"I told him I love him." He hadn't asked for explanation, nor was it likely that he would, but Mizuki knew he was interested even if he did pretend it was the last thing on his mind, and he knew he deserved to know why he'd been in that state, not that it was unusual these days. He just nodded slowly, as if he'd expected exactly that, leaving Mizuki to wonder what he thought about it, whether he thought he was an idiot or if he sympathised.

"I'm guessing it didn't go well?"

"Not massively," he smiled then, ruefully, trying to make this an amusing situation they could laugh about, there hadn't been enough laughter lately and he missed it, he'd never liked long silences and this one was painful. "Could have been worse though."

"I'd imagine so," and like that, the conversation was over, Tio's wonderings were confirmed as accurate and he went back to his job, looking through the stock order Mizuki was about to submit and ensuring all the things he needed for piercings were accounted for. "You probably shouldn't have told him."

"I know." He let the tense silence reign a little longer, maybe even enjoying it as Mizuki felt the air in his lungs begin to boil, scared to even breathe out let it piss him off more and lead to further arguments or even more of this silent treatment that he deserved yet did not want.

"I need more gloves than that, and I'm allergic to latex," the second was tacked on and he somehow managed to sound let down even as his tone was even and carefully weighted, because Mizuki should have definitely known that but it hadn't merely slipped his mind, he just didn't care enough to know.

"Right, of course you are, you need the nitrile ones, right?" That was a guess, he'd glanced down the list of options and seen it, hoped it had been correct and not the other possibility, wondering if Tio knew he'd guessed as he hummed tensely in agreement.

"Mm-hm."


Again with the silent treatment, with being ignored for having done something wrong when this time it wasn't even that terrible, he hadn't slept with another enemy, not that there really were any on the island worthy of that title but Sly. All he'd done was go on a drunken bender and end up asleep in a fast food place early in the evening. That was surely no big deal, or not enough of an issue for anybody to hold long grudges, but it seemed he was wrong again because Tio was damn sure holding a grudge and Kin certainly had some issue with him too.

But then he supposed Kin's issue was a direct result of Tio's issue so it wasn't really a real issue but now he'd thought the word issue so much it made him feel queasy, only realising then that Tio had been staring at him this whole time and not the tablet in his hand.

"You need to quit drinking," he opened his mouth and for some reason Tio anticipated laughter, a nonchalant remark that it wasn't that bad, clarifying a second later and voice just as stern as he almost reprimanded him. "I'm serious, Mizuki."

He wasn't going to laugh, this wasn't funny and he knew that, forgetting the night before and waking up with no memory of how he'd made such a mess or when he'd ended up falling asleep wasn't funny, it was sad, and pathetic, and increasingly scary as he fell into the routine of it. "Yeah I know, I'm sorry."

"You don't have to be sorry."

"Then what am I supposed to be?" He batted back as soon as he could, ball back in Tio's court and him not looking keen to even go near it much less respond and let Mizuki be in charge of this, just adjusting his hold on the tablet and frowning. No, not frowning, that disappointed gaze, like he'd really expected more from him, Mizuki feeling increasingly frustrated because how was he meant to know what he wanted when he was so evasive?

"It doesn't matter. So what are we doing about Beni-Shigure? Are we really just ignoring that they disappeared then forgot all about it?"

The conversation shift was so obvious it hurt, just licking his lips and inclining his head, exhaling through pursed lips and feeling tightness in his chest he didn't like, nervousness surrounding him constantly and eyes flickering to the backlit bottles on the shelf beside him. "I guess, I don't know what else we can do. It's weird, and suspicious, but unless Koujaku or anybody remembers anything there's nothing we can do but keep an eye on them."

"So basically, there's nothing we can do?"

"No."

"Awesome," and with that final, sarcastic comment, he pulled his hoodie back on as if the conversation were already over, as if that weren't cold and childish, as if he wouldn't normally have stayed longer after walking all the way there. "See you tomorrow."

"Oh, yeah, are you in at sev-" But the door had already slammed.


It was cold. And that was a remarkably bland way to describe the day and a depressing way to start it, but it was the truth and in that moment he felt it more than anything else, having woken up shivering and with his nose running. Or perhaps it had been the sudden hunger pang of his stomach that had him abruptly awake and grunting in pain, stabbing burn fading as soon as it came and just leaving him nervous to drift off again.

