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“Oi, snake bastard. I need some help.”
Sanemi walked over to the snake-like man the second the meeting was over. “What can I do for the great dumbass today?” Obanai replied with an overdramatic bow, grinning smugly. He glared at the man before glancing around. Everybody was either already gone or about to leave. Good. He thought before taking a deep breath.
“I think I might be sick.” “Why are you telling me then? Go and tell Kocho and stay away from me. I can’t risk getting sick!” Obanai shrank away, visibly disgusted. “Let me guess, so you don’t get your girlfriend sick?” Sanemi mocked. “She’s not my girlfriend!” Obanai yelled, blushing brightly, “...yet.” The Wind Pillar rolled his eyes. “So, can you help me or not, Iguro?”
“Sure, I guess,” He groaned, “Why exactly are you asking me again? Kocho’s the doctor.” “Because I’m not that kind of sick, dumbass.” The scar-covered man deadpanned. The Snake Pillar frowned. “Then what kind of sick are you?” “I DON’T FUCKING KNOW!”
Obanai nearly smacked him before taking a deep breath. “Tell me your symptoms then. There’s no guarantee I’ll know what’s happening with you.” Sanemi began telling him how he started blushing at the thought of someone, how he wanted to see them smile, how he felt the need to make them happy. “So, do you know what’s wrong with me?”
Kaburamaru slithered out of Obanai’s haori and looked at him. The two seemed to be sharing a conversation somehow. The heterochromatic man sighed before staring at him. “I don’t know how to tell you this, but it sounds like you’re in love.”
“...”
“WHAT!?”
“Nonononononono, no! I can’t be! Not with him!” Sanemi yelled as he squatted down, holding his head. “Him?” Obanai asked, “Who is he?” The Wind Pillar stiffened. “Shinazugawa, who is it?” “... No judgment?” “No guarantees.” The snake-like man deadpanned. “... It’s Tomioka.”
“...”
“This better be some sort of sick joke, Shinazugawa.” The Snake Pillar said with an unbelieving smile. He stayed silent, confirming what he thought. Kaburamaru slithered down Obanai’s arm, got close to his face, and hissed. “TOMIOKA!? THAT ARROGANT BASTARD!? WHAT THE HELL!?” Sanemi covered his mouth, glaring daggers at him. “SHUT THE FUCK UP!”
Obanai glowered as he pulled his hand off. “Why him?! He’s the most arrogant person ever!” “I DON’T KNOW. ALL I KNOW IS THAT ONE DAY I THOUGHT HE WAS THE WORST PERSON EVER, AND THE NEXT I THOUGHT HE WAS ADORABLE!” The Wind Hashira let him go and ran his fingers through his hair. Obanai stared at him like he was crazy before taking a deep breath.
“How long have you felt like… this ?” The heterochromatic man scrunched his face slightly at the last word. “I… don’t know. I wanna say not that long ago, but...” Sanemi groaned at himself. The snake-like man sighed once more. “I understand how you’re feeling right now. Bu-”
“DEMONS! DEMONS SIGHTED ON AT THE BASE OF MOUNT KITA! HEAD SOUTH, SOUTHWEST!” The two men looked up to see Obanai’s crow, Yuuan, flying in a circle above them. Obanai sighed before looking at him. “Listen to me: tell him how you feel. I don’t like the bastard – I don’t think I ever will – but if he’ll make you happy, then tell him. It’ll be nice to see you happy for once, Sanemi.”
The Snake Pillar left right after, leaving him alone in the courtyard. The scar-covered man chuckled bitterly before saying, “Thanks, Obanai.” He began his walk back to his manor, thinking about him, the man who – unknowingly to both of them – had his heart.
Tomioka Giyuu.
The Wind Pillar remembered when he first started feeling this way. It was about three months ago. The two of them took a break after training for the entire day. Giyuu yawned and looked at him, sweat causing his hair to cling to his face, traces of exhaustion on his face. The man looked tired and dirty, but at that moment, Sanemi thought, He’s gorgeous.
Sanemi struggled to remember when these feelings began. He felt like they had come out of nowhere, consuming his every thought. Was it a month or two before that day when he visited me? When he shared some of his salmon daikon a few weeks before that? Or a few years ago at her funeral. Then, he remembered the first time he met Giyuu, how he stayed quiet and analyzed everybody’s reaction. And when their eyes met for the first time, he smiled at the Wind Pillar so small, he could hardly see it.
That was when Sanemi began to fall deeper and deeper in love with him.
“Shit!” He rubbed his head and looked around, seeing he was surrounded by trees and that he had hit his head on a low branch. The scar-ridden man was so in his thoughts that he didn’t pay attention to his direction. But Sanemi could tell this area was familiar somehow, he just couldn’t tell how.
“Shinazugawa? What are you doing here?”
He spun around quickly to see the man who stole his heart standing there, confusion written on his face. The Wind Pillar quickly scowled, crossing his arms and saying, “I was bored and wanted to see if you wanted to spar.” He realized that they were not too far from Water estate. Giyuu frowned slightly. “You could have sent me a message so I would have known you were coming.” “Yea, yea. So are you free or not, Tomioka?”
The Water Pillar sighed. “I am. Let’s go to my estate.” The two of them walked in silence, both awkward and not. Sanemi let himself glance at Giyuu a few times, studying his features. He looks tired. His eyes flickered once or twice to his lips. Damn, they look soft. “Would you want something to eat or drink before we spar?” Giyuu asked once they got to his estate. “Sure.”
