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“How can you be cold right now? This place is practically a furnace!”
Gorou scowled at his friend and curled tighter in on himself, hugging his knees to his chest. “Maybe for you.”
“Heh. Must be all this extra muscle.” Itto flexed an arm and kissed his bicep and Gorou smothered a laugh into his tail. “Oi! Don’t laugh, it’s science!”
“Sure, okay. Science.”
“Hmph.” Itto pouted. “You’re startin’ to make me feel bad, you know.”
“Well, you could’ve planned better than inviting me over on laundry day.”
“Impromptu laundry day!” Itto reminded him, gesturing animatedly. “Not my fault there was a major spillage situation all over my best comforter.”
“I mean, considering you were the one eating ramen in bed, it’s completely your fault.”
“I’m sorry!” Itto wailed. “If I had another comforter, or a blanket or anything, you know I’d give it to you!”
“I know, Itto. It’s alright, really. You can start the movie now.”
Itto heaved out a massive, put-upon sigh and pushed himself to his feet.
“Uno momento, por favor.”
Gorou laughed openly this time. “That’s the worst accent I’ve ever heard.”
“Shaddap,” Itto threw back mildly as he padded through to the other room. He returned with one of his hoodies and tossed it at Gorou. “You’re tiny so this’ll work, right? Put it on and stop shivering already.”
“Gee, you’re so nice to me.”
His tone was sarcastic but Gorou was secretly delighted as he wasted no time scrambling into the hoodie. It easily reached his knees, the shoulders hanging almost at his elbows. Even the hood itself was big enough to fit over his ears without discomfort. He happily snuggled into the soft fabric, taking a subtle whiff of the clean laundry scent. It wasn’t as satisfying as the smell of a hoodie Itto had actually worn would have been, like the one Itto had left at Gorou’s apartment several weeks ago that he kept conveniently forgetting to return, but he wasn’t about to complain. The gesture had been a kind one and it was nice to be wearing something of Itto’s. It made him feel domestic and only a little sad that it didn’t mean to Itto what it meant to him.
“Thanks,” Gorou said with sincerity, looking up at Itto who still stood in front of him. He looked slightly dazed and Gorou cocked his head. “Hey, Earth to Itto. Do you still want to watch the movie?”
“Huh?” Itto blinked and shook his head. “Yeah, yeah, of course! Budge up, puppy.”
Gorou was already tucked against the arm of the sofa and he was surprised when Itto sat down right beside him. The couch was more than big enough for the two of them to spread out but once again Gorou wasn’t complaining about having Itto so close to him. Pleasant and familiar butterflies fluttered in his stomach and a small smile crept onto his face as he stared at the TV waiting for Itto to press play.
Gorou had already seen the movie but Itto had been excited to watch it so he hadn’t needed much persuading. As it played, though, Itto seemed distracted. It could’ve been Gorou’s imagination but he thought he could feel Itto’s eyes on his face again and again, constantly straying from the TV. Itto was restless, too, crossing and uncrossing his arms and legs, scratching his jaw and combing his fingers through his hair.
“Are you alright?” Gorou finally asked.
Itto laughed but it sounded awkward compared to his usual carefree attitude.
“Yeah, ‘course I am.”
“Don’t you like the movie?”
“Sure I do! It’s great! Probably the best movie I’ve ever seen! Well, uh, at least top five.”
Gorou smothered a smile; Itto was so funny when he was overcompensating. Cute, too. His cheeks had gone a little pink and Gorou wanted to pinch them to see if it would make Itto squirm even more.
“Alright,” he said, calling Itto’s bluff. “Tell me two things that have happened in the movie so far. Since you’re enjoying it so much.”
Itto looked honestly panicked for a moment before he covered it with swagger.
“Two things, sure! Pfft, you say it like it’s hard.”
“Go on.”
“Right. Uh.” Itto thought for a second, then snapped his fingers. “This lady…uh, the main lady. She got in a taxi.”
“That’s literally happening right now,” Gorou exclaimed, gleefully pointing at the TV. “You can’t use something you can see on the screen right this second! Try again, Itto.”
Itto huffed and puffed, folding his arms over his chest and scowling. “Hey, what is this, twenty questions? I thought we were watching a movie, not starting a discussion group!”
