4 Years [SaneGiyuu]

5

Sanemi started warming up after the final battle, right? I'm gonna go with the assumption that he did :')

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Giyuu sat in the entrance hallway, his back pressed against the wall and his knees brought up to his chest. He hugged them close with his remaining arm, not caring how uncomfortable the position was. He'd already been asked twice what he was doing sitting there like that. I'm waiting for Shinazugawa-san to get back.

Of course the wind hashira would be angry about it, but that was why, this time, Giyuu was armed with ohagi, which was on a plate hidden beside him. Aoi had given it to him to "make sure you live past recovery" or something like that, but he was pretty sure Sanemi wouldn't stoop to actually hurting him. Fairly certain. He'd probably just growl in annoyance and brush past him, muttering an insult or two as he did.

Sanemi was correct on all accounts; they had no reason to continue interacting. After being discharged, they'd go their separate ways and probably never see each other again. Giyuu had already confirmed with Urokodaki that he'd go to live with his former teacher, and though he didn't know where Sanemi was going to go, he was certain he had somewhere. Anywhere was better than within a kilometer of Giyuu, surely.

Even so, the water hashira couldn't let go of him yet, especially when they still technically lived under the same roof. He didn't want to give up on the slim hope he and Sanemi could get along. Their parting might be the last time they see each other, so he wanted to give their nonexistent friendship one last shot.

Reaching up to the back of his head, Giyuu felt around for the hair-tie currently holding his hair in a low ponytail. Having it up for so long was starting to hurt, so he pinched the small band and tugged at it until it came out. He shook his head to help it fall more naturally, some of it getting in his face. Tucking the stray strands away behind his ears, he hummed quietly. The sun was up, why wasn't the wind pillar back yet?

The sound of a door sliding open drew his attention. Giyuu glanced up as Sanemi stepped inside, and their gazes met.

Sanemi's eyes narrowed. "The fuck are you doing out here?" One of the first things he saw was the hair-down appearance of the water pillar, which made him look even more ethereal with the way the locks perfectly framed his face, complimenting his ocean-blue eyes with the raven strands. He mentally shook himself. Now was not the time.

"Waiting for you to get back."

"Why?"

"I wanted to make sure you got here safe."

Blinking as if confused, Sanemi glared at Giyuu distrustfully as the water hashira got to his feet, balancing the small plate of ohagi in his hand. Realizing Giyuu had stood with the intention of going back to his room, Sanemi started to panic a tiny bit. He'd originally planned to apologize- as much as it pained him- for being so rude the day before, but he couldn't do that if the other hashira left. Seeing him knelt at Genya's grave, a hundred percent prepared to honor him, even through they'd never interacted, sparked something akin to gratefulness or respect for the water pillar in Sanemi's mind.

As Giyuu started to walk away, Sanemi reached out to grab his wrist to stop him. His hand closed on empty fabric, and a jolt of shock made him freeze as he realized he made a mistake. Giyuu stopped as well, turning his head to look at the other questioningly. Dropping the sleeve, Sanemi took a step back.

Noticing the mixed look of confusion and alarm on the scarred man's face, Giyuu explained simply "I lost that arm while fighting Kibutsuji."

Fuck. Sanemi cursed himself for not being attentive enough to notice beforehand. "Does it.. hurt?" The awkwardness of the interaction was killing him inside.

"Not much. Not anymore at least."

Quietly, so much so that he almost couldn't hear himself, Sanemi growled a soft "I'm sorry" and looked down at the boards beneath his feet. He hesitated, perplexed, when a plate of ohagi was held out to him.

"It's for you.. you like ohagi, right?" Giyuu's nose wrinkled slightly as he narrowed his eyes, trying to think of whether or not he was remembering correctly.

Finding that expression and the way his nose scrunched up to be very adorable, Sanemi took one, but when the plate wasn't retracted, he took the whole thing. "Yeah." After a moment, he reached over and pat Giyuu's shoulder with his free hand, still avoiding eye contact. "I'm glad you aren't dead." Letting his hand fall back to grip the edge of the ceramic plate, Sanemi brushed past Giyuu to walk to his room.

Left stunned where he stood, Giyuu placed his hand over the spot Sanemi had touched. He's glad I'm not dead? Why was that such a foreign thought to him? It was an unbelievable, impossible idea; someone being happy to see him alive.

After all, what was the point in enjoying your existence if you were going to die anyways? In just under four years, it wouldn't matter that either of them survived the final battle. The things that helped bring their victory would kill them by the time Sanemi and Giyuu turned twenty five.

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It is currently 5:03 am as I post this chapter. I have not slept.
:)
Hope you enjoyed!