Synopsis: Five times Giyuu asked you to marry him and the one time you said yes
Notes: fluff, friends to lovers, female reader, reader is the leaf pillar, maybe ooc Giyuu, slight smut, angst with happy ending, tiny manga spoilers at the end but seeing as I haven't read the manga myself (have only seen spoilers) I tried to keep it vague
First time: You were kids when he asked the first time. Giyuu, Sabito, and you trained under Master Urokodaki every day and night until your hands grew callouses and the mountain was no longer your enemy.
The first time Giyuu asked you to marry him was late one night after he accidentally hit you in the face with a training sword.
You had been dueling, something you'd done together hundreds if not thousands of times. Your bodies moved in clumsy familiarity. Dodge, kick, swing, dodge again. However, when you moved back to try and avoid Giyuu's sword you slipped which resulted in him hitting you on the cheek with enough force to send you across the training field and into a bush nearby.
He cried out your name and rushed over to you. "Are you alright?" he asked and held out a hand. "Give me your hand!"
When he moved a leafy branch to the side, he was surprised to find you laughing. You held your stomach as you rolled in the bush with tears sliding down your round cheeks.
He called your name again, still concerned. You took his hand and with all your strength pulled him into the bush next to you. Your laughter continued at the look of betrayal on his face.
"You... you!" he pointed a finger at you and shoved you, as much as he could from your positions in the bush. "I thought you were hurt!"
Your laughter calmed and you looked up at him with bright eyes. "The look on your face was priceless!"
He scoffed and pulled his body out of the bush. He swatted at the twigs that grabbed his red haori and held his hand out to you again. "Come on, it's getting late."
You took his hand and this time you allowed him to pull you from the bush. Sticks and leaves covered you both, tangled in your hair and clinging to your sleeves and pants.
You giggled. "You have a thousand leaves in your hair." Without hesitation, you reached up and started gently pulled leaves out of his thick black hair. You used both hands to pull at the leaves that were buried deeper into his wild hair, tongue sticking out.
Giyuu watched you, eyes wide and unblinking, a dust of pink on his cheeks. He could smell the sweat on your skin but also something sweeter, something that screamed you.
You smiled. "Aha! I think I got all of them," you showed him the last leaf you pulled from his hair.
Your cheek began to swell. You acted like it didn't hurt even though he knew it did, but you didn't show it. Instead, you smiled at him.
He didn't mean to blurt it out.
You froze and your smile left you face. The leaf that you held slipped from your fingers and fell at your feet.
His face burned as the sweet pink that covered his cheeks turned into a harsh red that matched his haori.
"I... uhh..." he couldn't think of anything to say and looked down at his feet in shame.
He honestly expected you to slap him and tell Urokodaki what he said. Surely, he's offended you or weirded you out.
You and Sabito were his only friends, but you were both the best he could ask for. You three were a team. You worked hard and pushed each other to be better every day. The laughs you've shared, the secrets you've spilled, even the fights you've had, it meant everything to Giyuu. And he didn't want it to come to an end.
His thoughts were interrupted by your soft touch. Your hands rose to each side of his face, cupping his cheeks to force him to look at you.
Your smile had returned. Your kind eyes crinkled as you beamed at him.
"We're a little young, don't you think?" you jested.
Giyuu gave you a small smile, eyes not quite looking into yours. "I didn't mean to say that..."
You hummed and with a sudden rush of courage, you placed a quick peck to his cheek before pulling away from him.
"Ask me again in a few years, yeah?"
You walked back inside after that, but he didn't follow.
Giyuu stood frozen where you left him. His blue eyes wide as he starred at the bush you pulled him into. Slowly, he rose a hand to his cheek, the one you kissed, and found himself enjoying the tingles it sent throughout his body.
"Ask me again in a few years, yeah?"
Second Time: It'd been a few years since that moment.
Well after you both passed Final Selection.
Well after you both said goodbye to Sabito.
Since his death, Giyuu's spark in his eyes disappeared and he was more standoffish, quieter, than before.
You understood. Of course you did. You liked to think you still had a spark in your eyes, but you knew it wasn't the same. Not without your friend.
You and Giyuu made it a point to stick together. You needed each other, though neither of you said it out loud.
Things between you two didn't change for a long time, up until recently. You trained like you had always done, but you had noticed a difference lately. Giyuu's physical strength beat yours tenfold, and while you always saw him as your equal, it frustrated you that he was growing stronger while it felt like you suddenly weren't getting anywhere.
No matter how hard you tried, you weren't getting stronger. Not like he was.
No matter how much your trained.
No matter how many nights you stayed up to work-out and build your muscle.
You still felt like you were falling behind.
It frustrated you to all hell.
You and Giyuu had been dueling all morning. Bamboo swords in your hands as you circled each other in the ring. Your eyes scanned his body frantically, looking for an opening, but Giyuu remained calm. A book you suddenly could not read.
You both moved, swords clashing again. Splinters flew through the air, a gush of wind blew your hair back by the sudden force.
You block but your arms ached from the pressure as Giyuu pressed into you, clearly having the advantage. Your knees bent and heels dug into the dirt beneath your feet, but Giyuu continued to push.
Your faces were inches apart, if you stood taller, you were certain your noses would brush.
Before you knew it, Giyuu slipped out of your position and twirled around you, bamboo sword against your neck. He stood behind you now, tall. "I win."
Your knees were still bent, your sword was still held up in a block position, and your mood had officially soured.
You slapped his bamboo sword away from your neck and threw yours on the ground. You allowed your knees to give out, to rest in the dirt, with small rocks digging into your flesh. Your breathing was heavy, and your arms felt like they could melt right off your body.
Giyuu stepped around you and held out a hand to help you up, like he always did, but this time instead of taking it, you slapped in away and glared at the ground.
Giyuu, unfazed by your actions, sighed. "You locked up again. You need to be looser or else your enemy will be able to get behind you."
You gritted your teeth. "I know," you replied with a locked jaw.
"If you knew then why didn't you do it?"
You closed your eyes and took a deep breath to try and zone him out, but unluckily for you, Giyuu was feeling chatty.
"You need to focus," he said your name, stern. "You've been distracted."
That catches your attention. So, he's noticed. Of course he would. Giyuu knew you better than anyone. He could pick you out of a crowd blindfolded. But if there was one thing about Giyuu that always drove you crazy is the fact that he was never one to ask you if something was wrong. He would point it out in a blunt, ungentle way that almost seemed harsh or like he was making fun of you. But he always noticed when something was wrong even if he didn't come out right and ask.
He was silent and you looked up at him, a glare still on your face.
"It's nothing," you wiped your palms on your thighs and stood on wobbly legs. Giyuu reached out for you again, but you stopped him. "I'm fine."
You walked over to your pile of items. His haori, your bag, and of course both of your swords.
You opened your bag and pretended to look for something specific to try and distract your mind.
You couldn't even get him to break a sweat anymore. He didn't even look tired, but you were exhausted. Your legs still felt wobbly, and your arms felt heavier than ever. You were still panting and when you noticed you tried to breathe through your nose to hide it.
Tears pricked your eyes and you blinked harshly as your vision grew blurry.
You knew Giyuu was watching, it felt like he always was, and while you usually ignore his gaze or do something cheeky like strike a pose or blow him a kiss to get a rise out of him, today it was just too much.
You felt weak. And today just solidified a fact that you had been trying to ignore for weeks; you were falling behind. Your promise to stick together was disintegrating right in front of your eyes and you couldn't do anything to stop it.
You both were on the road of becoming Hashira, but you knew Giyuu was going to become the Water Hashira in the end, even if he didn't think he deserved it.
And you were going to be left behind while he goes off to who knows where, meet tons of new people, all without you.
You gave up on trying to keep your tears at bay and allowed them to drip down your cheeks and onto your hands. Your fingers gripped your bag, knuckles white.
You felt him before you saw him.
Giyuu stood next to you, looked down at your bag, eyebrows pinched together. He reached for your bag, but you jerked your hands away.
"Don't. Please," you choked out. "I'm not in the mood." You threw your bag over your shoulder, grabbed your sword, not bothering to attach it to your belt, before you started to walk away from him.
Giyuu called your name after you, asked you to wait, but you continued to march through the trees and brush.
You had been training in a clearing in the forest, where the sun was mostly hidden by the thick leaves above. You picked it out, wanting to get away from the glaring sun while you trained, hoping you could blame your loses on the heat, but it wasn't the heat that caused you to lose to him once again.
Giyuu caught up to you and grabbed your bicep, stopping you in your place. "Stop walking away from me."
"Not until you talk to me," Giyuu urged.
"I don't want to talk to you right now, Giyuu, let go." You tugged on your arm to try and pull yourself out of his grasp but he only held on tighter. And that only pissed you off more.
You threw your stuff on the ground and whipped around to face him. "You wanna know what my problem is, is that right? You want to know why I'm so distracted and being such a big crybaby, right?" you poked him in the chest. "Because of you."
"Me?" Giyuu's eyes hardened. "I didn't do anything."
"Yes, you did. You had to have!"
"You had to have done something! Trained while I was sleeping or maybe you found a special flower that makes you stronger or something..." you bit your lip. You realized how crazy you sounded, but there was no backing down now. "Because if you didn't do anything... then that means I was right." You looked down at your feet, a fresh wave of tears rushed down your cheeks and neck.
"Right about what?" his grip on your arm loosened, but he didn't let go. Instead, Giyuu put both of his hands on your shoulders and shook you ever so slightly to try and urge you to continue.
Your lip quivered and you tucked your chin further into your chest. "That I'm falling behind," you whispered.
Giyuu was quiet, not surprising to you, but as his silence encouraged you to dig yourself into a deeper hole. "You agree, don't you?" you chuckled under your breath. "I'm too weak to be a slayer."
