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Call him sentimental, but a perfect day in Yuuta's mind consists of just a few things, all of which he's managed to obtain this afternoon. A few hours without the looming threat of mortal danger, warm sunlight shining brightly down from overhead, exaggerating the gleam of Toge's violet eyes, and the freedom for them to sit closely together, trading affectionate gestures whenever the impulse strikes.
Yuuta is home for the foreseeable future, and he couldn't be happier.
'Trade me your spicy tuna ball,' Toge signs, following the request with a nudge to his bicep.
"Request denied," Yuuta states, then swaps over to his hands. 'You've already had some. A variety is healthier. These ones,' he points at the untouched onigiri on his boyfriend's platter, 'have vegetables. Just try one.' A scowl reflects back at him. "For me, baby. Please?"
Toge's lips soften into a pout, and the overall intimidation factor is halved by the fact that he has a few grains of rice stuck to the seals to one side of his mouth. Instinctively, Yuuta reaches forward, cleaning the mess away and popping the rice into his mouth to clean off the finger. A little thrill zips up his spine. Yeah, he could get used to being able to do stuff like this whenever he wants again.
Rolling his eyes, Toge asks, "Takana?"
"Delicious," Yuuta answers him, grinning in what he hopes is a smooth way. Judging by the arched eyebrow he gets, though, the expression needs some work. "My favorite flavor."
Realistically, the jujutsu world is never going to slow down enough to let his dreams come true, but he can live in his delusions for a while still. They don't have work or classes until tomorrow.
Toge leans forward, moving in close enough that Yuuta freezes, holding his breath in anticipation. A finger trails along the curve of his jaw suggestively, making his pulse quicken. Then, with a brief tap against his lower lip, Toge sits back. 'Hold that thought until later.'
"What's happening um… later?" Yuuta blurts, voice cracking. Heat snakes up his neck, flushing both it and his face a pale shade of crimson. He doesn't want to assume, but if he had to say, it sounds like something he's glad no one nearby can understand them discussing.
'Bet you'd love to know. Have fun guessing,' Toge teases. Then, in one quick movement, he reaches across and steals the onigiri he'd wanted, biting into it to stake his claim.
Still, as Yuuta watches Toge's face melt into a look of pure contentment as he chews, he can't find it in his heart to scold him. Instead, Yuuta plants his head in his hand and keeps observing. At least until their peaceful date atmosphere is broken by a sudden intrusion.
"Excuse me," a soft voice calls out.
Yuuta looks up and notices a pair of girls standing off to the side of their table. Both of them are laden down with shopping bags, clutching their purchases tight to the front of their bodies. They seem a little older than him, maybe college-aged, but young enough to act uncertain as they greet a stranger. He smiles. Maybe they need directions?
For whatever reason, people seem to flock to him for small favors like that.
"We just wanted to say, it's so sweet of you to learn sign language for your friend! Sorry for seeming like a stalker, but… Hana-chan and I saw you buying food earlier and talking, and then now… with him… anyway, it's really, really sweet. You're so kindhearted."
He blinks back at the girls.
Kindhearted? Yuuta's gaze shifts over to where Toge is sitting, but there's an arm blocking his view of Toge's mouth, rendering it impossible to know what he thinks. Which would be helpful at this point, because Yuuta isn't sure how to answer that praise.
"Um, thank you? But it wasn't," he fumbles around for words, feeling his pulse flutter fretfully. "I love talking to Tog— Inumaki, so uh… that's why I… you could almost say it was selfish of me, really."
Tensing up, Yuuta's blood momentarily runs cold.
He hasn't given those motivations a second glance in a while, but deep down, he's always wondered how pure his intent was at the beginning. When he'd begun JSL lessons, Yuuta had still been stuck in the pining phase, without much confidence that his crush would ever amount to anything. Or that he even deserved a shot at a relationship with someone he admired as much as he did Toge.
All Yuuta had wanted out of learning was more. More inside jokes, more late-night conversations with Toge when they tried to tire Yuuta out enough for sleep to take over, and a deeper sense of being connected to the boy he was falling in love with.
"No, not at all! I think… we both think," the girl emphasizes, twirling a lock of hair around her finger, "that it's great."
An elbow nudges at his side, and faster than he's moved all day, Yuuta looks back over at Toge. His expression is unreadable until he starts signing. Then, his thin lips spread into an impish grin. 'They should just say they want to hop on your dick and be done with it.'
Yuuta bites down on his tongue, stifling the startled gasp that almost falls out of his mouth.
"Toge…" he retorts weakly, face flooding with heat. 'That's not what they mean! '
'That's exactly what's happening here. Just wait.'
