Time was starting to pass by with a relative ease the more he distracted himself with remedial tasks such as sweeping the herbalry, counting the stock, prepping some ingredients that would be used tomorrow in an early appointment. Getting his mind off his mother's condition was easy enough once he was on a roll, but starting it was something different and took some effort on his part.

His master excused himself, heading home for the night and telling Yuuta to close up shop when everything was prepped and stocked properly. It was a blessing, really, to be given the task. Heading home wasn't interesting or repetitive enough to keep his mother off his mind.

Ring! Ring!

Getting a call was strange enough as it was a local shop. It was usually meant to be a place people could come, order something and be given it within a few minutes. The only calls they got were from those bedridden with no family to help. But this late at night? It seemed pretty odd. He picked it up, very timidly putting it to his ear.

"Hello?"

"Oh good, you're still up! We need a doctor here and everywhere else nearby is closed," a frantic woman explained. He sighed, afterwards telling her to calm down and tell him what happened so he could bring what he could. "One of our customers just passed out and hit her head on the counter. She's not waking up or anything!"

"I'll be right there," he said, hanging up, repeating to himself the place she called from. It wasn't too far so he could leave his cane behind to help carry the supplies needed. He picked up a few jars, some gauze and gloves. He wasn't too used to emergency work, but if he really was the only one around with some kind of medical expertise then what was he going to do? He wanted to help. Even if he wasn't a waterbending healer, he could use what he knew to help others.

He ran over, his leg giving off a subtle throb each time he put his weight on it, though his thoughts on the injured woman kept his mind just busy enough to keep the pain of his leg and memories of his mother at bay. Several people yelled at him as he walked by, telling him to wait in line, though the bouncer seemed to know what was going on and let him through after a few short questions to see who he was such as name, work place and who called him.

Inside wasn't really what he was expecting to see, though in truth he never knew what to expect when it came to places like these. With his leg, he never strayed from the quickest route and all those routes went to were the same three places: his two work places and the apartment he shares with Shuai. It wasn't hard to find the woman with the frantic voice, her demeanor just giving her away. "Oh good! Please help her!" she exclaimed.

He did his best trying to examine the damage, disinfecting the wound and wrapping the gauze around her head to keep pressure on it. It wasn't much, but that's all he could do for the wound. As for her alcohol level... An ingenious thought appeared and he pulled out one of the other jars, thankful he brought several different things with him, such as the activated charcoal. He only had a few, but it should work. He put it in the unconcious woman's mouth, aiding the woman to swallow by pouring a bit of water in her mouth. Handing a few more tablets to the frantic woman, he stood up, realizing the pain in his leg.

"That's all I think I can do. Give her a few more of those after she wakes up. It'll help," he said monotonously, trying to keep the nagging pain out of his voice. As for how much help he's done, he wasn't even sure. He usually just dealt with burns or small cuts. His medicine was meant more to help diseases in the body, not alcohol poisoning.

"Oh thank you! I don't have much money on hand to give you, but I have a tab open at the bar if you'd like a few drinks," she suggested, her eyes filled with gratitude. He sighed once more before nodding and limping towards the bar, his bag with the jars over his shoulder.

One drink after another he used to counteract the pain in his head, though with each glass the more he thought about his mother. Each glass was then with hopes to forget his mother. It didn't really help that much. An hour or so passed, still sitting on the same bar stool. He was only brought out of his daze when seeing a glimpse of a familiar face, even if when he looked at her he saw a whole different person.

"Shuai?" he asked, hoping he didn't sound as drunk as he felt. "Haven't seen you in a while," he said, feeling a weird smile on his face. Huh, smiling. He never thought that would happen randomly, much less under the influence. "How has work been?" he asked, bringing up the only topic he knew couldn't go wrong.

Spirits. He hoped he wasn't making some sort of fool of himself.

Huh. Apparently his presence here was equally as shocking to her as her presence here was to him. The two didn't have a lot of conversations and the few ones they did usually were in passing. Even paying the bill wasn't something they did over dinner or even in person. He would set down the weekly rent on the counter once a week, the same amount every time unless he had broken something to which he was add the estimate cost to the stack.

He noticed the slight change in her cheeks and wondered if it was from the alcohol she had just drunk or the heat of the room from so many people dancing and moving about. If he was this perceptive, there was a bit of hope he was still in control of himself even if his mind was a bit bogged down.

