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It’s just a small thing.
Shimizu and Kobayashi enjoyed gaming, so Akito invited them and Toya over to his house for a game night.
Kohane had mentioned something about Shimizu seeming scared of Akito, and An had proceeded to threaten the hell out of him and saying he had to fix that because, in her words, “You can’t scare the shit out of our main way to get Miyajou students to our shows!”
So it was logical for him to invite her over, and of course Toya would be there. They’re partners, and he knows Shimizu better than Akito does.
So why did he feel so… bitter?
“What? Why are you being so weird about this?” Akito asked.
“It’s nothing. I just… I thought tonight would be just us. A partners thing.” Toya replied. “I didn’t realize that you had invited them as well.”
“What? Want me all to yourself?”
Yes. God yes.
“It’s nothing like that.”
Akito ran his hand up Toya’s arm, in that way that made him want to melt into a puddle.
“I think you’re jealous, partner.” Akito teased.
Got it in one.
“Of course not.”
“Oh, really? We’ll see about that.”
Akito gave him that smirk that usually meant his life was about to go straight to hell.
A knock sounded at the door, and Akito let the two girls in.
“Oh, Aoyagi-kun!” Shimizu started. “I didn’t realize you would be here.”
“Ahh, sorry.” Akito said, with one of his easy smiles as he slung his arm around Toya’s shoulders. “I forgot to tell you guys that Toya was coming too.”
Akito’s arm left his shoulders, and Toya grabbed a controller from the table.
Akito also grabbed one, and he handed another one to Shimizu as Kobayashi grabbed the last one.
After that, all four of them crashed back on the couch. Toya kicked his legs over Akito’s lap, trying to find a comfortable position, but he was stunned by Akito pushing them off.
He turned to Akito, but he only gave him that teasing smirk again.
Shimizu tried to find a comfortable position for herself, but Akito turned to her.
“Hey, you could stretch over my lap if you’d like. You have long legs, it’s probably hard for you to curl up like that.”
Her eyes widened, and she shook her head.
“I-It’s okay! I wouldn’t want to inconvenience you…”
“It’s no inconvenience. Come on.”
She gave a shy smile as she did so, and Toya felt a fire ignite in his chest.
And he saw a fire ignite in Kobayashi too, because she started speaking.
“H-Hey! Shimizu-sama, your legs can’t be comfortable like that! You like to lean on your other side! Why don’t you put your legs over my lap?”
“Oh, it’s alright. I promise that I’m very comfortable, Chi-chan. You’re always so sweet to me.”
Kobayashi turned red at that, and she shook her head.
“I-It’s nothing! Just my duty as your loyal knight!”
“Oh, please don’t call yourself that. You’re my best friend!”
“H-Hehe…”
Shimizu turned back to Akito, and he smiled at her.
Toya’s chest felt tight. Goddamn it. Akito was amazing at pushing his buttons.
Akito used his controller to scroll through the digital game selection on his Switch.
“What do you guys want to play?” He asked.
“…Hmm… that one! Project Diva: Megamix! It looks fun!” Shimizu chimed in.
“Yeah!” Kobayashi added.
Akito shook his head.
“It’s a rhythm game. It requires fast inputs. Your hand tremor might mess you up.”
“Oh… well, it’s just for fun! Why not?”
“If you’re sure.” Akito said. “Partner, mind if we use your profile? You’ve got more shit unlocked.”
“Of course not.” Toya replied.
Akito clicked the icon and selected Toya’s profile on the selection screen, and the game booted up.
Akito elbowed Toya lightly, and he tilted his head to the screen.
Ah, he was telling him that he should go first.
“Would anyone mind if I went first?” He asked.
“Of course not!” Shimizu said, and Toya was still acutely aware of her legs in Akito’s lap.
He shook his head as he scrolled through the song list.
Ah, there it is. The Disappearance of Hatsune Miku.
He selected Extreme difficulty. He’s close to getting all perfects on it, and he wonders if he can channel his jealous rage into something useful.
He clicks a couple of buttons, just trying to buy some time.
…There he is. Len waves wildly when the module is set to him.
“Hi, Toya!”
Toya lets out a chuckle as Len smiles happily.
“Oh, that’s really cool!” Shimizu says, and Toya freaks out for a second before Akito pulls something out.
“We’re modders. Len’s both of our favorite Vocaloid, so we found a mod that let us do this. We also added in some Len covers of songs. He says Toya’s name because we’re on his profile right now.”
Len bounced his leg and shook his head.
