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Sakuma Ritsu is a bothersome presence in Koga’s life.
He’s like a cat that stares you in the eye as it knocks your expensive vase over; he’s a little pest, and he knows it. From coercing Koga into carrying him around to his stupidly pretty face, everything about him is a pain. But Koga just can’t seem to get rid of him.
Because while he’s an ass, he’s also one of the few people who seem to understand Koga, to hear him out even when he’s being a little unreasonable and make sure he’s aware of it. He makes Koga feel warm and fuzzy inside, a different kind of warm and fuzzy to the one his favourite idols make him feel. It’s embarrassing, and definitely something he isn’t ready to admit out loud, but he does appreciate Ritsu. Even if his harsh words suggest the opposite.
Every other day or so, Ritsu will swing by his apartment after their classes are finished if Koga isn’t working. His reason being “he likes the quiet,” and “Corgi makes good food,” even though he is constantly talking and barely touches any food given to him. If he isn’t doing his best to get under Koga’s skin, he’s monopolised Koga’s bed, fast asleep under the covers. The guy seriously has no shame.
Currently, Koga’s the one sitting on his bed, scrolling through his social media feed with his earbuds plugged in, blasting UNDEAD’s latest single on loop. It’s much more mellow compared to the one before this, but still tickles Koga’s brain in all the right places and leaves him reeling.
UNDEAD: a two-person unit comprised of Sakuma Rei and Hakaze Kaoru. Koga’s been a fan since their early days, when Rei was the saving grace of the unit and the main character in many a fantasy of Koga’s. He’s moved past that mortifying phase, though. He still thinks Rei’s the coolest idol in the world, but in more of a normal fan way than as a starry-eyed admirer.
Kaoru, on the other hand, Koga has… history with. They went to the same middle school, except back then Kaoru was a pathetic skirt chaser who had no friends. Koga pitied him, to be honest, and pictured he’d end up with some boring office job in the future. So to say he was surprised when Rei revealed that he was forming a unit with Kaoru would be an understatement.
“Can you turn that down?” Ritsu mumbles from where he’s curled up with his head in Koga’s lap, pawing aimlessly around as if trying to confiscate Koga’s earbuds. “You know I can’t stand that unit.”
Koga scowls. “And like I’ve said before, my house, my music. Besides, if yer sleepin’ ya shouldn’t be able t’ hear it.”
“That’s the issue. I can’t sleep because I can hear it. You’re going to give yourself hearing damage, Corgi.”
With a resigned sigh, Koga turns the volume down a couple of notches. “Fine. There. That better?”
Ritsu blinks blearily up at him, looking oh-so-cute and kissable, then yawns and pushes himself into a sitting position. “No. Besides, I’m not tired anymore. I just remembered something really important.”
“Oh yeah?” Koga raises an eyebrow, pausing his music and tugging the earbuds out. “And what’s that?”
“Can I ask you a favour, Corgi?”
Koga wants to say no, I do enough for you already, but his heart beats out his brain. “Sure. What’s up?”
Ritsu’s silent for a moment, staring blankly at Koga with those sleepy half-lidded eyes of his. “Be my boyfriend.”
…What.
“Only for a day, don’t worry. My parents have been on my case about not having a partner and I promised them I’d bring someone with me to their Christmas party this weekend. So everything’ll be fake, ‘kay?”
What?
“If you don’t want to, that’s perfectly fine. I’m sure I can get Mikarin to ditch Nacchan for the evening. Or the other way around. Maybe I’ll bring them both.”
“Oi, oi, slow down! I ain’t even said anything yet!” Koga finally snaps back to reality, rather ashamed that a spark of jealousy is what spurred his recovery. “An’ don’t bother Ari and Kagehira over somethin’ like this, jeez.”
“So you’ll do it?” Ritsu grins, and Koga is positive he only said that because he knew he’d get a reaction out of him.
“Well…” Koga scratches the back of his neck, averting his gaze. This is a lot to think about out of nowhere like this. “Why me? Why not ask Dekosuke? If yer able to pull off lookin’ like a couple with anyone, it’s ‘im.”
Ritsu sighs. “Maa-kun’s basically family, so my parents know everything about him. Including that he’s with Subanyan.”
“Can’t ya just say they broke up?”
“I thought about it, but Maa-kun wouldn’t be able to do that. He’s too smitten.”
That’s certainly true. “So I was yer second pick?”
“Yeah.” Ritsu shifts so that he’s sitting with his legs crossed. “I like Corgi, so why not?”
God-fucking-dammit, he can’t just say things like that like it’s nothing and expect Koga to survive. “Look,” he begins, fingers tapping away on his knee. “I’ll think ‘bout it and get back to ya. This ain’t somethin’ simple.”
Ritsu yawns. “Well, you have until tomorrow to let me know. The party’s on Saturday, and if you agree we’re gonna need to practice. And if you don’t, I’ll have to find someone else.” His face sours at the end, but quickly morphs back into his usual drowsy expression when he catches Koga staring.
Great. Cool. That’s fine. So he basically has tonight to decide. Looks like he won’t be getting much sleep, huh.
•••
Ritsu left shortly after he sprung the surprise of a lifetime on Koga, leaving him alone with his thoughts. This led to him sitting immobile on his bed for around half an hour, so he forced himself up and decided to take Leon on a walk. He ended up at Jun and Adonis’ dorm room, who, despite being very curious as to what Koga was doing showing up at nearly midnight on a weekday, let him in and offered him food. They’re his closest friends for a damn reason.
This proved to be a mistake, though, because as soon as he’d wolfed down the pastry, he was back to where he started. Sitting staring blankly at the wall. He did feel a little brighter, which eventually led to a list of pros and cons to accepting this… proposal.
Pros:
1. I get to be Ritchii’s boyfriend for a day
2. Free food
3. I might get to learn more about Ritchii (he’s hella elusive)
4. We might kiss He’ll owe me back big time
Cons:
1. What if afterwards everything is strange between us because I took things too far and Ritchii doesn’t even wanna be my friend anymore and I lose everything I have with him and
2. I gotta move my dentist appointment to another day
So. He’s at a crossroads. Does he risk having his heart broken and accept, or turn him down and spend the entire day in agony knowing that Ritsu’s being all lovey-dovey with someone who isn’t him? Gah, Koga hates making decisions like this. Why couldn’t Ritsu just ask him to be his boyfriend for real?
