Give and Take [Part 4]
Feb. 21st, 2020 05:58 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: 2,628
Total word count: 8,912
Status: Complete
Min-gyu was tense. Kentas could see it in the way he moved, his movements stiff instead of how they normally flowed. The more time passed, the tenser Min-gyu became. It couldn't be because of the patrons - the crowd was thinning so Min-gyu didn't have to rush like he had before.
Min-gyu didn't snap at anyone but his usual bored expression was becoming scored with a furrowed brow and a flash of teeth whenever someone talked to him.
Was this because of the cologne bottle? But Min-gyu hadn't been hurt.
Had he...?
Kentas couldn't smell Min-gyu's scent - maybe Min-gyu had been bleeding and he'd missed it since he'd covered the spill so fast.
Min-gyu didn't hold himself like he was injured though. He was stiff, but he wasn't favouring anything, his stride looking normal.
He could be good at hiding it.
There was a lull in orders and Kentas saw Min-gyu duck into the back for a minute before coming out again, striding for the door.
Kentas hesitated for a second. He couldn't leave the bar completely unatt - Kentas breathed a sigh of relief, seeing someone leave the kitchen to stand at the bar. Good.
He followed Min-gyu outside. When he opened the door, he wrinkled his nose. Smoke and burning. Damn.
Min-gyu breathed out a big cloud of smoke and Kentas could smell it wasn't from the cold. The tip of the cigarette glowed in his hand.
Min-gyu glowered at him. "What? I needed it." He took another deep drag of the cigarette.
"What's wrong?" Kentas said, keeping the door ajar. The patrons had settled down but a fight could start with a few words; they might appreciate some fresh air as well.
Min-gyu had seemed fine about his cravings before - had the stress of working the bar alone made it worse?
"Nothing," Min-gyu snapped, curling his lip. "Go back inside and keep an eye on everyone."
"They're fine," Kentas said, watching him. "You're not. Do you want to talk about it?"
Min-gyu let out a short laugh, flicking ash away from him as he paced away from Kentas. "Not fight it out?"
What? Kentas furrowed his brow, trying to figure out what Min-gyu meant. Werewolves did tend towards using their fists first for solving problems, but that was to release emotions and energy before dealing with it.
Kentas eyed Min-gyu: his gestures were jerky, and not just from the cold. It looked like Min-gyu could do with getting rid of his pent up energy rather than holding it in.
The wind picked up, making the smoke swirl even more in Kentas' direction.
"Why would..." Kentas trailed off, catching a whiff of the smoke. There was another scent tied to it, one Kentas hadn't smelled before.
No. That wasn't true.
He'd smelled it once before, in the bar. That werewolf scent.
But it wasn't just a werewolf. There was human as well.
Kentas stared at Min-gyu. There was no-one else there - the scent couldn't come from anyone else.
"Hah..." Min-gyu glowered and threw down the cigarette butt, crushing it under his shoe. "Knew I'd waited too fucking long. So?" Min-gyu balled his hands into fists, raising them as he gritted his teeth. "Let's get it over with."
What...? "Get what over with...?" It seemed obvious what Min-gyu meant, but that didn't make sense. Why would Min-gyu want to fight? He'd never been interested before, and it was clear he didn't want to do it now either.
Min-gyu rolled his eyes. "The fight. You know what I am, so let's fucking start already."
"No," Kentas said, making sure his hands stayed loose and lowered, trying to look as non-aggressive as possible.
Min-gyu jerked back, like Kentas had swung at him anyway. "What, am I too human for you?" he spat, his lips twisting to reveal his fangs.
"No," Kentas said again, his insides churning at seeing Min-gyu like this. What had happened to him in the past? "You don't want to fight." It was that simple. There was no point in a spar if the opponent didn't also enjoy it.
Min-gyu didn't say anything for a few seconds, studying him.
"I like fighting," Kentas said, "but as a test of my skills and my opponent's. I don't want to fight just to fight - if I did, I wouldn't be here." He'd stepped in to stop a few fights at the bar, but they weren't guaranteed to happen every night. "And I want my opponent to be having as much fun as I am pushing them to their limit."
