Chapter Text
Doppo didn’t know why he was here. The trendy bar was crowded, the drinks were overpriced, and he had been abandoned within ten minutes of arriving. As always.
It was a coworker’s birthday-- that’s probably why he’d tagged along, pressured and goaded into giving up his restful Saturday night; and into buying drinks, much to his wallet’s chagrin. This little birthday nomikai had been his baldy boss’s idea, to take cute young Ms. Takamura to celebrate at some ritzy place. His boss sat drinking and chatting up his underlings, cheeks flushed and head shining with sweat under the warm bar lights. Doppo found his lips curling into even a deeper frown. With how the old baldy was getting the uncomfortable office girls to laugh (sexual harassment aside), he should have at least had the courtesy to pony up. But no, Doppo had been asked to take one for the team, as he was always asked, and he took the economic hit. He rolled over and took it, no matter how little he could afford it.
He sighed, staring deeply into the expensive cocktail he didn’t even want. The scent of alcohol was sharp and ascerbic, burning his nose just by being near. His stomach turned at the thought of drinking it, and of the inevitable hangover it would bring. It churned more at the thought of not getting his two-thousand yen’s worth of expensive vodka and... whatever else.
It was times like this that Doppo really missed Hifumi. Sure, his best friend was annoying, and he definitely would be piling on the bar tab with all of his cute little champagne cocktails... but he could at least socially buffer, and open up that thick host wallet to help pay. Though he would see Hifumi in the morning, the backup would have been appreciated. Hifumi was probably surrounded by his kittens though, having all his drinks comped. Doppo was almost jealous-- then remembered how much Hifumi internally hated both the fawning and the amount he had to drink. He took this knowledge as distant solidarity, hoping Hifumi’s night was as awful as his was.
Immediately after he finished that thought, Doppo slumped against the bar, head pillowed in his arms. How could he think that? Why would he ever wish Hifumi a bad night, knowing the host would make him breakfast in the morning, exhaustion be damned. Or how could he fantasize about leeching off of Hifumi’s hard-earned money just so he didn’t have to pay. Or how could he wish for Hifumi to work even more by entertaining his coworkers.
He was lower than low. The scum of the earth. What kind of friend was he, wanting to take advantage of Hifumi’s generous heart? If he worked harder, maybe he would make enough to treat his coworkers, and be a good senpai. Maybe if he wasn’t so pathetic, he could have refused his boss’s unreasonable demands, for once. Maybe... maybe...
These thoughts spiraled as his hand grabbed for his drink, tipping it back in one violent motion. It burned on the way down, his entire body shivering from the sudden sensation, settling warm in his gut. As predicted did make his stomach lurch in protest, but it stoked something too. Something angry.
He glared venom at the empty glass, teeth gritting. “Damn, bald-headed bastard.” His white-knuckled grip on the glass tightened. “I’ll kill him. I’ll... this was all him, and I’m doing all the work. I-- I just wanted to go home, and here I am. I’ll...” His grumbles continued, muttered like a litany to an evil god. “I’ll tear off the rest of his hair. Putting all that work on me, making me pay, I work and work and do all his work. I’ll...”
An interrupting clunk of glass on wood startled him out of his spiraling rage. He’d almost thought he’d slammed his own drink onto the bar, but instead, he found that a new drink had been put in front of him. Tall, thin, cylindrical-- and filled with the pinkest liquid he’d ever seen. It was effervescent, shiny little bubbles collecting on cherries settled on the bottom. He definitely had not ordered it. This was something he would see in Hifumi’s hand, not his, and if his own drink had been expensive, he couldn’t imagine the price on this one.
“I-I--” He stammered, looking up to see the bartender smiling kindly at him. “I’m sorry. I didn’t order this!” His hands released their vice grip on his previous drink to flail in awkward denial. The frantic motion sent his head spinning. Or was that the vodka? He couldn’t be sure.
The bartender, to his credit, was patient with his customer. “Oh, I know. It’s courtesy of the gentleman over there.” He gestured down the bar with a gloved hand, and over to a booth with high plush backing. Seated in it, dwarfed by its size was someone very pink, waving cheerfully.
Doppo narrowed his eyes in focus, jolting backward as he saw some of the details of who exactly the pink blur was-- as if there was anyone else if could be. He continued flailing. “I can’t accept this!” Ramuda Amemura-- he was basically the enemy of his team, and of his team leader, Dr. Jinguji. It was wrong, somehow, to accept a drink from someone like this. Was this fraternizing with the enemy? The doctor would be ashamed of his lack of caution, he warned against Ramuda’s false friendly demeanor, and now he’d gotten a drink from him. If he accepted it, then-- Regardless of who gave it to him, the drink looked like it would make his teeth fall out anyway. There was no way he could drink it. The bartender shrugged.
