Chapter Text
Ritsu knew filming for this movie with his idiot brother would be awful. He should have just trusted his gut and given up the role when the opportunity was shining in front of him. It's currently already a few days into filming and flaking is no longer a viable option for him. He can't give up his position in the production without ruining his image. The main reason he had decided to take on this role despite his brother's presence was to build up his idol image for himself without having to be compared to that thing that is always fawning over Ritsu, claiming to be his older brother. Now that Ritsu was willing to collaborate with him for the sake of his public appearance, Rei switched up on him.
He’d been ignoring Ritsu since filming started. Even back when they were children, when Rei had first disappointed him, nothing of this like had happened. Ritsu had first been throwing sarcastic remarks at him like usual but they went ignored. Maybe they had just been passed over the first few times for professional sake of the filming. However, even when Ritsu had attempted talking to Rei like normal it had also been followed by silence. These past few days Rei has barely even been looking at him outside of filming their scenes together.
This situation is making Ritsu feel utterly distraught. He’s trying not to let it bother him. At least, not let it show but it's hard when it feels like they’re regressing back to their previous dynamic, before they had made up.
The worst of it all is that it’s affecting his performance. More than ever before he catches himself stumbling on lines when he had to direct them at Rei’s character. In addition, his character is most certainly not meant to be expressing as much anger and spite in his lines towards Rei as Ritsu has been doing. He’s had to retake an embarrassing amount of scenes. At this rate this movie will end up tanking Ritsu’s public image and he’ll get compared to Rei even harsher than usual.
Ritsu sighs as they’re taking a lunch break from filming after he has messed up another scene. At least one good aspect of this whole thing is the set. The location is a European village themed park that had gone bankrupt which they rented out for filming. It’s rather expansive and quite gorgeous. Though most of the buildings are just for show and don’t even have an interior. He’s taken to wandering down one of the village roads. He’d rushed away from the others as soon as lunch was called for. He had managed to bring his script so he could practice his lines while out but had forgotten to grab his coat. The movie had to be filmed during winter, as the whole plot of the movie revolves around an eternal winter curse. It’s not like cold has ever been much of a big deal to Ritsu and the weather is fairly tame at the moment.
When they were younger, Rei would always wrap Ritsu up in way too many layers when they went out to play in the snow together. His small body would barely be visible beneath the thick winter coat, tall warm boots, long thick scarf, earmuffs and thick mittens. It's amazing he could hold himself up with the weight of it all. They would run around in the snow making snow angels together and- Ritsu quickly stops his train of thought. It’s no good to be thinking of those long gone days at a time like this. He’s meant to be clearing his head. Not thinking about Rei at all.
He walks along the snow covered gravel road. Buildings made of stones with wooden framings line the streets. Displaying the old European aesthetic the place is known for. They have wooden doors with metal detailing, though most of the doors are locked. The roofs, though also covered in snow, are laid with clay tiles. There are decorative bushes lined up against the houses. It gives the place a sort of festive feel. In the distance, the forest that surrounds the town is clearly visible making the experience of the place feel very realistic. As if he were truly in a secluded village in the middle of an eternal winter.
Small snowflakes gently drift through the air as he walks. It's helping him calm his head and distract him from the current situation. He ends up wandering a good distance away and finds an unlocked building that was at least much warmer than outside. He heads inside to read over his lines until the break is over. He ends up losing track of time, not realizing how long he had been out there. Unbeknownst to him, he had forgotten his phone back at the main building, the cathedral, where everyone else would be. He only breaks out of his reading trance when he starts shivering. As he looks up from his script, he notices how dark it had gotten, the sun now seemingly tucked away.
Standing to look out the window he can't even see to the other side of the road due the rapid winds blowing so much snow that it’s blocking the view. He notes it’s likely a blizzard had broken out while he was distracted. He panics a bit at the sight. Making his way back to where he was seated he attempts to pull out his phone to text the staff. As he reaches into his pocket he doesn’t feel it there. He quickly searches each of his pockets. His heart drops as he doesn’t find it anywhere. He starts looking all around the room but still doesn't find it at all. The situation is made infinitely worse by the fact that it’s getting even darker out due to the sun setting behind the clouds and it’s beginning to be difficult to see anything. The building didn’t have any light fixtures to begin with. He had been using the light from the window to read his script.
