Sending the first text to Okkotsu was more difficult than Inumaki Toge had imagined. It wasn't that there was any inherent reason to give Yuta his number. However, that black-haired man sent the first message pretty soon after the meeting.
Inumaki didn't dare open the notification without reading the preview. Okkotsu was like most others. He didn't see a problem with speaking his mind to those he felt obligated to speak to. That was the blond's plan, after all. The group was spawned by Satoru Gojo, a meddling family friend who had invited Inumaki soon after its creation. According to Gojo, no one showed up to the first meeting, which meant Inumaki had to take it with a grain of salt.
Yuta's message was pretty basic: "Hi, this is Okkotsu Yuta, or well, you can call me Yuta. Most people do. I'm from the group you gave me your number."
Okkotsu had been cornered by Inumaki again. The plan was to say something seemingly meaningful so the new people would talk. Inumaki didn't plan for it to be so effective on Yuta. But that was the curse of having venomous words - if he used them, people could either curl up or react violently. It made sense why his family crest was a serpent with fangs.
Snakes still had their weaknesses, though, especially the Inumaki family. Both of his parents were afflicted by the cruel mute mark, adorned with silence at conception. Mutism was Toge's birthright; that much had been made clear.
A lamp lit most of his small two-bedroom apartment, tinting everything in yellow. The smaller of the rooms had been transformed into a gaming den and home office. Remote work was a lot easier to handle than talking to customers or coworkers in person. Most people didn't know how to communicate with someone nonverbal, mainly due to them not understanding that Inumaki could still process and comprehend information fine.
What most people found strange was that he could use voice-to-text when messaging. It wasn't the same as talking to a human being. His mind didn't feel flooded by all the information happening around him. It was easier to speak when no one was listening. However, sending voice messages was the same as talking face to face.
Inumaki took his shoes off at the door and dropped his jacket over them. Those were the perks of living alone. His first mission was to jump on the cold flesh of his worn-out leather couch. There was significant damage, which meant it was a lot cheaper to buy than any of the cloth couches for sale online. A dog had scratched the cushions and the base, as well as leaving gashes in the wood grain feet.
The main question on his mind was how to address Yuta. Gojo knew him pretty directly, which could have been good or bad. His body language seemed sporadic, especially when focused on directly. The black-haired man seemed as if he didn't know what to do with his hands.
Inumaki texted back, "Hey, Okkotsu! Glad to hear from you so soon!"
This was partly a lie but also had traces of truth. Not many people in the group were honed in on by Gojo. He seemed to be particularly interested in those who had some tie to his political career. Okkotsu didn't have an impressive family name, at least not to Inumaki's knowledge.
Yuta responded almost immediately, "I don't really know what to say. Haha."
Inumaki said, "Don't worry, I understand. I was one of the first people Gojo asked to go."
"Yeah, about that... Gojo kind of forced me to," Yuta said.
"Forced you?" Toge replied.
"He broke into my house," Yuta said before quickly adding, "But he didn't drag me there. He just told me I needed to."
Yuta was more of a pushover than Inumaki expected. Gojo breaking and entering was not too much of a surprise considering he had "let himself in" on many occasions. No home was impregnable when Gojo was around.
"Sounds like Gojo," Inumaki said.
Toge felt a twinge of pain in his eyes - a dry reminder that he was wearing contacts. They weren't necessary by any means; rather, they were just fun to wear and disappear into the role of a violet-eyed wonder. Though most people didn't notice.
"Glad I'm not the only one," Yuta said.
Inumaki kept the bathroom rather clean. The theming in his apartment was a bit all over the place. That's what most people said. His living room felt cozy, like an American traditional plantation home, but the kitchen was entirely Japanese with a sliding door to save space and some dolls his mother had made propped atop the refrigerator.
Most people had a fit when they saw the bathroom. With only one in the unit, it felt appropriate to cater to anyone who could see it. However, the issue was in the color scheme. The walls were the same soft Swiss cream color, but the accents he chose were a cool pinkish-mauve that contrasted with the warmth of the home.
