Dinner went by smoothly. Inosuke used his chopsticks that Tanjiro had made for him. Tanjiro praised his efforts to eat more tidy, which the response of the blue tipped boy was very positive. His cheeks tinged pink.

Zenitsu just stared the pair down. He still couldn't believe what he had walked into. Their bodies so close together. He couldn't help but be jealous. He thought of Nezuko but then quickly shook the thought.

He didn't want to think of the girl so indecently. She was so innocent, but so beautiful. He could only do so much with her as a demon. He understood that consent was very important. Maybe someday he would be able to win her heart.

--

"You almost what?!" The lightning user screeched as he was folding a pink sheet of paper.

Tanjiro flinched at the sudden yelling. "Shh! Inosuke is sleeping in the next room." Tanjiro whispered with his finger over his lips.

"I just can't believe you almost kissed him. That's like skipping a whole bunch of steps."

"I knowww." The redhead groaned.

"I'm glad it was just that, and you weren't trying to strip him and -"

"Alright, that's enough. I get it, Zenitsu!"

"Hey, I'm just saying." Zenitsu shrugged. "Plus, you were all over him with this lustful look in your eyes, and your heartbeats were way faster than usual. What else was i supposed to think?"

"Arghh!" Tanjiro blushed furiously and hid his face in his hands. "I'm so stupid. Why did I do that?"

"You can't stop true love, Tanjiro. It's irresistible. Now, all you need to do is control it."

The redhead raised an eyebrow, unsure of what his friend meant by that.

"Basically, what I'm saying is to keep it in your pants, Tanjiro."

The said boy's face went an even deeper shade of red as he hid it in his hands. "I-I haven't done anything like that!"

"Shh!" He pointed to the wall, separating them from the sleeping boy. Tanjiro nodded. "Not yet. But you will, and for now, you need to suppress that feeling. Neither of you have even confessed yet, let alone kissed."

Tanjiro couldn't believe they were talking about THAT. What an embarrassing subject.

"I don't know if we'll do something like that." Tanjiro said from behind his hands.

"Like I said, Tanjiro. You can't stop true love. And you can't stop the lust either. You can only suppress it temporarily."

"Okay!" Tanjiro whisper yelled. "I get it! Can we stop talking about this in front of my sister now."

Nezuko hummed. She was too busy learning a new origami pattern that Zenitsu had taught her. She seemed to be having a hard time. The girl huffed and shoved the folded paper to Zenitsu, who chuckled lightly.

"Here, like this." The blond said softly as he began folding the paper intricately but slow so that the girl could follow.

He created a three layered flower, attached a ribbon to it, and tied it into Nezuko's hair. She looked in a nearby mirror, her eyes widening. The demon girl went back to the boy and hugged him tightly while humming in excitement.

"I'm glad you like it." Zenitsu smiled warmly and returned the hug.

Tanjiro observed the two in silence. It made him very happy that his sister was having a good time with his best friend.

Sighing as he patted Nezuko's head, Zenitsu turned his head back to his friend. "Just stick to the plan. Everything will work out in the end, I'm sure. And remember, don't be pushy, or you'll scare him away."

"Right, I understand." Tanjiro then reached out and patted his sisters head. "I'm going to head to bed now, though. Goodnight Nezuko, goodnight Zenitsu."

Nezuko jumped on her brother with a big hug just before returning to her crafts. Zenitsu said his goodnights and the scarred boy headed back to the infirmary where he found a sleeping Inosuke.

He was already somewhat snoring, and he was occupying Tanjiro's bed. What did this mean? Did he accidentally choose the wrong bed, or did he want to sleep with him in his bed?

He wasn't sure which it was, but he did know now that Inosuke liked cuddling. So doing that wouldn't be a bad idea.

Tanjiro approached the sleeping boy with a soft smile. He was beautiful. Dark strands splayed on the white pillow, the tinest bit of drool at the corner of his relaxed lips. His body curled up in fetal position but with a single arm hanging off the bed.

Tanjiro then leaned down and softly pressed his lips against the pale palm, sending goosebumps up the arm.

"Gengoro..." He mumbled, eyes still closed. Inosuke was scarcely awake.

