Ink Fountain was a special kind of bar, tucked away in one of the calmer alleyways of Tokyo, it attracted men and women alike to come and spend their money not only on overpriced cocktails, but on the startenders working there too. The most famous was Oikawa Tooru, with over 4 million followers on Instagram, many people drove miles on Thursday nights just to see him pour drinks and preform. He had regular fans, coming to see him each week, some even changed their work schedules to be able to make it for Oikawa's midnight closing show. However, Oikawa wasn't hired at the Ink Fountain because of his verified tick or extraordinary beauty, but due to connections he had at the bar. His best friend, Iwaizumi, was the owner of Ink Fountain, and after Oikawa's occasional presence turned out to be extremely lucrative, he was hired to work there full time. Alongside them worked three more men; Kuroo - a black haired synonym of masculinity who performed every Friday night, with a count of 2 million followers on Instagram; Sugawara - who's kind nature and universal attractiveness gained him popularity among both men and women, with a count of 801k followers on Instagram; and lastly, Hinata, the newest addition to Iwaizumi's bar, who despite being straight attracted mainly men with his weekend shows, quickly gaining a following on Instagram, having 200k followers, the least of all the boys.
The bar was very spacious, however, it appeared cosy due to the square bar area being placed in the middle of the room, making everyone crowd together to get drinks and a good look at the boys. It was a Thursday, just past 5pm, and Oikawa was becoming irritated. It wasn't busy, but his support was late.
"Iwa-chan, if he doesn't show up, you will have to do all the dirty work", he teased his friend, Iwaizumi sat behind the bar reordering stock, not paying much attention to Oikawa's antics.
"Yeah, okay", came a half-hearted reply, followed by some furious typing.
"Gosh, you're no fun at all", Oikawa pouted, and moved to the other side of the bar to collect some glasses people left behind.
"Sorry I'm late!", Hinata entered like a small orange storm, making the door bang against the wall, as he run in. Behind him followed a shy blonde girl, and a tall black-haired man in a suit.
"You're fired! Don't even come near me!", Oikawa shouted from the other side of the bar.
"Nooo! Am I really?!", Hinata stopped in front of Iwaizumi, and shook his arm a little, attempting to make puppy eyes at him.
"Of course not", Iwaizumi said without looking at Hinata and waved him off, "now go put your stuff away before Oikawa starts throwing shit at you".
"Yessir!", and with that Hinata disappeared downstairs. His two friends sat themselves at the other side of the bar, opposite Iwaizumi.
"How are you Yachi-chan?", Oikawa mused with, sliding a glass of orange juice over to the blonde girl.
"I'm alright, thank you", she said, blushing slightly. Oikawa satisfied with her reaction patted her hair gently.
"Came to watch your boyfriend work, huh? What a good girl", he hummed teasingly. He didn't realise that he was under close observation while he did all this, but the ravenette that entered with Yachi had his eyes locked on him.
"Hey! Lay off of my girlfriend, Oikawa, you flirt!", Hinata shouted as soon as he came out of the basement where he left his stuff. He appeared next to Yachi almost momentarily, seizing her into a protective hug.
"I wasn't doing anything", Oikawa raised his hands up and smiled innocently.
"Hinata, drinks", came from the ravenette, and Oikawa looked over at him for the first time. The man was very tall, but not taller than Oikawa, maybe the same height, he couldn't tell when the ravenette was sitting down. He wouldn't be anything special if it wasn't for his height and deep blue eyes, that pierced right through you when he shot you a glance. The man was dressed very formally, in a navy suit, with a black shirt underneath, buttoned up to the very top, and a grey tie completing the look.
"So demanding, Kageyama!", Hinata shouted at his friend and got to work, fixing up a margarita, but then topping it off with way too much sugar syrup. He passed it to Kageyama for inspection, the man took a sip and nodded in approval.
"Such an old guy and still needs to sweeten up his alcohol, how uncool", Oikawa teased quietly, not sure what reaction he will get.
"With a bitter guy like you around I really need the sugar", Kageyama said with a straight face, looking right through Oikawa. He was taken aback by that sudden bite back, most men just attempt to flirt when he teases them or completely dismiss him.
"Don't be rude Kageyama, Oikawa is the most famous bartender around here, you have to show respect", Yachi jumped to Oikawa's defence, with a small smile. Hinata gave her a thumbs up from behind Oikawa's back for diffusing the situation.
"I was just saying", Kageyama shrugged and practically chugged his margarita. Almost immediately Hinata had another drink ready - this time a mojito, but Kageyama paid him no mind, fascinated by Oikawa's boldness.
Right after this the bar suddenly got busy, with big groups of people entering all at once. Iwaizumi put his laptop away and started helping the boys out with the drinks. The bar was now crowded, mainly with young women who just came from their university lectures. They all admired Oikawa, as he flirted with them and encouraged them to take pictures with him. Hinata was working on the side-lines, cleaning up and serving those who didn't wait in queue to see Oikawa. For most of the night it went on like this, with Hinata occasionally making another drink for Kageyama who silently observed Oikawa like a hawk. Yachi made conversation with him from time to time, but mainly focused on her clumsy boyfriend that constantly rushed around the bar.
