#Rainy Day Comfort | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

rainbowfey · 15 days ago

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27 Rainy Day

@flufftober

The weather had been stable for the longest part of his mission but now, it finally gave in to the temptation of soaking Giyuu to his bones. He glanced up at the sky when the clouds opened and sent a downpour like no other after him. He quickly jumped under a particularly wide tree, silently cursing to himself. The sky had turned dark grey a few hours ago, sure, but Giyuu had truly hoped he would make it back to his mansion in time before the downpour came.

Very obviously, he had been mistaken. And now he was stuck under a tree with a crown thick enough to veil the sky but apparently not thick enough to shield him from the rain. When the first raindrop ran down the collar of his haori, Giyuu shuddered and wrapped his arms around himself. Of course, this was not his first time getting caught in the rain but this one was particularly icy and since Giyuu had already fulfilled his mission, he was not keen on keeping on walking at all costs. In fact, he was rather displeased at the prospect of having to grit his teeth and bear the rain for another few hours until he finally reached his home.

With a sigh, Giyuu nestled closer to the trunk of the tree, hoping that the leaves would protect him from the worst of it. It was not even noon yet but the rain clouds covering the sky sucked up so much of the daylight that the world was bathed into a grey twilight. While he now indeed felt less raindrops hitting his head and shoulders, it was a rather uncomfortable position to sit in and Giyuu glanced around, trying to spot a better shelter. His eyes wandered over the trees and thickets lining the path and while he did spot an even more massive tree up ahead, its crown had already lost most of its leaves that now made for impressive piles around the foot of the tree. For a moment, Giyuu asked himself whether he should crawl into one of those piles of leaves but then he grimaced at the thought of what else might be scuttling through the leaves. He averted his gaze, suppressing a shudder, and instead looked at the path leading deeper into the forest. It was one of many paths leading back in the direction of the Ubuyashiki headquarters and Giyuu’s home but this path, Giyuu rarely ever travelled. And thus, he jolted up and hit his head on the tree trunk behind him, when he suddenly remembered something about this path.

“Ouch,” he yelped, rubbing the back of his head, distracted for a moment before he remembered his realization. “The house with the wisteria crest!”

Giyuu did not frequent it often as he usually did not travel through that region but if he remembered correctly, it was not far from where he was right now. And he was fairly sure it would provide better shelter than the tree he was hugging right now.

With this newfound resolve, Giyuu got up and pulled his haori over his head. Now, he probably looked hunchbacked and the haori was not rainproof either, but the warm cloth gave him a sense of security when he braced himself for his sprint through the rain. For the last time, he peered at the sky but the front of grey clouds stretched as far as his eye could see in every single direction. And since it did not seem like there would be a break in the rain any time soon, Giyuu took a deep breath and fixed his eyes on the path ahead.

Then, he broke into a sprint. He dashed through the rain, leaving the tree that had offered him at least some shelter behind quickly. The ground was covered in puddles, slowly but surely turning the path into a muddy bog and more than once, Giyuu felt the mud trying to swallow his shoe. Each time, he tugged at it and his foot came free with a squelch. He did not dare to look down as he could vividly imagine how his legs now looked. Instead, he sprinted through the ever green and brown trees, shielding his face from the rain with one arm. Within no time, his sleeve was soaking wet and the icy cold of the rain made him shiver. But he kept running since if he stopped now, he probably would freeze solid before he could decide to get moving again.

The path seemed endless and Giyuu’s legs started feeling heavier with each step. His skin felt cold and his haori was drenched, water slowly dripping down from it, sending shivers down Giyuu’s spine. His breath came ragged and he absentmindedly asked himself how a downpour could be more intimidating than any demon he had ever met. And finally, when he already contemplated just laying down somewhere and accepting his fate turning into a Giyuu-shaped puddle, he saw a light through the dim twilight of the forest.

He heaved a sigh of relief that came out more like an ‘eugh’ and headed for the silhouette of a house standing out against the darkening forest. He had given up on shielding his face in the meantime and thus, he stumbled more than he walked when he made his way to the house. He squinted, water running from his wet hair down his forehead and into his eyes. And while his legs started feeling like they would give in at any moment now, he finally walked the last ten steps to the house, nearly collapsing on the doorstep.

It took Giyuu all of his remaining willpower to knock at the door, once, twice, three times before his hand fell down. He leaned against the wall, trying to catch his breath again. And when he heard footsteps from behind the door, he almost sank down to the ground in relief.

The door opened and an elderly woman popped her head out of it. She looked around and when her gaze fell on Giyuu, her eyes widened. “Oh, you poor thing,” she gasped and quickly took a step back, holding the door open for him. “Come on in, dear, quickly now.”

