The walk to fifth period was the longest the trio made during the day.

It was also right after lunch, and Tamaki had a bad habit of zoning out after big meals. He didn't know if it was just a personal tick or if it had something to do with the way his quirk worked. All he knew was that right around this time of day he often found himself gazing out UA's tall glass windows towards the pathways below, watching students move about their busy schedules. Nejire and Mirio knew about his tendency to drift and were trailing just a little ahead, locked in their own conversation.

"…And so anyway, since Mayuri feels so strongly about it we have to go tonight which is crazy last minute."

"It's your birthday party, why don't you go when you want to go?" Mirio frowned.

Tamaki's attention slowly drifted to their conversation.

"Oh no, I don't really mind," Nejire chimed, shaking her head dramatically and sending baby-blue curls bouncing every which way. "Anyway, you're invited. I know I should have asked earlier but I hope you can make it!"

"It's your birthday, you know I wouldn't miss it."

"I thought you had a bunch of things due this week."

"Sure, but what's more important than friendship?" Mirio teased.

"Sheesh, I don't know why everyone thinks you're such a good student."

"Can I come?"

Nejire and Mirio both stopped dead in the hallway and turned to look at Tamaki, awestruck.

"Y-yes! I mean, duh, you're always invited!" Nejire blurted, a smile slowly spreading across her features. "I just didn't think to ask since… you've never really seemed interested?"

"I think… it might be nice to try." he said sheepishly. His gaze flickered to Mirio, whose blue eyes were assessing him with a twinkling curiosity.

That night Tamaki had showered off, slipped into a comically oversized shirt on loan from Mirio, and finally collapsed in his own bed well past 1 am. His heart was still beating a little fast, and his head was a little fuzzy. For the first time in forever he had gotten close to Mirio without letting fear eat him up. Without even thinking, really, or at least with his thoughts absorbed in Mirio's touch, his voice…

You look so good

Those words ran through his head over and over as he rolled back-and-forth in bed, willing his heart to stop pounding.

Of course there was one major difference between that night and every other. It was the pleasant warmth in his chest, the hum in the back of his mind, the fuzziness in his vision.

He had always wondered what the appeal of drinking was to Mirio and the rest.

Now he thought he understood. He had felt uncoupled from his actions, just distant enough to keep his previously uncontrollable thoughts at bay.

Nejire bounded over to him and grabbed him by the arms, swinging them back and forth in glee.

"That's the spirit!" she cheered. "I'll introduce you to everyone, don't worry, and I'll show you the best thing to order. They have this killer margarita, the Baja… Boca… it starts with something like that, but oh my goooood it's so good..."

She started trotting off down the hallway again still holding Tamaki's arm captive, him stumbling to keep pace. Mirio followed, watching Tamaki's face in profile as he politely nodded at Nejire's enthusiasm. He couldn't keep a small crease of concern from his expression.

Tamaki broke off from Nejire and looked back to hold Mirio's gaze, something nervous flickering over his expression. He turned back quickly.

Tamaki was scrolling on his phone when a hesitant knock sounded at his door.

"Me!" Nejire's muffled voice sounded off.

"Come in."

The door creaked open, hall light spilling into his room. Nejire's head peeked into view, first blue bangs then wide eyes peering at Tamaki. She glanced him over.

"Oh!" she chirped. "You're ready to go."

She sounded weirdly relieved, and it quickly occurred to Tamaki that she might have expected him to bail out.

"Yeah, nine right?"

"Mm!" she hummed, giving a sharp nod. She sat on the edge of Tamaki's bed, looked at him, opened her mouth and then closed it again.

Tamaki was forced to look up from his phone and wait expectantly for whatever comment was coming.

"You know what you would look great in?" she purred, lips curling up into a devilish smile.

This was Nejire's polite way of saying she hated what you were wearing.

He clicked his phone screen off with a frown.

"I thought I looked fine…."

He assessed his own outfit, a loose white shirt with an open-faced cardigan and dark pants.

Nejire nodded rapidly.

"Oh yeah, of course! I love that little flash of collarbone. And you know how I feel about your legs in those pants."

Yes, he did. Nejire was very fond of pointing out just how fitted his pants were, in embarrassing detail.

"But?" he sighed.

"I'll be right back!"

Nejire took off out the door. Tamaki could hear the sound of her footfalls disappearing down the hall, her door slamming, and her giggling return. They were only a few doors down from each other, to his great misfortune.

When she re-appeared in the doorframe, a clothes hanger swinging off the curve of her finger, Tamaki's expression darkened.

