Chapter Text
Akito Shinonome. The classic little brother monster that appears in every big sister troupe. Yeah, he’s a bit picky with his food and certain….fashion choices… But, that’s just him
But he’s laying in his bed, blanket covering his entire body. The darkness of the room hides everything but Akito doesn’t care
He doesn’t really want to, it’s not a good day for him. He has days like these, where he doesn’t want to do anything but sleep all day. They’re happening less often now but it still happens.
That’s why Akito hates them, he’s supposed to be getting better, for Ena, for his friends. He’s supposed to be drawing another character for their songs and doing the homework that he left on his desk saying he’d do it tomorrow.
It’s been two days.
‘…I should at least eat.’
Akito begrudgingly moves to the colder side of the bed and takes his phone from his charger, moving his finger to the message icon on his screen
Ed Sheeran 2.0: can you pick up cheesecake
He usually doesn’t beg but Ena wouldn’t like it if he didn’t ask politely wouldn’t she?
Ed Sheeran 2.0: please.
A message comes in instantly
Maleficent: Yeah, will do
He thanks his sister silently and goes on a random app opting to look at some ideas for Nightcord’s new song
But in a flash, his sister unlocks the door and comes in
“Akito!! I’m home!” Ena calls out
Akito feels like it’s been just mere minutes since he sent that
A small knock on the door is heard and Ena opens the door with a bag in her hand
He can hear her gently shut the door, the improvement from when he was 14 to now 16 is a big one. It’s showing she’s trying harder now
That makes Akito feel a bit warmer
She turns on the lights and sits next to her brother, leaning her back against the wall next the bed
“Got your favorite cheesecake. Fresh too with whipped cream and strawberries.”
Akito peeks his head out the blanket
“There you are.”
She sets the cheesecake in front of her and Akito a pulls out two paper plates and some cutlery from the bag
“ I got a discount there, apparently the girl who works there is friends with Airi! So I got a 25% off discount for it!” She gushes as she cuts two slices for Akito and her
“Though I’m a bit concerned, she almost fell on her face when she was giving me the bag!”
“If I remember correctly, it’s that Hanasato girl. Mafuyu told me about her and her group…More More Jump?” Akito says biting a piece of his cheesecake after
It comes out scratchy but felt lighter on his throat, like the heaviness had finally come out
“Airi told me she has the worst luck! Cards, games, falling…and other bad things!” Ena huffs as she takes a bite of hers “What kind of luck is this?!” She rambles
Akito shrugs and takes another bite of his cheesecake
“Life.”
Ena glares at him
“Oh stop with your emoness for a bit why don’t you?”
Akito rolls his eyes but the corners of his lips turn up
“Haha, very funny.”
He knows what she’s thinking, she’s pretty happy that he’s smiling. He could see her relax her shoulders and her eyes soften. They know each other like the back of their hands even if they argue.
It was rough at first, he remembers. When Ena and him were constantly fighting with each other and spewing loathing words at each other until one went to their room with glossy eyes. Until one day, during one of their fights in Ena’s room (he thinks it started with him accidentally spilling paint on her favorite jacket) and he broke down in tears. Ena had stopped and ran away from her room. Afterwards, she came home and confronted her brother about everything. He tried to give her a small piece and yet she didn’t press on. She just hugged him for the first time in his life.
It was the first step to becoming better siblings he guesses.
A clink in front of him snaps him out of his memories revealing an empty plate
“God damn it.”
“Let me guess-“
“No.”
Ena snickers at him
“Did you at least hear what I said?”
“Nope, probably nothing important anyways.”
Ena puts her plate down and looks at him while typing on her phone
Oh well, it’s probably really stupid
“My friends, or at least my unit wants to meet you.”
Akito almost knocks over the rest of the half eaten cheesecake from sitting up so fast
“What?!”
“Yeah, my unit wants to meet you!”
“Why?!” He exclaims confusingly
“Man, why are you asking ME that? They just want to see you! Though, I’m pretty sure it’s because I talk about you a lot.”
Akito thinks for a second what he should do, meet them and possibly get bullied or don’t meet them and miss out on new…friends.
“Please~ I really want you to meet them! They’re really sweet! Well maybe besides An but Kohane and Toya are really sweet! If I met your friends, at least meet mine please!”
