Shion couldn't remember why he had been so nervous. The lights were blaring, the music was bright, and he felt good. He bobbed to the beat. He hadn't quite gotten the dancing thing down, but Safu told him he'd get the hang of it. Just let loose and don't think about how you look or who's watching, she'd said. Shion thought he was doing a great job not caring. He'd gotten rid of his cares five… Six… Six! Six drinks ago. The bartender had been really nice and gave him lots of recommendations.

The music mounted and Shion did a little twirl for variety. But also did it to find Safu. He hadn't seen her since drink four, a rum coke, he remembered with pleasure. That one had tasted delicious.

It took a while before he was able to spot Safu. There were a lot of people in the club, the lights were blinking like a malfunctioning kaleidoscope, and the floor was tilting, so it was hard. He finally found her in the middle of the dance floor.

He forced his way through to her and shouted, "This is fun!"

She squinted at him. "What?"

"Fun! This! I can't believe it! I had six drinks."

He held up his hands and signaled six with his fingers. Safu gave him a high five and Shion stumbled. Safu grabbed his shoulders to steady him and laughed. Shion laughed, too, even though the man he accidently elbowed was making an ugly face at him.

"I'm glad you're having fun!" said Safu.

"I think I'm drunk?"

Safu giggled again. "That's great, Shion!" She whirled around. "You should dance!"

Safu threw her head back and the music swept her away. Or… No. A man had grabbed her and took her away to dance. Shion scowled. What'd he do that for? They were in the middle of a conversation… But Safu looked happy, and her arms were around the man's neck, so Shion forgave him.

He tried to dance like Safu recommended, but there were a lot more people in the middle of the floor. He could hardly shift without rubbing up against one person or another. And it was hot. Shion didn't like it at all, and it made him thirsty. He wriggled out of the crowd to get another drink.

He fell on the counter a little harder than he meant to. Tricky things, these moving floors. Shion smiled and turned to share this with the person next to him, but when their eyes met, his mind was swept blank.

The most beautiful man he had ever seen was standing next to him. At least, he thought it was a man. His hair was short, just brushing over his ears, so he immediately thought: man. But he was so pretty. Shion traced his gaze along the person's slender neck, and… yes, Adam's apple, subtle, but visible. Male. Shion felt accomplished to have deduced the man's gender so cleverly. This required celebration.

"Hi."

The attractive man arched an eyebrow at him. Shion liked the way it drew attention to his eyes. They were smooth, liquid grey, and looking into them made Shion's insides burn. They were an exquisite complement to his sharp, graceful features, and their color managed somehow to shine with captivating clarity, even under the blues and greens strobing overhead.

Shion was having some trouble reading the man's expression, though, which was weird. He was usually really good at reading people. But the expression wasn't unfriendly, that much he could tell. Shion decided this deduction was positive enough to pursue.

"I'm Shion. This is my first time at a club." For some reason he felt like this was important information to share. It seemed he was on the right track, because the man now smiled at him. Encouraged, he continued, "I had six drinks."

He held up his hands and made six again with his fingers. Safu had enjoyed it when he did this, so he thought maybe the man would, too. The man glanced between his hands, but made no motion to high five them. Shion frowned. Why didn't it work?

Maybe I did it wrong? He turned his hands in to look at them. Suddenly, the man laughed. It was a deep, musical sound and it warmed Shion to hear it.

"Six drinks, huh?" He laughed again. "Yeah. I can tell."

His speaking voice was even better than his laugh. Shion smiled, and noticed there was a tumbler on the counter in front of the man.

"How many did you have?"

"So far, just the one. I just got here."

Shion nodded. "It's not good to drink too much," he agreed reasonably.

"Is that your expert opinion?" The man grinned, and Shion forgot how to breathe.

He nodded to give himself enough time to remember. He managed after a moment to collect enough air to blurt, "Do you dance?"

"As a matter of fact, I do." His grey eyes glittered, and they never once left Shion's face, even as he raised his drink and finished it. Shion bit his lip. "Is there a follow up question?" the man drawled.

"Oh! Yes." How could he have forgotten? "What's your name?"

"Heh. Not the question I was expecting, but…"

He looked Shion up and down, and Shion suddenly felt self-conscious. He was hot—sweating, actually—and his hair was sticking to his forehead in a probably not sexy way. This person was so much more attractive and neater looking than he was. Shion flushed and ran his fingers through his hair to muss it a little.

