Vivid Bad Squad Polyship (Slow Burn)

Bad BAD DOGS Alleyway

Akito huffed at the pixels materializing before him. Leaning against the wall of the alleyway they've used for practice lately, he had remained vigilant, believing Toya was taking just one more second to get there. "It's been twenty minutes." He was pissed, but Toya could sense an unusual hurt tone. "We have a show tomorrow. Don't fucking dilly-dally or do whatever prissy thing to waste time," he growled.

Toya wasn't used to Akito directing such animosity at him. Wasn't aggression just reserved for others? "Right. I'm extremely sorry I'm late, Aki--"

He held up a hand. "I'm not looking for excuses," came from Toya's father. He blinked twice. It was Akito, head turned to the side and eyes shut in an unreadable expression. "Let's get started with warm-ups."

"..!" Toya let out a small surprised sound, but the acoustics of the alley amplified it. If he dug through the bitterness enough, he found the warmth. "You waited for me?"

"... Of course I did, dumbass. In all our years I've never seen you with a sore throat, and I don't want tomorrow to be the first." Maybe this was the reason Toya always held a little hope for his family. If he rejected someone for being gruff he wouldn't have the one that meant the world to him now.

Akito nervously opened his eyes and looked at his partner. Toya was giving a small smile, a grateful smile, a smile only meant for him. He averted his eyes.

"So?" He sounded much more like the Akito he knew. Any aggression was gone.

"Let's do this, Akito."

He smirked. "Now that's the spirit."

After warm-ups and a few songs to practice their skills, Toya watched Akito drink some water, perking up like a sunflower. He went to his bookbag. He'd forgotten something to drink?! Toya was off his game, in his own opinion. Akito thought Toya was pretty spot on, at least with singing. He glanced at the guy searching his bookbag high and low. Something about Toya's voice popped. It was more energetic, almost a little like... An image flashed through his head. He blushed and dismissed it. He was the one who felt off. His voice strained more than usual.

"Oi, Toya. You're good on water?" Akito hollered.

"Ah, the thing is, I think I forgot mine. I-if you excuse me, I'll grab one from a vending machine out there real quick."

He pulled his phone from his pocket, striking Akito with a sense of dread. He didn't want Toya 'out there.' He wanted him in here, in their alleyway, where it was just the two of them. He reached out with the bottled hand. Toya turned to him.

"If you just want a quick drink, feel free to use my own water bottle...". Akito scratched the back of his ankle with his foot. The bottle was huge. Toya knew there was more than enough for both of them, but he got the feeling there was a larger weight behind his action.

"Sure. Thanks, Akito." Regardless, he didn't miss a beat. Sharing water bottles just happens. Nothing weird was happening at all. Akito told the same thing to himself in his own mind. Something about the stray drop of water running down Toya's chin hit different with him though. He felt the urge to lick it off him and got hit from both the gentleman side and homophobic side of his brain.

Toya looked back to Akito, refreshed. He hadn't drunk anything since lunchtime, and he already felt a little stronger (THIS IS THE AUTHOR REMINDING YOU TO DRINK SOME WATER-- or some pink berry-blast shit if that's what you're into). Toya noticed Akito was blushing. Maybe it was the pink sunset lighting?

"So, Akito," he squatted down, placing the bottle in the backpack beside Akito's feet and wiping his mouth, "what's our song list?"

If he were an anime character Akito would've burst into a nosebleed. Toya didn't stay any longer than it took Akito to take a mental picture, sitting to the side against the wall Akito was leaning on. Every move Toya made, he made with intention. That's not saying much when he couldn't even tell what got Akito so flustered. It was just an easy way to give him his water bottle and sit down for the discussion simultaneously. Akito stuttered for a couple of seconds. Toya curiously hummed up at him with wide, innocent eyes.

"Jeez, um... Well, we're definitely closing with RAD DOGS, since we're closing for the night."

Toya nodded as Akito slid down the wall. His shirt rode up a little but Toya didn't notice. "Naturally. The other three?"

"That's what I'm wondering. What are we going for with this performance? It's probably gonna have people of ours who are already fans."

"Are you asking me if we should try to go all out with the songs or do something that's satisfactory and fits in more?"

Akito continued, not catching Toya's drift. "Yeah, yeah. We'll have just been coming from VBS practice too, and--" he caught himself at last, "shit! You're right, man, we can't let ourselves get complacent." He noticed his shirt and tucked it down.

"Mm. With that in mind, let's do some of our more energetic songs."

"Right! Let's knock their socks off, Toya!" He reached over and ruffled his head, playfully pushing Toya's head away. Toya let himself bristle a little in affection. Akito's behavior earlier was nothing, right? It must've been over the same thing that was bothering him earlier. He felt bad about inconveniencing him when he was already dealing with something. They had to make another step towards their dream in this next performance, for his sake. Akito saw the resolve in Toya's eyes, but misidentified the affection.

The next day, Kohane arrived in SEKAI for practice. Akito was already there. He nonchalantly nodded at her. She put away her smile. Time to switch into serious practice mode. She looked around and peeked through a window before leaning on an outer wall of MEIKO's café. 

"Where's An-chan?"

It bugged Akito slightly she didn't mention Toya. "The others both had committee duties today."

"I see." She fidgeted. She keeps forgetting they're on the disciplinary and library committees. They stood in silence for a couple minutes before Akito walked over and held her hand. She looked at him in surprise.

"If you make me have to take initiative, I will..." He looked away.

She blushed and rubbed her thumb along his hand. This really was a dream come true.