(Scary title am I right)
(Don't worry, nothing is actually wrong with this chapter, I promise 😭😭)
Toya lightly grazed his fingers over his aching, bruised cheek, flinching at every touch.
He had been hit by his father again. Toya was in pain all over.
Even after hitting his son, Toya's father still felt angry, so Toya had decided that it would be best to stay somewhere else for the night... Or a few days. Or forever, as his father had told him. He'd also told Toya that he was about to be disowned.
Knowing that Tsukasa was out of the country with his friends, Toya had decided that it would be best to not bother Ms. Tenma. He had texted Akito about staying over and, as expected, the latter seemed fine with it and, if not, happy that Toya would be staying over. Akito told Toya that he'd already asked his parents about the plan, and that they agreed to let the blue-haired boy stay.
Toya was already walking over. He wanted to get as far away from his father as he could, and as quickly as possible. It was almost nighttime, the streets were dim and stained with a dark orange tint.
Where Tsukasa is now, it would be sunrise, I think.
Toya slightly tilted his head so that he was looking up at the sky, the roofs of houses framing his view. The sky was a dull red-orange near where the sun had already sank below the horizon, and was turning more and more into a dark blue-grey the further it was from the sun.
The blue-haired boy gazed at the sky for the rest of the walk to the ginger's house, occasionally looking back down at the houses to check where he was.
Akito had said that he'd be waiting for Toya outside when he came, and he was. The orange-haired boy had been playing with the laces on his hoodie before he'd looked up at Toya. Akito's eyes lit up and he ran over to his partner. Toya's heart fluttered and he started to run as well.
"Yo, Toya!" Akito said, hugging Toya. "So, your father hit you again?"
Toya hugged Akito back, allowing the warmth of the ginger to soak in. "Yeah, he did," Toya answered. "He seemed really pissed this time."
"Yeah, I can see that," Akito let go of Toya and inspected his face. "It shows that you've been hit all over. Your dad's a real dick."
"He said he'll disown me," Toya admitted. "He's being serious."
Toya looked again at how expressive Akito's face was. His expression showed so many feelings; anger, hatred, sadness, worry... It was truly amazing.
The presence of those emotions in Akito's expression did interest him, but it also warmed up his insides and it made him feel fuzzy. Toya was glad to know Akito cared.
"Well, we can talk shit about your dad inside," Akito said. "It's getting dark. And cold. Mostly cold. Also, I kind of don't want to yell swears in the middle of the street. People are gonna think I'm drunk or high or something."
Toya smiled. "Yeah. We don't want that."
The two boys went inside and Ena immediately gave Akito a side eye from the couch, where she was sitting while holding her phone up close to her face.
"Did Mom and Dad say you're allowed to have your boyfriend over?" Ena said, a barely noticeable teasing tone in her voice. "And hey, Toya."
"Hello, Ena," Toya waved at the girl.
"Yes, they did, Ena," Akito rolled his eyes at Ena. "Well, they don't know he's my boyfriend, and I don't want you to tell them!"
"Why not?" Ena smirked. "Chicken."
"You make it so hard to not punch you," Akito glared at Ena and took Toya's hand. "Wanna go to my room, Toya? That way can put your stuff down."
"Sure." Toya smiled softly at Akito, making him blush.
Toya couldn't help but notice that Akito wanted to say something, but that he was holding it in.
"Ew, gays!" Ena joked, staring at her phone while scrolling with her thumb. "Don't make out too loudly."
Toya walked beside Akito as the ginger led him down the hall and into the room. The two got onto Akito's bed, laying on their backs beside each other comfortably. Akito was staring up at the ceiling, and so was Toya.
"You look so nice when you smile," Akito said, his voice soft. "It's a shame you don't smile so much."
I guess that's what he wanted to say earlier, he looks relieved in a way.
Toya's cheeks warmed up. "Thank you," He said in a hushed tone. "You have a nice smile, too."
Akito turned his head to Toya, his face red. He then kissed Toya briefly on the lips.
Toya smiled at Akito after the two separated their lips. Then he went in for more. And that lasted for a while—before someone knocked on the bedroom door then immediately opened it, startling the two boys into pulling away.
There stood Ena, her arms folded over her chest. "Sorry to interrupt your make-out session, but Mom wants to meet Toya. Continue later or something." The way she'd phrased it made the two blush.
Their 'make-out session' ended early by Ena's interruption, Toya followed Ena and Akito to the living room, where their mother supposedly was.
"Okay, we're here," Akito said to his mother as Ena left.
"Oh, this is Aoyagi?" Mrs. Shinonome walked over to Toya and extended her hand. "Nice to meet you."
Toya nodded and shook the woman's hand. "Hello. The pleasure's all mine."
Mrs. Shinonome cracked a smile. "Oh, he's polite," She said.
"Yeah," Akito said with a smile he visibly tried to stifle. "He's really nice and his singing voice is just as beautiful as himself."
Toya began to blush lightly, the trace of a smile visible on his face.
That's sweet, Akito, but are you trying to make it obvious to your mother that we're dating?
