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“Where’s Inumaki? Shouldn’t he be back from his mission by now?” Yuuta asked, chewing his lip when he realized that Inumaki was nowhere to be seen. Maki and Panda were sparring on their usual spot on the training field, and Inumaki typically accompanied them to keep score, but the spot where he’d normally be was empty. Yuuta knew that Inumaki was far from weak, but his paranoid brain couldn’t help but wonder if something had happened to the other boy. Was he injured? Did he have to go see Ieiri? Did he—
“Toge? He said he was starting to feel a migraine coming on after he came back this morning,” Maki answered.
“Oh,” Yuuta said, breathing out a sigh in relief, though his worry didn’t subside very much, “Is he okay?”
“It’s rare, but Toge gets migraines every once in a while,” Panda hummed, “Usually he just hides away in his room until he feels better, then he’ll come back out. I think the weather has something to do with it, maybe?”
“About time that little menace was nerfed,” Maki snarked, though Yuuta could tell by the undertones of her voice that she was genuinely a little concerned about Inumaki.
“Should I go check on him?”
“He’d like it more if it was you than me or Panda, so go for it,” Maki shrugged, but something about her and Panda’s matching smirks told Yuuta they knew something he didn’t.
“Huh? Maki, what do you mea—“ Yuuta began, but didn’t get a chance to ask further as Maki more or less shoved him off the training field.
Yuuta found himself outside of Inumaki’s dorm room, medicine and water in one hand as he fidgeted outside the door. Inumaki typically didn’t lock his door, and he’s told Yuuta in the past that he was free to come in whenever he wanted. But the other sorcerer wasn’t feeling well today, so shouldn’t he knock to be polite? Or would that create unwanted noise?
Stopping himself from overthinking any further, Yuuta knocked with three gentle taps, accompanying it with a soft “Inumaki? Are you there?”
Yuuta pulled his hand back as he waited for some sort of response. When he was greeted with only silence, his brow furrowed before Yuuta made the executive decision to enter. Inumaki’s room was relatively dark despite the fact it was still midday outside, as the curtains were drawn and all the lights were turned off. Yuuta’s dark blue eyes squinted to adjust to the light difference, blinking a few times before he found what he was looking for. Inumaki was settled in the middle of the bed, burrowed underneath blankets while only the tufts of his silvery blond hair peeked out. The uneven rise and fall of the sheets let Yuuta know that the other student was awake though, and Inumaki shifted, lifting his head up ever so slightly when he recognized who it was that intruded.
“Kombu…?”
“A-Ah, Inumaki! Sorry to bother you, but I brought some headache medicine and water…” Yuuta stammered, lifting up said items to show, “I thought maybe this would help if you hadn’t taken any yet.”
Inumaki made a noise that sounded affirmative, and Yuuta took that as the go-ahead to move towards the other boy’s bed. As he drew closer, the younger sorcerer lifted himself up drowsily from the pillows, and that’s when Yuuta’s gaze fell on the top of Inumaki’s head.
Inumaki’s hair was normally spiky and made him look like a delinquent (a pretty one, in Yuuta’s humble opinion), but now it looked soft and fluffy and ruffled with sleep. Some tufts fell onto his forehead, others jutted out in uneven directions, and it took all of the sword-wielder’s willpower to not reach out and pet Inumaki’s hair himself. His spiky hair typically accentuated the curves of Inumaki’s features, but right now, the fluffy, ruffled look soften them, pairing well with the sleepy look that Inumaki wore. The high collar or scarf he normally wore was left discarded on his desk, so Yuuta had a rare, full view of the seals on the sides of the other sorcerer’s mouth. If Yuuta were a weaker man he wouldn’t be able to handle it, because Inumaki had always looked cute before, but he looked irresistibly adorable now.
“Simp,” said a voice in his head that sounded suspiciously like Maki. Yuuta swatted it away.
Inumaki gratefully took the water while Yuuta fumbled with the cap of the medicine bottle, eventually popping it open so he could shake out a pill for the other boy. Inumaki popped the medicine into his mouth before chugging down at least half of the water bottle in one go, and Yuuta had to stop himself from staring at the way his throat bobbed up and down as he drank.
He definitely wasn’t looking when Inumaki’s lips popped off the edges of the bottle. Absolutely not.
