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Daichi wouldn't necessarily call himself an uncultured man, but he isn't really the type for.... well, ballets. Or operas. Any of the fine arts, really. It isn't because of the stigma or the image of the ballet, but rather that Daichi was raised on baseball, volleyball, and a lot of various other sports events. He has vivid memories of sitting in front of the television set with his dad, cheering on the Japanese men's team at the Olympics in whatever sport might be on, wearing a jersey his dad got him for his birthday.
So, when his best friend got a job doing costume and set work for a ballet company, Daichi had no idea what that really meant. He nods his head along to Koushi's avid descriptions of all of the things that he's doing, tells Koushi that in his (unprofessional) opinion, yes, that silk looks like a nice kind of silk. That's about all of the exposure he gets to ballet through Koushi, until Christmas rolls around and Koushi bursts through the door of their shared two-bedroom apartment clutching tickets in his right hand.
"Daichi! Look what my boss gave me! Tickets, to the ballet's main show this season! The Nutcracker! For free! And good seats, too!" He's smiling from ear-to-ear, and plops down next to Daichi on the couch.
"This is so exciting, 'cause one of my favorite dancers is the lead in this production, and also just, the Nutcracker is such a classic!" Daichi blinks at Koushi with obvious confusion, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly at his lack of knowledge.
"Sorry, Koushi, I don't... really know what that's about?" He tells him, closing his laptop so that he can focus his attention on Koushi. Koushi raises an eyebrow, getting that judging look that he sometimes uses on Daichi, and then snorts.
"I figured. Anyways, we're going together, I've decided. There's no better ballet to start with than the Nutcracker, and you can finally see some of my costuming in action!" Koushi's excitement is still palpable, and despite Daichi's apprehensions - what if he doesn't react like Koushi wants him to, what if he's bored for three hours, what if what if - he finds himself looking forward to it, at least a little bit.
"When's it for?" He asks, and Koushi grins, putting the tickets down on the table and standing up. Koushi dusts his jacket off with a sly grin that makes Daichi's stomach start to sink.
"Two hours from now?"
---
"I don't think I'm supposed to be this dressed up," Daichi mumbles, running his finger under the tucked collar of his dress shirt. Koushi huffs at him, one manicured hand reaching out to pat down Daichi's collar. For a guy who works with his hands, Koushi always has his nails done and his hands are awfully soft, Daichi thinks.
"Stop messing with your shirt, Daichi. You look great, and besides, yes, people get dressed up for the ballet. This is a big showing, too, and for a lot of people this is a Christmas tradition. Stop worrying, you'll like it, okay? It's like, a kid-level ballet." Koushi nudges Daichi with his shoulder as they step into the theater. Daichi feels terribly out of place.
After wading their way through crowds of small children buying glitter-covered ornaments and parents silencing said children with various candies, they step into the theater. It's dimly lit, and Koushi takes them all the way to the front, smack-center in the middle. They're in perfect height with the stage, and the whole thing spans right in front of them like a personalized television screen.
"These are even better than you made them sound," Daichi marvels, hearing a few test sounds come from the orchestra pit with incredibly clarity.
Koushi beams. "I told you they were nice! I'm an important guy, y'know~" He winks, and they settle into their seats. Awkwardly, Daichi pretends to try and understand just what's going on in the playbill that they were given when the woman checked their tickets. As he flips to the part that lists the performers, Koushi leans into him and jabs the one titled "the Nutcracker Prince".
"See this guy right here? That's the one I was telling you about. His name's Azumane Asahi, he's such a talent, ugh, and the costuming for him was a pain because he's... a bit unconventional for a male dancer. He's not as lean as most of them, but he's so good," Koushi's tells him, and Daichi nods. There's something about the way that the man's headshot is staged that's... endearing, almost like looking at an old friend. There's a warmness in the guy's eyes that isn't echoed in the snobby-looking photo of the guy playing the toymaker. Maybe it's the long brown hair that softens his features.
Daichi closes the playbook just as the lights begin to dim. Koushi's nearly bouncing out of his seat with excitement, leaning forward as the curtains pull back and it begins.
