Ice Storms and Bandaged Wounds
By: Ritsuka Yuki
Author's Notes: I suddenly wanted to write a Loveless fanfic. This is it. This idea based off of a past experience with an ice storm. They aren't really fun just to let you know.
Disclaimer: Loveless doesn't belong to me. I get no money off of this.
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Chapter 1: Ice Storms and Bandaged Wounds
It was an early and dark morning, only around four-thirty when Ritsuka's purple eyes fluttered open slowly as a sudden coldness swept through his body. This is strange, He thought. Why is it so cold? He grabbed his blankets and pulled them closer to his small body to keep what little heat he had left. I could have sworn mom had the heat on last night... Ritsuka pulled his head from the blanket covers and breathed. He could barely see his breath- mostly due to the fact that it was dark. Bewildered, he ducked under the blankets again, pulling up his long black tail to cover his bare and freezing feet. "What the hell's going on?" he whispered to himself in a slightly angered tone. Was this a dream? No. It's too real. Finally decided to face the chill, he pulled the covers back and instantly regretted it. Cold swept over the boy as fast as water would have if he jumped into a pool. He let out a startled and uncomfortable noise, almost like a discomforted cry and swiftly pulled on a pair of blue house shoes. He opened his room door almost hoping that it was just his room that was freezing, but when he stepped out, he realized the power was out. Okay... what's going on?
He walked into the kitchen and noticed the clock on the microwave was off, proving that the power was indeed not working. His mother was standing at the front door peering outside. "Mom?"
She turned to face him. "Yes... dear?" she sounded hesitant to say that.
"What's going on?"
"Just an ice storm."
An ice storm?! Ritsuka thought alarmed. He looked outside as well. The trees and bushes were covered in inches of clear ice. The apartment roof edges were covered in icicles as well. The young boy seemed to be gawking slightly at the sight. It was so beautiful yet scary at the same time. Ritsuka had never seen anything like that before. "Did it suddenly come up or something?" he asked. His mother looked down at him and frowned. "Right after you went to bed." his mother replied.
Suddenly Ritsuka fell to the floor holding his stomach and coughing. His mother had kicked him in his stomach and knocked him to his knees. Saliva dripped from his mouth as he looked up to spot his mom, her hands in tight fists. "Mom..."
"Shut up! Don't call me that," she screamed, smacking Ritsuka in his left cheek. "If you hadn't replaced my real Ritsuka, then this wouldn't have happened!! This is all your fault, you fake child! Give me back my real son!" The young boy sat up and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. He hadn't noticed that his mother had gotten an icicle from the roof edge until it came quickly down towards him. "Give me back my real Ritsuka!!"
Ritsuka quickly held his hand up to protect himself as much as he could and cried out as the sharp pointed ice slit the palm of his hand open. The ice was red and dripping with blood as it fell to the floor breaking in two. His mother fell not too long afterwards. Ritsuka took this time to scramble to his feet and run back to his room, not giving a second glance at his weeping mother.
As soon as he was in his room, he locked it. His cut hand was pressed against his light blue shirt leaving a red line across the front. "Dammit..." he cursed to himself. "This was the shirt that Soubi gave me..."
His heartbeat froze for a split moment.
Soubi!!He screamed in his mind.
Quickly, Ritsuka removed his shirt and assembled the medical kit he kept under his bed. It had belonged to Seimei when he was still alive and Ritsuka had left it there ever since then. Whenever he used it, he made sure to put it back in that same spot. I have to check on Soubi! I have to make sure he's okay! Ritsuka yelled to himself as he quickly pulled out a roll of bandages, a bottle of antiseptic cream bandage tape and some hydrogen peroxide with tissues. His hand was bleeding a lot, more than he thought it was, so dealing with that and his soon to be bruise on his stomach were first. Ritsuka might be a bit picky over what he needed or wanted to do every so often, but he knew what had to come first. He soaked the tissues with the peroxide and covered his cut on his right palm. He winced and gave a light groan in pain as the peroxide began to bubble white. He wiped it away and did it again until her was cure it was clean. Then he pulled a band aid out and put the cream on it, covering the cut. Afterwards, he pulled the bandage roll around his hand until it was wrapped. "There." he said as he held his throbbing hand up to his chest.
Ritsuka decided he couldn't wait any longer to call Soubi. It was just a bruise after all. He scrambled to his feet and lunged towards his cell phone, grabbing it and flopping on his bed. Lucky for me he's on speed dial. Ritsuka thought frantically as the ringer rang. He waited and waited until someone picked up. "Ritsuka..."
"Soubi!" Ritsuka cried out into the phone. "Are you okay?" He then realized that he was making a bigger deal out of it than he should have been; it wasn't him to act so worried about his blond fighter. "Yes... Ritsuka? What's wrong? Did you have a nightmare or something?" Soubi's silky voice asked gently. Ritsuka blushed. "N-No... I just wanted to see if you were alright, that's all."
"Ah. I see. Ritsuka's worried about me. I should come over and-"
"No! My mom's up, and my window's iced shut. Besides, how would you get in?"
