spray painted stars

by circusphobic

Summary:

Len grinned at the typical banter him and his counterpart had, it was always fun to tease each other. However, his thoughts were stopped short, and he came to an abrupt stop when he saw what the walls were covered with.

“Why’d you stop, slowpoke?- Eh?!” Rin gazed at the walls surrounding them, they were covered head to toe in spray painted orange and yellow stars, pink and red hearts filling in the places where they weren’t already taking up. The two identical vocaloids looked at each other, and then back at the wall, and each other again.

---

Strange things start appearing in both Street Sekai and Wonderland Sekai that were attached to the feelings of Tsukasa and Akito. They learn to accept their feelings, but how will they progress their newfound friendship into a relationship?

Chapter 1

The Crase Cafe was yet again a lively place, as it usually is when all four members are free to brainstorm for new songs together. However, it was even more lively today, as it wasn’t only MEIKO and Miku hanging around to help; the Kagamines were taking a break from laying down fresh paint on the never ending walls of their sekai.

 

“MEIKO, I told you, I can handle black coffee now! I’m grown and mature, so a little, or a lot, of black coffee is nothing to me now!” 

 

“Fufufu, the last time I heard those words coming from you Len, your face got all scrunched up and turned slightly green at the first sip!” Len huffed and crossed his arms at this.

“Okay, well, that was what, 4 months ago?!”

 

“4 days.” Rin giggled and covered her mouth with her hand, Len side eyeing her as a result. “But if you think you can handle it now, who am I to say no? Just remember, there’s no shame in thinking it’s bad!” MEIKO said reassuringly as she slid the mug over to Len.

 

Akito leaned his head on his hand as he studied the white board that An was standing in front of, themes scattered aimlessly with one side reserved for lyrics. The Crase Cafe was a place he and his teammates frequented often ever since getting comfortable with the vocaloids. Given, if he thinks too hard about the logic of the place, he ends up with more and more questions. 

 

What happens when they’re all old and in retirement homes? Will it still be here? What happens when they die ? Is it like an heirloom that gets passed down to their kids and grandchildren? How do things just appear out of nowhere? Akito thought atoms couldn’t be destroyed or created, but science class lied, apparently. 

 

Deciding to ask the questions at a more appropriate time, he focuses back on An. As he does so, he feels something crawling up his forearm, down his rolled up sleeves. Glancing down, he sees a spider crawling up his arm, slightly tickling him as it does so. 

 

“Hah? A spider?” He cups it with his other hand and takes it off his arm, choosing to inspect it in his hands instead of on his forearms.

“Another spider? Seriously?” Miku shouts and gets up from her seat quickly, crossing her arms. Despite her words, she isn’t scared, but rather annoyed. Len, mid excruciating sip of his black coffee, promptly spits it out. He also chooses to ignore the “Haha! She was right!” from Rin. MEIKO, processing Akito and Miku’s words, speed walks over to their table and inspects the spider.

 

“This is the sixth one this week! We never had an issue with bugs until recently!” MEIKO’s face is a reflection of Mikus now; annoyance, but with a twinge of confusion. “And it’s not only spiders, I saw a centipede in our flowers just yesterday! I know bugs aren’t an unnatural thing to find, but I prided myself, and this sekai, in being clean and bug free! Up until now.” The kids looked at both MEIKO and Miku with confusion. Street sekai was bug free?

 

“There’s another spider?! Ooh let me see!” Len excitedly shouts, confusing the teens even more, apparently Len is into bugs. Quickly making his way over to the spider in Akito’s hands, he looks it over before declaring, “It’s a wolf spider! The first one to show up here!” 

 

Kohane grimaces. “Anything that has another animal’s name in its name shouldn’t exist…” Nonetheless, she leaned over and looked at the huge arachnid. Soon, Akito had a crowd around him. 

 

“One of you kids has some explaining to do, because the bugs are coming from one of you obviously. Have one of you been hanging around Len too much? Is that it?” Miku has a deadpan look on her face. 

 

The group looks around confusedly. Nobody is especially fascinated by bugs, nor scared of them, they’re all pretty neutral on them, and express themselves as such. The vocaloids tilt their heads at this; The bugs had to appear because of them, right?

MEIKO sighs in defeat. “Well, there isn’t any other explanation, but I won’t pressure you all for answers. Len, can you take the spider outside please? Do not play with it again.” She warns. At her signal he excitedly grabs the wolf spider and starts murmuring things to it as he exits the cafe. 

 

Rin shakes her head and rolls her eyes affectionately, “He’s an odd one. I didn’t even know he liked bugs till last week!” She approaches the group, “So, none of you really have any ideas? Personally, I refuse to believe our amazing cafe is just having a bug problem, so it has to be one of you.” She points at the group as she says this. Again, the four teens look at each other and shrug. 

 

“If it’s of any help, my dear senior is deathly terrified of bugs. Aside from him, nobody comes to mind when it comes to significance with insects.” Toya offers, breaking the silence with stars in his eyes at the mention of his senior. On the contrary, Akito rolls his eyes at the mention of their senpai. 

 

Kohane has a similar expression on her face at the mention of her favorite actor, “Tsukasa-Senpai! You’re right, he is afraid of bugs, but he doesn’t affect this sekai?” The vocaloids looked at her with a thoughtful expression. 

 

“Perhaps it’s you two’s admiration for him that’s affecting our sekai! Maybe your feelings about him are bringing a manifestation of his feelings to this sekai, and his fear of bugs is what decided to carry over…” Miku has a thoughtful expression, but a satisfied one as well.

 

“Akito’s hatred could also be contributing to it!” And giggles into her palm with a mischievous look in her eye. The vocaloids turn their head to Akito.

 

“What? I don’t hate him- or well, I do, but… he’s tolerable now at the very least. It’s insulting that you think I cared enough about him for my feelings to show up here.” Akito rolls his eyes and glares at An. Toya gives him a disappointed look and sighs. 

 

MEIKO takes their response as an answer to her problems, but if that’s the case, then those pesky bugs are going to be here forever! She really didn’t want that, but thankfully, she has an idea.

 

“If bugs are a fear, that means they came here from a negative feeling, don’t forget that. So, Akito, it could very well be you that brought them here, since you’re the only one that feels negatively towards Tsukasa. If it were Toya or Kohane’s feelings for Tsukasa that brought a manifestation of him to sekai, then it would be something positive!” MEIKO explains to the group, satisfied at the conclusion. 

 

Akito, however, looks less than pleased, “But, I don’t even care for him all that much!- Argh… whatever, let's say it is me, how do we get rid of them, since it’s obviously a problem for you guys- Aside from Len of course.” An’s quiet giggles and Toya’s now very obvious displeasement in the situation does not help Akito at all.

 

MEIKO acts as Toya’s saving grace. “Well, negative feelings can be changed into positive ones. This means that negative things in the sekai can be changed into positive ones once your feelings change. I suggest you try to find the good in your Senpai, Akito, for the sake of your dear teammates and my poor, poor coffee machine.” She looks sadly over at her new coffee machine, which she had to get because the old one had a roach in it, and she was much too disgusted to just clean it. 

 

Toya’s face brightens up impossibly so, and Akito is pointedly not looking at him, knowing the expression that is going to be on his face when he turns, and knowing that he won't be able to say no to his dear partner. All is in vain however, as Kohane is right in front of him, and is wearing an identical face to Toya’s. 

 

“That’s a wonderful idea MEIKO, thank you! Perhaps now Akito will listen when I ask for him to be kinder to our Senpai.” Hearing Toya’s words, Akito finally accepts his fate and turns to look at him with fake hatred in his eyes. 

 

“I think you’ll find that Tsukasa is a wonderful person to be around, Akito. If you just give him a chance, you’ll see that the volume of his voice is-”

 

“Yeah yeah, I know the whole ‘Tsukasa-Senpai is amazing!’ speech, you’ve told it to me a thousand times,” Akito waves Toya off with no real malice in his words, “I’ll try to be kinder to him… and try to change my opinion… only because I’d rather not have bugs crawling on me while we’re trying to work.” Akito adds quickly, but both Toya and Kohane can see right through him, and knows he’s doing it because of them. An smirks, and promises to herself that she’s going to scout them out in the halls more often to ensure Akito is fulfilling his promise. 

Having math class before lunch is one of the worst times to have math class, at least in Akito’s opinion. Or would the first thing in the morning be worse? Akito doesn’t care to ponder this, he’s tired enough.

 

Knowing Toya is busy today in the library, he makes his way over to the secluded area he stumbled upon one day, a bench conveniently placed in there. He assumes it used to be part of the outer courtyard, but got so overgrown that they just treated it as though it was only bushed. Admittedly, he walks there very slowly, and he immediately flops down on the bench when pushes through the bushes. Only a couple minutes of shut eye is what he gets though, before he’s woken up by a very loud, and very near sounding, explosion. He groans in annoyance, putting his hood on his head and attempting to fall asleep again. 

 

God, can those two weirdos leave it be for at least a day?

 

The distant, very distinct and recognizable, scream reminds him of that promise he made to Toya and MEIKO, and worsens his mood as a result. But he doesn’t have much time to think about it before he hears a strange rustle in the bushes beside him. Turning his head to the side, he doesn’t get to think about what’s in there before a person comes tumbling out, spluttering and panting heavily. The person, who Akito now realizes was the guy he was just complaining about in his head, kneels there for a bit, catching his breath. Tsukasa looks up and has surprise written all over his face when he locks eyes with Akito’s very tired and annoyed ones. 

 

“Oh!.. Akit.. Akito-kun! My dear kouhai! Hahaha, what a pleasant surprise!” Tsukasa smiles wide at the now horrified Akito, before lowering his voice, “… I apologize for intruding on whatever you were up to just now it’s just… Ahem! Rui, as much as I love him, is back at his antics…!” He looks around, seemingly embarrassed, a light pink starting to show on his cheeks. “You don’t mind if I hide here for the lunch period, do you?” 

 

Akito really debates it, but he remembers the promise he made to Toya and MEIKO, and he sits up on his elbows, making room for Tsukasa on the bench, which now seems very tiny. 

 

“Yeah yeah, sure, make yourself comfortable or whatever. Just don’t be loud, I’m tired.” Tsukasa beams at him and sets his backpack on the floor next to them before sitting down.

 

“Ah, thank you so much Akito-kun! I’ll be sure to not disturb you while you get your beauty sleep! I know just how important it is!” Tsukasa replies with a quieter voice, but still loud for Akito’s standards. Trying to ignore the human next to his head, he adjusts and attempts to get comfortable. His legs already had to be a little scrunched to fit on the bench, but now with another person sitting there, they’re full on bent. Tsukasa notices Akito’s uncomfortable position, and decides that it’s simply not acceptable for his standards. 

 

“You don’t seem very comfortable Akito-kun, and I cannot allow that!” Akito opens his eyes slightly at this, and raises a brow. “Here, let me help you!” At this, he starts taking his sweater off, making the action look graceful if that was possible. 

 

Akito’s eyes are now fully open at this action, “Hah? Tsukasa-senpai?” The star doesn’t answer though, instead lifting Akito’s head and placing his now folded sweater under him. 

 

“There! All better! Is this more comfortable Akito-kun? Or would you rather lay your head on my lap?” 

 

What? This lunatic!?

 

Akito goes slightly pink at that, “No! This is fine! Er… thank you, Tsukasa-senpai..” Tsukasa hums in response and pulls out papers; what's on them is a mystery to Akito. Regardless, he turns his head to avoid looking at Tsukasa, which proves to be a bad idea, because now he can very clearly smell the… very pleasant detergent, cologne, perfume, whatever Tsukasa uses to make himself smell good. It reminds him slightly of citrus, maybe lemons? It’s mixed in with whatever scent the Tenma’s naturally have, and it’s rather… calming. Ironic. As much as he doesn’t want to admit it, his sweater is rather comfortable; it definitely beats only his hair and hoodie as a cushion. Maybe Akito could get used to this. 

 

Akito realizes what he just thought, scolding himself in his thoughts as he snuggles closer to the sweater subconsciously. If he had enough hours of sleep in him, he’d realize how much his actions contradict his thoughts. However he doesn’t, and he finally succumbs to his tired body yelling at him to fall asleep.

…

Tsukasa finishes up the last annotations he’s going to make for the lunch period, as much as he wishes to continue working on his script. School is equally as important, especially attendance. With that thought, he glances down at Akito, who moved to his side at one point in his sleep, the sweater stretching to be both under his head and in his arms. His hood also fell down at some point, the fluffy orange hair now exposed. Tsukasa coos at how adorable he thinks his junior is like this, but nonetheless, he doesn’t want Akito to be late for class either.

 

Glancing at his phone’s clock, he sees it's a minute before the bell rings. Tsukasa looks over to Akito once more, admiring his fluffy hair as his hand moves on its own accord. The light blush that was already on his face when he first saw sleepy Akito grew more intense as he realized that his hand was tangling itself in his hair. His eyes widened as he also realized just how soft it was! Continuing to play with Akito’s hair, he hardly realizes when Akito’s eyes blink open slowly, too entranced with, one, how soft Akito’s hair was, and two, he was playing with Akito Shinonome’s hair!! 

 

Tsukasa always found the boy attractive; He had beautiful hair, a symmetrical and handsome facial structure, and was clearly very well built from how athletic he was. Tsukasa wonders to himself the kinds of workouts Akito does to warm up for live shows and football as the said man becomes more conscious. Unaware of the mental turmoil Akito is currently going through, he realizes that Akito is awake and suddenly stops his movements. He berates himself harshly in his thoughts, he never should have touched Akito in the first place.

 

“Haha!... Akito-kun, my dear junior! You’re finally awake! I didn’t want the bell to startle you, and I thought it would be rude to just shake you awake so I.. so I um- well. You know. You…” Tsukasa’s eyes widen with the more he rambles, and his face gets impossibly redder. Akito, sitting up finally, looks him in the eyes with an unreadable expression, but an obvious blush adorning his face as well. Tsukasa doesn’t have time to think about how cute he looks when he’s flustered, as he’s more worried about getting out of this situation immediately .

 

“... I need to get to class, have a good day!” Tsukasa grabs his still open backpack and bolts, leaving Akito frazzled. 

 

Tsukasa mentally yells at himself, the blush on his face still not leaving as he replays the scene over and over in his head. On one hand, he’s blushing from embarrassment, and on the other hand, he’s blushing because of how… sweet the lunch period was. Usually, Akito would have been brash or played a prank on him, but he was rather… tame? Nice even, with the few words he spoke? 

 

Tsukasa concludes that Akito must have been really tired. He sighs and shakes his head as he attempts to forget the feeling of Akito’s hair in his hand and the view of him practically cuddling his sweater. He finally slows down as he reaches the third year classrooms, spotting Rui amongst the students.

 

“Oya! Tsukasa! Ha?... Where has your sweater gone?” Rui tilts his head, choosing to ignore the pinkness of his face.

 

Tsukasa’s eyes widen and he practically screams as his hands fly to his chest, feeling the dress shirt and tie and not his favorite sweater! He makes a noise of defeat, the same defeat showing clearly on his face as he sags his shoulders. 

 

“I… It’s a long story, Rui. I spent lunch with Akito-kun after your little stunt.” He gives Rui a look with no real anger, Rui smiling in response. “My junior was tired, so I offered him my sweater to use as a pillow, as a star should always be there to help others, regardless of the situation! I must have left it as I was leaving for class, haha..” He puts his hand on his chin as he recites the situation he was previously in. Rui’s smile turns to his typical smirk as he hears who Tsukasa spent lunch with. While Tsukasa doesn’t make it exactly obvious, he let Rui in on his small attraction towards the second year student one time after an especially late, and tiring, show. Tsukasa gives him a different look when he sees the smile Rui is giving him, silently telling him to not bring it up.

 

“Ah! What an interesting play of events! Do not worry, you’ll get your precious sweater back soon. I trust Shinonome is polite enough to keep it safe.” Tsukasa got a bad feeling about the next words out of his best friend's mouth. “Maybe polite enough to wash it! Perhaps when you get it back, it’ll smell like-”

“Okay, that’s enough!” Tsukasa yells, getting looks from those around him. The blush that was going down was now back. Deciding to turn away from Rui and walk to his class than to stay for his teasing, he shouts a ‘goodbye’ as he retreats. The smile on Rui’s face grew seeing how flustered he was. He puts a hand on his chin as he thinks about the two together, his mind conjuring up ideas by the minute.

Chapter 2

While the Wonderland Sekai was usually a busy and lively place with it being an amusement park and everything, time seemed to stop as a distressed, near blood curdling scream rang throughout the air. KAITO, who was trying to help Rin and Len cry on command, was immediately startled when he recognized the scream to be Miku’s. What could have possibly happened for the diva to let out something like that? All three of them running towards the sound, they found her on her knees in front of a bench, cleaning supplies and a rag in her hand. 

 

“Miku! What on earth? Are you okay?!” KAITO kneeled down next to her as she stared at the bench in horror. Looking over at it, he realized what she was staring at, and trying to clean off. The bench had graffiti all over it! There were orange and yellow stars with bright red hearts scattered around them spray painted onto the bench. While it wasn’t necessarily an ugly sight, it didn’t exactly go well with the bright blue the bench was painted. 

 

“I can’t get it off!” Miku wailed, showing that it indeed is not budging by scraping her long cat nail across it. “I know this is the result of one of those kids' feelings, and I truly do love them, but this is too much!” Miku buries her head in her hands, giving up on getting rid of the spray paint. 

 

Len was now closely inspecting the paint, “I don’t see a problem, Miku, the design doesn’t feel out of place in the park?” He tilted his head to the side.

 

Miku looked up at him, “The problem is that there’s going to be more! And what if the designs for those do end up looking out of place?!” She sighed and stood up straight. “The stands selling heart shaped balloons, chocolate covered strawberries, and everything else love related was fine! Even encouraged! But this? Spray paint that refuses to come off? Too much!!” 

 

Over the past two weeks, slowly things have started to appear in the sekai. While that itself isn’t strange, since new things show up often, the fact they all seemed to be couple activities, such as the Tunnel of Love ride, the teacups, and the three new stands is what was strange. Clearly, one of the teens was in love, or at the very least crushing. None of the vocaloids have had the chance to talk to them about it because they had no clue who it was who was bringing in the new equipment and didn’t want to expose the person to the rest of their troupe. With this new addition however, they all silently shared the same thought. Who’s connected to yellow stars?

 

“It’s okay Miku, you know how Tsukasa is! I don’t think he would put ugly designs in the park, he’s more obsessed with aesthetics than any of us!” Rin giggled and thought of all of the extravagant costumes that the teen has presented to them. 

 

KAITO nodded, agreeing with her. But one thought still lingered in his head, which he voiced. “But spray paint? That is quite unlike him. Spray painting isn’t typically a type of theater related activity, it seems more… street style. What’s that one street that Nene has mentioned her gaming friend visits often?” The rest of the vocaloids looked at him, thoughtful. 

 

“You’re right, spray paint isn’t something Tsukasa is particularly into…” 

 

“If it will ease your mind, Miku, I can go and get Tsukasa and bring him here so we can talk to him properly about, well, everything.” KAITO chuckled as he looked over at the floating teacups ride, conveniently having a pink and red color scheme. The Kagamines cheered at his words, they both love drama. KAITO noticed and smiled with a sigh. 

 

“Oh, would you KAITO?! Please do!” 

 

With that, KAITO was off. 

KAITO tentatively peeked over the edge of Tsukasa’s phone, making sure to be subtle in case he was in a public place. Thankfully he was not, he was in his room. Since Tsukasa decided that three walls was enough for a room however, he still had to be careful. As he waited for Tsukasa to return, he pondered over what he was going to ask him. Should he ask who it was? Should he ask about the significance of spray paint? He wondered if there was a way to get rid of the spray paint, or a way to choose what is painted. 

 

The sound of a loud voice bidding farewell to someone snapped KAITO out of his thoughts, and he peeked over the edge again. Tsukasa strutted into the room and rummaged around in his backpack on the floor, mumbling something about a sweater. 

 

Leaping up gracefully onto the screen he called out for Tsukasa. Turning around, the said man was shocked to see the vocaloid on his desk. “Ah! KAITO! What a wonderful surprise! Is everything okay, why have you come to see me?” Tsukasa quickly positioned himself so nobody could see the vocaloid if they were to walk by; he knows how inconvenient his room is.

 

“Fufu, yes, everything is okay in sekai!... For the most part. Miku and I would like to have a word with you however about some out of the ordinary things popping up in the park, and we have a suspicion it’s your feelings’ doings.” KAITO looked at him apologetically, holding out his arm. 

 

“Strange things?” Tsukasa looked to the side, brows furrowed. He had a bad feeling about this, and was starting to feel guilty. “Oh.. okay!” He gave a small smile and let his fingertip touch KAITO’s hand, getting pulled into the sekai.

As soon as the two appeared in sekai, the Kagamines pounced on Tsukasa, bombarding him with questions about who the person he likes is, if he's dating anyone, if they’ve had any romantic moments, if they’ve kissed- And that was when KAITO had to pull them off of the poor teen.

 

 “I knew it was a bad idea to let you two stay for this…” He sighed and they looked at him with huge smiles. “Okay, you guys can stay, but only if you keep quiet while Miku and I have our talk with him!” He narrowed his eyes at the two drama fans. They nodded excitedly and started whispering to each other. 

 

“I apologize for them, Tsukasa. I know you probably have questions about why I brought you here, so feel free to look around for the new additions! There’s… quite a lot!.” KAITO chuckles and motions for the boy to look around. That he does, he inspects the place, his blush growing as he spots the stand with the heart balloons, knowing immediately what was happening to the poor sekai. Covering his cheeks in embarrassment, he looked up, seeing the love themed teacups ride, letting out a yelp in surprise. 

 

As he spotted more and more of what had shown up, his face turned a darker pink hue, matching the pink on the tips of his hair. Looking back at the four vocaloids behind him, he had a look of guilt on his face. “I-I’m sorry!!! I never expected my crush to start affecting you guys!!” He looked down and put his hands over his face, trying to calm down. 

 

“It’s okay Tsukasa, honestly. Love is an amazing thing, and we’re all very honored to be able to watch it grow in front of our eyes. We can tell that you really like this person so… we were wondering if you can give us some insight on them?” KAITO put his hand on Tsukasa’s shoulder, making him look up at them.

 

“Well… I don’t think anybody has mentioned him yet… I didn’t even think my crush was strong enough to get stuff put here, honestly!” Tsukasa looked genuinely surprised to learn about this information, as if it isn’t his own feelings. “His name is Akito Shinonome, he’s Toya’s best friend. They’re working together along with two others to pursue their dream of surpassing this live music event. I don’t know much, Toya has only mentioned it a couple of times…”

 

The four of them listened intently as Tsukasa gave them more information, Miku widening her eyes as she heard about the place where all of their live shows take place. So that’s why spray paint showed up here! She put her hand on her chin and looked back at the bench, waiting for him to finish. When he did, she immediately mentioned the bench, beckoning him over to look at it. 

 

“All of the other things that showed up here, like the rides and stands, weren’t what made us bring you here. It’s… this!” 

 

Tsukasa looked at it, surprised and guilty. “Oh no!! I didn’t realize stuff related to him would show up!!” He blushed intensely at the stars that matched their hair with hearts surrounding it. “Especially not something like this!!” 

 

He apologized profusely, Miku holding him in her arms as he hugged her, guilt evident in his voice. She comforted him, telling him it wasn’t his fault. Now knowing the history behind the spray paint and the colors, she wasn’t that distraught at them showing up. Seeing how apologetic Tsukasa was, there’s no way she could even think about being mad at him! 

 

The rest of the time Tsukasa was in sekai was spent mainly with the two Kagamines asking him invasive questions about how far they’ve taken their relationship, to which Tsukasa insisted that Akito doesn’t like him back and how the stuff will likely disappear when his crush goes away. KAITO gave him advice on how to possibly make Akito start liking him more, even if it’s just as a friend. Along the way, they met MEIKO and Luka, with Luka being asleep and MEIKO giving her two cents on Tsukasa’s situation. 

 

He truly was grateful to be blessed with this sekai, and as strange as venting to vocaloids is, they make him feel better. After speaking with all of them, he isn’t as ashamed of his crush, and promises to visit more with the rest of his troupe. He goes back to the real world, ideas on how to get Akito to like him more fresh in his mind, thanks to KAITO.

Chapter 3

Akito sat on the secluded bench silently on his phone, the yellow jacket folded up on his lap. He had intended to ask Toya for Tsukasa’s number to tell him to come back to where they were yesterday in order to give him back his jacket, but it had completely slipped his mind during practice yesterday. That’s why he was texting him now, though he wasn’t expecting a response anytime soon since Toya was in the library again. 

 

He sighed and rested his head on his hand as he scrolled through his social media apps, attempting to pass time. Seeing at least three of his sister's posts in one minute, he rolled his eyes. Does she seriously need to post her every move? Regardless, he gave them a like anyways. 

 

However, one post caught his eye; she was hanging out with Akiyama at… Phoenix Wonderland? Right now? Ignoring the fact Akiyama skipped to go to such a horrible place, he looked at the tags and noticed that it wasn’t only Akiyama that was tagged, but also the theme park itself. 

 

That interested Akito, as he didn’t know the park had its own page. He clicked on its profile and saw a surprising amount of posts with the Wonder Stage and Tsukasa-senpai’s troupe. Clicking on one of the posts with the group bowing, probably at the end of a show, he noticed they also had an account. Thinking about how weird it is that he’s going so deep into this rabbit hole just from one of Ena’s posts, he clicked on the account to see what kinds of things they post. He went to go look at their followers to see just how many of his friends follow up with the strange group when Toya finally texted him back. 