And with an overwhelming sense of relief, Giyuu followed her into the house. She quickly closed the door behind him and eyed him visibly concerned. A soft dripping sound caught his attention and when Giyuu looked down, he saw water and mud dripping from his clothes to the ground. He grimaced and bowed apologetically which only led to another cascade of drops sullying the ground.

“I’m very sorry,” he muttered timidly, staring at the puddle forming around his feet helplessly.

But the old woman only laughed and shook her head. “It’s fine, dear,” she said with a warm smile. “I’ll take care of it. But now, let’s get you out of those wet clothes.”

She motioned for him to follow her and Giyuu reluctantly walked along the short hallway she led him through, leaving a muddy trail on the floor tiles. The further they walked, the warmer the air grew and Giyuu sighed contently when the rain’s icy grip around his bones finally faded. The elderly woman stopped at a door and smiled at him. “Take a bath, dear, and when you’re done, I’ll bring you something to eat.”

Giyuu looked at her speechlessly, desperately trying to find the right words to express the gratitude filling his mind and heart at her kindness. “Thank you,” he whispered and when she smiled at him gently and shooed him into the bath, he finally felt warm again.

It took him longer than expected to feel clean again. Though it had taken Giyuu quite some effort, he had finally slipped out of his haori and reluctantly set it down with his other dirty clothes where the old woman had told him to. Then, he found himself slinking into the hot water of the bath and at the same moment, his hesitation was forgotten. The heat had warmed his body to the bones and when his teeth stopped chattering, he finally felt human again. Washing his hair had proven more of a challenge as he had somehow managed to decorate it with both mud and twigs on his way to the house with the wisteria crest. But finally, even this hurdle was overcome and his hair now flew freely down his back, not tied in the usual ponytail for once. When he got down bathing, he walked back to the anteroom, only to find a change of fresh, clean clothes waiting for him. Thankful, he slipped into them and a few minutes later he found himself trailing after a young man leading him to another room.

“Hisa-san told me to take you to our other guest,” the young man chattered happily while walking through one of the endless hallways.

Giyuu listened to him only with a half-ear as he was busy studying the paintings scattered along the walls. The most interesting ones of them showed who he thought to be the ancestors of the young man and the elderly lady called Hisa. Some of them were portraits but other seemed to show the history of the family with the wisteria crest. Giyuu only reluctantly tore his gaze off a giant painting showing a demon slayer protecting a frightened family from several demons when the young man came to a stop and gestured towards a door to their left.

“In there,” the young man said with a smile. “The food will be ready soon, we’ll bring it to you once it’s done.”

Giyuu bowed and thanked him. When the young man walked off, he opened the door, asking himself what the man had said while he was marveling at the paintings. If he was not mistaken, he had said something about another visitor. And while Giyuu still processed that thought, the door slid open and revealed a large, beautiful room facing the garden. On the other side, the door to a terrace was opened and sitting on the floor, staring out into the rain was …

“Obanai?” Giyuu gasped when he noticed the white snake wrapping around the man’s shoulders.

While the man did not move a muscle, the snake turned its small head around and hissed softly when it looked at Giyuu. Giyuu returned the gaze out of its ruby eyes, frozen in place. The words of the young man now finally sunk in and his legs almost gave in when he realized that Obanai had to be the other visitor the man had mentioned. And still, Giyuu did not entirely believe his eyes when he stared at Obanai’s back. He had never seen Obanai without his haori with black and white stripes, small but fierce and never relenting in his unwavering vigilance. And now, Obanai was dressed in the same white, fluffy clothes that Giyuu was wearing, making him look younger than he was.

Giyuu hesitated and uncomfortably shifted his weight from one leg to the other, unsure of what to do now. He had never been alone with Obanai before, at least not for longer than a few minutes. And he could not even remember if he had ever had a real conversation with him. He nervously glanced at the door behind him and contemplated whether he could just up and leave but he quickly realized he was stuck between a rock and a hard place. If he left, Obanai would surely consider this an offense. But if he stayed, he did not know what expected him, should he try and talk to Obanai. And since Hisa expected him to be in this room, it was not a good idea to just leave without telling anyone.

Giyuu swallowed hard when he made his decision. He felt Kaburamaru’s gaze still on him when he straightened his shoulders and slowly walked closer. Obanai was sitting on the floor facing the garden and, plucking up his courage, Giyuu slowly sat down next to him, keeping a safe distance between them. Instead of looking at Obanai, he chose to stare out into the rain as well.

“I didn’t expect to meet you here,” Giyuu said after a while when the silence grew unbearable. “Were you also caught off guard by the downpour?”

Obanai did not answer and after he had waited for at least a minute, Giyuu glanced at Obanai. He had turned his head away from Giyuu, his black hair falling into his face, veiling it from Giyuu’s view. But what really caught Giyuu’s attention was how tense his body looked. It almost seemed like Obanai was frozen in place, his whole body tensed up as if he was expecting Giyuu to jump at him at any moment now. Giyuu gulped and regretted his decision to stay, but now it was too late to get up and leave again. Helplessly, he looked at Kaburamaru whose red eyes looked almost concerned.

