Me, relating to a character and projecting MY issues onto them?
It's more likely than you think.
Fun fact, I named Takano's father Hebi, because Google told me it means Snake. :)
P.s: Happy Easter!
You see them all the time. In movies and on TV; they're nearly impossible to escape.
Families, that is.
Perfect families. With a successful and handsome father, a beautiful stay at home mother, and probably a golden retriever somewhere in there.
'Hah. What a load of crap.'
Masamune squints suspiciously at the envelope he's currently holding, making sure he hasn't misread it or something.
'Maybe it's time for new glasses.'
But despite his unreliable vision, the name printed crisply on the front does not magically change.
Kotoko Saga.
His mother.
Masamune is.. not really on speaking terms with his parents, to put it lightly.
He supposes that he should feel some remorse about that.
He doesn't.
Yeah, sure, their divorce kind of sent him into a self-destructive spiral at some point or another, but he got over it.
Mostly.
Anyways, the point is that he and his parents don't talk much.
'So why the hell did my mother send me a letter?' Masamune wonders in bafflement.
For a brief, but oh so tempting moment, he imagines tearing the note to shreds.
Yeah, he's petty. So what? He's earned it.
'Almost ten years without a word, and she can't even be bothered to call.' the thought shouldn't depress him.
And it doesn't.
It annoys him.
'I'm going to rip it up, throw it in the trash where it belongs, and go about my day.' Masamune decides, fingers tensed precariously around the envelope.
Trying to contact him out of the blue with a note?
He tears the envelope.
What a joke.
So why is he opening it?
Against his will, Masamune opens the letter carefully, and pulls out the piece of paper neatly tucked inside.
The strict, typed font inscribed onto the paper is the first thing he notices.
'Wow. Not even handwritten.' Masamune rolls his eyes. 'Of course not. That would require actual effort on their part.'
However it's the second thing that he notices that makes him stop cold.
"What?"
Masamune stares at the deceptively innocent sheet of paper in his hands uncomprehendingly.
Just as he suspected, he definitely needs new glasses.
'This has got to be some kind of sick joke.'
But no matter how many times he rereads the letter, he can't find the punchline.
"What the hell?"
It has to be fake. There's no other explanation.
'It's real.' a nasty little voice inside his head whispers.
The invitation falls out of his hand, floating almost inappropriately gently to the ground.
Masamune's hands are eerily steady as he draws out his cellphone.
"You are formally invited to attend the memorial service of Hebi Takano. He passed away-"
Ritsu is just leaving work when his cell phone rings.
It had been a pretty productive day, if he does say so himself, so his mood is light as he takes his phone out of his pocket.
It's Takano. Which is… not surprising.
Seriously, does he even use his phone for anything other that calling or texting that guy?
'No, not really.' his mind oh-so helpfully replies.
Ritsu sighs. Oh well, he can worry about his lack of a social life later.
"Hi! I'm on my way home now. Did you want me to stop and pick up something for dinner?" Ritsu asks, pointedly ignoring the fact that he sounds like some kind of housewife.
There is no response.
"Hello?" Ritsu frowns. "Takano? Are you there?"
Still nothing.
'Weird. Maybe he called me by accident.'
He shrugs. He's just about to hang up and head for the train station when Masamune finally speaks.
"Ritsu? Sorry, I'm here."
Ritsu freezes.
Bright red flags of alarm wave violently in his mind.
Because Masamune has always had this way of speaking; of projecting confidence and self assurance into his voice at all times.
It's something that Ritsu has always admired, and envied, about him.
But right now, Masamune sounds… lost. Or confused.
'Something's wrong.'
"Hey, is everything okay?" Ritsu doesn't bother trying to keep the concern out of his voice.
Masamune doesn't try brush off Ritsu's worry, which is the final warning bell.
"I- I don't know."
The confession hurts something in Ritsu's chest.
"Tell me what happened." Ritsu tries to make his voice soothing.
'Forget the train, it'll take too long. I need to get to him now.' he starts trying to hail a taxi.
"I got a letter today." Masamune shares cryptically.
"A letter?" Ritsu repeats in confusion, thrown off by the seemingly random announcement.
He manages to halt a cab; but in his haste to get in, he accidentally slams the door. Loudly.
'Oops.'
The driver of the cab sends him a dirty look through the rear view mirror.
"Did you just get in a taxi?" Masamune asks curiously. "That's not necessary. Don't waste your money."
"I didn't." Ritsu denies hastily, covering the speaker of his phone briefly to mutter an apology and the address of their apartment building to the driver.
