Work Text:
He's doing overtime again today.
Squinting at the computer screen, Kevin reads the lines of code again for the third time. It's winter. It's cold and late and the words on the screen are starting to all blend in together. With a sigh, he leans back in his chair to stare at the ceiling instead.
Everyone else has already left the office, but this particular roadblock has been stumping him for the past hour, he'd just really like to deal with it now before he heads back home.
His phone rings all of a sudden, Eden's cheerful song piercing the silence. It’s Su, he realises, his mood lifting immediately. Wasn't he supposed to have some kind of dinner party today? Su’s not much of a partying guy, but he can't exactly escape work-related functions.
He picks up the phone, wondering what Su’s calling him for. He's always been more of a texting person. “Hello? Su?”
It's a feminine and unfamiliar voice that greets him. “Hello? Is this Kevin?”
“I'm sorry, who’s this? How do you have Su’s phone?”
He hears some fumbling in the background, and faintly, Su’s voice, sounding tiny and distant. “Is that Kevin? Gimme the phone!” There's a loud clatter that makes Kevin wince and pull the phone away from his ear. It’s all in good timing, because the next moment Su’s voice is booming from the phone. “Kevin!”
It's rare for Su to sound so exuberant. Out of character, really. Normally, he's much more reserved. “Su? Are you doing alright?”
“Don't listen to them, m’fine! You don't hav’ta come…”
“Have you been drinking?” Kevin asks, baffled. Su never drinks, but all the signs are pointing to exactly that. Kevin starts tidying up his workplace and getting ready to leave—there are more pressing matters than his work right now. “Where are you?”
“M’fine, m'fine… don't worry ‘bout me…”
“Su, why don't you pass your phone to whoever had it just now?” Kevin says, cajoling.
“Who?”
“Uh, whoever's sitting next to you right now.”
“Oh, y’mean Klein? Sure.” More clattering and fumbling on the other side of the line. Distantly, he still hears Su talking distantly. “She'll tell you m’fine… so y’don’t need to worry.”
“Hello?” The unfamiliar voice sounds again.
“Yeah, hi! Sorry, could you send the location of where you're at? I think it's about time Su headed back.”
“Yes, that's what I thought as well,” she says, relieved. “We're at Bar Lupin, opposite the General Hospital.”
“Is he coming?” Kevin hears Su ask in the background, fumbling for the phone. “Kevin, r’you coming?”
“Yeah buddy, I’m coming,” Kevin says, trying to reassure him. “Could you pass your phone back to your friend, please?”
“‘Kay,” he hears Su mumble as he passes his phone to his friend.
“Hello? Yeah, I know the place,” Kevin tells her. Thankfully, it's not too far away from the Golden Courtyard. “I'll be there in 10 minutes. And… try to keep Su away from the drinks, will you?”
“I'll try, but… he's quite insistent,” she sounds embarrassed. “Don't take too long.”
“Yeah, thanks for looking out for him,” Kevin says distractedly, pulling on his coat and rushing down the stairs from his office to hail a cab. “Pass the phone back to him, will you?”
The 10 minute cab ride extends for another 5 minutes due to the minor traffic jam. It's a Friday night, which means loads of people on the road. Kevin taps his finger impatiently, willing it to go faster.
He's now learning that Su’s a talkative drunk.
Su's been keeping up a steady stream of chatter over the phone all throughout the ride, albeit a little slurred and bouncing from topic to topic with little apparent connection between them. Kevin listens fondly as Su rambles about some… penicillin thing. Shrooms. Or something. He's not entirely sure how the shrooms are involved—the medical jargon is lost on him—and Su keeps fumbling the chemical names. It's hilarious.
Su has probably talked more in the past 10 minutes than he usually does in the entire day, as evidenced when he keeps having to stop to drink some water (at least, Kevin hopes it's water and not more alcohol) because he's been talking himself hoarse.
He can't deny that the undercurrent of worry is making him fidget in his seat, but he also finds himself smiling uncontrollably while listening to Su talk about brain-eating amoeba.
“Once it's asprinted—respirated—what’s that word, Klein, what's it… ah, yes, aspirated …”
“Hate to burst your bubble,” Kevin interrupts gently, all but throwing the cash at the cab driver and bursting into the bar in his haste. “But I'm here.”
