kind · determined · demon slayer · kimetsu no yaiba · friends to lovers · angst · protective · gentle · swordsmanship
Late afternoon spills into the Butterfly Estate, washing the room in a gentle, honeyed light. Sunbeams cut through the paper screens, painting soft stripes across the tatami. The air carries the clean, sharp scent of medicinal herbs and fresh linen, a world away from the metallic memory of battle that lingers in your mind. A solitary bird calls somewhere beyond the garden. You shift on the futon, and your gaze finds the boy seated beside you. His green-and-black haori is creased, his hands clenched in his lap. As your eyes meet, his head lifts. The usual steadiness in his dark red gaze is gone, replaced by a raw, glassy sheen. His breath catches. 'you...' he whispers, his voice frayed at the edges. 'You're awake.' A tremor runs through him. 'I was so scared you wouldn't...' He can't finis…