Hey, I'm actually posting again! :) Here's another Ritsu x Takano oneshot!

It was Christmas Eve. The day before Christmas. The 24th of December. Clear skies, the stars were out, the moon was glowing, and the air was cold.

But no, none of those facts about this day mattered to Onodera Ritsu, because the only thing that had been on his mind the whole day was a certain event. It was nerve-wracking and stressing, simply due to the one person it was celebrated for.

It was a birthday.

It was Takano's birthday.

The man was not only his boss and his next door neighbour, he was also the man Ritsu had fallen in love with ten years ago. They had broken up due to a misunderstanding, but fate had decided to connect their paths once more, and Takano had vowed that he'd make the brunette fall in love with him again.

But no. No, no, no. Ritsu had already promised himself that he wouldn't fall in love again, and definitely not with the same man from ten years ago. They were to only speak of work and work related topics, nothing more. Their relation was only boss and subordinate.

So why exactly was he holding a birthday card in his hand and standing in front of Takano's apartment?

Ritsu didn't know, only remembering that he had subconsciously stepped into a nearby store and somehow walked out with a card. He had even forgotten about it until just a few minutes ago, when he had been reaching for his keys and noticed the object.

Now, he was boring holes in the door with his stare, feeling the sweat form on his hands.

What if Takano misunderstands my intentions?

Ritsu furrowed his brows at his own thought, suddenly aware that even he himself didn't know why he had decided to do his.

What are my intentions? I don't mean anything weird with this. This is just…an act of respect, right? Is it? What else could I possibly mean by doing this?

Seeing how jumbled up his own thoughts were, the brunette sighed, ready to give up. He hadn't planned to do this anyway, the brunette had even decided to start avoiding him as much as he could the other day. He needed his boss to know that he had no romantic feelings for him.

"What the heck am I doing?" Shaking his head, Ritsu gave an emotionless laugh and made his way into his own apartment. "Even getting him a card…"

A few steps was as far as he could go, though, because Ritsu just couldn't let the day pass without a word to Takano. He stared at the card in his hands, gripping it tight. He had even went as far as buying this, he couldn't just throw it away.

It was normal for a co-worker to give a birthday card to his boss, right? Takano wouldn't misunderstand, right?

Before Ritsu knew it, he was back in front of Takano's apartment, limbs shaking and palms sweating. He gulped, an uneasy look on his face.

"Do you really want to do this Ritsu? Do you really want to?" he asked himself over and over again, completely oblivious to the fact that he was probably acting like an idiot to anyone to happened to walk by.

I-I can just shove it in his mailbox!

In his anxiousness, as the brunette scurried towards the door to get it over with, he lost his footing on the carpet beneath him and fell right into the door, a yelp escaping his lips. He quickly scrambled back, aware of the loud noise he had just made.

T-Takano-san didn't hear that, right…?

"What's wrong with me? It's just a card!" he told himself, putting his head in his hands. Could he really not do this? What had his boss done to make him this nervous about something?

Suddenly, the door in front of Ritsu opened, revealing an annoyed dark haired man.

"Oi! Who the hell is—?

Brown met green, and both pairs of eyes widened as they saw each other. Ritsu felt his cheeks heat up at his stare and he quickly tried to get up off the floor.

"Oh, T-Takano-san…" Looking away, the brunette gave a nervous laugh. "S-Sorry! I just h-happened to be g-going to my apartment and I, uh…t-tripped."

"What the hell? Are you an idiot or something?"

Ritsu felt his blood boil at the words, but his urge to leave right then was too strong for him to actually get angry.

"Yes, yes, I'm an idiot! Now if you'll excuse me…" He gave another forced laugh and backed away, praying that the man would just let him get back home. Now that Takano was actually here, Ritsu decided to bail on his idea. He couldn't handle the embarrassment of handing the card to him.

Crap! The card!

"What's this?" the dark haired man asked.

Once he realized that the item was no longer in his hands, Ritsu whipped his head towards the spot on the ground where he had fallen, spotting the plain card on the carpet. He dove for it before the one it was addressed to could pick it up, falling on the ground the second time that day.

"O-Oh, th-this is mine!" He quickly flipped it around in hope that the man didn't see the text on the front. "I-I'm just gonna l-leave now, s-so, uh…" The brunette pointed in the direction of this apartment, trying to avoid the embarrassment and awkwardness. "H-Have a nice day!"

Ritsu heard the man call his name but didn't stop, not like he ever would, but soon found something warm close around one of his hands. His body tensed as he realized his hand was in Takano's, blush rising tenfold and his mind immediately telling him to get away. He yelled out a few protests, but soon found himself being dragged back to the spot where he had been standing before any of this had happened.

"A birthday card for me, huh?" The dark haired man smiled, his hand still around Ritsu's. His other free one reached for the card, succeeding in prying it from the brunette's fingertips as his whole body had weakened at their contact. "Thank you."

Ritsu suddenly felt himself being pulled forward, closer to Takano, and into a warm embrace. He had no time to react to anything as the man had already planted a gentle kiss on his forehead.

By now, the brunette was so shocked and embarrassed that he wasn't able to move away. The protests in his mind were being ignored, and his body stood still as it was pressed against his boss's. Attempting to speak and explain to Takano that he didn't want it, Ritsu opened his mouth.

"O-Oi…" he could only say. "L-Let me go." The words came out as quiet, weak whispers. "What if someone sees us?"