"I am yours. Whenever Ritsuka needs me, I'll do anything to get to him." Soubi said. Ritsuka blushed again. "Soubi..."
"I'll be over in a minute."
"Wait!" But it was too late- Soubi had already hung up. Ritsuka stared into his phone and sighed. "Idiot." Ritsuka decided to crawl under the blankets again to try and keep warm. He knew that once Soubi intended to come over, he was going to, no stopping him. The young boy glanced at his stomach realizing he didn't have a shirt on. He cursed under his breath and got back up into the cool air and went towards his closet. He was shivering like crazy by the time he managed to pull out a white top. Not a moment too late either- knocking and chipping sounds were coming from his window and he knew instantly that it was Soubi. He quickly pulled the shirt over his head and ran to the window, throwing the curtains back. Just as he guessed, his windows were iced shut. He could see Soubi outsides wearing a huge coat that only make him look bigger than he already was. His cheeks were flushed red by the cold air outside even though it wasn't much better than the inside of the house. Ritsuka unlocked the window and tried to push it open, but the ice was so heavy on the window that he almost hurt himself. With Soubi's help he managed to get it open just a little. Chilly wind blew into the room and struck Ritsuka. He grabbed his arms and rubbed furiously to try and keep them warm. If they went numb, there would be no way that Soubi would get inside unless he got the window open by himself. Soubi noticed that Ritsuka was cold and shut the window. The stream of cold air stopped almost instantly making Ritsuka look up. Soubi was still outside, smiling lovingly. "S-Soubi... what are you doing?" Ritsuka asked.
Soubi smiled a bit more and grabbed the window handles. Five seconds later, the window was thrown open and a blast of icy win filled the room. The glass of the windows were cracked but not broken once Soubi stepped inside and closed the window as gently as possible. Ritsuka sat there shocked at the sudden strength that came from his fighter as Soubi leaned down and cupped Ritsuka's left cheek carefully. "Soubi..."
"Did your mother hit you again," Soubi asked sternly. "You have a bruise on your cute face." That make Ritsuka blush. He was used by being called cute by now by Soubi, but it never failed to make his face turn pink every time he heard it. He smacked his hand away and half glared at the taller man. "All I wanted to know if you were okay, that's it! I didn't want you to come over."
"There's a bruise on your side too." Soubi plainly said but a sound of worry laced his voice as well. Ritsuka balled his hands into fists. "Soubi! Don't change the- ...How did you know?" Soubi smiled and bent down, kissing Ritsuka's head gently. Ritsuka was really surprised that Soubi had figured that out. Was it the way that he sounded when he talked? That wasn't it; he didn't sound any different than he normally did. Finally, Soubi pulled away and grinned. "You're white shirt isn't buttoned all the way." Soubi finally answered.
"Huh...?" Ritsuka looked down and noticed that he missed two buttons near his stomach and the open flap exposed the bruise. Ritsuka looked up past Soubi's face, his ears folded tightly against his head. "Why were you looking, you pervert." he mumbled. Soubi chuckled. "You sound like Kio. Now, let me tend to that; it looks in need of a doctor." Ritsuka nodded, feeling a bit too foolish to retort back. He grabbed Soubi's large gentle hands and led him to the bed where his medical kit was still lying out and severely disorganized. Ritsuka sat on his soft bed and Soubi fumbled around and gather what was needed. That's when Soubi sneezed. "Are you okay, Soubi?" Ritsuka asked, trying not to act like he cared.
"I probably just have a cold. I'm fine Ritsuka. It's okay." Soubi said back smiling at the boy.
"It's my fault since you had to wait outside for so long."
Soubi stopped suddenly and turned to look at Ritsuka. His facial expression was turned into something of a mix between surprised and happiness at the same time. He pivoted on his knees so that he faced Ritsuka who was still sitting on the bed now. Softly, he reached up and held the young boy in his arms. Ritsuka took this chance to get as much body heat as he could from his fighter. Just as he was hoping, Soubi was very warm. He had a scent of paint, wood, and beer, but none of those were surprising smells to Ritsuka- he was used to it by now. He somehow found the scent relaxing and he allowed himself to be held by Soubi like the way he knew Soubi wanted him too. It was the very first time that Ritsuka wanted to be thins close to him. Maybe it was just the cold. For all he cared, Soubi was big and warm and the cold seemed to disappear altogether. "I love you, Ritsuka." Soubi's voice snapped Ritsuka out of his thoughts.
"What happened to fixing my bruise?" he asked slightly amused. Soubi pulled away and nodded, mumbling, "Yes master." under his breath. Ritsuka fisted his hands in the blankets and sighed through his teeth. "Soubi how many times do I have to tell you? I'm. Not. Your. Master!" Ritsuka fumed sounding annoyed. Soubi ignored the boy's sudden outburst as he piled the medical supplies on the bed next to Ritsuka. "Are you listening?"
"This will help a little." Soubi said holding a bandage roll up. Ritsuka mumbled something under his breath inaudible to Soubi's ears. The taller man grinned innocently as his nimble fingers reached up and undid the buttons on Ritsuka's shirt. "S-S-Soubi!? What are you doing?" Ritsuka yelled shoving his hands away. Soubi stopped and smiled again.