"Stop." Giyuu's voice was stern, almost angry. "You don't get to stand here and assume you know how I feel." His grip on your shoulders tightened. "You're not falling behind. I never thought you were."
You scoffed. "Yeah right," you said and looked up at him. "There's no way you haven't noticed that I haven't been able to keep up with you recently. I haven't won a fight in ages and before we know it, you're going to be a Hashira and I'm going to be stuck as a Kinoe or something." You wiped your cheeks and under your nose with your sleeves. "All I want is to stay by your side. Be your equal."
You looked at Giyuu and watched him take in your words. His eyes flickered between yours as he thought about what to say.
Your eyes were puffy and your nose was red. Your sniffles continued as you wiped your face on your sleeve.
"Marry me then," he spoke softly.
You flinched back at his words. "What?"
"Marry me, then we can always be at each other's sides."
You rolled your eyes and wiped your face again. "You really need to work on your timing."
He groaned your name, his ears turning pink. "Look, I can't promise that we'll always be at each other's sides, that we'll always be the same rank, but I can promise that I'm not going anywhere."
You felt your chest grow lighter and a small smile crept up on your face. "You promise, huh? You don't give those out a lot."
He sighed. "I don't want to see you cry anymore."
You hummed. "You could've just said that instead of proposing, you know?"
Giyuu rolled his eyes at your teasing and let go of your shoulders. He walked around you and picked up your stuff. He turned back towards the clearing with your bag thrown over his shoulder and your sword in his hand.
You watched his back as he walked away. A small gust of wind swam through the sea of tree which caused his hair to sway to the side.
He looked over his shoulder and asked if you were coming. You couldn't stop the blush that graced your face as you took him in for what felt like the first time.
Since when was Giyyu so... handsome?
Giyuu stopped in his tracks, his eyes softened the longer he looked back at you. His bangs blew in the wind, showing you more of his handsome face to you.
You gulped and wiped your face once more.
Third Time: With years of hard work, literal blood, sweat, and tears, and a change in breathing style for you, both you and Giyuu were Hashira.
It took a while, but you and Giyuu realized that the reason why you were falling behind was because water breathing wasn't your calling. Leaf breathing suited you far before and it finally felt like you two were equals again.
Giyuu had become a Hashira before you did, and ever since he was given the title, he didn't talk to you as much as he used to.
At first, you chalked it up to him being busy. Being a Hashira held many responsibilities, being one of the strongest of the corps would of course lead to him being away for missions almost daily.
But you had hoped he'd at least write.
You sent letters whenever you had the time. You updated your longtime friend of anything you could think of. Missions you went on, who you met, what you ate, anything.
But you rarely heard anything back. After a while, you figured the only reason he wrote you back was to let you know he was still alive.
The lifespan of a slayer is always a question. Will you grow old enough to retire, to settle down, like Master Urokodaki, or will you perish a week from now? It's always a risk but knowing that you had Giyuu always made the job easier. Made it worth trying to live your life to the fullest.
Now you were left with crumbs of his attention, of his friendship. And after you told him you were now a Hashira, he didn't write you back. He didn't try to see you. Nothing.
Today was your first time meeting the other Hashira. You'd seen some of them in passing, even had lunch with Mitsuri when you accompanied her on a mission almost two months ago, but this was the first time you'd have a real introduction to all of them.
When you were officially ranked 'Hashira,' the master sent you to go to the tailor to get a new uniform made. Yours had been old, covered in stitches you had done yourself because you didn't want to bother the kakushi. But to be honest, you weren't the best at sewing.
So, you bowed and thanked him once again for the opportunity before you made your way to the tailor.
But oh, do you wish someone would've warned you about him.
The perverted kakushi who had somehow convinced you that this was the official uniform you needed to wear. You've been a slayer for years and had always worn long skirts and tops that were made to button all the way up to your neck, but Madea told you that this is what the female Hashira wore.
You didn't believe him at first, but then your mind jumped to the Love Hashira, the only Hashira you had met other than Giyuu. Mitsuri was incredibly kind, high spirited, and a fantastic leader. You admired her strength and skills as a slayer and as silly as it sounded, you hoped to be just like her someday.
And so, with her in mind, you put on the 'uniform' and followed your crow to the Butterfly mansion where you would get to officially meet the other Hashira for the first time.
As you approached the courtyard, you could hear sounds of talking and laughter and tugged at your uniform. Again.
Every step you took, you held down your skirt, afraid even the small gust of wind would expose you to the entire world. And when you didn't have a hold on your skirt, your hand covered the opening in your shirt in a weak attempt to hide your cleavage as much as you could. The lack of chest bindings was already uncomfortable to you, but feeling the breeze on your chest was an all-new experience. You didn't have a haori to provide you cover but made a mental note to get one after this.
Finally, you saw the other Hashira, all gathered on the front porch of the Butterfly Mansion. Some sat on the porch talking while others stood around in their own small groups or by themselves.
You hid behind a tree, spying on them for a moment. They all looked so intimating.
Then your eyes caught a familiar red and checkered haori. You saw Giyuu, standing by himself, eyes pointed at the ground and his arms crossed. Your breath got caught in your throat at the sight of him. It's been months since you'd last seen his raven black hair and deep blue eyes. He looked good. Still the skinny kid you grew up with, but it was obvious he had put on some muscle. His shoulders were widener and his thighs filled out his pants better.
You swallowed and tore your eyes away from him.
You took another deep breath to calm the rest of your nerves, tugged the skirt down one more time, and pulled at the opening at your chest before you walked out from behind the tree and towards the group.
Mitsuri was the first one to see you. She squealed and waved frantically. She called your name. "You made it!"
Your pace slowed as all the Hashira turned and looked at you, curious. Your eyes bounced between all of them and gulped.
"Hi," you greeted with a wave. You introduced yourself and bowed. You felt the breeze between your breasts and raised a hand to cover them before you stood back up. "It's nice to finally meet you all."
Sweat gathered on your temple and the back of your neck. All their eyes were locked onto you. They scanned you, analyzed you, took in the new girl for the first time.
That was when the man with yellow and red hair smiled at you. "Welcome! Please, join us!" he waved you over with such enthusiasm that you almost worried he was too eager to talk to you. But his smile was kind, and his eyes were respectful, locked onto your face.
You walked over to him and fought the urge to tug at your skirt.
"I am Rengoku Kyojuro! The Flame Pillar!" He held out a hand for you to shake. "Pleasure to meet you!"
You took his hand and your whole body shook as he shook your hand. You covered your chest to keep the girls at bay and smiled at him. "Pleasure is all mine!"
He laughed, overly joyous.
Mitsuri came over and pulled you into a quick hug. You tried to ignore how your exposed skin touched hers, but a blush covered your cheeks anyway.
She pulled away and took your hands in hers. "It's going to be so much fun having another girl around! I'm so excited!"
You chuckled at her and allowed your hands to drop.
A large arm was thrown over your shoulders from behind. You jumped when the gold band on his arm touched your neck. It was cold and caused you to shiver.
"My my, look what the cat dragged in," he said as he leaned down close to your ear. "Names Uzui Tengen. God of Festivals, the king of flashiness." He removed his arm and stood in front of you. He took your hand and brought a kiss to your knuckle.
"Uhh, nice to meet you," you stammered out, nervous from his attention. He was quite handsome.
"Pleasure is all mine," he winked before he let go of your hand.
You took a step back out of nerves and looked down at your feet and caught a glimpse of your breasts as you did. You covered your chest again and tried not to make it obvious by tugging at a button. You could feel the others eyes on you, and you were too afraid to look up, worried they were looking at your exposed body just as much as you were.
You swallowed and continued to fiddle with the button. Mitsuri seemed so comfortable in her uniform, not worried about her exposed skin as she bounced around and waved at the Hashira with the stripped haori and snake on his shoulder.
The small breeze that flowed through the courtyard picked up and so did your nerves. Your hands moved down to your skirt just in time to cover yourself resulting in your chest being on display again. Your hands awkwardly moved across your body, and you wished for the ground to swallow you where you stood before you expose yourself to your comrades.
That was when a figure stood in front of you, shielding you from the eyes of your comrades.
You looked up to see Giyuu. Your eyes were level with his chin, inches apart. You hadn't even seen him approach.
"Why are you wearing that?" he asked you quietly, eyes locked onto the top of your head.
"This is what the Kakushi gave me. Said the other female Hashira were wearing it."
"Oh yeah? Then why isn't Kocho wearing it?"
You looked off to the side and found the Insect Hashira, and sure enough, she was completely covered. Jacket buttoned up to her neck and wearing pants.
Your face reddened in horror. You completely forgot about Shinobu. You had only seen her in passing, never actually getting the chance to speak to her directly. On the occasion you had an injury or a cold, it was usually one of her girls that helped you out.
"Is too nice to tell that pervert off," Giyuu interrupted. "I don't remember you being so nice."
"Oh, so you do remember me?" you groaned under your breath.
He sighed. His face dropped at your tone knowingly.
"Ah, finally decided to join the rest of us, huh Tomikoa?" Uzui asked. "Although you're blocking the view from our newest Hashira."
You felt the air grow cold as Giyuu's gaze hardened into a glare at Uzui's words. Slowly, he turned his head and glared at Uzui over his shoulder.
Uzui's smirked fluttered slightly and he held his hands up. "Whoa, I didn't mean it like that."
Giyuu continued to glare and you tugged on his haori. "Stop you're embarrassing me," you whispered as you watched the other Hashira turn and look at the scene.
Giyuu turned around, still glaring at Uzui as he continued to block you from view.
Annoyed by his silence, you peaked over his shoulder and smiled politely at Uzui. You tugged at Giyuu's ear and moved him away from in front of you.
