Chapter Text
In the hallway, Akito mindlessly scrolled through his phone, waiting for his partner to arrive. The two of them agreed to meet up together for lunch today, but Toya seemed to be running late today. Realizing that he could’ve been caught up with library duties, Akito put his phone aside and made his way towards the library.
On the journey there, a loud explosion erupted from the courtyard nearby.
“It’s probably those two oddballs again.” Akito thought as he glanced out the window, “What could’ve happened this time?”
Instead of being met with an arrangement of sparkling confetti or a discarded piece of a rocket, Akito saw a frantic Rui and Tsukasa sitting on the ground.
But…
Is that actually Tsukasa?
-
Sitting in class, he stared at the ceiling, hoping to pass time quickly.
“H-Hey…! Did you hear about Tenma-senpai?!” An said in a panic, slamming her hands on Akito’s desk.
“What did he do this time?”
“It’s so wild! Apparently, Kamishiro-senpai wanted to conduct some sort of experiment- Right? So he took his usual good old test subject into the courtyard to do whatever he was gonna do… Good news is that it worked, thankfully! Bad news…T-Tenma-senpai turned older…!”
Intrigued, Akito tilted his head to the side and furrowed his eyebrows in astonishment. Tenma? Older? Is she referring to a few years or a grandfather? Akito wanted to see for himself now.
The bell rang as students were packing up early. Akito threw his things into his bag and sped out of the room, heading straight to Toya’s class.
“It’d be weird if I showed up randomly, so using Toya as an excuse should be okay with him.” Akito reasoned, “Afterall, I’m sure this older Tsukasa isn’t familiar with me anymore. He should still be close to Toya, right?”
“Huh? Akito? You’re here so early.” Toya said as he got up from his seat, “Are you in a rush?”
“Nah, I just needed you for something. I heard something happened to Tsukasa-senpai earlier, and I wanted to go visit and see what he looks like in the future.”
“Tsukasa…? Oh, I’ve seen him already.” Toya said with bright sparkles in his eyes, “Akito, you’d be amazed by how he looks… I didn’t expect that this was how Tsukasa was going to look in the future, it really surprised me.”
Rolling his eyes, the pair made their way to Tsukasa’s class as Toya gushed and talked about his senior.
“Excuse me? We’re here for Kamishiro and Tsukasa-senpai.” Akito announced as he slid the door, peeking his head into the class. Inside, he saw the familiar shade of purple and teal hair sitting at a desk with another figure standing nearby.
Looking up slightly, Akito turned his gaze from Rui to the man beside him.
Oh…
That really is Tsukasa…
His features were sharper and cleaner, his eyes were much more soft and welcoming. The strands of his hair were slightly curled, making him more mature than before. Tsukasa had grown taller as well, taller than Akito. His gaze was gentle and movement was as elegant as a swan. His clothes were freshly ironed and neat, framing his body perfectly.
However, the faces on Tsukasa and Rui weren’t pleasant, instead, they both looked surprised. It seemed like Akito had interrupted their conversation.
“Oh, did I come in at a bad time?” Akito asked.
“No, not at all. I just didn’t think you were showing up.” Rui replied, his head turning between Akito and Tsukasa, “You’re not really interested in these types of things, are you?”
“Not really… But Shiraishi was bugging me so much about it, I eventually got curious myself.”
“Ah, that’s understandable then.”
Looking back at Tsukasa, Akito noticed him looking down at his hand, gently smiling and laughing to himself. Angling his head a little better, a quick shine flashed Akito’s sight, making him wince a bit. But there was something on his hand- And Akito wanted to know what was on it.
“Um, would it be fine to keep calling you Tsukasa-senpai?”
“Huh? I mean… It’s fine. If that’s what you’re most comfortable with.”
“Right… Thanks.”
“So, Kamishiro-senpai, do you know if there's a way to turn Tsukasa back to normal?” Toya questioned, “I mean, having an older Tsukasa is okay with me, but I’m not really sure how anyone else is going to react.”
