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“Akito!”
Touya hurriedly caught the other before he could fall. He staggered while doing so, but he didn’t fall and more importantly, Akito didn’t fall.
“What happened?” Kohane quickly rushed over to them with An following behind. She frowned. “Shinonome-kun, are you alright?”
“It’s nothing, really. I just tripped on something. Don't...Don't worry about it. I'm fine.” Akito waved his hand sluggishly in the air as he struggled to stand up properly. He had the habit of repeatedly reassuring them that it was fine when he wasn't fine at all. His breathing was harsh as well. Could it be...?
“Akito, hold on.” He placed his hand on the other’s forehead and frowned. It was a pretty bad fever. He was surprised that the other was able to last this long without saying anything. The other looked at him as if he wanted him to keep it a secret but…he didn’t want to watch him destroy himself. Not again. It already happened too many times before. He'd be a terrible boyfriend if he just let him continue destroying himself like this. “You’re burning up.”
“Of course. We were practicing this whole time, so why wouldn’t my body be hot?” He didn’t seem to be too pleased as he looked away and leaned against the wall. “Just give me a few seconds, I’ll be alright.”
“This whole time…” An mumbled softly before grabbing Akito’s water bottle and handing it to him. “We’re gonna cut practice short today.”
“An-” Akito looked like he was about to protest against her, but he must’ve seen the look in her eyes, because he stopped talking in favor of drinking his water before responding. “Fine.”
Kohane rummaged around in her bag before handing Akito a couple of pills. “Here you go, Shinonome-kun. I hope you can rest well at home. Um…please don’t push yourself like this again…”
“Dammit.” The other mumbled softly before swallowing the pills. “Sorry.”
“Akito, you don’t need to apologize.” Touya frowned upon seeing the look on Akito’s face. He was obviously feeling frustrated and it must’ve been because he interrupted their practice time. Like he was blaming himself. Still, it wasn’t like he should purposefully neglect his own health for the sake of…well, Akito tended to do that a lot. It was a bit frustrating sometimes when he did that. “I’ll take you home. If you rest properly, you can get better faster.”
“...yeah, thanks.”
Kohane looked at An before looking back at them with a small smile on her face. “Shinonome-kun, we’ll also come to visit tomorrow, so…”
“So rest.” An gently bumped her fist against Akito’s shoulder, a half smile on her face. “Don’t make us worry too much idiot.”
Akito didn’t say anything, but Touya figured that he appreciated their words. He made sure to hold onto Akito so that he wouldn’t fall as they walked. His strength wasn’t the best, but he’s gotten strong enough to make sure he wouldn’t drop the other at least. It was silent, save for Akito’s heavy breathing and his steps lagging behind. His head was burning and if it was this bad, he wondered how Akito was able to hide it so well that they didn’t even notice until he almost collapsed. No…he should’ve noticed.
He of all people should’ve noticed.
“Touya. We’re here.” Akito coughed to the side before looking up at him. “Don’t have such a scary expression on your face. It’s not like it was your fault I got sick.” The other coughed to the side again as he fumbled with his keys, almost dropping it before Touya caught it. “...My bad.”
“Which key is it?” Touya isolated the key that was pointed out to him before inserting it into the door and carefully bringing Akito in. He locked the door behind him and placed the key back in Akito’s pocket.
“Thanks.” Akito sat down on the couch and he looked like he was moments away from passing out right then and there. “I’ll be alright now.” His voice became more hoarse and Touya couldn’t help but frown. There had to be something he could do…
“Akito.” He spoke softly. “Do you want me to take you to your room?”
“I can get there myself.” He waved his hand in the air. “You should go home. It’s getting late.”
His frown deepened and Akito stared at him. They stared at each other in silence and eventually, Akito just sighed. “...alright, alright. You can help me get to my room, but after that go home.” His voice became softer, but Touya couldn’t tell if it was because his throat was hoarse or not. “I don’t want you to get sick because of me. Plus, I can take care of myself, it’s….” Akito trailed off and let it end there before he stood up and gave him a half hearted smile.