The snake looked up at Giyuu and then at Obanai before he softly hissed and nudged Obanai’s shoulder. And when Giyuu listened closely, he could hear the faintest sigh before Obanai quietly replied, “Yes.”

Giyuu hunched up his shoulders, unsure of what to do now. He turned back to the garden and silently watched the endless rain flowing over the trees and stones of the garden. The ever-calm pattering of the rain slowly got to him and he felt his shoulders relax. And when even the last bit of tension had left his body, he quietly asked, “Is everything alright?”

For a moment, Obanai stayed silent but then he heaved a deep sigh, his face still turned away. „Why would you care, Tomioka?” he asked, his harsh voice cutting through the silence between them.

Giyuu winced. He had not come to know Obanai as an overly friendly person but this seemed unnecessarily hostile, even for him. He slowly backed away, bringing more distance between them. “Sorry,” he muttered. “I didn’t mean to offend you.”

Kaburamaru hissed quietly and gave him a look that Giyuu could not quite place. For a moment, it seemed like Kaburamaru was pleading with him to show patience. And when Giyuu hesitated, unsure of whether to get up and leave or remain sitting, Kaburamaru lifted his head to Obanai’s cheek and gave him a fierce nudge. “Ouch,” Obanai said under his breath. “What do you want, Kaburamaru?”

The snake hissed, this time sounding more insistent. His red eyes seemed to burn holes in Obanai’s cheek. And after a moment, Obanai sighed again, his shoulders sinking down.

“Fine,” he murmured, more to himself. And then he said a bit more loudly, “Sorry. That was unkind of me.”

Giyuu froze, staring at him. The whole situation had been strange enough from the start but now it had taken on another kind of weird and he was not sure what to make of it. While wracking his brain for something to say, Obanai seemed to make a decision. His shoulders straightened and he took a deep breath. And then, he turned around.

The first thing Giyuu noticed was the pained look in Obanai’s eyes when he met his gaze. And while he still wondered about that, Giyuu realized why Obanai’s face looked so different. Where the lower half of his face was usually covered in a bandage, Giyuu was now met with a sight he had never seen before.

“There,” Obanai said bitterly. “And now you can tell me what’s on your mind.”

Giyuu’s heart fluttered in his chest as he helplessly stared at Obanai. He could hear the hurt in his voice, sensed that Obanai was provoking him because sometimes, offense was the best defense. And yet, all he could see was his face. This pale, slender face, the big, uneven eyes and the prominent scar around his mouth that Giyuu had never seen before. And the vulnerability in his eyes, the tension in his face and the way he pressed his lips together.

And suddenly, Giyuu saw another face before his inner eye. A different boy, on a different day, but the same vulnerable mix of anger and fear when he showed Giyuu his scar, awaiting a reaction that would hurt him. But Giyuu had never seen anything but kindness and beauty in Sabito’s face. His scar had always been a part of him and therefore, it was no flaw but rather another part of the person Giyuu cherished. And when Giyuu now looked at Obanai, he saw the same fear of rejection and disgust in his eyes that he had seen in Sabito’s face all those years ago.

“It’s good to see you,” Giyuu finally said quietly, holding Obanai’s gaze. And to his surprise, he realized that he meant what he said. For the first time, he had the feeling of seeing the real Obanai, the one that hid himself away behind his bandages and his coldness.

Obanai’s eyes widened and the shock on his face reminded Giyuu of Sabito’s reaction when he had cupped his face with his hand, gently stroking his scar. His heart felt warm at the memory and when he now looked at Obanai, he felt the same warmth spreading through his body.

“I …” Obanai stuttered, for the first time ever seeming unsure of what to do next. “Aren’t you … disgusted?”

Giyuu stared at him in disbelief. “Why would I be?” he asked and Obanai winced.

Kaburamaru gently touched Obanai’s cheek and when he looked back at Giyuu, it almost seemed like the snake was smiling at him. And when Giyuu did not look away, Obanai’s expression changed. His face softened and when his shoulders sank down, the tension leaving his body, Giyuu’s heart felt lighter.

“Thank you,” Obanai said quietly after what felt like an eternity. “I needed to hear this.”

And when Giyuu carefully smiled at him, the corners of Obanai’s mouth moved. Only slightly, of course, but noticeably enough to see the hint of a smile on his face. And for the first time ever, Giyuu felt like maybe there was the chance for a bond between them after all.

#flufftober2024 #alt 2 #demon slayer #kimetsu no yaiba #kny #giyuu x obanai #obagiyuu #giyuu tomioka #obanai iguro #kaburamaru #scars #rainy day #romance #hurt/comfort #fluff #fanfiction #writing

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