#ritmomo

Everything is dark and grainy. He recalls an immense pressure and the blissful relief when the gasket finally blew, but not much else. For now, he's content to simply drift in the ether.

There's something bright and warm, something that feels and sounds like home, sinking into him and lifting him up, up...

"Ritsu, please wake up. Please..."

Shige. Ritsu opens his eyes, finds a near mirror image looking back at him.

"Oh, good. I need your help. I-I don't think I can do this by myself." His hair is swaying up above his forehead in an invisible current. "I don't know what happened or what's wrong with Momozou. I don't know what I need to do. And he...he's still out cold."

Ritsu is suddenly a lot more awake. He turns his head, finds him immediately. Momozou is laid out next to him on the floor, looking brittle and frail and all too easy to break.

"Ritsu, are you OK? You look like you got hit in the head." It's nice of his brother to be concerned, but he's sure he's not even concussed and waves it off easily. It can be dealt with later.

Momozou doesn't even stir as he's settled onto the living room couch and Ritsu has to remind himself this is normal. He's a deep sleeper, once he's able to actually fall asleep. He's slept through small earthquakes before. He's fine.

He watches his chest rise and fall for a few seconds, just in case.

He’s been here since Friday, according to the phone and the spirit... Shit, did he have any food or water in that time? Ritsu leans down closer, takes a quick inventory of the face in front of his. His eyes are the most obvious part. Momozou has always had dark circles there, they're a permanent feature. Now, though, they're far darker and dip even further towards his cheekbones. His eyes and cheeks are sunken in, he looks sickly and exhausted. Ritsu runs a thumb over his lips and they're chapped to the point they've split down the middle.

"Shige, get a glass of water. There are straws in the drawer next to the sink." After being given actual instructions, his brother's shoulders visibly sag with relief. His dark hair is still billowing upwards, but he doesn't look as close to 100% now, at least. It strikes Ritsu then why Shige had probably needed help so badly. Its hard for him to keep calm on his own and he does better with others in the lead. Had he tried to take care of everything by himself, he might have exploded and they're not sure what Shared 100% would do to Momozou in this state.

He has to shake Momozou by the shoulders for far longer than he's comfortable with before he'll wake up. His eyes are slow to open and his voice is cracked when he asks, "Ritsu...? Am I dead?"

"No. You're pretty badly dehydrated, but I think you'll be OK."

"Dammit... So close."

Ugh, he shouldn't have worried so much. Ritsu shoves the glass up next to the couch cushion, the end of the straw brushing one sunken cheek. It takes some help, he's too sluggish and uncoordinated, but Momozou manages to grip it between his lips and sucks down several gulps before he has to catch his breath.

Afterwards, he turns his head back towards the ceiling, rubbing at his bloodshot eyes. At the moment, all Ritsu wants to do is climb onto the couch and not let Momozou out of his sight, but…

"Ah, Momozou…? Why is your fridge empty?" There are other things to be taken care of first. Like the fact that Momozou's refrigerator is apparently broken and there's nothing but instant noodles in the cupboard. Shige leans over the back of the couch to give him a look…which does little because Momozou has already passed out again. Both brothers sigh as Ritsu surveys the damage. There are small items thrown around the kitchen and living room, a disgusting red smear on the glass doors, but that's about the extent of it. The evil spirit had obviously never stood a chance.

"I think we should take him home with us. Mom went grocery shopping yesterday, we should have something we can feed him there. Instant noodles will probably just make him sick right now."

"Mm. And because you don't want to leave him alone, either, do you?" Shige smiles and pats his head, something he's recently picked up from the conman. "The two of you are so close. I'm glad." Ritsu ignores the warmth in his face as he hauls Momozou up onto his back, forces invisibility to cover both of their bodies. Flying will be much faster, especially if no one notices them. "You go ahead of me. I'll pack some stuff for him and walk back."

Ritsu brings him home and repeats the process. He lays Momozou on the couch and then shamelessly curls up on top of him, deciding to use his powers to bring water and a straw to them. This time it's the weight of another body that wakes him up and he's just a little more alert after he's drained the glass.

"Ritsu...your face..." His voice is still weak and raspy as he lifts clumsy fingers, brushing them across a bruised forehead and swollen jaw. Ritsu tilts his head to lean into the touch, decides the throbbing pain is worth it. "Did I do that...?"

