i'm planning to stretch this arc out a bit (maybe for like 3-4 maybe 5 chapters)
also there is a d4dj all mix ep 10 reference somewhere in this chapter, if you squint

Something's up.

Recently, Emu's been talking a lot about Akito. Well, not exactly talking, more like Akito's been on her mind lately.
I'm starting to get worried. It's been affecting their performance a lot. That's a pretty rare occasion.

Tsukasa then closed his journal, put it away, and walked back to the living room where everyone else was.

However, he still couldn't shake off the feeling that something was bothering Emu a little too much.

________________________________

By the time Tsukasa came back and sat down next to Nene, Nene had finally managed to put on a horror movie that everyone agreed to watch.

By everyone, that excluded Akito, Rui, An, and obviously Tsukasa.

The movie had just started, and everyone seemed to be fine with the movie so far.

Kohane and Toya were sharing a bag of chips, Nene was eating a bowl of popcorn (which Tsukasa occasionally stole from), An and Rui were clinging onto each other waiting for the actual horror, and Akito and Emu were eating each other's snacks.

When the actual horror in the movie started, An was yelping at the scary scenes while clinging onto Rui, although Rui wasn't as fazed anymore. Tsukasa was surprisingly not that scared and just kept stealing popcorn from Nene, who was also unfazed. Kohane and Toya had managed to fall asleep together, so Rui stole their chips and ate them himself. Akito was terrified and clinging onto Emu, who was faintly blushing because of how close they were.

By the time the movie ended, Kohane and Toya woke up again and were still cuddling together on the couch, Rui had lost interest in the chips while An was eating the rest of them, and Nene and Tsukasa were figuring out what to do next, Akito had gotten embarrassed because of how he was previously clinging onto Emu, so he was now internally freaking out while Emu ate some snacks.

The rest of the sleepover wasn't very special, a couple more activities were done before people started getting tired, so everyone collectively agreed that it was best to call it a night.

So a couple hours later, everyone had fallen asleep peacefully, the two couples sharing a futon while everyone slept on separate futons.

Well, everyone except Akito.
He usually slept with comfortable and rather cutesy socks on to prevent his feet from getting cold, since he was too tall for a blanket to cover his whole body.

But he didn't bring them so he wouldn't get judged. And he was currently regretting that decision fully.

He was busy shivering until he felt someone else sneak into his futon. When he turned around and saw who it was, it turned out to be Emu. When she found out Akito was actually awake, she immediately panicked and spoke in a hushed tone, so they wouldn't wake anyone up.

"Gah! You're awake?! Sorry Akito-kun, I just got so cold and-"

"I don't mind."

That response from Akito made Emu confused, since they didn't expect that answer from him.

"You don't?"

"No. Actually, I was also kinda cold."

"So you wouldn't mind if I cuddled you?"

That response made Akito blush, but since it was so dark it thankfully wasn't seen by Emu. He managed to reply, though he was noticeably trying not to stutter.

"No. Do you mind if I do the same?"

"..No, I don't."

So Akito and Emu ended up cuddling each other, and eventually drifted off to sleep in each other's arms.