Akito’s face grimaces before relaxing again
“Fine. But if they get outta hand, expect me to never listen to your terrible ideas again.”
“Deal!”
About a week of drawings, night classes, and tons of sleeping and playing soccer (or at least attempting to play) with his sister, the day comes
“Akito!! Don’t be so shy!” Ena teases out
“I’m. Not. Shy.” Akito counters
He hears her laugh as he internally dies of embarrassment
When the snow stops crunching behind him he hears her voice again
“Hey, are you sure you want to meet them? An is sorta….hyper but the other two are really calm! But do you want to?”
He rolls his eyes before looking back at her with a warm feeling in his heart
“Look, if you’ve met Mizuki, you know I deal with this ‘hyper’ shit already. I’ll be fine…thanks for asking though.”
Mizuki was probably twice as worst as whoever this ‘An’ girl was anyways
When they make it to Crase Cafe, he sees two girls, one with a hat and one with blue tips.
“Ena! You’re he-“ Blue Tips calls out before her eyes fall on him
“O-oh! You must be her brother!” The other waves at him
Akito waves back slowly hesitating
“Wow, she was right, you two look nothing alike.” Blue tips snickers out at Ena
“She’s adopted.” He states. He still has no idea how he got orange hair instead of brown like their parents but he still states it
“I wish.” He can faintly hear the ‘Oh Please’ after her sentence
She looks at both of them with crossed arms after
“So, introduce yourselves guys!”
“O-oh! Sorry! I-I am Azusawa Kohane. It’s nice to meet you.”
“Shirashi An! Hope we can get along!”
Well his theories were correct, Ena talks about all of them so much at home he can guess all of them
Akito glances between the three girls…wasn’t there another guy..? He hesitates on giving his name but with Ena talking about him so much, might as well be polite
“Shinonome Akito. Nice to…meet you.”
Now he can ask his question
“Wasn’t your group, a group of four people?”
Ena then realizes
“Ah?! I can’t believe I forgot! Where’s Toya?”
“He’s inside, he should be out soon.”
The door to the cafe opens in front of them
“Sorry, I got sidetracked. Couldn’t find my phone.”
Hm? It’s a smooth register, unlike the voices he heard online
He glances up between Kohane and An and-
He freezes
‘HOLY SHIT. HE’S FUCKING HANDSOME.’ Akito panicked as he felt tight inside his big jacket
He knows his sister is speaking
“Hi, I’m Aoyagi Toya. I hope we can be good friends.”
And then he smiles. Akito’s breath is taken away as fast as light
‘FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK’
He drops to the ground trying to hide his flustered face
“AaAaaAh?!! Akito?! Are you alright?!” A squeal from his sister is the first voice he hears
“A-ah…I always mess things up I swear…I’ll get some tea from Ken!”
‘No! No you didn’t mess things up! You’re just too fucking handsome!’
“Hey, hey, you ate right? Tired? What’s wrong?” He feels her shaking him but if she knew exactly what the hell went on inside his head, she would tease him mercilessly
“God damn…I need to get myself back in check.” he whispers
He looks up at worried looking Ena
“Fever?”
“N-no. Just- tch. It’s nothing. I need to sit down is all…”
He’s pretty happy Ena’s friends have a decency to let him have some breathing space. He wasn’t sure what he would do if they asked too many questions. The wall was big enough for at least 5 people but he’s pretty happy to have it to himself
“Are you su-“
He shoots her a glare but remembers that she’s just worried
He sighs before looking back at her
“I’m fine, don’t treat me like I’m glass. Just needed to sit down.”
“I-I’m glad you’re ok. Really scared everyone there for a minute!”
“For real! Toya went to get him tea from dad by the way Ena.”
He can briefly hear the others talk again
‘Wait. He actually went to get tea for…me?’
He hears snow crunching besides him and sees the blue haired boy offer a thermos
“Here’s…here’s your tea. I’m really sorry for scaring you.”
‘He kinda reminds me of Kanade…always blaming himself…”
He takes the tea from the worried boy
‘In reality, it’s my fault for literally dropping to my knees outta nowhere’
“Nah, it’s not your fault. Just froze up is all. Didn’t scare me.” Akito says with all the calmness he can manage
‘The girls are too busy talking to move over…might as well…’
Akito scoots over and gives him some space
“I should introduce myself shouldn’t I?”
