Chapter Text
Tanjirou never imagined his life could return to normal again. Not since the fateful day he discovered the brutal murder of his family, and his younger sister turned into a demon. Up till two years ago, he had endured an endless path of hardship, pain, and loss. This was only bearable with his best friends Inosuke and Zenitsu, and his sister Nezuko at his side.
Not a day went by that he had to convince himself that he was not trapped in a dream, that they had all survived and now lived a life free from demons. The inner demons that manifested from their trauma may never go away completely. But at least he had a distraction, a new direction in life, running a modest eatery with support from his newfound family in his hometown.
Tanjirou swore to protect his loved ones and their future. He often found his mind preoccupied by concerns about Inosuke’s well-being. Inosuke’s unique upbringing meant that he took longer than anyone else to adjust to their new life. But he was trying his best for all of them, and he was slowly but surely getting there. Over the past weeks, he had even stopped wearing his boar mask. In return, Tanjirou did everything he could to accommodate Inosuke and make him feel comfortable. At the very least, he would ensure that Inosuke was free to be himself when it was just the both of them.
Like right now, when Tanjirou was cooking, and Inosuke stood next to him, holding his free hand in his own. Tanjirou thought this was odd, not to mention, inconvenient since he preferred having both hands to cook. Even then, he resisted the urge to question or discourage this strange behaviour.
Since that time in the crowds when Tanjirou first held his hand, Inosuke seemed to have become addicted to hand holding. He would find any opportunity to hold Tanjirou’s hand as long as it was available. Tanjirou did say Inosuke could hold his hand if it made him happy, so he couldn’t go back on his word. Besides, Inosuke lost interest in things quickly, and Tanjirou was sure he would stop doing it once the novelty wore off.
It was just another day in the life of Tanjirou, living with Inosuke and rolling with his eccentric behaviour. But he was glad for it. Zenitsu described Inosuke as bizarre, but Tanjirou thought this was exactly what made him endearing. He was a bright spark in their now mundane and peaceful life. Tanjirou never wanted this aspect of him to change.
Until a few days later, when Inosuke suddenly grabbed his face between his hands and pressed their lips together briefly. He had then dashed off without a word, bumping hard into Zenitsu on the way out of the kitchen. Poor Zenitsu did a pirouette and crashed into the kitchen counter. It was fortunate that he had already sat down his tray of dirty dishes.
“What was that about?” Tanjirou cried, his lips burning from Inosuke’s touch. The peculiar encounter probably lasted three seconds, but it made his heart rate abnormal for far longer than that.
“That was a hurricane named Inosuke,” Zenitsu groaned as he rubbed his waist where he had rammed into the kitchen counter. “No, seriously, you’re asking me? I think that was meant to be a kiss.”
“Where did he learn it from?” Tanjirou felt heat radiate from his face. Hand-holding, he could deal with. But kissing?
Zenitsu shrugged. “There’s a newly-wed couple in the town and it’s almost impossible not to bump into them kissing in the alleyways.”
Tanjirou sighed. He wasn’t against public displays of affection, but people should be more mindful of others. Those alleyways were heavily used in the day and there were young children around, for goodness sake. And then there were people like Inosuke who were so easily influenced.
“Zenitsu, do you notice that Inosuke has been… strange?” Tanjirou disliked himself for speaking about Inosuke like this. But he couldn’t think of a more appropriate word to describe him at the moment.
“Inosuke is always strange.” Zenitsu snorted.
“No, I mean, stranger than usual. First, he kept holding my hand. I thought he might be nervous without his mask and being constantly around people. But I can’t explain this kiss at all.”
“Ah, I think I can explain that.” A guilty grin crossed Zenitsu’s face.
A few days ago, Inosuke informed Zenitsu that he was having a contest with Tanjirou to see who could make each other’s heart race faster. He had asked what would induce more excitement than hand-holding. Zenitsu had suggested kissing.
Tanjirou felt a throbbing headache coming. “Why would you tell him something like that? You know he’s rash and he wouldn’t think twice about acting on it!”
“He asked me so I answered him! Besides, he’s a hot-blooded seventeen-year-old. He’s bound to be interested in such things. Maybe you shouldn’t have such contests with him in the first place?”
“I didn’t even know there was such a contest!” Tanjirou protested. Inosuke had the tendency to turn all sorts of things into contests, sometimes without him realising it. So he wasn’t surprised when Inosuke would out of the blue declare that he had beaten him at something. But where on earth did “make each other’s heart race faster” come from?
“If you don’t like it, tell him not to do it again.”
“This isn’t about me. I don’t want him thinking it’s fine to do this to anyone.” Tanjirou found himself speaking more snappishly than he intended. Before he could stop himself, he scolded, “You’re such a bad influence on him!”
