pairing: ritshou
13,790 words
rating: Teen
chapters: 3/3
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Salt High School wasn’t usually in this much of a flurry, but it had just been announced that they would be having a Valentines event for the school this year. Something similar, but much less extravagant than the school festival. To say that the students were ecstatic would be an understatement—They were absolutely thrilled to be able to host another fun event (with an additional bonus of a free school day). High schoolers took very little to please, after all.
Shou turned around in his seat, beaming at Ritsu, “Took them long enough for us to start doing a Valentines Day event! It’s not like anyone’s paying attention on that day anyway, what with all the commotion and gossip and anticipation and… you get my point,” He waved his hand around dismissively, other gripping the backrest of his seat, front legs of the chair lifted in Shou’s excitement to get closer to his friend as he spoke.
Said friend–Ritsu–smiled lopsided at him, hair falling gently over his eyes with the angle. He was amazed at how fast Shou talked, despite always listening. “Yeah. In our last year, too. The audacity,” He huffed playfully.
“I know right?!” Shou threw his hands up in exasperation, “Wouldn’t’ve hurt to have decided on this a couple years ago?” Shou grumbled, snatching Ritsu’s pencil and scribbling on the surface of his desk, a smile hinting at his features.
“You’re bold to deface school property in front of the chairman of the student council. What would your beloved Kageyama Ritsu think?” The aforementioned ‘beloved’ smiled prettily down at Shou, who was hunched over his little doodle like it was treasure.
“He’d tell me how awesome and amazing I am at drawing and then tell me to wipe down the desk before someone else sees and I get in some real trouble, because he knows he’d never tell on me for ‘defacing school property’. Yeah, Rits?” Shou smiled up at him, all smug and catlike, eyes squinted just enough to make it mischievous.
“Yeah,” Ritsu sighed, a smile pulling at his mouth even if he fought it. Instead, he tilts his head into his shoulder and looks at Shou from behind his fringe, “You’re pretty much right. Except for the fact that I am not past snitching on you one of these days,” He grins.
Shou levels him with a challenging stare, though its effect is dampened by their height difference at the moment. “Yeah? Guess I’ll just have to find the right button to push that’ll make you snap.”
That stupid cat-like grin is back. Ritsu hates it because he knows it’s the grin Shou gives him when he knows he’s won, and Shou knows this. Ritsu scowls.
“Kageyama-kun,” A classmate calls, breaking the pair out from their own little world, both turning to face the person.
After that, they get whisked away into the class discussion about planning for the upcoming event.
The bell chimes for students to be in their end of day classes, and the announcements talk about how they’ll be going about with the upcoming valentines event.
Shou tilts his head back until it’s resting on Ritsu’s desk, looking at him upside-down.
’There are three days until the event, this coming Thursday.’
He smiled lopsided up at Ritsu, just studying his bored expression.
’The students will plan what small events each grade will have, allowing for them to host something enjoyable.’
Ritsu sighs, letting a smile take over his face. Shou feels the puff of air over his own skin.
’Student Council will be in charge of main planning, budgeting, and scheduling.’
Ritsu groans just quietly enough for only Shou to hear; They both understand this as ‘Ritsu will be busy’.
Wednesday will be a preparation day before the holiday on Thursday.
Shou’s smile subconsciously turns mushy soft as he rests his now-aching cheeks, looking up at Ritsu, memorizing every little part of his face. The way his palm rests against it, mushing it and causing him to squint. How his nails are cut clean and taken care of, except for his thumbnails, bitten nervous. How his eyes almost glow when they look at Shou all prettily (They’re always pretty).
Ritsu prods at Shou’s face with his free hand, “Sit up, the blood is rushing to your head and I'm worried you’re going to pass out.”
Shou listens, sitting up just to turn back around and straddle his chair to look at Ritsu. He goes lightheaded briefly with the sudden movement from his previous position; Ritsu was right about the blood rushing to his head.
“Always takin’ such good care of me, doc! Maybe you should dress as a cupid nurse on Thursday, huh?”
“If you open your mouth again until the bell rings, so help me god, Suzuki,” Ritsu glowered under his breath, just loud enough for Shou to hear the threat and no one else.
Shou nodded, knocking his fist against Ritsu’s head in a playful manner meaning joke! Ritsu shoved at him until he was turned back around in his seat, forced to listen to the rest of the announcements.
When the announcements ended, and the teacher continued with their lesson, and class was finally over and that stupid bell rang, Shou turned around instantly. Ritsu looked at him curiously, cautiously.
“Maybe I could convince you to dress up as Nurse Joy for Halloween this year?” He beamed.
“Shou Suzuki, your days are numbered,” Ritsu threatened.
“You’ll cave if I ask you enough times, you usually do.”
Ritsu’s brows furrowed, face dusting red. “I do not,” He argued.
“You do though,” Shou smiled.
“You totally do, Kageyama-kun,” A nearby classmate—Riku Ishida, Shou noted—chimed in, “If Suzuki begs you enough times, you always cave. You’re lucky to have that ability, Suzuki!” Ishida laughed, zipping his bag closed and picking it up, swiftly making his leave. The last sentence flew right over Shou’s head.
“Well, if the apparent viewers of our lives have spoken, I guess it’s true, huh Rits?” Shou turned back to his friend, shouldering him playfully. Ritsu glared holes into Ishida’s back as he left, action going entirely unnoticed by Shou.
“Yeah, guess so,” He mumbled, face bordering on feverishly red. Shou tilted his own, observing Ritsu’s scrunched nose and furrowed brows.
“You alright? Did that guy budging into our conversation bother you?” Shou asked gently, genuine.
Ritsu squinted briefly at Shou, but relaxed his face just as soon. “Yeah. Just startled me,” He brushed off, putting his bag over his shoulder and turning to exit the room, Shou quickly in tow behind, poking at his side with a stupid grin.
“Don’t worry ‘bout it, I’ll always be there with you, so you’ll be okay, hm?”
Ritsu glanced quickly at Shou. “Of course,” He smiled, cheeks stained pomegranate red.
“D’you think they’ll let the Home Ec class make treats instead of us having to make them at home and bring ‘em?” Shou asked, legs swinging behind him while he layed stomach-down on Ritsu’s bed, thumbing at the page of his notebook.
“Bringing things from home could pose contamination risks, but disrupting a teacher’s premade schedule for the day is something we can’t do. We’ll probably discuss something like that at the student council meeting tomorrow for the event planning,” Ritsu swiveled side to side at his desk chair, twirling a pencil between his fingers.
Shou hummed, nodding minutely and burying his face in his crossed arms. Doing work was starting to make him drowsy, but Ritsu would complain at him for not doing enough work before taking a break.
Unstoppable force versus immovable object, or something like that.
He closed his eyes, deciding to rest them for just a moment.
The lights behind his eyelids danced, soft glows of color swirling and always changing. Almost like a light show at a festival, but probably not as harsh on the eyes.
Sound around him muffled and faded into a dull murmur, an ever present hum that calmed his loud and unrelenting mind. If he strained his ears, Shou was sure he could hear the gentle blowing of wind when you stand out in a large open field on a hill—One where the grass blows gently and tickles at your ankles, up to your shins and your knees with its length. One where the sky is vast and blue and large and endless, nothing to destroy this moment in time.
It felt weird to be standing alone in this field, on a hill Shou wasn’t sure of the location. Staying in one place for too long unnerved him, and running was always the thing he did best.
Shou crouched to the soft dirt beneath his bare feet, knees pulled tight to his chest and cheeks resting smushed between them. His hair blew gently with the peaceful breeze, the tall reeds poking and tickling playfully at his face.
He closed his eyes and reveled in the feeling, in the overwhelm of it all. Maybe it would be okay if he didn’t run just this one time, if he would sit and stay for once, and let it wholly consume him.
The air shifted to his right, and he cautiously peered over his knees, observing the sudden guest.
Mirroring his position was Ritsu—or what Shou’s mind had created to be him. He tilted his head the same as Shou and looked at him, a small smile turned his way.
“Are you okay?” Ritsu’s voice whispered in the wind, echoing in the empty air. His eyes were soft, directed at Shou, and they radiated a love Shou had long since remembered ever seeing directed at him—Not since his father had lost all sense of self and his mother had taken her leave. He didn’t hold it against them.
“…Maybe.” Shou hummed, “…I think so.”
Ritsu nodded, taking the reply at face value and knocking his shoulder gently with his friend’s. Shou would be happy to stay here forever, in the presence of the most important person in his life, forever capturing this feeling, and stay. It was the first time Shou had wanted to stay—not get up and leave, not pretend he’d never been here to begin with, leaving no traces of him doing so, not shout words to the wind and run away—he wanted to remain where he was.
