Chapter Text
“Listen I— I know this sounds like a stupid idea,” Takumi explained, exasperated, as Hiruko looked on entirely unamused. “Just let me handle it. It’s my decision, I’ll handle whatever comes of it.”
Hiruko tapped her foot. “This doesn’t just involve you, Sumino. Letting him out is a risk we would all have to shoulder,” she scolded, as if Takumi didn’t know this. He did! He had weighed this out very carefully!
Takumi dragged his hand down his face. He really had thought about this extensively. Was it a good idea? Probably not. But Takumi knew he’d never be able to live with himself if he didn’t follow what he felt was right. And he truly felt this was right. “Do you not trust me?” he questioned, feeling bad about going right for Hiruko’s personal feelings, but having no other idea how to get across that he needed to handle this. “I can handle him. I have more experience with him than anyone else here.” An understatement, to say the least.
Hiruko crossed her arms and tightened her brows, looking like she was having trouble admitting that Takumi was right about that. Eventually she sighed, closing her eyes in defeat. “If you insist. I do trust you, Sumino, I just don’t trust my apparent murderer ,” she spat out, and Takumi flinched a bit. He couldn’t deny that reality. He had witnessed it, after all. “But,” Hiruko added lightly, “I get the feeling I can’t change your mind on this, anyway.”
”Yeah…” Takumi breathed out, feeling grateful relief. “You really get me by now, huh?”
She cracked a smile. “Perhaps. Just don’t make me regret it.” Yeah, Takumi thought. He hoped he wouldn’t regret it, either.
The next morning, Takumi took his usual breakfast in the cafeteria with everyone else. Some oatmeal was good enough, he thought, not putting much effort into whatever he shoved down his throat at this point. After a few minutes of sitting silently in the groggy, hushed atmosphere of the cafeteria, a cup was placed down in front of him. Takumi startled for a second before registering the cafe au lait in front of him.
”Good morning, Sumino,” Nozomi looked down at him with a radiant smile, putting her own bowl of fruit on the table and moving to take the seat next to him. Takumi’s heart did a muted flip at the sight— before they all learned the truth about their backgrounds, his emotions would have shot him through the roof. As it were however, he couldn’t muster up much more than an echo of the excitement he once felt about Nozomi. She was still a kind, lovely, beautiful, radiant presence— but knowing the answer to the mystery of Karua and his association to her, Takumi sort of felt like he needed to get to know Nozomi all over again. She continued to speak, either ignorant of the thoughts racing one hundred miles per hour behind his eyes, or gracious enough to ignore them. “I thought your breakfast looked a bit lacking."
Takumi scratched at his cheek, a bit embarrassed. “Ah, yeah…” he mused, “I guess I didn’t really feel like putting in any extra effort.”
Nozomi popped a strawberry in her mouth and pointed her fork at him idly as she spoke. “That’s no good, Sumino! You have to enjoy the little things,” she lectured, but not in the authoritative way Hiruko always did. More like a mother, or a particularly responsible older sister, and Takumi appreciated it a lot.
”Mm, that’s true,” he admitted. He picked up the cafe au lait, bringing it to his lips and felt a little better already. Nozomi was right after all. In the face of the bombshell they were all still recovering from, the little things they could grasp onto were especially important. Even if something as simple as their food preferences was implanted in them artificially, it still came together to make up the whole of who they were. There was no use in getting hung up on something like that. If Takumi liked the taste of coffee and milk in the morning, there was no reason to cast that aside. A thought suddenly crossed Takumi’s mind. What did he like to eat…?
There was no use in asking Nozomi. The Eito of this timeline had never eaten with them like this, as a friend, an ally, anything of that sort, so she never would’ve seen what he picked out from the ration-o-matic. And Takumi was ashamed to admit (ashamed? did he feel that sort of emotion for Eito now?) he couldn’t remember that sort of detail from his original timeline. All of the possible little details he could have remembered about that Eito; the dorky, endearing, fake Eito he once knew, were overridden by the shock and despair of betrayal. He must have really been lost in thought, because Nozomi ended up giving his hand a little genuine jab with her fork. “Ah…!” A little yelp left Takumi’s mouth involuntarily as he was ripped from his endless musing.
Nozomi giggled, and the bright sound ringing through the empty cafeteria brought a smile to Takumi’s face. “Sorry, sorry, you just looked so focused on the wall,” she admitted, still laughing a bit behind her hand. “Anything you want to talk about? Maybe it would be helpful to talk it over with me, instead of the wall?”
Takumi was too embarrassed to just come right out and admit what he was working through in his head. Maybe because of her light teasing, maybe because it had to do with Eito, of all people. He wasn’t sure which. “Maybe… I appreciate the offer,” he replied sheepishly, trying to find a way to twist the truth just enough to discuss it with her.
It turned out he actually didn’t need to. “Hiruko told me,” she cut-in softly, half-whispering in a way that telegraphed she knew how polarizing this would be. “Your plan, that is. She let me know this morning,” Nozomi turned to look at him, not an ounce of doubt or anger in her eyes. “I figure you’re probably thinking about that.”
Takumi closed his eyes, and let a heavy breath out through his nose. It was probably for the best. Hiruko knew someone like Nozomi would be level-headed enough to entrust with the info, likely as a fail-safe if something did go wrong. It was a calculated move. “…Yeah. I’m going to go see him after this,” he stated matter-of-factually, pushing his remaining oatmeal around the bowl.
”I’m in support, if you wanted to know,” and Takumi was a bit surprised. He knew she wouldn’t stop him, but support was a bit further than he expected. His heart warmed a little bit. “I think if anyone can handle this, it would be you, Sumino.” Nozomi’s encouraging smile helped calm his nerves slightly. Maybe they really could get through all this together. And he meant together, all of them. From the bottom of his heart.
Takumi stayed silent for a second, sort of absorbing the positive feelings from her encouragement to use as a springboard for what he wanted to say. “…What do you think he likes to eat?”
”Hmm?” Nozomi cocked an eyebrow at him.
”I’m bringing him food,” Takumi stated, looking away at the wall again. “But I… don’t know what he likes to eat. Or even if he likes to eat. I’ve never shared a meal with him.” He felt something akin to sadness well up within him. Takumi has never shared a meal with this Eito. Takumi musters the strength to meet Nozomi’s gaze again; witnessing the earnestness in how she processes his words. She likely couldn’t understand exactly what emotions he was picking at, chipping away at with a pickaxe from inside his own chest, but she could understand the idea. The idea of the loneliness that Takumi wanted to confront head-on.
Nozomi bobbed her head from side to side for a second, clearly thinking about how she should answer the honesty Takumi presented her with. Eventually she sighed, obviously not finding the answer she thought really belonged here. “I think talking to him is the only way, as obvious as that sounds,” she flashed Takumi an apologetic smile as she explained. “You might not get a straight answer out of him, but you might learn more. Over time,” she added at the end, probably remembering just how winding and disorienting conversations with Eito can be. “But our preferences make up who we are. Our routines, our likes and dislikes, our comforts,” Nozomi trailed off. Takumi found himself nodding along a bit, echoing his own thoughts from earlier at breakfast. Nozomi comforted him by bringing him the cafe au lait when he was too tangled in his own emotions to do that for himself. Takumi wanted to do that for Eito. To find the thing he could bring Eito, that Eito couldn’t get for himself.
”Yeah,” Takumi responded with some conviction. “I’m sure he has those too.”
Nozomi smiled again, nodding, and returning to her fruit bowl. When Takumi finished his coffee and moved to collect his dishes, she looked up at him sweetly from her spot. “Go get ‘em, tiger,” she offered cornily. Takumi felt an involuntary laugh bubble up as he mumbled a ‘thanks’ and wandered to the washing station.
Takumi made his way to the courtyard, footsteps quietly resounding in the empty hallways. Most everyone was in their rooms, or busying themselves with some task around the school, so there was no one to stop the deafening quiet from becoming an echo chamber for his thoughts. The package in his hand felt too noticeable in its weight. Takumi sighed as he opened the iron gate to the courtyard, wishing his nerves would just calm down already. Maybe the sound of the fake birds chirping and the artificial LED sunlight would soothe him, he hoped dryly. Yeah, right.
”Oh, is that ugly Takumi I spy?” came floating to his ears from the cage in the center of the yard, and yeah, of course nothing about this place was going to calm Takumi’s nerves.
”Sure is,” Takumi bit back, learning by now that Eito does this just to get a rise out of him. He’s better off if he doesn’t make a fuss. Takumi made his way over to the cage, examining his target. Eito looked relatively relaxed; he was on his side, laying propped up on one arm with a book laid out beside him. How he didn’t feel sore from reclining on the hard cage floor, Takumi would never understand. “I brought you breakfast.”
”Mmm, disgusting,” Eito replied cheerfully, snapping the book closed and sitting up cross-legged. “How kind of you to interrupt my reading with whatever slop you’ve decided to allow me to eat today.”
In and out, Takumi thought as he breathed, trying not to just throw the package at Eito’s cage and let it explode over the bars. Anger management was definitely a skill Takumi was always working on, especially when it came to Eito. “Hey, you could at least pretend to appreciate it, Aotsuki,” he said, trying to lighten things up a bit, “it’s not like I particularly wanted to come see you either.”
”Oh you misunderstand me, Takumi,” Eito plastered a smile on, as he always did, “I’m not upset you came to see me. I just don’t want your food.”
Takumi reached the cage bars, and weighed a few options in his mind. First, he wasn’t going to address the fact that Eito apparently wanted to see him, because that wasn’t worth agonizing over the meaning of. Second, he had to decide how he wanted Eito to eat this. Takumi thought about handing it through the bars, but that feels so… cold, for what he’s hoping to accomplish here. Maybe he could just…
Takumi walked forward with conviction, following his gut as always. He pulled the key from one of his myriad pockets, and began to unlock the cage. Eito looked at him in slightly stunned shock. “Bold today, huh?” he mused, looking a mixture between concerned and intrigued. “Did you get permission from the rest of those horrible creatures to do this?”
”Some of them,” Takumi admitted truthfully. There was no reason to hide it really. Everyone else made a point not to talk to Eito, and this was his idea at its core. The key clicked into place, and with a hefty turn, it snapped open and fell to the floor. Takumi set it and the key to the side for now, and opened the cage door, stepping inside. Eito instinctively backed up a little bit, making Takumi feel another uncomfortable twinge of guilt. It’s fine, Takumi soothed to himself, as he gently shut the door behind himself and took care not to go too far into Eito’s space. He’d just sit with his back against the entry bars. Eito just stared at him with those large, seemingly endless eyes as he calculated what Takumi was trying to achieve. Takumi figured he needed to be the one to make the first move. “Here,” he said casually, pushing the wrapped box over to Eito.
Eito just stared at it for a second. “You know, while I do appreciate your visit,” he said with a smile, but the whole act seemed to hide a little nervousness underneath it now, “I’m not eating this.”
