The Art Project

Author\'s Note: Thank you for the reviews!



For people reading my other Loveless fic, "The Mark of Loveless", aff.net is giving me trouble with submitting a new chapter. I\'m sorry. I wish I could fix it...:( But I just have to wait! It only lets me submit author\'s note, and not the chapter itself. :(





NOTE FOR THIS CHAPTER: This chapter has several points which I consider "possible endings." If you would like to consider them so, please do, as I think perhaps I ramble on in this fic...I could have made it so short, but I continued to get ideas.



I will mark such "you could stop here and consider the fic ended if you want to" points with >>>>>.



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THE ART PROJECT



Chapter Four



by lordoberon







Soubi\'s POV

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Soubi slipped his clothes back on, and then, on second thought, went to get a shower. When he was done, his pleasure finished with his own hand instead of with Ritsuka, he drank his cold cup of tea. The playing time was over.



He sat down on the floor. Picking up his drawing utensils, he cocked his head at the boy who lay, snoring a little, on his couch. The boy had wriggled around since he had first fallen asleep. One leg was curled up, his knee buried in the couch pillows. The other hung over the edge of the couch; it was a pose that left so much of his body on display - the crotch, the torso, all of it. He had one arm curled by his face, his head turned to bury his nose in the crook of his own elbow. Maybe the nose was cold.



The other arm lay across Ritsuka\'s chest, those little fingers balled up in a fist. Soubi took in the pose, and then nodded, smiling. It would work for his project. Definitely. This was a model, nude. The professor enjoyed seeing original ideas - and this certainly was, a child model. Furthermore, Soubi thought the pose showed both innocence and sensuality. The pose was sensual, but the body itself was a mix of sensual and innocent, and the fact that Ritsuka slept was certainly innocent. His face was open and vulnerable, his body on display in a way that Soubi would not have thought it would be when the boy was awake. Now though, things were different; Ritsuka had openly displayed himself to Soubi.



With satisfaction warming him, Soubi sat down and drew Ritsuka. He sketched out the preliminary, and then started in on shape, then shadows, working more and more into detail. He got the freckles on Ritsuka\'s body, the shadows, even the wounds on the boy\'s body - the bruises, the dents, the scrapes. He didn\'t add the new ones that would form though, on the hips. That would perhaps tell too much. He got the sweet curve of Ritsuka\'s big ears, that and the fullness of the boy\'s lips. He got everything, except for those beautiful big purple eyes. But that, he thought with a smile, was something he could treasure for his own - that loving gaze.



He finished with a pale blue watercolor wash as the backdrop, and decided to put some color into the couch, too - he made it a brownish red, showing the old and dusty couch as it was, tired, with threads escaping. It contrasted the youth that was Ritsuka atop it.



He hung the piece up to dry, gently, carefully, and then went to go make tea.



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Ritsuka\'s POV

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Ritsuka woke up, his eyes blearily opening, and the first thing he realized was that it was dark now. He was late getting home. He would get into trouble. But for once, Ritsuka did not really care. He wanted to be here. He would sneak into his room, and if he kept his door locked he would be safe. Then in the morning, he would leave in such a way so that his mother did not see him. Her anger would fade a bit overnight, and she would not be able to vent it out on him in the morning if he was not there.



He sat up, groaning at the feeling in his limbs. They felt heavy. He felt a little tired, but also very relaxed. Where had this relaxed feeling come from?



Oh. That was right. He blushed furiously. He had stripped for Soubi, and they had...done many things. He had seen Soubi naked. Ritsuka lay back down. Why had he not taken the time to look over Soubi more? The man was beautiful. But...Ritsuka had been nervous and frightened, and Soubi had been so good and so willing to just continue to pleasure Ritsuka, to bite him, lick him, suck him, taste him...Ritsuka turned his face over to bury it in a pillow, groaning in remembrance. It had all felt so good.



His stomach rumbled, and Ritsuka sat up. He slid off the couch and gingerly slipped boxers and pants back on. Then, he smelled it. Food!



Ritsuka leapt up and then slowed his walk as he went down the hall. What would he say to Soubi? What would Soubi say to him? Maybe he should just leave? Ritsuka realized suddenly, that something had been at the side of his vision back in the room. He backtracked, and then looked to his left.