“Take it up with him. He paid for it.”
Doppo sat there, watching the bartender go back to his business. Realizing he wasn’t going to come back and take the drink away, Doppo instead stared at at the glass, focusing on how the bubbles floated. From his knowledge of the Fling Posse leader, there were three options: It was either poisoned, drugged, or nasty. Whichever it was, it was going to be trouble-- yet upon reflection, none of these options could make his night worse. Doppo sighed, heavier this time, and looked back to Ramuda, who sat looking somewhat expectant.
Again, it couldn’t get worse, and anything was better than sitting alone. Besides, his manners wouldn't allow him to do anything but follow Ramuda’s beaconing wave, like some sort of demented maneki-neko . He picked up his drink and walked with purpose to the booth. To his surprise, he found it was empty, outside Ramuda.
“Amemura--” He started, fully intending on insisting the other drink it, or at least demanding his reasoning. He was quickly cut off.
“Yahoo~ Welcome, Mr. Salary Man! Like your drink?” Doppo stared, dumbfounded. His brow furrowed, face flushing in embarrassment as Ramuda’s lips curled up into a cat-like smile.
“I... no. That’s not... your kindness is really appreciated, but I can’t--” He was cut off again.
“Boooo. Yes, you can! You looked so sad and mopey all alone by yourself! So I thought I’d be suuuuuper nice and get you another drink! Drinks make thing all better sometimes. Right? Riiiight?”
Doppo gaped, opening and closing his mouth like a fish. He couldn’t get a word in edgewise, any amount of argument rendered useless. Ramuda just smiled at him, watching him with those bright eyes that always seemed a little too intense, too glassy. Yes, it was definitely like staring down a cat. A cat ready to play with its prey-- and Doppo had a feeling he was the mouse. Still, he couldn't find fault in Ramuda's words. More alcohol might make things a little less unbearable.
“Well... if you put it what way.” Doppo said, looking at the drink he still held. It had already been paid for, and it couldn’t have been cheap... and he’d be absolutely ungrateful if he didn’t take the olive branch he was being offered; or at least the gift, no matter how awful.
“Right! Of course I’m right! Sit down! You can drink with me.” Ramuda patted the seat next to him impatiently. Obediently, Doppo sat down, bouncing a little from the plushness of the cushion. Not even giving him time to settle in, Ramuda kept talking, the Fling Posse leader leaning forward to fidget with the grapefruit wedge on the rim of his equally pink drink.
“So like. My posse was supposed to come with me. We were gonna bond and start getting ready for the next rap battle. Gentaro is supposed to have come up with some fancy new lyrics.” Ramuda’s lips pulled into a pout, but he didn’t stop, even for Doppo to make an polite, attentive sound.
“But they’re both lame. Gentaro has a deadline, and Dice gambled himself into pet sitting for this guy with a bunch of chihuahuas, apparently? I dunno, he does weird stuff when he’s got no cash. Anyway, they left me here all alone.”
Doppo nodded, realizing that he probably didn’t need to respond. This was not a two-way conversation, but a monologue. He decided to take a sip of his new drink. While he was right, it was extremely sweet, it was also tasty. Sweet and sour and not too booze-forward. He kept drinking. If it was poisoned, it was too late now.
“Theeen I thought I’d invite some of my number one ladies...”
This sounded familiar. Host-mode Hifumi loved to chatter about his ‘kittens’. He guessed Ramuda really liked to play up his childish appearance.
“But this bar’s really small, and super crowded, so I couldn’t just send an invite to my exclusive private group chat, that would be too much. Bt wouldn’t be fair to invite just a couple of my fans either-- so I decided I could totally come alone and find someone to hang out with here! And here you are!”
Doppo stared, completely baffled. There were more than a few beautiful women in the bar and Mr. Easy R over here could have glommed onto any of them without issue. Yet, he’d chosen to hang out with the most disappointing person available.
“You looked so, sooooo sad. It made my heart ache. But then you were super pissed, so I thought I really needed to know what was going on and drink all those worries away!”
Ah. So it was curiosity. And pity. That figured. Doppo still wondered if there was another ulterior motive, but if he couldn’t get a word in edgewise, how would he ask questions? He drank instead. Finally, when the chatter lulled, Doppo spoke up.
