Chapter Text
“Was it really necessary to take this many photos?” Giyuu questioned, looking quite intimidated by the large stack of pictures Kyoujurou had taken.
“Of course! Every day is a treasure and every moment is to be savored!” Kyoujurou responded. Giyuu knew he’d say that. He knew just how much every moment of life was important to the other man, positive or negative. He deemed all of it worth living. The wonder in his expressions made Giyuu fall even more in love every day. So of course, of course he would say that. He watched the man he loved pick one up and smile especially tenderly at it. “Look at this one.”
Giyuu peered over at the photo. Ah. It was all of them. Kyoujurou, Giyuu, Senjurou, Tanjirou, Nezuko…Muichirou, Inosuke and Zenitsu who were all somehow invited along. It was intended to be a little family trip of sorts to take Senjurou into the city. They knew his goal would be to add more books to his collection, and Kyoujurou came up with the great idea of inviting Tanjirou and Nezuko along. After all, they both affectionately referred to two as family as well as the Tomiokas and Kamados were already one large family with Sakonji Urokodaki. And as weak as the two are to these three, when they asked to invite their friends along were they really going to say no to them? In the photo, Giyuu stood straight and looked straight forward. Nezuko and Senjurou looked forward as well, polite and kind smiles on their faces for the photo. Muichirou was…staring upwards, perhaps? At the sky? He seemed to be ignoring what was happening and yet complied for every photo. Inosuke and Zenitsu appeared to be fighting – probably provoked by Inosuke – and Tanjirou seemed desperate to break the fight up. Kyoujurou was next to Giyuu, a large grin on his face and doing weird, silly motions with his hands that made him seem like he was dramatically reacting to the scene next to him.
What an odd group they were.
“I think your sister would like to see that.” Kyoujurou was right. Giyuu could imagine the look on Tsutako’s face now. He would have to send it to her later. Then he could hear the man next to him desperately stifling little laughs. “Wait–wait! Look at this one!”
Giyuu focused his attention on the next photo presented to him. Immediately, he was unimpressed. “You really saved that one? Isn’t it a waste of space?”
–
Earlier that morning, Giyuu found himself caught by Kyoujurou.
“Hm? What are you writing?” Giyuu placed his hands over the paper, not really in an attempt to hide it but more of a challenge. Kyoujurou leaned forward, tilting his head in absolute unwavering curiosity. His hair still disheveled from sleep as it were early in the morning, Giyuu couldn’t help but turn away as his face turned red at the sight.
“Nothing important, really…just, a list.” Giyuu replied, not bothering to elaborate further, as he does. Kyoujurou’s curiosity isn’t that easy to satisfy however, so he leaned forward even more.
“Hmmm?” A familiar twinkle in his expression had Giyuu knowing when to give up and spare the effort of trying. He pulled his hands from the paper, allowing the other man to snatch it up instantly. “Wait, is this…”
“It’s for our trip today.” Giyuu did not mince his words. Yes, it was a list of events for the trip they planned. In truth, he had already planned it all out until the invitation of Muichirou, Inosuke, and Zenitsu and then had to brainstorm more ideas to make sure everyone had an enjoyable experience. It was just supposed to be for Senjurou. How bothersome. (And yet, his determination to make it as such proves otherwise). He had everything planned perfectly. They would start with lunch, a menu that has the perfect sweet potato miso soup for Kyoujurou. Then a historical site for Tanjirou, Senjurou and Kyoujurou once more. Since they all have a fascination to learn about things. Next, Nezuko had been talking about some outfit she wished she could buy in place of the one she had to keep patching up but was unable to, so Giyuu promised to set aside a chance to get that for her. Then, Senjurou and the ideal selection for books…The other 3 were trickier, but –
“How lovely.” Kyoujurou’s voice was sweet around the edges, so much so that it made Giyuu’s heart stir. Why did the other man find it so lovely, anyways? He noticed his eyes scanning the contents of Giyuu’s plans for the trip. “You’re really taking this seriously, aren’t you?”
“I am just trying to make sure they don’t have anything to complain about,” Giyuu explained simply. Kyoujurou grinned knowingly, fumbling around the currently messy counter in search of something. They’d really have to clean this later. They’ve been quite busy lately.
