Fic: The Camera Eye: Lucky Streak [Tomoya x Kazi, NC-17]
Title: The Camera Eye: Lucky Streak
Chapter: Installment 67 overall in The Camera Eye series, and the 19th 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, polyamory, deep-throating
Pairing: Tomoya (Royz) x Kazi (Fest Vainqueur), mentions of Tomya x Subaru (Royz) x Mahiro x Junji (both Kiryu)
Disclaimer: Royz and Kiryu belong to B.P. Records, Fest Vainqueur belongs to PLUG RECORDS west, I own the story only.
Summary: Kazi and Hiro are best buddies who've been through ups and downs in their personal and professional lives. Now, they're embarking on a new chapter of their careers thanks to an incredible stroke of luck - which also brings a very attractive man into their path.
Notes: Sort of a sidestory to the last Camera Eye fic, Snow White and the Seven Porn Stars (Plus One) - it helps to have read that one before this.
For Kazi and Hiro, facing the prospect of losing the video company they worked for was deja vu all over again.
They'd both started out in the industry when Fest Video was founded by a friend of a friend of Hiro's. The friend had been an associate producer at Hard Candy and wanted to “do his own thing,” so he put out a call for open-minded guys in good shape who were willing to make a few bucks.
Hiro answered that call because his attempts to sell his mainstream screenplays weren't working out. Kazi was just looking for money to fund his dream of having a classy bar. And like any other guys getting into porn, they thought they'd get involved, do it for a little while, then get out.
And then they actually started doing it, and found it involved hanging out with a great group of like-minded people, having a lot of really good sex, and just feeling like they had somewhere where they BELONGED. So like many, many other young men, they were hooked.
Which meant shock and horror when it looked like Fest Video was going to go under.
“Sorry, guys,” their boss told them. “I tried everything - but the sales aren't there. It's not that you're not putting out quality product, either. It's just that, well, it's really hard to compete with the likes of Hard Candy and Heavy Hitter when you don't have a distribution deal with a major company.”
And so, they gathered in the tiny apartment of one of their co-stars, HAL, and had an End-Of-Our-Careers party, with Kazi providing the drinks. “At least it's a chance for me to practice my skills,” he said, glumly, “because I think I'm going to need them full-time now.”
But before the evening was out, they got a phone call from their boss. He'd connected with an old acquaintance from Hard Candy, who was starting a video company of his own AND had a distribution deal with Heavy Hitter - did they want to merge companies? And suddenly, their porn careers were back on again.
Fest Video was no more - but they were now part of the nascent The Diamond Mine. Which suited Kazi and Hiro just fine. They were now making enough money not only to put away for their future, but also to move out of their current living arrangements - each was living in a cramped apartment with a hoard of other single guys - and get a place together. (Not that they were a couple - although friends-with-benefits definitely applied).
Kazi continued taking occasional bartending jobs - the more money coming in, the better - and Hiro was still trying to sell his mainstream screenplays. But for the most part, they were entirely focused on their new atmosphere, their new family.
“We were damn lucky the day that the boss decided to fold Fest Video, you know?” Hiro said to Kazi one day as they were wrapping up shooting and packing up their things from the set. “If it wasn't for that? We wouldn't get to go to the JAVA Awards. We wouldn't get written up in blogs. We wouldn't have anything we have now.”
“I thought the best part of joining with The Diamond Mine was getting to know Jui and Jun and Toya,” Kazi said.
“Well, yeah, there's that, too,” Hiro said. “And you're right. Hanging with them - with everybody - is the best part of all this.”
“Better than the sex?” said Kazi.
“Okay, the sex is pretty damn good,” Hiro said. “But getting to know them was still the best.” Pause. “Getting to have sex with them was better still.”
But alas, it looked like their happiness was going to come to a screeching halt a second time when, abruptly and without warning, Heavy Hitter dropped their distribution deal. They found out about it in the worst way possible, too - on the set, after wrapping a video.
“What do you mean, this is our last video?” Kazi said, looking utterly shocked.
“That's what they said,” Jui told him, looking like a man who'd been through a war. “They said we no longer fit their business model.”
“What kind of bullshit is that?” Kazi said. “We've been selling! We've been SELLING VIDEOS for them, dammit! And they just want to dump us like that?”
“They're marketing the macho man bullshit,” Jun said, bitterly. “We were too pretty boy for them. It was okay as long as nobody knew that they were distributing us, but once it leaked out . . .”
“How did it leak?” said Hiro.
“One of the blogs,” said Jui. “I don't know why they even carried the story. I guess they thought it would make them look like hot shit to break a scandal. They just didn't know they were ruining people's careers.”
And so, they prepared to have another End-Of-Our-Careers party - this time in a much nicer setting, the apartment where Jui, Jun and Toya lived. But it seemed that for the second time, luck was with them. They had a very attractive party crasher in the form of Subaru, a star from Eros Video, a company affiliated with PSC Productions.
Jui had found Subaru freaking out in the street after someone had tried to steal his necklace. He brought him to their party to calm down and to call the police - after which Kazi made his guest one of his signature cocktails, a Poison Apple. (He wasn't expecting him to pass out, though). They spent some enjoyable time all hanging out together, a temporary distraction from their problem.
Afterward, when Subaru was picked up by one of his boyfriends (a very, very attractive man, in Kazi's estimation), the group went back to being gloomy - and when Kazi and Hiro left, they weren't seeing much more than gloom and doom on the horizon.
“Looks like I'm going to be getting a full-time bar job now,” Kazi said as they walked home. “What about you?”
“Well, I could try to get a newspaper job again,” Hiro said. “I did that for awhile before joining Fest Video. Or, well, I know a guy who's opening a clothes store, I could work there.” He looked over at Kazi. “Fuck, this is depressing, isn't it? We went through this once, but now . . . it's worse. Back then, we'd just done a few videos, and now, this has become our life. I don't know if I can imagine myself doing anything else, you know? Well, I can imagine myself writing screenplays for real movies down the line, but you know what I mean.”
“I know exactly what you mean,” said Kazi. “I can't imagine anything else, either. Sometimes it feels like we've been with these people all our lives, you know? Like . . . like we were always meant to be together, it was fate.”
After a few moments of walking in silence, Kazi punched a fist into his hand. “Fuck - I mean, why did they just dump us like that? And for a stupid reason? So what if we don't match the macho Heavy Hitter image? We're NOT Heavy Hitter. Our videos come out under another name. It's not like we're co-starring with their chunks of meat.”
“If I knew why these guys do what they do, I'd be running my own company,” said Hiro. “Which I'm not. If I was . . . we sure as hell wouldn't be in this mess.”
They went home, and fell asleep in their living room, both slumped over on the couch, thinking they'd be waking up to a gloomy day.
But instead, luck was on their side again. The meeting with Subaru turned out to be more fortunate than they thought. They were awakened by a ringing phone - and when Kazi answered it, Jui was just about yelling in his ear.
“They've picked us up!” he said. “We're picked up! We're back on again!”
“Who picked us up?” Kazi said, blinking sleepily. “What are you talking about?”
“PSC!” said Jui. “PSC Productions! They're going to be distributing our videos! Uruha from PSC called our boss this morning, and they finalized the deal, and we're going to be making more videos! The deal is the same as it was before - maybe even better!”
Kazi blinked for a second as it sank in - and then let out a loud, whooping scream, jumping from the couch - and knocking into Hiro, who nearly fell on the floor.
“What . . . is . . .” said Hiro.
“PSC!” Kazi shouted. “Fucking PSC!”
“Eeeeh?” Hiro stumbled to his feet, blinking.
“They did it! They really did it! We don't have to worry now, because PSC did it!” Kazi said, just about doing a jig.
“Kazi, what the fuck are you talking about?” Hiro mumbled.
“PSC picked up our distribution deal!” Kazi said. “We're going to be making videos again!”
Hiro shook his head slowly back and forth, as if trying to clear cobwebs from it . . . and then, what Kazi was saying sank in. He let out a whoop and hugged his friend, and they began dancing around the room, laughing.
Day jobs and reality would have to wait. They were back in business.
* * *
A couple of days after getting the good news, Hiro and Kazi were in their favorite ramen shop. Every group of porn stars had a particular ramen place they favored, it seems - the senior members of the industry tended to go for the one near the PSC Productions offices, the “Suicide Boy” class of indie performers preferred one closer to Eros Films' headquarters, and their own group preferred a little street-corner shop near their most frequently used studio.
“I still can't believe it,” Hiro said. “It doesn't seem real. I feel like I'm going to get a phone call any moment saying this was a prank, and we've really lost our deal.”
“Don't even say that,” Kazi said. “If it's a prank, I think I'm going to jump off the top of Sky Tree Tower.”
