Chapter 0

"What do you want me to do by telling me this?"

Ritsu froze upon hearing the indifferent tone of his boss, he looked up and saw the usual blank expression on his ex-lover's face, he opened his mouth—trying to say something, but nothing came out. What do I want him to do...? Why am I even... trying to explain anything to him...? Aside from our past, there's nothing else between us other than being boss and subordinate, nothing else. But he told me he still loves me. He clenched his fists. Dammit, am I going to really believe that? Haven't I learned my lesson? What am I trying to achieve by trying to stop him from seeing his cat. Ritsu, pull yourself together, if you keep doing things like this, you're going to end up proving Takano-san right, you're not in love with him, you can't fall in love him again, you're only going to end up hurting yourself again. Besides, is this how he's going to react whenever something happens, he's going to run to him. Screw this, I'm not going to let what happened 10 years ago—happen again. I'm not going through that heartache ever again.

With that thought, the younger man pulled his hand back. The two editors stared at each other for a minute, both displaying nothing on their face, after what seemed like a lifetime, Ritsu vowed his head and left the older man's apartment without looking back.

Yawning, Ritsu entered Marukawa Shoten's building, and with his amazing luck, he ended up riding the elevator with his least favorite person together with his tyrant of a boss. He blinked and gave them a small bow, "Ohayogozaimas."

Yokozawa scoffed and gave him grunt, reluctantly taking a step back to let the smaller man in.

Takano, for a second, looked surprise at the normal greeting before schooling his expression back to its usual blank one. "Ohayo."

The elevator ride was filled with awkward silence, Yokozawa was glaring daggers at the elevator wall to his right, Takano was digging a hole on the back of his first love's head, silently amazed at how indifferent he looked instead of being his usual nervous and fidgety self whenever the three of them happen to run into each other, Ritsu was ignoring the two older men, too busy dreading all the work he has to do for the entire day. After a few seconds, the elevator dinged and opened at Yokozawa's floor, Ritsu stepped back and let the man out, ignoring the glare he shot at him before completely stepping off.

"I'll see you later, Masamune."

Takano hummed and gave him a small nod, within seconds, the two ex-lovers were left alone inside the small room.

"Onodera..." Takano made a move to grab the brown-haired man's wrist, his eyes widening slightly in surprise when Ritsu swiftly moved his hand away from his reach.

"What?" Ritsu turned his head and raised an eyebrow at his boss.

Takano inwardly winced at the normal expression on the younger man's face, wondering why he was acting like how he used to the first time they met after 10 years. "About last night..."

The elevator door opened before Takano could finish his sentence, Ritsu stepped off the elevator and turned to face him, "What about last night, Takano-san?"

The older man, for the first time in his adult life, was lost for words, he was taken aback with how the younger was acting, he was so used to his Ritsu acting embarrassed, annoyed, shy, and overly flustered whenever he was within his presence, he doesn't know how he was supposed to act with his love acting like he was just... a normal co-worker.

Ritsu sighed in slight irritation for having his time wasted for even just a few seconds, he turned around and began to head towards the Emerald Department. "You might want to step off before the door closed"—were his last words before completely disappearing from Takano's sight.

For the rest of the week, Ritsu talked and acted around Takano with the same attitude he has around his other co-workers—except, he only talked to his boss when he actually needed to. He spent most of his very limited free time at work conversing with Kisa about whatever topic the two could think of, completely ignoring the stares and looks he knew his boss was sending him. Takano made various attempts to get the two of them alone, but all of those attempts either failed or was ignored, he gave Ritsu more work to make sure the two of them will be the only ones left in the floor, but Ritsu only packed up the extra work and left, stating that he'll do it at home, he was gone before Takano could wrap his mind around the fact that his Ritsu just brushed him off without even blinking, he made sure to finish his work the same time as Ritsu so that they could go home together, but Ritsu always acted like he wasn't even there, and if he wasn't completely ignoring Takano's presence, he was acting so casually around him, it never failed to discourage Takano from doing anything to him in fear of being completely rejected. Takano tried to follow him inside his apartment, but the annoyed and irritated look the younger man was giving him whenever he tried to enter always ended up freezing him before he could, it was so different from the usual ones because Takano knew that Ritsu wasn't just being shy nor was he trying to run away, he was utterly and honestly annoyed and irritated. The changed between them was so evident, even the rest of the Emerald Department could see it and at one point, Hatori—after feeling like he was going to suffocate with how thick the tension was in the department—bluntly asked if the two were fighting, which Ritsu denied with a very indifferent tone that shocked not just his ex, but also the three other Emerald editors.

