Chapter Text
"Inumaki! Take your place!"
With a sheepish bow of apology, Toge quickly tucks his phone away before scrambling to take his position. Suguru smiles encouragingly at him while Satoru rolls his eyes. Toge assumes his place in the center, and Yuuta easily holds his weight as Toge leans back against him, letting his head drop backwards.
"Excellent," the trainer barks. "From the top. Five, six, seven, eight!"
The music starts blasting through the room. Yuuta immediately pushes Toge forward to start their routine, and Toge's body yields to muscle memory as he slides forward, falling to his knees. This routine has been drilled hard enough into him that he can do it without thinking, but he can't let himself slack.
There are always improvements to be made, and Toge doesn't want to disappoint any of their fans. Their comeback is coming up soon, so they've all been working extra hard to prepare.
A rough, grueling hour later, Toge drops to the ground when the trainer finally releases them for a short break. He lies listlessly against the floor, exhausted, but he's not the only one. On the other side of the room, Yuuta looks appropriately winded, and Megumi has already claimed one of the few chairs available.
Satoru is definitely pretending that he's fine, but Toge can see the sheen of sweat on the back of his neck. Yuuji is probably the only one who's actually unaffected, since he actually has the stamina of a monster.
A prick of pain in his eyes makes him grimace, and even though Toge hates touching his gross, sweaty hair, he pushes it back away from his forehead. It'll stay for now, but he'll need to grab a headband later to keep it in place.
A small nudge to his side catches his attention, and Toge turns to Suguru smiling at him. "Here." Suguru offers a cold water bottle. "This should help you feel better."
Toge gratefully takes it and pushes himself up into a sitting position to pop the bottle open. The condensation on the plastic is usually unpleasant, but Toge's too thirsty to care. The water is crisp and refreshing as he takes a huge gulp, and Toge sighs as it relieves his parched throat.
Suguru has already wandered off to pass out more water bottles, and Toge takes a moment to observe his fellow members.
Megumi has turned to chat with Yuuta in the corner, and they're discussing something with serious looks on their faces. In Toge's opinion, they're far closer than they need to be.
On the other side of the room, Satoru is bothering Yuuji relentlessly. This is not an uncommon sight. Yuuji tends to be Satoru's target for his shenanigans, since he's the most likely to either go along with it or accept it good-naturedly.
Toge's hand itches to reach for his phone. If he was alone, he'd probably be giggling to himself.
There's just so much potential.
Toge gleefully thinks back to his most recent work. He had stayed up late into the night to finish it, and despite the severe scolding he got the next day, the sleep deprivation was worth it.
Not to boast, but Toge thinks that it's a masterpiece. And just yesterday, he managed to finish the last chapter. Their schedule is so packed that he won't be able to finish editing it and post it until next week, but it doesn't stop him from daydreaming about it.
A familiar voice snaps Toge back to his senses. "Toge," Yuuta calls, walking over to where Toge is sitting on the ground. He must have finished his conversation with Megumi. Toge raises his hand in greeting, and Yuuta takes the spot on the ground next to him.
"You look tired," Yuuta comments, his voice casual, but Toge hides a wince. Toge didn't get his makeup done in the morning, so his eye bags are just out in the open for everyone to see. The late nights are starting to get to him, but writing is too addicting.
A thumb comes up to brush under his eyes, and Toge goes completely still as Yuuta gently wipes at his dark bags.
"You should sleep more," Yuuta scolds, but there's only concern in his voice. His finger is cold against Toge's sweaty skin, but the touch is sending tiny electric shocks straight to his heart. Toge's heart is doing crazy things to him right now, but to his relief, Shoko—their manager—calls for Yuuta from across the room.
Yuuta sighs, but pulls away before standing. "Go to bed early tonight," Yuuta tells him before walking over to her. Toge watches him go with wide eyes.
His chest is throbbing, but his brain is running at a thousand miles per hour. It's like he's operating on two entirely different wavelengths. Toge's body betrays the huge crush he has on his fellow member, but his mind....
"Haven't been sleeping well?"
Megumi shakes his head, an exhausted slump visible in his shoulders. The nightmares have been keeping him up, so he hasn't been able to get adequate rest for the past few weeks. His eyes are drooped, tiredness visible in the way his face is drawn tight. With a soft touch, Suguru gently lifts his chin with one hand, causing Megumi's pulse to spike rapidly.
