A/N- I hope everyone had a marvelous Easter; I know I did. Watching my family try to play DDR was the highlight of my life, and should be the next comedy hit! Haha
Also, I was looking back to chapter 2 and in the beginning Ritsuka asks to watch Soubi paint, but in chapter 1, Soubi didn't want Ritsuka to see what it was that he was painting. We're going to assume that Soubi switched paintings when Kio came over, and I am deeply sorry if I confused anyone; I know I confused myself.
Anyways, here's the next chapter, so enjoy!
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About a month had passed, and Soubi hadn't felt the presence of that man lurking around outside of his apartment. Ritsuka had been as clueless as ever, but Soubi thought that that was for the best. He didn't want Ritsuka to worry more than he already did when he first came to stay with him.
Even though it had been only a month, to Soubi, it felt like he'd known Ritsuka all his life. He had watched Ritsuka carefully and figured out what he likes and what irritates him to no end. Like how Ritsuka will eat fish with rice, but if it was touching the rice on the plate, he would push it away and not eat it at all. "So that's why he always offers to serve the rice." Soubi thought the first time he had seen Ritsuka do that. He also noticed that Ritsuka will only drink milk, cold or warm, in a mug. When Soubi asked him why he wouldn't drink milk in a glass, Ritsuka responded, "It's because I despise the sight of milk, but I love the taste. If it's in a mug, than I won't be able to see that I'm drinking it." Soubi laughed at his answer, which upset Ritsuka, and his punishment was Ritsuka avoiding him all day. He remembered it being a very lonely day, even when he went to hang out with Kio and he thought of their conversation when they were at the café.
"I still can't believe you took in that kid, Sou-chan. I mean, what about his parents? Aren't they worried that some 20 year old has their son?" Kio swirled his tea with a spoon as he waited for Soubi to answer him.
"He doesn't have any parents, and he wouldn't tell me about his previous living arrangements, but I'm guessing that they weren't good. And I don't think that you should worry about it, Kio. I know what I am doing, and that is taking care of Ritsuka. I am nothing more than a care taker and a friend." Soubi watched as Kio put down the spoon and leaned across the table towards Soubi.
"Than why won't you go out with me? I've been waiting for you patiently, Sou-chan, but every time I see you with that kid, I feel like I keep falling farther and farther from you. I can't help but think that one day, you'll have no need for me anymore, and I'll be cast away; because you're not only my crush and my love, but also my friend." Kio looked down dejectedly at his tea, and was surprised to feel a warm hand on top of his. Soubi had compassion in his eyes as he spoke.
"You're not being cast aside; it's just that Ritsuka needs me right now. I promise that everything will be back to normal soon, but I'm sorry, I can not accept your love." Soubi removed his hand from Kio's and rose from the table. Kio desperately tried to keep Soubi from leaving.
"It's because you love Ritsuka, but how could you do that to him? Just think about that before you do anything too drastic. Goodbye Sou-chan."
It had been 5 days since then, and Soubi couldn't get that last line out of his head. What was Kio warning him about anyways? As he was pondering over his potential predicament, Soubi watched Ritsuka sleep on the comforter that he placed on the floor.
Ritsuka's lithe body breathed in and out, causing his chest to rise and fall slowly, which put Soubi at ease. The neko-boy's tail subconsciously wrapped around his ankle as his ears hung loosely off of the mass of midnight hair. This was Soubi's favorite time; not because it was silent, but because Ritsuka had that calm look that only occurred when he was in a deep sleep. The boy was always too serious, and needed to learn to break down some of his defenses. This was on Soubi's 'To Do' list; first have Ritsuka trust him, next break down his defensive wall(s), finally protect him from whomever tries to take him back.
