500 Pages: InuOkko

Chapter 6

 Yuuta yawned as he exited the connecting corridor. Sleeping wasn't easy that night, not after seeing Toge at the beach. His heart was still pounding in his chest as he heard the guttural wretch that echoed off the waves after leaving the silent man's throat.

It was a sound Yuuta had never heard, but he hoped to hear it again in a different context. Was that what wailing was? He had known the phrase for a while and thought it was just the moans made while weeping, yet there wasn't a better word to describe the resonance that sent chills down his pale spine. It took all of Yuuta's strength not to fall to his knees in tears and begin atonement for the sins he had committed against the silver-haired boy that haunted his dreams.

Yuuta wondered if Toge had cried like that while he was away. If he had, would Yuuta have felt the reverberating shockwave in Tokyo? It was a drowning feeling, as dry as those sandy eyes Toge adorned. Though his parents had left, new vegetation had emerged in Toge's thorny disposition.

The silver-haired man was warm, his skin softer than Yuuta remembered. Yuuta could still feel its silky texture on his fingers the morning after. Pretty things had thorns too, like roses or those periwinkle thistles in cartoons. Thorns were used as defense, but even so, they reminded a predator without a delicate touch that they were living as well.

A scent of sweets flowed through the air as Yuuta opened the door to the kitchen – he expected it to come from the inn lobby. But upon entering the café kitchen, the true origin was revealed to be the silver-haired Toge. Not once that week had Toge woken up before Yuuta, until that Sunday morning.

The black apron Toge wore was coated in a thin white veil of flour or various powders used in baking. His light umber eyes were focused on the glass of the oven. Whatever he was baking smelled of maple rather than their usual milk bread-styled sweet loaves.

"Making something new?" Yuuta asked, holding back a yawn.

Toge jumped backward, nodding with a startled expression. The silver-haired man pulled one of his earbuds out, double-tapping it to pause what he was listening to. Pale mauve bags sat under his eyes; despite his obvious exhaustion, he smiled.

"Good morning," Yuuta said.

Toge nodded again, signing, "Good morning."

"Is that for the menu or for fun?" Yuuta asked.

"For the menu, and for you," Toge signed.

"For me? Why?" Yuuta asked.

"An apology for keeping you up late and for everything on the beach," Toge signed.

Yuuta furrowed his brows. "Don't apologize for feeling. You're justified to feel however you feel."

"Even if I feel like you're an ass?" Toge signed, narrowing his eyes with a smirk.

"Do you feel like I'm an ass?" Yuuta asked.

"No, but I wanted to see how you responded," Toge signed.

"Of course, you did," Yuuta shook his head.

In a way, it was relieving to be able to have short jokes with Toge. The shaggy silver hair that Toge usually wore hanging messily down was parted in the middle, with half of it loosely pushed back. There was no way Toge had slept much that night; his eyes were still glassy, and his nose was puffy.

"Did you sleep last night?" Yuuta asked.

"Not much," Toge signed.

"Do you want to take a nap? I know that we said we would work on the menu today, but I really don't mind if you need to shut your eyes for an hour or two," Yuuta said.