Ritsu felt Takano's breath on his shoulder as he spoke.

"So as long as they don't see…?"

All the brunette noticed after that was the clicking of the door opening and the shuffling of footsteps. Even when he was aware of what had happened, he let himself be brought into the man's apartment, yet continued with his protests.

"H-Hey! What are you doing Takano-san?"

Ritsu heard the sound of the door locking behind them and soon another door opening, noticing that their pace had slowed to a walking speed. He had expected to be taken to Takano's bedroom or something of that sort, so he was surprised when he felt cool air envelop his body. The dark sky stretched out in front of him, stars scattered across it and the moon shining its brightest.

The brunette gasped at the sight, not believing that the night sky in the city could be so beautiful.

Takano-san wanted me to see this?

"W-Wow…" he could only say. He took a breath full of the winter air outside. Appreciating the silence, he stared at the stars. With his job being so busy and him being so tired lately, Ritsu hadn't had any time to, or even thought of, looking up at the sky like this.

The two of them stood there and stared at the stars in silence, their breathing and occasional shifting of their standing position the only sounds being heard in that time. Ritsu wasn't aware of how long they just stood there without a word, but it was peaceful and calm, far different from his usual days with Takano.

A sudden draft rushed in their direction, and the temperature lowered instantly. Ritsu rubbed his arms as he felt the goose bumps form, trying to hold back a sneeze.

"Are you cold?" Takano finally spoke, and Ritsu felt him move closer.

"N-No, I'm fine," he replied. That wasn't the case, though, since he sneezed immediately afterwards.

He heard a sigh and the man saying something about lying, before feeling a sudden warmth around his body. Takano's embrace was tight, his heat spreading like a furnace. Of course, that heat went to Ritsu's cheeks as well.

"O-Oi! What are you doing?"

"Keeping you warm," he answered simply, as if the act was normal. The brunette then felt the older man rest his chin on his head, slowly letting out a breath.

The position made Ritsu incredibly nervous, but he couldn't bring himself to move away no matter what. Takano was...warm. There was also something in the way he played with the fabric of his shirt and the way he could feel Takano's heartbeat on his back that made him feel like he actually liked the position.

No! his mind immediately shouted. You don't feel that way about him at all!

But Ritsu didn't want to move away.

He's going to do something to you if you stay in this position! Move!

It was Takano's birthday, the brunette could at least let him do this. Tomorrow. Tomorrow, they would go back to being boss and subordinate, but tonight Ritsu could at least do something small for him.

It wasn't a big deal, he tried to convince himself. It wasn't a big deal at all.

"Ritsu."

With the sudden warm breath on his ear, the said man jumped a bit in surprise, the blush on his cheeks giving no sign of backing away. He felt himself shiver at the warmth he was receiving as well as Takano's husky voice. Right then, something clicked in his mind and it yelled at him to get away or he'd get himself mixed up in another night of sweat and pleasure, with weeks of confusion and guilt following.

It's Takano's birthday. I can do this just once, only once…

"Haah!" he squeaked when he felt hot lips pressing on to the crook of his neck. "W-What are you-?

Ritsu was interrupted again by the feeling of wetness on the same spot, followed by teeth slowly sinking into his skin. He knew what was happening.

"Oi! Takano-san!" he yelled. "Stop it! People will see it!"

The man surprisingly obeyed though he didn't move away, but Ritsu was surprised nevertheless. He should've known more was coming though, because he was suddenly spun around to face him instead. Large hands moved up to cup his face and prevented him from turning away.

But nothing happened after that. Takano kept them in that position, as if he was just inspecting Ritsu's face for whatever reason. Unable to handle the silence though, the brunette felt his lips part.

"U-Um, I have something to say," he whispered, trying to look down and partially succeeding.

"Go on."

"U-Um…" Ritsu squeezed his eyes shut in embarrassment, but he was going to force those words out no matter what. "H-H-Happy birthday, Takano-san." The sentence had faded at the end and the words were barely audible in the first place, but he knew the man had heard them for he felt their bodies being pressed closer together.

"Thank you, Ritsu."

Takano didn't make a move to go any further than that, and Ritsu let himself bask in the other's presence, taking in the rise and fall of his chest and the warm breath ghosting over his head. They must've stayed like that for a while, because fatigue soon settled over the brunette and he stifled a yawn.

"Ritsu?"

The said man looked up, feeling his heart speed up when their eyes met. Had Takano's eyes always held such a warm expression?

"Yeah...?"

"Stay the night."

Ritsu's eyes widened. It hadn't been a question, more like an order actually, but Takano was staring at him as if waiting for an answer. Something in the brunette's mind told him to outright protest and leave, but that sliver of rationality vanished when a gentle kiss was placed on his forehead.

"Please," the man added, and Ritsu shivered at his husky voice.

He allowed himself to be taken to Takano's bedroom, stumbling to keep up with the man's quick pace. He was hugged for the third time that day as he was laid down on the bed ever so gently, and no matter how much he tried to convince himself that he didn't want this, he knew his efforts would be futile.

Takano lowered his head, capturing Ritsu's lips in a gentle, warm kiss.

"I love you, Ritsu."

The brunette felt his vision start to blur, his chest tightening. Even though the man had spoken those three words so casually so many times, the impact of them on his heart never lessened. In fact, it seemed to hit him harder each time.

"...e too…"

I'm really sorry if the pacing is a little quick near the end. ~ Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it! :)