely it was not, because that was Koko’s provision on the line. Koko maybe would have agreed to split it in half, had Sanzu asked him about his opinion on it, but what he was asking for was straight up outrageous. Who did he think he was to cheat Koko out of his money?

“You asked me to help you out!”

“But I didn’t need you.”

Unbelievable. Upsetting. Criminal. Who stole this man’s brain cells?

Koko raised his voice to whine, “Rindou! Tell your pet that’s not how this works!”

“This falls not under my responsibility. Talk it out on your own like grown-ups,” their boss yelled back, prompting a shit-eating grin from Sanzu, as if he’d already won their argument.

Deep breaths, Koko, deep and even breaths.

oOo

“How are we feeling about the monsteras?”

“I like them, the space is vast enough that they don’t divert the attention from the space itself.”

“Okay good, because I wasn’t too sure, but I still liked them,” Kazutora said, gesticulating wildly towards the plant.

As he lead Koko from room to room he pointed towards a few details he had placed around the house, explaining his visions and asking for Koko’s opinion on them. The mansion looked so different to when Koko had last visited, all the rooms bare and the blandness swallowing. Now they felt like a home, welcoming yet clean, held in black and white with green accents which showcased all the notable features the property had to offer. It looked its price – or at least remotely close to it.

So far, Koko liked what he was seeing a lot. Kazutora had outdone himself this time, managing to make the place appear as appealing as it possibly could be. He upvalued it through furnishing it with designer pieces, and paintings, plants and sparse but strategically placed decorations gave the mansion the final touch. If it wasn’t that expensive, Koko might have been inclined to invest himself; although it was too huge for his liking anyway. Places like these weren’t made for single people.

Kazutora continued his tour with bedroom on the second floor, one of the focal places in this house. In the doorway, Koko came to an abrupt halt, clinging onto the doorframe or he might faint in jar. “Kazutora?”

“Yes?” Kazutora turned on his heels, standing directly on the atrocity Koko had spotted.

“What is that?”

On the floor lay a carpet in the most vibrant leopard pattern Koko had ever had the infortune to see, even worse than all those flashy animal-print blouses Kazutora owned and wore with pride. In fact, Koko was sure Kazutora had a similarly painted shirt in his closet somewhere. It was just so Kazutora; and maybe you could interpret it as a decorator’s signature if you squinted. But he couldn’t allow this thing in this mansion, not at any cost.

“What do you mean?” Kazutora asked, looking innocently at his feet as Koko waved at the carpet.

Koko stepped into the room and lifted a corner of the fabric with the tip of his high heel. “That… rug. You can’t be serious about that.”

“What’s wrong with the rug? I think it livens the room up! Makes it more welcoming, you know?”

“It will drive all those interested away at sight!”

Kazutora’s expression changed, from serious to struck with hurt and he pressed a hand to his chest making it seem as if Koko had insulted him personally. “C’mon, it’s not that bad! I like it.”

Of course, Kazutora would say that. Otherwise, it wouldn’t even be here because nobody else could possibly like it.

“It’s atrocious. Cheap.” Exhaling deeply, Koko rubbed over the bridge of his nose. No need to throw away his nerves just yet, it’s just a carpet, not a paint job. “I need you to replace it, no back talk, and I need that do be done ASAP. The photographer is scheduled for tomorrow, I can’t postpone.”

To Koko’s surprise, holding his stomach with an arm, Kazutora broke out in boisterous laughter. “Hajime, relax. I know it doesn’t fit the theme of the house. I’m messing with you.”

With confusion Koko watched him walk over to the bed and kneel down. He reached under the furniture to retrieve a rolled-up carpet, this one fuzzy and pitch black, and held it high like a price he’d won with a wide grin on his face. For a moment, Koko didn’t know if he should laugh or strangle his one and only trusted interior decorator for playing so crudely with him.

“This is the one I actually got. Don’t worry, I won’t leave this here.” Still laughing, Kazutora began rolling up the leopard rug, then exchanged it with the actual one. Once done, he looked at the decoy with thoughtful expression and pursed lips. “I do like it though… maybe I’ll find a spot for it at my place.”

And now Koko had to laugh too. “I doubt Chifuyu would approve of it.”

Koko knew Chifuyu's taste well enough by now, contrasting entirely with Kazutora’s, and as a good friend of both of them, Koko felt obligated to save Chifuyu from the horror his boyfriend though of imposing on him. The pilot preferred the clean-cut look over whatever color bomb Kazutora would decorated their place with was he allowed to. Despite what he did for a living, Kazutora’s own taste could only be described as peculiar at best, with a knack for ridiculous uniqueness, and while they had found a compromise that worked well for them, in no universe would Chifuyu allow that rug into their home.

Kazutora waved him off, picking the roll up and fixing it under his arm to carry downstairs. “I’m the professional, he needs to trust my judgement. Plus, I’m home more often than he is anyway, he’ll let me have it.”

The worst about it all? Kazutora might be right, because Kazutora was himself and knew just which buttons to press to wrap everyone around his little finger with his wicked allure. And Chifuyu also had a soft spot when it came to Kazutora and his wishes, more than he liked to admit to himself.

“He’s too good for you.”

“Yeah, he is,” Kazutora smiled fondly.

They finished touring the house, making minor adjustments here and there, but overall Koko had no complaints. The interior was flawless, making the house a real eye-catcher; now it was on him to find the right clients.

Sitting down at the kitchen table, Kazutora skimmed through some documents sitting there until he found the one he needed to take some notes, then slid Koko the bill. Koko folded it and put it away to pay his debts later, the ordeal routine by now.

“What are your plans for this one?” Kazutora then asked, now that business was done and they had some time to catch up, “I mean, it’s stunning. The view from the master’s bedroom is unreal.”

Koko couldn’t argue with that.

“The location is great and we don’t have to discuss the house. But the price. The price.” He whined, and laid down on the table, face in the crook of arm. Alone the thought of having to sell this one gave him a headache.

Kazutora patted his back softly, “That bad?”

