Hey again. It's the second chapter of that Ryu/Takeda fic. Isn't it good? Haha. FFN means formatting issues, unfortunately, though fortunately going through this and correcting things for the first time in months means this FFN version is more polished than the one on my lj. This chapter originally took three months to write after the first one. It was tough.
Summary: Ryu has trouble hiding something from Hayato. More specifically, he has trouble hiding his crush on Takeda.
The Protector
For most of the first week, Ryu stayed locked up in his bedroom. He even refused to eat the first night, until his father threatened him to disown him if he didn't do what he said. Ryu spent a lot of time lying in bed, staring blankly at the ceiling, daytime soap operas playing in the background.
Three days into the first week, he jolted when he heard someone call out, "Ryu-chan!"
He sprinted to his balcony and almost fell off, eager at hearing the sound of Takeda's cute and happy voice again. "What are you doing here?" he asked incredulously, smiling the slightest bit at the bleached blond standing on the pavement below. He was wearing his school jacket and a neon green hair band. "It's Monday—you should be in class!"
"I wanted to see y-o-u," Takeda sang, nodding at the front gate. "Are you going to let me in or what?"
"Of course!" Ryu quickly fumbled with the lock on his door for the first time in a while and sprinted down the stairs. "Takeda?" he called out breathlessly, poking his head out the door. Had he already left?
"You have to open the gate, dummy," Takeda told him, still on the other side of the wall.
"Right." But once Ryu had opened the gate (and Takeda quickly embraced him,) he didn't feel like going back into the house after being locked in for days. He stood with his hands tucked in his pockets, trembling slightly. "Let's get out of here," he told Takeda. "I know you just asked to come in, but I haven't gotten out since Tuesday."
"Okay," Takeda shrugged. He grabbed Ryu's wrist and jerked it out of the taller boy's pocket. "Let's go," he said, dragging Ryu along with him.
. o . o .
They had nowhere to go, not with Takeda still wearing his uniform and it still being a school day, so they settled for the river bank, where Takeda ran around and Ryu had to laugh at his antics. After a short while, Takeda came back and flopped down on the grass next to Ryu. "I wish Tsucchi were here to play catch with," the blond lamented. "No offense, but you don't like to play, and you suck at it anyway. Plus Tsucchi has the ball." He rolled over onto his back, twining his fingers behind his head. "This is nice though," Takeda sighed contently. "The sun is nice, and the sky is blue, and it's just me and you."
Ryu grinned nervously back, but Takeda's speech had already instilled doubt in him. Now he was wondering if Take was really having fun, just lounging on the grass? Ryu had no problem just sitting back and watching his friends have fun, but now it was just him and Takeda. Takeda was more active than he; was he really content to do nothing, as Ryu was accustomed to doing? Or did he want to play catch or Frisbee? Maybe they should have gone to the arcade, except the cops intent on catching truants always patrolled that area…
A high pitched ringing sounded and Takeda squeaked. "My ass is vibrating!" He jumped up and dragged his cell phone from the tan purse hanging from his belt loops. Sliding it open, he put it to his ear. "Tsucchi?" Ryu could hear Tsuchiya's loud voice from where he was, the words not clearly defined. "No, I'm fine. I just didn't feel like coming to school. Yeah I'm at—no, I'm not at home. You seriously went to look for me? I'm touched. But I'm down buy the river. Bring the catch-ball. Bai-bai!"
"Is Hayato coming?" Ryu drawled when Takeda closed his phone.
"Shit! I forgot to ask!" Takeda had already slid the phone back open when Ryu put his hands over Takeda's.
"It's okay. If Hayato comes, I'll just go," Ryu told him.
"No, it's not okay! If he sees you, he's going to go in and kick the crap out of you!" Takeda tried to free his hands, but Ryu gripped tighter.
"He'll kick the crap out of me?" Ryu queried, voice cold in indignation. The smaller boy gulped.
"It's… okay then." Ryu kept his gaze locked on Takeda's for a moment longer, before dropping his hands. Takeda shakily took up space on the grass, waiting for his friends to come.
Ryu cursed at himself, watching the river flow. If Takeda hadn't been enjoying himself before, then he certainly wasn't now. If Takeda wasn't happy, then there was no point for him to be skipping school to be with Ryu. But Ryu was too stubborn to move; if Hayato came, he'd definitely kick the other teen's ass. He'd already implied to Takeda that he'd stay to see the outcome, and Odagiri Ryu was a man of his word.
He glanced at the blond from the corner of his eye and his heart sank. Takeda was more terrified of his friends fighting than he'd been about getting expelled from school a few days before.
