Chapter Text
So, maybe taking on another mission after defeating a group of strong demons wasn’t such a good idea. It’s not like he hasn’t done it before, being a Demon Slayer—and a Hashira no less—it came with the job. Irregular work hours and traveling to another village immediately after logging off a head was normal.
But even for someone as high up the ranks as him, the workload lately had been too much. He hasn’t gotten more than six hours of sleep in two months, being assigned mission after mission. And sometimes they required so much tracking and watching he didn’t have time to eat. Giyuu has only been able to keep up out of sheer determination.
It’s when he’s on a path through a forest when his body finally succumbs to exhaustion. Giyuu’s vision becomes blurry, his steps unsteady. He starts teetering to his right. The world seems to spin on its axis. He plants his foot out to catch himself, grunting softly. He shakes it off after regaining his balance, because he thinks if he’s lasted this long he can go for longer.
Unfortunately, that isn’t the case, and his earlier conviction doesn’t do shit for him when he falls to the ground and blacks out.
≡
When he comes to, there’s a blurry wooden ceiling above him, not the sky. Odd, he thinks, trying to blink away the post-sleep bleariness from his sight. He notices his hand is being held by a rough one. There’s a cool and wet towel on his forehead, and he takes note of the comfortable clothes he had been changed into. The clothes stick uncomfortably to his body due to his sweating, though.
Giyuu tries sitting up, only to be pushed down by the hand that had been holding his. When he turns his head—and winces from the sudden movement—there’s a white blob, which is roughly human-shaped, sitting at his bedside. They must have found him passed out on the road and helped him.
He opens his mouth to thank them, but instead his sleep-addled brain blurts, “Are you an angel?”
“ Hah? Where the fuck did that come from,” a gravelly voice asks.
Oh, it’s Sanemi.
“A demon, then,” he replies, just to tease him.
“I find your kasugai crow squawking about and rush over to save your sorry ass, and this is how you repay me?” Sanemi asks, scandalized.
His vision is finally clear after a few more blinks, so he’s able to see his significant other clearly. Sanemi’s face is pulled into an annoyed scowl, but his eyes are a tad softer than they normally are.
“Ah, thank you for doing that.” Giyuu replies, a bit embarrassed that he had passed out. “What happened when you found me?”
“Picked you up and carried you to Kocho’s. She did a check up on you. Malnourishment, dehydration, and lack of sleep. And now you have a fever. Really outdid yourself this time, huh?”
Well, that explains the sweating and dizziness.
Giyuu bites his lip and looks away. He’s got enough self awareness to feel a bit of shame. “I’ll be fine. I just need a few days of rest.”
The other raises an eyebrow, “A few days? You’re off for three weeks, dumbass.”
He shouldn’t be shocked, he knows he needs rest, but it’s not like he can. Giyuu can’t afford to be off-field, not when lives are on the line. He’s a Hashira, not a Mizunoto. He can handle himself. Three weeks is a lot of time, time that could be spent hunting demons. Sure, Giyuu’s spent three weeks recovering before, but he knows for a fact he’ll get antsy and want to move.
Sanemi’s eye twitches before he snaps at him. “I can tell what you’re thinking, and it’s stupid. You need to rest. The world can handle a few weeks without you.”
“But Sanemi, I can handle—”
“No fucking buts. You’re staying here whether you like it or not.”
Well, he can’t say he’s not surprised. He’s always been like that, always pushy to get his way when it comes to Giyuu’s health. Granted, it’s not bad per say. He’s pretty sure Sanemi’s meddling, in the end, has saved him from multiple injuries and illnesses. It’s just that he doesn’t think he needs to be coddled like a kid. He’s a grown man, after all.
Giyuu reaches over and grabs Sanemi’s hand. He tugs, a bit weak due to his sorry state, but the other plays along anyways. He lets him lead him close enough to where Giyuu can place his hands on his bare chest, right where his shirt is unbuttoned.
Pouting, he whines, “Please, Sanemi?”
He trails a hand down the lines of his chest, still looking at him. He knows Sanemi can tell what he’s doing, but the flush on his cheeks tells Giyuu it’s working.
Sanemi snaps out of his daze and grips his wrist, hard. He tugs it so that it’s in between them. He opens his mouth to probably yell at Giyuu, but before he does Shinobu walks in.
“Shinazugawa-san, is he awake—”
Their heads both snap towards the entrance of the room. Giyuu winces when his head starts pounding.
There in all her glory, Shinobu stares at them from the doorway. She blinks a few times before saying teasingly behind her hand, “My my! I know it’s been quite awhile since you two have seen each other, but I have to ask you two to keep your hands to yourself, especially in my estate.”
His face heats up, though it probably was flushed to begin with because of his fever. It’s not the first time a Hashira—or anyone for that matter—has walked in on them. But either way it’s still embarrassing. Once, Giyuu had been on his knees sucking Sanemi off when there was a scream to the side. It turned out some poor estate attendant had found them at the back of the Wind Estate.
Sanemi is the first to pull away, dropping Giyuu’s hand and sitting up straight. He coughs into his elbow before replying, “Yeah, sorry. My bad.”
