Work Text:
“A-chan is coming over today!”
Teru can’t help but chuckle at Tiara’s excitement about his boyfriend coming over. Even before they got together, she had gotten attached to him from the moment he’d first come over to the Minamoto household. He’s glad Akane got Tiara’s seal of approval - Teru doesn’t even want to think about what might’ve happened if she didn’t like him.
“Yes he is, princess,” he says, ruffling her hair. “Only for a few hours though.”
His princess blinks up at him owlishly, “Tiara would let him sleepover.”
Before Teru can explain that Akane has his own home and family to go back to, Kou comes in, effectively distracting Tiara. Akane is supposed to be coming over for a few hours. His parents were pretty lenient in most aspects, but drew the line at spending the night elsewhere. Still…
A sleepover might be nice one day, Teru muses.
His thoughts are interrupted by the doorbell ringing and he looks down at his watch. Seven o’clock on the dot - as to be expected from the clock keeper of the present.
He opens the door and greets his partner with a grin, “Aoi!”
The redhead offers a smile in return and it causes Teru’s heart to flutter, still unused to the softer side of Akane, “Pres.”
Teru leads him to the living room, pressing a quick kiss to his temple that results in grumbling from his boyfriend - boyfriend! - before heading to the kitchen for tea.
The water was already preheated by Kou, so after quickly pouring some over the tea bags he makes his way back, successfully having avoided burning down the kitchen.
Most of their time together after officially starting to date still revolved around student council or supernaturals so Teru was excited to finally get some time to just be a normal couple. Maybe they could watch a movie or he could prod Akane to show him more of those silly cat videos he seems to have endless supplies of.
With that resolution in mind he rounds to the corner only to find his seat across from Akane taken by Kou, Tiara hanging precariously off of his boyfriend’s - boyfriend! - shoulders.
There’s a sharp sting in his chest, an uncomfortable feeling overtaking him for a quick second before he brushes it off.
Balancing the mugs in one hand, he takes a quick shot of the scene on his phone before heading over.
He hands Akane his mug (green tea, unsweetened - just how he liked it) and takes a seat next to him, listening as Kou rambled on about some algebra lesson he didn’t quite understand.
Teru pokes his cheek in an effort to get the redhead’s attention, but he just bats Teru’s hand away and continues nodding along to Kou. “If you bring your worksheet, I can help you right now,” he offers.
Teru frowns.
He was the one that had invited Akane over. If anything, his boyfriend should be paying attention to him , no?
He watches as Kou gets up, presumably to get his worksheet from upstairs, but before he can get Akane’s attention back on him he’s interrupted by a high pitched squeal.
“A-chan, A-chan!”
Tiara unclings herself from Akane’s shoulders and sits down right in front of him. “Do Tiara’s hair!”
Teru mentally fumes at being beat by a 5 year old before being horrified at seeing Tiara in that way. What is getting into him?
He’s snapped back to reality by Kou thundering down the stairs. “Don’t forget to say ‘please’ Tiara!”
Tiara clasps her hands together, “Pleeeease!!” She thinks for a moment before tacking on, “Teru-nii is horrible at doing Tiara’s hair!”
Akane snorts at the confession, wordlessly turning Tiara around to start combing through her hair, before addressing Kou, “If you read me the problem aloud I can see what you’re struggling with.”
That’s how Teru ends up watching his boyfriend braid his little sister’s hair and help his brother with his math homework. It feels domestic, and Teru usually feels a warmth in his chest when it comes to his siblings interacting with his other favorite person.
So why am I feeling this way?
He watches silently for a bit. If he ignores the ugly feeling, it’s quite cute how Tiara tries her best to sit still, bouncing quietly with energy. Kou nods along to what Akane is saying and diligently takes notes.
When Tiara briefly interrupts, Akane responds in a soft tone. When Kou does the next step on his own, Akane beams at him.
He never speaks that softly to Teru. And while he has been getting soft smiles as of recently, Akane’s favorite expression to direct towards Teru is a look of utter disgust. Something ugly churns deep in his chest.
Does he not like Teru? No, that can’t be right, he wouldn’t have agreed to date him otherwise.
