Archive of Our Own

"T-thank you for inviting me over, Rengoku-san!"

Truth be told, Tanjiro is a bundle of nerves underneath the enthusiasm. He wants to be here, more so than ever now that he knows that Rengoku is... partial to him, but at the same time, he feels incredibly self-conscious around the man, when easy familiarity had been the norm before. Not helping his nervousness is remembering how Zenitsu and the butterfly girls had crowded around him before he left the Mansion and cooed about Tanjiro going on a date (the girls) or screeched about him losing his innocence (Zenitsu). Inosuke had also been in the background but mostly ranted about not being able to fight Rengoku. Luckily he seemed disinterested in following Tanjiro since it would mean losing access to a steady supply of Aoi's steamed buns.

Anyway, he's hoping that Rengoku doesn't pick up on his awkwardness but when Rengoku continues to stare at him instead of briskly letting him into his home like every other time, Tanjiro realizes he might not be the only nervous one here.

Yes, that's definitely a whiff of agitation coming from the Flame Hashira.

Like with yesterday's shiromuku incident, it's a little alarming to Tanjiro that Rengoku can be unmoored by things others find trivial. But now that he knows better, it's also... adorable?

Ah, Tanjiro's starting to relax.

"Can I come in?"

Rengoku blinks and then seemingly remembers himself. "Right! Sorry to keep you waiting!"

"It's no trouble!"

As Rengoku leads the way past the main entrance and to the courtyard, Tanjiro tries to keep his breathing on an even keel. The nature of their relationship may be changing, but that doesn't mean he has to let things become stilted between the two of them. They had gotten along very well right before Rengoku had beheld Tanjiro in a shiromuku – "Honestly, we thought you and the Flame Hashira were already in a relationship before Shinobu-san told us what she wanted to do," Aoi had said to Tanjiro's great embarrassment yesterday – and they can still have that.

Once they fall into the familiar routine of training, it's easier to slip into normalcy.

Sure, it does feel like Rengoku is giving him more feedback than normal, but when has that ever been a bad thing? Tanjiro always appreciates more advice on how to close up his stance and how to better synchronize his breathing with his Sun Breathing. Even though Rengoku is not a Sun Breathing user, there are apparently enough similarities between Flame and Sun Breathing that he can guide Tanjiro better than if he had decided to go at it alone.

"Yes, my boy, you're getting the hang of it!"

"Make sure to check your breathing, but you're moving better today!"

"That was a great headbutt!"

The extra feedback isn't bad at all, Tanjiro thinks, smiling widely.

Tanjiro is even managing to keep himself together during the times Rengoku checks his katas. He did yelp at first when Rengoku laid hands on him from behind to correct his posture, the contact suddenly and almost unbearably intimate. But when he reminds himself that this is all part of training – a reminder that paradoxically makes his heart sink a little – he's able to calm down and follow along. He does notice that Rengoku's hands do linger longer than usual but he doesn't get time to sit on that thought for long before his attention is pulled to the next kata.

At some point, he notices Senjuro out of the corner of his eye, but then the boy seems to scurry away quickly, red-faced, after dropping off food and tea on the engawa. He'll have to ask Senjuro if he's okay before he leaves the manor today.

Then Tanjiro finds himself thrown onto the ground, sword clattering to his side, and Rengoku towering over him.

"You're getting distracted, my boy!" Rengoku says while holding onto Tanjiro's right hand. He must have grabbed Tanjiro's hand in order to flip him and he didn't even register it until he was already on the ground.

It's times like these that remind Tanjiro just how incredible Rengoku is, despite no longer having his left eye. He'll need to keep working hard just to make sure he can even be worthy of the title of "tsuguko" before he can even sniff at the prospect of standing as an equal to Rengoku. But instead of inspiring dread, Rengoku's simply inspired Tanjiro. It's just an honor and a joy to be able to hone his skills with such a dazzling man.

"My apologies, I'll be more focused!"

As Tanjiro is helped up from the ground, he feels Rengoku's fingers slide across his palm, slow and deliberate, and warmth settles in his core.