”I thought you might say that,” Takumi admitted with no amount of disappointment in his voice. “You’d think it’s gross since I touched it, right?” He saw Eito nod shallowly. It’s a start. “I made it with the ration-o-matic—”
”I didn’t assume you cooked for me Takumi, but I’m still not—”
”Let me finish,” Takumi interrupted, closing his eyes with some frustration. “I figured that wouldn’t be enough. You’d still think I touched it or tampered with it or whatever intrusive thoughts you must have. So I figured out there’s a wrapping feature on the machine.” Takumi cracked an eye open to see Eito’s reaction. He was cocking an eyebrow at Takumi, still trying to calculate what Takumi was really doing here. Takumi had to assume it was a good sign if he was puzzling Eito this much. “See? Pick it up at least,” he urged.
Eito rolled his eyes but did as Takumi suggested. He lifted the wrapped box, examining all sides of the simple white furoshiki that had been wrapped around it, and the corresponding sticker-seal placed on the bottom where the fabric met. It looked authentically like something you’d get from a takeout restaurant. Takumi continued, taking advantage of the quiet as Eito went over each detail, “Since it’s wrapped by the ration-o-matic, you can rest assured that none of us ever touched it. It’s got the academy sticker and everything.”
”Hmm,” Eito finally mused. He set the box down gingerly, once again locking eyes with Takumi in silence, studying him intently like he was a lab petri dish. “You could just reseal it, you know. You could have made a furoshiki with the gift-o-matic, wrapped it over something horrible, and fabricated a special sticker as a way to poison me.”
”You know I couldn’t wrap something like that right,” Takumi admitted, taking the self-jab if it meant convincing Eito.
It seemed to work. Eito stifled a jeering laugh. “It does look professional. Which is about the last word I’d associate with our Takumi,” he teased, but to Takumi’s intense relief, Eito opened the box. Takumi watched intensely as Eito lifted the lid and examined the contents. Takumi doubted Eito would ever come out and say what he liked (if anything) from Takumi’s selection, so his best bet was to catch any sort of expression that would tell him the truth. Today he kept things pretty simple; the menu was a croissant, a mikan, some vanilla yogurt with granola, and a milk juice box. Eito stared at it for a few long seconds, his face betraying nothing. Eventually, he spoke. “What do you think I am, a kindergartner?”
”C’mon…!” Takumi responded involuntarily, feeling Eito's words knock the wind out of him. He tried, goddamnit! Pull yourself together, he chanted inside his own head. It’s fine. He’s just trying to push your buttons. “I tried to pick simple stuff since I don’t know what you like to eat, Aotsuki,” he admitted.
Eito stared at him contemplatively for a second. “What I like to eat, huh…? You’re an odd one, Takumi,” he mused as he picked up the mikan, twirling it in his hand and seemingly checking it for any dark spots. “I can’t imagine why you’d care what a traitor like me wants to eat.”
”Is it wrong to be curious?” Takumi responded quickly, holding his gaze. Holding his ground, really.
”I suppose not,” Eito admitted, and to Takumi’s great satisfaction, he started peeling the mikan. Takumi was amazed he could even get through the peel with gloves on. Takumi idly noted that he must be really skilled with his hands. The thought stuck in Takumi's brain for a second too long; he had to consciously shove it out. “I’ll give you a hint then, since you made the first move in this game,” he replied. Of course it’s a game now, Takumi thought. He shouldn’t have expected anything else. “Two out of four of these are fine. The other two I’m not going to bother with.”
”Oh?” Takumi chirped, pleasantly surprised. “Half isn’t bad…” Takumi muttered, and Eito looked weirdly pleased with himself. “What’s wrong with the two you don’t like? I assume the mikan is one you’re fine with.”
”It’s high in nutrients,” Eito responded dryly. “I won’t turn down fresh produce.” He continued to peel, pulling off one impressively swirled length of peel and promptly, chucking it at Takumi’s face.
”Uwah—!” Takumi barked out, just barely dodging in time for the peel to fly past where his head just was and land unimpressively in the courtyard grass outside. His face flushed as he whipped his head back to Eito, who was holding a hand to his stomach with laughter. “What the hell is your problem?!”
”I've always been impressed with your reaction time—” he was really laughing, Takumi noticed, “I figured it wouldn’t fail you even now.” Takumi let out a huge sigh. He really had no idea how to interpret any time he spent with Eito. Was this his way of saying he… enjoyed the food? Is he playing with him? Is he laughing at Takumi or with Takumi?
Takumi figured he’d never know the answers to these questions, so he tried to focus on what actually seemed feasible. “I dodged your little citrus weapon, don’t you think I’ve earned another explanation for our “game”?” he slid in, hoping that stunt put Eito in a good enough mood to keep humoring him.
Eito rolled his eyes playfully. “If you’re gonna give me bread, at least put something in it,” he said, matter-of-fact, as he finally popped a mikan slice in his mouth and chewed carefully. “Otherwise it’s just empty calories.”
”I didn’t peg you for someone so health-conscious,” Takumi found himself saying before he could even really decide if that was a good idea.
”I’m not, at least not in the way you think,” Eito mused, seemingly honest, “I don’t like to eat. So if I have to make something, I may as well make it count.”
Takumi blinked a few times as he processed that statement. “You don’t like to eat…?”
Eito met his confused gaze. “Is that so surprising?” he popped another slice in, a tiny bit less careful this time.
”No… I guess not,” Takumi thought aloud, putting one hand under his chin, “I guess considering it’s you, it’s not surprising. I just never thought someone would dislike eating.” He brought his gaze back to Eito again, quietly happy with the fact that Eito had finished half the fruit. Even if Eito didn’t like the whole package, one piece of food clearing his quality assurance was a win to Takumi. “You never had any comfort foods? Something you just wanted to eat purely to eat it?”
“You really think I would have a comfort anything?” Eito laughed wryly.
Takumi froze at the answer Eito flippantly provided. “Our preferences make up who we are,” Nozomi’s words from earlier echoed in Takumi’s mind, “our routines, our likes and dislikes, our comforts. ” If Eito was telling the truth, or at least if this was any percentage of the truth, the coiling feeling of loneliness in Takumi’s gut screwed itself tighter. If Eito didn’t have any comforts, anything he preferred, any likes, who was he? Who was Eito Aotsuki?
Takumi must have been making some kind of expression that betrayed the deep, emotional rabbit hole his mind was taking him down, because he was rudely pulled out of it by a croissant to the face. ”Oh, it connected,” Eito said casually, and Takumi immediately flew off the handle.
”What are you doing,” he spat out, feeling his patience wear thin. Maybe it wasn’t his patience exactly; he didn’t feel angry, or even frustrated, just… confused? Overstimulated by all the thoughts rushing through his mind? He didn’t know, but the crumbs scratching against his chest where they dropped inside his hoodie was making him feel like he wanted to punch Eito square in the face. “You said I thought you were a kindergartner earlier, are you trying to prove that by getting into a food fight with me?”
”Not really,” Eito said calmly, like his behavior was totally normal. “I’m just testing the limits of what’s making you stay in this cage with me.”
Takumi completely paused. Right, it must have looked odd from the beginning that Takumi would willingly sit in here with him. Eito seriously started throwing food at him just to gauge the reason for that…? Takumi sighed. He made some progress today at least, he probably shouldn’t overstay his welcome and risk Eito whipping him up into some rage he’ll regret later. “I can go, if you’re tired of having me around,” he offered, as calmly as he could muster.
”Hmmm… perhaps visiting hours are almost up,” Eito offered wryly, once again leaning back on his prisoner humor. Or maybe it was hospital humor. Takumi dryly thought Eito probably thinks of those as the same thing. Eito silently took the yogurt cup and spoon from the box, before placing the rest of his peel trash inside of it and resealing it with the items he didn’t want. He then slid it back over to Takumi, like a silent plea to please keep his “room” clean. Takumi took it without question. “I’d like to get back to my book, anyway. Your stench is starting to ruin my appetite,” he said, but it didn’t really have any bite to it.
Takumi sighed has he stood up, stretching his back after his time on the hard floor. “No problem, let me get out of your hair then,” he replied casually, swinging the cage door back open and slipping out. He silently reclasped the lock around the metal loop and twisted the key, the metal clanks reverberating through the courtyard. “Seeya later, Aotsuki,” Takumi offered as he slipped his hands in his pockets, making for the entrance back into the school proper.
”Mm,” Eito acknowledged just loud enough for Takumi to hear. He glanced back before leaving, seeing Eito with a spoonful of yogurt in his mouth, eyes fixated on his book once more.
The next morning at breakfast, Shouma ran up to him as soon as he groggily pushed through the cafeteria door. “Sumino!!” he yelped, not in shock or anything, seemingly just out of pure urgency.
”Bwuh—?” Takumi spluttered, his half-asleep brain processing the noise, “What? What’s up?”
”Sorry! Sorry, I know I should keep my disgusting voice down in the morning—” he started in on the self-depreciation, but Takumi shot him a sleepy glare, and Shouma got the hint to shelve it. “I uh, I went to bring Aotsuki some food, since I’m used to visiting the courtyard on autopilot each morning…” he trailed off, and Takumi knew why. The usual person Shouma would visit isn’t there anymore, but it doesn’t mean the habit would break so easily. Shouma shook his head and continued, “But he uh, wouldn’t take it. I doubt he’s ever eaten the stuff I’ve brought him but usually he just takes it to get my ugly mug out of his sight.”
”Right…” Takumi replied sluggishly, just letting Shouma know he heard him as Takumi collected his breakfast.
”So um, but today, he,” Shouma stuttered, not exactly sure how to continue. Takumi nodded hoping to move this along, “today he told me not to come back again at all. And he told me he wouldn’t eat anything unless you brought it to him.”
Takumi paused, tongs grabbing onto a danish which was now limply hanging in the air above his plate. A long pause stretched out between them before Takumi finally sent the signals to his hand to ungrip the damn pastry so it could fall to his plate. Takumi was glad he was turned away from Shouma, because he wasn’t sure what expression he was making. “That so?” he offered, finishing his food selection and walking over to the table, “I’ll take him something after I eat.”
”Umm… well,” Shouma fidgeted, “I was worried maybe he was doing this because he wanted to backstab you again or something… are you sure…?”
Takumi shoveled the pastry into his mouth, more interested in ending this conversation so he can go straight to the source and get him to explain why the hell he said that to Shouma. “Yeah, it’s no problem. We don’t have to be afraid of him,” he explained confidently.
”I-if you say so…” Shouma nervously agreed, and Takumi scanned the room as he ate. The only other person here was Hiruko; and her gaze was locked sharply onto Takumi as she overheard their conversation. Great, Takumi complained in his head. Hiruko was about the last person he needed to overhear updates on how his Eito plan was going. Whatever, it was Takumi’s job to handle it. If Eito wanted him, that was his goddamn business.
Takumi once again went through the motions of preparing for his courtyard visit. Boxed breakfast in hand, he unlatched the iron gate leading to the greenspace and braced himself for impact. The greeting for today was even more esoteric than the last one. “Oho, I see my message got around,” Eito mused happily, shutting his book with a light thump as he laid it on the bed.
