Chapter Text
TW: sexual assault
----------《~-~》----------
I swiftly scribbled down the order on the side of the medium-sized cup that the plain woman on the other side of the counter had ordered and slid it across the worktop to my colleague; Kochou Shinobu. She clicked open her purse and handed me the amount that she owed for her medium-sized plain coffee.
"Thank you, your coffee will be ready in a few minutes, ma'am. Please, have a seat whilst you wait."
The words flew out of my mouth, almost as though i was on autopilot. I guess because I had worked in this coffee shop for so long, these sort of things were just engraved into my brain.
She turned away and made her way over to one of the single seat tables,
whipping out her phone and
unlocking it. My eyes trail from the woman to the cash register on the countertop. I pushed a few buttons, and the tray sprung open in response, making me flinch slightly. No matter how long I've worked here, I've never gotten used to that. I dropped the coins into their sections and pushed the tray into the register.
The doorbell chimed. The sound echoed through the half filled coffee shop. The sound of footsteps made their way to the counter, and I slowly peered through my choppy bangs to be met with a tall man. The first thing that caught my attention was his hair. It was completely white and immensely stood out in the room of dark-haired people. My eyes widened at seeing such a unique and unusual sight. Of course, I knew that people dyed their hair all sorts of colours, but it had never dawned on me that people might dye their hair such an eccentric colour. My eyes lowered to his face. I noticed that he had extremely light eyebrows, almost so light you can't see them, and scars reaching across his forehead and over his nose bridge. His eyes were purple or pink or maybe even blue, I really couldn't tell, it was as if they were changing every second. His eyelashes were long, which just enhanced the beauty of his eyes even more.
"Hellooooo???"
A large hand waved in front of my face, and it took me a while to register that this very pretty man was talking to me. I blinked dumbfounded. 'I must look like a complete idiot right now! How long was I staring for?' I snapped back to reality before he could say anything else. My face started to heat up, and I could tell that it was bright tomato red by now. My heart beat quickened, and my palms began to sweat.
"Yo, dude. You alright?" He asked.
I didn't answer but instead took out a new cup and a pen ready to take his order.
"What can I get you today?"
Were the words that came out of my mouth. Not even a 'sorry for staring'. I internally slapped myself hard. I seriously don't know why I'm so bad at communicating my thoughts. I either tell the complete truth (Which really hurts people or gets on their nerves), say the exact opposite of what I'm thinking or give up halfway through a sentence leaving people confused and me internally annoyed at myself.
The man raked a hand through his hair, letting out a harsh puff of air. He looked as though he was in deep thought, so I waited patiently for him to say something.
"Yh, I'll just get a black coffee with one sugar, thanks."
"Sure, and what's the name for the drink?"
I was in two minds to ask for his name seen as we don't always do it but due to the fact its busier than usual today it may be easier to get the coffee to the right person 'As if you could forget someone as handsome as him' . I quickly stopped myself from thinking about how he looked ,otherwise, I'd probably end up zoning out again or staring.
"Yh okay, it's Shinazugawa Sanemi."
I quietly repeated the name and his order as I wrote it on the side of the cup, spending a little extra time on making sure you could actually read it, unlike the lady I served earlier. I placed the cup off to the side for kochou to pick up in a second.
Before I could even say anything else, Shinazugawa already had money scattered in the palm of his hand. He must've already been here before when Kanae was doing her shifts seen as he knew the price for his order. I pushed my hand out underneath his to catch the money that he dropped into it a second later. I ,somehow, trusted him already to know that he had the right amount, so I pressed a few buttons and dropped the money into its right compartments in the tray before pushing it closed.
I turned my head back up to Shinazugawa and went to repeat the same thing that I had said to the lady prior, but I stumbled over my words and instantly snapped my mouth shut. My eyes flickered down to the countertop below me from sheer embarrassment, my face heating up once again. I heard a light chuckle above me. It sounded like a melody made by the angels, and my head shot up to meet his eyes. His hand slowly moved away from his mouth.
My instant reaction was to say...
"Sorry."
"Hey, don't sweat it, tomioka." He reassuringly replied to me.
A smile tugged at the corner of my lips before realising.
"Wait. How do you know my name?"
I tried my hardest to hide the surprise in my voice, but to no avail, it just made me sound even more surprised.
