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This hadn't been a good idea, but when Maruyama practically begged him to come to the Halloween party where Morita-san and his band would be, Satomi couldn't refuse. He also knew all too well the ache of wanting to see someone.
So now he was sitting at Zakuro's bar, bored and drinking his second glass of juice.
The background music was lost among the sound of karaoke and conversation. Satomi had chosen a corner that was farther from the noise and people.
Satomi looked toward the lounge area and saw Maruyama talking with Morita-san, so at least someone was having a good time.
Satomi adjusted the headband with cat ears on his head. It was starting to press uncomfortably against his head, but Maruyama had said he had to wear a costume and this had been the simplest option. Black clothes and cat ears. Anything more than that and he would have refused to come.
When he'd sent a photo to Mana, she'd said he looked cute.
Satomi took out his phone and opened the front camera. The lighting was too dim, and the selfie would come out dark… no, better to close the app.
He'd thought for a second about sending a photo to Kyouji. Maybe he'd also say he looked cute?
He couldn't deny it, he wanted to message him. If only he had a bit more courage, he’d be able to start a conversation instead of waiting for Kyouji to text him first.
It had always been like this. When they stopped talking for years, Satomi blamed him, but he never sent anything. The same thing had happened recently when he stopped writing. Four months had to pass before Satomi asked if he was alive, and it had been a huge effort on his part.
"Hey, want another juice?" The woman from his building who also worked there asked him.
Satomi hesitated because he was thinking about leaving, but he remembered she'd offered him alcohol last time and maybe it was time to try something, even though it wasn't legal yet.
"Um... could it be juice with... something stronger?" Satomi got a bit nervous. If she said no, he'd leave immediately.
The woman looked at him and smiled. "Sure."
When she came back, she had a glass of orange juice just like the ones he'd been drinking, but before leaving she winked at him, so he tried it and yes, it definitely had alcohol. Not so much that he found it bad, but enough to feel it.
Satomi started drinking through the straw with short sips and slowly began to feel the effects. He felt a bit warm and very relaxed.
So Satomi took out his phone again and opened the conversation that said 'Narita' on his phone. It was funny that he had him by his last name when he'd never addressed him that way, from the beginning it was Kyouji-san. Kyouji had told him to call him that from day one.
'What are you doing?' No, too weird.
'Happy Halloween.' No. Did people say that?
'I want to see you.' No. He'd need a lot more alcohol to send something like that.
But what if he sent a photo? He wouldn't have to say anything.
Satomi opened the camera again. The dim light really didn't help at all, but turning on the flash would be worse. Maybe it was better this way, a slightly blurry photo.
Satomi took the photo and sent it.
It was just his face, with the ears. He took it from above, so his eyes looked like a cat asking for affection.
Satomi laughed at the mental image. Everything seemed more funny.
But minutes started passing and Kyouji didn't respond even though 'read' appeared almost immediately.
Satomi took another sip.
Kyouji must have thought he looked ridiculous. He didn't even send a text explaining why he was dressed like this.
How pathetic he felt now.
"Why are you frowning, little kitty?"
Satomi turned around so fast he almost fell off the stool.
"Careful there! I thought cats had better balance."
Satomi held onto the bar counter and straightened up. Behind him was Kyouji, dressed as a vampire? He had the cape, his hair slicked back, and small fangs protruding.
"Kyouji-san?"
The vampire opened his mouth slightly, touching one of his fangs with his tongue.
"No, I'm just a vampire passing through."
Satomi looked at him incredulously. Obviously it was Kyouji, it was impossible not to recognize him. Apart from the cape and fangs, he looked the same as always.
"What are you playing at, Kyouji-san?"
The vampire thought for a few seconds and responded, "I see you're waiting for someone else, so I'll leave you alone."
And he turned to leave.
Satomi couldn't let that happen, and if that meant playing along, he would!
"Wait!, I think I was mistaken."
The vampire stopped and looked at him again. "Darkness can sometimes confuse us."
Satomi looked at him with a 'really?' face, but didn't say anything else. All that truly mattered was that Kyouji was here now.
The vampire sat next to him and rested an arm on the bar. "What's a little cat like you doing in a place like this?"
Satomi took another sip. This time a longer one. The situation was on the edge between cringe and strangely promising. If Kyouji wanted to play strangers, Satomi would indulge him.
"I came with a friend, but he left me alone," Satomi answered.
“Poor kitten. Didn’t you know it’s dangerous to wander around here alone? There are plenty of predators who might take an interest in you.”
The vampire was staring at him intently. He had a half-smile, but his gaze was intense.
Satomi, a bit bolder from the alcohol, responded without looking away. "Someone like you?"
The vampire laughed genuinely. "Exactly! You're the perfect prey."
Satomi blushed, unsure if it was the alcohol or this strange conversation making his face heat up.
"What do you mean?" he asked, trying to sound confident but failing.
"Oh? Did I make you nervous?" the vampire said and brought his hand closer to brush against the glass in front of Satomi.
Satomi fixed his gaze on the hand and those elegant long fingers that had obsessed him so many nights.
"You want a taste?" Satomi said, referring to his drink.
The vampire raised an eyebrow and moved a bit closer.
"You shouldn't offer those kinds of things lightly."
The vampire pulled the glass toward him and drank from the straw.
Satomi hadn't expected that. He thought he'd refuse.
"Don't vampires only drink blood?" he said, trying to hide what that action had provoked in him.
