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Shinonome Akito's patience was very limited.
“Will you stop moving around so much?” Akito snapped at his childhood best friend Shiraishi An—who had (luckily or unluckily, he couldn't decide) ended up in the same orientation group as him. She was currently fidgeting with the black sash that was tucked underneath the waistband of her shorts on one end, the rest of the sash hanging off the side, right below her hip.
This shouldn't have been a problem, except for the fact that the two of them were currently linking elbows, as per the rules of the game, so he could feel every one of her movements, slight as they were, as she adjusted the position of the sash. Akito resisted the urge to rip the sash from her grasp and just place it on himself instead.
“Do you want our group to win or not?” An had the audacity to roll her eyes as she retorted, but at least she finally stilled, deeming the sash secure enough, her left arm dropping to her side while they waited for the game to start.
Why did they even need an orientation when they were already acquainted with at least half of the student population? One of the perks of entering the town's local college, Akito supposed.
The objective of the game was to ‘steal’ as many sashes as possible from pairs from other orientation groups, all while your arm was linked with your own partner's. If your sash was ‘stolen’ by someone else, then you and your partner were out of the game. There were at least a hundred students from four different orientation groups that were supposed to play against each other at once currently crammed into the college hall, all split up into pairs. That should have been enough of a warning sign for the imminent chaos, yet no one heeded it.
“Is everyone ready? Go!” At the gamemaster’s command, the hall erupted into shrieks, peals of laughter echoing in the hall. Akito had no time to process anything as four pairs immediately rushed at him and An from all directions.
“You have got to be kidding me,” Akito muttered to himself under his breath. An, the madwoman, ran towards one of the pairs instead of away from them, pulling him along in the process. Akito nearly tripped over his own feet as he stumbled forward behind An. “Slow down, goddammit!” he yelled, his voice raised so he could be heard above all the screaming.
An turned her head back slightly to smirk at him, “I thought you were the school’s star soccer player? And you can’t even keep up with me?” Akito’s eyes narrowed. She wanted to compete? Fine.
Akito made a sudden move to swipe a hand at the exposed part of the sash hanging from the side of one person from the pair trying to attack them. While they were distracted by An, his fingers successfully snagged on the end of the sash and he gave it a sharp tug, freeing it from its position behind the short’s waistband and into his clutches.
Akito had no chance to gloat over his victory before he was bombarded with more attackers, and he busied himself with swapping between helping An defend their sash and stealing other people’s sashes, easily identified by the different colours. He kept a firm grip on the sashes he had already grabbed, focusing on his own movements and the people in front of him, not really taking note of his surroundings.
Naturally, in the confusion, Akito didn't notice that he and An had gone closer and closer to another pair in the process of moving backwards to evade others before it was too late.
Someone made a daring move to grab blindly at their sash, and both of them leapt backwards in unison—
Sending them crashing right into the pair behind them.
This time, Akito did lose his footing. He collapsed, falling on the person he banged into, both of them tumbling down and onto the floor, unfortunately bringing down their respective partners along with them as their arms were still interlocked. Somehow, Akito ended up on top of the guy’s chest.
An apology already on the tip of his tongue, Akito quickly pulled himself up, untangling himself from the mess of limbs, and found himself coming face-to-face with the guy. “Sorry-”
Akito’s breath hitched. Up this close, he's struck by the sudden thought that the guy was ridiculously attractive—slender face, grey eyes, soft two-toned blue hair split in the middle, and a cute little mole right beneath his left eye. He wasn't just attractive, he was pretty . Really, really pretty.
Belatedly, Akito realised that he's still pressed up against the guy he was currently waxing poetry in his mind about, something that he was appalled by—he didn't even know his name yet. Curse pretty boys for ridding him of the ability to think straight.
Face ridiculously flushed, he scrambled to his feet and extended a hand out to his poor victim. “I'm really sorry about that. Are you hurt anywhere?”
The guy sat up slowly, turning his neck left and right to check for injuries. He reached up one hand to massage a spot at the back of his head, before he finally shook his head.