“You’re amazing, you know that?” Giyuu opened his mouth to retort but quickly shut it and glanced away. Kyoujurou’s loving gaze was too much. “Ah! Found it! May I?” Giyuu looked back, seeing the other man holding a camera. He was confused, honestly but he nodded his head. He snapped a photo.
“Is that really necessary?”
“I’ve decided to go all out as well! I’ll capture all of the best parts of it all!” Including this one?
–
“Of course I did!” Kyoujurou placed it down, folding his arms in a way that made it seem like the answer was obvious. What was so memorable about Giyuu being that meticulous? “It was the start of the day.”
Giyuu said nothing. How could he? The praise of Kyoujurou was too much for him. At times he felt undeserving of such gazes and words from such a highly respected and honorable man who always spoke in blunt and honest ways. Even harshly, Giyuu knew. And it was appreciated when it was needed. A man that he loved so much, would give anything for. Words were much more difficult for him, so he conveyed it in other ways. He expressed his gratitude just now by reaching for Kyoujurou’s hand and giving it a gentle squeeze before looking at the photos that he was sorting through. The next one he picked up immediately made his eyes narrow. Oh, right…After all, their first stop had been the restaurant that serves the sweet potato miso soup.
He had not accounted for Inosuke on this one. He looked at a photo of Kyoujurou eating enthusiastically and a quite angry Inosuke pouting next to him.
–
“Hey! You!” Inosuke’s voice broke any peace that Giyuu could’ve possibly found on their walk. Muichirou and Senjurou walked ahead of the group, chatting quietly whilst Nezuko stood next to Giyuu. Behind them, he could hear the shushing of Tanjirou and mumbles of complaints from Zenitsu. Of course those three would crowd around Kyoujurou. Inosuke ignored his friends. “I challenge you!”
“Mm? Challenge me?” Giyuu assumed that Kyoujurou was continuing to look straight forward based on the annoyed sounds of Inosuke feeling ignored.
“Yes! You seem like the leader around here,” Inosuke explained himself. What does that even mean? “But Lord Inosuke should be the one and only!” Giyuu could hear Kyoujurou hum lightly, playing along. Almost as if he enjoyed the idea of a challenge.
“I understand! Then whatever it is, I will accept your challenge!” Inosuke cheered and when Giyuu noticed Nezuko stop he then stopped too.
“But what are you challenging him to, Inosuke?” Nezuko asked, smiling. Was she provoking this further on purpose? Maybe they underestimated her. Giyuu gave a worried glance to Senjurou and Muichirou to make sure they were still in sight.
“Could it wait until after we eat?” Giyuu asked, the first time he had spoken during the entire conversation. Well, that may have been a mistake in its own right.
Inosuke quickly grew accustomed to Kyoujurou’s big appetite and they could all tell what was coming before he even spoke.
“I CHALLENGE YOU!” Inosuke loudly proclaimed, pointing towards Kyoujurou who just continued to eat his share happily. “Whoever finishes the most becomes the leader!”
Many servings later, Inosuke has long lost the battle and Kyoujurou continues to eat. Giyuu got a little lost watching the whole thing and already knew he wanted to add a picture of Kyoujurou eating happily to their list, but he was certain that the inclusion of everyone else would make it even better. So he snapped a photo.
–
He also noticed, in the photo, Zenitsu laughing devilishly and Tanjirou worriedly patting his friend on the back. He realizes now, regrettably, that nobody else was in the photo as they were on Giyuu’s side. The commotion they had caused was certainly troublesome. Many people had been staring as Inosuke would yell in anger, and Kyoujurou would proclaim how much he loved his food. Giyuu could’ve only imagined how much worse it would’ve been if –
“Ahhh, yes! I wish Kanroji would have been there!”
– If Mitsuri had been there as well. She could’ve had even Kyoujurou beat on this one, they all knew. She was longtime friends with Kyoujurou. And even though it would’ve been much noisier, Giyuu found himself agreeing. She was quite nice to him. Obanai, who was often side by side with her, often glared at him though. But he wouldn’t mind seeing them again. “Maybe we can invite her to come if we go again,” Giyuu suggested absentmindedly.
