Goi

by Grr3182

Summary:

Kiryu attends a drag show with Majima on a whim to see a new girl, Goi, perform but ends up finding out more about himself than he ever wanted to

              It was Kiryu’s first night off in a long time (maybe even the first night off in the three years since the empty lot incident), and he should have been out doing something fun and relaxing for once, but he wasn’t. He was all by himself, wandering around the city looking for anything at all to do. It wasn’t like he hadn’t tried to do something. He had paged Nishiki multiple times, but the dumbass wasn’t answering. Actually, he hadn’t been answering for days now. Kiryu hadn’t seen or talked to him in four whole days, which wouldn’t have been weird for anyone else, but this was Nishiki. It wasn’t like Nishiki to ignore him, so Kiryu assumed he was just busy. Kiryu did often forget to reach out to Nishiki for a couple days in a row because of how busy he was, but Nishiki always made sure that didn’t go on too long. Kiryu had looked for him in all his usual spots except for Nishiki’s apartment. He wasn’t that desperate yet. Nishiki would get back to him when he finally got the time, but that didn’t help Kiryu in his current lonely and bored situation.

              It wasn't like he was completely out of options. He could always go to Serena to talk to Reina to get rid of the loneliness, or he could go to the arcade to help with the boredom. The problem was that he didn’t want to run into anyone in the family (or any Yakuza at all for that matter). He had had a long week – weeks, really – and he just wanted to get away from it. He could just go home, but even he knew that was sad. There was one place he knew of that was a pretty safe bet to avoid all of that: the Champion District. Yakuza tended to avoid the area both because it was rare for anyone to make collections at the bars there and because those bars catered to a certain clientele that most Yakuza tried desperately to distance themselves from. Kiryu had never minded anything that went on in the area, and he didn’t care about his reputation anyway.

              It had been a while since he had been in the area. He decided to stop by Earth Angel to see the mama there. She had helped him out with his real estate thing enough that they had become fairly close acquaintances, but he hadn’t talked to her since that all ended. Still, as soon as Kiryu walked in and the mama saw who he was, she smiled widely and greeted him warmly like there hadn’t been an entire three-year period since they last saw each other. Kiryu sat at the bar, and she immediately walked over to pour him a drink.

              “This one’s on the house,” she said, winking.          

              “No. You don’t need to do that,” Kiryu said.

              “Of course I do. I'm not going to miss an opportunity to give my old boss a drink after you did so much for me. Plus, you're my only previous boss that I actually like,” the mama said. Kiryu hummed appreciatively and took a sip. “So, how’s the best friend?”

              “Hm?” Kiryu asked, furrowing his brow. The mama had never met Nishiki before. Kiryu might have mentioned him before, but surely not enough that the mama would remember Nishiki.

              “The young man you were always going on about,” the mama said, smirking. Kiryu frowned. He didn’t remember talking about Nishiki that much.

              “I don’t know. I haven’t talked to him in a while,” Kiryu said, shrugging.

              “Really? You used to make it sound like you spent every free moment together. How long has it been since you last saw him?” the mama asked.

              “Four days,” Kiryu said. He frowned deeper and leaned his face against his fist.

              “Only four days?” the mama asked, smirking again. Kiryu frowned up at her, and she laughed. “I suppose that is a long time for the two of you, or at least, it used to be from the way you would talk about him.”

              “It’s my first night off in a while, and I can’t even get in touch with him to let him know,” Kiryu said.

              “And you chose to spend your night off here? I’m flattered,” the mama said.

              “I feel bad about taking so long to come back and say hello,” Kiryu said.

              “No worries. You’ll just have to come back again soon. Maybe even bring that friend of yours so I can finally meet him,” the mama said.

              “This isn’t really his type of place,” Kiryu said. He winced and looked at the mama apologetically.

              “And is this your type of place?” the mama asked. Kiryu paused and thought about it. He didn’t really give this type of thing a lot of thought. He knew that he found women attractive, but he didn’t feel anything like what Nishiki described when he talked about women. He also knew that he found men attractive, especially when he was fighting certain men, but even that was the same situation. He had never imagined actually being with either. He was always too preoccupied with more important things to focus on romance.

              “I don’t know,” Kiryu said.

              “That’s alright. It’s not something you need to answer right now,” the mama said, giving him a kind smile and patting his hand.

              “I . . .” Kiryu started, but he was interrupted by the door to the bar slamming open loudly. He and the mama both snapped their heads in the direction of the door to see no one other than Majima saunter into the bar, his trusty bat slung behind his neck. He stopped walking, slide his free arm over the other side of the bat, and smiled widely at the bar.

              “Majima-san, how many times have I told you not to bring weapons into my bar?” the mama asked, sighing deeply and running a hand over her face.

              “Good to see ya too, mama,” Majima said. His eyes slid over to Kiryu, and his face broke out in a huge smile. He swung the bat around to point it at Kiryu. “And Kiryu-chan. What a surprise to find ya here.”

              “Majima-no-niisan?” Kiryu asked, narrowing his eyes at Majima.

              “This bar here’s a regular o’ mine,” Majima said, sauntering over to sit by Kiryu. Too close to Kiryu. So close that their knees were touching. Kiryu scooted over to the edge of his seat to get some space. Majima put the bat on the bar and motioned towards the mama. She picked it up and put it behind the bar, replacing it with a drink. Majima smiled widely at her before turning his entire body towards Kiryu.

              “What’re ya doin’ here? This doesn’t seem like yer type of place,” Majima asked.

              “Mama and I worked together a few years ago,” Kiryu said.

              “I worked for him in real estate,” the mama explained.

              “Ya worked in real estate?” Majima asked, looking highly amused.

              “I was really successful,” Kiryu mumbled around the lip of his glass. He wasn’t blushing. He didn’t blush.

              “I’m sure ya were,” Majima said, winking at the mama. He slapped his hand down on the bar. “Anyway, I had a reason fer coming here.”

              “And that is?” the mama asked when Majima didn’t say anything else to clarify.

              “There’s a . . .,” Majima paused for a bit too long, looking over at Kiryu before quickly looking back at the mama. He inclined his head slightly towards Kiryu. “show tonight. I dunno if ya heard about this new girl Goi everyone’s obsessed with, but she’s gonna be performing tonight.”

              “What type of show?” Kiryu asked. Majima and the mama gave each other a pointed look.

              “It’s okay. He’s safe to tell,” the mama said.

              “Ya ever heard of a drag show?” Majima asked, voice dropping to a whisper as he leaned closer.

              “No,” Kiryu said.

              “It’s a collection of performances from men who dress up and act as women. Not like mama. Mama is an actual woman. These are guys who just do this for entertainment. It’s cross-dressin’ to express themselves without actually transitioning. They sing and dance, and sometimes it gets a bit risque. It’s kinda like a titty bar, but much nicer. Not as much nudity. Closer to a cabaret club, I guess,” Majima said.

              “Okay,” Kiryu said, furrowing his brow. He was a bit confused by it. He had never had the urge to dress as a woman, but the thought of seeing a show like this was suddenly very interesting.

              “They’re great. Kinda an acquired taste, but I’ve acquired a lot of tastes,” Majima said, smirking. The mama rolled her eyes at him.

              “I did hear a few things about this new girl. There were a couple guys in here last night raving about some performance she gave,” the mama said.

              “I heard she’s really somethin’. Could even give Goromi a run fer her money,” Majima said, frowning deeply. He slammed his fist into the bar again. “That’s why I wanna go tonight. Scope out the competition an’ all.”

              “Majima,” the mama sighed tiredly.

              Majima crossed his arms over his chest and squinted. “I was even thinkin’ of sending Goromi in to take her spot through whatever means necessary. But then I decided it was best if she get that spot fair an’ square. Goromi’s a real lady and all.”

              “Right. Glad you saw the sense in that,” the mama said.

              “So, I came here to ask ya to come with me,” Majima finished, instantly switching back to his smirk. He dropped his crossed arms and leaned forward onto the bar.

              “I can’t go tonight. I’m working alone. Plus, why do you need me there?” the mama asked.

              “Because,” Majima said, dragging out the word dramatically, “Goromi’s a good judge of character, but she’s only one person. I need another opinion from someone who’s deep in the culture. If this girl really is as good as everyone says, I’ll take the loss.”

              “I don’t believe that for one second,” the mama said. Majima pouted at her. “Still, I can’t go tonight. I really need to be here to tend the bar.”

              “I’ll go with you,” Kiryu said. Majima and the mama both looked at him in surprise.

              “Ya will?” Majima asked, looking disbelieving.

              “Mhm,” Kiryu hummed.

              “Ya heard my explanation about what this show is, right?” Majima asked.

              “Mhm,” Kiryu repeated.

              “And ya still wanna go?” Majima asked.

              “Yes,” Kiryu insisted.

              “I think this could be a helpful learning experience for him,” the mama said. Kiryu frowned at her in question. She just shrugged.

              “Ah, ya got somethin’ there to figure out, Kiryu-chan?” Majima asked, hitting Kiryu’s shoulder with his own.

              “No,” Kiryu mumbled, frowning at his drink. The mama shrugged again.

              “S’all good. We all go through it. I find it exciting helpin’ people to find their true selves,” Majima said.

              “That’s just because you don’t want to figure out who you’re true self is,” the mama said. Majima snapped at her and downed his drink. He stood up and clapped Kiryu on the shoulder.

              “Alright. Let’s go,” Majima announced, turning on his heel to walk towards the door.

              “Don’t be nervous. It’ll be fun, and Majima isn’t as bad as he seems,” the mama said.

              “I’m not nervous,” Kiryu said, though there was a weird twisting in his gut that he only felt when he was doing something out of his depths. He downed his own drink before standing up. “I promise I’ll be back soon this time.”

              “Glad to hear it. I’ll be waiting to hear about how tonight goes,” the mama said. She gently patted Kiryu’s hand then motioned for him to follow Majima.

 

*

 

              Majima led them to the back of the district to a nondescript door that opened onto a staircase heading down. The staircase led to another nondescript door, though this one was guarded by a beefy bouncer. The guy immediately recognized Majima and let them in without a word, barely even reacting when Majima thanked him in an overly flirty manner. The guy did roll his eyes, so this must be a regular occurrence.

