Dlbn: This fic was intended on being a one shot for Seimei's birthday, but it came out as much more than that, so I've decided to break it down into two or three parts. This is part one. On a note, ages are changed here. Ritsuka is seventeen, Soubi is twenty-three, for example.
Inspiration: This entire fic was inspired by the song Invincible by Jesse McCartney (Jesse McRoxy for all my fellow Kingdom Hearts fans out there. That's what I call him. you might not, but oh well hehe) I had the inspiration for this forever ago, but I never wrote it out. Until now. I make NO money from mentioning the song here.
Disclaimer: I own NOTHING but the plot. All the characters and everything else canon belongs to Yun Kouga. I make no money from this fic.
Dedication: This is a birthday fic for Aoyagi Seimei. Happy birthday, you sadistic little shit, you.
Dedication 2: This part is dedicated to Lucky, a VERY distant relative, who died in a house fire last weekend. I didn't know her personally, but close family members of mine did.
000
Ritsuka watched his twenty-one-year-old brother get ready for his night out with his older friends. He couldn't help but feel nervously uncomfortable for reasons he didn't know. He hated when his brother went with his friends, because it almost always meant they'd all be drinking. Seimei was smart enough to not get behind the wheel while intoxicated, but he wasn't sure if he could say that bout his friends; twenty-five and twenty-three-year-old art majors Kaido Kio and Agatsuma Soubi, twenty-two-year-old computer sciences major Nisei, and twenty-three-year-old telecommunications student Shinonome Mimuro. They were descent people, even if Nisei did give him the creeps more often than not. Seimei had met Nisei in the dorm they'd used for one semester, but a lack of funding made Seimei and Nisei return to their respective homes; Seimei with his family and Nisei with Mimuro.
"Something bothering you?" Seimei wondered, fixing his hair in the bathroom mirror.
"I don't know, just a bad feeling. I don't get it, but yeah…" Ritsuka chewed on his thumb pad. "Could you cancel tonight, Seimei? Stay home and help me with my calculus homework instead?"
"You know I'd love to stay home with you, Ritsuka, but you know I don't like to break my promises."
"I don't like asking you to, either, but I don't think tonight is going to end well."
Seimei shut off the light. "You're paranoid." He accused, pushing past his brother to enter his conjoined bedroom. "You say that every time I go out, and nothing ever happens. Why should tonight be any different?"
"But Seimei…"
"No buts." The elder sibling grabbed cologne off his dresser and dabbed a little bit behind his ears. "Things will be fine. Look, if makes you feel any better, I'll come home early, okay?"
"How early is early?" Ritsuka's neko tail danced.
"Like midnight."
"That's early? I'll be in bed. You could not come home until later and I'd never know."
"Why, Ritsuka, are you hinting that I might lie to you?" Seimei held him by the shoulders. "I promise, little brother, things will be fine. I won't be out long, and you'll feel foolish for worrying about me."
"But…"
The doorbell rang downstairs.
"I'll get it!" Seimei called to his parents, who probably weren't planning on picking it up anyway. "That's Soubi. He's riding over with me. Things will be fine, okay?"
"But…" Ritsuka sighed, giving in. "Fine, Seimei. Have a good time…text me before you leave, okay? Even if its unintelligible drunk texting. Okay? Promise?" He held out his pinky.
Seimei laughed, kissing his brother's forehead as he linked their pinkies. "I promise. I'll update you every step of the way." He ran a hand through the other's hair. "You're going to go grey young, worrying all the time like this."
"With you for a brother, I have a right to worry, Seimei." Ritsuka informed.
Seimei chuckled. "I'd take offense to that if you weren't so damn cute." He stated, walking away from his brother to leave the room.
Ritsuka followed. "I take offense to that, Seimei."
"You never take offense to anything I say. Try again." Seimei chided.
The retort on the younger neko's tongue dropped when Seimei opened the door.
A blonde, about six feet tall with cobalt eyes and black wire glasses, was standing on the other side. Ritsuka flushed as he looked him over. He worse pressed jeans, a clean white button up with a light grey blazer over it, and converse.
