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Sawamura Daichi is so done with St. Patrick’s Day.
He’s been working since 3pm, and has been counting the minutes ‘till he gets off shift at midnight ever since the first drunkards stumbled into the bar. While he usually doesn’t mind his job as a bartender, and even enjoys it sometimes, he really hates St. Patrick’s Day.
People walk into the bar, looking for a drink, and then end up crawling out four hours later after six beers, two rounds of shots, and a couple of Bloody Marys. Even then, he still prefers the people who end up crawling out of the bar to the ones who he has to forcefully throw out.
Daichi finds that the more drunk people get, the more rude and violent they become. These people typically end up causing problems in the bar, leading to Daichi or his coworkers forcefully throwing them out. Thus, why Daichi has sworn off drinking.
As the clock ticks on, Daichi pours more and more drinks for the customers, feigns laughs at their jokes, and collects his tips. One thing about St. Patrick’s Day that he does enjoy is the ridiculous amount of tips that he garners from the financially irresponsible wasted fools. However, it does not offset his dislike of the day.
“Oi, Daichi-san!” his coworker shouts over the noise of the bar. “Can ya make this guy over here an espresso martini?”
”Who the hell drinks an espresso martini for fun?” Daichi says with a grimace
”Drunk idiots, I guess”
Daichi heads over to the counter to start making the drink, and discreetly checks his watch. Seven more minutes and I’m free from this bullshit, he thinks. He grabs the coffee and vodka, pours them into the mixer, and then adds the other ingredients.
He pours the drink into a coupe glass, and brings it over to the patron. She thanks him, drinks half of the espresso martini in one sip, and hands him ¥1000. He nods in gratitude, and heads back over to the register. He glances at the time on the register. 23:57.
Rolling his eyes, he walks over to another patron and takes their order. Making the drink, he is already imagining the blissful train ride home, not forced to interact with anyone or anything.
He serves the customer their drink, and meanders over to the register to clock out. He marks himself out, and then heads to the back of the bar to collect his bag. He swings the bag onto his shoulder, and pushes the back door to the bar open.
Stepping outside, he looks up and breathes in the fresh air. He slips one of his hands into his pocket, and fishes out his headphones. Just before he puts them on, he hears a quiet sniffle to his right. He turns quickly, expecting a lost kid, but instead finds a silver haired man sitting on the ground. Daichi sees that the man has his legs pulled up to his chest and face buried in his knees, and immediately deduces that something is very wrong.
He puts his headphones back in his pocket and slowly approaches the man, not wanting to scare him.
”Hey,” Daichi says in a quiet, kind voice, “Are you okay?”
The man only begins to sob harder, leaving Daichi at a loss. He decides to just sit down next to the man, vowing to not leave until he can make sure that the other is okay. In a bout of inspiration, Daichi decides to introduce himself, to try and make the stranger feel safer.
“Hi,” Daichi starts, still speaking quietly and kindly. “My name is Sawamura Daichi, but you can call me Daichi, almost everyone does. I’m twenty-two years old, and I work at the bar that we’re currently leaning against the back of.”
He stops and takes a deep breath
”If there’s any way I can help you, I’d be more than happy to. Like if you need directions to the train, or people, or just someone to lean on…” he trails off.
To his surprise, he feels the other man scoot closer, and then suddenly lean into Daichi’s side. He raises his eyebrows slightly, but doesn’t flinch away.
“Sugawara Koushi,” the stranger mumbles into his knees, “call me Suga”
“Okay, Suga,” Daichi responds gently, “do you want to stay here for a little bit, or do you want me to help you right now?”
“Stay…”
“Okay,” Daichi says softly. “Is it okay if I put my arm around you so that you don’t fall over?”
“Mhm…”
He wraps his arm around the other, and Suga leans further into Daichi’s side, now burying his head in his chest. Daichi tips his head back against the wall, and stares up at the sky. This is not what I thought would happen after I left work, Daichi thinks… Although, I don’t necessarily mind him. He’s surprisingly warm, and he’s got such pretty hair.