“Turning him back to his usual self… I still haven’t thought of how to do that. I didn’t actually think that machine would work, so now I’ll have to spend time developing a new one…”
“I see. Take your time, there’s no need to rush. I think this Tsukasa is also nice, just like our usual Tsukasa.”
“Fufu, of course. He did tell me a lot of things about his life as an adult…”
“Really? What did he say?”
“Well, he told me he was engaged to someone, he hasn’t told me who it was though. He also said that he’s living happily with his spouse… So it seems like Tsukasa-kun has lived a comfortable life in the future.”
“Engaged…? That’s surprising. Romance was always something Tsukasa wasn’t particularly interested in.”
-
It’s been a few days since Tsukasa had suddenly turned into an adult. Naturally, one would assume that he would stay home and take care of things, but instead, he decided to attend school to accompany students and teachers. The supervisors were reluctant at first, but seeing how much his behavior had changed, they decided that it was allowed for Tsukasa to enter the school.
“Did you see Tenma today? He was cool as always!” A girl squealed in excitement, “He helped me with my English homework yesterday, if it wasn’t for him, then I’d totally be so behind!”
“Really?! You’re so lucky! Whenever I see him, he’s always filling out paperwork in the teacher’s room!”
Akito had no interest in this, as he didn’t feel the need to reach out for Tsukasa’s help, after all, he had a guy named Toya to keep him steady on his studies. An, however, was less fortunate and needed a lot more help.
“You have to go with me! I’m too scared to go by myself- Pretty please~?!” She begged, “I promise that I’ll get you anything under a budget, just go to a tutoring session with me!”
“Jeez… Fine. You’re pestering me so much these days. When is it?”
“R-Really? You’re going…?! Amazing! Anyway, it’s going to be the library, near one of the windows I believe…? Just be there after the last period, okay? If you ditch…”
Dragging his shoes across the floors of the hallway, Akito made his way to the school library. He had no idea what he was in for, all he heard was to show up and don’t ditch.
Entering the large room, Akito made his ways to where the giant windows were. The sunlight shined through the glass, bouncing off of the floors and wooden bookcases. The view outside of the room was beautiful, the green shrubbery and blooming flowers left him in awe.
Continuing on, he found Tsukasa sitting at one of the tables, staring off at the scene. The outside world was beautiful, but not as beautiful as Tsukasa. The sun traces the outline of his body, giving it a heavenly soft glow to it. The light brightened his face, the shine in his eyes were sparkling and visible. Shadows on his face carved and defined every detail of his face, making him more attractive than usual.
Akito can’t help but stop and stare, everything about him was perfect. It’s as if he were a sculpture, every crook and cranny filled with care and precision. It was the same feeling as the day he first saw RAD WEEKEND, but the feeling felt more intense than that time.
“Yo! Sorry for being late… I know I said I wasn't going to!” An called out as she entered the library, disrupting Akito’s trance, “Eh? Why are you just standing here? Let’s get over to Tenma!”
“Yeah yeah, I was just being polite and waited for you.”
“Sure, whatever you want me to believe.”
“We’re sorry for arriving late, Tenma-senpai, I hope you’re not too bothered…”
“It’s fine. Come on, let’s get started now.”
Pulling out the chairs, An and Akito sat down and brought out their textbooks. Akito with Math, and An with English.
“Can you help with this? I don’t understand why I got this wrong…”
-
“Ah! My dad's calling, I’ve got to go now.” An said as she ended her call, “See you two tomorrow! Thank you so much for helping me, I’m definitely going to pass English now!”
“It’s not a problem, I’m glad I could be of help.” The elder answered, waving Shiraishi off as she exited the library. “Hm? Akito, aren’t you going to go home either?”
“Me…? Uh, not yet.”
“Well, if you’re not going to go home, why not help me with an errand? I want to make dinner for my family tonight, but I have to run to the store.”
“Errand? I mean, I guess that’s fine.”
