Their setup for the music video was a little bare, but Hiroto's script was good though simple, and Akira was pretty sure they'd get most of the thing filmed during this afternoon. It was after lunch time and thus Rakuen had no customers in, and they had Mizoguchi's permission for this. Akira was rather optimistic even though Hiroto had decided to start with this a random part where he was sitting at the café table and getting served coffee, and Akira was of course playing the part of the server.

Seri had the camera at the moment, and Hiroto finished checking his notes. "Okay then, let's do this!"

"What are you filming, again?" Kazuki inquired from behind the counter, pausing his task of sorting through dirty dishes for a moment. Akira could definitely understand Kazuki's curiosity, seeing Hiroto was dressed in a nice business suit and Seri was wearing a kimono.

"It's a music video," Hiroto explained. "There's going to be a song, and there this story going on. We're doing some of the story parts right now, and will record the song part a little later."

Kazuki gave his a curious look. "Ah. I still don't know why you want to film it here, but since Mr. Mizoguchi said it's fine, I'll just do my best to stay out of the way."

"Don't worry about that," Hiroto said with a smile. "Right then... Take one! I'll be 'working' here and Akira brings me coffee," Hiroto explained, mostly to Kazuki so he'd get the idea. Seri readied the camera, and Akira fixed his apron a little and picked up a tray holding a coffee cup. "Ready?" Hiroto asked. "And action!"

Akira caught Kazuki smiling and shaking his head at them while Seri focused on Hiroto for a moment. A few more seconds, then Akira took a deep breath, walked in like he normally would, said, "here's your coffee," out of habit as he placed the coffee cup on the table and took his leave. Nothing out of ordinary, and the line wasn't even needed since it was for a music video. It just made it easier for him to do this since that was what he always did.

The particular scene continued for a little longer as Hiroto sat in the booth with his file and coffee, and then he claimed, "Cut!" and Seri lowered the camera.

"Want to take a look?" She asked, offering the camera towards Hiroto.

"You bet." Hiroto took the camera from her and looked at the filming for a bit while Akira leaned on the wall and watched. He had his doubts that Hiroto would be instantly happy with the take, but he didn't mind redoing if necessary.

Seri looked over Hiroto's shoulder. "Well?"

"Ah, no good," he complained, putting the camera down. "Look at this; Akira's perfect, but see the way I move my head when I raise it to look at him?" Akira couldn't really see what Hiroto was talking about, but Seri nodded like she got it. "Tsk. How annoying," Hiroto continued. "That was completely amateurish of me, and now I'm so annoyed I need a break before we do a retake and contemplate on this."

Akira shrugged. "Maybe if we tried another scene instead?" He suggested. "This wasn't the first scene anyway."

"That's a good idea," Hiroto said and got up. "It might help me get into the mindset if we try chronological order instead." He picked up the camera and headed to the door. "Let's go outside then. At least the weather is perfect today." He then stopped. "Oh, Kazuki? Don't mind the few props, just leave them there; we'll be back a bit."

"All right," Kazuki told him. "We're closed currently anyway." He smiled at the trio then started sorting through some trash that needed to be taken out. "Well, I do need to go out to buy some fresh supplies after I deal with the dishes, but since Akira is with you it shouldn't be a problem."

"Thanks!" Hiroto left the café, and Akira tossed his apron onto the booth seat and followed along with Seri.

A few minutes later the trio was gathered on the beach outside Rakuen. They took a moment to go over the script for the next music video scene - which was really just Hiroto standing around, so not much acting from anyone else's part was needed - and then trying to scout a good filming spot. Hiroto was being a little particular about the background, and Akira, who was now holding the camera, didn't really have any ideas. It was supposed to be Hiroto gazing at the sky, so did the background really matter?

"How about we start from over there?" Seri pondered aloud, pointing to the side. "It's in the shade, so..."

Hiroto looked thoughtful. "Should work," he agreed. "Akira?"

"On it." Akira lifted up the camera. "The clouds for a bit, then pan down on you from... here?" Hiroto nodded his approval, Seri stepped behind Akira so she'd be out of the view, and Akira waited for Hiroto's signal. The cloud formation sailing by them looked beautiful, and Akira pointed the camera up at the sky. "Ready to go."