Giyuu groaned under his breath and wrenched your hold from his ear to rub it.
Uzui smirked and pointed two fingers at you both. "Ah, so you two know each other, do ya? Nice!"
"No way!" A new voice yelled.
You turned and made eye contact with a larger, more muscular man covered in scars. His white hair bounced against his forehead as he stomped over to you.
He ran his eyes down your body. You didn't get the vibe he was checking you out. It felt more like he was analyzing you.
"There's no way you know Tomioka," he snarled at Giyuu before he looked back at you.
You felt small next to him, even though your nose reached his shoulder. He was the most intimidating one out of them all and not just because of his scars and build.
You looked at Giyuu. His hands were by his sides, wrapped tightly into fists. His eyes were locked onto your face, reading you in a way no one else could. His blood grew hotter the longer Sanemi looked at you.
"We grew up together," you explained. "Trained under the same Master."
"That's interesting," Kocho piped up, a smile on her face. "Tomioka hasn't mentioned you once."
Your heart tugged in your chest.
Giyuu looked at your face. Your eyes were wide, a frown on your face, a small dust of pink on your cheeks as you tugged on the uniform once again.
Giyuu closed his eyes and sighed. He walked back into your space, reached around Sanemi, and grabbed your wrist. He pulled you away from the crowd and up the stairs of the Butterfly mansion.
"Giyuu, what are you doing?" you whispered. Your ears burned in embarrassment as you felt everyone's eyes on you both.
"Kocho has spare clothes in her office."
You tugged on the uniform again, embarrassed that it was so obvious you were uncomfortable.
The smell of medicine and herbs hit your nose as it always does within these walls. You could hear Aoi and the girls talking and laughing a couple rooms down.
Giyuu opened the door to Kocho's office and pointed to a lone cabinet. "She keeps them in there."
You tried not to think about why Giyuu knows that this is where Kocho keeps her spare clothes.
Carefully, you crotched down and started to dig through the spare pants and shirts.
You heard Giyuu gasp behind you which caused you to turn and look at him over your shoulder. He glared at the wall; hands balled into fists at his sides. A dark shade of red crept up the collar of his uniform and covered his face.
The air was thick; tension rolled between the two of you. It'd been months since you'd last heard from him, since you'd last seen him. Surely, he felt the awkward pull between the two of you just as much as you.
You cleared your throat and tried to play nice. You both were Hashira now. And even though he broke his promise and you were mad at him, you still cared about him and clung onto that small part of you that hoped for things to go back to the way they were before.
You grabbed what you needed and closed the cabinet. You held up a pair of pants and laid them over your legs. "Hey, do you think these will fit?" you asked Giyuu. "I think the shirt might still be a little tight but as long as it buttons, I don't care," you laughed to yourself. You looked over at Giyuu again who was still frozen in place.
"I'm going to kill that pervert."
You were taken aback from his words and dark tone in his voice. You looked down at your uniform again.
"It really is that bad, huh?" you flushed with embarrassment. You blamed your stupidity on your nerves.
"He doesn't deserve to see you like that," GIyuu mumbled under his breath, not wanting you to hear it, but you did.
And when he finally looked back at you, you caught it. The way his eyes darted down to take a peek at your exposed skin before he would force himself to look back at your face.
He's never seen so much of your skin before. Your usual uniform covered almost all of your body except your knees and shins. The most Giyuu had seen of you had been your thigh when you got a nasty scratch from a demon.
And even then, Giyuu left the room the second Aoi pushed your skirt up to examine the cut. You never found out why, figured it was because he was trying to respect your modesty.
But right now, Giyuu looked at you like a man who didn't know what the word 'modesty' even meant.
Whether you knew it or not, you had changed too. Your body was fuller. Through the little bit of fabric that covered your body, it was obvious you had built some descent muscle. You had grown stronger, more feminine, since the last time Giyuu had seen you.
He'd always thought you were beautiful, but seeing you for the first time in months, in that perverts uniform, it drove him crazy. Made his mouth water. Made his eyes wonder where they never had before.
He licked his lips, eyes darkening as his eyes took another swipe over your body.
Your hands gripped the clothes in your hands as you swam in the dark blue of his eyes. "Giyuu?"
He was slow to enter your space. He allowed you time to back away, but you didn't.
You weren't blind. Giyuu was incredibly handsome, beautiful even, perhaps the most attractive man you've ever seen. Ever since you were kids, you always had a small crush on him but never gave it much thought. You both were trained to be slayers, to be warriors. You didn't think there was time to have a crush, let alone act on it.
But now with him inches away from you, his breath tickling your eyelashes, the smell of him wafting in your nose, the heat coming from his body, your heart felt like it was about to explode.
Maintaining eye contact, Giyuu took the pants from your grasp and held the waistband between his fingers. He looked away from your eyes and looked down at your thighs waist. Giyuu pushed the waistband of the pants against you, fingers pressed against your hips.
You swallowed your shock; eyes locked on his hair as he pushed into you. His thumbs hooked into the pants and allowed the rest of his fingers to lay against your hips and pull you closer. You let out of a small gasp at his touch, surprised by his movements.
Giyuu looked up at you through his lashes. He didn't say anything for a moment as he took in your flushed face. The smallest smile grew on his face before he let go of your hips and handed you the pants.
You loosely took the pants from his hands, still in shock from his bold touch.
You watched him turn his back to you to leave so you could change, but your words stopped him.
"You're cruel, you know that?"
He froze and you continued.
"I waited for you to write me back for months. At first, I thought you were busy, but now I see you were avoiding me," you bit your lip. "I didn't deserve that."
You didn't expect Giyuu to say anything, you actually expected him to leave and pretend nothing happened, but instead he looked at you over his shoulder.
"You're right," he admitted. "You didn't." Giyuu turned back around, his heart pounded against his chest as his eyes moved across your face. He hated the way your eyes watered without your consent, how you bit your lip to stop it from quivering, how you held the spare uniform with white knuckles and a slight tremble.
You flinched back at his apology. "You're apologizing?" you scoffed, a smile creept on your face. "Who are you and what have you done with Giyuu?"
He rolled his eyes and turned to leave the room once again, but your hand shot out and grabbed a hold of his wrist. "I'm only teasing," your hand slid down, fingers tangled with his. "Thank you for apologizing." It wasn't much, but coming from Giyuu it was enough. For now.
Giyuu's face was red, he could feel it. His eyes were locked on the door to avoid your gaze as your fingers remained tangled with his.
You scoffed and let go of his hand. Your fingers tingled and you wiped your hand on your skirt to try and stop the feeling. "I guess I'll change now," you spoke out in the open air. "You can stay there or leave; it's up to you."
Giyuu choked. The thought of you changing with him in the same room caused the heat on his cheeks to travel throughout his body. When he heard the sound of fabric moving Giyuu panicked.
"Shouldn't you..." he tried to speak but his mouth suddenly felt too dry. "But I'm not..."
You titled your head to the side, not understanding. "What's wrong?"
Giyuu swallowed and tugged on his collar. "I'm not your husband. You shouldn't be changing with me here."
You chuckled, a smirk growing on your face as you continued to change. "You can leave if you want, I didn't say you had to stay."
Giyuu continued to fiddle with his collar when he heard what sounded like your skirt falling on the floor, your shirt following soon after.
After you slid into the new uniform, you immediately felt better. The pants covered your legs, and the shirt kept you modest. You no longer feared a gust of wind or a faulty button.
Giyuu was still rooted in his same spot, incredibility stiff. You smirked to yourself and kicked your old uniform towards him. The skirt and shirt hit him in the ankle, and you watched in amusement as his shoulders tensed and his hands tugged at his own uniform, rebuttoning an already done button three times.
You crept up behind him and stood on your tiptoes. You leaned over his shoulder and whispered in his ear, "are you nervous, Giyuu?"
Giyuu gulped loud enough you heard it. "No."
You hummed. "Are you sure? You looked pretty nervous."
Giyuu shook his head, still refusing to look at you, even after feeling your breath move his hair and tickle his ear.
"Are you worried I'm standing here, naked, behind you?"
"Stop it," he said sternly. "Get dressed."
You clicked your tongue and shook your head behind him. "Always so serious."
He said your name, a warning, but you didn't listen.
You had never seen Giyuu so nervous around you before and it was incredibility amusing to watch.
"Tell me, Giyuu," you pierced your lips to try and keep your laughter at bay. "Do you want me to be naked behind you?"
Giyuu groaned at your words, something deep within his chest, that sent heat throughout your body. He's definitely never made that sound before.
Giyuu tilted his head turns you, not quite enough to see you, but enough for you to see his expression. He looked angry but there was something else that you didn't recognize.
In the blink of an eye, Giyuu turned around, grabbed your hips, and twirled you around so you back was against the wall next to the door.
You gasped the second you hit the wall. "Hey-"
"Shut up," Giyuu growled.
Your eyebrows pinched and you glared at him. "Can I help you?"
"You could," he tsked. "But not right now."
You raised an eyebrow. "Not right now?"
Your eyes widened. "Excuse me?!"
"Marry me, then you can help me with everything I need," Giyuu's eyes darted between your eyes and your lips. He licked his own and pressed himself up against you, hands still on your waist, chest-to-chest, a thigh in-between yours.
Your face burned as you looked up at him. It had been months since you were this close to him, although, that was just two friends sparing. This, however, was completely different.
Naturally, your hands landed on his biceps, unsure if you wanted to pull him closer or push him away.
You licked your lips, not missing the way Giyuu's eyes immediately followed the movement.
"And what is it that you need, Giyuu?" you asked, voice softer than a whisper.
