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Mao looks at the small object that Ritsu is making dance through his fingers, carefully, observing every movement it makes and, for some reason, even if he isn’t the one dealing with the object, by observing Ritsu he feels that he's dealing with a bomb that is about to go off in any moment.
He has spent too much time with Ritsu already, he has known him for years, until the point that he doesn't know if he knows more about himself or about Ritsu, and that's why he's so sure about it.
Even if he might appear bored and sleepy for the rest of the world, he can't fool Mao. Mao can see a faint glint in his eyes as he observes the small flask of red liquid. Ritsu keeps shaking it, observing it from every angle, how the substance hits the walls of the transparent container. And Mao knows, Mao sees it.
Ritsu is entertained and definitely plotting something.
And Mao should know, that in these cases it's better to leave him alone, he will get tired and give up if no one pays attention to him.
But Mao just can't ignore Ritsu.
“You are going to spill it.” Mao tells him, trying to sound as less concerned and interested as possible, hoping that maybe, maybe, that way Ritsu will notice that he doesn't want to play along with whatever he is plotting.
But of course, it doesn't work.
Ritsu's hand freezes for a second, his eyes now looking directly at Maa-kun as a small smirk appears on his face. Mao instinctively gulps because he feels, he knows that he has done exactly what Ritsu expected and he isn't sure if he likes that.
Ritsu knows that now that Maa-kun is paying attention to him, now that he has finally managed to make him look at him and only to him he won't be able to take his eyes off him. Or at least, he doesn't intend to let him.
And Maa-kun always does everything he wants him to do, so of course that shouldn't be too difficult.
Lately Maa-kun has been way too busy with school work, idol activities, his club and the student council, so of course, he's going to make sure to enjoy every single moment in which Maa-kun pays attention to him.
It's not selfishness. After all, he is letting Maa-kun do his other tasks properly, isn't he? It's just that he, Ritsu, should be Maa-kun's first and most important priority.
They promised such a thing, so he is allowed to act like this. He's just making sure that Maa-kun is keeping his promise. He's being a good childhood friend, so of course, he's allowed to wish for him, Ritsu, to be the only thing Maa-kun can think about.
And maybe his wish could be closer to become true.
Ritsu diverts his gaze from Maa-kun, the smirk disappearing as he does so and being replaced with his usual sleepy and uninterested expression.
He's once again looking at the flask, but this doesn't make Mao feel better as he still can see that Ritsu is plotting something.
“It's alright.” Ritsu replies finally, turning the flask down, as if he wanted to pour all the liquid inside into the table between the two of them and Mao moves everything on top of it as fast as he can, to avoid getting them wet.
“Ritsu!” he shouts a complain.
“It has a plug.” The dark haired boy smirks seeing the other boy's reaction as he notices that the liquid is indeed still inside the transparent container.
The face that Maa-kun makes between embarrassed and angry is way too amusing.
“So,” Mao decides to divert the attention from the incident that has just happened, leaning back as if it wasn't a big deal. “What's that ?” He points at the flask, the red liquid that Ritsu has been so engrossed with.
“A liquid.” Ritsu replies, plainly and bluntly.
“Yea, well, I can see that.” Maa-kun clicks his tongue as he isn't too happy about Ritsu giving him an obvious reply like that. “But is it a chemical product? A drink?” He opens his eyes even more as another possibility crosses his mind. “Wait, that's not…”
“Blood?” Ritsu finishes for him, side-eyeing Maa-kun and smiling in a way that will let him see his fangs.
It's... intimidating. Mao can't help but feel scared when he sees the small fangs, even if he has known Ritsu for years, even if he knows that Ritsu will never hurt him, it's still a little unsettling.
Mao nods slowly, without even realizing that he has moved a little away from Ritsu.
“Don't worry, don't worry~” Ritsu replies, closing his eyes and waving his free hand in a carefree motion, trying to reassure Mao even more that his worst thoughts aren't right. “I prefer to drink blood directly from the person, so I don't keep blood in flasks.” He adds, cheerfully, as if there was nothing weird about his words.