That feeling was overwhelmingly terrifying, and he didn’t know what to do with it. But maybe he could work it out if he sat here long enough with nothing but his favorite person, the wind in his ear, and the tall grass tangling at his hair.
The air shifted again, wind dying down and dirt softening beneath him.
The lights behind his eyes were dark now, taking their leave and the environment with them.
He was inside again. In Ritsu’s bedroom, he figured.
“Shou?” A small question, a mumble to his right.
Shou buried his face further in the soft blanket he held tightly around himself now.
(A blanket. That was new.)
He furrowed his brows and murmured soft noises of sleepy confusion.
There was a hand combing so gently through his hair, in its natural curly state and held back by a headband. It combed gently and scratched down to the nape of his neck and started back up again. A soothing and repetitive motion until Shou could become coherent.
Awake enough now, Shou’s knee jerked slightly under the blanket, body having the sudden urge that it needed to move.
The hand hesitated before pulling away, probably at a misunderstanding concern for disturbing his nap.
Shou lifted his head slowly, squinting at the light filtering in from the streetlamps outside of the balcony window. “Hey,” He murmured.
“Hey,” Ritsu parroted, smiling softly down at him, “Sleep well?”
“...Yeah,” Shou concluded. “Sorry I fell asleep.” He sat up from his spot on the bed, holding the blanket around his shoulders, looking at Ritsu with blearly and sleepy eyes.
“It’s okay, I figured you needed the rest. You were sleeping pretty heavily, and you looked comfortable, so,” Ritsu shrugged.
Shou nodded slowly, observing Ritsu’s face again like he’d done in the classroom (an activity he frequented). “You were there. In my dream–I mean,” He tilted his head, eyes tracing the tilt of Ritsu’s eyes and the bushiness of his brows and his just slightly tangled hair (Most likely from mindlessly pulling at it while he worked. A nervous and fidgety habit of his, Shou had observed).
“What? Why?” Ritsu wondered. He shuffled in his spot on the bed, now sitting with his folded legs beneath him and knees pressing against Shou’s thigh.
“Dunno. You came and visited me.”
“Visited you where?”
Shou answered each question from Ritsu and explained the memory of the dream in detail (Save for his internal monologue about staying and all. That would be far too revealing and embarrassing ).
They talked until Miss Kageyama called up to them for dinner, inviting Shou to join them tonight before going home, not wanting him to go home hungry.
They reassured her that he would stay.
Two days before the valentines day event, and the students were already frantically planning and preparing for Thursday, talking about it in the hallways and lunch like it was some crazy new drama.
“I understand you’re all very excited about the upcoming celebration,” The teacher started, calling for the attention of class 3C, “But we have work to do today before we get ready for it, so please quiet down.”
Following instructions, the students quieted down, allowing the lesson to continue as usual.
While Shou was quickly scribbling down notes, trying not to miss them before the teacher moved on, someone tapped his shoulder. He hummed questioningly, turning around to face whoever wanted his attention.
Keiko Murakami—head of the art club—smiled, sending a small wave his way. Shou waved back, tilting his head in confusion, a gesture asking what she wanted his attention for.
She pulled something from her desk, checking to make sure the teacher wasn’t looking at them before reaching over to hand Shou a small folded slip of paper, her hair falling over her shoulders. “Here,” She whispered, smiling still.
Shou took the paper, quickly putting it in his desk and nodding at Murakami, turning to face the front again before getting caught by the teacher.
When he was sure their teacher was focused on asking another student a question, he unfolded the paper, reading over the contents.
The art club would like to recruit you for your assistance in the Valentines event on Thursday! You’re a good artist and your help would be appreciated. Please let me know of your answer after class! -Keiko Murakami, art club president
Shou was honestly a little bit flattered at the request, and wondered what exactly his volunteering would entail. Doing some kind of drawing was almost a given—Or something like that. He’d have to ask Murakami what he would be getting into before accepting or declining her offer, but on one hand it couldn’t be that bad—Afterall, the art club did alot of the decorating for school events and were basically the creative team, and they always did a good job, so whatever it is they wanted him for would be reasonable. As long as it didn’t take up all his time to hang out with Ritsu—as much free time as Ritsu had, considering the work the student council would have–
Ritsu kicked the back of his desk, hard. Hard enough to bring him out of his own mind. “Suzuki? Number seven?” His teacher impatiently tapped her foot, arms crossed in front of her chest.
Shou stared at her, eyes wide in a deer in headlights look, “Um, I was spacing out, sorry…”
Laughter hidden behind hands was a murmur around the room, Shou’s face dusting pink in embarrassment. Their teacher gave him a pointed look, disappointment clear on her face.
“Very well. Try not to space out in class next time.” Shou nodded apologetically, tucking the slip of paper into his pocket and turning his attention to the front of the class as the teacher called on a different student to answer the question.
When the bell finally rang for lunch, Shou shot up from his seat, chair hitting Ritsu’s desk with a loud bang. Shou apologized hurriedly before turning to Murakami.
She looked at him curiously, eye level to eye level with their similar heights. “Did’ya think about it?” She smiled.
“Yeah,” He nodded, “But I don’t really know what you need my help for, so it depends on what it is you want me to do for the art club.”
“Oh! I’m glad you asked,” Murakami clapped her hands together excitedly, “We would love your help for making decorations, a poster for an activity we’re going to be trying out, and posters to advertise other things that will be hosted! Other clubs will be running certain activities and they often come to us to help advertise for it,” She explained, waving her hands around while she spoke.
“Oh. I can do that,” Shou smiled, “When do you need me to come by and help?”
“Stop by the art club room afterschool today if you can, that would be awesome!”
“Sure. Happy to help,” Shou beamed, turning to grab his lunch but noticing a distinct lack of Ritsu at his desk. He made a quick glance around the classroom, checking to see if he was talking to somebody else.
“I saw him leave the class a bit ago, if you’re looking for him,” Murakami frowned, pointing at the classroom exit.
“Oh. Thank you,” Shou bowed quickly, hurrying to meet Ritsu presumably at their lunch spot. He was probably hungry and didn't want to wait on Shou talking to their classmate.
The stairway to the roof had small lunch groups scattered around, enjoying the sunlight that the large windows let in, and the roof was always more packed. The typical idea that it was a secluded lunch spot was false, and was actually quite a common spot during school.
“Ritsu,” Shou sighed, sitting himself down beside his friend, landing harder than intended.
“Hey. I went on ahead without you because you were talking to someone, sorry,” Ritsu spoke around his mouthful of egg omelet.
“Oh, it’s okay, I just had to talk to Murakami about something,” He smiled.
“Mhm…” Ritsu hummed, “Student Council is having a meeting after school today, so you can go home without me.”
“When have I ever gone home without you? C’mon I know you’re not dumb,” Shou smiled, knocking his shoulder with Ritsu’s. “Plus, I have something I need to do after school. So we can meet up when you’re ready to go.”
Ritsu furrowed his brows, looking distraught. “What?”
Shou tilted his head, putting it in front of Ritsu’s with a noticeable lack of personal space. “I’ve got something to do after school?”
“I heard you,” Ritsu’s face burned, practically glowing as a beacon for the Salt High rooftop, “You don’t usually have stuff to do. You’re not in any clubs or anything…” Ritsu muttered, looking to the side, away from Shou’s all-too-close face.
“Are you jealous of me having something fun to do,” Shou teased.
Ritsu grumbled, pushing lightly at Shou’s shoulder to put some distance between the pair, “No, just shocked that someone would want to invite you to something,” He rolled his eyes, a small smile playing at his mouth.
“Ah!” Shou gasped, falling to lay on his back, “You wound me! You’re so mean to me, Rits,” he sat up on his elbows, pouting at the other. With a couple of heads turned to witness Shou’s dramatics, Ritsu lowered his gaze and hunched his shoulders, tucking in on himself.
“That’s not true, you heard what Ishida said; You get the good treatment,” He childishly stuck his tongue out.
“Well he’s not really the judge of that, is he?” Shou sat up properly now, stuffing his mouth with the rice from his bento, “Do you?”
Ritsu tilted his head, “Do I what?”
“Give me the good treatment?”
“...Yeah I guess,” He mumbled, bowing his head. Shou smiled unapologetically, scooting closer to Ritsu so that he could play with the buttons of his jacket cuff.
“Cool,” He said, a dumb smile on his face. Shou was happy that Ritsu treated him just a bit differently than the average classmate (significant differently, Shou would notice had he not been so oblivious), but he didn’t have a clue why that was, or why his ears burned.
After school, Shou parted ways with Ritsu for their respective duties and wandered to the first floor where the art club room was located, counting down the room numbers until he found the one he was looking for.
Knocking on the door, he waited and looked around the hall, observing the various fliers and posters hung on the walls outside the room.