“I... I don’t really like places like this. That’s all. You didn’t have to do that. I’m just a wet-blanket... you shouldn’t drink with me.”
Ramuda rolled his eyes and took a drink of his own cocktail.
“Psh. Jakurai doesn’t really hang out with boring people. Like, I hate the old man.”
Doppo twitched.
“But I know him, too. Come on! Let’s just have some fun. Drink-- maybe you can work out some of that sanger.”
“San--”
“Sad anger! Just drink, Kannonzaka.”
So Ramuda did know his name. Huh. Well, he wasn’t getting out of it. Fine. He drank, the sweet drink going down easily.
-----
Maybe a bit too easily. Doppo couldn’t count how many drinks he’d had. Or count at all, actually. His world was a pleasant buzz and swirl of activity-- and a lot of anger. All of his grievances were completely uncaged by the alcohol’s skeleton key.
The conversation had started out easy enough. Ramuda asked about his teammates and got little mumbled responses, and then chattered about his own. He spoke about Empty Candy’s new fashion line and then got really bored of trying to parse out what exactly Doppo job was. (Mostly analytics and IT support. Nothing exciting, and really nothing Doppo had any passion for.)
After they had gotten three or four drinks in (okay, maybe Doppo had. Ramuda was on his second, pacing himself) and the conversation had turned to not only what Doppo did, but what his work was like. That was like a flood gate, broken by the storm. (The storm was alcohol.) Oddly, Ramuda turned out to be a very good listener.
“--And this is after working overtime six days in a row! And on Sunday!”
Ramuda nodded along, adding little ‘ooooh, I see’ and ‘whaaat?’ interjections between Doppo’s numerous rants.
“I mean, fuck. I keep having to sleep at my desk, and now they’re making me pay for this goddamn party. I just did all their work! Can’t they give me a break!? And now I’m gonna be hung over, and I won’t be able to make pancakes with Hifumi tomorrow, and he’ll do those puppy eyes and tell me he understands and-- FUCK!” Doppo didn’t hesitate to tip back the rest of his drink. Ramuda gestured for another to be brought over.
“Wooow. It sounds like your job is suuuuper super shitty. And you reaaaally hate it.”
Doppo paused, frowning. “It’s... not that bad.” He muttered. “We do a lot of good work. And everyone depends on me. So...”
Ramuda pushed the new drink toward him as it came. “Yeah, they depend on you, but that’s because they’re shitty and lazy and make you do their jobs! What are they getting paid for, anyway?”
“They work...” Doppo sipped forlornly at his drink. “And I don’t... hate it. I like technology, and I know how to do the work. I’ve been working there for years.”
“And like, you’re not the boss yet?” Ramuda gasped. “Oh my god. They are totally abusing you, Docchi.”
Doppo blinked, but found himself a touch too drunk to put effort into questioning the new nickname.
“I bet they’re not even paying overtime! That’s totally illegal.”
Was it? Doppo didn’t know, but he did know he wasn’t really getting paid any more for his late hours.
“What are your benefits even like? You’re pretty senior, so you’ve gotta have a lot of paid vacation days.”
Doppo stared into his glass, slumping back against the booth a bit.
“Insurance? Pension? They have to give you some perks!”
Ramuda’s expression, when Doppo looked up, seemed a lot less playful than his tone belied.
“I... have vacation days... and stuff like all that. They’ve gotta give it to me.” It was illegal not to. But like Ramuda pointed out, his overtime was definitely not being counted, which was sketchy at best.
“Yeah, but you get shamed if you use any of those vacation days, right? Or are sick, or anything?”
Doppo was quiet, rage cooled by how awkward he suddenly felt. ”I... there’s a lot of work to do. There’s no time for that. I’ve got to do my part. And they might... they might... If I get mad, they might fire me. And then I’m totally worthless. We won’t be able to pay rent, and I would fail Hifumi and--”
Ramuda leaned over and put a finger to his lips, effectively silencing him. “Docchi, if you’re doing all that work, they can’t afford to fire you. Do you know how hard it would be to find someone else with all your experience, who’s willing to work so hard?”
While that was a good point, Ramuda obviously didn’t know his shitty boss.
“At least demand a raise. You’re senior enough that you should be getting one. And take a vacation! Hakone’s not super busy this time of year, or Kamakura’s beaches? You need to relax. Go with Mr. Host! It’ll be romantic!”