"That's… leather." He deadpanned.

"Yes! And you would look stunning in it," She chucked it at him across the room, and he scrambled to catch. "It's dark, it's mysterious, it suits your vibe."

Tamaki inspected the jacket up close. The leather was dull and clearly worn a good few times before, with a cloth hood sewn into the buckle-strap collar.

"This is a men's jacket."

"So?"

"So where'd you get it?"

"It was an ex's."

Tamaki muttered curses under his breath.

"I have to wear it, don't I?"

"For the birthday girl?" she batted her eyelashes, and when he looked less than convinced she threw in a wink. "Then for Mirio? I know you'd look killer in it."

"Don't say it like that…" he pouted, but he was already pulling the jacket off the hangar.

"You never told me what happened between you two." Nejire observed with feigned casualty, her gaze trained on Tamaki's expression as he very obviously panicked.

"What? Nothing happened."

"Mmm-hmmm," she hummed. "You know I sit next to you two in like all of our classes, right?"

When Tamaki looked indignant she came to her own defense.

"It's not my fault Mirio is a very loud whisperer."

Tamaki had to stifle a sudden visualization of smacking Mirio upside the head. The blonde had been extra affectionate lately, although it wouldn't have been obvious to the average onlooker. Tamaki had made it clear early on that he didn't want to draw rumors and speculation from the other students. He had hoped that would prevent Mirio from being too cozy in public, but he should have known that Mirio's personality couldn't be contained so easily. Instead the blonde had mastered the art of hushed tones and fleeting touches that left Tamaki frazzled and the rest of UA completely unaware.

Except for Nejire.

"Some stuff might have happened," he mumbled.

"Say no more! I won't pry!" she threw up her hands in mock humility, even though Tamaki knew from experience that prying was one of her favorite past times. "I'm happy for you, though."

"He seems really happy," Tamaki said absentmindedly.

"Are you?" Nejire was peering at him.

"Huh? Of course."

"Then why do you still seem so worried?"

Tamaki took the opportunity to adjust the jacket over his shoulders.

"I guess… I'm worried I'm not doing enough."

Nejire tilted her head sideways, questioning.

He was being vague for Nejire's sake, but he was thinking about that night. It was pretty much the only thing he could think about lately.

About the fact that Mirio had gotten him off, and Mirio got nothing out of it.

But that wasn't true, right? Mirio had enjoyed it, even if he didn't… finish.

He kept wondering what Mirio did after he left. Was he frustrated?

"Woah, Tamaki, you're doing the thing again." Nejire waved her hand in front of his face. "Come back!"

He snapped back to Nejire's worried face peering up at him.

"I- He's always doing things for me and then when it comes down to it… I'm too scared to do them for him."

"Oh boy Tamaki," Nejire sighed. "You worry too much. You guys have been friends since forever., You mean more to him than just stuff like that."

"That's why I don't want to mess this up," Tamaki said woefully.

"Whoa, that's-"

Her phone started to ring, and she hesitated.

"Hold that thought, we'll talk about this later. Actually, no, get rid of that thought! It sucks."

She clambered off the bed and pulled her phone up to her ear.

"Hiya!"

Tamaki could hear a group of tinny voices squealing on the other end.

"Oh my gosh, okay be right there!"

She turned back to Tamaki and pointed an angry finger at him.

"You! You're having fun tonight! NO worrying allowed."

Mirio was waiting in the lobby, pantomiming something to three girls who all laughed in unison at the unheard punchline. When Nejire and Tamaki appeared at the foot of the stairs her friends spotted her one-by-one, surging towards her in one big hugging, smiling, bubbly mass. Mirio tailed behind them, and noticing Tamaki immediately sized up his outfit with a startled grin. He had just opened his mouth to question when Nejire seized Tamaki's arm and drew him into the crowd.

"This is Tamaki Amajiki! He's good friends with Mirio. Well, he's good friends with me too. So you know he's double approved." He threw out a careful wave, conscious of so many sets of eyes trained on him.

"This is Mayuri and Rize…"

Two girls smiled back at him, one strikingly tall and one with unnaturally red hair. He recognized them from classes, although he couldn't say he had ever spoken to them.

"And you know Mira already."

The familiar face threw him a wink, and Tamaki smiled softly back. Nejire's friends were usually mirror images of her, painfully bubbly and too talkative for Tamaki to keep pace with. Mira was one of those rare people who could match Nejire's energy and slow down for Tamaki's.

