Chapter Text
An walks pushes the door to the green room open, immediately finding her way to the couch and plopping herself down on it—completely ignoring the fact that Akito and Toya are making out less than 5 feet away from her.
Akito Shinonome and Toya Aoyagi—Better known as Bad Dogs to the crowd outside. They are also, unfortunately, An’s best friends.
Akito is the first to pull away, and the annoyed expression on his face is one of An’s favorite things to see.
“Do you mind...?” Akito scoffs, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.
“This is a public space, queer.” An replies, relaxing into the couch's comfortable cushions. This club has always been her favorite purely because of this couch.
Akito rolls his eyes. An isn't usually this arrogant. Now, she's draping her legs over Toya’s lap just so that she can stretch out her legs. He doesn’t seem to mind, but Akito certainly does.
“And what's got you so damn cocky?” He questions—the irritation in his voice is only amusing An more.
“A recent ego boost.”
“Yeah? From that girl in the crowd?”
An pauses, the smug smile on her face dropping into one that's almost embarrassed.
“Who told you about that?!” She questions, not appreciating the fact that someone is going around telling everyone her business.
Well… yeah, she was being really obvious about her attraction to Kohane. And, yes, it was in a public place. But An still doesn’t like other people knowing about it. She knows that doesn't make sense. She works in mysterious ways.
“Ena did,” Akito replies. Now it’s his turn to be smug. If you asked him, one of his favorite things in the world is seeing An in distress. “She came back here just to ask us for you to ‘stop blatantly eye-fucking her customers’, it was some scary shit—she seemed real serious about it.”
Akito looks at Toya, and he gives a slight nod in response.
“He is right, she did tell us,” Toya adds. “Though I think Akito is exaggerating how serious she was.”
Akito responds by giving Toya a quick, soft hit on the arm to shut him up, which he then rubs over as an apology. An has a particular 6-letter word for them, but she keeps it to herself.
“Wait—Ena’s here?” An questions. She didn't see her in her usual spot at the bar when she was performing. Which is sitting down on the floor behind it, scrolling on her phone, or frantically texting one of her many situationships, begging them not to leave her. The latter happens way more often than it should—she definitely should get fired, but that's none of An’s business.
“Yeah, but she took off a bit into your set—said she had some ‘important business’ to attend to.” Akito leans back into the couch, his arm resting around Toya’s shoulders. The poor guy definitely has too many limbs on him.
“Ah...” An nods. “Important business” usually means she's off to sleep with Mafuyu, or Mizuki, or both of them at the same time if she's lucky.
An stands up with a sigh, finally freeing Toya from her leg prison.
“Well.. whatever.” She decides, collecting all of her things that are scattered along the table, which is really just her phone, and her backup drive with her set on it. Everything else she needs, she usually just takes from Akito. Speaking of which, she needs something from him now.
“Hey, Akito—Wow, okay..” An looks back, only to discover that they have already started making out again. She had only turned around for maybe thirty seconds. How do you even get that into it that fast??
She wonders if they’ve been doing this since their set ended, which was about an hour and a half ago. Though judging from the state of their hair, and Akito’s wandering hands, she determines that they absolutely have.
“Hey!”
That gets both of their attention, and they both pull away for the second time—Akito clearly more annoyed than his boyfriend. Toya just seems ready to get out of here.
“Do you guys have our schedule?” An asks with a sickeningly sweet smile, she doesn't care that Akito is upset. Why would she?
An only Dj’s the same days as Bad Dogs. Honestly, no one else knows how to deal with her as they do. Anyone else would have probably punched her in the face because of how self-centered she is.
Actually, that's not really a fair thing to say, because she's sure Akito definitely wants to do that. Still, she would consider them her best friends. Unfortunately.
“Do you not have the card?”
“Well…” An laughs, looking off to the door. She really gave that card to Kohane on a whim. She just wanted to see the cute expression she would make when she told her to wait.
“I kinda sorta… gaveittothegirliwasflirtingwith” She says all in one breath. It's rare for An to be embarrassed—she's usually so incredibly full of herself. It comes naturally to her. She doesnt usually have anything to be embarrassed about.
Akito scoffs, reaching into his back pocket, pulling out his copy of their schedule, and throwing it in the general direction of An.
“There. Now, can you leave?”
An bends down to pick up the card—she always gets her way.
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Three days later, Kohane finds herself back in the club.
She had spent an embarrassing amount of time agonizing over whether to go, which meant she arrived after the card's scheduled time. Which she still has. Obviously.
Her eyes instinctively drift over to the bar. She told herself she wouldn't drink this time—the nasty headache she woke up with after that day was a strong enough reason for her to stay sober—her attention isn't held by the alcohol at the bar, though. Rather, the new bartender standing behind it.