He was hungry too, cold and hungry, and what dull, basic things to feel, blinking crusts out of his eyes and wiping at his face with fingers that had been pressed into his armpits all night, trying to stay warm even though it must be nearly winter by now. The light through the broken roof of the warehouse was cool and crispy like the leaves that fell in the park like area of the island, the only place things really grew except in occasional window boxes that would surely be left to shrivel and rot soon.

He knew that maybe his time here was growing shorter, that soon he'd have to bundle up his selfish pride and childish refusal and walk the long walk to his Grandmas, not more than twenty minutes away. He'd have to knock on the door because he wasn't quite sure where his key was, he'd have to remain there, sober and warm but feeling so stilted and trapped, the comfort of his bed and a hot shower would make him wish he was freezing with frost growing on his lashes instead.

He supposed, for just a second in his sleep hazed mind, that he could go to Mizuki's tonight instead, could fuck him then spend the night in his bed where the scent of him would stick to his clothes not as poisonous as gentle lavender and talcum powder would. But then he remembered and it always flowed back when he least expected it, rolling over to bury his face into his flat pillow, material damp everywhere but where his head had rested all night, tossing and turning in restless, shivering sleep.

So he couldn't go to Mizuki's, because Mizuki loved him, and he couldn't go to Grandmas, go home, because she hated him and he didn't know how long he could deal with either, perhaps a compromise, to sneak into the old ladys while she was already asleep five nights a week. But then to be at the bartenders the other two spoke more of selfish, cruel stupidity than anything else, to be close to him now he knew what he did was more vicious than he was and as much as he hated Mizuki for what he felt he also didn't want him to hate him altogether.

He was confused, the hunger and cold were making his thoughts fuzzy and he moved to more practical things, thinking of his food cupboard, remembering with a sense of dulled amusement eating the last thing in there the day before. Money then, all spent on the cigarettes that wouldn't do much but mask the hunger for a couple of hours, he didn't even have alcohol that would knock him out for a while.

He had to go to is Grandma's, and sit there awkwardly in the room that was both his and not, and do laundry and wash clothing Mizuki had gifted him, and sit eating dinner in stony silence with his family who hated him, watch her staring at his too large hoodie and wondering who he'd stolen from this time.

But he had to leave his warehouse eventually, stalking out onto the streets in a bad mood and stiff with cold, looking for people he could pick pocket or outrun, usually a combination of both was the best. Or maybe he'd try and find a store he had yet to shoplift from, though the list was small and usually they didn't so much as let him past the threshold, his stomach was grumbling and he was beginning to feel light headed from it when a confident, almost cocky voice spoke up from behind him.

"You're Sly Blue."

"Yeah, well done. Who the fuck are you?" He didn't bother turning, just gave him a quick glance out the corner of his eye and continued picking the mans pocket, gleefully examining the decent sized pile of bills he'd had in there, silently thanking him for passing out on the street. Alcoholics were always such easy pickings and they'd never remember having had money when they woke up, he knew where they hung out, which bars they went to, they were his best source of income.

"Noiz."

"Right, something you want?"

"Same as everyone else."

He turned round properly then, sliding his stolen wad of cash into his pocket and regarding him, looking him up and down, judging him wannabe street trash and a damn sight too young for him to consider doing anything like that, even Sly had morals, loose though they were. "I don't suck off kids, sorry."

"Fight me."

"What?" He was incredulous, amazed at how brazen this damned teenager was being, he couldn't be more than fourteen and wasn't exactly heavily built even if he was bigger than Sly, it wasn't like that was difficult after all. His breath almost came out as a hiss and he faltered in lighting his cigarette, eventually managing and blowing smoke into his face, almost impressed when he didn't so much as flinch, just stood there, stubborn and not budging an inch.

"In Rhyme, fight me."

"Why would I do that? Besides, it's not like you can just demand I fight you and Usui will turn up. Sorry kid, not gunna happen." He turned to leave then, but his arm was grabbed and there was something desperate in the kids voice, there'd have to be to dare lay a hand on him, turning incredulously with a dangerously raised eyebrow he didn't even seem to notice.

"What if I told you I can summon her whenever."

"Sounds like you're chatting shit."

