A/N: This story was written by me and edited by my friend for a contest at a Loveless LJ community we participated in as a team. It's not the best, but I certainly hope you'll enjoy it. :)

Author: Sadil

Beta/Proof-read/Edit: Dix Princesse

Rating: PG

Paring(s): Ritsuka/Soubi

Warnings: This fic is set after the final (12th) episode of Loveless. It may contain spoilers.

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"Nghn…" Ritsuka stretched lazily in his bed as the first of the morning sun's rays gently caressed his face. His mind still in its sleepy haze, his purple orbs opened to welcome the new day – only coming to rest on a head planted on the edge of his bed with its owner's arms tucked beneath it, strands of its dirty blonde sprawled about.

The young boy gave a yelp. "Wh- what…. Soubi!" His eyes went wide and he propped himself on his elbows. His left eye twitched slightly at the sight and his mind raced. Since when had Soubi been there? He surely wasn't there when the boy had gone to sleep. His apparent reaction, anger, to the other's presence was the most prominent but he couldn't help feeling a bit happy as well.

"SOUBI!" he shouted at the steadily breathing young man. Alas, he continued sleeping. "Sou-bi!" he tried again and shook Soubi's shoulder. Yet again to no avail. Unsure of what to do now, Ritsuka crawled from beneath the covers and got out of bed, now standing next to Soubi's sleeping form. He heaved a sigh and shook his head. "Geeze." Well, now that he was up…. He might as well go and take a bath.

The boy undressed himself and washed his body thoroughly before sinking into the hot water. He felt his muscles relax almost instantly and shut his eyes. Today was Saturday, with no plans made. Maybe he could drop by Yayoi's place and play that new console game he bought the other day. Or perhaps there was something interesting to do at Yuiko's… He stared at his toes at the other end of the tub sticking out of the water and wiggled them a bit. But first he had to deal with his unexpected visitor.

Ritsuka sunk further into the water until only his eyes were right above the surface. Soubi… He still hadn't figured it out. He liked Soubi, but he also liked Yuiko, Yayoi, sensei…. Why was Soubi so special? Because he said he loved him? The boy tilted his head back and gasped for fresh air, then sitting straight up causing the water to splash over the tub's edge.

No. Soubi was special because he was Seimei's fighter. Soubi was special because…because…

"Want me to wash your back for you?" a deep voice rang.

Ritsuka started and in a reflex tried to cover his body with his arms and drew his legs up. "S-Soubi!"

Soubi's smiling face was only inches away from his. "What were you staring off into space for? Were you thinking about me?"

"W-wh- NO! What are you doing here! I'm taking a bath!"

The young man blinked, but then smiled again. "Yes, that's why I offered to wash your back."

Ritsuka had turned quite red by now and his ears were curled down. He tightened the grip around his own body, his knees pressed against his chest as he averted his gaze to the floor. "I already washed it myself."

"I see." Soubi replied, his arms resting on the tub's edge. His eyes never let go of the cute blushing face of the young boy who was obviously at a loss of what to do.

The boy shut his eyes tightly, becoming more and more uncomfortable under that intense gaze. Finally he snapped and sprung forward to push Soubi away with a "GO AWAY!", spilling almost half the contents of the tub over the edge and over Soubi. But before he realised it, his feet had slipped on the smooth surface of the bathtub and he pushed Soubi back in order to regain balance. Though in vain, for they had both tumbled onto the floor... with a naked Ritsuka on top.

Ritsuka groaned after the slight impact on Soubi's chest, who coughed and sat back upright resting his weight on his hands. Initially it didn't dawn on the boy he was in fact still naked and he just instinctively concentrated on getting up. But the cold air on his bare skin didn't leave much for the imagination.

One silent second passed. Three. Six.

"GET OOOOOOOUUUUUUUUUUT!"

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"Why the hell were you sleeping on my bed anyway?"

Soubi paused in bringing the cigarette to his mouth and turned to look at Ritsuka whose hands were busy towelling his hair dry.

"I wanted to see you."

Ritsuka gave a half-growl and threw the towel at Soubi who caught it in his free hand.

"You could have waited until this morning to come!"

"I could have."

"… Then why didn't you!"

The young man exhaled the smoke from his lungs and got up from the floor. "You never said I couldn't come visit you at night."

This was obviously frustrating the young boy. "Then from now on you won't come into my room unless I tell you to!"

"Is that an order?"

"YES IT IS."

Soubi's lips curled into a smile. "All right then."

Ritsuka huffed and stared angrily at Soubi's calm eyes. That guy could be so annoying! And he still hadn't answered his question properly. "Why did you want to see me?" he questioned with his mad pout.

"I want to take you somewhere special today."

Ritsuka blinked in a bit of surprise. "Somewhere special? Where?"

Soubi just smiled and cocked his head to the side. "That's a surprise. We'll go right after you get dressed."

