Chapter Text
Bzz. Bzz.
A grumble, and a slight shift of his body.
Bzzz. Bzzz. Bzzz.
A half-asleep Akito tossed his arm over to the side, trying to get the noise to stop.
Bzzzzt. Bzzzzt.
The noise only grew louder and more intense as he continued groping his hand around his nightstand, barely conscious of his actions.
Bzzzzzzzzzzzzt! Bzzz–
Finally, Akito groaned quietly and cracked his eyes open. He took his phone in his hand and aggressively tapped at it until a button made the alarm stop. Whether it was just to snooze it or turn it off entirely, he couldn’t possibly care less.
The only thing on Akito’s tired mind was falling back into the loving man behind him. His partner, still sound asleep, was resting his head in the crook of Akito’s neck, slender arms wrapped gently yet firmly against the ginger’s waist, and his chest flush against the other’s back. It took all of Akito’s willpower not to fall back asleep from his touch alone.
Even if he wanted to put it off, Akito knew deep down that he’d have to wake up eventually. Touya would too. It would be best for both of them to wake up sooner rather than later. With a sigh, Akito reluctantly removed Touya’s arms from his body, and carefully set the other’s head down on his pillow. He gazed at his partner for what felt like an eternity, admiring each and every part of him—his short hair scattered around the pillow as if the ocean itself was surrounding him, his sleeping expression that contained the slightest hint of contentedness and joy, his flawlessly gorgeous features that Akito could never get enough of—no matter how many times Akito had woken up to the sight of his partner, he just couldn’t help himself. Everything about Touya made Akito fall even deeper in love with him.
The shorter rolled onto his side to face Touya, slowly running a hand down his partner’s face. Touya began to stir, causing Akito to chuckle to himself. He leaned over and pressed a kiss on the taller’s lips, finally getting Touya’s eyes to flit open. He squinted at Akito, and gave him a gentle smile.
“Mornin’, handsome,” Akito grinned, pushing his bangs out of the other’s face and leaving another kiss on his forehead.
“G’morning, Akito…” Touya murmured in response. The light peeking over Akito’s body from under the curtain’s blinds seemed to bother the taller, causing him to nestle closer to Akito’s body, hiding his face in his partner’s chest. Both of them laughed and Akito wrapped his arms tightly around the other.
“Someone’s feeling clingy today, huh? It’s time to wake up, Touya.” The boy in question groaned in response, only pressing his head closer against Akito’s body. The ginger allowed himself to indulge in his partner’s grogginess, beginning to run his fingers tenderly through the other’s hair. Akito felt Touya’s arms beginning to sneak around him yet again, hugging him closely. In response, Akito did the same, running one hand behind Touya, lightly tracing comforting circles into his back.
With one last run of his fingers through Touya’s hair, Akito cleared his throat. Gently taking his partner’s chin in his hand, he looked down and muttered with a gravelly voice. “Hey,” he started. “I know it’s the weekend, and we could just stay like this all day, but I kinda wanted to get some other stuff done too, y’know?”
Touya’s expression shifted from neutral to… well, something still mostly neutral, but with an ever so slightly sad-looking undertone. The same expression Akito always felt his heart wrench at. It was impossible to resist Touya’s demands whenever he gave him that face, and both of them knew it. Akito tore his eyes away, laughing, and looked just above him instead.
“Listen,” he continued. “I can make you coffee ‘n’ somethin’ for breakfast, but you’ve gotta let me get up first.”
Seeming to consider the offer, Touya’s eyes finally opened all the way, and he looked up at the ginger. Akito’s eyes met his, and for a few moments, neither of them spoke, content to bask in the comfortable silence that always formed between them. Touya’s eyes once again started to flutter shut, and Akito had to jostle his shoulder to keep him conscious.
With a quiet laugh, Akito ruffled his partner’s hair and smiled. “Dude. Did you even hear what I just said?” Touya honestly shook his head in negation, and Akito rolled his eyes slightly. “You seriously need coffee right now.” Touya nodded wordlessly in agreement, and Akito swore he could see the other’s eyes light up for a second. Damn, his partner was too precious for his own good. Before letting Touya’s expressions get the better of him for a second time, Akito tried to get himself up and out of bed.