“Hello.” Someone unfamiliar to Shou opened the door (likely an underclassman). “This is the art club, can I do something for you?”
Shou explained that he’d been recruited to help, and that he’d come by after school to do so. The underclassman nodded in understanding, opening the door and motioning Shou inside.
“Murakami is a very outward personality, so I hope she didn’t come off too abrasive or demanding,” the younger apologized, leading him to a small group of people in the further corner.
“Nah, no worries!” Shou smiled and followed. The underclassman nodded.
“I’m glad.” The younger directed towards the huddle of people, “Hopefully Murakami filled you in on what we needed your help for…?”
“Oh, yeah.” Shou pointedly decided to leave out the fact that she only did so when he’d asked. Little details.
“Good. These are some of our club members—Murakami and others are asking a teacher for a favor. Are you able to stay for longer today, or were you just dropping by?” They tilted their head to the side in question.
“I planned on staying today if you guys needed my help, my friend has something today anyway so,” Shou shrugged, “Might as well make use of it.”
“That’s perfect!” They clapped their hands together, a smile beaming on their face. “I’m Akai Kudou, by the way. I'm a second year and the second in command of the club: vice president.”
“Neat, I’m Shou Suzuki.” He grinned up at them. For being younger than him, they were a good couple of inches taller.
“Oh, Kageyama-kun’s friend, right?”
Shou nodded. This was far from the first or last time he would be identified via his friendship with Ritsu (although, he couldn’t say he was necessarily upset about that).
They smiled and continued explaining what the art club had prepared and been asked to promote for the Thursday school event. They had planned a sort of flower delivery service where kids could pay a small amount of money to deliver a flower (and a note if they so decided) to another student. It could be for a friend, a lover, a crush, or anybody else so long as they attended the school. It was something simple and nice, and raised money for the school as well as the art club to allow them to do more fun things.
Aside from that project, they had been requested by the school and student council to be in charge of many of the decorations, and they intended to go all out, as told to Shou.
With some of the club money, they planned on buying most of the decorations instead of having to hand-make them all on such short notice.
That had been what Murakami and the other club members had been tasked with—collecting and buying decorations, hence why they had been talking to a few of the teachers who remained in the building after school hours.
Shou sent a quick text to Ritsu letting him know that he’d be busy and to call him when his meeting was over, making sure to add a smile emoticon for extra effect (Maybe it would make up for Shou teasing him about the supposed ‘special treatment’ he got. Call it virtual puppy dog eyes).
He wouldn’t see it until after his meeting, but it was all the same.
For now, he worked on decorating large posters with paint and markers, ignoring the small side-glances from his younger counterparts.
Eventually, one of them finally spoke up, asking a question they’d clearly all been wanting to ask: “You’re friends with Kageyama-kun? The student council chairman?”
“Uh, yeah?” Shou replied, not looking up from his task at hand.
“But isn’t he…unpleasant?” Another one of the second years (there was likely a mix of first and third years as well) had asked, keeping their head down while they worked.
That was a lame way of saying Ritsu was someone they were unfamiliar with, and had posed as an asshole.
Well, in their defense, Ritsu did have a certain school persona he put up, making sure he seemed well-kept and on top of things at all times to the public eye. But Shou wasn’t the public eye, so he knew better than anyone besides Ritsu himself that it was a front to his actual self (which Shou preferred much more than the fake personality he’d crafted).
What was left of his thoughts after traveling from brain to mouth was a very simple and stupid, “No?”
They looked among themselves, curiously raised eyebrows and tilted heads.
“You guys are so different though, so how come you’re friends?” Another spoke up. Shou felt like he was talking to a bunch of nosy grade schoolers.
“Because we’re actually not that different and because I wouldn’t leave him alone until he became my friend,” Shou furrowed his brows, continuing to direct his eyes on the poster he was painting rather than the looks he was getting.
They were silent for a moment after that, the energy tense and awkward—If they were going to prod at things that didn’t matter, they should’ve been prepared for whatever answer Shou tossed back.
A knock at the door startled some of the kids, flinching where they worked (and thankfully not messing up any of their work).
“We got decorations! We’ll be putting them up after school tomorrow,” A small group of three or four people entered the room, carrying bags of store-bought Valentine’s themed decor, Murakami leading, of course. “Shou! I’m so glad you could make it today!” She dropped the bags by the door, shuffling over to the small group of people circling the posters.
“Oh, yeah, Ritsu had a student council meeting for tomorrow’s event so I was able to stay,” He smiled, standing and brushing off his pants.
“Does your life revolve around him?” Murakami put her hands on her hips, playfully tilting her head. She was always so straight to the point, speaking her mind.
“What? No?” Shou furrowed his brows, smile exasperated.
“If he didn’t have a meeting today,” She poked a finger at his chest, “Would you have still come after school?” She teased.
“Maybe?”
She squinted at him curiously until giving up, brushing off the matter and instructing the club members on where each decoration would go. She was confident and a good leader, so it was no wonder that she was the president of the art club.
And being so, everyone got to work (Shou instructed to continue on the posters, although distracted by the off-handed comment from Murakami).
A quickly passed hour full of chatter and buzzing energy later, and Shou’s phone vibrated in his pocket, cutting off whatever train of thought he’d had that was wandering around—He couldn’t even remember what it had been. The screen on the front of his phone told him that he had a notification so, flipping it open, Shou read over a message from the one person it could be.
>>Meeting’s over. I’ll be at the gate.
Quick and to the point: oh, how Shou loved that in a man! (This had started as a running joke with his subconscious, however, over time, it had developed into much more of a truth than Shou would care to admit).
He shot back a quick thumbs up emoticon (‘d(^_^o)’) and snapped the phone shut, picking up his station with a newfound rush of excited energy.
“Your boyfriend done with student council?” Murakami (of course, because it was always her) questioned, passing Shou with a large box of streamers in her arms, dropping it on one of the pop-up tables and brushing off her hands.
“I—yeah. No?” Shou sputtered, brain catching up like a PC booting up for the first time in years.
“Well? Which is it, Suzuki-kun?” She laughed unabashedly, messing with the hairband around her wrist.
“Yes, he’s done,” Shou swung his bag over his shoulder and jogged to the doorway, “But he’s not my boyfriend!” He called out, swinging around the corner with a hold on the door’s frame and running out to meet Ritsu.
Like a dog. He’s just like a dog. Murakami thought to herself, shaking her head with a fond smile on her face. Though, she’d been so sure that they were dating…
“Ritsu!” Shou called, running out to find him sitting on the old concrete just outside of the school’s gate.
“Oh, hey—That was fast,” Ritsu frowned, standing to brush off the seat of his pants.
“I packed up my stuff quickly to not keep you waiting,” he hummed, putting his arms up behind his head in a pose natural as ever for him.
Ritsu’s mouth formed a small ‘o’ and he looked down to the concrete where he dug the toe of his sneakers into the overgrown cracks of the cement. He nodded and hummed in understanding. “How’d your thing go?” He waved his hand in a vague motion (in a mildly similar manner to Reigen, Shou noted in the back of his mind), “Whatever you had going after school.”
“Ah, it was fun! I’ve gotta do it again tomorrow though, then I’m free 24/7 all for you, Rits’!” Shou teased and laughed, skipping a couple steps ahead and turning around to walk backwards, talking to Ritsu.
Ritsu stuck his tongue out in a lame excuse of a rebuttal, not dignifying Shou’s comment with a response.
“How was the student council meeting? I bet they're keeping you busy, huh?”
“Yeah,” Ritsu frowned, “We’ve got a lot we have to do tomorrow, like everybody else getting ready for the event on Thursday…” He kicked a rock, aiming it precisely at the toe of Shou’s sneakers.
Shou dodged it, scuffing the heel of his shoes with the motion (they’d already been beaten to hell and back, so one more little scuff wasn’t all that different). “Cool. I’ll probably be busy all day tomorrow, too, preparing for Thursday and whatever,” Shou kicked the rock back at Ritsu, missing by a long shot.
Ritsu huffed a laugh, “Alright, I’ll see you in the morning and at lunch then.”
Shou nodded and hummed, skipping down the sidewalk and levitating briefly with each step.
They made idle chatter until they made it to the Kageyama residence, Ritsu inviting Shou inside to stay a while. And who was Shou to decline?
A couple of hours later, after homework, a couple games of footsie, messing with each other relentlessly, and after the sun had long since passed the horizon, Shou waved bye to Ritsu for the night, a promise to see him tomorrow on his tongue (because that would be stupid to say out loud). He climbed down from the balcony and crouched through the grass of the backyard, careful not to set off the light sensors in the yard.