---
If Daichi's being honest, he isn't following the story.
It's not because it's bad, or hard to understand. The plot is mostly about magic, and that's easy enough for Daichi to get.
It's because every single time that guy's on stage, Daichi loses track of everyone else. The way his hair is slicked back is sharp and intimidating, the costume makeup for his role making his jawline strong and powerful. Powerful is the best word for the Nutcracker Prince. His legs - fuck, his legs. Daichi has known for a long time that he's gay, but he's always pegged himself as a bit of an ass-man, maybe an arm-kinda guy if he's picking physical features to worship. But this guy's legs are incredible. Every plane of him is muscle, the indent of his strength evident when he leaps and does the spinning thing on stage. His chest is broad, his ass is - well, otherworldly - but it's just not the physical features that are entrancing Daichi.
He moves with a contained danger, almost. It's whimsical, it's light, but it's so direct and... immense. Every step is fluid yet strong, and when he lifts the main girl, whatever her name is, Daichi watches the way he does it with such ease and grace and confidence. Maybe it's the confidence that's attracting him. Daichi doesn't know what it is, but he does know that he is inexplicably drawn to this man in each step of his performance. It's not even sexual, which is a lot to say considering that a lot of Daichi's most recent romantic exploits have been purely physical. It's just...
Even when they're doing their final bow, the way that he bows and laughs and gestures down to the orchestra pit pulls at Daichi's heartstrings. The half-smile on the Prince's face light up the stage more than any of the spotlights or Christmas lights do.
"Fuck," Daichi groans when the curtain finally draws shut. Koushi slaps his arm with considerable force.
"There are children, idiot. So, what'd you think?" His scolding tone turns into one of knowing interest, and before he's even been able to say anything, Daichi knows that Koushi's already got his predicament pegged.
"The Nutcracker Prince was so good," Daichi breathes out the compliment with ill-contained amazement, and Koushi grins cheekily back at him.
"I know. I know. Anyways, there's something I forgot to mention. We get to go backstage. Also, did you even notice any of the costuming? Any of the set work?"
Daichi pales, and stands with obvious shame, "Well, uh, yeah. The Prince's costuming was really awesome. And so was, uh. The fireplace. Yeah, the fireplace set was cool."
"Oh my god." Koushi drags a hand down his face, glaring half-heartedly at Daichi, "Were you just looking at Asahi the whole time?"
Daichi deflects that question by stopping dead in his tracks.
"Wait, did you say we were going back stage?"
Koushi rolls his eyes, cursing - for just a brief second - Daichi's one-track mind capabilities.
"Yeah, yeah. We're going."
---
Daichi's heart is pounding as they round to the back, and he hates himself for it. They probably won't even meet this guy. In fact, they'll probably meet someone that Daichi didn't notice once during the production, and Daichi'll feel like a grade A asshole. Maybe they'll talk about Koushi's sets with some of his other production or costume or whatever his job is technically called, and then they'll be out of there, and Daichi won't even meet this mystery ballet dancer. His palms are sweating. Why are his palms sweating? He hasn't been this nervous since his boss called him into the office over intercom in front of his entire company.
Koushi grins at him with that same all-knowing look in his eyes as he pushes the backstage door open. Goddamn his best friend for being so perceptive, Daichi thinks. And goddamn his best friend f--
"Asahi!!! You were so good!" Koushi nearly shouts as soon as they're back, launching himself onto the broad shoulders that could only belong to the guy Daichi had been unabashedly ogling for the entire ballet. He hides himself behind Koushi, nervously adjusting his collar once more.
"R-really....? Thanks, Koushi, I was... really nervous."
Daichi freezes.
Is that... his voice?
The man - Asahi's - voice is so soft, so gentle. It's not at all like he looks, and it's almost... nervous. Nerdy. As Koushi and Asahi talk, Daichi can't stop thinking about how the stammering way he speaks doesn't match his appearance at all. This isn't the guy he saw on stage. It's nothing close to the guy he saw on stage, from the way he holds himself - almost bent at the shoulders, like he's trying to be smaller than he is - to the way he keeps fidgeting with a piece of hair behind his ear.
