Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Sssshhh!”

You can't stifle the snort of laughter that escapes you as you watch the extremely drunk blonde woman in front of you try and fail to get her key into the door for the third time, shushing herself loudly even as she continues to swear profusely, her insistence on taking you out to a sake bar to celebrate your first week at work having seemingly taken it's toll.

Finally, Saeko gets the door open and you both stumble inside, closing it behind you as you kick your shoes off in the genkan. She leads you through the dark apartment to her room, sighing happily as she drops herself onto the bed before staggering back to her feet when she remembers why she brought you here.

“Sit, sit!” She insists, gesturing vaguely at the floor, as she starts rooting through her shelves.

“Smoke?” You ask as you take a seat, rifling through your pockets for your tobacco tin.

She looks over her shoulder at you, watching you pull out your rolling papers and a little bag of weed. “Sure! Just the one though, we've got work tomorrow.”

You raise an eyebrow as you check the time on your phone, “It's gonna be a rough shift.”

She laughs loudly, “What'sa little hangover, it'll be fine!”

You shake off your jacket, smiling distractedly as you start skinning one up. You weren't convinced about the 'little' part of that statement but it was too late to worry about that now, it had been a good night, tomorrow's problems could wait until tomorrow.

“A-ha!” She declares excitedly as she pulls a cd case down from the highest stack. “Now where did I leave that cable...” She mutters to herself as you finish the job at hand, placing the joint to one side to wait until she's ready.

You take the chance to scan the room around you, your eyes drifting aimlessly as everything sort of shimmers with a drunken haze. You're feeling surprisingly content for the first time in a long while, you can't even remember the last time you had a night out that actually ended on a good note.

You wonder if it could be a sign that you're actually getting that fresh start you've been chasing for months now.

You catch sight of your reflection in the mirror propped haphazardly against the wall near the door and squint, closing one eye and leaning closer to shake off your double vision, your eyeliner clearly a mess even from here.

You semi-crawl over to the mirror, licking the tip of your finger and trying to clean up the worst of the smudging. You shift your knee and hear a light clattering as you knock something over, looking down just to find yourself kneeling amongst her collection of make up.

“Oh, sorry.” You mumble as you do your best to try and put everything back where it was. You spot a lipstick case and pick it up, “That reminds me, what shade do you wear?” you ask over your shoulder. “I wanted to ask earlier.”

Saeko looks at you smiling, bouncing on the balls of her feet as she waits for her ancient cd player to come to life. “You wanna borrow it?”

You huff a laugh, narrowing your eyes as you try to read the inexplicably blurry label. “Might be a little bold for me. It's pretty though.”

“Try it!” She insists loudly, “Won't know 'til you do.”

Maybe she has a point. You drop your weight onto your heels, kneeling comfortably as you pop open the lid, leaning your face close to the mirror as you drag the stick across your lower lip.

You hear as she starts to click through the tracks, searching for the one she wants before turning the volume up and grinning at you. “Ready to be impressed?” She hits play before you have a chance to answer.

You listen as a rhythmical beat picks up from the speakers, the sound surprisingly warm considering it was solely Taiko drums. You watch in the mirror, amused, as Saeko mimes a series of sloppy motions, ones you assume she's better at when she's sober.

You rub your lips together and take a closer look at yourself. The corner of your lip pulling up into a hollow half smile, “Definitely too bold.” you say, thoughtfully, just as Saeko trips over her own feet and lands heavily on the bed, laughing loudly to herself.

You shake your head before cocking it to the side, listening, were those footsteps? You lean towards the door to try and hear better but before you can say anything the door snaps open and a well muscled, furious man in his vest and boxers stands over you, glaring at Saeko.

“Would ya pack it in already?!” He shouts, aggressively. “I'm tryin' to sleep!”

“Ryuuuuuu!” Saeko's voice chirrups happily from her crumpled heap on the bed, “I thought you'd left for Yuu's already!”

Something itches at the back of your brain as they start to argue, you vaguely remember Saeko mentioning she lived with a brother a little younger than you, this must be him.

You squint up at him, he still has crease marks from his pillow on his face from where he's clearly just woken up but, still, he seems kind of familiar.

A memory floats to the surface.

It had been your first day at the Eatery and you'd slipped out of the back door for an impromptu smoke break, lighting a joint in the back alley and self medicating your low mood, when a wiry guy in a beanie, singing tunelessly and carrying a stack of boxes, had stumbled upon you.

You'd both frozen as you'd made eye contact, your eyes briefly flicking down to the boxes, 'Karasuno Eatery' clearly stamped on them. Annoyance had rippled through you, of course you'd get yourself caught on your first day.

You'd let out the lungful of smoke you'd been holding as you'd looked at him, considering. He was just a delivery guy, maybe you could still get away with it. You'd sighed loudly, lifting one foot and stubbing the joint out on the sole of your shoe before flicking it into the dumpster.

You'd snapped your finger up to point at him, almost laughing when he'd physically jumped at the gesture. “You didn't see anything.” You say, firmly, before turning away and heading back inside without waiting for a response. If he was going to tell then he was going to tell, not a lot you could do about that now.

You'd been pleasantly surprised when he hadn't.

“Hey, I know you.” You smile up at him broadly, your voice warm. “You're the delivery boy, right?”

“Huh?” His tone annoyed, he frowns down at you as if noticing you for the first time, his eyes immediately going wide at the sight of you on your knees in front of him.

“Whaaat?” Saeko complains from behind you, “You already know each other?”

You glance back at her, “He caught me smoking on my first day.” You look up at him, still smiling. “Thanks for not ratting me out, that was cool of you.”

You raise an eyebrow as he continues to stare blankly at you, a blush rising up his skin like a human thermometer, and you realise he's very clearly looking right down the front of your top.

“Ahh, Ryuu's always been a sucker for a pretty face!” Saeko declares fondly as you try not to laugh, fairly certain it's not your face that has his interest right now.

He stutters back to life, his eyes bouncing between you and his sister, slow to take in what she'd said before stammering out a hasty 'shut-up' and disappearing from sight, “I'm going to bed! Keep it down!”

Saeko laughs as he retreats to his own room. You look back at her, amused. “He seems... nice?”

She cackles again before dragging herself upright, “He is, I promise!” She leans down, scooping up the joint before grabbing your hand and pulling you onto your feet, dragging you towards the kitchen. “Hows about a nightcap?”

A 'rough shift' turns out to be an understatement.

You press your forehead against the cool surface of the table, desperately trying to remember what it's like to not feel like a reanimated corpse. Your head hurts, you feel sick, you've spent all day on the razor's edge of breaking into a cold sweat, and since this morning's aspirin wore off it's only been getting steadily worse.

You roll your head to one side, glaring at a seemingly unaffected Saeko happily laughing along with the kitchen staff about who knows what. You let out a sigh. Your brain feels heavy, is that a thing? Can brains feel heavy?

You feel your phone vibrate for what feels like the hundredth time today and close your eyes, tamping down the urge to growl. You pull the offending item out of your pocket and glare at it, clicking your tongue at the message on screen before slapping it face-down against the table and turning away from it.

“You ok?”

You make the monumental effort to lift your head from the table, swallowing down the ripple of nausea that follows, and look up at Saeko leaning over you with a sympathetic smile.

“Why are you fine when I feel like I've been put through an industrial mangle?” You frown, even your voice sounds weird.

She grins proudly. “Practice.”

Your phone buzzes again and it takes every ounce of restraint you have not to just yeet the damn thing into next week.

Her grin falters. “Your ex still giving you grief?”

You sigh, defeated, as you push yourself upright, smiling mirthlessly. “Apparently it was a mistake not to tell him I wasn't going home last night.”

Her smile becomes strained. “Nice that he's worried, I guess?” Even she doesn't sound convinced.

You snort derisively. “Nosey more like, he just wants to know who I was with. You'd think he'd just be grateful to have one less night on the sofa.” You glare down at your phone as it buzzes again.

You'd thought things had been getting easier between the two of you. It hadn't been an amicable split, not by a long shot, you'd both behaved pretty unforgivably towards the end, but you'd genuinely thought you'd made some progress over the last couple of months, worked through some of the bigger wounds and come to some kind of common ground to move on from.

Not that there'd been much choice in the matter. The lease on your shared one bedroom apartment had still had months left on it and neither of you could afford to live there alone. So you'd compromised and cohabited as best as you could, alternating who sleeps where, the bed or sofa, eating separately for the most part, and now you'd found a new job with a longer commute to extricate yourself even further.

Just a little longer, you think, just a little longer and then you'll finally be able to close the door on this whole thing.

Saeko looks down at you, your silence loud. “How about I get you some aspirin?” She offers gently, “You're looking a little peaky?”

You drag yourself out of your spiral and meet her eye, giving her a brief smile as you nod. You hadn't known each other very long at all but it was kind of nice having someone like her around when your thoughts got too loud.

“That reminds me,” you say with a smile, “I meant to thank you for the ones from this morning. They worked wonders, no way I'd have made it this far without them.”

Her eyebrows draw together, confusion clear on her face. “This morning?”

You nod. “The bottle of water and painkillers that were on the coffee table?” When you'd risen like the crypt-keeper from her sofa this morning they'd been the first thing you'd laid eyes on. Water had never tasted so sweet.

She shakes her head, “Nothing to do with me, you were up before I was.” She says over her shoulder as she heads into the back on a hunt for aspirin, leaving you frowning after her.

Your phone starts to vibrate again and you decide to just bite the bullet and face it, he clearly wasn't going to let this go. You take a deep breath and answer the phone.

You start spending more time at Saeko's after that.

You're at the Eatery the following weekend when you spot a familiar figure standing at the counter.

Saeko had mentioned that her brother was due home today. She'd assured you that he wouldn't have a problem with you camping out in their living-room from time to time, but you still had your doubts. You were pretty sure he hadn't walked away from either of your encounters with the best of impressions.

You take a levelling breath and mentally prepare yourself to try and be likeable. After all, the third time is the charm, supposedly.

“Hey.” You offer easily as you sidle up beside him. “It's...”

Shit. Your mind blanks. Was it Yuu or Ryuu? Saeko had mentioned both names so often this week you suddenly couldn't separate the two.

“...Yuu, right?” You hope your hesitation wasn't too obvious.

He looks down at you, eyebrows drawn together. “Huh?” He's scowling again. That's probably not a great sign.

“Ryuu!” Saeko's chipper greeting has you fighting the urge to groan out loud. Of course you'd guessed wrong. Nice, very nice, way to get him on side.

She starts drilling him with questions about his beach getaway and you make the decision to quietly slink away before you can embarrass yourself any further.

That night you head back to the apartment with Saeko after work, falling into your regular seat with a heavy sigh, your mind running a million miles a minute about all the things you needed to deal with and just... weren't.

Saeko heads off to the bathroom for a shower while you roll your first joint of the evening. It occurs to you again how lucky you are that she doesn't mind you smoking here, if she did then you were pretty sure you wouldn't be here right now.

Or much at all, really.

You frown down at your hands as they make easy work of the all too familiar motions. It shouldn't be like that, you know, but that didn't stop it from being true.