“How are you feeling?” Yuuta asked, chasing away any distracting thoughts. He watched as Inumaki laid back down, only to wince ever so slightly as his head made contact with the pillows. His expression grew pinched, his brows furrowing.
“Ikura…” Still hurts.
Yuuta wanted to reach out and smooth out the pained creases on his brow with his hand, and he must’ve done a poor job of hiding his worry because Inumaki’s eyes flickered up to stare right at him with an insistent look.
“Okaka. Tsuna tsuna.” ‘Don’t worry about me,’ Inumaki signed as soon as he sensed Yuuta’s distress, ‘I’ll be better in a few hours. I don’t want to be a bother.’
“You’re not bothering me at all! I wanted to come check on you,” Yuuta said with a shake of his head, “Are you sure you’ll be fine though?”
“Shake,” Inumaki insisted, his words coming out barely louder than a mumble. He sounded firm enough, though Yuuta still couldn’t resist giving the other boy another concerned look. Of course, Inumaki didn’t miss Yuuta’s gaze and gave the other a playful push to his side, as though he were trying to placate Yuuta’s worries. Even though the his nerves were still there, he was just glad that Inumaki still seemed to have his bratty streak about him.
Inumaki then hiked the blankets just up to his ear, mumbling out a quiet “Mentaiko” to thank Yuuta for bringing the water and medicine. It was clear that the other sorcerer was trying to rest once again, and Yuuta didn’t want to overstay his welcome, so he quietly murmured “Hope you feel better soon, Inumaki,” and backed out the way he came.
The early evening came and went until the last rays of the sunlight disappeared over the horizon, replaced by a curtain of dark blues dotted with stars. Yuuta noticed that Inumaki still hadn’t left his room once, which meant that he probably hadn’t eaten anything all day yet.
Leave it up to his debilitating crush on one whole Inumaki Toge to lead him to the kitchen. He was no cook, but Yuuta rolled up his sleeves and got to work in the dorm’s kitchen, pulling up a list of instructions on his phone as he balanced it on the counter.
Inumaki had shown him how to make tuna and mayo onigiri not too long ago, and it was simple enough to make, even for someone like Yuuta. There were all the necessary ingredients just lying around in the fridge and cabinets already, and he had everything prepped.
Now he just… had to make something edible. Though, he preferred if it actually tasted good and looked good. Yeah, that would be ideal.
“If only kitchen recipes were as easy to copy as cursed techniques,” Yuuta sighed as he made an attempt at shaping the rice. More rice was sticking to his hands than the onigiri, really — it was harder without a mold. He recalled how the first time he’d tried to shape onigiri, they ended up looking misshapen lumps that had seen better days, and Inumaki had a field day watching Yuuta struggle (Yuuta would gladly let it happen again though, just to hear Inumaki’s melodic laugh, even if it was at his expense). In the end, Inumaki salvaged what he could from Yuuta’s work, guiding him in making the onigiri into proper little balls before decorating them with carefully cut pieces of seaweed.
“They sort of look like Panda,” Yuuta had laughed after he placed two ovals in place of eyes and added two more to serve as ears.
‘He might take offense to that,’ Inumaki signed back, though the curved apples of his cheeks and soft crescents of his eyes betrayed his amusement.
Yuuta smiled at the memory, and it renewed his vigor in making another attempt. After some trial and error, it still wasn’t the best-looking, but Yuuta decided that it was as good as it was going to get. At least it was recognizable as onigiri.
Eventually, Yuuta found himself in front of Inumaki’s door once again, this time taking far less time fidgeting outside and instead, knocked on the door before allowing himself inside. The room was still dark — significantly so now that there wasn’t any sunlight peeking from underneath the curtains. But Yuuta made do with what little light there was, and quickly saw that Inumaki was still swaddled up in his bed. The other student’s eyes fluttered open when Yuuta sat down at the very edge of his bed, causing a slight dip in the mattress, and he rubbed his eyes with a questioning look.
“I figured you hadn’t eaten yet, so I tried making something,” Yuuta explained, setting the onigiri by his bedside. Inumaki slowly sat up from the bed, his movements still slow and careful so as to not aggravate his migraine. Judging from his appearance, the other boy wasn’t feeling much better, which made Yuuta frown a little. It didn’t look like Inumaki had gotten much sleep, or if he did, it didn’t seem like it was restful, if the slight bruising around his eyes were anything to go by.
