The Color of Chinese Bellflowers
The last chapter
Ritsuka lay on his back in the okay's courtyard. Since his owner knew about his love for nature and the outdoors, Soubi had made absolutely sure that their courtyard was large and breathtaking. It was, really. The entire floor of it was carpeted with lush emerald grasses which currently tickled at the back of Ritsuka's neck. Soubi also made sure to give it that hard cut structure of a traditional Japanese garden that Ritsuka loved so much. The courtyard was almost modeled after Soubi's former garden, but yet since it had much less space there were no pathways or bridges. A few Irohakaede or Japanese Maple trees sprinkled around the edges of the grassy space, the dark haired teen loved those trees the most in the fall when their leaves took on a deep crimson shade.
A gentle breeze licked at the teen's face, forearms, hands and feet, all of the areas that were exposed to the night air. Large rounded orbs peered up at the night sky. Ritsuka always thought his eyes looked more like a westerners than that of an Asians. The sky half obscured by trees and roofs of the buildings around the okiya was a deep shade of navy. Beacons of stars lazily dripped and splattered on to the canvas of the night sky were outshined by the full moon that lit up the courtyard as if it were day. Despite the breathtaking scenes above and around him, Ritsuka had not a single thought in his mind. Instead he drifted into a peaceful trance lulled on by the stars. No thought reached his mind and no sound reached his ears.
Until this sound. "The grass is wet you know and it is chilly out, you will catch a cold if you aren't careful."
It was the familiarly comforting voice of Soubi. "I'm being careful. And besides look," Ritsuka rubbed one hand gently on the grass then held it up so the other man could see it. "The rain from yesterday is all dried up."
Agatsuma smiled softly in defeat, "okay okay. There's no need to convince me." His socked feet padded over to the teen, who looked over. "Soubi?"
"Yes?"
"You wear your socks even in a place like the courtyard?" Ritsuka wriggled his free toes. "Feet were made to feel grass between your toes."
His brows furrowed, but Soubi's smile didn't die down. "I thought that was sand?"
"Sand is fine too, I guess. But I like grass just as well."
Soubi chuckled, taking a seat in the grass next to Ritsuka. Unlike the younger one he didn't lay down, he just leaned back on his hands. "Ritsuka?"
Wide eyes wandered over to Soubi's face. "What is it?"
"I need to ... talk to you about something." His face was serious.
Ritsuka sat up and turned to the man, crossing his legs in a lazy indian style. "Fine with me. What do you want to talk about?"
"I want to talk about us."
.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.
Yuiko giggled. Her large sparkling eyes rested on Kio's. The older maids hands were holding open one of Yuiko's. A long finger grazed over the lines on her palm. "Ahh I can see your future in the palm of your hand Yuiko! Did you know I could do things like that?"
"Wow! Really? I think Kio's lying." She said. That large smile not ever leaving her face.
"Lying?" he repeated, his face falling into a teasing pout. "Oh yeah well I'll show you." Pausing he stared long and hard at her palm, eyes tracing over the lines and the patterns they made. "Here look, this line means you will grow up someday!"
Her brows furrowed. "I'm growing right now though, that isn't my future!"
"Growing isn't your future? It hasn't happened yet you know."
Yuiko couldn't think of anything to retort with. Her mouth opened, but then closed again. Apparently whatever thought she had before flew away over the rainbow. Over the past two months Kio and Yuiko had grown much closer. Since they were the maids of the house they had to spend a lot of time together working as a team to get various jobs done. At first Yuiko found it strange, she was used to having to clean up on her own while the other maids worked alone on their own projects. But when Kio rolled up his sleeves and smiled at her that one day she decided what used to be wasn't important. Unexpectedly her feelings for Ritsuka faded, she realized he was more of a great friend than man material.
"Hello? Earth to Yui-chan? Who's in that head of yours? It certainly isn't Yuiko right now!" Kio playfully knocked on the girls forehead like it was someone's front door.
This snapped her out of it. A pink blush tinted her cheeks, "I'm sorry! But Kio, anyone could guess that I would grow. I'm supposed to! You can't foretell something that is supposed to happen!"
"Shh." Kio silenced her with a soft kiss on the lips. Yuiko kept herself from smiling into it, and closed her eyes. His hands were on either side of her face, managing to pull her closer.
"Uwahh! Kio's a pervert! Kissing on a girl that is so much younger than he is, gross!" Youji shouted a bit too loudly.