“Yes. As amazing as this is, I can’t see anyone willingly put down that much money and the seller isn’t budging. Believe me, I’ve tried. And did I mention I have a three month deadline?”

Had he known how stubborn that old fart was he would have declined the commission right away. Rookie mistake to not check with him sooner. It’s not that Koko didn’t trust his own skills as a realtor with his reputation succeeding him, he had grown wiser during years of biting off more than he could chew, teaching him that some challenges were almost impossible to conquer, and an overpriced house belonged into that category.

“Ugh, rough,” Kazutora pitied him, “You need a plan.”

“I need a drink. And a that too.”

“You drink too much,” his friend scolded with no real bite for he couldn’t claim to be any better.

Koko’s phone chimed. He sat up straight and retrieved it from his purse, checking who’d texted him. A puppy and a cocktail emoji appeared on his screen.

How’s your cute ass doing? Do I need a lawyer?

I’m gracious, not yet. I’ll give you another chance.

Damn, ego downer. Gotta go harder next time.

I’d love to see that

…maybe not tomorrow though?

whatever you say, precious ;)

“What are you smiling at?” Kazutora asked, an eyebrow raised, leaning his head on a hand.

Koko blinked a little dumbfounded. There he got caught a second time on the very same day, he should be ashamed of himself. But at least this was Kazutora who he could actually tell stuff and not some hare-brained oaf.

He shot a quick text back, then returned his attention to his friend. “Was out with Mikey yesterday and met a nice waiter. He gave me amazing service, I made sure to leave a great tip too,” he said, adding a wink.

Grinning, Kazutora, twirled his long bangs around a finger. “Got it. Good for you.”

He loved Kazutora for being so simple. No drama, no yelling, no making fun, just genuine interest and a pleasant conversation with the benefits of knowing he wasn’t one to run and tell the first person he saw, loyal to the core. Part of that was reason why they had stuck together for so long ever since becoming work partners turned friends.

“Sometimes, I’m lucky too,” Koko joked.

And then an idea struck Koko.

“I know what to do.” It may be over the top, but everything about this house and the clientele he wanted to reach was, so what was a little more. “Let’s throw a party. Here. In this house. Invite everyone who could potentially be interested and everyone else we know and maybe we can make this house seem like it’s actually worth its price.”

“We?”

“Yes, you’re helping.” Koko needed a second pair of hands if he wanted pull this off, so Kazutora had no say in this one.

Used to those demanding antics – and not-so-secretly a party-lover – Kazutora didn’t even bat an eye. Koko hadn’t doubted his involvement a second, and to Kazutora had always been the more skilled in organizing events, out of them both, since Koko’s strengths lied rather in the social aspect.

Already thinking, Kazutora hummed. “Alright. We need a motto though.”

The next hour they spent collecting all sorts of ideas, all of them written down on a piece of paper and most of them crossed out again shortly after having come to life. They were going for ridiculous but classy, attention grabbing but fun, a motto that catered to every target group, be it the flashy prominence or the calm investor that basically overflowed with money; Koko wanted them all there.

After some arguing from Kazutora and exaggerated eye rolling from Koko’s side whenever Kazutora shot another idea down for being too random, they ended up with three circled words on the sheet they both agreed on.

“Botox, Beer, and Nails?” Koko asked for confirmation, liking how the motto sounded. Attention-grabbing, hard to forget once heard.

Arms crossed and a superior smile on his lips, Kazutora lounged in the chair satisfied. “Stupid and fun enough for people to want to come, don’t you think?”

“I love it. We’ll do that.”

Rich people loved extravagant events, and it’s exactly those Koko wanted to reach. If executed well, their idea was fool-proof, and with some luck, skill and charm Koko would find one or maybe two people interested enough in buying the property. At least the provision would be worth all the hustles.

Kazutora clapped his hands together enthusiastically, radiating motivation to put his vision into work. “Great. I can take care of the DJ and the catering too, you invite the people –”

Right then and there, Koko interrupted him. He sniffed a one-time chance, which he would not let slip through his finger.

“Leave the catering to me, Tora. I know just the right place to call for this one.”

oOo

A fistful of hair between his fingers, Koko tugged at the golden strands roughly, guiding him into a rhythm he enjoyed, encouraged by how shamelessly Seishu hummed around his dick. Cheeks hollowed out, he welcomed Koko into him with eagerness, spit glistening lips stretched so nicely as he took Koko as far as he could, adapting to the pace he set.

Koko’s moans got drowned out by the heavy bass vibrating through the house and the laughs and chatter outside, but even if anyone heard them, Koko wouldn’t care. He felt so good, too aroused and mind too hazy to focus on anything but the man kneeling in front of him, sucking him off in one of the seven luxurious bathrooms, pinning him against a wall.

One of Seishu’s hands pressed against Koko’s hip, forbidding him from fucking into his mouth. The other covered the base of his cock he couldn’t fit into his mouth yet and there wasn’t an inch of Koko that didn’t feel overwhelmed with stimulation.

Seishu flattened his tongue and licked a broad stripe along the pronounced vein, causing Koko’s breath to stutter, the muscles in his stomach tightening convulsively. There’s pressure building in his groin, and it’s doing so with rapid speed, hurling him towards the edge relentlessly.

“You gotta slow down, or I won’t last,” he warned the other.

Seishu spared him a glance through lidded eyes, tears collecting in the corners, before flicking his tongue around his tip, pressing into his slit and Koko’s legs almost gave way under him. He found grip against the sink.

“Holy shit,” Koko groaned, squeezing his eyes shut. Nope, he won’t be able to suppress his orgasm for much longer.

He adjusted his hand, carding Seishu’s long bangs out of his face and pulled them back again, his nails scratching his scalp. The vibrations of Seishu’s slutty moan threatened to throw him off the ledge. But right before that happened, Seishu squeezed the base of his cock, denying him an orgasm again and Koko whimpered, legs trembling and on the verge of giving out.

Suddenly, someone knocked at the door. Koko sucked in a sharp breath, Seishu stilled, making eye contact.

The doorhandle moved, then rattled, but the door remained shut. They’d locked it before.