Right?
Teru thinks back to the day they officially got together. Maybe he shouldn’t have zapped Akane when he gave him that stupidly charming smirk. Teru feels himself spiral a bit. He doesn’t know why his instinct is to hurt, hurt, hurt.
He feels someone squeeze his shoulder and catches Akane looking at him, eyebrow pinched in concern.
“You good?” he asks lowly to avoid Kou or Tiara overhearing. Teru nods, giving him a soft smile before reaching over to take his now empty mug.
“Be right back.”
He misses Akane’s worried expression as he makes his way towards the kitchen.
Setting the mugs in the sink he takes a moment to run his hands down his face. He doesn’t know why he’s thinking like this. He’s never had a problem with his and Akane’s dynamic before. Part of the fun was throwing around quips and smart responses at one another. Why is this bothering so much now?
“Teru-nii!” Kou shouts as he bursts into the kitchen. “Akane-san is so smart, you should invite him over more often!”
On any other day, Kou’s bright smile and thumbs up would lift his mood. On any other day he’d take that as a chance to boast about his boyfriend to his little brother.
On any other day he wouldn’t focus on how Kou had said “Akane-san.”
He feels his heart sink at the realization that somehow he wasn’t on a first name basis with his own boyfriend, while his little brother was.
He was a horrible boyfriend.
“I actually don’t feel so good. Could you tell-” Aoi was on the tip of his tongue out of habit but he swallowed it down bitterly. “Tell him I’ll be in my room.”
Plastering on a smile he makes his way past Kou and upstairs.
With his sheets pulled over himself he feels childish as he sulks. It’s not his fault that Tiara and Kou are much better at social interactions than he is.
It’s entirely his fault that Akane likes them better than him, though.
He shakes his head. He’s always known Akane was too good for him. He just needs to be better.
Should he start calling him by his first name? It might be confusing with Aoi, but it’s only natural to be on a first name basis with his boyfriend, right?
Maybe he should also tone down the whole “tying him to the ceiling” bit. Akane’s never claimed to like it, but how does Teru explain that he thinks his screaming is cute without feeling like he’ll explode and resorting to zapping him out of embarrassment at being so sappy?
Teru and Akane have always riffed with one another, but seeing Kou and Tiara pouring compliment after compliment out towards Akane, he feels like he should be able to say at least one nice thing about him. It’s normal to praise your partner every so often, right?
Teru thinks. What about something like, “ I think it’s really cute how when you get so excited your eyes get all sparkly and shiny, I feel like I could get lost in them. ”
He blanches. Too mushy.
How about “ I wish you’d stop concealing your freckles and let me count them- ”. He pulls a face. Too intimate.
Starfishing out on his bed he releases a deep sigh. Why did relationships require open and honest communication? Why couldn’t he just drag Akane around different dates and hand off prizes he “doesn’t want” to show his love? Wasn’t that enough?
Maybe Akane should be with someone better.
Someone knocks at the door, quickly stopping that train of thought. The subject of his dilemma pokes his head through the door, eyes shining in the darkness. “You okay? You left kind of abruptly.”
Teru should’ve known Akane was too smart and would see right through the message he left Kou with. He probably looks pathetic, swaddled in his blanket, sulking about seeing his boyfriend hang out with his siblings.
Still, it wouldn’t hurt to try and save his dignity. He curls up, away from where Akane stands at the door, covering himself from view with his blanket. “Yeah, I think I just drank my tea too fast.”
A stupid lie, but he hoped Akane would just leave it at that.
He holds his breath as he waits. There’s the sound of Akane walking towards the bed before it stops. Teru feels some minor shuffling around, but doesn’t feel any pulling at the blanket. It’s silent for a bit and Teru wonders if he missed Akane stepping out.
Just as he pokes his head out to check, he’s smacked right in the face with his own pillow. When Teru’s brain finally catches up he turns to see Akane standing smugly, memory foam weapon in hand.
“When you’re done throwing a tantrum we can talk about what’s actually bothering you like a normal couple.” He sets down the pillow and nudges Teru until he makes room for him to sit on the bed.