"Good, good. That's good," Yuuta replied, watching as the edges of his vision began to blur. Oh great, he was getting drunk. It was a wonder he hadn't passed out earlier like the woman he had came here to help. "Yeah. Though an assistant is nice, they are costly," he said, thinking from a business perspective. Well, maybe he wasn't too drunk just yet and maybe he should lay off the drinks. How many had he had already? Four? Five in the past two hours. He just knew he was going to really feel it later.

On a normal day, her change in tone would have offended him, irritated him, egged him on, but if it wasn't obvious enough: today was not a normal day. Instead, he found the change pleasing. "I'm doing well. The usual," he said, though that was far from the truth. His leg hurt, which was actually normal though this new coping method was not. And his mother... Her condition had already made him very stressed, but the news that she was not getting better probably was the thing that pushed him to drink so much. Spirits and he wanted another drink.

He picked up his glass, swirling the liquid around just a bit. Hm, two, possibly three mouthfuls. No more after this. Anything beyond this he knew he'd be in the deep end. He raised it up to his lips and took a large gulp, the liquid running down his throat that felt like fire. "Actually. Not really." He held his head in his hands. "I got back a letter from my mom after a long wait. She's not getting any better. On the bright side, she's not getting any worse either, but if it is terminal, I want to be with her. But I can't abandon my jobs. Just everything right now... they're so confusing."

"And not to mention that... that woman!" he pointed in the direction the frantic woman had been in, though she was no longer there and neither was her friend. "Called me here to help her friend and then paid me with... with drinks!" Once all of that was said an done and the reality of what he had said hit, he hoped Shuai didn't look too much into it. His face flushed as he realized his embarrassment.

Yuuta felt his head get lighter as he finished off his drink, thoughts beginning to blur together once more. It was a sweet bliss, though not something he'd admit to anyone. As this was, quite literally, the first time he's drank and become drunk he wasn't sure on anything he should or should not do. Which included talking, replying, buying more drinks on the woman's tab and... well, he didn't know what else. Everything was just so confusing. Oh good, a reason to stop drinking; he hated being confused.

The touch of her hand on his leg was something quite unfamiliar. While be was used to touching others, examining them for medical purposes, the touch of another human being wasn't something he was really all that used to. For the longest time, without his mother, he had lived a rather solitary life. His general demeanor kept him from long-term renting with others and he never really had the time for any sort of relationship. He woke up alone, worked relatively alone and went back to be alone. The longer he pressed the issue mentally, he found that he had recent contact though it seemed so long ago. It was the girl he had hired off the streets. He had kissed her, unknowing of anything else to do. Yet she had left him to return to the North Pole.

Talk about a depressing life.

The emerald eyed man shifted in his spot, hoping the motion would make her remove her hand. It was a passive act, something very unusual for his character, but he really knew that he was drunk and the last thing he'd want to do was say something stupid or random that might ruin their roommateship. Who knows might might slip out of his mouth this time. Perhaps his insecurities as to who his father was or the angst he held of his leg.

"Thank you," he said, the two words separated carefully to keep in control of his tongue and the words it let loose. Yuuta's eye couldn't help but follow the shiny glass as she moved it, the light glimmering off the drink and glass to sparkle in his eye and bring his attention to her exposed leg. O-Oh, oh dear. He really hadn't noticed or expected that. The man had always figured her for another type of character, not a partying, fancy dressed girl with a low tolerance for alcohol. Then again, he knew not much of her.

He couldn't help but manage a smile, bringing his eyes back up and away from her exposed skin. "I don't know. This is my first time for a bar. I'm actually surprised I've held my drink down this long." With no prior experience to the kind of drink, he had figured he should have left for the bathroom a long time ago.

"Wha-" He was caught off guard by a hiccup. "What are you doing here? Isn't this the time you usually sleep?" Yuuta questioned.

Shuai's shifting probably had the opposite effect of what she wanted, if her intention had been not draw attention to her dress (the thought of her not wanting to show any more than she could had to had not occurred to the tipsy man). As she stood up, her hands moving downward, his eyes followed to watch as she tugged the dress down. It took the herbalist a few moments before he realized what he was doing, his face flushing.

