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Akito had been moping for the better part of an hour, and at this point even he was getting annoyed with himself.
He sat at the dining table with his arms folded, cheek pressed into one palm as he stared blankly at the cheesecake in front of him.
It had been sitting untouched for several minutes—which was already an odd thing.
Across from him, Minori was enthusiastically working her way through her own slice while Nene had one hand around a fork and the other around her console, occasionally stabbing at the cheesecake without even looking away from the game.
It wasn't even dinner time. Nobody had particularly cared, cheesecake was a staple in this household and it could be eaten at any time.
He scrapped the surface of the cheesecake, deep in thought. His brain was pre-occupied thinking of a certain thing.
Two weeks.
Toya was going to be gone for two whole weeks.
Dragged off by his stupid father to Austria. Almost on the opposite side of the globe—for two whole weeks!
Ever since they've met, they haven't been seperated for more than three days. Which is why two whole weeks was ridiculous.
Akito had already spent most of the afternoon (this was day two without Toya) trying not to think about it, which naturally meant he'd spent most of the afternoon thinking about it.
He missed him.
There. He'd admitted it to himself.
He immediately decided he hated that thought.
Minori finally noticed the expression on his face. She stopped halfway through lifting her fork, staring at him with growing concern before leaning toward Nene and lowering her voice despite the fact that Akito was sitting directly across from them.
Nene glanced up from her game, looked at Akito, and nodded to what Minori had said to her oh-so-secretively. She whispered something back in agreement as she resumed playing.
Akito's eye twitched. He could literally hear them.
He continued staring at his cheesecake.
Minori watched him for another few seconds before deciding subtlety was no longer necessary. She put her fork down and leaned across the table.
"Akito, what's wrong?" she asked as she rested both elbows on the table.
"Nothing," Akito muttered as he poked his cheesecake with his fork.
"You've been making that face for a while now though…!" Minori said as she tilted her head. "Did something happen?"
Akito sighed and finally looked up. "My singing partner's outta town," he grumbled as he dropped his fork onto the plate. "For two whole fuckin' weeks."
There was a brief silence.
"You have friends?!" they both blurted out simultaneously.
Akito's stared at them with an unimpressed expression.
Wow.
Where did these two get the audacity to say the F-word?
He was pretty sure Minori had approximately one friend, and Nene also had approximately one friend—if online friends didn't count.
Yet somehow they were sitting there acting like Akito having a social life was the shocking development.
He slowly narrowed his eyes.
"Yeah," he said flatly as he picked up his fork again. "I have friends. So what?"
Minori's face suddenly changed as she rummaged through her memories.
"Wait!" she exclaimed as she slapped both hands against the table. "Oh, yeah! I think you mentioned that before, actually!"
Akito rolled his eyes.
"I've mentioned him a bunch of times."
"Have you?" Nene asked as she finally set her console down, her attention now on him.
Akito immediately realized he'd made a mistake.
He looked away.
"Yeah."
Minori leaned forward, looking increasingly curious.
"What's he like?" she asked as she rested her chin in her hands. "Is he nice?"
"Yeah."
"Is he good at singing?"
Akito's expression softened before he could stop it.
"Really good," he admitted as he idly pushed a piece of cheesecake around his plate.
Nene noticed the change immediately.
Her eyes narrowed.
Akito didn't notice.
"We practice together and stuff." he continued as he stared at the table. "He's more than just a friend. He's my partner, after all."
Minori's eyes widened.
Nene slowly turned her head.
Akito froze.
He hadn't meant to say that.
He stared at his cheesecake as though it had personally betrayed him.
Minori brought both hands up to her mouth.
"Your 'partner'!? As in—" she repeated, so surprised that she nearly knocked her plate off the table if she didn't very reflectively caught it. Somehow.
Akito's ears immediately went red.
"I mean singing partner!" he snapped as he grabbed his fork again. "I said it earlier! Obviously, it's singing partner—"
Nene raised one eyebrow.
"Sure…" she said as she picked up her console again.
Akito glared at her.
"What the hell does that look mean?"
"It means nothing," Nene replied as she returned her attention to her game.
"It definitely means something."
"It doesn't."
Minori was still staring at him with the expression of someone who had just discovered the most exciting piece of information she'd heard all week.
"So you have a partner you really like?" she asked as she clasped her hands together.
Akito's face went even redder.
"I never said I liked him."
"You've been moping for what—a day now?—because he's going to be out of town for two weeks," Nene pointed out as she calmly navigated her game character around an obstacle.
"That's not the point." he grumbled in retaliation
"It seems like the point,"
Akito groaned and dropped his forehead onto the table. "This was a fuckin' mistake."
Minori suddenly realized something. "Wait—! You've never shown us what he looks like!" she exclaimed. "You have pictures, right?"
Akito lifted his head.
"Uh." he hesitated.
Minori's eyes sparkled. "You do!"
"No."
"You do!"
"I said no."
Nene glanced over.
"You definitely do."
Akito stared at both of them. He knew exactly where the pictures were.