Sitting in the passenger seat, Akito put on his seatbelt and waited for Tsukasa to start driving. The sun was starting to set, its ombre of colors yet to show in the sky. It felt weird for Akito to sit in an unknown man’s car, but it should be fine, right? It’s Tsukasa, and Akito felt oddly comfortable around him.
Exiting out of the lot, Tsukasa started to tap his fingers on the steering wheel, humming a song stuck in his head. Looking over, Akito noticed the same shining object on Tsukasa’s hand- A ring.
“So… Is Tsukasa engaged? Even married…?” Akito wondered, “I wonder who it is…”
“Hm? Are you curious about my ring?”
“Oh. Did I say that out loud?”
“No, I could tell on your face. Hehe, Akito is pretty expressive after all, I didn’t even need to guess what you’re so curious about.”
A blush formed on Akito’s face, embarrassed that Tsukasa noticed him observing his hands.
“Hm… I won’t tell you, but I’ll tell you about them.” Tsukasa said, “I’m quite surprised we’re together, actually. I’ve liked them for a long time, admired them and wanted to be closer to them. However, they never seemed to be fond of me in the past.”
“Not fond of you?”
“Not at all. They’d always run away or avoid me whenever they could. But I guess something changed. They became more used to me, and started to hang out with me more. I always thought that they were just being forced too, so I tried to stay respectful and not push them around too much.” Tsukasa giggled, “Ah… How wrong I was. I guess acting differently around them made them feel sad, and you know me, I hate it when I make others sad.”
“Yeah. You always shout how you’ll make the whole world smile and that you’ll become the brightest star… Something like that.” Akito mumbled, “How'd you two even get together?”
“Get together? It wasn’t like those romance mangas or shows. They accidentally confessed that they liked me for a long time and that they were too scared to show their feelings. Even assumed I had feelings for Rui because of how close we were, hehe.”
“You don’t like Kamishiro-senpai? I just assumed you two were together from the beginning” Akito said in surprise, “But I guess it makes sense that you guys were just close.”
Tsukasa hummed happily as he pulled into the store’s parking lot and found a place to park.
“Alright, we’re here, Akito. You’ll help me carry stuff, alright?”
In the store, Akito carried a basket that was filled with all sorts of things— Vegetables, meat, fillings, all sorts of things.
In front of him was Tsukasa shopping, picking up each item on display and studying it, making sure that it was absolutely perfect in quality. His hand grabbed a tub of strawberries, but immediately placed it back down.
“Right…” He mumbled to himself, “I’m making something for my family, not…”
“Not for who?” Akito asked
“Ah!” The blond jumped in surprise, “Akito…! You scared me so much!”
“My bad.”
“Sorry, I was just talking about my fiancé. They told me they liked strawberries with pancakes after eating some limited edition ones from a shop.” Tsukasa said with a soft smile on his face, “The look on their face made me so happy when I first served it, I could see a tail wagging behind them.”
Akito nodded his head, watching as Tsukasa placed more products and items inside. For some reason, his stomach and head felt heavy, so it was difficult for him to raise his head.
“…Tsukasa-senpai likes to cook?” Akito mumbled, “Your spouse is quite lucky then.”
“Hehe, of course! They always come home late at night, always so exhausted and hungry. It fills me with joy when I get to see them eat my home cooked meals every night.” Tsukasa happily said, “After that, I’ll always clean up and make the bed for us. Ah… My fiancé always needs to be reminded to not sleep so suddenly either, they have a tendency to fall asleep whenever…”
Tsukasa rambled on about his spouse, talking about how he wakes up each day and prepares the morning for them, about their date nights, little moments in their daily lives that made him happy. Meanwhile, Akito dragged his legs across the tiled floors, trying his best to follow after the blond. His head hung low, staring at the contents in the basket instead of what was in front of him.
“Tsukasa’s cooking…” Akito thought, “I want to try it too…”
Delicious fluffy pancakes with strawberries? That’s something Akito has never tried before. Since it was a limited edition, it should be expensive, right? If Tsukasa’s fiancé was happy with Tsukasa’s version, that means his cooking skills are great.