"Ready to go, Seimei?" Soubi greeted. "Oh, good evening, Ritsuka. Nice to see you again."
"You too, Soubi…" Ritsuka flushed and looked away, a little embarrassed to hear the sweet words coming from the lips of the elder man in front of him.
Soubi felt his heart flutter, but he pushed it aside in favor of keeping up a façade that nothing was going on inside. "Seimei?"
"I'm ready." Seimei grabbed a coat off the coat rack and fished keys out of his pocket. "I won't be late."
"Remember our promise." Ritsuka ordered.
"I will." Seimei kissed the top of his head. "Let's go."
Soubi's fingers dance in a little wave as they left, Ritsuka watching them get into his brother's slightly beat up black Toyota four door, get situated, and drive away. He sighed, shutting the door behind the elder males.
"He just went out last night." Their father complained from the foot of the stairs.
He was retiring to his and their mother's room on the second floor for the night, a steaming cup of coffee in one hand and a newspaper with a pen in the other.
"Yeah, I know." Ritsuka shrugged. "I told him I have a bad feeling about this, but he thinks I'm over thinking."
"You probably are. Nothing's ever going to kill that kid." He sounded almost disappointed as he started up the stairs making Ritsuka stick his tongue out at him.
He watched his father turn the corner at the top of the stairs and went to the kitchen for a drink so he could go finish his homework in his room. Maybe Seimei and their father were right. Maybe he was over reacting. Something in his heart told him otherwise, but he pushed the thought to the side for the night. He'd call his friends later to talk and keep his mind off his brother.
It was near impossible to find a parking space close by when Seimei and Soubi had finally arrived at their destination, and the line to get in was long.
"You have our passes?" Seimei asked, putting the car in park.
"Yeah." Soubi held up two plum passes that matched Seimei's eyes with the club's name on them in shimmering gold. "We're lucky Ritsu was able to score this…"
Ritsu was a friend of Soubi's mother who took him in once his parents died when he was eight. They'd hated one another at first, but slowly warmed up to one another. Soubi didn't consider him a father, but rather a guardian that he did things with that he wouldn't want to talk about with anyone else; in fear of retribution.
"Thank him for me when you talk to him again, will you?" Seimei rolled his eyes.
It was a well-known fact that the two had butt heads since the day Ritsu had to pick them both up from a bar, both younger males much too drunk to stumble home or get behind the wheel of a vehicle, and too broke after their night out to call a cab.
"That's as likely as Akame and Shinonome getting over themselves and hooking up finally."
Seimei couldn't help but chuckle. "You're starting to sound like Chouma and Mei."
Mei was Mimuro's younger cousin, and Chouma was a girl they hung out with sometimes that Soubi had gone to high school with. She was out of town for her mother's birthday, though she wasn't welcome at her family's home anyway, so she wasn't around for the night. It was a running gag between the four of them that Nisei and Mimuro were secretly together but just didn't have the balls to say anything to anyone. Both males denied it, though the tint gracing Mimuro's cheeks when it was brought up was nothing less than a surefire sign that they were close on the mark as far as he was concerned. At least, that's what Chouma had declared the first time it happened.
The two of them got out of the car and walked towards the line together. On the platform in front of the door that the ramp led to, the raven-haired Nisei and blonde Mimuro stood together, leaning on the railing and chattering idly. They didn't seem to notice their approaching friends, but Nisei waved to show that they had.
"Hey!" He greeted, leaning over the railing. "Got the passes? We've been waiting forever."
"We've only been here half an hour." Mimuro argued.
Soubi rolled his eyes at the dark-haired boy's antics. They weren't the best of friends, but hung together for Seimei's sake. Likewise, Mimuro and Seimei did the same for Nisei. Though Mimuro had admitted to Soubi once that he thought he and Nisei were together, which made the older blonde think he stuck around for other reasons.
