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As Toya watched the trees rolling by through the car window, the green gradually growing denser as time went on, his lips quirked into a gentle smile.
This was only the second road trip he’d been on, the journey identical to the one they’d taken as a group last year. The excitement–more akin to elation–that he’d felt during the car ride last year was nice to experience, but Toya would say that he almost preferred this mellow thrum of energy pulsing through him.
He was glad to be able to set this up again. It had taken some effort to plan everything out, especially with their schedules that never seemed to stop getting busier, but he knew it would be worth it.
His eyes flicked to An and Kohane up front, chattering away as usual. He could sense, rather than see Akito. Forced into close proximity by the short length of the earbuds they shared, Toya could almost feel the heat radiating off of his partner, bodies brushing against each other periodically. It was comforting, in a way. Even in silence, Akito was a calming presence by his side.
An arm leaned into Toya’s. The pressure was too much to be unintentional, but Toya decided not to comment on it. Akito spoke in a soft tone, trying to be mindful of his volume in the peaceful quiet of the car. “What’re you thinking about?”
Leaning into the touch at his side, “Hm?” Gray eyes lazily flicked to meet his curious gaze out of the corner of his eye. That gentle smile widening, “Nothing much, honestly. I’m just feeling grateful to be here on a trip with you all, I suppose.”
His eyelids felt heavier now. Akito always managed to make him feel safe enough to be sleepy. If he could think about it more, he would express his gratitude for the implications of that sentiment, but his thoughts weren’t feeling particularly coherent anymore. Toya barely noticed when Akito’s hand–wait, since when had his arm been around Toya?–gently coaxed him into laying his head on his shoulder.
Not that he minded, of course. In the most practical sense, it was always pleasant to have someone to lay against in order to sleep while traveling, but Toya liked the contact too.
Even just a couple of months ago, one or both of them would’ve been a lot more hesitant to initiate any sort of prolonged touch like this. But, ever since RAD BLAST and the subsequent conversation they’d all had with each other about their feelings that they’d been pushing down to focus on practice, they’d been slowly getting used to the new level of affection they could now more openly initiate.
Toya’s thoughts and musings eventually tapered off, as he finally drifted into a shallow sleep.
----
Toya’s neck was sore.
That was the first thing he’d noticed upon waking up. He supposed it was to be expected with the way he’d slept. Blinking the sleep out of his eyes, he lifted his head off of Akito’s shoulder. Akito looked like he might’ve fallen asleep at some point too, judging by the way his hair stuck up in odd places.
“Oh, cool, you’re awake now.” A dopey grin made its way onto Akito’s face as he spoke, “Pretty good timing to wake up. We just got here– or, well, we got here a couple minutes ago. I figured I’d let you sleep for a little longer, since you seemed like you needed it, y’know?"
Toya belatedly realized that An and Kohane weren’t in the car, confirming Akito’s words. A warmth swelled in his chest as it dawned on him that Akito had delayed getting up. Since the A/C had been turned off when the car was, he’d sat there in the increasingly hot and stale air with Toya leaning his head into his neck uncomfortably out of pure consideration for him. It was… a very nice feeling.
Not waiting for a response, Akito squeezed his shoulder before snaking his arm back around Toya to release him, unable to resist ruffling his hair in the process. It was all so casual, and seeing Akito’s lack of self-consciousness about openly displaying affection was nice. It was refreshing, freeing. Though he was a little too groggy to take action in that moment, he vowed to make sure he could indulge in that new level of affection and return the favor to Akito at some point.
His voice still being a little rough from sleep, “Oh, I suppose we can get out now since I’m awake.”
With a soft chuckle close to his ear, “Yeah, we probably should.”
----
They’d stumbled out of the car to see all the luggage from the car now laid out in the grass. An and Kohane were in the middle of it, trying to sort through the excess of backpacks and suitcases and packages–most of which they arguably did not need. But where was the fun in not overpacking? So, they all delegated where everything was supposed to go and who it all belonged to, working in a perfect sync that Toya figured must’ve carried over from all their practice singing together.
After righting herself from moving one last cooler into her and Kohane’s pile, An clapped with a sigh of a job well-done. Toya smiled to himself at the sight; Ken had the exact same habit.
“Alright! Toya, Akito, this one is your tent.” Nudging a different bundle of fabric with her foot, “This one is me and Kohane’s. We can just set them up over there, I guess?” An gestured to a wide-open clearing as she spoke, and Toya took it in. It looked decent, with a firepit and a wooden picnic table already there.
Lifting up the package that apparently contained their tent, Toya faltered at the unexpected weight before Akito stepped in to grab the handle too. As the two pairs walked off, Toya heard Kohane rambling about how excited she was to set up her hammock, gushing about how ‘these two trees are absolutely perfect!’, before tuning out again to plop the heavy pack down on the ground.