You bring the finished product to your lips and light it, discarding the lighter onto the table before leaning back into the sofa cushions and closing your eyes, waiting for that first hint of relief to come.

A few minutes pass and you hear a door click. You swing your head to one side, expecting to see Saeko, just to be met instead by the wide eyes of her brother as he steps out of his bedroom.

You jerk upright like you've been caught again, leaning forwards and quickly stubbing out what's left into the ashtray, exhaling the residual smoke in the opposite direction of him. It's a pointless gesture, considering the closed room you're both in, but still a force of habit that's hard to shake.

You let out a little apologetic huff of laughter, suddenly unsure of what to do with yourself as he just stands there, staring at you like he thinks he's seeing things.

“...was thinking do you want pizza tonight?”

Saeko's voice breaks the awkward silence as the bathroom door swings open, both of you snapping out of the weird stand off as she steps back into the room.

“Ryuu!” She greets him happily. “You wanna join us? I'm craving pizza.”

“Us?” He asks, vaguely alarmed, his eyes darting back towards you.

You give a small wave, “Hey.” you say, lamely, a wave of gratitude coming over you as Saeko explains about you occasionally staying over while you're house-hunting, omitting the finer details of your current living situation. You'd have to thank her for that later, the idea of having to explain it all to another person was.. yeah, just no.

And it's not like the house-hunting was a lie. You had been meaning to get around to that. At some point. You sigh inwardly, you can't keep avoiding things like this, even you can tell you're making things harder than they need to be.

Your hands reach for your tobacco tin, your body on autopilot as Saeko heads for the kitchen in search of the takeaway menus and her brother takes a tentative seat in the armchair across from you.

You're running your tongue along the rolling papers, ready to seal it, before you finally emerge from the echo chamber that is your mind and your eyes lock onto the man opposite you.

“Oh.” Your fingers still and you tilt your head at him, apprehensive. “Saeko said it was fine, but I won't if you'd prefer I didn't? It's your home, after all.” You laugh weakly, the silence in the room kind of unnerving.

He shakes his head slightly, looking away from you. “S'fine by me.”

You offer him a small smile, hoping your relief isn't too obvious as you light it. “Thanks.”

He shrugs and reaches for the television remote as you take your first inhale. You take a second to look at him while he's distracted, wondering if he always scowls like that or if it's just you that's annoying him.

Saeko reappears from the kitchen, menu in hand. “Ok! What's everyone want on their pizza?”

“Meat.”

Saeko glances between the two of you and you realise you'd both spoken in unison. You smile easily at her brother, “Great minds think alike.”

He frowns at you briefly before his attention goes back to the TV, leaving you a little confused as to why Saeko seems to be grinning pointedly at him, her voice laced with amusement. “Looks like the two of you will be sharing then.”

He opens his mouth to argue before falling silent when you shrug, agreeing easily. “Fine.” he mutters quietly before seemingly losing interest in the conversation again.

You kind of expected him to just eat and then disappear, so when he sticks around you can't help but be at least a little bit hopeful that he doesn't find you quite as intolerable as you were afraid he might. You've never been great at endearing yourself to new people, that's why you liked Saeko, she'd just accepted you as is, no questions asked. You really don't want her brother to hate you.

You bring the joint to your lips and light it, inhaling deeply when he catches your eye and doesn't immediately look away. You can't tell if it's progress or curiosity, but still, you take the opportunity to offer him the next hit.

His eyes flick between you and it before he gives a small shake of his head. “It just makes me tired and hungry.”

You raise an eyebrow as you turn to look at Saeko, curled up around an open bag of potato chips as she dozes at the other end of the sofa. “What?” She asks defensively when she sees you looking, “Leave me alone. Sometimes it's nice to eat and sleep.”

“Lightweights.” You mutter, teasingly.

She gives you a firm shove with her foot, “I'll remember that next time we go drinking.”

Memories of that hangover come screaming back with a vengeance and you concede quickly, throwing up your hands in surrender. You know when you're outmatched.

It's not long before she's out cold, snoring softly while still cuddling her bag of snacks and you decide to relocate yourself to the floor so she can stretch out if she wants to.

You're just about done rolling another when a voice breaks the silence.

“Could I.. could I have some?”

You glance up to see him rubbing a hand over his shaved head, not quite looking your way.

You offer him a lazy smile, “You sure? I don't want to go being a bad influence on my new friend's little brother, now.” you tease, gently.

He pulls an annoyed face before meeting your eye and faltering. Nodding briefly, he surprises you by sliding out of his seat and onto the floor near you as you light it before passing it to him.

You watch him take a tentative inhale, half expecting him to cough on it, but he holds his own, taking a second hit before passing it back. You breathe a sigh of relief that it really isn't his first time, you were only sort of joking about not wanting to be a bad influence.

You pass it back and for quietly between yourselves, neither of you speaking much at all. You get greedy when it comes to the last hit, chancing an extra inhale, only to pull a face as it burns uncomfortably down your throat. You bury your face into the crook of your elbow as you try to muffle your cough, your body expelling the harsh smoke the hard way.

You offer a grimaced apology as you discard what's left into the ashtray, your hands already moving towards your tobacco tin to roll another.

His voice is quiet. “Do you always smoke so much?”

You shrug one shoulder before nodding. “Pretty much.”

A couple of seconds pass before he replies, “Why?”

You pause mid-motion and look towards him, ready to make a joke until you see how intently he's looking at you. Your smile falters as you consider it, you've always thought a genuine question deserves a genuine answer.

You drop your hands into your lap and lean back against the sofa, your voice contemplative. “Everyone needs something, I guess. Something to wind down from the daily trials and tribulations, you know?” You chance a glance his way, a dry laugh escaping you. “I did try alcohol for a while but drinking has always been more of a team sport for me.”

He frowns a little, thinking. “I don't think I have anything like that.”

You arch an unconvinced eyebrow, leaning towards him to hook your fingertip under the sleeve of his t-shirt and lift it, exposing his bicep. “With those guns?” You tease, “I'd guess yours was exercise.”

You move away from him and he smooths the material back down, his hand lingering on the spot you'd touched him, his features thoughtful. “Does that even count?”

You tilt your head one way, then the other, considering. “Yours is definitely the healthier choice between the two, but it serves the same purpose.” You meet his eye, shrugging. “Shake off the day, put it behind you, and just -be- even if it's only for a little while.”

He considers it for a minute before nodding to himself. It's funny, looking at him now, sat so close, his face illuminated in the dark by the light from the television, he's not just built, he's actually really kind of good looking when he's not scowling at everything you say...

Nope.

You mentally slap that thought right out of your skull. You will not perv on Saeko's little brother. You make a grab for your tobacco tin, some thoughts are better tuned out.

You startle as Saeko lets out a tongue curling yawn from behind you. Grumbling to herself, she puts a hand on your head, using you as balance to help her stand while you seal your joint, her voice thick with sleep. “I'm off to bed.” She pauses only briefly to rub her brothers head roughly. “Be nice, Ryuu.”

He pushes her hand away, his tone annoyed. “I'm always nice.” Rolling his eyes as she pokes her tongue out at him and heads to her room.

You're kind of surprised when he doesn't leave too.

You look at him as you spark the lighter, curious. “So, Ryuu?” His eyes widen a little at the use of his name. “What's it short for?”

He clears his throat, shifting a little under your gaze. “Ryuunosuke.” He seems embarrassed. “But no one calls me that anymore.”

You throw the lighter onto the table, inhaling deeply, before breathing the smoke out slowly. “Ryuunosuke.” You roll the word around your mouth thoughtfully, like you're tasting it. You smile at him, “It's a good name, a strong one. It suits you.”

He looks at you for a moment like you have two heads before turning away, his skin flushing deeply as he mumbles something incoherent into the hand that's now covering his mouth. You have to work to ignore how cute his reaction is.

You talk for a while longer before you feel yourself start to get tired, he must notice too because he makes to stand when you do. He lingers for a second, one eye on you as you drop heavily onto the sofa. It takes you by surprise when he offers to sleep on the sofa so you can have his bed for the night.

Your voice is teasing, but the smile is genuine. “Well, aren't you the sweetest?” His skin flushes as he looks away and you almost feel bad for making him uncomfortable again. Almost. “It's ok. As far as sofas go, yours is actually pretty comfortable. Thank you, though.”

It takes him a second before he meets your eye again, nodding once before heading to his room, leaving you staring up at the ceiling, lost in your thoughts until sleep takes you.

“So what did you think of him?”

“Hm?” You ask, too tired for vague questions on your walk to work. “Who?”

Saeko snorts, “Who do you think?” She asks, playfully. “Ryuu.”

“Your brother?” You're put on the back foot as she silently nods, her eyes downcast at the floor in front of her. “He seems nice?” You venture, unsure what else to say. “Why?”

She lets out a heavy sigh, looking off into the middle distance as she answers. “I don't think he'd thank me for telling you, but he's kind of had a tough year, you know?”

“When he graduated from high school he stopped playing volleyball, his teammates mostly went off to college, then a little while ago his best friend left as well, off travelling for who knows how long.” She gives you a sad smile. “Since then he's seemed kind of...” She searches for the right word, “deflated? I guess.”

“I had no idea.” You say quietly.

She heaves a dramatic shrug, something closer to her regular smile falling into place. “I don't really know why I'm telling you this, but I guess what I'm saying is, please be patient with my idiot brother. I think he could really do with another friend right now.”

By the time your lunch break rolls around, this morning's conversation had all but faded from your thoughts.

You slip out of the back door, tobacco tin in hand, ready for five minutes of peace and quiet, when you spot a familiar beanie loitering at the end of the alley, his back to you as he stares down at his phone.

You look around, he doesn't seem to be with anyone, but maybe he's waiting for someone? You look down at your tobacco tin, torn, before sighing and slipping it back into your pocket. A couple of minutes longer won't hurt.

You wander down to where he's stood, oblivious to your presence, and you just can't resist the temptation. You reach to his left, tapping his shoulder as you step to the right, stretching up to whisper into his ear as he looks away.

“Boo!”

He jumps and sidesteps away from you, leaving you laughing, an annoyed scowl on his face. “You know for a big guy, you're kind of jumpy.” You say, amused.

He opens his mouth to retort before pausing, “You think I'm a big guy?”

The question puzzles you. You run your eyes over him appraisingly as he shifts under your gaze. You give him an easy smile, “Well, you're certainly not small.”

He scratches the back of his neck and looks away, clearing his throat before abruptly changing the subject. “What do you want?”

You shrug, not seeing a reason to lie. “I saw you lurking and got curious.”

“I'm not lurking!” He snaps defensively. “I was just thinking about getting something to eat.” You watch as he glances down at his phone again before slipping it into his pocket. You can't help but notice that he looks kind of lonely in that moment.

Well, you can't just leave him now.

“Well, I guess you could go order something. Or..” You stretch out the word as you lean towards him conspiratorially, “I could go see what I can scrounge up out of the kitchen for you for free?”

He blinks down at you, clearly surprised by the offer. “Really?”

You nod, grinning, before putting your hands on his back and pushing him towards the front door. “Go in and sit in the first corner booth, the one by the window?” It's the only table in the place that you can't see clearly from the counter. “I'll bring something out for you in a minute.”