"You wanna try some?", Kageyama pushed his drink towards Yachi, curiously glancing over at her.
"Oh, no, I was just trying to see who you're looking at. Are you interested in Oikawa?", she asked, taking a sip of his espresso martini despite of initially rejecting it.
"I suppose I am", he shrugged. Yachi didn't reply for a while so he looked back at her again, to find her chugging water, distress and panic painted on her face.
"Are you okay?!", he asked clearly concerned.
"It's so bitter!", she complained as soon as she finished her glass of water, panting, trying to catch her breath after drinking so fast.
"Well, of course dummy, it has coffee in it", Kageyama sighed, taking his drink away from her. She wanted to retort with something, annoyed with his choice of words, but as soon as she opened her mouth the lights went off and the music became louder.
"Look, Oikawa is about to perform!", Hinata appeared between them, putting his arm around Yachi and pulling her closer. The lights suddenly came back on, illuminating only the bar area. Oikawa stood on top of the countertop in the middle of their bar area, in a small space in between stacks of clean glasses. The music was deafeningly loud and fast, it was some old punk rock song that Kageyama didn't know.
"TOORU!", cheers barely broke through the music, as all the girls pushed closer to the bar, trying to get a glimpse of their favourite barman.
Oikawa looked straight ahead, facing the crowd, he blew kisses and winked at some girls before he started to slowly unbutton his shirt while rocking his hips side to side. That only made the cheers louder. When his shirt was completely undone, he picked up a bottle of champagne.
"Open up!", he laughed as he shook the bottle before opening is. For some reason everyone looked more excited than concerned at this. Oikawa let the cork explode into his hand, if it caused him any pain, he didn't show it, he moved his and away quickly, letting the champagne squirt over the crowd. Many of the girls opened their mouths, trying to catch some of it. When he was done with the bottle, Oikawa claimed from the centre top, onto the actual bar, letting girls tuck notes into his jeans, as he slowly moved around the countertop on his hands and knees, shooting seductive looks left and right. Some girl passed a £50 note into his hand, and he jumped down from the bar to dance with her for a few seconds before he went back to continue his journey around.
He reached Kageyama's side of the bar, and looked visibly irritated by it. He moved the espresso martini further away as he laid down on the bar on his back in front of the three of them, lip-syncing with the song for a few seconds, before he saw a £50 note in Kageyama's hand.
"Is that for me?", he shouted over the song.
Kageyama nodded, passing it to him. Oikawa took Kageyama's hand that held the note and slid it gently down his jeans. Kageyama quickly took his hand back after dropping the note there. He could hear Hinata laughing on the side, but before he could scold him, Oikawa changed his position on the bar, sitting in front of Kageyama, with his legs on either side of him. He pulled Kageyama's tie a little loose and started undoing the top of his shirt. He paused after the second button.
"That's better", Oikawa smirked as he finished with Kageyama and moved back to the centre of the bar, where girls ready with pens in hands started writing on his chest. The song came to an end, the music and lights returned to their usual state, and Oikawa spent about ten more minutes taking pictures with fans before he disappeared.
When Oikawa came back, with his hair still slightly wet, there was less people crowding around the bar. Iwaizumi sat next to Kageyama, flipping through some papers, pointing to where Kageyama can sign. Oikawa noticed that his tie and buttons were still as he left them - undone. But Kageyama appeared as serious as he saw him when he first entered.
"You have a shower here?", Kageyama asked curiously.
"No, me and Oikawa live upstairs", Iwaizumi explained, as they both watched Oikawa struggle to pull out a tray of glasses out of the dishwasher.
"Are you guys dating?"
"I would rather die", Iwaizumi laughed, his tone affectionate, not matching his words, "Oikawa is too in love with himself to date anyone"
"Hinata you klutz!", they heard Oikawa shout.
"Fight me then!", Hinata stood on his tiptoes trying to match Oikawa's height, but he barely reached above his shoulder. Oikawa put his hand on Hinata's head and pushed him down comically. Some girls laughed behind the bar, amused by their quarrel.
"Stop pushing him down or he will shrink even more", Kageyama shouted over the music, his voice and face as plain as ever.
"Mind your own business, perv!", Oikawa turned around to face him, childishly sticking his tongue out.
"Perv?", Kageyama looked genuinely taken aback by this.
"Watch your mouth Shittykawa!", Iwaizumi chucked a pen in Oikawa's direction, accidentally hitting Hinata's arm with it instead. Hinata was just glad that Yachi went home early and wasn't here to witness this.
"Why? He sits through the entire night just staring there at me, it's fucking creepy. And then he paid for a special favour? The fuck", Oikawa ranted, coming closer to the bar.
"Special favour?", Kageyama turned to Iwaizumi, ignoring Oikawa who was getting in his face now.
"You gave him a £50, it means he has to give you special attention during his performance, usually in a sexual way. He started undressing you?", Iwaizumi suggested, resignation visible in his expression. Was Kageyama really that clueless?
