𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙖𝙛𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙢𝙖𝙩𝙝 (𝘼𝙠𝙞𝘼𝙣 𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙩𝙨)

✎ ✦ 𝟎𝟒 . ˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥ 𝐋𝐞𝐧'𝐬 𝐜𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐡! ✦

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✎ Akito and An finally arrived at the Sekai, entering through the front of Meiko's cafe to see Toya and Kohane, who were sitting at a table, chatting and drinking coffee.

"hey," Akito spoke up, catching Toya's attention. "oh, Akito, Shiraishi. we were waiting for you two," he said, walking up to the couple.

a chair creaked, alerting that someone had gotten up. "hello, An-chan and Shinonome-kun!" Kohane chimed in with her usual gentle tone, making Toya glance over his shoulder to look at her for longer than he should.

Akito and An noticed, of course, resulting in them turning to stare at each other in unison, both of their faces twisted into the same amused grin.

"so... you're saying you hate being alone with Azusawa that much, huh?" Akito chuckled out, his smirk widening. "no, it's nice, but-" Toya began to reply, but ended up being disrupted by a teasing An, "exactly! you like K-"

before she could finish, Akito gave her a death glare, as if to say 'An, quiet down.' she stopped, realizing how loud she was.

"sorry, Toya..." she whispered, smiling nervously. "it's perfectly fine, Shiraishi," Toya said plainly, as An laughed awkwardly under her breath, unsure if he was being serious or not. it was always so hard to tell how he was feeling just by looking at his expression.

"uhh... Akito... is he being for real?" An hushed into Akito's ear. "yeah, he's being honest. don't worry," Akito answered, in the same low voice. on the other side, Akito always knew what was up with him.

Kohane walked up to the rest of the group, joining in with a question, "have you guys seen Meiko and the others?" Kohane asked, tapping her pointer finger on her chin curiously.

"nah, I haven't seen 'em yet," Akito speculated, shrugging. the second that sentence came out of his mouth, Meiko had come into the shop. "oh, there you guys are!" Meiko hummed, standing by the entrance. Akito blinked a few times, before turning bright red. just now had he remembered what happened the last time he was in the Sekai with Luka, Meiko, and himself.

"Meiko! where did you come from!?" An shouted to her from across the cafe, and Akito covered his ears. "urrghh..." he muttered, pulling his hood over his head. "Len, Rin, Luka and I were all listening to Miku sing in the alley up front," Meiko replied, giggling quietly.

"not Luka, too..." Akito groaned, tugging at the strings on his hoodie to tighten his hood around his head as much as he possibly could. "hm, Aki? what's up?" An examined, looking a little concerned.

"ah... An, would you like to know what's up with Akito?" Meiko hid a slight smirk, purposely trying to pull Akito's leg without making it too obvious to the others. "will this give me something to taunt Akito for?" An questioned, crossing her arms over her chest.

when, suddenly, the other missing Vocaloids bursted in. "Len, are you ignoring me because you're mad again?" Rin huffed, her hands on her hips. "I-I'm not ignoring you...!" Len stuttered, waving his hands around all over the place.

"c'mon, you haven't been talking to me normally for a few days now! tell me why you're mad!" Rin argued, as she leaned into his face, trying to get at least an explanation out of him. it was clear Rin didn't want her best friend to be upset with her, and if he was, she just wanted to know the reason why.

Len felt his cheeks burning. "Rin, I'm telling you, I'm not mad! i-it's just that- uhm..." Len swallowed, fiddling with the pockets of his jeans. he tried to get the rest of his words out, but instead got all caught up on his own throat.

everyone's jaws dropped, even Akito's, once An had pulled his hood off so he could see what was going on.

"...what is it?" Rin backed up from him, showing her worry now. "Rin, I think you should give Len a break, okay?" Miku insisted, separating the two. "if you say so, Miku," Rin nodded, pulling away Meiko to talk in private with her.

"how could I let this happen to meeee...." Len whined, burying his face into his hands in embarrassment. "Len, do you want to talk about it?" Miku offered, bringing a hand to her hip. "nuh-uh! it's boy-talk!" Len declined, shaking his head aggressively. "and Kaito isn't even here..."

Len paused, gasping. Akito and Toya. "Akito, Toya! can we talk, please?" Len begged, making puppy eyes. "if you really want to-" Akito started to speak, so Len took that as a yes. "okay! boy-talk, then!" he cheered.

Akito, who has recovered from his little panic attack from before, exchanged a glance with Toya. "sure, Len. what's on your mind?" Toya asked, gesturing for him to continue. "well, uh... promise you won't laugh at me?" Len mumbled.

An playfully pushed her boyfriend to the side, attempting to listen in. "Akito, move! I gotta hear this!" An announced. "oi! I was here first!" Akito fought back.

"An-chan! Len said he only wanted Shinonome-kun and Aoyagi-kun," Kohane explained, trying to get An out of the boy's conversation.

but what actually happened was Akito and An playfully wrestling for the position, trying to eavesdrop on Len's impending confession, their tussle accidentally led to Akito stumbling backward, knocking over a nearby table. An started, "Aki-" in their attempt to regain balance, Akito inadvertently pulled An down with him, and they both crashed to the floor in a heap of limbs.

"s-sorry..." An apologized, opening her eyes, in which her eyesight was still blurry. "Akito?" she called out, looking down to see him under her, but in her dizzy state, she didn't notice that was what was going on. "since when were you this short, Aki?" she asked dizzily.

"get offa' me..." Akito grumbled, blushing quite a lot as his girlfriend was on top of him... their pose was... compromising.

the commotion drew everyone's attention, including Len's, who momentarily forgot his own embarrassment in favor of the spectacle before him. as the two tried to untangle themselves, Akito and An's faces flushed crimson with embarrassment, realizing they were in such a compromising position in front of their friends.

finally managing to extricate themselves from the tangled mess, Akito and An scrambled to their feet, cheeks still aflame with embarrassment. "s-sorry about that," Akito stammered, trying to regain his composure as he stiffened his posture.

meanwhile, everyone just stared at the couple. An laughed nervously, attempting to brush off the awkwardness. "y-yeah, sorry. guess we got a little carried away," she mumbled, avoiding eye contact with anyone.

"anyways..." Len chuckled nervously. he then took a deep breath, gathering his thoughts before speaking. "it's... Rin," he began, his voice slightly shaky. "I... I think I kinda like her..."

An exaggerated gasp escaped from An, as Akito shot her a warning look once again, silently telling her to keep quiet. Toya, however, remained calm, nodding in understanding.

"oh my gosh, Len! that's huge!" she exclaimed, unable to contain her excitement.

"love can be complicated, Len," Toya said sagely. "but it's worth exploring those feelings. just be honest with yourself and with Rin."

"b-but, would she even like me back!? I don't want to ruin our friendship, so isn't it better if I keep quiet?" Len uttered. "it's normal to be scared, but if you don't try, you'll never know what could've been," Akito encouraged, though he tried not to make it too obvious that he was.

"yeah, Akito's had that experience," Toya chuckled softly. "hush, Toya..." Akito grumbled.

Len nodded, grateful for their advice. "thanks, guys! I'll do my best!" Len shouted with newfound determination, and headed off to find Rin and have that long overdue conversation.

as he left, Akito turned to Toya with a smirk. "looks like we're in for some drama," he remarked. "indeed. but isn't that what makes life interesting?" Toya replied.

"they do kinda remind me of you and An-chan, Shinonome-kun!" Kohane giggled.

"......"

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✦ - 04/25/2024