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Springtime was upon Mukaiya village, and with spring came the transient beauty of the cherry blossom trees. The fields surrounding the small village became swathed in a exquisite blanket of pink petals, a short lived circumstance that occurred only at that time of year.
The girls of the brothel often left to gather sprigs of the delicate blooms to either wear in unique hairstyles, or place in jars in hopes that it would preserve the flowers longer.
Others had more practical uses in mind. Like Tayu, the mistress of the brothel, who gathered them to make her famous cherry blossom tea.
Then, there were those that simply enjoyed the view, reclined on robes made of carefully spun silk.
Sutenosuke reclined against the trunk of the cherry tree, eyes alight and shining as they tracked the dancing of the fallen pink petals. His carefree attitude was exemplified from the smirk he was wearing and his resting position, with one leg kicked up over the other and his arms acting as a cushion behind his head. His umbrella rested beside him, closed and unused as he took in the sunlight that came in dotted rays through the canopy of branches above his head.
The sweet fragrance from the flowers and the gentle breeze that came in with the changing season left his senses delighted in all forms. In a few days, Tayu's tea would be finished, and then he could enjoy the flowers with all of his senses.
His eyes had fallen shut, but battle honed instincts made him pick up the slightest of sounds. When footsteps approached, his eyes snapped open and were already looking in the direction the sound came in. They were graced with the sight of a white kimono, washed with light and dark blues and the motif of flowers. Pearl beads clinked softly together, the sound following the rhythm of his gait.
Sutenosuke grinned as the man came fully into view, those dark and intense eyes burning into his own. However, for the first time in years, there was a softness to them.
"About time you showed up, Ranbei!" Sutenosuke cheered rather jovially, tossing his hair as he looked up at the flowering branches with a flourish. "I was wondering when you would come and enjoy the sights."
Ranbei of Mukaiya had been a very busy man, handling the villages' affairs single handedly. It left him scrambling for more resources with very little time to spare.
Yet ever since Sutenosuke and Kirimaru showed up along with Hyogo and his crew, there had been far more hands to aid in the more manual aspect of the work. Now, the stress had been finally removed from resting entirely on Ranbei's shoulders.
So, with the winter ended and the spring now coming in full force, there was a lull period where Ranbei could actually afford time to rest.
The man took off his sheer outer robe and laid it down beside Sutenosuke, flattening it out before kneeling on it. "Tayu had graciously made me a cup of tea out of the batch of blossoms they dried from last year." Ranbei said, adjusting the cup he had held in his hand. "Do you want it?"
Sutenosuke blinked, before letting out a sharp laugh in return. "She offered it to you, didn't she? Ranbei, you could afford to enjoy things like gifts a little more. It's not like how it was."
Ranbei took on a look of contemplation, lifting the cup to his lips while supporting the bottom with one hand. He sipped from it, tasting the faint sweetness of the honeyed cherry blossom tea, before he once again passed it to Sutenosuke. "Drink."
This time, Sutenosuke didn't refuse it, in fact he even looked a tiny bit surprised as he took the cup and sipped from it as well, taking only a small amount before handing it back. "It definitely tastes better when the blossoms have aged." He hummed with a cheerful grin, watching as Ranbei accepted the cup back and sipped from it again.
The two shared the single cup, sipping in only tiny increments as they admired the sight of the flowers surrounding them. The tea was soon finished and Ranbei tucked the cup away, before he glanced once more at Sutenosuke. A brief moment of stillness followed as Ranbei took in the man's features, admiring the way he smiled up at the branches of the tree, distracted by their beauty.
Distracted, of course, because Sutenosuke didn't even notice a cherry blossom petal landing in his hair.
Gentle fingers reached into the curly strands, weaving through dextrously before plucking the petal that had landed and caught itself in a coiled brown snare. Ranbei pulled the petal out and observed it, turning it this way and that in his hand before he noticed Sutenosuke's staring. "What?" He asked, dropping the petal as quickly as he grabbed it.
"Thank you." Sutenosuke replied, but his tone and grin showed more than the words let on. He was teasing him.
Ranbei withdrew, regaining his noble airs, which only earned a sharp bark of a laugh from his companion.
Sutenosuke's legs kicked as he laughed, arms wrapping around his waist. "You act like I just caught you stealing! What's with this new easily-flustered Ranbei?"
"I'm not." Ranbei swiftly interjected, but it only made Sutenosuke laugh with greater vigor.
"You are! Look at you, your face is as pink as the cherry blossoms!"
Ranbei stared at him incredulously, but even with the doubt in his heart he still reached up to touch his cheeks to confirm if he really was blushing.
"HAH! See? I got you!" Sutenosuke wheezed. "You fell for it!"
Ranbei let out an annoyed sigh, but he didn't seem too bothered overall by the man's antics. In fact, it only made him appear more relieved, calm even.
Sutenosuke was someone who endured the same wrath of war and bloodshed, who slept with the same terrors in the dead of night and was the only one who could ground him back to reality. The nights when they both couldn't find rest, they often sought eachothers company. They spent the time either sharing tea and talking about their shared past, or getting drunk and forgetting it.
Ranbei felt like he could be himself with Sutenosuke, that he could rest peacefully knowing that the other would be watching his back.
He hardly could process it himself, but his subconscious had somehow guided his actions as he stretched out sideways, laying his head onto Sutenosuke's lap. He rarely became so outwardly affectionate, let alone while they were out in public where everyone could see them, but a illusive part of him didn't really care all that much. There was hardly anyone in Mukaiya village who didn't know by now that Ranbei and Sutenosuke's relationship ran deeper than just simple friendship, but at the same time there was a degree of privacy Ranbei liked to keep.
Sutenosuke didn't seem to mind the contact. In fact, he only smiled a little as his fingers dropped to lightly play with the strands of Ranbei's hair, the dark black locks making it look as though ink had spilled all over the fabric of his kimono.
The touch was soothing, and Ranbei soon felt his eyelids droop, the rhythmic strokes of Sutenosuke's fingers lulling him into the strange but welcomed sense of safety and security. There were subtle tugs, little reminders that it was Sutenosuke and that the other would always poke and prod him in little ways to get under his skin, but the action now served only as a familiar comfort.
Sutenosuke began to hum softly as his deft fingers intertwined some of his dark hair into small three strand braids. They were loose and a bit clumsy, but they were decent enough and made Ranbei look more cute than before. As a few flower blossoms began to fall, Sutenosuke gathered some and began tucking them in throughout the braids with a pleased smile. He couldn't tie the braids off so it wouldn't last, but he still admired his handiwork for a moment. It wouldn't last, like the cherry blossoms wouldn't remain forever, but at least Sutenosuke could enjoy the sight as it was now.
Something so effervescent, but also so permanent. The paradox of such a beautiful moment made Sutenosuke's heart swell, to the point where if he didn't say something, it would jump into his throat and choke him to death.
"... I love you, Ranbei." He said softly, voice barely above a whisper.
As Sutenosuke sat there, his lover's head on his lap, he could have sworn he heard something as well. It was something spoken so softly that it may have just been a whisper on the wind, but he was certain he heard it. He knew Ranbei would deny it even if he pried over and over, but in that moment Sutenosuke basked in his own belief that he had in fact heard the words: "I love you too."