White Lily (Dazai Osamu x gn! Reader)

Glass of Liquor

"Gah. That's pretty good. I wanna try that one this time barkeep!"

You found yourself situated in the Bar Lupin. So far, your evening has been quite something: squeaky clean table, the warm lighting, the scent of booze, the soft sound of jazz in the back, and the glamorous chandeliers that swung above your head. Yep. The vibes of this place definitely check out with you. It was your first time going to a bar, but then and there, you concluded you'd be coming back. Everything felt really elegant and refined, yet, it was also strangely cozy.

You watched the bartender as he worked. For the most part, he was mixing together and handing people their beverages of choice, but every  now and then, you'd see him shave down an ice cube into a sort of gemstone shape and plop it straight into a whiskey glass. All the meanwhile, he seemed to be awaiting the next order already. You had to admit, his work was smooth.

"One Bloody Mary on the rocks."

"Thanks." The bartender handed you your drink. Your fingers curled around the glass of your beverage, which was cold to the touch. You looked down at your own fancy little piece of ice inside, smiling internally to yourself. (You hope it was only internally at least.)

As soon as the bartender turns away to another customer, you begin to down your drink quickly.

"Bottoms up, hehe!" It all went down easily. A satisfied sigh left your lips afterward as you practically slammed your cup down. The bang was a little louder than you anticipated, but you figured it was fine as long as nothing broke.

"Wahahaha-Ahahahah! More! Bartender, surprise me with the next one!"

Okay so you may or may not have gotten a tad bit buzzed in that moment-Well, it wasn't like you were sober enough to realize that consciously at the time though.

The bartender got to work on your whatever. However, while you waited, your head started to spin. The room went round and round and round until you shut your eyes and leaned over on the table. In response to this, a man seated to your right took notice of you.

"Uhm, excuse me, but are you alright?"

"Hmmm? Yeyaah. Prob-probably...mayyybe...deffffffinitely."

"Really? Alright then. Maybe you should think about a glass of water next though."

"I donneed it!" You responded, not noticing the slight irritation in your tone.

"...If you say so...?"

You sighed and shook your head. You decided to try and open your eyes and pull yourself together. The spinning wasn't going away, but it settled a little bit at least. When you opened your eyes, you were met with a man with cherry red hair and a pale, beige coat. You watched as he took out a pocket-sized book from his pocket and began reading. He took an occasional sip of a beverage you hadn't tried yet every few seconds or so. Your lazy, watchful gaze didn't go unnoticed by the man.

"If you're curious, the book's a collection of short stories. In particular, this one's about a wife and her marital situation."

"Thad sooo?"

"Mhm."

The two of you were silent for a bit, but under alcohol's magic powers, you became more talkative and daring than your typical self.

"Hey, hey, hey, Mr. Stories Man. Ya ever get just so dang tired of your work?"

He nods promptly at that.

"Right!? Society's all like workworkwork and then playplayplay, but then work and work and work and uhhh work."

Silently, he just looks at you. Despite the cherry-haired man's lack of words, you could tell he was listening to your drunken rambling. He seemed to want to get back to his book in hand, but he was too polite not to lend you an ear.