"Alright, let's move it!" Nejire clapped her hands decisively and made for the door, the others following behind her. "I want to get there before it's too packed to dance."

Tamaki bristled at the comment he knew was coming as Mirio slid into formation next to him.

"Sooo… this is a new look for you," Tamaki could hear the smirk on his face.

"Birthday girl's orders."

"It's hers?"

"Her ex's."

"Oh? So you're wearing another guy's jacket."

Tamaki glanced up, wondering if he was really upset. But of course it was Mirio, and he was rocking an over-the-top pout. Tamaki rolled his eyes at him.

It was cold outside, cold enough that Tamaki walked with his hands squarely in his pockets and his arms tucked tight against his sides. He was quickly grateful Nejire had forced him into thicker outerwear.

They had only walked a few blocks when Mirio was drawn to the front of the pack as Nejire forced him to recount the details of a particularly wild night they had. Tamaki laughed along with the rest as Mirio's retelling reached the theatrical conclusion:

"And then the guy goes: UA? Never heard of it!"

"He thought we were lying! They kicked us straight out!" Nejire ranted.

Watching the two reminisce made Tamaki realize that Mirio didn't really talk to him about the time he spent with other friends.

Not that it had ever really bothered him.

"So then Mirio offers to walk me home after that whole fiasco, and we've been walking for like twenty minutes before he just stops dead and tells me he has no clue where he's going."

"Hey!" Mirio protested, "I warned you I was drunk."

"Yeah but you weren't acting like it! You can't just bluff your way out like that!" Nejire snapped, her voice straining to be heard above the laughter of her friends.

Tamaki had never really seen Mirio drunk before either.

Not that that bothered him.

Mira suddenly slowed her pace, coming up beside Tamaki who was straggling behind. She gave him a soft smile, her face yellow in the streetlights.

"Call me crazy, but I've never seen you go out before."

"That's because I haven't," Tamaki admitted.

"Huh! What made you change your mind?"

That was hard to answer.

It was because he couldn't stop thinking about the way he felt that night, but he couldn't bring himself to do it again.

Something in his brain, his body, shut him down everytime. He willed himself to act and found his hands trembling, his head spinning every time.

"I just really need a drink," Tamaki shrugged.

"Ha! That's a good answer," She laughed. Tamaki glanced up to see Mirio looking back at him with an unreadable expression.

He wondered if he had heard, and looked away.

A few blocks later they crossed the street to the club, its neon sign reading CopyCat in big, swooping yellow handwriting. The girls surged ahead, getting a second wind at the sight. Mirio stopped outside the door, encouraging them on ahead as he not-so-subtly waited for Tamaki.

Tamaki gazed up at him expectantly as he approached, but Mirio looked like he wasn't sure what he planned on saying.

"I just… I'm glad you came," his brow furrowed with that sickeningly sweet concern that Tamaki had seen far too much of this week. "I'll leave with you anytime you want, okay?"

"You worry too much," Tamaki soothed.

Inside the building it was loud, louder than Tamaki had expected, and the air was rich with the sweet and sickly smell of perfume soaked in sweat and alcohol. They had entered into a central dance floor, but the night was still young and only a few scattered groups of girls were swaying back and forth under the flashing lights.

"Over there." Mirio's voice was in his ear, the taller boy leaning down to be heard over the music. He stretched his arm out over Tamaki's shoulder and pointed to Nejire, who waved at them from up ahead and disappeared towards the back of the room with a flip of her blue hair. The two followed her trail around a railing and to the back corner of the room where the bar spread out before them. Nejire and her friends were squeezed into an opening at the counter, packed shoulder-to-shoulder with the strangers around them.

Tamaki could feel Mirio watching him and did his best to act natural, despite his anxiety at the sight of so many packed bodies.

"Will you order me something?"

"Huh?"

Right, it was loud.

Tamaki bounced up onto his tiptoes to lean into Mirio's ear.

"Will you order me something? I don't really know how this works."

"Totally, but it's kinda hard if you don't know what you like."

"Nejire said something that started with a B?"

Mirio barked a laugh.

"Nejire drinks glorified sugar water. I'll get you one, but I'm gonna judge you if you like it," he teased.

"Well what do you drink?" Tamaki said defensively. Mirio's expression lost some of its fire, and his hand came up to the back of his neck in a classic tell of embarrassment.

"Ah… I'll let you try it and you can decide for yourself."