“Is Oogami okay?”
“I dunno. He say anything to you before coming over here?”
“He didn’t… He’s just sitting there staring at the wall. I’m growing worried.”
“Should we say something?”
Koga clicks his teeth. “I can hear you two, yanno.”
Adonis and Jun’s hushed voices come to a stop. There’s some shuffling, and then they’re sitting beside him on either side. Leon jumps out of Koga’s lap onto Adonis’, the traitor.
“Are you alright, Oogami?” Adonis asks, running a gentle hand over Leon’s fur. He seems genuinely concerned, his brows furrowed together and his voice laced with worry. “It’s rare for you to be so quiet like this.”
When Koga doesn’t answer, Jun elbows him in the side. Hard. “Ow! The fuck was that for, huh?!”
Jun scowls, reaching out again, this time to punch him in the shoulder. “Talk to us! You ain’t gonna solve anything sitting there feeling sorry for yourself, you know.”
As much as Koga hates to admit it, he’s right. Besides, maybe getting an outsider’s opinion will help. “Ritchii asked me t’ be his boyfriend.”
“Really?! That’s great!” Jun exclaims, a grin spreading across his face. “Why didn’t you say so sooner?”
“Hah? Why would that be great?”
Adonis blinks at him. “Because you’re in love with Ritsu, are you not?”
He takes it back. These two are not his closest friends in any way whatsoever. “W-What?! That’s ridiculous!”
“C’mon, dude, you can’t lie to us.” Jun raises an eyebrow. “We’ve seen the way you look at him. And talk about him.”
Well, that’s fucking embarrassing. Is he really that obvious? He thought he’d been doing a pretty good job hiding it, but then again he perks up whenever Ritsu’s name is mentioned in conversation and knows all these obscure facts about him (like, for example, he hums when he bakes, and his fingernails are always uneven from him constantly biting them), so maybe he is kinda bad at hiding things.
He folds his arms over his chest. “…Fine, whatever, maybe I like him a little.”
Jun grins, patting him rewardingly on the back. “There you go. So why’re you in here staring at the wall like it stole all your food? Ritsu-san asked you to date him. Don’t tell me you turned him down?”
“No, I didn’t. Besides, it ain’t even like that. He asked me to be his fake boyfriend at some Christmas party this weekend to appease his family.” Putting it like that is kind of embarrassing, actually.
Koga doesn’t know anything about Ritsu’s family; he shares the same last name as Rei, but has denied being related to him. He seems to loathe the idea, actually, so Koga stopped bringing it up after a while. Other than that, he has nothing to go on—he’s got too much pride to ask Mao, who’s known Ritsu since they learned how to walk.
“Oh. Why not lead with that?” Jun sighs, leaning back against the headboard of the bed. “Well, it’s still a step in the right direction. I mean, out of all his friends, he chose to ask you.”
Actually, Koga was his second choice. But being his second choice is better than not being a choice at all, he supposes. “I guess so.”
“I think you should do it, Oogami.”
Koga shifts his gaze over to Adonis. “What?”
“I understand that playing the role of Ritsu’s boyfriend like this may seem a little frightening at first, but more importantly, he asked for your help,” Adonis explains. Leon jumps out of his lap to stretch, and his expression falters a little bit. “If Kanzaki asked for my aid with anything, even something as nerve-wracking as that, I would accept in a heartbeat.”
“That’s ‘cuz you two are practically married already,” Koga mutters, dragging a hand down his face. “But I see yer point. If I said no t’ helpin’ him, that’s kinda a jackass move.”
“So you’ll go with him?” Jun pipes up. Leon is now on his chest, Jun poking his face. “Who’s a good boy?”
“I… yeah, I guess.” So this is really happening, huh?
“You better tell us everything that happens once you’re home, you hear me?” Jun demands, Adonis nodding along beside him.
Koga huffs out an incredulous laugh. “Okay, okay. You two are insatiable.”
Okay, maybe they are his closest friends or whatever.
•••
It’s almost 1pm when Ritsu shows up.
Koga won’t lie, the doorbell ringing while he was in the middle of cooking lunch made him jump. Ritsu doesn’t usually show up anywhere until the evening, so this is a miracle. This must be really important to him.
“What? No, I just wanted to spend more time with Corgi. Y’know, in case you say no and I have to find someone else tonight,” is Ritsu’s response to that. Okay. Okay, cool. Koga isn’t on the verge of a heart attack, or anything. “Have you thought about it?”
Koga chews on his bottom lip for a moment. “Yeah. I’ll help ya. But yer gonna owe me big time, okay?”
“Yay~!” Before Koga is fully aware of what’s happening, Ritsu has his arms around Koga’s shoulders in a tight embrace. “Thank you, Corgi. I’ll pay you back eventually.”
Koga wants to say that this hug is payment enough, but that’s embarrassing. Instead, he raises his hands and pats Ritsu on the back half-heartedly. “Alright, alright. Now get offa me. I gotta clean up in here.”
Ritsu complies, stepping away from Koga with a smile. “Hurry up, then. We have to find something for you to wear and discuss how exactly our being in a fake relationship is going to work. Like, say, is it okay if I kissed you tomorrow?”
“Woah, slow down. We ain’t got that far yet,” Koga says, putting on his best poker face to disguise the fact that yes it is absolutely one-hundred percent okay if Ritsu kisses him but at the same time he doesn’t want to be reduced to a bumbling mess in front of Ritsu’s family and friends so maybe it is not okay. “Go sit down while I take care of this. We can eat after we… find somethin’ fer me to wear, ya said?” He frowns. “What’s wrong with what I usually wear?”
“You aren’t exactly a festive dresser, Corgi.” Koga averts his gaze as Ritsu looks Koga up and down. “But neither is my family. I just wanna see what you’ve got in your closet; ripped jeans and a leather jacket might be sexy on you, sure, but that isn’t exactly the look we’re going for here.”
Koga can’t do this. He can’t. “Ya think I’m sexy?”
Ritsu’s eyes narrow as he gives him a tight-lipped smile. “Very.”
