Work Text:
Akito got home not too long ago. It was only a few hours after he and the other members of vivid BAD SQUAD left. He got inside before it got really cold. He was thankful for that, since he only wore a t-shirt and sweatpants due to the choreo that the group planned. He finished up his dinner, now just in his pajamas, resting and scrolling on his phone. He was bored, but maybe he’d find something to do.
He expected that it would be a peaceful night. Maybe he'd drop by the SEKAI to get a bit of extra choreography practice. Maybe he’d decide to try to play a game with his family that was barely ever home. He might even talk to Toya into the night.
Nothing. Absolutely nothing could prepare him for what happened.
Akito was casually doing schoolwork (yes, he was THAT bored), having some of their music playing in the background. He had mostly Toya’s covers and songs playing in the background. He loved that voice, that soft voice that he knew could break walls. He loved how Toya threw any and all sorts of calmness away when he was invested in something. It wasn’t like Akito’s style. It was analytical, exploring the emotions and executing them in a way that almost passed as acting. Almost.
He heard the doorbell ring. He lifted his head and took out one of his earbuds.
“Ena! Get the door!” He yelled, waiting for her response. There was none. He didn’t hear a door opening, which was an answer. Akito sighed and stood up. He pauses his music, setting down his paper. It was probably one of the many things Ena ordered online. He walked from his room to the door. It wasn’t a long walk, just an annoying one. He grabbed the handle and swung it open.
Instead of finding a package or a pizza delivery, he found his partner, shivering from both the cold and fear in his veins. He looked out of it, like his mind was where he came from. Akito could see how glossy his eyes were, how hard they were forcing back tears. His cheeks and hands were red from the cold. He looked at Akito, almost helplessly.
“C-Can I come in?” His voice was shaky, trying to cling onto some sort of calmness. Akito basically pulled him in without a second thought. He closed the door and quickly looked for a blanket for the bluenette.
“You’re basically fucking frozen, of course you can stay.” He grabbed a nearby blanket and threw it over the shivering boy. Akito was panicking a bit, getting scared that Toya somehow got hypothermia or something like that from the winter cold.
He took a good look at Toya, up and down. His scarred fingertips were holding themselves. His expression was the same as before, his teeth ever so slightly chattering from the cold. His eyes were trying so hard to keep calm. His face wasn’t as red anymore, save his cheeks, which were flushed and-
Akito looked closer. He looked at Toya’s face from left to right. His left side was much brighter than his right, the red almost staying. It wasn’t from blush by the way it was shaped, the red going from the bottom of his jaw to near his eye.
He didn’t have to think about what it was, sadly.
He grabbed Toya, making him flinch. Akito pretended not to notice it. He took him to the bathroom. He went to turn the water on, when a cautious hand on his shoulder brought him out of autopilot.
“Uh… can you just…” Toya’s voice got lodged in his throat. He looked to the side, thinking about what to say. Akito looks back at him, head tilted slightly.
“Just say it. You know I won’t judge.” Akito offered a hand to Toya. He took it.
It took him a while to speak again, the silence too much for both of them to bear.
“Could you maybe… just hold me? I know it’s an odd request, and you don’t have to if you’re uncomfortable.” Toya stopped himself from rambling, even though he felt like it.
Physical contact wasn’t something the Shinonome’s experienced often. The two were usually at each other’s throats. The most recent time Akito could remember was Ena pushing him out of her room, and that was a long time ago. He wasn’t used to it, but it’s best to give everything a try, especially when your partner is on the verge of tears in front of you.
So, with no other option, he nods.
“Of course. Hold on.” He smiles softly, taking his partner's hand and taking him to his room. It felt a little awkward, but if it made Toya happy, that’s what mattered. He and Toya entered his room, closing the door behind him. Akito quickly cleared his messy bed. He hoped that Toya didn’t mind.
Akito sat down and held his hands out, a gentle smile on his face that he only allowed Toya to see.
“Come here, you dork.” He teases. Toya didn’t hesitate, basically throwing himself against the smaller. He feels him shudder in his arms, the gentle yet sudden rise and fall of his chest and shoulders. He could feel how cold he was. Akito slowly leans back until he’s laying down.
He… he’s really enjoying the touch. Being so close to someone so close to your heart is something that Akito didn’t understand until now. He loved this feeling on his chest, the feeling of giving love and feeling it back on him. He knew Toya was probably enjoying the touch more than he was, but Akito would be lying if he said he couldn’t stay there until he died.
A shaky sound came from the former. Akito looked down at the mass of hair on his chest, trying to see past it and to Toya’s eyes. Another sound from him. It didn’t sound like the stoic boy he knew for the longest time. He gently took his face by his cheeks and tilted his head up to get a better look at his partner.
Tear marks were lined on his face. Toya brought a hand to cover his mouth to help in muffling his soft cries. He didn’t bother covering his face, knowing he was exposed anyways. He was still shaking from the cold and the effort to stop his crying. The bright mark on Toya’s face was still bright, a small dark spot forming near his jawline.
Akito gently stroked his cold cheeks, his heart shattering. He’s seen Toya upset before, sure, but not crying. He saw how his body language and eyes looked when Akito was practically screaming at him how much he meant to him.
“Hey, you’re okay.” Akito tried to be comforting, but he just didn’t know how. He gently held Toya’s head, wiping his tears that came in uneven bursts of two. Toya buried his head into Akito’s shoulder to muffle his gentle, uneven cries. Akito moved one hand to his back, and the other to his hair to gently pet it.
“Yeah, just… you’re okay. You’ll be okay. We can talk about it if you want.” He tried again at words. He felt so awkward, but he just had to try. He knew that either way, Toya would appreciate the attempt at the care.
He held onto his partner a bit tighter. He enveloped him in his warmth. He could feel how cold he was through his dry clothes. Akito grabbed one of his fluffy blankets from nearby. He gently adjusts it to be wrapped up around the two. It was for heat, yeah, but it was also a partial excuse to stay this close to Toya.
A few more muffled and choked sobs passed, before Akito felt a shaky breath.
“I really don’t mean to just drop this on you, but I… I just had an argument with my dad.” He holds onto Akito just a bit tighter, trying to ground and warm himself. It didn’t take a genius to figure out why there was a mark on his precious pale face.
Akito could feel the blood in his body boil. He felt the rage going through his whole body, sending him into a calmed state. He decided to take things nice and slow, not wanting to scare his partner away.
“Toya… so the mark on your face is…?” Akito asked, trying not to come off as angry. God, he felt like such a dork.
“Not really…” Toya shifted to where his mouth wasn’t covered by Akito’s shoulder. “He was turned around when I yelled back at him. He turned around really fast, and I don’t think he realized I was that close. His hand just met my face and I… I don’t know. I think I ran after that.” The poor kid just held onto Akito.
He didn’t need to ask anything else after that. He held his partner as tight as he could, eyes closing.
“Oh, you poor thing… It's okay. There’s no need to worry right now. I’ve got you.” Akito soothed him, whispering sweet nothings over and over again to Toya. He had no idea what he was doing, but he liked it. By the way Toya began to relax, he knew he had been at least doing the right things.
Akito might’ve liked the touch a little too much, because soon enough, he was struggling to keep his eyes open. He knew that Toya was asleep by the way his body was curled up on the smaller one. He didn’t know what went on in Toya’s mind mostly, but he finally felt like he could see what he was feeling.
With that knowledge, Akito leaned forward and gave him a small kiss on the top of the head.
“I love you. Get some good sleep. You’ve earned it.”
Akito closed his eyes and went to sleep. Sadly, he missed the huge grin on his newfound lover’s face.