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It was just dinner, Tachibana had said. He hadn’t said anything about “black tie” or “cocktail hour” or “must have your own vineyard to enter.” Kiryu gulped hard, looking down at all the glittering, shimmering figures in the marble-paved gallery. He felt like a shaved ape in his brand new tux and new squeaky shoes that shined so brightly he could see his face in them. He should really know by now that he had to ask questions when Tachibana said things, but he hadn’t, and now he had only himself to blame for being stuck here.
“Kiryu-san!” Tachibana waved to him, sweeping up the stairs to greet him, looking perfectly elegant in his satin tails and gold embroidered bow tie. Kiryu had to bite his lip and look away for fear of blushing.
“I’ve been waiting for you, how absolutely exquisite you look,” Tachibana fawned, hovering around him, gently nudging his arms to see the cut of the suit, was that a brush against his ass? “Was the chauffeur on time? The tailor didn’t treat you poorly did he?” Tachibana continued, coming around back in front of him with his ever-present smile.
“Wha-? No, he was… the chauffeur was fine, the tailor was fine, everything was fine!” Kiryu blurted out anxiously, feeling a little dizzy trying to keep up.
Tachibana laughed and his eyes crinkled up in that way that always made Kiryu’s insides go all gooey. “Forgive me, I was just so eager to have you here,” Tachibana apologized gently, taking Kiryu’s arm and starting to lead him down the stairs, “These things are just so terribly dull without good company, I could hardly wait to see you.” He passed Kiryu another sweet smile.
“Oh…” Kiryu murmured, distracted by the stares of the other guests and unsure if they were staring at him, or them, or were just looking because they were moving. “So, uh, will Oda-san be here too then?” He focused back on Tachibana.
Tachibana’s face hardened. “No, he will not,” he murmured, his tone revealing the iron beneath the light, amiable exterior. Kiryu felt a little chill run up his spine and he scratched the back of his neck with his free hand.
Tachibana sighed and returned to his usual cheerfulness with, “Come, let me show you around the exhibits. Have a drink, here,” he nodded to a passing waiter, “Now, this first painting is new. It was only just completed in 1987 and depicts…”
And Tachibana began his tour of all the art on display at this gallery opening. Kiryu well-knew he didn’t know the first thing about art, but he liked to hear Tachibana talk. He knew so much and always seemed happy to explain what was going on, never bored or tired of Kiryu’s questions. He encouraged them, smiling when Kiryu would say something he liked or, more often, didn’t like. He called one incomprehensible and frankly, ugly, statue “stupid” and Tachibana cackled so loud that several patrons moved away from them. Kiryu blushed and ducked his head.
“Did I say something wrong?” he muttered in Tachibana’s ear.
“No!” Tachibana insisted, wiping his eye, “No, indeed. This is stupid. It’s pretentious self-expression masquerading as social critique without anything to say. It’s grotesque and self-congratulatory and everyone here is just too afraid to say so.” He smiled brilliantly up at Kiryu. “You, as always Kiryu-san, are the only honest man for miles.”
Kiryu felt his cheeks heat under Tachibana’s praise.
“Tachibana-san.” Kiryu and Tachibana glanced up at the sound. A well-heeled and middle-aged patron approached them, nodding to Tachibana. “The board of investors would like a small word regarding tonight’s celebration.” She gestured to a roped off alcove.
Tachibana nodded back politely, then turned to Kiryu with a sigh. “Alas, duty calls,” he rolled his eyes regretfully, “I won’t be long.” He patted Kiryu’s arm before turning to his escort and walking off, already engaged in a new conversation.
Kiryu stood uneasily for a moment, looking after him, then gazed about the grand room. He hadn’t even had time to admire the space they were in between all the paintings and sculptures and carvings and collages. High, high above were elegant brass chandeliers. Distantly he wondered how many people might be crushed if one of those were to fall or how one would even bring one down, since there were only two stories to this gallery and the chandeliers were at least a story above that. Perhaps by repelling off the walls, if you were quick enough, you might be able to jump… Kiryu rubbed his chin then shook himself. Thinking about work in a place like this, that alone was probably grounds to throw him out.
