Give and Take [Part 2]
Feb. 6th, 2020 10:04 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
esp_dragonv2Fandom: Noblesse
Summary: Kentas starts a new job as a bouncer, but there's something about the bartender...
Contains: Kentas/M-21.
Notes: Bartender!M-21 and bouncer!Kentas AU.
Thanks so much to madam aZure for all the help brainstorming this. :D
Rating: PG-13
Genre: General
Word count: 2,367
Total word count: 4,016
Status: Work in progress
Kentas took in one last lungful of cold air before going back inside. His ears still rang in the silence after the noise of the previous hours, but he definitely preferred the silence over the noise and press of people.
Takeo was stacking the chairs on tables and Kentas moved to help him. He was given a quick smile of appreciation as they worked together.
"How was your first night?" Takeo asked. Kentas could smell bird about him, but hadn't pinned down exactly what yet.
Kentas was quiet as he thought it over. "Not as hectic as I thought it would be." He'd interrupted a few arguments, but none had come to blows; it was a little disappointing, but if they'd backed down so easily, it wouldn't have been a fun fight anyway.
"That's because of you," Takeo said. "The usual troublemakers kept their heads down and I don't think the others even made it in."
Huh? "I thought it was normally like this?" Kentas said, glancing at Min-gyu, who was wiping down the bar.
"Ah," Takeo said, chuckling. "Min-gyu's definition of 'quiet' is different from most."
Really. So Min-gyu was used to fights. Interesting.
They cleaned the bar in relative silence, the radio softly filling the air with christmas songs.
When Kentas reached the bar, he paused, seeing a filled shot glass sitting on a coaster. There were no lip marks on the rim; it looked like it had just been made. The bar had been empty the last time he'd looked, he was sure of it. He glanced at Min-gyu, who nodded at him.
"For earlier," Min-gyu said.
Kentas looked back at the glass. Earlier? The only time they'd been able to talk was... Ah. "I don't think a drink is equal to a lollipop..." This was too much.
"I don't like owing anyone," Min-gyu said, putting glasses away.
"Then a snack next time," Kentas said. That was more equal. "But...thanks." He downed the drink, the warmth spreading down his throat; it wasn't as if they could return the drink to the bottle now.
"Mrrrr, it's good," Kentas said, setting the glass down. Stronger than what he'd tried before, and the alcohol taste was better hidden.
Min-gyu shrugged, taking the glass and washing it.
All right, that seemed to be the end of the conversation. Kentas turned back to sweeping the floor, rumbling in his chest at the warm feeling there.
The door slammed open and Kentas snapped his head towards it, already striding over.
It was a thin man with short black hair, though he had a white stripe running through the front. He also had triangular ears on display on top of his head, and Kentas wouldn't be surprised if he saw a twin tipped tail behind him. Kentas could smell the cat from him: a nekomata.
"We're closed," Kentas said, and the man stared up at him with wide eyes. His ears didn't flatten though, which was surprising.
"Well yeah," the man said, "that's why I came!" Kentas barely had time to hear the words before the man continued. "So you're the new guy, huh?" He knew? The man peered around Kentas, waving. "Help me out here! Or else I'm gonna get thrown out."
"It'll be quieter again," Min-gyu said with a snort.
"Hey!" the man yowled, though his ears still stayed upright. His actions hadn't been aggressive so far, and he acted familiar towards the others.
"It's all right, Kentas," Takeo said, "Tao works here."
"Used to," Min-gyu corrected.
"I still do!" Tao said, squeezing past Kentas. He shucked off his jacket, tossing it over a chair leg. He rubbed his hands for a second and then picked up a dustpan. "Just 'cause I'm not on site anymore doesn't mean I don't work here!"
"And why aren't you here anymore?" Min-gyu said, shaking his head. Kentas could see his smirk, revealing some teeth.
"Hey, I was totally making Boss more money that way!" Tao said, and there was the tell-tale tail flick behind him. "It was a great idea!"
While they continued their back and forth, Kentas checked if anyone else was approaching and then closed the door.
"I thought you would be sleeping by now," Takeo said, sweeping the dirt into Tao's ready dustpan.
