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Anyone who knew Akito could tell you that his dedication to taking care of himself was one of his best qualities. Every day, he got up early and stayed up late to jog, lift and brush up on his choreography whenever he could slip in an opportunity. His whole life was about making a constant effort to hammer away at himself until he could chisel out something he could find satisfaction in, and the fruits of his labor became clear as day just by looking at him.
…That being said, in a completely oxymoronic fashion, he was also horrible at looking after himself. He'd often skirt by on 3 hours of sleep, skip meals in favor of squeezing in an extra practice session – which was especially ironic, considering his wanton sweet tooth – and would often have to be dragged kicking and screaming if you wanted any chance of stopping him from exhausting his mind and body.
After one such day, in which he'd spent so much time practicing his routine without pause that the sunrise was starting to peak when he finally got home, Akito woke up feeling like… for lack of a better word, total shit.
He didn't think much of it at first. He'd only just woken up, and even he wasn't stupid enough to try and convince himself he'd gotten a proper amount of sleep the night before. He was just feeling lethargic; a cup of coffee would deliver a proper wakeup call to his groggy nerves.
“Ugh...” Akito immediately groaned upon standing up, the quick change in position making it abundantly clear that he'd woken up with a splitting headache. Not only that, but his throat was feeling all blocked-up and scratchy too… Whatever, it would go away once he had something to drink.
“Good morning, Akito.” greeted his mom as he came down the stairs, to which he responded with a lazily mumbled greeting. “I happened to be up a little early, so I made some food for you. Do you have time before you need to meet up with your team?”
“Oh… Thanks, mom.” Akito blinked listlessly at the plate on the counter. Come to think of it, his appetite was nowhere to be found this morning… That was weird. He hadn't really eaten much yesterday, and his mom's cooking was usually something he'd gladly wolf down either way.
“Akito? Are you alright?”
“Y-yeah.” stammered an unsure Akito, breezing past his mom to tip some coffee into one of the disposable cups they kept by the pot. “I've gotta get to practice soon, though. You mind puttin’ it in the fridge?”
“Of course, but are you sure you're feeling okay?” she continued to question, pressing the back of her hand to her son's forehead without hesitation. “You're looking paler than usual, and your head feels really warm…”
“Mom...” Akito grumbled out of embarrassment – as anyone his age probably would when their mother tried to dote on them so. “I feel fine. ‘m just tired.”
“If you say so.” she relented, sighing as her arm lowered itself to cross with its twin. “But make sure you aren't pushing yourself. Your father used to do the same thing all the time when we were younger.”
“Alright, I promise…!” Akito hurried to end the conversation before he was cursed with another story of his parents’ old love affairs. Thankful that he'd already tied his shoes upstairs, he swiftly grabbed his bag and strode out the door in one smooth glide.
…Dammit, he couldn't sip his coffee without aggravating his throat.
By the time Akito managed to trudge over to the park, it was basically impossible to convince himself he hadn't caught a bug. A small amount of unwanted heat that he maybe could've blamed on the dense summer weather before had progressed into an overwhelming flame even with minimal layers of clothing, and his head continued to pound hard enough that you'd think his brain was trying to bash its way out of his skull.
“This fucking blows.” he lamented very eloquently. It would've been quite the challenge to find a worse time to fall ill; this was a very critical time for the squad, and he couldn't afford to slow down the team – or himself – just because he felt a little out of it. He'd have to push through it, long enough to get his daily practice done at the very least.
Admittedly, singing while it felt like you had a rusty circular saw lodged in your throat turned out to be quite a challenge for Akito. He had a habit of restarting the track from the very beginning if he missed any kind of note, which in this case resulted in him becoming far better acquainted with the first 30 seconds of this song than he'd ever have planned. Still, if all it took to wipe him out was a simple sore throat, all his talk of ‘conquering the world’ would just be shallow bravado. He had to keep going.
“Akito.” chimed in the sound of a very familiar voice right when the boy in question finally managed to get through the end of the number. “You're here earlier than usual, aren't you?”
“...So are you.” Akito huffed, hoping the copious amounts of sweat pouring out of every crevice could pass as the result of dancing in the summer heat. “How's it goin’, Toya?”