He had been so flustered he missed it when the man spoke. He realized a second too late and his brain wasn't able to process the words in time. Shion stared, horrified, and the room felt even hotter. Oh no. How do I get him to say it again?

The man tilted his head. "My name. It's Nezumi."

Shion perked up. "Oh. That was easy."

The man—Nezumi—chuckled. "I'm guessing this is the first time you've hit on someone."

Hit on? Was I…?

Nezumi was right: he hadn't ever hit on someone. He had never felt strongly enough about anyone to try, and before tonight he was fairly certain he didn't even know how to hit on someone. But Shion realized that, yes, he suppose he was hitting on this beautiful, mysterious, smirking man.

Does that make me gay? Shion had never really thought aboutthat either. He liked what he liked, and that had always been enough—and right now he liked Nezumi. A lot.

Well, if I've already started hitting on Nezumi, and he hasn't told me to go away yet, I must be doing a good job. He rested against the counter and tried out a tactic Safu had taught him.

"Dance with me," he said in a measured, hopefully alluring, voice.

Safu had insisted she give him some pointers before she brought him to the club, just in case he found someone he wanted to talk to. Shion had listened, but only out of politeness, because he didn't think he was going to have any fun at the club, given how nervous large, loud groups of people made him. He found now that he had been very wrong, and he was grateful for her advice.

Safu said that blunt commands could work in your favor when pursuing a potential partner. The forceful suggestion makes you look confident, and it's refreshing to the listener not to have to dance around the attraction. It was a risky approach, but Shion was feeling bold.

Nezumi's grey eyes raked over him a second time, appraising. Shion was about to feel self-conscious again, but he was distracted by Nezumi's tongue, which slipped out to wet his lips, and then distracted further when Nezumi spoke.

"Well," Nezumi said with consideration, "you're not my usual type, but what can I say? You're a natural at seduction. I'm powerless to refuse."

Shion had a vague notion that he was being made fun of, but Nezumi was leading him toward the dance floor, so he paid it no mind. They stopped somewhere near the middle. The blinking lights jumped and slid off the bodies writhing around them, and Shion had a sudden attack of nerves.

"I don't know how to dance," he shouted over the music.

They were tightly packed in by the crowd, so Nezumi was able to hear him, despite the deafening noise. He grinned, teeth white and wolfish under the strobes.

"You picked well, then. I'm an excellent dancer." He nodded at a few people next to them. "Just listen, and move."

The song playing had a heavy drumbeat; Shion could feel the vibrations rattling through his bones. He tried his best to follow what the people around him were doing, swaying and jumping to the rhythm. Nezumi gave him a nod. A few seconds of this and Shion started to feel a little more at ease. Nothing extravagant was required; simply moving in time with the music was enough. No pressure. He closed his eyes and tilted his head back to let the music take him over.

Something grazed his hip. Shion's eyes snapped open and met Nezumi's. He was very close now, almost flush against him.

"Is this okay?"

The closeness was hardly his fault, but Shion liked that Nezumi had asked if he was comfortable with it. Then he felt the pressure of Nezumi's hand against his hip again, and realized that he was asking if that was okay.

"Yes."

The answer slipped out without him thinking too much about it. The music was intoxicating, he felt great, and Nezumi's touch sent an electric jolt through his body that he was in no hurry to escape. He was so immersed in the new and overwhelming pleasure of these sensations, that he didn't question his decision to throw his arms around Nezumi's neck and close the gap between them.

"Is this okay?" he breathed, acutely aware of how close their mouths were.

Nezumi smirked and replied by grinding their hips to the music. Shion shivered but he hoped it would go unnoticed. Nezumi's smirk grew more pronounced. Over the next few minutes, Shion discovered just how much more experienced Nezumi was at this type of dancing.

The music shifted seamlessly between songs, and at the next lilt, Nezumi spun him out without warning. The surprise tore an elated laugh from Shion's throat. Nezumi must have been pleased with this reaction, because he did it a few more times, always at unexpected moments. At one point, Shion spotted Safu. She was with a different partner now. He managed to catch her eye, and her eyebrows shot up. Shion grinned and gave her a small wave before twirling back against Nezumi.