“You've already done that,” Hiro said.
“That was with a bungee cord,” Kazi said. “And it was for a DVD extra. Seriously, we need to come up with a way to thank Subaru. Uruha's his boss.”
“Maybe we can replace his stolen necklace,” Hiro said.
“I don't think the guy got away with it,” Kazi said. “I think he just tried to steal it - that's why Subaru was so freaked out. Hey, I'd be freaked out too, if someone tried to grab a necklace from around my neck!”
Meanwhile, two other people just happened to be passing by the ramen shop - and one of them took notice of the two sitting inside.
“Hey, those are two of the guys who took care of Subaru that night,” Junji said.
“You mean the ones we picked up the distribution for?” Tomoya said, looking over his shoulder at the window.
“That's them,” Junji said. “They were nice guys, too, even if they gave Subaru a drink that was, well, a bit strong. When I found him, he was completely passed out. I had to carry him to the elevator.”
“I should thank them,” Tomoya said, turning back toward the ramen place, then looking over his shoulder at Junji. “You coming?” he said.
“Can't,” Junji said. “Have an interview in half an hour, need to get to the office. You can go talk to them, though.”
“Okay!” Tomoya said. “I'll see you later!”
He opened the door of the ramen place and walked in - and the heads of both Subaru's rescuers snapped up.
“Well, hello, there,” Kazi said. “Did you see what just walked in?”
“Oh, I did,” Hiro said. “He's pretty hot.”
“Pretty hot?” Kazi said. “That's the understatement of the century! He's smoking! He's . . .”
And then, Tomoya approached the table. “Hi,” he said. “I understand you're two of the guys who helped Subaru the other night?”
“Well, yeah, two of them,” Hiro said. “Jui was actually the one who found him on the street, but we looked after him.”
“I was the one who made him a drink,” Kazi said - omitting the detail that Subaru passed out from it. “He needed it.”
“He spoke very highly of you,” Tomoya said. “Of all of you. I'm Tomoya, by the way - I'm his boyfriend.”
“One of the boyfriends, you mean?” Hiro said - noticing very well that Kazi had an “Oh, fuck” look on his face. “He told us about your relationship.”
“Yeah, one of them,” Tomoya said. “And you met one of the other guys, Junji. We're all grateful to you. Me, especially. I didn't even know he was in trouble until after it happened. I was in a writers' meeting - I didn't see his text until afterward.”
“Oh, yeah?” said Hiro. “You're a writer? Cool, so am I! What have you written?”
“Well, I haven't been with them for long,” Tomoya said. “But I did co-write Swashbucklers, and I worked on Kabuki Disco - Takemasa and Mitsuki brought me in when they got stuck. And right now, I'm working on a bunch of vignettes for a couples video . . .”
“You co-wrote Swashbucklers?” Kazi said. “That is AWESOME!”
“All of our writers worked on that one,” Tomoya said. “We kind of had a jam session to come up with the basic ideas, and . . .” He looked around him. “I think I'm blocking the aisle of the ramen place here.”
“Why don't you come out with us?” Kazi said, suddenly. “We're just about done here. Have a drink with us - unless you've got somewhere to be?”
“Not right now,” Tomoya said. “The rest of my afternoon is free. I turned in a vignette this morning.”
“There's a bar next door to this place,” Kazi said. “Meet us there in about ten minutes?”
“You're on,” Tomoya said. “I'll see you there.”
When he walked out of the restaurant, Hiro said, “Well, look at you, hitting on the attached man like that!”
“I didn't hit on him,” Kazi said. “I just asked him out for a drink, okay?”
“Yes, and as we all know, that's porn industry code for 'I want to screw you senseless.' You know and I know that there's a love hotel around the corner.”
“Of course we know it,” Kazi said, picking up his bowl to finish his food. “We both filmed there.”
“And you're going to keep that fact in mind, aren't you, homewrecker?”
“Fuck you,” Kazi said. “I'm not looking to wreck his home. I like Subaru. But if their relationship is the open type? I'm not going to object if Tomoya asks me.”
They finished their ramen quickly, and headed for the bar.
* * *
Tomoya was already seated at a table when they walked in. He waved them over.
“I don't know what to order,” he said. “I told the waiter we'd do it when you got there.”
“I get beer when I go out,” Kazi said. “If I got mixed drinks, I'd compare them to my own. It's kind of what I do when I don't do porn.”
“You're a bartender?” Tomoya said.
“Well, yeah, but that's not my career goal,” Kazi said. “I want to own a bar. Not a hole in the wall, one of the classy places. And I want the place to be known for its drinks. That's why I got into the porn thing in the first place - to finance my bar.”
“That's kind of an unusual goal,” said Tomoya, as the waiter approached the table. The conversation stopped just long enough for them to order a pitcher of beer.
Once he was gone, Hiro said, “You might say Kazi wants to do the bar thing because it's in his blood.”
“My dad runs an izakaya,” Kazi said. “We even lived in an apartment above it, so I literally grew up around that kind of thing. And I would see the fancier bars on TV, where idols and models hung out, and I decided I wanted to have a place like that someday, so . . . I started experimenting with mixing the liquor in my father's bar and creating my own drinks.”
“Yeah, and then he had to tell his dad that he wasn't stealing booze to party, he was stealing it to practice,” said Hiro. “Like he'd believe that.”
“It didn't go over very well,” said Kazi. “So, anyway, when I graduated high school I was living in a tiny apartment with a bunch of guys and working at a couple of crappy bars, and one of them had a friend who was doing porn, and . . .”
“I know very well,” Tomoya said. “Nobody gets into this stuff on purpose. I wouldn't have gotten into it if I didn't have a roommate who was in it.”
So he told them about how he and Subaru got to know each other in college, and how they and their friends started Royz Games, and how he ended up writing for porn when one of PSC Productons' writers left a flash drive with an unfinished script at the karaoke place where he was working.
“Not what I set out to do,” he said, “but it beats the hell out of working in a karaoke place.”
“So you've never performed on-camera?” said Hiro.
“Not yet,” Tomoya said. “I've always promised Subaru that the first time I do that, it'll be with him.” He added, softly, “He changed my life in so many ways. Before he and I hooked up, I was deluding myself that I was straight and monogamous. Subaru took care of the straight delusion. Mahiro and Junji took care of the other.”
“Are the four of you strictly committed to each other off-camera?” Kazi said. “Or are you open to . . .” He glanced over at Hiro, who was just shaking his head.
“Other possibilities, you mean?” Tomoya said. “I haven't done that with anyone outside the relationship yet. Well, Junji and I collectively had our eye on someone at the Suicide Ball, but . . . well, something else happened, and things didn't quite work out. But, yes . . . I'm open to that kind of thing.”
Hiro glanced over at his friend, wondering if Kazi was going to come right out with, “There's a love hotel down the street!” And if he did, he was going to sink under the table and just keep sinking. They'd probably find him at the very bottom of the bar's basement, somewhere between a couple of crates of beer.
Instead, Kazi said, “Hey, I'm open to that kind of thing, too. Well, I mean, if I was in a relationship, it would be open. But I'm not, I'm single. Which makes me even MORE open to your kind of thing!”
Well, Hiro didn't quite sink to the basement on that one. He just slumped down in his chair some, not knowing what was more embarrassing, the babble or the indecent proposal. Honestly, he didn't know why he expected anything different from Kazi at this point.
He'd seen it too many times. And that's what was really starting to worry him.
Tomoya paused for a moment, taking a long drink of his beer. For a moment, Hiro was afraid he was going to throw it in Kazi's face.
Instead, Tomoya said, with a smile, “So we're on the same page, then. Tell me, how long were you guys with Heavy Hitter before they dumped you?”
Hiro let out a sigh of relief. Kazi had a big grin on his face. It was still questionable where things were going from here, but at least they weren't going straight down the tubes.
* * *
By the time they were near the bottom of the second pitcher, they were all feeling comfortable with each other. In fact, it felt like Tomoya had always been a part of The Diamond Mine.
They swapped stories of this year's JAVAs, though Tomoya omitted the part about him and Subaru spending their first night with Mahiro and Junji after the ceremony. They talked about people they had all encountered - bloggers, journalists and the like. And Tomoya shared the story of how he and Mahiro had found the fateful necklace in a flea market.
“If we had known that the guy's cousins had put it there without permission,” he said, “we would have never bought it, and the whole thing would never have happened.”
“At least Subaru wasn't hurt,” Hiro said.
“I know,” Tomoya said. “But I felt guilty about it afterward. I kept thinking, if I hadn't been in that meeting, I might have been with him, I might have been able to prevent it . . .”
