Work Text:
Yuu always had a habit of this. Of painting on Mika, and taking time almost every night to count his freckles with his lips. It was an odd habit, but over the years, Mika had gotten used to the feeling of drying paint
Mika couldn’t quite pinpoint a logical reason why Yuu did it. Though, there was nothing logical to how Yuu thought, most of the time. Yuu was impulsive, and got flustered, or angry easily, but that was what made Mika fall harder for him.
Yuu’s constant affection was only a bonus, really.
At first Mika thought he’d never stop getting butterflies. Over time, they died down, and now he only felt a pleasant hum whenever Yuu scattered kisses over his body, where dozens of freckles lie. It put him to sleep.
He had grown to be soothed by the faint feeling of a paintbrush on his back. The cold chill of the paint surprising him was now only a distant memory.
Yuu loved to paint galaxies on Mika’s back, using his freckles to form constellations.
It was what he was doing now, while Mika napped. He usually did until it was done, unless they both had a lot to say. But for the most part, there was only a comfortable silence that settled between them.
They didn’t always need words to talk, sometimes just having their pinkies interlaced while they sat together reading was all they needed. It all felt so natural to them.
Yuu’s nose was scrunched up as he focused. He didn’t want to make a wrong move and mess up his work. When he first started he was worried Mika would move, but he was completely still while Yuu painted on his back, except for the faint rise and fall as Mika took in air, then let it out again.
It was the only fault of having a human being as a canvas, but Yuu had learned to work around with it. Adjusting to alternating between human and traditional canvases was an odd adjustment to make, but Yuu managed just fine.
--
Yuu wasn’t sure how much time had passed, probably hours, but finally he was finished. Yuu was convinced this one was his best works yet.
“Mika, wake up. I’m done.” Yuu bounced once to jostle Mika so he would wake up.
“Hmm?” Mika’s head slowly lifted up. Yuu wasn’t sure if it was just instinct at this point, but Mika didn’t move much. He didn’t want his movements to mess up Yuu’s hard work. Yuu cared too much about it.
Eventually Mika managed to get up, after Yuu got off of him. It was nice to finally stand up again.
Yuu was soon in front of him with a big, goofy smile pulling at his lips.
“I hope you like it.” With that, Yuu pressed a lingering kiss to Mika’s lips.
“I don’t think I could not like something you’ve made. You never fail to impress me.” Yuu’s cheeks grew hot at that.
“That was gay.” Yuu blurted out, really without thinking about it much.
“I’m aware. Since we are currently in a relationship..” Mika chuckled, and pressed their foreheads together. They stayed like that for a while. Their eyes closed, enjoying the peacefulness of the moment.
“You gonna take a picture before we go shower?” Mika’s words cut through the silence like a knife.
“What? Oh, a picture! Yeah! One sec.” Yuu pulled away, fumbling over clothes strewn about the room for a moment as he tried to get to his cellphone that he had left across the room, to take a photo.
Mika couldn't help but laugh a bit at the scene.
“Shut up” Yuu grumbled in response to Mika’s laughter, picking up the cellphone.
“I'm sorry Yuu-chan. You're just really cute.” Mika could just barely see Yuu shake his head just the slightest as he unlocked his phone.
Before Mika knew it, Yuu was in front of him again. Yuu had managed to not slip on the way back.
“Turn around.” Yuu held up the phone as Mika hummed, and obeyed, turning around and showing his back to Yuu.
Yuu snapped a few photos of Mika’s back, making sure they were good quality, before he went over and plugged his phone in.
“Alrighty, all done. Let's go shower. I'll scrub your back.” Yuu was already heading towards their bedroom by the time he was halfway through his sentence. Mika followed closely behind.
-
Soon they had both stripped off their clothing, Yuu being the last one to finish, and got in the shower.
Mika’s back was the last thing to be washed, they were both occupied with sneaking the occasional kiss in as they took turns washing each other’s hair.
Soon they were sat on the floor of the tub, Mika’s back facing Mika as he worked on removing the paint on Mika’s back, scattering kisses as he went.
As Yuu worked on removing the paint, he was almost afraid that Mika’s freckles would come off with the paint. It was an odd thing to worry about, but he knew that Mika’s freckles would be there for a long time. Yuu was happy about that. Since Mika’s freckles were a part of Mika, he loved them.
He wanted to take the time to count all of Mika’s freckles, but Mika wouldn’t be able to stay still for that long. There were just too many. It would take too long. They both had things to do, and lives to live to try and count the amount of freckles that Mika had. Not that Yuu really minded, whether or not he knew how many Mika had exactly, he could still pinpoint when a new freckle showed up on any part of Mika’s body.
It only gave him more of an excuse to go over Mika’s body once again, planting kisses everywhere. He was sure Mika was frustrated with the fact that he did this so often, at this point. However, Mika really never gave any indication that he wanted Yuu to stop. Really the only protests were about Yuu tickling him, or when he was trying to do something important, like paperwork. Yuu had no reason to believe that Mika wanted him to stop so he continued with it.
All too soon, Yuu had finished removing the paint, and now he just needed to rinse Mika’s back off. He was slightly disappointed to be done so soon, but it was likely Mika would be up for cuddling later.
Yuu carefully stood up, and reached for the showerhead. Yuu didn’t even have to tell him anything, Mika just turned around, his head falling forward.
Yuu pointed the shower head at Mika’s back, and knelt down. He brought a hand up to rub off any stubborn paint that refused to detach from Mika’s skin during Yuu’s previous efforts to get all of the paint off.
--
They quickly finished in the shower, and got out, retiring back to their shared bedroom. The first thing they did once their hair was dry, was climb into bed, and tangle their legs together. The covers were pulled over them by Yuu, and Mika’s head rested on Yuu’s chest.
With the closeness of Mika, he didn’t mind so much when strands of his hair made their way into his mouth. He wasn’t going to risk changing positions, and spending a terrible amount of time trying to get comfortable again, just because he had a few hairs in his mouth. He brought a hand up, and smoothed Mika’s hair down, so his hair wouldn’t get in his mouth all that often anymore. That same hand soon returned to Mika’s. He laced their fingers together, finally letting his eyes close.
Yuu was convinced that this was what it meant to be in love. Not only was their apartment home, but Mika was his as well. There was nothing better than coming home to Mika. Coming home to those eyes, that face that he loved so dearly.
Mika was his family, his childhood friend, and finally, his home.
Yuu couldn’t be happier.