Disclaimer: sadly, I'm not Mikiyo Tsuda. She owns Puri Puri, not me. :cries:

Well, this is another fic about my OTP, this time written for Migi! I owe her endless thanks for giving me Tsuda-sensei's Akira x Mitaka doujinshi XD YAY!

Well, I hope you guys like this :3 I tried to give it the same feeling as the manga, and I deeply hope I succeeded.

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The thing about Akira Sakamoto was that he was horribly frustrating without even meaning to be.

"Whatever you want, Toui," he replied upon being asked what he wanted for dinner as he got off the train, his pale emerald hair rumpled from the trip. "It's your house, after all."

It wasn't that Mitaka didn't appreciate having the freedom to make whatever he wanted for dinner. It was just that… a little input would have been nice. Akira was so content with doing whatever it took to make others happy that he rarely gave anything less than a neutral input in situations that otherwise would have gone smoothly. And such small things tended to irk Mitaka, though Akira didn't think twice about them.

"If you feel like it," Akira replied later, when Mitaka asked if they should have miso with the tonkatsu he had made. Mitaka was rather proud of his prowess in the kitchen, and he was happy to be able to cook for his friend. His parents were away on a business conference, and so it was a rare opportunity that he took with zeal. Akira sat at one of the stools in the kitchen, watching him cook and offering to help every few seconds. It was with some amusement that Mitaka continually refused, marveling at how easily Akira could make him smile.

"The food is ready," he finally announced. "Where do you want to eat? In here or in the dining room?"

"Wherever you like best, Toui," Akira replied, and with a sigh Mitaka announced that they should eat in the dining room. It wasn't as though he didn't appreciate Akira's flexibility… it was rather that he felt the whole day was a bit one-sided with him making all the decisions. Akira seemed to be having a good time, and he smiled and laughed as they ate and made light conversation. But there was really no way to be sure, and it nearly drove him mad.

"The food is delicious," he told him several times, and Mitaka smiled, filled with appreciation and gratitude toward his friend. He couldn't remember smiling much before he had met Akira, and now that they were friends it seemed like he was smiling all the time. He had never met anyone who made him feel quite so happy and carefree. He felt lucky to be able to share the summer break with him.

"Thank you, Akira," he said. The green-haired boy nodded happily and took another delicate bite of the breaded pork, and Mitaka watched him for a moment, mystified, until Akira noticed and he had to look away. There were so many things that were enchanting about the boy, from his large, honest eyes to his sincere smile. Mitaka found himself staring more often than he should be, more often than he had at anyone in the past, and he wondered if the reason for his indiscretions was as obvious to Akira as it was to him.

"Thanks so much again for having me. And for making me dinner," Akira said, and Mitaka gave him a pensive nod. It took all his well-coiffed self-control not to blush a bit as he nodded at the boy who made him feel so very helpless and almost vulnerable, something he had never experienced in his life.

"You're welcome. It was my pleasure," he replied, and when he saw the smile of delight on Akira's face he nearly collapsed. Everything about the boy was so delicate and pure, and it made him feel unworthy and corrupted standing next to him, being so very undeserving of those small smiles that Akira reserved just for him.

"What do you want to do now?" he asked Akira, who gave him a warm smile that nearly made his heart stop. He had to keep himself from collapsing.

"What do you usually do after dinner?" he asked in reply. "We can do whatever you would like. I don't want to stop you from doing the things you usually enjoy."

The times when Akira wasn't here were usually spent in his room, doing little of anything and staring thoughtfully out the window as though he was staring into the distance for something that he desperately yearned for but could never quite grasp. Normally he sat inside the Mitaka household as though he was a fairytale princess trapped in an impossibly tall tower, with no means of escape. But he didn't tell Akira this. Instead, he suggested that they watch television.

Mitaka had more than a bit of trouble keeping his vision focused on the variety quiz show they were watching. Akira seemed amused by it, but Mitaka could to pay attention. He was too busy watching Akira, the way those glittering emerald eyes looked when they were focused on something, the way he looked when he was at ease, the casual slope of this shoulders. There were a million things about him that he somehow desperately needed to take in, and he couldn't help himself. He felt like a bit of a pervert for staring so openly, but it was something that needed to be done.

"Toui?" Akira asked, and Mitaka became aware that he was watching him back. Once again, he resisted the urge to blush and looked quickly away from his small friend.

