Hello all! Here is chapter 3! I'm really really sorry that it took so long for me to update…

Holy crap! I want to thank everyone who left a comment, I got a bunch even though I didn't update for over a month… So thank you, thank you, promocat, Catmunk, Agatsuma Ritsuka (again), Miki, JollyRandom, xINFRAxREDx, hopesterocks, promocat (again), Dared-to-be-different I LOVE YOU ALL! You all get a cookie. Since Catmunk was the only one who actually made a request, you can have two cookies, okay? =]

DISCLAIMER: I do not, in any way own Loveless or the characters from Loveless. Nor have I ever, or will I ever own anything associated with Loveless.

**

From Chapter 2: Soubi gave the boy one more swift peck on the lips before he stood up and put on his glasses. Ritsuka remained in the bed, twirling his fingers as he waited for the therapist to arrive. Just on time, the door cracked open and a small woman with dark brown hair entered the room. She was very short and had a delicate frame. A pair of half rimmed glassed were perched on the bridge of her nose and small pearl earrings hung by her neck.

"Good morning. My name is Saika, nice to meet you."

**

Soubi turned to Ritsuka and gave a swift nod before leaving the room. The boy moved onto his knees so that he could lean forward and shake the woman's hand.

"Hello, I'm Ritsuka."

"I'm glad we were able to meet Ritsuka. I'm here to listen to whatever you have to say. You can tell me anything you want to, I just want to help." The therapist moved over to the uncomfortable chair in the corner and sat down. Ritsuka watched as she pulled out a pad of paper and pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose, "Shall we begin, Ritsuka?"

"Alright"

**

Soubi leaned up against the wall outside of the room for a few minutes. Would Ritsuka be ok? Would he be able to give her all the information that she needed? Soubi knew that there was nothing that he could do but sit back and wait for everything to work out. People passing through the halls stared at the man who was just standing there. Soubi was anxious and the whole hospital setting was beginning to get on his nerves. The blond man moved from off the wall. His shoes echoed off of the hospital's hard white floor. He maneuvered through the maze of hallways and rooms with ease until he came to the front entrance.

Outside it was sunny. The air was warm and the blue sky was nearly cloudless. Soubi walked out into the beams of light that were radiating down from the sky and pulled out a cigarette. In a few moments, much of the stress and worries from the previous day had melted away. Soubi smiled at the thought of bringing Ritsuka home with him. His life had lost all meaning before. He had nothing left to live for. But now there was something for him to focus on; to pour all of his love and attention into. Now he had Ritsuka.

After Soubi had finished his cigarette, he bought a bottled water from one of the vending machines and made his way back into the hospital. The air inside the building was stale and unpleasant. Soubi doubted that it was any good for the patients that were trying to recover here. The blond man followed the route back to Ritsuka's room. The door was still closed. So he didn't enter. How long would this take? Would everything work out ok? Soubi realized that he was getting worked up again. He reassured himself that everything was going to turn out fine. Ritsuka wouldn't be hurt by his mother anymore, and Soubi would be able to take care of him now. He didn't need to worry.

Soubi sat in silence and stared at the blank wall across the hall. The minutes ticked away, but to him it felt like hours. Finally, the door to the room swung open the small woman exited. She turned and gave a small smile to Soubi. He wanted to ask her how everything had gone. Had she gotten the information that she needed? What was going to happen now? But all he did was quickly return the smile before entering into Ritsuka's room.

The boy was sitting on the bed with his legs crossed. His eyes looked down at the hands folded in his lap, but he wasn't crying. Soubi wasn't sure if that was a good or bad sign.

"…Ritsuka…"

The neko looked up at the man before him. His eyes were full of emotion. Soubi could see the worry, the anger, the relief, and maybe something more. Ritsuka sat silent for only a moment before propelling himself at Soubi. The man wrapped his arms around the small boy. He wasn't sure what was happening, but he knew that all he needed was Ritsuka. Soubi sat down in the bed, all the while keeping the boy in a tight embrace. His hand began to move in calming circular motions on the back of the teen. He felt the wet warmth of the boy's tears against his shoulder. It was killing him to see the teen in so much pain.

