Hello all! It's been almost 10 years since I've posted a new story on this platform! If I'm lucky enough, I may get one or two of my original readers from back then… That would be great! Otherwise, since then, yes… I removed a lot of my old stories.
Lots has changed!
I fell in love, got married, had a child, and have become chronically ill all in the last 9ish years! Lol.
It's been a wild ride for sure, but, I'm thankful for the times I had being a crazy wacko native in Colorado's nature, running around with dogs in the wild (dream job), then being able to move myself up the ranks of IT at a small college, enjoying married life and working my booty off until ya-know… the big old pandemic hit. Heh!

Anyway, for anyone else. Welcome! I hope you do enjoy. This is actually a re-write attempt at an old story I wrote, and posted on here, but removed. :\ I am sad I removed it, but at least it gave me this chance to re-try, and do better.

Please enjoy and review! I strive off of feedback, even though I am partial to the characters of this story and want to re-write it regardless—as well as writing being therapeutic. BUT! Who doesn't love a good review. :D Thank you, and please enjoy! -Samron

The bar was packed full of people. It was a Friday night so of course there were people stuffed into this popular location full of intentions to enjoy their weekends. Unfortunately for Marshall Mathes, this was the end to another awful week.

He was alone at a small booth toward the back of the bar, still wearing his suit he'd had on since seven this morning. He was exhausted from his unfairly long court hearing concerning the ongoing custody dispute over his daughter. His ex-wife was bent on making sure he was miserable, ever since they split. He never thought when marrying his ex over two years ago, and especially after having his first child, that he'd be where he was today.

Single, alone, and emotionally empty. Life besides that looked excellent! His business was thriving, as it had been for years, his friends were great… but, since the beginning of the end, of what he thought would be the rest of his life, started, he had just been empty.

Marshall sighed out loudly to himself, as he started his third beer. His buddies had wanted to see him after his hearing today, but he decided to ignore their calls, and was thankful he took the day off. They all worked together, and he knew he'd probably want to be alone after… since lately these things had been turning out negative. The future of Marshall potentially having full, or even half custody of his daughter, was seeming as less and less of a reality by the day. The court system was pathetic, but liars were even worse.

He huffed out again and rested back on the booth, he tried snapping himself it by rubbing his face, this was all that consumed him, constantly. He needed to do something different, otherwise he was going to lose it. He chugged a couple more gulps, ate a few cashews and forced himself out of his own mind, now looking around the bar. It was a well-lit place, clearly a used and older building, but homy and as clean as it could be. The booth he sat at was cozy, he liked that it was tucked away so even though he was still surrounded by people and the hum of voices, music, and noise. He was thankful he was able to hide in plain sight for just tonight. Also, from where he sat 'people watching' was a lot easier!

He spotted a younger couple; the girl wearing an outfit that clearly showed her attempts to impress the taller man she was with. The young man was looking back to her very carefully and wore a look of admiration as he listened. Marshall smiled to himself and remembered loving that feeling of a fresh, new, and exciting relationship. He hadn't had more than a couple of own before his ex-wife, and they never got too serious.

"Come on…" He rolled his eyes as he sighed out for the hundredth time tonight, "Snap out of it." He spoke softly to himself as he tried desperately to push out the thoughts of his own reality.

No romance for now… he thought, as he scanned the room to look for some more interesting people. He checked the game on the TV for a moment, rolled his eyes quickly then continued, not surprised that his team was losing. He reached up and loosened his tie roughly, it was nearly nine-o-clock in the evening and after such a long day his body was begging him to get out of this suit. He unbuttoned a couple of buttons on his dress shirt as well, as he watched the bar tender for a moment.

The guy was doing a great job, joking with all the customers he was surrounded by, smiling, and talking, but staying focused on his back-to-back orders. Marshall appreciated hard working people; so, he smirked as he watched the man yell at a specific person, a bit louder this time—now showing playful irritation to the customer. He kept watching as the Bartender was now yelling at the customer, who looked to be younger, was tall and slim, clearly in good shape, had dark thick hair and rudely leaning way too far over the bar top, trying to grab at random stuff from their inventory. He was honestly a bit intimidating, even with goofy expression he wore, continuing to tease the poor working man.

He yelled orders to the Bartender, while he continued smiling, clearly comfortable with breaking the rules. But when the Bartender approached the dark-haired one, Marshall could tell they knew each other. Their stances didn't change as they got face to face, and the darker haired boy laughed loudly at something the Bartender said once they were close. He shoved the scary kid very rough, back into his stool and threw his only free hand up in irritation as he continued to work.

