Ritsu was completely prepared.

He had put on a white shirt (with two too many buttons undone), sprayed the room with Japanese lily essence (he read on a forum it “heightens sensory perception”), and casually left a book titled The Body Language of Desire open on the table, with a conveniently highlighted passage.

His boyfriend, sitting upright on the futon like a statue of discipline, didn’t seem to notice any of it.

“Do you want some tea?” Ritsu asked, sitting down beside him. “Or... do you want something else?”

His boyfriend blinked. “Do you have cookies?”

Damn it.

Ritsu inhaled deeply. New tactic. He leaned over to “look for something” and brushed their shoulders together. Subtle. Intentional. Measured.

But his boyfriend just helped him retrieve the remote like it was part of a kata.

Ritsu frowned. “Hey… don’t you ever think about, you know, moving forward?”

His boyfriend tilted his head slightly, as if analyzing a riddle. “Moving forward in what sense? Strategically? Emotionally? Philosophically?”

“No! I mean… physically.”

He paused, thoughtful, and then nodded.

“We could try some two-person resistance training. My uncle has extra tatami mats.”

Ritsu pinched the bridge of his nose. He was sweet, adorable—and utterly impervious to hints.

“What if we just… stayed here? Got closer. No training.”

His boyfriend nodded again, scooting next to him in a precise lotus position—exactly five centimeters apart.

Ritsu sighed and leaned his head against his boyfriend’s shoulder. “Don’t you ever want… more?”

“More what?”

“I don’t know! Something less martial, more… intimate.”

Silence. His boyfriend turned toward him, the tips of his ears red.

“…Oh.”

Ritsu stiffened.

“You mean sex?”

Ritsu choked on his own breath. “You don’t have to say it like that!”

“But that’s what you meant, right?”

Ritsu groaned, hiding his face with both hands. “Forget it…”

Then, gently but confidently, his boyfriend reached for his hand—steady, warm, sure.

“You could’ve just said so. But if you’re going to keep using misdirection, maybe refine your strategy. Tonight’s approach was way too obvious. Like attacking from the right with no guard.”

Ritsu stared at him. Then let out a soft, baffled laugh. “You’re seriously analyzing this like a sparring match?”