Prompt: AU/Free Prompt (2023)
This had to be a nightmare. Or maybe Takano Masamune had been kidnapped in his sleep (unlikely) - or somehow sleepwalked all the way here (even less likely). He was even willing to believe that this was some sick and twisted punishment from a deity that he had accidentally angered during his time on Earth. What other possible explanations could there be? The only real logical option was the first: nightmare. However, no matter how hard Masamune tried, he could not wake himself up.
No, instead of opening his eyes to his beloved, official boyfriend, Onodera Ritsu, he woke up alone and in a familiar, yet nauseating room to a very loud and repeated buzzing. It sounded like his old alarm clock, the one he used in high school. He had smacked it to make it stop and it then took several moments for it to sink in that it was his old alarm clock from high school. He sat up quickly once the realization struck him and he basically fell out of bed in his panicked attempt to stand. Once he managed to actually find his balance he stood frozen with his hands out in front of him, as if this were some kind of illusionary mirror maze that he would smack face first into the second he took a step forward.
"Ritsu?" He called out, still unmoving. The silence that responded was unnerving. "Ritsu?" He repeated, more urgent this time, finally willing his body into action as the fear of being alone outweighed his caution of his surroundings. He navigated the piles of books on his bedroom floor (freaky how they seemed to be in the exact spots he remembered, was this some kind of elaborate prank?) and rushed out into the hallway, calling out his lover's name as he haphazardly threw open doors to search for him on the upper floor.
"Shit…what the fuck…" Masamune said under his breath, anxiously running a hand through his hair as he came to the conclusion that the house was currently occupied by no one else but him.
"Mew?"
Well, apparently not no one else.
Sorata stretched and curiously approached Masamune, apparently having just woken up himself. He meowed again, louder this time as he reached up to paw at Masamune's leg. Sorata was used to being fed his breakfast by now, but Masamune had been running around the house in a tizzy.
"Sorata?" Masamune said in confusion. "How are you here…why are you so small?" He said, shaking his head.
Sorata merely let out a little 'mrrp' and walked past his legs to rub against them.
"No…no, there's no fucking way. I'm crazy. I've gone crazy." Masamune said as he started to rush toward the bathroom, getting in front of the mirror and staring in both disbelief and horror.
Masamune hadn't just magically appeared in his old house and that was it. That would be too easy.
He raised a hand slowly in front of the mirror, watching as the reflection of his teenage self did the same. Holy shit. What the fuck is going on?! Where the fuck is Ritsu?! Masamune only became more panicked, rushing back to his room in a vain search for his cell phone - which of course he did not have yet as that model didn't even exist in this current time.
Despite this, he still ripped his room apart, going through drawers and dumping them empty, not bothering to put anything back as he moved on to the next. He yanked his comforter and sheets off his bed, shaking them in the hopes that by some miracle he had fallen asleep with his phone in hand or on his person and had taken it with him through this cruel time jump. He looked under the bed, under his nightstand, even under his piles of books even though that made as little sense as a smart phone time jumping.
"Fuck!" Masamune cursed. Wait, house phone!
Masamune hurried down the stairs to get to the house phone - which was practically ancient by his own standards of 'current' technology - and got halfway through dialing Ritsu's number before he realized what an idiot he was. Ritsu's number in high school wasn't the same as his adult cell phone number, obviously…and Masamune didn't know Ritsu's home phone number.
"This can't be happening…" Masamune said miserably. He and Ritsu had finally gotten somewhere good, somewhere comfortable and happy. And now this bullshit decides to come out of left field and wreck it all?!
Of course, there were times that Masamune wished he and Ritsu had never broken up in the first place and could have gotten the whole high school sweetheart experience, but not at the price of losing his current relationship with Ritsu!
I guess this means we're starting over…again, Masamune thought with a big sigh, I'll have to do things right this time…unless he already left for England! Another wave of dread flooded over Masamune and he rushed to check the calendar hung up by their door. His parents used it in order to keep track of their busy schedules (and Masamune suspected also to align their schedules in a way that meant they could avoid each other) and he prayed that the month was accurate because if it was then that meant Ritsu was still in the country.
