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The gaps between when he was home and when he was not were unbearable at times. Yes, absolutely, you had a life and responsibilities and passions outside of your relationship with Rengoku Kyoujuro. But your life was so much fuller, brighter, more vibrant when your lover was in your arms. And so it was that you would visit the Rengoku household even when Kyoujuro wasn’t home because at least you could commiserate his absence with the two others that loved him most. Not to mention it gave Kyoujuro a kind of peaceful ease in his face and the set of his shoulders whenever he heard that you had visited with Senjuro and his father.
“Anueue, I know you already have enough on your plate managing your family’s home. You don’t have to come over every day to help me. Not that I don’t appreciate it! I just don’t want you to get sick by overworking yourself.”
You paused for a moment from pulling a clean, dry sheet away from the line to smile. As you resumed the motion, you laughed, “My dear Senjuro-kun, there is no place I’d rather be right now than helping you finish this basket of laundry.” And it was true – for the most part. A picnic with your beloved on a day like this would be the pinnacle of bliss, but spending time with his family beat stewing in your own thoughts for too long by far.
Senjuro huffed and shook his head, resisting the urge to sneeze as the breeze blew the dust from the futon he was beating back into his face. A tittering giggle escaped your lips from the other side of the yard where you methodically folded the last of the bed linens. When you offered a hand to help with the futons after you set the basket of clean laundry inside, Senjuro returned a rueful smile in response. “I’ve been doing this by myself since I was six. You’d think I’d know how to avoid getting dirt in my eyes and nose already!”
A pang shot through your heart and your expression wilted for a brief moment, but you subverted it with a mental reminder that you were no longer that little girl on the outside looking in. You could help the Rengoku men as they sought to heal, literally and figuratively. “Ah,” you breezily sighed. “The wind can get even the best of us if we aren’t paying close enough attention. Take a moment to clear your eyes, please. I’ll be right back.”
Taking the basket inside and leaving it there for later didn’t sit right with you after all the effort Senjuro put into making sure it was all clean and wrinkle-free, so you moved quickly to return the linens to their proper shelf. Along the way, you passed a tired Shinjuro, hunched over at the dining table and cradling his nose between pinched fingers, expression twisted in pain from a migraine. With no small amount of relief, you noted an absence of sake.
Moving the basket to your hip, you softly called into the room, “Can I get you some tea for the pain, Rengoku-san?”
Smoothing over his frown, Shinjuro waved off the offer. “No. This is what I get for taking so long to stop drinking. It will pass, but thank you.”
“Let me know if there’s anything I can do to help,” you added quietly.
At that, a small spark of lightness passed over the older man’s face. “You do that enough already, taking care of me and my sons. I hope you know that you’re too good for the likes of us.”
“So I’ve been told,” you replied, a wry bit of mirth to lilt the tone. “But I’ll still be here anyway.” Grandmother had always been too opinionated about the Rengoku family and demon slayers anyway – despite the fact that the only interaction she ever had with them was when they passed her in the town market. You hadn’t listened to her in the past, and you weren’t about to start now.
Shinjuro acknowledged your words with a nod and you pressed on, packing away the linens in their place and hurrying back to Senjuro to finish the day’s chores. It was as the sun was sinking down beyond the horizon that you finished the work to your satisfaction and decided to go home for the night. Both Senjuro and Shinjuro began to protest that you should have one of them walk you home, but you were confident that Kyoujuro had already destroyed any demons that could possibly be lurking in the area. After all, part of the perks of having a Hashira living in an area meant that any demons that might show interest were deterred if not eliminated from said area upon contact. Not to mention your own neighbor on the street over happened to be the owner of a Wisteria House. There were few places safer someone could find, once they became aware of what really goes bump in the night…
“I’m home!” you called. But the house was still. A quick glance around in the fading sunlight revealed a note left just above the genkan, on the step leading into the rest of the house. It looked like everyone was going to be out tonight: Mother and Grandmother were staying with your great aunt as she got settled into her newly purchased home, Father had a work emergency and wouldn’t be back for another couple days minimum, and your siblings were either staying with friends or in their own homes. It hadn’t exactly come as a surprise, but the note from Mother was still thoughtful and made your heart warm where the empty house was cool and loneliness tried to linger.