Bathrooms are where people are at their most vulnerable - not that there were many visitors. Inumaki's philosophy was to keep the bathroom as neutral as possible. Minimal decor adorned the tiny cleaning facility. Other than a candle and a few mirrors, it was barren.
He pulled the violet film from his eyes and placed them in a contact case half-filled with saline. The store said to use a contact solution, but they were basically the same thing. Plus, saline was cheaper.
"Do you have any plans today?" Inumaki asked.
He didn't know what to do with Yuta. There was another empty chair, yet Gojo sat him in the one next to Okkotsu Yuta - a suicide survivor. Toge knew it was a matter of time before Yuta's curiosity would have him ask about his mutism. In light of that seemingly prophetic knowledge about human nature, Inumaki pushed the conversation away from the topic.
"Today? Not really. It's already kind of late," Okkotsu replied.
"Nah! It's early evening, still time to hang out with friends or something," Inumaki responded.
"All of my friends are work friends," Yuta said.
"Really?" Toge replied.
"Yeah, haha," Yuta confirmed.
Inumaki knew the guy had to be lonely, but he didn't realize it was so severe. The awkward movements made more sense. It was all kind of hard to imagine for Toge. His anxiety had affected him since he could remember, and his parents weren't much better.
"Would it be weird if you came over? I can bust out my Switch or something," Inumaki felt his eyes warm.
"No, it's fine! I'll stay in for the night," Yuta replied.
Inumaki wrinkled his nose, "If you don't come, I'll come to you."
There was a brief pause before Yuta said, "Okay, fine. I don't have a bike or anything, so it will be a while. What's your address?"
"Nah, you're not walking. I'll send you an Uber. What's your address?" Inumaki smiled, knowing Yuta would have some company.
"No, you don't have to! It's fine! I'm used to it!" Yuta replied.
"If you don't tell me, I'll just ask Gojo, then maybe he'll break in and carry you out. Haha," Inumaki laughed to himself.
"Please don't do that. I need to get my locks changed. Haha," Yuta said.
Soon after, a silver three-year-old sedan was on its way to pick up Yuta. It wasn't much trouble, but what would be troublesome was trying to communicate with Okkotsu. Inumaki periodically checked his phone to make sure the driver was on his way while preparing the living room for company.
"The car is on its way, it's a silver sedan," Toge said, alongside a screenshot of the license plate information.
"Thank you so much. You really didn't have to invite me over," Yuta responded.
Inumaki found his Switch in his office. It was a special edition OLED version with a matching dock. He was proud to show it off to his gaming buddies, but it felt a little embarrassing to show someone he barely knew. It was even more embarrassing to use his controller that he had spent hours meticulously placing a skin overlay he found online.
"Do you play much Smash Ultimate?" Inumaki asked.
"I think? That's the Switch one, right?" Okkotsu asked.
"Yeah, it is."
Yuta replied, "Then yeah, I played it at a work event once. A little kid beat me."
Inumaki laughed aloud. While alone, he could speak, but it had become more of a habit not to. Going from freely verbal to completely non-verbal was a dramatic shift he didn't like putting himself through. Yuta didn't play video games, which meant it would be way too easy to stomp him.
"The car is here. That was fast!" Yuta said.
It really was quick. The ride over would only take a few minutes, so there wasn't a lot of time to clean or anything. Not that the house was dirty, just not as perfect as it could have been.
"The driver is playing terrible music. Haha," Yuta said.
"Oh my God, I'm sorry," Toge responded.
In a few minutes, Yuta had arrived, and Toge went outside to find him. The black-haired man hadn't changed outfits. His clothes seemed a little less casual than when he went to the meeting no more than an hour prior. He wore a white hoodie with a crosshatched pattern and a pair of slim-fit black jeans.
Suddenly, Toge felt underdressed. He tried to think of a quick way to say that Yuta's outfit was nice without seeming creepy. He decided to point to himself, followed by using two fingers to show he was looking at Yuta, moved those fingers up and down Yuta's body, and finished with a thumbs up and a smile.
"Oh, you think I look good?" Okkotsu blushed.
