Furihata twisted his wrist, phone in hand, trying out a different angle for the third time. He was taking too long, and probably making way too much noise, and was definitely going to end up waking Akashi up any minute now if he didn't hurry.
Normally, Akashi was the one who woke up first during their sleepovers. It had taken Furihata a while to get use to his boyfriends ridiculous sleep schedule, but he eventually came to understand that it wasn't something Akashi could turn off. So he grudgingly accepted that early mornings were something he had to live with, a trade-off he would gladly take if it meant he got to spend the night curled up next to Akashi.
The futon they had laid out the night before sat untouched on the floor, although Furihata would be sure to rumple the blankets a bit to make it appear as though someone had slept in it, just in case his mom or something decided to walk in before he had the chance to put it away. Furihata wasn't sure what his parents would think if they found out that his 'best friend' had actually been his boyfriend for the past three months. He had a hard time believing it himself, half the time.
This morning, however, Furihata had woken up, blinking his eyes open to see Akashi sound asleep across from him. Furihata froze, afraid that even taking a breath would wake Akashi up. Despite having spent the night with Akashi half a dozen times now, this was the first time he'd woken up before him, and he was determined to take in every second of it.
Akashi was curled up on his side, one hand tucked under the pillow while the other was buried beneath the comforter that was pulled up around his shoulders. His face was relaxed, peaceful, with his lips slightly parted as he took slow, even breaths. His red hair was a rumpled mess, pressed flat against the pillow on one side and sticking up in wild tuffs on the other.
It was absolutely adorable, which was a word Furihata rarely got the chance to use to describe Akashi. The redhead looked smaller, younger, almost fragile, while asleep. If only he had a way to capture this moment, to hold onto it and keep it forever…
Inspiration struck suddenly, the perfect plan taking shape in his head. Slowly, Furihata pushed himself up, propping himself up on one elbow before carefully reaching behind him to grab his cell phone. It couldn't hurt, right? Just to take a quick picture that no one else would ever see... He opened the camera on his phone, eyes flickering back and forth nervously between the screen and Akashi's sleeping face.
He got the camera working, the screen showing a grainy image of a vague, human-like shape. Furihata leaned forward a little, stretching his arm out to get a closer shot. His fingers were trembling slightly with a combination of nerves and excitement, and it wasn't helping the camera focus at all. He tightened his grip on the phone and shifted slightly, trying to get the best angle possible.
That didn't help either. Sure, Akashi was recognizable now, but the too-dark image didn't come close to capturing the perfect scene in front of him. The soft light streaming in through the crack in the curtains wasn't enough to light the bed from Furihata's position, and he definitely couldn't turn the flash on without risking waking the redhead.
He stretched just a little bit more, balancing himself on one arm to keep from toppling forward, and the angle was almost right. If only he could-
Furihata glanced up from his phone to see one crimson eye staring back at him, and before he could react, Akashi's hand shot out from the blanket without warning, snagging Furihata by the wrist and yanking him forward. Furihata let out a surprised yelp, only to be silenced when Akashi pressed his lips firmly against his own.
The shocked, confused thought of 'how long has he been awake!?' ran through Furihata's mind at a hundred miles an hour. He took comfort from the fact that he hadn't actually taken a photo, so there was thankfully no proof as to what he'd been up too. Maybe he could tell Akashi that he'd gotten a text or something, and that was what had woken him up.
Surprised or not, Furihata kissed Akashi back, automatically leaning into the embrace that the other offered. He was dimly aware of his phone slipping from his fingers, his brain more focused on the sensation of Akashi sliding an arm around his waist and pulling him closer. His phone forgotten, Furihata reached out with his free hand to wrap around the back of Akashi's neck, letting his fingers tangle gently in his hair.
Akashi made a sound of contentment, low in the back of this throat, and Furihata felt the redhead's lips turn up into a smile against his. Furihata ran his tongue over Akashi's bottom lip, warmth spreading across his face as his breathing came quicker.
Akashi broke the kiss, pulling back slightly and resting his forehead against Furihata's. They were both still for a moment, panting softly into the air between them. As Furihata's breathing slowed, his brain started working again, piecing together what had just happened.
Furihata pulled back with a start, heat spreading across his cheekbones as the panic began to set in. He let his hand slid from around Akashi's neck to rest limply against the mattress.
"So...h-how long have you been awake?" he asked sheepishly, dreading the answer.
The corner of Akashi's mouth twitched up into the hint of a smirk. "Long enough, I suppose."
Furihata felt his face erupt into a million shade of red, feeling something between extreme embarrassment and slight betrayal. He could feel a pout forming on his lips. "Wh-why didn't you t-tell me you were awake?!"
"Why were you taking photos of me while I was asleep?" Akashi retorted, his voice full of amusement.
Because you looked cute is what ran through Furihata's mind. His mouth opened to say it outloud, but thankfully he caught himself before the first syllable passed his lips. But that left him with no idea how to actually answer Akashi's question. He was a horrible liar, so he knew that Akashi wouldn't believe anything he tried to make up.
"I-I uh, well...you j-just...I th-thought maybe…" He trailed off into silence, peeking up from under his lashes to glance at Akashi's face, only to see that the redhead wasn't even looking at him. Instead, he appeared to be studying something intently, his eyes focused somewhere behind Furihata's waist, where his hand still rested lightly.
Furihata's eyebrows pushed together, and he turned his head, following Akashi's line of sight. "What are you-"
He cut off when he caught a glimpse of Akashi snapping his phone shut, suddenly realizing that he hadn't dropped it after all, but rather it had been stolen from his hand. He's probably checking to make sure I didn't actually take any pictures, Furihata thought to himself. Embarrassment washed over him again.
