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Rui is fine. It's not like the sight of an empty bed next to him makes him sad or anything. No, totally not. It's not like he nukes his already shitty sleep schedule just for a call from Akito. Except he's lying about all of that. He's happy for Akito of course. His husband worked hard and he deserves to be recognized for it.
When Akito had gotten the invite to AX, he had looked at Rui, eyes wide, before lunging at him for a big hug. Akito may only be a character designer, but he's worked on really big projects and, thanks to Twitter and some features on different YouTube channels, a lot of people knew about him too.
But it wasn't fair. He wanted to be with Akito! They already had to struggle through a long-distance relationship, why did they have to do it again!? Rui knows he's being overly dramatic, yes, he wants to be with his husband, but this really wasn't anything like their long-distance period. It's just a week, he'll live. Realistically, he knows that, but the empty halls and the heavy silence Akito had left behind, reminded him of middle school.
He'd been alone back then. He didn't have friends at school, hadn't met Tsukasa or Emu yet, his parents were never home… He hated it! Of course it wasn't that bad now, he had Wonderlands x Showtime, but he had gotten used to a home where there was always some sort of sound. His favorite would always be Akito’s singing. Or his talking. Or his laughter. Or even just his even breathing, when he was sleeping next to Rui. Scratch that, he just loves Akito, including his sounds.
It's why Rui listens to Vivid BAD songs religiously again. They're good songs in general, but they also make Akito feel a bit closer. Akito has probably seen them shoot up on his most listened to songs. He'd feel a tad embarrassed, if he hadn't seen Wonderlands x Showtime songs shoot up on Akito’s most listened.
Rui also misses how Akito looks. Sure they video call and yes, Rui has seen people on Twitter post pictures with Akito, but he wanted to see him. Not through a pixelated image, but in real life. He wants to be able to see Akito's moods shimmer through his eyes and wants to see the micro changes in his expression that could mean so many different things. He's totally not jealous of the people on Twitter.
One time he slept through Akito's call and he almost cried. Almost. He hadn't meant to! He'd immediately called Akito back to apologize, his husband just laughing it off, because even if Rui knows Akito misses him just as much, Akito won't blame him for small mistakes like that. The other does complain about it though, albeit mostly jokingly. Rui thinks that's fair, he knows he'd do the same, probably with even more dramatism.
Akito also complains about America a lot. Apparently, AX is fun, but everything else kinda sucks. Akito likes walking, but he says that he feels really unsafe and stressed out when he does so in the US. Apparently, there's also less nature, understandable considering the huge city Akito is in. He also dislikes the food. To be fair, the standard set in Japan is really high. Most of all though, Akito complains that while yes, it is fun, he thinks it would be more fun if Rui were there. That often leads to Rui complaining that he also wanted to be with Akito and how completely unfair this situation is. They often work each other up even more once they arrive at that point.
Everyday Rui thinks about how much longer until Akito returns. And finally, finally, he thinks Akito will come back to me tomorrow! When he does he almost jumps in happiness. He doesn't do that though, because he's on stage, when he notices and he's a professional. It does make the scenes where he's supposed to act upset more difficult though and Tsukasa even elbows him in the ribs one time, to get him to concentrate. Rui isn't surprised when Tsukasa comes up to him after the show.
“Oi, Rui! What was that, huh?” Rui can't help himself anymore, grabs Tsukasa by the shoulders and shakes him excitedly, while he explains. “Akito is coming back tomorrow! He's coming back, Tsukasa!” He's pretty sure Tsukasa is happy for him, but instead of enthusiastic congratulations, all he gets is an earful about how he shouldn't randomly grab people and shake them.
On the day of Akito's arrival, Rui can barely stay still. He's buzzing with energy and he's so excited. The whole day he thinks, he's almost here, he's almost here, hE’S ALMOST HERE! He is too excited to tinker with his robots, too excited to get the emotional scenes right, luckily they were just practicing and too excited to stay in one room for very long. He thought about going biking, maybe it would get rid of all the excess energy, but decided against it. He's probably too excited to drive safely.
He leaves for the airport too early. Takes the train an hour early and arrives with too much spare time. He would sit down somewhere and wait for Akito, but he's too jittery for that. Instead he just walks around. He looks at the different shops, watches people check in, listens to the announcement, waiting for the one. When it comes, he immediately makes his way to the exit Akito and him agreed to meet at. He gets there earlier than Akito naturally, the other still needs to get his luggage, so he sits down close by. An elderly lady chuckles at him, as she watches him fidget and he smiles at her. She tells him that he needn't worry, that whoever he's waiting for would be here soon. He tells her he's waiting for his husband and the lady chuckles again, but it doesn't seem to be malicious. He asks who she is waiting for, to which she replies that she is also waiting for her husband. They share a smile and talk a bit more as they wait. It helps Rui and when she gets up to greet her husband, he thanks her for waiting with him and bids her goodbye.
It doesn't take long after that for Akito to arrive as well. He looks tired, but he's here again. Rui rushes over to him and envelopes him in a tight embrace. He feels Akito’s arms wrap around his torso and he takes a deep breath. Akito still smells like sunshine and syrup and to Rui, he smells like home. Rui’s not sure how long they stand there, but to anyone watching them, they must look very desperate. When they part, Akito gets up on his toes and presses a short kiss against Rui’s nose, then his cheek and finally a lingering kiss against his lips. Rui beams at him in return and presses a kiss against Akito's forehead. They keep standing there for a little bit longer, just smiling at each other.
When they make their way out of the airport and to their train, their hands immediately find each other, gripping tightly. The whole way home and even when Rui opens the door, they don't let go. When they do let go, they are falling into their bed. Akito is still tired from the flight and Rui just wants to be close to him, so what if he nukes his sleep schedule again, by taking a nap with Akito. He's not going to leave, now that Akito is back.
He can feel and hear Akito’s even breath next to him again and the bed isn't nearly as cold anymore. Everything else can wait. Akito is home.