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Yuuta is occupying Toge’s mind a lot tonight.
It’s December 31st, so the students had all of course taken the opportunity to get shitfaced to bring in the new year. Maki and Mai called a temporary truce so that their respective schools could celebrate together, the latter stealing some of Utahime’s stash of fruity liquor for the party. Toge doesn’t drink much, if ever, so two shots in and he’s already gone, wasted enough that when Mai proposes a round of spin the bottle, he finds himself arguing with Maki fervently in favor.
Mai started it off, re-spinning the bottle when it landed on Todo, to his dismay and to mostly everyone else’s amusement. She got Miwa the second time and planted one on her that left the other girl beet-red and covering her face afterwards. Mechamaru -- Muta now, he guesses -- glared at her from across the room, but Mai smugly paid it no mind.
After Mai came Nishimiya, who got Nobara, who absolutely refused to do anything with her and vice versa -- she, too, spun a second time, this time landing on Yuuta, a result she seemed significantly less displeased with. She gave him a quick peck on the lips before returning to her spot in the circle.
Yuuta’s face was stained the slightest pink afterward.
Toge frowns, still thinking about it.
“Inumaki, it’s your turn,” Megumi nudges from beside him. Toge blinks twice before taking the bottle and spinning. He watches Yuuta watch the bottle with bated breath, watches as his shoulders rise when it starts to slow down, then slump over when it passes him and lands on Todo.
Toge briefly makes eye contact with Yuuta when the other looks up from the bottle before flicking his gaze over to Todo, who is solemnly declaring something about “not my type”.
“I’m straight,” Todo offers apologetically. “Love is love though, I’m fully supporting.”
Toge smirks confidently as he approaches Yuuji’s alleged older brother. “Tuna mayo?” he asks, voice slightly slurred from the alcohol.
Todo balks at the implication, Toge’s tone easy enough to understand even if his words aren’t. “I’m not scared --”
He cuts off with a squeak as Toge seats himself squarely in his lap and cups his face in one hand. Chiseled, Toge absently notices. The gaze burning into his back intensifies.
Todo’s eyes follow as Toge’s other hand reaches to pull down his collar, landing on his lips and seal marks. Toge parts his mouth and lets his tongue hang slightly to show the mark there too, just to tease; he hears Todo audibly gulp at the sight.
Straight, my ass, Toge thinks. He leans in.
Todo’s lips are surprisingly soft for such a rough-looking guy -- Toge’s own lips are chapped to hell, he knows, with all the coughing up blood and shit. But it doesn’t seem like Todo cares, judging by the way he groans into the kiss. There’s a lot of shrieking and wolf-whistling in the background, and he hears Yuuji yell something like “YEAH, GET IT, TODO!”
“Okay, that’s enough,” Maki barks, disgusted, when Todo brings up a hand to pull at Toge’s hair and Toge unintentionally whimpers.
Toge gives Todo’s bottom lip one last bite before extricating himself from the other teen and returning to his seat. A cursory glance across the room shows Yuuta with an unreadable expression on his face, eyes hooded and dark and brows drawn tight, and Toge shivers despite himself.
He looks away as the game continues -- Yuuji gets Nobara, and they make a big show of wiping their mouths and fake-gagging after their half-a-second press of the lips. Then Nobara gets Maki, and she’s flushing and stuttering throughout the whole thing; the contrast is like whiplash.
Finally, it’s Yuuta’s turn. Toge finds their positions reversed, and now it is him intently watching the spinning bottle, and he can tell Yuuta’s gaze still hasn’t left his body. His heart thrums in anticipation as it slows down, landing on…
Maki.
Toge tries not to visibly show his disappointment and also tries not to ponder why he’s disappointed at all. Maki gives him a sympathetic look for some reason that he will not think about.
Yuuta crosses the circle to sit in Maki’s lap this time, finally ceasing his unending staring. The two of them seem to have some sort of unspoken conversation before Maki finally huffs in exasperation and pulls him in to meet his lips.
Toge watches with morbid fascination two of his closest friends sucking face; his heart doing something complicated and painful in his chest the longer it goes on, and yet he can’t tear his eyes away. Finally, Maki pulls back and pushes Yuuta off, the latter still wearing a calculating, unknowable expression, his swollen and puffy lips the only evidence of the make-out session. Yuuta’s gaze flickers again to Toge before he heads back to his spot in the circle, and returns fully once he’s settled.
“Sorry about that,” Maki mutters in Toge’s ear.
Toge bristles. “Bonito flakes.” What’s there to be sorry about, it’s not like they’re dating or anything. Maki rolls her eyes and lightly punches his shoulder.