He looks conflicted but lets you push him. “Are you allowed to do that?”

“Sure,” You say easily, “as long as no one finds out.” you grin up at him, “So don't let your sister see you!”

You give him one last push before returning the way you came, slipping through the backdoor and into the kitchen to see what you can round up.

His eyes light up when you finally appear with a tray full of food and a pitcher of water, setting it out on the table before sliding into the seat opposite him. “I didn't know what you'd like so I got a bit of everything.” You explain as his eyes roam over the dishes laid out before him.

He looks up at you, practically drooling already. “You sure you won't get in trouble for this?”

You try not to smile, he really is sweet. You shrug instead, grabbing one of the chicken skewers for yourself. “Not if you help me get rid of the evidence.” It's all the encouragement he needs to start devouring everything you'd put in front of him.

After a while you feel yourself relax, your elbow on the table, head resting in your hand as you people watch out of the window while he finishes eating, your curiosity peaking as you spot one of the regulars heading this way.

“Hey, Ryuunosuke?” You hear him cough on his food and automatically move to pour him a glass of water while he thumps on his chest, trying to dislodge whatever it was that he clearly hadn't chewed properly. “You know a lot of the people around here, yeah?”

He takes the water greedily, taking a second to catch his breath before frowning at you over the rim of the glass, a suspicious look on his face. “Kind of, I guess, why?”

The customer steps through the door and you tilt your head in his direction, not-so subtly mouthing the word “Him?” as he passes by your booth.

He gives you a sour look before leaning across the bench to get a better look at the guy as he heads towards the counter. Extremely tall with blond hair, you'd noticed him around quite a bit since you'd started work.

“Tsukishima Akiteru.” He answers blandly before returning to his food.

“Who is he?” You ask, distracted, as you watch him approach the counter. You were pretty sure he had a thing for Saeko, which wouldn't be all that strange, she was popular with a lot of the regulars, what had caught your eye though was that every now and again it felt like maybe she liked him too.

He shrugs without looking your way. “His little brother was my junior at school.” He pauses awkwardly before glancing your way. “W-why?”

You're still watching their little interaction play out, smiling to yourself as he steps to one side so he can keep talking to her while she works. They'd make a pretty cute couple, you think, opposites but in a sweet sort of way. “Is he a nice guy?”

He pushes the last of his food around the plate before abandoning it completely, wiping his hands off on a napkin as he shrugs, his tone a little irritated. “Ask my sister, she'd know better than I would.”

You yank your head back into the booth as Saeko looks your way, not wanting to be caught spying. You turn to her brother, a pleased smile on your lips as you think about all the ways you're going to tease her if she does like him. “I might just do that, you know.”

A few days later, on her day off, Saeko texts to ask you to swing by her place when your shift finishes.

You check the time on your phone as you enter the building, all too aware that you'll have to be mindful about how long you stay, you can't afford to miss the bus today. You sigh, dejected, you'd much rather stay here for the night but a promise is a promise.

You become aware of yelling as you reach their front door, not quite loud enough for you to make out words, but still enough to set you on edge.

You hesitate before knocking, considering just sending Saeko an excuse via text, it's not like you weren't going to see her tomorrow anyway.. but then you think about how often people must have heard this kind of thing from your apartment when things were at their worst, and how badly you'd always wanted someone, anyone, to intervene.

You're knocking before you can think any further. You know their relationship and situation couldn't be any more different, but even so, you wouldn't feel right if you just left now.

You hear an irate voice coming your way. “I said I'm going! I heard ya the first time so shut up already!” There's a half second of quiet as the door swings open and the voice snaps at you, “What?”

Whatever concerns you might have had flit away on the wind as you take in the glorious sight of Tanaka Ryuunosuke, in all his rage, spatula in hand, wearing a pink apron with a cartoon cat on the chest.

His face contorts into one of pure anguish at the sight of you. His voice strained. “Why is it always you?”

“Hey!” You say defensively, your tone dripping with offence. “First of all – rude.”

He snaps his mouth shut like he's surprised you heard him in the first place.

“Second of all,” You take a second to savour it before giving him your best grin. “that's a real pretty apron you've got there, Ryuunosuke. The colour really brings out your eyes.”

He glowers at you for a second before turning on his heel and stomping back towards the kitchen, leaving the front door open in what you assume is a reluctant invitation.

You follow him inside as he shouts into the living room, “If you knew who it was you coulda gotten it yourself!” and have to cover your mouth to smother your laughter when you hear Saeko cackling in response.

You pass by the kitchen, where a very sullen cook is now muttering to himself, and head towards the seating area, finding a particularly smug Saeko, feet crossed on the table, arms folded behind her head, looking very much like the king of the castle.

You raise an eyebrow, questioning, “You're in a good mood?”

“He wants his hair cut so he's stuck waiting on me tonight.” She whispers as he re-emerges with a plate of food in hand.

You catch a whiff of it as he passes and have to control yourself before you salivate, “Saeko, you never told me your brother was such good husband material.” you admonish, “It smells good, I'm a little jealous.”

You're taken by surprise when she isn't the one who responds.

“There's enough.” He offers, almost eagerly. “If you want some, there's enough.”

Saeko watches the interaction curiously over her plate. You smile, gently, genuinely touched by the offer. “I'll have to take a raincheck.” You say apologetically, “Unfortunately I've already got dinner plans for tonight.”

There's a flicker of something across his face and you worry you've offended him by refusing his food. “Thank you though.” you stress, you want him to know that you're grateful, it really was a kind offer.

When he heads back to the kitchen, Saeko's voice is quiet, “I take it they're not fun dinner plans then?”

You sigh as you drop into your seat beside her on the sofa. “Not at all.” You lean back against the cushions and tilt your head towards her. “He 'wants to talk', apparently.” You frown, “Although why we need to go out to do it, I've got no idea.” You shrug, helpless, your voice becoming self-deprecating. “It's just one meal. Anything for an easy life and all that, right?”

She gives you a sympathetic smile, “Whatever happens, if you need anywhere to get away for a bit, our door's always open.”

You smile back at her, a weight lifting from your chest. Lost for any words you could say, you settle for stealing a piece of food from her plate instead.

She gives you a firm stare, “The first one was free, the second one will cost you.”

You decide not to chance it.

One emotionally draining meal, a sleepless night, and a full shift later, Saeko insists on taking you back to hers, regardless of your opinions on the matter, doing a pretty decent job of physically dragging you home until you finally give in to her demands and follow willingly.

You drop heavily into your seat on the sofa, before reconsidering and moving yourself onto the floor, afraid that if you get too comfortable you'll be asleep before you know it.

Saeko looks down at you, concern etched into her features like it had been for most of the day now. After you'd given her a brief run down of how your night had gone, she'd become the very picture of a concerned mother hen. “I think today might be a beer day, you know?”

You give her the ghost of a smile, “I think you might be right.”

“I'll run down to the konbini, then we'll see what we can do about that mood of yours.” She smiles reassuringly, before heading back towards the front door, leaving you alone in the apartment.

You rest your head against the seat cushions and close your eyes. You must have dropped off because you're startled awake when the front door slams a while later.

You scrub your hands over your face, digging the heels of your palms into your eyes, trying to dislodge the memory of waking in the middle of the night, your ex standing in the bedroom door, asking if he could join you. “I hope you got the good stuff,” You call out, “because you won't believe what he tried last night.”

You blink away the spots in your vision, your voice dying in your throat when you realise it wasn't Saeko that you'd heard.

“Ryuu.” You say, giving him a weak smile. Please don't ask, please, please don't ask. “Sorry I thought it was-”

“I'm baaaack!” You breathe a sigh of relief as Saeko reappears, drawing his attention away from you. “Ryuu! You're gonna join us for a couple of drinks, right?”

He glances briefly at you before turning away. “I don't wanna interrupt. I'll take one to my room, though.”

Saeko slaps his hand away from the bag, “Like hell you will. Buyers choice – you drink, you stay.”

“Fine, forget it!” He snaps before heading for his room, slamming the door behind him, leaving you both blinking after him.

You let out a sigh. You keep doing this, bouncing between two separate lives, shedding one whenever you step into the other and falling into a panic whenever they bleed into each other. “Maybe I should go.”

“Don't even try it.” She warns, “I don't know what's going on with him but he'll cool off, there's no reason for you to go anywhere.”

When you still don't look convinced she decides to compromise. “Come on,” she coaxes, “I went to all the effort to buy these already, at least have one with me. You still wanna leave after that then I won't stop you.”

If she didn't look so damn concerned you probably still would have refused, but instead you feel yourself smile. “Ok, one it is.”

One quickly turns into several, mix that with your obligatory smoking habits, and before too long you're well passed the point of no return.

You're in the middle of rolling your next one when Saeko almost startles it out of your hands, hopping up from the sofa, lightning quick, to chase her brother down as he'd tried to sneak his way through to the kitchen unseen.

They're gone for a few minutes before you hear her shout from the hallway, “I'll be back in a minute!”

You let out a heavy sigh, bringing it to your lips to light it, then tipping your head back and taking a long inhale.

“Bad day?”

You lift your head so you can meet his eye. “What gave me away?” You say ruefully, gesturing to the collection of empty bottles in front of you.

He shrugs. “My sister told me.”

So much for secrets.

“Of course she did.” You say, warmly. Oh well, whatever she told him, you know she means well. You huff a laugh, amused with yourself, unsure when exactly you'd started having so much faith in other people.

He shifts awkwardly in the hallway, as if he's unsure whether to stay or go. You tip your head back, close your eyes and take another drag. Me too, Ryuunosuke, you think, me too.

The silence of the room becomes heavy, memories of the night before echoing around your thoughts. His apologies, his promises, his insistence that this time things would be different, that if you sign a new lease then there'd be no reason for either of you to leave.

You screw your eyes shut tighter. You'd tried so hard not to end up back here, you'd really thought you wouldn't do this again.

You hate it, why is it so hard to reject him? Why, after everything you've done to each other, why does a part of you still want to go back to it? To slip back into the comfortable familiarity of it, misery and all.

You hear a rustle of movement behind you and remember you're not alone. You sniff once, trying to inconspicuously swipe at your eyes, hoping you just look tired.

“Here.” The softness of his voice surprises you.

You open one eye to see Ryuu sat in Saeko's place, the lighter held out for you. You realise the joint had burnt out while you were spiralling and needs relighting.

“Oh.” You lean towards him and let him do it for you, taking a deep inhale before looking back up at him. “Thank you.”

He shrugs and sinks back into the seat, fiddling with the lighter. You find yourself relieved that he's staying. You really don't want to be alone.

Saeko returns not long after with more beer. Her brother stays where he is, belligerently refusing to give her her seat back as they descend into sibling bickering, with 'finders keepers' and 'you snooze you lose' type arguments that leave you laughing at the pair of them, the noise of them weirdly comforting.

Saeko is the first to fall asleep, curled up like a cat in the armchair nursing, what you hope is, an empty bottle of beer.

The conversation peters off after she's asleep, but you find yourself not minding the quiet so much now, watching trash TV from your place on the floor while Ryuu quietly sips his beer on the sofa.

