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Shinazugawa Sanemi has made many mistakes in his life. Many of them litter his body in the form of scars or plague his mind as nightmares, but he definitely didn't think something so simple would be such a fucking disaster afterwards. It was just a damn haircut.
Seeing Giyuu everyday now, as they share a recovery room in the Butterfly Estate, is a new kind of torture. He didn't like the man much before, but being the sole surviving Pillars of the Demon Slayer Corps changes things. Not to say Giyuu doesn't still annoy the hell out of him, but it feels too petty to hold a grudge, even for Sanemi.
Though, waking up too early in the morning to find Giyuu missing from his bed when the angry, pig-tailed butterfly girl had told him he wasn't to leave his bed alone until he'd relearned his center of balance, that definitely ticked Sanemi off. It didn't help that he found the man in question clumsily practicing his forms in one of the many gardens of the Butterfly Estate instead of resting.
“Yo, idiot, what are you doing?” Sanemi asks through gritted teeth.
Giyuu fumbles his bokken, and it drops to the ground. Sanemi can see Giyuu glaring at it then his hand, as if he's been betrayed before he catches his balance against a nearby tree. When he looks up, he gives Sanemi a sour look. It reminds Sanemi, briefly, of a younger sibling about to throw a tantrum. The thought almost brings a smile to his face, as much as it rips at his heart.
“...trying to find my balance again,” Giyuu states plainly as he uses the tree as a crutch to bend down and pick up his wooden sword.
Sanemi snorts, noticing the state of the man in front of him. They both prefer the comfort of kimonos to the western style pajamas forced upon the patients in the Butterfly Estate. Being Pillars meant they got preferential treatment in that regard, luckily.
It might be more of a curse, Sanemi thinks when he notices Giyuu's kimono slip. “You're a mess,” he points out as he can't help but stare at the back of Giyuu's neck.
It leaves Giyuu's neck unusually bare. It's not something Sanemi's ever found attractive, but the column of pale skin looks enticing. Sanemi can feel his ears turn red as Giyuu turns around with a curious look.
“I didn't notice,” Giyuu says, leaning the bokken against the tree as he struggles to straighten his clothes with one hand.
Without thinking too much about it, Sanemi takes a few steps forward and grabs at Giyuu's kimono, straightening it for him. “You can't even dress yourself properly, and you're coming outside to train? Moron,” he chastises.
Giyuu looks up at Sanemi as he fixes his clothes with narrowed eyes. “You'd do the same, Sanemi.”
Sanemi snorts as he tightens Giyuu's kimono just so. “I wouldn't be looking to embarrass myself at the first opportunity, no,” he lies, because Sanemi only hasn't started training because his grip with his missing fingers pisses him off too much; he can't even think how it'd be to do this with only one arm.
Silence falls between, and Sanemi notices how close he and Giyuu are. It takes a lot of willpower to not just pull away as if he's been burned. Instead, he gives Giyuu's bangs a tug before moving away. Giyuu blinks at him in return, reaching for his hair as Sanemi turns away.
“I'll help you next time you want to be an idiot,” Sanemi says with his back turned to him. “And we're using shinai. You're not ready for a wooden sword at this point.”
He can feel Giyuu glaring at his back, and it's a feeling that helps the ruddiness of his blushing face cool down. “...should I call you Sanemi-sensei?” Giyuu asks pointedly, in his dullest tone.
Sanemi snorts to himself; before he'd think that tone patronizing, but a few weeks spent in close quarters with Giyuu has taught him that when truly annoyed, his sarcasm knows no bounds. “Sure, if you want. I'll expect you to be a good student.”
“No,” Giyuu replies as he picks the bokken back up and strides purposefully past Sanemi.
He bites back a smirk as he follows Giyuu back inside.
If there's a god out there, Sanemi wishes it would fucking listen to him when he curses the fact Giyuu is a hot a mess at keeping his kimono straightened. It never seems to gape in the front, not the way Sanemi purposefully ties his own kimono. It always seems to sag at the collar, revealing more skin each time. Sometimes it even seems to slip down Giyuu's shoulder.