“No shit Sherlock.” He refrains himself from shooting his middle finger at Ena before he looks at Toya sitting next to him
“Aoyagi Toya, I hope we can be good friends.”
Then there’s that smile again. It’s short (he wishes it could be forever but no way will he admit that) but warm
“Shinonome Akito. I…I guess we can be...”
Akito lightly blushes before Toya knocks up a conversation with him about both of their music
Before Ena and Akito leave, the whole group asks for his number promising to not spam. It’s a surprise they even want his number but he gives it anyways.
He gets his first message at 11:25
Unknown: Hi, sorry for messaging you so late.
‘If this is Mizuki, I’m going to kill them.’
Akito: Amia if this is your ass messaging me I’m killing you when we get on call later
Unknown: Apologies, It’s Toya Aoyagi
Well fuck. He just embarrassed himself in front of Toya
Akito: Fuck, my bad
Akito: My bad again
Toya: No worries, Ena and An cuss a lot more than you think
Akito: Must be hell
Toya: I got used to it
Akito snickers at that
Toya: What are you doing up so late? I expected you to see that message at 6 or 10 at the latest
Akito: Aaaaaa Gotta get on a call at 12 that’s when I see my group and make songs
Toya: I’ll have to listen to some of your songs soon
Akito: Thanks I should listen to your guys too
Toya: Thank you
Toya: Even if you have a meeting at 12 please get rest. It’s important for everyone
Akito: Man Ena rlly rubbed off of you huh?
Toya: Wdym?
Akito: Dw go to sleep
Toya: alright then. See you later?
Akito: Yeah sure
‘Yeah…I hope so.’ he smiles to himself
A few weeks pass and…
He had gone through a night of Ena literally screaming at him to not slam his head on the table. He means it was worth it though. The whole reason he chose night classes was because it was WAY quieter than the day classes. But Kanade wanted ALL of them to at least get out once a week. Deciding to walk to school after Ena to surprise her and Toya was an eventful walk when Mizuki decided to tag along and yamper to him about the newest idol songs
‘Well. At least this was a plus’ he thinks of when he sees the two toned boy
“Hey, Toya!”
The three turn around to see Mizuki and Akito
He sees Toya’s eyes brighten before the two walk over
“Huh! Never thought I’d see the day where you actually get out the house you hermit!” Ena playfully laughed
“Yeah yeah, thought I should get out more. Kanade told us that it was better if all of us were healthy.” Akito explains as he remembers her telling them about how she met up with Hanasato, Ena, and Hoshino for another day at the park.
What he’s not expecting is-
“Mentally?”
He hears a choke from An but he’s glad that Toyas getting better at sarcasm
He cuts Mizuki off at their outburst
“Physically but, I mean yeah maybe.”
He waves goodbye to An before starting for the rooftop
He turns towards Toya thinking of new songs to cover
“Should we try covering something together?” He asks letting some of his excitement leak out
“Mmm..ever since Fragile? I’ve been thinking about that too. I’m..not sure what song you’ll like though.”
Akito can hear the doubting tone of his voice
“Dude, it’s fine! I’ll be fine with anything really.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah, I trust you after all.” He grins at him and hits his shoulder gently while Toya smiles
‘You know…maybe day classes aren’t so bad after all..’
Akito’s looking at his drawing. It’s a draft of what he wants to put out for their next mv but he gets off task a bit. He glances back at the paper listening to the lyrics again before scrawling it out and drawing another sketch
He looks up to see his sister surprisingly
“Huh? What are you doing home so early? Get into another fight or something?” He asks
She sits at the table and sighs
“I might be bad but I’m not that bad. Toya just was sick today and had to skip practice.”
‘Toyas sick? Crap. I thought something was up when he didn’t reply this morning.’
“Are you…actually worried for someone outside of your group?”
Akito dumbfoundly looked at her with offense
“Yes?! He’s my best friend?! Why wouldn’t I be?”
“He’s ok right now. Just stopped messaging him, you should text him.”
