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Fujimaru Ritsuka had been experiencing an annoying itch since this morning.
It wasn't the same kind he felt when a strategy he'd been eager to try out turned out to be an absolute disaster, or the one he felt when he'd forgot something important (which mostly ended up being the homework the Chaldea staff gave him, because last Master or not, he still had to get A's in maths), but rather an itch he felt when he was trying with all his might to reach the jar on the highest shelf that was mocking his seemingly puny height with a sneer.
Though, it was not a jar he was targeting, nor was this a battle that depended on his height, but rather a cat and mouse chase.
Ever since he woke up and gave Mash his usual good morning, he felt something off about today. It wasn't that his clothes were inside out, or that he forgot to fix his terrible case of bed hair, but he soon found out a certain someone was challenging his patience. It began when he started to look for that person — he showed up at their usual meeting spot and waited, waited and waited until he lost all hope of them actually arriving. Then, feeling a bit down but still optimistic, he came across a bored looking Geronimo — the servant who was often present around that certain person — who gave him the first testimony of their whereabouts. But, immediately after finishing his statement came a rebuke from Tamamo no Mae — a servant who disliked that certain someone, but wanted to be helpful to her master above all else — who claimed that person went near the karaoke room as opposed to Geronimo's claim of the janitor area.
The inconsistencies didn't stop there, however, as Ritsuka came to the realization no one he came across could give him a precise location of the individual he was searching for. At this point, one could shrug and give up, but be it Ritsuka's inherent stubbornness or the influence of being around Sherlock's mystery loving self for too long, he pursed his lips and continued his search.
Then, an idea that should've popped into his mind much sooner hit him. A place where servants mingle and chat — the cafeteria would be his next stop.
As predicted, the cafeteria was as booming with life as ever. Aside from getting hit in the face by overexcited servants fighting over who gets the EMIYA limited edition bento (which would probably turn into a warzone sooner or later if he didn’t do something, but he has other problems on his mind right now), the trip wasn't too bad. Furthermore, he proudly thought as he tried wiping the blood from his nose with his white sleeve, his deduction had been correct — sitting at one of the tables further at the back is none other than Billy the Kid, surprisingly not having his face stuck in game cards.
The man took notice of him almost immediately, threw a nice smile Ritsuka's way, and didn't protest when Ritsuka sat across from him. Billy didn't bother propping his feet off the table in his presence, looking as carefree and comfortable as ever.
"So, Master? What's up? I doubt you're here for a chat and nothing else, no?
Ritsuka put his elbows on the table and intertwined his fingers, a grim expression taking over his face. At this, Billy the Kid couldn't help but gulp in anticipation of his next words.
"Saw right through me. I've got a few questions for you. Your cooperation will be appreciated."
"Uh, this sounds a bit more serious than I thought, but go ahead."
Billy's response pleased Ritsuka, and with a sharp nod, he continued.
"When was the last time you saw Robin, when was the last time you talked to Robin, when was the last time you've heard of Robin's location—" continued the rapid voice of Ritsuka until Billy tapped him on the shoulder with a strange expression.
"Calm down there, buddy. Uh, you've asked me the same question thrice now."
"H-have I? But that's not important! So, do you have an answer or not?"
"Hmm," Billy tapped his lip with his finger in thought, "Well, I'm pretty sure the last time I've seen him was before yesterday." Billy said with a sheepish smile, apologetic at the downturn of Ritsuka's expectant expression. But suddenly, his eyes darted to the right, and gained a new glint. "Oh, but that doesn't mean I have nothing of importance. I may not know where he's hiding, but I'm pretty sure I at least know the reason why."
This immediately piqued Ritsuka's attention, and he began absentmindedly rocking on his chair, waiting for Billy to continue with his theory. Billy gave him a secretive smile before opening his mouth again.
"Well, it's no secret that you're popular with the female servants, right? They simply love being around you, like moths to a flame. Well, can't say I don't exactly understand how they feel — if I were a woman, I could have been acting the same way as them, but that's beside the point." Billy's feet finally found their way off the table, and he leaned close to Ritsuka the same way a child did when they were about to say some mean gossip. "Me and Robin are quite close, no? And I keep a real, reaaal close look on those I'm friends with. So, one time we were playing cards, and that bastard was giving me one hell of a bad time. Then, suddenly, you appear with a hot chick in tow, and guess what?" Ritsuka waited, not realizing he was meant to answer. Billy pouted and ended up answering his own question, "His concentration was absolutely gone! He kept looking your way with this weird look on his face as if he were forced to eat a particularly sour lemon. Honestly, I found the situation funny until I noticed he'd been cheating the entire game, so I gave him a few good slaps."