“Yeah! I’ll make sure to tell her about it,” Kyoujurou nodded. They owe some thanks to Mitsuri for them finding each other in the first place. She sure knows her way around feelings of love. And yet when Kyoujurou said that her and Obanai had not yet confessed to each other he found himself puzzled. Were they not aware of the way that they looked at each other? No matter…it was none of Giyuu’s business. He should not be one to speak of obliviousness, after all.
He flipped to the next photo. This was an odd one to him.
Kyoujurou leaned over, bumping his shoulder into Giyuu’s and leaning into him. “Hmmm…” They both thought about this one for a moment, trying to recall exactly what had been said there. Muichirou and Senjurou sat in front of a bunch of flowers. Muichirou, who looked away in thought in most photos, offered a smile to the camera in this one. He had given one to Senjurou too, Giyuu remembered.
–
They had to take a break after their meal. It had been simply exhausting, Giyuu apologizing profusely before leaving in case that they had been incredibly disruptive. So they sat in a park and Giyuu closed his eyes. Inosuke, Tanjirou, Zenitsu, and Nezuko had all scattered together while still being in sight whilst Senjurou and Muichirou stayed near Giyuu and Kyoujurou. Giyuu closed his eyes briefly whilst Kyoujurou and Senjurou listened to Muichirou speak in interest.
Muichirou rarely spoke this entire time, usually preferring to listen to Senjurou discuss books or Nezuko share stories of her adventures with Makomo in school (Giyuu hadn’t known they were such close friends). But all of a sudden he surprised them all by speaking at length about birds that passed by or, especially now the flowers that they could find. He was very, very knowledgeable about such topics apparently. He even spoke of red spider lilies, a flower currently not present in this park. How odd.
“...The blue on this flower petal reminds me of the blue spider lily.” Muichirou spoke, tone suddenly focused and serious. Giyuu’s eyes opened in sudden interest and he noticed Kyoujurou’s confused expression and Senjurou’s complete intrigue. Senjurou had moved to sit next to Muichirou to get a better look at the flowers.
“Blue spider lily?” Senjurou asked, a sudden excitement in his eyes that reminded Giyuu of Kyoujurou when he’d get particularly enthusiastic about something. “I’ve never heard of that…even in any of the books I’ve read…Oh, wait! There was one…about demons…”
Muichirou smiled kindly at Senjurou. “Yeah, exactly.” Senjurou gasped in understanding, but Kyoujurou still seemed confused.
“Is it not fictional?” Kyoujurou asked, speaking Giyuu’s thoughts into reality. “I have never heard of the blue spider lily.”
“It is not real,” Giyuu said. Muichirou looked down at the flower for a moment, as if lost in thought. The blue spider lily did not exist. He had never heard of it.
“I see…” Muichirou mumbled. “Senjurou, what do you think?”
“Truly…there is no record of them existing, but,” Senjurou looked at Muichirou in awe. “I can’t help but wonder if they do.” Muichirou smiled again. This exchange felt odd to Giyuu. As if the idea of a blue spider lily felt strangely familiar. Kyoujurou looked over at Giyuu, as if asking the same thing. Then they both looked at the younger boys, who smiled and continued to ramble.
“You two! Would you mind if I took a picture of you and the flowers!” Kyoujurou asked. They nodded.
–
“...” Giyuu still felt the uncertainty of knowing but not knowing here. Muichirou was very knowledgeable on flowers. So why focus on one that doesn’t even exist? Regardless, seeing the two boys be so enthusiastic and talkative was nice. Senjurou was often nervous and kept to himself so even Giyuu almost felt a sense of pride and joy seeing him enjoy himself so openly.
“Tokitou is such a smart kid!” Kyoujurou said, still leaning on Giyuu’s shoulder with his arms folded. “He seems oblivious but Senjurou says that he’s always paying attention to his surroundings.”
“Indeed,” Was Giyuu’s only response. He noticed his care and kindness throughout the day in his own way, especially to Senjurou, Nezuko and Tanjirou. He was more attentive than it seemed, although perhaps he wasn’t good at conveying his mood. He was much like Giyuu in that regard.
“Senjurou also says that he suffered a bad incident,” Kyoujurou began, tone serious and sad. “Since then he has lost his memories but has been slowly getting them back.”
