A/N: akito talks. a lot. kind of a lot. also he's in the-nile about enjoying rui's pet pats lolololol
warnings: a lot of talk about akitos dad that i just pulled out from like. a hat or smth. i just really hate him because i kin both akito and ena <3
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"What now?" ended up being "let's talk on call for the next few hours because your voice is comforting", and it wasn't until 2 am that Tsukasa ended up falling asleep while Rui rambled on about robots and directing and stage effects and plants. He didn't take any offense to it, because he knew it was less Tsukasa being bored with his talking and more of his voice having the inherent sleepiness effect it tends to have on people.
It made him wonder how many days Tsukasa had spent like this, not asking for help from his sister or his friends and staying up very late just to wake up very early the next morning with as much energy as he usually has, or appears to have. He supposes he can't judge, as he does that himself very often.
"D'ya hang up?"
The voice, this time, didn't come from the pink hair on his lap or his phone, but from the ginger "sleeping" beside him.
"I knew you weren't asleep, hm? Why have you just been listening to us instead of joining in the talk, Shinonome-kun?" Rui finally turned off his phone, smiling down at Akito.
One of his hands snuck to his hair, and Akito seemed to reluctantly accept the touch, which made him smile even wider.
"Why'd you lie to him, if you knew I was awake, then?"
"Tsukasa-kun thinks you hate him. If I told him you were awake, he'd probably try to "act good" in front of you. I wouldn't have been able to help him then."
"Tch. I do hate him."
"Sure, sure. If that's what you want to believe."
"Tenma-senpai sounds so different when he's not being loud, though. He just sounds kind of-"
"-sad?" Rui finished. "Yeah, it's pretty easy to notice. You're not the first person with that interpretation."
Silence fell over the two, but not precisely an uncomfortable one. Simply, silence.
"I still hate how you go about doing things. But... you yourself aren't too bad, I guess, if we ignore the whole "settin' off bombs at school" thing."
"That's reasonable. In fact, you're the first person to read me quite so easily. You must have encountered someone you really hate that does that sort of... let's say, talking, often to be able to spot it so quickly on others."
"....."
"Is that a yes? You don't have to share if you don't want to, of course, but I am curious to see who this person you hate so much that you relate me to could be." Rui kept patting his head.
"Fine. But only because you asked. And you still owe me those pancakes, alright?"
"I was going to make them anyway." Rui says, hand gently combing through his hair.
-
"The way you convince people to do things sorta reminds me of my dad." Akito finally said, volume lowered more than usual.
"He's... well, you may know my sister, Ena, is pursuing art. He's an artist, too, and has some famous paintings, I think, but..."
"He doesn't want my sister to do the same. I think it's because he doesn't want her to go through the same pains he did, but the way he does it... it just makes me angry. He tells her she's talentless and constantly degrades her, instead of just being honest. Ena takes it as a challenge instead of backing down, but it's severely worsened her anger issues."
"I'm not sayin' you're as bad as him." He made sure to clarify. "It's just that sort of indirect, manipulative way of getting people on board with something. It really pisses me off. Everytime my dad, whether intentionally or not, tries to do it to me, I have to resist the urge to punch him for all the shit he's put me and Onee-san through."
"That's why I didn't like you. It's obvious. When you tried to convince me to help you with the wedding thing, it was the same. "If that's all it is to you, then, perhaps you're simply unfit for the role. Someone else is probably better than you." I don't know if you do it with that intention in mind, but it's just... you know?"
Akito only realized he'd gone on a full-on ramble on why he hates Rui and his dad until after he'd finished. His subsequent thoughts were "what the fuck" and "do I need therapy?" respectively, before settling on "why the fuck am I telling all of this to Rui fucking Kamishiro".
He concludes the only logical explanation is that there's some sort of magic spell implanted onto Rui himself that makes him wanna open up about his issues like he's in a shittier version of Middle School counseling or something.
"...hm." Rui voices, and for a moment, Akito's worried that he'd offended him, already preparing his best apology. However, that's not what happens at all.
"I see. I'll do my best to correct that habit of mine, then. Thank you for being honest with me, Akito."
"Eh? Uh, oh-" He's not prepared for that in any measure, cheeks heating up a little. "Eh- you're welcome, Senpai?"
"C'mon." Rui makes a patting motion towards the side of his lap unoccupied by the mess which is Mizuki's hair when they're asleep, and Akito obliges, indulging in more of Rui's petting.
This isn't so bad, he thinks, and for a second he thanks Touya for properly introducing him to Rui that one time, because otherwise there's no way he'd be here now.
-
The first thing he notices when he wakes up is the different voices around him.
"-lad he's alright now, or well, hopefully." He's fairly certain that's Mizuki's voice, and he has half the mind to realize that he's been relocated to their lap instead of Rui's. Surprisingly, he doesn't really mind.
"Yeah. I wouldn't have known what to do if it wasn't because of all those times you convinced me to go to bed like I did to him, though, Mizuki." That's Rui now, definitely, and he assumes the hand patting his head is still his.
"Convinced him? More like mind-controlled him, knowing you, there's no way you would have been able to normally-" Mizuki cut themselves off halfway, noticing Akito's expression shift. "Oh, good morning, otouto-san~!"
"Ena-chan came home a little while ago. We're waiting for you for breakfast." Rui explained.
"...pancakes?"
Mizuki and Rui giggle at his tired request, and Rui brushes the messy hairs out of his face when he sits up, "Yes, Akito-kun. I did promise them, didn't I?"
"'Kay." He yawned, mentally preparing himself to get up.
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A/N: next chapter = pancake time fr fr