"W-what are you..." Megumi's voice trails off as Suguru's other hand comes up to brush at his dark bags. A soft pink emerges against his pale skin, and Suguru's eyes are warm.
"We can't have you sleep deprived all the time," Suguru murmurs. "Why don't you try sleeping in my bed? Perhaps having someone with you might help you rest peacefully."
Since his latest work was about Suguru and Megumi, they're all that lingered in on his mind these days. Before he can continue fantasizing about them, the trainer calls for everyone's attention.
"Alright, back to practice!" She shouts, and Toge scrambles back to his feet. "Three more full runs, and if no mistakes are made, then we'll call it good for today."
The promise of being freed is tempting to all of them, and Toge can sense the moment everyone's concentration sharpens. They're not popular for no reason.
Everyone here has their own little quirks that make them unique. In some people's cases, it makes it a little difficult to work with them. But they're all hard workers, and Toge is proud to be a part of this group.
(And if they finish early enough, they might be able to head back to their dorm sooner. That would give him more time to write.)
Determined to succeed, Toge slides into place, and Yuuta grins at him before allowing Toge to press against his side again. It's a charming look on him.
Yuuta has the hardest job in this routine, which is supporting Toge as they dance. As the smallest in the group, Toge was chosen for a lot of the stunts. Since he's athletic, they're not that difficult for him.
The hardest part tends to coordinating with others, but his chemistry with Yuuta has been shining through lately. It's been a breeze to put together, and Toge lets his stage expression shine as they dance.
With a gleeful smile, Toge finally sits at his desk. Now that he's finally home, it's time.
He can write for the rest of the evening.
In their early debut days, the company had only been able to afford a dorm with two rooms, so they had put three boys in each. Now that they've succeeded and become popular, a generous amount had been spent on an apartment with six bedrooms, so they each got their own room.
And Toge's grateful for that. If he was still stuck in a room with someone else, Toge wouldn't be able to dedicate nearly enough time to his hobby.
His laptop sits in front of him, so he opens it and powers it on. Once the screen loads, he types in his password before pulling up a new document.
A glorious idea hit Toge earlier. Lately, he's noticed that Satoru and Yuuta have been spending more time together. While they were heading home, Shoko had slipped out to pick up dinner for them. A rare treat.
In the very back, Satoru had flashed his screen towards Yuuta, showing something off. He was smug, all too satisfied with whatever it was that Yuuta was seeing.
Yuuta had laughed in response. Toge could tell that Yuuta wasn't too interested in what was happening, but he still gave Satoru his full attention. Yuuta made sure that Satoru knew he was listening to him, all while maintaining his attitude.
It was sweet to see. And Toge loves that trope. Loving your partner so much that listening to them talk about their joy was enough to bring fulfillment. Satoru is someone who requires a lot of attention, and Yuuta is calm enough that it grounds his manic energy.
(Unlike Suguru, who tends to rile Satoru up. Whenever the two of them egg each other on, it spirals into a bigger problem, leaving Shoko to handle the fall-out).
Toge won't be able to write it now, but he quickly jots down some notes. He'll want to come back and get to it eventually. And if Toge doesn't write down his thoughts, he'll definitely forget about it.
A sudden creak startles him, and Toge's hand lashes out to slam his laptop shut. His heart beats wildly as he whips his head around, and Toge stares as he sees Yuuta's head pop into the room.
"If you want to shower, the bathroom is open now," Yuuta tells him. His hair is wet, so he must have just finished washing up. And from the look on his face, Toge's certain that he didn't see anything. "If you don't go now, it's possible that you won't get a chance until much later."
Toge shoots him a thumbs up, pulse still racing, and he sets his laptop aside before moving to pick out a clean set of pajamas to wear tonight. Yuuta disappears, and the door clicks shut behind him. Toge grabs a new towel and hurries to the bathroom to take his own shower.
Like Yuuta said, there's no one there. Toge's quick to turn the hot water on, and he aggressively cleans his hair before scrubbing his body down. Some of his other roommates spend what feels like hours in the bathroom, but Toge has bigger priorities right now. Even as he washes up, his mind continues to wander and think about his newest idea.
Last year, they released an album with a....sexy concept. And as embarrassing as it had been for him, Toge had gone crazy with the fanboying when the official music videos had been released.
How was he supposed to resist such good material? It's not his fault that everyone in his group is unfairly attractive. It seemed that most of their fandom seemed to agree with Toge's mindset, as Twitter had exploded on release day.