 

Toybox: Oh, of course! It’s xxx-xxx-xxx. I’m so glad you’re trying to get along with Tsukasa!

 

The text startled him, and since his thumb was close to the screen, he ended up accidentally following the account. “Gah!... Oh no.. I didn’t mean to do that…” He muttered under his breath, regret laced in his voice. He felt anxious now, but there wasn’t anything he could do about it, they already got the notification.

 

Akito put his head in his hands and groaned in annoyance, they’re probably going to think he likes the group, and everyone that follows him is going to know he’s following them! Staring down at the yellow jacket still on his lap, he’s reminded of why he texted Toya in the first place, and begrudgingly adds Tsukasa’s number to his contacts so he can get this stupid interaction over with. 

 

Akito: yo its akito, u left ur jacket w me yesterday if u didnt know. come to the place i was at yesterday if u want it back

 

This was humiliating. Akito couldn’t believe that another person knows about his special hiding place now, especially somebody like Tsukasa, and he can’t believe he just texted him to meet up with him. Surely he was going mad, why couldn’t he just give it to Toya to hand over to Tsukasa?

 

Unknown Number: Already on my way! ^-^

 

Oh, that was fast. Akito went back to scrolling through his socials, and he pointedly ignored the fact that he now follows the Wonder Stage account. He texted Toya back a ‘thanks’ and decided to not respond to the last part of his message. Hearing rustling in the bushes, he looked up from his phone and saw Tsukasa beaming at him with that way too bright and happy smile of his, however this time, it seemed genuine. He was wearing a cardigan of a similar color to the jacket, but the cardigan seemed to have custom patches sewn onto it. 

 

“Greetings, my wonderful junior! Thank you so much for keeping my jacket safe, I truly cannot thank you enough!” He put his hands together and gazed at Akito with such genuine appreciation it freaked him out.

 

“Ah, yeah, It’s alright. Thanks for lending it to me, I guess…” He handed the folded up jacket to Tsukasa, not bothering to return the smile.

 

Putting the jacket in his backpack, Tsukasa took a seat next to Akito, startling him. What was he doing sitting next to him? “As a token of my appreciation, I’ll let you have anything you want out of my luncheon!” Pulling out the lunchbox, he opened it to Akito and his eyes immediately were drawn to the slice of cheesecake in the corner. “As long as it isn't the ginger fried pork, haha!” He chuckled with a shy smile. 

 

Akito grabbed the cheesecake without a second thought, “Oh, you don’t have to worry about that, cheesecake is my favorite food.” Biting into it, his eyes widened immediately. While, yes, that is usually the reaction when he has cheesecake, this one was… one of the best he’s ever tasted! It was creamy, but not melting, and the crust was soft, but not soggy. Everything about it was absolutely perfect, and Akito looked at Tsukasa, finding him waiting for a response. 

 

“Wow, Senpai, where did you buy this? This is probably one of the best I’ve tasted…”

 

Tsukasa let out a proud laugh, “Silly Akito-kun, I don’t buy anything I make! It’s all homemade!” He did a pose while he said that, but looked back at Akito with grateful eyes. “So thank you for that compliment!” Tsukasa yelled at himself in his head to not blush at his juniors cute face after hearing that it was homemade, and especially to not blush at the compliment.

 

“You make everything? That’s…”, Akito had to give him credit here, “That’s impressive.” He looked away, feeling like he was crazy for feeding Tsukasa’s ego. He had no idea the impact his words had on Tsukasa, who took the compliment as a treasure. Yes, he appreciates all compliments he gets, but getting one from Akito of all people made him feel like a true star! 

 

Wiping a fake, almost real, tear from his eye, he leaned onto Akito, “Thank you so much Akito-kun! Your compliment means a lot to this star!” Sniffling to add to the effect he put his arm around his shoulders, and his boldness even shocked himself. He was used to doing this with his sister and close friends, but not Akito.

 

Akito spluttered for a bit before mumbling a ‘no problem’. Now he feels like he was seriously going mad, because he was completely and utterly confused by the actions of his senior, they almost didn’t seem real.

 

Leaning back into his own space, Tsukasa picked up something from his lunch, “So, cheesecake is your favorite food I hear?” Tsukasa smiles, happy that he’s learning more about his crush. He knows he can just ask Toya, but he’d prefer to learn it from Akito, it’s a chance to have a conversation with the boy.

 

“Uh, yeah, you can say that. I do like pancakes too, though. I don’t think I could choose between the two if I had to.” 

 

Tsukasa was even happier now, he learned another thing from Akito! “Ah! That’s good to know! My favorite is probably this-” He pointed at the pork with his chopsticks, “But I absolutely hate peppers…” He grimaced as he said that.

 

Akito gave a tiny laugh, “Yeah, I get it, carrots aren’t my type.” 

 

Tsukasa blushed at Akito’s laugh, even if it was just to fill the silence and not genuine. This is the most Akito has tolerated him, he’s going to drag it on for as long as possible. “You know, I made the cheesecake yesterday, so I still have quite a few slices. I’ll bring more to school if you’d like!” 

 

Akito raised his eyebrows at the mention of getting more of that delicious homemade cheesecake, and looked over at Tsukasa’s, once again, extremely bright smile. He wondered to himself why Tsukasa wasn’t being annoying today. Although he was still loud, it wasn’t deafening like it typically is. Maybe this is what his normal volume sounds like. As he nodded in agreement to Tsukasa’s request, he caught himself again, once more wondering why he was acting so strangely.

 

They settled into a silence after that, Tsukasa enjoying his luncheon, and leaving Akito with his thoughts. He recalled back to when Tsukasa first showed up, thinking about the patches on his cardigan, he wondered if he had sewn them on himself. He looked at him once more, trying to find the words to ask. 

 

“Hey, Senpai,”, Tsukasa immediately whipped his head up to look at Akito. “Um, about the patches on your cardigan…” 

 

Tsukasa looked down at his cardigan, “Ah, yes! My lovely sister Saki and her friends gave me these for my birthday, along with other sewing supplies. I sewed them on myself!” He recalled the memory with a fondness, and had pride written all over his face.

 

“Hah? You know how to sew Senpai?” This was news to Akito, he never took Tsukasa to be the type to know how to sew.

 

Tsukasa chuckled a little, “Of course! A star has to have many talents, so I decided to pick up sewing at a young age. I make the majority of our costumes as well, but Mizuki does help out sometimes.” Tsukasa started pulling out papers from a folder in his bag, which ended up being sketches for clothes he’s made in the past as well as clothes he’s currently making.

 

Akito looked at them with awe, not only were the drawings amazing, but so were the outfits. This is a side of Tsukasa he’s never seen, nor heard of, surprisingly enough, the boy loves to brag. While yes, he does usually go on rants about his shows whenever the two are together, he’s never talked about the costumes. 

 

Akito, obviously, being very into fashion, and listened intently to everything Tsukasa had to say about them. Tsukasa noticed this, and it warmed his heart to see his junior finally take an interest in something he had to say, and his blush came back. He handed Akito some of the outfit sketches he saw him look at for an especially long time, to which he analyzed intently.

 

“Huh, that’s interesting, Senpai. These outfits are.. really well made. And the sketches are good too.” He furrowed his brows as he inspected them more, finally handing them back to Tsukasa. “I think you’d get along with my sister, she’s also into drawing and fashion.” He paused for a bit, thinking of his next words, “Moreso drawing, fashion is my thing, if you couldn’t tell.”

 

Tsukasa laughed, “Yes, I can tell! Your outfits are always so put together the few times I’ve seen you outside of school! I admire it.” This made Akito think. 

 

“When have you seen me outside of school?”

 

Tsukasa paused. What he said does seem kind of creepy now that he thinks about it. “Not in a weird way!!! Ah, I just see Toya a lot, and you’re sometimes with him.” Akito, still thinking about if he's ever seen him outside of school, takes that as an answer. The rest of the lunch period goes by smoothly, with the two making conversation. It’s mostly about fashion, and Akito shares some places he shops to get clothes when Tsukasa asks.

 

A minute before the bell rings, Tsukasa thinks back on stuff KAITO and the others told him, about taking note of things Akito doesn’t like about him and what he does. He applied everything he was told to his conversation with Akito today, and found that the junior didn’t seem annoyed, but even engaged in conversation and asked his own questions! And complimented him! 

 

Tsukasa smiled and, right when the bell rang, gave Akito a hug from the side, thanking him for hanging out with him today. Promising more cheesecake tomorrow, he walked off to his next class, leaving Akito stunned.

 

Akito knew he was touch starved, but he didn’t know it was so bad. As a child, his family wasn’t one to show affection through touch. His mother gave him a kiss on the forehead and a hug occasionally, and his sister sometimes gave him a side hug, but it wasn’t often. Growing up, the only touch he ever got from people was during football games if he ran into someone or if they won the game, then there would be a group hug. Toya isn’t very big on touch either, he can’t even remember the last time they hugged, or if they ever did. Tsukasa, on the other hand… He does seem like the clingy type. Akito has seen how he acts around Kamishiro, he’s either leaning his head on him or their arms are brushing in some kind of way. 

 

So why on earth did Akito have the reaction he did from Tsukasa’s touch? He knew that feeling, he knew it very well. The butterflies in his stomach, his throat closing up, the rise in heat to his face. While it wasn’t extreme, it was there, and Akito noticed it as soon as his Senpai left. Akito concludes that it must be because he isn’t used to Tsukasa’s show of gratitude combined with the fact that he’s touch starved. The feeling wasn’t as intense as it was whenever he got a crush on a pretty girl in middle school and elementary, so he wasn’t worried. 

 

Plus, Senpai is a guy for crying out loud. Akito could never like a male like that. 

 

His mouth felt dry as he made his way to his next class. 

Chapter 4

Summary:

feelings realization yayayaya!

Toybox: Oh, of course! It’s xxx-xxx-xxx. I’m so glad you’re trying to get along with Tsukasa!

 

Akito: thanks

 

Friday 4:35 PM - 

 

Toybox: Hey Akito, Tsukasa gave me two tickets to his new show tomorrow. Would you like to come with me? Kohane is going as well.

Akito had been staring at the message for a while now. It was probably only 30 seconds, but it felt like a lot to him. Go to Tsukasa’s new show or not, why was this such a difficult decision for him? Of course he doesn’t want to go! Theater performances have never been his thing, they over exaggerate every move, but he has to admit that some songs from musicals are on his playlist. Akito sighs and decides that it couldn’t hurt to get musical inspiration from it, even if hip-hop and theater music are wildly different.

 

Akito: yk what sure. only cuz im interested in the kind of music they put on there

 

Toybox: That’s wonderful to hear! Thank you! I’m sure you’ll enjoy it, their songs are amazing.

 

Akito was sure Toya had stars in his eyes while he typed that, and he rolled his own. Fondly of course. However, this got Akito thinking, what kind of show is it? What should he wear? He’s sure if he wore his typical outfits he’d stand out like a sore thumb, similar to how if Tsukasa went to one of his shows he would. 

 

The two continued texting, Akito getting more details about where everything was, since he had never been to the Wonder Stage. Talking about it reminded him of the fact he had followed their account, and he immediately rushed to open their page; he needed to see if they posted pictures of the audience. He can't be caught going to one of these shows! 

 

Scrolling through the account, he saw multiple pictures of the group together, behind the scenes stuff, pictures of Tsukasa sewing, pictures of Kamishiro working on various robots, and more. Thankfully, he only ever saw pictures of the audience during closing night, and the show he was attending was not closing. If he lingered longer on pictures of Tsukasa, he refused to acknowledge it. If he focused on only Tsukasa when he was in pictures, again, he didn’t think much of it.

As he suspected, he did kind of stand out when he looked around at the outfits of everybody in the audience, but he didn’t care; he wasn’t going to change himself for a show. Toya had mentioned to them that they had reserved seats at the front, to which Kohane gasped excitedly, and the color drained from Akito’s face. He was planning on staying in the back, so he could be easily ignored! 

 

He decided to suck it up, he didn’t want to ruin the other two’s mood, they were clearly excited. They led him to the Wonder Stage and he was surprised at how big it really was; The pictures really didn’t do it justice, he thought it was tiny. It was decorated nicely, there were plants hanging everywhere making him wonder once more what the play was about. 

 

Walking to the front, they noticed three seats in the middle that had bright yellow papers on them with the word ‘reserved’ in big sharpie. Underneath it was a drawing of all of the members in their costumes for the show, he assumes. 

 

Kohane giggled and took off the paper for her seat, “Probably drawn by Emu, she’s creative like this.” Toya nodded in agreement while Akito looked around, the place was packed. And for just a regular night, not closing or opening! He sat down in the middle of the two and idly chatted with them while waiting for the show to begin. 

 

At some point, the curtains ruffled, and a girl with pink hair peeked out, poorly covering herself. She made eye contact with the three of them and let out a squeal before closing the curtains again. “That was Emu, she’s probably off to tell the rest of them that you actually showed up, Akito.” Kohane let out a quiet giggle and smiled at him, whereas Akito groaned and slouched. 

 

Suddenly the lights dimmed, and they heard Kamishiro’s velvety smooth voice through the speakers, asking them to be quiet, keep their phones off, and all of the other theater etiquette. The curtains opened to show a beautifully painted forest background and multiple props surrounding a figure sitting on the ground. As the spotlight finally settled on the figure, he realized it was Tsukasa, who was in an outfit that looked like it belonged to someone of royalty. His hair was in a different style than usual, it was put into a middle part and was wavy. It looked like he had extensions put in, as his hair was in a ponytail. Not extremely long however, as it only went down his neck. 

 

As the play progressed he realized that the plot was a prince who was next in line to take the throne of a kingdom he didn’t want to be a part of. He meets a rebellious girl from the outskirts of the kingdom and becomes her friend. Together, they meet a witch and wizard who have a bad history with the King, and are willing to get the prince out of the King’s grasp. They spend the play pulling tricks on the King, getting the citizens of the kingdom to grow a disliking for him, and eventually fake the prince’s death so he’s able to run away and spend his life with the three of them.

 

In Akito’s opinion, the play was actually very good; it kept his attention, the costumes were well put together, and the music wasn’t half bad. He even recognized two of the costumes because of the one time Tsukasa showed him his sketches. The only thing he disliked is the familiar feeling he got whenever Tsukasa was on the stage, which was basically the entire time. The familiar feeling was the butterflies in his stomach, the rise in heat to his cheeks, and the feeling of his throat closing. He knew exactly what it was, and it only grew worse when Tsukasa finally made eye contact with Akito and winked. He fucking winked. After that, it felt almost difficult to breathe for a bit, and a feeling of dread was sitting in his stomach the entire time. He knew exactly what was happening to him, but refused to believe it.

 

Akito started fidgeting in his seat, he was feeling the wrong type of anxious and that fucking feeling won’t go away. He refuses to say its name. He hasn’t had one of those since eighth grade, and he absolutely cannot feel that towards Tsukasa. The end of the play was nearing, which he was incredibly grateful for, he couldn't stand another minute of staring at Tsukasa and his absolutely stunning face. He couldn’t fucking stand it. He looked so happy up there, it was blinding to look at someone who shone that much. And to make it worse, everytime he was close to that Kamishiro guy, he felt another familiar pang of something he did not want to be feeling.

 

It was jealousy.

 

Akito was jealous of Rui Kamishiro. Only because he was near Tsukasa and Akito wasn’t.

 

Toya could tell something was up with his partner, he kept giving Akito worried side glances, but brushed it off to him having to sit in one place for too long. As the play ended and they all said their thanks and bows, Akito practically shot up from his seat when he saw other people doing the same. Toya let out a chuckle, “That was too long for you to sit still, huh?” Akito looked at him, his face a strange pink color that Toya hardly ever saw on him. It confused him, but maybe he was just warm from all of those layers. 

 

Akito gulped and sucked in a huge breath of air. Everything was warm, even though it was evening and the air had a chill to it. “Uh, yeah, sitting for two hours isn’t something I excel in.” He tried to joke with them, but his voice shook at the end. “Anyways, can we get out of-?”

 

He was cut off by Kohane waving her hand at them and pointing, “Look! They’re coming out to greet us!”

 

At that, Akito’s mouth went dry again, he absolutely could not face Tsukasa. His palms felt sweaty, and he cursed whatever higher being that was up there for making him feel all of the terrible things about crushes all at the same time.

 

“My top three biggest fans! All in one place to watch a show we put on! Oh, I could almost cry from happiness!!...” Tsukasa exclaimed, his voice booming and wiping fake happy tears from his eyes. The green haired girl, Kusanagi, Toya’s gaming friend, was strangely enough hiding behind Otori, who seemed to be shaking in excitement. 

 

Suddenly, said girl rushed at him grabbing his arm, “Shinonome-kun, Shinonome-kun! I’ve heard soooo much about you!! I’m so happy I finally get to meet you!” Now that her barrier was gone, Kusanagi looked frightened, as well as surprised at what Otori was doing.

 

“Huh?! Otori-chan?” Although he was surprised by her outburst, he’s honestly thankful for the distraction from his senpai.

 

“Tsukasa-kun talks about you soo much, you seem like such a wonderhoy person! Did you like our play?! Did you like the-” She was suddenly pulled off his arm by Kusanagi, who gave him a very embarrassed smile and a quiet ‘sorry’

 

“Hahh?! Emu, I-I do not!!” Tsukasa looked at her with wide eyes, his voice getting impossibly louder and more shrill. The two started bickering with each other, Tsukasa giving Akito and the two others embarrassed looks.

 

“Fufu, don’t mind them, you three.” Kamishiro spoke up, thankfully relieving the tension that apparently only Akito was feeling. “Anywho, did you guys enjoy the play? We were all ecstatic hearing you would be attending, Shinonome-kun.” He gave Akito a smile, and Kusanagi fiddled with her hands, but nodded nonetheless. 

 

Kohane smiled back at him, “Oh yes, we loved it! Thank you so much for giving us reserved seats, that really made the experience better!” Toya gave his agreements as well. 

 

“The music was amazing, as usual, even Akito here said he enjoyed it.” Toya nudged his arm, giving him a small smile.

 

Akito decided to be polite, even though he’d much rather be running and screaming into his pillow right now. “Yeah.. it was much better than I thought it would be, honestly.” He scratched the back of his neck, embarrassed at giving them compliments. 

 

Kohane and Kamishiro continued to talk, and Kusanagi moved to be closer to Toya, probably already talking about whatever new game that came out that the two could enjoy. Tsukasa and Otori stopped their bickering, Tsukasa turning to him. 

 

Akito stopped cursing the higher being and decided to beg instead, he really did not want to face Tsukasa at the moment.

 

His pleas were ignored, the absolutely disgusting and shameful feeling of butterflies in his stomach were back, and now that he could finally see the man up close in his new outfit and hairstyle, he had no idea how to act. 

 

“Hah, Senpai… Your hair looks stupid.” Maybe that wasn’t the best thing to say, as Tsukasa looked at him surprised. Akito gave him a smirk, hoping that he would get the hint. 

 

“Oh you-! ... That is no way to talk to the next world's future star! Much less your senior!” Tsukasa gave him an annoyed huff, but smiled as well, realizing he was joking. 

 

Akito blushed way too much at just a simple smile, and he really hoped it wasn’t obvious in the now setting sun. His breath caught in his throat, realizing that it was golden hour, the sun was shining on Tsukasa’s face in a way that accentuated all of his attractive features. He truly looked like a star under this lighting, and Akito couldn’t get enough of it. Tsukasa was rambling about something, which Akito should probably be listening to, but at that moment he held up his hands to block his eyes from the sun and Akito wanted nothing more than to grab his waist and hug him, kiss him, tell him how beautiful he was in this lighting, and how much he looked like a real star.

 

His own thoughts scared him. They scared the shit out of him. He could feel his throat dry up, but alongside that he could feel a lump start to form. He was so ashamed of himself, he shouldn’t think about his male friend like this. He’s disgusting for thinking these thoughts about a boy; Especially a boy as amazing as this world future star in front of him. The familiar feeling of the lump in his throat scared him, and he damn nearly ran away when he felt the need to hold back tears.

 

Oh my fucking God, I need to leave.

 

“I’m sorry, Tsukasa, I need to go- It’s.. it’s getting la- ..” He cleared his throat when he heard it getting shaky,”...late. My parents will be worried. Um, Goodbye.” With that, he turned around and speed walked out of the small seating area, and once he was gone from their sight, he ran. 

 

Toya, who had been watching Akito like a hawk since the end of the play, was genuinely taken aback at what he saw. What on Earth did Tsukasa say to him? He could read his partner like a book most of the time, and he could easily see that his poor friend was near tears. However, it didn’t look like Tsukasa had said anything bad, as he turned around and made eye contact with Toya; he had almost a mirror image of his face. 

 

Nene tugged on his sleeve, “Did you see that too?” She sounded genuinely confused and concerned. While she has only just now met the guy, he looked seriously distraught, and he didn’t seem like the type to show his emotions so clearly. Toya nodded at her and Tsukasa walked over to the two. 

 

“Tsukasa, what did you say to Akito?...”

 

“I didn’t say anything bad! I was talking about the outfits I had made for the show, since he already saw the sketches and I know he’s into fashion. I didn’t say a single bad thing, I promise!” Tsukasa looked just as worried as Toya, and while he knows he would never do anything to harm Tsukasa, he would certainly see him differently if Tsukasa ever did anything to hurt his partner. Tsukasa didn’t want that. 

 

The three were certainly confused, but Toya said that he’ll talk to Akito about it later; when Akito seems to be in a better state. Kohane and Toya bid their farewells, and walked home together. Toya decided to leave out the part about Akito, he figured he wouldn’t appreciate Toya telling other people about what he saw. 

Chapter 5

Summary:

quality time with mother meiko we love to see it

Akito ran and ran and ran until he couldn’t anymore, which was for a long time due to his daily 5 AM runs. His throat was now dry for a different reason, which he was thankful for, since the worst of his feelings had gone away. Of course they were still in his mind, but now the feeling of needing to cry had gone, so he could deal with it. 

 

Realizing he had run past his house, he started walking the other way, and on his walk, he wondered how this had all started, and how on Earth he’s going to deal with it. Every time he’s had a crush it was easy, since he’s always had crushes on girls, pretty girls that everyone expects a boy like him to have a crush on. Opening the door to his house, he didn’t bother announcing he was home, he took off his shoes and ran immediately upstairs to his bedroom. At once, he flopped onto his bed, and screamed for as long as he could’ve into his pillow. 

 

He was certain that Monday would be awkward, and he was sure Tsukasa was going to blabber to Toya with his loud mouth. He fucking hated Tsukasa and his loud mouth. In fact, Akito hated everything about him; his hair, his skill in a billion fucking hobbies, his face, his dumb bright clothes, his smile, and his stupid ego that gives him the confidence and pride of an olympic champion. Out of all the people to develop a crush on, it had to be him. His anger turned to guilt, shame, and disgust as he realized all of the things he named are things he likes so dearly about Tsukasa. 

 

His phone pinged, and hoping for a distraction, he immediately opened it, not bothering to see who or what it was from. As the screen loaded and he was immediately brought face to face with Wonder Stage’s social media page, he nearly exploded when the first thing he saw was him. Of course the notification is a picture of him, looking so very happy to be putting on his makeup for the show that Akito was just at, he assumes. As the familiar feeling grew stronger and stronger the more he swiped, just to see more pictures of Tsukasa and his group, the more disgusted Akito felt. His chest started to heave, and he felt as though he couldn’t get enough air. He tossed his phone on the floor, making a loud thunk that Ena surely heard, but he couldn’t give less of a shit. He rolled over on his side and curled in a tight ball, fighting back tears and a light blush once again.

 

He covered his mouth to not let out sobs as he wondered what was wrong with him, why he felt so disgusting for feeling this way, why he was feeling this way in the first place for a boy. Why he was feeling this was for Tsukasa Tenma, world future star. Closing his eyes tightly and taking deep breaths, he calmed himself down enough to think rationally. 

 

I need… to talk to somebody.

 

Akito’s eyes flew open as he scrambled for his phone, wincing at the still open picture and immediately opening his music app, playing the song he’s certainly played way too much. 

“Hah! I’m gonna draw something wayyy bigger and better than you, Rin! Something that even KAITO is going to care about!” Len stuck his tongue out, shaking the can of spray paint he was holding as he ran to find a bare wall.

 

“Nuh uh! I am! And then KAITO is gonna laugh at how pitiful yours looks next to mine!” 

 

Len grinned at the typical banter him and his counterpart had, it was always fun to tease each other. However, his thoughts were stopped short, and he came to an abrupt stop when he saw what the walls were covered with.

 

“Why’d you stop, slowpoke?- Eh?!” Rin gazed at the walls surrounding them, they were covered head to toe in spray painted orange and yellow stars, pink and red hearts filling in the places where they weren’t already taking up. The two identical vocaloids looked at each other, and then back at the wall, and each other again. 

 

“What on earth?! There’s no room for me to paint, what did you do Rin! You know we’re supposed to share!” Len glared at her, angry that she would take up all of the space. And by all of it, he means all of it. There wasn’t a foot of space that wasn’t inhabited by stars and hearts.

 

“Me?! You think I did this?” Rin looked at her counterpart incredulously, insulted that he thinks she would be so selfish, “I haven’t left your side since the day we appeared here! When would I be able to cover this much space in such little time?!” She wasn’t wrong, the two were basically attached at the hip. Even when they are separated for a little, it’s not more than 10 minutes, and that is not nearly enough time to cover this much surface area in spray paint. 