“I think I'm good.” He spoke in a slightly deep, but very warm and gentle voice and Akito felt like he could listen to it forever.
Mentally, Akito slapped himself out of it, and chewed on his bottom lip in worry. “Are you sure? Maybe we should get you checked for a concussion…”
“Really, I'm fine,” he insisted once again as he finally took Akito's outstretched hand in his, and Akito tried not to think too hard about the way their hands were slotted together rather perfectly as he pulled him up from the floor.
The guy now standing upright, Akito was irked to find that he stood just a few centimetres taller than him, and he had to raise his head slightly to meet his eyes. The guy patted a few strands of hair sticking up at odd angles on his head back into relative place. Now that he seemed to have recovered from his fall, he looked prim and proper—the exact definition of a model student—and the complete opposite of Akito, if his multiple ear piercings and often messy mop of hair were anything to go by.
He was startled from his thoughts by someone shoulder-checking him out of the blue. “Hey Akito, not even bothered to check on your dear partner?” Damn, he had been so preoccupied with staring at the guy that he had forgotten about An. And the game.
Akito glared at her. “Shut up, you seem totally fine to me.” And she really did seem fine, even after taking a fall. She had an arm draped casually ( too casually, for someone she just met) around a short girl with blonde hair tied into twin-tails, who Akito assumed was the guy’s game partner, and was smiling widely.
Akito’s guess was right, as the guy turned to the girl in concern. “Ah, Azusawa-san, are you alright?”
“Ah…yes! I'm good, because I fell on An-chan…” The girl, Azusawa, trailed off, blushing a shade of red Akito didn't even know was possible.
An waved away her concern good naturedly. “I told you not to worry about it, Kohane! You're as light as a feather,” An said, ruffling the top of Azusawa’s hair and messing up her bangs. In a strange twist of fate, An had been the one to end up squashed below Azusawa…although that was probably for the best. While Akito didn't witness it with his own eyes, he could imagine the amount of reassurance it took from An for Azusawa to stop apologising profusely.
All prospective conversation was halted by the high-pitched sound of a whistle being blown, signalling the end of the game. It was then, after everyone stopped in their footsteps, that Akito noticed the wide berth the four of them had been given. He winced.
“Everyone, please return to your group's start positions and gather all your sashes before passing them to me for counting!” the gamemaster instructed. The clamour resumed as the students regrouped, and the mysterious guy and Azusawa left without another word. Akito internally bemoaned the fact that he still hasn't gotten the guy’s name yet. He resolved to find him afterwards.
Turning his attention back to the game, Akito realised he still had four sashes clutched in his fist. He looked at An, who had three sashes slung across her torso. They had snatched seven in total—not a bad score.
“Does this mean I win?” Akito asked, smirking and nudging An with an elbow, just to be annoying.
An whipped her head towards him to stare accusingly at the sashes he currently held up. “No way! I had to prevent them from stealing our sash too, so it's not fair anyway,” An protested futilely.
Akito's retort died on his tongue as loud cheers and hollering went up around them. A quick glance around told him that it was his own group that was celebrating. His eyes trained onto the bundle of sashes that Kiritani Haruka had raised in the air triumphantly, along with her interlocked hands with her partner, Hasanato Minori. Both of them were sweating profusely but grinning, and Hasanato looked especially embarrassed at the attention they were receiving, with the tint of red overtaking her face.
Akito did a quick count and found that there were at least ten sashes in that bundle. “Wow,” Akito, despite himself, was impressed. “They're really good.”
An nodded proudly. “Of course! Haruka is the captain of the basketball team for a reason, and Minori has been training really hard since she joined the team so she's made a lot of progress too. Together, they're a literal powerhouse.” She skipped towards them, probably to hand them the sashes and congratulate them on their win.
Akito was left to stand alone at the edge of their group. He glanced around the hall, until his eyes landed on the distinctive dual coloured blue hair he was searching for. While he picked his way through the crowd to get to him, he made eye contact with the guy, who, upon spotting him, lifted his hand to give him a short wave.
