Bitter Sweet (Giyuu x Reader)

21. Little Closer

You fight to keep your eyelids open, but soon loose the battle. The scent of the herbal tea, the comfortable feeling of Giyuu's presence, the cozy house with the sun shining through the windows, it's so peaceful.

As Giyuu flips the page of the book, he feels your body lean farther into him. He glances to the side and sees your peaceful sleeping face. He smiles to himself and closes the book. The tea has gone cold, but he takes a sip anyways.

He quietly moves the cups to the other side of the table, far enough away that they cannot be knocked over. He carefully leans your body forwards and places your arms crisscross on the table before laying your head on your forearms. He tilts your head to the side and lightly moves the hair from your face.

He quietly stands up and grabs the book from the table. As he walks across his living room, a smile remains on his face. Although it is light, the other hashira would be weirded out to see the smile he is showing. He grabs a bookmark from the top shelf on his bookcase and marks the page. He glances over his books and decides upon one he has read many times over. The book, although old, is in decent shape. The only noticable issue is that the corners of the book are now rounded and worn.

Giyuu doesn't sleep much, or really take care of himself, but he does take care of some things. His books are one his prized possessions, and he takes great care to maintain the crisp look of newly bound ones.

Once he settles himself back on the floor he opens the book and begins reading once again. He silently decides to wake you in an hour, you must need the sleep.

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.
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You awake to the feeling of a hand on your shoulder. You feel your eyes slowly peel open, they feel dry and you rub them with the back of your hand. Your neck feels a little stiff, but it's bearable. You slowly take in your surroundings and force your brain awake, the sun has gone down a little in the sky, the light reflects off of the snow and nearly blinds you.

"Did you have a nice nap?"

You turn your head to the voice and your tired mind instantly sobers up.

'I didn't even realize I was tired. I'm sorry for falling asleep!'

You watch as he sets his book down, it looks well loved.

"It's a little past noon now."

You nod your head in acknowledgment. You stand from the floor and stretch your stiff body, your knees and elbows crack as you stretch.

'Im sorry again for falling asleep, I promise I won't do it again.'

Giyuu grabs his book and stands as well. You follow him with your eyes as he sets the book back in its place on the shelf.

'We should eat.'

Giyuu nods his head and walks to the kitchen with you following behind. He opens the cabinet and takes out a bag of rice.

"Is fried rice okay?"

You nod your head enthusiastically.

'Sounds perfect!'

As Giyuu washed the rice you begin to prepare the peas and peppers.

So exciting! I've never had his cooking before

You watch as he cooks the rice and puts the simple dish together. Watching him cook was surreal. You've always seen him as this nearly unshakable powerhouse of a man, but watching him crack an egg open and get it all over the counter made you realize he was just a normal human like everyone else. The funniest part was his annoyed face at the mess he made, the minor inconvenience definitely made him a little angry.

Once the food was finished, the kitchen smelt absolutely heavenly. Giyuu handed you a full bowl of the simple dish and a pair of what looked to be brand new chopsticks.

As you followed him the the table and eat, you asked him s question.

'Are these chopsticks new?'

Giyuu nodded his head and sat down, you sitting across from him.

"I bought more cutlery as well as plates and bowls recently."

He takes the first bite of the steaming rice, but it doesn't phase him.

'What made you decide you needed new ones?'

You take a bite of the rice as well, and it's delicious. The flavour is better than you imagined.

"Guests."

'Guests?'

You cock your head to the side and look at him. He takes another bite of the rice before speaking.

"I only had old dinnerware for myself. I decided that I should have more Incase I have guests."

You nod your head at him and continue eating.

That's really thoughtful of him

'I think the new items are great, very nice quality.'

He looks down at his bowl and smiles. As you take another bite you nearly choke at what you hear. His heart rate speeds up, and just below a whisper you hear it.

"I'm glad you like it."

You pretend you didn't hear anything, clearly he didn't want you to hear that with how low he was speaking. You finish your bowl first and bring your dishes to the sink.

'Lets spar Giyuu! I'll land a hit on you for sure.'

He chuckles and stand from the table. As he walks to the kitchen you follow.

"Let's see if you have what it takes y/n."

You send him a cocky smile as you walk to the engawa.

'Oh I definitely do, don't complain later when you get beat!'

You slide the door open and walk to the training dummies to grab a wooden sword. You toss one back at Giyuu and take off your haori to set on the engawa with your sword.

"Challenge accepted."

You and Giyuu are about 15 feet away from each other. You ready your body and get into your battle stance.

I'm going to kick his ass! I've been trying so hard lately that I'm sure I'll beat him

'Don't go easy on me Giyuu, I want to win fairly!'

He smiles menacingly. Your smile falters a little.

"Wasn't planning on it."

(1032 words)