#timing of the release was impeccable i’m just buzzing again instead of worrying about winning the final as well

[pitstopfc]

match cam -> arsenal (h)

[worthlesspride]

Ahh! I'm so happy you're answering questions after the fic! I've been so curious about the exchange between Semi and Shirabu- like how did the scene when threatening Semi go down? And also the conversation Ushijima had with Semi once he came back to the bar? It was such a fantastic ending (I nearly squealed when Iwa said "He got what he came for")

Thank you so much!! I’m glad you asked about Semi and Shirabu. I really needed an excuse to write this. ^^

           Prison hadn’t been a goodexperience, but at least Semi had learned a valuable lesson. If they’d releasedhim a couple of years sooner the lesson would’ve still stuck, but at least hewas free now. It had been an adjustment, and a couple of times he’d almostslipped back into his old lifestyle, but he’d managed to find himself a placeto belong. He had Oikawa to thank for that, although if he thought about it toolong he got nauseous from the shame.

           As badly as he’d treated Oikawa, hecouldn’t believe that he was still willing to help him.

           Maybe Semi would eventually get overit, and maybe he wouldn’t. The point was, he’d escaped from his old life.Things were different now, and they were going to stay that way. He didn’t haveto worry about Osaka anymore, or the drug trade that had consumed too much ofhis life.

           At least, he’d thought he wouldn’thave to deal with it anymore.

           Shirabu fucked that up for him.

           Shirabu hadn’t been bad, at first.Semi had actually sort of liked him. He was clever in his own testy way.Despite his limited experience in the service industry, Shirabu could mix ahell of a cocktail, and Semi respected that.

           When Shirabu started asking him toomany questions about drugs, questions so specific that he must have known aboutSemi’s past, things started to go downhill.

           Semi figured out what Shirabu wasdoing pretty quickly; mostly because Shirabu didn’t try to hide it from him. Heactually had the nerve to ask for Semi’s help, and that request got shot downimmediately.

           At least, until Shirabu threatened totell Tendou about Semi’s sordid past.

           That got his attention.

           He still wasn’t willing to get backinto the business, as Shirabu was hoping. Semi gave him a few tips here andthere, just enough to keep him satisfied and keep his mouth shut.

           Maybe Tendou wouldn’t care that Semihad been in prison, but then again, maybe he would.

           Semi didn’t really want to find out.

           It was when they figured out theproblem with the overdoses that their arrangement came to a standstill.

           “Someone died on the fucking streetcorner,” snapped Semi. He felt like screaming, but they were in the break roomin the back of the club, so he had to keep his voice down. The door was closedand the two of them were alone, but if he devolved into yelling, his voicewould carry down the hallway. “This is getting out of hand.”

           “She didn’t die,” said Shirabu. Heshrugged. “She’s in a coma.”

           “That’s not the point.”

           “You’re right. The point is that shewas a junkie. If someone can’t stick to one drug at a time then they’re askingfor it.”

           Semi’s jaw went slack. He couldn’tbelieve he was hearing this. “You’ve got to be shitting me.”

           Shirabu raised a brow, hisexpression unchanging. “Oh, I’m sorry. I forgot who I was talking to. I supposeyou’re concerned about her since she’s an addict like you.”

           “Shut the fuck up,” said Semi. His handswere curled into tight fists, nails digging into the soft flesh of his palms. “Thisisn’t about me.”

           “It’s about business,” said Shirabu,“and this isn’t going to hurt mine. Junkies don’t care if they might die. They’regoing to use anyway.”

           The only thing that kept Semi fromflying into utter rage was the edge of disbelief that buzzed at the corners ofhis consciousness like static. He knew Shirabu was fucked up, but he hadn’t realizedit was this bad.

           “I can’t do this,” said Semi. “I can’t.I’ve kept my mouth shut about this too long already. I’m not doing thisanymore.”

           He turned on his heel and started towardthe door. He wasn’t even midway across the room before Shirabu spoke andstopped him in his tracks.

