Chapter Text
Akito runs, taking slow, even breaths. It was his usual path, an unchanging routine that he did every morning. He follows the trail effortlessly, his mind wandering to the things he has planned for the day. First of course is school, followed by practice at Weekend Garage. An had been talking about some new arrangements she came up with, and Akito is looking forward to hearing them. He had a few of his own he wanted to share, and he was sure he could come up with some ideas to tack onto what An has come up with, too.
He was so lost in the world of his mind, mentally organizing his day, that he didn’t notice the figure standing on the path in front of him. He collides with them, sending both of them tumbling to the ground. Akito yells, surprised, and immediately pushes himself off the stranger.
“Shit, sorry, I wasn’t watching where I was going.” He stands, brushing himself off and holds his hand out. “Let me help you up- Tsukasa-senpai?”
Tsukasa, still trying to get his bearings, looks up at the mention of his name. “Ah, Akito! It’s no worries at all, truly!” He takes Akito’s hand, hoisting himself up in one swift motion. “Out on a morning run, I presume?”
“Uh, yeah, I guess. What are you doing out here so early?”
“I came to admire the cherry blossoms!” Tsukasa looks back out at the park, smiling gently as his voice softens just a bit. “They’re the most beautiful as the sun is rising, in my opinion.”
Akito follows Tsukasa’s gaze and finds his breath taken away. Hes right, Akito thinks. The way the golden rays stretch across the soft pink landscape is truly something else entirely. He turns to say as much to Tsukasa, only to find the blond staring at him with an unreadable expression.
“It’s, uh, nice.” Akito says dumbly, his thoughts drawing blank after the way Tsukasa was- scratch that, still is looking at him.
Tsukasa leans just a little bit forward, causing Akito’s breath to catch in his throat slightly. He reaches up and delicately plucks a petal out of his hair, holding it up in front of his face.
“There was a petal,” Tsukasa giggles a little, and Akito feels his ears warm up slightly. “I figured you wouldn’t want it there, given your ‘tough guy’ persona.”
“Hey!” Akito glares at Tsukasa with no real malice. Tsukasa laughs softly, not his usual boisterous laugh but a smaller, more gentle one. The sound is smooth and rather pleasant to listen to, Akito finds.
Tsukasa looks out at the landscape one last time with a wistful sigh. “I could stare at this for hours…”
Akito looks back out as well, nodding slightly. He never was one for admiring nature, but something about the golden hues falling across the pink trees was just… indescribable. “Yeah, you found a good spot here.”
Tsukasa suddenly lights up. “Why don’t you meet me here tomorrow! We could have a little breakfast picnic and watch the cherry blossoms!”
Akito snorts. “That sounds lame.” It sounds like a date, he thinks to himself. He shakes his head a little, ridding himself of the unwanted thought.
Tsukasa pouts. “It’s not lame! Besides, you said you were enjoying the view too.” He crosses his arms. “Please, Akito? It would mean so much to me!”
“Okay, okay, fine. It’s not like I’m not out here every morning anyways.” Akito grumbles in response. “But don’t go all out or anything, it’s just breakfast.” He’s not really sure if he’s saying that last part to Tsukasa or himself.
“As you wish, dear Akito!” Tsukasa is beaming, clearly already making plans in his head. Akito groans internally. Why he even agreed in the first place, he isn’t sure. Maybe it was to shut Tsukasa up, but he knows that’s a feat near impossible. Maybe deep down he really did want to have a picnic with Tsukasa, not that he’d ever admit that to himself or the other. Either way, it’s too late to go back on his word now.
“Now then, we should both get going otherwise we are going to be late! And as your senior, I can’t let that happen!”
“I wouldn’t be late in the first place if it wasn’t for you.”
“Hey! Who ran into who, here?”
“You’re the one who was just standing in the middle of the sidewalk.”
“And you weren’t paying attention!”
Akito laughs a little. “Okay, fine. We’re both to blame, how’s that?”
Tsukasa hums, then holds his hand out with a grin. “Deal!”
“I’m not shaking your hand.”
“But then the deal won’t be sealed!”
“No.”
“Akitooo!”
Akito groans, throwing his head back dramatically. “You’re impossible, you know that?” Despite his words, he reaches out and shakes Tsukasa’s hand. His hand feels warm in his grip, and the touch lingers for just a second longer than it should’ve.
“See you tomorrow, Akito!” Akito watches as Tsukasa turns and walks away, blond hair practically glowing in the morning sun. There’s a bounce to his step and he’s humming some random tune to himself, swinging his arms at his sides.