"At the time I thought it was a one time thing, but that's not the case at all. It was the worst around summer, where even the sight of you being with — hmm, what's her name again? Jeanne? — was enough for him to look as if death warmed over," he explained with a hint of amusement in his voice. "Man, but honestly, it was almost starting to look like he had an allergic reaction to it or something," Billy mumbled with his hand rubbing his chin in thought.
Ritsuka tilted his head, "Well, I didn't know that but how does that help me?"
Billy's smile made him think that he knew he was going to ask that. "Well, he's clearly avoiding you, right? Take what I told you just now into consideration, and what do you get? Jealousy!" Billy clapped his hands together, "He's clearly avoiding you because he's jealous."
Suddenly, Ritsuka went off rhythm and the chair flopped on the floor with him. Jealousy? Sure, he'd had some crazy ideas about why Robin seemed to avoid him like the plague but it never hit him that that could be the reason. Furthermore, he never thought that Robin would have a crush on...
"You understand now, right? Robin fancies—"
"Jeanne!"
"Maste- huh? What?"
Billy just stared blankly at Ritsuka who suddenly grabbed both of his hands and shook them with all his might. His eyes were sparkling as if he'd finally found the last piece in the puzzle he was struggling with.
"Thank you so much, Billy! I couldn't have realized it without you! If I explain the misunderstanding I've caused to Jeanne, Robin will surely come out!"
"Uh..."
"See ya!" Ritsuka was about to run out of the cafeteria, until a thought hit him. "Oh yeah, Robin keeps all of his hidden cards in his boots!"
"B-boots? Well, that would explain a lot, that cheating, old-fashioned bastard."
Ritsuka felt enlightened. The reason had been so simple all along, he couldn't believe he was blind to it. Though, he couldn’t really blame Robin for wanting to hide it — while Ritsuka and Jeanne aren't that close, they considered each other friends, but that was probably not how Robin saw their relationship. He must've tried his best not to let it get between them, but something must've pushed him off the edge and made him want to flee from Ritsuka's presence.
But it was going to be all right soon. Ritsuka would personally make sure of it! All those nights he must've felt miserable, being conflicted about his feelings, but Ritsuka will make it crystal clear that he doesn't oppose to his feelings for the maiden, but even supports them.
Ritsuka wore a satisfied expression right until it was wiped off his face when something small yet scarily fast ran into him. Not for the first time today (but hopefully the last), he was knocked down on his bottom. Now, this kind of thing wasn’t all that unusual in Chaldea — the hallways were the second most dangerous area right after the cafeteria as some servants chose them as a place to hold races — but instead of letting go of Ritsuka, the blur of yellow and red continued running while clutching a piece of Ritsuka's uniform, thus causing him to be dragged with them.
"H-hey! Heeey?! Would you mind letting go of — ah, mind that Berserker! — me?"
The person growled and paid no heed to his words, but instead ran even faster until Ritsuka couldn't even focus on his surroundings anymore. But after what felt like both an eternity and a single second, the person stopped and sighed a sigh of relief.
"Alright, human. This might be enough!"
"I-Ibaraki-douji? Why did you— u-ugh, actually, that can wait. I need to find the nearest bathroom real quick."
After scrambling himself on his feet and seeing stars, Ritsuka threw up his entire breakfast after barely making it to the nearest stall. Then, with movements that resembled a zombie (or the morning after he first got drunk beyond recognition), he made his way back to where Ibaraki-douji was sitting impatiently.
"Ha! Your stomach is too weak. I can't believe you couldn't handle even that!"
Ritsuka gave her a pleading look, "Just... Please give me a heads-up next time."
"But there would be no heads-up in battle! If I didn't find you before he did, you could've already been dead, human." Ibaraki-douji haughtily replied, until she got a look on her face that showed she didn't mean to share that piece of information.
"What? Why would I be dead?" Ritsuka asked in confusion, but the oni just feigned ignorance. Well, guess it'll have to come down to that. Ritsuka didn't like to play dirty, as opposed to Robin, but there are situations where it's inevitable.
"I see... It's a shame you won't reply. I wanted to reward you with all this candy, but I guess I'll have to find someone else..."