"Action," Hiroto directed in his confident way, and Akira filmed the sky for a moment then slowly turned to capture Hiroto looking up, like he was deep in thought. A moment passed then Hiroto turned and headed up towards the stairs, the camera followed him for a short moment before he called, "And cut!"

Seri smiled. "That looked good."

"We'll see." Hiroto walked back to Akira, who offered the camera to him. He took a look at the newly recorded footage and looked absolutely disgusted. "Am I having a bad acting day or something?" He questioned with a sigh. "Look at this. I'm too focused, when the character here is supposed to be feeling detached and... longing." Akira almost snickered at that but he managed to keep a straight face. "Oh well. Let's retake that."

Akira nodded and raised the camera again, and they did another take of the exact same thing, with Hiroto heading towards the stairs at the end. Akira caught Kazuki walking down the stairs to the beach on the side, but he didn't think much of it at that moment. He gave the camera over to Hiroto again, and they all took a look at the shot.

No luck, again. "What a failure," Hiroto groaned. "But that's how it is in show business. We'll keep at it until it's perfect."

"What's wrong with it this time?" Seri inquired. "I thought it was much better."

"This... stiffness," Hiroto pointed at his own picture on the small screen. "It needs to be more natural and there needs to be more feeling in it, like..." At that point he trailed off as as he noticed Kazuki by the water line. "...That," he then finished, with a wide smile raising on his face. He grabbed the camera and zoomed on Kazuki, then pointed it at the clouds for a moment and lowered it back, focusing on Kazuki. "Just... like that."

Kazuki, completely oblivious to the trio, gazed at the sky for a few minutes with a slightly sad smile on his face until he finally turned and headed back to Rakuen. Hiroto zoomed on him as he walked away, then lowered in camera in awe.

"Perfect," he muttered. "Did you see that? Looks like I could take a few tips from him." He then stopped to look at Akira. "Wait. Wait. I have an idea. I could use him as a reference, or even..." He grinned. "Akira, take the camera. I'll go back in with Seri, and you follow us, sneak to the back and hide on the stairs."

Akira took the offered camera. "But why?"

"To film Kazuki working, of course!" Hiroto told him. "He's going to be washing the dishes, and then probably doing some preparation work for later. He'll notice you soon enough but I'll just make some excuses. If we can just get good footage, I might..." He trailed off and looked thoughtful, and Akira and Seri looked at each other.

"You want to change the script?" Seri asked.

Hiroto nodded. "Well, does it really make a difference if it's a business man or a cook in the story? It's all about someone who's alone, and the occupation of the person doesn't matter."

"This means we need to get Kazuki to agree with the whole thing," Akira remarked. "But first thing's first, right? I'll go to the stairs, so keep him busy for a moment."

The trio returned to Rakuen and after Hiroto and Seri entered, Akira followed them and waited for a moment by the counter. Hiroto asked Kazuki for something to drink, and Akira sneaked to the stairs and half-hid there while Kazuki was busy serving the drinks, with Hiroto loudly complaining about how his work was delayed today.

Kazuki returned to his work - washing dishes, as Hiroto had guessed earlier - and Akira focused on filming him. Without Hiroto's direction, he just settled for zooming a little and moving the camera a little lower for a better view. Hiroto could always pick whatever he liked once he had enough material.

"Aah, I don't know. I wonder if there's a problem with my script," Hiroto, sitting in the booth with Seri, was making conversation. It sounded like a distraction, but Akira didn't care and continued his Kazuki stalking mission.

"I thought the script was straightforward enough," Seri replied. The was a pause while she probably stopped to take a sip from her drink, but Akira couldn't really tell. "I think editing the song bits is going to give you more trouble anyway, since you were still undecided on some parts. That, and did you decide on the background yet?"

Back in the kitchen, Kazuki raised his head to look at the two then continued washing a pot while Hiroto appeared thoughtful judging from the sounds. "Hmm..." He muttered. "I still haven't decided if it should be over here, or towards the counter... Which one works better in your opinion?"

"Eh? Why are you asking me?" Seri questioned. "I don't really know."