While Soubi was thinking about his 'list', he failed to notice Ritsuka stir and sit up, rubbing his eyes. Ritsuka padded over quietly to where Soubi was deep in thought and sat down next to him, with a blanket around his shoulders. Ritsuka loved watching Soubi when he was like this. It was like he was off in his own little world. From the way his brows furrowed when there was a problem, to the far off gaze that sometimes adorned his flawless face, Ritsuka loved it all. He also peeked over Soubi's shoulder to see what he was working on. Just like he thought, another butterfly. Didn't Soubi have anything else to paint? His butterflies were beautiful and exotic in their own way, but wouldn't he get bored of painting them over and over again? This particular one had deep purple wings with a black outline. Towards the inside of the wings, the shade got lighter and lighter, but it ended before a shade of white appeared. The backdrop was a night sky with rain falling on half of the canvas. The butterfly was flying towards the other side; the lighter side. And as it was reaching its destination, its appearance had a brighter look to it without having to change the colors. Overall, it was one of Soubi's best paintings yet.
As Soubi finished pondering over how to decipher Kio's message, he noticed a shadow of black swirling up and down his leg. He looked down and saw a tail; Ritsuka's tail. He watched as the boy bore his eyes into the artwork as if his life depended on it. Soubi knew Ritsuka would be unresponsive if he was concentrating hard enough, so he took this as an opportunity and captured the subconsciously moving tail. When Soubi got a hold of it, he started at the tip and ran his hands up gently until he reached the base. This seemed to have gotten the neko-boy's attention as he jumped up and yelped. He looked down at a smirking Soubi and bent over to grab his blanket and wrap himself in his self-made cocoon.
"Soubi, what was that for?" A shocked Ritsuka stood an arm's length away from the perverted adult.
Soubi looked up sheepishly "Well, I had to get your attention somehow, and as luck would have it, your tail was infatuated with my leg. It was a 2-for-1 deal that I had to take."
"You could have broken my trance some other way; you didn't have to be a pervert about it. And my tail was most certainly NOT touching you." Ritsuka let his head drop and his hair cover his eyes while trying to hide the blush forming from ear to ear. Soubi took note of this and got up to stand behind Ritsuka. He bent over a bit so that he could reach Ritsuka's ears and whispered, "I told you, I am not a pervert, but if your tail was that interested in me, I wonder what the rest of you thinks of me."
Ritsuka got so red, that he blew up in Soubi's face. "STOP IT! I told you, I wasn't touching you, and I DON'T think of you as anything BUT a friend! So please, just stop…" Ritsuka couldn't help the tears that were falling and instantly felt a pair of strong, warm arms pull him until they were completely around his waist. Ritsuka buried his head into Soubi's chest and took tight fistfuls of his shirt. Soubi ran comforting circles on the small of Ritsuka's back to help calm him down as he spoke sorrowful words. "I am sorry Ritsuka, I did not mean to cause you harm. Please forgive me, and show me your beautiful eyes. I hate seeing them sad and distressed. Let me help clear these tears that I have caused." Ritsuka glanced up to see Soubi's worried eyes and shot his head back down, but Soubi was quicker and raised it back up. He gently wiped the tears away with one hand as the other one massaged his cat ears. After Ritsuka stopped crying, he detached himself from Soubi and took a couple of steps back. Soubi watched the broken Ritsuka stumble through the studio and called him back. "Hey Ritsuka, would you like to go out and grab a bite to eat? Then after, we can go to the park, or just walk around; whatever you want to do. So, how bout it?"
Ritsuka's ears perked up and a small smile shown through the dark hair as he nodded. "Ok, let's go" Ritsuka went to the door to put on his shoes and slide into his coat. When they were both ready, Ritsuka grabbed Soubi's hand and pulled him out of the apartment as they set off on their little adventure.
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A/N- Yea, so I know I talked at the beginning of the chapter, but please bear with me. I didn't really like the ending of this chapter. I wrote the first half about a week ago, and decided to finish it today. So I am deeply sorry if this chapter sux, but I have an idea or two for the next one. This didn't really have any importance, it was just a chapter for them to get closer, and I don't know if it's just me, but it seems like Ritsuka is always crying. Well, you know what to do, so please review and like I said before, if you have any ideas or criticism, they are appreciated and highly recommended. Thanks again!
Much luv,
XOiHeaRTMiLoOX