Fic: The Camera Eye: Confession Lesson [Hayato x Kana, NC-17]
Title: The Camera Eye: Confession Lesson
Chapter: Installment 63 overall in The Camera Eye series, and the 12th story in Season 3. Links to previous installments can be found here
Author: Boots
Rating: NC-17
Genre: Porn industry AU, drama, smut, romance
Warnings: Male/male sex, rimming
Pairing: Hayato x Kana (Codomo Dragon) (main), MiA x Koichi (Mejibray)
Disclaimer: Codomo Dragon belongs to B.P. Records, Mejibray belongs to White Side Group, I own the story only
Summary: Koichi meets with Hayato about a professional matter - but things take a turn for the personal when he realizes the other man needs encouragement regarding his love life.
Notes: For the details of Koichi's confession to MiA, see the previous Camera Eye fic, Long Time Coming.
MiA knew something had to be up by the way Koichi was pacing the floor. This was too much nervous energy - even for his lover. Okay, Koichi wasn’t exactly a calm type - especially when it came to fashion - and that went double if he thought somebody was going to outdistance him with an outfit.
This, however, was clearly beyond that. He looked like he was going to climb the walls. Literally. He was walking at a rapid pace from one side of the room to the other, and MiA was fully expecting him to defy gravity and walk straight up the wall.
Finally, MiA threw down his phone and stood up off the couch. “Koichi,” he said, “is there something that you need to tell me?”
Koichi suddenly whirled toward him, looking like a deer in the headlights. “Why?” he said. “Why do you ask?”
“Because you’re wearing a groove in the floor, that’s why!”
Koichi started to pace again. After about two passes, he suddenly stopped, whirled around toward MiA again and said, “Hayato has asked me to do his group’s looks for the Viewer’s Choice Awards!”
MiA blinked. “But . . . that’s good, isn’t it?”
“I’ve never designed a whole look for a whole group of people before!” Koichi said. “Especially people I don’t know all that well. I mean, I met him once at Starbucks when you were playing Pokemon with him and that’s about it.”
“Koichi, you’re great at that kind of thing,” MiA said. “You’ve done every one of my awards outfits.” He wasn’t going to say anything about the tiara. “You’ll be fine. This is what you want to devote your life to anyway, right?”
“I devoted my life to designing accessories,” Koichi said. “Not entire looks!” He flung himself down on the couch. “It’s easy to come up with a whole look for you because I know you better than anybody. I could come up with a whole look for Subaru and Tomoya. But, well . . . I have to catch the essence of what the person’s about to come up with a whole look.”
“Well, then, here's what you do,” MiA said. “You meet up with Hayato and talk to him. Find out what he’s looking for, what kinds of personalities his friends have. And then, you meet up with the whole group. Once you’ve gotten to know them a little, you can come up with designs.” He leaned over and put his hand on Koichi’s. “I know you’re going to be brilliant at this. Because you always are.”
“Thanks,” Koichi said. “Okay, I’ll do it. I’ll meet with this guy, and get his ideas, and they’re going to look awesome!” He punched his fist in the air.
“I know you can do it,” MiA said, hugging Koichi. “I have faith in you.” And he did - utmost faith, in fact.
He just hoped, quietly, that Koichi wouldn’t give them any outfits consisting of stuffed animals sewn together. And that went double if it was topped with a tiara.
* * *
Hayato was almost as nervous about this meeting as Koichi was.
He’d taken Subaru’s advice that he ask Koichi to coordinate their looks. “Just don’t let him do anything with a Pokemon theme,” Subaru had said. And he had no doubt that Koichi would do a great job - Subaru had shown him a gallery of Koichi’s red carpet looks.
It was, well, the whole idea that they were going to be on a red carpet. He had to make an impression, a huge one. This was the first time that the industry would be seeing Codomo Dragon as a whole after their debut on the Aoi Presents video.
And quite frankly, the whole concept of himself on a red carpet was flat-out mind-blowing.
He walked into the bar where Koichi said to meet him, and Koichi waved from a side table. “Come over here,” he said. “I’ve already gotten us a pitcher of Sapporo. We’re going to have all of you looking fabulous!”
“Thanks,” Hayato said, sitting opposite Koichi and pouring out a beer. “I’m really grateful for this, because I don’t know the first thing in the world about fashion. I mean, I’ve put looks together to go out, sure, and we put together the outfits that we were wearing in our video, but for something like a special occasion? I haven’t got a clue. The only red carpet I’ve ever been on before is the rug in my grandmother’s guest room.”
“You’ve come to the right place,” Koichi said. “I guess we can start with you telling me something about your friends.”
“Oh, yeah.” Hayato got out his phone. “Well, we’ve been making films together since we arrived at film school. Each guy brings something to the table, you know? I mean, we all do all aspects of the filmmaking process, but some of us have specialties.”
He opened to the pictures. “First of all, this is Yume. He’s kind of the quiet one among us. He’s really sweet, and he’s serious about being in film. Like, he didn’t want to enter the PSC contest at first because he didn’t know what it was going to do to our careers.”
Koichi made notes on his phone. “Sweet, and passionate about film. Got it.”
Hayato flipped to another picture. “This is meN-meN,” he said. “He can be a really funny guy. He’s always the one who made us laugh when we didn’t know what we were going to do with a film and we were looking at a dead end. He’s kind of laid back most of the time, but when we have a project, he can throw himself into it entirely.”
Koichi was starting to see a pattern emerging. “Go on,” he said.
“Okay, next is Chamu. He’s the idea guy - he comes up with the initial concepts for most of our videos. He comes across as polite and charming a lot of the time - but he can also dress wild. I mean, really wild. I’ve seen him go out clubbing wearing a white wig with geometric shapes drawn on his face with makeup. Oh, yeah, and he’s worn a mask over part of his face a couple of times. Honestly, I don’t know why. He’s not that bad-looking.” Hayato took a big drink of his beer.
“Oh, he ought to be fun to work with,” Koichi said. “Is that everyone?”
“No,” Hayato said. “There’s one more.” He flipped to another picture in the phone, and his voice softened when he said, “This is Kana. He’s the cutie pie of the group. He’s, well, really something. He seems sweet, but there’s a lot going on in that head of his. He’s a really good writer. He’s come up with our best screenplays. And he’s got a big heart. If you need someone to talk to, he’ll listen for hours.”