"I'm not. Want me to prove it?" That was intriguing and he paused, regarding him again, he had a mop of what he presumed was short blonde hair poking out from under his stupid ass hat which had earflaps and fluffy tassels, his outfit was in some outlandish shade of green and navy. But most interesting were the piercings that covered him, his lip, his eyebrow, the bridge of his nose, and when he looked down to find his hands covered in bandages he saw the glint of silver there too. His lime eyes were piercing and there was no hint of a lie in them, they were interesting, this whole thing was interesting, and if he was telling the truth then this could work out very well for him.

"You know what? I'm bored, so I'll humour you, but if you're fucking with me I'll kick your teeth in."

"Okay, follow me, I need a bigger space to summon her."


"So do it," he demanded, watching as he pissed around on the flashiest looking coil he'd ever seen, staring at him blankly even as one hand typed out numbers and letters so rapidly it made his eyes hurt. "But I just wanna see, I'm not fighting you, I'll do it some other time."

"You want money?"

"What?"

"Money, I'll pay you to play me."

"Hm," that sounded promising, he didn't quite understand why this kid would be dumb enough to pay him for something he did for free often enough, but he had the feeling that going against the strongest on the island must have temped him into such stupidity, just nodding his head at the coil. He'd been on guard at first as he led him through narrow, fenced in alleyways to the larger open area they were in now, buildings rising high on all sides and just a narrow path under twisting pipes a way to escape. But he'd immediately begun setting something up and he figured that perhaps he was really serious about it, but still, he wasn't one to sit and be patient. "Show me first, then we can talk business, alright, kid?"

"I'm not a kid," Sly was about to open his mouth to say how entirely wrong he was, when the floor disintegrated under him in the way he recognised and his stomach jolted in a way that should be unpleasant but that he'd always enjoyed. The buildings and sky above them faded into nothing, replaced with a Rhyme field he didn't recognise, floors patterned with the same design of his cuboid belt and sky made of pixelated squares overlaid with fluffy 2D clouds.

He turned to face him, to express reluctant but genuine amazement, feeling incredibly impressed but not planning on letting him know that, realising just as he saw him that Usui was nowhere to be seen but the game was happening anyway.

But then of course he saw him and laughed so hard he almost had a coronary because the dumb fucker was wearing a fucking rabbit head costume, a rabbit, although he had to admit it was more sinister than it was cute, but the apparent bunny obsession was hilarious.

The game died quickly and they were back on the pavement with a swooping of his stomach he hadn't actually expected, inhaling in shock before turning back to Noiz and biting his lip in amusement, remembering how dumb he had looked in the lab coat.

"Something funny?"

"Got a real thing for rabbits, don't you?" He didn't give him a chance to reply, just waving for him to follow, figuring that if he had money the least he could do was help him score some weed, or maybe something heavier, he'd have to see how he reacted to the idea. "Come on, kid, I think I'll keep you around."


"So," he spoke slowly, too busy rolling a fat joint to really be able to talk too, carefully inserting the roach and twisting it closed skilfully, licking it shut and twisting one end shut, ready to light it. "What's with that fucked up accent you got? You foreign or something?"

He didn't respond to the taunting, just watched as Sly carefully lit up his precious joint, enough weed for a good couple more nestled in his pocket courtesy of his generosity, seemingly willing to do pretty much anything for a chance at a match with him. "I just moved here."

"Wait, wait, you chose to come live in this shit hole?" He paused to laugh then, choking on acrid smoke, it was an ugly sound and probably looked a little bit mad but he didn't mind, coming back from his hilarity at what a ridiculous thing that was to see Noiz regarding him as if it were a perfectly normal choice to have made. "You know you can't leave, right? Nobody can, even you're not rich enough for Platinum Jail."

"I wanted to Rhyme."

He exhaled faster than he would have liked to, barely even feeling the buzz of the THC hitting his brain, genuinely surprised at his stupid reason, because sure, Sly loved Rhyme but he wouldn't move to somewhere like this, especially without being able to leave again. "You came here just for a game? Fucking kids."

"Not a kid."

"Mm-hm, sure you're not. Want a drag on this?" He nodded his agreement and toked on it like a pro, surprisingly Sly more the longer he spent with him, wondering absently if maybe he was older than he looked, or if he really was just as street wise as Sly and hid it better. His clothes were bizarre admittedly, but clean and without holes or mess, but then if he'd only just moved he guessed that made sense, he hadn't had time to be acquainted with the islands rougher side just yet.

"So what do you do? You must make your money somehow."

