When Yuuji awoke, everything was the same.

He became aware first of the sheets lying across his face. Shifting, Yuuji rolled to the side, the material sliding around him. Sleepy, he thought. Warm. Not quite bright enough to be morning, yet. Could still rest. Smelled not like home, but at least smelled clean. The sheets over him rested slightly stiffer than what he was used to, but that was alright. Still cozy.

Slowly surfacing back to consciousness, Yuuji stretched out a bit and sighed. A few remnants of the good feelings from before lingered on him. Content, Yuuji focused on them and let out a quiet hum. He didn't need to think too hard about what happened between him and Nagisa, the back of his mind decided. They had just followed their hearts. It didn't have to be a big deal if they didn't want it to be.

Although, wait. As the sleep cleared from Yuuji's mind, he felt chilled through with a sudden self-awareness. The atmosphere in the room seemed different now. Without the heavy fog pulsing through his limbs, Yuuji found that he could think more clearly, feel more sharply, and remember more… Oh dear god, what did he just do? A prickling sensation clenched through Yuuji's heart. What if Nagisa thought he was stupid? What if he had actually had second thoughts and Yuuji just hadn't noticed?

Yuuji opened his eyes. Nagisa wasn't there. Only an empty, warm spot curled in the sheets where he had lain.

Yuuji's heart skipped a beat. He jolted up.

"Ah. You're awake," came Nagisa's voice. The young man was standing a few paces away, off to the side, paused in whatever it was he had been doing. He had already gotten dressed. For some reason, he was wearing an elegant evening gown. His outfit looked well put-together, with his blue hair thoroughly brushed and styled up, a choker necklace looping around his throat, and a few bracelets fastened around his left wrist, the largest of which, Yuuji noticed, looked like it could be hiding some sharp edges beneath its clasp.

Yuuji blinked at Nagisa's outfit in confusion. He wasn't dreaming this, was he? The cold air in the room brushing across his skin made Yuuji shiver, and he clutched the blankets up to his chest, feeling suddenly self-conscious about being fully bare.

Nagisa smiled knowingly. "Your clothes are over there," he said, pointing to the edge of the bed. There Yuuji's clothes lay in a pile, folded almost lovingly. All of his clothes.

Yuuji blushed. He moved to grab them. The next minute was a struggle, Yuuji flailing in his attempts to put the clothes on in a hurry, eventually being forced to take it slow, casting glances over at Nagisa as if worried that he would be staring. Briefly, Yuuji thought to himself how silly it was, given that they already knew so much more about each other now.

"Sorry for this all of a sudden," Nagisa apologized. "But the time window is approaching. And I need to get ready." He sat at one of the tables, chair almost disappearing beneath the blue shroud of his dress as he messed with an oblong container, a brush or thin wand zipping out occasionally to sweep across his face.

Yuuji nodded in reply, still staring. Was that…makeup?

"Oh," Yuuji said at last, his voice breaking the silence. He scratched the back of his head. Standing in place, he glanced around the room. Despite Nagisa's obviously thorough prep session, it was amazing how much had been left undisturbed. The young man had evidently gotten very good at this by now.

Yuuji looked back toward Nagisa. Yuuji couldn't help it; he could feel the tension in the air, settling like lightning across his skin. Suddenly he wanted more than anything to do something, to prove to Nagisa that he was more than just a hold-down-the-fort boyfriend, that he wasn't so…so…there was a word for it. And it wasn't one that Yuuji ever wanted to feel again.

Without knowing why, Yuuji cleared his throat. "Uh. Can I help?" he asked.

Nagisa paused. The lid of the makeup case shut with a crisp thud. Yuuji resisted the urge to wince, getting the sudden feeling that this was all pointless, he shouldn't have even asked-

"That's very brave of you to offer," Nagisa said slowly. "You know, I didn't come here anticipating for you to have a hand in this, Yuuji. I won't have you do anything if you don't want to."