“Does this seem like an okay spot to set up our tent? It’s a good distance from the main area by the firepit, and An and Kohane’s tent,” Toya said, not quite being able to hide the exerted breath that left him.
Ribbing Toya with an amused grin, “Oh, you wanna be far away from the girls, huh?” Shaking his head with a softer smile, “But yeah, this seems good to me. There’s less grass around here, so I’m guessing plenty of other people put their tents here, too. D’you remember how to set it up from last year?”
“Ah– no, I don’t. Well, maybe a little? I remember it giving us trouble last year, so perhaps that experience will make it a bit easier this time,” Toya said with a sheepish smile.
“Probably,” Akito shrugged noncommittally, already bending down to zip open the container and dump out the components of the tent on the ground with less care for the metal that would be above them all night than Toya would’ve preferred.
Crouching down alongside Akito to pluck out the paper instructions from the pile of fabric and metal sticks attached to each other with a weird cord, Toya spotted something. It was a smaller piece of the same material, differently colored from the rest of the tent. Neverendingly curious, Toya held it up to inspect. “Akito, do you know what this is for?”
“Huh? Oh. Weirdly, yeah, I do. It’s a cover for the top of the tent. To stop, like, rain from getting in, y’know? The top part of the tent is made out of pretty thin mesh, so that extra bit just protects you from getting wet and stuff in the middle of the night.”
Toya sat with this for a moment, before getting an idea. “So, if the top of the tent is mesh, does that mean you can see through it well?”
Not expecting a random question like that, yet expecting the unexpected from Toya nonetheless, “I mean, yeah. You can see stuff out of it pretty well. Me and Ena used to stargaze through it as kids when our parents wouldn’t let us stay outside of the tent late at night.”
Gaining a new twinkle in his eye at the idea that Akito’s words sparked, “Can we do that? As in, not put the cover on? I don’t think it’s supposed to rain tonight, and I think I would enjoy getting to see the stars from our tent.”
“Yeah, sure. I don’t see any reason we couldn’t, unless we get some surprise rain in the night– y’know, maybe getting wet is worth it. Seeing the stars is cool.”
Mirth in Toya’s voice as he spoke, “Well, I hope we don’t get wet, but I agree. It’s a small price to pay for getting to ‘sleep under the stars’ while still being in a tent.” With a mischievous smile that would’ve looked out of place on his face even just a year ago, “Maybe we can cuddle up together for warmth if we do get rained on.”
Barking out a laugh at the brazen words that he was still getting used to hearing from Toya–who knew he could be such a flirt?–before composing himself enough to speak, “Dude, what the hell!” Yet, he didn’t say no, only slinging an arm over Toya’s shoulders. Shaking his head with a stupid grin on his face, “Just help me keep pitching this stupid tent, ‘kay? I’ll need all the help I can get when it comes to those damn sticks…”
----
After the two pairs had gotten their respective tents pitched and all set up, dragging their collective mountain of luggage inside, they’d regrouped at the picnic table.
Which led them to the current situation.
“Akito! Come help me catch the fish for dinner!”
The emphatic ‘no!’ that followed could probably be heard from several campsites away.
An huffed. She would not give up that easily if it meant getting to annoy Akito some more. “Please? Pretty please with a cherry on top?”
Akito crossed his arms. “That won’t work on me and you know it. You have shit puppy-dog eyes.”
Changing up her tactics with a smirk, “C’mon~ I need someone to take the fish off the hook! You wouldn’t want our dearest partners going hungry, would you?” She conspicuously elbowed Toya, signalling him to join in. After keeping up with the conversation from the sidelines, he knew to put on his own puppy-dog eyes. All of them knew that that look coming from Toya absolutely did work on Akito.
An then played it up with fake tears in her voice, gesturing with her arms to Toya, “See? Look… Look at how pitiful Toya is, Akito! You would really want to make your darling partner suffer with no dinner?”
Akito balked at Toya in mock-betrayal, before sighing. He turned his attention to An, shaking his head in rueful disapproval. “I literally hate you so much. Can’t believe you’re exploiting my weakness like that…” Already walking to grab the tackle box, “You suck and I hope you know that!”
A signature grin spread across her face that meant An had found a crucial piece of information that she could use to tease Akito with, “Oh, so you admit that Toya’s your weakness, huh?”
With the tackle box in hand as he walked back to An and Toya, “Maybe I am.” Akito huffed as he said it, but he wasn’t quite able to hide the amused smile attempting to crack through the playful facade.