Once in the clear, Shou made his way home (calling it a home was generous, but words were all the same anyway). He shuffled in through the front door, toeing off his shoes, just almost tripping over the lift in floor as he hurried to his bedroom, a trail of his shed clothes leading to his bed where Shou had practically cocooned himself in his blankets.
The sounds of shuffling somewhere distantly in another room indicated to Shou that Amma Suzuki was back from work. Presumably a shorter shift today.
“Shou?” His mother called, “You’re home?” The word was weird, and left a stinging feeling in his mouth.
“Yeah, ‘m in my room,” He called back, burying his face deep into his layers upon layers of blankets and pillows, having made an almost nest where his comforter should be.
The gentle padding of footsteps could be heard making their way to Shou’s room, slowly pushing open the door to let in a harshly contrasting strip of hallway light into the dim bedroom, where Shou hadn’t even had half the mind to even put his t-shirt somewhere he could find it tomorrow, let alone turn a light on. “Good evening, little caterpillar,” Amma Suzuki laughed behind her hand, softly patting the mass on Shou’s bed somewhere around where his back and shoulders would be.
“Good evening, mama butterfly,” Shou spoke muffled into his bedsheets, eyelids already heavy enough for him to not bother keeping them open.
“Did the Kageyama’s feed you dinner or should I heat up some leftovers?” She laughed, question playful but sincere all the same.
“Fed me,” Shou muttered.
“Good,” Amma sighed, “I really ought to thank them for feeding and housing you so often… Maybe I'll invite them to dinner,” She smiled.
“Waaahhh,” He groaned, “Nooo… I can just bring them some food, don’t make them come here…” Shou furrowed his brows. Having anybody outside of its two residences see their apartment would feel like public shaming, and maybe probably Shou’s own personal purgatory. Welcome to my little apartment that I can’t even call my home due to some complications I have yet to work through in my mind, and here’s where I live but I don’t actually, it’s just what houses me and where I shower if I haven't already used yours. It's not my home in any sense of the stupid word. Come in!
Blech, that would suck.
“...I’ll have to make something nice and we can walk it over to them, alright?” Miss Suzuki frowned, rubbing small circles into Shou’s shoulder.
Barely catching any of her sentence before drifting into a dreamless sleep, Shou muttered, nodding minutely–although more so just rubbing his face further into his pillow.
He did not dream that night.
Wednesday, the preparation day, a day in advance of the actual Valentine’s event, was incredibly chaotic. More than the student council had actually planned for, giving them more work than the few of them could handle, which had them running around frantically to get everything taken care of.
“Kageyama, could you run down to the office and…”
“Kageyama-kun, would you mind…”
“Kageyama—!”
Ritsu huffed, shutting the storage closet door behind him. It felt like everybody in the school was pulling him in every direction and he could only go one—And it wasn’t even time for lunch yet…
Shit! Ritsu totally forgot about lunch.
Typing out and sending Shou a quick message he took a deep breath and entered back into what he would sufficiently call the danger zone.
>>’Lots of student council stuff today, can’t make it to lunch. Sorry. :(‘
Shou, sitting on his knees on the floor of the art room, frowned down at his phone. He’d figured this would happen today, with everything going on, but it doesn’t make his disappointment any less. Shooting back a sad ‘okay :(’, Shou returns to his task of putting tape on the back of one of the banners that they’ll be hanging around the school.
The art club was in a similar frantic state as the Student Council, running around to get everything done before the school day was over and handling all problems that occur in between.
Finally, the bell rang and allowed everybody a break, kids swarming to get their lunch and meet their friends.
Shou shuffled his feet, taking his time to grab his lunch and walk to his and Ritsu’s spot on the roof, taking his shoes off and tucking his feet through the bars at the edge of the roof, swinging them.
“Eating all by yourself, loverboy?” A familiar voice approached, taking her seat right beside Shou, choosing to keep her legs tucked beneath her in a criss-cross sit rather than hanging over the ledge of the school.
Shou hummed, disregarding the nickname and swallowing down his bite of fish, “Ritsu’s busy today.”
“Student council?” Shou nodded. “Figures. They’re running around like chickens without heads. I feel bad for them, really,” Murakami sighed, pulling out her own lunch from a bag Shou had failed to notice at her side. “Hey, I wanted to ask you for another favor if it’s alright with you?”
Shou quirked his brow, giving her a curious look. “Depends what it is,” He pointed his fork at her.
“A little game of dress up, you could say?” Shou squints at her, “If you remember the thing we’re doing with the roses and notes and such, we need somebody to deliver those things tomorrow,” She takes a large bite of the sandwich wrapped in wax paper.
“What’s the dress-up for?” He tilted his head.
“Well, I thought it would be cute if the person delivering the roses and notes was dressed like a… cupid mailman, of sorts?” She smiled sheepishly.
Shou thought about it for a moment, considering the pros and cons of taking up Mura’s offer. “Sure. I’ll do it, so long as it doesn’t take up my free time…?”
“Oh, don’t worry about that,” She waved her hand dismissively, “It’ll be done in the morning before and during the announcements, so you’ll be free the rest of the day!”
“Oh, then in that case,” Shou nodded enthusiastically, “I’d be happy to help.”
“Great!” She beamed, clapping her hands happily. “You can drop your things off in your classroom in the morning and then head down to the art room to change, okay?”
Shou nodded, focusing his attention back on the meal in his lap. Dressing up and delivering roses like a cupid mailman sounded stupid but fun—the perfect description for something he would totally do.
“Oh, by the way,” Murakami giggled, “Your boyfriend thought I was flirting with you! I don’t even know how he got that conclusion, especially considering I have a girlfriend. He must be jealous that you hang out with somebody that’s not him, huh?” She cackled.
Shou smiled and laughed, “Yeah, that’s pretty funny of him,” He took another bite of his fish. Wait. “…Boyfriend?” He asks incredulously.
“Well…yeah?” She tilted her head in what Shou can definitely tell as genuine confusion. “You’ve really gotta be messing with me this time,” Mura pointed a finger at him.
“Murakami, we’re not dating,” Shou fought a violent blush attempting to cover his face from turning an embarrassing shade of red.
Murakami stared at him, jaw agape. “You’re serious?”
Shou nodded, eyebrows furrowing. “What gave you that impression?”
“What wouldn’t,” Mura waved her arms around in exasperation, “You two are stuck at the hip like glue. You’re never apart and your concern always lies in ‘what about Ritsu?’, ‘But what’ll Ritsu do’. You’re always touching each other and he’s always giving you those stupid soft lovey dovey eyes and you always look at him like he’s hung the fucking moon—it’s crazy! You’re obsessed with each other!” She was wide eyed and huffing, genuinely lost in how Shou could be so goddamn stupid.
The blush won against Shou’s shame and he felt like his skin was going to melt right off the bones. “I—But we’re just best friends. Best friends are physically affectionate and—and whatever with each other!” He hissed under his breath.
Murakami deadpanned at him, mouth set in a deep frown. “Shou Suzuki, you might be the stupidest man I’ve ever met, which is an impressive feat.”
Shou gaped at her (looking funnily like a goldfish, mouth opening and closing in shock). Was their behavior unusual? Did close friends not want to always be with their friend and be physically affectionate with them and always have them in mind and find them fascinating and really pretty and cool and—
Ohhh.
Oh god.
Shou was so absolutely fucked. He’d never had a friend let alone a best friend before, he’d figured everything they—he did was normal for best friends! His first and only friendship and he’d gone and ruined it! Ritsu was going to hate him…
Shou groaned and dropped his head heavily against the railing bars, burying his face in his hands.
Murakami laughed, patting him gently on the shoulder and taking another huge bite of her sandwich. “Good luck,” She spoke around a mouthful of food, “I’ve gotta head out, but i’ll see you after lunch back at the club room.” She stood, packing her remaining lunch and brushing off her skirt, making her way back down the stairs from where she’d initially come from.
“Hey, could you go take these boxes to the student council?” The vice president—Kudou—asks, dropping a stack of medium sized boxes on the table beside Shou.
“Oh, yeah, sure.” He handed the supplies he’d been using to a club member working with him, asking them to finish up for him.
Shou took the boxes from the first floor to the third, making his way up the stairs slowly so as to not spill the contents everywhere.
Around the corner Shou turned was a familiar head of black hair with dark red eyes to match, eyes getting a fraction wider before they quickly turned back around, hurrying out of view. Shou frowned, briefly picking up his pace to reach Ritsu to no avail.
The door beside him slipped open suddenly and he was met face to face with one of Ritsu’s fellow student council members. “Hey, Suzuki,” Kamoru greeted absentmindedly.
“Hey,” Shou put on a polite smile, “I’ve got boxes from the art club to give to you guys.” He raised them somewhat as if to show them, if Kamoru hadn't noticed the stack of boxes in Shou’s arms already.