. o . o .
Only Tsucchi came, but that was enough. Tsuchiya glared at him like he was the enemy. "Don't you know," he told Takeda coolly, "That this guy is a traitor? You're not on his side, are you?"
Takeda opened his mouth to retaliate, but Ryu beat him to the punch. "I was bored," he told the taller boy. "So I called Take; he's the only one of you who doesn't hold a grudge."
"No, it's—"
"Don't defend him," Tsuchiya snapped. Then he sighed and softened his voice. "Listen, I won't tell Hayato or Hyuuga, but please. He's not worth fighting over."
"But Ryu's our friend too!" Takeda exclaimed. "Did you forget that? If he doesn't have us, who does he have?"
"He can't have us!" Tsuchiya frustratedly explained. "He betrayed us! His friends! Those who betray their friends are lower than trash."
"I am the worst person," Ryu chimed.
"But—"
"Takeda, don't argue. I don't want to cause fights between friends." Ryu started backing away and raised a hand in farewell. "Take good care of him, Tsucchi."
"Ryu—!" Takeda attempted to bolt after him, but Tschiya stopped him by wrapping his arms around Takeda's shoulders. Ryu's lips tightened before he turned and walked away.
. o . o .
Ryu wasn't sure how, but the guys from at Frentzen found him wandering the streets like a lost kitten. Before he knew it, he was sucked into it. He had nothing else to do, no friends to spend time with, no school to attend, so he began to work. The men from the club teased him and called him Ryu-chan or their lost little kitten. But he did have work ethic. And in the end, that's how it was.
When Ryu came back inside one time from stacking crates of beer, he found Takato talking on his cell phone. The only person who still called him was—"Your boyfriend," Takato told him, handing him the cell.
"He's not my boyfriend," Ryu snapped, blushing. He quickly pushed it to his ear. "Take?"
"Who was that?" Takeda's voice sounded flustered. "He kept propositioning me! It was creepy."
"That was just Takato-san; he's the, uh, he's my boss. He's just teasing you know; you are the only one who calls me." Ryu had been pleasantly surprised that Takeda's effort to stay friends; that's why he still took Takeda's calll. If he hadn't taken them, Takeda would have stopped and left Ryu feeling empty. "Harmless fun. He has a wife and kid, you know. Anyway, what's up?"
"Hayato says he saw you around that night club, Frentzen," Takeda started. "You're not working there, are you?"
"Yeah," Ryu answered truthfully, ducking behind the bar. "I take inventory and sometimes tend the bar." The other end was silent; he could imagine Takeda's face in his mind's eye, chewing his lip and widening his eyes. "It's not as bad as you think," he assured him.
"I want to visit you," Takeda announced abruptly.
"What?" Ryu coughed. He glanced at the table of owners before turning around and hissing, "Visit?"
"You just said it wasn't so bad," Takeda argued, "and I haven't seen you for weeks."
"Are you sure? What about Tsucchi, or Hayato?" While he flinched as he said their names, he would rather Takeda be walking around at night with them than all alone in the dark.
"What about them? I want to see you; they'll only tell me I can't," Takeda huffed into the phone. "Hayato doesn't like to talk about it, so we don't, but you wouldn't believe the venom he spills about you when you do come up. I mean, it's been weeks already! We've been friends forever, and this is the longest I've gone without seeing you in how long?"
Ryu had been talking to Takeda for the past couple weeks, but the eagerness in the other boy's voice now made his pulse quicken a little.
"Whether you like it or not, I'm coming to see you on Friday," Takeda informed him. "I've got to go. See you Friday! Bai-bai."
When Ryu finally opened his mouth, he was met with a resounding click.
. o . o .
Ryu kept himself busy, restocking the fridge, busing tables, wiping down the bar, all the while with one eye on the door. Was Takeda really coming? Would he be able to get in, with his junior high looks?
Ryu went out back for break time, sitting on an empty crate and rubbing at his face with his hands. He was such a wreck, getting so worked up about someone that he didn't even expect would come.
"Psst Ryu!" He looked up, and suddenly Takeda was there, grinning nervously as he approached. "Don't look so surprised! I said I'd come, didn't I?"
True, but… Maybe it was because he hadn't seen the smaller boy in such a long time, but there was something about Takeda tonight. His hair was spiked as usual, large eyes catching the light. But that navy shirt he was wearing looked loose on him and too expensive.
"Do I look different?" Takeda asked, cocking his head.
Ryu shook his head, finding his voice to talk. "Isn't that my shirt?"
"Yeah, you left it at Hayato's house a while ago. My mom does laundry for his family sometimes, and since Hayato never came to pick up this shirt…" He tugged on the sleeves and collar. "Does it not look good on me?"