As this thought crosses his mind, he unconsciously picks up his other hand, and runs it through Suga’s hair. A few seconds later, Daichi realizes what he’s doing and immediately freezes. However, to his surprise, he hears Suga mumble that it was a nice feeling. Daichi, still stunned, resumes running his fingers through the other’s hair, twirling the long bits between his fingers. Suga hums, and leans closer into Daichi’s side, practically fusing the two. Daichi wonders how either of them can be this comfortable with a stranger, and then accepts that that’s just the way that things are sometimes.
…
After a few minutes, Daichi notices that the other’s crying has completely stopped, and he wonders if the other has fallen asleep. As if on queue, Suga shudders a little bit, and picks his head up from Daichi’s chest.
Daichi’s eyes widen, as this is the first view of Suga’s face he’s gotten, and, holy shit he’s really pretty was Daichi’s first thought. He then notices that Suga is blushing the more he stares at him, and immediately apologizes.
“Sorry for staring at you,” Daichi stammers, “you’re really pretty… sorry if that’s weird…”
“I think I would be the weird one in this situation,” Suga replies. “I literally started crying and clinging onto you in the middle of a dark alleyway while barely knowing who you are”
“I guess…” Daichi mumbles
“Oh, and you’re pretty handsome yourself,” Suga says. “Do you happen to have a tissue?”
Daichi freezes, eyes widening. He can feel a blush creeping up his neck and spreading across his cheeks.
“Oh whoops, did I break you?” Suga says in a teasing tone, and pokes Daichi’s cheek.
Unfreezing at the touch, Daichi grabs a tissue from his bag and offers it to him, who accepts it with a smile. Suga wipes his eyes and nose, and then crumples the tissue into his pocket with a sigh.
“I guess I should probably explain what I’m doing alone in an alley on St. Patrick’s Day, hm?” Suga says, somewhat reluctantly
“I mean like, it would be useful to know, but you don’t have to if you don’t want to,” Daichi replies, despite his intense curiosity and concern
“Well, it’s probably better for me to tell you anyways,” he sighs, tipping his head onto Daichi’s shoulder
“O-okay,” Daichi stutters, pulling Suga closer with the arm wrapped around the other’s side in response
“So basically, I have a group of ‘friends’ who I recently met, and they invited me to join them drinking today for the holiday. However, I don’t drink, so I tried to decline them,” Suga says with a sigh, “They thought I was joking about the no-drinking, but when I refused a beer, one of them ended up spiking my lemonade with who-knows-what. I ended up being pretty dazed from the alcohol, and then my ‘friends’ decided to just leave me at the bar, ‘cuz apparently I’m no fun. I tried to go out and look for them, but ended up pretty lost ‘cuz it’s my first time in the area, and then I somehow ended up sobbing in this alley, and then you found me…”
Suga buries his head into Daichi’s shoulder, shaking a little bit. Daichi decides to resume running his fingers through the other’s hair, to try and relax him a bit. It does the trick.
“Sorry… thank you…” Suga mumbles into his shoulder
”It’s okay, I don’t mind,” Daichi replies softly.
The pair sit in silence, Daichi allowing his presence to comfort the other, before breaking the silence.
“As nice as having a gorgeous guy basically cuddling with me,” Daichi says with a spurt of confidence, “We’re still in the middle of an alleyway at about midnight-thirty on a holiday filled with drunkards.” He pauses. “Do you have a place I can take you to to get cleaned up?”
Suga laughs softly, though still tinged by sadness.
“Well I was supposed to sleep in a hotel with the so-called friends tonight, but I don’t have a room key, nor do I particularly want to see them…” he trails off.
“Well, that’s a dilemma that I can solve,” Daichi says
“Really?”