"Just asking for opinions, that's all," Hiroto reassured her. "I'd like the video to look professional after all. But in that case maybe the counter would be better, I'm in a suit after all and that's where the coffee makers are..." Seri seemed amused at that logic, and Akira smiled to himself then concentrated on Kazuki again.

A few minutes passed as Kazuki continued his task a little longer then moved onto drying the things he had washed. Akira ignored Hiroto and Seri's chatting and let the camera run, idly wondering where this was going. Was Kazuki really good enough material for this story of Hiroto's? He did seem a little absent-minded from time to time, so it could work. There were those parts where he had glanced at Hiroto and Seri, but Akira knew Hiroto would just edit stuff like that out of the final product if needed. It didn't really matter to him what Hiroto was planning on doing with all this material, although Akira had to wonder how they were going to get Kazuki's permission to use it in the first place.

Kazuki turned his back to the stairs, and Akira went for the bold move of descending the stairs and filming him from the bottom of the stairs. Kazuki knelt down to put something in the cupboard then stood up and looked at Akira. "Huh?"

"Um... Ignore me," Akira told him with slightly forced grin. "I'm... uh, just wasting time while Hiroto decides on his song background and whatnot." Hiroto on the side had gotten up and was now nodding in agreement and looking around like he was still analyzing his surroundings and not set on the counter background just yet. "Need to check the lighting settings and all," Akira added hastily as Kazuki looked a little dubious. "You see lighting is really delicate stuff, and I'm using you as reference since you're in this area."

"Oh... all right," Kazuki replied. He moved to the other side and knelt down to look into another cupboard, and Akira zoomed in on him for a moment while Hiroto was giving him thumbs-up signal for the smooth handling of the situation. Kazuki then stood again and moved some glasses from one shelf to another, all while Akira was still filming him.

There was someone at the door, and Akira instinctively turned to look, along with his camera. "Anyone in?" The newcomer questioned. It was Soushi, who only glanced at Akira and the camera as he obviously noticed Hiroto - now sitting again - on the side and decided that it was none of his business. Akira quickly took a step to the side and turned the camera again, only to catch Kazuki turning around.

"Soushi," Kazuki greeted, a smile raising to his face. "We're actually not open right now, but I can guess what you're after."

Soushi raised an eyebrow at that. "Am I that easy to read?" He asked as he walked across the café - all while Akira was recording everything - and sat by the counter. "I had an early lunch, did some more work after that then got stuck on something and needed coffee." He waved his hand a little. "The vending machine stuff just isn't going to cut it right now."

"You're in luck then, because I still have some coffee left." Kazuki picked up a cup from the shelf and poured some coffee in it. "Not as good as fresh, though, it's been sitting here for a while."

"Still better than anything I can get from Alvis," Soushi told him. He glanced in Hiroto's direction, but Hiroto had pulled up a file and was currently working on something. Akira got the feeling there was something he didn't know about going on, but it was impossible to tell since he didn't know what Hiroto was up to.

He noted that Kazuki's mood had definitely picked up now, and any trace of thoughtfulness was long gone. Akira knew the reason was sitting right there at the counter enjoying a cup of coffee; those two had some kind of deep friendship he couldn't even try to start understanding. Whichever the case, he moved towards the closest table and kept the camera pointed at Kazuki, then moved the focus on Soushi when Kazuki turned his eyes towards him again.

"I might just as well go for the counter as a background for the song, but I wonder if the natural lighting would be better about... an hour from now," Hiroto mused aloud. Akira glanced at him but kept the camera running. That was seriously just a distraction from Hiroto's part, and he had to wonder if Soushi was going to fall for it.

Soushi took a moment to finish his coffee and put the cup down on the counter. "So," he said in a bit of critical tone of voice, turning his attention to Akira. "Any particular reason you feel the need to record me drinking coffee?"

Akira went a little pale, and he lowered the camera, but Hiroto was faster at reacting this time. "Oh, he's testing the lighting in the café and it turns out you were a good subject since I was thinking of using the counter as a background for something. Also..." He trailed off as Soushi's not very impressed expression was telling it all, but he then looked determined. "Well," he continued. "If you'll come sit over here, I'll show you some of this footage and explain the whole thing." He motioned for Akira to get himself to the booth, and he quickly did so, sitting next to Seri and putting the camera on the table.

