1
Matsuo couldn’t say no to the invitation; Thom had been trying to get a real DJ gig forever and it would be poor best friend form to skip out on it just because his set didn’t start until 1 AM. Amy was decidedly uninterested in tagging along, so Mat was ready to chill with just Thom for a few hours in the club and bounce after his set ended. Maybe before it ended, he had no idea how long this kind of shit was supposed to go. The spot was open until like 3 AM, but Mat doubted his now ingrained 9-5 work schedule would make it possible for him to party that late nowadays. For the sake of friendship, he’d give it a shot.
So at 10 PM he stood at the bar, nursing a cheap beer. Someone else was playing right now. Glitchy graphics and colorful shapes were projected onto the wall above the dance floor, the lights shifting around from reds and purples to blues and greens. The club was known for being a kind of counterculture hangout; usually electronic music, but they did some activist stuff from time to time. The crowd skewed younger and edgier than Matsuo - the kind of people he was always jealous of when he was in college. Tonight was a specific genre night, drum and bass, and Mat was actually looking forward to hearing what the other DJs would put out. He tapped his foot along to the beat, somewhat regretting his shoe choice. These boots were gonna be a bitch to untie drunk. He had gone with a pretty simple outfit: black jeans, docs, a dark red short sleeve button down. He ran a hand through his dark hair; he needed to go to a barber - the top was getting kind of long for his taste.
He finally caught sight of Thom, who rushed over with an exasperated smile. “Mat! Fuck yeah.”
“Hey, man, how’s it going?” They exchanged a quick hug.
Thom pulled back the top of his shaggy brown hair and tied it in a short tail. He adjusted his glasses. “Turns out they have me running backstage shit before I go on. I'm gonna be kind of in and out.”
Shit, Mat thought. So he was basically alone for the night. He didn’t really have the clubber’s temperament; dancing alone wasn’t gonna happen without way more liquor. “Alright, well, that’s that I guess.” he shrugged at Thom and raised his glass, “I’ll just chill, you can hang out when you have time.”
“Come smoke with me before they start running me around, at least.” Thom patted Mat’s shoulder and headed to the door. Mat followed. Outside, just around the corner from the entrance, they worked their way through a joint before heading back in. That’d work too, Mat decided, as he stepped back into the colorful noisy space and found himself drawn to the crowd on the dance floor.
To the left and right of the dance floor were some long couches and coffee tables, nestled under the awnings of the ceiling, which was higher in the middle above the dance floor - an implication that there used to be a second floor that connected to this space. At the front was just a wall, with the sound mixing equipment set up to one side instead of on any kind of stage. Mat took in the music and let himself sway and dance for a while, until he realized he was thirsty as hell and headed back to the bar. Responsibly, he got some water. Less responsibly, he got a shot and some kind of cocktail. He debated sneaking over to find a spot on one of the couches. After brief consideration, he decided to people-watch from the bar instead. The dancers definitely made an interesting show, but he got distracted by someone boisterously greeting the bartender right next to him.
“What the fuck are you doing here on your day off?” the bartender asked incredulously.
“Since when do I get any fucking days off?” laughter, “Everyone I fuckin’ know drinks here anyway.”
Matsuo tried to be subtle and turn to face the conversation, and decided finishing his drink right away and seeming like he might need another would be good cover. He saw the bartender, a 20-something woman with brown hair in a bun and straight bangs, talking to a guy around the same age. He had a lot of piercings - an industrial and tons of metal in his ears, gauged lobes, a ring in his right eyebrow, and another on the left side of his lower lip. His curly short-ish blonde hair contrasted with his dark eyebrows. He didn’t look dressed up for the night or anything, but he did look like he had the kind of style that naturally fit into a place like this. Matsuo had no hope of deciphering the name of the band on his shirt, scrawled in thorny letters over a blurry image. His jeans were dark and torn, tucked into his boots, with a thick silver chain securing his wallet to one of the belt loops. His nails were painted black, but the chips and missing spots indicated he hadn’t done them recently. Bracelets on his wrists emphasized the definition of his arms. Mat found himself wondering why he was noticing something like that - why he was taking this much note of the stranger’s appearance at all, really. The two chatted for a bit longer, until the guy noticed Mat and gestured with a smile, “You’re gonna lose his tip if we keep it up.”