This is one of those moments where Koga wants to abandon whatever tough guy persona he’s built up over the years and just spill all his feelings to Ritsu. It happens at least once a week, and Koga hates it. It’s incredible how he hasn’t accidentally given himself away yet. Ritsu just—he does things to him, okay? Strange things he’s never felt before for someone else, like his heart’s about to jump out of his throat or something.
Ritsu walks away before Koga can say anything, which is good because Koga knows his face is bright red at this point and he doesn’t need Ritsu to see any more than he already has. He packs away everything he used to make lunch, wrapping the two plates in clingfilm.
To be frank, he’s a little worried about what Ritsu’s going to pick out for him. He doesn’t exactly have a variety of clothes, especially not anything formal. God, he hopes it isn’t a formal party. He washes his hands and then makes his way to his room, where Ritsu is sprawled out on the bed waiting for him.
“So,” Ritsu begins, slowly dragging himself into a sitting position. Koga isn’t a fan of that smirk on his face. “Let’s get started, shall we?”
The best way to describe the next hour would be torture. Absolute hell.
Turns out Koga has more clothes than he remembered, and Ritsu was determined to see him in all of them. Except for the several UNDEAD shirts he owns. Koga doesn’t get that part of Ritsu.
And so Ritsu combed through Koga’s tiny closet and drawers, dressing him in shirts and sweaters and shorts, for some reason. He’s always been very touchy, and that was amped to the max today. Fingertips ghosting over his chest as they did up buttons, gentle pats on his head when he relented and listened to what Ritsu suggested he try on, Ritsu’s body pressed flush into Koga’s from behind because he can only tie someone else’s tie as if he’s wearing it himself, apparently.
Needless to say, none of this is good for Koga’s heart. Ritsu’s string of compliments isn’t helping either. “Corgi looks so hot” this, and “Uwah, how cute!” that. Someone needs to shut him up.
“Are we done now?” Koga tugs at the collar of the shirt he’s wearing, a rather expensive one he wore to his job interview. He’s got one of his nicer leather jackets on over it, and a pair of black jeans that aren’t ripped. “It can’t be that difficult of a choice.”
“Hmm…” Ritsu stares at him for a minute, eyebrows furrowed in thought. If Koga weren’t mad at him right now, he’d probably think it’s cute. “I think so. I like this one a lot. Mother probably will too.”
Oh, fuck. Ritsu simply putting it as ‘family’ this whole time had led to Koga forgetting that really, it’s about meeting the parents more than anything. Well, that’s terrifying. Koga’s never met a boyfriend’s parents before. Not that he’s ever had a boyfriend.
“Good. Now scram so I can get changed.” He’s exposed himself to Ritsu beyond enough today. “The show’s over.”
“Boo, Corgi’s such a killjoy,” Ritsu complains, but obliges and leaves towards the living room.
Koga shuts the door after him, before allowing himself to exhale loudly and slide down the door onto the floor. Fucking hell. He wonders what exactly he did to invoke the wrath of the gods like that, because that was nothing if not divine punishment. He’s never felt so weak, so vulnerable. Usually he can’t stand it when someone else tries to dictate his actions. But today, he’d tapped into his inner pushover and let Ritsu see and touch him like that. Koga hopes the building collapses before he has to go and face him again.
Heaving himself off of the floor, he pulls on his clothes from earlier, laying out the things Ritsu had picked out neatly on his bed. He does look good in them, he won’t lie. He wouldn’t have agreed to them if he didn’t. Leon, previously asleep in his bed in the corner of the room, bounds over to beg for attention. Koga leans down to scratch behind his ears. “Hey, boy, are ya hungry? C’mon, let’s go eat. Ya can say hi t’ Ritchii too.”
Leon yips at him as he opens the door and makes his way to where Ritsu is idly flicking through the channels on the TV. “Oi, Ritchii. Food time.”
Ritsu hums in response, switching the TV off and greeting Leon fondly before following Koga to the kitchen. Koga grabs the two plates from earlier, removes the cling film then places them in the microwave one after another. He brings them over to the table after a few minutes, impressed to see that Ritsu’s taken initiative for once and made them both drinks.
“Thanks for the food,” Ritsu mumbles, taking the seat opposite Koga and tucking in. As expected, he doesn’t eat much, even though Koga made his portion much smaller than his own. He finishes his soda though, even going to get a refill, which Koga finds amusing. Once they’re both finished, Koga dumps the plates in the sink.
“So, Corgi,” Ritsu begins when Koga’s seated again. “We need to discuss how we’re going to act tomorrow.”
Koga nods stiffly. “We do.”
“First of all, you can’t be so tense.” Damn, Ritsu saw through him quick. “I was thinking we could say we’ve been together for roughly three months. Is that okay with you?”
“Mhm.” That’d mean they got together around Ritsu’s birthday. Was that intentional? “If they ask how we met, we can just say college. No need to come up with anythin’ there.”
“Aw, but I wanted to say you approached me at a cafe and told me how beautiful I was.” Ritsu pouts, resting his head in his hand.
Koga scrunches up his nose. “Hah? Ew, no. What the hell is wrong with ya?”
“Sorry, sorry.” Ritsu does not sound or look sorry. “More importantly, is there anything you’re uncomfortable with? Have you ever even been in a relationship before?” He’s smirking, and Koga kinda wants to punch him.
“W-What kinda question is that?!”
Ritsu snickers. “So no, then.”
“What, like you have?”
“Mhm. Secchan and I were together for like, five months last year.” He says that like he’s talking about the weather, not spurring another bout of jealousy from Koga. What the hell? Sure, those two were closer than average friends, but Ritsu’s like that with everyone from that little circle of his. Koga was none the wiser. “Don’t make that face. Corgi. It’s all in the past.”
Shit. He has got to get better at controlling his emotions. “Whatever. It’s not like I care.”
Ritsu hums noncommittally. “Sure, sure. Anyway, do you have any boundaries, then? I’m fine with anything, but I know Corgi’s sensitive so I don’t want to upset him.”
How can someone be so considerate yet such a jackass at the same time? “I’m cool with whatever too. Ah, just one thing, though. No kissin’. That’s crossin’ a limit.”
One day, after he’s world-famous but dead, someone will write a piece on how Oogami Koga could never be honest with his feelings and lied his way through life. Never able to get together with anyone he had his eye on because he was too prideful to say anything, instead just suffering from the sidelines.
