Prompt: Free Prompt (2020, Part 4 of 7)

"Richan, what was all that about?" An asked, leaving her spot on the porch and walking up to Ritsu.

Ritsu hadn't moved despite Saga now being out of his sight. The teen was devastated and completely clueless about what he should do in order to make this right. Should he chase after him again? Give him space? Should he even bother going to the library tomorrow?

"Richan?" An frowned, realizing that he was crying.

"I-I'm sorry An, I-I know its your birthday, b-but do you think you could go home? I want to be alone right now." Ritsu sniffled.

"What kind of a friend would I be if I left you all alone while you're like this? Come on, let's go back inside and talk about this." An managed to lead him back into the house and made him sit on the couch with her, but not before she grabbed some tissues for him. "Tell me what's going on."

Ritsu accepted the tissues, using a couple and doing his best to stop his tears. "I-I don't really want to talk about it, An." He frowned. "I know you're just trying to be a good friend, but...I just can't tell you."

"You can't?" An frowned. "Is that boy bullying you?"

"What? No!"

"Blackmailing you? Threatening you?"

"No, nothing like that!" Ritsu said. He was surprised at how quickly An had jumped to that assumption.

"Well, then why can't you tell me?"

Ritsu frowned. "Because it might...change things between us." He said. "And I can't lose the two people I care about the most in the same day."

"Richan..." An reached over, holding one of his hands tightly. "No matter what happens I will always be your friend."

Ritsu gave her hand a small squeeze and took a deep breath. "You can't tell anyone about this."

"I promise."

Ritsu stared at their locked hands as he spoke. "Saga Senpai is...special to me."

"Special?" An frowned in confusion.

"Yes. Special." Ritsu swallowed, losing some of his nerve and not elaborating.

An tried to piece together what Ritsu could mean by that. She'd seen Ritsu and Saga together at the library in the past, even on Valentine's Day she recalled getting a glance of the upperclassman. Now, they had spent White Day together...and Saga left after she found the promise rings...

"Richan...is Saga Senpai your boyfriend?"

Ritsu squeezed his eyes shut and held her hand tight. "Yes."

Ritsu waited to be yelled at, for An to rip away from him, for her to tell him that he was gross or just confused before storming out and never talking to him again.

"I'm sor-" Ritsu started to apologize when the silence lasted too long, but An cut him off.

"I ruined your White Day!" She cried out. "I'm so, so sorry Richan, if I had known I would have just gone home, please let me make this better somehow!"

"...You're not mad at me?"

"Mad at you? I'm mad at me! You probably had a whole thing planned out and I completely crashed the party!" An felt both humiliated and guilty. She had been third wheeling without even realizing it and now she had caused a fight between the two of them! She probably made them fight on Valentine's Day too!

"But...Saga Senpai is a guy...and you also like me." Ritsu said, confused.

"I know. Guy, girl, I don't care, you're still my best friend. You always have been and you always will be. And yes I like you, and I don't think anyone could possibly love you as much as I do, but...if you're happy then I'm happy." An said. Of course, there was a bittersweetness to it for her, but her heartbreak was her own to deal with.

"You're a great friend, Anchan." Ritsu said. 'Better than I deserve', he thought to himself. "Thank you."

An smiled kindly, hiding her sadness at the word 'friend'. "Don't thank me yet. I still need to find a way to make this up to you."

Ritsu tried to insist that An needed to do no such thing, but regardless she did her best to try to improve the night and get Ritsu's mind off the fiasco that White Day had devolved into, at least for a little while.

Still, Ritsu couldn't just pretend away the day, even if he tried.

He had to make this right.

Ritsu was not a particularly courageous person. Often his moments of bravery were actually moments of recklessness, but the next day he either had to steel himself for the worst or forever regret not trying to make things right with his first and only love.

"Saga Senpai..." Ritsu approached their library table timidly after class let out, his White Day gifts in his hands. He put the container of sweets and jar of white origami stars down, for once not caring about whether or not anyone was near to see or hear. This was more important than his own anxieties and fears.

To anyone who didn't know Saga very well he'd probably look completely normal, but Ritsu picked up on little cues that clued him in that something was very wrong.

