words | akaashi keiji

drinks.

"Closed in a room, my imagination becomes the universe, and the rest of the world is missing out."
Criss Jami

"This is the spot. Especially back in this corner so you can see everything and talk shit as you people watch." Sho explained with a laugh as he pulled out the barstool that Mei would be sitting on.

"Seems like all you do is talk shit."

"That is highly likely. People are just too much sometimes."

Mei nodded in agreement, settling into the barstool before leaning her upper body onto the counter, letting her eyes graze the wall behind the bartender to see the wide array of bottles.

She eventually ordered a Tequila Sunrise, leaning back in her seat as Sho went with a Bourbon neat, obviously not planning to order many drinks throughout the night.

"So," Sho began immediately, barely giving the bartender the chance to walk away and prepare their drinks before leaning an elbow against the counter and directing his attention to Mei. "I heard you wrote a whole book."

"Hmm, you heard."

"Yup, I went to Akaashi's office to bother him after your meeting. He went on a whole tangent about your book or whatever."

Mei only shook her head in response, feeling herself smile slightly until the bartender returned with their drinks. She thanked him for the distraction, her index finger and thumb immediately taking hold of the stem of the cherry resting on top of her drink.

"Yeah. It was just something I worked on while I was in university. Then I finished it after, and a couple years of complicated trying-to-find-an-editor and convincing-publishers stuff brought me here." Mei explained plainly, finishing the cherry before moving onto the orange that sat on the rim of her glass.

"Damn, that's really a process. Good for you that it all worked out though."

After only a few sips from the both of them, the bar's door opened, signaling a new customer with the chime of the bell atop the door.

Mei looked up from her drink, her face falling as soon as she learned that it was Akaashi who had entered, and was now walking straight toward her.

"Took you long enough, Akaashi." Sho greeted, standing to pat him on the shoulders before shoving him into the seat beside Mei.

"One of my authors was worried about a chapter, so I had to sit with her and discuss it."

Mei sat between the two in silence, staring straight forward and following the smooth movements of the bartender instead of glancing at Akaashi at her side.

This is suffocating. The whole bar smells like him now.

"That sucks. Being an editor sounds like it sucks." Sho carried the conversation, either ignoring the tension that Akaashi's sudden appearance brought or simply not noticing it.

"It's rewarding when a book is published and sold."

"Hey, Mei, do you happen to know how much you made in sales on your book?" Sho asked without warning, directing the attention back to Mei and making her choke on her drink slightly.

"Um, not sure. Never really paid attention. All I know is I can pay my bills."

Mei realized that she was avoiding any sort of contact with Akaashi, leaning her chest against the counter and only turning her head toward Sho if he spoke, but she couldn't bear to look at him and have to say hello.

She found it horrifyingly awkward, but if someone asked her why she wouldn't be able to explain.

Her ears did tune into his drink order– a Vieux Carré– and she crinkled her nose at the way she immediately justified it in her head.