Chapter Text
02:34, that's what the alarm on his nightstand says.
Akito shouldn't be up, but here he is, laying in his bed, staring at the ceiling. It's a Thursday night and he knows damn well that he'll have to get up for school tomorrow. He sighs for what seems like the hundredth time today.
Lately he thinks a lot about the time Vivid Bad Squad had formed. The night he punched Toya, because he couldn't keep his anger to himself. Or maybe it was his disappointment and sadness that took over. It's not like he could separate those feelings anyway.
If he's mad, he's also sad. And if he's sad it's the other way around. He'll cry when he gets home either way.
Today at lunch An said something stupid and he pretended to punch her in return. Instead of playing along as he expected her to, she flinched away, eyes a bit wider than usual. She laughed it off, but he knew what he saw. It's not the first time this has happened and it keeps Akito up at night.
He does punch people from time to time, but never because of unimportant things like a lighthearted, stupid comment. An’s reaction portrays him as this kind of guy though and he hates it. People assuming he’s the type whose friends are afraid of him is the last thing he'd want.
He turns around, now facing his desk on the other side of his room. He doesn't take his eyes off the worksheet pile that's barely visible in the dim light that's coming from his windows. His untouched English homework is staring right back at him. What a dream of a son he is, abusive towards his friends and barely passing in school.
Akito groans, throwing his hands over his face. He needed a break from his own thoughts.
With aching limbs from a long day of doubting himself, he gets up on his feet, already missing the warmth of his blanket. As he moves forward through the piles of clothes and kitchenware on his floor, he turns on his flashlight and silently finds his way into the living room.
Ena was sitting on their couch, tablet and pen in hand, watching an anime he didn't know. They stare at each other for a second, then Ena returns to sketching out something on her screen.
“What’re you doing up? “ she asks unbothered.
“Can’t fall asleep.”
She hums, not looking up.
Akito just keeps walking until he arrives in the next room, right in front of their fridge, opening it without big expectations. Skimming past the mushy vegetables, a small box covered in tin foil catches his attention. He doesn’t care much for the sticky note spelling out “ENA” in capital letters and tears off the foil immediately.
He doesn’t believe his eyes, he’s looking at an oasis. Three huge slices of cheesecake are sitting there, waiting for Akito to swallow them whole. He opens the cutlery drawer and grabs a fork, ready to dig in.
Suddenly the background noise of Ena’s show stops and he hears quick steps coming closer just a second after. Then Ena was standing in the doorframe, glaring at him.
“Don’t you fucking dare… “, she says firmly.
“And what if I do? “, he whispers while lowering the fork in his hand to Ena’s cheesecake on the table, not breaking eye contact.
Ena steps closer, grabbing his wrist, keeping him from using the fork.
“I'll brutally kill you with this fork.”, she smiles, certainly not in a friendly manner, “Find something to eat that I didn't pay for.“
“There are three slices, come on.“, he groans, pushing Ena’s hand down.
“I don't care, all three of ‘em are mine.“
“I’ll get you a slice after my shift tomorrow if you let me eat just one of them right now.“, he offers, annoyed.
Ena looks at him, skeptical. She pulls back her hand, taking a step back.
“Okay… But only if you get one from Rainbow Café.“, she proposes, still glaring.
Akito sighs. “Bro, you know this isn't near my workplace, like at all. “
“And?“, she grins, “If you don't want this, I’m pretty sure I saw some tomatoes left in the fridge.“, she gestures towards the vegetables Akito purposely ignored earlier.
Oh, she's evil. Shamelessly using him as a cheesecake mailman.
“Fine, asshole.“, Akito groans, stabbing the cake.
“Amazing!”, she smiles, now much more welcoming and obviously satisfied with herself. “I’ll return to what I was doing before successfully preventing this crime.“
Ena turns around, leaving the kitchen as Akito grabs a plate for his cake. The TV turns back on and Akito decides to sit in the armchair next to Ena as long as he’s eating.
