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Loving Kojiro was easy. It was the easiest thing Kaoru had ever done. He was his best friend after all. He knew what buttons to push and which ones to put a cover over. No one understood him like Kojiro. He was the most beautiful man Kaoru had ever seen, inside and out.
He wore his heart on his sleeve, always making sure to keep the doors to his restaurant and home open to those in need. Of course the man was argumentative and annoying too, but Kaoru held those traits dear to his heart. Their relationship; their love wouldn’t be the same if he wasn’t those things too.
Kaoru accepted his love for Kojiro years ago. Of course he loved him. And Kojiro would say those words every single day. He would wake Kaoru up with an “I love you”, kiss him goodnight with an “I love you”, and fill up the smallest moments in their daily lives with an “I love you”. But even then, Kaoru struggled to gather the words for himself to say. In fact, it took him six months for them to spill from between his lips.
“Oh. It’s our anniversary,” Kaoru mused.
“It is!” Kojiro beamed, pausing what he was doing to face Kaoru. “Happy six months, baby, I love you.” He smacked a wet kiss against Kaoru’s cheek, pulling a small laugh from Kaoru.
“I… I love you too, Koji.”
It felt perfectly natural rolling off his tongue. No wonder Kojiro said it so often.
Two and a half years had passed since then.
Kojiro was cheesy, Kaoru loved that about him so much (do not let Kojiro know this), but he was cheesy enough that he had asked Kaoru out on Valentine’s Day three years ago. That wasn’t the issue. The issue was that Kaoru wanted to be sentimental. He wanted to propose to Kojiro on their three year anniversary, but he absolutely refused to stoop to his beloved’s cheesiness and propose on Valentine’s Day . He just couldn’t.
Kojiro would love it though…
The couple was in bed, winding down from their busy days. Kojiro was curled up to Kaoru, scrolling through funny videos the kids had sent him throughout the day. His head rested on Kaoru’s chest, while slender fingers delicately ran through his curls. Occasionally, he’d laugh at a video, mostly at the sheer ridiculousness of generational humor or the occasional video that he deemed funny enough to show Kaoru. Kaoru, however, was sitting beside him, “reading” on his Carla integrated tablet.
Kaoru sighed, the idea of proposing on Valentine’s Day still running through his mind. He really, really didn’t want to be so cliché, but Kojiro really would just eat it up. “You okay, baby?” Kojiro’s concerned voice brought him back to reality.
“I’m alright, darling. I was just thinking about tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow?”
Kaoru playfully tugged his hair. “Yes, tomorrow, idiot. Don’t tell me you suddenly forgot,” he teased.
“No! No, of course not! You just sounded upset, so I wanted to make sure!”
“I appreciate that,” Kaoru hummed. “I’m not upset. I’m just thinking about what I’ll be doing for you.”
“ For me ?!” Kojiro sat up, a huge smile spread across his face. If he had a tail, it would have been wagging.
It made Kaoru laugh. “Yes, for you!”
Kojiro excitedly ducked his head, nipping and kissing Kaoru's neck.
“Koji!” Kaoru laughed loudly. “What’s gotten into you?”
“What? I can’t be excited to get a present from the love of my life?” He nipped his jaw.
“You are so easily pleased,” Kaoru smiled softly.
“Hey, when you have a smokin’ hot boyfriend, everything he does for you is a big deal.”
After three years, Kojiro could still say the dumbest things and Kaoru would still blush. “Idiot.”
♡~♡~♡~♡~♡~♡~♡~♡~♡~♡~♡~♡~♡~♡~♡
The next morning, Kaoru rose before his lover. It happened so scarcely that he took a moment to admire the sleeping man beside him. The pink-orange early morning sunlight kissed his tan skin and his green curls framed his face. His lips were slightly parted, the smallest string of drool fell from them.
But Kaoru’s favorite part of him were his soft bits. When Kojiro was fully relaxed and at ease, when his muscles weren’t clenched or flexed, when his body was soft. God, he was so in love with this man.
He leaned down and kissed his cheek. “Wake up, Kojiro.” His fingers gently brushed curls out of Kojiro’s eyes, who stirred slightly.
“Come on, darling, we can shower together,” Kaoru traced his fingertips over Kojiro’s jaw.
“Mmm…”
“Oh, my. Do you not want your anniversary present then? I suppose I could take it back…”
Kojiro suddenly wrapped his arms around Kaoru, pulling him down. “Don’t even think about it, asshole.”