“Or you might have had the daylights punched out of you by the robber so he could get to Subaru,” Kazi said. “There's no need to feel guilty. At all. I mean, you were at a meeting, right? You did what you had to do. You're a screenwriter for that company, screenwriters go to meetings.”
“I should know,” Hiro said. “I do it all the time.”
“But, yeah, don't feel guilty,” Kazi said. “He was okay, he got to know us, we got to know you now, everything is good.”
“I'm glad,” Tomoya said. “I mean, not that it happened. But I'm glad I got to know you guys. You're a lot of fun.” He got up from the table. “I'll be back in a moment, I'm going to the men's room.”
Once he was gone, Hiro said, “You're still staring at him!”
“I wasn't staring at him!” Kazi said. “I was looking at him. There's a difference.”
“You were staring at him with a fuck-me expression in your eyes,” Hiro said. “Don't try to tell me you weren't!”
“Well, he looked interested in me, too!” said Kazi.
“You sure about that?” said Hiro.
“Of course I'm sure!” Kazi said. “It's not just wishful thinking.”
“Well, okay, he hasn't thrown a drink at you yet,” Hiro said. “I'm going to take that as a sign that he's at least not going to kill you.”
“Hiro! He's open-minded about open relationships, remember? He said so.”
“Yeah, well, just as long as he doesn't open his mouth and tell you to get lost.”
“You jealous?” Kazi said.
“Jealous? Hell, no. Why should I be? We know what our relationship is.”
“I mean, jealous of me. You said so yourself that he was hot.”
“No! He's attractive, but I'm not about to get jealous just because you start hitting on him. I'm just worried that . . .” He stopped suddenly as he saw Tomoya approaching the table. Well, crap. He didn't get a chance to tell Kazi what was really bothering him about this.
“I'm back!” Tomoya said, hopping back into his seat. “Did I miss anything?”
“Oh, nothing particularly interesting,” Hiro said, nonchalantly.
“We were waiting for you to come back,” Kazi said.
A few minutes of chatter later (about the video that The Diamond Mine had just wrapped, and upcoming project ideas now that they had a distribution deal again), Kazi got up. “My turn for the men's room!” he said.
Once he was gone, Hiro leaned over toward Tomoya. “You know,” he said, “Kazi likes you.”
Tomoya looked surprised. “He . . . he does?” he said.
“Oh, yes,” Hiro said. “And I want to know . . . do you like him, too? I mean, not in a wanting-to-start-a-relationship thing, but . . . interest.”
“Well, yes,” Tomoya said. “He's attractive. Really attractive.”
“Because I've seen Kazi burned too many times in the past,” Hiro said. “He has a thing for picking out the wrong guys, you know? They lead him on and dump him flat, and then I have to mop up the disappointment, and . . . I just hate seeing him like that, okay?”
“Hiro,” said Tomoya, “do YOU like Kazi?”
“Not as anything more than a best friend,” Hiro said. “And, yeah, there's benefits involved, but I wouldn't take it further. In fact, I don't want a romantic relationship, because I don't want to risk what we have. It's too special, you know? Lovers can come and go, but a best friend . . . that's forever. And, yeah, it's because he's my best friend that I don't want to see him hurt.”
“I can't offer Kazi anything more than a part-time thing,” Tomoya said. “My boyfriends come first. We're all open to fooling around with other people, but we always come back to each other.”
“But you'll make sure he's okay with that before going further, right?”
“Of course, I will. I don't want Kazi to get hurt, either. I may not have known him as long as you, but I do like him - and not just because he's hot.”
Kazi approached the table, and Hiro said, “Maybe I'd better take my own turn, then.”
“Hey, what is this, a revolving door?” Kazi said as he sat down and Hiro got up.
“That's what happens when you drink beer, you know?” Hiro said. “Comes with the territory.” He left, knowing he was going to take a good, long time in the bathroom to let them have the conversation they needed to.
Once he was gone, Tomoya fiddled with his now-empty glass. “So, I noticed you've been looking at me,” he said - even though he hadn't, until Hiro pointed it out to him.
“Well, um . . .” Kazi said. “Okay, I'll come out with it. I have. Well, I can't help it. You're damn hot. I noticed it the moment I walked in the door. You sure you haven't been on camera yet? Because you totally could be.”
“I'm sure,” Tomoya said. He paused. “You're pretty damn hot too, you know? It would be a shame for you to hide yourself behind a bar all the time.”
“Hey, I'm going before the cameras when I'm still young and pretty,” Kazi said. “By the time I make enough money to open the bar, I'll be too old for porn, anyway. Funny how things like that work out.” He paused. “It's been awhile since I've been with anyone outside our group, you know? I haven't had much luck with guys.”
Tomoya almost said he'd heard about that from Hiro, but caught himself. He didn't want the other man to know about the earlier conversation. Instead, he said, “I haven't been with anyone outside my relationship since it started, remember,” he said. “So this will be a first for both of us.”
Kazi's whole face suddenly lit up. His eyes looked like they had firecrackers in them. His smile started somewhere behind his left ear and stretched all the way across his face to end behind the right one. “Really?” he said. “Really, you're willing to . . .”
“I can't offer more than part-time, remember,” he said. “I have the other relationships . . .”
“No, no, that's fine!” Kazi said. “Hell, I'm just thrilled you want to do something now! Damn! This is my lucky day! I mean . . .”
“It's okay,” Tomoya said, taking Kazi's hand in his. “It's my lucky day, too.” He lowered his voice. “There's a love hotel down the street . . .”
“I know,” said Kazi. “We've used it as a set.”
“We've used it as a set, too,” Tomoya said. “At least, Subaru has.”
Hiro, meanwhile, approached from the bathroom, slowly. He saw the two of them clasping hands, and a slow smile stole over his face.
He wanted Kazi to find someone permanent, true enough, but for now? He could be happy about this. He knew now that he could trust Tomoya - and that was a good feeling.
As he approached the table, he pulled out his phone, looking at it. “Looks like I have to take off in a couple of minutes,” he said. “Just got a message from an old friend, he wants to meet up.”
Of course, everyone at the table knew that was complete bullshit. But at least it looked good in public.
“Hey, that's okay,” Kazi said. “Tomoya and I are just going to finish the pitcher - right?”
“Right,” said Tomoya.
“Okay, then!” Hiro pulled out a few 500-yen coins and put them on the table. “There's my share of the tab. I'll see you later!”
As soon as he was gone, Tomoya said, “You have your share of the bill?”
“I'm ahead of you,” Kazi said. “Come on, let's go.”
They couldn't get up to the cashier fast enough. The bill settled, they took off for the love hotel.
* * *
It was amazing how something familiar suddenly became as if you were experiencing it for the first time under the right circumstances.
Kazi had been in this love hotel plenty of times. Hell, anyone in indie porn had. It was standard operating practice to use the places as sets, especially if you were one of those companies that lacked rich benefactors that could loan you their spare bedrooms.
And yet, the whole thing became different when he was there with Tomoya - when they were actually using it as a couple, and not for professional purposes. They quickly selected the least gaudy room they could find, rode up in the elevator and found the room.
Then, the door closed behind them, and it became real for Kazi. Holy shit, he'd done it. He'd scored with this super-hot guy. Okay, he was one of Subaru's boyfriends, but if everyone was cool with something like this, it was all good, right?
Tomoya walked over to Kazi, pulling him into his arms. It suddenly occurred to Kazi that this guy was tall, pretty damn tall, and he couldn't remember the last time he had to reach up to kiss someone, and he should really make his brain shut up and just let this happen.
“I really have been looking forward to this since I saw you, you know,” Tomoya said.
“So have I,” Kazi replied.
And then, they closed the last few inches and started kissing, and it became as natural as if they had been doing it their whole lives. Kazi relaxed at once, letting his lips fall open, and Tomoya gently slid his tongue into the other man's mouth.
Which, of course, just made Kazi hotter by the second. He pulled Tomoya closer, purring into the kiss, as their bodies pressed together, feeling each other's heat. Kazi slid a hand between their bodies, reaching downward, finding a belt buckle - which he unfastened swiftly, unfastening the zipper right after that.
Tomoya leaned back. “Is that a sign you want to get on the bed?” he said.
“What do you think?” Kazi replied.
They moved across the room, dropping items of clothing as they went, pausing every couple of steps to kiss breathlessly again, a swift touch of lips and brush of tongues. They reached the edge of the bed as Tomoya pulled off his underwear - the last thing either of them were wearing - and he sat on the edge of the bed, Kazi leaning over, kissing his lips again.
Kazi worked his way downward, kissing down Tomoya's neck as his hands roamed over the other man's thighs, feeling for the sensitive spots and caressing them - which made Tomoya shudder, arching up toward Kazi.
