A/N: This is a brief oneshot…and yes, I actually managed to keep to the 'brief' part of that description for once! Warnings for fluff. May be taken as M/M relationship or really fuzzy, close friendship.

Disclaimer: If I owned Loveless, I would be a mangaka/authoress/artist by trade, not a musician…

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The artist nearly jumped out of his skin, fishing through his pocket for the source of the insistent ringing. At least class had let out barely a minute prior: his professor would have had his head otherwise.

"Ristuka, what's wrong?" He almost never calls, the man mused, concerned.

"Nothing. Where are you?"

A stutter. A twitch of an eyebrow. "At school." He sounded confused, taking quick steps down the stairs.

An exasperated sigh. "I know that, you dummy; it's only 1:00 after all." Something shuffled noisily on the other end of the phone. "Where are you?" The words were repeated firmly as though to an insolent child.

Soubi paused, perplexed at his sacrifice's pushiness and impatience. "Outside the Humanities building. Why?"

"No reason." The words were clipped. Had the fighter done something wrong? He was almost afraid for a moment, until the order of "Don't move," brought him back to focus. He ceased walking immediately.

"Okay." His head tilted to one side, fidgeting with his book bag.

"I mean it, Soubi," the darker-haired male growled. "Stay. Right. There."

"O-Okay, Ritsuka."

The line clicked and went dead. The cellphone was slipped back into the pocket from whence it came.

Soubi was completely lost at this point. Was Ritsuka angry with him? Or was there something going on at school that he didn't want Soubi to see? Perhaps something was amiss at home? Was the boy injured?

The blonde was yanked out of his musing moments later when a series of excited shouts and lively footfalls caught his attention. He whirled around promptly with azure eyes as wide as the sky itself. He blinked repeatedly as though emerging from a dream. The world around him seemed to disappear.

"Soubi!" The call was from a bright-eyed, grinning tween whose raven-dark tail swished about behind him as he ran. Within seconds, after nearly colliding with the fighter, something cold and slightly wet was thrust into Soubi's hands.

"R-R-Ritsuka?" The man found both his mind and his tongue in knots. "What is…this?"

"It's an iced coffee," the boy explained breathlessly, ears perked. "I had the lady at the coffee shop put extra chocolate in it, too." He beamed proudly, lightly flushed from exertion. "I overheard you say once that you like stuff like this…right, Soubi?"

The blonde nodded hesitantly, blinking in quick repetition. "Y-yes, I do…but…what are you doing here? And at this time of day?" He was trying to bring back the responsible, concerned adult side of his brain, but that end of his rationale seemed to be lost somewhere out of reach.

"School let out early today, and I know your Tuesdays usually end around 1:00 anyway…so I thought…you know…" The cat-eared boy was now looking down at his shoes bashfully. He hesitated and growled a little to himself, gathering his nerve before looking up at his partner fiercely. "I figured, you're always picking me up from school and doing things for me; it's about time I did the same for you, Soubi. I wanted to come pick you up today, for a change."

The blonde wasn't sure what tickled him more—the sight of his petite sacrifice at his school, the coffee pushed into his hand, the determined explanation, or the fact that the boy had even thought of him in the first place. Perhaps it was simply the sheer number of times he had heard his name spoken in such a short period of time, none of them with anger, frustration, or disappointment. He grabbed the boy's hand tightly, tugging him towards a set of vacant picnic tables and ignoring the surprised protests. He set the coffee down on a table and released his sacrifice only to snatch him up into his arms. He chuckled and held the boy bridal style, nuzzling his face into the sweat-streaked, pale neck peeking out from his t-shirt.

"Thank-you, Ritsuka. I'm so…happy…right now. You have no idea."

The boy in question was roughly the color of a fire-truck-red crayon, and was about to retort with something biting and harsh to diffuse his embarrassment—and hopefully to get Soubi to put him down…but then he spotted the look of unrestrained joy stretched across his friend's face. His smile was wide, his eyes twinkled brilliantly, and his frame was completely at ease as he cradled Ritsuka to his chest, still standing. He was slowly pacing about in a little circle on the open concrete, heedless of the other students scurrying about the campus around them. It was almost like they were dancing. In a weird way of course, but that was to be expected of Soubi, the boy figured.

"I'm glad," he murmured instead, quiet but still certain that Soubi could hear him just fine. "I…I like to see you happy." He buried his face in a warm, messy blanket of blonde locks. "Maybe I could do this more often for you. I should."

Soubi gently set Ritsuka back on his feet and leaned down so that their foreheads touched. He heard the fighter sigh, but it wasn't an unhappy sound. "Let's take it one day at a time, okay?" His voice sounded odd: a strange mixture of tension, happiness, and something else that the boy couldn't place. Uncertainty, perhaps? "To be honest, I'm not sure how much of this I can handle," he clarified when he felt as though the boy were about to retaliate hotly. "I'm sorry, but I feel so odd right now…this is unusual for me, so I really don't know what to say or feel about it." He hung his head.

Soubi found his hair being ruffled in a roughly affectionate gesture and he started.

"Dummy, it's a good thing when someone does things that make you happy. I want to do stuff like this, so you'd better get used to it!" Ritsuka's ears twitched, tickling the blonde's nose. He grabbed the hand nearest to him with refined fingers and a remarkably firm grasp, dragging him toward the front of the college campus. Soubi barely had enough time to pick up the coffee again. "Anyway, let's go home now; it's too hot out here right now, and I'd rather be alone with you anyway." Ritsuka's sleek tail twitched as he plodded ahead quickly. His expression was hidden carefully from view.

The sentouki chortled under his breath. "Ritsuka," he called, catching up to the boy's hurried pace in half a step. "Would you like to share this with me?" He held the plastic cup out to the other's scrunched up face, tapping a pale finger next to the smiling woman on the green and black logo.

Ritsuka flushed. "O-Okay. Only if you don't mind…" Feet stilled, lilac eyes closed momentarily, and he darted his neck forward to take a quick, nervous sip.

Soubi leaned down discreetly to steal the next sip, making his sacrifice flush at the thought of an indirect kiss. But then Soubi was smiling again as he commented, "It's really good, koibito. Thank-you." The words were heartfelt and the boy couldn't help but grin back shyly at the elder male.

"You're welcome." Satisfied with the reaction, Ritsuka squeezed the hand that still held onto his. They started walking again at a more relaxed pace, taking turns enjoying the caffeinated beverage with comfortable ease. "Soubi…can we stop at the park for a while? If you don't mind, I mean…"

The question was repaid with the quick, affectionate clasping of a bony shoulder and the gossamer pressing of lips between flicking, expectant ears. "Of course we can, Ritsuka. I'd love to go with you."

Words can mean Love. Sometimes actions mean Love. Yet only the expression of it ever changes, because…

Love should always mean happiness.

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A/N: Koibito can be translated as 'sweetheart' or 'lover', much like the use of 'love' as a nickname in English.