"Uuurgh, why do you think I started working this shift in the first place?" Tao said, his tail curling at the tip. "I don't need to sleep that much. I'm wide awake now, so I may as well see you all than staring at numbers again. It's all done for this month anyway."
"We're halfway through the month."
"And I've finished what we'd done so far!"
Smiling, Kentas listened to the light bickering as he continued cleaning.
* * *
Kentas looked up when he heard the door open, but by the time he did it was already shut again.
...Hn. No-one had entered, but he'd heard someone walking past behind him.
Looking over, he saw Takeo and Tao chatting as they pulled on their coats. Min-gyu was nowhere to be seen.
Ah.
"Hm?" Tao said. "What's up?"
Kentas shook his head. "Nothing. I wanted to talk to Min-gyu after we were finished." There had been enough odd jobs to do elsewhere he hadn't been able to say much to Min-gyu.
"Oooh." Tao tilted a sympathetic grin at him and shared a look with Takeo. "That'll be difficult."
It would?
Takeo nodded slowly. "Min-gyu doesn't really socialise and chat."
"During or after work," Tao said with a huff, crossing his arms. "He's been like that the entire time I've known him. Him talking to me when I came in was him being chatty - took me months to get him to that point!"
Oh. Well. "That's good to know." At least now he wouldn't be too disappointed if Min-gyu didn't talk much to everyone else as well.
* * *
Kentas perked up when he saw Min-gyu enter the bar. Who was completely drenched and scowling, shaking excess water off him. The rain behind him thundered down, crashing against the door even after Min-gyu closed it.
"You didn't get caught in that?" Min-gyu grumbled, running a hand through his slick hair and grimacing.
"I ran when it started," Kentas said.
Min-gyu squinted at him. "You outran the rain."
"Not completely," Kentas said, shaking his head. "I've dried off since I arrived."
Min-gyu kept studying him. "You got so hot from the run the rain dried off you."
Kentas laughed. He could run fast, but he hadn't done it for so long that water evaporated off of him. "Frankenstein brought out towels."
"Of course he did," Min-gyu muttered, sighing. "Right. Better get them before I get soaked through."
Min-gyu squelched past him and Kentas listened to the rain drumming on the windows. It didn't seem like it was going to end any time soon.
* * *
"Here," Min-gyu said, lobbing a-
Kentas blinked, catching it reflexively as he tried to figure out what Min-gyu had thrown at him. It was a small black cylinder covered by a thin waterproof fabric. "Why didn't you use it?" If Min-gyu had an umbrella, how had he gotten wet?
"It's not mine," Min-gyu said, leaning on the door frame, protected from the downpour. "People leave umbrellas in case it starts raining after we come in. Just bring it back."
"I can handle a little rain," Kentas said, still holding the umbrella. It was water. Nothing dangerous.
Min-gyu rolled his eyes. "You're going to be standing in it for hours and you can't run to keep yourself warm."
...Hn. Kentas looked at the umbrella again and then slid the protective sleeve off, shoving it into his trouser pocket. "All right. Thanks."
"Yeah, yeah," Min-gyu said, disappearing back inside before Kentas could say anything else.
The umbrella unfurled in a smooth movement and Kentas rested the pole against his shoulder, some people approaching the front door already.
* * *
Kentas tilted his head up, sniffing as he furrowed his brow.
"What," Min-gyu said, putting a glass away, "did you smell the expensive stuff?"
"No," Kentas said, still sniffing. "I thought I smelled a werewolf." It was faint though, like they'd passed hours before. That didn't make sense - Kentas would have known if a werewolf had went in through the front door. Maybe someone in the kitchen? Or making deliveries? But then their scent shouldn't have gotten into the bar.
"And you'd fight if you met them?"
Kentas blinked at him. "Hn. We don't always fight when we meet another werewolf," he said, one side of his mouth curling up. "It's nice seeing how you match up with another," he added, his gaze drifting. It had been a while since he'd seen another werewolf he wasn't related to or already knew how strong they were.
"What if the other werewolf doesn't want to fight."
