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When Niki first heard that he was assigned to help out with a collaborative event at a local diner for the new year, he couldn’t have been more on board. He loved it when his idol work occasionally intersected with his expertise in food service, things were always easier and more enjoyable that way. Hell, he wished that was the only type of work that got thrown at him, but some was better than none. It wasn’t until he actually got around to reading the brief that his heart dropped like a stone.
“Uh, Deputy Director,” Niki began hesitantly, clearing his throat as he approached Ibara’s desk during his lunch break. “These outfit designs, are they like… finalized?”
Ibara looked up from the mountain of paperwork she was currently glaring at, flicking her eyes up at him over the frames of her glasses like he was a particularly bothersome gnat. “Yes, otherwise they wouldn’t be in the brief,” she said like it was obvious. “Why, are they not to your liking?”
“It’s not that exactly!” Niki fought to keep his voice from cracking and making this more awkward than it needed to be. “It’s just, well they don’t seem entirely, um, practical.”
Ibara sighed. She pushed her rolling chair away from her desk and crossed her legs brusquely, giving him her full attention. “Listen, I understand that you’re used to a more utilitarian approach to food service, but this is the idol industry. Nothing we do is utilitarian — and I should know, because I have to do all the budgeting for it.”
“I get it, really, and I’m not saying the outfits are bad or that I dislike them or anything!” Niki backpedaled, not wanting to stir the pot too much. “I'm just wondering why you assigned me to do this specifically.”
Ibara blinked at him, looking puzzled now. “You’re asking why I assigned you to work a diner-themed event?”
“Okay when you say it like that it sounds a little silly,” Niki sighed. “I guess I’m just sort of hung up on the clothing choice. I’m not used to wearing stuff that’s so… suggestive.”
“Well, welcome to entertainment. This likely won’t be the last time it happens either, so I’d recommend that you get used to it.” With that, Ibara turned back to her desk and resumed pouring over the array of documents in front of her, signaling that this conversation was now over.
Niki understood this, yet he couldn’t bring himself to just walk away like they’d accomplished something here. Ibara glanced over at him and her expression shifted slightly, like she was mulling something over. She sighed again and finally spoke.
“I’m not one to get sentimental, but I understand how you’re feeling,” she said, taking off her glasses to pinch the bridge of her nose. She put them back on and leveled her gaze with his, her formerly stony expression having softened into something that Niki couldn’t quite place.
“Self-image can be a difficult hurdle to overcome, I know, but it’s necessary to start somewhere. Think of it as a lesson in confidence. In fact, your unitmate HiMERU is on this assignment as well — it might benefit you to speak with him about it.”
“Yeah, maybe,” Niki agreed. “Thanks, Deputy Director. I’ll get out of your hair now.”
“All part of the job,” she muttered, returning to the stacks of work still on her desk. “For what it’s worth, I don’t regret putting you on this project. I know you won’t let me down.”
Niki just hoped that her confidence wasn’t misplaced.
_____
“... And she kinda brushed me off at first, but then she told me to talk to you since “sexy” is sort of your whole brand, y’know? I dunno, I just feel like I’m the only person with hang ups about this and it’s making me feel crazy and unqualified, not to mention I’m probably holding everyone back by being such a downer —”
“You’re rambling again,” HiMERU interrupted as he flipped through his magazine.
“Then say something!” countered Niki.
“Okay, is this all you came over here for?”
“You could be a little nicer about it,” Niki muttered under his breath. He was currently sitting on the sofa in HiMERU’s dorm, staring up at the ceiling with his arms folded in frustration. “Yes, this is what I came over for. Not that I don’t absolutely love your company or anything, but more importantly I need your help.”
“You’re asking the wrong person in that case,” another voice chirped.
Arashi was home tonight and had decided to give both HiMERU and herself manicures, working on one of HiMERU’s hands while his other flipped idly through a clothing magazine, making notes on the pages. The lucky, blue-haired bastard was ambidextrous, so he could continue with his notetaking no matter what hand Arashi was working on. Niki absolutely wasn’t jealous of this fact.
“What would you suggest?” he asked her as she filed one of HiMERU’s nails, blowing on it.
“First of all, what’s the outfit like? HiMERU hasn’t shown me the brief because he’s stingy.”
“HiMERU isn’t being stingy, he’s just not allowed to show you,” HiMERU butted in.
“Fine, HiMERU hasn’t shown me the brief because he’s a goody-two-shoes,” Arashi amended.
Niki hummed, thinking. “Well… it’s kind of a form-fitting butler outfit, but with playboy bunny accents. So like ears and a tail and stuff. Also there are these heeled shoes, not super tall, but they’re definitely heels. And the waistcoat shows some cleavage.”
“Cute,” commented Arashi. “What part of it makes it uncomfortable to wear?”
“That’s the thing. I haven’t tried it on yet, I’ve just seen pictures.”
“So how do you know you won’t like it?” she asked, carefully applying a top coat to HiMERU’s nails.
“I guess I don’t really know?” Niki pondered. “It’s just way more, y’know, bold than I’ve ever gone with clothing before. I don’t do classy and seductive stuff like HiMERU does.”
“Playboy doesn’t necessarily have to be classy or seductive, you could always go for a cuter look,” suggested Arashi, smiling up at him. “I’ve learned that it’s all about how you carry yourself. You don’t need to emulate someone else’s style to make it work, they picked you for a reason after all.”
“I think they just picked me ‘cause I’m good at customer service,” Niki mumbled. “Between two members of Undead and Mr. Sexy Solo Idol over here I can’t help but feel like I’ll look out of place. I’m literally just a guy.”
“Oh nonsense,” scoffed Arashi. “Which Undead members are joining you anyway?”
“Sakuma-san and Kaoru, from what I understand.”
Her eyebrows raised. “Kaoru-chan’s gonna be there? In that case you absolutely don’t need to worry, he’s way more likely to fuck up this job than you are.”
Niki furrowed his brows, looking over at her again. “What, why? I thought sexy was Kaoru’s whole thing.”