He sighs out
“Nah, just wanted to know if he’s ok. He should get some rest.” He murmurs out
He pushes some of his drawings over to Ena
His sister used to yell at him and every time he showed her or gave her a drawing. It’s a different time now but it still makes him nervous
He lets a breath out when he sees Ena smile
“Huh, another one-“ He sees the paper being plucked out before he snatches the drawings back
“Akito!”
“Sorry Ena. That’s for my eyes only.”
He knows his face is red as hell but at least his sister didn’t have to know about his huge crush on her best friend
It started out as a small crush. Just thinking he was pretty handsome. But the more they both hung out, the deeper Akito fell for him.
He takes the paper out and puts it on top of the stack, staring at it
He had absentmindedly drew random lines and circles before realizing he was drawing Toya. It wasn’t finished but he felt like it didn’t matter at all. He was beautiful no matter what he did.
Aki: Partner you should’ve told me
To: sorry was tired
Aki: Nah just worried me there
Aki: Don’t leave me hanging there alright? I’ll come over to your house tmrw morning
Aki: Don’t you dare force your ass to school.
To: haha ty
Aki: Take some medicine
Aki: Gn
To: Good night Akito
Aw fuck. He really was down bad.
He’s walking with Mafuyu and Kanade to a random stationary shop when he sees a light blue crow poster in front of the store.
His eyes soften and he smiles
‘Heh…Toya would like this.’
“….to! Akito!” he can hear the white haired girl shout (or at least try to)
“My bad, let’s go in.”
The store is fairly small but with large amounts of stationary varying with different colors and characters
“I need to get journals again.”
“Seriously? Didn’t you just buy them?”
“I had to take notes for medical practice.”
“…You really need to flip your mom off for me.”
“…”
Mafuyu leaves to the journal section of the store
Kanade and Akito leave to the pens and paper section where it’s conveniently placed next to the plushies
Akito figures that people somehow know that people looking for pens will want plushies
They aren’t wrong he says as he picks a pack of pens, a small crow keychain, and a purple rat.
The rat is for Ena, the crow is for….Toya
He had missed a gift for Toya during Christmas, not sure if he could give gifts to Ena’s friends yet. While he got some for his group, he just shot a quick Merry Christmas to the three and went about his day
But to see a crow that reminded Akito so much of him. He didn’t care anymore.
“Oh? It’s…unusual to see you buying bird items.” Kanade spoke as she picked up a pen from the rack
“Yeah. Not for me. For…for a friend.”
“….I..I don’t mean to be intrusive but, is it Aoyagi-Kun?”
Akito blushes instantly and slightly flinches at his name
“Ah. I’m correct. Do you mind another question…?”
Akito shakily nods keeping his eyes focused on the rack of pens
“Do you like Aoyagi?”
…Like him?
Akito adores him. He loves him more than anyone he’s met before. His friends who he’s been close to, An and Kohane, those hyper upperclassmen.
Anyone. He loves his sister of course. But not in the way he loves Toya. (Definitely not) He loves his smile, the way he brightens up at small things, the way he cares about people, so many things.
He wants to be the one to tell Toya that he is more than good enough to stand by his team, that he doesn’t need to express his feelings everyday, that his father is a piece of shit. (he distantly knows that Ena tells him that on a daily.)
Akito loves Toya.
“Yeah. I guess…I kinda do.”
Kanade smiles at him
“I’m happy for you.”
Akito smiles back
“Thanks Kana.”
Mafuyu comes back and shows Akito a brush set she got him as a gift
“Heard the conversation. Hope you get together.”
“Mafuyu? Hoping? Damn never thought you’d say that.” Akito jokes around
“Let’s hope she does more.” Kanade gently smiles at both of them
“Uhm…Ena….can I….can I talk to you? He asks one day. It’s abrupt and surprising to him and Ena but he really needs Ena’s advice
“Yeah! Of course.” Of course, she doesn’t really mind
He sits in her bed and looks at how his bones move in his hands
“Ena, um. Have you ever loved someone? Like, romantically?” he awkwardly chokes out
They’ve talked about a lot of random things before regarding art, music, and lyrics but this? This had to be a cherry on the top to see Ena flabbergasted over it
“Uh yeah! W-why do you ask?”
“I…I think I like someone.”
Seeing as she still is speechless, he takes to chance to speak more
“It’s weird though…I should be liking girls right? B-but, this guy is really amazing. He’s…”
“I don’t want to lose him.”