Akito swallows the weird lump in his throat and begins to run towards his own home.
~
They say it takes 21 days to form a habit. 3 weeks later, Akito has met with Tsukasa every morning on his run.
At first, he thought it was a coincidence. They had met for their picnic, and Akito thought that was the end of it. But the next day, Tsukasa was there again with a paper bag and a water bottle.
“Someone has to make sure you’re taking care of yourself,” he had said. “And I never see you with a water bottle on your runs.”
Akito chose to ignore the weird way his stomach felt when Tsukasa said that. It was weird to think his senior even cared enough to make sure he was staying fed and hydrated. Just weird. That’s all.
But now, 3 weeks later, it’s become part of his morning routine. He insisted the first few times that Tsukasa didn’t have to keep bringing him food, but the older boy persisted, continuing to show up at their meeting spot every day with something new. After a while, Akito just stopped saying anything and took the goods. He wasn’t going to turn down free food, after all.
That’s where they were currently, sitting under one of the cherry blossom trees as the petals flutter around them. Akito was digging into the pancakes Tsukasa brought, while Tsukasa just stared at him with a fondness he didn’t care to unpack at that moment.
“You seem to really enjoy when I bring pancakes. Or anything sweeter, really. I wouldn’t have taken you for the type to have a sweet tooth.” Tsukasa says, resting his head on the palm of his hand.
Akito merely shrugs, shoving another bite into his mouth. “I don’t control the things I like.”
“Don’t talk with your mouth full!” Tsukasa makes a face. “You’ll spit food everywhere.”
Akito just rolls his eyes and finishes the bite. “I don’t see why it’s so weird that I like sweet things.”
“Well, because you’re so…” he trails off.
“So?”
“I dunno. You, I guess? You’ve got this grumpy tough guy front, but I’ve gotten the chance to learn more about the boy that lies underneath that. The you that enjoys sweet things, and carries such a fiery passion for music. The you that cares so deeply for the people in his life, even if he has a funny way of showing it.”
“I only have a funny way of showing it to you.”
“Aw, so you’re saying you care about me?”
Akito nearly chokes. “That’s- not what I-“ he pauses for a second, before a smirk overtakes his features. “Yeah, I do care about you, Tsukasa.”
Tsukasa sputters, clearly caught off guard by the open admission. His face flushes a deep red and his golden orange eyes go wide. Akito merely takes another bite from his pancakes, smirking at Tsukasa.
“I wasn’t expecting you to admit that so openly.” Tsukasa finally says, attempting to recollect himself.
“Why not? It’s true, otherwise I wouldn’t be sitting here right now.”
“And here I thought you only wanted the free food.”
“That’s part of it.”
Tsukasa snorts, rolling his eyes. “Oh, the betrayal! My dearest junior is only using me for my delicious free meals! How shall I ever recover from this?” He places a hand on his chest dramatically.
“I guess you’ll just have to die.”
“So cruel and unjust!” He throws his head back.
“You’re so dramatic, senpai.”
“And yet you’re still here.”
“Haven’t finished the pancakes.” Akito glances up from his meal, his stomach doing flips when he meets Tsukasa’s eyes. He’s practically glowing, his eyes sparkling and a wide smile stretched across his face. Akito feels his ears heat up slightly.
“They must be pretty delicious, then. I’ll take it as a compliment!”
“You’re so weird.”
Tsukasa laughs loudly. “You call it weird, I call it having character!”
“Same thing, basically.”
“You’re so mean!” Tsukasa pouts. They stare at each other for a second before Tsukasa breaks into a fit of giggles.
“This is so dumb.”
Akito snorts. “Yeah, but it’s kinda nice, don’t ‘cha think?”
Tsukasa smiles at him with a soft, personal smile. Not the performative kind he wears at school, or on the stage. A smile meant for Akito and Akito alone. “I wouldn’t trade it for the world.”
Akito can feel his face heat up, and he quickly redirects his attention away from Tsukasa. The sincerity in his tone caught him very off guard, and now he’s not sure how to respond to it.
“…yeah. Me too, I guess.” Suddenly the grass is looking very interesting.
Tsukasa sighs, leaning back onto his hands and closing his eyes. “Yknow, this isn’t how I expected to start spending my mornings before school.”
Akito looks up at him, nodding for him to continue. “You were always so dismissive of me, I couldn’t have ever imagined we’d become friends like this.” Tsukasa smiles softly, opening his eyes and looking at Akito, staring straight into his soul. “I’m glad we did, though. I like this. I like our mornings together.”
