Chapter Text
He wakes up early in the morning; there are a couple of people in the residence that he'd like to help. If he's being honest, he's still nervous about his situation there, although everyone has been nothing but kind to his sister and him so far.
To his surprise, one of the girls with butterfly clips is already up, her name is Aoi, if Tanjirou remembers correctly.
There's a frown upon her face that immediately softens as soon as she sees him.
"What's the first thing I should do? I'd like to help."
"You should be resting, Tanjirou," she says then. "Himejima-san will be here shortly."
So when Kocho said that someone will be in the house with them to protect them, she meant one of the hashira.
"Then I should get everything ready for when he arrives."
There's a little bit of irritation in her eyes, before she sighs and turns around to look at him. As it happened just a few minutes ago, her expression softens.
"I don't know what they told you, but you're basically here as a guest, a pretty one," Aoi tells him, prompting him to blink in confusion.
Tanjirou pouts at the thought, making her chuckle, he doesn't want to be a burden, besides, he's sure Kocho told him he was there to work.
"I want to be of use."
It looks like she considers arguing with him for a moment, but after a couple of seconds, she gives in.
"Alright, this is what you're gonna do first..."
By the time Nezuko and the three little girls that always help Aoi around the house are up, Tanjirou has finished making breakfast.
"Tanjirou-san!" The three say at the same time, fascinated by the food as Nezuko chuckles and kneels next to them at the table.
The excitement in their eyes melts Tanjirou's heart and he finds himself smiling and giving them all headpats like he used to do with his siblings.
When Himejima arrives, Tanjirou greets him happily.
"Welcome home!" He says and notices the tall man's fond smile before he kneels in front of Tanjirou.
Suddenly, his face is being cradled by two big, but very gentle, hands.
"You should be resting, Tanjirou," he mumbles before leaning closer until their foreheads are pressed together.
"But I enjoy helping with house chores," Tanjirou assures him, making him grin again.
"Of course you do," he says before running his fingers through the redhead's hair. "Your heart is so pure."
Before he can say anything else, three beautiful women walk in the house, for a moment it looks like Aoi is rolling her eyes at them.
"We're Tengen-sama's wives!"
"It's really a pleasure to meet you."
"No, the pleasure is ours, believe me," the one who introduced herself as Hinatsuru says before taking Tanjirou's hand and kissing it.
That's when Himejima finally sits on the ground and pulls the redhead closer to him.
"We wanted to meet the man our husband is in love with," Suma mumbles before pinching Tanjirou's cheek. "You're absolutely adorable!"
Since none of them seem upset by that comment, Tanjirou supposes they're just joking about Uzui.
"Thank you."
They start chatting about different things before Nezuko joins them. Honestly, Tanjirou is having a great time, maybe because it's the first day he wakes up with no fear in his mind.
"I really like your voice," Himejima comments at some point, stroking Tanjirou's neck.
He feels himself blush before he notices that Aoi and the girls are still moving around the house, working. Tanjirou quickly excuses himself before getting up to help them.
For some reason, Uzui's wives start following him around. They offer to help him, but when Tanjirou assures them that he's more than fine doing those little chores on his own, the three women stay there watching him work.
"I don't think it's fair we haven't seen you in your bunny–" Makio gets cut off by Hinatsuru's elbow on her ribs.
"Tanjirou," Suma gets closer to him, keeping an eye on Hinatsuru, moving away from her and Makio as she watches Tanjirou put a couple of flowers in a vase. "What about a maid outfit? Would you wear one for us?"
Hinatsuru shakes her head, silently scolding the other woman, even though she's blushing.
Tanjirou blinks a couple of times before wondering if the hashira would like that. He's a worker there, but he supposes Aoi is one too and she doesn't wear a maid outfit.
"I suppose I could do that," he mumbles then, prompting Makio to stare at him with a huge grin. "It's some sort of requirement for the job?"
"No, it isn't," to his surprise, it's Nezuko the one who speaks; Tanjirou didn't actually see her approaching. She's crossing both her arms over chest and looking not entirely pleased at Uzui's wives.
"I apologize on behalf of these two, Nezuko," Hinatsuru says then.
"No, there's no need!" Tanjirou cuts in, a little bit alarmed. "Nezuko, remember we're safe here thanks to them!"
"That doesn't mean we have the right to choose what you should wear," Himejima walks in the hallway. "I believe Shinobu said you could wear whatever you're comfortable with."
"I like you, Himejima-san," Nezuko smiles approvingly at him.
"See? You're making Tengen-sama lose!" Makio hisses, hitting Suma on her shoulder.
"Like you did any better!" She hisses back, before she starts sobbing and asking Tanjirou to forgive her.
"It's alright... I'm not mad," Tanjirou assures her, patting her head, watching as Makio and Hinatsuru get closer until he's being squeezed by the three women.
Himejima gets closer, finds Tanjirou's hand and gently pulls him away from the three women before he takes him in his arms.
"I think it's time for you to take a break, Tanjirou," the Pillar mumbles before kissing him on the cheek. "You've been working the whole day..."
"But Aoi and the girls..."
"They can take a break too while we make dinner," Hinatsuru says, before pulling Suma and Makio with her. "You don't need to worry about anything else, Tanjirou!"
"Thank you..."
He ends up in the backyard with Himejima, Nezuko sits next to them and starts talking about their family. Tanjirou forgets about his concerns for a moment as he sees her smiling...
He still doesn't understand this job really well, but at least he feels like both Nezuko and he can live without being afraid all the time.