#tkdk fluff

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Leo thought it would be the perfect day to go out and take photos. After all, Darkwick was hosting a carnival to celebrate the beginning of spring. There’d be games, seasonal anomalies that appear, food trucks, vendors—but you weren’t going there to enjoy yourself. You were there for one goal, and one goal only—to make sure Leo looks good for his social media pages. You had your hefty backpack in hand and Leo’s phone in the other. It was a gold mine for photo-ops.

Although, there were way too many people than you expected. You opened your phone and checked the Darkwick event planner that was emailed to every student…

Of course the two of you ended up going when there’s a special deal for two person admission. For you, it wasn’t a big deal for you since it cost less money to get both of you in, but when you turned to look over at Leo and you could see his face awkwardly scrunched up.

“What’s up?” You asked with a quizzical look, when he realized that you were looking at him he had that look he gave when he was about to bitch you out.

“What do you mean ‘what’s up’ there’s too many people here. Seriously, don’t they have anything to do or are they all idiots…” He pulled his phone out of his pocket and started walking along the gravel road. “Whatever, let’s just get the stuff we need.” Referring to his content. Leo is always irritated at something or other, but he looked more bothered than usual. I mean it was warmer than usual and everyone packing together doesn’t make it better, even you couldn’t help but feel anxious.

You got through most of the spots that Leo planned to take photos of and record, he wanted to hit the most popular first to beat the crowds. To your disappointment, one of the final attractions had a massive line of at least 40 people waiting to take a photo around a tree. It wasn’t any tree that you could skip, it’s a highly sought after sight because it’s a tall tree that’s home to fairy anomalies that help the spring flowers bloom. It’s one of the seasonal anomalies that only makes its appearance for a few days every year.

Leo lifted a hand to rub his temple before throwing his hands up in annoyance, “Are you fucking serious?” Regardless of his reaction he soon joined the end of the line.

“Hey let’s just do this tomorrow, the line’s too long and it’s getting pretty hot.” You suggested, Leo seemed to hate this idea because he looked at you and rolled his eyes.

“I don’t know what you don’t understand about ‘limited time’ but I’m not waiting another year for this.” You don’t think you can take this any longer. Not only is it hot and there’s lots of people, Leo looked like he was about to explode and he started to aggressively tap his fingernails on his phone. Leo didn’t bring his headphones because he thought you would be in and out, but you thought something like this might happen. He gets irritated too easily so it’s not safe for him to go without them. You fished around in your backpack and pulled out his headphones to shove them on his head, ruffing his hair slightly.

Before he could open his mouth to complain, you spoke loudly, “they’re noise canceling right? Don’t complain about your hair, you need this.” You turned forward and refused to listen to any fussing that Leo had, but to your surprise he stayed quiet. After a while you looked over and his face was still scrunched up with sweat forming on his forehead and under his eyes. You sighed and went through your backpack once more. You were going to save it, but you supposed that you could just buy another one later. You pulled out a cold water bottle and gave it to Leo without saying a word.

You could hear his “hmph” along with the sounds of plastic crinkling and the cap unscrewing to take a sip. When you reached the front of the line, Leo took the backpack out of your hands and searched for the items he brought specifically for the photos. You could tell he was rushing his process because he cut props out of the photoshoot he wanted. You didn’t mind, you wanted to get out of there as well, but he knew he was going to regret it later.

As soon as you were finished taking photos, you immediately packed up and urged Leo to follow you. “Come, there’s a place nearby to rest.”

Leo put his headphones over his head and protested, “You’re dumber than I thought if you think you can boss me around.” You rolled your eyes and walked in the opposite direction.

You flashed him a smile. “Fine, stay there if you want. I don’t care.” In reality, you knew he would follow you. You made sure to carry everything with you when you left. It took 10 seconds before you heard moody footsteps behind you.

“Where the hell are you going? Wanna spend more time with me, honour roll?” He seemed proud of himself, but you ignored the second part of that sentence—why would you want to entertain his delusions?

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Ren had some semblance of courage when he asked you to watch a movie with him. He was eager to show you a new B-rated horror movie that came to streaming platforms. He’s had you over at his dorm before, but between sneaking you in and the two of you only playing games when you usually come over, it stressed him out. It didn’t help that you were lying so close to him on the ground.

It’s not like you two had much of a choice whether or not to be close, his ipad was only so big and you two unconsciously scooched together to watch the movie. The ironic thing is that he chose to make the floor comfortable because he wasn’t ready to sit close to you on his bed.

Despite how nervous he was, it melted away once the movie began. It felt like he was right at home when you bonded over making fun of the actor's terrible line delivery and awkward CGI. It was nice to have someone that could talk about movies and games on the same level as him, even if it did take you time to adjust to his snarky and standoffish attitude.

