Work Text:
They were sitting by the pool, feet tangling in the water to have a break from their study session. They both had exams coming up and, not that Akk had ever been a bad student, but he never studied as much as he did with Theo. Theo was just that kind of student, and Akk loved to spend that quality time with him.
"What's your favorite color, Akk?" He snorted. Theo was so random sometimes, but he'd always entertain him anyway.
"Brown." He said. Theo looked at him with a funny judgemental face.
"Brown? Who would have that as a favorite color? You're so weird." Akk pushed him aside.
"Oh, alright judgmental sir, and what is your favorite color since you're so good at that?" Theo rolled his eyes but he was smiling.
"Actually, I don't think I have a favorite color-"
"Yes, you do. It's orange." Theo's eyes snapped to his and flickered with something Akk couldn't figure it out.
"Oh my days, Akk. You're right! Orange is my favorite color." He smiled with one of Akk's favorite smiles, the sweet one. And Akk smiled back because he'd always do. "How could I forget that's my favorite color." He said in a tone slightly above a whisper.
They're not together. They'll probably never be because Akk is Theo's best friend - had always been - and even though his heart has crossed that line some time ago, he couldn't expect the same from Theo. He wouldn't. They are best friends and he's more than happy with that. But ever since something switched for Akk and he started seeing Theo in this different light, he found it funny the way his life started to move around him. But it's also not like it had ever been different than that.
If you asked him, truthfully, he hated the color orange. But if Theo asked him, they'd live in an orange house, with orange walls and an orange car, and he'd only wear orange every day so long as Theo was by his side.
He stared at Theo who was staring back, and the sun was starting to set, the lights brightening up his sparkly brown eyes that were dancing around Akk's face. And that was it.
Because for Akk, at the end of the day, he didn't care if Theo would ever look at him the way he looks at him.
He has Theo in his life, and that's enough for him.
And those eyes he were looking at were the reason why his favorite color is brown.
🦊
Theo could sense by the jittering of the pen and the tapping of his leg that Akk wasn't focusing anymore on what they were studying, and to be fair, they've been studying for long hours so they truly deserved a break.
"Hey," He kicked Akk under the table who kicked him back without a second thought. "That hurt!" He accused.
"You did it first!" Akk pointed at him and Theo pouted.
"I was just trying to catch your attention. You look tired, should we have a break?" Akk's smile apread across his face with ease.
"If you insist." He said dropping the pen, closing the book and standing up in a few seconds. Theo couldn't help but laugh.
Akk was stretching out his body and Theo had to give his best to not reach forward and touch the bare skin above his jeans when his shirt rose and made it seen. It was getting harder and harder each day to pretend like he wasn't sickenly attracted to Akk. He looked away and stretched out himself, trying to cool his face down after those thoughts.
"Let's sit by the pool for a bit. Cool our feet, it's kinda hot today, right?" He rumbled.
"Should we go for a swim?" Akk said draping his arm around Theo's shoulder and that didn't help at all.
Funny how they've always been touchy, but Theo would never get used to that - it would always send chills across his body and paint a blush on his cheeks.
"Don't get ahead of yourself, we still need to study; this is just a little break." Akk whined but just sat down beside him with no complaints once they reached the pool.
He closed his eyes and let the breeze fill in his lungs, trying to get his mind out of the Akk-daze who was taking too much space on the mind that should've been absorbing literature instead. He didn't even know how he could concentrate before. But more than a distraction, Akk had always been comfort and peace for him.
"What's your favorite color, Akk?" He asked, the thought just occurring to him after so many years.
"Brown." He said. Theo turned to him, judging very had.
"Brown? Who would have that as a favorite color? You're so weird." Akk pushed him and he let it.
"Oh, alright judgmental sir, and what is your favorite color since you're so good at that?" Theo rolled his eyes, smiling. He loved to tease Akk and get teased back.
"Actually, I don't think I have a favorite color-"
"Yes, you do. It's orange." Theo's eyes found Akk's and his breath caught for a second. Akk knew. Maybe he didn't know, but he knew the color. He felt himself warming up inside.
"Oh my days, Akk. You're right! Orange is my favorite color." He smiled, doing a terrible job at hiding half the things he was feeling at that moment.
When they were kids they used to lie down together in his living room, his bed, under forts and read 'The Little Prince' together. It was Theo's favorite book and to have Akk reading it with him always brought him the most genuine happiness. He could still hear Akk's laugh lingering in his ear from when they'd run around the house playing; Akk was the fox. And from the moment he held Theo's fox plushie in his arms with the warmest smile on his face, no other color could've been associated to him. And no other could've been Theo's favorite. If only he knew.
"How could I forget that's my favorite color." Theo whispered.
Sometimes he felt like he would suffocate from all the love he felt for Akk. He didn't know what to do with it and didn't know if he was doing enough as his best friend. He felt bad half the time, because it seemed like betrayal to be hiding something as big from him. But he couldn't find it in him to tell Akk the truth, too scared to lose this. Someone who knew him better than himself.
The sun was setting but the warmth of it was still touching their skins. He was staring at Akk, his beautiful side profile and the unbelievable eyelashes that framed his chocolate eyes. Akk stared back at him - a friendly, tiny smile in the corner of his mouth.
As Theo gazed at his eyes, he thought maybe Akk wasn't so weird to have brown as his favorite color.
Actually, maybe that would also be his second favorite color from then on.
At the end of the day, he didn't care if Akk would ever look at him the same way he did, as long as his eyes just stayed on him.