“He’d like to think so, but he’s way less of a ham than he makes himself out to be. Classic case of being able to dish it out but not being able to take it when it’s thrown right back at him. Someone will tease him and he’ll drop a glass or something, I’m calling it.”
“And that someone will probably be Sakuma,” HiMERU added.
“Oh totally,” agreed Arashi. “You’ve got nothing to worry about.”
Niki made a long, unsure noise. “I don’t necessarily think so. Also he’s my friend, so it’s not like I want him to fuck up just so I look better in comparison.”
“Have you talked with him about the project at all?” Arashi asked.
“No, not yet. I should though,” admitted Niki. “It sounds like he’d at least be able to relate a little, unlike somebody.”
HiMERU looked at him, raising an eyebrow. Niki rolled his eyes.
“You literally asked me what I was doing here and then sat on your ass getting your nails done while offering little to no input. Arashi’s been doing all the legwork.”
“Real recognizes real,” Arashi replied, blowing her bangs out of her face as she continued to work on HiMERU’s nails. “Unlike this fake bitch over here.”
“Exactly!”
“Are you two finished badmouthing HiMERU in his own home?”
_____
Niki messaged Kaoru that evening and they both agreed to meet for lunch the next day since Niki wasn’t scheduled to work. The two of them convened at Café COCHI, Niki bustling in and brushing the light dusting of snow off his shoulders since they’d gotten a small flurry that morning. Kaoru was already there, waving at him from a table next to the window.
“Long time no see!” Kaoru’s familiar voice chimed. “I swear you’re so busy nowadays I can’t remember the last time we got to chat outside of work.”
“Right?” agreed Niki, taking off his coat and sitting down. “That’s partially on me for hardly ever reaching out, sorry.”
“Hey, no worries. I also ordered before you got here, so I hope you don’t mind.”
“Nah,” Niki said, waving a hand. “I figured you’d beat me here. I would’ve suggested somewhere closer like Cinnamon, but I’m there almost every day so I thought a change of scenery would be better.”
“I get it,” Kaoru nodded. “During my last year of school I got so sick of working shifts and rehearsals at my family’s live house that I took a few months off after graduating. The place felt almost claustrophobic after a while, it was weird.”
Niki raised his eyebrows. “Huh, I didn’t know your family ran a venue. You should show me sometime.”
“Gladly,” Kaoru grinned. “But more importantly, you wanted to talk about that upcoming New Year’s event we’re both doing, right?”
“Oh, right,” Niki reached into his tote bag and pulled out a folder with the brief inside, staring at it. “This is gonna sound stupid, but I don’t know why they picked me for this job. I’m wondering if I shouldn’t pass it along to someone more qualified.”
Kaoru’s face morphed into almost the exact same perplexed expression that Ibara’s had, tipping his head. “It's a retro-themed diner, you’re telling me that’s unappealing to you?”
“Not the diner part! The uniforms, you haven’t seen them?”
“Ohhh right,” Kaoru looked down and scratched the back of his head. “Yeah they’re a lot, but I’m trying not to let it get to me. I’ve worn more provocative stuff as a joke before, anyway.”
“Sure, but I feel like it’s different if it’s for a joke,” insisted Niki. “This is like a maid café type of event, except we’re supposed to be sexy playboy butler bunnies or something? That sounded ridiculous coming out of my mouth.”
Kaoru laughed. “It is ridiculous, but that doesn’t mean it’s bad. Who knows, once you try it on you might change your tune.”
Niki hummed, sliding the brief out and flipping through it for the millionth time. “Have you tried on yours yet?”
“Not yet. If I had to guess, they’ll probably get them to us next week.”
Kaoru sounded surprisingly unaffected by the entire thing like it was just another job for him, which it probably was. Figured that he wasn’t the same type of self-conscious wreck as Niki… maybe he really was overreacting to this whole thing.
Niki stared at the pages again. Just suck it up already, it’s only for one night, he thought to himself.
Kaoru noticed the shift in his demeanor, emotionally perceptive as he was. It was part of the reason they continued to get along so well after their shuffle project ended, but occasionally Niki forgot just now attuned Kaoru was to the feelings of others.
“You still look bothered,” the blond noted. “What’s really got you so stressed?”
Niki groaned, laying his forehead on the table in frustration. “It’s silly.”
“This whole project is silly, shoot.”
“It’s just…” Niki hesitated. “The idea of dressing like this next to three of the hottest people in ES for a whole evening makes me feel… weird. Like I’m not supposed to be there.”
“I’ll choose to take that as a compliment, but respectfully, what the hell are you talking about?”
Niki looked up. “What do you mean? You guys are like, actual idols, I’m just there ‘cause they needed someone with real experience in food service. No offense.”
“Only you would think that’s insulting,” Kaoru said exasperatedly. “Niki, I don’t know how else to tell you this, but you’re one of the few people who’s actually fully qualified for this job. The rest of us were chosen just ‘cause we’re nice to look at, but you’ve got the double threat of being nice to look at AND competent at a normal job.”
“What? You guys are plenty competent,” Niki fretted.
“I mean sure, enough to get the job done — but this is like your passion, dude. And stop acting like you’re some kind of plain jane, you wouldn’t have made it this far if you were.”
Niki frowned at him.
“I’m serious,” Kaoru insisted. “You’re a bombshell. Say it.”
“I’m not saying that,” Niki deadpanned.
“Manifest with me, c’mon,” Kaoru leaned over and placed both his hands on the table, palms up. “Here, we’ll say it together. Hold my hands.”
“Kaoru, I am not doing any weird manifestation chants with you in public. Also I think your drink’s coming.”
Kaoru blinked, watching as a waitress approached them and set his matcha latte down on the table. She smiled awkwardly at them. “Um, is there anything else I can get you?”
“I’ll have one of the same,” Niki chirped, smiling up at her and resisting the urge to swat Kaoru over the head with his folder. She nodded and walked off.
“Sit back up, you’re embarrassing us.”
Kaoru cleared his throat and straightened up, sipping his latte. He hummed, eyeballing it afterward. “Damn this is good, typically I just get coffee.”
