Author's Note:

Okay, so I was trying to write a chapter for IMTW when I hit a wall. This time, it wasn't those weak-ass type where you'd get your mojo back once you started a few paragraphs. Nope. This was the real deal. I didn't know how to proceed with the next chapter and so I thought to write a short story to get my brain juice flowing.

This was what I came up with.

It had been buzzing inside my magical skull and wouldn't let up. I thought that if I wrote it, it might just leave me the hell alone so I can work on the next chapter. Hopefully, this'll keep you entertained while I figure out how to write the next scene.

yaoiChibi out! Peace~

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If there was one thing Vincent hated in the whole world, it was the fact that his prestigious lover of five years was the Editor-in-Chief of a famous female lifestyle magazine.

He didn't mind the days his lover would come home late; didn't mind the one lipstick stain he found on the silk shirt he loved to sniff on the occasional stalker days he was prone to; didn't mind the days or weeks or even months he had to survive because of business trips.

What he minded the most was the fact that whenever a new issue of his magazine came out, his lover would hand over a copy as if to say he needed the advice usually targeted towards women.

"Are you trying to tell me something, Slater?" He roared as another quiet Sunday turned into the beginnings of a cold war.

Slater looked up at his furious lover, the hips he loved to bruise during their wild love-makings had a hand on each of the curves. He instinctively knew that today wasn't his day to do some unfinished work. Luckily for him, he had been doing the following week's worth of work.

Why he was doing so much was a question he had no intention of answering right now.

"Vince, baby, what did I do this time?" He asked in a soft voice, careful not to agitate the shorter man. He already knew the consequences of angering his beautiful brown-eyed lover, and a month sleeping on the couch with no food and sex was a punishment he didn't need right now.

"Don't you baby me, Slater. I have had enough of you bringing me back a copy of your damn magazine as if it's my favorite thing to read," Vincent growled, his frown deep and hard that it convinced Slater he was seriously pissed right now, "News flash! I'd rather read the phonebook than your magazine. And if you haven't noticed during our five years of cohabitation, I am a man and, therefore, chick-related shit do not amuse me."

The sarcastic tone he used was something Slater wasn't accustomed to. Sure, there were days like this when Vincent was in his usual bitchy mode but those types of days were so rare.

"I can't believe we're going through this again, Vincent." Slater sighed, combing back his blonde hair that had fallen on top of his eyes.

Usually, Slater was a clean-cut man that could also pass off as a male model just from his looks. He always paid special attention to his appearance whenever he had work, but since today was a rest day, he decided it was a good idea to flatten his usually puffed up hair.

"Yes, we're going through this again," Vincent spat out in the lowest voice he could muster, coming off as a cute mutter if he wasn't seething with rage, "Until you stop bringing home these magazines, I will keep bitching on your ass. Seriously! Are you trying to tell me to use the tips you give to gullible women who buy this shit?! Because if you are, then say it! Stop with these subtle hints."

"Vincent, how many times do I have to tell you that this is a copy given to the EIC as one of the benefits from the company? I give them to you because it wouldn't hurt for you to check the stuff I do at work. I give them to you to prove what I do with the time I sacrifice away from you." Slater stood up in an exasperated manner, placing his laptop safely on top of the coffee table far from the clutches of his lover.

Vincent could only drop his jaw in shock at his lover's words as an awkward pause came between them.

Of all the things he expected to hear from Slater's mouth, this wasn't one of them. Vincent always knew Slater was a man with an impressive tongue on him, innuendo or not. That was one of the reasons he had jumped the gun and lived with him after dating for only three months back then.

"Vince - baby - relax, will you?" Slater moved around the coffee table to stand behind his lover, massaging the tense shoulders. Vincent was a head shorter compared to him and, in his opinion, it was the perfect height for sneaking kisses or avoiding a punch or two.

In this case, it was the latter he was most wary of now.

"It's 'cause you keep doing shit like this, Slater. You think I enjoy fighting about it every month?" Vincent visibly relaxed as he leant on the sturdy body behind him, purring under his breath with every squeeze given to him.

"Alright, alright. If I do end up having to bring home another copy, I'll just give it to one of my willing subordinates. Sound good?" Slater smiled as his lips brushed across the clothed shoulders.

The shift in the atmosphere brought about a change in dispositions. And with a quick turn of the head, Vincent had captured his lover's lips in a bruising kiss. It was an open invitation and Slater wasn't one to refuse such a feast, so he wrapped his arms around the tiny man and dragged his delicious ass inside the safe confines of their shared bedroom.

It was going to be a long day, but neither had minded. After all, who would be crazy to say no to daytime sex?

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After a whole day of 'rigorous exercise', Vincent had realized that he had left a lot of his chores undone yesterday. He didn't regret leaving halfway though; he only wished that he'd finish doing them before confronting his passionate lover.

As he fussed over the kitchen, moving from one room to the next, his body had finally accepted the growing exhaustion which was evident the moment he woke up. He decided to take a rest on one of the couches of the room he was cleaning, which was - coincidentally - Slater's study.