Sighing, he steel himself to walk through this treacherous weather back to everyone else. He picks up his script and heads over to the door. Attempts to open the door proves fruitless. It doesn’t budge. He pushes at it and quickly moves onto slamming his side against it as hard as he can without hurting himself. Still absolutely no movement. Even though he knows logically no one will hear him, he tries banging on the door calling out loudly. “Hello!? Is anyone out there!? Someone…”
He quickly stops with that, not wanting to exhaust himself with it. He cursed himself for leaving like that. He’d been just as immature as Rei has been acting this whole time.
He’s not quite scared. He knows realistically that eventually the blizzard will end and no way people won’t look for him. It’s just a matter of time. He accepts that there’s nothing that can be done but to wait. He sits down onto the floor next to the door, leaning against the wall.
At this point it’s gotten too dark to be able to read over his script anymore. He brings his knees up to his chest and buries his head in his knees. With his new predicament he can’t stop his mind from wandering.
“I really can't do this again. It feels worse than when he first broke his promise and left me. Now it seems he's ignoring me on purpose and I have no idea why.” He sighs, talking softly to himself out loud.
“Hopefully we can finish filming soon. I don’t want to be around him anymore… It definitely seems he doesn’t want to be around me either. He’s already left me once. Though he used to have valid reasons, it still made me upset. This time I really don’t understand, even more so than previously. Is it because of me..?”
Ritsu stays in the cabin for another half an hour, drifting off against the wall. Dreams of children laughing, running around a massive house, Playing hide and seek, reading, cuddling. All filled with happiness and warmth. Rei used to be his warmth, but he’d lost it long ago. Now, the closest thing is Maa-kun. Even though he likes to pretend Mao is even better, it’s different. The brothers were attached at the hip. Inseparable. Rei leaving had left an unhealable wound in him. Especially since he was his whole world at the time, since their parents were never around.
Rei had raised him. He’d grown up with only Rei around, no one else. With both their parents gone, then Rei leaving, of course Ritsu would feel abandoned. He’d ended up sobbing to Mao about it when they were first becoming friends, after Mao had stopped seeing Ritsu as often because of school. He’s gotten much better with these abandonment issues in recent years. He has plenty of friends and the thought of everyone suddenly leaving him doesn’t arise in his head as often. That doesn’t mean it’s completely gone. Especially concerning Rei.
The gap between them had gotten marginally better since operetta. Ritsu was happy with where they stood. He thought they were in a good place. Certainly not as close as before, but it was nice. He still acts cold and sarcastic towards Rei, though he doesn't always mean it. Only when Rei is being over the top. Which he usually is. At the moment though, Ritsu wishes Rei would act over the top again rather than whatever the hell he’s currently doing.
A sudden sound wakes Ritsu up from his light sleep/daydreaming state. He lifts his head and looks around the cabin. It’s not in the best shape. There is dust and trash all over the floor. The only furniture in the cramped place is a wooden table and chair that look like they’ll collapse from a single touch. But he doesn't see anything out of place. What was that noise?
As he is looking around he hears a knock on the door and a voice calling out. He whips his head around, looking towards the door. Soon more knocks sound and the deep voice rings out more clearly. “Ritsu? Are you in there?”
Ah, it’s Nagisa. Ritsu feels initial disappointment that Rei hasn’t been the one there for him. Perhaps his Previous thoughts of Rei would have been cleared and his distrust mended if it had been him. That evidently isn’t the current case. That feeling quickly quells; at least someone had found him.
"Yeah, I'm in here." Ritsu says loud enough for Nagisa to hear through the door. He gets up from where he was sitting curled up on the floor and walks to the door so he can be heard better. “I can’t open the door from in here. I think some snow fell from the roof due to the storm and is blocking it.”
“Mn, It’s piled up out here. I’ll try to get rid of some and open the door. Just a moment.” Nagisa responds. Ritsu can hear shuffling outside the door. He steps to the side to look out the window and sees that the blizzard has calmed down a lot. It still looks very cold but significantly less windy. In a few moments, the door is pulled open and a cold breeze enters the already chilled cabin. Ritsu shivers as he looks up to see Nagisa standing in the doorway, snow blowing behind him.
“Thank you… I’m sorry-” Before Ritsu could get all his words out Nagisa cuts him off. “It was no problem. We were all worried and searching for you. Save your apologies for when we’re back with the others”
Ritsu nods. He walks towards the door, following Nagisa out. He shivers as he steps outside. It's still blizzarding, and he is only dressed in his sweater. He quickened his pace to stick to Nagisa's back for some warmth as they walked. This motion startles Nagisa and he stops in his tracks. “You’re cold?” He asks without turning around.
