Chapter Text
“The urge towards love, pushed to its limit, is an urge toward death.”
-Georges Bataille, Eroticism
Akaza waited.
He listened to the cicadas outside. Their chirping filled the air, and the sound of the breeze joined along with them, adding to the calmness of the night. There were footsteps here and there as two people walked towards the room he was waiting in. Quiet murmurs were heard. A man thanked the innkeeper for her hospitality, and Akaza smiled to himself once he heard the man's voice. The door to the room opened, and Akaza stilled as he watched the man walk in.
The man placed his belongings on the floor, not realizing there was a very dangerous creature watching him. The man turned around, and then he gasped as he made eye contact with Akaza. The shock in the man's singular eye quickly faded away as he realized who he was staring at, and then he huffed as he placed his hands on his hips.
“What? Gonna chastise me now, Kyojuro?” Akaza asked, standing up.
“Any other night I would, but I am far too tired tonight to put in the effort.”
The demon clicked his tongue, “What a shame. I was hoping you would put me in my place. You always do.”
Kyojuro rolled his eye, and then his gaze slowly softened. As that happened, Akaza could feel his own face doing the same as well. His smirk turned into a small, genuine smile, and he held his hands out to the blond man. Kyojuro walked over to him as he has done so many times before, and their hands linked together.
They hadn't seen each other in some time; it was the longest they had gone, and it was jarring to be able to touch each other’s skin again. Akaza took his time, squeezing Kyojuro's hands several times, as if massaging him. Eventually, Kyojuro pulled him into a tight hug, and Akaza could do nothing more than do the same. He stuck his nose into the man's nape, taking in his familiar scent. Underneath the smell of old sweat, dirt, and a twinge of blood, there was the scent of Kyojuro that he had come to love.
“How tired are you?” Akaza quietly asked. “I can help you bathe, if you wish.”
Kyojuro shook his head, “No. I'll bathe in the morning.”
“Okay. Let's get you out of those clothes then.” Akaza helped him out of the dirty uniform, folding the clothing and leaving it near the Slayer's belongings.
Kyojuro changed into something more comfortable, and as soon as his head touched the pillow, he was falling asleep. “Hold me…” He mumbled, reaching back to gesture at Akaza to join him in the futon.
The Upper Moon went towards the futon, getting under the covers with his love and spooning him. “Sleep well, Kyo.”
Kyojuro murmured something indecipherable, and then he fell asleep.
Akaza couldn't sleep. He was far too awake to even make the attempt, so he focused on hearing Kyojuro breathe. His breathing now accompanied the wind and the cicadas. As Kyojuro breathed, Akaza touched. He occasionally squeezed his love's arms, waist, hips, and stomach, memorizing the feeling of it all. He ran his fingers through the scarred area of Kyojuro's stomach, frowning at the memories it brought up. He glanced at Kyojuro's eyepatch that he had left on the floor next to him before he had fallen asleep, and then he stared at the eye that had been damaged in their first fight. Kyojuro lost one of his precious eyes because of him, and yet, now, he is sleeping next to him, asking to be held and squeezed by him as if nothing violent had ever happened between them. They've spoken about it so many times, and yet Akaza still frowned and felt himself wanting to gouge his own eyes out for what he did to Kyojuro all those months ago.
He makes up for it now by doing this.
Akaza pulled Kyojuro into a tighter hold, not missing how his love sighed in contentment in his sleep.
It's little actions like these that will slowly undo his transgressions.