Mat, flustered at being acknowledged, laughed and waved his hand, “Nah, haha, it’s okay, I can, uh, I can wait.”
“What’re you drinking?” the guy asked.
“Um, something with lime and rum.”
“Another something with lime and rum for my friend here!” The guy moved closer to Mat, propping his foot up on the rest under the bar. The bartender rolled her eyes and went to work on the drink. “It's on the house,” the guy put a hand on his chest and grinned.
The bartender quickly returned and passed the drink to Matsuo, “Alright, you horny bitch - that means your tab, not free.”
“Same difference,” He held his hand out to Mat, “I’m Kaz, by the way.”
“Oh, uh, Mat.” Matsuo gave a firm handshake and a smile.
“I don't think I've seen you in here before. At least not on my work nights.”
“I'm not much of a clubber,” Mat sipped, “My friend is playing a set later.”
“Oh shit! Nice!” Kaz reached over the bar and grabbed some well liquor, poured himself a double - or maybe it was a triple? “You’re like a VIP with backstage passes and shit, then.”
Mat laughed, “I wish. I’m just sitting out here while he does all the grunt work for the DJs before him.”
“Hmm,” Kaz downed half his drink, “Sounds like we can fuck up that dance floor, then.”
Matsuo felt his face redden and he took a gulp of his own drink. It wasn’t like he hadn’t been asked to dance before. But usually it was women, and usually he had a good excuse on hand, and usually he wasn’t actually interested in taking the offer. He wasn’t super attracted to most people, but there was something about Kaz that made his stomach flutter a bit. If it was a few years ago, or maybe today but more sober, Mat might have felt more conflicted about that, but right now he was going to go with his gut. “I'm not great, but I can give it a shot.”
Kaz grinned, “Fuck yeah, let’s go.” With his own free hand he grabbed Mat’s and started dragging him towards the crowd.
“You said you’re bad at dancing!” Kaz half shouted over the music to Matsuo.
“I am!” Mat laughed but kept moving, “I dance like shit!”
Kaz closed the distance between them and put a hand on Mat’s arm, “Well, you look really fuckin’ good dancing like shit.”
Mat blushed and grinned, leaned in closer to Kaz. He copied him and put his own hand on one of Kaz’s arms, “Thanks.”
Kaz put his other hand on Mat’s waist and pulled him closer, leaving maybe an inch between their bodies as he brought his face next to Mat’s. Matsuo felt like his heart was going to leap out of his chest. He made an effort to suppress the bewildered, excited look that was desperate to show on his face; he wanted to look more cool and collected, more like he wasn’t going a little insane every time Kaz touched him. He could tell he failed from the amused look on Kaz’s face, who gently shifted the hand he had on Mat’s waist. He gave Mat a patient but hopeful smile and looked into his eyes, “Is it cool if I kiss you?”
Mat took in a sharp breath and started laughing, “Fuck, um.” He put his other hand on Kaz’s chest. He could blame it on the liquor, the weed, whatever - but it felt like every cell in his body was screaming “yes” in a way he was fairly certain it had never done before. He couldn’t have held back his grin if he tried, “Yeah, it is.”
Kaz laughed with him, then brought his hand from Mat’s arm to his face. In a soft, deliberate motion, he pressed his lips into Mat’s. Matsuo let out a little noise, somehow surprised. He simultaneously felt like he was going to melt into a puddle, and that he was tense enough to snap in half. Kaz pulled away slightly and drew his hand down to Mat’s chin, a wry smile on his face, “You’re really fucking cute.”
“Shut up,” Mat laughed.