Another knock. For fucks sake, there were six other bathrooms in this villa, go find another one, there was no need to be annoying.

Koko swallowed drily. “Keep going,” he mouthed. He’d combust did they stop now.

A sparkle appeared in Seishu’s eyes, knowing exactly how wound up he had gotten Koko. And then he took in Koko all the way, until his cock hit the back of Seishu’s throat, spasming as he swallowed around. He took little time to adjust before bobbing his head in a pace that turned Koko into a blabbering mess.

He struggled to form a coherent sentence. “Seishu, I’m gonna come, pull away.”

The wetness, the heat, the suction, Seishu’s soft choking, Koko found himself in his dreams of pleasure, and it was all he needed to come. But Seishu didn’t listen. No, he pushed further, picked up pace, and he didn’t even pull back as Koko came gasping for air as his orgasm washed over him in searing waves.

Seishu swallowed every last drop until there was nothing left, and he pulled off with a slick pop. Koko watched as he darted out the tip of his tongue, licking them clean, before wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. Hot. He looked fucking hot, with his lips all swollen red, glassy eyes and a flush burning on his cheeks.

As Koko tucked himself into his dress pants again, Seishu sat back on his heels, breath labored and a mischievous smile on his features so handsome, Koko couldn’t resist to bend down and coax him into a sloppy, open-mouthed kiss, the taste of his lipstick mixing with his own. Seishu kissed back eagerly, mapped out his mouth with his tongue, and Koko would be a liar did he deny the already returning arousal, not truly satiated in the slightest.

“Your mouth is doing God’s work, do you know that?” Koko praised as he broke the kiss to breathe.

Over the last three weeks, he had gotten to know the wide range of skills Seishu possessed, be it with his hands, mouth or tongue, and no matter how often he thought it couldn’t get any better, Seishu proved him wrong, finding new buttons of his to press he wasn’t even aware he had. This had also not been the first blowjob he received from the other, and surely not the cleanest. But something about being in this bathroom while just outside that door there was a party in full swing brought an extra kick to the whole thing, adrenaline enhancing the high he rode on.

He snaked a hand down to the waistband of Seishu’s work pants, trying to undo the zipper to relieve him of that obvious tent he was sprouting, but Seishu caught his wrist.

“I need to get back to work,” he said, voice raw.

“You can tell them Boss said you were needed. I’m paying for your services tonight,” Koko purred into his ear, trying to get his hand back, but Seishu had a tight grip on him.

“Mhm, maybe. But this very greedy boss also has to host a party and his guests will get suspicious if he’s gone for too long,” Seishu said impishly, letting go and standing up, a little wobbly on his feet. He brushed out some wrinkles on his knees, then splashed some cold water in his face at the sink.

Koko frowned. “I can’t let you leave like that.”

He joined Seishu’s side by the mirror, checking his make-up and pulled a paper towel out of the dispenser to clean up the red lipstick that had smeared, before reaching into his purse on the counter to reapply some. Thankfully, the eyeliner held on strong because his hands hadn’t stopped shaking yet.

Seishu dried his face with one of the soft towels stacked, then also reached into Koko’s purse, grabbling for the lip balm knew he carried around all the time. Koko didn’t even question it, and while he did think Seishu got a little too confident lately

“I’m good, really” Seishu said.

Turning to lean with his back against the sink, he controlled his inhale, exhaled slowly, head in his neck as he stared at the ceiling and waited until his erection flagged. Koko still mourned he didn’t get to help him with that. He would have loved to.

After having calmed a bit, Seishu gave him a cocky grin. “Besides, that was just a tease for you, so you know what’s in for you later.”

Koko blinked at him, briefly stunned. “Later? Shouldn’t you ask me first if I had time?”

In all honesty, while Koko did book the services of that one restaurant with some dirtier ulterior motives and scheduled the party not as accidentally on a day Seishu worked as he pretended when asked, once he had realized just how many people actually would show up, the idea of getting any private time that day had vanished from his mind completely. The event had started four hours ago, and up until the moment Inui had waved him aside, gestured he should follow him, Koko had still been busy greeting arriving guests and praising and marketing the property like a broken record.

“Well, now you do,” Seishu said through a chuckle, and he knew he was right because as if Koko would tell him no, especially now. Later sounded fantastic.

“Find me when your shift’s over.”

Koko walked out the bathroom first, confidently, pretending he hadn’t just spent the last thirty minutes in there. Inui stayed back for another few minutes.

There appeared to be even more people in the house than when Koko had slinked off. His guest list wasn’t even that long, what happened? The mansion had filled, there wasn’t a single empty room anymore he noted as he headed towards the stairs to return to the yard where he had last left his coworkers. The way out took him another twenty minutes, running into a few acquaintances he knew to be friends with the Haitanis and even meeting some rather well-known names for the first time. There was something peculiar about presenting yourself in utter most professional fashion when just minutes ago your dick had been down someone else’s throat; oh well.

Finally crossing the hallway, from the basement he heard boisterous cheering. Was that Keizou’s entire football team? They must have gotten to the bowling alley. The nail-technicians in the study had their hands full, surrounded by watching and waiting guests, and he found the beer-expert handing out bottles to very intrigued and surely very loaded businessmen who likely only attended because their wives made them. He’d join later to give them a run-down about the house.

Sliding the glass door close behind him, he finally made it back to the patio. The breeze of fresh air finally gave him a chance to breathe. It took some of the remaining edge of his shoulders.

“Koko, there you are! We were getting worried!” Kazutora spotted him immediately, waving a hand to grab his attention and Koko headed towards them.

A few of his friends had gathered, most of his colleagues nowhere to be seen anymore, but that suited Koko just well. Sanzu had been on his tail ever since that one incident and he had the sense of smell of a hound, that fucker much more attentive than he let on. He didn’t need to face him right now.

“Where were you?” Kakucho asked once he joined, genuinely curious. He had both having both his hands around a whiskey glass, filled with a meekly rest but the liquor looking rather appealing anyway.

“Just greeting some people, answering questions, being a host, you know,” Koko replied, waving for one of Seishu’s colleagues so they could all order another round of drinks, seeing most glasses on the table were empty or almost so.