Encouraged, Kazi kept moving downward, licking over Tomoya's chest - it was really obvious that he worked out at least some. In fact, letting one hand wander over to his stomach revealed that his abs were pretty damn rock-hard. He wondered if PSC reimbursed gym expenses.
There were other things more important than that to think about than gyms right now, though. Like, for instance, the nipple right in front of him. He paid homage to that with his tongue, running back and forth over it, slowly, and getting a low moan in response. Well, he was going to just have to make those noises louder, wasn't he? He started sucking, as he let his fingers brush lightly over the other man's cock.
“Oh, God, yes,” Tomoya moaned, grabbing the top of Kazi's head, and Kazi intensified his efforts, sucking hard, then raising his head and flicking his tongue across it again.
If that's the reaction I get for this, he thought, what would I get if I took it to the next level . . .
Only one way to find out. He let his tongue move lower, tracing the shape of those rock-hard abs, and damn, they really were perfect. He wondered if Tomoya would think it it was weird if he suddenly started rubbing his cock over his new lover's stomach. He didn't think the other man would have ever had an ab-fucking before.
He remembered what his goal was, though, and he moved down further, opening his mouth, wrapping his lips around the head of his new lover's cock. This felt damn nice, too - good size, hard, beautifully shaped. His tongue ran around and around it, and Kazi had to resist the urge to reach down and grab himself, because fuck, this guy was turning him on like nobody he'd been with in eons.
Kazi began to slide down further, taking more of it in, sucking hard, and damn, he was loving this, why the hell wasn't this guy on camera, he had a spectacular cock . . .
He moved his head, a steady, thrusting motion, relaxing more and more with every downstroke, getting deeper every thrust, not realizing how far he was taking it . . . until he suddenly heard Tomoya gasp and grab his head, and he realized he was feeling sweet hardness in the back of his throat.
Well, damn. It had been awhile since he'd deep-throated.
He moved back, then down again, feeling like he was swallowing that lovely thing whole, and Tomoya moaned louder, saying, “Fuck . . . fuck, that's so good . . .”
It occurred to Kazi that as lovely as this was for both of them - and he could go on deep-throating him all night, if it were possible - he'd better stop if they had any hope of penetration happening. He slid back and off, reluctantly, then moved up to kiss Tomoya's mouth again. Tomoya reacted with hunger, thrusting his tongue into Kazi's mouth, reaching down to let his fingers rub his nipples.
The kiss broke, and Tomoya moved down, taking the bud he had just been pleasuring into his mouth, sucking hard and tonguing it. Now it was Kazi's turn to moan, grabbing the back of Tomoya's head as his lover had done to him.
Tomoya raised his head. “Do you top or bottom?” he said.
“Depends on the guy,” Kazi said. “For you, though? If you want to fuck me, I'm gonna take everything you've got to give.”
“Lie on your back,” Tomoya said.
He did, spreading his legs and raising his head, watching Tomoya as he located the condoms and lube packets that were always laid out in these places. He opened one and coated his fingers, settling between Kazi's legs and leaning over . . .
Kazi felt a tongue sweeping over his cock as a finger started pressing into him, and he opened his legs wider, murmuring, “Oh, yes, do it.” He closed his eyes, moaning as the thing inside him started to move, gently thrusting, and the tongue began to slide along his shaft, sweeping from place to place, tracing little circles right under the head, then moving across the tip, hot and wet.
When the second finger pushed in, Tomoya began to move downward, sucking, and Kazi just lost himself in it, in the velvety softness enveloping him, in the other man's heat, in the sensation of being pleasured both ways. He tangled his fingers in his new lover's hair, thrusting back against the wonderfully invading fingers that were spreading him gently, getting him ready.
Tomoya was moving down faster and harder, sucking him more and more, and a third finger pushed into Kazi. He felt like he was going to explode, he needed those fingers to be replaced by that hard cock, needed to be fucked, but at the same time, he didn't want the oral action to end. It was just so delicious - Tomoya was a natural, knowing where to use his tongue, when to suck hard and when to lessen up.
Tomoya raised his head and asked Kazi, “Are you ready?” The fingers pushed into him further, spreading apart a little.
“Yes,” Kazi murmured. “Do it. I want it.”
He lifted his head again, watching Tomoya roll on the condom and pour on lube, and he laid back, pulling his legs up, offering up his ass. It was a gift the other man was all too willing to take. Tomoya laid on top of him, kissing his lips hard, bringing his cock to Kazi's entrance.
And then he started to push in. Fuck, he felt even bigger than he had in Kazi's mouth, Kazi had to take a breath and will himself to relax as much as he could. Relax he did, though, and soon any discomfort was fading, and warm pleasure was starting to steal through him.
When Tomoya started a gentle thrust, Kazi found himself moaning, because this was starting to feel good, damn good, he was so solid and hard, filling him up completely and seeming to stroke every sensitive part of him as he moved.
“Good?” Tomoya asked.
“Fantastic,” Kazi moaned in response.
Tomoya began to move harder, faster, and Kazi moved along with him, reaching up to run his hands down his lover's back, breathing in the scent of musk and sweat, hearing both their moans. It was the kind of pleasure you could lose yourself in completely, immerse yourself in, having no boundaries at all between yourself and your lover . . .
When Tomoya's hand slid between them, sliding up and down Kazi's erection, Kazi let out a shuddering moan, thrusting harder against the cock inside him, wanting Kazuki to stroke him, to bring him to the edge of delicious madness.
Tomoya did just that, fingers wrapping around the hardness, moving rapidly, sliding down to the base, then rapidly to the tip, then back down again. Kazi was in a frenzy by now, writhing beneath him, moaning, “I'm close . . . close . . . I'm gonna come . . .”
A hard thrust inside him coupled with a well-timed hand motion made Kazi suddenly cry out, ecstasy shooting through his body in waves so deep and intense he thought he was going to explode, but he rode it out, the orgasm seeming to last forever, until he collapsed, a boneless heap of bliss.
At that moment, Tomoya cried out as well, thrusting deep within Kazi as he shuddered with his own intense pleasure, until he fell down on top of the other man, both of them kissing and caressing and panting.
They just lay there, breathing heavily, not moving, not wanting to, probably not even capable of it. They were completely dazed, and completely blissed-out.
After a seeming eternity, Kazi raised his head. “That was amazing,” he said.
“Beyond amazing,” Tomoya said.
“You really, really need to be on camera,” Kazi said. “Being able to fuck like that? That's a talent.”
“I'll tell you what,” Tomoya said. “I promised Subaru that he was going to be my first on-camera lover, and I'm sticking to that. But after that? I'm going to write something where I can co-star with you.”
“You mean it?” Kazi said.
“Of course I mean it,” Tomoya said.
“Hiro usually writes our videos, though,” Kazi said. “I mean, he's one of our writers, Jun writes screenplays, too.”
“That doesn't mean you can't be in a PSC video, though,” Tomoya said. “I'm sure Uruha will cast you if I write a part in for you.” He leaned over and whispered, “Between you and me, there's definitely going to be a Swashbucklers 2. Uruha hasn't announced it yet. And that's the video I'm going to write you into.”
“I got to be with you, and now I get to be a pirate?” Kazi said. “Damn. This is my lucky day all the way around.”
He was very, very glad he and Hiro went for ramen today. In fact, this was looking like the best damn bowl of ramen of his life.
* * *
Hiro was playing a game on his phone when Kazi walked in, a big smile on his face. “So, you had a good time?”
“I had a GREAT time,” Kazi said. “He's an amazing guy. Subaru's damn lucky.” He flopped down on the couch. “Fuck - all kinds of things are going to start happening now, aren't they?”
“What do you mean?” said Hiro.
“We've hooked up with PSC. And Tomoya said they might be able to put us in PSC videos. He said he might even write a part for me in - something.” He caught himself - he'd promised Tomoya he'd keep the secret of Swashbucklers 2. “I mean, we had a good deal with Heavy Hitter, but this? Oh, yeah, I think all kinds of good things are going to happen.”
“Including you hooking up with Tomoya again?” Hiro said.
“That's a given,” Kazi said. “Although I'm gonna need a break before doing that again. He wore me out!”
Kazi was quiet after that, and Hiro went back to his game. After a moment, he looked over at his friend and saw him fast asleep.
To his relief, Tomoya had kept his word. He'd treated Kazi with the respect he deserved. And it seemed Kazi came away from the encounter with nothing but positive feelings - which meant he was okay with having a part-time relationship.
Maybe, Hiro thought, we just ran into too many jerks when we were with our old companies. Maybe it took hooking up with PSC for Kazi to meet a nice guy outside our own group.