Kaoru giggled. “Then get up!”
“Do I have to?” He groaned.
“Yes, if you want your gift you will need to be awake.”
Silence, then, “Can I have a kiss first?” Kaoru rolled his eyes fondly, but kissed him without complaint. They stayed in bed exchanging lingering kisses for several minutes before Kaoru sat up.
“Come on, you big lug, let’s go shower.”
After they showered and got dressed, Kaoru led Kojiro out the door.
“What about breakfast?” He asked.
“We’re going to that café you’ve been wanting to try out.” Kaoru intertwined their fingers. He wasn’t the world’s biggest fan of public affection, but it was a special day.
Kojiro was absolutely beaming with excitement. Their anniversaries were usually routine. Kojiro would bring Kaoru breakfast in bed, they’d go on a date, and Kojiro would serve dinner. This year was already different, for reasons Kojiro was oblivious to, and Kaoru wanted to make sure he stayed just as happy throughout the rest of the day.
They arrived at the cozy café and sat at a table further away from the rest. “Would you mind if I tried ordering for us both?” Kaoru asked. He never ordered, even his own food, because Kojiro always knew exactly what he wanted, but Kojiro agreed. Kaoru ordered coffee for both of them, a fluffy bread egg salad sandwich for Kojiro, and ogura toast for himself.
They reminisced about their life together until their breakfast arrived. Kaoru bit into his toast and almost grimaced. “Hm. That… Isn’t great.” He held it to Kojiro’s face, who took a bite as well.
“Ooh yeah, no. Even you can make it better,” he teased with a wink. Kaoru shook his head with a roll of his eyes. “Here, baby.” Kojiro handed him half of his sandwich. “Let’s see if this is any better.”
They both bit in at the same time. “It’s… Passable,” Kaoru pressed his lips into a thin line.
“It’s better than the ogura toast at least,” Kojiro snorted.
“I’m sorry, Kojiro, I should have tried the food before taking you here.”
“What would be the fun in that? We tried something new together, that’s what I love!” His voice was so genuine, it made Kaoru’s heart ache. Leave it to Kojiro to appreciate even the worst experiences. Kaoru smiled.
They finished their food and walked hand-in-hand out of the café. “Oh, Kojiro, look!” Kaoru pointed to a sign across the road that read “Fukushūen Garden”. “We should go take a walk.”
“That sounds nice, actually,” Kojiro agreed.
They crossed the street and walked into the garden. It was empty, save for the couple, so they leisurely strolled around. Kaoru stopped in the middle of a bridge that crossed in front of a beautiful, man-made waterfall. Atop the falls was a Chinese-style gazebo and surrounding them were luscious green plants. This was the moment. Cheesy or not, cliché or not, he was ready to propose to his boyfriend on Valentine’s Day.
Kaoru brought his free hand up to cup Kojiro’s face. “I love you, you know.”
Kojiro smiled with lidded eyes. “I love you too.”
“When we first started dating, I think I was afraid to say that. Maybe I thought if I said it, it would make things too real, and you would change your mind- which was completely irrational. I couldn’t get rid of you if I tried.” They grinned at each other.
“Kojiro, I would be lost without you. You’re my first memory and there isn’t a single aspect of my life that doesn’t somehow involve you. And I wouldn’t change that. Why would I ever want to change that?”
Kojiro stared at him, clearly unsure where exactly he was going with this. Kaoru took both of Kojiro’s hands and brought them to his lips, before reaching into his pocket and kneeling in front of the taller man. He opened the small, velvet box that was hidden in his pocket to reveal a beautiful matching set of black rings, with a delicate purple line around both bands.
“Kojiro Nanjo, I love you more than anything in this world. You make me so proud and so happy. You are my home. Will you spend forever with me, as my husband?”
Kaoru patiently watched his lip quiver and eyelids flutter. He knew Kojiro would need a moment to collect himself, so he stood from his spot and wiped away the tears that escaped down his lover’s cheeks. “Yes! Oh my god, yes, Kaoru, yes a million times. Yes!” He babbled, more tears spilling. Kaoru fondly laughed and slid the larger ring onto his fiancé ’s finger.
“Will you put this ring on me, darling?” He handed the box to Kojiro, who accepted it into his trembling hands. “Careful not to drop it,” he couldn’t help but tease him.
Kojiro took Kaoru’s hand in his and carefully glided the band onto his much smaller finger. They stood in each other’s arms happily for a moment before Kaoru kissed him briefly. “I love you.”