The New Year's party of Marukawa Shoten arrived, the one day where everyone is required to wear a suit, and like almost every morning, Ritsu woke up late and, as luck would have it, he ended up opening his door the same time his boss did. Following the trend he set up, he gave his boss a small nod and made his way towards the elevator where, for the first time since he moved in, he met one of his neighbors that he wasn't even aware existed.

"Oh my! You two sure are early today."

Ritsu gave her a polite smile, "Ah, hai..."

Takano seemed like he knew who she was since he didn't look surprise, upon entering the elevator, the woman asked what line of work the two have since they always left for work in the middle of the day and arrived late at night. Before Ritsu could give her an answer, Takano had beaten him.

"Please forgive us, did we disturb you by making noise or something?"

The woman waved her hand in dismissal, "Iie, Iie."

The elevator arrived on the first floor and as Takano was stepping off, he turned his head and said suggestively, "Don't worry, we're not involved in any unsavory business. It's simply that... our work's best done after dark... so next time, by all means..."

And with that, he gave the woman a teasing smile that left her blushing and Ritsu sweat-dropping.

"You just made her imagination run wild, you know that right?" Ritsu asked nonchalantly, walking behind his superior on their way to the station.

Takano suddenly stopped in his tracks and turned to face the younger man, almost causing said younger man to bump into him. Ritsu raised an eyebrow and gave him a questioning look.

"Stop it," Takano whispered while looking down, his bangs hiding his eyes.

Ritsu's eyebrow only rose higher, he crossed his arms and tilted his head to the side in confusion. "Stop what?"

Takano looked up, the sheer anguish in his eyes almost made Ritsu step back. "Please... Ritsu... just... stop acting like this..." the black haired man pleaded before turning around and walking away, leaving his love lost for words.

During work, Ritsu's phone rang, when he saw who was calling him, he hastily excused himself and left the department, leaving his co-workers to wonder if it was his girlfriend calling him again and jealousy to burn in the pit of Takano's stomach.

"Is it true you made An-chan go home by herself the other night?"

Ritsu almost sighed in exasperation, "Mother, I'm at work right now. I'm hanging up."

"You wait just a minute young man! What if something happened to your fiancée!?"

"Where'd you even hear that anyways?"

"From An-chan's mother!"

"Just so you know, I at least made sure she got into her taxi safely," Ritsu defended, "and why are we still hang up on that 'fiancée' thing? Haven't I made it clear that I'm not going along with that?"

"And just who are you planning on marrying?" his mother challenged.

"What do you mean who?" Ritsu asked in disbelief.

The conversation went on for a few minutes with Ritsu's mother pretty much telling the green eyed man that he will never find a partner more suitable for him than An-chan, at some point in the conversation, she asked if Ritsu has someone else he's in love with, which he denied. At the end of the conversation, Ritsu was roped into escorting his "fiancée" home since both of them will be at the same hotel the coming evening, Ritsu tried telling his mother that he has work to do but, as usual, his mother ignored him.

"Onodera."

Ritsu almost jumped in the air at the sudden appearance of his boss, snapping his phone shot, he turned around and faced the older man, "Hai? Did you need something."

Takano gave him an annoyed look, but Ritsu saw the poorly hidden jealousy in the man's golden eyes. "Seeing as this is a company policy, I feel I have to say something. Keep your personal calls to a minimum."

Ritsu nodded his head and apologized, pocketing his phone, he made his way back to the department.