He nodded and slid the door open further, pointing at a table near the back, “You can put them on that table, we can handle it from there. Thanks.”
“Alright, no problem.” He shuffled over and set them down on the aforementioned table, shaking out his arms from holding so many boxes for so long.
“Did you happen to see Ritsu in the hall on your way here? We sent him out for an errand.”
“Nah, sorry,” Shou shook his head. He couldn’t be sure that who he’d seen earlier even was Ritsu.
“That’s fine,” Kamoru nodded. “Thanks again, Suzuki.”
“Yeah, no problem again.” Shou bowed in a show of respect, albeit briefly, before making his way back to the first floor.
—
Shou was sure now that it had been Ritsu who’d been ducking around corners to avoid him, having happened several times since the initial interaction (or lack thereof?).
“Somethin’ got you down?” Murakami knocked lightly on Shou’s head. “You’re sulking here, Suzuki. Anybody home?”
Shou waved off her hands, huffing playfully. “Yeah, just thinking about something.”
Someone? Mura wondered.
“What else needs to get done before the day’s over?”
She crouched down beside him. “We need to finish hanging up the main banner for the front of the school, finish getting the deliveries ready for the morning tomorrow, and do a quick run to check if there’s anything else we missed. After that, we should be good.” She tilted her head, looking somewhere behind Shou.
“M’kay, where'd you need me?”
“If you could help me prepare the flower deliveries, that’d be wonderful! Since you’ll be the one handing them out tomorrow.” She turned back to him and smiled, folding her arms over her knees to push herself up into standing again. Shou mirrored her actions, following her to where the cart and flowers were.
“Do you have good handwriting?” She moved some of the table contents that were in the way.
“Not… particularly?”
“Okay, then I'll write the notes, and you put the deliveries together.”
Shou nodded.
Murakami explained that, in order to keep the identities hidden of those who wanted to be kept anonymous, she would be writing all the notes herself to disguise handwriting. She also explained the formatting on the log they kept for how many deliveries had a note and how many didn't.
Thirty minutes into the process, Shou noticed a huge spike in Valentine's gifts for Ritsu. He’d already gotten plenty every year that Shou had known him, but this was looking out to be a new high score. It was likely due to the anonymous system.
This did not make Shou jealous at all (it did) and it didn’t make him want to start tearing up the lame messages with barely even surface level knowledge of Ritsu (it really did).
They knew next to nothing about Ritsu and here they were trying to act all buddy-buddy and mushy with all their ‘you’re the one for me!’ and ‘I like you more than anything!’ It was all so dumb.
“Suzuki,” Murakami poked at his shoulder. “We’ve got to get these done by today, yeah?”
Shou hummed. “Yeah, yeah, I know,” he huffed out. “How many more are left?”
“Looking at the list, we’re not even halfway. Chop chop, get wrapping!” Murakami folded up another finished note and slid it into the pile of them. Shou rolled his eyes, smiling while he begrudgingly tied another note to another flower.
Sometime around the halfway point, Shou’s stomach growled loud enough for Murakami to hear it and send him to get the bag of snacks that she kept in her shoe locker. (Shou didn’t actually know if there was anything in the rules about that, but he was in no place to be questioning another person’s rule following skills, all things considered).
Of course, with his luck and some otherworldly being noticing his lack of guard and weakened state due to hunger…
“Ritsu!” He called on instinct, noticing his friend in the empty hallway.
Ritsu whipped around, clearly caught off guard by hearing his name be yelled. His expression flickered rapidly between concern and something unnamable, but soft.
Shou stood in front of him, looking up at him slightly with their difference in height. “What’s up?” He frowned, asking as a question instead of a greeting.
Ritsu’s eyes flickered quickly from Shou to the ceiling lights to the window and tiled floor and back again to Shou. He stepped forward and wrapped his friend in a hug in one fluid motion.
Shou gaped, being thrown off by this entire situation. Ritsu had been actively avoiding him all day and now he was hugging him without a word. Shou huffed and wrapped his arms around Ritsu, reciprocating the hug. He tightened his grip, holding onto Shou like if he lets go he may never see him again (which was far from the truth, they both knew. Shou would always come back to him, and Ritsu would always be there).
“Ritsu—?”
The aforementioned pulled away quickly, almost like he’d been snapped back into the present with the delicate call of his name. He gripped the sides of Shou’s arms and stared at him for a moment.
“I’ve got to go. Student Council… stuff,” Ritsu breathed. He pushed off of Shou and bolted back down the hallway and out of sight again.
Damn it, Ritsu…
Shou sighed and rubbed furiously at his face, stained red. He made his trip short, getting the snacks and going straight back to the club room.
“Hangry…?” Murakami raised a brow, noticing the heavy drop when Shou placed the bag on the table after his return.
“Yeah, something like that. How many more notes need to be written?” Shou rummaged around in the snack bag, picking something to eat that wouldn’t make his hands greasy and affect his ability to work.
Murakami frowned and checked over the list; “I’m almost done. We should be able to wrap this up in ten to fifteen minutes.”
Shou nodded, allowing a strangely easy and gentle silence to lay over the pair, broken only by the sounds of Murakami’s writing and paper folding and Shou’s eating.
They quickly wrap up all the deliveries and are able to close the room down for the day; most all other club members have already finished their tasks and left to see their friends.
Murakami twisted the lock in the door and twirled the key ring around her pointer finger, turning to face Shou and motioned for them to leave. “Thanks for helping out so much, I'm glad I asked you of all people!” She beamed.
“It’s no problem, I'm happy to lend a hand.” Shou smiled. “It’s not like I had anything else to be doing today anyway.” He put his hands in his pockets as they walked.
Murakami shrugged. “Fair enough. What’re you doing after this?” She questioned.
Shou checked his phone for any updates from Ritsu and found that he’d sent a message a couple of minutes ago.
‘I have Student Council duties afterschool, sorry. You don’t need to wait up for me.’
Shou frowned at the message, shooting back a short ‘okay’ and turned to face Murakami again. “I’m not doing anything.”
“Boyfriend busy?” Mura frowned and tilted her head.
“Ritsu’s busy. Yeah.” He huffed and smiled, ignoring the playful tease as usual.
“That’s a shame.” She twirled the key ring around her finger, thinking for a moment before she spoke again. “Wanna go somewhere? A diner or something? My treat for all your work helping the club.” She smiled, almost cat-like, but it was kinder.
Shou knew that he should probably say yes and take up the kind offer for a small meal and hangout afterschool, but he was quite frankly exhausted—physically, from the heavy lifting and labor he’d been doing all day to help out, and mentally, from whatever today had tirelessly given him to deal with.
Shou propped his arms up behind his head and smiled, “Thanks for the offer, but I'm pretty tired. I think I'm just gonna head home.” He poked his tongue into his cheek.
“Ah, that’s a shame, but I understand.” Murakami bumped her bag on her thighs with every step. “Hopefully we can hangout some other time. You’re cool, I don’t mind getting to know you.” Her smile was now catlike, but playfully so.
“Thanks. You’re pretty okay too,” he joked. “Plus, I wouldn’t mind paying for lunch anyway.”
They walked and made idle chatter until the gates, and confirmed that they had to split directions to get home. They waved goodbye and went their separate ways.
It felt wrong to walk straight to his own house, instead of walking Ritsu home and stopping for a moment to hangout. He knew the directions to Ritsu’s house from school better than he’d known the way to his own—hell, he’d known the way to Ritsu’s house from anywhere in Seasoning City; anywhere in the world and he’d be able to make it back like a stray animal. But he could just barely remember the way to his apartment from school, such an unfamiliar path to him.
He stuffed his hands in his pockets and made his way anyway, metaphorical tail tucked between his knees like he’d lost a fight, running home to his mom. He felt stupid for it all.
—
“You didn’t tell me the outfit was made for a girl…” Shou held up the dress, eyeing it curiously.
“Ah.” Murakami tapped her fingers repetitively against her jaw, chuckling sheepishly, “I must’ve forgotten that detail… but boys can wear dresses too, y’know?” She pointed out.
“What?—yah, ‘course they can. I’m talking about how it might not fit me…” Shou frowned and lowered the dress from his line of sight, scrunching his brows at Murakami.
“I’m sure it’ll fit fine no matter what—plus, you have a small frame and a good waist, so it should be fine, right?”
“Thank you?”
“Just put the damn dress on,” Murakami shoved Shou in the direction of the storage closet—the one currently in use as a dressing room. “If it doesn’t fit, don’t force it. We’ve gotta return this to somebody after today.”
“Yes ma’am,” Shou saluted playfully with two fingers, the door shutting in his face.