"Nisei has no sense of time." Seimei informed, climbing up the side of the platform
Soubi gave him a boost as Nisei grabbed his arm and hauled him over the railing. Soubi followed suit, able to get up on his own due to his height. People in line complained, but stopped when Seimei flashed their passes at the bouncer. No matter what position in line they were in, the moment they waved those around, they'd be let right in anyway. The bartender granted them entry to the bar. The door shut behind them and the dim lights from inside cast a slightly eerie glow over the crowds of people on the dance floor and sitting in booths, drinking. In the center of the dance floor, four sets of stairs led down to a pit filled with seating arrangements. The spaces between the stairs were blocked off by rope so drunkards wouldn't fall in and get hurt.
"I never thought I'd say this, but damn, Ritsu hooked us up." Nisei cheered. "You guys go find somewhere to sit. I'll grab drinks. Usual?"
The others nodded before Mimuro trailed after Nisei like a lost puppy to the bar.
"Would they just get over it already?" Soubi grunted.
Seimei chuckled. "Come on. Some seats in the pit opened."
They weaved their way around the crowds to the pit, where two tables were free. One of them had a lone green haired male with too many piercings on each ear. He stood and waved enthusiastically.
"You're here!" He greeted. "Welcome! About time!"
"How long have you been here, Kio?" Soubi asked, tossing Kio a pass. "And how did you get in?"
"I know the bouncer from one of my modeling classes." He was a nude art model. "His brother in law took my class and he was picking him up."
"I see." Soubi nodded.
He sat at Kio's side, Seimei across from him. The barely legal neko and the green haired artist didn't get along either. They tolerated one another because Soubi had asked them to, but that was about it. if he wasn't around, they wouldn't interact.
"Where are the lovers?" Kio asked. "Weren't you meeting them here?"
"Getting drinks." Soubi stated, stealing a can from in front of Kio and taking a swig.
Kio laughed and took it back. "Nice try, but that's mine, Sou-chan~" He sing-songed.
"Speaking of lovers…" Seimei muttered, looking away.
Soubi flushed as Kio glared. The older artist had confessed his feelings to Soubi a few months prior while intoxicated from the males drinking at Nisei and Mimuro's new apartment, and the others hadn't let him live it down. Soubi had let him down gently later when it was just the two of them, so Seimei couldn't skin him alive for confessing he had feelings for the younger Aoyagi brother. Kio had been respectful of it, u still flirted with him when he got the chance to get him flustered.
"Shut up, Seimei." Soubi ordered, downing the rest of Kio's beer as Nisei and Mimuro made their way over, drinks in hand.
"I figured you'd be around here somewhere, Kaido." Nisei informed, handing Kio a beer he pulled from his cargo pants after giving Soubi a martini and Seimei a margarita.
"Thanks, Akame." Kio responded.
They didn't hate one another, but they understood the boundaries and that Soubi and Nisei didn't. The raven was only civil so he wouldn't piss off Soubi and cause trouble. He had known Seimei longer, and he had no doubt whose side Seimei would be on in that.
Nisei nodded, sitting between Seimei and Mimuro. The latter put their drinks down, sliding Nisei's to him.
"Thanks."
"Welcome."
"Cheers." Kio held up his beer. "To another good night of drinking with good friends."
"And people who barely tolerate one another for the sake of said good friends." Mimuro added.
"Cheers." Soubi agreed as Seimei and Nisei chuckled.
They all took a swig from their drinks, Kio downing about half the beer in one go. At the back of his mind, the promise to Ritsuka nagged at Seimei. He hadn't let him know they got there safe and, with his brother's paranoia, not texting like he had promise wasn't going to end well for either of them. Still, jokes with his friends dragged his mind further from his brotherly duties, and soon his promise to Ritsuka was nothing more than an ancient memory.
000
Ritsuka paced in the living room around eleven PM that night. Seimei still hadn't texted or called him to let him know he was okay and what was going on, and it had him a little concerned. He promised and Seimei never broke promises, least of all to his beloved baby brother. Ritsuka stopped pacing to stare at the clock, before resuming.
"I don't need tracks in the carpet, Ritsuka." Their father informed
Ritsuka turned to see him standing in the doorway between the kitchen and living room, one arm stretched out with a cup of hot chocolate for Ritsuka. his other hand contained a cup of coffee that he brought to his lips.