Kohane steps closer to it, trying to get a better look at this different bartender. Maybe she knows An! She would probably be more useful than Haruka. The only information about An she managed to get out of her was immediately interrupted by the sudden need to talk to Minori. Not even to do her damn job.
The woman catches Kohane’s eyes and gives her a small smile. She's quite pretty, and she has a haircut similar to Haruka's, in a shade of brown that seems to complement her pretty well. Kohane sees she's not doing much, the club isn't very busy—probably because it's still decently early. She decides to use this opportunity to speak to her. No matter how scary that sounds to Kohane, she’s determined to figure out anything about An, even if it's just her last name.
“Can I get you anything?” The woman asks, her voice carrying over the loud bumping music of what, according to her card, is Bad Dogs.
“Ah—No uh…” Kohane pauses, a wave of nervousness hitting her before she can even ask anything. “I just had a…uh…question?”
The woman lets out a laugh—one Kohane isn't sure is positive—but the smile on her face is strangely comforting.
“Yeah? What’s up then?” She leans her hands on the bar, awarding Kohane with her complete attention.
“The uh… Dj before them…” Kohane makes a small gesture to the DJ booth, where Bad Dogs are. She doesn't miss the grimace that flashes on the bartender's face when she sees them. “Do you… know anything about her?”
“Oh! Vivid?”
“Yes!”
“Why are you asking?” The bartender questions, she's obviously just curious, but it doesn't stop Kohane from getting nervous again. Is she even allowed to talk about it? Well, it's not like An’s a celebrity. She’s a DJ at a decently popular club at most. Yet, Kohane still wonders if what she was doing with An was allowed.
Then she remembers what Minori and Haruka have going on, and her fear calms.
“Well, I was talking to her the other day—”
“Wait! Are you the girl she was flirting with?!”
Kohane stares at the woman, her face flushing a deep shade of red as she processes the fact that she might’ve been spotted—or worse, An told other people about her.
“Uhm, yeah…” Kohane mumbles in response, her eyes darting down to the floor, too embarrassed to make eye contact with the bartender.
“Aw… Well, you are quite cute, so I guess I can't get too mad at her.”
“Did she… tell you about me?” Kohane finally dares to ask, her eyes moving to meet the bartender’s once again.
“No,” The woman's eyes drift to the DJ booth quickly. “My brother did.”
“Your brother?”
“Up there?” She points to one of the two members, Kohane’s eyes squinting to find his face. She notices Kohane’s strain and adds, “The gay looking one with orange hair.”
“Oh.”
With that description, Kohane finds him pretty quickly.
The woman scoffs, rolling her eyes as she watches him. “He thinks he's so cool.”
The bartender has a good point—he does look pretty full of himself up there, but it's no different from how An looked.
“Listen, you can think whatever you want about Vivid,” She leans in closer to the bar, Kohane instinctively follows. “But promise me that you’ll never think that that guy is anything more than a loser.”
Kohane stares at the woman again, this time in confusion rather than shock.
“I promise…?”
“Thank you.”
Kohane decides not to dwell on it. She's here for information about An. Nothing about the two boys up there interests her anyway.
“So um… about Vivid—”
“Ena!” Kohane freezes, the sound of an all too familiar voice filling her ears from behind her. She tries to turn around, but the sudden feeling of a hand on her waist causes her to freeze completely. “I know she’s cute, but lay off this one, yeah?”
The bartender—or Ena rolls her eyes. “Don't worry, An, I don't want her.”
“Yeah, she's not your type, is she?” An steps forward, her arm still wrapped around Kohane, bringing her along with every movement. “She doesn't look like the type that would ruin your life… and that seems to be the kind of girls you're into.”
Ena stares at An in shock? Or maybe it's anger, Kohane can't actually tell. It's strange—she seemed so sweet when she was talking to her. Her mouth opens and closes, like she’s thinking about what to say, then decides just to give up.
“Bye, An.”
She laughs in response and watches Ena walk to the other side of the bar. Maybe An isn't as lovely as Kohane thought she was. Did Kohane even think An was nice in the first place?
“So… You came back?” An turns her attention to Kohane, suddenly hyperaware of her hand still on her. “Did I really make that good of an impression?”
“Not really,” Kohae answers before thinking, then immediately realizes her words and backtracks. “Well—Not that bad! I mean… I still came back, so obviously it wasn't that bad.”
It absolutely wasn't the alcohol that made her so awkward last time—she’s just like this. It’s pathetic, really. She can't even keep herself together around a slightly attractive woman. An probably thinks she's a loser, which wouldn’t be wrong to believe. She is.