“Re~ally? Not even just a kiss on the cheek?” Ritsu gives him that look he gives Koga whenever he wants something, with his eyes all large and pleading. It takes a few moments of him staring at Koga like that for the latter to sigh loudly and roll his eyes.
“Fine, fine. Just the cheek though, got it?!”
Ritsu rests his head on the table, extending his hands towards Koga. “Yippee~! You’re the best, Corgi.”
It doesn’t cross his mind to consider why exactly Ritsu wants to kiss him in the first place. Instead, he downs what’s left of his drink and desperately tries to come up with something else to talk about. “Oi. Tell me a little ‘bout yer family. Ya can’t expect me t’ walk in there not knowin’ jackshit.”
Ritsu scrunches up his face. “Ugh, do I have to?”
“I’m the one helpin’ you, ain’t I? I think I deserve a rundown.”
Ritsu mutters something under his breath, then sighs. “…fine. There’s my mother, my father, my grandmother, and my aunt will probably be there too. And an…”
“Huh? What was that last bit?”
“Ani…”
“Money?”
Ritsu scowls. “Anija! My stupid older brother.”
“…we’ve known each other for almost two years and yer only telling me now that ya have a brother?”
“What does it matter? He’s a worthless good-for-nothing, anyway.” Ritsu turns his head away from Koga, still grumbling. “I don’t even wanna go to this party, but Mother insisted. Said I have to socialise with the family from time to time. Like they cared about socialising with me when I was little.”
Okay, so from what Koga’s gathering, he doesn’t think he’s going to like these people very much. Ritsu rarely talks about his past or home life, and from the looks of it, there was a good reason. Unless he’s just being dramatic. He’s like that sometimes.
“Well, I’m gonna be there with ya the whole time. If ya wanna ditch after showin’ yer face for ten minutes, that’s cool with me. Or if ya wanna stick around an’ use me as a human shield, that’s cool too.” Koga offers a surprised Ritsu a grin. “What I’m sayin’ is, I’ll be there for ya. So try not t’ worry, ‘kay?”
“Corgi…” Ritsu stares up at him with something akin to admiration in his eyes, that whimsical façade of his crumbling for just a moment. And then he smiles, all soft and fond and Koga’s traitorous heart skips a beat. “Thank you. I’m glad I asked you to help me.”
Koga doesn’t know if he’s going to survive tomorrow. But at the very least, he’ll try.
•••
When Koga receives a text from Ritsu saying he’s on his way to pick him up, he trips and falls face-first into his bed.
Truth be told, Koga has been ready for the past hour or so. He made sure none of his clothes were creased before putting them on, picked out his nicest cologne, and even changed up his hair, pinning the left side of his bangs out of his face. This is the most he’s made an effort to look nice since, like, his high school dance. Nah, scratch that, he didn’t even try that hard back then.
He made sure to take Leon out on a nice long walk that afternoon so he shouldn’t be too restless while he’s out, and has sent at least a couple dozen panic messages to Jun and Adonis. Ritsu had mentioned that Mao and Subaru would be attending too, so if Ritsu abandons him for whatever reason, at least Koga has someone he can awkwardly hang out with. He rarely spends time with Mao outside of band practice, and despite knowing Subaru since high school, when Koga’s alone with the two of them he always ends up feeling like a third wheel.
So for the past hour, he’s been switching between pacing around his apartment and fiddling with his guitar, something he always finds calms him down. He’s been working on a new song, actually. It’s something a lot slower and more gentle than his usual songs, but he’s proud of it so far regardless. He thinks it’ll suit Mao’s voice well, and—
Ah. There goes the doorbell.
Koga puts his guitar back into its case, clearing away the scattered papers and pens. He can hear Leon barking as the bell rings again, dusting himself down with a sigh. “I’m comin’, I’m comin’! Jeez.”
He quickly checks his hair in the mirror, rearranging his tie a little. Technically, this is a date, so he has every excuse to be nervous. Not that he is, though. Nervous. Oogami Koga doesn’t get nervous. Taking one last deep breath, he slides his shoes on and then opens the door.
“Finally. What took you so long, Corgi? It isn’t very manly of you to leave your beloved boyfriend waiting out in the cold.”
For someone who can barely dress himself in the morning, Ritsu sure knows how to make himself look… well, nice. His hair is tied back into a little ponytail—that alone is enough to send Koga into a frenzy—and he’s wearing his usual cream sweater underneath a grey suit jacket.
If Jun were here, he’d make fun of Koga and call him gay or something. He’d be right.
“Haah? C’mon, ya know I ain’t really yer—” He’s cut off by Ritsu suddenly taking his hand and raising it to his lips, leaving a gentle kiss on his knuckles. Ritsu looks up at him through long eyelashes, smiling as though this was normal for them. Koga’s chest constricts with a feeling he can’t quite name, but he shakes it off and scowls. “What the hell was that for?!”
“I’m putting on a show,” Ritsu says, letting go of Koga’s hand and stepping to the side. Waiting on the road behind him was a sleek black car that was way too expensive for anyone in this neighbourhood to own, a man clad in a black suit standing beside it. “That’s my chauffeur.”
Koga blinks. “Yer what? Oi, oi, just how rich is yer family?”
“Don’t worry about it.” Ritsu looks Koga up and down, a mischievous glint in his eye. “You clean up nicely for a puppy. I like the hair.”
Koga isn’t sure whether to get mad or thank him, so he just huffs and turns back to his house. “Lemme grab my stuff, then we can go.”
“Okay~.”
He grabs his phone and keys before making his way back to Ritsu, who leads him by the hand to the car. The journey there is awkward, to say the least, with no words being spoken over the soft hum of the radio from up front. Now, Koga isn’t nervous, but he is a little… restless. If it were any other family he was meeting, he could probably just be himself and they’d love him. But the Sakuma’s aren’t just any other family. Ritsu has a goddamn chauffeur, for God’s sake.
As if he can sense Koga’s budding anxiety, Ritsu wordlessly reaches out to take Koga’s hand in his, thumb rubbing soothing circles over his knuckles, and Koga is reminded of the reason he fell for him in the first place.