You tip your head back against the seat cushions, your eyelids getting heavier every time you blink. You feel yourself starting to drift but don't have the energy to fight it, reasoning that a couple of minutes won't hurt.

When you open your eyes again you know time has passed, there's a different show on screen and the room is now practically pitch black.

You briefly wonder what woke you, until you feel the lightest of touches as fingers trail through your hair. The sensation repeats again, then again, and you realise someone's stroking your hair, a gesture so sweet and soothing that for a minute you think you might actually cry. When was the last time someone did this for you?

It's only when you become aware of Saeko's snoring that you realise who it is. “Ryuunosuke?” You whisper, softly, into the darkness.

He pulls his hand away and you immediately miss his touch. Without too much thought you lean towards him, resting your temple against the side of his knee, a tiny point of contact that feels surprisingly grounding.

After a minute you feel a tentative hand start to stroke your hair again. Sighing, softly, you close your eyes and let him lull you back to sleep.

When you wake in the morning it takes you more than a few minutes to figure out where the hell you are.

You're fully clothed in an unfamiliar bed, in a room plastered with bikini clad centrefolds, and clothes strewn about everywhere.

You sit up, feeling a little nauseous but nowhere near as bad as it could be. You find yourself greeted with the sight of a bottle of water and a packet of aspirin on the bedside table, and immediately get hit by a wave of deja vu.

You drink the whole bottle down in a one and are immediately made aware of how painfully full your bladder is. You drag yourself out of bed and leave the room, pausing briefly as you take in the sight of Ryuu, one arm thrown over his eyes to block out the morning light, still asleep on the sofa.

You smile, brief but genuine, before you remember what you were doing and practically sprint to the bathroom.

Once you're finished, you find yourself at a bit of a loss for what to do. You're clearly the first one awake, but you don't feel comfortable going back to Ryuu's bedroom, the chair has a pretty big wet stain on it that you're going to assume is the remnants of that bottle Saeko had been holding, and the sofa is obviously occupied.

You decide the best course of action is to just reclaim your floor seat from last night and hope for the best, muting the television and settling on one of the cartoon channels to pass the time.

It isn't long before your eyes drift from the screen to the sleeping man.

From this angle you can see more of his face, his arm only partially covering it from view. You're struck by how completely different he looks from when you'd first met him. You rest your head on the seat cushion beside him, watching his chest rise and fall. Who would've thought under all that scowling there'd be such a kind face.

You don't notice how relaxing his breathing is until it's too late.

You're jolted awake by the sound of unadulterated squealing, immediately locking eyes with a blushing Ryuu as his sister barrels out of her room, clutching her phone to her chest.

You jolt upright and try to ignore the heat rushing to your face. You can't believe you fell asleep on him! You fight the earth shattering cringe that's lurking just below the surface and try to push it to one side, promising yourself that, at the first opportunity, you were going to curl up in a ball and just wait for the ground to swallow you whole. At least for a little while.

Saeko reaches a new height in pitch as she thrusts her phone into her brother's hands, bouncing excitedly as he scowls at the screen, reading.

It turns out that Saeko's favourite band are going to be playing a secret show in Tokyo the following weekend, something that she, as a top tier fan club member no less, had early access to tickets for.

She shrieks again when he passes the phone back to her, holding it close to her heart as you try not to laugh. Who would of guessed that Saeko, of all people, could be an S rank fangirl when she wanted to be.

“We're going, right?” She asks her brother as he drags himself upright, awkwardly moving around you as he swings his legs down into a sitting position.

He nods. “Yeah, yeah, we're going.” She squeals again and you can't help but smile as you watch her. You feel a foot nudge gently against your leg. “You should come, too.” He adds, quietly, not quite looking at you.

You feel something unfamiliar flutter low in your stomach.

“You should come, too!” Saeko's voice cuts through the moment, leaving you huffing a laugh to cover your all too genuine smile.

“Sounds fun.” You say, smiling, a little unsure of whose invitation it was you were really accepting. She offhandedly mentions begging for the use of the truck from work, causing Ryuu to look inexplicably terrified at the idea of her driving you all there.

Seeing her so happy makes you think of Akiteru and his lost puppy face when Saeko hadn't been her usual cheerful self the day before. “I prefer to see her smiling.” His words echo around your thoughts as you watch her. Well, she's definitely smiling now.

“Could you get four tickets, actually?” You ask, nonchalantly. “I'll pay for the extra.”

“Why?” You hear the sternness in her voice and realise she thinks you want one for your ex.

You roll your eyes, you can safely swear on your life that those two worlds will never collide. “Don't look at me like that.” You chide, amused. “I just know someone who might be able to give us a ride.”

The rest of your day is spent being subjected to the band's entire discography while you tell yourself that it's just residual embarrassment that makes your stomach feel weird every time you unexpectedly meet Ryuu's eyes.

The next week passes in a blur.

You and Saeko pick up extra shifts so you can both have Sunday off, deciding, after much deliberation, that working before the gig would be preferable to working after it.

Akiteru agrees after minimal hesitation, this kind of music not really being his scene and all that, but your argument about how thrilled Saeko would be ends up being too much to resist. He even agrees to keep it a secret, likening it to a surprise party. You try not to mention that his role would be the equivalent to that of the sexy lady bursting out of the birthday cake, a mental image that keeps you amused all day.

The highly anticipated day finally rolls around and after the longest shift of your life, Saeko's excitement knowing exactly no bounds and your patience knowing many, she almost pulls your arm out of its socket in her eagerness to drag you home.

In her room, you dig through the backpack you'd brought with you and take out your change of clothes. After learning that the venue was an underground club that would inevitably get stuffy and sweaty, you'd settled on your shortest denim cut-offs and a loose racerback tank top, as well as your oldest oversized hoody, one that you had no qualms about stretching the arms of so you could tie it around your waist when it inevitably got too warm to keep it on.

You grab your bag, leaving Saeko to finish her make-up, and find her brother slouched on the sofa, channel-surfing while he waits. You playfully rub at the fuzz of his hair as you drop into the seat next to him. He swats your hand away before looking at you, surprised, his tone vaguely accusatory. “That's what you're wearing?”

You give him a teasing smirk as you notice him lingering unnecessarily on your bare thighs. “Do you have a problem with my legs, Ryuunosuke?”

He rolls his eyes and looks away, his attention going back to the screen while you both wait for his sister to be done.

The silence between you had become a comfortable thing over the past week, your presence seeming not to bother him much at all now, though you couldn't really pinpoint what exactly had changed. All you know is that he scowls a lot less these days, and he doesn't seem to be quite so adverse to your teasing. In fact, sometimes at least, you think he might even enjoy it.

Your phone chimes in your pocket and you have to gracelessly wrestle it out of the tight material. You're expecting it to be Akiteru, letting you know that he's outside with the car, so you can't help how your face falls when it's not.

I need an answer. We only have a week.

You blink down at the message as your stomach rolls and your brain goes into shutdown mode. You can't do this right now, you'd told him what you were doing tonight, so why do this now when he knows it's only going to stress you out.

“You ok?” Ryuu is staring at you, concerned, as you white knuckle grip your phone.

You offer him a weak smile, “Yeah, of course.”

Before he can ask anything more, your phone chimes again, Akiteru's name flashing on screen, snapping you out of it as you accept his call.

“Hey!” You say eagerly as you answer, “Are you here?” Ryuu watches you out of the corner of his eye as you grin widely when he says he's outside. “We'll be down now.”

You hang up the phone before leaning over the back of the sofa, “Saeko! Our ride's here!” You hear her squeal excitedly in response and you turn to her brother, laughing, “You ready to go?”

He's already standing, shutting off the TV as he grumbles something about how he was only waiting on you two anyways. He pauses briefly before offering you his hand, you stare at it before accepting, letting him pull you up from your seat.

“You're taking the bag, right?” He gestures with his chin towards your backpack and you nod, Akiteru had offered to drop you home on your way back tonight so it was coming with you. “I'll carry it.”

He scoops it up and slings it over his shoulder before heading for the front door without another word, leaving you blinking after him.

Saeko practically bounces out of her bedroom, hooking her arm into yours as she drags you after him. “What are you waiting for? Let's go!”

When you all reach the building's exit, Ryuu comes to a sudden halt, scowling through the glass door before looking back at you. “Really, him?”

You frown at his reaction as Saeko's curious voice cuts through the sudden tension. “Who?” She let's out a little gasp before pushing the door open and waving. “Akiteru!”

Ryuu rolls his eyes and heads towards the idling car, gesturing for Akiteru to pop the trunk so he can throw your bag in while Saeko leans down to chat through his open window. You can't help but smile, pleased with yourself at how happy she looks to see him.

You hear the trunk slam closed and frown as you watch Ryuu glance at you before opening the front passenger side door.

“Hey!” You call out, trying to telepathically communicate that it's meant to be Saeko's seat, “Who said you could sit up front?”

He shrugs, oblivious, “Not my fault you were too slow.” before sliding into the seat and closing the door.

Saeko hops in behind Akiteru, leaving you to walk around the car and take the seat directly behind Ryuu. You slip into the backseat, leaning forwards to sharply flick the back of his ear before reaching for your seatbelt.

He lets out a hiss of pain and covers his ear, glaring back at you. “What was that for?!”

You raise your eyebrow at him, not allowing him to play dumb. You don't know what's gotten his panties in a bunch but you in no way have to take his bad mood screwing with your master plan lying down.

“You're in the back on the way home.” You warn.

He shifts a little in his seat, looking away and crossing his arms over his chest, his attention anywhere but on you as Akiteru puts the car into drive.

Time passes surprisingly quickly. Akiteru is unerringly patient even in the face of Ryuu's initial reluctance to enjoy himself. The weird mood swing seemingly coming to an end when they start animatedly reminiscing about Ryuu and his little brother's first trip to the National competition with their volleyball team.

You find yourself distracted by just how alive Ryuu seems to be when he's sharing that part of himself, a world away from the stubborn, sullen boy you'd gotten to know over the last few weeks.

It makes you feel kind of jealous.

You lean back into your seat and watch the world pass by as their chatter melts into the background and something quiet and ugly starts to pull at your thoughts.

You think about the unopened message still sat in your inbox and your fingers wrap around your phone as you waver, wondering if you should even be here in the first place. An all too familiar heaviness settles into your chest, the one that comes from being not quite here, but not quite there, the constant feeling of misplacement exhausting. A week. How had you let it get here? How could you still be undecided?

Saeko laughs beside you and it snaps you out of your spiral. You push your phone back into your pocket, feeling defeated. You'd been putting it off for so long now, what difference could one more night make?

You feel an arm nudge against yours, and look up to see Saeko watching you. “Everything ok?”

You give her your best smile and nod, “Just a little car sick, it'll be fine.”

Or not.

Saeko stares at you with big, wet eyes, her face one of pure distress, as the four of you stand outside the, clearly, closed venue doors.

“I'll go ask someone.” Akiteru says, helpfully, before heading towards the ticket window as you pat her arm soothingly, unsure what else you could do.

“It's been postponed until tomorrow.” Ryuu announces from behind you, reading from his phone. “Their flight got delayed.”