For a moment, the cursed speech user looked a little too nauseous to consider eating anything, but the moment his tired eyes fell on the onigiri, his stomach growled—loudly. Yuuta had to suppress the urge to chuckle.
“It’s tuna and mayo. Your favorite,” Yuuta offered with a smile, pushing the plate a little closer to Inumaki. Despite how dark it was, Yuuta swore he saw the Inumaki's eyes sparkle with glee as he eagerly took one of the onigiri balls. He still took a second to admire Yuuta’s handiwork though, which made the taller boy’s heart flutter.
`They’re not lumpy balls this time,’ Inumaki signed, and Yuuta saw a smirk quirking at the corners of his mouth.
“I learned from the best,” he chuckled softly, watching as Inumaki took a small bite, only for his eyes to widen a bit before he all but began devouring it down.
“Slow down or else you’ll choke!” Yuuta chastised, though he knew there was no stopping him. Though Inumaki was the smallest of all of them, his appetite rivaled that of Maki’s easily, and he was prone to stealing some extra food from their (read: Yuuta’s) plates. “There’s still plenty more, I made extra.”
Inumaki didn’t need to be told twice — he was already on his second one. He ate like he hadn’t had dinner in days, and his eagerness alone made Yuuta happier than he could imagine. Some rice grains got stuck onto the other’s cheeks in the middle of him eating, with some sticking to his cursed seals as well. Yuuta had to force himself to look away, lest he did something rash, like swipe out his hand to thumb away the rice grains himself. At some point, Inumaki tugged on Yuuta’s sleeve, obviously trying to gain his attention.
“Tsuna mayo?” Inumaki asked, pointing at Yuuta’s stomach. ‘Have you eaten yet?’ Even though his words were muffled around the onigiri, Yuuta could still understand the other boy perfectly.
“Huh? I mean, I ate a couple of snacks earlier this afternoon so I’m fine…” he answered.
“Okaka,” Inumaki clicked his tongue disapprovingly, narrowing his eyes. ‘That doesn't count, Yuuta.’
Yuuta only managed to get out a “Really! I’m not that hu—” before his stomach interrupted with a loud growl of its own, causing both boys to look down, and Inumaki’s eyebrow shot up with an unimpressed look.
“... Okay, maybe I’m a little more hungry than I thought,” the dark-haired boy mumbled sheepishly. Inumaki rolled his eyes, all but shoving one of the onigiri balls into Yuuta’s hands before he could protest.
“Tsuna,” Inumaki instructed, his tone leaving no room for Yuuta to argue. Eat.
“Thank you Inumaki,” Yuuta murmured with a smile.
“Takana?” Why thank me?
“You’re always so thoughtful. You always have been.”
Inumaki didn’t reply right away, and Yuuta thought he saw a blush dusting his as the latter turned away, though it was a little too dim in the room for him to really tell.
“Tsuna mayo.” Just eat, stupid.
Yuuta snorted before focusing his attention back to the onigiri Inumaki had given him. He took a bite of it, incredibly pleased to find that, thankfully, it actually tasted good (nevermind that it was a very basic recipe — Yuuta was still a little proud of himself).
The two boys enjoyed the rest of their shared meal in a comfortable silence, and after they were done, Yuuta immediately insisted that he’d go wash the dishes. Inumaki's migraine was still persisting and Yuuta could tell he was trying to downplay it so as to not worry him, but Yuuta insisted that Inumaki take more medicine and get some more rest. At least he had eaten something for dinner instead of skipping a meal.
Yuuta quietly clicked the door to Inumaki’s room shut, walking away with a dopey smile on his face remembering how happy and relaxed the cursed speech user had looked when he was eating with Yuuta, despite his migraine.
A knock on his door pulled Yuuta away from the movie he was idly watching, and his dark blue eyes narrowed in slight confusion. He took a peek at the time, noticing that it was already close to midnight. Maki was usually asleep by now, since she typically slept early to maximize the amount of rest she could get. Panda’s sleeping schedule was a little more erratic (though nowhere near as bad as Yuuta’s), but if it really were the cursed corpse, Yuuta would’ve heard the other’s heavy footsteps coming from a mile away.