“I don’t mind taking care of you.” Touya carefully walked with Akito to his room, holding onto him tightly. The other’s words made him frown, but he knew Akito was right. Taking care of him would be for nothing if he ended up getting sick too. Even so… “Is Ena-san home?”
“Should be.” Akito laid down on his bed and Touya gently put the blanket over his body. “If she’s not then I guess she went to her-” The other turned away to sneeze, accepting the tissue he gave him with a soft “thanks” before clearing his throat. “Well, my mom should be coming back soon, so I guess you can wait.” There was a short pause. “Don’t you need to go home?”
“I can just tell them I’m staying over at your house. I’m sure they wouldn’t mind. Besides…” Touya reached out to touch Akito’s hair. “I want to take care of you. You’re a very important person to me after all. I don’t want you to be alone when you’re like this.” Even if Akito wouldn't technically be alone, he still...wanted to be by his side.
He was more than just an important person to him. He was the person who gave him his dream and pushed him forward. He reached out to him even when he was planning to leave. He was the person he fell in love with. So seeing him suffer all on his own…he didn’t want that. Touya would stay by his side. Akito had…been alone for enough of his life already. Touya wasn't planning on letting it continue to be like that.
Akito’s ears turned red and his face was flushed pink before he started coughing violently. “I can-” He sneezed again. “How the hell can you say these things with a straight face? Ugh.” He sighed. “Well if you’re staying the night there’s a guest room. I’d help you get the sheets but you’ll probably have to ask Ena.” Even as he said these words though, he sat up as if he were going to get out of bed.
Touya didn’t want that, so he gently pushed him back down onto the bed. “Don’t get up. Please rest.” After making sure that the other wasn’t getting up, he placed a box of tissues next to the bed and walked out, running into Ena immediately after.
“Oh, Touya-kun! You surprised me…” She looked into Akito’s room with a sigh. “...that idiot went out when he was already sick and then got worse, didn’t he? I told him to stay at home but he insisted on going.” Ena looked at him with a shrug. “I know how stubborn he is and even though I kept a tight watch on him, he still snuck out anyway.”
“That sounds like him. He even went to practice.” He made eye contact with Ena's expression of disbelief and they both gave each other a half-hearted smile.
“That idiot...” Ena glared at Akito’s room door before holding her head with a sigh. “He never knows how to rest. Sorry if he gave you a scare during practice.”
“It’s alright. At least we were able to get him to go back home before it got worse.” Touya smiled sheepishly. “Also…I hope you don’t mind me staying the night.”
Ena raised her eyebrow at him before glancing between him and Akito’s room, smiling afterwards. “Well, I don’t mind. Akito would probably listen to you more anyway. Plus, I’m sure my mom would like to see the person Akito’s so fond of too.” Her tone of voice became lighter and it took a moment to realize she was teasing him.
But all he could think about was that Akito spoke about him even at home- with a fondness he may not even fully know himself. Even though they were dating, Akito could be surprisingly shy sometimes when it came to initiating affection. Just knowing that he was willing to talk about him to other people in a manner that showed how much he loved him…
…it made him happy.
Akito knew he shouldn’t have gone to practice. He was already sick, but he figured that it would get better by the time he went. After all, it wasn’t this bad earlier. He’s been through worse, but his body decided that enough was enough. He didn’t even want to open his eyes and it hurt every time he breathed in. He shivered before wrapping himself in the blanket tighter. It was cold and hot at the same time and he’s made his fair share of stupid decisions but this had to be one of the worst ones.
He just didn’t want to be left behind and wanted to work harder. It was a silly sentiment, but it was hard to let go once he got used to thinking that way.
There were a few soft knocks on the door before it opened. He peeked through the blanket and saw Touya with a tray with various things on it. Akito struggled to sit up before Touya hurried to put the tray down and help him up. He looked at Touya’s face and gently pushed him away, doing his best to ignore the tender worry in his eyes.
“Touya, don’t get too close.”
Touya, however, did not listen to him and he just gently patted his back before coming back with the tray. It was filled with congee and he couldn’t help but scrunch up his nose at the sight. He didn’t like it at all. No matter what he added to it, it would always taste…like nothing much at all. Which was good, considering he was sick, but not good for his taste buds. His family always made it for each other when they were sick, but...damn. He really didn't want to eat anything. Not even that.