You let out a sigh, that's going to be a problem. Even if Akiteru was ok with driving all this way again tomorrow, he'd already said the car was on loan from his parents and it'd be too big of an ask to put all those extra miles on their car.

“Maybe we could borrow the Eatery's truck?” You ask, but Saeko shakes her head.

“It's market day, no way they'll let us have it.” She says, dejected.

Akiteru reappears and they explain the situation. You chew the inside of your cheek as your eyes drift down the street and a flashing neon sign catches your attention. A smile pulls at the corner of your lips. “Hey, guys.”

They turn to look your way and you point towards the motel sign, the word 'Vacancies' flashing invitingly in the dusk light.

Saeko's eyes light up at the idea while Ryuu just stares at the place. Akiteru, on the other hand, looks anxious.

“It's better to beg forgiveness, than ask permission, right?” You suggest with a half shrug. “It might be fun.”

He looks conflicted until Saeko whirls on him, stepping into his space and gripping the front of his shirt, puppy dog eyes firmly in place. He sighs before softening dramatically, smiling down at her so fondly that you feel like you should look away. “Sure.”

They have two rooms left, a double and a twin, so you decide that you and Saeko will share the double, and the boys can have the twin room. Ryuu breathes an odd sigh of relief at the plan and it leaves you wondering if he was afraid he was going to have to share a bed with Akiteru for the night, a mental image that you find highly amusing.

After getting your rooms booked and being given the keys, you take the receptionist's advice and make the ten minute walk to a diner near the main street to get something to eat.

Once you get there though, your mood takes another turn and you find yourself picking absently at your food, just not feeling hungry, instead resorting to idly fiddling with your napkin as the others talk.

Saeko pokes your arm, “Still feeling ill?”

Ryuu looks up at you, his cheek comically full of food. He tries to swallow it down so he can speak but Akiteru beats him to it, his voice concerned as he leans across the table towards you. “Are you unwell?”

You laugh a little awkwardly and shift in your seat, your anxiety spiking under their attention. “No I'm fine, just not hungry I guess.”

You feel a nudge to your foot under the table and glance up to see Ryuu pointedly looking at your hands. You look down, realise you've been rolling the napkin like a joint, and immediately feel your cheeks get warm. You crush the stupid thing in your hand before dropping it onto your plate and looking up at the ceiling, feeling embarrassed.

You're overcome by the need to get out of there.

You clear your throat. “Actually maybe I am still feeling a little sick.” You stand too quickly, forcing an apologetic smile. “I'm gonna get some fresh air while you guys finish up.”

You think you hear Saeko ask something as you pass her but all you see is the exit. You get outside and step around the corner, out of sight of the front window, before leaning back against the wall and letting out a slow breath, the cooler air, and the distinct lack of fluorescent lighting, comforting.

Your hand twitches towards your pocket, reaching mindlessly for your tobacco tin, the one that you'd left at home because there wasn't supposed be time to need it. You let out an annoyed sigh, staring down at your feet. It's just one meal, what's wrong with you?

You feel movement and turn to see Ryuu silently take up position beside you, his eyes still pointed towards the street, his voice casual. “You didn't bring any with you, huh?”

You could play dumb, but you don't see the point. “Nah.” There's a moment of quiet and you wonder why he's out here. “Where are the others?”

He shrugs, uncaring. “He's a slow eater.”

You sigh, a sad smile on your face. “You really don't like him, do you?”

He bristles a little, finally meeting your eye. “Does it matter?”

You nudge your shoulder against his and huff a laugh, you want him to know you're not picking a fight. “You know, this would be much easier if you did.”

He looks down at you as he nudges you back. “He'll survive. It seems you like him enough for the both of us.”

Something in your chest pulls as you meet his eye, why does he look so sad?

Before you can ask, Saeko appears on the corner, gesturing excitedly at you both to come join her, pointing at something further down the street. “Look! There's a sake place!”

You can't completely smother the groan that escapes you. Drinking beer with her was one thing, but that night on sake had damn near killed you and you really didn't know if you were ready to get back in the water yet.

Ryuu lets out a soft sigh before mindlessly scuffing the sole of his shoe repeatedly against the street.

“I'm not very good at drinking sake.” Akiteru admits when he joins you, a little shyly. You perk up at the confession, it might not be traditional, but that could totally work as an impromptu date.

You put on your best smile, brightening considerably at the thought of them getting a little closer. “I wouldn't worry about that,” You say, confidently, putting a hand on Saeko's shoulder and pushing her forward. “Saeko is an excellent guide, she can show you the ropes!”

She narrows her eyes at you, suspicious. That definitely doesn't sound like something you'd say.

Akiteru's eyebrows raise at that, looking impressed. Poor, sweet, trusting Akiteru. You'll owe him an apology tomorrow.

“Oh, Tanaka.” His voice turns disappointed, his eyes on Ryuu. “You're still too young to drink, right?”

He says it kindly, but you still see Ryuu bristle at the question. You'd almost forgotten he was a year younger than you, but still, you decide to cut in before it goes any further, smiling tauntingly at him. “No worries, I'll handle babysitting duties.”

His mouth falls open, looking so annoyed it's hard not to laugh. Saeko starts to argue but you stop her. “You really wanna drive home with a carsick and hungover me tomorrow? Really?” She pulls a face and you know you've won.

You give her a smile, a genuine one, “Go have fun.” you insist, putting your hand out so she can pass you a room key. “It's not every night we get to be in the big city.”

Ryuu is still looking at you like you've got two heads but you decide you're not giving him the opportunity to get in the way this time, not after the car seat earlier.

“Right, come on then you, let's get you home for your bedtime.” You put your hands on his back and force him down the street, ignoring his outrage as you give them one last wave before turning the corner and getting out of sight.

He finally shakes you off, taking a second to straighten his hoody, before giving you a strange look. “You don't want to stay?”

You huff a laugh, “And be a third wheel? No thanks.” You glance up and down the street before picking a direction. “We can just grab some beer or something on the way back, I'm pretty sure we passed a convenience store on the way here.”

You look back at him when you realise he isn't following. He furrows his brow, clearly confused. “Third wheel?”

“Yeah?” You say, unsure what he's asking. “It's not like they need me playing chaperone for them, do they?”

His eyes go wide as they flit between you and the street you'd just come from. “You mean? You don't...?”

You sigh, your patience thin, one step away from stamping your foot like an impatient child. “Don't.. what? Out with it already!”

He blinks at you, “I thought you liked him?”

You laugh, surprised. “Who? Akiteru? No, of course not.” Where on earth had he gotten that idea? “Now come on, I'm getting cold and I don't know when the shops close.”

You turn and start back towards the motel. He catches up eventually.

You let yourself into the room and flick the light on, taking off your hoody as you drop onto the bed to untie your shoes. Ryuu follows behind with your bag of shopping, pausing just inside the doorway before staring at the double bed you're sitting on, his eyes wide with alarm.

“Don't panic.” You tease, a grin on your face. “You're not stuck with me, it's just until they get back. You're safe.”

He opts to ignore you entirely, closing the door behind him and putting the bag down on the table near the television. “You want one or what?” He asks, pulling a couple of beers out and cracking them both open without waiting for your answer.

You pick yourself up and move over to take one, digging through the bag and pulling out the box of chocolates and pack of playing cards you'd impulse bought at the counter. “Fancy a game?”

You settle on Blackjack, quick and easy. The loser has to drink, the winner gets a chocolate. He taps out from that prize early, claiming that they're too sweet for his taste. You have no such qualms, happily making your way through them all on your own.

An hour in he frowns down at the box, gesturing at one lone chocolate that you seem to be avoiding, his voice curious. “Hit. What's wrong with that one?”

He groans as you pull out the seven of diamonds, taking his total to 22. “Bust.” You say with a smug grin as he takes his swig of beer. “And nothing. I'm just saving the best til last.”

He rolls his eyes as you stick on 16, taking the easy win and popping another chocolate into your mouth. “You're really gonna eat all of them?”

You shrug, a smile on your lips. “Only if you keep losing.”

You just had to taunt him, didn't you?

“Are you pouting?” He asks, barely containing his laughter.

You school your features into something more neutral and scoff, “No.” He'd found himself on a bit of a winning streak and the increase in your alcohol intake had not done you any favours in turning it back around. “What time is it anyway? We've been playing for ages.”

He smirks at your obvious attempt to run away but checks anyway, his eyebrows shooting up as he reads the time. “It's past midnight.” You check your phone, you've got no messages from either of them yet.

“Are they not coming back?” You mumble, feeling yourself start to yawn, the day catching up with you alarmingly quickly. “Maybe we should make this the last one? I could do with some sleep.”

“Fine.” He says, a confident smile on his face. “Winner takes all?”

“Yeah, yeah.” You concede dismissively as you send off a quick text to Saeko, reminding her not to lose Akiteru before setting an alarm for the morning and wedging the phone back into your pocket.

You deal the last hand and he immediately draws a King and an Ace. He grins at you, practically oozing self-satisfaction. “Blackjack.”

You pull a sour face, grumbling. “Well that was anti-climatic.”

You both stand and you watch Ryuu as he leans for the chocolate box, purposely snatching up the one you were saving, before turning your way, smirking. “Winner takes all.”

You point your finger at him, your tone firm. “Don't even think about it.” Your words only makes his smile bigger. “I'm serious.” You warn, “I will fight you for it.”

His eyes practically sparkle at the challenge as he brings it closer to his mouth. You make a lunge for him, trying to snatch it from his hand, your tone petulant. “You don't even like them!”

He takes a playful step away from you and you give chase, he moves awkwardly, knocking into the table, before hopping up onto the bed, laughing as he lifts it as far out of your reach as possible.

Well two can play at that game. You catch his free hand around the wrist and drop to your knees onto the mattress, pulling with all your strength. You catch him off balance and drag him down with you, taking the opportunity to gain the upper hand and straddling his legs as you try to wrestle it away from him.

When it becomes clear it's only going to melt this way, you do the only thing you can think of, you lean across him, practically smothering him in the process, and eat it straight out of his hand, your lips brushing against his skin as you steal it from him.

You sit up, raising your hands in celebration. “I win!” You loom over him, a smile on your face as the chocolate starts to melt in your cheek. “You aren't going to congratulate me, Ryuunosuke?” You taunt, your mouth full. “I never knew you were such a poor loser.”

You freeze as you feel his hands on your knees, his skin impossibly warm against your own. “You,” He says, his voice breathy as his hands slide up the outside of your thighs. “might be the most annoying girl I've ever met.”

His hands pause just before he reaches your shorts, his fingers momentarily bite into your flesh, and you yelp as he flips you onto your back, rolling on top of you and pinning you to the bed.

When your head hits the mattress, your teeth clamp shut, cracking the chocolate open and letting caramel flood over your tongue as he holds you in place.

He leans in, looking smug, his body flush against yours. His voice is rich in a way you haven't heard before as he holds your gaze, “I win.”

Kiss him, the traitorous little voice in the back of your mind begs.

You become aware of a telltale something pressing against your thigh and hear yourself swallow, heat flooding your cheeks as your eyes travel down to where your bodies meet, your voice quiet. “Um?”

It breaks the spell and he pulls away from you like he's been burned. You prop yourself up on your elbows and stare at him, watching as his eyes skim over your body before he looks away, the regret painfully obvious on his face.

