"This is shit. Complete and utter shit." Masamune barked.
"I don't know how you expect me to fix a disaster that I didn't even create." Ritsu snapped back, leaning back in his chair and covering his eyes with interlocked fingers.
The manuscript that they had both stayed late to work on was a mess. The author didn't take any of Ritsu's suggestions and, somehow, made the manuscript even worse than it had been when they had gotten it the first time.
Masamune's eyes scanned over the red-ridden pages, flipping and turning them in any way that would make them make more sense. Finally, he threw them on the desk and rubbed his eyes, his glasses rising to his forehead with the movement. With a sigh he leaned forward, resting his elbows on the desk and rubbing the back of his neck with his hands. There's no way they would be able to salvage this before the deadline especially with the lack of compliance from the author.
"Call her. Now," the older man demanded, keeping his head lowered.
"You don't have to be an ass about it."
Even with the smart remark, Ritsu picked up the phone and reluctantly dialed the author's number. Within seconds, he slammed the phone back down and groaned. Voicemail. It barely rang, meaning that his author declined the call as soon as it came through. The two exchanged an exasperated look and Masamune picked up his phone to make the same call. Unsurprisingly, he got the same response. This time, the phone was set gently down on the desk, meaning the raven was more pissed than even Ritsu was.
The clock struck ten and both of the men audibly groaned.
On one end of the office, the editor-in-chief fumed and a few desks down, the young editor stewed in his exhaustion. For thirty minutes, they sat in silence. Partially, they were waiting for the phone to ring, the other part of them was hoping it wouldn't.
After a long silence, Masamune rose from his chair and ambled over to his boyfriend. He wrapped his arms around the younger man and placed a gentle kiss on his head.
"Let's go home," he mumbled into his hair. "She's not going to call back tonight. I'll be surprised if she calls back at all."
"You can go to your home. I will go to mine. I don't need a chaperone," Ritsu quipped, leaning away from the older man's touch. No matter how long they had been together, he still wasn't used to all this lovey-dovey shit. Plus, wasn't Masamune angry about the author? Why isn't he acting mad now?
"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Get your stuff."
Slowly, Masamune made his way back to his desk to grab his coat and bag. He knew Ritsu would follow despite his protests.
And he was right.
As he was exiting the building, he heard the heavy footfall behind him get closer and closer until it was right at his back.
"At least walk next to me like a proper lover," he said with a smirk.
"If you do not shut the hell up, I'll push you into the street."
The raven haired man chuckled.
The rest of the walk to their apartment building was quiet with only the sound of the men's breathing filling the silence. As requested, Ritsu did eventually pick up the pace and walk beside his lover rather than straggling behind.
The street lights put off a faint glow, but left a majority of their path shrouded in darkness. Somewhere in that darkness, Masamune reached for the younger editor's hand and was surprised when that hand was placed in his. A faint smile spread across his face as his fingers intertwined with much smaller ones.