By the time they’ve arrived, Koga feels better. But any trace of calmness disappears from his face the moment he steps out of the car and comes face to face with the Sakuma house. It’s huge—it’d probably be more accurate to call it a mansion, with the same gothic appearance as classic haunted houses in horror movies.
Koga whirls around to face Ritsu. “You live here?”
“Lived.” Ritsu smiles, taking Koga’s hand into his once again. “C’mon. If we stand around out here in the snow for too long we’ll catch a cold.”
They make their way towards the house, Koga feeling grateful for Ritsu’s hand in his. It’s a lot more calming than he’d have thought it would be. As the door opens, Koga expects the atmosphere to be serene, maybe with some classical music playing in the background. However, not even two seconds after they’ve set foot into the house, someone lets out a loud gasp then Ritsu is snatched away from him in a tackle-hug.
“Oh, Ritsu! Merry Christmas! How long has it been since we last met? Your dear big brother has missed you sooo much!” A strangely familiar voice cooes. “Look how you’ve grown! Did your hair get longer?”
“Ew, Anija, get off of me!” Ritsu fights his way out of the person’s hold, slinking back over to Koga’s side. “Your eyes are probably playing tricks on you.”
“Oi!” Koga elbows him, feeling very confused and tense and a little irritated Ritsu was taken from him like that. “Who’s this?”
“Oh, Corgi,” Ritsu begins, averting his gaze almost guiltily. “This is my brother. Sakuma Rei.”
Koga can’t keep his jaw from dropping as the man in front of them pushes his hair out of his face, confirming that yes, he is the one and only Sakuma Rei of UNDEAD. What. The. Fuck.
Ritsu still refuses to meet his gaze, even as he looks at him in awe. “Anija, this is Oogami Koga-kun.”
“Ah, you must be Ritsu’s boyfriend.” Rei extends a hand to him, his smile all too charming and holy shit this can’t be happening. “It’s nice to meet you, Oogami-kun. Perhaps you’ve heard of me before?”
Still unsure of whether this is a dream or not, Koga takes the hand offered to him with a nod. “I-I have. I’m a huge fan of what ya do.”
Rei lets him go, switching his attention back to Ritsu with that cutesy character Koga’s never seen on him. “Do you hear that, Ritsu? You chose well!”
“Is this where you ran off to, Rei-kun?” Geh. Koga also recognises that voice. “Don’t leave me alone with your mom again, she’s scary.”
As Rei turns to deal with his approaching partner, Koga takes this as his chance and grabs Ritsu’s arm, dragging him off to—well, he’ll find somewhere eventually.
“Corgi? Where are we going?” Koga ignores him, zoning in on a closet in the corner of whatever gigantic room this is. He checks to make sure no one is watching them before hauling Ritsu in with him, quietly closing the door behind them.
“Oh? Does Corgi wanna ditch the party to make out already?” Ritsu extends his hands towards Koga, fingertips ghosting over his cheeks.
“What? No! What?” Koga makes a face, slapping Ritsu’s hands away from his face. “Ritchii, how come ya never told me Sakuma Rei was yer brother?! When I asked ya about it, ya even said he wasn’t! Why’d ya lie to me?”
Ritsu scowls, bringing one of his hands up to his mouth to chew on his fingernail. “As I told you before, he’s worthless. He stopped being my brother years ago.”
“The hell’s that supposed to mean?” Instinctively, Koga reaches out to gently draw Ritsu’s hand away from his mouth. This little habit of his has drawn blood several times, and as attractive as Ritsu sucking on his fingers is he doesn’t like seeing him hurt himself.
“Look, Corgi. I don’t wanna get into this right now, okay?” Ritsu pauses, looking up at Koga. “But… I’ll tell you one day. Maybe.”
Koga also doesn’t like how harrowed Ritsu looks right now, so even though he’s never been more curious about anything in his life, he drops it. “Hah… fine, fine, have it yer way. But I ain’t gonna forget about this so easily, ya hear me? For now, though, let’s just try t’ enjoy ourselves. ‘Kay?” He bumps Ritsu’s shoulder with his own playfully, electing a small smile from his temporary boyfriend.
“Alright. Corgi sure has his way of cheering people up, huh?” Ritsu goes to open the closet door, but hesitates before turning back to Koga. “Corgi. Mess up your hair a little.”
Koga scoffs as Ritsu undoes his top button, loosening his collar slightly. “What? Why?”
Ritsu stares at him like he’s stupid. “We want people to think we were in here making out, don’t we? It’d look strange for a couple to emerge from a closet completely composed.”
Sometimes, Koga wonders what’s going on in that brain of Ritsu’s. Koga knows he’s smart—he gets top grades in class when he puts the effort in—but on occasion, he’ll say the most ridiculous things without batting an eyelash. And just expects the people around him to go with it.
…which is what Koga does, carefully ruffling his hair while trying to maintain the effort he’d put into styling it earlier. “This okay?”
“Mhm.” Ritsu purses his lips, looking like he wants to say more, but keeps whatever it is to himself. “C’mon. Let’s go.”
And so the two of them exit the closet, Koga trying not to think too hard about the several stares they receive from nearby partygoers. Ritsu doesn’t seem to care, leading Koga to the kitchen to pour them both a drink; just soda, thankfully. Koga doesn’t need to deal with a drunk Ritsu on top of everything.
“Kuma-kun?” Koga’s eye twitches. “Oh, and Oogami too.”
“Secchan,” Ritsu greets, and when Koga turns around Izumi’s flanked by the remaining three members of their group. “Nacchan, Tsukipi, and Suuchan too. It’s nice to see you guys actually came.”
Tsukasa gives them a polite smile. “Good evening, Ritsu-senpai, Oogami-senpai. What a pleasant surprise. I hadn’t expected to see you two here together.”
“Well…” Ritsu places his drink down in favour of clinging to Koga’s arm. “We have something we’d like to tell you all.”
What?! This hadn’t been part of the plan. They were just supposed to pretend in front of his family, right? If they got their friends involved, they’d be pestering them all the time for details of their relationship, and if Ritsu ever wanted to actually get with someone else, they’d have to stage a breakup and God, Koga doesn’t even want to think about that.
“Oh?” Arashi’s eyes are sparkling, as if she knows exactly what Ritsu’s going to say. “Get out with it, then!”
“Corgi and I are dating.” And just like that, Ritsu leans over and plants a soft kiss on Koga’s cheek. “Surprise~!”
