Signs of Existence (You Were Once Mine)

>~<

It's his eyes.

Katsuki loves his eyes.

One blue, sparkling in the sun, surrounded by an island of red. The other, a greyish brown, surrounded by clear, milky skin. There are scars along his cheeks from his patrols as a hero, because he can take a hit and think himself better for it. His eyelashes don't match, either, and it's the most beautiful thing Katsuki can't describe. A barely visible white hair color, a deep red on his left side.

He's so perfect.

Katsuki likes to think of him as he wakes up. He likes to think of him as he sleeps and as he falls asleep. When he's wide awake and his mind is pacing back and forth, it always comes back to the thought of Shouto, his lover. The most beautiful person he could think of. His best friend and his partner.

Katsuki rubs his eyes, trying to remove the swollenness. He's just tired, he tells himself.

He's finally off today, so he can make his own coffees instead of buying coffee at the shop near Endeavor's agency. He pulls two cups out, putting the smaller mug underneath the Keurig spout. Shouto doesn't like to drink as much in the morning. He wakes up tired and Katsuki has to annoy him into waking up. Trial and error have revealed that Shouto wakes up the easiest when Katsuki kisses him, and he's definitely more enjoyable to be around when he's that happy.

The machine finishes Shouto's cup, so Katsuki starts his own the same way. He adds sugar to the mug, stirring it in gently. Then, he fills it to the brim with milk, because Shouto doesn't actually like coffee. He likes the energy benefits and the fact that he can drink it with Katsuki. He'd admitted that, a while ago. While they were in bed, underneath the sheets, and watching a movie that Katsuki can't even remember the name of, he'd confessed his love for Katsuki for the millionth time.

"Shouto," he remembers saying, annoyed in a way that had him smiling as he pushed Shouto's forehead away from him. Shouto had crawled up him like some sort of child, a slight smile on his lips. "I'm trying to watch the movie."

"And I'm trying to love my boyfriend," he'd said, swooping a leg over Katsuki's lap and moving upward to straddle his chest. Nothing made Katsuki happier than to see Shouto smile, however minuscule those smiles always were.

"Love me while you watch the movie, then."

"Can't, you keep distracting me," he'd tease, smirking. "You're so handsome."

He remembers those eyes, blue and grey, and how he used them to their full advantage. He looked down at Katsuki and his eyes could tell a million stories. Stories of his patrols, ones that Katsuki wasn't there for because they worked at different agencies. Stories of a childhood that brought pain and suffering, one that Shouto overcame perfectly.

Katsuki finishes his coffee, looking into the fridge. It's kind of empty. Just a bag of carrots, covered in dirt and what looks like mold. Some milk, Kirishima had brought it two days before, because Katsuki didn't have any and Shouto only likes his coffee with milk in it.

The rest of the fridge is old veggies and some leftover rice. He can't remember how old it is. Shouto wanted to make fried rice with it, they never got to it. The carrots, the peas in the freezer, and the brand new soy sauce in the door of his fridge.

"I've never made it before," he pouts. "Teach me."

Katsuki had shoved the ingredients back into the fridge, pointing to the Tupperware of food from the night before. "These go bad first, we can make fried rice tomorrow."

He regrets not making the stupid rice that night. He regrets making Shouto frown, even if that sadness only lasted a moment before he'd gotten distracted with other things. There's guilt furrowed in Katsuki's brow, he lets a shaky, angry breath out.