The silence is heavy and panic pulses through you as your brain flails. Unsure what else to do, your mouth comes to your rescue. “I'm gonna go wash up. Goodnight.”

Your movements feel mechanical and awkward as you stand up from the bed and walk to the bathroom, the lingering taste of the caramel hormonally confusing. Were you really just about to kiss him?

By the time you're done convincing yourself it was nothing more than an embarrassing accident, he's already in bed.

You try to stay quiet as you cross the room, unhooking your bra and peeling off your shorts so you can sleep comfortably, before lifting the blanket and sliding into your side of the bed as you pretend your eyes aren't following the contours of his bare back.

You fold your hands behind your head, lacing your fingers together as you stare up at the ceiling, letting your eyes adjust to the darkness and trying not to think about how much easier it would be to sleep if you had something to smoke. You've never been good at falling asleep in new places.

“You awake?” You ask softly into the silence. You hear a disagreeable grunt and smile. “Me neither.”

He's quiet for a moment before he turns over to face you, his nose missing a collision with your raised elbow by millimetres. He gives it a dirty look before following the line of your arm downwards, his eyes coming to a stall when they reach the swell of your breast, your skin exposed by the cut of your tank top.

You raise your eyebrows as he stares, clearing your throat softly. He meets your eye and his face falls into an all too familiar scowl. You feel yourself smile, “Do you have a problem with my sideboob, Ryuunosuke?”

He lets out an annoyed groan and turns away from you again. A fond laugh bubbles up from low in your chest, you reach over to him, rubbing the soft fuzz of his shaved head affectionately, your voice warm. “Sorry. You're just too much fun to tease.”

Returning your hand to its place behind your head, you close your eyes and wait for the slow crawl towards sleep to begin.

A while later you notice him become restless. You think nothing of it, assuming that he's just trying to get comfortable until you feel his weight shift awkwardly, followed by the softest of touches as he taps your arm.

You open one eye and turn towards him, only to be met with his face impossibly close, eyes screwed tightly shut, as he presses his lips to yours.

It's over so quickly it doesn't even occur to you to close your eyes before he pulls away, his face a dark shade of crimson as he tries to look anywhere but at you.

You feel something, a flicker in your chest, for this ridiculous sweet idiot in front of you. Your thoughts quiet except for one - if he's going to kiss you, he could at least do it properly.

You lower your arms and turn your whole body towards him, his eyes linger briefly on your chest when he notices how your breasts have been pressed together now you're on your side.

You don't mind, he can look.

When he's finally brave enough for eye contact again, you give him a smile, leaning towards him so you can return his kiss.

His whole body becomes rigid, you're not even sure he's breathing, and when he doesn't relax at all you pull away, concerned that he's changed his mind until you feel his hand reach for your waist, keeping you close.

You bring your fingers to his jaw and he shivers as you trace a line to his mouth, grazing your fingertips along his lower lip, before gently pulling it down, coaxing his mouth open.

You lean in again, taking the opportunity to slip your tongue into his mouth and brush it featherlight against his own.

His breath catches and your thighs inadvertently squeeze together as he exhales a throaty moan into your mouth, his fingers digging into the material of your top as he pulls you closer.

His hesitation melts away as you kiss, his movements becoming more natural, more confident, when you make it clear you're not going to reject him.

Your fingers travel along the back of his neck and down to his shoulder, every muscle firm under your touch. You knew he worked out but you hadn't realised he'd feel so strong.

His hand slips around to the small of your back as he finally pulls away from your lips, trailing kisses along your throat as you catch your breath and you become aware of a growing firmness pressing against your stomach.

You run your fingers along his collar bone as his lips find yours again, his breath hot and heavy against your open mouth as your hand runs down his chest and along the ridges of his abs, enamoured with just how defined he feels.

His breathing falters as you reach the waistband of his boxers. His body vibrates against you, nervous energy radiating from him, and you decide to take things slow, using a single finger to gently trace the outline of his erection through his underwear, pleased when he twitches and pulses under your touch.

The hand on your back flexes briefly before ever so slowly moving along your waist, hesitating slightly before following the swell of your hip around to your bare thigh.
His movements are agonisingly slow when your brain is screaming only one thing.

Touch me.

His breath shudders as you part your legs for him and it requires all of your willpower not to roll your hips to meet him. When he finally presses down against you, the pressure is delicious as the already dampening material clings to your aching sex as he tentatively explores you through your underwear.

You suck in a sharp breath as he slips over your clit and he stalls, suddenly unsure again.

“I don't..” He starts, his voice strained. “I mean..”

You look up at him, willing yourself to be patient. Why does he look so nervous?

“Have you never..?” You hedge, gently.

“I have.” He cuts you off quickly. “I've done things,” His statement seems purposely vague. He sighs, quietly, his tone vulnerable. “but you don't feel like just some girl. I wanna get it right.”

Your chest aches for him. You think he deserves better but, for tonight, you want to be selfish.

You put your hand over his, moving it to your stomach before guiding him into your underwear. He goes willingly, his fingers slipping between your folds as you press a kiss to the underside of his jaw. “I trust you.”

His touch shivers against you as you moan softly against his throat. Returning your hand to his boxers, you slip your hand under his waistband and run your palm over the length of him, from tip to stem and back again. His breaths turning short and sharp as he bucks and twitches against your touch.

Biting down on his lower lip, his jaw clenches as he tries to maintain his control, his attention coming back to the slickness of you as he tentatively circles your clit. He watches intently as your eyes flutter closed and your head tips back, his eyes drawn down the line of your throat to where your chest heaves as you breathe.

“You're so hot.” His voice is rough and rich.

You huff a laugh, giving him a lazy smile as he draws another moan from you. It feels so good to be touched. You wrap your fingers around his length, the solid feel of him exciting. “So are you.”

His eyes rake over your face before he presses his lips to yours again, the tips of two fingers circling your entrance, the promise of fullness close enough to taste. He breaks away from you, pressing his forehead to yours as he pants against your mouth, his eyes locked on yours.

“Say my name.”

Your back arches as he teases you, dipping his fingertips into you before pulling away, leaving your mind cloudy and your body eager. “Ryuu?”

There's a pause before he gives you a small shake of his head, still staring at you intently.

The corner of your mouth twitches up as realisation dawns on you. “Ryuunosuke?”

There's a little shudder that runs through him before he finally pushes into you, your grip on him tightening as your body accepts him, desperate for more, only wanting him closer.

You say it again, your voice breathy. “Ryuunosuke.”

You'll say it as many times as he wants as long as he keeps doing what he's doing.

He leans back a little, groaning as he watches you writhe under his attention. “How do you do that?” He asks, entranced by the way you say his name. “Do you even know what it does to me?” You can hear the pleasure wrap around his words as he thrusts into your touch. He's so hard. “Every. Single. Time.”

You offer him a twist of your wrist, your fingers gliding across his shaft, meeting the pace he's setting, making him grunt. You can't keep the satisfied smile from your lips. “Sorry?”

He grins at you, his eyes heavy lidded and hazy from lust. “Liar.”

His fingers curl against something sensitive and your breath catches in your throat. Your thighs squeeze tight around him as you rock your hips, shamelessly grinding against his hand as he fingers you.

He brings his lips to your ear. “Does it feel good?” His voice is barely more than a whisper. You can't tell if he's genuinely asking or just teasing you, and right now you don't know if you care.

You meet his eye, your voice shaky. “Yes.”

Either way, your simple answer seems to trip him up. He says something under his breath, his hips haphazardly bucking against your hand before his attention snaps back to you, more intense than before.

He leans over you, the weight of him pressing you onto your back. He curls his fingers again, making you gasp. His eyes dragging over every inch of your face as your pleasure pools. A little more, that's all you need.

“Ryuunosuke,” You whine, “faster.”

He obliges, his pace increasing until all you can do is ride it out as your release sparks and rocks through your body, your grip on him inadvertently tightening as you cry out. He makes a strangled sound before thrusting violently into your hand, his body moving on instinct alone as he comes undone, spilling his seed into your hand and across his stomach, before collapsing against your shoulder, panting.

The come down from your temporary high is jarring.

The silence creeps in as you catch your breath, the reality of what you just did inescapable.

“I need to clean up.” He mumbles quietly before moving away from you and heading to the bathroom.

You look down at your hand, still covered in him, and feel a rush of heat pass through your body. Shit. He's Saeko's little brother. What were you thinking?

The way he'd looked at you forces it's way to the front of your mind, his voice jagged and wanting. “Every. Single. Time.”

Don't, you beg yourself, don't like him. It won't end well.

You glance around, looking for anything to wipe your hand off on. When you find nothing you resort to wiping it on the side of the bed, offering a silent apology to whoever will have to change the sheets in the morning.

You hear the toilet flush and turn onto your side, facing away from him. You don't think you could meet his eye right now even if you tried, you don't want to see him look at you with regret.

His weight drops back onto the mattress and you hold your breath, your body stiff with anxiety as you try to anticipate how awkward this is about to get.

You feel as fragile as glass as he reaches for your hair, gently sweeping it out of the way before he curls up behind you, his arm slipping under the blanket as he wraps it around your waist, pulling you against him as he brushes his nose against the back of your neck.

You don't know what to do with yourself. Why is he being so sweet with you?

He takes a deep inhale of your hair before pressing his mouth to the back of your head, his voice already thickening with sleep. “Goodnight.”

You just lie there, staring into the darkness. Your chest aches painfully as you realise he's not going to push you away, or play games with you now he's got what he wanted.

You blink away the sting in your eyes, suddenly unsure why you'd doubted him in the first place. “Goodnight.”

The sound of your alarm beeping drags you out of a deep sleep.

You feel around the bedside blindly before managing to wrench one eye open, scanning the room groggily for your phone until you spot it sticking out of your shorts, still discarded on the floor from the night before.

You awkwardly reach for it from the comfort of the bed, stretching precariously before overbalancing and having to catch yourself with one hand on the floor, swearing quietly. You hook one finger into the denim and drag it towards you, feeling the blanket slip from your body as you struggle, before you finally manage to snatch the damn thing out of the pocket, tapping furiously on the screen until it quiets.

You drag your top half back onto the bed and drop heavily onto your pillow, feeling like you could happily sleep for another week yet. You glance at the time again, sighing as you realise there's only an hour left until checkout.

You allow yourself a good stretch, groaning happily as your neck and shoulders give a satisfying pop, before sagging back into the mattress.

You glance to your side and feel every inch of you freeze as you lock eyes with a blushing Ryuunosuke, last night flooding back to you with alarming clarity as you feel a disconcerting pulse between your thighs.

“Hi.”

The word leaves your lips on a sigh and you immediately flush, suddenly self conscious about how weird of greeting that is the morning after... everything.

“Hey.” His voice is quiet but not sleepy.

You become extremely aware of the fact you're still uncovered, internally cringing as you hope in vain that he was asleep when you decided it was a good idea to go head down, ass up to grab your stupid phone.

Your eyes run down his bare chest of their own volition and you have to fight the urge to reach out and touch him. He looks good, has he always looked this good?

His voice snaps you out of it. “Could you.. uh...”

