1
Neji Hyūga finished washing the cups and started cleaning the counter. He looked through the window at the dark streets, and then to the clock hanging on the wall. In one more hour he would close the coffee shop and then would be able to leave.
He wondered his eyes around the tables. There were just two clients left sitting at a corner. Luckily no one else would come in that day. But unfortunately in that moment he heard the door opening.
Neji cursed mentally. He couldn't leave earlier, so he wished the new customer wouldn't stay for too long, or in an hour he would have to politely ask him or her to go. He turned to see who had just entered, and saw a young man about his age, with black hair tied in a high ponytail. He seemed pretty normal, but there was something in him that called his attention. His face. He looked tired, angry and frustrated, all at the same time. His expression reflected confusion and despair. The stranger walked to the counter, frowning with his eyes nailed to the floor, and sat in a high chair in front of Neji, not even looking at him.
"Goodnight", the Hyūga greeted. "What can I get you?".
The young man leaned over the counter on his elbow and pressed his septum with his fingers, closing his eyes. "Double scotch, please", he answered in a very hoarse voice.
Neji thought for a moment, not sure of what to say. He seemed to be in a very bad mood, and his reply would probably annoy him even more. After a few seconds, he decided to tell him. "I am sorry. We don't serve alcohol".
The stranger lowered his hand and finally lifted his head to look at him. He had dark, black eyes, and they were full of desolation. "What?", he asked, like he couldn't understand what Neji had told him.
The Hyūga gave him an apologizing look. "This is a coffee shop…", he murmured, speaking the obvious.
The young man frowned, and straightened on his chair to look around. Then he got back to lean over the counter, rubbing a hand against his face.
"Great", he said, thought it sounded like he was talking to himself. "Of all the places still open at this hour, I had to enter the only one which doesn't serve alcohol". He let out a long, tired exhalation.
It was evident that he was troubled, and Neji couldn't help to feel bad for him. "I'm sorry…", he whispered.
But the stranger let go his face and waved his hand in the air. "It's fine", he answered with exhaustion. "I'll just have a coffee. Black, please".
Neji nodded and turned to get him his order. He heard the young man's cell phone vibrating, and from the corner of his eye he saw him taking it out of his pocket and staring at it. The phone kept vibrating, but he just ignored it and put it over the counter facing down. Then he stood up slowly.
"Excuse me", he called to Neji. "Where's the bathroom?".
The Hyūga lifted his arm to point forward. "Right through that door", he instructed. The stranger murmured a tired "thanks" and walked slowly to the bathroom, following his indication.
While he was preparing the coffee, the young man's cell phone kept vibrating. Someone was obviously calling him, and kept doing it until he returned from the bathroom five minutes later. He seemed a little calmer now, like he had washed his face with cold water, but he still looked really down. He sat behind the counter again, supporting his elbows over the wood and covering his face with his hands. Neji approached to give him his coffee, hoping he could do something to help him.
"Bad night?", he asked, expecting he wouldn't be annoyed by the question. But fortunately he didn't. Instead, he lowered his hands and wrapped his fingers around the hot cup, not looking angry, but sad.
"The worst of my life", he answered. Then he closed his eyes and said nothing else.
His cell phone started vibrating again, moving slowly over the counter. For an unknown reason, Neji really wished he could give the stranger some comfort, so he decided to keep trying to make conversation. "Your phone has been vibrating a lot", he said. "I think someone is calling you".
The young man let out a slow breath, not opening his eyes yet. "Yeah", he responded. "It's probably my wife wanting to know where I am".
Neji didn't expect that answer, because he looked pretty young to be married. He was glad that the stranger was not blocking him out, so he took it as a good sign and kept talking. "She must be worried", he said.
The young man supported his forehead in one of his hands, with his eyes still closed. "She didn't look too worried an hour ago when she was riding another guy in our bed", he responded.
Crap. Neji felt like he had really screw things up. That was a terrible thing to hear, and now he understood why he looked so miserable. He bit his lips, wishing he could travel back in time and not meddle in other people's business. "I'm sorry", he apologized. "I shouldn't have say a anything".
The stranger frowned, though he didn't seem to be mad at him. He simply looked hurted. He ran his hand across his face and then let his arm fall over the counter. "It's okay", he said, finally opening his eyes a little. He stared into the coffee in front of him with a gloomy expression. "You couldn't know".
A long silence came after. Neji didn't even realized he was staring at the stranger in front of him, who was still immersed in his thoughts. He had completely forgotten about the hour, and he barely noticed when the other two clients left the coffee shop. Watching at the young man's sad eyes he could almost feel his anguish in the air. He wished he could do something for him.