Shit, I don't know what day it is today…when I went to sleep yesterday it was Sunday, so is it Monday here? Masamune rubbed a hand over his face, feeling overwhelmed and underprepared to handle this timeline shattering event.
Masamune then felt a paw at his leg again.
"Meow!" Sorata exclaimed in displeasure.
"Right." Masamune sighed. "Crazy time traveling or not, I guess you still need to be fed." He said. "Come on, we can talk theories on what the hell is happening while I get your food." He scooped Sorata up into his arms, carrying him off to prepare breakfast for them both.
Masamune found himself unable to eat much and his frantic efforts to figure out what the hell was happening had set him behind on what was once his high school morning routine. Again, he wasn't even sure if it was Monday, but he hoped that his alarm waking him up at least meant it was a school day and that he would be able to see Ritsu. He ended up getting started on his route to school a little later than he typically would have and he didn't see Ritsu stalking him in the background at any point, much to his disappointment.
What do I even say when I see him? Should I tell him what's going on or will that absolutely break him? I don't want to cause my boyfriend's mind to unravel. Or more likely he could think I'm insane and break up with me, Masamune could feel his blood pressure going up from the stress, I guess I'm just going to have to act like everything is normal. Besides, maybe at the end of the day this really is a dream, he thought, attempting to cope with the reality in front of him.
Masamune was a bit relieved to see other students flooding into the school building, meaning that it was in fact a school day and Masamune had a chance at seeing Ritsu.
Damn, did he ever tell me what class he was in…I really don't want to wait till the end of the day to see him, but I might have to, Masamune thought, though as he approached the entrance he caught sight of a familiar head of brown hair in the corner of his eye. He looked toward Ritsu, the younger teen jumping at the sudden eye contact - apparently, he hadn't been expecting to get caught in his staring. Ritsu stood there, face slowly turning red and mouth gaping open like a fish as he briefly froze under Masamune's gaze.
Masamune's breath caught in his throat and his palms started to sweat, his heart picking up pace and thumping in his ears. He looks just how I remember…I'm so glad he's still here, Masamune thought, a smile unconsciously tugging at his lips. The relief at seeing his lover was enough to nearly make Masamune collapse and cry, but he held it together enough to take two steps in Ritsu's direction before Ritsu suddenly turned tail and rushed off.
Masamune opened his mouth to call out after him instinctively, wanting to chase him down and glue him to his side so that nothing (not even time travel) would separate them ever again, but then he remembered that he needed to be acting 'normal'. Unfortunately, in this time period, it was not normal for Masamune to chase Ritsu down.
Hopefully if I can get things right this time, I'll never have to try to chase him down again, Masamune thought, unhappily shuffling his way toward his classroom. But, if he had to, then 'Saga' would slowly have to transition into the kind of boyfriend who did do that. Because regardless of if he was a teenager or adult, Saga or Takano, dreaming or time traveling, Masamune was not letting Ritsu go.
Classes had never been so brutal. Masamune had much more important things to be worrying about than his calculus class. Not to mention he couldn't remember the last time he had done calculus. Those several hours of waiting to escape so he could go to the library and see Ritsu were agonizing. He'd never wanted to yell at someone to shut up more in his life (and he yelled at people to shut up all the time) than when he had to sit through his physics class working in pairs.
Masamune rushed out of the classroom once they were dismissed, pretending as though he didn't hear when some other student called his name to try to talk to him - he didn't care, he wasn't interested, and he sure as hell wasn't going to pretend to be for the next ten to fifteen minutes. He went to the library as quickly as he could without drawing attention to himself, only to deflate in his excitement when seeing that the table he and Ritsu always sat at was empty.
Maybe he's just not here yet, Masamune tried to reason, heading over to sit down. He didn't even bother getting a book to fake read, instead staring at the door anxiously, barely blinking. He's definitely going to come, right? It's a little hard to remember where exactly we're supposed to be in our relationship right now, but there's no way he won't show up. Masamune tapped his foot and chewed his thumb nail as he started to desperately wish he had a cigarette.
It felt like hours had passed, but Masamune's frequent glancing toward the nearest clock told him it had only been a few minutes when the doors finally opened once more. Masamune moved before he could think, standing from his chair the second he spotted Ritsu and making strides toward him.
Fuck acting 'normal', Masamune decided as Ritsu met him halfway.
