Work Text:
As the sun shines through his slightly covered window, Akito stirs from his sleep into the waking world. Squinting from the light pouring through, he drearily rubbed his eyes to gain a semblance of being awake. With the little consciousness he had, he shifted his body to face his nightstand to grab his phone.
"…Did I sleep through my alarm?" Today marks the day he's supposed to meet up with Vivid Bad Squad for their newest song recording and anniversary concert, and with his housemate's insistence, he set an alarm for the morning. Though, looking at his phone, Akito found himself awake around twenty minutes before the alarm went off.
An annoyed groan escaped him, slightly frustrated at the fact that he could’ve had more time to sleep but woke up earlier than his alarm. But seeing as he’s now awake and going back to sleep would be pointless, he rose from his bed and walked towards the door. A waft of sweetness reached his senses the moment he opened the door, a soft tune hummed from the kitchen where the smell was also coming from. With curtains opened wide and sunlight pouring through, the outline of Tsukasa’s figure appears in his view as he cooks what looks to be pancakes on the stovetop.
"Ah, Akito! You're awake!"
Tsukasa’s exuberant voice booms throughout the apartment, but it isn’t something Akito is unused to, at least not anymore. Having been his housemate for close to six months, and even before that during their high school days, Tsukasa’s loud speaking volume turned from an annoyance to a comforting constant. His voice is indicative of him being an actor, with a voice as loud as his, audiences from the back row would still be able to hear him clearly. Still, Akito thinks he should tone it down a bit, it’s still morning after all.
“Good morning…” A yawn escaped him as he sat at the dining table. A click from the stove made Akito slightly more awake as Tsukasa slid a plate of pancakes in front of both of them. Breathing in the smell of fresh pancakes, he took the utensils, cut himself a slice of the delicious-looking pancakes, and took a bite. Tsukasa's cooking never fails to be heavenly, though that compliment will remain unsaid for now.
A pleasant smile graces Tsukasa’s face as the both of them eat breakfast, making light conversations in between. Akito asked if there had been a schedule change today, considering he made breakfast later than usual, the latter replied, “Oh, our last few rehearsals for tonight's show will start a little later, so I thought I'd see you off first before I make my way there!” A happy smile graces Tsukasa's face, and his eyes reflect a soft feeling.
‘See me off… He makes it sound like he's my wife…’
…Akito, what the fuck?
He shook his head at that thought, a small dusting of red appeared on his cheeks. He's not in the mood to entertain these thoughts, especially not when he's eating delicious pancakes. A low grumble passed his lips as he took another bite, the taste of sweet cooked batter melding together with the equally sweet maple syrup. He's not about to embarrass himself in front of his housemate over the dining table.
Finishing the last of his food, Tsukasa takes his plate to the sink as Akito retreats to his room. After changing out of his night clothes, he grabs a duffel bag from his chair and fills it up with things he would need for the day. A book with his compositions in it, a separate bundle of papers filled with music scores, a refillable water canteen, and his phone. He heads out of his room once more and walks into the bathroom.
A quick teeth brushing and a face rinse made him quick to exit the bathroom as soon as he entered. Passing by the living room, he grabs and puts on a jacket that was left on the sofa. Before setting his sights to the door, Akito glances back for a moment to the kitchen to find Tsukasa walking up to him with a wrapped bento box.
"Something for you guys to eat at lunch!" A smile graces Tsukasa's lips as he hands Akito the bento.
Staring at the box Tsukasa held in his hands with an exasperated look, Akito heaves an amused sigh as he accepts it in his hands. At this point he shouldn't be surprised anymore, Tsukasa tends to be rather motherly when it's concerning his teammates. Though he's sure about the others welcoming free food, he feels slightly embarrassed about carrying a sizable lunchbox around.
“Pass my greetings to Touya, Shiraishi, and Azusawa!”
“Yeah, yeah,” he sighs, “I’ll be going now.”
“Be careful on the way!” Tsukasa's hand came to ruffle his hair as his smile changed to a happy grin.
Akito huffed in mock annoyance, "You take care as well…" he muttered.
Turning his body fully to the door, his hand grasped at the doorknob. He looked back to Tsukasa with a warmer smile, "…And good luck on your show tonight."