Niki sighed laboriously, slumping down in his seat. “Well, I appreciate the pep talk. Honestly I’m just glad you’re gonna be there with me.”
“Me too!” Kaoru beamed. “It’ll be a nice break from how much Rei’s probably gonna bother me. He’s only a year older, but he acts like such a perverted geezer sometimes. I should start carrying a spray bottle on me or something.”
Niki laughed. “Oh yeah, I know once Rinne finds out about this I’ll probably have to fight to keep him off my heels all evening.”
“Hey, that's the spirit. Here’s to being sexually harassed by our unit leaders while on the job.”
“Hear, hear.”
_____
Soon enough, the cat was out of the bag about the diner job and Rinne was sure to give Niki an earful about the lack of advance notice only a day before the event.
He, Niki, and Hinata were all in the dorm kitchen that evening. Niki had been showing Hinata how to make inarizushi and they were just finishing cleaning up when Rinne barged in and made himself at home, sitting on the counter next to the sink and being a pest as per usual.
“Why didn’t you tell me you were working on New Year’s Eveeee?” he whined.
“It’s not like I’m working all night, just until 10. I didn’t even know you had anything planned,” Niki replied, elbowing his way past Rinne to place a pan up on a rack to dry. “Since we aren’t doing SS this year I figured that we’re free to do whatever. Besides, it’s technically an assignment. Didn’t Ibara run it by you?”
“You know she hates talking to me,” pouted Rinne. “Guess she doesn’t think I need to know if I’m not on the project.”
Hinata snickered as he put the remaining rice back in the fridge. “She probably didn’t tell you ‘cause she knows you call her “little miss viper” behind her back. You know how much she hates nicknames.”
“Oh, and who could’ve told her about that?” Rinne inquired sarcastically, throwing a sardonic look at the older twin. “One of her minions probably tipped her off — not that you’d know anything about that, I’m sure.”
Hinata mimed zipping his lips shut and locking them, throwing away the imaginary key as he shrugged. “No clue.”
Niki exhaled amusedly, untying his apron. “Either way, you can visit if you want, it’s not like they’ll kick you out just for showing up. Unless you act like a menace, in which case I’ll throw you out myself.”
“Wouldn’t dream of it,” Rinne held his hands up innocently. “I only asked ‘cause Kohaku texted the group chat saying Madara’s throwing this huge New Year’s party tomorrow night and apparently tons of people are gonna be there. I was gonna ask you to make jello shots.”
Niki squinted at him as he hung the apron up. “Aren’t there gonna be people under 20 there? Like… a lot of people under 20?”
“They don’t have to be alcoholic shots,” countered Rinne.
“Then they wouldn’t really be shots,” Hinata butted in. “They’d just be jello.”
Rinne threw his hands up. “Man, whatever! It felt like a good idea at the time.”
“If you want them so bad then just make them yourself. They aren’t that hard, you could even get your roommates to help out,” suggested Niki.
“Or me!” offered Hinata.
“Only if they’re non-alcoholic,” Niki warned them both.
“Isn’t there some sort of law that says it’s not technically underage drinking if there are adults around?” Hinata asked.
Niki snorted. “Not unless Rinne happens to be your dad, but last time I checked he definitely isn’t.”
“I might be,” said Rinne. “We’re both redheads, so it’s possible.”
Niki rolled his eyes, leaning against the counter. “Barely. Also I don’t remember giving birth to him or Yuta for that matter, so in that case you’ve got some explaining to do.”
“The Deputy Director cloned us in a lab,” said Hinata. “Rinne-senpai sneezed into a petri dish and we happened. Sorry we didn’t tell you.”
Niki laughed. “You joke, but keep doing her bidding and she might actually try cloning you two at some point. God knows you’re practically the only ones in our agency that listen to her.”
Hinata pondered this idea seriously. “Hmm… we’d have to change our unit name to 24wink or something like that.”
Rinne snapped his fingers, straightening up suddenly. “No wait — 2wink-182, like Blink-182.”
Niki shuddered at the image. “Hinata you know I adore you, but I don’t think I could handle 182 of you, sorry.”
“Actually there’d only be 91 of me, so you’d be in luck.”
“Oh, perfect. Yeah lemme just put 90 more beds in our dorm, no problem,” chuckled Niki. “Anyway it’s getting late so I’m turning in. I’ll see you two later.”
“I promise to come over and harass you before the party tomorrow, love youuu~” Rinne called after him in a singsong voice.
Niki flipped him off halfheartedly as he headed upstairs.
_____
Walking into the diner, Rinne expected the typical New Year’s fanfare from a venue so small. Maybe some flashy costumes, special menu items, and other general things you’d expect from the average idol pop-up event.
What he wasn't expecting, however, was to get an eyeful of Niki’s best assets as soon as he walked through the door. Why did nobody mention that there was a sexy angle to this whole thing?! You’d think they’d lead with that! He severely underestimated how tempted he’d be to just skip most of the party altogether and stay here only to catch a few more glimpses of Niki ducking in and out of the kitchen, unaware of how shamelessly Rinne eyed him up.
Bunny ears that bounced as Niki walked. A tapered waistcoat and cropped jacket that showed off his natural curves. The barest hint of cleavage underneath his collar and a sliver of his bare waist that was visible from the sides. Skin-tight gloves that fit him perfectly, accentuating his dexterity as he circled the room, passing out fizzy drinks in tall champagne flutes. He adeptly handled them by their stems and offered them to patrons, complete with that disarmingly charming smile of his. Ghh…
Suddenly Niki turned on his heel and Rinne noticed the little bunny tail fastened right above his coattails that swayed with each step. Okay. Alright. Cool, cool, cool. He was going to behave completely normally and respectably despite how badly he wanted to whisk Niki away into the bathroom and —
“Amagi?”
He flinched, head whipping toward the familiar voice. It was HiMERU, decked out in exactly the same getup. He looked mildly displeased yet unsurprised to see Rinne here.
