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Yoichi was warm. Always.
Michael had realised it soon after they started dating.
He was always radiating warmth no matter where he was. That's just the kind of person he was. Always shining bright.
But Michael didn't mean it in the metaphorical sense. He meant it literally.
Even right now, so close to Michael that he could feel his heart beating. He was radiating warmth.
Michael liked this part the most. After a long day, when he could admire the soft features of his husband while he was quietly drifting off to sleep.
The way his lips slightly parted. The way his expression slowly softened and his breathing went quiet.
His eyebrows weren't furrowed anymore. Only while unconscious, did Yoichi have the power to stop worrying.
His cheeks were puffy—nothing like his own—and they puffed even more when he had sweets in his mouth. Once Michael noticed, he found himself buying kintsuba now and then, just to see that adorable sight again.
His hair was messy, his stubborn sprout still in place. The same sprout that Michael had once tried his best to flatten, but gave up in frustration soon after.
He told Yoichi that his sprout was stupidly stubborn, to which Yoichi shot him an offended look. He then proceeded to chase him around the apartment with a pair of scissors.
It was terrifying, to say the least, since Michael deeply cherished his hair—but it was them. Playing around and bickering like some giddy teenagers.
Although Michael would never admit it out loud, he actually found that sprout quite cute.
But at the same time, he found everything about his husband cute.
Michael loved every second of that. It were always these quiet moments—hidden away from the rest of the world to see—that would make Michael's heart skip a beat.
It would just be them tangled under the sheets—memorizing the shape of each other.
Michael traced lazy circles around his back, drawing a soft hum as a response out of his partner.
He never thought he'd come this far. Loving someone so much that he'd sacrifice everything just to keep them safe.
The streets of Berlin were cold, icy breeze seeping through every crack.
But Michael held Yoichi close—for he was warm.
He was reminded of the reasons he loved Yoichi every single day. He always complained that Michael was annoying. But the smile he gave while saying so betrayed his words.
He no longer had to check his health app to make sure that his pulse was still there. He didn't have to look at his clean body anymore to feel that sense of validation that he was alright.
Because there was Yoichi—who'd always reassure him. Who held him close during every breakdown. Michael had never allowed himself to be vulnerable. Never until Yoichi tore down every wall he had placed so damn effortlessly.
And Michael let him in. He allowed himself to be weak in front of Isagi. He showed Isagi the filthiest and the most tainted parts of him but despite everything—he stayed.
He didn't leave. He looked at Michael with his tear-filled eyes like he meant something and that—that was everything.
That was the moment where Michael realised that he was so madly in love with him. Kaiser didn't know how to cry but Yoichi did. And Yoichi cried for him.
He felt more alive than ever with him—even though they still threw insults at each other. It no longer had the bite, well it wasn't really them without the banter now, was it?
Michael chuckled quietly at the thought. They were sworn enemies at one point but that's all in the distant past now. Michael would never wish for anything other than this.
He planted a soft kiss on his forehead, careful not to wake him up."I love you so fucking much", he whispered.
He shifted and tightened his grip around him. He knew that Isagi wouldn't let go.
But he just wanted to keep him close.
He didn't have to suffer in the cold anymore.
Because his Yoichi was warm.
And Kaiser needed nothing more.