"What's your favorite food?"
I looked at Nikki as quizzically as I could while trying not to move my face as Hanako carefully removed my makeup. We were sitting in Nikki's apartment as we got undressed from the day. We'd stayed in French Cup until it closed, and then gone here. I'd followed them, with Kazuya bringing up the rear with me. We'd gone out in the street dressed this way, and it had given me a rush. There weren't many people out, but knowing they were seeing me like this...but they didn't know it was me. It was the weirdest feeling in the world. Even people from work who saw me like this wouldn't know it was me...
"Um, spicy noodles?" I wasn't sure why he was asking.
He put his two fingers on his chin, deep in thought and nodding to himself. "Okay, did you have a childhood dog? What was the dog's name?"
"Hodu. It means 'walnut'."
"Aww, so cute," Kazuya grinned next to me. He was deeply involved in watching my transformation. My suit was neatly folded next to him on the wrap around kitchen counter of Nikki's apartment. We'd gone to Hanako's hotel room and collected it and Chidori. We'd decided to come here since there was more food. It didn't matter though, because we'd ordered out upon finding there was no food here. There'd only been a case of beer in the fridge, which was now being happily consumed.
I smiled a little, nervously. I'd never been undressed like this before. My wig had come off and so had the wig cap. My dress was still on. Apparently there were steps, and every drag queen did it differently. Kazuya had undressed much differently than I was. He was now wearing a light pink button up with cuffed sleeves at his elbows and light blue jeans. He'd styled his hair for a long time, and I'd stolen more than a few glances. He'd been so serious in the mirror, using a mousse and comb. It had taken ages.
The pizza on the counter was now forgotten about, most of it gone. There were many beer bottles surrounding it. Chidori was still eating a slice, paying attention to the conversation that Nikki had started all of a sudden.
"Okay, then," Nikki said, ending his considering. He pointed at me. "Your drag name is Spicy Noodles Walnut."
"What, ew! Nikki!" Kazuya gasped, straightening up from leaning on his elbows with a start. "That's not how you find your drag name! That's how you find your porn name!"
"Well, now we know what Gyeong-Wan's porn name is," Nikki shrugged, taking another swig of the beer he was currently working on.
I hoped they couldn't see the blush that had now formed on my cheeks. Maybe there was still makeup there. What was Kazuya's porn name? Maybe cake...something... Now I really hoped there was still makeup on my cheeks.
"What's my porn name? My favorite food is tteokbokki," Chidori said, looking curious from her stool at the edge of the counter.
"Ohh, tteokbokki is good. Good choice," I complimented her. I never would have thought that her favorite food would be Korean.
She smiled like she was in a dream. "Yeah, I know. It's so-"
"Ah-ah, I'll solve this. Wait, give me that makeup blender sponge," Hanako said suddenly, making me jump. Nikki shrugged and gave him one from his makeup case against the wall. The blender was hot pink. Hanako squeezed it in his hand with a sureness. "You want a drag name? Here's what we used to do back in the day. You're welcome."
"'Back in the day'? You're barely four years older than me-" Nikki started, when Hanako mysteriously threw the sponge randomly into the living room. It landed on the mint green couch.
"Couch," Hanako announced. "Go get the makeup blender back."
"Am I a dog?" Nikki asked, getting up and going. He seemed to be a bit wobbly. He got it loyally and came back, smacking it back into Hanako's awaiting hand. He threw it immediately.
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French Cup: A Neighborhood Story
RomanceSummary: In Tokyo, a neighborhood is seeing the tail lights of its local industry fading into the distance. Gentrification is moving in, replacing secretly LGBTQ owned shops and restaurants that have populated the block for decades. New developers a...