Before he could make any real progress, Touya grasped at his arm. “Don’t go…” he murmured, his expression falling into that same exhausted yet sad look once again.
“...Akito…?”
“Touya?”
He couldn’t bear to meet his eyes again. Akito already knew that Touya was far too good at convincing him. If he didn’t leave soon, Akito was sure they’d just spend the whole day in each other’s arms—though, that was becoming more of a viable option as Touya continued to act up.
The ginger’s thoughts were cut short as Touya began to make his way over to him. He watched silently as the split-haired boy released his hand, instead taking both sides of Akito’s face in his hands, murmuring, “...I love you.”
Akito was torn between feeling flustered beyond belief or laughing hysterically at Touya’s sudden boldness, almost definitely brought on from his drowsy state—instead of settling firmly on either one, Akito began laughing awkwardly as he felt his entire face, neck, and ears start to burn up. “A-ah… I–... yeah,” he finally stuttered out.
With a smug, almost teasing smile, Touya pressed a kiss against the other’s lips. Without breaking the distance between them, Touya continued, his breath warm against Akito’s face. “I’ll be out in a bit, dear. Night.”
Before Akito could even get a word in, Touya had already released him and fallen back onto the bed, curling up like a small kitten as he closed his eyes. Akito couldn’t help but smile at the sight. He pulled the covers back over him and planted one final kiss near his eyebrow.
Akito walked over to the bedroom’s door, pausing as he put his hand on the door handle. “Love you too. Don’t fall back asleep for too long, ‘kay?” Instead of receiving any sort of coherent response, Akito heard a quiet snore from his partner. He smiled in disbelief, shaking his head as he closed the door behind him, leaving his partner to rest.
A yawn finally escaped Akito’s mouth, and he stretched his arms briefly before making his way over to the couple’s kitchen. It was nothing fancy—their apartment lacked much space outside of a bedroom and the bare necessities for a kitchen and living room. It wasn’t much, but neither of them complained. If it meant they could spend even more time together after graduating high school, they’d take it.
Despite Akito’s promise to make breakfast for his partner, he hadn’t exactly considered how he would go about that—as usual, their fridge was nearly empty aside from a few eggs, some milk that was close to expiring, a half a bottle of coffee creamer (exclusively used by Akito), and a few assorted condiments. It wasn’t much, he realized, but he could probably work with it. They’d just make do with plain omelets for the fourth time that week.
After around half an hour had passed, Touya finally trudged his way out to the living room right as Akito had finished cooking. He still had a blanket wrapped around his shoulders. Touya tended to get cold in the mornings especially easily, Akito remembered. It was a cute habit of his, so he didn’t particularly mind.
“Hey again, Sleeping Beauty,” Akito teased. “Sleep well?” The ginger chuckled as he brought a steaming plate over towards the couch, gesturing for Touya to follow.
“Well enough,” Touya replied plainly. He took a seat, tightening the blanket around him as he looked up at Akito. His partner set the plate on a coffee table, and headed back to the kitchen.
From the kitchen, Akito continued speaking. “Finally decided to use that manual coffee grinder An gave me a few years ago. I’d say it turned out pretty good, but you’re the expert here.” He came back, setting in front of him a mug with the words “World’s Best Partner” printed on both sides. Akito crossed his arms and waited.
Touya lifted the mug to his lips, careful not to spill any of the hot liquid, and took a sip. After a moment of thinking, he turned up towards Akito and nodded, a small sparkle evident in his eyes. “It’s good. Thank you.”
Even without saying much, Akito could tell that his partner was genuinely appreciative. He hummed and returned to the kitchen to finish up his own meal: the same as Touya’s, just with an absurd amount of creamer in his coffee.
Akito finally settled down next to Touya, resting his head on the other’s shoulder as he took a sip of his mug of coffee. As he set it down on the table in exchange for his plate, Touya took a glance at it, his face contorting into a mixture of confusion and amusement, which Akito immediately took notice of.
