@Shruti the mc likes him back and its shown in the ways that he thinks that akito is cute and hopes akito doesn't look at anyone else the way he looks at the mc, so if he doesn't like akito back yet he's probably beginning to and yes they are stepbrothers and not related by blood but still related which is concerning but these types of things are normal in bl atp so personally i dont think u should be looking into it too much, although your opinion is totally valid. plus at some point in the story akito started treating the mc better, and usually thats what happens because in this case the younger tops always seem to mess up because theyre younger than the bottom, and generally less educated on how to express feelings, which doesnt mean we should be treating a 20 year old like a kid, but bl logic says the opposite. the only thing holding them back is their stepsibling relationship tbh.