If the tips of Toya’s ears turned a shade or two redder from the words, nobody mentioned it. He loosely grabbed Akito’s free hand to get his attention. With a teasing note in his tone, “Don’t drown An, okay?”
Butting in before Akito had a chance to respond, “See? Thank you, Toya! At least someone around here appreciates me!”
Akito rolled his eyes, no longer trying to hide the mirth in his expression. “Oi, don’t forget about Kohane!” Shaking his head again, Akito turned back to Toya. He reached out to brush Toya’s bangs aside, before leaning down to place a soft kiss on his forehead. Pulling back slightly as he muttered his flimsy justification for the action, “Can’t do that unless you’re sittin’ down. I gotta take my chance whenever I can.”
Before Toya even had an opportunity to react, An was swatting Akito away. “Shoo! Move over, I wanna get in on this too!” An, too, leaned down to place a chaste kiss of her own on Toya’s forehead. “Unfortunately, the rest of us are too vertically challenged to be on par with you normally,” she lamented sagely.
He giggled under the affectionate actions of both of them. “That’s alright. I don’t mind you two taking your opportunity,” the smile evident in Toya’s voice as he spoke.
Akito ruffled his hair, before starting to walk toward the trail leading to the lake. Urging An to hurry up wordlessly as he got further away, An high-fived Toya as a ‘good job’ for his successful puppy-dog eyes with one final self-satisfied grin.
As she skipped down the trail and caught up to Akito, he could faintly hear Akito asking what the hell vertically challenged even meant and An’s chirp that she’d learnt it from a recent chat with Mizuki.
----
After An and Akito could no longer be seen in the distance, Kohane and Toya sat in their hammock and chair respectively to do their own separate activities.
Once An’s excited rambles about her fantastic fishing techniques and Akito’s grumbles about having to come along could no longer be heard echoing–neither of them knew how to stop projecting their voices so much–in the distance, Kohane and Toya actually slumped down and settled in to do their activities (Even if neither of them acknowledged that last part out loud).
Toya had brought a new book, purposely waiting to start it just so he could read it on this trip, but he couldn’t get lost in it like he’d wanted to. The premise was very interesting, and it was by an author that had come to be one of his favorites, but he just couldn’t stop getting distracted. The words kept flying out of his brain as soon as the fabric squeaked again, in what must’ve been the world’s most uncomfortable sound. He kept squirming in his chair every time he heard it, which didn’t help at all. In fact, it made the problem significantly worse. He would squirm at the uncomfortable noise, the squirming would cause it to squeak again, he’d squirm again–it was a neverending cycle of discomfort.
At some point, Kohane must’ve looked up from her camera to see what all the noise was about. Speaking up with a note of concern, “Toya-kun, are you alright? You keep shifting in your seat, and you look like you’re in pain!”
His head snapped up at the words, looking at her like a deer-in-headlights, as shame crept in. He wasn’t supposed to find things like that bothersome. He especially wasn’t supposed to be so out-of-control of his reaction to the stimuli that someone had noticed– Toya shook his head as if to physically clear away the negative thoughts. This was just Kohane, and he knew she wouldn’t judge him for that.
Actively trying to will away the waver in his voice from being open about something like this, "I don't know if this makes sense, but… the fabric of the chair makes an odd squeaking noise when it rubs against my clothes, and my clothes catch on the cloth uncomfortably. It’s bothering me more than it should; I’m very sorry for distracting you.”
Understanding dawned on Kohane’s face, a reaction that Toya hadn’t expected at all. “No, no! I completely get that! Things like that bug me too a lot of the time, so don’t worry! Would you like to come join me in my hammock? I find that this material is usually pretty tolerable and comfortable, and it’s probably big enough for the both of us!”
Toya paused, his mind lagging behind at the bewildering idea. Nobody had ever offered him something like that before. Sure, Akito had gifted him a ring that spun as a way to redirect nervous energy, and vaguely knew about his issues with some textures, but he hadn’t told Kohane about any of that. He wouldn’t expect her to even remotely understand, as nobody else in his life had. Yet, she related to the sentiment with a soft smile and a casual air to her words, as if it was a normal thing to experience and not a flaw Toya had been hiding all his life.
She continued looking at him with gentle interest as the offer hung in the air, and the idea was seeming more and more appealing by the second. He’d always been curious about what the gentle swing of a hammock would feel like. And it did seem big enough, if he was judging by the way that Kohane looked a little like she was drowning in the fabric. Toya didn’t want to burden Kohane, but by this point he trusted her to not offer something unless she really meant it. His expression shifted between several conflicting emotions, before settling on a small, grateful smile. “Okay, I’ll join you. I think I’d enjoy the experience.”