“Akito, I made this for you but…” Touya tilted his head. “Do you not want to eat it?”
He turned to give him a look and say ‘no’ but Touya was looking at him with eyes that almost looked like they were pleading him to eat it, so instead he just sighed and spoke softly. “I’ll eat. Since you went through the trouble of making it.”
Touya perked up and Akito felt like he could almost see dog ears on his head. He almost reached out to pat them back down, but he caught himself before he could. What was he thinking? It was because he was sick, wasn’t it. He was imagining things way too vividly. He moved his hand to reach out for the tray instead, but was confused as to why Touya moved it.
“I can feed you.” Touya grabbed a spoonful and blew on it before carefully moving it towards his mouth. “Here.”
“...Touya, I can feed myself.” He felt himself get flustered again. “You don’t have to-” He started coughing. His throat was getting worse the more he talked, but he pretended like it was alright.
…not that it would’ve fooled Touya anyway.
“Don’t push yourself. You shouldn’t talk.” The other gently pushed it towards his mouth and Akito slowly ate it. It wasn’t…bland, but it wasn’t the most delicious thing in the world either. After he swallowed, Touya looked at him with caution. “Is it good?”
Akito didn’t think it tasted like anything at all. It probably wasn’t Touya’s fault though. Congee really just wasn’t his thing. He only nodded to the other in response since he told him not to talk, and the other’s pleased expression made it worth it. He was able to bear through the entire bowl of congee and he felt a little sleepy afterwards. Though whether it was because of the hot meal or because his head hurt an abnormal amount was up for debate.
“Azusawa and Shiraishi should be coming soon. You slept all day. It’s already the end of the school day.” Touya paused. “I also cut some apples for you, but…” He stared at the plate of apples on the tray.
He followed his eyes and found that they were split between well-made rabbit apples and…some attempts in making them. The well-made ones were probably Ena’s, while the others…Touya could’ve just cut them normally. It wasn’t like he was a kid. He felt himself become exasperated as he just reached out for one of Touya’s sliced apples and put it in his mouth.
“Oh right, I asked the teachers to give me your homework so you wouldn’t be behind in classes.” The other smiled. “We can go over the missed material together.”
He felt his headache worsen before giving Touya a half hearted shrug and a nod. Akito loved his boyfriend. He did. But he was very strict when it came to homework. He still remembered the last time VBS had a study session together…he internally sighed. Well Touya did this much for him already. The least he could do is properly do his homework when he recovered.
The other fed him the rest of the apple slices despite his protests. Akito wasn’t used to anything like this at all. Of course he knew Touya cared, but he still wasn’t used to it. He kept looking at him like he was his entire world and reason for existence and he couldn’t handle such pure feelings very well. In fact, sometimes Touya said so many good things about him it made him dizzy. He also liked to brag about Touya’s skills too, but really, Touya was too much sometimes.
After a few moments of silence, Touya’s expression became more stern and Akito mentally prepared himself. He only looked like this when he wanted to talk about something serious. The only thing that he could think about warranting a conversation was…well. This.
“Akito. Why did you still decide to go to practice when you were sick?” Touya gently held his hand. “What if we hadn’t noticed and you needed to go to the hospital? There was no guarantee that we would’ve caught you either.”
He doubted it would’ve come to that, it really wasn’t that bad at first. Even as he had those thoughts, he didn’t interrupt him. Touya was just worried. In times like this, he needed to listen to Touya properly. Plus...it was his fault anyway.
“...promise me you won’t do something like this again. I don’t want to see you get hurt. When you’re sick, just tell us. Don’t keep it to yourself.” Touya held out his pinky. With such a serious expression on his face, Akito didn’t know whether he wanted to laugh or cry. “For Azusawa and Shiraishi’s sakes too. All of us worry about you.”
Akito spoke to him in a hoarse voice. “We’re not kids anymore. Why are we doing this pinky promise?” And despite his words, he wrapped his own pinky around Touya’s. “...I know I can rely on all of you, but old habits die hard I guess.”
