#id rather be called a fag than get hit with that from a stranger

[jizzan]

Hey not so gentle reminder that not assuming gender to strangers means not referring to them with any gendered language, not just throwing all genders into one sentence and hope something sticks

[fanfictiondotmess]

The pulsating sound of music made conversation hard, but Kaito had decided to relent and take a seat at a booth with the reluctant soon-to-be detective who had finally agreed to come out to a club. It’s important for a man to get out and de-stress once in a while, and though a good workout was the best for that, dancing was another way to shake off the pressure of the daily grind. Hopefully Shuichi would learn that sooner rather than later.

“So! Pretty cool, huh?” Kaito asked dropping on to one of the cushy seats of the booth. With a laugh drowned out by music, Shuichi sat on the other side. “What? What’re you laughing at?” He asked, raising a hand to signal to a server that the two were ready for a drink.

“Nothing.” Shuichi shook his head and looked back out toward the dance floor.

“You’re making fun of my dancing, aren’t you?” Kaito asked, shrugging in a self-admitted defeat. “Can’t be perfect at everything, but a real man can admit that and still have fun. Remember that.” He sat back in his seat, still grinning.

“Right, Kaito.” Shuichi agreed. There was a small lull in music as one DJ passed it off to the other and some generic- but probably quite popular by club standards- song played while the new guy set up some equipment that the other DJ hadn’t had. Perfect timing for the server to swing by.

“What can I get for you boys?” A middle-aged woman asked. She had a warm smile despite the bags under her eyes.

“We’ll have whiskey. Straight.” Kaito answered immediately.

“He’ll have whiskey. I’ll have a blue Hawaiian.” Shuichi interjected, earning a laugh from the server. She scribbled something down on her notepad and leaned in a bit, checking to make sure that both were wearing wristbands for those old enough to drink. She gave a nod of approval.

“Our kitchen will be closing soon. This’ll be your last chance to order something to eat.”

“Thanks! I’d hate if my sidekick here missed out on the fries here. Two orders!” Kaito exclaimed. The server continued to smile as she looked to Shuichi, giving him a cue to speak his order if he wanted one. He gave a smile in response.

“Alright then. It’ll be out in a minute.”

—-

“Hahaha! Your face!” Kaito doubled over, nearly hitting his head on the table as he laughed.

“Ugh! How can you drink this stuff?” Shuichi asked, fanning himself with his hands. His face was scrunched up in disgust.

“Really puts the hair on your chest, huh?” Kaito accented his statement by downing the rest of the drink. The two had been talking in shouts for well over an hour, conversation becoming more animated with every drink.

“You said you’d try it.” Shuichi said, pushing a blue drink across the table.

“Alright alright. You-“ Kaito stopped in mid-sentence when he felt someone grab his shoulder and shake him. It wasn’t hard or violent or anything. Just unexpected.

“Hey. I’m dizzy.” An unfamiliar voice slurred. As Kaito turned, a small person climbed on to his lap, wrapped an arm around one shoulder, and let his almost limp body fall with a full weight against him.

“Uhh...”

“What the...?” Kaito pushed his back against the booth, trying to put some space between himself and the purple-haired stranger. It didn’t accomplish much.

“Is this your friend, Kaito?” Shuichi asked, eyes wide in surprise and confusion.

“I was just about to ask you the same thing.” Kaito glanced toward the dance floor for any hint of an identity. Needless to say, the mass of people bobbing and swaying didn’t give him much to go off of. To his relief, a group of three men approached after not too long.

“That’s our friend. Can’t handle his liquor for shit.” A man with uneven patches of facial hair explained. “I’ll take him off your hands.”

“Thanks-“

“What’s his name?” Shuichi asked, putting a hand out quickly to stop the advance of the man. Kaito and the man both looked at Shuichi.

“I don’t think that’s really important right now, Shuichi.” Kaito said.

“Yeah.” The man agreed with haste.

“It is. What is his name?” Shuichi asked again. “Give me his wallet.” He asked, rising from his seat.

“Alright.” Kaito said, uncertainty clear in his voice.

“Uhhh, Kazuki.” One of the other three spoke. The third remain silent, crossing his arms over his chest in a sign of hostility.

“Come on. You can give me your number and I’ll have him call you if you’re that interested. We need to get going.” The first man spoke and took a step closer. This time, Shuichi put himself entirely between himself and the other three.

“That’s not his name.” Shuichi stated.

“What’s up, man?” Kaito asked, ready to be rid of the strange trio and the obviously intoxicated fourth.

“Don’t you find it strange that they’d have spent the entire night with him but don’t know his name?” Shuichi explained.

“We’re newly acquainted. We met last week. I probably wrote his name down wrong when he gave me his number. Clubs are loud.” The second man explained, not missing a beat.

