Chapter Text
As the final bell rang, Akito was quick to shove his books into his bag, zipping it up and slinging it over his shoulder.
School was finally over. It was like a breath of fresh air.
He bumped into An in the hallway on his way out. He'd almost missed her amongst the sea of students hanging out by the lockers.
She kept nudging his side with her elbow and asking if he was finally going to confess to Toya.
He didn't want to add to the cliche scenario that was fessing up on the last day of school, and even though that's what he'd originally planned, it was way too corny, so he'd mentally decided not to.
"I don't think so,"
He said vaguely,
"I don't want to make things weird between us."
"As if they could get any weirder. Come on, today's your chance!"
She tried to persuade.
"I won't tell him now, but I'll tell him soon."
"That's what you said last time,"
She reminded.
"Right..."
He replied sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck.
An groaned,
"Watching you guys is painful. Just get together already!"
Akito scoffed lightly.
"As if you're one to talk. Didn't you go on two dates with Kohane already and she still hasn't caught on to your intentions?"
"Hey, don't try to turn this on me. Me and Kohane are doing just fine. We're talking about you here, you and your hopelessness."
"I'm not hopeless."
He retorted, exasperated by her pushy antics.
"Whatever. Changing topics, how'd you do on finals?"
He grimaced a bit.
"Well, I didn't fail..."
"That’s progress. I didn’t either. Those questions sure were tough, though."
The clearance rate of the school’s exams decreased steadily every year; Akito and Am were the main culprits behind that. Still, every passing score was progress — not to mention a miracle.
Now at the front of the school, they walked out beneath the dappled shade casted by the leafy trees that lined the space.
They looked around for their other friend Toya amongst the students there, but to no avail.
"Hm, looks like Toya isn't out yet."
An noted, unable to locate him amongst the crowd.
"Let's wait for him here, then."
Akito prompted, taking a seat on one the low concrete planters that held the trees and shrubs. An followed suit.
He let out a sigh, tilting his head to the side as he gazed down at the floor, his palms resting on the cool, smooth concrete of the planter.
After a minute or two, he perked up at the sound of his partner's voice.
"Akito, An! Sorry, I stayed back helping out a friend."
Toya jogged over, hands clutching the strap of his satchel.
"Hey, Toya! It's no problem, we were just waiting here for you."
An replied enthusiastically.
"Thank you,"
Toya said kindly, a gentle smile on his face as he turned to face Akito.
Akito stood from where he sat, a subtle grin on his face as he lightly pushed him back by the chest.
“You’re late, y’know.”
The three left school together, casual words being exchanged all the way. They separated at a nearby intersection because An was going somewhere with her dad that evening and had to get home early to get ready.
With her gone, it was just the two of them, left to walk the streets of Scramble Crossing together.
"Do you have any plans for the summer, Akito?"
Toya queried.
Akito glanced over at him.
"Not really. Other than spending it with you, that is."
He responded with a shrug.
"Yeah? I don't have much going on either."
There was that pretty smile again. Akito could never get tired of it.
They took a detour onto Main Street. There, they stopped at a corner store to get some popsicles.
With the sun beating down on their backs, it was a much needed refresher. Akito lived in his hoodie, but those layers could definitely get pesky during the hotter times of the year like summer.
Akito did his best to split the popsicle they'd gotten equally, but every time, he always ended up taking the tip of the second popsicle with the first one.
He insisted Toya had the first one, despite the other's polite protests.
They leaned against a railing as they had their respective popsicles in comfortable silence.
Despite being glad that school was out, Akito had no clue what he was going to do all summer. Every year ended the same: a bummer after a few weeks. He doubted it would be a problem now, though. Not when he had Toya.
Akito glanced down at his hand as it unintentionally brushed against Toya's. He had a sudden occurrence. Should he...?
He tried to be subtle about it, sliding his hand into Toya's and loosely holding it.
His face betrayed his true feelings, his cheeks suffusing with a slight pink.
The blush deepened as he noticed the rosy tinge on Toya's cheeks, too.
They didn't say anything, though. He was relieved that Toya hadn't pulled away. It felt nice, holding his soft hand in his own.
He walked most of the way home with Toya, still holding his hand. It was surreal. When they had to go their separate ways, Toya told Alito that he'd text him later. It was something to look forward to after his traipse concluded.
The walk to Akito's house wasn't all that bad. If it weren't for the heat and the strap of his bag rubbing against his shoulder the wrong way, it would be fine.
Upon entering his house, his mother greeted him with the usual questions like how school went and all. His answers were listless as he slid his shoes off at the door. He then trudged upstairs to his room.
Once inside, he hung his bag on the hook that was on the back of his bedroom door. He pulled off his hoodie, letting out a sigh of relief as the chilled air from the ceiling fan hit his skin. He loosened and pulled off his tie, tossing it into the dirty laundry basket that was set at the foot of his bed.
He sat down on the edge of it, pulling his phone out of his pocket to check if Toya had texted him yet. To his delight, he had.
They spent most of the afternoon texting back and forth. He'd found out that Toya was going to be free most of the summer, which was good.
He'd built up the courage to ask him to sleep over that weekend. Toya had slept over before, but it always made Akito nervous to ask.
He agreed.
Maybe he could confess that night? He mulled it over, but ultimately scrapped the idea. That would make him uncomfortable, and he didn’t want that in the slightest.
He was hesitant about telling Toya how he felt, even though he really did want to. He had a hunch they didn't see each other as only friends, given... well, a lot of things.
But still, he didn't want to assume anything. He was afraid of ruining their friendship with his own messy, complicated emotions.
He shut off his phone, launching it in the general direction of his beanbag chair and hoping it landed there.
He'd decided to give it more thought later.