When He Calls My Name

27

Xiao and I ended up staying the whole night. I managed to get him drunk enough to actually dance with me. As a matter of fact, he got pretty shit-faced. We danced, and grinded, and Xiao was actually smiling, like a lot. He was grabbing my waist, bending me over, smacking my ass... All I could think was that I needed to get him drunk more often—never realized how much it loosens him up.

He was even getting along with Itto. They laughed about random stuff as we danced for a good amount of time, until Itto ran off for the rest of night.

Xiao wasn't the only one who was shit-faced that night. As a matter of fact, I can't remember much past Itto disappearing into the crowd.

I wake up to painful sunlight in my eyes, and immediately raise a sloppy hand to shade myself. A lazy groan follows as I turn my body in bed to find Xiao knocked out, sprawled out next to me, completely naked. That's when I too look down and realize I'm also naked, when I hear the door creak open.

"O-oh!! I-I'm so sorry! Sorry, I thought this was the bathroom, m-my bad!"

The door slams shut, and I blink my eyes to process what I'd just seen... Was...that Gorou? That was definitely Gorou, in nothing but a pair of tightie-whities shuffling away from our bedroom door. And he definitely just saw me naked.

I stare at the door for a few more seconds, before a shit-eating grin crosses over my face. If that was Gorou in his tightie-whities, that means Itto hit it off. That means...

"Nice," I say to myself. "Good for him."

A dramatic groan rumbles behind me, and I turn to see my mess of a boyfriend arising from the dead.

"Hey sleepy head," I say, and he turns to look at me, hair going every which way, baggy eyes, then grabs the blanket and completely engulfs himself in it with a whine.

I laugh. "I told you to drink water."

"Leave me alone," he whines, voice muffled in the covers. I pat his back with a smirk.

——

It's the last day of our Inazuma trip, so after a bit more rest, Itto decides we should all go out for breakfast together: Me, Xiao, him, and yes, Gorou of course.

The four of us shovel down our hangover meals quietly, Xiao still half asleep, before Itto breaks the silence.

"Ohhh yeah," he says through a mouthful of pancakes, "this is it. This is the good stuff. Hey Xiao, man you are hilarious!" I turn to Xiao, slightly confused by his statement, then slowly look back to Itto. "Little Dude literally sang to a cactus, he touched it, it pricked him and he apologized to it!" Itto bursts out laughing, which grants the slightest smirk from Gorou, as if he's remembering it too.

"What?" Xiao's eyes bounce between the two. "I did no such thing."

"Ohoho but there's more," Itto says, pointing his fork at him. "You, my friend, told everyone to make way on the dance floor, and you totally attempted the most awkward yet somehow on point dance moves I have ever seen in my life." He laughs again. "Ah man, you were right Aether—this guy is great."

"What are you even talking about?!" Xiao's face is red, daggers at the man across from him, and I can't help but snort at what Itto is saying. I place a hand on Xiao's lap and pat gently.

"Sometimes when you get really drunk you don't remember things," I say. "Remember that one time when I bought you that bottle? And you texted me to come over..."

I'm not sure Xiao's face could get much redder. He forks at his food aggressively, eyes narrowing, and says nothing.

"Hey bud," Itto says, "it's nothing to be embarrassed about! Happens to the best of us. If anything, it showed me how totally lit you can get at parties. Hey, I'm here for it. Totally inviting you next time."

"And what about you guys, hmm?" I nose between the two sitting across from Xiao and I. "Gorou, how'd Itto manage to finally pull you?"

Now Gorou is red, nervously forking at his own food. "I wouldn't say he pulled me—"

"Ahh come on," Itto interrupts. "That's not what you said last night~ Don't act shy now puppy boy. Why don't you tell them the story, eh?"

Gorou winces. "Ugh. Fine. I guess we just...clicked...somehow..."

"Pfft, he came up to me and was all like, sorry I ran off, I guess I just got a little nervous when you started touching my ears like that. Did you want to talk some more? And I was all like, my bad, I just wanted to tell you I thought you were looking pretty good tonight and thought I'd get you some drinks. And he was all like, really? Wow, thanks! You're so handsome and strong and literally the best ever, Itto! I would love to!"

"I-I did not say it like that!" Gorou is as red as Xiao was, turning to eye Itto. "I said: thank you, that's sweet. You look nice as well. Sure, we can get drinks."

"Whatever that's what I heard," Itto waves him off. "Anyway, so we get drinks blah blah blah, we end up talking for an hour about random stuff, then we're drunk/tipsy enough to start dancing, but not shit-faced or anything because I kinda wanted to keep things authentic enough, you know? Anyway, we basically just started holding each other and one thing lead to another. And the rest... drum roll... is history boys."

Gorou rolls his eyes, sipping forcefully on his drink and looking away.

"Aw that's so cute," I say. "I'm happy for you guys. I knew how much both of you liked each other, so seeing it come together is amazing."

"Wait, you knew he liked me?!" Itto says, looking from me to Gorou. "Dude, why didn't you say anything? That would have saved me some stress. Not cool man."

I shrug. "He didn't want me to. But look, you guys figured it out on your own, see?"

"Ah fine," he says. "Well, I appreciate you guys stopping by. Hey, don't be strangers, alright? You're welcome to hit me up whenever you want."
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TO BE CONTINUED