Akito doesn’t want to lose one of the closest friends he has to a crush. He doesn’t want to lose him. To make him go away and avoid him.
To leave him alone again
He feels a pair of hands grasp his hands
“Akito, I don’t give a shit if you like guys. Kohane and An aren’t dating but they sure can kiss with their eyes more. If you fell for the right guy, he’s going to either reciprocate your feelings or reject you kindly. If not, he’s a dick. If he still wants to be your friend if he doesn’t feel the same then keep him as a friend.”
She smiles brightly with all the support in the world behind her smile
Akito offhandedly grins and his cheeks light up again
“You said something smart for once.”
“Oh fuck off!”
He knows the exact question in Ena’s head.
“Let me guess, you wanna know who I like right?”
“Of course! Dude the sooner you marry, the better.”
Damn. Did she really want him out that fast?
“What the fuck?”
“Whaaat??? The sooner we can move outta this sad house.”
False alarm.
He punches his sisters should half annoyed and half amused
He takes a deep breath in and out and accumulates the sentence he’s been thinking about for months now.
His lips open and…
“I…I like Toya.”
Out it goes.
“Then tell him!” Ena shouts out a minute later
‘She took me having a huge ass crush on her best friend way too chill.’
“I-I…what if he hates me or only likes girls?”
“He won’t hate you Akito, he doesn’t stoop that low unless you’re his father.”
Akito snorts at that on the inside
“You think..?”
“Yeah. I know.” Ena gives him a thumbs up
Akito feels tears well up in his eyes as his sister who he loved so much supported him
He hugs her
“Thank you. Thank you so much Ena.” His voice cracks in between words but he could care less
He feels Ena’s arms hesitantly enwrap him as well, he doesn’t mind.
Afterall, she wasn’t expecting it right?
He feels like he could hear the Sekai opening later at night but when he checks his phone, he sees nothing but his lock screen of Ena and him being annoyed at each other at a Christmas photo.
‘Alright. Either I’m high as a kite or I need some sleep.’
He believes in the latter
Ena had ended up pushing Akito to confess on accident when she mentions to Toya that Akito wanted to tell him something earlier that day
To: Hey, I heard from Ena that you needed something
To: What’s up?
Aki: It’s nothing much, got it figured out
To: Well, will you help me with something then?
Akito stares down at his phone with hesitation
To: It’s alright to say no
To: But if you’re asking, no, Tsukasa and Rui will not be there
Aki: damn answered that question fast
To: I know you
Aki: Damn right you do
Aki: wdy need?
To: I need you
Akito almost drops his phone and chokes on his juice
To: sorry sent too early
To: I need you to come to the park
Akito is a bit dissapointed but accepts it either way
Aki: sure, what time
To: Will 5:30 work?
Aki: on it
To: Thank you, this really is important
Akito smiles at that before getting a message from Amia
Amia: SOOO WHAT ARE YOU TALKING W TOYA ABT???
Aki: Huh how do you know?
Amia: OH SHIT I WAS RIGHT?
Aki: Wow dumbass
Amia: BAHDHAHHSHAHAH DIDNT EXPECT THAT
Akito rolls his eyes before Kanade and Mafuyu join the chat
Yuki: Amia somehow can predict who you’re talking to
K: Yes they can and I think it’s scared Honami once or twice b4
Aki: Spooked Ena out too
Amia: Haha ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Yuki: Should we start working on our song?
Aki: I will but I got somewhere to be in a few minutes so I’ll be gone later
Amia: L + ratio
Aki: tf you mean
Aki: I was invited ty very much
Amia: Hmph! Rui needs to invite me to some of his shows
K: he does, you just decline it
Yuki: What is L + ratio?
Aki: Idk, Amias stupid
Amia: HUH YOURE SAYING THAT????
When the time hits 5:10, he heads to the park
The cool spring breeze flowing, it’s still too fucking cold for Akito as he clutches the sleeves of his jacket
He sees Toya on the swings, his face is looking up with his eyes closed
‘Did…did he come out here to wait for me? Wait is he sleeping????’
He walks closer and stands in front of Toya
‘He’s pretty…’
He gently shakes Toya
“Hmmmm? Oh..” Toya yawns “Sorry…fell asleep. Have you been waiting long?”
