Work Text:
Ena splashes a bold red on the canvas to start as the boys murmur something in-between themselves. They were in Akito’s room, except it was usually messier than this, but Toya insisted that their portrait was painted in his room. The two boys sat on chairs; the subject of Ena’s painting.
"Anything wrong? I thought I told you to stay put."
Akito just clicked his tongue and Toya apologetically bowed his head.
"We’re sorry, Ena-san."
She breathlessly smiles at Toya’s noble manners, wishing her brother would take notes and give her head some rest. Something small in her throat, like a pill she couldn't swallow, told her she wouldn't change Akito. She wouldn’t pick anyone else to be her brother; the memories the Shinonomes shared had a special place in their hearts.
There are rare, delicate moments that Ena treasures. When Akito’s hair was in desperate need of a trim, she would try to braid it, styling his hair in different ways. She remembers the way Akito’s eyes would light up when he approved of his hairstyle. On school days, way before Ena attended night school, Akito would do Ena’s hair. He would hum something under his breath, concentrating on Ena’s hair. She has a vivid memory of when Akito was doing her hair once, (with the promise of cheesecake,) when she was applying mascara on herself. She remembers Akito stopping suddenly.
"Aki? Are you done?" Akito's eyes were staring in between her lashes and the mascara as she glanced in the mirror. She pitifully gazed at him, smiling softly.
"You wanna try?"
Akito’s eyes widened as Ena’s hair fell out of his hand. She rose from her seat, letting Akito be the client.
"You sure I’m allowed to, Ena?" He looked down, his bangs covering his eyes from her. His voice was timid yet something purer and cruder lingered below it, outshining his doubt – he was curious. "I don’t think boys are supposed to wear mascara."
She clicks her tongue and promptly flicks his forehead. Akito instantly jolts back and curses loudly, thanking God that his father wasn’t home that day.
"Sit down, Aki. Let’s try it on you, okay? If you aren’t happy, we can remove it," she says, pointing to the wipes on the table. "Alright?"
He looks at her with worry in his eyes as he finally sits in Ena’s seat.
She smiles at him, and he weakly smiles back.
"Okay," she says walking in front of him, analysing him like an artwork. "Don’t close your eyes."
He nods, picking at his skin. Ena begins using the wand, coating his lashes. The house is quiet, Akito realises; only the sound of Ena’s footsteps keeps his mind sane. He didn’t know what he was expecting, but it didn’t hurt. Ena also went for eyeliner, remember Akito’s eyes glancing for a second too long at an eyeliner brand at the mall.
Ena finally steps back, both her hands on her hips, like a proud mother. Before letting Akito look at himself in the mirror, she ruffled his hair, reassuring Akito with a smile.
"Ta-da!" She reveals the mirror to Akito, waving her hands around. "Do you like how it looks?"
Akito just stares. Man, did he look good. He was dumbfounded as a smile starts to fight with his mouth. He stands up, looking at himself closer in the mirror. Holy shit, he looked amazing. He couldn’t stop staring; stunned and stunning. Ena lightly pushes him, encouraging him to speak.
"I love it, Ena."
"Wasn’t that bad, was it?"
"Shit, thank you."
"Okay, that’s enough! Stop admiring yourself!"
Akito feels feverish, like none of this is real. He retorts, "Salty I can pull off lashes better than you."
She laughs as she punches his stomach, only lightly.
"You look great, Aki." She says breathless, "Not many people can pull it off."
Ever since that day, Akito wore mascara. Ena could tell he felt more confident in the way he carried himself. He liked how he looked. Isn’t that such a hard thing to achieve?
Akito had his arm around his partner’s shoulder, Toya’s breath making him shudder. Toya's leaned into Akito touch, both beaming while Ena rolling her eyes.
Ena tucked a strand of her behind her ear, taking a couple of steps from her painting, frowning.
"Toya, your hair is ridiculously straight and it’s so easy to draw. It’s so impressive how neat it is."
Toya just cocked his head, confused but curious. He opened his mouth as Akito ruffled his hair.
"How’s this?" He smirked, "Better now, Ena?"
"Akito-" Her hands clawed at her brush; her nails were like a weapon. "Stay still, will you?"
Toya chiming in, "Ah, Thank you, Ena-san. It’s just naturally like this."
Akito’s hands never left his partner’s hair, lacing his fingers with strands of blue.
