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“It does no good for a relationship if the participants’ kinks don’t align.”
Kazuki immediately responded to Kyuutarou’s new angle, “Ah, that’s true! That might be the case. I’ve heard of cases such as two doms fighting for top, feeling grossed out about lolicon, ah... oh! And there’s that thing of really liking mommy-baby role play!”
Mommy-baby role play? Rei furrowed his brows in confusion. He was about to ask about it, but then Kyuutarou’s words painfully reminded Rei of something else that had to align. “What if… you tell her you only like men?”
Kyuutarou looked at him calculating. “Mh. That might’ve actually worked to convince her of my disinterest. Unfortunately, I already told her of a future wife…”
The doorbell jingled and even before they could see Mei, they heard her sigh Kyuutarou’s name admiringly.
Abruptly Kazuki stood up, nearly knocking over his barstool. “Kyu!” – He slammed his hands on the counter and leaned over it. – “I can’t take it anymore! It’s breaking my heart! You said you’d marry that rich bitch fast and dumb her as soon as you get the money. It’s been forever and there’s still no wedding date in sight! And what’s up with that—” he quoted Mei, mocking her voice in a sing-song way, “‘I was actually looking at Kyuutarou-san‘–girl? Why haven’t you rebuffed her yet?”
Pretending not to notice Mei, Kyuutarou kept his gaze focused on Kazuki and his voice calm and soothing, “I tried. You have to believe me, honey. And I’m really trying to hurry the marriage along, too. You know I don’t like women. In fact, I don’t love anyone but you.” He placed a hand on Kazuki’s cheek.
This was the worst soap opera Rei had ever seen. He wasn’t even sure whose acting was worse.
But then Kazuki muttered “you better”, grabbed the front of Kyuutarou’s shirt and forcefully pulled him close to smash their lips together. Kyuutarou made a surprised sound but went along with it. Although the bar counter kept their bodies apart, the kiss was anything but innocent.
Rei couldn’t stop staring. Their lips seemed to be moving sensually against each other without any shame. Kazuki kept tilting his head as if trying to find the perfect angle. Kyuutarou had put his other arm on the counter to lean on it. His other hand hadn’t left Kazuki’s cheek. Suddenly there were wet sounds and Rei could see a flash of both of their tongues when Kazuki leaned back and then right in again to push his tongue inside Kyuutarou’s mouth.
Rei’s pulse sped up. He didn’t want to see this, he couldn’t remember ever feeling this uneasy. But he just couldn’t stop gazing at the little movements of Kazuki’s jaw, at his nose bumping against the other’s or at his never resting lips.
And then Kazuki moaned. Loudly and boldly. It was very probably faked, but the sound shook something inside Rei nonetheless. A lot quieter in comparison was Mei’s high-pitched “What?”. Out of the corner of his eye Rei noticed her open-mouthed expression. Hand still on the doorhandle, she took a hesitant step back, then turned around rapidly to hurry away. The doorbell jingled again to confirm her departure. The three of them were alone again.
Only now did Rei notice that Kyuutarou’s hand had moved from the cheek to the back of Kazuki’s neck to grip his hair as harshly as Kazuki clutched his shirt. Kyuutarou also seemed to be frowning with an annoyance that Rei couldn’t empathize with. When they still didn’t stop kissing, Rei cleared his throat. “She’s gone.”
Immediately they let go of each other and Kyuutarou glared at Kazuki with disapproving eyes. “Was the tongue really necessary?”
Sitting down again, Kazuki winked and grinned at Kyuutarou with the tip of his tongue sticking out between his teeth. “Well, it had to be convincing. And I think we nailed it, didn’t we, honey?”
Kyuutarou sighed, adjusted his glasses and looked at Rei tiredly. “Did it work?”
Kazuki looked at him expectantly, too. Rei hoped his unease wasn’t visible on his face. He’d hardly paid attention to Mei, but she did leave looking rather shocked and without declaring her love for Kyuutarou again… “I think so.”
Kazuki grinned arrogantly. “Ha! Told you I’m a professional at manipulating. Also, you’re very welcome, Kyu-chan. If you ever need help again, you can count on us.” Kazuki’s booming voice and gesticulating arms were a bit close to patronizing, but the last sentence was clearly meant sincerely.
Kyuutarou raised an eyebrow, but responded with a small smile, “Thank you both. This is a relief. Finally I can get things done without feeling watched 24/7.” – Rei glanced at the rings under Kyuutarou’s eyes. They were very unusual for his otherwise always immaculate appearance. He hoped he would get some rest now. – “By the way, I have a new job for you, will you take it?”
They agreed, of course. Rei was desperate for any kind of distraction to make him forget what he’d just seen. Yet he couldn’t stop glancing at Kazuki and his lips during Kyuutarou’s explanations.