It's maddening, and Sanemi vows he's not letting this moron out of his sight until he can dress himself. ...it has nothing to do with the fact Sanemi has quite a difficult time keeping his eyes from wandering. It's been another week since their agreement to train together, and somehow, no matter how Sanemi tightens Giyuu's sash, this keeps happening.
Giyuu acts as if nothing's wrong, so instead of bringing it up like an idiot, Sanemi decides to take it out on him with a shinai. A bamboo sword won't do much, and it's not like they can use breath techniques without possibly destroying the gardens. Sanemi has a feeling Shinobu's tsuguko would enact vengeance for her.
While Sanemi has the unfair advantage of two arms, it's not much of one. The missing fingers make his right arm a hassle, so their spars are mostly left handed and strange. Neither of them have their swords in their dominant hands, but while awkward as hell, they still manage to break their shinai.
Looking down at the shattered bamboo sword, Giyuu frowns. “We've broken wooden swords before. Why did you think these would do any better?” he asks bluntly.
Sanemi tosses the useless shinai with a shrug. “Thought we'd be shit without full mobility,” he admits, flexing his fingers on his left hand. “I'll get us something reinforced next time.”
Giyuu smiles as he drops the remnants of his bamboo sword, and Sanemi wonders if any of the other Pillars ever managed to make this idiot smile just by trying to beat him senseless. “Glad to see we're not completely useless,” he says quietly, his smile disappearing. “My sense of balance has almost returned to me...”
“Yeah, but you still can't dress yourself,” Sanemi points out with an eye roll as he approaches him to fix his kimono again. “How do you manage this every damned time?”
Giyuu ducks his head, and Sanemi wonders if this is embarrassment. As he fixes Giyuu's kimono, it slips a bit first. Sanemi hates himself because that makes him pause. The stray thought about marking up the back of Giyuu's neck with his teeth flits through his mind, and he kills it immediately by giving the kimono a harsh yank before getting it back in place.
As Sanemi pulls away, Giyuu smiles again. “Thank you, Sanemi,” he murmurs, and Sanemi definitely turns around quicker than he would have.
“Let's go have lunch,” Sanemi announces abruptly as he head for the manor, and he can hear Giyuu following behind him.
Sanemi is thankful for their meeting the Oyakata-sama's heir. While it means confronting more proof that their Oyakata-sama is dead, it also means they will be wearing their Demon Slayer Corps uniforms again. The high collar is a blessing that Sanemi never knew he missed until he saw Giyuu wearing it with his mismatched haori.
His neck is covered, and Sanemi's safe from the thoughts that have been plaguing him around Tomioka Giyuu ever since their last spar. He wouldn't say he's been avoiding the man, but Sanemi sure isn't allowing himself too much time alone with him. Sanemi doesn't run from a challenge, but he can pretend it's a tactical retreat, for now.
It's not much of a meeting, their first and last meeting with the Ubuyashiki heir. Being the last official meeting for the Hashiras, what was left of them, it's a formality more than anything. Sanemi can't help but feel drained for more than one reason as they leave.
“Sanemi,” Giyuu stops him before they part ways. “I have something for you at the...at my estate.”
“What is it?” he asks, eyes narrowing in suspicion.
Giyuu turns away and starts walking down the road, towards the estates. It's like he just expects Sanemi to follow, and that just pisses him off. Curiosity gets the better of him, so he ends up following Giyuu as they leave the new Ubuyashiki estate, cursing under his breath.
As they reach the Water Pillar Estate, Sanemi grabs at his haori to stop him. “You gonna tell me what the hell you're up to?”
There's an awkward moment of silence as Giyuu stares at Sanemi's hand before looking up. “Please let go,” he says firmly.
Sanemi scowls, loosening his grip. “Fine,” he replies, annoyed as he gestures to the estate in front of them. “I still want an explanation.”
“Follow me to the kitchen,” Giyuu says instead, and Sanemi bites back a growl.