"I'm very sorry about your wife", he dared to say in a low whisper.
The stranger's face contracted in a wince. He looked confused and completely lost. Neji heard him growling, and then saw him shaking his head slightly.
"I just…don't get it", he started saying. "She was the one who wanted to get married. I was fine with things as they were".
Neji realized he was going through a lot, and he looked so alone and helpless that he decided to be there for him, at least just so he could clear his thoughts. "Why did you do it, then?", he asked softly.
The stranger shrugged. "I don't know, I just imagined it was the natural order of things, you know? You date a girl for a very long time, then you get married. I never expected it could go wrong. I mean, I thought I knew her...".
He sounded so sad that Neji didn't care about closing the coffee shop anymore. "Were you married for a long time?", he asked, hoping to help him get things out of his chest. The stranger didn't seem to mind about his questions.
"Just about a year", he answered. "But we had been dating since high school". He stared deep into his coffee, like trying to find an explanation to his problems in the dark liquid. "We were together for such a long time that I thought we would always be together. That's why when she said she wanted to get married, it just sounded right. We had even talked about having kids soon. I was never thrilled about becoming a father, but I had just accepted it was the next step". He took a moment, considering his own words. Then he frowned again. "It was okay, because it was with her".
It was a very sad story. Neji could only imagine how hard it must had been for him to find his wife with another man, after so many years of being together. He knew he would feel just as miserable in his place.
"I am very sorry", he repeated, because there was nothing else he could say.
The young man took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Yeah…", he whispered. "Me too…".
He was searching in his mind for something else that could ease the poor man's torn emotions, when he heard the door opening again. Neji turned to the sound to say that the coffee shop was about to close, when he saw his friend Tenten walking through the door. Right, they were supposed to meet for dinner, but after the stranger arrived he had totally forgotten about it.
"Hey", the girl greeted, approaching to the counter. "Why haven't you closed yet? It's late, and we have to be in the restaurant in ten minutes".
"I know, I'm sorry", Neji apologized. The stranger turned an inch to look over his shoulder at Tenten, who was standing behind him. The he let go his coffee and started standing up.
"My bad", he said, taking money out of his pocket and putting it over the counter without even counting it. He gave Neji a quick glance. "Sorry for delaying you".
The Hyūga stared at the untouched cup of coffee. "But you haven't finish your coffee", he told him. He didn't know why, but he felt terrible about kicking the young man out when he was in such a dark moment.
"It's fine", the stranger replied. "I didn't really want coffee". He took his cell phone and started walking to the door.
Neji and Tenten followed him. Once outside, the Hyūga used his keys to close the coffee shop, and then turned to the young man. He was standing in the sidewalk, with his shoulders down and a lost look. Even though they didn't know each other, he felt terrible about leaving him there, so alone and wretched. He made a few shy steps towards him.
"Would you like to have dinner with us?", he asked. "At least it would distract you for a little while".
The stranger watched him from over his shoulder. "That's really kind of you", he answered. "But I just want to sleep now". He approached to a green car parked right in front of him and opened the door. Before getting in he turned around to Neji, giving him a tired but honest smile. "Thank you… For listening".
The Hyūga smiled as well. He didn't even knew the stranger's name, but he felt they had connected. It was probably just a sensation, but he really wished he would be fine.
"You're welcome", he answered. "Good luck with your situation, and take care".
The young man nodded. "You too", he responded. When he got into the car, the two friends started walking towards the restaurant.
"Who was that guy?", Tenten asked in a whisper. "And why did he looked so sad?".
Neji resisted the urge to turn around to see him one last time. "I'll tell you at the restaurant", he answered.
He said goodbye to Tenten about two hours later and started walking back to the coffee shop. He lived in a tiny apartment right above his job, and as he returned he kept thinking about the poor young man and his unfortunate story. When he was just a block away from his apartment he was surprised to see the stranger's car still parked in front of the coffee shop. When he reached it he thought for a few moments, and then decided to pick through the window of the vehicle. He saw the young man laying down in the back seats, covering his head with his arms, probably sleeping.
First he thought that the best thing to do would be leaving him alone, but then he realized the man was probably there because he didn't want to go back to his house with his wife. He decided to check on him, just in case he needed anything. Neji got closer to the back door and knocked softly on the window.
The stranger took his arms off his face and shook his head, leaning over his elbows to see who was out there. At seeing Neji, he sat up and reached for the car's door to open it. The Hyūga stared at him and realized he look even more exhausted than before.
"Hi", he said softly.
"Hey", the young man answered, rubbing his face with his hands.