           “We’ve already discussed this,Semi-san,” said Shirabu. Despite the tension, his manners were stillimpeccable. “You agreed to exchange your discretion for mine. I don’t want toinform Tendou-san what sort of person he’s been letting into his bed, but Iwill if I must.”

           Semi spun back toward him, lipcurled in a snarl. “Fuck you,” he spat. “Tell Tendou. I don’t fucking care. Heknows me by now. It won’t change his mind about me.”

           He said it with convincingconviction, but he didn’t believe a single syllable. Surely if Tendou knew, hewould want nothing else to do with Semi. No one would want to hang around anex-con and an ex-addict and an ex-prisoner.

           Most of the time Semi wished he didn’thave to be near himself, either.

           If Tendou decided he wanted nothingmore to do with him, Semi would be crushed, but after a lot of time and grief,he would live through it  

           He couldn’t, however, live with theknowledge that people were dying and he could be doing something about it.

           He’d made all the wrong choices inhis life. It was time for him to make a good one.

           He walked away again, and this timehe made it to the door.

           From across the room, Shirabusighed. “I didn’t it to turn out like this,” he said, “but I suppose you’re notgiving me a choice.”

           Semi gritted his teeth and slid aglare over his shoulder. “What?”

           “Which life do you care about more?”said Shirabu. He was still eerily calm. “A junkie stranger, or your boyfriend?”

           Semi’s flash of anger burned out. Inits place was a hollow iciness that tasted of dread. “…what?”

           “That’s your choice,” said Shirabusimply. “You can snitch on me, if you’d like. I won’t stop you. By shutting medown, you may save an addict or two. You will, however, do it at the expense ofTendou-san. Which is more important to you?”

           Semi thought his heart had stoppedbeating. He felt like everything had grinded to a halt. “What did you just say?”

           “You’re not a complete idiot,” saidShirabu. “You know what I said.”

           Semi just stared at him. He didknow, but he must have heard wrong, because surely Shirabu hadn’t justthreatened him.

           After a moment Shirabu sighed,annoyed. “I’ll spell it out for you, then. If you snitch, Tendou-san will paythe price. The damage will be permanent.”

           The words sank into Semi’s brainslowly.

           When they registered, his nerveswere alight with rage.

           He moved forward so quickly that theworld blurred at the edges of his vision. He seized Shirabu by the front of hisshirt and slammed him against the wall of lockers. “You piece of shit,” hissedSemi. “You won’t fucking touch him.”

           Shirabu winced from the impact, buthis face quickly returned to its usual impassivity. “You promised me you wouldn’ttell anyone what I’m doing,” he said. He was unruffled by the fury breathing directlyin his face. “If you keep that promise then no, I won’t touch him. If you don’t,however-”

           Semi shoved him back again. “Shutthe fuck up. Tendou has nothing to do with this.”

           “Of course he does. He’s yourweakness, Semi-san. As far as I can tell, he’s the only exploitable one thatyou have. I wonder if you would have been so desperate to protect Oikawa-san backin Osaka. I doubt it. You cared more about your drugs than you ever cared abouthim, didn’t you?”

           Semi’s swung, and only realized atthe last second what he was about to do. He pulled the punch to the side andslammed his fist into a locker instead, the thud of metal reverberating intohis fist, throbbing down to his bones.

           The hit had landed only an inch awayfrom Shirabu’s head, but he hadn’t flinched.

           “Throw a tantrum if you’d like,”said Shirabu, “but it changes nothing. If you don’t keep quiet, I’ll kill him.Do you believe me, or must I prove it?”

           Semi believed him. He believed himso completely that it was agony.

           His arm fell to the side and he tookan unsteady step back, still burning with anger and dread and despair.

           “I could kill you instead,” saidSemi. “I could blow your fucking brains out and save everyone some trouble.”

           “Do it, then,” said Shirabu. “MaybeTendou-san will be your pen pal in prison, although I doubt it. I’m fairly surehe would never speak to you again. He likes me, after all, and I don’t think hewould tolerate the affections of a murderer.”

           Semi staggered back and dropped intoa crouch, burying his face in his hands. His eyes burned; his entire bodyburned.