Kyojuro doesn't want to let Senjuro's food go cold, so after another five minutes of kata work, he calls for a break, to which Kamado seems to react with a mixture of relief and disappointment.

Adorable.

Yes, Kyojuro has definitely made the right decision in asking Kamado to be his tsuguko.

Kamado might still have a ways to go, but Kyojuro can honestly say he is proud of how far he's come along since they fought together on the Mugen Train. Like the eldest son that Kyojuro is, Kamado knows what it means to be relied on and to work hard accordingly in order to live up to those expectations. While Kyojuro can develop training regimens however he likes – and apparently most of the Corps and even some of the hashira find his methods rather harsh – Kamado is ultimately the one that has to put in the effort to become stronger, even if everybody else is supporting him. And he has risen to the occasion splendidly. It would not be a stretch to claim that Kamado can become a hashira in a year's time, with consistent training of course.

Truly, Kamado is a prized tsuguko. And to think, Kyojuro had once written him off as a rule breaker and a fool for letting a demon travel with him.

Then there's the awareness since yesterday that Kamado is more than just a successor to him.

Maybe others would write it off as infatuation, which he certainly can't blame them for. From the outside, it certainly seems sudden and jarring that it took Kyojuro one shiromuku to realize that Kamado is gorgeous when they have trained and been on missions together for months. But on further reflection, Kyojuro concludes that his newfound fondness is more akin to a smoldering flame growing over time rather than a bonfire lit by a random spark. The shiromuku put him over the threshold undoubtedly, but were it not for that, something else would have tipped him over inevitably.

After Kamado dared to chase down an Upper Rank despite his near-fatal injuries, even throwing away his sword while yelling affirmations of Kyojuro's worth, and then sobbing so heartily on his behalf, it's no wonder Kyojuro's been primed to fall for him.

And now that he knows better the shape of his feelings, he plans to put his all into Kamado as not only a hashira training a tsuguko but also a man courting his beloved. Hence the invitation he extended to Kamado to come over to his estate – they can not only train together but also Kyojuro wants a private space to announce his intentions to Kamado by the end of the day. His mother would not have had it otherwise and life is too short to dither.

That's not to say that Kyojuro is impervious to nerves. Far be it. This is all new to him, too, as it must be for Kamado, and he's probably bound to make mistakes. But as long as he faces them head on, things will work out.

As they eat on the engawa, the mid-day sun beats down heavily on them. Coupled with their earlier exertions and the arrival of summer, it makes sense for Kyojuro to take off his haori and place it to the side. Yet this earns an odd look from Kamado, whose eyes seem to shift back and forth between Kyojuro and the haori.

"Speak, my boy!"

Kamado looks up guiltily for some reason. "I was just noticing that this is the first time you've taken off your haori in front of me."

"It's a hot day!" Kyojuro chews contentedly on one of Senjuro's riceballs. The breeze is pleasant on his now exposed neck. "Feel free to take off yours too! There's no need to stand on ceremony when it comes to trivial things like that, Kamado!"

"Yes, you're right," Kamado says, but the silence after that seems to indicate there's more to come.

While Kamado seems to be gaining his courage – though for what exactly, Kyojuro is unsure of – Kyojuro senses Senjuro standing nearby, face peeking out of the door leading to the dining area.

He hasn't spoken much to Senjuro yet today, and judging from his little brother's nervous expression, it seems Kyojuro's needed.

"I'll be back, my boy! I just need to speak to Senjuro, but take your time eating!"

Kamado's a little startled by the interruption – maybe he had been close to picking out the words he needed – but he nods with understanding.

"All right, Rengoku-san," Kamado says. Then he turns to Senjuro and waves. "Hope everything's okay!"

"P-please don't worry, Tanjiro-kun!"

Yet Senjuro is turning red for some reason as he replies. Curious. Well, Kyojuro will get to the bottom of that soon.

Once Tanjiro sees the shoji door slide behind Rengoku, he heaves a heavy sigh of relief.