“Understandable. I didn’t think this would be such a huge gathering.” Chifuyu nodded, drinking from the beer bottle he held. Brazilian, Koko read on the label. As he spoke, Kazutora took the bottle from him and took a swig. Chifuyu tolerated it with a smile and circled an arm around his waist.

“Me neither,” Koko muttered, leaning onto the standing table, shifting his weight from one leg to another.

His feet were starting to hurt in the strappy high heels, despite them being one of his well-worn pairs. He wanted a break from being host – another one, and he could only pray all of the guests acted mature enough to not trash anything and to not leave behind an unsalvageable mess, because Koko had an inkling the owner would rip him a new one was that to happen.

“But you and Tora really outdid yourself, it’s great. Who’s the DJ, I want him for my next birthday party,” Ken asked, and Kazutora whipped up his phone to share the contact information right away.

As tedious and tiring it all was, hearing people liked their little PR stunt made pride swell in Koko’s chest. No matter how detailed your planning and preparations, their success or failure got decided by your guests. He had done his best and even if hosting exhausted him, in the end the effort was worth all the hassle. Even if he didn’t sell after this, he’d still would have upped his reputation further, which meant more clients and more listings, making for good money. He could only win tonight.

They talked about the house and the party for a while, holding a casual conversation, until someone yelled Koko’s name from the entrance. Koko whipped around just to see Mikey skipping towards them in a not so straight line; and in tow, right behind him, nobody but Sanzu. Of fucking course Mikey picked Sanzu as his new chaperone, the only person he was trying to avoid right now. Nobody ever gifted Koko any peace of mind – except Seishu maybe. Would it be anyone else, Koko wouldn’t care at all, but Sanzu had done his very best to read Koko like an open book. No matter how hard he tried to conceal the evidence, Sanzu could always tell where he had spent the night, and at first it had gotten on his nerves until annoyance yielded to acceptance, but that didn’t mean Koko needed a call-out in front of all his friends and guests.

Act neutral. Nothing happened. He shouldn’t be able to tell anything anymore.

Mikey approached Koko, a little wonky on his feet, and wrapped his arms around his middle, reminding Koko of just how short he truly was. “Koko! This party is awesome. This is fun!”

Not exactly caught off guard but still surprised by the sudden affection, Koko blinked at him, not exactly knowing what to do, before awkwardly deciding to pat him on the back. “Thanks?”

“You should organize one for our new house too when you find it.”

Koko glanced at Kazutora quickly, sharing a look, glad to find the same answer– Hell, no.

“We’ll see about that.”

Amused, Draken asked across the table, “Mikey, how drunk are you?”

“A liddol bit,” slurring, Mikey pushed himself off Koko’s frame and putting his thumb and index together. “Haruchiyo did Jaeger bombs with me!”

Uttering sounds of disgust, Koko sticked his tongue out and shot Sanzu an accusing glare. Only Sanzu would enjoy those in such a high-class setting, when he could choose literally anything else with more class. Heathen. Koko should have put restrictions on the bar.

Sanzu laughed, pulling his long hair to one side of his shoulders, and made space for himself at the table and everyone shuffled around to accommodate since it started to get cramped. Standing next to Koko, he reeked of booze, slightly sour and stale, and Koko knew instantly he couldn’t have had less than Mikey.

Draken only shrugged and plucked his boyfriend from Koko, who immediately latched onto Draken instead.

But Koko didn’t have time to focus on Mikey any longer, when Sanzu elbowed Koko in the side. “Ey, Hajime. Are you ignoring me? I called for you when you came out of that bathroom, but you just walked away.”

It took all of his poker-face skills and composure to not cringe at the words. Sanzu had seen him. His heart suddenly hammered inside his chest.

Koko studied his coworker’s expression. He looked for something that would tell him if there’s more behind Sanzu’s words, an implication or a hint of knowledge he shouldn’t have, but he came back empty, Sanzu didn’t seem to be on his tail. Everything’s fine. Seishu left after him, so chances were Sanzu didn’t pay attention to that after Koko had left. No big deal. No reason to worry at all.

He suppressed a relieved exhale, instead put on a nonchalant expression. “Sorry, didn’t hear you. The music must have been too loud. Is something wrong?”

“No, nothing at all. In fact, I highly commend you to this event. And you too, Hanemiya,” Sanzu said earnestly, turning to Kazutora, then back to Koko as he added, “you’ve been so prude lately, I had almost forgotten how much fun you can be at times.”

Koko ignored the subtle shade, but his eyes went wide, embarrassment mixing with astonishment. Praise? From Sanzu? Unheard of. Those were the most genuine and praising words he’s ever heard come from Sanzu’s mouth, despite the indirect insult laced into them. Koko felt honored, genuinely honored. And maybe, Sanzu’s opinion shouldn’t matter to him as much as it did, but the situation so special, Koko couldn’t help it.

“I didn’t know you could be that nice, Haru,” he said, bowing his head, “but I appreciate that.”

“Sure thing.” With a wink, he added, “And Ran told me to let you know he’s already had a few ask him about the property. And one guy declared he’s seriously interested. Ran forwarded your number.”

“Seriously?”

Sanzu nodded.

And a weight bigger than he knew he carried lifted from his shoulders hearing those words. “Thank heavens!” Koko collapsed over the table, not caring it was sticky and slightly wet, too relieved to even notice. Everything he had hoped for tonight had come true. Today was going splendidly, it couldn’t go any better.

The table cheered, applauding him and raising their drinks to a toast. Kakucho slapped him in the back proudly with too much force but lovingly. It wasn’t an actual sale yet but having interested people counted as more than a win in this case.

“Is there a reason to celebrate? Should I deliver a new round right away?”

A familiar voice sounded right behind Koko. He straightened, looked over his shoulder and there stood Inui, serving tray with their drinks in hand, head tilted questioningly like he always did when confused. Nothing on his face indicated what they did together earlier, his appearance flawless with his hair now neatly braided and face back to its normal color. Beautiful as ever. He handed out the drinks one after another.

