Chapter Text
“Stay still, Kyojuro! I don’t know if the wound is healed all the way or not!”
Kyojuro laughs, then winces as a spike of pain lances through his chest at the jerky movement, “Apologies! It’s been a while since I’ve been injured like this. I’m not used to being confined to a bed for unforeseeable periods of time.”
Akaza glances at the futon beneath Kyojuro and sighs in exasperation, “For some reason, I’m glad you weren’t. You’re a terrible patient.”
“Kocho-san used to say the same thing!” Kyojuro laughs again, flinching at the stab of pain that comes with it.
“Stay still!” Akaza hisses.
“Sorry!”
Kyojuro keeps as still as possible as Akaza unwraps the blackened and stiff gauze from his torso. His attention is drawn to the tiny brushes of Akaza’s fingers to his skin, and he has to swallow a purr because he knows that purring won’t help none. Purring with a stab wound actually hurts , and that was found out a few nights ago from some very much needed cuddling.
The vampire tries to think back to how long they’ve been in this cave for. It must be at least a week. A week since he got stabbed and Akaza only now feels safe to check and rewrap the wound. He honestly can’t blame Akaza for the precaution, though. He bled quite a lot after he got them here; there was a giant bloodstain on the floor to prove it.
He still feels bad for leaving Akaza to wrap his wound, but his body had felt so heavy and weak from the blood loss the only thing he could cling to was Akaza. Moving afterward felt like a feat, and moving included Akaza screaming at him to lay back down and rest.
Kyojuro tightens his hands into fists to focus on the pain in his palms as Akaza peels the last of the strips of fabric from his back. A warm hand gingerly touches his back, and he winces as fingers come in contact with the sore wound.
“Sorry.” Akaza immediately says, his hand snatching away from the wound, “It needs to be cleaned now. Stay still while I go get water.”
“Why not just go with you?” Kyojuro asks, “I need to get this blood off. I feel disgusting.”
Akaza’s eyes study the wound for a moment before he says, “Just keep your chest above the water. And don’t do anything too stupid or taxing.”
“Was the second part really necessary?” Kyojuro whines as he stands.
“With you? Yes.”
Kyojuro pouts as Akaza walks with him outside. The vampire lifts a hand to shade his eyes from the bright sunlight, his eyes unused to the sun after days of darkness.
Akaza rolls up the sleeves of the borrowed gakuran jacket, gesturing to the stream nearby, “Get in.”
Kyojuro does as he’s told and steps into the stream. It goes all the way to his waist, the rushing water flowing past him but not carrying any of the blood with it. He rubs at the stains before pale fingers swat his hand away.
“Let me do it.” Akaza replies with a slight annoyed tone in his voice and in his spirit. Affection and love swirl around him in tandem with the annoyance.
Kyojuro smiles at him apologetically and lets his arms drop to his sides. The hybrid’s hands rub his skin, those digits gentle yet firm as they wash away the blood staining his skin.
The warmth of Akaza’s hands massaging his torso lulls him in a dazed and relaxed disposition. The tension that had held his body together melts away, his muscles slackening.
“Geez, how tense were you?” Akaza jokes as his fingers scrub the skin around the hole in his chest, those fingers being particularly gentle and careful around this area. A throbbing yet painful purr rumbles in Kyojuro’s chest, his chest flinching and tensing again at the pain and he pouts at his inability to express his enjoyment. Akaza’s gleeful laughter brings a splash of embarrassed and amused color to Kyojuro’s cheeks. A sudden, burning desire to silence that laugh wells up inside his chest and he wants to set it free.
Kyojuro catches Akaza’s citrine eyes with his fire-gold ones. Akaza’s hands freeze on his chest and his eyes narrow dangerously.
“Stop looking at me like that.” Akaza scolds in annoyance.
“With what?” Kyojuro asks innocently, wrapping his arms around the hybrid’s waist and pulling him closer. Akaza’s arms become trapped between their chests.
“With that stupid face. And you’re trying to do something stupid now-"
Akaza cuts himself off, his mouth falls open as Kyojuro leans forward slightly and lays a soft, lingering kiss on his forehead. Kyojuro doesn’t see the hybrid’s face turn bright red until after he pulls away. Akaza’s frown becomes shaky as he tries to keep a smile off his face.
“You-! …dammit.” Akaza mutters, burying his beet red face into Kyojuro’s neck. Kyojuro can’t hold in his laughter, the pain worth it to see Akaza like this.
“You’re an idiot.”
“You chose that idiot!”
When Akaza comes back up, his face has cooled down to a pink, disappointing Kyojuro that his blush went away so quickly. A mischievous and desirable idea comes to his mind on how to get it back, so he leans forward again and closes his eyes.