"Youji!" Natsuo exclaimed, grabbing his counterparts hands and pulling him closer. "You interrupted them, that wasn't nice." His eyes bore into the others, with a slight smile that graced his features.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to." Skillfully Youji intertwined their fingers, and turned to look at the couple sitting in the floor.
Yuiko had her hands over her face, hiding the intense redness in her cheeks. Kio's eyes were closed in a grimace, his face turned slowly towards the infamous duo. "You know you guys," his eyes opened to stare at them, "you really shouldn't -"
Dead silence.
"Kio?" Yuiko pulled her face out of her hands to look up at her koibito, who was gawking at the two boys. She turned her eyes to them. What was he staring at? Natsuo still wore an eye patch, Youji's face was twisted in to a smirk like it was most of the time. Her eyes wandered still upward.
"WHEN ... HOW DID THIS HAPPEN?!" Kio exclaimed, jumping up from his seat and running up to the two. His large hand ran over the space above their heads. "You're ears! Their gone!"
Youji's voice dripped with sarcasm. "Oh Kio doesn't know how to loose ears? He must have been drunk when he lost his. You see when two people really like each other..."
"I know how people loose their ears, damnit!" Kio haphazardly smacked Youji on the back of the head.
Natsuo was laughing, "maybe you should think twice about leaving us in the okiya alone, when you take everyone out for dinner next time."
Kio's face dropped.
.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.
"About us?" Ritsuka repeated. Trying his best he wrinkled his nose up, only to have one of Soubi's fingers reach out and trace over it. "Don't do that," the older one said. "You will wrinkle up your pretty face."
Ritsuka sighed, his act wasn't very convincing. "Why would you want to talk about something like that?" Hugging his knees to his chest he took his eyes off of the older man to stare up at the rounded moon.
"A soul can not sit comfortably when it is caged, Ritsuka." Reaching out he pulled Ritsuka's knees away from his chest. It made the boy feel exposed, how did Soubi know that he would do that if he wanted to keep something inside of himself?
"We humans are as the stars are, flickering brightly. But for how long can we flicker before we extinguish ourselves?" Soubi spoke softly, his metaphor having many different meanings for Ritsuka. The teen stood up abruptly.
"You're talking like a book of Haikus Soubi, I can't understand things like that." His eyes stared guiltily at the ground, he hated lying to this man.
Nonchalantly Soubi pushed his glasses further up the bridge of his nose. "It isn't that you can't understand it, the problem is you won't understand."
Ritsuka flinched. The words Soubi was handing to him stung like a flame licking at his body. "I still don't understand what you're trying to say to me." The teen turned towards the okiya in an attempt to leave. Soubi's words stopped him before he could. "You have something to tell me. I think, it's something that you've kept bottled up inside of you for a while now."
A strange fear gripped the younger boy. His whole body tensed as one giant muscle. "Be quiet."
"It's something that hurts you to keep contained."
Ritsuka's hands flew up to his chest, clawing it to contain the heart which was betraying him. "I said be quiet."
"You're scared, Ritsuka. I can see you trembling even in the darkness of night."
It was true, the geisha was trembling terribly. "Shut up, Soubi!"
"You don't have to be so scared, stop holding back your heart and let it go."
Ritsuka's arms flew across his chest, holding on to his shoulders. "Shut up!" Collapsing to his knees, he fell before Soubi. "I said shut up, please. I can't, I cant..." his words barely managed to scrape out as his voice was delicate and breaking.
"You can't what, Ritsuka? Tell me." Soubi's voice stayed calm and collected through the whole thing.
"I can't let you know, I won't allow myself to..." he stopped. A sob wretched in his throat that didn't let any words pass. Tears welled in his large eyes.
This time his voice was quiet, and had a more comforting undertone. "You won't allow yourself to what? Please don't be afraid of me," he cooed.
Ritsuka let out a soft sob, falling forward and landing on Soubi's chest with his arms wrapped tightly around the older ones neck. Allowing his tears to flow freely, they soaked through the fabric of the new westerner styled shirt Soubi was wearing. Not taking a single moment to hesitate Soubi's long arms wrapped around Ritsuka's torso pulling him close, a hand intertwined with the hairs on the back of the teens head. "Take your time Ritsuka, it is okay. However much time you need I will wait. I'll always be listening to your words like each one is a jewel, because they are."
Saying that only made Ritsuka hold on to him tighter. His heart beat wildly threatening to jump out of his chest. "I can't allow myself to love you Soubi," he admitted through his soft sobs. The older man's eyes widened, and drifted down to the top of Ritsuka's head. Gently his lips rested on the top of the boy's head, his nose taking in the rosewood scent of Ritsuka's hair. "Keep going." He whispered huskily into the silky strands.