He was just so used to being alone. Even if he knew that VBS would stand by his side no matter what, it just…had to take some time.
“Well you should let those habits die faster.” An’s voice came from his doorway and she entered his room, Kohane following behind her.
“Shinonome-kun, I brought some soup but it looks like Aoyagi-kun already gave you some food…” She smiled sheepishly as she held a thermos in her hands. “I’ll just put it right here in case you get hungry again.” She put it next to the tray Touya brought in.
“Thanks.” He turned his head to cough and found that the others were just standing there in concern. “...I’m fine, why do you all look so worried? It’s just a cold or something.” He coughed again. “You’ll get sick if you stay here for too long.”
“Well, you’re right. I’d prefer to not get sick.” An crossed her arms. “But someone needs to take care of you. Touya does a good job of it but he needs breaks from time to time too.”
“Aoyagi-kun has been staying over, hasn’t he? We can do that too…I’ve already asked my parents and they said it was okay.” Kohane showed him her phone, followed by An also pulling out her phone.
Akito stared at them in exasperation. “You guys…”
Touya gently placed a towel on his forehead. “Akito, we’ll let you rest now. Get better soon.”
“...okay.” He watched as they all left the room and closed the door, leaving him alone. He wanted to cover his face, but he was firmly wrapped in his own blanket, so he could only stare at the ceiling in astonishment. They were all staying over? Well, Ena probably wouldn’t mind…his mom probably wouldn’t mind either. Just having VBS over made him feel better already. Their presence alone was comforting…damn. When did he get this cheesy? The headache that’d been bothering him also went away, leaving him with just his sleepiness. Right. He should get more rest so he could get better faster.
He felt his eyes close on their own and his consciousness slowly started to drift away.
Touya sneezed the moment he woke up. He quickly felt his forehead before letting out a soft sigh of relief. It wouldn’t have been good if he ended up getting sick too. Besides, if he got sick then he couldn’t take care of Akito as much as he wanted to...and he wouldn't hear the end of it from Akito either. He'd probably say something like "I told you you would get sick" and refuse to have him be near him during that time.
He looked at the other two who were sleeping in each other’s arms and he smiled before silently getting out of bed and walking out of the room. He got ready for the day before remembering that it was a weekend. He slowly put his uniform away in exchange for more casual clothes before he walked out to the kitchen to see a pot of soup already heated up with a note beside it. It read: You’ve all been working hard to take care of Akito. I heated up the soup so you didn’t have to and there’s plenty more if you all find yourselves craving it too. Please enjoy and thank you for taking care of my son.
Touya smiled and poured the soup in a bowl, putting it on a tray along with some warm tea and quietly walked to Akito’s room. He stared at the tray in his hands before putting it down and slowly opening the door. Akito was still asleep…it was rare to see him sleeping. For Touya at least. The other always woke up first so he never got the chance to see him asleep often.
He picked up the tray and slowly entered Akito’s room with it, placing it on his desk that was a little further away from his bed. He carefully brushed away the other’s hair from his face. He used the towel to carefully wipe away the other’s sweat and checked his temperature. His fever seemed like it went down, but it could still come back later. He went out to the kitchen to get a new towel while putting this one in the laundry. Once he replaced Akito’s towel, he sat down next to the bed.
His breathing wasn’t as labored as before…that was good. Touya rested his head on the bed and watched Akito as he slept, carefully moving his hand to prevent the sunlight from hitting his eyes. Akito’s schedule was always full, from waking up early in the morning for his jog, to school, to his part time job, to practicing with VBS, to doing homework along with making the necessary preparations and research for their songs and live performances…he was busy. He always did so much for them.
And Touya wished he could do more.
“...Touya?” Akito’s voice wasn’t as hoarse as yesterday, instead, it was just him being sleepy…something that made Touya’s heart tighten a little bit. “What are you doing?”