“I’m a bad influence?” Zenitsu’s eyes widened in disbelief. “Look, in case you’re wondering, I didn’t teach him anything. Nezuko-chan and I haven’t gone past the hand-holding stage. We don’t even hold hands as much as you both do.
“Holding hands is different. Anyway, please don’t say such weird things to him again.”
Zenitsu threw up his hands in resignation and walked out of the kitchen.
After Tanjirou calmed down, he regretted being harsh on Zenitsu. His friend was right. It was his own fault for starting this hand-holding and allowing it to continue. He would talk to Inosuke, apologise to him, and then set the record straight. Inosuke may not be good with social cues, but he would listen to a reasonable explanation.
However, Inosuke spent the rest of the day avoiding him. He ate dinner earlier than all of them and went to bed early. When Tanjirou lay out his futon on his usual spot next to Inosuke, he saw that he had placed his boar mask over his head. Inosuke rarely did this nowadays unless he was really uncomfortable.
Tanjirou called out to Inosuke, but he did not respond. He tried to use his powerful sense of smell to figure out Inosuke’s emotions. This was something he tended to avoid doing because it was intrusive, and not always reliable. It worked well for singular intense emotions like anger, sadness or fear, but less so on a mixed bag of feelings.
He couldn’t figure out what Inosuke felt, but he was relieved to find the absence of negative emotions. He decided to leave him be. Perhaps Inosuke discovered that he didn’t like kissing after all and would stop doing it. Tanjirou hoped his conjecture was right. Inosuke would be in so much trouble if he tried this on some poor unsuspecting girl.
*
Tanjirou’s hopes were dashed when the next morning, Inosuke ran to him, cupped his face between his hands and kissed him again.
The kiss lasted a little longer than before this time. For how long, Tanjirou couldn’t tell. It felt as though time had stopped. All he knew was Inosuke’s musky scent, his lips surprisingly soft and warm against his own, the feathery tips of his hair brushing against his own cheek. After some time, Inosuke pulled away. Tanjirou was overcome by such an intense head rush, he couldn’t even move or speak a word.
“Aren’t you going to praise me?” Inosuke demanded, his bright green eyes brimming with excitement. “After kissing you yesterday, my heart wouldn’t stop doing somersaults, so I had to get away to calm it down. This time I shifted my heart twenty-five degrees to the right and it feels much better. I’m brilliant, aren’t I?”
“Yes, you’re brilliant,” Tanjirou said automatically when he’d found his voice. Then, as he regained his sensibilities, the gravity of the situation set in.
“Wait! It’s not brilliant. You have to stop doing this!”
“Huh?! Why?!” Inosuke’s smug grin morphed into a frown.
Tanjirou froze. He wasn’t at all prepared to give a lesson on why they shouldn’t kiss. Panicking, he ran possible reasons through his head. Kissing should only be done between two people in love. But would Inosuke understand what it meant to be in love? Kissing was inappropriate between two men. But why? If Inosuke asked, he wouldn’t even know how to explain this one. And there would be more trouble if he kissed a girl instead.
That’s it! Kissing a girl without consent is a crime. That’s the most critical issue. Inosuke could take his time to learn all about love and kissing later. But right now, he needed to know that he must not kiss or touch girls without their permission.
“Because kissing a girl without her permission is wrong! It’s harassment!” Tanjirou declared, his voice brimming with conviction.
“You’re not a girl.” Inosuke stared at him as though he thought he had lost his mind.
“No I’m not, but… but…” Tanjirou felt himself deflate. Why was explaining things so hard? He took a deep breath to calm himself and put things into perspective. “Actually,” he ploughed on, “this applies to anyone, not just girls. You shouldn’t kiss anyone without their consent.”
“Why?!”
“Because they’d get angry!”
“Are you angry?”
Am I angry? Tanjirou wondered. If he were to be honest, no. He didn’t mind it. Sure, he thought Inosuke's behaviour was uncalled for. But he was more worried about him getting into trouble with other people who were less understanding.
“No, I’m not angry. But…”
“That’s exactly what I thought.” Inosuke kissed him again.
Much later, when Tanjirou finally snapped out of his daze and stopped mooning around, it dawned on him that this was a disaster waiting to happen.
*
Tanjirou was relieved to find Zenitsu snacking on his favourite bench in the garden behind their eatery. He felt bad about disrupting his break after a hectic lunch shift, but this was important.
“Zenitsu, we have to do something about Inosuke!” Tanjirou cried, wringing his hands. “He doesn’t understand consent. I’m worried that he’ll get into trouble and offend all the girls, like how you used to.”
“Thanks for the reminder.” Zenitsu looked up balefully from his onigiri, the tone of his voice icy.
Ignoring his displeasure, Tanjirou continued. “Do you know if he’s friendly with any girls? Maybe if I could just give them a heads-up, they’ll understand.”