              Inside was a pretty nice bar for the area. It wasn’t huge, probably about the size of Earth Angel or just slightly bigger. There was a small bar, but most of the room was taken up by a large stage. Most of the stage was hidden behind a curtain. It looked like the titty bars all the Yakuza guys raved about that Kiryu had only gone into once with Nishiki. The biggest difference was the clientele. The men in the titty bar had been average-looking businessmen. These people were unique, for lack of a better word. At least half of the room consisted of men dressed as women. Kiryu had seen multiple people like mama, but even with how different those women were, these people were over the top. These women wore the flashiest outfits, huge hair, and eccentric makeup that was way more than even the city’s many hostesses usually wore. It all seemed highly performative, like being over the top was the entire point. The other half of the room were men dressed as men, but even they were unique. Kiryu was used to seeing other Yakuza dressed in flashy suits, Nishiki most of all, but these men had somehow managed to surpass that level of flashy. Majima fit in well with his skin tight pants and snake skin jacket, but honestly, his outfit was one of the most subdued here. Kiryu felt very out of place. Majima must have noticed Kiryu’s hesitation because he clapped a hand on Kiryu’s shoulder and led him over to the bar. He got Kiryu a whisky and ordered himself something a bit more out there. Kiryu wasn’t sure what was in the drink, but it was an unnatural shade of bright blue.

              “The etiquette here’s not to stare at anyone unless yer tryin’ to get in their pants, ‘aight? Just act like yerself, and ya’ll be fine,” Majima said. Kiryu nodded and took a sip of his drink.

              “There’s nothin’ to be nervous about. I know it doesn’t look like it, but everyone here’s normal. Just treat them like ya’d treat anyone else, and ya’ll be good,” Majima continued. Kiryu nodded again. Majima led them to an open booth and sat down, spreading his legs and arms wide. Kiryu sat next to him, trying to keep as much space between them as possible, though Majima wasn’t making it easy.

              “Right, so the performance should start soon. I need ya to keep an eye out for any flaws in this girl’s performance,” Majima said.

              “I don’t think I’m the best to judge any performances,” Kiryu said.

              “Just compare her to the women ya’ve seen dancin’ before,” Majima said.

              “I’ve only seen that once. It’s not really my thing,” Kiryu said, definitely still not blushing.

              “Haw?” Majima asked. He cocked his head at Kiryu. “What about hostess clubs?”

              “Not really my thing either,” Kiryu said.

              “What is yer thing then?” Majima asked. Kiryu shrugged. “Well, yer in fer a big surprise then.”

              They sat and waited for a couple more minutes during which Majima rambled about the people there that he knew. Kiryu didn’t really listen. He tried to study the people in the room, but since he was also trying to keep Majima’s advice about staring in mind, he was too nervous to get a good look at anyone. Finally, the lights in the room dimmed, and everyone grew quiet. Jazzy, sensual music started playing, and a spotlight illuminated the center of the curtains onstage. The curtains opened to reveal a person in a long-sleeved black dress with their back to the crowd sitting backwards on a chair. They had shoulder length black hair that was completely obscuring their face. Majima hummed, but Kiryu couldn’t make out whether it was a pleased or angry hum. The music grew louder, and when the singer came in, the person onstage kicked, revealing a long, toned leg ending in bright red heels. They began to dance, doing a very sensual routine that matched the music perfectly. The dress was tight enough that Kiryu could tell this person was very muscular, but they moved in a way that was smooth, dexterous, and very, very flexible. It really wasn’t all that different than the routines Kiryu had watched at the titty bar, but Kiryu still felt like there was something different about this. It wasn’t just that this was clearly a man; or maybe that was exactly what it was. Whatever the difference was didn’t really matter. What did matter was that Kiryu was incredibly turned on barely 30 seconds into the routine, and that was already becoming a problem. Luckily, Majima was also very focused on the routine, so he didn’t notice any of Kiryu’s discomfort.

              The performer mostly kept their back to the crowd as they danced, and their hair continued to obscure their face even when they turned their head partially forward. Kiryu found that weirdly intoxicating, like not knowing what the dancer looked like made the whole thing some type of weird, sensual secret. The only skin they were showing was their hands (distinctly masculine despite the well-manicured fingernails) and their leg always peeking out of the very high slit in the dress. Then, about halfway through the second verse, the performer reached up and grabbed the fabric around their shoulders, pulling off the covering that Kiryu had thought was part of the dress. The actual back of the dress was cut out, swooping dangerously low on their lower back and revealing the entire expanse of their back. Kiryu was ready to hungrily examine what he assumed would be an impressively muscular back, but his breath caught at the sight of the tattoo gracing their back. It was a tattoo he knew well; knew well enough to know it was only freshly colored a handful of months ago. Even worse, the person finally turned around, revealing their face; another feature that Kiryu was intimately familiar with. Kiryu finally understood the stage name Majima had mentioned earlier.

              Kiryu gripped the edge of the table and tried to suck in a breath, but his throat seized up. He knew he made a noise, but he was too focused in on the stage to care. The world felt like it was closing in around him, and his vision tunneled in so that he couldn’t look anywhere but at the stage. He suddenly felt really hot and uncomfortable, like his skin was too tight, and he couldn’t help but be hyperfocused on his arousal that certainly wasn’t going away even with this turn of events. Majima actually noticed Kiryu’s discomfort this time. He leaned forward to speak into Kiryu’s ear.

              “Ya good?”

              Kiryu had to swallow a few times before he could speak. “I know him.”

              Majima looked intently at the stage, narrowing his eyes in concentration. “I mean, he looks familiar. Clearly Yakuza. I feel like maybe I know ‘im.”

              “He’s my kyoudai,” Kiryu rasped. He tightened his grip on the table.

              “Oh. Oh,” Majima said, eye going wide. He looked between Kiryu and the stage a couple times. “That’s why he’s familiar. Haw. Ya wanna leave?”

              “No!” Kiryu exclaimed, a bit too loudly. A few of the patrons looked angrily in his direction. Kiryu slumped forward a bit, dropping his voice lower. “No.”

              “Ya sure?” Majima asked. He looked closely at Kiryu’s face then trailed his eye down. He looked back up quickly with a smirk, and Kiryu groaned. “I see.”

              “Please stop talking,” Kiryu grumbled, dropping his face into his hands in embarrassment. He wanted to drop through the floor and disappear forever.

              “Oi, don’t cover yer eyes. Yer missing the show,” Majima said, pulling Kiryu’s hands away from his face. Kiryu glared at him, and Majima just smirked back, leaning back in the booth and stretching out again.

              Kiryu did turn back towards the stage to watch, but he kept his face partially covered by one of his hands. The room was dark, but it was also a very small room. If Nishiki looked in his direction, he would absolutely be able to see Kiryu. Kiryu really didn’t want to leave, though. He was enjoying the performance, and that enjoyment still wasn’t going away even though he knew it was Nishiki. Nishiki looked really good. The dress was very tight and showed off all of him in a way even his immaculately tailored suits didn’t even come close to doing. His hair was down in the style he usually wore it, and he was wearing makeup, but very little compared to most of the people in the room. He had winged eyeliner that enhanced the sharpness of his eyes and bright red lipstick that matched his shoes. Kiryu had always noticed that Nishiki was pretty, but this style really suited him. It wasn’t just that he looked like a woman. It wasn’t that at all, really. The mixture of Nishiki’s naturally pretty features enhanced by the outfit and juxtaposed with his highly muscular, very noticeably masculine body was . . . intoxicating. There really wasn’t a better word for it.

              Kiryu continued to watch the routine in quiet awe, the heat in his lower belly not dissipating even the slightest bit. In fact, it only got worse the longer the performance went on. Kiryu’s eyes raked over every inch of Nishiki’s body in a way he never had been able to before. Yes, Kiryu had watched Nishiki before during fights or their sparring sessions, but he was always preoccupied with his own moves to really appreciate Nishiki’s moves. Now, even though he had the opportunity to watch Nishiki in this way and was taking that opportunity, he still felt weird. It wasn’t because Nishiki was a guy. Kiryu already knew that he found Nishiki attractive, and he genuinely wasn’t bothered by guys being attracted to one another. The problem was that this was Nishiki. This was his best friend, his kyoudai, and Kiryu knew it was weird for him to be attracted to his best friend. Still, he couldn’t help it. Nishiki was just so fucking good at this. Kiryu had seen him dance before, and he knew that Nishiki could be smooth, quick, and elegant in his fighting style, but this was something completely different. Kiryu didn’t have the words to describe it, but he knew Nishiki was talented. He commanded the room, obvious by the way everyone was completely focused on his performance. It wasn’t like Kiryu noticed what anyone else was doing, though. He was completely entranced by how unbelievably hot Nishiki’s dance was.

             So, Kiryu was disappointed when the song ended and Nishiki disappeared behind the curtain again. He sat still gripping the table and trying to catch his breath. He felt like he had just gone through a fight. He was a bit sweaty and his heart was pounding and that goddam heat in his abdomen wouldn’t go away. He was very uncomfortable, especially now that the lights were back on and he couldn’t pretend he wasn’t in public anymore. Majima kicked him lightly in the shin, and Kiryu almost jumped out of the booth.

             “Ya need a moment?” Majima asked, lolling his head against the back of the booth and turning towards Kiryu with a smirk.

             “Can we please agree to never talk about this?” Kiryu mumbled. He could admit that he was blushing this time, but it was mostly a flush from how hot he was feeling.

              “I see ya liked it,” Majima said, smirking harder.

              “Majima-no-niisan,” Kiryu sighed.

              Majima held up both hands. “I’m not judgin’. First time at this sorta thing can be a bit intense. I know from personal experience.”

              “Oh really? Did you get turned on by the sight of your kyoudai?” Kiryu snapped, unable to hold back his anger with all of the other strong emotions he was feeling.

              “Nah, not at one of these. But I do still know the feelin’,” Majima said. He put his hands down against the booth again. He turned to watch a door near the stage in silence, giving Kiryu a minute to compose himself. Eventually, Nishiki walked through the door Majima was watching, still dressed in the same outfit from his performance. Majima sat up and slapped his hands on the seat.

              “K, wanna go say hi?” he asked, already starting to stand. Kiryu grimaced at him.

              "No!” Kiryu hissed, reaching out to grab Majima’s arm and stop him. Majima did stop, looking down at Kiryu’s hand with a raised eyebrow.

              “Why not? Ya don’t wanna talk to yer kyoudai?” Majima asked.

              “No. I don’t want him to know I was here,” Kiryu said, glancing nervously at Nishiki as he made his way to the bar.

