A/N: Thanks again to people reading/reviewing! I've been busy with RL so I forget to update here...!

Chapter Eight

Makoto had thought working alongside Rei for the evening would be easier than Nagisa. As while he liked Nagisa, his enthusiasm was sometimes too much for him and this was one of those days. But then he discovered Rei, while not quite as outwardly, he guessed - bouncy as Nagisa - did talk a lot and Makoto had spent a good portion of his evening ignoring him.

It was a week night and so the Penguin Karaoke Club was pretty empty. There was one party in one of the private rooms and there had been a few singers on the main stage throughout the night but now it was quiet and it was only ten. Makoto figured it was going to be a slow night for him especially since he was meant to be there until midnight. He leaned against the bar and tried not to look too bored as he served drinks to no one. Plus the group had only wanted sodas and beers. It meant that he hadn't even had the interest of mixing a cocktail.

Rei was talking and Makoto was barely listening. Something about "aesthetics and beauty and singing" and he'd zoned out sometime ago, his eyes alternating between looking at a mark on the bar surface he couldn't be bothered to clean and one of the large screens that was showing some music video since there were no performers. He was staring at the screen when he felt the buzz in his pocket, his eyes gazing at a cute guitarist in a band and he stood up straight after feeling the vibrations.

They weren't allowed phones on shift, Makoto guessed that made sense but it was such a quiet night he was too damn bored not to want to look at it. And when it buzzed, he couldn't help wondering if it was Sousuke. It would probably be Nagisa, he'd checked up on him an hour ago and Makoto had seen the message during his bathroom break. He couldn't figure out why Nagisa was so interested about how he and Rei were getting on but he shrugged it off and answered that it was a slow night and they were getting along fine. Or it could've been Haru – checking how his night was going in his usual clipped blunt way but whatever it made Makoto curious.

"I'm gonna take a break," Makoto said with a sigh. "You don't mind?"

His words had cut off Rei mid-tirade about the beauty of a pure voice and Rei just shook his head and gave a simple "no" looking slightly disappointed at Makoto leaving. Though Makoto did wonder if Rei would be just as happy talking to the thin air in which he'd been stood in moments before.

Taking his phone out, Makoto walked towards the bathrooms and his heart hammered in his chest as he saw who the message was from. It wasn't Haru. It wasn't Nagisa. It was Sousuke.

/ what time do you finish work?/

Makoto swallowed as he looked at the message, unsure how quickly to type back but he could only realistically take five minutes out from his job so he typed in his message.

/ midnight. It's quiet tonight/

The response was quick and Makoto felt his pulse quicken as he looked at the message.

/I'll come by. Think you can go early?/

He didn't think he could but then Makoto had never asked to leave early even if it was a slow night. And tonight the manager wasn't in anyway so he could just ask Rei if he could go when Sousuke arrived… He knew he shouldn't. But Makoto rarely did what he shouldn't do – he constantly stuck by the rules and didn't think of doing anything either reckless or risky. Sousuke had already seemed to change that in him – after all, that first meeting, that first lock of eyes had resulted in him putting in the stupid Rush Hour Crush, he'd organised their first "date" and he'd been the one to kiss Sousuke. So he'd been doing stupid things since he'd met Sousuke. And leaving early on a very quiet night was not surely going to get him into trouble. So he texted back.

/ sure./

Even as he typed the sure, Makoto felt a thrill of adrenalin course just under his skin as he suddenly felt rebellious. The most rebellious things he'd done in his life prior to this had been experimental nights with a boyhood friend in the hall down from his parents and so it suddenly felt so exciting – a rush.

After putting away his phone, Makoto walked back to the bar to see it was just as deserted as before and Rei was wiping down the surfaces with a determined eye that made him wonder whether he needed it to be spotless for it to be up to his standards of aesthetics or beauty.

"I'm going to leave early, think you can manage?"

Makoto saw the expression on Rei's face, the way he stood up straight and pushed his glasses on his face and he seemed to be thinking. But then he glanced around the mostly empty bar and Makoto thought he was probably assessing Makoto's rule breaking versus the fact it was a very slow night.

"Just cover for me, please?"

The "please" seemed to sway it as Makoto titled his head and smiled in a way that he had used since he was a child. His mother had called it the "puppy-dog" expression, an expression that usually ended with Makoto getting what he'd wanted when he was a kid and he'd always been told not to teach it to his twin siblings, Ren and Ran. But then they had learnt in themselves, soon learning how to get around their mother when she was being stern. Stern like she rarely was.

