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A yawn echoed in the room. It was pretty late, after all. Azami had spent the day hanging out with his partners, and they were now all comfortably installed in Kumon's bedroom. His mother had kindly prepared futons for all three of them to sleep together, which they were now sitting on. Azami had urged them to do their skincare before setting down, anticipating that one would definitely whine about getting woken up if he were to do it right before sleeping. Really, how scandalous could that guy be.
Kumon and Shifuto were now sitting on their own futons, chatting over the many baseball uniforms and posters displayed around the room. Azami, laying down on his own, silently listened to their conversation as he mindlessly scrolled down Instablam posts, enjoying the simple sound of their voice.
The brunette judged the excitement both shared for the sport to be quite endearing; in fact, the teen even noticed over time that the two expressed their enthusiasm a little differently. Of course, they were both the type to go into lengthy rambles and debates over anything they were passionate about, but while Shifuto's movements would become more dramatic over time, Kumon's voice doubled in volume after every few sentences.
Ah, speaking of Kumon, Azami suddenly realized that he had been awfully quiet the past few minutes; he hadn't heard him shout in a while. Looking up from his phone, he found the teen still sitting in front of his boyfriend, talking about… something about the Tigers. The makeup artist never understood much of their baseball lingo no matter how many times the two had tried to explain it — not that he was too stupid to understand, they just couldn't stay calm while talking and Azami couldn't catch a thing about what they tried to explain…
But more importantly, the teen wasn't shouting anymore. His voice had toned down to adopt a much calmer… much softer tone. A gentle tune to Azami's ears, a comfort which felt oddly familiar to him; yet he couldn't place where he had experienced this yet. Still, the boy grew concerned for his wellbeing; Azami had only seen Kumon stop yelling when he had a fever (and he would never find the time to gush— gush? No way. To appreciate the sound of his partner's voice when it happened.) Fortunately, everything clicked once he saw the oldest yawn again.
So he's just tired, huh? The brunette had already spent some nights with Kumon, but never had he fought himself awake to chat. Azami had never been one to talk much after all, and enjoyed letting his partner ramble about anything he wanted instead. He enjoyed listening to him as he rested his head on the teen's shoulder.
What? It's just the shoulder. It's fine.
That day was a special occasion, so he let it slide, but usually Azami would never stay up past his bedtime, and Kumon always respected it. Unlike some other individual.
A glance at Shifuto was enough for Azami to confirm that the redhead had noticed as well the change in Kumon's behavior, and was definitely exploding internally right now, like he did everytime something happened with Kumon. Geez, this dude was so smitten, it's unbelievable. A mocking grin drew itself on Azami's lips, his silent way to call him a loser. In response, the not-so-newly appointed loser squinted, his furtive way to respond 'Fuck you'. Their banter didn't last long as Shifuto was immediately drawn back into the conversation as soon as Kumon opened his mouth again.
Truly a loser, Azami thought. Yet, he couldn't fully blame him. There was indeed something about how… how endearing this side of Kumon was.
A Kumon who, after spending all his energy during the day, was still so eager to share his passion. A Kumon who, despite the complaints of his body, whispered word after word to afford another minute with them, meddling his favorite things with his favorite people.
The voice that would usually energize him had become a delicate, soothing melody that almost lulled him to sleep.
This was the tired, soft spoken Kumon, that only they got to see. Well, aside from Juza-san, probably.
One could think the brunette would prefer this quieter side of him over the cheerful Kumon, but he believed both sides to be part of the same person. Azami loves him all the same.
All of a sudden, Shifuto practically jumped on Kumon to trap him in a hug. Then squished his cheeks... Hold up, where is this goi— Oh FUCK no Shifuto, he's NOT gonna witness this. This fuckin' guy was testing his damn patience.
He absolutely needed to find something.
“Hey, he interrupted, I— I think it's time to go to sleep.”
Kumon wasn't gonna be weirded out by him telling them to go to sleep. This is perfect.
Kumon kindly broke the hug to look at Azami, a little pout forming on his lips. “Aw, but…” The boy was cut off by yet another yawn. “I wanted to talk more…”
…Fuck, that was cute… Still, he couldn't let Shifuto win, especially with the deathly glare he shot at him.
“Kumon—” The brunette ignored his partner to laugh at the other. “You can barely stay awake, man, come on.”
Shifuto seemed to have understood that he lost. The boy glared even harder at the youngest for a second. ‘I'll take my revenge’, he said. Azami raised his eyebrow, responding ‘As if’.
“He's right, Kumon, 'm gettin' tired myself anyway. We can always talk more once we wake up.” the redhead chuckled softly as he ruffled his hair. The teen then placed his hand back on the oldest's cheek to caress it with his thumb. “'Sides we're both still right here with ya, hm?”
Azami didn't hear Kumon's response — or perhaps he hadn't responded at all; his eyes remained locked on the soft gaze Shifuto gave to his boyfriend. The brunette had never seen him so happy before... The corners of his lips turned upwards against his will.
He was well aware of all the work Shifuto did everyday. Juggling between housework, school, part-times and theater was no easy task, especially for somebody as young as him, yet this guy still found the time to help others and work out…
The youngest still thought about the time the redhead asked him how to apply concealer. He brushed it off saying it was for his mother, but Azami wasn't an idiot.
So, when he got to see Shifuto with such a soft smile drawn on his lips and eyes as bright as the stars he's always yearned to be like, he hoped that they were successfully able to lift his worries away, even just for a few hours.
…Perhaps Azami also needed sleep, after all. It was unlike him to get so affectionate.
…Hah, there was no need to lie to himself, was there? There's nothing wrong with… these kinds of things. Sometimes. The brunette had always been aware of the fact that he wasn't the best at voicing out his feelings. After spending time with his partners, he figured that it was fine to break the rules sometimes, if it meant making sure that Kumon and Shifuto remembered that he loves them.
He watched his partners get ready for bed; Shifuto got up to turn off the lights and Kumon tidied their futons a little before comfortably installing himself in his, and the redhead did the same as soon as he came back. Azami sat up and crawled his way right between the duo before they could embrace each other, whose eyes widened at the sight. The surprise soon wore off however, as both snuggled closer to the artist and fell asleep comfortably.
Even though he had found himself enjoying these, proximity and affection were still very new to Azami, and it took him a lot to get used to it. After all, he spent most of his life with two dads who were as bad as him when it came to expressing their feelings.
His mother… Surely, she'd be happy to see the person he became…
As he was falling asleep, the brunette finally realized why the softness in Kumon's voice appeased him so.
It felt akin to the times he'd escape his busy household to seek comfort in the strokes of his mother's cheek brush and the tenderness of her caresses on his skin.