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“Which one d’you want, Touya?”
“Ah… I’ll just have the cola.”
“Yeah, like you always get,” Akito scoffed, but slid the coins into the vending machine’s slot nonetheless, hearing the metal clink against the machine.
Not that Touya would mind if Akito cared about something as small as soda brands (Akito would still get him what he desired, after all)- they’d stopped by this exact vending machine tens of times to know their orders by heart, or rather, their preferred sodas. Akito would ask, and Touya would answer the same answer he’s said before, and Akito would scoff but still end up getting it. It filled the heart of the older with something warm, something that told him he enjoyed the type of domesticity he found while being with Akito.
The happiness he gained from their subtle routine never seemed to fail him, even and especially today, his birthday of all things. Touya was never one to keep track of his birthday nor care a lot about it, but the several messages from his friends he’d woken up to earlier wasn’t anything unwelcome. All he’d done was go to school as usual and was immediately greeted with a round of cheerful greetings and birthday wishes, small gifts pushed into his arms intently with bright smiles. It was something he’d never experienced before- no, something he hadn’t dreamed of experiencing in the past.
His eyes shut in the slightest as he pressed his back up against the wood of the bench they’d resorted to relaxing against. The headlights of the cars passing by only interfered with the peace, but Touya found that he didn’t really care, so long as Akito was there and didn’t plan on leaving anytime soon. His eyes lingered on the other while his back was turned, taking in the familiar sight of orange hair against pale skin, slightly toned arms, the sweatshirt he saw in his dreams-
Clunk. The cans hit the bottom of the machine and Touya snapped out of his daze momentarily to see Akito bending down to pick up the cans, chuckling softly. “Urgh… it’s already late, huh? Must’ve been a pretty long and special day for you.” A grin graced the younger’s face as he held the cans in his arms and made his way back to the bench where Touya sat. “The moon’s out just for you and everything, look at that.”
Gray eyes flicked up to the night sky and took sight of the moon just overhead, shining down on the pair. He’s right, Touya thinks and smiles to himself, glancing back at his partner, who stared back with a raised eyebrow. “Special, you’re right. Everyone threw a party for me this year,” Touya replied, closing his eyes in deep thought, and exhaling a sigh. He could so vividly remember stepping into the Sekai cafe with Akito, and being presented with a party held in his honor; the feeling of his tears trickling down his cheeks and his heart feeling oh so heavy wasn’t exactly out of his mind, either. To think that so many people, from the virtual singers to his friends to- whatever Akito was, cared about him enough to host such a thing just for his name was a nice feeling. Touya’s hands fold in his lap, intertwining his fingers and resting them on his thighs. “Shiraishi and Azusawa made coffee jellies, plenty of them. And everyone else made a cake, it was-” His eyes open as he pauses to consider the thought, smiling. “It was great.”
“Really, haah,” Akito remarks, handing the black can to Touya and nudging him, taking the seat next to the boy on the bench. Their cans click in perfect sync as Akito’s nails dig under the metal tab and flick it open while Touya does the same. Touya can feel Akito’s eyes on him as he studies the bubbles gathering at the top of the soda, letting his eyes naturally glance back after a few moments, and Akito smirks playfully. “Hey, listen. Don’t tell me you’re expecting me to bake cookies or something for you, Touya. That’d be a little too much for my cooking expertise.”
If you had any, Touya wants to say, but instead, he takes in the sight of Akito’s mischievous grin and stores it in the back of his mind. In fact, this exact occurrence happened a lot more frequently than he’d assumed so- the desire to say something to Akito, and the decision to instead keep his impression in his memories. That was one of the effects Akito had on him, just the way he pushed Touya to enjoy the moment and bask in the feeling of living.
To think that he, Touya Aoyagi, wouldn’t have even the simple desire of living without the support of one determined boy was…
Something I’m not going to think about right now. “Of course I wouldn’t expect that,” Touya affirms, moving to the side a little more and letting his shoulder brush against Akito’s (and, choosing to ignore Akito’s small cough of surprise at the movement). His eyes glance up to the tree above them, then the flickering light of the lamp nearby, and finally, the view of Akito’s face tilted to the side as he fidgeted with the tab of his soda can. In other words, the view that Touya liked the most out of the many possibilities in the world. “You’re enough, Akito.”
Another brief pause, before Akito’s head promptly turns to face Touya’s. His eyes are narrowed, and his eyebrows are raised while his lips part to leave his mouth open the smallest bit. It’s an expression that Touya sees quite often for Akito, but one that’s not usually directed towards him specifically. Nevertheless, it leaves the smile on Touya’s face just a little bit brighter out of sheer amusement. “Wh- Touya, what’s that supposed to mean? Huh?”
“Sorry,” Touya finds himself saying, but truthfully, he isn’t sorry at all for allowing himself to say what he’s wanted to confess for so long. His eyes are trained only on the one next to him, studying his confused eyes to his soft, parted lips. Under the light of the moon above, Akito was nothing less than handsome. “What I- meant to say was that… simply having you here by my side is enough for me. Really.” His fingers rhythmically tap against the metal of the can in his hand, playing to the steadiness of his heartbeat; Touya was well-aware that his lips were moving faster than his mind at this point, totally destroying the calm mindset he’d practiced up until now, but he didn’t care. Not as long as Akito was looking at him so intently with bright eyes, filled with patience and curiosity. “There’s nothing else I could possibly ask for, Akito, then that.”
Truthfully, Touya didn’t know what to expect next, largely because Akito was both charming and unpredictable all the same. The last thing he’d expect, though, was for the redhead to flush a slight shade of pink and move closer, their legs pressing against each other a little as Akito raises an arm to cover his face, his eyes flicking over to the side in embarrassment. “You fucking- sap, Touya. It’s your birthday, not mine, dumbass-”
The soda can feels cold and invigorating in his hold, and without thinking, Touya’s free hand reaches over to gently grab Akito’s raised wrist, bringing it down to take a sneak at the blush that had spread over Akito’s cheeks, and ah, he’s beautiful. Touya can only imagine the fond look he was directing towards his accomplice, if the sudden deepening flush on Akito’s part was anything to say about it. A shift in position, and Touya’s hand is planted on the surface of the bench as his soda-occupied hand lifts to offer a toast. It was a little cheesy to say the least; the faded lights in the background, somewhat ignored by the way Touya was focused only on the sight in front of him, and how it only ever seemed like they were the only two in the world.
“Here’s to another year with you, partner,” Touya whispers softly, smiling at the only one he’s ever considered such a word, his partner, his Akito, and relishes in the way Akito manages to fight back subtle tears grouping at the corners of his eyes, raising his own can to salute Touya’s. The fingers wrapped around Akito’s wrist trailed down to intertwine with Akito’s own, clutching as tightly as they could, for fear of letting go and losing the moment.
There wasn’t and would never be a better way to spend the last hours of his birthday.