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Tanjirou is one of the first to finish his exam, and now he waits patiently and quietly for the rest of his classmates to follow.
It’s one of the last he’ll ever take here, or maybe ever if he decides to not go to university, but he hasn’t quite made up his mind for that yet.
The future has always felt like something too distant to really consider, like it’s something he would never get to, but now sitting in this room with nothing but the ticking from the clock to occupy his thoughts, it kind of feels like the future is sitting around his throat like a snake.
He scratches at his hand and looks for something else to focus on.
Kanroji-Sensei moves a large stack of papers across her desk as quietly as possible, and he watches her anxiously look up at the clock before glancing at the class. She repeats this three times, and he tries to guess what she’s thinking, but he comes up with nothing.
Unfortunately his need to solve a problem, whatever it may be, takes over.
Tanjirou stretches up his neck and shifts in his seat to try to get her attention, and when he does, she raises her eyebrows in surprise.
He nods towards the pile on the desk and makes his best do you need something face, and she immediately waves him over.
“Can you do me a favor and take these to Himejima’s office,” she whispers quietly. “I can’t leave during a test, and he needs them by noon.”
“Sure thing,” he whispers happily, always eager whenever he can jump in and lend a hand.
Tanjirou quietly scoops up the stack in his arms so he doesn’t disturb the rest of the class, and he carefully wiggles his way through the door so he doesn’t drop any of the papers.
The office he needs to go to is on the opposite side of the school, but he’s familiar with the way, and the load in his arms isn’t that heavy.
It’s strange to see the halls so empty. The only time Tanjirou ever passes through them is when the other students are moving around for their breaks for lunch or between classes or when he’s on the way to his kendo club, but even then, they don’t feel that empty.
Today they’re almost vast and barren, and with a shiver, Tanjirou realizes in less than a month, he’ll never see them again.
That shouldn’t make him as sad as it does, and yet…
Tanjirou lets out a breath and continues down the hall with a quick shrug of his shoulders. He has a task to complete, and that should be his focus for now.
He reaches Himejima-Sensei’s office, and gives the door a quick knock before he’s told to come in. They talk for a moment, but Tanjirou is quickly shooed back off to class where he’s supposed to be.
It’s a shame considering he knows he’ll just be stuck sitting there for the rest of the period. That’s one thing Tanjirou has never been good at, sitting still. He hates it actually.
On the way back to his classroom, Tanjirou spots a familiar blue tracksuit walking just ahead, and the joy it gives him cannot be contained.
“Giyuu!” Tanjirou whispers loudly, picking up his pace so he can quickly catch up to him.
Giyuu freezes and turns around, startled, but the look of surprise immediately vanishes when he sees that it’s Tanjirou. Tanjirou’s smile widens.
They meet in the middle at one of the pillars separating the windows to the outside and just out of view of the closest classrooms, and Tanjirou beams at him, so happy that he got to see him here of all places.
“Tomioka-Sensei,” Giyuu corrects, and Tanjirou flushes, mildly embarrassed.
“Sorry.”
“What are you doing out of class?”
“Kanroji-Sensei needed someone to take care of a quick errand for her,” Tanjirou says. “I’m just heading back now.”
“Good,” he nods. “How did your test go?”
“First to finish,” Tanjirou smiles with pride, and the corner of Giyuu’s mouth twitches.
“Did you rush it?”
“No, I think it went well,” he says. “I mean, most of the questions were common sense, I think. No big deal.”
Giyuu hums in consideration, looking over his face.
“What is it?”
“You should go into psychology when you go to university.”
Tanjirou looks off with a scrunch of hise nose. “I’m not sure I’m going yet.”
“You’re going,” he says, and Tanjirou shakes his head. Giyuu’s been insisting for months that Tanjirou continue his education, and every time he goes over to his place, Giyuu has another application for him to fill out. Tanjirou has filled them all out at to make him happy, but still, he’s not sure if this is the right path for him. The future is… a lot. “You’ll kick yourself if you don’t.”
“Maybe,” he says, smiling sadly. “But what am I supposed to do?”
“I don’t know, Tanjirou, but you like helping people,” he says. “Get into social work. Stick your nose in other people’s business for a living.”
That’s not… the worst idea he’s ever heard. That’s probably not what a social worker does, but still.
