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“Yoichi.”
The response comes without much wait. “What?”
Kaiser peers over Isagi’s shoulder. “Oh, you’re awake!”
“Obviously,” Isagi grumbles.
“Great! I’m hungry.”
He rolls over slightly, pressing more of his face into the pillow. “Go to the kitchen then.”
“I want to go to the convenience store.”
“Then go yourself.”
“You’re coming with me,” he says resolutely.
Isagi groans. “No, Mihya! Let me sleep!” He shimmies away with little success because Kaiser stares at Isagi’s vulnerable back and slips his hands under the sheets. “Agh!” he exclaims, body stiffening at the cold hands lazing on his stomach. “Why are your hands so cold!”
“Ah!” he sighs. “You’re so warm, Yoichi!” His hands move easily, finding the soft parts that formed from a week off of soccer. Kaiser likes these parts, just like he likes all the other parts of Isagi, so he makes sure to capitalize on vacation Yoichi and all its perks.
“You’re so annoying!” Isagi shouts after finally giving up and ceasing his squirming. “Why can’t you just go to sleep?”
Kaiser frowns, shoving his nose into Isagi’s shoulder and pinching his stomach delicately.
“Eek!”
He laughs. “How embarrassing, Yoichi!”
“Okay, stop! If we go to the konbini then you have to stop touching me and go to sleep!”
Kaiser’s face falls, becoming deathly serious. “No. I can’t. Yoichi, I have to annoy you. I just can’t. And you can’t not let me touch you.”
“I definitely can!” He manages to pry off Kaiser’s hands and jump off the bed. He pulls on an overcoat and a scarf, facing away to cover his already red face.
Kaiser remains in bed, nonchalantly looking at his boyfriend get dressed with his cheek in his hand. “Are we really going?”
Isagi swishes around, eyebrows tight and face still flushed. “You said you’re hungry.” He holds out a hand. “Let’s go, Mihya!”
For a moment, Kaiser only stares at the outstretched hand. Then he takes it, yanking Isagi toward him and kissing him on the corner of the mouth. “You’re fucking cute, Yoichi,” he whispers then immediately pulls away to get dressed.
“You’re a fucking weirdo,” Isagi mutters, wiping his mouth. “We’re going to stop by quickly, alright, Mihya? I really just want to sleep.”
He finishes getting dressed and starts pushing Isagi out the door by his shoulders. “That’s your fault.”
“How is it my fault? It’s midnight. People are asleep at this time.”
“Like you’ve never stayed up past midnight. You just drank too much at the wedding and expended your energy early,” Kaiser retorts.
“I’m allowed to!” he protests, opening the front door and letting the cold wind welcome them to the outside world.
“You really are lucky you're cute, Yoichi,” Kaiser says, “because you’re such a menace. Even when you’re drunk, your parents can’t get mad because you’re fucking adorable.”
“Shut up!” he growls.
They walk side by side, arms brushing against each other. In other circumstances, they would be able to feel the heat of their partner but they can imagine it well enough in the post-snow chill.
The convenience store is at least a ten-minute stroll from Isagi’s childhood home. Walking on ice and snow, it takes a little longer. Between Kaiser and Isagi, the pace is far from consistent: sometimes they speed up to race past a blinking streetlight. Other times they turn around as they chase each other needlessly or stop completely to focus on their loud, vulgar banter. As hungry as Kaiser is and as tired as Isagi is, there are some more important things than a speedy convenience store trip.
When they finally arrive, they soak in the smell and bright lights of FamilyMart. The only other person around is the tired university student at the counter who nods as they enter. It’s much warmer here, so they take their time looking at their options. Isagi is pretty sure he knows what Kaiser is going to get yet Kaiser follows Isagi around the store, commenting on products and doing his best to read labels.
Isagi peers over Kaiser’s shoulder. “It just says ‘matcha-flavored taiyaki with azuki filling.’ You know that.”
He shakes his head, pointing to other text. “No, this part: enjoy the something taste of pure matcha and sweetened azuki.”
He rested his chin on Kaiser’s shoulder. “Gentle, Mihya. It says gentle.”
“Really…” Kaiser puts down the package. “Why does Japanese have to be so complicated?”
“Why does German have thirty different forms of ‘the?’” Isagi retorts.