Toge smiled and nodded, continuing to hold his thumb up. He gestured for Yuta to follow him and began the short walk from the parking lot to his unit. The outside of the apartment building was mostly white but had some visible cracking and dirty window screens. Inumaki knew he had the money to move somewhere with a better aesthetic, but that was a lot of work.
Upon entering the apartment, Yuta seemed amazed. He looked like a cartoon character who had just seen something incomprehensible. The gaunt man stood at the door for a moment, then removed his shoes, revealing pink socks.
Toge pointed at Yuta's feet.
"My socks? Oh, I bought these... accidentally. Didn't want to return them," Okkotsu blushed again.
Toge narrowed his eyes and shook his head. Yuta was a terrible liar. They had known each other only briefly, yet it was so clear by Okkotsu's stumbling voice and pauses when confronted.
"You're right. I bought them. What can I say, I like pink," Yuta smiled and laughed unnaturally.
Toge gave him a thumbs up again with another smile, hoping to ease his nerves.
"Inumaki, I have a weird question," Yuta stated.
There it was. Everyone was always so quick to ask questions about his anxiety or speaking. It was difficult to explain since they usually assumed he was anti-social as well as non-verbal when it was a lot more complicated than that.
"Weren't your eyes purple? I remember them being that color because I thought it was amazing. I mean, I had never seen anyone with violet eyes," Okkotsu blushed again, avoiding eye contact.
Toge's reaction must have looked astonished because Yuta quickly added, "I'm sorry, that was weird to ask."
Toge smiled and held up a finger, signaling to wait. He left Yuta at the door, retreating to the bathroom and grabbing the contact case. Yuta smiled when he returned and looked at the round plastic container as if it were a foreign object.
"Oh! They are contacts? Do you wear glasses?" Yuta asked.
Inumaki shook his head, then posed dramatically as if modeling.
Yuta laughed, "Oh! I get it! You like the way they look. Well, your natural eye color is nice too."
Toge felt his cheeks warm and promptly turned away.
Inumaki placed the case on the small bar between his kitchen and living room and grabbed Yuta's hand instead. Okkotsu was warm, way warmer than expected. When Toge looked up, he saw the redness spreading across Yuta's pale face. His skin was so smooth, but just under Yuta's ocean-blue eyes were dark circles the color of ripe plums.
Inumaki pulled him by the hand to show him around the apartment. When they reached the office, he let go of Yuta's hand-which he had held as if it were a fish-and gestured around the room. He pointed at the art on his walls, then at himself, trying to convey that he had created them.
The artworks were intricate portraits of manga and video game characters, created using both traditional and digital mediums. It was hard to tell the difference between them. Yuta's jaw dropped as he gazed at the collection and the massive PC sitting on Toge's desk.
"You did all this art? Wow! I didn't realize you were so talented!" Okkotsu said.
Toge grabbed his hand again, and this time Yuta grasped back, interlocking their fingers. It was probably uncomfortable for him to be pulled without holding onto something. Yuta's palm was smooth, which led Inumaki to wonder where he worked. It could have been a job from home, but Yuta had mentioned a work event, so that couldn't have been the case.
Next on the tour was the kitchen, which was largely uneventful. Then came the bathroom, which again wasn't particularly interesting. Finally, they arrived at Inumaki's bedroom. A large mural hung above the king-sized bed. There were two massive pillows that Inumaki loved switching between. Art adorned the walls, ranging from small charcoal drawings on paper to larger and more elaborate mixed-media pieces. The mural itself depicted the family sigil, a crest of sorts, depicting a large serpent with fangs.
"Did you make these too?" Yuta asked.
Inumaki nodded with a smile. He was proud of his art. Each piece told a story or represented a moment in his life, dedicated to completing whatever task he had set for himself. His job was rather boring, mainly involving financial work, so most people were surprised to see his creative side.
Yuta's grip stiffened, reminding Toge that he hadn't let go of his hand. They stood there for a moment as Okkotsu looked around the room, before Yuta smiled at Toge. Yes, that was it-Yuta was speechless in a home made of silence.