“Meru,” Rinne began in a hushed voice, “Why did nobody mention that you’d all be dressed as freaking playboy bunnies?”
“Probably because of how embarrassing it is to be seen like this,” HiMERU replied, not sounding embarrassed in the slightest. “HiMERU assumed you came here to poke fun at us for that very reason.”
Rinne shook his head. “Nah, I’m just here to annoy Niki for a bit, but now I think I gotta stick around.”
“Just don’t bother any of the other patrons.” HiMERU gave him a slightly withering look, clearly used to his antics but not any more tolerant of them. “The last thing this place needs is a repeat performance of what happened during the SS qualifiers.”
“I’ll keep my hands to myself! Honest!”
Rinne then caught a glimpse of Niki accidentally dropping a few coins in tips as he bent over to pick them up, accentuating the shapely fit of his outfit.
Rinne swallowed so hard it almost felt audible, clearing his throat awkwardly. “Well, ok. I’ll keep them to myself within eyeshot of anyone important, at least.”
HiMERU rolled his eyes and pulled a notepad and pen out of his jacket, clicking it. “HiMERU has tables to wait. He won’t hesitate to toss you out if you push your luck.” With that, he sauntered away.
Rinne decided it was probably a good time to step out from his very inconspicuous hiding spot in the doorway before anyone could bump into him. He strode into the diner in a way he hoped looked like he owned the place and not like he had some kind of metal rod shoved halfway up his ass. It ended up looking more like the latter when he almost bumped into Niki, currently on his way to replenish his drink supply.
“Gah — Rinne!” Niki yelped, stumbling back and stamping his heel on the ground with a pronounced click. “You’re lucky this tray is empty, I could’ve spilled all over you!”
Rinne tried not to get too distracted by the fact that Niki's heels were tall enough for him to stand at perfect eye-level with Rinne. There wasn’t an enormous height difference between them, but it was enough to notice its absence. He attempted not to let this show on his face, opting instead to just stand there silently and stare at Niki like an idiot.
Niki tipped his head quizzically. “Rinne…? You okay?” he asked, a tinge of concern tinting his voice.
“Fine,” said Rinne, voice cracking. He winced. Shit.
Niki looked unconvinced. “You look like you have a stomach ache or something. I know city food doesn’t always agree with you, I can get you a seltzer or something —”
“No, uh. I’m fine, really,” Rinne interrupted, clearing his throat again. “You look good.”
Oh, great. Way to make it subtle, Amagi. He inwardly chastised himself and did his best to keep a poker face.
Niki unfortunately seemed to catch on to what was happening. The realization gradually dawned and he gave a demure smile, knowing exactly what he was doing. “Is that so? Why thank you. I’d offer you a drink, but I’m fresh out.”
“Shame,” Rinne remarked. He shoved his hands in his pockets just to give them something to do. “I should probably let you get back to that.”
“Probably,” Niki smirked. “As much as I’d like to, I can’t show you the bells and whistles of this outfit ‘til I’m finished here.”
“Guess I’ll just have to make do with sitting back and watching for now,” said Rinne. His voice was deceptively casual but his gaze was charged with heat. Niki gave a nervous chuckle and swallowed dryly.
“Well, duty calls,” said Niki as he forced himself to head back for refills, palms sweaty underneath his tailored gloves.
He knew he’d be distracted for the rest of the evening, and distracted he was.
Rinne kept to one of the corner booths and Niki felt eyes on his back (and other areas, let’s be honest) for the rest of his shift. If it were anyone else he would’ve felt unbearably self-conscious and possibly even a little freaked out, but instead Niki discovered not only how much he didn’t mind, but how much he liked it.
Niki had no clue where this change of heart came from. First he didn’t want to be looked at, period, and now his skin stirred with heat anytime he noticed Rinne making eyes at him. He didn’t know why he suddenly found this so hot… it gave the foreboding feeling that someone was watching him, but with the knowledge that it was his boyfriend mentally undressing him instead of some nefarious stranger trying to corner him after his shift.
Every time Niki glanced into the corner, Rinne was still there. Sometimes chatting with others, sometimes alone, but always there. A few times he even returned Niki’s glance and winked. Niki huffed and turned away each time, his face a little redder than before.
Finally, things hit a lull during the latter half of Niki’s shift. Activity was sparser than before and most of the patrons were busy eating and weren’t paying much attention to anything other than their meal and their company. Niki sighed, leaning against the wall next to the kitchen. He had a perfect view of Rinne’s seat from here; Rinne had only ordered a single cup of coffee that he’d been steadily sipping on throughout the evening so he couldn’t technically be accused of loitering.
A sudden pat on the shoulder snapped Niki out of his daze. He could hear Kaoru’s snicker beside him.
“It’s not like you to be so out of it while waiting tables,” the blond commented with a smile. “Normal idol stuff I can understand, but isn’t this supposed to be your area of expertise?”
“Oh, Kaoru,” noted Niki. “Sorry if I’ve been a little distracted, how are you holding up?”
“I’m alright, I’m more worried about you,” Kaoru’s soft gray eyes were tinted with concern. “I called your name earlier but I guess you didn’t hear me. Your head’s been in the clouds all evening, what gives?”
Ah, of course. Niki wasn’t surprised that Kaoru was the first to notice, or at least the first to speak up about it. He flashed Kaoru an embarrassed smile in an attempt to ease his worries.
“It’s not a big deal, honest. Rinne just commented on the outfit earlier and I can’t stop thinking about it.”
“Ahhh yeah, figures he’d say something,” Kaoru sighed, scratching underneath his headband with a grimace. “Rei would give me an earful too if he weren’t in the exact same getup. It’s freaking shameless, but what can you do?”
Niki chuckled anxiously. Kaoru seemed so comfortable right now that it only made his own self-awareness stick out like a sore thumb.
“You’ve been in this business far longer than I have; I guess I’m still getting used to the attention,” remarked Niki.
“Better get used to it quicker, looks like lover boy’s got his eye on you.” Kaoru grinned and nudged him with an elbow, nodding at Rinne’s table. Niki glanced over.
