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By the time they left Vivid Street, the night had settled comfortably over the city, turning the familiar streets into something different from what they looked during the day.
Most of the noise from the live house and surrounding streets had faded behind them.
Akito walked beside Toya with his hands tucked into his pockets, listening to the quiet rhythm of their footsteps while the last remnants of music still seemed to cling to his ears.
They had spent most of the day together—to no one's surprise really. School, cafe date, practice, wandering around, and eventually ending up back at Vivid Street because neither of them had been particularly eager to go home yet.
There hadn't been anything remarkable about the day. Nothing that would have made it worth writing down in a journal or telling someone else about.
And yet Akito had enjoyed every second of it.
He glanced sideways.
Toya was walking with his usual relaxed posture, his hands loosely at his sides, the streetlights catching against his dual-toned hair whenever they passed beneath one.
He was talking about something from practice, gesturing occasionally as he explained some tiny detail that Akito hadn't noticed. Well, he did notice, but didn't understand why it had bothered him.
Perks of having a partner with perfect pitch.
Akito listened for a while before reaching over and hooking an arm around Toya's shoulders.
Toya stumbled half a step from the sudden weight before laughing quietly as Akito pulled him closer.
"Akito?" he asked as he steadied himself, glancing sideways at his partner.
"C'mere, you—" Akito replied as he tightened his arm around Toya's shoulders and gave his hair an affectionate ruffle with his other hand. "You're walkin' too straight. 'S weird."
Toya's carefully arranged hair immediately became a mess. He reached up to fix it, but the smile on his face betrayed him.
Akito grinned.
There it was. That smile.
He loved that smile.
"You're enjoying this," Toya observed as he tried unsuccessfully to smooth down the hair Akito had disturbed.
"No comment."
Toya gave him a fond look before letting his hand drop. "Of course,"
Akito snorted, keeping his arm around him for another few steps.
Their hands brushed when they eventually separated, fingers bumping together naturally as they walked. Neither of them paid much attention to it. Their shoulders still occasionally knocked together, and every so often Akito's fingers would graze Toya's again before drifting apart.
It was such a small thing.
Akito found himself noticing it anyway.
Don't change.
The thought came suddenly.
He didn't know why.
Maybe it was the hour. Maybe it was the quiet streets after a long day. Maybe it was simply seeing Toya beside him like this, so familiar that Akito could predict his pace without looking.
He glanced at him again.
Please don't change.
The words sat strangely in his chest.
Akito knew people changed. He knew they were changing already.
Him being alone to meeting Toya and becoming BAD DOGS. Then BAD DOGS joining with the Vivids and becoming Vivid BAD SQUAD.
They were growing up, meeting new people, achieving dreams, finding new dreams, learning new things about themselves. Even their music and their singing was changing as they improved.
That was normal. Change was inevitable.
But some selfish part of Akito wanted to freeze this exact version of them in place.
The two of them walking home together after practice.
The warmth of his shoulder beneath Akito's arm.
The way they could spend an entire day together without needing to plan anything particularly special.
Don't change.
A soft rustling sound came from ahead.
Toya's attention immediately shifted toward the side of the road.
Akito knew that look.
"No," he said immediately as he released Toya's shoulders and grabbed his sleeve.
Toya stopped.
A small cat had emerged from beneath a parked car.
It was scruffy, mostly gray with patches of white, and it looked entirely unimpressed by the world as it sat beneath the streetlight and stared at them.
Toya's expression melted.
Akito sighed. "Toya... not this again." he complained, hoping it didn't come out too much like a whine.
Toya crouched anyway.
"Akito, look! It's a cat."
"I can see that."
Toya extended his hand slowly, letting the cat decide whether it wanted to approach. "Hello..." he murmured as he smiled at it. "You're out late."
The kitten stood.
It walked directly toward Toya.
Akito watched as it rubbed against Toya's hand.
Toya's smile became radiant.
"What should we call you?" he wondered aloud as he gently scratched beneath the cat's chin.
Akito folded his arms. "We're not naming it."
Toya ignored him.
"Perhaps Mochi."
The kitten climbed onto Toya's shoe and purred as it rubbed againsy his leg. Toya looked delighted.
Akito stared at the animal. The animal stared back. A silent rivalry was established over the clueless Toya.
"You've got five seconds," Akito warned as he pointed down at it. "Then we're leaving."
Toya laughed softly as he continued petting the cat. "You seem rather jealous, even compared to usual."
"I'm not jealous of a fucking cat—"
The cat rubbed against Toya's ankle again.
Akito's eye twitched. "See? It's doing that shit on purpose."
His expression softened despite himself.
Toya looked so happy.
It was almost ridiculous how easily animals trusted him, you'd think he was a Disney princess.
Toya treated every stray cat they encountered with adoration, giving each one a name and somehow remembering which streets they'd seen them on before.
He never grabbed at them or forced them closer. He simply sat there patiently, offering a hand and waiting.
And the cats loved him for it.
Akito couldn't even be annoyed, he shouldn't be selfish and hog all of Toya's love for himself.
...But he wanted to be selfish.
He watched Toya stroke the cat's head, his smile gentle beneath the streetlight.
You're too damn sweet.
The cat eventually wandered off, disappearing between two buildings.
Toya remained crouched for another moment, watching until it was gone.
"Goodnight, Mochi," he said as he stood and brushed the dust from his clothes.
Akito stared at him. "You named it anyway."
Toya looked amused. "I did."
Akito shook his head, but he quickly slipped his arm around Toya's shoulders again.
They continued walking.
Akito could feel Toya's warmth beside him, could hear the faint rhythm of his breathing whenever they slowed down.
At some point, Toya's hand brushed against his again.
And this time, Akito caught it. Their fingers intertwined. Toya looked down at their hands, then up at Akito.
Neither of them said anything.
Akito squeezed his hand once.
The warmth in his chest returned.
He thought about the day they'd had, about all the ordinary little things that would probably disappear into the endless collection of memories they were building together.
It was awfully ordinary. The way they spent every school break and lunch together, their cafe date every other day—usually with pancakes and a cup of black coffee.
Practice was and should be a daily occurence too, now that they were locking in.
There was really nothing all that special about that day.
One day, they might not remember exactly what they'd eaten. They might forget which songs they'd practiced or what they said while on their walk home.
But Akito hoped he'd remember this.
The cool night air, his partner's hand in his. That stupid, endearing smile. That feeling of walking home beside the person who had somehow become such an enormous part of his life.
It's unchanging...
Please don't change.
Akito looked at Toya again.
Toya caught him staring. "What is it?" he asked as he gently swung their joined hands between them—like a child, but Akito really couldn't get annoyed.
Akito shook his head and looked forward again, his grip tightening slightly.
"Nothing."
Toya hummed, clearly unconvinced, but he didn't press. Akito appreaciated that—they had always had this mutual understanding. Guess that's one thing that hasn't changed.
Maybe things would change. They had to. They couldn't always be on running from inevitability.
But perhaps not everything had to.
Perhaps Toya would keep smiling like that.
Perhaps they'd keep walking home together after practice.
Perhaps Akito would keep ruffling his hair and Toya would keep pretending to be annoyed.
Perhaps there would always be stray cats that stole Toya's attention and gave Akito another excuse to complain.
He couldn't know.
For now, though, Toya was beside him.
And Akito decided that was enough.
At least for tonight, nothing had changed.