Ostinato
When a phrase is repeated, it loses its meaning. Soubi tries to give the phrase back its meaning. SoubiRitsuka
. . .
When you talk, you repeat what you already know; when you listen, you often learn something.
. . .
Three simple words that could be said over and over again: I love you. I love you, I love you, I love you. When said over and over again, it gave the young twelve-year-old hope that, yes, Soubi did love him. Although, with those simple words escaping the man's mouth every second, it felt foreign to Ritsuka's ears as time passed. Those repeated words lost its meaning, and Ritsuka couldn't bear to hear them anymore.
I love you. Those words felt toxic. They weren't anything valuable to Ritsuka anymore. He would choose to ignore them now, especially if Soubi were to say them.
Rolling on his back, Ritsuka raised his left leg over his right leg and sighed, folding his arms under his head. He looked at the ceiling solemnly and heard the wind rush inside his room, a man appearing beside him in the blink of an eye. He was wearing a long, thick scarf and had beautiful silver hair trickling down his back. His glasses glinted in the sunlight as he smiled, looking down on the small boy. "Ritsuka, I love you."
Blinking, Ritsuka took in the words quickly and stood up, glaring at Soubi. "Don't say that ever again. That's an order," Ritsuka sneered angrily.
Soubi smirked, but he complied – well, sort of. "Je t'aime, Ritsuka." The smirk on Soubi's face widened.
"Order: Don't say that either," Ritsuka replied nonchalantly, setting his head back down on the pillow. Whatever Soubi had said made his heart tingle in an unusual way even though Ritsuka didn't exactly know what he said, but seeing at it was Soubi who said it, it probably meant "I love you." It still didn't mean a thing to Ritsuka, though.
Soubi sat down on the empty space in Ritsuka's bed and chuckled softly. "Wo ie ni. Ritsuka, wo ie ni."
Blinking again, Ritsuka sat up and looked at Soubi in horror. "How many languages do you know?"
Soubi shrugged. "A few." He smiled at his young lover and held Ritsuka's face close to his chest, not letting him go. "Mahal kita, Ritsuka."
Ritsuka heaved out a long sigh and struggled out of the man's grip successfully, walking to his desk. Taking out a piece of paper, he snatched a pen and started doodling in a tedious manner, his free arm resting under his chin. "Another order: Soubi, don't say 'I love you' in any language."
Soubi nodded and headed towards where Ritsuka was. He quickly peeked at the swirls Ritsuka was drawing and smiled softly, laying his own hand over Ritsuka's writing hand. He grabbed it firmly and started making letters in a sloppy but legible font: I LOVE YOU, RITSUKA.
A faint blush was evident on Ritsuka's face as he released the hold on the pen, crumpling the paper up and shooting it in his trash basket. He faced Soubi and sighed again. "Don't write it either. That's an order." Ritsuka placed a hand under his chin, looking at his adult lover. He knew Soubi couldn't possibly have another way of telling Ritsuka of his undying love for him – or did he?
Soubi nodded and raised his hand, curling down his middle and ring fingers. He smiled affectionately at the blue-haired boy. Then, he inched closer to Ritsuka's face and laid his hands on the boy's cheeks, pressing his lips onto Ritsuka's. An even bigger blush started eating up Ritsuka's cheeks as the kiss grew more heated, but Soubi was the one who broke apart right when Ritsuka was about to melt.
"Ritsuka," Soubi softly said, looking at the young black-haired boy passionately. "Is something wrong? I'm only trying to tell you the truth."
"It's just that…" Ritsuka trailed off suddenly, breaking his gaze from Soubi's. "When you say it so often like that… it makes it lose its meaning… Like you don't even mean it anymore."
"But I do." Those words were so simple, yet they brought a comfort back to Ritsuka's childish mind. However, he still couldn't look at Soubi; even though Soubi was trying to reassure him of the authenticity of his sentimental words, having been said so much still made Ritsuka weary of them. Soubi continued, "I tell you I love you all the time, Ritsuka. Even when I don't say it directly, I show it with my actions, as you may know."
Subconsciously, Ritsuka touched his lips, a mild pink tint evident on his face. "That… So, you really mean it?"
Soubi grinned slyly. "Of course. Even if I say it a lot, do know that I'll always mean it—that I'll always love you, Ritsuka. And that isn't going to change."
The corner of Ritsuka's lips slightly turned upward as his blush started to grow even more intense. So, even though the older man was highly repetitive when it came to feelings of sentiment, they were always genuine.
And, honestly, Ritsuka couldn't exactly say he minded… but, of course, that meant he needed to return the favor.
"I love you, too, Soubi. Je t'aime. Wo ei ne. However else you say it. I just love you." Ritsuka made a feeble attempt to say "I love you" in sign language, then hesitantly dove for a kiss on the cheek. His lips slowly began to move across Soubi's face, and eventually, they were at lip-lock; and, fortunate for the two of them, they stayed that way for quite some time.
Even though Soubi said "I love you" often, Ritsuka realized that he thoroughly enjoyed it. What he enjoyed more than that, however, were the ways he didn't say "I love you".
. . .
A/N: Ugh… I wrote this around a year ago or so, and I just found it collecting dust in one of my old Fanfiction folders. xD Decided to finish it today, but it's so short and crappy! And I honestly don't remember much about Loveless, but I do remember my burning love for Ritsuka/Soubi (and Ritsuka/Seimei)… Anyway, I digress. This is my first Loveless fic. If I find any more unfinished fics in the depths of my folders, I'll finish them. (I'll also need to watch the anime again, just to refresh my memory). 'Til then, enjoy. :)