Work Text:
Chishiya took a deep breath, leaning back in his seat so that his head rested against the wall, and wished he was literally anywhere else. He really wasn't fussy. He could be back in the Borderlands for all he cared, just so long as he didn't have to spend one minute more in this bar.
It was Kuina's fault. He really should have known better than to let her drag him out but she was annoyingly hard to say no to sometimes. So he'd gone along with it. He'd let her fuss around him while he had got ready at his apartment. He'd let her fix his eyeliner and hadn't even complained that loudly when she had insisted on applying some entirely unnecessary product to his hair that she claimed would 'rescue' it, before following her out to wherever she wanted to take him. And after all that, what was his reward?
An evening spent in his personal hell.
The bar was noisy and crowded. The floor was sticky and music blasted from speakers at one end where a small dance floor had been established, the bass pounding through Chishiya's skull. The air stank of booze and too many people and all Chishiya wanted to do after his ten hour shift earlier that day was sleep, but none of that was the worst part.
The seven of them- Kuina, Ann, Arisu, Usagi, Tatta, Niragi and him- had claimed a large table tucked into an alcove with bench seating curving around the two thirds of the round table that were against the wall. Chishiya had ended up in the middle of this seating but what he had failed to take into account when he had chosen this position was that he hadn't just agreed to come for an evening out with friends.
He had agreed to come for an evening out with couples.
To his left Kuina pressed close to Ann, almost sat on her girlfriend's lap as she kissed her deeply and passionately. Chishiya did his best not to look, but it seemed that this godforsaken bar was determined to slap him in the face with romance regardless of where he turned his gaze.
On his other side Niragi and Tatta were talking quietly, heads close together and eyes soft. Chishiya was fairly certain that they were under the impression that they were doing an excellent job of hiding their feelings for one another. They were, in his opinion, spectacularly wrong. They might not be physically all over one another like Kuina and Ann were but they may as well be as far as he was concerned. If he had to see one more lovestruck smile on Niragi's stupid face, he swore he was going to throw a drink over him.
As far as Chishiya was concerned, his increasingly foul mood was perfectly reasonable given the circumstances. He was certain that anyone would be feeling similarly, and that was without even considering his endless work day and rapidly developing headache. He was, however, self-aware enough to know that there might be another factor contributing to his shitty evening and that factor went by the name of Arisu Ryouhei.
Arisu and Usagi were across the room at the bar. Allegedly they were getting drinks but it didn't look like it to Chishiya. They'd been up there for a good five minutes already but were making no real effort to get the bartender's attention, instead talking in low voices and more or less ignoring the bar around them. As he watched, Usagi gave Arisu a gentle smile before saying something else. Whatever it was she had said had clearly had the desired effect because a grin broke out across Arisu's face in response before he replied. Usagi nodded, her smile widening, and she reached out to place a hand atop Arisu's where he leaned against the bar. Chishiya's eyes narrowed and he reached for his glass, muttering a curse to himself when he found it was still empty, having not magically refilled itself in the past few minutes. He couldn't even escape to get another one without disturbing one of the couples to either side of him.
He wasn't sure exactly when these feelings for his fellow survivor had crept up on him, but by the time he had recognised them for what they were it was far too late for him to do anything to stop them. So now here he was, stuck with feelings for someone who was not only uninterested in him and quite possibly men as a whole, but who was also already dating someone else.
Before the Borderlands, this wouldn't have bothered him in the slightest. He would have had no problems switching those feelings off and burying them deep with everything else about himself and his life that he couldn't face dealing with. A dark little voice at the back of his mind wondered if he'd have pursued Arisu anyway, regardless of his existing relationship and the hurt it could cause to others; it certainly sounded more like his past self than he would like to admit.
But that was the Chishiya of the past. He wasn't that person any more and never wanted to be again. He didn't want to hurt Arisu or Usagi, so where exactly did that leave him? Watching from afar, burning with unfamiliar feelings he didn't understand and just about ready to explode at the slightest provocation.
He looked back to the bar to find Arisu and Usagi exactly as he had left them, or had Usagi moved a little closer? He wasn't sure, but her hand was definitely still holding Arisu's on the bar as they continued their hushed conversation. Abruptly, Arisu looked back at the table, directly meeting Chishiya's gaze as he watched them. Immediately he looked away, back to his empty glass, trying desperately to stop the heat spreading rapidly across his cheeks at having been caught.