"Now sit down!" He yelled over his shoulder, surprisingly loud enough for Marshall to hear as well. The rude one stayed sitting in his stool while now finally obeying, as he continued to talk. That's a job that only certain types of people could pull off, Marshall admired the Bartender's hard work and smiled at the clear friendship between the boys. He relaxed a bit, leaning his chin onto his hand. This could be fun, he thought as he began again to find something more interesting.

Then, something more interesting came.

The entrance to this bar was a double door type deal, and they stayed open throughout the day since there was an outside area as well. It was always crowded with people, so it wasn't unusual seeing the flow of traffic going in and out. But right now, there was someone entering the bar that demanded attention immediately.

Marshall did a double take as he swallowed, now watching the most unique and beautiful woman he'd ever seen, enter the building. He lifted his chin a bit to get a better look as this person who was now clearing looking to find someone. She had beautiful bright red hair that was thick and shiny, clearly well taken care of. It was long too, almost down to her butt. Her skin was fair, with no faults or markings to see. He moved his hand down as he allowed himself to fully admire her beauty. She was tall, and slim, and had very broad shoulders. The confidence she aired was calm, but prominent, and her body almost floated as she gracefully moved through the room, and now toward the bar. Marshall allowed himself to look at her entirety… flat chested, but he didn't mind, smaller hips too…

"…"

No way.

He slowly opened his mouth in shock. "What the hell." He whispered while covering his mouth, sharply looking away and instinctively sinking a bit into his seat.

That… could NOT be a man! Widening his eyes, he was still in shock, as he stared blankly at the empty booth in front of him. His heart was racing along with his thoughts… but there is no mistaking a male's crotch when you see one.

His face burned with embarrassment along with a familiar flutter in his gut. This was mortifying. He'd never seen anyone who had looked like that, ever! And the fact this person was probably a man, made himself try to find error in what he saw. He had to be mistaken—that wasn't a girl! Maybe he was just more tired than he realized, and two and half beers was too much for him on an empty stomach.

"Everything good here?"

Of course the waitress had to come by now…

He glanced at her quickly, now sitting up straighter as he tried sheepishly to hide his embarrassment. He let out an awkward laugh, now smiling fully to her, "All good here." Dropping his hands into his lap in defeat.

"Great!"

"Could I get the check, though?" He probably should call it a night… after that.

"Certainly." The waitress nodded and walked off.

Now looking in the direction of the bar again, he felt shame as he let his eyes trail slowly back to where the redhead was. He spotted… him… again, very easily. Surprised to see that he was now standing next to the loud dark-haired boy from earlier.

Marshall raised an eyebrow as he watched them converse with each other. The redhead laughed openly about something, and Marshall's stomach fluttered again as he enjoyed what he was watching. He was now allowing himself to stare openly, lost in his own thoughts again. That was definitely a penis in those pants... He couldn't believe it. They weren't even tight jeans…

Marshall gulped; he must be well-endowed… he thought as he softly shook his head, now trying to wrap his mind around how this was even a real person. The redhead's face was gorgeous, he was pretty! Well, not pretty, beautiful! His thoughts continued to race as he scanned his body even more.

Every small movement he made was attractive, his fitted black shirt showed off his frame well, and each time he moved you could see his tight muscles stretch and shape. He was slim but he was cut. His small hips… were.. stunning, his tight butt too, all in perfect proportion to the rest of his body. And of course, those long slender legs that stood strong and steady.

That face though, Marshall's eyes couldn't stop. The redhead's eyes were the most beautiful green, they sparkled and worked perfectly with his hair—which flowed and moved like water, or blood... His stomach felt warmth again as he shifted in his chair, wondering about who this person was. He had to know. The confidence was blaring from the redhead, as if he knew this entire bar was looking at him but chose to be oblivious to it.

Marshall wondered what it was like to look like that...

He knew he was attractive too. Above average for sure. His confidence was also above average, but these days it was much lower… those reasons being clear. He took care of his body as well, going to the gym was a huge hobby of his. And these last few years it had been a life saver for his mental stability.

His friends always gave him a hard time, joking that he acted 'too nice' for someone with his looks. He knew they were joking, but he didn't necessarily like those comments. Out of all people, he wished that no matter how good one looked, everyone could just be kind to each other. But mean, and even evil spirited people, were everywhere, and all looked different. He'd always tried his hardest to be kind to others and put them before himself, because that's how he'd want it.

