Been a while, huh? Funny that I only start doing more writing and updating things once summer school starts. Anyways, I hope you guys enjoy!

[Who's An-chan?]

It took a few moments to register that he had accidentally sent that last bit to Takano. He tensed, knowing this was a pretty huge hurdle in being able to transition into a relationship- hell, he wasn't even sure that they would be able to with his situation.

[It's… a long story. Could we talk tomorrow or maybe set up a time to meet? I'd rather talk about this in person.]

With the few moments it took for the other to answer, he could only presume Takano's mind had been wandering. He knew it was impossible for him to know, but he feared the gears were already turning.

Yeah, he had a fiancée. It wasn't something he was at all happy about, especially when his parents knew they weren't bound. Even if they were, the brunet wouldn't have wanted to jump into a relationship he wasn't at all ready for. He had been in high school when the whole arrangement was put together!

The next morning, Onodera woke up to the ringtone he had set for Saeki. Slightly annoyed he was being woken up early on his only day off in the week, he begrudgingly reached around for his phone.

Catching it right before the call would be sent to voicemail, he let out a small yawn before mumbling a greeting.

"Hey, Onodera-kun! Sorry about yesterday night, I was a bit of a mess. Now I caught up on my sleep and I was wondering if you'd be able to meet up with me today."

"Ah, sure, if you'd like to. My place or somewhere else?"

"How about your place this time? I'm not in the mood to eat out right now."

"Maybe takeout? Remember, I can't really cook much of anything…"

"Well, you're going to have to learn eventually, you know. How about we just go shopping before going to your place? Oh, or even better, you can go buy the ingredients with that buddy of yours! Are they free today?"

"Ah, I'm not sure if they're awake, but I'll try to ask…"

"You can play it off by asking them if they needed to do any shopping!"

"Saeki-san, I'm going to talk to them now, so I might be silent for a few minutes."

"No worries, I'll be waiting."

He put the phone down next to him on the bed before initiating the connection.

[Takano-san?]

[Hey.]

[Oh, you're awake. So I was wondering, do you have work today?]

[No, I have the day off. Why?]

[Oh, uh, well you see… that woman you drove home last night wanted to meet up today and uh, I needed to buy some things so I could cook something.]

[You want me to drive you?]

[Ah, well, I was just wondering if you needed to do any grocery shopping yourself, but if you don't I'm sorry for the bo-]

[No, I don't mind, I have to go shopping anyways.]

[Ah, really? When would you be available to go out then?]

[I've been up for a while so I'd be up to going pretty soon, you?]

[Ah, I haven't even eaten anything yet…]

[I made a bit too much for my own breakfast, do you wanna come over to my place for a bit?]

[Really? I wouldn't want to impose or anything.]

[No, I was trying to think of a way to ask you about this anyways, so it's fine. Also, we could talk about 'An-chan' or whoever if you came over.]

[Ah, it's a lot to talk about, so I'd be over for a while.]

[I have the time, Onodera-san.]

[Ok, give me a few minutes then…]

He picked his phone back up, Saeki almost immediately pushing for details. "Saeki-san, I have to go. They've invited me over for breakfast and we're going to go shopping later."

"Oh, score! You're so lucky, Onodera-kun! That's so grossly domestic and what, is this like your first date?"

"I'd hardly call it a date, Sae-"

"Oh, trust me, it's a date. Anyways, I'll let you go now! Have fun and surprise me with dinner later!" Before Onodera could even properly respond, the line cut off and the dial tone reached his ears.

With a sigh, he threw his phone over to his satchel and got up and out of bed.

He changed out of his pajamas and brushed his hair a bit before making his way over with his bag. After locking up his own apartment he knocked on the neighboring door.

[It's unlocked.]

[Oh, ok!]

"Pardon the intrusion…" He slipped off his shoes and the smell of freshly cooked food took over his senses. It'd been awhile since he'd been able to wake up to something like this.

"Hey." In his pajamas, he greeted the younger with a nod and went back to setting the table.

"W-wah… Takano-san were you planning to eat all that yourself before?" There were two cups of coffee, eggs, bacon, toast…

"If you didn't come over, yeah." He placed silverware next to the plates and sat down. "Come on, let's eat."

The brunet sat down and his stomach grumbled loudly. Slightly embarrassed, he laughed it off.

"Sorry, it looks so good…" He smiled at him before focusing once more on the food. "Thank you for the food…"

Takano had been quite happy when the younger had initiated the connection earlier, not quite knowing how to approach Onodera. It felt very homey, the two of them sitting adjacent to each other with the drone of the morning news in the background that he wasn't bothering to listen to. He found himself much more focused on, nearly enamored, with the younger.

With their encounters thus far, the older found that Onodera Ritsu was fairly easy to get a reaction out of, whether it be positive or otherwise. His face could light up or drop at the slightest of things. He was becoming an open book as he found out more about him, and he appreciated it in a way.

Currently, the brunet had a small smile upon his lips. Those lips, they looked so soft…

In an attempt to distract himself from the sight, he looked down at his food, partially eaten.

"So…" He pushed around the contents of his plate. "An-chan?"

