The soft rays peaking through the billowed curtains illuminated the sleeping pair that Sunday morning. Their bodies were pressed in a comfortable embrace, held together by a mess of limbs. Clothes were scattered haphazardly around the bed, a blatant reminder of the events of their passionate night in from only a couple hours prior.
Sleep perturbed by the growing light, Sousuke stirred under the covers, slowly opening his eyes and taking in the sight before him. Makoto was facing him, arms loosely wrapped around his chest and a small puddle of drool forming on the pillow. Shifting his body so that he could rest against his elbow, he noticed a dull pain emanating from his back. Carefully moving his arm he touched where the source of the pain was, feeling the deep grooves of scratches lined down his back. No doubt he'll have to be wary of going out shirtless for a while, to avoid any pestering questions from his peers.
Diverting his attention back to the brunette, Sousuke smiled as his fiancé let out a small whine, muttering his name with a light brush on his face. Shifting in his sleep, Makoto moved an arm up Sousuke's back, gently rubbing the small band around his finger up the larger man's spine. A trail of goose bumps followed Makoto's hand, causing Sousuke to shiver in response.
Paying no more mind to the sudden chill, Sousuke gazed affectionately at him, slowly taking in all of his features. Seeing Makoto sleeping so peacefully by his side, it further drove the fact that the seemingly endless dream Sousuke was experiencing, was in fact a reality. Here he was, with the man he loved, someone whom he still often felt he didn't deserve, right there by his side. Makoto was his, and he was Makoto's. Looking back at their matching bands, Sousuke fought back tears as he recalled the previous night. The night he finally overcame his fears and proposed to Makoto…
xxx
It wasn't an overtly elaborate proposal by any means. It was just the two of them out in the park, hand-in-hand, idly watching the evening sky in solace. They had arrived there after spending most of the evening at Makoto's favorite restaurant nearby.
That night Sousuke had originally planned to propose to Makoto while at the restaurant, however at the last moment he got cold feet and backed out of the plan. Now at the park, Sousuke had begun to kick himself for his earlier cowardice. Here he was, with literally the most amazing person in the world, and he couldn't even muster up the strength to tell him how he really felt about him! If Rin were there to see how much of an idiot he was making of himself, he would never hear the end of it.
Stealing a quick glance at the man beside him, Sousuke couldn't help but notice how alluring Makoto had look at that particular moment. The moonlight was shining down at the crown of his head, creating a soft glow resembling a halo. For a moment, it honestly did seem to Sousuke that an angel had descended down and appeared before him. His presence was so light and soothing that Sousuke could feel himself beginning to relax, momentarily forgetting about his failed plans from earlier.
That was when Sousuke finally found his moment. It had started with talk about their future. Small talk about graduation approaching and career paths that were once dreams now becoming reality, sparked a flame in Sousuke. Now that he was finally beginning to make a future for himself, he knew at that moment that his future could not be complete without Makoto by his side.
Stopping suddenly on the trail, Sousuke took a deep breath and turned to Makoto. Ignoring Makoto's confusion as to what he was doing, Sousuke looked at him, prepared to speak, but suddenly unable to find the right words to say. What if he messed this up? What if Makoto said no? Is he rushing into things by doing this? Does Makoto even see him in his own future?
Questions raced around in Sousuke's mind, his hands now trembling slightly due to his overactive nerves. Having bared witness the journey of emotions Sousuke seemed to be going through, Makoto sensed that something was wrong with his boyfriend. Worried, he gently cupped his face in his hands and kissed him.
"Sousuke, I'm not sure what's going on right now, but I want you to know that it's going to be okay. I'm right here for you. I'm not going anywhere." He began to stroke his cheek with his thumb, as he continued with his small words of affection.
Hearing this from Makoto, Sousuke was brought back to reality. Seeing how worried he made him, Sousuke was finally able to erase any lingering trails of doubt in his mind.
Letting out a small laugh, he quickly apologized and took Makoto's hand back in his. With newfound rigor, he slowly got down on one knee, silently screaming as he noticed Makoto's look of surprised. From there time seemed to move in slow motion. He had laid out all of his emotions and feelings to Makoto, presenting his heart and soul to him. Sousuke wasn't sure how long he had been going on, but when he finished, the last clear moment he could remember was seeing Makoto standing there in tears, repeatedly saying 'yes' in response, before practically leaping in his arms in a tight hug.
"I love you, Sousuke. I love you so much!"
"I love you, too."
xxx
Wiping away the stray tears that managed to get by, Sousuke took hold of Makoto's hand and pressed a tender kiss on each of his knuckles. Looking back at him, Sousuke began to notice a soft glow forming around Makoto again.
Perhaps it was the early sunrise or the lingering effects of the afterglow from the night before that was giving Makoto the seemingly ethereal luminosity, but whichever it was, Sousuke was completely entranced at the sight of him. Unable to control himself, he slowly ran his hand through Makoto's hair, gently massaging his scalp in the process.
