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When you hear his key in the door, you chuck the bags of tea you're holding haphazardly onto the kitchen counter and skid out into the living room, putting yourself between him and the pile of supplies you've gathered on the kotatsu.
"Hang on! Turn around, babe, I got- Turn!"
"Wh- oh, sorry!" He bristles and spins on his heel, awkwardly sticking his arm out behind him to set his keys down. He just barely makes the table, and you have to swoop in to catch them before they slide off.
"Here, sorry, go ahead and take your shoes off. Didn't mean to imply you couldn't move at all." You reach up to his shoulders to start sliding his coat down his arms, and you hang it on the rack beside you. "Just panicked a lil. Didn't wanna spoil the surprises for later."
"Why are there surprises again?" He pushes his shoes over with his foot and tries to turn to face you, but you press the back of your hand against his cheek.
"Ah, ah. Do I need a reason to spoil you?"
"Wh- uh. I guess not?"
"Good, because that's what we're doing tonight." With a gentle tug to his elbow, he steps backward up the stair dividing the entrance from the living room. You press a hand to the small of his back, and he holds a hand up to the side of his face to block his view of the table as you guide him down the hallway. "There's a bath all set for you, and I laid some stuff out on the bed for when you're done."
"Are you... is the bath...?" He pushes open the bathroom door, his gaze lingering on the washcloth sitting on the towel you left on the counter, folded into a heart.
"As lovely as that sounds," you press against his back again, and he takes a hesitant step inside, "I've got a few more things to gather. Besides, tonight's all about relaxing. It wouldn't do any good to get you all worked up, now would it?" You follow behind him to light the candle on the edge of the tub, tossing a wink over your shoulder at his reflection. "Take your time. Once you're cozy, meet me back out there, okay?"
"Ah, a-alright." He catches your wrist on your way out. Before you can ask if something is wrong, he's pressing his lips against yours, quick and chaste. "Okay. Now you can leave."
You laugh and lean up to press another kiss to his cheek before pulling the door closed behind you.
+
"I almost forgot I had this robe." He holds his arms out and spins at the waist, the ends of the robe swirling around his knees. "It's really comfortable."
"Well, you're about to get even comfier, big boy. Get over here." You pull your legs up onto the couch and pat the front of it, gesturing for him to sit in front of you on the floor.
"...Big boy?" Despite the confused look on his face, he shuffles over and takes a seat, stretching his legs under the kotatsu. "What is all this stuff, anyway?"
"We," your hands fall on his shoulders, and you lean down to whisper in his ear, "are having a spa night." You reach over him to grab the game remote, and you dangle it in front of his chest. "Your job is to water plants, and my job is to make you as relaxed as possible, using this assortment of items." He takes the controller, and your hand fans out toward the table. You reach to grab the hairbrush, using your grip on his shoulder to keep from falling forward as he starts up the game. "And probably a massage later."
"I haven't gotten to play this in a while." He leans back into your touch as you card your fingers through his damp hair, gently detangling it.
"Exactly. I've missed watching you play it, too." His head bobs with the music, and your fingers catch in a knot. "Sorry."
"Oh, no, i-it's fine. It was an accident."
"Still, lemme know if it ends up hurting, okay?" You bend to kiss his cheek, and he leans into it.
"Sure." He nods, and the brush snags at the base of his neck on the first pass. He laughs awkwardly. "My bad."
"Gosh, Seri, it's like you want your hair yanked out." The sound of him watering a pumpkin covers his pointed silence. You give a stilted nod, more to yourself than anything, as you run the brush through his hair again. "It's getting kinda long again, too."
"Ah, yeah, sorry. I should cut it soon." He pulls up some weeds, running in little circles as he decides where to go next.
"Why? You don't like it?" You tilt your head, considering the way the little curls at the back of his neck come forward to frame his jaw. When you ruffle it to check for more tangles, a few strands in the middle fall forward and curl up on themselves. "I think it looks nice."
"...Oh." You give a few final passes through his hair with the brush, leaning over him again to grab the headband from the table. As you sit back up, you admire the light dusting of a blush across his nose. "Thank you."
"Of course, you know I thought you looked handsome with shorter hair, too, so don't let me sway you." You tuck the ends of the headband behind his ears and lay it flat across his forehead before pulling it back toward you. "But personally, I'm in favor of keeping it longer. If you want."