He wanted nothing but the best for his best friend. And now, it looked like he finally might get it. Luck, it seemed, was still on their side - personally and professionally.
Chapter: Installment 67 overall in The Camera Eye series, and the 19th 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, polyamory, deep-throating
Pairing: Tomoya (Royz) x Kazi (Fest Vainqueur), mentions of Tomya x Subaru (Royz) x Mahiro x Junji (both Kiryu)
Disclaimer: Royz and Kiryu belong to B.P. Records, Fest Vainqueur belongs to PLUG RECORDS west, I own the story only.
Summary: Kazi and Hiro are best buddies who've been through ups and downs in their personal and professional lives. Now, they're embarking on a new chapter of their careers thanks to an incredible stroke of luck - which also brings a very attractive man into their path.
Notes: Sort of a sidestory to the last Camera Eye fic, Snow White and the Seven Porn Stars (Plus One) - it helps to have read that one before this.
For Kazi and Hiro, facing the prospect of losing the video company they worked for was deja vu all over again.
They'd both started out in the industry when Fest Video was founded by a friend of a friend of Hiro's. The friend had been an associate producer at Hard Candy and wanted to “do his own thing,” so he put out a call for open-minded guys in good shape who were willing to make a few bucks.
Hiro answered that call because his attempts to sell his mainstream screenplays weren't working out. Kazi was just looking for money to fund his dream of having a classy bar. And like any other guys getting into porn, they thought they'd get involved, do it for a little while, then get out.
And then they actually started doing it, and found it involved hanging out with a great group of like-minded people, having a lot of really good sex, and just feeling like they had somewhere where they BELONGED. So like many, many other young men, they were hooked.
Which meant shock and horror when it looked like Fest Video was going to go under.
“Sorry, guys,” their boss told them. “I tried everything - but the sales aren't there. It's not that you're not putting out quality product, either. It's just that, well, it's really hard to compete with the likes of Hard Candy and Heavy Hitter when you don't have a distribution deal with a major company.”
And so, they gathered in the tiny apartment of one of their co-stars, HAL, and had an End-Of-Our-Careers party, with Kazi providing the drinks. “At least it's a chance for me to practice my skills,” he said, glumly, “because I think I'm going to need them full-time now.”
But before the evening was out, they got a phone call from their boss. He'd connected with an old acquaintance from Hard Candy, who was starting a video company of his own AND had a distribution deal with Heavy Hitter - did they want to merge companies? And suddenly, their porn careers were back on again.
Fest Video was no more - but they were now part of the nascent The Diamond Mine. Which suited Kazi and Hiro just fine. They were now making enough money not only to put away for their future, but also to move out of their current living arrangements - each was living in a cramped apartment with a hoard of other single guys - and get a place together. (Not that they were a couple - although friends-with-benefits definitely applied).
Kazi continued taking occasional bartending jobs - the more money coming in, the better - and Hiro was still trying to sell his mainstream screenplays. But for the most part, they were entirely focused on their new atmosphere, their new family.
“We were damn lucky the day that the boss decided to fold Fest Video, you know?” Hiro said to Kazi one day as they were wrapping up shooting and packing up their things from the set. “If it wasn't for that? We wouldn't get to go to the JAVA Awards. We wouldn't get written up in blogs. We wouldn't have anything we have now.”
“I thought the best part of joining with The Diamond Mine was getting to know Jui and Jun and Toya,” Kazi said.
“Well, yeah, there's that, too,” Hiro said. “And you're right. Hanging with them - with everybody - is the best part of all this.”
“Better than the sex?” said Kazi.
“Okay, the sex is pretty damn good,” Hiro said. “But getting to know them was still the best.” Pause. “Getting to have sex with them was better still.”
But alas, it looked like their happiness was going to come to a screeching halt a second time when, abruptly and without warning, Heavy Hitter dropped their distribution deal. They found out about it in the worst way possible, too - on the set, after wrapping a video.
“What do you mean, this is our last video?” Kazi said, looking utterly shocked.
“That's what they said,” Jui told him, looking like a man who'd been through a war. “They said we no longer fit their business model.”
“What kind of bullshit is that?” Kazi said. “We've been selling! We've been SELLING VIDEOS for them, dammit! And they just want to dump us like that?”
“They're marketing the macho man bullshit,” Jun said, bitterly. “We were too pretty boy for them. It was okay as long as nobody knew that they were distributing us, but once it leaked out . . .”
“How did it leak?” said Hiro.
“One of the blogs,” said Jui. “I don't know why they even carried the story. I guess they thought it would make them look like hot shit to break a scandal. They just didn't know they were ruining people's careers.”
And so, they prepared to have another End-Of-Our-Careers party - this time in a much nicer setting, the apartment where Jui, Jun and Toya lived. But it seemed that for the second time, luck was with them. They had a very attractive party crasher in the form of Subaru, a star from Eros Video, a company affiliated with PSC Productions.
Jui had found Subaru freaking out in the street after someone had tried to steal his necklace. He brought him to their party to calm down and to call the police - after which Kazi made his guest one of his signature cocktails, a Poison Apple. (He wasn't expecting him to pass out, though). They spent some enjoyable time all hanging out together, a temporary distraction from their problem.
Afterward, when Subaru was picked up by one of his boyfriends (a very, very attractive man, in Kazi's estimation), the group went back to being gloomy - and when Kazi and Hiro left, they weren't seeing much more than gloom and doom on the horizon.
“Looks like I'm going to be getting a full-time bar job now,” Kazi said as they walked home. “What about you?”
“Well, I could try to get a newspaper job again,” Hiro said. “I did that for awhile before joining Fest Video. Or, well, I know a guy who's opening a clothes store, I could work there.” He looked over at Kazi. “Fuck, this is depressing, isn't it? We went through this once, but now . . . it's worse. Back then, we'd just done a few videos, and now, this has become our life. I don't know if I can imagine myself doing anything else, you know? Well, I can imagine myself writing screenplays for real movies down the line, but you know what I mean.”
“I know exactly what you mean,” said Kazi. “I can't imagine anything else, either. Sometimes it feels like we've been with these people all our lives, you know? Like . . . like we were always meant to be together, it was fate.”
After a few moments of walking in silence, Kazi punched a fist into his hand. “Fuck - I mean, why did they just dump us like that? And for a stupid reason? So what if we don't match the macho Heavy Hitter image? We're NOT Heavy Hitter. Our videos come out under another name. It's not like we're co-starring with their chunks of meat.”
“If I knew why these guys do what they do, I'd be running my own company,” said Hiro. “Which I'm not. If I was . . . we sure as hell wouldn't be in this mess.”
They went home, and fell asleep in their living room, both slumped over on the couch, thinking they'd be waking up to a gloomy day.
But instead, luck was on their side again. The meeting with Subaru turned out to be more fortunate than they thought. They were awakened by a ringing phone - and when Kazi answered it, Jui was just about yelling in his ear.
“They've picked us up!” he said. “We're picked up! We're back on again!”
“Who picked us up?” Kazi said, blinking sleepily. “What are you talking about?”
“PSC!” said Jui. “PSC Productions! They're going to be distributing our videos! Uruha from PSC called our boss this morning, and they finalized the deal, and we're going to be making more videos! The deal is the same as it was before - maybe even better!”
Kazi blinked for a second as it sank in - and then let out a loud, whooping scream, jumping from the couch - and knocking into Hiro, who nearly fell on the floor.
“What . . . is . . .” said Hiro.
“PSC!” Kazi shouted. “Fucking PSC!”
“Eeeeh?” Hiro stumbled to his feet, blinking.
“They did it! They really did it! We don't have to worry now, because PSC did it!” Kazi said, just about doing a jig.
“Kazi, what the fuck are you talking about?” Hiro mumbled.
“PSC picked up our distribution deal!” Kazi said. “We're going to be making videos again!”
Hiro shook his head slowly back and forth, as if trying to clear cobwebs from it . . . and then, what Kazi was saying sank in. He let out a whoop and hugged his friend, and they began dancing around the room, laughing.
Day jobs and reality would have to wait. They were back in business.
* * *
A couple of days after getting the good news, Hiro and Kazi were in their favorite ramen shop. Every group of porn stars had a particular ramen place they favored, it seems - the senior members of the industry tended to go for the one near the PSC Productions offices, the “Suicide Boy” class of indie performers preferred one closer to Eros Films' headquarters, and their own group preferred a little street-corner shop near their most frequently used studio.
“I still can't believe it,” Hiro said. “It doesn't seem real. I feel like I'm going to get a phone call any moment saying this was a prank, and we've really lost our deal.”
“Don't even say that,” Kazi said. “If it's a prank, I think I'm going to jump off the top of Sky Tree Tower.”
“You've already done that,” Hiro said.