”The one where you scared Ginzaki half to death?” Takumi joked dryly, slipping a hand into his pocket for the key again. “Yeah, I sure got it. You didn’t have to go to that trouble though,” the lock clacked open and Takumi opened the cage door, “I was going to come back anyway.”
Takumi shuffled in carefully again, and like yesterday, didn’t push in too far. He just sat by the door, box offered peacefully between them, wrapping as tight and factory-sealed as yesterday’s. Once he was settled, Takumi met Eito’s gaze with pronounced surprise. Eito’s expression looked… raw, weirdly. He looked genuinely a bit taken aback, and not in the way he usually did when encountered one of the "humans" he hates so much. He looked taken aback in a positive way, whatever Takumi thought that was worth. It was an interesting reaction at least. Eito collected himself, looking to the side and out at the rest of the courtyard. “Well, I didn’t want that dodgeball-shaped blob of gore to take your spot.”
Takumi shot him a questioning glance. What the hell kind of insult was that? “Thanks?” Takumi offered, somewhat genuinely before trying to direct their conversation to the meal at hand. “Another breakfast for you.”
Eito eyed it for a second before taking the box from the center of the cage. A lot more quickly this time, Takumi observed. Progress. Eito silently unwrapped the furoshiki and lifted the lid, Takumi studying his face the entire time. This time, instead of giving nothing away, Eito looked at something in the box with a bit of confusion, if his cocked eyebrow was any indication. Takumi waited for him to speak, hoping for some kind of hint. Eventually, Eito indulged him: “We established I was “health-conscious”, as you put it yesterday, so today you decided to bring me a caffeinated drink?” He sounded a little annoyed, Takumi noted, but mostly curious.
”It’s my favorite,” Takumi offered simply. Eito’s eyebrows knitted together in further surprise. “I don’t know what you like, and you don’t even really seem to know what you like, so I wanted to try stuff I like,” Takumi shrugged. It felt a little vulnerable, but he had thought about this all last night. If Takumi wanted Eito to give him something personal, Takumi decided it was only fair for him to provide that in return. Equal trade seemed like a reasonable strategy in this new game with Eito. “I like to have a cafe au lait in the morning.”
”Coffee… Hm,” Eito mused, picking up the can and studying the ingredients list on the back.
”I don’t usually have the canned kind, so I can’t vouch if it’s good or not,” he admitted, feeling a little more casual somehow. Like Takumi was giving recommendations to a friend, not sitting on the cage floor with a guy he once killed in a timeline that now feels like a vivid bad dream. “But I can’t bring you an open drink, so the ration-o-matic wouldn’t make the kind I usually have. Apparently this canned brand is the substitute.”
”Hmm,” Eito replied, rather unhelpfully. He sat the can down by him, examining the other contents. “Are these also Takumi-approved favorites?”
Takumi shrugged. “Not as much as the coffee. The other stuff is just what I thought you might like from our conversation yesterday.” He was going with four items each time, so he didn’t muddy the waters too much in trying to systematically pinpoint what Eito enjoyed eating. Today’s sampler platter was the aforementioned canned cafe au lait, a breakfast sandwich with egg, an apple, and one of those weirdo green smoothie shots he’s seen Moko drink a few times. Takumi thought two drinks might have been a risk, but the breakfast sandwich was pretty hardy. He found himself putting a lot of thought into balancing these meals.
Eito continued to be oddly quiet as he scanned over the food. Then, he took out the breakfast sandwich and the apple with a napkin, and set them neatly beside him before rewrapping the box and sliding it back to Takumi.
”No to the shot?” Takumi questioned genuinely as he took the box back. Was he witnessing a three out of four success? He couldn’t be mad about that.
”I don’t know what it is,” Eito said with a little bit of disdain in his voice, “It looks yucky.”
”Yucky? ” Takumi repeated, laughing a little bit. “Okay seriously, you sound like a kindergartner.”
Eito glared at him a little bit. It was rare for Takumi to get off a shot at him and not the other way around. “It doesn’t matter what you think of me, I’m not drinking some weird bottle of dark liquid.” Takumi stifled his laughter. It was still silly that Eito reacted so strongly to a green shot of all things, but it seemed to come from a place of real suspicion, which is what Takumi didn’t want. He figured he should change the topic.
”Okay, okay,” he admitted defeat, “But the rest are okay? Is this a three out of four?” Takumi was hopeful. Did the cafe au lait really go over well?
Eito squashed that hope for improvement immediately. “Two out of four,” he corrected, bringing the apple to his lips and taking a bite, “The apple is good. You were smart to pick a safe option since I gave you such clear directions concerning fruit yesterday.” Takumi felt like he was doing a good job, but Eito still found a way to frame it like Takumi was an idiot who only did anything right because Eito lead him to the answer. He shoved this annoyance down and let Eito continue. “The sandwich is good too. Protein with the bread is appreciated.”
”Noted…” Takumi mused, filing it away in his brain. “The cafe au lait…?” he questioned aimlessly, not sure if he wanted to hear Eito’s take on his favorite morning item.
”No clue,” Eito provided, surprisingly candid. “Never had it before,” another crunch of the apple, “so I can’t give it a pass.”
”But you didn’t give it back,” Takumi pointed out, earning him a smirk from Eito.
”Good, glad you can use your eyes,” he jeered, and Takumi rolled his eyes. Another crunch. “I’ll try it later. I may or may not tell you the results. Think of it like a wildcard.”
Takumi sighed, his back sliding down against the cage bars a bit. It wasn’t like he was going to win this, so pushing Eito wouldn’t accomplish anything. “Fine, I’ll take that,” he admitted, resigned to Eito’s game.
”You look comfy,” Eito remarked sarcastically, watching Takumi recline against the bars from behind his apple. “Is the plan really just to be in this cramped cage with me every morning? I’d say you look like a weirdo, but that descriptor isn’t nearly enough to encompass just how terrible you look.”
Takumi leveled an annoyed glare at him, but decided to ignore the bait and go for honesty. “No,” he offered confidently, “at some point I’m planning to take you out.”
The silence was truly deafening. Eito paused eating his apple, just staring Takumi down like Takumi had spoken another language out of nowhere. With haste Eito fixed his expression, falling back on his usual retorts. “On a date? Wow, I didn’t know you felt that way about me! Unfortunately, due to your hideous countenance, I’ll have to decl—”
Takumi’s face flushed and he cut Eito off as soon as he could summon the words. “Not as a date, you asshole,” and Takumi thought he saw Eito fucking wink at him. “You know what I mean. Out into the school. Don’t be coy,” he commanded, but he doubted he sounded very convincing.
”I’ll think about it.” Another crunch.
”You don’t get to think about it,” Takumi felt the heat rising in his face, the goading inevitably getting to him even if he tried to avoid it. “I’m telling you I’m planning to let you out of the cage and you’re going. You don’t get a choice.”
”Oooh, so scary, dear leader,” he jeered, clearly enjoying putting Takumi on the back foot, “You do like to make choices on behalf of us, don’t you?”
Takumi clenched his fist and breathed in and out, in and out. “I’ll just leave if you don’t like my methods.”
Eito eyed him carefully, taking note of the way Takumi was trying to control himself. “I’ve already made it abundantly clear I don’t. It shouldn’t be a surprise to you,” his smug tone washed over Takumi, weirdly cooling off some of his anger. Right, Eito was just like this. He probably did want to leave his cage and go somewhere else, even for a bit, but he was probably just upset that it was Takumi offering this to him. Eito was just finding something about the arrangement to take issue with. Framing it that way made more sense to him. It must have been a minute while Takumi thought through that answer, because Eito was staring at him intently while he forgot to eat his apple again.
Instead of addressing the jab Eito made at him, Takumi just stood up calmly to get going. “Eat your sandwich soon or it’s gonna get cold,” he offered gently. All the annoyance had been washed clean out of him once he came up with a reason for Eito’s demeanor that made sense. He didn’t look back as he opened the door and stepped through onto the courtyard grass. Eito regarded him silently once again as he relatched the lock and slipped the key away. “See you tomorrow. Enjoy the cafe au lait.”
Takumi turned and walked away from the courtyard, turning over and over in his head their conversation and how he should go about handling Eito’s day release in the future. As he opened the iron gate at the entrance, a subtle noise sounded in time with it, like the source hoped the familiar door squeak would hide it. But Takumi recognized it easily. It was the sound of a drink can being cracked open.
Notes:
they make me sick, chat. are you seeing this shit? I also wanted to give a huge thank you to the massive positive response on "scorching eden", I can't believe how nice you all are...! it motivated me to bang this out, so I hope you enjoy it just as much even if there's no porn (yet)
Chapter Text
Takumi was released from the jaws of sleep back into his dorm room well after the morning announcement. Nothing about being at war had made him an early riser, to his slight dismay. Luckily, no urgent matters needed to be attended to today, so he could just sleep as long as he wanted— but he banished the thought and groggily pulled on his typical sweatshirt. He only got his arm stuck in the hole and had to flail around embarrassingly once, which wasn’t bad. Takumi rubbed his eyes, got to his feet, and stumbled out the door, setting on his typical path to the cafeteria. It was basically muscle memory by now. Everyone would likely be there for lunch at this time, and Takumi found himself feeling a bit sad that he missed breakfast. Everyone in the unit had slowly been filtering back into the communal space over the last few days. After their pivotal battle post-secret, everyone seemed to come to the same general conclusion: that no matter how fucked things were, they only had each other. Once the allure of wanting to be alone with their thoughts wore off, everyone wanted to be able to share meals together and feel more whole as a group. Takumi couldn’t be happier with the outcome, honestly. He wanted them to feel whole. Everyone, together. That included the most stubborn person on the team; the one Takumi had been bringing breakfast to, the one he had been supervising cage-leave for, the one Takumi had been trying to convince everyone wasn’t a threat anymore.
During Takumi’s free time the last few days, he had been habitually taking Eito around the school. Takumi thought of it as trying to reintegrate him into the unit’s regular school life; Eito called it “day release” to further his prison allegories. Either way, despite his original protests, Eito never declined spending time with Takumi. He noticed Eito had gotten a bit rusty combat-wise, so they made sure to get some VR training in (even if Eito was goading him the entire time). If they fought each other instead of invaders for a few rounds, no one else had to know. They went to the library so Eito could pick out some new books and Takumi could sit across from him and pretend he wasn’t nodding off as Eito skimmed through his selection. They even took a walk around the schoolyard when Eito mentioned the “human stench” was giving him a headache. Takumi had sighed and rolled his eyes, but Eito did seem to perk up a bit once they were outside and breathing the fresh air of Futurum. It was surprisingly nice to walk with him under the bright blue sky. It made things feel so… average, for once. Something Takumi hadn’t gotten to feel with Eito since his first timeline, when he knew nothing.