"I'll keep it in mind." He laughs, one of those low, breathy ones that makes your chest tighten, and wanders down the dirt path to the shop. The soft taps of the character’s steps mix with the sounds of your shuffling as you slide down the front of the couch, settling in next to him on the floor. You wait for the loading screen that happens when the shop door opens to lean across the table, pulling two mugs of tea, steam slowly rising from them, toward you.
“This one’s yours. It’s still pretty hot, but you’re about to have stuff on your face so you might wanna take a sip now anyway.” He reaches for the mug with a muttered thanks before what you’ve said finally catches up to him, and he pauses just before taking a sip.
“What?”
“We’re doing face masks!” You tap the pile of foil pouches, each one with a tiny animal face in the corner, and he breathes out a sigh. “Let’s see, there’s a tiger, a bear, a dog, a cat, and… a panda, I think?” You pick up the stack to shuffle through it. “Yeah, a panda.”
“I’ll take… the bear, I guess?” He takes another sip of his tea before setting the mug down. “No, wait. The… mm, the bear is fine.”
“Final answer?” He reaches for it, but you pull your hands in at the last second. He rolls his eyes and kisses your jaw, sliding the bear mask out of the stack while you’re distracted.
“Yes. Final answer.”
“Alright, okay. Don’t open it, though, we gotta do this first.” You reach for a small plastic container, unscrewing the top. “Pucker up, babe.”
He blinks at you a few times, then leans down to kiss you. You end up laughing against his lips, and you have to pull back to get the rest of your giggles out. When your head knocks against his shoulder, he laughs another one of those breathy laughs along with you, and you bury your face in his chest.
“Okay, I guess I should have been more specific.” You lean up to give him a proper kiss, still smiling into it. “I literally need you to pucker your lips.”
“Oh, s-sorry.” He looks off to the side, pressing a hand to the back of his neck. “I thought it was weird you asked like that, but…”
“S’fine. Not like I mind, obviously.” You swipe your thumb across the surface of the sugar scrub before reaching up to cup his jaw with your other fingers. “Actually, maybe just open your mouth a little.”
He lets his jaw relax, his hand dropping back down to his lap, and his blush creeps from the bridge of his nose out toward his cheeks. Your thumb moves back and forth over his bottom lip, and you can feel his breath fanning over your hand. The game’s music drifts over from the speakers, but it does nothing to distract you from the intensity of his stare. It’s the same intensity that gives him that trademark “murderous intent resting face” that always makes you laugh and have to snap him out of it at the office, but when that same intensity is focused on you it feels a bit… heavier.
You clear your throat as you scrub across his top lip.
“Okay, n- ahem, now go like this.” You rub your lips together like you would after putting lipstick on, and he slowly repeats the motion. Your fingers drag lightly across his stubble as you pull your hand away, and his mouth falls open again. Your other thumb swipes away the excess sugar, and you scrub it across your own lips. “Alright, we can do the masks now.”
“Huh?” He blinks, gaze lingering on where your hand meets your mouth. “Oh, oh, right. Right, sorry.” He picks the mask up off his lap, eyes flicking up to meet yours before focusing on tearing it open. He delicately unfolds it, draping it over his hand before holding it up to look at the underside. “I have it upside down, don’t I?”
“Yeah. I got you.” You grab the edges of the mask and hold it up to his forehead, smoothing the sides down along his temples, then over his cheekbones, then across his cheeks and down his jaw. “Tada! You’re a bear now. How does it feel?” You hold a fist out between you like you’re holding a microphone.
He smiles and grabs your wrist to pull your hand in closer to his face, leaning down to meet you halfway. “Like I’ve got cold goo on my face, soft lips, and a partner that loves me.” He pauses and looks up to the side like he’s thinking. “So, pretty good overall.”
“We’ll have to verify that whole ‘soft lips’ thing later, sir. We’re a very reputable source. I’d hate to go around spreading misinformation.”
He lowers your hand into your lap and picks the controller back up. He turns toward the TV again, wandering over to buy something in the shop, but he glances at you from the edge of his vision, and a grin cracks across both your faces.
“Of course.”