Archive of Our Own ^beta

They weren't supposed to end up like this...

From an objective standpoint, the situation shouldn't have been anything unordinary. Letting your best friend sleep over at your house because you don't want him to catch cold walking home in the rain was a perfectly normal thing to do, as was stripping off your jacket and holding it over his head to ensure he wouldn't get too wet on the way over. That was what Akito thought as he invited Toya on their impromptu sleepover, anyway.

Akito's mother had never been strict about having friends over so long as she was generally aware of their presence, and Toya's father seemed surprisingly uncaring of the matter all the same. Though perhaps that wasn't entirely a good thing on Toya's front, both of them were far too excited for their first sleepover to give it any afterthought.

Their subsequent coexistence for the rest of the night was almost too natural. All they really did was lounge around in their sweats, which Toya seemed oddly sheepish to accept from Akito's closet at the time, eating whatever junk food they could scrounge around for and watching dumb movies until nightfall -- the epitome of what you'd expect from the sleepover of two teenage boys, really.

The problem started when it was time to go to sleep, in which they realized that there was only one bed but two bodies that required a resting place. What with Akito refusing to let his partner sleep on the floor and Toya insisting Akito didn't needlessly put himself out, there was only one solution to the issue in front of them...

Sleeping in the same bed as your best bro was still somewhat in the realm of normality, right? Even if Akito had to force himself to ignore how hyper-aware he was of Toya's presence even with their backs turned away from each other, praying that the sound of his heartbeat wasn't nearly as deafening as it did inside his blood-rushed head... Yeah, totally normal.

Forcing himself to sleep should've been the end of that awkwardness, but whatever piss poor excuse for a god was up there usually didn't offer Akito that much favor. He slept heavier than usual that night, unable to register a distinct yet entirely alien heat blanketing him from behind even as his groggy waking groan filled the room.

"Huh...?" cracked Akito in confusion, not even a quarter awake yet most certainly recognizing the feeling of something wrapping around him which wasn't there before. Though, the hold he found himself ensnared by was snug yet gentle... Maybe it was because he had only just woken up, but it was easy to lose himself into the comfortable embrace which invited him so openly.

...Until he craned his neck ever so slightly, revealing a truth that made him want to rephrase his earlier thought as "How the fuck did we end up like this?!"

Toya was snuggling up to him from behind without a care in the world, seeming to sleep all the more peacefully for it. He was out like a light, the semblance of his snore nearly silent as Akito tried to process the fact that he was currently being cuddled by his best friend and promptly ignored the fact that he was very much enjoying it.

"T-Toya?!" Akito exclaimed, still not quite there enough to make it a proper shout but enough to make his partner stir behind him. His attempts to jostle out of Toya's hold only seemed to result in the taller boy pulling him closer like some sort of clingy pet. If his sleepy state prevented him from feeling every single atom of where Toya's warmth met his before, he had no excuse or escape now.

Hearing a satisfied yawn come from his partner, Akito quickly flopped back into his original position and prayed the delicate hands sleepily pawing at his clothed midriff weren't a sign that he'd been caught.

"It was an accident. He didn't mean to cuddle me. It's his first time properly sleeping away from home, so his mind tried to comfort him and I just happened to be the only cuddle-able thing within reach. Yeah. And even if it wasn't, there's nothing wrong with two dudes spooning through the night together, right? Totally." Akito lied to himself unconvincingly in the moments leading to the tiny gasp of realization which left his partner's throat.

Just when Akito thought he'd been validated, giving him a moment to relax all the muscles he'd subconsciously tensed, Toya let out a tiny amused chuckle... and fucking pulled Akito closer so he could nuzzle at the crook of his neck, making his way up his partner's nape until he could take in the scent of the fluffy orange hair which had been tossed about in their slumber.

"Good morning, Akito~" Toya cooed -- he fucking cooed at Akito -- in that whispery, slightly rasped morning voice of his, and Akito absolutely hated how fuzzy it made him feel. He tried his absolute hardest to pretend like he hadn't already woke up, but the flush of color in his cheeks and incessant pounding in his chest gave him away in less than a moment.

