Trapped Behind Words: InuOkko

Chapter 11: Savory

According to Yuta's last message, he was about to close the restaurant. Unlike Yuta's apartment, the restaurant was on Toge's side of town. The black-haired man tried to hide the information away, but all it took was some probing to find out the name.

Why did Megumi have to make a move? Fushiguro might have tasted good; his chest might have been sweltering, but he wasn't the man Toge wanted. That much had become clear when Megumi kissed him. The question of how Yuta would react swam around in Toge's mind.

Toge didn't have to say anything. They weren't dating, right? But just having that spiky-haired man's lips on his mind at all felt like a disservice. If Yuta knew, then Toge might not ever taste him. If Yuta knew, he might leave.

No, Yuta wasn't fickle nor flippant. If Toge outright told him, then the storm would pass, right? Fushiguro coming around would be a bit more awkward, but that would fade. Wouldn't it? Too many possibilities, and too many of them were awful. If what Fushiguro said was all true, then he should just be happy if Toge hung out with him more. Toge could salvage the friendship - no strings attached. It would take some doing and a lot of perseverance, but it would work. Of course, Fushiguro would have needed to be truthful about everything he said, and that wasn't a guarantee.

The apartment was clean. Toge mopped and swept - he even dusted the vents. Yuta would be coming from his job; Toge had never seen him like that. What would he be wearing? Knowing it was on Star Avenue meant it wasn't extremely fancy. Then again, nowhere in their town was. Truly a blemish on the whole of Sukuna District; at least, that's what Toge's father used to say.

It might have been a little ugly in some places, but that was ultimately Gojo's goal. That's what he campaigned on when he became a city counselor. Most of the older families that lived in Tengan City were eager to cut down Kenjaku Town. When Toge moved there, his parents objected, but they seemed at ease as time passed by. But that was just the Inumaki side of things; the other families were larger and wealthier, which put them at odds with Gojo.

If it wasn't for that white-haired man, Toge probably wouldn't have moved to Kenjaku. He probably wouldn't have met Yuta. Then where would he have been? There were so many possibilities, other paths that would have taken him to a different place or nowhere at all. But Toge was happy; he was right where he was supposed to be.

Then, there they were. It was a brief jog to make it to the restaurant. The distance didn't matter; all that did was seeing Yuta. He couldn't wait. It was worth it. Yuta's kiss was savory with a hint of bitterness behind it.

"Don't leave me," Yuta said, pressing their foreheads together.

Toge didn't hesitate to speak. "Promise."

"I knew you would," Yuta hugged Toge tighter.

What happened to him? Toge so badly wanted to focus on the kiss, how it happened, that it finally happened. But Yuta was different. Did he know about Megumi? That would be a weird reaction to the person you liked getting kissed by another. Yuta did like him, right?

"I needed some time to figure it out. But when I saw you," Yuta said, brushing Toge's hair again.

Yuta's heart was beating fast, and his fingers were cold. Was he that nervous? Then again, Yuta was understandably the anxious type. Regardless, did Fushiguro get to him first? If that was Yuta's defense against another man's feelings, he had won.

"I saw him today. Geto," Yuta whispered.

Toge jumped back, almost falling into the street. He fully expected that Fushiguro's name would fall out of Yuta's mouth. If it were Geto, then what happened? Did they talk? Was Yuta okay?