Flitting about your home – which was beginning to feel less like home the more you spent time attending to your own future household in the Rengoku mansion – was a simple and quiet matter. It took very little effort as you set about your nightly routines and closed up the house for the night. And a singular candle was your companion as you retired to your futon. But once you settled in and got comfortable, you couldn’t help but stare for a moment into the candle’s glow. It reminded you so much of your beloved fiance, and the warmth and light both he and the flame gave off gave you comfort…
And also, sparked your own passions.
Unbidden but welcome all the same, memories of Kyoujuro, of his kiss, of his touch and voice, rose to the forefront of your mind, and with them the tinge of arousal. You could no more ignore it than you could ignore Kyoujuro’s exclamations as he ate his favorite sweet potato dishes. Your body had decided it was no longer tired and craved the touch of your fiance. But as that was currently impossible, since he was on a prolonged mission – only the second he’s been out on since he recovered from that dreadful train incident a month ago, you would have to settle with your own hands and imagination. Thankfully, you had quite a few lovely memories to draw inspiration from.
“ Strip for me, my guiding star .”
It was frightfully easy to follow the command, even if it was just a memory. You ardently wished he was there as your eyes closed, focusing on remembering the timber of his voice and the steadiness of his breath. Your hands idly traced your body for a moment, a smile perking up your lips at the memory of a gentle tease. But then you could see the way his eyes flashed in your mind, and you pulled away your sleeping clothes hurriedly.
“You will not be cold for long; I promise you that, starlight .”
And it was true. Your nipples pebbled in the open air, and your skin was sensitive and aware. But Kyoujuro’s fiery passions always warmed you up from the inside out. Even in his absence, knowing his love always lit a fire in your soul and set your heart ablaze.
“Please,” you whispered into the still night air, “warm me up, my love.”
“Good girl.” You shivered, though not from a chill. “You always have such pretty manners. My perfect little wife.” And you gasped, a thrill running through your veins down to your groin. Your legs twitched in eagerness. You remembered that soft chuckle he would make that always made your toes curl. And oh, the strength of his hands as he would part your thighs to make room for his broad shoulders… Your heart and core both fluttered at the thought.
In a weak imitation of your beloved, you traced your own hands over your skin and up and down your body. Naturally, your hands lacked the intense heat and callouses that Kyoujuro possessed, but you could at least try to trace familiar paths. The way he would linger on the softer parts of your body, silent but sure admiration for your build and worship for the more unique parts that made your being. Whatever imperfections you saw in the mirror were always carefully and sweetly caressed. And the parts that you felt confidence in were given their due attention. There was no part of you that was ever left uncherished.
“ Beautiful.”
“More, I need more!” You sighed.
“ So eager for my touch, starlight? Where shall I start this time? Your sweet ears? Or perhaps I should linger on your thighs. Or perhaps…”
You gasped, tweaking your nipples and grasping your breasts as closely as you could resemble your fiance’s touch. “Kyou!”
“That’s it, good girl. I know how much you love it when I play with your sweet nipples.” Though you knew it wouldn’t even come close to compare, you trapped your nipples between your fingers like when he would suck and lick and flick them. “Delicious!”
You couldn’t help huffing a laugh. At the very least, you knew he would always appreciate your cooking after you married and moved into the Rengoku household. And the taste of your body too. Kyoujuro could be an odd man, but he was an odd man you were determined to love forever.
From there, you started to get impatient. Normally, Kyoujuro liked to tease and taste you a bit more before leaning into your direct pleasure points, but you were feeling starved for his presence as it was. Teasing yourself too much with your imagination and memory could quickly take a turn for the more lonely emotions if you weren’t careful.
You drew your thighs apart, carefully exploring your folds and smearing slick from the inside out. A quick flick to your clit made you shudder. “Keep going, my love. Show me how you like to be touched. Show me how I can satisfy you most.”And with a sigh, you began swirling around your clit. The candle’s flame flickered and danced behind your closed eyelids, and you imagined it’s warmth like the puff of your fiance’s breath across your lips.
You began to alternate between pushing your fingers inside your aching cunt and paying attention to your clit. Your fingers weren’t nearly as good as Kyoujuro’s at finding the best spots inside. Yet still, you worked yourself over, searching for that distant precipice. It loomed over you like a mountain, and you couldn’t wait to reach that peak… The slippery glide of your fingers was almost perfect. Your lower belly tightened in anticipation, hips jolting up every so often as you panted and groaned. You could just barely reach that magical spot that felt so good when paired with teasing your clit, and it was doing wonders for you now…
But it wasn’t enough. Your fingers just couldn’t satisfy you the way Kyoujuro could. You whimpered in frustration and writhed. Sure, you still could make yourself cum without your lover, but it just wasn’t the same – not as fulfilling as when he was by your side. The barest hint of a sob escaped your lips as you tried to continue to please yourself.
