Work Text:
"Good morning, angel," Kaoru kissed Rei's cheek as he walked into their shared kitchen where he was sitting and began to pour himself a cup of coffee, humming to himself. He had fallen asleep after Rei for once, and had been graced with the sight of him adorably falling asleep on Kaoru's chest, so he was in a fairly happy mood.
Angel... That was new. Rei, slightly blushing, tilted his head up at Kaoru inquisitively. "Good morning, dear. May I ask why the new name...? Particularly angel...?"
Kaoru snorted, sipping his very sweetened coffee (Rei really wondered how the hell he drank something that sweet). "You're like an angel, aren't you? It's not that hard to see, love."
"But if anything, I'm more like a devil, Kaoru-kun. I only hurt other people in the end. It doesn't matter how I try to assist, it only ends up wounding the people around me in ways I cannot fix." He glanced down, memories coming back in flashes of all the times he had failed the others around him. Each thought felt like a stab to the heart, but he was more focused on the... slightly pained and saddened look in Kaoru's eyes?
He leaned forward and cupped Rei's cheek, kissing his forehead. Taking a deep breath before speaking, Kaoru looked directly into his eyes as he began to talk. "Rei-kun. You are not a devil. You're nothing like a devil. Devils don't try to help others the way you do. Sure, you may have failed-" Rei flinched at that, but Kaoru continued. "-but you're honestly trying to help others and improve their situations. Sometimes things are just outta your hands, but you do whatever you can to make sure that other people can be helped to the best of your ability, even if it only ends up hurting you."
Kaoru smiled sadly at him. "I wish you would take better care of yourself, you know. You deserve to be loved and live happily yourself. Please don't forget about yourself when caring for other people. You deserve to smile too."
"No, I don-" Rei started to argue, but Kaoru cut him off.
"I wasn't finished. I only said that you weren't a devil, but I never told you how you're an angel. Will you listen to why, Rei-kun?" He slowly nodded, and Kaoru continued. "You're an angel because you're kind and loving. You're patient, and you stay by others' sides when they need you. Hell, you've always stayed by my side even throughout second year. You, especially, should see how different I've become since then. And a lot of it's because of you."
Kaoru's voice trembled a bit at the next part. "You've seen my family situation. You've held me in your arms as I cried. You comforted me and talked me through it all, and I know how bad you can be with more emotional... issues. You constantly go out of your way for me, and I'm sure you do the same for so many others. Most people don't do that. Very few people go out of their way to help others and do what they can, even if it backfires in the end. And you love. Very, very deeply. You helped others so much and overworked yourself to the point of breaking, which I hope you never do again. You deserve to feel happy and be taken care of yourself, too."
"So yeah. You're like an angel. Rei-kun, you're my angel," he finished, watching Rei's face, looking for any reaction from him.
A tear rolled down Rei's cheek, and then another. And another. And another. Until there were tears running down his face that he wasn't even trying to hide, because Kaoru was the only person he'd ever let see this side of him. The one that was in so much pain from always feeling so helpless and could never help himself or others. The side that, occasionally, cried himself to sleep at night out of exhaustion and powerlessness.
Rei tried to speak, but no words would come out, so instead he reached out to Kaoru with his arms. He understood, wrapping his arms around Rei as he felt his tears soak his shirt and his shoulders tremble slightly. Gently rubbing Rei's back, he gingerly placed his cup on the kitchen counter. He placed light kisses on the top of his head, trying to quietly comfort him and tell him everything would be alright.
"Kaoru-kun... thank you," came a muffled response as Rei tightened his hold on Kaoru. "I... didn't know that I needed to hear those words so badly. And I... am glad to be your angel. I hope you know that you are mine as well. My Kaoru..."
He smiled softly. "My Rei. I love you. Please never forget that. You are loved, and I never want to stop loving you. I want you to always know that, and I want to make you happy for as long as I'm around."
Rei lifted his head and buried it in the crook of Kaoru's neck. "I should be saying all these things to you. You're the one that should be happy and loved, and I want to make you happy. Your smile is a ray of sunshine, and I never want you to leave. I love you too... my angel."