The one thing he dreaded was when you had to leave. He knew you couldn’t stay forever, but he also knew he would feel a sense of longing when you left. He always did whenever you left the Diner, or said goodbye when you were done doing chores with him at Jabberwock. He doesn’t like many people, it’s hard to find someone he WANTS to be friends with, and it’s harder to come by someone that reciprocates the feeling.

So when the credits rolled, his smile faded because he wanted to spend more time with you. He tore his eyes away from the screen to look at you. You rolled over and stretched your arms above your head, breathing out a heavy sigh.

“That was fun, I should probably get going. It’s pretty late.” You took a minute to get up, instead you looked into Ren’s eyes longer than you should’ve, as if you were expecting him to say something.

He broke eye contact and moved his arm to touch the back of his neck. “Oh.. yeah. Be quiet on your way out. I don’t want that clown finding you.” He didn’t see, but you looked disappointed at his words. You slowly moved to pack your things.

Seeing you gather your belongings and get up from your spot made him think about asking you to stay. You walked towards his door and he could feel anxiety wash over him as he gathered whatever confidence he had.

“That was fun Ren, thanks for having me over! I’ll see you sometime soon.” When you turned your back to him, his hand slowly reached for you. Before he could rethink it, he blurted what was on his mind.

“Wait, don’t go yet.” You turned back, confused and thinking that you must’ve misheard him. You raised your eyebrows and clutched your bag.

“Huh?” Hearing your reply made him want to hide under his bed, but he couldn’t back down. He dug himself too steep of a hole to lie his way out of this.

“Stay with me..” his brows knitted together and an itching feeling crept on the back of his neck while he waited for your reply. You just stood there staring at him in shock. Before he had a chance to explain himself, you cut off his line of thinking.

“Ok.” Before he could register what you said, you took off your shoes once again and put your bag down in the corner. You sat back down on your spot of the blanket.

It was his turn to be shocked, you really wanted to stay? “Um… wanna watch more movies or something…” his voice got quieter as he spoke, but you gently put your hand on his and gave him a reassuring smile.

“I’d like that.” He looked away while a furious blush hit his face.

“Yeah… you choose the movie.” He ordered while he moved to re-set up his ipad.

It made him feel better that you were alongside him in a place like this.

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Anomalous Law was a subject that was a bit difficult to comprehend. Technical speak is often used and you have to be very precise with your words when writing papers. You didn’t need help writing the paper that Professor Moby assigned you (as much as you wanted it), but it was a tad boring, you started thinking a study buddy would help your motivation to flow. Since you’re the honour student and technically a first year, you had the same anomalous law class as Ritsu. He paid close attention to the class, since he’s already acquainted with the law, he easily flew by in the course. The idea was to invite him to the mystery diner, maybe seeing him be so passionate about his work could help motivate you in your own.

Hey Ritsu! Did you want to work on our anomalous law assignment at the mystery diner tonight? Specifically at 8 PM, I have a few errands to run before I can work on anything.

It wasn’t in your best interest to work so late, but some ghouls asked you to deliver some papers from the teachers. As much as it’s a pain, you’re indebted to a few of them so you feel obligated to help them.

You expected Ritsu to answer back soon since he’s so punctual, but you assumed that he wasn’t busy at that moment because he replied in an instant.

First, can you please confirm that the person I am speaking to is MC?

You found it amusing that Ritsu insisted on asking this every time, but you considered it a cute quirk of his.

Yes it’s me! Do you accept my proposal?

Thank you for confirming. This is Ritsu Shinjo, Sinostra’s representative. Can you clarify what you want during this meeting? My consultation fee is 5500 yen per half hour, tax inclusive.

No, I’m not looking for a consultation. I need motivation to do my work, so I was thinking that since we are working on the same paper that having you work near by would help me! Like a study buddy!

You should be able to do work on your own, but as a business partner it’s important to hand in work on time. I agree to these terms.

A sigh of relief escaped you, now you could have something to look forward to while running errands.

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You arrived a couple minutes before 8 PM, you expected that he was inside already and headed in quickly. When you walked through the door, the anomalous owner came out to greet you and pointed to where Ritsu was sitting.

“Thank you so much! Is Ren off tonight?”

The anomalous owner made an “ohh” sound, nodded its head, and went to the back of the diner. When approaching Ritsu, you could see that he had his laptop out and coffee already ordered.

“You’re right on time.” He looked at you as you set up your own area at the booth.

“It looks like you got here way before me!” You gestured over at his coffee,

“You can never be too prepared.” He had a small smile on his face and took a sip before speaking,

“As my business partner, I have high expectations that you’ll successfully complete your work at an above average level. After all, you need to have skills on par with mine if we are going to keep working with each other.”

Ritsu is always prepared to work, there’s a certainty in his voice and eyes that make you think that you can be at the same level as him if you work hard enough.

“Of course, I’ll make sure to do my best.” Both of you go to shake hands, as a way to celebrate working on this assignment together.

