Chapter Text
The night air was nice.
Well, considering they were still at the beach post-sunset—no wonder it was chilly. A cool breeze brushing past them every now and then.
Akito didn’t say anything at first as Toya led him across the sand, the waves rolling in slow and steady beside them. The beach was nearly empty at this hour—the ocean stretched out in front of them like a sheet of black glass broken only by moonlight and the slow, patient rhythm of waves.
He shoved his hands into his jacket pockets, glancing sideways at Toya for what had to be the tenth time in the last five minutes.
“…So,” he said, trying to sound casual and failing just a little. “You gonna tell me why we’re here, or are you just gonna keep pretending this is normal?”
Toya smiled fondly, the kind of smile that always made Akito feel like something warm had settled in his chest. “Is it that strange?” he asked. “Going out together?”
“At the beach. At night. With you being weirdly quiet,” Akito replied. “Yeah. A little.”
He glanced sideways at Toya, brows knitting together. “You’ve been weird all day,” he said, not unkindly. Curious more than anything. “You didn’t even tell me where we were going.”
Toya kept having a barely hidden giddy expression—there was definitely something going on beneath the surface. “I wanted it to be a surprise.”
Akito huffed. “You’re terrible at hiding things.”
“I know,”
Akito tilted his head. “Okay,” he said slowly. “Now I’m officially suspicious.”
Toya suddenly stopped walking. Akito took two more steps before realizing Toya wasn’t beside him anymore and turned back, confused.
“Toya?”
They stopped near the shoreline, where the sand was cool and firm beneath their feet. The waves crept close, retreating again. Toya was facing him, hands fidgeting just slightly at his sides.
Akito turned completely towards him.
Toya still hadn’t answered his question. He just stood there, moonlight catching in his hair, his hands clenched and unclenched at his sides like he was bracing himself.
Akito’s heart gave a strange, sudden thump.
“…Hey,” Akito said, slower now. “What’s up?”
Toya took a breath.
Is it really the right time? He had asked himself during the entire day.
Then another.
I felt ready, but… I really am not.
And another.
Akito noticed the way his shoulders shook. His heart skipped. “Toya?” he asked, softer now. “Hey, hey— what’s wrong?”
Toya met his eyes. The moonlight caught in them, making them shine a little too brightly.
“Akito,” he said, voice steady despite everything else. “Do you remember the first time we performed together?”
“Yeah,” he answered without hesitation. “'Course I do, partner.”
That word again. "Partner"
At some point, it had just applied for singing. They were singing partners.
Then best friends, attached at the hip. People mentioned they hardly ever saw one without the other being nearby.
Then the lines of their partnership blurred from being merely just singing.
It shouldn't have made sense. But it did somehow.
Toya nodded. “I didn’t think I deserved it. Music, a dream, you standing beside me. I thought I was just… borrowing something I’d lose again.”
Akito’s breath hitched.
"You gave me a new dream. I thought since I would have picked anything, as long as it wasn't classical, I thought I wasn't worthy of standing next to you." he admitted.
“But you let me stay,” Toya continued. “You stayed with me. You pulled me forward when I tried to step back. You gave me something I didn’t think I was allowed to have.”
Akito opened his mouth to interrupt, but Toya lifted a hand, smiling shakily. “Let me finish. Please.”
He swallowed thickly and just nodded.
Toya inhaled, deep and steady, then let it out. He met Akito’s eyes, and there was something different there—nervous, earnest, almost fragile in a way Akito wasn’t used to seeing from him that often.
“Akito,” Toya said.
Something in his tone made Akito’s chest tighten.
“…Yeah?”
Toya stepped forward.
And then, before Akito could ask anything else, before he could even process what was happening—Toya lowered himself onto one knee.
The world seemed to stop.
Akito’s breath hitched so hard it hurt. His brain stalled completely, every thought evaporating in an instant, replaced by a rush of heat behind his eyes and a sharp, aching pressure in his chest.
For just a second, Akito’s brain refused to process what he was seeing.
“T-Toya—” His voice cracked instantly. “What are you—”
The realization hit him all at once, like a wave crashing straight into his chest. His breath stuttered, eyes burning as tears welled up before he could stop them.
“No—” Akito shook his head, hands flying up to cover his mouth. “No, that’s— that’s no fair...”
Toya looked up at him, eyes already shining, hands shaking as he reached into his pocket. “Akito—”
“I-I was g-gonna—” Akito choked, laughing and crying at the same time. “I was gonna do it—”
Toya froze.
For a heartbeat, they just stared at each other, both of them breaking into breathless, disbelieving laughs as tears spilled freely.
“You—” Toya stammered. “You too?”
“Idiot,” Akito huffed. “I’ve been thinkin' about doing it for months, just—waiting for the right time, and then you— you go and—” His words dissolved into another laugh, wiping furiously at his eyes. “That’s not fair at all.”
Toya still looked at him, his hands trembling as he reached into his pocket. “I was planning to say all of this perfectly,” he admitted, voice wavering just a little. “But I don’t think I can.”
“Toya,” he choked, stepping closer without thinking. “I—”
Toya pulled out a small box, hands shaking badly enough that Akito quickly reached out on instinct, cupping underneath Toya's hand gently, grounding them.
“I’ve got you,” Akito said.
