dr stone oneshots & hcs!

to show that i care - ukyo saionji

You and Ukyo are like an old married couple.

Not the ones that bickered childishly that others made fun of, but those sweet, domestic couples with a seemingly very rare, special connection. Many people could only aspire to have a relationship half as loving and kind as yours, but if you were asked (which you definitely were), there really was no big secret. You simply loved one other and put in the work to make it show, and shown it was through small acts of love and service.

Those small acts made up your relationship. Hairline kisses. Finishing each other's food. Staying up together watching a show. Learning something new together. Reading together. Hello and goodbye kisses. Nightly walks with your arms intertwined. Resting your heads atop each other.

He'd help you get ready for bed when you accidentally let your work take you into the early hours of the morning. You'd treat him to a relaxing night when he'd come back from an exhausting job. You took turns running different errands. It was these small things stacked atop one another, this balance and mutual effort that led to such a harmonious relationship everyone envied.

The small things still lingered even after reuniting in the stone world. Stealing his hat, learning archery with him, sleepy conversations as the two of you drifted off to sleep. Learning to navigate your way through your new life as the two of you once navigated your way through your old one.

Both of you had your respective lines of work, and Ukyo refused to do his unless you were by his side doing yours. Everything he did, he did for you, and Ukyo never wanted you to live plagued by fear. In your large, intimidating and unpredictable worlds, at least there was the stability of your relationship that took form in those small acts.

He'd open up to you about his doubts, his fears, his insecurities, as did you. You let yourselves be vulnerable, trusting that the other would reach out a comforting hand to hold. It wasn't all that easy, and it certainly took time to build up that unwavering trust, but all the setbacks only reinforced that bond you have today, because you still stayed together through the ugly bits those envious people never saw.

He'd finish your leftovers when you accidentally ordered too much food. You'd comb through his hair to help him relax at night. The two of you listened to one another free of judgment, and gave nothing but truthful advice when asked for it. All of these things were simply reminders that the balance was there. The love, the trust, the effort was all always there.

And so when you were to depart with Ukyo after Ryusui declared that he was needed overseas, the two of you didn't worry. Instead, you smiled and bid him farewell- making sure that he knew he was a dead man if anything happened to him- and waved him off, confident despite your joke that he would return to you with the rest of his crew a hero, as he had always been in your eyes.