#flame hashira

[rengokusaysumai]

*Puts a kiss mark sticker on your forehead and an IOU sticker on your cheek and walks away*

This is a first!

[rengokusaysumai]

"You just killed my friend," said a growling voice from behind

Well then, are you going to cause trouble too? I hadnt even had a meal yet!

[rengokusaysumai]

Good morning friends!

[rengokusaysumai]

Enjoying an evening outside friends!

[rengokusaysumai]

*up early, counting loudly. He will need a very hearty breakfast afterwards*

[meowzfordayz]

sweating is good medicine

Rengoku Kyojuro x Reader

Word Count: ~600

CW: implied death, platonic

Emergency Request Fulfilled: I hope this isn't too much to ask, but may I request platonic kyojuro with a depressed reader struggling after losing a loved one?

“Hello.”

“Hi.”

Kyojuro frowns, so accustomed to the usual swivel of your head at the sound of his voice, your typically welcoming grin notably absent. Then again, that is why he’s here.

“How are you?”

If it were anyone else asking, you’d cringe, but the softness in his question is evident.

You shrug, “Could be better,” offering him a faint grimace.

A sensation of laughter rises in his chest as he moves to stand beside you, your stare returning to the gnarled roots of your favorite tree. He thinks that you probably wouldn’t find his discomfort rude—in fact, you’d most definitely understand—but he isn’t trying to disturb you. It was easy enough to find you here; he would struggle much more to find you again were he to bother you away.

“I know,” you sigh, “I look pretty pathetic.”

“That is not what I was going to comment on,” he counters evenly.

“Well, I feel pretty pathetic too.”

“Would you like a hug?”

He doesn’t wait for your reply, which is helpful considering you didn’t really have one. Between the Are you okay?’s and the What can I do?’s and the worst Do you want to talk about it?’s, you’re just so tired of coming up with answers. Of course I’m not okay! You could do my laundry! You could bring me food! You could drag me out of bed, preferably sometime before noon! And What is there to talk about? They’re… y’know… they’re gone. Dead! Nothing left to say.

“I am going to hug you now.”

The heat of a thousand suns embraces you before you can blink, and it occurs to you that this is the first time Kyojuro’s ever hugged you. You didn’t realize you could start sweating so quickly, and you also didn’t realize how utterly alone you’ve been.

“It’s been so hard,” you whimper into his chest, a strong hand smacking patting the middle of your back while a rigid arm keeps you close and secure, “I’m exhausted and nobody knows what to do or say and everything feels wrong and I don’t know how to make anything right anymore,” his arm loosening slightly in concern as you begin gulping for air, “Kyojuro.”

I am not going anywhere as he steadies his own breaths, the hand on your back coaxing you into following his lead.

I am sorry for your loss as you wipe your nose on his shirt, a low chuckle escaping him.

Let us be not alone, together as you giggle through a watery hiccup, his warmth absorbing another sob as it rolls through and, for the first time in months, out of your body.

“You’re very damp,” you mutter, pulling away with a faint smile.

Kyojuro laughs, bright and unabashed as he declares, “I run hot!”

“I’ve never gotten this sweaty from a hug before.”

“Sweating is good medicine!”

You snort, eyes red, swollen, and finally able to look at him, “Thank you.”

“The next time everything feels wrong,” he says gently, “I will settle into the discomfort, the pain, the grief, with you, and I will hug you out of it.”

You sniffle, “What if the next time happens every five minutes?”

“I am certain that the power of friendship will slowly and surely keep the next time at bay for longer and longer.”

“I thought it was the sweat that was gonna heal me?”

“I can provide both.”

[rengokusaysumai]

The night is young friends!

[rengokusaysumai]

This is adorable, they are so tiny!