Disclaimer: Loveless Yun Kouga's.
Author's Note: I know there is certainly no shortage of SoubixRitsuka fluffiness, but hey, not like anyone's sick of it yet. :D Also, I read volume 5 of the manga right before sitting down to write this, and it made me really like Ritsuka's mom. No, I'm not a fan of Ritsuka getting beat up, but I think she's an interesting and underrated character. She doesn't really get that much of a part in this story, though... I think it takes place sometime fairly early in the series, like in the first couple of volumes…., My first real shot at fanfiction, and I'm not sure how good it turned out…but anyway, reviews are welcome!
"Ritsuka!"
The doorknob rattled, but the lock held firm. Ritsuka kept his eyes glued to the game on his computer screen, trying to force himself to breathe evenly, to keep his hands from shaking. It was no big deal, really it wasn't. This wasn't the first time that his mother had been like this. It was a routine they had gone through so many times that he could predict exactly what would happen next. She would continue to be upset for another several minutes, then she would leave. And he would wait patiently until she had calmed down, and maybe then he would unlock the door and go downstairs, and she wouldn't look at him for a while, and he would leave her alone, and things would be okay.
"Ritsuka!"
He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to hold himself together. No big deal. No big deal!
If only Seimei were here.
"Ritsuka."
A different voice. Younger, quieter, and male. And just for a second, with his eyes closed and concentrating on nothing else, it was Seimei's voice, and Seimei was back again, and for that one second Ritsuka truly felt a little better.
But only for a second.
Ritsuka's eyes snapped open, and with a wave of mixed emotions filling his heart he turned to see, instead of his brother, the man who he knew with depressing certainty would be standing by the window. And at the worst possible time for him to show up, too. More then anything Ritsuka needed to stay calm, he had to stay calm.
And calm was always a difficult thing when he was there, that guy, that –
"Soubi." Ritsuka said, trying and more or less succeeding in keeping the wave of emotion inside of him from pouring out with the name. "What are you doing here? I didn't call you."
The slim figure swiftly closed the distance in between him, waiting until he was hovering over the back of Ritsuka's chair like a big black shadow, leaning down close enough that the boy could have reached out and caught a strand of his long, blond, hair effortlessly, to speak again.
"Should I do something?" His eyes flickered to the door, where Ritsuka's mother could still be heard, and then back to catch and hold his Sacrifice's gaze.
"Wh-what?" replied Ritsuka, who was feeling a little relieved in spite of himself. Not that it had anything to do with that guy specifically, of course not….but he had to admit that it was nice to have somebody else there. Even if it had to be Soubi.
The corners of Soubi's mouth turned up ever so slightly in a smile that somehow seemed more foreboding then reassuring. Moving with languid elegance, the man took a seat on the closest edge of Ritsuka's bed, never breaking eye contact. "I could make her stop." he said simply.
Maybe it was the cheerless smile, or maybe it was the way he left his statement so open-ended, but Ritsuka felt a sudden stab of apprehension. The idea of an evening of peace and quiet was tempting, so tempting in fact that for a moment he had almost come close to considering letting Soubi do as he suggested, but….there was no way of knowing what Soubi would do, that was the thing. And Ritsuka didn't really want to find out. He had enough things to worry about already. "…No."
The only response he got was an eyebrow raised ever so slightly, a wordless question of his judgment. As if to punctuate this, outside the door Ritsuka's mother, who had been silent for a few moments before hand, resumed her tirade.
"All you do is cause problems for everyone! Now come out here!!"
The hysterical screams of his mother, combined with Soubi's eyes on him, made Ritsuka's heart ache in a way that made him wish that he could just be alone again, so that he could curl up under the covers of his bed like a small child, and let out the frustration and the sadness and the guilt that were flooding him.
"I- I'm serious!" Scowling hastily, he turned back to his computer screen, gripping the mouse with white-knuckled hands. "Don't do anything! That's an order, okay!?"
For a moment that, for Ritsuka, seemed to last an indescribably long time, there was silence in the room, broken only by the muffled sounds of his mother from beyond the door. Ritsuka's face flushed, his neko ears pressed flat to his skull, knowing for sure that his Fighter was probably staring at him, though there was no way he was turning around to check for sure.
Then, he heard it. From behind him, there came the faint sound of what was undeniably a chuckle.
What? What was funny about this whole miserable situation?? That was exactly why he didn't want Soubi here, at least not now….
He felt indignant and defensive, but at the same time he was trying really hard to resist the urge to run over and bury his face in Soubi's shirt...(No, that would have just been embarrassing, really weird, and he wanted to act adult right now!)
But then…..
Maybe Soubi and Ritsuka really did share the special bond that a real Fighter and Sacrifice should, or maybe Soubi could read his mind (and somehow, Ritsuka wouldn't have completely ruled out the mind-reading) because right as Ritsuka finished thinking those things, a pair of arms scooped him out of his chair and plopped him down to sit on the bed.
Ritsuka opened his mouth to protest, but closed it again after a moment. There was nothing he could think to say that would begin to describe how he felt. He could still hear his mother, and she was still upset, but Soubi was there too, and suddenly so close and it made Ritsuka feel-
There was a sudden muffled bang, as if something had been thrown at the door. Caught off guard, Ritsuka flinched slightly, twitching his body away from the sound. It was a small and purely instinctive gesture, most definitely not "calm" or "adult" or anything else that he was trying to act like he was. In response, Soubi's arms enfolded him again, and before Ritsuka realized what was happening, he was pulled onto the artist's lap in a firm embrace.
"Mmm." Soubi sighed, nuzzling the base of one of Ritsuka's ears. Normally this sort of embarrassing behavior would have been strongly objected to by Ritsuka, but not now. Soubi's body heat was making him feel a little sleepy, and Soubi's shirt was soft against his cheek, and it smelled good, and Ritsuka could still hear his mother yelling, but having Soubi there made things better, and Ritsuka decided that all he wanted right then was to stay that way as long as possible. Soubi had started it, anyway, so what could he do, right?
Soubi suddenly sat up a little straighter, as if focusing on something. The "something" turned out to be the bruise forming on Ritsuka's elbow, the lone result of the damage that his mother had attempted to inflict this time, before he had gotten to the safety of his room.
Ritsuka winced as his arm was gently lifted and examined. It was really just a bump, nothing to worry about. And even though it made Risuka feel a little funny (not necessarily bad, mind you, just funny…) to think about it, he kind of wished that his Fighter would forget about the bruise and go back to holding him.
"It's nothing, Soubi," he interjected, not quite able to meet the eyes that were looking at him with a mixture of intrest, concern, and (most troublesome of all) caring. "Don't worry about it." There was a brief pause, then as an afterthought he added with a mixture of stubbornness and awkwardness, "That's an order too!"
As soon as the words passed his lips, he knew they would make Soubi laugh in that aggravating way that he always did, but he didn't really care right then.
Just as he suspected, a smile, mysterious but more genuine then the earlier one crossed Soubi's face. Raising Ritsuka's arm, the man planted a soft kiss on the injured elbow, before wrapping his arms around Ritsuka once again.
And, maybe in the same way that Soubi had known what Ritsuka had been thinking earlier, Ritsuka knew exactly what the next words to leave Soubi's lips would be.
"Ritsuka," Soubi said, his voice low enough that Ritsuka could hear the footsteps of his mother finally turning to walk back down the hall, away from his room. "I love you."
He said it again! I knew it!
…Oh, whatever.
Closing his eyes, Ritsuka snuggled closer. He thought he could almost hear his companion's heartbeat.
Oh, stupid, embarrassing, weird….wonderful Soubi.