“Sorry for just now, er…” Akito said when they were once again standing in front of each other.
“Aoyagi Touya,” said the guy, offering a hand for him to shake. “There's no need to apologise anymore since everything turned out fine.”
Akito took his outstretched hand into his own and gave it a firm shake, letting go almost instantly afterwards. He was surprised to find that Aoyagi’s hand was cold. “I’m Shinonome Akito. I still feel bad for falling on top of you, so is there anything I can do to make it up to you?” he asked, a deceptively pleasant smile on his face, but he found that his question was genuine.
“Oh no, I couldn't possibly ask you to do that,” again Aoyagi refused, alarm now crossing his face.
“How about I treat you to a drink at the school cafe?” Akito pressed on. “I won't be able to sleep well if I don’t make it up to you somehow.” Technically, he was laying it on a little thick, but he really wanted to get to know Aoyagi better, and he'd be damned if he let this chance slip through his fingers that easily.
“The…school cafe?” Aoyagi asked hesitantly, as if he knew he was walking right into a trap but was unable to resist the bait nonetheless.
Akito grinned and delivered the finishing blow. “Yeah. It's in a secluded corner of the school, but I heard they serve good coffee.”
“...Okay,” Aoyagi finally gave in. “If it's just a drink, then I suppose it’s fine.”
“Great. Does today after orientation work for you?”
Aoyagi nodded, and they quickly exchanged numbers.
“Oi Akito, are you done? We need to go to our next venue,” a familiar voice piped up from behind him. When did An get here?
Akito turned around to see An latched on to Azusawa's arm, looking at him expectantly. He sighed but said to Aoyagi, “I have to go now, I'll text you where to meet me later.”
Aoyagi smiled for possibly the first time since they met. It was subtle, but it still made Akito’s heart lurch in his chest. “See you later.”
An and Azusawa also bid their goodbyes, and the two pairs went their separate ways.
Once they were firmly out of earshot, An nudged Akito with her elbow. “What was that about, huh?” she asked teasingly.
Akito feigned innocence. “What do you mean?”
“You know, giving the random guy you fell on your number? You know what I'm talking about!” An huffed impatiently.
“I just gave him my number so we could contact each other. I'm treating him to a drink at the school cafe as an apology for falling on him,” Akito replied flippantly.
An stopped in her tracks to peer at him for a long moment. Akito refrained from squirming uncomfortably under her scrutiny. “Right. It's totally not because you have a crush on him.”
“Shut up, I don't,” Akito lied.
“You do!” An shouted accusingly. “You’re gonna date him, then abandon your poor best friend!” She put her hands over her face in a dramatic display of despair.
Akito snorted at that, not deigning it a reply. They reached their next location then, and Kiritani successfully distracted An, sparing him from whatever nonsensical remark that would leave her mouth next.
He couldn't deny that he was interested in Aoyagi, but doubted that anything would happen, since they were practically strangers. He wouldn't be opposed to getting to know Aoyagi better, though.
Things started off kind of awkwardly.
Akito and Touya entered the secluded cafe after making the trip in near silence, and as expected, it was completely empty save for an older student working on their laptop in a corner. They placed their orders at the counter (a black coffee for Touya and iced latte for Akito), and once Akito paid for them, they grabbed a random table and sat facing each other.
“So,” Aoyagi started, surprising Akito. He’d thought Aoyagi was the type of introvert that disliked talking to strangers, given the fact that he had been quiet aside from a greeting when they had met earlier, but it seemed Akito was wrong in his assumption. Akito would have talked sooner, but he had been too preoccupied with getting the right directions to the cafe. “How did you find this place? It’s very well-hidden,” Aoyagi continued.
“Oh, I heard about it from my senpai on the soccer team,” Akito replied. “I thought it’d be cool if I checked it out.”
“You play soccer, Shinonome?”
The conversation took off from there, and Akito was pleased to find that they had more in common than he originally thought. Their drinks arrived sometime in the middle of their discussion on music. By the time the ice in his latte had melted and his cup was half empty, Akito had learned three important things about Aoyagi.