“Whatcha waitin’ for? Let’s sing!” He said.
“Alright, alright. Just give us a second.”
Len shook his head, and Toya pulled his phone out of his pocket and plugged his headphones in for after the game.
He picks up the controller and hits the start button, and Len cheers happily.
He lets the melody take him to a world where his legs were the ones in Akito’s lap right now. He’s vaguely aware of Shimizu and Kobayashi saying something, but he’s too focused on the song to care.
There we go. Almost done.
Just a bit more, and…
Perfect!
He got to the results screen, and Len leaped and jumped happily.
“Yay! You did it, Toya!!”
He lowered his controller into his lap, and he turned to Akito.
“Great job, partner!” He said, and Toya smiled as he raised up his hand.
…And then it just stayed there.
The confusion must have been evident on his face, because Kobayashi turned to him.
“Haven’t you ever gotten a high-five before?”
…A high-five.
And Akito’s giving him that damn smirk again. He knows what Toya was expecting.
Damn Akito for getting Toya so addicted to the feeling of his hands in his hair.
He returned the high-five and crashed back into the couch as Akito, Kobayashi, and Shimizu each had a turn, putting the earbud in.
“Why didn’t Akito ruffle your hair? Is he mad at you?” Len says, hiding away but still speaking through the phone.
Toya lowers his voice, just enough for only Len to hear.
“He’s just a bitch, what else is new?”
“Huh?”
“Just keep watching.”
Shimizu went last, and as Akito expected, she did poorly. Her tremor completely ruined her combo.
“Hey, that was still a good effort! You tried your best!” Akito said, and Toya wanted to throw up.
And then he ruffled her hair.
Shimizu held her hat in place and smiled as he did it, and Toya didn’t know whether he wanted to kill her for enjoying it so much or Akito for doing this.
He bit his lip and turned away, but not before noticing Kobayashi turning bright red.
“Hey! How dare you mess up Shimizu-sama’s perfect hair!” She cried out.
“C-Chi-chan, please! It’s alright!”
Toya couldn’t even pay attention to the rest of the conversation, he was too busy trying to bring down the fire in his chest.
God, he hated it when Akito touched anyone else like that. That’s what Akito reserved for him. He was special to Akito, he was his partner.
So why the hell was he doing all that to her?!
“H-Hey! Why’s he doing that to her and not you?!” Len yells into his ear.
“Like I said, he’s a bitch.”
After a couple of breaths, he turned back to see everyone else picking out the next game.
“Oh, that one looks interesting.” Shimizu said, motioning to an icon.
A shooter. Fucking amazing.
“Oh, Toya doesn’t-” Akito started, but Toya cut him off.
“I’m fine. Don’t worry.”
Shimizu chimed in, asking if she could have the first turn. Akito obviously agreed.
“Uh… hmm…”
She tried to aim, but her tremor was clearly screwing up her precision.
“Here, let me help.” Akito said, and Toya got a horrible feeling in his chest.
“Oh, thank you!”
“No problem. Just come a little closer.”
“I-If I’m any closer, I’ll be in your lap.”
“That’s fine.”
Shimizu freezes.
“I-I… Are you sure?”
“Yeah, I’m sure. Toya sits there all the time, isn’t that right?”
He gives Toya that smirk again.
She slides into Akito’s lap, and Toya’s chest burned like hell.
…He was going to rip her fucking hair out.
And Toya knows that Akito’s just doing this to make him jealous. It’s obvious from that smirk on his face. He’s pretending to be all nice and sweet as he helps her aim and wraps his arms around her, but that fucking smirk tells all.
“I know what you’re doing.” Toya whispers, and Akito smirks again.
“I don’t know what you mean, partner.” He replies, and the tone in his voice is so sickeningly teasing that Toya doesn’t know whether he wants to strangle him or kiss him.
He knows what he’s fucking doing. Teasing Toya with what he can’t have.
And even after the match is over, he keeps his arms wrapped around her. And she makes no effort to move.
He locks eyes with Kobayashi from across the couch, and she seems about ready to commit a murder too.
His hand curls into a fist in his lap, and Akito clearly notices.
“What was that about not being jealous?” He whispers, his breath ghosting over Toya’s ear and making him shiver.
“Shut the fuck up.” He replies simply, and Akito chuckles.
Shimizu lets out a quiet laugh as Akito turns back to her and keeps helping her with her aim.
Oh, he’d love to shove her and wind his body around Akito’s right about now.
He doesn’t though. She’s innocent in all this, Akito’s just a bitch.