“I brought soup for you.” He put his hand down with a smile. The sunlight didn’t hit the other’s face, but it made his hair look like it was glowing. Touya took this opportunity to brush his fingers through Akito’s hair before impulsively leaning in for a kiss, only to be stopped by the other’s hand. He frowned and spoke quietly. “Akito…”
“...don’t look at me like that.” Akito’s face was red. “I’m still sick. If you want to take care of me some more then you can’t kiss me because you’ll get catch it. Besides, what if someone comes in?”
“They already know we’re dating.” He tilted his head. “So it shouldn’t matter, no?”
“It's just embarrassing.” The other covered his face with his hands. “I don’t want my family seeing me kiss you either. I’d never hear the end of it with their teasing.”
Touya thought that this side of Akito was cute. He was very handsome on stage when he was giving his all into his performance or the times when he would encourage Touya…or the times when his passion for music really shone. But this side of Akito was very cute as well. He liked every side Akito had, but this one was one of his favorites.
“Then, when you’re not sick anymore, can I kiss you?” Touya’s mouth was immediately covered by one of Akito’s hands and Akito’s ears and neck were red now too.
“ Touya. ”
He smiled and gently held the other’s wrist before kissing his hand. Akito pulled his hand back like his kiss burned him and he couldn’t do anything other than watch him hide underneath his blankets. Akito wouldn’t move from under the blanket and Touya gently nudged him, but got no reaction. Akito wasn’t mad, he knew that. He was just embarrassed.
“Akito.” He spoke softly. “You’re going to suffocate under there.”
A muffled “no I’m not” was heard and Touya shook his head before standing up. He wasn’t going to try and pull the blanket from him. Akito was much stronger than he was anyway.
“I’ll get Shiraishi to-” Before he could finish his sentence, Akito came out from the blanket and Touya wanted to laugh, but he didn’t. “Good morning, Akito. You should probably brush your teeth before drinking the soup.” At least the other was feeling better today.
“Alright.” Akito slowly got up and Touya was ready to help him if needed, but the other was fine without his help. “Where are Kohane and An?”
“They were still sleeping when I woke up.”
Akito sighed. “All that talk about helping me while I’m sick and I’m better already-” The other sneezed and blankly stared off into the distance. “Mostly better. Anyways I’ll come back here after I’m done with the restroom. Too many people in the house and if I get near them at least one person’s gonna get sick.” He glanced at Touya. “Speaking of which, why don’t you wear a mask or something, huh? You’re with me the most.”
Touya…honestly didn’t think about that. It probably would’ve been helpful if he had done that. But Kohane and An didn’t wear masks either, though they weren’t with Akito for as long…
“I know that look.” Akito sighed before smiling helplessly at him. “Go and get a mask, Touya. I know I can’t stop you from coming in here. At least you haven’t gotten sick yet.”
“Right.” Touya left to go back to the guest room to see the other two awake. “Did you guys bring masks? It looks like Akito is feeling better, but he still wants us to at least wear one in case we catch something from him.”
“He’s such a worrywart.” An yawned before grabbing a mask from her school bag. “Worries for everyone except himself at least.” She got up and helped Kohane stand before walking off.
“Aoyagi-kun, you should get some rest. You’ve been taking care of Shinonome-kun for a while.” She smiled. “I hope he won’t be disappointed when he sees me and An-chan be the ones to take care of him next.” He knew she didn’t mean those words, so he just shook his head with a smile. She took a mask and followed An to get ready and Touya took a mask himself before pausing and walking out to the living room.
Ena was setting up some food on the table and she greeted him immediately. “Good morning, Touya-kun. Is it the other two’s turn?” She made him sit down and put a plate of food in front of him before sitting down at another seat.
“Yes.” He answered her question before looking at the food. “Ena-san, you made this yourself?”
“No, it’s my mom’s cooking. She made…way too much. I think she got a little too excited at having so many people over.” She shook her head. “She said something about Akito bringing more people home than I ever did. What’s with that?”
Touya tilted his head. “Do they not come over often?”
“...well, you know. It’s not like we have a reason to go to each other’s houses.” She waved her fork in the air. “We talk every night on Nightcord anyway.” Her expression didn’t seem to look very good before she shook her head. “If those two are taking care of Akito then I’ll hurry and finish my food so they can eat. He’s such a handful sometimes. I’m sure you’ve noticed already, but he isn’t good at taking care of himself at all. He’s always getting hurt and insisting he has to deal with it alone.”
