Now.

The music is too loud for him; he doesn't like the trances, the 'boom, boom, boom' that hits his ears hurting his head. The looks he receives from women all around him make him blush against his will; he can feel them even with his eyes closed. The lights are reaching him through his closed eyelids – green, red and blue flashes increasing his headache.

And Amane's hand begins wandering a dangerous path down his body, way too close to his crotch. Amane knows he is gay – that's what brought him to that stripping club – so the hand, now pressing his groin, doesn't making any sense.

It doesn't making any sense.

Kikumaru Eiji jumps in his seat with a start and opens his eyes. Blue eyes, deep and stormy like the ocean, are returning his gaze. Eiji inhales sharply.

"Fuji."

~8~

Then.

His hand was in Fuji's, his boyfriend's fingers moving up and down his palm, sending a warm feeling to his body as they both tried to catch their breath. He turned his head towards the Tensai and smiled, rolling over to lie on top of him. Resting his head on Fuji's bare chest, he closed his eyes and said, "nya, Fujiko-chan…"

"Hmm?" Fuji hummed in response.

"Let's stay together forever, okay?"

Fuji ran his fingers through Eiji's red hair. "Of course," he answered quietly and warmly, and Eiji felt his lips kissing his head.

He smiled.

Kikumaru Eiji realized he was attracted to his best friend when he was 15. He tried to fight it, to run away from it (because fuck, he was not gay!), by starting to date a girl from their class. Her name was Takigawa Yumi, and they stayed together for two years. Their relationship was comfortable for the both of them, but nothing more than that. He tried to tell himself he loved her, she tried to pretend she had more than just affection, and that was all it was. They didn't need each other, really, so it lasted a long time – no clingy behavior, no jealousy. They had each other when they needed company, and that was good for them.

It was her Eiji lost his virginity to, about four months before they broke up. Years later, when he would think about how he gave up his virginity to someone he didn't really loved – although he remembered the sex with her was never bad – he would feel a small pinch in his heart, but that would soon go away.

He broke up with her when Fuji kissed him. He wanted to kill Fuji at first, because he was just thinking he got over that idiotic attraction towards his male friend and that kiss made it clear to him that it wasn't over. He broke up with his girlfriend because he no longer needed her – she never helped him with his problem anyway.

When Fuji heard the redhead and his girlfriend broke up he made his move. The 17 years old Kikumaru Eiji decided maybe it was fine, being with a guy. As long as that guy was Fuji, of course.

It took him three months to reach that realization, and then he told Fuji he was ready to try.

His relationship with Fuji stayed for at least two months at the level of spending a lot of time together and kissing only. The kissing part wasn't new to him – it was pretty much like kissing Yumi. The only difference was that when he was kissing Fuji his heart was racing and he could feel some kind of heat in the air. The part where he spent much time with Fuji was new to him, though, since with Yumi he had never spent that much time. Eiji was with Fuji more than half of his time, be it tennis practice, class, school breaks or afternoon hours together at Fuji's house (never in the acrobat's house, because Eiji's parents didn't allow Fuji in their house since the day the redhead's father caught the two kissing).

There was one time Fuji tried to go further, but Eiji squealed and left his house running. He wasn't a virgin, but he felt like it. Fuji didn't try again after that, promising his boyfriend he would wait as much as he needed. And not long after it was Eiji who made the decision to take their relationship further.

He never knew exactly when he stopped caring about his boyfriend being a guy, but he loved the feeling of finally being with someone who he desired to be with.

~8~

Now.

He locks his eyes with Fuji's, blue staring at blue. The time stops for a long moment, but then Fuji smiles at him and his smile is terrifying. A part of him hears the shouts of the ladies around them, the excitement they feel when the brunette brings himself to sit on the redhead's knees and starts moving his hips, but he is busy with the smile he knows as the perfect fake smile.

If he was able to think about what was happening he would be blushing, pushing Fuji away from him and running out. But he can't think, can't even form a single word in his mind.

It is only when he feels a strange feeling caused by Fuji bringing his crotch to move over Eiji's that he comes out of his trance. But instead of pushing his ex boyfriend away, he sits there and kepes looking right into his eyes.

And Fuji kisses him. Eiji is pretty sure he is not supposed to do that in his job, but Fuji does that. And after a short moment Eiji returns his kiss, forgetting hundreds are watching them.

He comes back to his senses only when the used-to-be-Tensai breaks the kiss and returns to the stage with a wink. And then he blushes. And when he looks aside, Amane looks at him with such a smile that he blushes even more. And calls from women in the crowd are being sounded, asking for more.

Eiji looks at Fuji again, confused and ashamed and begging and asking. And Fuji winks again before taking his eyes off of Eiji and returning to his stripping dance. Eiji takes that wink as a 'come to see me after my dance ends' and looks with his eyes for the entrance to the backstage.

It takes his ex lover ten more minutes to finish his dance, and he watches with tomato red cheeks and a growing hard erection. He can't stop himself from wishing he had Fuji again.