"Still such a bad liar." Masamune's tone is quiet; wistful. It's clear that he didn't mean to be heard.
Ritsu doesn't comment. After all, he can't argue with him.
"So," he begins, none-too subtly steering the conversation back to the topic at hand. "What about this letter?"
"It was from my mother." Masamune informs him grimly.
Ritsu gasps, all too aware of the weight behind that statement.
For most people, getting a letter from their mother would be nothing unusual.
For Masamune, who is on less than familiar terms with his parents, it has the same effect as a bombshell being dropped.
"But you haven't spoken in-"
"I know. Trust me, I was more surprised than you are." Masamune laughs, but its dry and humorless.
The bitter sound pierces Ritsu's heart.
'Can't this thing go any faster?'
"I was going to throw it away." Masamune says matter-of-factly. "But I…" he trails off, inhaling deeply and slowly exhaling.
Ritsu desperately wishes he could spontaneously develop the power to teleport.
"But, I'm guessing you didn't." he says softly, encouraging him to continue.
"No, I didn't." Masamune agrees. "But I kind of wish I had."
Ritsu's heart squeezes painfully.
"So can I ask what it said?" he asks tentatively.
There's a pause.
"Sorry, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to." he promises immediately.
Ritsu's grip tightens around the back of his phone.
Thank god, he can see their apartment now.
"It was an invitation." Masamune finally breaks the silence.
Ritsu notes with worry that all of the emotion is gone from his voice.
"To my father's funeral."
Ritsu gasps.
'Oh my god.'
"Yeah, that was pretty much my reaction too." Masamune's voice is still toneless.
The taxi finally slows to a stop outside of their building, and Ritsu practically jumps out of the car, hurriedly paying the driver and running inside.
"Hold on, I just got here. I'll be at our door in a second." he promises, racing for the elevators.
"Wow. You got here that fast on the subway?" There's a hint of teasing in Masamune's tone.
"I took a taxi." Ritsu is too relieved at the return of emotion to Masamune's voice to be irritated.
He nearly trips over his own feet as he sharply rounds the corner, and comes to a dead stop in front of the elevators.
'Are you kidding me right now!?'
There's a bright sign taped to the elevator doors. Ritsu swears it's mocking him.
It's becoming painfully clear that the universe has decided to be an asshole today.
Elevators are closed for maintenance. We apologise for the inconvenience.
"Shit."
"What's wrong?" Masamune asks.
'Nothing's wrong. Except that we live on the fifteenth floor!'
Ritsu shakes his head furiously, before he remembers that Masamune can't actually see him right now.
"Nothing." he promises.
Looks like there's only one option left.
He eyes the entrance to the stairs with determination.
"Keep talking. I'm almost there."
Ritsu would like to declare that fifteen flights of stairs is just… too many.
'Oh my god that was a terrible idea I'm never doing that again!'
Ritsu sincerely wonders how he's still alive at this moment. His legs and his lungs are burning.
'How do people exercise for fun?!' the very thought exhausts him even more. He hunches over, places his hands on his knees, and desperately tries to just breathe.
The sound of approaching footsteps causes Ritsu to look up instinctively.
'That sounds like…'
"Did you just run up fifteen flights of stairs?" Masamune's arms are crossed. He sounds almost impressed.
"No!" Ritsu wheezes, and instantly regrets wasting precious oxygen he really needs right now.
Masamune laughs.
The sound is unexpected, and doesn't last long, but it makes Ritsu feel lighter. Suddenly he can breathe a little easier.
Well, not literally. He is so out of shape.
'Maybe the stairs weren't so bad.' Ritsu admits. They did help him get to Masamune's side faster, so he's grateful for that at least.
But he's still never doing it again.
"Are you ok-" Ritsu tries to ask, but stops, because wow, breathing is really hard right now.
"Hey, relax." Masamune rests his hand on Ritsu's back. "I'm fine." he says easily.
Too easily.
"Liar." Ritsu coughs out, but he notices it's slowly getting easier to breathe. "Nobody would be fine after something like that."
Masamune sighs.
Ritsu stares at him expectantly.
"Alright, that's fair. Maybe fine isn't the right word." Masamune smiles dryly, and shrugs. "Let's go with… still processing? It just doesn't really feel real to me yet."
Ritsu's heart twinges.
'I can't even imagine how shocked he must have felt. I mean, finding out a family member died so unexpectedly? It's cruel.'
For a brief, and terrible moment, Ritsu pictures himself finding an invitation to Masamune's funeral inside his mailbox.
The abruptness.
The confusion.
