this isn't an x reader, but i just thought i'd share it with you since i had fun writing it :)
Today was a day as monotonous as ever for Giyuu Tomioka.
Shinobu had today again told him that he had no friends, that nobody loved him, that he'd be forever alone. The time and detail she put into her explanations made the lone man believe whether she was making up endless fake backstories in order to stick around him some more, just to annoy him.
But today, Giyuu was motivated. He wanted to take a first step towards new friendships. And so he went to a trusted acquaintance of his for advice.
“You want to make friends, Tomioka-san?” asked Tanjirou with a puzzled frown. “Don't you already have friends? Among the Hashiras... And you already have me!” he beamed.
Giyuu stayed silent for a short while after Tanjirou's declaration. He then squinted his eyes and frowned as if in deep reflection, before replying flatly. “No. I don't have friends.”
“Then what am I to you—?”
“I wouldn't know how to define our relationship with words,” spontaneously replied the Water pillar.
“Eh,” Tanjirou gave a slow nod at Giyuu's statement, pretending to understand. The conversation was getting weirder by the second. “Then maybe you could explain with actions?”
At this, the Water pillar's eyes widened slightly. He looked around, seeing as to nobody else was there, then responded with a quick nod, “Okay.”
Tanjirou gave Giyuu an enthusiastic smile, which encouraged the latter even more. “Then please, go ahead, Tomioka-san!”
“Hm,” hummed Giyuu, before taking a step closer to Tanjirou, whose smile did not falter. Then, he stretched his arms open slowly, taking another step closer. He then leaned in, his outstretched arms at either side of Tanjirou's body, before timidly lacing his arms around the younger male's frame.
“—!” Tanjirou felt a hand patting his back in an effort of friendliness. Then, Giyuu quickly pulled away, took several steps backwards, and stared into Tanjirou's eyes expectantly. He seemed, much to the boy's surprise, somewhat flustered.
“T-That was a really nice hug, Tomioka-san!” complimented the red-eyed boy cheerily, with a wide grin. “You've... never hugged anyone before, have you?”
“...No,” honestly replied the Water pillar. “Is it that obvious?”
“Yes.”
“Ah.”
Realising his mistake, Tanjirou spoke up once more, his tone apologetic. “It's okay, Tomioka-san. It was still very good!” cheered the boy, patting Giyuu's shoulder reassuringly. “And you could practice hugging with your soon-to-be friends, the Hashiras!”
Upon hearing Tanjirou's encouragements and proposition, Giyuu was now determinated to enlarge his circle of friends. And so, with a small bow to his precious counselor and a genuine smile at his lips, he was off to make actual friends.
He tried to hug a squirrel on the way but it didn't work.
Ahem, yes. So Giyuu just hugged everybody out of the blue.
2 hours later...
A demoralised Giyuu was making his way back to Tanjirou.
Upon seeing one another, both demon slayers froze. Tanjirou's eyes were as wide as saucers whilst Giyuu's looked livid. Like, more than usual. Actually devoid of life.
The Water pillar was covered in bruises, and seemed abnormally exhausted.
“T-Tomioka-san!? What happened—?”
(inhale)
“I hugged Rengoku and he hugged me back.
“Then I tried to hug Obanai and he curved me.
“Then Gyomei and he cried twice as much.
“Tokitou looked at me weird and called me a pedophile.
“Sanemi hit me.
“Kanroji took it the wrong way and wanted to do things to me.
“And Shinobu poisoned me, hit me, called me a pedophile and also wanted to do things to me. Bad things.”
Silence. Tanjirou opened his mouth, only to close it back the next second. When he had finally gotten over his momentary bewilderment, the sole word he could come up with was—
“Conclusion—?”
“I don't want friends.”
giyuu: i don't need friends. they disappoint me.
+ bonus, something random because why not
sanemi: why the fuck is tomioka crying. and why does shinobu look happier than usual about it
tokitou: tomioka-san said that onions are the only food that can make you cry
sanemi: and?
tokitou: shinobu threw a watermelon at him
sanemi:
hi i don't know what happened in my brain. i was probably high on oxygen. again.