“At least I know it isn’t Gojo-sensei,” Yuuta thought, relieved as he slid off his bed and moved to see who was knocking, “He would’ve just invited himself in.”
For some reason, Inumaki isn’t the one who he expected to see when he opened the door, but it’s Inumaki who’s standing just outside his dorm room.
“Inumaki!” Yuuta couldn’t help his enthusiasm getting the better of him, but as soon as he saw the shorter boy wince, Yuuta instantly quieted down and stammered quiet, rapid apologies. He thought that Inumaki was feeling better now if he were here, but instead, the creases in his brow and slight quivering seemed to indicate he most definitely was not. He looked small in his oversized pajamas and with his shoulders curled in on himself, but what really split Yuuta’s heart in two is when he saw Inumaki’s violet eyes brimming with frustrated, unshed tears.
He’d never seen Inumaki look so vulnerable before, let alone seen him cry. Inumaki always seemed so strong, carrying himself with an air of cool confidence as he easily eliminated lower grade curses with just one battle cry. Even though the cursed speech user had his throat torn more times than Yuuta could count, Inumaki had always endured them without so much as a complaint.
“Yuuta,” Inumaki whispered, voice shaking. The tears spilled over and Yuuta’s breath lodged in his throat. Inumaki didn't let him say anything before he stepped into Yuuta’s arms, and as if on reflex, Yuuta wrapped his arms around the shorter boy, trying to bring some semblance of comfort. He firmly tightened his embrace without hurting the other sorcerer without a second thought, letting Inumaki bury his tearstained face into the collar of his shirt.
He heard Inumaki sniffle quietly into his shoulder, and the sound was like a dagger being twisted into his side.
Yuuta couldn’t help but feel useless, unsure of what to do that would help his friend. He could feel his mind begin to race as uncertainty began seeping into his gut, a cold feeling he was all-too familiar with. If a curse had hurt Inumaki, Yuuta knew he would stop at nothing until it was completely obliterated — he wasn’t a special grade sorcerer for nothing, after all. Yuuta was fully aware that he was hopelessly wrapped around Inumaki’s finger, and Yuuta would burn the entirety of Japan down for him if it would make him happy. Yuuta could cut down any number of curses, fight countless battles on Inumaki’s behalf, but a migraine? He couldn’t just erase that and make Inumaki feel better — and judging from Inumaki’s tears, the migraine was probably a hellish one at that.
“Inumaki…” Yuuta said, hyper-aware of stopping his voice from getting higher and higher from panic, “Toge, Toge, don’t cry.” He didn’t realize he said Inumaki’s given name until after it slipped out. But Inumaki shuddered, sinking deeper into Yuuta’s embrace as though Yuuta saying his given name provided some comfort.
“Katsuobushi,” Inumaki mumbled hoarsely. It hurts, it won’t stop hurting.
One hand lowered to Inumaki’s waistline while the other began rubbing soothing circles onto Inumaki’s back. He felt the tension in Inumaki’s shoulders slowly release as Inumaki let out a shuddering sigh, though he didn’t make a move to release the hug. Yuuta would’ve been perfectly fine with staying there forever, though he figured that standing at the door to his dorm wasn’t the most comfortable — or the most private — place to be in.
“Do you want to come in?” Yuuta asked quietly, and he could feel Inumaki make a muffled, but affirmative noise into his shoulder.
Yuuta guided Inumaki into his room, all the while never letting go of the other boy’s hand as he moved his laptop to the edge of the sofa to give them more room. He sat down first before beckoning Inumaki to sit down beside him, patting the soft cushions.
“Here, lay down,” Yuuta suggested, gently moving his hand from Inumaki’s hand to his shoulder and back before slowly guiding him to lay his head down on his lap. Inumaki hesitated before allowing himself to lie down, curling his body up so he could prop his legs on the couch as well. He could have sworn he saw Inumaki’s cheeks turn a light shade of pink, but he didn’t dwell too much on it as he then enveloped the air around them with a blanket of healing cursed energy. He technically wasn’t sure if using reversed cursed energy would help with a migraine, but if nothing else, he hoped it’d at least ease Inumaki a little bit.