"You can chat up with your cutesy girlfriend on your own time at home," Takano said with a hint of bitterness in his tone when Ritsu walked past him.

Ritsu stopped in his tracks and narrowed his eyes, "Noted, Takano-san."

The older man's eyes widened in disbelief, turning around, he stared at his first love's back as he walked away, feeling the familiar heaviness in his heart whenever he watched the love of his life walk away from him. Ritsu...

"Ne, Ricchan, has Takano-san told you what to look out for at the party?" Kisa asked when the younger man returned.

Ritsu blinked, "No...?"

Kisa leaned back on his chair and gave the younger a mischievous smile.

Mino, as usual, has the same tranquil smile on his face, "There are two or three important points, aren't there?"

The taller man beside him disagreed, "Don't you mean four?"

"I don't mind telling ya, but what do I get in return?" Kisa asked, giving the confused man a winning smile.

Ritsu could feel the oncoming dread. "In return...?"

His three supposed older co-workers gave him an amused look.

"You didn't think we'd tell you for free, did you?" Kisa asked, almost laughing at the ridiculous thought.

Ritsu smiled a bittersweet smile. God, I can't stand this company.

Ritsu spent the first hour of the party welcoming guests with his co-workers from the other departments. After switching with someone, he wondered if his four emerald co-workers were there yet. He pulled out his phone, intending to call one of them when a commotion behind him caught his attention, he turned around and sweat-dropped. So that's... what the four points were, I should have known.

Walking inside the room with the grace and elegance of a professional model, the missing four emerald editors graced the room with their presence, leaving sparkles, flowers, and women ready to feint in their wake.

Ritsu ignored the conversations of the women around him, letting out a deep sigh, he began making his way somewhere far away from the topic of the conversations.

"Onodera!" The deep voice of his boss called from behind him.

Ritsu turned around and gave him a questioning look.

"Have you greeted your authors?" Takano asked after stopping in front of the younger man.

"Hai, I'm done now," Ritsu assured.

"Takano-san, do you have a moment?" Hitori asked from behind the black-haired man.

Ritsu was about to walk away, seeing that he and his boss were done talking, but said boss grabbed his wrist before he could. The younger man pulled his wrist away and ignored the flash of hurt that crossed his ex-lover's expression. "What?"

Takano ignored the sting in his chest and kept his tone professional, "I'm going to introduce you to a big author now, so don't say anything stupid."

The two walked to where Hitori was standing with an unknown man beside him, the unknown man turned out to be the author that Takano wanted to introduce him to, the author was none other than Yoshikawa Chiharu, who—much to Ritsu's shock—turned out be a man. After exchanging pleasantries with the mangaka, Takano steered Ritsu away, intending to finally get the younger man alone, but both editor ended up being bombard by women who wanted to get to know the "newbie editor". Takano mostly left Ritsu alone to deal with the women, half-heartedly listening to the various questions the women were asking the brown-haired man, too busy thinking of a way to get the younger man alone without anyone getting in the way. He was pulled out of his thoughts when a woman offered Ritsu a drink, grabbing the glass, he made a lame (but true) excuse as to why Ritsu cannot drink, "This guy's a horrible drunk, so none for him." He ignored the annoyed look the younger threw at him, telling the women that the newbie still has various people to meet before he and Ritsu walked away and left the women sulking.

"You know, Takano-san, you could have at least helped me," the green-eyed editor said with his arms crossed and an indignant look on his face.

Takano looked at him from the corner of his eyes, "Why should I?"

Ritsu gave him a look, "Hmm, let's see... maybe because, oh, I don't know, you're my boss and I'm your subordinate. Do you always abandon your subordinate in situations like those? Or is it only exclusive for me?"

The pure sarcasm in his tone irritated the older man for more than one reason. Stopping in his tracks, Takano looked at the younger man, his golden orbs blazing with warning, "Drop the fucking attitude, Onodera," the older man hissed.

Ritsu raised an eyebrow, "What 'fucking attitude'?" he asked sarcastically, deliberately pushing the man's button, fully aware that the man in front of him was just about ready to burst. Before the black haired man could do just that, a voice behind Ritsu interrupted them.

