Chapter Text
“Are you nervous?”
Fumikage glanced up at Mezo’s question, tilting his head back to meet the much taller young man’s eyes. “Why would I be?”
The two were standing beside the billiards table, watching as Katsuki stalked around it to try to get a good shot, Eijiro standing just behind him with a wide, toothy grin on his face. The bar Fumikage had chosen for his bachelor’s night was one he frequented, both alone and with his bride-to-be. It was low-key, a well kept hole-in-the-wall. Music played through the room, a song with a slow beat punctuated by the deep, heavy thrums of an electric guitar’s strings, the romantic side of alternative rock. The lights were kept low, the glossy bartop shimmering beneath the golden glow of a few well-placed lamps and sconces. It had a mellow atmosphere despite the decor, and the owner was kind enough to let them rent the whole place out for the night.
All of the men from their graduating class were here, some of them sitting at the bar, some playing billiards, others throwing darts. A calm, relaxed night. His last night as an unmarried man.
Mezo smiled, an expression that still filled Fumikage with so much warmth, given his dearest friend had hidden that kind, gentle smile for so many years. “I dunno, aren’t most people nervous the day before their wedding?”
“That’s stupid,” Katsuki grunted, leaning over the table as he stared down his pool cue, then struck. With a clatter, the red-striped 11 fell into a corner pocket, and he took a step back again. “It’s their fucking party.”
“Ha, was that a pun? Because, y’know, they’re–”
“Shut it, dunceface.”
Fumikage smirked slightly as Denki tried to joke, stepping up to the billiards table to take his turn. “Katsuki has a point. And I am certainly not afraid of the commitment; Kyoka already possesses my heart, body, and soul. The ceremony is simply a celebration to share with our chosen family. The paperwork, a formality.”
Another loud clatter, and he stepped back from the table.
“Still, hard to believe you two are getting married. Like, it feels like just yesterday when you guys told us you were dating!” Eijiro chuckled, scratching the back of his neck with one large hand, the tips of his fingers sharpening to give a more satisfying itch. “You used to be so shy around one another, but now here you are, all grown up and getting hitched! Man, I’m so happy for you guys.”
“Thank you,” Fumikage dipped his head. “We are both grateful that you could all make the time to be here with us.”
“Hey, wouldn’t miss it for the world!” Denki insisted, sitting on one of the spinning bar stools and twisting back and forth, while Hitoshi sat beside him, slowly sipping on an amber liquid in a crystal glass. “You know what the girls are up to tonight?”
He nodded, holding his hand out to accept the drink that one of Mezo’s many hands offered to him. “Since their group is much smaller, they booked a room at a karaoke place, and will then stay at Yaoyorozu’s home for the night.”
“Ha, of course she’d wanna do karaoke,” Katsuki chuckled, cracking one of his wide, smirking grins.
Their least pleasant former classmate decided to speak up, pouting at the bar as he was ID’ed yet again by the hilariously passive aggressive barkeeper, who caught on pretty quickly that Mineta was really only here as a courtesy so he wasn’t the only one of their class to be left out. “Music is really all she’s got going for her. It’s obvious the two of you had to settle for each other.”
“Hey, man, not cool!” Denki scolded, flicking a peanut at him from across the bar.
“What? She’s flat as a board and he has a bird head.”
“You say that like you have any luck with the ladies,” Hanta pointed out, deadpan, slouched over the bar at Hitoshi’s other side as he snacked on some pretzels.
“Hey! I get lots of girls!” Mineta insisted indignantly, puffing out his chest.
Fumikage handed his glass back to Mezo, who watched him curiously as he then stalked across the bar with silent footsteps. He loomed over his former classmate – the only one he could really do this to – and said in a low voice, “That’s the difference between you and I, friend.”
He leaned closer, his shadow lengthening behind him, then crawling up his back, Dark Shadow’s haunting yellow gaze boring into the little grape man’s soul. “You love women. I love a woman.”
Mineta gulped, going silent, and Fumikage straightened up, twirling his pool cue in his hand as he returned to the billiards table. “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder…” He leaned down to take his shot. “... If that is the case, you must truly be blind.”
CLACK! Clatter clatter… thunk.
“Hey, nice shot.” Eijiro grinned, complimenting more than just his billiards skills, while Katsuki chuckled low in his chest like a hyena that just scented blood.
Everyone else in the room chuckled along with them, even Mezo breaking out into a grin that made him look like the hyena Katsuki sounded like.
That was so cool, Dark Shadow whispered in the back of his mind.
I know, Fumikage replied, unable to help a smile as everyone went back to their respective games.