The black-haired man released Toge's hand without a flushed face. "So, did you want to show me how to play?" he asked.
It was as if Yuta had been instilled with confidence. He was a strange man, to say the least. On the surface, he appeared carefree, but the tired eyes and jittery movements told a different story. Yuta exhibited the same nervous and uncontrollable shivers during the group meeting, but his expression transformed after Inumaki introduced himself.
Inumaki nodded and walked to the living room. He sat on the far side of the couch, leaving enough space for Yuta to feel comfortable. The black-haired man sat close enough that their knees might have touched. The blond turned on the large OLED screen, which opened to the Super Smash Brothers Ultimate starting screen.
Inumaki had two controllers-a custom one and a plain black one for guests. There were also Joy-Cons, but Toge refused to let someone use the inferior controllers unless absolutely necessary. He navigated to the practice arena, knowing that if someone had only played the game briefly, they might not remember the buttons.
Upon entering the arena, the display lit up with tiny portraits of each character. No matter how big the TV was, they always appeared small. Inumaki found himself drawn to a few characters' fighting styles, although he would mainly use Rosalina or Link.
"Whoa! There are more characters than I remember," Yuta exclaimed.
Toge wanted to say something about his work friend not having the DLC or maybe just not being good at the game. Instead, he decided it would be best to assign Yuta a character to start with. Kirby felt like a good choice, as it had a versatile moveset that was easy for beginners to learn, as well as the ability to fly.
"This is practice, right? You want me to use Kirby?" Yuta asked.
Toge nodded.
"I can do that! I love Kirby, my favorite is the brown one," Yuta replied with a smile.
The match opened with Kirby facing off against a computer opponent, Bowser. Inumaki held the controller toward Okkotsu and began demonstrating the basic attacks and how to jump by pressing the neutral buttons.
"I can use the joystick to perform different attacks, right? Like holding it left while pressing A?" Yuta inquired.
Inumaki nodded in affirmation.
"Okay, let me try. Thanks for showing me," Yuta said.
Their hands met on the controller. Okkotsu's fingers were as soft as his palms. They were much warmer than Inumaki's perpetually cold hands. Yuta was catching on to the various attacks and combos on the computer, leading Inumaki to think he was ready. Then, he remembered the most important part of hosting a guest: offering a drink.
How was he supposed to ask someone who probably didn't have experience with basic sign language? Toge tapped Yuta's shoulder, which startled him. Toge's solution was to pretend to drink before pointing at Yuta. There was a brief silence as the video game music filled the room.
"Oh, a drink? Yeah! I would like one. What do you have?" Yuta asked.
Inumaki tilted his head, contemplating how to answer that. Should he display every drink as if it were a game show? What he really needed to know was whether Yuta consumed alcohol. There was a man in the group who always talked about his alcoholism stemming from his anxiety, but that didn't seem like a strong possibility in Yuta's case.
"Oh, yeah. I forgot for a second there. I'm sorry. I can follow you to the kitchen to see," Yuta offered, placing the controller on the couch.
Toge nodded and stood up. Yuta knew where the kitchen was, so there was no need to grab his hand. However, Inumaki still felt the urge to do so. It was like guiding a lost child in a mall, but no one would look twice at him. Toge resisted the impulse and walked to the fridge, revealing a variety of sodas. He then retrieved two small bottles of liquor from the pantry.
"Is that alcohol?" Yuta asked.
Toge held up the bottles against his chest and nodded.
"I honestly haven't had much alcohol in my life. It still feels weird, and I'm not a fan of the flavor," Yuta nervously admitted.
One of the bottles was an imported whiskey that Toge received as a gift from his parents. The other was a flavored vodka that one of his gamer friends had recommended. Toge decided to open the vodka. Since Yuta didn't like the taste of alcohol, and the vodka had proven to taste dangerously like candy.
He poured about an ounce of vodka into a small glass and handed it to Yuta. Ultimately, it was up to the black-haired man to decide whether to drink it or not, but this small amount would only give him a slight buzz at most.