Already getting up from his chair, Toya felt immediate relief upon gaining respite from the awful sensation of his chair. Book in hand, Toya made a few short strides over to Kohane’s hammock. Still, he made no move to get in. Hesitantly, as if he was calculating his approach to a tough puzzle, “How should I get in? I wouldn’t want to tip you over…” He made a conscious effort to ignore the stray thought that it was an unnecessary question, that he was bothering Kohane by asking. Toya would just have to keep reminding himself that he had faith in the fact that Kohane meant it when she’s repeatedly said that she doesn’t mind any of his questions.
“Oh, that’s a good point! Hmm…” She made a move to shuffle around, shimmying as far to the side as she could go. The hammock swung precariously, but after they both cautiously eyed it for a moment, the motion slowed. A sheepish smile tugged at the corners of her lips from the silliness of it all, “Is that enough room for you to get in beside me?”
Toya let himself laugh a little at the situation they found themselves in, too. It was pretty silly, after all. “Yes, it should be. I suppose I’ll just get in the best I can…?” He sat on the edge of the hammock, intending to lower himself in and then pivot, deciding that was the safest way. But then Kohane shifted next to him, and Toya quickly found himself tumbling back onto the poor girl’s sprawled-out body with a yelp. After craning his neck to look back at Kohane with a weary grin, “I suppose that’s one way to do it.”
“Yeah… But at least we did it, in the end!” Kohane giggled, optimistic as ever. She scooted over more now that both of them were safely contained in the fabric, before laying her head on Toya’s chest after a beat of hesitation. After moving to grab the book that had tumbled underneath their legs in all the commotion, she pressed the object into Toya’s hands before picking up her camera that had fallen to the same fate. “There, now we fit better! Is this comfortable for you?”
Eyes widening before crinkling at the corners, “Ah– Yes, it is.” It was still shocking to see Kohane initiate physical affection like that, especially with him, but Toya found he didn’t mind it at all. In fact, the subtle weight of her head pressing down on his chest was actually quite comforting to his still-overstimulated nervous system.
After moving his own arm to wrap around Kohane’s shoulders, making the position slightly less awkward-feeling, Toya adjusted his grip on his book. Though it was a little uncomfortable every time he had to flip the page, it was all worth it as he watched Kohane lean into his touch after getting into a rhythmic pattern of lightly running his fingers through her hair.
They both had no idea how long they’d laid there together, hammock swinging in the warm breeze as they got reabsorbed in the solo activities they were doing beforehand. Neither of them had noticed when they started drifting off, either.
Yet, the peaceful atmosphere that the quietest members of Vivid BAD SQUAD had created together was broken as their louder partners came back from fishing.
A gasp, and then, “Kooohaneeeee–! Oh my god, Toya too!”
The girl in question jolted awake at the noise, as An approached the hammock. The motion of her jumping against Toya’s chest, along with the affectionate yell from An quickly woke Toya up as well.
“Eh? A-An-chan, you were so loud that you woke us up!”
Her smile shifted into something a little more sheepish, even if it kept her unending enthusiasm for seeing her partner. “Sorry! You just look so cute all curled up asleep like that, especially with Toya! It’s not my fault I have the two most adorable partners in the world, okay?”
A soft crunch of grass followed, as Akito finally approached them all, “Oi, not including me, huh?”
“Nope! You splashed water on me, so no cute privileges for you today!”
It was then that Kohane and Toya’s still awakening minds noticed the dripping strands of both An and Akito’s hair, inciting a giggle from the both of them. If they weren’t too busy bickering with each other, An and Akito would’ve melted at the sound.
“Wha– hey! You literally started i–” The words were cut off by An’s hand slapping over Akito’s mouth. His eyebrows furrowed in annoyance.
Then, An snatched her hand back with a shriek, “You licked me, what the hell!
Weakly defending himself with a smug grin and a nonchalant shrug, clearly not sorry at all, “Sorry, but you kinda deserved it.”
An’s eyes narrowed as she huffed in unwilling defeat. “Okay, so, maybe I did… but so what?” Turning her attention to the sleepily-blinking girl once more, “Kohane, you’ve gotta help me! I need my faith restored in humanity after spending so much alone time with him…”
With a rough voice that clearly hadn’t been used in a while, especially at a normal speaking volume, “We’ll have to find a way to get out of this hammock, now…” Now turning his head to address An and Akito, “It was quite an ordeal to get in together. Here… An, could you possibly take my book and Kohane’s camera so they don’t get damaged in the process?”
Akito snorted out a small laugh at Toya’s first course of action. Affectionately shaking his head, “Dude, sometimes I swear you treat your books better than you’d treat a baby.” Even with Akito’s comment, An still took the two objects in her hands as asked.