Ritsu appeared confused and nervous, looking at Masamune with a slightly furrowed brow. "...Senpai?" He said cautiously, carefully studying Masamune's expression.
Masamune took in a sharp breath at that and grabbed Ritsu's hand, leading him off wordlessly, ducking into an aisle of bookshelves that had no other students browsing.
"What-?" Ritsu started as Masamune gave a cursory glance to double check that no one could currently see them before he cupped Ritsu's cheeks and swooped in with a kiss, desperate to ground himself with Ritsu's touch.
Ritsu, however, pulled away before Masamune could even fully enjoy it. The familiar shade of red on Ritsu's cheeks made Masamune feel warm - even as Ritsu started to scold him.
"H-Hey, we're in school right now, and there are still other students in the library!" Ritsu whispered.
"Don't care." Masamune said, wrapping his arms around Ritsu to pull him into a tight hug.
"I do!" Ritsu wiggled a bit against his hold, but really didn't try that hard to escape.
"Well, don't." Masamune said, as though it were that simple. "You should just care about me."
"W-What is that supposed to mean?" Ritsu asked, wondering if he detected a bit of possessiveness. "You're acting a little…strange today. Is everything okay, S-Senpai?" He continued, stumbling over the honorific just slightly.
"Everything's just fine." At least, it is now that you're here, Masamune thought as he finally released Ritsu and opted for ruffling his hair instead. "I don't feel like staying at the library today. You should come back to my place."
"Eh? R-Right away? But I just got here-"
"I know, but I want you to myself. Where other students can't see." Masamune said.
Ritsu turned red and looked away. "You're being more forward than usual…"
"Do you not like it?" Masamune asked.
"It's not that, I-I…wasn't expecting it." Ritsu said.
"I just missed you is all." Masamune said. That made Ritsu look toward him again, eyes wide and jaw dropped, as if he couldn't comprehend the idea of 'Saga-senpai' missing him, let alone saying it out loud. "Come on, let's go." Masamune insisted, walking off. He quickly grabbed his bag that he had left at the table before leaving the library with Ritsu right beside him.
"Will you spend the night tonight?" Masamune asked, pleased that Ritsu was actually next to him instead of behind him.
"Ye-wait, no-"
"No?" Masamune looked at him with a frown.
"Not no, no, I'd have to ask my parents first…" Ritsu explained.
"You can call them using my house phone. You should give me your number while you're at it." Masamune said.
"Y-You can't call my house!" Ritsu exclaimed. "I mean - my mother, if she answered the phone and you said you were calling for me, she'd have a million questions and I wouldn't know how to explain right now-"
"How about I give you my house number then? And you call me whenever you can." Masamune said.
"Oh…o-okay." Ritsu said with a nod, clearly surprised by the offer, but he didn't have the same starstruck look on his face that Masamune remembered. Maybe his idolization was beginning to ease up a bit? Masamune certainly hoped so. He wanted him and Ritsu to get back to a comfortable stage in their relationship as quickly as possible. That couldn't happen if Ritsu was still in awe of the fact that 'Senpai' was even looking at him.
"And I mean whenever, okay?" Masamune reiterated. "You won't bother me." He promised. "I want to talk to you as much as possible."
Ritsu stopped on the sidewalk, turning to face Masamune directly with a slightly furrowed brow. "Are you sure you're feeling alright, Senpai?"
Masamune gave a soft smile, taking Ritsu's hand in his once more despite the inevitable protests of embarrassment he would receive. "Never better."
As more and more time passed Masamune began to let go of the notion that this may be a dream that he would be waking up from at any moment. His alarm continued to wake him up for school, Sorata continued to be a kitten, and Ritsu - his Ritsu - continued to be fifteen. Though, the course of their relationship had certainly been altered to a certain degree already. Masamune was getting to experience things he hadn't been able to in their high school years: secret late night phone calls with his boyfriend, dates other than the library and fast food, and he got to see the personality behind Ritsu's shy shell quickly start to come through.