"I didn't know you were awake…"
"Can't sleep; big case." His father motioned towards the kitchen, where he no doubt had a few files open the latest lawsuit he was working.
Being a lawyer, he often worked odd hours and slept even odder ones. Ritsuka and Seimei had realized that at young ages and thus spent most of their time together. It was why they were so close while most of Ritsuka's exchanges with his father were robotic, forced.
"Sorry…"
"You're waiting on Seimei?"
"I still have that bad feeling." Ritsuka shivered, hugging himself and rubbing his arms to get heat into them. "I know you both think I'm paranoid, but…"
His father shrugged. "Your paranoia may not be misplaced." He confirmed. "Text him if you're that worried."
"Hai."
His father retreated to the kitchen as the microwave dinged. He sighed and grabbed his phone off the coffee table. He opened his contacts and clicked Seimei's name, next to a photo of them from Ritsuka's sweet sixteen birthday party the year before.
Seimei? It's late. You said you'd text. Are you okay? ~Ritsuka
He hit the send button and flopped down on the couch, hoping his brother would answer soon.
Seimei's phone buzzed and dinged in his pocket.
"Oh, Seimei's girlfriend must be calling." Nisei teased, giggling.
"It's probably Ritsuka." Soubi corrected as the raven pulled his cell phone from his pants pocket.
"Shit, I forgot to text him." Seimei slurred, fingers slipping over the phone keyboard.
Sry no txt. 2 much fun wit fwiends. Ttyl. Hume sune. He texted, his drunken mind not processing that that wasn't how he normally typed.
Good lord, Seimei, you're drunk. Please, let someone else take your keys. Get home safe. Its late.
M safe. Fine. No drink. No much. Home sune.
Please…you promised.
Be FUNE Eitsula. Staph worry! Buzz kill.
Sorry, Seimei. I just worry about you.
Yesh. Know. I.
Seimei put his cell back in his pocket.
"What does he want?" Soubi asked.
"Wants me to stop drinking and come home." Seimei informed. "Thinks something bad is going to happen."
"And you don't?" Mimuro asked.
Seimei waved him off. "Paranoid Ritsuka."
"Paranoid or not, he has good intentions." Kio argued. "Maybe you should go home to him. there will be a lot of other times we can hang out and drink."
"Eh."
"He won't stop bugging you until you do." Nisei said from Mimuro's shoulder, which he was leaning on and almost falling asleep from doing so.
"Its fine. I can deal with it in the…" A hiccup. "morning."
"You never just let Ritsuka and his concerns go until morning." Soubi argued. "I wouldn't worry him too much. He really cares about you."
"I know." Seimei glared, finishing off his fifth drink of the night. Or was it the seventh? He'd lost track after four margaritas, half of one of Soubi's martinis, and a can of beer.
Music blasted overhead, but no one said anything in the group, knowing the neko was irritated from his ears flattening and his tail waving angrily. Nisei liked teasing him about still being a virgin, but he wasn't fazed. Sometimes Mimuro did, as well, which was odd considering that Mimuro himself was one.
"If you do decide to go home, give me your keys first." Nisei ordered, eyes shut now. "You're not in condition to drive."
"You think I don't know that?" Seimei rolled his eyes.
"Well we all know you can't call a cab; you're broke."
The others had been supplying the drinks all night.
"I'll find a way home." Seimei waved his hand around. "There are plenty of people here I could get a ride from."
"Reckless." Soubi informed, taking a sip from his drink.
"Look, I'm fine. I'm not stupid enough to drink and drive."
"I doubt that." Nisei snorted. "Just give me the keys. Ease my worries, will you?"
Seimei rolled his eyes. "I've got this."
Nisei yawned. "Whatever…text me when you're home so we know you're not dead."
"I'm not leaving yet, baka." Seimei replied, picking up his margarita. "I'm not done partying."
"Ritsuka's probably worried about you…you sure you don't want to go home?" Soubi asked.