"My mind refuses my heart to think so but Soubi, I love you." His voice still unsure of itself through weeping. "I love you, I love you, I love you so much it hurts." Ritsuka cried. His face was a shade of blood red, so much so that it stung his skin. Soubi's voice barely reached him through the frenzied beating inside of his chest. With a few short yet very convincing words Soubi had persuaded Ritsuka to spill forth the words he held sacred in the pit of his heart for so long now. "Please don't sell me, please don't get rid of me." he begged. "I can put aside my feelings for you I can become the greatest geisha Gion has ever known. I will earn all the money in the world there is to earn if you please please don't get rid of me. Don't punish me for this."
"Get rid of you..." Soubi mused. Ritsuka's mind froze over completely. He knew it. He knew this was going to happen. Opening his mouth and blabbering onto his chest had only turned the man away from him. Never again, Ritsuka thought, will I trust my heart. His mind raced as Soubi's hands slid into the space between them, pushing the smaller one away. Ritsuka's eyes gazed to the side to somewhere very far away.
"I could never imagine getting rid of you Ritsuka, or even punishing you. I couldn't." A long delicate finger reached out to hold up Ritsuka's face by his chin. "Did you know, your eyes are the color of Chinese Bellflowers?" Ritsuka blushed, the man was staring straight into his eyes. The teen also noticed that Soubi's eyes glittered a brilliant golden color. A small silence spaced out between them. Ritsuka's pleading eyes stared up at the man. "Please speak Soubi just speak, let me hear your voice again." he begged.
"I'm never letting you go Ritsuka, and I'm sorry that you thought I would. Always listen to your heart first, it is the most true part of you. To tell the truth, I don't care much if you're the greatest Geisha in the entire world. You will always be the greatest person in my eyes Ritsuka."
His heart froze, large eyes widening even more. His words came out in clumsy stutters, "what are you, what are you trying to say?" Even more so now than ever the boy was trembling in Soubi's arms.
"I'm trying to say what I've told you all along Ritsuka, I love you."
Ritsuka's eyes seemed wary, and his face showed it as well. Understandably the teen was apprehensive. "But you've said that before you know, how can I be sure?" Ritsuka asked, gulping audibly afterwards.
Wordlessly, without warning or explanation Soubi's face grew closer to the teens. One hand held his chin up, the other stroked lovingly at the side of Ritsuka's face. Soubi's warm breaths were hot against Ritsuka's pink lips, causing his heart to skip a beat. Was this real? Was this actually happening? Soubi's stroking hand paused only to remove his glasses and lay them gently in the grass and them resumed it's place on his face. Now Soubi's eyes were clear and more intense than before. His stare was hard and loving, pinning the teen under his gaze. Ritsuka was being seduced by the moment, and as Soubi's face came in even closer his eyes lulled shut.
Full of purpose, Soubi's lips pressed against Ritsuka's in a gentle yet breathtaking kiss. This is truly how kisses were supposed to be, Ritsuka thought. Loving, not fearful or awkward with drunkenness. Shakily Ritsuka's hands reached up clutching at the collar of Soubi's shirt, pulling him closer. Ritsuka's legs were straddled over the older mans lap, allowing their bodies to press together even more. "It's not enough Soubi" Ritsuka mumbled through the kiss. Soubi parted their lips by a fraction of a centimeter, "how can I make it enough? Please tell me, I will do anything for you." Their lips brushed together as they spoke. "I want to be by your side forever Soubi, I love you so much please stay with me for as long as you can." Ritsuka pleaded.
"I will stay with you forever Ritsuka, I will never leave your side. We've gone too far to go back."
Ritsuka smiled gleefully, as their lips pressed together in a needing wanting and loving kiss that needed no explanation.
Disclaimer: Loveless is property of Yun Kouga.
OK SO FIRST THING: I apologize for my chapter being a day late. Someone recently passed away and I was at their viewing yesterday, the chapter completely skipped my mind.
A/N: TOTAL CHEESEBALL FLUFFY PUFFS 8D. I put all of this at the end so you guys could jump straight in to the chapter. I hope you like Ritsuka's confession! My heart was beating so fast when I wrote it! And thanks to my friends Katie C. and Rachel (InsomniaOnHigh) for giving me good ideas for this chapter. Please let me know what you guys thought about my fanfiction! AND
I might make a sequel. It depends on if you guys feel this story needs one, and if so it will most likely be centered around Seimei. So give me your feedback!