5. You Only Tell Me You Love Me When You're Drunk
Komatsu felt very worried.
It wasn't often that Toriko asked him to meet up at his house. They usually met at the train station in the city, as it was easier for Komatsu to get to. It wasn't unusual, of course, for Komatsu to drop by Toriko's place. Just, usually, they were on their way to somewhere else, and Toriko told him where they were going.
Nearly two weeks since they'd been to Gourmet Town with Coco, and they'd hardly spoken since, Toriko making excuses to hang up quickly every time Komatsu called him, acting so evasively that it made Komatsu want to cry. And now, suddenly, this unprecedented request that he show up to Toriko's house.
Komatsu knew it was stupid, but he felt like he was about to get dumped. At least, he hoped it was stupid. They had been meeting a lot more people recently, a lot of interesting and clever people. Could Toriko have decided he wanted a different person for his partner?
His heart in his throat and worry making his stomach churn, Komatsu climbed the teeth-marked doorstep and knocked on the door. Toriko opened it straight away, making Komatsu wonder if he'd been waiting just inside for him.
"Thanks for coming. Come on in," Toriko said. He looked nervous, which did nothing to dispel Komatsu's unease.
"What's happening, Toriko-san?" he asked.
Toriko opened his mouth to speak, then a thoughtful look crossed his face, followed by unease. Then he simply waved Komatsu into the kitchen and followed him in silently.
"Nothing's happening...I guess," he said vaguely, shooing Komatsu towards one of the wooden chairs at the large dining table. Feeling no less worried, Komatsu climbed into the chair, trying to get comfortable even though his feet were dangling several inches off the ground.
"I-is something wrong, Toriko-san?" he asked, and Toriko must have heard the worry in his voice because he immediately shook his head.
"No, nothing's wrong Komatsu, don't worry. There's just...I've got to do something I've never done before. And I'm kind of nervous." He pulled the chair opposite Komatsu away from the table as if to sit in it, then abruptly changed his mind and turned to open one of the tightly packed cabinets.
"What kind of thing?" Komatsu asked as his partner rummaged around. "What can I do to help?"
Toriko emerged from the cabinet with a large bottle and picked up a clean glass from beside the sink. Komatsu looked at the bottle as Toriko thumped it onto the table. The text was too small for him read, but the fumes that reached his nostrils when Toriko unscrewed the lid were almost enough to knock him off his seat.
Toriko poured a shot into the glass and knocked it back with a grimace.
Truly worried now, Komatsu leaned forward to make Toriko look at him. "Please," he said. "Tell me what I can do."
Toriko studied his face for a long moment, opened his mouth...and once again failed to speak, reaching for the bottle to pour and drink another shot.
Komatsu felt his hands shaking. "Toriko-san, do you...do you want me to stop being your partner?" he asked, horrified when he heard his voice quiver.
"No!" Toriko cried, astounded. "No, God, how could you even think that? Komatsu, as far as I'm concerned, you're my partner until you're sick of me, okay?"
"Okay," Komatsu sniffed, wiping tears out of the corners of his eyes. "So...so what is it?"
Toriko sighed. "I had this thing lately. Like, a realisation. A...umm..."
"A revelation?"
"Yeah, that's it!" Toriko replied, smiling broadly. That comforted Komatsu for a moment, until Toriko once again grabbed the bottle and downed another shot.
"Is it something to do with drinking?" he asked uncertainly.
"Nope, this is all 'cause I'm nervous. I'm bad at stuff like this" He put down the glass and bottle but kept hold of them, sliding them around distractedly on the surface of the table. His eyes lowered, he took a deep breath.
"I'm in love with you."
"...l-l...w..."
"I love you Komatsu," Toriko said again. Then he pushed the glass to one side and took a swig directly out of the bottle.
"Wait," Komatsu yelped, standing in the chair and lunging across the table to grab the bottle. There was a brief struggle, then Toriko let go and Komatsu thumped back into his seat, bottle in hand.
"You...do you mean it?" he asked weakly.
"Yeah."
"I...you...Toriko-san, I think you may be confusing this with something else. You-"
"No."
"You...got a little drunk and things got out of hand and now you're confused. A-aren't you?"
"No."
"...oh."
Toriko sighed. "Is it really that bad?"