Koichi stopped taking notes. Okay, there was something there, all right. He didn’t miss the shift in the tone of voice, the fact that the way he described Kana was very differently than the way he described his other roommates.
“He sounds like a special guy,” Koichi said.
“He is,” Hayato said, gently. “Very, very special.”
“You guys are going to be fun to work with,” he said, casually. But his mind was churning. Just what was going on here, anyway? He knew it should be none of his business, but the way Hayato was talking about Kana, well . . .
And he should go back to focusing on the task at hand, right? Figuring out their outfits? Well, he had a start, at least. He knew what colors he was going to use, the basic concept of how they were going to look . . .
But his mind kept wandering back to the way Hayato talked about Kana. Was even Hayato aware of his own feelings?
* * *
As the evening wore on, they emptied the pitcher of beer and promptly ordered another. Hayato talked more about his friends, about the projects they worked on together, and about how excited he was to finally be on a red carpet for real.
“I’ve seen pictures,” he said. “I’ve seen how fabulous you people looked. And I wanted to look like that, too.”
“Well, it’s your lucky day, then,” Koichi said. “It’s why I’m here.”
“It’s important to me that my friends look good, too,” Hayato said, taking another drink. “This is the first time we’ll be announcing to the world, you know, ‘Here we are, and this is what we’re all about!’ I really want . . .” He ran a hand over his hair. “I want the industry to see my friends in a positive light. I’m the one who dragged us into this, so I need to be the one who helps us succeed.”
“They all went willingly, though,” Koichi said. “Except the one you said was reluctant at first, but even he came around, right?”
Hayato nodded. “It’s especially important to me that Kana succeed. I mean, his level of talent can’t be wasted, right? And besides . . . I just want him to be happy.”
As the conversation wore on, and the beer emptied, Koichi couldn’t help but notice that Hayato returned the subject to Kana again . . . and again . . . and again. And every time he talked about him, it was with a soft, tender tone.
It’s not my imagination, Koichi thought. He’s in love with this Kana. Very much in love with him.
When Hayato was going into a long monologue about life in their apartment, about how cute Kana could be while attempting to cook even though he was completely inept at it, Koichi suddenly slammed his hand onto the table, making Hayato jump.
“Okay,” he said. “Out with it. Are you and this Kana a couple?”
“No,” Hayato said.
“Well, then, why not?” Koichi said. “Because it’s obvious you’re nuts about him. Completely head over heels. Just confess to him already!”
“But . . .” Hayato said. “I’m afraid of messing up what we have. I mean, what we have as a group. If I confess to him, and he doesn’t like me the same way in return . . .”
“Let me tell you something.” Koichi shook a finger at him. “I’ve been part of a group called Counting Goats for years. We’re a design collective. We went into this business to finance the design business, joined Avalon Video and became The Original Suicide Boys.”
Hayato blinked. “I didn’t know that!” he said.
“And that means MiA has always been part of our group, too,” Koichi said. “He did the marketing. He wasn’t one of the designers, but he was still one of us. And you know what? I was in love with him and afraid to tell him from the moment we met. And I was scared to confess for the same reason you are. I didn’t want to mess up Counting Goats.”
Hayato swallowed hard. This was sounding all too familiar. “So . . . what happened?”
“What happened is that I damn near lost him. He fell in love with someone else. Once we got into the industry, and he was working with Director-san - with Uruha - he fell for him like a ton of bricks. I mean, HARD. And they had an affair. If Director-san wasn’t with Kai as his primary partner? Yeah, that would have been it. I’d never have had a chance.”
Koichi suddenly slammed the table again. “Don’t let that happen to you! You’re going to be out in the industry now. You’ll be meeting all kinds of people. Which means that your Kana will be meeting all kinds of people. He could find someone who confesses to him before you do. And yeah, I know that all the relationships in this business are open and polyamorous and all that - but if you’re not the person’s primary bond? You’re always second-best to him.”
Hayato was suddenly quiet and thoughtful. “I never considered that,” he said. “That we’ll be meeting all kinds of other people, I mean.”
“So if you love your Kana?” Koichi said. “Tell him. Confess. Make sure he knows it. You want him to be yours, right? The first person in his heart, always?”
Hayato took a deep breath. “Yes,” he said. “Yes, I’ll admit it now. I love him.”
“Then get him away from the others and tell him!” Koichi said. “Take him out somewhere. A bar, a restaurant. Make your feelings known!”
Hayato suddenly leaned across the table and hugged him. “Thank you, Koichi-san!” he said. “You’re right - I’ve been in denial about this way too long! I’m going to tell him tomorrow.”
“Mmmph!” Koichi said, struggling for breath.
“I’ll get in touch with you about the designs, too,” he said. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!” He suddenly rushed out of the bar, energized with purpose.
Koichi just sat there, stunned. Oh, fuck - what had he just done? If this didn’t work out, he might have killed off Codomo Dragon’s collective career before it began.
* * *
Hayato was able to act casual until he and Kana were actually in the restaurant.
It was nothing fancy, a little coffee shop type place where you could get a decent plate of rice and curry. Kana was a bit baffled at first that Hayato hadn’t invited the others to come out with them, but Hayato said, “It’s . . . it’s something I need to talk to you about, okay?”
Once they were in the booth, though, and had placed their food and drink orders, Hayato froze. Oh, crap. Maybe he should have asked Koichi for the details of how he’d confessed to MiA.
“Hayato?” Kana said. “What’s wrong? You look nervous.”
“Nervous?” Hayato said. “Nervous? Oh, that’s okay, I’m just fine, really.” He twisted a straw wrapper around and around his finger.
“It’s not something bad that you need to tell me, is it?” Kana said. “I mean, not bad news?”
“No!” Hayato said. “I mean, not bad news at all!”
“Is it that you’re nervous about the video?”
“It’s . . . not that, it’s . . .”
And then, Hayato proceeded to knock into his glass of Coke, which tipped and spilled right in Kana’s direction. “Shit!” he said. “Shit, oh, shit!” He frantically grabbed at every napkin he could reach and just about threw himself on the table, frantically mopping. He’d use his own body to soak up the stuff if he could.
“Hayato!” Kana grabbed his own napkin and started wiping at the mess. “There is something wrong, isn’t there? I mean, if you did this . . .”
“No! Nothing wrong! It’s just that I’m in love with you!”
Oh, fuck. Well, THAT wasn’t exactly the way he’d planned that going. In his imaginings of the moment, he’s been holding Kana’s hand in both of his, gazing into his eyes, and prefacing the big news with a long speech about how wonderful he was, how much he’d added to Hayato’s life.