Kentas tilted his head, furrowing his brow again. That didn't tend to happen often from his experience. "Then we don't. This isn't a good place for a spar anyway." It was too enclosed and had too many people around.
Min-gyu studied him for a few seconds before sighing. "This place is too quiet for you."
"I don't have to fight," Kentas said. "I could have joined a fighting ring if that's all I wanted to do." The constant fighting had seemed like fun when he was younger, but the match-ups had been unsatisfying and he hadn't liked the baying audience.
A spar was a measure for the two opponents, not for entertaining others.
Kentas shrugged. "This place isn't that quiet." Not after enough alcohol had been sold. He was starting to pick out which regulars he needed to keep an eye on though and they were learning to not start anything either.
Min-gyu huffed, his fingers twirling a toothpick. "It's been getting quieter since you arrived."
Kentas studied him, but Min-gyu was focused on the toothpick. Was he getting cravings again? "You sound like you missed the fights."
"Tch." Min-gyu crossed his arms, the toothpick broken. "It broke up the monotony so I'm not listening to drunk people moan about their problems or trying to talk to me all the time."
"Well, it's my job to make yours as boring as possible," Kentas said with a chuckle. But...Min-gyu didn't seem to mind talking with him? Or maybe the difference was he wasn't talking to Min-gyu drunk.
Min-gyu grimaced. "Fine. It's better than cleaning up smashed glass afterwards."
Kentas chuckled at that. "Yeah, as much fun as a fight can be, the clean up afterwards can take twice as long." Which was all the more reason to not fight indoors.
Min-gyu snorted, throwing the toothpick in the bin.
"Hey," Takeo said, poking his head in from the back, "has the rubbish been taken out here?"
"Just getting it," Min-gyu said, picking up the bin bag and walking with Takeo.
Kentas watched them leave, wistfully imagining what a spar with Min-gyu would feel like before turning back to finish off cleaning.
* * *
Min-gyu stomped the snow as he paced back and forth near the bar entrance, his hands jammed in his pockets. Kentas could hear the crunch of whatever hard sweet Min-gyu was chewing into oblivion.
"You don't feel the cold as much then either," Min-gyu said, looking Kentas up and down.
"I have a jacket," Kentas said. Min-gyu only had a shirt and he'd pulled down his sleeves.
Min-gyu rolled his eyes. "You're not even tense or shivering, and your jacket's open."
That was true. "You want to to wear it until you go back inside?" He started to shrug off his jacket.
Min-gyu stared at him.
...What? "I'm not that cold and you need it more than me."
"You're weird," Min-gyu said, shaking his head.
For offering his jacket? Why was that weird?
"I'm not outside for that long," Min-gyu said, heading towards the door.
That was also true. Kentas stayed outside for a few more minutes, savouring the cold before going back inside.
* * *
"How are you faring after your first week?" Frankenstein asked, peering at Kentas over his glasses as Kentas waited for the patrons to arrive.
"It's been going well," Kentas said. "I haven't had to throw anyone out yet." It was still a little disappointing, but there didn't seem to be a lot of fighters in the area.
Frankenstein beamed at him. "Good. You've already improved the bar since you've joined us."
How often had they needed to do that before he'd been employed here?
"And are you getting on well with your co-workers?"
Kentas nodded. "There's been no problems." As far as he could tell, anyway.
"Aaah, it's nice to hear everyone's getting along! Keep up the good work," Frankenstein said as he entered the bar.
Hn. Kentas had heard the bar's owner was scary but from the little he'd seen of him so far, Frankenstein seemed harmless.
* * *
Kentas paused when he entered the bathroom, seeing Min-gyu there. He was slapping some cologne on but... Kentas sniffed the air. It didn't smell of anything? Maybe it smelled of something to another race - smelling nothing was better than smelling too much, especially when the cologne was so strong it gave Kentas a headache.
Min-gyu eyed him, capping the cologne.
"That has almost no scent," Kentas noted. Min-gyu would know that, but just to make it clear why he'd been sniffing the air.
Min-gyu shrugged. "It does what it needs to."
Huh. Well, so long as it did, that was what mattered, and Kentas headed for the cubicle.