Raising his voice a bit so she could hear him from the picnic table she’d walked away to, “Thank you, An. Your help is very appreciated.” Lowering his voice again, “Now, Akito, could you please get Kohane out of the hammock?”
His eyes widened at the request, before furrowing his eyebrows in confusion. “Like, lifting her up…? I dunno, man… Uh– Koha, are y’fine with that?”
Kohane forced herself to blink open her eyes once more, finally accepting that she’d have to get up, “Oh! Um, yes! Yeah, that would probably be easier to do anyway. Great suggestion, Toya-kun!”
Shifting his weight between feet in a final moment of deliberation, Akito steeled himself to lift Kohane. An was usually the one to lift her into the air and spin her around, but he supposed that he’d done that a couple times, too… Plus, he could suck up feeling a little awkward about doing the action in a context with a marked lack of adrenaline coursing through him. “‘Kay, I guess I’ll just…”
Akito leaned down into the two’s space, looping his arms around Kohane’s torso as she sat up. His movements were stiff, and he only stiffened even more as his elbow bumped Toya’s cheek. “Shit. Uh, sorry, Toya– Just gotta–” His posture straightened out as he finally secured Kohane in his arms, easily hoisting her up and out of the hammock at last.
He placed Kohane down on the ground with cheeks that were definitely a couple shades redder than they had been before, letting his arms drop to his sides. Still, Kohane didn’t unwrap her own hold around Akito’s torso. Instead, she leaned into his chest and tightened her arms.
Looking up at his face with a sweet giggle as she hugged him properly, “I know An-chan said you were excluded from being cute today, but you’re definitely included for me.” Then, as quickly as she’d initiated the hug, Kohane unwrapped her arms. She skipped away toward An with a grin and a glint of mischief in her eye, leaving Akito there to gape at what had just happened.
After another beat, he snapped out of it, pivoting his attention to Toya again. With a shaky smile, “God, I can never get used to her doing that…” He watched intently as Toya made no move to get out of the fabric himself. Still halfheartedly trying to get the heat in his cheeks to go down, “...D’you want me to help you too, or something?”
“Yes, I would like that very much,” Toya said, the sparkles in his eyes making it hard to stay even fake-mad at him. He quickly slotted his hand into Akito’s outstretched one, before being pulled up out of the hammock and deposited onto the ground in a clumsy motion. As he grabbed onto Akito to balance himself, Toya’s arms also snaked around his torso in a suspiciously intentional way.
“Y’know, you both could’ve just asked for a hug if you wanted one so badly…”
“Mm… that’s true. But it’s more fun this way, is it not?”
Akito playfully scoffed at him, “Easy for you to say… With An forcing me to go fishing and now this, I’m gonna be so sore tomorrow, I swear.” Raising his eyebrows with a teasing smirk, “Maybe that means you’ll have to carry me around tomorrow, huh?”
Even as he let out a small laugh, Toya’s face still paled a bit at the thought of it. Untangling his arms from Akito’s body a little too quickly, “...Shall we see what Kohane and An are up to?”
“Yeah, yeah, that’s what I thought.” Ruffling his hair one last time, “We probably should, though. I wouldn’t want An to mess up the fish or somethin’ after having to go through all that bullshit just to catch the damn things.”
As the pair walked over to the aforementioned girls, they were greeted by the sight of An muttering curses under her breath as she attempted to start the fire.
Akito took notice of Kohane skillfully prepping the fish and snuck away to assist in the task, leaving Toya to watch An struggle with various attempted methods of trying to get the firestarter to stay lit for more than a few seconds.
“Do you need any help, An? I’m not entirely sure what needs to be done, but I would be happy to do anything you instruct me to.”
“Huh?” An straightened out after being hunched over the firepit in a way that was definitely too close to be safe, “Oh, yeah, sure!” Putting her hands on her hips and casting a glance to ensure that Akito and Kohane were too distracted to be looking at them, “Okay, so. As you can see, this isn’t working. And normally I’d say that I wouldn’t know what to do either, but Aunt Nagi taught me a trick for it once as a kid–”
Toya cocked his head curiously, brows furrowing as he tried to puzzle together exactly what An was doing. She cut herself off to dig in a bag strewn near the picnic table, before her face lit up as she grabbed ahold of the item she was searching for. It appeared to be a lighter, albeit in a much longer shape than any Toya had ever seen before.
She strutted back over to Toya with a confident grin as she held up the lighter in one hand, while also carrying a canister of gasoline in her other hand that Toya had somehow missed seeing her grab.
Lowering her voice in a conspiratorial whisper, “It’ll work in a pinch, right? Plus, this is, like, a family heirloom… method.” Sagely, clutching her hand to her chest, “I must light this fire in order to honor Aunt Nagi. It’s my duty– my calling to light this fire in the most debatably-safe way possible…” Breaking out into a mischievous grin again, even as the edges of her smile frayed with an emotion that wasn’t there before, “So, do you still wanna help? I promise it’s only a little dangerous!”