Right before Rengoku had announced he needed to step away, Tanjiro had been this close to making things so very awkward between the two of them.

For on the tip of his tongue had been the question: "Can I wear your haori?"

The flame-rippled haori is so much a part of Rengoku that when he took it off a few minutes ago, it honestly took Tanjiro aback. Not that the man is any less a hashira without it, but it is so emblematic of who and what Rengoku is that Tanjiro genuinely needed a moment to process the man without the haori and the haori without the man.

Then after Rengoku had noticed his wandering eyes, Tanjiro became suddenly possessed by a –

A fantasy, would be the best way to put it.

What would it be like to have Rengoku's haori covering him, edges like flames kissing his legs, to be immersed in the scent of justice and musk and sweat? To feel as if the man himself was cleaving to his skin, giving him guidance and comfort and lo–

Maybe that's too strong a word at this time, but regardless, the desire was so strong, he almost spoke it aloud.

What is he thinking? Why would Rengoku consent to have such an important symbol be worn so carelessly by Tanjiro just because he asked?

Yet Rengoku had said yesterday that he wouldn't mind Tanjiro dressing up for him again. He had seen Tanjiro in a shiromuku of all things! Surely, Rengoku's haori wouldn't be such a shocking thing to ask to put on.

Tanjiro shakes his head furiously at that thought. He's not a child – he can't just rationalize like this to get what he wants.

But...

He's alone now with the haori next to him where Rengoku had left it. He's not going to try putting it on while Rengoku is away – that would be utterly disrespectful, especially after they only just begun seeing each other as more than superior and subordinate. But surely Tanjiro can lightly touch the fabric for a moment to see what it's like? The haori that, without fail, proudly proclaims the Flame Hashira's existence – Tanjiro, for a second, just wants to reach out to part of the essence that makes up Rengoku.

So he places his right hand down.

The haori is silk-smooth between his fingers, yet the weave is akin to that of the Corps uniforms, so he knows it's also strong and durable. It's also a bit damp, but that's to be expected from how hard they've worked earlier combined with the heat. There's some dirt on the edges as well from a close-quarters combat exercise where Rengoku had Tanjiro try to wrestle him to the ground – Tanjiro had only managed to get Rengoku's legs to buckle before he had gotten thrown himself.

Then there's the haori's smell.

Even with his strong nose, Tanjiro chooses to lean down to take in more. Now's his chance to breathe in as much as the hashira as he can. The haori smells of sweat, yes, but also of diligence, a passion for one's calling, and a strong sense of duty. And through it all, a scent unique to Rengoku – that of ash and hot steel.

Tanjiro wouldn't mind being bathed in this scent everyday. Then the implications of that thought hit him and he feels his cheeks turning hot.

Even so, he stays bent over Rengoku's haori, trying to savor it for as long as he can.

"A-are you and Tanjiro-kun... together?" Senjuro asks as soon as the door slides close.

"Senjuro?!" Of all the things, this is not what Kyojuro expected to fall out of his mouth.

"I don't mind at all! A-actually, I really like Tanjiro-kun, he's really kind!" He says while nodding vigorously.

"I'm... I'm glad to hear that."

Then the guilt pours into Kyojuro in earnest. Between yesterday's events and today's training session, he had completely neglected to talk to his brother about Kamado and his intentions for him. While he usually shares everything with his little brother, and he would never willingly withhold anything so large as the person he plans to court, Kyojuro is in strange territory here.

Before Kamado, he had never had to speak to Senjuro about romance or relationships beyond that of their parents. It wasn't that Kyojuro lacked attraction to others, but rather that such interest was often too fleeting or too unimportant to talk about next to training, missions, and his family. Besides Senjuro was still quite young, and Kyojuro didn't feel the need to place the subject of courtship on his small shoulders, especially when it was such a trivial concern for Kyojuro himself. After all, Senjuro already had his hands full trying to pacify his father when Kyojuro couldn't be there to blunt the blows.

