Miguel thinks it's nothing special to be wanted. It's not like anyone needs his light-hearted and impulsive temperment, and sometimes it hurts a little knowing how unnecessary and tiny being wanted makes him feel, instead of being needed.

But as much as he hates to admit it, Miguel wants Tulio. It's not like he doesn't need him, though. Miguel knows there is a very substantial portion of himself that needs Tulio; needs his careful nature and sharp eye for detail to keep him together.

But the part of him that needs Tulio, no matter how much of him it is, completely pales in comparison to the part of Miguel that wants Tulio. It's frustrating, though, because Miguel is already sick and tired of being wanted,and can't imagine why anyone could need to be wanted when all Miguel wants is to be needed.

Then Miguel sees Tulio lying under him, those dark locks fanned out beneath him like spilled ink seeping into the very corners of Miguel's existence, punctuated by those deep blue orbs, and Miguel is just consumed by all the want running through his veins. The knowledge that the being gripping sheets, curling toes, and writhing beneath him is Miguel's, the knowledge that only if he wants to that Tulio can be his, is sending Miguel over the edge.

"I want you."

The words tumble out of Miguel's mouth before he can stop them, and Miguel's chest seizes up for a second, because he's always found being wanted a dull and upsetting thing, and how he feels about Tulio goes so much deeper than just want. Tulio's eyes flutter closed for a moment, this deep purring emanating from deep inside him, and Miguel figures maybe needing to be wanted isn't so ridiculous after all.

….

Tulio is sure that being needed can't be half as good as being wanted. People need him all the time, to figure things out and keep a calm head, but it's nothing like being wanted. Being wanted is truly the thing Tulio is convinced he needs most.

So it really, really, bugs Tulio knowing that he needs Miguel. There are many parts of Miguel that Tulio wants, But the fact that Tulio knows he couldn't live without his partner makes all those feelings devolve into this twisted sort of need, and Tulio is ashamed to admit it to himself because need sounds so basic, and want seems so much better in Tulio's eyes.

Tulio doesn't just want Miguel's open honesty, passionate disposition, and constant companionship, he needs it more than anything in his current life, and certainly more than anything in the next. And it frustrates Tulio to need someone, when all he needs is to be wanted.

But when Tulio finds himself pushed into his mattress, scrambling for something, anything, to hold on to, with a familiar scratchy jaw slowly finding it's way higher and higher along the inside of Tulio's thighs, his mind betrays him, and his ability to think and form sentences is shot. He's reduced to begging and whimpering, praying that confession of need won't be able to claw it's way out of his throat, no matter how hard it's trying. But when he looks over and sees those emerald eyes peeking out from behind a gold curtain of hair, swimming with mischief and promise, Tulio's mind just shuts down.

"I need you."

Tulio sincerely hopes that came out just as jumbled as anything he's been saying, but he feels Miguel's breath hitch for a split second, sending shivers down his spine and a painful squeeze to his heart. But then he feels Miguel's mouth curl into a smile. Tulio's head drops to his pillow in relief as he continues babbling and moaning like an idiot, deciding that maybe wanting to be needed isn't as alien as he thought it was.