Yuuji shrugged. Figuring that wasn't strong enough, he spoke again. "I want to," he said simply. "Just…yeah."

Nagisa looked deep in thought. Then, after a moment, he turned to face Yuuji. "Actually…yes," he said, a cheeky smile on his face. "There might be a way."

Nagisa winked. "After all, it would be suspicious for a lovely lady to be without a date, right?"

Yuuji nervously adjusted his suit jacket. Thank god he had decided to pack some formal clothes.

He stood at the bottom of a large, wide staircase. The interior of the Queen Mary's Hotel was grand, everything in shades of cream, porcelain, or gold. The hallway was spacious, the roof above them standing at at least three times Yuuji's height. Glimmering chandeliers hung for the guests' enjoyment. From top to bottom, elegant columns supported the stairwell. Their design reminded Yuuji of Greek or Roman architecture—something western, at the very least. The stairs themselves were made of smooth marble. The stairwell fanned out in layers, starting out short but growing ever wider until cascading to the bottom where Yuuji stood now, in a style reminiscent of a cake. Tiles coated the floor, polished to a shine.

Yuuji squared his shoulders and took a deep breath. He ordered himself to calm down. Honestly, right now, nothing was happening. All he was doing was waiting for Nagisa, as a good date should.

And so he stood, the silence being Yuuji's only companion. He stared at the light splayed over the tiled floor. Try as Yuuji might, he couldn't stop his mind from wandering. It replayed the last few hours, going back over each event and reviewing their contents, as if checking to make sure that this was all really happening to him. Yes, came the diagnosis, it was true. It had happened. He was here.

Suddenly, a horrible thought struck Yuuji. He straightened up as a chill punched through his stomach. Nagisa was here as an assassin, right? And he must be used to using every sort of method he could in order to complete his mission. What if Nagisa had just slept with him in order to 'test his loyalty', or to ensure that Yuuji would follow along with Nagisa in this endeavor? A long-lost reunion would have been an excellent way to exploit his affections.

Almost as soon as the idea occurred to him, though, Yuuji felt some part of him sink into a deep calm. Call him naïve, but he hadn't felt that there was anything suspicious. He hadn't seen any manipulation in Nagisa's eyes. And that action hadn't…felt like an empty ploy to earn his favor. When looking at Nagisa… Well, Yuuji couldn't explain it, but he had sensed nothing but genuineness.

Yuuji trembled for a moment and pressed one hand against his leg to stop the shaking. But then again, he guessed that he couldn't be sure.

"Excuse me."

Yuuji turned at the sound of Nagisa's voice. All of Yuuji's thoughts flew out of his head as he watched the man perched at the edge of the staircase, his soft hair tied up and his blue eyes blinking down at Yuuji, one arm paused at his chest in a gesture that was feminine enough to match Nagisa's disguise.

Nagisa descended the stairs like a princess out of a fairytale. He had taken a few minutes longer to arrive than Yuuji, just as he said he would—but it couldn't have been because of his shoes, Yuuji guessed. They were not high-heeled, but low-heeled and practical. Yuuji recalled being a bit surprised at that choice, given that most young women showed up to ballrooms in much fancier footwear, but considering Nagisa's job, Yuuji guessed that Nagisa had to use them. No matter; his floor-length skirt would hide it all anyway.

"Shall we?" Nagisa took Yuuji's arm after reaching the bottom of the staircase. Yuuji nodded, half in response half in surprise, fidgeting as he worked to consciously adjust his position to how one would support a woman. Nagisa curled himself around Yuuji's extended elbow, and together the two of them set off.

"So, I have to act like you're a girl?" Yuuji muttered during the silence.

Nagisa gave the tiniest of head-bobs as a nod. "Shouldn't be too hard," he whispered back with a wry tone to his voice.