The night goes on and kisses grow increasingly sloppier the later it gets and the drunker they become. Toge swaps spit with Mai who winks at him afterwards (Maki pretends to violently vomit when Toge comes back to his seat); then Todo again, who is even more enthusiastic than the first time; then Yuuji, who kisses like an excited puppy trying to lick your face -- Toge thinks it’s more endearing than anything.
Yuuta gets Nobara who adamantly refuses, and he laughs cutely and gives her a peck on the forehead instead; Miwa who deeply blushes again like she has at every kiss, even those that don’t involve her; Kamo who, despite being in a regular human body, moves more robotically than Muta ever did as Mechamaru. It’s different each time, the way that Yuuta kisses. Surprised with Nishimiya, methodical with Maki, friendly with Nobara, polite with Miwa, assertive with Kamo.
Toge wonders what kind of kisser Yuuta would be with him.
“Your turn, Inumaki,” Megumi reminds him again, in the midst of Toge’s ruminating on Yuuta’s kissing history and abilities.
Toge spins, and it lands on Megumi, whose face was already red from the alcohol, but somehow flushes even redder when he sees the bottle tip facing his way.
Toge sighs internally. He knows Megumi had -- has? He’s not entirely sure anymore, with Yuuji in the picture -- a crush on him at some point, for whatever reason, Toge cannot fathom. He only knows this because Maki had once begged him to stop being so touchy-feely around her cousin since he was “emotionally leading him on”, or something.
Either way, Toge takes care to give him the most boring and platonic kiss possible, just barely pressing his lips against the shikigami user’s for the briefest of seconds before pulling away with a friendly grin that he hopes looks reassuring, but might just look flirty given how wasted he is. Megumi’s face flashes with equal parts disappointment and relief and Toge tries to ignore the seed of guilt in his stomach, looking away to avoid the pitiful expression on his junior’s face.
His eyes catch Yuuta’s again, for the umpteenth time this night. And Toge is shocked to see that Yuuta looks…
Yuuta looks pissed.
Before the next person, Yuuji, can spin, Yuuta gets up with a stiff “excuse me” and exits the room, and Toge feels oddly bereft at his absence.
“Bonito flakes,” he announces while the bottle’s still spinning. Maki casts him a knowing look as he stands up.
“It’s ten minutes to twelve!” Yuuji calls after him. “Come back soon, okay? Okkotsu too!”
Toge waves a hand in affirmation as he steps out.
He finds Yuuta on the balcony, sipping a cup of Utahime’s sake.
“Tuna mayo?” he ventures, sidling up beside him.
Yuuta looks at him from the corner of his eye. “Bored of the game already?”
There’s a biting tone to his voice, a hint of accusation that scrapes at Toge’s heart like sandpaper. Toge swallows and ignores his steadily sprouting guilt.
“Salmon roe.” I’d rather be with you.
For some reason, this makes Yuuta laugh.
“You’re the kindest person I know, Inumaki,” Yuuta mumbles. He downs the rest of his drink and sets the plastic cup aside on the railing. “But sometimes… you can be really mean.”
The words cut deep into his bones; Toge winces, feeling as hurt as Yuuta sounds.
“Bonito flakes,” he whispers, anxious and unsure.
Yuuta chuckles sadly. “You don’t even know what you’re apologizing for.”
Toge shakes his head and grabs Yuuta’s hand, tugging it so he turns to make full eye contact with him.
“Bonito flakes,” he repeats, more insistent. I don’t care. “Tuna mayo, mustard leaf.” I hate seeing you sad. I’ll do anything I can to make you feel better.
Yuuta regards him with an unfathomable expression. “That’s a big promise to make.”
Toge doesn’t take his eyes off of Yuuta’s, who stares back, unblinking.
“It’s almost midnight,” Yuuta remarks.
“Caviar.” Toge abruptly remembers that Yuuji wanted them back in time for the new year. But neither of them make any motion to move, caught in some weird tension, an orbit that neither wants to fall out of.
“You’ll do ‘anything’?” the older boy asks instead.
Toge squeezes his hand wordlessly in affirmation. Anything for you. In the black of the night, it’s hard to tell for sure, but he thinks Yuuta’s eyes grow darker.
“You keep looking at me,” Yuuta murmurs, after several seconds of silence.
“Salmon,” Toge protests. You were looking at me first.
“Only because of how you kissed Todo. Tell me,” Yuuta utters, voice pitched soft and low, “why did you kiss him like that?”
His shoulders tighten defensively. “Cod roe.” I can kiss whoever I want.
Yuuta leans in, close enough that Toge can smell the cherry flavored sake on his breath when he speaks. “Do you want to kiss me?”
Toge flushes and doesn’t answer, but it doesn’t seem like he needs to, since Yuuta continues.
“Because I want to kiss you.”
Oh. He swallows, feeling dizzy for reasons entirely unrelated to drinking.
