I Love You

He didn't tell her he loved her all that often. In fact, she'd only heard him say it a handful of times.

Once, after she'd lost her virginity to him, and he to her.

The second time had been when he'd asked her to marry him.

The third was on their wedding day.

She knew he loved her without him even having to say it. She could tell in the way he acted around her. Sometimes his ways of showing affection were obvious; going out of his way to open the car door for her; making her breakfast after they'd both had a long night; holding her in his arms and simply breathing in her scent. Sometimes they were almost too subtle for her to notice.

…Sometimes she doubted it, though. She wished he'd said it more.

It wasn't until one night that she realized how much he actually did.

He did it a lot, especially after they had sex, but not once had Mai thought anything of it. He would draw pictures, she thought, along her skin. She never did pay that much attention to it, but one day she actually did. She paused in her musings, her mind following the path of his fingers against her skin.

Love.

His forefinger danced lightly across her back, repeating the motion.

Love.

Love.

He was writing the kanji for love. After all this time, how had she never noticed it?

She quickly shifted onto her elbows, looking at him incredulously.

The fingers that once delicately traveled over her skin stopped their ministrations. Distracted by her abrupt motion, Naru looked up questioningly.

Suddenly uncomfortable with his eyes on her, Mai shook her head in embarrassment. All of it was just wishful thinking. After all, Naru was still didn't know kanji.

With a smirk, Naru trailed his finger up her spine, stopping at the base of her neck. "What is it?"

The gentle touch caused Mai to shiver violently. Unable to hide her blush, Mai pouted at him. He was always so relentless. "What do you always write on my back?"

His eyes softened momentarily and he learned closer to her. "It seems like you've already figured it out, haven't you?"

Mai smiled and erased the gap between the two of them with a quick peck.

"I love you too."

I guess this is sort of a late Valentine's Day present for you guys! I just wanted to spread a little fluff!