"Partner, not many people pull it off, but you do, y’know. And I love it ‘cause it’s so soft." Akito softly murmurs to his neck. Toya gives him a gentle smile like Akito just gave him a box of newborn kittens. When the words ‘not many people pull it off’ rolled off his tongue, it felt familiar. However, he quickly dismisses it off when he feels a weight on his body.
"You good, Toya?"
Ena pulls her eyes from the canvas and sees Toya leaning into Akito, half-awake. Maybe she should give them a break; they have been sitting there for 2 hours, to be fair. The countless, frustrating hours Ena had spent on call with Mizuki, trying to finish her illustration is just the reality of being an artist.
"Is he seriously sleeping? Toya, hey." Akito mutters to himself, attempting to get in a comfortable position.
Toya feeling drowsy as he wakes up and is meet with Akito’s worried face.
"Oh, Sorry. I didn’t have coffee earlier." He straightens his back, apologetically glancing at the two of them.
"Okay, you two. The portrait can wait just this once. Go make dinner, Aki."
Akito instantly grits his teeth, "What the hell? Can’t we get takeout? You can see how tired we are. God, Toya just fell asleep!"
Ena just rolls her eyes, "Hey! Painting is exhausting too, and your boyfriend can help you."
"I’m not sure if that’s a good idea." Toya’s eyes were downcast, feeling uneasy.
"I’ll cook, fine. You can help if you want Toya." Akito mutters, feeling as if he has forgotten something as he flushes red. "I already told you he's not my boyfriend, Ena!"
Toya bluntly ignores the dating allegations, and returns to the cooking matter, "...Akito, are you sure?"
Ena sees Akito’s face visibly disturbed and bites his bottom lip.
"I’ll cook." Akito concludes, clasping his hands together.
The 3 of them sat around the table, small talk in-between warm bites.
"So, Aoyagi, can you not cook?" Ena starts, "I’m sure you can cook better than him." She points her finger at her brother who kicks her leg under the table.
"You fucking realise that you asked me to cook right?"
Toya is used to An and Akito’s bickering, but Akito arguing with his sister is something else. Toya opens his mouth, trying to calm everything down.
"I’m not that familiar with cooking, Ena-san. I only cut my first vegetable a couple months ago on a camping trip. When I cook, nothing ever goes as planned.” Toya blurts. He has a vivid memory of when An was petrified when he set off the fire alarm.
"I’m sure Akito could teach you!" Ena smiles suddenly, almost scary. "You guys seem so close, anyways." She glances at Akito, who’s busy with his food. "It might not seem like it, Aoyagi, but Akito has been so much happier when you came around."
"Ena," Akito grunts.
It’s true. Akito has been so much more content around Toya excluding the time when Akito abruptly came home, refusing to leave his room. It was clear they had a fight or an argument, but Akito was too stubborn to admit anything. However, it was quickly resolved, and he was untroubled again. The group made him shine, a gateway from the stresses of his life. Kohane’s encouraging nature, An’s determined voice and Toya’s passion for music. It synced nicely.
"Oh," Toya's cheeks flushed, something bright in his eyes. "I’m glad to hear that. I have been happier too."
Akito chokes on his food, reaching for a napkin.
"Sorry," He rasps.
After a couple more questions about their groups, school and mutual friends which is mainly between Toya and Ena, their feast comes to an end. They return to their spots, ready to be idle for another couple of hours.
"Okay!" Ena angles her paintbrush, letting the boys settle in. "Let’s continue."
It was 11 pm, the early morning for Ena, when the two boys were about to collapse. Ena’s hands were stiff but determined as only a couple of small details remained.
She didn’t know why she asked to paint them, but she assumed it was because of Toya’s uptight atmosphere collapsing around Akito or how Akito would softly giggle only around Toya. Ena felt so proud of her brother for making a friend that he was so comfortable with; it seems like Akito helps Toya more than he knows. Toya was so caring, and Akito cared too. Akito had sharp edges to him, Ena realised when painting him. Toya on the other hand was softer and more welcoming to the eye when contrasted with Akito’s nature.
"Ena, are you done yet?" Akito mumbled. Toya fast asleep already.
Ena finally stood back from her painting, cocking her head a couple of times, until she sighed.
"Yeah."
As soon as Ena opened her mouth, Akito fell asleep. Now both Toya and Akito were sleeping side by side, Toya resting his head on Akito’s shoulder while the ginger leaned into Toya’s touch, snoring under their breath.
Ena laughed to herself, snapped a picture of the ‘scary and intimidating’ BAD DOGS to later embarrass Akito and send to An and Mizuki. She walked over to them, mumbled something under her breath and lastly gives them both a kiss on their foreheads.