Work Text:
“Is he going to make it until An-chan’s done?” Kohane nods across the table to a droopy-eyed Akito on the verge of dropping his head in the aisle of Weekend Garage. Ever so attentive, Touya nervously creates multiple plans to catch him if he starts falling over in his seat.
“I told you,” Akito replies, speech slurred beneath a defensive front. “I’m fine. I just didn’t get that much sleep last night.” He drops his elbows on the table for support and rubs his face.
Touya continues to grow worried. “You really should go home. If you’re not feeling well, we can make time to go over our new song tomorrow.”
An picks up on this as she approaches their table with an empty tray in hand. “I’m sorry again, guys. My dad really needs my help. I thought things would calm down by now, but these people are so needy… ” She mutters that last part under her breath, clearly nearing the end of her patience. The day must be taking a toll on her as well.
The afternoon began like many others: their daily practice in the park after school led into a meeting with the rest of their extended team to discuss their upcoming event in two weeks. At the end of it, the four of them planned on a late dinner at Weekend Garage to continue discussions of their most recent track’s production; they anticipated a quiet evening.
However, a larger party of at least 20 people showed up at the bar on a weekday night—20 people in addition to their usual patrons, leaving Ken with no other options but to ask for An’s help. She’s done her best to multitask, running back and forth between servicing tables, the kitchen, and her teammates attempting to talk about song direction. Any meaningful discussion went slower than anticipated with one of the producers dropping by for only a moment at a time, apologizing profusely each time she was called away. As the hour dragged on, exhaustion set in. An struggled to maintain the pace she had been functioning at for the past hour, and the time of day began to weigh on all of them.
“It’s alright,” Akito sighs. “We can wait.”
“Can you really?” She raises one eyebrow in Akito’s direction while taking Kohane’s plate away.
“Guys, seriously, I’m fine.”
“Right, because someone who isn’t dead tired would put their arms on a dirty plate…”
Akito looks down at the table and surely enough, his hoodie-covered elbow is barely an inch away from a smear of ketchup. He quickly picks his arms up and brushes them off. “Whatever.”
An continues, “If you’re going to be stubborn about it, then at least go lay down upstairs where it’s quiet. Take a power nap while I finish up.”
“An…”
“No, I’m not going to listen to whatever you have to say next—I don’t have the time. As you can see, I’m very, very busy.”
At the hint of a lazing pause, Kohane jumps in, “Is there anything I can do to help, An-chan?”
An’s eyes light up. It’s hard to tell from where Touya sits, but her eyes seem to water up in an instant. “Oh, Kohane! You’re a lifesaver!” An reaches out but can’t hug her the way she wants to around the tray in her hands. She solves that problem by handing the tray of dishes to Kohane so she can wrap her arms around her waist. “Here, start by taking this to the sink. You can grab an apron while you’re back there too.”
“Sure thing!” Kohane takes the tray with both hands and deliberately moves at a much slower pace than An had; immediately concentrating on the pile of dishes, her eyes beg her hands to not drop anything.
She turns to leave but not before An sneaks a quick kiss on her cheek. “Thank you so much~”
“Would you like me to do anything?” Touya asks. He and Akito step away from their table as An doesn’t hesitate to wipe it down with a towel that has somehow mysteriously appeared in her hand.
She stuffs it into a pocket on her apron and pulls him and Akito by the hand. “Yes, actually, there is something only you can do,” she assures him as they’re dragged to the back of the restaurant.
Touya quickly throws his bag containing his computer over his shoulder and grabs Kohane’s jacket she left on her chair. Instead of turning to the bar where Kohane is now working, loading plates and cups into the sudsy sink one by one, An pushes the two of them toward the rear corridor. The exit leads to a stairwell and a door that goes out to the alleyway behind the building. “Touya, your job is to make sure Akito takes a nap. You know the code to get in, right?”
“Are you sure you don't need help down here? I can help you with the customers if you need—” Touya restates, not wanting to leave without them.
An shakes her head. “Don’t worry about it! With Kohane helping us we’ll probably be done at closing. Give us about 20 minutes, and we’ll be up to join you.”
Akito grumbles, “You’re being ridiculous.”
“No, you.” An reaches up to place a kiss on both his and Touya’s cheeks. She looks Touya in the eye as she backs away. “Make sure he actually lays down, okay?”
He smirks at how effortlessly she can make them do what she wants though in this case, they want the same thing. Even as it’s left unspoken, they both know Akito is more likely to listen to him. “Of course. We’ll see you in a bit then.”
“Sounds great! We’ll see you later!” An happily replies and skips away to join Kohane at the sink in the kitchen. Although he's watching her leave, Touya can feel Akito’s stare burning at his neck.