"Ritsuka, please answer me. What happened? You can tell me, it's alright."

A few indistinguishable words escaped from the teen in the form of sobs. Soubi had no idea what Ritsuka was trying to tell him and he didn't know how to comfort the boy.

"Ritsuka calm down, it's ok, I'm here. I won't go anywhere, but you need to relax. I can't understand anything that you're saying."

The boy removed his face from Soubi's chest and gazed up at the man. A few stray tears escaped from his beautiful violet eyes and landed softly on his hospital gown.

"I'm sorry Soubi, but I just don't know what to feel right now. I told the lady everything and she said that she had enough evidence to convince a judge that I should be allowed to move out, but I'm going to have to stay here until she can talk to someone. She said that I should be able to leave by the end of the day, but I don't know what I'm going to do. Where will I go? How am I going to live without my mother Soubi?"

"Have you been listening to anything that I have been telling you? You need to stop worrying. I'm here for you and I'm not going to let anything happen to you. You're more than welcome to stay with me; in fact, I would feel much better if I was able to keep an eye on you. I love you Ritsuka, you may not understand why, but you need to accept it. Nothing will ever be able to change that; not now, not ever."

Soubi held the boy's beautiful face between his hands and gazed into his deep eyes. The black haired teen looked back with a hopeful expression. Maybe life would turn out ok for him after all.

Soubi smiled and pulled Ritsuka into another embrace. They sat together for several moments before the neko's gentle voice broke the silence.

"I'm scared Soubi. I don't know what's going to happen."

"That's ok Ritsuka. You don't need to worry about the future. All that matters is what is happening right now. Everything will be just fine. I'm very proud of you for talking to the therapist. You will be out of here today and I will stay by your side every step of the way. You don't need to worry about anything from here on out, I'll take care of it all."

Ritsuka nodded in understanding and placed his forehead against Soubi's shoulder. The tears had stopped now, but he was obviously still distressed. The next few hours passed with minimal events. Mostly, Ritsuka and Soubi sat together on the bed. The teen appeared to still be having some difficulties accepting that things were going to be different. He seemed relieved enough that he wouldn't have to endure any more beatings, but he was anxious about the separation from his mother. The only things that Soubi could do were, to hold the boy close and offer him reassuring words. Time passed by slowly as they both waited to hear back from Saika, the therapist.

The sun started to creep downwards and the sky was illuminated with a brilliant orange-red glow. Ritsuka was still weak from his injuries and it wasn't long before his eyelids began to droop. He was nearly sleeping when the door clicked and the familiar face of the therapist came into view. She carried a gentle smile on her face and appeared to be tired. Soubi watched as she moved over to a chair without saying a word. She sat down, pulled out a notebook, and repositioned her glasses on her nose.

"Hello, I'm very sorry that this whole process has taken so long, but the good news is that there won't be too much longer until you can be done with all of this."

Soubi looked down at the drowsy teen. The boy rubbed his eyes with the palms of his hands and blinked at Saika. "Thank you for doing all of this for me."

"It was no problem Ritsuka. This is my job after all."

Soubi was still confused about what was going on. "Excuse me, but do you have an idea of when Ritsuka will be allowed to leave?"

The therapist seemed to be slightly embarrassed that she had neglected to reveal the most important information. "Oh, of course. I spoke with a few people today and got all of the issues sorted out. We have permission to release Ritsuka, but I am a bit concerned about where he will be staying. Personally, I don't think that his father is responsible enough to find a place for him to stay. Did you have any ideas of who would be looking after him?"

"Actually, I was planning on having him stay at my house."

Saika nodded and turned to Ritsuka, "Are you comfortable with this? It sounds like a good solution to me, but I need to make sure that you are happy with this decision. If not, I can find another place for you to live. There's a shelter that takes in children only a few hours away."

Ritsuka felt Soubi's hand gently squeeze his own, and he tightened his grip in response. "No, I'm comfortable living with Soubi. I don't want to leave my school or my friends. Thank you for your help though."