It's enough to make him feel sick, and he banishes the horrifying thought away roughly.
"That's understandable. It'd be more worrying if you weren't shocked."Ritsu says gently, as he straightens up and takes Masamune's hand in his own.
"I suppose you're right." Masamune squeezes his hand gratefully. "C'mon, let's go inside. I don't think this kind of conversation is meant to be had in a hallway."
"Sure." Ritsu nods, and together, they make their way back into their apartment.
The second that the door closes, Masamune seizes Ritsu and pulls him into a desperate hug.
"Hey!" Ritsu protests purely out of surprise.
This is actually nothing out of the ordinary, as Masamune does something like this whenever he and Ritsu enter their apartment together.
Ritsu will never admit this to anyone, but he's reluctantly come to expect what he affectionately refers to as a 'Masamune attack' pretty much daily.
He was only caught off guard this time because really, Masamune? Is now really the time?
"Sorry." Masamune whispers, burying his face in the crook of Ritsu's neck. "I was about to explode."
'Oh.'
"It's okay." Ritsu reassures him.
'Looks like it's starting to sink in.'
He wraps his arms around tightly around Masamune's waist, hoping to provide even the smallest bit of comfort.
'At least this is something I can do for him.'
Ritsu doesn't know exactly how long they stay like that.
He doesn't really care either.
If anyone dares to interrupt them, or causes Masamune to retreat back into his own head, Ritsu vows to hunt them down.
"Ten years." Masamune speaks, and squeezes Ritsu tighter.
It's honestly getting a little painful, but Ritsu's not about to complain.
"I haven't spoken to either of them for almost ten years, and today I found out my father was dead from a letter.'
The hurt and betrayal in his voice stabs Ritsu's heart. He reaches up to gently run his fingers through Masamune's dark hair.
He's never met Masamune's parents before, and now he'll definitely never meet his father. But he wishes he could have.
It's really not fair.
He would have at least liked the opportunity to kindly inform the both of them about how their son deserved so much better than them.
'Oh, Masamune…'
"Uh oh. You're calling me Masamune again?"
Ritsu realizes that he had spoken aloud.
"That means you're worried about me." Masamune smiles. It's small and weary, sure; but it's genuine.
Ritsu smiles back, and shakes his head. "No, that's not it. I mean, of course I'm worried, but mostly I'm mad for you."
"Mad forme?" Masamune repeats, an eyebrow quirked in vague amusement.
"Yes." Ritsu's smile melts away, and he digs his fingers into Masamune's back.
Masamune hums, encouraging him to continue.
Ritsu gladly obliges, but only after making damn sure that he and Masamune are making eye contact.
This is something that he needs Masamune to understand.
"You deserved better than a half assed invitation in the mail, Masamune." he says firmly, raising up to the tips of his toes to place a kiss on Masamune's forehead.
'The fact that I even have to tell you that makes me sick.'
"And you deserved better parents. I haven't met your mother yet, but I don't like her." he says hotly.
Ritsu's declaration surprises a brief laugh out of Masamune.
"I'm serious!" Ritsu claims, but he can feel the corners of his mouth turning up traitorously. "I will never be able to respect someone who couldn't even be bothered to call her son about something so important."
Masamune is openly laughing now, and the mood of despair that had been present is effectively banished.
Ritsu is not sad to see it go.
"You're laughing." he points out unnecessarily. His chest warms with relief.
"Of course I am." Masamune places his head in the crook of Ritsu's neck again. "How could I not? You just made me really happy."
Ritsu yelps when Masamune kisses his shoulder.
"Thank you."
Ritsu's cheeks burn at the reverent tone of Masamune's voice.
"I… still don't know how to feel about all of this, but as long as you're with me, I think I'll be okay."
Masamune smiles.
"You will be okay." Ritsu smiles back. "Maybe not right now, but we'll get there." he promises.
Masamune kisses Ritsu's cheek, and finally releases him, but only to take both of his hands in his own.
"I almost forgot, there's something I need to ask you."
Ritsu tilts his head curiously.
"Will you be my date to my father's funeral?" Masamune asks seriously, but his eyes are amused.
Ritsu laughs. "Well when you ask like that, how could I say no?" he steps forward to place a chaste kiss on Masamune's lips.
Yeah, Masamune isn't fine right now, and they still need to talk about this more.
And that's okay, Ritsu thinks.
Because Masamune is strong. Stronger and so much better than his parents.
And Ritsu's not going to stop until he makes sure that Masamune knows it.
Confession time: something pretty similar to this actually happened to me irl, but instead of a letter, I found out from a Facebook post :)
