The definition for the verb care is to feel concern or interest; attach importance to something, feel affection or liking, to look after and provide for the needs of. To care for someone is to want to ensure that person's safety. To have feelings toward the person and want to ensure his or her well-being. To want to cheer them up when they're down, to want to nurture them when they're sick, to want to be by their side come rain or snow. To love someone, you must be able to care about them, no matter the ethnicity, no matter the religion, no matter the gender. To love is to care.
"Kiku? What are you doing out here?"
Kiku turned his head at the sound of the front door opening and closing a small distance behind him. The light from the kitchen window illuminated the blond man approaching him across the grass, his night clothes covered by a large coat.
"Konbanwa, Lukas," Kiku said with a light smile as Lukas came to stand behind the short stone wall surrounding the property, which Kiku was sitting on. "Sorry, did I wake you?"
Lukas shook his head. "I wasn't really asleep in the first place." His breath clouded when he spoke, the light grey puffs rising and dispersing into the clear night sky. "You didn't answer my question."
"Ah- Hai. I couldn't sleep. I thought this might help me clear my mind."
"I see." Lukas spent a moment shifting his weight from one foot to the other, and after a few seconds, he exhaled quietly and climbed onto the wall, seating himself at Kiku's side.
"You should be wearing a coat," he said with a chiding note in his voice. Kiku didn't meet Lukas's eyes, instead choosing to stare upwards at the sky. The Northern Lights slithered across the starlit stratosphere like a neverending bluish-green snake. He shivered.
"I suppose I neglected to put one on," he answered lamely. He hadn't planned to be out here for long anyways, perhaps a few deep breaths of crisp winter air and then back inside. However, he had stayed out longer than anticipated. It was cold out. He hadn't fully realized that until now.
"I can see that," Lukas said. He almost sounded amused with Kiku's reply. With a rustle of fabric, he slipped off his coat and wrapped it around Kiku's shoulders. Kiku looked at him slightly incredulously.
"Iie, Lukas, you don't have to give me your coat," he protested, making to shoulder the coat off, only to be thwarted by the Norwegian holding it still.
"Keep it," Lukas insisted firmly. "I'm sure neither of us want you getting hypothermia, right?"
"But now you'll be cold-"
"It's fine. I'm used to it." Though he claimed this, Kiku could see that Lukas was shivering ever so slightly. A simple long sleeved nightshirt wasn't the best thing for combating the cold. Kiku opened his mouth to protest once more, but Lukas gave him a stern look.
"Keep it on, kjære," Lukas said with finality, gently rubbing Kiku's shoulders as he did so. "Don't make a fuss out of this."
Kiku sighed. There was no point in arguing any further. Lukas wasn't going to take the coat back, that was for sure, so Kiku leaned closer to the Norwegian. At least he could provide warmth that way.
"Thank you," Kiku murmured. He rested the side of his head against Lukas's shoulder and sighed. He felt Lukas wrap an arm around his back, his hand grasping Kiku's shoulder and lightly pulling him closer.
"Not a big deal."
"Mm…" Kiku nuzzled closer to the collar of Lukas's shirt. The scenic Norwegian country-side laid out before his eyes, darkness of night shading everything it can touch like a translucent blanket.
"It's beautiful at night, isn't it?" Lukas spoke up softly.
"Hai. And cold."
"Well, it's cold during the day as well."
Kiku chuckled. "I suppose so."
A comfortable silence fell over them. They sat together on the wall for a while, staring off at the skyline, neither in any rush to ruin the quiet serenity. But Kiku did.
"... I'm happy that you lent me your coat," he blurted. Lukas shifted his head to be somewhat looking at Kiku.
"What?"
He hadn't thought about how odd that might sound. "Ano… I mean, I'm glad to know you care about me enough to give me something like this on such a cold night," Kiku elaborated as best as he could.
"I care about you a lot more than just the lending a coat level, you know," Lukas stated. "I love you, after all."
Kiku smiled and closed his eyes. "I know. ...I love you too." He relaxed fully against Lukas, breathing in the cool air and exhaling it slowly. In and out, in and out.
"Mh. We should head back inside now," Lukas said, shifting to get ready to move. Kiku didn't respond. "...Kiku?"
He was only met with soft breaths. He sighed.
"Suppose I'll just carry you back to bed, then…" he whispered to himself, tucking a lock of dark hair behind his sleeping lover's ear. "You're lucky I love you so much."
He smiled slightly and lifted Kiku up in his arms, then walked back across the lawn towards his house, careful not to disturb Kiku's slumber as he went.
A/N: Peekaboo, it's me, I'm here with a thing I wrote to appease the rarepair overlords (AKA my whole-ass brain). Here, take content. Gobble it up. You're welcome.