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In hindsight, Toya knew it was foolish of him to participate in COUNT X despite coming down with a fever. His throat wasn't sore, but his head kept spinning and he could hardly manage a proper step even before the event began, let alone when it was their turn to go onstage... Even if his teammates -- especially Akito, bless his heart -- would never blame him for their loss that day, he knew it was entirely his fault they couldn't put on their best performance against Embers.
And now, to make matters worse, Akito had firmly ordered him to rest for the remainder of their trip. Of course, Alan was rather accomodating to their circumstances, and they'd only be shaving a day or so off their schedule either way, but it still served to frustrate Toya -- to be essentially put in timeout, aware that everybody telling him he needed to stop was absolutely right.
Anyone who didn't know him well enough might struggle to give Toya's quiet stubbornness its due credit -- which was perhaps why he found himself holed up in Embers' secret hideout, mixing away on his laptop. Sure, he was technically evading Akito's orders by leaving the hotel, but it wasn't like he was doing anything strenuous. On the contrary, coming up with new ideas for songs was often his way of unwinding.
To boot, Slade and Cedric had very much succeeded in making their little base quite the comfortable hideaway. The eclectic noise and biting cold of the outside cityscape couldn't reach here at all. Toya did have some safety concerns about being able to slip in without a key -- especially after that incident with Akito's wallet... but he supposed he didn't own the place, so there was no sense in worrying about it. Maybe this was just the American way of doing things.
"Thought I might find you here..." entered a new voice as if to instantly prove Toya's point. Still, he'd recognize the melodic sound of his partner's voice from a mile off, so there was no reason for him to act surprised that Akito had successfully hunted him down.
"You know you're supposed to be resting, right?" Akito scoffed as he came into view, a disapproving but hardly malicious look in his eye as he met Toya with a signature hair ruffle.
"I am." Toya insisted, slipping his neckbound headphones over his head in order to place his equipment on the table in front of him. "I haven't had much time to compose lately, so I thought I'd use this extra downtime to work on my drafts."
"You've gotta give your brain a rest too, dummy..." Akito sighed, pressing the back of his palm -- cold from the walk over, one could presume -- into the feverishly hot skin of Toya's forehead. "No more work til you're completely better, got it?"
"Yes, Akito..." Toya's tone was akin to a sulking child and his expression that of a kicked puppy as he accepted his scolding. Anyone with eyes could tell you Akito had a massive soft spot for his partner, but he had to bring the hammer down on him sometimes.
"I understand I made a mistake that negatively impacted our team." Toya continued with perhaps more remorse than was warranted. "Sometimes I'm not very good at keeping myself regulated... but for the sake of our dream, I'll be sure to put more effort into it from now on."
"You..." Akito's words caught in his throat, all the bite from his expression melting away as he moved to run his fingers through Toya's hair. "I'm not askin' you to feel sorry for us or yourself... It's my job to make sure you're taken care of s'all."
"And I'm very grateful for that." Toya smiled up at his partner as his hair was thoroughly ruffled, as if there were somehow any chance Akito's heart wouldn't skip a few too many beats at the sight of those stupidly captivating doe eyes. "But I haven't been neglecting myself. I promise I'm doing better."
"...Anyway, I brought some snacks." Akito chose to divert the conversation for his own pride's sake. Toya's attention was redirected to the plastic bag in Akito's free hand as its twin removed itself from his head, eyes following along with intent as it was placed upon the table with a dull clunk.
"Oh..." Toya muttered dumbly, his own hand casually placing itself over his stomach. "Now that you say that, I don't think I've eaten anything today..."
"...Dude, you literally just promised you've been taking care of yourself." Akito scoffed with disapproval, earning a quiet apology of the sheepish variety from Toya as the older's arm was given a light bap.
"Anyway... I guess black coffee ain't as popular in the states." Akito explained as he began gradually removing the bag's contents. "Took a while to find any cans that weren't loaded with sugar."