Toge's had this idea simmering for a while, but he had decided to put it off to the side while trying to finish his current work. He doesn't like juggling two stories at once, but now that he's finally completed the old one, he can move on.
What if, in another universe, angel Yuuji met demon Suguru?
Yuuji has such bright energy. From day one, it was clear that he was well-liked by everyone.. He was positive, sweet, and their company had been swift to push him into the role of a divine creature for his concept. At the time, Toge had fallen to his knees in the privacy of his bedroom to thank whoever thought of such a genius concept.
As for Suguru, he has a certain magnetism to him that carries a hint of danger. There's no doubt in Toge's mind that Suguru cares for each of them, but Toge is also very well aware of the mischievous side that Suguru has hidden behind that pleasant exterior.
It's definitely something that he can work with. A demon trying to seduce an angel. Suguru is very good with words, so it'll be easy enough to entice Yuuji.
(The reason why Toge's been thinking of these two in particular is because Suguru was paired with Yuuji for a duet in their last album. He's definitely not the only that's been shipping the two of them).
Toge frowns. Though he likes the premise, something about it doesn't feel quite right, and he turns the water off before reaching past the shower curtain for his towel. He'll have to keep brainstorming.
Once he's wiped off most of the water off his body, he steps out to get dressed. Toge eyes the lotion sitting on the sink.
It's a rule that they're all _supposed_ to moisturize, but...
Toge's phone buzzes from where it's sitting on the bathroom counter. Distracted, he quickly dresses himself before picking it up with a clean hand. With the other, he dries his hair with the towel before absentmindedly stepping out of the bathroom.
It takes everything inside of him to suppress a scream as he sees _exactly_ what the notification was, and he coughs awkwardly as he spots Megumi and Yuuji lounging in the living room.
Thankfully, they don't seem to have noticed anything weird. They're engrossed in their own conversation, so they missed Toge nearly making a fool of himself.
His favorite author has finally updated their most recent work, and Toge's been _praying_ for new chapters. With an internal cheer of joy, he rushes back to his room so he can enjoy it from the comfort of his bed.
"Ah, Toge? Do you have a moment?"
Yuuta's voice causes him to halt in his tracks right before he makes it to his room, and Toge peeks over his shoulder to see Yuuta waving at him from his room. "If you have a moment, I'd like to ask you about something," Yuuta says with an apologetic smile. "It's about one of the songs for our album."
Well. In that case. Toge longingly looks at his phone before giving Yuuta a nod. As much as he's dying to read the update, he can't just push off work.
Plus, it's not like he _doesn't_ want to spend with Yuuta.
"Thanks," Yuuta says, looking a bit relieved. "I'm having some trouble with the lyrics, and I thought you would be the best person to ask." Toge steps into Yuuta's room, and Yuuta shuts the door behind them.
Maybe it's because Toge enjoys writing so much, but everyone in their group seems to think that he's a good lyricist. He often gets asked for advice. Toge thinks the others are just as good, but he's also aware that he's dedicated a lot of time to writing.
The hours and hours spent honing his skills have not gone to waste. Yuuta offers his chair to Toge, pulling it out so Toge can sit, and Toge plops down on it before setting his phone on Yuuta's desk.
"So this is what I was thinking," Yuuta says with a slight downturn to his lips. He must really be feeling frustrated if it's visibly showing on his face. "But something about it doesn't feel quite right."
Their most recent album theme is supposed to be love, but Toge can't say that he really feels confident about this particular subject. He's never been in a relationship before, and all of his experience exclusive comes from reading other fan works.
Yuuta slides a paper towards him, and Toge picks it up before scanning over the lyrics. Immediately, Toge can understand Yuuta's dilemma. Something about his lyrics feels off, almost like it's being forced.
It sounds a little bit like someone who's trying to play hard at being in love.
He taps his foot against the ground as he thinks, and something springs to mind.
When they finally break apart, both are breathless. Toge smirks, whispering against Yuuji’s lips, "Tsuna tsuna, mentaiko, Yuuji."
Yuuji chuckles, light-headed and dizzy with desire. "Yeah, no. I think I was gonna do that anyway."
Yuuji's heart pounds fiercely in his chest, his lips tingling from the contact. The room seems to spin slightly around him, the aftereffects of the adrenaline and the emotional surge from the kiss mixing into a heady sensation.