Soushi narrowed his eyebrows a little, looked at the trio and then stood up. "All right, you have my interest."

"Ah, good." Hiroto sat on the back and waited for Soushi to take a seat with them. He fiddled with the camera a little, trying to get to the right part of the recording. "You see, we're filming a music video here," he explained while picking the right part of footage from the camera. "I assume you know what that is?"

"Of course," Soushi replied. "I've watched some that were stored in the Alvis archives."

Seri looked at him curiously. "Really? I didn't think you'd be interested in that kind of thing... What was it?"

"It was a recording of the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra playing some of the great classics," Soushi informed them. "Quite a wonderful thing, I should add. The concert hall had really good acoustics... Which I doubt Rakuen has, actually. Why would you record something here?"

The trio looked at each other then Hiroto shook his head. "Not... /that/ kind of music video. What you were watching was apparently a concert recording, when I'm talking about a song." Soushi looked a little confused, and Hiroto grinned a little. "A modern music video," he explained. "It has a story that comes partially from the song lyrics, and some parts of the video is me singing. Part of it is going to be in here, and a few bits from the beach. And acoustics don't really matter in this case since the video will have a studio-recorded song added to it later."

"Oh," Soushi acknowledged that he had gotten the wrong idea. "One of your idol songs then?"

"The newest one!" Hiroto exclaimed. "Which... I guess you wouldn't know about. It's only been on the music show once, but it's called 'You're No Longer Alone' and it tells a story about how a lonely person finds a... ahem, very close friend. Which leads us to the current situation, actually. See, we were shooting the story parts earlier. I was supposed to be acting the part of lonely businessman, but our takes were rather bad. Well, up until..." He turned the camera a little for Soushi to see. "This." He let the few-minute footage of Kazuki gazing at the sky run for about half a minute then skipped ahead the point where he left the beach.

The look in Soushi's eyes turned intense as he admired the picture of Kazuki on the screen in front of him. "Quite interesting. I wouldn't mind having a copy of that, actually..." He then cleared his throat. "What does this have to do with your acting, though?"

"I doubt I need to show you clips of my stiff acting," Hiroto told him. He took a look at the kitchen where Kazuki was preparing something and didn't seem to be very interested in what was going on on the other side of the café. "You see, the story bit..." He lowered his voice a little. "It was supposed to be me on the beach, then me working on a file here, but you saw that recording. Kazuki was /perfect/. I'd be crazy if I didn't change my script at this point and make him the star of the story instead."

Soushi eyed the camera, then looked at Hiroto. "And what of the rest of the story?"

"Well..." Hiroto nodded towards Seri. "It was supposed to be Seri coming in here and looking at me and then eventually us leaving together," he said. "But..." He turned his attention to the camera for a moment, looking through the clips until he found the right one. "This is what Akira has been recording. All right, maybe we're going to have to cut out a bit on there, see," he pointed at the small screen. "This is where you enter Rakuen. You looked in Akira's direction here, but- Oh my, look at that part right there, Akira caught Kazuki noticing you and smiling the exact moment he... This, this is even better than I imagined."

The small video kept running, and the look on Hiroto's face changed into something ecstatic. Akira noticed Soushi focused on some parts of the video more, and he could guess those were the bits with Kazuki on them.

Hiroto then looked thoughtful, grabbed his file again and tapped something on it. "Now if I... ...That would definitely work, but what about the ending?" He glanced at Soushi, then turned his eyes at Seri and Akira. "Say, didn't Kazuki say something about going out shopping? Back when we went out to film on the beach?"

Akira nodded. "I think he needs some fresh vegetables for later," he confirmed.

"Well then." Hiroto turned to Soushi again. "Say, would you do me a favor?" He asked. "A... bit of a big favor which involves you ending up starring my music video along with Kazuki, but you'll be compensated accordingly." He looked at Soushi. "I'll give you all the footage we have in exchange and whatnot," he then added, as if something had dawned to him.

"That's fine," Soushi replied in a cool tone of voice, much to Hiroto's joy. Seri and Akira looked at each other, both rather surprised Soushi had agreed that easily. Soushi ignored them and just fixed his glassed a little. "What do you need me to do?"