“Yeah,” he says softly, “you can sleep at my house— only if you’re comfortable with that…”
“That would be wonderful”
“Alright,” Daichi says, “If we’re gonna go to my place, we have to run so we don’t miss the last train”
“Aye-aye”
Daichi stands up, and reaches his hand out to Suga. He accepts, and Daichi pulls him up, and hoists his bag onto the other shoulder. Right before he’s about to drop the other’s hand, Suga intertwines their fingers, thwarting his plan. I didn’t really want to stop holding his hand anyways, he’s so warm and comforting… I just want to make sure that he’s comfortable.
With that thought, Daichi pulls Suga out of the alleyway, and they begin their sprint to the nearest train station. As they arrive at the station, the train is arriving, and they scramble to make it, thankfully hopping on just before the doors close.
“Yay!” Suga cheers quietly, “We made it!”
“Yeah,” Daichi replies. “It’s a pretty long ride to my house, so if you wanna nap or something, feel free. I promise I won’t leave you here,” hoping Suga would trust him.
To his delight, the silver haired man immediately leans over, putting his head on Daichi’s lap and tucking his feet onto the seat on the other side of him. Thank goodness there are like only three other people on the train. For once, I’m grateful that most everyone is out drinking.
The train shudders slightly, and Daichi instinctively wraps his arm around the other’s chest to prevent him from falling. He feels Suga tense up a little, but then immediately relax into his touch. Assuring that Suga is comfortable, he decides to indulge himself a little by running his fingers through the other’s silver hair again. In response, Suga delightedly shudders, and tucks himself further into Daichi’s form.
I really didn’t expect the night to end up like this, Daichi thinks. Honestly, I think I prefer it this way. I get to have the epitome of a human angel sleeping on my lap, and he somehow trusts me enough to actually fall asleep like this. His hair is also really soft, and I think I saw a mole under his eye, which just makes him even more gorgeous, and his lips look super soft, and… oh shit… I think I like him…
Daichi’s eyes widen at this thought, and he realizes how utterly fucked he is. He literally met Suga in an alleyway an hour ago, and is already thinking about how much he wants to kiss him. He exhales, staring up at the metal roof of the train, still twirling the other’s hair between his fingers.
Not having anything better to do, he begins to wonder if there’s a chance that Suga could like him back. He seemed to have no problem flirting with Daichi, nor initiating physical contact. Sure, Daichi had offered every time, but Suga had actually followed through on the offers. The one concern that Daichi had originally had was that Suga could be drunk, but he quickly determined that that was not the case, employing his experience as a bartender.
An announcement on the train pulled Daichi out of his musings, informing him that the pair would need to disembark at the next spot. He decides that the gentlest way to rouse Suga would be to lightly shake him. However, he doesn’t immediately wake up, provoking Daichi to remove his hand from the silvery hair and poke the sleeping one’s face.
Suga wakes up with a jolt, turning to stare up at Daichi in shock, his gorgeous brown eyes wide.
“You didn’t leave me?” Suga says in slight disbelief
“Wha— Of course not, silly,” Daichi replies kindly, admiring the sight of the gorgeous man below him. “C’mon, this is our stop, let’s go”
Suga picks his head up from Daichi’s lap, and the taller stands up, offering his hand. The other graciously accepts, once again intertwining their fingers. The pair steps off the train, into the darkness beyond.
…
“So what are you studying in college, Suga?” Daichi asks
“Oh, I’m studying education, I’m probably gonna be an elementary school teacher,” he replies. “What about you?”
”Oh, I’m working the bar job to pass time,” Daichi says, “I’m supposed to start at the Miyagi Prefectural Police Academy in a few months, and I need to save up as much as possible beforehand…”
“That’s smart”
“Yeah, I guess…”
The pair walks under the stars, surrounded by the vast dark blue sky, scattered with stars. The buildings melt into the shadow, making the world seem more free and open, like anything could happen tonight.
