Chapter Text
“Have you ever kissed someone?” The question came out of the blue. It didn’t even sound like it was aimed at him, but Toge heard it anyway. The room was mostly silent apart from the rustling of paper and bedsheets. The sudden question dragged him out of his concentration, but it wasn’t like he was getting much work done either way.
Toge turned his gaze away from his homework to Yuta, who was seated at Toge’s desk. They should focus on their assignment; only their teacher would be annoying enough to assign homework after a week full of missions. Toge would've returned his attention to his homework—he should've, but Yuta's words intrigued him. "Mentaiko?"
Yuta startled. He glanced at Toge from the corner of his eye, not quite turning in the chair. "Sorry, was that weird?"
Toge shrugged. If he thought hard about it, nothing about his life was normal. So, his friend asking if he'd ever kissed someone wasn't that big of a deal. "Okaka."
Yuta perked up, spinning around to face Toge fully. "No? That's kind of hard to believe." He mumbled the last part, but Toge still caught it. He'd never noticed how bad Yuta was at whispering.
"Ikura?" Toge sat up on his bed, pushing his homework aside in favor of engaging in strange conversation. He didn't think it was that hard to believe. After all, he has spent all his life in the sorcerer world. He wasn't exactly dating material. He came to terms with the fact nobody would want a boyfriend who couldn't even formulate normal sentences.
"Well, you're really pretty and kind. I kinda thought you would've had at least one relationship."
Toge blinked. He'd never been called pretty or anything of the sort. He didn't think he was ugly, but he didn't think he was attractive either. He was just… there, existing. He didn't do anything in particular for his appearance, and to be complimented so unabashedly made his ears flush.
Yuta must've noticed his silence because he shot up from his seat, his hands desperately comically waving in front of him. "That was weird, I'm sorry!"
Toge smiled, softly laughing. "Okaka, tsuna." He patted the space beside him, motioning for Yuta to sit on his bed.
Yuta hesitated, taking a step forward and pausing until Toge insisted with a flick of his wrist. He walked over and stiffly sat down, his shoulders shrugged to his shoulders, and his posture straightened for the first time in a while.
Toge found it endearing. They've been friends for a while, yet Yuta couldn't seem to get used to the idea of being close. There were only a few students, so they might as well be close friends.
Toge placed a hand on Yuta's tense shoulder, subtly putting weight on it as a way to make the other relax. "Takana ikura?"
"I was just asking! Y'know… friend talk?" Yuta didn't look convinced of his own words, as if it was a lame excuse to cover up something deeper.
And it likely was because Toge didn't believe it either.
For Yuta's sake, he nodded along. "Shake." Toge watched from his peripheral vision as Yuta rubbed his palms against his pants, an action Yuta had picked up whenever he was nervous and his palms were sweating. "Mentaiko?"
"Have I..? No." Yuta tensed under Toge's fingers. "Well, I don't think Rika's curse form counts."
Toge bit his tongue. He knew Yuta had done something to unleash Rika's full potential, but he would've never guessed that a kiss from her beloved would do the trick.
And he never would've guessed that Yuta had kissed her.
Toge retracted his hand from Yuta, opting to start signing. "You… kissed her?"
The blush that spread across Yuta's cheeks before settling over his entire face was satisfying to watch. "I had to! For battle purposes!"
Toge laughed, the sound short and causing the cup on his nightstand to rattle. "I think that counts."
Yuta pouted, pink and licked-wet lips puffing in a way that was too cute for a teenager. "Don't laugh, I did it to save your butt."
"Thanks for kissing Rika so my butt can sit here and laugh at you."
Yuta huffed. "You're welcome."
Toge bumped Yuta's shoulder with his own in a playful manner, leaning against him. "Cheer up. At least the girl loves you.
"Did you use tongue?"
"I-Inumaki!?" Yuta was too easy to fluster, and the way he was blubbering to come up with a response told Toge everything he needed to know.
"You did!" Toge laughed again, putting his whole weight on Yuta as the light from the lamp flickered in response. "How many videos have you watched to French a curse?"
"I take it back; you're so mean, Inumaki." Yuta lightly pushed Toge back. His face was so red, Toge thought the poor boy would boil to death.
"But you still think I'm pretty?" He teased and poked Yuta's side, his expression smug.
"Unfortunately, you are."
Truthfully, Toge didn't expect a response. It was more of a rhetorical question; Toge didn't particularly care for his vanity aspect, but to hear it from Yuta…
"Look who's blushing now." Yuta poked him back. Toge would've been embarrassed, but Yuta's flushed face matched his, and that made things even.
"At least it's because of a compliment. You're blushing because you tongue kissed a curse."
"Inumaki, you're so mean."
"Did she tongue kiss you back?"
Yuta dragged his hands down his face, leaving them to rest against his reddened cheeks. "Why are you so interested? Do you want to kiss her next?"
Toge scoffed. "She's not my type."
"What is your type?"
Toge never gave it much thought. He knew he was attracted to men, but he'd never had a serious crush. A couple of TV celebrities would catch his eye here and there, but they didn't hold any similarities to each other. They were simply celebrity crushes anyway, not a real indicator of what he would like in a partner.
"Dunno, but Rika doesn't fit the criteria."
Yuta lowered his hands to his lap. "Don't like girls, or is it the curse thing?"
Toge feigned deep thinking, brows furrowed together to sell it. "I'd say.. both."
"Then, you wanna kiss me?"
That… was weird. Toge could handle Yuta's random bouts of nerves when he thought he did or said anything weird because Toge didn't think so, but that question might've edged on weird.
It was definitely weird.