“Okay,” Kaz easily found a different way to occupy his mouth by bringing his lips back to Mat’s, this time with more insistence. Mat found himself leaning into the kiss, into Kaz. He let his lips part and felt Kaz tentatively exploring his mouth with his tongue. He did the same, pushed back into him, intertwined their tongues and twisted them around each other. Mat wasn’t doing anything different, anything he hadn’t done before - these were all familiar motions. But he suddenly understood why people liked kissing. It was electricity every time Kaz moved against him, shocks fired into his chest and - oh my god, he was getting hard. Everything was almost exciting enough to push through the plummeting embarrassment he felt, but not quite. He broke off the kiss and grabbed some air, moved his hand on Kaz’s chest, “I kind of, um - let’s get another drink.”
Kaz smiled and let Mat step back, one of his hands falling into Mat’s as they separated, “Yeah, good move.”
Matsuo led both of them back to the bar. The volume of the music was nothing compared to the sound of his own heartbeat in his ears. He felt like someone had reached into his chest and grabbed his heart, and they were flipping and twisting it around however they wanted. The sensation of Kaz’s hand in his was doing nothing to help him calm down. Something about the strength of his grip, how his hands felt a little bigger than Mat’s own, how every so often Kaz ran his thumb across the back of his hand - he couldn’t place what it was exactly, but underneath the growing excitement was a bizarre sense of comfort. He recognized that if he was more clearheaded, if he thought this through consciously from within the greater context of his life, he would probably find all of this terrifying and risky as shit. Some part of his racing heart was surely due to that subconscious programming, to whatever blocks he had put up that kept him from even imagining something like this was an option. Right now, however, all those barriers and alarms were drowned out by something that felt more like pure joy. He was vaguely reminded of rolling on molly, and wouldn’t have argued if someone suggested he’d been slipped some. He told himself the two of them had exchanged maybe three words - he was not in love with this dude he had just met. He was trashed. He was having the fucking time of his life, he was probably gay, but he wasn’t doing more than having the most fun he’d had in a long time. It wasn’t deep - but it did kick ass. He tried to make a mental note to thank Thom for inviting him out, and maybe to thank Amy for bailing.
He didn’t even realize Kaz had ordered drinks for them until one was put in his hand by the bartender. Kaz raised the shot glass portion of his citywide to her with a smile, and she scoffed as he quickly downed it. Kaz looked at Mat, who slowly sipped his own drink - a vodka cranberry, he discovered. Kaz leaned in and put a hand on his knee, “You good?”
He could feel the color on his face, “Yeah, I just-” he held his drink up, “I don’t actually give a fuck about this.”
Kaz laughed, “I didn’t think so.” He took a long chug of his beer and placed it on the bar, half-finished, “Wanna go somewhere quieter?”
"Hold on, I, uh," Mat panted, lightly touching Kaz's wrist, "Fuck." The light was dim in the club’s back dry storage room. The music was muffled, but Thom’s set was still audible.
Kaz pulled his hand back. He let his fingers fall into Mat's and twirled them a bit, "No, sorry, I should have checked."
Mat leaned his head forward into Kaz's shoulder and took a deep breath, "It's okay. I just, uh," he looked back up, tentatively bringing his hand to Kaz's cheek. "I don't really know what I'm doing here. Like, um, in a ‘I haven’t been with a dude’ way."
Kaz leaned into Mat's hand, grinning, "It's fine if you don't do anything." He brought his own hand to Mat's chest, trailing lightly up and down his torso.
Mat blushed but returned the grin, "Are you sure?"
"Mm. If I do a good job, you can let me teach you later." Matsuo wasn't sure what to make of it all; the hunger in Kaz's eyes belied the submissiveness of his offer. As the other man's hand brushed against his belt, treading where it had been before he called a pause, he felt his breath hitch.
"Yeah. Yes. Fuck, okay." Immediately Kaz's hands were undoing Mat’s belt buckle. He sent one gently under Mat's shirt, feeling out the boundaries of his body, while the other palmed at his cock through his jeans. Kaz's lips were back on Mat's. He let out a little breath when Mat gently bit his lip, sucking at his piercing. Kaz broke off to bury his face in the crook of Mat's neck, placing gentle kisses and nibbles from behind his ear down to his slightly exposed collarbone. At a moan from Mat, Kaz suddenly shifted and pushed Mat solidly against the wall. He practically fell to his knees, kissing across Mat's stomach as he completely undid his jeans, feeling him up as much as he could in the process.