 

The two analyzed the walls more, walking to see just how far it stretches on. Taking note of the colors, the shapes, the size, everything, they had a slight idea who it could be that brought the paint there. However, they shared the same thought as they finally came to an empty area of wall; Akito doesn’t like stars, and he’s not in love with anybody. The two looked at each other and shrugged. They wanted to ask about it, but they also wanted to paint, so they decided on the latter. 

 

“Hey, when we’re done, wanna race back to MEIKO? Whoever gets there first gets to spill everything and show her.” Len smirked at his gender-bent, already knowing what the answer was. Rin smirked back at him and popped the cap off of her can.

 

“You’re on.”

MEIKO was taking a break from tending to her cafe, she decided as she poured herself a glass of wine and made her way over to the CD’s. It was always fun looking through the new additions that the teens’ feelings have created, and she’s been in an especially good mood since the bugs stopped showing up. Sitting on the ground and sipping from her glass, she felt a sense of pride in Akito, she knows it’s difficult to start liking somebody you hate. 

 

As she shuffled through the new CDs, she put the ones she didn’t recognize to the side, and organized the rest. There were three new additions, and she was excited to listen to them. She analyzed the covers of all of them, and decided on putting in the one with a white and gray color scheme. Unfortunately, the names and cover art don’t show up until after the CD is listened to, so she has no idea what kind of song is going to play until it’s playing. 

 

Popping it into the cassette player on the bar counter she leaned back and listened to the slow, melancholic melody. As the lyrics started coming in, she realized about half-way in that this song was a love song! She honestly was surprised, there has only been about two other love songs to show up here, and their lyrics were… not appropriate. She remembers having to call all of them to the Cafe so they could listen to the songs and give the teens “the talk”. She never found out who they came from, as they were all equally as embarrassed, and frankly she doesn’t want to. Ever since that day, she hasn’t opened Ifuudoudou or PaIII. Sensation again, despite them being good songs.

 

As she listened to the lyrics more closely, she was relieved to not hear any inappropriate lyrics, but an odd feeling struck her as she realized it was a sad love song. It wasn’t a breakup song, but more one about unrequited love and feeling ashamed of holding feelings for someone. She took another sip of her glass and furrowed her brows in concern. This is certainly not something she wants to hear coming from one of the kids' feelings! 

 

When the song finished, she looked at the cover art and sighed sadly; It was a picture of a stone angel crying into their arms, the name was “Solitude”.

 

Putting the CD back in its case, she moved onto the next song, and realized that this one was also a love song. However, this one didn’t seem as sad as the last one, it focused more on the happy, excited feeling of having a crush on somebody. The lyrics and melody were far more upbeat, more something that the group would produce. Perhaps this is something she can show them, as they’ve used songs that have been created here before. The song comes to an end and she sees the cover art slowly appear, happier to see that it's not something sad; it’s jellybeans and the name of the song above them, “Crush”.

 

She snorted and finished off her glass. Ironic. And very straight to the point.

 

MEIKO puts the CD back in its case and goes to get another glass of wine when the door suddenly opens- very harshly at that. She looks up and nearly drops the bottle at the sight in front of her; Akito looks terrible, his hair was a mess, his cheeks were flushed, and his brows were furrowed in a look of sadness. 

 

His quiet, timid voice didn’t sound any better than he looked, “MEIKO… Can I talk to you please? Maybe alone?”

 

MEIKO nodded quickly, “Of course, dear, take a seat anywhere!” She rushed to turn the ‘open’ sign to ‘closed’, hoping the rest of the vocaloids would take a hint. She turned back around to see Akito slouching at the bar counter, and walked back over to him, “Is this a situation that calls for free pancakes?” She smiled, trying to make him feel better. 

 

He glanced up at her gratefully and nodded, still choosing to stay silent as he laid his head on his hand. She quickly got to work on pulling out all of the ingredients and mixing them together; thankfully everything needed to make pancakes was close and easily accessible since Akito orders them so much.

While she worked on the batter, Akito stayed silent. He seemed to be thinking pretty hard, if him biting his lip and bouncing his leg was anything to go by. MEIKO decided to not push the boy for answers, instead waiting for him to open up on his own. She hummed the tune to Solitude as she poured the batter on the griddle. She made sure to put extra chocolate chips in them as they cooked. Akito continued to stay silent as she worked, still deep in thought. 

 

MEIKO got more worried as more time dragged on with Akito saying nothing. Carefully stacking the two pancakes on top of each other, putting extra whipped cream and syrup, even adding bananas and a cherry on top, she pushed the plate of the delicious pancakes over the counter. 

 

“Here you go, honey, enjoy.” She smiled at the teen, but it quickly vanished as he made no move to pick up the fork. Rather, his bottom lip trembled and he shut his eyes tightly. She quickly ran to the other side of the counter, pulling up a chair next to him, and putting her arms around him. “Shhh, it’s okay, my dear, let it all out. You’re safe with me.”

 

Akito finally let the tears that had been building up since the end of the play out as he sobbed into MEIKO’s neck and tightly hugged her. He knew his face was extremely red, but this time from crying. The lump in his throat grew and he swallowed his now thick saliva as more tears came out of him.

 

“I-I’m… I’m absolutely fucking disgusting.”

 

MEIKO was shocked at his first words, and started petting his hair. “No, no you’re not Akito, what could ever make you think that?” 

 

He tightly gripped her red leather jacket as his sobs grew louder, he was teetering on the edge of wailing at this point. “I have a… Argh! I have a crush… and it’s a fucking boy!” He brought his hand to his face to wipe away the never ending tears, but MEIKO was already there, doing that for him. 

 

“What makes you think you’re disgusting for that?”

 

MEIKO’s words hit him like a truck. He wasn’t homophobic, far from it. Toya was bisexual, he loved him to death. An was in a relationship with that idol friend from her childhood, Kiritani Haruka, and his own sister was gay. He can’t be homophobic, he cares about all of them and loves all of them from the bottom of his heart, even An. He expressed as such to MEIKO.

 

“So…” MEIKO encouraged him to continue his small speech.

 

“It’s just… dif-.. different when it’s… m-me.” His reasoning sounded pathetic, even to his own ears. He swallowed more of his saliva and could feel snot running down his nose now, but MEIKO wiped it all away with a napkin. 

 

“I see. There’s no issue when other people are gay, but when it's you, you feel like It's a different situation. So you feel ashamed?... Less like a real man?” 

 

Akito felt like someone just stabbed him in his heart. MEIKO got it perfectly, and Akito knew that it was stupid to feel such a way. He had no control over the thoughts that have been engraved into his head since a young age, growing up with homophobic teammates and a… not homophobic, but not accepting father. His logic is that it’s okay for women to be gay, but not for men. When men are gay, it’s shameful and should be looked down upon. He always knew this way of thinking was wrong, and his sister and him bonded over making fun of their dad for this. One of the first times they got along was when they mocked their father for speaking those thoughts out loud. He never expected that they would subconsciously be engraved into his head, though. Again, he expressed all of this to MEIKO, who listened intently. 

 

“Perhaps they’re not.” Akito looked up at her when she said this, tears still coming down, but at a lesser pace. 

 

“W-what?”

 

“They’re not engraved into your head, since you clearly don’t agree with him. His words are just influencing you, especially now that you find yourself to be one of the people your father would speak down on. You never wanted to disappoint him, correct?” Akito nodded at this, both him and his sister were deathly afraid of upsetting their father when they were younger, and to an extent, they still are.

 

 “Well, since you don’t want to upset your father, you refuse to accept the fact that you’re part of the group of people he used to speak down on.” 

 

Akito gulped, leaning his head on her shoulder again, nodding at everything she was saying, realizing she was right.

 

“I want you to know that you’re not disgusting, or shameful, or less than, or anything else your father put in your head. You’re one of the most passionate, caring, and understanding people I’ve met, my dear, you could never be any of those things your father called gay men. I know you don’t believe me, but I can see right through you, and I see how much you care for others. The fact you’re so distraught over this boy is proof of that.” MEIKO continued to stroke his hair, cooing more comforting words to the teen until he stopped shaking. 

 

Akito’s own thoughts were conflicting with each other, it was like a civil war inside of his head. On one hand, he believed what MEIKO was telling him, but on the other, he couldn’t let go of the thoughts he’s been conditioned to think. He sighed deeply and finally lifted his head from her shoulder, realizing how drenched the jacket was. This made him laugh, but apologize nonetheless. 

 

He sniffled, blinking the dryness from his eyes one last time. He knew they were bloodshot, but he didnt care. “Thank you, MEIKO… Thank you so much. Your words mean so much to me.” He let out a quiet laugh, “If someone didn’t know the context of who we were, they’d surely think you were my mother. You even kinda look like my sister.” 

 

MEIKO smiled wide at his words, glad that she was able to help him, and glad that she could ever possibly be seen as a mother figure. She wanted to hug him and give him a kiss on his forehead like a real mother would, but decided against it. “I’m glad I could be of help, honey. If you ever need me again, do not hesitate!” 

 

Akito smiled once more, a real genuine smile, and looked back at his cold pancakes, the whipped cream melted by now. He picked up the fork and knife, not caring if they were cold or not, he liked pancakes at any temperature. MEIKO rubbed his back one more time before going back behind the counter to clean up. 

 

The question hung in the silent air, they both could feel it. It was MEIKO who broke the barrier though.

 

“So, Tsukasa?”

 

Akito choked on his pancakes as MEIKO giggled at him. He was flabbergasted, but swallowed before asking, “How did you… I didn’t say a single word!!” His eyes were wide like saucers, and his pupils were blown as well. She only smiled.

 

“Well, for one, the bugs are gone…” Akito had to hold himself back from slamming his head on the bar, forgetting completely about the bugs. The reason he decided to pursue Tsukasa anyways.

 

“The love songs could also be an indicator.” 

 

Akito nearly fell off the tall chair after hearing that his feelings created love songs! Multiple of them! 

 

“Hah? Love songs? Plural!?” Akito couldn’t believe his ears, he didn’t know if he wanted to listen to them or not. MEIKO only giggled as she reached for the two CDs she was listening to earlier. As Akito inspected them, he grimaced after realizing one was a sad love song, and that MEIKO had listened to it. She practically heard his feelings before he told her. 

 

As for the other one, it looked way too sweet. Literally and not literally. He was about to ask her to play them when the door slammed open. MEIKO was once again startled, reminded of the first time it happened today.

 

“MEIKO you have GOT-”

“MEIKO look at what we-”

 

The two DJs started and finished their sentences at the same time, glaring at each other.

 

“I clearly got here first!”

“No, I did!”

 

MEIKO rolled her eyes. “Can neither of you read? The sign says "closed!” She pointed at the sign next to the door. The two looked guilty but continued anyways.

 

“That doesn’t matter, we found a bunch of new paint on the walls!”
“Orange and yellow stars! Surrounded by hearts!”

The two finished each other's sentences, before exclaiming in sync, “They’re seriously everywhere!”

 

Akito flushed after hearing the description of the design, feeling certain that he was the cause of it. Orange and yellow, stars and hearts; Who else could it be? He put his head in his hands after feeling the butterflies come back, but was surprised to not feel ashamed. He just felt butterflies. Huh. 

 

MEIKO only glanced at him with a smile and walked over to the two, who were clearly excited to show her the totally crazy stuff they found. However, before she walked outside, she turned to Akito.

 

“You should go home, dear, it’s getting late.”

 

He looked up and then at the clock. 10 pm! He scrambled to find his phone and stop playing the song, and waved to the three vocaloids before going back to his room in the real world. MEIKO had a certain look on her face that the other two couldn’t make out, but brushed it off and excitedly dragged her to the alley where the stars and hearts were, the hearts starting to fill in more places than the stars. 

Notes:

btdubs the songs were solitude by evanescence and crush by bella poarch ahahjahahah

guys I don't really like bella poarch but why are her songs low-key bangers i cant. first it was inferno, then it was dolls, and now its crush. what's next ma'am. is it peak?. i bet it is.

Chapter 6

Summary:

they get gayer oh god I hate them so much

Toya bounced his leg nervously as he sat on the benches in front of Kamiyama High, waiting for Akito nervously. He had contemplated calling him the night of the play, but decided he would probably go to bed early. He went through the same cycle on Sunday night, but thought that he should save it for Monday when he could see the boy in person. Akito always gets to school early because of his 5 AM run, so he knew they would have time to talk before school started. 

 

Just as he was deep in his thoughts, a pair of sneakers and an untucked button up were in front of him, and he looked up to see Akito looking at him confusedly. “Ah! Akito! I’m glad you’re here early, I wanted to talk to you.” 

 

Akito closed his eyes and sighed, of course Tsukasa would tell Toya about his little outburst. Nonetheless, he sat down next to Toya and looked at him expectantly. 

 

Toya bit his lip, looking for the right words. “Well, on Saturday, I couldn’t help but observe you and Tsukasa as you two were talking- I mean, it’s not often I get to see my partner and my beloved senior getting along.” Toya smiled as he said that, “But I noticed you looked a little distressed I should say? I just wanted to ask what happened that made you run out so suddenly, you had a strange look on your face.” Toya tilted his head as he waited for Akito’s answer. 

 

Oh. So Tsukasa didn’t say anything, Toya is just nosy. Got it. Akito slouched and put his head in his hands, murmuring something unintelligible before sitting up straight again and looking at Toya directly in his eyes. “Toya, I’m… I think I- or no, I know I’m…” Akito huffed, brows furrowing as he tried to find a way to say this. “I guess I’ll say, um... I’m not as into girls as I thought I was…” Akito quickly shrunk back and looked away from Toya, covering one of his cheeks with his hand. He prayed that Toya got the hint so he didn’t have to say it out loud. Yes, he technically said he liked a boy to MEIKO, but he never outright said, ‘Hey, I like Tsukasa Tenma!’, so it doesn’t count. 

 

Toya raised his eyebrows and smiled, “Okay? That’s fine, Akito, you know I’m bisexual.” Akito sighed in relief, his partner wasn’t as oblivious as he thought! “But that doesn’t explain your reaction. You looked near tears on Saturday.” He groaned, apparently he spoke too soon. 

 

“Ugh, Toya, you’re great, dude, but you’re so oblivious.” Akito laughed into his palms. “I’m feeling this way because of Tsukasa-Senpai… is what I’m trying to say.” Toya’s eyes widened and he actually leaned back at this, “I… had that look on Saturday because, well, I was- I was going through a bit of a mental crisis. I- uh… didn’t want to accept the fact I liked boys, or that I was even into Tsukasa- Argh, this feeling shit isn’t for me dude!…” 

 

Akito knew he was red and slumped into the crook of his elbow, the familiar feeling returning to his stomach. “I guess… I just learned to accept it over the weekend. So, um, I’m no longer crying whenever I look at Tsukasa, on the bright side..” Akito mumbled weakly, scared of his partner's response. Was he going to think it’s weird Akito likes someone he sees as a brother figure?

 

Toya was shocked to say the least, Akito went from hating Tsukasa to having a small crush on him in, what, a week? He knew Akito fell for people quickly, but he never expected such a thing to happen to somebody he knew Akito hated! Regardless, the biggest grin grew on Toya’s face, he was overjoyed that he was no longer spouting hateful words towards their senior.

 

“That’s… amazing Akito!” 

 

Akito jumped a bit. That was not the reaction he was expecting, to put it lightly, he sat up and looked at his partner with a confused face.

 

“Admittedly, when I asked for you to start being nicer to Tsukasa and form a bond that was better than one-sided-rivalry, I didn’t expect this to be the outcome. That doesn’t matter though, because now my two favorite people are getting along.” The smile that was on Toya’s face immediately calmed any nerves that Akito had when spilling this information. Toya must be an angel, Akito concludes.

 

 “I’m proud of you for being able to tell me this.. and to accept your own feelings. I know it must be rough to find out you’re not straight so late in life, but I can assure you that nobody will judge you for it, or see you as less than.” Akito thought he was gonna have a part two of what happened with MEIKO, but he told himself he was not going to cry on Toya’s shoulder and ruin his perfectly ironed blazer. 

 

Akito gave his best friend a genuine smile, his eyes wrinkling from it. “Thank you, Toya… sorry it had to be the person you see as a brother that makes me realize I like d-” 

 

Thankfully for Toya, the bell cut off whatever Akito was going to say. He knew exactly what he was going to say.

 

“Please don’t finish that sentence. I’d rather not think about that…” Akito lets out a fit of laughs, bordering on cackling. Toya shakes his head, trying to erase that vision. “But other than that, I don’t mind you dating Tsukasa, I think you two can be good for each other.” Toya puts a hand on Akito’s shoulder and picks up the still laughing man by his collar, borderline dragging him to class as he continues giggling. 

Tsukasa practically bolted from his class as soon as the bell rang for two reasons. One, he had to tell Rui he was going to hang out with Akito again, and two, he has to face Akito! After what happened on Saturday! As he walks out of the third year building and towards Akito’s ‘secret’ spot - Totally not secret, it’s just so overgrown with bushes that people think it’s the end of the sidewalk - He almost wants to turn around and run to the rooftop to the safety of Rui, and instead of spending his lunch period staring at Akito, he can spend it ranting about him to a man who has access to drones, so they can spy on him and he can still look at him.

 

Actually that’s not a bad idea… 

 

Tsukasa abruptly stops and considers his safety option, before knocking himself out of it and saying he shouldn’t run from his problems. That’s not what stars do, they face the problem head on! With that, Tsukasa continues walking to where he knows Akito waits for him. Plus, he brought more cheesecake today, so it’s not like he can just not give it to Akito, that would bother him all day!

 

Finally, he reaches the bushes and pushes through the conveniently human shaped hole, probably put there by Akito. He takes a deep breath and tries to smile as naturally as he could at the figure lying down on the bench. Said figure puts his phone away and sits up at the sight of Tsukasa, giving him a small smile and patting the space next to him. He can sense the tension in the air, and desperately wants to get it over with. 

 

Tsukasa quickly takes a seat next to Akito and opens his mouth, but no words come out. He knows he probably looks stupid to his junior right now, but he couldn’t care, he’s trying to find the words to ask about what happened on Saturday when his thoughts were suddenly cut short. 

 

“Sorry about Saturday, um...” The ginger is looking at Tsukasa’s lap, noticing he's wearing the sweater that Akito slept on.

 

“That was kinda rude of me, I had kind of a… mental crisis. It’s nothing you need to worry about, Senpai.” He gulped, praying to the higher beings again that Tsukasa doesn’t press further, “To be honest I wasn’t listening to what you were saying at all before I ran off so… if it was something important, then, y’know, you should probably tell me now.”

 

Tsukasa sighed with relief, his shoulders feeling not so tense now; he thought he had said or done something during the play that had upset Akito or rubbed him the wrong way! “Ah! I’m glad- not at your mental crisis, that doesn’t sound good, but I was worried something happened during the play that had upset you, and I can’t have my favorite junior disliking our plays!” 

 

Akito wanted to chuckle at that, because something surely did happen. His gay awakening. Akito waved him off though and gave a small smile, “No, no, nothing happened. Just had a bit of a…” He coughed awkwardly, nothing seemed to describe his situation! “... I don’t know. Just somethin’.” He grimaced at his own words, he really has no idea how to talk to people he likes. 

 

Tsukasa let out a chuckle at that, “Well I heard the words ‘mental crisis’ earlier, wanna talk about it?” He turned his body towards Akito and looked at him with such concern, Akito almost wanted to spill his heart right then and there. He knew he couldn’t though, he’s far too scared and he doesn’t even know if Tsukasa likes guys.

 

Akito took a breath in and bit the inside of his cheek trying to find a way to tell the truth, but not all of it. “Well, I guess I was struggling a bit with, uh… finding myself, for the past couple of days.” He cringed at his own words, but continued on regardless, trying to seem relaxed and nonchalant. “Before your show I realized I wasn’t as straight as I thought I was for practically my entire life, and I guess it really caught up to me at the end of the night… I didn’t grow up in the most accepting home?” 

 

Fuck being relaxed and nonchalant, he was very chalant and very worried about Tsukasa’s reaction. He knows he shouldn’t be, Tsukasa is the most accepting person Akito knows, but what if he catches onto the fact that Akito wasn’t telling the full truth? Panic started to set in as Tsukasa gave no reaction except for a shocked face, and he started fidgeting with his sleeves. 

 

Tsukasa noticed this and immediately grabbed Akito’s hands, stopping his fidgeting, “Oh! I apologize, I didn’t mean to make you worry, Haha! I was simply surprised, I never expected you to be into guys as well.” Tsukasa looked guilty, “I’m glad you felt comfortable enough to tell me! It makes me so happy that my favorite kouhai feels so comfortable around me…!!” He wipes a fake tear, putting on his usual act as he brings Akito’s hands closer to his chest, unknowingly bringing them closer. 

 

Akito, on the other hand, thought that this was not a joking matter at all, his crush is holding his hand, bringing it to his chest, making them come closer to each other, and did he hear an ‘as well’ in his speech too?

 

Akito spluttered and spread out his hand on Tsukasa’s chest, “Did you say as well?!” Tsukasa stopped his antics and looked at Akito with a confused face.

 

“Yes?” Tsukasa narrowed his eyes, realizing that Akito thought he was straight. “Why, did you really think the theater kid that does poses in the halls, makes homemade costumes, and spends hours on skin care and hair care was straight? ” Tsukasa lets out a loud boisterous laugh, but it doesn’t seem like his usual cocky laugh, it sounds like a real laugh. 

 

Well, when he puts it like that then yeah, Akito felt a little silly for worrying if Tsukasa was gay. He should have known better, but he was more focused on the fact that the two were holding hands now, Tsukasa’s hand falling down as he was laughing, and moved to grip his own. Akito’s face was burning and he felt as though those cursed butterflies were going to come flying out of his throat any second.

“Yeah yeah, whatever! I was stupid for thinking you’re straight, no need to rub it in my face” Akito rolled his eyes and turned his head to the side, ignoring Tsukasa’s now dying down giggles. 

 

“I apologize, Akito-kun, I just haven’t been called straight in years! Quite the opposite, actually.” Tsukasa looks away as well, thinking back on the insults that were thrown at him in middle school. But he doesn’t have time to think about that, he has his delicious luncheon to share with his adorable junior! 

 

He goes to get his luncheon when he realizes his hand is holding Akito’s, and he freezes. Quickly taking his hand back, he leans down for his backpack, hoping the blush he feels on his face isn’t so obvious. He sighs, realizing that this totally small crush on Akito was going to get a million times worse, now knowing that he has a chance with the boy next to him. He’s going to have a field day ranting to his troupe, the vocaloids, and his sister about this. He almost added Toya to that list, but then he remembered that Toya was best friends with Akito, and decided it’s better if he doesn’t.

 

Clearing his throat, he opens his luncheon and presents it to Akito as if he were a messenger opening a very important scroll for his king. “As a celebration for you coming out to me, and for assuming I was straight, you may have anything you’d like out of my luncheon!” Tsukasa smirked proudly and lifted his chin. “All homemade, of course. Expect nothing less from yours truly!” 

 

Akito rolled his eyes and grabbed the cheesecake, as expected. “I knew you were going to give it to me regardless, there’s no need for the whole speech.” He takes a bite of the cheesecake, reminding him of the first time they were in this situation, and almost chuckling at how different the atmosphere was. Nonetheless, he found Tsukasa’s antics amusing, and that’s what surprised him the most. 

 

He thought to himself about how funny it was, how much love can change a person, before he widened his eyes at his own thoughts. He shouldn’t be ridiculous, it’s far too early to fall in love with the theater kid. He glanced to the side of him, watching as Tsukasa digs into his own food. He only likes the guy, maybe has a pretty harsh crush on him which is eating him alive, but love is a little too far. Tsukasa probably could never love Akito, much less like him, so the possibility of them ever dating is quite low. 

 

The more Akito pondered about it, the worse his mood got. Senpai probably likes his troupe mate, Kamishiro; he wouldn’t doubt it for a second, the two are practically made for each other. They balance each other out perfectly, and Tsukasa is basically one of the only people that can tolerate Kamishiro’s antics. Besides, what does Akito have that Kamishiro doesn’t? Akito can sing, dance, all that stuff, sure. Kamishiro can do all of that and more though. He’s seen how he sings, he’s seen how he dances, acts, the machines he’s built, the lengths he’s gone for his friends. He has an incredibly smooth voice, and dancing just seems natural to him, he was practically made for performing. 

 

Akito furrowed his brows, the only thing Akito has that Kamishiro doesn’t is a sense of style, but like that really matters in a relationship. The clothes you wear don’t affect anything, it’s your character and personality. While Kamishiro may be a lunatic, he can’t deny he’s a polite person that cares very deeply for those he loves, and his personality perfectly matches Tsukasa’s. The more he thought about it the more unsure he felt about his crush on Tsukasa. It wasn’t going away anytime soon, he knew that much, but he felt kind of stupid for having a crush on a man that was probably already crushing on somebody else. Who does that to themselves? 

 

Akito frowns and bites his inner cheek as he watches Tsukasa finish up his meal from the corner of his eye. Leaning back on the bench and letting his elbows rest on top, he settled for watching the birds hop from bush to bush, tree to tree. Thinking about negative thoughts like those may bring him a sense of self-pitying comfort, but he knew it wasn’t good for his mental health. He’s had plenty of conversations with Toya and MEIKO about his tendency to see the worst in every situation, and how important it is to change his mindset. 

 

He pushed those thoughts down to the deepest corner of his brain, leaning his head on his palm and watching Tsukasa put away his stuff, mumbling words Akito couldn’t make out. He knows he looks creepy, but he doesn’t care. He hasn’t had a crush in so long, he forgot how entertaining it was to just watch the person you like do whatever they wanted. Observing Tsukasa, he noticed that his ears were pierced, which was interesting, since he figures piercings are some of the first things you notice about someone. 