Both of them chose to ignore the implication that this ‘blue spider lily’ is involved with previous memories. It was too complicated. “...I see…maybe we should invite him again next time.” Kyoujurou simply nodded in response, in thought now. He rubbed circles on Kyoujurou’s back with his hand without even realizing he was doing so.
They fumbled around their stacks of photos for a moment before Kyoujurou accidentally dropped one. “Oh! …Oh, yeah! This one…” It caught their attention at the same time. A photo of the two of them with the Kamado siblings in front of a trail that led them to the historical site that Giyuu had planned on the list. Senjurou had taken the photo for them. This was one specifically requested by Tanjirou to be sent to them.
–
“Um…” Tanjirou fumbled with his hands for a moment, seeming to stall time to find the words he was searching for. Giyuu was worried to see him look so troubled.
“Hm? Kamado my boy, what is wrong?” Kyoujurou asked. Kyoujurou, Giyuu and Nezuko all paused for him. Giyuu still kept a watchful eye on the others though, although he knew that Senjurou was a good voice of reason and that miraculously, the others did listen to him.
“Oh, nothing! Nothing is wrong! It’s great, in fact…” Tanjirou waved his hands in hopes of clearing the misunderstanding from the air. Giyuu tilted his head.
“Then…?”
“I am just so grateful!” He bowed to them so quickly that they both flinched in surprise. “Thank you for this trip! I know that Giyuu planned this part of it for me and I do not know how to say thank you enough. For everything!”
Giyuu couldn’t help but allow his normally stoic expression to soften at that. The Kamado kids had that effect on him. They were practically his siblings at this point. He couldn’t resist the urge to reach forward and ruffle the boy’s hair. He was unsure of what to say here. This is where Kyoujurou came in.
“He was happy to do it! We love you guys, after all!” Kyoujurou confirmed, Giyuu nodding in response. Kyoujurou gave a wink Giyuu’s way. “Knowing that you’re happy is far more than enough of a repayment!”
Tanjirou smiled widely at that. “You guys…Thank you again, really! Giyuu has done so much for us…and ever since Rengoku came into our lives too he’s been such an inspiration…I’ve learned so much from him…!” He seemed to be fighting tears at this point, causing Giyuu to panic.
Nezuko laughed softly, nodding her head in agreement. Both Kamados then lunged forward to hug Giyuu. “--Ah!?” Giyuu let out a noise in surprise and was unable to even pretend to be annoyed, welcoming the embrace and smiling. “Y-You two…”
“Can we take a picture of us four together? It would mean a lot to us,” Tanjirou requested.
“Of course, Kamado!” Kyoujurou was eager and quick to arrange this one.
–
Both of them smiled fondly. Tanjirou was a great kid. He was very straightforward and considerate. Giyuu knew that he’d achieve many wonderful things in his future. And ever since Tanjirou had met Kyoujurou when he’d introduced the two, he started referring to him as some sort of inspiration. Kyoujurou was currently studying to become a teacher so it made sense. To Giyuu’s amusement, that is. “You were great here. Thank you,” Giyuu replied gratefully.
Kyoujurou chuckled. “I simply spoke the truth of both of us! …They really love you, you know. You always say how what you do is nothing, that you aren’t kind…but I think that they have more than proven that incorrect.”
Giyuu couldn’t respond to that. His face flushed red as Kyoujurou cupped his cheek so that he could place a quick peck to Giyuu’s lips. “I…I see…and you. You’re so naturally good at encouraging them. You’ll be a good teacher, Kyoujurou.”
Both remained silent for a moment, admiring each other dearly. “Hold on Giyuu! Where is that one…?!”
“Which one?”
Kyoujurou searched swiftly through the remaining photos, brow furrowed in concentration as if he were missing the most important photo of all. “Ah! Found it. For a moment, I thought you were hiding this one from me.” His face seemed mischievous.
“...?” Giyuu glanced at the photo. Ah. Kochou.
–
The next stop was the downfall of Giyuu’s wallet. But it was okay, he had planned and anticipated this. This was why he had planned this part of the whole trip. For Nezuko, who was always too kind for her own good. She would never purchase herself things that she wanted in favor of saving the money for her dear siblings. Tanjirou had told him as much. He had the money set aside specifically for this. “Pick out what you’ve been wanting.”