Yuuji fought to keep his face from flushing. Even though he knew Nagisa didn't mean it that way, he couldn't help feeling a flash of something akin to guilt. He leaned in close to Nagisa and whispered, "You're more manly than you think."

Nagisa merely accepted this with a quiet nod.

Around them, a few other couples came and went. They all seemed to be heading the same way. Yuuji kept their steps unhurried, Nagisa hanging on to his every move.

Yuuji snuck a glance at Nagisa out of the corner of his eye. His disguise was impeccable. If Yuuji didn't know better, he would most definitely mistake the man's soft face for feminine on the first look. The makeup helped, of course—Nagisa had gone with a very light routine, although still accurate for what the average woman wore to these events, and the contouring also probably helped a lot with lighting the right angles on his face. His gown was almost sleeveless, save for a thin layer of mesh netting that covered the top of his chest and shoulders. That was probably meant to deter suspicion as well, Yuuji realized, blocking the view of anyone who was looking for a male assassin in disguise. Besides, even if they were… Yuuji didn't know how Nagisa could make it look like he had a bust, whatever inflatables or skin-colored tape might be involved, but now that he saw Nagisa from the side it sure looked like Nagisa had…something. Yuuji fought to suppress another light blush.

Nagisa's dress was gorgeous, colored a dark blue and long enough to brush against the floor, a trail of sparkles adding decoration and curving around his form like stars. The fabric hitched in tight around his narrow waist. His blue hair looked good in this style, hanging a bit longer down around his neck.

When Yuuji looked at the person next to him, he could still see Nagisa. But he had to admit, it was a good disguise.

Something about the sight suddenly reminded Yuuji of why they were here. Thoughts flashed through his mind in quick succession. If it weren't for the literal assassin hanging off of his shoulder, Yuuji would have tensed up. The real weight of what they were doing finally hit him. And the spark of human life seemed to burn painfully bright. Oh, god, what was he doing? An assassination…. This, this was murder, wasn't it?

Yuuji's eyes flicked to the man next to him. Could Nagisa do something like that? For some reason, the image of the 'girl' Yuuji had met on the summer island floated to the front of his mind, and how he had once told somebody that that girl on the island wasn't that sort of person, wouldn't smile during a lie like that. Stupid question, Yuuji chided himself. Of course Nagisa could. But would he?

"Hey," he whispered, ducking his head closer to Nagisa. "Your...your mission. The guy. Are you going to kill him?"

Nagisa kept his expression straight, eyes staring ahead as if he hadn't even heard the question. "It's a little dangerous to talk about that here," he murmured out of the corner of his mouth. Then, after checking to make sure no other couples were near them, Nagisa gave a small sigh. "No," came the reply. "He's not going to die. My assignment is just to threaten him. Incapacitate, if necessary. He needs to turn down a certain position in the near future. The only thing I'll be assassinating today are his political chances."

Yuuji did his best to hide the feeling of relief that flooded his chest. "Oh," he said, nodding nonchalantly. "That's good." Curiosity brought one more question to his tongue. "Would I know this guy? What's his name?"

This time Nagisa did look up. "I can't tell you."

"Ah." Yuuji tore his gaze away.

"It's a risk." Nagisa gave a cheeky smile. "Besides, that'd be no fun."

Yuuji didn't know if he found Nagisa's lighthearted tone adorable or if it made his blood run cold. Maybe both at the same time.

And for the first time in a long, long while, Yuuji wasn't quite sure how he felt.

The dance room was just as breathtakingly beautiful as the rest of the hotel.

The space stretched out in an oval, the main area cleared for dancing and filled with twirling couples. At the far end stood a low platform, upon which a band was playing classical music. The platform was separated from the main floor just enough for the band to be able to play without interruption, but not enough for there to be any real feeling of separation. The music served as live accompaniment, the walls and ceiling both containing and amplifying the pleasingly authentic sounds. To the side closest Yuuji and Nagisa were rows of tables, covered in pearly white tablecloths and offering trays of delicate-looking food. The ballroom space was double-tiered, with a balcony floor attached above where dancers could sit and rest their feet while gazing down upon the open dancefloor.