“...oi. What’s the problem this time?”
“Nothing, nothing. Just… thinking, I guess.” Touya laughed to himself.
Akito turned to face him, raising an eyebrow. “Hah? It’s just coffee. Same as yours, ain’t it?”
“I wouldn’t say so,” Touya commented, shaking his head. “At what point does it stop being coffee and just become flavored milk?” He questioned bluntly.
“You little–...” Akito scowled lightheartedly at him. “Sorry that I can’t stomach the taste of straight fuckin’ bean juice. Unlike some people, I value my taste buds.” He punched Touya’s shoulder lightly.
“It’s alright to like sweet things, you know. I’m not going to judge you for the way you take your coffee.” Touya took another sip from his mug, relaxing in the feeling of steam brushing his face. “...much.” He muttered.
“Hah?!” The shorter huffed and leaned into the couch. “Say it to my face. I dare you.”
“You have a sweet tooth, Akito. There’s no point in arguing when we both know it’s true. I’m a bit surprised you didn’t make pancakes for yourself, actually.”
“I can eat stuff other than pancakes, Touya . I ain’t that one-dimensional.” He mumbled through gritted teeth, shoving a bite of the omelet into his mouth. It was far too overcooked, he quickly realized. The eggs felt rubbery in his mouth, and it took all of his willpower not to spit it out right then and there. He took another sip of his coffee, hoping to wash down the dreadful texture.
Looking over his own mug, Touya immediately took notice of Akito’s reaction. “You’re not putting up a very convincing argument right now.” The ginger grimaced, still refusing to accept defeat even when he knew he had lost.
“They just taste bad. If I’d have cooked ‘em longer, they would’ve turned out fine…” His eyes fell in frustration. “Not like there’s much I can do about it now. This was the last of ‘em until we restock the fridge.”
Touya wrapped his arm around Akito in an attempt to comfort him, pulling the other just close enough for them to be touching. “Don’t worry yourself too much about it. I appreciate the gesture. Really.” The split-haired boy shot an embarrassed smile at him. “Besides, it’s not like I could do much better.”
“You’re still banned from the kitchen for the rest of the month.” Akito replied immediately. “Seriously, I don’t know how you haven’t burnt this place down yet with all the weird shit you try to make when I’m gone…”
Touya seemed a bit distraught for a moment, but quickly looked back at Akito with confidence in his eyes. “I’m sure I’ll perfect a dish one of these days. Mark my words.”
“Not without close supervision! I’m not losing the deposit on this place just because you wanted to make some crazy-ass stir fry or somethin’ while I’m at work.”
Touya nodded, and remained silent for a while. He continued to sip his drink while Akito struggled to eat his omelet, taking each bite with a glug of coffee. Despite himself, Touya found it an oddly amusing sight to behold.
As Akito shoved another part of the omelet into his mouth, he noticed Touya’s burning gaze on him. He shuddered as he swallowed more of the rubbery substance, and looked back into his partner’s eyes in return.
“Can I… help you?” He shifted uncomfortably as Touya’s gaze refused to let up—if anything, he was only staring more intensely now.
After a while longer, the other boy finally spoke. “I just think you’re cute.”
The brutal simplicity of his words almost made Akito choke. He immediately held his arm to his face and turned away from the other, feeling another blush coming on. “Hah?! The hell are you talking about?”
The taller one chuckled, clearly amused by his partner’s reaction. Akito had done exactly what he’d hoped he would. “I’m talking about what you’re doing right now, dear. You’re cute when you’re embarrassed.”
“S-shut the fuck up…” Akito felt himself sinking into the couch, and pulled a pillow over his face. “I ain’t cute at all. Asshole.”
“I beg to differ. If only I could see your face right now… I’m sure I wouldn’t even be able to handle how cute you look.” A hint of sadness traced through his voice, though Akito was almost positive that Touya was being dramatic to get a point across. Something he had definitely picked up from that blonde upperclassman that he respected so deeply.
A groan came from under the pillow. “Not gonna happen. Not if you keep sayin’ weird shit like that outta nowhere.”
