spray painted stars - akikasa

chapter 6

Toya bounced his leg nervously as he sat on the benches in front of Kamiyama High, waiting for Akito nervously. He had contemplated calling him the night of the play, but decided he would probably go to bed early. He went through the same cycle on Sunday night, but thought that he should save it for Monday when he could see the boy in person. Akito always gets to school early because of his 5 AM run, so he knew they would have time to talk before school started.

Just as he was deep in his thoughts, a pair of sneakers and an untucked button up were in front of him, and he looked up to see Akito looking at him confusedly. "Ah! Akito! I'm glad you're here early, I wanted to talk to you."

Akito closed his eyes and sighed, of course Tsukasa would tell Toya about his little outburst. Nonetheless, he sat down next to Toya and looked at him expectantly.

Toya bit his lip, looking for the right words. "Well, on Saturday, I couldn't help but observe you and Tsukasa as you two were talking- I mean, it's not often I get to see my partner and my beloved senior getting along." Toya smiled as he said that, "But I noticed you looked a little distressed I should say? I just wanted to ask what happened that made you run out so suddenly, you had a strange look on your face." Toya tilted his head as he waited for Akito's answer.

Oh. So Tsukasa didn't say anything, Toya is just nosy. Got it. Akito slouched and put his head in his hands, murmuring something unintelligible before sitting up straight again and looking at Toya directly in his eyes. "Toya, I'm... I think I- or no, I know I'm..." Akito huffed, brows furrowing as he tried to find a way to say this. "I guess I'll say, um... I'm not as into girls as I thought I was..." Akito quickly shrunk back and looked away from Toya, covering one of his cheeks with his hand. He prayed that Toya got the hint so he didn't have to say it out loud. Yes, he technically said he liked a boy to MEIKO, but he never outright said, 'Hey, I like Tsukasa Tenma!', so it doesn't count.

Toya raised his eyebrows and smiled, "Okay? That's fine, Akito, you know I'm bisexual." Akito sighed in relief, his partner wasn't as oblivious as he thought! "But that doesn't explain your reaction. You looked near tears on Saturday." He groaned, apparently he spoke too soon.

"Ugh, Toya, you're great, dude, but you're so oblivious." Akito laughed into his palms. "I'm feeling this way because of Tsukasa-Senpai... is what I'm trying to say." Toya's eyes widened and he actually leaned back at this, "I... had that look on Saturday because, well, I was- I was going through a bit of a mental crisis. I- uh... didn't want to accept the fact I liked boys, or that I was even into Tsukasa- Argh, this feeling shit isn't for me dude!..."

Akito knew he was red and slumped into the crook of his elbow, the familiar feeling returning to his stomach. "I guess... I just learned to accept it over the weekend. So, um, I'm no longer crying whenever I look at Tsukasa, on the bright side.." Akito mumbled weakly, scared of his partner's response. Was he going to think it's weird Akito likes someone he sees as a brother figure?

Toya was shocked to say the least, Akito went from hating Tsukasa to having a small crush on him in, what, a week? He knew Akito fell for people quickly, but he never expected such a thing to happen to somebody he knew Akito hated! Regardless, the biggest grin grew on Toya's face, he was overjoyed that he was no longer spouting hateful words towards their senior.

"That's... amazing Akito!"

Akito jumped a bit. That was not the reaction he was expecting, to put it lightly, he sat up and looked at his partner with a confused face.

"Admittedly, when I asked for you to start being nicer to Tsukasa and form a bond that was better than one-sided-rivalry, I didn't expect this to be the outcome. That doesn't matter though, because now my two favorite people are getting along." The smile that was on Toya's face immediately calmed any nerves that Akito had when spilling this information. Toya must be an angel, Akito concludes.