𝐒𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐁𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐬

A Thread Of Tension

The air between them was thick with silence. The kind of silence that wasn’t comfortable anymore. Every step felt loaded, each footfall heavier than the last. Obanai walked beside Giyuu, his breathing shallow, doing everything in his power to keep his thoughts from spiraling out of control. Yet, despite his best efforts, his heart refused to quiet itself.

Each stolen glance at Giyuu sent heat rising up his neck. Every time their arms brushed while moving through the trees, a jolt of electricity shot through him. His hands clenched tightly around his sword's hilt, hoping it would steady him. This can’t be happening, he thought for the thousandth time. Not like this.

---

Giyuu wasn’t faring much better. He could feel Obanai’s presence beside him like a constant hum in the back of his mind. It was infuriating, the way his heart betrayed him every time he was near the Serpent Hashira. He didn’t know when it had started maybe it had always been there, simmering beneath the surface, but now it was bubbling over.

Every breath felt shallow, as if his chest was tightening with unspoken words. His usual stoic expression remained, but inside, there was chaos. He tried to focus on the mission, on the demons they were tracking, but Obanai’s proximity was proving to be an unbearable distraction.

His gaze kept flicking to Obanai, unable to resist the magnetic pull. The way Obanai’s lips pressed into a tight line, his brow furrowed in concentration Giyuu couldn’t help but think of how much he admired the way Obanai carried himself. There was strength in every step he took, a quiet resilience. But there was also fragility, something only Giyuu could see now, something that made his chest tighten painfully.

He felt the blade of guilt cut through him as his thoughts continued to spiral. You can’t afford this. He had told himself that a thousand times. The battlefield wasn’t a place for distractions like this. Yet every glance, every unintentional brush of their fingers sent a warmth through him that he couldn’t shake.

---

The mission itself was simple enough a patrol around a remote village. They had been assigned together, and while both were accustomed to working in pairs, this felt different. The weight of their unspoken feelings made the air around them feel dense, almost suffocating.

They didn’t need words, but the silence wasn’t their usual comfortable one. It was fraught with tension, with the weight of everything they refused to admit out loud. Every word spoken, however few, seemed to carry more meaning than it should.

“Over there,” Giyuu said, nodding toward the treeline where something had caught his attention.

Obanai barely registered the words, his body reacting on instinct. His heart skipped a beat at the sound of Giyuu’s voice, calm and steady as ever. He hated how it affected him.

They moved as one, silently slipping through the trees. A demon had appeared a minor one, nothing that either of them couldn’t handle. Their blades moved swiftly,  each strike calculated and efficient. But every swing of his sword, every step he took, only made the heat between them grow.

Obanai’s movements were sharp, precise, yet he felt his pulse quicken not from the fight, but from the nearness of Giyuu. He didn’t understand why his hands were sweating beneath his gloves, why his breaths came out faster than they should have. Why now?

In the span of a few heartbeats, the demon was dispatched, but the tension between them only thickened.

---

They paused to catch their breath after the brief battle, the silence stretching on again, more oppressive than before. Obanai’s hand brushed Giyuu’s as they sheathed their blades, and both of them froze for a fraction of a second.

That slight touch, unintentional and fleeting, sent a shock through them both. It was enough to make Obanai’s breath hitch, and his face flushed red, despite the cool air around them. He pulled his hand back quickly, as though burned, but the touch lingered, an ache spreading through his chest.

“Sorry,” he muttered under his breath, refusing to meet Giyuu’s eyes. His heart was beating so fast he was sure Giyuu could hear it.

“It’s fine,” Giyuu replied, voice calm as ever, but the slight tremor in his tone betrayed him. He could still feel Obanai’s touch on his skin, and it sent an unwanted warmth spreading through his body. His own face felt warm, and he quickly turned away, hoping to hide it.

They stood there for a moment, neither of them knowing what to say, yet both acutely aware of the other's presence. The unspoken tension between them had reached a boiling point, and both knew that if they didn’t address it soon, the weight of it would crush them.

---

As they continued through the forest, their footsteps in sync, Obanai's thoughts raced. His fingers still tingled from where they'd brushed against Giyuu’s hand, and he found himself stealing glances at the Water Hashira, hoping he wouldn’t notice.

Every moment felt heavier than it should, each second a reminder of how close they were to losing control. His breath hitched again when Giyuu stepped ahead of him to scout an area, and Obanai found himself staring, watching the way the sunlight caught the edges of Giyuu's hair. Stop it, Obanai, he scolded himself, tearing his gaze away.

But the damage was done. His heart was already lost in a way he wasn’t sure he could recover from.

---

For Giyuu, the fight was internal constntli telling himself to stay focused on the mission, to push down the emotions that threatened to rise every time he looked at Obanai. But it was no use. His mind kept wandering back to the way Obanai had tensed when their hands touched, the flush of red that had crept up his neck. He felt it too, Giyuu realized, the thought causing a fresh wave of heat to rise in his chest.

But he couldn’t afford to act on it. Not here, not now. He didn’t even know if there was a right time. He had lost so much already what if pursuing this only led to more heartache?

Still, every stolen glance, every brief moment of closeness made it harder to ignore. His resolve was crumbling, and the more time he spent with Obanai, the more he realized how deeply these feelings had rooted themselves. He knew if he didn’t do something soon, if they didn’t acknowledge what was between them, they would both be trapped by the weight of it, unable to move forward.

---

The sun began to set, casting the forest in shades of gold and red. Obanai and Giyuu found themselves near a small clearing, the tension between them still simmering, unspoken. They hadn’t exchanged more than a handful of words all day, yet it felt like everything had been said.

The silence was unbearable now, and Obanai’s heart was a storm in his chest. Every touch, every breath, every word that had been spoken between them had only pulled him deeper into this mess of emotions he couldn’t untangle. He could feel Giyuu’s presence beside him, steady as ever, but there was something more fragile beneath the surface now.

I have to say something… don’t I? But the words wouldn’t come. The weight of his past, his family, still chained him down. The belief that he didn’t deserve this, didn’t deserve someone like Giyuu, stopped him from stepping forward.

And yet, the thought of leaving things unsaid, of letting this tension rot inside them, filled him with dread.

Giyuu, standing a few steps away, felt the same heaviness. Each moment felt like it was drawing them closer to a breaking point, and the fear of losing this connection weighed heavily on him. If they didn’t confront it soon, the grief of what could have been would eat away at them both.