“What the hell.”
He threads his fingers between Akito’s. Rather than acknowledge his comment, he says, “Shall we go upstairs?”
Akito can’t present an argument any stronger than the bags under his eyes. He looks down at their intertwined hands as Touya guides them to the stairwell. Blush creeps up the back of his neck to his cheeks, but Touya chooses to not comment on how his and An’s affection affects him.
They reach the entrance of An’s apartment and Touya inputs the code into the lock on their door (2607, quite difficult to forget). They’re met with a dark entryway to take off their shoes. They drop their belongings on the lounge chair in the living room.
Touya moves to flick on the overhead lights, but they’re not on for half a second before Akito winces, “Ugh, don’t. Just…” With a slump on the sofa, he reaches to turn on a table lamp, softer and dimmer in comparison. He runs his hands over his face, and asks, “Did you bring your laptop?” He wants to work instead.
“Yeah, it’s right here.” Touya pulls it out of his bag and holds it up. “But shouldn’t you lay down in her room?”
“Nah, I’m fine.”
“I’m sure she wouldn’t mind if you—”
“I know she wouldn’t. It doesn’t matter. If I fall asleep, I’ll just wake up feeling worse.”
Okay then, time for drastic measures. Touya takes a seat on the floor across from Akito sat upright on the couch. With his computer held on his lap, Touya looks into Akito’s tired eyes.
“What’re you doing?” Akito sighs. “C’mon, open it up. Let me hear what you’re working on.”
Touya slides his computer out of his lap and onto the floor beside him, never once breaking eye contact with Akito.
“Touya.” He huffs, growing more and more exasperated by the second.
“Akito.” Touya bites down a smile. “I have a job to do.”
Akito scoffs to mask his own laugh, “You can’t be serious.”
“I was entrusted with this task, and I intend to see it through. I will sit here until you fall asleep. Only then will I resume working on the track.”
They both remain resolute with their stares. Akito squirms under Touya’s scrutiny—his hands fidget, pulling at each finger—while Touya remains completely steady—his hands rest firm on crossed legs. Their focus remains unwavering with nothing but the buzzing of the cafe below coming between them. Akito leans his weight further forward, now to the edge of the couch, and squints.
Touya can practically hear his less-than-pleased thoughts, After everything we’ve been through, you chose to betray me at the command of Shiraishi An.
He just needs to stick it out a little longer… Touya angles his chin downward slightly. It must be done. Surrender now, and make this easier on both of us.
Akito hangs his head. “Fine. Whatever.”
Touya exhales a breath of relief. “Thank you.”
Akito pulls his jacket off and begins to lay on his back. “I’m only shuttin’ my eyes for a few minutes.” He throws the jacket over his legs and rests his head on the arm of the couch. Touya watches as he stares at the ceiling in stubborn defeat.
“Now close them.”
Akito sighs and complies, unable to refuse a request from Touya.
The soft light from the lamp behind him creates a gentle, yellow glow on Akito’s face. The yellow merges with orange to frame his face in a kind, fiery radiance. Very few things can compare to the warmth and confidence Touya feels seeing light beaming down on Akito as they take the stage together, but this sight comes quite close.
After a few more deep breaths, the tension in his face dissipates, and Akito stills; Touya completes his mission as Akito begins his journey into sleep. Touya considers reaching for his laptop again but decides against it, preferring to keep an eye on Akito for a while longer.
This new song is likely the reason why Akito stayed up so late last night. When he met Touya in the hall at school this morning, Akito mentioned he came up with a few different versions of lyrics to go with the track they were meant to work on. Decisions of lyric direction were supposed to be made tonight after listening to the most recent draft of their track, but Akito wanted to get ahead of schedule. The pressed timeline for the event in two weeks eats away at all of them, but Akito forces himself to bear the worst of it so the rest of them don’t have to. It worries them, and An coerces him into resting as retaliation for being dumb.
A part of Touya wishes he had the courage to help Akito like this in the past, but back then, the only thing he could think to do was work just as hard as Akito did to prove himself.
A quiet roar of laughter erupts from the bar below them. However muffled, it pulls Touya’s focus back to the present moment. Another heavy exhale from Akito and he flips over on his side. He fishes behind himself to adjust the throw pillow under his neck. Before he closes his eyes again, his gaze meets Touya’s.
He mumbles, “You’re just gonna sit there?”
Touya nods.
“Okay then.” He closes his eyes again and shifts his legs in an attempt to adjust his jacket barely covering them.
Hanging from the chair beside him, Touya spots a navy striped blanket of An’s that would work better. He stands with the blanket in hand and takes Akito’s jacket away. He tosses it on the chair to join their rehearsal bags.
