Chapter Text
Coffee brown eyes scanned the document in his hand swiftly before throwing it onto the desk and letting out a big sigh, “This got to be a joke.”
“What does it say?”
“I gotta be this rich kid’s chaperone.”
“You’re a rich kid,” his friend pointed out.
“Let him,” his other friend scanned the document with a scowl, “he’s going to have to deal with an asshole.”
His first friend clicked his tongue. “Just shut up and do it. It’s going to be for a few days.”
“Easy for you to say when you have no responsibilities!”
“I’m not part of the family who’s hosting the event, so,” he shrugged.
Shoyo looked at the picture again and internally sighed.
A few days. He could do that. He could deal with one Miya Osamu for a few days.
As long as Osamu kept his mouth shut and didn’t get on Shoyo’s nerves.
“Atsumu! Here, for table six.”
“Sure thing.”
Atsumu placed the tray over his palm and moved around the restaurant to place the couple’s order. “Enjoy,” he gave his best customer service smile.
Once he was back to the counter, Aran, one of his coworkers, laughed. “Yer lucky yer handsome or that smile wouldn’t work.”
“Which is why I use it,” Atsumu shrugged, his smile never faltering.
“And it works for the tips!” An arm wrapped around his shoulders. Turning to the owner of said arms, Atsumu locked eyes with one of his best friends, Bokuto, who also worked in this restaurant.
Bokuto waved a bill in Atsumu’s face. “We’re getting there.”
As Bokuto inserted the bill in the tip jar specifically made for him and Atsumu, Aran whistled, “How much left until you reach the goal?”
Atsumu pondered about his savings from last week and Bokuto’s, the approximate they must have gotten this week and how much they could gain with their tips and paychecks. Obviously including what they already had. “We can get there by the time we graduate.”
“Four months? Damn, how time flies.” Despite the remark, Aran looked really happy for them. He had been there for the entire journey of Atsumu and Bokuto saving money. Atsumu was glad to have a co-worker and friend like Aran. It made working more enjoyable.
“Soon we’ll be walking Parisian streets,” Atsumu singsang, making Aran chuckle.
“Why Paris, though?” He asked with genuine curiosity on his face.
Why Paris, indeed.
Atsumu remembered a movie he saw in his childhood. Actually, no, he didn’t even remember the movie, he was just left with the fact that Paris was ‘the city of love’ which, as he grew up, he knew was total bullshit. Many people expressed their distaste towards the place. But, really, it was like any place, it had to have its bad sides no matter how popular it was.
However, there was another movie he and Bokuto loved that made him interested in it. Plus, Atsumu wanted to visit many places in the world, be it one way or another. Either stay for just a week or for some months, give or take. He just knew he wanted to know the world and what better place to start than the country owning one of the most famous landmarks in the world?
When he told his ambitions to his friends, they didn’t hesitate to say they would join him in at least his first trip. Bokuto just wanted to accompany him in this first step Atsumu would take while Sakusa, their other friend who already had a stable job as a writer, wanted a vacation.
Atsumu shrugged his shoulders once again and answered, “Just because.”
Atsumu trudged his way into his house, flopping on the couch and humming in lieu of a greeting to his mother.
“Another tiring day?” His mother asked, amusement unconcealed in her tone.
Atsumu hummed again in response, making his mother laugh. At least his suffering got a smile out of his mother, it was worth something.
They were soon eating dinner, both retelling the events of each other’s days as they always did. It was a routine Atsumu was used to and one it broke his heart to end with his ambitions.
Sometimes he wondered if he should just suck it up and remain here but, at the same time, it’s not like he was planning on being in Paris for long. It was only a week’s trip. He would be back soon.
He did think of when he may decide to leave for long periods of time, but that had yet to be planned. First, his trip to Paris, then he could check his next destination and time limit.
As they finished dessert, his mother announced, “I have something for you.”
With pudding still in his mouth, Atsumu watched as his mother stood up and went to her room. He heard the roll of small wheels before he could see it.