"Are you being shy again?" Toya spoke with the slightest hum in his voice, lips pressed right to the shell of Akito's reddened ear. As if to make the latter's embarrassment more evident, his blush had already crept up to the tips of those ears. The sight elicited another giggle from Toya, overflowing with fondness as he leaned forward to press a gentle smooch to the back of Akito's pierced earlobe.

What the fuck was happening.

"I know you're awake, Akito." Toya whispered, and Akito could feel the stretch of his partner's smile forming just as much as he could hear it in his voice. That soft, adoring tone offset by a hint of Toya's unique sense of playfulness was hardly unfamiliar to Akito's ears, yet to experience it right after feeling Toya literally kiss his ear like they were some goopy domestic couple and not a pair of dumb kids who weren't even together basking in the glow of their first sleepover was like stepping into the lion's den.

Before Akito could kickstart his brain into the proper gear, Toya's impatient lips were on him yet again. This time he kissed right against that weird ticklish spot between the ear and jaw, drawing out a weird squeak that had Akito's face and ego burning hot enough to melt. Toya's only response was to grin against the now unintentionally-craned spanse of his partner's neck, a silent yet effective tease as he was hurled into another wave of attack.

A repeated 'chu' became the dominant noise in the room as Toya stamped loving smooch after smooch along the side of Akito's neck. The younger had a keen sense for every lip mark left upon his skin as if they were being branded into him, feeling himself flitter between pondering if this were a dream and not really caring with each sweet yet overwhelming descent.

"Alright, alright, stop, I'm up..." Akito grumbled, finally relenting after one too many blows to his pride. He put on his best attempt at faux annoyance as Toya finally released him from his cage enough that he could sit up, but it was pointless. That dorky little smile as he rubbed his kiss-littered neck, carving a very welcome addition into Toya's collection of his favorite Akito expressions, was much too blatant.

To make matters worse, Akito's tiny taste of freedom was short-lived. Within seconds, Akito found himself being dragged back down to the level of his partner -- On his side as they were before, only this time their faces were so close that Akito was sure he'd go blind from looking directly at that damn smile. That look in his eye which seemed so sure nothing else was even close to worth its attention was almost too much to bear.

"There you are, my pretty boy." Toya spoke softly, his right hand gently brushing away some rogue strands of hair so he could get a proper look at Akito. He looked as if he could dive in at any moment, and yet he left Akito in complete suspense as to when the inevitable climax of what he'd decided was a dream would happen. The older's gaze was unchanging as he drank in each and every detail of Akito's face down to very atoms which formed it, savoring the sight of his adorably flustered partner the way one would savor a decadent wine, an idle hand continuing to play with his hair all the while.

"I love you, Akito." Toya said suddenly, each syllable stressed to a point that left no room for misinterpretation; yet the words still flowed from his mouth like an unobstructed river toward the ocean.

Naturally, Akito freaked out. Toya, his best friend and singing partner, just said those three irreversible words with all the confidence Akito wished he had in this moment. It was frankly a little bit scary how utterly small it made him feel to confront the now-undeniable fact that he'd been waiting -- no, yearning -- to hear those words for a long time.

"I... love you too, Toya." Akito mumbled, wanting to actually die over how pathetic he sounded in his profession. This would typically be the moment he offset the tenderness of his words by calling him "dude" or "partner", ruffling up his hair or playfully slinging an arm around... Anything that would've convinced himself those tiny fantasies which sometimes dashed through his head meant nothing, or at the very least provided some fallback should Toya realize the sheer intimacy of his disposition.

He had nowhere to run when Toya confirmed his reciprocation so blatantly, though. Even less so when the older's lazy smile curled further into a proper grin, narrowing eyes full of adoration as he drew Akito closer... and kissed him, slotting their lips together for only a moment, though it felt suspiciously like an eternity for Akito.

Weirdly, Akito had imagined their situations would be reversed should this scenario ever come to pass. Akito was meant to be the one who took the lead, about as bold as he thought he was secure in his advance. He would capture an inexperienced Toya in a sparkling kiss, endeared by his clumsy reciprocation... Yet here he was now, made to fidget and blush like some awkward schoolgirl as Toya kissed him like it was something he'd done a thousand times before.