"What?!"
"Huh? Or do you want to answer me after all? The offer is still up for grabs."
"H-ha! Who do you take me for, fool? I don't care for some stupid candy, I don't!"
"That's a shame," Ritsuka sadly said, "Guess I'll just give it to Liz. She likes this brand a lot too." There, Ritsuka laid all of his pieces on the table. One glance at her tells him she's not going to last much longer. A smug smirk he immediately hid appeared on his face.
"No! Don't give her anything! Please no! I-I'll talk, geez..."
A candy was immediately thrown her way, and she scrambled to catch it. She put it into her mouth, and an expression so much unlike her usual haughty sneer made its way on her face. As she gulped down the candy, she extended her hand and waited for more.
Ritsuka put his hands on his hips, "Huh? No way. You still haven't told me anything. We've got to make this fair."
"Ngh... All right. All right, jeez!" Ibaraki-douji huffed, but started talking, "I think—no, I'm certain — the green man wants to kill you!"
Huh?
"I first started noticing it when he was giving me swee— offerings and you passed by us. That guy has always had this coward aura around him, but suddenly it completely changed!" Ibaraki-douji shook her head, as if trying to calm herself, "Being the oni I am, I've felt this kind of bloodlust many times before, but this one was still impressive. He looked at you as if he were sizing up his prey!"
Ibaraki-douji gave her hand out again, and Ritsuka complied with giving her an apple candy she had her eye on. "Then, I was taken over with fury! I realised that the green guy was never giving me offerings out of the goodness of his heart, but to deceive me. He thought if he fed me enough candy, it'd be easier for him to steal one of my prey!" Ibaraki-douji clasped Ritsuka's shoulders and yelled, "Imagine that! I'm the one who steals from others, for it to be the other way around is unfathomable!"
"Uh, yeah. That's the main issue here, huh." Ritsuka shrunk himself at the sheer force of her voice, nervous, "So the reason you dragged me here... Was to save me from Robin?"
"Y-yeah... But don't get it wrong, human! It is not at all because I care about what happens to you! It's simply because I don't share my prey with anyone!" Ibaraki-douji exclaimed, "Well, I guess I would share my prey with Shuten if she asked..." she added as an afterthought.
"But that's about everything! Now, give me the lemon candy you're hiding from me!"
"But I don't have any lemon candy! The ones I have are apple and strawberry flavored."
"Hah?! You think you can lie to me, Ibaraki-douji?! Guess I have no choice but to get it from you by any means necessary!"
Despite his protests, Ibaraki-douji leaped at him with all her might. What transpired next was a very thorough examination of the supposed lemon candy's hiding spot, and only a few bits of Ritsuka's pride remained by the end of it. Ibaraki-douji, after a while, admitted defeat, but not without looking as if the candy personally offended her by not showing itself.
"Jeez... I should've sworn I could smell it from you." she mumbled, wondering if something was wrong with her nose. "Nevertheless human! You should stay with me and— huh?"
But Ritsuka was nowhere to be seen. The only thing linked to his presence were three unopened bags of candy.
"What the hell?! Just you wait! I'll hunt you down soon enough!"
She threw a hesitant glance towards the bags.
"T-though, I guess it can wait until I finish the candy..."
Ritsuka hid himself in the nearest room he could find — which, to contribute to his already disastrous luck, turned out to be the janitor's closet. It was an impulsive choice he made in his erratic state, but you must understand that today had brought one too many revelations. The first was that Robin was jealous of the attention he got from all the female servants (not that he can blame him too much — if Robin had been the one getting all the attention instead, Ritsuka would be feeling envious of him as well), the second was that he held affection for Jeanne (again, can't blame him), and the third was that he was planning on killing Ritsuka for aforementioned affection (for this, he can blame him — who does that?!).
Ritsuka wanted to hole up in this closet and stay here forever, despite how unusually humid it was. To think Robin, the one who taught him to cheat in card games with a grin a few nights back, held such a terrifying grudge against him was almost enough to fry his brain. After visiting Billy, he felt like the supporting character of a romance novel ready to cheer the male lead on, but now he'd been thrown into a gruesome horror movie. This isn't only about getting Robin's feelings across anymore — it's also about his safety!
Ritsuka tried to calm himself by thinking of the other times his life had been threatened, but currently even the Demon God Pillars pale in comparison to Robin Hood. He shook his head — he wasn’t going to do anything at this rate. Then, with stiff shoulders and a stone-like expression, he flung the door open.