"Hey. No, you didn't do anything. You had no part in any of this, except for the part where you saved us." His face isn't important, anyway. He wonders how much of it all Momozou remembers. (He knows he sure as hell doesn't want to be anywhere near that pocket knife for a while.)

...What happened to the evil spirit? Is it gone? Telepathy has become easy, its second nature between them after knowing each other long enough.

Yeah. We...Shige got it. Its gone for good now. Ritsu looks up towards the kitchen, just enough to see what he's levitating to start making soup. Momozou is going to need more than just water.

Thank you. That was...an experience. (He should be telling that to Shige, not him.) Ritsu refills the water and manages to get him to drink a little more before he passes out again.

By the time his brother comes home with an overnight bag, Momozou has managed to down all of the soup (and nearly die a second time choking on it) and change clothes. He's currently asleep on the couch again, sitting up with his head tipped back and arms crossed in front of him, while Ritsu stands in the kitchen and cooks an actual meal. Shige is the one to shake him awake this time because watching Momozou’s arms flex and chest push against Ritsu’s too-small T-shirt is doing weird things to his heart.

"Momozou...I know you're sleepy, but I think you should wash up. You'll feel better after and then you can eat again." Momozou rubs at his eyes (they look better after so much water) as he grumbles something below Ritsu's hearing. Shige extends his hand and hauls the other boy up, both of them stumbling from the upset of balance. His brother appears by his side a moment later, offering to help.

Ritsu startles and nearly squeaks when he suddenly feels a body press up behind him, two arms engulfing his neck and his shoulders as Momozou's cheek rests on top of his head. He must be really exhausted to be quite this clingy.

"Ritsu, you wanna come help me shower?"

He must be really, really exhausted. Momozou seems to think it's hilarious to fluster Ritsu at all times of the day, but he usually watches himself around Shige (at least, more than he does anyone else). Ritsu swears he can hear the mental brakes screeching in all three of their heads.

...I said that one out loud, didn’t I?

You dumbass.

"I'll come help you, Takenaka. No problem." Shige's voice and face have both gone flat. Well, flatter than usual.

PLEASE TELL ME HE KNOWS I DIDN'T MEAN ANYTHING BY THAT.

Sorry, dude, tough break. What kind of flowers do you want on your grave, “Takenaka?"

"That, uh... That's OK, Shige. I think I can actually do it on my own."

"Of course not. I insist." Momozou  doesn't resist when Shige takes his arm and starts to help him towards the upstairs bathroom.

I can’t believe I survived an evil spirit and now this is how I die. Tell my mom I love her.

Ritsu waits until he hears the door shut to bury his steaming face in his hands (and then quickly recoil from the pain there. He'll do something about it later.) Thank god Shou and Teruki aren't here. With Shige he'll never live it down, but between those two he'd never hear the end of it. They tend to egg each other on when they're together.

After he's packed away all of the food, Ritsu drags himself into his bedroom and flops down on the bed as he pulls his shirt off. He should really change, he's still in his uniform, but now that he's laid down its difficult to get back up again. His body feels as though he's been hit by a truck and there's weariness and exhaustion worming through his skin and down into his bones. Maybe he'll just rest his eyes. Just until Momozou gets out of the bathroom.

He wakes to the sound of his bedroom door opening. Momozou comes stumbling in wearing the clothes Shige brought from his apartment, with two bowls of food and glasses of juice balanced in his arms, trying to settle everything on the desk in the corner. Ritsu catches them twice with his telekinesis before there's a mess on the carpet. "Hey, there. I brought up dinner. You haven't eaten yet, have you? You were too busy taking care of...me..."

He's staring. Ritsu follows his gaze down and curses internally when he realizes he had fallen asleep without a shirt. His torso is more black and purple than it is actual pale skin color.

"...It's fine, Momo. They're just bruises. You should eat."

He clenches his jaw, looks like he wants to say something more, but ultimately Momozou goes out on the window balcony with the food while Ritsu finally changes out of his high school uniform and into sweatpants and a hoodie. When he follows, though, he goes right back to staring, his cheeks stained red.

"Uh, Ritsu? I think that's actually mine."

Oh, no wonder it felt a little big. Ritsu pinches and pulls at the fabric, smoothing it out to its full length. The end of the hoodie easily comes down past his hips with the sleeves flopping over his fingertips. He nearly gives it back, but Momozou insists, so he keeps it on as they sit on the landing together to eat.