Title: Under The Influence
Fandom: Zenless Zone Zero
Rating: PG-13
Length: 1673 Words
Content notes: Warning for vomiting and alcohol use.
Author notes: Features a furry character and a human as a ship! Apologies if not your cup of tea.
Summary: In a silly attempt to look cool in front of his crush, Wise does something not so wise and engages in a drinking game which leaves him buzzed beyond all rational thinking. It's only when he is hung over the toilet throwing up that he realizes Lycaon thought highly of him all along and still does, happy to take care of him while he sobers up.

"Ooh, look at all the stars..."

Von Lycaon sighs and shakes his head, smiling wryly as his friend gently slumps against his shoulder for the third time that evening.

"We're inside, Wise," he says and props the young man up again in his own seat. "Those are just ceiling lights."

With a hiccup, Wise squints and stares at the ceiling for a moment. "Are you...sure?"

Somewhere around the table, Belle snorts and laughs.

"Do you want me to take him off your hands for a while?" she asks Lycaon and starts to rise from her seat, but the wolf Thiren raises his hand. "He can be a real handful when he's drunk."

Wise purses his lips and stammers, "F-For your information, I am NOT drunk."

Everyone turns towards him with deadpan expressions.

"I am..." he pauses a moment to think. "Tipsy. Yeah, that's it. Just a lil' buzzed."

Chuckling softly again, Von Lycaon lets his friend lean on his broad shoulder again and makes no move to set him upright. The closeness is nice and he can tell that Wise is starved for his attention because of his peculiar behavior throughout the company party that evening.

"Wise, you goofball," Belle whispers across the table, "you're embarrassing poor Lycaon."

"It is no trouble, I assure you," says the wolf in his usual, even-toned manner. "Hm?"

Wise shivers a little and feels his stomach lurch. Too much alcohol and too fast have caught up to his digestive tract all at once, and he's about to pay the price all over the table and possibly his handsome friend's pristine suit. He peels himself away from Lycaon's side and attempts to stagger out of his seat but stumbles on his way down.

"Wise!"

Von Lycaon catches the young man in his arms and stands to slowly sweep him into his embrace.

"Bathroom," Wise mutters and covers his mouth. "Needa go...now."

Nodding, the wolf Thiren excuses himself and Wise from the party so that he can rush his friend off to the bathroom behind the staff lounge of the store. When he sees Wise scramble out of his arms and flop in front of the toilet, his heart aches just a little.

"Here. Allow me," he says and lifts the lid and seat both for him. With a sweeping motion of his hand, he tucks some of Wise's stray hair behind his ears and reassures him, "If you feel the need to vomit, then do so."

Crap, Wise thinks as he starts to dry heave and grasps the toilet bowl tightly. I knew I shouldn't have had all those mixed drinks.

Lycaon rubs his back.

Ugh. I probably look so lame and pathetic, Wise continues to berate himself as he feels the bile splash into the back of his throat. His eyes start to water and a sob forces itself tumbling from his gaping mouth into the water. "I-It hurts."

"I didn't know that you were so sensitive to alcohol," Lycaon notes in a softer voice than usual and he winces as Wise shudders, finally vomiting a little into the bowl. "Had I known, I would have never let Anton challenge you to a drinking game...even if it was only in jest."

Wise pukes again and his entire body seems to seize with the motion of his stomach.

Lycaon feels beside himself as he kneels beside his friend and continues to massage his back through his jacket. The poor boy looks and sounds absolutely miserable, and if it were him, Lycaon would be horribly embarrassed. That coupled with the fact that they have this weird unrequited crush on each other only complicated matters.

"There now," he shushes Wise and threads his large, clawed fingers carefully through the young man's hair. "All through?"

Wise heaves one more time but nothing comes out, so he assumes that the worst has passed. He shrinks in on himself and coughs up a little more bile, spiting and blinking tears from his eyes. Being treated so gently by the large wolf just hurts even more and causes the burn in his throat to ache.

"I'm sorry," he murmurs through the snot and sniffles. "You shouldn't have to babysit me like this."

Lycaon smiles and shakes his head. "I'm just glad to see that you're starting to sober up and feel better. This is a preferable alternative to a hangover, hm?"

Wise hazards a glance over his shoulder and sees his friend smiling gently down at him, still rubbing his shoulder as he does so. His tail swishes in a slow, languid motion behind him and gives away just how unbothered he is by it all.

"You're not grossed out?"