After some half-blind fumbling to get his uniform off and the outfit on (soon learning that it, in fact, wasn’t actually a dress, and instead was a top and skirt that went together), he managed to pull the shirt on, pulling up the skirt and buttoning it, straightening out the creased fabric and finally putting on and fastening up the waistcoat and apron, with a cheap pair of faux feathered wings strapped to the back to top off the outfit.
Shou pushed the closet doors open, stumbling slightly when he stepped out of the doors. “Does it fit fine?” He squinted, adjusting his eyes to the stark change in lighting.
Murakami looked up from the cart she was adding final details to, smiling at the sight of Shou in the getup she’d picked out. “Looks like it fits perfectly—mind if I touch the outfit just to double check?” She questioned.
“Nah,” Shou raised his arms out from his sides to allow her some room. “I don’t mind.”
She nodded and stepped closer, patting down his sides and torso and tugging gently at the cloth around the outfit to make sure it all fit well. She made sure to keep her touches light and as respectful as the situation allowed. “I don’t think there’s any necessary adjustments, it seems to fit on you pretty well,” She smiled.
Shou smiled, doing a small twirl to really play into it. “When do I have to start delivering these…?” He looked over Murakami’s shoulder as she flipped open her phone to check the time: 8:12.
“Soon. We have to wait until they start the announcements,” she explained, waving her hands as she spoke and snapping shut her phone to tuck it back into the pocket of her skirt. “Are you ready to deliver? You’ll be Salt High’s first Cupid mailman, isn’t that just the cutest title to have!”
Shou stifled a laugh, making his way to the delivery cart, “Yah yah, it’ll really tie my resume together. Everyone will wanna hire me after this.”
“Oh for sure,” she laughed, helping Shou make finishing adjustments, making sure the arrangement of flowers and notes looked as nice as they could. “You’re still sure you’re alright with doing this? We can always make quick last minute adjustments if you’ve changed your mind.” Murakami tilted her head, a genuine smile on her face.
He smiled back brightly. “I’m all good, thanks for giving me an opening to back out though, maybe you do care about your club members more than you show,” he snickered.
“Oh shut up, I always show that I care! Can’t a girl scheme a little to see a friend fluster his crush?” She shrugged.
“Huh?” Shou asked, confused. “Wait, wha—“
The bell rang, indicating that it was time for Shou to start deliveries. Murakami gently nudged him out the door with the cart, waving him off with a beaming smile overtaking her features. “Byeee, Suzuki, good luck! Art Club’s rooting for you!”
Shou playfully bared his teeth at her, flipping her off before making his way down the hallway.
—
The bell ringing was Shou’s cue to make his way around the school with the deliveries, each nicely sorted by class thanks to Murakami (who, besides teasing him relentlessly, had bowed endlessly thankful to Shou for all of his help, and especially for taking on this duty).
The first few classes were embarrassing to come in dressed how he was, catching many stares, but not letting it get to him. Many of the kids had gotten a fun kick out of it, and who was he if not an entertainer?
Most of the classes after that were easy, keeping his head high and wearing the ‘dress’ with confidence, many students (and teachers) enjoying the surprise of one of their upperclassman or fellow students (even if many of them hadn’t even known who Shou was) dressing up in a fun getup to deliver the Valentine’s deliveries from their fellow classmates.
Most of the remaining classes had been easy, except for his own. Shou sauntered in as usual, and immediately locked eyes with Ritsu. They’d always had a weird draw between them, first instinct always being to search for the other upon entering a room.
He smiled lopsidedly and turned his gaze quickly, returning to his task at hand of passing out the gifts.
Taking up a third of this class’ bundle of flowers, Shou took them to Ritsu, presenting them the same as he’d done to everybody else, desperately ignoring the blush that had made Ritsu’s face a glowing red as he took the flowers, a quiet ‘thank you’ on his lips, looking away as soon as he’d begun. Idiot, Shou thought fondly, finishing off the deliveries and continuing on to the few remaining classes.
—
After he had finished handing out the last of the flowers, Shou retreated to the restroom to change out of his outfit and back into his school uniform as quickly as possible, not wanting to be late for the main events of the day. The sound of footsteps behind him caught his attention. He turned quickly, curious who he would find, only to identify a very familiar face.
“Shou,” Ritsu sighed, face tinted a muted red.
“Hey Rits, what’s, uh. What’s up?” He raised an eyebrow, a confused smile overwhelming his features.
“I wanted to catch you before you changed back into your uniform, so I’m a little out of breath, sorry,” Ritsu laughed, embarrassed.
“Why?” Shou tilted his head, face dusting pink.
“You—I think—“ Ritsu stumbled over his words. “That getup looks pretty good on you,” he finally spit out, laughing breathily at himself.
Shou stared at him for a moment, brain catching up to the current situation. “...Are you referring to the school festival in middle school,” he asked incredulously, mouth agape.
“Maybe,” Ritsu smiled sheepishly.
Shou burst into a fit of laughter, heaving so hard he had to bend over and crouch to hold himself up, skirt of his outfit brushing the floor.
“It wasn’t that funny…” Ritsu muttered, crouching in front of Shou with a lopsided grin.
“You’re so stupid,” Shou looked up at his friend, tears in his eyes and face tinted red from laughter. He put his hand on Ritsu’s knee, grabbing for support to keep himself up. Had Shou not been wiping at the tears in his eyes with his free hand, he would’ve noticed the fond, in-awe look on his friend’s face.
“Enjoy all your Valentine’s, Rits. I’ll see you in a bit, okay?” Shou beamed, pushing himself up onto his feet once again and offering a hand to Ritsu.
“Yeah, see you,” Ritsu took the hand, pulling himself up to meet head on with Shou, stopping to look fondly at his friend. He blinked rapidly before turning away and hurrying back to the classroom.
Shou changed quickly out of the outfit and back into his uniform (or as close to the proper uniform as he wore on a normal day), making his way back to class just as they were closing out the morning announcements and ready to ring the bell. Upon entering the room, he was met with light laughter from his classmates, and whispers that he was sure were directed at him.
He slid into his chair in front of Ritsu, straddling the seat and tapping lightly on his friend’s desk. “Hey,” he smiled.
Ritsu looked up from his phone and flipped it shut with a snap. “Hey,” he beamed back.
Shou took note of the way Ritsu acted like yesterday was totally normal for them both. He’d let it slide for now, but wrote down a mental reminder to confront him about it later
“Are you ready for today?” Shou tapped his foot excitedly. Like a rabbit, Ritsu noted absentmindedly.
Ritsu put his head down onto the desk, resting his chin on his folded arms. “Yeah. Where d’you wanna go first?” He raised an eyebrow curiously. “There’s a couple food stalls if you’re hungry?”
Shou pulled at the loose threads of Ritsu’s gakuran, tugging on them until Ritsu batted at his hand. “Nah, it’s too early to be hungry. How about we stop by one of the stands with sweets? We could share something if you wanted.”
“Yah,” Ritsu smiled. “Whatever you wanna do is fine by me.”
Shou nudged him with his elbow, “Cool.” He laughed as he stood and stretched his arms high above his head, listening to the little clicks and pops of his joints. Ritsu winced at the sound. “Let’s go find a festival games booth, I think I heard something about class 2-B having a dunk tank.” Shou smiled his signature cat-like grin.
“It’s class 2-A, but yeah. I hope you know I'm gonna win, though. I was a sub-in for the baseball pitcher in middle school gym, big deal y’know,” Ritsu teased, knocking Shou with his shoulder as they stood.
“Yeah, yeah, mister ‘Professional Athlete’,” Shou motioned with air quotes, “That’s nothing. It’s kiddie stuff. Y’ever knock a ball straight outta the country?”
Ritsu skipped a step ahead, narrowly missing Shou’s hip-check. “You’re so full of yourself,” he joked, rolling his eyes.
“Race you!” Shou ignored his friend’s comment, practically disappearing in a glow of orange, faint trails of his aura lingering.
Ritsu swore under his breath before following, fighting between indulging in his friend’s stupid antics, and maintaining that perfect mask people knew him by. Shou always made him want to break the rules.
—
With the sun dipping just below the treeline, and the air getting cooler, Shou tugged Ritsu to the front gates of the school, lazily draping an arm over his shoulder and leaning far into his space (what had been re-learned as Ritsu-and-Shou’s-space). Ritsu went along with him easily.
“I’m exhausted. Who knew working hard for three days would drain all the energy out of you? How strange.” Shou slumped exaggeratedly, hiding a small, playful smile in Ritsu’s shoulder.
“Wow. Who knew working hard 24/7 made you tired? Not like I would know anything about that.” Ritsu rolled his eyes, tugging on the ends of Shou’s jacket where he now rested his arm over his waist.
“Yeah, not like the student council does any work.”
