Of Butterflies And Bumblebees
Chapter 3: Healing
By Ice Lioness
Loveless Fan Fiction
Rating: R (sexual situations)
Status: Chapter 3 of ?? Posted
Couple: Soubi x Ritsuka
Summary: Soubi watches as Ritsuka slowly begins to change from a delicate boy, to a cold blood man and wonders how best to bring back the Ritsuka he fell in love with.
Started: Thursday, July 26, 2007 - 17:20
Finished: Thursday, July 26, 2007 - 23:11
Disclaimer: I do not own Loveless nor any of its characters. Loveless is property of Tokyopop and Yun Kouga.
(Authors Note)
Ice Lioness: Yay! We've made it to Chapter 3! Does a dance.
Soubi: Congratulations. Hell has officially frozen over.
Ice Lioness: What have I told you about that rating?
Soubi: ...
Ice Lioness: Heh heh.
Ritsuka: Meow? What are you guys talking about?
Soubi: Oh, Ritsuka. I didn't see you standing there.
Ritsuka: Well? Soubi?
Soubi: Wonderful weather, isn't it?
Ritsuka: ...
Ice Lioness: Right! On to the story!

Of Butterflies And Bumblebees - Chapter 3: Healing
"You know why big brothers are born first? To protect the little ones that come after them." - Ichigo, Bleach

I turned my head to look over at Ritsuka as we sat in my apartment. He was chatting away with Yayoi about some new game they had started playing on the computer and Yuiko seemed to merely content herself with listening to the conversation even though she had no idea what they were talking about.

It's been a little over a month since Ritsuka broke down into tears and confessed as to what was upsetting him. Since then he's gone back to smiling a bit more as well as hanging around with his friends again. Though, he has yet to bring up the subject again and I fear their just might be more he's holding back.

I idly tap my pencil against the art pad in my hand. I seem to have stumbled into a bit of artists block since my teacher at the University made our final for the semester known. When he handed it out to us I figured it would be easy, choose the person closest to us and paint a picture of them in the way that you see them. As soon as I read the paper the answers fit into place. The closest person to me was Ritsuka. He was easy to anger, fun to tease, and the kind of person that seemed to draw others to him, even if he didn't want to attention. However, as I pulled out my drawing pad a week ago to get started on the sketch, I came to a stand still.

How did I see him?

Sure, I knew what he was like and his behavior, but how did all of that combined together make Ritsuka. Make him the way I see him.

I was suddenly brought from my thoughts as Ritsuka and his friends were piled around me, looking at the paper, blank save for the solitary dot I was impression was permanently dug into the paper.

The first one to speak was Yayoi, "Oi, what are you doing? Don't tell me you're calling that dot art." I never really liked him.

Before I can speak, Ritsuka turns to look at his cat eared friend, "Of course not, couldn't you see he was thinking of what to draw." I knew there was a reason I loved this boy.

Now, it seems to be Yuiko's turn to speak, "So what are you gonna draw?"

I pause before I answer, waiting to see if either of the other two are going to speak. Three pairs of curious eyes blink up at me and I know it's finally my queue, "I'm working on the final for my art class."

Yuiko's ears twitch before she responds, "Is the semester almost over?"

"No. Our teacher assigned us a take home final. We have ten weeks to complete the project and turn it in for what will be thirty percent of our grade. We have to us aspects of what we've learned to complete it." I rest the art pad in my lap, deciding I'm not about to get any work done right now.

This seems to peak Yuiko's interest further, "So, what's the project?"

I flip a few pages in the drawing pad then pull out a blue sheet of paper, handing it to her, "We have to choose the person we are closest to and do a painting reflecting how we see them."

As Yuiko looks over the paper, Yayoi stands over her shoulder so he can read it as well and out of the corner of my eye I see Ritsuka's ears peak up. Seems this assignment has peaked his interest as well.

Ritsuka inches closer to me, staring curiously at the blue sheet, "Who are you gonna paint?"

Yuiko giggles, looking up at us, "Why, Ritsuka-kun, of course." While she's busy talking, the catboy behind her grabs the paper to give it a closer look.