“Yeah, our pretty friend here might sell this banger of a house,” Sanzu announced, gesturing towards Koko before throwing an arm over his shoulders and flicking his fingers. Koko cringed at the contact. “Bring us whatever’s the best, one for everyone here and two extra ones! Quickly.”

Inui lowered his head in respect, his manners as polite and flawless as Koko remembered them. “Congratulations, seems to be a successful night,” he turned to Koko. “The man of honor’s favorite shall it be then, only the best. I’ll be right back.”

The last words he said with a subtle curve to his lips, eyes alight with sly humor. Koko bit down on his lower lip, holding back the inappropriate reply as he reminded himself to be as inconspicuous as possible.

As Seishu left, leaning into Koko’s space, Sanzu whispered, “Oh, that one’s a cute one, don’t you think?”

“The waiter?”

“Yes, he looks fuckable.”

The remark felt like a slap to his face. Koko couldn’t describe it and couldn’t pin it down, but seeing Sanzu’s interest shift so suddenly, his relief gave way to a sudden feeling overcoming him; one whispering to him something was off, alarmingly so.

“Oi, Haruchiyo, language,” a voice belonging to a black mop of long hair commented from the offside in the passing, having caught that specific phrase just in time.

“Shut up, fuckface, mind your business,” Sanu yelled over his shoulder.

Takeomi huffed but didn’t interfere further before disappearing in the crowd with Shinichiro. Koko saw them for the first time today, but that explained why he had also spotted Imaushi somewhere earlier, the quartet with Keizou completed.

Though that really didn’t interest him right now as his thoughts remained fixed on Sanzu, the words leaving a nasty taste behind.

“If you say so.”

The leash he held himself on pulled tight, Koko tried to act indifferent. He ignored how the collar choked him. They didn’t know Seishu and Inui were fucking. They weren’t supposed to know, for everyone’s sanity. Apart from that, Koko had no claim on Seishu, he shouldn’t care at all. And yet–

A playful tone sneaked into Sanzu’s voice as he nudged Koko again, “Absolutely. Let’s see if he’ll stick around for a while.”

Sanzu hit Inui up the second he returned. “Hey, what’s your name?”

“Inui Seishu, sir,” he responded politely. He placed the turquoise cocktails on the table, one in front of each.

Sanzu clicked his tongue and accepted a glass, but took a second one directly from the tray, holding it out to him. “Sweet. Care to have a drink with us?”

“I’m not allowed to drink at work.”

“Ah, he’s the boss tonight, I’m sure he’ll allow it. Right, Hajime?”

“I have nothing to do with the restaurants policies, Haru,” Koko frowned, throwing a worried glance in Seishu’s direction. But Seishu appeared to be entirely unbothered by Sanzu’s advances, the front of professionalism he kept up impeccable.

Sanzu didn’t read the room though. Whether he was too drunk already or just decided that if he couldn’t be an ass with Koko he’d be to someone else, Koko had no clue, but he let his hand brush over Seishu’s arm with no shame and dignity.

“Sad, but okay. Tell me, how long’s your shift, maybe we can get a drink after.”

“I work until the event’s over and have returned the bus to the restaurant,” Seishu stated calmly. A blatant lie. He was off at three a.m., after that someone would take over for him, he’d told Koko earlier.

“Alright, maybe we can organize something then.”

“Haru…,” Kakucho mumbled threateningly next to him, trying to interrupt.

The conversations around the table had died, everyone listening to the talk between Sanzu and Inui now, the atmosphere tense as a strung bow. Koko sensed their discomfort, saw them exchange worried glances, full of uncertainty what and if to do something. At the same time, anger coursed through his veins. His jaw hurt from gritting his teeth too hard. Drunk or not, Koko’s hook-up or not, he was crossing a line there.

“I’m joking, Kaku, don’t worry,” Sanzu grinned, flicking his friend in the forehead. “Go back to work, I won’t hold you up much longer,” he then told Seishu, waving him away like an annoying fly.

Seishu bowed, arm folded on his back, his ability to remain so calm and deferential admirable. He left with an empty tray.

As he walked away, Sanzu’s gaze followed him like a predator followed its pray, licking the sweet alcohol of his lips after taking a sip. “He’d be fun to take from behind.”

“Haru, stop!” Kakucho hissed. He tore the cocktail out of Sanzu’s fingers and poured it into the grass. “I think you’ve had enough. Quit that bullshit.”

Kazutora quick to react and follow suit, snatched up the spare drinks on the table and handed them to the next best person passing by; everything to keep the alcohol out of Sanzu’s reach.

Koko thanked whatever had caused that anger in Kakucho for bursting out first because inwardly, Koko was fuming. Was he to say a word he’d lash out at Sanzu. How dare he speak to Seishu in such an utterly disgusting, derogatory way, what was he even thinking. Had he lost his mind completely now? And Koko admitted to himself freely that yes, a feeling akin to possessiveness bubbled in his guts with torrent rage, but he’d unpack that later.

However, he really didn’t want to see Sanzu’s face any longer, having had enough of him for the night. He didn’t trust himself to not clout him one, did he stay at the table. Throwing him out sadly wasn’t an option for the scene he would cause, but he could get rid of him in other ways.

“Sanzu, could you get Ran for me? I need to speak to him,” Koko pressed out, glaring pointedly at his colleague.

“Get him yourself, lazy shit.”

“I don’t know where he is and I don’t think he’ll answer his phone,” Koko pushed, leaving no room for negotiation, and to his luck, Sanzu actually bent to his will with a roll of eyes, strutting off.

Once he was out of earshot, across the table, Chifuyu smacked his lips. “Well, that was–“

Kakucho shook his head, an exhausted sigh passing his lips, “Don’t even say. Not excusing him, but he always gets like that when drunk and Rindou’s not here.”

Koko didn’t comment, having nothing nice to say. Draken, the saint with a little devil leaning against his shoulder, tried to turn the mood around, picking up another topic of conversation and with everyone glad to be able to forget about Sanzu for now, they took the chance, laughing again soon. Only Koko couldn’t really join in. He tried to get distracted, but his thoughts kept reeling, kept jumping back to the last conversation.