Kentas could see Min-gyu relaxing the more he talked. "You...don't want to fight me."
Well. It would have been nice to see how Min-gyu moved and how they moved together, but Min-gyu wasn't interested, so it made the answer obvious. Kentas shook his head.
"Oh."
That seemed to have settled Min-gyu, lowering his fists.
Kentas smiled, glad Min-gyu wasn't as defensive now. "Do you want to talk about what was bothering you earlier?"
Min-gyu stared at him.
"Hn?" Had he said something strange again? "I don't want to fight just because you're part werewolf, and I'm more concerned how you're doing now." That made sense, didn't it?
Min-gyu kept staring at him like he'd transformed with wings. "Everyone else wanted to know which one of my parents was the werewolf and if I'd been brought up as one."
Oh. "I can see why they asked," Kentas mused, "if you didn't react like a werewolf would." He shrugged. "That isn't as important to me."
Min-gyu shook his head, relaxing completely. "You really are fucking weird."
It wasn't weird to be concerned about a coworker... What had Min-gyu's life been like before he started working at the bar?
Min-gyu sighed, a big cloud escaping from his mouth. "This was what was bothering me." He'd gestured between them. "That you'd sniff me out and start a fight like every other werewolf that had. I wanted it over and done with rather than waiting for you to find out and fight inside the bar."
Oh. If Min-gyu had been brought up by humans, it would seem like all werewolves fought when they first met, not knowing that was a greeting.
"I won't. But..." Kentas exhaled, Min-gyu's scent getting stronger with each passing minute. "How did you know I would notice?" Min-gyu had never acted like this before. His scent had never been as obvious.
Min-gyu shoved his hands in his pockets. "My cologne bottle broke."
That was it? Was it a superstition? A bad omen? "And that's..." Kentas trailed off, furrowing his brow. Min-gyu's cologne didn't smell of anything. But once Min-gyu stopped being able to put it on, Kentas could smell what he was. "It masked your scent." That was how he'd only caught a brief scent in the bar and nothing more.
"Yeah."
Kentas huffed, smelling the lingering cigarette smoke. "And...you smoked for the same reason?" To hide what he was underneath it.
Min-gyu nodded, grimacing. "I couldn't fucking taste or smell anything. At least the cologne was scentless."
Where had he gotten it? Kentas had never heard of a cologne that could mask a scent from a werewolf. But then, he'd never paid attention to those things: he'd never needed to track anyone so he hadn't been interested in how people could hide from him.
...Did it matter? Min-gyu didn't want to be recognised by werewolves and that was that.
"Do you feel better now?" Min-gyu seemed more relaxed, less tense than he had been inside the bar. Min-gyu was still watching him from the corner of his eyes, but it looked like he believed Kentas wouldn't start a fight.
"Yeah."
Kentas smiled. "Good."
Min-gyu glanced at where he'd dropped the cigarette butt, frowning.
Hm. "Here." Min-gyu looked up in time to catch the lollipop Kentas lobbed at him. "If you need it."
Min-gyu twirled it between his fingers for a second before unwrapping it. "Thanks."
Kentas huffed, a puff of smoke escaping his mouth. "I should get back inside." He'd been out long enough.
He left, giving Min-gyu more space.
* * *
The air felt different as Kentas and Min-gyu cleaned up after the bar closed. He could feel Min-gyu's gaze on him, prickling the hair at the back of his neck as he wiped the tables down. It was like the assessing gaze before a fight, trying to gauge how strong the opponent was, what they would do.
But Min-gyu didn't want to fight.
Kentas cleaned slower than usual, too aware of Min-gyu's attention. It couldn't be that Min-gyu wanted a fight - Min-gyu had made that clear, so... Was Min-gyu expecting one from him?
Did Min-gyu not trust his word...?
The front door swung open. "Gooood evening, everyone!" Tao called out, making a victory pose.
"I thought you were ill," Min-gyu said while Tao closed the door behind him.
