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Rengoku Kyojuro was in a bit of a tough situation. Admittedly, it was a much nicer tough situation than a demon slayer would usually find themselves in, but still — not great. See, somehow he’d allowed his fellow hashira and best buddy, Uzui Tengen, to convince him to ask the Water Hashira, Tomioka Giyuu, on a date. A real date, not just as a friend. Normally that would be bad enough on its own, but somehow Tomioka had accepted his invitation — which was good — and now he only had a couple hours to set up an entire picnic from scratch — which was unbelievably bad!
Now, Rengoku would normally consider himself a pretty cheerful individual. Someone who always had something positive to say, always seeing the best side of a bad situation. This whole situation was making him rethink that.
He’d managed to enlist the help of Kanroji Mitsuri, his former tsuguko, and Uzui, who had gotten him into this mess in the first place, and whilst he was very, incredibly grateful to them both… he was also the most stressed he’d ever been. At least, the most stressed he’d been over something so mundane.
There were so many options of food laid out before him that he felt dizzy. He only had one picnic basket! What was he supposed to do with all of it?! He hadn’t even picked out a picnic blanket! Was any of this even food Tomioka liked!? Oh no, why hadn’t he enlisted the help of one of Tomioka’s friends instead of just his own, this was going to be a disaster—
Before he knew it, he was sat at the top of a hill on a picnic blanket strewn out beneath an idyllic cherry tree. His hands fiddled with a loose thread as he struggled to stay still, trying to see if he could spot Tomioka before he arrived — give himself some last minute time to prepare. The quiet man was a little late, but the thought of being stood up didn’t even cross his mind. They were demon slayers, it wasn’t uncommon for them to be a little behind schedule.
“Kyojuro?”
The flame-haired man was not proud to admit that he nearly jumped out of his skin. He was just thankful that his friends’ vantage point didn’t give them a great view, and— wait—
“Giyuu! Uh— sit down, please!” silently cursing himself for his sudden awkwardness, he gestured for his comrade to take a seat beside him, the blanket just large enough to fit both them and their food.
He reached into the basket, pulling out a small number of containers and dishes — he could still hear Mitsuri and Tengen arguing in his head over which ones looked best.
“So… what do you think?” he gestured vaguely around them, “pretty nice right? My mother used to bring me here when I was a kid — it’s always prettiest in spring, so we’re a bit early, but—“
“It’s lovely.” his companion said shortly. Kyojuro took no offence — it was no secret that his companion was terrible at small talk.
Just as he finished laying out the dishes, he was about to name each one when Giyuu reached out and grabbed a bowl from near his leg. He barely refrained from flinching — he hadn’t seen the other go to move! Sure, he was a bit jumpy, but surely anyone would be when on a date with someone they’d been crushing on for years!
“Is this… simmered salmon with daikon?” Giyuu’s eyes had a new shine to them, a rosey tint had risen to his cheeks.
Kyojuro blinked. Once. Twice. He wanted to commit the sight in front of him to memory. Then he remembered that he hadn’t yet answered the question and the silence was starting to stretch on for an uncomfortably long time—
“Yes! Uh— Mitsuri helped me make it. Why? Do you like it? I can make more! Not right now, obviously, but—“
“It’s my favourite.”
The words were quiet, but Kyojuro heard them loud as day.
“It’s settled then! From now on I’ll make simmered salmon with daikon for every time I see you!”
“Oh— no, you don’t have to do that—“
“But I must! It’s too late now! I fear I would never be able to live with myself if I let such a wonderful man go without his simmered salmon with daikon!” he laughed, mostly teasing — though he did make a mental note to make the dish more often. It never hurt to be prepared.
Finally relaxed, the two were able to settle into an easy rhythm. The conversation never dragged on too long, nor did it lull, and the two hashira were able to find comfort in each other, if only for an afternoon.
Now if only Kyojuro could stop his friends from spying, then it would be the perfect picnic…