So, his thoughts were firmly on Eito as he trekked to the cafeteria. What should he get him for lunch…? Takumi still had to get him some food, even if today he obviously missed the breakfast mark by a couple hours. Ah well , he thought idly, Eito didn’t seem to focus on the fact that it was breakfast very much. Eito struck Takumi as the type of guy to skip breakfast because it was too much of a hassle. So, Takumi reasoned, bringing Eito lunch instead wouldn’t bother him, and it would be a nice excuse for Takumi to try new foods with him. Progress on developing an idea of what Eito liked was slow going; so far Takumi mainly learned he liked fresh foods, sandwiches (as long as the filling met his standards), and seemed to prefer things on the more plain or bitter side than sweet. (Takumi brought him a fruity yogurt once and Eito made a hilariously scrunched-up expression like he was trying to make the yogurt explode out of existence in his hand. Apparently it was too sweet.) As for things he didn’t like, Takumi had filled out that section a bit more. No plain milk, no plain bread, no stuff Takumi’s mom would have called “empty calories” when he tried to eat it as a snack after highschool, and no “yucky” non-standard presentations of food. Takumi found himself chuckling as he walked; it really did sound like Eito was some fussy eater he was desperately trying to meal-plan for. The guy who acted so high and mighty probably had the spice tolerance of a toddler. That’d be interesting to test in the future. He would enjoy thinking about what to get for Eito today while Takumi ate his own meal.
Nearing the cafeteria, Takumi vaguely noticed the sound of chatter within was a lot softer today. Maybe everyone was off doing their own thing again…? Lunch had been a pretty busy event lately, so Takumi assumed most everyone would be there, mingling and likely lovingly insulting each other’s food choices. Instead he mostly heard a few plates clatter as cutlery hit them, along with a few notably more hushed conversations. It was weird, but Takumi wouldn’t find anything out by waiting outside. He sleepily pushed the door open, a yawn hitting him as the cold cafeteria air washed over his tired form.
The first thing that hit his ears wasn’t the usual group of hellos or teasing good mornings at his late arrival, but rather a vaguely desperate sounding whine from Tsubasa. “Sumino… You’re finally awake,” she followed with a sigh. Takumi blinked, confused, as he scanned the table for her. She, and everyone else for that matter, were sitting sequestered at one end of the long cafeteria table. Weird, usually everyone spreads their dishes all over the surface like a buffet. Instead there were about three rows of empty chairs separating the unit members and their meals from the other end of the table— where the next voice that greeted Takumi came from.
”Good morning, Takumi!” Eito said cheerily, reveling in the dissonant atmosphere.
”G’morning, Aotsu—”
Takumi’s autopilot abruptly cut out, and his groggy brain finally caught up to the situation. Eito?! Takumi frantically started patting himself down to make sure the key to Eito’s cage was still on him. It was. “What are you— how are you,” he managed before Eito interrupted.
”If you’re thinking you forgot to lock the cage, don’t worry; you locked it up as tight as always!” he assured, as if that was remotely the issue here. “But you didn’t come to bring me breakfast today… What was I supposed to do,” Eito pouted, “starve?”
”You wouldn’t have fucking starved,” Takumi gritted out, too tired to stop himself from taking the bait. He dragged a hand down his face, which was starting to heat up from the eyes of everyone in the cafeteria trained directly on him. “Whatever, why are you here. Out of the cage.”
Eito happily tapped the spoon he was holding against his cheek. “Well, I was never really locked in there. I could have left at any time.”
Everyone’s faces sort of dropped in unison at this idea. Tsubasa had her head in her hands, and Hiruko was glaring daggers into Eito. How this wasn’t affecting him, Takumi had no idea. He’d have run out of the room as fast as his legs could carry him if Hiruko looked at him like that. Takumi tried to hold himself together as he mulled over what Eito just admitted. “So me— bringing breakfast… spending time together—” he mumbled out, not really wanting to finish the thought.
Unluckily for Takumi, Eito finished it for him. ”Oh, I really appreciated it, Takumi. I could have left to get food on my own, or trained and went to the library on my own, sure,” he mused, seeming to revel in getting to hold this over Takumi. “But I thought you enjoyed it,” Eito’s smile sharpened, edges cutting into Takumi’s brain, “you do love to play savior.”
Takumi couldn’t tell if his flush was out of embarrassment or frustration at this point. He opened and closed his mouth a few times, unsure how to respond, because he did sort of enjoy it— that was the worst part. He felt like a fool, hearing how Eito apparently just let Takumi believe he was doing something nice for him. Sure, maybe Takumi had wanted to win Eito over. Sure, maybe he was looking forward each day to figuring out what kinds of things Eito liked. Sure, maybe he had imagined he could see Eito like this in the cafeteria with everyone, but in a situation where everyone actually accepted him as much as they could. Sure, maybe he was the stupid one here.
Thankfully, before Takumi could blow up and say something stupid, Nozomi noticed how fast the situation was escalating. “Now, now,” she tried to calm things down, leaning up from her seat and waving her hands gently at both warring parties. “Aotsuki has promised he wouldn’t be a threat any longer… right?” Nozomi sheepishly looked towards Eito, hoping for the sentiment to be echoed.
Eito, eyes closed calmly, brought his yogurt spoon to his mouth and popped a bite in idly. “Mhm, not worth the trouble at this point.”
Nozomi looked like her smile was barely hiding her own annoyances behind it. Takumi understood deeply. “There we go. And considering Aotsuki has escaped before, I guess we really shouldn’t be too surprised…”
”Yeah, it was my bad for acting like I was leading up to letting him out with us, like a regular member of the team,” Takumi admitted, the emotion draining from his voice. He knew he was being childish— but the words just spilled out of his mouth. If he was the stupid one here, he better apologize to everyone for being so wrapped up in his little fantasy world where he alone could reintegrate Eito into the fold. “He isn’t a threat to us, I feel pretty sure of that by now,” he reassured everyone, pointedly not making eye contact with Eito. “So it shouldn’t be a problem if he eats in here. Just try to tolerate him,” Takumi spat out, throwing a hand up flippantly as he turned to leave back through the cafeteria door.
”Ah, Takumi—” he heard someone call after him, maybe more than one person; Takumi couldn’t tell. He didn’t really care either, his mood was pretty tanked by this point. He quietly roamed the halls on the way back to his room, head swimming and heart beating in shameful frustration. It wasn’t even a problem that Eito was there, in the cafeteria with everyone and out of his cage. He posed no risk, and it’s not like those cages hadn’t failed them before. The issue was Takumi foolishly thought he would have been the one to welcome him there. Takumi had secretly imagined he would have been the one to lead Eito into their communal dining hall, the one Takumi most readily imagined when he pictured all of them happy together, sharing a meal with Eito for the first time in this timeline. He had imagined he would have learned what food made Eito feel comfortable, and could deliver it to him at the table while all of his friends laughed and chatted around them. This misty, dreamy fantasy of togetherment he concocted as a way to bandage his own Eito-related wounds. His own selfishness.
Takumi made it to his door, the door clicking as he slipped inside, and collapsed on his bed with his hands over his face. He shouldn’t be surprised. This was Eito. He didn’t even really blame Eito for this. Takumi blamed himself for being so naïve.
Takumi wasn’t sure how long he napped. He wasn’t surprised to be startled awake; it was nearly evening and he really shouldn’t be in bed. Whatever the knock at the door wanted though, it could wait. If it was urgent, someone would break down the door or something. Nozomi had done that not too long ago. Takumi turned over in bed, bundling the blanket around him. He was up and about prepping for battles and trying his best as a leader every other day, he could afford to sleep one day away and lick his wounds in a bedding cocoon. There was another knock, a pause, a ring of the bell, and another pause. It didn’t seem like whoever was there needed anything urgent. Takumi tuned it out and tried to lull himself back to the comfort of sleep.
Unfortunately, a voice pulled him back. “Takumi? Your door is unlocked again.”
Takumi sat up stock-straight in his bed like he got hit with a bolt of lightning. Are you kidding me, he thought as he threw the blanket off and stomped to the door. The last person he wanted to see right now— no wait, did he actually forget to lock it? He wouldn’t make that mistake again after last timeline, right? This Eito shouldn’t even know that’s a mistake Takumi once made— Takumi, without a second thought, jiggled the doorknob and found it locked tightly as always. But wait, if Eito was saying this, was the thing just jammed or something? Takumi flipped the latch and swung the door back a bit instinctively to check—
And was greeted by Eito’s beaming face, happily waving against the backdrop of the evening horizon. “Ah, I can’t believe that worked!” he cried out happily, seeming beyond pleased with himself.
Takumi was still too half-asleep to register how he got duped. He looked from Eito, to the doorknob, back to Eito again, and twisted his face into the most disgusted expression he could muster. “It was locked,” was all Takumi could get out.
”Sure was!” Eito put one hand on the door, gently pushing it inward and inviting himself in while Takumi was still groggily off-balance. “I didn’t expect such a swift response. Are you paranoid about your door, Takumi?”
”I do not want to talk about it,” Takumi bit back, getting his bearings and managing to slide in front of Eito before the other guy could literally push himself inside Takumi’s room. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Eito didn’t try to push him or anything, simply tilting his head to the side a little like this was the most natural situation in the world.
”Well, you invited yourself into my cage multiple times without asking,” he pointed out, “so I’m just doing the same.”
”Yeah, I think “cage” is the word here that makes these very different scenarios,” Takumi sighed and peered around Eito a bit, where the puffy arms of his jacket obscured what he was holding in his hands. Takumi returned his gaze to Eito’s face and shot him an inquisitive glance. “…What do you have?” Takumi asked, like someone would ask their dog what they had in their mouth.
Eito shuffled his arm behind his back. “You want to ruin the surprise? I think you should let me in.”
”I didn’t ask what you thought,” Takumi replied, but there wasn’t any fight behind it. In the end, he gave up and stepped out of Eito’s way, who merrily stepped inside and toward the center of the room. Takumi sluggishly shut the door and flipped the main light on, rubbing sleep out of his eyes as he blinked against the harsh light. He heard some items being set down on the coffee table, like something was being unpacked. When his eyes finally regained focus, Takumi watched in idle confusion as Eito seemed to be setting the table. “So… why?” was all Takumi’s brain could muster. Why visit him, why the table setting, why any of this. This… everything he had gone through with Eito during the time after they learned they were fabricated beings and the fight behind Eito’s eyes seemed to calm down.
Eito removed a thermos from the box he brought and set it on the table before looking back at Takumi. “Why…? Hm,” Eito almost seemed to mimic the same internal monologue Takumi had just gone through; what “why” was he answering exactly? Eventually, Eito seemed to settle on the simplest one for the moment. “You didn’t eat this morning.”
”And whose fault was that, exactly,” Takumi bit back dryly, wondering if he should just kick Eito out physically. He was pretty confident he could overpower the guy.
”Oh, mine,” Eito answered so matter-of-fact it caught Takumi off-guard. “That’s why I’m here.”