 

“Hey, Tsukasa,”

 

Tsukasa looked back at him, expecting the lunch period to just be spent in comfortable silence. “Hm?”

 

“Since when were your ears pierced?” 

 

Tsukasa chuckled at this, going to fiddle with the earring Akito was looking at. “Oh, very very young, around seven for me. My sister and I got them pierced in the same appointment. At first, I didn’t want to, but my sister wouldn’t go unless I got them pierced with her. I could tell how much she wanted them, so I just decided to be a good big brother and get them pierced with her!” He twisted the silver star earring some more, “I’m glad I ended up doing it though, I think picking out new earrings is fun, even if I do end up wearing the same one everyday anyways, haha..” He looked away with a guilty smile on his face.

 

Akito was surprised at the amount of love that was on Tsukasa’s face as he talked about his sister, he’s never seen anybody talk about their sibling with such a high regard. Well, other than Toya, but the three aren’t biological siblings. 

 

“You must really love your sister, I can practically see it dripping off of you.” Akito joked around with him, whereas Tsukasa gave him a serious nod.

 

“Of course I love my sister! She’s been with me since I was a baby, and I’ve been with her practically every second of her life. She helped me get through elementary and middle school, and I helped her when she was in the hospital. We’ve done so much for each other, I could never think of feeling anything but love and happiness for her.” He leaned back on the bench, facing Akito as he said this with a fond smile on his face. “Is it not the same for you?”

 

Akito let out a loud laugh at this, having to cover his mouth. “Me? Get along with Ena? Maybe in another universe. A universe trillions of kilometers away from this one.” He sighed and looked at Tsukasa as if he just asked him if the sky was blue or pink. He, however, was genuinely shocked to hear what Akito was saying, he’s never heard of siblings that don’t like each other!

 

“So you’re telling me you don’t like your sister?!”

 

“Tch. Please. Ena is a mythic bitch.” Akito rolled his eyes and Tsukasa gasped, “I love her, sure, but I don’t like her. She gets on my nerves constantly, and she stays up at ungodly hours in the morning with her stupid musical group, yelling at her friends about whatever. It doesn’t matter to me, all I care about is the fact I’m getting woken up 4 hours before I’m supposed to because she ‘accidentally drew on the wrong layer!!’” Akito pitched his voice up and flailed his hands around, trying to imitate his sister. This does get Tsukasa to giggle, admittedly, but he was still recovering from the shock he just faced! Siblings that don’t like each other, that was a new concept to him.

 

“I… Didn’t even know it was possible for siblings to dislike each other! And don’t call her the b word, Akito!” Tsukasa furrowed his brows and lightly punched him in the chest, flushing at the cocky smile Akito gave him.

 

“Well, learn something new everyday?” 

 

Tsukasa scoffed and folded his arms, leaning against the bench again. “I wish I didn’t. Honestly, I’d like to see how you two act with each other, because I just can’t envision it myself.”

 

Now it was Akito’s turn to scoff, “Could be because you’ve never seen or met her before, and trust me, you don’t want to. She cakes her makeup on in a horrible way and then convinces herself it looks good and posts a billion photos that I have to see later! And all of her friends and followers hype her up in her comments! It’s like it’s a battlefield, except it’s only me against her herd of brainwashed teenage girls.” Tsukasa lets out a loud laugh at the imagery that pops into his head.

 

“Then when I comment the obvious, that it looks terrible, her army gets all pissed at me and Ena tells me to block her.” He rolls his eyes, “Like, damn bitch, trying to be real with you.” Tsukasa punched him again, this time slightly harder, at the mention of the bad word. 

 

The two continued with their friendly banter, the feelings between the two of them growing by the minute, and neither of them having any clue that the other feels exactly what the person across from them feels. If anyone else were to walk in on their secret spot, they would see two idiots that don’t even know they’re both scotting closer to the other every time they laugh. Their knees touched a while ago, and while both of them were very aware of it, neither of them made an effort to move. In fact, their scotting just continued, and by the time the bell rang, their calves were intertwined with each other. The bell startled both of them since they were both too engrossed in their conversation to notice. 

 

Tsukasa was the first to stand, holding out his hand for Akito to take. He does, not without the hoard of butterflies in his stomach practically begging to be released as if Tsukasa’s hand is their only source of life. If he really thinks about it, it probably is.

 

“Thank you for spending lunch with me again! And… Thank you for trusting me enough to tell me your feelings.” Tsukasa put his hand on his chest as if what he just said didn’t sound like Akito confessed to him. As if Akito wasn’t already flustered at the fact they were still holding hands, Tsukasa pulled him into a tight hug, resting his head on Akito’s shoulder. “I’m so happy my junior finally likes me!”

 

Akito spluttered and froze, does this guy have any idea the kind of effect he has on Akito? Either way, Akito thinks it’ll be more awkward if he does nothing, so he tentatively wraps his arms around Tsukasa’s shoulders, feeling as if he moves too quickly, Tsukasa would be broken from this trance and that Akito would lose the hug. Feeling a little more bold, he leaned his head against Tsukasa’s and he heard his breath hitch in his ear. 

 

He had no time to ponder it though, as he was sure Tsukasa felt his heart beating right on his chest. He was surprised it wasn’t shaking Tsukasa with how fast it was beating, and how close he was to his chest. Akito felt like he was on cloud nine with the amount of physical touch that he was getting from the man in his arms. Being touch starved and having a pathetic crush on a touchy person was a dangerous combination. 

 

Although it felt like the hug lasted forever, it likely only lasted for a couple of seconds before Tsukasa pulled away. He didn’t lose the physical touch he so desperately craved from him however, as Tsukasa grabbed his forearm and led him out of the place, yelling something about “class”. Whatever that was, the only thing on his mind at the moment was the gorgeous blonde that was now dragging him through the courtyard, the hold on Akito’s bicep strong. 

Chapter 7

Summary:

toya cant keep his mouth shut tbh

The two Tenma siblings sat at a booth at one of their favorite cafe’s, waiting for the two toned unofficial Tenma to show up. They were both early, so while they were looking through the menus for what to eat, Saki was interrogating her brother on the boy that has been in his mind for months. 

 

“Sakiii!! He’s so strong!!” Tsukasa was covering his face on her shoulder, whining about whatever came to mind about his ginger crush. “I got to hold his arm the other day, and…” He couldn’t finish his sentence, his brain going to mush. Saki giggled, she knew the feeling and she sympathized with her brother, teasing him along the way. 

 

“Have you told Toya about this?”

Tsukasa shot up from her shoulder, shaking his head vigorously. “No, no! Of course not! It’s not like I don’t trust him to keep my secret safe but…” Tsukasa looked back at the menu in front of him and chewed his lip nervously. “The two hang out everyday, and I heard from Akito that Toya mentions me a lot, so…” Saki looked at him and nodded slowly.

 

“I think now could be a great time to tell him.” Saki winked and then looked at the door, signaling that the man they were talking about just walked in.

 

Toya walked over to their booth and sat down across from them, “My apologies for being late, I hope I didn’t keep you waiting for too long.” Saki giggled, and Tsukasa felt something drop in his stomach at her tone.

 

“Oh don’t worry, Tsukasa kept both of us busy talking about his little crush~!” She had a mischievous smirk on her face as she said this, wiggling her fingers at Tsukasa at the end of her sentence. He immediately gave her a look of betrayal. His own sister, how dare she! She gave him a look in response that said, What, it’s not like I told him who! 

 

Toya’s eyebrows only raised at her teasing, this was certainly unexpected. He tilted his head, thinking of who he could possibly have a crush on. Neither of them were really close with many guys, and he knows Tsukasa doesn’t like girls, so that really narrows it down. “Is it your director, Rui?” 

 

Tsukasa now looked at Toya, but this time with a shell-shocked face and stuttered, not knowing what to say. Saki cackled at this, he couldn’t have been more off the mark.

“Rui?! Of course not! He’s my best friend and I cherish him deeply, but I don’t think I could ever hold romantic feelings for him.” Tsukasa shuddered, thinking of how much Rui wouldn’t hold back on torturing him with his inventions if they were dating. He’d really have no way out if that were the case.

 

Toya shook his head, and shared a look with Saki, they both knew that Tsukasa wasn’t friends with many guys, so the amount of guesses Toya had left were… pitiful. “Well, Tsukasa, you and I are only close with one other boy.” Toya let out a small smile as he saw Tsukasa freeze.

 

“Whaaat? No, I know plenty!” His lie was poorly executed and entirely unbelievable, if him looking to the side and stretching the collar of his sweater was anything to go by. It looked like something straight out of a cartoon, and was almost comical if he couldn’t tell how stressed Tsukasa was at the thought of Toya knowing who he liked. 

 

“It’s okay Tsukasa, you don’t need to worry about anything. I won’t tell him.” Toya gave him a reassuring smile, and Tsukasa visibly relaxed at his words. 

 

“And if someone says you have a higher chance than you thought, you didn’t hear it from me.” Toya looked down at the menu again, a sparkle in his eye. Nene was clearly starting to rub off on him. 

 

Saki gasped, putting her hands together and nearly shaking from excitement. She was already starting to plan their wedding in her head, the picture of her being the flower girl being the clearest of them all. 

 

Tsukasa only shook his head and smiled, “I already know he’s into men, he told me last Monday.” Toya raised his eyebrow at this, not thinking that his partner would tell Tsukasa that kind of information so quickly. 

 

“I wasn’t referring to that, Tsukasa.” 

 

Saki nearly fell out of the booth, her mangas could have never prepared her for this moment! Toya gave her a look and she calmed down, the two seemingly sharing a thought telepathically. Tsukasa only tilted his head and furrowed his brows. He looked between Saki and Toya and was about to ask what Toya meant when the waitress came over and cut him off. 

 

As she was leaving, he turned to ask him again, but he changed the topic too quickly. He narrowed his eyes at the man across from him, Toya knew something that he didn’t, and it seemed Saki knew as well. Was there something he was missing? He let the topic drop from the conversation for now, but he vowed to bring it up again at a later time.

The weekends were starting to feel longer to Akito, and he had no clue why. Weekends usually flew by incredibly quickly, why has it changed all of a sudden? Akito huffed, refusing to believe that he was slightly happy it was Monday… Maybe he should stop hanging out with Tsukasa if he’s starting to enjoy school.

 

That thought was immediately scratched from his mind, however, for multiple reasons. 1. He doesn’t enjoy school. 2. The only reason he thinks he enjoys school is Tsukasa. 3. If he stopped hanging out with Tsukasa, he thinks he might end up hating school more than he already does, and if he does then he’ll end up like Akiyama. He shuddered at that last thought, being like Akiyama would be like a living nightmare to him. The only thing they have going for them is their sense of fashion, which he can’t admit is bad. 

 

Some things never change though, because as soon as the bell rings, Akito bolts from the class. The only thing that changed about that though is his reasoning for getting out of class so early. Akito stops at his locker on the way to meet up with Tsukasa in their secret spot, wondering when he started to refer to it as theirs, and as he starts walking away, a head of dull green hair makes him stop in his tracks. Literally. 

 

Kusanagi holds out a shaky hand, signaling for Akito to stop, and he can tell she’s incredibly nervous to be doing so. Akito tilts his head in confusion, “Kusanagi? Is there anything you need?” She’s clearly anxious about having to talk to Akito, but she takes a deep breath and looks him in the eyes.

 

“I heard through the grapevine you have a crush on Tsukasa.” Akito jumped at her words and looked around frantically to see if anybody heard her, almost reaching out to cover her mouth. 

 

“Hah?! Who- Who told you that?” He led her away from the lockers and into a less populated area of the courtyard. 

 

“Oh you know, just the grapevine,” She shrugged and had a mischievous glint in her eyes, but quickly turned back to Akito with a more serious look. “Listen, Tsukasa can be… annoying… but I care about him.” Her voice started to shake and she took another deep breath, stepping closer to Akito and narrowing her eyes at him, “And I know how you can be two-faced. If you hurt Tsukasa, I’ll send Rui and his suspiciously large hoard of deadly drones after you.” 

 

For being a timid girl with such a quiet and nonthreatening voice, she can sure leave an impact on somebody. Akito nodded frantically, still trying to collect his thoughts. “Yeah- yeah of course… I wouldn’t want to hurt Tsukasa.” Kusanagi looked at him up and down before nodding, turning around to leave. “Wait! Kusanagi, who the hell told you about my crush on Tsukasa?!” 

 

She didn’t stop walking, and didn’t even turn around. “I told you. The grapevine.” She heard Akito’s groan and could tell he was clearly stressed, however. She paused in her steps and turned her head to the side, “I won’t tell anybody, if you’re worried, I know it’s not my business.” And with that, she continued walking. 

 

Akito didn’t trust Kusanagi still, but he had no choice but to accept her words and hope for the best. He groaned in annoyance before realizing that Tsukasa was probably waiting for him, and he speed walked his way over to the overgrown tiny area. Moving away the leaves as he walked in, he muttered his apologies to Tsukasa, who looked at him concerned.

 

“You don’t look too happy… were you held back by a teacher for not finishing your homework finally?” Tsukasa attempted to joke with him, patting the space next to him. 

 

Akito snorted and slumped down next to the blonde boy, “No, ‘course not. I finish my homework as the teacher is collecting it, so I almost never turn it in late… almost” He added with a nod. Tsukasa scoffed at him, obviously unhappy with his time management. “What held me back was your green haired theater friend Kusanagi.” Akito mumbled quietly, almost unintelligible. 

 

Tsukasa heard however, and his unhappiness turned to pure shock. “Nene? Held you back? She talked to somebody at school other than Toya?!” Tsukasa put his hands on his head and widened his eyes. He sounded almost proud of her! But Akito only scoffed. 

 

“Unfortunately, yes. Somebody told her something that she wasn’t supposed to know, that nobody was supposed to know, and she made it her mission to make it clear that she found out.” He only slumped further into his seat, but Tsukasa was taken aback. Ignoring how Akito’s words could be seen as rude, he found it difficult to believe Akito; that sounds completely out of character for Nene.

 

Tsukasa crossed his arms and gave Akito a look. “You’re being awfully vague and not telling me the full story. Nene would never do something like that just because!” Surprised at his defensive tone, Akito started sputtering, not knowing what to say. 

 

“Well, I mean, of course I’m not telling you the whole story! The point is she found out something she wasn’t supposed to and she told me about it…” Akito rolled his eyes and turned his head, there was no way he was telling Tsukasa about what she said. 

 

This only made Tsukasa more mad. “There’s no reason for you to be hiding something from me! If Nene knows, then why can’t I?!” He wasn’t necessarily mad that Akito wasn’t giving him more details, he’s just mad that he made Nene out to be the villain in his story when she could never be one. Especially not at school to somebody she hardly knows!

 

Akito ran his hands down his face and leaned onto his knees. “Yes, I can hide this from you, because this was something that nobody was supposed to know!... Except for maybe one or two people-” Akito gasped at his own words and immediately sat up straight. He was right, there are supposed to be only two people that know, and one of them is a fictional being that couldn’t possibly tell Kusanagi such information. The other, however, is close to Kusanagi.

 

Apparently too fucking close.

 

He stood up, his first reaction being anger, but then his face fell as he realized exactly what happened. The one real person he trusted with this information went and told somebody else, somebody who’s close to Tsukasa. Said man leaned forward and started snapping his fingers, calling Akito’s name, trying to get Akito to look at him. Akito wasn’t listening though, it was almost as if he couldn’t hear anything. The only thing he could hear was his own thoughts, which were telling him to confront his best friend. He grit his teeth loudly and clenched his fists, his sadness leaving and returning with anger and betrayal. Tsukasa was pulling on his sleeve now, but again, it was as if Akito couldn’t even tell he was there. 

 

Tsukasa stopped being mad at Akito a while ago, now being concerned. He prided his voice in being loud, once being informed that it could reach 120 decibels, as loud as a helicopter! Granted, they were probably exaggerating to be comical… but the fact that Akito either couldn’t hear him or was ignoring him was concerning, and Akito’s knuckles started turning white, his face turning red. He doubted it was from anything other than anger though, if his ragged breathing and shaking arms were anything to go by. 

 

He didn’t have time to react however, as Akito shook him off and bolted from the secluded area, leaving his backpack and everything with Tsukasa. Tsukasa stood up immediately, looking between his own items, including his luncheon, Akito’s items, and the place where Akito just ran off. He bounced in place for a couple seconds, debating his options, before letting out a sigh and running after the ginger. His own thoughts were coming back to bite him, now he despised the fact that Akito was so athletic. 

Chapter 8

Summary:

more toya angst ahahahha

Akito was sure that he was a spectacle to be seen that day, running through the courtyard full of hundreds of students as fast as he possibly could. At the moment, however, he only had one person on his mind, and this time it wasn’t Tsukasa. He flung open the doors to the main building, making a beeline to the place he knew his partner would be. Thank God for football and daily morning runs, cause Akito has never wanted to get to a library faster than he did right now.

 

The door’s to the library flung open, making an incredibly loud bang! against the walls. Akito’s chest was heaving and he felt a tiny bit of embarrassment for being seen in such a context, but his anger towards the two toned boy was much stronger. Said boy was currently putting away books in one of the shelves, but he, too, was startled by Akito’s entrance. He didn’t have much time to be shocked, however. 

 

“You!” Akito ran over to him and grabbed him by his perfectly ironed collar, no longer caring if he got wrinkles in his clothes. “You- What the fuck made you think it was okay to do that?!” In the distance, he heard the librarian call his name and tell him to watch his language and his volume, but the boy in front of him was more important. 

 

“What the fuck is wrong with you?! I trust you with one piece of personal information, and you immediately go and tell your little fucking nerdy gamer friend! What the fuck!” Akito was practically seething at this point, and the color from Toya’s face drained as he realized what the guy in front of him was talking about.

 

“A-Akito! I’m sorry, I didn’t-” 

 

“Shut your fucking mouth you traitor !” 

 

“Mr. Shinonome and Mr. Aoyagi! Out of the library immediately before I call security!” Akito glared at the librarian, not moving from his spot, until he decided that he would rather not have more people know about his personal information. He started dragging Toya by his collar out of the door, the boy kicking his feet to try and keep up with his friend. 

 

When the two boys were out of the library, Akito threw Toya on the floor, not bothering to walk more than ten feet from the entrance. 

 

“Please, Akito, let me explain!” Toya tried to explain himself, but he was cut off by the other, who leaned down to look him in the eyes.

 

“I don’t want to hear any bullshit excuse you give me! Do you do this often? Do you get highly personal information from your best friends who are supposed to trust you and then immediately go and tell other people?!” Akito’s chest felt tight, and the sadness from earlier was starting to creep up on him.

 

“You can tell me one thing though, tell me why the fuck Kusanagi just came up to me and told me that she knows I have a crush on Tsukasa-senpai!” Once the words were finally out of Akito’s mouth did he care about how loud he was being and how students were likely watching them through the window on the library door. But at this point, the whole school might as well know, because who knows who Kusanagi is going to gossip to next. 

 

He heard the door to the main building open and a familiar voice come with it, but he was more focused on the lump that was growing in his throat, the shakiness of his legs, and the feeling behind his eyes. 

 

“I’m sorry, Akito! I know you trusted me with your feelings, but-”

“No! I don’t give a fuck !” Akito felt the tears stream down his face and he lunged at the figure on the ground. His plan was to start beating the shit out of his friend, as that’s the only way he knows how to deal with these situations, but the breath was knocked out of him as he felt someone else pull him back. He fell back onto a cushion, and realized that the cushion was a body. Toya stared at him and the figure behind him in a mixture of shock and sadness. 

 

Toya knows he messed up, and he feels extremely guilty about it, and his feelings were practically written all over his face. Even somebody that had never met him could tell that he was ashamed of his actions, except for Akito. Akito was sobbing on the floor, being tightly hugged by somebody behind him. He sat in between the person's legs and shook as more tears fell from his eyes. He was embarrassed to be crying, why was he crying so much lately?

 

The figure behind him must have realized that he’s no longer in the mood to fight, and his grip changed from suffocating to soft and comforting. The person tentatively rested their head on Akito’s shoulder and tilted it to lean against Akito’s. As Akito wiped tears from his eyes and sniffled, he recognized the sweater and the scent of the person behind him to be Tsukasa. 

 

His eyes widened and he realized that Toya was in front of him now, resting a hand on his calf as he waited for him to stop crying with a shameful and guilty look on his face. Akito coughed and sniffled, wiping the tears off his cheeks as they started to slow. Now that he wasn’t so blinded with anger, he was embarrassed to be seen in such a position by anybody other than MEIKO. 

 

Akito’s heavy breathing finally stopped and he glared at Toya, still not forgiving him. Toya’s shoulders sagged and he slouched, looking at the ground instead of Akito. 

 

“I’m so sorry, Akito. I really am. I regretted telling her the second the words came out of my mouth, but at that point it was too late.” Toya closed his eyes as he seemed to be remembering the moment it happened. “I made a horrible decision, and I’m very sorry that it was you that was affected. I don’t expect you to forgive me, but at least let me explain the situation.” Toya looked back up at Akito with pleading eyes. Tsukasa had a look of confusion on his face, but he stayed silent, resorting to putting his face in the crook of Akito’s neck while he had the chance.

 

Akito closed his eyes as he felt his face heat up, but nonetheless nodded at Toya, signaling for him to continue. Toya breathed a sigh of relief. 

 

“Nene and I were at her house, and we were playing one of the new games that came out recently. We were on an especially difficult level that neither me nor her could beat, so we made a bet. Whoever could be it first has to reveal a secret.” Toya shook his head, “It’s silly, I know, but Nene loves drama surprisingly enough.” 

 

Akito raised an eyebrow, unamused at the story and finding it not helping him at all.

 

“I was confident I was going to beat it before her, so I hadn’t bothered to think about what I was going to say. Unfortunately, you can tell who lost, and I was put on the spot. I just blurted out the very first thing that came to my mind, and I regret every second of it.” Toya sighed and looked down at the ground before looking back up at Akito again, “I’m so sorry, I should have been more mindful of my words. I should have said something else, or completely disagreed to the bet in the first place. I’m sorry my punishment ended up affecting you, I truly am.” Toya squeezed Akito’s calf as he said this, desperation clear in his voice. “I can assure you, however, that while Nene loves drama, she would never spill this information to anybody else. I have no idea why she told you, that is entirely out of character for her, but I trust that she won’t tell anybody else. Not even Emu.”

 

Akito stared at him, taking in his words. His trust towards his partner was shattered, and his reasoning for telling his secret to Kusanagi was stupid, but Akito can’t say he would have been any better. He’s weak towards bets as well. He groans and lets his head fall, he’s caved to Toya multiple times before, and it seems this time won't be any different.

 

“I forgive you I guess.. but it’s going to be a long time before I trust you with personal information like that again.” Akito mumbled, choosing to stare at Tsukasa’s arms, still wrapped around his chest, instead of his friend in front of him. He heard Toya heave a sigh of relief as well as a slough of ‘Thank you’s’, just waving him off. 

 

“And the reason why Kusanagi told me is because she said that if I ever.. do anything to like hurt, yk…” He cleared his throat and moved his eyes to Tsukasa’s head, still resting in his neck, “... that her and Kamishiro’s ‘deadly drones’ would come after me, or whatever.” 

 

Toya let out a chuckle at that and stood up. “Well, I wouldn’t doubt that. Sorry, Akito.” the boy just rolled his eyes, resorting to staring at Tsukasa’s legs that were tangled in his own. Toya smiled at the sight of the two, they fit each other nicely. “Well, I better go explain to the librarian what happened if I want to continue staying on the library committee.” 

 

Akito grimaced at this, and Toya just chuckled again, “Don’t feel sorry, it’s part of my punishment for the mess I got you into.” He went to open the door before he turned and looked at the pair on the floor again. “Also, just for good measure, I’ll tell Nene to keep quiet about it. I’m sure she’ll reply saying she was going to but… just for good measure.” Akito nodded gratefully and at that he was left with Tsukasa. Now that it was just the two of them, Akito was flustered at their position, it seemed strangely intimate. 

 

He pulled his knees up and patted Tsukasa’s thigh awkwardly. “Uh, we should probably go back and get our stuff before the period ends…” This seemed to wake Tsukasa out of his trance, as he jumped and lifted his head immediately. He, too, seemed to realize what position they were in and scrambled to get out of it.

 

Tsukasa stood up quickly and scratched the back of his neck awkwardly, “Ah! Yes, we should, haha!...” He held out his hand for Akito to take and noticed Akito’s extremely obvious blush and his blown pupils. He thought this was surprising, but he hid his shock from showing on his face. A blush makes sense, but your pupils only go wide for people you’re attracted to. As Tsukasa remembered that fact, he realized his must be huge constantly around Akito, and grimaced at himself inside of his head. 

On the walk back to their spot, it was silent, as well as awkward for Tsukasa. He fiddled with his hands nervously, he felt like he intruded on something that he shouldn’t have seen. Not to mention, the embarrassing position he put himself into! Willingly! 

 

“Sorry for everything back there. I feel like I wasn’t supposed to see or hear any of that. That was so not star-like of me!” Tsukasa chuckled nervously, glancing up at Akito. 

 

Akito had his hands deep in his pocket, the blush still visible on his face. “It’s alright, I'm glad you were there, actually. If you weren’t then Toya might be in the infirmary right now…” He was also glad because of the amount of physical affection he got from it, but that’s neither here nor there. 

