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“That guy’s been staring at you all night, you know.”
Kiku paused, his drink halfway to his lips before he scoffed and downed it. “I’ve already told Arthur to piss off. Is he here?”
The disco was crowded, but not crowded enough that Arthur wouldn’t be noticeable. His mop of sandy blonde hair and too-thick brows would catch anyone’s eyes. Mei laughed, a melodic sound that brought a smile to Kiku’s lips despite the mention of his inescapable ex.
“No, he isn’t, thank god,” She said, flipping her teased out hair over her shoulder. Her neon green nails glowed under the blacklight of the club, tinkling against her martini glass in the same sweet way her laugh did, “Look over by the DJ booth. Don’t make it obvious.”
Kiku set his glass down, tapping his fingers against the bar’s counter as his eyes shifted from the girl next to him towards the DJ booth set against the wall to their left. There was a small crowd gathered near the DJ, sharing drinks while their occasional laughter erupted against the bassline to Anita Ward’s latest single. Whichever boy was staring at him wasn’t doing so then.
“They all look the same, Mei. Blonde, tall and badly tanned.”
“No, no, the youngest looking one. He has glasses on.”
Kiku looked over once more, searching for this mystery admirer and suddenly, shockingly, met a pair of bright eyes staring at him through the dark. He was certainly blonde and tall, but most of all, Mei was absolutely right: he looked too young to even be in that disco.
The man couldn’t help the amused smile that stretched across his face, turning back towards the bar with a huff of laughter. “How the hell did he get in here?”
“He’s cute. Do you think he swings both ways?”
“Why don’t you ask him? He might have been staring at you this entire time.”
Mei flicked her hair over her bare shoulder, finishing off her drink. “I don’t doubt it, but trust me, he’s into you.” She did a double take towards the booth, setting her glass down. “I think he’s coming this way. Be cool!”
The man barely listened, ordering a refill on his drink rather than fixing up any part of his appearance. Kiku Honda knew he always looked good, which is why this child was actually attempting to woo him out of this disco and into his arms rather than make it back home for his curfew. Popped collar, gold rings on his fingers, and glossy jet black hair looked inviting under the neon lights of the bar, flashing between blue and pink playfully.
Yes, he knew he looked good. Mix that confidence with alcohol, and you have a dangerously arrogant Kiku.
Mei knew this, of course, but since she was also on her way to getting tipsy herself, she did nothing to stop any of what was about to transpire.
Just as she said, the blonde boy managed to make his way towards the bar, and Kiku could practically feel the anxiety in the air about him. He wanted to laugh, but settled for smiling up towards the boy coyly once he reached the two.
His eyes sparkled up close, but Kiku didn’t dwell on the way his heart raced as they met eyes. Instead, batting his eyes just ever-so-slightly, he said, “As cute as you are, I don’t think they serve alcohol to kids. Try the dry bar down the block.”
The boy paused, blinking back his surprise as he chuckled, leaning against the bar and much too into Kiku’s personal bubble. Mei acted as if she didn’t notice, and perhaps she really didn’t notice, her eyes much too glued to the way the long haired girl a few chairs down took drags from her cigarette.
“Is that an invitation?” He asked, matching Kiku’s smile.
Their gaze lingered too long, and Kiku was the first to pull his eyes away and back towards his drink as he took a long sip. “Sorry. I enjoy drinking too much to sacrifice it for a baby face like yours.”
“For your information, I’m not that young.”
“Too young to drink means too young to have fun with.”
“Nineteen isn’t that young. And I’m mature for my age, you know.”
Kiku laughed, setting his glass down and swiveling in his chair to face the freckled blonde. “That so? Tell me, how old do I look to you? And no flattery, please.”
The blonde pursed his lips, leaning in towards the man - close enough that Kiku could smell his cologne and almost, almost touch those lips - to get a better look. “Hrm… You don’t look older than twenty-three. Did I hit the mark?”
He stood back up and Kiku had to steady himself on the bar’s counter, dizzy from the close contact, though he reached for his drink so as not to look frazzled by some kid. He hadn't had the time to fool around like he used to, not like when he was around this kid’s age, but he wasn’t about to show it. “Not quite. Twenty-five.”