Well, THAT was right out the fucking window. He’d just committed the least romantic love confession in history. That wasn’t something you told your friends on your 30th anniversary. “Oh, yes, I nearly drenched him with soda in a curry place, then blurted out my love.”
Kana suddenly stopped mopping and looked at Hayato with wide eyes. “Did . . . did you just say what I thought you did?”
“Um, what did you think I said?”
“That you’re in love with me.”
There was no running away from it now. “Yes. That’s what I said.”
Kana looked shell-shocked - as if someone had told him all of Tokyo was going to blow up in five minutes. Hayato’s heart froze. Shit, he thought, now I’ve blown it.
But then, the other man’s face started to light up, like the sun coming out from behind a cloud. And before Hayato knew it, Kana had a broad smile that lit up his entire face, from his eyes to the tips of his ears.
“Oh, my God,” he said. “Oh, my God, I never thought I’d hear that.”
Now it was Hayato’s turn to look shell-shocked. “Really?”
“Really. Hayato, I’ve felt that way about you since . . . well, since the end of my freshman year. When we went out together in the middle of the night because I couldn’t sleep, so we went for a walk and ended up on top of that hill on campus . . .”
“And you fell asleep there,” Hayato said.
“Yes. You were so good to me that, well . . . I fell in love with you then. And I didn’t say anything, because I didn’t want to jeopardize our group . . .”
“Well, damn. That's the same reason I didn’t say anything,” Hayato said.
“But I cherished every moment we were alone together. Including the sex.” Kana lowered his voice. “The sex was amazing.”
“We’ve always been good together, haven’t we?” Hayato said.
“Wow.” Kana sat back down in his seat, slowly. “Just wow. I can’t believe this . . .” He reached over and took Hayato’s hand. “We should have told each other sooner.”
“Maybe,” Hayato said. “But the important thing is we did it now, isn’t it?” He leaned over for a kiss . . .
Just as the waitress arrived with their plates of curry. Both men jumped back into their seats, looking embarrassed.
“Oh,” she said, “it looks like there’s been a spill here. Let me get you another drink.” She quickly mopped the table, then put their plates in front of them and rushed off.
Hayato and Kana looked at each other and laughed. It wasn’t the most romantic love confession in the world, to be sure. But it didn’t matter. It worked out just fine.
* * *
It was probably natural that after they left the coffee shop, they’d head for a love hotel. Neither of them said it out loud - they just started to pass one, looked at each other, and smiled. (Hayato was kind of glad it was a different one than the love hotel he’d gone to with Mahiro).
They chose quickly, selecting one of the few rooms that actually looked like an elegant bedroom, not a garish playground. They didn’t think it was appropriate for their first time as a couple to be in a room that looked like the cockpit of a spaceship.
Hayato got the key, and they headed upstairs, kissing in the elevator the whole way. He unlocked the door to the room, and they nearly stumbled over each other in their haste to go in.
“I still can’t believe it,” Kana said as the door shut behind them. “I can’t believe we’re together.”
“We are,” Hayato said. “And that’s for keeps. We’re going to belong to each other from now on.”
They kissed, gently and softly, then getting more fierce and passionate, holding each other tighter, their tongues rubbing against one another. Kana gripped onto Hayato’s back, as if they wanted to hold onto each other forever and never let one another go.
The new couple eased apart, slowly, and Hayato said, “I think we’d both be more comfortable on the bed and naked.”
“I like that idea,” Kana said.
They shed their clothes quickly, and Hayato grabbed Kana in his arms, tumbling to the bed with him, Kana laughing.
“What are we going to do now?” Kana said. “I mean . . .” He reached up and stroked Hayato's hair. “I feel like this is . . . different, somehow.”
“It doesn't need to be different,” Hayato said. “We're still us, aren't we?” He bent over and kissed Kana again, opening his lips slowly and letting his tongue slip forward. Kana arched up toward him, responding right away, wrapping his arms tightly around Hayato. The two of them started to move together, rolling over so Hayato was on top of Kana.
Kana let his hand slip down his lover's back, caressing the skin gently. Hayato pulled back from him a bit, letting his fingers slide down the other man's neck, down to his shoulders.
“You're ridiculously gorgeous sometimes, you know that?” he said. He bent over and kissed Kana's shoulder, his collarbone, his nipple - the latter bringing a gasp from the other man. “Seriously, you're really hot.”
“So are you,” Kana said. “I've always thought so.” He reached up and grasped Hayato's hand, guiding it toward his body, to his torso. Hayato took the hint, caressing Kana's chest, moving his fingers back and forth over a nipple, watching the other man's face.
“We can make all the noise we want now, you know,” Hayato said. “We don't have to worry about someone walking in on us.”
“I'm not used to that,” Kana said.
“In fact . . .” Hayato leaned over so his forehead was touching his lover's. “There's something I've wanted to do, but I haven't been able to - because you'd probably be too loud.”
Kana looked interested. “What is it?”
“You'll see.” Hayato leaned over and kissed his lips again, Kana arching up against him, their bodies starting to shift so they were rubbing against each other, their cocks brushing up against one another.
“Oh, yes . . .” Kana murmured as they started to speed up, grinding against each other, both of them starting to moan, Kana raising a leg to hook over Hayato's hip, their lips and tongues caressing one another as they moved faster.
Hayato suddenly stopped, easing away from Kana - they couldn't come too close to coming. Not yet. “Turn over,” he said. “Get on all fours.”
Kana obeyed, looking back over his shoulder. “Like this?” he said.
“Yeah,” Hayato said. “Only look straight forward. At . . .” He suddenly realized there was a mirror opposite them. “At the mirror.”
As he pulled away from Kana, it suddenly occurred to him that this place might not have what he needed. Oh, crap, he thought, what if they don't? The place I was at with Mahiro had everything, but what if this one's not as well-equipped? What if it's . . B.Y.O sex equipment?
He quickly yanked open the cabinet next to the bed - and breathed a sigh of relief. Yes, just what he needed was there. He grabbed a little bottle of lube, a condom and something else, and returned to the bed.
Kana watched in the mirror as Hayato knelt beneath him, opening a bottle . . . then he felt something being poured over the cleft of his ass. The cheeks were parted, something else was spread over it . . .