The next part is the one I was taking ages to finish, and I'm still poking at it, so hopefully it'll be ready for next week. 8')
Summary: Kentas starts a new job as a bouncer, but there's something about the bartender...
Contains: Kentas/M-21.
Notes: Bartender!M-21 and bouncer!Kentas AU.
Thanks so much to madam aZure for all the help brainstorming this. :D
Rating: PG-13
Genre: General
Word count: 2,367
Total word count: 4,016
Status: Work in progress
Kentas took in one last lungful of cold air before going back inside. His ears still rang in the silence after the noise of the previous hours, but he definitely preferred the silence over the noise and press of people.
Takeo was stacking the chairs on tables and Kentas moved to help him. He was given a quick smile of appreciation as they worked together.
"How was your first night?" Takeo asked. Kentas could smell bird about him, but hadn't pinned down exactly what yet.
Kentas was quiet as he thought it over. "Not as hectic as I thought it would be." He'd interrupted a few arguments, but none had come to blows; it was a little disappointing, but if they'd backed down so easily, it wouldn't have been a fun fight anyway.
"That's because of you," Takeo said. "The usual troublemakers kept their heads down and I don't think the others even made it in."
Huh? "I thought it was normally like this?" Kentas said, glancing at Min-gyu, who was wiping down the bar.
"Ah," Takeo said, chuckling. "Min-gyu's definition of 'quiet' is different from most."
Really. So Min-gyu was used to fights. Interesting.
They cleaned the bar in relative silence, the radio softly filling the air with christmas songs.
When Kentas reached the bar, he paused, seeing a filled shot glass sitting on a coaster. There were no lip marks on the rim; it looked like it had just been made. The bar had been empty the last time he'd looked, he was sure of it. He glanced at Min-gyu, who nodded at him.
"For earlier," Min-gyu said.
Kentas looked back at the glass. Earlier? The only time they'd been able to talk was... Ah. "I don't think a drink is equal to a lollipop..." This was too much.
"I don't like owing anyone," Min-gyu said, putting glasses away.
"Then a snack next time," Kentas said. That was more equal. "But...thanks." He downed the drink, the warmth spreading down his throat; it wasn't as if they could return the drink to the bottle now.
"Mrrrr, it's good," Kentas said, setting the glass down. Stronger than what he'd tried before, and the alcohol taste was better hidden.
Min-gyu shrugged, taking the glass and washing it.
All right, that seemed to be the end of the conversation. Kentas turned back to sweeping the floor, rumbling in his chest at the warm feeling there.
The door slammed open and Kentas snapped his head towards it, already striding over.
It was a thin man with short black hair, though he had a white stripe running through the front. He also had triangular ears on display on top of his head, and Kentas wouldn't be surprised if he saw a twin tipped tail behind him. Kentas could smell the cat from him: a nekomata.
"We're closed," Kentas said, and the man stared up at him with wide eyes. His ears didn't flatten though, which was surprising.
"Well yeah," the man said, "that's why I came!" Kentas barely had time to hear the words before the man continued. "So you're the new guy, huh?" He knew? The man peered around Kentas, waving. "Help me out here! Or else I'm gonna get thrown out."
"It'll be quieter again," Min-gyu said with a snort.
"Hey!" the man yowled, though his ears still stayed upright. His actions hadn't been aggressive so far, and he acted familiar towards the others.
"It's all right, Kentas," Takeo said, "Tao works here."
"Used to," Min-gyu corrected.
"I still do!" Tao said, squeezing past Kentas. He shucked off his jacket, tossing it over a chair leg. He rubbed his hands for a second and then picked up a dustpan. "Just 'cause I'm not on site anymore doesn't mean I don't work here!"
"And why aren't you here anymore?" Min-gyu said, shaking his head. Kentas could see his smirk, revealing some teeth.
"Hey, I was totally making Boss more money that way!" Tao said, and there was the tell-tale tail flick behind him. "It was a great idea!"
While they continued their back and forth, Kentas checked if anyone else was approaching and then closed the door.
"I thought you would be sleeping by now," Takeo said, sweeping the dirt into Tao's ready dustpan.
