for my blorbo only

Takano is still pushy. Shocker. A week -and not even a full week, but six days- after they start dating he tells Ritsu they should move in together and he’s not joking. Ritsu avoids him for two days after that and that is how their first spat as an official couple starts. It’s far from the last. 

And of course, Ritsu is still stubborn. Fat chance that’s ever going to change. Compromising is hard for him. Maybe because he really is a spoiled only child. Or maybe it’s just how he is. Who knows. He likes things done a certain way and it irritates him when Takano makes that impossible. And unfortunately, Takano loves to irritate him. 

Takano still barely listens to anything Ritsu says. Sometimes it feels like he doesn’t take Ritsu seriously. He thought he might get a bit of a reprieve from Takano messing with him at work. He was wrong. If anything, it gets worse. He attacks Ritsu with “I love you”s and searing kisses decidedly unsuitable for the workplace any time they're alone longer than two seconds. Sure, Ritsu loves him, but there’s a time and a place, dammit! At least he hasn’t done it in front of their coworkers. Yet.

Ritsu still thinks too much. Even now that they’re dating, it feels like he’s constantly holding his breath and waiting for the other shoe to drop. Waiting for the inevitable moment Takano realizes that Ritsu’s too plain, too boring, too prickly, and too complicated to have been worth waiting so long for. Waiting for Takano to look at him and laugh and be gone again and- He wakes up in a cold sweat on more nights than one. He manages to hide it from Takano until he doesn’t. The first time Takano catches him he seals his lips shut tightly as long as he can. But Takano has always been the best person at getting under his skin and making him say things he doesn’t want to say. The dam bursts and it all spills out. Takano's eyes widen with horror and Ritsu tries to run. Takano doesn’t let him. He holds Ritsu close and it doesn’t fix everything or erase it, but it helps. 

Takano is still overbearing. If anything, that gets worse after they start dating. He’s always around. He invites himself over whenever he feels like it -which is always- and sulks like a child whenever Ritsu yells at him for it. He likes to monopolize Ritsu’s time. He gets petty whenever he decides Ritsu isn’t paying enough attention to him -so again, always- and Ritsu thought he was bad before but that was nothing compared to this. Sometimes he really regrets giving Takano a key. And other times -when Takano has to work later than him, or when he gets called on some business trip and Ritsu looks around his empty apartment and loneliness settles over him like suffocation- he’s forced to admit that he really doesn’t mind at all. 

Ritsu’s first instinct is still to run when things get too intense. He’s working on that. It helps that Takano is just as bullheaded as him, but sometimes that makes it worse, too. 

Takano still takes a mile for every inch he’s given. 

Ritsu is still bad at expressing his feelings. 

Takano still enjoys getting on Ritsu’s nerves.

Ritsu still isn’t sure what Takano sees in him

Takano still doesn’t know how he got so lucky. 

Ritsu, secretly, of course, wonders the same thing. 

Relationships are hard. Just because they’re in love doesn’t mean they stop clashing. 

But it sure helps. 

They still bicker and fight. Arguments are more common for them than anything else. They still don’t know that much about each other, all things considered. And them being in a relationship doesn’t make either of them any better at communication. But neither of them are ever willing to let go of the other again. They’ve been down that road and it sucked. They don’t know how to work together yet but they’re determined to figure it out. 

So, they do. 

Sometimes it almost feels easy. 

Ritsu treasures the small moments. Waking up next to Takano and internally screaming because if he’d told his fifteen-year-old self this is how he would have ended up one day he would have died. Takano sneaking a kiss or three while Ritsu grumbles and tries to drink his coffee. Texting Takano under the table at the office because sure it’s the slow part of the cycle but the man needs to have some decency and stop bothering him at work. Dozing off on the couch after dinner to the sound of Takano’s pen scratching and waking up in a tangle of limbs in one of their beds and not particularly caring whose. It’s difficult, learning to coexist between Ritsu’s inclination for solitude and Takano’s inclination for not allowing such things, but neither of them have ever been the type to back down from a challenge. 