Ritsu elbowed him hard. Shou let out a pained groan and knocked his head lightly into his friend’s. “Yeah, deserved. I’m just messin’ with you, Ritsu!”
“Make it up to me by folding my laundry when we get home, loser,” Ritsu smiled. Home. Ritsu using the words ‘we’ and ‘home’ together, referring to himself and Shou. When they got home. Their home? This wasn’t the first time Ritsu had said these words, but it was the first time Shou was really thinking about it—how casually Ritsu referred to his house as their home, as if it were second nature, like Shou had really belonged there. The hand hovering over his waist squeezed gently, dragging Shou from his thoughts. “Shou?” Ritsu questioned softly.
“Ah, of course.” Shou shook his head, laughing at himself, “I—Wait, what’d’ya said?”
Ritsu smiled, shaking his head with a smile on his lips, “I said that you could make it up to me by doing my laundry when we get home.” There were those words all together again. Shou beamed, flashing his unnaturally sharp canines and the small gap in his crooked front teeth.
“Sure, whatever you want, Ricchan, I’ll do it when we get home.” He wrapped his arm tighter over the other’s shoulder and dragged him home, taking little leaps with small bursts of psychic energy, Ritsu gripping tighter to his waist, his hand brushing against the slip of bare skin from where Shou’s shirt rode up. Shou pressed closer to Ritsu.
—
The simple and repetitive motion of folding clothes kept Shou’s hands occupied and his brain quieter than its usual constant noise. The only other sounds being the gentle droning hum of Ritsu’s oscillating fan, and his long-winded tirade about a new student council club member while he layed belly-down on his comforter. Always something from that club to sour his friend’s mood. But in fairness, Shou found the sound of his voice soothing no matter the topic, and the deep furrow between his brows to be quite amusing (and pretty cute, if he was being honest. Which he’d rather not be).
“And he keeps butting into the conversation as if he’s a higher up. As if!” Ritsu rolled to lay on his back and threw his arms out in exasperation, “It’s not as if he joined this year as a first year, totally. When you have the critical thinking skills of a toddler and an IQ of 10, no shit, no one wants to listen to your stupid ‘ideas’,” he threw up air quotes before laying his arms over his stomach.
Shou snickered into the coral colored hoodie in his hands. It smelled like Ritsu.
“Whatever. Who even cares, it’s not like I've been in student council since first year of middle school and breaking my back for that stupid club.” He let out a puff of air, blowing a chunk of his bangs out of his face and over to hang upside-down with the rest.
His face was tinting a reddish color due to the blood rushing to his head. Shou shuffled over on his knees, lifting Ritsu’s head with both palms until he was hunched over his lap, upright. Shou smiled as Ritsu turned around with a questioning look on his face. “Blood going to your head. ‘M worried you’ll pass out.”
“Ah,” Ritsu rubbed at his forehead absentmindedly. “Thanks, maybe you’d be a better Cupid nurse than me.” He smiled playfully, a shit-eating grin overtaking his features. Shou leaned over the edge of the bed, getting as close to the other as their positions would allow.
“I already played the part of Cupid’s little mailman, and you still want more?” Shou sat up further, practically crawling up onto the bed.
“Wouldn’t hurt, y’know, dolling you up in another dress,” Ritsu snarked, leaning forwards ever so slightly, their magnetic pull always in action.
Shou’s face tinged a soft layer of pink, light enough to go unnoticed by an untrained eye (though Ritsu’s eyes had long been trained to Shou). “You’re such a loser. I already did my time, it’s your turn to dress up in some cheesy Cupid getup and walk up to every kid in the school.”
“Aw,” Ritsu cooed, pressing closer, enough for their foreheads to touch, “Is Suzuki-kun embarrassed?” He teased. Shou pushed ahead with his head, shoving Ritsu back onto the bed with the force.
“As if,” He stood now, laughing, ”Shou Suzuki doesn’t get embarrassed!” He propped his fists on his hips, towering over a grumpy Ritsu rubbing at his sore forehead. They both ignored the red flush of Shou’s face.
“Yeah, yeahhh, whatever you say,” Ritsu kicked at the other’s legs; Shou just barely dodged, bouncing his way over to the window while he laughed.
“Your mom’s gonna call you for dinner soon.” Shou slid open the rarely-locked window, wincing at the creak and groan of the old wood, “Bye, Ricchan! C’ya tomorrow!” He made his way out the designated ‘Shou front door.’
Ritsu sat up, scrunching up his nose (So cute.) watching Shou stumble on the window ledge. “Bye, Suzuki. I hope it thunderstorms on your way home.” A disguised way of saying ’Get home safe,’ because being so soft was far too vulnerable.
“Yup, and I hope lightning strikes your house when I leave.” ‘Goodnight, sleep well.’ They were so lame.
—
Laying in bed, staring at the ceiling, and thinking about all the little habits of Ritsu was not his plan for tonight, or ever, but here Shou was, doing just that. Thinking about the way he talked when he got invested, prattling off little annoyances and talking with his hands, his dark hair swaying along with his movements.
The way he looked with his brows furrowed, a constant mask of cute annoyance that melted right off when he turned to Shou. The way he always found Shou in a room, eyes drawn like they were two stars orbiting each other. How he could always read what Shou would say or do next, their ability to communicate without words almost impeccable.
They were always bound to end up side-by-side, hip-to-hip, tripping over each other’s feet and knocking shoulders together.
Shou sat up abruptly, clutching the fabric over his chest, heaving oxygen like he couldn’t get enough into his lungs. His gut clenched and his heart felt like it was a ticking time bomb ready to burst through his ribs. He was overwhelmed with a painful amount of affection surging through his body, like he was going to trip a fuse if he didn’t tell someone about the lethal levels of adoration he held for Ritsu, his best friend. His best friend who was so totally going to chew his head off for waking him up so late with his stupid impulsivity again, Shou realized already half out the window.
Ah, it didn’t really matter anyway, did it? Shou could always smooth out the furrow between Ritsu’s brows anyways. The real problem lay in his response to Shou’s… Well, it was pretty much to be a confession, wasn’t it? Bursting into his room at three in the morning and word vomiting about how much he liked him—it’s not the ideal way someone would drop a confession, but it’s not like Shou and Ritsu have ever really done anything ‘the normal way.’
All things considered, Ritsu was more likely to ignore Shou’s confession and just demand he be quiet than outright cut contact and kick him out. Because they’d already acted like a couple, according to a handful of their classmates, and neither of them had ever noticed.
Or, perhaps Ritsu had, and instead of mentioning to Shou that he was in on some big class-wide joke too, he turned his face and blushed into his palm. That was a thought Shou liked much better, the image of Ritsu shyly hiding his face like a schoolgirl at the thought of people misunderstanding their relationship as something more romantic than it was.
In Shou’s defense, he’s never had a friend, let alone a friend his age, and he’s pretty sure Ritsu hasn’t either, so who are their classmates to decide what was normal for them? If Shou wanted to stare and admire his best friend’s face and minute mannerisms, sit by Ritsu’s side forever and tuck his face into his shoulder, drape over him for so long that they fused together, then who was going to stop them?
Shou’s face burned, staring up at the balcony door of Ritsu’s bedroom. His seemingly unending stream of stupidly, corny thoughts about Ritsu cut off by his sooner-than-realized arrival at the latter’s house. He pulled himself up over the ledge, gently sliding open the door and blindly fumbling his way to Ritsu’s bed (a path long since engraved in his brain).
Shou crawled up the bed on his knees and laid himself down heavily on top of his friend, letting out an ‘oof’ at the force. “Ritsu!” Shou whisper-yelled into the dark room, stretching his arms out like a cat. Jeez, Rits was such a heavy sleeper. Although, listening to the slow rise and fall of his chest was soothing, a comfort he revels in when he spends the night, listening close to see if he can hear the muffled tha-thump, tha-thump, tha-thump, of Ritsu’s heart. Shou was kind of on a mission right now though.
He wriggled closer, pressing into Ritsu’s space, staring with big, unblinking eyes. “Ritsuuuu!” Shou sing-songed in a soft voice.
“Ritsu! Rits! Ricchan!” Shou barked, knocking his forehead lightly into the other’s.
His eyes blinked open slowly, tiredly. He squinted groggily up at Shou and sighed loudly, more dramatic than necessary. “Why are you here, Suzuki…” He groaned, moving a fist out from beneath the covers to rub at his eyes. So fucking cute.
“I need to tell you something.” Shou was practically vibrating with the energy coursing through his body, a nauseating mix of excitement and nerves. He tugged lightly on the collar of Ritsu’s sleep shirt, fidgeting with the soft, worn material.
“It couldn’t have waited until tomorrow?” He yawned.