After a couple more rounds where Shimizu’s still in his lap and Toya inches dangerously closer to strangling Akito, Len chimes in again.
“H-Hey! She’s not worth it! Akito loves you, not her! You’re hotter and you’re smarter! Be positive! Please don’t hurt anyone!”
Toya took a deep breath, and he unclenched his fist.
“Yay! That’s better! I can’t believe Akito, you’re his partner! How dare he keep her in his lap like that!”
Toya shook his head and finally spoke up again.
“Is anyone interested in some Karaoke? I brought the machine from my house.”
“Really?! Can I sing too?”
Toya let out a chuckle and nodded at his phone.
“Yay!”
“That sounds like fun!” Shimizu added, and Toya reached over to the side of the couch and grabbed the machine.
“I’ll see you in a sec!” Len yells, and his voice disappears from Toya’s ears.
“Is this one also modded or something?” Kobayashi asked.
“Yes. There’s a Vocaloid duet feature, and Len shows up on the screen too.”
“Hah! Isn’t it kinda weird for two teenagers to be so obsessed with Kagamine Len?”
Toya would absolutely like to snap back at her and tell her that Len is his son and that she needs to shut the hell up, but he can’t. Or, he could, but she would either murder him or get him sent to a mental hospital. So he simply bites his tongue as he hooks up the machine, and Len appears again.
“Aww, he’s cute!” Shimizu said, waving back to Len.
Len looked a little upset at her, but she simply giggled.
“He’s so impatient! And his outfit is so precious, I didn’t realize it was different until now!”
Sure, that’s why he’s upset.
Len taps his foot on the menu button, and Toya fiddles with the buttons as Len jumps across the album covers.
“Haha! This is fun!” Len yells out, and Toya can’t help but smile.
“Oh, wait, please go back!” Shimizu asks.
Toya hits the back button, and Len stumbles from the sudden motion.
The blond glares back at Shimizu as he climbs back on the button, and Toya laughs softly.
“Sorry, Len.” He whispers, and Len shakes his head.
“Oh, you have Give Me! I love this song!” Shimizu said. “Chi-chan, can we sing it together?”
“Of course, Shimizu-sama!” Kobayashi said, clearly excited.
Toya selected it and handed the microphone to Shimizu, before grabbing the second one and handing it to Kobayashi.
Len vanishes from the screen and he sees his phone screen flash. He’s back there.
Shimizu finally pried herself off Akito’s lap to sing, and Toya instantly threw his legs back over it.
“Move me, and you’re dying.” Toya whispers, putting his earbud in as Akito raises an eyebrow.
“I need to get up when it’s our turn.”
“You don’t need to get up to sing.”
The girls kept singing, and Akito gave him that goddamn smirk again.
“You know, we sing together all the time. Maybe we should sing with the girls this time around. For practice. We don’t want to get too stuck with each other and have another disaster.”
Toya grabs Akito’s arm and he swears that he’s gripping so hard that Akito must be in excruciating pain.
“Partner, if you think that’s hurting me, think again.”
…Damn it.
Toya releases Akito’s hand, and he doesn’t even bother to rub it before flicking Toya in the forehead.
“Ow.”
Akito doesn’t even bother to respond to that as the song ends, and Shimizu and Kobayashi turn around.
Toya relaxes just slightly, and Akito takes that opportunity to shove his legs off his lap with a smirk.
“Shimizu, would you sing with me?”
“Oh, of course!” She replies.
Kobayashi’s eyes narrow, and Toya doesn’t even bother to get up. He’s so sick and tired of Akito’s bullshit.
“You should come to SEKAI, Toya! Akito’s being so mean to you, MEIKO will set him straight!” Len chimes in.
He was considering it.
Shimizu scrolls through the songs, and she settles on Fragile.
“Shinonome-kun, you sing this song a lot, right? I enjoy it too! What if we try it together?”
“No… He wouldn’t!”
No. No fucking way. If Akito sings Fragile with her, he’s leaving and never coming back.
Akito shook his head and turned to her.
“Sorry. I don’t sing that song with anyone except Toya.”
Len let out a relieved sigh, and Toya felt some of the fire in his chest subside. He’d never sing that song with anyone else, even as a joke. He’d have to be held at gunpoint.
“H-Hey! I think I saw Gimme×Gimme on the tracklist.” Kobayashi starts. “You’ve sung that one before, right?”
…Oh, hell yes.
Akito freezes up, and Toya enjoys the sight of his normally confident partner panicking.
