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For someone like An, who’s always been alone, always seeking a place to belong, suddenly having not just one but three partners she can rely on? Sometimes, it almost feels too good to be true.
Practising together is fun, and singing all together on stage brings about an unmatched joy, the kind that she could’ve only dreamed of before. They might not be ready to beat Rad Weekend just yet, and of course, that’s still their number one goal, but she finds herself enjoying the journey to get there so, so much that she can’t help but wonder if their destination will manage to live up to it.
In some ways, it’s kind of a silly doubt, she knows that. Outdoing that legendary night has been her dream ever since she was a kid, to the point it’s hard to imagine just how excited she’ll be if… no, when they manage to do it.
It’s all she’s been working for, the single motivation that constantly pushes her to keep trying her best, so some part of her frankly expects the moment they finally surpass it to be the peak of euphoria in her life.
But the happiness she’s basking in right now must be somewhat close to that feeling, she thinks.
It’s quiet, yet just intense and everlasting, and it hits her the hardest when she’s like this, with the four of them relaxing after an arduous journey of training and performances.
They have no events scheduled for tonight, and it's still too early to head back home, so they'd agreed on getting a bit more practice in… After catching a short break, that is.
An suspects the break might be lasting way too much for it to be called short by now. Not that she really minds.
They're sitting on the bench of the park they usually meet up at, bodies pretty much sandwiched together to fit in the available space. It's just an excuse to be close to each other, and they're all aware — even though any of them could've taken a seat on the floor, it's more fun this way.
Kohane has her head on Akito's lap, and the blissful smile on her face makes An's heart grow warm. The girl must be getting sleepy, because she only leans into the touch of her palm and lets her eyes flutter closed when An reaches out to pat her cheek.
By virtue of being the slimmest one in their group, An ended up sitting in the middle, shoulders brushing with both Touya and Akito. Touya is nuzzling into her left side, hand weakly intertwined with hers; his breathing is so calm and soothing that, if not for the light caressing of his thumb against her skin, she'd believe he is also falling asleep.
Akito is the worst out of them at handling physical affection, to the surprise of no one, and it always shows whenever they cuddle together.
(An tries not to embarrass him too much about this particular thing, though. She greatly appreciates being one of the few people in the world that can be witness to an awkward Akito.)
His posture is far less relaxed than that of An's other partners, but he still dons such a soft smile that An feels something fuzzy invade her chest for the gazillionth time that afternoon.
To his credit, at least he tries being affectionate back, even if he kind of sucks at it.
The fact his legs must be growing numb from supporting Kohane's weight by now, and the shy arm wrapped around An's own waist, tugging her towards him, tell as much.
That same arm tightens like a bolt from the blue — Akito must’ve noticed her spacing out for far too long, like he always does. A coy beam comes to her face as she shifts to look at him.
“You okay?” He asks in a quiet voice, likely not to disturb the comfortable silence they’ve all fallen into. “You were lost in thought just now, weren’t you.”
“Oh, you caught that? So you were staring?” Her grin turns sharper to go with the teasing.
Jackpot. He throws a glance to the side, and the light shade of red travelling to his skin gives An the answers she needed.
“Shut up,” is all Akito mumbles, never actually denying it.
“Don't be rude, Akito,” Touya nonchalantly scolds him from the opposite side.
“That wasn't being rude,” he scoffs. “It's just— if she already knows, she doesn't need to ask.”
“Oh, but I do! Because I lo~ve watching you blush,” An lets out a hearty laugh, poking him on one of his reddened cheeks. “You just look so cute, I can't resist. Right, Touya?”
“Indeed,” Touya offers them a gentle, unabashed smile, the one that always makes An's heart soar. “Although it's not a rare sight, with how much you enjoy tormenting him, I… I like seeing it too.”
Akito looks like he'd bury his head in his hands right about now, if only they weren't completely occupied.
“Look, if someone here deserves to get called cute, it's Kohane, not me,” his voice softens as he talks of his drowsy teammate.
At his affirmation, An can't help but nod vigorously.
“Okay, I mean, I'm not gonna argue with that. Kohane's smile is so adorable that it could bring about world peace, but one thing doesn't exclude the other.”
“Mmn… I agree, Shinonome-kun is cute too…”
She surprises them all by speaking up. The adoration in Kohane's eyes shines as brightly as a diamond, even through her half-lidded gaze, and those simple words manage to fluster Akito even more.