“That was with a bungee cord,” Kazi said. “And it was for a DVD extra. Seriously, we need to come up with a way to thank Subaru. Uruha's his boss.”
“Maybe we can replace his stolen necklace,” Hiro said.
“I don't think the guy got away with it,” Kazi said. “I think he just tried to steal it - that's why Subaru was so freaked out. Hey, I'd be freaked out too, if someone tried to grab a necklace from around my neck!”
Meanwhile, two other people just happened to be passing by the ramen shop - and one of them took notice of the two sitting inside.
“Hey, those are two of the guys who took care of Subaru that night,” Junji said.
“You mean the ones we picked up the distribution for?” Tomoya said, looking over his shoulder at the window.
“That's them,” Junji said. “They were nice guys, too, even if they gave Subaru a drink that was, well, a bit strong. When I found him, he was completely passed out. I had to carry him to the elevator.”
“I should thank them,” Tomoya said, turning back toward the ramen place, then looking over his shoulder at Junji. “You coming?” he said.
“Can't,” Junji said. “Have an interview in half an hour, need to get to the office. You can go talk to them, though.”
“Okay!” Tomoya said. “I'll see you later!”
He opened the door of the ramen place and walked in - and the heads of both Subaru's rescuers snapped up.
“Well, hello, there,” Kazi said. “Did you see what just walked in?”
“Oh, I did,” Hiro said. “He's pretty hot.”
“Pretty hot?” Kazi said. “That's the understatement of the century! He's smoking! He's . . .”
And then, Tomoya approached the table. “Hi,” he said. “I understand you're two of the guys who helped Subaru the other night?”
“Well, yeah, two of them,” Hiro said. “Jui was actually the one who found him on the street, but we looked after him.”
“I was the one who made him a drink,” Kazi said - omitting the detail that Subaru passed out from it. “He needed it.”
“He spoke very highly of you,” Tomoya said. “Of all of you. I'm Tomoya, by the way - I'm his boyfriend.”
“One of the boyfriends, you mean?” Hiro said - noticing very well that Kazi had an “Oh, fuck” look on his face. “He told us about your relationship.”
“Yeah, one of them,” Tomoya said. “And you met one of the other guys, Junji. We're all grateful to you. Me, especially. I didn't even know he was in trouble until after it happened. I was in a writers' meeting - I didn't see his text until afterward.”
“Oh, yeah?” said Hiro. “You're a writer? Cool, so am I! What have you written?”
“Well, I haven't been with them for long,” Tomoya said. “But I did co-write Swashbucklers, and I worked on Kabuki Disco - Takemasa and Mitsuki brought me in when they got stuck. And right now, I'm working on a bunch of vignettes for a couples video . . .”
“You co-wrote Swashbucklers?” Kazi said. “That is AWESOME!”
“All of our writers worked on that one,” Tomoya said. “We kind of had a jam session to come up with the basic ideas, and . . .” He looked around him. “I think I'm blocking the aisle of the ramen place here.”
“Why don't you come out with us?” Kazi said, suddenly. “We're just about done here. Have a drink with us - unless you've got somewhere to be?”
“Not right now,” Tomoya said. “The rest of my afternoon is free. I turned in a vignette this morning.”
“There's a bar next door to this place,” Kazi said. “Meet us there in about ten minutes?”
“You're on,” Tomoya said. “I'll see you there.”
When he walked out of the restaurant, Hiro said, “Well, look at you, hitting on the attached man like that!”
“I didn't hit on him,” Kazi said. “I just asked him out for a drink, okay?”
“Yes, and as we all know, that's porn industry code for 'I want to screw you senseless.' You know and I know that there's a love hotel around the corner.”
“Of course we know it,” Kazi said, picking up his bowl to finish his food. “We both filmed there.”
“And you're going to keep that fact in mind, aren't you, homewrecker?”
“Fuck you,” Kazi said. “I'm not looking to wreck his home. I like Subaru. But if their relationship is the open type? I'm not going to object if Tomoya asks me.”
They finished their ramen quickly, and headed for the bar.
* * *
Tomoya was already seated at a table when they walked in. He waved them over.
“I don't know what to order,” he said. “I told the waiter we'd do it when you got there.”
“I get beer when I go out,” Kazi said. “If I got mixed drinks, I'd compare them to my own. It's kind of what I do when I don't do porn.”
“You're a bartender?” Tomoya said.
“Well, yeah, but that's not my career goal,” Kazi said. “I want to own a bar. Not a hole in the wall, one of the classy places. And I want the place to be known for its drinks. That's why I got into the porn thing in the first place - to finance my bar.”
“That's kind of an unusual goal,” said Tomoya, as the waiter approached the table. The conversation stopped just long enough for them to order a pitcher of beer.
Once he was gone, Hiro said, “You might say Kazi wants to do the bar thing because it's in his blood.”
“My dad runs an izakaya,” Kazi said. “We even lived in an apartment above it, so I literally grew up around that kind of thing. And I would see the fancier bars on TV, where idols and models hung out, and I decided I wanted to have a place like that someday, so . . . I started experimenting with mixing the liquor in my father's bar and creating my own drinks.”
“Yeah, and then he had to tell his dad that he wasn't stealing booze to party, he was stealing it to practice,” said Hiro. “Like he'd believe that.”
“It didn't go over very well,” said Kazi. “So, anyway, when I graduated high school I was living in a tiny apartment with a bunch of guys and working at a couple of crappy bars, and one of them had a friend who was doing porn, and . . .”
“I know very well,” Tomoya said. “Nobody gets into this stuff on purpose. I wouldn't have gotten into it if I didn't have a roommate who was in it.”
So he told them about how he and Subaru got to know each other in college, and how they and their friends started Royz Games, and how he ended up writing for porn when one of PSC Productons' writers left a flash drive with an unfinished script at the karaoke place where he was working.
“Not what I set out to do,” he said, “but it beats the hell out of working in a karaoke place.”
“So you've never performed on-camera?” said Hiro.
“Not yet,” Tomoya said. “I've always promised Subaru that the first time I do that, it'll be with him.” He added, softly, “He changed my life in so many ways. Before he and I hooked up, I was deluding myself that I was straight and monogamous. Subaru took care of the straight delusion. Mahiro and Junji took care of the other.”
“Are the four of you strictly committed to each other off-camera?” Kazi said. “Or are you open to . . .” He glanced over at Hiro, who was just shaking his head.
“Other possibilities, you mean?” Tomoya said. “I haven't done that with anyone outside the relationship yet. Well, Junji and I collectively had our eye on someone at the Suicide Ball, but . . . well, something else happened, and things didn't quite work out. But, yes . . . I'm open to that kind of thing.”
Hiro glanced over at his friend, wondering if Kazi was going to come right out with, “There's a love hotel down the street!” And if he did, he was going to sink under the table and just keep sinking. They'd probably find him at the very bottom of the bar's basement, somewhere between a couple of crates of beer.
Instead, Kazi said, “Hey, I'm open to that kind of thing, too. Well, I mean, if I was in a relationship, it would be open. But I'm not, I'm single. Which makes me even MORE open to your kind of thing!”
Well, Hiro didn't quite sink to the basement on that one. He just slumped down in his chair some, not knowing what was more embarrassing, the babble or the indecent proposal. Honestly, he didn't know why he expected anything different from Kazi at this point.
He'd seen it too many times. And that's what was really starting to worry him.
Tomoya paused for a moment, taking a long drink of his beer. For a moment, Hiro was afraid he was going to throw it in Kazi's face.
Instead, Tomoya said, with a smile, “So we're on the same page, then. Tell me, how long were you guys with Heavy Hitter before they dumped you?”
Hiro let out a sigh of relief. Kazi had a big grin on his face. It was still questionable where things were going from here, but at least they weren't going straight down the tubes.
* * *
By the time they were near the bottom of the second pitcher, they were all feeling comfortable with each other. In fact, it felt like Tomoya had always been a part of The Diamond Mine.
They swapped stories of this year's JAVAs, though Tomoya omitted the part about him and Subaru spending their first night with Mahiro and Junji after the ceremony. They talked about people they had all encountered - bloggers, journalists and the like. And Tomoya shared the story of how he and Mahiro had found the fateful necklace in a flea market.
“If we had known that the guy's cousins had put it there without permission,” he said, “we would have never bought it, and the whole thing would never have happened.”
“At least Subaru wasn't hurt,” Hiro said.
“I know,” Tomoya said. “But I felt guilty about it afterward. I kept thinking, if I hadn't been in that meeting, I might have been with him, I might have been able to prevent it . . .”