Giyuu's face fell closer to yours, less than an inch apart. He took a deep breath. "I need y-"
The door opened next to you and both you and Giyuu jumped apart. It was almost comical how much distance Giyuu had put between the two of you as Kocho walked into the room.
Your back straightened and you hummed. "You're right Giyuu, I forgot that there's salmon in the sake daikon." You let out a pained chuckle. "I thought it was a different kind of fish."
Giyuu rose an eyebrow at you, very confused.
"What?" Kocho asked at the same time.
You let out a nervous laugh and waved a hand. "Never mind. Not important."
Kocho's purple eyes bounced between the two of you. She smirked at Giyuu, "Everything okay in here? We're all waiting for you two, you know."
You blushed. "Yes! Yes, I'm sorry. We just got to chatting and lost track of time." You brushed off your shirt and stood next to Kocho. "So, you're the insect Hashira I've heard so much about! Tell me, how is it that we haven't met before today? I feel like I'm always here."
Kocho chuckled and began to led you out of her office. She began to tell you about how she is always on the move with her other patients, but you couldn't bring yourself to listen.
Instead, you looked back at Giyuu, who was already looking at you, longingly. You gave him a shy smile before you exited the room with the Insect Hashira.
Fourth time: Training the others was exhausting.
In order to stand a chance against Muzan, you and your fellow Hashira agreed to train the other slayers and get them strong enough to not get killed the second they get into a fight with a demon.
It was also an attempt to unlock the slayer mark.
Your job as the Leaf Hashira was to help the other slayers maintain their balance. For their training exercise, each slayer was given stilts to tie to the bottom of their feet and then they had to fight you without losing their balance and falling. In your mind, if they could fight someone like you on stilts with no issue then they could handle any kind of terrain when they have to fight a demon.
Not only because you were spending every hour of daylight training the others, but also because you were up all night training by yourself.
Even after all the others went to bed, snoring the day away in your estate, you kept your stilts on and performed all six forms of leaf breathing over and over again until your feet with blue and your legs were numb.
Despite the chill in the air, you were burning up.
The jacket of your uniform already off and laying on your porch with your shirt sticking to you like a second skin from your sweat. You landed sixth form once again, exhaustion seeped into your bones, but you had enough energy to go again.
You walked over to the well and sat down on the roof to take a moment and catch your breath and drink a little water.
The moon provided you enough light to see the state of your courtyard. Usually, your courtyard was clean and well-maintained. The gravel raked, and your flowers bright and carried a sweet smell throughout the courtyard. Now, after days of training the others, your gravel was pushed into random piles with the dirt beneath poking through. And your flowers, your poor poor flowers, had turned into cushions for the others to fall into whenever they lost their balance.
Tanjiro had offered to replant them for you, but you had declined with a laugh. He was a sweet boy. You could see how much he respected you as he held onto every word you said. He took your constructive criticism as motivation to grow stronger and always asked questions on how he could improve.
You thought he was ready to move up to Mitsuri, but decided to keep him around for one more day to ensure he was ready. If he thought you were difficult, well, he had something else coming.
You wiped the sweat from your forehead and braced your legs, ready to go again. That was even you caught sight of him, Giyuu, stood at your gate. He looked like he had been there longer than you had realized. When your eyes met in the darkness, Giyuu finally moved away from the gate. His haori swayed behind him as he walked up the path to the engawa.
He looked tired. His feet drug through the gravel and he actually used the railing near the stairs as he climbed up them.
"Welcome," you greeted as you stood on wobbly legs.
Giyuu didn't reply and leaned against the railing. He watched you approach; head tilted up to look at your face.
You smirked. "Don't look up my pant leg, Giyuu. You know better than that."
Giyuu didn't respond, instead he took his gaze down to the stilts still attached to your feet.
"How do you get out of those?" he asked.
You were surprised by his somber tone but chose not to comment on it.
"I just lean against the roof, untie them, then jump off."
"Doesn't that hurt your legs?"
You smiled. "I try to land as gracefully as I can."
He didn't say anything else. His gaze returned to your face. Even in the darkness you could see the bags under his eyes.
"You having trouble sleeping again?" you asked into the quiet night. "I don't have anything here that'll help with that, you know. I haven't had the time to get more tea-"
"It's fine," he interrupted. He looked off into your courtyard.
You felt anxiety blossom in your chest at his tone. Giyuu usually made you guess what he was feeling, not one to share his emotions. Not one to wear them either.
But you could see it on his face, something familiar to you, something you had grown used to identifying ever since Sabito died.
Giyuu was struggling with his own thoughts, with his doubts, with his fears.
Without another word, you walked over to the roof, grabbed hold of it, and began to untie the stilts. One stilt fell to the ground, kicking up some dust and moving your gravel once again, but before you could tie the other, Giyuu reached up with both hands.
"What are you doing?" you asked.
Giyuu beckoned you towards him with his fingers. "I'll catch you."
You chuckled and wiped your cheeks to try and hide your blush.
"I just told you how I get down," you reminded him.
"And I'm offering to catch you."
You sighed. It was pointless to argue with him and you were ready to finally get out of these stilts for the night. With a tug, the rope wrapped around your foot fell, but you remained on the stilt.
"You sure?" You asked Giyuu.
He rolled his eyes and beckoned you again. As gracefully as you could, you tilted the stilt forward and you began to fall. Before your reflexes kicked in, Giyuu caught you by your waist and pulled you into his chest.
You laughed. "Whoa!" your legs wobbled, now on solid ground. "Thanks!"
You move back but Giyuu didn't let go. Instead, he pulled you closer to his chest with his arms wrapping themselves around your back.
"Shh, just," he sunk into you, unable to finish what he was going to say.
You nodded and wrapped your arms around him, hands flat against his back, underneath his haori and rubbed his back. Your fingers bounced against the fabric of his uniform. He was warm and smelled like the woods. Something earthy, something that felt like him. His hand moved, one remained on your back but the other crept up your spine, causing you to shiver, before it threaded through your hair and cupped the back of your head. He pushed your face further into his neck as his own nuzzled into yours.
You continued to rub his back, but couldn't help but ask, "Giyuu, what's wrong? You're scaring me."
Giyuu squeezed you once before he let out a shaky breath against your skin. "Sabito, he, I just," he inhaled your scent. "I needed to see you," he repeated.
You sighed and melted into him. Your fingers gripped his clothes in an attempt to pull him even closer than he already was.
You felt his tears not soon after. His tears dripped down his nose and onto your neck and into your hair. The mix of sweat from training and his tears were uncomfortable on your skin but you didn't dare move.
You held Giyuu until his cries quieted and he finally rose his face from your neck.
You reached up and cradled his face into your hands. Your thumbs wiped the remaining tears from his face. He sniffled and wiped his nose on his sleeve.
"I'm sorry," he apologized.
"Don't be," you shook your head.
He nodded. He slowly untangled his fingers from your hair and brushed the sweaty strands sticking up back down. He didn't meet your eyes, but you smiled at him anyway.
"Sabito, huh? It's been a while since you've brought him up."
Giyuu shook his head. "Was just reminded of him today. Something Tanjiro said."
You nodded. "He's a good kid. I can see why you're so fond of him."
Giyuu didn't comment on what you said. He continued to brush his fingers through your hair while keeping you close. It's not like you wanted to pull away, but he wasn't giving you much of a choice.
"I'm sorry I haven't been able to come see you. I've been busy training these kids," you gestured towards your house where the others were fast asleep. You were glad they were so exhausted because if they saw two Hashira this close in the middle of the night, they might assume something... inappropriate was happening.
You sighed. "Can I be honest? It's exhausting. At first it was kind of fun to order them around, especially the cocky ones, but now I just want a day to myself."
Giyuu let out a puff of air from his nose, a small laugh. "Training in the middle of the night probably doesn't help."
Giyuu poked your forehead. "You need to rest."
You slapped his hand away. "Don't tell me what to do."
"Just did," he poked you again. "So do it."
You scoffed. "I don't take orders from you, Mister." You leaned away from him and poked him in the chest. "You didn't even want to help with the training, so you don't get to say anything."
Giyuu rolled his eyes and loosened his hold on you, hand leaving your hair so both could sit on your hips. Your hands found their place on his chest, and you could feel his heart pounding through his uniform. You played with a random button on his chest until the exhaustion from the day began to weigh on you.
"Get. Some. Rest." Giyuu ordered as he poked you after every word.
You slapped his hand away again.
"I'm not tired just yet," you gestured behind you. "I wanted to get a few more runs in."
Giyuu rolled his eyes at your words. He brought a hand up to your cheek and forced you to look into his eyes. His eyes were puffy from crying, and the redness made the blue stand out even more than usual. But he was still your Giyuu, even when you couldn't tell what he was thinking, even when he can't express himself, he was your Giyuu.
"Where are the other pairs?" he asked.
"The other pairs of stilts," he clarified. "I'll join you."
You let out a huff. "You wanna give the stilts a try?"
Giyuu rolled his eyes and finally released his hold on you. Even though you were burning up from your previous activities, now you could feel the cool air and forced yourself not to dive back into his arms for warmth.
"How hard can it be? You do it," he said before he turned around and began to walk back down the stairs to search for a pair of stilts.
Giyuu didn't respond but you could practically see the cockiness oozing from him as he found his own pair of stilts.
You sat on the edge of your engawa and retied yours on. Even though you could feel every muscle in your body crying for you to sit down, you ignored them, excited to duel with Giyuu. It'd been a while since the two of you dueled. You could feel adrenaline coarse through your veins.
Once your stilts were tied, you used a beam to pull yourself up until you towered over your home, the edge of the roof dug into your hips as you adjusted to the stilts once again.
You glanced over at Giyuu. His stilts were tied to his feet, and he pulled himself up just like you did until his back was straight. He stomped his feet to test the stilts and nodded, comfortable with how they were tied.