              “I already told ya there’s no need to be embarrassed. We all feel attracted to our kyoudai at times. It’s normal,” Majima said.

              “No, it’s not that,” Kiryu said, though that totally was a lot of it. “I just don’t think he wants me here. If he wanted me to know about this, he would’ve told me.”

              “Listen, if yer kyoudai didn’t wanna be found out, he shouldn’t have shown off his tattoo so brazenly. Even when I’m Goromi, I rarely show mine off,” Majima said.

              “Who’s Goromi?” Kiryu asked.

              “That’s not important right now,” Majima said. He began walking out of the booth again, twisting his wrist out of Kiryu’s grip. “Now, I’m goin’ over there. Ya can come if ya want, or not. I don’t care either way.”

              “Wait . . .”

              “No. I came here to get intel, so I’m goin’ get it. I can see I won’t get any good criticism out of ya, so I’m gonna go do this on my own.”

              Kiryu watched in panic as Majima finished sliding out of the booth and basically speedwalked over to Nishiki who was leaning against the bar talking to the bartender, completely unaware of the force of nature making its way toward him. Kiryu had a moment of silent panic before he decided to get up and follow after Majima. As much as he didn’t want Nishiki to know he was there, he didn’t want to leave Nishiki alone with the surprise that was Majima even more. Kiryu ran after Majima, sliding to a stop a couple feet away when Majima leaned on the bar beside Nishiki, reaching out to turn Nishiki to face him. Nishiki scowled in displeasure at being manhandled, but the scowl melted into a look of panic when he saw who it was.

              “Aw, fuck,” Nishiki said.

              “Listen up, Goi,” Majima said, sneering around the name. He leaned very close to Nishiki’s face. “Just because yer naturally talented - and even I’m a big enough person to admit when the competition’s talented - doesn’t mean ya can just waltz into another girl’s territory and act like ya own the place.”

              “What?” Nishiki asked, some of the panic turning into confusion.

              “Majima-san, please don’t terrorize the new girls,” the bartender sighed.

              “I’m just tryin’ to teach her how to respect her elders,” Majima said.

              “What are you talking about?” Nishiki asked, expression fully one of confusion now.

              “I’m talkin’ about Goromi,” Majima said.

              “Who?” Nishiki asked.

              Majima gasped loudly. “Who? Goromi! The best damn queen in this town.”

              “He’s talking about his drag persona,” the bartender clarified.

              “Oh,” Nishiki said, clicking his tongue. “Wait, you?”

              “Yes, me. Don’t you go actin’ surprised. Ya don’t seem like the type either, fish boy,” Majima said. Nishiki clicked his tongue again and rolled his eyes.

              “How much competition can you really be if I’ve never heard of you?” Nishiki asked.

              Majima gasped again, this time grabbing onto the bar to keep himself upright as his knees gave out. “I can’t believe ya said that. That’s it. We’re havin’ a battle soon. I’m not tellin’ ya when. Just be ready at any moment.”

              “Right. Okay,” Nishiki said. He turned back towards the bar.

              “Hold up. I got someone who wants to meet ya,” Majima said. He turned and motioned towards Kiryu. Kiryu immediately panicked again, turning to look over his shoulder for any possible escape route. This was a bad idea. He could duck under a table and hide until he got a chance to slip past Nishiki. Yeah, that was a good idea. Much more preferable to Nishiki turning to look in the direction Majima was indicating and straight to Kiryu. He just needed to move quickly before . . .

              And it was already too late. Nishiki stayed leaning against the bar and turned his head to look where Majima was pointing. As soon as his eyes landed on Kiryu, he gasped loudly, standing up straight with a look of pure panic one thousand times stronger than the look he had given Majima. Nishiki instinctively took a step back, running straight into a bar stool that almost sent him tumbling to the ground. He managed to catch himself and stay upright, but he looked so panicked that Kiryu expected him to try making a run for it at any moment. Kiryu tried his best to smile soothingly, but he was pretty sure it came out as a grimace.

              “Hi,” Kiryu managed to say even though his throat felt like it was closing up again.

              “What the fuck are you doing here?” Nishiki asked. His shoulders were tense, and he was gripping the bar so tight that his knuckles were going white.

              “Eh now. I invited him,” Majima said. Nishiki whipped his head towards Majima violently.

              “Why would you invite him?” Nishiki hissed.

              “Well, first of all, I didn’t know it would be you. And second of all, I ran into him at a bar in the district, and he volunteered to come,” Majima said.

              Nishiki looked over towards Kiryu then quickly back at Majima. “This isn’t the type of place you should bring him.”

              “I’m not his fuckin’ babysitter. If he wants ta come to a place like this, I’m not gonna stop him,” Majima said.

              “Nishiki, I . . .” Kiryu started, but both Majima and Nishiki hissed at him. Kiryu held up his hands placatingly. “Goi, this really isn’t Majima’s fault. He offered to leave as soon as we saw it was you.”

              “Then why didn’t you leave?” Nishiki asked.

              “Because I didn’t want to,” Kiryu said. Nishiki furrowed his brow, but none of the tension left his body. Majima leaned over and whispered something in Nishiki’s ear. Nishiki furrowed his brow harder and looked at Majima in confusion. Majima whispered something else, and Nishiki looked over at Kiryu. He didn’t look panicked anymore, but he still didn’t look happy.

              “Stop making fun of me, asshole,” Nishiki snapped.

              “’m not,” Majima shrugged. Nishiki pursed his lips and gave Majima a very sour look.

              “Mhm. I see what this is. You’re just trying to freak me out because of this competition you think we’re in,” Nishiki scoffed.

              “Not lyin’,” Majima said. He and Nishiki looked over at Kiryu, who immediately felt uncomfortable. He looked down at the floor and shifted his weight from foot to foot awkwardly. He waited what he thought was a sufficient amount of time before looking up again. Nishiki was sneering at Majima, and they seemed to be having some type of silent, tense conversation. Eventually, Nishiki scoffed again and frowned down at the bar.

              “Alright. I’ve gotten what I came ta get. I have an awe-inspirin’ performance to put together. I’ll catch ya later,” Majima said. He winked at the bartender who waved Majima off, then turned and patted Nishiki on the shoulder. Nishiki shrugged Majima’s hand away. Majima walked over to Kiryu and placed his hand on Kiryu’s shoulder.

              “Wait, please don’t leave us alone,” Kiryu whispered. Majima gave Kiryu a completely serious look.

              “Just be cool. He’ll open up to ya,” Majima said, squeezing Kiryu’s shoulder before walking away and leaving Kiryu and Nishiki alone. Nishiki still looked like he was contemplating running away, but at least the tension was gone from his shoulders. The bartender handed Nishiki a drink and looked over at Kiryu. Kiryu shook his head. He was already having enough trouble holding it together in his mostly sober state. Things wouldn’t get any better by adding more alcohol. The bartender nodded and walked to the other side of the bar. Kiryu felt awkward standing so far away from Nishiki, but the thought of moving any closer made him panic. Nishiki didn’t look eager to get any closer either.

              “I really liked your performance,” Kiryu blurted out. He frowned at how stupid he sounded.

              “Really?” Nishiki asked, not sounding at all like he believed Kiryu.

              “Yeah,” Kiryu said, nodding enthusiastically.

              “You don’t think it’s weird?” Nishiki asked, narrowing his eyes.

              “No,” Kiryu said. “Why would it be?”

              Nishiki looked at Kiryu wearily. “Come on, Kiryu. Even you know why this is weird.”

              “Sure, but I don’t think there’s anything wrong with it,” Kiryu shrugged. He tentatively took a step forward, half to see if he could make himself do it and half to see how Nishiki would react. Nishiki didn’t try to move away, so Kiryu kept going until he was at the edge of the bar. They were still far apart, but it was a much less awkward distance.

              “What did you like about it?” Nishiki asked, eyes flicking down to his drink.

              “Um, I don’t know. I’m not the best at describing these things. You were just really good. Your dancing was good, and you were, you know, really flexible. I didn’t know you were that flexible. How do you even get your leg that high?” Kiryu rambled. Nice. He was sounding more and more like a complete dumbass every time he opened his mouth. He was really fucking this up.

              “I did a lot of stretching,” Nishiki said, an amused glint in his eye even though the rest of his face was still carefully emotionless.

              “Right. Makes sense,” Kiryu said.

              “So, all you liked was that I was flexible?” Nishiki asked.

              “No. There were other things. It kinda reminded me of when I watch you fight, but different,” Kiryu said. Wow. Even he was surprising himself with how absolutely shit he was at talking right now. He wasn’t normally great at talking, but this was a whole new level. The edge of Nishiki’s mouth quirked up slightly.

              “How was it different?” Nishiki asked. Kiryu was pretty sure Nishiki was baiting him, but he really wasn’t sure how to put it into words. It wasn’t the fact that Nishiki’s performance was sexual. If Kiryu was being honest, fighting was always a bit sexual for him. He just knew this was different, but he couldn’t explain it. Before Kiryu could respond, someone slid up next to him and put their hand on his shoulder.

              “Well, aren’t you the most gorgeous man I’ve ever seen. Is this your boyfriend, Goi?” the person cooed near Kiryu’s ear. Nishiki’s demeaner changed completely, going to one of annoyance. He scoffed and glared at the person behind Kiryu.

              “No, he doesn’t swing that way. Get your hands off him,” Nishiki snapped. The person chuckled but removed their hand. They walked around to stand between Nishiki and Kiryu. This was one of the very flashily dressed women. In fact, she was probably the flashiest person in the room with a bright pink, sparkly, floor-length gown, bleach blonde hair piled about a foot above her head, and makeup so heavy it looked like a mask. She didn’t look terrible, but it was a bit too much for Kiryu’s tastes. She leaned on the bar, sticking her chest out and pouted at Kiryu.

              “Shame. You seem perfect in every other way,” the woman said. Nishiki grabbed her arm and pulled her back to standing.

              “We’re having a private conversation here, thank you,” Nishiki said.

              “Darling, you’re standing at the bar. If you want privacy, go somewhere else,” the woman said.

              “Fine,” Nishiki said. He walked around the woman and grabbed Kiryu’s arm, pulling him to the booth he and Majima had previously been sitting in. It was currently the only empty booth. Nishiki sat down with a huff, crossing his arms over his chest and glaring over at the woman who was still watching them. Kiryu sat down at the very edge of the booth as far from Nishiki as he could.