Rinne was leering at him from over the rim of his mug, making eye contact as he slowly finished his drink. He set the mug down with a clink that felt audible from across the room, causing sweat to bead along Niki’s spine. He shifted his weight and hugged his drink tray tighter against his torso, heels clicking mutedly. The air across the diner felt electric.
“I’ll cover for you,” Kaoru whispered over to him.
Niki turned to him abruptly, gripping the tray even harder. “What? No!” he loudly whispered back.
The blond snorted. “What, you never have a little fun on the job?”
“Of course I don’t!” Niki’s blush extended to his ears. “Who do you think I am?!”
“An idol, same as me,” replied Kaoru, unconcerned. “Listen, we all do it from time to time. Besides, I owe you for that restaurant recommendation you gave me a few weeks ago. Just think of it as cashing in a favor.”
Niki had to keep himself from sputtering, looking over at Rinne again.
The redhead wiggled his eyebrows in response.
Niki’s flush grew deeper. Fuck it, now was the time to make his move. He sighed and gave Kaoru a grateful look before striding over, heels clicking against the tiled floor.
“Hey,” said Niki as casually as he could.
Rinne looked up at him, grinning like he hadn’t been making eyes at him for the entire evening. “Heya,” he greeted. “How goes it?”
“A little wiped, but good. Just wanted to see if you needed a refill before making the rounds again.”
Rinne reclined in his seat nonchalantly. “Well, I appreciate it. You’ve been so damn busy that I feel like chopped liver over here.”
Niki rolled his eyes, snorting. “I have customers other than you, you know.”
“I know,” Rinne’s grin returned. “Anyway, I shouldn’t have any more coffee. It’s getting late enough that I’ll have trouble sleeping if I do.”
Niki hummed. That’s not the only reason you’ll have trouble sleeping tonight, he thought before quickly snapping out of that thought and thinking instead, What the hell? Chill.
Feeling like half the eyes in the room were on them although he knew that was impossible, Niki cleared his throat instead of blurting out that depravity. “Wouldn’t want that,” he remarked. “Today’s been busy enough that I’ll sleep like a rock — I still need to take inventory after we close up shop too.”
“Aww, sounds rough,” Rinne’s voice oozed with false sympathy. Niki saw an opening and took it.
“Oh it is,” he agreed somberly. “Actually, I could really use some help.”
Rinne’s eyebrows shot up. First came the hook, then came the line.
Niki glanced shyly off to the side, pretending to look contemplative. “I need to run to the break room for something really quick, but everything back there is so disorganized… maybe you could help me look for it?”
Rinne would be lying if he said that wasn’t the least subtle invitation he’d ever received. He gripped the handle of his mug with white knuckles.
“S-sure,” he couldn’t entirely disguise his stutter.
Sinker.
Niki flashed him a bright smile and leaned closer. Rinne’s eyes predictably flicked toward his cleavage before making eye contact. Niki really needed to see if they’d let him keep this outfit.
“In that case, wait here for five more minutes and then walk down the hallway with the bathrooms, but enter through the employee door at the very back. I’ll make sure it’s unlocked and nobody’s in there,” Niki said in a hushed voice. He straightened back up and turned away, winking over his shoulder as he left.
Rinne felt like he could’ve spontaneously combusted had it been possible. Still visibly flushed from Niki’s forwardness, he gulped to ease the dryness in his throat. Rinne caught sight of Kaoru as he watched Niki retreat down the hall and the blond gave him a double thumbs-up that was way too enthusiastic to be subtle.
Rinne put his head in his hands, far too flustered by the entire situation despite initiating the whole thing.
He kept an eye on his watch, those five minutes inching by for an eternity. Finally the time came and he placed his change on the table, rolling up his sleeves and marching toward the back room like he was going to war.
Kaoru passed by him on his way there. “Have fun,” he said with a smirk.
“Shut up,” Rinne shot back, his face still feeling like it was on fire as he kept walking. He followed the instructions he was given and pushed through the employee door, stepping into a medium-sized staff room.
Most of the room was occupied by a table and a few chairs, as well as some lockers and even a sink with a mirror along the wall. The rest of the room seemed to be used for storage, all its shelving piled high with various stock and other items in relative disarray. Niki hadn’t entirely been lying when he said this place was disorganized. Lastly, there was a small office in the very back, but the door appeared to be locked tight and the light was off. Nobody was home right now, thankfully.
And speaking of Niki, Rinne found him leaning against the opposite wall next to an open door, which appeared to be a supply closet. True to his word, there was nobody else in here... well, for now at least. Rinne approached him slowly, sauntering his way across the room.
“I’m pretty sure it’s in here,” said Niki, gesturing into the closet with his chin. He was still keeping up the act although they both knew it was a flimsy charade just to get in each other’s pants. Rinne wouldn’t have it any other way. He let Niki usher him into the tiny space and close the door, locking them both inside.
“Was there really nowhere better to do this?” Rinne grunted, bumping into something behind him.
“Not unless you want someone to walk in on us,” huffed Niki. “Just push some stuff to the side and make some room, you aren’t making it any messier.”
Rinne shoved some brooms and mops into the corner and pulled on the cord dangling above them. A tiny ceiling light flickered to life, bathing them both in a dim, incandescent glow. The space was tiny, yet just big enough for them to move around somewhat comfortably in. Rinne let his gaze run down the length of Niki’s body, taking in the sight.
Niki on the other hand, flushed profusely at the keen attention. He squirmed as Rinne’s hands followed his gaze, smoothing over his subtle curves. “You’re making it awkward,” Niki complained, finding it difficult not to writhe under Rinne’s touch.
Rinne’s fingers hooked themselves under Niki’s waistband. “These are way too tight for me to do much of anything while they’re still on,” he murmured. “Pretty as they are, you’ll need to take ‘em off.”
Niki shuddered as the form-fitting dress pants made their way down his legs, practically peeling off of him. He stepped out of them along with his shoes.