“Or you might have had the daylights punched out of you by the robber so he could get to Subaru,” Kazi said. “There's no need to feel guilty. At all. I mean, you were at a meeting, right? You did what you had to do. You're a screenwriter for that company, screenwriters go to meetings.”
“I should know,” Hiro said. “I do it all the time.”
“But, yeah, don't feel guilty,” Kazi said. “He was okay, he got to know us, we got to know you now, everything is good.”
“I'm glad,” Tomoya said. “I mean, not that it happened. But I'm glad I got to know you guys. You're a lot of fun.” He got up from the table. “I'll be back in a moment, I'm going to the men's room.”
Once he was gone, Hiro said, “You're still staring at him!”
“I wasn't staring at him!” Kazi said. “I was looking at him. There's a difference.”
“You were staring at him with a fuck-me expression in your eyes,” Hiro said. “Don't try to tell me you weren't!”
“Well, he looked interested in me, too!” said Kazi.
“You sure about that?” said Hiro.
“Of course I'm sure!” Kazi said. “It's not just wishful thinking.”
“Well, okay, he hasn't thrown a drink at you yet,” Hiro said. “I'm going to take that as a sign that he's at least not going to kill you.”
“Hiro! He's open-minded about open relationships, remember? He said so.”
“Yeah, well, just as long as he doesn't open his mouth and tell you to get lost.”
“You jealous?” Kazi said.
“Jealous? Hell, no. Why should I be? We know what our relationship is.”
“I mean, jealous of me. You said so yourself that he was hot.”
“No! He's attractive, but I'm not about to get jealous just because you start hitting on him. I'm just worried that . . .” He stopped suddenly as he saw Tomoya approaching the table. Well, crap. He didn't get a chance to tell Kazi what was really bothering him about this.
“I'm back!” Tomoya said, hopping back into his seat. “Did I miss anything?”
“Oh, nothing particularly interesting,” Hiro said, nonchalantly.
“We were waiting for you to come back,” Kazi said.
A few minutes of chatter later (about the video that The Diamond Mine had just wrapped, and upcoming project ideas now that they had a distribution deal again), Kazi got up. “My turn for the men's room!” he said.
Once he was gone, Hiro leaned over toward Tomoya. “You know,” he said, “Kazi likes you.”
Tomoya looked surprised. “He . . . he does?” he said.
“Oh, yes,” Hiro said. “And I want to know . . . do you like him, too? I mean, not in a wanting-to-start-a-relationship thing, but . . . interest.”
“Well, yes,” Tomoya said. “He's attractive. Really attractive.”
“Because I've seen Kazi burned too many times in the past,” Hiro said. “He has a thing for picking out the wrong guys, you know? They lead him on and dump him flat, and then I have to mop up the disappointment, and . . . I just hate seeing him like that, okay?”
“Hiro,” said Tomoya, “do YOU like Kazi?”
“Not as anything more than a best friend,” Hiro said. “And, yeah, there's benefits involved, but I wouldn't take it further. In fact, I don't want a romantic relationship, because I don't want to risk what we have. It's too special, you know? Lovers can come and go, but a best friend . . . that's forever. And, yeah, it's because he's my best friend that I don't want to see him hurt.”
“I can't offer Kazi anything more than a part-time thing,” Tomoya said. “My boyfriends come first. We're all open to fooling around with other people, but we always come back to each other.”
“But you'll make sure he's okay with that before going further, right?”
“Of course, I will. I don't want Kazi to get hurt, either. I may not have known him as long as you, but I do like him - and not just because he's hot.”
Kazi approached the table, and Hiro said, “Maybe I'd better take my own turn, then.”
“Hey, what is this, a revolving door?” Kazi said as he sat down and Hiro got up.
“That's what happens when you drink beer, you know?” Hiro said. “Comes with the territory.” He left, knowing he was going to take a good, long time in the bathroom to let them have the conversation they needed to.
Once he was gone, Tomoya fiddled with his now-empty glass. “So, I noticed you've been looking at me,” he said - even though he hadn't, until Hiro pointed it out to him.
“Well, um . . .” Kazi said. “Okay, I'll come out with it. I have. Well, I can't help it. You're damn hot. I noticed it the moment I walked in the door. You sure you haven't been on camera yet? Because you totally could be.”
“I'm sure,” Tomoya said. He paused. “You're pretty damn hot too, you know? It would be a shame for you to hide yourself behind a bar all the time.”
“Hey, I'm going before the cameras when I'm still young and pretty,” Kazi said. “By the time I make enough money to open the bar, I'll be too old for porn, anyway. Funny how things like that work out.” He paused. “It's been awhile since I've been with anyone outside our group, you know? I haven't had much luck with guys.”
Tomoya almost said he'd heard about that from Hiro, but caught himself. He didn't want the other man to know about the earlier conversation. Instead, he said, “I haven't been with anyone outside my relationship since it started, remember,” he said. “So this will be a first for both of us.”
Kazi's whole face suddenly lit up. His eyes looked like they had firecrackers in them. His smile started somewhere behind his left ear and stretched all the way across his face to end behind the right one. “Really?” he said. “Really, you're willing to . . .”
“I can't offer more than part-time, remember,” he said. “I have the other relationships . . .”
“No, no, that's fine!” Kazi said. “Hell, I'm just thrilled you want to do something now! Damn! This is my lucky day! I mean . . .”
“It's okay,” Tomoya said, taking Kazi's hand in his. “It's my lucky day, too.” He lowered his voice. “There's a love hotel down the street . . .”
“I know,” said Kazi. “We've used it as a set.”
“We've used it as a set, too,” Tomoya said. “At least, Subaru has.”
Hiro, meanwhile, approached from the bathroom, slowly. He saw the two of them clasping hands, and a slow smile stole over his face.
He wanted Kazi to find someone permanent, true enough, but for now? He could be happy about this. He knew now that he could trust Tomoya - and that was a good feeling.
As he approached the table, he pulled out his phone, looking at it. “Looks like I have to take off in a couple of minutes,” he said. “Just got a message from an old friend, he wants to meet up.”
Of course, everyone at the table knew that was complete bullshit. But at least it looked good in public.
“Hey, that's okay,” Kazi said. “Tomoya and I are just going to finish the pitcher - right?”
“Right,” said Tomoya.
“Okay, then!” Hiro pulled out a few 500-yen coins and put them on the table. “There's my share of the tab. I'll see you later!”
As soon as he was gone, Tomoya said, “You have your share of the bill?”
“I'm ahead of you,” Kazi said. “Come on, let's go.”
They couldn't get up to the cashier fast enough. The bill settled, they took off for the love hotel.
* * *
It was amazing how something familiar suddenly became as if you were experiencing it for the first time under the right circumstances.
Kazi had been in this love hotel plenty of times. Hell, anyone in indie porn had. It was standard operating practice to use the places as sets, especially if you were one of those companies that lacked rich benefactors that could loan you their spare bedrooms.
And yet, the whole thing became different when he was there with Tomoya - when they were actually using it as a couple, and not for professional purposes. They quickly selected the least gaudy room they could find, rode up in the elevator and found the room.
Then, the door closed behind them, and it became real for Kazi. Holy shit, he'd done it. He'd scored with this super-hot guy. Okay, he was one of Subaru's boyfriends, but if everyone was cool with something like this, it was all good, right?
Tomoya walked over to Kazi, pulling him into his arms. It suddenly occurred to Kazi that this guy was tall, pretty damn tall, and he couldn't remember the last time he had to reach up to kiss someone, and he should really make his brain shut up and just let this happen.
“I really have been looking forward to this since I saw you, you know,” Tomoya said.
“So have I,” Kazi replied.
And then, they closed the last few inches and started kissing, and it became as natural as if they had been doing it their whole lives. Kazi relaxed at once, letting his lips fall open, and Tomoya gently slid his tongue into the other man's mouth.
Which, of course, just made Kazi hotter by the second. He pulled Tomoya closer, purring into the kiss, as their bodies pressed together, feeling each other's heat. Kazi slid a hand between their bodies, reaching downward, finding a belt buckle - which he unfastened swiftly, unfastening the zipper right after that.
Tomoya leaned back. “Is that a sign you want to get on the bed?” he said.
“What do you think?” Kazi replied.
They moved across the room, dropping items of clothing as they went, pausing every couple of steps to kiss breathlessly again, a swift touch of lips and brush of tongues. They reached the edge of the bed as Tomoya pulled off his underwear - the last thing either of them were wearing - and he sat on the edge of the bed, Kazi leaning over, kissing his lips again.
Kazi worked his way downward, kissing down Tomoya's neck as his hands roamed over the other man's thighs, feeling for the sensitive spots and caressing them - which made Tomoya shudder, arching up toward Kazi.