- He was a music composition major.
- He used to live in the area but moved to the city because of his father’s job as a professional musician. He’s only back because he managed to convince his father to let him attend the local college instead of one overseas.
- He was beautiful.
The third one was something he’d already known when he first saw Aoyagi, but the thought would strike him again when the fluorescent lights in the cafe caught Aoyagi just right, making his features glow softly like the effect of a beauty filter.
Distracted, Akito reached across the table to grab a paper napkin and accidentally knocked his arm onto his cup of latte. The glass wobbled precariously for a second before tipping over, spilling coffee right onto his decidedly white shirt. Akito and Aoyagi stared speechlessly at the light brown stain blooming across the fabric.
Akito sighed as he used the paper napkin to soak up some of the coffee. At least he had gotten to drink half of his latte.
“I think you should rinse it in the restroom,” Aoyagi suggested. He nodded to the spillage on the table. “I’ll help clean up here.”
“Thanks,” Akito said, rising from his seat and embarrassedly making his way to the nearest restroom.
Akito scrubbed roughly at the stubborn stain on his shirt over the sink, but even after adding soap and running water, his efforts only served to lighten the brown colour. The coffee had completely seeped through the material of his shirt, making it impossible to get rid of. He glanced up and stared at his own reflection in the mirror, a resigned expression on his face.
Akito was about to give up when he heard the door to the restroom creak open. He turned his head to investigate. It was Aoyagi.
It occurred to Akito then, how comical he must look—bent over the sink, his shirt lifted slightly up and half-drenched in water. He quickly wrung out his shirt and fully turned to face Aoyagi.
“Shinonome, is everything alright?” Aoyagi asked, walking over.
“Well, I can't get the coffee stain out now but it'll probably work once I get back to the dorms and soak it in detergent,” Akito explained, stifling another sigh.
Aoyagi frowned while inspecting his shirt, which was still dripping with water. He had been too hasty when wringing it out earlier.
“Here, let me…” Aoyagi stepped forward and into Akito’s personal space, causing Akito to lean back against the sink in surprise. All Aoyagi did was shuffle even closer, then press a paper napkin to the wet patch on his shirt.
Akito could only watch as Aoyagi continued dabbing at his shirt, his dark eyebrows drawn imperceptibly closer together in concentration, touch light and gentle. Akito was acutely aware of the position they were in—Touya was so close that Akito could count every individual eyelash, curled delicately upwards in the perfect angle. The wet shirt clinging to Akito’s body made his skin feel cold, but internally, he felt like someone had lit him on fire.
Akito’s heart beat quickly, rapid-fire against his chest. A part of him wanted to avert his gaze, but he found himself too mesmerised by the slant of Aoyagi’s eyes and the sharpness of his jawline to look away. He barely dared to breathe in case he ruined the moment with the movement.
At some point during what felt like minutes but in reality was probably only a few seconds, Akito’s shirt had ridden up slightly. Aoyagi’s fingers brushed against his exposed torso, a brief touch of pale flawless skin against toned muscles. A soft, strained sound involuntarily escaped Akito’s throat, causing Aoyagi to look up. Their gazes locked.
For a brief second, they just stared at each other wordlessly. Under the dim lights, Akito could see his own face hazily reflected in Aoyagi’s eyes. “Shinonome?” Aoyagi questioned softly.
“Akito,” he blurted out without thinking, voice coming out in a breathy rush. “You can call me Akito.”
“Akito.” The whisper that fell from Touya’s lips, barely audible even in the silence, sounded almost like a reverent prayer, and Akito couldn't help the shiver that crawled up his spine. “Then, you should call me Touya.”
Akito managed a nod in response, not trusting himself to speak without his voice cracking like an adolescent's. Touya took a step back and the charged tension previously between them dissipated instantly, like mist under the morning sun.
Akito cleared his throat. “Thanks for your help,” he said as they exited the restroom. “I’m fairly certain I'm cursed with bad luck, so sorry for the trouble too.”