“That's definitely something to worry about…” Maa-kun replies, instinctively moving his hand to his neck in a way of protection because he knows that Ritsu's words are true and right now he isn't in the mood of becoming a snack for the sleepy vampire.
Maa-kun sighs, trying to ignore the comment that he has done and looking once again at the flask.
“Then? If it's not… Blood…” The last word is difficult to speak because even if he should be used to the fact that Ritsu drinks it, he still has a hard time talking openly about it. “What is it?” He asks, for some reason feeling a little impatient.
Ritsu finally puts the flask on the table, between them, carefully as if the slightest movement would make it break.
“Maa-kun, if you had the chance to make someone drink a love potion… who would you give it to?” He asks, eyes still on his own hand grabbing the flask, not daring to look at Maa-kun.
Maa-kun blinks twice, the question catching him off guard and not understanding if Ritsu is trying to avoid the topic or if he's actually talking about something related to the flask.
“What…?” is all he manages to say and he curses his inability to react in this kind of situation.
“If you could make someone fall in love with you, who would you choose?” Ritsu phrases his question again, this time looking at Maa-kun to make him understand that he is talking seriously.
“Isn't that the same as telling you who's my crush…?” Mao complains, looking away as he can't look directly at Ritsu if they are talking about this kind of topic. It's too embarrassing.
“Is it?” Ritsu asks playfully. “I guess this means that Maa-kun is simple minded…” He sighs, obviously mocking Maa-kun.
“What do you mean?” Maa-kun sounds a little offended, which only makes Ritsu smile because messing with Maa-kun is both too easy and fun.
“You could use it for your own benefit.” Ritsu explains calmly and truth is that he isn't surprised that Maa-kun didn't think about that possibility. Maa-kun is a kind person who is always looking out for others after all, there is no way he would have a selfish motive like that. “For example, I would make Maa-kun drink it~ that way Maa-kun would have to do eeeeeverything I asked him to do.” He announces proudly and while that's one of the reasons… the idea of Maa-kun falling in love with him isn't something he dislikes.
Even if it's with a method like that.
“I already do everything you want though…” Maa-kun sighs, completely oblivious at the most important fact of Ritsu's words.
After all, he has just said that he would like for Maa-kun to fall in love with him.
And Maa-kun has simply ignored it.
Well, he isn't very surprised about this result.
“You spoil me too much.” Ritsu says with a smile on his face.
“And yet you always want more.” Maa-kun sighs. “But where did that come from? Why did you suddenly start talking about a love potion?” He asks, still intrigued because Ritsu hasn't told him the content of the transparent flask.
“But Maa-kun, the way love potions work is that the person who drinks it falls in love with the first person they see, right?” Ritsu asks, ignoring completely Maa-kun's questions.
“Listen to people when they are talking to you…” Maa-kun complains half heartedly, knowing that no matter what he says, Ritsu will still do whatever he wants. “And yes, that's how it usually works.” He sighs, giving in and deciding that it's better to just play along with whatever Ritsu is planning.
“Then, Maa-kun,” Ritsu looks at him completely serious, his red eyes looking directly into his green ones. “What would happen if the person who drinks the love potion was already in love with the first person they saw?”
“That…” Maa-kun frowns, he never really thought deeply about the concept of love potions… or love in general. “Maybe they would fall even more in love with that person…?” He isn't very sure about that kind of reply as it sounds as he has, obviously, not thought too deeply about it.
“Fall even more in love?” Ritsu snorts as he repeats Maa-kun's words. He takes a look to the flask once again and he can't hide a small smile from appearing on his mouth.
“What's so funny…” Maa-kun asks, because even if the reply wasn't the best, he believes that it was at least plausible.
“Fall even more in love… When you put it like that…” He looks at Maa-kun now, a smug smile showing on his face, “I guess that aphrodisiacs are a kind of love potion too.”