Rinne draped Niki’s pants over a nearby box and kicked the shoes off to the side for now. He finally took the opportunity to grope Niki’s ass and gaze down at his sleek, black boxer briefs and bare legs and holy shit were those —
“Sock garters?” Rinne said in a hushed voice like he’d just found the holy grail.
“They came with the whole thing,” breathed Niki. Two black, elastic straps hugged his legs right under his knees and held up a pair of equally elegant looking black socks. “I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t thought about you taking them off me.”
“Hon, you’re crazy if you think I’m taking those off. They look so good on you,” Rinne kissed up Niki’s carotid artery and towards his jaw, barely maintaining the fragile illusion of patience as he squeezed persistently at Niki’s ass. “Too good, even. Makes me wanna skip to the good part already.”
“And what part is that?”
“The part where I fuck you so hard it leaves dents in the door.”
Niki made a quiet, hoarse noise and his arms slid over Rinne’s shoulders, his hands clawing into the feathery strands on the back of his head. He pulled, making Rinne groan.
“I’m amenable to that,” Niki murmured.
“First things first though, I gotta show my appreciation,” Rinne said as he pulled himself out of Niki’s grasp and lowered himself onto his knees, hooking a finger under one of the garter straps and plucking at it. It snapped loudly against Niki’s leg, deafening in the small space. Niki whimpered in a far more pathetic way than he was willing to admit.
Rinne tugged down Niki’s boxer briefs and slipped those off as well, tossing them next to his dress pants. Without hesitation, his mouth gravitated towards Niki’s pussy as if drawn there by a magnet.
Niki gasped once Rinne made contact, one of his hands immediately gripping Rinne’s mop of hair and tugging at it.
Rinne began licking and sucking at Niki’s core, breath hissing inward as he appreciated Niki’s natural musk. Niki was a bit sweaty from being on his feet for several hours and Rinne found that more than a little hot, loathe as he was to admit it.
While this was happening, Niki felt a tiny, hard presence flick repeatedly against his clit and he inhaled sharply. Oh god. He was still getting used to it since it healed a couple weeks ago, but Rinne’s tongue piercing was seriously chipping away at his stamina.
Niki tried to do anything short of hyperventilating when the tiny silver ball came into contact with his clit again, teasing along the seam of his hood and nearly slipping underneath it. His head fell back against the door with an embarrassing thunk and he let out a desperate moan when the tip of Rinne’s tongue ran along the sensitive underside of his clit, teasing roughly at his tip before sucking the whole thing into his mouth.
Niki’s free hand scrabbled uselessly against the door’s metal surface as he leaned his weight against it, doing his best to remain standing and not allow his legs to fold from the overwhelming pleasure. His thighs began to tremble. That piercing was the single best decision of Rinne’s life as far as Niki was concerned.
The next time he felt it flick against him, both hands fisted into Rinne’s hair and held him there, preventing him from coming up for air — not that Rinne minded in the slightest. He moaned contentedly and gripped Niki’s waist tighter, more than happy to smother himself in Niki’s cunt.
The vibrations transferred through the tiny piece of metal were driving Niki absolutely insane; his hips twitched violently in Rinne’s grasp.
“Inside,” he panted. “Something inside, now. Fingers, cock, whatever.”
“Don’t wanna come on my tongue first?” Rinne’s voice was muffled against him. It made Niki whine in a mortifyingly desperate way, voice cracking slightly.
“Can’t decide,” he whimpered, baring his neck although Rinne couldn’t get to it from where he was. “Too much...”
“I know we gotta make this quick, but I bet you can gimme two,” said Rinne huskily. His thumbs ran encouragingly along the divots of Niki’s hip bones, lapping incessantly at his clit with full-bodied licks and catching that piercing on him over and over… that pretty much did him in.
Niki gave a high-pitched gasp and his legs shuddered through waves of spasms, hips grinding against Rinne’s tongue. He always came embarrassingly quick from oral, but now he’d probably start cumming even quicker due to the piercing. Niki couldn’t decide whether this was good or bad.
Rinne’s rough lapping and sucking shot uncomfortable bolts of electricity up Niki’s spine after a certain point and he shoved Rinne away once he tipped into oversensitivity.
“Guh…” panted Niki.
“You need a minute?” breathed Rinne. He leaned back and wiped his mouth, breaking the string of slick that connected them. Niki swallowed at the sight.
“Not long, I’d imagine,” he panted quietly, eyes lingering on Rinne’s mouth. “Come up here and kiss me in the meantime.”
Rinne snorted. “Don’t complain about the taste.”
“When have I ever?” Niki shot back as he dragged Rinne up by the hair, hungrily pressing their mouths together as soon as he could. Both of them were still slightly out of breath and it made the whole thing so much hotter.
Rinne gave a rumbling moan, loving it when Niki bossily directed him where he wanted him. He smoothed his hands underneath Niki’s waistcoat and over his stomach, still tacky with a layer of sweat. Their tongues glided against each other as Rinne’s hands slid lower, one groping at his ass again and the other eventually coming into contact with Niki’s pussy.
Niki gave a hissing whine and his hips twitched into Rinne’s hand. He was still slightly oversensitive, but it felt good. He nipped at Rinne’s lower lip in an attempt to spur him onwards, arms winding around his neck and pulling him closer.
“Put something inside, I feel so empty,” he said breathily against Rinne’s mouth.
That did the trick, Rinne’s middle finger popping inside him immediately after. A harassed little moan spilled out of Niki and one of his legs moved reflexively to wrap itself around Rinne, the other still bracing his weight on the ground.
Rinne took the hint, gripping under Niki’s thigh and hoisting his leg up to spread him further. A delighted moan made its way out of Niki once Rinne was able to get deeper. Rinne interrupted him with a kiss and then slipped a second finger in while he was at it. Niki’s heart thumped harder against his ribcage; he could feel Rinne’s fingertips press and nudge at his insides.
“Just a minute, gotta stretch you nice n’ wide,” Rinne mumbled as he noticed Niki clenching around him more. “This position makes prep a bit difficult.”
“Don’t care,” Niki said almost deliriously, pussy fluttering suggestively around Rinne’s knuckles. “Fuck me please, fuck me…”
Rinne sucked in a breath. “It might hurt,” he whispered.