He's not a fan of following someone like an obedient puppy, so everything about this situation rubs Sanemi the wrong way. It's not like he's not curious, and the closer they get to the kitchen, a familiar, comforting smell hits Sanemi's nose. He can't quite place it until they're in the kitchen proper, and Giyuu's uncovering a plate of ohagi.
Sanemi stares at the roughly shaped ohagi. It's clear they're not from a shop, and it makes Sanemi's heart clench in a way he's definitely fucking ignoring. He looks up at Giyuu, who looks a bit proud of himself. Sanemi wonders why, when the ohagi look so shitty, and he even says so.
“Because you're smiling, Sanemi,” Giyuu replies as he sits down, sliding the plate closer to Sanemi.
“Like fuck I am,” he mutters, ducking his head before swiping one of the ohagi. “This better not give me food poisoning.”
“The Kamados helped me with the recipe,” Giyuu tells him.
Sanemi snorts. “Oh yeah, they definitely have a reason to poison me,” he jokes, but it doesn't stop him from taking a bite.
It tastes familiar, like old memories of making ohagi with his mother. The texture is coarse, just how he likes it, and Sanemi vaguely remembers Tanjirou knowing he liked ohagi. He wonders how the kid even knew he liked ohagi, let alone how he liked it. There could be only one culprit, and Sanemi pushes down his thoughts about Genya. He can't handle that along with his new turbulent feelings for the idiot sitting on the other side of the table.
“Is it good?” Giyuu asks, watching him eat.
Finishing off the last bite of his ohagi, Sanemi swallows, giving Giyuu a hard stare. “You didn't even taste these while you were making them?”
Giyuu blinks at him, looking down at the plate of misshapen ohagi. “...should I have? Do they taste bad?”
“They taste fine, but that's gotta be luck,” Sanemi points out, clenching his fist under the table to keep from grabbing another one. “You're supposed to try your cooking while you're making it, idiot.”
Nodding, Giyuu takes some ohagi and tries it for himself. “It's good,” he says around a bite.
Sanemi tries not to laugh, and he's mostly successful as he ruffles Giyuu's hair. “I said when you're making it,” he points out as Giyuu looks up at him with bright eyes.
“I'll try that in the future,” he promises as he stares at Sanemi. “You're a very tactile person. I didn't know that before.”
“Hah?” Sanemi asks as he yanks his hand away. “The fuck is that supposed to mean?”
Giyuu swallows his last bite of ohagi before licking crumbs from his lips. “Nothing particular. I just didn't think you liked touching people.”
Scowling, Sanemi's first instinct is to shove Giyuu out of his chair; too bad that would be proving his point. “Why's that? It annoying you? Never really see you around people if you can help it,” he points out instead as he grabs more ohagi to distract himself.
“It's not annoying,” Giyuu tells him bluntly. “I like it.”
Sanemi chokes on the ohagi, and after getting his bearings enough to swallow, he glares at Giyuu. “How the fuck do you say things like that so casually!” he shouts.
“It's just the truth,” Giyuu says plainly then smiles. “You stare at me a lot too.”
Now, Sanemi swears he's going to die from embarrassment, but he's definitely taking this asshole with him. “Did you hit your damn head? Must be fucking crazy if-”
“It's why I loosen my kimono after you tighten it,” he continues, as if Sanemi isn't cursing him out.
Sanemi stares incredulously before slamming the table with his hands. “I knew there was no way it was getting loose on it's own!” he yells, heat rising to his face from both anger and embarrassment. “You knew what you were doing, you fucking tease!”
Giyuu stands and stares him down. “Yes,” he admits easily, tilting his head. “You didn't do anything about it. ...I think you really like seeing my neck.”
There's a twitch under Sanemi's eye that he hasn't felt in quite a while. “I cannot believe you,” he grits out. “Can't you do anything like a normal person?”
That seems to strike a chord with Giyuu, whose eyes narrow. “Are you saying staring at my neck like you're going to maul me is what normal people do?”
“That's not what I was fucking doing!”
Giyuu stares at him, unimpressed. “You weren't doing anything, so I did something.”