Gorou fell into giggles that only got worse when Itto looked at him with big, innocent eyes.
“What’s so funny? You started it!”
“Sorry, I’m sorry,” Gorou said, getting himself under control with a final hiccupping laugh. “Are you really okay, though? You seemed distracted, before.”
Itto looked away, his lower lip pouting slightly outwards. It had always been fascinating to Gorou how expressive Itto’s face was. It made it impossible for him to lie and it was one of Gorou’s favourite things about him.
“Oh. Well. I guess I was…wondering if you’re still cold. ‘Cause, uh, you can’t enjoy a good movie if you’re cold, right? You gotta be all comfy and toasty, so I just…wanted to make sure.”
He trailed off lamely, rubbing at a spot just behind his left horn. Gorou didn’t think it was the whole truth but it was close to it. He melted a little.
“That’s very sweet of you.”
“Heh.” Itto had gone pink again even as he grinned more like his usual self. “Gotta be a good host. I got a reputation to maintain.”
Gorou smiled, then shivered involuntarily. The truth was that although the hoodie was helping, he was still cold. He hadn’t worn socks that day and his feet were bare, and he could feel gooseflesh on his arms inside Itto’s huge sleeves.
“I’m alright,” he said, but Itto wasn’t buying it.
“You just shivered, didn’t you?”
“No.”
“Liar!” Itto put a hand to his chest. “I can’t believe you would lie right to my face like that! In my own house!”
“Itto!” Gorou shoved his friend’s shoulder. “Seriously, I’m fine.”
Itto leaned forward, getting right up in Gorou’s face to squint suspiciously at him. Gorou had gotten used to the way his pulse picked up speed when Itto was that close and he was confident nothing showed on his face to give him away.
“Nope,” Itto said, moving away and slapping his thighs. “No good. Get up.”
Gorou got slowly to his feet, glancing warily at his friend. “Are you kicking me out?”
“I’m taking drastic measures,” Itto declared, flopping down on the corner of the couch Gorou had just vacated. “Now sit.”
“But you took my seat.”
Itto patted his thighs again. “Here, bro. We’re gonna cuddle.”
Gorou fought very hard not to let his tail wag behind him. “We are?”
“Makes sense, right?” Itto grinned up at him. “I’m always hot and you’re always cold so together we balance out!”
Gorou had to concede it did make sense.
Itto was leaning against the armrest; Gorou gingerly took a seat on his thigh and Itto wrapped an arm around his waist and pulled him closer
“Better?”
“It takes longer than one second to warm up,” Gorou returned, although in reality he was already burning up just from the contact.
He and Itto had been friends for almost a year and physical affection wasn’t uncommon between them. Itto was a touchy feely kind of guy for sure, but it was usually a quick hug here or a back slap there. They’d never cuddled before.
Gorou had wanted to. He’d considered simply asking but he didn’t want to impose. He didn’t think Itto had gone through the same shift in feelings that he had and it felt selfish to ask for affection under false pretences.
“You comfy?”
Itto’s voice so close to his ear made it twitch. Gorou nodded and steadfastly looked at the TV, no longer so confident he wouldn’t give something away if he looked at Itto.
It only got harder to keep his expression neutral when Itto started to rub up and down his arm.
“You don’t have to do that,” Gorou said. “I’m fine, really.”
“I don’t believe you,” Itto said. “You look tense, so you’re still cold, right?”
“A little,” Gorou lied. He couldn’t have been paying any less attention to his body temperature when there were so many other things to focus on. Itto’s hand, now stroking over his upper back. Itto’s eyes, fixed on his face. Itto’s thighs, thick and firm beneath him.
Itto took hold of his hand and Gorou almost yelped with surprise.
“You’re freezing, dude! Your hands are like ice.”
Gorou did tend to have cold hands and feet, so he knew it was true. He glanced at Itto and saw his friend looking at him like he was responsible for the biggest betrayal in his life. It was so ridiculous Gorou had to smile and it quickly broke into a grin.
“You’re such a liar,” Itto said with an accusatory air, then before Gorou could protest he pulled him forcibly into his arms and held him to his chest.