But Senjuro is growing up and Kyojuro has neither the excuse of age or disinterest to avoid this subject.

"My apologies, Senjuro, for not speaking to you earlier about Kamado," Kyojuro begins. "But we are not in a relationship...yet."

"Oh, but that means – You're going to ask about courting him, right?" Senjuro's almost jumping up and down with excitement, which makes Kyojuro smile. Not that he expected Senjuro to resist this arrangement, but it's much better to have outright approval of it.

"Yes! In fact, I was going to ask him after dinner!" He can't help but puff out his chest with excitement now that Senjuro knows.

"That's great! I'm so happy for you, big brother!" Senjuro grabs his hands and squeezes them. "Sorry for being so quiet earlier, but I didn't want to intrude just in case – well, you two looked really close and uh..."

Oh.

Embarrassment is not something Kyojuro feels often, but over these past few days, it seems to be an emotion he's becoming well-acquainted with.

"I... Thank you for your consideration, Senjuro! You are a good little brother!" He can't help but turn his gaze, especially after Senjuro starts to giggle.

"Anyway, I just wanted to ask and make sure! Don't worry about me. Just hurry back to Tanjiro-kun and have fun!"

"Right!" When has Senjuro become the parent here, Kyojuro wonders. But at the moment, he's filled with so much love for his little brother, and before he turns to go back to the engawa, Kyojuro makes sure to thoroughly ruffle Senjuro's soft locks.

"I'll tell you what happens after Kamado leaves, I promise!"

Senjuro grins widely at him. "You better, big brother!"

Tanjiro doesn't know how much time has passed since he laid hands on Rengoku's haori, but when he raises his head again, he realizes his utter carelessness.

"Kamado, my boy! What are you doing?"

Tanjiro screams.

Or rather, he's screaming internally because his voice can't decide between apologizing profusely or screaming from pure fright and shame, and so has elected to remain mute.

Despite having just seen him sniff his clothing, Rengoku's coming over to sit with Tanjiro and oh gods, Tanjiro just wants to melt through the engawa. Since he obviously can't unfortunately, he decides to place his hands over his face instead.

How could he not have kept a look out for him? Tanjiro is at Rengoku's manor of all places! How could he have lost his head like this?

But when Tanjiro hears laughter and smells amusement and fondness from Rengoku, he decides to peek between his fingers at him. The man's smiling and doesn't look sickened or repulsed in any way.

"Are you interested in my haori? Is that what you were going to ask me about earlier?"

Tanjiro's finally able to unstick his tongue from his mouth. "My apologies! I shouldn't have done something so disrespectful and I won't do something like that again!"

"Yes, I would prefer you ask next time, but I'm not angry," Rengoku says, putting his haori on his lap.

Tanjiro moves into a deep bow. Even if the man isn't upset, that doesn't mean what he's done is acceptable whatsoever. "Still Rengoku-san, I'm deeply sorry for what I've done! I am interested in your haori, but that doesn't excuse not asking for permission and touching your possessions! I'll accept any punishment you'll give out!"

There's a short silence following his declaration. Then the scent of intrigue scratches the back of his throat.

"If you're so insistent, my boy, I'll give you a punishment!"

All of a sudden, Tanjiro feels his chin being gently lifted up by a pair of calloused fingers. As always, Rengoku's movements are so quick as to be nearly undetectable, and he finds himself in awe as the hashira fixes his head so they can look at each other.

What Rengoku says next almost makes him drop back down in disbelief though.

"Wear my haori!"

Understandably, Kyojuro is surprised when he sees Kamado bent over his haori. He's even more surprised when he sees how intently focused Kamado is on it, given that the boy doesn't even look up at the sound of the shoji sliding open and then shut.

But when he realizes that Kamado is smelling his haori – that supernaturally keen sense of his turned toward one of his possessions – Kyojuro's heart starts to beat faster.

