Quietude

To Be One, To Be Loved

| Quietude - Special Chapter - To Be One, To Be Loved

**Not canon (yet)**

Kyojuro's visits at the [L/n] forge had by now become the norm. The smith and the swordsman had grown well-accustomed to each other in the span of a mere month, finding comfort like none other in one another. It was like they'd been fated to be together—and Fate's work rarely disappointed.

And through all the times they'd spent together, new feelings came to light. Kyojuro was most affected, surprisingly. Not that he'd denied them, no. Only...he hadn't built up enough courage to face and confess his veritable feelings for the smith (despite Kanroji's numerous motivational speeches).

But everything felt just right as it was now. Each visit at the forge made him as jittery as the very first, and he couldn't be happier. The feeling made him forget the atrocities he'd have to confront in the harsh reality of the Demon Slaying world, and no words could ever properly convey his gratitude for it.

And so Kyojuro was on his merry way to meet with his good, good friend. Today again, he expected the smith to be hard at work already, assuming the dark-hair awoke in the wee hours of morning, before even the sun.

Not that Kyojuro was earlier than usual; on the contrary. He was mindful not to visit at times he knew the smith would be too busy, having taken great care in noting [Name]'s habits over time. Then again, it wasn't entirely purposeful either, the studying. [Name] just so happened to give away quite a few things about himself through his mannerism and overall behavior.

Kyojuro's favorite finding—and he was very proud of it―was the way the smith's fingers twitched and tended to cling onto whatever was in his reach whenever he was nervous or at loss for words. The golden-eyed swordsman chuckled at the thought. He hoped that someday, somehow, [Name] would have the reflex to reach for his hand. "Hm. Haha!" The prospect brought a silly smile to Kyojuro's face, who giddily laughed to himself as he trekked up the mountain. "Getting to hold [L/n]-san's hand again would be nice!"

Meanwhile, in the humble [L/n] forge, [Name] was putting a great load of thought into an idea he'd been mulling over for the past few days. He was considering―and not at all at his father's suggestion―to take off his mask, just this once, around the Flame Pillar. That was without necessarily allowing the latter to catch a glimpse of his face, of course. 

Why? He wasn't exactly sure himself. The idea had popped in his mind and stayed, nagging him to his current predicament. Plus, he could trust the Flame Pillar not to open his eyes when asked to keep them closed. If the temptation became too great for even Kyojuro to resist, [Name] could always use the blindfold as last resort. It was...harmless, in all. Not that big of a deal.

The young smith exhaled a sigh, a long one. He could imagine his father snickering in the back of his mind, him and his wrinkle-ridden face. The thought brought him a certain comfort, though, and he couldn't help but feel grateful for the little piece of advice his father had given him that day. Hopefully the man would still have the energy to muster such clever ideas for another while.

Finally, the Demon Slayer came knocking. "[L/n]-san! I'm here!" Kyojuro called from the other side of the door, earning a little laugh out of [Name]. "Come in," answered the forger. The next instant, the door flew open, allowing in a slightly overexcited Kyojuro. In his hurry, he'd nearly slammed the door and apologized immediately before gently closing it behind himself.

"Hello!" eventually greeted the Pillar, flashing [Name] a dazzling smile. Then, he paused.

The sight before him was an unusual one. Instead of having his back turned toward Kyojuro, [Name] was directly facing the Pillar in his seated position, hands neatly folded in his lap. It seemed the swordsman had caught him at an odd time; his masked face was lowered and he remained unresponsive.