Oh! It was him! Lying on the couch, drawn in dark pencil strokes. His hair was black against the paper. His form was there, in every detail. Ritsuka stared hard at the piece. So this was what Soubi had done as Ritsuka slept. He blushed at the attention. Every ray of light, every contour. He could feel the contentedness radiating from his own face, somehow. He had slept heavily and peacefully - Soubi had captured this in the drawing. Ritsuka enjoyed the color too, the peaceful blue and the dark, sleepy couch\'s red.



He ran down the hall, and was about to leap at Soubi in a big hug and cry out, "Soubi!" But when he saw that the man stood over the stove, he just came up behind him and wrapped his arms around Soubi\'s waist.



"Mmm?"



Soubi turned around. He had one hand on the stove, turning off the burner, and another at the cigarette dangling from his mouth. "Oh. Ritsuka." Smoke floated up from those smooth lips, and Soubi flicked the last bit of it into an ashtray that sat on the counter by the stove.



"Soubi..." Ritsuka squeezed Soubi tighter around the middle. "The drawing...is wonderful."



The man smiled, turning around in Ritsuka\'s embrace. He put his hands over Ritsuka\'s where they sat over SOubi\'s chest. Lovingly he stroked the boy\'s fingers. "You like it?"



Ritsuka nodded. "Yes. I love it. Now let\'s eat!"



They sat down and ate. Ritsuka realized he was ravenously hungry. He had not eaten in hours, and had skipped lunch because of nerves. He ate diligently and said nothing, and when he was done, he looked up. Soubi sat across from him, looking at him. He held a chopstick in one hand and was swirling his tongue around the tip. Ritsuka stared at it for a moment, that soft pink around and around the hard wood....he quickly looked away, and directed his eyes at Soubi\'s face instead.



"Soubi? What is it?"



"I was just thinking...you should spend the night."



Ritsuka\'s eyes widened. "Spend the night? But I\'ll get in trouble."



Soubi shrugged, and picked up the dishes. He put them to soak in the sink, saying, "You don\'t have to if you don\'t want to. But if you do, you can sleep on the couch. I have extra blankets and toothbrush."



Ritsuka watched as Soubi crossed the room and closed the sliding door shut, and then the curtains. It WAS late, he realized, looking at the clock on the wall. That expensive clock that soubi had gotten as a gift. It was nice and smooth and made pleasant dings. Ritsuka liked it.



He decided, well, he would spend the night. After all, he wouldn\'t see his mother until tomorrow afternoon either way, and this way he would not have to walk home in the night. Even with Soubi walking with him, it was scary.



Ritsuka nodded, and then realizing Soubi couldn\'t see him, he called out, "Okay. I would like to."



SOubi emerged from where he had been down the hall, a pile of blankets under one arm. He handed Ritsuka the toothbrush from his other hand, and then asked, "Do you want a pillow? Or is the couch arm fine?"



"Ummm..."



Ritsuka\'s eyes flicked around, to the bed, and then back at Soubi. "Umm...do you think...I could sleep...with you? I...I don\'t want to be in the studio room all by myself. It..." a blush darkened his cheeks, he could feel it, and he bent his head to try and hide it. "It scares me to be in the dark alone, sometimes. You have no nightlights."



Soubi put down the blankets, and sat down beside Ritsuka. "Ritsuka, it\'s okay. Don\'t worry so much. of course you can sleep with me. It won\'t be very roomy, but we\'ll fit."



He went to return the blankets to the closet. Meanwhile, Ritsuka went to sit down on the bed, and then laid down. He wriggled out of his pants, and folded them at the foot of the bed. Then he rolled over onto his stomach, burying his head in Soubi\'s pillow. That Soubi smell...he loved it.



"Ritsuka? Do you want something warmer to wear for bed?"



Ritsuka lifted his head up. Propping his chin on his hand, he said, "But you don\'t have anything? I mean, you\'re way bigger than me..." He blushed. Why did everything he said make him blush? It wasn\'t that he was thinking of anything...incriminating...he just felt like everything he said was weird, or stupid, and he wasn\'t sure what Soubi thought of what he said.