Toya hadn’t noticed An gradually shifting closer until her arm nudged against his own as she leaned against him. In a more genuine and caring tone, “Don’t feel pressured to do it, though, okay? I know you can be a little weird about that stuff– not in a bad way! Just. I dunno, dude–” An craned her neck up and to the side to meet Toya’s gaze with an affectionate and gentle smile that wasn’t seen nearly as much as the mischievous one she wore earlier. “You don’t gotta put yourself in harm’s way just because I’m asking you to, you know?”
A light dusting of blush made its way onto Toya’s cheeks as he reciprocated the lean of their bodies against each other. “That sentiment truly means a lot to me when you say it. However, I, ah, wouldn’t be opposed.” With a sheepish grin as if he couldn’t quite believe he was agreeing to but wouldn’t rather do anything else, “It may be a risky move, but I think… I think I can find joy in that.”
An’s hand snaked down to grip Toya’s own, squeezing in one firm motion before pulling away. It was her turn now to avert her gaze. Laughing in the way she often did when she was caught off-guard, “You– Damn, Akito didn’t lie about how sappy you can be.” Shaking her head, even with a sweetness in her tone reserved only for her partners, “Never change, Toya…”
A thoughtful hum from Toya broke through the atmosphere they’d found themselves in, bringing them both back to reality. “How would you prefer me to help in starting the fire?”
Taking just a beat longer to regain her bearings, “Um. Actually, yeah, that’s a good question. Do you wanna pour the gas over the wood? It’s kinda hard for me to lift that high.”
Already leaning down to grasp the plastic handle of the canister, “Yes, that works.” Faced with the weight of the liquid inside, Toya quickly reached a second hand under the bottom to steady his hold. With one last look at An, “When do I know when to stop pouring it?”
Her voice gradually rising in a questioning lilt, “I guess just stop when I say so…?”
One resolute nod later, and gas was glugging out onto the logs arranged in the firepit at a speed that neither of them could’ve predicted.
“Holy shit! Wait– Toya, stop!”
At the words, Toya lifted the gas canister upright before any more could be poured out. “Uhm. Hopefully it wasn’t enough to completely ruin it…?”
Returning the uncertain grin, “Well, there’s only one way to find out, right?” An lifted up the lighter that she still held in her other hand, sparking the flame for just a moment in a quick check to see if it worked. “You might wanna stand back at this point…” Waiting for Toya to move before continuing, “Okay… 3, 2, 1!”
As the tiny flame licked the gasoline-soaked wood, there was only a moment of delay before the fire climbed up the whole pile in an instant. An leaped backwards with a yelp, as the bright orange light seemed to engulf the entire campsite in its illumination.
Akito and Kohane’s attention was quickly stolen away from their task at hand, as they both let out yelps of their own as well.
After the flames calmed down from being a wall flaring up almost as tall as Toya into burning only the kindling in the firepit, which was honestly still an impressive feat on its own, An turned to Toya with sparks of orange shining in her eyes. She gripped Toya’s shoulders, shaking him in excitement as she jumped up and down just a bit, “Toya! That was so cool! Dude, I can’t believe we just did that!”
An’s excitement was contagious, and Toya couldn’t help the laughter that bubbled up out of him in response. “I’ve never seen anything quite like that before,” Toya grinned with a level of reverence and awe that only he could have. “Thank you for letting me partake.”
Their little celebration was cut short as their other partners made their way behind them. Akito opened his mouth to speak, eyebrows furrowed in a mix of anger and concern, but Kohane beat him to it. “As cool as that looked, please be safe! We wouldn’t want you two to get hurt, after all!” eyeing the boy as she quelled the anger welling up in him with her soothing voice, “Right, Akito-kun?”
He deflated as the adrenaline in him died down just like the explosive flames that had caught both him and Kohane off guard recessed. Lips drawing into a loose line, “...Yeah. Shit, guys, that scared us. Just– warn us next time, yeah?”
After the long and tiring events of the day, An had none of her usual energy to tease Akito. An would also admit that Akito deserved an earnest response every once in a while. Leaning back into Akito’s conveniently close chest as she spoke, “Sorry… yeah, you’re right. ‘Kay, I’ll warn you next time.” Lightening the mood as she craned her neck upward, “Plus, then you can join in on the dangerous activities. Your favorite!”
Akito playfully scoffed in response, but didn’t deny the claim. Instead, “Koha, you just got finished with the fish before all that, right? Like, are they ready to cook?”