Akito turns to look at Touya as he drapes the blanket over him. The moment their eyes meet, resignation comes over Touya as it does Akito. With a sigh, the latter sits up and pulls the former to sit beside him.
“Akito, is something wrong?”
“I don’t want you watching me, it’s weird.” He averts his eyes to the collage of band posters hung up across the room. “Lay with me.”
It’s not quite a question though Touya wouldn’t have had much reason to refuse if it had been. He loses his jacket and adds it to the pile accumulating on the chair. He lays back on the couch as Akito had and Akito fits into place snuggled atop his chest. Touya pulls the blanket over the two of them though it will likely become too warm for it soon enough. The heat swelling in Touya’s chest was already too much without the addition of Akito on top of him.
“Are you comfortable?” Touya speaks softly into the side of Akito’s head.
Arms wrapped around his torso tighten and Akito hums, “Yeah.”
Touya catches the slightest hint of Akito's faded cologne pressing a kiss into the top of his head. He tries to relax in their embrace but tension remains throughout his body. Lying there, Touya can’t move, he shouldn’t move or else he’ll disturb Akito’s rest. He summons all of his courage to adjust the pillow under his neck so he can rest his head comfortably. Akito repositions himself and deeply exhales. It’s as though he sinks more deeply into Touya than he thought possible.
One of Touya’s hands lands in Akito’s hair and his instinct is to feel for its softness. He brushes one spot in short, light strokes. Too caught up in the feeling of his wavy ends gliding between his fingers, he realizes this might disturb Akito’s sleep all the same. He takes his hand back and joins it with the other resting on Akito’s back. Suddenly, Akito reaches behind and grabs Touya’s hand to put it back on his head.
“Keep doing that,” he mumbles into Touya’s chest. Some weird, warm anxiety makes a home in Touya’s stomach. He continues to brush his fingers through Akito’s hair once more—the same way An likes it.
She’s expressed a fondness for this kind of affection once before. She’s asked for someone holding her to play with her hair on more than one occasion. If she wants to hug, she’ll launch herself on her target without hesitation. If she wants to cuddle, she’ll curl up next to someone and tell them how she wants to be held. More often than not, she’s willing to tell them what she wants directly—something that the rest of them have yet to fully become comfortable with.
Kohane, still not as certain of herself as she is onstage, approaches affection with caution. She’s similar to Touya in that regard though it’s been said she’s an easier read than him. Her flushed complexion is her greatest betrayer. Her face flushes when she’s surprised, not so much when she’s content—that’s best indicated with her eyes softened and a small smile that could stop time. That’s how they decipher what she likes to be treated with most: hands held together while they walk from her school gate to practice, from practice to the cafe, from the cafe to the station; a head rested subtly against the side of her own or on her shoulder, especially after a tiresome day of training so that she may be a physical pillar of support for them; or soft kisses pressed into her temple as a late-night farewell when they part.
And Akito… Akito won’t let anyone see. Most of the time, he clears his throat and stabilizes his voice when Kohane tries to compliment him; his melted expression hardens every time An tries to comment on it though that’s exactly the reaction she wants to pull out of him; and he turns his head, he looks away from Touya when asking for affection even when the two of them are alone together. Touya’s left with a guessing game to discover what he wants. Even so, if it’s Akito, he will figure it out.
The faint hum of the cafe beneath them is drowned out by the careful rhythm of Touya’s hands repeatedly scratching at Akito’s scalp and both of their breathing deepening by the second. Touya’s thoughts lull into heavy nothingness under the weight of one so dear to him: the weight of Akito’s mind and trust. Touya wants nothing more than for Akito to trust him.
From the beginning, Touya’s desire to prove himself worthy of something other than what his father wanted him to be shifted to a desire to be what Akito needed him to be. Now that’s become a desire even greater than the ones that came before: his greatest wish is to pursue that shared goal alongside each other to become the best they can be, the four of them, together. This must be the path Touya was meant to take. Akito laying on top of him feels just as comfortable and natural as it does to perform beside him on a stage they deserve to share with their teammates.
Even throughout junior high, he savored every celebratory side hug, hair ruffle, and fist bump Akito offered him. Those were the only moments Touya could feel Akito’s trust and appreciation. His casual touch permeated years of self-pity and made him want to fight for something. Perhaps, in a way, Touya has always longed for this closeness.