"I\'ll take a look around."



Ritsuka watched as the man shuffled through a chest of drawers for a bit, and then walked down the hall. He walked back and forth a couple times, from closet to chest of drawers. After a time, he said, "Aha, here."



He threw an article of clothing across the room. Ritsuka failed to catch it, and slunk down the bed to grab it. He lifted it up. "I guess since it\'s pajamas it\'s okay if it\'s a bit too big." He acknowledged that Soubi had tried to find something that would have a chance of fitting Ritsuka. It was a shirt, reading, "BLAZE," with an embarassing picture of a woman on it. She posed naked - a silhouette.



Ritsuka blanched. "I can\'t wear this!"



Soubi laughed softly. "Why? Does it offend you?"



Ritsuka stared at Soubi\'s laughing gaze, and mumbled, "Yes. Something else would be better."



He put the shirt by his pants on the floor. Suddenly Soubi was walking over, and he sat down next to Ritsuka on the bed. He leant over and wrapped his arms around Ritsuka. Ritsuka sighed and shivered as the man nuzzled his nose against one of Ritsuka\'s cat ears.



"Since you\'re going to be so picky about it, we\'ll settle for what you have on. I\'ll keep you warm."



Ritsuka blushed. His head shot up fast, and he said, "Soubi! You ARE a pervert! Just like Kio says all the time!"



Soubi just laughed. He lay down on the bed, and his eyes closed.



Ritsuka continued sitting. He stared down at this beautiful man, watching the chest rise and fall, the slope of the neck, and delicate strands of hair. "Soubi," he whispered, "Is it really time to sleep already?"



Soubi opened his eyes. "What would you rather do? Do you want to play videogames?"



Ritsuka shook his head. "No."



"There isn\'t much else to do here, Ritsuka."



"I know..." Ritsuka lay down and wrapped an arm around Soubi. He dug his fingers in, rubbing the man\'s back through the soft cotton. Soubi smiled.



"Ritsuka...are you trying to get somewhere? Would you like me to take my shirt off?"



Ritsuka blushed. "No! No, it\'s not that, it\'s just...I...I feel like, if I go to sleep, this will all disappear. It won\'t have happened...I won\'t have this comfortable feeling with you again..."



He refused to look at Soubi. The whole idea was silly, and he knew it. But he had a fear of losing memories, of one day waking up and not knowing who he was, again. Of not knowing how to act. And when good things happened, he feared he would wake up and find out that it had all been a dream. He didn\'t want that to happen this time.



He expected Soubi to be smiling, or laughing at him when he looked into the man\'s eyes. But instead the gaze that met his, that soft blue gaze, was...what? Tender. Understanding. Soubi gave Ritsuka a peck on the lips, saying, "Don\'t worry. I promise it won\'t disappear. You won\'t wake up in your bed at home tomorrow. The drawing will still be there." He paused, and then his lips were against Ritsuka\'s. When he pulled back, he whispered, "I promise I will still be here, just like this. I can wrap my arms around you and keep you close all night, and you can wake up just like this."



His long arms reached around Ritsuka and pulled Ritsuka closer. He slid one arm around Ritsuka\'s waist, and placed his hand on Ritsuka\'s back. The other he slid under the pillow, so that if Ritsuka nudged his chin down he could feel the soft skin of Soubi\'s forearm. There was something calming about breathing on the soft fine hairs and seeing them move with his breath.



Ritsuka nuzzled closer into the warm embrace, and yawned as Soubi pulled the blankets up over them. Soubi leapt up to switch off the lights quickly, and then was back in bed.



Then Ritsuka remembered. "I forgot to brush my teeth."



A warm chuckle came from beside him. He could feel Soubi\'s eyes on him in the dark, a comforting light of their own. He imagined Soubi smiling.



"That\'s okay, Ritsuka. You can forget it this once."



Ritsuka smiled. He supposed, he could. This once, there were a lot of different things. He loved it.



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Soubi\'s POV

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Soubi woke up to sunlight. He yawned, lifting a hand up to shield his eyes, and then started to roll from the bed so he could shut the curtains a bit more. But his arm was trapped. He could feel something soft against his forearm, and wispy things, too. What was it?



