Chapter Text
Kageyama Ritsu stood alone in his room. He had already finished the bulk of his homework, and the school holidays stretched out before him like an unexciting, pointless ocean.
He had spent the last hour pacing his room, trying to set an acceptable goal of things to accomplish. He wondered what his brother would do in this situation.
"Well," he mumbled to himself after some thought, "he would spend his time trying to up his chances with that girl, Tsubomi."
Obviously, Ritsu was already adequate as a boyfriend candidate, with good grades, athletic prowess, and good hair (pfft). The only thing he was missing was a Tsubomi.
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Ritsu was sitting in the kitchen when Mob went to have his milk. Ritsu had a book about Manchurian railways and some milk in a wineglass. He had pulled a chair from the dining table to sit at the kitchen counter.
"What are you doing, Ritsu? Are you okay?"
"I'm emulating a singles bar, Nii-san," Ritsu replied, "because I'm single."
"Ah, that sounds fun," Mob smiled. "I'd join you but I still haven't finished my maths homework yet."
"Do you need help with it, Nii-san?"
"No, I can finish it myself, but thanks for offering." He smiled, and Ritsu smiled back. "Have fun with your romantic awakening."
Mob left Ritsu with a unsettling sense of quiet. Ritsu was impatient. If he wanted love, he should go get it himself, right? After all, he was the protagonist of his own life!
He looked around for someone to his taste. A lone spoon sat on the counter. Ritsu hesitated, his eyes tracing the sleek handle, the dull gleam of the stainless steel material, the slow curve of the head. They say a spoon is a just a small bowl on a stick, but at this moment, he would take it over some "girl" any day.
He ambled over to the spoon. "Hey, can I sit with you?" he ventured. He floated himself and his chair to sit closer. "You come here often? Me? It's my first time."
"Yeah, I'm still at school, but I'm off for now so I got bored and came here."
What are you doing, Ritsu? Don't ruin your chances, this is basically your dream spoon!
Ritsu decided to dive headfirst into it, "Are you free tonight? We could go over to my place, watch some," he added a little grin, "Naruto?"
-
Later that night, he was seated on the couch beside the spoon. Naruto Shippuden blared on the television. On any other day, he would have given his full, undivided attention to Naruto's tree-jumping exposition speech, but today he had someone with him, and that took top priority. He does not want to drive off a potential mate, after all.
Ritsu shifted in his seat. "Are you comfortable? Do you want me to get a snack or anything?"
Ritsu found his hand absently gravitating towards the spoon. How he longed to run his hands on it's slender handle, to feel the cool stainless steel touch his fingertips. He pulled his hand back and settled it between them. He glanced up at the clock, "Hey, it's getting a bit late and I don't want you going home alone. Care to stay over at my place?"
Ritsu bit his lip. "Look," he started, and stopped. He started again, "Listen, I don't want you to think you're just another girlrl that I picked up at some bar, because you're not. You're special to me, and I really, truly, love you." He took a deep breath, and continued, "I don't want you to feel trapped, I don't want to force you into anything you don't want. But I need your confirmation, your own words, what you really, truly feel.
"Do you like me?"