On his way back from the girl's side of the university, Isshin was surprised to see Ryuuken standing outside of their dormitory. He was almost certain he'd have to get a crowbar and pry him apart from his textbooks and then drag him out of the dorms, kicking and screaming. Although it'd be an interesting sight to see, that's a bit too much effort.

"Ryuuuuu~!" He called out to his white-haired roommate in a sing-song voice, waving as he jogged his way over. Said roommate's head snapped up to attention, as if he were previously lost in thought. It seemed to register late in the man's mind that Isshin just called to him. His eyebrows furrowed.

"Please, Shiba. If you're dragging me out of my comfort zone for your own fun, the least you could do for me is say my given name. 'Ryuu' sounds silly and unpro-" Isshin smacked his hand over his mouth, a smirk on his face. Ryuuuken grunted in response.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Ry~ Yuu~ Ken~" He teasingly dragged out every syllable of his name, chuckling at the feel of Ryuuken's face growing hot under his hand. "In turn, you have to call me by my first name too, got it?"

"Fine." The annoyed response was muffled by the hand, but Isshin heard it clearly. He beamed, glad his uptight roommate was finally giving in to him. Now to loosen him up even more...

He dropped his hand, now reaching around to hook his arm around his neck. He started dragging him away toward the city.

"Yay~! Ryuuken's finally gonna go out to drink with me!" He laughed. "Ne, what kind of drinks do you like? Mixed? Shaken? Straight from the bottle?" Shivers ran through him, excited. He'd been so stressed with his studies lately(not that he ever really studied), he needed a drink. The college life was really getting to him. Having to run back and forth to see his oh so lovely Masaki, having to deal with his nut-job surgeon professor... Even his roommate denied him his right to sing in the shower. And he had a lovely singing voice, if he does say so himself.

"I don't drink."

Isshin blinked. Did his ears deceive him? A college student that doesn't drink? There's no such thing! Isshin laughed, hugging his friend closer.

"You don't drink? You're joking, right? Gimme a break, Ryuu! Every college boy drinks, even goody-goodies like you." Ryuuken shot him an annoyed glance.

"Ryuuken," He corrected bitterly, "And for your information, not every college boy drinks. I do not. In fact, I don't even know why I'm here with you right now. I see no purpose." He dismissed the "goody-goody" comment, neither denying or confirming it. Isshin smiled widely, determined.

"Well how about we have you widen your horizons then? You smoke, don'cha? Why not have a drink every now and again too?" He will get Ryuuken to drink. No matter what. He was sick and tired of watching Ryuuken hunch over his books every day and night, the only motion being to flip the pages. He always seemed so stressed, no wonder his hair is all white.

"No. I'm simply there to play as your company until you're ready to leave. I have no intention to widen my horizon." Ryuuken stayed stubborn to his decision, adjusting his glasses with a middle finger. With a heavy, defeated(for now) sigh, Isshin dropped his arm from his shoulders.

"Fine. Whatever you want, Ryuuken."

They arrived at the bar mere minutes later, the bright, neon green sign seducing passing alcoholics with the words, "Las Noches". Isshin's favorite after-dark bar welcomed him with the jingle of the bell that hung over the door. He inhaled deeply.

"Ahh~ nothing like the smell of alcohol and drunk, sweaty, horny college students in the evening!" He joked, nudging Ryuuken with an elbow. Said roommate was unamused, deciding to wander and find someplace to sit.

"Disgusting," he muttered lowly as he walked off. Isshin chuckled warmly, shaking his head at Ryuuken's stubbornness. He pushed through the crowd of swaying bodies(whether they were drunk or dancing, he didn't know) to the bar, smiling kindly at the bartender, who returned the gesture.

"Ah, Isshin! The usual?" He shook his head.

"Actually, I'd like to try something different." He tapped his chin in thought, looking at the bottles behind the counter. What would be appropriate for a first time drink? Aha~! "Two JB Scotch Whiskeys!" He requested with a snap of the fingers. The bartender nodded, swiftly pulling out two medium-sized glasses and turning to retrieve a J&B Rare bottle. With a skilled thumb, he popped the lid off, waiting to drop three ice cubes in each glass before pouring the light golden drink, filling two-thirds of the glasses.

After paying for the pricey drinks, he searched the pub for Ryuuken, ultimately finding him sitting in a booth by the window, his arms crossed and frustration written all over his face. Isshin smiled at him as he slid into the seat across from him. He slid him his drink.

"Here ya go, Ryuuken~" He took a gulp of his own, letting out a content sigh. "So good..."

