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"suuchan. meet me at my dorm at noon. will explain later."
Tsukasa stares down at his cellphone, his eyes glued to the words on the screen, eyebrows raising inquisitively. Cryptic as usual, though he doesn't really expect anything else from Ritsu. With a small sigh, he sends a quick affirmative response before slipping his phone into his pocket. The date is April 6th-- Tsukasa's birthday. As such, he's pretty sure he knows the reason behind Ritsu's mysterious message, though what he's planning in particular has yet to be seen. While he does have a meeting that day, it should be over before noon, if things go as planned. And even though he does have other work he needs to attend to, he can at least spare some time to see what his boyfriend has planned for him.
So, by noon exactly, he finds himself standing directly in front of the door to Ritsu and Mika's dorm room. Evidently Mika is out for whatever reason, so it'll be just him and Ritsu. He wonders if Ritsu planned that, too. Well, no time to dwell on it. Pushing the thought away, he raises his hand and knocks lightly on the door. He is promptly answered with a soft voice floating through the door. "Come in~ The door's unlocked." With only a moment's hesitation, Tsukasa moves his hand to the doorknob and finds that it turns easily with very little effort. Carefully, he pushes the door open and peeks inside. Ritsu's back is turned toward him, but the moment Tsukasa steps inside he turns around to greet him, wearing his usual lazy smile.
"Pardon the intrusion…" Tsukasa half-mumbles as he closes the door behind him. A bit louder, he fully addresses the other. "I hope I did not keep you waiting long. Now, then…" He looks up, and suddenly they're face-to-face. When did Ritsu move?! He only looked away for a second…! Tsukasa stiffens, slightly startled, which draws a quiet laugh from the dark-haired boy.
"Fufu, you let your guard down too easily, Suuchan…~" With that said, he easily closes the distance between them, pressing their lips together in a gentle kiss. Tsukasa's eyebrows furrow for a moment, annoyance clear in his gaze, but it melts away quickly as he relaxes into the kiss. It feels like it's been an eternity since he's had an intimate moment alone with any of his partners, with himself being so busy and two of said partners living overseas half the time… He feels a bit touch-starved, if he's being honest with himself. As he pulls away, Tsukasa huffs and subtly rolls his eyes.
"I take it that is not the only reason you called me here." He responds playfully, but his eyes are warm. Ritsu chuckles in response before gesturing towards the coffee table in front of the television. As Tsukasa follows him further into the room, his eyes light up as he sees what awaits him. Set up on the table is a large tray full of cupcakes of various flavors, decorated rather normally. He can only assume Ritsu is the one that made them, though it seems he decided to forgo his usual method of decorating confections.
"Happy birthday, Suuchan." A pair of arms wrap around his waist from behind and he feels Ritsu's chin on his shoulder. "Today is your special day, so just relax and enjoy it, yeah~? No thinking about work." He gently pinches Tsukasa's cheek, drawing an annoyed grunt from the redhead. Still, he finds himself moved by the kind gesture. It takes him a moment to find his voice again.
"Thank you… Ritsu-senpai." Before digging into the delicious treats before him, Tsukasa turns around and gives Ritsu another quick kiss. "I love you very much." It is generally not easy to fluster Ritsu, and it tends to be quite a rare sight, but the visible red blush dusted across those pale cheeks of his gives Tsukasa a bit of satisfaction. He seems to recover just as quickly though and gently ruffles Tsukasa's hair.
"Mhmm. Love you, too." The two sit down on the couch and Tsukasa wastes no time. He immediately picks up one of the cupcakes and starts digging in, his eyes lighting up like a child in a candy store-- Tsukasa may be a polite and mature young man, but he also had a very endearing childish side to him that his seniors loved to tease him about. Tsukasa really was the cutest. But even though he was their youngest, he had grown up quite a bit, too.
