Aki was not oblivious, contrary to common belief. When he enters the bar and takes a seat by the counter, ready to be given some juice because Levi was being annoying and caring and not serving him any alcohol, Aki immediately notices the puffiness around Levi's eyes, the redness of his cheeks and the scowl on his lips. He's clearly been crying his eyes out over something and looks bothered, his hairs tangled and simply patted down. If Aki didn't know any better, he would've thought Levi had just gotten his heart broken.
"Here's your juice," Levi says with a hoarse throat, his eyes glued to the ground as Aki slowly takes it from his hands. He doesn't say anything after that, choosing to serve the people who join Aki a while later.
It isn't hard to tell something's wrong, but Levi has always been a secretive person. He never liked telling people about his issues or any difficulties that he faced. It bothered Aki a lot more than it would bother others, as Aki was someone who didn't like keeping secrets among friends. He liked being open about his life or the things he did, but he always knew that other people weren't all like him.
"Hey," Aki brushes his hand against Levi's, catching his attention. Levi sits up with a surprised look. "You alright? What's wrong?"
Levi stares at him for a moment, processing what he had said before shaking his head. "Nothings wrong, don't worry. I'm fine." Aki doesn't get to ask him anymore as he turns his head away. His cheeks are flushed and Aki can see he's already tearing up again, but he knows he won't be getting any more answers out of him. When Levi places his boundaries down, Aki can tell he's not supposed to cross them.
"Anyways," Levi spins around back to him after he calms himself down. "How's everything going for you? Has Kanae spoken to you yet?"
"Kanae?" Aki groans and leans back, holding himself up with his hands on the edge of the chair. Aki had messaged Kanae soon after watching the movie with Hiroto, but there was yet to be a reply from him. "He's been avoiding me. We share a lecture and he hasn't been attending this whole time. I get why he's doing that but, at least tell me if you're fine or not."
"This is probably why Kanae misunderstood," Levi sighs, leaning on the counter. He fiddles with his fingers and shakes his head. "You reject him and tell him that he needs to move on, but then you continuously reach out for him. How is he supposed to figure out his feelings when you're always there beside him?"
Aki pouts. "It's not as if I'm asking him to go back to how we used to be. I just want him to tell me he's doing fine and come in for lectures. His attendance is going to be ruined if he doesn't. Also, I want to be able to eat lunch with someone other than Hiroto!"
"Don't you have any other friends?" Levi asks jokingly, popping a chocolate into his mouth, begrudgingly passing one to Aki who notices the box hidden behind the counter.
"Not really," Aki confesses, awkwardly peeling open the wrapper of the chocolate. "When I got into university, everyone seemed to gravitate towards each other and friendship groups were formed. I felt pretty out of it and besides, Kanae was always there with me. Never thought about making any friends other than him."
Levi raises an eyebrow. "So because you had Kanae, you never branched out to anyone else."
"Neither did Kanae," Aki shrugs his shoulders nonchalantly. "So I figured it was pretty normal to not make any new friends once you reach uni."
Levi opens his mouth to comment on something when an arm slides around Aki.
"Well, look who we have here, Nakamura Aki in the flesh."
Aki rolls his eyes, slapping a hand on Toshiro's face and pushes him away. "Alright, alright. I know you're happy to see me after so long, but move away."
"What is that smell?" Toshiro, clearly forgetting the concept of personal space, leans close to Aki and sniffs his neck, almost jumping back the second he realises what it is. "You're marked?" His hands are off Aki the moment he nods. He looks shocked, slightly scared, and takes another cautious step back. "Since when? I thought you didn't like being marked."
"I didn't like being marked by you," Aki clarifies. "It's a long story that I can't be asked to explain."
Toshiro eyes Aki carefully before glancing around the room. "The alpha you're with," he whispers. "They don't mind you talking to other alphas, do they?"
Aki pretends to think whether Hiroto would be alright with it before nodding. "Yeah, sorry. I don't think he'll be alright with it."
Toshiro's face falls but he accepts defeat almost immediately. "Then I guess this is goodbye, Aki."
Aki doesn't even bat an eye at Toshiro and turns back to Levi, who was watching the whole conversation with an amused look on his face.
"Who was that?" He asks, his eyes following Toshiro as he walks over to someone else and starts clinging to them. Aki shakes his head.
"Don't ask," he says, sounding exhausted by talking to Toshiro for only a few moments. "He's the most exhausting person you'll find. We met a few months back and he started calling me for advice on picking people up."
Levi nods slowly before leaning closer, his eyes fixated on Toshiro. "Hey, you think he's with someone?"
Aki opens his mouth to reply but pauses immediately, turning to Levi in shock. He was asking if Toshiro was single. "What about Haruki?" Aki questions, wondering how Levi went from chasing after his brother to a stranger he hadn't seen before. Compared to Aki, Levi seemed really picky with people, which included friends, family and the people he dated. Obviously, he wasn't a saint and hadn't devoted himself to Haruki, but seeing him interested in someone after only meeting them for such a short period of time— something was wrong.
"I can't keep loving him one-sidedly forever," Levi chuckles bitterly, pushing him away from the counter. "One day he'll get himself a person he likes and I'll have to move on. It's best if I start now rather than later, when I'm too attached."
Levi finishes what he says and glances over to laugh at Aki's expression; shocked and confused. The last time Levi had opened up and spoken to him about Haruki, he seemed so serious and was looking for an opportunity to confess. Yet here they were now, Levi was looking forward to moving on. Aki didn't know why his chest hurt at the idea of Levi no longer wanting to be with Haruki.
"Now then," Levi pulls his tie loose and runs his hands through his hair. "If you'll excuse me, I have to go seduce someone."