Author's Note :: Soooo…here is the next chapter! Umm, yeah. So Just read it. Not so much of a point…but I kind of left you hanging at the end again, so…yeah.

I do not own Loveless.

- - - -

You Saved Me

Ritsuka sat alone on the bus in his own little silence as it started to roll away from the sidewalk where Soubi was. For a few seconds he felt bad for blowing up on him like that, leaving him there and not even caring. However, it soon left him as he remembered how Soubi was acting, keeping things from him and not coming clean about things. About his hurt and pain, because he knew that he had it, he was just refusing to let it out.

The bus was weird on this part of town, more crowded and with rougher looking people. He just tried his best to ignore it though and shifted slightly in his seat. Looking down he sighed and reached into his pocket to grab his cell phone and opened it. It was like he was just expecting for Soubi to have left him a message or would have already called him…something. However there was nothing there on the screen at all, and he yearned to hear him his fighter. Would he end up calling him first? No, he couldn't do that because that would show that he was giving in and he didn't want to seem weak…at least just not yet.

Sitting there for another fifteen minutes he was still having the battle in his mind on whether or not what he should do. Finally he opened his cell phone once again and dialed Soubi's number slowly, as if he was still thinking on it. Eventually he set the phone to his ear and sat there, waiting as the other line rang endlessly…and he never answered the phone. Ritsuka was shocked, but he wouldn't make it obvious in the voicemail that he was about to leave for him.

"Soubi…we need to talk about this, call me back, okay? I…love you." He murmured before shutting the phone, it's not like he hadn't said 'I love you' to him before, but now it seemed so hard to do it since they were 'fighting' or…'arguing' or whatever this way. He still couldn't believe that he hadn't picked up the phone…why was he doing this? He was hoping that maybe he didn't hear the phone ring or he didn't have enough service to answer it…something other than the fact that Soubi might be ignoring him.

The bus was rolling to another stop, but it still wasn't his stop. He sighed and slumped in his seat slightly and kept quiet to himself, not looking at anyone else passing by him or making any contact with anybody.

Another ten minutes and finally the bus came to another stop and this was the one for Ritsuka. He stood up and moved to the front of the bus, feeling all the pairs of eyes on him as he stepped down onto the sidewalk at the bus stop. Giving off a small sigh of relief, he took out his phone to inspect it once again…still, nothing there. The boy wasn't quite ready to go home just yet. He hoped Soubi had caught another bus to get back…maybe he would go stay at his apartment to surprise him? Of course he wasn't going to apologize or anything, no, he didn't have to apologize…he had nothing to say sorry for anyway.

He walked to Soubi's apartment and was going up the stairs, jiggling the doorknob a couple of times. Locked? Hm. He looked under the rug at the door and grabbed a spar that Ritsuka had insisted that Soubi put there, and gratefully, he had. Unlocking and opening the door he was surprised at first to know that it was even locked to begin with. Where were Natsuo and Yoji? They never left the house so where were they now? He stood there in the silence before walking slowly towards Soubi's bedroom and sitting on the edge of the bed. This was when he took his phone out…once again to redial the ever-familiar number. Still, there was no answer at all. A small surge of worry went through him as he wondered if Soubi was all-right, surely he was…he was Soubi.

Gazing around the room he saw a small stack of pictures on the little nightstand next to the bed. It was of himself and Soubi, and it kind of made him smile a little. Just to know that Soubi cared everything about him, he went out of his way to keep him safe, keep him company, keep him fed…everything.

And he was just now realizing all that, it seemed. Odd how it took him this long to notice that Soubi's life revolved about Ritsuka…sure Soubi had told him many times, but he never really believed it. And now it seemed so real. He suddenly fumbled with his phone to call Soubi once again, hoping and praying that his fighter would answer him.

And still…nothing.

Ritsuka fell back onto the bed and curled up slightly, shutting his eyes. Maybe he would fall asleep and then wake up…and Soubi would be there, waiting for him, waiting to take him into his arms and kiss him…everything that the boy wanted at that moment.

