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Mao gently shook the boy before him, his sleeping form budging a bit but refusing to slip into reality. "Get up, Ritchan," he continued to shake his friend, smiling when he saw Ritsu begin to stir.
He watched as blood red eyes open to stare at him, a pout following the look of childish anger in them. Mao gently tugged Ritsu up, who was rubbing the sleep from his eyes knowing that Mao wouldn't let him go back to sleep.
"...Nnn, carry me home, Maakun~" the raven-haired teen teased, draping his body over the other's.
"You have legs for that."
Ritsu let out a whine of protest as Mao pushed him off, letting out a deep sigh. "Come on, you don't want to be late for dinner or anything, it's already five o'clock," he watched Mao grab his pale hand, pulling on it in an attempt to get him to walk, or even just take a small step forward.
The sleepy boy seemed to contemplate his options, finally deciding to take a few steps forward, smiling at his platonic partner.
Mao tried to ignore how he felt happier than he should've at that.
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Things like this happen all the time, so why is it now he was getting this way? Ritsu clung to him, practically purring as Mao felt the blood rush to his cheeks. Light snores came out of the boy's pretty lips, and he looked like Sleeping Beauty in the room's lighting- peaceful. He wouldn't mind, right? Mao shook his head, he couldn't just kiss his best friend.
He ran a single hand through the silky void that rested atop his best friend's head, working his fingers through small tangles with practiced care.
Ritsu could sleep forever, though, and it wouldn't be enough. He knew he was just hurting himself by allowing these innocent touches, allowing himself to dip just in the surface, to never allow himself to delve any deeper than that. It'd break him eventually, but for now he didn't care.
He stayed like that until his phone went off on his nightstand, a simple but cheerful melody that announced it was time to get up. He softly rustled the boy that laid in his arms, his face warm. A quiet groan emitted from Ritsu's lips, causing Mao's eyes to dart towards them. Tiny and nearly invisible, the thin cracks decorated the pink skin in little gatherings. His lips weren't quite broken enough to be considered chapped, but they were getting there. Even so, Mao wanted to kiss them...
He wasn't sure how long he'd been staring, but it seemed long enough, since Ritsu spoke up, the playful nickname from their childhood filling the silence.
How would he react if Mao just told him? Would the smile fall from his pale skin? Or would it stay, only the loss of affection from those beautiful rubies revealing the disgust he felt as he learned how his life-long friend truly saw him?
He shook those thoughts away— they wouldn't get him anywhere, not today, not tomorrow.
Mao helped his friend up, a smile plastered to his face, while his heart yearned to spill all of his emotions then and there. It seemed to convince Ritsu, as it almost always did, and the two began that day together. It wasn't theirs, but maybe like this, Mao could pretend they both owned it as one.