Nezuko seemed touched beyond words, tearing up. Much like with Tanjirou, Giyuu sighed and ruffled her hair. “Th-thank you, Giyuu…!” This went beyond material goods, it was the thought and care that went into their actions. They understood this well.
Giyuu was left on his own for a moment. The first moment for the entire day that he was alone. And that felt pretty good.
“Oh~? Could it be?” Sudden, delicate yet sharp pokes to his arm. Giyuu recognized this voice anywhere. “Hey, hey…Tomioka, is that really you?” He was unamused.
“Kochou. Can you not tell that it is me?” He asked, still looking straight ahead, brows furrowing. Her poking did not cease, yet it lightened a bit. She laughed, one not unlike her sister’s but definitely more forced. He wondered why she felt like she needed to force herself in a way.
“Hmm…but it is rather unusual to see you in a place like this! I thought that you may be an impostor,” Shinobu replied, stating it as if she actually believed it could be the case. Giyuu made a bothered noise in response. It may seem like they are annoyed by each other but they are actually very close friends. Based on mutual respect and understanding. They have been there for each other in low moments.
“Oh my! There you are!” A voice that belonged to Kanae, who was followed closely by a widely grinning Kyoujurou. What gives. Kanae seemed delighted. “What a wonderful coincidence that you two have already found each other~!”
And thus Giyuu became the subject of teasing of the Kochou sisters, embarrassed beyond words when they eventually spoke of his earlier relationship with Kyoujurou years ago and how much more oblivious they had been. Kyoujurou at some point even seemed red in the face, but it could’ve just been his imagination.
“Lady Kochous! I think it must be fate that we had a chance to speak today,” Kyoujurou spoke confidently after a while. “We must solidify this as a memory! As we have been all day!” Kyoujurou made it too easy for them.
“How sweet!” Kanae chirped in response. Giyuu was stuck in a photo with the two merciless Kochou sisters as he noticed Nezuko look at the clothing that Tanjirou had mentioned that she adored. She looked briefly before turning away. He knew what was up.
“Nezuko. This is the one you want, right? Let’s get it.”
–
“Hahaha! Young Kochou has so many funny stories about you. I never realized how long you had known each other,” Kyoujurou commented with a laugh, making Giyuu grumble under his breath. Yes, she loved to share many details of the many years they had known each other. “I was a bit surprised that they had remembered when we first met though!”
“Please...let’s not discuss it any further…” A warning. Giyuu remembers embarrassing himself greatly in front of Kyoujurou the first time that they had met. They fell in love regardless. Giyuu supposed in a roundabout way, he was glad to be reminded of the past too. It was nice to see Shinobu and Kanae again. Kanao and Aoi had apparently tagged along as well, as they had enthusiastically talked to Nezuko as Giyuu sacrificed a large amount of money that he had set aside. Shinobu and Kanae were doing a great thing, looking after those girls that needed it.
Sighing, Giyuu placed it in a pile that has been basically assigned an unspoken ‘keep’ at this point. Kyoujurou grinned.
They were nearing the end of Kyoujurou’s photo efforts. He really did catch as many moments as possible. Hence why they needed to sort through them in the first place. Giyuu just had to be the voice of reason on that one. Ah.
“Kyoujurou…” Giyuu carefully handed the photo atop his dwindling pile to the other man.
“Oh…thank you!” It was a photo of Senjurou and Kyoujurou, carrying Senjurou’s mountain of books. The initial goal of this little day out. Both seemed equally giddy, which was a little funny considering not one of the books were for Kyoujurou.
Upon closer inspection, Giyuu realized something.
–
They had all scattered to search for books suited to their tastes. Giyuu quite liked the atmosphere in this store much more than the earlier one. Even the louder kids of the bunch in Zenitsu and Inosuke seemed calmer here. Here, he could also relax a bit more. Finally, some long needed quiet –
“Giyuu?” He was surprised to be met with Senjurou. The boy seemed in awe and wonder of the literature around them. Kyoujurou said that he loved reading but he didn’t stress that he enjoyed it this much. It seems passion is a constant in the Rengoku family no matter what those passions are towards. Senjurou already had a few books held tightly in his arms, but he looked at Giyuu as if he had something of major importance to say.