When he looked back at you, you felt your breath get caught in your throat. Something about how he looked in the moonlight caused your heart to pound against your chest.
Before, you were worried about your oldest friend. You focused on comforting him, allowed him to cry into your shoulder like you used to when you were kids. But now, something had shifted.
Giyuu walked over to the bucket of practice swords you had placed on your roof and grabbed two.
He walked over to you with bird-like elegance, as if he had been walking with stilts his entire life.
You hadn't realized you were checking him out until he was right in front of you with a raised eyebrow. You blinked and hid your blush with your hair.
He handed you the sword and you thanked him. When you reached out to grab the sword by its handle, your fingers overlapped with his. You tried to ignore how the touch of his skin burned your fingers, despite his hands being freezing cold.
You quickly took the sword and turned around to create some distance. You cursed under your breath. "Get it together," you whispered to yourself.
Not even five minutes ago you held him against you with his face buried into your neck; why the hell were you blushing over a slight hand touch?
You shook out your arms and finally met his eye.
Giyuu nodded and adjusted his grip on the sword.
Training with Giyuu all your life taught you many things about him.
How he favored leading with his right foot, how he went on the defense to try and tire out his opponent, and how he was quiet about his strength. Giyuu was no Gyomei or Sanemi in terms of muscle but that doesn't mean he was weak by any means. He was stronger than you, that was a fact, but you liked to think you were faster than him.
That was why you rushed around him. You rose your sword to hit him in the back, but he turned on his heel and blocked you at the last second and pushed you back. You flew across the courtyard and landed on your stilted feet before rushing him once again.
You brought your sword down and pushed against him.
"You seem distracted," he said now that he was close.
You pushed him away to gain some distance and backed away from him. He followed of course, your swords clashed over and over as you dodged and weaved.
You scoffed. "Don't know what you're talking about."
Giyuu brought an attack down on you. You blocked but he was close. Too close. His nose was inches from yours and you could feel his breath on your face.
You squeaked and pushed him away again, but he didn't allow you to get much distance. He swung at you again and once you rose your sword to block his attack, he hooked a leg behind yours. His leg was pressed against yours, his thigh pressed against the back of yours, like you were sitting in his lap. He grabbed both sides of his sword and brought it in closer to your neck. You tried to keep it away, but at the strange angle, you struggled to gain leverage to push him away.
"You're cheating," you choked out. "You wouldn't grab the blade of your sword like that."
Giyuu scoffed and pressed himself closer to you, back now against your shoulder.
Fine, you thought. If he's going to play dirty, so am I.
"You know," you swallowed. "If you wanted me to sit in your lap so bad, you could've just asked."
You pushed against him again and swore.
"It's kind of nice actually. Being close to you like this, all hot and sweaty," you continued.
You smirked when he tensed.
"Can you imagine if I was still in that other uniform? You know, the one that-"
You chuckled at the intensity of his words. They sat deep and heavy in his chest, almost like he groaned when he said them.
Even though your dirty play was working, his hold against you was still strong. Then you came to the realization that if you can't push forward to escape his hold, maybe pushing back against him will work.
In a quick motion, you stopped pushing against his sword and pushed your body back into him. Giyuu let out a small "oof" once he felt the weight of your body push into his and stumbled on his stilts.
You slipped underneath his arms and then you were back in the fight.
Swing, hit, swing, block. Back and forth, over and over again.
Your sore muscles protested as you moved. Your calves and feet screamed at you, tired of being on stilts for the days on end, but you refused to give up.
But the problem with knowing Giyuu as well as you do, is that he knew you just as well, if not better.
He's seen you train with both water breathing and leaf breathing. He watched you adapt to a new technique. He watched you learn how to tackle opponents larger than you without a sweat.
So, when he ducked underneath a swing from your sword and hit the back of your knee, you nearly crumbled to the ground.
"You still lock your knees," he said.
You cursed under your breath and glared at him over your shoulder.
You swear you saw a small smirk on his face and that filled your chest with a hot burst of anger.
With all your strength, you brought down your sword. Giyuu moved to block it, but the second your swords came into contact, they broke.
You stopped after hearing the sound of wood hitting the gravel beneath your feet.
You straightened and tossed the broken practice sword to the ground.
"Don't remember you playing so dirty," you teased.
Giyuu tossed his broken sword onto the ground as well and sent you a pointed glare. You could tell he was mad your little distraction actually worked and smirked at him.
"You're so easy to distract, Giyuu," you chuckle. "I didn't think that would actually work." You put your hands on your hips and clicked your tongue. "What would the others think if they heard you almost lost like that?"
You were too busy laughing that you hadn't noticed Giyuu approach you. You jumped when you turned to look at him only to be met with his chin an inch away from your face.
"I need to get you a bell," you teased.
Giyuu stared at you, face blank, but you could tell he was thinking.
"You've always played dirty" he said. "I was just taking inspiration from you." He walked away and sat on the edge of your roof to begin untying his stilts.
"You heading home?" you asked him.
Giyuu nodded and tugged on the rope wrapped around his ankle. In his hurry to remove himself from the stilt he created a knot that he couldn't seem to get undone.
You sighed and sat next to him, swatting his hands away. You tugged on the rope with nimble fingers; your tongue poked out of the corner of your mouth as you focused on the knot Giyuu had created.
Giyuus stare burned the side of your face. He watched you, unblinking, as you successfully untied the knot and allowed the stilt to fall to the gravel below. You moved your focus to the other stilt without question.
He was brought back to that one moment when you were children. The one you famously liked to bring up just to tease him. When you had been training late into the night, Sabito and Master Urokodaki asleep inside while the two of you dueled. He remembers you slipping and him accidently hitting you in the face so hard that you went flying into a nearby bush. Shame, guilt, and embarrassment washed over him every time he thought about it. He was worried you'd be upset or cry because he hurt you, but instead you laughed. You laughed, pulled him into the bush too, then picked leaves out of his hair with your tongue sticking out as you concentrated.
Warmth washed away the shame and guilt as he looked at you now. The little girl you once were, was still in there, deep within you. The same little girl that wanted nothing more than to stand by him, to support him, to care for him.
He hadn't realized you finished untying his stilts until he no longer felt your warmth over his lap. He finally blinked and sat up straighter and waited for you to untie your own stilts.
Once you were freed, you looked over at Giyuu with a sweet smile. "I'm so happy to finally be done with those for the day," you said with a chuckle. "You're going to be feeling it in your calves later."
Giyuu didn't respond. His eyes shined in the moonlight, mouth agape as he looked at you. Truly looked at you. His chest burned, his throat felt tight, and he wanted nothing more than to touch your skin, feel your breath on his face, to hold you close until the rest of the world disappeared. Until it was just you and him, together, like you always wanted.
"Giyuu?" you asked, voice soft. "You okay?"
Giyuu didn't say anything; instead, he shifted closer to you. His thigh pressed against yours and his shoulder wedged itself into yours. His arm slid behind you, fingers brushing against your uniform pants. Giyuu leaned in close and shuddered the second he felt your breath brush his face and move his hair. With hooded-eyes, Giyuu stared at your lips. He felt like he was dying and the only cure was to feel your lips against his.
Your body melted into his as he hovered over you. You tried to blame the chill of the night air, tried to tell yourself you were cold and that's why you didn't pull away from him, but who were you kidding? You wanted this. You wanted him.
Your eyes fluttered as you blinked up at him. He looked like he was holding himself back. The hand that wasn't behind you twitched at his side. Your mouth watered and you licked your lips.
Giyuu watched you do it and let out a shaky sigh. "Tell me to stop," he whispered. "Tell me."
You mirrored him with a slide of your hand until it was behind him. Fingers caught on his uniform pants, shoulder pressed against his, chests only a couple inches apart.
You shook your head. "I can't."
Giyuu shivered, "thank god."
Then his lips were on yours. At first, it was awkward, the inexperience the two of you shared obvious, but with a small adjustment his lips fit into yours like they were made for each other.
Fire burned in your veins at the feeling of his lips on yours. You'd be a liar if you said you never thought about kissing Giyuu before. You've thought about it for years, but never truly thought it would happen. Certainly not now, in the middle of the night, on your roof, both of you covered in sweat with sore muscles and feet. But it was more than you could've ever imagined.
Your hands trembled at the intensity of his kiss. To control your trembling, you snaked your free hand up to rest on his chest. You could feel his heart pounding through his uniform, the heat from his skin, and the vibrations of a low groan in his throat.
Giyuu's free hand reached over your lap and grabbed your thigh, fingers digging into the plush skin, blunt nails scratching at your skirt like it personality offended him.
Your lips moved against each other in hurried, sloppy movements. As an experiment, Giyuu poked your bottom lip with his tongue and when you opened your mouth without a second of hesitation he thought he was going to have a heart attack.
Your tongue brushed and you couldn't stop the small moan from slipping out of your mouth and against his lips. His taste, his scent, his touch, it was driving you crazy. When he let out his own moan in response, you forced yourself to pull away. Giyuu chased after you, lips searching for yours blindly, but you pushed against his chest to keep him back.
You giggled. "Hold on. I gotta catch my breath."
Giyuu shook his head, eyes locked on your lips. "No, you don't." He pressed his lips against yours once again like a man addicted to the feeling.
You giggled and broke the kiss again. "Yes, I do." The hand on his chest slid up to his shoulder.
Giyuu groaned and pulled at your leg with the strength of a starving man. He moved you so you hovered over his lap, straddling him.
You threw your arms around his shoulders. "Careful! We're still on the roof in case you forgot."
Giyuu snaked his arms around your waist. You could feel his rough, calloused fingers dragging over your uniform, crawling at the fabric, tugging it to pull you closer.
"I got you," he said before crashing his lips against yours once again.
