Disclaimer: Everything belongs to their respectful owners.
A/N: Drinking competition. Between this two dorks. That's all I'm gonna say. Drinking competition.
He felt terrible.
And wonderful.
Tadashi didn't know which was actually suitable for him at the moment, but he did felt a mixture of both. Like some part of him felt light-headed and dizzy and he wanted to puke all over the ever changing colours of the neon-lighted floor that would probably get him and his friends kicked out later. And he would most likely get blamed later on after all of them were sober enough.
Another part of him actually enjoyed it, the strong liquor actually made the load on his shoulders lifted a bit, the numbness making him immune to the stress and pressure he was feeling at the moment. He felt lighter, like he could run for miles until he'll just collapse somewhere and doze off.
He blinked a few times, trying to focus back his eyesight after he was lost in thought. He was facing the dance floor, sitting on a stool as he leaned against the counter, elbows on the surface with his fingers wrapped loosely around a glass shot. His dark eyes scanned the clearing, where people were laughing and dancing with each other -grinding would be an appropriate word he thought, the way people touch each other could make his ancestors roll in their graves- loud obnoxious music blared from the speakers, and he could feel the vibration of it to his core.
He tugged on the collar of his white dress shirt, trying to get some air after he drank god knows how many shots, the humidity of the room was getting to him.
He glanced at the glass in his hand idly, before chugging it whole with just a gulp.
Oh yeah, Aunt Cass was definitely going to give him a talk later. But she couldn't exactly say anything, he was, technically, an adult.
The rebellious strike in him was actually puffing with pride.
He should thank his friends for their kind gift of bringing him here.
Speaking of friends, Fred was probably mingling around somewhere, leaving right after he slapped a few hundred dollars in Tadashi's hand. The said person was left gaping at the money in his hand before looking up to what his friend was trying to speak over the music.
"Enjoy yourself, man!" Fred particularly shouted in his ear, a hand thumped on his back before he trotted away. "Get yourself wasted, break a few hearts! Live!"
He remembered showing the load to Wasabi with a smirk, and the other man raised his eyebrows in surprise. "I made a good decision of being friends with Fred," Tadashi stated as he sat down on the stool beside the bigger man. "Care to join me?"
Wasabi's booming laugh made him chuckle as he handed the barista a note. "Thought you'd never ask."
Now, his friend was off dancing with a girl after they had their drinks, leaving him alone to his thoughts. One of her friends started sauntering to where he sat, a smile curved on her red lips. He thought she looked pretty, with her long raven hair curled and the knee length fitted dress hugged her figure snugly.
"What's a guy like you doing here alone?" She greeted him, lowering herself on the stool that Wasabi once occupied.
Pretty as she was, he wasn't really in the mood to talk to anyone after consuming excessive amount of vodka, or he wasn't interested to talk to her specifically. Either way, he'd rather be alone with his thoughts. But he couldn't be rude, so he looked at her way and gave her a smile, slightly forced if he admitted it to himself. He thought he nailed it just fine when her eyes darted down to his lips. "Enjoying my birthday," He answered with a raise of his empty glass, before watching the crowd before him again.
She let out a pity sound. "All alone?"
He shook his head, still not looking at her. "Nope, my friends are here somewhere, enjoying themselves," He chuckled. "Apparently, dragging me here is their idea of a birthday present." Then he clamped his mouth shut. He wasn't supposed to say that much, that was like an invitation to a conversation he would like to avoid in the first place. That was obviously the alcohol talking.
She let out a laugh, throwing her head back. "That's so sweet of them."
"Uh, yeah, sure."
He could feel a smile she was giving him. "What's your name?"
He shook his head, one corner of his lips twitching at her determination. "Sorry, but I don't give out my name to strangers."
She probably pouted. "Are you sure?"
He nodded. "Yep."
He felt her hand touch his arm, and he made a mistake of glancing at her when he suddenly felt her lips brushed against his cheek. Apparently, she had leaned forward, and he could smell the beer in her breath. And, it was also obvious she was drunk. "You don't mind me giving you a present though?"
She trailed her mouth to his ear, and Tadashi's foggy mind couldn't command his body to move as he only sat still, the warmth in his chest spreading too rapidly. "It'll be just a while." She continued softly, her other hand trailing up his chest.
He tried swallowing the ball lodged in his throat, his fingers tighten around the glass. "I-"
"Enjoying yourself, birthday boy?"
He had never been so happy to hear that voice.
"Gogo."
He was about to give her a smile when he stopped, stiffen in place when he saw her.
She sat on the stool beside him, holding a shot glass like he was. But what surprised him was that she was out of her usual clothing of leggings and leather jacket, and instead donned in black jeans shorts, wearing a midnight blue off-shoulder sweater that showed her slender shoulders, and she wore black ballet flats Fred gave them as a joke for her last birthday that he'd never thought she'd wear.
And she looked absolutely gorgeous.
It didn't help that the feeling he was struggling with just now was spreading to his abdomen.
"Is she your girlfriend?"
He snapped his head to look at the other girl, who was eyeing Gogo with what he assumed was distaste. She had gotten herself off him -he could at least breathe a bit- and had instead sat with her legs crossed on one another.
