"I've never done this before, Ritsuka," he said, looking at the bulbous orange vegetable sitting almost menacingly on the table.
"...Then I'll show you," came the stubborn reply. "Come on, Soubi! I haven't carved pumpkins in ages!"
Seimei did it with you, didn't he?
"Of course, Ritsuka," was all he said. "But I don't know where to start."
Ritsuka looked up from where he sat, digging at the flesh of the vegetable and depositing the ugly orange guts into a bowl on the table.
"I've nearly finished hollowing it out, so you can, uh... Think of a good design?"
"I've thought of one."
"S-Soubi! It can't be good if you came up with it that quickly!"
He simply smiled, and thought of tattoos, and picked up the knife. "Now what? Do you want to carve it?"
"That's your job," came the slightly hesitant reply, and Soubi's smile broadened.
Don't blush, Ritsuka, I'm the only one who can see you, he thought, but decided to leave that for another time.
"I think you might do it better than me," he murmured, balancing the blade thoughtfully on one finger. "Your hands are small."
"No, it's your job," frowned Ritsuka. "Otherwise you won't have done anything."
"Yes, sir." Soubi knealt by the table, positioning the knife before pressing forward. The blade carved into the flesh easily, effortlessly, and orange blood moistened the slick metal.
Soubi twisted the knife - and then stopped, because a small hand had covered his own. The fighter looked up into the eyes of his Sacrifice.
"Soubi, you're doing it wrong. You have to take the knife out before you make another cut, or you'll crack the pumpkin." Ritsuka's face was deadly serious as it stared at him, and Soubi almost shivered.
"I told you you'd be better with the knife," he said finally, Ritsuka's hand still clutching his own. He managed to stop his free hand creeping towards the bandages on his neck, but the thought was already in his mind.
Carve me like a pumpkin, Ritsuka, he wanted to say, but this moment was too rare to destroy.
"Your hands are warm," he said instead, quietly; the flush on Ritsuka's face was all he wanted to see.
That evening, a golden butterfly flickered on the windowsill, and Soubi dreamed.