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A pause. The final note rang throughout the COL auditorium. The only noise to be heard was the heavy breathing of Akito and the rest of Vivid BAD SQUAD. The sweat as it quietly dripped off of them onto the stage floor. The pounding in their ears.
And then the deafening cheering of the crowd. Screams of their names, their group, and the rest of their teammates backstage.
Akito saw An running over to Kohane out of the corner of his eye, helping her stay steady on her feet. But he couldn’t keep his eyes off the crowd before him. They had finally done it. They actually surpassed RAD WEEKEND. Now that he was looking closely, he could see many familiar faces in the crowd. The record store owner, a bunch of other shop owners from around Vivid Street, and even Taiga and Souma in the back.
Wiping the sweat off his forehead, Akito finally turned to see Koutaro, Arata, Tatsuya, and the rest of EVER run onto the stage. He was unprepared for Koutaro to barrel into him, with tears streaming down his face, stumbling from the impact.
“Akitooo!” He sobbed, clutching onto Akito’s sweater. He didn’t even notice the wet patch forming on his chest where Koutaro buried his face.
“Holy shit,” Akito mumbled.
“Holy shit!” He repeated, louder this time. “Holy shit! We actually fucking did it!”
He turned to look at the rest of his teammates. An and Kohane were still holding each other next to him, with Tatsuya and EVER standing behind them. Then past them, Arata was standing next to Touya, with Arata’s hand on his shoulder. Everyone was grinning, watching the audience in awe, and with some of them holding back tears of their own.
The loud cheering had become a backdrop, not showing any signs of stopping. But the pounding in Akito’s chest was overpowering the sounds around him. Now his eyes were glued to Touya.
Touya. His partner. The one who had gone through everything with him. Pulled him up out of his slumps time and time again. His normally stoic face broken with a smile, his mouth slightly agape. His silver eyes shone in the bright stage lights. His bangs stuck to his face with sweat. His mic was still loosely grasped in his long fingers.
Akito thought back to how far they had come. Originally strangers, until Akito approached him while he was singing on Vivid Street. How they had become inseparable since then, rarely doing anything without the other. How arms slung around shoulders evolved into ruffling hair, accidental brushing of hands, and hugging and pressing up against each other whenever possible. Akito knew what they had was special, but he had never looked into it too much until now.
And now here they were, olive eyes meeting silver under the bright lights. With the pounding in his ears only getting louder, Akito’s thoughts were running a mile a minute. Touya’s smile seemed to grow even wider as he watched Akito, and Akito suddenly felt like he had been hit by a truck.
He was so in love with Touya.
That’s what that warm feeling was. The one he had been feeling for years at this point. It was love. How had he never noticed? That was why he felt something buzz in his chest every time they accidentally, or purposefully touched. Or when Touya looked at him with that smile he reserved for only Akito; the one where his eyes scrunched up a little. Or when he sang, his beautiful voice making Akito’s heart skip a beat no matter how many times he heard it. Or when Touya would hand him his newest prize from the claw machine. Or when Touya would gently tug on his sleeve to get his attention, not that it ever truly left him. Or when Touya would call him in the dead of night after a fight with his dad, asking to sleep over at Akito’s house, because that meant they would sleep together in his bed. Or when Touya would ask for a bite of Akito’s dessert, even though he didn’t like sweets, eating off of Akito’s fork, and the faint taste of coffee left behind while Akito finished his food.
Holy shit, he was really in love.
The daydreams were starting to make sense. Hoping Touya would lean a little bit closer while they fixed each other’s makeup before shows. Wishing Touya wouldn’t pull his hand away when they accidentally brushed each other while walking, though he always seemed to hesitate a bit before doing so. Dreaming about waking up with Touya’s arms wrapped around him after an impromptu sleepover, only to wake up with Touya’s arms curled around his own body while Akito admired his sleeping face.
Touya was still watching him, tilting his head in confusion, since Akito was probably gaping at him.
Akito gently pried Koutaro off of him, barely noticing his quick apology, before making his way across the stage.
“Touya!” He shouted over the pounding of his own heart, and the screams around them. “We did it!”
Touya’s face morphed back into his soft smile as Akito got closer. He noticed how Touya’s eyelashes hid most of his eyes, and how his mole shifted higher, almost disappearing under the wrinkles around his eye.
His face switched back to confusion as Akito grabbed the front of Touya’s jacket.
“Aki-”
He was cut off by being yanked down, and Akito smashing their lips together.
It only lasted a moment, before Akito pulled away, realizing what he had done. The gasps of their teammates had already faded at this point. He had already fucked up.
Akito, now blushing profusely, stumbled to apologize. “I- Shit, I didn’t- Fuck, Touya-”
Only for him to now be cut off by Touya placing his hands on Akito’s cheeks. With the softest look in his eyes, Touya pulled him back in.
Gripping onto Touya’s jacket like a lifeline, Akito’s thoughts finally came to a standstill. Touya was kissing him back. Touya. Was kissing him. Back. One of Touya’s hands slides behind Akito’s head, burying his fingers in the bright orange hair, and Akito’s knees nearly buckle. He gasps into Touya’s warm lips, who swallows it up, trying to impossibly bring their faces closer together.
It’s only when Touya pulls away and Akito opens his eyes, that he realizes that he must have closed his eyes at some point and that the cheering from the audience still hadn’t stopped. Akito does his best to drag his eyes away from his partner back to their fans. Until Touya suddenly grabs his hand, raises his hand in the air, and shouts.
“Thank you all so much for coming to RAD BLAST!”
Before promptly dragging Akito off stage, cueing the others to follow them. After everyone shuffles backstage, An is the first to break the silence.
“Akito! What the hell was that?” She pauses. “Not that I’m upset about you two, congrats or whatever, but why then of all times?”
He rubbed the back of his head. “Uh, sorry? I dunno, I was high on adrenaline, and… Y’know…” He grumbled, trailing off as Touya caught his eye again. The way the lights from the stage glinted off of his eyes was captivating.
“Ugh, whatever! We can talk about that later. Thank you so much everyone for your help today! This definitely wouldn’t have been possible without help from you guys. What do you all think about some sort of after-party in the next few days to celebrate?” An addresses the rest of their team, launching into a discussion about the best ways to celebrate.
But Akito keeps locking eyes with Touya. And every smile the blue-haired boy sends back makes his knees weak all over again.