Chapter Text
"Mushi-kun, will you be my date?"
Judging by how the book he'd been reading tumbled to the floor and the utterly blindsided look on his face, it was safe to assume Mushitarou hadn't been expecting the question. Yokomizo couldn't blame him: admittedly, when he'd said he was coming over, he made no mention of this, and naturally one would assume it was for their usual Friday evening meetup. The surprise was intentional, but only because Yokomizo preferred to ask this sort of thing in person rather than over the phone.
"Did I startle you?" he asked sheepishly. "Sorry."
Mushitarou still stared up at him, wide-eyed, opening and closing his mouth as he tried to form a sentence. Finally, he settled on, "What?"
"Will you be my date?" Yokomizo repeated, retrieving the book-a heavy volume on ancient alchemy-and passing it back to Mushitarou.
"I got that part," Mushitarou replied, trying to regain his composure. "What brought this on, though? Where are you going...?"
Smiling, Yokomizo sat next to him. Mushitarou's tiny couch meant that they could be right next to each other, knees touching.
"Remember how I told you the other day that I had a joint book signing coming up?"
"Yeah."
"Well, I found out this morning that since the intial number of authors that will be at the signing increased, it's actually four now."
"Four?" Mushitarou repeated, eyes widening, this time in a different kind of surprise. "Yokomizo, that's amazing! Congratulations!"
"Aww, thanks, Mushi-kun." Yokomizo gave a smile that was equal parts bashful and excited. Though his friend frequently expressed his dislike for mysteries, he always offered praise for Yokomizo's accomplishments, and each compliment made Yokomizo feel a jolt of warmth.
"You're welcome," Mushitarou replied. Then, remembering the earlier part of the conversation, he continued on with a quizzical look. "How does this involve me, though?"
"About that," Yokomizo started, his voice taking on the same tone that Mushitarou said always came before something that no one wanted to hear. "There's an author's gathering after the second one, and a party after the fourth. We're allowed to bring one other person with us if we'd like, so naturally I thought of you."
Mushitarou paused upon hearing his friend's words. His expression softened, and something like a smile touched his features, just for a moment. Then he seemed to recall something. Frowning, he asked, "Are the other authors mystery writers by any chance?"
Yokomizo nodded, keeping his face placid.
"Then I won't go." Mushitarou crossed his arms in defiance, shutting his eyes and grimacing.
"You don't have to read any of their books," Yokomizo pointed out. "You'd just be there as my date."
"Even so, I'll still be surrounded by people talking about mysteries," Mushitarou countered. "I hear enough from you already. Being surrounded by several more of you would be a nightmare."
Yokomizo laughed again. "I can't argue there. Well, I guess you don't have to come if you don't want to."
"Good, because I don't!"
Yokomizo shook his head, laughing, but he dropped the subject.
It didn't come up again until later that night, when the two of them were eating dinner. They sat across from each other at the little table, though only Yokomizo was looking up, and meal started off in an unusual silence. Normally, they'd be deep in conversation even before their food had stopped steaming, yet Mushitarou didn't say a word as he ate his noodles. Yokomizo could tell by the way his shoulders were hunched that something was on his mind.
"What are you thinking about, Mushi-kun?"
Mushitarou took a long drink of his water before he spoke. "In theory..." he began, looking very pointedly at the wall, "if you did find someone to be your date, where would you be going with them?"
Yokomizo perked up a little. "In theory, we'd be going around to four bookstores in Tokyo," he explained. "The first two are in Shibuya, one is in Shinjuku and the last one is in Ueno. The party will be at the hotel that's booked for lodging for us. Nothing extravagant, but it'll be fun nonetheless."
Mushitarou nodded, eyes still fixed on the wall. "And what would be the timeframe? Just out of curiosity."
"Five days, starting from next Monday. The party is next Friday evening."
"And the departure time Monday morning?"
"I think around 8:30. Hotel check-in time is 9, and the signings start at 10." Internally, Yokomizo was smiling, anticipating where this was going.
Mushitarou nodded again, still not looking his friend in the eye. After a long while, he finally said, "I'll come."
"You will?" Yokomizo made no effort to conceal the excitement in his voice.
"Don't sound so happy," Mushitarou replied, making an annoyed face. "It's only because I want to take a vacation in Tokyo. Don't expect me to say anything at your book signings! I'll be in the corner, as far away as possible!"
He had that theatrical look of displeasure that he always wore at times like these, and Yokomizo could see right through it.
"Okay," he replied, not even attempting to hide his disbelief. "You can come along just to go on vacation."
"It's the truth!" Mushitarou protested, scowling. Yokomizo saw right through that too, and began to feel joy blossoming in his chest unfettered.
"Whatever you say, Mushi-kun."