"Is this vodka?" Yuta blushed again.
There was a tried and true method to communicate through texting, but it felt impersonal. It was always a last resort when someone wasn't grasping the communication. Toge pinched the air in front of his face, trying to convey that it was a small amount and encouraging Yuta to give it a try. He didn't want to pressure Okkotsu; the man was still fidgety, and his anxiety was palpable.
"It's just a little. It smells sweet, is it sweet?" Yuta asked, holding the glass loosely between two fingers.
Inumaki nodded and rubbed his stomach.
Okkotsu laughed and took a sip, "Oh wow! That is really sweet! Tastes just like a strawberry candy. It still burns my throat, but wow!"
Toge nodded again.
"I can handle a little more. Not too much, can't get too wild," Yuta laughed.
Inumaki took the cup, added some ice, and poured another ounce of vodka. After handing the glass to Yuta, he poured one for himself and grabbed both of them a cucumber lemonade from the fridge.
"Cucumber lemonade? I've never seen that in the store before. But if you think it's good, it must be," Yuta smiled and grabbed the small bottle of lightly colored lemongrass liquid.
When they finally sat down again, Inumaki reclaimed his controller and set up a real match. The rules were simple: three stocks each, and the only item enabled was the Smash Ball. These were the standard rules when he played for fun, as most people couldn't figure out how to drop an item once they picked it up.
When the character roster opened, Inumaki decided to give Yuta a fighting chance and chose Daisy, a character he was less familiar with. He switched to the black dress theme since it looked the nicest in his opinion and waited for Yuta to select Kirby. However, Okkotsu had other plans.
Unexpectedly, Yuta chose Shulk, one of the more complicated characters in the game. Was he lying about his experience level? Okkotsu didn't seem like the type, but they hadn't really known each other for long. Inumaki thought Yuta to be the sort of person who needed guidance, not someone who would lie about his experience with a game.
"Uh, Inumaki? How do I switch the skins?" Yuta asked.
Toge sighed with relief. Yuta had simply chosen a character he liked at random; he wasn't some sort of underground gaming legend. Inumaki pressed the button on the black controller in Yuta's hands to demonstrate.
"Oh, okay. That makes sense," Yuta said.
Okkotsu took his time looking over all of the skins until he reached the shirtless one. When he paused on the portrait, Yuta turned to look at Inumaki. Then, he turned his attention back to the screen.
"I don't know if the alcohol is just hitting me, but you look a lot like this guy," Yuta said.
Toge couldn't help but laugh. He was nowhere near as tan as Shulk. They were both blond, sure, but they didn't have any comparable features. Yuta stared at Inumaki as he giggled to himself, which killed the moment.
"You laughed," Yuta blushed.
Toge felt the blood rise to his cheeks. Was Yuta embarrassed? Maybe the black-haired man was a little drunk, and this offended him, or Okkotsu was giving him a weird compliment.
Yuta crooked his neck down, "Sorry, I am just not used to any of this."
Oh no, Yuta was embarrassed. Inumaki knew he should have kept himself contained. There was no established rapport. The blond's heart was beating faster than it had in a while. Even playing first person shooters didn't tighten his nerves like this.
"What I mean is, you laughed. That was the first time I have heard your voice," Yuta smiled.
With that statement, Inumaki should have been relieved. Okkotsu wasn't embarrassed, but what he said shifted that feeling to Toge. The blond was used to people pointing out that he didn't speak-it came with the territory. His whole life had been that way; it was nothing new. Then, this random man popped into his life and didn't ridicule him or point out how amazing Toge was for surviving with a disability. Yuta was just happy to hear his voice.
"I'll admit, I am kind of a nerd. I don't know anyone else non-verbal, so I did some research on the ride here. Only a few minutes' worth, but I wanted to have my terminology right and didn't want to be offensive-" Yuta's rambling was cut off by Inumaki's finger.
It was odd; he didn't feel his body move to stop him. Toge didn't mean to touch his face or his soft, pillowy lips. It just happened. He tried to pull himself together, yet his heart continued beating entirely too fast. Frantically, Inumaki moved his finger away from Yuta's smooth, pale complexion.
