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Akito had done plenty of stupid things in his career as an idol.
He had quit an agency that had been perfectly willing to keep him under contract, walked away from the company.
Then, he joined a rookie group that had decided, for reasons that still occasionally made him question their collective sanity, to operate independently.
Compared to all of that, going on a date should have been easy.
It wasn't.
Not when the person sitting across from him was Aoyagi Toya.
Not when Toya was his fellow idol, his groupmate—and most importantly—his boyfriend.
Akito sat in the corner of a small café with a pair of sunglasses pushed securely over his eyes and a dark bucket pulled low enough to shadow most of his face.
Across from him, Toya had made roughly the same attempt at disguise, although Akito privately thought Toya's split-colored hair.
They had chosen a café several neighborhoods away from their usual rehearsal studio, arrived separately, and even staggered their entrances by several minutes.
It was ridiculous. But also apparently necessary.
Akito slowly lifted his menu, pretending to study it while actually looking over the top edge at Toya. "This is stupid," he muttered while lowering the menu slightly.
Toya glanced up from his own menu, his sunglasses hiding most of his expression but not the small smile that appeared at the corner of his mouth. "You were the one who suggested disguises," he reminded him while calmly turning the menu page.
"Yeah, because we're idols," Akito replied while tapping one finger against the laminated menu. "We're supposed to disguise ourselves. You should know that, Toya..."
"We are disguised."
Akito looked pointedly at Toya's hair. Even beneath the hat, a few strands of hair—both pale blue and a darker blue—had escaped around his temples.
Toya followed his gaze and adjusted his hat with one hand. "Is there a problem?"
"Your hair," Akito said while gesturing toward him with the menu, "is basically a fucking beacon."
Toya's mouth twitched. "Your hair is not exactly inconspicuous either."
Akito instinctively reached up to check the edges of his own hat before remembering that there wasn't much he could do about bright orange hair without completely covering his head. "That's why we're wearing hats."
"Then I believe we've done what we can."
Akito stared at him for a moment before letting his head fall slightly toward the table. "You're way too calm about this."
Toya folded his hands neatly on the table. "I'm on a date with you, Akito. I think it's nice,"
The words were delivered so simply that Akito's brain stalled.
He slowly raised his head.
Toya looked completely composed.
Akito gave him a scowl, though his legs bumped Toya's under the table.
Toya's shoulders moved with a quiet laugh. "Was that necessary?"
"Yeah," Akito answered while hiding his face behind the menu again, very pointedly not looking at Toya's genuine smile. "You can't just say shit like that."
"Why not?"
"Because we're in public."
"We're also wearing sunglasses, I'd argue that's more odd for people to do."
"That's not the point—plus, it's summer."
Toya tilted his head slightly, amusement evident in the way his smile lingered. "Then what is the point?"
Akito opened his mouth.
Nothing came out.
The waiter arrived before he could formulate an answer, and the interruption was probably the only thing that saved him from making an even bigger fool of himself.
They ordered quickly. Akito chose pancakes because he had been craving something sweet all morning, while Toya ordered black coffee and a small pastry.
Once the waiter had gone, Akito finally relaxed into his seat. The café wasn't crowded, and nobody had seemed to recognize them. Soft music played somewhere overhead, blending with the quiet sounds of dishes and conversation around them.
For the first time that day, Akito allowed himself to breathe.
This was what he had wanted.
Not another rehearsal. Not another recording session. Not another interview where he had to smile at a camera while answering questions he had already answered a dozen times. Not another performance where every movement had to be deliberate because thousands of eyes were watching.
Sure, he liked doing all of that. He was an idol after all, there was no way he was going to half-ass it.
But this—
A quiet table. A cup of coffee. A plate of pancakes.
Toya sitting across from him.
Akito rested his cheek against one hand as he watched Toya stir his coffee. The spoon made a soft clinking sound against the ceramic cup. Toya took a sip, set the cup down, and looked back at him.
"You seem relaxed now," Toya observed while resting one hand beside his coffee.
Akito hummed as he leaned farther into his palm. "Yeah."
"Are you still worried?"
"A little." he mumbled.
"About being recognized?" the other boy asked.
He nodded. "Mostly."
Toya furrowed his brows. "We can leave if you're uncomfortable, Akito."
Akito immediately shook his head while reaching for his fork. "Nah. I don't wanna leave."
Toya's expression softened.
Akito poked at the edge of his empty plate while avoiding his gaze. "We've barely had time to actually go somewhere together lately."
Toya nodded slowly. "I know."
"Every time we have a day off, someone's got a schedule or we have rehearsal or there's some interview or something." Akito shrugged while fiddling with the handle of his fork.
As if he wasn't the one to insist on more work. He was only just starting to get used to letting himself relax.
"I'm not wasting this." he settled on instead.
Toya watched him for a moment before quietly smiling. "Neither am I."
The pancakes arrived shortly afterward, stacked high on a white plate with butter melting over the top and syrup pooled neatly along the edges. Akito's expression immediately brightened.