Toya could only chuckle as he watched Akito empty out the bag, conveniently leaving out that he seemed to have purchased one of those sugary drinks for himself... Alongside the beverages seemed to be a box of cookies -- a food that also tended to be sweeter in America than back home, but the package did say they were recommended to pair with coffee.
Akito was always thoughtful like this, wasn't he...? Toya was certain that if there were only one place left in the world that served black coffee, his partner would trudge there and back on foot just to make sure he could get his fix. He could dress it up as casually as he wanted, but it didn't take any sort of genius to measure his devotion to Toya.
Ordinarily -- especially due to recent events -- Toya might have resented such treatment. Being coddled was usually a feeling that made his heart sink like a rock in water, as though allowing himself to burden his loved ones in any way was a cardinal sin. But when Akito regarded him with such softness, looking out for his wellbeing even when it wasn't necessary, lifting him up as high as he could with every step they took upon their journey to fame...
Only one thought could appear -- that he was incredibly lucky to be so very loved by this amazing boy he called his partner.
"Hehe..."
Before Akito could ask aloud why Toya was suddenly giggling, he felt the abrupt weight of his partner tackling him from behind. Were he a bit less athletic than he was, he might've gone completely toppling over the table... but he managed to catch himself with little more than a surprised yelp, frozen in place while Toya made himself at home with as best an attempt at a hug as he could manage.
"Toya, what're you-" Akito began to babble as the back and side of his neck was suddenly barraged with as many kisses as his assailant could hope to deliver. "What'd I say about rest- Hey-"
"I feel perfectly fine, Akito." Toya murmured into the spanse of skin where his lips chose to wander, hands roaming all across the front of Akito's body with little intent other than to feel him. Truth be told, Akito could have easily torn himself out of his partner's ensnaring hold, but he always had a habit of enabling Toya's rare fits of boldness.
"...I could've fallen over, dude." Akito huffed as Toya resumed leaving smooches all across what fleeting glimpses of waiting skin he could reach, folding like a house of cards in record time beneath his ministrations.
"I knew you wouldn't." Toya chose to hum, nuzzling his way up the contour of Akito's neck until he could press a tiny little 'chu' to the back of his pierced earlobe. "You've always had a very nice body-"
"Alright, alright...!" Akito finally bothered to break himself free, though managing to turn himself around hardly did anything to ease the rising heat in his cheeks. Toya always had a way of looking at Akito like he'd hung the sun, moon and every star in the sky solely for his sake -- such stupidly pure fondness that even the most stalwart of stoics would melt over, yet the effect his innocent, sparkling gaze held never once crossed his mind.
...and the worst part was, Akito was fully aware that he was just as bad for swooning over it every single time.
"...You're impossible sometimes, y'know that?" Akito sighed defeatedly, which Toya had long since deciphered as an equal show of fondness in his language, as he planted both hands into his partner's hair to give it a hearty ruffle. Maybe he was a sucker for always bowing to his partner's whims with such little pressure, but he too came to a singular conclusion every time they ran through this song and dance -- it was a complete waste to feign doubt toward his affections.
That, of course, was the reason Akito found himself instantly caving when Toya's gentle request hit his ears.
"Kiss me?"
Obviously, it was an awful time to do so. Aside from the fact that Toya was still grappling with his fatigue-induced fever, this place didn't belong to them by any means. Slade, Cedric, their teammates or even those kids they met before might've walked in and ruined their moment. The logical thing to do was practice enough self-control to wait until Toya was better and they could at least have the hotel to themselves.
Unfortunately, once they descended deep enough into the thick of it, Akito's every cognitive function ground to a halt and his only tangible thought became "me want kiss partner", so it only took about half a millisecond for them to stumble onto the couch with lips entangled.
Toya let out a pleased hum as he was essentially pinned to the cushion. When Akito parted for breath, he could catch glimpse of the older's half-lidded eyes and pinkened cheeks -- the latter of which was a rare sight on Toya. Akito had trouble discerning whether it was due to lingering sickness, or if he'd simply gotten to a point where a few kisses could render him so nicely lovedrunk.