Hiroto nodded towards the kitchen. "Ask him to go with you, and then just head to town with him. We'll handle the camera." He glanced at Akira, then faced Soushi again. "Oh and..." He mostly whispered. "If you could... walk really close to him or something? That would be good. We're talking about very, very close friends on this story here. More like... lovers."

Soushi gave him an evaluating look. "I... see." Akira didn't really know if that counted as an agreement to the proposal or not, but nevertheless, Soushi stood up and nodded to the trio. "Well then." He walked to the counter, and Hiroto instantly grabbed the camera and showed it in Akira's hands. "Kazuki," Soushi called while Akira got back into filming mode. "I hear you were supposed to go shopping?"

"Oh yeah, I'll have to go in a bit," Kazuki answered. He put away some plates and glanced over to the booth. "But since Akira's staying here so there's nothing to worry about... Why?"

"Come with me," Soushi said with a gentle smile on his face, holding out his hand, and Kazuki just stopped what he had been doing and looked at him, first a little surprised but soon responding to that smile with his own. Hiroto grinned like a madman at the sight, Seri rolled her eyes, and Akira just kept the camera running. Kazuki's smile was so sincere, like he had gotten an offer he could not refuse.

Somehow Kazuki seemed to have resistance for Soushi's sweet smile, though. "But..." He tried. "I should really finish doing a bit of inventory first, and it might take a while. I doubt you have the time to sit around here waiting for me to do that."

"It's fine, just like you said before," Hiroto quickly cut in. Akira lowered the camera a little so Kazuki wouldn't pay attention to it, not that it mattered much since everyone's attention was on Hiroto. "Akira's staying," Hiroto continued. "And it'd really be better if you went out anyway, since we should film the song next."

"Well, I supposed then..." Kazuki seemed slightly hesitant, but Soushi flashed another smile at him. "Let me get the shopping list and some money, and I'll be right there."

Soushi nodded and headed for the door then waited for Kazuki to put away his apron and pick up whatever he needed, and Akira noted that the way Soushi was acting was a bit unusual. It was hard to describe, but he could have sworn it was somehow... possessive? Whichever, he was going to do his best to get Hiroto some footage here. The original script had been the two leaving the café and walking off like a couple of lovers, but Akira had to wonder how this was going to turn out.

The good part here was that at least Kazuki didn't currently mind the camera around and was probably assuming Akira was still testing lighting conditions. He smiled at Akira as he passed and walked over to Soushi, and the two exited the café.

...Soushi almost put his hand on Kazuki's waist behind their backs while he opened the door, and Hiroto looked absolutely delighted.

Akira dashed after the pair, situating himself outside near the door with Seri holding the door open and poking her head out, and Hiroto sticking himself outside right behind Akira. "I never realized Soushi's that much into acting," Seri commented as they watched the two heading away.

Into? Akira would have used the words, "overdoing it" if anyone had asked his opinion, but not like he was the expert here. Besides, Hiroto could definitely be a little too showy at times, so Akira was mostly used to it. Soushi certainly knew how to make things look dramatic, though.

Especially now, since considering that Soushi - walking quite close by Kazuki's side - suddenly took Kazuki's hand. Kazuki was visibly startled, but he allowed it, and the two walked ahead for a couple of more steps until Soushi abruptly stopped. He drew Kazuki around so they were facing each other, and Kazuki looked at him all confused and partially flustered. Soushi looked back at him for just a moment, and before Kazuki managed to start questioning what he was doing, kissed him.

Akira looked to his side and saw the biggest grin on Hiroto's face.

The kiss lasted for about five seconds, then Kazuki withdrew and was about to start babbling at Soushi when the latter turned around to look in Hiroto's direction and asked, "How was that?"

"Perfect," Hiroto told him. "Absolutely perfect. I mean- Cut!"

Kazuki looked at Soushi then at Hiroto, then at Soushi again. "W-what?"

"It's for the music video," Soushi explained. "Surely they told you?" Kazuki blinked at that, and Soushi glanced at Hiroto then looked at his boyfriend. "So wait, why was Hiroto talking about making you the star of his story then if..."

Hiroto walked to them. "Ah... I didn't manage to explain the story to him yet." He shrugged, put his most innocent face on and rubbed his neck. "Or the part where I was planning on making him the main character of that story, for that matter."