Koga is going to die.
Arashi squeals, bringing the both of them into a quick hug. “Ohmigosh, finally! I’m so happy for you two!”
“Stop that, get off!” Koga pries her away from him, leaving her to jump up and down excitedly with Ritsu.
“Congrats, I guess,” Izumi says, staring idly at his nails as though he could care less. After knowing about his history with Ritsu, Koga is a tiny bit wary of him, but his lips are pulled up into a small smile, so he figures he’s happy for them, really.
“Congratulations, senpai!” Tsukasa raises his glass towards Koga in a gesture of cheers, Koga clinking his own against it with a grin. “I was wondering when it would happen. I guess Ritsu-senpai finally confessed like he said he would!”
Deciding to play along with the story, Koga snorts. “Actually, I was the one who confessed—wait. What did you just say?”
“Ritsu-senpai has been saying for a while now that he’s been planning on confessing to you. It seems that at last, he’s gotten around to it.”
…eh? Huh? What? Tsukasa’s just messing with him, right? What?
A candy bar flying Tsukasa’s way interrupts the conversation. “Suuchan! I made sure Mother got those chocolate bars you like.” Ritsu sounds uncharacteristically panicked, his smile forced.
“Gimme!” A hand snatches the bar away from Tsukasa, though. The perpetrator tears it open and it’s gone in a matter of seconds, the wrapper tossed aside. “Ah, that hits the spot! It’s filled me with even more inspiration than before!”
Tsukasa puffs his cheeks out like a child. “Leo-san! That was mine!”
“Leo-kun, did you even hear a word of anything that was just said?” Izumi asks, sounding mildly amused.
“Hm? Nope!” Leo grins proudly, placing his hands on his hips. “Something about Rittsu and Ookami, blah blah blah. Nothing important, I’m sure!”
“Your friends are weird,” Koga mumbles into Ritsu’s ear. When Ritsu turns to face him and their noses nearly brush, Tsukasa’s words from moments ago echo in Koga’s brain and he freezes up.
“I know. Don’t pay any mind to anything any of them say, okay?” Ritsu can give him that sweet smile all he wants, but the pink tips of his ears give him away. Koga wants to question if it’s true, if he… what, likes Koga? The same way Koga likes him? But this overcrowded party doesn’t really feel like the right place, so he tucks it away in the corner of his brain for the next time they’re alone.
They wander around a bit for another half an hour, making polite conversation with Ritsu’s acquaintances and laughing together about some people’s crazy outfits. Koga’s actually beginning to have fun. Plus, it’s satisfying to hear Ritsu refer to him as his boyfriend like this. He’s used to the casual touches, but paired with the whole fake relationship thing, it makes it even nicer.
“Say, Ritchii, where’s the rest of yer family?” Koga asks, but immediately regrets it when Ritsu’s entire attitude shifts.
“Who knows? They’ll come seek us out when they want to.”
“Are they all as… overbearing as your brother?”
Ritsu traces the rim of his glass with his index finger. “Only Mother. She acts that way, but that’s all it is. An act. She doesn’t care that much, not really.”
Koga doesn’t know if he wants to get into the Sakuma family lore just yet, so he doesn’t question Ritsu any further. He thought his parents getting divorced when he was little was a big deal, but it seems like nothing compared to whatever the Sakuma’s have going on. “Well, like I said before, I’m here fer ya. Brighten up a little, yeah?”
“Thanks, Corgi.”
“Ritsu, my darling, is that you?”
Koga tenses. “Ugh. Speak of the devil and they shall arrive,” Ritsu mutters, before turning around and plastering on a fake smile. “Mother, Father, hello. It’s been quite a while since we last saw each other.”
Ritsu’s mother is a woman of similar stature to her youngest son, with thick black hair tied neatly back in a bun on top of her head. Her dress suits the design of the house perfectly, and her smile exactly matches the phoniness of Ritsu’s. Koga assumes the tall man beside her is her husband, and the two women following behind them are the aunt and grandmother Ritsu mentioned. Rei is also there, and Koga finds himself instinctively straightening his posture.
“Why, yes, it has.” She wraps Ritsu in a hug that the latter does not return. “You must come visit us more often. College can’t be that exciting, can it?”
“Come now, dear sister,” Ritsu’s aunt interjects, her grin teasing. “Ritsu has that sweetheart of his now. I have to imagine he’d be reluctant to leave his side.”
“Hm, I suppose that’s true.” Koga tenses up even more somehow when Ritsu’s mother’s gaze falls on him, and he gets the feeling that she is by some power ascertaining everything there is to know about him as a person. “I take it this is him? Do introduce us, will you, Ritsu?”
Ritsu slides his hand into Koga’s once again, squeezing it gently before he starts speaking. “Mother, this is my boyfriend, Oogami Koga-kun. Cor—Koga, this is my mother, father, grandmother and aunt. You met Anija earlier.”
It takes Koga a moment to process because holy shit that’s the first time Ritsu’s called him by his name and it sounded so nice and— But when he realises all eyes are on him he drops into a respectful bow. “I-It’s nice to meet ya! Ritsu’s been a pleasure to be around these past two years!” That’s half a lie, but they don’t need to know that.
“Raise your head, Oogami-kun. No need to be so polite.” This time, it’s Ritsu’s grandmother that speaks, the first out of the lot of them whose smile feels genuinely warm. “So how long have you two been together?”
“Three months,” Ritsu says. “Koga took me out stargazing on my birthday and confessed. How could I have said no to such a sweet gesture?” Damn, he’s a good liar.
“Really? How adorable!” Ritsu’s mother places a hand on her heart. “Oh, I do hope Ritsu hasn’t been too much trouble. I know he can be rather… difficult, at times, but I’m glad he’d found someone who can withstand him.”
Koga doesn’t miss the way Ritsu flinches beside him. It takes everything in him not to throw a punch at her. “As I said before, he’s a real pleasure. Sure, he’s a pain to wake up in the mornin’, but on the other hand, he’s always there fer me when I need him. I’m not ‘withstanding’ him, I like him fer who he is. Ma’am.”
