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Shidou’s arms are trembling as he deposits his sleeping Sae-chan in bed.
Normally, carrying his boo-thing would never tire him out, but it had been a long walk from the bar and taxis weren’t really running at this hour, let alone trains.
Shidou positions Sae on his side just to be safe, then goes to the bathroom for a washcloth.
Sae twitches when the wet cloth brushes over his cheeks, eyes blinking open sleepily.
“‘emon?” he murmurs.
Shidou’s heart squeezes. “Morning, lashes.”
“Morning,” he mumbles, just as quiet. “What’re you doin’?”
“Cleaning up your face.”
“‘s it dirty?”
Shidou thinks about the sticky bar top Sae had slammed his forehead against when he saw a certain FC Barcha player on the bar television, which then led to an impressive amount of shots being ordered and downed in quick succession. This may have been fine by itself, but after several rounds, the liquor ended up more on Sae’s collar than his mouth.
Shidou was kind enough to wipe up the alcohol from Sae’s throat via his tongue so it wouldn’t go to waste, but there was still a sticky residue left behind that even the most persistent of licks couldn’t quite get.
All that being said, Shidou answers, “Not really,” and continues wiping off his face.
Last thing he needs is his strawberry shortcake midfielder drowning himself while trying to properly wash his face in the sink.
“M’kay,” Sae hums, nice and pliant while Shidou tosses away the washcloth and helps shuck off his outerwear so he’s left in briefs. He does the same to himself, not that underwear or nudity wasn’t his usual choice of sleepwear anyway.
He throws the pile of clothes behind him, discarding them anywhere that wasn’t their bed. Shidou will undoubtedly hear about it tomorrow—after Sae’s hangover, of course—, but right now he just wants to join his pretty pink prince in bed.
Shidou bravely parts from the redhead to switch off the light, then slides into bed with his long-lashed beauty. Sae’s eyes flutter open a little as the mattress shifts, and Shidou moves to tuck him against his chest (both on their sides of course!).
“You’re cute,” Sae mumbles suddenly, then falls fast asleep.
Shidou freezes.
Cute?
“Cute” is for clumsy puppies, sneezing kittens, or giggling babies.
“Cute” is not for 185-centimeter-tall bleach blonde strikers with hot pink tips and dark eyeliner.
Shidou is hot, yes. Sexy, definitely. But cute?
“Sae. Sae, wake up.”
He pokes his cheek, then pokes it again for good measure, admiring how it bounces back like vanilla mochi.
Shidou bites it lightly, humming when it’s just as sweet. The action earns him nothing but a furrowed brow from his sleeping angel, so Shidou gives up for the night.
Over a late breakfast:
“Do you remember what you called me yesterday?”
“A pervert.”
“No, the other thing.”
“An exhibitionist.”
“No.” But he did give those people quite a show.
“A voyeur—”
“Never mind.”
During lunch:
“How would you describe me?”
“Horny.”
“And?”
“Slutty.”
“Ooh~ what else?”
“A praise kink haver.”
“Wanna test that?”
After a slightly delayed dinner:
“Let’s play a game. What do seagulls, owls, and crows have in common?”
“…They’re birds?”
“Right! And what do ladybugs, crumbs, and bacteria have in common?”
“They’re small.”
“Yep! So what do babies, puppies, and me have in common?”
“They’re messy.”
“…Is this about the clothes?”
By the time Shidou is getting ready for bed, he decides to put it out of his mind. His attempts to subtly fish the info out of Sae hadn’t gone anywhere—except the bedroom in one instance, two if he counts going back to clean up yesterday's laundry—so he likely wouldn’t hear of it again.
Maybe Sae wasn’t even thinking about him when he said it. Shidou’s had his fair share of drinks before and thought Hiori was an anglerfish—the strand is confusing, okay?—so he gets it. His counterpart must’ve been thinking about seagulls or dinosaurs or their future offspring or something.