              “She seemed nice,” Kiryu said.

              “She’s just jealous because she’s a washed-up old hag and I’m the new pretty thing everyone’s obsessed with,” Nishiki spat. He slumped down and frowned harder.

              “Hey,” Kiryu said, reaching across the table towards Nishiki but stopping before he actually touched Nishiki. Nishiki looked over at him, the frown disappearing. “If everyone’s obsessed with you, then why are you worrying about what she says?”

              Nishiki looked at Kiryu blankly for a long moment. He finally sighed and sat up straight, uncrossing his arms to adjust his dress. “You’re right.”

              They sat in awkward silence for a long time. It was rare for them to ever sit in silence since Nishiki was always talking, but even when they did fall silent, it was never uncomfortable. This silence was obviously tense and uncomfortable, and Kiryu found himself wanting to fill it for once.

              “So, how long have you been doing this?” Kiryu asked. He glanced over at Nishiki just in time to see the other man wince.

              “Uh, not long. Maybe three months. There’s this hostess that I go to a lot. She runs in these types of scenes, so she always has the best gossip on everything. She told me about these shows a few times, and I finally got curious enough to go to one. That was about half a year ago, maybe. I loved it. I felt like I had found something I was missing. I don’t know how to explain it, but I ended up keeping up with some of the guys that I met there, and it just kinda happened,” Nishiki explained.

              “Do you . . . I mean, does it feel like you maybe want to . . .” Kiryu stumbled through the best way of asking about the gender issue, but he couldn’t land on the best words.

              “Do I want to be a girl?” Nishiki asked, thankfully reading Kiryu’s mind. Kiryu nodded. Nishiki took a sip of his drink and pursed his lips. “No. Not really. It’s complicated. I like being a guy. I do. Most of the time that’s what I feel like, but there are times when I just feel weird. I don’t know how to explain this.”

              “That’s okay. You don’t have to explain it if you don’t want,” Kiryu said.

              “It’s not that I don’t want to. It’s just that it’s hard to put it into words, especially for someone who doesn’t feel anything like this,” Nishiki sighed and took another sip. “Okay, so most of the time, I feel like a guy. But then there are times when I don’t feel comfortable in my own skin. I mean, I never feel comfortable with myself, but sometimes it’s just worse. I feel this need to be something else, but I couldn’t figure out what it was until I saw this. I tried it out, and it just felt right. It’s not like I want anyone to start calling me a girl, and you should absolutely never mention this outside of here unless it’s just the two of us in complete privacy. But if you called me she right now, I wouldn’t mind.”

              Kiryu nodded thoughtfully. “Okay. I can’t say I understand completely since I’ve never questioned being a guy, but if this is what you feel comfortable with, then I think it’s great.”

              Nishiki stared at Kiryu for a long beat. “Well, that’s fine cause I don’t understand you either.”

              “What do you mean by that?” Kiryu asked.

              “You just accept things so easily with barely any questions,” Nishiki said, shaking his head.

              “Do you want me to not accept it?” Kiryu asked.

              “No, of course not, but – nevermind,” Nishiki said.

              “If you really think shit like this is gonna scare me away or make me think differently about you, then you don’t know me very well,” Kiryu said.

              “I know, but still, this isn’t the type of thing that you just tell people about. It’s the type of thing that gets you beat up or worse. It doesn’t matter what type of person you are; it’s still fucking nerve-wracking to admit that I do something like this,” Nishiki said. He pulled his lips into a tight, thin line and stared down at the table. Kiryu had somewhat expected this reaction since he knew Nishiki wouldn’t keep something like this a secret unless he didn’t want Kiryu to know, but Kiryu hadn’t really thought through all of the implications. He hadn’t even thought about the possibility that Nishiki was scared to tell him about this. Sometimes, Kiryu got so caught up in his own convictions that he forgot that not only did other people not feel the same way, but that some of his beliefs were potentially dangerous.

              “I didn’t think about that,” Kiryu mumbled.

              “I didn’t expect you would. It’s not something someone normal like you would ever need to think about,” Nishiki said.

              “I don’t think I’m as normal as you think I am, and I don’t think you’re as not normal as you think you are,” Kiryu said. Nishiki smirked and looked down at his dress before looking back at Kiryu with a raised eyebrow. “Hey, if we’re going to be judging what’s normal based on clothing, I think you’re making my point for me. I know you think this suit is weird.”

              “No, it’s not weird. It’s just tacky,” Nishiki said.

              “Mm. This isn’t tacky, though,” Kiryu said, reaching out to run a finger over the dress around Nishiki’s shoulder. He had wanted to touch the dress since he first saw, and that want only grew stronger the longer he was near Nishiki. It was silky and smooth, and Kiryu had the sudden urge to grab an entire fistful of the dress. Nishiki took a sharp inhale, something Kiryu felt intimately with how close his fingers were to Nishiki’s chest. Kiryu pulled his hand away quickly, suppressing his urges.

              “Sorry. I just, I really like it,” Kiryu said.

              Nishiki tried to say something, but it came out too breathy to understand. He shook his head and tried again. “Of course it isn’t tacky. Nothing I own is tacky.”

              “Looks expensive,” Kiryu said.

              “Yeah. I expensive taste in suits. Why would I not have expensive taste in dresses?” Nishiki asked.

              “Do you own a lot of dresses?” Kiryu asked.

              “No. This is the only one I own right now, and I’m giving it away soon,” Nishiki said.

              “You’re giving it away?” Kiryu asked, trying not to look disappointed.

              “Yeah. I can’t actually keep any dresses. I don’t think anyone’s going to look in my closet, but you know, just in case. For all I know, you might get into a fight with the family again, and someone’s going to ransack my place looking for you,” Nishiki said. Kiryu winced apologetically.

              “What do you do with them? The dresses?” Kiryu asked.

              “I give them to hostesses as presents. It doesn’t always work since I’m significantly bigger than most hostesses, but it’s better than just throwing them away,” Nishiki said.

              Kiryu hummed. They fell silent again. It was still a bit awkward, but some of the earlier tension had melted away. Nishiki finished his drink then leaned back in the booth.

              “Why did you come here?” Nishiki asked.

              “Hm?”

              “Majima said that you volunteered to come along. Why?”

              “I thought it might be interesting.”

              “Interesting? Did Majima actually explain what goes on here?”

              “A bit. It wasn’t the best description, but I got the basic gist.”

              “And you still agreed to come? I thought this type of thing wasn’t your thing.”

              “It’s not usually. I don’t know. It was something new and different, and I was bored. You haven’t been answering your pager, so I didn’t really have anything else to do anyway.”

              Nishiki grimace. “Yeah, sorry about that. Things have been a bit much recently. I’ve been really busy with collections and other busy work, and then I knew I had this tonight, so I didn’t want to page you back and make you think I was free. I didn’t know you would be off tonight.”

              “It doesn’t really matter. We’re both here now, and you don’t have to hide this anymore.”

              Nishiki nodded and bit his lip. He looked like he was about to say something but was interrupted when the bartender walked up to their table.

              “Are you up for another performance? Our next girl didn’t show, so we need a fill in,” he asked, looking pleadingly at Nishiki. Nishiki looked over at Kiryu.

              “Do you mind?” he asked. Kiryu shook his head.

              “No, please,” Kiryu said nonchalantly. He was more than excited to see Nishiki perform again, but he didn’t want to make that too obvious.

              “Yeah, sure. Can I sing this time?” Nishiki asked. The bartender nodded enthusiastically.

              Nishiki stood up and got out of the booth, stopping to look back at Kiryu. “I’ll be back in a bit.”

              Kiryu nodded, watching as Nishiki walked back through the door near the stage. Now that he was alone, Kiryu was feeling very awkward and out of place again. He wished Majima hadn’t left so quickly just so he would have someone to talk to and pull his focus off of the hot, too tight for his skin feeling that hadn’t gone away since Nishiki’s first performance. Kiryu scanned the bar again. His eyes landed on the older woman from the bar. She was already looking in his direction, and she winked and gave him a wave when she saw Kiryu looking at her. Kiryu quickly looked away, feeling his face heating up. He didn’t have the best record with people giving him attention like that since he was admittedly naïve when it came to sex. He didn’t want to accidently get pulled into something else he wasn’t ready for that night, so it was safest to just avoid anyone giving him attention.

              It didn’t take too long for Nishiki’s performance to start. This time, the set up was simpler, just Nishiki and a mic set up like he was about to do karaoke. It was almost familiar with the exception of Nishiki’s outfit. The song choice was very different than usual, though. Nishiki usually chose popular music to sing, but it was always something more upbeat and sung by a man. Kiryu didn’t recognize the song Nishiki was singing now, but it was slow and soft. It sounded like something an idol would sing, which was something Kiryu knew very little about. Nishiki sang in a high falsetto that sounded really nice. Kiryu knew Nishiki had a nice voice, but he was used to Nishiki’s normal, lower range of singing. His falsetto sounded just as good, not at all strained despite the high range. Once again, Kiryu was completely entranced by Nishiki’s performance, unable to tear his eyes away. This time, Nishiki looked straight back at Kiryu so that Kiryu felt like Nishiki was singing directly to him. The song wasn’t as sensual as the last performance, and even though Nishiki didn’t stand completely still, his dance moves were much more subdued. Still, Kiryu felt the heat flooding back into his abdomen from the intimacy of it all. He swallowed hard and let out a deep breath, trying to will away his arousal. He couldn’t do this again. It had already been difficult enough willing away his erection the last time, and that was when he was dealing with just the one performance.

              Kiryu tore his eyes away with difficulty (in the moment, it felt like the most difficult thing he had ever done), suddenly overwhelmed by the intimacy. His eyes unfortunately fell on the woman from earlier again, but fortunately, she was busy looking at the stage and didn’t notice Kiryu looking this time. Kiryu took a few deep breaths and squeezed his eyes shut before looking back at the stage. He tried to avoid looking at Nishiki’s face, but that meant his eyes instead focused on Nishiki’s body and the very tight dress, and that did nothing but make the situation worse. Kiryu snapped his eyes back up to Nishiki’s face to see Nishiki was no longer looking at him. Instead, Nishiki was looking in the direction Kiryu had just looked, fixated on the woman in the pink dress. Nishiki was giving the woman a look, but Kiryu couldn’t figure out what it meant. It wasn’t a fed up, angry look like the one Nishiki had given her at the bar. It was something else entirely, something new. Kiryu thought he knew all of Nishiki’s looks, but this one wasn’t familiar. Or maybe it was, but Kiryu couldn’t quite place what it meant. He thought about it for a moment before it hit him. Kiryu didn’t know what it looked like for Nishiki to be attracted to someone. Lust, yes. He had seen the way Nishiki looked at women he wanted to sleep with, but Nishiki had never actually been interested in anyone enough to get past a couple dates at most. Nishiki had acted like he really didn’t like this woman, but Kiryu was pretty sure he had heard someone say before that it was normal for people to pretend to hate someone they liked as a way to deflect. That had to be it. Kiryu knew all of Nishiki’s other emotions, so he genuinely couldn’t think of anything else this could be.