Given how kind and affectionate to all Kamado is, seeing him pay such singular attention to something of Kyojuro's is actually... gratifying. It's not as if Kamado hasn't appeared interested since yesterday – the hashira isn't blind to the boy's reddened cheeks and increased shyness. And it's not as if Kyojuro hasn't ever had suitors pay him special attention (though in more conventional ways than Kamado admittedly).

But with how Kamado perceives the world intensely through smell, seeing him look so content while holding his haori is very definitive proof to him that the boy likes him in kind.

Thinking back to Kamado's odd focus on his haori before he had to walk away, Kyojuro thinks he now understands why Kamado had been hesitant to say anything.

When Kamado finally notices Kyojuro, he's so apologetic and shame-faced that Kyojuro is tempted to leave the matter quickly so that the boy doesn't become consumed by guilt. But when Kamado began insisting on being punished for his actions –

Well.

There are a few things that Kyojuro thinks of first because while he is a principled man, he is still a man with needs and a cute tsuguko in front of him that wants so badly to atone. But he smothers those thoughts for now – that would be far more inappropriate compared to what Kamado did with his haori.

Going back to the haori though, he has a sudden thought.

He wants to see Kamado in it. He needs to see him in it.

"Are you – are you serious?" Kamado asks, disbelieving, as Kyojuro shifts his fingers to cup the boy's chin. "Even though you just saw me smell it...?"

"Yes, my boy," Kyojuro makes sure to emphasize, and he feels a small thrill at Kamado shivering in his hands. "I did mean it when I said I would like to see you dress up again."

Kamado doesn't know the things he's capable of, especially when he looks up at Kyojuro with crimson eyes shining with the innocent desire to please. But Kyojuro is not a brute – besides, if he acts with integrity and respect, he hopes his tsuguko will let him teach him all sorts of things in due time.

So he takes his hand off Kamado's reddened face, unfolds his haori, and wraps it around the other's shoulders.

It's not as if Kyojuro doesn't respect what his haori represents – growing up, his father's back and the stories of past hashira were what drove him to become one himself. But as the boy breathes in deeply upon it touching his shoulders, and as Kyojuro beholds Kamado in his finery, he now knows what else his haori can signify.

Kamado may not be as ethereal as when he was wearing a shiromuku, but from neck to toe, he is clad only in Kyojuro's colors, the sight sending the hashira aloft. Kamado's eyes fluttering closed in contentment is a heavenly addition, and Kyojuro's hands itch to encircle him, to cleave as close to him as humanly possible. But he settles for respectfully drinking in his boy, hands fisted at his sides lest he overrun too many boundaries too quickly.

So he watches as Kamado rubs his cheek against the collar and run his fingers down the sides and to the tips of flames, and wonders how he's maintained his self-control around him for the past several months.

Finally, Kamado breaks the silence.

"Rengoku-san... This isn't much of a punishment," Kamado says, pure contentment limning every word. "And actually... I wanted to ask earlier if I can wear your haori, but I thought it would be too inappropriate."

Kyojuro's heart is burning.

"From now on, ask, and you can wear it any time!" Has he always felt this breathless?

"That would – that would make me so happy!" And Kamado lifts part of the flame-lined edges to his nose. "Your haori smells just like you, Rengoku-san. It reminds me of justice, persistence, and a strong unbending will. And putting it on makes me feel..."

Kamado falls silent here, seemingly trying to pick his next words carefully.

"You can tell me the truth, my boy," Kyojuro says quietly.

They are on the precipice and he does not want his tsuguko to shy away now of all times.

When Kamado trains his eyes directly on Kyojuro's, he knows the boy's made up his mind to forge ahead.

"Rengoku-san, I know what we have isn't... well-defined right now. But even though this is all so new to me, and I'm not exactly sure what I'm doing, what I do know is that that I really, really like you!"

Saying that Tanjiro is nervous would be a grand understatement. From getting caught smelling Rengoku's haori behind his back to wearing it while finally putting words to the feelings he's become aware of over the past day – this is not at all what he imagined would happen when Rengoku invited him to his estate.