Su’s sitting at one of the tables with the rest of his coworkers, next to a vaguely familiar green-haired lady who looks faintly exasperated. Kevin gives him a wave, and watches as Su lights up the exact moment he notices him, lifting both arms to wave back at him. “Kevin!”
Finally hanging up on him, Kevin can't help but feel a surge of fondness suffusing his veins. The bar is a little crowded, what with it being a Friday night and all. Su’s drawing attention with his excitement, and he doesn't seem to care.
“Hi,” Kevin says, walking towards his table. Su makes grabby hands and tugs him closer once he's in reach. “Sorry about the trouble,” he smiles apologetically at Su’s coworkers, patting Su’s hair absently.
The green-haired lady shakes her head, smiling faintly. “Just get him home safe.”
“Yeah. Up you go, buddy. Let's go home.”
He and Su are the same height, so it takes a bit of fumbling to haul him up and get him into his coat and scarf, even though Su doesn't voice any protest, docile and pliant in Kevin's grasp.
Together, they make their way out, Su leaning heavily on Kevin. The Golden Courtyard isn't too far away, but Kevin’s not too sure Su can manage walking back.
“'t’s snowing,” Su says, looking up at the dark sky. Sure enough, it is, little white flakes floating down gently from the sky.
“Yeah. Hold up,” Kevin says, wrapping an arm around Su’s waist to prevent him from stumbling forward. “Let me call for a cab.”
“Cab? What for?” Su mumbles. “M’fine, we can just walk.”
“I don't think that's a good idea now, buddy. You're kind of… drunk.”
Su makes an offended noise. “I can walk. See?”
He pulls away from Kevin and even manages to take a few steps without lurching, which is impressive, but Kevin can't help the laughter bubbling out of him. “Su, come on, you're going the wrong way.”
“Ah,” he stops abruptly, then turns back to glare at Kevin. “Stop laughing.”
“Sorry, sorry,” Kevin takes a deep breath, stifling his laughter. “Come along, then. No cab. Let's walk home.”
There are worse things to do than to stumble home in the cold with best friend in tow. It would probably be easier and faster if they went by cab, but Kevin wants this memory. It's been too long since they've spent time together, just the two of them, and it's shaping up to be a fun night; the kind Kevin wants to keep with him for the rest of his life.
Su’s going to be so embarrassed when he's back to being sober. Kevin resolves to only make fun of him a little. They'll laugh about this, he thinks, when they're both old and gray.
“I didn't mean y’should stop laughing entirely, by t’way,” Su adds, smacking Kevin’s cheek drunkenly. “You should do that more… s’nice…”
“Thanks, man,” Kevin pats Su's shoulder. “It's always better when you're around.”
“Mmm. Yeah,” Su sighs. “What’d I do without you?”
He can't resist a teasing jab. “Get drunk by accident and lose your way home, probably.”
Su ducks his head and tucks himself closer by Kevin’s side, mumbling something. He can't help but notice that the tips of Su’s ears are flushed red.
“What's that? I didn't hear you.”
“I said… thanks f’coming t’get me… love you…”
Warmth blooms in his chest down to the very tips of his toes. “Don't worry about it. Love you too, man.”
“No, no,” Su protests, sounding strangely annoyed. “Y'don't understand… m'in love w’you…”
“I—you’re what ?”
They lurch to a stop, right there in the middle of the street, both of them wide-eyed.
“Ah,” Su says, his voice small. “I shouldn't have said that.”
And then he throws up all over Kevin’s shoes.
They make it back home somehow. Kevin’s a little too worried about Su and Su's a bit too out of it for any scintillating conversation to occur, but they make it back somehow.
Su’s now fine and fast asleep. So is the rest of the Golden Courtyard, save for Can (who took one whiff of the mess and dashed off) and apparently Mobius (who, by the looks of it has been busy with her research until this hour).
“What the fuck is that smell?” Mobius demands, wrinkling her nose.
Kevin looks up from where he's scrubbing out the gross bits. “He told me he’s in love with me.”
It’s not often that someone manages to befuddle Mobius. “Huh? What that does have to do with—” she gestures at Kevin’s shoes.
“Su,” Kevin says helplessly, choosing to stare at his shoes instead of looking at Mobius’ judgemental stare. “He said… he said that he’s in love with me.”
“...Okay?”
“Mobius!” Kevin says, desperate. “Su said that he's in love with me!”