Toya once said his excitement thanks to his sweet tooth was very cute once. Akito blushed slightly at the memory.
"Okay," he said while picking up a bite with his fork, "This was worth it."
Toya looked at the pancakes before looking back at Akito. The younger boy cut off a piece, dipped it into the syrup, and took a bite. His shoulders relaxed almost immediately.
"Good?" Toya asked while taking another sip of his coffee.
Akito nodded enthusiastically while chewing. "Really good."
Toya smiled. "I'm glad."
Everything was easy. Almost suspiciously easy.
Then, Toya's hand disappeared beneath the table. Akito froze halfway through cutting another piece of pancake as he felt Toya's fingers brush against his other hand. The contact was so light that Akito initially thought it had been accidental.
Then Toya's pinky curled gently around his.
Akito stared down at his plate.
His heart immediately started beating faster.
Seriously?
After everything they'd done together?
After performing side by side, rehearsing until their legs hurt, sharing a dressing room often, whispering to each other backstage, and eventually admitting that what they had between them was more than friendship?
Holding hands under a café table was what made him nervous and all flustered?
Akito slowly lowered his fork. He could feel the heat crawling up his neck.
Toya continued drinking his coffee as if nothing had happened.
The bastard was enjoying this.
He finally shifted his hand slightly until their fingers intertwined properly beneath the table. Toya's thumb brushed over the back of his hand.
Akito immediately looked away.
"You're enjoying this way too much," he muttered while staring determinedly at his pancakes.
Toya lowered his coffee cup with a quiet smile. "Is it wrong for me to be enjoying our date?" he asked, almost teasingly.
Akito's face heated even more. "Yeah, well," he replied while taking another bite of his pancakes to give himself something else to focus on, "So am I."
Toya's fingers tightened gently around his.
For several minutes, neither of them said much. They simply ate and drank while their hands remained hidden beneath the table, occasionally shifting when one of them needed to reach for something. Akito found himself relaxing more and more. The paranoia about being recognized gradually faded into the background.
Until a group of girls entered the café.
Akito's entire body stiffened.
He immediately lowered his head and pulled his hat farther down. Toya noticed the change and glanced toward the entrance before following suit in hiding himself. Akito was infinitely grateful at how understanding his partner was.
The girls sat at a table several meters away.
Nobody looked at them.
Akito waited and nothing happened. He finally exhaled.
Toya squeezed his hand—his eyes were clearly happy, even behind his sunglasses.
"Don't," Akito warned while trying and failing to suppress a smile.
"I didn't say anything," Toya replied as he tilted his head innocently.
Akito shook his head and returned to his pancakes, though he couldn't stop the small grin tugging at his mouth.
They had survived.
More importantly, they were together.
That was enough.
After they finished eating, they stayed at the café longer than they technically needed to. Neither seemed particularly eager to return to the world outside.
Toya slowly finished his coffee while Akito scraped the last bit of syrup from his plate, and eventually the conversation drifted toward nothing particularly important. They talked about the next rehearsal, a song An had been obsessed with lately, Kohane's newest vocal exercises, and the ridiculous argument they'd had as a group (read: between Akito and An while the other two tried to mediate) over where to go for their next promotional shoot.
At some point, Akito caught himself laughing so hard that he had to cover his mouth.
Toya simply watched him.
"What?" Akito asked while lowering his hand.
Toya rested his chin against one palm. "Nothing."
"You're staring at me..."
"I like seeing you happy."
Akito's expression softened.
For a moment, he forgot about the possibility of being recognized. He looked across the table at the person he had somehow ended up sharing all of this with, and the absurdity of it made his chest feel warm.
He had taken bigger risks as an idol. But maybe this one felt different because it wasn't about his career. It was about something he really wanted to protect.
Akito reached across the table and lightly tapped Toya's wrist with two fingers. The older boy looked down at the gesture before meeting the younger's olive-green eyes again.
"We should probably head out before we spend the whole afternoon here," he said while reluctantly pulling his hand back and standing up.
Toya nodded and followed suit. "Alright."
Akito adjusted his hat, checking his reflection briefly in the darkened café window. He looked ridiculous. Toya looked ridiculous.
Together, they looked like two teenagers attempting the world's least convincing disguise.
He glanced at Toya. Toya glanced back. "Don't laugh," Akito said while trying to compose himself, though his grin betrayed him. "We're supposed to not look suspicious."
Toya adjusted his sunglasses with a small smile. "Of course."
Akito reached for the door, then paused. He looked back at Toya and quietly held out his hand.
Toya understood immediately, as their fingers met. For a few seconds, they stood there together in the quiet café, hands clasped between them, hats pulled low and sunglasses hiding their faces.
Akito smiled.
Maybe being an idol meant they had to be careful.
Maybe they really did have to worry about someone recognizing them, taking a picture, or starting rumors.
But right now, none of that mattered.
He had finally gotten a date with his boyfriend.
And he wasn't going to let a little thing like being famous ruin it.