“Oh, yeah! Um, yes, they are! Please get the grill situated over the fire,” trailing off as she walked over to the picnic table. Akito quickly complied with the request, pivoting the rusty metal grilltop attached to the firepit to be overtop the flames.
Kohane then returned with the tray of four fish and delicately slid them onto the surface of the grill. Nodding resolutely, “There! The fish shouldn’t take too long to cook, so would you all mind keeping an eye on them while I go wash my hands?”
As they all affirmed they would, Toya took a step back. Unfortunately, he knew better than to meddle in anything to do with cooking. Luckily, he was content to stand back and watch his two partners prepare the meal. In some sense, it was a domestic sight to watch An pass Akito the seasonings. In another sense, Toya just liked to watch his favorite people in the world no matter what they were doing.
Toya slunk off to the side, deciding to sit at the picnic table. The grass crunched behind him as Kohane returned from the campground bathroom, the wood creaking beneath him as she sidled onto the bench next to Toya.
In a hushed voice to not alert An and Akito, “I love watching those two,” and with a giggle, “Especially when they’re getting along.” It was a sentiment that didn’t need to be said out loud, yet sometimes it was comforting to acknowledge it verbally.
Gaze still transfixed on the fire flickering, as well as the way it made Akito and An glow in its light, “Yes, I agree.” Nothing more needed to be spoken to understand what the other was feeling. After all, at a now distant time when Toya was much too closed off and Kohane was much too anxious, bonding over their shared admiration for their partners was what kickstarted their own connection.
Toya turned his head to look at Kohane’s side profile. A sudden urge overtook him, and remembering he could now act on it, he leaned in to lightly kiss her on the cheek. It was really nothing more than a clumsy brush of his lips, but the meaning behind it was what really mattered. Though they were both more inclined to communicate with words over physical touch, it was nice to be able to express the overwhelming affection that welled up within him during moments like these.
A blush rose high on Kohane’s cheeks as another flustered giggle made its way out of her mouth. She opened her mouth to say something, but couldn’t get the words out before An loudly announced that the fish were done. Both of their attentions were immediately brought to the tray of steaming fish that An had set down—no, presented—to them.
An made a silly gesture of her hand as she placed the fish in the middle of the picnic table, an action that made Akito huff out a small laugh that he couldn’t quite resist letting out. Toya could feel his lips curling into a smile as a laugh bubbled out from his own chest. He watched as An skillfully plated their meal, something he always forgot she was so good at, before he was given his own paper plate.
To all of their credit (except his own), the fish was delicious. Perhaps it was his extra hunger after a day being spent in the wilderness that made it that much more satisfying, but Toya had a feeling it was moreso the love that had been put into the food from all of his partners that made it so good.
As he began to eat, he couldn’t help but observe his teammates, and now partners, more. He was silent as his gaze raked over the three of them, but that didn’t diminish the amount of emotion he was experiencing. Dumb jokes were cracked, soft giggles accompanied by a rolling of the eyes, a couple elbows exchanged, and a buzz of energy that seemed to blanket them when they were together like this. It was so like them, and it was so perfect.
Toya was too lost in thought to notice he’d run out of fish until his plastic fork could grab nothing but air. Even with the hearty meal that filled him up, Toya still felt more full from the love that was threatening to overtake him from the inside out. Not that he’d mind, if it meant he got to express it to his partners the way he wanted to.
Akito had apparently noticed the mechanical way Toya was moving, and how zoned out he was, because he interrupted whatever random topic their conversation had moved onto to ask, “Hey, Toya. Are you doin’ okay, dude?”
“Hm?” He perked up at the sound of his name—more specifically at the sound of Akito saying it, “Yes, I am.” Toya looked down at his lap with a smile tugging at the corners of lips, before lifting his head up to beam at the other three with possibly the widest grin they’d ever seen from him. The affection he’d felt all night was finally overflowing as he flapped his hands in an attempt to get all the joyous energy out. Tamping down the involuntary grin just enough to speak, “Yes, I’m doing wonderfully. I’m very happy right now.”
Soon enough, he found Kohane’s arms wrapped around his torso. The joy was infectious, and in another moment An and Akito were joining them on the other side of the table. Two more sets of arms wrapped around them, squishing each other in a warm group-hug. After an indeterminate amount of time, they all separated. Well, separated only as much as to not be hugging anymore.
Akito spoke up in that husky, soft tone of his, his breath puffing against Toya’s ear, “As nice as that was, it was a little out of the blue. What made you that happy, huh?”
Toya’s ears turned red as he came down from the immense excitement. “I’m, uh, not quite sure. It’s just very nice to be able to spend quality time like this with you all. And… I’m feeling happy because I love you all a lot. I’m grateful to have you as my partners in both singing and in life.”