“‘I’m fine, Itto. Maybe just a little cold, Itto’,” the oni said mockingly, rubbing up and down Gorou’s back again. “Tch. Am I that disgusting you don’t wanna be anywhere near me even when you’re about to freeze to death?”
“That’s…dramatic,” Gorou said, unable to come up with anything more substantial to say. He’d closed his eyes the moment he came to rest against Itto’s solid chest, luxuriating in the sensations. Itto was sublimely warm; it was like being cuddled by a hot water bottle, if hot water bottles could have muscles and smell absolutely divine. Gorou wanted to stay exactly where he was forever and ever.
“Jeez, you really are tiny,” Itto said. “No wonder you get so cold.”
His hand wandered up into Gorou’s hair, right between his ears. Gorou hummed softly and burrowed further in against him, not caring anymore about giving himself away. If Itto wanted to cuddle, he would cuddle with the best of them. Itto seemed to agree as he shifted to a more horizontal position so that Gorou was practically lying on top of him. Gorou pushed his face into the crook of Itto’s neck and Itto flinched.
“Ah, your nose!”
“Oh, sorry!”
“It’s alright, just startled me. Are you sure this ain’t, like, a health condition?”
Gorou smiled against Itto’s shirt. “I don’t think so.”
“Maybe it’s the doggy thing,” Itto mused. “Dogs always have cold noses, right?” He idly stroked Gorou’s hair in a way that, if he were fully canine, would have made him want to thump his hind leg against the ground. It was deliciously distracting and Gorou realised he was more gone on Itto than he’d realised because just the thought of anyone else touching him so intimately made him want to growl.
“Maybe you’re right,” Gorou replied, drowsy and more content than he’d possibly ever been. “Do you wanna stroke my ears?”
Itto’s fingers abruptly stopped moving through his hair.
“You’d really let me?”
“Mm. I like it.”
There was a long pause in which neither of them moved or spoke, broken by the softest brush of Itto’s fingers from the base to the tip of one ear. Gorou swallowed his instinctive whine of delight and only held still for more attention. Itto’s next touch was bolder and the one after that still moreso; he scratched behind Gorou’s ears and Gorou melted in his arms, mouth falling open as his body went completely lax.
“Wow,” Itto said, quiet and awed. “Does it always make you like this?”
“I dunno,” Gorou managed. “I don’t let anyone else touch.”
He heard Itto draw in a long breath, felt his chest rise beneath his body as his lungs filled.
“You know… Your tail is wagging.”
Gorou hid his blush against Itto’s shoulder. “Sorry.”
“Why’re you apologising? It’s cute.”
“It’s embarrassing.”
“I’m the only one here to see it.”
Gorou lifted his head, tail lazily wagging behind him. For a second his eyes met Itto’s before his friend looked away with a cough. His cheeks were red.
“Is something wrong?”
“Nah,” Itto said. He flashed Gorou a grin but it looked strained. “I was just…thinking.”
“You were?” Gorou folded his arms on Itto’s chest and rested his chin there, smiling. “Careful, don’t strain yourself.”
“Oi.” It was a weak rebuttal and they both knew it. Gorou’s ears twitched, his curiosity piqued.
“Itto?”
Itto coughed again and reached up to tug on a horn. “It’s nothing. There’s…something I kinda wanna do but I don’t wanna freak you out so I probably shouldn’t say.”
“Freak me out?” Gorou pushed up onto his arms. “Well, now you have to tell me or I’ll be worried about you all night.”
Behind him the movie continued to play, completely unheeded.
“Forget it,” Itto said.
“Itto. It’s not like you to keep a secret.”
It really wasn’t. The oni was prone to blurting out everything that crossed his mind. Shy was the last thing Gorou thought he’d ever be, but then and there it was exactly how he was acting.
“It’s not a secret, it’s just…weird.”
“I think you want to tell me, really,” Gorou said, scooting a little closer until Itto had to look him in the eye so as not to be rude. “Or else you wouldn’t have said anything at all.”
“I didn’t mean to,” Itto protested. “It’s just that you said I was acting weird so I had to say something.”
“I never said you were acting weird.”
“Can I kiss you?”
Gorou stopped dead in his tracks, his heart freezing in his chest for a beat before jumping into double time. Itto was blushing fiercely but he looked very earnest.
