It had been some time ago and honestly, it was something which Ann had forgotten all about as time passed on. After all, it had been months at this point and it had disappeared in a matter of weeks. They were not paying attention to it any longer when they managed to pick up on the signals. Though it started out like any other crush, or so they like to believe...

It would be a lie if they said that they had never found him somewhat attractive when first having come across him. Somewhat long, black wavy hair, those red eyes piercing right through and when seeing him smile or smirk had made their heart skip a beat, back then at least. That was Rei Sakuma and on the surface he was someone to look at. And they caught themself doing so when seeing one of UNDEAD's posters around, smiling a little before minding their own business yet again. Though at first it was nothing more than that, a surface level attraction. After all, no harm in finding someone attractive. And yet, it would not stay like that for long... Then again, they had never even dreamed of coming face to face with the Rei Sakuma, even if they were working as a translator for affairs overseas. And it had not even been job related when coming across him for the first time.

It had been merely by chance, when they were still new and did not know their way around the building. They just bumped into him, or rather, heard his voice without knowing it at first. "Oh my? Is this young lady all lost?" He had said jokingly which startled them and they quickly turned. It happened so quickly and they found themself in Rei's presence before knowing it.

To say that they were a blushing mess at the moment would be an understatement. Who knew that he could look more attractive from close up in person than from afar on a poster? Though they admit that the interest at first had been shallow, they were interested in him nonetheless. Usually they could care less to be honest but something had just drawn them to him and when he spoke it sent shivers down their spine.

"I... Well..." They tried to explain though they were too nervous to speak up. Instead they found themself nodding shortly after, giving up speaking altogether.

The reaction would catch them off guard, only hearing a short yet genuine chuckle out of his mouth. And paired with his smile... It was something else at the time, to say the least. "Don't force yourself now. I'm not going to bite you yet."

"Yet!?" They somewhat squealed out of their mouth yet it seemed to only make him laugh in the end, leaving them all the more embarrassed. He seemed approachable at the very least, not as intimidating as they may have believed at first. Then again, anyone can be intimidating in Ann's eyes. And yet, even with that in mind, they felt like a mere wreck at the time, unable to get themself together. Though he seemed unfazed, or had somewhat of a patience with them at the very least. He was not really fazed at the end of the day, being so calm it confused them in fact.

"Haha, I jest I jest." He tried to assure them, smiling even. A smile which could probably make just about anyone melt on the literal spot. This man has a power like no other... A power he may as well be unaware of! Or so they would love to claim sometimes...

They could only mumble a quick 'right' out loud as a response to this, not too certain how to react to that.

The rest went rather quickly, them asking for directions yet phrasing it so confusing it was hard to keep up with. It was there when Rei had offered them to just lead them there, something they accepted. It was also there where they introduced themselves to another and the first name offer came up. They said right away that they would prefer their first name used, or just 'Ann' while Rei nearly insisted on having his first name used, something they had to accept.

Needless to say though, the first impressions were strong, very strong, and they could already tell that they had felt somewhat swooned by Rei Sakuma. It had marked the start at the very least.

Needless to say the man had left an impression on Ann, enough for them to always be somewhat joyful whenever encountering Rei. Honestly, they may as well be over the moon at a point, even getting a chance. He was pleasant to be around and soon enough they found themself at least slightly crushing on him. At least they would say and claim it was a crush which had developed. And it was an exciting time at first with all the heart pounding and being flustered, even if rather unintentionally. Though it was embarrassing to admit all the same, it felt kind of silly. It had never gone further than that however, a crush. They were just so overwhelmed, to say the least, and they could not help it. In hindsight it was something they would just laugh off, how they could have been acting this way to begin with. It was like opening a photo book of embarrassing childhood memories their mother liked to show off to some people who had come over to visit, to show off their 'little kid' or something like that... This was how Ann looked back at the time.

But they would never deny the feelings they had held at the time, a result of the mere curiosity Rei held. Even if he was acting like some old man sometimes, they had to admit it was, or perhaps still is, part of his charm maybe. They were certainly not complaining and loved to admire him.

Could it have led to more? Honestly, they did not know and will never know. It was all but a short lived crush. Despite all the signs Ann believed to give away and some co–workers having teased them about their 'crushy school girl behavior' it had all gone unnoticed. He was oblivious to every sign. That or he just chose to ignore it. Either way, the message was more than clear to them and to be fair, they had never blamed him — He wasn't interested. He didn't feel the same and had no intention to get closer to them that way.

The nervousness, the occasional gazes, the blushing mess — It went all over Rei's head, he had never taken note nor commented on any of it. There was no hope at all, they knew, and thus dropped the wishful thought about them ever mentioning their crush on him and perhaps trying something out of the window. It was luckily not too bad so it was never too hard to get over. Maybe it had just been that, a surface level crush, and if they had gotten closer to him earlier they might have noticed that he was not their type to begin with.

Because the past was the past. After all, not long after Ann had gotten to that concussion they had met Ritsu, when they were on the search for Nyeli at the time. They were not necessarily aware of his relation to Rei, or it just had not clicked right away at the very least due to their tiredness from all the work. Either way, it was supposed to be a one time meeting and done. Honestly, it is thanks to Nyeli Ann had even gotten closer to Ritsu to begin with. Only later would they learn of the relation of Rei and Ritsu, finding out in a not so pleasant way... Or rather Rei being overly affectionate and Ritsu blocking it with visible annoyance. The relationship was somewhat tense, they could tell, even back then... Which is why they never had planned on Ritsu finding this out. And yet it had finally slipped, resulting in him just dashing out... It was not embarrassing, it was just shameful.

They look like an idiot. No, worse than that... What kind of impression leaves that on Ritsu to begin with!? Ugh, this was not just awkward, this looked so wrong...

'I'm just a second choice, aren't I?' It could be a thought yet that was just speculation. Maybe it was even worse than that... The damage done by something like this is massive... They knew they had to talk eventually. They didn't mean it like that! Why would they!? Even if Ritsu had not been Rei's brother, it wouldn't change how they felt about him! And it was not a surface level interest! No, anything but that!

And yet, it might be the impression he had... And they had no one but themself to blame for such an outcome. All because of their mouth... They needed to talk, somehow... But how would Ann even approach something like this? It seems impossible...

They have to find a way though... Make it obvious that Rei is nothing but a past crush they got over and are maybe somewhat friends with... They weren't sure about the second part but they were more than certain about the past crush part! He meant nothing like that to them! And he will never mean any more than that.

However, it is something they have to explain to Ritsu first... But how?