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Shou thought he had become decently close to Ritsu. They could hang out without a specific reason to, and talk about everything from school gossip to painful memories. They were close. So it's not that he was hurt, really, that Ritsu didn't tell him about the school culture festival, just surprised. That's the kind of thing student council members cry over--he knows, he's seen it at his own school. He thought Ritsu would've mentioned it, even in passing. Instead he found out from Teru, who was invited to the festival by Mob. So he tagged along, because he practically lived in Teruki's apartment anyway and he might as well see what Ritsu and his classmates had put on.
He walked around with Teru until they found Mob, where Shou quickly found himself the third wheel. Teru always acted weird in front of Mob. He was more polite, like he was trying to impress him with his charm. So far, from what Shou could tell, Mob wouldn't notice anything unless it was directly in front of him in big, bold letters. So he really didn't see the point. For some reason Teruki looked up to him, and sure he was strong, but he wasn't particularly interesting--not like Ritsu. But whatever. So he ditched them and wandered around looking for Ritsu's class, which he couldn't remember the number of. He found it, eventually, and that brought him to the present: standing in the doorway of a classroom brightly labeled "1-A CROSSDRESSING CAFÉ" in frilly letters. He thinks he understands now why Ritsu didn't invite him.
Someone to his left calls for a free table for him, but Shou is focused on something else. Namely, Ritsu. Ritsu in a freaking maid dress. Who happens to be staring at him from across the room. "Yo, Ritsu..." his voice is more than a little shaky, but he resists the urge to clear his throat awkwardly. He pulls a hand out of his pocket to wave hesitantly.
Ritsu smiles at him, and he almost could've believed it was genuine if it wasn't for his incessant eye twitching and clenched teeth. "Suzuki." He greets curtly, then promptly turns around and marches away across the room, towards the door to what Shou assumes is a makeshift kitchen in an adjoining room. He cringes as the door slams.
The boy to his left taps him on the shoulder, and Shou follows him to an empty table at the back of the room. He orders the first thing off the menu, Moo-Moo-Mocha or something along similar lines. It seems whoever created the names of the menu items was going for some cutesy feel, and didn't quite succeed all the way. Then he's left alone to fully comprehend what he's seeing.
It looks as though all the boys of the class are wearing maid uniforms, with tied bows of varying degrees of sloppiness. They even have knee-socks and whatever the heck the frilly things on their heads are. He doesn't see any girls, but he thinks they must be in the other room preparing the food and drinks if all the boys are working as waiters. None of them look extremely happy to be there, but Ritsu--Ritsu's on a different level. He seems to be on the verge of strangling the next person he sees, and even his nice, polite honors student facade is fading into blatant irritation and weariness. It would be amusing in any other situation, but, well. Shou tucks his face into his arms folded on the table, and tries in vain to make the blood stop collecting in his face and go back to his heart where it belongs. The heart beating at double speed and twinging everytime he sees Ritsu pass by. Ritsu- fuck. He looks good. He looks cute. Shou wants to wrap him in his arms and kiss his head while he pouts, hold him in his lap and feel the soft skin of his thighs- okay. Not helping.
He peeks out from his arms to watch Ritsu as he weaves between tables and people with a tray in his hands, disappearing for brief times to the other room and always coming back with another plate. The bows on his dress are tied perfectly, even and neat and crease-free. His socks are black and they look soft, reaching just below his knee. There's a sliver of skin before the skirt conceals the rest of his thighs, and Shou tries (and fails) not to stare at it. He really can't tell whether today is a curse or a blessing. How much can one heart handle before it simply explodes? He ponders the likelihood of getting a picture of Ritsu and coming away unscathed.
It's hours, or maybe minutes, until Ritsu approaches to deliver his drink. "Uh, hey." Shou coughs while Ritsu sets down the mug with a clink.
Ritsu sighs. "Hello, Suzuki." He looks tired, as if he's completely given up.
"That's umm... quite the interesting outfit," Shou laughs nervously. "Though it looks pretty good on you." Ritsu doesn't respond for a second, doesn't even seem to register the words, and Shou's ready to bang his head on the nearest wall and scream in utter embarrassment. Then Ritsu laughs, something dry and not quite sarcastic but not quite genuine. He drags a hand over his face, still laughing. When he stops he looks at Shou with what is probably the most pleasant face he's made all day: a tiny, almost imperceptible crooked excuse for a smile. And Shou stares, because he's still confused and flustered and embarrassed and hopelessly head over heels for the boy that laugh belongs to.