Soubi lay back down, and then really opened his eyes. Oh! The softness against his forearm was a soft, young cheek. The wispiness was the dark strands of Ritsuka\'s hair. Those ears twitched a little in the boy\'s sleep. His tail was curled around his butt, hanging over his leg. One of those legs was pushed between Soubi\'s; he could feel the boy\'s cold ankle against him. Half the blankets had fallen away from Ritsuka in the night. He had one arm firmly around Soubi\'s waist. That mouth was open adorably. Soubi looked down at Ritsuka\'s waist. There were the bruises on the boy\'s hips that he himself had made yesterday, as he had held Ritsuka down while he sucked the boy\'s cock.



Mmm. That had been good. Soubi felt a smile on his face and warmth burn inside him at the remembrance of yesterday. He had finally progressed in his relationship with Ritsuka, to a place they could not go back from. It was special and sweet.



He moved with care, slowly sliding his arm from beneath Ritsuka\'s cheek, gently taking hold of Ritsuka\'s arm and lifting it, so he could slide out from beneath it. Ritsuka mumbled in his sleep and shifted a little, but did not wake up. Soubi carefully put the sheets more over Ritsuka, covering the boy up to his shoulders.



He put tea in the kettle and went to go take a shower. He made it quick, so that he could take the kettle off before it whistled and woke Ritsuka up. With one hand he switched the burner off, with the other he held the knot in the towel around his waist.



There. Tea was ready. Now what to make for breakfast? Soubi pondered over it as he turned towards the closet to change into clothes.



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Ritsuka\'s POV

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Where am I? This was the first question that came to Ritsuka\'s head when he woke up. Blearily he sat up, rubbing sleep from his eyes. He wrapped the blanket around his shoulders more, holding it there. It was cold in here. He wanted it to be warmer.



Oh. Soubi\'s apartment? And he was wearing only his boxers? What...? Oh! Suddenly Ritsuka remembered. They had done all those things. And he had spent the night at Soubi\'s. Mmm, was that tea? Ritsuka wanted it. But first, he wanted a bath.



He tiptoed over to the tub and turned it on discreetly. Where was Soubi? Was it okay if he took a bath? The warm water was inviting. Ritsuka hooked his fingers under his waistband, and slid the boxers down, and stepped out of them. Just as he was sitting down in the tub, he heard the familiar step.



Soubi was standing to Ritsuka\'s left, toweling his hair dry. Ritsuka could see the waistband of Soubi\'s underwear from beneath his pants, because the man hadn\'t put on a belt yet. Ritsuka\'s eyes went over that form. The nipples were hard in the cold, the torso just as fascinating and strong as he remembered.



"Soubi? What\'s for breakfast?"



The face that appeared suddenly from behind the towel looked surprised.



"Ritsuka? Up already?"



Ritsuka shrugged. "I felt like getting up. It was cold."



Soubi smiled. "I\'m sorry I left you. The sun was in my eyes. I made tea. What would you like for breakfast?"



Ritsuka reached out and took hold of Soubi\'s wrist and pulled. Soubi leaned down obediently, until his face was right next to Ritsuka\'s. The boy smiled, and then put his mouth right by Soubi\'s ear. He licked over the shell of the ear and then sucked at the lobe a moment, hearing Soubi\'s "Mmm" of pleasure.



He giggled. "Okonomiyaki?"



Soubi pulled back and smiled. "Sure."



* * *



They had had a nice morning together.



Now it was the next day, Monday. Ritsuka sat at school, sore and tired. His mother had beaten him brutally when he got home, and Soubi would surely see the wounds the next time they...did anything. But WOULD there be a next time? He wondered. He wanted there to be a next time, but at the same time he was nervous. What if it had all been a one time thing? Maybe it should be? Should they wait? Ritsuka didn\'t even want to go down that lane of thought, waiting or not waiting. All he knew was that he loved Soubi and couldn\'t let go of the man, nor did he want all those kisses and things to be the only time.