"You know," a voice drawled from his right. Chishiya closed his eyes. Just when he thought this evening couldn't get any better. "I knew you were a lot of things and jealous bitch totally checks out as something I can add to that list, but a coward? That's a surprise."
Chishiya turned his glare on Niragi, who'd finally dragged his eyes away from Tatta to give him an insufferably smug, shit-eating grin instead.
"I am not jealous. Who am I even supposed to be jealous of?"
Niragi snorted. "Like it isn't obvious. You're really not as subtle as you think."
Chishiya raised an eyebrow. "And you're in a place to comment on subtlety, are you?"
To Niragi's credit, his expression hardly wavered. "I don't know what you mean."
"Oh, you don't?" Chishiya's gaze flicked pointedly between Niragi's admirable attempt at a pokerface and Tatta's increasingly bright red cheeks. "Are you sure about that?"
"We're friends," Niragi growled. "So what?"
"Right," Chishiya said slowly. "Such good friends that you just had to go together to find more snacks when we were all at your place for a movie night last week, a task that somehow took the two of you a full twenty minutes."
"We needed a lot of snacks," Tatta said, only a little desperately. "I wanted to give Niragi a hand."
Chishiya snorted. "Well, half of what you just said might be true."
Niragi shifted in his seat, subtly positioning himself so that Tatta was hidden from Chishiya's line of sight. "Don't think I haven't noticed you trying to change the subject. So, are you going to admit that you're jealous or just carry on being a moody little shit for the rest of the night?"
Chishiya folded his arms, leaning back in his seat. "Don't flatter yourself, Niragi. I'm more than happy for you spend your entire evening swooning over-"
"We both know that's not what I meant!"
"Although I notice you didn't deny the swooning part."
"Look, I'm trying to help you out here but if you want to spend your time sulking instead, be my fucking guest."
Chishiya shook his head. "How is any of this helping me?" He paused. "Actually, no. This has probably been the most entertaining five minutes of this entire evening so I suppose you're right."
Niragi opened his mouth to retort but another voice cut in before he could speak.
"Wait, why are you two arguing now?" Kuina leaned over to get a better look at the scene- Chishiya sat with his arms folded, Niragi scowling at him and Tatta peering round his shoulder, a hand on Niragi's arm.
"This dumbass has been sat there like a fucking storm cloud all evening," Niragi said irritably. "I was just trying to get him to fucking do something about it instead but I forgot what kind of mood he gets in when he's pining."
"I am not pining," Chishiya said hotly, shooting a murderous glare in Niragi's direction. "I just don't appreciate being dragged out here to what appears to be a group date."
Kuina rolled her eyes, addressing Niragi as if Chishiya wasn't there. "You're right. He's definitely sulking."
"I am not," he snapped. He looked away from both of them, turning his gaze back to the bar. Arisu and Usagi seemed to have finished their conversation at last, Usagi having disappeared while he wasn't looking, and Arisu had finally turned his attention to the bartender. He watched as he placed his order, chatting away to the bartender as they fetched the drinks regardless of the lack of response, and smiled fondly.
Kuina elbowed him in the ribs. "So you're definitely not pining or sulking and there's some other, completely unrelated reason why you're staring wistfully at Arisu from across the room? Is that what you're saying?"
Chishiya set his jaw stubbornly. "Yes."
Niragi burst out laughing. "And you had the nerve to imply that I'm a bad liar."
Chishiya slumped low in his seat. "Is it really that obvious?"
"No," Tatta said kindly.
"Fuck yes," Niragi said at the exact same moment before shooting Tatta a look. "Seriously?"
Tatta shrugged. "He looks stressed. I was trying to be nice."
Kuina placed a gentle hand on his arm, drawing his attention away from Tatta and Niragi's playful bickering. "It's okay, Shiya. Why don't you try talking to him?"
He shot her a disbelieving look. "Because it's clearly not reciprocated."
"You don't know that. You might be-"
"One, it's apparently obvious to absolutely everyone and yet Arisu hasn't mentioned it once. Two, Usagi. Three, even if he wasn't already dating somebody else, he probably wouldn't be interested after everything."
"Four, like I said earlier, you're a coward," Niragi added. Chishiya's eyes narrowed dangerously.
"You don't know he's not interested," Kuina said before he could respond. "I think you might be surprised. Perhaps if you just asked him, he might-"
Chishiya shook his head. "There's no point." He sighed. "Let me out. I'm going home."
Kuina's face fell. "What? Don't go yet Shiya. You never come out with us when we go to bars."