It took a moment for her words to reach to his brain before he straighten up. "I- she-"
He stopped stammering when Gogo gave a lazy grin, looking at their way with an elbow on the counter, her nimble fingers wrapped around the glass delicately. Tadashi had to remind himself not to stare and immediately looked away, suddenly the heat was becoming unbearable as he tugged his collar a little. "Nope," She answered, taking a sip of her drink. "Just a friend," She waved her hand dismissively. "Continue whatever it was you were doing, pretend I'm not even here."
The girl -he didn't even know her name, and had no interest of finding out- glared at Gogo, who chose not to notice as she ordered another shot from the barista. Then, the girl gave a sniff of disdain, rising from her seat. She flashed him a grin, leaning down as he resisted the urge to pull away from her. "That short time was nice," She whispered in his ear, slipping something in his breast pocket. "Maybe we'll see each other sometime," When she straighten herself, she gave one last look of hatred at Gogo before leaving, disappearing among the throng of people.
He didn't move for a while, until he slowly turned towards his friend, where she made no secret to stare after the girl. "Wow, she really hated my guts for stealing her moment with you."
"Thanks," He muttered, taking a deep breath. "Just, thanks. I didn't think she would leave," He fished out his pocket, and unfolded the tissue. "Huh, she gave me her number," He waved it to her. "You want it?"
Gogo scoffed. "What for? It's not like I was the one she wanted to-"
He held up a hand. "Stop, I know what you're going to say," He shoved the tissue in his pocket pants, slumping on the stool. The effects of the alcohol was starting to take toll on him. "Did you come alone?"
"Nope, Honey drove us here. She said she's not going to drink much, and just mingle around, because at least one of us has to drive," She shrugged. "Whatever, just so long we don't get crashed then I'm fine."
He glanced at her. "I didn't know you drink."
She nodded to his empty glasses. "Could say the same thing to you, Boy Wonder," She twisted in her seat so that she was facing his way, wrapping an arm around her stomach while still holding onto the glass with her other hand. "I thought you were too good for that."
He smirked, ordering a shot for himself. "I can't exactly be a good boy scout every time," He nodded a thanks to the barista. "I tend to hide my rebellious side more often than not, for Hiro's own good."
"What, don't want him think that his big brother is actually Denise the Menace in real life?" She chuckled, shaking her head. "I find that hard to believe."
He raised an eyebrow. "You don't believe me?"
"No."
"Well then," He raised his glass slightly. "I challenge you to have a drinking contest with me, whoever gets piss drunk first, will have to pay for the drinks," One corner of his lips raise up mischievously. "Agreed?"
"Oh, you drive a hard bargain, but then again," She gave a low laugh. "Prepare to get your ass kicked."
They clinked their glasses together.
She was winning.
There was no doubt about it.
She didn't look too drunk, maybe her eyes were a bit glazed over but he didn't know, because he was drunk as hell and wasn't sure if the glasses on the table were moving or he accidently flicked on some button to rollercoaster mode.
He actually felt giggly all of a sudden.
The lights weren't helping too. They were bright and flashy and were giving him a headache, he had to close his eyes discreetly a few times before he could continue. He didn't remember when, but the crowd had mingled towards the both of them by forming a semi-circle and were chanting and cheering encouragements, probably betting among themselves who would win.
He couldn't help but think how beautiful she looked, and found himself staring at her more often than actually focusing on winning. She caught him a few times, and merely raised an eyebrow as an acknowledgement before continuing the challenge.
He was too distracted and just plain drunk that he didn't realise he was falling from his stool until he actually did fell down, and then the crowd either cheered or groaned by it.
He just laid there for a while, staring up to the ceiling. Then, a hand came to his field of vision and he took hold on it, where he was pulled to stand up. His legs felt like jelly as he tried to straighten himself, using the stool and Wasabi's arm as support, adjusting his eyes to the light.
And she was just standing there, looking ridiculously smug as her lips were stretched into a wide rare smile he had never actually seen her done before. Her arms were crossed over her chest, her posture screaming victory. "It looks like I win, Hamada," She gave him her signature two finger salute. "A pleasure beating you."
There were ooh's around them as he stared at her. It was then he grinned, a pure shit faced grin. "And I'll be claiming the prize."
He wasn't sure what exactly happened, but next thing he knew was that he stumbled towards her, and she only managed to widen her eyes in surprise before he crashed his lips onto hers, sloppy and all in their drunkard glory.
He dimly heard the crowd roared around them, but he was too focused on wrapping his arms around her waist as she clutched onto his shoulders, chuckling against his lips. He could actually feel his own smile widen at that.
"You're so wasted," She breathed out, pressing her lips to his. "And an idiot."
"Look at it this way," He tried to get rid of the slur in his voice. "We both won."
"As if."
The amount of alcohol he took made him stumble easily when she lightly pushed him back, grabbing hold on the counter to keep himself from falling. He had to blink a few times to focus on his vision. When he could see again, she was smirking at him and gave him her famous two finger salute again. "Pay up, Boy Wonder."
He couldn't stop the grin from stretching across his face, thinking the same thing over and over again.
It was by far, one of the best birthday parties he had ever had in his nineteen years of living.