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Inevitable: that was the true nature of Sae’s relationship with Kaiser.
Many people would argue that it is what it is due to the hilarious circumstances they put themselves in. Itoshi Sae, the campus heartbreaker, can easily charm every man and woman with his mere existence and would break their heart in the next breath with the harsh words that spilled from his pretty lips. He rejected so many people coldly to the point where some fool-hardy students would make it a challenge to confess to him and find out how cruel he could be with the rejection.
The same couldn’t be the same about Michael Kaiser. Deemed unanimously as the campus’ biggest flirt, his biggest selling point was his winning smile and easy-going attitude, making him easily approachable and easily loved. What made him so interesting was figuring out his dating history, and, similar to Sae’s predicament, people made him a challenge. Knowing what kind of boyfriend he was to all the girls and boys he loved before was like weaving an intricate tapestry, all different shades of color and story that made up the fundamentals of Michael Kaiser.
So people didn’t see it as a surprise when, on a random Wednesday afternoon, Kaiser politely pushed everyone away with a determined stride, his usual smirk toned down into a barely-there smile. At the end of the corridor stood Itoshi Sae, one hand in the pocket of his jeans and a scowl decorating his face. His eyes were glued to the phone in his other hand, and upon hearing loud footsteps nearing him, he looked up to Kaiser walking towards him, the small smile turning into a wide grin.
“Itoshi senior! I’ve been looking for you.” Kaiser called out. Sae rolled his eyes, putting his phone in his pocket.
“I thought we were past calling me that. Nobody gives a fuck about using surnames anymore, Kaiser.”
Kaiser stopped right in front of Sae, the space between them almost non-existent. Sae would usually have many issues with anyone getting into his space, especially this close, but he enjoyed the warmth radiating from the other man. Kaiser’s hand rose to flick the stray piece of hair that fell on Sae’s forehead. “That’s ironic since you still call me Kaiser, darling.”
The frown on Sae’s forehead deepened at the endearment. “I told you not to call me that either. And Michael isn’t a flattering name, don’t get your hopes up.”
“Maybe we should work more on the nicknames we can give to each other, then,” Kaiser said, his hand slowly caressing Sae’s cheekbone. Such a public display of affection when they hadn’t made their relationship public, yet Sae couldn’t care less. Face softening, he leaned his face towards Kaiser’s hand.
“One day, I’ll let you call me anything you want, even at the expense of my embarrassment. But until then, if you call me darling or any sweet endearments in public, you’re free to spend the day without seeing me. Got it?”
“You wound me, Sae.” Kaiser mockingly put his hands on his chest, clutching it as if Sae struck him with an arrow. “I thought being with me would make you softer.”
“I already agreed to date you, you asshole. Is that not enough ‘opening up’ to you?”
“Well, yeah, but that does make it sound like you were doing it for any other reason than you liking me.”
“Kaiser–”
Sae’s voice got cut off by a junior clicking her heels right behind them, eyes alight with excitement.
“Can I help you?” Sae’s voice came out irritated, despite knowing he and Kaiser were in a public place.
The girl was practically bouncing on her feet. It’s frightening how much emotion a single human being can contain. “Sooooo my friends and I are all wondering, are you two dating?”
Apparently, she didn’t beat around the bush either. Sae was about to crudely reply to her that it was none of her business (despite, again, Kaiser’s obvious display of affection earlier) when Kaiser flashed his signature charming smile and squeezed Sae’s shoulder to keep him from talking.
“We weren’t really looking for it to be public but it’s not even a secret anymore, is it? Yes, we are dating!” Kaiser pulled Sae by the shoulder to embrace him, and Sae reminded himself of why he said yes enthusiastically to the blond man.
The girl clapped her hands in delight, somehow even more excited about the prospect of them dating than themselves. “I KNEW YOU BOTH WOULD END UP TOGETHER! You know, people have been betting on whether Kaiser can charm the impervious Itoshi Sae or not, and I think we all have the answer now.”
“You all did what?” Sae’s eyebrows furrowed again. He never heard of this bet before, and it must be widespread because he could see money being exchanged around the corridor when the girl yelled about their relationship.
“Damn, heathen, I thought you knew about it already.”
“Of course you knew about this,” Sae scoffed, annoyed at how annoyed he was. “What made you guys do it?” The question was being directed to the girl.
“Ah, Kaiser had been talking about how smitten he was with you since a few months ago, and since then his usual flirting towards anyone who would so much as look at him just vanished. And that’s when we all know he was being serious about wanting to chase you despite his dating history. And knowing yours, Sae, we were really curious whether you’ll finally crack for Kaiser.” The girl smiled again, seeming pleased with herself. “Trust me, most of us are glad that it worked out in the end.”
From the way Kaiser was intently staring at his shoes, Sae knew he didn’t expect the girl to say how long Kaiser had been pining. Ridiculously, Sae found it endearing. He turned toward the other man, grabbing his chin gently and making Kaiser look up.
“Don’t tell me you’re embarrassed about me knowing that.”