Something Takano hadn't been able to see last night, the slumping of the other's shoulders, set him off almost immediately.

"Ah, right…" He placed his utensil down and looked up. "Well, we've known each other since we were really young. Our parents were all from upper class families and were connected by business. And, well, from middle school onwards they've had some fantasy that me and An-chan would get married-"

"Married?" It came out of him before he could stop it, and the chilled attitude he tried so hard to present himself with was lost. And at the sight of green eyes widening, he felt his stomach knot up a bit. "I'm sorry, please continue."

"Y-yeah, it's okay, I can see why you would have a reaction like that. But really, I don't see her as anything but a sister, a good friend. We've known each other for over twenty years and I know for a fact I don't want to be in a romantic relationship with her."

"But what will you do about the whole family company situation? I know you're still fairly young but you're going to need to make decisions about this sooner or later."

At this, his face fell once more and he went silent, something Takano had no idea how to handle.

"Hey, I'm sorry, you have time to think about these things and I'm sure you've thought about them a bit too much as is. Do you want to go shopping now?" He stood up before getting an answer, not intending to finish his food.

"O-oh, I wouldn't want to waste this food, It's so good…"

"Alright, I think I'm done with my food though. When you finish just leave them in the sink, I'll be able to take care of them later."

"Alright, thanks again for the food." He went back to eating, mood having dropped quite a bit.

The ride to the grocery store was a bit awkward, Onodera finding his mind wandering. They hadn't talked much all after their little discussion at the table, and he didn't find himself minding it too much. If they did talk, it would probably only make things more awkward than needed.

"You know," The older man started, not taking his eyes off the road. "I don't think you needed to make such a big deal out of this An-chan situation. In fact I'm glad it came up now instead of later."

The brunet could only sigh. "I guess that's true..."

They fell back into silence, neither able to really think of a way to continue and both had the passing thought that they'd hopefully be able to work on conversations later.

Within the next few minutes, they reached a store, and at the sudden assault of fresh smells surrounding him, Onodera suddenly remembered he had no clue what he even planned on making. Saeki had said to "surprise" her, but he could only wonder what the word entailed.

Surely she didn't want burnt meat and undercooked side dishes, but if you thought about it, such could be seen as a surprise from a 25 year old living on his own.

"Takano-san," Green eyes looked at the messy black head of hair that pulled a bit ahead of him. "I was having somebody come over later, what do you think would be easy for me to make for a dinner?"

"Is it that woman I drove home last night?" He turned around to look at the other properly.

"Yeah, she said to surprise her, but with my knowledge surrounding cooking, I would say the only surprise she'd get is a bunch of burnt food…"

"You don't know how to cook?" Dark brows knit together in confusion.

"Ah… nobody really taught me when I was younger... I guess they didn't think I would move out and just take over things right out of college and stay at the main house."

"That's not really the best reasoning. You should at least know the basics, didn't you take classes like that when you were younger in school?"

"...I never did too well. I always seem to find a way to mess things up. I barely got a passing grade." He gave a sad smile, embarrassed to admit to such things.

"I'm no professional, but I could help you out. Come on, let's go get some things for that dinner."

"So what were your plans for today outside of dinner with that friend coming over later?"

They were now walking back to the car, each carrying a bag of ingredients for later.

"Oh, uh, I think I was going to spend most of my day working on that dinner. I'm really bad."

"You can't be that bad. All you need to do is follow directions from recipes." With the click of a key he was able to throw his bag into the back seat.

"You're not the first person to say that one…" He gave a dry laugh as he followed suit.

"Come on, get in. I'll help you when we get back, and you're going to get it right no matter how long it takes."

"Takano-san, I really don't think…"

Takano now turned to him, looking him in the eye. "We're going to get it right, ok?"

"Takano-san…"

Phone ringing from across the room, Saeki gave a groan as she walked over. When she saw "Onodera RItsu" as the contact name however, she quickly perked up.

"What's up, Onodera-kun?" She greeted, hopeful for some talk on his bond.

"Saeki-san...I think we're going to need to postpone these dinner plans…" She noted with a bit of confusion that he was whispering.

"Wait, what? Why?"

"Well, I did go out and buy some things to make something earlier but-"

Suddenly, a new, deeper voice butted into the conversation. "Onodera! How did you manage to burn this?! The flame wasn't even-"

"I told you, Takano-san! This is a lost cause!" The brunet broke in again, irritated.

"We're going to get something good even if it takes all night! And why are you on the phone anyways? Get back to work!"

"This isn't work!" She heard a huff before he slipped back into an apologetic tone. "Look, I'm sorry, but I don't think anything will be edible for a while, so do you think we can try the next time we bo-hey! T-takano-san!"

"Excuse me, but I'm going to have to take him off of your hands for a while. We have a few cooking lessons to go over. I do hope that's alright."

"O-oh, that's fine, take as long as you need."

"Alright, I do hope I'm not ruining your plans too much, uh, what was it? Saeki-san?"

"Y-yeah...Takano-san, right?"

"Takano Masamune. Well, maybe you'll see me the day this guy can properly cook something. Goodbye."

Without waiting for a reply out of her, he hung up and left her nearly breathless.

"The Takano Masamune…?"