Toge, usually so composed, has a slight flush on his cheeks, his breath uneven. There's a softness in his eyes that Yuuji isn't used to seeing. Toge's usual stoic mask has slipped, revealing a hint of vulnerability that makes Yuuji's next words catch in his throat.
"Was that... okay?" Yuuji asks, his voice low and unsure.
Toge nods, a small, genuine smile tugging at his lips. "Shake," he murmurs, It's okay—more than okay.
Toge's face brightens. Maybe Yuuta could use something like this. Toge starts scribbling some notes down, and the ideas flow out like a stream of water until there's a lot of different thoughts surrounding the original lyrics.
"That's genius," Yuuta's voice rings out next to his ear, and Toge jolts as he realizes that Yuuta is leaning over his shoulder to look at the paper. "I think that's exactly what I was missing."
Proud, Toge beams, and Yuuta's hand reaches over his shoulder to pick up the piece of paper. Unfortunately for him, this means that Yuuta pulls in even closer, and he's suddenly very, very aware of how close they are to each other.
If Toge turned his head, he'd be able to kiss Yuuta's cheek.
Toge's heart can't take it.
A hot flush rushes to his face, and Toge ducks out of the chair. It seems like Yuuta's gotten everything he needs, so Toge hurriedly pats Yuuta's shoulder in farewell before rushing out of his room.
Even though Toge's heart is doing funny things in his chest, he's glad that he was able to help Yuuta. He looked comtemplative after seeing what Toge had jotted down, so Toge's sure that he'll come up with something amazing.
He would have stayed longer to help, but Yuuta doesn't seem to have a sense of distance. He's very casual in getting close, but he's not the only. Many of the members of their boy band are the same.
The only problem is that it's Yuuta. Any kind of close proximity would be terrible for Toge, who's been hiding this major crush on him. After retreating to the safety of his room, Toge lets out a sigh of relief before reaching for his pocket to pull his phone out.
Toge freezes. His phone isn't there.
A spike of panic shoots through his body as he hurriedly pats his pockets, trying to locate his small device. He thought he had it in his pocket, but he must have misplaced it earlier.
Shit. _Shit._
It suddenly hits him. Toge remembers putting it on Yuuta's desk earlier, but he didn't pick it up on the way out. He bolts out of his room, and Toge's door crashes open as he tears off towards Yuuta's room in a blind panic.
Without knocking, Toge slams the door open, and the air evaporates from his lungs as he spots Yuuta with his phone in his hand.
"Sorry," Toge manages to croak out, his voice raspy as he strides over with wide steps and snatches his phone back. I left my phone here."
To his relief, the screen is dark. Toge has a lot of incriminating notifications on his phone. If the screen had been on when Toge walked in, he might have panicked more, but Yuuta didn't see anything…right?
"No worries," Yuuta tells him, smiling. Now that Toge's phone is back in his hands, he immediately feels a rush of embarrassment for barging in here so rudely. Yuuta must think that he's crazy, and part of Toge wonders if he's just pretending to be unbothered. "I was about to return it to you."
And Toge's reached his limit for words today. Toge awkwardly nods in thanks before fleeing the room again. Once he gets back to his room, Toge dives into his bed and internally screams into his pillow.
Not only did Toge make a complete fool of himself in front of his crush, he was so rude to him. He'll definitely have to apologize tomorrow while groveling and offering some kind of apology gift.
To his relief, Yuuta doesn't seem mad the next morning. He only pats Toge on the back with his usual expression before moving on to finish breakfast, and Toge internally sighs in relief.. Since he has a few minutes, he retreats to his bedroom and settles on his bed to open up the newest chapter of his favorite fic.
How did Toge first get into his own fandom?
A fan had gifted him a book.
Unaware of what it was at the time, he had found it amongst many other fan gifts and innocently picked it up before flipping it open to look at it.
perpetual check by laughing_sock
Gojo's fingertips trail delicately across Yuuji's face, following curves of bone. "And I will carve myself into you. Everything of mine will be yours, because everything of yours is mine."
Yuuji's breath hitches. "Gojo—"
"Satoru," comes the immediate response, like a dagger wrapped in silk. A sudden rough hand in Yuuji's hair forces his head to tilt back, and he gasps at the sting. "Or you really will make me angry, darling."