"If the manager asks, I can't lie to his face."

Makoto nodded. "I'm not asking you to. If he does… I'll deal, okay?"

Rei didn't seem to want to participate in Makoto's rebellion and he supposed he could see his point. As it meant Rei would be the only one on the bar but there were still other staff around – the guys on the door so he wasn't being left alone. Least if it had been Nagisa he'd have just said it was his crush and he was sure the blond would've just ushered him out of the door.

But Rei made a soft noise and his eyes narrowed behind his glasses and Makoto felt a hand on his shoulder, the subtle touch making him turn his head to see Sousuke's face close, a small smirk on his face.

"Can you bail?"

"Ugh… yeah… if that's okay, Rei?"

Makoto met Rei's eyes almost pleading with him but it seemed Rei had figured out who Sousuke was. And he could almost see the cogs in his mind figuring out he would have to contact Nagisa straight away to inform him of the developments. Makoto just hoped he wouldn't be woken by a very early call or text from Nagisa.

"It's fine. Go!"

With a smile, Makoto waved goodbye and he didn't say anything to Sousuke until they were out of the club and into the cool night air. It felt cold and Makoto didn't have a jacket, only his white shirt and vest. Sousuke saw the slight shiver as they walked down the street and he stopped, Makoto puzzled as he removed his thick blue hoodie and offered it.

"Here."

"No! You'll be cold…"

"No, I'm okay," Sousuke answered and Makoto did take it cautiously, looking at the fact Sousuke did have a black long sleeved top underneath, tight and form fitting with a deep v neck that showed some of his tattoos. He wore a pendant around his neck, one that Makoto couldn't quite make out but he didn't stare too long, only slid on the hoodie and zipped it up.

Sousuke was only ever so slightly taller than Makoto and only a little broader but this particular hoodie was big even on Sousuke so seemed long in the sleeves for Makoto. He didn't care as his hands felt cold and he snuggled into the warmth of the fabric, breathing in Sousuke's scent as they walked towards the nearest Metro station.

"Where are we going?" Makoto asked as they used their cards to get through the turnstiles and Sousuke just gave a lopsided grin.

"Don't you like surprises?"

The surprise, whatever it was, was a few stops away and Makoto couldn't help swaying into Sousuke's body as they stood close to one another, them both opting to stand by the pole rather than take one of the empty seats. It felt oddly familiar – like that very first time they'd met though this time the carriage was empty rather than full of commuters. And this time Makoto wasn't trying not to look at Sousuke as now he was allowed. Now he could glance up and down his body as he stood close enough to feel some of Sousuke's body heat. Or at least what remained of it since Makoto stole his hoodie.

"Are you sure you're not cold?"

"I'm fine," he answered and Makoto didn't ask again as Sousuke inclined his head to indicate it was their stop they were pulling up to.

They hopped off and Makoto suddenly felt very unsure as he knew enough about Tokyo to know where they were headed. As while he'd never been to this area before, keeping himself to near the university and the small area around his apartment and the karaoke bar, he wasn't naïve enough to not know that this – this was the red light district they were headed towards.

"Ugh… Sousuke?" Makoto asked wide eyed as they walked out of the station and up the stairs and they were in the area known as Kabukichō.

"Don't you trust me?" Sousuke said with a smile and Makoto stalled, unsure.

As he knew the area was not particularly known as safe and he already felt intimidated by the amount of people, the confusing signs and the large posters and billboards that littered the walls. He suddenly felt very much like the small town boy from Iwatobi that didn't understand the big city – more so than he had felt before. The area was littered with hostess bars, love hotels and other entertainment establishments of an innocent and less innocent variety and Makoto was really not sure why Sousuke had brought him here. Maybe he wanted to check into a love hotel, maybe he was into something sexual that he wanted to know if Makoto was receptive to… damn, he didn't know but Makoto was seriously confused about their location.

Sousuke realised that Makoto had stopped and he reached out his hand, offering it to Makoto and his face had a warm, friendly expression, his eyes sparkling. "Trust me… you'll see soon."

Makoto glanced back and knew he could go back to the Metro and back to his apartment and sleep and forget about Sousuke and the whole experience. Or he could not. He'd bailed from work, followed Sousuke and backing out now seemed a little late. Even if he was in the middle of the red light district.

He took Sousuke's hand. "I trust you."

Sousuke smiled, the expression making the corners of his eyes crinkle. "Good. Let's go."