Eito seemed to finish setting the table, taking a seat on the couch next to the locker like he owned the place. Takumi dragged himself over, pulling up the desk chair and resigning himself to whatever event Eito has decided to rope him into today. He looked over the spread on the coffee table and was confronted with how normal it was. Not that he expected something crazy, he knew Eito’s meal preferences enough by now, but it almost seemed… considerate? Eito had spread out two plates with matching BLT sandwiches on them, the bread toasted golden and skewered with a little toothpick and olive on top. The thermos held coffee, which had been neatly poured into mugs for each of them; Eito’s was black, but Takumi’s had a small pitcher of milk next to it. White cloth napkins were neatly folded under the plates, making the whole thing look more like a genuine picnic than an obligation meal thrown together to make up for causing Takumi to lose his appetite from earlier. He must have been staring, trying to divine the reason behind this situation, because Eito felt the need to comment on it. “You may look like a hideous, alien monster to me, but even I don’t think you can eat with your eyes alone, Takumi.”
Takumi was ready to take the bait and throw an insult back at Eito, but was rudely interrupted by his stomach making an embarrassingly loud growl.
”See? Even your putrid guts agree,” Eito’s smile was a mile wide, and Takumi hated him.
Takumi desperately tried to pull his hungry, sleepy mind away from just digging in, but he was powerless after already skipping two meals today. He picked up the sandwich as Eito just watched on with rapt attention and took a bite. It was… honestly really good, for just being a sandwich. It reminded Takumi of the type of sandwich you’d order at a fancy café on a date or something. The type with overpriced specialty coffees and plants hanging in every window. He took another big bite, lost in the fantasy of some manufactured picture of the TRC, when Eito’s laugh broke him out of it. Takumi looked up from his food to where his date would be sitting in this dreamscape, only to have it melt away when he laid eyes on Eito Aotsuki.
“You seem to like it,” Eito said simply.
”Mm,” Takumi affirmed, not really wanting to acknowledge his not-date across from him.
”You could at least say thank you! This set-up is nicer than anything you ever brought to my cage, you know,” Eito leaned back on the couch as he spoke, spreading his long arms out to drape across the back as he sighed with mock annoyance. The pose made Takumi nervous for some reason. “One simple “Wow, Aotsuki, you’re such a good cook!” would suffice, I think.”
”You—” Takumi gulped down his current bite before continuing, “You made these yourself?”
Eito rolled his eyes. “It’s a sandwich, Takumi. It’s not that hard. You don’t need the ration-o-matic for this.”
Takumi stared down at the sandwich in his hands for a moment, sort of dumbstruck. Sure yeah, it was a sandwich, and maybe Takumi was just a bleeding heart by nature. But after all of Takumi’s wallowing at being tricked once again by the idea of earnestly doing something nice for Eito when the other never intended to accept it or play by his intentions, getting to eat something he made by hand felt sort of surreal. Takumi really couldn’t understand Eito. He actually doubted he would ever understand Eito, but maybe it wasn’t a lost cause to try to. Takumi took another bite, looking back up at Eito with his mouth half-full, wide-eyed at the sense of hope that slowly washed over his emptiness from earlier. “Aotsuki, you are a pretty good cook,” he echoed, giving Eito his desired praise, muffled by chewing.
Eito blinked a couple of times, registering what Takumi said (and batting his long eyelashes, Takumi was loath to notice). His jaw seemed to clench before he rested his chin in his hand, looking off to the side. Takumi thought he saw a light flush dusting his neck right above where his collar hid his skin. Not quite an expression Takumi could read on Eito, but he kept eating nonetheless. Eventually, Eito chimed in, a little less smarminess in his voice this time. “Only you would really say that just because I asked.” Takumi was about to assure his earnestness in saying so, but Eito cut him off before he could. “Drink your coffee before it goes cold,” he commanded, before picking up his own sandwich and taking a bite.
Oh! Right, Takumi hadn’t even mentally tackled that aspect of the meal yet. His brain immediately flashed back to the cafe au lait can Eito set aside for himself during one of their early breakfasts; Takumi never heard anything else about it. Subconsciously, he just filed away that Eito must have disliked it and therefore didn’t bring it up again. But this brought up a new angle. “You liked it?” Takumi questioned cheerfully, not waiting to finish chewing before blurting that out. He swallowed and then clarified what he meant, “The cafe au lait can from breakfast. You never told me what you thought.”
Eito chewed carefully before responding. “It wasn’t bad,” Eito admitted, still looking at his food and not meeting Takumi’s gaze before taking another bite. Takumi waited patiently, earnestly hoping to draw more info out of Eito. Luckily for him, it worked. “Too sweet. It’s probably better made fresh,” Eito added on.
”Makes sense for you,” Takumi mused, still beyond pleased with the outcome. He found himself smiling at Eito, despite his frustration with him only hours early. “I guess we have a taste for coffee in common.”
Eito didn’t give Takumi any more details, and Takumi didn’t press him. They sat like that for a while, leisurely eating together and sipping their coffees after the meal. Takumi was passively impressed that Eito managed to seem even a little comfortable in Takumi’s room for this long. He didn’t dare mention it lest he face the wrath of whatever creative insult Eito had on speed dial, but Takumi quietly thought he must be putting in quite the effort to fight his senses and stay to eat with Takumi. Some small fire was stoked inside Takumi’s chest, slowly warming him from the inside out like a hot drink. They had managed to share a meal together. Takumi and this real Eito; the one who hated his guts yet brought him sandwiches and coffee. It wasn’t quite what Takumi imagined, among the crowd of his friends in their communal space, but maybe that was part of it. That was Takumi’s wish, but it wasn’t really Eito’s. Takumi wasn’t sure how happy he was to be put on Eito’s terms so definitively; it made Takumi feel like at the end of the day, he really was just dancing in the palm of Eito’s hand. But maybe this was Eito’s way of meeting Takumi halfway.
Eito brought his coffee mug to his lips to take a sip, breathing deeply before doing so. “I like the scent,” Eito offered, apropos of nothing. It was the first thing either of them had spoken in a little while. “It’s warm, and strong enough to mask most everything else,” Eito continued, his voice the gentlest Takumi thought he’s ever heard it. “Almost comforting.”
Notes:
men when they think the only way to eat dinner alone with their crush is to manipulate them into a depressive funk by pinpointing and uprooting their plans in front of everyone and then bringing them an apology homemade meal later. even when eito is nice he's still a manipulative piece of shit
Chapter 3
Notes:
this nsfw chapter is 7k on its own, holy shit. welcome, we've finally made it to the promised horniness. the rating and tags have been updated accordingly. if you've enjoyed the story so far as just a gen-rated character study, feel free to skip this! for everyone else: ENJOY! (ദ്ദി ๑>•̀๑)
WARNING: my takumi is trans, but it doesn't play a large role in this specific encounter. eito does find that out though (it's treated pretty nonchalantly), so if that scenario isn't something you're comfortable with, feel free to click away!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
“So… is this just gonna be an everyday thing now?” Takumi asked, putting his cereal bowl and coffee cup down on the cafeteria table.
The smug guy directly across from him, who Takumi idly noted was only having a shot of espresso for his meal, barely batted an eye. “What, having breakfast? I thought everyone did that daily, Takumi,” Eito retorted.
”You know what I… nevermind,” Takumi stopped himself before he could get roped into Eito’s ridiculous argument bait. It was obvious what Takumi meant; after Eito’s grand cage-escape-artist reveal the other day, Eito had shown up in the cafeteria every morning for breakfast like clockwork. He hasn’t tried anything disruptive, as Takumi promised everyone, but they still regarded him with abject suspicion at first. Eventually, Eito’s routine of taking his spot at the end of the table and reading (while offering an annoying quip every so often) became a normal part of the morning, and everyone got the idea that he really didn’t have any ulterior motives. Now, for the most part, the vibe of the communal dining area has returned to normal. Ima and Kako were trying to find willing study participants for their most recent “culinary” experiment, Hiruko was off in a booth at the side of the cafeteria studying war strategy charts, Nozomi was beaming while chatting with her favorite girl trio, and it seemed like Takemaru and Shouma had trained that morning, as Shouma was laid out flat on his back while Takemaru tried to shovel eggs into his mouth. Everyone still put at least a seat’s distance between themselves and Eito, but honestly, Eito probably appreciated that. Only Takumi elected to sit across from him on purpose. The atmosphere was perfect for perking Takumi up and getting him pumped for the day, but he couldn’t imagine Eito was comfortable.
As Takumi was munching on his food and wondering why Eito really bothered to put up with this, Tsubasa parked herself in the seat next to him. “Sumino!! Good morning~” she sang, slamming down a new, weird electronic contraption in front of him. The resulting bang startled the still groggy Takumi, making him fumble his bowl and slosh some milk onto the table. Tsubasa looked embarrassed as she reached for a napkin. “Sorry, sorry! I’m just so excited to show you this, listen—” she cleaned as she explained, letting Takumi happily stuff his face as she prattled on. Takumi didn’t fully understand the intricacies of it, but no doubt if Tsubasa made it, it would be a huge asset to the unit and deserved his attention. As he nodded along, he couldn’t help notice Eito glancing at them from across the table— Takumi was sure Eito didn’t think Takumi could see him do it, but from behind his novel, his gaze was trained on Takumi and Tsubasa’s conversation. On Takumi specifically. “—so I nearly finished the testing last night, but I fell asleep in the garage,” Tsubasa continued on, clueless to the weird staring war Eito was trying to engage them in. She cutely scratched at her cheek as she blushed, proud of her work. “I think we could use it in the next—”
”Takumi,” Eito called out, inserting himself directly as he decided he had enough of trying to invade the conversation with his eyes.
Takumi almost choked on his bite. “Hw— Huh?” he and Tsubasa both turned to Eito. “What?”
Eito gave him a saccharine smile, before snapping his book shut and moving to get up. “I’ll be in the library,” he said frankly, absolutely nothing in his tone giving away the intention behind randomly announcing this.
Takumi glanced at Tsubasa, who looked a mixture of confused and annoyed, before looking back at Eito and watching him take his cup to the kitchen. “…Okay? Yeah,” Takumi shook his head, attempting to banish the confusion clouding his mind. Just go with it, he thought. “Sounds good,” Takumi replied, sounding casual to mask the sheer bewilderment he was feeling at such a small interaction.
The pair watched as Eito strolled out the cafeteria doors, book tucked lovingly under one arm, before Tsubasa spoke again. “…What was that about?” The disdain in her voice belayed the relatively harmless question.
Takumi sighed. “I have no idea. If I understood a single thing about him, I think I’d have significantly less problems,” he admitted in defeat. Tsubasa gave him a commiserative laugh before she got back to her gadget showcase, happy to have Takumi’s attention again. Takumi was also happy to listen of course, but his mind kept wandering to Eito’s weird mood. And the library. And why Eito needed to announce his location to Takumi. Takumi knew it wasn’t something as simple as Eito giving Takumi, his “day release patrol officer”, the courtesy of knowing where his “prisoner” would be (all Eito’s terminology, of course). Takumi knew he’d be thinking about it nonstop until he actually went to the damn library to find out for himself.
