Trapped Behind Words: InuOkko

Chapter 30: Shower

"Good morning," Yuji rasped, scratching his throat as he spoke.

Several boxes still littered Megumi's apartment. They had made attempts to unpack most of them, but Megumi clung rather tightly to Yuji for most of the night. Yuji wasn't opposed to the attention, but this was a new development in their relationship, so there was no way to confirm what would happen next.

Megumi shoved his face into the pillow and groaned, "Ah! I'm not ready to be alive yet."

Yuji smiled. "Fine, but I'm not making us breakfast today. I want to go somewhere."

"Whatever, just let me sleep a bit longer," Megumi sighed, turning away from Yuji.

That was the Megumi he had grown accustomed to. The first time he remembered meeting Megumi was in the initial fracture—most of the origin timeline was slipping between the cracks. In that timeline, they were nothing more than co-workers.

"I'll start a pot of coffee before I shower," Yuji murmured softly, uncertain if Megumi had already fallen asleep.

The room was bare, much like it had been in many of the timelines where they had been friends in some capacity. However, two timelines stood out from the rest. The first was the timeline where Megumi filled his room with books and decor. It seemed that at that point, Gojo was more hands-off, which is why their friendship blossomed so much. The second fracture that stood out was the one where they had sex for the first time. It was difficult to forget that one, though the circumstances were not to Yuji's liking.

The blond stood from the bed, scanning the floor to find his pants. As he finally located them in a corner of the small room, he felt pressure on his back. Yuji turned around to see Megumi staring at his naked body.

"I thought you were sleeping," Yuji shook his head as he pulled on his underwear.

"Shut up," Megumi grumbled, shutting his eyes again.

Yuji whispered to himself, "Guess I have a thing for moody guys."

The feelings the blond had were rather fuzzy. He didn't find himself attracted to Megumi in uncertain terms. He enjoyed spending time with sea urchin head too. They had been friends for so long in so many different fractures that imagining them as anything more always seemed strange.

Though, thinking back to when he finally told Megumi about Junpei, that was the first time he had admitted those feelings to anyone entirely. He liked Megumi. That was definite. But hearing what Megumi said to him the night before was a bit heavy.

Was Megumi really falling in love with Yuji? The blond didn't feel like there was time to think about it. He had to confirm with Ms. Ieiri that he could assist in the development of the compression magical tool. He couldn't help but be a little distracted.

After Yuji slipped his clothes on, he walked to the kitchen to find the coffee pot plugged in and ready. All he had to do was add the grounds to the filter. Was that what he was doing? Megumi seemed ready for something like that level of commitment, but Yuji didn't want to just fill the empty spot.

There were several fractures where Inumaki rejected Megumi, and in all of them, Yuta was there too. Regardless of how Megumi felt about his own situation, Yuji had to be self-preserving.

He poured the grounds in and left the kitchen. It was easier for him to just run to his apartment to shower and change since it was only a brief two-minute walk. Yuji left, entering his apartment the way he had left, except he was shirtless.

The neighbors probably thought he was some kind of crazy person. He climbed up the railing, over the balcony, and opened the door to his apartment. It was a rather empty place. Other than the pinup poster in his living room, there weren't many decorations.