He watched Hayato bend over him, burying his face in Kana's ass, and Kana felt something hot probing at his entrance. “Oh!” he cried as realization hit him, as his mind put the visual together with what he was feeling. He'd heard about this, about being tongue-fucked, but nobody had ever done it to him before.
How did Hayato know he'd been curious about this?
Hayato's response was to push his tongue into his lover, starting to move it around, pulling it out, pushing it back in, wriggling around. Kana looked at the mirror, looked at his new lover bent over him, felt the soft heat moving through his body, wriggling and caressing and seeming to touch him everywhere.
It felt so goddamn good, like Hayato was caressing every bit of him from within. And there was the naughty factor of the mirror, of watching Hayato bent over him, doing something as naughty as is it was intimate.
Kana found himself moaning louder than he ever had - even when they had sex in front of the cameras.
His hips pushed backward, moving against the very welcome invasion, and Hayato began to thrust his tongue in and out of him, pushing in deep, pulling back, then doing it again, pulling all the way out to run along the rim, teasing it, flicking in and out.
“Oh, my God!” Kana cried out, grabbing the covers and bunching them in his fists, pumping his hips harder, not even looking at the mirror anymore - he didn't need to, the sensations alone were enough, the feeling of something soft yet strong moving inside him, invading him in the nicest possible way.
And then, Hayato slowed, then pulled out, kissing one side of Kana's ass, then the other before lifting the plastic. Kana looked over his shoulder, his eyes quizzical.
“Sorry, babe,” Hayato said, “but if I went further . . .”
Kana knew what he meant. If he'd gone further, Kana might have come. “I . . . you're going to fuck me now, aren't you?”
“Are you kidding?” Hayato reached for a condom. “We both need that more than air right now.”
“So I can watch?” Kana said.
“Of course,” said Hayato. “I want to watch, too.”
He knelt behind Kana again, and this time, Kana felt fingers probing him gently, opening him up, making him moan. It was amazing how watching them in the mirror was different than watching the video they'd made.
Maybe, he thought, it's because I'm seeing it and feeling it at the same time.
It didn't take long at all to get him ready - the tongue play had loosened him up nicely. When Hayato pulled his fingers out and rolled on the condom, Kana leaned over further, parting his legs wider, murmuring, “Do it, I want to feel it . . .”
His eyes were glued to the mirror, watching Hayato kneel behind him, positioning himself, starting to push in, gently . . .
And then, Hayato paused. “This is really it,” he said. “Our first time as . . .”
“As us,” Kana said. “As an US.” They were a couple now, one heart, one soul. This wasn't fucking, or fooling around - this was making love.
It gave the whole thing even more of an extra dimension than the mirror.
The two of them looked at their reflection, at the sight of Hayato behind Kana, taking him with care and gentleness, wanting him to feel nothing but pleasure. There was a slight pause, as they both breathed heavily . . .
Hayato started a slow thrust, and Kana watched his own expression in the mirror, the way his face seemed to grow more and more blissful by the moment . . . and Hayato behind him, inside him, looking gorgeous, his chest starting to glisten with passion as he sped up, pushing into Kana harder and faster.
“Yes,” Kana moaned. “Don't ever stop . . .” He began to move back against his lover, thinking of the contrast to the sensations of before, the hardness of his cock versus the softness of his tongue, but it was all so very good, anything Hayato did to him was so utterly delicious.
The two of them were moaning loudly now, the air filled with the sound of their heavy breathing and flesh hitting against flesh, their eyes filled with the reflection in front of them, the sight of two young men, flushed and sweaty, thrusting against one another fast and hard, lost in a haze of ecstasy, in the feeling of being truly one.
Hayato reached around Kana's body, wrapping his fingers around his erection, and Kana felt the heat inside him building, cresting, getting stronger and more intense as that hand stroked him, finding sensitive spots and caressing them, making Kana feel like he was going to burst from the inside out.
When Hayato suddenly hit the sweetest spot inside him - the one that seemed to make fireworks burst behind his eyelids - Kana cried out loudly, and his entire body shook with ecstasy, come pouring out of him all over Hayato's hand.
Hayato thrust into him, hard, over and over, and then, his own climax broke over him, leaning over Kana as he cried out louder than he ever had with an orgasm, feeling like he was draining completely . . . and he loved it.
They collapsed to the bed together, kissing, touching every part of each other they could, then just held one another tightly, still trying to get their breathing to return to normal.
“I love you,” Kana said. “I always have.”
“I love you, too,” Hayato said.
Kana snuggled against him. “We have to tell the others when we get home, you know,” he said. “They’re going to wonder.”
“Oh, we’ll tell them,” Hayato said. “They need to know.” He kissed Kana. “And I think they’ll be happy.”
“We’re not going to tell them about the spilled soda - right?” said Kana.
“No,” Hayato said. “That part will be just for us.”
They were facing the same kind of relationship as other industry couples, all right - one that required a lack of jealousy and plenty of understanding and communication. But for both of them, it was worth it. They both had what they’d wanted for a long, long time.
* * *
Koichi was working furiously at his computer. These designs were going to be fantastic. They were going to mean modifying the five red vinyl suits he’d found at their usual costume warehouse - Hayato had given him everyone’s sizes. Well, he’d have to modify them anyway, to tailor them closer to the bodies of the guys who were going to be wearing them.
MiA came up behind him, looking at the screen. “Wow,” he said. “This is impressive.”
“Isn’t it?” said Koichi. “I think I captured their personalities - at least the way he described them.”
“What’s with the spiky facemask, though?” MiA said.
“Oh, that’s for one guy who Hayato said is always . . .” Koichi’s phone went off with a text. He picked it up, looked at it - and suddenly leaped from his chair, letting out a “Woo HOO!” and punching the air.
MiA blinked. “Koichi?”
“He confessed!” he said. “And he said he’s been in love with him all along, too!”
“Who confessed?” he said.
“Hayato!” Koichi said. “He was in love with one of the guys in his group. He had never told him. So I . . .”
“Gave him a talking-to?”
“I just gave him a suggestion that he tell the guy. That’s all.”
“Must have been a strong suggestion,” said MiA.
Koichi danced around the room, holding the phone. This was a huge relief. He hadn’t wrecked the Codomo Dragon group at all! In fact, they’d probably be stronger now. And Hayato was going to be truly happy with his Kana!
Plus, he'd had a hand in the matchmaking. He couldn't help but be proud of that.
This called for them getting extra-special designs. He was going to work on those like nothing before.