The vampire put the glass back in front of Satomi.
"Sometimes we can drink other things too. Especially if they're sweet."
Satomi lowered his gaze. He wanted to drink more to distract himself, but he didn't know if he had the courage to do it now that Kyouji had put his lips there.
"Are you?" the vampire said.
Satomi felt he'd missed part of the conversation. "Am I what?"
"Sweet, little cat."
Satomi looked up and there was Kyouji getting closer and closer, with that intense gaze and smile showing fangs.
Satomi took the glass, hesitating only for a heartbeat before bringing the straw to his lips. When he did, he caught the way Kyouji’s pupils widened. That reaction gave him enough confidence to keep playing along and to see just how far Kyouji intended to take this.
He chose not to answer and instead asked the question that had been on his mind. ‘And you? What’s a vampire doing here?’
The vampire shifted, turning slightly as he leaned against the bar, keeping their bodies just as close as before
"Just passing through, but I saw a cute kitten sitting alone and I couldn't resist."
The music and the voices around them felt distant. At that moment, it was just the two of them, and Satomi wasn’t sure how to go on. Kyouji was clearly teasing him, and even with the alcohol warming his blood, he felt nervous. He didn’t want this to be just a joke, but he didn’t want Kyouji to leave either.
Satomi looked at the glass and it was empty. Whatever he did now only depended on him.
“So… what are you going to do with me now?”
The vampire raised his hand to touch the ears on Satomi's head. They were fake, so obviously he didn't feel anything, but still, the closeness was intoxicating. More than any drink.
"I don't know, the kitten hasn't told me if he's sweet or not," he said, starting to stroke his hair.
Satomi had no idea what he was referring to, but maybe they could find out together.
"Why don't you find out yourself?"
The hand still on his head stopped. And the relaxed expression on his face changed to a more alert one.
Still, the vampire recovered quickly and put his arm over Satomi's shoulders to get even closer and said almost in his ear, "You shouldn't tempt things that bite."
Satomi felt a bit light-headed, but he was sure it was from Kyouji's voice and the scent of his cologne rather than what he'd drunk.
"But what if I want it? The bite, I mean?"
Almost supernaturally fast, the vampire rose in one swift motion, still holding on to Satomi, and moved behind him, wrapping the cape around them both.
One hand slipped to Satomi’s neck, his thumb resting over the pulse point, while the other braced against the bar, caging him in
Satomi's pulse kicked hard against his throat. He felt Kyouji’s torso pressed against his back, and even though he felt trapped, the closeness still made him feel good.
The hand on his neck wasn’t squeezing, and Satomi wanted to believe that if he’d tried to pull away, Kyouji would have let him.
But he didn’t move. He stayed exactly where he was, a willing prey with no desire to run.
The hand on his neck slid down slowly until it rested over his heart, beating just as fast, and Kyouji leaned in close. Satomi felt his breath against his neck, and a shiver ran through him at the thought that Kyouji might really bite him.
When he felt lips on his skin, a wave of heat rushed through him and he closed his eyes.
It was just a blink, but when he opened them again, the presence on his back was gone.
Satomi looked everywhere, but Kyouji was no longer there.
—-------------
The next day Satomi woke up with the sun hitting his face. The first thing he felt was the throbbing in his head, but even so, he pushed himself up and headed to the bathroom, moving slowly.
After leaving the bathroom and taking a paracetamol with a large glass of water, Satomi sat on the futon, thinking about everything that had happened the night before.
After Kyouji disappeared, he’d stayed at the bar for another fifteen minutes, just in case he came back. The only person who approached him was the woman who’d brought him the drink, asking if he wanted another.
Satomi refused, and before he could stop himself, asked, “Did you see where the man who was with me went?”
She looked at him without changing her expression and told him she hadn't seen anyone with him.
Satomi was going to start describing him, but there was no point. Now that he was gone, he felt tired, so he asked for the check, paid, and left.
When he got to his apartment, he remembered to send a message to Maruyama and after that, he threw himself on the futon in the same clothes, minus the cat ears, and fell asleep.
Satomi had replayed the previous night so many times that it already felt unreal. Had Kyouji actually been there? Or had he just imagined him?
He checked his phone and there was still the slightly blurry selfie without any response.
He could just ask directly.
But now, in the light of day and without liquid courage, he didn’t feel capable. So he chose to wait a little and see what came of it.
—-------------
Two days passed and his phone stayed stubbornly silent.
No message.
Not even a stupid sticker.
On the third day, when his patience was running out and curiosity was turning into frustration, a message from Kyouji arrived when he was ready to sleep.
-Satomi-kun! I'm going to Tokyo next Friday. Dinner?
Satomi gripped the phone tightly. This wasn't the message he was expecting! But it was very typical of him to act as if nothing had happened.
But what if nothing really happened? These past few days he'd started to really question if it was just an effect of his mind receiving alcohol for the first time.
He rubbed his temple, annoyed. "I'm losing it," he muttered to himself.
Satomi was going to ask directly, he couldn't keep wondering. But before he started writing, another message from Kyouji arrived.
-btw, you look cute with ears 🐈⬛
There was the confirmation he needed!
Satomi felt relieved... until he lifted his gaze a bit and there was his photo with cat ears.
Stupid Kyouji!
Satomi turned off his phone and covered himself completely to try to sleep.
He'd do something about it when he saw him in person.