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Title: Loveless no More
Author: Me
Pairing: Soubi/Ritsuka
Rating: PG-13
Summary: With Seimei back from the dead, Ritsuka doesn't know if Soubi will stay with him.

“Ritsuka…” A smooth voice whispered into a soft, velvety ear. A smile quirked pale lips as an arm snaked around a thin waist, pulling a pliant body close.

Ritsuka let out an “eek!” of surprise at the voice. Another sound of protest escaped his throat as he was pulled flush against a toned chest. He easily recognized the lock of dark blond hair that fell over his shoulder. “S-Soubi!”

The tall man released the young boy so as to face him. His smile grew wider at the blush covering the boy’s lightly tanned cheeks. “Hello, Ritsuka. Where are you headed?”

Blush intensifying; Ritsuka peered down at the ground, waiting for it to spit out the answers to life. “N-Nowhere… Just the… the store. Seimei wants more blank DVDs and mother…” He trailed off, tugging subconsciously at the hem of his navy blue shirt.

Soubi’s smile faltered for a heartbeat before he reached out a slim hand and grasped Ritsuka’s smaller, softer hand. When Ritsuka looked up at him with innocent wide eyes, Soubi gave his hand a gentle squeeze of reassurance. “I’ll accompany you. Do you mind?”

Ritsuka was speechless for a moment before blushing furiously and glancing at their joined hands, nodding. He received another squeeze of the hand before being dragged off behind the tall blond.

--

With hands still grasped tightly within each other, Soubi and Ritsuka walked away from the store, Soubi holding a plastic bag in his unoccupied hand.

Ritsuka still fidgeted with the hem of his shirt, stealing little glimpses of Soubi every now and then. He glanced down at their still joined hands and felt a strange, yet not unwelcome, warmth spread over him. This was the man who took care of him. The man who had comforted him whenever his mother went on a rampage and took her anger and sadness out on him. He couldn’t be more grateful.

The warmth Ritsuka was feeling seconds ago was suddenly overridden by a pang of sadness. This was also the man that belonged to Seimei. And as much as he loved his older brother, Ritsuka couldn’t help hating him when the subject of Soubi was broached. Regardless of the fact that Soubi was now his, Ritsuka’s, Fighter, Seimei would forever hold the blonde’s heart, even more so now that Seimei was alive again.

Another gentle squeeze of the hand had Ritsuka’s gloomy thoughts screeching to a halt. He glanced up and his heart skipped a beat at the seemingly loving smile Soubi was directing at him. For a scant moment, Ritsuka felt that the name LOVELESS wasn’t fit for him. But only for a moment before they reached his home. The place that housed his mother and Seimei…

--

After depositing the things his mother wanted in the kitchen, Ritsuka and Soubi migrated to the second floor. There they stood in front of Seimei’s door, waiting to be let in.

Hearing the go-ahead, Ritsuka slid the door open to find his brother at the computer, typing away like always. At times he was tempted to disconnect the thing just to see what Seimei's reaction would be. At times.

Ritsuka quickly shuffled into the room, followed closely by Soubi, who closed the door once again. In a detached sort of way, he noticed that Seimei paused momentarily when Soubi stepped in the room. He dropped the bag beside the computer then threw himself onto his brother’s bed. He felt the bed shift as Soubi plopped down gracefully beside him. He could almost feel his body roll as if being pulled by a magnet towards Soubi. He was tempted to follow but refrained in fear of his brother’s reaction.

It seemed like an eternity before Seimei finally stopped clicking away at the keyboard. When he did, he turned towards the two lounging on his bed and smiled. “How many did you get?” He asked, peering into the plastic bag.

Ritsuka turned towards him with a sigh. “I think six or seven, not sure.” Letting out a small yawn, he stretched like the cat he was and sat up. “I’m going to my room.”

Ritsuka quickly stood up and walked to the door. One look over his shoulder confirmed what he knew. Soubi wasn’t looking at him. He was staring at Seimei. Biting the inside of his cheek to withhold a sob, he left the room and quietly closed the door behind him.

