Work Text:
On the surface, Kunihiro looked fine. Despite the rips and tears in his battle garb as well as numerous cuts on his body, he kept himself firm and straight as they returned to the citadel, losing no pace walking to repairs. His neutral expression didn’t even flinch through the recovery process. Anyone could easily assume that Kunihiro was as calm and composed as normal and would be completely well following repairs.
But Izuminokami could see past that. Izuminokami could see how his lips appeared just so slightly thinner. Izuminokami noticed the light twitch of his fingertips along his battered knees. And Izuminokami could barely make out that faint pink coating the whites of his eyes.
Kunihiro had been assigned captain. Nothing new for the wakizashi (though he always insisted that Kane-san be made captain instead), but this particular sortie had been… tough, to say the least. Longer than anticipated, too many close calls. The Saniwa was more than apologetic, realizing they had severely miscalculated the risks. Thankfully, everyone had made it back without breaking, but repairs couldn’t fix a guilty heart.
Izuminokami hadn’t suffered as much damage as the rest of the team, so his repairs had finished relatively quickly. Still, despite Kunihiro’s insistence that he go back, Izuminokami waited until the wakizashi’s repairs were completed so they could head to their shared room together.
After a long time, Kunihiro was released, appearing pristine (if not for that slight haze in his eyes). As they walked back to their room, Kunihiro began to ramble in his usual chipper voice, chattering about what they might do tomorrow since the Saniwa had promised them a day off. Izuminokami allowed it as there were still other swords roaming the halls, and Kunihiro would hate to drop his guard in front of others.
Once they returned, they set about changing out of their battle attire and into their yukata. Izuminokami was just about to go to their shelves to get out their futons when he noticed Kunihiro head towards the door.
“Where are you going?” Izuminokami hastily asked, slightly jogging to beat Kunihiro.
“To the kitchen to make you tea, Kane-san,” Kunihiro simply responded.
Typical Kunihiro, thinking of Kane-san first. Izuminokami shook his head. “It’s fine, Kunihiro. Let’s rest now.”
“But a warm cup of tea will help you rest better.” Kunihiro reached towards the handle of the sliding door.
“No.” Izuminokami pressed his hand firmly against the door. “I appreciate it, but that’s enough for now. You should take it easy.”
For a flash of a second, Kunihiro’s bottom lip quivered. “No, I… I can still assist you. Please, let me-”
He reached to push away Izuminokami’s hand, but Izuminokami caught Kunihiro’s instead.
“Enough. You’ve been through enough today.”
A quick gasp; round aqua eyes turned glossier. “B-but… To-today I couldn’t…L-let me be-”
“The only useful thing you can do for me now is rest up.” With his other hand, Izuminokami cupped Kunihiro’s cheek, brushing his thumb lightly underneath those moistened eyes.
Apart from a hush of a sniffle and tensing of his body, Kunihiro remained silent.
Izuminokami waited a few beats before whispering, “Please. It’s okay. You deserve it.”
The dam broke. Tears flooded out of Kunihiro’s eyes as the first sob burst out. He practically fell into Izuminokami, burying his face into his broad chest.
“That’s it, Kunihiro.” Izuminokami placed a gentle hand at the back of Kunihiro’s head. “Let it out.”
Kunihiro grasped Izuminokami’s yukata, twisting the fabric tight in his fingers, body shaking with every sob. Still keeping one hand on Kunihiro’s head, Izuminokami warped his other arm behind Kunihiro’s back and drew him in closer, holding him securely.
Moments passed, and Kunihiro's cries quieted down into small sniffles. His hands released and relaxed flat along Izuminokami’s yukata, and he turned his face to rest his cheek against Izuminokami’s chest. Izuminokami noticed Kunihiro’s eyes fluttering and a slight slip in his feet. He leaned down to place his arms underneath Kunihiro’s legs and upper back and then gingerly scooped him up.
The wakizashi steadfast in his arms, Izuminokami walked smoothly to the center of their room. He seated himself down carefully, cradling Kunihiro in his lap. At that point, Kunihiro finally regained even breathing. Izuminokami continued to hold him in comforting silence, until a breath of a voice whispered.
“Do I… really… deserve…?”
Izuminokami gazed down at Kunihiro. He was fiddling a little with the collar of Izuminokami’s yukata. Izuminokami let out a dry chuckle. “What? The opportunity to rest after a hard-earned victory? That’s the least you deserve.”
Kunihiro curled a little inward. “But… I almost… Because of me…”
“Hey.” Izuminokami dropped his smile and rubbed circles into Kunihiro’s back. “You remember what Aruji said. It was a tough mission. But thanks to you, we all made it back.”
“Thanks to me, we nearly didn’t-”
“But we did.” Izuminokami took Kunihiro’s chin and guided his face up so their eyes could meet. “It was difficult, but you ultimately made the right calls. As I expected.”
“Kane-san…”
Kunihiro’s eyes turned glossy once more, and Izuminokami leaned down to join their lips. A simple kiss, but full of reassurance and devotion.
Upon breaking, Kunihiro wrapped his arms around Izuminokami’s neck, snuggling his face into the crook. “But it was scary… I thought we might… you might… I might…”
Izuminokami felt a tremble in Kunihiro’s body, and he clutched him tighter. “I was scared, too…” Izuminokami admitted gently.
The two swords held each other in silence for some time longer, each other’s warm presence enough. Eventually though, Izuminokami could feel Kunihiro loosen his grip and adjust his head to rest his chest against Izuminokami’s shoulder, eyes closed.
“Thanks, Kane-san,” Kunihiro droned out in a whisper. “You’re the best.”
“I know.” Izuminokami chuckled and kissed Kunihiro’s forehead. “But only because of you.”