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“You need to stop being so careless!” Kiyotaka scolded, wrapping bandages around the cuts on Mondo’s arm. Mondo had gotten into a fight with another delinquent, and now Kiyotaka was tending to his injuries.
Mondo wasn’t listening, just staring down at the ground. Kiyotaka went on, about how Mondo shouldn’t be so reckless, that he didn’t want to see his boyfriend get hurt. After a few minutes, Mondo finally looked up at Kiyotaka, who’s gaze was solely fixated on Mondo’s injuries.
Mondo always thought Kiyotaka was perfect, and that he was just going to damage that. Mondo loved Kiyotaka’s black hair that had just the slightest hue of purple when it shone in the sunlight. Or the colour of his skin, how the pale shade of near-grey was probably unhealthy, despite the prefect’s great health. Or how brightly Kiyotaka’s eyes shone, eyes that others thought belonged to a madman. But Mondo thought otherwise. Those thick, lighter rings in his eyes fascinated him, and Mondo wanted nothing more than to just stare into those ruby red eyes and drown in them for the rest of his days.
He loved how Kiyotaka’s stern expression was amplified by how thick his eyebrows were, how they perfectly framed his face and gave him such a determined look. Or how genuine Kiyotaka’s smiles were, how much he glowed when he laughed, because Mondo knew that every time Kiyotaka laughed a joke Mondo made, or smiled because of the smallest bit of affection, it was a moment that Kiyotaka never had before meeting the biker. After all, Kiyotaka was such a lonely man, and only had his father to care for him and prove he can be happy. So, that was one thing Mondo was proud of. Being able to make Kiyotaka smile instead of glare or sob.
And whenever Kiyotaka would tire himself out to the point that he’d fall asleep, Mondo would carry the prefect over to his bed and lie him down. Of course, Mondo would never lay down next to him, out of fear that Kiyotaka would panic, and that the prefect wouldn’t be ready for that. Would think of it as immoral. But Mondo would sit there, and trace the small scars, freckles and other marks on Kiyotaka’s face and hands with his finger. Everything about his boyfriend was perfect to him.
“Are you even listening to me?” Kiyotaka asked, snapping Mondo out of his thoughts. Their eyes met, and just like every time Mondo got a perfect look at Kiyotaka’s eyes, he was breathless. It was like that stare sucked all the oxygen out of his lungs, like some sort of curse. “Mondo? Hey, I asked you a question-“
“I love you.”
Mondo hadn’t meant to say it out loud. Neither Kiyotaka nor Mondo had ever said it aloud before, but Mondo didn’t care in that moment. Any nervousness he felt was always calmed when with Kiyotaka, because to Mondo, Kiyotaka was like his rock. The one person Mondo could afford to be weak in front of, and not care. He could cry, vent, do anything he would never do in front of other people. And Mondo knew that Kiyotaka would probably never realize how important he was to him.
Kiyotaka just stared at him for a moment, blinking. “What?”
“I love you,” Mondo repeated, “An’ I’m sorry, ‘bout worryin’ ya. I’ll try, t’ get better I mean. For you.”
Kiyotaka just sat there is disbelief, a scarlet blush dusting his cheekbones. ‘Adorable’ Mondo thought. And though Kiyotaka was confused, there was this faint smile on his face. They sat there in silence for a moment before Kiyotaka’s smile widened and he said it back. “I...love you too.”
Mondo cupped Kiyotaka’s cheek and kissed him softly, which was a huge contrast to how he treated others. He was usually a rough and violent man. But around Kiyotaka? He was gentle and caring, because he knew that Kiyotaka didn’t deserve to be hurt anymore.
And when Mondo pulled away, he pressed his forehead against Kiyotaka’s, a half-lidded and peaceful expression meeting Kiyotaka’s own pleasantly surprised look. “I’ll tell ya as many times as ya gotta hear t’ know that I love ya.”
“And I with you,” Kiyotaka muttered, moving his hand to hold Mondo’s hand. Soft moments like these were what Mondo cherished most of all, and to him, there couldn’t possibly be anything better than being able to tell the man he saw as his soul mate that he loved him.