The words took a second to settle as everyone took in the deep sentiment. Then, with a noise that could almost be described as a squeal, An’s arms were back around him even tighter. Soon, Kohane and Akito followed suit.
An jostled them all with the movement of her body, unable to contain her own happiness now. “I love you all so much, too!”
“An-chan, I’m getting dizzy!” One muttered apology from the girl in question and a now-still group-hug, Kohane spoke again. “I’m so glad you’re feeling that way, though. I feel the exact same way. It’s wonderful to be here out in this peaceful place made even more peaceful– well, not exactly peaceful. But you all being here makes this trip all the more enjoyable!”
Everything he’d wanted to say was already spoken, but they all knew Akito echoed each of their sentiments. Murmuring into their shared space even softer than before, “I love all of you, too.”
After basking in the feeling for several more moments as a group, “Hey, as much as I like being sappy, I really don’t like the fire burning with nobody keeping an eye on it. Can we go put that out and clean up dinner now?”
“O-Oh, I forgot about that!” A soft giggle at her own voice cracking, “But yes, I agree with you! Akito-kun, could you please let go? Ah– don’t squeeze tighter!” Kohane’s laughter was contagious, and soon they were all giggling for no good reason except the happiness that was coursing through all of them. All of their grips gradually loosened as they finally separated from the hug once more.
----
They all cleared up dinner and set out the fire in record time, the exhaustion from the day finally catching up to them as the urge to just go to sleep was proving more and more appealing.
The two pairs sped through their goodnights as they retreated to their separate tents, all of them grateful for Kohane recommending they set out their sleeping bags earlier in the day.
Toya finally laid back against the ground, sinking into the slippery and only vaguely puffy material of the sleeping bag that he’d for sure thought would bug him but shockingly didn’t. He was starting to realize that, huh, the bottom of the tent was pretty thin.
Akito had seemingly had the same thought during the minute they laid there in silence. Toya could hear shuffling, and turned his head to see Akito now on his side, eyes glinting straight at him. Trying and failing to hold back a lopsided grin, “The ground is kinda cold.”
Toya couldn’t help but shake his head with a small chuckle, endeared by the silly expression on Akito’s face. Still, “Yes, it is quite cold.” As Toya dragged his eyes back to Akito’s, taking in the hint of some emotion he wasn’t too familiar with on Akito’s face, he got an idea of his own. “Would you like to come here?”
Now it was Akito’s turn to laugh. “Dude, what? Like, huddling for warmth or some shit?”
Eyes glinting with mischief in the moonlight, “Yes, that’s exactly what I mean. You’re naturally warm, so I’m sure it’d work well.”
Rolling his eyes fondly, “Guess I can’t argue with that.” Akito looked down at the fabric encasing his whole body before looking back up. “How am I s’posed to get over there?”
“Ah. Just– flop, I suppose?”
Akito shot him an incredulous look, before softening into defeat. Wordlessly, Akito used all his core strength to move in one horizontal hop. “Shit–!” Not so wordlessly, Akito flopped onto his face.
Toya giggled beside him, subtly inching himself just a little closer to Akito.
With an effortful groan after a moment of laying there, Akito finally rolled into Toya’s side. He shimmied some more to right himself on his back, before he deflated with one final exerted sigh. “That was not worth it.”
Toya leaned his body into Akito’s the best he could for laying side to side with each other, warmth spreading between them. “I think it was.”
“You didn’t even do anyth–! Whatever. Yeah, it was kinda worth it.”
Toya just hummed in response, letting the silence of nature blanket them. After a long moment, “I’m glad we didn’t put on that cover. Look up at the stars,” Toya whispered, that cute reverence of his seeping into his voice.
At Toya’s prompting, Akito opened his eyes that he hadn’t even noticed he’d closed. He paused to take it all in for a moment. The stars were beautiful.
One star twinkled just a bit more than all the rest around it, catching Akito’s gaze. It reminded him of the glint of excitement and happiness Toya had had in his eyes this entire trip.
Akito supposed he could actually verbalize those observations now. He waited just another beat to bask in how Toya’s awed smile almost seemed to glow brighter than the stars above them. “Y’know, it’s really great to see you so happy. I’m glad we did this.”
Toya’s eyes crinkled just a little bit more, a couple shining drops in the corners catching the moonlight. Taking a deep, steadying breath, “Truthfully, I would’ve been just as happy getting to spend time with the three of you in any context. But… I agree. I think I’d enjoy it if we made this a yearly tradition.”
Akito shifted closer the best he could, yanking his arm out of the sleeping bag to wrap it behind Toya’s shoulders and pull him even closer. “Yeah?”
Toya leaned into the crook of Akito’s neck. “Yeah.”