"Don't cause a scene here."

Ritsu scoffed out loud, causing the two older men to look at him in shock, "Of course. If there's one person in this room who has the most perfect timing when it comes to shit like this, it'd be you."

Takano's jaw almost dropped at the attitude he never thought his Ritsu was capable of displaying, he knew the younger man was not the same person he was 10 years ago, Takano himself was not the same person. He also knew that he was to blame for the jaded personality the younger had adopted, but despite that change, the Ritsu from 10 years ago was still there, but every since that night, Ritsu's attitude seemed to have completely changed altogether, he treated him like he would his other co-workers, he also stopped blushing and stuttering around him. Takano wanted to be as forceful as he was before, but he was scared, he was scared of Ritsu flat out rejecting his very existence and leaving him if he pushed too hard. And that was the one thing in this world he was truly scared of. Ritsu disappearing from his life again.

Yokozawa was the first one to get over the shock, he gave the younger man a scathing look and if Ritsu hadn't changed from how he was before, he would have been cowering at the look on the man's face. "And what do you mean by that?"

Ritsu sighed almost tiredly, running a hand through his brown locks, he gave his ex-lover's ex-fling a blank look, "Betsuni. I still have a lot of people to meet, I'll get Kisa-san, Mino-san, or Hatori-san to introduce me around so... that's that, you two enjoy the party."

That seemed to have broken Takano from his thoughtas, acting quickly, he reached out to grab the younger man's wrist. "Oi, chotto matte, Onode..."

The look of pure and utter exhaustion on the man's face when he turned his head to look at him caused Takano's hand to stop in midair.

Ritsu turned and walked away, leaving the two older men staring after him.

Ritsu spent the rest of the night avoiding those two, walking around with Kisa, meeting new people and conversing with his authors. The one time he actually checked his phone, he saw numerous messages all from one person, he sent his childhood friend a quick apology and told her that he wouldn't be able to take her home.

The party ended without any problems, after politely declining the invitation of the women he escorted to the elevators, he watched the elevator doors close, and the smile that's been glued on his face the entire night finally dropped.

I'm sooo tired. I feel like those older authors were hounding me all night. It was pretty rough. And my cheeks are cramping from smiling for so long, Ritsu thought, rubbing his jaw.

"Ah! Onodera-kun!"

"Ah, Mutou-sensei, will you be staying here as well?" Ritsu asked, walking towards the mangaka.

Mutou smiled at him and shook her head, "No, I'm staying with a friend. I'm actually heading out."

Ritsu offered to walk her to the lobby, but the mangaka politely declined, after the two exchanged their goodbyes, the exhausted man pulled out his phone to see whether or not he could go home, only to hear a voice he wasn't expecting to hear.

"RICCHAN!"

He turned and saw his childhood friend wearing a long dress glaring at him. He ran towards her and asked why she's still there. The girl looked down and pouted.

Ritsu almost sighed but managed to stop himself before he could. "I'm sure you could tell by looking, but I really have been doing work up until now. You've been texting me since this morning, haven't you."

The girl ignored him, "Why didn't you call me?"

"I told you I had work. And you said you were going to a wedding and it'd be bad if your phone rang during the ceremony," Ritsu explained.

"Ricchan... I want to be clear here..."

Ritsu dreaded the next words she was going to utter.

"I know we don't have a 'lovers' relationship... but it's fine for us to stay engaged, right?"

Ritsu turned his head to the side to avoid looking at her hopeful eyes. "That's..."

"Everyone around us seems fine that way... I feel the same. Is that not ok?" An looked down to hide her red face.

"Did... did my mother say anything to you?"

"I've dated lots of boys... but I can't be with anyone but you, Ricchan..." the girl confessed, almost gripping the handle of her purse in her nervousness and shyness.

Takano turned the corner and saw the man he's been looking for all night, he started making his way towards him, but stopped when he saw that the man was talking to someone, and not just any someone, the person he was talking to was the one person Takano never wanted to see Ritsu talking to.