“...no.” Ritsu replies in a small voice, still clinging to his back. Nagisa hums and he starts walking again, picking up his pace more this time to quickly get them indoors. They end up at the cathedral where some of the staff had been waiting in case Ritsu showed back up on his own. Most of the others had still been out looking for Ritsu, not yet having been informed he was found as they had just arrived.
In the back of his mind, he registers that Rei is out there looking for him with the others. That thought is soon overshadowed by the fact that almost everyone is looking. It would have been stranger if he hadn’t been out there. People would have questioned him if he wasn’t. That doesn’t mean he wanted to be out there. With how things were currently standing Ritsu couldn’t bring himself to imagine Rei wanted to be in this situation at all.
The staff sends out a message to the others to let them know Ritsu is now safe with them. They all rush back to the cathedral. When they arrive, Ristu is sitting curled up on a chair with a blanket around him. Nagisa explained to the other three members and the staff where he had found him and what had happened.
The four of them approach Ritsu to make sure he’s okay. Ritsu looks up at all of them. Rei is standing behind them, looking on with an evidently conflicted expression. Ritsu avoids looking at Rei, reassuring them all that he’s completely fine. Even with his reassurance, the staff decides it’s best to end filming for the day and they all agree.
Once Ritsu has apologised to the staff for the inconvenience, the five members load onto the location bus. It’s a minibus as there’s only the five of them. The bus itself is the usual grey colour with dark tinted windows. The seats are a light grey colour matching with the rest of the interior. They’re comfortable enough, as Ritsu has fallen asleep on them many times.
The rest of the staff stays back to finish up and do what they need to at the filming location. On the bus, Rei takes the long back seats just as he had on the way there. The first time Ritsu had confronted him, asking to move so that he could lay back there. Rei had refused, claiming he had no obligation to give up the best seat. This time, Ritsu doesn’t bother asking for the seat. He sits in the front, as far away from Rei as he's able. Mayoi, Kohaku, and Nagisa were all seated sparsely among the few other seats.
Once they’re all settled in their seats Ritsu sits up on his knees facing back towards them all, promptly ignoring Rei in the far back. Ritsu speaks sincerely to them.
“I already apologised to the staff but I’d like to apologise to you all as well. I didn’t imagine I would end up getting stuck out there. I really didn’t mean to cause such trouble. I’m sorry.”
“No worries. I’m just glad Nagisa was able to help you out back there. It wasn’t a very ideal situation but it wasn’t your fault for getting trapped.” Kohaku says, trying to reassure him. Mayoi speaks up with the same intentions. “Yeah. We're just glad you’re safe now.”
Nagisa nods along. He doesn’t look up far enough to see if Rei had reacted to his statement at all. Ristu smiles and thanks them. He sits back down facing forwards in his seat. The bus drive to the dorms takes a few hours, as the filming site is quite far out. Resting his head on the window, Ritsu decides to try to get some sleep. Unlike usual, sleep doesn't come easily at the moment. It’s a restless sleep. It leaves him teetering on sleeping and waking up every few minutes. To add insult to injury, he can feel himself developing a headache. He tries not to pay it much mind, attempting to fall asleep for another half an hour. Once his sleep has evaded him long enough for the headache to completely set in he sits up to look back at the others behind him. He had planned to ask one of them for some painkillers but they all seem to be sleeping soundly. Likely exhausted from the unexpected stress of having to search for him. He huffs as they’re all in the restful state he wishes to be in.
Before he sits back down, he makes the mistake of looking up towards Rei’s seat. The one person he didn’t want to interact with was the only one awake. The two of them make eye contact. Words almost slip out of his mouth but before he says anything to Rei he catches himself, quickly sitting himself back down into his seat. He sighs to himself. Rei always carries painkillers on his person. Though his headache is killing him he’d still rather not have to confide in his stupid brother of all people. A light thud gently sounds out in his head as he lets it fall to the window once more, staring at the passing snow covered scenery.
Hands are on his shoulder shaking him awake. At some point he had managed to pass out and sleep the rest of the way to the dorms. He's groggy as he wakes, looking up to see Kohaku having been the one to rouse him. His headache hasn’t faded but he forces himself up from the seat. Rei is in the lead as the other three idols follow behind him. Ritsu, still not feeling his best, walks slowly behind them all, trying to hide his condition. They seem to be heading to the cafeteria. He calls out to them, letting them know he’ll just head back to his room.