Yuuji stares at distant stars in space, winking back at him, and struggles to think. There's a part of him that knows Gojo won't seriously be angry, although he doesn't have any proof except a brazen feeling in his gut bordering on stupidity. Still, even assuming he's right, he's not sure he can survive the King of Curses so much as pretending to be mad. And it's just a name.
"S-Satoru... san?" It's clumsy on his tongue, but the concession draws a pleased hum out of Gojo anyway.
"Good boy," he croons. Yuuji bites off a startled sound when long legs wrap themselves around his waist, Gojo clinging to him like an oversized koala. "And here I thought I was going to have to teach you a lesson."
Yuuji's stomach clenches at his tone, playful and low, and it's not from fear but rather from something else that he doesn't want to put a name to. It's just not fair. He'd been well-warned of Gojo's unearthly beauty, so that hadn't come as much of a surprise, but nothing had ever mentioned his voice, blowing soft and sordid into his ears like smoke to settle hazy over his brain.
He has questions, and Yuuji reminds himself that he needs answers—before he falls into the orbit of the calamity that is Gojo Satoru.
When it finally clicked, Toge's face had burst into flames, and the book flew across the room before slapping into the wall and falling onto the ground. With Toge's heart hammering wildly in his chest, he had stared at the thin book for a long, long time.
Then, with a mix of hesitation, trepidation, and curiosity, Toge had crept back towards the book and cautiously picked it up. After glancing around anxiously, he had silently locked his room door before leaning against the solid wood frame and sinking to the ground. With a hard swallow and shaky fingers, he had flipped the book open again.
And thus began his never ending spiral into the world of fandoms.
Toge has zero regrets. No, it's one of the best decisions he's ever made in his twenty-two years of life. It's like a whole new chapter of life has opened up to him, as if the world around him went from a blur of watercolors to a sharp, high-definition reality.
His first personal work had started with Suguru and Satoru.
The two of them had joined the company at the same time, and they were inseparable. For the longest time, there had been rumors of the two of them dating, and Toge almost believed it too.
Satoru was always found draped over Suguru whenever they were free, and where one went, the other could be seen trailing closely behind. Where Satoru was clingy, Suguru was agreeable to everything he did.
They even shared water bottles without batting an eye, and Toge had seen them wearing each other's jackets at times. During Toge's initial plunge into his group fandom, he had realized that all the fans were shipping the two of them like crazy.
And well.....his first work was _inspired_ by a certain incident that happened.
Satoru isn't the type to let people walk over him. He loves crushing people with huge egos, and he tends to egg fights on. Someone usually has to intervene when Satoru is involved, because the only thing he's really good at is throwing fuel into the fire.
There was a time where he was picking a fight with another popular idol from a different agency. While Toge usually kept himself out of Satoru's fights, he had found himself hovering nearby out of concern. Sukuna was infamous for his nasty temper, but Satoru had no reservations about trying to get a reaction out of him.
In the end, Sukuna's fist had gone flying straight for Satoru's face. The sudden show of violence had blindsided Satoru. In their industry, it's an unspoken rule to avoid leaving marks on the face, even if fights break out between idols.
Bruises and wounds on the body can be hidden with clothes. On the face? Not so much.
Right before Sukuna's fist met Satoru's cheek, Suguru had blocked his punch with a single hand, stepping in between them to diffuse the situation.
Nervous, Toge had inched forward and grabbed Satoru's wrist, trying to drag him back. What else could he do but try to remove Satoru from the fight? To his disbelief, Satoru had resisted, digging his feet into the ground stubbornly.
But as Toge struggled with Satoru, Suguru had leaned forward and whispered something to Sukuna. Whatever it was that he said, it seemed to do the trick. Sukuna had grumbled but backed off, leaving Toge bewildered with a fuming Satoru.
"I can take care of him," Suguru had told Toge. "You can head back with everyone else."
Knowing that he wouldn't be able to do much anyways, Toge had obeyed, leaving the two of them alone. As he walked away, he had heard the sounds of exasperated scolding and sulking.
Really, it was a scary experience, but they way Suguru cared for Satoru was as clear as day for everyone to see. Later, Suguru had returned with Satoru following behind him, a pout glued onto his face.
And even though he was sulking, Satoru listened well to Suguru. In fact, he was the only person he listened to for the rest of the day, and Toge had discretely watched them with sparkling eyes.
Joining his own fandom is something that he doesn't regret in the least, because he's found so much joy in writing.
(And reading, of course. He thanks whatever deity exists for allowing such amazing people to exist in this world.)