“Shall I take over, my guiding star?”
You gasped, eyes flaring open and nearly giving yourself whiplash in order to peer at the doorway to your room. There he stood, still wearing his uniform down to the flame pattern haori, and that intensity that always drew you in was bright and fierce in his eyes. Your mouth watered. Usually, you had to be encouraged to initiate in the bedroom, but the fire in Kyoujuro’s eyes was irresistible. You beckoned him in, willing him with your eyes to heed you, but he smirked and crossed his arms across his chest.
“I am waiting for an answer, my dear. If not, I will gladly watch you attempt to pleasure yourself for as long as it takes,” he stated, stance wide and immoveable.
You groaned, thumping your head back onto your pillow and allowing your hands to drop onto the futon with the rest of you. Sometimes you wished you had fallen for a man that was less stubborn. But then again, Kyoujuro wouldn’t be himself if he wasn’t stubborn to the end.
“I need you, Kyou,” you called. “Please, I’ve missed you so much! I need your touch. I need you inside me, please!”
“There’s my good girl,” he grinned, tearing off his haori and uniform in a flash.
You clenched around nothing and shivered. With how worked up you already were, you doubted it would take him very long to help you reach your peak.
“Tell me what it was you were thinking about,” he said. A command disguised as a suggestion.
“You.” It came as a sigh, sinking into the comfort of the futon and the knowledge that Kyoujuro was home and would be taking care of your burning desire. “Your hands: the way you touch me with reverence, but not like I’m made of glass. The way you talk to me like I’m precious to you, but in a way that lets me remain my own person.” You trailed off, a twinge of embarrassment curling your smile into an awkward quirk.
He grinned, lips closed yet eager eyes prompting you without words to continue as he set his clothes aside. Yet the way the candle flame flickered about his golden features as he set his clothes and sword aside neatly stole the breath from your lips. How such a man could exist defied logic at times, and yet you were lucky enough to call him yours.
“I love you,” you sighed. And as if coming back into awareness of yourself, you snickered, “And I’m not just saying that because you’re so handsome when your clothes come off.”
Kyoujuro laughed, loud and unabashed as ever. Yet another thing to love about him. “Starlight, if I ever doubted it before, I certainly won’t now! Your love could never be so fickle.” With a thump, he kneeled on his haunches and gently cradled your face in his palms. “And neither is mine.”
You leaned forward to press your forehead into his, delighting in the intimacy. Idly, you traced your fingers up and down his arms from wrist to elbow. Relief that there no new bandages to worry about and only previously known scars to lavish in your love washed over you.
Kyoujuro pulled away only to press a kiss to your forehead, and then make a trail of lingering kisses down your neck to your collarbones, nipping the thin skin there with obvious relish. The pinch of his teeth was a welcome pain, and you wrapped your arms about him to tug him closer. Kyoujuro immediately nestled into his favorite position at the subtle prompt – face buried into the skin between your breasts and hips settled into the cradle of your thighs.
“I’ll admit, your attempts to pleasure yourself have made me quite hungry for you,” he said softly, caressing your collarbones and pressing a kiss to your sternum.
With a coy smile and a bat of your eyelashes, you asked, “Please, Kyoujuro, will you sate your appetite on me? I know how hungry you can be after a mission.”
He grinned. “Gladly!”
Kyoujuro immediately went about kissing every inch of flesh he could reach, from your neck to your chest. Idly, he set about sucking your nipples into his mouth, making you shiver and twitch. You spotted the satisfied quirk of his lips as he continued on down your body. He knew all the best spots to make you twitch in pleasure, what made you writhe and groan. And when he finally set about sucking hickies into your thighs, just mere centimeters away from your aching center, you couldn’t help reaching for him and scratching into his shoulders impatiently. The anticipation killed you more than anything, and he knew it.
Then, he leaned back, keeping only his hands on your spreads thighs. At your frustrated groan, Kyoujuro laughed, “What is it, my love? Were you expecting something?”
“Please!” you cried. “More, I need more!”