“Maybe,” he says again.
“You were the first to finish, right?”
“I’m just good at memorizing things, I guess,” Tanjirou says.
“Trust me here, I know what I’m talking about.”
Tanjirou’s lips cuve into a mischievous smile. “Yes, Sensei.”
Giyuu flushes and looks off, and Tanjirou laughs.
“You’re the one who told me to call you that.”
“Because you just had to come to the school I teach at.”
“I think it’s kind of lucky it turned out that way personally,” he says with a smile, and Giyuu hums as he ruffles his hair, reminding Tanjirou of all those summers together years ago when they were both so much smaller and Giyuu was like a cool older brother who watched out for him even though Tanjirou must have tortured him by dragging him all over the place out in the big bright world.
Giyuu was supposed to keep him out of trouble.
Sometimes Tanjirou thinks he’s still taking that role a little too seriously.
So many university applications…
“You’re going to get me fired,” Giyuu says quietly.
Tanjirou’s eyes widen. “For calling you ‘Giyuu’? I mean I might get eraser duty for it for a few hours, but I don’t see how that could get you in trouble.”
“Are you saying I should assign you eraser duty so you’ll stop forgetting I work here?”
“Will you be supervising?”
“Don’t flirt with your teacher.”
Tanjirou smiles. “I’m not in any of your classes.”
“Thank god,” he says, and Tanjirou’s mouth opens in shock, earning a laugh. Giyuu curls his lips in to control his smile, and Tanjirou takes an easy step forward, taking the unzipped flaps of his tracksuit in hand. “You should get back to class.”
Tanjirou nods up at him in agreement. “I’m sure your students need you.”
“I have a break this period.”
“Oh?” Tanjirou smiles.
“Don’t even think about it,” he says.
“Oh come on,” he teases. “I’m allowed to have bathroom breaks.”
“No,” he says, and Tanjirou laughs in delight.
“Alright, fine,” he says. “I’m going to class now, Tomioka-Sensei.”
Giyuu shakes his head before leaning down for a quick goodbye kiss, one that has them both flinching in surprise. Tanjirou and Giyuu both jerk to look behind themselves to make sure no one saw them, and fortunately no one did.
“If anyone’s going to get you fired, it’s you,” Tanjirou whispers.
Giyuu exhales, annoyed with himself. “It’s a habit.”
“Yeah, I figured,” he says, taking a step back. “But still, please don’t get in trouble. I would never forgive myself.”
He shakes his head no. “That was my fault. I’m sorry, that was inappropriate.”
“No, no, it was fine,” Tanjirou says. “It was nice. I’m going to make so many good grades now.”
Giyuu manages a small smile.
“So… does this mean later is canceled,” Tanjirou winces warily, and Giyuu shakes his head.
“I promised to make you dinner,” he says. “You should celebrate doing well on your test.”
Tanjirou grimaces slightly. “What if I didn’t do well?”
“Consolation meal,” he says, earning a laugh.
“Fine,” he says. “Sounds great, Tomioka-Sensei.”
Giyuu makes a face at the name, just as unfamiliar with the formality as Tanjirou is.
They used to share a bathtub.
How different things are now.
Tanjirou pushes himself up on his toes and kisses him quickly on the corner of the mouth with no intention to linger, and he spins on his toe to take off in the opposite direction before Giyuu can scold him.
Kissing his partner on school grounds? Absolutely forbidden.
“Tanjirou,” he calls out. “Wrong way.”
Tanjirou freezes.
Oh.
Right.
He turns around sheepishly, and sees Giyuu standing with his hands in his pockets, and Tanjirou’s cheeks flash with warmth. He doesn’t even have to say anything to make fun of him, and Tanjirou still knows he is.
The quiet types are devious.
As Tanjirou passes him to go in the right direction, Giyuu turns to leave with him, and the two of them walk together, neither in a particular hurry until they have to part ways.
“See you later?” Tanjirou asks, and Giyuu turns back and nods.
“Yeah.”
He walks back to class with a renewed warmth in his chest and a small wave of excitement for the near future.
Ah right, that’s what the future is.
Something soon to happen.
Maybe he can get used to that.
Alright fine, he’ll try going to university. At least he’s already applied to most of them.