He reaches towards you, his cheeks looking like they're about to catch fire, before he gently pulls the blanket back up and over you, hiding most of your exposed skin from sight, before letting out a shaky breath, his nerves clearly getting the better of him too.

You're laughing before you realise it, the tension snapping like a twig. He rolls his eyes, scowling, and you reach out and rub the fuzz of his hair fondly.

He lifts his arm and you expect him to swat you away, so it's a surprise when his fingers wrap around your wrist, pulling your hand to his lips briefly before holding it to his chest, the softness of his smile breathtaking. “Morning.”

The alarm on your phone sounds again, the automatic snooze having timed out.

You hear Ryuu sigh beside you as you make a grab for it, letting out a long yawn before he sits up, “I guess we better get sorted.”

Your heart stutters as he gives you a shy smile over his shoulder before heading for the bathroom. You roll over onto his side of the bed as you watch him leave, burying your face into his pillow when he closes the door to smother a noise so high-pitched you're pretty sure only dogs could hear it.

You're in trouble, you can feel it.

By the time you make it down to reception the other two are already there. Saeko, of course, looks as fresh as a spring daisy, while poor Akiteru looks like a stiff breeze might be enough to knock him over.

You smile at him sympathetically. “You two had a good night, then?”

It had been an innocent question but you don't miss the way Akiteru's cheeks turn pink as he looks towards Saeko to answer for them. You're also not the only one who notices.

“Gross.” Ryuu mutters beside you and you swipe at him with your foot to quiet him. The two of you definitely don't have any moral high ground about secrets this morning.

You all head out for breakfast before spending the majority of the day exploring the city, Saeko dragging you from shop to shop, the sheer amount of things available to buy overwhelming.

You're doing an impressive job of resisting temptation right up until the moment Ryuu catches you lingering on a particular skirt that caught your eye.

You're in the middle of an internal debate, one between cost and want, when you feel something brush up against your arm.

“That'd look pretty on you.” He keeps his voice quiet, his breath warm against your ear, before immediately moving past you, carrying on like nothing had happened before anyone can notice your little interaction.

Your skin tingles as you force your eyes back onto the clothing in front of you, his opinion greatly tipping the scales in favour of 'want'. You chance a glance his way and catch him watching you, he holds your gaze for a heartbeat before looking away, his face becoming a shade darker as he fights off a bashful smile.

You tear your eyes away from him and swallow down the urge to grin, mentally chiding yourself for behaving like a schoolgirl with her first crush. You're old enough to know better.

You still buy the skirt.

By the time the venue is due to open its doors, you're twice as tired as you had been the day before. Apparently working an eight hour shift was less taxing on the body than spending the day shopping with Saeko.

You're leaning into the trunk of Akiteru's car, putting your new skirt into your backpack before going inside, when your knuckles scrape against the metallic hinge of your cigarette case.

You pull it out and give it a shake, surprised to find a pre-rolled joint inside. You pause for a second, annoyed that you'd had this the whole time when you've wanted one so badly.. Your thoughts trail off and you frown, thinking back over the day. Had you even thought about it once today?

“Come onnn!” Saeko whines, “The doors will be opening soon!”

You shove the tin back into the bag with a shrug and slam the trunk closed. “Coming!”

Once you're inside you feel the excitement start to set in and Saeko immediately drags Akiteru towards the stage, eager to get up close and personal to the action. Ryuu holds back a little, his eyes finding yours as you realise he's waiting to see what you want to do. He's so sweet, it's not fair.

You could do with a drink.

“You want a beer?” You ask, gesturing towards the bar at the back of the hall.

He nods before handing you his wallet. You try to refuse it but he stops you in your tracks, his voice tinged with regret, “It's not like I can buy you one,” he shrugs, “at least let me pay.”

On your return you find him talking animatedly with a man who looks like he could be a long lost sibling of the Tanaka clan, or a cousin at least. Ryuu smiles shyly at you as you approach, their conversation dying out as you hand him his beer while his friend,Tora, blushes furiously when you're introduced.

Oh no, you know that look, it's another adorable idiot. You push down the compulsion to torment him.

“Oh!” You say as Ryuu thanks you for the drink, pulling it out of your pocket to return it. “Your wallet.”

Tora blinks at the interaction before his eyes go wide, his voice shocked. “Is this a date??”

Ryuu starts to stammer out a vague denial while nervously glancing your way. You watch as his blush creeps down to his neck and you can't help but wonder how far you could make it spread if you found the right triggers.

You decide to answer Tora instead, choosing honesty. “I hope so.” You say, easily, giving Ryuu a knowing smile. “He did invite me, after all.”

Your answer silences them both and you take that as your cue to leave.

“I'll let you catch up.” You say, automatically excusing yourself from any awkwardness you may have caused. “I can see the others, come find us when you're ready?” Ryuu blinks down at you before nodding. You stretch up to kiss him on the cheek before leaving, grinning at just how warm his skin has gotten. “Have fun.”

He gets back just as the main act starts, finding the three of you near the speakers where the crowd is a little thinner. He takes the space next to you as you share a quiet smile. You're glad he caught up with his friend but, still, you're happier now that he's back.

Halfway through the first song you feel his arm wrap around your waist as he pulls you out of the way of a particularly boisterous group of people next to you. You shout your thanks, but you're left surprised when he doesn't let go. You look up at him and he avoids your gaze, his face obviously red even in the dim lighting.

You jump as you hear Saeko's voice behind you, carrying extremely well even above all the noise, as she puts an arm around each of your shoulders and squeezes. “Aww I'm so happy! I've always wanted a little sister!”

You laugh, embarrassed, and wait for him to jump away or tell her to shut up, but he doesn't. Saeko removes herself and you feel him pull you a little closer, his hold on you firm while your heart thunders in your chest as you realise he likes you. He actually likes you.

You slip your hand into his back pocket and he startles as you give him a squeeze. You laugh warmly as he scowls down at you, leaning in to kiss him just below his jaw. Scowl or not, only a second passes until he returns your affection, his lips gently pressing against your temple, before his eyes go back to the stage and it takes all of your willpower not to just stand there staring at him.

At the end of the show Saeko heads straight for the merch stand with Akiteru while you make your way outside, eager for some fresh air.

Ryuu follows you out, quietly matching your casual pace as you wander towards where the car is parked, your bare arms prickling in the cool night air. You look his way, smiling, before bumping your shoulder against him, feeling unusually content. “Thank you for inviting me.”

He bumps you back, his hand brushing briefly against yours as he shrugs. “Thank you for accepting.”

Once you're all in the car you both take the opportunity to turn on your phones, leaving you sighing heavily as reality comes creeping back into your life one alert tone at a time.

Unlike you, his eyes light up as his phone vibrates in his hand.

“Someone's popular.” Saeko teases from the front seat, looking back at her brother as his thumbs fly across the screen, typing out a series of messages in quick succession.

He mumbles something about the name Noya but she's not listening, already back to fiddling with the radio. You, on the other hand, keep one eye on him, jealousy pulling at your edges as you think of the messages waiting on your phone from your ex, guilt eating at you as you hypocritically hope he doesn't have anyone like that in his life.

His thumbs still and you hold your breath. He looks around before meeting your eye, leaning across the space between you, his voice low. “Would.. would you ever call me senpai?”

Your eyebrows draw together as you stare at him, unsure what you're supposed to say. “But I'm older than you?”

His phone vibrates again and his eyes go wide. He clears his throat before leaning in closer again. “How do you feel about camping?”

Ok, you're officially lost. You narrow your eyes at him, “You got a lot of questions tonight, Ryuunosuke.”

He opens his mouth before snapping it shut again, clearly conflicted. Saeko chuckles from the front seat and you watch as heat bursts across his cheeks and he shoves her seat, annoyed. She reaches back behind her and pinches the side of his knee, making him yelp, before cackling and turning the volume up on the music to drown out his complaints.

You watch it all play out with an unexpected fondness. You look down at your own phone, the messages from your ex still sitting there unopened, and make a decision.

You lean towards Ryuu, your head against his shoulder, your voice for his ears only. “Hey,” You say, softly, “when we get back I'm going to be busy for a little while.” He frowns down at you and you steel your resolve, you know what has to be done. “Wait for me, ok?”

He looks confused, but he nods. You smile and close your eyes, making the most of the closeness while you can.

A month later and the day has finally come.

You finish your evening shift before stepping out of the Eatery, greeted by the sight of a familiar figure, leaning against his car across the street, waiting for you to appear.

“Took you long enough.”

You sigh, it really did.

You smile up at your ex, giving a lazy shrug before you chuck him your keys. You don't need them anymore.

He catches them easily, giving them a long look before dropping them into his pocket. He sighs, “So this is really it, huh?”

He gives you a sad smile before holding his arms out to hug you. You feel a rush of emotion as you step into them, your arms wrapping around his neck as you pull him close.

“Thank you.” You whisper, your voice wavering a little.

He rubs your back soothingly for a second before you look up at him, smiling, your eyes misty. It's what you want, but it's still the end of a huge part of you life, it's a heavy feeling.

He smiles down at you gently, wrinkling his nose as he brings his hands up to cup your face, roughly wiping away your tears. “Ah stop it, already. You always were too sentimental.”

You laugh, your fingers wrapping around his wrist and squeezing affectionately. “Shut up.”

He smiles, sadly, before giving a dramatic sigh, his tone aiming for dismissive but not quite managing it. “Well, I better go, let you get on home to lover boy or whatever you're doing now.”

You nod, sniffing a little. “Good luck in your new place.”

He leans down to kiss you on the cheek, letting out a quiet sigh. “You too.”

You nod again as he pulls away and your eyes unexpectedly fall onto Ryuu, standing across the street.

You feel your heart pull, a smile taking over your face at his surprise appearance. When he doesn't return it, it fades from your lips, confusion taking over.

You jump as the car beeps and pulls away, you give it a distracted wave before turning back to the man you wanted to see. You call out to him, “Ryuunosuke?”

He hesitates before approaching, his expression guarded, his voice stiff. “Was that the ex?”

Your mouth falls open, you'd planned on telling him everything tonight, but you weren't prepared for him to already know.

“It was.” You search his face, trying to gage his feelings. “He came for my keys.”

He nods thoughtfully as he stares after the car, his voice tentative. “So, lover boy would be?”

You feel a smile tug at your lips. “You.”

He shifts his feet, scuffing the sole of his shoe across the floor before meeting your eye. “He knows about me?”

“He does.” You say, easily. You'd told him everything the night you'd gotten back from the city, your choice obvious.

“But you never told me about him.” There's a touch of accusation in his tone, but not as much as you would've expected. You wonder how much Saeko had told him and when. “Why not?”

You shrug, you'd been thinking about that a lot yourself. “It didn't matter, until it did.”

He frowns at you and you want to laugh, you've missed him a lot this last month. You try to clarify.

“Saeko was the first friend I made that was just mine, unconnected to my relationship.” You say, a little sadly. “Your apartment became my safe space, somewhere to hide while everything else went to shit, so it didn't matter there.”

You meet his eye, smiling ruefully. “And then you appeared and changed everything.”

His eyes widen and he stills, staring at you.

