Prompt: Hands/Relaxing (2020)
Knock knock
Ritsu ignored his front door, already having a good idea as to who was at it, and he was not going to allow a certain someone to ruin his day off.
Knock knock knock
Ritsu sighed, simply turning a page in his book and continuing to read Sumi-sensei's latest novel. It wasn't often he got to just sit around and relax like this, so he was going to take full advantage of it.
Knockknockknockknockknockknock-
Ritsu shut his eyes, taking a deep breath as he tried not to let his irritation get the best of him. After all, getting a rise out of Ritsu was probably Masamune's goal. Masamune would give up eventually, right? If Ritsu just continued to ignore him and pretend like he wasn't home-
KNOCKKNOCKKNOCKKNOCK
"Onodera! I know you're in there!" The voice was muffled through the door, but managed to reach the brunette, making Ritsu bookmark and shut his novel before setting it aside.
"Can I help you, Takano-san?" Ritsu asked, frowning as he opened the front door. He didn't try to hide his displeasure. No one wanted to be harrassed by their boss on their day off, after all.
"Let's go out." Masamune said, it sounding less like a suggestion and more like an order.
"No." Ritsu frowned. "If that's all you wanted then-" He started, beginning to close the door, but Masamune was quick to put a hand out.
"I know you're not busy. Come on. Let me take you on a dinner date."
Ritsu blushed furiously at the word 'date' and shook his head. "D-d-don't be ridiculous, you're my boss!"
"And when has that ever stopped me?" Masamune asked, a bored expression on his face. He really wanted to skip this part and fast forward to where the two of them were on a date. Maybe it wouldn't be the picture-perfect lovey dovey kind of thing Masamune wanted, but so long as he was in Ritsu's company it would be enough. When they were alone he could even reach out and hold Ritsu's hand. Sure, it would make the brunette shriek like a banshee at first, but Masamune could put up with some scolding if the end result was holding hands. Maybe he could even steal a kiss or two-
"Well, that's because you have no shame!" Ritsu huffed, shattering Masamune's daydream before it could really get anywhere good. "Besides, I really just want to spend my off day relaxing. At home. Alone."
"Let me cook for you then." Masamune said.
"What part of alone did you not understand?"
"I'd just be in the kitchen. Besides, with your track record I can't be sure that you're feeding yourself properly on your days off." He said, that only being maybe 25% of why he wanted access to Ritsu's apartment, the other 75% of course being that he wanted to spend time with the brunette. But he couldn't say that, not if he didn't want Ritsu to explode.
Ritsu frowned. "I don't have anything in my pantry for you to cook anyway, so if you'd excuse me-"
"Do you not see how that's even worse? You're seriously hopeless." Masamune huffed, reaching out to grab Ritsu by the wrist and drag him over to his apartment.
"T-Takano-san! Let go of me!" Ritsu protested, trying to wiggle out of his grip. Despite his effort, he ended up in Masamune's living room.
"Sit. Relax. That's an order from your boss. I'll start cooking." Masamune said.
Relaxing in Takano Masamume's home was much easier said than done for the frazzled brunette, but it seemed he wasn't being given much of a choice.
"Can I at least go get the book I was reading and lock my front door or am I being completely held hostage?" Ritsu asked huffily, crossing his arms.
"Only if you promise to come back." Masamune said. "And if you don't you better believe your workload will be doubled come Monday morning."
Ritsu had to refrain from reaching out and strangling his annoying ex-boyfriend, instead he stomped out of his apartment and back over to his own. He went into the living room, snatching the book back up and pausing to consider his options: stay put in his home, but probably be harrassed all night and ultimately punished at work or do some damage control by reading at Masamune's place instead. Ritsu sighed, suddenly feeling gloomy. It just wasn't fair! Why couldn't he ever catch a break?
Ultimately he decided to go back to Masamune's apartment, slipping inside and shuffling to the living room. He could hear Masamune making himself busy in the kitchen, so he decided not to bring too much attention to himself and just sit. He cracked his book back open, picking up where he left off and letting himself get absorbed in the pages.
Maybe this wasn't so bad...
The domestic sounds of the kitchen that were familiar enough to be comforting, but not loud enough to be distracting, the comfortable couch that he was able to sink into, a story that he didn't have to worry about editing and could instead just enjoy, and eventually a delightful smell wafting through the apartment all added together to make the usual tension Ritsu felt when in Masamune's apartment melt away.
"Hey, foods done."
Ritsu couldn't help but to jump when his little bubble had burst. Well, that had been fast. Or at least, it had seemed like it. Just how long had Ritsu been reading?
"A-Ah, okay." Ritsu marked his page and set down his book before standing to follow Masamune into the kitchen shyly.
Dinner had been done for maybe ten minutes now, but Masamune hadn't been able to tell Ritsu right away, not when he saw him on the couch. He had looked so at ease, like he belonged there, like it was only natural for him to be in Masamune's living room and Masamune could only stare and hope to God that one day that would be true. It had pained him to interrupt such a beautiful image.
"Itadakimasu." Masamune said as they sat across from one another.
"I-Itadakimasu." Ritsu echoed before he started to eat. He was mad that it was good. There was no way he could compliment Masamune's cooking without him getting a big head about it so he kept quiet.
"So, what's that book you've been reading this whole time?" Masamune asked curiously. Just like that, Ritsu lit up with stars in those emerald eyes of his, always eager to talk about books. That was perfectly fine though, Masamune was always eager to listen.
"It's Sumi-sensei's latest novel! I'm really enjoying it so far, but it's interesting, the tone is a little lighter than his usual novels-" Ritsu started to ramble between his bites of food, Masamune doing his best to pay attention and not just get caught up in admiring him.
"I love you." Masamune said when Ritsu's words came to a natural pause.
Ritsu turned a bright shade of pink and he quickly stuffed some food into his mouth to avoid responding.
Masamune just smiled, not expecting a response of any kind other than something akin to scolding, but that was okay. He reached out across the table, taking Ritsu's free hand in his. "Thanks for coming over for dinner."
"You dragged me over..." Ritsu reminded him, huffing.
Masamune chuckled, knowing that Ritsu wouldn't be here if he truly didn't want to be. "Still, thanks anyways." He said. "Can I borrow that book when you're finished with it?"
Ritsu was more than happy to steer the conversation back toward the book, not even realizing that he was still holding Masamune's hand.