              For some reason, that realization hurt. Kiryu actually felt jealous. He wasn’t used to feeling jealous. Actually, it had been years since he had felt jealous. He had to think really hard about the last time, and he realized it was back in high school when Nishiki first started getting attention from girls. Kiryu had chalked that jealously up to the girls taking away his best friend’s attention and quickly quashed that feeling. Maybe he had gotten twinges of jealously through the years when Nishiki had shirked him off for a random girl he was never going to see again, but those times were rare and usually only happened when Kiryu was tired or stressed with work. This jealousy was intense and impossible to ignore, and in light of his dawning realization that maybe he had been a bit more jealous over the years than he had let on, Kiryu was having another realization that he didn’t want to have. It was one thing to want to fuck his best friend. That wasn’t great, but it was understandable. Nishiki was an attractive guy and they were really close, so thinking about sleeping with him was something Kiryu could wrap his head around. But liking him, wanting to be with him in a way that was beyond just sex was a bit harder to accept. Kiryu had grown up with Nishiki. They had spent almost their entire lives together attached at the hip, yet Kiryu’s brain choose right now to finally clarify his feelings for Nishiki. It was all too much at once, trying to deal with this influx of feelings while also trying to deal with how fucking turned on he was. Kiryu groaned and dropped his head into his hands, actually keeping his eyes covered for the rest of the act instead of peeking like he had last time.

              Kiryu stayed in that position until Nishiki returned, silently sliding into the booth next to Kiryu. Kiryu barely felt the seat move, so Nishiki must have sat as far away as he could. Kiryu picked up his head to see Nishiki staring at him worriedly.

              “Are you okay?” Nishiki asked.

              “Fine,” Kiryu said with a shrug.

              “You don’t look fine. You look a bit sick,” Nishiki said.

              “I’m fine,” Kiryu insisted. He never could lie to Nishiki. It was like Nishiki always knew what was inside Kiryu’s brain before even Kiryu did. Nishiki continued to look at Kiryu in worry.

              “You can leave if you don’t . . .”

              “I promise I’m fine,” Kiryu interrupted, fixing Nishiki with a serious glare. Kiryu’s eyes flicked down to Nishiki’s leg sticking out of the slit in his dress, exposing everything up to his hip. It made something squeeze in Kiryu’s chest, and he had to look at the booth and blink a few times before he could look at Nishiki again. “If you could just maybe put your leg away. There’s a lot going on right now.”

              “Sorry,” Nishiki said, pulling his dress over his leg as best he could. It helped a bit but not much.

              “No, it’s not a problem. I’m not actually bothered by it. There’s just a lot going on right now,” Kiryu said.

              “You don’t have to lie to me. It’s fine if you’ve changed your mind about all of this,” Nishiki said, fixing Kiryu with a serious look.

              “I’m not! I really do like all of this. I liked your performances. This one was just as good as the first,” Kiryu said.

              “It didn’t seem like you enjoyed it since you weren’t watching,” Nishiki said.

              “I was watching, just not the whole time. But I was listening,” Kiryu said.

              “Really? Cause to me it seemed like you were mostly just focused on that old hag. I noticed you couldn’t keep your eyes off her,” Nishiki sneered. He crossed his arms over his chest.

              “I didn’t look at her that much. I didn’t even mean to look at her. It was an accident,” Kiryu said.

              “Right, sure,” Nishiki said, rolling his eyes.

              “It really was an accident, but then I saw the way you were looking at her and . . .”

              “The way I was looking at her?”

              “Yeah, you gave that look.”

              “What look?”

              “That look.”

              “Kiryu, what the actual fuck are you talking about right now.”

              “I know I’m not the most experienced person, and I admit that it took me awhile to figure it out, but I get it now.”

              “Okay, if you don’t explain with clear, grown-up words, I’m going to slap you.”

              “I know that you like her,” Kiryu said, blushing furiously at finally admitting it. He had been hoping Nishiki would just admit it so he didn’t have to, but here they were. Nishiki narrowed his eyes and gave Kiryu a deadly look.

              “You think I like her?” Nishiki repeated.

              “Yes,” Kiryu mumbled.

              “What in the ever-loving fuck made you think that?” Nishiki asked.

              “Well, I’ve heard that people sometimes make fun of the people they have crushes on to hide the crush, so I . . .”

              Nishiki held up his hand to shush Kiryu. Kiryu snapped his mouth shut and waited. Nishiki took a deep breath and looked at Kiryu like he was about to explain something so simple that even a child would understand. It was a look Kiryu was familiar with, and he always felt incredibly stupid when Nishiki did this.

              “Let me be very clear, I do not like her in any way, especially not romantically,” Nishiki said slowly.

              “Then what was that look about?” Kiryu asked.

              “I don’t know what look you’re talking about. What fucking look?” Nishiki asked.

              “During your performance, I accidently looked over at her, then when I looked back at you, you were looking at her with this look that I didn’t understand,” Kiryu said.

              “So, you automatically assumed it meant I was into her?” Nishiki asked. Kiryu nodded and shrugged. “No. I really, genuinely fucking hate her. She’s my least favorite person in this entire room, hands down.”

              “Then what was it?” Kiryu asked.

              “I was mad because you were looking at her. You deserve so much better than her, especially if you’re going to start acting like you go for guys. I understand that you’re trying to get into the whole vibe of the place, but that doesn’t mean you have to actually flirt with anyone here,” Nishiki said.

              “Who said I’m not into guys?” Kiryu asked.             

              “Okay. Kiryu, come on,” Nishiki said, rolling his eyes again.

              “No, who said that? You said it earlier, but I’ve never said that,” Kiryu said.

              “Well, it’s obvious that you aren’t,” Nishiki said.

              “How is it obvious?”

              “You’ve never shown any interest in guys.”

              “Have I ever shown any interest in girls?”

              “No, but . . .”

              “Then why would you assume I’m into girls if it’s the same situation?”

              “Because liking girls is the norm.”

              “I already told you that I’m not as normal as you think I am.”

              Nishiki paused and clenched his jaw, letting out a breath through his nose that made his nostrils flare angrily. “Stop making fun of me.”

              “I’m not making fun of you,” Kiryu said, furrowing his brow in confusion. It was like everything Nishiki said only made him more confused. This was definitely a top contender for their most difficult conversation of all time.

              “Yes you are. First, you claim I’m into the worst person in the room, and now you’re trying to pretend like you’re into guys. You’ve never been mean like this before. I don’t like it,” Nishiki said, sliding further away from Kiryu until he was almost falling off the chair.

              “Nish . . . Goi, I’m not making fun of you. I would never fun of you. Well, I jokingly make fun of you all the time, but I would never make fun of you like this. I’ve meant everything I’ve said tonight,” Kiryu said. He reached out and tentatively grabbed Nishiki’s wrist to keep him from running away. Nishiki looked down at Kiryu’s hand but didn’t pull away.

              “What you’re saying doesn’t make any sense,” Nishiki said.

              “Look at me please,” Kiryu said, shaking Nishiki’s wrist to get his attention. Nishiki reluctantly looked at Kiryu’s face. “I know you can tell when I’m lying. Do I look like I’m lying?”

              Nishiki stared at Kiryu for a beat. Something passed over his face too fast for Kiryu to pick up on. Nishiki sighed and looked away again.

              “No,” he said quietly.

              “Exactly, because I’m not,” Kiryu said.

              “I just don’t know what this means now,” Nishiki said.

              “Does it have to mean something?” Kiryu asked.

              “Yes!” Nishiki exclaimed, looking back up. He paused for a beat to collect himself. “I thought I knew everything about you, but now you’re throwing this out of left field, and I just never expected it.”

              “Do you have a problem with it?” Kiryu asked, finally letting go of Nishiki’s wrist. He hadn’t even realized he was still holding it until that moment.

              “No. That would be hypocritical of me,” Nishiki said.

              “Wait, do you like guys too?” Kiryu asked.

              “You accused me of liking that woman over there and now you’re asking me that?” Nishiki asked.

              “Uh, well, I honestly might have forgotten about the whole performing as a woman thing,” Kiryu said. “But back to the point, you’ve always been super into women. Now you’re telling me you like guys?”

              “I like both,” Nishiki shrugged like it was the most obvious thing he’d ever said. Kiryu hummed. He didn’t know that was an option.

              “Okay, I need a drink. You want one?” Nishiki asked, standing up. Kiryu shook his head. Things were only getting worse, so his initial hunch that adding alcohol would only make things worse still held true.

              “Really?” Nishiki asked, looking very confused. Kiryu nodded. “Fine, suit yourself.”

              Kiryu was actually a bit glad to be left alone this time. He was really fucking up this conversation. He hadn’t meant to admit that he was into guys since he really wasn’t even sure if that was true. He knew he was into a guy, but that was about as far as he could be certain. Now, he had managed to embarrass himself while offending Nishiki more than once, and they weren’t in anywhere near a better situation than they had started the night. The one good thing was that the stress and embarrassment from the conversation had dulled Kiryu’s arousal enough that it wasn’t a pressing problem. He still had a problem that would be obvious if he stood up, but even that was almost gone. Kiryu leaned his head back on the booth and looked up at the ceiling, trying to will the rest of his arousal away.

              “Fuck off! I don’t need this shit right now.”

              Kiryu picked his head up and looked over at the bar at the sound of Nishiki’s voice. He hadn’t screamed the words, but he had said them loud enough that the whole bar heard him. Nishiki looked mortified, and he drooped his shoulders and curled into himself. Standing next to him was the older woman once again. She looked around apologetically then leaned close to Nishiki and whispered something. Nishiki glared at her for a moment before dropping his head down so his hair covered his face. After a few moments, the woman placed her hand gently on Nishiki’s shoulder and whispered something else. She patted Nishiki’s shoulder then turned and walked away. The bartender walked over a few seconds later and handed Nishiki a drink. It took another few moments before Nishiki finally returned to the booth. He sat down at the other end of the booth but not as far away as he had before. He placed the drink down on the table without taking a drink.