When Akito was happy, Touya must be happy too. When Akito was upset, Touya wanted to make him feel better, but until recently, he didn’t know how. The worst of it was when a battle event didn’t end as Akito had hoped. He wallowed in his frustration and self-loathing. Touya couldn’t do or say anything to help, and it made both of them miserable. During those painful nights, Touya wanted nothing more than to reach out to Akito and tell him everything would be fine. One of his lingering regrets from those years was that he could never find the words—never had the courage to look deep enough to find them.
He sat back pressed up against the brick wall behind the venue, the damp air suffocating, feeling sorry for himself while Akito, just as pitiful, paced in front of the vending machine illuminating the alley. Touya flinched at the sound of Akito crushing his water bottle and tossing it in the bin. He hung his head to the ground. There was nothing to say other than a half-baked apology, but he kept his mouth closed. That would have made Akito even more upset.
"Hey." Akito barked. "Look up."
Akito extended a hand, and Touya stared at it. Was that Akito’s trust?
"I’m sorry for getting upset."
Apprehensive, Touya took that hand and Akito pulled him up off of the ground.
"We’ve just got to work harder. Next time’ll be different."
No, Touya thinks, You’re going to push yourself too far. It’s okay. We're going to be okay. But he still can’t summon the words.
If Touya had been able to say something, would things have gone differently? Would he have been able to get Akito to slow down at the risk of not progressing as fast as he wanted to, or would Akito have dismissed him entirely? Had Touya found the right words—had he known how to help Akito sooner, would they be here, where they are right now? Would they have found Vivid Bad Squad and the rest of their team?
“Aw… look at them…” The brick-lined scene beyond Akito fades into nothing. Touya clutches at the hand he holds, desperate to never lose it. “Should we wake them up?”
Touya squints his eyes open.
“Oh, Touya’s awake.” An and Kohane sit at the side of the couch watching Touya come back to real life. How long have his eyes been closed? He tries to rub them awake and finds one hand in Akito’s hair and the other being held by Kohane.
Akito lays still on his chest, breathing heavily, falling and rising at the pace of Touya’s own breaths. He’s glad he thought to take off his jacket because Akito is really warm. The blanket, having been kicked off, gathers around their feet at the other end of the couch.
Akito… He doesn’t need to reach out to Akito. He’s in his arms, but is it close enough? It is different now. Akito seems more sure of himself and his place on their team, but he’s still getting hurt. He’s not sleeping the way he should; he stays up too late working and wakes up too early to train every morning. The biggest difference is Touya now has the ability to help Akito in the way he’s always wanted to.
“Did you have a good nap?” Kohane whispers. Touya hums a content reply.
An adds, “I was preparing myself to creepily wake you up like a fairytale princess.” She brushes Akito’s bangs from his face. Her worn smile widens to a fond yet mischievous one. “Oh, but it looks like one of you is still asleep.”
She leans to kiss his forehead, gingerly holding his bangs back. Akito’s face scrunches up and he grunts his head on the other side to face away from An. Touya’s heart races as he moves.
“Damn, he's even an asshole in his sleep.”
“An-chan, we should probably leave him be.”
“Nope! Things just got personal.” An moves to her feet and towers over the couch. “Sorry about this, Touya.” One leg at a time, she slowly lowers herself onto Akito’s back creating an unseemly pile of unsuspecting partners.
“An-chan, what are you doing?” Kohane asks worriedly despite the slightest smile sneaking onto her face.
“Just giving him a hug~”
The added pressure on Touya’s abdomen isn’t uncomfortable, but the longer the two of them press down the less comfortable it will probably become.
Akito takes a sharp inhale. He tries to lift his head but to no avail. An has him stuck there. “What the fuck? Get off me,” he mumbles.
Touya wraps his arms to hold both of them in place so no one tumbles to the floor in Akito’s struggle to get out from An’s hold. To his side, Kohane stifles soft laughter. She’s taken her phone out and presumably captures the moment without the other two noticing.
"Why, what's the problem? I just want to cuddle too~"
"We both know damn well that's not what you're doing."
Akito tries rotating to roll An off of him. She slides off Akito and wedges herself next to him between Touya and the couch. She curls up next to Touya and rests her head on his shoulder, effectively kicking Akito out of his spot.
Akito sits up, glaring at An and Kohane teasing him. Even Touya can’t help but smile. Akito rubs his head and sighs, sleep still laced in his words, “What the hell was that for?"
“I tried waking you up with a true love’s kiss, but it didn’t work. You brought this upon yourself.” An looks up at Touya with something like pride, golden amber eyes reflect the light from the table lamp behind him. “Isn’t that right, Touya?”
Touya chuckles, “You could have gone about it differently. Although it was… unconventional, your method proved to be effective.”
Akito scoffs.
“Even if you weren’t able to wake him gracefully, you can be our prince charming some other time.”