"Uuurgh, why do you think I started working this shift in the first place?" Tao said, his tail curling at the tip. "I don't need to sleep that much. I'm wide awake now, so I may as well see you all than staring at numbers again. It's all done for this month anyway."
"We're halfway through the month."
"And I've finished what we'd done so far!"
Smiling, Kentas listened to the light bickering as he continued cleaning.
Kentas looked up when he heard the door open, but by the time he did it was already shut again.
...Hn. No-one had entered, but he'd heard someone walking past behind him.
Looking over, he saw Takeo and Tao chatting as they pulled on their coats. Min-gyu was nowhere to be seen.
Ah.
"Hm?" Tao said. "What's up?"
Kentas shook his head. "Nothing. I wanted to talk to Min-gyu after we were finished." There had been enough odd jobs to do elsewhere he hadn't been able to say much to Min-gyu.
"Oooh." Tao tilted a sympathetic grin at him and shared a look with Takeo. "That'll be difficult."
It would?
Takeo nodded slowly. "Min-gyu doesn't really socialise and chat."
"During or after work," Tao said with a huff, crossing his arms. "He's been like that the entire time I've known him. Him talking to me when I came in was him being chatty - took me months to get him to that point!"
Oh. Well. "That's good to know." At least now he wouldn't be too disappointed if Min-gyu didn't talk much to everyone else as well.
Kentas perked up when he saw Min-gyu enter the bar. Who was completely drenched and scowling, shaking excess water off him. The rain behind him thundered down, crashing against the door even after Min-gyu closed it.
"You didn't get caught in that?" Min-gyu grumbled, running a hand through his slick hair and grimacing.
"I ran when it started," Kentas said.
Min-gyu squinted at him. "You outran the rain."
"Not completely," Kentas said, shaking his head. "I've dried off since I arrived."
Min-gyu kept studying him. "You got so hot from the run the rain dried off you."
Kentas laughed. He could run fast, but he hadn't done it for so long that water evaporated off of him. "Frankenstein brought out towels."
"Of course he did," Min-gyu muttered, sighing. "Right. Better get them before I get soaked through."
Min-gyu squelched past him and Kentas listened to the rain drumming on the windows. It didn't seem like it was going to end any time soon.
"Here," Min-gyu said, lobbing a-
Kentas blinked, catching it reflexively as he tried to figure out what Min-gyu had thrown at him. It was a small black cylinder covered by a thin waterproof fabric. "Why didn't you use it?" If Min-gyu had an umbrella, how had he gotten wet?
"It's not mine," Min-gyu said, leaning on the door frame, protected from the downpour. "People leave umbrellas in case it starts raining after we come in. Just bring it back."
"I can handle a little rain," Kentas said, still holding the umbrella. It was water. Nothing dangerous.
Min-gyu rolled his eyes. "You're going to be standing in it for hours and you can't run to keep yourself warm."
...Hn. Kentas looked at the umbrella again and then slid the protective sleeve off, shoving it into his trouser pocket. "All right. Thanks."
"Yeah, yeah," Min-gyu said, disappearing back inside before Kentas could say anything else.
The umbrella unfurled in a smooth movement and Kentas rested the pole against his shoulder, some people approaching the front door already.
Kentas tilted his head up, sniffing as he furrowed his brow.
"What," Min-gyu said, putting a glass away, "did you smell the expensive stuff?"
"No," Kentas said, still sniffing. "I thought I smelled a werewolf." It was faint though, like they'd passed hours before. That didn't make sense - Kentas would have known if a werewolf had went in through the front door. Maybe someone in the kitchen? Or making deliveries? But then their scent shouldn't have gotten into the bar.
"And you'd fight if you met them?"
Kentas blinked at him. "Hn. We don't always fight when we meet another werewolf," he said, one side of his mouth curling up. "It's nice seeing how you match up with another," he added, his gaze drifting. It had been a while since he'd seen another werewolf he wasn't related to or already knew how strong they were.
"What if the other werewolf doesn't want to fight."
Kentas tilted his head, furrowing his brow again. That didn't tend to happen often from his experience. "Then we don't. This isn't a good place for a spar anyway." It was too enclosed and had too many people around.