He didn\'t know what he would say to Soubi when he saw him after school today. The dread grew in him as the day went on, and he was continuosly distracted from his studies. Several times he was called on and had no answer, and Yuiko kept flashing him concerned looks. When Shinonome-sensei took him aside to ask him if anything was wrong, he shook his head, saying simply, "I\'m tired."



"Why are you so tired, Ritsuka-kun? You know it\'s not good to stay up late on nights before school."



"Umm...I stayed up late, reading, and doing homework," he lied. He looked up at Shinonome-san\'s face to see if she believed him. Apparently, she did, or else she disapproved of him lying. A frown had crossed her face.



But then she sighed, saying,"Alright then, Ritsuka. Just, don\'t do it again."



Don\'t do it again. Don\'t do it again. The words rocked through Ritsuka\'s mind as he went back to class and sat down. What would Shinonome-sensei say if she knew what he had done with Soubi? If his tiredness had made her frown...how would she react to knowing about he and Soubi? She would say more than "Don\'t do it again." But he wanted to do it again! He felt a blush burn his cheeks and buried his head in his arms to hide it.



When the final bell rang, Ritsuka sighed in relief. He grabbed his bag and walked as quickly as he could through the halls. He didn\'t want people to see how eager he was, to see him running towards Soubi. Earlier, he had dreaded what he would say to Soubi, but now at the prospect of actually seeing Soubi, he was eager.



"Ritsuka-kun! Wait up!"



It was Yuiko and Yayoi-san. Grumbling under his breath, Ritsuka slowed his pace and let the two catch up to him. He turned to smile at Yuiko as she began to chatter about the day, and by the time they were outside she had finished, and asked him, "Why were you acting funny in class today, Ritsuka-kun? You seemed tired and distracted. And your ears and tail were wiggling around more today!" She giggled, and tried to hide the smile behind her hand.



Ritsuka laughed with her. "Really? Oh. I guess I was just impatient to get out of class today. No particular reason," he amended, as curiousity lit Yuiko\'s face. "I just didn\'t feel like schoolwork today."



They rounded the corner and there was Soubi, standing in his usual spot. He dropped the cigarette and mashed it out when he saw Ritsuka looking at it.



"Ritsuka. How are you today?"



The question suddenly seemed to mean a thousand things. Soubi had asked it to Ritsuka before, asked it often, but today it confused Ritsuka. Was Soubi talking about how Ritsuka felt in regards to yesterday? (Soubi knew Ritsuka\'s mother would have beaten him for disappearing on Saturday and not returning until Sunday morning). Was he asking how school had gone? Did he know how distracted Ritsuka had been in classes? Was he asking Ritsuka if they could continue off from Saturday? What did he mean?



Ritsuka blushed and shook his head, refusing to answer. His gaze dropped to the ground and he said quietly, "I\'m fine. School was ok. I...I think we should do something fun, because school was boring today."



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Soubi\'s POV

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They ended up going to the arcades that day, and the day after, Ritsuka had a lot of homework to catch up on. Two weeks passed, and nothing new happened. When Soubi kissed Ritsuka, the boy would blush, but not proceed any further. Soubi wondered to himself, had he scared the boy off? Did he have to wait after all? At least Ritsuka wasn\'t being distant from him, nor did he seem angry, just shy.



Soubi decided to lay off and just be normal. He didn\'t want to make Ritsuka nervous. He was working on a painting one evening when suddenly his cellphone rang. It was Ritsuka.



Flip. "Ritsuka?"



"Soubi? Hi. I was thinking of taking a walk in the park. Want to come with me?"



Soubi raised a brow. A walk in the park? This was out of nowhere. But Ritsuka did do that sometimes, he got bored or thoughtful and suddenly wanted to do something, out of nowhere.



"Okay. I\'ll be there in ten minutes."



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AUTHOR\'S NOTE: More coming soon! Sheesh...sorry this chapter was so, erm...un-sexual? Haha. More plotty. This is because I decided to continue onward with the fic and not just end it with the art project being drawn. Perhaps I should have made it end here and made a sequel to "The Art Project", instead...but the same idea is here, and I have no new ideas for a sequel that would make it able to stand alone, on its own.



Don\'t worry...they do more. ^__~ Reviews welcome!!