"Information broker," he exhaled smoke in a neat, thin plume and Sly almost beamed as he handed the joint back, feeling light headed and not only because of the heady weed smell in the air. Yeah, he was definitely keeping Noiz around.


"It's nearly Christmas," Sly glanced over then, regarding him calmly and noticing how little his face had changed as he spoke, belying neither excitement nor dread for the occasion, just stating a fact and accepting the bottle of cheap mixed alcohol they were sharing.

"Mm-hm, tis the season to carry around large wads of money I can steal." There was childish glee in his voice, reaching into his pocket for the shiny, silver-wrapped packet of fresh cigarettes he had and waggling his eyebrows, raising the tiniest quirk of the foreigners lip, the closest to a smile he'd come so far. He offered one over to Noiz out of courtesy more than anything else, part of their unspoken deal, if one had cigarettes and the other had alcohol, they'd split both as evenly as they could, same for the other way around and for other things too, like weed or the very rare gram of coke Sly could get his hands on.

"You going to see family?" His hands were always wrapped in bandages and although Sly wondered why and if they were even necessary he also knew Noiz wasn't exactly keen to share anything about himself, deeming it not worth the hassle of asking and losing not only their companionship but also his information.

"That might be difficult."

"Why, they dead?" There was no tact in his questions but then there never was, like he hadn't really realised that emotions were a thing, that you could ask something in a gentler way, he was pretty emotionally fucked to be honest, though Sly couldn't talk. He didn't even know if he could blame it on Noiz's age or whether it had been something to do with whatever upbringing had led him to flee home by himself and end up here purely because he wanted to Rhyme.

He considered his question for a second, doing a quick mental sum, they'd left when he was about five and he was eighteen now, he'd heard from them for a little while but contact had completely died when the island was closed off, just after his seventh birthday. He just shrugged calmly, considering that they well could be and if they were he doubted he'd be bothered much, "dunno, maybe."

"How do you not know?"

"My adoptive parents fucked off travelling and abandoned me, so they could be dead, and my Grandma, who isn't my real Grandma, lives past Aoyagi Street." Noiz had no idea where that was, he was fairly new to the island after all and lived somewhere off in the nicer area of the island, behind the rows of shops and eateries Sly never went near, he had no need to go to the old residents district. He didn't even blink, didn't so much as bat an eyelid as he spewed his past like he went around doing it all the time, not reacting in sympathy or pity, which was obviously a bonus but still, he was oddly stilted. "But anyway, what about you?"

"What about me?"

"Family, you got any?"

"You know, if you're adopted it's kinda obvious she's not your real grandma."

"Nah, she adopted my… Mother." He noticed he'd avoided the question, and for once in his life he decided not to pry.


It was a dumb decision, but then so were all his decisions so he supposed he shouldn't really have expected much more than this, the weird quasi-argument that had broken out within ten minutes of him arriving. Mizuki had never really been a snide, sarcastic kind of person but after too many badly concealed jabs and reminders of what had happened, Sly had snapped, because he had wanted to ignore this and Mizuki just wasn't letting him.

"What did you think was going to happen? That I was going to say I loved you too and we'd embrace and everything would be happy? Because that's not how life works."

"I thought you'd say something."

"I did," it might not have been what he wanted to hear, but then you couldn't always have what you wanted and Sly knew that more than most people, if the bartender had issue with his response it was a little late to bring it up now.

"You said okay."

"Yeah," he shrugged, not seeing the problem with that, at least he'd made it obvious that he'd heard him, he could have totally ignored him and he had to admit he'd been sorely tempted, but instead he'd replied as neutrally as he could. He could have freaked the fuck out and started yelling and spitting bile around, but he'd decided it was safer not to make it obvious how much his words had bothered him. Mizuki was ungrateful to be honest, to not have noticed how considerate the whole thing had been, just finishing his sentence with a lie neither of them believed. "I don't give a shit how you feel, it doesn't affect me."

He'd been faced away from him, reaching for his lighter but he turned back round with an incredulous scowl that was ugly, almost dropping the light in the process, "oh bullshit, you run when you get scared and it's been weeks."

"Maybe I had stuff to do." He liked the sound of that, it made him sound like a businessman who'd just been overwhelmed with paperwork and hadn't been able to drop in to see an old friend, or like he had any kind of purpose at all.

"Like what? Get high and suck dick?"