Inumaki’s violet eyes looked up as Yuuta moved his hands to rest his fingertips on Inumaki’s temple, his curious gaze causing Yuuta to meet his eyes with a sheepish look.
“Whenever I got a headache, my mom had me lie down and she massaged my temples, or wherever my head hurt,” Yuuta explained softly, concentrating on rubbing soothing circles into the sides and temple of Inumaki’s head. “It always helped me feel better, so I thought… maybe I could do the same for you.”
“Ikura…” Inumaki mumbled, the creases in his brow relaxing as Yuuta’s fingers seemed to have undid a knot in his head. The movie kept playing in the background, fading into white noise as Yuuta kept going. Yuuta felt Inumaki’s weight grow heavier in his lap, allowing himself to relax and not put effort into trying to keep his entire weight off. The other student’s eyes slowly drifted shut, his silvery-blonde eyelashes fluttering as they rested against his face. Yuuta had always secretly admired Inumaki’s eyes from a distance (when he wasn’t looking, of course), but up close he could see how different they looked. His lashes were longer, much prettier than he’d anticipated, even though there were some lingering tears dotting the tips that Yuuta would love to brush away. Maybe he never noticed before because they were always dwarfed by the sparkling hues of his amethyst-colored eyes.
Or maybe he’d never noticed because, well, everything about Inumaki was captivating, plain and simple. If someone were to ask Yuuta, he wouldn’t be able to pick out just one thing he liked about the other boy, because he liked all of him.
Inumaki had been a slave to the seals adorning his mouth since the moment he could speak, but he never once let that stop him from being the kind-hearted, bratty, mischievous, and thoughtful person that Yuuta knew and loved. He remembered when he used to be terrified by the cursed speech user when he had first arrived at Jujutsu Tech, but that never deterred Inumaki from trying to get closer to him — if anything, it had spurred him on.
Yuuta got along well with Maki and Panda, but Inumaki was different. He knew what it was like to be burdened with powers he’d never asked for. He knew the moments haunted by the blood and screams of innocents he didn’t mean to bring harm to. He knew what it was like to be damned to a life fighting in a war that could never be won, only to get up again and again and again to keep on trying. Inumaki knew, which was why he worked so hard to give Yuuta a safe and welcoming space, an open hand to help pull Yuuta up in an unforgiving world that would stop at nothing to tear him down. Even though leading a life as a jujutsu sorcerer committed him to a life full of grief and suffering and pain, it had led him to Inumaki. He was one of the few bright lights in what otherwise was a miserable existence, and for him, Yuuta wouldn’t have it any other way. If he were to die one day, he could die knowing that at least he had gotten to meet Inumaki — the best thing to have happened to him in his lifetime.
He’d at least like to confess his feelings to Inumaki before then, of course. And maybe, just maybe, be able to live long and fulfilling lives together while growing older, side by side. If being a jujutsu sorcerer demanded that he give pieces of himself to fighting endless wars against curses, then Yuuta at least wanted to be selfish and save the pieces of his heart for Inumaki. Love hadn’t been kind to him since he was 11, but the naive side of Yuuta wanted to believe that maybe the universe would finally give him a break.
Yuuta lost track of how long he does this for, between massaging Inumaki’s head and thinking about the other boy, but the movie he’d long forgotten had nearly finished rolling credits by the time Yuuta realized how late it was. He squinted at the monitor to check the time, wincing at the hour it showed.
“Shit, I don’t want to wake him,” Yuuta thought, his eyes flitting away from the laptop screen and back to the other boy who was sound asleep in his lap. Inumaki was snoring softly, so quiet that even in the silence of the room with the movie no longer playing, he could barely hear it — but it was there. Yuuta’s heart squeezed in his chest.
“God, he’s so cute,” Yuuta thought despairingly. The sight dealt devastating blows to his already-massive crush, which had all but tripled in the span of the last twelve hours. He indulged himself in listening for a few more moments before he slowly, carefully maneuvered himself so he could then lift the other boy into his arms. Inumaki was lighter than Yuuta thought he’d be — or maybe that was because Yuuta himself had gotten leaps and bounds stronger since he’d first arrived at Jujutsu Tech.