Back at home Kazuki dropped the file on the kitchen table. He would have never expected that Kyuu-chan – Yadorigi’s renowned super master Kyu-chan! – would ask them for help. Kazuki was so happy that they’d actually been of use to him. Kyu-chan had practically saved his life and still kept watching out for him and Rei.
Also, Kazuki would never complain about having to kiss such a handsome face. Too bad Kyu-chan hadn’t been into it. After the two had picked at him, Kazuki craved gambling even less at the moment, but maybe he should go out later tonight for some other fun. Rei’s pretty but unreachable face – and well, the rest of him – made him pine on a daily basis and Kyu-chan really hadn’t helped to make him less needy.
Rei’s pretty face had also been side-eying him the whole way home, even more taciturn than usual. Shuffling to the living room, Rei was glancing at him again right now. Did he think Kazuki didn’t notice? “What’s wrong?”
Rei looked away fast. “Nothing.”
The way he’d said it made it clear to Kazuki that it was anything but nothing. Was it because of the kiss? Before working for Kyu-chan, Kazuki had regularly received a bunch of homophobic slurs and jokes whenever he’d accepted a honeypot with a man. No matter how efficiently he’d finished a job. Most men he met in their line of work had very archaic views on what was manly, what was a woman’s role or on how to be patriotic. Like the files said, Rei had had a naïve view of the world and zero life experience before leaving his family’s mansion. He’d probably grown up in a quite homophobic environment.
Kazuki’s skin crawled. He brushed it off whenever he worked with assholes, but he wouldn’t let it pass here. Not in a place and with a person he was slowly starting to regard as home.
He followed Rei who sat down on the couch, probably to game. But before he could turn on the TV and the console, Kazuki stood in front of him blocking the view.
Rei looked up at him with a weirdly blank expression. The fact that he didn’t complain and didn’t tell him to get out of the way was the biggest indication that something was off. Kazuki crossed his arms. “Is there a problem?”
Rei knit his brows. “No? Why do you ask?”
Kazuki’s fingers grasped his arms more tightly. “Because you act weird. Is it because of the kiss?”
“No.” After a defiant glare Rei looked to the side, eying the couch table and most likely the controller behind Kazuki. Rei had never lied this badly. Actually, Kazuki wasn’t even sure if Rei had ever outright lied to him before at all.
“If you have a problem with me kissing men, our arrangement won’t work anymore.” Kazuki’s heart was beating fast, he didn’t want to move out. Caring for both of them finally gave his life structure again, unlike when he’d been alone. And he’d miss Rei, too.
Rei looked back up at him with wide eyes. “I don’t have a problem with it.” This wasn’t a lie, Kazuki was sure of it. Extremely relieved, his skin immediately stopped crawling. Rei continued tentatively, “You kissed another man besides Kyuutarou-san?”
Still filled with relief, Kazuki couldn’t help but to laugh at the question, wheezing out a “yes” in between. When he’d been a few years younger and still had had a baby face, there had been a time when he’d actually kissed and slept with more men than women thanks to work. So yeah, there had been ‘another man’. Quite a lot of them actually.
Kazuki’s reaction seemed to unsettle Rei a bit, so Kazuki forced himself to stop laughing. Uncrossing his arms, he sat down on the couch. “I’m bi, so yeah, I’ve kissed a fair share of men, too.”
Kazuki could have mentioned it sooner. But in the beginning it would have been weird. Especially with how he’d practically bathed Rei and everything else. He hadn’t wanted it to seem like he was coming on to him. And then he’d kinda avoided it. He didn’t want it to be a topic who he liked. Or be faced with the possibility that Rei wasn’t broad-minded enough – fortunately, an uncalled-for worry.
“Oh.” Rei grabbed the controller and turned the TV and the console on. “I hadn’t noticed.” He scrolled through his games.
That hadn’t been as nonchalant as Rei had probably intended. “Does it change anything?”
The scrolling sound effect stopped. “No.” Rei kept staring at the TV and added after a short pause, “Probably not.” He started what Kazuki guessed was a shooter game.
Did Rei seem… sad? He made the same expression he’d had when he’d looked at the cat trapped in the pet store window that he couldn’t buy. Or at least Kazuki thought so. “Probably?”
Rei hadn’t even started a match yet and returned to the console menu. He put the controller to the side and gave Kazuki an intense glare. Kazuki had no idea why Rei’s mood was so erratic all of a sudden, it usually never was. “What—“
In one quick motion Rei turned to face him and leaned forward, right into his personal bubble. His face came closer until they were not even an inch apart and only when Rei shut his eyes, did Kazuki finally get that he was about to be kissed. It was so out of the blue that Kazuki didn’t even react when soft lips lightly brushed against his. Kazuki stared at Rei’s closed eyes in astonishment.