"Maybe, what, are you jealous?" His voice had faltered for the tiniest second before he spat out his comeback with so much acid it tore his throat apart on the way up, tasting blood and remembering with a sinking feeling that Mizuki thought he was a slut. He'd been called it before, and worse, by a lot of people, but somehow when Mizuki had called him it, branded him with that title, it had made him feel a hell of a lot worse than when anybody else had said it. "You shouldn't be, I don't even charge you. Consider yourself lucky."

"Oh believe me, I don't. But I don't blame you."

"Don't blame me for what?"

"Not coming back, I don't blame you."

"Really?" Seeking him out, searching for the lie he knew was there, prying and poking and digging in with sharpened nails to try and get to the truth because he knew that wasn't it and how could Mizuki not blame him when he blamed himself for this entire debacle? "Kinda seems like that's horse shit."

He just shook his head and Sly noticed then that his hands were shaking, not with rage or tension or anything else, it was subtle, more of an ever present tremor than anything else, suddenly the whites of his eyes were fascinating and he just studied him, barely hearing his next sentence. He'd registered two things, the bags under his eyes were bigger and blacker, and he hadn't been drinking.

"It was stupid of me to say anything."

His noise was more like a snort than anything, raising his eyebrows as if silently agreeing, turning his stare back onto him a second later, gaze calculating and a little curious, the yelling stage seemingly over and some kind of reluctant agreement to forget about this hanging over them, "so, what now?"

"I don't know, I guess you do what you always do and pretend this never happened and I pretend too."

"Hm, sounds good to me." He paused for a moment, taking a drag of his cigarette and regarding the other quizzically before pausing, "we're still gunna fuck, right?"

"Yeah, Sly, we're still gunna fuck," he didn't mean to sound as amused as he did, he meant to sound exasperated and to express his disagreement with that idea, but Sly's question had been so bizarrely, sweetly innocent that he hadn't been able to help his wave of fondness. If all else failed, at least Sly would still stay the same, that was a blessing in disguise he supposed, but the very issue here was that he didn't change.


"Hey, I just had a thought."

"Be careful, you know how dangerous that is," Tio grinned mischievously even as he walked into the kitchen, door still open behind him so he could hear his unimpressed reply, opening the fridge and locating four beers, both too lazy to return once they'd finished the first one, uncapping them neatly and dumping the lids into the trashcan.

"You're hilarious, really. But when's your birthday?"

"Um, 17th October," he'd just been surprised at the odd question at first, but as he sat down suspicion seeped into his voice, elongating the word curiously and suddenly realising Kin wouldn't be best pleased with his answer. "Whyyy?"

"Wait, wait, as in, you just had it?"

"Yeah."

"And you didn't tell anyone?" he sounded completely outraged, as if he'd had a child and kept it a secret instead of just allowed his birthday, and not even an important one, to go by without causing any kind of fuss.

"I mean, most people already knew, I don't ever make a big deal of it so I just got a couple drinks bought for me, that's it. It's not like just you missed it, everybody did. I let everyone miss it."

"So you just pretended it hadn't happened and did nothing?" He sounded like that wasn't okay, and while Tio understood his reasoning, he also didn't quite understand why he'd be so bothered, perhaps he was just annoyed he hadn't even been able to say happy birthday to him.

"You make it sound terrible, but no, I went to my mothers and she cooked for me," he shrugged then, thinking to himself again that he really needed to start visiting his family more often, but amongst work and friendships to upkeep and other things it always fell to the wayside. But going round for his birthday was tradition so he followed along as normal, bringing flowers for his mother and chocolates for his sister and hearing them complain half-heartedly as they did every year. "It's all I normally do."

"Hm, that's acceptable I guess," Tio was about to ask what that meant exactly and what he'd consider to be more than just acceptable, but he'd continued speaking already, tone changing to gently curious, prodding but not too insistent. "I didn't know you had family on the island."

"Where else would they be? It's not like anyone can leave."

He rolled his eyes, grinning lazily and swigging from his beer, shaking his head at the cigarette box Tio offered and watching him light up, looking mildly exasperated as he continued, explaining his bizarre statement. "No, I know that, I just mean a lot of families moved away before it was closed, that's all, I assumed you'd be the same."

"Nah, she wanted to leave but my sister was only little then and we didn't really have the money to either, so we just stayed. It didn't work out too badly though so she always says she doesn't regret it," it felt odd to be sharing this with somebody who wasn't Mizuki, probably the only person who knew he had a family on the island at all, even less the story behind them choosing to stay which had been repeated to Kin as a half lie. "Did your family move then?"