With the hour already so late, Yuuta knew it only made sense to bring Inumaki back to his room and tuck him into bed. However, he was still softly gazing at the sleeping boy with a fond look, cradling him close to his chest. Inumaki’s head lolled closer to Yuuta, his cheek resting against his collarbone, and Yuuta could feel the other’s warm breath fan across his skin, causing him to shiver.
His lips found their way onto Inumaki’s forehead before Yuuta could really think about what he was doing, a tender, featherlight press against soft skin.
Inumaki sucked in a sharp breath, and Yuuta froze before pulling his lips back from where they were on the other boy’s forehead. He felt Inumaki shift in his arms before his violet eyes sleepily blinked open, and Yuuta felt his breath catch in his throat. Did that wake him? Shit, he’d basically taken advantage of Inumaki while he was in pain and asleep, what kind of friend was he? Did Inumaki notice? Would he hate Yuuta and avoid him after this? Would he—
“Takana…?” Inumaki mumbled drowsily, his speech slurred and voice thick with sleep.
“I-Inumaki! I-I-I um, sorry for waking you,” Yuuta nervously stammered, willing his heart to stop beating so fast, “I’m taking you back to your room so you can sleep—“
“Okaka,” Inumaki interrupted, his brows furrowing as a pout formed on his lips, “Okaka.”
“No…? You don’t want to go back to your room?” Yuuta asked incredulously.
“Shake.”
“Did you want to stay here then?”
“Shake,” Inumaki replied, this time with more feeling. Inumaki tilted his head so it burrowed deeper into Yuuta’s shoulder as one hand moved to grasp the taller boy’s collar tighter, and Yuuta felt so much blood rush to his cheeks he thought he was going to pass out. However, he decided that passing out while carrying Inumaki in his arms was not a good idea, so he slowly maneuvered his way towards his bed, careful to not bump into anything along the way. Yuuta gingerly laid Inumaki down on his bed, rushing to turn off the lights before he crawled in after him. He pulled the covers over them both, and before he could overthink what he should do, Inumaki wriggled himself closer.
Yuuta felt Inumaki’s forehead connect with his chest, his silvery-blond locks tickling the skin of his neck and collarbone as his breath hitched. Inumaki seemed to pay no mind though as he let out a content, sleepy yawn, sinking further into the mattress. That seemed like a good sign, so Yuuta slowly wrapped his arms around Inumaki, pulling the other boy impossibly closer into a firm hold. One of his hands came up to rest on Inumaki’s neck as he thumbed at the short strands of hair there in a soothing fashion. The taller sorcerer tucked Inumaki underneath his chin to rest his head there, and he was pleased to find that the other’s hair was as soft as it looked.
Inumaki was out like a light in seconds, which was probably a good thing for Yuuta, whose face had turned a deep shade of red.
A part of Yuuta wanted to stay awake and selfishly relish this peaceful moment, to permanently suspend the sight of Inumaki sleeping in his arms in his reality. However, he could feel his eyelids beginning to grow heavy, the usual tension in his body receding thanks to the comforting presence next to him. He hadn’t felt this relaxed in a long time.
“Goodnight Toge,” Yuuta murmured softly, and as he himself drifted off to sleep, he swore he felt Inumaki smile against his chest.
Yuuta slowly blinked awake to light filtering in through the blinds, pleasantly surprised that Gojo hadn’t rudely barged into his room with a new mission to assign. Then he remembered that their eccentric teacher was away on a business trip right now, which meant everyone was spared with a day free from exorcising curses.
What did wake Yuuta up, however, was the absence of a warm body next to him.
Yuuta sat up abruptly, looking around on the bed first, and then around his room. Inumaki was gone, probably having left sometime earlier that morning without waking Yuuta up somehow, even though he was a notoriously light sleeper.
(Maybe he had just been that tired? Or maybe it was because he subconsciously felt safe and comfortable around Inumaki’s presence… the latter thought made Yuuta blush.)
There was no trace of Inumaki having been there at all, and Yuuta nearly began second-guessing himself as to whether or not last night was just a dream if it weren’t for the fact that he felt more well-rested than he ever had in… years, really. It wasn’t often that he was able to get more than a few hours of sleep at a time, if any at all, thanks to his insomnia.
Yuuta couldn’t tell if he was relieved or disappointed that he didn’t wake up still snuggling the other boy.