“Alright. Then call him. Call his phone.” Shuichi ordered. By then, Kaito had gotten wind of what was going on. He wrapped one arm around the male, protecting him from being grabbed away and freed his other arm, ready to jump to his feet on the drop of a dime.

“This is stupid. Just hand him over. It’s late.” The first man spoke while Shuichi and the second man stared each other down.

“Yeah? Then all three of you hand me your ID’s right now.” Kaito demanded.

“Fine.” The second spoke. The three all started pulling out their ID’s when a female voice interrupted.

“Are you all together?” The server from earlier asked.

“No.” Kaito and Shuichi answered in unison.

“Butt out, lady.” The third man said, his voice just as hostile as his demeanor. The woman seemed unbothered, almost like she hadn’t even heard the man speak.

“Excuse me, but did he come with these three?” Shuichi asked.

“Hm? Oh no. He’s here all the time, but these three just arrived. Is there a problem?” She asked.

“No.” The third man spoke. “We’re leaving. You fags can-“

“Hey! We don’t tolerate that kind of language here.” The server spoke over the remainder of the man’s sentence. The group retreated hastily with the server on their heels.

“Good call, bro.” Kaito complimented Shuichi as he returned to his seat. “Man! That was so cool! You didn’t even waver!”

“My hands are shaking.” Shuichi admitted and held his hands out as proof.

“That’s even cooler. You were scared but stuck to your guns. Looks like I’m rubbing off on you!” Kaito said, relaxing into his seat. Shuichi scratched the back of his head and cast his gaze to the side, a look of embarrassment clear on his face.

“Anyway, what are we going to do about him?” Shuichi asked, gesturing to the still unconscious male.

“Maybe the waitress can take him- nah. I’m not gonna push anything else off on her. She got rid of those guys for us already.”

“True.”

“Not that we needed her help. We could’ve taken ‘em down with our hands tied behind our backs!”

“Whatever you say, Kaito.” Shuichi put a hand to his face, not caring to dispute the other on this. For all he knew, he’d find the guys in the parking lot and challenge them to a three-on-one fight just to prove himself. He didn’t even need to be drunk to do that. “Ah...”

“What’s up?”

“If they are waiting out front...”

“Not a problem!”

���No, it probably would be a problem. After all, we don’t know if they’re armed.” Shuichi reached out for his drink, but paused and pulled his hand back having decided against putting anything else in his body that might come to hold him back later that night.

“There’s a back entrance. I’m sure the waitress’s let us use it. It’s employees only and there’s a cop monitoring the lot.”

“What? Why do you know that?” Shuichi asked.

“Oh yeah! I never got to tell you. This one time there was this guy causing problems. You know, refusing to leave this girl alone. So I kicked his ass. But then his buddies came in. I was ready to go! But then the cops showed up. They couldn’t arrest anyone, but they said I should probably leave through the back when I did so that I wouldn’t get jumped if anyone was waitin’ up on me. I couldn’t convince ‘em otherwise, so I had to.”

“That’s a pretty impressive tale.”

“Yeah. It was cooler in person. It felt like an action movie. And with the music-“

“Hey. You’re loud.” The purple-haired male interrupted, lifting his head a little bit. His eyes were as purple as his hair. “It’s annoying.” He mumbled before closing his eyes and resting his head against Kaito’s chest.

“Hey! I just saved your ass! You could be a little more... ugh. He’s asleep again.” Kaito shook him a few times, but to no avail. “What a brat.”

“What did he say?” Shuichi asked, leaned across the table. He’d been too far away to hear him over the noise of the club.

“He said I’m annoying then fell back asleep.” He answered, his voice bitter. Shuichi stifled a laugh. Before either had a chance to say more, the server returned.

“Hey, boys. Thanks for looking after him. He’s a bit of a troublemaker, but I’d hate to see anything happen to him.”

“Do you know him?” Shuichi asked.

”Well, not really. Every time I talk to him, he tells a different story about where he’s from or what his job is.” She looked the male over and sighed. “It might be best if you leave through the back tonight. Just in case.” And though she had not told them it was time to leave, both understood the hint well enough.

“Gotcha. Let’s go, punk. You’re coming with us tonight.”

“Us?” Shuichi asked.

“You don’t think I’m gonna let my sidekick go off on his own with those three losers prowling around, do you?”

“I suppose you wouldn’t.”

“Hell no!”

“Sidekick? I didn’t realize you were a superhero and an astronaut.” The server said, her smile back on her face.

“Ha! I can do it all.” Kaito exclaimed. He readied himself to stand, bracing himself a bit for the struggle of carrying an entire human being along with him, and stood. “Man. I’ve carried sacks of potatoes heavier than you.” Kaito spoke to the unconscious male. “What’s his name anyway, Shuichi?”

“Kokichi.”

“Huh, Kokichi. Well, I sure as hell hope this is the last time I have to deal with you.”