"You're right. I appreciate you asking me over. I haven't been to a friend's place since... for a while," Yuta smiled, yet his eyes sagged with a heaviness.
They were similar. Inumaki knew that as soon as he heard the story at their group session. Truthfully, he hadn't invited many people over, let alone anyone from the group. The girl, Maki, was always close with Fushiguro Megumi. Other than that, the group was made up of people who weren't accustomed to interacting with others.
Toge remembered when his parents pulled him from elementary school. They saw it as necessary when he was unable to work with the teachers and other students in his first year of school. He re-enrolled years later, once he entered middle school. It was terrifying. The muting anxiety only worsened until he hit puberty.
Yuta felt a level of pain that Inumaki knew he couldn't understand. What Toge did know was the isolation that having such feelings could cause. That was no way to live; being anxious all the time wasn't either. His own parents hadn't recognized his laughter as his voice. Yet this new person in his life, Okkotsu Yuta, heard him.
Yuta blushed, "So, wanna start the game?"
The first fight was honestly a little harder than Inumaki expected. Yuta was essentially button-mashing but managed to make a serious dent in his health. Daisy was not a suitable character for Inumaki, as evidenced by the two self-kills that almost made Yuta the winner.
Yuta didn't seem to understand the way Shulk worked as a fighter. He would switch battle modes randomly and attack while Shulk remained vigilant in partial nudity. It reminded Toge of the time Gojo played as Sephiroth and insisted that they had the same body type.
"I thought you were good at this game, Inumaki," Yuta laughed.
The black-haired man was halfway through his glass of straight vodka, and they had only played one round. Things were sure to become more incoherent, but Yuta was getting too cocky. For the second round, Inumaki switched to Link while scrunching his face with focus.
"Are you switching to your serious character now?" Yuta asked.
Inumaki won the next three rounds without losing a single stock. On the fourth, Yuta managed to knock him out, and they watched as Link's limp body was thrown against the screen.
"Finally! Oh my God, you're too good at this game!" Yuta laughed.
Inumaki smiled, realizing he hadn't drunk much of the vodka he poured for himself. The ice had diluted the drink, so he decided to gulp down what remained in his cup. His alcohol tolerance was usually high, so it shouldn't have been a problem. Plus, it might have given Yuta a better chance at winning.
"Don't get wasted on me! I deal with that enough from the wine moms at my job," Yuta laughed.
What did Yuta do for work? Did he mention it ever? It sounded as if he were a server of some kind. If that was the case, it was understandable that he would be worried about keeping the job. As far as Inumaki knew, servers came and went with the wind.
"Do you think... maybe I could have another?" Yuta's face was red; it was tough to distinguish if that was due to the liquor or his chronic blushing.
Inumaki nodded and took the cup from his hand. The strangeness of the situation seemed to disappear as the night went on. Each round of the game only took a few minutes to complete, but somehow an hour had passed. The cicadas were calm, leaving the Smash theme song as the only echoing source of sound.
The alcohol must have hit harder than Toge expected. When pouring the second glass for Yuta, he made another for himself but lost track of how long it took to pour the right amount. These cups were definitely uneven and overfilled, but if it went to waste, it wouldn't be a problem.
He handed the clear glass filled with the light pink vodka to Yuta. Their hands met for a moment again, but they didn't linger. It must have all been in Inumaki's head. Alcohol always seemed to lubricate the social hinge for him.
"I have a weird question, Inumaki," Yuta said again.
Toge wanted to say that he didn't need to preface everything with that, but nodded silently.
"Why are your hands so soft? Not that I have touched that many people's hands. I mean, I was just thinking. I don't know. You seem like someone who works out," Yuta's face may as well have been stained crimson.
Toge laughed, triggering Yuta to laugh as well. The blond stood from the leather couch with a creak. He rolled his short white sleeve to his shoulder and flexed as a demonstration that he did work out. Okkotsu laughed again, but it was coated in a layer of nervousness. Then, Inumaki pointed to the art that hung in various locations.