“You’re really adorable, Kohane.”
“Really?” Kohane replies, skeptical.
“Do you really think I would’ve told you to come back if I didn't think you were?”
“I thought you were just being nice.” Kohane looks down at the floor. She's just as embarrassed as her words sound. If An didn't think she was pathetic before, she definitely thinks that now.
An frowns, her fingers on Kohane’s waist move to bunch the bottom of her shirt up, just enough for her fingers to brush the skin under. The action producing a small gasp from the blonde.
“Stop thinking so hard about it, baby,” An mutters, enjoying the way she can feel Kohane’s body tensing under her tiny touch. “I told you I wanted to see you again, didn't I?”
Kohane nods slowly. It was An who told her to come back. She can't explain what's making her so nervous. An has expressed her attraction to Kohane multiple times now. But…she's scared to mess it up.
“That hasn't changed.” An steps closer to Kohane, leaning in so close that her lips brush her ear. “I still want to get you alone.”
She pulls back completely, her hand leaving her waist. She admires her work—which is just a really red Kohane.
“You know… our green room is empty,” An mutters, gesturing over to a door at the very back of the club. “Why don't you let me show you around?”
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The state of the room is a lot messier than Kohane expected. But she’s never really been backstage anywhere before, so maybe she's not the best judge of cleanliness. They might always look like this.
“Sorry about the mess…” An takes a seat on the couch. She naturally takes up so much space. Her arms spread along the top of the couch, and she rests her feet on the table in front of her. “Akito can't keep this space clean for the life of him.”
“Akito?” Kohane questions. She feels so out of place here. She's not even entirely sure if she's allowed, and she doesn't know anyone but An. It feels like she's intruding.
“Shinonome?” An answers with another question—then it clicks that Kohane doesn’t actually know anyone else. “From Bad Dogs. I'm sure Ena said something about him.”
“Oh... Yeah, she called him gay.”
“Yeah, she would say that. He is.”
“Ah…” Kohane nods, then stares down at the floor, anxiously twirling her hair around her fingers. She knows this moment is awkward, but that's out of her control. She's too scared to move from her little spot in the corner without permission.
She fully prepares herself to get kicked out. Her awkwardness is quite overwhelming—she wouldn't be surprised if An wouldn't want anything to do with her after this.
But, instead, she…laughs?
“What?”
“What are you so scared of, babe?” An asks, tilting her head to the side like a confused dog. “If you’re worried about rules, I’ll make sure nothing happens to you.”
“It’s… It's not that—”
“Do you not want to sit with me? I promise the couch is comfortable.” An pauses, that evil smile returning to her lips. The same one she had on her face three days ago. She lifts her legs off the table, letting them part slightly. “Unless you want to sit on my lap.”
“What?!”
“Or, I mean, you can also sit on my face—”
“No! No…The couch is fine!”
Kohane takes a deep breath, then steps up to the couch and takes a seat on the opposite side, eliciting another laugh from An.
“You’ve never done this before, have you?” An questions, turning her body to face Kohane.
“Done what?”
“This.” An gestures between the two of them. “Been alone with someone as beautiful as me!”
Kohane lets out a little laugh at that—An’s arrogance is quite funny. She really does believe she’s better than everyone.
“No, I haven't," She replies softly, her fingers toying with the edge of her shirt—the same nervous habit from the other night.
“You actually listened?”
“Huh?”
“Your top.” An moves to sit closer to Kohane, the proximity causing her to freeze. “You actually wore it again?”
“Well—You asked me to, didn't you?”
“I did,” An laughs, her fingers moving to tangle into the hair framing Kohane’s face. “You really wanted me to take it off that badly?”
Kohane flushes an even deeper shade of red. She doesn’t know what's worse, the distance between them, An’s hand in her hair, or the fact that she’s aware of Kohane’s desire for An to undress her.
“It… wasn’t about that,” Kohane manages to get out. She feels like she might drown in the embarrassment she feels.
“It wasn’t?” An’s fingers slip out of the blonde strands and trace down Kohane’s shoulder, brushing the strap of her top to the side. “That's a shame…I was looking forward to seeing what’s under this.”
“That’s probably not appropriate to do here—” Kohane’s hand flies up to return the strap to its original position.
Without missing a beat, An’s fingers find themselves under the strap again. Her determination is almost enough to make Kohane melt and do just about anything she says.
“An…”
She brushes the strap off Kohane’s shoulder once more. This time, she leans closer, her lips brushing against the skin there. Kohane responds with a soft gasp—torn between the shock of the kiss on her skin, and the jealousy of her own shoulder that it got to feel An’s lips before her own could.
