Authoress Ramble; -peeks into the world of Loveless, eyes wide with apprehension- Hi all, this is my first attempt at a Loveless fan fiction; hopefully it's not too sketchy.
Warnings; Um – let's see boy/boy relationship – meaning two males being involved romantically, together; If this disturbs you and makes you feel queasy, I suggest you exit quickly and go in search of some nice boy/girl. If you're still here, please feel free to read and enjoy.
-~-
-~-
The heavens wept. Each burning star cried sobbing tears that plummeted to the Earth, dampening the soil and filling puddles with rained grief.
Ritsuka ran, his feet slapped at the ground; splashing through the wet grass and getting his shoe laces damp. His heart pounded against his chest; beating so hard that his ribs ached with each heartbeat.
His right cheek beheld the wound of a mother's rage, of a mothers fear and anguish – being so young as he was Ritsuka understood little of what she did, and why she committed such acts against him. He was aware he was not the Ritsuka he once was; did he merit such penalty for that?
Droplets of water broke against his skin, crying down his cheeks as tears would fall; Ritsuka didn't stop running, he kept on pushing forward, faster and faster; a childish wish in his mind to out run his problems and escape from his inner turmoil.
A crash of thunder startled the running boy, crashing so loudly the ground beneath his feet shuddered with Mother Nature's anger. Ritsuka stopped abruptly, his shoes slipped on the grass, causing him to tumble to the ground.
Ritsuka worried his bottom lips between his teeth and blinked in quick succession. Why did he have no luck? Why did his mother have to hurt him, did he deserve such treatment?
The rain continued to fall from the stars like a heavy curtain of water, drenching everything in sight. Droplets clung to the blades of grass; shimmering in the moonlight before trailing the green blades down to the root.
Ritsuka closed his eyes tightly, too exhausted to persist running. His previous burst of adrenalin when escaping from his mothers' abusive behavior slowly ebbed from his bones and left him feeling drained and spent of energy.
Wiping at the wound on his cheek with his sleeve to clean off the scarlet ribbons that had wept from the gash, Ritsuka let his torso fall backwards; flopping to lie down on the wet grass.
His parted lips caught the falling drops of rain; droplets traced his lower lip and beads of water beaded in his dark eye lashes.
His jacket and pants were soaked through to the skin, and tremors of cold trembled through his diminutive body.
Lightening ripped the velvet sky in half and the roar of thunder clouded the approach of a slim silhouette.
"Ritsuka…?"
Ritsuka opened his eyes, blinking in order not to let the rain get in his eyes. Thunder rumbled once more – the storm was getting closer.
Ritsuka looked up into the dark night, and even though the shadowed profile was illuminated only by the moons rays and the stars casted light, Ritsuka knew instantly who he was.
"Soubi, what are you doing here?!" He questioned, sitting up quickly to peer up at the familiar man. Said man was dressed in a navy blue coat, ankle length to keep the warmth in on such a wintry night.
Soubi tilted his head to study Ritsuka; "I was just passing by," he said quietly, "why are you rolling in the grass at this hour?" he asked, a frown tugging at his lips.
Ritsuka furrowed his brows, crossing his arms over his chest defensively.
"I wasn't rolling in the grass, Soubi. And I don't want you to be here." He said, tugging at his scarf that stuck to his neck and itched at his wet skin.
"Then tell me to leave and I will."
The wind howled around the two figures, whipping Soubi's carefully tied back hair and flicking Ritsuka's scarf and tousling his raven hair.
"Well…?" Soubi coaxed when Ritsuka refused to supply an answer.
"I – I – fine, you can stay but don't expect me to be happy about it!"
Soubi's lips quirked into a soft smile, he bent down to crouch next to Ritsuka. Placing a hand on the boys' knee; he shook his head.
"You're shivering, Ritsuka." He said gently, Ritsuka looked up at Soubi, his eyes wide when the older touched a warm palm to his cheek.
"You're hurt!" Exclaimed Soubi, his voice stayed smooth, although his eyes sparked with concern. Ritsuka shifted and moved away from the tentative caress.
"It's nothing, I'm fine, Soubi."
Soubi would have none of Ritsuka's excuses; he placed the pad of his index finger against bitter cold lips, silencing any remarks the child might have.
Thunder crashed through the night, the sound rolled over the park; smothering everything in noise for seconds on end.
"Who did this to you, Ritsuka?" Soubi inquired, Ritsuka wriggled and tried to escape the older man's persistent strokes to his wind chilled skin; his cheeks were flushed pink from cold and a squirmy embarrassment that roiled in his belly at the contact; however platonic it was.
"No – no one."
Soubi hummed in his throat, not believing the stammered answer. "If you do not want to tell me the truth, I shall not ask for it."
"You never tell me the truth, Soubi – why should I be honest with you?" Ritsuka retorted, his eyes sparkling with pent-up anger and a confusion he couldn't understand.
"It's not me that you're angry with tonight, Ritsuka." Soubi whispered, moving to rub comforting circles on the small of Ritsuka's back and his tense shoulder blades with his open palm, the older man sat on the soaked grass; ignoring the mud that soiled his clothes.
"Yes it is!" exclaimed Ritsuka heatedly.
Ritsuka shifted away once more, digging his fingers into the soil in aggravation. He knew who had caused the fury that bubbled in his chest and stomach, it wasn't Soubi, but who else could he take his ire out on?
Ritsuka pulled his knees up to his chest, his arms wrapped around his shins and his head rested on his knees.
