Hello everyone! This is my first Sekaiichi fanfiction, so pardon me as I try to keep the characters in character. The story is mainly focused on Akio Hayate, my OC, and Yokozawa. There may be some OnoderaxTakano thrown in there as well ;)

I feel like poor Yokozawa is left out, so I decided to give him a story3 Poor, poor unrequited love baby. I want the relationship to grow, since he won't be so quick to forget Takano, so hopefully this story ends up being loooong! It is rated T for now, but may upgrade to M if I can't work my way up to writing sexy-bits ;D

Disclaimer: Um, well~ I don't own Sekaiichi Hatsukoi, but I wish I did!

/ SHSHSH /

Ritsu Onodera pulled his keys out from his bag as he trudged into the apartment building. Work was getting more and more stressful lately and he was feeling the heat. No one had their manuscripts ready, even though Ritsu had reminded them over and over of the deadline. No one took him seriously there, though they were all so kind to him. Well, most of them, Takano's attitude could vary from day to day. Speaking of his boss, Ritsu felt relieved to be going home by himself tonight. It was one thing to see Takano at work every day- at home was a whole other matter.

He hopped onto the elevator and punched his floor number. Briefly, Ritsu worried that he may be getting sick. His stomach was in knots and his head pounded. He leaned against the elevator wall, the metal cool against his skin.

'No,' he reminded himself bitterly, 'You're not sick. Takano does these things to you. It's your irritation.'

He spent the rest of the elevator ride in silence, trying not to think about anything. When the bell dinged and the doors opened, he stepped out into the small hallway. There weren't too many apartments on his floor. Takano lived right next door and aside from him, Ritsu didn't know his neighbors. Sometimes, he ran into Yokozawa, who often visited Takano, but he tried his best to avoid him whenever he could.

Today, however, there was someone outside of his door. He didn't recognize the other man, which meant he wasn't someone from work.

"Um," Ritsu took a couple of steps forward, jingling his keys to get the stranger's attention.

The sound made the boy jump and wide blue eyes turned to Ritsu. His lips were drawn into a nervous line and the expression immediately triggered a memory in Ritsu's mind: a small boy, gangly and shy, with a gaze that never stayed in one place for very long.

"Akio-kun?" he stuttered, the name almost foreign on his tongue, "Akio-kun, what are you doing in Japan?"

His younger cousin squirmed under his gaze. He no longer looked like the child that Ritsu grew up with. Akio was still small, only coming up to Ritsu's shoulder, but his arms and chest had filled out. Under the fabric of his shirt, Ritsu could see the lines of lithe muscle. His face had lost all traces of baby fat, leaving him with defined cheekbones and pale skin that Ritsu had only ever seen on a girl.

But he was still just a boy. Akio was seven years younger than Ritsu, meaning he was only eighteen. Plenty old enough to be out on his own, but the last time he had seen Akio, he had been on a plane to England.

"Rittie," Akio still addressed him by the childhood nickname that he and An had come up with. He smiled now, bottom lip trembling slightly, "What's up?"

All thoughts of sickness forgotten, Ritsu rushed forward to hug his cousin. It had been so long since he'd seen him and they had been close before Akio had moved. The younger squeaked in surprise, but returned the hug fiercely.

'He's so little!' Ritsu thought as he peered over his cousin's pale blonde head. He had always been short then too, but it hardly looked like he'd grown.

"When did you get into Japan? How did you find me? Why haven't you contacted me!?" Ritsu could barely compose his thoughts as he blurted out the questions.

Their reunion was cut short, however, when Takano's door slammed open. Out strode Yokozawa, his blue eyes narrowed in a scowl. Immediately, he looked to Ritsu and Akio, crossing his arms

"Do you have to be such a loud mouth?" His baritone was laced with annoyance.

Ritsu braced himself before letting go of Akio and turning around. Yokozawa was never pleasant to him.

"I'm sorry, Yokozawa-san, I didn't realize how loud was being. Did I wake you up?" He could feel his cousin peeking out from behind him, one hand on his arm.

The taller man didn't look fazed by Ritsu's tone, "No. I just find all of this girlish squealing to be irksome."

His irritation flared. Yokozawa always had to be an ass! He couldn't even pretend to be polite.

"Well, I'm sorry you feel that way," he held his gaze, refusing to flinch.

Yokozawa was silent for a few seconds. Finally, he broke eye contact and glanced at Akio. Something in his gaze shifted, but Ritsu wasn't sure what.

"I wasn't aware that you had any real friends."

