BUTTERFLY : SHINOBU KOCHO (PART ONE)

Intermission; Give You The Stars

*Present Day, Night*

Under the glow of the moon, Shinobu looked up at the stars in the dark sky with a soft smile on her face, the same smile she always kept up lining her cheeks.

For all the best reasons, the starry nights always brought out the right feelings within her heart.

That night, as Tanjiro rested from another day of rehabilitation training, Kanao dozed off in the room beside hers, and Zenitsu and Nezuko were knocked out cold, there was no one up besides Shinobu and Aoi, who too was heading off to bed after a long day of her own.

The petite girl rested her elbows on the windowsill of the large window of her master bedroom, humming to herself as she let the gentle winds toss up her undone hair, wearing nothing but the loose cream nightgown she wore to bed.

The air was crisp, and fresh, and under the glow of the moon, Shinobu's fair complexion sparkled and shone as bright as any of the twinkling objects up in space, her eyes laced with lavender and lilac were almost galaxies in their own right.

And as a sudden heavier gust of wind blew right past her, and the temperature in the room spiked up a couple degrees suddenly, she was glad she looked so effortlessly stunning.

Because as the change in the atmosphere around her took effect, she was sure that someone could agree.

"Ara~, you're quite early, wouldn't you say~?"

Shinobu's words were met with silence, but not without response, instead, a familiar presence bearing a pair of lips capable of giving her goosebumps found their way to her nape, leaving behind a trail of tender kisses down the back of her neck.

The Insect Hashira instinctively leaned back, falling flush with the familiar frame of a broad chest behind her, letting out a throaty groan of satisfaction as the lips traveled along to her left, reaching around until they reached her neck, working their sweet magic on her.

"I...guess you could say I missed you...." A deep, heavy voice finally replied through her sounds of satisfaction, as a rough, coarse hand rested on her shoulder, slowly pulling away the fabric of the nightgown further down her arm, exposing more of her delicate skin ever so slightly.

Shinobu let out a small chuckle, putting one hand down on the large arm that had wrapped itself around her waist, while she raised the other to feel the scruffy cheek of the figure holding her so tenderly, tracing her fingers aimlessly across his jawline. "Hmm~, I figured you would,"

"You just can't go a day without me, can you, my Saku-san~?"

"Tch, don't tease me about it...."

The raven-haired Hashira let out a quiet giggle as the light trail of kisses slowly but surely followed up the side of her neck, across the length of her jaw, before Shinobu's head turned towards Sakusa's lips, finding their way together in a gentle contact, one neither of them wished to pull away from.

And so, nobody did. For a while, at least, the two enjoyed the embrace, letting their lips press against one another's, again, and again, and again.

Shinobu still couldn't ever get rid of the frustrating little butterflies she got when their lips met.

Eventually, though, Sakusa pulled away, leaning back and fluttering his ruby eye back open, looking deep into the glossy violet jewels of the fiancée in his arms.

"Shinobu......" The crimson-tipped man murmured softly, taking his free hand and placing it over top the smaller, delicate one resting on his cheek, stroking his thumb gently overtop of it.

The girl in question smiled, and murmured, "Yes, Saku-san?"

The Hashira of Rage stayed silent for a while, the couple only really looking back into each other's eyes under the moonlight.