"Relax. I just read your nametag. " he quickly blurted out before I could assume anything, "I'm not a stalker, yknow. "
'Quick think of something smart and witty to say." I didn't want him to leave just yet, so I blurted out the first thing that came to mind.
"That's exactly what a stalker would say, actually."
I made a quick remark, and it earned another chuckle from the unique man. I was on fire today!
"Hey giyuu! Stope flirting with the customers and get back to work before I get Kanae to fire you!" I heard kocho shout from the supply room.
I flushed once again. Kanae was far too sweet to listen to her little sisters demands and wishes of me being fired but I supposed it was a good idea to get back to work so I picked up Shinazugawas coffee that I'd only just realised Kochou had made already and extended my hand out for him to take it. As he slipped his fingers around the cup, they lightly brushed mine, and I jumped back in surprise. Thank god Shinazugawa had already taken the cup. Otherwise, the drink would be all over the floor.
He turned around without warning and started to walk towards the front door, reaching for the handle as he got closer. The door swung open, and I couldn't help but feel slightly disappointed that he had to go as the chime of the bell echoed through the room once again. But before he stepped completely outside of the shop, he whipped his head around, lifted his hand, gave a small smile, and said
"Cya later, Tomioka."
I hesitantly lifted my hand in reply and waved as he walked off around the corner. I stood there in shock, my mouth hanging open like a codfish, stuck in the same place for a few seconds.
"You're so helplessly in love right now that it pains me." A depressing sounding voice came out of nowhere.
I wouldn't have been able to tell that it was Kochou if I hadn't turned around due to her usual sickly sweet high pitched voice that she used. It was also then that I had realised what she had said.
"HUH? What no h-hes just a customer. Wha-what are you talking about?" I stumbled over every word that came out of my mouth.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever, just get back to work." Kochou replied, completely unfazed.
----------《~-~》----------
The clock chimed at 10:00 and everybody arose from their seats.
'Finally, that english lecture was over.' I huffed out a sigh of relief as I picked up my bag and slinged it over my shoulder, taking my phone out of my pocket and going through my notifications. 'I definitely hadn't been thinking about shinazugawa that whole time.'
My thumb hovered over the screen as I studied a message from kochou, deciding to click on it.
'Were going to a party later tonight, dc, if you wanna or not.' I shut my eyes, pushing them into my head with my opposite hand.
I wasn't too surprised at how she's dragging me there if I want to or not but an unusual feeling started to rise in my chest as I thought about the idea of a crowded house filled with people I didn't know.
'Stop it,' I told myself, taking in slow shaky breaths, I was just getting myself worked up over nothing.
----------《~-~》----------
I lay on my bed scrolling through videos as kochou rummaged through my closet, trying to find the perfect outfit for tonight as if all eyes were gonna be on me. I scoffed to myself quietly. I flinched as a few t-shirts flew over my head, landing on my headboard.
"Do you seriously have to make such a mess?" I scolded her as she turned to face me, a pair of jeans in one hand and a hoodie in the other.
"Well, it's not my fault you literally have the worst fashion sense on the planet."
"As if.. my clothes are fine." I reassured myself. Yeah, sure, I don't have the best clothes ever but if I wore anything too bright and eye-catching like kochou did then everyone would always be looking at me and that is the last thing I wanted.
"Whatever," she continued rummaging through the closet. "I know you're not thrilled about this part, giyuu, but my friends are gonna be there, and I really want you to meet them."
It was odd. She really sounded like her older sister. I smiled slightly but caught myself before she turned around. She looked at me, expecting something in reply.
"Sorry" was all that left my mouth, I guess I had been saying it a lot lately. I knew how much she liked her other friends more than me, and it just felt like I was dragging her down and ruining it for her.
She huffed, sounding disappointed, and that just made me feel worse.
"Giyuu, you know you're my best friend, right?" She smiled but not in her usual fake way but in an almost knowing way.
"Yeah, I know, kochou.." 'just doesn't seem like it sometimes.' I kept that last part to myself, not wanting to ruin her night when she seemed so excited.
I set my phone down and got up, wandering over to her to ,somewhat, help her help me. I reached for one of the drawers and rummaged around for a shirt, fishing out one with a band member on it.