“More what?” he replied, so innocently smiling at you even as his thumbs rubbed circles ever closer to your core. “More kisses?”
“Touch me!” It came out more like a whine, and for that Kyoujuro gave your right outer thigh a quick slap that gave enough of a shock to lock your eyes with his once more. Seeing the firm line his lips were pressed into, you knew it was time to add a little more sugar and a little less spice. Better to leave heat to a wielder of flames, anyway. “Please? Please, Kyou, please! Make me cum!”
That brought his bright, unwavering and focused smile back full force. He leaned down close to your ear to whisper, “Good girl,” into your ear. Your neck leaned off in submission instinctively, and that was when your fiance finally had mercy and began to rub your clit with his thumb while a couple of his thick fingers sank into the slick of your pussy.
Ecstasy. Sheer, unadulterated ecstasy. His touch was fire itself, burning a path of orgasmic bliss from your center to the farther reaches of your toes and fingertips. Your fingers curled into his wild mane, crying out and groaning as you quaked in his arms. It was so easy, so quick for all the build up to this moment. His fingers were constant and perfect, hitting all the right spots inside you to make your ears ring and vision fade in little death. Shaking in his arms and fighting the instinct to close your legs around him, you rolled in wave after wave of bliss. In the gradual fall from such a peak, your mind at last drew blank save for far-off sensations as Kyoujuro slowed his touch from the former inferno to the gentle warmth of a campfire. A distant part of you acknowledged his stuttered breathing as he rutted into the futon near your inner thigh. An even more distant part realized that the candle must have either blown out with all the exertion nearby or guttered out. Neither mattered as Kyoujuro pulled you into a kiss so deep and tender it made your heart stutter in the wake of his heat.
When he pulled away to let you breathe, Kyoujuro asked sweetly, “Can I give you more of my passion? Will you allow me to unite us as one, once more?”
“I will take all that you are, my flame,” you grinned, panting and heaving despite the gleam in your eyes.
Eager, he lifted your thighs onto his waist and immediately resumed kissing you like it was the only tether he had to this plane of reality. A soft mewl escaped your lips at the touch of his wandering hands tweaking your sensitive nipples and grasping tight to the softer flesh on your sides. Drawing upon what little energy reserves you had left, you willed your arms up to pull him in even closer. While Kyoujuro busied himself with the sensitive skin of your neck, you carefully loosened his hair from it’s tie and buried one hand into his fiery tresses while the other idly traced the lines of his body from his chest to the belt line. When your fingers traced the edge of his hip bone, Kyoujuro bit purposefully at your pulse point, drawing a gasped moan from you and deep groan from your lover.
“You’ll be the death of me,” he huffed, voice raspy but good humored.
“But what a sweet death it will be, don’t you agree?” you giggled, planting a kiss to the tip of his nose.
Kyoujuro chuckled and began to line up his hips with your own, gently angling your thighs as he cupped your bottom in his hands. You helped line his cock up to your entrance, holding eye contact as he began to slowly fill up your slick pussy. You both let out a sigh when he bottomed out, snug and warm. It was another assurance that he was home, safe and sound, and sharing an intimate connection with you on a level beyond the physical.
You arched your back for a tiny thrust, testing yourself for strain before wrapping your arms around Kyoujuro’s neck and nodding. “I’m ready, my love. Please, make me cum again.”
Kyoujuro hummed, “How could I decline with a request asked so sweet as that? As you wish, starlight.” And with another sweet kiss to your lips, he began to thrust. The slow drag of him pulling in and out, the strength of his powerful body all around, the sensation and pleasure he dragged from the depths of your being… It was all so perfect. Pressed skin to skin, cheek to cheek; mouthing sucking kisses on each other wherever you could reach between moans and groans. Every now and again, he would change the angle of his thrusts with a quick bounce, until he found the spot that made your head fall back and eyes roll in ecstasy.
“There it is,” he grinned.
He was quick to stick to that spot with every pump of his hips, releasing one of your thighs to thumb at your perked nipples. You gasped and bounced your hips to meet his next thrust, clenching hard around him which in turn made him groan.
“Yes, Kyou, yes! Yes! So good!” you cried. You snaked your hands between both your bodies, one teasing his own nipples and the other circling your clit. “Please, don’t stop! Don’t stop!” The heat between you both was sweltering and building from a gentle bonfire into an inferno. It threatened to consume you from the inside out, and you had to latch onto his shoulders once more to keep from getting swept away.