Touya laughed a little at that, and Akito was half-convinced that he was in a fever dream. “Bad luck, huh?” Touya chuckled, lips tugging upwards in amusement. “The coffee was good though, we should go back another day and have another drink, hopefully without any mishaps.”
Akito’s mind screeched to a halt. Was that an invitation for a date? He snuck a glance at Touya―the serene expression on his face was no different than usual, providing him with no indication, so probably not. Akito forced his heartbeat to calm down as he replied casually, “Yeah, that sounds good.”
Touya smiled in return.
The next time he saw Touya was two days later.
Akito let out a long exhale as he slumped into a random seat on the bleachers. He was exhausted from the game he just played out in the field. He’s not sure who exactly on the planning committee thought it would be a good idea to get all the freshmen to play against each other according to the Houses they were sorted into. At least they were split into four different rounds. They were supposed to earn points by throwing small plastic balls into other Houses’ towers―a tall rectangular structure with a hole at the top of every side―while protecting their own tower from other Houses. He was assigned to protect his House’s tower in the third round because he was tall, and spent the entire time batting balls away with the plastic bat he was provided with. Thanks to his (and his team’s) hard work, their House had been propelled into first place at the end of that round.
“Ah, Akito.” Akito turned to his left and saw Touya taking a seat beside him. “Did you already play?”
“I just did. What about you?”
“Same here. You're in Yellow House? That’s the one with the Sun mascot, right?” Touya asked, abruptly changing the topic.
Akito looked down at the excessively bright yellow shirt he was wearing and scrunched up his nose in distaste. “Yeah. The colour of the shirt is atrocious. ”
Touya was faintly amused, eyes crinkling at the corners and sparkling with mirth. “Really? I think that House rather suits you.”
Akito blinked, taking in the blue shirt Touya was wearing. “I could say the same to you. Your hair-”
“Hey!!”
Akito was interrupted by an obnoxiously loud yet familiar voice. Awfully too familiar.
The universe must really be against him today, because he spotted Tenma and Kamishiro walking towards them.
Touya followed his gaze, and to his surprise, broke out into a smile. “Tsukasa-senpai!”
“Oh, Touya! I was not aware you knew Shinonome,” Tenma said as he approached them.
“We met during an orientation activity.”
Akito cut in before Touya could explain further (and embarrass him in the process). “And how do you know Touya?” he muttered warily.
Tsukasa laughed, attracting weird stares from everybody in the vicinity. “Our parents are friends, so we've known each other since we were kids!”
Trademark smirk on his face, Kamishiro added, “Tsukasa-kun and I were Shinonome-kun’s senpai in high school. It really is a small world, eh?”
Akito scoffed and rolled his eyes, about to say something snarky in return. However, noise abruptly erupted from the field before he could say a word. The final round had started.
“What the fuck?!” Akito shouted in disbelief once he focused properly on what was happening on the field. Freshmen were swarming the yellow tower, the multi-coloured plastic balls flying in every direction as they began their assault on his House.
“Fufu, you didn't know?” Kamishiro’s smirk was replaced with a catlike grin, his eyes twinkling with mischief. It was the same face he always made when working on his inventions, warning Akito that he would not like whatever he was going to say next. “I was the one who came up with the game. Because the positions are announced after each round, the trap is that whichever House is first at the end of the third round would be targeted by everyone else in the last round. There’s a reason why this is called ‘War Games’ , you know? It requires tactics. It’s a shame none of you realised that.”
Akito scowled. His hunch was right; of course Kamishiro was the one who invented such an unfairly tactical game. For someone like him who rushed headfirst into whatever he did, it was a lost cause from the start.
In the end, despite their best efforts, his House dropped to third place.
“You really dislike losing, huh?” Touya commented as he observed the murderous glare Akito sent Kamishiro’s way.
Akito shrugged. One didn't grow up with Shiraishi An without becoming at least a little competitive.
It was raining.
Of course it was. Because why would it be a nice, sunny day for the final soccer game of his first season in college?