There was silence in the mystery diner besides the clacking of the keyboards. It didn’t feel uncomfortable, you found it nice that you two could work in silence. Being around Ritsu lit a fire under you, he makes sure to be thorough in what he does and include you in his process. He can be stubborn but you found it… adorable. You can tell that he cares about his family, he always talks about living up to the Shinjo lineage, and sometimes you get to hear about growing up with his Mom and Dad. It’s endearing that he wants to follow in their footsteps, he’s even memorized the Compendium of Laws since he was a child. You were slowly learning about him on a personal level, it explains why he is the way that he is. It’s the kind of dedication you need in your life, he chose to work with you so you do your best to live up to that standard.

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Hours passed by without a hitch. You were starting to feel tired after looking at the screen for… 4 hours?!?! You knew the mystery diner stayed open all night due to the owners being anomalies themselves, but you weren’t sure if you could make it much longer. You looked over at Ritsu and he seemed as diligent as ever. When you turned back to your screen, Ritsu must’ve noticed and made note of how tired you were because he started to talk to you,

“I’m going to refill at the counter, would you prefer a new drink?”

You were a bit slow in answering “oh… yeah sure, I need something in order to finish this early. I want time to proofread and edit it tomorrow.”

He picked up both your mugs and made his way to the front of the diner. He couldn’t make it in time though, because by the time they were refilled, you had your head down on the table with your eyes closed. When he came back, he thought to wake you up but left you alone. He looked at your work and saw that you were close to finishing the entire thing, he wanted to give you a break since you can’t do your best when sleep deprived. He shut your laptop and let you sleep, unsure of what to do with your refilled drink.

Ritsu continued to work until he completed his own assignment, which took about 30 minutes after you fell asleep. He figured that he should just wake you up and have you go back to your dorm, after all, a table isn’t the greatest place to get a good sleep. He didn’t want to just leave you to walk by yourself either, the mystery diner is relatively far away from the clementia dorm. The more he pondered, the closer he was to deciding that he’ll take you home for your own safety, he’s not looking to find a new business partner if something happens to you.. or at least that’s what he tells himself anyways.

He put his hand on your shoulder and gently shook you “MC, I’m taking you back to your dorm.” You opened your eyes and realized that you fell asleep while working.

“Oh god, I’m so sorry Ritsu! I didn’t mean to fall asleep while working!” You said hurriedly, He didn’t seem to mind and took your laptop from the table.

“Not getting any sleep is bad for productivity, you won’t be able to think straight and submit work that’s deserving of a high grade. Let’s start walking.” You felt lousy for sleeping in his company, but if he had a problem with it he would’ve voiced his concerns.

The two of you walked out of the mystery diner and towards Clementia. You were still tired from being woken up, your body was yelling at you to stop and take a rest. You were falling behind since your legs didn’t want to move at a faster pace. At this point, it would take forever to get to your room. Ritsu looked behind to you and offered his arm, you linked your own arm with his and started to pick up the pace. He slowed down for you but it wasn’t ideal to be walking at a snails speed.

It was a silent night out, not many people were up this late. The people that were outside tried to stay out of each other’s way, since they had their own business to tend to. It was on the colder side, but being close to Ritsu kept your body temperature from dropping. You’ve never been this close to him, it was embarrassing that he had to help you walk but you appreciated his help. He’s never shown this much hospitality so it was surprising to witness it firsthand, a little part of you wanted this walk to last longer.

Eventually you reached the Clementia dorm, Ritsu went inside to set your laptop down on a counter. As you sat down on the bed, you remembered that you did not completely finish your assignment,

“Oh… Ritsu what about the paper?” He looked at you and pulled a piece of folded paper out his pocket, shoving it to your face. You took it and started to unravel it,

“No need to worry, I couldn’t help you finish it because plagiarism is strictly against the rules, but I wrote down some pointers after reading what you have. At the pace you’re going and the advice I’ve given, I expect that you’ll do exceptionally well.” You were a bit dumbfounded, you could only imagine how silly you looked while staring at him. You quickly collected yourself and put the biggest grin on your face,

“This will help so much, if it isn’t too much to ask… could we start working on more assignments together? I had a nice time..” you trailed off and looked to the side in embarrassment, maybe you said more than you should’ve.

“I got more than plenty of work done. It’s beneficial for both of us, two birds with one stone.” He folded his arms and smiled at you, it was getting late and you could feel that he was about to leave,

“We will discuss this at a later time, I need to catch up on my own sleep. Meet me tomorrow in the cafeteria at 12 PM.” You got up to see him off, leading him to the front doors of Clementia and being careful of where you step. “Alright, that sounds good! See you in the afternoon Ritsu, have a good night!”

While you and Ritsu waved goodnight, you could feel yourself heating up. When the door closed, you went back to your room and all you could think of was seeing him again. The day started replaying in your mind as you turned over to fall asleep, why was it so difficult to get him out of your head?