"Weirdly Enough, Your Cute" I say this out loud without thinking.
…
I feel an intense amount of embarrassment from what I just said. I can't believe I just called him cute…
"Wawawwawaaa!?!! M-m-me c-c-coot???!" Snapping me out of my embarrassment, I hear Inv stuttering.
On top of the strange feeling I have while touching his chest, now I can feel an intense heat radiating from him.
'No literally! It's like I'm standing right next to a heater right now!'
It's not to the point where it's scolding hot but like being out on a really hot summer day at max humidity.
Trying to ignore this I look up at Inv who's stuttering complete gibberish at this point. Seeing him so flustered by what I just said makes me feel a bit more confident about myself.
"Y-yeah I like the way you… look" I try to sound as smooth as I can while saying this but end up stuttering and end up flirting in the lamest way possible.
Before I can even regret what I just said however…
"Re-rely?! Evey one alays say i lok lke a monster!!!" Inv says to me in a very surprised tone.
Wow, I mean… it's kind of true? I don't think your skin (or fur?) is supposed to physically shift like what I'm seeing right now but just straight up calling someone a monster by just how they look is pretty rude.
"Nahh… you look fine in my… eyes" I say this but I'm still trying my best to adjust looking at Inv. seeing all the red and blue colors somehow moving at extreme speeds is a bit disorienting.
"Tha… tha te nicst thin anyon hath eve say tu me…" I hear Inv say in a somewhat lowered voice.
I'm a bit curious on who Inv has met up to this point after hearing this. I haven't seen a single slugcat ever since being thrown into this world. He did say he went in every direction… so that means he's already met every slugcat in the dating sim. I guess there was never an option for going up…
Wait, does that mean I became an option for going up?!
Everything around me still looks somewhat normal so I don't think I'm currently in the dating sim???
…
While thinking about this I start moving my paw around in circles on Inv's chest. Trying to get used to the feeling of… his fur? I honestly can't tell. It feels like thousands upon thousands of spiders are currently crawling on my paw. A part of me wants to pull my hand away from the gross feeling but a weird part of me kinda likes the feeling. Beneath the fur(?) I can also feel his skin. Or what I assume is his skin. The skin feels… like sandpaper?
The fact I even remember what sandpaper feels like is mind boggling. Even though it feels like sandpaper it also somehow feels slippery???
'How the hell is that even possible?'
Moving my paw around more, I lift up my other paw and start trying to understand this weird feeling with both of my paws. Every time my paw moves somewhere across the surface of his skin, blue and red colors shift around my paws. Slowly my eyes start adjusting to this strange pattern and I find myself starting to enjoy it.
'Heh, it's kind of like a light show'
"U-u-uhm… Joey?" I'm thrown out of my thoughts when I hear Inv say this.
Looking up at his face his face is completely red. Not a single bit of blue anywhere to be seen.
Seeing him be so embarrassed I finally realize what I've been doing, and I feel embarrassment swelling up inside me again.
I immediately take my paws off his chest and take a small step back.
I can't believe I just started to feel him up like that! Who the hell just walks up to someone and feels up their chest like that!?
"S-sorry Inv… didn't mean to make you uncomfortable" I say to Inv while scratching the back of my head. Even though I sort of have an idea what Inv is like from playing the game, I can't just assume I know everything about him.
"N-nu! It ok!! Tha fel gud!" Inv says while shaking his head up and down at unnatural speeds. Well… I guess that's good then?
Y'know… At first, I thought I was going to be killed by some monstrosity when I first saw Inv. It was very strange; it was like something was trying to force me to dislike Inv. telling me to kill him or run away. But after forcing myself to shake off these feelings now I just see a very awkward and shy slugcat. Or what looks like a slugcat. At this point should I really care if he is or isn't a slugcat?
I really do wonder why I felt like that earlier though…
Having this thought I remember a small snippet from Inv's Dating simulator. A very specific piece of dialogue that stood out to me even back then.
'Whoever was responsible for designing your fate legitimately hates you. You're destined to suffer, and it's only natural you'd have difficulty finding love'
Remembering this quote, I feel like this really is the case. It was like I was being forced to not like him. As if the entire universe was screaming at me to do anything but positively interact with Inv.
At the exact moment when I think this to myself, I hear an unnatural ding. As if it was directly played inside my head. Before I can even question what I just heard however…
Passive Unlocked
Universal Resistance
…
'What the fuck?!'
Hearing the strange robotic voice in my head, my mind starts going wild! Holy shit! I didn't think I could actually unlock things! I just thought I was stuck with what I was given when I first woke up in this damned world!
As I'm about to attempt to access the screen by closing my eyes and putting a finger to my forehead I abruptly feel something touch my chest.
Immediately I jump up in surprise by the sudden sensation. I look up at Inv who now has both of his sticklike arms in the air as if surrendering.
"I-i-i i sory! I didn meen tu scre yu! I tought it wa ok sinc yu tuched me…" Inv says in an apologetic tone.
Hearing him say this, I want to smack myself on the head! I completely forgot he was standing right in front of me…
I can check whatever that was later. I should focus on Inv right now.
"No, it's ok Inv I was just… surprised is all" I say To Inv assuring him I'm not mad.
Actually, now that I look at Inv again… something seems different… the way he looks hasn't changed at all. I can't really pinpoint what exactly changed… It's like I can look at him more comfortably now.
Is this because of the passive I just got?
I don't know… but I'll focus on that later.
"Here Inv… since I touched your chest you can touch… mine" I say this while puffing out my chest.
…
'I can't believe I just fucking said that'