“So?”
“What do you mean, ‘so’? He said that he's in love with me!”
Mobius sighs. “And you reacted so badly that he threw up after that?”
“What? No, he was drunk.”
“Su drinks?”
“I think today might've been a first for him.”
“Oh.”
“...”
“Yeah, good luck on that,” Mobius says, giving him a careless wave, like her job there was done.
“You're leaving?!” Kevin says, betrayed. “Wait! Don't go! Help me!”
“Go talk to Elysia. Literally anyone else would be better than me. Do you really think I know how to help you?” Mobius says over her shoulder, already starting to walk away. “I'm not paid enough for this. I'm not being paid at all!”
Desperate times call for desperate measures, so he's now outside of Elysia’s door, knocking on it rather frantically. “Elysia,” he whispers loudly, afraid of disturbing Eden who has the room opposite hers. “Elysia! Open up!”
The door finally creaks open. “Kevin?” Elysia yawns, hair mussed and eyes bleary from sleep. “Not—” she yawns again, “not that I'm not happy to talk to you, but it's a little late for this, don't you think?”
“Elysia.” He grabs her by her shoulders, trying to impart the gravity of this situation. “I need your help.”
“Okay, okay,” Elysia shakes her head. “Come on it and tell me all about it.”
“Kevin,” Elysia says when he's done, sounding infinitely patient. He waits eagerly for her instruction—surely Elysia would know what to do in this situation. “Just talk to him the next morning.”
And then she kicks him out of her room and goes back to sleep.
Su wakes up with a groan, throwing his hand over his face.
“Su!” Kevin says, sitting up straight where he's lounged on the floor for the last few hours. He went back to his room and tried to sleep, but he was unable to. What was he supposed to say to Su? His thoughts were all messed up, and so he came back to Su’s room, watching him sleep.
Yes, he knows it's probably creepy, but it helped him put his thoughts into order. It really did.
“Kevin?” Su asks, voice scratchy from disuse. “What—what are you doing here?”
“Have some water and aspirin, you'll feel better,” Kevin says, passing them over. Su takes it obediently. “You were pretty out of it yesterday. It made me worried.”
“Ah,” Su says, embarrassed. “You didn't have to sleep on the floor, though.”
“It's fine,” Kevin waves his hand. He didn't actually sleep at all, but Su doesn't need to know that. “Like I said… I was worried.”
“...sorry.”
“It's okay. You would've done the same for me.”
It feels almost like a confession. The moment he says it, he knows it's true: the sky is blue, the sun will rise every day, and Su would always choose to be by his side.
It's scary, almost humbling. He's not sure what he's done to ever deserve that devotion. But that's just how Su was. Caring easily, deeply.
Oh, he thinks, at the surge of familiar fondness rushing through him at the sight. This, too, is love—how did he miss it all this time?
There were so many thoughts plaguing him last night, but they're all pointing back here, the simple realisation that he thinks Su is beautiful, even with his hair tangled and the impression of his sheets pressed on a cheek.
“So?” Su says, cutting through the silence. “Did I do anything funny?”
Kevin lets out a huff of laughter. “...I think you should focus on feeling better first.”
Su groans. “Kevin. Just be honest. How bad was it?”
“Hey, it's not bad, I promise,” Kevin grips his hand gently. “But you're obviously feeling unwell, so go take a shower first, and I'll get you something to eat. I'll tell you everything later. How about it?”
Su relents without much protest. Kevin gets up to grab him some food. He can't wait, he realises. All the pieces were falling into place.
It felt like the start of something new and undeniably good.
“So?” Su perches on his bed, prodding Kevin with a foot as he munches on a cracker. “I'm ready. Lay it on me.”
Kevin takes a deep breath, and looks up at Su from where he's seated, on the floor beside his bed. Don’t laugh. It's a vulnerable time for Su, so he absolutely cannot laugh at him. This is the type of thing that is going to embarrass Su horrendously, but Kevin has no doubt that it’d become something they'll laugh about years into the future at the sheer incredulity.
“Well, for starters,” Kevin says, a smile tugging at his lips anyway. (He hopes Su can tell that it's more of a stupidly besotted smile, rather than a smile making fun of him. He doesn't want to make him feel bad in any way. He never wants to.) “You told me you loved me and then you threw up on me.”