Daichi is pulled from his thoughts when Koushi's hand settles on his shoulder.
"And, Asahi, this is my best friend, Daichi."
Daichi startles, offering his hand out to the other man, "Oh, uh. Hi, I'm Daichi, it's... nice to meet you? You were really great tonight. This is my first ballet, so I don't really know much about it, but.. yeah, you were really great." God, he sounds like a middle school girl. Despite the way he lamely phrases everything, he watches as Asahi's cheeks redden, warm brown eyes darting towards the floor even as he shakes Daichi's hand.
"... I'm... really glad you enjoyed it, ah... The Nutcracker is a really great ballet to start with, and it's a great role, so it was mostly the role that did all of the work.."
Something about the way the other man is looking down, the way that he shifts his weight from foot to foot, is.. endearing, in the same way the photo was. The warmth that Daichi'd felt watching him on stage starts to swell again, and Daichi tries to ease himself down into a confident persona, tries to pull himself out of this awkward phase he's put himself into.
"Come on, now, a role doesn't make the dancer, the dancer makes the role, right?" Daichi says, smiling as encouragingly as he can, even as his heart pounds in a way that he isn't quite sure he likes.
Asahi looks up at him, and for the first time, the other man smiles in a way that doesn't look like he's being held at gunpoint.
"I guess you're right," the dancer concedes, and Daichi feels like he's been sucker-punched in the stomach when they meet eyes. Shit. This guy may not be who he thought he was on stage, all of the power and confidence and mystique gone, but Daichi'll be damned if he's ever felt this way upon first meeting someone before.
"I'm sure I'll see a talent like yours on stage again soon, right? I'll make sure to con Koushi into giving him all my tickets." Daichi offers this, despite the fact he has no goddamn clue what happened this ballet and if he would've even enjoyed it without Asahi on stage, despite the fact he hasn't checked this with Koushi first. He hears Koushi scoff behind him, but Asahi doesn't notice, instead nodding his head and running a hand through his stiff, gelled hair.
".. I would like that." Asahi says, slowly, surely. Daichi smiles, and then Asahi's name is called by someone else backstage. Guiltily, Asahi excuses himself, and goes toward whoever called him. Daichi struggles to pull his eyes away from the way he walks, because even if he holds himself small, he walks with a fluidity that makes Daichi's temperature rise.
Waving a hand in front of him, Koushi raises an eyebrow. "Time to go. You're treating me to dinner for introducing you two, by the way." He says this decisively, and then grabs Daichi by the wrist to drag him out to the main hallway again.
As they approach the main door of the theater, Daichi walks in silence, his head filled with the conflicting - but not bad - images of Asahi the dancer, and the Asahi he'd met back stage. Koushi stops him before they make it all the way out, with an exasperated but fond expression on his face.
"Give me your phone," Koushi demands, hand extended. Daichi blinks in confusion, but gives it to him anyways. Koushi pulls out his own phone and types something into Daichi's, before handing it back to him.
He's added a new contact, and the name reads, "Asahi A". Daichi's eyes widen and he looks up towards Koushi, shaking his head. He hasn't felt so frazzled in.... well, he has no long. "He doesn't even know me! I can't text him!"
Koushi shrugs, and grins. "Already did."
As if on cue, Daichi's phone buzzes. He opens the message, and his mouth goes dry.
Uhm, thank you, it starts, I... sure, I would love to have lunch with you tomorrow.
"Koushi!" Daichi yells, and a woman shoots him a dirty look from across the lobby, "You asked him out to lunch!"
Koushi raises his hands. "Guilty as charged. What'd he say?"
Daichi fidgets, reading the message again to make sure, "Well, uh. He said yes."
His best friend beams and says with evident pride, "Looks like you have a date, Daichi."
Daichi turns his head, staring back at the theater doors. It looks like he has a date, indeed, and if he's being honest with himself...
Well, he can't wait to see just how many more sides Asahi has.