"Correct, and now I remember why."
Her eyes were wide and pleading. "Please, Shiya. I'll even let you drag me round some boring art gallery or something on your next day off and I won't even take the piss once. Whatever you want. Just, stay a little longer? We'll stop being so couple-y, I swear."
Chishiya sighed. "I've had a long day, Kuina. I just want to go to bed."
Kuina opened her mouth to protest further but her girlfriend got there first.
"Let him go, Hikari. You can't make him stay here if he doesn't want to."
Chishiya turned gratefully to her. "Thank you."
Ann arched a perfectly shaped eyebrow. "You should still talk to Arisu though."
Kuina squeezed his hand gently. "Sorry, Shiya. I didn't realise you were having such a bad evening. I should have-"
"It's okay, Kuina. It's not really your fault anyway."
She gave him a soft smile. "How about we do the art gallery on your next day off anyway?"
He nodded, smiling back at his best friend. "That sounds good."
"Okay." She pulled him into a quick hug before standing to let him slide out of the booth. "Text me when you get home. Love you."
He waved vaguely to the rest of the table. Ann nodded politely but Tatta and Niragi barely seemed to notice, already wrapped up in conversation and one another once again. Chishiya could have sworn he saw Niragi's hand sneak across in the direction of Tatta's thigh and rolled his eyes as he headed for the exit, amused even in spite of his crappy mood. The company of couples might be insufferable but those two and their attempts at secrecy would probably never stop being hilarious to him. At least one part of the evening had been somewhat enjoyable. Now, though, all he wanted to do was get home and curl up in his bed.
"Are you leaving?"
Chishiya turned around, caught off guard by the voice calling after him. Arisu was stood a little way behind him, a glass held in each hand and his brows drawn together in a concerned frown.
"Yes. It's been a long day. I'm not really in the mood." He nodded to the glasses Arisu was holding. "You should get back to Usagi. She'll be wanting her drink."
"Oh, no. I, um... I got it for you, actually." Arisu held out one of the glasses as if Chishiya wasn't half way to the door already. "You looked like you could use another one."
Chishiya blinked, slightly taken aback. It made sense though, he supposed. Arisu was always thoughtful like that.
"Thanks. You didn't have to though. As I said, I was leaving anyway. I'll pay you back."
"No, I mean... I wanted to buy you a drink. You don't have to pay me back. I wanted to get it for you." Arisu paused a moment. "Are you sure you won't stay a little longer? I've hardly seen you all evening. You don't have to have the drink if you don't want it or I can get you something else, maybe..."
He trailed off and Chishiya sighed, inwardly cursing Arisu and his stupid hopeful puppy dog eyes that somehow eroded his willpower in mere seconds.
"Fine. Not for long though."
Arisu beamed like Chishiya had just made his entire week and he couldn't quite help the warmth that spread through him at the sight, his bad mood melting away despite himself. "Oh, good! Sorry I haven't spoken to you much. I just needed to talk to Usagi about something first so I, um-" He paused, obviously trying to refocus and cut off his rambling before it escalated too far. "So, would you like the drink?"
Chishiya accepted it gratefully. "Thanks. I could have done with this half an hour ago. I've been stuck between Kuina and Ann mauling one another on one side and Niragi on the other." He shuddered.
"I really don't get why you two don't get along better," Arisu commented. "I mean, you're both smart and... I don't know, you're just kind of similar in a lot of ways."
Chishiya smirked, holding a hand up to his chest as if he had been mortally wounded. "And I thought we were supposed to be friends, Arisu."
Arisu's eyes widened. "I didn't mean... Not in a bad way! I just-"
Chishiya huffed in amusement. "It's okay. I'm only teasing you. No need to panic."
Arisu visibly relaxed, shoulders slumping. "Oh. Right." He watched anxiously as Chishiya took a large sip of his drink. "Is it okay? It's what you usually get, right?"
Chishiya smiled reassuringly. "It's perfect." He took another sip. "So, now that you've persuaded me to stay, what did you want to talk about?"
Arisu bit the inside of his cheek, fidgeting awkwardly with the glass in his own hands.
"Well, actually, I..." Not quite able to make eye contact, Arisu mumbled something that Chishiya couldn't quite make out.
"Sorry, I didn't-"
"Wouldyouliketodancewithme?" Arisu's cheeks were a deep shade of red as he blurted out the question again, speaking so fast it sounded more like a single word than a full sentence.
