Can love be green? [Vinsmoke Yonji]

10. The guards

Yonji woke before her. It was rare.

Usually, that would have been the end of his thought process on the question.  He would get up, train, eat, do something productive. Staying in bed had never been his style but this morning, he didn't move.

He found himself watching her sleep.

The previous night came back to him in fragments. Not the thoughts that had been irritating him for hours but the moments occupied by gasping for air and moans, the sensation of filling each other up perfectly.

Yet he was bothered by how accepting she had been of his sudden burst of affection.

His gaze lowered to her face. A loose strand of hair had fallen across her cheek. He stared at it for a moment. Then, without thinking, he reached out. His fingers gently brushed it away. He froze an instant before looking at his own hand, flabbergasted. "What am I doing?"

The question was quiet, almost annoyed. This was ridiculous. He was sitting here, watching her sleep and fixing her hair like it was the most natural thing in the world. It wasn't.

That realization irritated him more than anything.

Y/n shifted slightly in her sleep, moving closer without waking. Yonji froze. For a few seconds, he simply looked at her. Then, he signed. This was becoming a problem, a very strange one at that. He carefully pulled his hand away before he could continue making himself even more confused.

Enough. He was not going to spend the entire morning like this. He sat up and immediately reached for his clothes. He thought about routine, training and things he understood, not whatever would make him question himself every five seconds.

[💚]

Y/n caught up with Yonji shortly after breakfast.

He had already left the dining hall by the time she reached the corridor, walking with the same confidence he carried everywhere in Germa. There was no hesitation in his steps, no need to check where he was going. He knew every corridor, every turn, every routine of the kingdom.

Unlike her. She was still learning. She walked beside him for a while before speaking. "You left quickly."

Yonji glanced at her. "I always do."

"I know. I noticed."

He looked at her for a moment, as if trying to decide whether there was a hidden meaning behind her words.

There wasn't and somehow, that made it stranger.

He looked away again and they continued walking. As they approached their quarters, Y/n's attention shifted on the two guards that stood outside the door. The same two as always. She slowed slightly. "They're always there."

Yonji followed her gaze. "The guards?"

"Yes."

"They're assigned to this corridor."