Ritsuka's cheek brighten with a light shade of pink, his embarrassment causing him to scrunch his nose, "Don't be stupid. Why would be want to paint me. He'd probably paint Kio or even Se..."

Ritsuka falls silent after that, the blush fading as well as the embarrassment filled anger. Before a spectacle can be made of this, I interject, "Why wouldn't I want to do a painting of you, Ritsuka?"

Ritsuka looks up at me with a weird look I don't quite understand, nor do I like. I grin and lean over to nuzzle his cheek, "After all Ritsuka, why wouldn't I want to draw the one I love?"

This display seems to bring out a storm of giggles from the girl sitting beside us and a disturbed look to the shorter male standing behind her.

I feel Ritsuka's hands on my chest as he pushes me away, his embarrassment and blush coming back with a vengeance, "Cut that out Soubi!"

I merely laugh, leaning back against the front of the couch. Yuiko only continues to giggle and Yayoi merely shakes his head, offering back the paper.

The subject drops as the topic of food comes up. I close my sketch book and set it aside along with my pencil. Time for dinner it seems.

The rest of the evening passes quickly, after dinner we settled on playing a few card games before the teens erupted in a series of yawns. Yayoi offered to walk Yuiko home and after a round of quick goodbyes, they're out the door.

I turn to look at Ritsuka, the young catboy half asleep on my couch. I move to the couch and take a seat beside the dark haired boy, "Shouldn't you get home before your mother starts looking for you?"

Ritsuka cuddles into the couch, resting his head on the arm rest of the couch, "She wont notice."

I laugh and lean over him, there's one sure fire way to get Ritsuka up and moving, "Well, you are more than welcome to stay here." I complete my statement with a little nibble on his sensitive cat ears.

"Ack! Soubi!" Within seconds he springs up and nearly catapults off the couch, the standing on his tail, "Don't do that!"

I merely laugh, expecting him to storm out but I'm rather shocked when me moves and sits back on the opposite side of the couch, curls into a ball at the farthest corner from me, "I don't wanna go back..."

I barely missed his soft spoken words, but I managed to catch it. I slid over to sit beside Ritsuka, gently stroking his back, "What's wrong, Ritsuka? Is it your mother...? Or is it Seimei?"

I feel Ritsuka stiffen at the sound of his dead brothers name, "She said she saw Seimei, that he came there and he talked to her and now she ignores me... The only time she pays me any attention is to tell me if...if I wasn't there, Seimei would be home..."

I feel hate for his mother bubbling up in me, how could someone treat there own child like that. Gently I stroke his back and pull the blanket off the back of the couch to drape it over him, "You can sleep here tonight Ritsuka, I'll lend you some clothes to sleep in."

Ritsuka seems to nod dejectedly and I come to the realization that this has come to affect Ritsuka rather harshly and to put it simply, it scares me. To see my little feline in such a state is unheard of and the only thing I want is to see him angry and flustered as I'm so used to. Anything. Just not like this.

I stand and walk into my room, grabbing a pair of boxers and a shirt from the dresser I bring them to the bathroom. Maybe a shower will do him good. I grab a clean towel from my room and add it to the clothes in the bathroom. Turning the water on I let it run for a while as I get the little catboy on my couch.

Sure enough, I return to him just as I left him. Has he been like this every night? Has he been this depressed for the past month and I just haven't noticed? I can't help but think that I've failed as his fighter when I can't even seem to fight against a supposed ghost.

I move over to Ritsuka and pull him to his feet as I lead him over to the shower, giving him a gentle nudge towards the open door, "Go ahead and take a shower to relax your muscles. I'll wait in the living room."

Ritsuka nods and walks into the small room, closing the door behind him. Within moments I can hear the curtain being drawn back, a sign that he must be in the shower now. I take this moment to change, I can shower in the morning. My first class isn't until late afternoon anyway. Pulling on some boxers and a pair of drawstring pants I move into the living room and take a seat on the couch. I look around for something to keep me busy until Ritsuka is done in the shower.

I notice my drawing pad on the table and decide to attempt the draft for my project again. I flip open the cover and grab my pencil. Taking a moment to consider what to apply to the paper I then just let my hand guide the pencil, deciding not to think. The lead begins to mark on the white pages, leaving behind a multitude of lines. As I continue to move the pencil across the pad I notice shape coming to the image.