"O-ouch!"
And hit someone right in the face. Fujimaru Ritsuka was a master at good timing.
"A-ah, are you alright?! I'm so sorry—"
Ritsuka's already pale expression turned even paler — the one in front of him, currently rubbing her sore face, was none other than Jeanne.
Naturally, talking to her was the point of all of this, but wasn't this a bit too soon? Wasn’t there a precedent to these things? A few character arcs or so? Even when playing video games, you didn’t usually fight the last boss right in the beginning!
"Master! Be more careful with opening doors next time!" Jeanne hit him on the head with her flag a few times, trying to make it look like she was scolding him, but to Ritsuka it seemed more like retribution more than anything. "But, huh? Why were you in the janitor's closet in the first place?" Jeanne asked, confused.
"A-a very long story..." An understatement.
Jeanne gave him a comforting smile, "Well, if you do not wish to tell me about it, that's fine too. Just know I will always lend you an ear if you ever need it."
Ritsuka forgot how nice it was to be around Jeanne. She'd always been mindful of his circumstances, and would always try to ease his pain, no matter what it was. After such a long day, it nearly brought Ritsuka to tears.
"Ah, but — as a punishment for hitting me in the face, you'll have to spend some time with me. How about we have a cup of tea in my room?"
"H-huh?" Ritsuka squeaked. It's not that he was opposed to them spending time together, but the two of them being alone in her room raised implications — if Robin, already hellbent on killing him out of jealousy, knew of this, it'd cause a catastrophe. "Jeanne, that, uh, might not be for the best—"
"Why not? We've barely spent any time together lately!"
"I have my reasons! I really think we shouldn't go!"
"I'm not budging, Master!"
And thus, dragged for the second time today, Ritsuka had to wonder if his servants saw him as a ragdoll of sorts. Jeanne bulldozed her way through the servants until she was in her room, and then set up everything elegantly and seemingly effortlessly — were it Ritsuka doing anything concerning fragile cups and teaspoons, the whole area would have been covered in porcelain shards.
Ritsuka cleared his throat. "Hey Jeanne? We're friends, right?"
"Have I in any way made you think otherwise?" Jeanne looked worried, so Ritsuka shook his head in panic.
"No! No, that's not it. But, the relationship we have is entirely platonic, right? No lingering feelings or anything... right?" Ritsuka's face felt like a volcano, asking questions like this, but it had to be done.
"Of course they are, Master! Not once have I thought of you as a potential love interest, rest assured." Jeanne was beaming as she said this, not realizing her words cut a big hole into Ritsuka's pride.
"Oh, o-oh! That's great, isn't it? We're just two friends, hanging out. Tea parties with friends are the best, aren't they? Hahahaha..." Ritsuka wished for one of the gods residing in Chaldea to smite him from existence.
"A-are you alright, Master?" Jeanne set her cup down, worried about his behavior.
Ritsuka leaned back on his chair — should he tell her? If he explains the situation to her, she’d make it clear to Robin she holds no feelings for Ritsuka, making Robin lose his motive for wanting to kill him. But on the other hand, exposing his feelings to the person he likes is pretty mean, and could aggravate him further. He feels conflicted, but ultimately decides.
Ritsuka coughed into his fist, "Out of sheer curiosity, what do you think about Robin?"
Jeanne looks taken aback by the sudden change in topic, but answers, "That he is an admirable hunter, and that he is very good with children."
"Nothing else? Like how dazzling his hair looks when sun shines on it, or how gentle his hands are, or how his pants emphasize his crotch area—" Ritsuka continues counting on his fingers, and it's only when he heard a loud sound coming from one of the corners of the room that he noticed Jeanne looking at him with a raging blush on her cheeks.
"Seriously, are you absolutely sure you're doing alright?!" Jeanne says with an incredulous yell. Ritsuka looked at her in puzzlement, and she just gave an exasperated sigh. "So, why exactly are you asking me about Robin Hood?"
"Because he likes you! To the point he's about to kill me because he thinks we're dating!" Ritsuka exclaims and deflates like a balloon not soon after.
"Er— are we talking about the same Robin Hood? The one that has a hard time moving even a few inches away from you? The very same one that looked heartbroken just because he noticed he wasn't the only one that got Valentine's chocolate from you?" Jeanne scratched her cheek, not believing anything that came out of Ritsuka's mouth. Then a question arose within her, "How did you even come to that conclusion?"