"Yeah?" Ritsu says, and his smirk is growing wider.
"Yeah," Shou answers without a single thought. Ritsu laughs again, and this time Shou somehow feels he's the one being laughed at in this situation. He would be irritated, if he wasn't so distracted by everything about Ritsu and how hot his own face felt.
"Well, sorry to disappoint, but I have other customers to serve. If you stick around, then I'll see you when my shift ends." Ritsu pats Shou's head as if he were a child, or a dog. He almost feels offended. (Almost.)
"Right. Okay. Cool." Shou manages to respond in between borderline violent throat-clearing. He briefly wonders if his blush is simply a permanent condition now, doomed to only increase with every syllable from Ritsu's mouth.
Ritsu leaves. Shou drinks his coffee in an attempt to clear his head. It's too sweet, but the taste itself is fine. He takes a deep breath. Calm. He exhales. It's fine. He's been through so many other, more stressful situations. He can handle seeing Ritsu in a maid outfit. He can.
And so he waits, and he drinks his coffee and checks his phone and watches Ritsu and texts Teru random stickers to pass the time. Teru doesn't respond, because of course he doesn't, so Shou gives up on that one pretty quickly. Ritsu's shift should be over at the end of the hour, if what he overheard about the schedule was right. Shou is almost proud of himself for how composed he is by the end of his waiting.
When Ritsu returns it's with his school bag slung over his shoulder. Shou stands up to meet him and get the hell out of this classroom. He sighs in audible relief when they step out. "I need to get changed." Ritsu reminds him, as if he could forget Ritsu's current state. He just nods and lets Ritsu lead the way to the boys' locker room on the first floor. It's almost hard to keep up, with how fast Ritsu is speed-walking. He assumes he doesn't want to be seen in that dress for any longer than absolutely necessary.
They find the locker room, and only when Shou has already entered does he realize his fatal mistake. He should've waited outside. It would just be awkward to leave now, when Ritsu's already started on the bows of his dress. So he just turns around and stiffly faces a wall of lockers, staring daggers at it. He had started on his breathing exercises again when Ritsu speaks up. "...Shou?" His voice is uncharacteristically hesitant. "Um. The zipper's stuck. Can you...y'know. Help?"
Oh, no. Oh, no no no no no. This isn't real. It's not. He's dreaming, he's got to be. He pinches himself, and wants to scream. The universe hates him. What is this, a fucking rom-com anime? "Um. Yeah, sure." He's surprised his voice doesn't crack. He takes two seconds to inhale deeply before turning around. Ritsu stands with his back to him, peeking over his shoulder. He's blushing; a light touch of pink across his cheeks--he's embarrassed. Shou bites the corner of his lip until he tastes blood. Approaching, he realizes the zipper is caught on Ritsu's undershirt, and he thanks the heavens that Ritsu actually has something on underneath. Frankly, he might've died on the spot if he didn't. Ritsu turns to face forward again and Shou fumbles with the zipper. Any composure he had gained in the last hour was entirely out the window. Surely, this is how he will die. Cause of death: Kageyama Ritsu.
After far too long of feeling the warmth of Ritsu's back against his knuckles and being close enough to smell his shampoo (it smells good, like vanilla), the zipper finally relents and Shou tugs it down before whipping around to assume his former position of staring at the wall. There's the rustling of fabric and then Ritsu is tapping him on the shoulder, school uniform on in all its boring glory.
The walk back to the Kageyama house is painfully uneventful, just Shou and Ritsu in not-quite-comfortable silence. Ritsu still seems a little embarrassed after everything, and Shou...well. He's fairly certain he left his ability to think in that damned locker room. "I'll see you soon," Ritsu says when they reach his door.
"Yeah," Shou replies. "See you soon," He takes a step back, but Ritsu grabs his sleeve
"Wait," Ritsu says. "Here, stay still." Shou doesn't even have time to respond before Ritsu grabs his face. He leans in and rubs his thumb across Shou's cheek. "You had an eyelash," he explains quietly.
"Oh," is all Shou comes up with as a reply, brain short-circuiting from the close proximity. Ritsu's hands drop from his face and he wishes they hadn't.
"Bye, then," Ritsu steps away and reaches for the doorknob. Shou just nods and watches Ritsu close the door behind him. Then he buries his face in his hands and tries not to scream. (He doesn't succeed for very long. As soon as he enters Teruki's apartment, he screams into a pillow until he thinks he might pass out. He pointedly ignores the way Teru stares at him afterwards.) The universe shows no mercy.