Work Text:
“Oh? What’s that you’ve got there?”
Scara flinched as he heard the door creak open behind him. He hadn’t expected Kazuha to still be awake so late. He quickly hid the item in question behind himself. “N-Nothing…”
Kazuha grinned. “There’s no need to be shy. I really am quite curious.”
Scara was hesitant as he slowly revealed the object he was holding. In one hand he held a small doll, in the other a needle and thread.
The samurai’s warm maple eyes lit up at the sight. “Did you… make that yourself?”
“A long time ago,” Scara avoided his gaze. “I was just patching it up.”
Kazuha came closer and sat next to the other man. “I had no idea my love was skilled in the art of craftsmanship.”
Scara shrugged. “I’ve never made anything else. Just the one doll.”
“Hm…” the blond nodded. “You should try other projects. I’m sure anything you’d make would turn out nicely.” He punctuated his words with a light kiss on the puppet’s cheek. Kazuha noticed the way his lover blushed, but didn’t say anything to further tease him.
“I shouldn’t disturb you any longer. Have a good night, love.” Kazuha rose from where he sat and made his way for the door to their bedroom, granting Scara one last smile before he departed.
The samurai’s words lingered in Scara’s mind even after he left. He had never been one for hobbies, finding them to be pointless human activities used to fill empty time. He had no interest in crafting anything else besides the one simple doll he had nostalgia for. However, a sudden intrigue had overtaken him.
Scara had never been one to gift things to others, and yet he was curious how Kazuha would react. He only hoped the samurai would react positively to whatever he could make with his basic skills.
Maybe he was overthinking it? After all, Kazuha liked to gift him small things such as maple leaves of the perfect shade and cups of homemade tea. The blond had a saying, something about samurai not having any need for material possessions. He was fine. Kazuha would lovingly accept anything he’d grant him. Still Scara wanted the gift to be something meaningful.
He stared down at the doll that rested in his hands, the flickering of the lamp light reflecting off of its delicate face. Surely he’d think of something.
—
Scara left for the market while Kazuha was busy having one of his usual afternoon naps. His mission was pretty straightforward: find suitable materials for his next craft and work on it in secret. It didn’t take long for him to find a stall selling spools of yarn and ornate fabrics. Scara exchanged some Mora for a couple small bundles of yarn and made his way back home.
When he returned, he was surprised to see Kazuha seated in the living room and sipping on some tea. Scara quickly made an attempt to hide the pouch containing his purchases.
“Oh?” Kazuha smiled. “I was wondering where you had disappeared to.”
“I went out for a couple things, that’s all.”
“I would’ve woken up sooner had I known you planned on visiting the marketplace today.”
Scara shook his head, making his way past in the direction of their bedroom. “I wanted to let you sleep. We can always go back another time.”
“Scara.”
He instantly halted, glancing back. A pair of amber eyes studied him, and he frowned. Clearly his love knew something was off. He hated how good Kazuha was at reading him.
“Aren’t you forgetting something?” Kazuha lightly tilted his head.
Scara sighed, walking back over to plant a kiss on the blond’s cheek. Kazuha’s grin had a hint of smugness to it.
“Better now?”
“Yes, but I’m still curious what you’re hiding from me.” He looked expectantly at the puppet, awaiting his answer.
“Be patient. It’s a surprise.”
“I see… Then perhaps I shouldn’t disturb you any further.” Kazuha went back to sipping on his tea, a sign that Scara had been dismissed.
He closed the bedroom door behind himself with a heavy sigh. He didn’t realize keeping secrets was such a hassle. The sooner he got to work, the better.
Scara seated himself on the edge of the bed and reached into the bedside table drawer for his sewing kit. He worked carefully, weaving strand after strand together. It doesn’t have to be perfect, he continued to reassure himself. Such a simple craft, and yet it was for Kazuha, the human he’d grown oh so close with. This one simple thing needed to convey just how much the samurai meant to him.
After a while, Scara heard the door creak open as Kazuha peered in.
Scara quickly turned away. “Don’t look yet,” he blurted, too preoccupied to offer the other man a glance.
Kazuha laughed in amusement. “Alright… If you insist.”
He made his way past to retrieve a book that he’d left on the nightstand, a collection of writings by Sumeru poets. Kazuha seated himself opposite the puppet so that their backs were lightly pressed together. His presence was admittedly comforting and Scara felt himself relax a bit.
They sat like that for a while. It was nice. Kazuha was one of the few people Scara had met who didn’t feel the need to fill silence with mindless chatter. Sometimes they’d sit like this for hours, understanding each other’s needs without words. Perhaps he’d never achieve this level of peace with anyone besides Kazuha.
“I’m done,” Scara finally spoke.
He felt Kazuha lightly move behind him. “You’re quite the fast worker. May I see?”
“Close your eyes and turn around.”
Despite his increasing curiosity, Kazuha did as told, awaiting the surprise.
“Now hold out your hand.”
He reached out his palm and felt something light and soft be placed there. Kazuha ran his fingers over the material.
“You can look now.”
When Kazuha opened his eyes, he found a delicate bracelet in his hand. A mixture of red and blue strands of yarn had been woven together. The colors clashed, complete opposites of one another visually, and yet they simultaneously danced perfectly with one another.
“It’s… beautiful.” Few people were able to make the samurai speechless, and yet he was too fascinated by the gift to speak. Scara looked at him expectantly, watching as Kazuha finally slipped the bracelet onto his wrist.
“I made two. You know, so we could match.” Scara held up the matching bracelet.
The blond smiled. “Here, let me put it on for you.” He took the bracelet from his lover, and as Scara held out his hand, Kazuha slipped the matching bracelet onto his wrist. “I’ll think of them as strings of fate tying us together.”
“You don’t have to say that. They’re just basic bracelets.”
“Not to me, they’re not.” Kazuha took both of Scara’s hands and gazed at him gently. “Anything from you is perfect. I believe these hands only make beautiful creations.”
He was right. Scara was well aware of how much destruction had been caused by his hands across centuries. For so long it had been all he was good at, and here he was, being complimented for his ability to create.
Creating felt nice.
There were so many words the puppet wanted to say in that moment, but instead all he could murmur was a simple “Thank you”. Kazuha wrapped him in his warm embrace and all Scara could think of was what gift he had next in store for his love.