Ring. Ring. Ring.

Masamune Takano's phone rings and ruins his focus for what has to be the third time in as few minutes. 'Again?' His eyebrow twitches in irritation. He's honestly getting ready to chuck the device out the nearest window.

"What does she want?" He hisses under his breath. The woman persistently contacting him knows that he has absolutely no desire to speak with her. He'd told her as much, but clearly, she does not care.

Which isn't too surprising; she never had cared much for his wishes, after all.

"-kano. Takano!"

Masamune sighs at the familiar voice that cuts through his thoughts, and has no problem ignoring his phone in favor of directing his attention to look at his much more appealing boyfriend.

Ritsu frowns. Clearly, he does not share the sentiment. "If you're going to continue receiving personal calls at work, at least put your phone on silent," he says peevishly.

'Well well, look who's getting bold.'

Masamune allows a smile to flicker across his face. He has a certain hobby you see, and Ritsu has just given him the perfect opportunity to indulge in it. "Oh, and why should I do that?"

Ritsu; naive, sweet, workaholic Ritsu, is adamant about keeping "professional distance" between the two of them while they're at work.

Masamune is adamant about not keeping "professional distance".

It's quite enjoyable making his dear Ritsu lose his oh-so-strict composure at places other than home. It's his own fault, really. He's just far too enticing when he's flustered. Case in point…

"Because it's annoying," Ritsu snaps sternly, but his face is traitorously turning a conspicuous red.

'Way too easy.' Masamune carefully keeps his expression as neutral as possible.

"Could it be that you're jealous?"

"What?" Predictably, Ritsu's eyes widen before narrowing warningly. "Of course not!"

"I understand," Masamune continues as if he hadn't heard anything. " But I promise, no matter how many admirers I have, my heart will always belong only to you."

Ritsu's face turns even redder, and he sputters incoherently for e few moments.

"Wow." Kisa snickers openly. "How romantic."

This causes the entire Emerald Team to break into laughter, sans Ritsu of course.

Masamune finally cracks, and he laughs the hardest of all. He greatly appreciates the fact that everyone seems to mutually find amusement in teasing his boyfriend. He knows when enough is enough though, and he doesn't want to risk getting banished to the couch again, so he gets back to work.

Masamune's cell phone's repeated ringing goes completely forgotten; along with the words on its screen that make his stomach churn.

Missed calls: 18

'I'm. So. Tired.'

Ritsu Onodera wearily rubs his eyes. He's exhausted, but right now he has one objective, and one objective only: to take a bath before Masamune gets home. Time is of the essence!

Okay, that all seems a little overdramatic, but there's a good reason. You see, every once in a while, (translation: far more often than he will ever admit), Masamune uses… advanced persuasive tactics, in order to coerce Ritsu into letting them bathe together. Usually, he doesn't mind too terribly much. But today Masamune pissed him off, so it's not happening.

'Serves that jerk right,' he thinks pettily. Now if you'll excuse him, he has a nice, relaxing bath to take. Alone!

"Excuse me."

Ritsu isn't really paying attention, so it takes him a few moments to realize that the clipped voice that he heard is speaking to him.

"Excuse me," the voice says again after failing to receive a response. It sounds notably more irritated now.

'Please don't.' Ritsu stifles a groan. He really doesn't want to interact with anyone right now. But curse his manners, he doesn't have a choice.

"Hello. Is there something I can help you with?" He plasters a smile on his face and turns to see who the hell wants to talk to him so badly.

It's a woman. Ritsu's not a good judge of age, but she looks as if she's in her late forties. Her hair is brown, and stick straight. The suit she's wearing is impressively pristine, like it's never been worn before. She also looks familiar for some reason, but Ritsu can't quite put his finger on who she reminds him of.

"I'm looking for my son," she announces, and Ritsu feels another stab of recognition when he sees her hazel eyes. "I know that he lives in this building. Can you direct me to the elevators?" Her voice is all cool professionalism. It's clear that this woman is used to getting what she wants.