“Eh? Hold on, you and Tenma-senpai still aren’t dating?”
“... shut up.”
The sudden question fazed Akito out of his cozy morning daze, the cup of coffee he held in his hand almost slipped out of his grip if he hadn’t almost smashed it onto its saucer in an attempt to set it down. An, who had sat in front of him, looked at him with an unimpressed look. But instead of explaining, Akito kept his mouth shut as the conversation attempt hung around in their heads. The silence prolonged as Akito looked at An with slight irritation, an amused chuckle escaped her.
"What, am I wrong for asking about it?"
"Stop talking—"
"C’mon! How long has this gone on at this point? Five years?!"
Akito only looked away from her as embarrassment took hold of his tiredness and colored his face pink. Suddenly, he felt the need to hide his face behind his coffee cup, sipping slowly. An glared at him in annoyance, though who could really blame her? If one of your friends has been pining for his roommate, even since before they became roommates, and significant progress hasn’t been made, anyone would be irritated having to see the back-and-forth dance.
An sighed in disappointment, "Seriously, this is getting pretty sad. When are you going to confess?"
"An, I swear—"
Just then, the front door of Weekend Garage opened with the sounds of jingling bells as Touya and Kohane walked in. Noticing the pair, An quickly gave them a wave in greeting, while Akito had his face turned away from the three of them with his hand covering it. Though the two were confused, An quickly came to reassure them that Akito was fine (albeit, dismissively), but an abrupt skidding noise made her stop talking. Standing up from his seat, Akito quickly downs the rest of his coffee and speedwalks towards the door.
"We're going now!" He yelled, ignoring the surprised shouts of his teammates.
"Eh? Ah! Akito, hold on!!"
Flashing lights, blaring music, and the roaring cheers of the audience. These were the things that registered in Akito’s mind as he and his teammates stood on stage. He glances at his teammates to see that they are feeling the same thing. He glances back to the audience as the lights start flickering on steadily. They're at the end of their anniversary live, with the last song of the setlist already sung.
However, it seems that the crowd had something different planned.
"Encore! Encore! Encore!" The whole live house felt like it shook because of the thundering roar of the crowd.
A light giggle cuts through the chatter, "Thank you, everyone, for coming to our anniversary live! This has been really fun!" Kohane spoke. Claps and cheers of elation followed.
"Eeeh, we're leaving now? Everyone here is chanting for an encore!" An whines, gesturing to the crowd as they cheer louder.
"Hm..." Touya hummed in agreement. “I think I can go for one more song," Touya said passively, though the determined glimmer in his eyes did not flee from his teammates' sights.
"Eeh… Are you serious? I'm beat." Akito scratched the back of his neck in a moment of slight grumpiness, the crowd laughed at his remark.
A sigh of mock defeat escapes him, "Well, I guess one more song wouldn't hurt.” He shrugs, “ DJ! " Akito shouts as the crowd picks up steam again.
They each looked at each other with determined gazes. “Let’s end it off on a good one…” they all seemed to think.
"Ready Steady!"
With a wave sent to his teammates, Akito turns to make his way home. After a long day of recording and performing, his thoughts start to slow down to the beat of his footsteps. With only the moon and the slight chill of the wind accompanying him, he started to think about how many things had happened in the last few years.
Vivid BAD Squad is now a fully established music group, an integral part of Vivid Street’s community, and known throughout Shibuya for their powerful singing and inspiring songs. Preparations for their grand event that shall surpass Rad Weekend are coming to its final stages, finally, all their hard work will pay off. He sighed in contentment at it all, it would only be a few more months now before they reached their collective dream.
But then that begs the question, what’s next?
Of course, Vivid Bad Squad will still be active, he doesn’t think they’ll disband immediately after all the work and hardships they went through. He’s also content with his current job as a freelance composer, the commissions he’s gotten over the past few months are racking him up enough bills to pay for rent and daily necessities.
“Hold on, you and Tenma-senpai still aren’t dating?”
Akito staggers a little as he walks, recalling An’s words, he feels his face heating up at the memory. A moment of weakness, that was, letting An slip in a remark like that when he dropped his guard.