              “Sorry about that,” Nishiki said quietly.

              “Is everything alright?” Kiryu asked. Nishiki just shrugged. The lights began to dim again as another performer took the stage. Kiryu intended to watch the performer instead of staring at Nishiki in the dark like he wanted to, but Nishiki had other ideas. He slid a bit closer, close enough that Kiryu could hear him if he whispered but not close enough to risk touching.

              “What did you really think about my performance?” Nishiki asked.

              “I told you that I really liked it. I meant that,” Kiryu said.

              “Yeah, you said you liked it, but you could barely tell me why,” Nishiki said.

              Kiryu frantically thought about how he could answer that without admitting that Nishiki had turned him on more than anyone else ever had. Nishiki waited patiently for Kiryu to answer.

              “I don’t know. It was just really entertaining. I’m sure you’ve noticed that it’s hard for anyone to take their eyes off of you. You know that intoxicating feeling you get when we fight together. It was like that, but it was all you. It was also like the way you described how hostesses make you feel. You know, the way they make you feel noticed and intimate even if they don’t actual feel that way,” Kiryu said. While he normally would have thought comparing Nishiki to a hostess was a bit too far, it was way better than comparing him to the dancers at titty bars, which was the closest thing Kiryu could compare the performance to.

              “My performance made you feel intimate?” Nishiki asked.

              Kiryu groaned inwardly. He hadn’t meant to admit that, but it was too late to take it back now. “Yeah.”

              “Hm,” Nishiki hummed. He looked over at the stage, but he didn’t seem like he was actually watching the performance. “What else did you like about it? You can tell me what you really think. You don’t have to keep any secrets from me.”

              That felt like a trap. Not like Nishiki was trying to trap him as much as if Kiryu started admitting anything real, he wasn’t going to be able to stop. He was inevitably going to admit how he really felt about Nishiki, and that absolutely could not happen. He needed to keep his cool and . . .

              “I thought you were gorgeous,” Kiryu said. He snapped his mouth shut and stared wide eyed at the table. Fuck, that was not what he meant to say. No, no, no. He needed to take this back and fix his fuck up.

              “You did?” Nishiki asked. He slid a bit closer, and it took all Kiryu had not to slide in the opposite direction. Running away was as much of an admission right now, so it was best for him to stay and fix this.

              “Yes,” Kiryu whispered. Fuck. Again? Fuck.

              “Oh,” Nishiki breathed.

              “Nishiki, look,” Kiryu said, looking up as he started to slide away. He wasn’t going to leave, he just needed space to breathe so he could control his outbursts. Kiryu’s breath caught in his throat. Nishiki was close, very close, close enough that all Kiryu had to do was raise his hand without moving his upper arm and he could touch Nishiki’s face. Nishiki reached out and grabbed Kiryu’s hip to keep him from moving away. Kiryu freaked out at that. He still had a semi, and Nishiki’s hand was dangerously close to revealing that fact. Kiryu twisted his hips to try to get his crotch further away from Nishiki. Nishiki misunderstood the move, thinking Kiryu was still trying to get away, and his grip tightened on Kiryu’s hip. Nishiki studied Kiryu’s face, his bright red lips slightly parted in concentration. Kiryu’s gaze got stuck on Nishiki’s lips, and he had the sudden overwhelming urge to kiss Nishiki. He needed it. He had to dig his nails into his palms to stop himself. When Kiryu finally managed to tear his gaze away and look back at Nishiki’s eyes, Nishiki tilted his head and looked at Kiryu with something that looked close to hunger. No, that couldn’t be right. Kiryu was clearly misreading the situation.

              That was when Nishiki released his grip and curled his long fingers, causing him to accidently brush across Kiryu’s erection that had grown again in the last few seconds. Both Kiryu and Nishiki took sharp breaths. Kiryu felt like he was going to die of embarrassment. He needed to get out of here and regroup. Hopefully, they could pretend like none of this ever happened, and everything could be fine again. But then Nishiki licked his lips, and Kiryu was frozen in place, eyes stuck on Nishiki’s lips again. Even though Kiryu never took his eyes off Nishiki’s lips, he still missed as Nishiki quickly leaned forward, only realizing what was happening after Nishiki was already kissing him. The kiss was so quick that it was done right after Kiryu realized it was happening, way too quickly for Kiryu to kiss back. It was barely more than a peck, and Kiryu was absolutely not satisfied with it. But Nishiki had kissed him. That meant he hadn’t misread the situation. That had to be permission, right?

              “I’m sorry,” Nishiki said, looking panicked as he pulled away. Kiryu was the one to reach out this time, finally grabbing a handful of Nishiki’s dress like he had wanted since he first touched it. He pulled Nishiki back, smashing their lips back together in a way that wasn’t at all graceful. Now that they were kissing again, Kiryu realized he didn’t actually know what to do. He wasn’t the one who needed to be leading here. Fortunately, it didn’t take long for Nishiki to kiss him back and take over, leaning his face so that their lips fit together more comfortably. That helped, but Kiryu still felt lost. His grip on the dress felt like too much, so he let go and dropped both hands to his sides, gripping at the seat. He wanted to reach out and run his hand down Nishiki’s exposed leg, but he wasn’t sure if that was too much too fast. This wasn’t his first kiss, but it was close. The few kisses he had in the past had mostly been chaste and uncertain, mostly just things Kiryu had done because it felt like something he should be doing. He wasn’t so inexperienced that he didn’t know the basics of kissing. The problem was that he just didn’t know the speed at which things were acceptable. He tried to focus in on the kiss instead of his racing thoughts, but that was proving difficult even though this was Nishiki. He was kissing Nishiki. Oh god. He was kissing Nishiki.

              Nishiki was the one to pull away again. He looked at Kiryu worriedly.

              “We don’t have to do this. It’s okay. We can stop,” Nishiki said.

              “What? No,” Kiryu said. Just because he was panicking didn’t mean he wanted to stop.

              “Kiryu, you’re shaking,” Nishiki said, grabbing Kiryu’s hand and holding it up. He really was shaking. Kiryu tensed his hand to stop the shaking.

              “It’s okay now. See. I’m fine,” Kiryu said. Nishiki sighed.

              “That can’t actually be better,” he said, rubbing his thumb over Kiryu’s hand to try to force him to release the tension. Kiryu did release the tension then twisted his hand around to grab Nishiki’s, slotting their fingers together. That didn’t completely stop the shaking, but it did help significantly.

              “I want this. I really do,” Kiryu said. He looked down at their entwined hands. “I’m just a bit nervous. A lot’s happened tonight.”

              “We don’t have to do this tonight. It can wait,” Nishiki said.

              “No!” Kiryu said, gripping hard at Nishiki’s hand. He was worried that if they left this unsettled now, Nishiki would realize it was a mistake. That thought made Kiryu feel worse. He didn’t want to trap Nishiki into doing something he didn’t want to do, but Nishiki also seemed to be into this right now. This was all Kiryu’s fault. If he could be cool for once then Nishiki wouldn’t be worried about him. He just kept surprising himself with his ability to completely fuck everything up.

              “Okay,” Nishiki said, squeezing Kiryu’s hand back. Kiryu’s racing thought stopped, and he looked up to see Nishiki smiling at him. Nishiki slid his other hand up the side of Kiryu’s jaw, tracing circles on Kiryu’s skin with his thumb. Nishiki looked down at Kiryu’s lips then back at his eyes. Nishiki raised an eyebrow in question, and Kiryu nodded eagerly.

              Nishiki leaned in again, much slower this time. The kiss was gentle and slow. Nishiki took charge but gave Kiryu enough time to settle into it before he deepened it. With this slower pace, Kiryu was finally able to quiet his thoughts and focus on what was happening. He still didn’t know what to do with his hands, so he kept them where they already were. Nishiki didn’t let go of Kiryu’s hand either, rubbing his thumb over Kiryu’s knuckles. He wrapped his other hand around the back of Kiryu’s neck to pull him closer. This time, the kiss was amazing. It was exactly what Kiryu had been hoping for since he first saw Nishiki on that stage. It didn’t take him long to settle into the kiss, and he applied more pressure to Nishiki’s lips so it wasn’t so gentle anymore. Nishiki smiled against Kiryu’s lips then opened his mouth, running his tongue against Kiryu’s lower lip. Kiryu eagerly opened his mouth, and Nishiki used the hand on the back of Kiryu’s neck to pull them even closer as he slid his tongue into Kiryu’s mouth. Kiryu took to this more quickly, leaning forward to deepen the kiss even further as the heat in his abdomen grew. Nishiki slid his hand up, threading his fingers through Kiryu’s hair. He sighed into Kiryu’s mouth, letting go of Kiryu’s hand so he could slide it under the collar of Kiryu’s shirt. Kiryu still wasn’t sure what to do with his hands, so he just lightly gripped the edges of Nishiki’s dress. He was still a bit worried that if he grabbed somewhere else, he wouldn’t be able to stop. He was aware in the very back of his brain that they were still in public, and he didn’t want to practically fuck Nishiki in the middle of the bar.

              Nishiki eventually pulled back again, Kiryu groaned in displeasure at the absence of Nishiki’s lips, leaning forward to chase after Nishiki. Nishiki grabbed Kiryu’s shoulders to stop him from pulling them into another kiss, but he didn’t pull away too far. He was still close enough for Kiryu to easily kiss him if he let go of his grip.

              “Don’t worry. I’m not going anywhere. It’s just,” Nishiki looked down at their laps. He reached down and took one of Kiryu’s hands, raising it to place it at the nape of his neck. “You can touch me. It’s okay. Anywhere is fine, I promise.”

              Kiryu nodded and swallowed hard. He looked at his hand on Nishiki’s neck and slid it up to cup the side of Nishiki’s face like Nishiki had done with him. He ran his thumb along Nishiki’s lip. Nishiki opened his mouth and lightly bit Kiryu’s thumb. He looked at Kiryu with hooded eyes, pupils blown wide.

              “You don’t have to be gentle. I’m not going to break,” Nishiki whispered. Kiryu swallowed again, the words going straight to his groin. He reached out with his other hand and grabbed the side of Nishiki’s knee, sliding his hand all the way up to the top of the slit in the dress. He gripped tightly at Nishiki’s hip.