It was a suitcase. A traveller suitcase of a beautiful maroon color.
“I always thought this shade of red suited ya.”
Atsumu knew. His mother never failed to remind him how much she loved the color on him, his childhood pictures were the proof of that. He just never thought such a gift would be presented to him.
His mother had always been supportive of Atsumu’s dreams, even the ones that would separate them. She said that distance was but just one small obstacle in the grand scheme of things. She knew he loved her and that was enough for her.
They were always tight on money, what with her being a single mom and having to send his son to school and then to college, yet somehow they always managed and she always did what she could to pamper him. Atsumu had learned to appreciate what he had.
He knew how amazing of a mom he had, but this really was the cherry on top.
Atsumu couldn’t stop the tears even if he wanted to.
His mother didn’t hesitate to rush to him and wipe his tears away, “My beautiful baby, why are ya crying? Yer gonna make me cry.”
“I just love you so much,” Atsumu managed to croak out despite his raw throat and clogged nose.
She kissed the tip of his nose, still holding tenderly onto him, “I love you just as much, Tsumu.”
He had the best mother ever.
There was barely any time left before they left for Paris. It was a bit surreal to think he would leave the country in less than a week and come back soon enough.
Bokuto and Akaashi, his boyfriend, had gone out to eat. Due to Akaashi’s schedule, this would be the last time they saw each other until he came back from Paris with Atsumu and Sakusa.
“Will you miss me, Keiji?” Bokuto asked, mastering his best puppy face at his boyfriend, who only chuckled at his antics.
“Koutaro, there had been longer periods of time where we hadn’t seen each other.”
“I know, but! I will be in another country! Another continent! In the city of love, no less! Won’t you be worried someone will try to sweep me off my feet?” He really hoped he used that phrase well or else his mother would think his four years of college went down the drain.
Akaashi still maintained his smile, “I’m not worried about that. I trust you.”
“I mean! Yes! There’s no way I’m letting myself get swayed by some foreigner! You’re the only one for me, Keiji! But…” He sighed, dejected. “Nevermind.”
“Is there a problem, Koutaro?”
“No, no. I’m just being dumb.”
In truth, in the years he had been dating Akaashi, there had never been a time his boyfriend had turned jealous over anyone. Yes, he loved the fact Akaashi trusted him so much because there was no way he would ever cheat on him or break up with him, but he wanted just a bit of excitement where Akaashi had strong feelings towards their relationship.
But he was just being childish. He loved Akaashi like this, with his full faith on him. There was no way he would ever disappoint him.
Akaashi seemed to want to protest, already knowledgeable of Bokuto’s moods, but Bokuto quickly pressed their lips together and said, “Go home and rest. You have work early tomorrow.”
Akaashi showed that smile that charmed an entire room. God, his boyfriend was so handsome! Bokuto was so lucky!
“Okay. Goodnight, Koutaro. Have a safe trip,” Akaashi said as he stepped out of the car.
Bokuto waved his fingers at him, “Thanks. Goodnight, Keiji.”
When Akaashi was a good distance away, Bokuto slumped his head on the steering wheel, luckily not activating the car horn.
Was it that dumb of him to think so much about something so idiotic?
“Would you two stop bouncing your legs? You’re worse than four year olds.”
“We’re just so excited, Omi-Omi!” Bokuto exclaimed, the bouncing on his leg never stopping.
Atsumu did try to reign his movements. “It’s just– We’re finally going. It feels surreal.”
Sakusa rolled his eyes but didn’t look at him like he was stupid again, as he tended to do when they were together. He understood Atsumu’s feelings as he had watched him work for years just for this moment. He would let him have this moment for the time being.
As soon as their flight arrived, the three of them moved towards the gate.
Atsumu looked everywhere as if he were already in Paris. He was on his way! He was hours away from stepping foot in one of the most famous places in the world!
He could already picture the notebook in his bedroom with a list of the places he wanted to go to, checking ‘Paris - France’ off the list.