- - - -

Hours later Ritsuka was being gently shaken awake by the one and only – Soubi. He perked right up once he saw him and opened his mouth to start spitting out apologies, however, he knew that he had no reason to just yet…he didn't feel bad for the things that he said. And Soubi should realize that. They stayed there in silence for a couple of seconds before Ritsuka gave into saying something first.

"So…you made it home." The boy commented lightly as he sat Indian-style on the bed now. Soubi merely nodded and took a seat next to him and the silence continued on. Ritsuka gave off a sigh and as this awkward moment never ceased to be…well, awkward.

"Look, if you don't want me here I'll ju-"

"No, Ritsuka, I want you to stay here with me tonight." The older man cut him short of his words and shifted on the bed, slipping off his shoes and jacket, leaving them carelessly on the floor. Soubi seemed a little bit of in a spaced out world. Ritsuka silently wondered to himself if it was his fault…for the outburst he'd had at him. Or maybe he was finally realizing that he needed to come out and cope with the loss of Seimei…or whatever you could call this situation. It's just that Soubi knew much more than Ritsuka did.

"Alright." Ritsuka said simply and sat there, pulling his knees up towards his chest and setting his chin against his knees, eyes shut and trying to look relaxed. Which was almost near impossible in all of this tension going on right now. "Soubi…" Ritsuka began, which was an international sign for a serious conversation. "What would I do without you? If you hadn't just jumped into my life I would be so…dead. Lifeless, I would still be dwelling on the past…I still do, but you provide a distraction at least." The boy rolled onto his back and stared up at the ceiling, waiting for Soubi's remark.

Soubi just sat there with a small smile, he remembered some conversation he'd had with Kio kind of like this. Except Kio was accusing Soubi of being a zombie, lifeless, ever since Seimei's "death". Maybe he and Ritsuka were meant for each other, both dealing with the same problem…both being accused of being quiet shut-ins.

"Soubi…you're acting like a zombie!"

"So I'm a monster now?"

"Yes! Ever since stupid Aoyagi has been gone you've done nothing but…I don't know! Put some life in yourself already."

Soubi had nothing to live for, until he found Ritsuka. Now he had every reason to follow the boy's orders and to live every day for him. Protecting him, fighting for him, loving him…everything. And so far it had seemed so perfect.

"You saved me, Ritsuka." Soubi said in a quiet and simple voice as he leaned over the bed to place a tiny and sweet kiss to the boy's lips. "Saved me from destroying myself."

- - - -

Ritsuka had slept until about two in the morning and then he woke up with a small grumble. He would never be able to get back to sleep now, but the good thing was that he had Soubi right here next to him. Reaching up he wrapped his fingers around a few of the blonde locks sweeping against his cheek with a smile. They were so soft and Soubi was so warm. With a sudden feeling of security, he curled up against the other and nuzzled into his chest slightly. However, in the process of all of this he had awakened Soubi and that made him feel bad. He watched as the fighter shifted around before slipping his beautiful eyes and looking down at the boy.

"I'm sorry…I woke you." Ritsuka had a small look of concern across his features as he leaned up to peck a small kiss onto Soubi's chin.

"I love to wake up and see your face, Ritsuka. Don't ever be sorry for waking me." Soubi whispered quietly in the darkness and the boy just smiled as he cuddled up to him cutely. Then Ritsuka wondered if Seimei and Soubi had ever done this together…he felt a little jealous, even though he knew that he shouldn't have been.

Kio seemed to know some of the things that went on during Seimei and Soubi's relationship…perhaps he should do some research on that? Of course he couldn't just blatantly call him up or anything, like he knew the number anyway. He'd just wait until Soubi had him over someday and where he could get some talk time in with him. The relationship between his older brother and fighter was quite confusing. He wanted to ask Soubi…but what would he say? Anything? Maybe he should ask now…

"Soubi." Here we go again…

"Yes, Ritsuka?"

"Do you love Seimei?" The boy asked in a curious tone.