Maa-kun doesn't take long to react, his face already turning red and his eyes opening wide, so wide that it almost feels they are going to fall.
“That's not what I meant!” Maa-kun shouts, getting too worked up and slamming his hands against the table, making the flask bounce on it.
Ritsu can't avoid the small laugh that escapes from his lips when he sees Maa-kun's reaction, which only makes the other boy feel even more embarrassed.
“In any case,” Mao coughs, embarrassed that he has gotten so worked up and trying to make Ritsu forget about it by continuing the conversation. “There's also the possibility that nothing would change… If the person is already in love then the potion wouldn't have any effect.”
“Why would someone give a love potion to someone who is already in love with them?” Ritsu sighs, even if Maa-kun's idea does make sense, at the same time there's no way a scenario like that would happen.
“Maybe the person who drank the potion didn't realize their own feelings?” Maa-kun replies and Ritsu believes that this must be some kind of joke.
Are you talking about your own personal experience? He wants to ask, and he has a hard time biting his own tongue.
“Could be…” He says instead, still fighting his need to say something else.
“But that could also mean…” Maa-kun continues, and it seems that he has gotten so into the conversation that he has forgotten his original plan, discovering the contents of the transparent container. “It could also create the opposite effect… And make the person end up hating the one they were supposed to love.”
And this time Ritsu is the one who opens his eyes as much as he can because he hasn't considered that option.
He takes the transparent flask, now feeling that maybe this is a really bad idea, but it probably is too late to give up.
“Then, Maa-kun.” He starts talking, trying for his voice to sound as firm as possible, the flask right in front of his face, covering half of Maa-kun's. “What would happen if you drank a love potion and I was the first person you saw?”
He looks at Maa-kun, his expression and voice making it clear that he is talking about it with all seriousness.
“What… Are you talking about…” Mao says, his voice coming out as a whisper because the feeling of being dealing with a bomb has returned, and now he feels that he doesn't have enough seconds to run away.
Ritsu smiles softly, Maa-kun is unable to identify it as a playful one or a comforting one. Maybe both as even if Ritsu loves to tease him, he will never go far enough to actually hurt him.
“I have already told you.” He says, softly, Ritchan’s voice sounding like a lullaby to Maa-kun's ears and for a moment it makes him forget about how nervous he was starting to feel, instead immersing himself in the sweet sound of Ritsu's voice as he talks. “I want Maa-kun to drink a love potion and fall in love with me.”
It takes a short instant for Maa-kun to understand the meaning of that sentence, for Ritsu's words to sink.
And when they do he feels that his face is burning hot, his cheeks probably becoming as red as his own hair and his mouth opening and closing a few times, no sound coming out from it.
“S-stop joking!” He finally manages to say in reply, louder than he intended to but unable to hold his frustration. After all, he believes that Ritsu isn't being serious about this, there is no way he can be.
Though Mao himself can't really understand why the idea of Ritsu joking about having romantic feelings for him frustrates… hurts? Him so much.
“I'm not joking,” Ritsu hums, leaving Maa-kun speechless once again.
He has to take a few deep breaths and ignore the fast beating of his heart before he can form a coherent sentence again.
“It's because that way I will do everything you want, right?” He asks, his voice shaking as the words come out slowly from his mouth, for some reason scared that Ritsu's reply will be yes.
But instead, all the dark haired boy does is to hum while looking at Maa-kun. Not a smile on his face, the sound he has made isn't even an approving one.
It actually feels like he's analysing Maa-kun's reply.
“Well then,” He suddenly says, energetically (or at least, as energetic as a Ritsu can be) as he hands the flask to Maa-kun. “Maa-kun? Drink this, please? ” He requests, eyes staring directly at his childhood friend's while he uses that childlike voice that he uses to make Maa-kun unable to say no to any of his selfish requests.