 

“Ah, that’s right, haha…” They fell into a silence again, neither of them having anything to say after that eventful and stressful moment. Tsukasa continued fiddling with his hands, he was never good at awkward silences. Well, that’s a lie, usually he was because he had so many things to fill the silence, but at the moment he had nothing. He thought back on everything that was said, he knew he shouldn’t ask about it, but he was so curious! Still, it was an invasion of privacy, and if anything, Akito would just get mad at him. 

 

Tsukasa chewed on his bottom lip, desperately trying to find something to fill the silence before he chokes on it. Finally, when they reached the wall of bushes, it was almost like a lightbulb appeared above his head. Tsukasa sat down on the wooden bench, “So, Toya and Nene?” Tsukasa smirked as he opened his luncheon, knowing the kind of reaction he’d get from Akito.

 

“Gah?! What are you implying Senpai?” Akito looked at him like he was crazy, and maybe he was. 

 

“It’s just!- Also, you can call me Tsukasa, you know? But anywho, perhaps it’s more obvious with Nene, but I think they might have something that they’re not telling us… or haven’t admitted to each other.” He handed Akito his slice of cheesecake, the familiar routine returning between the two, even if they have to rush it since they used up the majority of the lunch period. 

 

Akito thought to himself for a moment, perhaps he was right. 

 

“Maybe you’re not crazy, Tsukasa. They do hang out quite a lot, and have been to each other’s houses… and I guess you can call me Akito.” He bit into his cheesecake thinking more about the kind of relationship Toya and Kusanagi have. 

 

Tsukasa, on the other hand, was surprised at his own reaction to hearing his name come out of Akito’s mouth, and froze. He gulped, his stomach feeling weird like it usually does around Akito. Apparently he wasn’t thinking straight either.

 

“Say that again.”

 

Akito raised an eyebrow, “What, that I agree with you?” He snorted, thinking Tsukasa wants to hear him say it again because it hardly ever happens.

 

“No… my name.”

 

Akito swallowed the rest of the cake, and looked at Tsukasa, his cheeks having a slight pink tint and his pupils taking up more space in his eye than his irises. He raised his eyebrows slightly, before smirking after realizing the kind of situation he was in.

 

“What, you like hearing me say your name, Tsukasa?” Tsukasa’s face confirmed his suspicions, and Akito couldn’t believe his eyes! He didn’t want to get ahead of himself and get too excited, but he obviously had an effect on the man. 

 

“Tsukasa, Tsukasa, Tsukasa…” Akito put his elbow on the bench and turned his body towards the blonde, leaning closer every time he said his name. He wasn’t sure where the confidence came from, maybe realizing that his crush might feel something towards him, but he didn’t care right now. Tsukasa’s face was too cute to think about anything else besides it. 

 

He was so red it was comical, and he started swatting Akito’s chest, “Okay, okay!! Stop it!...” He audibly gulped and put a hand on his cheek, “I’m just not used to it is all!” Tsukasa tried to defend himself desperately, but Akito just laughed. The change in events was drastic, but Akito didn’t mind, he was happy to be back to teasing Tsukasa. 

 

“Yeah, whatever. There’s a garden spider next to you, by the way.” That part wasn’t him teasing Tsukasa, there actually was a garden spider on the bench next to Tsukasa. It’s not uncommon, the place was incredibly overgrown.

 

The blonde jumped out of his seat and let out an ear splittingly loud yell, falling back on his ass trying to get away from him, yelling unintelligible words. Akito just giggled at the sight in front of him, carefully cupping the spider in his hands and taking it off of the bench. It was giving him deja vu to the time in the Crase Cafe. 

 

He opened up his hands, letting himself see the spider. “Y’know, they’re actually kinda cool looking.” Tsukasa gasped and scooted further away from him. Unfortunately for him, the place was kinda small, so he wasn’t very far away. “It almost reminds me of you. The yellow stripes, I mean.” 

 

Tsukasa gasped again, a hand on his chest, “That is so insulting that you would compare me to something as disgusting as a spider! I am a star, not a measly garden spider!” He stood up and struck a pose before glaring at Akito again. He only chuckled and slowly put the spider back into the bushes, where it crawled into the dark cracks. Tsukasa shuddered and grabbed his items, Akito following.

 

“Y’know, I’ve seen a millipede here once.” 

 

Tsukasa’s scream basically blocked out the noise of the bell. And Akito walked out of the overgrown enclosure while laughing. The two walked to their classes together again, Akito insisting that millipedes were genuinely cute, it was centipedes that were gross, and Tsukasa yelling and punching him in the shoulder for speaking such nonsense in front of him. 

Chapter 9

Summary:

more vocaloid I love them sorry

It had been almost a full week since the incident on Monday, and Akito and Toya were back to normal. Things were awkward for a bit, but Akito got over himself as he realized that Kusanagi kept her promise, mixed with the message Toya showed him of her confirming that she wouldn’t say a word. Not only that, but Akito thought about his interaction with Tsukasa. He thought back to the days and weeks before as well, only finding more and more signs that fed into his selfish thoughts that Tsukasa may harbor feelings for Akito. 

 

The four teens were practicing at the Weekend Garage, as it was the end of rush hour and An no longer had to help her dad. They were taking a break when Kohane spoke up. 

 

“Akito, you’re doing better than usual today!” She smiled at him and he looked away, embarrassed at the praise. His embarrassment wasn’t helped as the others started agreeing with her.

 

“Oh please, you guys are doing just as good as me…” Despite his words, they knew he was grateful, it was just his way of saying ‘thanks’. The four continued talking amongst themselves before Kohane and An excused themselves, their reasoning being, “Girl things. You cootie havers wouldn’t understand!” - Those were An’s words, of course. 

 

With the two left alone, Toya got the chance to talk to Akito without the others eavesdropping. He had been observing him the entire practice, and he noticed how good his mood was and, of course, how much effort he was putting in. He always puts in his 100%, but today he seemed to have 10 extra. 

 

Akito sipped his water, unaware of his own change in mood and the observing eyes of his partner. Until he spoke up.

 

“So, Akito, what’s got you in such a good mood lately?” He took a sip from his own water bottle as he watched Akito’s reaction. He only raised an eyebrow in thought before he seemed to have a realization and quickly looked away from Toya. Toya had a feeling he knew what it was, but he wanted to hear it from Akito.

 

“Oh, nothing, just some thoughts about Tsukasa, that’s all.” Akito mumbled quietly, but Toya raised an eyebrow. Akito took notice of this, “Not those kinds, we’re not even at first base.” Toya’s face turned into a full grimace and Akito let out a loud laugh, knowing that wasn’t what he was thinking in the first place. “Sorry, sorry, it’s just funny seeing your reactions!” 

 

“I do not need to know what base you and Tsukasa ever end up being at.” In all honesty, Toya had no idea what that even meant, but he would rather not ask. “Anywho, care to elaborate?” 

 

Akito sighed and leaned back in the booth. He contemplated if he should spill, before deciding it was more embarrassing for Tsukasa than him. 

 

“I don’t know, maybe I’m imagining everything but,” Now that he was speaking his thoughts aloud, he realized how weird it was to be thinking so intensely about his senior’s actions. “… Argh- I’ll just put it bluntly. I’m starting to think my thing for Tsukasa isn’t really… one-sided.” He tried to suppress a smile from adorning his face, covering his mouth with the back of his palm. 

 

Toya’s suspicions were right, he is starting to catch on. He was genuinely happy for the two, he knew that neither of them could hide their feelings for long. He sensed that Akito had more to say however.

 

“Oh, is that so? I’m happy for you. What kinds of things have you noticed that led you to this conclusion?” Toya had a soft smile on his face as he watched his best friend list all of the things Tsukasa has been doing, his own smile and blush growing bigger with every point made. He could tell he’s been waiting to tell somebody about the list he’s made in his mind, cause it seemed as though he was reading from a script. 

 

“-and then finally, on Monday, he asked me to start calling him by just his first name, and so I did. But he had the funniest reaction, I swear, he got all red and flustered-“ Akito leaned his head on his palm as he continued talking about Tsukasa, Toya listening to every word. 

 

When Akito finished reciting his list, he realized what he was doing and the smile from his face quickly fell. He folded his hands in his lap and cleared his throat, sitting back on the booth, trying to look as normal and not crazy as possible. Toya only shook his head fondly, it was becoming really difficult to hold himself back from telling Akito his suspicions were right. He doesn’t want a repeat of whatever happened earlier however, so he keeps his mouth shut.

 

Kind of. 

 

“You know, you make some great points,” Toya nods at Akito, the words he wants to say basically begging to be let out. “I think.. you wouldn’t find yourself being rejected if you asked him out.” Toya gives Akito a side eye, hoping he gets the hint of what he’s trying to say. 

 

“Oh really? And what are your credentials, huh?” Akito snorted, before his eyes widened, “Oh.” He looked at the table at his now empty plate for a couple of seconds, before looking back at Toya, his mouth hanging open in shock. Toya could only lower his head and try to repress a smile, failing at doing so. 

 

“You… you-!” Akito sat up straight and pointed at Toya, who was covering his mouth and pointedly not looking at Akito. The blush on Akito’s face was extremely visible, and the butterflies he felt when he first started ranting about Tsukasa felt stronger than they ever had before. He felt giddy and anxious, similar to how he does before and after a show, and suddenly he thought that layering three jackets was a stupid decision because of how warm he felt. 

 

He slumped back down into his seat and pulled his hoodie up to cover his mouth, a poor attempt to hide the smile. 

 

“I can't believe you knew this whole time and didn’t say a word.” Akito mumbled lowly, and Toya almost missed it. 

 

“Well, I haven’t known the entire time. Besides, there were multiple times I wanted to tell you, but I couldn’t out Tsukasa like that.” Toya shook his head, watching as An and Kohane came back from their special “girl stuff”. 

 

An snickered as she came up to the table, “You look stupid, Akito.” She swiped to open up the camera app with her phone still in her pocket so as to not let Akito know of her plans. When he flipped her off, she pulled it out and immediately snapped a picture, cackling when she watched his face contort to one of horror and anger.

 

“Delete that right now, An Shiraishi!” Akito stood up while still in the booth, pointing at her phone that was still out. 

 

“Ooh, pulling out the full name?” She giggled as she sent it to her other accounts, so even if he did somehow delete it, she would still have access to it. “Maybe I should send this to whoever you’re blushing over!” Akito’s face contorted again, this time to only horror. He felt the blood drain from his face before he caught himself.

 

“Shut the fuck up, I’m not blushing over anyone.” 

 

An raised an eyebrow, showing him the picture of himself with a clearly pink face. He scowled and tried grabbing it, but she pulled it away too quickly.  

 

“I wouldn’t exactly say that. Especially not with all of the new things that showed up in you know where!” She knew she got him there, it was impossible to hide your feelings when there was literally a separate world that was built around them. 

 

He didn’t back down though, crossing his arms and glaring at her. “Well how do you know those were from me? Maybe they were from you and your little girlfriend.” 

 

An gasped at this. “How dare you! Haruka and I would never be associated with colors as ugly as orange and yellow. And we definitely wouldn’t be portrayed through stars. ” She says as she plays with the star hair clips scattered throughout her hair. Ironic. 

 

Kohane and Toya looked at them both with identical looks of confusion, neither of them had been to sekai since the last time all four of them were there. “What? What orange and yellow stars?”

 

At this, An looked at the two, realizing her argument was pointless now if neither of them had seen the new additions. She sighed and decided to just sit down and explain what had shown up since they couldn’t visit at the moment. 

 

The three others looked at her with completely different looks. Kohane and Toya seemed interested in what An was saying, both excited to check out everything that showed up since they had last been there, whereas Akito could feel horror running through every vein in his body. He was in deep shit, he remembered the time he went to Sekai, when Rin and Len barged in, telling MEIKO about the stars. He scowled, realizing how obvious it was that it was him that put the art there, and resumed his earlier pose of crossing his arms over his chest. 

 

“So, Akito~ Who’s the unlucky girl?” An giggled once more and leaned forward, genuinely interested in hearing about Akito’s crush that was affecting sekai so harshly. 

 

Akito glared at the window next to him and refused to look at her. He cleared his throat awkwardly.

 

“Boy…”

 

An only raised her eyebrows, not exactly caring about the gender of his crush, she just wanted to know who it was. “Okay, unlucky boy then. That didn’t answer my question, dipshit.” 

 

Akito gave her a deadpan look, “I don’t know, maybe connect the fucking dots, aren’t you supposed to be a know-it-all?” 

 

An scowled at his words. “Uh, yeah, I connected them idiot! Orange and yellow are clearly connected to your hair, the hearts because you’re in love, and stars because… I’m not sure about the stars, actually, but it can't be that important.” 

 

Akito only stared at her. She was so close, but so far at the same time. He refused to give her any hints, however, because truthfully, he didn’t want her gossipy idol-loving ass to know who he liked. She was actually probably the very last person he wanted to know, aside from Akiyama or Tsukasa, of course. 

 

Toya, bless his heart, stayed silent as well, despite the fact he knew exactly who it was and the significance of both the shapes and colors. Kohane seemed to be deep in thought before her eyes widened comically large. 

 

“Stars… stars are only connected to one person! Tsukasa-kun!” She smiled at her discovery, “And the color yellow, as well.” Then she proceeded to coo at the thought of Akito and Tsukasa being together, expressing how she thinks they would be cute together and balance each other out nicely. Toya nodded in both confirmation and agreement, and while it was appreciated, it embarrassed Akito in ways that words couldn’t explain.

 

An, surprisingly, said nothing. Her jaw dropped and her eyebrows raised almost off her forehead, and Akito was grateful for her silence, but it was short lived.

 

“You like Tenma-kun?!” She stood up from her seat in shock, apparently it was a groundbreaking thing to her. - it was for him, too, he can’t even tease her for that. - 

 

“Geez, you have to tell the entire building, don’t you?” He looked around at the very few people that were still in the cafe, hoping none of them went to his school. “… but Kohane said it, not me.” With those last words, the two girls’ suspicions were confirmed. “But you better not go around telling everybody! Especially not your little girlfriend and her idol group, and god forbid Akiyama.” He gave them a stern look before adding a quiet ‘please’. An waved him off, but nonetheless the two girls agreed to his terms. 

 

The downside to this is that An is going to have a field day for the rest of her life, teasing him for falling for the corniest theater kid at their school. The upside is that now Kohane is going to drag him to every single one of their performances; while that sounds bad at first, he can’t be too mad, as it’s an excuse to stare at Tsukasa for an hour and a half. 

 

Speaking of them, An was practically shaking with how bad she wanted to show the others the graffiti that was quickly spreading to more places. Kohane and Toya were also extremely interested, but showed their interest in a different way than An did. As for Akito, he too wanted to see them, but he’d rather go alone to look at them rather than get teased endlessly by An. 

 

An looked around, deeming the place empty enough before walking up to the bar counter and asking Ken if they could take a trip to the mall for a little while. An cheered after getting confirmation from her dad, and the four were off to find a secluded area where they could safely go to sekai. 

The ring of the bell alerted the four vocaloids that were in Crase Cafe, MEIKO Rin, Len, and KAITO, that the teens had visited. “Wow, is it already time for practice?” KAITO asked as he turned around in his bar stool.

 

“No, we actually just got done practicing at the Weekend Garage, we’re here so I can fully tease Akito about his gross crush on his favorite theater kid!” Akito scoffed and lightly punched An in the arm for this, making MEIKO giggle. She was glad that he seemed to be doing better in regard to his feelings, though she does mourn the loss of that one CD. The song was beautiful, as sad as it was. 

 

KAITO tilted his head in confusion, but the two Kagamine’s started jumping around in excitement. They had been dying to hear about Akito’s crush ever since they figured out that the stars and hearts likely belonged to him, and their interest only grew after listening to the love songs that had shown up. The two rushed up to the group and were practically shaking in excitement to show them the graffiti art. 

 

“Akito, you have a crush?” KAITO seemed surprised, but happy for the teen as well. Akito looked away from him, mumbling things that he couldn’t make out.

 

MEIKO rested her hand on his arm and smiled, “Don’t worry, dear, I’ll tell you about it.” The two yellow haired graffiti artists started making fake gagging noises at the two, quickly leading the group out of the cafe. 

 

As they started walking through the alleys of the sekai, the four teens admired the artwork that was scattered along the walls. It was a mixture of art put there by the vocaloids and by the feelings of the teens, and it seemed to stretch on forever. 

 

“At first, I didn’t like the amount of stars and hearts there were since they covered so much space, and I was worried that there was going to be nothing left for Rin and I to paint on! But I’ve started treating it as a premade background, and I think it makes our work look even better!” Rin nodded in agreement, and the two pointed at the walls in sync. 

 

A quiet ‘Oh’ could be heard from Toya, and the group fell silent when they realized just how many stars and hearts there were. The two artists weren’t lying when they said that it covered a lot of space, it really covered everything. The group had to hand it to them as well, they incorporated it into their artwork nicely. Akito covered his mouth with his hands, the shapes seemed to stretch on for as long as his eye could see. On one hand, he felt bad for them, there really was no free space for them to work on. But on the other hand, he felt smug that his feelings could make such a huge impact on the sekai. 

 

An looked at Akito with her own smug look, “So, Akito~ Do you have sweet, domestic dreams about Tenma-kun? Do you imagine what it’d be like to hold his hand or kiss him as you both fall asleep in each other's arms?” An snickered when Akito’s face went pink, “Sure seems like it with the amount of stars there are. In fact, there’s more here now than there were when I first came!” 

 

Akito glared at her and stuffed his hands deep in his pockets. “Don’t act like you were any better when you first started dating Kiritani. The amount of blue glow stick graffiti art and random penguin plushies that were scattered around here were just as bad.” An scoffed at his comeback, crossing her arms. “In fact, the huge penguin bean bag and glow stick art are still here.” 

 

The two started bickering, going back and forth about who made a worse impact on the sekai. - “At least blue is a good color! Plus, penguins are cute!” “Orange and yellow fits the aesthetic better than blue. And stars are cool!” - It ended with An complimenting her girlfriend proudly, as the competition had apparently switched to who loved their girlfriend/crush better. If you were to ask Akito, he thought it was unfair, An is unapologetically affectionate towards everyone she likes, and Akito is the exact opposite. He can be affectionate if he wants to, but not in front of people. 

 

On the way back, Akito made it his mission to point out every piece of graffiti that had some sort of connection to Kiritani, further annoying An. Kohane giggled and reassured her that it was cute that she loved her girlfriend so much that things related to her would start appearing in sekai. Akito complained about this, wondering where his reassurance was when they were looking at the stars. When they reached the cafe, the two artists started begging for the teens to stay.

 

“We don’t want to be left with MEIKO and KAITO, they act all gross around each other!” Len nodded in agreement, grabbing onto Rins arm. 

 

“And who knows what they did while we were gone… what if they…” Rin and Len looked at each other with matching looks of disgust and horror.

 

“Held hands!!” The two shouted in sync, and then made fake throwing up noises afterwards. The teens only laughed at their antics, insisting that they had to leave. The two sighed in despair, but waved goodbye regardless, telling them to have a goodnight and wishing Akito goodluck on his journey with Tsukasa. 

Chapter 10

Summary:

I forgot I wrote this chapter gonna be honest lol

but wingman rui and wingman toya real!

Tsukasa leaned his head on Rui’s shoulder, wailing into it anything that came to mind. Not surprisingly, all of it was about Akito, so Rui just patted his head as he ranted. 

 

“I’m making a fool out of myself, Rui, everyday we eat lunch together and everyday he does something to tease me and my mind just goes blank! It’s like he knows the effect he has on me, and is purposefully doing things that make me all flustered just to see my reaction!” While he didn’t know what he was saying was true, Rui had an idea that it was.

 

“Hm. Maybe you’re right, Tsukasa.” 

 

Tsukasa looked up from his shoulder in confusion. “Hah? Really?”

 

Rui nodded in response, “Fufu, yes, really. Have you already ruled out the idea that he could reciprocate your feelings?” Tsukasa thought for a second before giving a weak nod. He seemed unsure of himself, but he overall believed that, no, Akito does not reciprocate his feelings. “Well, I wouldn’t be so fast to make that decision. If he really didn’t like you, he'd be put off by your flustered reactions to his actions and, I’m sorry to say, but your obvious feelings for him.” Tsukasa looked at Rui offendedly. He didn’t think he was obvious! 

 

Rui giggled at his look. “Am I right, or no? Perhaps he does reciprocate, and his way of showing you is doing things that get you flustered. What does he do, anyways?” Rui tilted his head and smiled. 

Tsukasa thought over Rui’s words for a moment. His logic was understandable, the Akito from two months ago would have rather died than spend every lunch period with him. But that means nothing! The rest of the stuff he’s done, however…

 

“Ah, he just gets really close to me and… Argh!!” Tsukasa stood up from where they were sitting and started pacing in circles, covering his face with his hands. “Well, he’s more handsy. Whenever I give him something, he always makes sure to brush his fingers against mine. And I know he does it on purpose because he always has a smug smirk on his face while he does it! Same with everything else he does to get me blushing!…” Tsukasa continued pacing and moving his hands animatedly, not caring about how loud he was being despite there being many students around them.

 

Rui watched in amusement as Tsukasa listed off everything that Akito was supposedly doing on purpose to fluster him. The boy seemed determined to believe that his attraction was one sided, and it was almost painful to watch him ignore the obvious signs that Shinonome-kun was giving him. As Tsukasa finished his rant, Rui decided to speak up against him.

 

“Fufu, do you still believe he doesn’t share even a sliver of your attraction?” Rui looked at him like he was a lost cause, and maybe he was, since he decided to nod rapidly. Rui sighed and crossed his legs, leaning back on the bench. “Tsukasa, Shinonome-kun wouldn’t purposefully sit so close to you that your shoulders and thighs were touching when there’s an entire bench for him to sit on if he didn’t like you even a tiny bit.” Tsukasa crossed his arms and huffed, but let the inventor in front of him continue. 

 

“Is there anything you do that makes him flustered?” 

 

Tsukasa paused at this statement and thought for a second. Is there anything that gets Akito flustered? He put his hand on his chin as he realized that, yes, there is.

 

“When I’m the one to initiate physical contact, yes… Like this one time-!” Tsukasa went on another rant and Rui face palmed, his poor best friend is so oblivious and it was almost impossible to make him consider the fact that his feelings could be reciprocated. As Tsukasa continued talking, Rui wondered if other people saw how obvious their feelings for each other were, or if it was just him. He looked to his left to see a familiar two toned head of hair enter through the school's entrance, but with no ginger by his side. The boy seemed to have caught his eye, because he gave him a small smile and walked over to where the pair was. 

 

“-so, yeah I would say that he has gotten flustered- Oh! Toya! What a wonderful surprise!” Tsukasa paused in his speech to greet Toya, but tilted his head when he didn’t see Akito with him. “Where’s Akito? Don’t you two walk to class together?”

 

Toya greeted them both politely and shook his head at Tsukasa’s question. “He said he was running late today and told me to not wait for him. It was something to do with his sister, he said.” Rui and Tsukasa both let out an ‘ah’ at his reasoning before the boy continued. 

 

“You looked like you were deep in thought before I came over, is everything alright?” 

 

Rui watched with his typical smile as Tsukasa let out an awkward laugh. “Our poor friend here can’t see the signs that Shinonome-kun may reciprocate his feelings, despite the fact they’re right in front of his face, fufu!” Toya’s mouth made the shape of an ‘O’ as he watched Tsukasa scowl at Rui.

 

Toya placed a hand on his chin, watching the interaction in front of him. It seemed that Akito’s feelings weren’t as reserved as he wanted them to be if Rui was able to see them. 

 

“Well, what do you think, Toya? You’re partners with Shinonome-kun, you must know something.” Rui had a mischievous glint in his eye as he stared down Toya. 

 

Now it was Toya’s turn to let out an awkward chuckle as Tsukasa also turned to look at him, he seemed intrigued with what he was going to say next. “Well, there’s not much I’m able to say…” Rui seemed displeased with this answer, and continued pushing Toya for something he could be satisfied with. 

 

“Awe, how unfortunate, I was sure we could have brought up Tsukasa’s confidence together… it’s a shame, I really thought Shinonome-kun would have said something to his best friend!” He gave his typical sad eyes and wiped a fake tear as he stared at Toya. 

 

He played with his fingertips anxiously as he looked between Tsukasa and Rui, debating whether or not he should say something. He thought back to the time at the cafe, however, and realized he’s already given a lot of information. He carefully thought over his next words, and let out a small sigh.

 

“All I will say is that Rui has always had a remarkable intuition, and he’s clearly very intelligent.” Toya crossed his arms, he was firm in his promise to Akito, he wasn’t going to say anything extreme. That seemed to be enough for Rui though, because he turned to Tsukasa with a smirk.

 

“See? Even Shinonome-kun’s best friend thinks I’m right. I think you should try to do something to give him a taste of his own medicine.” Rui stood up and placed a hand on his chin as he said this. Tsukasa furrowed his eyebrows in response.

 

“I’m saying you should try to fluster him instead. He’s been doing all of these things on purpose to make you blush, how about you do something in return?” Tsukasa seemed to finally get the hint and gasped at Rui’s words. His cheeks went pink, but he had a determined look on his face.

 

“Hahaha! That will be no challenge for this future star! I’ll make Akito so embarrassed, he won't even think about teasing me for the next three months!” He struck a pose and smirked at his two friends in front of him. His director returned his smirk and gave him a slow clap, whereas his junior just gave him a soft smile. 

 

“Well then, I hope that goes well for you, Tsukasa.” 