He couldn't rage and scream at his mother, even if her actions had caused the hot temper to thump in his heart and pound through his veins. His mother wouldn't listen; she never had since Seimei had died.
Soubi clicked his tongue, crawling over to the huddled form of Ritsuka.
"I've only just stumbled upon you, how could have I made you angry?" Soubi queried, a gentle hand stroked Ritsuka's rain-drenched hair; long fingers ran through the unruly mess.
Ritsuka bit his lip, breathing out a mouthful of air that fogged the air and coiled into the night sky. Lightening graced the sky and a thunderous boom rattled the Earth; pounding through the ground and shaking the Earth from its core.
Ritsuka cried out in alarm as the ground quaked with the force of the thunder, and despite his wanting to curl into a little ball and hide from the loud noise, his body had other ideas. With one swift movement, Ritsuka threw himself at Soubi.
The storm was right above them, raging black clouds blanketed the atmosphere and heavy rain fell fiercer than ever to the ground.
Soubi caught the shaking Ritsuka, wrapping his arms securely around the boys' middle. Ritsuka bunched handfuls of the navy blue coat in his hands, nuzzling his cheek into the strong chest of Soubi. He felt safe in the arms of the fighter, like nothing could harm him.
"It's only thunder, Ritsuka." Soubi informed unnecessarily, his voice was tinted with slight amusement; however the palm that cupped the back of Ritsuka's head spoke silently of his concern.
Ritsuka pushed away from Soubi, a blush climbing his neck and staining his cheeks. He hoped it was too dark for Soubi to notice.
"Why are you here?" he asked, if only to divert Soubi's attention away from his blush.
Soubi kept his arms loosely around Ritsuka's waist, not allowing the boy to move too far away. "I was taking a walk; Kio can get quite annoying and such I wanted some time unaccompanied."
Ritsuka lowered his eyes, staring at the black buttons on Soubi's coat. Thunder roar above them, cracking the sky and rain bled from the clouds ever more.
"Why are you out in such weather?" Soubi questioned, gently running his knuckles across Ritsuka's forehead and temple soothingly, pushing back his fringe that dripped a steady stream of water.
Soubi smiled when a drop of rain trailed down the boys' nose, making Ritsuka scrunch up his nose and wipe at the tickling drop.
"Do I get an answer?" Soubi prompted, lowering his hand.
Ritsuka bowed his head, mumbling soft words that were rivaled by the whistling wind and pouring rain; "I had an argument with my mother." Soubi had to lean in closer to hear the confession.
Soubi smoothed back his own hair that framed his face with wet strands, "did she give you this?" he asked, touching the wound on Ritsuka's cheek. The younger boy dipped his head, his chin rested on his chest.
"She broke a glass – she – she hurt me, Soubi and I – I don't know what to do; how to make her s – stop!" Ritsuka said with a rush of breath, his voice constricted with the want to sob. He wasn't a baby, he wouldn't cry in front of Soubi.
Soubi placed a finger under Ritsuka's chin, lifting the child's head and staring into his eyes. Ritsuka gasped softly when Soubi leant down and placed his warm lips against his own icy ones.
Firm but tender hands pulled Ritsuka closer, their chests were pressed flush together and despite the cold, rainy night and the freezing wind, warmth spread through Ritsuka and for a moment he didn't defy the lick of a tongue against his bottom lip; he opened his lips in innocent eagerness.
Ritsuka wasn't aware that his eyes slowly closed, shutting out the night in a blissful blanket of blackness. Was it so right to enjoy such a kiss – from a male no less?
Soubi took the kiss slowly, allowing Ritsuka to get use to his exploring tongue, which flicked against Ritsuka's teeth and coaxed his tongue to join in. Ritsuka hesitantly pushed his tongue into Soubi's mouth; the heat of the wet cavern was different – a good different.
Soubi was a more experienced kisser and he led with gentle licks and soft nibbles at Ritsuka's bottom lip.
Ritsuka wrapped his arms around Soubi's shoulders, pressing his body closer to the older man; a small sound of pleasure escaped his throat and was swallowed by Soubi – Ritsuka blinked.
Once,
Twice,
With a noise of surprise the boy pulled back, breaking the kiss. His cheeks were flushed and his wet hair unruly from Soubi's wandering hands that were still bunched in the dark strands.
"Soubi – " Ritsuka gasped, wiping at his lips with the back of his hand and swallowing down his want to kiss the man again, "What are you doing?" he demanded, attempting to wriggle free of Soubi's hold.
Soubi stilled Ritsuka's movements with a brush of his knuckles down the boys' cheek. Ritsuka looked imploringly up at Soubi, his eyes big and swimming with confused heat.
"Kissing it better." Soubi answered quietly, cuddling the boy to him like a child would hug their favorite teddy bear.
Ritsuka tugged at his kiss-swollen lower lip with his teeth. He was warm in spite of his chilled skin, he was safe despite being out at night, and he was content regardless of his previous turmoil that had settled in his tummy.
Soubi really has kissed it better for him.
"Thank you, Soubi."
The distant rumble of thunder sounded on the horizon as the storm passed, leaving only the bitter wind and water washed Earth to accompany the lone figures huddled in the middle of the park, alone save for the moon and stars.
Wrapped safely in Soubi's arms Ritsuka sighed softly, his chilled skin warmed with the knowledge that he was secure and looked after.
-~-
-~-
A/N; -bites nails fretfully- Have I done okay? Any spelling mistakes or grammar problems are my own, feel free to point them out – constructive criticism is welcomed with open arms. Thanks for reading.