I was obsessed with 'Arms' by Christina Perri so I wrote this in lieu of a song fic. Damn it Yusuke, why are you such a great muse? It's a stand alone ficclet.
Yusuke felt strong arms wrap around his waist in the middle of the night from behind and he opened his eyes groggily. His own hand rested over the knitted fingers that were pressed against his belly. He smiled and also felt a warm mouth kiss the back of his neck, a larger body spooning his back.
"Done studying?" Yusuke asked and Kuwabara grunted an 'Uh-huh' and settled in to finally sleep. Yusuke glanced at the clock and the glowing green numbers read 4:05. Yusuke already heard Kuwabara's breathing even out for sleep but Yusuke stayed awake a bit longer, quietly basking in the heat of his mate's arms. He felt at home there.
What a strange sensation. To Yusuke, home had always been the place his mom drank and collapsed on the couch in a drunken stupor. Home was eerily quiet, especially when his mom forgot to pay the electricity bill. Home was lonely and he only went home to sleep. He didn't even have much stuff at home, his mom always said they didn't have enough money. Most things like food were bought on welfare. Then she would by a case of booze and call it her medication when he was younger. It wasn't like he got beat or anything, and when his mom was sober she had been really loving, but so very sad and distant. Home was sad and bitter.
This wasn't bitter or sad though, not with Kuwabara's big muscled arms taking possession of him and hugging him intimately. It was strange because Yusuke couldn't really remember feeling 'safe' anywhere before. He grew up in the streets, he grew up fighting. Even when he was younger he didn't feel safe at home because his mom often forgot to lock the house. Even now what he was an S-class demon, there was no place he felt 'safe'. If enemies attacked though, he knew he could take care of himself and Kuwabara if the foe was too strong. Kuwabara was still very human, and he was sure that even if Kuwabara WAS still training his body and mind, Yusuke would always still be stronger than his mate. But... he now felt that Kuwabara wasn't really defending Yusuke's body so much anymore. They were mates now, lovers. Yusuke was sure Kuwabara was now in the possession of his heart.
Yusuke smiled bitterly, thinking it was quite mushy and sappy, but he enjoyed every second of it. He didn't want to, mind you. He tried not to show how much he enjoyed when Kuwabara held his hand or wrapped an arm around his waist. And as much as he was embarrassed by Kuwabara laying on the charm when they were alone, he truthfully thrived on the attention. It was nearly impossible to admit because he'd been a tough guy for so long, how did someone let down their guard knowing that someone else had possession of a vital piece of them. Yusuke couldn't imagine it.
Kuwabara had his heart, so... what if he just decided that Yusuke wasn't worth his patience anymore? What if Yukina realized what she was missing and decided that she loved Kuwabara. He was sure that Kuwabara would drop him like a hot potato and run off with his perfect bride. That thought had Yusuke feeling like someone, maybe Sensui, was stabbing him in the heart with a knife. Only this time he felt the sharp pain much longer instead of death consuming him. His eyes would water at the thought and they burned as he tried to hold back tears.
He was sometimes convinced that Kuwabara would have a much easier time ending this relationship than Yusuke would. After all, Yusuke had come after Kuwabara, and Yusuke had felt this crush he had on the other for years now. And he'd really needed to mate with someone when he was in rut, and Kuwabara was so reluctant to go through with it at first... What was stopping him from just leaving? Sometimes he forgot...
Kuwabara snored and Yusuke turned in his mate's arms, facing the other man. Kuwabara was sleeping soundly. Yusuke's fingers gently traced the curves and edges of Kuwabara's jaw and face. Kuwabara murmured something incoherent and Yusuke smiled. He could never do this when Kuwabara was awake. Truthfully, he didn't think he could take his mate's eyes on him. Showing him how open and intimate he really felt with the other man. He wasn't sure what Kuwabara would DO if he caught him (as mushy as it sounded) basking in the glow of Kuwabara's love. He didn't think he'd live it down, even if he did live longer than Kuwabara.
Yusuke slipped his arms around Kuwabara's waist and rested his head against his broad chest, wanting to listen to his heartbeat, which was so comforting to him. Lub-dub, lub-dub. Yusuke smiled peacefully, closing his eyes.
Did Kuwabara see through his crap wall that he put up? Years of beating this man up, Yusuke would think that Kuwabara would give up on him and hate him, but he never did. Kuwabara understood him like no one else had. Even Keiko couldn't understand why he fought constantly, but Kuwabara had the same complex. There was a thrill in the fight that maybe only men could understand. Kuwabara knew Yusuke could take care of himself, most of the time anyway. Not mentioning Yusuke had nearly died 3 times while knowing the other man. He was surprised Kuwabara wasn't already going grey from all the shit they'd gone through.
Kuwabara's arms tightened around Yusuke and Yusuke smiled, finally starting to drift back to sleep. Yusuke realized he'd never really loved like this before Kuwabara. He'd never been so completely consumed by the want to be near someone and loved back. He wanted to be loved by this man. Kuwabara told him he loved him nearly every day. Luckily he said those words to him often or Yusuke would still think he was dreaming. Yusuke felt bad for not saying them more.
"I love you... Kazuma." Yusuke murmured quietly, still getting used to the taste of his mate's given name on his lips. Kuwabara had no problem calling him Yusuke now that they were lovers, but Yusuke was still learning. Kuwabara took a deep breath and Yusuke sighed contently, ready to drift to sleep again. Though Kuwabara's arms curled around him in a more protective manner.
"Love you too, Yusuke." Kuwabara muttered and Yusuke's eyes snapped open and he pulled back far enough to see Kuwabara's eyes were open half way and a grin was on his face.
"Faker." Yusuke grumbled and Kuwabara kissed Yusuke's forehead sweetly.
"Good night, Yusuke." He said and Yusuke scoffed but smiled, feeling warmth in his entire body. He closed his eyes again and smiled serenely. He felt like he was home.