There was more confidence behind this kiss.
His hands seemed to have a mind of their own. Even though they started on your waist, they moved up and down your back. You arched your back, sensitive to his touch, and pressed your chest against his.
Giyuu's hands found their homes on your lower back and your neck. His fingers tangled into the hair at the base of your neck to keep you close.
You cupped his jaw, thumbs brushing against the softness of his cheeks.
You bit his lip and pulled back slightly. Giyuu's eyes fluttered open for a moment and with a groan shoved his tongue back into your mouth. You took turns swirling and sucking on each other's tongues and with each desperate swipe of a tongue or nibble of a lip you could feel the pool in your belly grow and grow.
You broke the kiss for a second. "Giyuu," you whimpered before he pressed his lips back against yours. "Giyuu."
He broke the kiss. "Yes?"
Your body was trembling, adrenaline and something hotter coursing through you. You were burning, every touch, every kiss left you breathless. Like you had just ran miles and miles to get here.
Giyuu's eyebrows pinched, confused, before his eyes brightened in recognition. His wondering hands moved up to cup your jaw, mirroring how you were holding him.
"You've ruined me for anyone else," he admitted, voice strong and firm. "I don't want to stop. And I don't mean just tonight."
Your body shivered, a mix of the cold air creeping up your back and the heaviness of his words.
You nodded and placed a slow, soft, kiss onto his cheek. The same cheek you kissed when you were kids.
Giyuu dropped your face and wrapped his arms above your back. He pulled you into a deep hug, face buried into your neck just like before. You could feel his hands shaking against your back. Your arms snaked around his neck and ever-so-slowly, you rocked your hips against his.
Giyuu's hold tightened and he whimpered into your neck. His eyes squeezed shut and he placed small kisses on your skin. He scooted back, getting further away from the edge of your roof. He moved back so his legs no longer hung off of the side and he could lay down. You adjusted, hands on either side of his head to hover above him, hips still moving.
You could feel his arousal through your uniforms and chuckled when you caught a peak of the blush on his cheeks.
You lowered to kiss him again. Your lips were bruised and your chin was wet, but you couldn't bring yourself to care. You only wanted more.
With a good roll of your hips that set heat through both of your bodies, Giyuu pushed you away. His nose pressed into yours as he fought with himself not to dive back in.
"Say you'll marry me," he whimpered.
In your lust-filled haze, you didn't understand him at first.
Giyuu stopped your hips from rocking, knuckles white as they gripped your hips.
"Say you'll marry me," he repeated. "I don't want to stop, but I can't do this without you saying yes."
You shook your head, finding humor in his timing. You snaked your hands through his hair, which caused a groan to slip through his bruised lips and his eyes to roll back.
"Please," he whispered your name. "Say it."
"Giyuu," you looked into his dark blue eyes. "I love you."
He froze beneath you. The tremble in his hands stopped and his breath got caught in his throat.
"I've loved you since we were kids," you gave him a watery smile. "Of course, I want to marry you." You watched his eyes brighten and your heart broke at his excitement. "But we can't. Muzan, he... he's planning something and... and we have to be ready for it."
You watched Giyuu's eyes go blank and deep frown form on his bruised lips. It felt like his heart was just ripped out of his chest. He knew you were right, of course he did. Muzan was planning something, something big. It's the whole reason why you and the other Hashira were training the other slayers. Why you were up late into the night training on your own. Why Tanjiro keeps showing up on his doorstep every day to ask him about training.
It just wasn't the right time.
Your eyes watered. "I'm sorry," you sniffled. "I'm so sorry."
Giyuu shook his head and pulled you down to lay on him. One hand rubbed your back while the other played with your hair as you cried into his neck. The heat from before was gone, the cool fall air gave the two of you goosebumps as it passed, but neither of you moved.
Giyuu held you tight that night. He never let go, didn't even squirm when the tile from the roof began to dig into his back. Instead, he blinked his own tears away and swallowed his sobs.
"It's okay," he choked out. "I..." he swallowed and turned his head to nuzzle his face into your hair. He inhaled your scent, a mix of sweat and something floral, but all you. He let out a shaky sigh.
No more late nights hunting and killing.
It took some adjusting. Your body had grown used to waking up with the sun and walking through the night with the moon as your only friend. Now you sleep in and go to bed the second your eyes feel tired.
You hung up your sword, even though it was damaged after the battle, you hung it up on your bedroom wall in its sheath, never to be picked up again.
One of your favorite parts of retirement was being able to dress for you. You wore pretty yukatas in all kinds of colors and patterns and spent your extra money on pretty hairpins at the market to match.
It took some time, but you finally beginning to enjoy retirement.
Your actual favorite part was being able to spend time with your friends. After the war ended, you became a frequent visitor at the Tengen household. They would invite you for meals, to the hot springs, Suma even taught you how to sew last week. It was fun.
Tengen was incredibly kind, even though he liked to tease you. Today you stopped by to bring your friends some homemade bread, an old recipe Mitsuri had taught you ages ago. They asked you to stay and chat but you declined and promised to stop by later in the week for dinner.
Ever the gentleman, Tengen offered you his arm and walked you out to the front gate.
"I'm beginning to think my girls like you more than me," he joked.
You chuckled at his words, something you don't find yourself doing very often anymore. "I have been told that I am quite charming."
Tengen nudged your side with his elbow. "Wasn't I the one to tell you that?"
"Maybe you were." You squeezed his arm and stopped at the gate. "I hope you enjoy the bread. I made a test loaf just to make sure it was actually edible."
Tengen chuckled. "I'm sure it'll be fine."
You let go of his arm and took a step away.
"Have you heard anything from Tomioka yet?" he said before you could get too far.
You froze at his question. You haven't seen Giyuu since the last, and final, Hashira meeting. At first, you both agreed you needed time to adjust, to get used to retirement life, to face your nightmares alone. But that was weeks ago, and even though you've written to him, asked him to come by your home for dinner, he never answered. One time you went to his estate to confront him, but he wasn't there and you couldn't bring yourself to do it again.
And Tengen knew that. You had opened up to him about your feelings for Giyuu over hot food and sake soon after you tried to see him at his estate. Tengen could see how much it bothered you, how you blamed yourself for something that wasn't your fault, how you didn't understand why Giyuu was avoiding you.
You swallowed and looked down at your feet. "No."
Tengen hummed and his eyes hardened with disappointment. He didn't tell you that he saw Giyuu just last week, or the fact that Giyuu wouldn't stop talking and asking about you. If you were eating enough, if you have been sleeping, if you looked happy.
Tengen placed his hand on your shoulder and gave you a polite squeeze. "Maybe you should go to his estate again."
Your heart twisted painfully in your chest.
"I don't know, Tengen. I don't think he wants to see me."
"Oh please. You went over there once when he wasn't home. That doesn't mean he's avoiding you!" he snapped.
Your head snapped up at him. "He hasn't answered any of my letters, Tengen! He hasn't come over even though I've told him multiple times in said letters that he could."
"It's Tomioka," Tengen reminded you as he rolled his eye. "The man is as dense as a rock."
You opened your mouth to argue but Tengen placed a large hand on your shoulder and silenced you. "I know you're afraid, but you both are going crazy without each other."
Your eyes widened. "How do you know?"
Tengen rolled his eyes. "I just do, okay? You talk about each other all the time."
You flinched at his words. "So, you've seen him?"
Tengen said your name, voice softening, eye twinkling. "That's not important right now. Look, you're not stupid. You've never been a stupid woman. But Tomioka has been a stupid man. You need to go to him if you ever want to see him again."
You crossed your arms and kicked dust with your feet. "Why do I have to be the one to do it?"
"I repeat: Tomioka is a stupid man. Try again. Today! Go over there and don't take his silence as an answer. Break down his door if you have to!"
Your mouth twitched in amusement. "'Break down his door?'"
"Yes! Because by God if I have to listen to either of you talk about the other for one second longer, I'm going to take out my other eye!" he exclaimed as he shook your shoulder.
"Oh my god! Fine!" you rolled your eyes at his dramatic nature. "I'll go there now, just, leave your good eye alone." You turned and left his estate without another word.
On your way to Giyuus home, you chewed on your fingernails as your mind ran in circles on what the hell you were supposed to say to him.
Your first thought was to be angry. He abandoned you, again, even after everything the two of you had been through.
But another part of you wanted to cry and hold him. You loved him, he said he loved you, said he wanted to marry you before the battle. But he still left. Never reached out. Left you behind.
Anger and sadness clashed together in your mind until his estate came into view.
Anxiety was the dominating emotion as you stared at the closed gate. Your body screamed at you to turn around, to give up, to go home and crawl into your bed and cry in self-pity.
The door drug on the gravel as you pushed it open enough to squeeze through. You stepped in and closed the gate behind you, cringing at the volume of the moving gravel.
You tiptoed through his courtyard and admired his garden. The gravel was racked into a beautiful pattern without a single weed which impressed you far more than it should. You could tell he took a lot of time out of his day to take care of his garden. The flowers in his garden were all open, bright, and smelled amazing.
You slowly approached the front door and with a shaky fist, knocked twice. You waited and tried to listen for movement with your good ear but couldn't hear anything. Embarrassed, you knocked again, a little louder, but still, nothing.
You sighed and lowered your fist. You cursed Tengen before you turned to leave, but then the door opened.
Your head snapped to the door, hand reaching out for the ghost of a sword, but then you relaxed.
"Giyuu?" you asked, voice small.
His blue eyes widened as he whispered your name in disbelief. His eyes scanned your face as if he forgot what you looked like.
Your eyes did the same and you held back a gasp when you noticed he cut his hair.
Neither of you said anything for a while. You just stared at each other, waiting for the other to make a move, say something, but everything was still.
