Chapter Text
The air was filled with smoke, alcohol, and neon lights. It was the type of addictive atmosphere that one couldn’t help but be drawn to. Well, except for Hakari. As the loud music aggressively thumped through his brain, he just sat there in an apathetic state. It shouldn’t be this way. He always dreamed of opening a club. He should be bouncing off the walls from his successful opening night. He should be in the middle of the crowd, dancing the night away as he boasts his accomplishments. He should be absorbing the attention the money-hungry girls are trying to give him. But for most of the night, his back barely left the wall.
The win of the successful opening night does not make up for the loss of interest he has in the club; he should’ve made a better gamble. To hunt for the thrill he was missing, he indulged in various substances. He huffed on a cigarette until it became a bud. The last bit of smoke he blew into the air faded away, and something—or someone— caught his attention from the corner of his eyes.
Iridescent purple doe eyes drew him into an intoxicating trance. All Hakari could do was focus on them and a yellow star-like tint in their eyes. He was beyond hypnotized. He was in awe as he examined their style. Their overgrown bowl haircut barely touched their chin, and their alternative-styled clothes showed little to no skin. Their slightly cropped shirt, showing only a sliver of their stomach, was decked out with beads that you could clearly tell was done by their self. Despite some masculine attributes, they still managed to add some feminine characteristics to make a perfect androgynous blend.
Hakari didn’t know exactly what made him so drawn to this person, but he couldn’t help but stare at them. He was addicted to their presence. This casual meeting felt like a collision between two planets starting to intertwine into one. He was so focused on admiring their beauty that he didn’t notice that their lips were moving
“Um, could you move? You’re kinda blocking the door.” She yelled flatly over the music with a hint of annoyance.
He looked behind him and noticed that he was blocking the back exit. As Hakari moved out of the way, they breezed past him and disappeared for the rest of the night. Time passed by quickly, and he didn’t realize that the crowd was fading into emptiness. Before he knew it, it was time to end the night. He locked up Club Ganchiko for the night and started making his way home. His peaceful walk was interrupted by the thoughts of that person lingering in the back of their mind. Their brief encounter kept him hooked, wanting to know more. Wanting to see them more. He had a feeling he would see them again, and that itch tingled on him for the rest of the night.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Many weeks have passed since the last time Hakari saw that one person he’s been eyeing. He tried to get the thought of them out of his mind,
but Hakari couldn’t help but think about them. Something about them just drew Hakari in.
The club was set to close in 30 minutes. He stopped searching for them in the crowd, drifting his focus to the poker games he plays in his section every night. As the round finished up, the dealer collected the cards and shuffled them for the next round. The table of 5 became 6 as a familiar figure sat down in the last empty chair. He glanced up and noticed the same starry eyes that he had been obsessed with.
“So, what are we playing tonight?” they asked.
“Texas hold ‘em”
A hum gently escaped their lips. Everyone at the table put in a 1000 yen blind to get the game started. Two cards were swiftly passed to each player. Hakari looked at his hand. Lying there were a 9 of Hearts and a Queen of Spades. High cards. Starting strong.
“It’s nice to see you at the club again,” Hakari said while glancing up from his hand to look at them.
They raised their eyebrows curiously before responding “You remember seeing me here?”
“I could never forget a face like yours”
Their faces were slightly relaxed and warmed up with a tint of pink. Everyone else at the table seemed irritated at Hakari’s comment but he didn’t pay them any mind.
As the dealer laid out more cards in the middle, the pot kept getting higher and higher and the players kept folding. The only two players left were Hakari and the mystery person. On the table lay a seven of hearts, a queen of diamonds, a 2 of hearts, a queen of spades, and a 10 of clubs. He has 3 of a kind. A decent hand. He could win with it. The pot is already up to 30000 yen, and he wasn’t willing to back down. Kinji bet another 1000 yen, the star matched, and they revealed their hands. Hakari’s smug expression changed into shock when they laid out a queen and a 2. Full house. All of the money on the table went to the person sitting across from him. The smile on their face made the whole room light up brighter than the constellations illuminating in the sky. All of the other men at the table packed up their things and left the establishment—after all, it was time for the club to close. As the person was counting and organizing the money that they won, Hakari interrupted them.
“So, may I know the name of the person who just robbed me blind?” he teased while towering above them.
They paused their counting and slightly glanced up at Hakari. Their lips grew into a sly smirk as they flatly said in response: “You call it robbing, I call it your inability to accept defeat.”
“Hm, I never lose at this game.”