“Why does Japanese have thirty different ways to say ‘you?’” Kaiser counters.
Isagi pouts. “Let’s just get your sando!”
Jollily, he follows, approaching the fruit sandos. “Are you getting something, Yoichi?” With a hand in his pocket, he takes an orange sandwich, squishing it slightly.
“It’s too late to be eating.” He frowns.
Kaiser walks away, leaving Isagi to follow him now. He leads him to a different fridge section, wondering, “Banana milk?” He finds Isagi’s favorite type, picking one up. He offers it to Isagi who stares at the box with disdain.
“You’re buying it.”
“Of course, little Princess. I fully intend to spoil you completely,” Kaiser admits with a grin, turning away sharply.
“You’re so embarrassing!” he mutters but follows him to the counter.
Kaiser pays, speaking Japanese to the clerk; it does not go well. But he shrugs and moves on with his life. After all, he has a sandwich to eat and a boyfriend to stare at. Isagi has milk to stab into and a boyfriend who needs restraining lest he embarrasses anyone— more , embarrass anyone more . Luckily for both of them, their goals go hand-in-hand.
So they sit at a table in the back corner, unintentionally sharing sips of banana milk and bits of oranges and cream. Kaiser doesn’t like banana milk because it’s still too strange to him. Isagi hates that he drinks it despite not liking it since it’s probably just to get on his nerves, yet he lets it happen. Isagi says it’s not good to eat so late, and that he’s not hungry. He also prefers strawberry sandos to orange sandos, yet they both know the second half of the orange sando is Isagi’s.
Some inane arguments later, they leave the convenience store satiated. But, there’s never too much of a good thing for Kaiser so he doesn’t let it end there. On the walk home, they follow the same snow-trimmed path.
Kaiser crouches down. “Yoichi.”
A few steps ahead, Isagi strolls with his hands in his pockets. He turns around slightly, breath leaving trails in the frigid air. “Yeah?” he hardly asks before he yelps loudly. “Oh my—! Kaiser, you fuck!” A few extra expletives ring out in the dead of night.
Kaiser cackles as he watches Isagi shimmy around uselessly, trying to get the snow out from under his shirt.
His scowl is deep as he flings down to thwack Kaiser with a fresh ball of snow. “You’re such an ass, Kaiser!”
He dodges the first, but lets out an oof! at the snow that is both hot and cold on his cheek. He continues grinning anyway. “I can die happy now!”
“You could have died a long time ago!” Isagi shouts. He grabs his collar and shakes him a good few times to get the message across. At night, his dark blue eyes glow with ire.
“I really couldn’t have,” Kaiser promises. “You’re the best.”
Isagi hits his shoulder. He’s calmed down enough to keep a straight face as he says, “Now I have snow melting down my ass. You ass!” he adds for good measure.
“That’s sexy, Yoichi.”
He grumbles. “You’re the worst.” He groans through a shiver. “And now I’m fucking freezing! Fucking Kaiser…!”
“Kaiser again?” He sighs, then adds, “Let’s go back home then.”
“As if I’m going back with you.”
“You’re not seriously upset at that.”
“I was having a good—” he pauses to correct, “decent time before that!”
Kaiser rolls his eyes. “Let’s go back.”
“No,” Isagi says sternly.
“Yoichi. You’re cold.”
“No shit.” He shivers.
Kaiser rips off his scarf and drapes it over Yoichi. “Better? Great, now let’s go.”
“Over my dead body,” Isagi argues.
Then, Kaiser crouches down again.
“Mihya!” he shrieks. “Absolutely not!” Isagi’s pitch changes when he realizes that Kaiser is being a different kind of menace now. Instead of shoving snow down his shirt, he’s manhandling him over his shoulder like he’s a bag of rice. “Let me go, Mihya!”
Kaiser starts walking home, keeping a firm grip over the back of Isagi’s thighs and another steady hand on his back. “I’m not interested in telling your parents you died and now they only have one child.”
“What the hell?” he mutters. “First off, I wouldn’t actually die. How weak do you think I am, you shitty bastard? Second, one child? I’m their only child.”
Kaiser shakes his head. “If you died, they’d still have me.”
“You’re kidding. Oh, shit, you’re serious. What are you on?”
“If Yocchan died, they’d still have Micchan.”