Eventually, Tsubasa reached the end of her explanation after showing Takumi the control panel she was prototyping. “Hey, if you want we could continue testing together! It’d probably go faster that way,” Tsubasa suggested, her kind smile inviting him to have a completely normal, productive day in the garage with her.
Oh, how Takumi wished he was normal and could accept the invitation. Instead, when his brain tried to imagine accepting it, all he could think about was that cryptic weirdo and his damn cryptic library. He sighed deeply, before shamefully turning Tsubasa down. “Unfortunately I already have something I should handle today,” he said, and it wasn’t quite a lie, but Takumi didn’t like that he worded Eito as something to handle.
Tsubasa tilted her head inquisitively for a second, wondering what Takumi could be up to that would involve such a desperate sigh. She didn’t question it at least, saving Takumi some dignity. “No problem! I’ll let you know once I’ve made progress,” she cheerfully assured, giving him a cute little salute before pushing through the cafeteria doors and strolling off to her second home in the garage.
After returning to his room for a bit and mulling over his life decisions, Takumi found himself heading for the library. Takumi eventually reasoned that maybe Eito had some book he wanted to show him, or had something he wanted to discuss, or hell, maybe Eito didn’t even care if he came or not. He was most likely just messing with Takumi. If that was the case, Takumi could just play it off as his decision to study that day, independent of whatever Eito was doing. Not that Eito would believe that. But reading with Eito wasn’t bad, they’d spent days in the library together before, and admittedly Takumi didn’t default to reading often when given a choice of how to prepare for the future. Getting some studying in couldn’t hurt. Yawning intermittently during his walk, Takumi wished he got something a little more caffeinated to get him through the day. That espresso Eito had sounded especially good now.
Takumi took a deep breath, solidifying his reasoning, as he reached the doors to the library. He placed a heavy hand on the door, pushing it open as the musty smell of old books engulfed him. The figure in all white sitting neatly at one of the central tables immediately caught his eye. At least Eito hadn’t stood him up.
”Oh, welcome Takumi,” Eito called to him, flippantly giving him a little wave. “That was fast.”
Takumi glared at him. “You invited me,” he barked out as he crossed the room.
Eito finally pulled his eyes away from his book to look directly at Takumi. “I don’t remember inviting you. I only said I would be here,” he answered with faux-innocence.
Takumi would never know peace with this man. He shoved down his annoyance and pulled up a chair at Eito’s table. “Yeah yeah,” Takumi replied, deciding he might as well play Eito’s game if he’s here. “I’m sure you interrupted my conversation with Kawana just to make sure I knew where you were and for no other reason.”
”Mm,” came Eito’s answer, oddly not biting back in the way Takumi expected. He assumed Eito would want to revel in his victory of controlling Takumi’s movements a little longer. Instead, he simply returned his attention to his book.
Silence washed over the library as Takumi took in his surroundings. This library was always weirdly dark, no matter what time of day it was. Takumi thought that would be the exact opposite lighting you’d want for reading, but it wouldn’t be the first time this school was deliberately designed ass backwards. The low lighting did give the place a comfy vibe though, and Eito’s set-up added to the mood. He had a few books stacked to the side where he sat: Takumi wasn’t exactly well read, but they seemed to be some translated classic about a guy named Dante from a language no one speaks anymore, a medical textbook on… enucleation? (whatever that was), and a biography of some kind on braille usage in the TRC. All books Takumi couldn’t fathom picking up, but he guessed topics must be slim pickings for someone like Eito who has read like, everything ever published by now. At least Takumi understood his choice of accompanying drink better. A small, steaming cup of what Takumi assumed was espresso sat by Eito’s stack of books. The acidic scent did a good job of masking the inherently musty smell of the library. It made it feel cozier too, like he was at a chic coffee shop with Eito. Takumi almost wished Eito bothered to bring some for him too, but that might be a little too considerate for this guy. Lost in thought over his surroundings, Takumi decided he wanted to know what Eito was reading. Sure, the other books were odd, but maybe Takumi would recognize the one currently in Eito’s hands. He had picked the chair next to Eito on the same side of the table, so really, it was only a matter of subtly leaning over enough to see what was on the page— “What do you think you’re doing?”
”Ghh—” Takumi flinched so hard he nearly comically tumbled out of his chair. He banged his knee on the underside of the table, and ended up doubling over and rubbing the forming bruise through his pant leg. Takumi was looking at the floor, but he could clearly hear Eito laughing at him. “I just wanted to know what you were reading!” he cried, and goddamnit he really should’ve known he couldn’t out-snoop Eito Aotsuki.
”You could just ask,” Eito chided, still giggling at Takumi’s pathetic form below him. Takumi finally righted himself from his hunch of shame, and folded his arms on the table to lay his head down and look up at Eito. He sure was tall, Takumi thought. This angle especially made it feel like Eito was towering above him, gazing at him from behind his glasses. “It’s a shallow recap of humanity’s history with space travel,” Eito explained, his eyes moving from Takumi back to the pages. “It of course covers nothing that pertains to the discovery of Futurum or the process of creating the TRC, any information we’d actually like to know, but I was interested in how they presented it regardless. It’s what the people of the TRC heard, and sometimes the cover story can provide some glimpses of the truth.”
The topic was dark, given the context of their current situation, but Takumi found that he appreciated Eito’s diligence nonetheless. Especially since it was technical reading Takumi could never force himself to study. “Sounds complicated,” Takumi offered knowingly.
Eito cracked him a fond smile. “Yeah, an idiot like you wouldn’t be interested.”
Takumi oddly took no offense at the insult. He could tell Eito didn’t really mean anything by it either. Weird, maybe he was starting to understand their flow of conversation a little more. Takumi lifted his head from his arms, stretching them behind him as he tilted his chair on its back legs slightly. “An idiot like me can leave the tough stuff to you,” he offered casually, giving Eito a lazy smile.
Takumi expected another typical quip, but like before, he was met with silence. Eito simply stared at his face, locking eyes with him in a way that made Takumi feel studied. His eyes were slightly lidded, his long lashes batting lightly against his cheeks as he leveled an incomprehensible gaze at Takumi. Takumi felt a drop of sweat form on the back of his neck, making him shiver as it rolled down his back. What was this look? Had Takumi said something weird? Takumi still had his arms stretched behind him, rocking back in his chair, as he watched Eito glance from Takumi to his cooling espresso shot. Which Eito promptly picked up, threw back like it really was a shot, and then slammed his mouth against Takumi’s.
Takumi scrambled like a freshly caught fish against the deck of a boat. Eito had nearly knocked Takumi’s entire chair over when he ki— Hold on, Eito was kissing him, what the fuck? What the fuck? Takumi at once was trying to keep his balance so he didn’t knock both of them ass-first onto the floor, while also trying to desperately figure out what the everloving fuck was going on. Eito had one hand on Takumi’s waist, the other holding Takumi’s chin in place, as Takumi haphazardly grabbed Eito’s arms for purchase. Takumi thought he might be dreaming, or nightmare-ing, or both at once, or maybe he was hallucinating from an enemy attack; he was definitely under some kind of attack. Eito seemed to have absolutely no care for Takumi’s confusion, mashing their lips together and ignoring Takumi’s muffled cries. To his dismay, Takumi felt his blush rise all the way to his ears as he begged himself not to get turned on from Eito suddenly kissing him in the library what the fuck was going on. He tasted like espresso. Takumi was sure there still had to be some left in his mouth from the shot. A warm trickle of bitter liquid slipped down Takumi’s chin, and he felt Eito’s tongue try to push into his mouth.
“Mmn?!” was all Takumi could manage as warning, before the heat rising in his cheeks nearly exploded his brain. He used every ounce of his strength to grasp Eito’s shoulders and shove him off. Gasping to catch his breath, Takumi had no idea what he even wanted to say, he just wanted to scream. “What the fuck is your problem?!” he landed on, basically yelling it at the insane man before him.
Eito looked lost in a trance. His eyes were trained on Takumi, half-lidded and alluring in a way Takumi did not want to unpack right now. He idly reached up to wipe some glistening spit from his lip as he answered. “A lot of things,” Eito provided, entirely unhelpfully.
”You— the, what,” Takumi stuttered out, trying to find a single piece of logical purchase. Takumi’s eyes followed Eito’s thumb as it rubbed over the lip that had just been pressed against his own. “I thought— but you,” Takumi continued as Eito wasn’t offering anything, gripping Eito’s biceps even harder in desperation. “Aotsuki, you hate me,” Takumi finally settled on, thinking that was the only fact he knew about his relationship with Eito at this point. Even then, Takumi couldn’t help but think back on the way they’d been spending time together since Takumi concocted his half-baked plan to fold Eito back into their unit. All of their breakfasts in the cage, the training together, the sitting quietly in the library together, the walks outside, the dinner Eito brought to his room— Did Eito hate him?
”I do,” Eito answered simply, this time not holding eye contact with Takumi, but letting his gaze slip to Takumi’s lips. He didn’t look very convincing. He actually looked like he just wanted Takumi to shut up and let Eito kiss him again. Takumi, on the other hand, wanted to strangle him. Maybe in an erotic way. Shut up, Takumi begged his own brain. “I wanted to see if the espresso would mask your disgusting flavor enough that I could stand it.”
”And you just thought you could subject me to an experiment like that!?” Takumi shot back, the tips of his ears feeling nearly sunburnt with how hot they were. Sure, that sounded like the type of crackpot idea Eito would come up with but one burning question still remained— “Why would you want to—”
”It worked.”
Takumi looked at Eito, absolutely dumbstruck. “What—”
Eito leaned in, pushing away one of Takumi’s hands where it grabbed him, barely giving Takumi enough time to think before closing the space left between them. Takumi was rooted to the spot as Eito’s face hovered a breath away from his, lavender pupils trained on Takumi’s lips. “You’re tolerable,” he whispered against Takumi’s skin, before slotting their lips together again. The kiss was less frantic this time, less like Takumi was being mauled by a wild animal, and his brain snapped in seven different directions. He should push back, he should bite Eito, he should scream, he should kiss him back, he should lean into it, this was hot, this was completely insane—
“Mmn— Hhn,” Takumi mumbled into the kiss, trying to twist his head slightly so Eito didn’t have such a death grip on his jaw. Eito was terrible at this, Takumi decided as he closed his eyes hoping beyond hope that would make things less awkward. Heat was boiling inside of him nonetheless, his insides twisting themselves into aroused knots. Takumi wasn’t exactly experienced himself— actually scratch that; they were all grown in a lab. This had to be Eito’s first kiss, same as Takumi, but Takumi was sure Eito was way worse off than him in this department. Teeth clicked against his, Eito’s tongue licked at his mouth but had no idea how to enter, and Takumi even cracked an eye open to see, yep— Eito still had his eyes open. Being stared down like this was the last straw. Takumi snapped a hand up to Eito’s jaw now, pinching him in Takumi’s grasp and separating their lips. A disgustingly lascivious trail of spit connected them.