"You look fine," Ryu assured him. Takeda smiled, still standing steps away. Ryu wanted nothing more to close the gap and hug Takeda. "How's school?" he asked instead.
"School's school," Takeda shrugged. He pulled up a crate and sat by Ryu. "Since you've been gone, the class has gotten even more boisterous. Hard to imagine, huh? I think we've gone through another teacher since you left." He chuckled awkwardly.
The small talk was killing Ryu, but he didn't know what else to say. And he really, really, for some unfathomable reason, wanted to hold his friend. "Take…" Ryu paused. Well, shit. He was going for it. "Thanks. You know, for not turning on me." And he leaned over and wrapped an arm around the smaller boy.
Just them, Takeda's cell phone rang. Ryu ignored it and hugged Takeda tighter when he squirmed. "Ryu, I have to answer it!" The tune bounced off the walls.
Footsteps echoed. "There's his ring," a teen's voice (Hyuuga's) pointed out.
"Shit!" Ryu hissed, letting go of Takeda. Takeda fumbled for his cell phone and answered it.
"Uh, hi Hayato?" he squeaked into the phone. He winced, and Ryu could hear an angry voice on the other end that echoed from around the corner.
"Take, what are you doing there?"
Ryu snatched the phone from Takeda and talked in it instead. "Take can do what he want," he told Hayato. "I invited him here; it's his choice if he wants to come."
"Stop bothering him!" Hayato ordered. He was there then, still talking on the phone with Ryu as they stared at each other. "I know you call him obsessively."
Ryu raised an eyebrow; he never once called Takeda, though the other way around had been true. Hayato must have been reading the call log wrong. And what was he doing looking at Takeda's call log anyway? He snapped the phone closed. Tsucchi and Hyuuga were there too, but they skidded to a stop when Hayato just walked up and punched Ryu in the face.
"Stop it!" Takeda desperately pleaded, after picking up his and Hayato's cell phones from the ground. "Stop fighting!"
Neither Ryu nor Hayato listened, returning punch after punch, shove, and elbow.
"You kids!" Ryu immediately stopped, backing away quickly from Hayato. Takato stood at the doorway. "You're causing a disturbance! Leave now, before I call the police!" Tsucchi and Hyuuga dragged Hayato to his feet, still snarling at Ryu, and started running away. Takeda followed after a wide eyed glance at Ryu.
. o . o .
"Just like Romeo and Juliet," Ryu joked.
"Who?"
Ah, that's right. Takeda didn't pay attention in school and wasn't forced to learn English by his father. "From an English play. A guy and a girl fall in love, only their families always fought and hated each other." Ryu switched the phone to his other ear and rolled over onto his back. "Except in this case, we're both guys. And not in love."
Takeda laughed, the sweet sound warming Ryu inside even through the phone's distortion. "Anyway, about Hayato…"
"I understand," Ryu interrupted. "He has all the reason to hate me."
"No he doesn't! He wouldn't if I told him!"
"Don't," Ryu warned. "Listen… if you're going to keep pushing this, stop calling. If he doesn't want to know, fine. If he wants to hate me, fine. I don't care about Hayato."
"Ryu, don't say that—"
"Better yet? Just stop calling. This whole secret friendship thing is bull. You only pity me because I'm alone with no friends. I don't want your pity!"
"What are you—? Since when have I ever—!"
Ryu forged on even though he could hear Takeda's voice cracking. "It's ridiculous! I almost lost my job because of you. And I hate how all the guys assume I'm gay, with you, and how all you ever do is talk, and—"
Ryu thought he heard a sob before a click and a dial tone. He threw his phone across the room. Takeda would be too hurt to call him back. If he kept pushing, he'd realize why Ryu was pushing him away—not because he wanted to, but so as to not get in trouble with Hayato for Take's sake. And if Takeda kept pushing the issue, he'd eventually forfeit to the blond and tell everyone, at least Hayato, why he'd forfeited to Ara. But...
He could never let Hayato know he forfeited on Takeda's behalf. Hayato knew Ryu better than anyone else—he had been his best friend since elementary school after all. If Hayato knew why Ryu forfeited… he would know. Hayato would be able to see right through the flimsy excuse of friendship for Takeda and know exactly how Ryu really felt about shorter boy, because Ryu wouldn't have done it for anyone else, not even Hayato. And Hayato had the tendency to overreact and hold long grudges. He also struck Ryu as the type to be homophobic.
So Ryu would much rather have his best friends hate him for saving Takeda than have them hate him for loving him.
. o . o .