KINTSUGI ⊳jin sakai x yuna

にじゅういち (twenty one)

He's starting to get used to waking up next to someone, and Jin isn't sure what to make of it. The cart provides little shelter from both the wind and the first shy ray of sunlight that wakes him. It's cloudy outside, the air is damp, and a little colder than the day before.

Yuna is still asleep, her head rested against his upper arm. Jin is suspecting that she likes being aware of the presence of another in her sleep just as much as he does. Or maybe she's particularly missing it, since Taka had most likely never left her side until...

Jin shakes his head to wake himself up and get rid of negative thoughts. It's the last thing he needs so early in the morning.

He can't blame her for not waking up at the same time as him. She needs the rest more than anyone he can think of. So, after a few more minutes of staring up at the sky, he carefully moves away from her. He packs up what little they have taken out yesterday, and stores it in the cart at Yuna's feet.

Kage has a defiant, angry look in his eyes when he understands that yesterday wasn't his last day of cart-pulling, but he has no other choice.

Just as he's about to saddle up onto Hotaru's back, Jin senses a presence behind himself.

"You could have just woken me up, you know."

Of course she wouldn't be far behind. She never is. Jin turns around, and feels something in his chest melt at her sleepy face. Nothing he has ever seen has looked quite as endearing and sweet as her right now. "You need the rest," he says truthfully.

"Lucky for you, I'm not about to be a stubborn bastard about not needing to sleep. Unlike someone else."

"What does that mean?" Jin asks while he's focused on checking the bridle on Hotaru, making sure every knot and strap is in place.

"You know what that means." She clears her throat, lowering her voice to make it sound more masculine. "The ghost never sleeps."

Hotaru neighs after Yuna speaks, and Jin is starting to suspect she's picking up on her owner's taunting tone. And joining in.

"Very funny." He pats Hotaru's neck in an attempt to silence her, then switches to look at Yuna. "But I forgot to laugh."

"It's alright, you do that often."

Jin snorts at her answer, which melts into a soft chuckle. He certainly hadn't expected her to one up his response, though it is starting to become a increasingly frequent occurrence. He should start getting used to it.

When he looks up, he catches Yuna staring at him with an unreadable, yet somehow dreamily lost expression. But it disappears just as quickly as it had appeared: stumbling back into reality, she looks down, shaking her head in the slightest. Her eyes dart back up at him, and she approaches.

"If you're feeling better, you could ride Hotaru, and I'll walk," Jin suggests, offering her Hotaru's reins.

"You don't mind?"

He shakes his head no, and watches Yuna as she guides her horse beside a bigger stone near the hot spring. That's all she needs to climb onto the saddle. "I have a feeling that Hotaru doesn't like me very much," Jin adds, while Yuna squeezes her legs around the mare to ease her into a trot.

She looks at him over her shoulder, and it strikes him that the sunlight catches on her features just right. He wishes he could stop time for a second longer and let his gaze linger on her face.

"She didn't like me at first either." Yuna explains. "It just takes her some time to warm up."

"Reminds me of someone I know." Jin smiles, more to himself as he grabs a hold of Kage's reins and tugs him forward, following Yuna's trail.