“Yeah.” He ate a little bit of the food before speaking again, feeling a smile appear on his face. “I think he’s been getting better at it. …He’s done a lot for us, so I’m glad at least he’s letting us do something for him back.”
Ena nodded. “You’re right. If this were the old Akito, I bet he’d kick all of you out and lock himself up in his room until I knocked down his door. Even then, he’d struggle a little bit before accepting it.” She smiled at him. “Thank you by the way, for taking care of Akito.”
“It’s no problem, Ena-san.” He bowed slightly to her. “I should be thanking you for doing the same.”
“You don’t need to go as far as bowing. I’m his older sister, of course I’m going to take care of him when he gets hurt or gets sick.” She shook her head before stuffing the rest of her food in her mouth and downing her water. “I’ll go now. You take your time eating though.”
Touya watched her go to Akito’s room and heard muffled sounds of conversation before Kohane and An walked out and sat at the table. He ate another forkful before asking, “How was Akito?”
“He’s pretty much doing better. He tried getting out of bed after seeing me but Kohane got him back in bed.” An wrapped an arm around Kohane with a grin. “Good job Kohane!”
“Well I didn’t really do anything…” Kohane smiled awkwardly. “It was mostly Ena-san anyway. All I did was hand him the soup.” She then looked at him. “I think Shinonome-kun should be better tomorrow. He recovered pretty fast…his fever was really bad at first, wasn’t it?”
“It was.” Touya tilted his head. “Maybe it’s because he’s physically fit…”
“Oh. That could be it.” An stuffed a forkful of food in her mouth. “He always goes jogging in the morning and then jogs when we’re not practicing…and then when he does practice he still goes out to train and jog.” She shook her head. “I don’t know how he does it.”
“But it’s good that he’s getting better.” Kohane ate a little bit of the food. “Oh, the food is good. Miss Shinonome made this, right?”
“Yeah. Ena-san said she probably got excited because all of us came over to take care of Akito.” He paused. “Should we get something for her too?”
“I think we should.” Kohane stared at her plate. “But should we get?”
The three of them fell into silence. What should they get indeed…
“You feeling better?”
Akito sat up in bed and drank the soup that was brought to him. “Yeah. I should be fine to walk around at least.”
“You’ve got scary recovery time. Probably from all that exercise you do. I still think you're crazy dedicated to be doing all of that.” She shook her head. “Your boyfriend’s nice. He cares about you a lot. Your other friends too.”
“‘Course Touya’s nice.” He finished the soup and ate the applesauce that Ena gave him next. “And they…do care.” He scrunched up his nose as he said those words. “I know we’re friends and a team aiming for the same dream together, but it just feels weird sometimes.”
Ena sighed before she sat down on the edge of his bed. “They say you do a lot for them, and I don’t doubt that. I’m only going to be nice to you this one time.” She flicked his forehead. “They want you to stop pushing yourself, so learn to rely on them a little more.”
“I know.” He sighed. Of course he knew that the most. He was trying to work on it, but...nah. He should stop making excuses like that. He would definitely do better next time. Maybe. Probably. Akito looked at his sister with a raised eyebrow after a couple of moments of silence. “Anyway, you also push yourself. You learn to rely on your friends.”
“...” She crossed her arms, an unimpressed look on her face. “You know what I’m more mad that I can’t deny that.”
They stared at each other before breaking out into soft laughter and halfhearted smiles.
Akito laid back down and stared at the ceiling. “I should be good by tomorrow or something. Knowing them though, they’ll want to stay over the entire time. I’m more impressed by how Touya managed to get his family to let him stay here.”
Ena pursed her lips, looking like she wanted to say something only to not say what was on her mind. “Well, from what I’ve seen, Touya-kun’s pretty persistent when it comes to you. He likes you a lot. So much that it’s almost overwhelming actually. You know when I was talking to him earlier the topic turned to you and he basically had hearts in his eyes. He probably didn't notice it himself.”