“So kiss me,” his mouth whispers before his brain has caught up, and Yuuta crashes their lips together so fast it’s as if he was cursed even though Toge knows the boy is immune to his speech.
Yuuta’s attack on his mouth is truly just that, an attack -- all teeth and tongue, battle cries replaced by harsh breaths and gasps. Yuuta bites down on his bottom lip hard enough to draw blood, licks the droplets back into his own mouth and Toge just about loses his mind.
Earlier he had wondered what kind of kisser Yuuta would be with him. Now, Toge has his answer. Yuuta kisses him like he fights -- hard and unpredictable, confident and desperate all at once. Yuuta kisses him like his life is on the line, like if their mouths cease contact for even a millisecond the world around them would burn to ashes. He kisses him like he wouldn’t even care if the world around them did burn to ashes.
Yuuta kisses him like...
Like he likes him.
To be suddenly confronted with undeniable feelings, emotions so palpable Toge can feel it like a weighted blanket, heavy and warm and near suffocating -- it’s equal parts terrifying and thrilling, and Toge can’t decide if he wants to run or never leave. His body makes the decision for him, hugging Yuuta impossibly tight like he’s trying to mold their forms into one, and the fear and excitement clashing in his mind triples in intensity when he realizes that he maybe, probably, definitely, likes Yuuta back.
Because there’s just no other explanation for how his heart twisted when he saw Yuuta kissing other people in the dumb game, and Toge registers that that must be why he had kissed Todo like that, some deep-seated urge to be reactionary and petty; he can’t blame it solely on the alcohol. Because he’s made out with about half the people in the other room by now, and not a single one of them made him feel like this -- like he’s simultaneously breaking apart and stitching back together all at once, unraveling from the top of his head to the tips of his toes.
They always talk about fireworks in the movies, and maybe it’s because of the third shot he took halfway into the stupid bottle game, but Toge thinks fireworks is an understatement. Kissing Yuuta doesn’t release fireworks in his mind so much as a whole goddamn explosion, a supernova lighting aflame, so intense and so good that his vision completely whites out, mind blank except for a chorus of Yuuta Yuuta Yuuta in his head. His heart is pounding immeasurably fast or maybe it’s stopped beating entirely -- Toge can’t tell.
“I can taste the others on you,” Yuuta growls darkly, and the words send hot chills throughout his body. He bites harshly at Toge’s bottom lip, ensnaring the seal inside his mouth with his tongue. “I hate it. I hated watching you kiss them, but I couldn’t look away.”
Toge slurs back something that might’ve been salted cod roe but comes out as mmmmngh.
“Promise,” Yuuta murmurs into his mouth between kisses, “promise you’ll never kiss anyone but me.”
“Salmon,” Toge gasps, affirming; he can’t imagine kissing anyone else after this, anyways -- Yuuta is it for him, he recognizes as something terrifying and sweet and four-lettered sprouts in his chest. Kissing someone else now would just be underwhelming and disappointing, like eating week-old onigiri when Yuuta is right there, a five-course gourmet meal wrapped in 180 centimeters of tall and handsome and dangerous, cursed energy out the ass.
So powerful, Toge abstractly thinks in the back of his mind. A special grade sorcerer, one of only four. And yet here he is, melting into Toge like putty, letting out the sweetest noises, vulnerable with him and him alone. The idea makes him feel wildly triumphant, like he’s won somehow, though he doesn’t even know what he’s playing.
“I really like you, Inumaki,” Yuuta’s murmuring again; the words slide down the back of Toge’s throat like a fizzy drink, popping and bubbling and exciting. “Sometimes I think I like you too much.”
Toge keens at the admission, and he doesn’t have the vocabulary to express it back the way he wants, so he settles for gripping Yuuta even tighter, digging his fingers in his neck and back almost violently, though it seems like his friend doesn’t mind.
“Inumaki,” Yuuta says again, panting into Toge’s overworked mouth.
“Toge,” he corrects, just as breathless.
“Toge,” Yuuta groans, and somehow his name sounds so much more beautiful coming out of his best friend’s mouth, like a rose instead of the thorns he’s named after.
Yuuta’s hand comes up to wind through Toge’s platinum locks, pulling and squeezing, and Toge whimpers helplessly at the sensation. He finally breaks their kiss, but his lips are back on Toge’s body before he can complain about their absence. He attacks Toge’s neck this time, licking and sucking at his pulse point and it makes Toge feel a little crazy with how intense it is. Involuntary whines keep escaping his throat, and every sound Toge makes only seems to spur Yuuta on.
Yuuta presses one last kiss to the juncture of his neck and shoulder before pulling away. He gently thumbs at the bruise Toge knows is purpling over there, humming in appreciation.
“Beautiful,” he sighs. “You’re so beautiful.”