“Oh, shut up!”
For some reason, he actually does. Kaiser walks home with Isagi over his shoulder, humming the tune of a commercial he saw earlier. His pace is slow and meandering, careful with the fragile package in his hold as he traverses the snow. Isagi’s given up on getting back on his own two feet. He relaxes a bit, enjoying the view anyway.
“Nice ass,” he ends up saying. Blame drowsiness.
“Stop looking.”
“If not yours,” Isagi reasons, “then whose?”
Kaiser pinches his butt. “Ever look at yours?”
“Don’t be a weirdo.”
“You make it difficult, Yoichi.”
He brings his hand up to his head. “Okay, I’m getting lightheaded now, so let me down.”
“Oh, but you just got comfortable. We’re almost there.”
“You can let me down now, Mihya.”
He does not comply. Instead, he runs home, mindful of the snow and ice on the pavement. Isagi lets out another unflattering noise as he grips Kaiser’s shoulder and head tightly. If the cold doesn’t kill him, surely his boyfriend would.
“You’re such a child!” Isagi complains, catching his breath in the entryway.
“And you’re in love with me. What does that make you? A pedophile?” Kaiser suggests.
Isagi stares appalled. “You’re disgusting.” He starts walking away when Kaiser grabs the scruff of his jacket. “What?”
“You’re not going like that, are you? You stink.”
He rolls his eyes. “I wonder why…!” He hands back Kaiser’s scarf and continues walking. “I have to get new pajamas since I went out in them.”
“Get mine,” Kaiser says. “I’ll start the bath.” He offers no chance for protests because he’s already disappearing behind the bend in the hallway and, from Isagi’s bedroom, he can hear the pipes creaking to life. But, Isagi is nothing if not a gracious host and an even better boyfriend so he only makes Kaiser wait a little extra for his sleepwear and arrival.
Isagi is far from surprised to see that Kaiser is already undressed and checking the temperature of the water. Isagi turns away, undressing and doing his utmost to ignore the winter chill that floods his exposed skin. Behind him, the water splashes and Kaiser says, “Get in here, Yoichi. It’s already warm.”
He turns with brisk steps, seeing Kaiser waiting with a frown as he slings his arms over the edge of the tub. Isagi promptly dips in and sighs, pushing himself down until the water tickles his ears and soaks the longer ends of his hair.
The steam is balmy and the water bubbly.
Day by day, Kaiser smells a little more like Isagi’s childhood bathwash because, at the end of these long days, he washes away sweat and replaces it with Isagi’s scent. Isagi likes it even if he has to share an enclosed space when bathing. He likes that he smells like him, subtle and clean, sweet and like home.
Kaiser likes the face Isagi makes when he submerges himself in a warmed tub like he’s melting and there’s nothing but pleasure to feel. Even though the lights in the bathroom are dim, Kaiser enjoys it. The dopey smiles and unrefined giggles post-bath Isagi lets out are more than perfect.
Mindlessly, their limbs bump into each other, fingers grazing skin and skin brushing skin. Scathing remarks are lobbed with bubbles floating in the air and the zesty scent of shampoo comes with pointed attacks of splashing water. At some point, it becomes partially intentional, Isagi sweetly leaning his elbows on Kaiser’s shoulder and interfering with his hair washing. Kaiser pinches Isagi’s damp, flushed cheeks in retaliation.
When the tub drains, Isagi is fully deprived of all energy. At least, he manages to stand upright next to Kaiser as they clean their teeth once more; they kick each other only minimally. Because Isagi has no interest in half-hearted work, he forces himself awake just a little longer, pushing Kaiser down to the ground next to the bed, and then climbing into the bed.
Meticulously, Isagi sets out in the silent night, drying Kaiser’s hair until it returns to his most preferable state of soft and warm, shining gold even at night. He’s careful about it as well. No matter how many jokes about the blue tips and terrible haircut, one of Isagi’s many favorite Kaiser-related pastimes is to touch his hair. He won’t let a rough night of hair-drying ruin that future for either of them.
His hard work so late into the night—or early in the morning—is exhausting. Yet, he reciprocates perfectly well when Kaiser, still crouched on the floor, turns around to place his hands on Isagi’s hips and kiss him. Isagi kisses back with the same excitement and energy—subdued by drowsiness but filled with insatiable interest. His hands trail innocently under the collar of Kaiser’s shirt when Kaiser stops.