Feeling the warmth in his stomach now begin to move lower Marshall swallowed hard as he forced himself to look away from bar area. Again, thoughts of his daughter and ex-wife came flowing through. He sighed out, feeling guilty, but also the same familiar emptiness he'd been trying to avoid for months. Thoughts of frustration came pouring through, he grit his teeth, now fidgeting with irritation. He was tired of the constant stress on his emotions, really only feeling anything when it was negative. He had been trying to avoid the feeling of nothing, but this emptiness couldn't be tricked. He couldn't fill that void that was put there against his will, but boy was he fucking tired of it.

"Here we are."

The waitress popped up again, ripping Marshall out of his thoughts and setting down his check.

"Thank you." He gave her a soft smile.

"You go it! Have a great night!" She smirked at him, looked him up and down, then walked off.

"You too…" Barely saying as he reached over to open the check book.

Surprised, he saw handwriting on the check, "Call me!" it read, with a winky face drawn, and phone number written down, signed by his waitress, Mariah.

He just felt sad. Knowing instantly he wouldn't be calling her… this had happened a lot during his marriage, and it always made… Lynn, his ex-wife, extremely jealous. That should've been a sign.

He rolled his eyes with the feeling of defeat, pulling his wallet out mindlessly. He could feel his movements becoming robotic, just like they had been as of the last few months. His friends kept asking if he was alright, and he'd lie and say he was. Dean, his closest friend, knew he wasn't. But they only talked about that outside of the office, for Marshall's sake. He didn't even know he was depressed until his buddy pointed it out. He'd had never been before, but now that he was… God did it suck.

Slowly opening his wallet, then stopping, he frowned. He really didn't want to go back to real life, those few moments there where his mind was finally distracted enough to breathe, were amazing. Something he had realized he'd forgotten! Was he just going to walk out of here, back to his joke of a life without trying anything to help?

His thoughts went back to the redhead as he barely glanced in that direction. His stomach now swirling again, and his adrenaline followed. He may regret this, but he didn't want to regret not trying. He clearly needed something drastic in his life now because he was losing. He was losing all of it, and if doing something crazy meant keeping him afloat then he should try it, …right?

He stopped his thoughts right there as he stood swiftly, opening his wallet, and throwing out a couple twenty-dollar bills onto the checkbook. Shoving his wallet back into his pocket he swallowed hard as he turned toward the bar and began to walk. His heart was pumping, and he felt his face flush with heat.

What in the hell was he doing…? He really was losing it.

When he walked to the bar, the noise engulfed him, but all he was focused on was the beautiful redhead once he spotted him again. He confidently walked up and the smell of something sweet welcomed him once he was close enough, finally approaching him. Marshall was surprised to see he was taller than he looked from across the room, but thankfully not taller than him.

"Excuse me." He leaned in gently, unintentionally smiling as he felt more and more pleased the longer he was close to this person. Yet, making sure to keep a polite distance between them.

He tensed when the redhead looked back over his shoulder at him, making eye contact immediately. Quickly scanning him up in down as if registering him as a person. Taking a moment before speaking.

"Yes?"

He spoke loud enough to be heard, yet still quiet somehow. As he fully turned his body to face Marshall. That voice was beyond what Marshall expected. And he hadn't even thought of what his voice could have sounded like until now! It was deeper, but smooth, confident, and gentle, matching his exterior. Marshall's face flushed again, and he hoped his tan complexion hid his blush.

"I'm sorry to interrupt…"

What in the world was he doing? He didn't pick up people at bars! He'd barely asked more than a couple women out his entire life!

"Well, at least he's sorry about it!" A booming voice pulled him out of the eye contact and his own panic as he quickly gave his attention to the dark-haired boy next to him. Who was now also turned around, on his stool, sneering at Marshall.

Marshall glanced back at the redhead who kept gentle eye contact with him but allowed a cold smile to slip. He should leave… he should really really leave…

"I'm sorry. I just wanted to introduce myself, before leaving."

He disobeyed his thoughts, as usual. He spoke to the redhead but glanced at the dark-haired one, just so he wasn't ignoring him. To his surprise the dark-haired boy started laughing loudly, so loud the random patron next to him looked clearly annoyed. It was a wholehearted laugh, almost contagious actually… and very surprising from how he acted just two seconds prior.

Now he was confused. The red head looked to his friend with a frown, clearly irritated. Then back to Marshall.

