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Shou does not remember the Maid Incident fondly.
He can recognize, in hindsight, that Ritsu had looked very, very good. Ritsu in cute clothes is-- it's just good. Ritsu being aware that he's in clothes that are meant to be cute is an entirely different thing, however. Just thinking about that cold, hard gaze makes Shou almost start shaking. Ritsu himself had been shaking with what had clearly been barely restrained bloodlust. Shou admires that bloodlust in him, he really does, but he really, really doesn't want it trained on him. Even if he does know, logically, that he could take him. He's defeated Ritsu before, after all. But Christ, Ritsu can make some scary faces.
It probably didn't help grow their relationship in the direction he wanted it to be growing in (the kissing direction) either.
So Shou had very firmly repressed the memories of the Maid Incident in his mind and hoped to god that something like it would never happen again.
It happened again. Several times.
They'd both watched a movie together, something bloody and violent which was what Ritsu enjoyed (Mr. Straight A student/perfect son/perfect brother/and student council member clearly had some repressed urges that Shou knew all too well, those poor Claw members), and something with justice and the good guys winning in the end which was what Shou enjoyed. Shou noted idly that the weather was good, and was about to suggest grabbing something to eat when the Wet Shirt Incident took place.
They had happened to be walking underneath a man on a ladder who was washing some store windows at the time. They had happened to be too distracted to catch or dodge the bucket with either their powers or their bodies at the time. Ritsu had happened to be in the buckets line of attack at the time.
He had also happened to be wearing a white t-shirt at the time.
Shou choked as Ritsu dripped onto the pavement, frozen and wide eyed. It was--
"Transparent..." Shou unfortunately said out loud, which even more unfortunately seemed to snap Ritsu out of his stupor. Ritsu's eyes, which were suddenly very frighteningly bloodshot and wide, fixed on him as his head snapped towards Shou. Shou did not manage to stop himself from squeaking.
And that was how Shou ended up walking back home alone earlier than planned in only a t-shirt, and Ritsu ended up walking back home alone earlier than expected wearing Shou's jacket.
Suzuki Shou lived a sad life.
Suzuki Shou lived an amazing life.
His mom had sent him out to get some groceries, and he was the bestest son in the world, okay, because he went without a word of complaint even though he'd been in the middle of a video game raid with Fukuda and the others. He'd just been scanning the shelves for wherever the fuck the chips were when he saw Ritsu. He'd smiled, surprised and happy to see him. He had raised his hand, mouth opening to greet him.
And then what he was actually seeing sunk in, and his voice died his in throat.
Ritsu! Was! Wearing! His! Jacket. In public. When he didn't have to.
This boy could have Shou swooning without trying, he was so far gone, god damn. Shou quickly stood back up from the crouch he'd fallen into, letting his hands down from his bright red face to pick back up his shopping basket, and make sure his hair was still fashionably spiky. He should go over and casually and suavely say hello, shouldn't he?
Ritsu was thoughtfully humming over a knife set only a few rows away.
Should-- shouldn't he?
Ritsu picks up one of the knives and spins it effortlessly around with his fingers for several intensely, confusingly hot/terrifying moments.
Shou recalls Ritsu's blood lust during the Maid Incident.
Maybe he shouldn't.
Ritsu tests the knife's sharpness on a plucked hair, and smiles with apparent satisfaction.
Maybe he really, really shouldn't.
But he looks so adorable, a suicidal voice in the back of his mind whispers insidiously. You don't have to go up and talk to him. Just take a picture, for memory's sake if nothing else.
His hand closed around his phone.
Stop, his common sense said. What are you doing.
That's it, the suicidal voice encouraged him as he pulled his phone out of his pocket.
Oh god, his common sense whimpered as Shou opened the camera app.
This is a super good idea, the suicidal voice said.
You're gonna die.
Aim the camera, yeah like that--
Don't--
Take the picture--
WAIT--
Too late. Click. Flash.
FUCK.
OH SHIT.
Wait. Flash?
Ritsu turned towards him, blinking at the flash.
You're on your own, buddy.
Yeah, ciao.
"... Shou?" Ritsu asked.
"Uh," Shou said super suavely. "Yeah. Hey there, Ritsu."
Ritsu stared at him. At his phone. Down at Shou's jacket, which he was still wearing. Back up at the camera. Back at Shou.
Shou smiled desperately.
Shou was getting the feeling that he wasn't going be getting that jacket back any time soon. He kind of had the feeling that it was currently residing in the garbage somewhere.
He sighed for the dozenth time that afternoon, and continued staring up at the ceiling. He didn't feel like hanging out with his friends or his mom at the moment. Sometimes he just felt like hanging out with one specific person. Ritsu being that specific person, at the moment. At a lot of moments, to be honest. Well, it couldn't be helped. He was in the dog house at the mome--
His phone played a short riff of Bring Me To Life by Evanescence. The tone he'd set up for his phone if he got a text from Ritsu. Shou scrambled for a moment, got tangled up in his blankets, fell in a pile onto the floor, and then remembered that he was a psychic. Right. Well, that was embarrassing. Good thing that no one was there to see that. He concentrated for a moment and his phone flew and smacked into the palm of his hand. He unlocked the lockscreen without even bothering to untangle himself from his bedsheets, or even get up from the floor.
RITSU: I think you'd like this!
And underneath, a loading picture.
His phone begged him to wake it up inside once more and another text came up on the screen before the picture finished loading.
RITSU: WAIT THAT WASNT MEANT FOR YOU
The picture loaded.
RITSU: IT WAS FOR NII-SAN
Ear muffs with a cat design. Pink, fluffy parka. Tasseled scarf. It totally looked the cutesy kind of thing Ritsu's big brother would casually wear during the winter.
Ritsu was totally the one who was wearing it in the picture, however.
Shou's face remained carefully blank for the two seconds it took him to realiz that Ritsu couldn't see him anyways, and that he could react however he goddamn felt like. It turned out that his reaction was to grin like an idiot and save the picture to a personal folder named Ritsu-kun.
Wake me up inside, can't wake up~~
RITSU: Did you see it??
SHOU: Don't worry, bro, you look good!
RITSU: ASDFGHJKL
Shou smiled again, and screenshotted the conversation for posterity. That was the first key smash he'd ever gotten out of Ritsu! Hopefully there'd be many more to come in their blooming relationship.
It way more fun to interact with Ritsu when he was flustered as long as he was out of range of that terrifying scowl of his. They should start texting more often.