".."
"I don't need you to carry me.."
Silke stepped out of the shower, he could feel his legs shake, it would take some minutes until his body healing effects kicked in.
He looked at his body in the mirror, luckily the guide uniforms were high necked, else how was he supposed to hide these hickeys?
He grabbed the robe, wrapping it tightly around it all while ignoring Seram.
"Let me help you get dressed." Seram lips twitched as he ushered Silke out of the bathroom.
Seram headed to the closet while Silke slumped on the bed.
By the time his body touched the bed, the pain in his ass was gone. Now he was left with general tiredness.
"Which do you like?" Seram asked, raising the pajamas for Silke to see, the man couldn't care less, he had his eyes closed trying to regain some strength.
"Any is fine.."
Five minutes later.
Silke lips twitched, he shouldn't have given Seram the choice to choose.
Then he wouldn't be wearing full on bear pajamas.
"It's from your closet, why are you annoyed?"
"..."
"It's Kyren who added it as a prank, it's been there for a year now. You made me wear this!"
Silke grumbled, he was older but being with Seram made him like he was a teen.
He didn't mind it though, it was a nice change.
"Mhm..but you look very cute tho..so let's keep it. Let's go out tomorrow and get more cute stuff."
"..."
"Seram…are you into cute things?"
".."
"Not at all" Seram chuckled, he actually preferred a more mature look for his partners but surprisingly the women he had dated, all liked cute stuff and Silke didn't mind it as well so he kept going.
"But it looks good on you, so I can't help but pick out the cute things for you." Seram scratched his head as he said it, a red hue appearing on his face.
Silke looked at the mirror, he guessed wearing cute stuff made him look younger.
"Well, if you don't mind I guess there's nothing wrong with it. It's not like anyone would see him in this."
Seram's pajamas were cute plain, it made him look over the top. He was wearing a simple black shirt and the same color sweatpants.
Silke had to admit, black really did look good on him and he had this really athletic build, he wondered if he did any sports.
"Let's go grab dinner."
Seram led Silke out of the room, the floors were cold today so they had socks on, the difference between them was that, Seram only had socks on while Silke wore his indoor slippers along with it.
"Isn't the cold getting in through the socks though?"
Seram shook his head, he didn't like wearing slippers indoors even having these socks on right now, made his feet feel hot.
"My feets are actually hot."
".."
"Then why did you wear socks?!"
".."
"Because you're wearing socks.."
".."
"Yeah! Because my feets are cold, who wears socks when they aren't cold."
Seram shrugged, still walking ahead to the kitchen like he hadn't just exposed himself as the biggest copycat on earth.
"I don't know. Thought we could match or something."
Silke blinked. Matched?
"Are you five?"
Seram turned his head slightly, lips tugging into that slow grin that always made Silke's stomach twist.
"Nope. But you're wearing bear pajamas, so I think one of us might be."
Silke gasped in offense. "Excuse me?!"
"Excused.." Seram said smoothly, opening the fridge and reaching in like he hadn't just verbally bodied him.
Silke stood there, frozen in place, the little bear ears on his pajama hood twitching metaphorically with indignation.
"You…you dressed me in this!"
"Voluntarily," Seram added. "And you're still wearing it, which is basically admitting you like it."
"I was weak!" Silke sputtered. "My legs didn't work!"
"Mhm.." Seram said with a knowing look.
"Want me to test if they work now?"
Silke immediately took five deliberate steps backward to assert dominance. His hips still ached a little, and he winced then scowled.
"That's harassment."
"That's love.." Seram replied without missing a beat, lifting out a container of soup and turning to the stove.
"..."
Silke quieted down, taking his seat on the chair…the weather was getting colder, although everything he wore made him warm, sometimes his old injuries acted up.
"What did you think of soup for dinner and then we can have something like mashed potatoes along, I'll have lots of pork in the soup. The weather's kinda cold, and you look like someone who gets cold easily, so let's warm you up."
Seram had noticed Silke shivering, even though he was completely covered.
"Whatever you say.."
Silke stood up and walked to the couch, maybe he'll catch up on the news and sports before dinner was ready.
He knew all the calmness was under the surface, winter had arrived and all the villains would start making their resolutions, the new year was going to be a busy one.
He wondered the kind of rifts that would open.
Hopefully he got to go on a few missions before his retirement.
"What are you thinking about?"
Silke jumped when he felt Seram's breath near his ears.
"Oh…I was thinking winter is here, this is going to be our first Christmas together…I'm happy.."
Seram's arms came around him from behind, warm and strong, wrapping Silke up in a cocoon of quiet comfort.
"…Me too," Seram said softly, his chin resting on Silke's shoulder. "I never looked forward to Christmas before. Not really. But now… I keep catching myself thinking about it. About us."
Silke turned slightly, just enough to see his face. "Yeah?"
Seram gave a slow, almost shy nod. "Yeah."
The silence between them was not empty.
It was full of a shared warmth, quiet hopes, and the weight of time neither of them spoke about.
Silke leaned back into Seram's chest.
His body was tired, but his heart… his heart felt settled. Which wasn't something he was used to.
"I haven't had a proper Christmas in years.." Silke said eventually. "Sometimes I volunteered to be on shift just so I didn't have to think about it. No family. No partner. It's just been only me"
Seram tensed, just slightly. "You have me now."
"I know." Silke tilted his head to the side, letting it rest against Seram's. "That's the weirdest part. I actually believe you."