"Are you okay?", he asked. He knew he was being extremely nice with the guy, but it was hard not to empathize with him.
"Yeah...", the stranger replied with a throaty voice. "I just couldn't go back to my house, and I don't feel like going to a friend's house and endure their pitiful looks, so I decided to stay here".
Neji thought for a few seconds. He knew what he was about to offer was a little crazy, but he simply couldn't leave him there. "Well, you can't sleep in your car for the whole night. It looks very uncomfortable", he finally told him.
The young man reclined over the seat, taking a hand to his neck to massage it a little. He was pretty tall, and Neji could see he had been sleeping in a very bad position. "It is", he admitted. "But I have nowhere else to go".
Neji pursed his lips, not daring to say what was on his mind yet. He was afraid the stranger would think he was a lunatic of some sort. But he had already gone too far by waking him up, so he resolved to simply do it. "You can stay in my apartment for the night, it you want. I live here, just upstairs the coffee shop".
This caught the young man's attention. He turned to Neji with a surprised expression. "Seriously?", he asked. The Hyūga simply shrugged, which made him hesitate. "But… You don't know me", he said, frowning in confusion.
Neji shrinked his shoulders again. "I know", he answered. "But you really look like you need a proper place to rest. And it will be just for one night. I don't mind".
The stranger narrowed his eyes at him, and Neji feared he was starting to think he was a crazy person. But after a few seconds he seemed to relax. "That's a very nice gesture, but are you sure?", he said. "I mean, I'm grateful and all, but you don't even know my name".
Neji smiled, surprised of his own amiability. "Well, my name is Neji", he answered. "What's yours?".
The young man stared at him with an open mouth for a moment. Then, he exhaled a soft laugh and returned a week smile. "I'm Shikamaru", he replied.
"Nice to meet you, Shikamaru", he said, and turned to the coffee shop. "Come on. Let's put you in bed".
While he opened the door, he heard the young man getting out of the car and closing it. He followed Neji across the coffee shop and through the stairs that led to his apartment. Once inside, the Hyūga turned the lights on and left his keys on the table.
"It's a little small, but it's bigger than a car", he said to Shikamaru, who was still standing next to the door, not daring to enter. "Please, come in. Make yourself comfortable".
The young man made a few hesitating steps inside, looking around. "I can't thank you enough for this", he said. "You must be the kindest guy in the world".
Neji chuckled softly at this. "I'm not, but I'm glad I can help", he answered. "I'll sleep in the couch and you can take my bed so you can rest better".
Shikamaru approached to him, shaking his head. "Thank you, but I rather take the couch. You're already doing too much for me, and I'd feel better that way".
Neji stared at the couch, thinking that he was about to let a complete stranger sleep in his house for the night. That was without doubt the craziest thing he had ever do, but oddly it didn't feel that weird. Not that he could take back his offer now, anyway. "I'll bring you some sheets", he said to Shikamaru, and headed to his bedroom. He came back short later and put a few blankets over the couch for his guest. "Are you sure you'll be okay here?".
"Yeah", Shikamaru answered, sitting over the couch and taking off his shoes. "Don't worry about me, this is a lot more than I expected for such a shitty night".
Neji thought he must be very tired, so he started heading to his room again to give him some privacy. "Okay, just call me if you need anything". He saw the young man biting his lip, as if he wanted to say one last thing, so he stopped walking and stared at him. "Is everything okay?", he asked.
Shikamaru reclined against the couch and stared at the floor for a few seconds. "Yeah, I'm just wondering…", he said, and hesitated. Then he turned his head to look at Neji. "Why are you doing this?".
The Hyūga went silent for a second, knowing he had no idea of how to answer. The truth was he felt sorry for the guy. He couldn't even imagine being in his position, and how overwhelming it must feel. But he couldn't say that, because it would make Shikamaru feel even worse. He took too much time to answer, so the stranger spoke again.
"I get it, you don't have to say it", he said, reading Neji's expression. "Anyway, I really appreciate this. Thank you".
Neji saw his exhausted face and his tired eyes, and felt glad he had been able to do something to help him, even if it was just letting him stay at his apartment for a night. He smiled to show him that it was okay. "No problem", he answered. Shikamaru smiled too. "I'll see you in the morning. Good night".
The young man nodded slowly. "Good night".
After those words, Neji turned off the lights and left to his bedroom.
Hi everybody!
This is a story I've been working on during the last days. It has been on my mind for a long time, so I decided to take it out of my head. It was supposed to be a one shot, but it ended up being a little too long, so I decided to divide it into chapters, one for each day. I really hope you enjoy it! If you do, please leave a comment!