“At least close your eyes,” Takumi commanded, but with his voice trembling slightly, it sounded more coaxing than anything harsh.
Eito looked surprised for a second before he obediently did as Takumi said. Takumi weighed his options for a second, realizing now would be the ideal time to back out and wipe this from his mind and never, ever bring it up again. Despite this reasonable conclusion, Takumi leaned back in. Tilting his head now that it was free from Eito’s aching grasp, Takumi slotted their lips together at a better angle. His hand still held Eito’s chin in place, but it was more gently cupping the side of his cheek than forcing the other man to stay still. Takumi shoved every single thought out of his head in favor of focusing on the warm, surprisingly soft mouth on his, kissing Eito with a mix of docility and urgency. Takumi licked against Eito’s lips this time, succeeding where Eito had not and getting Eito to open his mouth to him. Takumi felt a new surge of heat at this, choosing deliberately not to unpack that for the moment. He caressed Eito’s mouth with his tongue, exploring him and lapping up the still-bitter taste of coffee that spread across his taste buds. Where Eito had gotten the idea that coffee could mask whatever horrors Eito must be facing with his disorder, Takumi had no idea, but the whole thing was very Eito. He was lucky Takumi enjoyed coffee even more than Eito did.
After a bit of Takumi-lead kissing, he could tell Eito was a bit more pliant compared to the rigid attack stance he started in. Takumi pulled his tongue back in favor of dragging his teeth across Eito’s bottom lip— which to Takumi’s shock, earned him a full-body shudder from the other man. Takumi pulled back smugly, breaking their kiss to examine the look on Eito’s face. Eito’s eyes were barely open, only looking to see why the kissing stopped— his cheeks were so red, his lips were so puffy and kiss-swollen, he looked so needy . Takumi wasn’t— he wasn’t attracted to Eito, obviously, why would he be, but he did look good like this. Almost brain-meltingly good, if Takumi was being honest. Which he wasn’t, of course, because he wasn’t attracted to Eito.
“Still tolerable?” Takumi teased, voice low and sultry, absolutely letting his affect on Eito go to his head.
Eito responded by directly knocking Takumi out of his chair and tipping them both onto the floor.
Takumi’s head collided with the tile and for a second his vision blacked out. Eito was on top of him, kissing his neck and grinding on him like a dog in heat while Takumi’s brain swam in a deep pool of dizzy arousal. To his horror, Takumi could tell he was getting wet. The throbbing in his head almost made him more aroused, more aware of the way his pulse thumped in his ears and between his legs. Eito was straddling his hips, boxing Takumi in with his tall frame and even bigger jacket, making Takumi feel like he was being smothered under a comforter. The fact that they landed half under the library table, thus blocking out more of the already little lighting this room had, definitely didn’t help. Eito’s chair had completely toppled over in the mess, and Takumi numbly thought about how loud the crash must have been and how they were, in some sense, in public. However, this rational thought held little space in Takumi’s mind when Eito was busy being very hard against his thigh. This had gotten out of hand— possibly the understatement of the century. Takumi felt a whine slip through his own lips as he tried desperately to gather himself to sit up off the hard library floor, throw Eito off, at least demand they take this somewhere else. But nothing about Takumi’s body wanted to cooperate today. Resolving this situation didn’t end up looking like getting up and leaving; instead it involved Takumi pulling Eito off his neck and guiding him back to his mouth so they could make out and rut against each other like horny teenagers.
“Gh, ah, ah,” Eito mewled against Takumi’s mouth as he humped Takumi’s leg. Eito’s little sounds were almost like a whine and a pant in one noise, and Takumi couldn’t help but find it cute. It sounded like Eito was struggling, fighting cognitive dissonance between his disgust and arousal, which horrifyingly appealed to Takumi deeply. Not that Takumi wanted him to suffer per se, though there might be some truth in that— more that Takumi loved the idea that Eito was suffering through this for him. He wondered what else he could make Eito do. Takumi experimented with moving his hands up to rest in Eito’s hair— giving it an abrupt tug. Eito’s mouth popped off Takumi’s as his head was yanked back, and the little grunts he was making were replaced with a low, full moan. Eito snapped his eyes open in shock as Takumi looked on with equal surprise and amusement, before breaking out into a full laugh.
Eito looked at him like a kicked puppy. “You’re no better,” Eito retorted, “I felt how your hips bucked when your head hit the tile.”
Takumi cut off his laugh sloppily with a choking cough. Had he seriously been that obvious? Takumi hadn’t even noticed. “Big talk from the guy who tackled me to the ground just to dry hump me.”
Eito’s lip quivered a bit out of genuine annoyance, and Takumi reveled in how confronting this situation must be for him if the guy known for comebacks couldn’t generate a good one. Instead of continuing to push each other’s buttons, Eito’s face flushed an even deeper shade of red, before he issued his demand. “Are we going to do this or what?”
”Do what exactly?” Takumi demanded back, bristling with embarrassment.
”You— Takumi, you know what,” Eito bit back, somehow looking even more unraveled than before. Was he afraid to say it? Takumi looked on in slight amazement at how adorable that was. Someone who had no issue straddling his hips in the middle of the public library couldn’t admit he wanted to have sex? Takumi wondered if Eito had secretly fantasized about this entire scenario before showing up to the library today, only to find himself tongue-tied now that he had to actually voice his desires. Before Takumi could cut in and tease him, Eito clumsily took his hand and groped Takumi’s crotch through his pants, managing to press the seam of his jeans directly against Takumi’s clit.
“A-ah!” Takumi squeaked out a tiny moan and felt his breath catch in the back of his throat, before he accidentally smacked the back of his head against the floor again.
”...You don’t have a dick,” Eito stated flatly, eyes trained on Takumi’s hips. It was like the shock of the situation knocked all the emotion out of Eito’s voice. Takumi was going to kill this guy.
“Yeah, Aotsuki, thanks for checking!” he spat out behind his hand, tone a mix of anger and mortification. Takumi was silently begging every god in existence that Eito hadn’t been able to feel how wet he was through the fabric. He had to rein this situation in. “What were you even planning to do anyway, just flop it out? It’d be too disgusting for you to handle, right?” Takumi felt Eito stiffen up a bit where he kneeled on Takumi, and yeah, that’s what Takumi thought was going on. Eito wanted to just bulldoze past that reality and act like he had some sort of control and understanding of how to progress the situation. Eito’s face confirmed it; he was looking to the side, mouth caught in a slight sneer, like he was trying to hold in his anger. “Don’t make that face,” Takumi sighed, the anger draining out of his voice, “I’m not making fun of you. You don’t have to force yourself.”
Eito fully sneered at him now, literally looking down at him. “You could never make me force myself to do anythi—”
”Shut up,” Takumi barked, gritting his teeth and realizing he was too turned on to let their argument fester. It was cutting into the time Takumi could be watching Eito make that aroused, trance-like expression he had on before. Takumi sat up as much as he could, leaning on his elbows. “Get your dick out then, if you’re so confident about doing this in the middle of the library.”
A shiver shot up Eito’s spine at the mention of how they were very much still in public. Takumi swore he saw Eito’s cock practically twitch through the outline in his white pants. He can’t be serious, Takumi thought, before testing the waters himself. “Unless you want someone to walk in on us? Is that part of your master plan?” he jeered, and Eito pointedly looked away. “It can’t be. You just got so into making out with me you completely forgot anyone can just waltz in here?”
Eito looked fussy, a word Takumi never thought he’d ascribe to the man. ”You’d have to be insane to believe I’d want any of those disgusting beasts to see us—”
”So what, you really forgot where we are?” Takumi chuckled a bit, realizing in that moment how totally ridiculous this whole situation is. “I’m serious Aotsuki, get your dick out. Maybe if you’re a good boy and stay quiet, no one will come check on us.” Takumi had said the last line sarcastically, hoping to further needle at Eito’s weak spots, but what greeted him instead was better than he ever could have imagined.
Eito’s hand came up to literally bite down on his gloved palm to hold back the moan Takumi’s mock-praise induced. Despite his attempt, Takumi still got the honor of hearing Eito quite literally whimper without even being touched. Eito looked mortified, yet his shaky hands still frantically pawed at his own waistband, trying to free his straining dick.
Takumi felt something snap in his brain, maybe his last bit of apprehensive sanity, and he found himself grabbing Eito harshly by the oversized collar and reversing their positions. Eito’s eyes flew wide open as Takumi toppled him backwards, Eito’s back hitting the floor as Takumi pulled the zipper on his jacket in one smooth motion. “This is in the way,” Takumi stated sternly, not realizing he automatically slipped into the tone he usually reserves for relaying information in battle. He simply needed Eito to do what he said, now. Takumi proceeded to pull the coat open, shoving the extra fabric off Eito’s shoulders as much as he could manage before opening Eito’s fly button himself. Eito seemed to get the message loud and clear, pulling his arms out of the sleeves before collapsing back on the fabric as Takumi slid Eito’s pants down his thighs. His boxers were white, like everything else, Takumi noted idly before pulling them out of the way without a second thought.
“T— Takumi?!” Eito chirped as the cold air hit his cock. It was big, Takumi marveled. Well, not that he really had much to compare it to— Takumi could basically be sure this is the first dick he’s ever seen in person in his entire life. Memories of his porn habits notwithstanding. More importantly though, Eito was extremely hard, and Takumi was pleased to see just how much precum he’d managed to leak on himself just from making out with Takumi. He must have really been staring, because Eito spoke up to protest. “Your ah, a-abhorrent gaze is going to make me sick,” he stuttered out, but the anticipatory expression on his face really wasn’t hiding anything.
Takumi brought his gaze back to Eito’s flushed face. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to keep you waiting,” he teased, the insult completely bouncing off of Takumi with how good he felt holding this putty version of Eito in his hands. Takumi mulled over what the best course of action was. He could just jack Eito off plain and simple— but Takumi honestly wondered if that would even feel good for Eito, considering his condition. Takumi had no way to know if something gross like a human hand touching him somewhere so intimate was too much. A thought crossed Takumi’s mind. If he really was just some writhing mass of flesh to Eito, perhaps he should play into that and put Eito’s dick somewhere being wet and warm and soft and a little gross was the point. Takumi immediately decided this was the best course of action, and proceeded to push Eito’s knees apart and lean on the floor with him, Takumi’s head hovering above Eito’s hips. “I’m gonna try something, okay Aotsuki?” he felt a bit more sheepish now that he was really about to do it, but once Takumi set his mind to something, he wasn’t going to give up. “Kick me off if you hate it,” Takumi tacked on at the end for good measure.