Vincent flopped down the couch face first, ignoring the bite of pain that shot up from the contact. He had tied his shoulder-length raven hair into a ponytail, a few strands falling down the sides of his face. Truthfully, his lower back and hips were aching, and it had affected his progress with housework once or twice. But, he was used to it.

Five years with Slater taught him how a lot of things.

He carefully turned to the side with a grimace. His eyes fell on the small mahogany coffee table, only to find the dreaded magazine sitting prettily on top of it. A scowl painted his features as he unconsciously grabbed said object.

'I give them to you to prove what I do with the time I sacrifice away from you.'

He could hear Slater's voice whisper those words in his ears once again, lighting the fire inside his body. It was that one line that made all the difference in their discussion yesterday, so it wouldn't be a bad thing to humor his lover by reading it.

Right?

Now lying on his back, Vincent flipped the glossy pages over like a paper fan. Nothing was catching his attention in particular. Everything was so damn girly and feminine that the hairs on his skin had risen from the disgust he was feeling. Decidedly, he dropped the magazine on his face and rested his eyes.

He didn't know how long he had lain there until he shot up to his feet to check if he had left the water in the bath running, letting the magazine fall down to the ground.

Thankfully, that wasn't the case. He didn't need to do more housework right now. With nothing else to do, he returned to the study to resume his last cleaning for the day. As he walked past the coffee table, he heard a scrunching sound and his eyes shot down.

His foot was stepping on the magazine his lover had slaved over. He paled. That wasn't a good thing.

Quickly, he picked it up, intent on putting it back and assume that nothing had happened until he saw the bold colors that screamed a headline that peaked his interest.

5 WAYS TO KEEP YOUR MAN HAPPY.

"What the hell?" He whispered, letting his eyes roll down the page. And as if a female narrator was around, he heard the words speak for themselves.

HOW SURE ARE YOU THAT YOUR MAN IS HAPPY WITH YOU?

"100% sure," Vincent answered to no one in particular. His tone was arrogant and confident as he continued to read.

HAVE YOU BEEN SPENDING LESS TIME TOGETHER? IS WORK PULLING HIM AWAY FROM QUALITY TIME WITH YOU? HAVE SIGNS OF CHEATING STARTED POPPING OUT OF NOWHERE?

Vincent's mind started to wander.

He didn't want to admit it but their time together nowadays was a lot shorter compared to how they were before. They never went out for dates or out-of-town trips like they used to. Even their sex time had been cut in half due to the sheer amount of work Slater had. And this was Slater we were talking about. HE was the sex beast in the relationship.

Not to mention that one-time lipstick stain on his color that he said he got from a tall woman falling on him. Now that he thought about it, with Slater's height of 6'9, that woman must be a freaking giant on heels to fall and stain him like that.

WHILE THERE ARE NO GUARANTEES TO A PERFECT RELATIONSHIP, HERE ARE A FEW TIPS THAT CAN HELP YOU KEEP YOUR MAN HAPPY:

Vincent sat down on the couch, his focus on the page as he read the next paragraph. He knew this was stupid, knew that he shouldn't trust the words of people who wrote this with the intent to sell. But, his interest did not waver and it didn't hurt to try them without Slater knowing.

Agreeing with himself, he smiled. This was the time to put his lover's words to the test.

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FIRST, LEARN TO SPEAK HIS LOVE LANGUAGE.

Vincent believed that Slater's love language was food. It was what had brought them together in the first place. Back when he was nothing more than a penniless art student, he worked part-time as a chef's assistant to pay for his tuition. He met Slater during one of his shifts and was a goner.

If food wasn't his love language, then he didn't know what it was.

"Slater, I made your favorite homemade lasagna. I also popped open a bottle for the two if us to share," Vincent greeted when his tired lover came home from work that day.

"Yeah? Looks like you didn't read my text to you. No wonder you didn't reply. Sorry, but can you put my share in the fridge? I'll eat it for breakfast tomorrow. I'm really tired right now after that dinner meeting."

Vincent paused as his smile fell, his hand pulling out his phone to find the said message of his lover. He growled in irritation. He was so busy he hadn't noticed, now he had to eat the lasagna he slaved over all alone.

'Damn. This can't get any worse.' He thought.

"Oh, right! I have a business meeting the day after tomorrow. Pack up my stuff when you're free tomorrow, okay? Love you." With that, his blonde lover disappeared into their bedroom.

That was Vincent's final blow. He got up, stuffing his warm lasagna uncaringly in the fridge. And as he turned around, he yelled at the top of his voice for all to hear, "Slater, you ungrateful idiot!"

First tip: FAIL.

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SECOND, GIVE HIM SPACE.

"I'm off, Vincent!" Slater yelled from their doorway, probably waiting for him to go up and give him a kiss goodbye for his two-day business trip.

However, Vincent waved from where he sat on the living room couch. Truthfully, he wanted to smother Slater with kisses, maybe give him a parting gift to make the time away from each other bearable. But, he had to stick to the magazine.

Slater needed space and he was going to give that.