Ritsuka propped his elbows on the table, and retold the entire story that led him to this point. Jeanne, who began listening with a curious expression, had a completely blank expression by the end of it. She shot him a pitying smile.
"Master... If I didn't feel like crying from your oversight, I would've complimented you on your imagination," came her reply. "Um, when the gunslinger said that Robin Hood was feeling jealous of the two of us being together, he didn't mean that he was jealous of you." Jeanne explained, looking as if she hoped with all her might he'd catch on.
"Huh? Then who? The only other option was that he was jealous of you being with— what?!" Ritsuka quickly rose up from his seat and pointed at himself. When Jeanne nodded, Ritsuka pointed to himself even more aggressively.
"I don't believe he did a lot to show his feelings, but with some observation skills, it'd be pretty easy to pick up on." Jeanne chuckled, "Still, he shouldn't have done that! He didn't even try to let you know, but still got mad and hid because you didn't notice!"
"Of course, he is quite the coward." Ritsuka pointed out, until he realized you probably shouldn't be criticizing someone who liked you too much. He put his hands on his hips and contemplated, "But what should I do now?"
"Well, how do you feel about him, Master?" Jeanne leaned on her hand and waited.
"Huh? I like him, obviously." Ritsuka's answer was instantaneous.
Jeanne clapped her hands together, "There you have it!"
Ritsuka tilted his head, "But how does that help me?"
Jeanne ignored his question while humming to herself. She then stood up and took Ritsuka by the hand, leading him to the door with a mischievous smile on her face. Ritsuka knew better than to ask what's on her mind, but it still made him feel he somehow played right into her cards without knowing it. Still, he left without much of a protest.
Jeanne waited a bit more until she was sure he was out of earshot, and turned around to meet the empty room.
"So, does that answer your question?
—Robin Hood, that's been listening in to our entire conversation."
Robin liked his partners with no strings attached.
That was true back then and even now, when the entire world was at the threat of being exterminated. Sure, there had been some complications ever since he realized he may have made goo-goo eyes at his Master a few times, or when he got hit mid-battle because he noticed Master's waist would probably be pleasant to hold, or when he would perk up and then immediately feel down anytime he'd try to talk to Master but noticed he was already with someone else, much to Billy's amusement. And it's not like his emotions were out of control either — he swore there was a much deeper reason for his sudden disappearance than wanting to get back at Master for making him feel so pathetic (though he did end up stalking him the entire day with his May King anyway).
Well, maybe there were some strings attached, but he was sure he could snip them anytime he wished. Everything was under control.
Robin thought about what he should do next — there was the option to wait out the war until everything settles to the way it was before, but his fingers had been tingly and his face twitching to break into a dopey smile ever since he started replaying Master's words in his head like a broken record. When he was alive, his nights were spent laying traps and being on high alert, but now they were spent with him giggling like a high school girl because her crush texted her back — the sight of it was so pitiful he may just have to kill either himself or whoever would see him in this state.
Nevertheless, the entire night was spent with him restlessly pacing around his room as if the answer to this predicament would come with enough mindless humming. By the time morning was about to begin, he was still hunched over on his desk with his fingers rhythmically tapping on the wood, until he noticed something silver from the corner of his eyes. The tapping suddenly stopped, and his hand reached out for what turned out to be a silver coin.
He remembered these coins — he gave them to Master on Valentine's Day (though he still feels a bit lame he didn't pick a better gift), but Master insisted Robin should still keep one on himself as a good luck charm of sorts. Robin suddenly huffed out in amusement, and realized he may as well use it for something useful. Then, in one swift movement, the coin was thrust into the air.
As the coin spun in the air, thousands of thoughts passed through his head. He wanted to abandon all responsibility, he wanted to stop running, he wanted to give up even though he knows it'll just make him more miserable, he wanted to take hold of his Master's hand and never let go.
The coin landed.
"So, Robin, I don't mean to scare you away or anything, but what exactly are you doing in my room?"
Ritsuka was curiously peering at him — or rather, where he thinks Robin was, since his May King never gets a day off — as he was sitting on his bed, propped on his elbows. See, having servants over at his room wasn't anything unusual, but this one just barged right in the second Ritsuka opened his door and made him fear for his life because some kind of invisible force was dragging him back to bed after it took him six alarms to get out.