Then, Takumi lightly encircled Eito’s shaft with his fingers, and promptly popped the leaking head in his mouth. “Wai— AaahhmnnNN?!” Eito half yelped, half moaned in response, seeming to remember his command to be a quiet, good boy at the end and clamped a hand over his mouth. Takumi felt his own want spread through him as he basked in Eito’s especially vocal response. Takumi knew this was the right pick. After all, dudes would stick their dick in anything from pillow stuffing to fruit to get this feeling. He knew Eito wouldn’t be able to resist getting his dick sucked, even if Takumi was the hideous beast Eito always said he was. Takumi inched a bit more into his mouth as he sucked, making sure to lap at the underside of Eito’s shaft with his tongue as he went. Surprisingly, the taste wasn’t too bad. It was salty, but Eito was hardly as musky as Takumi imagined dick might be, likely owed to Eito’s proclivity for cleanliness. Not that Takumi had imagined what dick would be like in general, of course. Another interjection from Eito saved Takumi from that train of thought.
“Ta— TakumMmnhi,” he moaned out, and Takumi found himself desperately wishing this angle would allow Takumi to touch himself while he sucked Eito off. Takumi was sure his boxers were soaked. Hearing his name filtered through Eito’s voice when he’s this fucked out of his mind was going to haunt Takumi’s dreams for a long time. Takumi hummed a little around Eito’s dick, hoping that would suffice as a response, but it only made Eito whine and throw his head back, hitting the tile with a thump. Noted. “Ta— Takumi please,” Eito literally begged, and Takumi felt his heart catch in his throat.
”Huh?” Takumi released his cock with a pop, voice heady as he checked on Eito. He was met with the sight of Eito looking at him, pleading with him, with tears in the corners of his eyes. Takumi was awestruck. Eito’s shirt was starting to bunch up around his chest, no doubt caught where Eito was writhing on the ground. His abdominal muscles tensed deliciously, his skin looked so flushed and soft, his eyes were glassy, hair tousled and sticking to his sweaty forehead— Takumi felt his brain short circuit.
”You’re—” Eito sucked in a deep, shaky breath, “I’m going to— I’m c-close, and if you don’t fucking stop— ”
Takumi has never heard a more clear invitation to keep going. He happily accepted Eito’s warning and decided he needed to see Eito Aotsuki cum now. Takumi redoubled his efforts, popping Eito’s cock back in his mouth and pushing himself as far as he could go. The angle helped; Takumi was able to slide Eito’s head back along his flattened tongue until just before the entrance to his throat. The thought of literally choking on Eito made Takumi’s stomach do a fucking flip, but he decided that might be a little far for right now.
”Y-you— Ah, ahhMnnmgh—!!” It’s enough that Eito’s barely-controlled moan in response is the loudest he’s heard so far. Takumi swore Eito must have bitten down on his hand again to stifle it. Despite that, his whine is so sharp through his teeth that Takumi thought his voice had risen an octave. Takumi hollowed his cheeks, seeing just how far he could take this, before he felt a hand bury itself in Takumi’s hair and yank.
”Takkumm— Takumi, y-you— Ah,” Eito babbled, forcing Takumi off his dick, holding his head up by the roots of his hair. Takumi still had his hands around Eito’s cock, subtly applying pressure as he watched with rapt attention. “Ahh-hah, haa—” Eito panted and moaned, before gritting his teeth together in a silent prayer as he whimpered and shot his load all over Takumi’s face.
Cum spurted onto Takumi’s face as he tried to pull away, but Eito’s hand in his hair kept him firmly in place. Takumi actually intended for Eito to cum in his mouth, so he really had no right to be incensed, but somehow Eito cumming straight onto his face was way worse. Takumi’s mortification was swayed by the view this provided him; Eito had his eyes screwed shut with pleasure, hand thankfully not covering his mouth as he panted through his orgasm. The other man’s glasses had slipped out of place and sat askew on his face, framing his long lashes where they rested against his bright red cheeks. He looked so soft, so raw, so full of emotion— so unlike Takumi had ever seen Eito. He must have been staring straight at Eito the entire way through his orgasm, because by the time the aftershocks passed and Eito cracked an eye open, their gazes locked immediately.
”You… Hah,” Eito tried to sound intimidating, but he could barely catch his breath. “You’re even more disgusting like this.”
That snapped Takumi out of his Eito-infactuated trance. Shame that someone who looked that good when they came had such an attitude. “You’re the one who apparently wanted to cum all over my face,” he barked, pulling back to sit up and getting Eito to release the vice grip on his hair. “How do you think I feel?!”
”Well it—” Eito paused for a second, taking a long look at Takumi. Something in his face seemed to soften for a second, paused in time like Eito truly seeing something right in front of him for the first time. Then his usual sneer returned, and he rolled his eyes like Takumi was used to. “It couldn’t possibly make you uglier.”
”You must have a thing for ugliness if I made you cum that fast,” Takumi quipped and Eito’s face practically exploded with embarrassment.
”It’s not my fault you were so eager to do it!” Eito yelled, genuinely seeming like he needed to defend his honor after all that. He was still shaking from how hard he came, but Eito couldn’t turn down a fight. Takumi unfortunately found it a bit endearing. “Y-your disgusting, filthy, detestable mou—”
Click. Both of them froze in place, hair on the back of their necks standing up, as they heard the unmistakable sound of the door opening.
”Fuck —” Takumi hissed, quickly shoving Eito’s now-softening cock back into his pants with reckless abandon. Eito made a face like Takumi had just tased him, swatting away Takumi’s hands so he could redress himself. Takumi started to get up, before realizing the mess on his face, and promptly ducking forward again only to hit his head on the table above them.
The ensuing thump only made whoever opened the door more suspicious. “Yoohoo, someone getting up to something fun in here—? I heard yelling from the hallway,” the voice called, and both Eito and Takumi cringed in unison.
Anyone but Yugamu…!
Takumi was still on top of Eito, desperately trying to weigh his options. To his surprise, Eito was the one who moved Takumi to the side and stood up to face their visitor. “Ah, Yugamu! Sorry, I must have knocked some books down and surprised myself,” he cheerily lied, and to Takumi’s shock, sounded convincing enough considering he was moaning and stuttering moments earlier. He leaned on the library table casually. Eito’s jacket was still on the floor though, which if everything else about the situation didn’t tip Yugamu off, that definitely would.
”Oh? Interesting…” Takumi heard Yugamu purr, obviously taking a few more steps into the library. And to Takumi’s dismay, audibly sniffing. “Because I smell arousal in the air, Aotsuki. Were you reading porn in here all by your lonesome?”
Eito pretended to dust himself off like he had just been searching through books on the floor, but Takumi could tell Eito was just trying to cover how that comment nearly knocked him off balance. Eito forced a laugh for Yugamu. “You would think something like that, wouldn’t you? What a disgustingly human conclusion to jump to,” he still sounded polite, but Takumi could tell he was on the verge of just giving Takumi up and making him deal with the consequences too.
Yugamu sighed. “For the love of murder, you don’t have to be so testy. I’m sure being cooped up in that cage didn’t allow you to keep up with your needs,” their visitor teased, and Takumi could see from the floor that Eito tensed up a bit. He stifled a laugh thinking about how Yugamu would never know how correct he was. “Fine, I’ll leave you be,” and to both of their relief, Yugamu’s footsteps headed back towards the door. Before leaving, he turned to deal one last blow to Eito, “But if you ever need more help releasing all you’ve got pent up in there, you know where to find me.” Takumi couldn’t see Yugamu from the floor, but he was sure the man winked at Eito.
Click. The pair waited in silence for a second after the door shut, making double sure they wouldn’t run into any other mortifying interruptions. After holding their breaths for long enough, Eito turned to look down at Takumi where he was sitting in the shadow of Eito’s legs, and surprisingly offered him a hand getting up.
Takumi took it, pulling himself up beside Eito. “Uh… Thank you,” he mumbled, not really sure how to proceed after that .
Eito sighed heartily. “Don’t. Things would have been one thousand times worse if he caught both of us,” he admitted, and Takumi knew he was right. Takumi felt the cum on his cheek run down his skin, and shivered thinking about how bad things really could have been. He didn’t even have something to wipe his face on—
”Hold still a second,” Takumi said nonchalantly, before grabbing at Eito’s white undershirt and wiping his cum-covered face on it.
”Eyugh—” Eito sputtered like a cockroach just landed on him, “What is wrong with you?” He tried to pry Takumi off of him, but Takumi had his shirt in a vice grip. Takumi was determined not to walk out of the library with Eito splashed all over him.
Takumi lifted his head, finally feeling less degenerate. “What? It’s your fault. I’m just returning it to you.”
”You’re beyond help,” Eito spat, ripping his shirt out of Takumi’s hands and looking at it like it was radioactive. “I guess I would have to burn this anyway. Everything is covered in ugly Takumi microbes.”
”Yeah, yeah,” Takumi rolled his eyes, muttering as he bent down to pick up Eito’s jacket from the floor. “You didn’t seem very concerned about that when you jumped my bones out of nowhere.”
Takumi thought he heard Eito make a little ‘hmph!’ sound, but honestly, he might have imagined it after being so fixated on fussy Eito earlier. Either way, Eito didn’t hit him with another insult, so Takumi took the win. Takumi bent down to collect Eito’s jacket, and an odd sense of familiarity washed over him. Takumi never really thought he’d ever be in Eito’s personal space like this. Well, for that matter, Takumi never thought he’d be doing anything like this with Eito. At the same time, Takumi didn’t feel as confronted by the reality of it as he thought he would. He wanted to learn more and more about this Eito, see more of his expressions, find out more about what he likes, find out more ways to make him feel good. It started with food, spending time together— normal things, but maybe Takumi’s interest in Eito extended to things like this as well. All of them had more worries than they could possibly count, but in these moments with Eito, Takumi found himself only focusing on him . Not the fate of everything they’ve ever known. Just Eito Aotsuki.
Maybe it was just his hormones raging, but he ended up fixing Eito with an oddly fond smile as Takumi handed the jacket over. “Despite how loud you were, we managed not to get caught,” Takumi mused slyly, watching as Eito glanced over with mild annoyance. “Good boy.”
Eito immediately bristled, shoving the jacket in his hands against his face in a desperate attempt to hide the blush spreading across his skin. Unfortunately for him, Takumi could still bask in the way it colored the tips of his ears red against the beautiful silver of his hair. “I hate you,” came Eito’s muffled response through the jacket fabric.
”I know,” Takumi replied, the warmth in his chest and the lingering taste of coffee in his mouth betraying him.
Notes:
Hello Freaks. I'm so happy I finally got to the fucking and sucking in this fic. I hope both of them have brain damage from the sheer amount their heads smacked the floor. I have an idea for Another Goddamn Porn Chapter here, but I'm not sure if I'll continue this or save it for another fic... for now I'm tentatively marking this as finished since this feels like a satisfying ending. even tho takumi didn't cum. sorry takumi you can get your shit rocked in other fics
I just had to make my fic about flirting via food preferences involve takumi finding his new favorite food. Eito's Cock [I am beaten over the head with a bat]
the olive branch was eito's wood all along [I am taken away by the revive-o-matic]