“Hm…” Toya paused without a reply to his partner's pleasantries, eyes scanning from head to toe in an act of scrutiny. “Akito, you aren't sick, are you?”
Was it that obvious…?
“N-nah. I'm fine.” Akito muttered out in response, through which he discovered he was just as terrible at lying to Toya as vice versa. He was hoping to manage slipping past his partner's radar if he played dumb enough, but…
“Akito.” Toya's frown, inflicting guilt equal to lining up a hundred puppies in a row and kicking them down like dominos, instantly told him that he'd failed.
…Man, did Akito hate how weak he was for his partner sometimes.
“Kay, maybe I'm not at 100%...” He managed to mumble out his concession with hesitation equal to before. “...but it's nothing serious. I can still get in some more practice.”
Well, that was what he said… but when he stepped forward, his limbs instantly turned to jelly, and before he could even register what was happening he was suddenly falling into his partner's arms. Luckily, Toya seemed to anticipate it well enough to keep his own stumbling to a minimum as he caught his partner, but that did absolutely nothing to ease the embarrassment of having fallen to begin with.
“Akito, you can barely stand up.” Toya pointed out the galactically obvious, visibly worried sicker than Akito was actually sick as he helped the younger to his feet. “Come on. I'll take you home.”
“Dude, I told you I'm fine...” Akito protested as they started to walk, but he didn't have much choice when he could tell standing back up on his lonesome would be a bigger pain in the ass than he could handle. Predictably, Toya seemed to have no intention of listening, striding forward faster than before if anything.
“And I can tell you're lying, Akito.” Toya fired back, adopting that stern tone and expression which usually only came out when Akito was caught slacking on his homework. “If you won't listen when I tell you it's time to stop pushing yourself, then I have to exercise my authority as your partner and put you on bedrest.”
“Exercise his authority...?” Akito repeated back in his head, the look on his own face equal parts bemusement and annoyance by now… Eh, whatever. If there was one thing he hated more than being forced to take a break, it was making Toya feel worried in refusing to do so. His hands were pretty squarely tied with this one.
Luckily, when they finally arrived back at the Shinonome household, Akito took notice that his mom's car was gone. Which was good, because he didn't need to suffer the combined humiliation of his mother and his boyfriend fussing over him the way they so enjoyed... Ena didn't have school today, but she was surely taking a nap anyway, and his dad was probably locked up in his art studio if he was home at all, which left the house completely empty for them.
“Thanks for walkin’ me…” Akito sighed as they made it to the doorstep, just barely managing to put his foot forward with enough strength to open up the door. “See ya tomorrow, partner.”
“I can't leave.” Toya seemed to decide all on his own, foot wedged between the door and its frame. “Your family isn't home, right? I don't have plans today, so I'll look after you.”
“Dude, I'm basically an adult.” Akito huffed, mostly because he knew his partner was observant enough that it would be a waste to try and convince him he'd have company. “I can take care of myself.”
“I know…” Toya's hand had suddenly found its way to where Akito's still sat atop the doorknob, prompting the younger to glance between their point of connection and back to that pleading look in his partner's eyes. “...but I'd still like to be there for you, if you'll let me.”
…Genuinely, what was it about Toya that just completely obliterated Akito's outer shell without even trying?
As soon as Toya was given permission to come inside – standing out front beforehand like a vampire waiting for its invitation – the door could barely close before he reiterated his first decree. As much as Akito hated the idea of being confined to his bed all day, he did agree to let Toya take care of him, so he had no choice but to suck it up and obey his partner's demands.
“Are you feeling alright, Akito?” Toya asked as he helped the younger settle into bed, even lifting up his back to reangle the pillows at an optimally comfortable angle. “Do you feel too hot? Or is the room stuffy?”
“I've been burnin’ up all day…” Akito answered candidly. He couldn't even handle as much as keeping his shoes and socks on for longer than it took to make the journey from the door to his bed.
“Understood.” Toya nodded dutifully, racing over to the opposite side of the room. “I'll keep the window open, and I'll be sure to put your tea on ice so it goes down easier.”
