Chapter Text
The flashing lights kept on illuminating the screen, keeping everyone in the stadium on edge, at a loss for words regarding what was actually happening. The cars crossed the finish line at alarming speed, becoming nothing more than colored flashes to human eyes. Out of all of them, only one managed to catch everyone's attention; the winner, the one that finished first. No one could really believe it, and no one wanted to believe it. Because absolutely no one ever thought he could win. Everyone was whispering, refusing to accept what was before their eyes, completely bewildered.
Koga almost felt ashamed to be part of this crowd. All this time, he kept on pushing him away, telling him to do things properly, claiming he was just a huge waste of potential, that he would never reach greater heights if he didn't at least try a little bit. But he believed, he really did.
Deep down, he really trusted the boy whose name was shining in big letters on the black screen. Akehoshi Subaru.
When he got out of his car, his sweating face projected on the wide screen of the stadium, everyone stayed silent. People whispered, glared at him with disdain, but nobody cheered.
Koga could see him shake, and he didn't want to know if it was because of the intense effort he made, or because he was about to cry. He hoped it was the former, because honestly this wasn't the right time to break down.
Eagerly, Subaru's eyes searched for something around the stadium. When his gaze locked with Koga’s, the boy's eyes started shining, sparkling, and Koga felt like the crowd around him disappeared, like it was only the two of them. He could see the small tear forming in the corner in his eyes, how hard he was trying to suppress it.
Akehoshi was the real deal, and Koga was sure of it.
~~~
“What the actual fuck, you dumbass?!” Koga yelled in the racer’s face once they were outside, attracting everyone's attention.
Akehoshi tilted his head to the side, looking as clueless as always. He didn't respond, but Koga knew that a “what do you mean?” would come out of his mouth anytime from now.
“Your ‘speech’. Earlier.” Could he even call that a speech? That was way too nice of him to qualify that a speech.
All he did was taking the mic and screaming “I told you, Gami-san~!” to some thousands of people. This was not a speech, this was just Akehoshi being annoying and embarrassing, as usual. Koga could feel his blood boil. He was already very embarrassed when he called him by this stupid nickname in front of everyone…he even heard people snicker around him.
“I just said what was on my mind… I did tell you after all~!” he winked playfully and giggled at his face, and somehow it made everything worse. Koga’s heart raced faster for a bit, but quickly calmed down.
Before the race, Subaru had called him all night to talk about the Big Day . And, as the conversation went on (the dumbass didn't want to end the goddamn call) they wandered off to some ‘what ifs’. And, well, Akehoshi being Akehoshi, he asked if Koga could offer him a gift if he was to win.
He refused (of course he did) but the other insisted so much on how it would be a great motivation factor, he gave up, not without adding a remark about how he wouldn't make it.
His night ended as Akehoshi yelled “I'll win, you'll see!” before ending the call.
So yeah. Not the greatest night he ever had.
And he didn't expect to wake up to the words “Think about the present~!” written on his screen.
So now, he had a problem. Because first, Akehoshi won the race, and two, he now had to find him a present.
And third… he had no idea what to give him. He wasn't even expecting him to take this seriously. But again, this was Akehoshi, of course he would take this seriously!
“So uuuuuh~” the racer started, tiptoeing his way closer to Koga. “What's my present?”
He seemed happy. Fuck!
“Sh-shut up, asshole! I wasn't even serious!” Koga stepped back, waving his hands to make him reluctant to contact.
“Owwwww…” Subaru pouted. Oh no . “Gami-san, you meanie! I won this race, you could at least give me a little something~!”
In a way, he was right. This was not very nice of him to just do nothing after such an important race. He was almost guaranteed to go to the championships now.
So Koga thought. Very hard. He didn't want to search for a gift for Akehoshi, let alone give it to him!
In that case, he might as well just try the opposite.
“Alright, dumbass!” he sighed deeply, already regretting a lot of his life choices at the moment. “Just choose somethin’, I'll get it for ya.”
Subaru's eyes sparkled, and he started jumping around, taking a hold of Koga’s arm. “Yahoo, thank you Gami-san~!”
“Yeah, yeah, stop that already!” the boy tried to shake Subaru off of him, but ultimately had to give up. Experience was telling him that when Akehoshi was clinging to him, he was stuck like glue.
And the next day, everything went to shit.
~~~
Koga woke up to the sound of his cell phone beeping like crazy.
Opening his eyes and trying to push Leon out of his way, he grabbed it in his hand and lazily checked who was calling him this early on a Saturday morning.
The name that appeared on screen made him want to throw the phone across the room. Akehoshi. Oh fuck, he feared it already. What was he going to ask now?
He inhaled and tapped the ‘answer call’ button. “What.” he could hear a giggle on the other side of the line.
“Hiiiiii~! Gami-san, I found a present!” The boy sounded extatic, a state he couldn't say he shared.
“What is it?” Better settle it now, so he could buy it and be done with it.
“Uuuuh…” Akehoshi hesitated. Clearly he didn't think this through. “You…?”
Koga’s entire body shivered, and by some unknown reaction of his body, he was now standing as straight as a stick. “... WHAT?” Couldn't he phrase it otherwise? It sounded so… No !
“I mean...” Akehoshi tried to remain in control of his speech, and rephrase it as best as he could. “I mean, I want to go on a date with you!”
“A what .” The only word he got out of this was date , and it was about the only thing his brain wanted to remember, as the letters kept on echoing in his head, making it worse with every occurrence. He just had so much questions, but only one was willing to come out.
“Why?”
“Because I want to? This is the only thing I really want right now, so pleeeeeeease?”
Was he making the pouty face? He was definitely making the pouty face. He could sense it through the phone over the silence. Making him put up with this kind of bullshit… This was so unfair! Plus, there was no way Akehoshi was going to let go or even accept ‘no’ without whining.
Koga sighed, bracing for the storm. “If I say yes, you'll never ask me for anything ever again, okay?”
There was no response for an instant, but Koga could swear he was hearing squeals away from the phone. What the hell is he doing?
Finally, Akehoshi’s voice was heard again. “Sure, sure~! Soooo, today, at 2 P.M? At the park?”
“Yeah, okay.”
Just before the call ended, he heard the beginning of a very high-pitched scream at the other side of the line. Then it was back to the usual dead silence of his room.
Koga didn't know what he had planned today. But he was certain that none of his possible original plans involved Akehoshi.
And now? He was stuck with the most unexpected option.
The “date with Akehoshi” option.
With some thinking, it was better than buying him some stupid crap, right?
Right?