“Kiss me?” Gorou’s voice came out small.
“It’s too weird, right?”
“Stop saying ‘weird’,” Gorou said, trying to gather himself. “You’re not weird to me, ever.”
“Aw, man.” Itto’s smile was wobbly. “That’s such a cool thing to say. Makes me wanna kiss you even more.”
It’s what you’ve been waiting for, Gorou’s inner voice screamed at him. Take it!
It was sound advice; he would listen.
When Gorou leaned in, Itto raised a hand like he wanted to touch him but wasn’t sure if it was allowed. Gorou had never seen him so uncertain before and it was thrilling that he was the cause of it. For once he didn’t stop to think but only closed the scant space between them to take the kiss he’d been dreaming of for months. It was a chaste and sweet meeting of lips that bloomed warmth in his chest, warmth that rose into heat when Itto took his face in both hands and nipped at his lower lip. Gorou gasped in surprise and Itto took it as an invitation to slip his tongue into Gorou’s mouth and make him moan . Itto moaned right back and the whole experience was even better than Gorou had imagined it could be. So good, in fact, that he immediately thought it had to be a mistake. His brain, which had been dormant for just long enough for Gorou to take that leap, came back online and made him freeze with uncertainty. Itto noticed him tense up and pulled away to look into his eyes with heartfelt concern.
“Damn, I’m sorry. That was too much, right?”
“N-no, it’s alright, I just…” Gorou took a deep breath. “Why did you want to kiss me?”
“Um.” Itto looked embarrassed again, but he held eye contact this time. His hands settled on Gorou’s waist and the touch was grounding.
“When I saw you wearing my hoodie…I dunno. You looked so small and cute and I started thinking how nice it was that you were small and cute and how it would be nice to see you in my clothes a lot more often and…I just wanted to.”
The fractured statement was, unfortunately, not very reassuring. Gorou moved back to sit on his heels between Itto’s legs, a little terrified that he’d just ruined everything between them. He hoped he could at least get to the end of the evening with his dignity intact, and maybe Itto would forget how eager he’d been to kiss him and they could carry on as friends… If Gorou could forget how good Itto’s tongue had felt in his mouth. His big, warm hands on Gorou’s face. The way he’d blushed.
“Just as a one-off, right?”
Itto removed his hands from Gorou’s waist and Gorou wanted to shrink in on himself and hide away. The cold was getting to him again, away from the heat of Itto’s body. It felt such a lonely place.
“Sure,” Itto said. “If that’s what you want.”
“Oh. Okay.” The words took a second to catch up to him, past the disappointment sitting leaden on his tongue. “What I want?”
Itto nodded. “You were nice enough to let me do something weird—uh, different—but I don’t wanna force you.”
Gorou’s heart was going to get whiplash from how it kept throwing itself against his ribs with every twist and turn between Itto and himself that night.
“But if you could do anything…what would you do?”
“I’d kiss you every day,” Itto said without an ounce of hesitation.
Gorou’s eyes widened and his ears and tail stood straight up.
“You would?”
Itto nodded, although he was still blushing. “I guess I wasn’t sure at first but then we did kiss and I really didn’t want to stop, like, ever. It felt really good.”
Gorou was blushing too, he could feel the heat in his cheeks as he started to smile.
“You never wanted to kiss me before but now you want to do it forever?”
“Don’t make fun,” Itto said, frowning although his red face spoiled the effect. “You’re the one always saying I’m slow on the, whatchacallit? Uptake, right?”
“That’s true,” Gorou said. He felt giddy, happy and brave. He crawled back on top of Itto and pressed a quick kiss to his mouth.
“Hey!” Itto exclaimed, staring up at him in surprise. He put a hand on Gorou’s back, just above the base of his tail (which was wagging like crazy again). “What was that for?”
“I want to kiss you every day as well,” Gorou said.
Itto’s eyebrows shot upwards. “Huh? You do?”
Gorou nodded and ran his thumb up the length of one of Itto’s crimson horns. “If you really mean it.”
“I really do,” Itto said, low and breathless as he pulled Gorou in.
Whatever tiny scrap of restraint Itto showed before seemed to have evaporated. He wrapped his arms tight around Gorou and all but crashed their mouths together. Gorou jerked away with a squeak, pulling on Itto’s horn like he was a bull at a rodeo to try and control him.
