'Why am I here? I hate these kinds of things; being in groups, surrounded by so many people. So much noise. There's no place to move. This is pointless. What purpose does this serve? Ok, apparently this is what people do to socialize and... bond. Urgh... Why should I care? All that really matters are my studies. So why the hell am I here?'
Souichi thought real hard about this. '... I can't quite remember. At least there's booze here. It's the only redeemable part for being here. But there are still too many people. You can barely walk around without having someone run into you... So irritating! And there's also all the noise! I can barely think over everything happening.'
People all around were trying to talk above the music that was playing for those few swaying on the dance floor. 'Why the HELL didn't I just stay home? I could have just enjoyed some beer in the peace and quiet of our apartment; no massive mobs of people to disturb us...' Souichi furrowed his eyebrows.
'Us... Oh yah... Morinaga... He should be around here... Somewhere...' Souichi took a quick look around, but found no trace of the person in question.
'Where the hell is he?!' It was then that he stopped, eyes slightly widening at the sudden realization that dawned on him.
"... Oh yah... Morinaga isn't home..." He hadn't realized that he had said this out loud. Regardless, it's not like anyone could have heard him over the surrounding commotion. However, one of his coworkers did notice his lips moving.
"What did you say Tatsumi-san?" she asked, trying to make her voice audible above the ambient sounds, after slightly nudging him to get his attention. Startled out of his thoughts, Souichi turned to her.
"What?" he replied, giving her a quizzical look. She shrugged her shoulders and waved her hand slightly in a way to say 'never mind'. Probably wasn't important anyway.
He turned back to face the glass he was holding in his hands; his attention, however, returning to his thoughts.
'Why couldn't that idiot be here? If he was we could both head home! I would much rather be there than having to endure staying... here... Sure I don't mind eating and drinking out from time to time, but this is ridiculous! Why the hell would I want to go to a dance bar with so many fucking people around!
'But of course Morinaga isn't here... That idiot has to be in Hamamatsu! He said he was going for a 2 week-long training. That means he was supposed to have returned a week and a half ago at the latest! Instead he calls to say that his training was prolonged another 2 weeks... 2 weeks! As if another week wasn't bad enough!'
No matter what Souichi had said to Morinaga, he had started to feel lonely in the apartment without him. Despite what he told himself, tried to make himself think or feel, it didn't change what he ended up thinking of when he was all alone, left with no diversion to distract his thoughts. He felt a small ache in his chest. He actually missed that idiot. As he thought of Morinaga, a slight blush painted his cheeks.
Startled by the direction his thoughts were taking him, Souichi shifted uncomfortably on his stool. He was sitting next to some coworkers and classmates at the bar. Derailing his train of thoughts, he resumed his attempt to remember the reason for his current situation. As he racked his hazy mind for an answer, he managed to just catch part of an announcement directed to the person sitting two seats left from him. "... py Birthday!..."
'Oh yah... It's Yamaguchi's birthday... That's why I'm here." Souichi still couldn't fathom why he ended up agreeing to come. At the time he thought it was a bad idea. That opinion hasn't changed. However, his coworkers had managed to lure him with promises of free booze. He really couldn't argue with that.
Souichi looked around scanning his surroundings. 'If Morinaga was here I wouldn't need to endure this annoying crowd any longer.' He growled his irritation as if he half expected for Morinaga to be standing amongst the mass of people. He returned his gaze to his glass, while his mind yet again wandered, mainly towards a tall, dark haired kouhai. He thought about how Morinaga's eyes lit up when he was truly happy, how his warm kind smile, the one that he reserved solely for his senpai, never fails to breach all of his defences.
'That idiot... Why couldn't he be here...' Souichi sighed. 'I miss him.'
Not enjoying where his thoughts were leading him, yet again, he decided he wasn't drunk enough. He was getting confused at why his buzz was slowly dissipating when he found his answer by really staring at his glass and noticing that it was empty. He quickly ordered a new drink.
Souichi finally managed to get the bartender's attention and gave him his order. Before he could return to his thoughts, he felt a hand clasp over his left shoulder, followed quickly by a loud voice near his right ear. "Tatsumi-senpai! How's it goin'?"
With a start, Souichi quickly turned to glare at the grinning face situated way to close to his own. 'Urgh... It's Manori... What the hell does he want?' The newcomer most likely saw the unimpressed look that was clearly visible all over Souichi's face, but he chose to ignore it.
"Great party huh? I'm so glad that you were able to make it!" He had spiky blond hair, piercing blue eyes and an overly enthusiastic smile plastered on his face.
"What the hell do you want Manori?" Souichi grumbled loud enough for the other man to hear.
"Nothing, nothing... Just came by to see how you were holding up."
"Just great... Now get the hell off!" Irritation was clearly audible in his voice.
"Aawww~... Come on Tatsumi-senpai... Don't be like that!" Nevertheless, the newcomer did remove his hand from the tense shoulder, stepping a little away from his ear.
"Here's your drink." The bartender was back, holding his drink.
"Oh let me get that for you!" Manori leaned forward, squeezing between Souichi and a coworker sitting to his right. He took the drink from the bartender before it could placed on the counter. Holding it from the top - swishing the drink in the process - he offered the glass to Souichi, allowing him to take a good hold of his drink. The spiky blond haired man paid for the drink before turning around to face his senpai.
"... Thanks..." Souichi mumbled, still glaring at the man.
Seeing no change in the other's expression, looking at him almost expectantly, Souichi shifted his gaze away, choosing to turn his attention to his drink. He took a long swig, gulping down the yellowish liquid.
'Hmmmm... This tastes… odd. I should have asked the other bartender that served me early to remake the drink. That one was better.' Then Souichi shrugged. 'Well no point in complaining. Booze is booze.' He followed that train of thought with another long gulp.
