Disclaimer: I do not own Tengen Uzui, Shinjuro Rengoku, or Senjuro Rengoku. They were created and are owned by Koyoharu Gotouge.
"This isn't a good idea."
"Scared, old man?"
"No! It just isn't the right time."
"You know he's going to find out eventually. It wouldn't be very flashy to keep the truth from him."
"…I know."
"I'll be with you when you tell him. If it helps, he's more understanding about most things than you'd think."
"I'm not sure about that."
"We'll see."
Senjuro had no idea what his father needed when he was instructed to come to visit him later that afternoon – and to his room no less. He'd done his chores around the house, including sweeping, organizing, and his morning kata. Their relationship had been going well for quite a while, so just the notion of being asked something made his lingering anxieties kick into overdrive.
By the time the sky had begun to glaze over the blue, he made his way to his father's door and knocked quietly. Audible talking behind it could be heard, although Senjuro wasn't able to fully understand it. Thankfully, he did hear the "come in" that was most certainly from his father and opened the bamboo. As he stepped in, he saw the elder Rengoku sitting on the other side of the space – and to his surprise, the former Hashira Tengen Uzui to his left.
"Uzui-sama! I wasn't expecting you again!" Senjuro exclaimed, realizing his colorful presence while shutting the door.
"What can I say?" Tengen replied with a smooth smile. "I like the air around this place." He placed a firm hand on his father's shoulders amid the rant, and strangely, this caused Shinjuro's face to turn bright beet red. Which was even more confusing, as the boy had never seen him turn that color in years.
"Senjuro, please come," his father said squarely. "There is something Uzui and I would like to discuss with you." He obliged and sat down in front of the duo, curious.
"As you know….Lord Uzui has been…residing here more in the past few weeks… than before," Shinjuro began. The bright red on his face was even brighter than before, and its very existence seemed to impede his ability to articulate. "And the reason…for that…is…" His voice dipped abruptly out of nowhere.
"Father? What reason?" Senjuro asked.
Tengen let out a chuckle, gaining Senjuro's attention. "Honestly, Shinjuro, should I just go and say it?"
"No! I was about to get to it, Tengen!" Shinjuro exclaimed while turning furiously at Tengen. After a few moments of fuming and heavy breathing, the older Rengoku returned to gaze at his son. "I was about to say…Lord Uzui's reason for being here so much more often is that…he and I…"
Senjuro felt even more perplexed as the breathing in his father's body seemed to completely dry out like it was not there anymore. What was so nerve-racking about having another person over for company?
"…are fond of one another."
Oh.
And then the pieces slowly settled in place quicker than the night-gallop of a demon. How Tengen had always been seeming to offer affectionate advances in his father's vicinity. How his father's spirits, improving already, were even better with the former sound Hashira around. Even how many "tasks" Senjuro might be given to do while they were in deep evening conversation. It was suddenly too obvious to not be considered.
Senjuro felt his mind wandering to many things as the revelation took more weight. To his late mother, whom he knew to which his father's decline had been attributed. The elder Rengoku wouldn't try finding love again if there wasn't a person just as worldly as her. Her mannerisms and touch were one of a kind, after all. Then there was the aspect of it being another man; he has never really considered his father to be into that – though he wasn't against men loving men. In the case of Uzui, that wasn't much of a surprise. Tengen was flamboyant every waking second, and despite him being married to three wives, he still lavished every walking man and woman in his radius. So what about Uzui did his father find attractive? They were opposites in everything that personality dictated.
What would Kyojuro say? He would have the right answer on all of this. Of course he would.
"-Senjuro?" Shinjuro asked again, his voice coming into focus as Senjuro realize the two men has been staring at him, looking worried. "Are you all right?"
"Yes, father," Senjuro answered with a thin smile. "I was just thinking, about you and Lord Uzui."
Shinjuro looked more nervous than he had in months. "Oh. I…I know this is much for you to hear, but-"
"Father, it's alright," Senjuro interjected. "I still love you. And I know that mother would want you to be happy, even if it were with a man. That is if you're happy with him?"
Shinjuro nervously chuckled. "I am. He…makes me feel that warmth all over again. Not in the way I did with Ruka – who I will always cherish – but in his own way."
"Hey, I'm still here!" Tengen interrupted comically, throwing a fake grimace. "But you've pretty much covered it."
Beaming, Senjuro looked happily at his father, and out of nowhere leaned forward to give him a hearty hug. "Then you have my blessing, father."
Initially taken by surprise, Shinjuro couldn't stop himself as his eyes teared up and he collapsed into his son's warm grasp. Weeping happily, both father and son were soon joined by Tengen giving them both a hug himself and completing the embrace from the outside.
"It's gonna be okay, Rengoku," Tengen whispered with a warm kiss on Shinjuro's neck.
A/N: Thanks for reading!
