Ritsuka wears his heart on his sleeve.
It was very unusual for Soubi not to know exactly what was going on with Ritsuka. The fact that his Sacrifice tried to hide it anyway was something Soubi found impossibly endearing. Every whisper of a feeling that entered Ritsuka's heart was telegraphed through his entire body: his darting eyes, his reddening cheeks, his quickening breath.
To Soubi, who had grown up among people who considered it a great achievement to wear a mask made of stone while bearing witness to every conceivable atrocity, Ritsuka's salient manner was nothing short of astounding. Soubi marveled at it daily. Ritsuka seemed to him like a brilliant scarlet flower, blossoming wantonly in the middle of an endless desert, undaunted by the fact there was nothing around him for miles and miles but dull, colorless sand.
Ritsuka's never-ending embarrassment at the silliest things was a perpetual source of amusement for Soubi. In order for them to get to the local park from Ritsuka's school, they had to walk by a certain store that had large pictures in the window advertising pornographic videos. Soubi never said a word about it, but every single time they passed by, Ritsuka would flush to his roots, tighten his grip on Soubi's hand and speed up his pace. It seemed to Soubi that if Ritsuka's kitty ears weren't so dark, he would be able to see them redden all the way to the tips. In the past he might have teased Ritsuka about it, but now he just smiled to himself and patiently waited the requisite two blocks or so for Ritsuka to get over his chagrin and be able to look at him again.
There were times when Soubi was very grateful for this ingenuous tendency of Ritsuka's, because he knew there were things that his Sacrifice found difficult to express in words, particularly those that were very painful to him. Whenever they happened to be in the park on a day when there were many families present, especially mothers and sons showing affection toward one another, Ritsuka would become very quiet and withdraw into himself.
Once they had watched a little dark-haired boy who very much resembled a five-year-old Ritsuka fall down and scrape his forearm. His heart-rending cries echoed through the park and his mother was all aflutter trying to soothe him. She immediately dropped to the ground and pulled him into her arms, telling him everything was going to be all right, petting him gently. Then she pulled a cloth and a bandage out of her bag and fixed him up right there, while the small boy stood blinking back his tears, amazed. She smiled and told him sweetly, "See? Mama made it all better. Don't you worry: Mama will always protect you. That's what mamas are for."
That's what mamas are for.
Ritsuka had watched this entire scene frozen like a statue, his hand clutching Soubi's very tightly. Soubi knew he was trying very hard to be brave and not to cry. He was well aware that Ritsuka hated crying in public; it humiliated him, and he was terrified that everyone was looking and thinking that there was something wrong with him. The pressure to be "normal" and blend in was very intense for Ritsuka. Soubi could tell that under the surface, the bubbling cauldron of his Sacrifice's troubled emotions was spilling over: he couldn't give in, he should be ashamed of himself, everyone will know he was just faking it, he wasn't like everybody else, he could never, ever be like them…
Soubi felt Ritsuka's breath catch and he knew what was coming: Ritsuka was about to bolt, to run away to be alone with his anguish, and he would order Soubi not to follow. Before that could happen, Soubi wrapped his arms tightly around his Sacrifice, who immediately started squirming. Soubi responded by pulling him even closer, pressing his lips to Ritsuka's ear.
"Ritsuka. Ritsuka, I will always protect you. That's what Fighters are for."
That's what Fighters are for.
Ritsuka's whole body collapsed into Soubi's arms. He stopped struggling and clung to his Fighter desperately, his grief-stricken tears wetting Soubi's thin shirt, tight fists clutching at the soft fabric.
"Soubi..."
"I love you, Ritsuka. I will always love you."
Soubi had held him and stroked his soft kitten ears until he was okay again, saying a silent prayer of thanks that he, and he alone, could perceive and protect his Sacrifice's fragile little heart.