"Well, would you believe me if I said that I came here merely to see you?" Robin finally took off his cloak, looking confident until Ritsuka noticed the slight tremble in his fingers. "'I saw Master's face first thing in the morning! It was the best!'... Well, I guess it isn't exactly the first thing I saw today, but my head would end up on a stake anyway." He ran his hand over his hair with a laugh.
But Ritsuka just pouted in disappointment. "Here I was waiting for you to open up with some kind of a grand confession. I may not look like it, but I'm quite the shoujo manga fan." He sat up straighter and crossed his arms. "My standards for making my heart beat are quite high."
Robin, who was leaning against a wall, gaped at him in bewilderment at the word 'confession' acting both like his true intentions had been easily spotted but also like a parent that heard their child speak a vulgar word for the first time. He coughed into his fist, and slightly turned his head away from Ritsuka. His ears were visibly pink.
"What are you acting all coy for?!" Ritsuka stood up and put his hands on his hips, "You watched me run around in circles looking for you all day and didn't utter a single word! Furthermore, do you know how embarrassing it is to realize the person you fancy heard you say you like them?! If anything, I should be the one getting all blushy here."
And this was the reason why Ritsuka's morning had been hell. He ignored most of his alarms even though he was an early bird. He slipped and hit his head the second he got out of bed. He brushed his teeth with zero enthusiasm, and some of the toothpaste even landed on his shirt from negligence. He spent ten minutes in front of his closet deciding what clothes he should pick, even though he only ever wore one set (and then noticed he wore them inside out, much to his embarrassment).
A few minutes before going to sleep (which is apparently the time when his brain works the best), the last revelation of the day came knocking on his door with unpleasant surprises. He began to piece things together when he started to question Billy's sudden shift in behavior, Ibaraki-douji's search for the lemon candy that could be smelled but not seen, the abnormal humidity for one person in the janitor's closet, and finally — Jeanne's terrifying smile.
Robin narrowed his eyes. "How do you—?! Agh, nevermind that. If you already know what I feel for you, why do I need to spell it out?!" Robin yelled out, taking one step behind for every step Ritsuka took closer to him. "Do you expect me to get on my knees and propose my eternal love or stuff like that? Well, sorry, but I'm not about to do that! I'll die!"
"Why do you need to make everything so difficult?!" Ritsuka increased the speed of his steps, and Robin unconsciously matched his pace until he felt his back hit the wall. Ritsuka had him cornered now, but his frustrations didn't disappear.
Robin pushed himself against Ritsuka's chest. "Maybe I am a bit difficult, but at least I'm not dramatic over nonsense!"
"Not dramatic?!" Ritsuka snarls, mimicking Robin's actions. "Says you, who avoided me just because talking about your feelings is simply too much of a hassle!"
"Well, maybe if you bloody noticed!" Robin countered breathlessly, pressing his face against Ritsuka's.
"Then make the signs clearer next time." Ritsuka retorted, a bit too soft for his liking. But something switched in Ritsuka, because as Robin was about to bite out a scathing reply, he put his arms around his neck and pulled.
As far as kisses go, this one lacked technique and delicacy. Ritsuka felt Robin's tongue against his, pent-up with desperation, anger and longing altogether. Their teeth clacked together almost uncomfortably, but Ritsuka didn't want to move even an inch. He felt Robin's hands move to his waist, trace the area with his thumb, and then painfully dig into the skin. Everything about this was aggressive, and it was nearing the point where Ritsuka couldn't nearly breathe, yet when Robin pulled away and muttered something against his lips Ritsuka couldn't see it as anything but tender.
Ritsuka nestled his head in Robin's neck and smiled against it. Robin, still in his trance, raised his hand and put it on Ritsuka's head, softly running his fingers through his hair. He looked at peace like this, Ritsuka thought. He wished to see him more often like this.
But, Ritsuka smiled wider, that didn't mean he'd let him off the hook so easily.
Wrestling himself out of this precious moment, Ritsuka pushed the puzzled Robin away from him with half-lidded eyes and a cheeky grin. His hair had seen better days, his uniform needed some ironing to do, and the still-present blush on his cheeks was a dead giveaway of what happened, but he nonetheless took confident strides towards his door without a care in the world.
Ritsuka turned back just once in the doorway, and examined the mess he'd made of Robin with triumph.
"Don't think you deserve anything beyond this without a proper confession, you idiot."