After a few strokes, Makoto unconsciously responded to the gesture, nuzzling his head into Sousuke's hand, a soft purr of approval slipping out of him. Sousuke couldn't help but let out a soft laugh, noticing the uncanny similarity Makoto had to a kitten. This continued on for a few more minutes with Sousuke relishing in the intimate silence before he began to doze off back to sleep again.
The shrill of the alarm tore Sousuke from sleep's embrace for the second time that morning. Begrudgingly, he sat up to silence the alarm, removing the last bit of sleep in his eyes. Looking down he saw Makoto still somehow sleeping peacefully by his side. Moving back by his side, Sousuke planted a trial of soft kisses from his temple, to his cheeks, finally landing a lingering kiss to his lips.
In the midst of the kiss, Makoto's body seemed to respond before he could take in the situation. He leaned to Sousuke, kissing him back, and slowly opened his eyes, his mind still attempting to assess what was going on.
"Sou…"
Slowly he broke away from the kiss and stared at the larger man before him, his voice groggy and hoarse from night's activities. Refusing to fully wake up, he cautiously blinked a few times, his gaze seeming to bear straight into Sousuke's soul.
"Sou…suke…?"
"Yeah?"
"What time..is it?"
Sousuke couldn't help but laugh at the question. Despite looking the part, Makoto was never a morning person. Every morning they spent together, it was a constant battle to get him up, and today it seemed it would be no different.
"It's time to get up, Makoto."
"nngh…Sou…five more minutes….please.." Predictably, Makoto whined in protest as he attempted to burrow himself into Sousuke's chest, as if that would postpone the morning hours.
"Nope. I let you sleep in today. It's time to get up."
"But-!"
"No buts. Come on, you go ahead and take a shower while I make some breakfast."
Realizing that his argument for sleeping was failing fast, Makoto slowly sat up and latched on Sousuke's arm, searching for any excuse to keep Sousuke in bed with him.
"As adorable it is to see you hold onto me like this, it's not going to keep me in bed all day."
"No it's not that, exactly. I just…my body..it's…you know..." The rest of the sentence was cut short into soft murmurs as Makoto shyly looked away from Sousuke's attentive stare. Despite having slept together numerous times at that point, Makoto couldn't help but still be shy about the subject afterwards. For Sousuke, he found it to be absolutely adorable.
Picking up on the growing blush on his lover's face, it didn't take long before Sousuke caught on to what he was trying to say. Without a word, he swiftly lifted the brunette bridal style and carried him to the bathroom.
"S-Sousuke! What are you doing?!"
"Exactly what it looks like. I'm going to help clean you off."
Makoto cried in protest, "You could have at least warned me before picking me up! This is so embarrassing!" As if to make his point, he hid his head into the crook of Sousuke's neck. The blush on his faced only continued to grow when Sousuke simply laughed in response.
Once in the bathroom, Sousuke gently lowered Makoto to the edge of the tub and started the bath. Looking through the assortment of bath oils and aromatherapy sets he and Makoto had received from Rin, he picked up a bottle of lavender bath salts and prepped the bath with it. Turning his attention back to Makoto, he gathered a washcloth and held it under the running water before wiping his fiancé down. Starting from his neck and shoulders, Sousuke helped cool Makoto down by scrubbing off the excessive sweat coating his skin, pampering him in fluttering kisses after cleaning off the area. He continued this pattern as he moved to his back, sides, stomach, and inner thigh.
By the time he was finished, the water was finally warm enough to enter into, and Makoto was in a state of bliss. Turning off the faucet, Makoto carefully slipped into the tub, sighing in relief as his muscles relaxed under the warm water.
Shortly after entering the bath, Sousuke soon followed suit after cleaning himself off, positioning himself so that Makoto was settled in between his legs with his back laid against his chest. Relishing in the soothing sensation of the water, Makoto let out a sigh and leaned back, his head nuzzled against Sousuke's neck. The pair relaxed into each other's embrace, opting to sit in idle silence and enjoy each other's presence. They remained like that for the duration of the bath, taking in the soothing scents of the salts and the lulling rhythm of each other's heartbeats, their hands now intertwined, flashing their bands proudly.
Once the water began to cool and the salts lost their potency, it was time for the two to get out of the tub. Begrudgingly, Makoto drained the water from the basin and carefully got out of the tub. He was met with a large fluffy towel, as Sousuke had already begun drying off.
From there the two continued on with their morning routine. Sousuke prepared breakfast, while Makoto busied himself with small chores around the apartment. Once breakfast was ready, the two sat and spoke about their plans for the day.
"Hey, Makoto"
"Yeah?"
"Have you ever noticed how the light seems bounce around you all the time?"
"What do you mean?" Putting down his forkful of egg, Makoto looked at him quizzically. "Is there something wrong?"
"No, there's nothing wrong." Gazing at him, he reached out and moved his bangs back, allowing the incoming light to hit his face. "It's just…whenever I look at you, you always seem to be glowing."