…
Daichi reaches into his bag, and grabs the key out, sliding it into the lock. It clicks, and he gently swings the door open, holding it for Suga behind him as well. They both step inside, and slide off their shoes.
“Okay Suga,” Daichi starts, “You were sitting in a dank alleyway for who knows how long, so I’m gonna grab you a change of clothes, and then you’re gonna go shower.” Suga opens his mouth to protest. “No complaints.”
“Fine”
Daichi heads over to his room, and grabs a pair of sweatpants and an oversized T-shirt for Suga to wear to sleep. He deposits the clothes in the bathroom, before going back to collect Suga, who hasn’t moved an inch from the entryway.
“You okay?” Daichi asks concernedly
“I— I’m so sorry for forcing you to do all of this,” Suga bursts out suddenly. “I feel like I’m taking advantage of your kindness and—”
Daichi cuts him off.
“Suga, you’re not forcing me to do anything,” Daichi says calmly, stepping forward and wrapping him in a hug. “I’m doing this of my own volition. I want to take care of you, to be here for you. I know that I just met you, but I still wanna be a person that you can trust.”
“Thank you,” Suga murmurs into his neck, “that means a lot”
“Now, let’s get you in the shower, there’s a spare toothbrush and a change of clothes next to the sink, and toothpaste is in the drawer.”
He leads Suga over to the bathroom, and before ushering him inside, he gives the silver-haired man a quick kiss on the temple, and tells him not to drown. Suga simply laughs before stepping inside and closing the door behind him. Daichi thinks it’s the most angelic sound he’s ever heard.
He heads over to the kitchen to make himself a small cup of tea, needing hydration after his long night. He sips the tea, and just as he finishes and puts the mug in the sink, Suga steps out of the bathroom.
Daichi didn’t think that he could get any more gorgeous, but apparently he was wrong. For him, the act of Suga wearing his clothes was enough to get him to short circuit and blush like a tomato. He springs up from his seat, and walks over to him.
“Your clothes are very comfy, thank you,” Suga remarks
“Of course,” Daichi replies. “And you look really cute wearing them, so win-win!”
“Hmm, I might need to come ‘round again and steal them off of you sometime,” Suga chirps
“Oka— what?” Daichi exclaims, shocked
“Don’t worry about it,” Suga says. “Now, where am I sleeping?”
“In the bed, obviously”
“And what about yourself?”
“I’ll be taking the couch, since you’re the guest”
“What— no. This is your house, you should sleep in your own bed. I’ll take the couch”
“Absolutely not.”
“We could always share a bed,” Suga says slyly, “only if you’re okay with it…” he backtracks
“I have no opposition to the idea”
“So that’s settled then. Where is said bedroom, I wanna go to sleep now”
”Right this way, Prince Charming”
Daichi takes Suga’s hand again, and leads him to the bedroom. He deposits the other man near the foot of the bed, and then goes to shower.
…
When he returns from showering, Suga appears to be asleep. Not wanting to wake him, Daichi quietly crawls in bed beside him, being careful not to touch him. However, Daichi soon discovers that Suga is indeed not asleep, as he reaches out his limbs and pulls himself to rest against Daichi’s body. In turn, Daichi wraps his arms around the other, embracing him. He plants a small kiss on top of the other one’s head, provoking Suga to cuddle deeper into his clutches.
Suga tilts his head up to face Daichi, and he swears he sees the universe in his eyes.
“Can I… kiss you?” Suga whispers tentatively
“Please do”
Their lips connect in a small but meaningful union, bringing peace to the couple of souls who lie in bed together, entangled. Daichi threads one of his hands through Suga’s hair, pulling him closer.
“This is nice,” Suga says, eventually breaking the kiss. “We should do this again sometime”
”Maybe without the abandonment next time?”
”Yes please”
The couple snuggle tighter into each other’s arms, holding tight as they drift off into the realm of sleep together.
Sawamura Daichi decides that he no longer hates St. Patrick’s Day as much as he did before.