“You weren’t supposed to know that I’m that much of a loser for you.” Kaiser groaned, head dropping again, but Sae held fast. When Kaiser opened his eyes, Sae was struck by how blue it was. As blue as the ocean when the light around them was inadequate. As blue as the morning sky when they’re standing below it. Sae was struck by how much he loved Michael Kaiser, and it nearly took the breath out of his lungs. Him, admitting to loving someone. He filed this information for future him to analyze.
“We can have this conversation later, okay? Somewhere less… public.” Sae muttered softly, still looking into Kaiser’s eyes. That seemed to snap Kaiser out of his trance, and he nodded, his hand moving to take Sae’s, intertwining their fingers.
“You know, you have the prettiest eyes I’ve ever seen.” Kaiser started, swinging their hands as they walked. He can be so bizarrely childish sometimes, Sae thought to himself.
“Please shut the fuck up.”
“I’m telling the truth here! They’re lovely and vibrant and so very beautiful. I don’t know why people say they’re like ice.”
“You can say that because I don’t disregard you like I did everyone else.”
“Oh my god, are you admitting that I’m special?”
Sae shrugged, not being able to find it in himself to deny this small truth to himself and Kaiser. “Of course you are. Why else would I be holding your hands now? I can’t let people think they can ogle you when you’re already mine.”
“Those are big words, Sae. I didn’t know you were that greedy.” Kaiser’s hand tightened in his hold.
“Then there are so many more things that you need to learn about me.”
Maybe Kaiser was just dreaming too big when he settled his gaze on Itoshi Sae for the first time, but he didn’t dare let anyone know that his love for Sae didn’t start a few months back, but rather, it started during their freshman years of college, when Sae was still bright-eyed and full of mirth. Call him sappy, call him a hopeless romantic, but Sae’s teal eyes spelled nothing but trouble for Kaiser, and it only gets worse as the years go by. Kaiser’s deep-rooted nature to flirt and dally with many people could never be erased, hence why he let himself be famous for it, and he was content to let his equally deep-rooted affection for Sae run its course, festering until he couldn’t keep it to himself anymore. Hence the news about his pining for Sae for the last 5 months.
They were both sitting on the floor of Sae’s bedroom, the door slightly ajar to keep Sae’s parents from nagging too much about ‘teenagers’ and ‘sex’, which made Sae grumble in annoyance about how being 21 would exclude them from being teenagers. Kaiser was always in awe at how organized Sae’s bedroom was, always pristine and not a single item out of place. It made sense with the Sae he knew of, and he loved knowing about Sae. It was a pleasurable challenge for him, to unearth every small detail about the elusive Itoshi Sae.
“I’m not going to lie, I didn’t expect people to know about us that way.” Kaiser started, scuffing the carpet with his toes.
“Really?” Sae’s voice was dripping with sarcasm. “We’re so good at not letting people know right away, especially with how secretive you are around me earlier. Getting into my personal space, touching my cheek like that, oh surely people won’t have the slightest idea about us.”
“Sarcasm suits you so well, darling. I am allowed to call you darling, right? We haven’t exactly established that.”
“And you didn’t think of that when you called me darling earlier? In public too, I must say.”
Kaiser winced, regretting his impulsiveness. That was the one thing about himself that he was still working on fixing. After all, his impulsivity was the thing that garnered him the reputation that he has. He wanted to be different, for Sae. Kaiser knew that was the least he could do for his boyfriend.
“I’m sorry about that, I wasn’t exactly thinking…” Kaiser trailed off when Sae laughed. Nothing loud or extravagant, something akin to a breathy chuckle that made the corners of his eyes crinkled. God, Kaiser could spend hours bottling up every sound coming out of Sae’s mouth, opening them again to understand every facet of Itoshi Sae. His laugh was rare, and Kaiser reveled in knowing that he was one of the only people who could witness this.
“I know, love, you rarely think before you speak sometimes. I find it annoying most times and endearing on some other occasions.” Sae’s smile was still plastered on his face, and Kaiser reflexively reached out to touch the corner of his mouth. Talk about trying to reign in his impulsivity.
“I did not just hear you call me love.”
“Did you miss the part where I said I’m fine with any endearment as long as you don’t use them in public?” Sae arched his eyebrow. He must love doing that.
“Hmm, maybe I was a little bit too distracted by your eyes, darling.” Kaiser tested the word again, and he loved how it rolled off his tongue so effortlessly.
“There you go again with that incessant flirting. Flattery doesn’t work on me.”
“If it doesn’t, then why are your cheeks red?”
Kaiser will never forget the sight of Sae flustered and blushing at his expense.
“I did have many experiences with this, Sae. It’s especially easy to know which buttons to press when it comes to you.”
Face still red, Sae threw him a glare that would send anyone else scurrying. “What the fuck is that supposed to mean?”
He could give another off-handed answer, but Kaiser found himself contemplating this. Why did Sae attract his attention the most since day one? Surely it couldn’t just be because of his eyes. Could it be that they were just fated to gravitate toward each other?