Doppo was stuck on the idea of demanding a raise. The rest of the suggestion flew over his head. A raise... yeah, he deserved that much. He’d worked hard for over a decade now and did the work of an entire office. If he was going to do all of the work with no excuse, he should have been paid more. But...
“I don’t think that’ll go over well.” He drank. Deeply. “They might cut my pay again...”
“Again?” Ramuda’s brow furrowed. Concern, anger, amusement, it was hard to tell sober, it was impossible drunk.
“You need to get a new job!”
Doppo started, managing to spill the rest of the drink over the table and into his lap. He cursed, frantically grabbing for napkins to clean himself and the table off. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I made a total mess, and you’re treating me--”
Ramuda sighed, stood, and helped him clean off. “Is this just how you are, or are you sooooo stressed that even drunk you’re ready to drop into dogenza?”
Doppo blushed, and the redness was not from alcohol. He mumbled something like ‘both’ and continued his clean up. When things were satisfactorily dry, they sat back down on the opposite side of the booth. The conversation had gone quiet, Ramuda watching him with an intentness that made Doppo fidget in his seat.
“Y’know.” Ramuda leaned on the table, head propped up by his elbow. “My summer collection is gonna be huge.”
Doppo blinked, looking up wide-eyed at the new topic. He was relieved that they weren’t talking about his job anymore, but he didn’t know where this was going.
“And I do a lot of work on my own. Designing, marketing, sewing, photography. I’ve got help, for like, when a brand is buying my stuff, but it’s a whoooole ton of work, y’know? I’m super popular.”
This, Doppo did know. Hifumi even owned one of Empty Candy’s sweatshirts, rivalry be damned. It was a little expensive, sure, but the fleece was soft, warm, and a nice shade of sunshine yellow that matched Hifumi’s smile. He’d said people at work were talking about the collection, and the winter collection had been on sale. It was... cute.
“So. I could use a hand.” Ramuda dug in his pocket and pulled out a business card. It was bright yellow, emblazoned with metallic pink candies. The card read: ‘Ramuda Amemura, Empty Candy Lead Designer’. The rest was blurred by Doppo's swimming head, but he assumed it listed contact information and office location. Out of habit, Doppo scrambled to get a copy of his own business card, boring white and black, to exchange it. Ramuda took it when Doppo took his.
“Uh... what’s this for?” Doppo stammered, looking it over back and front.
“I was thinking-- you should come work for me! Be my personal assistant!”
In that moment, things went from confusing to complete nonsense. Doppo was being offered a job. By the leader of the group that Mantenrou had a bitter rivalry with. At a bar. For the fashion industry. He could only stare into Ramuda’s perfectly serious face.
“What?”
Ramuda, the bastard he was, giggled. “You heard me. You’re used to being stepped all over--”
Hey, that was a bit cruel.
“You’ve got good skills with accounting and using computers... you’re frantic enough to be fast about stuff. It wouldn’t be worse than your job right now! Plus, I’d totally pay you better, and give you real vacation time. You’d just have to put up with little old me!” Ramuda pressed his pointer finger into a dimple, grinning.
Doppo looked down at the card again. “...Why?”
Ramuda hummed, high pitched, but thoughtful. “‘Cause you’re sad. And it would drive Jakurai crazy. And I could really use the help. You’ve got the apologizing down, so it's not like training would be hard!”
Once again, he was right. But Doppo could not formulate a sentence right now. Not drunk and completely flabbergasted.
“Think about it, okay?” Ramuda hopped up, patting him on the shoulder cheerfully. The small hand had more force than he'd expected, leaving an ache in his already tired muscles. “I’ve gotta get going, but let me know!”
Doppo nodded, looking up at Ramuda’s smiling face for a moment and wondering if this was all a crazy dream. That would make more sense.
“Don’t keep me waiting!” With that, Ramuda left, paying the tab at the bar before letting the door swing behind him. A whirl of pink and teal and yellow.
Then Doppo was alone with a half full drink and a business card. He spent a long time staring at it, wondering if it would bite him.
“Kannonzaka! We’re headed out. Pay the tab!” Doppo looked up, blinking blearily as a couple of his coworkers came into view. His boss was being supported by two of his underlings, the young workers struggling to drag him out of the bar. They gave Doppo an apologetic grimace.
Doppo scrambled up and bowed, head spinning. “Of course! I’ve got it--sorry.”
Without a word of thanks, the door swung closed behind them too. Doppo looked at the business card one last time, shining on the table, and tucked it into his suit pocket. He’d think about it. He at least owned Ramuda that, after all of those drinks. Hopefully he'd remember, come morning.