“Close enough.” He leaned against the counter with his arm, a very nicely tanned and well-defined arm, now that Kiku got a good look at it, and offered another smile. “Name’s Alfred. Yours?”
His stomach flip flopped. Names were a dangerous territory. Especially when someone so young and inexperienced was giving his out so freely, so genuinely.
Kiku took another drink, swallowing hard. He could play along, if only for a bit. “Kiku.”
Behind him, Mei set her glass down a little too loudly against the counter. Alfred looked up from Kiku’s eyes towards her, as if finally noticing there was an entire other person besides Kiku at the bar.
“Ah, right,” Kiku said, remembering he came with another person, as well, “This is Mei, a good friend of mine.”
She thrust her hand out against Kiku’s chest, her golden bangles cold against his skin as she shook the boy’s hand. “Pleasure to meet you! You know, I come to this disco pretty often and I don’t think I’ve ever seen your face around.”
“Oh, well, uh, you know…” Alfred’s voice trailed off, but Mei only tipped her head in confusion. He cleared his throat, “Summer break just started, so. More free time.”
Kiku reached for his drink again, drinking away his laughter. Mei’s voice was unsteady as she said, “Gotcha. Well-Well, it’s a good thing you bumped into Kiku when you did, yeah? He’s been itching to dance all night -”
“Actually, didn’t you say you were going to the bathroom a while ago?” Kiku interrupted, shooting Mei a smile too sugary to be genuine. “That girl you were digging headed in that direction, too.”
If it weren’t for the mention of the long haired girl Mei had been staring at all evening, Kiku wasn’t sure if she would have actually left. Alfred had a smile like he wanted to laugh, and only did so once the girl tossed her hair over her shoulder with a huff and stepped away. It was a sound that made the older man want to laugh as well, but he wasn’t sure why.
“So, a dance, huh?”
Kiku rolled his eyes, setting his cheek in his palm as he took another sip from his glass. “I don’t really dance.”
“You mean you don’t dance with kids like me.”
“I mean I don’t dance, period.”
Alfred considered him with that same playful smile, and Kiku felt hot under his stare. He blamed the alcohol.
Tucking strands of ink-black hair behind his ear, he said, “Can I ask you something?”
The blonde pulled one of the stools from the bar towards him, taking a seat adjacent to the other. “Shoot.”
“Why were you staring at me all night?”
Alfred’s face paled, and his smile dropped from his face. Kiku smiled into his drink; he was very easy to read. “I - I wasn’t, I mean, I was, but - how did you notice?”
Tilting his head to the side so it rested further on his palm, Kiku’s long eyelashes - curled just slightly earlier that evening by Mei - brushed against his cheek as he batted his eyes. “You’re not very discreet about it. Even Mei noticed. Pretty sure all of your friends by the DJ booth did, too.”
Alfred laughed, nervous and shaky. “Well, I, um. You’re hard to ignore.”
Kiku’s instinct to say “of course I am” was hard to fight off, but he managed to instead reply with a chuckle of his own, low and deep. “You’re honest. That’s cute.”
He was being honest, too, but he hoped Alfred was too caught up in his head to realize. He certainly wasn’t expecting that confident charm to come back full force in the form of a grin, pearly whites glinting and eyes brilliantly, perfectly blue, “Cute enough for a dance?”
The man felt his heart skip a beat. His hand itched for a cigarette, but settled for tracing the rim of his glass for his fore finger. This kid was cocky. Almost as much as himself.
“Depends. Can you keep up?” Kiku was already sliding off of his barstool and making his way towards the dance floor, a fox-like smile on his lips. Alfred practically scrambled out of his seat, following him straight into the bustling crowd bathed in neon pink and green, the disco ball hanging above them gleaming with light.
Even for his age, Alfred is tall, and Kiku finally notices when he squeezes his way through the thick of the crowd and straight to him. He has to crane his neck a bit to look him in the eyes, and if he were to kiss him, he’d have to stand on the very tips of his toes. Not that Kiku was thinking of kissing him, not when Alfred looked positively angelic under the black light of the disco, bringing out the bright neons in his clothes and golden specks in his eyes.