He brings his hands up to circle the snake seals on Toge’s cheek, and Toge leans into the touch. Yuuta places a hand on the back of Toge’s head and guides him towards his neck, and Toge understands without words what he’s asking for.
This time, it’s Toge sucking a mark into Yuuta’s skin. He tastes sweet and salty all at once and makes the most adorable noises under Toge’s ministrations, and Toge understands now why some people are obsessed with leaving hickeys. Toge’s teeth are sharp, sharper than Yuuta’s, so he takes care not to bite as hard, trying not to break skin and draw blood, though he thinks Yuuta wouldn’t mind if he did. Maybe later, he decides, and the fact that there will absolutely be a later sends anticipation rushing through his veins.
Toge releases Yuuta’s neck with a slight pop and is almost embarrassed to see the giant mark he’s made, but it’s outweighed by a fierce possessiveness he never knew he could feel. Yuuta tilts his chin back up away from his throat, and coaxes him into another kiss -- softer this time, chaste and loving.
“Happy new year,” Yuuta whispers when they separate.
Toge’s eyes widen comically when he notices the time. 12:38 AM -- they’ve been sucking face for over half an hour, and he’s certain beyond a doubt that everyone in the adjacent room knows exactly what they were doing.
“Mustard leaf,” he croaks. Oh god, Maki is never going to let him live this down.
Yuuta just laughs, melodic and graceful. “Worth it.”
Yes, Toge agrees, as he tugs Yuuta down for another kiss before they head back inside, totally worth it.
EPILOGUE:
When they get back inside, they find all the other sorcerers crowded around the TV, watching some old episode of Naruto. Maki and Nobara have commandeered most of the couch, leaving one single cushion that Megumi and Yuuji squish into together. Mai occupies the sole armchair, Nishimiya resting against the arm of it, and the rest of them are scattered on the floor on various pillows and beanbags.
Maki sees them first. Toge squeezes his eyes shut in advance exasperation.
“I see you finally stopped being a pussy.”
“Happy new year to you too, Maki,” Yuuta grumbles.
Toge opens his eyes and glances between them curiously. Yuuta has a sheepish, embarrassed grimace on his face, while Maki looks endlessly smug.
Nobara whines and tugs at Maki’s arm to draw her attention back to the TV, and Maki smirks at them one last time before turning away.
Yuuji slams a fist into his palm. “Oh my god, guys, I just realized something.” He turns to face the rest of the group, clearing his throat before continuing. “Gojo is totally Kakashi --”
He cuts off as he notices Toge and Yuuta’s return. His eyebrows and mouth do a complicated little dance before finally saying, “Hey, you’re back!”
At Yuuji’s loud exclamation, everyone turns to look at them. Megumi flushes and looks away, and gets even redder when Yuuji wraps an arm around him consolingly. Interesting.
Nishimiya wrinkles her nose at the implication of two people leaving and coming back at the turn of the night on new year’s eve. Mai has a smirk on her face as she surveys them, and Toge thinks she looks remarkably like Maki, though refrains from voicing this aloud lest he gets the shit beaten out of him later.
“Uh, happy new year, guys,” Yuuta says weakly.
“Kelp.”
There’s a chorus of half-hearted happy new years in reply and one disgruntled “you guys make me sick,” courtesy of Nobara, and Maki roars with laughter as the ending song plays on screen.
“Next episode is my favorite,” Yuuji announces, already grabbing the remote, “the Chunin Exam is the best arc.”
Nobara snorts. “Basic bitch.”
“Well, what’s your favorite arc, then --”
“Actually, it’s pretty late, we should be heading back,” Todo refutes.
Yuuji pouts. “Aw, c’mon! You guys could stay the night, we have extra sleeping bags and stuff.”
Todo beams at Yuuji’s insistence. “Well, I can’t say no to my brother!”
Mai and Maki share one withering glare before turning away in disgust. Nishimiya and Kamo don’t seem keen on the idea either, but Miwa looks excited to be spending more time with the Tokyo students, and clearly nobody wants to tell her no, so they end up bringing out blankets and pillows for everyone to settle into.
Toge and Yuuta are busy inflating the two air mattresses Maki had unearthed when Todo confronts them. Privately Toge thinks it’s a little amusing how Yuuta instinctively angles forward, as if trying to block him from view. Todo raises an eyebrow but otherwise does not comment.
“I was going to ask for your number,” Todo addresses to Toge, looking between the two of them, and specifically at the enormous hickey on Yuuta’s neck, “but I don’t wanna be a homewrecker.”
He holds out a fist and waits for Yuuta to bump it, which he does, albeit begrudgingly.
“Congrats, man,” Todo says, genuine. “He’s a good kisser, right?”
Yuuta’s face blooms a delicious cherry red as Toge cackles silently, shaking with mirth.