"Hinata told me to give him a £50, he said that's what's expected", they both turned to look at Hinata who was now hiding behind the countertop, laughing loudly.
"Yeah, right, as if I'm gonna believe that! You followed me on Instagram just now too!", Oikawa slammed his hands on the bar right in front of Kageyama.
"It's part of the contract", Kageyama explained calmly, looking up to meet Oikawa's eyes.
It was unclear to him why Oikawa was behaving so erratically, but Iwaizumi understood why he was on edge. Oikawa had more than enough stalkers, both male and female, interrupting his daily life. He overreacted at the most minor signs out of cautiousness now.
"What contract?"
"Oikawa can you let us get back to work now?", Iwaizumi tried to move Oikawa's hands from the papers that were on the bar. He looked down to see "sponsorship contract" written in bold letters at the top of the signed off pages.
"You're getting sponsored by us?", Oikawa looked back at Kageyama again.
"The other way around idiot", Iwaizumi sighed, ripping out the contract from under Oikawa's hands.
"Huh?"
"Kageyama is sponsoring our bar, that will allow us to do some more aggressive marketing without risking going out of business. Happy now?"
"Oh, shit", Oikawa almost choked on his words, "I'm-", he was visibly blushing now, "fuck, I'm so sorry", he apologised, bowing deeply. He didn't give Kageyama enough time to reply, as he rushed away to serve a customer, simply to get out of this awkward situation. Iwaizumi won't let him forget that.
Kageyama's gaze lingered on Oikawa as he moved away, all hot and bothered by the misunderstanding. Cute, he thought, although most people would not describe Oikawa like that. He felt his heart beat a little faster, when he caught Oikawa's gaze again. The brunette quickly looked away, trying to hide his embarrassment.
"Is that all set then?", Kageyama asked as he got up. The bar was closed when they finished setting everything up.
"Yeah, should be all good, make sure you come to see Hinata preform this weekend", Iwaizumi shook his hand. Hinata walked Kageyama out, talking excitedly about something out of Oikawa's earshot.
"Bye", Kageyama stopped in the threshold.
"Yeah, ciao", Oikawa winked at him, in his usual flirtatious manner now, his embarrassment completely vanished.
"How do you know that grumpy guy?", Oikawa asked sometime later as he and Hinata were alone cleaning behind the bar.
"Kageyama? I used to play volleyball with him in high school, he was the best. I mean, no wonder really, he's Japan's national team setter now", Hinata said, throwing the words out faster than he could process them.
"Isn't he too young for that?"
"You really never heard of him, huh? Just look at his insta, he's quite famous, you know?", Hinata mused innocently, knowing that Kageyama caught Oikawa's attention. Oikawa considered it for a second, he didn't want to seem too eager to find out about this guy.
"So how comes he's sponsoring our bar then?"
"He just wanted to invest into something, so I suggested this place, seems like a safe bet since we're always full", Hinata shrugged.
"So did he buy shares from Iwa-chan then?"
"Buy what?"
"Nevermind"
Later that night as Oikawa laid in bed, still thinking about how he embarrassed himself in front of Kageyama, he opened his Instagram. He was instantly flooded with likes and new follow notifications. He scrolled through tagged pictures, most of them were pictures of him with different girls from that night who wrote their names on his chest, but among those one picture stood out. It was a picture submitted by a fan page "", he chuckled at the name. Pictured was of course Oikawa himself, his left profile shown in its entirety as he sat on the bar, shirt soaked in champagne pressed tightly against his arm and chest. With him in the picture was Kageyama, his eyes in a brighter shade of blue than in real life due to a filter, focused on Oikawa's face with much more intensity than he remembered feeling in the moment. What surprised Oikawa the most though was the like count, it was already over one million, but the picture was posted 2 hours ago. How? He checked the comment section:
" kageyamatobio omg is that really you?"
" kageyamatobio realoikawatoru is this for real?!"
" kageyamatobio is gay? WHAT"
"Can't believe this is how kageyamatobio spends his free time looool"
Kageyama was tagged in almost every comment. Oikawa sighed and tapped the handle. It took him straight to Kageyama's profile. 12 million followers. Following 37.
"What the fuck", Oikawa said under his breath.
His bio read simply "volleyball; 🇯🇵 setter". He only had 3 pictures; one of him and Hinata from high school. Oikawa checked the time stamp - 2 years ago. How old was he?
Another one with a fluffy white dog, Kageyama wasn't smiling in it but he looked very calm which gave a similar effect.
In the third picture Kageyama was in Japan's national representation kit, it was a picture taken during a game, while he was tossing. Oikawa would expect him to make a stupid face while he sets the ball; but Kageyama's eyes were focused on the ball, his muscles tensed, his lips only slightly parted, making him appear objectively handsome.
Follow back
Oikawa closed his phone.
It was way too late to be creeping on some random guy, no matter how famous he was. He closed his eyes, attempting to sleep, but he could still see that last picture in his mind.