"Aren't you going to kiss me goodbye?" Slater asked.

"I'd love to, but uhm. Uh." Vincent racked his brain for an excuse. With his painfully straightforward attitude, lying through his teeth was a skill he hadn't gotten the hang of yet.

"But what?" Slater pressed on, crossing his bulky arms across his suit-covered chest.

"But. Uhm. Ah." An idea popped in his head. "I just took a really bombastic shit and I don't want you smelling me."

Slater stared at him blankly, Vincent biting his bottom lip as he silently berated himself for coming up with a stupid lie. Sure, he could've said that he was sick with the cold or something. It didn't have to be something so disgusting he'd douse the arousal of his older lover in an instant.

Before Vincent could say another thing to further embarrass himself, Slater walked up to him and stole a bruising kiss on his full lips with a smile. The taller man slid his nose on top of Vincent's head, taking quick sniffs which mortified the smaller man.

"Lay off the papaya next time. Okay, baby?" A quick kiss on the top of his head and Slater was gone.

Vincent repeatedly hit his head on the sofa's padded backrest, not believing his stupidity and Slater's advice to lay off the papaya. How the hell was he going to regain his sexiness after that stunt?

Second tip: RED X MARK.

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THIRD, DON'T BE HIS MOTHER (but get along with her)

Vincent rolled his eyes and moved on. First of all, he was a man. If anything, he was going to end up as a father and he didn't need that right now. Not when Slater was still bugging him with the papaya thing. Second, Slater's mother hated his guts so there was no way this was feasible.

Third tip: Impossible.

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FOURTH, LEARN TO LIKE, OR AT LEAST TOLERATE, THE THINGS HE LIKES.

Vincent frowned.

Slater and his tastes rarely differed from each other. They were the perfect match in everything. From the sports they played to the books they read, nothing had been out of line. Slater was literally his other half.

This put a smile on Vincent's face, the fondness painting over the cringe he had on when he passed by the fruits section of the supermarket and found a ripe papaya staring at him in the face.

Yeah, he was definitely in a better mood now.

Fourth tip: Accomplished.

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FINALLY, DON'T PUSH THE M WORD.

"'M word'?" Vincent voiced aloud, stuffing his face with chips he found hidden under the heaps of energy bars Slater owned, "What the hell is the 'M word'?"

Today was the day Slater came home from his trip. He had talked to his lover a few minutes ago, the older man telling him not to go anywhere. At first, it baffled him. If he didn't go, who was going to pick him up from the station?

Slater had answered vaguely and reiterated his instructions.

Do not go anywhere.

So, with nothing else to do, he waited like a good little boy doing as he's told. Vincent tried to read the following paragraph to find out what the M word was but the front door had clicked shut. He raised his eyes to find his lover, the same beautiful man standing with a nervous smile on his face.

Vincent smiled back and raised the bowl of chips he held as he spoke, "Chips? Don't worry, I just opened these."

He noticed Slater's emerald irises move down to his other hand where the magazine was still in his hand. He followed suit and blushed, chucking the offended object away as he feigned innocence.

"I didn't know you were reading that." Slater chuckled in his hand, his other hand behind him which made Vincent a little curious as to what he was hiding.

"I just found that, that's all. Don't put words in my mouth, idiot." Vincent flushed pink and Slater had to admit, pink really did suit his young lover, "You're home early. I wasn't expecting you 'til later. How was it?"

Slater didn't answer, dropping his briefcase on the floor with a thud. Vincent raised a brow at the suspicious behavior, noticing the way Slater was sweating bullets.

"What happened, Slater?" He asked with a tinge of worry. Slater chuckled nervously in response, a mutter of 'He forgot' slipping past his lips.

Slowly, Slater moved to stand in front of Vincent. The brown-eyed beauty still raising that brow at his lover and just as he was about speak, a bouquet of pink roses greeted Vincent's vision.

The man was shocked speechless. His mouth had gone dry as the flowers were thrusted in his hands, a kiss landing on his lips as the words that had left Slater's lips continued to surprise him.

"Happy anniversary, baby," Slater said, caging the face of his teary-eyed lover.

Without losing a beat, Slater got down on one knee as he pulled out a velvet box from behind him. Opening it with a tad bit of clumsiness, Slater took deep breaths to calm himself down.

Vincent, on the other hand, could only let his tears flow freely as he looked at his lover.

"Vincent Selario, will you make me the happiest man on earth and marry me?"

His answer was automatic, his body flying towards the man that was still kneeling on one knee. As they hugged in pure happiness, Vincent's thoughts suddenly clicked. The M word he had been keeling over just awhile ago. That same M word had suddenly given him extreme happiness right now.

And the best part was that he wasn't the one that did the pushing.

"And here I thought you were going to leave me." Vincent laughed, pulling back while Slater slipped the ring on his finger. The taller man chuckled happily, swiping a kiss from the pouty ones before him.

"Baby, I will never leave you," Slater confessed, pulling Vincent in another hug, "You caught me by the balls the moment you said CHIPS."

Fifth tip: WINNER.