The next day when Ritsu went to work (unfortunately he had to have the whole journey with Takano), he found that about when they were about 20 minutes into their shift, Kisa hadn't turned up. Anything could've happened to him, he thought shamefully, he regretted not trying harder to get to his lover in time. Once the other workers had left the office for their break, Ritsu turned to Takano with an angry glare. "We should've helped him"
"Who?"
"Kisa! He's not here! You saw what happened last night, he could be in serious danger, pain or even dead!"
"He'll be fine"
"He's one of the hardest workers here, and you don't care!" Ritsu shut down his laptop, grabbed his bag and coat and packed his stuff up.
"And where do you think you're going Onodera?"
"I'm going to find Kisa!" and with that said, he left.

Kisa, meanwhile, was huddled up on the mucky ground of the alley with only his coat for warmth. His face was stained with various tear streaks and his lips were blue from the cold. His eyes were red and his clothes were ripped in various places. But there had been one person on his mind the entire time. "Ritsu..."

Ritsu ran across the road he'd crossed last time just before Takano had dragged him off home and looked around. The streets weren't as empty as they were last night so it was hard to see anything clearly. Ritsu made his way through the crowd but sticking close to the side furthest from the roadside so he wouldn't miss Kisa if he was still about after the attack. He walked past a few alleys but heard nothing until the fourth one along. He stopped when he heard what sounded like his name. Turning his head slightly, he saw a small huddled shape a few feet away. Slowly, he made his way towards the figure, which had it's back to him, and kneeled down quietly, setting his bag beside him. "Kisa...?" he asked slowly as he removed the top of the coat off the figure's head. The figure shot round and true enough, it was Kisa. Blood covered his face mixing with the tear streaks and on the tips of his bangs.
"Rittie!" Kisa launched himself at Ritsu and clung to him like a lifeline.
Ritsu immediately hugged him back just as tightly, running a comforting hand through the man's raven hair. "Thank goodness you're alright, Shouta... I was gonna come find you, honest! But Takano grabbed me and knocked me out before taking me home before I got the chance..."
Kisa was sobbing on Ritsu's shoulder. "It's o-okay...I still l...love you...Rittie"
"I love you too Shouta..."

Ritsu carefully picked up Kisa and their bags and carried him to the train station and back home. Right now he wasn't thinking about work like usual. Kisa was all that mattered to him. Kisa had been changed into some clean clothes and the blood had been washed from his face and hair with gentle touches from Ritsu. Now both men were lounging on the couch with the TV as background noise. Kisa snuggled into Ritsu's chest while the younger one rubbed his back to an unheard rhythm.
"Rittie?"
"Mhm hm?"
"...Thank you, for leaving work really early just to come find me"
"It was nothing Shouta, I love you, it was the only thing I could think about since I woke up this morning. You make me so happy and even though we won't be like this when Yukina comes back, I'll always be in the space beside you at work"
"Rittie..." Tears filled Kisa's eyes as he closed his eyes and savoured Ritsu's hand movements on his body. One hand stroking his hair and back gently while the other arm was wrapped tightly round his waist. To Kisa, this was his paradise for now.