Though, Ritsu still seemed to be having difficulty believing that his previously aloof and unreadable boyfriend was now quite clingy and affectionate. He frequently asked Masamune if something was wrong, if he wasn't feeling well, or if there was something that he wasn't telling him. Masamune, however, brushed off his concerns, hoping that eventually Ritsu would accept his behavior as the new norm because Masamune was physically incapable of pretending that he cared less about Ritsu than he did. He had no idea how he did it the first time around, but he couldn't do it again.
Now, Ritsu was over at his place and the two of them were actually watching a movie in his room - as opposed to putting on a movie for pretense before having sex. Masamune was surprised when Ritsu was the one to pause it this time around.
"Something wrong?" Masamune said.
"I have to ask you something." Ritsu said, taking a deep breath. "I've been wondering for a while now if I should ask it at all, but…" He bit his lower lip anxiously.
"Hey, it's okay. Whatever it is, you don't need to be nervous." Masamune assured.
"Do you love me?" Ritsu blurted out, sitting up straight and looking Masamune head on, his eyes full of fierce determination.
Masamune's stomach dropped and his breathing briefly stopped altogether.
What? Why? Why was Ritsu asking this? Had Masamune really made the same mistake twice and not been clear about his feelings again? But this was different now! The circumstances in which Ritsu was asking were different! And Ritsu didn't look nearly as bashful as he did the first time he asked it. That was a good sign, wasn't it? It had to be, Masamune wouldn't survive being separated again. Oh God, I need to answer him, I haven't answered him, I have to say yes, I can't lose him, I can't let him run away, I can't fuck this up again, I'll never forgive myself, say something you fucking idiot before he misunderstands-
"Senpai? I just meant - do you feel anything for-"
"YES!" Masamune exclaimed way too loudly considering how close they were sitting next to one another. "I love you, Ritsu, I love you more than anything in the whole world and if I have ever done anything to make you doubt that I am so sorry-"
"Takano-san."
"-I will spend the rest of my life showing you just how deeply and madly I am in love with you if that what it takes for you to believe me, please Ritsu, just don't leave me-"
"Takano-san!"
"-the answer to your question is and always will be yes, I have very intense, staggering, devastating feelings for you, you are my first and only love, you're the person who taught me what love really is, I don't know what I would do without you and I-wait." Masamune took a couple deep breaths after he stopped his distressed rambling. "What did you just call me?"
"I knew it. I knew it!" Ritsu exclaimed, standing to his feet. "Oh my God, it really is you!" He said, tearing up a bit with joy.
Masamune quickly stood as well. "...Ritsu? My Ritsu?"
"Yes! You idiot!" Ritsu beamed even as he insulted Masamune, throwing his arms around him.
"Wha-but-how?" Masamune asked, hugging him back tightly.
"I don't know. I just woke up and I was a teenager in my parents' house again." Ritsu said, his voice slightly muffled against Masamune's shoulder. "But I'm so glad you're here too. I was pretty scared…" He admitted.
"How did you know it was me?" Masamune asked, still not quite over his shock.
"Are you serious?" Ritsu asked, pulling back just slightly to look up at him. "You actually smiled at me when we saw each other in the morning, told me to 'just care about you' in the library, and then practically begged for nightly phone calls. If you were trying to be subtle, you did a terrible job."
Masamune scoffed. "I did not beg…"
"And the way you answered my question just now confirmed it." Ritsu said with a small smile. "Sorry to make you relive that, but I knew it was you the second you looked like you were going to be sick." He added with a quiet laugh.
Masamune gave him a squeeze. "Well, we're together now. So, what happens next?"
Ritsu sighed and shook his head. "I don't know." He said. "It seems like we're stuck here as far as I can tell."
"I guess as long as I'm stuck here with you it's not so bad." Masamune said. "Damn, now I'm pissed I couldn't tell it was you. But why'd you run away the first morning we saw each other?"
"Well, I didn't know for sure if it was you yet! I couldn't just approach 'Saga-senpai' first thing in the morning." Ritsu said.
"Is that all it was?" Masamune asked with a smirk. "Cause I remember you turning pretty red."
Ritsu huffed. "What? You didn't get a little…overwhelmed when you saw me like this?"
"Of course I did. Every time I see you that happens." Masamune's smirk became a grin as he sat down on the bed and brought Ritsu into his lap.
"W-Wait a second, the movie-"
"Forget it."
As it turns out, even across timelines, some things never change.