What about the rest of his meals? Coming home every night to find a full dinner was ready for you to eat, with a gorgeous and gentle husband to take care of you. Akito felt weird. He wanted to experience something like that for once, even if it were just for a split moment.
Exiting the store, the sun was set on the horizon. The gradient of reds, oranges, yellows, and pinks with the fluffy clouds made it seem like a painting. It didn’t feel real, as if he was traversing through old memories or fantasizing about random scenarios.
“It’s getting quite late, I’ll drop you off before you get home.” Tsukasa said as he looked towards the sky.
“Okay.”
After giving Tsukasa his address, Akito found himself staring off to the colorful sunset above. The sun’s shining ray casting a yellow glow on everything, making it difficult to see what was ahead sometimes. He averted his gaze towards the driver, all of his attention on the road forward.
Tsukasa looked good in this lighting too. The warm yellowish orange color of the sun made him look handsome as well. His eyes matched colors with the sky behind, and this hair was a beautiful gradient of yellow to pink.
“His fiancé is so lucky…” Akito thought to himself, staring at Tsukasa’s eyes, “I want to come home everyday to him too.”
Continuing to stare at Tsuksa’s glowing face, Akito fantasized about going to places with him. Where would he like to go… France? Korea? China? What about dates? Is a cinema or film date too cheesy? How about a fancy restaurant that’s 7 floors high? Or maybe, Tsukasa loves to go out at night and observe the stars in the sky, so a planetarium is a nice spot, no?
Before he knew it, Akito found himself in soft slumber in the passenger seat of Tsukasa’s car. The quiet yet soft song playing on the radio lulling him to sleep, the refreshing and cool air instead, the feeling of the warm sun hitting his face, being so close to a man who’d treat him like a prince… It’s all that Akito could desire in life.
-
“Akito, we’ve arrived.” Tsukasa said as he gently shook Akito awake. “I didn’t notice you were asleep till now, were you that tired?”
“Huh…? Oh, sorry. I didn’t mean to fall asleep so fast.”
“It’s fine~ You should get going now, have a good night's rest, okay? I’ll see you tomorrow…?”
“Tomorrow? I mean, I guess that’s fine.” Akito responded as he got out of the car, “Um, Tsukasa-senpai, thank you for letting me be with you today.”
“It’s no problem! I hope my errand wasn’t too much for you!”
Akito waved Tsukasa goodbye as he drove out of the street, making his way back home. Standing idly on the front yard, Akito was still delirious from his nap.
“I embarrassed myself… I should be more careful next time. What if I was snoring or drooling?”
Entering his quiet home, Akito kicked off his sneakers and went to his room. The light outside was getting dimmer, so Akito nearly trampled and fell over from clothes that were tossed on the ground.
Falling on his bed, Akito started to think about today’s event all over again. Tsukasa in the courtyard, the first impressions between them, the study session, the shopping experience, and him being driven back home in Tsukasa’s car.
He slightly curled himself in a tight ball, putting his sleeves up to his mouth and an arm to his stomach. Ever since Tsukasa started to ramble and gush about his partner, Akito had been getting a nagging and sickening feeling in his stomach. It wasn’t like he wasn’t supportive or accepting of his soon to be marriage, instead, it felt like jealousy and envy.
“This kind of feeling… I haven’t felt it in such a long time.” Akito whispered and he curled himself more, “That damn… No… he wouldn’t like it if I called his lover that.”
Hm? When did I start to get so worried about Tsukasa’s opinion?
Pushing that thought aside, Akito started to think about Tsukasa all over again. His sweet voice, his nice personality, the way he moved, the way Tsukasa spoke… It was all perfect to see and listen to. He thought about what it’d be like to be in love with him, even better– Be married to him.
What would he be like on quiet, soothing nights when the lights were low and were comfortable? What about the fun and exciting days, bursting with energy and fun? How about when things got hot and tense, Tsukasa’s warm and blazing touch drowning Akito in utter and pure pleasure…?