Toya laughed softly, nodding. “Yeah,” he said. “I know. I was hoping you wouldn’t tell me to stop.”
“Toya… you’re shaking,” Akito huffed. “You’re shaking so much.”
“So are you,” Toya said, smiling through tears.
Akito really couldn't stop smiling. “Shut up.”
They stayed like that for a moment, hands pressed together like that was the only thing keeping the world from tilting apart.
He steadied himself, fingers tightening around the box as he looked up at Akito again.
“I've been planning this for a while…” Toya said quietly. “I planned it because this is where I can hear myself think. And because when I imagine the rest of my life, I always see you in every version of it. I realized I couldn't see a future that you weren't in—I want to share it with you.”
Akito shook his head, overwhelmed, tears dripping down and onto the sand beneath them. “You’re gonna kill me,” he said weakly. “You know that, right?”
Toya smiled at him, that soft, open smile Akito loved so much. “Maybe. But if I do, at least you’ll know how serious I am about this, Akito.”
He took another breath.
“Before I met you, I didn’t know what it meant to choose my own life,” Toya continued. “Music was something I loved, but it was also something I was trapped in."
“Akito,” he said, voice trembling but clear. “You changed my life. You gave me back my love for music, and more than that—you gave me freedom. I know I've said it before but… the reason I am who I am today is all because you found me when I was running away from classical, and singing by myself.”
Akito’s tears fell freely now. He shook his head weakly. “You— you did yourself… I didn't—”
Toya shook his head. “That's not true. I had you by my side. Even when I was worried that I didn't deserve to sing besides you, you told me that I could stay by your side.”
Akito’s grip tightened, knuckles white.
“You make me braver,” Toya added. “You make me happier than I ever thought I was allowed to be. And every day I wake up knowing I get to be your partner feels like something I don’t deserve—but something I never want to lose.”
“You've told me before 'You're allowed to be selfish', right? So, if I’m allowed to be selfish just one more time,” Toya said softly, opening the box, “I want to stay by your side for the rest of my life."
Inside, nestled against dark fabric, were two white gold rings. Moonlight caught against their polished surfaces, gleaming softly—with a single engraving at the center of each. One bore a finely etched sun, the other bore a moon. And of course, at the center of each engraving, held a single small diamond.
It wasn't grand or incredibly showy, but Akito really couldn't take his eyes off of it—off of Toya.
"I—"
Toya took another deep breath, as if readying himself for the most important words he would ever mutter in his life—which may have been the case here.
"Shinonome Akito," he finally said, "will you marry me?”
“Yes—”
The answer came instantly, without a sliver of hesitation.
“Yes— yes, yes, yes,” Akito choked out, surging forward and almost knocking Toya backwards and into the sand as he wrapped his arms around him. “Of course I will— holy shit— yes!”
They were laughing and crying at the same time, kissing everywhere they could reach—cheeks, lips, temples—like they just couldn’t get close enough. Like they had to make up for every second they hadn’t been here yet.
They kissed on the lips, again and again, until breathing felt optional and unnecessary—which unfortunately for them, their lungs did not appreciate. They quickly pulled away to gasp for air.
This wasn't a picture perfect proposal, but it was perfect. Perfect to them, and that's all that mattered.
Toya carefully slid one of the rings—the one with the sun engraving—onto Akito’s finger, hands still shaking slightly.
The diamond and white gold caught the moonlight beautifully against Akito’s skin. Akito took the other and slipped it onto Toya’s finger, pressing it down firmly like he needed to anchor it there.
Toya swallowed thickly, thumb brushing over the ring around his boyfriend fiance, his partner's finger. “The sun is for you. And the moon is for me.”
Akito’s breath stuttered once again.
“You’re my sun,” Toya continued, eyes shining. “I can’t shine on my own. I reflect what you give me. You burn bright with so much passion, you push forward, you light everything around you. I only glow because you’re there.”
Akito shook his head weakly, tears slipping down his cheeks. “Toya…”
“I love you, Akito. Far beyond anything I could say," Toya said, cupping Akito's face and wiping away his tears to press another kiss onto his lips.
Akito sighed in pure joy, pulling away from the kiss to reciprocate with an, "…I love ya too, partner."
They stayed there for a while, basking in the moment.
Before they realized that they had been crouching down on the sand this entire time. They quickly tried to stand up and continue properly. Akito got up first, helping Toya up.
“There,” Akito said, pressing his forehead to Toya’s the moment they were standing upright. “Now you’re stuck with me.”
Toya smiled, soft and so full of love it hurt. “I’ve been stuck with you for a long time. You're my precious partner after all.”
And they hoped—no, they knew—that sentence would stay true for the rest of their lives.
"Fuck… I still can't believe it." Akito mumbled.
Toya laughed as Akito stumbled forward and buried his (very red and flustered face) into his shoulder. "It's amazing,"
"That's a huge understatement man, I just—" Akito stopped himself with a groan, burying himself deeper.
"Akito—!"
"Toya, stop laughing at me, you bastard!" Akito said, (gently) shoving him away.
"Well, this 'bastard' is going to marry you." Toya said with a slight smirk.
Akito flushed deeper, but let out a shaky half-sigh, half-laugh of a sound. "Guess so,"
He smiled dopeyly, mind having already wandered into imagining what their future would look like.
"I can't wait for it…"