"It's getting late. We should probably go to bed if we're going to USJ tomorrow," he said in a businesslike manner that made Akira give him a questioning look. He ignored it and led Akira to his bedroom, where he lay out the futon for him and allowed him to settle in.

"Goodnight, Toui," Akira whispered in the dimness, and Mitaka rolled purposefully over onto his side so he could face him. Akira was propped up on one elbow, looking rather small in his white t-shirt. Mitaka found his eyes and stared back at him, unthreatening and quiet. Just looking. Akira stared right back, and their eyes remained locked for what seemed like an eternity, sharing their own private world. No one else could get in, and Mitaka liked it that way.

"Goodnight, Akira," he said finally, and as the two settled down to sleep he couldn't help but wonder if he was the only one who was driven crazy by this strange fire between them, desperately burning and destroying all of his old feelings in its path. He wondered if he should try to escape it, but when he looked down at Akira's serene sleeping face he knew the answer was no.

XXX

The next morning dawned bright, and as the two stepped off the train in Osaka, the sunlight hit them with full force. Summer weather was finally beginning, and clearly trying to make up for lost time. As they paused beneath a tree to get some shade, Akira was beaming. He looked positively radiant.

"I can't wait!" he said, genuine excitement creeping into his voice and making his eyes glitter. Mitaka couldn't help but smile, and the two shared a quiet moment that Mitaka knew would go down in history in his mind, just as all other moments with Akira had.

"What do you want to do first?" he asked the green-haired boy, pulling out the pamphlet he had picked up at the train station. He held it up so his friend could see, and the other boy peered at it for a moment, taking in the various attractions and still variably bouncing with excitement.

"Whatever you want to do, Toui. I'm happy with anything," Akira answered, and Mitaka snapped.

"Why do you always do that?" he asked, and Akira blinked at him for a moment, looking genuinely confused. Mitaka decided to clarify. "You always just say we can do whatever I want when I ask your opinion on something. It makes me feel like it's all a little one-sided. Don't you want anything?"

Akira blushed slightly and closed his eyes, and when he opened them he looked slightly remorseful. "I'm sorry, Toui," he said softly. "I just… I'm so excited to spend time with you, and I want you to enjoy it as much as I do. So I just unconsciously want to do whatever you want. I enjoy myself just being with you, so it doesn't really matter to me what we do," he sounded slightly bashful.

For a moment, Mitaka was too surprised to react at all. He just stood there blinking down at his best friend, and wondered why exactly hearing Akira say those things rendered him so speechless. "Akira…" he murmured finally, reaching forward and grabbing the shorter boy in a tight hug as was his habit, pulling him against his chest. "I'm not angry," he assured him. "But sometimes, maybe you should give your opinion too. Isn't there anything you want?"

Akira pulled back a bit so he could look up into the taller boy's face, and those large green eyes met with Mitaka's narrow golden-brown ones. His voice was shaky when he spoke. "I… I want you, Toui…"

For a moment, Mitaka was too surprised to think, let alone speak. All hope of coherent conversation flew from his mind as he stared down at his companion.. It was all he could do to keep his mouth from hanging open. Akira was blushing furiously, his usually flawless face splotched with red as he did his best to keep looking Mitaka in the eye. Mitaka felt Akira's hand on the front of his shirt, and his eyes widened as Akira did something uncharacteristically bold: he pulled his torso down by pulling on his shirt, and he kissed him.

It was a light kiss, gentle and not overbearing, just like Akira himself. His lips were warm and smooth against Mitaka's, and before he knew what was happening he was kissing him back, drawing him up in his arms and holding him off the ground. Mitaka poured every confusing emotion from the past few months into the kiss, every doubt and fear. Everything dissolved around them until there was only them and the moment, and nothing else matter. The world was insignificant.

When the kiss ended they were breathless, moved by the enormity of the action and by the hundreds of things that had been before unspoken that had been pushed silently into that first meeting of lips. Akira's flushed face was decorated with a smile, and Mitaka was surprised to find that he was blushing just as much.

"Now what do you want to do, Akira?" he asked, relishing the warmth of the boy in his arms and the feeling that all around them was right with the world. Akira grinned shyly at him, resting his forehead against his.

"Be with you," he answered simply, and Mitaka smiled.

The thing about Akira Sakamoto was that he was horribly frustrating without even meaning to be, but Mitaka loved him anyway.

Fin