Before Yuuji knew it, he became aware of a tug on his arm. "C'mon," Nagisa goaded him forward, flashing a smile. "Let's have a dance."

"Wha- Really?" Yuuji protested. His wide eyes did nothing to slow Nagisa, the man in disguise tugging and beckoning Yuuji onward. With an inner shrug, Yuuji relented, allowing himself to be guided onto the dance floor.

Immediately they were swept up in the ballroom's rhythm. Yuuji stepped lightly, moving to avoid the circling form of yet another couple and ending up right in front of Nagisa. The young man smiled up at him. Yuuji took a breath, offering his hands with both palms facing up. Nagisa melted into them, placing one hand in Yuuji's own while Yuuji's second hand came to his waist. With one more meeting of eyes, they began.

It took only a few minutes for them to get comfortable, and after that the movements came easier and easier. They swayed, moving back and forth together. One step left. One step right. Following the rotation of the crowd, they were slowly swept along in an arc around the room, all the while doing their own rotation around each other. Feeling more confident, Yuuji held up one arm. Nagisa twirled under it. When he came back, it was with a grin. The music carried them from place to place like the tide. Their surroundings blurred and shrank as they focused only on each other. The polished wood was smooth beneath Yuuji's feet, and his heels swiveled on it nicely, Nagisa gliding alongside. Every movement felt swift and precise, the entire world suddenly made up of nothing but the space between them.

Although it wouldn't look like it to any outsiders, Nagisa led them through the steps. Yuuji didn't have much education on classical dancing. He tried to at least remember what his celebrity-child lifestyle had taught him, concentrating on keeping up with Nagisa and swaying through enough steps to make it still look like he was 'the man', leading his lady around.

The dancing continued as a gentle waltz. Yuuji guided them well enough to avoid the other dancers, Nagisa taking care to keep the both of them in time. In a slight moment of fondness, Yuuji dipped his head in close, almost bringing their foreheads together. Why not? No one here knew. Nagisa seemed a bit surprised by his boldness, but after a moment, he complied.

Yuuji's eyes stayed trained on Nagisa, unable to look away. He watched the light reflecting off of Nagisa's face, the glimmer of the chandelier catching on his dress, the blueness of his hair perfectly matching his eyes. For the briefest of moments, Yuuji wondered how he must look to him. Judging by the fact that Nagisa was still staring at Yuuji, too, he must have found something to look at, at least.

Following a hunch, Yuuji pulled them into another gentle spin, Nagisa letting out a little laugh in response, happiness lighting up his expression. Yuuji's heart ached at the sight. God, he was magnificent.

In surprise, Yuuji blinked. Those thoughts caught him slightly off-guard. He hadn't entertained them in years—there had been no point, with Nagisa being so far away. To have him this close, to have him here now, was such a gift that for a moment Yuuji felt as if he would never be able to repay it.

He closed his eyes for a moment. All he could do was enjoy it to the fullest now.

As they moved, another realization came to Yuuji. The dancing crowd and the swaying of the dress around Nagisa's hips for some reason reminded him of something way back, of their very first meeting: a dance floor, shining lights, the two of them anonymous within the crowd, and Nagisa disguised as a girl. Huh.

Well. At least this time Yuuji had actually managed to give him a proper dance.

When the two of them were done, they made their way over to the side. Nagisa snagged a snack or two from the nearby trays. Yuuji did too. He also took a champagne glass from a nearby waiter carrying them on a tray. Hey, why not? Yuuji was feeling good. All the while Nagisa would give an easy laugh, hanging off of Yuuji's arm. He would smile and point out other places for them to go, as coy and coquettish as could be. Occasionally he would look up at Yuuji with a girlish adoration, of which Yuuji found himself wondering how much was meant to be sincere.