Holy shit, he’s definitely trembling. Ritsu’s grip on his hand tightens—thank you. Ritsu’s mother looks somewhat taken aback, but fixes her face quickly before laughing. “Aw, young love. How charming you are, Oogami-kun.” Koga can’t really decipher how she truly feels, but he definitely wants her to leave as soon as possible.
He spares a glance at the rest of the family; the old lady looks touched, the aunt seems to be holding back laughter, the father is… wearing the exact same expression he was when he first showed up, and Rei is biting back a grin. He gives Koga a discreet thumbs up; heh. Koga did the right thing.
“Oogami-kun?” Ritsu’s mother gives him a sweet smile. “If it’s alright with you, could we borrow Ritsu for a while? We’ll return him to you eventually, I promise.”
Koga glances at Ritsu, who gives him a quick nod. “Yeah, sure. I don’t mind.”
“Thank you, darling.” Before Koga can even say goodbye, she loops her arm through Ritsu’s and drags him off with the rest of the family. “Farewell for now!”
Well. That just happened.
To be honest, Koga didn’t really want to leave Ritsu alone with them. But he said it was okay, and he trusts him. Koga’s glad to get away from them, though. He felt out of place the entire time, and it was just weird how Ritsu’s father didn’t say a word. It wasn’t as bad as he’d imagined, but still.
He feels kind of awkward now, standing alone in the middle of the room, and quickly busies himself in looking for the food table. He hasn’t eaten anything since he’s gotten here, and he is hungry. Thankfully, he locates it rather quickly. Everything there looks delicious, and tastes delicious too. He wonders if they had a professional chef prepare all this.
When trying all the strange little foods he’s never seen gets boring, he tries looking for Subaru and Mao. But despite the fact that with their hair colours they’d definitely stand out, he can’t find them anywhere. They’re either really late, or making out somewhere. Koga wouldn’t be surprised at either, to be honest. So he finds a quieter area to wait in, leaning against the wall beneath a doorway.
Eventually, Koga is saved from his loneliness by an approaching figure. But as they get closer, and the features of one Hakaze Kaoru come into focus, he thinks he would much rather be left alone. Even if Kaoru is one half of his favourite unit in the world.
“Oogami Koga-kun?” Koga makes the mistake of reacting to his name, giving Kaoru a reason to continue speaking. “I knew it was you! I didn’t get a chance to talk to you earlier after you snuck away with Ritsu-kun.”
“My bad.” He definitely did it on purpose. “What do ya want?”
“What makes you think I want something?” Kaoru props a hand on his hip. “I just thought it’d be nice to catch up with an old friend. Plus, Rei-kun mentioned that you’re a fan, so I came over here to give you an autograph, too~!”
Koga scrunches up his face. He does not want Kaoru’s autograph (he does). “Thanks, but no thanks.”
“Koga-kun, you’re no fun,” Kaoru complains. “Hey, hey. Do you still tell everyone you’re a wolf, or have you grown out of that?”
“T-That’s—!” This is why Koga didn’t want to talk to him. He knew him during middle school, aka the most embarrassing period of his life. He doesn’t know how he managed to do half the shit he did without shame. Granted, he wasn’t that much better in high school, but now that he’s a college student, he doesn’t act like that anymore. All the time. “Can we talk ‘bout somethin’ else?”
Kaoru laughs good-naturedly. “Okay, fine. Let’s see… have you met Ritsu-kun’s parents yet?”
“Yeah.” Koga scowls. “Wasn’t exactly fun.”
“I know, right? They’re so scary.” Kaoru shudders, leaning against the wall next to Koga. “When Rei-kun and I told them we were together, I thought I was gonna die from the way they all kept glaring at me!”
“Ya mean the rumours are true?!” Kaoru raises an eyebrow at his outburst, Koga feeling his cheeks grow warm. “I mean. I don’t care. I’m cool.”
There’ve been certain… rumours about the true nature of Rei and Kaoru’s relationship drifting around for a couple of years now; the casual touches during lives, the various sightings of them visiting popular date spots together, not to mention the fact that Rei’s constantly going on about how Kaoru is the best ‘partner’. However, no one’s ever been able to actually confirm anything. Koga feels a little bit special being trusted with this knowledge.
“They are. Technically, idols like ourselves shouldn’t be dating like this, but our agency told us we were worse before we got together, apparently. So as long as we don’t do anything too obvious or public, we can avoid any major scandals.” He sighs, taking a sip of his drink. He then turns to Koga, the slightest hint of panic in his eyes. “Ah, you won’t tell anyone, will you?”
Koga scoffs. “Course not. Who do ya think I am?”
Kaoru ruffles his hair the same way he used to all those years ago. “Thanks a bunch, doggie. If anyone found out I told a fan all this, I’d be in so much trouble.”
“Yeah, yeah, whatever.” Koga slaps his hand away. “…oi. Do ya have a CD or anythin’?”
“What?”
“For ya to sign, dumbass!”
“Oh, right! Tossed aside your pride, have you?” Kaoru raises his hands in surrender when Koga growls at him. “Sorry, sorry. Anyway, don’t worry, Rei-kun has a couple in his room. I’ll ask him to get you one before you leave and we’ll both sign it, ‘kay?”
Koga’s inner fanboy is screaming. “Thanks, I guess.”
“Ah! Here comes loverboy.” Kaoru gestures across the room to where Ritsu is walking over to them, looking nothing less than annoyed. “I think I should make my exit now. See you around, Koga-kun!”
Fucking finally. Sure, he’s definitely mellowed out over the years, but he’s still as irritating to speak to as before. Koga’s just fine with sticking to listening to him sing with Rei, thank you very much.
“Hey, Corgi.” As soon as Ritsu’s close enough, he drops his head onto Koga’s shoulder with a sigh. “Missed you.”
Koga huffs out a laugh, reaching up to pat him on the head. “Ya weren’t gone that long, ya big baby.”
“Mm, but it felt like foreverrr. As glad as I am to see Grandmother again, I’m starting to regret coming to this party. Ah, no, wait. If I never came to this party, I wouldn’t have gotten to witness your boyfriend mode earlier. Who knew Corgi was such a charmer?”
“Excuse you, I can be romantic when I need t’ be.”
“I guess that’s true.” Ritsu lifts his head, brushing the hair that’d gotten stuck against his forehead away. “What about you? How’ve you been? I saw you talking to Kaoru-san before.”
