By the time Nik had started to doubt his earlier decision, he was already too far gone.

He finds out the hard way that his tolerance isn’t high, and he struggles to balance on the small, uncomfortable stool that is bolted to the floor next to the bar. He grips the edge of the giant slab of wood that is the bar hard enough to make his knuckles go white, throwing back another shot; he had stopped bothering to ask Feng about what it was he was drinking three drinks ago.

He slams the small glass down onto the bar and flinches at the sound, quickly dissolving into giggles at the concerned look Feng gives him.

“Maybe you should take a break, buddy,” Feng’s voice is laced with worry, but the fuzziness in Nik’s head only makes him giggle more. He watches as Feng grabs a bigger glass and fills it with a clear liquid before sliding it over the distance between them easily. “Drink some water, or you’re gonna wake up with a killer headache.”

Nik was about to refute Feng, about to spout something about how he was fine, but the words die on his lips as Feng’s arm shoots up and waves at someone across the club. Nik turns around and his hands dig into the back of the faux leather seat as his eyes connect with the person making their way over to the bar.

The man is tall, his hair spiked up in a way that Nik had only ever seen American men pull off. He was wearing black skinny jeans and had a black floral shirt on with half the buttons undone.

Nik feels his soul leave his body as he realizes this man was walking towards him.

“Finn! Yo, man, what’s up?” Feng’s voice brought Nik back to the present, realizing the man, he guesses is named Finn, was looking at Feng, not him. “It’s been a minute.”

Finn slides easily into the seat next to Nik, his hand coming up to grasp Feng’s hand as they come together for a bro-hug. Nik blanches as Finn turns to him after he sits back down and smiles, a hand extending out for a shake.

Nik sits there a second too long before he brings his own hand up, firmly shaking Finn’s hand.

“I’m Finn,” his voice is like butter and Nik has to collect himself before speaking.

“Uh- Nikhil. My friends call me Nik.” Friends? What friends?

“This man can down more shots than you, you’ve got competition,” Feng’s voice is filled with barely-stilled laughter at his bolded lie. Nik bites his lip to suppress the laugh coming from his throat as he stares at Finn’s shocked expression.

“Are you kidding me? This guy’s wasted and it’s barely 9!” Nik’s giggles boil over at Finn’s incredulous tone, grabbing his glass of neglected water and taking a sip.

“Oops,” Nik laughs and manages to spill water down the front of him. He carefully sets the glass down and looks over at Finn, a goofy smile on his face, one Nik can’t place. “Ah- just got laid off, not exactly a bad time to get drunk.”

“Oh shit, that sucks. Sorry to hear,” Finn’s voice matches Feng’s look of concern as he starts to sip on the cocktail that had mysteriously appeared in front of him. “What’s your major?”

“My... major?” Nik can’t exactly remember what his major is right now, it’s one of the last things he wants to think about. But, he searches through the sludge that has taken over his brain for the cute boy. “Engineering.”

Nik can’t help but smile at the look of excitement that passes over Finn’s face. “That’s perfect! A position just opened at my office for an engineering, architect style job. I can set you up with an interview soon.”

“You barely know the kid!” Feng laments, though the words barely register as Nik plays Finn’s words over and over in his head. Offering him an interview? A job? They’ve only just met, and this man was showing him a level of kindness he’s rarely experienced in his past 5 years of being in the states.

“Just give me some damn shots,” Nik hears Finn bark and looks up to see him with an annoyed expression. Feng looks exasperated as he grabs two shot glasses and fills them with a clear liquid before sliding them over the bar.

Finn grabs them both and hands one to Nik, clinking their glasses together. “To new beginnings?”

“Oh- I- um, yes! To new beginnings!” Nik feels his ears heat up as he throws back the shot. The burn has become uncomfortable yet familiar; this drink definitely isn't water. Nik looks back to Finn and sees his cheeks are also flushed.

“Cute...”

“What was that?” Finn cocks up an eyebrow.

Had he said that out loud? “Oh, nothing,” Nik shoves a falling piece of hair behind his ear and laughs, the absurdness of the interaction finally registering. The laughter only builds as Finn joins in, his smile reaching his eyes and giving him crows feet.

********

Finn could knock back an impressive amount of drinks and still be coherent, Nik has discovered. He’d been cut off a while ago, much to the amusement of the blonde man sitting in front of him.

The past few hours had been filled with light conversation, something that was oddly calming; Nik had explained that he’d emigrated from India five years ago to study for uni, had never really had the time to party or date. Finn talked of his job and his hobbies. He knew guitar, something Nik has wanted to learn for years but never had the time.

“You’ve never even picked up a guitar?” Nik giggled at Finn’s incredulous tone. Was the idea so silly?

“Nope, never. My mom made me learn piano, but that’s about it.”

“Piano, no shit! I’ve always wanted to learn but my hands get all mixed up,” Finn finishes off his drink and sets his bottle down, shifting his weight so he’s leaning on the bar. “You’ll have to teach me sometime.”

Nik blushes at that, feeling the heat on his cheeks and ears he had felt many times tonight. It was almost welcoming, making him warm as his brain filled with static and his stomach filled with butterflies.

“Only if you teach me guitar,” Nik’s voice is light, teasing, but his stomach drops as Finn’s eyes blow wide. His expression quickly devolves into mild interest and Nik thinks he just might have just imagined it.

“Do you, uh... where are you staying?” Finn says, scratching the back of his head. His voice is tight and has Nik worrying he might have said something wrong.

“A little place a ways from here. Will probably have to find a taxi...” Nik trails off as he finally realizes his dilemma. Shit.

“Oh, that’s probably not such a good idea. Look why don’t you, uh- why don’t you stay with me? My bed’s big enough that you won’t even notice I’m there,” Finn’s smile is lopsided when he finishes. Nik’s jaw drops at the proposition.

“Finn, thank you so much for the offer, but I can’t-”

“I insist! Come on, it’s getting late,” Nik is cut off by Finn getting up and tugging on his sleeve, leaving him no choice but to follow lest he completely face-plant out of the chair.

Nik is unsteady on his feet as he’s dragged along, everything seeming to blur together as he stumbles his way out of the club.

He thinks idly as the cool air hits his face. He finds regret sitting low in his stomach, though regret over what, he isn’t sure. All he knows is that he wants to remember this, but now can barely remember the name of the person dragging him along.

The last thing he ends up remembering is crashing into a soft bed, down pillows cushioning his face as he almost immediately falls asleep, forgetting the other person beside him completely.

He wishes he could remember more than that.