"Sure." Ritsu nods. It's a simple enough request, but he does think it's a little weird that her son didn't come to get her himself. And he still can't shake the nagging suspicion that he knows this woman. "They're right this way."

"Thank you," she says curtly, following him around the corner to the elevators. "Honestly, that boy has no manners," she frowns as she hits the button to summon the elevator.

Ritsu is severely confused until he realizes that she's talking about her son. He really doesn't know how to respond to that, but luckily the arrival of the elevator saves him. The doors close behind them silently. "Do you know what floor he lives on?"

The woman nods. "I believe his apartment is on the fifteenth floor.

'No way.'

"Really? That's where I live too." Ritsu smiles politely. "I just got here from work, so this was really perfect timing. I was going there now," he says as he pushes the button that will take them to the desired floor.

"I see. What a coincidence." Her tone does not betray any surprise. "What is it exactly that you do for work?"

"Well…" Ritsu hides his grimace. "I used to be a literature editor, but due to certain circumstances, I ended up transferring. Don't ask me how, but I somehow ended up becoming a shoujo manga editor." Yeah, he still isn't quite used to having to explain that yet.

"Shoujo manga?" The woman repeats skeptically.

"Yes ma'am," Ritsu nods.

"What a juvenile genre."

The dismissive haughtiness in that statement takes Ritsu aback. Sure, manga was definitely not his first choice, but he likes his job quite a bit, thank you very much; people he doesn't know insulting it does not sit well with him.

The elevator stops, and the doors open. She steps off first, and Ritsu follows; keeping a bit more distance between them now. He kind of hopes that she'll start walking in the other direction now, but of course she falls into step with him, and they walk down the hallway together.

'I guess her son's apartment is this way too. How lucky.' Ritsu sneaks a glance at her out of the corner of his eye. Her eyebrows are furrowed on thought, and her hazel eyes are distant. The expression makes his heart jump because he's seen it before. He knows this woman; he just can't figure out how. 'I'm acting ridiculous. I've never met her in my life.'

Ritsu is ready to pass this whole strange experience off as his tired mind playing tricks on him when he comes to a stop outside the front of his apartment.

But then the woman stops as well.

"Um, did you still need help?" Ritsu definitely has no desire to provide any further assistance to this rude, and awfully familiar woman, but again: manners.

"No, I'm fine. Thank you for taking me all this way. You can go home now." She nods once stiffly. "This is his place, so I'll just stay here and wait for him to get home," she says matter-of-factly.

Ritsu hesitates and tries to think of a nice way to explain that this is his house; that she has the wrong address, when suddenly a puzzle piece falls into place in his mind.

'No way.' His stomach weighs heavily with suspicion, and he thinks he's finally realized who this woman is. But he asks anyway, just to make sure.

"Um, if you don't mind me asking, exactly what is your son's name?"

The answer is already painfully obvious to him though, and now the only thing he can't figure out is how the hell it took him so long to put it together. Those hazel eyes, and that far away expression? He felt like he has seen them before because he had seen them before; just on a different face.

"Well, I suppose he goes by Takano now, but it really should be Saga," the woman states grudgingly. "His given name is Masamune."

Any doubts Ritsu had left over are blown away with a force that leaves him feeling lightheaded.

"Why, do you know him?" She asks sharply.

'Yeah, you could say that.' They know each other quite intimately at this point, but like hell is he about to explain that to her.

Masamune's mother.

Yeah, he needs a second to process that.

From what Masamune has told him about her, which is not very much, he has the vague feeling that he should run away as fast as he can.

Strangely, rather than panicking, Ritsu's first thought is more along the lines of Well, there goes my bath.

What a shame. It had sounded so nice too.

There isn't exactly a protocol for dealing with this type of situation; so Ritsu does what any rational person would do when faced with the somewhat rude mother of the man you're in love with ends up quite literally at your doorstep.

"Would you like some tea, or maybe coffee?"

Okay, so that probably wasn't the best option, but cut him a break! He doesn't know what else to do.

"No." The woman, whose name is apparently Kotoko, says firmly from where she's currently sitting primly on the couch. "I would like to know why you have a key to my son's apartment."