“Wai- what!?” Maa-kun asks, jumping back and putting some distance between Ritsu and him, even if there was already a table that separated them. “I don't even know what's that!”
“Maa-kun, you really are dense…” Ritsu sighs, which makes Maa-kun complain loudly, but he decides to ignore. “Think a little, what were we thinking about?” He asks, sighing once again as if he has a hard time believing just how dense his friend is.
Maa-kun stares at the flask, remembering the conversation they have just had.
“That can't be…” He gulps, once realization hits him and he hopes, he really hopes that he's wrong with his deduction. “A love potion?” He feels sceptical, saying the words out loud makes him realize just how ridiculous it sounds.
But Ritchan simply smiles.
“Bingo~” he says, cheerful and childlike innocence dying his words and Maa-kun has known him for too long to know that that means trouble. “Now then, Maa-kun, drink it~” Ritsu continues, this time climbing to the table and getting closer to Maa-kun, almost trying to make him drink the liquid forcefully.
Actually that's his intention.
“Wait wait wait wait!” Maa-kun complains, loudly and grabbing Ritsu's arms to make sure that he stops moving. “Where did you get something like that!?” He asks, still trying to stop Ritsu, who seems to be having way too much fun in this kind of situation.
“Does that really matter?” Ritsu replies with a question himself, but it's probably because right now he doesn't want to give any kind of explanation, he simply wants to continue with his plan.
“Was it Sakasaki? That guy is into this kind of stuff, did you take it from him?” Maa-kun seems to be trying for an approach in which he will manage to talk him off from it, but of course, he's failing at it.
“Who's that?” Ritsu asks and by the way he has asked, Mao can really assume that he isn't faking that he doesn't know him. He really doesn't seem to remember the name of the oddball.
“At least make an effort to remember the name of those who are in the same grade as you!” Maa-kun scolds him, it's not the first time he has told him that, but the words simply don't seem to sink on Ritsu and he refuses to waste time remembering names when he could make better use of it by sleeping.
“Who cares about that?” Ritsu replies as he feels that Maa-kun is managing to successfully stop his movements. It's not really surprising as Ritsu himself is moving less as well, feeling that he has used enough energy for the rest of the da… Week. “In any case, Maa-kun, drink it~” He requests once again, even if his body has been stopped he still manages to get his face closer to Maa-kun's.
“I get it, I get it!” Maa-kun says, releasing Ritsu from his grip, giving up. By this point he's sure that Ritsu will do whatever he has to to make Maa-kun drink the so called love potion. Even making him drink it using the mouth-to-mouth method. (He totally hasn't pictured Ritsu ki… using that method on him, totally not.) “I will drink it.” He sighs, making Ritsu have an incredibly delighted expression on his face.
“Good boy, good boy~” Ritchan says patting Maa-kun's red hair and then deciding to make the table his new seat. “Why the sudden attitude change?” He asks, giving the impression that he has completely forgotten that just a few seconds ago he was actually trying to forcefully make him drink the so called love potion.
“It's not like it can be the real deal…” Maa-kun explains, taking the flask from Ritsu's hands and inspecting the red liquid, a frown on his face.
“Well, you have to keep drinking it every day after each meal to make sure the effect stays.” Ritsu explains, naturally, similar to the explanation that a doctor would give about a medicine.
“Cut it off! When you talk like that it makes me think it's the real deal!” Maa-kun once again complains, taking off the flask’s plug and looking at the red liquid once again…
He still isn't sure if this is the correct choice, maybe he can still step back… Maybe he should, but that would mean making Ritsu upset and he isn't sure if he prefers that choice.
“It's the real deal.” Ritsu replies, so serious that Maa-kun starts to believe that maybe his words are true, that maybe the liquid he's about to drink is a real love potion. “Are you still going to drink it?” And suddenly his voice sounds concerned, worried, as if he had finally noticed that maybe he went too far, that maybe Maa-kun really doesn't want to do this.
And just like that, it makes it easier for Maa-kun to take a decision.