Once more, his eyes followed her hands until he found himself looking at a familiar face. "Oh, yeah. Her," he said rather bleakly. Though that woman had managed to set him up in a pretty nice living situation compared to his constant moving before hand, he had been a big fan of her... lets say personality. As he wasn't much of a people's person, people like her just tended to rub him wrong no matter what they did or said. Somehow, despite his distaste for Tuyen's way of handling things, he found himself chuckling. "Did either of us ever tell you how she convinced me?" he asked, leaning back a bit so that his back rested on the bar.

"If I remember correctly, it was at a tea shop. I was just sort of...there. The last roommate I had kicked me out, saying something about me "bringing him down". She saw the boxes I had on hand and started talking my ear off. I honestly had no idea what I was getting into, but agreeing to check out the apartment seemed like the only way to get her to shut up at the time," he recalled, ending his story with a sigh. He couldn't understand how that woman and Shuai could have managed. Then again, Yuuta never had friends growing up. Doing anything with other people was seen as sort of an oddity, one he was not familiar with and stayed away from. Blaming his leg, though it was a viable excuse, was simply a reasonable escape.

Now, as an adult, he could barely believe he was socializing so much. So much had changed. Was it due to his mother's absence? With those thoughts, to steer clear of them, he actually hit himself though it looked like nothing more that a slap on his head... from himself. He needed to stop thinking about his mother.

He stood up, trying out for size a somewhat inviting smile, and held out his hand to her. "I've never danced before and I don't know when my leg will hurt again, but if you want to join your friend, I can help. You know, so you won't be a third wheel?"

His roommate took up his offer wordlessly, dragging him by his hand through the crowded frenzy of people. He felt agitated with each elbow jab that hit his person but less so than he would have normally. He decided to blame his calmness on the alcohol, soon to realize that he wasn't the only one effected by it as he saw Shuai stumble a bit. Heh, apparently the two roommates weren't the best when it came to situations like this. Perhaps it was a good sign that they were not used to places like this: it showed they had a rather peaceful life. While he wouldn't say it was uneventful, but nothing really dramatic would happen.

Tuyen took a look at him -one he would describe as more of a long and wide stare- before realizing who he was. Good. Yuuta would prefer not to be memorable to her if she made her friends go to clubs instead of getting the sleep they needed. Still, he smiled back before the woman turned back to her friend to shake her.

I guess I really don't get people, he thought to himself with an eye roll and a rub of the head with his hand. Finally, from what felt like ages, Shuai turned back to him, wanting to dance. Quickly, he shifted weight onto his bad leg to test it. When it didn't send up a shock of pain he smiled. "Sure."

His movements were awkward and lame, at best. He hoped she had heard what he said about never having danced before because -to be perfectly honest- it was embarrassing. Even the music he hadn't taken notice to until he started to move: jazz. Of course it was jazz. He doubted a place like this would be with traditional instruments and folk-like songs. It was more upbeat despite it's air of anxiety. Alcohol - and not just his, he presumed - was a prevalent smell to the place, but something about it screamed less of upbeat dancing (compared to Tuyen and her fiance) and more of forgetfulness. Wanting to forget about the city's problems if only for a night, to take the weight of the world off their shoulders. Though it hadn't been intentional, wasn't that what he had done as well?

"You know," he began, his breath a little heavy from moving around as he danced there oddly. Despite his leg, he wasn't out of shape, but with the alcohol he figured it was taking more energy into moving himself around. "This is probably the first time I've done something... different." He liked his routine. It was what he did to optimize his time and money intake to support himself and his mother up north, but he had been doing it for so long that he was starting to forget what it was to relax or take a break. Even with Shachi, he never derived form any set paths or routines.

"Though, I guess I'd prefer to be in bed right now," he said with a sigh, staying silent until the moment it occurred to him that what he said might not have been interpreted as what he meant. His face flushed a deeper shade than what the alcohol had managed to color. "Sleeping," Yuuta tried to clarify.

His energy was running out quickly but at least he could say his leg was fine for the moment. The alcohol, he realized, must have helped him in that regard. Oh spirits, he had never been this intoxicated before. What would happen if it wore off and all this movement just agitated it to the extreme so when he was sober it would feel like hell trapped in one of his appendages? The thought seemed distasteful. Imagining it was awful. He only feared it would be in his head for the moment and not become reality.