Akito sits on the swing next to him
“No, not really. I would let you sleep but your back and neck are gonna regret it.”
“Thank you Akito.” Toya smiles at Akito
‘Fuck…he’s so fucking adorable.’
“I wanted to tell you something.”
“Oh? What is it?”
Toya’s eyes soften
“I…I like someone.”
For Akito, his nerves quickly take over and he plays with the chains of the swing
“H-huh? Who?”
“Well, I can tell you why I like them…if you want.”
“Please do.”
“They’re…incredible. They don’t even know it. They think they’re so awful and that everyone will be better than them but, I disagree.”
Akito chuckles at how similar Toya sounded to him
“He…”
Oh shit, he?
“He makes me happy. He doesn’t know it but, when I was not in a good place, he made me happy. He just called to know how to do a math equation but he saved me that day. It’s not like Ena or Tsukasa didn’t but, he sure played a big part in it as well. But, he’s so amazing. Yeah he has his ups and downs but, nobodys perfect. But…I would like to be with him for everything.”
Akito starts clicking things together
Math equation?
Multiple phone calls?
…downs?
Wait could it be-
“Don’t you get it yet?”
Toya’s soft tone doesn’t change
“I love you Akito.”
Fireworks goes off in Akito’s heart
“I love your honesty and how amazing you are.”
Toya’s face retorts to worry for a second disappointing Akito
“A-ah I haven’t even asked, do you…like me back? I can see why if you don’t of course. But please be honest with me.” Toya asks with pleading eyes
Akito smiles warmly at Toya
“Hell yeah I do. You’re awesome a-and you’re amazing.” Akito stands up and takes Toya’s hands gesturing to stand up with him
The blue haired boy is slightly taller than him but he doesn’t care
“If you can like me even with…you know and baggage, then that means I can like you with everything you have as well.”
“You don’t have baggage. You’re sad a lot and it’s ok.”
“Yeah…it’ll get way worse before it gets better but, since you came it’s been better.”
Toya smiles letting tears fall from his eyes
“Y-yeah, I hope we can get through everything together. You can lean on me whenever you need.”
Akito can feel wetness on his cheeks too but he doesn’t care, he pulls Toya’s shoulders gently and kisses him
The world stops and the evening stars shine as the two intertwine their hands
When they both pull apart they laugh together, rubbing their tears away with their sleeves
“Haha..I didn’t even get Ena’s blessing yet.”
“Psh, I already got hers for you.”
Toya’s eyes widen and his blush grows bigger
“W-what! You told Ena a-about me?!”
Akito grins
“Yup.”
Toya collapses to his feet and Akito kneels with him
“Akito…”
“Heheh, you’re cute when you’re like this.”
Akito can somehow see Toya’s face and ears get pinker and he laughs
“Hahaha~ Enanan being embarrassed to walk with us?”
“Why the hell couldn’t Mafuyu or Kana come instead of you…”
“Well excuse me for wanting walk to school with you two!”
‘Holy shit. They fight more then me.’
“Will you two shut the fuck up???”
His night teacher ended up suspending the class until tomorrow for a spring flu
Akito slammed his head on the table when he saw the notice, startling Ena when she was drawing with him. It was pretty harsh after when she started yelling about him not doing that again fearing it would harm him. But it was so worth it.
The group reaches the intersection where Toya stands playing a pretty popular rhythm game before he sees them out the corner of his eye. Mizuki waves to him happily with Ena standing and Akito grinning at him
“Akito! You’re here?” He hears as he runs up to Toya
“Yeah, sensei for night class isn’t here today. Gotta come.”
“We can walk together now, with Ena and Mizuki-Kun too.” Toya gently smiles at him
He suddenly takes his hand
“H-hey! What about Ena and Mizuki?” Toya says not letting go but still asking
‘Damn I could fucking care less if they post this shit online for once.’ he thinks as he sticks his tongue at them with them being fake offended
He looks at his sister with softer eyes and a small smile
He then walks off with Toya as both talk about mundane things that he wishes to hear about everyday
He doesn’t say anything but he knows it’s enough to tell his sister everything
‘Thank you so, so, much Ena. I love you.’