There were faint bags under Saga's eyes, not noticeable at first glance, but upon a second look he clearly hadn't gotten a good night sleep. Usually he sat so relaxed in the library with his shoulders slouched and his movements slow, but he shut the book he was pretending to read in a quick, tense motion before his head jerked up to look at Ritsu.

"What?" Saga asked tersely.

Ritsu was no stranger to the single word (sometimes single syllable) responses he received from Saga Senpai from time to time, but this time it shot straight through his heart. Still, Ritsu took a deep breath and refused to retreat, no matter how bad he wanted to.

"These are your White Day presents. I-I never got the chance to give them to you yesterday." Ritsu said. "I also had a white rose, but I was scared I'd hurt it somehow if I tried bringing it to school. A-Anyway, I just wanted to let you know how sorry I am for what happened. I know I should've told you the whole truth about An, but I never lied to you. An isn't my girlfriend and I did reject her. I love you and only you and I'm not marrying An, regardless of what she or my mother or even what you might think." Ritsu had to pause as his strength wavered for a moment, his throat tightening in that familiar pre-cry way. "I-I don't want you to think these gifts are some sort of a bribe to try to get you to forgive me or anything like that. These were always meant for you so I thought it was only right that you have them. B-but if you don't want them-"

"What's this?" Saga said, reaching out for the jar and picking it up. He still hadn't looked Ritsu in eye yet, but the brunette hoped his curiosity about the present was a good sign.

"Th-they're origami stars. If you unfold them each one has a reason I-I love you written inside." Ritsu flushed red, embarrassed from saying such a thing out loud.

Saga turned the jar in his hands, looking at it from all sides. "There's a lot of stars."

Ritsu just nodded. "L-Like I said, you don't have to keep it if you don't want it. And I...I understand if you don't want to see me anymore..." He tried not to let on how much pain the thought of not seeing his Senpai caused him. He wanted to respect whatever Saga's wishes were, even if those wishes broke his heart.

"Why would I not want to see you anymore?"

Ritsu was both surprised and confused by the question. "Because you're mad at me?"

Saga huffed. "Yeah, I'm mad, but I still love you. I just need some time to fully get over it. But like hell if I'm just gonna step aside and let that girl pretend like she's your girlfriend or fiancée or whatever." He said, sliding the container of sweets closer to him. These were his White Day gifts damn it and he was going to enjoy them. Did Ritsu make these cookies himself? Fuck, why'd Ritsu have to make it so hard to stay mad at him? While Saga was trying to maintain his brooding and angry attitude, Ritsu was hung up on one thing he had said.

'I still love you'

Ritsu's breath was caught in his throat and he trembled slightly at those words, his emotions overwhelming him.

Saga Senpai...loved him?

Ritsu thought he had heard him say it before, but he had convinced himself that he simply misunderstood or misheard. Saga Senpai couldn't, wouldn't love him.

But he did.

"Hey, hey, hey shouldn't I be the one crying here?" Saga asked, standing and going to Ritsu's side.

"S-S-Sorry, I just-I thought that y-you wouldn't want to be with me anymore." Ritsu laughed past his tears, feeling relieved, stupid, guilty, happy, and above all adoration and love for Saga Masamune.

"Idiot. Of course I do. So stop crying, alright?" Saga said before picking up the jar again and taking off the cap. He plucked one of the stars out and started to unfold it.

"Y-You're going to read one right now?" Ritsu asked nervously.

"Yeah."

"C-C-Can't you wait till I'm not here or something?" Ritsu asked, turning pink.

"No." Saga finished unfolding it. "I love you because-"

"Don't read it out loud!" Ritsu interrupted quickly. Saga reading even a single one out loud would surely be the death of him.

Saga held back a smirk. "Fine. But, only if I still get that dinner I'm owed. And my rose."

"O-Okay...my parents are still gone...i-if you wanted to come over tonight..."

Saga grabbed his bag right away. "Let's go."

"Right now?" Ritsu asked, a little taken back by his eagerness.

"Mm." Saga gave a slight nod. "You're already a day late, I don't want to wait any longer."

Ritsu, excited and nervous, led Saga out of the library. He'd have to start coming up with Valentine's Day plans NOW to make up for the less than perfect White Day. Of course there was also the issue of getting his mother to finally accept that his arranged engagement was pointless. Without that, this would never be properly resolved. But, that was a problem for when Youko got back home. For now, both Ritsu and Saga were content to simply be in one another's company.