He nearly blanched.

"Of course I have friends! What kind of person doesn't have friends!? You're the one who looks like he'd drive all his friends away!" Ritsu fumed. He felt his ears heating up with anger.

Akio's hand tightened on his arm. His cousin had always been jumpy- apparently, he hadn't grown out of that.

Yokozawa still didn't react. He blinked and shrugged, turning back to Takano's apartment. As soon as he was gone, Ritsu rolled his eyes. Trust him to make a scene and then walk away. But instead of agonizing over his boss's friend's infuriating behavior, Ritsu turned back to Akio.

"Come on inside," he said quickly. The last thing he needed was for Takano to come home and interrupt them.

The blonde nodded and watched Ritsu fumble to unlock the door. Ritsu dropped his bag and took off his shoes by the mat. Suddenly, he felt very tired. Akio had already wandered inside and Ritsu noticed that he hadn't removed his shoes. The Japanese traditions seemed to have faded from his cousin's mind while he was away.

"Um, Rittie, your apartment is a mess," came Akio's soft voice in halting Japanese.

Ritsu came further into the apartment to see his cousin standing in the living room, peering down at the mess. Clothes were strewn across the floor- not clean clothes, either. There were convenience store bags piled on the small coffee table, filled with empty meal containers. And the papers. There were papers everywhere! Akio glanced back at him.

"When was the last time you cleaned up after yourself?" he asked, arching one eyebrow.

Ritsu reached up and rubbed the back of his neck. His apartment was a dump.

"I've been busy. A lot of late nights and early mornings," he mumbled.

Akio hummed, pushing aside some clothes so he could sit down on the couch. Ritsu, after a moment of awkwardly standing in place, moved over beside him.

"So, uh, we should take this one question at a time," he leaned back, drumming his fingers against his leg, "When did your flight arrive?"

Akio sat delicately, as if he were hovering over his seat instead of sitting in it. His legs were crossed at the ankle and his hands were folded in his lap. Wisps of blonde hair created a sort of halo around his head.

"This morning," he answered quietly. When he failed to provide any more information, Ritsu tried another question.

"How did you know where to find me?"

He fidgeted slightly, flexing his fingers, "I had to ask your father. It took me quite a while to find it."

Ritsu nodded. The city was confusing unless you had lived there for a while. Akio moved when he was eight- that would make it ten years since he'd been in Japan.

"How long exactly? You weren't waiting here all day, were you?" There was a flash of guilt at the thought of Akio standing outside his door for hours, like a puppy waiting for its master.

His cousin laughed, a high pealing sound, and shook his head.

"I'd only been waiting about thirty minutes or so," he assured him.

Ritsu sighed- good, at least that was a reasonable time. Still, the whole situation had him confused. Why would Akio shop up without any word ahead of time? Surely, his family would have let him know if they were aware of his visit.

His cousin was watching him. His blue eyes- eyes that were rare in the family- flickered across his face impatiently. He looked as though he wanted to say something, but he kept his lips sealed.

"Don't mistake me, Akio-kun," Ritsu said, keeping his voice steady, "I'm glad to see you, but this doesn't seem like a light-hearted visit."

His cousin shrunk down on the couch, his polite exterior cracking. He reached up and raked a few fingers through his blonde hair. He suddenly looked even smaller, like a cowering child.

"I know this is all sudden and unexpected, b-but I had to come, Rittie," he stuttered. His hands were shaking now.

Ritsu felt alarm well up in his gut. It was coiled like a snake, ready to strike. Though Akio was always a flustered kid, he never looked this panicked. His pupils were dilated in fear. Ritsu took his cousin's trembling hands in his own.

"Why? What happened, Akio-kun? Are you alright?"

Akio gripped Ritsu's hands tightly, shaking his head.

"So much, so much, Rittie. I don't think I can go back," he realized that there were tears brimming in Akio's wide eyes. As nervous as he was, Akio was never the crying type. He pulled the younger boy close to him. All the awkwardness of absence between them vanished as he let Akio cry. He cried until he exhausted himself. Ritsu picked up his sleeping cousin easily. His small size gave him the impression of a child. It made Ritsu want to protect him even more. After setting him in his bed and turning off the lights, he walked back to the living room. As he rubbed a hand down his face, he realized one thing:

This was going to be more complicated than he expected.

/ SHSHSH /

Well, there you go! My first chapter! Not a whole lot of Yokozawa, but everything needs to be introduced first. Please, please leave me a comment. It helps give me motivation to keep writing!