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Two swords walked through the corridors of the quiet citadel, bearing damp white towels on themselves, the moonlight shining its dim light upon them. The sound of cicadas rang heavily through the night, but thankfully the walls had long been soundproofed to keep out the annoying cricketing.
Ishikirimaru closed the doors once they had returned to their humble little chambers. He only needed to brush and massage through his scalp and hair for it to be mostly dry, while Izuminokami still had his in a towel wrap on his head. With such long hair, it would take quite a while to dry.
“Izumi,” Ishikiri called, gesturing for Izumi to come over. Once the uchigatana was close, he wrapped one strong arm around the lithe waist and pulled him in, head leaning in and stopping dangerously close, as if asking for a kiss.
Izumi very gladly returned the gesture, his head moving forward to capture the other’s in a kiss. Ishikiri’s other hand moved to hold the back of Izumi’s head, pushing and holding him tighter, closer, as he dipped his tongue in. Izumi always reacted awkwardly, his hands unsure of where to put themselves, eventually settling on embracing the man kissing him.
They broke the kiss after a few seconds for air, gasping and taking in a few deep breaths. Ishikiri dipped his head into his husband’s neck to inhale the scent of flowers on the clean, bare skin, letting out a deep breath before going back for another kiss. Izumi hummed and moaned pleasantly, enjoying their moment of passion. The oodachi’s body bent forward very slightly, getting greedy. Izumi knew exactly what he wanted and tapped Ishikiri’s back, which made them break the kiss. “Not tonight,” he said, tracing a finger gently on his hubby’s cheek.
There were no arguments, no excuses, no buts or pleases. Ishikiri smiled in understanding and pulled back, but Izumi still had his arms around the broad back, tightening them. His face had a deep blush. “T-that doesn’t mean that I… don’t want a kiss anymore…”
“And I thought I was the greedy one,” Ishikiri jested. He went back for another kiss before the uchigatana could retort. He broke the kiss after a mere five seconds, which was not long enough, in Izumi’s personal opinion. “Dry your hair, we must sleep soon.”
Izumi grinned and finally released the oodachi from his latch, and the arms around his waist moved away, freeing him. Ishikiri helped out in drying the long, silky raven hair. Using another clean and dry towel, he allowed the uchigatana to remove the damp cloth before proceeding to pat it down for him, gently squeezing out any excess water inside. He even gave him a therapeutic head massage, to which Izumi hummed in delight, murmuring, “That feels nice.” and closed his eyes, yawning sleepily.
“Would you like me to apply the oil for you?”
“If you want to.”
Ishikiri chuckled, his deep voice resonating with Izuminokami. The latter blushed when he felt a kiss on his nape, his damp hair pushed over his shoulder. “I would not ask if I did not want to.”
Such a statement made Izumi blush deeper, which did not go unnoticed by the other man. The oodachi kissed his nape again before taking the oil by the vanity table. Izumi sat down to make it more convenient for his husband, who sat behind him and popped the vial open. Ishikiri had done such a thing before, so he knew the exact procedure for it.
He was gentle with the long hair, his fingers brushing lovingly through the hair, slowly undoing the tangles, using a comb to undo the more delicate strands. His eyes glanced at the full-body mirror they sat before, admiring how beautiful Izumi looked under the dim nightlight, with his hair spilling over his shoulders beautifully. When his gaze traced itself up to the young sword’s closed eyes, they fluttered open when their owner noticed the lack of movement, and they locked eyes.
Ishikirimaru simply smiled, which brought upon a deep blush on the Kanesada’s cheeks as he nervously looked away and closed his eyes. The Shinto sword laughed again and leaned in to kiss an exposed shoulder, which made Izumi squirm and also giggle a little. “You lovey-dovey dumbass.”
The Sanjou smiled at the sentiment and resumed brushing through the hair. Once he was done with the untangling, he finally proceeded with the oiling. He dropped two drops of oil onto his fingertips and spread them well before brushing through the damp hair as delicately as possibly, as if afraid the strands of silky hair would break if he were to be any harsher.
“Sorry for making you do this again,” Izumi murmured. His sleepiness was showing through his voice, and most prominently his yawn.
“There’s no need for apologies,” Ishikiri hummed gently, applying more oil on his fingers once he was done with one section, “It cannot be helped that we returned from the expedition at this hour.”
The rest of the process went in comfortable silence. The oil had a nice fragrance to it, with the smell of light citrus in it. Combined with the scent of lavender from their shampoo, it was a soothing scent, enough to induce sleepiness in the uchigatana, as proven by how his head was beginning to droop forward. Ishikiri had to make sure Izumi stayed awake during the process, doing so with a kiss on the nape or a small bump against the head of raven hair with his forehead to nudge him awake.
As the gentle hands finished up, the hair was beginning to dry properly. His own head of brown hair had dried out long ago because of how short it was, which made Izumi sleepily remark, “Maybe I should cut my hair short, too.”
“I’m sure you’ll look just as lovely,” Ishikiri replied back. He loved seeing how flustered Izumi would get, even after a year of marriage and compliments. To Izuminokami, there was something about the way his husband spoke that had him weak and embarrassed, even if he had a thick face. “Okay, I’m done.”
“Thank you,” Izumi said in a hushed voice, his eyes drooping from how drowsy he was getting. He lazily got to his feet, leaning against Ishikiri dramatically, throwing his arms around the chuckling oodachi, as if asking to be carried.
Ishikiri returned the gesture with another tender kiss, amused by how passionate Izumi still was despite his sleepiness. ‘How cute,’ he thought to himself, helping the uchigatana straighten himself to stand while still in the kiss.
“You’re a very kissy person…” Izumi mumbled after they broke the kiss, slouching forward once again to be held against a nice chest.
“For you.” Ishikiri hoisted the young sword ever so slightly, and a pair of legs idly wrapped around his waist. The futon was not far away, but he decided to indulge in this silly behaviour and walked only six steps to their destination. Ishikiri laid on the bed with Izumi still clinging onto him, but the legs around him loosened the moment the uchigatana was met with a solid surface. Still, he did not let go, arms still wrapped around Ishikiri’s neck.
“Someone is feeling cuddly tonight,” the Sanjou teased, letting his husband burrow his head in the crook of his neck, which smelled of lavender.
Izumi only mumbled in response and took in a deep breath. “You smell nice.” He sighed deeply and nuzzled closer, enjoying the proximity. His lips curled into a smile when he felt warmth embrace him and felt a kiss on his forehead. Slowly, he felt himself sinking into a deep sleep, and murmured, “Goodnight, Ishi.” just as he slipped away.
Ishikirimaru pulled the covers over themselves, kissing Izumi’s forehead again. “Goodnight, my dear.”