Mrs. Shinonome looked at Akito for a few more moments. "You seem very fond of Aoyagi," She said. "You don't usually talk about anything. I'm lucky if I get a little grunt out of you!"
Akito didn't say anything. He just looked her in the eyes, his face not showing the slightest trace of emotion.
"I guess that just puts to show what a good friend Aoyagi is to you!" Mrs. Shinonome looked at Toya with a smile.
"Yeah," Akito was obviously suppressing a smile.
"Great," Mrs. Shinonome said. "Well, I just wanted to meet the boy that would be staying with us for a few days. You two can go back to doing what you were doing before."
Little does she know...
"THEY WERE MA—" Ena began to shout from her room, but Akito interrupted her.
"PLAYING VIDEO GAMES," Akito finished. "We were playing video games."
Toya nodded.
"Okay," Mrs. Shinonome warily said.
Akito took Toya's wrist and brought him back to his room. The two boys began to play video games. They were actually playing video games. That is, until something happened and they began to 'play video games' again.
Toya's stomach always squeezed itself whenever he was kissing Akito. It was an uncomfortable feeling yet the most comfortable feeling he knew at the same time.
Toya heard a notification sound coming from his phone. He waited a second before pulling away from Akito and checking what it was.
Akito glued himself to Toya's side, leaning his head onto his boyfriend's shoulder. "What's up?"
"Tsukasa texted me," Toya said as he read the message. "He just found Saki."
Toya's heart was beating rapidly and his excitement was overflowing. Though, Toya being Toya, none of it was displayed on his face.
"Saki?" Akito repeated, confused. "Who the hell's that?"
"His sister," Toya answered, hugging Akito close with one of his arms. "Twelve years ago, he lost her. We thought she drowned. Apparently not."
"He lost his sister?" Akito lifted up his head and his eyes met Toya's. "Damn. Someone saved her?"
"I guess so," Toya said. "He's super excited about it."
"And I'm guessing you are, too," Akito said. "You never show any emotion, so it's just a guess."
"I'm aware of that, love," Toya said. "But I really can't control whether my face shows emotion or not."
Akito sighed. "I know. It's just that you're so good-looking, and your smile is too. But since you never show emotion, you never smile. Okay, well, not never, but you know what I mean."
"Thank you again, Akito." Toya typed out a reply to Tsukasa. "And yeah, I know what you mean."
Toya
<That's great!>
<How did you find her? Aren't you in the States?>
World Future Star! 💫
<YEAH!!!>
<IT'S A MIRACLE!!!!! SOME PEOPLE THAY TRABEL A LOT SAVED HER WHEN THEY WERE IN JAPAN>
<THEY COINCIDENTALLY CAME TO AMERICA WHILE WE DID!!!!!>
Toya
<Awesome!! :D >
<Have you told your mother yet?>
World Future Star! 💫
<No!!>
<Not yet!!!>
"So many exclamation points..." Akito mumbled.
"That's just how Tsukasa is," Toya said. "I find it charming."
"Charming?" Akito repeated, alarmed.
Toya let out a soft chuckle. "Calm down, Akito, don't get jealous," He kissed Akito on the cheek. "There's two definitions to the word 'charming'. Plus, Tsukasa's like a brother to me."
Akito let out a small grunt and smushed himself back onto Toya's side. "Fine."
Toya
<You should tell her soon.>
<I could tell her for you, if you want.>
World Future Star! 💫
<Yes please!!! I have to go! Byebye!!!!!>
Toya
<Bye, Tsukasa!>
——————————
Akito woke up and felt Toya in his arms, just as he had been when he'd fallen asleep.
Huh. Usually Toya's up before me.
...
He's really pretty.
Akito admired Toya for a few more moments before deciding that he should get changed. He carefully shifted his position so that Toya was no longer in his arms. He'd done it in a careful manner to make sure that his boyfriend wouldn't wake up while he was doing it.
"Akito!~ Ena!~" Mrs. Shinonome said. "Your father and I have some good news we need to tell you!~"
Akito quickly got changed before running over to where his mother's voice was coming from. "What's up?" He said, the lack of excitement and enthusiasm in his voice was ignored by his mother.
Ena soon arrived. "What do you want?" She grumbled.
"We've seen the way Aoyagi gets along with you two," Mrs. Shinonome said. "Like a brother! So your father and I decided that we could adopt him since his father might disown him. If you three agree, that is!"
The words 'like a brother' echoed in Akito's head. The room was silent for a few moments.
Suddenly, Ena burst out laughing, collapsing then practically rolling on the floor.
Akito stared at his mother, horrified. "You want to... Adopt Toya..."
A sleepy Toya came out from Akito's bedroom, already changed into his clothes. "What's with all the noise?" He asked.
"Oh! Oh yeah, tell him!" Ena struggled to say between laughs.
"No, you little—" Akito glared at Ena.
"Aoyagi!" Mrs. Shinonome said cheerily. "We've decided that we want to adopt you! If your father does end up disowning you, you can join our family and Akito can be your brother!"
Toya's expression changed. His eyes widened slightly and there was just a hint of terror in his eyes. He looked at Akito, whose expression was very similar, just more expressive.