“I have no other choice, right?” He says, laughing it off.
And then he closes his eyes, believing that maybe that way the effects of the love potion (that he still really doesn't believe it's real, of course, there's no way such a thing can exist after all) won't affect him.
He drinks the contents of the container in one go, not leaving even a single drop while Ritsu looks at him surprised, because even if he wanted Maa-kun to drink it, he only expected for him to take a sip at most.
“How is it?” Ritsu asks, once again softly, making sure that Maa-kun doesn't get startled.
“It tastes like apple juice.” Maa-kun replies, bluntly, looking at the now empty transparent flask.
“That's not what I meant.” Ritsu sighs, upset, once again deciding to invade Maa-kun's personal space and make sure that he's looking at him and only at him.
And Maa-kun does, his green eyes can't look at any other thing that isn't Ritsu's face, mostly because Ritsu won't get away from his field of vision, and the self proclaimed vampire tries to discover any kind of change in his childhood friend.
Maybe the way his eyes shine, maybe the red on his cheeks, maybe his voice, maybe the way he breathes…
But no matter how much he investigates, he can't find any clue that tells him that Maa-kun has fallen in love with him.
“Maa-kun,” he calls, deciding that it's better to go for the direct approach, “is your heart beating?” he asks, softly, looking directly at Maa-kun's eyes because he's sure that he won't be able to lie to him if he does that.
“Yes… No! I mean…” Maa-kun tries to look away, but whenever he tries to look anywhere that isn't Ritsu, Ritsu moves forward, closer to Maa-kun's face.
And Maa-kun feels that his heart is starting to beat faster, that Ritsu is too close, so close that he can feels his breath against his skin, he can smell the faint scent of the shampoo he uses and the small pout that he has on his face makes him look too cute.
“Not more than usual…” He finally says, trying to hold Ritsu's stare and for some reason having a hard time doing so.
He's sure that the reason is because Ritsu is too close, because obviously someone breaking his personal space like that will make him feel… Weird.
He can feel his face getting hot, and his heart is beating faster and louder but… he hasn't lied when he said that his heart isn't beating more than usual.
After all, whenever Ritsu gets so close to him he does have this reaction, his heart beating faster, his face getting hot, his thoughts going astray whenever his eyes lie on his lips…
But once again, that's just because Ritsu is invading his space.
Except that this time, the impulse of wanting to shorten the distance between them and make it nonexistent, the thought of wanting to test the taste of his lips, keeps filling his mind in a way that never before had.
He looks at the now empty flask and even if he doesn't want to believe it, he starts thinking that maybe, and only maybe, there's a tiny, small, almost nonexistent, almost impossible, faint, possibility that the liquid has made its effect.
But of course he isn't going to admit it so easily.
Ritsu hums, still close to him, still trying to be the only thing inside Maa-kun's field of vision.
“You haven't fallen in love with me?” Ritsu asks, leaning even closer to Maa-kun and forcing his childhood friend to move back, creating a space between them that he didn't really want.
And the first reply Maa-kun manages to think about is that, yes, he has. His heart belongs now to Ritsu and no one else, not even himself.
But of course there is no way he can say that, after all, if he has started feeling this way because of some kind of magic trick, then his feelings can't be considered genuine.
He would end up hurting Ritsu, it would be the same as lying to him. And that's the last thing he wants to do.
“I haven't.” Maa-kun replies, those words sounding too heavy on his throat.
Ritsu sighs, finally moving away to give Maa-kun some space, sitting on the place he was in when they started the conversation.
“I guess that it really was a fake…” He mutters and Mao believes that he can hear a faint hint of sadness in his words. “What a pity, Maa-kun doesn't love me~” he says, a little more cheerful and obviously trying to mock him.
Maa-kun has to try his best to bite his tongue and keep quiet.
This is for the best. Or at least, he tries to convince himself that this is for the best.
Except that his heart doesn't stop beating.