“Maybe he was uncomfortable? Maybe I overstepped a boundary?” Yuuta wondered, blanching at the thought. He really hoped that wasn’t the case — even though Inumaki had been the one who requested to stay, maybe it had been his tiredness speaking for him, clouding his judgement? Inumaki’s migraine had been pretty bad after all, Yuuta reasoned. All of the sudden, the morning drowsiness left him like waves receding from a beach, replaced by cold uncertainty the other boy’s absence.
Yuuta suppressed the urge to claw his hair out by busying himself with his usual morning routine — make bed, change, brush teeth — but when that still didn’t quite seem to help with his restlessness, the special grade sorcerer decided to head out of his dorm and towards the training field. Might as well get his restless energy out with a couple of laps around the track. However, before he could make it there, he noticed a familiar figure sitting at the edge of the stairs. Inumaki looked up as soon as he heard Yuuta’s footsteps approaching, as though he’d been waiting there for him.
“Kombu,” Inumaki greeted softly. For the most part, he looked well-rested, his violet eyes relaxed and free from the pain it had been the previous night. Inumaki patted the empty spot on the stairs next to him, expecting Yuuta to come join him.
“I-Inumaki!” Yuuta stammered helplessly, moving to sit next to the other sorcerer, “Good morning, is your head feeling better?”
“Shake shake.” It is, thank you.
“Oh, that’s a relief… I got worried when you came yesterday, and when I didn’t see you this morning, I wasn’t sure…”
Yuuta’s words trailed off, wondering where he’d even begin with framing all of his jumbled thoughts and worries. Inumaki began fiddling with the edges of his scarf while Yuuta turned his head to the side, both boys avoiding eye contact with one another, but they both clearly had something to say.
“Inumaki, I—“
“Tsuna ma—“
Both boys paused when they each spoke up, but Toge broke the silence first with a soft giggle. Inumaki’s eyes crinkled at the corners, and Yuuta could lose himself in Inumaki’s eyes forever if he was allowed. He snapped himself out of it quickly though, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.
“You first,” Yuuta offered, playfully nudging Inumaki's foot with his own.
Inumaki picked at the edge of his sleeves as though he were nervous (when was the last time Yuuta saw Inumaki nervous?), which was odd, because normally, Inumaki would’ve playfully shoved his foot back in return. Yuuta waited patiently before Inumaki raised his hands to sign out the thoughts he couldn’t portray with vague onigiri ingredients.
‘Thank you for yesterday, it helped me feel much better. It was the best sleep I had in a while,’ Inumaki signed, ‘But I felt a little bad, for intruding on your space and asking to stay. I’m sorry.’
Despite the scarf covering his mouth, Yuuta could see the guilty creases in Inumaki’s brow.
“Huh? Don’t be sorry!” Yuuta said incredulously, waving his hands in front of himself, “I wanted to help you, and I thought… honestly? I thought I might’ve been too overbearing, or overstepped a boundary because I hadn’t really asked if I could massage your head, or hug you, o-or, um—either way! You weren’t bothering me at all and I also slept really well, I’m just glad you’re feeling better and I hope I didn’t make you uncomfortable or anything becau—”
Yuuta’s rambling was cut off by Inumaki’s finger pressing against his lip, and Yuuta could see the other boy mouth ‘breathe,’ shoulders shaking with amusement and mirth.
“Sorry,” Yuuta mumbled breathlessly. Inumaki just snorted.
“Tsuna tsuna.” Come here.
Inumaki curled his finger towards himself, clearly beckoning for Yuuta to come closer. He cocked his head in confusion, but didn't take more than a second to do as the other student said. They were already sitting so close together though, so Yuuta scooted himself so his legs were touching Inumaki's and he tilted his head down tentatively.
“Like this…?” Yuuta asked, belatedly realizing that his and Inumaki’s faces were less than a few inches away from each other. His eyes couldn’t help but drift down to the other boy’s mouth as Inumaki pulled down his collar, and Yuuta was so distracted by the motion alone that he failed to register Inumaki closing the distance between them.
Yuuta felt a pair of warm lips press against the corner of his own, and his brain short-circuited.
