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Akito was not liking this collab.
He'd had been standing infront of a mirror and staring at his reflection for who-knows-how-long, and his expression had only gotten progressively more offended.
The problem wasn't the outfit. The black jacket was actually pretty damn good, and the cargo pants worked better than he'd expected.
The whole fit had that sleek, slightly rebellious look that fit the image the collaboration was going for. Even the crossbody bag wasn't bothering him.
It was his hair.
More specifically, it was the complete and utter crime that had been committed against his hair.
The styling had left it noticeably shorter and pushed away from his forehead, exposing far more of his face than Akito was comfortable with.
He knew, objectively, that he wasn't actually balding. He knew that. He had a perfectly normal hairline, perfectly normal hair density, and absolutely no reason to be balding at the age of seventeen.
That didn't stop him from narrowing his eyes at his reflection.
"Tch," Akito muttered, holding the urge to mess up his own hair and undo the work of that stylist. "It's so damn short."
Beside him, Toya was sitting quietly with his phone in one hand, looking over the same image.
His own hair had been styled considerably more loosely, the dual tones falling into a messy, ruffled arrangement that made the contrast between the dark blue and lighter blue strands even more noticeable.
A few pieces had fallen across his forehead, while others stuck out at odd angles around his head.
Akito glanced sideways at him.
Of course Toya looked good. Of course.
His hair could apparently be thrown around by a styling team, have half of it pointing in completely different directions, and somehow still make him look cute.
Meanwhile, Akito had been robbed of approximately forty percent of his dignity by someone armed with a comb.
He looked back down at the picture and scowled.
"Why'd they have to push it back this much?" he grumbled, tugging at the front of his own hair as though he could somehow restore the missing length through sheer irritation.
How does one even manage to make someone's hair look shorter without cutting it? What was this (evil) witchcraft.
"I look like my forehead's gonna be takin' up half the damn picture." he grumbled miserably.
Toya didn't answer. The silence continued.
He slowly turned his head.
Toya was looking right at him, very pointedly staring at him.
More specifically—he was looking at Akito's forehead.
Akito's stomach dropped.
Oh, for fuck's sake.
He straightened slightly, immediately becoming more self-conscious of the way his hair was sitting. His hand instinctively went up to cover part of his forehead before he caught himself and forced it back down.
"Toya," he said suspiciously, narrowing his eyes at him as he shifted.
Toya blinked as though he'd only just realized he'd been staring. He straightened in his seat, his expression briefly becoming sheepish as he lowered his gaze.
"Ah, s-sorry, Akito," he apologized while rubbing the back of his neck. "I just got distracted."
Akito's heart sank.
Distracted.
Distracted by what?
His fucking forehead?
His stupid, exposed, enormous-looking forehead?
He tried very hard not to let the sudden insecurity show on his face. It wasn't working particularly well. His fingers curled against his thigh as he looked away, suddenly very interested in literally anything that wasn't Toya's line of sight.
"Distracted by what?" he asked, forcing the question out casually as he glanced back at him.
Toya hesitated.
Akito's stomach twisted.
Oh no.
This was it.
An had somehow infected him. That had to be it. There was no other explanation.
Somehow An had gotten into Toya's head—convinced him that Akito's forehead was the funniest thing he'd ever seen, and now his own partner was about to casually inform him that he could play a game of shogi on it
Akito mentally prepared himself for the worst.
Toya's eyes softened. "I was looking at you," he admitted quietly as he moved a little closer to Akito.
Akito froze.
"What?"
Toya's cheeks turned faintly pink, but he didn't look away this time.
Instead, he stood up. He reached over and gently brushed a stray strand of orange hair away from Akito's eyebrow, his fingertips lingering for just a moment against his temple.
"I think you look very cute like this," Toya explained, his voice softening as he studied Akito's face.
Akito stared at him. There was a brief, horrible silence inside his head.
Then his entire face heated up.
"The fuck—?" he managed, jerking his head away slightly as he rubbed at the back of his neck. "Why are you suddenly..."
Toya's mouth curved into a small smile as he watched Akito's ears turn red.
Akito immediately looked back down at his feet.
The taller leaned slightly closer, his smile becoming more obvious.
"Don't give me that look." Akito mumbled.
Toya tilted his head in response. "I'm not giving you a look."
"You are absolutely giving me a look."
Toya's shoulders lifted with a quiet laugh, and Akito felt himself becoming even warmer.
Then Toya's gaze returned to his forehead.
Akito's eyes narrowed.
"What?" he demanded, lifting one hand defensively toward his hair. "Seriously, what're ya lookin' at now?"