But he can't deny that that's what he truly wants.
Thinking more about it, it’s been this way for a while, hasn’t it? He remembers his heart skipping a beat when he heard that loud and chipper voice after not having heard it for a few weeks after graduation. At the time he was confused, why would his heart skip from hearing Tsukasa's voice?
Before he could further self-introspect, Akito belatedly remembered that he’s on his way back to his apartment.
‘Ah, I forgot to text him before heading back…'
Knowing that Tsukasa was a stickler for these types of things, he brought his phone out of his pocket and opened the messenger app. His chat log with Tsukasa is close to the very top of the list of contacts he’s recently contacted. He slowed down his walking to concentrate on typing his message.
From: Shinonome Akito
i almost forgot ( 10.57 PM)
im on my way home rn ( 10.57 PM)
'Home…'
A home implies a place of belonging, actually, a home doesn't necessarily have to be a place. Vivid Bad Squad had always felt more like home for him than his own house was. The Virtual Singers in the Sekai, who had helped him through a lot of hardships, were also home to him. The stronger sense of community he now has with the people in Vivid Street made him comfortable enough to call them home as well, it all filled him up with a sense of warmth.
And Tsukasa is his home too—someone he could find peace with and a reliable companion he's lucky to have.
'...'
Akito continues to walk to their apartment. And if he stumbles along the way with his face in his hands, well… it's not like anyone was watching.
The roaring claps of the audience greet them as the show comes to a close, the stage lights shine brightly in contrast to the night sky. The actors take their final bow as the curtains close, and that is the end to another day. Voices start to chatter backstage, with everyone undoubtedly tired after the hard work they’ve put into today’s show. A petite, pink-haired woman lingered behind the curtains to see the audience start taking their leave, each of their smiles engraved in her memory.
“Alright everyone, great work for today!” A voice cut through. “After everything’s been put back to where it was, make sure you get home safely!” Tsukasa instructs everyone. He flips through a bundle of paper in his hand, given to him earlier by one of Emu's attendants. An approved proposal for their next production, a story that he and the other cast members had worked on for a lot of months. A smile makes its way onto his face as he turns to call the others about the good news.
“It looks like our next big production has been approved!” Tsukasa exclaimed, grabbing the attention of his crew. “As planned, preparations will start in five days. And a proper briefing will be held then as well, so take this time to rest properly! That is all!” A chorus of cheers and affirmations answered Tsukasa’s announcement as he nodded to himself, satisfied with today’s work. He makes his way to the changing rooms to put away his costume and can't help but reminisce a bit.
Years have passed since the initial start of Wonderlands×Showtime, and a lot has changed in that time. For starters, Nene has left the troupe to pursue her dreams of going to Broadway. Though she was hesitant to do so initially, Tsukasa and the others managed to convince her that it was alright and that her leaving wouldn't be a permanent goodbye. She left with a smile on her face as well as a promise shared by all four of them to come back as a better actress.
A few years after graduating high school, Emu started working a proper internship in Phoenix Wonderland’s more managerial work as an assistant to her brothers. Though she seldom helps with paperwork, she primarily helps with things like coming up with ideas to help attract customers to the theme park while still being a primary cast member for the Wonder Stage. As for Rui, he’s continuing university online so as to not impede his work as Wonder Stage’s primary show director. Sometimes Tsukasa wonders if he really needs the degree when he already has a job, but he guesses that it wouldn’t hurt to learn more.
And as for Tsukasa…
He now works full-time at Phoenix Wonderland as a cast member for the Wonder Stage and continues being the troupe director of the now ever-growing Wonderlands×Showtime. Of course, as time went on, the troupe became bigger and bigger as it naturally should, especially when Nene left. So now, rather than it being just the four of them, Wonderlands×Showtime has grown to become a professional show troupe with more than just a handful of people on the crew, and it would be a lie to say that Tsukasa didn't feel like a proud father at times.
Though that is not to say that the original core of Wonderlands×Showtime has been lost to time, if anything, their desire to make their audience smile is amplified to a greater degree with their younger recruits.
And all in all, despite everything, he was closer to achieving his dream of becoming a star.