Kentas breathed out a small sigh, the tension and Min-gyu's attention away pulled away from. He'd wanted Min-gyu's attention before, but not like that. Not filled with distrust or wariness.
"Nah," Tao said, picking up the broom Kentas had set aside and twirling it. "It was just a twenty-four hour bug. Less than that. Told ya I'd be fine," he said, giving them a quick wink and a grin. Tao looked around. "Where's Takeo?"
"Sick with the bug you shared with him," Min-gyu said.
"...Eheheh, whoops." Tao laughed weakly as he rubbed the back of his head. "I'll bring him something when we're done."
"So he can pass it back to you?" Min-gyu snorted.
"Nooo," Tao said, sweeping the floor. "It wouldn't be the same virus!"
"Yeah, it'd be a stronger one after going through both of you."
"Uuurgh." Tao waved the broom at him. "Then you can give him the get well present if ya want."
"So it can spread even further and leave no-one to look after the bar? No."
"What do ya mean-" Tao hunched his shoulders and scowled. "-'no-one to look after the bar'?" Tao lowered his voice to sound like Min-gyu as well. "Kentas is here! And I'm here, don't you forget," Tao said, patting himself on the chest. "We'd get it done."
Min-gyu rolled his eyes. "Kentas is the bouncer and needs to keep an eye on everyone, not being distracted serving customers - you aren't allowed behind the bar anymore."
"It'd only be for one night! And-" Tao wrinkled his nose. "Did you start smoking again?
Min-gyu sighed. "I dropped my cologne bottle and it shattered."
"Aaaah." Tao's sweeping slowed and he peeked at Kentas.
Why would Tao-?
"He knows," Min-gyu said.
"Okay!" Tao said, perking up again. "Boss couldn't drop off another one?"
Boss...? Frankenstein? Had Frankenstein made Min-gyu's cologne? And Tao had known Min-gyu was hiding what he was.
"He's on a business trip right now," Min-gyu said. "He said he'll make me a spare one when he gets back."
"Heh, I'm surprised he hadn't given you spares before now."
Min-gyu shrugged. "I hadn't needed it before."
"True true," Tao said, humming. "But-" He waved the broom. "-this place ain't gonna clean itself."
There was a few minutes of silence as they cleaned. It went faster, both with Tao's help and because Kentas couldn't feel Min-gyu's gaze on him.
"Ooooh, what's that?" Tao said.
Kentas was lifting his head to look at what had caught Tao's attention when he heard the smack of cloth hitting something and Tao's startled yelp.
Min-gyu had thrown a drying cloth at Tao, whose ears were flat as he held it. There were two protein bars and a clouded plastic bottle in front of Tao.
"Those are Kentas'," Min-gyu said, collecting his drying cloth again.
Tao looked over at Kentas, his eyes wide. "Really? You've never left me anything before."
Min-gyu snorted. "That's because you've never done anything that deserved it."
"I totally did!" Tao said, his tail flicking side to side. "I covered for you all and all sorts of things!"
Kentas watched them, confused. Min-gyu had known Tao for longer, but Min-gyu had been leaving...gifts? for him almost as soon as he started working at the bar. For doing less than what Tao had done. Why?
"What are these for?" Kentas said, walking over. He'd given Min-gyu a lollipop earlier, but that wasn't worth two protein bars, let alone a protein shake as well. They'd talked outside, but it had been so busy they hadn't been able to talk much after that. He hadn't needed to throw anyone out either.
"For not starting a fight."
Ah... Was that something that deserved to be repaid? Min-gyu hadn't wanted to fight; even if Kentas was curious, Min-gyu wasn't.
But...Min-gyu wasn't completely a werewolf. How did humans show interest with someone else...?
"Hey!" Tao said, perking up to gape at Min-gyu. "I shoulda had multiple sweets a night then!"
Min-gyu gave him a withering glare, which didn't put Tao off at all.
"Min-gyuuu," Tao whined, leaning bodily on the table and patting close the gifts, "give me something too pleeease. I helped with the cleaning, when I'm still recovering from the cold. That's gotta mean something, right?"