"Very good, I'm glad that you have someone that you can rely on. I'll be back with a few papers that I will need you both to sign, and then you will be free to leave."

Soubi nodded to the therapist and watched as she disappeared through the doorway. The room was silent once again. Ritsuka yawned and smiled up at the older man. The blond moved his hand to the top of the boy's head and began to gently massage his cat ears. The neko's muscles relaxed and his tail swished from side to side. Soubi leaned forward and placed a delicate kiss on the small lips of the teen.

The boy smiled again and returned the kiss. "I'm glad that you're here Soubi."

"Of course, I will do anything for you Ritsuka."

The door to the room was pushed open once again when the therapist reentered, carrying a small quantity of papers. She separated them in two and handed both Ritsuka and Soubi each several sheets and a pen. They read over the various release forms and signed and initialed on all the required areas. Once they had finished, they returned the papers and waited as Saika quickly read over them before placing them in a folder.

Ritsuka seemed very relieved that he was finally being allowed to leave. The doctor had returned with the teen's clothes and Soubi stepped outside of the room so that the boy could change. After a few minutes, the neko emerged from the room. His face was starting to heal now. The swelling and discoloration was nearly gone, and the cuts and scratches were looking better.

Soubi smiled as the boy took his hand in his own and proceeded to lead him out of the building. The day was slowly disappearing and evening was beginning to set in. Two nurses followed them to the door and reminded Ritsuka to take the medication that he had been given. He assured them that he would be fine and waved back at the two as they returned through the front doors.

"Are you ready to go, Ritsuka?"

"Yes, but what are we going to do?"

"We need to do some shopping. I haven't had anyone living with me for quite a long time, so there really isn't much at all in my house. I don't even have any decent furniture.

"Are you sure Soubi? You don't need to buy anything for me. I'll be just fine."

"No, I've been putting off doing this for quite some time now. I have some money put away just for this type of thing. We'll go get you a new bed and some clothes and whatever else you need, and then we should probably get some more food too. Do you think you'll be up for all that?"

"Yeah, sounds good."

"Alright, it's starting to get late, so we'll just pick up a few quick things today. We can start the real shopping in the morning."

Soubi took the teen's hand in his own and led him down the sidewalk. He listened to the two separate sets of steps on the sidewalk. It had been so long since he had been this close to another person. The teen's hands were small and warm. Ritsuka walked close alongside Soubi, looking down at the concrete. They continued moving forward at a steady pace. It was peaceful out and both wanted to enjoy the time that they were spending with each other. They passed the park where Soubi had first seen Ritsuka. The blond man watched the boy advert his eyes. The memories were obviously still fresh and painful, so Soubi changed their direction and held Ritsuka's hand tight as they left the park behind them.

They entered the area of town where most of the shops and stores were. Soubi scanned the different signs at the entrances. The first store that they entered was an outdoor supply store. Ritsuka seemed confused as to why they were in such a place, but didn't bother to ask. The older man led Ritsuka down several isles of camping and hiking gear. He stopped when he finally located what they had been searching for. Soubi reached over and examined several boxes with pictures of sleeping bags on the front. After only a few moments he decided on one and lifted it off the shelf. Ritsuka followed Soubi over to a counter where the man paid for what he had bought. After the purchase was made, the two left the shop together.

Soubi cast a concerned glance down at the boy before he was sure that the neko was fine. Next, they stopped at a small grocery store where they bought some milk, bread and cereal to eat the next morning. Ritsuka carried only the loaf of bread while Soubi got the rest. He had offered to take more of the groceries, but Soubi had refused the help. The blond man walked a few feet ahead of the boy. All that was left was a relatively short walk to Soubi's apartment. They approached the bottom of the steps and Soubi informed the boy that he had finally arrived at his new home.

It didn't look like much from the outside, or the inside for that matter, but Ritsuka didn't seem to mind. He was just happy that he had a welcoming place to stay, with someone who would love him. The floor was still littered with art supplies and empty boxes. The furniture looked extremely shabby in the dim light. Soubi showed Ritsuka a small room without a bed. The blond man rarely ever entered this room. It was much cleaner than any other area of the house. He carried in the sleeping bag that they had purchased and spread it out in the floor.