The flush on his face has gotten darker, and his ears have gotten red too. The scars that remain a light pink against the red somehow makes him look more charming. Cute, Giyuu thinks.
Shinobu waves a hand. “What’s done is done. Tomioka-san can you sit up for me?”
Giyuu nods, flinching when his head throbs. He props himself up slowly, while Sanemi grabs his pillow and tucks it between his back and the headboard.
“Okay, I just need to examine your sorry state. After that I can give you your medicine.”
Once all of that is settled, Giyuu downs the bitter, and quite frankly disgusting tasting medicine. He definitely thinks even his cooking tastes better than whatever that medicine was. He gives Shinobu a look, because the way her eyes shine with mirth probably means she’s enjoying seeing him suffer.
“Oh, don’t give me that look. It’s your fault for going on so long like that.” Shinobu chastises. “Honestly Tomioka-san, what were you thinking?”
He frowns. Giyuu should’ve expected Shinobu to do this, but he just got chewed out by Sanemi. Being yelled at like a child isn’t fun, especially when you can’t say anything back because you know they’re right. “I was thinking of the lives I could save.”
Sanemi and Shinobu give each other a look.
Sanemi rolls his eyes, “Calm down, humanity’s only savior.”
At the same time, Shinobu places a hand on Giyuu’s shoulder, her grip tight. “Next time, let Oyakata-sama know and come to the Butterfly Estate.”
“Okay,” he replies. He decides it’s not worth arguing and that he should just accept it.
The two of them both understand where he’s coming from. They’ve all suffered losses due to demons, and serve to prevent what happened to them from happening to anyone else. He knows they’re just concerned for him.
But even so, Giyuu can’t help but think a bit saltily, can’t they be a little bit nicer? Giyuu’s sure if Mitsuri or Rengoku were here with him, they would pat him on the back and give him a daifuku or something.
“Well, I’m off then.” Shinobu waves as she walks to the door. “Shinazugawa-san, make sure he takes the medicine two hours from now.”
He waves her off. “Yeah yeah. I’m not as stupid as this fucker.”
Giyuu sends him a halfhearted glare. Sanemi snorts.
≡
As it turns out, not getting good sleep for two months makes it easy to knock out if you blink for just a split-second. Giyuu falls asleep a bit after his conversation with Shinobu, and when he stirs awake, he feels the wet cloth on his forehead being removed.
Much like the first time he woke up, he turns to see Sanemi sitting at his bedside. This time, he’s dipping the towel into a water basin on the side table. The other’s eyes shift towards him because of his movement. “Morning, sleepyhead.”
He hums in reply as his hair is brushed back so Sanemi can place the cloth back on his forehead. Though it feels nice being taken care of, he can’t help but feel a bit flustered. He’s just not used to being taken care of, he doesn’t need to be babied. Giyuu holds his hand out for the towel. Sanemi gives him a weird look.
“I can put it on myself, you know.”
He scoffs like he’s said something stupid. “I know, but I want to do this for you.”
Ah, Sanemi is a bit too blunt with his words sometimes. It always catches him off guard, the way he has no filter when it comes to things like that. There’s a flush that crawls up his cheeks. He’ll let Sanemi do what he wants this time. “Okay.”
The cool feeling of the towel soothes his headache a bit. It’s nice, though he can feel droplets of water roll down to his hair.
“Sanemi, why aren’t you out on a mission right now?” Giyuu asks.
“Because I know when to take breaks.” He says.
Now that he thinks about it, he does remember Sanemi mentioning him taking breaks. But he knows those are few and far between missions, and the last one hadn’t been too long ago. Giyuu is sure there’s something else, too.
“Are you sure that’s all?”
The other raises his eyebrow. “Huh? What else do you want me to say?”
“You took a break a few days ago. You usually wait a month before taking another one.” Giyuu replies.
There’s a beat of silence, both of them looking at each other with different expressions. Giyuu’s face is pulled into a curious one. Sanemi looks slightly annoyed.
“I decided to take another one, I’ve been tired lately.” He says, miffed.
Liar, he thinks. As if all the time they’ve spent together didn’t have Giyuu memorizing his mannerisms. “You’re lying.”
“I’m not.”
“Really?”
“If I tell you, will you shut up?”
“Yes.”
The other looks away, embarrassed. He rubs the nape of his neck with one hand, face red. “I was worried about you, idiot.”
“Oh,” is all he can say. He can feel his face getting red too.
It’s sweet, seeing Sanemi like that, all flustered and caring. It’s even sweeter hearing his worry for him verbalized. Of course, Sanemi shows him time and time again with his actions just how much he cares, but there’s something in the way his voice gets soft when he’s affectionate that has Giyuu’s knees weak.
He smiles at him, hoping to look reassuring. “Well, I’m okay now. You don’t need to worry.”
Sanemi scoffs, leans his body so that he can place an elbow on the bed. He rests his chin on one hand, then flicks Giyuu’s forehead with the other. The cloth on it softens the (already gentle) blow to light pressure, but he flinches and closes his eyes anyways.
“You’re a dumbass. I’ll always worry about you.”