Ritsuka was silent for a few moments, but eventually gave a slow nod. He turned to get dressed under Soubi's watchful eyes.

"I love you, Ritsuka."

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"How much longer?" Ritsuka asked, his eyes focused on his own reflection in the bus's window, occasionally shifting them to look at the surroundings which flashed by.

Soubi was quietly seated beside the boy, one hand resting on his thigh and the other on the seat as he too looked out the window. He hadn't spoken much at all unless Ritsuka asked him something.

"Not long. Only a few more minutes."

Ritsuka remained quiet. He was too busy trying to figure out where they were going and trying to sort out these mixed emotions, these unfamiliar feelings. Although he had agreed to let Soubi take him some place special, he couldn't feel comfortable not knowing where they were headed.

…did he love Soubi? His eyes unconsciously widened a bit, producing an odd sight of himself as he saw it in his reflection. Why did he think of that all of the sudden? He bit his lower lip and shut his eyes.

More importantly, how long was Soubi going to say he felt that way for him? Where would their odd relationship end up? What was going to happen to them? All these questions made him dizzy.

"We're here."

Ritsuka snapped out of his reverie at the sound of the other's voice. He then blinked and focused his eyes on what lay on the other side of the glass. His eyes widened again. "A hot spring?"

Soubi smiled and offered his hand, which the boy took, before they both got off the bus and stood in front of the building's entrance.

"What's so special about a hot spring?" asked the young boy, looking at the double doors of a traditional looking house.

The young man shifted his glasses a bit and looked down to him. "This is not just any hot spring. It is said that when you bathe in the water and say a wish out loud it will be granted almost instantly."

Ritsuka frowned at this. "And you believe that?"

Soubi grinned. "You won't know if it's true until you tried it."

The sacrifice gave his fighter a slight look and let Soubi led him inside.

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Soubi had told him to go on ahead into the springs while he went to go arrange a dinner. "It doesn't look any different from normal baths…" he mused, looking around at the springs' surroundings.

It appeared that there was no one really there for the moment so it gave him some time to think. The silence comforted him as he settled into the hot water.

If he wanted to make a wish, what would he wish for? The first thought that came to his mind was wishing for Seimei to come back to life and come home, or for his mother to accept him as Ritsuka. Wasn't that a bit of a selfish wish though?

The water rippled as he leaned his back against a rock, watching the steam rise from the water. Perhaps it was impossible… More than likely… Who the hell believed in wishes from a hot spring coming true anyway?

"I wish… I wish I know what I feel for Soubi."

How much did he like Soubi? To what extent?

For a moment, the steam seemed to become denser. Ritsuka straightened himself up and stared into the thick layer of steam, only to find it clearing up again almost immediately. The door to his right slid open.

"Ritsuka?"

The world seemed to stop. Ritsuka's heart skipped a beat and his pupils widened so far there was only a thin circle of his iris visible. "S-Soubi…" he stammered in response. The sudden urge to jump out of the water and cling to Soubi as if his life depended on him captivated him, froze him to the spot.

Soubi stepped into the water with a white towel around his waist, approaching Ritsuka with a calculating expression on his face. "Ritsuka, are you all right?"

The boy's tail twitched and his muscles finally brought motion to his limbs. "Soubi." He whispered and made his way through the hot water towards a puzzled Soubi. "Soubi!" With a loud sob the boy clung vigorously to Soubi's bare chest, digging his fingers into the young man's back as he sobbed with tears rolling down his cheeks.

Soubi was speechless. Unsure what had caused this sudden outburst, he made an attempt to pry the boy off his body so he could properly hold him and ask him what was wrong. The harder he attempted to get rid of the boy though, the more tightly he was clung to and the louder the sobs echoed between the walls.

"Ri-Ritsuka… What's wrong?"

"Soubi," sobbed the boy. "Don't leave me… STAY! Don't go!"

The young man blinked. Why this all of a sudden?

"TELL ME YOU WON'T LEAVE ME!"

Then, a warm smile spread across Soubi's face. "I won't leave you. I love you, Ritsuka."

The boy looked up at the other's face with tear-streaked cheeks, eyes wide in a mixture of happiness and fear. Soubi cupped his cheeks with both hands and brought his face down, joining their lips momentarily. And possibly for the first time, Ritsuka returned the kiss. The boy blushed and felt new tears well up in his eyes and wondered why. Why did he have this sudden fear? What was this overwhelming warmth spreading in his chest?

'I love him.'

The words echoed in his mind.

'I love him. I love him…love him…love…him…'

That was how he truly felt…

So all that was left to wonder was…what now?

He didn't know the path that lay ahead of them. He didn't know what destination awaited them, what the journey would pour upon them. The only thing he knew was that Soubi was going to be with him, and right now that was all that mattered.

Life is so strange, but as long as they are side by side they will face destination unknown without fear.