"M—Mom—" Ena's laughs interrupted her.
Akito glared at Ena again before turning to his mother. "U—Um, Mom, you shouldn't do that," He started nervously.
Toya nodded rapidly. "Yeah, you shouldn't."
"Why not?" Mrs. Shinonome said, perplexed as to why Ena was—quite literally—dying of laughter.
"Oh! Oh, I can't— I can't breathe—Oh!" Ena laughed, sprawled out on the ground, her abs in pain from her laugher. "Oh, oh my—Oh!"
"Shut up, you," Akito said through gritted teeth before looking back at his mother. "Um, you shouldn't do it because I, uh..." He glanced around and his eyes settled on Toya. "Because I hate Toya!"
Akito let go of Toya's hand and took a step away from him. This only made Ena laugh harder.
"Huh?" The blue-haired boy sounded confused and hurt, but he understood after Akito nudged him gently. "Oh! Oh, yes, I despise Akito. With my whole heart."
Toya took a step away from Akito as well.
"What?" Mrs. Shinonome said. "But..."
Her eyes wandered all over the place as she was thinking deeply.
"We'd constantly try to kill each other," Akito shrugged. "I'm sure you don't want that."
"You've been peaceful for the past few days!" Mrs. Shinonome argued.
"Have we?" Toya asked.
"...Have you?" Mrs. Shinonome said. "Oh, dear..."
"Yeah, Toya," Akito spat out Toya's name as if it tasted like carrots—his least favourite food. "Since we hate you so much, you should totally leave. Go live with Tenma or something."
Translation: I love you, Toya, but you need to go somewhere else. Maybe Tenma's place would be the best option.
Toya seemed to have received the message and he shot Akito a fake glare. "Maybe I will. I'll go get my things."
Translation: Okay, love. I'll leave now.
"You better," Akito said. "Good riddance."
Translation: I wish you could've stayed longer. See you, I love you.
"God, you two are so stupid."
"Shut up, Ena."
——————————
A few knocks resounded through the house.
Who could be at the door? Tsukasa's in the United States, isn't he? Why would anyone come here?
The woman stood up from the couch, pausing her show. She set down her tea mug before cracking the door open just an inch. The sight of the person standing behind it gave her a pleasant surprise.
"Toya!" Ms. Tenma smiled. "It's been a while! Come in!"
Ms. Tenma swung the door open and let the boy in. He stepped inside.
"Hello, Ms. Tenma," Toya greeted the woman. "I know that now isn't the best time, but my father has sent me out of the house for several days, and staying with Akito didn't really work out."
"So, you want to stay here?" Ms. Tenma asked. "You're more than welcome to! One question, though. Who's Akito?"
"My boyfriend," Toya answered.
Toya has a boyfriend? I never knew that! Since when?
"You two got into a fight?" The woman guessed.
"Not at all," Toya began to grin. "It's actually quite a funny story."
"Oh, that's a relief," Ms. Tenma said with a smile. "What happened, then?"
Toya told Ms. Tenma about the whole situation, allowing the woman to have a good laugh.
"That certainly sounds interesting," She said. "But, hey, if we're still offering to adopt you, then I'd gladly do so. Unless you have a secret crush on Tsukasa that I don't know about." She joked, chuckling.
"No!" Toya said hurriedly. "I'd love to be adopted by you. Tsukasa is already like a big brother to me. And, not only do I already have a boyfriend that I am loyal to, but Tsukasa and Kamishiro definitely like each other. I'm certain that Tsukasa has spoken to you about him before."
"Kamishiro?" Ms. Tenma echoed. "Would that happen to be Rui?"
"Yes," Toya nodded. "You've met him before?"
"Not yet," Ms. Tenma said. "But I've been wanting to. Tsukasa talks about that boy an awful lot." She sighed. "Anyway, you say he and Tsukasa like each other?"
"Well, yes," The boy said. "Tsukasa's crush on Kamishiro is obvious, and I think that Kamishiro has been dropping hints as well. Tsukasa gets so conflicted sometimes that he talks to me about it for long periods of time, sometimes over text and sometimes in person." Toya smiled. "It's always sort of funny in person. His face gets all red."
Ms. Tenma laughed. "That's Tsukasa, all right." She paused. "Tsukasa went to the United States to put on a show, right?"
"Him and his troupe," Toya nodded. "Otori's older brother is supposed to be supervising them."
"I hope he's enjoying himself," Ms. Tenma sighed.
"Oh, Ms. Tenma," Toya said. "Tsukasa said that he found Saki."
Ms. Tenma choked on her own saliva, clapping her hand against her chest. "Saki!?"
Oh, Tsukasa... Those types of joke aren't funny...
"Did you tell him that it wasn't funny?" Ms. Tenma frowned.
"What?" Toya frowned back at her.
"That the joke wasn't funny," Ms. Tenma said.
"It's not a joke."
——————————
i told you guys that nothing would be wrong with the chaoter 🔥
yes this chapter was really necessary
Word count: 2692 (holy shit thats even more than the confession chapter-)