Disclaimer: I don't flipping own.

Summary: Ritsuka asks a lot of questions about his life so far. Both he and Soubi reminice about how they met and what is going to happen to them now. Read and review.

Warning: Strong suggestive matter, prossible lemons. YAOI/SHOUNEN-AI! Adult on adolescent subject matter.

Recommandation: Do not read if you do not like what the warning says. I will not tolerate any flaming if you don't like what you read, you will be reported emmediatly. (If the flame is about the couple or content of which you have been warned of.)

A/N: Damn, it's eighteen before one in the morning and here's another chapter! It's almost been a full twelve hours since I've been working on this story! yay! Enjoy this chapter!

Because of you

Chapter Fourth: Speechless

Ritsuka woke the next morning and felt sore everywhere. What happened last night? He cracked his eyes open and looked around the room, there was a little sunlight coming in through a small slit in the blinds. He tried to sit up but pain shot through his entire body and his head pounded wildly. He had cried for so long and now he was feeling the consequences. Why am I sore though? Then he remembered Soubi's lips on his and his hands on his body. "No! We didn't..." He trailed off and felt for his ears and tail but before he could touch either of them, Soubi had grabbed his wrists and pinned them over his head. That's when Ritsuka noticed that he was naked...both of them were. "Soubi!" Ritsuka twisted his body and thrashed against the elder man's grip.

"Ritsuka, calm down, you will only hurt yourself." Was all Soubi said, and surprisingly, the boy stopped moving and looked innocently up at his fighter.

"Did we...Did you take my ears?" Ritsuka couldn't clearly remember what had happened the night before and it didn't help that they were both naked in the same bed.

Soubi leaned down and nibbled the boy's human ear and thought sadly to himself. So this is how he would've reacted to me afterwards. He let go of his wrists slowly and licked the shell of Ritsuka's ear. The boy shivered and nearly moaned but groaned in protest when Soubi moved away and stood beside the bed then walked to his drawer. He picked a set of clothes and pulled them on silently, never turning to look at Ritsuka's confused gaze.

"Soubi - "

"We did not have sex last night Ritsuka." Was all he said as he opened the door to his appartment. "I need to get some things at the grocery store for breakfast, you should take a shower while I'm gone." He walked over the frame of the door and said one last thing before he closed the door behind him. "Happy fifteenth birthday Ritsuka." When the door was closed, Ritsuka just stared at the wood with his mouth slightly opened.

He remembered... He thought to himself and felt like smiling. But then he remebered something. He quickly got up and ran to the bathroom to make sure that his ears and tail were still in place. For some reason, he felt like he shouldn't still have them. He sighed and turned to the shower stall and opened the water valves, putting his hand under the foset to make sure it was the right temperature. He then remebered everything that had happened the day before. The funeral, him running and Soubi hugging him, Soubi carrying him back to his appartment and laying him in his bed, his request and...The kiss He thought as he touched his bottom lip in wonderment.

He had been horrible to Soubi. He had been heartless, he hadn't cared for his feelings. I called him a liar... Ritsuka brought his hands in front of his face, tears mingling with the water on his face. What have I done? He clenched his fists and shut his eyes tight, squeezing the tears from his eyes. After a while of silent scrubing and reflexion, Ritsuka had developped a plan, and he only had about five to ten minutes to start putting it in gear. Ritsuka quickly dried off and went to Soubi's closet and selected the biggest button shirt he could find. He also chose a pair of boxers and some socks and started rummaging through the small appartment.

He found a desk that had a lock in the living room and decided to pick through it. I'm going to have to hurry if I want to know when Soubi's birthday is... With his toungue stuck out and two pins, Ritsuka set to work. He looked at the clock and noticed that Soubi should be there any minute. Just by chance, the lock gave away and finally he was able to open the drawer. It was filled with various sketches but that wasn't what he was looking for. He was looking for an agenda or a birth certificate, anything that could tell him when his birthday was. That when he saw it. A diary? Ritsuka almost laughed out loud at his discovery. He started leafing through and noticed that it was an old diary form when he was really young. He stopped at a page where there was a dried flower and a baloon. Ritsuka read the entry date, it said March 8th. He smiled. Just like what today is.

He started to read the content of the entry but didn't read any further than the first line. He kept going back to make sure he wasn't dellusional.

"Today is my birthday, I'm now 16! My trainning is supposed to get harder today..."

"We were born on the same date?" Ritsuka whispered out loud and sat down on the floor, closing the book and replacing it then closing the drawer. He was stunned. Why didn't he ever tell me before? He thought. That's when he noticed that there was something in the corner of the room, covered with a white cotton cloth. Ritsuka slowly got to his feet and walked over to it. What is this? He pulled on the sheet and gasped loudly, dropping earlier mentioned sheet to the floor. There, in front of him, there was a painting of him with a beautiful background. There were words at the bottom also, it read. "With love, Soubi." These three simple words made his eyes sting with unshed tears.

Ritsuka brushed his fingers over the picture slowly, tracing every feature with care. It looks so real, it looks just like me! He then smiled, this was probably the best birthday he ever had in his entire life.