"No."
"S-so mean," Tao said, with an exaggerated tearful sniff.
Kentas took one of the protein bars, but didn't open it. It took him a few seconds to collect his thoughts, trying to figure out how best to put it into words. Was he reading this wrong? Maybe he was.
But Min-gyu had been giving him gifts for little things when he hadn't done the same for Tao.
"When werewolves first meet, they usually fight to gauge each other's strengths," he said, watching M-21's expression. He knew Min-gyu didn't want to fight, but Min-gyu had given him gifts. "It's a way to greet each other and to know if they're equal in strength, but...would you rather grab something to eat instead?" Humans went out for dinner together, didn't they? It was too late to be called dinner, but it would still be a late night meal.
Min-gyu stared at him and Kentas heard Tao's deep intake of breath.
"Like in a date sense or-" Min-gyu nailed Tao in the face again with the drying cloth without looking. "I'm just makin' sure everyone's on the same page here!"
It was needed, since it seemed like Min-gyu had been telling him something and he hadn't realised.
"Like a date," Kentas said, nodding as he continued to watch Min-gyu. "I appreciate the gifts, but I would prefer to share a meal if we're going to keep giving each other something to eat." There was more to eat than candy and they could spend the time together.
Min-gyu still hadn't looked away, still studying Kentas.
Kentas could see Tao's ears twitching but he kept watching Min-gyu for a change in expression.
Min-gyu huffed, the corner of his mouth curling up into a smirk. "So you're wanting more than what I'm offering."
Kentas grinned back. Min-gyu didn't sound offended. "Well, I haven't accepted what you've been offering." Not what Min-gyu had really been offering.
"All right," Min-gyu said, exhaling. "So long as it's somewhere inside; I can't stay outside for long like you," he added, his smirk widening.
Kentas laughed. "We'll find somewhere." There were lots of places they could go.
So this fic started with the idea of Kentas realising M-21 likes him without Tao having to explain, but then the secondary idea of Kentas finding out about M-21's ended up being just as important, aha.
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: 2,628
Total word count: 8,912
Status: Complete
Min-gyu was tense. Kentas could see it in the way he moved, his movements stiff instead of how they normally flowed. The more time passed, the tenser Min-gyu became. It couldn't be because of the patrons - the crowd was thinning so Min-gyu didn't have to rush like he had before.
Min-gyu didn't snap at anyone but his usual bored expression was becoming scored with a furrowed brow and a flash of teeth whenever someone talked to him.
Was this because of the cologne bottle? But Min-gyu hadn't been hurt.
Had he...?
Kentas couldn't smell Min-gyu's scent - maybe Min-gyu had been bleeding and he'd missed it since he'd covered the spill so fast.
Min-gyu didn't hold himself like he was injured though. He was stiff, but he wasn't favouring anything, his stride looking normal.
He could be good at hiding it.
There was a lull in orders and Kentas saw Min-gyu duck into the back for a minute before coming out again, striding for the door.
Kentas hesitated for a second. He couldn't leave the bar completely unatt - Kentas breathed a sigh of relief, seeing someone leave the kitchen to stand at the bar. Good.
He followed Min-gyu outside. When he opened the door, he wrinkled his nose. Smoke and burning. Damn.
Min-gyu breathed out a big cloud of smoke and Kentas could smell it wasn't from the cold. The tip of the cigarette glowed in his hand.
Min-gyu glowered at him. "What? I needed it." He took another deep drag of the cigarette.
"What's wrong?" Kentas said, keeping the door ajar. The patrons had settled down but a fight could start with a few words; they might appreciate some fresh air as well.
Min-gyu had seemed fine about his cravings before - had the stress of working the bar alone made it worse?
"Nothing," Min-gyu snapped, curling his lip. "Go back inside and keep an eye on everyone."
"They're fine," Kentas said, watching him. "You're not. Do you want to talk about it?"
Min-gyu let out a short laugh, flicking ash away from him as he paced away from Kentas. "Not fight it out?"