Bless her partner. She is the absolute best.
“Azusawa,” Touya is the first one to welcome her into the conversation, his tone warm. “Did you sleep well?”
“I didn't fall asleep at all,” she admits. “But I had fun just listening to you all until now, even if I wasn't talking… Hehe. Is that weird?”
“No,” An immediately says. “No, it's not. I feel the same way.”
Akito is also fast to voice out his complaints. “You're literally the biggest chatterbox I know.”
“But I do feel the same,” she insists, overcome by a sudden need to let them all know how much she appreciates them. “When I see you guys spending time together, and having fun with each other, I'm just so… glad. I don't need to be the one doing the talking all the time, you know?
“If I see you happy, then I'm happy too. I'm sure Kohane meant it like that.”
It takes them all a couple of moments to react. While Akito’s been already embarrassed for the past few minutes, it shocks An to see colour rushing to Touya and Kohane’s cheeks, too.
Was what she said really as corny as it sounded in her mind? Oh, hell.
Now she’s the one with the face growing warm, and nobody even needed to tease her to cause the reaction.
“An-chan,” Kohane blinks up at her before nodding shyly. “Mhm… Yeah, I think that might be it?”
Touya, in turn, gives her hand a light squeeze. He has the coldest hands out of them all, so An often finds herself grabbing onto his fingers if she gets anxious before a big event or test, and she’s come to associate the gesture with comfort; as such, it momentarily manages to settle her nerves down.
“That’s really sweet of you, Shiraishi,” the boy muses. “I believe I also share that sensation. Seeing you at peace puts me in a good mood, as well.”
Inevitably, three pairs of eyes turn to glance at Akito.
The way he physically flinches at the dash of inquisitiveness, as if pushing his body against the bench backrest will somehow spare him from their presence, is another undeniably cute thing about him.
“...What do you want me to say?” Akito sighs, the sound accompanied by an utterly resigned smile. “It’s obvious how I feel about this.”
“C’mon, say it anyway,” An asks, if only because pushing his buttons is her speciality.
He falls silent at that, before letting out a second, heavily drawn-out sigh.
“Of course, seeing you happy is enough for me.”
Akito’s hold on An tightens again, but he’s looking at Touya and Kohane too, as he speaks with an immeasurable amount of fondness leaking through every word.
“I… I love you. All of you, so much.”
An and Kohane share a quick, knowing look. Wordlessly, Kohane wraps her arms around his waist and pulls herself close, while An tackles him into an embrace from her side, as tight as she can get it to be.
God, why is he cute? Why are all of them so damn cute? She’s whipped beyond belief. It’s taking all of her self-restraint to not ruin the moment and try to kiss them all at once.
“We love you too,” Kohane is the one that bothers saying the words back to Akito, voice slightly muffled as she presses her cheek onto his stomach. “You know that, right, Shinonome-kun?”
“Yeah,” he struggles to croak out the single syllable. “Yeah, I — I know.”
“If you forget, we’ll always be here to remind you, okay? The same way you’re always here for us,” An mumbles, mindlessly nuzzling against his torso.
She feels a bit bad for Touya, who’s sort of left out of the main action, but the boy seems perfectly content to let the two girls shower Akito with their bear hugs, simply leaning further against her shoulder to show support his own way.
It doesn’t stop An from cursing, not for the first time, the laws of physics and their current seating order.
Once again, they naturally fall into a comfortable silence for a long while. An practically loses track of the passage of time, safe and comfortably snuggled up in the warmth of her partners, until she hears Touya clear his throat.
He still appears to be enjoying himself, except now, there’s an almost imperceptible pout on his face.
“...Hm. I think I’d like to be in the middle spot next time.”
“A-Ah, um, I wanted to try out Aoyagi-kun’s lap next time…” Kohane also offers her two cents, skin flushing an intense pink.
Both of them stare at each other unmovingly, likely in an attempt to get the other to crack down and give up.
Akito scoffs, albeit he says nothing in favour of one or the other. It’s An who breaks their little endurance contest, unable to hold back a hearty laugh at the situation.
“Hey, there’ll be many more times when we get to cuddle. You’ll get to do both things, I promise— just pick which one goes first, okay?”