It's the second time he's been asked about that, and Ritsu still does not have an acceptable answer to give her.

I'm dating your son, and we've been living together for a long time. Which is something you would know if you'd ever bothered to visit him?

Strangely it doesn't seem like that explanation would go over very well. But It's the truth at least, and a tinge of bitterness fills him on Masamune's behalf.

'I need to warn him.'

Masamune has never spoken about his parents much, except for in throwaway lines that had painted a grim picture of his less than ideal childhood.

But Ritsu vividly remembers one instance in which a rare exception had been made: when his apparently not biological father had passed away. His expression had been… awful. Lost, betrayed, hurt. He'll be damned if he lets anyone make Masamune feel like that ever again. Even if it's his own mother.

"I… I'm not the right person to explain that to you. He's the one you should ask. But with all due respect, I think it would be best if you waited, and maybe you should leave, and come back another time. I don't think Masamune knows you're here and-"

Kotoko stands abruptly, and her previously calm and detached features are now twisted with fury. "Excuse me?"

Ritsu flinches. "I just meant-"

"How dare you speak to me like that. I don't know who you think you are, but you have no right to tell me when to leave my own son's home," she says icily.

Ritsu shivers and holds his hands up in a gesture of peace. "Ma'am please, that's not what I was saying. I only-"

"Listen here young man, I-"

Their voices must have risen at some point because neither of them hears the door open.

"What the hell is going on in here?"

Ritsu freezes, and his and Kotoko's shouts die out instantly.

"Masamune…" Ritsu isn't sure if his voice is actually loud enough to be heard, but it must be, considering that Masamune turns to look at him. His eyebrows are furrowed in confusion, and his eyes are full of questions.

Kotoko is more than happy to interrupt with more questions of her own. "There you are. Where have you been?" She demands.

When he sees her, it's like he sees a ghost. Masamune exhales sharply like he's just been punched in the stomach. "Mother?"

Kotoko doesn't give him the opportunity to recover from his shock. "Why haven't you returned any of my calls? And who on earth is this disrespectful boy that has your house key?" It's practically an interrogation.

Ritsu cringes. True, he doesn't really care about what this woman thinks of him, all things considered, but still.

Masamune blinks a few times, attempting to gather his wits. "Mother, what are you doing here?" His voice holds genuine bewilderment.

"How impertinent," Kotoko says, clearly offended. "Isn't it normal for a mother to visit her son every once in a while?"

'What bullshit.' Ritsu knows for a damn fact that she has never just "dropped in for a visit". He bites his tongue, carefully keeping his protests in check.

"No." Masamune shakes his head. "Not when it's you," he says bluntly. "I haven't heard from you in… in so long. I thought you dialed the wrong number when my phone showed that you were calling me."

Ritsu's heart aches painfully at the confession. He adds another bullet to his list of Reasons he hates Kotoko Saga. He's starting to run out of room.

"What? That's hardly fair," Kotoko says defensively. "You know how busy I am."

Masamune sighs heavily, and the sound goes straight to Ritsu's chest. "Yes, I am very aware. But you've been busy for the last twenty-eight years. What makes today any different?" His voice is completely void of emotion now.

Kotoko's stoic facade cracks for just a moment, and she winces like she's the one that's hurt. But then the mask slides right back into place.

Ritsu's heart breaks clean in half, and he reaches a hand out towards Masamune. He's not sure what he's going to do, but he needs to do something.

Kotoko's face twists into a scowl. "Why are you still here?" She demands.

Ritsu jolts at the unwanted return of her attention and brings his hand back to his side at lightning speed.

"I don't appreciate nosy people," Kotoko informs him. "I am his mother, but you're not family. This has nothing to do with you. I think you should leave."

"I…" Ritsu's pulse pounds annoyingly in his ears.

'I have no idea what to do in this kind of situation.' But he does know that there's no way in hell he's going anywhere unless Masamune tells him to.

"I'm sorry, but I can't do that."

Kotoko's pale cheeks color slightly with outrage at being defied. "You have a lot of nerve," she says harshly; it's clearly not meant as a compliment.

