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Kohane pants, sitting down on the nearest bench at the park they usually practice on. She had been practicing alone for a long while, wanting to improve her skills to catch up to the rest of her group.
However, she ended up pushing herself a little too much this time.
She stands up again, legs wobbly, as she grabs her stuff and starts heading towards WEEKEND GARAGE. She'd rather get a nice, sweet café au lait to rest and relax a little.
When she steps inside of the Café, she doesn't see An or Ken-san behind the counter, but she sees Akito. He also looked up at her as she stepped in, his attention caught by the bell on the door.
“Ah, Shinonome-kun…” She smiles sheepishly, noticing how hoarse her voice sounds. Akito frowns, tilting his head to the side. “I-I was practicing alone… Haha…”
“You were, huh…” He crosses his arms, looking at her with a stern expression. “And you hydrated yourself? Did you warm up correctly?”
“U-uhm…” Kohane looked away. “No…”
“Typical.” He sighed, putting on the apron. “Go sit down. I'll see if I can make ya some tea for your throat.” Kohane nods and sits down where she usually does, checking her phone while waiting for her tea.
«Weird…» She thought to herself, looking over at the counter where Akito was making her drink. «I’ve never seen Shinonome-kun be so stern… He reminded me a little of my mother for a second.»
Akito finishes the tea and serves it to Kohane. She smiles a little, grateful that Akito was so kind as to help her out. “Thank you, Shinonome-kun.”
“Be careful, it's a little hot.” He sighs, sitting down in front of her. “You need to be more careful with ya voice.”
“Yeah… Sorry…” Kohane nervously laughs before starting to drink her tea. “Thanks for taking care of us, Shinonome-kun…”
“Hah? I'm not takin’ care of you.” He huffs, his cheeks turning a little pink. “I'm makin’ sure ya don't ruin your voice. Vivid BAD SQUAD doesn't need any more accidents.”
♡
An slumps down on the couch at Meiko’s Café, sighing. She didn't have a good night's sleep and her energy was off the drain. Usually she would be the most energetic and passionate of the bunch, but today she was completely down.
“An… Are you okay?” Miku asks, getting close to her. Her expression is concerned, since she's not used to seeing An so down. “Do you want me to tell Meiko to make you a coffee…?”
“Uhm… Yeah, maybe that'll wake me up…” She smiles at her. Miku smiles, patting her shoulder before turning around, making her way to the counter.
An arm stops her, however. “Hell no.” Akito frowns, making a ‘stop’ signal to Miku before going over to An. God knows when he got into SEKAI. “No sleep?”
“Duh…? I think it's pretty obvious when I don't sleep well. But it's fine.” She yawns, sitting up straight on the couch. Akito's frown deepens. “I'll surely wake up with Meiko's coffee.”
“Yeah, it'll give you more energy, but it ain't gonna make up for your lack of sleep, Idiot.” He smacks her shoulder, making her yelp. “Move over.”
An grumbles but does move over, making space next to her for Akito to sit down. The boy plopped down next to her, sitting up straight. He pats her lap, looking at her. An’s eyes widened, and in her badly rested and messed up mind, she only managed to mutter. “What…?”
“Lay here. You're going to sleep while Touya and Kohane get here.” An stays speechless for a second, doubting if Akito was being serious or If he was just teasing her, but her sleep deprived mind won over her and decided to crash on Akito's legs. “Tch. Stupid An…” He huffs.
“Well, at least she has someone who takes care of her.” Miku chuckles, watching Akito adjust An’s head on his lap. The boy groans, a slight blush appearing on his cheeks.
“Oi, I ain't takin’ care of ‘em.” His gaze moves to An, brushing her hair with his fingers. “I'm just makin’ sure we have effective practices. Even coffee won't do much for her if she's sleep deprived. Her performance may decrease significantly without a good rest.”
“Of course, of course.” Miku giggles again. “Just make sure Rin and Len don't see you giving An a lap pillow. They might get slightly jealous.”
“Whatever that means.” He smirks.
♡
Touya had woken up pretty late. It's unusual for him to oversleep, let alone oversleep on a school day! But he had to get ready fast and run to catch up on time for class.
Once he stepped through the gates of Kamiyama High School, he was a little more relieved. He walked over to class, and even though he received a few weird looks from his classmates and some teachers here and there, he managed to get through his first few periods.
When lunch time came around, he went to look for Akito. Naturally, he eats together with him, except when Tsukasa asks him to have lunch with him. Once he finds him, he greets him. Akito was about to greet back, but he frowned as soon as he looked at Touya.