Akaza tenses in his arms as their lips crash together, Kyojuro’s hands trailing up the crevice between the gakuran jacket and his pants to resting on the skin of his lower back. He gives in to the vampire, wrenching his arms free and wrapping them around Kyojuro’s neck to close the space between their torsos.
A tongue pecks at Kyojuro’s lips, and he’s quick to let Akaza in. His tongue goes straight for his fangs, and Kyojuro lets him cut himself on them. Akaza’s sweet and tangy blood drips down his throat, fueling his raging want and desire for the hybrid. Kyojuro’s fingers dig into Akaza’s skin, pulling the hybrid as close as possible.
Akaza pulls away, and they both gasp for air. When Kyojuro tries to go in for another kiss, Akaza’s hand slaps over his mouth and he kisses fingers instead.
“See? Stupid, as I said.” Akaza gasps, poking Kyojuro’s chest with his other hand in a chastising manner, “We can do this later, if you behave.”
Kyojuro whines loudly, his teeth nipping at Akaza’s fingers and his hands gripping Akaza’s flesh.
“Later, Kyojuro. Let’s get you cleaned up first.”
Kyojuro moves a hand and tears Akaza’s hand from his mouth, holding it there in the air tenderly, “We’ll just have to get cleaned again, Akaza!”
Akaza’s bloody red eyes boring into his and the little, toothy grin splitting his lips sends chills of anticipation up Kyojuro’s spine.
“You keep forgetting that our bond isn’t one-sided, Kyojuro.”
Even with all their… questionable activities, somehow the stab wound in Kyojuro’s chest heals nicely after another week.
“At least the wound healed from the inside out.” Akaza says as he examines Kyojuro’s chest one last time, glaring at the vertical scar marring the skin above the vampire’s heart.
“Am I clear for duty, ‘Kaza?” Kyojuro asks jokingly, a sly little grin on his lips.
“You’re clear for duty.” Akaza replies in the same joking manner, moving his hands from Kyojuro’s chest to his waist as the vampire straddles his hips. A short and sweet kiss is placed on his lips.
“Where do we go from here?” Kyojuro breathes against his mouth, fire-gold gazing into pools of citrine.
Akaza’s hands grip Kyojuro’s waist tightly, “Anywhere but here. Anywhere away from the Demon Slayer corps.”
Kyojuro sighs, dragging himself away to run a hand through his golden and crimson locks, “If only we could go back to my estate…but father will chase us off or kill us, depending on his mood and how much he’s had to drink.”
The longing in Kyojuro’s spirit blots out the joy and happiness from their joking around earlier. Akaza wishes he could fix it and bring Kyojuro to his brother…
He would still be with him if I never met him. If I had just stayed away from that train wreck…if I had just ignored his beautiful battle spirit…
“Now you’re thinking of sad things. Stop it.” Kyojuro scolds, patting Akaza’s cheeks and brings him out of his thoughts.
Akaza shakes his head, “I can’t help but think…what if I never met you…”
“I wouldn’t be here with you, then.”
“Exactly!” Akaza exclaims, jabbing a finger at Kyojuro, “You’d be with your brother, and your friends-“
“And I wouldn’t have you.” Kyojuro cuts in, lowering Akaza’s hand and cupping the hybrid’s face gently in his warm, calloused hands, “I would be missing you.
“You are important to me, Akaza. Never think that you aren’t. I wouldn’t be the me I am now without you.” Kyojuro confesses in a murmur, caressing Akaza’s cheeks with his thumbs, “Yes, I would be with my friends, and my brother, and my tsukugo, but I would be different. I would have probably snapped by now and attacked someone without you here keeping me fed.”
“Yes, you are terrible at doing that.” Akaza chuckles. Kyojuro laughs with him before lowering his forehead and thumping his against Akaza’s.
“I love you, Akaza, and I don’t want you to ever think that I regret my choice in sparing you. I would rather leave the Demon Slayer corps than hurt you.”
Pale hands move up to Kyojuro’s face, “I love you too…”
“Don’t even say you don’t deserve this.” Kyojuro scolds, taking Akaza’s hands and holding them tenderly, “You deserve every bit of this. If anyone says otherwise, then they are wrong and I will punish them for it.”
“…you sound like that one day you’ll be able to return to the corps.”
“…that’s not a wish of mine anymore. I mean all the people we will meet in the future. We can’t stay here for the rest of our lives, you know. We have to actually go out and move from place to place so the corps doesn’t find us. I’m not willing to sit around here and find out what’ll happen if we stay.”
“True. Are we going, then?”
“If you want to go right now.”
Akaza draws away from Kyojuro, “Then let’s go.”
Kyojuro gets to his feet, patting his sword before returning his gaze to his mate.
“Where to?”
Akaza grins, “Wherever the world may take us.”