You felt tears pool in your eyes and a lump grow in your throat. You forced yourself to swallow and with a shaky sigh you grew the courage to speak.
"You're cruel, you know that?" your own voice felt different. It was raw and broken as you stared at the person who has broken your heart over and over again yet held it so gently, like it was a flower from his garden.
"I've written you letters. Waited for you to come by the house," you pointed a finger at him. "But you never reached out. Never came over." The tears began to fall, and you began to choke on your words.
Giyuu took one step closer, but you backed away from him.
"You're a cruel, cruel man, Giyuu Tomioka. I don't deserve this. After everything, I don't deserve it!"
You waited for a response. You watched his body, waited for him to move, but he didn't. He was frozen, staring at you, as if he couldn't tell if you were real or not.
You choked out another sob and wiped your eyes. You had hoped for a fight, a response, an apology, anything from him but he gave you nothing.
"Fine," you whispered under your breath. "I guess if you have nothing to say then... forget it. Have a good life, Tomioka." You turned on your heel and marched down the stairs to the gate, trying to keep your sobs quiet until you were far enough away.
A hand grabbed your forearm and stopped you in your tracks.
Giyuu whimpered your name and you could tell he was crying.
"Please, don't go," he begged, voice quiet.
You wiped your face on your sleeve. "Is that really all you have to say?" You heart twisted in your chest. "Damn you."
"I've been a coward," he began. "I haven't been fair to you, I know that."
Slowly, you turned and looked at him. He looked younger, healthier, like he had been getting proper rest. But his eyes are what stopped you. Giyuu looked at you with such intensity it was earth shattering. His eyes were begging you to stay, to listen, to hear him out.
"Please, stay. Let me explain."
You shook your head, lip quivering. "You broke my heart when you didn't come."
Giyuu shook his head, hand shaking and tightening on your arm. "Please! Please, let me explain! And... and then if you never want to see me again then," he looked nauseous at the thought. "Then we can go our separate ways."
You struggled with his words, with his pleading. You didn't want to stay; you didn't want to hear him out. You just wanted to go home. But this was Giyuu you were talking to. The same Giyuu that you grew up with. The same Giyuu who was one of your first friends. The same Giyuu that helped you grow as a warrior. The same Giyuu who stood up for you when that pervert tailor made you that goddamn uniform. The same Giyuu who was your first and last kiss.
So, you followed him to the engawa and sat down next to him with a healthy amount of distance and he talked.
He talked until he was practically blue in the face. Until he made sure he said everything he wanted to say without interruption. How at first he needed time to think, to adjust. How he didn't leave his bed for a week until deciding enough was enough and reached out to Tanjiro, to Tengen. But not to you because he could never get his words right and had a growing pile of crumbed papers sitting in the corner of his room all addressed to you.
All you could do was listen. You nodded every time he snuck a glance at you through his lashes. You hummed to encourage him to continue when he got hung up on his words. You listened and didn't look away until he was done.
He trailed off his final thought and the two of you sat in silence. The sound of birds chirping in the distance filed that silence until you finally looked away from him. You watched the clouds above you and tried to make up shapes to distract yourself from your shaky hands and quivering lip.
Giyuu shuffled. "You don't have to forgive me," he said, timidly.
You sighed and closed your eyes. "It's... a lot."
"I know," he admitted. "I'm so, so sorry."
"Please don't apologize," you asked and swallowed the lump in your throat. "I think I need some time to think."
You stood, fists down at your sides. "But," you bit your lip. "I'm open to the idea of... forgiveness."
Giyuu stood up behind you. "Really?"
You nodded. "But I'm going to need some effort from you from here on out. If I forgive you this time, I don't think I can the next," you threatened even though it made bile crawl up your throat, forcing you to swallow.
Giyuu nodded behind you. "I understand. I'll do better." He ran a hand through his hair. "Thank you."
Doubt clouded your mind but took his words with you and left his estate without another word.
Giyuu started sending you letter every day after that. He would ask how you were doing, if you had been to the market lately, if you've been eating enough. He also shared some details about how he was doing. How he visited Tengen and chewed out by the former Sound Pillar for how he's treated you, what he'd been eating, a new book he was reading.
It was... nice. Almost nostalgic. It reminded you of when you were kids and how the three of you passed notes back and forth under Master Urokodaki's nose.
In his most recent letter, Giyuu asked if he could come see you. To your surprise and his, you agreed, and now you waited anxiously for his knock.
You chewed on your nails and paced your living room for what felt like hours. You had deep cleaned your home though you felt silly for it when you remember it was just Giyuu coming over. He's seen your space in all stages of cleanliness throughout your lives, and you felt embarrassed that you scrubbed the floors so vigorously early that morning.
A knock to your door interrupted your pacing. You swallowed and wiped your clammy hands on your yukata before opening the door.
You gasped at the large bouquet of flowers presented in front of you. Giyuu peaked at you over the vibrant pedals and watched your reaction closely.
He cleared his throat and gave the bouquet a little shake, urging you to take it.
"For you," he said, trying to sound causal even though his heart was trying to burst out of his chest.
You took the flowers and gave them a sniff.
"Thank you," you said and stepped to the side. "Please, come in."
Giyuu nodded and entered your home for the first time in months. He toed off his shoes and followed you to your kitchen.
He watched you trim the flowers before putting them in a nice vase.
"They're from my garden," he told you. "I thought they smelled the best." He cringed at his own awkwardness. He felt sweaty, could you tell he was sweaty?
"They're beautiful. Maybe I need to have you come over to tend to my garden."
Giyuu smiled. "I could do that."
You were used to the silence in your home. You did live alone after all. But this silence was different. It was thick, awkward, filled with tension.
Giyuu leaned against the wall of your kitchen. His eyes traveled up and down your body, allowing himself the privilege to look at you in such a domestic setting.
"You look beautiful," he whispered into the silence.
You tensed at his words and cursed your warming cheeks.
"I don't think I've ever seen you in that color before," he continued.
You glanced down at your yukata. It was new, you thought the color complimented your skin tone nicely and liked the designs on the front. Your hair was held by a hairpin that matched, the beads almost the exact same color of the fabric.
"I bought this at the market a couple days ago," you told him.
He hummed in acknowledgement.
You finished meddling with the flowers and gestured towards your teapot. "Tea?"
Giyuu swallowed, throat drying the longer he looked at you. "Please."
The two of your moved through your home like you were walking on eggshells. Stiff, tiptoeing around the space afraid that the slightest movement would scare the other away.
You sipped on the tea in silence on opposite sides of your table. You kneeled in front of each other and sipped. You would glance at him over your cup and would tense when your eyes would meet over the rims.
"I saw Tanjiro the other day," you decided to say, tired of the quiet.
Giyuu hummed. "He mentioned that he was going to see you. He seemed excited. Has it been a while seen you've last seen each other?"
You circled a finger around the rim of your cup with a raised eyebrow pointed at him. "Like you don't know. That boy tells you everything."
Giyuu smiled fondly. "He's a good kid."
Conversation remained light between the two of you for a while. It was all the same stories and topics you shared in your letters, but it felt nice to hear anyway. You were happy for the break in tension.
As your cups ran empty and the stories faded it grew quiet between the two of you again.
You sighed and pushed your cup with your finger.
"I missed you," Giyuu said.
And just like that the tension came back tenfold, grasping at your throat and squeezing at his words.
You frowned and sat up. "Thank you for stopping by," you gestured to your door and shifted to get ready to stand. "It was nice having you."
Giyuu said your name, "don't do that."
"Do what?" you asked, acting clueless.
He said your name again and leaned forward. "I'm sorry."
You shook your head. "Please don't."
"I wanted to reply to your letters before-"
Giyuu ran a hand through his hair. "And I'm sorry for that."
"Stop it," you snapped. "Stop apologizing."
"No!" Giyuu sat up straighter. "I will apologize over and over again until you stop looking at me like that."
"Like what?" you scoffed.
"Like I'm just some random guy sitting in your house."
"Well, right now you are."
You watched the hurt flash on Giyuus face, but he was quick to hide it. "I told you that I would do anything to make you forgive me."
"And what if that never happens, huh? What if I tell you to get out and that I never want to see you again?"
"Do it then! Don't hang it over my head!"
You pointed a finger at him. "Don't you dare get mad at me. This is your fault!"
"Then why are you yelling at me like it's mine?!"
Giyuu stood and you copied him. You glared at each other of the table and empty cups.
"You were the one that broke his promise."
"I needed time! I told you that!" Giyuu shook his head in disbelief. "I told you why I did it. I told you how I regret it. Damnit, I love you!"
"'Love me?!'" you couldn't help but let out a humorless laugh. "That was love? You ignoring me? You avoiding me? That was you loving me?"
GIyuu sighed through his nose, his glare darkening. "I will do anything to take it back, but I can't. I can't take it back! I regret it. But I will do everything in my power to make it up to you."
"I still don't understand why it's so hard for you to keep one promise."
"Because you're a coward?"
Neither of you spoke for a moment. Your heavy breaths filled the tight space. Your hands were wrapped in tight fists at your sides, knuckles white with a slight tremble.
Your eyes were watery, but you blinked rapidly to keep the tears at bay.
"I don't understand you," you choked out. "Muzan is gone. There are no more demons. And yet, you're still scared of losing me? What, you think you're going to wake up one day, come over, and find me dead on my floor?"
"Don't say that," he snapped. "Don't even joke about that."
"Then help me Giyuu! Help me understand because there's something I'm missing!" You wiped your face with your hands and began to pace in front of him. "It's all finally over. The training, the hunting, the killing, the blood, the screams, it's done. We finally have time to be normal people! To heal! We can take time out our days to learn how to sew, garden, and bake bread!" Your knees buckled but you caught yourself on a nearby wall. Giyuu reached out to steady you, but you rose a hand to stop him in his place. "Why don't you want that with me?" you asked pathetically.