What? Kentas furrowed his brow, trying to figure out what Min-gyu meant. Werewolves did tend towards using their fists first for solving problems, but that was to release emotions and energy before dealing with it.
Kentas eyed Min-gyu: his gestures were jerky, and not just from the cold. It looked like Min-gyu could do with getting rid of his pent up energy rather than holding it in.
The wind picked up, making the smoke swirl even more in Kentas' direction.
"Why would..." Kentas trailed off, catching a whiff of the smoke. There was another scent tied to it, one Kentas hadn't smelled before.
No. That wasn't true.
He'd smelled it once before, in the bar. That werewolf scent.
But it wasn't just a werewolf. There was human as well.
Kentas stared at Min-gyu. There was no-one else there - the scent couldn't come from anyone else.
"Hah..." Min-gyu glowered and threw down the cigarette butt, crushing it under his shoe. "Knew I'd waited too fucking long. So?" Min-gyu balled his hands into fists, raising them as he gritted his teeth. "Let's get it over with."
What...? "Get what over with...?" It seemed obvious what Min-gyu meant, but that didn't make sense. Why would Min-gyu want to fight? He'd never been interested before, and it was clear he didn't want to do it now either.
Min-gyu rolled his eyes. "The fight. You know what I am, so let's fucking start already."
"No," Kentas said, making sure his hands stayed loose and lowered, trying to look as non-aggressive as possible.
Min-gyu jerked back, like Kentas had swung at him anyway. "What, am I too human for you?" he spat, his lips twisting to reveal his fangs.
"No," Kentas said again, his insides churning at seeing Min-gyu like this. What had happened to him in the past? "You don't want to fight." It was that simple. There was no point in a spar if the opponent didn't also enjoy it.
Min-gyu didn't say anything for a few seconds, studying him.
"I like fighting," Kentas said, "but as a test of my skills and my opponent's. I don't want to fight just to fight - if I did, I wouldn't be here." He'd stepped in to stop a few fights at the bar, but they weren't guaranteed to happen every night. "And I want my opponent to be having as much fun as I am pushing them to their limit."
Kentas could see Min-gyu relaxing the more he talked. "You...don't want to fight me."
Well. It would have been nice to see how Min-gyu moved and how they moved together, but Min-gyu wasn't interested, so it made the answer obvious. Kentas shook his head.
"Oh."
That seemed to have settled Min-gyu, lowering his fists.
Kentas smiled, glad Min-gyu wasn't as defensive now. "Do you want to talk about what was bothering you earlier?"
Min-gyu stared at him.
"Hn?" Had he said something strange again? "I don't want to fight just because you're part werewolf, and I'm more concerned how you're doing now." That made sense, didn't it?
Min-gyu kept staring at him like he'd transformed with wings. "Everyone else wanted to know which one of my parents was the werewolf and if I'd been brought up as one."
Oh. "I can see why they asked," Kentas mused, "if you didn't react like a werewolf would." He shrugged. "That isn't as important to me."
Min-gyu shook his head, relaxing completely. "You really are fucking weird."
It wasn't weird to be concerned about a coworker... What had Min-gyu's life been like before he started working at the bar?
Min-gyu sighed, a big cloud escaping from his mouth. "This was what was bothering me." He'd gestured between them. "That you'd sniff me out and start a fight like every other werewolf that had. I wanted it over and done with rather than waiting for you to find out and fight inside the bar."
Oh. If Min-gyu had been brought up by humans, it would seem like all werewolves fought when they first met, not knowing that was a greeting.
"I won't. But..." Kentas exhaled, Min-gyu's scent getting stronger with each passing minute. "How did you know I would notice?" Min-gyu had never acted like this before. His scent had never been as obvious.
Min-gyu shoved his hands in his pockets. "My cologne bottle broke."
That was it? Was it a superstition? A bad omen? "And that's..." Kentas trailed off, furrowing his brow. Min-gyu's cologne didn't smell of anything. But once Min-gyu stopped being able to put it on, Kentas could smell what he was. "It masked your scent." That was how he'd only caught a brief scent in the bar and nothing more.