Kaiser needed to know Sae’s side of this story.
“I know this might sound stupid, but have you ever felt like there’s this one person that you just knew that they’re right for you? That everything with them just felt… easy. Nothing brings you more joy than learning every little thing about that person, and it’s like you were made to know about them more than anyone else ever could.” Kaiser let out a breath, fully knowing that he sounded ridiculous. The words coming out of his mouth felt hypocritical, and Sae wasn’t the type of person to lament the unknown. To Sae, anything he couldn’t prove with his logic is useless to daydream.
“That’s a bold statement to make, Michael. Tell me, why do you think I never entertained the idea of dating just about anyone?”
Impulsively, again, Kaiser’s finger moved to trace a line back and forth on Sae’s thigh. “I always just assumed that you lack interest in a lot of things, including your love life. Which created a dilemma for years for me.” Sae didn’t take the bait, of course. He was good at keeping the conversation on the topic.
“I may look like a cynical asshole,” Kaiser opened his mouth to protest, but Sae held his finger up. “But to me, it’s useless to play around with anyone that I’m not interested in just for it to end like it never mattered. That’s why I waited until you asked me out. You were never just anyone to me.”
The words took their sweet, sweet time to get processed in Kaiser’s head. “So you’re telling me…”
“Yeah, I’ve been interested in you for a while, just like you did. Although your infatuation was since orientation, I didn’t do infatuation. It was a gradual thing until it clicked in place, you know.”
“You know from the beginning? Oh hell…” Kaiser hid his face with his hands. He should’ve known Sae would be too observant to not notice.
“Hey…” A set of hands, slightly smaller than Kaiser’s but held way more delicacy than he could ever imagine, pulled Kaiser’s hands away from his face and cupped his face. “It’s okay, it was adorable seeing you look away every time I managed to catch you staring at me.”
Kaiser moved his head slightly to kiss the palm of Sae’s hand. He would never get used to this feeling, and yet he would never ask for anything else. Sae wasn’t the missing puzzle piece in his life, god forbid Kaiser to reduce Sae to only a small piece. Rather, he regarded Sae as his pillar, his guide, the anchor to his tumultuous storm. It was terrifying how much Sae meant to him, because it meant losing Sae would be like losing half of himself.
“Does that mean I’m still adorable if I stare at you now at every chance I get?”
Sae didn’t answer him, instead opting to move his slender fingers to trace the shape of Kaiser’s eyes, his nose, his cupid bow, until they landed on his lips. Blood rushed to his head, making him heady with want.
“Sae?”
“Yeah?”
“Kiss me.”
They wasted no time with more bickering, instead leaning in until they met in the middle. Kaiser often daydreamed about how soft Sae’s lips would feel against his own, but oh, feeling them directly could never compare to even his wildest dreams. Kaiser’s hands found purchase on Sae’s waist, pulling Sae closer to him. The kiss was soft and tentative, as if they were testing the limits of their newfound desire. If he was being honest, Kaiser was content with keeping it this way until Sae pushed him forward, making him fall flat on his back.
“Oof, you’re excited–” The rest of Kaiser’s words were swallowed by Sae’s mouth, and this time he kissed with more fervor, as if they both would soon wake up to find that this was all just a dream. Kaiser returned the kiss, their mouths moved in sync and messily, neither caring about the logistics of it. His hands traveled under Sae’s sweater, his skin hot to the touch. Sae groaned into his mouth, and Kaiser used that opportunity to slide his tongue in. He completely loses himself in the feel of Sae’s breath on his face, on the way Sae’s tongue seemed to devour him completely, gasps and slight moans coming from them both, and the silky feel of Sae’s skin under his hands.
If every human being is ordained to be addicted to at least one thing in their life, then Michael Kaiser’s addiction would be to worship Itoshi Sae in any way he could.
“Nii-chan, do you know how to make this fucking thing work– WHAT THE FUCK?!?”
Sae immediately jumped, staring at his younger brother, Itoshi Rin, who was standing at the door with a constipated look on his face. They forgot about the door being slightly ajar, which was to prevent them from doing the exact thing they were doing earlier.
“Some decorum would’ve been nice.” Rin threw them a disgusted look.
“Rin, I walked in on you and Isagi kissing while cuddling a week ago. You have no right to protest.” Sae walked to where Rin was standing, grabbing whatever it was that Rin needed Sae’s help with.
“That was different. We weren’t shoving our tongues down each other’s throat while the door is fucking opened.”
“It wasn’t my choice to leave it like that, you punk.” Sae sighed, motioning Rin to get out of his room. “I’ll fix this, now go. Close the door behind you.”
Rin nodded in acknowledgment to Kaiser, and softly walked out and closed the bedroom door. Sae just stood there, one hand on his hip and his other hand holding the small robotic thing that Rin gave him.
“Well, looks like I got some work to do for my brother’s project. Care to join me?”
They both know Kaiser will always say yes.