“What?” Isagi mumbles against his lips, holding on a little tighter.
“Wait,” he demands. In a flash, Kaiser leaves the bedroom.
“What?” Isagi repeats to himself. He stares at the door for a few more seconds then flops gracelessly onto the bed. With the plushness of his mattress under him, he has absolutely no interest in being cooperative with Kaiser. Probably, he would have liked at least one more kiss but if he was going to leave abruptly, Isagi would certainly choose sleep over anything else.
“Up,” Kaiser says as he returns.
Isagi doesn’t comply, only opening his eyes slightly. As he does, he sees himself being pulled up and moved into whatever Kaiser has deemed is the correct position. Currently, that’s Kaiser sitting behind him so his chest is pressed to Isagi’s back. “Can’t you just use your words?” Isagi grumbles, letting his head adjust to the sudden movement.
“What? Like you don’t like me manhandling you,” Kaiser teases. He readjusts them so Isagi sits in the space made by Kaiser’s crossed legs.
Isagi carefully considers their position. “Mihya, I’m not interested in doing anything other than sleeping.”
“You’re forward today, aren’t you, Yoichi?” He places his chin on his shoulder and takes one of his hands. “They’re all dry.”
Isagi looks down at his hands. It’s winter, after all, so it isn’t a surprise that they aren’t in the best condition. He isn’t very bothered by it but Kaiser seems to be.
This is natural now, some exchange of attention and care between the two of them. With the same reverence that Isagi displayed drying Kaiser’s hair, Kaiser pays to the hangnails, dry skin, and tiny cuts on Isagi’s hands. He rubs lotion in, getting every crack and flake of skin. He does it a few times, turning it into an unintentional massage.
If Isagi wasn’t sleepy before, he surely is now. Though he isn’t really hugging him, Kaiser’s embrace is warm and consumes him from the outside in. The bath was nice; this is nicer. Isagi turns into a puddle of goo, comfortably slumping against his boyfriend’s chest and resting his free hand on Kaiser’s thigh. His eyes slip closed and he sighs contentedly.
He doesn’t really notice when the mini-hand massage ends. After all, Isagi can still smell Kaiser’s shampoo and his steady, minty toothpaste breath near his ear. Then, Isagi feels a sting in his cheek. Kaiser laughs quietly, pulling back his hand as Isagi rubs his cheek and frowns. Kaiser’s hands slip lightly under Isagi’s shirt, spreading heat over his stomach. Kaiser has absolutely no worries about hiding his affection for that part—and many others—of Isagi. Isagi thinks it’s a bit ridiculous to like something like that. But, he likes his hands on him in just about any way they can be, so he places his on top of Kaiser’s, burrowing further into Kaiser’s hold.
Probably, they’re both trying to be normal people around each other. It’s not working, though, because Kaiser sees that sleepy smile on Isagi’s face and is overwhelmed by visceral feelings that feel far from natural and are definitely dangerous.
“You’re fucking lame, Yoichi,” he says, holding him a little tighter.
“Shut up, you naked king,” Isagi mumbles. “You stopped kissing me before so now you have to stop talking.”
“Oh?” He grins. “Were you eager for more?” He leaves fleeting kisses all over the side of his face, to his temple, check—the same his pinched seconds earlier—to his ear and neck.
“Shut up!” he murmurs again. “Don’t do this!” he pouts, getting more comfortable and pushing Kaiser down so they can properly lay on the bed. “My parents are still here, remember? This is their house.”
“You think so poorly of me, don’t you? Of course, I know. Besides, I wouldn’t do anything.” His voice drops slightly. “You’re about to pass out. I prefer seeing that face of yours when you’re completely aware of who's in front of you.”
“Good,” he decides, lazily planting a kiss on Kaiser’s jaw. “Good to know you don’t have those preferences.”
“Unless you do, Yoichi,” Kaiser suggests. “I like your face anytime, anywhere.”
“Yeah, yeah!” He pulls the sheets over him. “I wanna sleep now,” he slurs.
“Fine!” Kaiser runs a hand through Isagi’s hair.
He hums, shoving his face into his arm. “Good night, Mihya.”