Toge's head bobs as he dozes off, and he tries to blink the sleepiness away as he feels Mai huff in annoyance. "You should've gone to bed earlier," she scolds, irritation clear on her face, and Toge ducks his head apologetically.
It must be hard to do his makeup when his head is all over the place. He feels sorry, but the call of sleep is too hard to resist. His eyelids continuously drop, and his chest feels heavy.
Mai pokes his side. Hard. He winces and straightens his back, eyes barely open as Mai continues to work on his face. Another pair of hands join her and start to tug at his hair, and he blankly wonders if he can buy some kind of brace that'll keep his neck straight for him.
Toge needs some kind of distraction. Maybe music will keep him awake. He pats around his pockets clumsily, looking for his earbuds. Toge's certain that he put them in here somewhere.
After a moment, he pulls them out triumphantly. Toge slips an earbud into his ear, only to realize that he's missing something crucial. Where did he put his phone?
Maybe Toge left it in his bag. He holds a hand up to Mai to ask her to pause, and then he reaches down to dig through his personal bag. After a moment of searching, nothing comes up, so Toge starts to panic. Did he leave his phone at home? Or did he lose it again?
Perhaps this is a sign that Toge needs to actually sleep properly. Before he can work himself up into a proper frenzy, someone taps his shoulder. Toge turns around, only to see Yuuta holding his phone out to him.
"Looking for this?"
Toge stills. The familiar panic starts to bubble up in his stomach, but Yuuta's face looks...normal.
If Yuuta took a peek, then he wouldn't be so calm. Toge's anxiety slowly fades, and he nods gratefully. He's just relieved he won't have to make the trek back home. "You left it back in the dressing room," Yuuta tells him, gesturing over his shoulder.
Ah. He must have been too out of it to look after his belongings properly. Yuuta pats his back before heading off, probably to get his makeup done as well.
Relieved, Toge settles back in his chair. After turning on their demo tracks, he leans back in the chair and settles so Mai can properly finish her job.
With a huff of complaint (again), she angrily pokes at his face with the brushes in her hand. She wields those brushes like weapons. Despite her gruffness, Toge sits through it with a hint of sheepishness and acceptance.
After all, Toge wants to look his very best for their fan meeting today.
Later that night, in the dark of his room, Yuuta opens his phone and opens up a new tab to search something, but then his fingers falter. He's uncertain, hesitant, but then his eyes narrow before his fingers start to type on the screen.
The light from Yuuta's phone reflects on his face, revealing an expressionless face. His eyes flicker back and forth, reading through the content on his screen at lightning speed.
After what seems like an eternity, he finally turns his phone off before setting it down.
Toge stares at the sight of Satoru and Shoko talking. She's scolding him about something, poking at his forehead because he's not listening. Toge suspects that Satoru's trying to play off whatever his mistake was.
Then Suguru walks forward, placing a hand on both of their shoulders. He says something that catches both of their attention, defusing both of their anger instantly. Shoko definitely has it rough, being the manager of this group of rowdy boys, but he remembers hearing that she was actually friends with Satoru and Suguru before joining.
In fact, it was through their recommendation that she became a manager here. When she had first entered, the two of them had hovered around her like guard dogs, as if worried that some uncouth person was going to come steal her away.
Of course, it was only later that Toge found out that Shoko had been dealing with stalkers at the time (_seriously_, aren't some men the worst? This is why Toge sticks to imaginary men),but his imagination had no way of knowing that at the time and had run wild.
How could he resist?! The three of them had shown incredible chemistry, affection, and care for each other. The kicker had been when Satoru and Suguru had found out she was facing discrimination since people were jealous that she was close to the two of them and chose to retaliate in the most brutal, striking manner.
It was glorious. And it was the _perfect_ inspiration he needed to search like a possessed ghost before he came across the perfect story.
Our Love, Resurrected by Fushiguro_Tsumiki
Satoru is still grinning like the cat who'd got the cream, the haddock and the warmest sleeping place by the fire; Suguru is determinedly not looking her in the eyes and has gone faintly pink.
She narrows her eyes. "What did you two do ?"
"Look," Suguru starts, in the tone of voice that signifies the beginning of a long-winded explanation.
Shōko sighs, loudly enough that it cuts him off. " Sator?"
"You've quit."
"I've what?"