Kiryu brought his gaze back to the floor in front of him and found he could breathe easier with no one staring at him now. He looked over the heads of the art critics and art lovers, searching the walls for something interesting. He might as well look around rather than stand here dumbly and perhaps attract stares again. So Kiryu followed the flow of the milling crowd and began to meander.
Most of the paintings were opaque to him without Tachibana helpfully filling in the details in his ear so he moved on swiftly. But eventually, one work did catch his eye. Deep into the hall, centered in a shadowed space, just before the outer balcony on the backside of the gallery, stood an impossibly tall ice sculpture. It rose, spiraling, into the air, climbing as if it would catch those lofty chandeliers. It didn’t, quite, but it was still taller than Kiryu would have ever expected ice to be. Its shape was indistinct, but to Kiryu, it seemed like fire. The blaze of damnation or redemption with a deep blue core in its base.
At the very top, the spears of flame were beginning to melt and had turned transparent as glass. Looking straight up, Kiryu could see the texture of the wall behind the sculpture perfectly. He stepped even closer, to see how the shape of the thing changed at this angle, almost moving, just as fire would. He didn’t notice the velvet rope warning people to keep back until his new shoe squeaked on a puddle of run off and then the seal between rubber sole and marble tile broke and in a wheel of arms, Kiryu slid face first into the sculpture.
For a blessed second, the sculpture only seemed to wobble and Kiryu gasped back, trying to get his bearings, but the next second there was a heavy cracking sound, the hiss of something heavy falling through the air, and then the crush and shatter of ice scattering in all directions as it met the floor.
Kiryu squeezed his eyes open to find only a stump where the sculpture had been and a minor avalanche of ice pieces behind it. Wincing, shoulders hunched, Kiryu turned reluctantly to the horrified guests, mumbled an apology, and escaped onto the balcony as quickly as he dared. Fffffffuck.
“There you are!” Tachibana exclaimed, finally finding him a while later. “I-”
“I’m so sorry, Tachibana-san,” Kiryu interrupted upon seeing him. He was crouched under the balcony’s railing, doing his best not to be noticed by anyone. “I can’t imagine what that thing cost… I’ll find a way to pay for it.” He looked up at Tachibana helplessly. “Can you tell them that?”
Tachibana paused, a few feet from Kiryu, looking somewhat surprised. “Well, there’s no need for all that,” he answered reassuringly, his smile bemused. He began to approach again and Kiryu noticed he was holding a plate.
“First, I brought you some dinner. I thought it might cheer you up,” he explained, handing the plate of delicate-looking hors d'oeuvres to Kiryu before sitting down next to him.
Kiryu gulped, staring down at the beautiful, tiny food, terrified he’d destroy this too. “Tachibana, I… just send me away, I’m hopeless!” he insisted, looking away.
“Send you away? Whyever would I do that! I’ve never had a more charming gallery opening,” Tachibana insisted, facing forward.
Kiryu glanced at him suspiciously, not quite raising his gaze to his face. “You paid for it already… didn’t you?”
Tachibana’s mouth parted, then he grinned, chuckling softly. “Can’t deceive you for a minute, can I?” He looked over at Kiryu, eyebrows quirked. Kiryu hardly dared look up, knowing he’d start smiling too. He looked away again quickly.
“How much was it?” Kiryu muttered, eyes focused on the dark concrete in front of them.
Tachibana exhaled mournfully. “It was only an ice sculpture,” he hedged, “They’re not designed to last. It would have been destroyed at the end of the party anyway.”
“How much?” Kiryu repeated.
Tachibana actually groaned this time. “Kiryu-san, before you insist on paying me back, the money means no-”
“Tachibana, if you don’t tell me how much it cost, I will get up and walk out of this party this instant,” Kiryu interrupted fiercely, his hand clenched on his knee.
“…1.5 million,” Tachibana said steadily.