“I don’t care,” Niki insisted. “Shift’s almost over. Have at it.”
Rinne snorted, readjusting his grip on Niki’s leg and looking at him incredulously. “You’re really testing my ability to make sure you’ll still walk after this, but I s’pose you asked for it. Don’t whine to me afterward.”
“Promise I won’t,” said Niki.
Rinne was almost certain Niki wouldn’t keep that promise as he slid his fingers out gingerly and unzipped his jeans, pulling out his cock and lining it up. The tip kissed the rim of Niki’s cunt and they both whimpered.
“Here goes,” said Rinne, leaning forward and pushing in at last.
Niki grunted a moan as his cunt fought against the sudden intrusion for a few seconds, then relaxed. Rinne slid in further. Niki’s fingertips clawed deeper into his shoulder blades with another whimper.
Rinne puffed an exhale and slowly, steadily began to piston in and out of Niki. He started gently, just barely letting Niki grow accustomed to the pace before speeding up a little more.
Niki’s breaths began to catch in his throat with every bump of Rinne’s hips. Rinne went harder. Niki held on to him tighter.
With how closely Niki had pulled him in, Rinne was able to nose his way down and leave hickies under Niki’s collar, right above that cheeky little window of cleavage. Rinne bit and sucked, marking all over his breasts. He wanted them to be hard to cover with makeup; anyone who saw Niki after this would know exactly what happened.
“Feelin’ good?” Rinne checked in between kisses — if you could even call them that with how many teeth marks he’d left.
Niki responded with a desperate, airy whine.
Rinne snickered breathily and began to hammer into Niki a little more, the doorframe barely shuddering with each thrust.
Niki gasped and began feverishly pressing kisses against Rinne’s jaw behind his ear, breath hitching with every thrust. “Good boy…” he murmured.
Rinne’s hips jolted forward involuntarily, a bolt of hot arousal shooting down his spine like lightning. He tried to hold back the whine that nearly squeezed its way out of him.
Niki’s eyes fluttered at the sudden force and he grinned dazedly at Rinne’s reaction, a lightbulb coming on in his mind.
“Oh, you — mmh — like that, huh?” he panted into Rinne’s ear, interrupted by another abrupt thrust. “So good for me. Fucking me exactly how I need it,” Niki cut himself off with a shivering moan as Rinne picked up the pace, slamming into him harder now. “Yeah, yeah, yeah-”
“God you’re gonna fucking kill me,” Rinne exhaled in a rush and went even harder, one hand clawing into Niki’s thigh for leverage and the other braced against the door. Niki gripped Rinne’s disheveled hair and whined in pure delight.
“Oh my god I love you so much — AAAHH!" Niki couldn’t help but shriek as Rinne’s hips shoved up into him spontaneously. The words hardly finished tumbling out of his mouth when Rinne began going at a punishingly fast pace, preventing Niki from fully catching his breath.
Of course the fastest way to severely rile Rinne up was for Niki to get so horny that he actually professed his love for once. Typically Niki didn’t like to say it out loud, so it was like blood in the water for Rinne whenever his partner got so aroused that it just spilled out of him.
“S-say it again,” Rinne hissed, continuing to slam into him.
“Love you, nnh, love you s-so, so much,” Niki whined frantically, arms squeezing tighter around Rinne’s neck, gloves creaking with how tightly his hands were clenched in Rinne’s hair.
Rinne kept his brutal pace and wrenched Niki’s leg higher in an attempt to spread him as wide as possible in that position. Niki’s back pressed into the door, pinning him in place and providing no escape from Rinne’s onslaught of pleasure.
Niki fully buried his face in Rinne’s shoulder and really let himself scream; it was muffled but still a clear signal to Rinne to keep doing whatever the hell he was doing. The door was rattling now as Rinne kept shoving their combined weight into it, shuddering with the force of their fucking.
Rinne could only imagine the looks they would get from anyone within earshot; he wondered if they’d know it was them. Considering Niki had been AWOL for about 10 minutes, people were probably starting to notice. If not, they’d quickly be informed once Niki stumbled back out onto the floor of the diner, freshly fucked. Rinne was determined to leave his partner in rougher shape than he’d arrived in, that was for damn sure.
Niki gave these clipped-sounding yelps with every impact of their hips, hands falling from where they pulled Rinne’s hair to instead rake frantically down his shoulders and back. Rinne moaned loudly, flattening his body against Niki’s as he kept thrusting into him. It was shallow from how deep Rinne was already, but still hard enough to knock the breath out of Niki.
Suddenly the leg that Niki still had on the ground wobbled and began to give out, causing him to panic and cling harder to Rinne since he was too overwhelmed to articulate his problem. Rinne only noticed once Niki slipped, shifting down suddenly and shrieking when Rinne’s cock impaled him even further.
“Too deep, too deep,” he whined between gasps.
Rinne slowed down to a halt and hushed him gently, breath fluttering against his ear. He gathered Niki up into both his arms, pressing him back against the door where he was before. Despite Rinne’s relatively lean physique, he seemed able to hold Niki’s weight without too much of an issue.
“That better?” he whispered, still panting hard.
Niki nodded shakily, crossing his ankles behind Rinne’s back. He wanted Rinne to just get on with it already so they could move past how overwhelmed he’d gotten.
How could Rinne oscillate between being speechless and awkward to this? One minute he acted like he’d never seen Niki show more than an ankle’s worth of bare skin before, and the next he’d have Niki pinned to the nearest hard surface as he hissed obscenities into his ear, grinding deep inside him. Niki had almost refused this job out of self-loathing and now he was getting his cervix battered in a supply closet… needless to say, this wasn’t how he’d expected things to go tonight.
Niki felt his insides shiver at this revelation, trying to pull Rinne’s cock even further in despite him already being balls deep. His throat fluttered around a moan, coaxing an equally obscene one out of Rinne.
Rinne resumed the steady grinding motion of his hips, quickly building back up to thrusts that shoved the breath out of Niki. They were both getting close to cumming.
