It was the middle of a hot afternoon day in the run-down town. The regular chaos was still going on in the streets below, with adults just trying to make it by and not-so-innocent children getting caught in the middle of ongoing turf wars. Some of the buildings still had bullet holes in them from long ago. No one ever bothered trying to fix anything up, they were more occupied with figuring out where their next meal would come from.

When Takuto saw the state of this place, a part of him felt sympathy, as he understood how, unfortunately, this was the way of life for some people who weren't lucky enough to have the privilege he was born with. On the other hand, it was that same privilege that made him want to leave that place as quickly as possible, it made his skin crawl.

Ranmaru had noticed it already, that expression on his face that was just slightly more grumpy than usual. The blonde tried to reassure him, saying they would only be there for 2 days at most, which only made Takuto's mood even worse. Though it wasn't like he cared.

At least, Ranmaru didn't care until he saw that Takuto was, quote, "on a mission to be as bitchy as possible" and he proceeded to drag him across the entire town looking for a place that he deemed even slightly worthy enough to be graced with his presence. That place happened to be on the very outskirts, where the violence had never reached. The place wasn't new at all, but it was still in tact and that's really all that could be asked for.

The inside was calm. They were both on the second floor minding their own business, relaxing for once. Takuto sat on the hardwood floor, staring at coffee-stained sheet music while Ranmaru was on the balcony beginning to hang clothes on the clothesline outside. Neither of them really spoke to each other, not wanting to ruin the atmosphere with another passive aggressive argument, which could turn aggressive aggressive in an instant. When it was silent like this, the other's presence was...enjoyable.

With this thought, Takuto looked up at him, noticing how the sunlight made his already bright hair glow. The clothesline was absurdly far away from the balcony so Ranmaru had to lean over pretty far to reach it, even having to stand on his toes. It was as if everything in this town is trying to be as inconvenient as possible. He thought back to how Ranmaru broke four lockpicks trying to open the front door before he took over.

Takuto watched as Ranmaru slowly began to hang up a gray collared shirt, with a content little smile. He made a note to thank him later before turning back the dozens of sheets scattered on the floor. He had no idea who had written that music but he found it interesting regardless. Who ever it was no amateur when it came to composing. It was a shame it was never finished, though he'd love to complete it himself if he could ever find the time—

"Oh—Shit! Fuck! Shit!" Ranmaru's various profanities turned into helpless cries as he toppled over the thin railing, flailing his arms and legs in a desperate attempt to save himself. He didn't even feel the brunette grabbing his waist and yanking him back to safety, nor did he feel them tumbling back into the room together.

"What the hell were you thinking!?" Takuto looked down at Ranmaru, who laid in his arms. He was resting his head on his shoulder, still looking shocked, and he didn't move a muscle, he was completely still. Takuto wanted to hold him closer, honestly he never wanted to let go ever again, but the other looked so fragile he couldn't bring himself to do it.

With a shudder, Ranmaru finally snapped out of it. So many things had happened all at once, and he could barely remember any of it. Maybe it was how quickly Takuto had saved him, or how he held him now like he was made of glass. He wasn't used to receiving this type of treatment from him, but he knew he'd never felt safer than in that moment.

They both sat on that wooden floor for a while, the only sound coming from the town below. Eventually, the blonde spoke up, finally looking away from Takuto towards the balcony he almost fell off of.

"I dropped your shirt, I'm sorry..." he murmured absentmindedly.

Takuto sighed, hoping for a better explanation than that. That was the last thing he was thinking about at that time. He knocked his knuckle against the other's forehead. "Dumbass..."