His admirer (?) is glancing between them when Yuuta gathers the courage to look at her again, though he can't quite manage direct eye contact. Embarrassment gnaws at him. He plays and replays potential responses in his head, trying to figure out the best thing to say. How do you turn down a stranger when all they've done is maybe hint that they're interested in you? Because he sure as hell doesn't know.
"If you ever want someone else to talk to, we could exchange numbers," she says, squaring her shoulders. "Sorry if that's a little forward, but sweet guys like you are a rare find."
"No, it's—"
"I'm Misaki by the way. You can call me that."
Yuuta's jaw drops. Beside him, he hears a snort, followed by a stream of laughter. Toge tips back in his seat, shoulders shaking with mirth. The panic in Yuuta's head dispels upon hearing him, threading through with a trace of indignation. Really?
He's on his own with the problem then. Only, he's still not sure what the best way to solve it is.
Being blunt is one option, but he can't fault her for trying when she doesn't know any better that he's taken. To Yuuta, the truth seems obvious. Whenever he's around Toge, his love becomes too potent to contain, seeping out with every look, every gesture. He doesn't bother trying to hide it anymore, because why should he? He's not ashamed, no matter how often their friends call him cringe-worthy.
"Sorry, but I can't accept your offer," Yuuta replies, firm tone leaving no room for misinterpretation. "He's not my friend, he's my boyfriend."
Instead of a quick retort from Misaki, her friend Hana cuts her off, cocking her head to one side and snapping, "Look dude, if you're not interested, just say so. You don't gotta play the fake relationship card."
"I am saying so. We're in love."
The laughter stops.
"Are you serious? You expect her to believe that you're with some guy you can't even—"
Yuuta's eyes narrow.
"That I can't what?" he asks coolly, gripping the edge of the table to maintain some semblance of composure. But something ugly flickers to life in his heart as he regards the second girl, and it takes every bit of control Yuuta possesses to rein in the urge to lash out. Beside her, Misaki seems frozen, at a loss for words. "He's perfect to me in every way, and I'd like you to respect those feelings. They won't change."
If he can't be confident about anything else in his life, Yuuta can when it comes to his heart. Once he loves a person, the feeling endures, beyond all logic and even after death. Being so passionate with those he cares about is what had inducted him into the jujutsu world in the first place, and had eventually allowed him to meet Toge.
He hates the idea of someone mocking his choices in love. Unlike most people, Yuuta doesn't do frivolous attachments.
"Tsuna."
Blinking, he turns his head, and is met with Toge's hand on his jaw, angling it to bring him into a kiss. The frustration teeming within him blunts the surprise, the two feelings muddling into a strange calm instead. Yuuta sinks into the firm press of Toge's chapped lips against his mouth, moaning when they bully both of his lips apart and Toge's tongue darts forward, teasing at the bottom one. It's heavenly but all too brief, leaving Yuuta dazed when Toge sits back, patting his cheek fondly.
Then Toge glances at the two girls out of the corner of his eyes with an air of smugness. He tilts his chin up, leaning more heavily into Yuuta's shoulder and entwining their hands on top of Yuuta's thigh.
He doesn't have to speak for Yuuta to know he's relishing every second of this encounter now. Between Toge's not-so-latent mischievous tendencies and his stubborn streak, he's probably on cloud nine from the chance to shock a couple of strangers.
And in this one instance, Yuuta is happy to let him run wild.
"Ugh wow, you weren't kidding."
"S-Sorry," Misaki blurts out, then in a flash of movement, she hurries off, followed closely by Hana. Yuuta watches them leave, heaving a sigh of relief when their backs disappear into the crowd at the fringes of the park.
"Sorry about that," he apologizes, squeezing Toge's hand. To his chagrin, their connection is relinquished seconds later.
'I wasn't worried.'
"Oh, that's good," Yuuta says, lips curling into a smile. "Because everything I told them is true."
'Yeah, I trust you, but you attract people like flies to honey sometimes.'
A seed of doubt plants in Yuuta's chest. Is he being messed with, or is that really a problem? Because he's not trying to win anyone over, in fact, if he had the choice, he'd be content for everyone to stay away. He has all the friends he needs or ever dared to want, and the love of his life. Why would he need more than that?
"Does that bother you?"
"Okaka."
"Are you sure? Because I could... um, try to look less approachable. Glare at people, maybe. I could manage that."
Toge raises an eyebrow doubtfully. "Okaka," he repeats, dragging out the syllables. 'You might be a—' he starts to sign, but then stops, hand moving to dig through his jacket pocket. He pulls out his phone and thumbs past the lockscreen.
He's a what? Sweat beads at Yuuta's temple, and his stomach rolls over unceasingly as he watches Toge type on his phone, searching for something. But what? Has he done something wrong after all? Maybe he's putting off single vibes and he doesn't realize it, or he's not being clear enough that his heart is reserved for one person only. If that's the case, then he'll just have to work harder, because he doesn't plan on having every date they manage to have being interrupted.