Maybe he’d even include a tiara in them.
Chapter: Installment 63 overall in The Camera Eye series, and the 12th story in Season 3. Links to previous installments can be found here
Author: Boots
Rating: NC-17
Genre: Porn industry AU, drama, smut, romance
Warnings: Male/male sex, rimming
Pairing: Hayato x Kana (Codomo Dragon) (main), MiA x Koichi (Mejibray)
Disclaimer: Codomo Dragon belongs to B.P. Records, Mejibray belongs to White Side Group, I own the story only
Summary: Koichi meets with Hayato about a professional matter - but things take a turn for the personal when he realizes the other man needs encouragement regarding his love life.
Notes: For the details of Koichi's confession to MiA, see the previous Camera Eye fic, Long Time Coming.
MiA knew something had to be up by the way Koichi was pacing the floor. This was too much nervous energy - even for his lover. Okay, Koichi wasn’t exactly a calm type - especially when it came to fashion - and that went double if he thought somebody was going to outdistance him with an outfit.
This, however, was clearly beyond that. He looked like he was going to climb the walls. Literally. He was walking at a rapid pace from one side of the room to the other, and MiA was fully expecting him to defy gravity and walk straight up the wall.
Finally, MiA threw down his phone and stood up off the couch. “Koichi,” he said, “is there something that you need to tell me?”
Koichi suddenly whirled toward him, looking like a deer in the headlights. “Why?” he said. “Why do you ask?”
“Because you’re wearing a groove in the floor, that’s why!”
Koichi started to pace again. After about two passes, he suddenly stopped, whirled around toward MiA again and said, “Hayato has asked me to do his group’s looks for the Viewer’s Choice Awards!”
MiA blinked. “But . . . that’s good, isn’t it?”
“I’ve never designed a whole look for a whole group of people before!” Koichi said. “Especially people I don’t know all that well. I mean, I met him once at Starbucks when you were playing Pokemon with him and that’s about it.”
“Koichi, you’re great at that kind of thing,” MiA said. “You’ve done every one of my awards outfits.” He wasn’t going to say anything about the tiara. “You’ll be fine. This is what you want to devote your life to anyway, right?”
“I devoted my life to designing accessories,” Koichi said. “Not entire looks!” He flung himself down on the couch. “It’s easy to come up with a whole look for you because I know you better than anybody. I could come up with a whole look for Subaru and Tomoya. But, well . . . I have to catch the essence of what the person’s about to come up with a whole look.”
“Well, then, here's what you do,” MiA said. “You meet up with Hayato and talk to him. Find out what he’s looking for, what kinds of personalities his friends have. And then, you meet up with the whole group. Once you’ve gotten to know them a little, you can come up with designs.” He leaned over and put his hand on Koichi’s. “I know you’re going to be brilliant at this. Because you always are.”
“Thanks,” Koichi said. “Okay, I’ll do it. I’ll meet with this guy, and get his ideas, and they’re going to look awesome!” He punched his fist in the air.
“I know you can do it,” MiA said, hugging Koichi. “I have faith in you.” And he did - utmost faith, in fact.
He just hoped, quietly, that Koichi wouldn’t give them any outfits consisting of stuffed animals sewn together. And that went double if it was topped with a tiara.
* * *
Hayato was almost as nervous about this meeting as Koichi was.
He’d taken Subaru’s advice that he ask Koichi to coordinate their looks. “Just don’t let him do anything with a Pokemon theme,” Subaru had said. And he had no doubt that Koichi would do a great job - Subaru had shown him a gallery of Koichi’s red carpet looks.
It was, well, the whole idea that they were going to be on a red carpet. He had to make an impression, a huge one. This was the first time that the industry would be seeing Codomo Dragon as a whole after their debut on the Aoi Presents video.
And quite frankly, the whole concept of himself on a red carpet was flat-out mind-blowing.
He walked into the bar where Koichi said to meet him, and Koichi waved from a side table. “Come over here,” he said. “I’ve already gotten us a pitcher of Sapporo. We’re going to have all of you looking fabulous!”
“Thanks,” Hayato said, sitting opposite Koichi and pouring out a beer. “I’m really grateful for this, because I don’t know the first thing in the world about fashion. I mean, I’ve put looks together to go out, sure, and we put together the outfits that we were wearing in our video, but for something like a special occasion? I haven’t got a clue. The only red carpet I’ve ever been on before is the rug in my grandmother’s guest room.”
“You’ve come to the right place,” Koichi said. “I guess we can start with you telling me something about your friends.”
“Oh, yeah.” Hayato got out his phone. “Well, we’ve been making films together since we arrived at film school. Each guy brings something to the table, you know? I mean, we all do all aspects of the filmmaking process, but some of us have specialties.”
He opened to the pictures. “First of all, this is Yume. He’s kind of the quiet one among us. He’s really sweet, and he’s serious about being in film. Like, he didn’t want to enter the PSC contest at first because he didn’t know what it was going to do to our careers.”
Koichi made notes on his phone. “Sweet, and passionate about film. Got it.”
Hayato flipped to another picture. “This is meN-meN,” he said. “He can be a really funny guy. He’s always the one who made us laugh when we didn’t know what we were going to do with a film and we were looking at a dead end. He’s kind of laid back most of the time, but when we have a project, he can throw himself into it entirely.”
Koichi was starting to see a pattern emerging. “Go on,” he said.
“Okay, next is Chamu. He’s the idea guy - he comes up with the initial concepts for most of our videos. He comes across as polite and charming a lot of the time - but he can also dress wild. I mean, really wild. I’ve seen him go out clubbing wearing a white wig with geometric shapes drawn on his face with makeup. Oh, yeah, and he’s worn a mask over part of his face a couple of times. Honestly, I don’t know why. He’s not that bad-looking.” Hayato took a big drink of his beer.
“Oh, he ought to be fun to work with,” Koichi said. “Is that everyone?”
“No,” Hayato said. “There’s one more.” He flipped to another picture in the phone, and his voice softened when he said, “This is Kana. He’s the cutie pie of the group. He’s, well, really something. He seems sweet, but there’s a lot going on in that head of his. He’s a really good writer. He’s come up with our best screenplays. And he’s got a big heart. If you need someone to talk to, he’ll listen for hours.”
Koichi stopped taking notes. Okay, there was something there, all right. He didn’t miss the shift in the tone of voice, the fact that the way he described Kana was very differently than the way he described his other roommates.