"Wait. You... You cannot possibly be planning on airing that," Kazuki mumbled, his embarrassment apparent. "Isn't it enough that Soushi went and... in public..." His voice died at that point, and he looked down and squeezed Soushi's hand, which he was still for whatever reason holding onto.

Hiroto looked slightly disappointed, and Soushi sighed and fixed his glasses a little. "Fine then," he said. "Perhaps if you cut that last part out?"

"It can't be helped, I guess," Hiroto agreed. "I'll have to get you both to sign the necessary forms after all, and Kazuki would obviously never let me use that part. I'll do anything to get the permission to use the rest of the material, though." Kazuki raised his head and gave him a questioning look, and he waved his hand a little. "Don't worry, just go shop and whatnot! We'll go film the song now, and I can explain-"

"No need," Soushi cut in. "I can explain it to Kazuki. You already explained it to me, and since I see no problems with this, it'll be fine." Hiroto looked dubious and Kazuki more or less freaked out, but the look in Soushi's eyes was intense. "I'll convince him," he assured Hiroto.

"That'll work," Hiroto said with a nod. "And I take it you'll... aheh, check all the material once we're done editing?"

Soushi's cool demeanor didn't change for a moment. "Of course."

Hiroto looked pleased at that, and Akira just shrugged and headed back inside Rakuen. If Hiroto would get a permission to use the material this way, all good, even though Akira found himself thinking that the kiss part would have actually been kind of cute way to end the video.

About a week later...

The table was set, and Kazuki was getting a few more side dishes from the kitchen. Fumihiko idly put the TV on while settling down to eat dinner. Just in time to catch the news program, not that there was actually anything on the news that would have interested him, or he didn't already know.

"Here," Kazuki said, putting the small dish down. "Let's eat."

"Mm-hmm," Fumihiko acknowledged. A typical conversation in the Makabe household, certainly, except for the fact that he was actually sitting across Soushi, who had for some reason gotten distracted actually watching the news. He didn't seem to have anything to offer conversation-wise, though.

They ate in silence for a moment, with the TV on the background and Soushi occasionally glancing at it then shrugging and returning to his meal. Kazuki got up to get something from the kitchen, Fumihiko paid little attention to what exactly and continued eating.

The news program ended, there was a rather pointless brief advertisement for the People's Restaurant, and there was a flashy logo with some cheesy music. "Oh, it's Hiroto's music show," Kazuki commented as he returned from the kitchen. "I wonder what's on it today. Well, aside from Hiroto's usual stuff."

"Eh, that program," Soushi said, sounding uninterested. "I don't really care for the whole idol business. I much prefer his science program."

Fumihiko didn't know what they were talking about, even with Kazuki commenting, "The one that's aimed at kids?" with a slight snicker, and Soushi glaring death at him.

Hiroto on the TV screen meanwhile had finished his usual introduction stuff and was now babbling something about music videos and idols, with Fumihiko mostly ignoring the thing. At least up until Soushi pointed out, "It's that music video," and Fumihiko turned to look for whatever reason.

The song title written on the screen indicated that this was a song called "You're No Longer Alone" performed by - unsurprisingly - one Hiroto Douma. The camera panned down from the sky to show Kazuki standing on a beach, which Fumihiko recognized as the one near Rakuen, and Hiroto was singing something about someone being used to gazing at the sky alone but they did not know what fate had in store.

"Huh," Kazuki said. "When did they film that?"

The video cut to Hiroto standing on the same beach singing about this lonely person whose life had changed, and Fumihiko wondered if he should have commented something. Well, it wasn't exactly his business, even though Kazuki sounded a little odd putting it like that.

The scene changed to Rakuen where Kazuki was working on washing the dishes, then cut to Hiroto again - now inside Rakuen in front of the counter and still singing, then another shot of Kazuki sorting through some glasses, and back to Hiroto singing the chorus, which included the line, "But everything changed that day, that day when you saw that person, you were no longer alone."

Right afterwards there was a bit of music and a scene where Soushi entered Rakuen with Kazuki smiling at him. Soushi smiled back, the scene went slow motion and sparkly for a moment, all while Hiroto was singing again. It was now the second verse of the song, with something about fateful meetings.