“No. It’s important right now. I might die if I don’t tell you now.”
Ritsu’s face scrunched into its signature furrowed brow look. He shuffled until he had both hands free now, and looped them through and around the back of Shou’s shoulders, playing mindlessly with the hairs at his nape. “Spit it out then,” he spoke softly, much softer than Shou was expecting. His fingers twitched where they messed with Ritsu’s shirt.
Ritsu yawned again, expectantly.
Shou barreled forwards. “I like you. Like I'm pretty sure I'm crazy head over heels for you. Like a stupid kind of ‘I want to fuse souls with you’ but ‘actually maybe they’re already fused together’ kind of way. Maybe. But that’s just my two cents. Sorry,” He laughed, voice strained.
“Wha— Jesus, you’re dumb, Shou.” Ritsu huffed groggily, tugging him closer and pulling him around to lay beside him rather than on top of him.
Shou was getting weirdly mixed messages, but the response was so…Ritsu. “Cut a man some slack will you? I feel like my heart’s about to burst straight out my chest and stain your walls with little chunks of me.”
“Gross, Shou,” Ritsu groaned, pressing his forehead to Shou’s. “I like you too. I’ve had a big stupid crush on you for ages. You’re just really, really oblivious.”
Shou squawked indignantly.
Ritsu continued, “But it’s whatever. I didn’t mind because we already act like a couple, people say. Always together, attached at the hip; where one is, the other isn’t far behind, blah blah blah.” Ritsu yawned into his palm, shyly hiding his deep red cheeks behind it.
“Well…” Shou paused, “Yeah. That’s just how we are, dude. It’s me and you. We’re Shou and Ritsu, Ritsu and Shou. We come as a pair or not at all. I like it that way.”
Ritsu nodded in agreement, their bangs tangling together.
“But yesterday—“
“I’m getting there,” Ritsu groaned, squeezing his eyes shut. “I was… I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have done that. I have an explanation but it doesn’t excuse my behaviour. That was really shitty of me, I’m sorry—I was just… Agh!
“I’m really sorry for ignoring you, I just got really overwhelmed with… how much I like you… so much so that I could barely function. And… and I didn’t want you to think I was weird or… or whatever, or to make you uncomfortable if I did something because everytime I looked at your stupid face my heart started beating funny and I wanted to touch you. I don’t know, I wanted to press so close together that we just… melted into one.
“And—and I was kind of jealous you were hanging out with Murakami, I’m sorry. I’m not used to you hanging around someone else and I know it sounds stupid but I feel terrible for it. And I thought she was hitting on you and at first I was frustrated but then I just got frustrated at myself for acting so stupid and… ugh, I’m so sorry. Did you know she actually has a girlfriend? Yeah, she told me when I asked her about you, good for her. Major ‘whoops’ on my part.” Ritsu sighed heavily, inhaling the oxygen he had been talking away. His skin was uncomfortably warm and clammy. Shou gaped at him like a fish, mouth opening and closing.
“What the fuck?” His voice was tight, throat dry and words breathless. “You—Ah?” Shou’s brain felt like it had totally blue-screened and was very slowly working on rebooting all systems.
“Yeah… whatever. Take your shoes off, I’m tired,” Ritsu huffed. Bastard.
Shou shuffled awkwardly, not wanting to get too far from Ritsu as he kicked his shoes off and listening to their dull thump against the carpeted floor. Ritsu lifted the covers and beckoned Shou to stay, a wordless ’Stay with me tonight. Stay with me forever. He’s squinting and his eyes don’t look totally focused. Shou almost felt bad for keeping him up at such an unnatural hour.
“You… you’re more of an idiot than I am. By a long shot, Rits,” Shou huffed, wiggling his way beneath the covers. He presses his face close to Ritsu’s, their faces nose-to-nose, breaths mixing as one. As they were always intended to be. “I love you. You’re so stupid. I love you so much. You give me cuteness aggression and I hope you get struck by lightning.”
“Romantic,” Ritsu muttered, rolling his eyes with a blush-stained smile on his face.
“I don’t think you’re weird by the way. It’s important to me that you know I don’t think you’re weird. In the bad way at least—like I totally think you’re super weird in the cool and awesome loser way. But you could never make me uncomfortable, like I seriously think we’re cosmically entwined. I’m obsessed with you.”
Ritsu closed his eyes for a moment, seemingly overwhelmed by the rush of emotions. He opened them just as quickly, not wanting to take his eyes off of Shou for too long. “Yeah,” he breathed, “I’m obsessed with you, too.” He sounded breathless.
Shou beamed, like actually, really glowed in the dark encompassed bedroom. Ritsu squinted but smiled despite the blinding light. They pressed closer, closer still. Arms wrapped, tangled, tightly around the other, noses pressed into each other's skin, eyelashes fluttered together. A silent, mutual want to become as closely intertwined as physics would allow them to be.
“Mura told me by the way. She told me about your misunderstanding and she was so shocked when I said you weren’t my boyfriend. Like, genuine, jaw-agape type shocked. You’re so funny, going around ready to bite off anyone’s head who talks to me,” Shou giggled, squeezing gently where his hands rested around Ritsu’s back, across his shoulder blades.
Ritsu yawned and tucked his face into Shou’s neck. “Okay, Shou.” His words dripped with affection.
Shou sighed, exhaustion finally sweeping over him heavily. They let the silence settle over them comfortably, listening to the rhythmic hum of the oscillating fan and the soft click of its old gears. The wind rustled the trees, a soothing sound as faint shadows were casted across the carpet, the comforter, distorting slightly over the gentle rise and fall of Ritsu’s back.
“Shou?” The gentle voice brought the aforementioned out of a half-asleep daze he hadn’t even realized he’d been lulled into, or how long it’d been since the walls heard them speak.
“Rits,” Shou murmured against the thin skin of Ritsu’s neck.
“Why didn’t you say anything today?” He hummed.
Shou rolled the question around in his head, pulling words out of the dictionary in his brain slowly like taffy. “I only realized it a couple days ago. And plus, a Valentine’s Day anniversary would be lame…” He pulled back, just enough to make eye contact with Ritsu. “You could’ve said something too, y’know?” Shou’s voice was teasing.
Ritsu’s face was a subtle shade of pink only growing darker, no better than Shou’s own skin. “Shut up. I was too distracted by how much I liked you. I wasn’t thinking straight…” Ironic. No thoughts in my head were straight either.
The air was still for a moment, their sleepy brains running slower than usual. Shou was certain the loud and obnoxious beating of his heart could be heard in the silence, the amount of cuteness aggression he was feeling was quite frankly absurd.
“…Also you looked really good in that dress,” Ritsu hummed and squeezed Shou’s waist softly, his warm palms felt nearly like they would burn right through the fabric of Shou’s t-shirt.
He huffed a laugh, pressing closer, closer again. “Okay, idiot.” They nuzzled their noses together affectionately, their lips just barely brushing over each other, a split-second flash of electricity cemented the occurrence as more than just Shou’s wishful imagination.
“Maybe you’re a pretty good Cupid after all,” Ritsu whispered into a laugh. “Shooting me straight through the heart…”
Shou snickered and gently shoved his friend’s face away (and pulling him back in just as quick), “Jeez, Rits, you’re so lame. Why do the girls like you at all?” He jokingly gagged.
“I don’t know,” he rolled his eyes. “They deserve better than some snarky, second-in-charge of student counseling.”
“Oh, but I don’t? I see how it is.” Shou gripped Ritsu tighter, curling around him further, laughing.
“You’ve seen the loser behind that facade and here you are nonetheless. You built these standards brick by brick, Suzuki.”
“Okay, and that loser wants me just as bad, so we’re both losers. Now what?” He tugged gently at the ends of Ritsu’s hair, fidgeting mindlessly like Rits always let him.
“I think, mathematically, it cancels out and makes neither of us losers.” Ritsu poked at Shou’s shin with his socked foot.
“Isn’t that multiplication? Shouldn’t we count as addition?”
“Can you shut up and go to bed?”
“Whatever you say, Ricchan.”
Ritsu giggled, nipping at Shou’s shoulder. An indication to quiet down and sleep. Shou complied easily, falling quickly back into his half-awake stupor. His eyes fell shut, soothed easily by the swaying shadows alongside the little bursts of air when the fan would turn their way.
—
Binary Stars – A binary star or binary star system is a system of two stars that are gravitationally bound to and in orbit around each other. [...] Binary stars in the night sky that are seen as a single object to the naked eye are often resolved as separate stars using a telescope [...]
If components in binary star systems are close enough, they can gravitationally distort each other's outer stellar atmospheres. In some cases, these close binary systems can exchange mass, which may bring their evolution to stages that single stars cannot attain (ie; becoming black holes).