“He sounds like a special guy,” Koichi said.
“He is,” Hayato said, gently. “Very, very special.”
“You guys are going to be fun to work with,” he said, casually. But his mind was churning. Just what was going on here, anyway? He knew it should be none of his business, but the way Hayato was talking about Kana, well . . .
And he should go back to focusing on the task at hand, right? Figuring out their outfits? Well, he had a start, at least. He knew what colors he was going to use, the basic concept of how they were going to look . . .
But his mind kept wandering back to the way Hayato talked about Kana. Was even Hayato aware of his own feelings?
* * *
As the evening wore on, they emptied the pitcher of beer and promptly ordered another. Hayato talked more about his friends, about the projects they worked on together, and about how excited he was to finally be on a red carpet for real.
“I’ve seen pictures,” he said. “I’ve seen how fabulous you people looked. And I wanted to look like that, too.”
“Well, it’s your lucky day, then,” Koichi said. “It’s why I’m here.”
“It’s important to me that my friends look good, too,” Hayato said, taking another drink. “This is the first time we’ll be announcing to the world, you know, ‘Here we are, and this is what we’re all about!’ I really want . . .” He ran a hand over his hair. “I want the industry to see my friends in a positive light. I’m the one who dragged us into this, so I need to be the one who helps us succeed.”
“They all went willingly, though,” Koichi said. “Except the one you said was reluctant at first, but even he came around, right?”
Hayato nodded. “It’s especially important to me that Kana succeed. I mean, his level of talent can’t be wasted, right? And besides . . . I just want him to be happy.”
As the conversation wore on, and the beer emptied, Koichi couldn’t help but notice that Hayato returned the subject to Kana again . . . and again . . . and again. And every time he talked about him, it was with a soft, tender tone.
It’s not my imagination, Koichi thought. He’s in love with this Kana. Very much in love with him.
When Hayato was going into a long monologue about life in their apartment, about how cute Kana could be while attempting to cook even though he was completely inept at it, Koichi suddenly slammed his hand onto the table, making Hayato jump.
“Okay,” he said. “Out with it. Are you and this Kana a couple?”
“No,” Hayato said.
“Well, then, why not?” Koichi said. “Because it’s obvious you’re nuts about him. Completely head over heels. Just confess to him already!”
“But . . .” Hayato said. “I’m afraid of messing up what we have. I mean, what we have as a group. If I confess to him, and he doesn’t like me the same way in return . . .”
“Let me tell you something.” Koichi shook a finger at him. “I’ve been part of a group called Counting Goats for years. We’re a design collective. We went into this business to finance the design business, joined Avalon Video and became The Original Suicide Boys.”
Hayato blinked. “I didn’t know that!” he said.
“And that means MiA has always been part of our group, too,” Koichi said. “He did the marketing. He wasn’t one of the designers, but he was still one of us. And you know what? I was in love with him and afraid to tell him from the moment we met. And I was scared to confess for the same reason you are. I didn’t want to mess up Counting Goats.”
Hayato swallowed hard. This was sounding all too familiar. “So . . . what happened?”
“What happened is that I damn near lost him. He fell in love with someone else. Once we got into the industry, and he was working with Director-san - with Uruha - he fell for him like a ton of bricks. I mean, HARD. And they had an affair. If Director-san wasn’t with Kai as his primary partner? Yeah, that would have been it. I’d never have had a chance.”
Koichi suddenly slammed the table again. “Don’t let that happen to you! You’re going to be out in the industry now. You’ll be meeting all kinds of people. Which means that your Kana will be meeting all kinds of people. He could find someone who confesses to him before you do. And yeah, I know that all the relationships in this business are open and polyamorous and all that - but if you’re not the person’s primary bond? You’re always second-best to him.”
Hayato was suddenly quiet and thoughtful. “I never considered that,” he said. “That we’ll be meeting all kinds of other people, I mean.”
“So if you love your Kana?” Koichi said. “Tell him. Confess. Make sure he knows it. You want him to be yours, right? The first person in his heart, always?”
Hayato took a deep breath. “Yes,” he said. “Yes, I’ll admit it now. I love him.”
“Then get him away from the others and tell him!” Koichi said. “Take him out somewhere. A bar, a restaurant. Make your feelings known!”
Hayato suddenly leaned across the table and hugged him. “Thank you, Koichi-san!” he said. “You’re right - I’ve been in denial about this way too long! I’m going to tell him tomorrow.”
“Mmmph!” Koichi said, struggling for breath.
“I’ll get in touch with you about the designs, too,” he said. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!” He suddenly rushed out of the bar, energized with purpose.
Koichi just sat there, stunned. Oh, fuck - what had he just done? If this didn’t work out, he might have killed off Codomo Dragon’s collective career before it began.
* * *
Hayato was able to act casual until he and Kana were actually in the restaurant.
It was nothing fancy, a little coffee shop type place where you could get a decent plate of rice and curry. Kana was a bit baffled at first that Hayato hadn’t invited the others to come out with them, but Hayato said, “It’s . . . it’s something I need to talk to you about, okay?”
Once they were in the booth, though, and had placed their food and drink orders, Hayato froze. Oh, crap. Maybe he should have asked Koichi for the details of how he’d confessed to MiA.
“Hayato?” Kana said. “What’s wrong? You look nervous.”
“Nervous?” Hayato said. “Nervous? Oh, that’s okay, I’m just fine, really.” He twisted a straw wrapper around and around his finger.
“It’s not something bad that you need to tell me, is it?” Kana said. “I mean, not bad news?”
“No!” Hayato said. “I mean, not bad news at all!”
“Is it that you’re nervous about the video?”
“It’s . . . not that, it’s . . .”
And then, Hayato proceeded to knock into his glass of Coke, which tipped and spilled right in Kana’s direction. “Shit!” he said. “Shit, oh, shit!” He frantically grabbed at every napkin he could reach and just about threw himself on the table, frantically mopping. He’d use his own body to soak up the stuff if he could.
“Hayato!” Kana grabbed his own napkin and started wiping at the mess. “There is something wrong, isn’t there? I mean, if you did this . . .”
“No! Nothing wrong! It’s just that I’m in love with you!”
Oh, fuck. Well, THAT wasn’t exactly the way he’d planned that going. In his imaginings of the moment, he’s been holding Kana’s hand in both of his, gazing into his eyes, and prefacing the big news with a long speech about how wonderful he was, how much he’d added to Hayato’s life.