“Senjurou. What is it?”
“I…I overheard the conversation earlier with Tanjirou and Nezuko,” He confessed. “I am sorry for intruding on something so personal!” Was that all? Giyuu did not mind. His sincerity did remind him of a certain someone, though. “But…um…I also wanted to thank you.”
Now, what could Senjurou possibly have to thank Giyuu for? Perplexing, Giyuu thought. Shouldn’t this be more for Kyoujurou than him? “I’ll get –”
“Don’t!” His demand startled Giyuu for a moment. “This is a thank you to you, for looking after my big brother. I have always feared that he pushes away some of his feelings but there was never a way to get him to understand but…he seems happy. There is an uncertainty missing now that was there before. So, thank you, for everything you’ve done for him.”
Giyuu knows all too well of Kyoujurou often playing the role of strong. And that he so stubbornly refuses to let himself just be weak. He’d do anything if it meant the happiness of Senjurou. It touched his heart to see the younger of the Rengoku brothers share the same sentiment of care for the other.
“Also…” Giyuu tilted his head, at Senjurou’s sudden continuation. “Do you have any recommendations?”
–
He looked closely at the photo. There was no mistaking it. He definitely chose all of the books that Giyuu had recommended on a whim. He managed to find room amongst the stack he carried to consider them. It was kind of a funny sight.
Similarly funny was Kyoujurou, the absolute love of his life he is, carrying the rest and winking brightly for the camera – always so very aware of it being there. He had insisted that this be the photo they took. ‘The books are traveling to their new home!’ he had said. So odd, yet so so endearing.
Kyoujurou does not know the full extent of this memory the way Giyuu does, and that is okay. Senjurou had him promise to not bring it up, as to not cause any concern to the older Rengoku about worrying his younger brother. Why were they both so overly considerate like that?
Shaking his head, Giyuu realized that they had reached the end of their pile. Something about this felt empty. As if a very crucial piece to the puzzle was missing. He glanced at Kyoujurou, who seemed to be thinking the same thing. He frowned, unsatisfied. Was something missing? Wordlessly, they both searched through everything again. Kyoujurou picked through their save pile whilst Giyuu flipped through the toss away ones. Where could it be?
Unfortunately, the one that they looked for was nowhere to be found. Kyoujurou’s face fell into his hands, releasing a groan. Perhaps the completionist sides to them wished that they had captured this part too. “Damn it…I forgot…” Giyuu’s lips found their way into a pout, not so much at Kyoujurou but at the realization of the situation. “It seems I was too distracted to think about it.”
Giyuu too. They had both been taking so many photos or asking for them to be taken by others but it seemed it completely slipped their minds at the last stop of their day out. One entirely unplanned stop. He wished…
“Sorry Giyuu.”
“No, I…I wasn’t thinking either…” They both knew why.
No matter. They could simply remember.
–
In Giyuu’s mind, the day was complete. Not without bumps along the way, namely the antics of Inosuke, Zenitsu and Tanjirou, but it was a success. All of them were happy, and Giyuu was completely exhausted. He’d do anything to fall into bed and fall asleep in silence. Doing this sort of thing drained him immensely. So much so that he barely even realized that the rest of the group were avoiding him now.
Barely, that is. He narrowed his eyes at all of them crowding around Kyoujurou. They all whispered things in hushed secrets. His boyfriend was even taking part in it. If he hadn’t known better, he’d say he was the leader of this new little group. Huh, maybe Inosuke was right then. They all trailed ahead of him, continuing their little secrecy. No matter, Giyuu did not need to know what was happening. He would save himself the trouble. The occasional stolen glances from them were quite frustrating though.
A tug on his wrist. Kyoujurou. “Giyuu, I propose that we head this way!” Giyuu was confused at that. The way that they had initially gotten here was efficient, quick… “No, I demand it!” As if Kyoujurou knew that he wasn’t having any of it. The grip on his wrist tugged him along and he sighed, simply allowing it to happen. He never had it in him to deny Kyoujurou’s requests.
He led the whole group up a sloped path, quite the long one mind you. Just as Giyuu was tiring of this whole vague situation, Kyoujurou came to a complete halt suddenly. This made Giyuu bump into his side. The sun has long since set now. Why did he stop? They were not home.