Holding one of the cupcakes in his hand idly, Ritsu gets a devious idea. With a mischievous gleam in his eyes, he gently swipes some of the frosting onto his index finger. A quick glance shows that Tsukasa is still busy indulging himself. "Suuchan." At the sound of his name he looks up and gives Ritsu an inquisitive glance, his mouth still full. With his cheeks puffed out like that, he really does look a bit like a hamster. Faster than Tsukasa can react, Ritsu reaches his hand out towards the other's face and manages to gently smear some frosting on his nose. There's a startled squeak as he rears back in alarm before glaring daggers at his senior, who laughs gently at his perfect reaction.
"You are the worst." Tsukasa grumbles in annoyance as he reaches for a napkin and cleans his face off. "Why would you do that?" He asks, but he's pretty sure he already knows the answer, especially as Ritsu leans against his shoulder and nuzzles against his neck.
"Because you have the best reactions." Ritsu responds innocently, snickering softly at the way Tsukasa rolls his eyes once again. He knows that Tsukasa won't stay mad at him, though. He never does. As the redhead reaches for another cupcake, Ritsu feels his phone buzz in his pocket. He sits up again in order to pull it out and check the message he'd received. "... Ah. Tsukipi and Secchan are coming back to Japan tomorrow."
"Mm?" He nearly speaks with his mouth full, but minds his manners just in time. He swallows before continuing. "Really?" He feels a little excited about hearing that. It has been a few months since he's last seen them in person, and while they still videocalled fairly frequently… It just wasn't the same.
"Mm. We'll all be together again. You know what this means, right~?" Ritsu pokes Tsukasa's cheek, his eyes narrowed playfully. "We'll have to celebrate your birthday properly as a group. After all, you're eighteen now."
Right. Tsukasa was freshly eighteen, and about to head into his third year. "It feels a little strange, I must admit… Time has really flown by, hasn't it?" He leans back and closes his eyes. Memories, both warm and painful, begin to resurface. Knights has had a very painful and messy history, and while he wasn't privy to many of the finer details of the time before he'd joined, he is not oblivious. However, it finally felt like his seniors were beginning to heal, slowly but surely.
Suddenly, he feels a hand on his shoulder. "Suuchan? You're not falling asleep on me, are you?" He opens his eyes again, realizing he had become lost in his own thoughts for a bit. It was becoming a sort of habit recently.
"My apologies. I was just… Reminiscing, I suppose." After a moment, he chuckles. "If anyone were to fall asleep like that, it would be you, Ritsu-senpai."
"Hmm. You're getting rather cheeky, aren't you?" Ritsu's eyes gleam in amusement. It's not like he was wrong, though. "It feels like you've been taking after Secchan more lately, you know. Ah, our poor sweet Suuchan is being corrupted…"
"Ah?!" The look of offense on Tsukasa's face is enough to draw a small laugh from Ritsu. "Please do not say such a horrifying thing…!" He loved Izumi dearly, he really did, but the idea of being even remotely similar to him was… A terrifying thought.
"Fufufu… I'm just kidding. Suuchan is still Suuchan, after all." He gives the redhead a gentle pat on the head, earning him an annoyed grumble and a half-hearted attempt to swat his hand away. "... Keep being yourself, okay? We love you the best like this."
With a long sigh, Tsukasa relaxes and lets himself lean into Ritsu. "Of course." In moments like these, he's glad… He's so very glad to have people that love him for who he is. Not just as Knights' leader, not just as the heir to the Suou family… But as simply Tsukasa. With all his flaws and imperfections. And certainly, his seniors are not perfect either, far from it. But he loves them all dearly, just the same. He can feel it, too. The strong bond they share. The intense love they have for each other… And for himself.
Knights' future looks bright, despite all the pain they've felt, all the loss they've suffered, all the tears they've shed. And together, they will walk into the future, hand in hand. Tsukasa knows that there is nowhere else he'd rather be. He is completely and wholly devoted to his dear Knights, and he knows that they feel the same.