'No, I really don't.'

"Hey, leave him out of this," Masamune commands sharply. "I'll admit that you're right about one thing: this is between you and me. I don't appreciate people insulting my boyfriend. Especially you."

Well, that's certainly one way to reveal a relationship. Ritsu's eyes widen, and his breath gets caught somewhere in the back of his throat.

Kotoko appears to have a similar reaction. "Pardon me?"

Masamune simply crosses his arms over his chest and raises an eyebrow in challenge. Ritsu can practically hear him saying You heard me.

"Exactly how long has this been going on?" She shouts incredulously.

"I've been in love with him since high school," Masamune shugs; a contradiction to his hard, unapologetic tone. "It's kind of a defining characteristic of mine."

Not for the first time, and most likely not for the last, Ritsu wonders how he can say things like that so shamelessly. Not that he minds really…

Kotoko shakes her head vigorously and begins pacing back and forth.

Ritsu thinks it's the most human trait she's shown all day.

Kotoko shakes her head for the final time. "No, that's impossible," she says it like an indisputable fact. "I remember very well that in high school you always kept to yourself. You knew you were too smart to associate with those heathens," she says matter of factly.

Disgust curls in the pit of Ritsu's stomach and the back of his throat suddenly tastes like bile. 'Does she honestly think that little of him?' Reason number… okay, he lost count of reasons to dislike Masamune's mother a long time ago, but he assures you it's a very long list.

Masamune scoffs and laughs humorlessly. "I almost forgot how shallow you are. Thanks for the reminder. Although I suppose you aren't completely wrong." He smiles scornfully. "I did choose not to interact with many people back then. But not for the reasons you think."

Ritsu doesn't realize that he's been holding his breath in anticipation until his lungs begin to scream at him.

"I avoided them because they were always so damn happy. Not because I thought I was too good for them," Masamune scoffs. "It freaked me out because I didn't understand how it was possible for anyone to be cheerful all the time. It was weird. I would have been perfectly content never speaking to any of them."

The confession drives a knife into Ritsu's stomach painfully, but it eases slightly when Masamune glances towards him, and his "smile" softens into something far more genuine.

"But then I met the weirdest one of all."

'He's talking about me, isn't he?' Ritsu's not sure if he should take that as a compliment or an insult. He'll worry about it later.

"There was this one kid, who was always so ridiculously happy whenever he saw me." Masamune grins knowingly at Ritsu as his face turns red. "It never made any sense, and even now, I still don't get it. How someone like me could be responsible for another person's happiness like that."

Kotoko draws in a breath like she wants to object, but shock must have made her voice abandon her because she doesn't say anything.

Ritsu vaguely wishes that she'll keep saying nothing.

"But I'm grateful."

Ritsu's chest does a flip at the honesty and what even he can only describe as pure love on Masamune's face.

"Because if I hadn't met him, I honestly don't know where I'd be right now. He was the only thing that kept me sane when you and dad would fight so loudly the neighbors called the police."

Kotoko winces guiltily.

'I had no idea that I was capable of affecting him so much back then either.'

Ritsu is completely gobsmacked, to put it unpleasant mixture of anger, sadness, and… protectiveness(?), churns in his stomach. A fundamental fact that he had come to accept about Masamune, was that the man did not talk much about his past; something that both relieved and confused him to no end, but now he thinks he understands why.

'I promise, I'll never let anyone hurt you, or make you feel like that ever again.' Ritsu vows silently to himself. His heart flips again when he notices that Masamune is suddenly looking directly at him. He swears that man can read his mind.

"At this point, he's more family to me than anyone else," Masamune declares firmly.

Yet another flutter in his chest. 'He can't say things like that without warning me!' Ritsu spares some hope that his face isn't as red as it feels, but with his luck, he's sure it is.

"And I don't particularly care if you have a problem with it. But if you do, then I think you should just go."

A tense silence falls over the room.

'Please say something. Anything.' Ritsu mentally begs Kotoko. He's already lost any and all semblance of respect for her, but she's still Masamune's mother. He doesn't want to be the cause of any further estrangement between the two.