(If asked about it by someone, no, he did not have a notebook with a list. He wasn’t a kid, for Christ’s sake.)
As the people passed, there was a woman checking them out and stamping their passports. Sakusa went first, then Bokuto, and finally, Atsumu watched with fascination as a stamp with ‘France’ on it appeared on his passport. Atsumu grabbed it back with adoration.
“Have a nice trip!” The woman said and it was most likely just part of the job to say that, but Atsumu couldn’t care less. He gave his widest smile and thanked her with enthusiasm, making the woman let out a genuine smile.
He moved along the path, up the stairs leading to the inside of the plane and sat beside Sakusa, who was dead set on having the middle seat, prefering to have both his friends on his sides than bump with strangers as they crossed the hallway of the plane. Atsumu wanted the window seat and Bokuto didn’t care, so they reached an agreement rather quickly.
“This is a five hour flight. You two better stay in your best behavior,” Sakusa said before putting on a neck pillow and an eye mask.
Atsumu and Bokuto eyed each other before giggling in silence and deciding to watch ‘Monte Carlo’, one of their favorite movies. And another reason why they chose Paris as Atsumu’s first destination.
Why not Monte Carlo, you ask? Well, because they had already bought the tickets for Paris when Sakusa had pointed out they should have just bought tickets for Monte Carlo if they wanted the ‘Monte Carlo experience’.
No biggie. It would just be another of Atsumu’s destinations for the foreseeable future.
When the three of them debated between going to places on their own and risk the possibility of getting lost or paying for a tour guide that would take them to the most famous places in Paris, the decision was very easy to make.
What they should have considered better was the tour guide they paid for.
It is not like they had many options. They weren’t drowning in money —the plane tickets and the money they would take was a lot already— so the options diminished a great amount. They didn’t think the tour would be that bad no matter which they took so they said ‘fuck it’ and bought the one that entailed places the three of them were interested in visiting.
Wrong, very wrong, decision.
“This woman could make us pass through the fucking Vatican and announce it after we turn a corner,” Sakusa cursed under his breath. Atsumu wondered how the woman would fare after this since Sakusa had already cursed her, her ancestors and her predecessors in twenty different ways.
He would feel bad for the woman if it weren’t for the fact she did make them pass through some famous and historic institutions and told everyone in the bus just in time to see the building moving out of sight. Atsumu, as the son of a single mother, was always on women’s side, but this woman? He wanted her gone. By the expressions on every passenger of the bus, they were of the same mind.
After an entire day of pretending to be happy in pictures and buying souvenirs for his mother and friends from different places he barely had time to check out, they headed to the hotel, thankfully hospitable (Sakusa warned them if they bought a cheap hotel and saw a cockroach roaming around, nobody was coming out alive because he would bomb the building with everybody (himself included) in it). The three of them showered, ate and blacked out in seconds.
The next day was no different and Atsumu was already considering ditching the guide and doing whatever the hell they wanted. But it was easier for him to get lost than to do that, so, no.
They were climbing the stairs rapidly to the Sacre-Coeur when he heard one of his friends tripping behind him. He turned around just in time to see Bokuto holding Sakusa by the armpit and Sakusa, maybe with the way he tripped, was leaning his weight with a hand on a man sitting on the stairs with his friends.
He could see the man’s side profile from this angle, and his back, and Atsumu made a cat call in his mind. The man was handsome and ripped.
It seems Sakusa held the same thoughts since he stared wide-eyed at the man and let out a loud (loud for Sakusa, anyway), “Woah.”
It was obvious why he was woahing.
One of the mysterious man’s friends let out an amused “Oh my god” which was enough to break Sakusa out of his stupor, apologize to the man in his almost fluent English and rush up the steps with Atsumu and Bokuto in tow.
It didn’t even take five seconds for Atsumu to start laughing like a hyena, Bokuto following soon after. Sakusa told them to shut the fuck up but it was in vain, they would tease him for this for the rest of his life.
