Aki did not let go of Liam and they went inside their apartment, hugging. He seemed to be aiming to the sofa but Liam stirred him to Aki's room.
"No, you'll rest in your room."
Aki groaned in response.
When Liam tucked him in and started walking away, Aki frantically grabbed at the hem of Liam's shirt. Liam stumbled and sat back on the bed. He tried to stand up again.
"No!" Aki's grip on the fabric tightened.
Liam tousled Aki's hair. "You need to rest."
Aki pouted as he turned his misty eyes to Liam. "I'm sorry, I'm really sorry. Don't hate me."
He began to sob and clung to the sleeve of Liam's shirt. Liam's silence made Aki gripped tighter. He murmured his apology again and again.
If there was one thing Liam learned from experiencing Aki's previous drunken state, it was that Aki could get really clingy when drunk. When sober, Aki was untouchable. He was like an ethereal god best looked from afar that no mortal would dare approach. He always wore a detached facial expression and kept to himself. That was why Liam could not approach Aki.
When they started living together, he learned that Aki was a really private person but easy to get along with. Still, even with outgoing friends like the guy from Moonlight, Aki was not the type to initiate any touching.
So when Aki leaned his head on his shoulder back at Moonlight that night, it was both exhilarating and nerve-wracking. The person he had been wanting to talk to all those months was suddenly snuggling in his arms.
Really, drunk Aki was the most dangerous. He was bad for Liam's heart in every sense of the word.
"Okay, let go of my sleeve first," Liam said not unkindly as he rubbed Aki's knuckles, trying to soothe the other's mood.
But Aki just shook his head and sobbed.
"Don't cry," Liam wrapped his arms around Aki's shoulders. The warmth made Aki cry even more.
Liam chuckled, helplessness in his voice when he said, "What should I do with you?"
They remained in that position with Liam rubbing Aki's back until the other calmed down. He stopped crying but did not let go of Liam. Liam rubbed his hand on Aki's arm.
"Sleep. I'll stay here until you do," Liam said.
The way Aki's eyes glinted told Liam that he said the wrong thing. And it was proven when Aki said, "Then I won't sleep so you'll stay here."
Liam laughed. He was going to lose his mind if he was not already. If he had not seen all those toppled cans of beer in the living room, he would not believe that Aki was drunk and was testing him instead.
He watched as Aki buried his head on Liam's chest. Liam bit his lip. Aki was adorable tonight. Too adorable. No one would have been able to guess that he could be this wilful under the influence of alcohol. Did he always act like this whenever he was drunk? Just by thinking that Aki acted like this to someone other than Liam made him depressed. He held Aki tighter.
"You shouldn't drink a lot unless you're with me," Liam whispered as he put his chin over Aki's head.