#grgDGRJHG Im not very happy with this honestly but I feel like the more I continue the more it's not really gonna get any better so

[souglias]

Sougo returns late after a long day of work on his birthday and he finds that you're still awake.

Sougo x f!reader. Fluff. Timeskip Sougo because takes place during the Forever Yorozuya movie.

Word count: (tbc)

c/w: Swearing, possibly ooc sougo because I'm being really experimental with this, they are married. Also since I usually write for gn!readers, I wanted bring up again that the reader here is female just in case!

--

The light that streams through the sliding paper doors at the end of the hallway signals to Sougo that you’re awake. That you've been waiting for him.

Hijikata started nagging Sougo about how he should have told you to head to sleep first, and not tire yourself out waiting for him. Sougo retorts that he did and you simply refused to listen.

Before Hijikata could continue, Sougo walks away to your shared room. Out of all the people, Hijikata being the person to lecture him pushed all his buttons.

Sougo wishes he lived in an entire house with you and no one else. But with the White Curse and the crackdown on the rebels, he makes himself content with what he can get.

When he slides the door open, he finds a tea table with a teapot and an almost empty teacup atop it. Beside them is a bowl of cut apples, the flesh of the fruit still a pale yellow. You're next to the table, with a hand in the clothing drawer--his clothing drawer to be exact-- and the other atop of a neatly folded yukata on the tatami.

At the sound of the door opening, you turn towards him and smile. "You're back."

"I told you I'd be back late. You should have gone to sleep."

He sits cross-legged next to you, and he tips the teapot. The amount of tea left is only enough to fill half of the small cup.

"I can't fall asleep without you."

Sougo scoffs, "That's a given with how tea works on you and how much you've drunk, idiot."

In retaliation, you shove a slice of apple into his mouth. The fragrance of the apple only barely tickles his nose. When he bites down on it, the juice fills his mouth, yet the blandness makes him flinch slightly.

"This tastes like fucking piss."

"Oh? I didn't know you knew what piss tastes like. Well, you just have to make do. People don't sell birthday cakes out there anymore. I only found some fruits, which aren't easy to get now, as you know."

He narrows his eyes at you and props one knee up, resting an arm above it.

"You're pretty dumb for someone who's my wife."

You raise an eyebrow at him, prompting him to continue. "Save the money for something else. Get better ingredients and cook some good food for us. I can continue to make the rest jealous and make them beg me to ask you to cook for them too."

It's your turn to scoff, but your frown quickly turns into an amused smile instead.

You place the yukata you took out earlier and a yukata obi in his lap. Shifting yourself behind him, you undo his ponytail and start running your fingers through his hair.

Sougo's scalp tingles when your fingertips brush against his head as you untangle his hair. Fatigue slowly kicks in as he sits in silence. If he closes his eyes now, it would be easy to pretend that the calamity that has befallen Edo has never happened.

He closes his eyes. His surroundings melt away, and only the image of your fingers in his hair drifts in and out of his mind.

After a while, you rest your hands on his shoulders tenderly. Sougo cracks one of his weary eyes open.

"Go wash up, I can still smell the blood on you. I don't sleep beside people who stink."

Sougo hisses at you, but he drags himself out of the room to wash up anyway. When he returns after his shower, he plops himself right in front of you and atop the futon that you've laid on the floor.

"You're a real brat, you know that right? Your sister really spoilt you."

"What can I say? I am an adorable little brother. And couldn't you do this little thing for the birthday boy? The apple slices tasted like shit, so that doesn't count as a present."

You complain and trash him for making you slave away for him, but you still reach for a comb and untangle his hair again for him. It's a mundane task. But the mundane things are what you hold the closest to your heart. When you watched Edo descend into the ruin it is now in, you watched fate rob things that were what people treasured the most.

Soon after, the two of you make yourselves comfortable in the futon in the familiar dark. Your head is tucked under his jaw and his arm is draped over your waist.

With his even breaths, you assume that he's already fallen asleep. Shifting yourself slightly to look at his face, you observe his weary features illuminated by the faint moonlight. You can only imagine how exhausting the day must have been.

You wanted him to share the burden with you. But he wouldn't, always saying that you weren't ready and told you to stay behind. Without thinking, you mumble, "When will you finally let me follow you and fight by your side?"

"Not so soon. You still suck at using a sword."

It takes you everything not to jump.

"I thought you were asleep. And we know that's not true, Saito said I got pretty good. I can use a bow and an arrow too."

Sougo drawls, "Stay here, where it's safe. Only shitheads barge into battles when they have a haven."

"I'm a shithead. You're a shithead."

Silence falls between the two of you, leading you to feel a tinge of disappointment again. He's either fallen asleep or he's dropping the conversation. Sighing, you shut your eyes for the night and give in to the lethargy.

"Fine."

Your eyes widened.

"Tomorrow. You, follow me. We see how."

His response causes your heart to soar. You kiss his jaw before burying your head in the crook of his neck. You're not even sure if he's fully drifted off to sleep, but it's the least of your concerns now.

"Good night and happy birthday, my shithead."

--

Happy belated birthday you fucking do-S character. Please like and reblog if you enjoyed this!