Days, even weeks after the incident, after drinking the so called love potion, the effects don't seem to fade away.
Actually, they even may be increasing.
It's something that he can't explain himself, small things that Ritsu always used to do suddenly feel awkward.
The kisses that his childhood friend places playfully on his neck every once in a while make him shiver almost in a feeling of pleasure, something that never had happened before as he simply thought about it as one of Ritsu's many weird habits. But now whenever he feels the touch of his lips against his skin part of him wants to make sure that Ritsu won't stop, that he will give him more.
The way he clings to him when he's working, the hugs that he used to find kind of annoying because they wouldn't let him work properly have suddenly become one of his favourite things, his body wanting to make sure that Ritsu's warmth won't leave him.
This has to be, he's sure, the effects of that love potion that Ritsu so eagerly insisted him to drink.
It has reached a point in which he can't hide it anymore. Even if he tries, he's sure that his behaviour has been at least a little suspicious lately.
Definitely suspicious would be more accurate.
But even if he has made up his mind, something like a love confession has proven to be an unimaginably difficult task.
Even if Ritsu had been shown delighted at the idea of his Maa-kun falling in love with him, if it really happened, if he told him that he has really fallen in love with him, his reaction could be completely different.
A dream can become a nightmare after all.
After a really long time debating the course of his future actions, he has decided that it's better to just tell him seeing how things unfold, without preparing anything beforehand. (And this totally isn't because he tried to practise some cheesy confession lines from shoujo manga in front of a mirror and decided that it wouldn't work out, it isn't, he's just, you know, thinking about how it would be easier and more natural. It's just that, for real.)
“Ritsu,” he calls the name of his childhood friend… His crush? When he finds him in the lockers, ready to leave the schools grounds. “I have something to tell you.” Mao can feel that his voice is already shaking, his whole body screaming that this is a bad idea .
But it's too late to run away. Ritsu is already looking at him, head tilting slightly, confused. He doesn't look as sleepy as usual, probably because the sun is already going down, which only makes Mao more nervous because it means that he really won't be able to say that Ritsu dreamed it if things don't go well.
“What's this?” Ritsu asks, amused as he walks to Maa-kun, “why are you so serious, Maa-kun?” He continues, now standing in front of the other boy. “Are you going to confess?”
And it's when Ritsu sees Maa-kun's reaction, eyes open almost in horror instead of surprise, face getting red and Ritsu can almost feel how Maa-kun's mind goes blank, seeing such a reaction, he regrets making a joke like that, treating such a delicate topic so frivolously.
He doesn't think he should be blamed though. After all, he would never have expected for Maa-kun to actually try to confess for real.
“This is a bad idea…” Maa-kun whispers, walking past Ritsu, almost ignoring him.
“Maa-kun.” Ritsu stops him, grabbing his wrist with so much strength that it actually brings a complaint from Maa-kun. “Are you… Going to confess?” He asks once again, loosening his grip but still not letting him go, his words coming out gently this time instead of a mockery and his blood has started to feel like is boiling, his expectations already too high, hoping that he really isn't wrong.
Maa-kun can't even look at Ritsu's face, still looking like he's about to run away in any moment but knowing that he can't do that.
“It's not really a… Confession…” Maa-kun starts to explain, and even if Ritsu can only see his ears, since Maa-kun won't turn around to face him, he knows that he's blushing. He knows Maa-kun too well after all.
Besides if his ears are red then that must mean that his face is red as well.
“What is it then?” Ritsu asks, trying to sound as caring as he can and trying to be patient. He wants to hear Maa-kun say that he loves him, he wants to hear an actual confession, he wants to tell his own feelings as well.
But he knows that if he rushes it, it won't end well.
“The love potion… it worked.” Maa-kun says, dead serious and if it weren't because of that, because of how seriously Maa-kun has spoken, Ritsu would be laughing until his stomach hurt.