“Is it really that weird to show my appreciation for you every now and then?” Touya’s voice flattened.
“Don’t make me sound like the bad guy here! Of course you can. Just–... ugh.” He hesitated for a moment, falling even further into the couch until his body was hardly upright. “It’s just weird, okay?! I’m not used to people sayin’ that kind of thing. Even if it’s you,” He mumbled.
“Would you prefer a different term? Perhaps beautiful or handsome, stunning, amazing, p–”
“I get it. Shut up.” Akito’s voice turned colder and blunt.
“I still love you.” Touya responded without hesitation.
“I–... I know. I love you too.” Akito sighed, trying to let his guard down. “I’m not really good with compliments, okay? You know that.”
“Of course I do.” Touya nodded, reaching over to take the pillow from Akito, who put up little resistance. He placed the pillow out of reach of the other. “We’ll work on that together. Alright? You mean the world to me, Akito. I wouldn’t give you empty compliments.”
The shorter one turned his head to the side, avoiding facing Touya. He was stuck somewhere between frustrated with the other, and flustered beyond belief. As much as he wanted to argue with his partner, the genuinity in his voice and gentle tone made it difficult for him to put up a fight. He finally settled on “...I really don’t deserve you.”
“Nonsense.” Touya cupped his partner’s head in his hand. “You deserve the world and so much more. You’re the most amazing person that I’ve ever met, and you’ve completely changed my life for the better. I couldn’t possibly be more grateful to be with you. I love you more than life itself.”
Akito let the weight of his words sink in, and felt his face only growing a deeper shade of red the longer he thought. Between Touya’s ever so gentle touch on his face and his stupidly passionate speech, Akito could barely take it. He felt like screaming from the shame and embarrassment, but willed himself to at least remain silent if he couldn’t accept what Touya was saying.
“I mean it. You don’t have to agree with me, but please know that I’ll always be here for you, by your side. There’s no one that I would rather spend the rest of my life eating rubbery eggs and coffee with.”
Akito rolled his eyes and laughed. “...wow. That’s–… that’s really touching, dude.”
With the mood successfully lightened and the tension finally broken between them, Touya laughed alongside his partner and pressed a kiss to his cheek. “You’ve always said that I have a way with words.”
“Yeah, yeah. Still a low blow to shittalk my cooking.”
“I only mean it lovingly.”
“I know you do. Believe me, I know.” Akito snickered and ruffled his hair playfully.
Akito’s eyes drifted away from his partner’s face and towards the clock on one of their apartment’s walls. A few hours had passed since they had woken up, and it was already far later than the ginger had anticipated. He begrudgingly started to get himself up off of the couch, stretching in the process.
“I should really get going soon. I promised Akiyama I’d meet them in about an hour to go over some of their latest designs, and the location’s already pretty far from here as it is. I doubt they’d give me shit for bein’ late, but also I’d feel bad makin’ them wait too long.”
Touya nodded understandingly, and began to pick their dishes off of the table. “No worries. Do you know when you’ll be back?”
He shook his head. “No clue. Knowing Akiyama, it could be anywhere from an hour to the rest of the day. If I’m home late, I’ll make sure to pick something up for dinner. Sound good?”
“Of course.” Touya had made his way into the kitchen, and the pair were yelling at each other from across the apartment as Akito got ready to leave. “Take as much time as you need. I’ll be catching up on some reading.”
Akito smiled to himself—due to his rigorous college courses, Touya had barely gotten any time to fully relax in a while, let alone pick up something to read. The same could be said for Akito and his work schedule, yet he pretended not to mind it. Even if he felt a bit torn up about having to leave his partner on one of their increasingly rare days off together, it would be worse to leave Mizuki hanging when they had specifically asked for his advice, he concluded.
After finishing getting dressed in their bedroom, Akito made sure to double-check all of his belongings. As he was putting his shoes on at the door, he called out to Touya, “I’ll be back later. See ya.”
The other rushed to the door as it was opening, quickly taking Akito’s hand and stealing one last kiss on the lips. Touya smiled at his partner.
“Have fun, Akito. Take care.”