Well, THAT was right out the fucking window. He’d just committed the least romantic love confession in history. That wasn’t something you told your friends on your 30th anniversary. “Oh, yes, I nearly drenched him with soda in a curry place, then blurted out my love.”
Kana suddenly stopped mopping and looked at Hayato with wide eyes. “Did . . . did you just say what I thought you did?”
“Um, what did you think I said?”
“That you’re in love with me.”
There was no running away from it now. “Yes. That’s what I said.”
Kana looked shell-shocked - as if someone had told him all of Tokyo was going to blow up in five minutes. Hayato’s heart froze. Shit, he thought, now I’ve blown it.
But then, the other man’s face started to light up, like the sun coming out from behind a cloud. And before Hayato knew it, Kana had a broad smile that lit up his entire face, from his eyes to the tips of his ears.
“Oh, my God,” he said. “Oh, my God, I never thought I’d hear that.”
Now it was Hayato’s turn to look shell-shocked. “Really?”
“Really. Hayato, I’ve felt that way about you since . . . well, since the end of my freshman year. When we went out together in the middle of the night because I couldn’t sleep, so we went for a walk and ended up on top of that hill on campus . . .”
“And you fell asleep there,” Hayato said.
“Yes. You were so good to me that, well . . . I fell in love with you then. And I didn’t say anything, because I didn’t want to jeopardize our group . . .”
“Well, damn. That's the same reason I didn’t say anything,” Hayato said.
“But I cherished every moment we were alone together. Including the sex.” Kana lowered his voice. “The sex was amazing.”
“We’ve always been good together, haven’t we?” Hayato said.
“Wow.” Kana sat back down in his seat, slowly. “Just wow. I can’t believe this . . .” He reached over and took Hayato’s hand. “We should have told each other sooner.”
“Maybe,” Hayato said. “But the important thing is we did it now, isn’t it?” He leaned over for a kiss . . .
Just as the waitress arrived with their plates of curry. Both men jumped back into their seats, looking embarrassed.
“Oh,” she said, “it looks like there’s been a spill here. Let me get you another drink.” She quickly mopped the table, then put their plates in front of them and rushed off.
Hayato and Kana looked at each other and laughed. It wasn’t the most romantic love confession in the world, to be sure. But it didn’t matter. It worked out just fine.
* * *
It was probably natural that after they left the coffee shop, they’d head for a love hotel. Neither of them said it out loud - they just started to pass one, looked at each other, and smiled. (Hayato was kind of glad it was a different one than the love hotel he’d gone to with Mahiro).
They chose quickly, selecting one of the few rooms that actually looked like an elegant bedroom, not a garish playground. They didn’t think it was appropriate for their first time as a couple to be in a room that looked like the cockpit of a spaceship.
Hayato got the key, and they headed upstairs, kissing in the elevator the whole way. He unlocked the door to the room, and they nearly stumbled over each other in their haste to go in.
“I still can’t believe it,” Kana said as the door shut behind them. “I can’t believe we’re together.”
“We are,” Hayato said. “And that’s for keeps. We’re going to belong to each other from now on.”
They kissed, gently and softly, then getting more fierce and passionate, holding each other tighter, their tongues rubbing against one another. Kana gripped onto Hayato’s back, as if they wanted to hold onto each other forever and never let one another go.
The new couple eased apart, slowly, and Hayato said, “I think we’d both be more comfortable on the bed and naked.”
“I like that idea,” Kana said.
They shed their clothes quickly, and Hayato grabbed Kana in his arms, tumbling to the bed with him, Kana laughing.
“What are we going to do now?” Kana said. “I mean . . .” He reached up and stroked Hayato's hair. “I feel like this is . . . different, somehow.”
“It doesn't need to be different,” Hayato said. “We're still us, aren't we?” He bent over and kissed Kana again, opening his lips slowly and letting his tongue slip forward. Kana arched up toward him, responding right away, wrapping his arms tightly around Hayato. The two of them started to move together, rolling over so Hayato was on top of Kana.
Kana let his hand slip down his lover's back, caressing the skin gently. Hayato pulled back from him a bit, letting his fingers slide down the other man's neck, down to his shoulders.
“You're ridiculously gorgeous sometimes, you know that?” he said. He bent over and kissed Kana's shoulder, his collarbone, his nipple - the latter bringing a gasp from the other man. “Seriously, you're really hot.”
“So are you,” Kana said. “I've always thought so.” He reached up and grasped Hayato's hand, guiding it toward his body, to his torso. Hayato took the hint, caressing Kana's chest, moving his fingers back and forth over a nipple, watching the other man's face.
“We can make all the noise we want now, you know,” Hayato said. “We don't have to worry about someone walking in on us.”
“I'm not used to that,” Kana said.
“In fact . . .” Hayato leaned over so his forehead was touching his lover's. “There's something I've wanted to do, but I haven't been able to - because you'd probably be too loud.”
Kana looked interested. “What is it?”
“You'll see.” Hayato leaned over and kissed his lips again, Kana arching up against him, their bodies starting to shift so they were rubbing against each other, their cocks brushing up against one another.
“Oh, yes . . .” Kana murmured as they started to speed up, grinding against each other, both of them starting to moan, Kana raising a leg to hook over Hayato's hip, their lips and tongues caressing one another as they moved faster.
Hayato suddenly stopped, easing away from Kana - they couldn't come too close to coming. Not yet. “Turn over,” he said. “Get on all fours.”
Kana obeyed, looking back over his shoulder. “Like this?” he said.
“Yeah,” Hayato said. “Only look straight forward. At . . .” He suddenly realized there was a mirror opposite them. “At the mirror.”
As he pulled away from Kana, it suddenly occurred to him that this place might not have what he needed. Oh, crap, he thought, what if they don't? The place I was at with Mahiro had everything, but what if this one's not as well-equipped? What if it's . . B.Y.O sex equipment?
He quickly yanked open the cabinet next to the bed - and breathed a sigh of relief. Yes, just what he needed was there. He grabbed a little bottle of lube, a condom and something else, and returned to the bed.
Kana watched in the mirror as Hayato knelt beneath him, opening a bottle . . . then he felt something being poured over the cleft of his ass. The cheeks were parted, something else was spread over it . . .