“I'll show you doing something,” Sanemi growls before grabbing the front of Giyuu's uniform to pull him to a rough kiss.
Their teeth clack together at first, but it doesn't take long for the kiss to soften into something enjoyable. Sanemi feels Giyuu's arm gripping at his haori as Sanemi wraps one arm around his waist and rests his other at his neck.
As the kiss heats up and tongues get involved, Sanemi can't help but slide his fingers into the hair at the nape of Giyuu's neck. He can feel the man in his arms shiver at the contact, and Sanemi wonders if maybe as much as he was staring at Giyuu's neck, it's actually somewhere quite sensitive.
Sanemi decides to break the kiss to test his theory, ducking his head to start to bite and suck at Giyuu's neck. He doesn't get far with the collar of the uniform that he'd been praising earlier, being in his way. With a grunt, Sanemi ends up fumbling with his right hand to open it with no luck.
Giyuu places his hand over Sanemi's for a moment before easily flicking open his high collar. “You're pretty deft at that,” he mutters suspiciously against Giyuu's neck.
“Hmm,” Giyuu hums in reply as he gently pushes Sanemi away. “My bedroom is down the hall.”
“You're pretty sure of yourself. Who says we need your bedroom, huh?”
“I'm not stripping in the kitchen.”
“Who said we were going to-!” Sanemi shouts before rubbing a hand over his face. “You're full of it.”
Giyuu blinks as he reaches out his hand to take Sanemi's. “I don't see a reason why we shouldn't. Do you?”
It's not like Sanemi couldn't think of a few reasons, but he has a feeling that the look of determination in Giyuu's eyes means that any weak protests will be tossed aside. He's finding that he really doesn't want to protest. Instead, he grips Giyuu's hand tightly instead.
“Lead the way.”
Once Sanemi steps inside the bedroom, Giyuu yanks him down for another kiss. It goes better than the first, and Sanemi could almost believe Giyuu knows what he's doing with his mouth. It's messy and wet, but infinitely better than teeth banging together. Not that Sanemi won't involve his teeth as he definitely tugs at Giyuu's bottom lip.
Giyuu grips at his jacket, a quiet moan in escaping his throat. Sanemi pulls away to lick his lips and smirk as he gives Giyuu a shove towards his futon. It doesn't make Giyuu stumble, but it's a near thing as he keeps hold of Sanemi to bring him down with him as he lowers himself onto the futon.
Sanemi catches himself, and he ends up straddling Giyuu with a huff. “You're eager,” Sanemi says as he leans down to nip at Giyuu's ear.
With a snort, Giyuu shrugs his one shoulder, then the other, to allow his haori to slide off. “Tell me you're not,” he replies as he gingerly folds his haori, or as much as he can with one arm. “I'll call you a liar.”
Having spent enough time with Giyuu recently to know that offering to help or trying to touch his haori will end poorly, Sanemi decides to pop the clasps on Giyuu's jacket instead. “Then we better get you out of these clothes faster, if we're both so eager,” he tells him as he pushes the jacket open with a smirk.
Giyuu chuckles as he manages to safely set his haori aside before setting his sights on Sanemi. “You have too many clothes too,” he points out, as he tugs at one arm of Sanemi's own haori.
Sanemi shifts his hands lowers, gripping Giyuu's belt to unbuckle it. “These damned Western style clothes,” he mutters to himself, cursing the Demon Slayer Corps uniform for no the first time in his life. “Kimono and hakama are easier.”
“Next time,” Giyuu says, leaning forward to whisper in Sanemi's ear, “we won't be wearing these.”
The words send a thrill through Sanemi who tries not to shudder visibly. “Cocky little shit,” he groans as he fumbles with Giyuu's belt but whips it free soon enough. “You're getting ahead of yourself.”
Pressing his lips under Sanemi's ear, Giyuu lifts his hips to shift them against Sanemi's. “I don't think I am,” he states firmly.