Normally, this wouldn't have mattered to Akito. After all the multi-weather training his coach put him through, the weather was the weather and the rain was just a minor inconvenience. But why did it have to be during his most important match?
It was half-time, and his team was tied to the opponents in a one-to-one score. Akito took a long drink from his bottle, squeezing it hard like it had personally offended him.
“Shinonome,” his teammate called out to him, sounding strangely confused. “I think someone’s looking for you.”
Akito whipped his head around in the direction of the bleachers, and sure enough, a blurry figure stood right behind the railings, waving their arms at him frantically. He squinted to see more clearly through the downpour, and when his vision sharpened, the figure looked a lot like―
“Touya?” Akito said incredulously. What the hell was he doing here? Although they continued texting each other frequently after their first meeting, once classes had started they got too busy to meet in person (though when they did it was always at the cafe). Akito had told Touya about his soccer matches, but he certainly did not ask him to come watch his game. Which meant he was here on his own accord.
Akito was moving before he even finished processing. He jogged across the field through sheets of freezing rain, motioning for Touya to meet him under the bleachers. The grass there was dry, shielded from the rain, and Akito had never been so grateful to see brown, dusty dirt in his entire life. Now that he was in a sheltered area, he realised how cold he actually was since he was drenched from head to toe. Unfortunately, in his rush, he’d left his track jacket on the field bench, so he was left shivering like a wet cat.
Not a moment later, Touya appeared with an umbrella in hand. “Akito!” he greeted brightly, eyes lighting up, sounding cheerful even in the horrible weather.
“What are you d-doing here?” Akito demanded to know, teeth chattering slightly.
“Supporting you at your game, of course,” Touya answered matter-of-factly, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
Akito’s heart skipped a beat. “You d-didn't have-” he started, now shuddering in earnest from the chilly atmosphere.
Touya cut him off swiftly. “I wanted to.” Touya’s arms blurred and Akito suddenly felt a soft, lightweight cloth draped across his shoulders.
Akito blinked, then twisted around. “Wha-”
“You look cold,” Touya said simply.
Akito abruptly realised what Touya had given him and froze, pulse starting to race.
The jacket Touya had just placed on him was made of a light grey, thick material, the inside soft and warm. It was purchased from a well-known designer brand. Akito knew if he reached over his shoulder to feel the back, his fingers would brush the fancy embroidered letters spelling out the name of the brand: ‘DerMond’ .
No one else in the college could afford such a jacket. The jacket was Touya’s signature look and everyone knew it.
So if everyone saw Akito wearing what was clearly Touya’s jacket, then…
Akito’s face burned.
“Touya, I. I can’t wear this.”
Touya reached out to wrap the jacket more tightly around his shoulders. “I know you can’t wear it out on the field, but it’ll at least keep you warm until you get back to the bench.”
“Touya,” Akito grounded out. “That is not the problem here.”
“Then what’s wrong?”
Akito groaned internally. He didn't even know if Touya was pretending not to know or if he was just that oblivious. “Listen, if I wear your jacket, everyone will think that you and I are…”
Touya cocked his head to one side, leaning in close to Akito’s face, close enough for their noses to touch. “You and I are…what, exactly?”
“Are dating,” Akito hissed. He refused to stumble or back away from the sharp look in Touya’s eyes despite the weakness in his knees and his heartbeat echoing loudly in his ears, drowning out the sounds of the storm.
Touya stared down at him with a strange intensity, studying him like he was a puzzle he couldn't quite piece together or the world’s eighth natural wonder. Akito subconsciously shifted himself, squaring his shoulders and straightening his spine so he was drawn to his full height. It was at times like this that he was reminded again of their subtle height difference and he despised it to no end.
Touya lifted a hand to gently brush away the wet hair plastered to Akito’s face, hand lingering for a moment longer than necessary. Touya said softly, “Well. I wouldn't exactly mind.”
Akito felt his heart stop in place. His eyes widened and jaw dropped. “You- What?”