“Tea?” Akito instantly cringed, recalling that his attempt to drink his coffee brought such agony that he was forced to dump it out halfway through to the park.
“Don't worry. It's a highly recommended medicinal blend.” Toya assured in the sweetest of voices, stopping to wipe the gathering sweat from his partner's forehead as he passed. “It's made to soothe the soreness in your throat and alleviate congestion.”
“You were just carryin’ that around?” Akito questioned as a kiss was delivered upon his head, after which Toya began walking back toward the bedroom door.
“You wear out your throat a lot. I wanted to be prepared.” Toya shrugged like it was such a casual thing, though Akito's ego didn't allow him to admit that the reason his cheeks suddenly grew hotter at those words wasn't due to his sickness.
“I'll be right back.” Toya announced with a little wave, until finally he'd closed the door and left Akito to marinate in his thoughts.
This was… weird. Akito was so used to being completely independent. One of the things he used to hate most about himself was how often he needed to use Toya as his personal crutch – and even when he was younger, Ena's condition sort of forced him to learn how to do everything by himself.
He wasn't sure how to handle it when Toya doted on him so sweetly without expecting anything in return. Part of him felt useless for knowing he needed to accept such help; the other part fancied its accompanying claim to hypocrisy. That was to say if the roles were reversed, he'd surely be the one forcing Toya to rest up – a thought that made it slightly easier to accept his current disposition, if only by a minute smidgen.
At the core of it all was a weird, fuzzy sensation – one that Akito was hardly a stranger to, admittedly. It didn't take a rocket scientist to observe that he was more susceptible to those sappy feelings of contentment when Toya was the one pushing the spoon past his lips. It was completely humiliating to admit, but he'd be making a bigger ass of himself if he refused to admit it.
He really liked it when Toya took care of him.
“Akito, I'm back.” Toya – speak of the devil – announced with a polite knock upon the door. Now that he thought about it, he ended up perfectly obeying his partner's orders to stay in bed for the entire duration… Damn, was he turning into a loser.
“I got you some food, as well.” Toya hummed as he entered the room, gently pushing the door shut with his back before striding toward the bed. “It was wrapped up in the fridge with your name on it, so I warmed it up just in case you felt like eating.”
“Th…thanks.” Akito murmured in return, exerting far more effort than he'd normally require to push himself up by his elbows. “You don't have to go that far out of your way for me, y'know…”
“Your voice sounds so harsh…” Toya frowned as he sat down, speaking like he hadn't heard the remark as he touched the back of his hand to Akito's burning forehead. “Don't talk if it hurts, okay?”
“Toya, it's f- Mmf.”
Like a tiger waiting for its moment to strike, Akito's protests were silenced with a kiss as sudden as it was chaste and sweet. A small ‘chu’ sound occurred as Toya pulled back, offering an affectionate stroke to his partner's face as their eyes could meet once more.
“I'll kiss you again if you don't listen.” spoke Toya like something akin to a warning, leaning back over to retrieve the teacup he'd set off to the side. “Here. I'll help you drink.”
“Does he think that's a threat or something…?” Akito pondered internally. But oh well. Toya was usually the politest person you'd have the pleasure of speaking to, but he was stubborn as a mule when it came to protecting the things and people he loved, and he'd made it abundantly clear he had no intention of making this case into an exception. Akito had little choice but to shut up and do as he was told.
…and hopefully succeed in shoving aside the question of why he kinda liked it when Toya got bossy with him.
For obvious reasons, Akito dreaded the gag-worthy burning sensation that he figured would soon curse his throat, but he still obediently gulped down the sip of tea Toya offered him. To his pleasant surprise, though, the drink went down pretty easy, even serving to alleviate the backseated sting for the duration of its slide. There weren't many positive footnotes to scribble in about the taste, but his expectations were hardly high to begin with. Medicine was medicine, after all, and he wasn't some little kid who gagged on cough syrup.
“Does it feel alright?” Toya asked upon lifting the teacup back upward, bringing down his newly freed hand to stroke his partner's head. Akito's answer came in the form of a simple nod – and while he was perfectly capable of giving a verbal response, he'd unfortunately found himself addicted to that sickly sweet look Toya would give him when he listened to his orders.