Encouraged, Kazi kept moving downward, licking over Tomoya's chest - it was really obvious that he worked out at least some. In fact, letting one hand wander over to his stomach revealed that his abs were pretty damn rock-hard. He wondered if PSC reimbursed gym expenses.
There were other things more important than that to think about than gyms right now, though. Like, for instance, the nipple right in front of him. He paid homage to that with his tongue, running back and forth over it, slowly, and getting a low moan in response. Well, he was going to just have to make those noises louder, wasn't he? He started sucking, as he let his fingers brush lightly over the other man's cock.
“Oh, God, yes,” Tomoya moaned, grabbing the top of Kazi's head, and Kazi intensified his efforts, sucking hard, then raising his head and flicking his tongue across it again.
If that's the reaction I get for this, he thought, what would I get if I took it to the next level . . .
Only one way to find out. He let his tongue move lower, tracing the shape of those rock-hard abs, and damn, they really were perfect. He wondered if Tomoya would think it it was weird if he suddenly started rubbing his cock over his new lover's stomach. He didn't think the other man would have ever had an ab-fucking before.
He remembered what his goal was, though, and he moved down further, opening his mouth, wrapping his lips around the head of his new lover's cock. This felt damn nice, too - good size, hard, beautifully shaped. His tongue ran around and around it, and Kazi had to resist the urge to reach down and grab himself, because fuck, this guy was turning him on like nobody he'd been with in eons.
Kazi began to slide down further, taking more of it in, sucking hard, and damn, he was loving this, why the hell wasn't this guy on camera, he had a spectacular cock . . .
He moved his head, a steady, thrusting motion, relaxing more and more with every downstroke, getting deeper every thrust, not realizing how far he was taking it . . . until he suddenly heard Tomoya gasp and grab his head, and he realized he was feeling sweet hardness in the back of his throat.
Well, damn. It had been awhile since he'd deep-throated.
He moved back, then down again, feeling like he was swallowing that lovely thing whole, and Tomoya moaned louder, saying, “Fuck . . . fuck, that's so good . . .”
It occurred to Kazi that as lovely as this was for both of them - and he could go on deep-throating him all night, if it were possible - he'd better stop if they had any hope of penetration happening. He slid back and off, reluctantly, then moved up to kiss Tomoya's mouth again. Tomoya reacted with hunger, thrusting his tongue into Kazi's mouth, reaching down to let his fingers rub his nipples.
The kiss broke, and Tomoya moved down, taking the bud he had just been pleasuring into his mouth, sucking hard and tonguing it. Now it was Kazi's turn to moan, grabbing the back of Tomoya's head as his lover had done to him.
Tomoya raised his head. “Do you top or bottom?” he said.
“Depends on the guy,” Kazi said. “For you, though? If you want to fuck me, I'm gonna take everything you've got to give.”
“Lie on your back,” Tomoya said.
He did, spreading his legs and raising his head, watching Tomoya as he located the condoms and lube packets that were always laid out in these places. He opened one and coated his fingers, settling between Kazi's legs and leaning over . . .
Kazi felt a tongue sweeping over his cock as a finger started pressing into him, and he opened his legs wider, murmuring, “Oh, yes, do it.” He closed his eyes, moaning as the thing inside him started to move, gently thrusting, and the tongue began to slide along his shaft, sweeping from place to place, tracing little circles right under the head, then moving across the tip, hot and wet.
When the second finger pushed in, Tomoya began to move downward, sucking, and Kazi just lost himself in it, in the velvety softness enveloping him, in the other man's heat, in the sensation of being pleasured both ways. He tangled his fingers in his new lover's hair, thrusting back against the wonderfully invading fingers that were spreading him gently, getting him ready.
Tomoya was moving down faster and harder, sucking him more and more, and a third finger pushed into Kazi. He felt like he was going to explode, he needed those fingers to be replaced by that hard cock, needed to be fucked, but at the same time, he didn't want the oral action to end. It was just so delicious - Tomoya was a natural, knowing where to use his tongue, when to suck hard and when to lessen up.
Tomoya raised his head and asked Kazi, “Are you ready?” The fingers pushed into him further, spreading apart a little.
“Yes,” Kazi murmured. “Do it. I want it.”
He lifted his head again, watching Tomoya roll on the condom and pour on lube, and he laid back, pulling his legs up, offering up his ass. It was a gift the other man was all too willing to take. Tomoya laid on top of him, kissing his lips hard, bringing his cock to Kazi's entrance.
And then he started to push in. Fuck, he felt even bigger than he had in Kazi's mouth, Kazi had to take a breath and will himself to relax as much as he could. Relax he did, though, and soon any discomfort was fading, and warm pleasure was starting to steal through him.
When Tomoya started a gentle thrust, Kazi found himself moaning, because this was starting to feel good, damn good, he was so solid and hard, filling him up completely and seeming to stroke every sensitive part of him as he moved.
“Good?” Tomoya asked.
“Fantastic,” Kazi moaned in response.
Tomoya began to move harder, faster, and Kazi moved along with him, reaching up to run his hands down his lover's back, breathing in the scent of musk and sweat, hearing both their moans. It was the kind of pleasure you could lose yourself in completely, immerse yourself in, having no boundaries at all between yourself and your lover . . .
When Tomoya's hand slid between them, sliding up and down Kazi's erection, Kazi let out a shuddering moan, thrusting harder against the cock inside him, wanting Kazuki to stroke him, to bring him to the edge of delicious madness.
Tomoya did just that, fingers wrapping around the hardness, moving rapidly, sliding down to the base, then rapidly to the tip, then back down again. Kazi was in a frenzy by now, writhing beneath him, moaning, “I'm close . . . close . . . I'm gonna come . . .”
A hard thrust inside him coupled with a well-timed hand motion made Kazi suddenly cry out, ecstasy shooting through his body in waves so deep and intense he thought he was going to explode, but he rode it out, the orgasm seeming to last forever, until he collapsed, a boneless heap of bliss.
At that moment, Tomoya cried out as well, thrusting deep within Kazi as he shuddered with his own intense pleasure, until he fell down on top of the other man, both of them kissing and caressing and panting.
They just lay there, breathing heavily, not moving, not wanting to, probably not even capable of it. They were completely dazed, and completely blissed-out.
After a seeming eternity, Kazi raised his head. “That was amazing,” he said.
“Beyond amazing,” Tomoya said.
“You really, really need to be on camera,” Kazi said. “Being able to fuck like that? That's a talent.”
“I'll tell you what,” Tomoya said. “I promised Subaru that he was going to be my first on-camera lover, and I'm sticking to that. But after that? I'm going to write something where I can co-star with you.”
“You mean it?” Kazi said.
“Of course I mean it,” Tomoya said.
“Hiro usually writes our videos, though,” Kazi said. “I mean, he's one of our writers, Jun writes screenplays, too.”
“That doesn't mean you can't be in a PSC video, though,” Tomoya said. “I'm sure Uruha will cast you if I write a part in for you.” He leaned over and whispered, “Between you and me, there's definitely going to be a Swashbucklers 2. Uruha hasn't announced it yet. And that's the video I'm going to write you into.”
“I got to be with you, and now I get to be a pirate?” Kazi said. “Damn. This is my lucky day all the way around.”
He was very, very glad he and Hiro went for ramen today. In fact, this was looking like the best damn bowl of ramen of his life.
* * *
Hiro was playing a game on his phone when Kazi walked in, a big smile on his face. “So, you had a good time?”
“I had a GREAT time,” Kazi said. “He's an amazing guy. Subaru's damn lucky.” He flopped down on the couch. “Fuck - all kinds of things are going to start happening now, aren't they?”
“What do you mean?” said Hiro.
“We've hooked up with PSC. And Tomoya said they might be able to put us in PSC videos. He said he might even write a part for me in - something.” He caught himself - he'd promised Tomoya he'd keep the secret of Swashbucklers 2. “I mean, we had a good deal with Heavy Hitter, but this? Oh, yeah, I think all kinds of good things are going to happen.”
“Including you hooking up with Tomoya again?” Hiro said.
“That's a given,” Kazi said. “Although I'm gonna need a break before doing that again. He wore me out!”
Kazi was quiet after that, and Hiro went back to his game. After a moment, he looked over at his friend and saw him fast asleep.
To his relief, Tomoya had kept his word. He'd treated Kazi with the respect he deserved. And it seemed Kazi came away from the encounter with nothing but positive feelings - which meant he was okay with having a part-time relationship.
Maybe, Hiro thought, we just ran into too many jerks when we were with our old companies. Maybe it took hooking up with PSC for Kazi to meet a nice guy outside our own group.
He wanted nothing but the best for his best friend. And now, it looked like he finally might get it. Luck, it seemed, was still on their side - personally and professionally.