"Mm, well, my stepmother was never very fond of me so I didn't really mind much, and my father just asked if I wanted to stay or not then let me do what I wanted. A family friend looked after me until she died and by then I was old enough to take care of myself." He paused to laugh then, deliberately, as if he'd realised how heavy the topic had suddenly become, talking of families broken apart and not heard from since even though that wasn't exactly a choice. "I swear nobody on this island has a normal family."

"Hm, I guess not, but then I suppose it doesn't really matter. I mean you're doing fine without one, so's Mizuki, so are lots of people, maybe it isn't that big a thing."

He didn't respond to that, just nodded slowly and drained his beer, offering to get them new ones and Tio agreeing as if he hadn't seen a strange, pained wrinkle grow at the corners of his lopsided grin.


He couldn't leave his warehouse, couldn't step into the cold outside, not now he had this label on him, this dumb thing that marked him out from everybody else, he'd rather stay inside and stew in bitterness, he suited that better.

But he was bored, there wasn't anything to do here where he sat splayed out on the floor, legs at dumb angles and Ren on sleep mode between his feet, socks turning grey with dirt and one toenail beginning to stab through the worn material. He'd stolen a bar of chocolate from a store earlier and he was slowly eating his way through it, considering absently how little he was enjoying it, the coating on his tongue and teeth making him feel sick and the rich, sugary taste utterly off-putting.

He wasn't avoiding Mizuki on purpose, or that's what he always told himself anyway even though it was a lie every single time and he felt like the entire universe knew, shrugging down into his t-shirt and considering moving to get a hoodie that was too clean and fresh to be comfortable. He wasn't sure how long it had been now, he never really had a firm grasp on the date even with a coil that could tell him if he wanted, he could have been away for weeks on only for a few days, things were a hazy mixture of drugs and hunger.

He checked the date anyway, he may as well, noticing with lack of interest that Christmas had come and gone without him really noticing, the lights in the stores and the ones of Grime indistinguishable to somebody who cared so little about either.

But still, he was bored and Mizuki had been entertainment, had been a way to pass the time and before all this love bullshit that still made him feel sick to his stomach, he'd been a pretty good person to just hang out with and Sly had never exactly been popular.

But Noiz knew where he lived now, and fuck only knew how he'd found that out when Sly sure as shit hadn't told him and always checked for tails, but he'd heard a knock at the door and had peered through a broken window warily only to see the cocky dumbass outside. He told himself he only let him in because he could see a grocery store bag in his hand, but the truth was that he was stupidly bored and Noiz wasn't terrible company, just another trashy street kid like him but this one had a quick tongue and he liked that.

They ate in silence, or rather Noiz did, Sly had always been a noisy eater, remembering in a repressed sort of way being scolded about it by his 'father', pushing the thought away as soon as it came and slurping louder as if to spite the very memory.

"It's New Years Eve."

"Huh." He remarked calmly, wiping streaks of juice off his lips and grabbing a piece of Noiz's chicken when he was distracted, not sure if he was bothered that the foreigner had obviously seen but chose to ignore it. "I thought that had already happened."

"You got any plans?"

He raised an eyebrow then, because they didn't talk about plans, not about the future and certainly not this weird small talk he was trying to make, frowning around the bottle of pocari sport he'd been thrown and swallowing down a little too much, coughing. "Nope, why, you trying to get a midnight kiss?"

He rolled his eyes and Sly liked that, it was amusing and he'd have been a little surprised if Noiz had said yes after all this insisting he wasn't interested in Sly like that, but then he did also enjoy insisting he wasn't a kid. "Only if you want to give me one."

"Hm, how old are you again?"

He scowled, well it was more of a pout really, cocky, self-confident smirk of seconds ago dying and looking off to the side, muttering it like the true angst-ridden teenager he was, "fourteen."

"Bit young for me, but, if you help me find alcohol I might feel more generous," it was a long shot and he'd had the feeling Noiz had been joking about the whole thing, but the idea of it being New Years Eve had given him an idea he wanted to carry out, and he needed alcohol for it. "Oh, and I need to see my dealer."

Noiz just shrugged, completely unfazed by the entire thing and just continuing to eat from his plastic container, fingers a little clumsy on his chopsticks as if he wasn't used to using them, "alright."