"Hello." He straightened up, seeming almost as if he was presenting himself to Marshall.

Marshall stared in awe, being this close was intoxicating. The shame was now far gone, and Marshall did his best to not gawk as he admired what was in front of him. His friend's laughter wasn't much of a distraction, but him getting punched in the back of the head by the Bartender, was.

"Shut the fuck up, Yusuke!" He shouted, annoyed for real this time.

"OOOWWW!"

Yusuke turned back to the Bartender now holding his head and not lowering his voice at all. "What the fuck!?" He bit out.

"SHUT UP!" The Bartender barked back as they both glared at each other.

Marshall swallowed and nodded once, ripping his gaze away from 'Yusuke'.

"I'm sure this happens a lot to you." He tried to keep his focus clear, and with a confident smile he continued. "But I couldn't help noticing you, you're very beautiful." he said, realizing now that he hadn't talked this confidently in a while. And it felt nice, even though he was freaking out entirely on the inside.

The beautiful redhead stared back at him without hesitation, and as predicted unfazed by what Marshall had said.

"I'm Marshall." He motioned toward himself, now shaking a bit from adrenaline.

The redhead smiled, just barely, most might not call that even a smile. But, Marshall saw the coldness leave.

"I'm Shuichi." He nodded, barely moving an inch. Confidently showing no interest in closing the gap between them.

"Hi Marshall." Yusuke turned around again, smiling at him, clearly enjoying whatever the hell was happening.

'Shuichi'… shot a look to his friend, "Please." Marshall barely heard him whisper.

"Whaaat?" Yusuke teased wearing a clueless look.

Shuichi gave his friend the eye before he looked back to Marshall, wearing no expression at all. Marshall hesitated when seeing him give him nothing, feeling himself recoil just a bit.

"You come around here a lot?" Yusuke asked.

Again, being snapped out of the gaze of Shuichi, he looked to Yusuke again. Registering what he'd been asked.

"Umm, I've been around." He chuckled wearing his nerdy, sincere, smile this time, since he was caught off guard again.

"Hmm." Was all the younger one said as he stared openly at Marshall with… nothin'…?

Who were these two?

Shuichi rolled his eyes now shifting his weight back to the bar, giving his side to Marshall. Unsure, he glanced at Shuichi again, then back to the loud one.

"It's a nice place, but really, I just came to introduce myself. And I'll let you two be on your way." He nodded, hoping he could leave now. He reached up and awkwardly scratched his head. He wanted to talk to Yusuke's friend, not to him.

Yusuke looked him up and down again, then back to Shuichi. Surprising Marshall he quickly, …almost too quickly to see, back-handed Shuichi on the arm. It was fast, and hard, and you could hear the thud as he did so.

Shuichi barely flinched as he gave Yusuke a look that mimicked a snarl. "Ouch." He said loudly.

"Come on…" He glared at his friend, then looked back to Marshall.

"He's pretty, huh?" Yusuke smirked while he clearly enjoyed watching Marshall's reactions. Maybe this wasn't as playful as Marshall thought? Maybe he was protective…?

"Yusuke." Shuichi stood straight now stepping in front of his friend, blocking him from Marshall's view, and now looking straight at Marshall. "I'm sorry. My friend is drunk, can I help you with anything else?"

Marshall felt foolish now, time to go for real.

"No."

He held his hand up quickly, "I'll just give you this." He reached into his blazer pocket, pulling out one of his business cards. This was his last pathetic attempt. "It would be lovely to take you out sometime." He kept strong eye contact with Shuichi, as his heartbeat got stronger, he reached out to hand the card to him.

Shuichi stared at the card in Marshall's hand, then looked back to Marshall with slight judgment… and something else as well… Worry?

Pfft… no, that was probably just Marshall projecting.

He watched him for another second, then Shuichi turned his head to the side as his eyes went down. "Thank you." His hand moved up and swiftly took the card as if it was his last attempt at being nice to Marshall.

"Well, thank you, and have a great night, Shuichi. It was wonderful meeting you." Marshall smiled and nodded, then leaned to the side to look at his friend. He was clearly distracted now with something else. He didn't dare look at Shuichi again, as he walked off.

But he could feel Shuichi watch him until he was out of the building.

"God." Marshall said loudly as he rubbed his face once out of eyeshot. "You idiot." He didn't think he'd been this embarrassed for a long time… but he was glad he got to meet him. Shuichi… He sighed, still not sure if that was a good idea or what, but he was already starting to try to forget this whole day.