              “I thought you didn’t like the leg,” Nishiki smirked.

              “It was distracting me,” Kiryu said. Nishiki’s eyes went dark with lust, and he looped his hand behind Kiryu’s head to pull him in for another kiss. Seconds later, the performance ended and the lights came back on. Kiryu jumped away from Nishiki.

              “Are you okay?” Nishiki asked.

              “Yeah, it’s just . . . Well, they can – everyone can see,” Kiryu said, looking around frantically to see if anyone had spotted their makeout session. Fortunately, no one was looking at them.

              “Trust me, this isn’t anything new. There’s not a night here without at least one couple going at it,” Nishiki smirked. Kiryu still felt uncomfortable. Nishiki smiled and grabbed Kiryu’s hand. “Alright, I get it. This is all new for you, so I’m not gonna push you. But we could go somewhere more private if you would prefer.”

              Kiryu blinked at Nishiki. Nishiki ran his thumb over Kiryu’s knuckle again and looked at Kiryu with ‘innocent’ eyes that were anything but innocent. Kiryu took a shaky breath and nodded.

              “Good. Your place or mine?” Nishiki purred, leaning closer to Kiryu’s ear. Kiryu shivered and grabbed at Nishiki’s leg again.

              “Yours is closer,” Kiryu managed to choke out.

              “Mm, true,” Nishiki said. He pulled back with a huge smirk, clearly proud of the strangle hold he had over Kiryu at the moment. He stood up and stretched, pulling his arms high over his head and sticking his leg out. Kiryu looked away quickly before he did something he would regret.

              “I’ll go change, then we can go,” Nishiki said. Kiryu looked at him, pouting disappointedly. “I can’t walk around in public with this on.”

              Kiryu nodded, but he was still disappointed. Nishiki sighed and pouted back.

              “How about I promise to keep the dress, and I’ll wear it for you again. Just for you,” Nishiki said.

              “Yes, please,” Kiryu said, nodding eagerly. Nishiki laughed.

              “I’ll be right back. You work on doing something about that while I’m gone,” Nishiki said, nodding towards Kiryu’s erection. Kiryu groaned and covered his crotch, earning another laugh from Nishiki.

              Kiryu shifted his pants and managed to get himself mostly under control while Nishiki was changing. He could hide it if they took a taxi, but it might prove a little more difficult if they walked. Fortunately, Nishiki complained that his feet hurt from the heels, so they ended up taking the cab. Kiryu was surprised to see Nishiki nod goodbye (though still begrudgingly) at the older woman when she shouted at them to have fun as they were leaving. Unfortunately, Nishiki was brave enough to risk placing his hand on the inside of Kiryu’s thigh in the darkness of the taxi’s backseat, running his fingers up and down and completely undoing all of the work Kiryu had done in calming himself down. He had to take off his jacket and hold it in front of his crotch to not embarrass himself in front of the driver. Nishiki took pity on him and paid for the ride.

              When they got inside, Kiryu practically ripped off his shoes and kicked them blindly to the side. Nishiki took his sweet time taking his shoes off and putting down his stuff. Kiryu crossed his arms and tapped his foot impatiently.

              “Are you trying to torture me?” Kiryu asked.

              “You should learn patience,” Nishiki said, slipping off his jacket and placing it gingerly on the back of a chair.

              “Is this really the best time to try teaching me patience?” Kiryu grumbled. Nishiki smirked and walked over to him, slipping his arms around Kiryu’s waist. Kiryu placed his hands on Nishiki’s hips. He could finally do whatever he wanted without having to worry about being in public, but he was a bit disappointed that he no longer had the opportunity to explore Nishiki in the dress. Kiryu gripped tightly at Nishiki’s hip with one hand and used his other hand to grab a handful of Nishiki’s shirt. It was a really nice shirt and didn’t feel bad, but it didn’t feel like the silky smoothness of the dress.

              “You want me to put the dress back on, don’t you?” Nishiki asked. Kiryu nodded. “Aren’t you the one who was just complaining I was taking too long?”

              “It’s worth it,” Kiryu said. Nishiki scoffed and walked away, grabbing his bag from where he had dropped it by the door.

              “Of course. He’s capable of patience when it’s beneficial to him,” Nishiki mocked, walking into the bathroom and closing the door behind him. Kiryu walked over to the futon and unrolled it, sitting down to wait for Nishiki. Nishiki didn’t take very long, coming back in what had to be record time, if you asked Kiryu. He walked out of the bathroom and posed a couple feet away from Kiryu, pushing his leg out far. It wasn’t the same as earlier since he didn’t have the makeup and heels, but he was still breathtakingly gorgeous. Kiryu involuntarily made a whining, needy noise. He stood up and took one step towards Nishiki. He grabbed at Nishiki’s waist again, fisting his hands in the fabric of the dress to pull Nishiki into a rough kiss. He ran his hands up Nishiki’s sides, around his exposed back, and down to cup Nishiki’s ass. He kept one hand there and twisted the other around to run it up and down Nishiki’s leg, stopping to press his thumb against the exposed skin at the very top of the slit. Nishiki smirked and leaned away from some of the pressure of the kiss.

              “You really like the leg, huh?” Nishiki mumbled against Kiryu’s lips. Kiryu didn’t want to break the kiss, but he pulled back just far enough to look into Nishiki’s eyes.

              “You’re the most beautiful person I’ve ever seen,” Kiryu said, completely serious. Nishiki looked lost for half a second before he broke into a real smile.

              “You’re really easy to please,” Nishiki said.

              “Yeah. That a problem?” Kiryu asked, running his hand down Nishiki’s leg again.

              “No,” Nishiki said, flicking his eyes down. He reached out and cupped Kiryu’s dick through his pants. “I’m not mad about it.”

              Kiryu tightened his hands on Nishiki, pulling him closer. He meant to pull him in for another kiss, but since his hands were so low, he only managed to pull their hips together. Nishiki barely managed to get his hand out of the way as Kiryu ground his erection against Nishiki’s equally hard dick. Nishiki groaned, and Kiryu took the opportunity to pull him in for another kiss, sticking his tongue into Nishiki’s open mouth. Nishiki groped at Kiryu’s ass, pulling their hips together again. He rolled his hips, sending a wave of lust through Kiryu so intense that he couldn’t hold back a loud groan. He pulled his head back, and Nishiki immediately latched onto his neck, sucking at the dip between the edge of Kiryu’s shoulder and collarbone.

              “Nishiki,” Kiryu groaned. Nishiki hummed against his neck, sucking harder. Kiryu took the opportunity to explore every inch of Nishiki, to finally touch all of the places he had dreamed of touching for longer than he had ever dared to admit. Kiryu ran his hands all over Nishiki’s back, trying to picture what parts of the tattoo his fingers were touching. He had stared at the tattoo enough to know it better than his own, but the prospect of being able to touch it in this way, to get to know it intimately, excited him. He moved his hands up to run them through Nishiki’s hair. It was soft and smooth just like Kiryu had always imagined. Nishiki grabbed Kiryu’s shirt and violently ripped it out of his pants then pushed against the inside of Kiryu’s jacket.

              “Off,” Nishiki mumbled against Kiryu’s neck. Kiryu did what he was told, though getting his jacket off was a bit difficult with Nishiki still attached to his neck. He managed it though, and began unbuttoning his shirt. Nishiki pulled off of Kiryu’s neck with a loud smack and took over, ripping the shirt off over Kiryu’s head with half the buttons still done up. Nishiki looked at Kiryu’s torso hungrily. He reached out and ran a hand over Kiryu’s abs then pushed him backwards. Kiryu fell onto the futon, managing to catch himself on his elbows. He sat up as Nishiki took a step closer. Seated like this, Kiryu was eye level with Nishiki’s hard dick, perfectly outlined against the tight dress. Kiryu grabbed desperately at Nishiki’s legs.

              “Lucky I was the only one this turned on back at the bar, huh?” Kiryu asked.

              “No, I was, but I had it tucked,” Nishiki said.

              “What does that mean?” Kiryu asked.

              “Long story that’s not important right now,” Nishiki said. Kiryu hummed then leaned forward to mouth at Nishiki’s dick through the dress. Nishiki gasped loudly and gripped tightly at Kiryu’s shoulders, bucking his hips a bit at Kiryu’s touch. Kiryu mouthed along Nishiki’s entire length, eliciting the most gorgeous noises out of Nishiki. Kiryu pulled away and sat back. He reached out and ran his hand up Nishiki’s leg again, slipping it under the fabric of the dress to grab Nishiki’s dick. Nishiki threw his head back and groaned, tightening his grip on Kiryu’s shoulders. Kiryu ran his hand up Nishiki’s shaft and twirled his thumb around the head, waiting for Nishiki to look back at him.

              “I want to suck you off,” Kiryu said as soon as Nishiki looked back down. Nishiki made a choked noise and nodded. “I just . . . I haven’t done this before.”

              “Sucked off a guy? That’s not a surprise,” Nishiki said.

              “No, I’ve never slept with anyone at all,” Kiryu clarified.

              “Oh. That’s not a problem. I genuinely couldn’t tell,” Nishiki said. He slid one of his hands up to cup Kiryu’s jaw, and Kiryu turned his face into Nishiki’s palm, placing a kiss against it. He let go of Nishiki and pulled away, twisting his legs until he was sitting on his knees. He grabbed Nishiki’s hips and pulled him closer again, placing kisses along the inside of Nishiki’s thigh. He kissed up the length of Nishiki’s thigh until the fabric of the dress stopped him from going any further. He grabbed the edge of the slit and started pulling it to the side, fully intending to blow Nishiki while he was still in the dress, but Nishiki reached out and stopped him.

              “Wait. Let me take this off first,” Nishiki said, reaching up to slip the halter neck of the dress over his head.

              “You don’t have to,” Kiryu said.

              “I know you like the dress, but I want to see you while you suck me off. The dress is just going to get in the way,” Nishiki said. He slid the top of the dress off then gracefully shimmied out of the rest. It dropped to the floor with a quiet rustling, leaving Nishiki completely naked in front of Kiryu. It wasn’t the first time Kiryu had seen Nishiki naked, but this time was different. This time he could actually appreciate it, could rake his eyes over every inch of Nishiki hungrily and not worry about getting caught. He did just that now, and his dick twitched at seeing how hard Nishiki was for him.