By the time they stumbled off the dance floor, Shion was flushed and dizzy and tingling all over, but he wasn't embarrassed about it, because Nezumi was just as breathless. Although, he was certain Nezumi looked much more attractive panting and sweating than he did.

That sounded dirty, he thought, and giggled. Nezumi raised an eyebrow, his eyes sparkling.

"Having fun?"

"Yes! I didn't know dancing could feel that good. I mean," he couldn't speak past his glee for a moment, and just ended up finishing with, "wow."

Nezumi chuckled. "Articulate."

"You're amazing, Nezumi."

"Is that the alcohol or the arousal talking?"

"Probably a little of both," Shion replied, before realizing it might've been wiser to have left that question rhetorical.

Nezumi made a face caught between disbelief and amusement. "You really don't have a filter, do you? Does subtly not exist where you're from?" Shion blushed and kept his mouth shut, so as not to incriminate himself further.

"What now?"

Shion tilted his head. "What do you mean?"

"I've already granted His Majesty's request for a dance. Can I be of any further service tonight?"

Shion was still fuzzyheaded from the combined effects of alcohol and exertion, but he managed to catch the suggestion in the sentence with perfect clarity. His mind consequently went blank. Dancing with a handsome stranger was one thing, but having that handsome stranger express interest in furthering their time together—possibly in a sexual way, maybe, if he wasn't reading that wrong—it was too much to process.

He didn't think Nezumi was joking, though. He looked playful, but completely serious. Shion was relieved that he was slightly less drunk enough to be able to read people's moods. But it came with a price; he now had enough room in his head to reason. He lost the edge of fearlessness.

I don't even know what I want. He did know, however, that there was a blush creeping up his neck.

"Um… You decide…"

Nezumi's mouth quirked. He took a step toward him. "You sure?" he purred, and Shion swore he had never heard two words sound more tantalizing.

He nodded, and Nezumi graced him with a leg-buckling smile. Nezumi was close now, and even though they had been much closer dancing moments ago, this was different. Charged. Nezumi leaned in, and despite knowing it was common practice to close your eyes when kissed, Shion couldn't seem to take his eyes off Nezumi's.

It turned out to be the right move, because Nezumi didn't kiss him. He stopped, torturously close, inches from his mouth, and just held his gaze. There was something in his expression, but Shion couldn't quite place it. Regret? Deliberation? Something like that.

Finally, Nezumi spoke, the words brushing Shion's mouth. "Unfortunately… you're too drunk to do anything with."

Shion gave him the minutest of head shakes. "I'm not…"

Nezumi drew back with a clearly regretful sigh. "You're very cute, Shion, but not so cute that I'd be willing to commit such a severe faux pas."

Shion's eyes widened. He never wanted to kiss someone so much in his life.

"Thank you," he said instead. He must have sounded as touched as he felt, because Nezumi's brow furrowed. "You're a real gentleman, Nezumi."

Nezumi blinked. "You really just said that…"

He shook his head and turned his face away. He looked embarrassed, and Shion could've sworn he was blushing. It was impossible to tell under the bleary lights, though. After a moment, Nezumi glanced at him again out of the corner of his eye, warily, as if he expected another heartfelt compliment to come his way.

Shion had thought that "beautiful" was the perfect word to describe Nezumi, but right now, "adorable" seemed to fit him better. He smiled and Nezumi shook his head a second time.

"You're pretty weird, you know that?"

"Can I have your number?"

Shion was aware that by asking this with no segue, he was proving he knew full well how weird he was, but Nezumi hadn't seemed offended by his weirdness all night, so he figured it was serving him well enough.

Nezumi's expression didn't change. He must have on some level expected this question. They just stared at each other, the thumping music providing a non-awkward filler. Shion had actually forgotten they were in a club until that moment.

At last, Nezumi shrugged. "What the hell. Gimme your phone."

Shion's heart somersaulted. He dug in his pocket for his phone and very nearly shoved it into Nezumi's waiting hand. It took only a handful of seconds for Nezumi to stab the nine-digit sequence into Shion's contacts. Shion took the phone back and stared at the screen like he'd won the lottery—and, really, he thought, he kind of did. He couldn't wait to tell Safu.

"Call me sometime you're sober," Nezumi said as if it was the most casual thing in the world.

Shion jerked his head in an eager promise.

Nezumi seemed satisfied, and the mischievous smirked returned to his face. "Now," he held out a hand, "dance with me."