Kiku was certainly not thinking of kissing him when he took one of his hands, twirling him and bringing him closer to sway in rhythm with the music. The last thought on his mind was kissing him, especially because he was laughing - Kiku could only hear a bit of it under the music, but he didn’t need to be in an empty room to know it sounded charmingly beautiful - as they danced.
“Am I going too fast for you?” Alfred asked, daring a hand on Kiku’s lower back.
He may be dizzy from the alcohol and the boy in front of him, but Kiku Honda knew how to keep up. Reaching behind him, he guided Alfred’s hand lower as he leaned up, breath hot and lips dangerously close to his ear, “I thought you were mature for your age. Why not show me?”
In the next second, Kiku pulled away but still hung onto Alfred’s hand, laughing at the bright flush across his cheeks. They were quick to fall back into rhythm, barely minding the people around them as their dance moves became more and more risque - most of it being due to Kiku, who had absolutely no restraint when it came to cute men and alcohol. Hesitant brushes became full on grinding, nervous touches turned into tight grips, and Alfred nearly came close to Kiku’s lips multiple times; multiple agonizingly, frustratingly and totally on purpose fleeting times.
“I knew it,” Kiku said as they swayed to a slower song, catching their breaths, “You’re just too young to be looking for this kind of fun. You’re still red faced.”
Alfred’s face still felt hot - whether it was from the dancing or from Kiku himself, he wasn’t entirely sure - and that comment only made him feel warmer. “I think I can handle it. I can handle you.”
Kiku wanted to laugh, and he did, this time, not caring if it looked like he was laughing at Alfred. A part of him was, if he were honest. “You really are cute. I admire your bravery.”
“I had the guts to talk to you, didn’t I?”
“You don’t have the guts to keep going, though.”
Perhaps Kiku’s teasing had struck a nerve, or Alfred’s hormones had finally had enough with his coy act, but Alfred’s grip on Kiku tightened before he spun him, bringing him straight to his chest. Alfred tipped his chin up with one hand while the other stayed on the small of his back, dipping below his belt. “What makes you so sure?”
The man swallowed. Then swallowed again, thickly. Any sly remarks he had died on his tongue. The only thing he could focus on was Alfred’s eyes, Alfred’s freckles, Alfred’s wandering hand.
He’s nineteen, he thought. For fuck’s sake, he’s nineteen.
Any other thought melted away when Alfred dipped down, pressing his lips against Kiku’s. It was only for a moment, and it wasn’t even very good - a bit clumsy and inexperienced, but Kiku would be lying if he said he didn’t enjoy it - but Kiku couldn’t get enough. The kiss was too short, his hands barely coming up to loop around Alfred’s neck to bring him closer.
Kiku always had something witty to say, snarky and sarcastic, but at that moment, he had nothing. His mind was screaming a million things: He’s too young, he’s still in school, he probably has a curfew! But none of it was registering. Too much alcohol and too much fun had wrecked his sense of right from wrong.
“You’re a bad kisser.” Kiku finally said. He realized he was on the tips of his toes.
“Haven’t really gotten a lot of practice.” Alfred’s tone was something tempting. Something inviting.
Kiku wasn’t blind to it. “Guess I’ll have to teach you a thing or two.”
Mei was left alone at the disco’s bar when she saw the long haired girl share a kiss that was too long for comfort with a particularly attractive man, waiting for Kiku to come back. She was joking when she mentioned the kid, she knew Kiku would never do that sort of thing. Alfred couldn’t have been that stupid to actually try to seduce Kiku, either; Kiku probably teased him to the point of him leaving. It wouldn’t be the first time.
An hour passed, then another, then another. She had grown tired of green apple martinis and settled on water, eyes scanning the crowd for either man.
Finally, she spotted Kiku. Black hair, eyes bright, a smile on his face -
And right behind him, Alfred.
Hand in hand, they stepped right through the disco’s exit. Mei could practically hear their laughter.
“Excuse me,” she said to the bartender, “I’ll take another martini. Actually, can I get a few?”