“Sorry,” Itto blurted. “I got excited.”
Gorou laughed softly and petted through his hair until Itto closed his eyes with a blissed out smile.
“Maybe I should take the lead this time, hm?”
“Alright,” Itto said and Gorou tried again, hoping the third time would be the charm.
Now that he knew Itto wanted him too, he felt free to tease. He traced Itto’s lips with the tip of his tongue then pulled back to kiss first one cheek and then the other. Itto made a pained sound and cracked one eye to glare at him.
“Puppy, you’re killin’ me.”
“Slow and steady,” Gorou teased, his mouth almost touching Itto’s. “Isn’t this better?”
“If I promise to be careful, can I please kiss you properly?”
“Pinky promise?”
“Yeah, anything. Gorou.”
Itto was whining. Gorou grinned in his arms and ducked down to press their lips firmly together so Itto would know he was done teasing. To his utter delight the oni groaned against his mouth and eagerly parted his lips. Gorou rewarded his patience by pressing his tongue deep into Itto’s mouth. Itto’s hands flailed over his clothes, long nails catching in the fabric of the borrowed hoodie. Gorou had to pull back again because it was just too intense for him to handle very well. He felt like he couldn’t breathe. Itto pulled him down and buried his face in Gorou’s neck.
“Why’d you stop?” He mumbled.
“Just needed to catch my breath,” Gorou told him truthfully. Itto sucked on his neck and he squirmed on top of him. “Ah! This is…sort of a big deal for me.”
“It is?” Itto drew back to blink dumbly up at him.
“I mean…isn’t it?”
Itto’s face scrunched up like he was thinking very hard. “Um. Huh. Maybe?”
“You don’t think so?” Gorou’s poor, poor heart. It could hardly stand the strain. His ears and tail drooped.
“Well…why’s it a big deal to you?” Itto asked. “If you tell me, maybe I’ll get it. You know I’m not the best with this stuff.”
Gorou realised that in spite of everything that had happened in the past few minutes, he was still afraid. Afraid that he would reveal too much about how deep his feelings ran when it was only a casual thing for Itto. Afraid that he was setting himself up to have his fragile heart broken completely in two. Afraid that he would lose the most important friendship in his life.
“Hey.” Itto cupped Gorou’s face, stroking his cheekbone with his thumb. “Why d’ya look so sad, huh?”
They’d always been open with each other and even though he was afraid, Gorou didn’t want to start lying now. If there was any chance of something deeper working out between them, he had to stay truthful.
“It’s a big deal because I’ve thought about it happening for…a long time. I’ve wanted it to happen. So…”
Understanding dawned on Itto’s face, softening his eyes.
“You think I’m gonna change my mind or something, right?”
“I can’t only do this once,” Gorou blurted out. “If that’s all you want, then—”
Itto scowled and pushed himself upright, shifting Gorou to sitting in his lap. He jabbed Gorou in the chest with his pointer finger to punctuate his words.
“I’m a man of my word, you hear? If I say I’m gonna kiss you every day, you can be damn sure I’ll do it!”
“Yeah, but—”
“You doubting my commitment, puppy? When have you ever seen me back down, huh?”
“Itto, this isn’t a challenge we’re talking about.”
“Doesn’t matter,” Itto said stubbornly. “I’ve made my mind up and I’m not gonna change it. I like you, Gorou. You can depend on it, alright?”
Gorou nodded, finding himself unable to speak.
“So we got that all cleared up,” Itto said. “Let’s get some snacks and start the movie again, eh?”
It really was that simple with Itto. Gorou smiled, a bright and relieved smile.
“Man, I was crazy not to see it before,” Itto said, grinning back at him. “You’re adorable.” He pinched one of Gorou’s cheeks.
“Hey!” It was Gorou’s turn to pout, even though he’d been thinking about doing the same to Itto earlier.
“Adorable,” Itto repeated. His grin softened to an expression far softer, fond and sweet. Gorou melted all over again. “Come on, I got chips somewhere in the kitchen. Uh, I think. I definitely got ice cream ‘cause Shinobu left some here yesterday. Oh, let’s make soda floats!”
“Okay.”