"I know you turned me down before... but I really love you, Ricchan!"

Both Takano and Ritsu's eyes widened in shock at the sudden confession. Takano looked ready to storm over the two and to stop the conversation from continuing, but a small part of him wanted to hear Ritsu's reply.

Ritsu opened his mouth to carefully reject her, but a sudden thought made him pause. Maybe... maybe, I could give this a chance, An-chan is my childhood friend, I've known her my entire life and she knows who I am. But... don't even go there, Ritsu! You've made up your mind about that person, if you really want to cut whatever romantic ties left you have with him... giving An-chan the chance to make you love her in the way she loves you... there's no other way but that.

Takano clenched his fists and bit his lower lip. Ritsu's taking his sweet time in rejecting her... He could feel and hear his heart literally shattering when he heard Ritsu's reply.

"Maybe... I... An-chan, I can't promise you that I'll fall for you..."

No... Ritsu, don't do this to me.

"But..."

Please, Ritsu!

"I... I'm willing to give us a chance..."

Whatever else Ritsu was going to say was cut off by a loud noise behind him that echoed around the quiet hallway, his eyes widened in shock when he saw what and who caused the loud sound.

"T-Takano-san..."

Takano's head was down, his bangs shielding his face, his left arm outstretched beside him and blood was flowing from his knuckles to the tiled floor.

An gasped at the sight of the man with a bleeding knuckles, recognizing him as her love's neighbor.

Before the two childhood friends could even move, Takano was already making his way towards them. Grabbing Ritsu's wrist, he began pulling him away from the woman who was trying to steal him away from him.

"RICCHAN!?"

Ritsu tried in vain to pull his wrist away from the man, a part of him was scared of the older man, he could't see the man's eyes so he had no way of knowing just how dangerous his situation was. He wasn't a fool, he knew why his boss was acting like this. He heard everything. The other part of him was worried, his boss' bleeding knuckles was still bleeding, he would know, he has a clear view on how bad the injury was because the hand Takano used to grab him was the injured one.

"An-chan, I'll call you later!" Ritsu called after the worried girl, finally giving up on trying to break free from the man manhandling him.

"Like fuck you are."

He shivered in fear at the tone of the older man. He's seriously scaring me.

It wasn't long before the two arrived at the parking lot, pulling the younger man to where his car was parked, Takano unlocked the door and threw the man in.

"Oi! What the hell are you..." Ritsu trailed off and swallowed the rest of his words. The older man was finally looking at him, which made him wish that he continued to ignore him.

The older man's eyes were filled with various mixed of intense emotions, mainly betrayal, pain, anger, determination, and warning.

"Try and escape... just try, Ritsu." The man's tone was barely above a whisper but he might as well be yelling with how loud his voice was in the quiet parking lot.

Takano closed the passenger door and pulled out his phone while making his way to the driver's side. After telling Hatori that he and Ritsu were leaving and without even waiting for a response, he snapped his phone shut and drove out of the parking garage.

The car ride back to their complex was filled with tension, Ritsu was looking out the window, leaning on the door and doing his best to try and pass through just so he could be anywhere but inside the car. Takano never looked at his direction, his attention focused on the rode in front of him.

"Ano... we should go to the hospital, Takano-san..." Ritsu suggested, attempting to fill the suffocating silence.

"..."

Ritsu sighed and decided to send an apology to the girl they left standing in the hallway. He was so focused on his task he didn't even notice that the car stopped moving. The car's sudden jerk pulled him out of his task, looking up, he noticed that they were on the underground parking lot of their apartment complex and the sudden jerk was due to Takano slamming his door shut. Ritsu jumped in his seat when his side of the door opened, he scrambled out of the car and made a mad dash to the elevator, hoping that he'll be able to reach their floor and enter his apartment before the older man could catch him. When the elevator door opened, he quickly made his way inside, frantically pushing the close button, but before the door could fully close, a hand pushed it aside and Takano entered. The older man punched the button for their floor before fully facing the brown-haired man and slamming him on the elevator wall, trapping him with his body.

