The Gentle Giant [Kokuto, Nero]

Oh, he knew. Not just because of the obvious things, like him being in the various facilities for guys, but also his name. He didn't know a lot about the Italian language, but from what he knew of history, the name "Nero" wasn't typically, if at all a woman's name. So, in the midst of Nero's drunken rambling, Kokuto chuckled softly, lightly ruffling his companion's hair.

"Trust me, I know, lil' guy."

But, his next words took him aback. Ignoring the stumbling and falling face-first into his chest, Nero reverse asking him on a date was not on his bingo card for the night. For a few moments, he was quiet, unsure of how to respond, before the light chuckle of before differed, the tall devil laughing a bit loudly as he rested a hand on Nero's head.

"That's supposed to be my line, idiot. But, sure, a date with you sounds like fun. Got a few sights around the city I can show you, too. So, when d'ya wanna go out, huh?"

His hands slid down, moving from his head to around Nero's body, holding him close -- lightly, but securely -- as he idly swayed from side to side, continuing their little dance.

"Heysh! I'm notsh a lil' guy."

Nero flashed a pouty frown at his teasing statement. Even through the heavy layer of inebriated bliss, he could still find humorous offense at his size. He was below average for the typical male, but he surely made up for that in other aspects, right? Of course! This raggazone with his confident grin and jet-black hair should consider himself lucky for being so pleasant on the eyes. Otherwise, he would have left him where he stood! For now, he simply enjoyed himself, surrendering wholly to the rhythm of the night.

The loud music that blared, the tall form that held him close - for a moment, Nero felt as though he were enjoying a freedom he hadn't graced for months now. To simply be free, to simply enjoy himself without the notion of needlessly burdening himself with the pride of a forgotten family's name. For a single moment, infinitesimal as to be ephemeral, he felt acknowledged in a way he didn't quite think possible. But were those thoughts genuine, or simply illusory musings of a drunken mind? He wanted to believe the latter to be unilaterally true, if at all possible. Thus, his magenta gaze traveled upward to gaze at him, a fond smile dancing across his lips.

"The weekendsh would be nicesh. Honeshly, schedulesh ish opensh rightsh nowsh, sho... weekendsh.... hehehehe, the ceiling look's funny."

His slurring reached critical mass, and what was once a drunken stupor now felt more akin to witnessing a young man falling out after drinking more than a lightweight could reasonably handle. His form slumped against Kokuto's frame, his voice giggling, his consciousness fading...

It wasn't a completely alien feeling for him -- this freedom, the casualness of the situation. Spending it with a character like him, however, was new -- pleasantly so. The little frown only caused Kokuto to chuckle softly, reaching down to gently pull at Nero's pouting face, before gently ruffling his hair. How could he not be enthralled when he was acting like this? Granted, he was sloshed beyond belief, but, as long as nothing happened, there wasn't too much harm in it.

But, then Nero brought up his availability. Open schedule, but weekends were good, huh? He smiled, giving a quiet nod, only for his expression to shift to concern as the other man slumped against him. Just as he was about to start sliding down, Kokuto pulled him back up, chuckling softly to himself as he lifted the drunk Quincy up, reaching into his pocket to pull out his wallet with a free hand, placing payment for the drinks on the table and a tip.

With that, he carried the smaller man with an arm, much like a cat, back to his place, slipping him into his bed while he slept in the combination of a living room and kitchen, on a couch not far from the door.

"Ow, ow... my head...."

What type of headache was this? Why does he feel sick? Why does his muscles ache? What happened? Myriad questions for an addled mind, with nothing in the form of current answers to solve his current issues. Rolling around the bed, he's grasping at the blankets, groggy eyes observing his surroundings. Before he lost consciousness, he recalled talking over drinks with Kokuto. Now, he's here - in a bed, in a house he doesn't recognize. Like a startled cat, he clumsily rolls off of the bed, slamming face first before rising in a panic. His magenta eyes look at the bed. Okay, so he wasn't here. But that didn't explain anything... but--- oh god, he feels nauseous. What is this feeling!? What's going on? What happened!? Blergh, oh no...

"Toilet... I need to get to a bathroom..."

Over a century of watching his own back and resting with one eye open made Kokuto quite the light sleeper. In hearing the sudden drop to the floor in the other room, he was quick to rise, turning his head in that direction. While not the fastest thing in the world, the apartment was small enough for him to get around relatively quick, especially with a bit of energy exertion to boost him alone.

In short order, he was in the room, scooping up his smaller companion and holding him carefully as he zipped to the bathroom. Yeah, that was the price of not drinking enough water while getting sloshed -- something he probably should have had him do beforehand, but, only really thought of it after Nero passed out, and there was no way he was going to try and get him to drink water like that.