The uncomfortable quiet stretches on, and on, and on until it's finally shattered.

Ring. Ring. Ring.

Kotoko's sighs as her cellphone screams for attention.

'Don't answer it. Can't you see that you have more pressing matters at the moment?'

Masamune's face is carefully blank as he watches to see what his mother will do, and Ritsu would be lying if he said he wasn't doing the same.

'Please, just this once, put your son first.'

Kotoko looks back and forth between her phone and her son. There's some obvious symbolism hiding behind the choice she now has to make, but the ringing continues, and for a minute, it looks like she'll make the right one.

She doesn't.

Ritsu's heart sinks to somewhere around his feet when she grabs her phone and takes the call with an irritated huff.

"Yes, this is Saga," Kotoko greets cooly. Only one side of the conversation can be heard, but whoever's on the other end of the line must say something pretty shocking, because her eyes widen in horror. "What!?"

Masamune doesn't bat an eyelash at the sudden loud shriek.

Ritsu nearly jumps five feet into the air.

"No. Do not. What were you thinking? How could you say that to a client?" Kotoko pauses in her conversation to pinch the bridge of her nose.

Ritsu's stomach tugs unpleasantly. He recognizes that habit. Now he knows where Masamune gets it from.

"Nevermind, I'll deal with it. Don't you dare; you've already done quite enough. I'm on my way." Kotoko hangs up her phone with a growl of irritation. "Something's come up at work. I have to leave immediately."

'After all that, you're just going to act like nothing happened and disappear?' Outrage and disbelief make Ritsu's hands start to shake, so he clenches them into fists at his side to keep them still.

"Then please, by all means. Don't let us keep you." Sarcasm drips like acid from Masamune's voice, but he doesn't seem surprised in the least. Ritsu's heart twinges in sympathy.

"What do you want me to do, Masamune? It's an emergency," she says accusingly; like he's the one being unreasonable.

Masamune rolls his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, I know. It's always an emergency."

"Don't act like this. You're being immature."

'That's it.' The last shed of Ritsu's patience snaps.

"Are you serious?" He asks quietly.

Not quietly enough though, because Kotoko instantly frowns, and turns to stare at him with something that seems awfully similar to hatred. "What did you just say to me?"

Danger, danger! Ritsu forces himself to ignore the warning bells going off in his head. "You," Ritsu's voice shakes, but whether it's from fear or fury, he can't tell. "You're the one that came here. Masamune clearly didn't invite you. You can't show up without any warning after… however long it's been since you've seen him, and then just leave again not even ten minutes later."

Kotoko is practically seething now. "You insolent brat. I already told you this is none of your concern. Who the hell do you think you are?" She asks darkly.

"Nobody," Ritsu claims instinctively. "I'm nobody. And I know that this isn't my place, but I…"

Say it.

"I…"

Say it, you idiot!

"I love your son, very much. So while I do know that I shouldn't interfere, I had to tell you that the way you're treating him isn't right." Ritsu heartbeat is erratic, and he spares it a brief thought of concern.

Kotoko's eyes flash angrily, and she draws her hand back with blatant intent.

Ritsu reflexively flinches, and braces himself. But the expected strike never comes.

"Don't."

Confused, Ritsu cracks an eye open and sees that Masamune has caught his mother's arm inches away from his face. His eyes are narrowed dangerously, and the phrase "if looks could kill" has never been more appropriate.

"Don't touch me." Kotoko scowls and wrenches her wrist away harshly. "I don't have time for this. I have to go." She whirls around, and walks purposefully towards the door, pausing in the doorway. "I'll come back another time. Hopefully, there won't be any unwanted company lurking around when I do." She glares at Ritsu pointedly.

When she leaves, the door slams behind her loud enough to make teeth rattle.

"Unbelievable." Masamune glowers holes into the front door.