The matter was soon forgotten as they stepped out of the bus again and saw the Eiffel Tower with their own two eyes. The tour guide said they would have an hour and half to wander around, way more time than any of the places they visited before. It was reasonable with the amount of people around.
They used the time to take pictures in front of the tower, to hear Sakusa complain ten ways to heaven about the rotten smell around here (he was specific about the smell, saying it resembled a pack of rats whose corpses were rotten and becoming one with the ground), and shut him up by climbing up the elevator (waiting more than twenty minutes for it, they should have just taken the stairs) and check the view.
Atsumu forgot about everything and anything as soon as he had the view of Paris in front of him. The buildings in this city left him mesmerized no matter where he looked. He wished he could be here and just—exist. Just for a moment.
“There’s a telescope there!” Bokuto screamed, holding tightly to Atsumu with one arm and pointing to said telescope with the other.
Moment ruined but Atsumu couldn’t be bothered to feel mad. He let out an amused huff and lined up to use the artifact.
After a good twenty minutes, they watched as Sakusa disinfected the telescope before they could use it. The people around (especially the ones in line) looked at them weirdly but Atsumu and Bokuto, already used to it and respectful of Sakusa’s habits, waited patiently and ready to fight anyone who had enough guts to curse them out. Sakusa was doing everyone a favor with this!
Once he deemed it good enough, Bokuto and Atsumu used the telescope to watch silly things, like people having a picnic down the tower (how weren’t they throwing up with the foul smell?), people from other buildings tending their clothes on the verandas or rooftops of their houses, animals passing by, and—
“Omi, ain’t that your guy?”
“I don’t have a guy.”
Bokuto took the telescope, “That is definitely the guy you simped over back in our last stop.”
Sakusa shoved Bokuto out of the way, disinfected the telescope again for good measure, and they watched as Sakusa gasped, realizing the dark green-haired, tall and muscular man from before was one floor below them in the same tower. He didn’t even need the telescope to look over, but his heart wouldn’t permit it.
Another gasp and Sakusa raised his head, “He’s looking this way.”
“What?” Sure enough, when they looked over, the guy was watching them, specifically at Sakusa.
“Is that a smile I’m seeing or are my eyes seeing things?” Atsumu squinted, trying to check if the man was actually smiling since it was hard to tell with just a turn of the lips.
Sakusa was about to retort with whatever that came through his mind when Bokuto pointed down at the sidewalk and asked, “Isn’t that our tour guide? There are people behind her.”
Sakusa took the telescope again and cursed. “They are leaving.”
“What?”
He checked his wrist watch (the only one out of the three of them to own something like that) and cursed louder. “The hour and a half is up.”
They watched, a bit dazed, as Sakusa started hurrying out of the floor, not quite believing what was happening. Sakusa turned around and shouted, “Hurry up!”
They started moving at the sound of his voice. Their steps sounded louder in their ears than the buzz of people around them.
As soon as they reached the elevators they cursed and quickly opted for the stairs that nobody wanted to take. Their breaths grew louder and more labored the more they ran down. Atsumu really wondered if they would be able to catch up.
His question was answered the moment they reached the sidewalk, watching as the tour bus left.
Without them inside.
“What the– fuck?” Atsumu said between breaks to take a deep inhale of breath.
“They really left without us,” Bokuto, the monster, was barely affected by the flight of stairs they just went down from in a hurry.
Atsumu watched the spot the bus left from and wondered if Sakusa would kill him for this. Sakusa did say he would keep a check of the time so this wouldn’t happen but he should have done the same, knowing any of them could get distracted at any moment. He was also the one that had the idea to come, he should have taken more responsibility. He should have—
“Honestly? Good riddance.”
Atsumu turned to watch Sakusa standing straight with both hands on his hip, looking totally unbothered by this turn of events. That was weird. Sakusa loved having at least a bit of control in a situation. There was no reason for Sakusa to be this calm, unless—
“You planned this,” Atsumu breathed out in awe.