Once in his room, he stumbled towards his bed and sighed painfully. Lifting his shirt, he gazed at the dark bruises marring his otherwise flawless skin. He didn’t understand. Seimei was back, so why was his mother still beating him? Why did she hate him so? He felt tears p***k the corners of his eyes as he lowered the shirt and flopped back onto his sheets.

Blank amethyst eyes stared at the white ceiling above until the sound of his bedroom door opening brought him back from his rather gloomy thoughts. Turning only his head, since he was pretty comfortable in the position he was in, his eyes widened at the sight of Soubi standing in his room.

Soubi looked down at the young boy lying on the bed, a smile stealing across his face. His fingers gave an involuntary twitch, however, when he caught sight of a dark bruise showing from underneath Ritsuka’s slightly askew shirt. He walked, glided, over to the bed and peered down at the increasingly flustered boy.

Without warning, Soubi’s hands shot out and pulled Ritsuka’s shirt off and over his head. His long, slender fingers glided over the marred skin gently. His formerly serene look was replaced with one of sadness and concern. “When…”

Ritsuka looked away, closing his eyes. “This morning…”

“Why didn’t you call me? I gave you that cell phone for a reason.” Soubi gently scolded, his eyes glued onto a long cut on Ritsuka’s chest. Dried and cracked blood surrounded the wound, meaning that Ritsuka hadn’t bother with treating it.

Ritsuka became ever more flustered when Soubi’s fingers caressed a rather tender spot on his abdomen. “I didn’t want you… want you to worry…” And because you wouldn’t care. He added in his mind, a tide of sadness, much greater than the one from earlier, washing over him.

Soubi’s lips pursed in slight annoyance. Didn’t want to worry him? Why wouldn’t he be worried? “Why wouldn’t I be worried? You are my Sacrifice, and as such, I have to protect you.” He sat down beside Ritsuka’s body. “No matter if it’s in battle or in every day life.” He shifted over the boy. “I love you, Ritsuka.”

Screwing his eyes closed even more, Ritsuka shook his head in denial. “Quit lying… I know that I’m just your Sacrifice…” And that’s all I’ll ever be…

Soubi sighed softly and shifted his body closer to the melancholy boy. “What’s wrong, Ritsuka? Did I do something wrong?”

With a shake of his head, Ritsuka rolled into himself, wrapping his arms around his jean clad knees. He could feel tears gathering in the corners of his eyes, waiting the moment when he would stop fighting and they could over flood like rivers in the rainy season.

Soubi lay down beside Ritsuka and pulled the boy’s soft body flush against his. Tucking Ritsuka’s head in the crook of his neck, he rubbed gentle hands over the boy’s smooth back. They laid there for what seemed to be an eternity, Soubi whispering words of love and affection into Ritsuka’s little cat ears.

Ritsuka tried to tone out Soubi’s words, for he knew they weren’t true, until it finally became too much for him. “Stop!”

Soubi pulled back from the now furious boy, startled at the anger. “Wha-”

“Stop saying you love me!” The tears he had fought so hard to keep inside finally began falling, racing down Ritsuka’s face. “Quit lying to me!”

“But…”

“No! I know you don’t mean it!” Ritsuka rubbed at his face trying, to no avail, to stop the tears. “Seimei is back! You don’t have to take care of me any longer! Why are you still doing this to me? Why…?” He hiccupped. “You belong to him…”

Soubi let out a soft sigh and reached out to cup Ritsuka’s tear stained face, only to have his hand slapped away by the boy. “Ritsuka…”

“You can finally be with him… I know you want to… I can see it every time you stare at him, forgetting I even exist… How can you say you love me when all you think about is Seimei? How can you lie to my face and act as if you’re doing nothing wrong? You once promised me that you wouldn’t lie to me, but you do it every single day. How can you act as if my feelings mean nothing?” Ritsuka hiccupped once more and scooted away from the blond, his back hitting the headboard once he could move no further. Wrapping his arms around his legs, he nestled his face into his knees and let out all the pent up tears from the whole year he had known Soubi.