Challenges still love to find them though. God forbid they ever catch a break. 

~~~

Haitani comes back. He sparks one of their worst fights to date. He’d probably be thrilled if he knew. 

Takano ducks into the convenience store outside the train station on their way home. 

Ritsu’s waiting outside. He’s not alone for more than two minutes before he gets the crap scared out of him as someone taps him on the shoulder.

“Yo,” Haitani says, with a wide grin like a shark. “Long time no see.” 

If you ask Ritsu, it hasn’t been nearly long enough. He tries his best to slip away from Haitani’s inane chatter  -oh god he can already hear the inevitable bitchfest Takano’s gonna drown him in if he gets caught- but Haitani has all the persistence of Takano and much more patience. It's truly a terrifying combination. 

Takano still has the worst timing. He exits the store and his eyes find Ritsu like a magnet. Then his eyes find Haitani. He is not pleased. 

Ritsu cringes. He hates how he feels like a child caught with their hand in the cookie jar even though this really isn’t his fault. He wishes he were still at work or that they were at home or anywhere but here. 

“Haitani. Why the hell are you talking to him?” 

Ritsu’s shoulders tense in instinctive response to Takano’s anger. God, they’d been having a good night. Why do things like this always happen to them?

Haitani smirks, enjoying himself entirely too much. “What? Can’t a guy invite their rival out for drinks just to chat and catch up?” He asks, amused. 

Takano is less so. “No.” 

Ritsu’s cheeks warm. This is humiliating. 

Haitani’s eyebrow lifts with intrigue. He turns to face Ritsu; probably because he knows that will piss off Takano more. “What, don’t tell me you two are actually dating now.” He laughs. 

Ritsu’s whole body freezes. 

Fuck. 

Not even three months in and they’ve already been found out. And it’s not bad that someone knows, but it’s terrible that the someone that does know is Haitani.

Ritsu’s heartbeat thuds in his ears. 

Takano glares hatefully at Haitani and the fury in his eyes feels like it could burn Ritsu to ash if he got too close. 

Ritsu doesn’t notice when his breathing turns ragged. Or when his palms grow clammy with sweat. It’s honestly a simple question. He should be able to answer it. He opens his mouth to, and-

He says nothing. 

After everything -the waiting, the stupid drama, the miscommunications that cut them both bone-deep- Ritsu hesitates. 

And the worst part isn’t even the ice chilling Ritsu’s blood and freezing him to the spot. 

The worst part is that Takano doesn’t look surprised in the least. 

Nausea curls in his stomach. He hasn’t learned anything. Still now he’s too wishy-washy. What kind of partner is he? 

Cruelty glints in Haitani’s eyes. “You can’t even say it,” he scoffs. “You don’t deserve him.” 

Ritsu wishes Haitani would tell him something he didn’t already know. 

Takano’s eyes go wide with disbelief. Then back to blazing anger in an instant.

Ritsu can’t look at him. His mind is nothing but a buzz of white noise as his legs tense and he makes to run because that’s what he does best. 

He doesn’t make it a step away before Haitian’s hand wraps around his wrist. 

The air gets stuck in Ritsu’s lungs. His pulse skyrockets. 

In a flash Takano storms over and rips Haitani’s hand away. “If you ever touch him again you won’t have time to regret it,” he spits his vow darkly. 

That’s about all Ritsu can handle. He takes off blindly like a bat out of hell. 

Takano calls out after him and it really is like nothing’s changed at all. 

Every step Ritsu takes away feels like another giant step backwards. Probably because it is. 

He makes it home and for a second he thinks about using Takano’s key. He doesn’t.  He locks his own door behind himself and crouches into a ball in the doorway. He hasn’t done that in weeks. He hasn’t missed it. 

A few minutes later there’s a knock. 

Ritsu doesn’t have to check to see who it is. He holds his breath. He wants to open the door, but he’s a coward, so he doesn’t. 

There isn’t another knock. 

The nausea curls tighter in Ritsu’s stomach. His legs aren’t quite steady as he wanders aimlessly towards his room. His head is a mess. Maybe if he gets some sleep and cools off it’ll clear. He’ll apologize tomorrow and everything will be fine. 

Please let everything be fine.

Ritsu doesn’t hold out until morning. After a few hours of restless tossing and turning he shoots up, grabs the key that he’d put on his nightstand, and stumbles out of his apartment. 

Takano is outside his door, fist raised to knock. 

Ritsu chokes on a watery laugh. He should have known. 

Takano, for once, doesn’t say a word. He surges forward, wraps his arms around Ritsu, and clutches him like he needs it to breathe.

Ritsu can’t make fun of him for it because he clings back just as desperately. 

And everything is not alright but right now they’re together and it’s enough. 

The short reprieve is nice.

The real fight starts the next morning. It gets ugly. A bunch of old wounds and newer hurts have all been shoved under the same spotlight and all in all, it’s just a terrible time. They manage okay in the end, but the two weeks it takes for them to cool down and be able to have an actual conversation outside of work are exhausting and painful as hell. 

At least there’s one sentiment they can both agree on.

Fucking Haitani is a goddamn sociopath.

~~~

They’re still not perfect together. Sometimes it’s a struggle to fit. 

Takano oversimplifies and Ritsu overthinks. Takano’s clingy and Ritsu’s more reserved. Takano’s nitpicky about cleanliness and Ritsu’s messy. Takano hogs the blankets and Ritsu kicks and talks in his sleep. Takano doesn’t sweeten his coffee and Ritsu keeps accidentally almost choking after picking up the wrong cup because the mugs look the same. Takano likes drama films and Ritsu likes horror and suspense. Takano is a bad workaholic and Ritsu is a worse one. Takano still calls Ritsu annoying and an idiot and Ritsu still curses him for being such an insufferable know-it-all. 

But Takano still loves Ritsu with every beat of his heart and Ritsu loves him back just as fiercely. And maybe they’re not perfect and maybe it’s not effortless but it’s worth it. 

More than worth it. 

~~~

To be honest, not much changes, afterwards. 

To be honest, neither of them would have it any other way.