He couldn’t shake the feeling of suspicion that dwelt within him, but furthermore, he'd have to apologize to Seishu on Sanzu’s behalf as soon as possible and have a word with Sanzu too. Apart from the fact he’d gotten inappropriate with Seishu, he just couldn’t do that, not in a setting like this and not ever. And as much as Koko tried to let it go for now, for the sake of tonight’s peace and to not ruin everyone else’s fun, it didn’t work. He really did. He just couldn’t.

After a while, it dawned on him how much time had passed, while Ran had never appeared. What was taking Sanzu so long? The queasy feeling in his guts worsened to a point it nauseated him and he couldn’t stand still any longer, needing to excuse himself from the table and leaving a half-finished cocktail behind as he went to search for them.

It took crossing half the mansion and several times he had to brush off friendly guests, until he heard Sanzu’s taxing, recognizable voice from upstairs in a calmer area of the house.

“Come on, relax a little, allow yourself some good things in life.”

“I’m really not interested in any of that. Could you please step aside now, I need to serve these.”

The reply was quieter, Koko needed to concentrate to understand, but that was undeniably Seishu’s voice. Every alarm bell inside Koko started to ring. He looked up, took a few steps back and caught a glimpse of them both in the hallway on the top floor, Seishu against a wall with a tray in hand, Sanzu in front of him, leaning closely into Seishu’s personal space.

“Don’t be like that. I promise I’m more fun than Hajime could ever be.”

Clutching the handrail, Koko froze at the bottom of the stairs. So that’s what this was all about, yes? Sanzu knew, and he couldn’t be civil about it. Of course. He fucking knew.

Fuck.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, now please step back.”

Koko could only hear them now as he went up the stairs, but Seishu was clearly getting mad, the edge to his voice unmistakable.

“Wait,” Sanzu barked.

“Don’t touch me, asshole!”

What was he even witnessing? Sanzu couldn’t possibly be for real. Koko tried to be faster.

“Haru!” Koko yelled to get his attention, but he didn’t hear him. Or didn’t want to. Koko rushed up the last few meters. Sanzu had Seishu trapped against a wall with his body, one hand around the buckle of Seishu’s pants.

“Excuse me?”

Seishu gritted his teeth. He tried to push Sanzu off, but couldn’t do much, the tray stacked with glasses limiting his range of motion.

“You heard me. Take your disgusting hands off of me,” he snarled.

Koko ran towards them, to stop whatever Sanzu had on mind. But everything next happened so fast, Koko couldn’t do anything but watch it go down in terror.

“You know, you should be glad someone even wants you with that face. You’re just like me. Not the prettiest, but with the lights off I’m sure you’re pretty fuckable.”

Whack.

The sound of shattering glass rung through the vast space, shard after shard hitting the ground with a clink and within a heartbeat, the space fell into deadly silence. The music stopped. All eyes snapped to the scene that played out on the top floor. Sliding to a halt, Koko took in the picture, rendered speechless in shock.

Sanzu pressed his hands to his right eye. Seishu stood in front of him, heaving, the now empty tray raised in defense. Seishu had smacked Sanzu with the tray, straight in his face, the glass breaking against his skull. Blood mixed with the alcohol dripping from Sanzu’s face. The floor reddened in no time.

For a few seconds, time stood still. Then, chaos erupted.

“Where’s the host?”

“Security!”

“Somebody call an ambulance!”

oOo

Koko found Seishu sitting alone in the dark at the far end of the patio next to a burning down fireplace, picking the short grass and tearing stalk after stalk mindlessly. His heels resounded on the wooden flooring until he stopped right next to Seishu, hesitating when he didn’t acknowledge him, but then sat down next to him anyway, stretching his legs out in front of him.

They stayed like that for a while, not speaking and listening to the gentle cracking of wood in the flames, Seishu looking at the ground, Koko watching Seishu, trying and failing to read his expression, to understand what was going on in that sharp mind of his. With his vest open, the shirt’s top buttons undone and the braid slowly falling apart, Seishu looked just as done with the night as he probably felt.

But the silence suffocating, Koko wanted to say something, to ease the atmosphere a little. “Well, that’s not how I thought the night would go.”

“Not at all.”

“Though it was going great for most part.”

“Guess so.”

He swallowed around a lump in his throat. Awkward. That’s how the air around them felt. Nothing like the casual playfulness they had adapted and Koko got used to, but truthfully, he hadn’t expected that anyway. Koko understood, the situation hard to process – Hell, even he struggled to see the whole picture – yet he couldn’t imagine half of his turmoil and he didn’t know what to do or say to make it right again.

“Are you okay?” he whispered.

Finally, Seishu looked at him, a shadow darkening his usually so lively eyes. “I’m fine, just tired.”

“I’m sorry that happened”, Koko said.

He felt guilty. So incredibly guilty for letting this happen when he knew Sanzu, knew how he could get, when it should have been so obvious he was onto something. But he hadn’t put it past Sanzu to go that far. Guess you can never truly know a person but tonight had painted him in a new light.

A scowl settled on Seishu’s face. “What are you apologizing for? I ruined your party, I should be apologizing.”

“Seishu, you just got molested by my colleague. Don’t.” Koko couldn’t believe it. That guy. He shouldn’t have to hammer into Seishu’s head that none of the fault lay with him. Screw the party, Koko really didn’t care.

Seishu snorted a dry laugh, ripping another culm from the ground. “Yet he’s the one to get stitches. I should count myself lucky he doesn’t want to press charges, even if I might lose my job now.”

“I’m sure they’ll understand it was self-defense. I’ll put in a good word for you.”

And Koko definitely would. He was a man of his words, and he would let this night be the reason Seishu got fired. He would call tomorrow first thing in the morning and so they had to let him stay. He could be quite persuasive if needed, that was part of his job description, and if everything failed he’d still find another job for Seishu and if it was the last thing he did.

Seishu just kept staring at his shoes in quiet, a sticky sheen to them from the sugary drinks that have gotten spilled on them, letting silence fall anew. But his hands fidgeted in his lap. Koko resisted the urge to take them into his own.