Ritsu winced at the impact and glared at the man who was once again manhandling him. "What the hell is your problem!?" he demanded.

Takano's head was down, his bangs obscuring his expression.

The door opened to their floor. Grabbing the younger's wrist, Takano pulled him out and almost threw him inside his apartment after unlocking it.

Ritsu almost fell back but managed to catch himself. He glared at the man with venom, "Seriously, Takano-san. What the hell is wrong with you!?" Knowing that it'll be pointless to try and force his way out of his boss' apartment, Ritsu removed his shoes and made his way inside, once in the living room, he turned and faced the older man, a look of pure annoyance in his face.

"What's wrong with me?" Takano mocked while following the smaller man, stopping in front him, he crossed his arms, completely ignoring his still bleeding knuckles. "What the fuck is wrong with you!?" the older man snapped, a dangerous look in his eyes.

Ritsu rolled his eyes at his audacity to snap at him. "Takano-san, where exactly is this going? You spontaneously decided to punch a pillar made of concrete, you manhandled me away from An-chan, forced me into your car, and dragged me into your apartment, so really, if there's someone in this room who has something wrong with them, it's you."

The look in Takano's eyes turned even more dangerous, almost at the borderline of looking feral. "And why do you think I did all those?" he asked quietly while taking a few steps closer to the brunette.

Ritsu refused to let the man move him, folding his arms in his chest, he gave his ex a leveled look, "Because you love me, right? If this is how you show your love, I'm almost happy you never loved me 10 years ago, otherwise I would have developed a very twisted outlook of what being love is."

That was the last straw for Takano, all the restraints he had on his temper and emotions came snapping off, for the nth time that night, he grabbed the younger man's wrist and forcefully dragged him to his room. Throwing the man on his bed, he quickly climbed on top of the flustered man and locked both of his wrist above him with a hand. Using his other hand, he grabbed the man's jaw and locked his furious golden eyes with defiant green ones.

"Listen to me, you fucking idiot, I can deal with your vendetta against me for whatever the fuck I didn't even know I did. I can even deal with you blaming me for what happened 10 years ago. But don't you dare, don't you fucking dare say I never loved you. If there's anyone here who should be accused of never loving the other, that person is you, 'cause I'm pretty sure between the two of us, I'm the only one who's giving his all in saving what fell apart the day you fucking stormed out of my room after decking me. I'm the only one trying to save us despite what fucking happened a decade ago!"

Ritsu glared at him with venom, "There's nothing to save, Senpai."

The last word was spoken with so much sarcasm and poison, if it were any other time, Takano would have reeled back in pain, but not this time, the only thing the older man did was press his forehead against the chest of the man under him.

"What did I do, Ritsu? Just tell me what I did so I could apologize and make this right again."

Ritsu's eyes widened in shock, he expected the man to blow up, to force himself on him, or to do what his boss was always good at, retaliating. This was something he never expected, the man on top of him sounded so tired and defeated, his wrist and jaw was freed, the older man was now gripping his shoulder almost painfully. And suddenly, like the older man, Ritsu lost all the fight in him.

"You went to him," Ritsu finally admitted. Being so close to the man he's been avoiding for weeks, whose touch he's been trying so hard not to crave, whose presence he's been trying so hard to deny, having his ex-lover so close to him blew away his resolve of completely erasing the man—who broke him—from his life. So here he was again, like always, letting his first love consume him.

Takano looked up in confusion before realization dawned him, "Ritsu, that's..." the older man trailed off when he saw the younger giving him a look, nodding his head, he pushed himself off and laid on his back beside the brown-haired man, letting him talk without hovering over him.

Ritsu sighed in relief when the man caught his silent message. "That night... you went to Yokozawa-san's. The minute something happened between us that didn't go well with you... you went running to him. You know, I tried so hard to convince myself that I didn't have to explain anything to you, but I...stupidly enough, didn't what you to misunderstand. Guess I was a fool, huh, it didn't even matter to you, even after I tried to explain whatever's going on between An-chan and I... you didn't care. You still went to him, to the guy you fucked when shit hit the fan..."