It felt like not even the blink of an eye had passed when Rei pulled back again. His gaze darted to the side, his forehead wrinkled with tension. Before Rei could lean away further and the moment was lost, Kazuki grabbed Rei’s upper arm and pulled him back in.
This time Kazuki firmly pressed his lips against Rei’s, making it a real kiss. Rei made a small, surprised sound. So now they were even, Kazuki thought amused. Although Rei really wasn’t the greatest kisser, this was still a thousand times better than kissing Kyu-chan. Most of all because Rei was very obviously into this and not pulling Kazuki’s hair to slow him down.
The way he moved his lips was a bit clumsy. But as soon as Kazuki put a hand on his cheek and took the lead more brashly, Rei keenly adapted the motions Kazuki preferred.
Slowly Kazuki ran his tongue along Rei’s lower lip. When Rei immediately opened his mouth to slide his tongue against Kazuki’s, Kazuki stroked his thumb along his cheekbone. Rei seemed to enjoy French kissing even more because he let out an appreciative sigh and placed one hand on Kazuki’s neck and jaw when Kazuki slid his tongue inside his mouth.
After some delicate probing Kazuki pulled back. “This“ – He took Rei’s bottom lip carefully between his teeth and slowly let go again. – “is unexpected.”
Rei didn’t answer. Instead he leaned forward, placed his tongue over Kazuki’s and gently slid it in, similar to how Kazuki had. While Rei was taking his time caressing Kazuki’s tongue and mouth, Kazuki realized this was his chance to finally touch those perfect abs. He snuck his free hand under Rei’s t-shirt and gently groped the hard muscles under the little, healthy bit of fat that Kazuki totally claimed credit for.
Rei coiled under his hand and snatched his wrist. So no ab-groping. Pity. Kazuki twisted his hand until he could take Rei’s and pulled him closer. Rei actually leaned in more and even followed him when Kazuki laid back. They moved around a bit and Kazuki spread his legs to make room for Rei in between. Putting most of his weight on his hands, Rei looked down at Kazuki awkwardly. Before they could lose their momentum, Kazuki raised his head to kiss him again. When he gradually laid his head back down, Rei’s lips kept chasing him. His tongue returned and Kazuki realized joyfully that Rei was picking up on what Kazuki liked.
Cautiously Kazuki placed his hands on Rei’s back. As that seemed to be allowed and welcomed, Kazuki started to run them over the shoulder blades and the spine more freely.
He couldn’t stop imagining getting a handful of Rei’s ass, so Kazuki moved one hand down to rub Rei’s lower back. When he slid his fingers further down, clearly signaling his intention, Rei twisted his hips to evade. It got the message across, but with his crotch above Kazuki’s it resulted in some teasing friction. Simultaneously they both made a breathy sound.
Rei stopped kissing. Then after a moment he got up on his knees. He looked at Kazuki still lying sprawled out before him but avoided his eyes. “We can’t do this.”
Confused by the sudden change of mood again, Kazuki propped himself up on his forearms. “Why not?”
Rei didn’t even blink. “It’ll get you killed.”
Really? Kazuki pressed his legs against Rei in a teasing manner, smirking. “How? You’re going to devour me like a mantis?”
Rei grabbed his knees with a numb expression on his face. “Kazuki. If the boss finds out about anything like this, you’ll be dead within the hour.” He entangled himself from Kazuki and sat back on his original spot on the couch.
This came to Rei’s mind now? After he was the one to kiss Kazuki first? Annoyed to be kinda rejected twice today, Kazuki sat up and adjusted his askew sweater. “And you think he knows exactly how many hours a day you game, how you never take care of the dirty dishes or what precisely you do with your roomie inside this flat?”
Kazuki couldn’t believe his eyes – Rei actually had the nerve to grab the controller and restart his game. But then Rei did answer him, voice heavy with finality, “I’m not taking that risk.”
Kazuki stared at Rei’s profile with a hollow feeling he couldn’t place. Loud gunshots from the game echoed in the room. Imitations of sounds both him and Rei were very familiar with.
“Okay. Yeah. You’re right.” Kazuki wiped his lips with the back of a finger. He knew he’d become a tad careless with his life, but endangering himself because of some attraction and horniness was a new low. If Rei said it would get him killed, he had to take it seriously.
Kazuki squeezed Rei’s shoulder because he felt like he had to touch him one more time and got up to take a closer look at the mission file. Grimacing to himself, he decided to definitely go out later that night to forget this weird day.
For a long while they didn’t take any risks. Just two similarly miserable existences living and working together.
But then Miri came. And then she stayed. And then it slowly became clear that there was a lot more between them than just some attraction and horniness. So when the shooting was done, the last fire set and the crucial talk concluded, there were no more risks to watch out for anymore.