"Why not go for something simple," I held the shirt by its arms and lifted it up to show kochou, "Like this."
"Actually, that's not bad," she put a finger to her bottom lip, "Yeah, and you could pare it with some jeans, I think I saw some nice ones earlier." She jogged over to the corner of the room where she had ,presumably, threw them. She grabbed them and ran back over "Okay I'm gonna chill in the living room for a bit whilst you get changed, and then we can go."
I nodded as she turned around and walked out of the room, closing the door behind her, leaving me to get ready.
----------《~-~》----------
We slowly strolled up to the porch of a large house, it was cold so I was glad I'd decided to bring my jacket. Loud, muffled music played in the background, and I just knew it was going to make me practically deaf when we actually got inside. My chest was forming knots, and I was terrified to go inside for no real reason.
Kochou reached for the door handle and yanked it open. Almost simultaneously, I was slapped in the face by loud, overwhelming music. I looked at the number of people, and my heart suddenly dropped. It was too many. Far too many. I didn't know how I was gonna cope for multiple hours in this hell hole.
Kochou started to walk inside, and I almost didn't notice over the panic rushing through my body. I reached out for her sleeve and scrunched it up into my hand. She turned back to look at me, and I must've looked absolutely terrified due to the worried look on her face.
She dragged me through the multiple crowds of people playing drinking games, chatting about god knows what, and couples making out to the kitchen, which was far less quieter and had 10x fewer people in it. My heart was still hammering in my chest, but luckily, the panic had slightly washed away.
That was until I heard a squeel come from the other side of the counter.
"EEEEEEK!!! Shinobu~chan, im so glad you could make it!!" In the blink of an eye, she whipped her head around in my direction, jumping forward in curiosity, and I had to look down at the countertop due to how uncomfortable it was making me. "YAY! You must be tomioka giyuu! I'm mitsuri it's so good to finally meet you!!!"
She was constantly excited and hyper, and it was a lot to keep up with. She must've noticed how awkward I looked according to the way she backed up, and a worried expression was plastered across her face.
"Are you alright?? I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable." She stood upright and slapped her hands on either side of her face, pouting and (possibly?) scolding herself for not realising earlier. This must've been a new record because this made me feel guilty for ruining someone's night again.
Kochou put her hand up, silently putting a stop to whatever Mitsuri~San was doing.
"It's alright kanroji, this is just tomioka's usual self." She exclaimed, reassuring her with a sickly sweet smile.
I quickly took this as my opportunity to leave and find a quiter place, even though that was practically impossible at a house party. "I'm gonna go find the bathroom.' I muttered just loud enough to be heard as I forced my stool backwards, getting up and walking through the kitchen entrance.
I truly had no clue where I was going. I looked left, down a hallway that led to a staircase and shrugged to myself. 'If there was going to be a less crowded area, then it had to be upstairs.' I thought to myself as I started making my way to the stairs.
My hand slid up the cold railing as I planted a foot on each step, ascending the staircase. Once I reached the top, I was greeted by another long corridor. Multiple doors planted on each side. I let out a sigh of relief after I noticed the music was quiet and muffled and nobody was up here with me. It was hard to believe that nobody was up here seen as how cramped it was downstairs. Maybe I wasn't even supposed to be up here.
I crushed that thought before I could worry anymore than I already was, and made my way over to one of the walls. I slid down it until I reached the floor, relaxation finally washing over me.
However, a thought in the back of mind had started to brew. Kochou had brought me to this party to meet her friends and I decided to ditch so that I could take a break to think about myself. 'I should probably go downstairs and apolagise to her.' I decided. But before I could reach the stairs a voice erupted from down the hallway.
"Well, well, what's a pretty boy like you doing here hanging out by yourself," the man laughed to himself and I froze, "wouldn't you rather have some company." He had gripped his hand around my bicep in a strong, unhuman like fashion and panic started to flow through my veins once again. He turned me around to face him, a wide smile stretching across his face. "C'mon, baby," The nickname made my face scrunch up in disgust, "Why don't we go back to my house and have some fun by ourselves."
I tried to push him away but his grip around my arm was far too strong to break. I would've screamed for help but there was no way anyone would've heard me over the booming music that was resonating downstairs. I was utterly fucked. I tried to kick him but he backed me up against a wall and blocked my legs somehow.