“No? How will he meet any girls, with you both glued at the hip all the time?”
Tanjirou thought Zenitsu had the tendency to dramatise things. But now that he mentioned it, he did spend an inordinate amount of time with Inosuke. This was especially so after Nezuko and Zenitsu started dating. The two of them would go off on their own, leaving Inosuke and Tanjirou with each other for company. Not that they minded it. They have always enjoyed hanging out with each other.
In their free time, they would go hiking in the mountains or explore the neighbouring towns and villages. Sometimes, they experimented with new recipes for the Wisteria Garden’s menu. Inosuke was a reliable food taster and creative with his ideas. Tanjirou would improve and create new recipes based on his feedback and suggestions. Inosuke would follow him when Tanjirou had less exciting things to do, like running errands, visiting suppliers or helping out at the orphanage. Tanjirou never questioned his decision to come along. Inosuke’s presence made him feel secure, even if all he did was stand around him and look bored.
“I didn’t realise I was affecting his ability to make friends,” Tanjirou said morosely.
“I was exaggerating. This isn’t on you. Since he’s stopped wearing the boar mask, girls have been trying to talk to him. Nezuko-chan’s friends have also asked her for introductions. But he's rude and impatient. He walks away before they can even finish introducing themselves. On the rare occasion that he feels like responding, he offends them or scares them away as soon as he opens his mouth.”
“I thought he’s gotten better at interacting with people over these years with us.”
“Well, you know what he’s like. He does and says as he pleases and making friends is at the bottom of his priority list. Anyway, it doesn’t seem like he’s interested in any girl, so you don’t have to worry about him behaving inappropriately with them.”
“If you put it this way, I guess I can stop worrying for now.” Tanjirou heaved a sigh of relief.
Zenitsu frowned at him.
“You’re supposed to be a hot-blooded seventeen-year-old too, aren’t you? Shouldn’t you care about your own love life? Instead, you’re busy being a mother hen to him!”
“Eh? I’ve been busy with our eatery. I don’t have time to meet anyone. And it’s not like any girl has shown interest in me. Haha.”
“What?” Zenitsu stared at him in astonishment. “Rin-san knitted a scarf for you. Ito-san gave you a pair of tickets for the Kabuki play this weekend. Mako-san from the sweets shop made a cake for you. There’s a letter from Kanao too. I put them all on your table. Please don’t tell me you didn’t get them. I promised them you would!”
“I did see them. I made sure they knew too.” Tanjirou assured him. He had made Rin take back the scarf because he had enough of those to last him for years. Nezuko made him one each winter, and it was of such good quality that he was still using one that she made years ago. He didn’t care for Kabuki plays, and so gave Ito’s tickets to Nezuko, but he had insisted on paying for them. Inosuke ate the cake that Mako made and said it was bland, so he didn’t get to try it, and he was frank to her about it. Nevertheless, he tried to convey his appreciation by buying a cake from her store. Despite his best efforts to not take advantage of his neighbours’ kindness, they all seemed to be cross with him.
Tanjirou confided his puzzlement to Zenitsu.
“In future, please don’t accept things on my behalf. I don’t want to waste their effort,” Tanjirou said.
Zenitsu narrowed his eyes until they were a slit.
“You’re unbelievable. I shouldn't have bothered. But those girls asked me to help because Inosuke glares at them when they go near you and they got scared.”
“Oh no, is that so? Is there a misunderstanding? I’m sure Inosuke meant no harm…”
“I’m just passing on the message.” Zenitsu cut him off. “Anyway, what about Kanao? You write to each other, don’t you? What did her letter say?”
“Kanao asked if she could visit. I wrote back saying that of course, she could, and to bring Aoi, Sumi, Naho and Kiyo along. She hasn’t replied though. It’s odd because she usually replies to my letters within a day.” Tanjirou mused.
Zenitsu brought his palm to his face. “Why am I not surprised?”
“I suppose they must be busy with their ryokan business.” Tanjirou opined. Last he heard from Kanao, they rented out parts of their beautiful, spacious mansion to weary travellers and people in need of a vacation. Apparently, a bulk of the clientele were former demon slayers, and business was brisk.
“If they visit, I sure hope Inosuke behaves. They’ll be so disappointed if he acts like how you used to, Zenitsu.”
“I don’t think they’re ever visiting. You and Inosuke deserve each other and nothing more!”
*
Tanjirou had hoped that the novelty of kissing would eventually wear off, and Inosuke would turn his attention to something else. But if anything, Inosuke became even more brazen with his kisses.
Tanjirou had tried to ask him why he was acting like this. But all he got were non-answers like “Because I want to”, “I like kissing you.”, “It feels nice”, “It makes me feel warm and fuzzy.” Of course, kissing was nice, but that didn’t mean you should do it with anyone.