The other boy’s lips barely brushed against Yuuta’s, but he could feel Inumaki’s warm breath ghosting across his skin, causing all of his nerves to stand on end in delight. It was a light and chaste kiss that’s equal parts loving and hesitant, but Yuuta can tell that Inumaki tried to pour as much affection into that one action as he could, trying to convey more than what his cursed technique would ever let him say aloud
When Inumaki pulled away, both boys had impressive shades of pink painted onto their faces. Yuuta’s mouth was slightly agape as he felt his mind all but blue-screen, wrapping his head around the fact that Inumaki had just kissed him. His heart was thumping erratically in his chest and he could feel himself ascending to cloud nine, because Inumaki kissed him.
He snapped out of his reverie when Inumaki fidgeted uncomfortably as a mortified expression crossed his features. Yuuta belatedly realized the other was taking his silence as rejection, and he rushed to amend his mistake.
“Wait, Inuma—Toge!“ Yuuta said urgently, hands flying out to grip Inumaki by his shoulders to stop him from running away. He pulled the other boy closer to press a clumsy kiss onto his lips, pulling away after a moment as he watched Inumaki’s eyes widen.
“Sorry, I was just so happy I forgot to speak,” Yuuta murmured as a sheepish smile found its way onto his face. The blush on his cheeks deepened. “Does this mean you like me? Because I really, really like you Toge,” he admitted, his voice dropping to nothing more than a whisper, “I like you so much.”
It’s Inumaki’s turn to flush an even darker shade of red, all the way to the tips of his ears. It happened so quickly that even though Yuuta was at least ninety-eight percent sure Inumaki liked him back (he did kiss him first, after all…), his nerves began wracking as he realized he just admitted, out loud, feelings he’d been harboring for well over half a year.
“Yuuta,” Inumaki crooned, drawing out the first syllable, and Yuuta felt his breath catch in his throat as he watched the other boy sign, ‘I really like you too, Yuuta.’
“You really like someone like me back? Even though I have so much baggage, and there’s also Rika…”
“Shake,” Inumaki replied while playfully bumping their noses together. Yuuta didn’t need sign language to know that Inumaki meant ‘That never mattered, I want every part of you, good and bad.’
The other boy smiled widely, the biggest Yuuta had ever seen, and he couldn’t help but get swept up in it too, matching Inumaki’s with his own giddy smile. Their lips found each other again, clumsy and uncoordinated at first given that neither of them could contain their smiles. However, after a few moments they quickly eased into a soft but firm rhythm, settling into a more comfortable position. Inumaki tilted his head ever so slightly to fit a better angle, and Yuuta felt like he was soaring. His heart was beating wildly in his chest, and he couldn’t help but blindly reach his arms out to pull Inumaki closer, drunk on the sensation of the shorter boy’s mouth against his. Yuuta opened his mouth ever so slightly, tilting his head more before—
“Finally,” Maki suddenly interjected, causing the two boys to fly apart with matching blushes. Since when did she get here? And Panda too?? “You two are disgusting, you deserve each other.”
“K-Katsuobushi!” Inumaki protested, his face and ears somehow turning an even darker shade of red as he shot the other two first years with an annoyed glare.
“Goddamnit guys, you should’ve waited another month so I would win the bet,” Panda groaned, forking over cash to a gleeful Maki Zenin.
Inumaki merely responded by flipping both of them off while Yuuta buried his red face into his hands.
After enduring a little more teasing from the other two students (thank god Gojo wasn’t here), they finally elected to finally give the two some privacy. Inumaki sighed before turning his head back to Yuuta, honestly worried that the other boy would explode from embarrassment.
“Yuuta?” Inumaki asked, and Yuuta felt the other boy’s delicate fingers pry his own larger, more calloused hands away from his face. He was greeted with the view of Inumaki’s concerned, gentle gaze before the light-haired boy leaned forward to press a peck to his forehead. It lasted briefly, but it was still enough to send another wave of heat over his face, though he felt a little smile appear on his face.
“Takana?” Are you alright?
“Yeah… I am, thank you Inumaki,” Yuuta murmured, feeling his shoulders relax.
Inumaki shook his head, knocking their foreheads together lightly. “Okaka.”
“Toge,” Yuuta corrected, knowing what the other boy meant without any other words. Inumaki hummed approvingly, leaning forward to seal their lips into another kiss.