While on his way to the bar, Ivar felt an irritating pressure in the back of his fancy coat. He reached back and pulled out a wad of cash that Eji had obviously slipped in there when they were hugging. Ivar smiled and shook his head. What a sneaky shit. He put the money back into his coat, but this time in a proper pocket. No doubt that this money was given to him for drinks, and he would put the money to good use.

When Ivar got to the bar, he noticed that it was a lot more busy than usual. He assumed that there was some type of party going on and decided to watch from the bar table. He ordered his usual, a long island iced tea and a rum and cola. Those two were the drinks that got him tipsy, just enough to help him relax into socialising. While he wasn’t the one riddled with 24/7 anxiety, he did have his fair share of wariness about the fact that he and his brother were known criminals and were almost always in some type of danger.

He downed the rum and cola fast, barely even letting it touch his tongue, then held the glass of long island iced tea, letting the condensation run down his fingers and onto his lap. He was facing away from the bar table, scanning the bar. Usually what he would do was find someone who was sitting alone. They usually had a breakup story or something else fun to tell, and Ivar liked listening to them and being the one they socialised with.

What he saw, however, was only one person sitting alone. He didn’t look sad, in fact, he looked almost too young to be in a bar. Totally out of place. He stared suspiciously at him for much too long, and eventually the man looked at him too. They made eye contact, and the man looked away, seemingly flustered. He was short, chubby, freckled, and had a head of short, spiky and unkept red hair. He was adorable. This was THE man that Ivar would talk with tonight.

Ivar kept his eyes glued to this man as he stood and made his way over to him. As soon as the man saw him approaching, he seemed to take a deep breath.

“I wont bite. Mind if I sit?”

Ivar touched the booth across from the man, who simply nodded. Ivar sat and crossed his legs, tilting his head. “What brings you here? You don’t even look old enough to be in a bar.”

The man gave him a smile. “Actually, I get that quite a lot. I’m twenty-one. And I’m just here because I had a tiring day. I wanna relax.”

Ivar took a sip of his drink. “I can definitely relate to that. Though I don’t think your… martini is going to do much to relax you.”

“Are you suggesting I buy something stronger?”

“I am.”

The man smiled and sat back in his seat. “What if I bought something for both of us?”

To say that Ivar was flattered would be an understatement. This excited him, but he tried his best not to show it. “Sure. Another long island iced tea, please~”

“Yes sir.”

He watched the man get up and watched his journey to the bar table. He was cheery, sociable, cute. The way that he had spoken to Ivar had his poor heart fluttering. He sat back in his chair and waited for his companion to come back with the drinks, which he did quickly. Ivar was already feeling some faint effects of the alcohol, and he was only halfway through the iced tea. Maybe tonight would be more fun than he thought.

“What’s your name, mystery man?”

“Keijo, and yours?” Keijo put the drink on the table next to Ivar’s half-drunk drink and sat down across from him with the same drink in his hand. How sweet.

“Ivar.”

Keijo drank from his glass slowly through a black plastic straw. Ivar was still curious about why he was even there. Usually, people who drink at Ivar’s bar are sad and alone, which is why Ivar shoots his shot with them. But this one…

“So, you’re really just here to unwind? Not because your girlfriend broke up with you or you got fired or demoted, or lost a gamble?”

“Huh? No- I really am just here to socialise. To meet new people. And just between you and me, I’m less into women.”

Ivar blinked and leaned forward slightly. “Oh, you’re gay too??”

Keijo laughed a bit and ruffled his own hair, seeming rather sheepish. “No no, pansexual. With a preference for men.”

“Damn, revealing all of your secrets to me already huh~? You must really like me.”

“I could hang out with you more, that’s for sure. You’re rather pretty.”

Ivar nearly spat out his drink at that, and started coughing on some that he had accidentally breathed in. He heard Keijo laughing at him but didn’t really care. He hadn’t been called pretty in a very long time. Especially not by someone so young, cute and innocent looking.

As he recovered from his coughing fit, soothing his throat by drinking more alcohol, he saw Keijo writing on a napkin with a fancy pen. Where he pulled that from was a mystery to Ivar, but he didn’t care. Keijo slid the napkin with his phone number on it to Ivar, and Ivar greedily snatched it and put it in his coat pocket.

“You wanna hang out with me again? After seeing me choke on a drink and nearly die?”

Keijo gave him a sweet smile. “Of course.”

Ivar had a habit of falling hard and falling fast… Keijo would be the death of him…