Around that point Fumihiko realized he was holding his chopsticks up but not eating as he was being distracted by this ridiculous idol thing. Also, his son was slightly red on his face.

"This is embarrassing," Kazuki said quietly while the picture switched to Hiroto singing again, this time about feelings. Of course, right after there was a bit of Soushi drinking coffee and gazing at Kazuki behind the counter, while Hiroto's song went on about falling in love. "That's just..." Kazuki continued. "Nobody told me it was /that/ kind of a song."

In the music video, the song switched to the chorus part about not being alone again, a scene with Kazuki looking at Soushi, and back to Hiroto singing for a moment. There was a short part with just bit of music, then there was Soushi offering his hand to Kazuki while Hiroto was singing, "run away with me" and Fumihiko realized his son's face went from the red hue to rather pale. Soushi across from him meanwhile looked awfully pleased.

"T... this is..." Kazuki muttered, clearly having trouble figuring out what to say. "Soushi...!"

"It's actually really good," Soushi stated, sounding absolutely honest about it.

Next the video had Kazuki heading out of the café to Soushi who was waiting by the door, with Hiroto singing about two people who were destined to be together, and Soushi's hand almost touched Kazuki's waist at that part before the two went outside the door and the video cut back to Hiroto in the café.

Fumihiko glanced to the side just to see his son look absolutely mortified.

Song continued with chorus again, with a shot of Kazuki and Soushi walking away, then Soushi taking Kazuki's hand - and cut to Hiroto singing, "you're no longer alone" outside of Rakuen with a final fade-out.

Kazuki covered his face with his hands. "How... Just how did I ever agree to this," he whimpered. "Wasn't it supposed to be about friendship?" He let his hands drop and looked to his side. "Soushi!" He demanded, like this whole thing was somehow Soushi's fault.

"What, isn't it?" Soushi questioned. "I do admit I haven't heard the song before now, but I did see all the material they had of you. And Hiroto didn't use the kiss, like he promised. A shame really, it might have been a good ending to that."

Fumihiko said nothing and turned his attention to his dinner while Hiroto on the TV was babbling about music videos being great at presenting short stories like that.

Kazuki gulped and looked really uncomfortable. "I can't believe he would put that on his stupid video. Just... Everyone's going to think we're...!"

"Like Hiroto is saying on TV, it's a story," Soushi pointed out. "We're just actors, fictional characters in Hiroto's music video story. I don't really recall us meeting in Rakuen and falling in love at first sight. It was... a little different in reality." He reached to his side and lifted Kazuki's face up gently with his fingers. "Not that I'm going to start pretending when it comes to that lovers part. Am I correct?"

"Soushi..." Kazuki started, but he trailed off as he looked slightly embarrassed again. Soushi was giving him this slight, loving smile that could not be misinterpreted in any way, and Kazuki finally took a hold of the hand on his chin and pressed his face against it.

Fumihiko coughed a little, put down his rice cup and chopsticks and mumbled something about forgetting a pot he had been supposed to deliver tonight. He got up and left the living room, with his son and Soushi looking at him all confused while he headed downstairs.

He had nothing against Kazuki being in love; certainly, it hadn't been been love at first sight in Rakuen and more like those two knowing each other since they were babies and it evolving into a teenager romance after a lot of things happened, but he was Kazuki's father and there were some things he didn't know how to react to.

Had he even been good at mushy stuff himself? Probably not. The fact that the always professional Soushi could act so syrupy sweet was just beyond Fumihiko's understanding.

"Akane, you're laughing at me, aren't you?" He quietly muttered at the picture downstairs, and he could swear that would have been the case had she been here. She would have been truly amused by her husband's inability to deal with their son being cute with his boyfriend.

And yet at the same time, he was so glad Kazuki had someone like Soushi.

Author's notes:

After writing "Double Date" I felt like there should be more stuff with Hiroto and Akira, and one morning an idea hit me. This is Hiroto and his aidoru business as usual, with Akira and Seri dragged along then whoever else happened to be available.

Also Akira that word you're looking for to describe Soushi is "chuuni" but that's not an acceptable adjective.

Comes with extra Fumihiko awkwardness because we love him. There should be dozens of fics about Fumihiko he's so amazing.

- Elmina (March 2016)