Though Shuai was still moving a bit, he progressively stopped moving so he could catch his breath. His first thought was to check his pulse and see if he was doing fine, mainly out of fear of alcohol poisoning shutting down his body while he pushed it to do things out of his norm, his second thought then being one of a reactive response from his roommate. The last thing he needed was to console someone that he wasn't about to drop down dead or that he could be down for the count any moment when all he wanted to do was assess his situation.

Yuuta decided against it and simply stopped dancing. His head throbbed from moving and he began to notice the edges of his vision blur together a little more. Yeah, right about now would be a good time to take rest, he hope she wouldn't mind or fret over the choice. Thankfully, he didn't have to take the initiative.

"Uh, yeah," he slowly managed, surprised how slow his words sounded. Those eyes. Her eyes were stunning. No- it had to be the drinks. He usually never thought of people that way. He simply didn't have time for it! He needed to make money... support his mother...

"I'll head outside," Yuuta told he, jerking his thumb behind him towards the exit. Or entrance. Was there a difference? He watched as she bounced off, taking a breath as the song changed before making his way out. The air felt cleaner and less stuffy compared to the club's atmosphere and his sobriety began to fix itself after a few deep breaths, to an extent. He was glad most of the ingested drink was helping his leg. What an embaressment it would be if he fell down or collapsed before they even got back to the apartment?

He shook his head. That wasn't going to happen. He hailed a cab as one passed by, the image of the satomobile pinching a nerve of his. Rarely did he ride in one, preferring to walk despite the unknowns he might face walking alone in the city. It was less painful than remembering what hurt his leg. In any case, he doubted he was going to be able to make it back walking. Maybe Shuai could pay. If not, he could grab some money and... no, he couldn't run back downstairs only to have to walk up again. He'd give the money to his roommate.

The man climbed into the back. "I'm waiting for a friend," he said, the word friend sitting in his mouth awkwardly.

"Fine by me. The meter is still running, though." He shook his head, deciding not to close the door yet so she could find him. "Fine.

Yuuta would never consider himself a patient nor impatient man, depending on the circumstances. Sure, he could get annoyed rather quickly and easily as well, but he had a knack for waiting to a certain degree. With his leg, he always had to wait for the right moments to cross the street instead of sprinting across and other sorts of day to day things that kept him from doing things quickly. Even with his letters to his mother, he was never too anxious about when they would arrive, only what would be on the letter. Waiting for Shuai to come to the cab wasn't much despite her leave.

When she did arrive, he was quite taken aback by her entrance. So much so he didn't realize to scoot over to make room until she yelled at the cabbie to drive. He watched as she regained control of her breath, sitting in his spot awkwardly, not sure what to do with himself. She looked scared, panicked, caught off guard. What happened in the time they were separated? Though he took care of people for a living (well, an apprenticeship at the moment), he had little to no expertise in helping people he knew.

Satomobiles. He wondered who else got hit by the things and ended up like him, or if this was the situation the satomobile driver was in when Yuuta was him or if it really was just an ignorant driver.

"Kind of figured," he said with a half smile, guesturing to his pockets. His empty pockets. His eyes wandered down, from her eyes to her neck... but before it could go anywhere else, his attention was taken to her hand. Yuuta chuckled to himself lightly. "I think it's going to bruise a bit," he said, nodding his head towards her hand.

Finally, they arrived back at the apartment complex where they got out of the cab. Shuai paid the cabbie and off to upstairs they went. The word "upstairs" always made him feel sick to his stomach, just knowing what pain comes from going up the stairs. Thankfully, the alcohol was still in his system, numbing him from any of the pain he usually had when going up. Not so thankfully, it didn't help his coordination when it came to actually climbing the stairs. Anyhow, in the apartment he moved to the couch, flopping himself down there as he searched his mind, trying to remember if they had any pain relievers for tomorrow. He couldn't afford to miss work due to a hang over- wait, did he have work tomorrow?

"Shuai, I have a question," he began, his words only slightly slurred now. "Do you... um... Do you like me?" Whatever context he meant to have that question in was beyond even him. As a roommate, as a friend (maybe) or something more? Was he a likeable person despite what made him who he was? Was this night of utter weakness something he should just forget or hold on to as a night with Shuai, dancing and drinking? Ugh. Was the headache from thinking too much or the hangover? Did hangovers happen this quickly?