As Tsukasa exits the changing rooms, he sees Rui and Emu waiting for him. The tackle hug he gets from Emu has become a regular occurrence now to the point that he's already spreading his arms out to catch her. Rui follows behind and slings his arms around their shoulders as the three share an impromptu hug. The small moment of peace and solace was broken as Emu animatedly talked about the reception of their audience, "Everyone had big smiles on their faces! And the others are really happy with how everything turned out!”
“Yeah, great work out there, Mr. Star~"
“You two…” He smiles graciously. “This would never be possible with you or our other troupe mates, if anything, I’m the one who should be thanking you all!” A small vibration coming from inside his pocket interrupted them.
“Tsukasa-kuunn!!” Miku’s synthesized voice wails as he grabs his phone out of his pocket. But upon seeing who else was there, “Ah! Rui-kun, Emu-chan! Hello!!” she greeted, becoming a bit sidetracked.
But that didn’t last long as, “Wait, no—Tsukasa-kun!” She shouted, flailing her arms about. “You have messages from Akito-kun!”
His heart skipped when he heard Akito's name, “Oh? Is that all?” he asked.
Miku shook her head. "No, we also saw Nene-chan! Nene-chan wanted me to tell you that she has time off work, so she'll come visit Sekai soon!"
Pushed from the side, Tsukasa braces for Emu’s gleeful shout at the mention of their friend. “Nene-chan? She can visit?!” She said, holding onto his shoulder tightly, slightly jostling him as she bounced in place.
“Hey, Emu!”
“Ah, then it’s good that we’re free for the next few days.” Settled against his other side, Rui chuckles lightly at the timing.
Sighing at his cohort's lack of consideration for his personal space (not that he minds, but with Emu jostling him and Rui pressed against his other shoulder, it’s not exactly comfortable), “Thanks for telling us, Miku. Be sure to tell Nene that we’ll meet around tomorrow morning.” Or later tonight for her? It’s sometimes hard to keep track of time zones with Nene always traveling to different countries whenever he hears of her.
Smiling ear to ear, she laughs. “Hehe, you’re welcome!”
Opening his messages, he sees several messages sent to him a little while ago.
From: Akito
i almost forgot ( 10.57 PM)
(deleted message) ( 10.57 PM)
im on my way to the house ( 10.58 PM)
hey, i made it back safe ( 11.19 PM)
so dont worry about me coming back late while youre at work ( 11.20 PM)
Reading through it made him relieved, Akito had made it home safe, even though he jabbed at the fact that he'd go worried sick if he didn't text him about it. One of the earliest of the new messages was deleted, Tsukasa wonders what he wrote and why he decided to delete it. The other two look at him and each other with teasing and knowing looks. As he was taking a while to look at a message, Tsukasa reassured them with a smile as he finished sending his reply.
From: Tenma Tsukasa
Alright! I'll be home soon!! ( 11.55 PM)
We're almost finished with cleaning up the stage! <(￣︶￣)> (11.55 PM)
“Ah, it's nothing important,” Tsukasa said, waving his hand in a dismissive gesture. “Akito texted me that he's back home safe!” A soft smile graces his lips. “Anyways, let's get back to everyone else and finish up cleaning.” He pocketed his phone and turned to resume cleaning. As his back turned to them, Rui and Emu looked at each other knowingly, cheeky smiles on their faces.
A soft chime-like chuckle escaped Rui's lips, “Fufu, is that so? Then we should hurry and finish up soon. We wouldn't want Shinonome-kun to wait for his dear 'housemate,' would we?”
Emu vigorously nodded in reply, “Yes, yes! Let’s hurry!” She jumped excitedly. With a fist pumped in the air, she declared. “Mission: Get Tsukasa-kun Home as Quickly as Possible is a go!”
“Ooouu~!” The two simultaneously cheered.
Tsukasa resisted the urge to facepalm as he sighed, “You two…”
A soft click sounded from the front door opening, followed by another when it closed. The clock on the wall indicated that it was past 12 o’clock, another midnight had come to greet him. As Tsukasa quietly takes off his shoes, he takes in the quiet atmosphere of the apartment during this late night. This isn’t the first time, nor will it be the last, Tsukasa has come home to such an ambiance. Though he recalls the deathly silence of his abode being unnerving back then, the sense of this muted melancholy soothes his heart now that he’s an adult.