Tanjiro's smile dropped, and his eyebrows knitted together. He wished the boy would at least try to remember his name. Either way, he was glad to be making some kind of impact on the savage. Enough that he was dreaming about him.

A pale hand suddenly cupped Tanjiro's cheek. "You're here.." The sleepy boy stated, his eyes barely open.

A smile formed on the redheads face. "Yeah, I am." He whispered back as he leaned his cheek into Inosuke's hand. "I don't really mind, Inosuke, but why are you in my bed?"

"I want to lay on your chest again." Inosuke bluntly blurted out.

Tan cheeks turned red as pale fingers began making their way through Tanjiro's hair. "If you really want to, then I don't mind." He smiled and climbed in with the other boy, pulling the pale arm under the covers as well.

After they got situated, Inosuke practically ripped the other boy's shirt open just before attaching himself to the tanned skin, which made Tanjiro blush hard and smile.

It was so warm. Like the sun on his skin. Inosuke couldn't help but nuzzle into the scarred boy who chuckled in response.

Tanjiro's arms were wrapped around the others head, legs entangled. Inosuke was already back to sleeping. He must have been so comfortable to fall asleep so fast. Tanjiro was feeling tired as well. He gave Inosuke a kiss on the top of his head and closed his eyes for the night.

He hoped that this would strengthen their relationship and help the savage understand his own feelings as well.

--

The next day, the sun barely shined through the curtains of the infirmary. It was early morning, and most of everyone was still asleep, except Aoi, who was preparing breakfast, and Tanjiro, who was finally healed up, confirmed by Aoi herself. He was ready to be released. His next quest was to find Inosuke's boar head.

Tanjiro dressed himself in his corps uniform, pulled on his winter boots, and slid on his checkered haori and a long dark cloak with some gloves. He was ready to set off.

The other two boys were completely out, both snoring up a storm. Tanjiro sometimes wondered how he was able to sleep between the two.

Inosuke was sprawled out on Tanjiro's bed, mouth hung open with his face in a puddle of drool. The scarred boy chuckled and tucked the pale limbs back under the blanket. He wiped Inosuke's cheek with his haori sleeve and flipped the pillow, making sure not to wake the other boy.

"Well, I'm off." He whispered, pecking the top of Inosuke's head just before heading out the door.

On his way out, he encountered Aoi again.

"I'm glad to be able to finally get out and stretch my legs. Thanks for everything, Aoi!"

"It's no problem. I'm glad to see you are doing better."

"I'll probably be gone until late tonight or tomorrow. Can you please let Inosuke know when he wakes up. And... please keep an eye on him while I'm gone."

"I will let him know. And you don't have to worry about him. He's in good hands."

"Thanks, Aoi. I'll be on my way now." Tanjiro smiled and then turned to exit the butterfly mansion.

Tanjiro hoped that during this adventure, his crow wouldn't show up with a new mission for him. That would mean he would be gone longer than he had anticipated. Which also meant that he would be away from Inosuke for longer, too.

It made him sad to think about it, but the faster he moved, the faster he would get to his destination.

After a few hours of walking in the snow, Tanjiro was beginning to get tired. However, he knew he was getting close to the fight spot. He began to smell the scent of Inosuke's blood, filtered through the snow. The blood was even still slightly visible. Approaching the red snow, Tanjiro noticed how observable the blood was even under a few layers of snow from the past couple of days.

He kneeled down, put his nose to the snow, and took in the scent. A frown formed on Tanjiro's face, his eyes filled with tears. "Inosuke..."

That was when the redhead remembered that he had someone waiting for him. He had to hurry. He didn't want to keep the other boy waiting any longer.

Tanjiro began running in the direction of the fight scene. He was getting close. His nose was sure of it.

A rocky mountain wall appeared as Tanjiro got closer. This was it. The place where the fight occurred.

The redhead inhaled through his nose. He caught the scent again. His eyes darted to the left, right next to a small boulder by the mountain wall. Tanjiro ran over and began to dig through the snow with his gloved hands.

The scent of blood and pine was strong. Tanjiro quickly began to see something in the snow. It was the familiar boar head.