"All done," Akashi said lightly, pressing Furihata's phone into his hand. Akashi half sat up, reaching over to the nightstand to grab his own phone before laying back down again. Furihata stared at the phone in his hand, eyes flickering between the device and redhead looked calm, almost too calm, considering he'd just caught Furihata red-handed. Akashi scrolled through his phone casually, amusement clear in his expression.
Furihata's eyes narrowed in suspicion at the playful smile on Akashi's lips. He was up to something, Furihata was sure of it, although he had no idea what it could be. Taking a deep breath, he flipped his phone open, half expecting his photo app to be open. What he saw instead made his jaw drop, completely dumbfounded.
In place of his generic phone wallpaper, there was now a perfectly cropped picture of him and Akashi, from no more than three minutes ago. The snapshot captured them mid-kiss, and Furihata looked closer, eyes automatically straying to Akashi redhead had one eye open, his eyelid ceased with humor, looking directly into the camera. The the visible corner of his mouth was turned up in a soft smile that Furihata remembered feeling against his own. Even with his messy bed head and wrinkled night shirt, Akashi still managed to look breathtakingly perfect.
Furihata, on the other hand, looked nothing short of a flustered mess. His eyes were closed, and a light dusting of pink was just beginning to spread across his cheekbone. His brown hair stood up in flyaway tangles, making it look like he had spent the night in a haystack rather than a comfortable bed. Instead of looking endearing, Furihata felt that the hand wrapped around Akashi's neck came off as desperate and clingy.
Despite all that though, he was even more shocked that the picture was crystal clear. There was no trace of the grainy, blurry image that Furihata had kept getting. Even the lighting was perfect, highlighting their faces in the soft light of the morning sun, giving the whole image a peaceful, cozy feel.
"I...you..wh-what is this?" Furihata finally managed to sputter, eyes still glued to the screen.
Akashi glanced up from his own phone, a satisfied smile on his face. "You were taking too long, so I decided to take matters into my own hands," he answered nonchalantly. "And look," Akashi flipped his own phone around so that Furihata could see the screen. The background picture of his phone was identical to the one on Furihata's. "We match."
Furihata sat in stunned silence for a long moment before the realization caught up with him. Not only had Akashi completely flipped the situation on Furihata, but he had also sent himself the picture as well. It wouldn't do any good for Furihata to delete the picture if Akashi had one of his own! "Sei!" he whined, face burning. "Delete it!"
"Why would I do that?" Akashi asked. He pulled his phone back, eyeing the photo with a mischievous look on his face. "Look how cute you are."
If Furihata's face wasn't bright red before, it definitely was now. "Jerk," Furihata mumbled, ducking his head down and burying his face in his pillow, his lips turned down in a frown. How did Akashi always manage to get the upper hand on him?
Akashi laughed, the sound causing Furitata to peek up around the edge the comforter. "That's not very nice," he said, red eyes sparkling.
"Y-yeah, well... neither is sneaking p-pictures of people!"
Akashi stared at him, one eyebrow raised as Furihata's words echoed through his mind. He pulled the blanket over his head again. "N-Nevermind!," he said, his voice muffled by the comforter.
The bed shifted slightly, the blanket being tugged away gently. Furihata squeezed his eyes shut for a moment before accepting his fate and looking up, bracing himself for the teasing that was sure to come, only for his breath to catch in his throat. Akashi was close, really close, his face inches away as he leaned over Furihata.
"Are you truly upset, Kouki?" Akashi asked in a gentle tone, all traces of humor gone from his face. "If you are, I'll delete it. No questions asked."
Furihata bit his lip, a hint of guilt twisting in his stomach. He knew without a doubt that Akashi meant what he said, that if Furihata told him yes, Akashi would delete the picture without batting an eye. He almost nodded, but..
But that didn't seem fair, considering that Furihata had fully intended to take one of Akashi without his permission. Furihata flipped his phone open again, staring at the screen. He still felt embarrassed, seeing himself like that. He never liked having his picture taken to begin with, and disliked it even more when he wasn't ready for it.
Akashi apparently liked the picture well enough to display it as his background, though, and that thought made Furihata view the photo in a different light. Maybe he was focusing too much on Akashi and him as a separate entity, rather than looking at them together. The admiration on Akashi's face was clear as day, something like joy shining in his crimson gaze as he kissed Furihata. And rather than looking desperate, maybe Furihata's hand around his neck showed just how willing he was to hold on and never let go.
Maybe the picture wasn't so bad after all. Besides, it wasn't like anyone other than him and Akashi were ever going to see it.
And it made Akashi happy. It wouldn't kill him to live with one embarrassing photo, he decided.
Furihata looked up to see Akashi watching him carefully, his cat-like eyes reading every emotion on his face. He felt his face flush again under the scrutiny, but the corners of his lips turned up in a small smile.
"I-I guess it's okay…" he admitted. Akashi smiled, ducking in to press a quick kiss to his forehead. When he pulled away, Furihata knit his brows together, trying his best to appear stern. "B-But you better n-not show it to anyone!"
"I suppose I shouldn't have sent it in a group email then?" Akashi asked innocently.
Furihata's eyes widened in shock. "You didn't."
Akashi's phone pinged suddenly, an email notification flashing across the screen. He picked it up, scanning the message for a moment before looking up with a grin. "Mibuchi said he might have something to help with the bed head, but I rather like it."
"Seeeii!" Furihata screeched, pulling the pillow over his face to hide his flustered expression.
This was the last time he ever tried to pull one over on Akashi. Ever.