Chishiya blinked, unsure how to respond or if he had even heard correctly. "I'm sorry? You want me to- what?"
Arisu cleared his throat, finally making eye contact. "I wondered if you would maybe like to dance with me? You don't have to, obviously. I just thought-"
"You'd like to dance with me?" Chishiya repeated.
Arisu nodded quickly. "Like I said, you don't have to. It was probably a stupid idea."
"Okay."
Arisu's head jerked up, eyes wide. "Really?"
"Sure." Chishiya gave him a small smile, trying not to think too much about what he had just agreed to. Arisu probably just wanted to make him feel included after he'd spent the entire evening third wheeling for the three couples. He still had Usagi, he reminded himself. It wouldn't be advisable to read too much into this.
It wasn't easy to remember that, though, when Arisu answered with a smile that could outshine the sun, spreading warmth across Chishiya's chest.
"Great!" Arisu quickly downed the last of his drink and set the glass on a nearby table before extending a hand towards Chishiya. "Come on then."
Chishiya hesitated only for a second before placing his own glass beside Arisu's and accepting the offered hand, letting himself be led over to the small dancefloor. It wasn't all that busy, perhaps twenty people dancing to the music still pumping out of the speakers including Kuina and Ann, dancing very close together in a style that seemed to involve an awful lot of hip movement and very little personal space. Chishiya did his best to fend off a treacherous image of himself and Arisu dancing in a similar style that had crept into his mind uninvited, reminding himself that Arisu had asked him as a friend and nothing more. Kuina noticed the two of them as they moved onto the dance floor and grinned widely, wiggling her eyebrows at him. Chishiya glared, relieved that Arisu didn't seem to have noticed. Kuina didn't seem particularly deterred, winking at him before returning her attention to her girlfriend.
"You alright, Shiya?"
Chishiya looked back to Arisu, frowning worriedly in front of him. He forced a small smile onto his face despite the headache he could already feel setting in as the relentless beat of the music reverberated through his brain.
"Fine." He looked around them, taking in the bodies moving rhythmically. "I should warn you, I don't really dance."
Arisu smiled sheepishly. "Me neither."
Before Chishiya could say another word, the music cut off for a second before a new song started, slower than the last. He glanced over towards the DJ booth and Kuina waved back at him from her place next to it. She looked extremely pleased with herself as she returned to Ann, pressing against her and swaying to the new music, a handful of other couples assuming similar positions.
Arisu cleared his throat. "May I...?"
Dumbfounded, Chishiya nodded. Still, Arisu hesitated before slowly reaching out and placing his hands lightly on Chishiya's waist. Something in his stomach did an odd little flip and he fought to keep his expression neutral as he looked up at Arisu.
"Are you sure Usagi wouldn't prefer you found her for this dance?"
Arisu's brow furrowed. "Why? Do you not want to-"
"No." Chishiya cut him off before he could move his hands from their position. "It's fine. I just would have assumed that she would prefer her boyfriend danced with her, rather than-"
"What?" Arisu looked utterly bewildered by the suggestion.
Chishiya shrugged as casually as he could. "You're dating, aren't you? Usually people choose the person they like romantically to slow dance with."
Arisu shook his head. "We're not dating."
Chishiya titled his head slightly, confused. "But what about all that at the bar?"
"Ah. That." Arisu flushed slightly. "No. She was just giving me some advice, as a friend."
"Oh." Cautiously, Chishiya reached up to loop his arms around Arisu's neck, his heart pounding in his chest as they began to sway gently to the music. "What was the advice about?"
Arisu swallowed, a hint of nerves flickering across his face. "Asking the person I like romantically to dance with me."
"Oh," Chishiya said again, desperately willing his usually infallible brain to kick back into gear and provide him with literally anything else to say. "I assume they said no then, seeing as you're dancing with me."
"Shiya," Arisu said softly. He tightened his hold on his waist, pulling him a little closer and Chishiya let him, leaning in so their chests were flush against one another, his cheek against Arisu's neck. He was sure he must be able to feel how fast his heart was beating with how close they were. His mouth suddenly felt very dry.
"And what did Usagi suggest you do next?" he whispered after a moment.
Arisu pulled back again, a small smile on his face. "Well, I-"
"We're going now."
Chishiya's head snapped round, his irritation at the interruption only growing when he found Niragi stood with his arms folded and Tatta by his side. He hadn't even noticed them approach. Niragi's eyes flickered between the two of them, still stood a little too close together, and glinted mischievously.