              Kiryu couldn’t wait any longer. He grabbed Nishiki and pulled him forward. He wrapped his hand around Nishiki’s dick again and looked up into Nishiki’s eyes. Nishiki took a deep breath, watching closely as Kiryu opened his mouth and stuck out his tongue, running it along the underside of Nishiki’s dick. When he reached the top, he wrapped his lips around the head and sucked, running his tongue over the slit. Nishiki cursed and grabbed the back of Kiryu’s head with both hands, gripping Kiryu’s hair tightly. Kiryu began to bob his head up and down, slowly working on taking more of Nishiki in. Nishiki gripped tighter at Kiryu’s hair, clearly trying to hold himself back from thrusting into Kiryu’s mouth. Kiryu might have been inexperienced, but he still knew the basic gist of what to do. He did what he thought he would like, which seemed to work from the groans and whines of pleasure coming from Nishiki. When Kiryu managed to get all of Nishiki into his mouth without gagging and found a steady though still slow rhythm, Nishiki did begin to gently thrust along with Kiryu’s movements.

              Kiryu was so hard that it hurt. He palmed at himself through his pants, but it did little to help. He adjusted his pants and pulled down the zipper to try to help with the strain. Nishiki looked down at the noise.

              “Take it out. I want to see,” Nishiki said. Kiryu continued sucking while he pulled down his pants slightly, freeing his dick from the top of his boxers. Nishiki hissed and bucked a bit harder, poking Kiryu in the back of the throat. Kiryu managed to suppress the gag and pulled back halfway up Nishiki’s shaft. Nishiki continued pulling back and out of Kiryu’s mouth. Kiryu gasped and leaned forward, chasing after Nishiki’s dick.

              “Wait. I wanna try something,” Nishiki said. He fell to his knees and pushed Kiryu back so that he fell on his ass. Nishiki pulled at Kiryu’s pants. “Take these off.”

              Kiryu raised his hips and slid of his pants and boxers, kicking them off to the side. As soon as he was naked, Nishiki climbed onto his lap. He grabbed Kiryu’s shoulder and forced him to sit back up, pulling Kiryu into a deep kiss. Kiryu grabbed the back of Nishiki’s hips, pulling him closer. Nishiki slipped a hand between them, grabbing Kiryu’s dick and running his hand over the entire length a few times. Nishiki removed his hand and slid forward until he was almost flush against Kiryu. He wrapped his hand around both his and Kiryu’s dicks and began to jerk them off. If palming at himself didn’t do much, this did too much. Nishiki felt amazing against him, and he was already embarrassingly close in less than a minute. Nishiki pulled back from the kiss and bit lightly at Kiryu's lip before looking down at Kiryu with dark eyes completely filled with lust. Kiryu growled and gripped tighter at Nishiki’s ass, digging his nails in possessively.

              Mine. He thought. He didn’t know if that was true; didn’t know if there was going to be anything after this, but in this moment, Nishiki was his. He was the one touching Nishiki, he was the one who just had Nishiki’s dick in his mouth, Nishiki was kissing him, touching him.  That thought went directly to Kiryu’s dick, and the intense feeling made him gasp. Nishiki smirked and pulled back, raising a finger to Kiryu’s lips. Kiryu opened his mouth and closed it around Nishiki’s finger, sucking eagerly.

              “I knew you weren’t all that innocent and naïve. You’re fucking filthy, aren’t you?” Nishiki purred. He placed a second finger on Kiryu’s lip, and Kiryu opened his mouth to let it join the first. He swirled his tongue around Nishiki’s fingers then looked at Nishiki with the most innocent, puppy-dog eyes he could muster. Nishiki laughed and pulled his fingers out of Kiryu’s mouth, leaning in for another heated kiss. When he pulled away again, he wrapped his free hand around the back of Kiryu’s neck and leaned their foreheads together. Kiryu felt Nishiki’s heavy breathes against his lips, and the possessive feeling flared up again. Nishiki’s pace on their dicks quickened, and he moaned.

              “Fuck, you feel so good,” Nishiki said. Kiryu dropped his head to the crook in Nishiki’s neck and grunted. He was so close that he couldn’t form words anymore. “I bet you feel even better inside me. Would you like that?”

              Kiryu grunted again, more forcefully this time. It sounded needy and pathetic to his own ears, but he didn’t care.

              “Good. I’ll let you fuck me next time,” Nishiki whispered into Kiryu’s ear. The mention of there being a next time was too much, and Kiryu couldn’t hold back anymore. He came with a strangled shout, harder than he had ever cum before. Nishiki continued jerking Kiryu off through it, finally climaxing just as the motions were beginning to get overstimulating for Kiryu’s spent dick. Nishiki let go of their dicks and pulled Kiryu in for another kiss, this one slower and less desperate than before. Kiryu would almost have called it loving, but he didn’t want to put a label like that on anything yet. Kiryu eventually had to break away to catch his breath. He wrapped his arms around Nishiki’s waist and re-buried his face into the crook of Nishiki’s neck. Nishiki hugged him back, awkwardly holding out his hand covered in their cum. When Nishiki eventually tried to pull away, Kiryu groaned and held on tighter.

              “I need to get a towel,” Nishiki said, pushing against Kiryu’s shoulder. Kiryu squeezed again then reluctantly let Nishiki go. Nishiki stood up, and Kiryu reached out to grab his hand.

              “Kiryu,” Nishiki sighed, but he said Kiryu’s name fondly. Kiryu pouted up at him, and Nishiki smiled. “I’ll be back. I promise. God, who would’ve thought you’d be fucking clingy.”

              Nishiki walked into the bathroom and came back with a couple towels. He walked back already cleaning himself up and threw a towel to Kiryu. Kiryu wiped himself off then leaned back to stretch. Nishiki held a hand towards Kiryu, and Kiryu instinctively grabbed it. Nishiki laughed.

              “No, give me your towel. I’m going to go put them up,” Nishiki said.

              “Just throw them on the floor. Come here,” Kiryu said, gently pulling on Nishiki’s hand.

              “Just because someone in this room is okay living in filth doesn’t mean we all want to,” Nishiki said.

              “It’s two towels. I don’t think that’s living in filth,” Kiryu said. He picked up his towel and dropped it on the floor, staring at Nishiki the entire time.

              “I don’t think you’re a good judge of what’s filth or not,” Nishiki said, rolling his eyes, but he dropped his own towel on the ground and sat down on the futon next to Kiryu. Kiryu rolled on his side and propped himself up on an elbow. Nishiki laid back on his elbows so he was on the same level as Kiryu. Kiryu reached out and ran his fingers lightly over Nishiki’s hand.

              “Can I kiss you again?” Kiryu asked.

              “I don’t think you need to ask that after what we just did,” Nishiki said.

              “I know, but I’m not sure where we are now. Whether this was a one-time thing or whatever,” Kiryu said. Nishiki blinked slowly at him.

              “Do you want it to be a one-time thing?” he asked. Kiryu shook his head. “Good. I don’t want it to be either.”

              Kiryu thought about asking whether Nishiki meant he just wanted sex or if he wanted something more, but it didn’t feel like the right moment. They could figure that out in the future. Instead, Kiryu leaned in and kissed Nishiki again. Nishiki was smiling widely when Kiryu pulled away.

              “Fuck. I did not expect this when I woke up this morning,” Nishiki said, laying back and throwing a hand over his eyes. Kiryu grabbed his other hand and ran his thumb over Nishiki’s knuckles like Nishiki had done to him earlier. Nishiki moved his hand just enough to glance at Kiryu again. “I can’t say I didn’t hope for it though.”

              “Me too,” Kiryu said. He did mean it, even if he didn’t realize how he felt until about an hour ago.

              “Really?” Nishiki asked. He was still smiling, but there was something fearful in his eyes. Kiryu nodded and gave him another quick kiss.

              “I’ve always thought you were beautiful and amazing and smart; talented. You’re my favorite person. I didn’t think you could be more beautiful than when you’re fighting, but fuck it if this isn’t the best thing I’ve ever seen,” Kiryu said. He ran his hand up Nishiki’s torso to his face, brushing his fingers over Nishiki’s jaw and cheek.

              “The fact that you’re turned on by fighting is the least surprising thing I’ve ever learned about you,” Nishiki said.

              “Don’t pretend like you aren’t,” Kiryu said.

              “Okay, maybe a little bit,” Nishiki said.

              “That’s right. You aren’t better than me,” Kiryu said. He wrapped his arms around Nishiki and pulled himself flush against Nishiki’s side.

              “Really, because it seems like you think I’m pretty great,” Nishiki laughed, wrapping his arm around Kiryu’s shoulders.

              “I take it all back,” Kiryu grumbled.

              “I don’t think you can take it back at this point,” Nishiki said, poking Kiryu in the side. Kiryu groaned and pressed his face into Nishiki’s shoulder. “Don’t worry. I won’t make you regret it too much.”

              “I don’t believe that at all,” Kiryu grumbled into Nishiki’s shoulder.

              “Sounds like you regret me already,” Nishiki said.

              “Maybe I do,” Kiryu grumbled.

              “Someone’s grumpy. What? You already over the afterglow?” Nishiki joked. Kiryu groaned. “Come on, Kiryu-chan.”

              Kiryu picked up his head and glared at Nishiki. “Don’t call me that.”

              “Why? You let Majima call you that? I’m not as special as him?” Nishiki asked, pouting.

              “Let is a strong word,” Kiryu said, rolling his eyes.

              “Fine. How about Kaz?” Nishiki asked.

              “I like that,” Kiryu said.

              “I knew you would. Like I said, you’re a man of simple pleasures,” Nishiki said, placing his hand on Kiryu’s jaw and running his thumb over Kiryu’s lip.

              “I thought you liked that about me, Akira. Or would you prefer Goi?” Kiryu asked, flicking out his tongue to lick Nishiki’s thumb.

              “I don’t mind either. Only in private though,” Nishiki said.

              “Of course,” Kiryu said, kissing the pad of Nishiki’s thumb.

              “You’re going to be the fucking death of me,” Nishiki said, rolling over on top of Kiryu to kiss him. Kiryu smiled. He understood the sentiment completely.

Notes:

I'm back with more thoughts on Nishiki's gender. This time, it's based on the absolute beautiful genderfluid art by boyyeahright on Tumblr. Go give them some love: https://www.tumblr.com/boyyeahright/773946826006085632/blasting-nishikiyama-with-the-goromification-beam. Hope you enjoyed!