“Don’t tell me.” Akito covered his face with one of his arms. “I know that the most.”
“You would think that someone like him would be shy, but it looks like he’s pretty direct.” Ena poked at him. “He flusters you this much?”
“Shut up.” Akito glared at her. “Get out of my room.”
“Fine.” Ena stuck her tongue out at him, but her gaze softened shortly after. “Call me if you need anything. I think the rest of them just went out to go somewhere. I think I heard something about getting something for our mom since she made them lunch.”
Akito raised his eyebrow. “You think mom’s gonna accept their gift?”
“As long as it isn’t anything too elaborate or expensive…then again, it might take some convincing…” Ena trailed off. “None of us are good with gifts, huh.” They looked at each other before shrugging. Ena waved her hand in the air as she left the room and closed the door behind her.
Akito was left alone with his thoughts once again. He really had to get rid of the habit and thinking that he was alone. He wasn’t alone. He had the others by his side and they would stand together no matter what. Time and time again, they’ve proven that they wouldn’t leave him, but…
…he was just afraid. He hated admitting it, but he was afraid that they would leave him in the end. The contrast of “I can’t be left behind, I need to keep improving” and “They won’t leave me even if I’m as talentless as they say” kept battling in his mind and it was tiring. He felt like he was closer to coming to terms with this after today though. At least, for a while.
Akito pulled out his phone and scrolled mindlessly on social media for a while before starting to play games. His head didn’t hurt and well, he was bored just lying in bed. He didn’t even want to think about the homework right now either. Touya would eventually bring it up to him anyway…he hoped the other would go easy on him since he just recovered.
“Akito.”
He looked up at the door to see the object of his thoughts standing there with a small plastic bag in his hand. He raised his eyebrow as the other rummaged through his pockets to put on a mask and walk over to hand him the bag.
“Here. I went ahead and bought some pancakes for you. I think you’re well enough to eat it at least…” Touya paused before pressing their foreheads together. Before Akito could react, the other pulled back and nodded. “Yeah, I think you’re okay now.”
If he could combust, he would’ve already done so.
Akito sat up and took the pancakes from Touya while mumbling a soft “thanks.” He took a bite out of them before nodding to the door. “Are An and Kohane still here?”
“Ah, yes. They’re planning on surprising your mother with a present.” Touya sat on the edge of his bed. The light of the sunset hit Touya’s face in just the right spots that highlighted his already attractive face. Honestly, he wasn’t good for his heart. Touya never hesitated in initiating affection and it made him flustered, but it also made him wonder if he should get used to it already. He initiated affection himself sometimes, but not nearly as much as Touya did. Touya always showered him with love every time they met, as if he had an endless amount of love to spare for Akito and Akito alone. It made him happy, obviously, but it was like he yearned for more every time and he didn’t know how to handle it.
It was like asking why he wanted to be loved.
Akito looked at Touya, who was humming a song to himself under his mask. He looked like he was just happy to spend time with him, even if they didn’t say anything at all. Touya made him feel the same way of course. They’ve reached a point where no words needed to be said. They were each other’s partners and that wasn’t going to change. A surge of warmth flowed through his heart and he pursed his lips. He really…
“Akito?” Touya looked at him with a confused expression. “Did you say something?”
“Nah.” He clenched his fists underneath the blanket before smiling. “Close your eyes for a bit.”
The moment Touya closed his eyes, Akito brought his hand out to gently pull Touya towards him and gently kissed him through the mask. It was a short kiss that didn’t last very long, but he still wanted to do it. Touya was wearing a mask, so it should be fine…ugh. Well, if he got sick, he would take full responsibility. He wouldn’t mind taking care of Touya when he was sick. It was only right after he took care of him.
Touya just stared at him after the kiss and the moment Akito opened his mouth to say something, the other immediately cupped his cheeks to kiss him back. Through the mask that is. He carefully pushed Touya back the moment he felt like the kiss was too long. Really, wasn’t he at least a little bit concerned about getting sick? But it wasn’t long until they started laughing together again.
He really…just couldn’t win against Touya, huh?