It's a simple sketch of what appears to be Ritsuka, his ears drawn back and tears cascading down his face. I pull the pencil away and gaze down at the image and it feels... wrong. I close the pad of paper with a sigh and look up, blinking slowly.

There stands Ritsuka in the doorway, hair still dripping from his shower. How long has he been standing there, I wonder? As I continue to gaze at the cat-eared boy a feeling of warmth starts to cascade through me. He looks absolutely delectable.

His hair is still soaked with water, causing his ears to get weighed down and the adorable appendages to sag against his head. The shirt and boxers are obviously too large for his smaller frame and it only makes that heat I feel even stronger. The shirt droops so you can see a pale shoulder and one of his hands clutches the waistband of the boxers through the shirt. The towel sits draped over his other arm and he looks at me somewhat shyly it seems.

I rest the pad on the table with my pencil before I stand and move to the young boy. I take the towel and drop it over his head, hearing a short 'oof' before he's silent.

"You'll catch a cold if you leave your hair that wet," I then proceed to rub his head with the towel, tousling his hair underneath so I can dry it. He moves his arms to try and stop me then gives a short yelp and grabs for the boxers. I laugh and pull the towel away, revealing a very fluffy and very flushed Ritsuka. Swiftly moving around him I reach for his tail, his body going ridged as I rub the towel across the fur covered appendage. Interesting.

I release his tail then smile, "There. Much better." I laugh as he glares at me, attempting to be intimidating though the red blush across his cheeks takes away from that. I leave him standing there to hang the towel across the pole around the shower. Seeing his clothes on the floor I reach down and give them a quick hand washing. I hang them beside the towel before taking care of my basic hygiene.

Once done I shut off the light and walk out of the bathroom. I make my way into the living room to spot Ritsuka on the couch, already fast asleep with his head on his arm and the blanket draped over his body. I walk over and gently brush my hand over the top of his head, watching in amusement as he scrunches his nose in his sleep. Leaning down, I place a tender kiss to his forehead before turning off the light, "Good night, Ritsuka."

With a smile I check the locks on the door, making sure all is well and the windows are secure I move into my own room and pull the covers back to climb between the sheets. I remove my glasses and rest them on the night stand beside the bed before resting my head on the pillow. With Ritsuka in the next room I find it easy to fall asleep and moments later I'm blissfully in the land of dreams.

I blink awake to feel something pressing up against me. Forcing my eyes to focus I read the clock, it's only been three hours since I went to sleep. I feel that same movement that awoke me and I look down to see a mass of dark hair and two fluffy cats ears poking out from under the sheet. I lift my arm, causing the sheet to rise, allowing me to catch sight of my intruder.

There lies Ritsuka, his forehead pressing against my chest as he sleeps, I can feel one of his arms wedged between us and the other curled up so his hand rests under his chin. His nose scrunches and he gives a whine of protest. His hand deftly reaches up and grabs the sheet, tugging it back down so it covers him. I smile and close my eyes once again, letting my arm drape around the boys shoulders to hold him close. Yes, having him near definitely helps with sleeping.

(Authors Note 2)
Ice Lioness: Woot! It is finished! Will wonders never cease?
Soubi: Indeed.
Ice Lioness: I apologize if they seemed out of character, I'm doing my best to make sure they stick to their usual personalities.
Soubi: I think you are doing very well.
Ice Lioness: You're just trying to suck up so I don't change the rating...
Soubi: Oh heavens no. I wouldn't dream of it.
Ice Lioness: Right...
Ritsuka: What are you guys talking about?!
Soubi: Preview and review responses below. As usual, please review, flames are welcome.
Ritsuka: Soubi!

Chapter 4: Demon
Just as it seems like Ritsuka is beginning to heal from his broken heart over Seimei's neglect he meets his brother once again. Will he have to say goodbye to Soubi? Or will he come to terms with the side of his brother he never knew?

Review Responses:
Vicious Cabaret: Of course it doesn't! Thanks for the review!
Vedevria: Thank you once again. I'm glad you like the way I portray the characters. I hope this chapter meets your expectations. Enjoy!