“Oh, y’know, we were just catchin’ up.”
“Ehh?” Ritsu tilts his head. “Did you know him before tonight?”
Koga smirks. “I guess we both have our own secrets, don’t we?”
Ritsu doesn’t reply, just shakes his head with a fond smile. The quiet chatter of the party fills the silence between the two of them—Koga wants to say something, but he likes this atmosphere between them right now and is afraid of ruining it.
“Corgi.” Ritsu’s voice is quiet.
“Mhm?”
“Look up.”
Koga follows Ritsu’s instructions, and— oh. “Mistletoe?” When did that get there? It wasn’t there when he first claimed this as his awkward spot to hang around—that fucker. “Hakaze must’ve planted it there. I swear to god, I’m gonna kill ‘im.”
Ritsu hums. “I mean, it isn’t the end of the world. You don’t have to if you don’t want to. This was your one no-no, right?”
Stupid Ritsu and his stupid kindness and his stupid pretty face and his stupid pink lips that Koga is definitely not against being forced to kiss. “I-It’s fine. Besides, Akehoshi and Dekosuke are over there. They’ll probably say somethin’ if we’ve finally noticed an’ still not k-kissed.”
True to his word, Subaru and Mao are watching from a distance, trying to make it look as though they’re doing something else when Ritsu glances over at them. That damn playboy bastard is most likely watching from somewhere, too. If Koga chickens out now, their cover is blown. That is one hundred percent the only reason he is willing to kiss Ritsu under the mistletoe.
“Are you sure?” Ritsu sounds genuinely concerned, but also hopeful, and Koga has got to be dreaming. “I don’t wanna make you uncomfortable.”
“You won’t be!” Ah, shit, he definitely sounded too enthusiastic there. “I mean, like I said, it’s fine. If it’s to keep up the act, I don’t mind.” His face feels as though it’s on fire, and if Ritsu looks at him with those hungry eyes for even a second longer he’s going to combust.
“Alright, then,” Ritsu murmurs, sliding his hands into Koga’s hair and pulling his face down to his height. “Don’t be complaining about this later.”
The kiss is soft and gentle and slightly tastes like the soda Ritsu’s always drinking. Koga melts into it quickly, hands awkwardly coming to rest on Ritsu’s waist. It’s a little embarrassing knowing that Ritsu has most definitely done this before while Koga is a total beginner, but Koga gets the feeling Ritsu takes pride in the fact that he gets to be Koga’s first kiss.
“Wow,” Koga breathes once Ritsu draws away, taking in the view of Ritsu’s flushed cheeks and parted lips and the rise and fall of his chest. “Nothin’ to complain ‘bout there.”
“Good.” Ritsu’s hands move down to take Koga’s own, leading him away from the doorway to… Koga isn’t exactly sure. “We’re going to my room.”
Oh. Ritsu’s room. Oh.
“Gami-san, Ritsu-senpai!” Subaru and Mao had made their way across to them while they weren’t looking, but Ritsu barges past them without a word. Koga shrugs apologetically.
“Eh? Sari, do you think they didn’t hear me? Where are they going in such a rush, anyway?”
Mao takes a swig of his drink. “I don’t think we wanna know.”
•••
Ritsu’s childhood bedroom is exactly what one would expect from him. The best word to describe it would be dark, from the black wallpaper to the black king-sized bed in the corner of the room. There’s only one photograph on the desk that Koga doesn’t manage to get a good enough look at thanks to Ritsu deciding now was the time to bring out his inhumane strength, and no personal trinkets or anything. Ritsu must’ve packed everything away as soon as he decided to leave, huh?
“Hey, uh, Ritchii?” Koga is ignored, instead being forced to sit on the edge of Ritsu’s bed as Ritsu climbs into his lap and drapes his arms around his shoulders. His expression is much more serious than usual, and Koga swallows in anticipation.
“Corgi,” Ritsu says. “I’m in love with you.”
Holy shit.
“And I know that inviting you here as my fake boyfriend might seem like I was taking advantage of you because of that, and I’m sorry for that. But I really do like you, and I wanna kiss you again if that’s okay.”
Oh my god oh my god oh my god.
“What’s wrong, Corgi? Do you… do you not feel the same way?” Ritsu sounds so genuinely worried that Koga’s body moves without thinking, cupping his cheeks and pulling him into a kiss. Ritsu’s quick to reciprocate, smiling against Koga’s lips as he hugs him closer. It’s short-lived, though, because Koga’s heart feels like it’s about to burst out of his chest and he needs to breathe.
“I… I love ya too,” Koga mumbles, unable to look Ritsu in the eye. “Man, this is embarrassin’.”
Ritsu giggles, pressing a kiss to Koga’s nose. “You’re so cute.”
“Hah?! I ain’t cute, I’m a cool, badass wolf!”
“Mhm.” Ritsu bites his lip in an attempt to suppress a playful smile. “Sure you are, Corgi.“
Koga sighs. “So what the brat said earlier was true? You’ve wanted t’ confess fer a while now?”
“Yeah. I mean, I have made a bunch of moves on you before now, but I don’t think you picked up on any of them,” Ritsu says, amused. “Asking you to sleep in your bed with you, saying I wouldn’t mind spending eternity with you, not to mention the way I’m always touching you. I thought it was obvious.”
To anybody else, maybe, yeah. But to Koga, who was so convinced there was no way in any universe whatsoever that Ritsu could like him back, those kinds of things got brushed off as over-friendliness, and, oh, he acts that way with everyone.
“Sorry. Yer gonna hafta be a lil’ more direct with me.”
Ritsu’s eyes glint. “How’s this for direct?”
And so he kisses Koga again, and again, and again until he’s got him laid on his back beneath him, chest heaving and flushed down to his now exposed neck. If you’d told Koga this is where he was gonna end up tonight, he’d have had a heart attack there and then.
Ritsu nibbles on the lobe of his ear, his breath sending a shiver down Koga’s spine. “How would you feel about ditching the party now?”
“Let’s get the hell outta here. Oh, but can we talk to yer brother first? I wanted t’ get his autograph.”
Ritsu hits him in the face with a pillow.
(Koga gets the CD in the end. ‘An early Christmas present,’ Ritsu had called it. As if he hadn’t already given him the gift of a lifetime.)