At this, Sakusa shrugged. Atsumu was sure he was hiding a smirk under that mask. “I hated the tour. Sorry.” Before either Atsumu or Bokuto could complain (about what exactly? He didn’t know), Sakusa said, “You wanted the ‘Monte Carlo’ experience, right? I’m giving you a piece of it. Besides,” he took his phone out, “we have Google Maps. We can go back to the hotel just fine.” He turned back to the Eiffel Tower, “Let’s go back and buy souvenirs and then we can wander around peacefully.”
Bokuto and Atsumu exchanged a look of absolute bewilderment before breaking out in giggles and following Sakusa.
“Omi-Omi, did ya also summon the rain to give us the ‘Monte Carlo’ experience?”
“I will boil your teeth, Atsumu. Don’t tempt me.”
They bought souvenirs from the Eiffel Tower, they wandered around, ate lots of delicious food, and laughed a lot. They were truly enjoying their time without the annoying tour.
It was on their walk back to the hotel when the rain came upon them, drenching them down to their bones with the amount of water coming down.
Atsumu tried joking about the situation since it resembled the start of the movie he loved but Sakusa was becoming snappier with every minute passing.
He looked at Bokuto while they were running back. They both knew Sakusa would snap a neck or two if they didn’t take a break somewhere they could dry off. Maybe they should pay for another hotel and go back to their own the next morning. There were another three kilometers before they arrived and Sakusa may murder someone in the next. They didn’t want to end up in the French news due to their death or for being accomplices.
Bokuto’s eyes lit up before he pointed towards a fancy entrance with open doors. “Let’s go there!”
“What?” Sakusa’s frown turned towards the hotel. The big, fancy hotel that may cost them their entire lives to pay for one night. “Are you insane?”
“Let’s just stay one night and we’ll go back to our hotel tomorrow,” Bokuto said, his confidence thinning the more Sakusa looked at him.
Atsumu suddenly remember his mother’s words of having fun and he thought fuck it before grabbing Sakusa by his damp shirt and said, “We’ll use the credit card and worry about actually paying later, okay?”
Either Sakusa’s resolve was small-lived or his wanting to get somewhere cozy and warm was bigger than his resolve but, either way, it worked since he was letting himself be dragged by Atsumu, something extremely rare because he barely let anybody touch him.
They went inside the hotel—ignoring the curious stares from the men in fancy servant outfits—and were about to head to the reception but caught sight of a man leaning on it, conversing with a nervous receptionist.
“That seems like it will take a while,” Sakusa sighed, looking in every direction before he walked towards the bathrooms. Bokuto and Atsumu followed, eyeing the decorations around the reception, knowing a night here would cost two of their livers.
Suddenly filled with a need to pee—because, if he thought about it, he hadn’t peed the entire day, too busy admiring everything to use the bathrooms wherever they stopped at—he did the logical thing and went into one of the stalls to pee.
Sakusa was taking his sweet time washing his hands with the nice smelling soap served in the bathroom while Bokuto dried his face with one of the fluffy hand towels on the counter.
If he was being honest with himself, Sakusa had been enraged to the point one of his veins could have popped. He really hated being under the rain since the possibilities of getting sick after being drenched were high. He took great care of his health but sometimes life happened and he got colds just like everybody else. He hated when it happened but he knew it wasn’t something he could avoid in its entirety.
He even had to take off his face mask, one of the things he hated the most.
That is why he had accepted Atsumu and Bokuto’s suggestion to come into this expensive-looking hotel to spend the night. However, the more he looked and calmed down, the more he thought they should just bolt it and go back under the rain to finish the last stretch of kilometers to get back to their own hotel, where their dried clothes were waiting.
The change of clothes was the most important reason as to why he wanted to get back. He didn’t want to sleep with his drenched clothes nor was he sleeping in boxers with his two friends, as thick as thieves as they were.