He sits close enough to the exorcist that their shoulders are pressed up against one another and it makes Teru’s head spin a little.
He likes Akane so much and it’s unfair to him that Teru has the emotional range of a teaspoon. Teru will always be the problem.
But he can try.
For Akane he’ll always try.
“I like when you’re this close to me.”
Whatever Akane had been expecting Teru to say, it certainly wasn’t that. He doesn’t even get a full chance to process it before the blonde continues rambling.
“And- and I like how your eyes get all sparkly when you’re excited and when the sun hits them they’re this really pretty amber. You also do this scrunchy thing with your nose when you’re annoyed and stick out your tongue when you’re concentrating which is absolutely adorable.”
Akane blinks, but Teru barrels forward, the words spilling out now that the dam is broken.
“Or like when you laugh. It’s... different. Like, it kind of catches in your throat sometimes, but then it gets louder when you’re really laughing? I mean, I don’t hear it much, because you’re always so grumpy, but when I do, it’s… it’s nice.”
He’s not sure where all of these words are coming from and Teru feels the tips of his ears burning. He doesn’t dare look in Akane’s direction, focusing instead on a random loose thread from his blanket, anxiously pulling at it.
“I also like when you’re snarky because it feels real compared to when you hold yourself back in an effort to seem nice. And- and you’re stupidly reliable and always try to help everyone. It makes everyone like you - and you don’t even notice it! It’s like everyone gravitates towards you, including me. It’s so frustrating because you’re so much better than I am but I still want to be selfish and keep you around which scares me because I like you so much I think I might do something stupid like count your freckles because you’re so perfect they probably form a constellation or something-”
Teru snaps his mouth shut, squeezing his eyes tightly. “I wasn’t supposed to say that last part. Just—you—you’re just—”
The words are tangled on his tongue, too raw, too real. His cheeks burn, and his heart is hammering in his chest when he feels a cool hand on his forehead.
Akane hums, making a big show of looking over Teru, “Well, you don’t have a fever.” He pulls away, eyes sparkling with mirth. “So either you’ve fully lost it or a supernatural has replaced my boyfriend.”
Teru groans, causing Akane to laugh - his stupid, dumb, adorable laugh - as he pulls Teru’s head to his lap. He feels hands begin to run through his hair and he melts into the sensation.
This is nice, he thinks. To be so close without having to disguise it as a challenge or zap his partner.
They sit in silence for a while before Akane finally speaks up. “So,” he begins, “where did all of this come from?”
The exorcist feels shame remembering how this all started. Akane hears Teru mumble something.
“Sorry, I thought I heard you say that it was because I was hanging out with your siblings,” Akane laughs good-naturedly.
At Teru’s silence, though, his eyes nearly bug out of his head, “Oh my gosh you’re jealous of your siblings.”
“Don’t laugh at me!”
“Pres,” Akane manages to get out between giggles. “I thought you would murder me if your siblings didn’t like me. Now I can’t spend time with them?”
Teru pouts. “I like that you’re good with them and that they like you.”
Akane nods, pushing him on, “But…”
“But-” It really does feel childish saying it out loud. “You were being really nice and patient with them. You’re never that way with me.”
His boyfriend snorts. “Teru, that’s because they’re, like, twelve.”
“Yeah but they call you Akane- well, Kou does, Tiara calls you A-chan” Teru pouts, but he’s got to admit that he feels a little better talking all this out.
“Nothing’s stopping you from calling me Akane,” he points out and Teru sits up, eyes sparkling with excitement.
Akane feels the tips of his ears burn, seeing how excited Teru is at the prospect so he bats a hand at him, looking away. “It’ll be a bit confusing with Ao-chan, but if you really want to then I guess that means I should call you…Teru.”
The name flows off his tongue and Akane briefly wonders why they weren’t on a first name basis earlier. He’s interrupted from his thoughts as he’s tackled onto the bed by Teru and he doesn’t even get the chance to be mad when he catches sight of his boyfriend’s blinding grin.
Pushing him away, he sits up and heads for the door, “Let’s head downstairs before Kou and Tiara get worried.”
In a matter of seconds Teru has caught up to him, intertwining their hands as they head downstairs.