Yeah, Sly had been right, he was worth keeping around.

He kissed him before he left, it was a while before midnight but he'd figured a promise was a promise and he had drugs and alcohol aplenty now, way more than enough to encourage the bartender to relax and just fucking go with it.

He'd just stayed where he was, leaning against the wall and yawning first, stretching out his arms and sitting forwards, elbows crossed on his knees and hands dangling lazily in the abyss, noticing Noiz noticing him. "Still want that midnight kiss?"

"If you want to give me it," something in his eyes had sparkled from half-distant to fully there and his grin had gotten a little thinner, sharper, Sly got the feeling he could be dangerous and if he was just a bit older he'd be willing to test that out, but as it was he just took the bottle away from damp lips and kissed them instead.

He had to push his face away with a good natured and rather tipsy laugh as he got a little too into it for a fourteen year old, ruffling his hair as had become a habit if only to see his irritated expression, "calm down, kid, I said a kiss not fucking making out."

"Yeah, whatever," he replied, not bothered and just letting himself be kicked out with good grace, parting ways with a raised hand of farewell and heading off to wherever he lived, an actual apartment apparently, leaving Sly to once again wonder why he was slumming it with him.


"In on New Year's by yourself?" He enquired, tone nasty already and Mizuki just tilting his head to the side, unimpressed yet amused smile spreading across his face, because he had to admit he'd been a little bored and now his entertainment had just swanned into the room. "Little pathetic, don't you think?"

"Doesn't look like you have any plans either since you wound up here."

"Oh I've already done everything I needed to, hit up a couple dealers, got whatever I could. Stole some booze in case in you were being stingy again. I'm all set." He jiggled the bag at his side then and the sound of bottles clanking together rang out, muffled by clothes in a mixture of filthy and slightly less so, legs of old sweatpants that weren't his winding around bottles he'd never paid for and would never intend to.

"Well good for you, I assume you're not here just to brag?"

"Hm, clever too." He remarked, feigning pride but raised eyebrows and almost sardonically rolled eyes showing he was just mocking him, albeit in his usual seductive, almost flirtatious way, tone changing rapidly. "But no, bartender, I'm here so you can fuck me into the New Year."

"Is that so?" His smile a little pained but easy enough to ignore under the haze of alcohol and the almost taboo memory of kissing Noiz just minutes earlier, wondering how much his precious little heart would shatter if he'd known that. Or perhaps he'd taste somebody else on his lips and they'd argue again and all this love nonsense would be over and he could go back to doing what he did best, using and abusing. But he didn't vocalise any of that, he just licked his lips and continued smoothly.

"Certainly is, you got an issue with that?"

"Hmm, not particularly."

"You weren't busy, or anything?" He knew he wasn't busy, for somebody with such a hectic life he seemed to do remarkably little these days, but he liked to carry on the façade that Mizuki might be far too busy to spend time with him, to pretend he'd dropped everything the minute he'd arrived.

"Not really, just thinking about resolutions." His voice wasn't teasing as Sly's had been, he answered as if it had been a genuine question and the other almost faltered, just continuing on in his silky sweet voice, bartender not even watching him carefully, seductively, make his way to the couch beside him.

"Oh? Doesn't seem like you, so, you come up with any?" It was hard to concentrate now, to go back to the heavy, stupid thoughts of before with Sly perched on his couch and regarding him intensely, like nothing else in the room was important.

"The usual, to be better, to change things. To be a morally upstanding pillar in my community," he'd intended that to be ridiculous and as anticipated Sly snorted with amusement, head lowered as he unzipped his bag and began removing things, Mizuki unable to see his expression but able to imagine it in perfect technicolour. "What about you?"

"You really think I'm the kind to make resolutions?" The question was rhetorical and any snarky remark he planned to make was wiped away when Ren trotted over to him to greet him, the first time Mizuki had seen the Allmate in a while, putting him into his lap where he curled up quite contently and offered his back for strokes. "They're all about changing yourself, I think I'm pretty damn perfect already."

Bullshit.

But it was a damn sight easier to just roll his eyes in fond exasperation he didn't really feel and to continue this game of theirs than it was to say he knew that was crap, that everybody wanted to change somehow and Sly more than others.

"Oh yeah, definitely. I wouldn't change a single thing."

"I knew you'd agree," and it was an order rather than a promise.