Min-gyu studied him for a few seconds before sighing. "This place is too quiet for you."
"I don't have to fight," Kentas said. "I could have joined a fighting ring if that's all I wanted to do." The constant fighting had seemed like fun when he was younger, but the match-ups had been unsatisfying and he hadn't liked the baying audience.
A spar was a measure for the two opponents, not for entertaining others.
Kentas shrugged. "This place isn't that quiet." Not after enough alcohol had been sold. He was starting to pick out which regulars he needed to keep an eye on though and they were learning to not start anything either.
Min-gyu huffed, his fingers twirling a toothpick. "It's been getting quieter since you arrived."
Kentas studied him, but Min-gyu was focused on the toothpick. Was he getting cravings again? "You sound like you missed the fights."
"Tch." Min-gyu crossed his arms, the toothpick broken. "It broke up the monotony so I'm not listening to drunk people moan about their problems or trying to talk to me all the time."
"Well, it's my job to make yours as boring as possible," Kentas said with a chuckle. But...Min-gyu didn't seem to mind talking with him? Or maybe the difference was he wasn't talking to Min-gyu drunk.
Min-gyu grimaced. "Fine. It's better than cleaning up smashed glass afterwards."
Kentas chuckled at that. "Yeah, as much fun as a fight can be, the clean up afterwards can take twice as long." Which was all the more reason to not fight indoors.
Min-gyu snorted, throwing the toothpick in the bin.
"Hey," Takeo said, poking his head in from the back, "has the rubbish been taken out here?"
"Just getting it," Min-gyu said, picking up the bin bag and walking with Takeo.
Kentas watched them leave, wistfully imagining what a spar with Min-gyu would feel like before turning back to finish off cleaning.
Min-gyu stomped the snow as he paced back and forth near the bar entrance, his hands jammed in his pockets. Kentas could hear the crunch of whatever hard sweet Min-gyu was chewing into oblivion.
"You don't feel the cold as much then either," Min-gyu said, looking Kentas up and down.
"I have a jacket," Kentas said. Min-gyu only had a shirt and he'd pulled down his sleeves.
Min-gyu rolled his eyes. "You're not even tense or shivering, and your jacket's open."
That was true. "You want to to wear it until you go back inside?" He started to shrug off his jacket.
Min-gyu stared at him.
...What? "I'm not that cold and you need it more than me."
"You're weird," Min-gyu said, shaking his head.
For offering his jacket? Why was that weird?
"I'm not outside for that long," Min-gyu said, heading towards the door.
That was also true. Kentas stayed outside for a few more minutes, savouring the cold before going back inside.
"How are you faring after your first week?" Frankenstein asked, peering at Kentas over his glasses as Kentas waited for the patrons to arrive.
"It's been going well," Kentas said. "I haven't had to throw anyone out yet." It was still a little disappointing, but there didn't seem to be a lot of fighters in the area.
Frankenstein beamed at him. "Good. You've already improved the bar since you've joined us."
How often had they needed to do that before he'd been employed here?
"And are you getting on well with your co-workers?"
Kentas nodded. "There's been no problems." As far as he could tell, anyway.
"Aaah, it's nice to hear everyone's getting along! Keep up the good work," Frankenstein said as he entered the bar.
Hn. Kentas had heard the bar's owner was scary but from the little he'd seen of him so far, Frankenstein seemed harmless.
Kentas paused when he entered the bathroom, seeing Min-gyu there. He was slapping some cologne on but... Kentas sniffed the air. It didn't smell of anything? Maybe it smelled of something to another race - smelling nothing was better than smelling too much, especially when the cologne was so strong it gave Kentas a headache.
Min-gyu eyed him, capping the cologne.
"That has almost no scent," Kentas noted. Min-gyu would know that, but just to make it clear why he'd been sniffing the air.
Min-gyu shrugged. "It does what it needs to."
Huh. Well, so long as it did, that was what mattered, and Kentas headed for the cubicle.
The next part is the one I was taking ages to finish, and I'm still poking at it, so hopefully it'll be ready for next week. 8')