"I did." Soubi answered calmly.

"Did? What do you mean by that?"

"Well, he's gone now." Soubi seemed to still be sticking to the fact that Seimei was not alive any longer. Even though the fighter knew himself that he was still alive, out there…somewhere. A small sigh escaped Ritsuka, as the boy seemed to be getting frustrated again. However, Soubi was calm and said nothing more and tried to get back to sleep. It seemed that Ritsuka was not done yet though.

"Everyone keeps saying that Seimei was different. He didn't want people to touch him…yet he let me all the time. And that the Seimei I knew wasn't the same as everyone else…is that true?" Ritsuka seemed to have a thoughtful tone as he hoped that Soubi would give him some insight on this.

"Seimei was…a different person when he was around you it seems. He always acted so differently than what you describe." The older man shrugged softly.

"Everyone keeps saying that he was a jerk…" Ritsuka seemed upset to say this because Seimei was always such a kind and caring person to him. And he could hardly believe what people said…perhaps they were just trying to fill his head up with lies about his brother? Soubi fell oddly silent after Ritsuka spoke and the boy just rolled his eyes slightly, he knew that this conversation had come to an end already. And the boy knew that he had to get some information out of someone else as soon as possible…but until then, he decided to change the subject.

"Where are Natsuo and Yoji?" He asked as he rolled over onto his back and listened quietly as it sounded like the beginning of rain. Good, they had needed some rain.

"They went…home." The fighter spoke in a plain tone and Ritsuka could tell that he wasn't so happy about it.

"Oh…they just…picked up and left?" He seemed confused as to why they would just suddenly leave like that. Sometimes they were annoying yes, but he was getting used to them being around Soubi's apartment.

"Yes." After that was said there was more silence and Ritsuka sighed.

"I'm going back to sleep."

- - - -

That next morning Soubi was up at a usual time and fixing breakfast for Ritsuka. He no longer had to prepare anything for Natsuo and Yoji, when they were here he felt like he was caring for them in a way and kind of missed that. No…he didn't really care that much that they were gone, did he? Not really, it's just that they picked the totally wrong time to go and it hit him harder than it usually would have.

Ritsuka curled up against a pillow in bed before realizing that Soubi wasn't there. He yawned and gave off a small stretch before sitting up and looking around. Hearing the sounds of pots and pans in the next room he felt a little smile creep up to his face. Soubi was cooking for him and it wasn't like he never did…it was just so nice to be able to eat a meal without wondering if it was the right thing to eat or not.

In his mind it was a battle to eat in his own house. He was afraid that if he took a bite of the wrong thing…then it would all be over for him. His mother would go into a rage and it wouldn't be good at all. She was acting weirder as the days went on and Ritsuka had to be more cautious. Even though staying with Soubi and sneaking him in secretly probably wasn't the best idea he'd ever had, but…he found that the longer he was away from Soubi, the harder and lonelier life seemed to be.

Ritsuka hopped out of bed and trudged into the next room, finding Soubi with his back to him preparing something that smelled nice. The boy smiled and crept up behind him, wrapping his arms around the older man's middle.

"Good morning, Ritsuka." Soubi smiled and put one of his hands over one of the other's smaller ones. The boy nuzzled into Soubi's back gently and nodded a little. He couldn't be any happier at that moment.

Soubi turned to greet the boy with a soft kiss to the forehead since it was a bit too much work to bend all the way down and kiss him normally. It was a difficult thing to do. Suddenly Ritsuka's phone was ringing and he looked confused. Not many people called his cell unless it was Soubi. Pulling out the device he looked at the outside screen to see that it was Yuiko. Not someone he really wanted to speak to at the moment, so he ignored the call. Soubi didn't ask, he didn't want to get into his business right now.

The older man placed a plate onto the table and Ritsuka went to sit down and eat his breakfast.

"We're going to be quite busy today." Soubi voiced up all of a sudden and Ritsuka raised his eyebrows.

"Why?"

"We're going to see if we can find out if Seimei is alive or not."

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Review, please.