It seems like Ena’s anime was about a band, which wasn't too bad. Four guys were standing in a studio discussing parts of their song. Usually anime wasn't really his genre, but there always is an exception isn't there? Ena side-eyes him, watching his reaction closely.
Akito stares at the screen, munching on his cake, taking huge bites like it'll disappear any second. The artstyle is nice, no wonder Ena likes this show. She seems nervous though, her posture stiff and her knee bopping. The room is awkward and Ena keeps looking over at him at every movement he does.
He swallows the last bit of cake.
“Are you good?”, he asks, getting up.
Ena stares at him, pulling up an eyebrow.
“Yeah?”, she returns to drawing on her tablet.
“M’kay… I’m going back to sleep.“, he says, still watching his sister skeptically until he drops his plate in the sink and makes his way out with sagging steps.
“Okay. Don't forget about my cheesecake tomorrow!“, she hums content.
“Yeah, yeah. G’Night.”, he yawns, walking through the living room door.
“Night.”, Ena responds, not looking up from her tablet.
Their relationship was strange in both positive and negative ways. To Akito, Ena will never make sense and he’s pretty sure that feeling is reciprocated. They manage anyway. Right now she did a great job at distracting him.
As he arrives in his room, he quietly shuts the door and slumps onto his bed. His pillow and blanket are cold already and he sighs into the fabric.
His phone lights up. Mizuki just sent him a message saying “this cat is so you” with a link attached. He doesn’t feel like watching that right now. Instead, he unlocks his phone and opens his photo gallery.
There aren't many pictures in his favorites, only really important ones end up there. The selfies taken on the camping trip with Toya, An and Kohane as an example. Them sitting around a campfire, waiting for their marshmallows to be done.
There's one of An’s marshmallow catching fire that he took, laughing uncontrollably, so it's a bit blurry. He zooms in on their faces.
First Kohane, who is trying hard not to burst out laughing whilst comforting An about her loss. Hand on her shoulder, sitting next to her.
An, who is screaming like she just lost a child, is right in the motion of getting up and saving her marshmallow. He smiles, her expression is hilarious. Back then they made a sticker out of her face, that they still use as a reaction image.
Then he moves on to Toya, lingering there for a bit. He’s just sitting there smiling at the girls’ struggling. Akito’s smile fades. His memory of punching Toya crosses his mind again. He couldn't punch the Toya in the picture he’s still looking at, no matter how stubborn this Toya is.
He is embarrassed or maybe just mad at himself thinking about Toya remembering that night. If he could, he would erase that memory from Toya’s mind forever. Akito apologized throughoutly for it, but it'll probably never be enough for him. Something changed between them back then. The punch and all the things he heard Toya say via phone at the Weekend Garage altered his heartbeat a little. He wonders if Toya felt it too or if he still sees the Akito that punched him without thinking twice when looking Akito in the eyes. He is so much more confident now with Toya by his side.
Why is all this coming up again? It was resolved months ago…
Maybe because the same group that was so torn back then will be having their biggest event yet in two weeks? Or because he still feels guilty and mad and embarrassed and if he was being honest every other emotion he ever felt about it? Man what's wrong with him.
He continues swiping. Most pictures are selfies taken at events or practice. Some of them with, some without An and Kohane, but Toya was in all of them, without failure.
His chest feels weird. If it weren't for Toya, he probably would've never pursued his dream of becoming a street music legend. If it weren't for Toya he would never even grasp the happiness he feels when performing with his band.
“Akito, you're the best partner I could ask for.“
He winces and pulls his blanket over his body. He doesn’t feel like a good partner at the moment. Not like he ever felt like “the best partner” anybody would ask for. Toya is way too kind to him, he doesn’t deserve all that.
This thought is probably his sign to go to sleep. 03:00 AM is the most self-destructive time of day there is.
He lets his eyelids fall shut and hopes that tomorrow will be a better day. No more playful punching.
With that in mind he falls asleep, breathing evenly into the darkness of his room.