"Yeah."
Kentas huffed, smelling the lingering cigarette smoke. "And...you smoked for the same reason?" To hide what he was underneath it.
Min-gyu nodded, grimacing. "I couldn't fucking taste or smell anything. At least the cologne was scentless."
Where had he gotten it? Kentas had never heard of a cologne that could mask a scent from a werewolf. But then, he'd never paid attention to those things: he'd never needed to track anyone so he hadn't been interested in how people could hide from him.
...Did it matter? Min-gyu didn't want to be recognised by werewolves and that was that.
"Do you feel better now?" Min-gyu seemed more relaxed, less tense than he had been inside the bar. Min-gyu was still watching him from the corner of his eyes, but it looked like he believed Kentas wouldn't start a fight.
"Yeah."
Kentas smiled. "Good."
Min-gyu glanced at where he'd dropped the cigarette butt, frowning.
Hm. "Here." Min-gyu looked up in time to catch the lollipop Kentas lobbed at him. "If you need it."
Min-gyu twirled it between his fingers for a second before unwrapping it. "Thanks."
Kentas huffed, a puff of smoke escaping his mouth. "I should get back inside." He'd been out long enough.
He left, giving Min-gyu more space.
The air felt different as Kentas and Min-gyu cleaned up after the bar closed. He could feel Min-gyu's gaze on him, prickling the hair at the back of his neck as he wiped the tables down. It was like the assessing gaze before a fight, trying to gauge how strong the opponent was, what they would do.
But Min-gyu didn't want to fight.
Kentas cleaned slower than usual, too aware of Min-gyu's attention. It couldn't be that Min-gyu wanted a fight - Min-gyu had made that clear, so... Was Min-gyu expecting one from him?
Did Min-gyu not trust his word...?
The front door swung open. "Gooood evening, everyone!" Tao called out, making a victory pose.
"I thought you were ill," Min-gyu said while Tao closed the door behind him.
Kentas breathed out a small sigh, the tension and Min-gyu's attention away pulled away from. He'd wanted Min-gyu's attention before, but not like that. Not filled with distrust or wariness.
"Nah," Tao said, picking up the broom Kentas had set aside and twirling it. "It was just a twenty-four hour bug. Less than that. Told ya I'd be fine," he said, giving them a quick wink and a grin. Tao looked around. "Where's Takeo?"
"Sick with the bug you shared with him," Min-gyu said.
"...Eheheh, whoops." Tao laughed weakly as he rubbed the back of his head. "I'll bring him something when we're done."
"So he can pass it back to you?" Min-gyu snorted.
"Nooo," Tao said, sweeping the floor. "It wouldn't be the same virus!"
"Yeah, it'd be a stronger one after going through both of you."
"Uuurgh." Tao waved the broom at him. "Then you can give him the get well present if ya want."
"So it can spread even further and leave no-one to look after the bar? No."
"What do ya mean-" Tao hunched his shoulders and scowled. "-'no-one to look after the bar'?" Tao lowered his voice to sound like Min-gyu as well. "Kentas is here! And I'm here, don't you forget," Tao said, patting himself on the chest. "We'd get it done."
Min-gyu rolled his eyes. "Kentas is the bouncer and needs to keep an eye on everyone, not being distracted serving customers - you aren't allowed behind the bar anymore."
"It'd only be for one night! And-" Tao wrinkled his nose. "Did you start smoking again?
Min-gyu sighed. "I dropped my cologne bottle and it shattered."
"Aaaah." Tao's sweeping slowed and he peeked at Kentas.
Why would Tao-?
"He knows," Min-gyu said.
"Okay!" Tao said, perking up again. "Boss couldn't drop off another one?"
Boss...? Frankenstein? Had Frankenstein made Min-gyu's cologne? And Tao had known Min-gyu was hiding what he was.
"He's on a business trip right now," Min-gyu said. "He said he'll make me a spare one when he gets back."
"Heh, I'm surprised he hadn't given you spares before now."