The adrenaline that Ritsu hadn't been aware he was experiencing dulls, and he takes the first deep breath he has in a while. "I don't think she likes me very much." But the feeling was mutual, so honestly, he doesn't mind so much. "What do you-"

Masamune, who is suddenly much closer than before, pulls Ritsu into a painfully tight hug. He's kind of having trouble breathing now.

"H-hey! What's the big idea?"

"I love you." Masamune tightens his hold on Ritsu even more if that's possible. You'd think that after that line being dropped a ridiculous number of times every day, it would start to lose some of its' power.

Sadly, that is not the case.

Ritsu's breath gets stuck in his lungs, and his face heats up alarmingly. "I know that-"

Masamune suddenly releases him, but only in order to tilt Ritsu's head up and kiss the hell out of him.

As usual, Ritsu's brain short circuits. The sensations of Masamune's lips on his, an arm wrapping firmly around his waist, and fingers cradling the back of his head and tangling in his hair is too much for him. His legs turn to jelly, and almost give out on him before he is guided until his back hits the wall roughly.

Masamune happily takes advantage of the surprised gasp Ritsu lets out and deepens the kiss even more until he sees stars. He swears that one of these days his lungs are going to explode. But hey, who needs to breathe anyway?

By the time Masamune deigns to have mercy, Ritsu is in a total daze. He's surprised his feet are still on the ground, because he feels like he could float away any second.

"Thank you" Masamune hugs him again, and rests his forehead on Ritsu's shoulder.

Some of the fog clears out of Ritsu's head. "For what."

"For everything." Masamune presses his lips, curved into a crooked smile, to Ritsu's neck briefly, and he involuntary shivers. "And I'm so, so sorry you had to get involved with this. I never thought she would actually show up like that, but honestly, I'm not too surprised. She always was the dramatic type."

'Pot, meet kettle.'

"You say that like you're not." Ritsu teases lightly.

"Oh, haha, very funny." Masamune laughs dryly and rewards Ritsu's sass with a very loving flick on the forehead. "But in all seriousness, if you ever see her hanging around the building again, call me." He says solemnly.

Ritsu can only nod in agreement.

"Good." Masamune smiles and messes up Ritsu's hair even more than he already had earlier. "Now come on, let's take a nap. I was not mentally prepared to deal with my mother today, and I'm exhausted."

"Uh, why do I have to take a nap too? I'm not tired." Ritsu protests out of habit. Now that the idea has been put into his mind, a nap does sound nice…

Masamune must somehow literally be able to smell weakness. "Please?" He leans in far too close so that he can whisper in Ritsu's ear. "I'm emotionally compromised. And you know I don't sleep as well without you."

'Unfair!' Ritsu sputters, and his face heats up a dangerous amount yet again. Dammit, it's not like he has any other option now.

"Fine." Why can he never say no to this guy!? "But only for a little bit. I'm waiting for Ms. Mutou to send me her rough draft."

"Of course." Masamune agrees quickly. His tone is innocent, but the victorious smirk on his face is decidedly not.

Ritsu fights his childish impulse to kick him in the shin. "I mean it."

"I know." Masamune's smirk softens into a real smile, and his eyes are full of something hazardous to Ritsu's heart.

'I hope he knows that his mother never deserved anyone like him.'

Non-confrontational though Ritsu may be, he has no trouble wishing for Kotoko Saga to go crawl in a hole somewhere and never cause Masamune any kind of pain again. But that's probably unrealistic.

But for now, they're okay. Masamune is okay and that's all Ritsu cares about right now. Well, that, and taking a quick nap. Damn, he had forgotten how tired he was earlier.

Ritsu sets his alarm for six o'clock; he knows he does. He triple checked it.

But later, when he wakes up to see Masamune snoring beside him, it takes him awhile to process the unmistakable bright red nine o'clock glaring at him. After blinking blearily a few times, Ritsu realizes two things:

One: Masamune tampered with his alarm.

Two: Masamune tampered with his alarm and Mutou has called him three times!

'Oh, he is so dead!'

Ritsu's indignant scream of Wake the hell up, you jerk! Has their apartment receiving noise complaints for the next half an hour.

I know the ending is bad, but consider: I'm tired.