They had a second dance, for no other reason than they felt like it, swirling among the many couples and listening to the pull of the beat.

Eventually they stood on the upper level, having climbed the short staircase to check out the balcony. Nagisa leaned on the railing, both of them overlooking the top level to gaze down at the dance floor. But Yuuji found his gaze wandering back to Nagisa, finding it more fun to watch him rather than the spectacle below.

Now that they had paused, Yuuji finally had a moment to think. Within the depths of his mind, he realized how shockingly accomplished Nagisa's skills were. Nagisa's act was so good that even Yuuji had momentarily forgotten why they had come here. And anyone looking at them wouldn't suspect a thing. They appeared for all the world like a young man and his beautiful date.

But it couldn't last. Here in this small moment of pause, Yuuji had the sense that something else was in the air.

"Alright," Nagisa whispered. Though his expression remained unchanged, his voice was the most serious Yuuji had heard it all night. "I think we've built up enough cover. You ready?"

Yuuji nodded. He felt a flash of gratification when a glint of surprise in the other man's eyes implied that Nagisa hadn't really expected Yuuji to have come to his senses yet.

Together they wandered back down, Nagisa's arms wrapped around Yuuji's elbow once again. "Let's go over there," Nagisa suggested, extending one finger to point towards the far right corner of the room, near the band.

Yuuji shrugged assent, guiding them casually around the dance floor and onwards to the tables there.

He felt Nagisa tense around his arm as they passed by the far wall. "I was checking this place out earlier," the young man whispered, "when we made our rounds around the room. I have a plan, but let's see…"

Yuuji felt a twinge of surprise before the man's voice hushed. Making rounds around the room? He hadn't realized that was what they had been doing when they were dancing. Although, now that Yuuji thought about it, in retrospect it was obvious. And genius.

They walked along the far wall. Out of the corner of his eye, Yuuji watched as the tan expanse fell away, giving way to an open space held up by columns. It was too deep in for Yuuji to properly see, but Nagisa shifted beside him as if the man had found his answer.

"Damn," Nagisa hissed, curling his face into Yuuji's shoulder in a way that mimicked affection. "I wanted to get up through there. There's a staircase not too far beyond… But two guards are posted." The young man frowned. "I can't take them out without causing a disturbance, and doing anything rash would risk having my disguise be revealed… Hmm. There's no helping it, I'll have to find another way-"

"I'll do it," Yuuji interrupted.

Nagisa glanced at him with a look of pure confusion.

"You just need to get past the guards, right?" Yuuji said, ignoring the jumping in his stomach at just what the hell he was about to do. "I have an idea…"

Yuuji shuffled down the hall.

The room was wide around him, a large, flat expanse of tile bordered on all sides by those same columns. Lights from above shone onto the floor, running over the tiles in streaks. Up ahead, Yuuji saw the two guards Nagisa had been talking about. The men were tall and broad, one larger than the other, the left one with a standard haircut and the right looking like he was of foreign ancestry. They wore formal black suits with their eyes hidden behind sunglasses. On their faces were stoic frowns. If Yuuji squinted, he could just barely see an earpiece in both of their right ears, accompanied by a wire. The two guards had definitely noticed Yuuji, but it didn't look like they were making any moves yet.

Yuuji swaggered up to them, craning his neck as if trying to peer into the space beyond. "Heyyy," he drawled, as if just seeing this place for the first time. "Is this place open? Looks kinda nice. Is there s'm other dancefloor just beyond here or somethin'?"

The two guards just stared at him. One of them curled his lip.

"Hunh? Hello, I'm talking to you," Yuuji said, mirroring the guard's expression of disdain. He leaned in close, as if trying to get a better look at their faces. "Sheesh, what do they even pay you guys for? I'm just tryin'a ask if there's another place beyond here I could go."

"Further areas are off-limits," one of the guards snapped.

