Dedication: For all of us who don't have father to celebrate on Father's Day.
Disclaimer: I do not own Loveless or any of the characters. I only own the plot. I make NO money off of this work of fiction.
000
What was Ritsuka to do? Father's Day was just around the bend, but his father was rarely around. Ritsuka wasn't even sure that the man existed anymore. Maybe he'd been 'killed' like Seimei had? Or perhaps he just didn't want to come home and deal with Misaki. Either way, Ritsuka couldn't help but feel a little glum as his fellow students told Sensei what they had planned for Father's Day. When the brunette asked him what he'd intended on doing, he'd simply shrugged.
"Probably nothing." He'd muttered.
"Nothing?" Sensei asked, seeming surprised that he wasn't going to do anything like everyone else.
"Nothing." Ritsuka admitted, a bit louder.
"How can you not do something for your father?" One of the girls snorted.
"It's not something I want to talk about." Ritsuka muttered, slinking down in his seat.
Sensei dropped it and moved on. Yuiko leaned a little closer to her friend. "Why aren't you doing anything, Ritsuka-kun?" She asked. "You can tell me, you know."
"Dad…he doesn't come home often." Ritsuka whispered. "I doubt tomorrow will be an exception."
"Oh." Yuiko let it go and straightened up at her desk.
Ritsuka sighed. It did seem a little out of the ordinary that he wouldn't do anything for his father. Didn't all boys do something special on Father's Day? Ritsuka didn't know. He couldn't remember a Father's Day that he had celebrated. Then again, his family might have celebrated it before he lost his memory. A lot of good that would do.
Ritsuka sighed and tried to block out the discussion from his mind completely. His cat ears flattened against his head, blocking out the sound to a degree. His tail stopped its lazy movements to come to a rest around his leg.
What did the fatherless do for Father's Day?
000
Soubi's brush dragged bright green across his canvas as the blonde painted. Another day, another art project with Kio. The mint haired male was happily humming to himself as he painted white clouds onto the blue at the top of the canvas. Their other partners, two girls, were painting flowers and butterflies on other sheets of paper, to be cut out and pasted on later.
"Have any special plans for Sunday, Sou-chan?" Kio asked, not looking up from the fluffy cloud he was painting.
"No." Soubi responded. What made Sunday so special?
"Oh, come on, nothing? Not even dinner or something?"
"What's the occasion, Kio?"
"You can't be serious." Kio stopped painting and his jaw fell open. "It's Father's Day, silly!"
"Oh." Soubi ignored it and continued painting.
"So what's your answer?"
"Nothing."
Kio shook his head. "Even I'm doing something. You know how hard it is to find my old man?"
"No."
"Are you only speaking in one word sentences now?"
"Perhaps."
Kio's face fell. "You're impossible, Sou-chan."
"The feeling is mutual, Kio." Soubi muttered at his friend.
"Anyway, I'm dragging my father out for dinner." Kio said. "I'm sure he'll be happy to get out of the house."
Soubi blocked out his overzealous friend. Father's Day wasn't a concern for him. His father had passed away in an accident, alongside his mother, when Soubi was eight years old. Soubi had been taken in by Minami Ritsu, a man who had claimed to be close to his mother. Only now did Soubi know that he had been her Sacrifice, the one who took damage in a battle of wordspell. Soubi was well versed in wordspell himself, but he was a Fighter; like his mother. Had his father been anything? Soubi didn't know, and Ritsu refused to answer.
The closest thing Soubi now had to a father, currently, was Ritsu. But Soubi would be damned if he did anything polite for him.
Soubi absentmindedly rubbed his earless head. Ritsu had taken his ears by force when Soubi was 14 years old. Soubi hated him ever since. If Ritsu was expecting anything on Sunday, he'd have to get it somewhere else.
000
Yoji and Natsuo sat in the living room of Nagisa-sensei's apartment, playing video games on the television. It seemed like that was all the boys did when they weren't in class. Sure, they'd do homework once Nagisa-sensei yelled herself hoarse at them, but that wasn't often.
"So…" Natsuo paused. "People have been talking about going home this weekend."
"Yeah, I noticed." Yoji said, not taking his eyes of the battle his character was engaged in.
"I wonder why."
"Father's Day, I think."
"Oh yeah, that." Natsuo paused. "We have a father, don't we?"
"How should I know?" Yoji's ears flattened against his head.
"I mean, it takes two to make a kid, right?"
"Nagisa-sensei only has eyes for Ritsu. I doubt she'd want to have kids with him, though. Besides, we're not like him."
"Thankfully."
They both snickered.
"But we had to come from somewhere, right?"
"I guess."
Silence passed between the boys. "Nagisa-sensei wouldn't answer if we asked." Natsuo said softly.
"Who cares, anyway?" Yoji wondered. "Other people will just drag us down."
"Yeah…drag us down." Natsuo said, a smile playing across his lips. "Who needs that?"
"Not us."
"Not at all."
The conversation dropped and they returned their attention to their game. The subject didn't come up again for the rest of the night.
000
Ritsuka met Soubi outside of his school once classes let out. The older male smiled down at Ritsuka.
"Afternoon." He greeted.
"Hi, Soubi." Ritsuka responded.
Neither said anything for a moment, then,
"Hey, Soubi?"
"Yeah?"
Ritsuka flushed. "What does someone who doesn't have a dad do on Father's Day?"
"Whatever he wants."
Ritsuka rolled his eyes as he looked up at his Fighter. "What are you doing for Father's Day?"
"It's just another day."
"So nothing."
"In short terms, yes."
"I'm not doing anything either." Ritsuka started walking down the road.
Soubi took that as a cue to follow the raven-haired cat-boy. They walked down the road, one behind the other, until Ritsuka fell back a bit and stayed at Soubi's side. Soubi's fingers instinctively grasped onto Ritsuka's. Surprisingly, Ritsuka didn't pull away.
They walked in silence, hand in hand, to the bus stop.
"This is where I leave." Ritsuka muttered.
"Are you sure you don't have the time?" Soubi asked.
"I have an appointment today." Ritsuka said. "Every Wednesday, remember?"
Soubi nodded. "Of course."
The bus was coming down the road. Ritsuka pulled something out of his pocket.
"Hey, um…thanks."
"For?"
"Everything."
The bus rolled up and stopped, the doors opening. Ritsuka handed Soubi what was in his pocket. "Bye." He hopped on the bus and it sped away.
Soubi watched until he could no longer see the taillights. Looking at his palm, Soubi noticed that it was a card Ritsuka had given him. Without hesitation, he opened it. Written on the inside was,
'Soubi, Thank you for protecting me. Happy Father's Day'.
Soubi smiled softly. The boy was so innocent that it was adorable. Soubi put the card in his pocket and walked towards his apartment. Maybe he would call Ritsu after all.