Disclaimer: I am a girl who treasures her Loveless manga. Don't hate.

Catnip

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Distractions were always key after a long day of making memories, and Kio was becoming rather adept at it. The young man was an undergrad, tall and lanky like his study partner. With devious eyes and wispy locks, Kio could pull off the gangster, or at least the delinquent look like he had so many times. Somehow, his angles persuaded him toward the sharper side of life. He would secretly bequeath his stash of smut to his partner if only this particular partner would give him the time of day to admire such a look.

And holy hell was he chewing that tongue of his. After all, it wasn't everyday that Soubi requested a nude Kio into his presence—"for artistic reasons only, of course."

Presently, Soubi smirked at his sketch, compared it to the bright blonde's form as a whole, and then returned to sketching. The bright blonde tried ignoring the concentrative glint in those eyes. It was almost a turn-on.

"You're just perfect, Kio," he breathed, the textured sound of charcoal scratching the surface.

The addressed college man beamed, very pleased indeed and failing to hide it. Kio could not keep himself from snorting. "So anyway," he relented, "how did your Ritsuka kid do today? Push you away again, did he? Or did you finally grind it into him that you're mine?"

Heh.

Soubi listened to the silence in the room, slanted blue eyes and all glancing up quickly to the human statue. "Don't be silly, dear Kio. If that were true, I wouldn't have to grind it into him. He'd know right from the moment our lips touched, our hands roaming, our tongues searching, our—"

"I'd rather not know, thanks!" Kio gave the look of an angel having discovered the aforementioned smut. He dared not let the unfair imagery get to him.

"Suit yourself."

Hmph.

The sketching had commenced once again, the room filled with texture and light scratching.

Yet Kio also couldn't help his bubbling curiosity from spewing over, so that he felt an unmistakable wave of discomfort and…jealousy. He was jealous of a brat who did not acknowledge that the long-haired Fighter was a precious entity.

Possessive rigors went through the hands that were settled along his hipbones. Too bad they didn't belong to the Fighter.

"Sooo…aside from the tongue-play"—he tried not to wince at Soubi's invisible horns—"has the br—boy been coping all right? Not that I care or anything…but I do care about my Sou-chan."

The artist didn't halt his blossoming work in order to answer respectively. Soubi must have been really hypnotized or something, which really meant that Kio was getting his hopes up by imagining things. That was the cue, then, to continue probing Soubi for any excuse to boot Ritsuka out of his life.

"What I mean is, I don't need to ask if you're treating him right, but is he treating you right? Now don't give me that look, Sou-chan. I am being quite sincere!" Of course, being "quite" had to mean he was at his sincerest…

Or maybe just buzzed from the fuzzy warmth in the flat.

"Kio-chan."

"Yes, Sou-chan?"

"Your penis is bothering me."

Kio had never heard anything so wicked. The nude model was dumbfounded but congratulated himself from resisting nervous laughter.

"…Eh? Why so?"

"The light is not falling on it properly. You need to curve your back a bit more. Yeah—mhm. Like that…"

Whatever happened to perfect!?

Kio sighed and eyed the ceiling as Soubi resumed his sketch, an unabashed thoughtfulness radiating from beneath the fluid locks, like a self-content schoolboy. It would be tough luck, or hard love, if Kio ever so much as tried protesting against Soubi's succinct phrasing. It was always like that now. Seimei, followed by Ritsuka, had changed his precious Soubi Agatsuma.

But hadn't Soubi spoken of his former teacher?

"Hey, Sou…" he said a few minutes later after some of his jealousy had seeped back into oblivion. "What if someone found out—other than your kind—about you and Ritsuka? There'd be trouble…"

The Fighter Unit, addressed by that implication, merely moved the pencil over the sketch pad, gentle as a hummingbird and as loud as one, at that. Soubi was predisposed to remain calm, even though Kio could discern a hint of crashing thoughts.

"No one will. I don't advertise it."

"Riiight."

"I don't. And if someone ever steps between us, I will simply kill them."

Ack! If only Soubi had included Kio, he would have fallen head over heels at that moment on the mat.

"Except it won't be that simple," Kio added determinedly, observing how his heart pounded into his ribcage with every urge.

Being naked in front of his best friend, aka his flirt-toy, was not the easiest task to submit to even for a model. Now that it was dusk, he could feel his toes starting to sweat against the soft matting he posed upon and his posture displaying a rather unforgivable exhaustion.

Wishful thinking consisted of Soubi having brought Kio before him for the sake of art as a welcomed pretense.

He had to be perfect for Soubi; none of this nonsense about bad lighting and killing bystanders— but his ass was starting to burn.

Maybe Soubi didn't realize how positively piercing his eyes were on exposed flesh? Kio felt a sudden admiration for Seimei's brother. How embarrassing.

A moment passed. "You're faltering."

"I thought I was perfect," Kio pouted, very much wanting a lolly. He was going into withdrawal! It wasn't his fault that he was starting to slump. He had suggested posing with a lollypop in hand before starting, but Soubi had said the candy was unnatural for such art. Then: In my mouth? Then: No, that's so obtrusive…

"Only Ritsuka is perfect. You're letting your shoulder fall back…"

The model bit back a retort. This was expected: Soubi liked dishing out insults whenever he felt cornered, even a tad threatened. Kio should have seen it coming.

"And you're letting that façade poke holes through me, Kio-chan."

So it's mutual!

"Well, if you weren't such a pervert, then I would be enjoying myself right about now."

A standoffish wall built itself between the two. Soubi should have destroyed it.

"I'm not paying you to enjoy it…" True.

"You're not paying me anything…" Very true.

Soubi smiled slowly, pulling the string holding his ponytail tighter. He then glowered at Kio, a few strands along his cheek.

"It worries me that you and Rit-chan are alike in that department. No doubt it's dangerous to my health."

Kio wasn't sure whether to pride himself or to take offense at the new development. He chose another alternative.

"Like catnip to a virgin, eh?" he remarked, goading Soubi with a seductive grin.

Heh.

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