He watched Hayato bend over him, burying his face in Kana's ass, and Kana felt something hot probing at his entrance. “Oh!” he cried as realization hit him, as his mind put the visual together with what he was feeling. He'd heard about this, about being tongue-fucked, but nobody had ever done it to him before.
How did Hayato know he'd been curious about this?
Hayato's response was to push his tongue into his lover, starting to move it around, pulling it out, pushing it back in, wriggling around. Kana looked at the mirror, looked at his new lover bent over him, felt the soft heat moving through his body, wriggling and caressing and seeming to touch him everywhere.
It felt so goddamn good, like Hayato was caressing every bit of him from within. And there was the naughty factor of the mirror, of watching Hayato bent over him, doing something as naughty as is it was intimate.
Kana found himself moaning louder than he ever had - even when they had sex in front of the cameras.
His hips pushed backward, moving against the very welcome invasion, and Hayato began to thrust his tongue in and out of him, pushing in deep, pulling back, then doing it again, pulling all the way out to run along the rim, teasing it, flicking in and out.
“Oh, my God!” Kana cried out, grabbing the covers and bunching them in his fists, pumping his hips harder, not even looking at the mirror anymore - he didn't need to, the sensations alone were enough, the feeling of something soft yet strong moving inside him, invading him in the nicest possible way.
And then, Hayato slowed, then pulled out, kissing one side of Kana's ass, then the other before lifting the plastic. Kana looked over his shoulder, his eyes quizzical.
“Sorry, babe,” Hayato said, “but if I went further . . .”
Kana knew what he meant. If he'd gone further, Kana might have come. “I . . . you're going to fuck me now, aren't you?”
“Are you kidding?” Hayato reached for a condom. “We both need that more than air right now.”
“So I can watch?” Kana said.
“Of course,” said Hayato. “I want to watch, too.”
He knelt behind Kana again, and this time, Kana felt fingers probing him gently, opening him up, making him moan. It was amazing how watching them in the mirror was different than watching the video they'd made.
Maybe, he thought, it's because I'm seeing it and feeling it at the same time.
It didn't take long at all to get him ready - the tongue play had loosened him up nicely. When Hayato pulled his fingers out and rolled on the condom, Kana leaned over further, parting his legs wider, murmuring, “Do it, I want to feel it . . .”
His eyes were glued to the mirror, watching Hayato kneel behind him, positioning himself, starting to push in, gently . . .
And then, Hayato paused. “This is really it,” he said. “Our first time as . . .”
“As us,” Kana said. “As an US.” They were a couple now, one heart, one soul. This wasn't fucking, or fooling around - this was making love.
It gave the whole thing even more of an extra dimension than the mirror.
The two of them looked at their reflection, at the sight of Hayato behind Kana, taking him with care and gentleness, wanting him to feel nothing but pleasure. There was a slight pause, as they both breathed heavily . . .
Hayato started a slow thrust, and Kana watched his own expression in the mirror, the way his face seemed to grow more and more blissful by the moment . . . and Hayato behind him, inside him, looking gorgeous, his chest starting to glisten with passion as he sped up, pushing into Kana harder and faster.
“Yes,” Kana moaned. “Don't ever stop . . .” He began to move back against his lover, thinking of the contrast to the sensations of before, the hardness of his cock versus the softness of his tongue, but it was all so very good, anything Hayato did to him was so utterly delicious.
The two of them were moaning loudly now, the air filled with the sound of their heavy breathing and flesh hitting against flesh, their eyes filled with the reflection in front of them, the sight of two young men, flushed and sweaty, thrusting against one another fast and hard, lost in a haze of ecstasy, in the feeling of being truly one.
Hayato reached around Kana's body, wrapping his fingers around his erection, and Kana felt the heat inside him building, cresting, getting stronger and more intense as that hand stroked him, finding sensitive spots and caressing them, making Kana feel like he was going to burst from the inside out.
When Hayato suddenly hit the sweetest spot inside him - the one that seemed to make fireworks burst behind his eyelids - Kana cried out loudly, and his entire body shook with ecstasy, come pouring out of him all over Hayato's hand.
Hayato thrust into him, hard, over and over, and then, his own climax broke over him, leaning over Kana as he cried out louder than he ever had with an orgasm, feeling like he was draining completely . . . and he loved it.
They collapsed to the bed together, kissing, touching every part of each other they could, then just held one another tightly, still trying to get their breathing to return to normal.
“I love you,” Kana said. “I always have.”
“I love you, too,” Hayato said.
Kana snuggled against him. “We have to tell the others when we get home, you know,” he said. “They’re going to wonder.”
“Oh, we’ll tell them,” Hayato said. “They need to know.” He kissed Kana. “And I think they’ll be happy.”
“We’re not going to tell them about the spilled soda - right?” said Kana.
“No,” Hayato said. “That part will be just for us.”
They were facing the same kind of relationship as other industry couples, all right - one that required a lack of jealousy and plenty of understanding and communication. But for both of them, it was worth it. They both had what they’d wanted for a long, long time.
* * *
Koichi was working furiously at his computer. These designs were going to be fantastic. They were going to mean modifying the five red vinyl suits he’d found at their usual costume warehouse - Hayato had given him everyone’s sizes. Well, he’d have to modify them anyway, to tailor them closer to the bodies of the guys who were going to be wearing them.
MiA came up behind him, looking at the screen. “Wow,” he said. “This is impressive.”
“Isn’t it?” said Koichi. “I think I captured their personalities - at least the way he described them.”
“What’s with the spiky facemask, though?” MiA said.
“Oh, that’s for one guy who Hayato said is always . . .” Koichi’s phone went off with a text. He picked it up, looked at it - and suddenly leaped from his chair, letting out a “Woo HOO!” and punching the air.
MiA blinked. “Koichi?”
“He confessed!” he said. “And he said he’s been in love with him all along, too!”
“Who confessed?” he said.
“Hayato!” Koichi said. “He was in love with one of the guys in his group. He had never told him. So I . . .”
“Gave him a talking-to?”
“I just gave him a suggestion that he tell the guy. That’s all.”
“Must have been a strong suggestion,” said MiA.
Koichi danced around the room, holding the phone. This was a huge relief. He hadn’t wrecked the Codomo Dragon group at all! In fact, they’d probably be stronger now. And Hayato was going to be truly happy with his Kana!
Plus, he'd had a hand in the matchmaking. He couldn't help but be proud of that.
This called for them getting extra-special designs. He was going to work on those like nothing before.
Maybe he’d even include a tiara in them.