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Sayama opened the door of the bathroom, sighing deeply as she emerged in the bedroom in a white bathrobe with her hair wrapped up in a fluffy white towel, steam exiting the bathroom as it followed her. “Ah, it’s really so nice havin’ a nice shower after such a long day at work,” she said in a relaxed tone.
Kiryu chuckled slightly, sitting on the bed in a simple T-shirt and pajama pants. “That’s true.”
Sayama slowly walked over to the dresser to reach for the paddle brush that was placed on top, taking it with her before she sat down on the side of the bed opposite of Kiryu. “How was your day?” She asked, looking over at him.
“It was okay. Same as usual, Haruka and I went out to go grocery shopping earlier. We bought some ingredients for dinner tomorrow.”
“Did you have any run-ins along the way or back?” Sayama asked with a knowing smirk, making Kiryu chuckle again. “Just a few,” he said as Sayama began to undo the towel that her hair was wrapped in, pulling it from the top and twisting it out before her wet hair fell down her shoulders and back, looking even more dark than usual from being damp with water.
Kiryu could smell her shampoo from the other side of the bed. It was a pleasantly clean scent of a good quality shampoo—not too overly girly like the floral or fruity scented toiletries that most women used.
Kiryu always liked the smell of Sayama’s hair, he could pick up a scent that was a perfect mixture of the shampoo that Sayama used with her own natural scent whenever they embraced or slept next to each other at night. It was a calming scent that made Kiryu feel safe and relaxed, a feeling he didn’t get to experience very much in the past few years of his life. He would wrap an arm around Sayama while she slept, leaning in and breathing in her essence that would make his eyes flutter close and his lips curl into a small smile, as he would drift off into slumber and have a pleasant dream.
Kiryu always had pleasant dreams when Sayama slept next to him. It was like she was protecting him from the bad things even in his sleep, just like she did in reality.
Sayama ran a hand through her hair that was soft from her conditioner before picking up the brush, about to begin combing her hair.
“Kaoru.”
Sayama looked up at Kiryu with a surprised expression. “Yes?”
Kiryu hesitated before saying anything more, afraid that what he wanted to say would sound silly. “Let me,” he mumbled quietly.
“Hmm?” Sayama asked with a blink.
“Let me comb your hair for you,” Kiryu spoke up, a slight blush appearing upon his face. Somehow, asking to do such a mundane thing made him incredibly shy.
Sayama’s face seemed to slightly heat up as well, a red tint deepening in her cheeks as she sheepishly averted Kiryu’s gaze. “A-alright. I’ll come sit next to you, then.” She stood up from the bed and walked over to his side, sitting down next to him before handing him the brush as their fingers lightly grazed each other. She turned away from him to face the rest of the room as she had her glistening hair presented in front of him, ready to be brushed.
Kiryu lightly hooked his fingers around a few strands of her wet hair before placing the brush at her scalp, brushing her hair out slowly. The soft sound of the bristles combing out her smooth hair was relaxing to the both of them.
Kiryu continued this motion on the next section of her hair, making Sayama’s eyes slowly close as she exhaled deeply at the relaxing feeling of the brush combing out her onyx hair, lightly tugging at her scalp with each stroke.
“So, tell me about your day,” Kiryu said, continuing to brush her hair as Sayama sighed. “Not much to tell. Stressful as always, but I’m just relieved that I’m finally home and can just kick back.”
Being so close to Sayama like this, getting a whiff of that clean smelling shampoo, brushing her soft, silky hair like this on a cool evening while they talked about their day as the crickets chirped outside… It was as peaceful as one could get, and Kiryu wished they could just stay like this forever. Nothing but the two of them staying like this and getting to do something so calming and innocently intimate.
Even though Kiryu thoroughly brushed each section of Sayama’s hair, he still continued to brush her hair over again, letting Sayama slightly lean back into him as he moved her hair to the side and continued to slowly brush her silky raven mane. Usually, Sayama wore her hair tied back whenever she went out, but Kiryu loved seeing her with her hair down. She always looked so gorgeous, not in an ethereal way, but rather in a way that made Kiryu feel butterflies of shyness fluttering in his stomach. Getting to see her laid-back with her hair down and in nothing but a simple white bathrobe were the moments both Kiryu and Sayama appreciated. The two loved it when they could just let their guards down and simply relax in each other’s presence.
“Mmm…” Sayama softly hummed as Kiryu continued to slowly brush over her hair again, feeling as if she was getting a calming massage. Sayama always liked getting pampered at the hair salon whenever she needed to get a haircut, the way they would shampoo her hair and brush it out before cutting it was always a pleasant experience, those were rare moments when she wasn’t so tense and could actually sit down and be comfortable.
After Kiryu finished brushing Sayama’s hair, he gently placed the brush on the nightstand beside their bed before leaning down and placing a soft kiss on the top of Sayama’s head, once again taking a whiff of the scent of her hair as she lightly chuckled, leaning up to press her hand against his cheek. “Thank you, Kazuma,” she said softly as Kiryu took her hand and kissed the back of it.
The two spent a few moments doing nothing but relaxing and basking in each other’s company, with Sayama leaning her back against Kiryu as he wrapped his arms around her and let her comfortably lay in his arms.
Sayama chuckled again before slightly moving in indication that she wanted to get up. She stood up from the bed and walked over to the closet to open it. “I almost forgot to change,” she said before facing away from Kiryu, undoing her bathrobe before taking it off, being left in nothing but her cotton panties as she searched for pajamas to wear.
Kiryu chuckled this time. “You exiting the bathroom and disrobing in front of me… Reminds me of a different time,” he said, suddenly reminiscing on earlier days when he and Sayama weren’t close yet.
“Hmm? What are you talkin’ ‘bout?” She asked him curiously before finally finding the right nightgown, slipping into it as she pulled up the straps to her shoulders. It was a short, black silk romper for hot nights, especially during the summer.
Kiryu shook his head. “Nothing. Just something I remembered from before,” he said.
Sayama walked over back to the bed again before sitting down, pulling her legs up onto the bed as she got ready to sleep. “You want me to turn off the light now, Kaz?”
Kiryu nodded before pulling his legs up onto the bed as well, reaching for the blanket before pulling it up as he shifted himself down on the bed, laying flat on his back as he rested his head against the soft pillow. Sayama reached over to turn the lamp off before the room turned dark, other than the faint moonlight coming from the window.
Sayama shifted herself down as well as she pulled the blanket up to her, laying on her side facing Kiryu. “Goodnight, Kazuma. See ya in the morning,” she said softly with a smile before turning to lay on her other side.
Kiryu took a few moments to stare at the ceiling, feeling thankful for getting to spend moments like this with the woman that he loved. He somehow felt that these moments wouldn’t last forever, so he cherished them dearly.
He slowly turned onto his side to face the back of Sayama’s head, just watching her breathe, knowing she was alive and next to him made Kiryu feel at peace. He wrapped an arm around hers, leaning into her, closing his eyes as he took in a deep inhale of Sayama’s fragrant hair again.
“Goodnight, Kaoru,” he softly whispered.
Despite whatever Kiryu had gone through, on nights like these, he felt like the luckiest man in the world.