Once again, he tried using his acute sense of smell to sniff out Inosuke’s emotions. He could detect happiness and excitement. There was another scent, a subtle, flowery one, that he couldn’t place at first, until one day, when he caught a whiff of it from Zenitsu being around Nezuko. Well, Zenitsu was probably always thinking of kissing Nezuko, so that didn’t offer much insight.
He didn’t mind kissing. It was harmless and he knew Inosuke had no ill intentions. But kissing was very distracting for his work. He couldn’t focus and would spend long moments in a daze until Zenitsu scolded him for being slow. He also mixed up the customers’ orders several times. After he confused the salt with sugar, he decided that it was time to put his foot down.
Tanjirou had gotten better at anticipating when Inosuke wanted to kiss him. If he couldn’t talk Inosuke out of kissing him, then he would simply avoid him. At least, until he found a better solution. But Inosuke seemed to view this as a challenge. Whenever Tanjirou ran off in a different direction, he would chase him down and corner him, like a predator after its prey, a triumphant glint in his eyes.
This time, Inosuke had him against the wall inside the kitchen pantry, trapped between his arms. The only way Tanjirou could get out of this was to headbutt Inosuke. Of course, this wasn’t an option.
He pinched his lips together, determined to keep him out. What was Inosuke thinking, kissing him while they were in the middle of a rush hour shift? Not that it was any more appropriate if they kissed at any other time, at home, or anywhere else. But still.
Tanjirou felt a nibbling sensation on his lower lip, followed by a slight tingle of pain. Was Inosuke biting him? Startled by this new development, Tanjirou tried to ask about it. In the split second that his lips parted, Inosuke slipped his tongue in. Tanjirou stilled in shock as his mouth was explored in ways that he never expected.
Tanjirou felt his knees grow weak. He was so dizzy and tingly all over. He would slide down to the floor if he didn’t hold on to something soon. Impulsively, he put his hands around Inosuke’s waist. Inosuke seemed to view this as encouragement. He pushed Tanjirou against the wall and kissed him harder.
“He’s getting better at this,” Tanjirou thought. Inosuke has always been a fast learner. Compared to the first time he planted a peck on his lips, he’s so much more confident and assertive now. As the saying goes, practice makes perfect. Tanjirou had already lost count of the number of kisses Inosuke stole from him.
Their lips parted. Inosuke leaned back a little, breathing heavily, his cheeks flushed. Their faces were still very close. Tanjirou could see every long eyelash, could feel the intensity of his stare as his emerald green eyes bore into him. Tanjirou had to look away. How could anyone be so dazzlingly beautiful?
“Tanjirou!” Zenitsu bellowed from outside. Tanjirou nearly jumped out of his skin. “Where is the order for table twelve? And where the hell are you?!”
“I’m working on it!” Tanjirou called back, quite forgetting about Zenitsu's keen hearing.
What am I doing, evaluating Inosuke’s kissing and his face?
Tanjirou felt that he was really losing it. He put his palms on Inosuke’s chest and nudged him. They needed to get back to work before Zenitsu found them here.
Too late, Zenitsu appeared in the doorway. Tanjirou’s heart was beating like a drum. But he knew it didn’t take Zenitsu’s auditory perceptions to figure out what they were doing. Inosuke was panting slightly, and he still hadn’t removed his hands from around him.
“Don’t flirt at work, you idiots! We’re running a serious business here!” Zenitsu’s loud shrill scream echoed around them in the confined space. “If you don’t get table twelve’s order ready in five minutes, you… you will… well, you can’t be fired, but you will be sorry!”
Zenitsu threw a dirty look at both of them and stormed off.
“Tsk, stupid Monitsu.” Inosuke straightened up and released Tanjirou. “What do you need for table twelve? I’ll help.”
Tanjirou neither knew nor cared what table twelve’s order was. There were much more pressing matters at hand.
“We… really shouldn’t do this,” Tanjirou stammered.
“Huh? Do what?”
“Uh… kiss.” Tanjirou took a deep breath. “We shouldn’t kiss each other.”
“Why?” Inosuke frowned at him, his delicate features radiating impatience.
“Um… because you should only kiss someone special to you. Someone you like very much!”
“I don’t dislike you.”
“That’s not a good enough reason to kiss someone! You don’t dislike Zenitsu and Nezuko too, but you wouldn’t kiss them, right?”
Right? Tanjirou hoped.
“I don’t want to kiss them.” Inosuke scoffed.
“Right.” Tanjirou nodded, feeling strangely relieved. “So you shouldn’t kiss me too.”
“You’re different.” Inosuke’s expression softened. “You’re my underling number one.”
“That’s… neither here nor there. Bosses don’t kiss their underlings.”
“You’re just an underling, so you don’t get to decide that.”
And he pushed him against the wall and kissed him again.