The person in front of Hakari finished counting their cash and stuffed it in their wallet. It looked like it was about to burst. They stood up from their seat and tilted towards Hakari.
“Hoshi.”
“I meant your given name,” he said as he grabbed Hoshi’s hand. His meteor-like callouses clashed against their smooth hands.
“Kirara.”
Hakari let go of their hand to start cleaning up the cards thrown around the table. Luckily, thanks to his employees, this was the only area that he had to tidy up. He could go home earlier tonight.“Well, Kirara, I hope to see ‘ya around here more often.”
“You might. Tonight was fun. Do you gamble every night?”
“Sometimes. But I'm usually busy making sure things run smoothly here. I only play when the club is dying down. ”
Kirara slightly chuckled, “Okay Mr. Businessman. Mr. Boss man.” They teased while making silly hand gestures.
Hakari slightly huffed out air in fake annoyance. “Well, usually they call me Hakari.”
Kirara slightly pouted their lips while leaning an inch closer to Hakari. “No first name?” They pestered.
“Kinji.” He smiled.
Their banter continued as Hakari finished cleaning up his section, making their way to the front of the building. They were now outside the front entrance. The cool calm night was a shift from the warm vibrant club life. It was just a large door dividing them. Hakari turned his attention away from Kirara for a bit to lock the door. As he was struggling, Kirara leaned against one of the walls and let out a small laugh at his poor attempt. They tilted their head down and shook it softly as they pulled out a pack of cigarettes; only two cigarettes remained. Kirara pulled one out, and when Hakari figured out how to lock the door again, He joined Kirara and was handed a cigarette.
In unison, they placed the cigarettes between their lips and grabbed their lighters from their pockets. Hakari struggled until a flame came out. The flame lit the cigarette and he inhaled it until the smoke filled his lungs. All of the stress he had built up from the day was immediately released as he exhaled the smoke from his nose. He sighed and turned to see Kirara still struggling to light there’s.
“Fuck! it’s dead.” They whined in annoyance.
“Here.” He muffled, cigarette still perched between his lips. Hakari flicked and flicked his lighter until he realized that his also decided to die. “Fuck. Wait, let me try something.” Hakari placed the cigarette between Kirara’s lips. He moved his hand to their face, tilting it upwards to meet his face. Kinji leaned in close enough for the ember of his cigarette to meet the tip of Kirara’s. Smoke came off the other cigarette and they pulled back. Kirara turned away from Hakari. The cig that was once in their mouth was now between their fingers, and they huffed out a large cloud of smoke.
“Thanks.” Kirara giggled shyly.
They continued to chatter. Their conversation transcended them past time and space. It was a mutual warm flow between them that almost made up for the chilly outdoor nature— emphasis on almost. Kirara was shivering the whole time they were talking and smoking away. Tonight, they were wearing a cropped shirt that showed off their smooth belly button. They were decked out in various pieces of jewelry from rings to necklaces. Their dark-washed jorts were bleached stained and went past their knees, still leaving room for air to freeze their body. Hakari shrugged off their jacket and handed it to them with more aggression than he intended. Though, Kirara didn’t seem to mind.
“Oh, you really didn’t have to—”
“It’s fine, I’m warm anyway.” He lied.
Kirara and Hakari kept the small talk going. They both learned a lot about each other. Hakari learned about Kirara’s space museum job, their obsession with the galaxy, fighting, and partying; just like Hakari, except their love of space is replaced with his love of gambling. The conversation continued to flow until a car pulled up to the front of the establishment.
“Oh, that's my taxi.” Kirara started shrugging off his coat. “Well, it was nice getting to know you kin-“
“-You can keep the jacket.” He interrupted out.
Kirara was clearly shocked from that comment. “What! But it’s yours and you’re gonna get cold.”
“You can just give it back to me another time.”
Kirara examined his facial expression. Looking at him up and down. “Give me your phone”
Kinji obeyed and unlocked his phone. He placed it in the palm in front of him. Kirara was typing away and when they finished handed it back to him. “Whenever you want your shit back just give me a call.”
The taxi driver honked his horn impatiently and yelled “Mr. Hoshi, you have 60 seconds before I’m leaving.”
Kirara seemed disappointed and embarrassed at the driver’s comment and started running towards the yellow car “Well it was nice speaking to you. Bye Hakari!”
Kinji waved back at Kirara as they shut the car door behind themself and disappeared once again into the night. Hakari was left there in his thoughts until he came to the realization.
“Wait, they’re a guy?”