"Hey, soul sister. I don't wanna miss a single thing you do tonight."
As per usual, Tsubaki is near panic and Black Star is feigning boredom by the time they arrive at his farmhouse. He grimaces in pain as Tsubaki lets go of him in her rush to grab the bandages, and leans against the open doorway, blood splattering at his feet. It's not that it doesn't hurt; (he wonders what kind of moron would consider a stab wound to be painless,) but it never ceases to amaze and annoy him when it comes to Tsubaki's harried urgency. It's missions like these that remind him just how much she cares.
He's impressed, admittedly, that she's only slightly a wreck. If their roles were reversed - which, thank fucking Death they're not - he'd be a lot worse than she.
He hears the quick patters of sandaled feet and looks up from his wound, her hair ragged and her face red with breathlessness. She yelps, not realizing he was still standing instead of sitting like a good patient should be, and ushers him to the cushions by the entrance. He lets her do so without spouting a snarky remark like usual, and he wonders if she notices.
As she applies pressure and starts to wrap the gaping hole in his abdomen, he stares at her, dumbfounded by the swiftness of her fingers despite them shaking so much. Her face is flushes, with worry or embarrassment, he can't tell. Her eyes are focused and wide, blurred with what he thinks are tears.
Without thinking, (he seems to be doing a lot of that today,) he reaches a hand to her cheek, gently wiping the tear that had escaped. She jerks, as if it hurt, and accidentally yanks the fabric around his stomach a little too tight, which causes him to shout in pain and her to repeatedly apologize as she breaks their eye contact and dutifully bandages him up.
He doesn't touch her again.
Later, after the pain has subsided into a dull ache, he helps her mop up the blood from the floors of his house. When he notices her swaying slightly, he leads her to his bedroom and lays her down on his cot. She protests, but it's halfhearted. As she falls asleep, he realizes he's never seen her so exhausted.
The entire mission had thrummed with tension. It was a risky operation at best; the assassination of a samurai's mistress was always one of the more dangerous jobs Black Star was given. At first, things were smooth. All would have been fine, if the bitch hadn't ended up having an extra guard, who stabbed Black Star and allowed Lady Medusa to escape.
Tsubaki had gone spiraling, still in weapon-form, and the pair of them had to grope through a smoke bomb to find each other.
He brushes hair from her face gently, sighing with relief as she stirs slightly but doesn't wake. When he's sure she's fast asleep, he props the door to his room ajar, picks up his bloodied tunic, and leaves the farmhouse.
He makes his way through the village, walking straight to Lord Shinigami's temple, where Lord Shinigami is sure to be. He is greeted by several passerby, but he doesn't stop to talk. As he climbs the steps to the temple, he is greeted by Kid Shinigami, Lord's son. Kid nods at him, like he somehow knows how much of a shitstorm their mission became, and Black Star slips inside.
He reports the failure of the mission, and though Lord is disappointed, he does not punish Black Star or even Tsubaki. Lady Medusa has haunted them for a long while. He hadn't expected an assassination to defeat her. Lord Shinigami dismisses him with a new mission: heal.
Black Star leaves without another word.
He picks up some food before heading home. The sun has started to set, and has really given the village a glow. He doesn't stop to admire it before he makes another detour, walking to another farmhouse, but not his own.
He sees little Angela on the porch, who waves at him happily as she pets the village cat. He manages a small smile before he knocks on the door, and is greeted by Tsubaki's surrogate father, Mifune. He assures Mifune that Tsubaki is safe and will be staying with him for the night, in which Mifune - though obviously hesitant - simply nods. Black Star doesn't explain further, almost daring the older man to try, but Mifune doesn't pry and Black Star heads home.
Upon arriving at the farmhouse, he leaves the groceries by the door and checks on Tsubaki. He feels immense relief when he sees her soundly sleeping, arms and legs wrapped around his blanket.
The peeking rays of the setting sun has set her skin aglow, and she is goddamn beautiful. He's always noticed; hell, when it comes to her, he'll never not notice, but he curses himself that he only really drinks her in after days like these.
Before he realizes what he's doing, he's padding to her, kneeling by her side. He strokes her arm lightly, fingertips brushing the gooseflesh on her skin. He leans in and kisses her forehead, allowing himself a moment before he gets to his feet and closes the door completely.
Tsubaki smiles as soon as his back is turned, not realizing that his new frown is caused by the thought that her scent will be clinging to his sheets for weeks.