'Both' was the conclusion he decided was appropriate when Toya drug him back into another kiss, one hand now perched neatly on the back of his head while the other rubbed circles into his clothed back. It was entirely Toya's fault that such simple touches could serve to totally liquify Akito's brains, but once he was beckoned, he could no longer think of anything but how good it felt to be connected like this -- much less any complaints on his domestication.
The way they kissed was always uniquely like them -- even if the shortness of breath which accompanied Toya's burnout presently forced them to break apart more frequently. Toya would set an initial rhythm, and Akito would follow through with a passionate melody, taking what he wanted and amplifying it so plentifully that he could hardly prepare his heart for how thin its seams were about to stretch. Akito loved him the same way he loved to sing, and it would never cease to be the most wonderful feeling Toya had ever known.
"Huh... Is that why it feels so different...?" Toya found himself pondering as their kiss went on. He was never any stranger to receiving special treatment -- whether it was from his painfully overprotective parents, strangers who looked at him like a walking extension of his better renowned brothers, friends and colleagues who pitied him for everything he'd gone through... The accompanying soreness in his heart was practically a childhood friend of his at this point.
But Akito? He never once viewed Toya as some fragile creature who needed to be shielded away. They were only ever partners, and that had always been one of the main reasons spending time together felt so freeing. Akito taught him not only the joy that came with knowing you'd belong to someone no matter what, but also how warm it felt to be taken care of out of genuine love.
When Akito fussed over his health for him, agreed to play along with things he would've otherwise hated, snapped at anyone who might've thought to cause him trouble, treated him far more delicately than he would anyone else... It didn't come from a place of sorriness -- it was a special, doglike loyalty; a complete willingness to collar himself up and hand Toya the leash.
...Funny. Even though Akito was leading their kiss right now, Toya had complete control over his pup's reigns, didn't he?
"W-wait." stammered an out-of-breath Toya the next time their lips disconnected, if only to prove the point as it appeared in his airheaded brain. Akito instantly pulled away when the shaky command bumbled its way past Toya's lips, and it didn't take an absurdly vivid imagination to evoke the image of tugging upon that leash to make him do so.
"You good, dude?" asked Akito, voice slightly thicker than usual as he chased down his own breath. When his weight shifted, Toya took notice of the fact that he'd been deliberately boxed in until now -- which was to say Akito kept himself positioned in a way that would protect Toya from falling.
"...Perfect." Toya decided on answering, meeting the unsettled mixture of concern and desire on Akito's face with quite the obvious appreciation for the view on his own. "You're more than I could ever ask for, really."
"Jeez... You'll really take any chance you can to praise me, won't you..." Akito scoffed with all his typical endearment. He pulled Toya up by the waist as though he weighed the same as a bundle of grapes, leaning his own body back until their positions were essentially reversed.
"You deserve it, especially after everything you've done recently." Toya spoke candidly, anchoring himself with a flattened palm upon Akito's chest as he moved to straddle his hips. "You didn't need to watch over me so attentively these past few days or even let me participate in the event... so I really am grateful."
"Of course I had to, idiot. You're my partner." Akito rolled his eyes at Toya's words -- though, ironically, injecting such bite into his bark was his own way of being honest. "I keep sayin' it, but... You're important to me, Toya. Don't forget that."
"I haven't. I don't think I could if I tried." Toya spoke seriously, placing a hand over Akito's own as it lovingly thumbed circles into his waist. "But I feel the same way about you, Akito. I'd really like for you to know how special you are."
Toya couldn't read Akito's mind, of course, but he was pretty confident they were thinking the same thing as their lips descended upon each other once more. Toya could talk about how much he adored his partner for hours on end, as could Akito perform every act of service in the world to express his own love, but at the end of the day it was difficult to beat a simple, wordless kiss -- two hearts becoming one as they melted together.
...
"Hey, my baddest dogs!" the sudden voice of Slade burst through any attempt at a romantic atmosphere. "Didn't think we'd see you guys today, but it's nice to see you're liking the place! Ceddie, let's plug in the speaker..."
Okay, maybe a kiss without risk of interruption would be better. Thank god they were flying home soon.