“This is our final stop.” Kyoujurou stated confidently, earning the vigorous nod of Zenitsu who seemed to be the one who gave him the idea to make a final stop. For…Giyuu? Before being able to ask any questions, Giyuu’s gaze was captured by the night sky. The view from up here was…incredible.
“Wow…” He said, a near whisper.
“I said that there were much cooler locations to take the person you love to view, but he had to choose this…” Zenitsu grumbled, rolling his eyes. He didn’t seem that disappointed though. “Never listens, this guy! He’s just like him.”
“What!?” Inosuke jumped in immediately. “The hell did you just say?”
“What do you mean, what? I said–”
“Now, now…guys…” Tanjirou’s voice was kind but firm. Zenitsu ceased immediately, turning away in favor of looking at the night sky as well. Inosuke took a bit more persuasion on Tanjirou’s part, eventually folding his arms and looking away with a huff. Somewhere in the background, Nezuko was motioning for Senjurou and Muichirou to go look at something. Perhaps they were going to talk about the stars, Giyuu did not know for sure.
He was in awe.
“Do you like it?” He turned his attention to Kyoujurou, looking at him with an almost worried expression. Did he think he wouldn’t?
“It’s amazing…” Giyuu found his composure lost. Kyoujurou grabbed his wrist to tug him away once again before hesitating, instead sliding his hand down to intertwine their fingers. Much better, they mutually thought. He motioned for Giyuu to come with him, moving to sit down in a spot where they could be in each other’s presence.
Giyuu felt that if it were possible to fall in love with a person a second time, this definitely would have been that time. “I discovered this spot a long time ago,” Kyoujurou explained. “Before I met you. At the time I…”
The other man breathed for a moment, as if his next words troubled him. Like they were forbidden for him to say.
“I felt pretty lost. But coming here calmed me down quite a bit! Made the weight lift off of my shoulders. It made me feel at peace.” Giyuu continued to listen intently, wanting to soak in every detail the man had to offer for him. It wasn’t often that he would speak of such vulnerability. The other swallowed heavily before continuing. “It reminds me a lot of you, actually!”
Well. Giyuu certainly wasn’t prepared for that one. He couldn’t contain himself, grabbing Kyoujurou by his shirt and pulling him close to him so that he could give him a kiss, waiting for a confirmation from Kyoujurou which he eagerly got. He loved him so much.
Upon catching his breath, Kyoujurou continued. “And I also figured that you would find beauty and peace in it too.” He did. He truly did. And he was more than grateful that Kyoujurou thought all of this about him. He had absolutely no idea how much it meant to Giyuu. Who had always seen himself lesser in comparison to others, unable to rid of the feeling of inferiority and helplessness. Who resigned himself to loneliness. It meant everything to him.
So maybe he got a little lost in the moment, after settling for a peaceful quiet by Kyoujurou’s side as they sat and admired the view of the sky for a little while. The only noise was from the others. Eventually, they all got up to go back home. It had been the most amazing day out in town that Giyuu had ever had.
–
The two reminisced in silence. They never thought to get the group together for one final photo here…a foolish mistake. Not that it wouldn’t be difficult to take a good one in the darkness, but to immortalize the memory…
Suddenly Giyuu’s phone lit up with a notification. Both glanced over curiously. From Tanjirou.
‘We thought you’d want to add this to your collection. Since you forgot!’ Attached to the message was a photo of Giyuu and Kyoujurou as they sat. Everyone else was barely in frame and making silly happy faces.
Seriously? Giyuu couldn’t help but laugh. This startled Kyoujurou, who just had to see what the message was now. His face lit up with amusement as well. The day was saved by Tanjirou’s kindness. It was a really silly photo – especially the expression they were all making whilst Kyoujurou and Giyuu were none the wiser…you could tell they had completely been taken in by watching the stars. Regardless, that one little piece to the puzzle was filled and the day was complete.
“Hmm…next time, where do you think we should all go?” Kyoujurou mused aloud.
“Next time?” Giyuu sounded exhausted, fighting a smile but ultimately lost as it slowly took over his expression.
“You see, I was thinking…”