           “I’m sorry it had to come to this, Semi-san,”said Shirabu. “It isn’t ideal. As long as you keep your silence, we won’t haveany issues. Is that an arrangement you can agree with?”

           Semi didn’t answer. His throat wastoo tight, breath too short.

           “Semi-san? I need to know if I canget back to work or if I should pay Tendou-san a visit.”

           Semi stood, so quickly that the rushof blood made him dizzy. “Of course I’m not going to talk,” he said, the wordsbursting with bitterness and rage. “What fucking choice do I have?”

           “There’s always a choice, Semi-san,”said Shirabu. He stepped away from the lockers and straightened out hisclothes. “Fortunately for you, you’ve made the correct one. Just don’t forgetour agreement. I’ll cover for you while you pull yourself together.”

           He left the room, and Semi fellapart.

           He slid down the wall and curled inon himself, knees against his chest, body trembling.

           As a rule, Semi Eita didn’t cry.

           Then again, he had a long history ofbreaking rules.

           Tendou found him ten minutes later,when his sobs had tapered into painful breaths. Semi was too drained to evenfeel embarrassed.

           Tendou stepped into the roomquietly, closed the door, and sat in the floor beside Semi without a word. Hedraped an arm over Semi’s shoulders and Semi melted into him, a tiny spark ofrelief flickering among a sea of despair.

           Shirabu was going to win. He was goingto keep dealing moxie and people were going to die and Semi couldn’t doanything about it.

           Unless he wanted to sacrifice Tendou,and that wasn’t something that he would even consider.

           There wasn’t even the slightestchance that Shirabu was bluffing. Semi knew him by now, more than he would haveliked. He knew if he talked to anyone, Shirabu would retaliate.

           Semi wasn’t willing to risk Tendou.Even if Shirabu ended up killing half the city, Semi wouldn’t do anything toput him in danger.

           He knew that sort of thinking waswrong, and it probably made him a bad person.

           But really, he’d been a bad personfor a long time. This was nothing new.

           “Semi-Semi?” said Tendou quietly. Hetrailed his fingers back and forth along Semi’s shoulder, light and gentle. “Everythingokay?”            “No.” The single word was raw.

           Tendou held him closer. “Do you wantto talk about it?”

           Semi leaned his head against Tendou’sshoulder. “No, but I probably should anyway.”

           Tendou didn’t pry. He waited, theminutes dragging by until Semi spoke again.

           “I need to tell you something,” saidSemi. “You might not want to see me anymore, and if you don’t, that’s fine. Iwon’t be mad.”

           “I can think of very few things thatwould make me not want to see you anymore,” said Tendou.

           Semi closed his eyes and took abreath, appreciating Tendou’s closeness. He feared he would never have itagain.

           “I need to tell you what happenedbefore I moved here, back when I dated Oikawa, and about… about some thingsthat happened.” He swallowed to clear the tightness in his throat. This was thelast thing he wanted to talk about, but he needed to say it. He had to keep all of his information about Shirabu to himself, but Tendou deserved toknow about Semi. “Everything started when I lived in Osaka.”

I’mnot going to write out the whole conversation with Ushijima, because I feellike it wouldn’t be very interesting. In summary, though, Ushijima talked to Semiabout everything that had happened, and asked if he’d committed the crimes he’dbeen arrested for. Of course Semi said no, but when Ushijima pressed forfurther information, he refused to say anything more. The reason Semi was soupset when he left was that Ushijima told him he wasn’t allowed to work at the clubwhile the cases were pending. It was bad for business, and Ushijima couldn’tjustify the risks of letting him serve drinks when it was suspected that washow he’d been distributing the drugs. Semi took the news badly, because theclub was really the only solid thing he had in his life (other than Tendou, butthe two go hand-in-hand because that’s where they met). Also it bothered himthat he wouldn’t be around to keep an eye on Shirabu. Since he’s the only one whoknew about the drug scandal, he felt it was his responsibility to keep a watchon Shirabu and maybe have the opportunity to stop him from doing anythingoverly dangerous.