(Technically Shidou knows he can’t get Sae pregnant, but he’ll be damned if he doesn’t try his absolute hardest.)
Still, some closure would’ve been nice. And maybe, if Shidou was being honest with himself, it would’ve been nice to have been called something so sweet.
“Spill it, demon.”
Sae is watching him from the entrance to the bathroom, skin glistening from his lengthy skincare routine.
Had Shidou really been thinking about it that long? Sae must’ve started his skincare an hour ago.
Sae settles in next to him, back against the headboard and body turned to him. His full attention—something so many have strived to gain—is focused solely on Shidou.
It’s hard not to feel special like that.
Emboldened, Shidou answers honestly. “Yesterday, you called me cute.”
Silence.
Sae doesn’t blink. “Is that it?”
“Isn’t that enough?!” Shidou nearly shrieks.
Sae’s lip twitches—a sign the redhead is trying not to laugh—and that’s enough for him.
“I’m not the one who should be embarrassed here!” Shidou points at the offender. “You called me cute, like I’m a newborn deer or something. It just doesn’t make sense.”
Sae tilts his head slightly, a menacing aura emanating from him. “You think I’m a liar?”
Shidou waves his hands frantically. “I never said that!” He tilts his head back and stares at the ceiling. “I just don’t get it. I’m not cute, I’m hot. I’m tattooed, pierced, and covered in eyeliner. Hell, people regularly switch sidewalks when they see me coming. I’m not cute, I’m menacing.”
“Mhm.”
“You, on the other hand, are very cute! Like, ridiculously adorable. You have the cutest bangs and the best lashes and the greatest laugh. And you have the prettiest blush when…” Shidou trails off, noticing the state of his partner.
Sae, as impassive as his expression may be, could not conceal the state of his body. Pupils dilated, eyes wide, and of course, that beloved blush creeping up his cheeks turning him strawberry red.
At his stare, Sae turns his head. The action only shows off the back of his ears and neck, also turning a pretty pink.
Shidou immediately leans forward and clings to his midfielder.
“You! Are! So! Cute!” he praises, kissing his nape in between each word.
“Shut up!” Sae hisses, twisting to reprimand him.
This being Shidou’s plan, he immediately latches onto the new real estate, kissing all over Sae’s face.
Sae sputters before giving up, letting Shidou curl into him and continue his assault.
Finally, he kisses his lips, the action slow and reverent. Sae kisses back just as sweetly, head tilting to bring them even closer, Fingers weave their way through Shidou’s hair, and he hums pleasantly as they scratch his scalp.
“Cute,” he feels murmured against his lips.
Surprised, Shidou pulls back, but Sae keeps him close with a hand on his chin.
“You’re cute,” Sae insists, ears red and eyes steely like this is a lesson he is determined to drill into Shidou’s head no matter how embarrassing. “Your hair looks soft and your eyes shine in the dark and your face is squishy and sometimes you just look at me like…” he trails off.
Shidou waits, enthralled.
“…like that,” Sae finishes, face glowing red.
“And it’s cute?” he asks gently.
Sae ducks his head like he’s trying to escape, but falters, abandoning the motion. Instead, he holds eye contact.
“Very,” he confirms, face ablaze.
Shidou grins, burying his face into his angel’s neck. “You’re even cuter!”
The redhead sighs, no doubt exhausted by his romantic speech. “I doubt that.”
“Let’s agree to disagree,” Shidou hums, pulling back so he can meet teal eyes. “But in addition to being cute, I’m also incredibly sexy, handsome, badass, and drop-dead gorgeous, right?” Shidou bats his eyelashes.
“Obviously.” Sae pinches his chin between his thumb and index finger. “I would accept nothing less than my perfect match.”
Shidou melts in his grip like warm chocolate, all soft and gooey. Sae has a ghost of a smile on his face as he presses a chaste kiss to his lips.
Sae reaches for the bedside lamp. “Now let’s go to sleep.”
Shidou settles into his side. “Whatever you say, cutie.”