An pulls back just enough for her eyes to meet Kohane’s, letting out a little chuckle when she takes in the blonde's expression.
“What?” An asks, the arrogant tone creeping back into her words. “Did you want me to kiss somewhere else, Kohane?”
Kohane gulps, swallowing down all her pride. She didn't have much to begin with, but she seems to feel like putty. Melting and waiting for An to pick her up and play with her.
“Please…?” She sheepishly whispers, her eyes darting down to the couch, then her lap—literally anywhere but An.
“Come on…” An’s hand slides up to Kohane’s jaw, gently coercing her to look up. “At least look at me when you’re asking me to kiss you.”
Her eyes shift to meet An’s hesitantly. She is so incredibly beautiful. The kind of beauty that Kohane thought she would only see in movies or museums. Definitely not three inches away from her face. The way that An looks at her makes her feel lightheaded. She's never been undressed with someone’s eyes before—she didn't even fully understand what it meant. But in this moment, it becomes way too real.
“I would like to kiss you, An.”
“Thats better.”
An leans in, her face so close to Kohane’s that she can feel her breath fanning over her lips. It’s so unfamiliar. Kohane is basically the world's biggest loser, twenty years old, and she still hasn't kissed anyone. It’s quite pathetic, which is precisely why she's never told anyone that.
The closer that An gets, the hotter Kohane’s body seems to grow. Before, she felt like she was on fire—now it feels like her blood is lava. Shes never felt anything like this. It feels like there is some ultra-strong magnet embedded in An’s lips that's pulling her closer. Maybe that's why her eyes were always drifting to them. Maybe that's why Kohane wants nothing more than to feel them against her own.
“You aren't being fair, Toya. Why can't we just—Woah.”
Kohane jumps back at the sudden opening of the door, an unfamiliar voice filling the room. Despite the new company, An stays in the same position, just turning her head to meet the two boys standing frozen in the doorway.
“Excuse you. Can’t you see I'm busy?” An huffs, the sheer annoyance in her tone is new to Kohane. She’s discovering so many new parts of An tonight, and they are all stupidly hot.
“Ah, sorry Shiraishi—”
“An, you slut!”
Kohane stares at the two boys—the difference in their responses is almost comical, and if she weren't so caught up in the immense embarrassment flooding through her from being caught, she would laugh in their faces.
She recognizes them as Bad Dogs, though they look quite different standing here than they do when they perform. Before, they looked so tough and full of themselves on stage, now they just look tired—nothing like An, who is practically the same performing or not.
“Kohane is my guest.” An clarifies, her eyes narrowing at the boy that Kohane thinks is Akito. “Do you two have a problem with that?”
“Hell yeah I do! We’re the only ones allowed to be back here.” Akito argues back. It's kind of sweet—the two of them basically have the same expression.
An rolls her eyes in response, finally tearing herself away from Kohane to face the two boys fully. Kohane has to admit that the annoyed energy radiating off An is quite attractive. Her anger just makes Kohane want to kiss it away.
She’s never been like this before, even as An and Akito argue about whether Kohane can even be in the green room, all she can focus on is the intense need that has settled low inside her chest. Everything about this night is new for Kohane, like a Mormon child gaining access to a phone.
Kohane simply watches them go back and forth, hoping the two will resolve it themselves. Eventually, she realizes that they simply don’t work like that.
Unfortunately for Kohane, she knows the easiest solution is to remove herself. No matter how badly she wants to continue what An started.
“Ah, it’s fine. I should probably head home anyway,” Kohane mutters, standing up from the couch quickly, smoothing over her skirt. She reluctantly meets the eyes of Akito, unable to stop her fingers from anxiously picking at the hem of her top. “Sorry for intruding…”
“Already?” An frowns, following Kohane and standing up as well. Her pout is almost enough to keep Kohane, but if it's really a problem, she won't stay. She’s really not a confrontational person.
“Yeah, but I um… would like to see you again, An.” Kohane’s voice couldn't get any more pathetic. She’s fairly confident that her face is hot enough to cook an egg on. What’s even more humiliating is that she has an audience.
“Of course you would,” An laughs under her breath, then steps closer to Kohane, leaning into the blonde's personal space, her lips brushing Kohane’s ear. “Come back tomorrow, yeah? I’m not performing that day, so you can have my full attention.”
Kohane’s teeth sink into her bottom lip, shes never heard a more tempting offer in her life.
“R-right, yeah—I will,” Kohane stammers, nodding quickly. She stands there awkwardly for a moment before actually turning to leave, giving a small apologetic bow to Akito and Toya on her way out.
An watches her the whole time, waiting for Kohane to be out of sight to sigh, plopping back down on the couch.
“Her ass looks really good in that skirt.”