When Kaz's hand touched Mat's dick through his boxer briefs, Mat moaned deeply. When that hand reached past them, pulled them down, and freed him, they both let out noises like they hadn't been touched in years. Kaz pulled back from kissing up Mat's stomach to look at him.
"Fuck," he exhaled sharply, looked up pleadingly, "You're okay? This is okay?"
"Yeah, fuck, please-" Mat cut himself off with a groan as Kaz grabbed his cock, gently holding it with one hand while he buried his face at the base and started kissing up his length. Kaz dragged his tongue along him, swirling around the head before going for it and taking Mat into his mouth.
"Oh my god," Mat inhaled sharply and threw his head back, almost overwhelmed by the feeling of Kaz slowly sucking his cock, bobbing his head along and doing something with his tongue that just… Mat fought against the urge to close his eyes and drift away so he could get a good look at what was going on. Kaz seemed to be utterly savoring the experience; he glanced up and made eye contact with Mat, who let out a “fuck” and felt his dick twitch in Kaz’s mouth. Kaz sped up, and reached a hand up to the base of Mat’s cock. His other hand gently fondled Mat’s balls. Mat couldn’t help but lay his weight back on the wall and shut his eyes. He let one of his hands wander to Kaz’s head and work through his hair, which earned him a pleased hum.
“Holy shit, you’re good at this.”
Kaz kept it up at a steady pace until Mat grew more tense, just a little harder, and then went faster. He took his hand off Mat’s balls to grab his hip, and took him in as deeply as he could. “Oh fuck, if you keep doing that I’m gonna cum.”
Kaz hummed again, an attempt at communicating, “That’s the point,” and Mat growled out, “Fuuuuuuuck, oh my god, I’m-” he cut himself off as he tensed up and his lungs pushed out all the air they could. Waves crashed over him, and he gripped Kaz's hair like it was a life preserver, pulsing in the other man’s mouth. Kaz stilled, waited for Mat to stop twitching, and slowly pulled himself off him. He looked up at Mat and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.
“Oh my god, you-” Mat realized Kaz had swallowed it all, “Fuck, that’s hot.”
Kaz let out a laugh and moved to stand up as Matsuo dazedly put himself back together. Kaz grabbed him by the waist, gave him a smile and a gentle peck on the lips, only for Mat to grab his head and kiss him more forcefully, their tongues intertwining again. When he broke it off, Mat touched his forehead to Kaz’s, “You’re sure you-”
Kaz interrupted, “I'm good.” He pulled away to look Mat in the eyes, smiling, “Really.” He stepped back, adjusted himself in his jeans, and ran a hand through his hair, “I mean, there’s no rush. And, uh, I need to be ready for work in, uh,” he checked his phone, “two hours.”
Mat wondered why that mattered - he was already here, and definitely didn’t seem like he’d be sober in 2 hours. Or did he think it would take 2 hours to teach Mat? There was no way he seemed that incompetent. The way Kaz phrased it - “there’s no rush” - made Matsuo think that maybe he’d want to see him again. The idea made his heart leap. Mat wasn’t going to be pushy, but he circled back to the excuse, “What the fuck kind of bar is open at 4 am?”
Kaz laughed, “You think I can afford to spend this much on drinks with one job? I do part time at a bakery after my late shifts. Since I'm up anyway.” he shrugged.
“Well shit.” Mat fumbled with his own phone, stepped forward, and passed it to Kaz, “Put your info in.”
Kaz nodded and filled in his number. He passed the phone back, with a look like he was debating something with himself. Sheepishly, he added, “I do really want you to call me. We should hang out, like, not drunk.”
“Yeah. I agree,” Mat beamed, blushing, and immediately sent off a text with his name, “Besides, you promised me lessons.”
“Keep flirting, see what happens,” Kaz laughed heartily and threatened, “I swear, I'll suck your dick again.”