A New Type of Affection. || Inotan.

8. [FINALE]

[ it's here. the end. ]

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3rd Person POV;

Tanjirou settled in the grass, clinging to his new boyfriend's arm as his head rested on the black and blue-haired boy's shoulder. Inosuke wrapped his arm around his lover's body, and Tanjirou ended up hugging Inosuke's chest.

Inosuke rubbed Tanjirou's back gently. Tanjirou sighed contentedly. The boys were watching the sunrise. The way the pinky-purple streaks faded up into orange, which faded smoothly into baby blue mesmerized them.

" It's been so long since I watched the sunrise.. " Tanjirou murmured. Inosuke glanced briefly at his partner, running one hand through the other's reddish hair. Tanjirou sighed again and closed his eyes.

Gentle footsteps notified the lovers of somebody's arrival. A second later, Genya, Kanao, and Zenitsu were sitting beside their friends. Kanao looked just as mesmerized as Tanjirou felt. Genya looked at peace. The colors bounced off Zenitsu's eyes and danced in the yellow-and-brown hues. Tanjirou found that sight just as beautiful as the sunrise itself.

No words were exchanged the entire thirty minutes the group sat, watching. No words were needed. They were all at peace now. All they needed was to be by each other, and they had that.

After about thirty minutes, though, Tanjirou got up and stretched. Genya followed, then Kanao, Zenitsu, and Inosuke. " We should start our day, " Tanjirou said. Zenitsu nodded. " You're right. "

The group headed inside the Butterfly Mansion, the boys heading into one room, Kanao in her own to get ready. As Tanjirou removed his shirt, Genya glanced at him. " Is that what that Uppermoon did to you? " He inquired , referring to the scar that ran across Tanjirou's back. Tanjirou nodded.

Zenitsu blinked at the scar. Tanjirou chuckled. " You can touch it. It doesn't hurt anymore, " he told his yellow-haired friend. Zenitsu walked over and ran his hands along the scar, his mouth hanging slightly ajar. " It doesn't even hurt..? " The Thunder Breather asked. Tanjirou shook his head. " Wow.. " Zenitsu mumbled. " You're so awesome, Tanjirou.. "

" Thank you, Zenitsu! " Tanjirou smiled at his friend. Zenitsu smiled back, and that was the end of the matter. The boys finished getting ready, then filed out of the room.

To celebrate Tanjirou's surviving such a serious wound, Kanroji, Tokitou, Rengoku, Uzui, and Tomioka had banded together to set up a hangout for today. So they were all headed to that.

Upon arriving at the Demon Slayer headquarters, the group was greeted by Kanroji, Uzui, and Rengoku, who led them to the middle of the area. Tomioka wrapped Tanjirou in a quick hug, then backed up.

Tokitou threw himself at Tanjirou, slapping his shoulder lightly. " You scared me, idiot! " The Mist Pillar scolded. " Sorry, Tokitou-kun, " Tanjirou chuckled, hugging his younger friend back. Shinazugawa stormed toward Tanjirou, glaring. But his small purple eyes betrayed his true emotions; concern and relief.

" You scared us all, moron. " Shinazugawa muttered, ruffling Tanjirou's hair. Iguro stepped up, flicking Tanjirou's chin. " Be fucking careful, dirtface, " the Serpent Pillar growled. Though Tanjirou smelled no real anger; just concern in every direction. He felt bad for upsetting even the toughest Pillar. Himejima lumbered toward him, tears streaming down his face.

" I agree with Iguro, " the Stone Pillar began, " you should be more careful, Kamado. That injury could've costed you your life had Kochou not been there. "

Tanjirou scratched the back of his head. " I will be next time. Sorry, Himejima-san. " He chuckled softly. Himejima smiled. " I'm just glad you're alright. "

The small party went on from morning till sundown, when they began to wrap things up. Kanroji and Uzui put away all the reusable decorations with Rengoku's help. Shinazugawa and Iguro were in charge of throwing out all the one-time-use decorations. Tokitou and Kochou did the other cleanup work. The kids were told just to go back to their room, so they did.

Heading into their respective rooms, Tanjirou flopped down onto his bed. Zenitsu glanced over at him. " Hey, Tanjirou? "

" Hm? " Tanjirou sat up. Zenitsu fidgeted with his fingers. " Can I see your scar again? "

Tanjirou chuckled softly. " Of course. Come here. " He patted the spot beside him, taking his shirt off. He sat near the end of his bed on his knees. Zenitsu walked over and knelt behind him, gently running his fingers up and down the scar.

" That's a rough scar.. " He commented. Tanjirou nodded. " You're really amazing for surviving something like that.. " Zenitsu breathed. Tanjirou covered his mouth as he laughed quietly. " Thank you, Zenitsu. " He felt his face heat up slightly, but he brushed it off as just him being embarrassed.

If Tanjirou was being honest with himself, Zenitsu's gently rubbing his scar felt quite nice. It was calming. Zenitsu seemed to pick up on this, because he steadied his hands, continuing to run his hands along the scar in a caring way. Inosuke glanced over, growling as he realized just how Zenitsu was making his partner feel.

Tanjirou's eyes had closed and he looked calm. He was even smiling softly. Zenitsu had a similar look on his face, though his eyes were open and filled with amazement and care.

Inosuke stormed over, grabbing Tanjirou's wrist and shoving Zenitsu off the bed. Zenitsu yelped, whimpering as he hit his head on his own bedframe. Inosuke threw his arms around Tanjirou, glaring at Zenitsu. Tanjirou winced, hugging Inosuke back half-heartedly. He stared at Zenitsu, wondering what had caused Inosuke to be so harsh.

Letting out a sigh, Tanjirou gently pushed Inosuke away and hopped off the bed, helping Zenitsu up. " Are you alright, Zenitsu? " He asked, rubbing his friend's head where he'd gotten hit. Zenitsu whined. There were tears in his eyes. " No! That hurt! " He crossed his arms, returning Inosuke's glare.

Tanjirou felt hopeless. These two would never get along unless he trained them like dogs, and he didn't want to do that.

" Okay- " Tanjirou paused, turning to Inosuke. " Inosuke, apologize to Zenitsu. He didn't deserve what you did. "

Inosuke snorted. " SoRrY . "

Tanjirou opened his mouth to say something, then closed it, shaking his head and staring sadly at the floor. " You two cam figure this out. " He muttered, putting his shirt back on before shuffling out of the room, head down. Inosuke and Zenitsu stared after him, then decided not to follow him. They just went back to getting ready to go on a mission. Genya had already left. Zenitsu heard Nezuko running after her older brother. I hope Tanjirou's okay.. he seemed pretty upset..

Tanjirou, meanwhile, wandered down the hall and outside, holding Nezuko's hand gently. He sat just outside the estate and pulled his knees up to chest. " Oh, Nezuko.. " He sighed, reaching over to pet his sister's head gently. " What do I do? I can't stand watching them fight.. "

Nezuko, in reply, snuggled close to her brother and shook her head softly. Tanjirou hugged her tight. " I suppose we'll find out. "

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yay it's done

a sequel is being planned. full of drama and tanzen :)

I hope you all enjoyed reading this, even though it was really short.

thanks for sticking around! see you guys in the sequel <3

this line is here for convenience bcs need words

word count; 1200.