"Sorry," he continued, not sounding sorry in the slightest. "I hope I wasn't interrupting anything. Tatta just wanted to say bye."
"I'm giving Niragi a ride home," Tatta added. "That's why we're both leaving together, so I can drop him off at his home first before I go back to mine."
Chishiya raised an eyebrow, smirking at Niragi. "Yes. That was a very natural and convincing way to explain what's happening here."
Niragi glared. "Yes, it was."
Arisu nudged him gently. "Shiya. Be nice."
"What?" Chishiya asked, voice full of innocence. "I said it was convincing."
Tatta glanced across at Niragi, a hint of anxiety in his eyes. "Wasn't it?"
"It was," Niragi reassured him before a smirk of his own spread across his lips. "He's probably just jealous that he won't be giving Arisu a ride tonight." He paused, eyeing Chishiya for a moment. "Although, on second thoughts, it might be the other way around."
Tatta frowned. "But Arisu doesn't have his licence yet. Surely it would have to be Chishiya driving-"
Niragi cut him off with a heavy sigh. "I'll explain in the car." He nodded to Arisu. "You have terrible taste but have fun I guess."
They disappeared in the direction of the door, Tatta's voice fading with distance but still drifting back to reach them. "Actually, I'm not even sure if Chishiya should be driving either, Suguru. He's definitely had at least three drinks. Do you think we should..."
Chishiya rolled his eyes, turning back to Arisu.
"You know, you don't have to wind him up every time you speak to him," Arisu commented.
Chishiya smirked once again. "But it's so much fun." He took a step back towards Arisu, pleased to feel his arms slide back into place just above his hips to hold him close. "Now, I believe you were about to tell me what your next move was going to be before we were so rudely interrupted."
"Oh, right." Arisu paused. "I mean, to be honest I didn't really think I'd manage to get this far."
Chishiya frowned a little. "Why not?"
"Well you're... you." Arisu swallowed hard, nerves clear on his face again.
"And you're you," Chishiya said simply, looping his arms back around Arisu's neck.
Arisu didn't look convinced. "Yeah but-"
"Arisu." Arisu blinked down at him, a deer caught in the headlights of a car. The corner of Chishiya's lips twitched upwards and he pressed a little closer to him. "Stop talking and kiss me."
Arisu's eyes widened a little. When a few seconds had passed without him moving, Chishiya sighed; he'd waited long enough for this. He leaned up, one hand shifting from Arisu's neck to cup his cheek while the other moved to tangle in his hair, and pressed his lips against Arisu's. The contact seemed to break Arisu out of his trance and he leaned in eagerly, lips moving slowly and gently against Chishiya's as one of his hands moved to caress his face, the other remaining tight around his waist. Chishiya's mind was racing, his heart beating so fast in his chest he feared it might stop again; surely it wasn't healthy to push it so much so soon after cardiac arrest. After a moment's consideration, he concluded that he didn't care, tilting his head to deepen the kiss with a small noise of want. If he had to go, he decided, he would be pretty satisfied with this as his final moment.
Arisu pulled back first, breathing hard. His face was flushed, his hair messy where Chishiya had raked his fingers through and Chishiya fought the urge to pull him straight back down to meet his lips again. Distantly he thought he heard Kuina's voice saying something that sounded suspiciously like "fucking finally," but he chose to ignore her, eyes remaining glued to the man in front of him.
"So," Arisu said after a moment.
"So," Chishiya repeated, a wide grin spreading across his face.
"I'm not really sure what we're supposed to do now," Arisu confessed. "I've not really done the whole relationship thing before and Usagi's advice only really went up to that bit."
"We're already in a relationship, are we?" Chishiya said, voice gently mocking but full of warmth, making it clear to Arisu that he was joking. "At least let me buy you a drink first. And probably one for Usagi too. I think I owe her."
Arisu smiled and leaned down to peck Chishiya's cheek, the sweet action sending heat rushing to his face regardless of how chaste it was. "Okay. A drink first and then we'll see after that."
"We will." Chishiya reached out, taking Arisu's hand in his. "I have a good feeling about it though."
As they left the dancefloor, Arisu's fingers intertwined with his, Chishiya allowed himself a small, private smile.
Maybe he had been wrong about this bar. Yes, the floors were sticky and the music was too loud, but he was pretty sure he wouldn't have wanted to be anywhere else tonight but right here, by Arisu's side.