Everyone else was at Akira's house to have fun. They talked about Sports Day and Rui's continuing reign of terror and all the pretty girls in their classes for hours. Ryo didn't say much. Akira tried so hard to include him, constantly adding "Isn't that right, Unami?" and "Unami, you remember that, don't you?" to the conversation every chance he got. Ryo focused on the floor and nodded at the appropriate times. He occasionally picked at the snacks Akira's parents had provided for Akira's other friends that had planned this sleepover for a while. He was just a last minute addition.

It was nearing three in the morning by the time most of the boys had fallen asleep. Ryo was still wide awake, staring at one of the windows as light rain hit it and ran in little streams down to the windowsill. Akira hadn't fallen asleep yet, and noticed Ryo wasn't even trying to sleep.

"Are you okay?" Akira asked quietly after hesitating a moment. He pushed his pillow next to Ryo's, and scooted closer to him. "I know you didn't… plan on coming over tonight. But it was still fun, right?" He looked over at Ryo with an uncomfortable smile.

Ryo finally looked away from the window and forced a smile, glancing at Akira through the darkness. "Yeah, it was. Thanks for letting me stay here. I'm sorry I—"

Akira interrupted. "Hey, don't apologize. It's fine." He paused for another moment, trying to find the right words through his drowsiness. "If your parents ever lock you out again, you're welcome to come stay here. I'll always be happy to have you around, so don't say you're sorry for anything, got it?" He'd probably think of a less stupid way he could've said that in the morning, but that was the best he could do for now.

Ryo couldn't see Akira very clearly, but he kept looking at him anyway, and smiled his first genuine smile all night. "Thank you."

Uhhh wow hey it's been a while haha. I haven't written fic in ages, but then this happened so I figured I'd go ahead and post it.

I've really wanted to write Liu/Atsuki lately, but when I opened Word this happened. Oops. This one was inspired by A Softer World #32. Let me know what you think!

I'll probably be writing more fic eventually, since this is sorta my main fandom right now. They probably won't be inspired by ASW like this one, but who knows. They might be just as short.

x-posted to my LJ and Ao3