As he grabbed the boar head from the snow, Tanjiro heard an all too familiar noise.

"Caw! Caw! Mission time!"

Tanjiro sighed. "This is exactly what I was afraid of." The redhead tucked the fur away into his haori. "Lead the way, Tennouji."

There was a village on the other side of the mountain where grown men were going missing. He was going to investigate and take down that demon.

The sooner he finished his mission, the sooner he would be back to Inosuke. Tanjiro hugged the boars hide inside his haori as he trotted onward.

Once the redhead got to his destination, he noticed that the sun would be setting soon. He had to investigate fast before another innocent life would be taken.

--

A strong hand grasped the front of a certain blonds hospital wear and slammed him up against the hallway wall. "Ahh!!"

"Where the hell is he?!" Inosuke questioned angrily.

Zenitsu wriggled like a worm under the pressure of the blue tipped boy. "I-I heard he had a mission!"

"How long?!" Inosuke gripped the shirt tighter, closing in on the blond. Nose to nose.

"I don't know! I swear!!"

Inosuke dropped the boy to the floor and picked up the crutches he had tossed aside right before their altercation. He mumbled something like, "Useless," as he strolled away on his crutches, leaving the other boy crumpled up on the hallway floor.

"Stupid Monitsu... And stupid Tanjiro! He... didn't even say goodbye..." Inosuke stopped after turning a corner. He felt something fall down his cheek, and he immediately wiped it away. Inosuke just felt so empty. He missed Tanjiro's angelic voice, his soft gaze, and his touch as gentle as sunbeams.

Inosuke growled. Why the hell was he acting like this? Why was he thinking like this? It was so annoying. He could be doing better things with his time than interrogating the blond about something he shouldn't even be worried about in the first place.

"Idiot!" The blue tipped boy leaned against the wall and slid down.

It was times like this where Inosuke just wanted to hide. But he couldn't. Tanjiro was gone. His fur was gone. He had nothing. He felt so vulnerable.

--

The sun had just begun to set. Tanjiro wasted no time investigating the town before it began to get dark.

He found out that all of the men that went missing were going out for drinks at night. Most of which had significant others or families at home.

Early on, Tanjiro had taken a seat at a table in the back of the town's bar, which he had a clear view of. He wore a hood to disguise himself. Kids weren't supposed to be out this late, let alone in a bar.

He watched as men and women filled the bar. He had yet to smell demon nearby. Tanjiro wondered where this demon was.

Just as tanjiro got up to do some searching around the area, a strong familiar smell invaded his nose. "It's here." Tanjiro whispered to himself.

Garnet eyes darted towards the entrance. At first, nothing. But after another few moments, a beautiful woman walked in at sat up at the bar. The moment she did, the whole building reeked of demon. Tanjiro swallowed.

The woman ordered a drink from the bartender and began eyeing a man across from the bar. There. That was her next victim.

He hadn't noticed right away, so the woman called over the bartender once more. She whispered in his ear. He nodded and began making another drink. He then stood in front of the man at the other end of the bar. The bartender leaned in and said something to him with a smirk. The man looked past him, and the woman smiled and waved. The man's eyes widened, and he got up from his seat and met the woman at the other end of the bar.

Tanjiro watched the two interact as he hid in the shadows. It was getting boring watching them talk and not knowing what they were saying. If only he had hearing like Zenitsu.

He wondered how Zenitsu was doing with his arm. And Inosuke, with all of his injuries. And Nezuko, he hadn't planned to be away from her for so long. He missed all of them already.

The demon woman led the man outside, this snapped Tanjiro from his lingering thoughts, and he jumped up from his seat, sneakily following the pair behind the bar.

"Where we goin', pretty lady?" The man flirted.

The demon stopped in front of him and turned around. She slowly looked the man up and down. "Oh, just somewhere a little more.. private." She dragged her index finger down his chest with a lustful look in her eyes. Or was it hunger?

"Unhand that man!" Tanjiro jumped out, already in a fighting stance.

"And just who the hell are you?" She peeked from behind the man.

"Demon slayer, rank Hinoe. Tanjiro Kamado."