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Kiyoteru flopped down directly onto his side on the bed. His hair was still wet, and he hadn't bothered to wear anything other than grey sweatpants. He had just started to doze off when he heard his name being called from across the room.
"Oh, Kiyooo!" Miki announced in a sing-songy tone. He didn't even bother to turn his head. The only light on in the room might have been a lamp, and sure, he might be a bit... troubled with his vision, but he'd know who that voice belonged to even if he was blind. She fumbled across the room and made her way toward the bed they shared, her clean, white robe trailing behind her. She crawled on top of the sheets, similarly to how Kiyoteru was, and turned to face him.
Before anything else, she noticed his dull expression and how limp he seemed to be.
"Mmm... tired?" She asked. This time her voice was gentle. Soft-spoken, if you must. She took one of her hands and played with some of the locks of wet hair that draped over his ears.
"Mhm." He grumbled in response. "Long day."
Miki let out a quiet giggle at his oh-so-'enthusiastic ' response before sitting up.
"Why aren't you asleep yet?" She murmured.
"Well, I was going to. That is, until you came in."
"Ah... sorry."
"It's not your fault. Don't worry."
Miki smiled softly and studied him up and down. Her eyes were fixed on the silver cross that laid in the middle of his chest.
He noticed her staring.
"Pretty, isn't it?" He chimed softly. Miki looked back up at his face, into his eyes. She nodded gently.
The cross in question once belonged to Kiyoteru's father. Miki knew how dear his father - Kiyoshi - was to him. Kiyoshi was also very close to her before he passed. Kiyoteru now wears his jewelry as a reminder of him. It was precious.
Miki inched herself closer to Kiyo, moving his arm out of the way and into her lap, gently tracing over every flaw or scar that decorated his skin with her hands. His skin felt so frigid against her warm embrace.
Along with every little marking, there was a tattoo on his inner forearm reading "ad finem temporum", that she also studied with her fingertips.
Kiyoteru rotated his head to see what she was doing and watched her as she stared into the slightly paler parts of his skin. Even though he's tried to hide his scars from the public eye, he felt safe around her. He knew that Miki believed that every little flaw was beautiful. That the blemishes were life.
Kiyo proceeded to stare at Miki in a completely hypnotic daze. She was still fixated on his forearm. Her eyes began to wander again, however, from his arm, to his chest, to the cross (yet again), and finally, to his eyes.
They locked gazes. It was evident how much Miki loved him. How much she cared for him. How much he felt the same way.
He tried to smile. He wanted to tell her that he saw the beauty in his scars as well. He was just... scared. Scared of being misjudged or mistreated by people who had no idea the story behind them or who he was now.
He took a deep breath before starting to talk.
"It's a reminder." He mumbled. "Of who I am."
Miki smiled back, a sweet little dimple showing in the corner of her mouth. She could tell that his scars were the same as her own.
"You know," he started once again, "I saw you lost in thought earlier. What were you thinking about so hard over there?"
"Oh. Well, it was you, of course."
"Aww, babe, you flatter me."
Miki let out a small giggle and slumped back to laying down once more. She moved his arm back onto his stomach and nuzzled her head ontop of his shoulder.
"You know..." she mumbled, "D'you know how much I love you?"
"You love me?" Kiyoteru said, half-jokingly.
"O'course I do."
"Suuure."
"I do. I really do. So much."
"Haha, I love you too, dear."
Miki smiled and closed her eyes, content with the fact that Kiyoteru felt the same. She felt warm. That feeling she was feeling earlier while she was sitting with Kiyoteru in bed just a moment ago was not just a repeat of her past. It wasn't a cold, one-sided love. It was warm happiness.
It was complete and unconditional love.