"Welcome to back to the world of the livin', as well as the hangover stage. Shoulda mentioned it sooner, but, next time you wanna get drunk, make sure to get water in ya. It'll help curb the headache, and make your mouth feel less dry."

He helped the Quincy get over the toilet, gently patting him on the back to help as best he could. This kind of thing wasn't exactly the most forgiving, especially for newbies, when it got out of hand. But, he was there to help alleviate the process as much as he was able to. Well, that, and there were a lot of questions that Nero probably wanted answered.

"Bleeeeeeerrrrgghhh!"

Such was his immediate response the moment he reached the toilet. His mind focused wholly on emptying his insides. He felt so miserable right now he could die. What manner of debauchery had he gotten up to to invite this torment? He was drinking last night. That's all he did. Was this a repercussion of playing fast and loose with his alcohol intake? What did he even do last night? Argh... and this headache. This damnable headache. Why did it burden him so? Groggy magenta eyes turned to Kokuto as he finished vomittng. There was noticeable shame there that looked more like frustration, but he couldn't quite form any expression out of furrowing his eyebrows in hopes that this headache would wear off as soon as convieniently possible. Through a weak voice, he posed a simple question.

"W-what happened last night?"

Yeah, the vomiting was to be expected. Alcohol was fun to have with friends, but if you didn't do it right, you suffered the consequences in the morning. But, most of the onus was on Nero to recover from this -- so, all Kokuto could do was keep patting him on the back, give him water once the first round was over, and get some food into him -- if Nero could keep it down, that is.

"You got completely sloshed, little guy. No shame in it, that kinda thing happens from time to time, even to the best of us."

Bringing a small plastic cup out from a cabinet -- usually just to get some water from the sink to rinse his mouth out when brushing his teeth -- he filled it up with water from the tap and handed it to Nero.

"You're gonna need plenty of this. Need to make sure you keep hydrated while you're body's upchuckin'. Once you're more hydrated and know you can keep it down, I'll take you out for some breakfast. But, beyond that, nothin' scandalous happened. You got pretty giggly and giddy, we danced a lil' bit, and then I brought ya here. This is my place, by the way. Wasn't gonna just leave you in the bar like that, especially not a tiny, frail thing like yourself."

In spite of the light teasing, Kokuto flashed the young man a warm smile, reaching up to gently ruffle his hair, being careful not to shake his head too much, lest he cause the guy to start puking his guts out again.

"S-stop t-treating like I-I'm some... bleurgh!"

No, he was still undoubtedly suffering the upchuck phase. He quickly grabbed onto the water but his dizziness continued to assault him - his headache, doubly so. Was this the punishment for a few drinks? Or rather, a more pressing question was... how many glasses did he drink last night? Argh... this was terrible. He hurriedly consumed the water to wash away the torturous dryness of his mouth. He attempted to rise from his position again, but quickly fell over, landing against Kokuto's frame. He was still out of it and couldn't quite operate as ideally as he desired, and he hated that.

He felt ashamed. He felt vulnerable right now. How much had he talked about? Did he divulge anything important? Whatever it was, it didn't appear as though Kokuto was teasing him for it, and a sense of safety quickly accompanied that logical realization in his presence. Which was ideal since.... he wanted to lie down. He looked up at the raven-haired male with a defeated pout and made a simple request.

"I-if it's not too much to ask... can I lay back down before breakfast? My head is killing me..."

Yeah, this wasn't something he was gonna laugh at. It sucked to go through it yourself, even worse to see someone else go through it. So, Kokuto just kept patting the young man on the back, taking the cup away when he finished it, only to quickly fill it back up again. As Nero slipped and collapsed against him, Kokuto was quick to use his remaining arm to keep him from hitting his head against the floor.

But, even in the upchuck phase, Nero still did his cute little pout, before asking to lay down. Chuckling softly, Kokuto just nodded as he slowly stood up, careful not to move him too much and risk another episode. He picked up the nearby empty trash can as he made his way back to his room, gently setting Nero down on his side, the trash can next to the bed.

"Stay on your side, just in case you throw up again. Don't want you to choke. I'll be in the living room, common space, whatever you call it. I won't be far if you need me, 'kay? I'll get breakfast for us whenever you're ready. For now, I'll get you some water, drink a lot of it, alright?"

With that, Kokuto went to the kitchen to get a series of water bottles, setting them in close proximity of Nero so that he could get plenty of fluids in him. At this point, though, it was just a matter of waiting it out.