"No! No...I don't think so."
"Look, it's not like I expect you to feel the same way, okay? Just, I had to tell you." Toriko's face was serious and sad in a way that Komatsu didn't think he'd ever seen before.
"You had a revelation?" he asked. "What was it?"
Toriko seemed surprised to be asked, but he thought about it briefly before replying. "You remember when Coco was drunk and we were on the train?"
"Yes."
"You just...you listened to all that shit he said and you were so...happy."
Komatsu recalled with a shock the sudden soft gaze that Toriko had fixed him with as he laughed, and suddenly felt thunderstruck.
It was true.
Toriko was in love with him.
And, sitting there, staring across the table at Toriko's forlorn face a part of his mind began to wonder if, having realised this, it was possible that he loved Toriko too. If it was possible that the warm admiration and profound trust he had for his partner could be something more.
It wasn't, not now.
But that could change, very easily. And all he would have to do was allow it to happen.
Toriko was looking depressed, staring longingly at the bottle in Komatsu's hands and Komatsu felt that, had Toriko not been feeling so unsure of himself, he would probably be staring longingly at Komatsu instead.
"Toriko-san?" he began, putting the bottle back on the table, well out of his partner's reach. "If...if you love me, does that mean that you want to be with me?"
"Yeah," Toriko replied morosely.
"Well, you know...I'm old fashioned, I suppose. Things like this should be done properly. And I don't want to have to pretend to people that we aren't...together."
As he spoke, Toriko's eyes had become wide, fixed on Komatsu's blushing face, and when he finished a smile spread across Toriko's face like the sun breaking through clouds.
"You mean it?"
"Yes."
Like a flash, Toriko was out of his chair and skidding onto his knees next to Komatsu, who recoiled in surprise for a moment before he realised that Toriko was reaching for him, his huge arms curving around Komatsu's torso until Toriko could lay his head on his little partner's shoulder. Komatsu wrapped his arms around as much of Toriko as he could reach and felt a thrill of happiness pass through him, making his skin tingle.
As often happened, the stupidest possible thing came out of his mouth. "Rin-san's going to be so cross with me."
Toriko laughed against his shoulder, little warm huffs of breath going down the collar of his shirt. "She'll live," Toriko said, and then Komatsu felt the press of warm, moist lips against the side of his neck and his toes curled up inside his shoes.
Suddenly curious and excited and scared in equal measure, he tugged on Toriko's hair until he pulled back, stared dumbly into his partner's eyes until he got the message, then tilted his head to one side to let Toriko kiss him.
Lovely.
Toriko's mouth was wide and hot, bearing the flavours of alcohol and smoke and something that a part of Komatsu's mind registered as Silk Bird meat. His pointed tongue gently touched Komatsu's teeth and the insides of his lips, and they smiled against one another's mouths.
Time rushed by like water while they kissed, and when they finally drew apart Komatsu was sure that the light coming through the window had changed. Toriko's arms stayed around him, their strength comforting in a way he'd never have expected, not from a lover.
"You really didn't need to get drunk to tell me, Toriko-sa-"
"Not 'san'."
"You really didn't need to get drunk to tell me, Toriko. Even if I hadn't felt the way I do, I wouldn't have made fun of your feelings, or anything like that."
"I know," Toriko replied, tucking his face back into the curve of Komatsu's neck. "Next time I say it, I promise I'll be totally sober. Okay?"
"Okay. Umm...when will that be?"
Toriko was silent for a few seconds, then Komatsu felt him smile against his skin.
"How about tomorrow morning?"
"...okay."
...
I hope that you enjoyed this foray into absurdity with me. This all began with an idle thought about if it was possible for Toriko to get drunk, given that he knocks back whole bottles of brandy in a sitting, and it somehow evolved into this.
I've been weirdly prolific with Toriko thus far, which is sadly unlikely to continue as I try to focus more on my original stuff, but I'm sure that I will keep adding stuff here every now and then. The plot bunnies for this fandom are vicious and adorable.
Also, just in case anybody didn't get it, the title 'fit-shaced' is a British slang term for drunkenness, often used in comedy as somebody who is 'shit-faced' (i.e. very drunk) cannot pronounce the term properly. I wish I spoke Japanese and could come up with a cool equivalent for it, but sadly I can't.