Another set of steps approached from behind. Koko turned to look who joined to find himself surprised at the sight of Takeomi Akashi. He would have been one of the last people he'd expected. He thought he had left already like pretty much everyone else, they were mere acquaintances and Rindou had already taken Sanzu somewhere else once Koko had successfully deescalated and navigated the situation and sent everyone home. But truthfully, Koko didn’t actually care who had decided to stick around until now, he was sick of guests and clients, so damn sick. He left the rest to Kazutora.

Standing in front of Inui, hands shoved into the pockets of his jeans, he asked, “Hey, are you the one who clocked my brother?”

Seishu craned his head, eyes widening briefly, then he nodded.

“I’m sorry for what he did,” Takeomi said remorsefully, rubbing his neck, “He’s… a special case. I guess it won’t help but I’ll beat his ass for real later, I promise.”

Taken aback, Seishu blinked at him. A small smile appeared on his lips. “It does kinda help, not gonna lie.”

“Good. And, well –,” Takeomi pulled a hand out of his pocket with a paper card between his fingers. He held it out to Seishu, who accepted it and inspected the dark business from both sides.

“I know the timing is off, and I’m really sorry for that too, but I don’t agree with Haruchiyo and want to say you have a very handsome and unique face. I’m a photographer. Maybe, if you’re interested, give me a call sometime and we’ll do a test shoot? I’d love to have you,” Takeomi explained.

“Uhm, thank you?”

“No problem. Feel better soon.”

Gone as quick as he had appeared, Koko and Seishu were alone again. Staring at the card for another minute, holding it carefully at the edges like it would bite him any second otherwise, Seishu ran a hand through his hair, so his braid fell apart completely, mumbling to himself.

“This is ridiculous. What the fuck even happened today?”

“The world of the famous and flashy never made a lot of sense.”

Deadpan, Seishu gave him a look almost harsh and still stricken with hurt, Koko wanted to crumble beneath it, “Yeah, I think I know that by now.” He got up, shoving the card into the pocket of his vest. “You should go back to your people, take care of the mess.”

“The guests are gone, Kazutora has it all under control. Is there anything I can do for you? Should I give you a ride home?” Already reaching into his purse, Koko fished for his car key. The set of keys with its pendants jingled as he pulled them out. Something. Koko wanted to do something for him, anything, just to make the remainder of his night a little bit easier.

Seishu stopped him before he could stand, holding up a hand and shaking his head. “No, thank you. I’ll go back to the restaurant with the others and finish up. Night, Hajime.”

Disappointment he couldn’t keep out of his voice overcame Koko. “Oh. Okay. Take care. Hear from you soon?”

But Seishu had already turned around and walked away.

Days passed, but Koko did not get a single call or text from Seishu.

oOo

Koko didn’t come to the office with the intention to stay for longer than an hour on his day off, but he also didn’t mind sticking around a little while when Kakucho and Izana roped him into ordering lunch on their tab. Apart from them, only Ran was in, eating in front of his laptop as he worked, while they sat around the large table on the second floor, laughing like children about Izana getting pasta sauce all over himself. Even in his white hair, which Kakucho wiped away gently, cooing him like you would a toddler. Izana’s pout didn’t help the situation.

Ever since the party, Koko’s mood had been battered, so he appreciated the light-hearted atmosphere a lot. While his week had been going great career-wise, the sudden silence from Seishu weighted on him more than he thought it would, the other occupying his thoughts every free second. He just wanted to know how he was doing and if he was alright, but at the same time he didn’t dare to text him yet, afraid he’d come off as overbearing or annoying. The last thing he wanted was to scare Seishu off entirely. So, he gave him the space he asked for, even if it hurt a little.

The doorbell chimed. All three of them ignored it, since Ran sat at the front desk anyway. Should he take care of it.

A male voice talked, too quietly to understand the words where they sat, but Koko also didn’t pay a lot attention.

“Yeah, sure, he’s here, somewhere,” Ran said, his deep voice always strident, then he proceeded to yell way too loudly for the small office, “Kokonoi, move your ass down here, you’re needed!”

Koko flinched, almost threw his spoon away and spilled soup in his lap. Kakucho and Izana laughed out loud. Izana mouthed payback, and Koko stuck his tongue out at him. Frantically, he wiped over the fresh stain and patted it down with a tissue to get rid of the worst, but it didn’t really help, the spot clearly visible. Embarrassing himself in front of clients hadn’t been on his to-do list today.

He stood, heading over to the railing and bending over to see who came to bother him when he had even turned his work-phone off. “What? I’m not even supposed to be here today, if this isn’t about the waterpark for Manjiro then– Seishu?”

“Hey,” Seishu smiled up at him, offering a small wave.

Koko quickly skipped down the stairs, tripping over the last step.

“I didn’t expect to see you,” Koko said bluntly, as if it wasn’t obvious. Suddenly he didn’t mind being visited on his free day anymore.

“Yeah, figured so.”

Seishu standing there, pretty as ever in heels Koko would die for, Koko almost felt embarrassed of his own appearance. He hadn’t bothered to dress up today, having only come in to collect a few documents so he could look over them at home. Hence, he wasn’t wearing make-up, glasses on his nose, he wore an old hoodie and now stained sweatpants and his hair barely stayed in the bun he had tied this morning. Definitely one of his worse looks, but nothing he could do about it now.

Clearing his throat, Ran interrupted curious. “Aren’t you that guy from the party?”

Seishu hummed. “Apparently that’s all I’m known for these days, but yeah.”

Ran sat up straighter in his chair. “Alright. I’m sorry for what happened, on our company’s behalf. If there’s anything we can do for you, please don’t be shy to request it,” he offered politely, already sliding him his business card, but Seishu declined.

“Thank you, appreciated. But I’m actually here to apologize too, to like, all of you and especially you, Hajime.”

“I told you, you have nothing to be sorry for,” Koko said softly, doing well hiding his nervousness. He waved Seishu towards the couches set up for clients so they could talk not standing awkwardly in the middle of the office.