Suguru makes the most sensible decision and scrambles out of range of her especially pointy elbows. Satoru either doesn't care or doesn't fully grasp the severity of the situation he's put himself in, and so Shōko decides to take out her anger on him with the closest cushion she can find.
"Assault!" Satoru cries, fainting dramatically in her direction. "Sugō save me! Our girlfriend is killing me!"
"You might very well deserve it Satō," Suguru says, and Shōko sends an especially dirty look his direction: he holds his hands up in surrender. "Satoru said he was only going to ask you take some more leave!"
"But your boss was an asshole! And anyway, you hate that job - you're always complaining about your coworkers and the rich assholes you have to treat. This way, you can find something better."
In all honesty, Shōko can't actually bring herself to be properly pissed off about this turn of events. Satoru - although you should catch her dead ever telling him this - was right; she did hate her job.
At least when she was being overworked by the Higher Ups, what she did had a lasting impact. She might have never resurrected anyone from the dead before Satoru and Suguru, but she sure as hell had rescued people from the brink.
So many sorcerers today were alive because of her. Now, she worked at some fancy ass hospital which served exclusively well-off clients for shitty pay and an even worse contract. It was boring and misery-inducing and the only reason she was still hanging around was because she was so close to qualifying as a proper neurosurgeon.
Proper, well-trained neurosurgeons got a proper salary and could choose where they worked.
Still, it's hard to be angry when Satoru looks so genuinely pleased with himself for that particular piece of genius, and when the main emotion that Shōko feels upon being told the news is relief.
She'll put on a good face, of course - pretend, for outward appearances, that she was upset - but it's nice to know that when she wakes up on Monday, she won't have to drag herself to that godforsaken hospital.
"I hope you told my boss that I want a good letter of recommendation. Getting a job is hard these days."
Satoru sticks his tongue out at her. "You want a good reference from that bastard?"
"Please," Shōko says, closing her eyes in a silent prayer, "tell me you didn't call her a bastard to her face."
"Of course I didn't." She sags in relief. "I was on the phone, I couldn't see her face."
"Gojō Satoru! I am going to kill you!"
Toge wants to meet whoever wrote this masterpiece. The writer had characterized them so well, and he felt that they had perfectly captured the essence of their dynamic.
Satoru would definitely be the type to pull some kind of shit like this behind people's backs. Toge had immensely enjoyed this author's work, and now he's in the mood to reread it. He makes a mental note to pull it up on his phone tonight before he goes back.
"Toge?"
Toge's startled out of his thoughts by Yuuta's voice, and he looks over his shoulder to see Yuuta standing right behind him. "The lead choreographer calling for us in the other room," Yuuta prompts, and Toge nods.
It's probably for their upcoming album. Now that the concept has been decided, it's all about figuring out everyone's roles. Toge is their main dancer, so they usually call him in when discussing new choreographies
They've already nailed their group choreography, so now they're working on individual/duo pieces. Since Toge is intimately familiar with everyone's abilities, he already has some solid ideas in mind..
Toge turns to go, but his heart jolts to a stop when Yuuta's hand lands on his shoulder. "One second," he prompts, and Toge's entire brain shuts down when Yuuta leans in close enough to feel Yuuta's breath against his skin.
Each second feels like an eternity that passes. When Yuuta's this close, Toge can see every single one of his eyelashes and the concealer hiding his dark bags.
Yuuta's skin looks flawless up close, and a few strands of sleek, glossy hair fall over his face. Toge's entire body startles when Yuuta's finger comes up to brush against his cheek.
Then, Yuuta pulls back casually, as if he didn't just give Toge cardiac arrest by pulling in so close.
"Here," Yuuta says, holding his finger out. "There was an eyelash on your cheek." Sure enough, there's a small eyelash on his finger, and Toge stares.
Did he really need to...linger that close for a single eyelash?
Toge is experiencing a complete mental overload, so Toge turns and flees as quickly as he can without sprinting, completely ignorant of the expression on Yuuta's face.
Why on earth is Yuuta like this?! All this close proximity is bad for Toge's heart, and his face is scorching hot. His shirt suddenly feels too tight around his neck, and one hand comes to tug at it.
Yuuta's never pushed boundaries like this before. He's very respectful, and despite the fact that likes to linger close to Toge, he's never crossed a line.
This is the first time anything like this has happened, and Toge's one hundred percent sure he's not going to survive if this happens again.
It was probably just a one time mistake. Yuuta was kind enough to take the eyelash off his face, nothing more. There's definitely no deeper meaning behind it.