Ignoring the fact that the boy didn’t seem to want to be touched, Soubi gathered his weeping form into his arms and held him. He had never really noticed how Ritsuka felt about his brother, him, or the whole situation in general. It had never occurred to him why Ritsuka would sometimes be crying after he left to go meet Seimei about something or other. “What if…” He cleared his throat. “What if I don’t want to be with Seimei?”

Ritsuka brought his head up from where it had recently been resting on Soubi’s chest and glared up at the man. “Do you take me for a fool? You hold his mark, his name. He is your rightful Sacrifice. You belong to him!” He was now directing his glare to the wrap of gauze around Soubi's neck.

It was now Soubi’s turn to glare at Ritsuka. “I belong to no one but my Sacrifice!” He took a calming breath, not wanting to snap at the boy. “And Seimei isn’t it…”

Ritsuka opened his mouth to continue his rant but stopped as quickly as he began when Soubi's words registered. He blinked at Soubi in confusion. “What do you mean he isn’t your Sacrifice? Then who is?”

Soubi smiled. Ritsuka looked positively adorable with his big eyes and drooping right ear. “You…” He brought a hand up and began to unwrap the gauze from around his neck. “It began disappearing when Seimei returned.”

Ritsuka blinked, confused was putting it lightly. “What?”

The last of the gauze fell away. “Look…” Soubi pointed to his neck. A neck that was free of scars, free of a name, free of BELOVED. He heard Ritsuka’s breath hitch and couldn’t help but smile even more. “Do you see now? I don’t belong to him.”

Ritsuka opened his mouth to find that he was at a loss for words. So he opted for gently passing his fingers over Soubi’s unmarred skin, his perfect, silky skin. He could feel even more tears coming but held them in check. Sure, they were tears of joy and happiness, but he figured he had done enough crying for today.

Soubi felt a shudder go through his body at Ritsuka’s light touches. The boy had no idea how he made his Fighter’s body react to a mere, fleeting touch. Before he did something he would not regret, he caught the boy’s hand in his own and brought it up to his mouth. He brushed a kiss on the finger tips and watched, delighted, as a dark blush bloomed across Ritsuka’s face.

Ritsuka suddenly frowned and pouted. “Then why didn’t you tell me? Here I was thinking that you’d go running back to him like a love sick puppy, at his beck and call…” He trailed off, glancing to the side. “Does this mean that… that you’re my Fighter now?” He gave the blond his most innocent look.

Soubi bit the inside of his cheek at that look. Large amethyst eyes, pouting pink lips, flushed cheeks… temptation, temptation. “I will be… eventually… It takes a while for the mark to appear on both of us.”

“Ano, will the marks appear in the same place as… as…”

Soubi shook his head in the negative. “Every Fighter and Sacrifice has a unique location for their mark.”

“Oh. Ne, does Seimei know?” Ritsuka gave him the big puppy eyes as he waited for a response.

Soubi grinned. “I just told him before I came into your room. It’s safe to say that he was indifferent to this change.” He took on a solemn look. “It seems that he gave up on me long ago.”

Ritsuka stayed quiet and wrapped his thin arms about Soubi’s tapered waist. He shifted into Soubi's lap (when they had shifted positions, he didn’t remember) and sighed contently. This is what he had wanted, for a very long time. To be able to hug (and do other unmentionable things with) Soubi without the thought of his brother hanging like a thunder cloud over his head. “Soubi…”

“Yes, Ritsuka.” Soubi mumbled, resting his forehead against the boy’s shoulder.

Ritsuka’s face flamed up at the confession he was about to make. “I… um… I love you…” He whispered, half hoping that Soubi hadn’t heard so as to save himself the embarrassment.

Soubi couldn’t help smiling like an idiot against Ritsuka’s shoulder when he heard the softly spoken words of adoration. “I love you, too.” His arms tightened around the boy before bringing them both down to rest on the bed.

As they lay there, content in each others arms, listening to each their heartbeats. When the day’s happenings finally caught up with Ritsuka and he began falling into slumber, he couldn’t help but agree with the thought that LOVELESS didn’t fit him at all.

-Fin-

Originally posted on FF.net, so some of you who frequent that site might have come across it.