Well, in fairness, Akito's experience was also nonexistent, something that had only hit him just now -- He was currently allowing Toya to take his first kiss. It was once again difficult to discern whether or not he was dreaming. The feeling of Toya's lips slowly pressing into his was much too correct to be fake, yet too blissful to come from reality all the same. All he knew for certain was that he couldn't get enough of that crackling electricity which Toya had suddenly become masterful at striking through his whole body with one swift movement.

Toya pulled back, flopping onto his back right when Akito had suddenly decided it was much too soon to disconnect. Moving on instinct, it was Akito's turn to chase his partner's lips this time, climbing atop and keeping his face in position with one hand... only to chicken out upon actually leaning in, unable to handle that expectant, lovestruck expression that Toya absolutely refused to wipe off that gorgeous face of his.

"Is everything okay, Akito?" asked an oblivious Toya, unintentionally adding to his partner's self-made misery as he leaned into Akito's palm. The sight of Toya's cheek squishing into his hand, innocent concern laced into that stupidly cute look he was pulling... Akito couldn't not kiss him, yet he was apparently also awful at working up the balls required to act upon that sudden surge of desire.

"He won't care if you kiss him, you idiot. He literally just did it to you less than 30 seconds ago and you liked it. He'll probably jump for joy if you do it back. Quit being a dumbass and kiss him." Akito internally psyched himself up, if in a rather harsh way, before taking the plunge and basically crashing his face into Toya's. The taller let out a weird squeak that matched the strange noise Akito made earlier, but made no objection as their lips were forcefully smushed together.

Akito pulled back this time. He didn't need much experience to know that kiss sucked, or maybe it was more accurate to call it a collision. Regardless, the way Toya smiled at him as they separated, one hand gingerly stroking at the younger's nape which still shone with the evidence of his earlier kiss attack... It was almost enough to fool Akito into thinking it was the greatest kiss imaginable, something sweet and romantic like the one Toya had given him earlier.

"Quit staring at me like that..." mumbled Akito, though it seemed to fall on deaf ears as Toya was suddenly hooking a second arm around Akito's neck.

"How come?" mused Toya, not an ounce of rejection in his entire body as Akito's hands settled on his waist.

"Cuz it makes me wanna kiss you again." Akito flat-out admitted this time, and Toya could only breathe out a lighthearted chuckle at the notion that this was somehow a bad thing.

"Then kiss me, Akito." Toya spoke just as matter-of-factly as one could, making Akito's heart unequivocally pound as the taller pulled them close together for the hundredth time. "Please?"

This boy was literally going to be the death of Akito.

After a couple misfires from Akito, their lips were able to find each other again. It was him taking the lead this time, impatiently pushing to deepen their kiss barely a few moments in. Luckily, to say Toya readily melted for him seemed to be an understatement, encouraging him to sink Toya further into the bed in his poor attempts to replicate what had been done to him earlier.

Clearly, Akito wasn't as fast of a learner as Toya was. Maybe the problem was just his tendency to overthink everything bubbling up again, but he struggled to get the hang of things in comparison to his partner's seemingly natural gift to instantly make him breathless. Regardless, he could physically feel how blissed out Toya was to receive his kiss.

Only when he could feel Toya struggling to breathe did Akito even consider the idea of pulling away. Their mutual panting quickly filled the room as Akito simply collapsed atop his partner, learning in that moment that kissing was far more of a full-body exercise than those dumb movies Ena used to force him to watch portrayed... His regrets were minimal, though.

A lazy clamoring of arms was the only further attempt by either of them to move, and it was only so they could encase each other in some poor yet comfortable excuse for a hug. Everything felt too good to be true, but Akito wasn't an idiot. He had no idea what had gotten into his partner to even spark this turn of events, but he'd know whether or not his actions were real. Toya really did love him... and he loved Toya back.

"Mm..." Toya grunted, the fluttering of his sleepy eyes being the only factor Akito needed to decide it was fine if they slept in. "I wish we could stay like this after I wake up..."

...Oh. They were about to have a really awkward conversation later, weren't they?