Toya seemed to consider his answer carefully before reaching up and gently touching Akito's hair again. His fingers combed through the short strands near his forehead, smoothing them down before letting them fall naturally back into place.
"Akito," he said softly, his thumb brushing once over his temple, "I want to kiss you."
Akito's brain completely stopped functioning.
His hand remained frozen halfway between them.
"What the fuck?"
Toya's cheeks were pink now, too, but he didn't retreat. If anything, his expression became even more earnest as he looked at Akito. "Your forehead."
Akito's face went a nuclear shade of red. "My forehead?"
Toya nodded.
"You wanna kiss my forehead?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
Toya's expression softened in that way Akito had always found unfairly effective. "Because I like it."
Akito's mouth opened.
Nothing came out.
He closed it again.
Then he turned his head away at light speed. "You're ridiculous," he muttered, pressing the back of his hand against his burning cheek.
Toya smiled.
Akito could hear him shifting closer.
"Don't."
Toya stopped.
Akito peeked at him from the corner of his eye. Toya was waiting patiently. That somehow made it infinitely worse.
Akito sighed and lowered his hand, his expression still bright red. "I didn't say you couldn't."
Toya's smile immediately returned.
He leaned in slowly enough that Akito had plenty of time to change his mind, then pressed a soft kiss directly against the center of his forehead.
Akito's shoulders tensed, and he immediately covered his face with his hands. "Toya..."
Toya pulled back just enough to look at him. "Was that okay?"
Akito lowered his hands slightly, just enough to cover his mouth. He glared at him without any actual force behind it.
But after a bit, he replied. "Yeah."
Toya's smile softened.
"Good."
He leaned in again. Another kiss landed slightly above Akito's eyebrow. Another kiss on his temple.
"...You're really doin' this...?"
Toya brushed a loose strand of orange hair aside before giving him another gentle kiss. "You said it was okay." he replied earnestly.
"I know what I said."
"So I'm following your instructions."
"That's not what I meant."
Toya laughed quietly against his hair before giving him one more kiss.
Akito's face was so hot by now that he was convinced the stylist had somehow managed to make him look redder in fluster than they had made his forehead look big.
He lowered his hands entirely eventually, only to find Toya watching him with an expression so openly affectionate that his embarrassment briefly gave way to something softer.
Toya reached over and tucked Akito's hair behind his ear.
The height difference was barely anything anymore.
Three centimeters. Last year, it had been five.
Akito had spent an embarrassing amount of time insisting that the difference didn't matter, even though Toya had absolutely noticed every time Akito had to tilt his chin up slightly to meet his eyes.
Now, when Toya leaned down to kiss his forehead, Akito could feel that tiny difference anyway.
It was enough.
Enough for Toya to naturally angle himself downward.
Enough for Akito to have to acknowledge that the person he'd spent so much of his life standing beside was—even if it was just three centimeters—taller than him.
Enough to make his chest ache in that strangely pleasant way, something akin to butterflies fluttering around in his stomach.
Toya lifted a hand and cupped Akito's cheek.
"You're so cute," he murmured, smiling as he brushed his thumb along Akito's hairline.
Akito immediately tried to lean away. "Don't say that."
Toya followed him only slightly, careful not to crowd him. "Why not?"
"Because you're makin' a big deal outta my forehead."
"I'm making a big deal out of you."
Akito froze. His eyes widened.
Toya apparently realized what he'd said a second later, because his own face turned pink.
Neither of them spoke for a moment.
Then Akito slowly covered his face again. "You're fuckin' impossible, partner."
Toya laughed softly, reaching around his hands to gently tug them away from his face. "You're embarrassed."
"No shit."
"I think it's adorable."
"Stop it..."
Toya gave him another kiss.
Akito made a tiny, strangled noise. "That doesn't count as stopping."
"I know."
Another kiss.
"Toya."
Another.
Toya paused with his face just above Akito's forehead, his expression suddenly thoughtful. "Would you like me to stop?"
Akito looked up at him.
For a second, the embarrassment faded.
He could see the genuine concern and worry in Toya's eyes, the way his hand remained gentle against Akito's cheek, ready to pull away if he wanted.
Akito's expression softened.
"Nah—" he admitted quietly, looking away again as his cheeks warmed. "Jus' don't make such a big deal about it."
Toya smiled.
"I'll try."
He immediately kissed his forehead again.
Akito groaned.
"You suck."
"I love you too."
Akito's face somehow became even redder. "You can't just throw that in there!"
Toya's smile widened as he gently rested his forehead against Akito's. "I can if it's true."
Akito stared at him for several seconds before finally giving up and letting himself lean into the warmth of Toya's hand.
"You're lucky you're cute."
Toya's eyes softened. "So are you."
"Shut up."