Chapter Text
He hasn't gotten much sleep in days. In the summer, his schedule was booked with concerts, interviews, photoshoots, meet-and-greets – anything that would make him unable to sleep more than five to six hours each night. Or at least in the morning, before his afternoon was filled with sitting in a hot room speaking with an interviewer about new albums and his tour in the winter. He's wondering how he's standing on his own two feet right now, without passing out from lack of sleep. Or with how still he's standing whilst his costume designer is fixing up his costume for tonight's performance, he's surprised he hasn't fallen asleep standing.
He's dressed in a sailor crop top, with plaid pants, and a heavy jacket tied around his waist. It was supposed to be some sort of 'Marine' design his costume designer thought of, all because of it being summer. Haruka has worn less, so he doesn't mind the cropped top in the slightest, and with how hot the concert hall normally is, this would certainly help him from passing out on stage. Whether it was from lack of sleep or from the heat itself. He just has to perform a few songs, then he gets to announce the tour in winter, and after that, those who purchased backstage passes got to meet him, get autographs, and get pictures taken with him. His manager normally didn't like the pictures, because it held up the line, but finally gave after adding a fee for fans who want a picture or a 'selfie' with Haruka. It made more money, and no fan ever complained about it as long as they got a picture with him.
Haruka's not looking forward to the fans who want pictures with him, because that means more time wasted when he could be sleeping for those few minutes. Those few minutes added up to a half hour or more, which is sleep he really did need. And it's bad enough that his boyfriend, his bodyguard, was worried about his sleep schedule too.
“Going on in five minutes, Nanase-san!” one of the stage staff noted, as he's being hooked up to an earpiece and a microphone hooked on the collar of his shirt. Once he's all hooked up, he's left alone, and Haruka takes that time to sit down and shut his eyes.
That is, until a cold bottle touches his cheek, making his eyes open quick, seeing the water bottle label and seeing the hand that belongs to the person holding in.
“Looks like you can use this,” Sousuke mentions, nudging Haruka's cheek again. He takes the bottle eventually, opening it and chugging down half of it. “Are you going to be alright tonight?”
“You don't have to worry so much,” is his immediate response. “I'm sure I'll be fine. At least I get a few days off after this..”
“Yeah, I heard. You can at least-” Sousuke's interrupted by the stage crew saying it was two minutes until showtime, making him sigh. “Never mind. We'll talk later.”
Haruka nods and he follows the stage crew where he would be standing for the beginning of his first song. After those two minutes, his first song of the night begins, and he makes his way onto the center of the stage, beginning to sing the start of the first song.
“Three, two, one, zero! koko de toujou
Mitenasai watashi no honki
Suriru to biishiki de katsu no yo kanarazu..”
-------
“...I-ku-yo
Makenaide ne saki no saki wa
Ame agari no aozora da yo
Shizuku ga kirari hajikete
Makenai yo ne kiri no saki wa
Shin sekai no atsui hikari
Tsukare o zenbu oite ikou yo
Yasashiku tsuyoku susumou yo, susumou yo!”
His last song of the night finally ends, and Haruka's out of breath and sweating like mad. He can't tell if it's from dancing around the whole stage, the bright lights that are above him, or the heat of the concert hall. He can't wait to get back to his dressing room, where he could cool off for a while before the fans who have backstage access could come back there. But first, he thanks everyone for coming, in the cheeriest voice he could give even when he's exhausted and tired. He then announces the winter tour, and how he'll be going across the whole world, not limited to Japan, doing performances. He mentions that he hopes some of his fans will follow, and how his performances will be broadcasted live on his official site, so anyone can tune in and see the performance on their phones or computers and feel as if they were actually there.
After that, he wishes all his fans a good night and he heads backstage, where the stage crew unhooks him from the earpiece and the microphone attached to his collar. He heads back to his dressing room, where he flops down on the sofa back there, right in front of the fan that had been provided. He's just about ready to strip right there but he knows he can't.
Sousuke comes in a few seconds later, giving him a fresh bottle of water, ice cold, and Haruka grabs it quick this time, opening it up and nearly chugging down the whole thing. Sousuke's staring at him with wide eyes, and then he snickers, grabbing another water from the cooler in his dressing room and putting it on the back of Haruka's neck. It makes the idol sigh, and maybe even moan a little from the cold, tilting his head back so Sousuke could let go and Haruka could just hold it there.
“Am I done yet? Can't I go home? I want to fill my bath up with cold water… and go to the pool tomorrow.”
“You're almost done, Haruka,” Sousuke's trying to make him relax, removing the cap that goes with his costume from Haruka's head and runs his fingers through his black locks, drenched with sweat. “I'll even give you a bath when we get you home. So you can just rest your eyes and I'll take care of you.”
“Please, do, Sou.”
Sousuke laughs and presses a small kiss to Haruka's forehead. Ever since they've confessed their feelings to each other, Haruka mentioned he liked being called by his first name when he was in a relationship, and Sousuke did that. And Haruka decided he would call him 'Sou', because he's the only one who can call him that. Nagisa calls him 'Sou-chan', and Sousuke even brought that up, and Haruka just shook his head at that, because he can't imagine himself ever saying '-chan' at the end of someone's name.
His manager calls him and he groans because he has to leave the cold fan hitting him and the water bottle on his neck. He quickly fixes himself up, putting his cap back on, and places a kiss to Sousuke's cheek before running off. He knows he'll be back soon, after those fans are gone.
...Or maybe he spoke too soon. The autograph session and the pictures more than half of the fans asked for lasted for nearly an hour. Haruka was pleased when the last fan was escorted out and he really couldn't get to his dressing room fast enough, where Sousuke was waiting, already having his casual clothes out and ready for him to change. But he was so exhausted that he flopped on the couch, laying down in such a nice costume and closes his eyes, letting out a long sigh.
“Are you okay?”
“'m fine..” But he's tired and Sousuke knows that. The response he gave made Sousuke chuckle a little and he turns the fan on high, pointing it right at Haruka's face. “I'm tired. And exhausted. Take me home, Sou.”
“You have to get changed first--”
“Sousuke,” First name, so now he's being serious. He opens his eyes, making eye contact with his boyfriend. “Take. Me. Home. Please.”
“Fine, fine, I will.” He gets Haruka's things together first, along with a towel soaked in ice water, and sets that on Haruka's face before picking him up in his arms. “Get some rest, Haruka. I still mean it when I said I'll take care of you.”
“Thanks..” Haruka whispers, letting out a sigh. “Sou?”
“Hm?”
“I love you.”
“..I love you, too, Haruka.”