The next moment Souichi nearly sprayed the counter with his mouthful of alcohol before he caught himself and swallowed it instead. What came out of Manori's mouth, as he leaned in to make sure he was heard, completely caught him off guard.
"Soooo... is there someone you like, Tatsumi-senpai?"
Tatsumi just looked at him, dumbfounded. "W-wha... What?..." A light hint of pink tainted his cheeks.
"You know... Are you seeing someone? Do you have a love life?"
At that last comment, what crept into Souichi's mind were unwanted images of him being quite intimate with Morinaga.
'What the hell?! Why am I thinking of this!?' Now Souichi felt like his face was on fire. A much deeper shade of red was visible from ear to ear.
"Oh... so there is someone?! Who's the lucky girl? Come on! You can tell!" A quirky smile danced on Manori's lips.
"WHAT!? I said nothing of the sorts!" Souichi countered, mortified. His mind was frantic. 'What the-?! This guy's insane! What gives? Why would he ask such a question all of a sudden? He's so damn pushy!'
"Huh... So you're not seeing anyone?" Manori seemed slightly puzzled at the outburst.
"No!" Souichi now settled to simply glare at the man.
"Hmmm... Why not?"
"Wha...? Why would I? Since when do I have time for such nonsense?"
"..." Manori shifted his eyes to the side, seeming deep in thought. Souichi was simply annoyed... and irritated. The blush still in place, he stared back at his drink, eyes squinting in irritation.
'What gives? Why the hell does he want to know? It's not like it matters to him if I'm seeing anyone.' His eyebrows furrowed, confusion written on his face as he pondered this.
'He better not plan to play matchmaker with me! I'm not interested!' After tilting the glass up to his lips, Souichi's thoughts were preoccupied with something else entirely. The room was starting to spin, and he was feeling a little light headed.
'Hmmm... I must really be drunk... The alcohol must really be affecting me...' However, his face still felt like it was on fire. Looking back towards his irritating co-worker, he was surprised by the look on his face. His gaze was intense. He was just staring at him, as if watching his every move. He was starting to feel uncomfortable, unconsciously shifting his weight on his seat.
Then a voice caught his attention coming from a few of his female coworkers and classmates to his right. As he turned his attention to them, he was able to just make out a bit of the conversation as one of them gestured to the other two. "Hey! Let's go dancing!" "Ok!" "Hey! Wait for me!"
The woman sitting to his right vacated her spot so that she could join the others on the dance floor. Much to Souichi's dismay, Manori chose to sit right next to him. He was still looking at him, never taking an eye off of him. It felt odd... and creepy. Well... more than usual. So he decided to turn his attention to the crowd, in an attempt to ignore Manori's eyes glued to him, not wanting to be provoked or to endure Manori's stare any longer.
Manori Kogi is a 4th year undergraduate student and one of Souichi's new kouhais. He was assigned as a temporary additional assistant. The long haired blond ended up needing some extra help with his research and it so happened that Manori needed some experience doing lab work. Upon meeting his new kouhai for the first time, Souichi noticed a few things from the start. First of all, Manori was taller than him, about half a head taller. In fact he was about Morinaga's height. He had short spiky blond hair and an icy blue gaze. What he also noticed was his overly wide enthusiastic smile. Somehow it just seemed fake and hollow to him. Well, he had just met the guy so he dismissed the notion. All in all, for some reason he didn't really like the guy.
As time went on, Souichi's opinion of his new kouhai didn't really change all that much. There was something about him that rubbed him the wrong way. Manori was a good worker though. He happened to be amazing in the lab. He was able to follow every instruction to the letter and was a fast learner. In the past, Souichi wasn't so successful at finding real good helpers in the lab. They weren't very good. However, this new kouhai of his seemed to be able to pull his own weight and provide a helping hand. Manori's usefulness was comparable to Morinaga's. Souichi sometimes thought of him as another version of his old kouhai, albeit a much more irritating version. Sure he found that both of them could be quite irritating at times, but it was a different kind of irritation. Morinaga was clingy, needy, overly cheerful and full of smiles. Manori, on the other hand, was full of himself, pushy, whiny, and full of fake smiles. He was such an annoying person to have around, but he did his work well. If he didn't find his attitude irritating he would really enjoy having him help out around the lab.
As Souichi turned back to his drink, suddenly the whole room started spinning at a greater speed. He had to brace himself on the counter least he fell off of his stool. He winced as he tried to regain control of his senses. As he concentrated, he noticed that his body felt really warm. 'What the hell? Did they turn the heat on full blast?! I'm sweating here!'
"Are you ok Tatsumi-senpai? You don't look so good." That Manori jerk reached a hand out to try to brace his senpai in case he took a nose dive off his stool. Souichi simply whacked his hand away without looking at him.
'Urgh... what does he want now? He better just stay out of my way.' Taking a quick look around, his vision zoned in on his destination. He managed to get up without any casualties and made his way to the washroom, albeit with much swaying and some cursing.
Finally, he reached his goal and managed to push the door open. Luckily, no one was inside. Spotting a sink, he nearly tripped on the way there. For some odd reason his legs were not responding properly.
'Just great! Now I can't even walk! I didn't even drink that much tonight, goddammit! What the hell were in those drinks?!' Placing his glasses upon the counter next to the sink, he turned on the cold water full blast. Cupping his hands under the stream, he then splashed the cool water onto his face, expectantly cooling his burning face.
What he didn't expect was there to be someone to follow specifically him into the washroom not too long afterwards.
A/N: Thank you for reading! This is my first fanfic and I'm really looking forward to hearing what you thought of it! I really do appreciate constructive criticism. Stay tuned for the next chapter! :)