It’s supposed to be mean, because Sanemi always is. But the way he says it is fond, affectionate with the warmth his voice carries. A warmth that makes Giyuu’s heart stutter, makes him jumble his words. So he chooses to say nothing, just grabs his hand and places a kiss on his knuckles.
≡
It’s been three days since he’s been at the Butterfly Estate when Sanemi visits him again. He’s just had tea with Tanjirou and the rest of his group when he spots him in the doorway.
The first thing he does is check for any injuries. Thankfully, there doesn’t seem to be anything visible. From the way Sanemi scoffs, he knows what Giyuu’s doing.
“Bold of you to assume lowlife demons could land a scratch on me.”
“Then what are those scars from?” He gives him a pointed look.
Sanemi is quick to defend himself. “Half of them are from my rookie years. And I meant low level demons.”
He hums, deciding not to feed the flames and instead beckons Sanemi over. When he walks towards him and sits down, Giyuu says, “I missed you.”
If he looks closely, he can spot Sanemi’s ears getting red. There’s a smug feeling that curls in his gut. His mind thinks, satisfied, I did that.
“I missed you too.” He replies. His voice is quiet, words sincere and soft. It makes Giyuu smile. Seeing him flustered is cute, burns his chest in the best way.
Sanemi cups his face, rubbing absentmindedly with his thumb. “Kocho say anything about your fever getting better?”
Giyuu nods. “I’m just a little dizzy these days, and my temperature has gone down. She says it’ll be gone soon, just need rest.”
“Good. Then all your pretty little head needs to worry about is sleeping and eating.”
“How long are you staying?” He asks. Selfishly, he hopes Sanemi will say until he gets better. He has a feeling he’ll be bored out of his mind with no demons to focus on, and he also enjoys Sanemi’s company.
The other shrugs. “No clue. I’ll leave when my crow comes.”
“Then come here.” Giyuu motions for him to climb into bed with him. It’d be a tight fit, he can already tell. Though the beds are spacious enough for one person, two grown adults wouldn’t be able to lay on it comfortably. They make due, though.
Sanemi squeezes his way in so that they lay facing each other. Giyuu wants to kiss him, but also doesn’t want to get him sick. So, he opts for the next best thing. He presses a sweet peck on his cheek, then hurries to tuck his face in Sanemi’s neck.
There’s a fond laugh above him. It makes his head all dizzy with affection and embarrassment. He grasps at the front of Sanemi’s uniform with both hands.
“Tell me about your mission,” he mutters, cheeks red.
Giyuu feels the vibrations through his chest when he hums yes. It’s comforting.
“It was at some village by a river. My crow told me there were some people going missing when they went to fetch water at night. When I arrived they cried and nearly kissed my damn feet.” Sanemi explains.
He shifts a bit, hands on Giyuu’s hips to lift him so that he’s laying on his chest. He feels like a cat, nuzzling into Sanemi’s collarbone. “Of course I didn’t let them, I just told them to tell me all they knew and to stay the fuck out of my way.”
He snorts. It sounds very Sanemi-like.
He jostles him a bit, pretending to be annoyed, “What are you laughing at?”
“Sounds a lot like something you’d do.” Giyuu responds.
“The fuck’s that supposed to mean?”
“That’s up for interpretation,” he teases.
“Little shit.” Sanemi grumbles. Despite cursing him, he wraps his arms around Giyuu, rubbing soothing circles on his back. His eyes droop.
“Anyways, they told me no one had seen the demon aside from these two kids. So I visited their house and apparently, their parents had been taken by the demon.”
As he continues with his story, Giyuu starts drawing small doodles across the exposed part of Sanemi’s chest with his fingers. Everytime he mentions something that piques his interest, he draws it.
Giyuu outlines the two children, connecting their hands. He traces their house and the river. The demon even makes an appearance on the invisible tapestry he creates on Sanemi’s chest.
Once he’s grown bored of it, he starts to fiddle with his collar. If it annoys Sanemi he doesn’t say anything, just keeps talking.
With the mix of the vibrations from his chest, the warmth of his body, the arms rubbing his back, and his calming voice, Giyuu grows sleepier and sleepier by the second. It doesn’t make sense, he just woke up. He tries to fight it, forcing his eyes wide open when they start closing. It’s futile, though. He’s starting to fall asleep.
Giyuu thinks it’s because Sanemi’s presence is a calming one for him. When he’s around, he drops his guard. Clings to him, trusting him to be there always.
Before he does sleep, though, he manages to catch the ending of Sanemi’s mission.
He sounds satisfied as he concludes, “After killing it and bringing back the people the demon didn’t eat yet, the village doctor patched me up. I even got those brats’ parents back. When I went to leave the next morning they came to me with a bento and a flower crown.
“The bento wasn’t half bad. I put the flower crown on in front of them. When I was out of sight I took it off though. God knows what would’ve happened if Uzui or Kocho saw me in it. I had one of my attendants press it between a few books.
“When you’re feeling better, you can come over and I’ll show you it. It sort of reminds me of you, the flowers are blue like your eyes. I’m planning to hang it up somewhere.”
Distantly, Giyuu thinks Sanemi’s voice is pretty as he falls asleep, safely tucked in his arms.