“Well, Akito?” Toya says, and if he was anyone else Akito’s glare would have melted him.
This was pure karma.
“Oh, I’ve heard your cover of it! It’s really good!” Shimizu says, and Toya was taken aback.
…Is she fucking deaf?
Toya absolutely adores Akito. He loves everything about him.
But there’s absolutely no way in hell that he can defend that damn cover.
“…Not even we like that cover, is she okay?” Len questioned, and Toya shook his head. She has to be being polite.
Akito’s pushed into agreeing by everyone else there, and Toya’s almost giddy at Akito finally getting his just desserts.
…And at that moment, Kobayashi gets a text.
“Shimizu-sama! It’s Senpai! She’s asking if you could help her with a last-minute story!”
“Oh! Of course!”
Shimizu turns to Akito and Toya, and she shakes her head.
“I’m sorry, but we’re going to have to cut this short!”
“No problem. We’ll have to do this again!” Akito says, giving them an easy smile and a wave as they rush out of Akito’s house.
The moment they’re out of the house, Akito crashes back onto the couch and Toya launches himself into his lap so fast he almost gets whiplash.
“I hate you, you know that?” Toya says, before burying his head in Akito’s shoulder.
Akito chuckles and tries to push Toya off his lap, but Toya locks his arms around Akito’s neck.
“Try all you like, I’m not moving.”
“If you hate me so much, then why are you clinging onto me like this?” Akito says, the laughter evident in his voice.
Toya refuses to dignify that with a response, choosing instead to grab one of Akito’s hands and put it into his hair.
Akito moves it away, and Toya lets out a groan.
“Please, just hold me.”
“I can’t believe my own partner told me he hated me… it hurts, you know? And you even tried to make me sing Gimme×Gimme!”
“I’m going to literally strangle you if you don’t start cuddling me.”
“Don’t I have a choice?”
Toya finally raises his head from Akito’s neck to glare at him.
“After what you just did? No, you don’t.”
Akito lets out an overdramatic sigh before finally putting a hand in Toya’s hair and wrapping his other arm around his waist, and his frayed nerves finally settle.
It’s almost instant, the way he completely turns to putty in Akito’s hands. There isn’t even the barest amount of tension left in his body.
The hand around Toya’s waist gently rubs circles over his hip, and he lets out a contented sigh.
“You staying over tonight?”
He’s so relaxed that he can’t even form coherent words. He just makes a vaguely affirmative noise.
“Great. Wanna go to bed?”
Hell no, if they have to get up then Akito has to stop holding him. He shakes his head into Akito’s neck, but he can feel that stupid fucking smirk on his face again as his hands stop moving.
“What was that?”
He sighs and mumbles out a “No.”
“Was that a yes? You want to go to bed?”
Toya pulls his head out of the crook of Akito’s neck and musters up his best glare.
And that fucking smirk.
Akito gently leans down and nuzzles Toya’s neck.
“How about I carry you up there?” He asks, and Toya rolls his eyes.
“Sure.”
True to his word and to Toya’s complete shock, he’s lifted into a bridal carry.
He’s so close to Akito’s face, and the unfamiliar feeling drags out his desire to kiss him.
Akito’s close, so close, but he pulls his face away before Toya can close the gap and returns to a teasing smirk.
“Let’s get to bed.”
Akito halfway rushes them up the steps and drops Toya into his bed before rushing to the other side.
They lock eyes again, but Toya’s too nervous to close the gap. This is too normal, too familiar to change anything.
So he simply curls up into Akito’s chest and sighs as familiar hands find their way back into his hair.
But he just forgot one thing.
“Hey! What about me?!” Len yells, and Toya snaps awake so fast that he bangs his head into Akito’s jaw.
“Rrgh… Hey, the hell was that for?!” Akito yells, and Toya simply hands him an earbud.
Akito sighs and puts it in, and he is instantly assaulted by Len’s voice.
“AKITO! HOW COULD YOU DO THAT TO TOYA?!”
“…Oh, I forgot you were here.”
“You’re such a bad dad and partner, Akito!”
“Come on, I was just tea- Wait, what the fuck did you just call me?”
“Hmph! Apologize!”
“Wait, are we just going to skate past the ‘dad’ thing?”
“Apologize! Toya’s your boyfriend! You can’t do that with someone else!”
“Len, we’re not dating.”
Len pops out of the phone in hologram form, looking absolutely stunned. He seems to have changed the audio output too, because his voice is no longer coming out of the earbuds.
“What do you mean?!”
“I mean that we’re not dating.”
