The food is great. Good. Well, fine at least.
Honestly, it might be terrible and Juri wouldn’t even notice, because his attention is currently fixed on things under the table rather that anything on it.
The cameras are rolling and everyone else is fully enjoying the hot pot dinner so Juri can’t say anything, but for the past fifteen minutes Hokuto has been idly rubbing his feet against Juri’s, and it’s driving him crazy. He tries to catch Hokuto’s eyes across the table, but Hokuto is intently listening to the story that Jesse is telling them, and doesn’t seem to notice Juri at all. It’s a lie of course. Hokuto knows perfectly well what he’s doing.
What makes it worse is that it’s not the first time. Juri lost the count months ago, but their heated yet friendship-based hookups have been a well-established thing for the past year. And whenever Hokuto takes the initiative, he tends to do it like this, sneakily on a public place where Juri can’t do anything about it.
Juri falls for it Every. Single. Time.
It’s ridiculous. They both have their shoes on so it’s not even the soft touch of socked toes, yet even the smallest brush of Hokuto’s sneakers against Juri’s ankle makes the hairs on his arms stand and his stomach coil with heat and excitement.
He takes a long, deep breath, willing himself to calm down and concentrate on whatever is going on around the table. Jesse is still talking. Still, or again? Juri isn’t sure.
Hokuto slides his foot between Juri's legs, rubbing his instep against Juri's calf. Through his jeans Juri feels the small yet firm press of the knot in Hokuto's tied shoelaces.
Shintaro asks Juri a question. Juri says yes. He has no idea what he's just agreed to, but everyone is laughing at him. Even Hokuto, that traitor who apparently is capable or concentrating on two things at the same time.
Hokuto's eyes are bright with the shared laughter, but his gaze is steady on Juri's eyes, challenging Juri to ignore the way he moves his foot towards the back of Juri's knee.
Alright, that's enough.
Pressing one shoe against the heel of his other shoe, Juri wiggles his left foot free. He straightens his leg under the narrow table, slides his foot between Hokuto's thighs, and grinds down against Hokuto's crotch with his toes.
Hokuto startles and gasps so loudly, everyone hears it.
"You okay?" Kochi asks, frowning.
Hokuto doesn’t skip a beat with making a pained face. "Just bit on my tongue," he stammers. It’s actually convincing - Juri would totally believe him if he didn't know better. Hokuto really is a good actor, he thinks in a mixture of smugness and pride. And a good liar, when needed.
Taiga lets out an empathetic "ouch", while Juri promptly pours Hokuto a full glass of water, making sure to let a few half-melted ice cubes fall from the pitcher into the glass as well.
“Cold water should ease the pain,” he says, making his voice as soft and expression as concerned as they ever could be. He hands the glass to Hokuto, holding it so that their fingers are forced to brush against each other when Hokuto accepts the glass. Hokuto’s fingers are warm and his dark eyes narrow in warning when their gazes shortly meet, but it also looks like he’s biting his tongue for real now.
Dragging his foot down along Hokuto’s thigh, calf, and ankle intentionally slowly, Juri leans back in his seat and takes a sip of his beer.
He’s probably asking for trouble. Then again, if “trouble” equals a rough night with Hokuto in his bed, he doesn’t mind. He pokes Hokuto’s foot with his own again for good measure. Hokuto doesn’t look at him but there is a tug of a smile at one corner of his mouth. The message behind his expression is clear:
Bring it on.