Min-gyu shrugged. "I hadn't needed it before."
"True true," Tao said, humming. "But-" He waved the broom. "-this place ain't gonna clean itself."
There was a few minutes of silence as they cleaned. It went faster, both with Tao's help and because Kentas couldn't feel Min-gyu's gaze on him.
"Ooooh, what's that?" Tao said.
Kentas was lifting his head to look at what had caught Tao's attention when he heard the smack of cloth hitting something and Tao's startled yelp.
Min-gyu had thrown a drying cloth at Tao, whose ears were flat as he held it. There were two protein bars and a clouded plastic bottle in front of Tao.
"Those are Kentas'," Min-gyu said, collecting his drying cloth again.
Tao looked over at Kentas, his eyes wide. "Really? You've never left me anything before."
Min-gyu snorted. "That's because you've never done anything that deserved it."
"I totally did!" Tao said, his tail flicking side to side. "I covered for you all and all sorts of things!"
Kentas watched them, confused. Min-gyu had known Tao for longer, but Min-gyu had been leaving...gifts? for him almost as soon as he started working at the bar. For doing less than what Tao had done. Why?
"What are these for?" Kentas said, walking over. He'd given Min-gyu a lollipop earlier, but that wasn't worth two protein bars, let alone a protein shake as well. They'd talked outside, but it had been so busy they hadn't been able to talk much after that. He hadn't needed to throw anyone out either.
"For not starting a fight."
Ah... Was that something that deserved to be repaid? Min-gyu hadn't wanted to fight; even if Kentas was curious, Min-gyu wasn't.
But...Min-gyu wasn't completely a werewolf. How did humans show interest with someone else...?
"Hey!" Tao said, perking up to gape at Min-gyu. "I shoulda had multiple sweets a night then!"
Min-gyu gave him a withering glare, which didn't put Tao off at all.
"Min-gyuuu," Tao whined, leaning bodily on the table and patting close the gifts, "give me something too pleeease. I helped with the cleaning, when I'm still recovering from the cold. That's gotta mean something, right?"
"No."
"S-so mean," Tao said, with an exaggerated tearful sniff.
Kentas took one of the protein bars, but didn't open it. It took him a few seconds to collect his thoughts, trying to figure out how best to put it into words. Was he reading this wrong? Maybe he was.
But Min-gyu had been giving him gifts for little things when he hadn't done the same for Tao.
"When werewolves first meet, they usually fight to gauge each other's strengths," he said, watching M-21's expression. He knew Min-gyu didn't want to fight, but Min-gyu had given him gifts. "It's a way to greet each other and to know if they're equal in strength, but...would you rather grab something to eat instead?" Humans went out for dinner together, didn't they? It was too late to be called dinner, but it would still be a late night meal.
Min-gyu stared at him and Kentas heard Tao's deep intake of breath.
"Like in a date sense or-" Min-gyu nailed Tao in the face again with the drying cloth without looking. "I'm just makin' sure everyone's on the same page here!"
It was needed, since it seemed like Min-gyu had been telling him something and he hadn't realised.
"Like a date," Kentas said, nodding as he continued to watch Min-gyu. "I appreciate the gifts, but I would prefer to share a meal if we're going to keep giving each other something to eat." There was more to eat than candy and they could spend the time together.
Min-gyu still hadn't looked away, still studying Kentas.
Kentas could see Tao's ears twitching but he kept watching Min-gyu for a change in expression.
Min-gyu huffed, the corner of his mouth curling up into a smirk. "So you're wanting more than what I'm offering."
Kentas grinned back. Min-gyu didn't sound offended. "Well, I haven't accepted what you've been offering." Not what Min-gyu had really been offering.
"All right," Min-gyu said, exhaling. "So long as it's somewhere inside; I can't stay outside for long like you," he added, his smirk widening.
Kentas laughed. "We'll find somewhere." There were lots of places they could go.
So this fic started with the idea of Kentas realising M-21 likes him without Tao having to explain, but then the secondary idea of Kentas finding out about M-21's ended up being just as important, aha.