Finally, Toge thrusts his phone under Yuuta's nose, pressing play on a video.
♫ Womanizer, woman-womanizer, you're a womanizer, oh, womanizer, oh, you're a womanizer, baby ♫
'The song of your people,' Toge explains one handed, eyes sparkling with amusement. Yuuta gapes back at him, head spinning with a thousand protests as the song's chorus plays on loop. Just the chorus. Whose bright idea was it to make a video of that? He feels like lodging a complaint. A very heated complaint.
"But I'm happily taken," Yuuta whines, pushing the phone away so he can slump forward over the table and sulk. "By you, a man! I'm not some playboy."
'Setting this as your ringtone right now.'
"Toge, please..."
A sharp flick is delivered to his forehead. Grumbling, Yuuta lifts his face from where it has sunk to almost meld with the table.
'I'm kidding,' Toge tells him, 'Not about the ringtone though, that's hilarious. Anyway, people like you because you seem sweet, and you are. But that's not who I fell for.'
Hints of a blush form on Yuuta's face. "It isn't?" he asks tentatively.
He's not sure he's ever bothered to ask a question like that in the handful of months they've been dating.
The second Toge had accepted his confession, Yuuta hadn't looked back, too overjoyed that one, he'd worked up the nerve to ask Toge out, period; and two, that he didn't make a fool of himself in the attempt. But now, curiosity bubbles up inside Yuuta's stomach, making him feel antsy and untethered, like one wrong answer will send him flying. Being considerate is a trait he's always ascribed to his boyfriend, and similar people tend to get along, so what non-similar trait had tipped the balance?
"Okaka."
"Yes, I want to know."
"Tsunamayo."
"I won't take it wrong," Yuuta insists. "Just tell me."
Toge twists in his seat, lips pursing over where his facemask rests on his chin. He sneaks a few furtive, doubtful glances at Yuuta before he decides to give in. Still wearing a pensive expression, he signs his answer. As soon as he's done, Toge shimmies down in his seat so he can lean his head against Yuuta's shoulder. Welcome as the warmth of him is, Yuuta can't help but fixate on his words.
'You're weird. Like me.'
"Weird?" he repeats, turning it over on his tongue to puzzle out the meaning.
"Takana?"
"I'm fine, I'm just thinking," Yuuta reassures him. "Do you mean weird as in… me showing up to school with Rika-chan?"
"Okaka," Toge answers, but then quickly amends with a back and forth shake of his hand, "Sujiko."
"Kind of?"
A faint shift against his body lets him know Toge is nodding. Yuuta glances down just in time for him to elaborate. 'You understood what it's like to live… differently. And you didn't mind staying different, once the negative parts weren't a problem anymore.'
"How so?"
Toge tips his head up to match their eyes. He lets out a soundless sigh. 'Like, the only reason you decided to exorcise Rika was so she could find peace. You didn't want her to leave just so you'd be more normal again.'
"Of course not," Yuuta says, swallowing against the sudden lump in his throat. "I love her. I'd never push Rika-chan away unless that was what was best for her."
Briefly, Toge finds his hand, giving it a comforting squeeze before letting go again.
'I liked that about you because it was relatable. I don't hate being weird either, even if some people think I should,' he signs, capping off the answer by tracing a finger along the purple seals inked on either side of his lips.
Yuuta drinks in the display and realizes that his heart is pounding. Not from anticipation, residual sadness, or nerves, but because he's hopelessly enamored with the boy beside him. The feeling seems liable to burst out of him, heart punching right out of his chest, if he doesn't release some of the pressure. So Yuuta smiles, murmuring, "Glad to hear it, because you're the most amazing person I know, Toge."
'Sap,' Toge says, sticking his tongue out, but the way he snuggles into the sleeve of Yuuta's jacket softens the blow to his pride. Not that he feels particularly ashamed to be called out for that. 'Never thought I'd find anyone, but I hoped if I did that they'd get stuff like that.'
"Well, now you have me, so you don't have to worry about searching for anyone else ever again. Ever."
Toge hums thoughtfully. 'You'll work until I need a newer model.'
"Don't treat me like a smartphone, sweetheart," Yuuta sighs, but a fond smile stretches his lips when he leans down and engulfs his boyfriend into a crushing hug. Against Toge's twitching mouth, he plants a few chaste kisses, pulling back each time Toge tries to deepen their connection.
Maybe that's a pathetic attempt at getting revenge for the teasing, but Yuuta can't be bothered to care. He's home, he's happy, and he's in love. No one could pay him to behave any other way.
And, thankfully, it seems as though being a little unhinged is his biggest charm point.