Ritsuka wanted a Gameboy Micro so Soubi set aside portions of his allowance from Seven Voices Academy patiently for weeks until he had amassed enough to buy one, sleek and silver and brand-new. The store clerk gift-wrapped it for him and gift-wrapped along with it the three games Soubi had bought for Ritsuka. He knew Ritsuka's game collection inside-out and he anticipated with pleasure how the tiny game console would look in Ritsuka's small hands.
The two boxes spent a morning and an afternoon in his apartment, untouched. No gift tags were attached because Soubi would only ever buy things for one person only. The Zero boys were told not to touch on pain of death and Soubi, who knew their characters well, guaranteed this by having Kio take them on an outing. "You owe me for this, Sou-chan!" Kio called as he was dragged out the door. Soubi smiled.
When Soubi walked Ritsuka back to his apartment from school, he gestured for him to sit on one of the beanbags the Zeros used for gaming and handed him the two boxes. Ritsuka looked unsure and uncomfortable as he picked and peeled off the sellotape, trying as hard as he could not to rip the wrapping paper that was ultimately going to be thrown in the trash with rotten foodstuffs and soiled items. He was too young to be able to hide his delight as he turned the Gameboy box over in his hands, looking up at Soubi with his mouth open. "Soubi! This-" But Ritsuka didn't know how to continue and Soubi indicated for him to open the second box.
Half an hour later, Soubi was cooking dinner on the stove and Ritsuka was sprawled belly-first on the floor, elbows resting on two stacked cushions as he played The Minish Cap on his new console. His childish spine incurved beautifully and Soubi was sure it was a posture that would become uncomfortable over time, and sure that Ritsuka would stubbornly maintain it, engrossed in his game.
"But it's not anywhere near my birthday," Ritsuka said again as he looked over towards Soubi.
"I know, Ritsuka," Soubi didn't return his look. He was chopping vegetables. "I just wanted to give Ritsuka something. I like making you happy."
Ritsuka returned to his game unhappily and Soubi smiled as he lifted the pot lid to add the sliced vegetables into the steaming broth that fogged up his glasses.
Soubi and Ritsuka sat down to a meal that tasted delicious. Soubi ate slowly and with satisfaction, the food tasting good in a mouth that had systematically fasted for the past three weeks, skipping up to two meals every other day, the ritual a welcome confirmation of his capacities in the absence of the discipline that Ritsuka denied to him. Ritsuka ate and wondered guiltily how he was supposed to pay Soubi back for something that Ritsuka had half-heartedly expressed interest over last month when he didn't even get pocket money from his mother.