"Since when are my brother's worries your concern?" Seimei snorted. "He's home safe, I'm here safe. What could possibly go wrong?"
"I can list things." Nisei yawned, rubbing sleep from his eyes as Mimuro offered him a sip of the energy drink he'd been nursing for the past half an hour when the alcohol got to be too much.
Seimei rolled his eyes. "You're as much of a buzz kill as Ritsuka, you now that?"
Soubi's phone buzzed and he pulled it out while the dark-haired men argued. "My ride's here." He informed.
"Leaving so soon, Sou-chan?" Kio pouted.
"I have an early class, she's in my class."
"Ah, a girl, then? Don't have too much fun."
Soubi flushed. "It's nothing like that, Kio, shut up."
The greenette laughed, throwing his head back. "I should start going too, then. I'm also in your class." He texted someone on his cell phone.
"Who's getting you?" Seimei asked.
"Remember that cutie I went home with the other day?" Kio asked. "Last Friday, I think?"
"Yeah?"
"Things are going good." Kio giggled, finishing off his drink. "He told me to let him know whenever I need a ride home so we could have a repeat."
"I don't need the details." Mimuro complained.
Kio waved him off. "I'll walk you out, Sou-chan."
"Thanks, Kio."
The artists left together, using one another for support while Kio giggled like a school girl whose sempai just noticed her.
"Would they just do it already? Shit." Nisei muttered, chugging the rest of the energy drink Mimuro had given him.
"We all know Soubi's holding out for someone, and Kio's found his someone, it sounds like."
"Who's he holding out for?" Seimei wondered. "I haven't noticed him having any interest in anyone…and he hasn't said anything either!"
"Sometimes you don't have to say it." Mimuro informed. "He's really concerned about Ritsuka's feelings, isn't he?"
"Are you trying to say that you think one of my best friends has a thing for my underage brother?" Seimei growled.
"Relax, I'm kidding." Mimuro laughed, waving him off. "Calm down, Seimei, shit."
"Don't rile him up, sempai; I don't want to deal with the bullshit once you leave and he curses you to hell and back." Nisei whined.
"Relax." Mimuro pulled out his cell phone. "Nothing wrong with a little ribbing, is there?"
Seimei rolled his eyes. "Jackass."
Nisei pleaded with him to stop with his eyes, but the younger of the nekos ignored him.
"My cousin's coming to get me." Mimuro stated. "They just took my aunt to the hospital."
"Is she okay?"
"She's going to a hospital, idiot, of course she's not okay." Seimei snorted into his drink.
"She'll be fine. Just another slip and fall." Mimuro ran a hand through his sandy blonde hair. "Hitomi worries so much. It's a bit annoying, but that's just in her nature, I guess."
"So, it's just going to be you and me, then, Seimei?" Nisei leaned over the table and wiggled his eyebrows. "Maybe we could finally get rid of those pesky ears of yours, hm?"
Seimei flushed and shoved him away. "Not in your life, Nisei."
"Oh, you don't want to be a virgin forever, do you?"
Mimuro rolled his eyes. "Like me apparently."
"What is that supposed to mean?" Nisei looked back at him.
"Nothing, Nisei. Just making a joke." Mimuro answered, standing. "I'll wait for her outside." He pulled another energy drink out from the messenger bag he'd brought with him. "If I'm going to be at the hospital all night, I need all the help I can get." He popped the top off and took a swig. "See you guys tomorrow. Let me know when you're home, Nisei."
He nodded. "Yeah, you got it."
"What about me?" Seimei asked.
"I could care less, Aoyagi."
Seimei glared as Mimuro pat his shoulder, laughing as he left. The silence between the dark-haired boys was a little too much. Nisei cleared his throat.
"So…what time do you want to get out of here, Seimei?"
He looked at his watch. "Give me another hour. The killjoys went home early, at least."
Nisei held up his mostly empty drink. "To being the fun ones." He praised.
Seimei smirked, clinking their glasses together and ignoring how some of his drink splashed out onto the table and dripped down his knuckles.
"As usual."
They both slammed back their drinks before Nisei stood to get more.