Akito can’t stop the way his face flushes, thinking way too hard about the way that sounded.
I like our mornings together.
He suddenly finds himself wondering what it would be like to wake up to that smile every day. The thought comes so quickly it’s almost startling, and Akito just stares wordlessly at Tsukasa.
“Uh,” he starts, not really sure where he’s going with it. “Yeah,” Is all he can bring himself to say after a long pause.
Tsukasa smiles more, before he checks his phone and sighs. “It’s about time for us to get going…”
“Oh right, school…” Akito hates the way he feels disappointed.
“Would you like to have lunch with me?” Tsukasa suddenly asks. “I mean- if you want to, of course! I know you usually spend your lunch practicing with Toya…” he trails off, clearly starting to regret asking.
“I wouldn’t mind, senpai. I can skip out on practicing for one lunch.”
It’s so unlike him. Akito would never pass up an opportunity to practice. But the disappointment in Tsukasa’s voice made his heart lurch and he responded before he even thought about it.
“Really?!” Tsukasa lights up, looking at him with stars in his eyes. “Wonderful!! I’ll be sure to pack you an extra dessert!”
“You don’t have to bribe me with sweets, I already agreed.”
“Consider it a thank you for taking time away from your busy schedule for me!”
Akito rolls his eyes, smiling slightly. “Alright, fine. Not like I’d say no anyways.”
Tsukasa cheers. “I’ll see you at school, Akito!” He runs off enthusiastically, leaving Akito to ponder everything that just happened.
“What the hell is wrong with me…”
~
Shinonome Akito is a guy of habits. Every morning, he goes on a run before school. Every lunch, he practices with Toya. And after school on Wednesdays and Fridays are his practices with Vivid Bad Squad. He hates when his routine is thrown off. It puts him in a bad mood for the rest of the day and gives him a nagging feeling he can’t quite shake.
So why is it that when it’s Tsukasa changing his routines, it’s different?
A year ago, he would’ve done everything he could to avoid the loud, rambunctious teenager. He would have scoffed and turned the other way as soon as he realized who it was. But now, as Akito sits and listens to Tsukasa talk about his most recent show, he realizes he actually enjoys the other’s company.
It’s the second time Akito has skipped his daily lunch practice to hang out with Tsukasa. And there’s no nagging feeling, no sense of dread looming over him. Just the bright star in front of him, pushing all darkness away to the back of his mind. Tsukasa has that effect on him, he realized some time ago. He feels less irate around him. It’s strange, really, when just a few months ago it was the complete opposite.
“-oh, and then there’s the finale! Oh, Akito, you should have seen it! Everyone hit all of their cues, no one missed a single line! It all went so perfectly I almost couldn’t believe it!”
Akito nods, shoveling another bite of Tsukasa’s cheesecake into his mouth, listening fondly as Tsukasa continues on about how perfectly the show went. Tsukasa gasps suddenly, startling Akito.
“Akito!”
“I’m right here, Tsukasa-senpai, you don’t have to yell.”
“You should come see our next show!” Tsukasa ignores Akito’s words, instead reaching out and grabbing his hands. “Please, please, please? I would love for you to see one of our shows in person! I’ll even get you the tickets!”
Akito looks down at their hands, flushing a light shade of red. He looks back up at Tsukasa’s starry-eyed expression, and his resolve crumbles.
“Alright, alright,” He looks away, attempting to hide his blush. “I’ll go to your next show.”
Tsukasa cheers, pulling Akito into a suffocating hug. “Thank you!”
Akito lets out a choked noise, only blushing darker at the sudden contact. He’s grateful Tsukasa can’t see his face right now, at least.
“Yeah, yeah, okay.” He awkwardly pushes out of the embrace, immediately missing the warmth of Tsukasa’s body pressed against his.
What the fuck.
The fleeting thoughts are becoming more frequent, invading Akito’s mind at the worst possible times. Domestic thoughts. About Tsukasa. What the hell is wrong with him?
“I promise to get you the best seat! Right in the front row where I can see you!” Tsukasa beams, still way too close to Akito. Akito just nods, unable to focus on his words. The sudden thought to kiss him flashes through his mind, and Akito knows he needs to get out of here.
“Sounds great senpai, I’m gonna head to the bathroom before class starts.” He tries to remain nonchalant as he collects his stuff. “Text me with the details.”
“You got it, my dearest junior! I hope the rest of your day goes exceptionally well!”
“Thanks, Tsukasa. See you later.” Akito rushes off, missing the way Tsukasa stares after him longingly.