However, as he continues locking eyes with Rengoku – who smells of admiration and adoration (and embarrassingly, of the anticipation so evident in so many in Yoshiwara) – Tanjiro finds himself growing more and more confident.

"So putting on your haori makes me feel like you're close to me! Like you're holding me super tight! It makes my heart feel so full." He reaches out for Rengoku's hand – curled in a fist for some reason – and presses it against his chest. The man looks stunned but allows his hand to unfold enough to graze Tanjiro's sternum.

"I'm sorry again for touching your things behind your back," Tanjiro says while squeezing Rengoku's hand. "But I'm not sorry for how they, and you, make me feel."

He lets the words sit between them, as he caresses the callouses on the hashira's hand.

Tanjiro has finally given voice to his feelings. Now it's a matter of how Rengoku will receive them.

And he's staring hard at Tanjiro, orange-red irises dilated and glowing brightly even with the mid-day sun. Then a spike of decisiveness and desire hits the back of his nose –

In moments, Tanjiro finds his legs suddenly straddling a muscular waist. Rough palms cup his cheeks and against his lips, he tastes fire and steel that almost bruises, while Rengoku's scent blankets and permeates him.

But as Rengoku has been drilling into him in all their practice sessions, one must adjust quickly to unexpected situations. Tanjiro finds that with a slight tilt of his head, he can better enjoy his first kiss, searing but sweet. His hands bury themselves in Rengoku's uniform and in return, he feels the man's tongue dip into his mouth, hesitantly at first and then more confidently once Tanjiro gives it a curious lick.

He doesn't know what he's doing – maybe he should had actually partaken in Uzui's "lovemaking lessons" after all – but everything they're doing seems to make the both of them feel good at least. He learns that he rather likes Rengoku's tongue exploring all over his mouth, as well as the tickle of soft golden and red locks against his cheeks. Rengoku seems to enjoy nipping at Tanjiro's lips, and when Tanjiro accidentally lets out a moan – courtesy of one of Rengoku's hands sneaking its way past his uniform and dancing across bare skin – he all but growls and ends up sucking hard on Tanjiro's lower lip.

But inevitably they have to part, both of them breathless, despite using Total Concentration: Constant. Tanjiro thinks the technique wouldn't have helped in this situation anyway.

Predictably, Rengoku's the first to recover, leaning his forehead against Tanjiro's in an act of intimacy that makes him want to shed happy tears. "My boy, forgive me for overstepping my bounds, but you are simply too lovely to resist. But! That is not an excuse for inappropriate behavior! I'll simply have to train harder so I can be worthy of courting you!"

"Courting...?" He is not playing coy – given everything that had happened today, it is impossible to deny that Rengoku also has feelings for him. Yet it is still so stunningly unbelievable that a hashira, of all people, would wish to court him.

Rengoku laughs heartily, and it rumbles through Tanjiro's forehead and settles nicely into his skin. "The order of things is all off at this point, so I might as well tell you. I was planning to ask if I can court you tonight, Kamado, my boy! Because I, too, like you very much!"

Tanjiro sucks in a fortifying breath.

Everything is all out in the open now.

And he starts to cry in earnest, quiet but happy tears that trickle down his face and onto Rengoku's cheeks as he leans in to kiss them away. A very wonderful contrast to the tears he shed when he thought Rengoku would die on him that fateful day they boarded the Mugen Train.

"Of course I accept, Rengoku-san!" He says at last.

That night at dinner, Senjuro can only smile as Kyojuro keeps ladling food onto Tanjiro's plate and holds his hand whenever he can.

It's difficult keeping a straight face when looking at Tanjiro though, on account of... certain markings on his lips, but nevertheless, Senjuro cannot be any happier for the two of them. Even his father is grudgingly letting the two eat in peace (although Senjuro can't discount the possibility of his father simply not wanting to have a conversation about whatever caused Tanjiro's face to look like that).

After all their family has been through, after all that Kyojuro has been through, why shouldn't his older brother be in bliss?

So Senjuro beams at the two and watches as Kyojuro and Tanjiro lean into each other, faces bright with affection.