GIyuu wiped his eyes on his sleeve and looked away from you. He glared at the front door and debated on whether to storm out or not. He bit his lip until he tasted copper.
"Time isn't guaranteed for us." Giyuu dug his fingers into his eyes and took a deep breath. He shook his head, still avoiding your eyes. "I don't think I can handle finally having you in my grasp... just for it to be taken away."
Realization sunk into your body.
You both had unlocked the mark during the battle. You both knew what that meant and it hung heavily in-between you.
"We can pretend to be normal. Sew, garden, bake bread," he sniffled. "But I don't want to wake up one day and have you not do the same." You finally caught his eye and he shrunk into himself. "I couldn't handle it."
"Then why even make an offer? Why beg for my forgiveness if you're so afraid?" you asked. Your skirts brushed the floor as you moved in front of him. You ducked your head to try and get into his line of sight that was now directed toward the ground.
You allowed the tears to fall down your cheeks. He looked so small... so broken by the thought that you won't get the time together that you deserve.
Giyuu choked out a sob and wiped his face on his sleeve. "Because I'm a selfish man," he shook his head. "A selfish, selfish man that loves you."
You choked on his words and allowed yourself to crumble to the floor.
Giyuu kneeled in front of you and didn't hesitate to pull you into his lap. You wrapped your arms around his waist and buried your face into his neck and sobbed. You cursed him as you cried but only pulled him in closer.
Giyuu cried into your shoulder, hand in the middle of your back to keep you against him. Your legs were straddling his thighs, locked together behind him back. You were curled into each other and let everything out. The weight of everything that has happened to you came crashing down in waves. The Infinity Castle, the screams, the blood, deaths of your comrades, your friends, the injuries you left with, everything.
When the sun began to set your sobs came to a stop. Your eyes were swollen and itchy, Giyuus were no better. Both of your shoulders were soaked in tears and snot, and your hips and backs were achy from sitting on the floor in such curled positions, but neither of you moved.
"Giyuu?" you whispered in his ear.
His hold on your back tightened as he hummed.
"I think I'd like to try again."
Giyuu cleared his throat and nuzzled into the soft skin of your neck. "Try what again?"
You slowly pulled away from his shoulder and wiped your face on your sleeve. Giyuus hand gripped the fabric of your yukata and his eyes widened in panic.
"Shh, shh, I'm not going anyway," you cupped his face and wiped his tear-stained cheeks. "I mean, try this retirement thing out again together. Enjoy the time we have with each other instead of hiding behind letters and closed doors."
Giyuu cleared his throat and gave you a small nod. "I would like that."
You hummed and slid your hand down his arm and pulled it out from behind your back to interlace your fingers with his. The callouses that once covered his hands were almost gone, his skin was soft and warm, a little clammy, but you didn't want to pull away.
"We'll take it slow, okay? Be selfish together."
Giyuu sniffled. "Yeah, I think I can do that."
You and Giyuu took things slow as you rebuilt your friendship without the pressure of time or fear of demons lurking in the dark.
It started with you teaching him how to make Mitsuri's bread recipe and enjoying it on his engawa later that evening.
Then he showed you his garden and what he learned from the many gardening books he picked up. He kept his word and began to make daily visits to your home to take care of your flowers. They were quite happy.
You showed him your sewing projects. You playfully smacked his shoulder when he laughed at your first attempt at making a shirt.
He invited you every time he went to visit Tanjiro and his friends. All of whom were so excited to see you.
When the two of you visited Tengen and his girls, Giyuu had been a gentleman the entire night. Probably because he chewed him out last time they talked, or maybe, just maybe, Giyuu was still thinking about how Tengen looked at you in that damn uniform. You glared at Tengen's teasing smirk when GIyuu pulled out your chair for you and offered to carry the sewing box Suma let you borrow so you could practice more at home.
You allowed him to guide you through the crowds at the market with his hand on your lower back even though he hated crowds.
He allowed you to brush his hair and fuss over how soft it had begun now that he was able to take frequent baths and wash it.
After a month, Giyuu had asked you on a date.
"Just dinner," he had said.
But it was more than that. The restaurant was nice and the food was some of the best you've had in a while. You couldn't remember the last time you smiled so much or laughed so hard.
Giyuu walked you home, like he always did, with an easy smile on his face. You held onto his bicep the entire time. Giggles slipping through your lips as you walked, the air light and warm.
When the two of you stood at your door, Giyuu looked down at you and smiled.
"I had fun tonight," he said.
You giggled and squeezed his arm before letting go. "Me too."
Giyuu lingered at the door like he wanted to say more but couldn't find his words.
"Giyuu, would you like to come in for bit?" you asked, fingers crossed behind your back.
Giyuu's eyes widened and he swallowed. "Sure."
The air outside may have been light, but inside, it thickened with anticipation. Nerves swam over the two of you, stealing shy glances before looking away with soft smiles and rosy cheeks.
You both said each other's names at the same time and chuckled.
"Please," Giyuu gestured to you. "You first."
"I just wanted to say thank you."
Giyuu took a step closer. "For tonight?" he asked.
You took a step. "For everything you've done for me this past month. I really appreciate all the effort you put into our time together."
Giyuu smiled and ran a hand through his hair, something you noticed he does more often now that it was short. "I promised you I would do better."
"Yes," you nodded and took a step. "I've enjoyed being selfish with you."
Giyuu took the final step so you were inches apart. Your chest bumped into his as you breathed. You stared at him longingly. Even after all this time, he was still the most handsome man you had ever seen; even more so now that he was getting proper sleep and ate three meals a day. He was finally at peace, and it looked so good on him.
"So, thank you," you whispered, looking up at him through your lashes.
Giyuu's eyes fluttered closed for a moment and he inhaled.
"I would do it all over again if it meant you forgave me for being such a coward."
You giggled, chest light, cheeks aching from how much you were smiling tonight.
Giyuu sighed in relief and pressed his forehead against yours, drinking you in.
"Does this mean I can kiss you again?" he asked.
His breath tickled your face, and you squirmed against him. "You've thought about kissing me again?"
"Only every time I look at you," a timid hand reached out and grabbed your hip. "Ever since I kissed you on your roof."
You gasped. "Really?" you asked, surprised.
"But didn't you want to say something too?"
Giyuu shook his head, his nose brushing against yours playfully. "Not important anymore."
You brought your hands up and hooked them around his neck. "Well, I think I've kept you waiting long enough, don't you?"
Giyuu shivered when your cold hands touched the back of his neck. "Mhm."
Not wanting to waste another second, you reached up and pressed your lips against his. You both let out sighs of relief when your lips slipped together just as easily as they did all those months ago. Giyuus hold on your hip tightened as he tugged you closer to him, body pressing against yours, eager to get as close to you as he possibly could. You stood on your tiptoes to press your lips harder against his and he groaned.
Kissing Giyuu washed away everything that had been swimming your brain for the last month. The guilt, the fear, the doubt, everything. You only felt him, his passion, his kindness, his love.
Your fingers crawled up the back of his neck and tangled into his hair. He moaned against your lips and pulled away just a hair to try and catch his breath.
"I never told you," you whispered against his lips. "But I really like your haircut."
Giyuu chuckled and placed a sweet peck on your lips. "Yeah?"
"Yeah. It's almost softer than it was before."
Giyuus hand cupped your cheek. "I'll keep that in mind," he teased with a smile before he kissed you again.
What started as sweet kisses turned into desperate swipes of the tongue, nibbles to the lip, all with sweet moans mixing with the wet sounds of two people relearning how to kiss each other.
You don't remember moving, but you gasped when your back suddenly came into contact with your bedroom door. Giyuu chased after your lips, unable to pull himself away from you for more than a second at a time. His touch was everywhere. Your hip, your back, your neck, in your hair, until his hand patted your butt and he asked you to jump.
You squealed in surprise when he caught you.
"I got you, don't worry," he promised before finally giving your lips a break and trailing his lips down your cheek to your jaw then your neck.
You couldn't stop the small moans from leaving your bruised lips as he nipped and licked at your sensitive skin. You rolled your hips against his, desperate to get closer to him and he groaned into your neck.
He gently set you back on your wobbly feet and pressed back against your hips to keep you still.
"Hold on, hold on, hold on," he begged. Giyuu looked down at you through his dark blue eyes and let out a soft moan before pressing his lips against yours once more like he was trying to savor your taste before he pulled away again.
He mumbled your name and nudged your nose with his, hand shaking in your hair like he was forcing himself to hold back.
"My values haven't changed," he choked out, voice thick with lust. "I don't want to stop, but I can't do this without you saying yes."
Even in your clouded mind you knew what he was trying to say and couldn't help but laugh.
You cupped his face lovingly, thumbs brushing against his pink cheeks.
Giyuu smiled at you, practically beaming before he slowly got down on both of his knees in front of you. He held your hand tight, fingers interlacing as he looked up at you with those bright blue eyes you have grown to love after all these years.
He said your name, practically purring it out of his bruised lips.
Your eyes watered and you fell to your knees in front of him.
"Yes," you chuckled with tears streaming down your face. You pecked his lips and sighed. "I'm sorry I didn't say it sooner."
Giyuu shook his head. "Don't be," he pecked your lips once, twice, three times. "You were worth the wait."
So, we all agree the cheek she kissed was the same one Sabito hit when they were kids, right? The same cheek where Giyuu's mark appeared? Yeah, yeah good.
Also Giyuu gives me vibes that he'd get on both knees to propose sorry not sorry.
This has been sitting in the drafts for a while so I'm happy it's finally finished! Hope you enjoyed! :D
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