"Aww, c'mon," Yuuji whined. He swayed on his feet a little, summoning a smile to his face. "I'm just tryin' to have a little fun. You always so rude to paying guests? This hotel's pr'tty cool, and I'll bet the rest of it is too, so why not just let me have a little look-see, alright?"

Yuuji prattled on for a few more sentences, focusing on his act. In the face of the guards' unmoving expressions he let go of all thoughts, just talking and letting the words fall out of his mouth. Despite the jittering nervousness, Yuuji found that the excuses actually came rather easy once he had a hold of them. If there was anything he knew how to do, it was how to be sleazy.

Speaking of sleazy…

"Look," Yuuji said at last. "I'm here with a date. And I'm tryn'a find some nice place where she and I can be alone, 'f you know what I mean." He winked and jostled the guards, pretending not to notice when they scowled and shook him off. "From one guy to 'nother, I betcha both understand."

"I'm sure your hotel room would do just fine, sir."

Yuuji frowned. "Aww, you guys are no fun. Can't you do me a solid? Just this once?"

"No."

"Oh, please. Look, I'm not like the rest o' those morons out there, y'hear? I'm different from them, I'm special! I just… yo, you really got no reason to be disrezpectin' me like this."

"We have plenty, sir."

"Come on. Y'have no idea who I am, d'you?"

"Frankly, we don't care."

Yuuji let out a dry laugh. "Oh. Gonna play that game are we? I see. You guys are funny."

Yuuji kept up the charade, focusing on the barest trace of alcohol in his blood. He wasn't drunk—far from it, and could hold his alcohol very well, actually, due to lots of practice when young—but he at least knew how to act like it. All the while, he added in a few gestures that Nagisa had told him to use, gathering the guards' attention toward himself, and stood close in order to obstruct their vision.

Meanwhile, over the dark outline of the guards' shoulders, a smear of blue slowly drifted into Yuuji's line of sight. It was Nagisa, blue hair and dress in stark contrast to the room as he snuck in behind the guards. Yuuji tried not to let his eyes wander to his form.

Still, due to whatever reason, Yuuji could sense the guards getting tired of him. And if they got tired of him, their attention would start to wander. Crap. Yuuji dug deep. What could he do…

In one swift motion, Yuuji reached into a pocket and pulled out his wallet. "Look. I know what this is all about. What say I give each of you a few thousand, and we'll call it a dea-"

Before Yuuji could blink, the taller guard in front of him scowled, pulled back, and punched him right in the face.

Yuuji reeled. Pain exploded across his left cheek, agony bruising through while the force of impact turned into tingling spots along the edges. They punched him! They had actually punched him! The indignant, surprised, spoiled-rich-kid expression on his face was genuine, at least.

The guards scoffed. "We don't want your stinkin' bribery," spat the one who had punched Yuuji. "Damn fat-cats…"

The anger on their faces told Yuuji to scram. And he did. Yuuji ran, stumbling, from the room, unable to summon any courageous words to his tongue.

Back inside the ballroom, Yuuji nursed his cheek. The waiters all seemed to be giving him a wide berth, but that was fine. Dully, Yuuji thought to himself that the guards probably shouldn't be hitting guests, but if what they were protecting was really so important…he supposed that would explain it. Still. Yeesh. Yuuji blinked away the pain. That stung.

Well, at least he had managed to do something, Yuuji thought, hoping that Nagisa had gotten through okay. He found himself unable to resist tossing one last look over his shoulder. In all the confusion, he had lost track of the young man. Eh. Yuuji shrugged. He was probably fine. From now on, Yuuji couldn't do anything to help him further.

Privately, he squished down another thought: should he have even helped him?

Yuuji glanced around. Throughout the room couples were dancing, waiters bore food, a band played, and a chandelier shone bright overhead. But Yuuji had no desire to stay. Something about it felt empty now.

He turned towards the Grand Staircase and left.