Tears started to well up in my eyes as it occurred to me that this man wasn't going to stop. His face suddenly became level with mine. His odd, multicoloured eyes flashed full on insanity. That same smile stretched across his face as he leant forward and started to kiss my jaw. I sobbed to myself, afraid that nobody was going to come upstairs. Without warning his cold hand slid up my shirt. My face tickled as tears ran down it.
"Oh sorry. Didn't mean to interru-" the sentence was cut short as my head snapped in the direction of where the voice was coming from.
"Shinazugawa..!" My voice was small and I almost didn't recognise it, "He..lp.. me.." I managed to force out.
His eyes were forced open wide and he stood there in shock for what felt like hours. It wasn't until the man started talking, that Shinazugawa had finally done something. His hand latched around the one that was pushing me into the wall.
"The fuck you think you're doing??" His voice was low and reverberated through the corridor. It sent chills up my spine.
The tall man put his hands up in defense. "Chill out man, I'm just having a lil' fun!" He laughed out loud which just made Shinazugawa angrier. He pushed the man back, sending him staggering to the floor and almost walking into a plant pot.
-- Shinazugawas POV --
He almost crashed into the plant pot, fury washing over his once playful expression.
"The fuck is your problem?? If you really want him then have him."
'This guy clearly wasn't getting it.'
In one swift move, the freak was down on the ground cupping his nose with his two hands. Pain shot through my hand but I didn't care, all I cared about right now was tomioka.
I turned to him. He was sat on the floor shaking, his eyes wide and tears having stained his face. I rushed over to him in a second, kneeling down infront of him and cupping the side of his face with my hand.
I brushed a few strands of hair out of his eyes, they were stuck to his face with sweat.
"You're okay," I tried my hardest to calm him down but he just continued to shake and wasn't taking in anything I was saying to him. It was probably best to get him out of here.
I slung his arm around my shoulders and picked him up by the waist. His head dropped down as if he was asleep. "C'mon let's get you out of here."
----------《~-~》----------
After finally making it down the stairs, (Which was a huge hassle) I walked into the living room with tomioka still attached to me by the hip.
Almost instantaneously, Uzui came rushing over with a stern look on his face.
"Hey, what the hell, man. Douma told me you punched him in the face." He must've ran downstairs whilst I was trying to talk to Tomioka.
'Are you serious right now??' My face twitched. Uzui rlly was the most stupid guy I've ever met.
"Whatever, I don't have time for this right now, I need to get Tomioka out of here."
Uzui suddenly looked worried and was intrigued to know what was going on, "Why, what happened??"
"Why don't you ask your 'little buddy' Douma." I pulled a nasty look at him and pushed past, leaving him standing there confused and in shock.
It wasn't until we got outside that I realised I didn't know where tomioka actually lived. I could've asked Kochou but I didn't know where she was. I sighed but was cut off when I felt movement next to me. It was Tomioka.
"Are you alright?" My hand went to brush the hair out of his face again, it just felt right. He still looked a little shaken up so I tried not to move too quickly. He looked up at me, ocean blue eyes staring back at mine.
It took him a while to respond but I sat there waiting patiently for him to recollect his thoughts. Taking in how pretty he really was for the first time tonight.
I felt him start to slightly shake and e few tears welled up in his eyes. He was crying again. I guess you couldn't really blame him. I pulled him closer to me and stroked his hair. My mom always used to do that to me when I was younger and it always used to help.
"It's okay, shhh." I whispered to him. "Are you okay with coming back to my place? I don't know where you live and you seem too shaken up to be left alone..." I felt Tomioka knod in response.
He stood up straight and took a step back. I watched as his eyes became wide once again and he slipped his hand into mine swiftly, burying himself into my side. I turned my head to look behind me and I noticed Douma walking away from the house with a sour expression on his face.
"Let's go." I pulled Tomioka away and we walked back to my apartment. I hadnt brought my car cos I knew I'd be drinking and there was no way I was gonna get behind the wheel, even a little bit tipsy. Luckily though, my place wasn't too far from here and barely took 20 minutes to reach the apartment complex.
We quickly rushed there, looking behind to make sure douma wasn't following us. It was then that I noticed that Tomioka was still holding my hand.