"I didn't ask for this." Ryuuken eyed the drink before him skeptically, causing Isshin to chuckle.

"You didn't have to, it's a surprise. Go on, give it a try." The white-haired sighed heavily.

"If I give in and drink this...will you leave me alone?" Isshin's face lit up. Was he finally going to be able to get this uptight bookworm to have a drink? Oh yeah! Point one for Shiba! He nodded eagerly.

"You have my word!"

"Yeah, how much is that worth..." He muttered under his breath, lifting the glass to his lips. He took a large gulp, almost immediately hunching over and coughing. Isshin stifled a laugh as he reached over to pat his back. Poor thing couldn't take it... "...burns..."

"Of course. It's scotch. Now drink it all."

Sitting up, Ryuuken took more gulps of the sweet liquor, swallowing every last drop. He slammed the glass down on the table, which surprised Isshin somewhat. Not so delicate, are ya? Ryuuken looked up at Isshin, his pupils dilated and his face flushed only slightly.

"Another."

That was all it took.

Within the hour, Isshin somehow managed to lose Ryuuken in the crowd of people. He sighed, thinking that this was somehow a bad idea. It went from an innocent drink to Ryuuken chugging down 10 bourbon shots. Isshin went to the bathroom, and when he got back, his friend had vanished somewhere in the bar. Never again. Never, ever again.

"Cherry shot! Cherry shot! Cherry shot!" Isshin raised an eyebrow at the chant, which emitted from a crowd of about 20 or so drunks in the corner of the bar. Intuition screamed that Ryuuken was over there too. He fought his way through the overly-excited crowd, shocked to find Ryuuken stretched out on one of the tables, his button down completely unbuttoned, three shot glasses lined up on his torso. In each glass, a cherry. Beside the table, a man who looked way too old to be taking shots off a nineteen year old's stomach. A nineteen year old boy at that.

"Oi! Ryuuken! The hell's the matter with you?!" Isshin yanked the white-haired off the table, the glasses slipping off his body and crashing to the floor. He was too annoyed with his roommate to care about that, or the disappointed look on his face. He thought Ryuuken was better than that. He ignored the booing from the horde of drunks

"I-Isshiiiin...I thought you-ou wanted me to drink?" Ryuuken tilted his head slightly, a small 'hic' escaping him.

"I wanted you to stop being so uptight! Not...not let some creep take body shots off you!" He began dragging him towards the exit, much to Ryuuken's dismay. "Button up your shirt, will ya? It's undignified!"

Ryuuken fumbled with the buttons on his shirt, his body jolting violently every time he hiccuped. "It's...hard..." He looked up at me. "C-carry me...on your back...the-en nobody'll see m'stomach..." Isshin sighed heavily. Left the dorms with his roommate. Came back with a five year old. Not that he minded kids or anything...

"Fine. Get on." With a uncharacteristic squeal of glee, Ryuuken jumped on Isshin's back, hugging his arms around the muscular man's neck. He buried his face in his shoulder and inhaled.

"...smell nice...I like this..." He mumbled. Isshin wasn't sure whether or not he was meant to hear the comment, so he just stayed quiet. And thankfully, so did Ryuuken. That kid was gonna have a hell of a hangover in the morning.

After the grueling walk back to their apartment, he tossed Ryuuken on his bed by the window, going to sit on his own bed. The white-haired groaned, reaching out for Isshin.

"Oi...Isshin...c'mere..." Isshin raised an eyebrow suspiciously. Was he still drunk? Why'd he sound so calm? He stood again and walked over to his bed, watching Ryuuken sit up as he neared. When he was within arm's reach, Ryuuken's hand shot out, grabbing him by the collar of his shirt and pulling him closer.

"Ryuu-?!" He was cut off by a pair of warm lips over his own. He froze, neither responding nor pulling away from the kiss. He just stood there, wide-eyed. When it finally registered in his brain what was going on, he pushed him away, roughly forcing him on his back. "W-what the hell, Ryuuken?!"

It was silent for a moment.

"Do y'love...Masaki...?" Half-lidded blue hues stared up at Isshin, his expression sad. Almost depressed, even. Isshin was taken aback by the question. Of course he loved her! Hell, he planned on marrying her after college!

"Yes. I do. Why are you-"

"Do y'think...you could love me? Even just for tonight?"

How could he respond? What was this? A confession of love? Damn...how could he be so stupid not to realize...? Ryuuken...loved him. God...this is wrong. So so...wrong. They were both men. Men don't do this! At least not normal men, men like him... But... That look on Ryuuken's face. That aura of desperation and loneliness... Maybe...maybe he was just drunk enough to try.