With that resolve, he was about to tell them that he was okay now, they could go back to their hotel while finishing his rinsing with his hands.
His mouth had already opened when a voice coming from the bathroom door came close, announcing the arrival of another man.
“Can you believe that guy?” The man hissed. Sakusa peeked for a second through the reflection of the mirror and noticed the man was talking on the phone and, going by the clothes, it was the man that had been making the receptionist nervous. “We haven’t received any package yet,” he repeated somebody’s (the receptionist?) words in a mocking tone, moving towards the only sink left to wash his hands—in between Bokuto and Sakusa, “I have to put up with all this bullshit and I don’t even have my itinerary mailed to me in time? What a fucking joke.”
As the man talked, both Sakusa and Bokuto glanced at each other through the mirror with a wow this man is rude as fuck expression before looking at the man.
Both of them stilled at the same time, their eyes widening a concerning amount.
This man— No. It can’t be.
There was just no way.
The man kept talking with this annoying, regal tone, “Fuck no, I’m not staying here. I–” At that moment, he noticed both of their eyes on him and Sakusa and Bokuto looked away, acting as if they hadn’t been observing the man in absolute shock just now.
Thankfully, the man let it go and kept talking—with a much calmer tone—as he dried his hands—making Bokuto move away so he could reach for the towels, “No, I’ll go to you. You’re in Turkey, right? It may take some time since it seems to be raining.” He made eye contact with both of them, making Sakusa shiver due to the uncanny resemblance. “Quite hard.”
With that, the man was out the door and gone, leaving Sakusa and Bokuto to stand there, stupefied.
At that moment, Atsumu decided to come out from the stall. “Who the hell was that dude? I know I’m an asshole but damn if he ain’t worse.”
He was about to wash his hands but Bokuto didn’t give him a chance. He was instantly handled to turn this way and that.
“They’re the same,” Bokuto breathed out, shock evident in his voice.
“What?” Atsumu looked both annoyed and confused with the sudden manhandling.
Sakusa grabbed his face, turning it both sides in front of the mirror to look at him the same way they viewed the man from just now.
“They’re the same,” he repeated with Bokuto’s same tone.
“Tsum-Tsum, you look just like the man from just now!”
“Fuck no, I don’t!”
“You didn’t even see him,” Sakusa pointed out, still holding Atsumu’s chin. “Talk with the same tone he did. And wash your hands,” he ordered before finally letting him go.
Still annoyed but mostly surprised and confused by now, Atsumu threw out anything that came to mind while washing his hands, “Those idiots dared to refuse me, can you believe it? I’m gonna call my father and tell him about this.”
“You sound just like him,” Bokuto shook his head in absolute awe. Sakusa could relate.
“I can’t believe there’s another copy of you. At least you’re not that much of a brat or I would’ve socked you one by now.”
“As if ya hadn’t hit me before,” Atsumu retorted, to which Sakusa shrugged, acting innocent. They walked out of the bathroom as Atsumu talked. “Anyway, Bokkun, yer an amazing actor. I knew ‘bout Omi-Omi but I didn’t know ya had it in yerself!”
“Uh?” Bokuto tilted his head in confusion, “What are you talking about?”
“Ya can drop the act,” Atsumu said, an amused and fond smile on his face, “I know ya did it to continue this whole ‘Monte Carlo Experience’ shit going on,” he finished, moving his fingers in a connotation gesture.
Oh my fucking God, Sakusa thought.
It was Atsumu and Bokuto’s favorite movie, but because it was their favorite movie and he was (unwillingly) friends with these two, Sakusa also watched the movie an abnormal amount. He knew it down to the T like these two.
This really was resembling that goddamn movie.
“Tsum-Tsum, I wasn’t—”
Bokuto was interrupted by the hotel’s receptionist who had just been drilled by Atsumu’s clone, going up in front of Atsumu and saying, with a satisfied smile on his face, “Mister Osamu, your package is getting tracked but your room is ready. If you would let us guide you there.”
Down a terrifying degree.