Takano's eyes widened, quickly sitting up, he looked at the man still lying beside him. "I stopped having sex with him ages ago!" the man exclaimed, "And I assure you, Ritsu. You're the only guy I've been fucking and the only person I'm planning on fucking."

Ritsu looked away to hide the familiar hotness on his cheeks. And here I thought I finally mastered the art of not blushing.

For the first time since his love started ignoring him, a true smile made its way to the older man's face, "I miss that," he admitted, grabbing the younger man's chin to make the blushing man look at him so he could see the red face he missed so much.

Ritsu bit his lower lip, "The fact that you used to have that kind of relationship with Yokozawa-san doesn't really bother me... well, it did the first time I heard about it, but it's not like I was living a life of celibacy this past 10 years..."

Takano growled lowly in his throat, the thought of his Ritsu being with anyone else made him want to lock the man up and make him forget all the people he's been with.

Ritsu almost smiled at the possessive look that flashed on the man's eyes, "It really doesn't bother me... it's just that... I can't stand the thought of you running to your ex-fling when things didn't go your way... I get that he's your precious friend, but... don't run to him when certain things happen. What would you feel if I run to the arms of someone I had a fling with, or to An-chan."

The black-haired man narrowed his eyes, "You're not running to anyone, especially not to her." The authority and possessiveness was evident in Takano's tone, he maneuvered himself on top of the exasperated man, both hands on either side of his head.

"You're a pain in the ass, Takano-san," Ritsu huffed, crossing his arms on his chest.

Takano smirked at the familiar attitude of the only person in the world who could break and mend him. "Of course I am, you wouldn't feel so good if I'm not big enough to be." The smirk on his face widened at the sight of his gaping subordinate, using the opportunity that was presented to him, Takano leaned down and pushed his tongue inside the open mouth of his first love, ignoring his surprised squeak. He caressed Ritsu's tongue with his own, urging him to come out and play with him, when the red faced man finally kissed back, the older man reveled in the familiar and sweet taste of one Onodera Ritsu.

Ritsu moaned into the kiss, wrapping his arms around the man's neck, he grabbed a fistful of his ebony black hair and pulled his head closer, letting his boss dominate his mouth with his skillful tongue, he almost groaned in annoyance when the older man pulled back and disconnected their lips, only to blush when he realized what he almost did, judging by the smug and amused look on the older man's face, his little slip up didn't go unnoticed.

"We have the whole night and tomorrow to make up for the weeks we didn't get to fuck," Takano promised, giving his cheek an open mouthed kiss, he licked his way down the man's neck and gave it a hard suck, smirking at the soft moan his love rewarded him. "But before we start making up for those weeks, we need to set some things straight."

Ritsu winced at the sharp pain on his neck, he pulled Takano's head away by his hair and glared at him, using his free hand to grab the side of his neck, he felt the teeth mark left by his boss. "That hurt, you asshole!"

Takano glared back, "That was for saying I never loved you."

Ritsu looked away to avoid the offended and hurt look on the older man's face, "Gomen... I didn't mean it, I was just... so mad..."

Takano sighed, "Look at me, Ritsu."

The younger man complied.

Takano grabbed the hand that was still gripping his hair and placed soft kisses on each finger, "You're my first and only love, Ritsu. I never stopped loving you, I never willl. Get that through that thick skull of yours."

A tomato would have been jealous of how red Ritsu's face was at the man's confession.

Takano guided the hand he was holding down to his clothed chest, right where his heart was beating wildly, "You feel that? This will only beat wildly for you, Ritsu. Do you understand?"

Ritsu gripped the cloth under his palm, the beat of his own heart matching the beat of the man before him.

"I asked you a question, Ritsu, answer it."

Ritsu gulped and nodded his head, "I understand, Takano-san."