No, don’t think about things like that, Akito. You’re only seventeen, you don’t even know how old this Tsukasa is…! Besides, he’ll never accept you, he already has an amazing lover waiting for him back in the future.
As he kept thinking about the possibilities and scenarios in his head, the night came closer. His room was eventually encased in dark blue lights, the only visible light coming from the glowing moon, with its twinkling stars to accompany it. Akito was on his bed, soon to be asleep.
“I’m jealous… I want to be Tsukasa-senpai’s lover now.”
–
Akito used to think others were ridiculous and over exaggerating being in love– He was so wrong. Now, the boy completely understood every comment and concern his classmates voiced and talked about. “Do they like me back?” “Do I have a chance with them?” “Am I in their league?”
All questions had an immediate answer already— No. The way Tsukasa spoke of his lover made it obvious, there’s no chance that he’d ever leave them for a pathetic high schooler.
“Hey, I heard that Kamishiro-senpai is almost done with that machine…” Shiraishi said as she twirled a strand of her hair, “It sucks, Older Tenma-senpai was so helpful— I even managed to pass the English test thanks to him!”
“Seriously?” Akito questioned, “That’s pretty quick to revert someone back to normal.”
“I know right?! He’s like… Oh! A super robot genius!”
“…What are you talking about?”
The bell for class has rung, signaling all students that lunch has started. Akito made his way to the rooftop, the usual spot where he would sit. Toya was busy with the library committee and An wanted to eat lunch with her other friends.
Opening his lunch, his face grimaced with disappointment as he looked at the content inside. Ena, his determined older sister, had proudly stated that she wanted to learn how to cook. Unfortunately, Akito had the misfortune of being her taste tester. It wasn’t horrible, but there were so many things she could improve on that Akito didn’t know where to begin. It wasn’t anything like his usual lunches that the school’s vending machines had, nor his mother’s cooking.
Suddenly, the door to the roof had swung open, an unknown figure standing in the frame.
“Eh? Akito? Why are you up here?” The person called out.
Walking towards him, it turned out to be Tsukasa. He held something in his hands and was opening it while getting closer to Akito.
“Oh… Is that what you’re eating today?” Tsukasa asked as he looked inside Akito’s lunch, “Is that your own cooking…?”
“What? No, it’s my sister’s. I could make a lunch ten times better than whatever he arranged here.” Akito huffed as he stomached another piece of food, “It’s not bad, I guess, it just doesn’t look the most appealing.”
“I see. If you don’t mind, you could have some of mine.” He offered as he showed Akito his food, “Looks good, right?”
Compared to Ena's, Tsukasa's food looked delicious, something that would come from a 5 star restaurant. Everything inside was made with precision and perfection, it was as if the food was glowing.
“You’re basically drooling at this point…” The blond pointed out as he observed Akito’s reaction, “Haha, here comes the airplane~”
“What…? I’m not a child, Tsukasa-senpai. I can feed myself.”
“Right, right. Sorry about that.”
However, a delicious piece of desert was on Tsukasa’s spoon, left stranded and unguarded. Taking this moment, Akito dove in and ate the piece in one bite, hurriedly rushing back to his old position and chewing on the delicacy.
“Eh…? Hey! I was just joking around!” Tsukasa scolded as he cleaned his spoon, “If you get sick, then you shouldn’t be surprised.”
“What do you mean?”
“I already ate off of this spoon, you're eating off if it had given it so many germs…!”
The elder rambled on about germs and being sick, not noticing Akito beside him. Seriously? Did he just eat off of Tsukasa’s spoon that he just used? Isn’t this what they called an indirect kiss?
After that thought, Akito’s face flushed with red as he realized what that meant. It wasn’t supposed to be such a big deal, but sharing something so personal with someone this attractive? Akito could die on the spot.
Turning around, Tsukasa noticed how red Akito had become.
“Seems like you already got sick…”