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"Go back to bed."
It was almost routine by then. She'd wake up in the early hours of pre-dawn getting ready for her "side-job", heading over to their bathroom to take quick shower before she left and foolishly believe for the nth time that she had been stealthy enough not to wake up her dozing husband. And, yet again, she would come out only to see that he was awake and out of bed, not at all knocked out like she'd been led to believe.
Her scowl did nothing to deter him; if anything, it only brought him amusement to her exasperation.
"I will when I see you off." He replied easily, already making his way out of their bedroom before she could say anything else. His footsteps were light as he padded through the hardwood floors, being extra careful when he passed by a particular room in the hallway before he flicked on the light, casting their kitchen in a dim, warm glow.
Scratching at his messy bed hair, he instinctively pressed on their coffee maker, satisfied when he heard the familiar beep of the machine turning on, followed by the sound of droplets of warm caffeine slowly fall into the canister below. That was at least one thing started. He walked nearby to another counter and grabbed a few slices of bread from a bag before put them into the awaiting toaster.
He yawned, bleary eyes peering at the oven clock to check the time.
3:40 am, it read.
It was definitely earlier than the time she usually went in. It was probably her idea that they were doing it so early, given that the others, especially Kyoko, were not at all early birds. He presumed it was to get home early, as to not alert the other occupants of the house that she had even left to begin with.
Leaning onto the counter, crossing his arms and closing his eyes for a few moments, he wondered how was it that his wife could wake up at such ungodly hours to fight terrifying, supernatural witches only to be completely functional and attentive later in the day with him and the children. All with that same smile on her face, the one he had been too blinded in his self-pity to notice when he was younger, unaware of the heavy price she paid for him. For the future that would come to pass.
To think, Kyosuke surmised regretfully as he knew her too well, she would've kept that secret to the grave if he hadn't accidentally caught her transforming on the rooftop that fateful school morning.
It was moments like these where he realized just how lucky he was to have caught the eye of a compassionate, badass woman like Sayaka Miki, who had selflessly given him his entire life back, and more.
His left hand clenched and unclenched in response.
And it was also these very thoughts that drove him to wake up with her every single day and, at the very least, give her some semblance of breakfast before she left.
It was exactly when he had gotten the butter out and was nearly about to spread it onto the pieces of toast did she come in, enveloping the kitchen with the scent of her favorite lavender shampoo.
"I'll be gone in a few minutes, Kyosuke. You should take the time to sleep before your next practice later." She insisted again as she stood on the other side of their island table, hair combed and teeth cleanly brushed. There was still the lingering fragments of sleep in her eyes when he met her gaze, but his focus shifted back on the finish buttered toast, placing them on a platter before sliding it over the table. It skid to a stop just in front of her.
"I don't have practice until eleven." He reminded her, already working on her hot drink. "By then I'll be good to go."
Hopefully, he thought, serving the coffee into a warm mug and placing in almost two spoonfuls of sugar and a regular serving of vanilla cream (just as she liked it), this would wake her up more.
She eyed him skeptically, taking a bite out of her toast. "But you're taking the kids to school today."
"There's still a few hours before I wake them up for it." He assured as he placed the drink before her, and though she hesitated at first—as always, he chuckled—she took it in both hands and downed it heartily. He watched with fondness, placing his chin his hand, as her cheeks warmed from the hot beverage, giving color to her normally pale skin. It only made it better when she caught him staring, placing the nearly empty mug down with a small clink and stuttered out an explanation for his so-called "strange" behavior.
"Can't I admire my wife for a moment?" His small smile only served to make her face flame all the more, letting out an indignant noise as she took the last bites of her toast.
Sadly, his teasing would have to wait until later. There were only three minutes left until Sayaka needed to meet up with the others, and though she was was incredibly fast in her other form, he didn't want her to rush and possibly run into a powerful witch along the way. The thought of it even made his stomach churn uneasily, despite knowing that she could undeniably handle herself.
The brisk, cold air made them shiver instantly when they stepped outside of their gated home, careful to close the door quietly as to not disturb the small children still slumbering in the home. The moon was still out, though it had fallen significantly since the last time they'd seen it earlier that night. Stars still sprinkled the dark sky, though not as visible due to the bright lights emitting from the nearby city, and Kyosuke was relieved to see that there was no clouds out that morning.
He would've addressed his wife's still damp hair and the fact that she was going out in freezing conditions after she'd recently showered—you could get sick, he almost said—but remembered that it wouldn't matter in the next few minutes anyways.
And it didn't. In a flash, Sayaka had transformed, hair dried and skin without a traces of any prior goosebumps, her white cape whipping mildly in the wind as her boots clicked faintly on the cement. His eyes never left her form even as she fixed herself, being careful to place her cutlass sword back at her side. [1]
"I-I'll see you later?" She asked awkwardly with a flushed face upon noticing the familiar look, still unused to seeing the look of awe on his face even after all these years. It seemed her habit of blurting out stupid things when she was nervous was another thing that hadn't change, a realization that made her curse internally.
And she was married to the guy too...
Kyosuke, however, took it in stride.
"Of course," he said, smiling softly. "I'll be awake by the time you come back. Stay safe, Sayaka."
"I will." She stated firmly, placing a fist on her chest determinedly. Spoken like a true magical girl. Her expression eased significantly as she added, "And you better go back to bed, you moron. I'll let you have it if I find out that you stayed awake just for me again."
At that he let out a sheepish laugh. Guess she had been noticing then.
"Well, see you later!" His wife called for a final time, her voice a hushed whisper, before she easily jumped over their gate and took off into the night. "I love you!"
Ah, typical of her to say those sacred words when he couldn't see her face.
Shaking his head, he took one final look at the direction she was heading with a hopeful demeanor.
"I love you too."