“Let go, starlight,” he breathed. “Let go. I will be here to catch you.”
With a sharp cry, you allowed the white-hot pleasure to wash over you and pull you under. Heat consumed you in waves, and you wouldn’t have it any other way. Your toes curled into Kyoujuro’s sides and your fingers etched deeply into his back in long scratches that made him shudder in your hold. But he just. Kept. Going. There was no stopping Rengoku Kyoujuro when he was determined, least of all when that determination was to render you mindless in orgasm.
As oversensitivity began to turn it’s sharp blade into you, your grip on the Hashira grew even tighter, and he groaned in response. “Yes, good girl. So good for me, my little wife. Be sweet for me, please. I’m almost there.”
“Kyou!” you gasped, tears beginning to form at the corners of your eyes. “I need it. All that you are, all that you have. I want you to give it to me, please!”
He drew in a sharp breath, staring deeply into your lust-blown eyes, and melted into you. He moaned deep in his chest, and kissed you with all the love in his heart. Your matching passion was no less fierce despite the tremble to your frame. With a few more erratic thrusts, he rested his forehead against your own and spilled himself onto the futon at the last second with a growl that rumbled like the roll of thunder. And when he collapsed onto your chest, you held him in your arms. Panting together and hearts beating in sync, you drifted together in a dreamy high.
This.
This was what you had been craving all day long. Nothing could beat having Kyoujuro in your arms at the end of a long day.
But like all things, it had to come to an end. Though that didn’t stop the fond glances and gentle words of affection as you cleaned each other and the bedding to your satisfaction. After all, the domestic moments were where Kyoujuro showed the most vulnerable parts of himself. In the calming moments, as you breathed in sync and sighed in bliss, nestled into each other’s space and cuddled close for the sake of closeness, the more tender parts of your beloved’s passion often came to light. This time was no different.
“Did I ever tell you why I call you my guiding star?”
You smiled, “Of course, but I would hear it again.”
Kyoujuro huffed a laugh and softly continued, “Naturally, as the Flame Hashira, my work drives me to work into the late hours of the night, sometimes until dawn. But when I find myself facing frustrating circumstances, I remember the warmth of your smile when I gaze up at the stars and the lovely nights we’ve spent together counting them. You are my guiding light in the midst of darkness.” He brushed a bead of sweat away from your brow. “And more invaluable and precious to me than any one thing that can be found on this Earth, so you must be divine!”
You giggled, nosing into his neck and brushing a couple of light kisses there that had your lover sighing in your arms. In return, Kyoujuro nipped delicately at the shell of your ear and squeezed you close to his chest. If you listened hard enough, you could sense his heart beat harmonizing with your own. It was a yawn that escaped your lips that brought you back from enjoying the depths of your affections to the present.
“I think I’m still mortal enough to need to rest soon, my darling Hashira. Tell me about your travels this time, before I grow too tired to appreciate this moment!”
In the dimness, Kyoujuro recounted his journey as you idly traced nonsensical patterns on his chest and tucked your head under his chin. He was always so warm, and it brought you great comfort even now despite how sweaty and slick the both of you still were. Once you reached the still-raw scar from his encounter with the Upper Moon Three, Kyoujuro took hold of your hand and held it to his heart. The scar might still be fresh, but his heart beat with all the fiery passion you knew drove your beloved to love, protect, and defend humanity in all it’s aspects.
You glanced up, and were met with his ember eyes glowing. The moon just barely illuminated his soft smile, but it was enough to set your heart ablaze. You reached up, caressing his jaw as you leaned in for a sweet kiss.
“I love you, Kyoujuro.”
His eyes crinkled at the corners with the depth of his loving smile. “And I love you, my guiding star. With all that I am.”
“By the way, when did you get home, my love?”
At first he seemed bashful, cheeks and ears glowing red in the moonlight, but then a proud smirk tugged at his lips. With a nip to your ear, he whispered, “I was hoping to surprise you, starlight, by visiting you tonight. Your mother had sent me a crow to tell me to stop by to check on you if I had the opportunity, after all. Imagine my own surprise when I find my beloved fiancee touching herself with my name on her lips!”
Your eyes narrowed. “So you were there for pretty much all of it?”
“Sweet dreams,” he chuckled, nuzzling into your neck. “I know mine will be.”