Seishu followed him and sat down on one of the leather seats, getting comfortable while Koko took the one across, crossing his legs to at least hide the stain.

“I still feel bad for busting your party. It wasn’t very professional, and I know how important that one was, and then I went and ruined your sale,” Seishu continued.

He spoke calmly, but his leg bounced, making Koko feel more anxious than the already was. It wasn’t like him, to be so uneasy around people, but this conversation struck a nerve and not only for what happened but for the unfamiliar, desperate longing Koko had to wrap his head around the past days. His attachment weaved a delicate thread, but he hadn’t realized it had already connected to Seishu until distance forced a strain upon the link. It wasn’t ideal, Koko was painfully aware. It’s not like he had wanted that to happen, but now all he could do was to wait what Seishu would do; because Koko had handed the scissors to him.

Truthfully, cutting the strings would hurt Koko at this point already. But at the same time, he’d understand. He wasn’t feeble, he’d get over it.

But Seishu didn’t seem to be mad, or to want to escape the situation as soon as possible. On the contrary, Koko had the impression he was glad to see him again from the tender look in his eyes. But Koko didn’t trust that sense too much yet in case he was projecting his own feelings he couldn’t keep to himself. Because seeing Seishu doing well put a part inside him at ease which hadn’t found a second of peace from anxious whirling ever since.

Having listened in, Ran barked out a laugh, interrupting their conversation before they could even have one. “Buddy, don’t be sorry. In fact, as nasty as it was, you almost did Koko a favor there.”

“Huh?” Not understanding, Seishu’s gaze danced back and forth between Ran and Koko.

A blush rose to Koko’s cheeks. He took off his glasses and put them on his legs so he wouldn’t be able to see Seishu’s expression, admittedly intimidated of what he could find. That hadn’t sounded right, he definitely would have worded that differently. Hopefully Seishu didn’t take Ran’s words the wrong way. He fidgeted his glasses between his fingers.

“I sold the property.”

“You did?”

“I impressed them with my professionalism apparently, so they were still interested. I showed them the house, gave them all the details and made an offer that same day.”

Koko hadn’t dared to wish for it, but after the call came, everything happened in no time. Within twenty-four hours they had wrapped it all up, the offer in place and another twelve later he had a hefty provision under his belt that could sustain him for the remaining year. Under normal circumstances he would have already booked his next flight to the Maldives and be on the plane, but he’s rather glad he decided to not do that this time, not when he had some matters to sort out before.

“Whoa. Congrats, you deserved it after all the effort you put into it,” Seishu said, and he meant it, those blue eyes full of what Koko believed to be … pride.

“Thanks.” Koko’s cheeks grew hotter under his fond eyes. He didn’t even know why he was getting so flustered now.

And then Seishu laughed, that beautiful sound that had grown on Koko from the very first time they’ve met. He leaned forward on his knees, that sly smile of his returned to his lips. “Seems like we both got something good out of it. Apparently, I’m not only a waiter anymore but a model too, you know?”

“What?”

“I went to meet with Akashi yesterday, and I might get a job for some editorial magazine. Well paid too, which comes just right.”

“I’m actually not surprised, you do have a very pretty face,” Koko retorted cockily, before an awful joke slipped from his tongue, “We’re still not handing Haru a thank-you card.”

Seishu chuckled and shook his head adamantly, causing his bangs to cover his face. “Nope. Though he did apologize.”

“As if that makes up for his shitty stunt.”

Seishu shushed him. “Don’t hold grudges on my behalf. You’ll have a hard time at work if you do.”

“Listen to that man, Hajime, he has a point,” Ran threw in, having swallowed a wanna-be-funny pill today apparently. Damn shall this too small office be. You got no privacy anywhere.

“I will not until Rindou puts a collar on his dog,” Koko snapped, crossing his arms on his chest, but he’d be a fool to think that would shut Ran up, who merely laughed at him before he continued typing.

Seishu watched the interaction with confusion, head tilted in that way Koko thought of as incredibly cute, but simply accepted it, which was fine because Koko himself had yet to understand the complicated relationship Sanzu and Rindou were trying to spin. The dynamic between them had always been odd if he dared to say, but things seemed to have reached their pinnacle after the latest disaster. Since then, neither had been seen in the office, and Ran refused to explain anything, but maybe Rindou would finally knock some sense into Sanzu these days.

Saishu cleared his throat, sat up a bit straighter and immediately received all of Koko’s attention again. “Now, I actually came here because I wanted to invite you to coffee sometime, to make up for all that.”

Straight forward and to the point. Koko found he appreciated that trait of Seishu’s immensely, and while he couldn’t say often enough, that Seishu had no reason to be sorry when none of the fault lay with him, he liked the sound of coffee. So, how could he turn such offer down? But first and foremost, his heart jumped with excitement and didn’t stop to flutter as he learned Seishu wasn’t yet tired of him.

“Coffee? Sure. I’d love to. Tomorrow?”

“Great. It’s a date then. I’ll text you when and where exactly later,” Seishu grinned.

And now the same straightforwardness made Koko sputter for words. “Uhm, yeah – Yeah, sure! Looking forward to it!”

“Me too.”

As soon as Seishu had left and the door closed, Koko let himself fall against the back of the couch, head thrown back and palms rubbing over his face. He wanted to squeal with happiness, his stomach was doing some weird flipping and his heart didn’t cease to thrum rapidly. For what must be the first time in forever, he felt giddy with anticipation and nervous for all the right reasons.

A date. Seishu invited him to an actual date.

Once he opened his eyes, he realized that leaning onto the railing above stood Izana and Kakucho, who must have eavesdropped on the entire conversation, and he didn’t need to put on his glasses to know the judgmental face Izana was making at him.

“Hajime Kokonoi, why does that man already have your phone number and why do you seem so familiar with each other? You knew each other already, right?”

Koko knew he got caught. There was no denying longer, not after everything that transpired and considering this might not have been the last thing they’ve seen and heard of Seishu.

And as much as Koko hated feeding into Izana’s curiosity, he definitely had some explaining to do.