“I mean,” Touya said deliberately slowly, as if he was talking to a toddler, “that I wouldn't mind if we dated.”
Akito choked on thin air. “Not now,” he said, sounding strangled, even though his heart pounded and his face flushed red.
Touya seemed to consider his words for a second before he nodded seriously, conceding his point. “Then, after you win the game, I’ll ask you.”
“Idiot,” Akito mumbled, ruffling Touya’s hair affectionately, “This is basically a confession already.”
“Oi, Shinonome! Where are you?”
Akito sighed, pulling his hand away. “They're searching for me, so half-time is probably almost over. I have to go.”
Akito thought he imagined the flicker of disappointment in Touya’s eyes, because it was gone in a flash. “Do your best, Akito.”
“Of course.” With a final smile, Akito stepped away and jogged around the bottom stairs of the bleachers, out of Touya’s sight.
Upon spotting him, Akito’s teammate raised his eyebrows as far as they would go, eyes trained on the jacket. Akito shot him a threatening glare. “Don't you dare say a word,” he growled.
His teammate lifted both hands in a placating gesture then mimed zipping his lips. Akito nodded in satisfaction and they ran back to their team bench.
Touya had been right—the sturdy jacket blocked out the howling wind and icy cold rain pouring in buckets from the sky. Akito felt a lot warmer with its protection. There was the smell too―the fresh scent of Touya’s cologne lingered on the jacket, wafting through the air with every step he took. It was comforting, as if Touya was right there by his side.
However. Back out on the open field, Akito could feel the weight of every spectator’s gaze digging into his back, where the jacket brand’s name stood out in large, bold letters. It nearly made him regret agreeing to wear the jacket.
He hadn't forgotten Touya’s earlier words either, but Akito forced those thoughts to the back of his mind. He couldn't afford to be distracted if he wanted to win. Everything else could come later.
BLARR
The unexpected noise nearly deafened him. As the announcement for half-time being officially over was made over the speakers, Akito shrugged off the jacket almost reluctantly, carefully placing it on the bench before joining his team on the field.
Three minutes.
Three minutes left in the game and their score was still tied one-to-one. Pulling out a win now would be close to a miracle, but―
Akito gritted his teeth. He had to score a goal; he had to win. Touya was watching, and Akito really didn't want to disappoint him.
“Shinonome!” his teammate yelled desperately, passing the ball in his direction with a swift kick.
Akito received it and started running, wind and rain whipping past his face as he skillfully dodged all of his opponents. His lungs burned for oxygen, but he didn’t slow even for a second. He kicked the ball with all his might, sending it flying in the air. The entire stadium collectively watched with bated breath as the ball sailed past the goalkeeper―
And into the goal’s net.
The stadium instantly burst into noise. His team screamed and chanted his name, the spectators cheered wildly, and the announcer’s booming voice came over the speakers.
“AND WITH ONE MINUTE LEFT IN THE GAME, FRESHMAN SHINONOME AKITO MAKES AN UNBELIEVABLE GOAL CAUSING THE SHIBUYA DIAMONDS TO WIN THE FINALS TWO TO ONE-”
Akito ignored all of that in favour of racing straight towards the bleachers. There was only one thing he cared about now.
Touya leapt over the railings separating the seats from the field and sprinted towards him to meet him halfway, his umbrella discarded somewhere on the floor.
Even though Akito was drenched in sweat mixed with rainwater and caked in mud, Touya crashed straight into his chest at full speed. Akito didn’t even flinch, simply using his momentum to lift him off the ground and spin him around effortlessly. They laughed, a joyful, melodious sound that was music to both their ears.
“Date me,” Touya whispered right into Akito’s ear as soon as his muddy shoes touched the ground.
Akito’s heart fluttered. “Yeah,” he answered softly. They embraced each other tightly, clinging onto each other’s warmth. Akito never ever wanted to let go of Touya.
As the clouds dispersed and sunlight streamed onto the grassy field, Akito smiled with his head buried into Touya's shoulder. Maybe a little misfortune isn't so bad, if it leads to you.