"That should be the least of your concerns. We should get you cleaned up," Lycaon changes the subject and has to look away from that earnest, hopeful gaze of his friend's lest he act upon impulse and smother him in affection. "Ah-ah. Remain sitting. I will see to things."

Wise weakly reaches up and jerks the handle on the toilet to flush the filth before him at least. His body feels so weak and his stomach empty, throat dry and dehydrated now. His sister would definitely lecture him come morning and he deserved every bit of her ire, Lycaon's included.

Ah, but the butler had nothing but kindness for him.

"Turn around, slowly. Here," instructs the wolf as he helps Wise turn and sit back against the toilet instead so that he can wipe his face clean with a damp hand towel. "I would ask how you're feeling but it is writ quite plain upon your face."

Grimacing, Wise grunts, "Pretty lame, huh?"

"Foolish, yes," Lycaon corrects him and finishes, cupping Wise's cheek once he finishes. His gaze softens and he adds, "You don't have to show off each and every time we get together. I already think highly of you."

Wise tries not to jerk as his stomach crochets itself into fluttery little knots and he looks at the tiles on the floor, murmuring, "Uh, well...I..."

"Is it all right if I take you to your room?" asks Lycaon, breaking the awkward silence with a nervous scratching at the scruffy fur poking out from the back of his vest near his neck. "If not, I understand but you're too weak to walk on your own. I could ask --"

"It's fine!" Wise pipes up lest he lose the opportunity altogether. "Um, that is, I would appreciate it. Yeah."

Lycaon beams back at him with a smile that could rival the warmth of a thousand suns and the warmth of his embrace as he lifts Wise off the bathroom floor is no different. He carries his friend upstairs and to the bedroom at the end of the hallway as told to.

"What do you normally wear to bed?" he asks after setting his friend on the mattress. "Oh, I...That was terribly worded. My apologies."

Wise basks in how considerate the wolf is and he relaxes a little. "There should be some shirts in the second drawer. Yeah, that one. Any will do."

Lycaon tries his best to to linger in the dresser for any inappropriate length of time while he selects the comfiest-looking shirt he can find.

"Lift your arms," he says and Wise obeys without a second thought, still dazed from his vomiting and the fact that Lycaon is giving him orders. "Where do you put your dirty laundry? Perhaps I could washa load of clothes while I'm here."

Blushing furiously, Wise throws his hands up and flails. "That's not really necessary!"

Pausing in his ministrations, Lycaon regards him with a raised brow. "Have I overstepped my bounds?"

"N-No, I just..." Wise's voice trails off and he flops onto the pillows behind him. "Could I trouble you for some water?"

Nodding, the wolf Thiren touches his cheek briefly before taking his leave briefly to fetch a bottle of water from downstairs. This leaves Wise to his thoughts and he crawls out of the proverbial pit of wallowing in his own stupidity so as not to cheapen Lycaon's kind gestures. This isn't about saving face or looking good for his crush; it's about appreciating him.

"I'm sorry!" he shouts just as Lycaon reappears in his doorway. "This won't happen again and I'm really, really grateful for...you know. You've been a big help and..."

"I understand," Lycaon whispers as he kneels beside the bed and hands the bottle of water, already uncapped, to Wise. It's difficult to tell whether or not he's blushing as hard a sWise is because of the darkness and his muzzle, but his eye is narrowed with a certain fondness. "You should rest now. It's late and your body must recover from all that vomiting you did."

Feeling selfish yet again but refusing to let this golden opportunity pass him by, Wise grasps one of Lycaon's hands as he stands to leave and asks, "Actually, could you stay a while?"

Lycaon jolts a little and turns to glance back at him.

"Please?" Wise pleads. "Until I fall asleep?"

As I could say no to you, Lycaon muses with a hopeless smile in the darkness. He turns on his heel and pulls up a chair from the desk nearby to sit at Wise's side instead. "If that is what you wish, then of course."

Without asking for it, Wise feels those big paws thread through his hair once more and he settles against his pillow with a sigh. One slides against his cheek and that's when the weight of his eyes grow heavier. He can't make out what Lycaon is saying to him but he's sure that it's something nice, something warm and reassuring like the wolf himself.

"Shh..." says Lycaon softly as he continues to stroke Wise's face. "Worry not. I will be here when you wake."

Humming contentedly, Wise snuggles into his pillow and drifts off to sleep with the notion that he's gotten that much closer to his beloved wolf.