He can't believe that Maa-kun actually fell for that. Even if he had insisted that the so called love potion was the real deal, it was just a prank, a way to kill time and get some revenge on Maa-kun because lately he has been paying more attention to his school duties than to him.
“Ever since I drank it, I haven't been able to stop thinking about you.” Maa-kun continues speaking and Ritsu can feel that even if he's scared, he's trying his best to be honest. “Every day, since I wake up until I go to sleep, you are the only thing that I can think about.” His voice is coming out lower, almost a whisper, and Ritsu doesn't even realize that he has been holding his breath until Maa-kun stops talking for a brief second. “When I'm with you it suddenly seems like there isn't anything else that matters, it feels like you are the only thing in the world, that it's just the two of us alone, and it doesn't even matter because as long as I'm with you, I know that I can be happy.”
“Maa-kun…” Ritsu tries to make Maa-kun listen to him, because even if his words are making him happy, he can't really accept them as honest as long as Maa-kun believes that the reason he feels this way is some kind of sorcery or trick.
“So, if that means that I'm… in love with you,” the last words come out awkwardly, almost as if he still had a hard time believing his own words, his own feelings, “then I guess that…”
“It was fake.” Ritsu interrupts him.
And Maa-kun finally turns around to face Ritsu, still not getting rid of the grip around his wrist but apparently not giving it importance anymore. His face red, a shade of red almost as deep as his hair and for some reason it makes it look like his green eyes are shining, bright, full of life and emotion.
Even in the dim light of the sunset, or maybe precisely because of it, Maa-kun is truly the most beautiful human… Actually, Maa-kun is the most beautiful creature he has ever seen.
He wonders if Maa-kun thinks the same way about him.
“What…?” Maa-kun asks him confused, making Ritsu return back to reality from his thoughts.
And now that Maa-kun is so close to him, he can't avoid it, he has to make sure that the space between them is as small as possible, as close to non existent as possible. He leans forward, almost trying to give him a kiss but not quite, their lips still on a relatively safe distance but still being able to feel each other's breath on their skin.
“The love potion,” Ritsu begins to explain, his face is so close that Maa-kun can almost almost feel the movement of Ritsu's lips on his own. For a second, a really brief second, he thinks that he wouldn't mind it at all. “It wasn't real. It was fake.” Ritchan says, simply, bluntly, making sure that even Maa-kun understands what he means.
If the potion wasn't real, then that means that his feelings are genuine.
“And even if it wasn't.” Ritchan continues, softly, a smile appearing on his face as he speaks. “Didn't I tell you that you would have to drink it after every meal to make sure that it keeps making effect?” At some point, he doesn't know when, the grip he was holding around Maa-kun's wrist has become a hold on his hands instead, to which Maa-kun has reacted by lacing their fingers.
He wonders if Maa-kun has done that without noticing.
“You tricked me.” Maa-kun accuses him. He doesn't seem happy, but he doesn't seem really angry either. He's just doing the same as stating an obvious fact.
“I did.” Ritsu admits, not proud about it, but somehow he still can't stop smiling. “Do you hate me?” He asks, faking to be upset and hurt, because he knows that no matter what, just like he will never hate Maa-kun, Maa-kun will never hate him.
He's even more sure about it when he sees that Maa-kun is smiling as well.
“No… I think that you must really have tricked me.” Maa-kun replies, softly. “After all, I still love you.” There is a small laugh that follows his words, because even if it was a trick, after saying those words he feels that a weight has been lifted from his shoulders, that the words he has said are truly how he feels. “I really love you.” He admits once again, letting the words sink.
Until he realizes, that he still hasn't asked something important.
“Ritchan, what about you?” He asks, squeezing Ritchan's hand tighter, not wanting to let him go. “Do you love me?” He tries to look directly at Ritchan's eyes as he asks that (embarrassing) question, even if he feels that he already knows the answer.
Ritchan's reply is immediate, bringing the hand that he's holding, Maa-kun's hand, close to his face, placing a kiss on the soft skin.
“I always have, and I always will.”