Now that lunch time had actually arrived, Tsukasa was sweating with how much he was thinking about what he was going to do. The worst part is that he still had no idea, even after four periods. All of the other times he’s made Akito blush were when he was just doing whatever he wanted to! He never did anything on purpose, which is why it was difficult for him to think of how to execute his plans. If he forced a hug, it would be awkward for the both of them. If he forced any kind of physical contact, really, it would be awkward. Tsukasa fiddled with the books in his hands as he walked to his locker, anxiously thinking of what to do, and absolutely nothing coming to mind. 

 

He puts his books away while thinking of what it would be like to treat Akito as if he was one of his other friends. He often leans his head on Rui’s shoulder, or grabs onto Emu’s arm while he’s talking about something excitedly, so maybe if he just does that? But he didn’t want to treat Akito as anybody other than himself.

 

Argh, why is this so difficult?! 

 

He walks over to where he knows Akito will be waiting for him a little slower than usual. He knows he’s stalling, but he needs the time to mentally prepare! Not only for his own plans, but also because he knows Akito is going to try something again. He takes a deep breath before he pushes through the gap in the bushes, putting on a big smile when he sees Akito lying down on the bench. 

 

“Your favorite senior, Tsukasa Tenma, world future star, has arrived!” He struck a pose and smiled even more when he saw Akito giving him his own smile, one eyebrow raised. 

 

“Oh yeah? Is the world’s best cheesecake also with him?” Akito sits up on his elbows, making room for Tsukasa to sit.

 

Tsukasa scoffs, but takes out his luncheon and sits next to him anyways. “I’m starting to think you’re only hanging out with me for my delicious homemade cheesecake!” Akito quickly grabbed the slice and stuffed half of it in his mouth. 

 

Around a huge bite he cheesecake, he attempts to say, “Whaat? No way…” But it comes out as more “Wfhaaht? Nwor warh…” Which ends in Tsukasa scolding him for talking with his mouth full. 

 

Tsukasa observes him a little more now that they’re closer and he sees bags under Akito’s eyes. “Didn’t get much sleep?” Akito wipes his hands on his pants and nods, letting his head fall back so he could look at Tsukasa from below him. 

 

“Yeah, Ena kept me up until 12 forcing me to pose for her for references for her art.” Akito rolled his eyes and his lip curled at the memory, “And I can’t sleep past 4:30, so I got probably four hours of sleep.”

 

Tsukasa was confused as to why Akito couldn’t sleep in, but he was more intrigued at the mention of poses. “Your sister needs poses for art, you say?” Tsukasa grinned at the boy below him, who was still looking up at him. He snickered at Tsukasa’s words and gave his own smile.

 

“Yeah, be my guest if you want to take my place, I’m sure Ena would love to have somebody like you to be her little puppet for art.” He yawned and rubbed his eyes when he said this. Tsukasa figured he’ll ask more about it later, but for now he pushed Akito’s head onto his lap.

 

Tsukasa rested his hand on Akito’s cheek, who now didn’t seem tired at all. “You need rest! Getting four hours of sleep is not healthy!” It felt like deja vu as Tsukasa took his sweater off, the same one that Akito slept on a month ago. Except this time, he placed it over Akito’s chest. He smiled at the sight below him; Akito’s head in his lap, his cheeks slowly getting redder, and his pupils almost taking up more space than his irises. He cheered for himself inside of his head, his plan was a success! Surely, this would put an end to Akito’s teasing for a while.

 

Tsukasa lowered his voice, making it sound almost soft, “Get some sleep, I’ll wake you up before the bell rings.” For good measure, he started petting Akito’s hair, and if his hand was slightly shaky, then no it wasn’t. He already knew he was a blushing mess himself, he didn’t need to add his shaking hand to the list of symptoms he's feeling from one simple action!

 

Akito wasn’t doing any better however, his eyes were still wide and his mouth was open in shock. This was not how he planned the lunch period going! He was going to get his daily dose of serotonin by making Tsukasa blush, not the other way around! Despite his complaining in his head, he tried to relax and enjoy the special moment he got with his crush; it wasn’t everyday that something like this happens. Truthfully, he was really tired, and Tsukasa’s lap and sweater were very comfortable. To add onto that, the hand playing with his hair was relaxing, it was almost like getting a scalp massage. He closed his eyes and adjusted a little, hoping that the rapid beating of his heart wasn’t strong enough for the man above him to notice. 

 

Tsukasa was shamelessly staring at the boy below him, he looked almost angelic like this. The reaction he got from Akito was worth every excruciating minute he spent anxiously thinking about what he was going to do about what Rui told him, because it confirmed his friend’s suspicions that he was secretly hoping were right; Tsukasa’s feelings were reciprocated, at least a tiny bit. He couldn’t help the large smile from growing on his face, and he knew he probably looked like a lame lovestruck teenager that is obsessed with their crush, but he’s okay with that. Because he is a lame lovestruck teenager that’s obsessed with their crush. 

 

He was thankful that the place they met up with each other was so secluded, because he felt that it made this moment with Akito more precious. He knows it might be silly to already be thinking about having a relationship with Akito and being able to give him as much affection as his heart desires, - cough, kisses - but could anyone blame him while he’s looking at the sight below him? 

 

Speaking of kisses, it was becoming more and more difficult by the day to not give the boy in front of him even a small little peck. He surprised himself with this fact, because he’s never been so head over heels for a boy that he thinks about that. It could be because this is his first crush while being more grown, but he honestly doesn’t care at the moment, because it’s probably never been more difficult for him to hold himself back. Of course, he would never do it without Akito’s permission, and especially not while he’s sleeping! But the boy below him looked gorgeous in his eyes, and his cheeks looked so soft and- there’s really no better way Tsukasa could describe them, kissable.

 

He moved his other hand to cup one of Akito’s cheeks, and his thoughts were confirmed; his skin was so soft, and his face fit perfectly in Tsukasa’s palm. He was almost jealous because he knows Akito hardly has a skin care routine, yet his skin was so incredibly soft, while also not being dry at all! He scoffed at this, cursing the gods for not giving him that luxury as well. 

 

Tsukasa moved his gaze down to Akito’s lips, something he didn’t do often because he knew that Akito would definitely notice. Now that he couldn’t see where Tsukasa was looking, however, he allowed himself to do it just this once. They weren’t chapped, but there was a scar or two probably left there from either a fight or from biting the skin too much. It didn’t matter to Tsukasa, he thought his lips were perfect, and he let himself indulge in his thoughts of being able to kiss them. It was pitiful seeing him be so head over heels for this boy, but he didn’t care. He didn’t care about anything but the boy in his lap, so he allowed himself to be selfish just this once.

 

He knew his staring was starting to get creepy, though, even for his standards, and he decided he needed to finish his lunch before he loses himself to Akito’s beauty.  

Truthfully, Akito had woken up long before Tsukasa shook him awake. He tried to fall back asleep, but he didn’t seem to have very much luck, and instead decided to listen to Tsukasa’s whispering. At first, he seemed to be shuffling through his papers, presumably doing homework, but he stopped when he got a couple of vibrations from his phone, signifying he got a text. He could feel Tsukasa shift as he grabbed his phone, and he could hear typing noises faintly. The noises paused for a moment, Tsukasa probably reading whatever he was sent, before he heard his phone ring. Tsukasa cursed quietly and immediately picked up in order to stop the annoying ringtone. 

 

“Rui! You know my phone isn’t on silent, I could have just sent you voice messages!” Tsukasa whispered quietly, but in a stern voice. So that answers Akito’s question on who he was talking to, and if he really focused, he could faintly hear Kamishiro’s giggle and mumbled gibberish through the phone. “Yes, he’s asleep on my lap right now, that’s why I didn’t want you to call!- Yes, I know I said it was too much to type, because it is, but I would have rather we sent voice messages back and forth.” He assumed that Tsukasa was shaking his head with that typical look on his face. He was surprised that he could actually keep his voice so quiet for such a long period of time! Why doesn’t he always do this?

 

“No, I’m just going through that thing that you and Nene made up.” He heard Kamishiro’s giggle again and then more gibberish. Tsukasa snickered as well, “Yes, that, ‘gay panic’. That’s a silly name, but anyways! I don’t know what to do when he wakes up, Rui… I’m already falling apart just by looking at him, I’m going to be a mess when he wakes up!” Tsukasa raised a hand to his face, staring into the bushes with an expression full of dread.

 

Akito’s thoughts halted, he’s talking about… him? What the fuck, gay panic? About Akito ? It took every fiber in his being to make his face remain neutral as he continued eavesdropping on their conversation.

 

“Yes, I took your advice, and it worked to say the least!” Tsukasa chuckled as he thought back on the memory of the ginger’s reaction to his bold move. “He got so flustered, it was adorable! I can’t believe he actually might like me back, Rui, this is too much for my heart to handle!” Tsukasa’s voice raised a pitch at the end, and he quickly covered his mouth, staring down at the boy below him to see if he woke from that. Thankfully, to Tsukasa’s eyes, he hadn’t.

 

Akito however could hardly hold back now from making an expression, it was a curse to be an expressive person through his face sometimes. He couldn’t believe his ears at what Tsukasa was saying, it was one thing to hear it from Toya, and a completely different thing to hear it from the boy himself! Akito could feel his heart racing, and he clenched his fists under the sweater to stop himself from making any other movement. 

 

He had started tuning them out, now engulfed in his own thoughts. How is he going to confess? Is Tsukasa going to confess first? Should he say something about this situation? Should he ‘wake up’ right now? Should he pretend as if he didn’t hear anything and go about his life as normal? And he is absolutely not adorable, Tsukasa is completely wrong about that. If anything, it’s the other way around.

The only thing he knew for certain is that his love was not unrequited, and to say he was happy was an understatement. Now that Tsukasa had an idea that Akito liked him back, maybe they can actually get somewhere in their strange relationship. Out of the two of them, Tsukasa is the more bold and confident one, so he’d be more likely to confess. Also Akito is entirely too scared to start that conversation, so he’d much prefer if Tsukasa was the one to do it. 

 

Eventually, Tsukasa stopped whispering into his phone, and told Rui goodbye. He placed his phone next to him and sighed as he went back to staring at the boy below him. He felt a little insecure now that he said all of that out loud, perhaps typing it would have been better, because he didn’t even check to see if Akito was asleep! Although if he wasn’t, he probably would have opened his eyes the second Tsukasa uttered his name, and he hasn’t moved once. He looked down at his watch, reading the time to be 12:39, and gently shook the boy below him, running his hands through his hair as he did so. His mission to fluster Akito wasn’t over until he was out of sight!

 

Akito put on a show of slowly blinking his eyes open, rubbing them, and stretching to try and sell the idea of him not being awake for the last 10 minutes. It seemed to work, as Tsukasa gave him a smile that he returned with less enthusiasm. He flushed at the hand that was back in his hair, and he decided that he’s had enough of Tsukasa flustering him, that was supposed to be his job. And since he did something he considered bold, so was Akito.

 

He sat up on his elbows, letting his head fall back to look at Tsukasa over half closed eyes. He saw Tsukasa blush, and he smirked. “So, how was your call with Kamishiro-san?” he watched as Tsukasa’s face changed in the blink of an eye, going from looking at him with a fond look to looking at him as if he were a human-sized centipede. 

 

“Wha-... What?” Tsukasa asked in a small voice, and Akito felt a tiny bit bad for the boy. He ignored it and fell back down onto Tsukasa’s lap in his fit of laughter, rolling over onto his side and clutching his stomach. 

 

“Geez, Tsukasa, you look like you just saw a ghost! Did you two talk about something embarrassing or something? I only heard the end of it.” Akito calmed down in order to get his sentence out, he wasn’t ready to admit he heard the entire thing, he just wanted to tease Tsukasa. The blonde visibly relaxed, his shoulders sagging and the look on his face disappearing. 

 

“Oh gosh, Akito, you scared the death out of me! Yes, it was a personal call, thank you very much!” He glared at Akito with no real bite, lightly shoving him as he sat up properly. He was still smiling at his own antics.

 

Personal is an understatement, that was like top secret FBI shit for my standards. 

 

“Oh really? Did you guys talk about your deepest darkest secrets, as An would say?” He continued listing as many embarrassing things as his mind could conjure up, of course slipping in something inappropriate, it was just in his nature. Tsukasa gave him an especially disgusted look at that comment, shoving him even harder that time. 

 

He stood up and brushed himself off. “No, Rui and I would never discuss a topic like that, your humor is akin to a middle schoolers!” Akito snickered at this, silently agreeing with him.

 

“Oh, that sucks, ‘cause I talk about stuff like that all the time with my friends. I guess you and Kamishiro-san just aren’t at that level yet.” 

 

Tsukasa snorted and raised his eyebrow at him, both of them walking out of the enclosed area. “No you do not, Toya would never even think about engaging in a conversation of that nature with you.”

“Toya isn’t my only friend, dipshit!” 

 

The two continued their back and forth talk until they reached their buildings, bidding each other goodbye. Akito had a small smile on his face as he walked to his next class, Tsukasa’s whispered words to Kamishiro fresh in his mind. If he performed even better at practice after school again, his teammates all knew the reason why.

Chapter 11

Summary:

getting somewhere????

It had been days since Akito overheard Tsukasa on the phone . Days! It was the end of the week now and he had expected the blonde to do at least something about it! Maybe a hug, leaning his head on his shoulder, a slip up of words, or at best, a confession. But the boy had given him nothing except everything he had already been doing, which Akito had initiated. He was starting to get antsy, what if he had misunderstood Tsukasa? He bounced his leg as he sat in class, once again not paying attention due to someone else occupying his mind. However, he quickly erased that last thought from his mind, Toya had practically told him that Tsukasa liked him, and he heard him say it himself to Kamishiro.

 

He bit the inside of his cheek as he thought about the purple and blue haired boy. He knew he was starting to lose his mind, because he genuinely considered talking to Kamishiro about Tsukasa, demanding him to make Tsukasa do something about his feelings with a potion or something. He knew the crazy lunatic would probably actually do that and end up poisoning Tsukasa in the process, so he erased Kamishiro from his mind. 

 

He had a couple other options, and none of them sounded exactly pleasing.

 

The first option was to talk to Kusanagi instead. Maybe while they were at their own practice, the girl could knock some sense into Tsukasa to do something about his feelings, he knew she had power like that. He shuddered as he thought about the threat she gave him. He didn’t like that option either though, because he didn’t want to beg somebody else to make Tsukasa do something that Akito wanted him to do on his own accord. 

 

His second option was to continue waiting for Tsukasa to do something and sulking about his dumb little crush doing absolutely nothing. It seemed like the most likely to end up playing out, but he wasn’t excited about that one either. He had been doing it for the entire week now, and it was getting tiring excitedly waiting for him everyday just for him to do jackshit.

 

His third option was the least exciting, which was for him to make the first move instead. He had absolutely no idea how this option would play out, as he hadn’t even thought of what he would say to the boy. “Uh hey hottie I really like you and I know you do too. Please let me hit I beg!!!!” Akito covered up his smile as he thought about that, laughing at his own thoughts. He had a slight grimace on his face as well, knowing it would probably genuinely end up sounding like that. Aside from the ‘let me hit I beg’ part, he wouldn’t be that bad at using his words. 

 

He let his head droop, staring down at his empty notebook below him. Everything he had thought of sounded terrible, and he was starting to seriously think that he would be the one to have to make the first move, as much as he dreaded it. Overall, though, he couldn’t blame Tsukasa for not making a move already, he’s probably having similar thoughts to Akito right now. He felt a tiny bit bad as he realized that Tsukasa might be expecting him to make the first move, and Akito felt dread pool in his stomach.

 

He wanted to groan in annoyance and hit his head against his desk as the butterflies got more intense, except this time there were also there because of the intense anxiety he was feeling. He was slowly starting to accept the fact that he would have to be the one to confess to Tsukasa, and he fucking hated it. He clenched his fist, taking a deep breath to calm his nerves. He really did not want to, but it might be the only way he could ever get into a relationship with the boy, as he was proving to be even more of a pussy than Akito was. 

 

Well, if he was going to do it, he was going to do it right. There were multiple ideas running through his head for ways to confess to the boy, and he immediately crossed some of them out. He knows Tsukasa would probably appreciate anything he did, but he wanted to make it special. He had to do something extravagant for an extravagant person, after all. It was only right. 

 

He tapped his fingers on his desk, staring at the clock above the teacher’s head as more ideas ran through his head. None of them seemed good enough and he was starting to get annoyed, but he couldn’t expect himself to think of something good so quickly. Suddenly, his tapping stopped, he had the perfect idea! He was surprised he hadn’t thought of it sooner, since it was so simple but yet fitting for Tsukasa’s level of extra. 

 

There was only one issue, though, getting his team to agree to perform a love song might prove to be a challenge, and while they have done it before, it was for a Valentine’s Day performance. On top of that, he didn’t know how good he was going to be if he knew that Tsukasa was watching him perform, and he couldn’t predict how well his teammates would either. He wanted the best of the best for the blonde, so he couldn’t accept anything less than perfect. However, he wasn’t planning on making the song be about Tsukasa, he just wanted to perform a love song, so maybe they would accept? Akito let out a quiet huff, there was only one way to find out, and he was determined to make his plan work. 

“You’re planning on confessing to Tenma-kun?! Already?!” An had both of her hands pressed against the sides of her head, looking as though her eyes were going to pop out of her head. Toya was giving him a wide smile, and Kohane was jumping on the tips of her feet. Ken gave him a couple harsh pats on his back, letting out a few loud chuckles. 

 

Akito felt the blush creep up onto his face, and rolled his eyes. “Yeah yeah, get it out of your system. I’m only mentioning it to you guys because I wanted to ask a favor from you guys.” He bit the inside of his cheek, waiting for their reaction. Not surprisingly, Toya piped up first.

 

“Of course, Akito, anything you need. I’ve been waiting for you two to get together forever, so I’m happy to do anything it takes.” He rested his hand on Akito’s shoulder as he said this and Akito gave him a grateful smile. The other two gave their agreements to Toya’s statement and Akito delved into explaining his plans. The four of them listened intently, and while Ken had no idea who the boy was - or that Akito even had a crush on a boy - he wanted to be supportive regardless.

 

“So… is that alright?” Akito fiddled with his fingers nervously. It wasn’t much he was asking, but it still included changing up the amount of songs they performed for their upcoming show, which was something that was important. The three gave enthusiastic nods at his request, already talking about what they were going to perform.

Toya put his hand on his chin and fixed his gaze on Akito, “I think Tsukasa is going to love it, Akito. I hope you don’t stress about it too much.” An and Kohane nodded in agreement.

 

“And we’ll make sure to try extra hard to make the show as great as possible for Tsukasa-kun!” 

 

Akito smiled softly at his teammates, he was genuinely so grateful to have formed a team with such amazing people. He couldn’t have asked for better people to work with to surpass the legend, and while he hardly showed it, he loved the three of them deeply. The connection he’s made with the people of Vivid Street, the amount of progress he’s made, and the amount of confidence he’s gained was all thanks to them, and he couldn’t be happier with them. An was annoying when she was texting Kiritani, though, her giggles were so high pitched they hurt his ears. He promised to himself he would never end up like her. - He’d end up worse, just in private. -

The weekend came and went slower than it had for the past two months, Akito worked tirelessly with his teammates making a catchy love song that fit them, and they’ve made tremendous progress. They finished it by the end of Sunday, and they’ve been practicing it for two days, Wednesday being their day off. He couldn’t say he was anything other than extremely grateful though, they were all doing this because Akito wanted to make something special for his crush. When they finally put the finishing touches on the song with the help of the vocaloids, Akito was so tired he became extremely sappy, and it was embarrassing to look back on. 

 

He’d rather not think about how he rested his hand on An’s shoulder and admitted to her how much he truly was grateful for her. Even if her reaction was sweet and she told him how she’s grateful for him as well, he knew she was going to bring it up and tease him the next time they start bickering. 

 

Thankfully, he didn’t have to, as he had something more important on his mind. But as he walked into Tsukasa and his hang out spot, he was less thankful, as he was supposed to invite him to come to their show on Saturday. It was three days from now, which was plenty of time for him to prepare, but it was still extremely nerve wracking. He made sure that Tsukasa didn’t have any performances soon, too, because after all of their hard work he couldn’t risk Tsukasa not coming. 

 

Tsukasa gave him a happy wave and a big grin when he looked up to see Akito, and it made his heart flutter. He does this everyday, and it still never fails to make Akito feel a certain way. 

 

“Hello, Akito! How was practice yesterday?” Akito sat down and Tsukasa placed his luncheon on his lap, handing Akito the cheesecake slice with a napkin. Akito let out a breath as he remembered last night, they had stayed out until 9:00 PM practicing the song. He’s starting to feel like his sister with how late he’s been staying up working on music.

 

“Exhausting, but it was worth it. My group and I practiced until our voices were cracking, which probably isn’t good, but when we make a new song so close to the show, we have to practice it more than the others. I felt like shit, but it’s worth it.” He took a bite out of the cheesecake as Tsukasa laughed at him. He started talking about his own rehearsal and Akito listened with attentive ears, wanting to stall before he popped the question. 

 

Wiping his hands off, he started folding the napkin as a way to fidget. “Hey, Tsukasa, I wanna ask you something.” Tsukasa jumped at this, placing down his chopsticks neatly and looking at Akito with a light blush on his face. Akito blushed as well, it sounds like he’s already confessing! “Er, I just wanted to know if you wanted to come to my show on Saturday. It’s one of the more important ones, and I figured I should invite you since I’ve already seen two of yours, but you haven’t seen any of mine.” 

 

Tsukasa’s eyes brightened immediately and a smile grew on his face. “Really?! Oh, Akito, I thought you would never ask! Of course I’ll go!” He gave Akito a tight hug from his side, leaning his head on his shoulder. Akito spluttered, already becoming a blushing mess.

 

“Yeah yeah, whatever, just don’t be weird…” He gave Tsukasa a couple pats on his head since he couldn’t hug him back, his biceps pressed tightly against his sides from Tsukasa’s hug. When he pulled back, he continued to sit closely to Akito, their shoulders and thighs touching. Truthfully, Akito was overjoyed now that it was confirmed that Tsukasa would be going to their show, and he hardly noticed their closeness as he thought more about it. 

 

“I’m so excited! I don’t listen to that kind of music often, and I’ve never been in a busy live house before, but a star must be flexible! I’m sure it’s going to be amazing-” Tsukasa continued rambling about the live show, Akito hanging onto every word and drinking up every compliment he was given. 

 

He was just as excited as Tsukasa, but he was also incredibly anxious for obvious reasons. He wasn’t worried about performing badly, he’s confident that he and his team will put on a better show than they ever have before now that the stakes were even higher, he was just worried about the end of the show. He was worried about the part where everybody leaves, and when Tsukasa presumably stays back to give them his compliments, because why wouldn’t he? He was worried about coming out to greet Tsukasa alone, the rest of his team staying in the back as he pours his heart out to Tsukasa. He was worried about Tsukasa’s response, more than anything. 

 

He put on a brave face however, he had time to make up scenarios in his head when he was alone in his room, not right in front of the blonde. The two fell into idle chatter before the blonde paused, looking Akito up and down and then looking at himself.

 

“Ah, Akito, there’s only one issue…” Akito raised an eyebrow, signaling for Tsukasa to continue. He grabbed at his sweater, “I don’t exactly have the wardrobe for that kind of environment, and I know I’ll stick out like a sore thumb if I go in my usual attire… And I don’t own any clothes that would be fitting…” Akito looked Tsukasa up and down and snickered, covering his mouth with his hand.

 

“Yeah, you definitely would, and that’s an understatement.” Akito thought to himself, he’d get horrible second hand embarrassment if Tsukasa showed up in an outfit similar to the ones he usually wears. His face flushed when he thought of an idea. “Well, we could always go and get you an outfit after school if you’re free. I am, and I know a lot of good shops.” Akito bit the inside of his cheek nervously, he’s always wanted to go on a shopping date with a significant other, and being able to properly introduce Tsukasa to his fashion sense would be a dream come true. Not to mention, seeing him in the kinds of clothes that he wears would probably make his heart short-circuit, but it was worth it.

 

Tsukasa brightened up at Akito’s words. “That’s a great idea, Akito! I am indeed free after school for a few hours, so it fits into my schedule nicely.” Tsukasa had a similar blush on his face to Akito’s, and it didn’t go unnoticed by him.

 

“Alright then, meet me at the front gates, it’ll be my treat. I have discounts at half of those shops, anyways.” Tsukasa smiled wider at this.

 

“Aw, thank you! It’s a date, then!” He picked up his chopsticks again before he realized what he said. Akito raised an eyebrow and had a slight smirk on his face, along with a deep blush. “I mean, not like that, it’s like a saying. Like a western saying, they say that when they make plans with other people. I didn’t mean- I mean, unless you like-”

“I know. Eat your lunch, idiot.” 

 

Akito’s smirk got bigger when Tsukasa immediately complied with him, and he snickered at his embarrassment. He ignored the spike of happiness he felt and how he got butterflies from the comment. 

 

Tsukasa quickly filled the silence with his rants about how his troop is divided on which plot to go with for their new play, how he needs more fabric for costumes, and basically anything he can think of, per usual. Akito enjoyed when Tsukasa went on rants like this, it was nice to just sit back and listen to him talk about whatever he wanted. If he were to tell this to his first-year self, he probably would have beat the shit out of present him. The thought was amusing, and he wished it was possible to have a conversation with himself from last year about how he made a love song with his teammates just so he could confess to Tsukasa Tenma. It was still unbelievable even now, it didn’t seem to hit him that on Saturday, he will be singing his pathetic little heart out for a blonde theater kid that he’s fallen in love with. 