“What the hell happened to you…?” Akito tilts his head, trying to get a better look of Touya.
“Huh? Is there something wrong…?” Touya asks, and he only gets more confused when Akito huffs.
“Come here.” The other boy yanks him by his school tie, making him lean down a little. He feels Akito brushing his fingers through his hair, parting it in the places where the colors of it divided and making sure it's well put. “Ya didn't brush it?”
“N-no, I overslept a little today… I was in a rush to get here.” He says, avoiding Akito's gaze. The ginger chuckles, still fixing Touya's messy hair. “Do I look that bad?”
“A little. You're usually so well put for school, it's weird seein’ ya so… disheveled.” He fixes Touya's tie next, since he messed it up a lot more when he yanked it. He also discreetly helps Touya tuck in his shirt. “Mhm, much better.”
“Thank you, Akito.” He says, slightly embarrassed. “I forgot to look in the mirror before leaving.”
“I noticed. Make sure to not oversleep again.” He gently smacks his shoulder. “Idiot.”
“Mhm. At least I have you to care for me when I need it.” He smiles, making Akito's cheeks turn pink once again.
“Seriously, what's wrong with you three…?” He grumbles, looking away and crossing his arms. “I'm not takin' care of you. I just…” He pauses, not being able to find an excuse for helping out Touya. He flushes even more and slaps the taller’s shoulder. “Shut up!” The other boy laughs.
“Thank you anyways, Akito.” He says politely, which only makes the ginger smile sheepishly.
“You're welcome, dude.”
♡
Mizuki's never thought her day could get worse after she fell and bruised her knee before coming to school, but of course, those boys wouldn't stop bothering her, making snarky comments on her not ‘being a normal girl’, which only helped to make her feel like shit and more insecure.
And it especially hurt that she had seen Akito talking to them.
She didn't hear what they were talking about, and she probably didn't want to hear it. It's come to a point where she's afraid even Akito, someone who's a very close friend and the little brother to one of her best friends, would be disgusted by her and what she is.
And the worst part: Rui wasn't here to comfort and reassure her, since he was sick at home. So she just has to deal with these awful feelings all on her own. That's why she was here, at the rooftop, the one place she thought was comfortable enough to cry her eyes out on.
She didn't expect anyone to come here, since it was a class period and not lunch.
But her attention completely shifted to the door to the rooftop when it opened, and was surprised to see Akito coming in.
“Otouto-kun…?” She sniffles, using the sleeves on her cardigan to wipe her tears. “Aren't you supposed to be in class…?”
“I heard some people sayin’ they saw ya comin’ here.” He scratches his neck, awkwardly shifting in place. “I initially was only goin’ to the bathroom but… Hearin’ that made me a little worried, especially because I know you only come here when you're not feelin' great and Kamishiro ain't here today. So,” He smiles a little. “I came here to see ya.”
“Ah, you did…” She smiles sadly, wiping her tears again. “I-I’m fine, really… Go back to class. You don't have to worry about me… I'm sure if you found out anyways, you'd be disgusted.”
Akito stays silent for a second, not wanting to make any sudden moves and scare Mizuki. He slowly makes his way to where she is, sitting next to her. “I…I’m not really good at comfortin’ people.” He looks down, before continuing to speak. “I won't force you to talk, Akiyama… But I want to help you.”
“Thank you, Otouto-kun.” She sniffles again, hugging her legs to her chest. “Today's just… going like shit.” She laughs emptily.
“Do you, um… Need a hug?” He shifts in place, wanting to get closer to her without invading her personal space, but not knowing how.
Mizuki nods, hugging him and instantly breaking down on his arms. Akito rubs her back, but doesn't say anything. He stays there, quiet, only embracing her and letting her cry, which she deeply appreciates.
She cries for about 15 whole minutes. By the end of it, she feels drained and tired, so she's also grateful Akito hadn't pushed her away as soon as she stopped violently crying.
“Ah, I'm so sorry…” She sniffles, her voice slightly muffled by Akito's hoodie. “This must be annoying.”
“Not at all.” He hugs her tighter, softly nuzzling her head with his. “I offered to stay here with ya.”
“Thanks, Otouto-kun. For taking care of me.” She smiles a little. “I knew you loved me deep inside your cold little heart~” She teases, making the boy groan.
“Shut it, Akiyama.” He nudges her, making her laugh. “I ain't takin' care of you… I just want you to be okay.”
“Isn't that exactly what taking care of someone implies?” She pulls away from the hug and smirks, her hands still on his shoulders. Akito flushes and huffs, looking away from her.
“Shut up.”
“Hahaha! You're just like your big sis~”