Takano huffed, "Good. Now, about Yokozawa, I will never, ever have sex with him ever again, even if you hadn't barged into my life after all these years, I still wouldn't have. What we had was over long before you re-entered my life. You know what, he and I are going to have a long talk, the both of us need to straighten out a few things."

Ritsu could do nothing but nod.

"And by the way, I didn't go to his place," Takano informed the man underneath him, he almost smirked at the look of disbelief on his subordinate's face.

"What!?" Ritsu exclaimed, pushing the man off him and sitting up.

Takano could't stop the smirk from making its way to his handsome face, he lazily reached out to unbutton the dress-shirt of the flustered man. "I didn't go to his place. I was too pissed off with the fact that you actually left. I wanted you to say that you didn't want me to go, but instead, you walked out on me. Which freaking hurt, you bastard."

Ritsu's jaw dropped at the man's revelation, "You have got to be kidding me. You mean to tell me, that the reason why you were acting like a dick after I went out of my way to explain everything to you, was because you wanted me to tell you not to go? What are you? A kid?"

Takano glared at the younger man's incredulous look, "Shut up. I was really hurt, why the hell would't I be? I just met the love of my life's fiancée, I have every right to act like a dick. I wanted to confront you about it but I was too furious to think rationally, I know I wouldn't be able to control myself if I confronted you that night, I was afraid of doing and saying something I might regret, so I was going to head out and drink with the only guy I know who could possibly stop me from killing myself with alcohol poisoning, but then you showed up. It's funny how you just showing up can put a lid on my temper, still though, I wanted you to feel the jealousy I felt when I saw you running to her and leaving me standing after letting go of my hand, it's childish, even I know that, but I couldn't help it! That's why I told you I was going to visit my cat. I wanted you to tell me not to go because that was what I wanted to tell you when you offered to walk with her instead of following me."

Ritsu, by the end of the older man's speech, lost both his coat and dress-shirt. "Takano-san... she's a girl... I had to walk with her because it was late... because SHE'S A GIRL!"

Takano looked away with that familiar blank face of his.

Ritsu continued to stare at the older man like a second head grew out of his chest. "You're a child trapped in a man's body..." the younger man concluded.

Takano huffed and decided that stripping was better than indulging his lover, and yes, they are lovers, no matter how many times the younger man tried to deny it, Takano would never consider them anything but. Ritsu's face turned beet red when the last of Takano's clothing left his body, leaving him in all his naked glory.

"W-W-What are you doing!?"

The younger man tried to get as far away as possible from the man who was reaching out to undo his belt, but the man was quick in predicting his move and he found himself flat on his back with the older man hovering over him with a predatory smirk and lust filled golden eyes.

"I..." Takano trailed his hand from the quivering man's chest down to the waistline of his pants, "... am planning on ravishing you."

Ritsu's eyes widened like a saucer, "T-Takano-san, this is... Oh, Ahh, Taka...no-san..."

Takano smirked smugly at the mess the man below him was slowly turning into. Tossing the younger's pants somewhere in the room, Takano ducked his head to lick and suck on the side of Ritsu's outstretched neck, giving it a thorough suck, he whispered, "We're good?"

Ritsu almost missed the question due to the lusty haze invading his senses, the older man's very skilled and very familiar ministration on his nether region was doing wonders to his ability to comprehend what's happening around him other than the pleasure the man was giving him. Takano teasingly bit the younger's earlobe when he failed to give the answer his boss was asking for. He groaned when the older man stopped, opening the eyes he wasn't even aware he closed, he glared at the smirking man above him. "Yes, we're good, Takano-san."

Takano smiled softly at the frustrated man, giving said man's flaming cheek a quick peck before starting the night of passion both men craved and missed (though one of them will forever deny it).

Omake:

"HOLY SHIT! TAKANO-SAN! THERE'S BLOOD ON MY BODY!"

"URUSAI! Why do you always have to be so fucking loud in the morning!"

"Your hand!"

"It stopped bleeding during our intense love making, so quit your yapping!"

"That's not the point! We need to wrap that! Let me grab the—"

CRASH!

"ITAI!"

"I did good."

"URUSAI!"