Kiryu’s breath hitched and his heart sank. His hand relaxed, all the fight drained out of him in the face of that number. “Good,” Kiryu swallowed, “Good… thank you. I’ll, I’ll find a way to pay you back, don’t worry.” He was more trying to reassure himself.
Tachibana snorted. “Amazed as I am at your sense of honor, Kiryu-san, there’s really no need. I gladly would have paid you that amount to watch you destroy the damn thing.” He smiled to himself.
Kiryu glanced up at him. “It was actually the only piece in there I liked… and I ruined it,” he mumbled.
Tachibana looked over at him and reached his hand out to his arm. “Then I’m sorry for that,” he said sincerely, “And, if you feel you really must repay me, I think I might have something easier to come by than the exact amount.” He looked down at his iron hand on Kiryu’s arm.
“Yes?” Kiryu looked up eagerly, turning towards Tachibana, “Anything, I mean, anything of equal value. I don’t want to cheat you.” He shook his head vehemently.
“Mmm,” Tachibana smiled, still coyly looking down, “Equal value? I suppose this will do, although frankly even I can’t put a price tag on it…”
Kiryu began to frown. “Well, what is it? I’m not sure I have anything that valuable…” He bit his lip, starting to worry.
Tachibana finally looked up at him and grinned. “A kiss.”
Kiryu’s eyes widened. “A wh-what? Excuse me?” He startled back.
“At least one,” Tachibana held up a finger, “I’m loathe to put an actual figure on your kisses, but if you force me-”
Kiryu began to turn pink. “N-No, no! That isn’t the issue!” he hissed, “I… a-um… uh…” His eyes darted from Tachibana’s smirking face away and back again unable to rest. He scratched his sideburn nervously. “Are you sure?” he muttered.
Tachibana beamed at him and nodded enthusiastically. “Quite certain. The kiss will act as your apology and redemption all in one, and then you needn’t feel upset about this anymore,” he explained, nudging himself closer to Kiryu, face turned up and open.
Kiryu gulped, feeling his face burn even more. “And there’s… nothing else I could offer you?” he whispered, trying not to stare at the way Tachibana’s lips puffed out like rosy petals when he pursed them.
Tachibana shook his head, eyes almost closed. “No equivalent offers or exchanges,” he murmured, so close now Kiryu could feel his hot breath on his skin. Kiryu swallowed again and bent down a fraction, keeping his eyes on Tachibana’s softly closed ones for just a second longer, before cupping his jaw and pressing their lips together. It was chaste and soft, softer than Kiryu would have expected.
Kiryu pressed gently, then retreated, but found Tachibana’s hand in his hair, refusing to let him go so easily. Tachibana pulled him close again and parted his lips, sucking Kiryu’s lips into his mouth like they were life giving. Kiryu choked down a whimper but couldn’t resist pulling his arms around Tachibana, needing to hold onto him for support.
Tachibana kissed him recklessly, mercilessly, not giving Kiryu a second’s pause to catch up. Kiryu was panting now, dizzy, and Tachibana snarled into the kiss, claiming more and more of his mouth and Kiryu let him with an open moan. Then, all at once, Tachibana slowed down, apparently becoming aware of himself again. His grip on Kiryu’s hair loosened and he sat back with a wet smacking sound. Kiryu slumped back, gasping and absently wiping his mouth. He’d never, ever, been kissed like that.
“W-We’ll call that even, shall we?” Tachibana panted, clearing his throat and attempting to straighten up, withdrawing from Kiryu’s embrace. Kiryu reflexively tightened his hold, curling his fingers into Tachibana’s fine coat.
Tachibana blinked up at him, a question on his face.
“You said… at least one kiss, right?” Kiryu offered, stunned the words were coming out of his mouth. He glanced at Tachibana shyly.
Tachibana grinned hungrily, his eyes narrowing. “So I did, Kiryu-san,” he purred, throwing a leg over Kiryu’s lap then hauling him over by the tie. Kiryu whimpered and forgot all about the ice sculpture, the party, and in fact other people period.