That was the problem.
He sighed and slowly pulled his phone from his pocket. "Hold on."
"Do you have a whole folder for him?"
"No—gh he's pretty alright?"
Akito unlocked his phone and opened his gallery. He scrolled to a certain folder.
There were pictures from practice. Pictures from after practice.
A picture taken at a café. A picture taken at an arcade.
A blurry photograph of someone looking away from the camera. A picture of him holding a canned coffee.
Akito finally stopped scrolling.
He stared at the screen for a second before selecting one particular picture and turning the phone toward them.
"This one," he muttered as he held it out.
Minori leaned closer.
Her mouth fell open. "Woah—!"
Nene looked at the screen. Her eyes widened.
"Holy shit," she said as she stared at the photograph.
Akito immediately snatched the phone back. "What?"
"That is a really pretty boy—"
"See, told ya so. But he's mine, I got him first—"
"…No wonder you got a crush on him," she mumbled.
"I don't have a crush on him!" Akito shouted as he shoved his phone into his pocket.
"Wow… he looks like Haruka-chan—!" Minori said dreamily, resting her cheek against the palm of her hand, to which Akito fake gagged.
Akito pointed accusingly at her. "Shut up."
"Great…" Nene muttered. "Now you two can bond with simping over blue haired people."
"You too, you shut up."
"Do you have a crush on him?"
"I don't!"
Minori tilted her head, studying the mental image she'd just gotten from the photograph.
He looked away. "Whatever."
"You really like him!"
"I said I don't."
"You do!"
"I don't!"
Nene watched the two of them bicker for a few seconds before calmly picking up her console again.
Then something occurred to her.
She looked at Akito. "Why don't you just text him?"
Akito froze.
The room went silent.
Akito's face slowly changed as the realization hit him.
Oh.
Right.
His phone.
The thing currently sitting in his pocket.
The thing containing the contact information of the person he'd been moping about for the entire time.
He had completely forgotten.
His shoulders slumped.
"Fuck," he muttered as he covered his face with one hand.
Minori opened her mouth. "Eh— you forgot—?!" she exclaimed.
Akito groaned into his palm. "Don't."
Nene stared at her idiot of a twin sibling in utter flabbergast. "You've been sitting here feeling sorry for yourself when you could've just sent a message."
"I know."
"You could've called."
"I know!"
He pulled out his phone again and stared at the screen, thumb hovering over the messaging app.
For a moment, his expression softened.
Two weeks still sounded ridiculously long.
But maybe it wouldn't feel quite so long if he could at least talk to him.
Akito opened the conversation. He stared at the messaging screen for several seconds before finally giving in.
Minori and Nene were still sitting across from him, pretending not to watch, which fooled absolutely nobody.
He typed quickly, deleting and rewriting the message twice before finally settling on something that didn't make him sound nearly as desperate as he felt.
Toya (Partner)
you free to call? unless your old mans bein a dick again.
The message sent, and Akito immediately locked his phone and placed it facedown on the table as though that would somehow stop him from checking it every three seconds.
It didn't work.
His eyes kept flicking toward the phone while Minori ate another bite of cheesecake and Nene continued her game with suspiciously convenient concentration.
The phone buzzed. Akito snatched it up at the speed of sound.
Toya had replied.
Toya (Partner)
I probably could.
Akito's shoulders immediately relaxed.
He waited for a few moments before the video call notification popped up, and he picked up.
It connected almost immediately, despite the fact it was an international call.
Toya's face appeared on the screen.
Akito's own expression brightened so quickly it was almost embarrassing.
He leaned a little closer to the phone—comparable to the excitement of a dog who had just heard the front door open after being left alone all afternoon.
"Toya!" he asked as he squinted at the screen. "...Where the fuck are you right now? Why is it so fuckin' dark?"
He looked toward the time on the corner of his screen.
He vaguely remembered the time difference between Japan and Austria. It should have been around ten in the morning there. There was absolutely no reason it should have looked like midnight.
The screen shifted slightly, and Toya's face emerged from the shadows.
His silver-grey eyes blinked calmly at the camera, though there was something faintly sheepish in his expression.
"Hi Akito," Toya greeted as he adjusted the phone in his hand. "Uhm… I may or may not… am inside a closet."
Akito stared.
"You're in a fucking closet?" he asked as he leaned closer to the screen to get a better look at his partner's beautiful face.
Toya nodded once, apparently finding this perfectly reasonable. "Yes."
Akito stared at him for another moment before a laugh escaped through his nose.
"The hell're you doing in there?"
Toya lowered his voice slightly as he glanced toward the closet door. "My father was planning to take me to a classical concert this morning."
Akito's eyebrows rose. "And ya didn't wanna go?"
Toya shook his head as he shifted his knees slightly to make himself more comfortable among the hanging clothes.
"Not particularly. I told him that I wanted to stay at home, but he insisted. We argued for a while."
Akito's amusement faded slightly. "And then?"
"I went in here," Toya explained as he rested his head against the wall(?) behind him. "I thought it would be better to wait until everyone left."