As much as Sanemi wants to respond with more snark, he's fully on board with Giyuu's idea, and he'd hate to derail it. So instead, he grabs the back of Giyuu's neck, gripping his hair as he pulls him into a rough kiss. He can feel Giyuu moan into it as they both fumble to rid themselves of the rest of their clothing and start to rut against each other.
Their clothing gets tangled around their limbs until the finally manage to completely divest themselves. Sanemi's grip in Giyuu's hair returns once their clothes fall to the wayside, and he finds himself smirking against Giyuu's neck. It didn't take long to find that Giyuu enjoyed his hair being pulled, especially while Sanemi gave special attention to his neck with his teeth.
“Haaah...” Giyuu pants as he squirms under Sanemi's touch, aching and hard as he bucks against him.
Sanemi leaves a darkening bruise, sucked into Giyuu's skin at the base of his neck. “I'm gonna mark you up so good,” he promises.
Giyuu hums his approval as he tilts his head to give Sanemi more access. He seems at a loss for words, and Sanemi grins against Giyuu's neck. His grin falters when he feels Giyuu's hand slide down to grip their cocks together. It pulls a groan from his lips, and Sanemi bucks into Giyuu's grip.
“Can you keep that promise while I have us both in hand?” Giyuu wonders, their combined precome and sweat keeping his hand slick as he slowly tugs both their cocks.
It's a challenge, and it immediately raises Sanemi's heckles, just as much as it goes straight to his cock. “You're on, asshole,” he agrees, giving Giyuu's hair a nice, hard yank.
Giyuu grips falters for only a moment as his breath catches in his throat, but it seems to just spur him to jerk them both faster. Not to be beaten, Sanemi keeps a tight grip on Giyuu's hair and leans down to bite just under Giyuu's jaw.
There's just a messy back and forth of biting, tugging, and groaning, but when Giyuu twists his wrist just right, Sanemi buries his face into Giyuu's neck with a stuttered breath. He jerks his hips forward, and Giyuu twists and jerks his hand faster as they move against each other at a frantic rhythm.
Sanemi doesn't know when it happens, but he must have moved because now they're kissing, breathlessly as he feels his orgasm hit him like a train. Giyuu's not far behind as they both spill messily onto his hand and both their stomachs.
Panting against Giyuu's mouth as he breaks the kiss, Sanemi stares down the debauched man beneath him. The word beautiful comes to mind before he buries the thought then his face into Giyuu's neck. Giyuu slides his arm out from beneath them to wrap it around Sanemi's waist, uncaring of the mess he's made of Sanemi's back as he wipes his slick, wet hand clean there.
“Asshole,” Sanemi mutters against Giyuu's neck as he shutters at the unpleasant feel of drying come between them and now on his back too.
Sanemi can feel Giyuu's chuckle resonate against him. “I have a large enough bath for the both of us,” he offers as consolation, but he offers no apology as he keeps his messy hand on the small of Sanemi's back.
“It better be,” he replies, any fight he had for Giyuu's snark wrung out of him. “If your estate ends up too shit, mine's better.”
Giyuu laughs again, and it's a sound Sanemi could get used to. “Oh? Sounds like someone's getting ahead of himself,” he teases, easily throwing Sanemi's words back at him.
Sanemi lifts his head up to glare at Giyuu who just smiles serenely. “Oh fuck off. I think we're agreed this is happening again,” he states as Giyuu nods in agreement, smile not leaving his face. “But not if we don't get cleaned first. Fucking hate when this shit dries...”
As Sanemi pushes himself off Giyuu to roll off the futon, Giyuu leans up to steal a kiss first. “Lesson learned. Sanemi doesn't like getting messy.”
“That ain't true,” Sanemi disagrees, licking his lips after the surprise kiss and helps Giyuu to stand. “I just like to get clean, so I can mess you up again.”
Giyuu's eyes darken at the prospect of cleaning up only to get dirty again as he takes Sanemi's right hand into his. “Then I better show you to the baths,” he says in a low, inviting tone.
Sanemi grips his hand in return, smirking at the idea of more to come. “Then lead the way,” he answers in return as they leave the bedroom, disappearing down the hall together.