“I’m gonna cum, g-gonna cum, oh my god — !" Niki practically wheezed out, nails scratching at Rinne’s back desperately.
With one last door-rattling slam of Rinne’s hips, Niki came with a sharp screech. Slick oozed down Rinne’s cock as he pistoned in and out of Niki’s shaking cunt, finally cumming with a loud moan. They both panted against each other’s open mouths as shocks and tremors passed between them, bleeding into one another.
“Can you stand?” Rinne asked after a long pause, his voice trembling a bit.
“Only one way to find out,” panted Niki, the exhaustion audible in his voice. He gradually unwound his legs from Rinne’s waist, touching down on the ground and immediately wobbling. Rinne caught him around the waist.
Niki chuckled. “I guess the answer is kinda?” he responded, placing his hands over Rinne’s. “I think I just need a snack and I’ll be fine.”
Rinne exhaled, feeling himself come down from his high at last. “That was intense,” he remarked.
“I didn’t know you were actually gonna try to fuck my brains out after seeing the sock garters,” Niki said breathlessly, still shaking slightly and grinning. They both laughed.
Eventually they were able to get somewhat presentable again. Niki tugged his pants back on and grabbed his shoes, Rinne zipped up his fly. They stumbled out of the stuffy closet and Niki gave a laborious sigh as he collapsed into one of the nearby chairs.
“Could you grab a granola bar out of my bag?” he asked wearily. “It’s in the second locker.”
“Sure thing.”
As Rinne rooted around for it, he heard a gasp.
Niki blanched once he’d caught sight of himself in the mirror on the far wall. He stood slowly and approached it, wincing as he poked at the marks under his clavicle.
“Dude… I’m not gonna be able to cover any of this up. You made it way too obvious.”
“Good,” said Rinne simply, grabbing a granola bar and tossing it over.
Niki sputtered as he failed to catch it. “If anyone sees this I’m toast! I’ll never get to do anything like this ever again!”
“Well, then be glad it happened once,” Rinne said as he shrugged.
Niki huffed and put his head into his hands, groaning. “I’m so fucked.”
Grabbing a granola bar for himself, Rinne tore it open and bit into it. “Wasn’t that sorta the point of all this?”
“YOU can shut up,” Niki barked at him, flushed red. “I think I need to borrow HiMERU’s makeup. Help me find it — for real this time.”
_____
“Sooo, how was it?” Kaoru leered at him playfully as Niki awkwardly walked back into the kitchen, nearly tripping over his own feet as he set out some glasses to refill.
Niki huffed, readjusting his waistcoat. “It’s so fucking hard not to walk like I just got hit by a truck, you have no idea... these shoes aren’t making it any easier, either.”
Kaoru cackled, placing more fancy little hors d'oeuvres on his tray. “Worthy of an encore?”
“Barring the truck-accident feeling, yes absolutely.”
“Glad to hear it,” remarked Kaoru, smirking in a way that said I told you so. “Y’know, you actually had me worried. Around the 20-minute mark I thought he’d eaten you alive back there.”
“Practically,” Niki muttered. “Almost thought I’d need to file for worker’s comp at one point, my legs hurt like hell after that.”
“If the pain’s bad you might be able to ask if you can bail early, the owner came back to help us close later.”
Niki blanched, looking at Kaoru in abject horror. “How long ago?”
“I dunno, like 15 minutes? He’s been talking to the customers the whole time though, you’re good. I kept him occupied.”
Letting out a sigh, Niki hoisted his tray back up. “Alright, thank god. And I’m good, I think moving around will help.”
Kaoru nodded and Niki walked back out onto the diner floor, scanning for anyone that needed refills.
Speak of the devil, the first thing Niki caught sight of was Rinne chatting up the aforementioned owner like he hadn’t just fucked the living daylights out of one of his volunteers in the break room. Niki turned away anxiously, heart skipping a beat. That probably incriminated him even more, but he couldn’t bring himself to care right now. In all likelihood nobody probably knew, Kaoru would tell him if they did. Probably. Besides, was anyone even looking at him right now?
The answer to that was actually yes, but it was just HiMERU.
HiMERU stood near the entrance and leaned over to say something to Rei, who was currently working at the host station. Rei nodded, waving at Niki and smiling. Niki almost choked, waving back a little too enthusiastically as HiMERU approached.
“Where were you?” his unitmate asked, sounding genuinely concerned for a moment. “Hakaze said you needed to take care of something, so he took over for your tables in the meantime. Did you get too hungry and run out of snacks again?”
Niki blinked. “Ah… yep! Yeah, I just had to run to the convenience store down the street, I’m so sorry about that.”
“Hm. Well, be sure to alert the others next time, we can’t afford to be understaffed at events like this,” HiMERU chided. He then paused, eyes flitting down.
“Is that HiMERU’s makeup?” he asked. “It’s a couple shades too light for you.”
Oh merciful god, please strike him down where he stood. This wasn’t happening.
“UM… YEAH!” Niki exclaimed, not covering for himself in the slightest. “Sorry, I spilled, uhhhh… sriracha! On myself! It was an accident! I promise I’ll ask for permission before using your stuff next time, gotta go!!” He walked briskly away from HiMERU, needing this conversation to end now.
HiMERU stood there, putting the pieces together and nearly yelling Niki’s name before common sense got the better of him. It fucking happened again. He got preoccupied for 30 minutes and the bastards did it again. HiMERU was almost certain that Kaoru was in on the whole thing as well, so he’d have some words with the blond momentarily.
In the meantime HiMERU looked around for Rinne, eventually making eye contact with the culprit who was still chatting up a storm with the diner’s owner. This meant that HiMERU was unable to march over there and throw the smarmy bastard out onto the curb like he so desperately wanted to. He fumed silently, glaring daggers at Rinne.
Rinne noticed this and did a cheeky thumbs-up at him in response.
HiMERU flipped him off, making a mental note to text Kohaku to wring Rinne’s neck at the party later. Unless HiMERU got to him first, of course.