“B-But…!”
Len wildly motions to the scene in front of him, and Toya proceeds to tangle himself into Akito more.
“We’re not! This is just a thing partners do!” Akito says, with a head shake.
“Rin and I don’t!”
“Well, yeah, you guys are like… twins or something. I wouldn’t do this with my sister.”
“Then why is it just Toya?! Why don’t you do this to Kohane or An?!”
“An would kick my ass if I tried. Toya just likes being held, no one else does it, so I do it a little more. What’s the problem? Like Toya said once, if we were girls no one would bat an eye.”
“Yes! Yes they would! An and Kohane do the same thing and everyone thinks they’re dating!”
“Because they are! What’s so hard to understand about this?!”
Len crosses his arms and huffs.
“…I thought you guys were my cool dads.”
“Okay, seriously, we’re like a year older than you.”
“B-But-!”
Well, Toya’s had his fun watching Akito flail around trying to convince Len that they weren’t dating. Time to intervene.
“Len, can we please continue this conversation tomorrow? It’s quite late and I’m tired.”
“O-Oh, okay! Sorry, Toya! …Now you, Akito!”
Akito rolled his eyes before nuzzling his nose into Toya’s hair.
“Sorry. There, ya happy?”
“See! It’s that easy!” Len said, pumping a fist in the air. “Night!”
Len vanishes, and Toya finally relaxes.
“That wasn’t a good enough apology.” He teases. “You almost sang Fragile with her.”
He was joking, but Akito gets serious.
“No, I didn’t. I didn’t consider it, not for a second. Not even to tease you. I’d rather die, partner.”
“…Really?”
“Really. It would never feel right. So, I’ll promise you right now: I’ll never sing Fragile with anyone else.”
Toya felt his heart pounding, and he simply stared at Akito in the darkness. Always so good with words.
He didn’t know what to say back, but Akito touched his nose to his ear. No more words were needed. Akito felt how grateful Toya was already.
~
Toya woke up to his phone vibrating incessantly and to Akito’s arms wrapped around him.
He turned around, and he grabbed the phone off the mattress.
Tsukasa-senpai? What was he calling for at this hour of the morning?
He picked up the phone, and his ears were instantly assaulted by one of Tsukasa-senpai’s trademark laughs.
“Ha ha ha! Good morning, Toya!”
“…Morning, Senpai.” He groaned out.
“Oh, did I wake you? I’m sorry.”
“It’s fine. What were you calling me about?”
“Well, I just wanted to tell you that I wrote a new play script, and I was wondering if you’d look over it?”
“Me? Why?”
“Well, I tried to channel the kind of dynamic that you and Akito have for the romance between the two main characters. They call each other partners. But I’m not sure I got it quite right, so I thought I’d ask you!”
“Alright, if you wish. I’ll be over soon, just give me some time to wake up.”
“As you wish.”
“Huh?”
“What?”
“Sorry, it’s just that you don’t normally speak like that.”
“…Oh. Remind me to show you The Princess Bride when you get here.”
“…Alright?”
“Now, goodbye! I’ll see you in a bit!”
“Goodbye, Tsukasa-senpai.”
Tsukasa-senpai hung up, and Toya shook his head.
“So, you’re heading over to Tsukasa-senpai’s?” Akito muttered, rolling over and touching his nose to the back of Toya’s head.
“Yes. I believe the rest of Saki’s bandmates are also sleeping over today, would you like to come over and see them?”
“It’s not worth it to deal with Tsukasa-senpai. Just tell them I said hi.”
“I wish you’d make an effort to get along with him more. He adores you.” Toya sighed out.
“Sorry partner, that’s not happening.”
“Apparently we’re going to watch something called The Princess Bride over there.”
That certainly lit Akito up.
“Seriously? You don’t even know what it is?”
“No, sorry.”
“I haven’t seen the movie, but I at least know about the iconic scenes. You know, ‘My name is Inigo Montoya, you killed my father, prepare to die!’”
Toya turned around to face Akito before speaking again.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about. But if you haven’t seen the movie, you should come watch it with us.”
“No. I’m not coming.”
“Please, Akito?”
Akito averted his eyes and sighed.
“Fine. I can’t say no to you.”
Toya felt his lips curl up into a smile, and Akito’s cheeks turned pink.
“…cute.”
“What was that?” Toya asked.
“Nothing. Don’t worry about it.”
He was sure he heard Akito calling something cute, but he didn’t push the issue.
He simply nuzzled Akito’s neck again and sighed.