Right now, Toge needs to focus on the meeting that he was called for. He desperately tries to wave away the thoughts in his head as he takes his seat, but then Toge's face crumbles as he watches Yuuta appear seconds later.
In his fluster, he had completely forgotten that Yuuta was summoned to this meeting too. Trying hard to keep his expression straight, Toge diligently avoids meeting Yuuta's eyes as the rest of the meeting goes on.
Yuuta's face doesn't leave his mind for a very long time.
Late at night, Toge lies wide awake in his bed. Whenever he closes his eyes, Yuuta's long, pretty eyelashes pop into his brain over and over again.
It's a never ending torment.
He tosses and turns, praying that his body will obey him and force him to sleep, but morning arrives before his wish comes true.
Exhausted, Toge emerges from his room like a zombie, and he somehow manages to stumble over to the dining table to take a seat before dropping his head on the table..
Suguru is already in the kitchen, making coffee. "Didn't sleep well last night?" He asks with a hint of amusement in his voice. Toge lets out a sad noise, and Suguru laughs. "Want a cup of coffee? That might help."
It does sound nice. Toge nods pitifully, and soon, a steaming mug appears in front of his face. He eagerly grabs it and downs a big gulp, but he regrets it a moment later when the burning hot liquid scalds his tongue.
Toge ends up spitting all over the table.
"Whoa," Suguru startles, grabbing a towel. Toge coughs, trying to clear out his lungs, and Suguru gently pats his back. "Slow down there. The coffee isn't going anywhere."
His face hurts from how hard he's coughing, so he fails to notice when Yuuta walks into the room. Suguru's eyes slide over when Yuuta's gaze turns onto them, and a sly smirk emerges for a brief second before his expression settles into his usual look.
"Here, let me help," Suguru offers. There's coffee all over his face, so he tips Toge's head up and dabs off the coffee with a fresh napkin. Too used to their seniors acting like this from time to time, Toge doesn't pull away.
Toge might have had a crush on Suguru in the past, but not anymore. Now, Toge lives purely with his imagination. And despite the pain in his throat and mouth, he just wants the sticky feeling off his face.
Suguru's touch is always gentle. It feels nice. Once Toge's airway is clear again and his face clean, Toge bows his head slightly in thanks. At the very least, all the sleepiness has faded.
"Don't overdo it," Suguru reprimands him. "We have practice later, remember? It would be bad if you collapsed."
"Sorry," Toge whispers, coughing one last time to clear out that slight itchy feeling that lingers in his throat. Suguru discretely glances over his shoulder, and Toge completely misses the smirk that crosses his face.
"Toge," Yuuta's voice emerges, and he blinks away the tears from his face as Yuuta suddenly appears in his vision. "Did you eat breakfast yet? I can go pick something up if you're hungry."
Toge moves to shake his head, but then he pauses. Food does sound good right now. "I can take care of it," Suguru says, sounding pleasant, but Yuuta holds up a hand.
"Please leave it to me," he smiles. Is it just Toge, or has the room gotten chillier? "I was planning on grabbing something anyways, so I'll just add something on top of it for Toge."
"Alright," Suguru agrees easily. "Take good care of him, alright? Don't let him choke on anything else, or he might actually end up in the hospital today."
Toge frowns. What is he trying to say? Yuuta only uncharacteristically glares at him, but then he turns back to face Toge, all traces of hostility gone.
Strange.
"What do you want to eat?" Yuuta prompts. "There's that brunch place you like nearby. Or should I pick up some onigiri?"
Something about Yuuta feels a little different today. Is he feeling alright? Still, Toge is never one to turn down a free meal. Toge picks up his phone and pulls up his favorite cafe before turning it around to show Yuuta.
"Alright," Yuuta agrees easily. "I'll be back in about fifteen minutes. You should get washed up while I'm gone." His hand reaches out and ruffles Toge's hair, and then he departs.
Toge stares at the front door. His mind is still trying to figure out what exactly is making him feel...off, but nothing comes to mind. After a moment of sitting in silence, he internally shrugs it off before standing up.
It's not like he can really spare the braincells to think about it, and Yuuta's mature enough to handle his own problems. And if he really needs help, Toge's sure that Yuuta will ask for it.
Toge should get washed before Yuuta gets back. If he waits any longer, the shower will be taken by someone else, and then it'll really be a fight for the bathroom.