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"I should have stayed home! F-father wouldn't have approved of such a distraction from my m-mission~"
Ren continued to wail as Noir struggled to keep his grip on the younger man. His hat going askew as he fought to balance them both, just barely able to save it from falling onto the street as he finally stabilized Ren. He had spent the last ten minutes fighting his way down the streets of Kamakura with a surprisingly strong Ren by his side. He wouldn't have guessed the amount of strength the guy had hidden beneath his robes. Just his luck.
Currently, the pair stood at the entrance of an alleyway between a business and a closed restaurant. Noir learned early on into their walk that it was better to stop walking when Ren decided to spout his drunken nonsense. The first instance nearly caused him to fall backward when the younger suddenly planted his feet firmly to the ground, maintaining an ironclad hold on his harness while he began a nonsensical speech.
One that he was fierce to continue on their journey back to the apartment complex.
Not that the content mattered much, it was most of the same babillage absurde he had been spewing since he had begun drinking. Noir had long since came to the decision to not mention the man's father once he sobered up. He didn't want to get involved in whatever daddy and familial issues had come together to form Ren.
His body soon turned lax, enfin, allowing Noir to maneuver Ren's arm back onto his shoulder and continue the rest of what should of been a ten minute walk. Now turned twelve and counting.
He wasn't sure why he allowed himself to get dragged to that mixer. Well, of course he knew why, Kimura had promised beautiful women would be there. While the girls weren't unattractive, they leaned more towards the 'cute' area of his personal preferences. In the end, the teachers and Ren wound up drinking the evening away together.
It seem the youngest of them was a light weight, evident by his crying and drunken babbling early on into the mixer. At most, he'd call him an inexperienced drinker. His behavior also served as part of the reason the group ended the evening together instead of any of with any of the women in attendance. While Noir prided himself in being able to smooth talk almost any woman, his skills only went so far when paired with Kimura's over eagerness and Momose's bland personality. Not to be harsh, bien sûr, but there were women on the line here.
At least Ren's face made the night bearable, despite the mix ups with the other men in attendance. He could never get a read if Ren was bothered by the confusion, he was quite preoccupied with downing his next mug of beer.
Noir had invited him out in good faith. Ren was still young and should enjoy his fading youth drinking and making friends. Though it seemed he had little experience in either based on his social ineptness and low alcohol tolerance. In the end, the night thanked him with being the one tasked to bring him back home. Granted, they lived in the same complex but it was still a bit of a chore that he tasked himself with.
He had flagged down taxi's for Kimura and Momose. It was the least he could do to keep himself in the pairs good graces. Enough to get him invited to another mixer, si Dieu le veut. It would've been easy to get a taxi for him and Ren, but he didn't want to run the risk of his neighbor vomiting in the car.
He looked down at the younger man, noticing that there were fresh tears streaming down his face. If he looked closer, he saw how the man's alcohol induced flush affected the scars on his face, making them appear even darker and furthering the contrast against his pale skin. He cleared his throat, trying to focus, it was not a secret that Ren was beautiful, anyone with eyes could see so. Noir's jaw tightened as tears continued trickle down his face, catching themselves on the raised skin of his scars. Noir had half a mind to be concerned, but crying seemed to be the norm for a drunk Ren. Along with rapid muttering he couldn't be bothered to listen to. He shook his head, he was doing this to make sure Ren arrived home safely.
He didn't want to think of the hangover that awaited Ren, he only counted his blessings that it wasn't him.
After only one more outburst, the pair made it back to the apartment complex. Not that Ren could tell, it seemed he had passed out for good. Unfortunately, there were no stairs to the second floor, where Ren resided. He only considered leaving him out on the stoop, but couldn't bring himself to do it. After all, what would the young Shishikuno think of seeing his cousin in such a state?
And so, he began the other great effort of bringing Ren to his apartment. He would say that dragging what was essentially dead weight was easier than fighting with a drunk Ren. Not that he'd want to experience either again.
In no time at all -seven minutes, he counted- the pair were in front of the younger's doorstep. More sweaty and out of breath than he had begun with on their way home. He counted himself lucky no one had spotted the pair on their way up. Noir didn't have a copy of Ren's key and didn't want to risk any consequences of frisking him for the key. Heureusement, the door opened with a bit of well-intentioned force, he doubted it was worth mentioning the safety concern with the property owner.
He spotted some stray house plants by the door but did not look further into Ren's home. It was already enough that the younger would be embarrassed about the night's events while nursing a hangover the following morning. Noir decided to spare Ren the mortification and quickly dumped him at the entry way before shutting the door. Sending him a silent prayer before he walked down the stairs to his apartment.
Noir considered continuing to drink the night away at home, if only to at least try and salvage his evening.