"So you do work out? And your hands are soft because of art?" Yuta asked with slightly slurred speech.
Inumaki nodded and flexed again with a quiet growl before falling to the ground, giggling to himself. The truth was he didn't know why his hands were particularly soft, but he didn't want to waste a chance to show off his biceps.
Okkotsu's phone began to ring, playing a K-Pop song that Inumaki couldn't place. The redness of his face faded away as the black-haired man read the screen and took a deep breath. Yuta slid his finger across the screen, and Toge lowered the TV volume.
"Hello, Gojo. What do you want?" Yuta asked, sounding extremely plain.
Toge couldn't make out Gojo's voice but heard his obnoxious laugh.
"Yeah, I am not home. That doesn't mean go inside!" Okkotsu said.
Inumaki shifted closer, hoping to hear the conversation.
"Doesn't matter where I am, does it?" Yuta's voice sounded annoyed, but he was smiling and laughing while Gojo spoke.
Toge was able to hear a few words, "As long... safe bud... friend's?" Gojo had never shown this level of care before. It was strange and also killed Inumaki's buzz. The blond took another swig of his drink before listening in again.
"Yeah, I am totally safe. I am actually at Inumaki's place. Rumor is you break into a lot of people's houses," Yuta slipped at the end of the conversation.
"Oh? Really? Inumaki Toge? The same brooding silent guy with bangs?" Gojo's voice was a lot clearer.
"I like his bangs," Yuta said.
Toge felt his cheeks heat again as Gojo's voice faded away. "I... surprised he... did you... don't annoy... drinking?"
"He invited me. Yeah, we have been drinking. Only a little. I have work tomorrow, so I don't want to be hungover," Yuta said to Gojo. He covered the phone and looked toward Toge. "I haven't ever had enough to make me hungover or feel like this."
Was the only reason he started drinking due to obligation after all? Toge knew he had always thought of himself as cornering people, but that was never in a situation regarding something like alcohol. Had he forced Yuta? No, there's no way. He gave Yuta an out by just offering a taste. But that's what drug dealers did.
Inumaki felt himself spiraling. Until Yuta laid his pale hand on Toge's shoulder. His ocean eyes had rounded out. The black-haired man was having fun. A smile sat between his cushiony pink lips.
"Gojo asked if I could stay here and call in. I don't want to bother you. If you want me to leave, I can call an Uber since you paid for the one here. Or I can walk," Okkotsu held the phone away from his face.
Inumaki wanted to speak. He wanted to cry out "no" or to suggest that Yuta stay the night, but he couldn't. The blond's lips parted and curved as if he were going to start talking, yet no sound escaped. It felt like the worst part of school all over again.
Toge shook his head. Finding a way to convey that Yuta could stay was difficult. The blond ran across the room and stood in front of the door, blocking it with his body. He pointed at Yuta and then at the couch, maintaining a smile in an attempt to hide the embarrassment of performing silent improv.
"Well, if my interpretation is right, Inumaki told me to stay the night," Yuta said to Gojo.
There was a pause while Yuta listened intently to the phone call and took another sip of his drink.
"Inumaki, Gojo wants to talk to you," Okkotsu held the phone out.
Toge took it from his hand and held it to his ear for a few seconds, moving his face a few inches away. It was so close. The warmth of the drink was emanating from Yuta's skin, but that wasn't what Inumaki was paying attention to. When Okkotsu was that close, Inumaki could feel Yuta's breath against his lips.
"He has the phone, Gojo," Yuta said.
"Hey Toge, this is Satoru. You knew that. I don't know what you did to get Yuta out of the house, but I'm glad it was you and not Maki. Proud of you, bud. Make sure he texts his boss," Gojo's voice was more somber than it had been.
The phone call ended, leaving Inumaki to wonder what Gojo meant by calling him a "white-haired freak." How long had Gojo known Yuta? How close were they that Yuta spoke to him so casually? Did Okkotsu know that Gojo was a government representative for the area? So many questions and no way to ask them. Instead of answers, the night would fade away with more laughter, games, and of course, vodka.