"You locked yourself in a closet."
"Yes."
"To avoid going to a concert."
"Yes."
"Geez..." he muttered. "Dude, let me just punch your old man when you get back home."
Toya's mouth curved into a small smile.
"I'll keep that noted," he replied as he shifted the phone slightly.
"Is your Aibou-kun actually going to let you punch his dad?"
Akito's entire body went rigid.
Right. His sisters were still right there.
"Shut up!" Akito hissed. "Stop fucking eavesdropping on me!"
Nene looked at him with a completely unimpressed expression.
"We were sitting here first…!" Minori protested, gesturing wildly at the table.
Akito stared at both of them. "Fuck off."
"Akito?"
Akito immediately looked back down at the screen. Toya was watching him with a slightly confused expression.
"Who was that?" he asked as he tilted his head.
Akito's face heated.
"Ah, nothin', nothin'," he said quickly as he waved one hand toward the door. "Just my annoying-ass sisters."
"Oi, who are you calling annoying?" Nene demanded from the doorway as she crossed her arms.
Toya blinked.
"Sister?" he repeated as he looked at Akito through the screen. "That didn't sound like Ena-san."
Minori's eyes widened.
"Ena already knew about him and you didn't tell us?!" she exclaimed as she pointed accusingly at Akito.
"I did tell you!" Akito snapped as he spun toward her. "I fucking did!"
"Nu uh!"
Toya chuckled quietly from the phone.
The sound immediately made Akito look back at the screen.
Toya was smiling. For a second, Akito simply looked at him.
Then, the amused expression on Toya's face slowly faded. Something changed in his eyes. It was subtle, but Akito had gotten to know him long enough to notice.
His smile disappeared, and his gaze dropped toward something outside the camera's view.
"Oi—" he called out. "What's up?"
Toya looked back toward the screen.
"Nothing," he answered, face back to being neutral as ever. "I'm fine."
Akito studied him.
He didn't believe him. But he also knew better than to force it.
"Kay," he muttered as he leaned back against the wall. "If you say so, man."
Toya nodded.
Akito pushed himself away from the table, already standing before either of his sisters could ask anything.
"I'm gonna call him in my room," he muttered out, before quickly running upstairs with his phone in hand.
"Okay!" Minori replied.
Nene barely glanced up from her console. "Have fun,"
As Akito went up the stairs, he thought about something. When he got to the hallway, he looked over at a certain door.
Should he check on Ena…?
…
He shook his head, hoping Toya didn't see the way his face soured at the thought.
Was it selfish of him to avoid facing his siblings? When Toya is capable of doing so while actively rebelling against what his family.
Akito has the priviledge to have gotten to know his siblings, so… was it okay for him to be selfish and not want to face Ena?
…
"Akito?"
"Yeah hold on dude my door's jammed— fuckin' piece of shit—"
Akito barged open the door, got inside, then slammed it shut. He sat down on the armchair in his room.
He returned to his phone, finding Toya still sitting quietly in the closet.
"So," Akito said as he settled more comfortably against the cushioned back and clutching the spare pillow, "We've got a lotta practice to catch up on when you get back."
Really, he just missed Toya and wanted to spend time with him the moment he could. But did he really want to get cheesy with his partner—his best friend and singing partner—like that?
But Toya nodded seriously.
"I see," he replied as he adjusted his grip on the phone again. "I'll make sure to make up for the missed practice when I return."
Akito stared at him. "Dude, no."
Leave it to Aoyagi Toya to take everything at face value.. really how could someone so smart be this naive?
Toya blinked.
Akito looked away, rubbing the back of his neck. "I meant… tch—"
He didn't know why saying it suddenly felt so difficult.
They'd known each other for a while now.
They'd practiced together countless times. They'd spent entire afternoons working until their voices were hoarse and their bodies hurt.
Yet somehow this was harder.
Akito stared down at the carpet. "I kinda miss ya," he admitted quietly as he scratched at the edge of his sleeve.
Silence.
Akito's heart immediately sank.
Fuck.
That had sounded stupid. He should've just kept his mouth shut.
He glanced at the screen.
Toya looked genuinely surprised.
His eyes had widened slightly, and his lips were parted as though he'd forgotten what he was going to say.
Akito's stomach twisted in dread.
"Forget it," he muttered. "I didn't mean—"
"I see," Toya said softly as his expression relaxed into a small, warm smile.
Akito froze.
Toya shifted inside the cramped closet, resting his cheek against his knee as he looked at him through the screen.
"I miss you too, Akito—if that helps." he admitted as his smile grew a little more visible. "Very much."
Akito stared at him. His face turned red.
"Dude…"
Toya tilted his head. "Yes?"
"Don't say shit like that."
"Like what?"
"…Nevermind."
Akito covered his burning face with the pillow. Toya's quiet laugh came through the speaker.
For the first time all evening, Akito didn't feel quite so miserable about the two weeks ahead.
He was still going to hug Toya and ruffle his hair the moment he got back to Japan though.