"If you have your shirt on, how am I supposed to take care of that mark?"
"You could have asked me to take it off myself."
"You're so cute Ritsuka. Besides," Soubi replied. "It would have been a bit weird if I asked you to do it."
Ritsuka scoffed. And he doesn't mention anything about him taking my shirt off being weird of course.
The white button up shirt was hanging open exposing Ritsuka's chest ad stomach. He had a deep red blush plastered on his cheeks all the while. This was the first time that he remembered that he had shown this much skin around someone else- let alone his twenty year old fighter. It was embarrassing and felt a little odd to the younger boy. Soubi paid no attention at the moment; all he wanted to do was help Ritsuka feel better even though he knew that he couldn't make the bruise go away any faster. "Alright. Lift up your arms." Ritsuka listened and raised his arms above his head. Soubi took the bandage and pulled it around his waist, brushing the painful spot on his stomach. The boy winced and Soubi stopped instantly. "Are you alright Ritsuka?"
"B-Be careful." Ritsuka replied. Soubi nodded and went a little slower. Carefully, he stretched his arms around Ritsuka's waist and wrapped the bandage roll around his waist. Every once in a while, Soubi would wrap a little too hard and Ritsuka had to let him know that he needed to be more careful. "Remember you're a lot stronger than I am." the young boy mumbles under his breath once. It make Soubi smile. He liked it when Ritsuka would say something like that.
Minutes later, Soubi had finished. Ritsuka was pleased at how good Soubi did, but tried not to show it. "It was fine without this you know."
"Maybe, but I wouldn't want Ritsuka to run into anything and cause further damage. Not that he would though; not with me around." and Soubi pulled Ritsuka into a hug. The younger boy nuzzled into his stomach and sighed. Soubi looked down. "What is it?"
"I'm tired."
"Alright." the tall man said, letting Ritsuka go and climbing under the blankets. He patted the spot next to him letting Ritsuka know that he wanted him to sit next to him. Ritsuka was hesitant, but the overwhelming want for sleep and warmth urged him to get into his bed besides Soubi. Ritsuka climbed in and cuddled close under the blankets. Soubi wrapped his arms around Ritsuka protectively and let Ritsuka's head rest on his chest. Normally Ritsuka wouldn't allow this, but considering the conditions at that moment, all he wanted was warmth and sleep. It didn't take long for Ritsuka's body to gain it's heat back. His blankets were always cozy warm and Soubi, being big, gave off a lot of body heat too. "Hey, Soubi?"
"Yes, Ritsuka?"
"Are you gonna stay over until you have to go home?"
Soubi took a moment to answer. "Only if you want me to."
Ritsuka blushed again. "Then.... I don't think you'd mind staying with me until the ice storm is gone, do you?" he asked. Soubi chuckled and pressed one of his hands under Ritsuka's chin and pulled up very gently. "As you wish, master."
"Soubi..." But Ritsuka's sentence was cut short when he felt a pair of two soft lips touch his own. He let out a muffled cry of surprise but stayed there allowing Soubi to kiss him. As far as Ritsuka knew, he wanted Soubi to stay there with him. He didn't want to be alone. Ritsuka pulled away moments later and covered Soubi's mouth with his hands. Soubi blinked and stared at Ritsuka with slightly confused eyes. "Just don't do that or anything else while I sleep please." he said. Soubi nodded. "Then can I have one more before you go to bed?"
Ritsuka sighed and looked away blushing. "No."
"Please?"
Ritsuka turned his eyes to look at Soubi. He was smiling. Maybe Soubi liked to beg for what he wanted but Ritsuka wasn't about to kiss him again. Then again, He thought. Soubi came all this way just to see if I was alright... in this storm. He looked up and noticed that Soubi's eyes were closed. As carefully as he could, he leaned upwards and placed his lips on Soubi's. It wasn't the first time he was the one to kiss first, but he was used to it being the other way around. He stayed there for a moment and was about to pull away when Soubi's arms encircled him and pressed his body closer, deepening the kiss. Ritsuka's eyes went wide as Soubi's eyes opened to look at him. Ritsuka felt Soubi chuckle as he pulled the boy away.
Ritsuka felt dizzy. He shook his head and snuggled back under the blankets, turning his back to Soubi. "Shut up. I'm going to bed." Soubi laughed once and watched his sacrifice drift off to sleep.
At daybreak, the sunlight shown fiercely through the cracked window, causing rainbows to appear on the floor. Soubi's darkened, sleep deprived eyes drifted towards the light. At that same moment, he could have sworn he saw a little and a big butterfly fluttering together move across the window. A few minutes passed and the fighter looked down at the sleeping Ritsuka who had rolled to face him in his sleep. Soubi smiled and sighed, staring at the ceiling.
"I need a cigarette."
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Ending Notes: Awwww.... That was cute. Yay for fluffy-ness!! x3 And if you were expecting yaoi, then I'm really sorry. I'm one of those fans of Loveless that wants Ritsuka to keep his ears until a decent age. Reviews much lobved.