“That's good… I was afraid it would be too much of a struggle.” Toya sighed with the kind of relief that would've had you thinking he was the sick one, carding back orange bangs that had become slightly matted with sweat as he spoke. “Let me know if you're uncomfortable in any way, alright?”
“Uncomfortable? Is he serious?” Akito scoffed from the confines of his brain, though his external response was but another nod followed by the slightest parting of his lips. Toya took that as the cue to tip his cup once more, rededicating both hands to the task so as to not accidentally waterboard the poor guy.
There was something so weirdly intimate about this situation. Not just their proximity, but the inherit transfer of reliance Akito was placing upon Toya's shoulders – he was feeding him tea and soup, for fuck's sake – and how oddly natural his partner was at undertaking such trivial tedium for his sake.
And, perhaps more importantly yet… how embarrassingly safe it made him feel to be put in this position.
It would be hard for the state of Akito to be any more vulnerable than it was right now, and yet it felt so natural to let Toya curl into the shape of his instinctual shell. He peered upon Akito's most pathetic self as though he were precious as the world itself and then some, draining out every ounce of doubt and insecurity until finally a singular thought remained – this was love.
“There we are.” Toya cooed as the last drop of tea successfully made it down Akito's throat, subsequently discarding the used cup atop the headboard. “You did wonderful, Akito.”
In the back of Akito's head was a voice pondering what exactly he'd done so well at when he literally hadn't lifted a finger, but in more abundant prominence was the steaming heat it pumped straight into his gradually fuzzying brain. It was all he could really do to offer his partner a pathetically dopey smile, diving straight into the deep end of those caring eyes without much care for whether or not he'd end up drowning.
“...Toya, can I-”
Akito knew it would happen, but he could only get half a sentence out before Toya swooped in to peck the words off his lips. He lingered a bit more closely this time, like each word he spoke extended the punishment or something, handing the younger a golden opportunity to kiss back just a little bit before his partner's lips ascended off the bed once more.
“I told you I'd kiss you if you kept talking.” Toya hummed, tone dripping with playfully feigned coyness as he punctuated his words by once again stamping Akito's lips with a soft peck. “...and I'll kiss you if you don't, too.”
“Yeah? And how's that fair, exactly?” Akito scoffed as Toya shifted his weight into a far more comfortable position than before, his pursed lips and furrowed brow about as good a riposte toward his partner's cheek as he could manage.
“It's not.” Toya shrugged, of course pausing to give Akito yet another kiss – just a little bit deeper than before; enough that their lips could slot together and work in just a few moments’ worth of rhythm. “You're the one who taught me how to be forceful, though.”
“Maybe I am a bad influence on you.” Akito chuckled, all of a sudden feeling way less like a pile of shit now that he had his boyfriend climbing on top of him. “You're not s'pposed to be crawlin’ all over a sick person, y'know.”
“I'm aware.” Toya affirmed despite his imminent descent, pressed close enough that Akito could feel each beat of his heart and gust of his breath. “But it's fine to do something you know you aren't supposed to once in a while, isn't it?”
“You got me there.” was the last retort Akito could get in before their mouths sealed together once again.
~
🌕☀️
~
“Ehh…? You guys can’t make it to practice again?” An lamented from her side of the call. “Missing two days in a row is nothing like you guys!”
“My bad. Toya got sick, so I'm lookin’ after him for today.” Akito repeated his explanation into the phone. “It's nothin’ serious, but I don't want him hurtin’ himself or something.”
“Guess that makes sense.” An conceded with a sigh. “Alright then! Tell Toya to get well soon! Kohane and I will work on some of our duo routines in the meantime~”
“Akito…”
“Ah-” A small, involuntary noise was punched from Akito's lungs when the very boy he'd been talking about lunged from behind with what was basically a tackle hug. “T-Toya?”
“Hang up the phone and come back to bed…” Toya mumbled embarrassingly close to the speaker, voice strained and harsh from obvious soreness. “I can't sleep without you there to cuddle me.”
“...”
“...You sure that's the only reason?”
“Bye.”