Amber eyes widen, and An buries her face. "Yeah, alright."
Akito clears his throat. “Okay, now that you’re back, are we working now or what?”
Touya replies, “I set my computer on the floor over there.” He tries to sit up, but An prevents him from getting very far by holding onto his shirt. She still needs a few minutes.
“I got it.” Kohane carries his laptop to Akito and joins him where he sits, their own legs resting over Touya and An’s stretched across the couch.
Akito doesn’t hesitate to start the track for the three of them to hear Touya’s latest version. They’re finally able to carry out their discussion of the song’s direction. Thanks to Akito’s fortified vision, they come to the important decisions rather easily. Their conversations naturally go on forever, easily throwing words back and forth is what they believe to be one of their songwriting’s greatest strengths. Ken may have returned to the apartment at some point, but his brief presence is drowned out by Kohane’s enthusiasm for a particular verse Akito wrote.
Akito stares daggers into the screen while adding something someone mentioned to the track in the heat of their discussion, all the while An fidgets with Kohane’s fingers who stares diligently at Akito’s work. She’s been observing the three of them use that software for some time now to familiarize herself with its functions. Touya studies the three of them just as seriously. Kohane leans her full weight against Akito, and he falls back onto her head, likely the only thing keeping him upright. With her free hand, An rubs the fabric of Touya’s shirt between two fingers. It almost tickles, but he doesn’t want to stop her.
Each of them is disheveled—worn from working or disoriented from napping. Touya resists the urge to reach one arm up to smooth out his own hair which has no doubt been just as tufted as the rest of them. No one needs to make an effort here. They’re imperfect and comfortable with each other as they are.
“Hey,” An speaks up from the quiet, breaking the rolling silence that fell upon them. “Do you guys want to stay over?”
“An, we have school tomorrow,” Akito retorts.
“So? It’s already late. You’re going to miss the last train soon anyway.”
Kohane explains, “We don’t have our uniforms or school bags or anything…”
An sighs dramatically, “Yeah, I guess that is a problem.” She lightly shakes Kohane’s arm. “How about this Saturday? After evening practice?”
“I can stay Saturday.”
“Promise?” An holds out a pinky finger for Kohane.
“Of cour—waahh! He—hey…” An yanks Kohane by the wrist and pulls her over to their side of the couch. She doesn’t resist. Kohane falls on top of An and Touya. The two of them enclose her in an embrace.
An rests her forehead against Kohane’s. “I’m holding you to it.”
“Akito?” Touya gets his attention by nudging his leg with his foot.
Akito takes out an earbud, and he shoots back without looking away from the laptop, “Yeah, Saturday, that’s fine.”
“I meant you should come here.”
Akito looks at the mess of the three of them. He raises an eyebrow at the offer, “Yeah… okay.” Just as quickly he averts his eyes once more and pretends to busy himself with the track. “Just a sec—”
Please, stop working. Just for one moment more.
Kohane sits up again and carefully pulls the laptop away from Akito. “I think we’ve done a lot today. Wouldn’t you say?”
Akito doesn’t fight her, only pouts his eyes at his work being taken away from him.
“You all are really annoying today…”
“We wouldn’t need to be if you just took care of yourself,” An says plainly.
“I don’t see why you need to do anything.” Akito grunts before aiming to drop his entire body weight on An.
“Wait! Don’t!” She squeals and tries to squirm out from under him, but she’s trapped between the wall of the couch on one side and Kohane getting comfy in Touya’s arms on the other. There’s nowhere for her to escape Akito’s revenge. She gives up rather easily and wraps an arm around him; her other hand continues to pull at Touya’s shirt.
They probably look like a sight to behold—ridiculous. Four grown teenagers stacked on top of each other pressed onto a narrow sofa that is definitely not designed to hold four teenagers stacked on top of each other. They’ve never huddled like this before, and something about it feels like it should be wrong—someone’s elbow juts into Touya’s hip, and he has to use all of his remaining strength to hold Kohane in place so she doesn’t fall off. Touya may slip off the side if Akito decides to pry between him and An any further—but despite that, it’s warm. It’s safe and happy.
They have a long way to go before they accomplish their goal, and beyond that, Touya believes they can go even farther. That leaves him with all the time in the world to do everything he can to help Akito and their team.
Touya grasps this moment. He wants them to stay like this, with them, for forever.
---
Akito asks, "Are you guys really comfortable like this?"
"I'm alright."
Kohane hums unassured.
An replies, "Yeah, kinda… sorta…"
“Then why drag me into this?" Akito groans.
"Because we love you," Touya replies without hesitation.
They almost miss the last train, but for a little while longer, they’re happy together.