He pressed forward to the bar, Tamaki trailing behind him. There was clearly an unnamed strategy here, as Mirio pressed close to the counter and folded his hands in front of him, elbows on the bar. Tamaki tried to listen in as the bartender approached, but their exchange was lost in the crowd.

Mirio gestured Tamaki to his side, using his own size to carve out a space for both of them in the huddle of strangers. His back brushed up against the girl behind him, but she spared him little more than a sidelong glance. Tamaki felt strangely calm. At least he wasn't expected to interact with strangers here, unlike the conferences he was used to going to.

"I'll pay you back, okay?" Tamaki insisted.

"Not if you don't like it."

"But-"

The bartender swept past in a blur and deposited two drinks in front of them, both sloshing over their brims. One was in a wide-brimmed Martini glass, the liquid a gradient of golden hues like a sunset. The other was in a taller, textured bar glass with a lime poking up off the brim.

"Now guess which one is Nejire's?" Mirio winked.

Tamaki's finger flew at the martini glass and Mirio nodded dramatically.

Tamaki gripped the shaft of the glass and lifted it gingerly to his lips. His eyes widened the more he drank.

"Well?" Mirio prompted when Tamaki set the glass down at last.

"It tastes… kinda good?" he confessed, wincing when Mirio looked visibly disappointed.

"There's no accounting for taste," he sighed dramatically, lifting his own glass and taking a sip.

"What's that, then?" Tamaki asked.

"A mojito. Mint, lime, rum, club soda."

Mirio offered the cup to Tamaki, who sipped tentatively as its owner watched with rapt attention.

"Yeah? You like it?"

"Umm…" he set the cup back down on the bar. "It's okay."

Mirio's face quickly dropped to comically crestfallen.

"I mean, I'm just not used to the way alcohol tastes!"

Mirio kept staring at him for a minute, long enough for Tamaki to worry he had actually upset him.

"I never thought I'd be drinking with you," Mirio looked wistful as he pulled the glass towards him.

Then he reached for Tamaki's hand where it was still resting on the bar, covering it with his own. Tamaki glanced about nervously, and Mirio quickly pulled away realizing his mistake.

"Did you want to?" Tamaki blurted out.

"What?"

"Drink with me?"

"Oh," Mirio smiled down at his drink, looking suddenly bashful. "I don't know. I guess I just like seeing different sides of you like this."

Tamaki tried to hide his blush behind the rim of his glass as he took another sip.

"You don't really tell me about going out."

"I didn't know how it would make you feel," Mirio frowned. "I guess I thought you might be upset."

"I've never really minded. I guess…" Tamaki hesitated on the confession. "I guess I just realized that I don't really know what you're like in a place like this."

"We have that in common then!" Mirio smiled. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Of course," Tamaki held his breath.

"Why come tonight?"

"It's Nejire's birthday."

"Tamaki…" Mirio's tone said he wasn't buying it, and Tamaki took another nervous sip of his drink.

"I don't know… I just want-"

"Yoooo!" Nejire's voice cut through the drone around them as she swung into view, her friends in tow.

"Birthday girl!" Mirio tore his attention reluctantly from Tamaki and flashed his classic friendly facade for the group. Nejire looked between them and gasped when she saw Tamaki's drink.

"Did you try it? It's good, right?"

"It's great," Tamaki said as convincingly as he could muster.

"Well, I expect both of you to join us on the dance floor!" Her cheeks were a little rosier than usual, and Tamaki suspected she was already a few drinks in. Mirio had obviously come to the same conclusion as he exclaimed:

"We've been here twenty minutes! How much did you drink already?"

"We did birthday shots while you old men were sipping away," She stuck her tongue out at them.

Tamaki looked out over the mass of writhing bodies that had suddenly appeared on the dance floor. He had been distracted by their conversation, but now he realized the room was quickly getting crowded. The thought of moving into that throng was quickly making his nerves return.

"I think Tamaki's going to sit this one out. I'll keep you company for the both of us," Mirio threw Tamaki a knowing glance as he sweet-talked Nejire with a syrupy sweet smile.

Nejire tackled Tamaki in a wobbling hug that nearly took the boy clean off his bar stool.

"Of course, I'm just glad you're here!"

She latched onto Mirio's arm, and Tamaki couldn't stifle a grin as he watched the other scramble to grab his drink before he was dragged away by Nejire's stubborn strength.

Mirio gave Tamaki a nervous wave before disappearing into the crowd, drink in one hand and Nejire in the other.

Tamaki waited until the poke of his blonde hair disappeared into the crowd.

Then he swiveled back around in his seat and downed his drink.