 

Akito gazes at Tsukasa with something unidentifiable in his eyes, and he looks sickeningly and pathetically in love to anybody that could possibly see him staring at the boy next to him. He observes every part of Tsukasa; His face, his arms, his hands, his chest, everything. In just a couple of days, he’ll be able to call all of it his, and he’ll be able to hold Tsukasa in his arms properly. 

 

When the bell rings, the two walk to their classes together, and Akito seems like he’s on cloud nine. Sitting through class is going to be hell when all he’s going to be able to think about is finally being able to see the blonde boy in Akito’s style of clothing. He brushes his fingers against Tsukasa’s when they near the buildings, and when Tsukasa looks at him, he waves goodbye to the boy, reminding him about after school. Tsukasa gives him a smile and waves happily, walking into the third year buildings, and Akito sighs when he’s left alone with his embarrassingly sappy and affectionate thoughts. 

Chapter 12

Summary:

akito is like a pathetic wet cat

Tsukasa waits by close to the front gates of the school, tapping his foot and waving goodbye to those he recognizes. Tsukasa lets his mind wander as he waits for his junior, it’s slightly amusing how the roles have switched, usually Akito is the one waiting for him, not the other way around. He waves at one last person before he feels someone tap his shoulder, and he turns to be face to face with Akito.

 

“Are you making a fool out of yourself again?” Akito raised an eyebrow and smirked, but Tsukasa just scoffed.

 

“I never make a fool out of myself, I am a star! It’s impossible for me to do that!” He puts his hands on his hips as he looks up at the slightly taller ginger. He rolls his eyes and gestures for Tsukasa to follow him as he leads him off the school grounds. Tsukasa asks questions about the kinds of places they’re visiting, interested in learning more about the kind of style Akito has taken a liking to. He gladly explains, going on tangents about the importance of layering, not mixing patterns, and everything else he can think of in regards to what Tsukasa needs to know in order to not look out of place at the live house. 

 

Tsukasa giggles, thinking that Rui needs this lesson more than he does, and when they finally reach the first store, Tsukasa widens his eyes at the nicely dressed display mannequins. Akito nods in agreement and leads him inside, one of the workers waving at them.

 

“Ah, welcome Shinonome-kun! It’s nice to see you back!” The worker gives a polite smile and Akito returns it. “Let me know if you need any assistance, but I doubt it.” She giggles when she says this, twirling her hair around her finger. Tsukasa raises an eyebrow at her actions, but it doesn’t look like Akito is very phased by it.

 

“Of course, thank you, Yoshida-chan.” 

 

Akito leads him around the store grabbing and inspecting different jackets, pants, shirts, and accessories. Tsukasa thinks back to the worker, glancing over his shoulder to see her not-so-subtly looking at them. 

 

“That worker is totally into you, Akito.” Tsukasa scoffs and crosses his arms at the boy who is now crouched down on the floor, looking at the array of shirts. He looks up and raises his eyebrow.

 

“So?”

Tsukasa rolls his eyes, “You shouldn’t feed into her attraction, if you’re not interested then let her know!” He says this as if it’s common sense and as if there’s not a different reason as to why he’s mentioning it in the first place. 

 

Akito stands up, a shirt on his arms on top of two jackets, and smirks at the annoyed blonde in front of him. “Sounds like somebody’s jealous..” When Tsukasa starts sputtering and trying to defend himself, Akito shoves the garments of clothing into his arms. “C’mon, we need to get you a pair or two of pants.” Tsukasa is left silent, forced to follow Akito around like a puppy on a leash, but it’s not like he’s complaining. As long as that girl doesn’t come up to them again, he’s fine. 

 

Akito makes a beeline for a specific rack of pants, skimming through it until he finds a nice pair of baggy black jogging pants. Tsukasa is still looking over his shoulder for the worker, which Akito finds amusing. He hands the pants to Tsukasa as well, “Here you go, the changing rooms are over here, I’ll wait for you on the benches.” Akito points to the changing rooms across from them and Tsukasa thanks him, quickly locking himself in. 

 

Tsukasa stares at the garments of clothing he hung up on the hangers along the walls, admiring everything that Akito picked out. He feels a little worried at the small tank top, but it’s nothing the star couldn’t handle! 

 

Looking at himself in the mirror, he feels a little exposed by the navy blue tank top, he’s not used to wearing things that hug his figure so much. He shakes off the feeling and puts the black and grey jacket on, it looked like it had unnecessary straps and zippers in areas where there shouldn’t be zippers, but it looked great nonetheless. The pants felt extremely light on his legs and it felt like they weren’t there at all, which threw him off guard. He stepped out of the dressing room, his shoes off since they didn’t grab any.

 

“Ah, I feel like the jacket defeats the purpose of giving me a tank top if I’m just going to zip it up…” Tsukasa pulled at the random straps on the jacket, nervous of Akito’s opinion for some reason. Akito shook his head and snickered.

 

“That’s because it’s not supposed to be zipped up all the way, only halfway, and it’s supposed to hang off your shoulders like this.” He walked over and unzipped the jacket a little, adjusting it so it hangs off his shoulders. Akito kept his hands on Tsukasa’s arms and stared at Tsukasa for probably a little too long, his face going red. He was not used to seeing Tsukasa in this kind of style, and especially not used to him wearing tight clothes like tank tops. It was doing things to his heart, and he could tell the shopping trip was going to be difficult for him to handle. 

Tsukasa was a similar shade of red, he felt butterflies from having Akito’s gaze on him for so long. He was desperate to fill the silence and to get Akito to look at somewhere that wasn’t his arms and chest. “I don’t know how I feel about the tank top and the pants, but I like the jacket!” Akito seemed to snap out of his trance, looking up at Tsukasa’s face with his pupils blown wide.

 

“Oh- yeah that’s fine, the jacket is cool… but what about the tank top and pants not working for you?” He took his hands off of Tsukasa and crossed his arms, tilting his head.

 

“I don’t like how light the pants feel, it's like there’s nothing on my legs! The tank top is just because I don’t like my shoulders showing, but I don’t mind the tightness.” 

 

Akito nodded, taking note of everything he told him; No light pants and no shirts that don’t cover his shoulders.

 

“Alright, good to know, I’ll go pay for the jacket while you get changed.” 

 

As the two left the store, a bag in Akito’s hand, the worker from earlier waved goodbye and winked at him, making Tsukasa scowl. Akito had to hold back a laugh at his face, leading him to the next store that wasn’t too far away. The process was similar to the last one, except this time Tsukasa actually looked at the price tags, his jaw dropping when he saw how much they were. 

 

“A-Akito! We can’t shop here, look at how expensive everything is!” Tsukasa whisper-yelled to Akito, but he just waved him off, going back to searching through the racks.

 

“It’s alright, Tsukasa, you don’t have to worry about it because you’re not paying.” Tsukasa scoffed at his words.

 

“That’s exactly like I’m worrying, you shouldn’t spend so much on me…”

Akito stared at him with two pairs of pants in his hands and told him to pick between the two.

 

“Whichever one is cheaper!”

 

Akito scowled, pulling the price tags back so Tsukasa couldn’t look at them, to which he sighed and pointed at the one on the left; it was a pair of baggy army green cargo pants. 

 

“See? Wasn’t so hard.”

Tsukasa kept scolding him on the prices, but Akito just ignored him, ushering him over to a wall of shirts varying in styles and sizes. The two looked through them together, Tsukasa mainly looking at the price tags and gasping as each one got more expensive. Akito rolled his eyes when Tsukasa started up on his tangent about not letting Akito buy him stuff that was over 9,000 yen. 

 

“The more you complain, the more I’m buying you.” 

 

Thankfully, that was enough to make Tsukasa be quiet, but he glared at Akito’s innocently smiling face. They continued working together; Akito picking out items of clothing and Tsukasa picking his favorites. By the time it came for Tsukasa to get changed, they had picked out three shirts and two pairs of pants. Akito didn’t think he could handle seeing Tsukasa in another outfit like that again and tried to convince him to just buy them all without trying them on, but Tsukasa immediately refused. 

 

“I know you said to not say anything, but that would be entirely too expensive! I’ll pick one from each, and that’s it!” And with that, he left Akito waiting outside of the waiting room.

Akito played with his fingers, nervously waiting for the boy to come out of the dressing room, hoping he won’t have a similar reaction to last time. Actually, he won’t . He will not. He took a deep breath, telling himself he’s going to contain himself this time. Just in time, Tsukasa came out with the green cargos and the black compression shirt on, and all thoughts of containing himself went out the window. 

 

Tsukasa smiled brightly at his shocked face and struck a pose, “Left speechless by the beauty of a star? Hahaha! Don’t feel bad, Akito, I’m sure many do!” Akito covered his face with his hands, taking deep breaths.

 

“I’m sure they do…” He groaned and Tsukasa laughed again, thankful that it’s his turn to fluster Akito. He went back into the dressing room with the door open this time, turning to look at himself at all angles and admiring himself in the mirror.

 

“I think I like these two! The shirt is tight, but it’s not revealing, and the pants are baggy, but also heavy… I think I might get these!”

 

Akito was grateful to all of the gods above that Tsukasa made up his mind quickly, but he cursed them for having him choose the compression shirt. He’s not going to be able to handle seeing Tsukasa in the crowd wearing everything he’s picked out. He gave a weak reply to Tsukasa, him snickering at the state Akito’s in. He closed the door to change and quietly cheered; if what just happened wasn’t incredible proof that Akito liked him, then he doesn’t know what is. 

Last on the list for things to get for Tsukasa were shoes, because he had no idea the kinds of shoes the boy owned, but if they were anything like Toya’s before he introduced Toya into his fashion, then he’s going to need a couple pairs. Thankfully, shoes aren’t going to nearly send Akito into cardiac arrest, so he doesn’t have anything to worry about as he leads Tsukasa to his favorite footwear shop. 

 

“Black sneakers or boots would go best with your outfit, and this place is perfect for both of those. But which would you rather wear for hours and jump around in?” 

 

Tsukasa thought for a moment, sneakers were comfortable but didn’t look as good as boots, but boots were more uncomfortable. However, he’s worn boots countless times during his performances, and he’s gotten used to jumping around and being in them for long periods of time. 

 

“I think boots would look better, and I’m used to how they feel since I wear them for a lot of my shows!”

 

Akito nodded and led them over to the wall stacked with rows and rows of boots, either high top, chunky, flat, combat, any kind you want basically. Tsukasa was drawn to a shiny pair with thick soles and decorative straps with stars on the end. Akito chuckled, of course he would go for that one.

 

Tsukasa asked for the shoe in his size and while they waited, he thought more about the girl from the first shop. He curled his lip thinking about her and how shamelessly she acted around Akito, couldn’t she see that they came there together ? And, yeah, it wasn’t a date technically, but Tsukasa can still dream.

 

“By the way, I was not jealous of that girl.” Akito turned his head to see Tsukasa with his arms crossed and burst into giggles, covering his mouth with his hand.

 

“You’re still thinking about her? Sure, sure, you’re not jealous.”

Tsukasa huffed in annoyance. “I’m not!” 

 

Their debate was cut short when the employee came back out with the shoes in his size, and Akito went to pay. Tsukasa stopped him though, “Let me at least pay for the shoes, you’ve paid for everything else!” 

 

Akito paused at first, but then sighed and gestured him forwards. It’s just one pair, and Akito still one upped him with the entire outfit. Yes, he turned it into a competition the minute Tsukasa mentioned paying for something. 

 

The two walked out of the store with Akito ending up holding all of the bags, but he didn’t mind. He was slightly disappointed that their time together was ending, and it seemed like Tsukasa felt the same. 

 

“Hey, Akito, do you want to maybe… get something to eat? It’s been a while since lunch time.” Tsukasa gave him a shy smile, he didn’t have to know that he wasn’t hungry, he just didn’t want to be separated from Akito so soon. Akito was eager to agree to his request though, and he pulled out his phone to look for eateries near them. Embarrassingly enough, the first one to come up was the Weekend Garage, and Tsukasa got excited at the mention of its name.

 

“Oh! Toya tells me about that place a lot! Isn’t that where you guys practice and where that one friend of yours works?” Akito sighed and slowly nodded his head. Then he gave Tsukasa a stern look.

 

“We are not going to the Weekend Garage, An will have a field day if she sees me anywhere near you with all of these bags in my hands, and frankly I don’t want to see her” 

 

Tsukasa whined at his words, he had never been before, and Toya made it sound so cool! 

 

“But why not? I’m sure she’d behave if I was around! Come on, it will be fun! Isn’t their food good, too?” Tsukasa looked up at Akito with pleading eyes, wiping a fake tear from his eye. Akito scowled at the sight.

 

“Ugh, the one day I don’t have to be there, I’m going there anyways… Fine! You can have it your way, we’ll eat at the Weekend Garage.” Tsukasa let out a cheer and followed Akito with a bounce in his step when he started leading them to the small cafe. He prayed with every fiber in his being that An was busy with her friends after school and wasn’t working today.

 

Turning the corner, he let out a sigh when he saw the front door to the building, and took in a deep breath as he walked closer. Tsukasa had a bright smile on his face, and Akito convinced himself that it really can’t be that bad. Pushing the door open with his arm and kicking it open the rest of the way, he made direct eye contact with Ken and An, who’s jaw immediately dropped when she saw Akito with Tsukasa smiling behind him. 

 

“There’s no way…”

 

“For your information, An Shiraishi, I’m only here because Tsukasa has never been and Toya has been glazing this place like crazy to him, not because I wanted to come here specifically on your shift.” He glared when she started grinning like a madman, then softening his gaze when he muttered a ‘hello’ to Ken, before going back to glaring at An. 

 

Tsukasa pushed in front of Akito, striking a pose before starting his crazy, and loud, introduction. “Greetings, Mr. And Ms. Shiraishi, my name is Tsukasa, written as ruler of the world, Tenma, written as soaring pegasus!” Akito let his head fall, refusing to make eye contact with neither An nor Ken, “Tsukasa Tenma, the dazzling world future star!” He struck one last pose before holding his hand out to An, who slowly shook it, failing to suppress a smile. She was taking deep breaths, and Akito could tell it was taking a lot for her to not burst out laughing. Ken was a little more calm, but he had a shit eating grin on his face and his eyebrows were raised high. 

 

Tsukasa shook hands with Ken, seemingly unaware that half of the Weekend Garage was staring at him. Akito narrowed his eyes at An, who fanned her face while letting out silent laughs. 

 

“Your date sure is… a character!”

“Shut the fuck up and do your job, dipshit.” 

They were led to a table by a still grinning An, who handed Tsukasa a menu. “I already know what you want, Akito, let me know when you’re ready to order, Tenma-kun!” She walked away with a pep in her step, going over to her father and whispering into his ear. Akito decided to not focus on them at the moment, instead on the boy in front of him.

 

“Do you think they like me?”

Akito blinked a couple of times before answering, “Oh yeah, for sure.” Tsukasa grinned at this before looking down at the menu, scanning the items. Akito could feel eyes on him as he conversed with the boy in front of him, he knew An was staring at them. Hell, he wouldn’t be surprised if she was recording them, too. She was probably taking as many pictures as her phone could handle and sending all of them to her girlfriend that likely couldn’t care less. 

 

He expressed this to Tsukasa, leaning his forehead on his palm as he did so, and the boy only laughed in response. “I have to get used to the paparazzi regardless, so let her take as many as she pleases! I’ll even pose for her if she wishes!”

Akito scoffed, “She’s not like Ena thank God, I don’t think I could have two of her in my life.” 

 

The girl they were previously talking about walked over to their table, a smirk on her face and pancakes in her hand. She placed them down and took Tsukasa’s order, but didn’t leave when she finished. 

 

“So, what made you want to come here with Akito of all people?” Akito glared at her, he didn’t like how she was overstaying her welcome, even if she worked here. 

 

“Oh, I hardly ever go into this side of town, but I’ve heard Toya mention it many times before! He talks about all of you and this place so highly, I’m so happy he found a place and a group of friends where he feels like he belongs!” He put his hand over his heart and had a fond look on his face as he started talking about his brother figure. “And Akito and I were shopping when we got hungry, so I took that as my chance to finally visit!” 

 

An listened intently, leaning her hand on the table, turned towards Tsukasa. “How sweet, you two are already going on shopping and cafe dates! Well, I’ll leave you two alone and get your order in!” She winked at them both with a mischievous grin on her face as she turned to leave.

 

“Oh, we’re not-!... Ah…” Tsukasa’s cheeks were dusted pink and he turned back to look at Akito, who was scowling as he watched An retreat.

 

“Don’t mind her, she just likes getting under people’s skin. One of the only things she’s good at.” Tsukasa scoffed and gave him a slap on the wrist. 

 

“Oh you… speak highly of those you love!” 

 

Akito chuckled, there was one thing he had in common with An, he also liked getting under people’s skin. The two decided to ignore her comment, but it was at the back of both of their minds as they continued their time together at the Weekend Garage. Soon enough, Tsukasa’s order came and they ate their food in a comfortable silence, their shoes touching each other. Akito bit the inside of his cheek, it does seem like a date, doesn’t it? Akito bought him an entire new outfit and then took him to go eat at probably his favorite place, it seemed so… domestic. 

 

Honestly, he had a really good time with Tsukasa, he enjoyed teaching him more about his fashion sense, and he enjoyed seeing him in his fashion sense even more. He felt giddy when he realized that this would likely not be a one time thing, suppressing a smile as he let his thoughts conjure up images of the two going on more shopping dates together. 

 

When they left together, Tsukasa waved goodbye excitedly at An, telling her he’s looking forward to seeing her perform with her group on Saturday, and she seemed to have a genuine smile on her face when she bid them goodbye as well. Well now she knows that he’s definitely going, at least. The two walked lazily through the streets, not wanting to be separated by each other, but knowing they have to say goodbye eventually. 

 

Tsukasa gazed in awe at the street performers that they passed by, giving them compliments and an occasional cheer. He had a smile on his face, turning towards Akito.

 

“You know, Rui would have loved this place before he joined Wondashow. He was a solo performer and usually performed in Phoenix Wonderland, illegally might I add, so he would’ve liked being able to come here and perform as much as he wanted with his robots.” Akito stared at him, wide eyed at what he was implying.

 

“Never say that again, I do not want Kamishiro to be a regular around here… I have to deal with his inventions enough at school!” He shuddered as he imagined the kinds of havoc he’d wreck on Vivid Street, but Tsukasa was right, this is the place for performers to thrive. 

 

They continued walking together, Akito subtly wishing that they could hold hands as they did so, but knowing how awkward it would be if he tried to attempt that. When they reached Scramble Crossing, Tsukasa turned to him with a sad smile on his face.

 

“I had a lot of fun with you today, Akito, I hope we can do this again sometime. Maybe with you spending less money on me!” Akito chuckled, handing him the bags.

 

“Nah, next time we do this I’m spending even more just to spite you.” Tsukasa hit his arm lightly, smiling at his juniors teasing. They stood there for a second before Tsukasa wrapped his free arm around him, resting his chin on his shoulder. Immediately Akito returned the hug, which surprised Tsukasa, as he’s never been so eager to return one of his hugs before. He smiled into his shoulder, he was glad that Akito finally became his friend after so long, and he was even more glad that he secretly knew the boy liked him back. 

 

They separated and Tsukasa gave him one last bright smile, waving and crossing the street to walk to his house. Akito stuffed his hands in his pockets, turning to walk to his own house, his mind running a million miles an hour with memories of the past couple hours, memories that he knew he was going to cherish forever. The impact the boy has made on his life lately was huge, but he wouldn’t have it any other way.

Chapter 13

Summary:

GUYS ITS HAPPENING ITS HAPPENING ITS PAHFKJDSHFJKDH

Notes:

I LISTENED TO OPERA SPACE OPERA AND BEYOND THE WAY ON REPEAT WHILE WRITING THIS SO KEEP THAT IN MIND WHEN YOURE READING THE omg guys my crush texted me back im legit giggling I feel like akito ANWYAS KEEP THAT IN MIND WHEN READING THE WHOLE LIKE. LIVE SHOW SCENE BASICALLY.

The outfit sat hung up on his closet handles for three days, a stark contrast to Tsukasa’s bright and colorful room. Everytime he looked at it, he was reminded of Wednesday and their afternoon spent together, and a smile grew on his face. Now that it was finally time for him to wear it, he was nervous to see what Saki and his parents would say. He shook off the feeling of self consciousness, he knew he would look fine in it, Akito was the one that picked it out afterall! 

 

He ran down the stairs excitedly, boots and phone in hand, he could hear Saki talking with their mother faintly. He kneeled by the hallway to the front door, putting on his boots. “I’m leaving for Toya’s show now! I'll probably be back around 8 o'clock!” He stood up, his hands on his hips as he saw his sister and mother look over at him. Saki gasped and immediately stood up, stars in her eyes.

 

“Tsukasa! Where did you get that?! It looks amazing!” She ran over to him, grabbing the straps on the jacket. 

 

Tsukasa chuckled proudly, “My dear junior, Akito bought it for me! It’s not like what I usually wear, but everyone at the live house wears this style, so I wanted to fit in. I like it, though!” He grinned and his mother smiled back at him.

 

“I think it looks nice on you, dear. Have fun at the performance!” She and Saki waved at Tsukasa, who waved back and left the house, pulling up the text Akito sent him of the location and virtual ticket. It was still light out, thankfully, but walking home is going to be a different story. If only it wasn’t on the other side of town! He considered taking a bus, and shrugged, making up his mind as he sat down on the closest bus stop. It can take him to the center of the town and he can walk the rest of the way, it will be easier for him that way. 

 

As he waited, he researched more about the show, such as who else was playing and the list of songs they were playing. He grinned when he saw ‘Vivid BAD SQUAD’ in bright colors at the top, and he zoomed in and scrolled to look at the names of the songs. Two of them he recognized, to his own surprise, they were songs that he remembers both Akito and Toya mentioning to him. The last song confused him, however, because it was highlighted and had an asterisk next to it. He assumed this was the song Akito was talking about staying up late working on, and he felt a rush of excitement as the bus pulled up.

 

He stepped on and paid the bus driver, thankful for the warm air in the bus. He sat down and continued looking through the flyers for other days that were posted on the website, hoping that he would be able to get a paper flier for today’s show. Tsukasa bit his lip, he debated on texting Akito to see how things were going, but he didn’t want to bother the other boy. Maybe he’ll just send one text…

 

‘Kasa: Hey Akito!!! I’m on my way! ^_^ Excited to see all of you guys tonight!!

 

He didn’t expect a response from the ginger, but that was fine. He was surprised to see the little three dots pop up after a minute or two, shouldn’t Akito be setting up?

 

‘Kito: cool

‘Kito: we’re warming up rn but i can take a break

‘Kito: im excited to see toya and kohanes reaction to ur fit lol

 

Tsukasa smiled, looking down at his outfit, the jacket zipped up halfway and hanging off his shoulders like Akito told him to. He was also excited to see their reactions, Toya has never seen him wearing dark colors like this, he’s always wearing something bright. 

 

‘Kasa: Me too! He’s never seen me in something so dull and dark before 0_0 I’m always wearing bright colors!

 

‘Kito: lmao yeah ur right

‘Kito: but it fits you imo

‘Kito: i like it i think you should wear it more often

 

Tsukasa blushed at his words, but he agreed with him, it was nice to change it up every once in a while. 

 

‘Kasa: Maybe! Only if you help me get more clothes, though >_<

 

‘Kito: oh yea ofc i dont trust u to get them urself lmfao

‘Kito: >:)

‘Kito: ew ok no im not doing that again thats ur thing u can keep it

 

Tsukasa quietly giggled at his attempt to try and text like him, it was cute, but it didn’t suit him at all.

 

‘Kasa: Yeah, don’t touch my emojis! -_-

 

‘Kito: gladly

‘Kito: anyways i gtg an says im turning into a “screenager”

‘Kito: (she’s 20x worse with her gf)

‘Kito: cya 

 

‘Kasa: Hehe, byebye!

 

Tsukasa sighed happily and put his phone down, the bus coming to a slow stop in the heart of the town. He got off and pulled up the directions to the place, starting his walk to the live house.

“Get off your phone, screenager, that’s my thing!”

Akito rolled his eyes at An, but sent Tsukasa a goodbye text anyways, stuffing his phone back into his pocket and kicking himself off the wall. Doors opened in ten minutes, and Akito desperately needed something to calm his nerves, he’s never felt so nervous in his life. And that championship game for football in middle school was pretty fucking intense. 

 

He could hear the distant chatter of the crowd outside waiting for the doors to open, and he looked around at the small crowd of people in the backstage of the house. Another group was opening for them for a couple of songs, and after that they would switch, but the most important thing was that Vivid BAD SQUAD was ending. More importantly, it was one of Akito’s songs where he would sing the majority of it, and while he’s never been nervous to perform before, he is now. His voice was warmed up, the music was ready, everyone backstage was talking amongst themselves excitedly, so he should feel ready as well. He doesn’t, however, and he’ll curse Tsukasa to the ends of the Earth if he messes up his performance tonight because of him.

 

He wouldn’t actually because it’s not his fault, he never asked to be liked by the singer. 

 

Toya noticed his fidgeting and cloudy eyes, so he calmly placed a hand on his shoulder. “Please don’t stress over it, Akito, everything is going to go perfectly.” Akito made eye contact with the taller boy, sucking in a breath of air. “Tsukasa is going to love our performance, and he’s going to accept your confession. I promise.” Akito’s shoulders sagged, letting out the breath he was holding in. He was grateful for his partner, he truly was, and as he heard the chatter from outside get closer, he felt more calm. 