Taking light steps, he wanders into the living room to find Akito sleeping on the couch. An earpiece dangles from one of his ears, a pleasant and calming tune played from it. Tsukasa chuckles to himself as he quietly makes his way to the couch, Akito always blares music to his ears, even when wearing earphones, it's a wonder how he falls asleep to such a volume. A smile graced his lips as he approached, as he recognized that the song playing through Akito's earpiece is his group's rendition of a popular song sung by Miku.
The blonde crouched in front of the couch, taking in the almost peaceful expression his former junior had. To see him look this peaceful is quite rare, and Tsukasa is lucky enough to have the same living space as him, as he gets to see these types of sights for himself. Usually, Tsukasa would find him staying up all night in his room working, whether that be for a commission he received from a client or his own personal projects. He would always have to plead for him to go to sleep and, more often than not, ended up having to drag the younger one to his bed if he kept resisting.
Throughout his life and knowing Akito for a few years now, he never seemed to drop his guard down around anyone except for Touya. But some time after graduation, he came to be more amicable towards him now compared to when they first met in high school. That thought made Tsukasa feel warm in contrast to the cold night's atmosphere, and he found himself reminiscing a little bit.
Tsukasa didn't know what compelled him to ask Akito to share an apartment with him back then, but he does know that he doesn’t regret it.
From the yawns he'd make when he came out of his room, to the way his eyes sparkled whenever they had pancakes for breakfast. Every time he peeked into Akito's room to check on his well-being and found him engrossed in making his music. The simple "good morning" at the start of his day and the gentle "welcome back" he gets after dark. It's nice to have them in his daily routine, it always gives him something to look forward to each day.
Tsukasa loves Akito with all his being, and he only hopes that eventually, he can say that to him with confidence. But when will that time come? He doesn't know yet…
Taking quiet steps to his room, he grabbed a spare pillow and a blanket for the sleeping Akito. As much as he preferred for him to sleep in his own bed, the idea of carrying the younger himself seemed taxing, and he would rather not accidentally wake up his precious sleeping prince. Coming back to the living room, he gently slid the pillow under Akito's and draped the blanket over him. The younger kept sleeping peacefully as Tsukasa silently prided himself on his handiwork.
He tries to take a step back but finds that he can’t look away from the sleeping man. Kneeling beside the couch, Tsukasa extends his hand towards Akito’s forehead, brushing the bits of hair that fell on his forehead. And, as if like a cat seeking warmth, Akito leaned into his touch with a sigh. Chuckling to himself at this display, Tsukasa leaned nearer to Akito’s face, trying to see his minuscule changes of expression.
Then a stray thought passed through his head…
Leaning even closer to his face, Tsukasa came face-to-face with the face of the man he loved most. Closing his eyes, he placed his lips on Akito’s forehead, wishing him a restful and peaceful sleep.
Akito wakes up to the pleasant smell of freshly made breakfast. Slowly shaking off the sleepy daze, he sat up, causing the blanket to fall on his torso. For a moment, he felt confused. When did he grab a blanket? Or even a pillow? All he remembered from last night was the soft tunes carried by Miku’s voice as he sat on the couch.
‘I guess I ended up sleeping here…’
A small clinking noise snaps him out of his thoughts, Akito looks up to see Tsukasa smiling radiantly while setting a mug of warm tea on the table. Sitting down next to him, Tsukasa takes a sip from his own mug wordlessly, sighing with contentment afterward. Wordlessly, Akito took the mug from the table to take a sip of it himself. He closed his eyes as he took in the morning air.
A quaint atmosphere surrounds the two as they share this quiet moment together. Basking in the sun's light that shone through the windows and basking in each other's presence. A warm morning, a warm feeling.
“Good morning, Akito,” Tsukasa said.
"Hm… Good morning, Tsukasa," Akito replied.
This warm and cozy morning, and the warm mornings that will come after, neither of them would exchange this routine for anything else.