You step towards him, smiling gently. “I owe you a thank you, actually. I was pretty lost before I met you, if things had been different, I don't know what would have happened.”

The blush that creeps along his cheeks draws you to him, you don't think you'll ever get bored of it. You step into his space, smiling, as you drape one arm around his neck, and then the other, looking up at him. “Because, I don't know if you know this, Tanaka Ryuunosuke, but, I'm kind of sweet on you.”

He audibly swallows before his hands come to your waist, his hold on you firm and comforting as he pulls you to him. You feel a ripple of excitement roll through you as your bodies touch, you hadn't been alone with him like this since that night, not trusting yourself to be able to refuse him while things were so complicated.

But now, things feel very, very simple.

“Come home with me.” His words are breathy and wanting.

You smile up at him, laughing. “Didn't Saeko tell you? I'm staying on your sofa until I get the keys to my new place next week.”

“She told me.” He says, simply, staring at your lips. “But I'm asking you to come home with me.” The way he stresses 'with me' sends a shiver up your spine.

You smile, teasing. “So, no sofa?”

“No sofa.” He confirms.

You grin up at him, tightening your grip on him and pulling him down to you. You kiss him like the world is ending, his hands creepy under the hem of your shirt as he crushes you to him. You want him.

He pulls away from you, panting, when he hears a door slam across the street. He meets your eye again before grabbing your wrist, practically dragging you towards home as you laugh at his eagerness.

When you get back to their apartment, you notice Saeko isn't around. After Ryuu had showed up at your workplace at such a convenient time, you can't help but wonder if it's intentional on her part.

Ryuu doesn't leave a lot of time for you to dwell on it, pulling you towards his bedroom without any delay.

Once you're in there, you're surprised how different it looks since the last time you were here, it's significantly tidier, and all of the posters are gone. You huff a laugh, pointing at the walls, “I hope you didn't feel like you had to do that for my benefit.” you tease.

He shrugs, not as embarrassed as you'd expected him to be. “You think you're the only one who felt like they needed to get their shit together?”

You blink at him. Now that he mentions it, he feels kind of different. Less nervous, more sure. You can't say you dislike it.

He takes a step towards you, his cheeks warm as he reaches for your hands. “While we're being honest, you know I've never...” He falters.

“Had sex?” You guess.

His face turns an aggressive shade of red as he fights off a stammer. “H-how did you..?”

“I guessed.” You say gently, shrugging one shoulder. “I think you almost told me once before.” You think back on that night in Tokyo, how nervous he'd been to touch you.

“You know,” You keep your voice gentle, “we don't have to if you're not ready-”

“I'm ready.”

He cuts you off so sharply you can't help but laugh. You give him a smirk, your tone teasing. “Have I been on your mind that much this month?”

You think he's going to get embarrassed and deny everything. He doesn't.

“Longer.” He says, confidently.

He pulls your arms around his waist, pulling you into a hug before he speaks. “You said earlier that I appeared and changed everything?” You nod against his chest, you did. “You did the same for me.”

You pull away and look up at him, he smiles at you, almost bashfully. “I actually thought I'd made you up, for just a little while.”

You laugh, “What does that mean?”

“You just kept appearing!” He says defensively. He pulls away to count on his fingers as he lists he reasons.

“The first time, you appeared in an alley, threatened me and then vanished. The second time you appeared literally on your knees at my feet and told me I was cool!” His voice pitches up and you can't help but laugh at his distress, you hadn't really considered how he'd seen these things before.

“I go on holiday, come back, you appear, call my by my best friend's name and then literally vanish into thin air when I turn back around.” He points past you, out into the living area. “So I come home, take a nap and wake up to find you smoking on my sofa like you live here!”

He shrugs dramatically, looking very much like his sister in that moment. “I thought I was losing my mind.”

“Sorry.” You laugh, warmly. “I knew I was making a bad impression, I think I kept trying to redo it.”

He smiles at you, shrugging. “I'm just saying, it's kind of hard to keep a girl like that out of your thoughts, you know?”

Your chest tightens. When did he become so smooth with his words?

“Do you have condoms?” The question is out before you know you're going to ask it, both of you startling once you've said it.

He swallows, then nods. You smile at him and he takes the hint, closing his bedroom door before coming back to you, that nervous energy radiating from him just like the first night.

You pinch the front of his shirt, pulling him to you gently as you turn your face up towards him. He leans in, kissing you slowly, as his chest vibrates under your touch.

His arms wrap around your waist, his fingers brushing bare skin as he pulls you tighter. Your hand finds its way to the side of his neck, your nails scraping lightly across his skin as his tongue finds yours.

He hums a pleased sound into your mouth and your skin tingles. You pull away, lifting the bottom of his shirt, wanting access to more of him. He obliges, pulling it over his head with one arm and throwing it behind him.

He looks good.

Your eyes run over him, taking him in greedily. You put your hands on his stomach and smile as his muscles twitch under the contact. You wonder if he does that on purpose.

You run them up across his chest before placing a kiss to the hollow of his throat. He shivers, his hands loosely clinging to your waist as you kiss along his collar bone, letting a hand wander down his chest, smiling against his skin when you brush against his nipple and he has to swallow down the needy sound that escapes his throat.

You feel a gentle pull at your shirt and look up at him, his cheeks are flushed, his eyes unfocused, the want in them obvious. You nod and lift your arms, letting him pull it off of you.

He takes a sharp inhale and you feel yourself warm. You're not usually the shy type, but the way he looks at you is hard to ignore.

He brings his hands back to your waist, his thumbs brushing along your skin before he pulls you against him, his lips finding yours again, crushing against them as his excitement ramps up.

He presses a hand to the small of your back and steps towards you, guiding you backwards until your legs hit his bed. You huff a laugh as you sit down abruptly, leaving you looking up at him, the view familiar. You smile, teasing. “I've been here before.”

“I remember.” His voice is all breath and lust and you wonder if he's thought about this before.

You run your tongue across your lips, considering, before bringing your hands to his waistband, your fingers making easy work of the button before you meet his eye while slowly undoing his zip.

He watches you, breathing heavily, his body alarmingly still, as you let his jeans drop to the floor. You lean forward pressing your lips to his hip, your tongue trailing along a prominent vein, the one that disappears under his boxers. He's so fit.

You slip your fingertips into his waistband, pulling it lower, before he catches your hand in his, stopping you. You blink up at him as he swallows, nervously. “What.. what if I don't last?”

You shrug, smiling. “Practice makes perfect.”

His grip on you tightens for a second before he pulls your hand away. His voice rough, “I want you first.”

He leans down, his lips finding yours as he uses his weight to push you back onto the bed. Your heartbeat drums in your chest at his sudden intensity, you hadn't expected it, but now that he's on top of you, you couldn't agree more.

Your fingers claw at his back as he grinds against you, his tongue eager and forceful in your mouth as one hand finds its way to your chest, hesitating only for a second before he cups your breast, grunting as he finds your nipple hard under his touch.

He pulls away from your mouth, his lips trailing along your throat and onto your chest, his fingers pulling your bra strap from your shoulder as he kisses along the line of the cup, before pulling it down, exposing your nipple to his attention, his hips pressing against yours as he draws it into his mouth, your back arching as you moan loudly.

He lifts his body from yours as he licks and sucks at you, his hand on your trousers as he clumsily tries to undo them. Your impatience gets the better of you, you press a kiss to his forehead before doing it for him, lifting your hips enough so he can drag the offending item off you, pulling away just long enough for you to undo your bra and shift further onto the bed.

He pauses for a second, his eyes running over you, practically naked and waiting for him on his bed. He seems to come back to himself for a second, the blush spreading down his neck and onto his chest. “Are we really going to?”

You smile up at him, fondly. “As long as you want to?”

His voice is barely more than a breath. “I want to.”

He steps towards his bedside table, pulling out a pack of condoms. He fiddles with the packet for a second and you notice that his hands are shaking.

You sit up and hold your hand out, “Let me.” You say, gently.

He considers for a second before nodding. He hands you the packet and you put it between your teeth, smiling up at him reassuringly, as you put your fingers into his waistband and pull them down, keeping your eyes on his as you bare him to the world.

You tear the packet easily, dropping it to the ground once you've got what you need. You make sure it's the right way around before pressing it to his head, enjoying the way his body shudders as you unroll it down his length and he watches your every move.

When you're done you lie back onto the bed, slipping off your underwear, before holding out a hand for him. He takes a steadying breath before wrapping his fingers around yours and laying beside you.

He presses his face close to yours and lets out a shaky exhale before kissing you. All sweetness and nerves until he finds his rhythm again, the want winning out over any fears he might have.

It's his choice when he shifts his weight onto his elbow, pressing his body against you as his legs slip between yours. You run your hands down his neck, and along his back as his kiss intensifies, moaning softly as your back arches, pressing your bare chest against his, only wanting him closer.

His kiss falters slightly as his hand runs down the outside of your thigh, his fingers slipping behind your knee as he pulls it higher, his erection presses flush against your sex and you moan against his lips.

You can take a hint.

You slip your hand between your bodies, taking him in hand as you lift your hips, guiding him against your entrance. He presses against you ever so slightly and pulls away from your lips, a strangled noise escaping him as the tip of his cock presses into you.

He takes a second to catch his breath, his body still, his arms unnaturally stiff as he holds himself over you. You try to be understanding, but it's too much of a tease to have him so close yet so far.

You bring your hands to his face, making him look at you, before running your hands down his throat and along his chest, following the line of his waist before settling them on his hips, digging your fingers into him as you pull him, gently, towards you.

Your voice shakes with lust as he presses further into you before stopping again. “Please.”

He blinks down at you before all the tension seems to melt out of him. He presses his chest against yours, watching your face as he sheaths himself entirely in you. You gasp as he stretches you, the fullness of him intoxicating.

You hold his gaze, staring up at him as he starts to thrust, moaning shamelessly every time he fills you.

He audibly swallows, mouth open, breathing heavily, his voice pulled tight in his throat. “I'm not going to last if you keep looking at me like that.”

You moan again, before giving him a lazy smirk, your eyes unwavering. “Like what?”

His pace stutters and makes a sound alarmingly close to a growl. He scowls down at you and you feel your affection for him erupt. You bring a hand to the back of his neck, pulling his lips to yours as you wrap your leg around his waist, arching your back as you pull him into you.

His moans deepen as he follows his instincts, wrapping an arm under the small of your back, meeting your pace as you roll your hips to meet him, the friction from his closeness overwhelming. Your nails bite into his neck as he grinds into you in just the right spot, “Ryuunosuke, there.”

His breathing hiccups as his hips buck, pushing you over the edge as pleasure rolls through you, your muscles contracting around him, as your chest heaves and you moan against his open mouth. He pulls you tight against him, his moans dragging themselves of him as he pushes into you as deep as he can as he cums.

His arm shakes precariously before it gives out and he collapses on top of you, panting into your hair as you stroke his back, revelling in the intimacy as he comes down from his high.

You keep your voice low, your tone warm. “Was it good for you?”

He laughs against your shoulder, pushing himself up so he can meet your eye, the smile on his face dazzling. “I wanna go again.”

You grin at him, your adorable idiot. “I'm here when you're ready.”