I reached into my pocket and retrieved my keys. Sadly, I needed two hands to unlock the door.
"Sorry, I need this hand to open my door.." I huffed out an awkward laugh as Tomioka blinked, confused. He looked at our intertwined hands. "Oh." Was all he said before dropping my hand, a faint pink dusting his cheeks.
'Cute'. I thought to myself before unlocking the door.
-- Tomiokas POV --
I trailed after Shinazugawa, closing the door shut behind me. His apartment was so modern looking. Everything was white and glossy, it was kind of weird.
I stood awkwardly, not too sure what do with myself. "You can sit down, make yourself at home." He patted the sethi, signalling for me to sit down. I walked over, slowly lowering myself on the seat. "Do you wanna maybe watch some TV?" He didn't look sure of himself whatsoever as he picked up the TV remote, switching it on and putting it on the armchair to the side of me.
"Look, I'm gonna get some clothes and some towels so you can have a shower, alright?" I looked up at him, nodding. Although, I didn't really want him to leave even if he was just going to be in the other room. But he made his way through the doorway and disappeared behind a corner.
I took the controller in my hand and flicked through the channels until I found a stupid game show that was obviously all rigged.
----------《~-~》----------
I was half asleep when shinazugawa finally came back into the room, holding a pile of clothes and towels.
"The clothes might be a bit big but it doesn't seem like we're too different in clothes size." He announced as a disclaimer to me.
"Thank you, Shinazu-" I was cut off before I could even finish my sentence.
"Please. Just call me Sanemi."
I paused for a moment thinking about it. I could feel a small smile tug at the corner of my lips. "Alright then, thank you, Sanemi. And please, call me Giyuu."
----------《~-~》----------
I sucked in, filling my lungs with humid air. "You can take my bed, is that alright?.. Giyuu?" I waited for a reply, noting how it felt odd to use his first name. "I'll sleep on the floor."
"But the floor's cold and uncomfortable. I can sleep on the floor, I really don't want to be of any inconvenience." He felt guilty. I could tell. How could he feel guilty when he's the one who.. who.. I can't even say it. It was disgusting what that absolute tramp tried to do to him.
"No! I seriously insist. You're the one who's had a really tough night. I just want to make sure you feel safe after what happened." Worry bubbled up in my throat at the guilty expression that was still plastered on his face despite how much I had reassured him.
I took a deep breath and smiled a small smile. "C'mon let's just go to sleep. You must be exhausted."
----------《~-~》----------
It had been about half an hour and it seemed as though Giyuu was fast asleep. Light breathing resonating from the bed. I shuffled around on the cold floor. He was right about the floor being uncomfortable but there was absolutely no way I was going to admit that and make him feel bad.
It was pitch black in the room except for a silver and white glow shining through the blinds from the moon. I listened to the wind howling through the windows and owls hooting in the distance. However, that was soon disrupted by a shuffle from above me and a light sob.
I shot up and instantly went over to check on Giyuu. His eyes were red, and his eyelashes were soaked with tears. He was thrashing around in the bed, the loose sheets intertwining and looping around his legs. He was having a nightmare.
I froze, not too sure of what to do. I tugged the duvet from around him so he could be free from feeling trapped. That almost instantly stopped the thrashing. Light sobs came from his mouth and I could tell that removing the duvet only slightly helped.
I moved my hand to his head and started to slowly stroke his dark silky hair. Strands of hair falling inbetween my fingers. His breathing started to even out. "It's alright, giyuu. You're safe."
After a while he had completely calmed down and I was just about to go to my bed on the floor when I head something.
"Sanemi?" I turned back, shocked to see him awake. He looked so gorgeous with the moonlight highlighting his features. "Um.. could you maybe stay here with me." He struggled to get the sentence out, his face going slightly pink as I stared at him. He looked down at the bed, taking a bit of duvet in his hand and fiddling with it. "Y-you don't have to if you don't wa-" before he could finish that sentence, I got up and slipped underneath the duvet.
I stared up at the ceiling waiting for something to happen. I felt a hand slip into mine and I instantly looked at Giyuu. I turned to my side and pulled him closer, snuggling together.
"Night Giyuu."
"Night Sanemi."