 

“Ooo, Akito~ Your little boyfriend is in that crowd!” An giggled and walked over to the two, smirking at Akito’s face that she could tell was nervous and flushed in the dark. “You’re not too worried though, right? You know he’s gonna love it regardless.” Her tone of voice changed slightly, letting Akito know that she cared about his feelings and calming his nerves. 

 

Akito gave her a nod, “Yeah, I’ll be fine once I get out there probably.” She gave him a nod and a smile, peeking her head out a little to get a glimpse of the now loud crowd. The lights were up, but not overbearing, so she could see plenty of people standing out there, talking amongst each other. The boy with blonde hair and rosy tips was nowhere to be seen, but there were still people coming in, so she brushed it off. 

 

In just a couple of minutes, Vivid BAD SQUAD would be out there, singing their first song to the crowd, and Akito would be searching it looking for the one very special person. The group that was opening was excitedly chatting amongst themselves, practically bouncing on their feet to get out there and perform. Akito couldn’t blame them, now that he was feeling more confident about the very last song and what was to come after it, he wanted to get out and perform as well. On the way here, while warming up, and even still, he was going over what he was going to say to Tsukasa at the end of the night. He wrote it down last night and memorized it, and the words haven’t left his mind ever since he wrote them down.

 

As he watched the opening group go out onto stage and do their introduction, he heard the crowd roar with excitement, and it was making him feel adrenaline already. He could hardly sit still while they sang, and An watched him with amusement written all over her face. It was easy for her to laugh at him, she was already in a relationship, she got over the hard part! In Akito’s opinion, if anything, she should be sympathizing with him, since she had to go through the hard part herself. He wondered what it was like confessing to an idol and how much pressure she probably felt, despite the fact they’re childhood friends, but An has never treated Kiritani as anything other than herself, so it probably wasn’t as difficult as Akito imagines it to be. He also realizes that, in a way, it’s more comforting for her to be teasing him than to be sympathizing with him. He feels like it would be weird to be comforted by An, because that’s just not how their dynamic is.

 

The wait for him to get on stage felt like forever, and it didn’t help that there was hardly anything to do backstage. He wondered how Tsukasa was doing in the crowd, if he was put off by being squished by other people, if he disliked how loud the music was, or if he even liked the music.

 

Tsukasa, on the other hand, was having a fantastic time watching the first group perform. The energy of the crowd was already filling Tsukasa with adrenaline, and he couldn’t wait to see Vivid BAD SQUAD come out on stage. He waved his arms and jumped around like the people next to him as the opening group finished the last song for their first set, waving goodbye and welcoming Kohane onto stage. Tsukasa’s eyes widened when he saw her walk onto stage and wave at everybody, introducing herself as the opener for her group. The start of the song overlapped with the ending of her speech, and when she started singing, the crowd erupted into cheers again.

 

Tsukasa felt so proud of all of his juniors, they were such talented individuals, and he felt proud to be able to witness them grow. Moreso, he felt honored to be able to witness a performance like this, Kohane’s singing was inspiring him and made him want to yell his praises for her as loud as he could. 

 

As her first song came to an end, Tsukasa was probably one of the loudest in the room.

 

“That’s my number one fan!!” The people next to him gave him odd glances, probably thinking he meant it the other way around. The boy was jumping around, his cheering only getting louder when the rest of the members came out on stage. It died down as they started introducing themselves, but it quickly came back after Akito and Toya had done their duo introduction.

 

Akito was searching the crowd for the blonde boy, but the lights were overbearing, and his efforts went to waste. Deep down, Akito was disappointed that he wouldn’t be able to see Tsukasa cheering for him, but he was partially grateful too. He doesn’t know how he would act if he saw Tsukasa’s smile in the crowd, knowing it was for him. When the music started, they all got into their positions, as all of their songs had slight dancing included. Akito was glad that this song was mainly An singing, he felt like he needed more time to adjust to knowing Tsukasa is staring at him while he’s up here. 

 

Tsukasa felt like he was finally going to lose his voice for the first time in his life when Akito’s first main song came on, he was certain that Akito could hear his yelling. With the amount of jumping, yelling, and singing along he’s done when he knew the pattern of the song, Tsukasa was surprised that he was still jittery and full of energy. Looking around at the crowd, and then back at the singers on stage, he realized it wasn’t just him that felt like that. The energy of the crowd was electric, he could almost feel it in his bones, and the energy of the four up on stage was even more powerful. He felt like he could run a marathon, as long as he had the music and the people at his side. 

 

Akito looked angelic up on stage with the array of different colored light illuminating his face, and Tsukasa couldn’t get enough of him. The outfit he was wearing accentuated all of his best features, and his dancing seemed so smooth it was like he was born for it. His voice traveled so well, his power and passion that he felt for it evident in his voice, and in the moments where his voice mixed with another’s, it sounded like they were tangling together and becoming one. Tsukasa didn’t know how they were able to do it, but their performance left an imprint on Tsukasa’s heart. He was so grateful he was invited to witness this, this night was truly special to him.

 

When the last song of their set ended, Akito felt like he could almost hear Tsukasa over the crowd, but he brushed it off to his mind imagining it. There was no way he was that loud. He made eye contact with his group members and then looked back to the crowd, waving with a huge smile on his face. The other group came back on stage, and Vivid BAD SQUAD said their goodbyes for now. 

 

When Akito finally was safe backstage, he let out a breath and leaned against the wall, An cackling at the state he was in.

 

“I swear, I feel like I could almost hear his booming voice above the crowd!” An didn’t have to specify who he was, they all knew. 

 

Kohane, surprisingly enough, nodded in agreement. “When I finished opening for us, I felt like I definitely heard him scream something along the lines of ‘number one fan’!” She giggled, remembering the moment. “It was hard to keep a straight face, I’m sure he got some looks for that.” 

 

An giggled at her words as well, Akito also letting out a quiet chuckle. “I wouldn’t be surprised, honestly. I worry for his voice, there’s no way he can be that loud for that long and not come out with damaged vocal chords.” 

 

Toya smiled in amusement, “You would be surprised, he’s never lost his voice once in his entire life.” Akito raised his eyebrows, that seems unlikely for how much that boy talks and how loud he talks. 

 

After that, the four sat in silence, letting their voices recover from singing so passionately for an hour. They could all feel the difference in their performance tonight, they were truly giving it their all, and Akito didn’t know how to express his gratitude for the three in front of him. He knows they’re far from being able to surpass Rad Weekend, but tonight so far has been proof that they are capable of improving drastically. He felt excited at the thought of all of the shows to come, he was looking forward to seeing their improvement in those as well, and he couldn’t ask for a better squad to perform with. Akito doesn’t know what’s to come after they finally make their dream a reality, but he knows he doesn’t want to let go of those three. He thought about Taiga, and how he’s a global solo performer, and he realized he wouldn’t mind doing that with his group. The idea of them going global and performing all over the world was enticing, and Akito would be lying if he said it wasn’t high up on his list of things to do after Rad Weekend is surpassed. 

 

The only issue with making that dream come true is getting the rest of the members of Vivid BAD SQUAD to agree to it; he had no idea what the rest of their plans were, either. While it was understandable he would be thinking about his future in an environment like this, it was certainly not the time, and when he saw Kohane gesture for them to pay attention, he realized that the others were on the last stretch of their last song of the night. 

 

Akito’s attention was immediately on the beat of the music, listening for when it would finally stop and they would start saying their goodbye speech. It felt like time was moving way too fast when the beat started to slow, and he could feel Toya’s eyes on him when it completely stopped, the only noise being the cheering of the audience. 

 

An stood up and got in the middle of the makeshift circle they had made, her arms crossed across her chest. “When we go out there, we are going to give it all we have got. This night is important, not only for Akito and his theater kid boyfriend, but because it’s proof that we’re improving enough to be able to surpass Rad Weekend!” Kohane pumped her fist in the air, letting out a cheer. Akito gave her a determined nod, and they all stood up as well. When they heard their name, they rushed onto the stage, giving hugs and handshakes to the other group. They left with smiles on their faces, and Vivid BAD SQUAD turned towards the audience, announcing that they’ll be the ones closing for the night. 

 

The audience had just as much energy as they did the first time they came on, the cheers and jumping not wavering at all. When Toya and Akito took the center stage, signaling that it was their song, Tsukasa just about lost it. He had been waiting for them to have their moment, as An and Kohane did, and it was worth the wait when he heard their voices mixing together, the rough edge to Akito’s voice fitting perfectly with Toya’s soft and smooth voice. All four of them moved around each other in harmony, it seemed the more extravagant dances had stopped and now they were more hand and feet movements. He could tell there was still a considerable amount of effort into planning it though, as they moved like they were waves in the ocean, none of them missing a beat once. 

 

The next song was equally divided between all of them, and the amount of pride Tsukasa felt for them all was unexplainable through words. They were surely tired by now after singing and dancing for hours, but they were still giving it everything they had. The audience matched their energy perfectly, soon falling into beat with them and singing along when they could, the chants and cheers matching the rhythm of their steps and hand movements. Tsukasa was more than happy that he was able to be a part of it, and he felt no shame when he screamed as loud as he could when the song ended with Akito up front. 

 

Instead of jumping into the next song after the song had ended, Akito put one hand up and moved the mic taped to the side of his cheek closer to his mouth with the other. The audience’s cheers died down as they realized what he was asking of them.

 

“Thank you all so much for coming out tonight to listen to all of us, it really means the world to us all.” The other three gave their agreements, and he continued afterwards. “This is the very last song of the night-” The audience gave scattered ‘aw’s and ‘oh’s, but still kept relatively calm. “-And this one is special to all of us, but especially me.” Tsukasa gasped, this was probably the song Akito was telling him about! The one where he stayed up late mixing it, and then his whole team taking more time at practice to practice it! 

 

“So, without further ado-” He winked and the music immediately started, the audience going back to a louder volume. Tsukasa, however, was yelling for a different reason, and he felt like a stan in the audience of their favorite j-pop idol’s concert when Akito winked. The beat was extremely catchy, the audience jumping to keep up with it, and when Tsukasa listened more to the lyrics that Akito was saying rather than the angelic voice itself, it hit him like a truck. Akito was singing a love song!

 

Tsukasa couldn’t believe his ears, he started grabbing onto other people to support himself as the song progressed, definitely confirming that it was a love song. Thankfully, they didn’t mind, and just grabbed him back. He had the brightest smile on his face, his heart fluttering every time Akito came to the front of the stage, and he had the urge to try and push closer to the front like he had seen other’s doing before. He didn’t make it very far since the people closest to the front were like a brick wall, but he was still glad to be closer than he was before. As he moved, the lighting reflecting off his face changed, and unfortunately for Tsukasa’s vision, he settled in an area where one of the lights was shining directly onto him. 

 

Akito could tell that the crowd was moving more than it had for the other songs, maybe because it was the last song of the night and people wanted to be near the front, but he kept his eye out for the blonde hair and dark outfit. Near the middle of the song, he stayed at the front for longer than usual during the chorus, and he really got a good look at the audience. He scanned it with a wide grin on his face, but when he spotted the boy he had been looking for the entire night, it felt like his heart was about to stop. Tsukasa had moved to be perfectly below one of the stray lights, and it was making him look ethereal.

 

Akito felt more power in his singing when he finally made eye contact with the boy that was around eight feet in front of him, and he thought it was suddenly very stuffy up on stage when Tsukasa waved, cupping his hands around his mouth and screaming his name. At least, he assumed he was screaming, he couldn’t hear over the speakers next to his head and the loud audience in front of him. When he rotated to be next to Toya, they made eye contact, and Akito nodded at Toya with a toothy grin on his face. Toya gave his own wide smile, happy that he was finally able to spot Tsukasa. 

 

Tsukasa wanted to believe that he was singing the loudest out of everyone when the chorus came, having already learned it from the other two times it played, and maybe he was. He knew that they couldn’t hear him, but at this point he was singing for himself. The song was catchy, the lyrics were sweet, and Tsukasa wanted to believe that there was a possibility the song could have been written because of him. He knew it was unlikely, but since Akito said that it was mainly him writing it, he had every right to believe himself. When the song finally gave its last bang! with the four singers pointing at the audience, he made eye contact with Akito again, who was once more at the front of the stage. He started jumping around like crazy, definitely knocking into multiple people as he went practically batshit crazy for the group in front of him.

Akito lowered his hand, still staring at Tsukasa, and his smile changed to one with fondness as the rest of his team came rushing up to stand on the sides of him. The ‘thank you's' seemed to last forever to Akito, as he just wanted to get Tsukasa alone so he could finally do what he’s been wanting to do the entire time. Regardless, he was grateful for the entire audience as well, and he gave his fair share of ‘thank you’s’ to them as well, waving happily at the still cheering audience. As they retreated backstage, An gave them a group hug, wailing about how their performance was the best one they’ve had yet. 

 

Akito had to agree with her, he was proud of them for giving their 100% for even the last song. Originally, they only planned to play six songs like they usually do, but they changed it to seven last minute due to Akito’s request. He was surprised all of them were able to keep up and not show their exhaustion to the audience with one extra added song, but it was definitely going to catch up to them when they went home for the night. The man that ran the live house gave them his compliments as well, saying their performance was one of their best. 

 

Akito was getting antsy to go and find Tsukasa, as the blonde sent him a text saying he’ll wait for them when they’re done, like he imagined. Toya chuckled slightly at the sight in front of him. “You can go and talk to him now, if you’d like. We won’t disturb you.” Akito’s eyes widened and gave him a quick ‘thanks’ before he bolted for the door that connected backstage to the main floor. He swung it open, but hardly had time to react before he was attacked by Tsukasa, who was hugging him tightly. 

 

“Ah- Tsukasa!” Akito hugged back the boy whose face was stuffed in his chest, ignoring the ‘oooo’s’ from An.

 

“Your performance was sooo good! I can’t believe you’ve deprived me of seeing this for so long! It was life changing, I swear! All of the songs were so catchy, your singing was phenomenal, the dancing was-!!” Akito chuckled and, with the limited strength he had left, he picked up the still ranting boy and walked outside backstage onto the main floor, closing the door behind him with his foot.

 

“-and Kohane and Shiriashi-chan’s voices were so angelic, I thought I was going to cry! Oh- why are we back here? I want to compliment the rest of your group too, you can’t keep all of the compliments for yourself!” Tsukasa leaned on one foot, giving Akito a teasing look. 

 

Akito was staring at the boy in front of him, he was right, the outfit would make his heart short-circuit. His mouth suddenly felt dry and the sweat was sticking uncomfortably to his body, and it felt like hell when he had to bring his gaze back up to Tsukasa’s eyes, barely registering what he had just told him. 

 

“Ah, sorry Tsukasa, you can talk to them later, but I wanted to have a moment with you. I have something kind of important to say.” Akito glanced down from his eyes to his lips for a millisecond, and Tsukasa suddenly stood up straight, nodding at Akito, ready to hear whatever it was he had to say. What he wasn’t ready for was for Akito to step forward and take his hands in his, and his mouth fell open slightly.

 

Akito looked down at their hands before looking back up at Tsukasa again, taking a deep breath. “The last song, I wanted to explain it…” Tsukasa raised his eyebrows slightly, gesturing for him to continue, and Akito gulped nervously. “I wrote it… because of you, Tsukasa. I wanted you to see us specifically tonight because I knew we were going to perform it tonight, and I wanted you to hear me sing it for you live, in an environment incomparable to anything else.” Tsukasa’s eyes widened as he realized what was happening, his mouth slowly curling into a smile, as much as he wanted to suppress it. 

 

“What I’m trying to tell you is, I lov- Mnffg!” Akito was cut off by Tsukasa pulling his hands and body closer, smashing his lips against Akito’s. Akito took a second to realize what was happening before he kissed him back, separating their hands to grab his waist. He deepened the kiss and Tsukasa put his hands on his chest, pushing backwards to separate themselves.

 

“Sorry, I knew what you were going to say the whole time, I just couldn’t help myself… You can continue if you’d like..” Tsukasa gave him a shy smile, but Akito only shook his head and gave his own smirk.

 

“Nah, I like your way of thinking better.” 

 

He pulled the shorter boy closer and kissed him again, feeling any tense muscle in his body immediately relax when Tsukasa brought his hands up to cup his face. He felt a hand tangle in his hair, and he felt stupid for ever worrying about his confession to Tsukasa going wrong. How could he ever expect anything less than the best from the angel in front of him? 

 

They slowly separated, resting their foreheads against each other, and Tsukasa looked up at Akito with love shining in his eyes. 

 

“I love you too, by the way.” Tsukasa’s grin grew wider with every word, his whispered words to Akito making his heart flutter. 

 

Akito gave him a lopsided smile and whispered back to him, “What do you mean ‘too’? You didn’t let me get the words out, dipshit.” Tsukasa started giggling, the hand in his hair going back to Akito’s chest.

 

“Then I guess it’s 1-0.”

 

Akito’s mouth fell and he scoffed, leaning back, “Uh, hell no, we’re not playing that, I love you too!” 

 

Tsukasa giggled even more before he looked behind Akito to see three pairs of heads stacked on top of each other like a cartoon. When they noticed him staring with an amused look on his face, he watched as they slowly wobbled and fell, a crash and multiple curses audible to both of the boys. Akito turned and saw An and Kohane on top of Toya, who looked like he didn’t sign up to be their mat. 

 

“What the fuck, have you been watching us?!” He put his hands on his hips, stepping further away from Tsukasa, but still close enough to touch. 

 

Toya groaned and rubbed his head, giving them a thumbs up. Tsukasa laughed loudly as An started swatting at the thumbs up, Kohane looking like she had stars floating around her head. Finally, An gave up and rolled her eyes, standing up and helping the other two up. 

 

“Fine, yes! I just had to know if you were still bitchless or not!” She practically whined and stomped her feet when she said this. “But anyways, are you?!” She leaned forward, awaiting their response.

 

It was Tsukasa who spoke up in a sarcastic tone. “No, we hate each other.” Then to really sell it, he turned and gave Akito a kiss on the cheek, who went red after.

 

An and Kohane burst out laughing, but Toya looked at them with the happiest expression on his face, looking like he was about near tears.

 

“Oh, Toya! Don’t cry, you big baby!” Tsukasa rushed over and hugged Toya, who hugged him back and gave Akito a wide smile. 

 

“I’m just so happy that you two are finally together, I thought the day would never come!” 

 

Kohane snickered at this, putting a hand to her chin. “I think if you were to break up, it would hurt Toya more than it would hurt you guys…” 

 

The others laughed at her comment, they sensed it probably had some sense of truth to it, looking at the state of Toya who just found out two of his favorite people just got together.

 

“Well, you won’t have to worry about that! Anyways, about your guys performance, oh my gosh-!!” Tsukasa started jumping up and down as he ranted and gave each of them their own personal compliments. An was slightly overwhelmed at the energy Tsukasa still possessed even after hours of jumping and yelling, but she’ll just have to get used to it. Something tells her that it’s going to be like this after every performance they have for a long time, but she appreciates the in-depth compliments he gives her, blushing in embarrassment. 

 

It’s a while before they end up leaving the live house, but when they finally do, they wave goodbye to each other, except for Akito and Tsukasa who stayed behind together for a little longer. Tsukasa looked at Akito, giving him one more kiss. “I wish I could stay out with you, but I really need to get home, it’s later than I thought it would be!” 

 

Akito nodded in understanding. “Yeah, I get it, I’ll walk with you part of the way if you’d like?” Tsukasa sighed and smiled brightly.

 

“Oh, will you? I’d appreciate that, thank you!” 

 

Tsukasa led Akito in the direction of the bus stop he got dropped off at, the two interlocking fingers, slightly swinging their hands as they walked. Akito, understandably so, was still not over Tsukasa’s outfit, and he had to make it known to the blonde boy. 

 

“Y’know, you really do look good in that outfit. I was too much of a pussy to say it when we bought it, but I think you look amazing in this style…” Tsukasa blushed and looked up at Akito, a shameful smile on his lips. “I think you should wear it more often, it suits you.” 

 

Tsukasa giggled, swinging their hands some more. “Well, I can’t deny such a request! Maybe I can pair some of these items with some of the things I already have, too!” Akito hummed and thought about it, agreeing with him. Green cargo pants go with lots of things, and so does the jacket.

 

When they reached the bus stop, Tsukasa turned to Akito, “My house is farther across town, so I have to take the bus the rest of the way.” Akito nodded his head, giving Tsukasa a smile, unlocking their hands.

 

“Alright, I’ll cya on Monday, Tsukasa. Thank you for coming tonight, it means a lot.” Tsukasa nodded frantically, his smile brighter.

 

“Of course! It was my pleasure, truly. I’ll be going to all of them from now on, so don’t be surprised when you see me in the crowd for the next one!” 

 

Akito chuckled, he wouldn’t have it any other way. He waved goodbye to Tsukasa, who returned his wave excitedly, and Akito turned to walk to his own house. He could really feel the exhaustion in his bones now, but the pure happiness he felt knowing that Tsukasa was his and his only outweighed it dramatically. He was looking forward to every future moment spent with the boy, and he had a feeling his affection and love for him was only going to get stronger from here.

Notes:

there's one more its kinda like a filler chapter showing them a year later so you can skip the next if you want, the story technically ends here

Chapter 14

Summary:

just fluff cuz I hate THEM I HATE THENKFHDSAKJ

The Shinonome household was typically a quiet place, save for Ena’s yelling at night. However, over the year, it’s slowly gotten more lively. The very first time Tsukasa came over, the two elder Shinonomes weren’t home, it was just Ena and Akito, which meant Tsukasa’s introduction was reserved for her and her only. Akito stopped him before he could get to the worst of it, not wanting to hear it from her, but still. That marked the moment the Shinonome household would start to become more lively.

 

It wasn’t uncommon for the boy to come over to Akito’s house, he always did it when their rehearsals and practices didn’t collide, which was maybe once or twice a week. They were basically inseparable, and overtime they’ve gotten used to falling asleep on facetime calls. 

 

Akito has also been to the Tenma household, and don’t get him wrong, the house is stunning. When Tsukasa said he was “well-off”, Akito wasn’t expecting all of that, but he said that his house is nothing compared to Otori-chan’s, which he doesn’t want to think about how grand her house is if it’s better than Tsukasa’s. His family is wonderful, his little sister is as sweet as candy and his parents are welcoming and polite, he truly does like them. The only thing he doesn’t like is Tsukasa’s lack of a fucking fourth wall, which is why both of them prefer Akito’s room since his isn’t lacking one. 

 

It’s been a year since the night of that show that brought them together, and both of them have improved their skills in unbelievable ways. Tsukasa has gotten countless acting opportunities with his troupe, and Akito and the rest of Vivid BAD SQUAD are in arm's reach of surpassing Rad Weekend. Life has been amazing to the two boys, and while they do get into arguments over work and practice and rehearsal, they’re able to communicate and talk each other through it to find solutions every time.

 

Akito is reflecting on the past year with Tsukasa, both of them laying in his bed after the long day they’ve had since it was their anniversary. They got each other an array of sweet gifts, Tsukasa and his troupe performed a short show made special for Akito, which involved him coming up onto the stage to kiss Tsukasa for the ending, and Akito did something bold. 

 

Even after a year and a couple months, the spray painted stars have not left the sekai. They haven’t spread since other things showed up to represent Tsukasa, but they haven’t left either. For a couple of months, Rin and Len have been teaching him more about graffiti, and a couple days before their anniversary, he drew something on a wall that was closer to the cafe; his plan was to show Tsukasa what he drew, hopefully by bringing him into sekai.

 

Akito was unsure if that was even possible, and it was difficult to try and test to see if it was, but in the end he was almost certain it was. He was able to bring things he held into sekai, as long as they were touching him and only him, so he figured if he held Tsukasa, he would be able to come to Street Sekai. 

 

To make the long story of Akito explaining to his boyfriend that he just has to trust him as he held him on his back short, Akito’s plan worked, and when Tsukasa dropped his feet onto the asphalt floor of Street Sekai, he was immediately attacked by Len and Rin. The rest of them were there as well, as they were also interested to meet Akito’s boyfriend, but they held back to be polite and not scare him.

 

At the end of the day, all that mattered was that Tsukasa said he loved Akito’s painting, and he learned that Tsukasa also had a sekai! 

 

The shock Akito felt when Tsukasa said that and then proceeded to show him his fucking amazing themepark that he’s able to call his sekai isn’t describable through words. Also, the fact that his sekai had the exact same spray painted stars was almost scary to Akito, were they that connected? But seriously, how come Akito gets a cafe and Tsukasa gets an entire theme park with floating rides and endless food stands? Hatsune Miku has got to be biased. 

 

He doesn’t care though, because now he’s able to go into Tsukasa’s sekai as much as he wants, and vice versa. Currently, however, they were in the real world, unwinding after the day by cuddling on Akito’s bed, a random CD playing on his cassette player. Akito combed his fingers through his boyfriend’s hair soothingly, occasionally giving him a kiss on the head. Tsukasa was nearly asleep on Akito’s chest, more exhausted than Akito since he had to perform, but he looked up and made eye contact with him, a small smile on his face. The two had love clear in their eyes, and they shared one last short sweet kiss before falling into slumber. 

 

“Happy anniversary, Akito…”

 

“Happy anniversary, ‘kasa.” 

 

Tsukasa's sleepy smile was all that was in Akito’s head as the two fell asleep together, this day being one of the many anniversaries they were going to share in the years to come.

Notes:

TYSM FOR READING AAAA THIS TOOK 4 DAYS I CAN FINALLY WORK ON AP SUMMER WORK NOW THAT THIS PROJECT IS DONE

anyways gimme more fic ideas though i'm kind of obsessed with writing akikasa........