The ravenette led him to a living room before getting snacks and drinks. The moment he left, Sanemi groaned, facepalming. What the fuck am I doing here!? He looked outside, the opened shoji letting beams of moonlight into the room, his thoughts drifting to the courtyard with Obanai earlier that day. “Listen to me: tell him how you feel. I don’t like the bastard – I don’t think I ever will – but if he’ll make you happy, then tell him. It’ll be nice to see you happy for once, Sanemi.”
He chuckled bitterly. I can’t tell him after how I’ve treated him these past few years. “Shinazugawa? Are you ok?” He saw Giyuu near the door, food and drinks in his hands. The man walked to the table, sitting close to him and leaving just enough space to seem friendly. He mentally slapped his face and scowled slightly. “Yea, why?” “Nothing, you just looked upset.” “Oh.”
They sat in silence as they snacked. He stared at his plate the entire time, not daring to take a glance at him. “...Shinazugawa?” The scar-covered man glanced at him, who was looking outside. “Yea, Tomioka?”
“... Do you have feelings for someone?” He asked somewhat absentmindedly.
“... Yea,” He answered. You. “Why?”
“I was just curious… The person you like is very lucky.” Giyuu looked back at him, smiling slightly. Sanemi could tell there was something else in that smile, a hint of sadness buried deep underneath his mask. He glanced at his lips and felt his breath hitch. God, I wanna kiss him and tell him that it’s him that I love. “Oh, fuck it.” He muttered under his breath.
The Wind Pillar grabbed his wrist and pulled him onto his lap, wrapping his other arm around his waist. He kissed Giyuu deeply, feeling the ravenette stiffen slightly before kissing him just as deeply. Fuck, they’re so soft. He thought as he pulled him closer, smirking when he felt the Water Pillar wrap his arms around the scar-covered man’s neck. Sanemi gently bit his lip, wanting to deepen the kiss more. Giyuu parted his lips ever so slightly, understanding what he wanted to do. Grinning, he slipped his tongue into the ravenette’s mouth and nearly groaned at the feeling. He poked around the mouth, wrestling with the other man’s tongue.
Breathing heavily, they eventually pulled away. Sanemi cupped his cheek, whispering, “It’s you, Tomioka. You’re the one that I li-... love. Even though I don’t deserve to, not after how I’ve treated you.” He watched as the realization hit the ravenette, who was blushing brightly. “W-Why me?” He half mumbled, “I-I’m not that special…”
The Wind Pillar frowned slightly, flicking his forehead. “Ow.”
“Listen to me, dumbass. You are special. You’re fucking strong, you stick to your beliefs and are incredibly kind to people who don’t deserve it – especially me. Not only that, you’re gorgeous . I almost drown in your eyes every time I look at them.” Sanemi then looked down and muttered, “I don’t deserve any of it, or you.”
“Not after how I’ve treated you these last few years. I’ve treated you like shit, saying all of those god-awful things to your face,” He chuckled bitterly, “I’m surprised you still tried to get close to me after all of that. And I’m so fucking shitty for falling for you after what I’ve done and wanting you to feel the same… But I don’t care about that right now.” He looked back up at Giyuu, who looked at him with a somewhat comforting gaze. “I want to be shitty. I want you to feel the same and be with me.”
The ravenette smiled sadly before kissing his forehead, cupping his cheek gently. Sanemi leaned into his touch, enjoying the faint warmth. “I-I feel the same way, Shinazugawa…” He started. “But?”
“But, I don’t know if I’m ready for that…”
“Then I’ll wait for you,” The scar-ridden man deadpanned, “I’ll wait for as long as it takes.” He watched as his eyes widened and watered. “W-What if I’m never ready?” “Then I’ll be ok with staying by your side,... Giyuu.” He wiped the tears away, with an uncharacteristic gentle smile. “Shi- Sanemi…” The Water Pillar hugged him tightly, burying his head into his neck. They embraced each other, calming the other down.
»»————- ————-««
And that’s exactly what Sanemi did, waiting for him to be ready.
He never pushed or prodded.
Instead, he listened to Giyuu’s vents and stayed by his side if he wanted him there.
He waited and waited.
Until…
»»————- ————-««
𝕋𝕙𝕣𝕖𝕖 𝕞𝕠𝕟𝕥𝕙𝕤 𝕝𝕒𝕥𝕖𝕣
»»————- ————-««
“Sanemi?” The two men were sitting on the Water Pillar’s engawa, watching the rain pour. The ravenette rested his head on his shoulder while the scar-covered man held him close by the waist, burying his head into his nape. “Yea, Giyuu?” Giyuu turned around, sitting on his lap with his hands planted on his shoulders. “... I thi- no- I know I’m ready now.”
Sanemi blinked before breaking out into a grin and pulling him into a tight hug. “Fuck yea!” He started laughing when he hugged him back, pulling away just enough to kiss him deeply. He felt him smile into the kiss. The last time the two of them had kissed was three months ago when the Wind Hashira confessed his love – and it was more than enough to get addicted to.
They pulled away, resting their foreheads against each other’s, grinning and laughing without a care in the world. “God, I have such a pretty boyfriend,” Sanemi mumbled, smirking when the ravenette blushed brightly. “A-And I have such a hot boyfriend,” Giyuu mumbled softly. The scar-covered man smirked, whispering into his ear, “Nice to know that you think that too, pretty boy~”
He blushed brightly, calling him things as he buried his head into his chest. Sanemi chuckled softly as he rubbed his back. “I-I love you, Sanemi.” His eyes widened before smiling softly, the faintest blush covering his cheeks. He kissed his forehead before holding him tightly.
“I love you too, king of my heart.”