Totally weird.
Even weirder since Toge was thinking about it.
"Because I'm not a girl and not a curse, I mean! I'm not trying to make one of those weird questions that people make whenever their friend comes out to them, I swear! I don't care if you like men, I think that's pretty cool. I was just—"
Toge pressed a finger to Yuta's lips to shut his blabbering mouth. "Sorry," Yuta mumbled.
Toge retracted his finger. "Do you go around offering to kiss people?"
"No, just you, I guess."
"You wanna kiss me because I'm pretty, right?" Toge teased with a smile. Maybe he could play it off as a weird joke and not a serious offer because in what world would Okkotsu Yuta want to kiss him?
Yuta's cheeks regained their rosy color. "You being pretty is a bonus, but… I don't know why I said it. Maybe I just want to know what it's like."
So much for a joke. "To kiss a man?"
"No." Yuta paused, briefly glancing away and raising his brow slightly. "Well, maybe. But I meant I want to know what it's like to kiss someone. A real person with lips."
"Not a curse."
"Right, not a curse."
"So, you want to tongue me?"
Yuta covered his face with his arm, looking off to the side, and embarrassment radiating off of him. "Inumaki, seriously."
Toge's shoulders shook with mirth, his hand reaching for Yuta's wrist to pull his attention toward him. "Yuta, shake."
There was a brief silence.
"Am I crazy, or did you agree?"
"Shake."
"As in 'yes, I'll kiss you?'"
Toge rolled his eyes, deciding to switch back to sign. "As in 'yes, I'll let you tongue me.'"
"Really?"
"Really."
Toge gulped as he made sure the door was locked for the nth time, trying to talk his nerves down. He shouldn't be this nervous. He was just going to kiss Yuta. A simple touch of lips, just enough to the point where their friendship stayed the same, and they didn't question what they were afterwards. Maybe he was nervous because it would be his first kiss.
Yes, that was it, and not because they were alone in his bedroom with the light of the setting sun adding to the atmosphere.
Toge sat beside Yuta, their legs touching. The silence between them was deafening, and not even Yuta's whispering could fill it. "Are you really sure, Inumaki?"
Toge nodded before he could talk himself out of it. This would likely be his only chance at getting any kind of action, and as long as Yuta was fine with it, he was as well.
"Okay." He could hear Yuta swallow. "Just… close your eyes, 'kay?"
Toge nodded again, allowing his lids to flutter shut. He could feel his heart hammering against his chest; he was sure it could be heard. He might've acted cocky and easygoing earlier, but now that it was happening, he was Yuta-level anxious.
Toge tensed as he felt a warm palm cupping his jaw, forcing himself to calm down and ease into the touch. His head was slightly tilted, and he could feel the bed dip with shifting weight as Yuta's breath fanned his lips.
Toge's brows furrowed, swallowing hard and breathing shakily as he anticipated the contact of lips on lips.
And when he finally felt it, it was a gentle press. Yuta's lips were unbelievably warm and soft; it made Toge feel a little self-conscious about his own chapped ones.
It was good. The books and movies lied about fireworks going off, but Toge could feel the warmth spreading throughout his body. He liked it. The feeling of focusing on nothing but their lips pressed against each other, the sound of breathing, and the presence of one another. He liked it all.
Yuta's lips slotted against his, and Toge didn't know what to do. He had watched videos like any other guy his age, but being in the moment made his mind blank.
He pulled away abruptly, his gaze shy and hands ready to explain as he met Yuta's confused expression.
Before Yuta could say anything, Toge was already signing. "I don't know what to do."
Yuta softly smiled, and Toge's attention was drawn to the stretch of his lips. "That's okay. Think of this as… practice. We'll figure it out together."
Toge swallowed again, giving a curt nod. If this was just practice, that would make it easier on his cardiovascular system. They practiced every day, albeit a different kind of practice, but practice nonetheless.
Practice.
It's just practice.
"Wanna try again?"
Toge mumbled a word of agreement, closing his eyes like before. The bed dipped, their breaths mingled, and Yuta's lips were back on his. When Yuta's lips moved, Toge attempted to mimic him. That seemed to be the right thing to do.
He startled when Yuta grabbed his hand, peeking through half-lidded eyes as his hand was brought to Yuta's nape. There, his fingers lightly scratched scalp and curled into soft hair. Toge gulped hard as Yuta made a soft noise. The sound was muffled by their connected lips, but it made Toge's cheeks and ears heat up.
Toge was hyper aware of Yuta's hand pressed against his cheek, their knees touching, the warmth of the back of his neck, and Yuta pressing forward as his other hand settled on the free space beside Toge's thigh, casually caging him in.
It was starting to become too much.
The way their lips moved, their position, everything Toge was becoming aware of made him fumble. It was too much for practice, and too much for a "simple press of lips."
They should stop. They were just friends with no romantic feelings towards each other, so they should stop their borderline makeout session.
Toge didn't know if he was thankful for the knock on his door and wriggling of the knob, but they jumped away from each other.
They stared at each other, both wearing stupefied expressions until the door was pounded on.
"Toge, Yuta, it's time for dinner! Unlock this damn door!" Maki's voice echoed, and Toge fumbled to get up, grabbing his scarf and wrapping it too tightly around him. He all but yanked the door open. "Seriously, locking the door for homework? It's not going to escape."
Toge waved her off. "Shake, shake."
"C'mon, we got takeout. Get Yuta's dumb ass off your bed."
Toge nodded and closed the door after she walked away, clearing his throat as he turned to face Yuta, who was still seated on his bed.
As far as he was concerned, practice was over with no chance of picking it back up.