Chapter Text
The evening was cool, a pleasant relief from the brutal heat of the day. The estate was quiet, with a few servants bustling past the lone, and very lost, samurai.
Yamazaki Sousuke, a recent addition to this daimyo's guards, stared blankly at a courtyard he was sure he had passed before, yet everything else looked alien to him. A frown settled on his face, creasing his brow as he tried to pick a direction to aimlessly wander off in.
He had been about to head left when a soft noise from his right gave him pause. It was faint from where he stood, but Sousuke could distinctly make out singing. Curious, he turned instead to his right, trying to navigate the corridors in search of the voice.
It took him longer than he had anticipated and by the time he found himself in the rear garden, the voice had stopped. Frustrated, because not only had he been unable to find the singer, he was still lost, Sousuke cursed under his breath and kicked a nearby cherry tree.
"Oi! Don't hurt my tree!"
The angry voice had Sousuke spinning around, eyes widening as he took in the man standing behind him. He was leaning against a doorframe, clad in one of the most ornate kimonos Sousuke had ever laid eyes on. The dark red fabric was draped over him loosely, exposing several layers of under-kimono. When he walked closer, Sousuke caught a glimpse of pale legs through the part in the robes and he had to force himself to look back at the man’s face.
The man’s hair was like fire, glowing in the lantern light from the room behind him. Nestled in the soft looking strands was an ornate pin of gold and pink flowers that twinkled whenever he moved his head. When he stopped and looked up at Sousuke, he saw that those challenging eyes matched the red of his hair.
"What are you doing here? Usually you lot avoid this garden." The man snorted and the unattractive sound was in stark contrast to his ornate clothing.
“You’re beautiful,” Sousuke blurted out, startling both of them.
The man stared at him for a moment before bursting into laughter. “So I’ve been told.”
Sousuke felt his face burn with embarrassment and he quickly averted his gaze. The man was beautiful enough when angry but that smile made his entire face light up with a beauty Sousuke had never seen before.
“So, what are you doing here?” His voice brought Sousuke’s gaze back to him, his presence commanding attention despite his smaller stature.
Deciding to be truthful, Sousuke gave the man an embarrassed smile and said, “I’m new to the daimyo’s employ. I got lost, actually, but then I heard singing from this direction but it stopped before I got here. Do you know who it was? They had a lovely voice.”
For some reason, the man looked shocked for a moment before quickly regaining his composure. “Of course I know. That was me.”
“You?” Not only was this man one of the most beautiful people Sousuke had ever seen, he was also a wonderful singer. He stared at the man for a moment before realizing he hadn't introduced himself yet. Sousuke bowed deeply before straightening up, giving the man a small smile. “Yamazaki Sousuke. May I know the name of the man with such a lovely voice?”
The flush that crept onto the other man’s face confused Sousuke and he felt his own face growing warm as he realized how his words had come out. But surely he had heard compliments like that before? He hadn’t blushed like this when Sousuke had remarked about his physical beauty so why was he getting embarrassed now?
“Rin,” he said softly, sounding almost shy. “Just… Just Rin.” The man – Rin – looked up at him, cheeks still stained red. “Do you really think my singing is that nice?”
Sousuke’s stomach felt like it was doing flips just from that one look Rin had given him. Only feeling more embarrassed he quickly averted his eyes from Rin’s, staring over his shoulder at the garden. “Ah, yes. I do. It’s um, it’s very beautiful. Are you a singer for the daimyo?”
Rin’s shyness seemed to melt away as he burst into laughter, covering his mouth in an attempt to muffle his voice. It took him a moment to compose himself, in which Sousuke stood there awkwardly, wondering if he was missing an obvious joke.
Once his laughter subsided, Rin wiped the tears from his eyes before grinning at Sousuke. “I suppose you could say that, Yamazaki-san.”
He’s beautiful when he laughs, Sousuke thought before feeling his face heating up once more. “Would it be alright if I came again to hear you?”
The other man simply stared at him for a moment before glancing back towards what Sousuke assumed were his rooms. After a moment, Rin turned back to Sousuke and gave him a soft smile. “I suppose that would be fine. That is, if you can find your way back here.”
Sousuke was sure his face was on fire by now and he huffed, frowning at the ground. “I won’t get lost,” he grumbled, frown deepening as he heard Rin laugh once more.
“Then come back tomorrow night, Yamazaki-san. I look forward to it,” Rin said, giving Sousuke another soft smile.
Throughout the next day, Sousuke was restless. His was so focused on meeting Rin again that he struggled to pay attention to his duties. Thankfully he could pass it off as not being used to simply guarding an estate. It wasn’t a complete lie; he was used to being a soldier, not a guard.
When Sousuke finally finished his duties for the day and switched off with the night guard, he had to keep himself from running through the hallways to the garden. He walked briskly, cursing himself internally when he found himself getting turned around.
After wandering around for who knows how long and trying to keep from getting too annoyed, Sousuke finally found himself in the back gardens. He glanced around, trying to spot the cherry tree near Rin’s room.
The soft sound of a koto drew Sousuke’s attention to the left and he followed the music, finding himself on the veranda outside Rin’s rooms.
Rin sat just outside the open shoji doors, plucking the instrument slowly. He kept playing as Sousuke sat beside him, though he did send Sousuke a warm smile.
Sousuke felt his chest warm at the smile and he returned it with a small one of his own. Looking out over the garden, he felt himself relax to the music, smiling when Rin began to sing as well. It was a song about cherry blossoms that Sousuke had heard in the cities before, usually by drunken soldiers slurring the words, but coming from Rin’s mouth, it became a beautifully haunting melody.
He wasn’t sure how long he sat there, listening to Rin sing, but when Rin finally set the koto aside, it was completely dark outside. The only light came from the oil lamps in Rin’s room, bathing the two of them in a soft glow. It caught on the gold embroidery of his kimono, making the flowers look like flames. Sousuke thought it was an appropriate match for Rin’s red hair.
“You really do have a lovely voice, Rin,” Sousuke said, voice soft as he leaned close to Rin. He watched as Rin’s face flushed at their sudden proximity and he pulled back, mumbling a soft apology. “Would it be alright if I came back tomorrow?”
Rin looked away, off into the garden, before sighing softly. “I wish you could.”
“There’s a ‘but’, isn’t there?” Sousuke frowned, looking up at the cherry tree and its bare branches. Soon, the weather would warm and the tree would bloom. He found himself wishing that he could see the cherry blossoms with Rin. Startled by his own thoughts, he quickly turned his attention back to Rin.
“I have work, like you do. Let’s make a deal. If I’m available, I’ll sit here and play my koto and you can sit with me. How does that sound?” Rin gave him another soft smile and Sousuke felt like a swarm of butterflies had taken up permanent residence in his stomach.
“That sounds perfect.” Sousuke returned the smile as he stood up, holding out a hand to help Rin up. He ignored the way his heart sped up when Rin took his hand, ignored the way those soft, slim fingers curled around his own as he helped Rin to his feet. He definitely ignored how close Rin was to him once he was standing.
They stared at each other for a moment, eyes locked and for a brief moment, Sousuke was overcome with a strong desire to kiss Rin. The thought made him gasp and quickly pull away, knowing that his face was probably as red as Rin’s.
“I should go,” he said softly, unable to tear his eyes off of Rin’s face.
“Y-Yeah… I… I’ll play to let you know when you can come back. You will come back, right?” The hope in Rin’s voice was so clear that Sousuke felt his heart ache.
Sousuke smiled softly, reaching out to tuck a strand of Rin’s hair behind his ear. “If you wish for me to return, then I will.”