"I hope you don't mind staying in here Ritsuka."

"No, this is fine."

"Ok, I'm glad. Actually, I thought that you might want to sleep here. I never really come into this room, but a few years back, when Seimei would come over, he would always stay in here. There use to be a bed and a dresser, but I took those out a while ago. We can go pick out some new furniture just for you tomorrow."

"Alright, thank you Soubi… but can I ask you something?"

"It's about Seimei right?"

"Well, um yes."

"It's fine Ritsuka, I need to tell you."

Soubi sat down on the floor. He placed his hands on Ritsuka's hips and gently pulled the boy into his lap. The neko didn't resist and leaned back against Soubi; he could feel the blond man's heart beating form within his chest.

"I met your brother several years ago. Our relationship was complicated, I'm not sure you will be able to understand that part of your brother. Most outsiders were quick to judge him. People distrusted and misunderstood him. On the exterior he was cold and unsympathetic to others, but I could see who he really was. Beneath his tough exterior he had a soft spot. And that soft spot was you. Whenever he mentioned you, I could see something else in his eyes. Something more than what he would care for me to know. I respected him, looked up to him, and most of all, I loved him."

"…Soubi, I didn't know. I had no idea that you and Seimei were…"

"Of course, Seimei didn't want you to know. He didn't want you to know of the things that he did. He was an incredible person, but he still did things that were not understood; even by me. His mind was unique; impossible to understand. I loved him with all my heart, but I knew that he never felt the same way. You were the only thing that mattered to him. So now it is my job to protect you. I love you Ritsuka, I will always love you. I had lost everything. I had no reason to live, but now I've found you. I will do anything for you Ritsuka."

"That's not right. You shouldn't say that. When you love someone, you love them for everything that they are. I am not my brother. Don't tell me that you love me unless you really do."

"Ritsuka, I love you."

"Soubi! I said not to! I don't want to hear you say that. You think that you love me, but all that you really love is the idea of me. You love the part of Seimei that loved me. My brother is dead; that part of him is dead also. You can't keep holding on. I am not a way for you to cling to Seimei. I'm my own person."

"I know that. I really do love you for you. I've loved you from the moment I first saw you crying in the park. There is no way that I could forget you; I can't live without you."

Ritsuka had turned around in Soubi's lap so that they were now facing each other. The boy was peering into the older man's eyes, but all that he found there was a deep sincerity. The neko sighed and wrapped his arms around the blond man's neck. Several tears managed to escape from between his dark eyelashes. Soubi felt them as they landed gently on his shoulder. He held the boy tighter and moved his mouth beside the raven headed boy's ear.

"I love you Ritsuka. I will always love you."

"I love you too Soubi."

They stayed in each other's arms for what felt like hours. It was now pitch black outside and Ritsuka was growing very tired. The boy tried in vain to stifle a small yawn, but Soubi shook his head and lifted the boy into his arms.

"You've had a very difficult past few days. It's time for you to go to sleep."

Ritsuka nodded slightly, he was too tired to argue with the older man. Soubi set the small neko softly onto the sleeping bag and zipped it up. The boy yawned again before snuggling down into the warm bedding. Soubi smiled and leaned down so that he could place a gentle kiss between Ritsuka's two cat ears. The boy's eyes fluttered open and he looked up at the blond man for a few moments before he closed them again and whispered, "Thank you Soubi. I love you."

"I love you too, my precious Ritsuka."

**

Thank you so much for reading!

And I am so so so so so so so so sorry for the really late update!

However, I will be going to my aunt's house for a couple of weeks, so unless I can find my flashdrive and work on it there, it might be a while until the next update…please don't hurt me…

On a happier note, (for me at least) School is over and I am happy to say that all the time I spent studying instead if writing was not wasted. I got a 94% on my math final! And I was in the top ten students for highest GPA this year! YAY!

So thank you everyone who was patient in waiting for this chapter to come out

PLEASE REVIEW!!!!!