This will be a two-shot

Warnings: Attempted rape and swearing.

The night air was cold and damp. It had rained previously, but now there was only a light mist floating about. It was well past midnight, which meant that it was not a good time for someone to be walking around. Especially someone who didn't have a jacket, wallet, or even a phone. Ritsu just happened to be that someone.

He hadn't been sleeping too well. For many days, in fact, his dreamland had been overtaken by rather troubling dreams. Mostly they were just mingled, but they always started out the same. Takano would be across a room filled with white. He would reach out, but then something would pull him back. He would turn around and come face to face with three people. His mother, his father, and An.

The disapproving faces, and sneers, the yelling. He was never able to make out what they were saying, but all the words sounded very harsh. The one thing Ritsu hated was having someone disappointed in him. So in his dream, he would turn around and seek the one person who had actually made him happy...Takano. But then he turned around, he would be gone.

Tonight, the dream had started up as it had been doing for the past week. However, it only lasted for a bit until he woke up around one. He had been sweating, eyes leaking tears, and his skin felt clammy all over. At that time, both body and mind only needed one thing….fresh air.

So here he was, walking around the practically empty streets of the city, trying desperately to clean his troubled mind. Stress never went well with him. In these past few days his stomach had been hurting more than ever, and he hadn't been able to concentrate properly. Worst of all, Takano was starting to realize that something was bothering him, which led to him being nosy.

"What do I do?" He mumbled to himself, running a hand through his already disheveled hair. He hadn't exactly dressed to go outside. He was still in jeans (which he had fallen asleep in) and a t-shirt. He didn't bring anything with him either, but it was fine since he didn't plan on going too far, or for too long. "An-chan never listens to me! I don't like her that way...and I've tried to tell her so many times. My mom too...she never listens or supports me, and father always sides with her…"

Ritsu didn't want to take over his father's company someday. It was just too much stress. Well, that's not to say that his work here wasn't stressful (Very stressful!) but he liked it here! Nobody was jealous of him, and he was making it on his own for once. He liked his co-workers and they became friends. His boss...well, it was complicated.

"...And Takano….I'm falling for him more and more each day."

His musings were cut off when he realized that he had strolled into a rather sketchy part of the city. There was a cheap little pub that he was walking past now. A group of men were standing there holding drinks and...staring at him? Ritsu quickly averted his gave, looking down at the ground as he shuffled past.

"Hey, wait a minute beautiful! Where ya' going?"

A hand touched his shoulder, and he stiffened and turned around. One of the men from the group was behind him now. He looked about forty, heavyset with graying hair and nasty teeth. His breath smelled like cheap whiskey.

"U-Um...I was j-just heading home!" Ritsu stuttered quickly, on the inside thinking 'oh shit!'

"Home, huh?" The drunk (was he drunk?) man smiled. "I think you should stay here with me and my pals. We can show ya' a good time."

Ritsu was beginning to panic. "N-No thank you. I really need to be getting back…"

"Didn't you hear me the first time? Ya' see, I really can't let something so pretty go to waste now can I?"

The man then grabbed him by the arm with his meaty hand. Ritsu...well, he wasn't exactly the strongest person in the world. His figure was thin, and he didn't carry much muscle on it. He knew that now he wouldn't be able to escape. If only he had ran...but his fear had terrified him.

"N-NO!" He shrieked, attempting to jerk back.

"Shhh...don't be frightened sweetheart. God almighty, you're as pretty as a lady. I haven't had myself a good time with a lady in a long time. I think you'll substitute just fine."

Ritsu shuddered as the man leaned in closer, using his other hand to gently cup his cheek. The other hand was still gripping tightly around his arm. He could feel the warm, horrible smelling breath on his face. He knew that in a moment, those man's cracked and fattened lips would be against his own, and the thought made him want to vomit.

But….that moment never came.

A hand flew out of nowhere, connecting with a hard crack against the man's cheekbone. The man stumbled back and ended up letting go to Ritsu, causing the editor to step back quickly, tripping over his own feet and tumbling to the ground in the process. As he looked up into the moonlight, he could see a face that he recognized instantly. He knew he was saved.

"You get the fuck away from him right now." Takano ordered. For once he wasn't yelling. Instead, his voice was cold and deadly.

"W-Wha?" The man must have certainly been drunk, because he still hadn't recovered from the punch. Takano didn't seem to care. He gripped the man by his shirt and gave him another solid punch. Now he probably had a broken nose…

"I said get the fuck away from him!" Takano was yelling now. "Right now you filthy piece of shit!"

That finally did it. The man came to his senses and staggered backwards towards his buddies, who had been watching the whole time but now looked too nervous to intervene. Ritsu had been in a state of shock the whole time, watching but not really registering anything. Finally he blinked when something was draped over his back.

"Ritsu, are you alright?" Takano asked softly, wrapping his jacket tightly around the smaller man's back. The brown haired editor was very pale and quite shaken up, but otherwise he didn't look physically injured.

"T-Takano-san?" Ritsu asked numbly.

"I'm here…" His boss murmured reassuringly. "Come on, we're going home now. Honestly you idiot, what were you thinking?"

Ritsu, still shocked, did not have an answer. He even allowed himself to be lifted up bridal style into his boss's arms. He briefly wondered how his boss had even found him, but didn't really care at the moment. Takano was so warm...which was why he buried his face into his chest, partly for warmth, and partly to hide the horrors of this now dark and dreary night.

Reviews would be lovely!

By the way, chapter 2 (the aftermath) will be updated soon! I hope this was okay! It's a bit darker than what I normally do, but I wanted to branch out a bit!