Chapter Text
you and inumaki have come up with a secret language.
inumaki gently tugs at your sleeve as the train doors begin to close. his index finger carefully traces a shape on the back of your palm, and though you don’t have to face him to know what he wants to say, you turn to watch him anyway.
your secret language does not consist of words or sounds.
on your skin, he outlines a distinct diamond with a circle drawn inside of it. are you tired?
as soon as he finishes, he looks up at you, glimmering silver strands falling over his eyes as the setting sun races with the train. it’s been something of a long day.
with three fingers, you reach over to his open palm and trace a singular downward motion. a little.
your secret language is made up of gestures and arbitrary symbols, but if someone had asked you to teach it, you wouldn’t know how.
inumaki smiles at your honesty. his hand reaches up to tap your chin once then brush the pad of his thumb up your jawline to your left cheek. shall we head home?
with your pinky finger on the back of his palm, you trace a square. okay.
you’ve curated this secret language with inumaki for as long as you’ve known him, making up gestures on the spot and assigning random words to them. it had simply become a silly repertoire of all the little conversations you’ve shared, that if someone were to ask why a square on the back of a palm was an expression of affirmation, you wouldn’t know why either.
inumaki shifts in his seat for a moment before eventually leaning onto your shoulder. strangers rush onto the train and out like clockwork but you pay them no mind as you listen to inumaki’s slowed breathing. home was plenty of stops away anyway, and he was the type of person who could fall asleep anywhere.
once, panda questioned why you and inumaki couldn’t have just learned something like sign language to communicate beyond his limited vocabulary, said it would have been easier on the both of you.
though that was true, it was the secrecy of it all that you cherished. the fact that this was a language only you and inumaki knew, that only you and he could understand. no one could eavesdrop, no one could ever attempt to crack the code.
there is one phrase you haven’t said to him yet though, and you’ve been waiting for the right time. it was a phrase you coined offhandedly, years and years ago, when you were explaining to him something your mother had said.
thinking he’s surely fast asleep, you carefully intertwine your fingers in his, then you squeeze his hand three times before sneaking a kiss to the top of his head. i love you.
to your shock, inumaki jolts backward at the gesture that he almost hit the back of his head against the window.
there are certain situations, as well, that don’t even require the use of a secret language. as of the moment, inumaki’s wide eyes and slightly parted lips either tell you he’s surprised or is questioning your certainty.
the way your eyes flit away as your face begins to light itself on fire, easily tells him you’re embarrassed. you figured he wouldn’t remember what that one meant.
but with his hand still gripped in yours, inumaki gives your palm three squeezes too, before he swiftly leans in to kiss your cheek. you don’t know what this means—i love you too?
just as you think he’s about to lean back into his seat, with no regard for being in public, inumaki kisses your cheek again. then once more.
more. he’s telling you he loves you more.