"Glad you like it, Ritsuka." A familiar voice smoothly said from behind him, making the boy spin in his direction.

Soubi had come home to be greeted by a very lovely and arousing sight. Ritsuka dressed in a loose button shirt that came down to his upper thighs and a pair of his cotton boxers. He was fingering the painting he had spent endless hours on making for his birthday. When Ritsuka turned around, he saw a small blush on his face and his eyes were wet. Is he going to cry? He thought wistfully. Soubi turned and walked into the kitchen and dropped the groceries on the table when he heard the soft padding of his companion's feet coming towards him. He felt warm arm wrapping around him from behind and Ritsuka's face pressing on the back of his neck.

"Thank you Soubi." He whispered to him.

Soubi detached the boy's arms from around and body and turned around to look into Ritsuka's eyes. He was still shorter than him, the top of his head coming to his chin. "I'm just glad you like it." He said softly and saw him frown at him then turned around to pick up what he needed to make breakfast. "I will make eggs, is that fine?" He asked.

Ritsuka looked down and muttered a small "yeah" before he looked up again and grabbed Soubi's shoulder and made him turn around. "Why didn't you take my ears last night?" He looked into his eyes, still with a small blush rosing his cheeks as Soubi impassively stared back at him.

Just when Ritsuka thought he wouldn't answer, he did. "Because you didn't want me and would regret it later."

Ritsuka's eyes widen for a moment before he replied. "But I ordered you to!"

"Maybe so, but you were not in your right mind." He argued back. Soubi picked up some eggs from the package and a frying pan then dropped some butter in it. He turned the pan on and broke two eggs then dropped them into the hot pan and melted butter. The sizzling sound and the smell of cooking butter snapped Ritsuka away from his silent pondering.

What does he mean, not in my right mind? Ritsuka sighed and sat in the living, looking at the painting Soubi had made for him. After a small while, Soubi brought a tray with two plates of egg and two glasses of orange juice and buttered toasts. He opened the door to the balcony and sat the tray on the table out there then pulled out a chair and sat down to eat. Ritsuka understood that it was time to eat so he followed suit. Breakfast went on without a word but Ritsuka watched Soubi eat all throughout the ordeal. He didn't understand why he kept trying to help him. "What are we going to do today?" Ritsuka asked without thinking.

Soubi put his now empty glass of juice down and looked at the boy sitting across from him. "I will bring you back home." He answered. Because I'm sure you do not want to stay here. He finished in his head. He looked at him for a moment longer before he looked at the sky.

"I want to stay here!" Ritsuka had stood and was leaning on his hands, his face flushed with determination. He caught himself before Soubi mistook this for an order. "Uhm - If you don't mind..." Ritsuka looked to the side and stood on his feet and a little away from the table. "I mean, I've troubled you enough already, but I'd like to stay a little longer here." He looked up at the sky. It's so peaceful too. Ritsuka closed his eyes and let the brease lift his shoulder length hair. "Soubi, let's spend the day together." He had turned his face to look at Soubi with a small smile.

Soubi's eyes had widen slightly at the boy's request. What does he want? He thought and looked at Ritsuka. He saw the smile and couldn't help but smile back at him. "As you wish." He said. Ritsuka smiled at him and ran into the appartment with the tray and dishes. He brought everything into the kitchen and rinses the plates and left them in the sink. Ritsuka turned around and saw that Soubi was leaning on the wall in the kitchen doorway, watching him.

"What are we going to do today?" Ritsuka asked smiling. He watched as Soubi walked to the drawer with the lock and retrieved something from inside then came back into the kitchen and handed him a box wrapped in a red ribbon.

"Here, open it." Ritsuka looked at Soubi quizzically but opened the box anyway. He slowly pulled on the ribbon and lifted the top half. Inside was a pair of butterfly earrings just like Soubi usually wore. He looked up at him and beamed happily.

"Thanks!" Soubi smiled softly at his sacrifice and took his hand then lead him to the bed. He beconed him to sit down and he sat in front of him. Soubi took the box from Ritsuka's hands and then turned the boy's face by soflty pushing his chin. He took the small loops that he originally had and put them in the box then picked the new ones and put them in his ears.

Ritsuka's heart was pounding loudly, Soubi was so close to him and his thouch sent shivers up and down his spine. Why am I reacting this way? He touched me before and he was pretty close to me to do so too, so why is my heart beating so fast? He felt the older man's lips press to his cheek and heard the whispered words of "happy Birthday" from Soubi. Ritsuka's face was blushing madly and he felt hot all over. His eyes were hazed and his head was spinning as if he was drunk. What is he doing to me? Ritsuka brought his hand up to try to grasp something for support because he thought he was about to fall but Soubi caught his wrist and kissed his cheek, making Ritsuka's face turn sideways. His eyes were half closed and he was sure that his face was about to conbust in flames.

Soubi didn't know what possessed him to kiss the boy's cheek but it felt so peaceful to be there with him, alone. He didn't want it to end, he wanted to follow him everywhere. For once, Soubi was speechless as to what was happening around him.

-Yuya-Sama