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Beyond the moonlit windowsill, specks of twinkling white light painted over the evening sky as blue began to bleed into black. Below it lay a field of soft, green grass, laid out like a great fleece as sun-warmed stalks folded down around Inosuke, lulling him to sleep with its gentle spell. It seemed that nothing could bother him in the slightest -- though the universe spared no expense trying -- because on that night, there were far too many thoughts racing through his mind to put to rest or set to the side so easily, and all of them centered around one thing: Tanjiro.
Over the time that they had both traveled together with their pack, the more that unrecognizable knot of feelings began to grow in the pit of his stomach and swell within his chest. At first, he barely recognized its existence. It was like a pang in his belly as though he was hungry for something, but it soon grew and grew and grew, and now he could no longer deny its existence, rumbling within him like he had swallowed a swarm of bugs. He wondered just what it could be. Maybe he was ill? No. That couldn’t be it. He was stronger than ever being with his pack and even moreso with Tanjiro, who always seemed to make that sensation intensify with his kind praise.
That’s when a thought sprung to mind, clicking into place. Perhaps it wasn’t any sort of illness, but rather a desire, an instinct, telling him that like his kin, the boars of the mountains, he was old enough to acquire a mate for himself and both his body and his head knew for certain just who he wanted, which of course, was Tanjiro. And why wouldn’t he want him? No human before had been able to throw him like Tanjiro had. And there was nothing he’d ever encountered prior that made him feel as fuzzy and giddy inside as he did when Tanjiro complimented his strength and abilities. Not even tempura.
“Is there… something on your mind, Inosuke?”
Inosuke whipped his head to the side, meeting the warm, wine-red eyes of his companion, his expression as gentle and consoling as his voice.
He opened his mouth to speak, to reveal what thoughts had wormed their way into his conscience, but in a rare moment of reflection, he thought better of it, opting to just enjoy this evening that he had with his pack. “No. It’s nothing.”
Tanjiro held his eyes for a moment before offering him a friendly, caring smile. “Alright, but if anything comes up, I’ll be here for you,” the other teen assured him, riling up those bugs in his gut all over again.
Inosuke only huffed and rolled onto his side, showing his back to the other teen, shutting his eyes and pushing whatever feelings had gotten into his head with some sleep.
But that was not the end of it.
A few months later, while they lay in their cots, recovering from a fairly recent battle when suddenly, Inosuke put voice to those feelings that had been rustling around inside of him.
“Gonpachiro, marry me.”
He’d never actually understood what people meant by ‘timing’ his words, but from the silence in the room and the shock on his pack’s faces, he’d say that maybe that hadn’t been the best moment to say anything.
“W-What…?” Tanjiro uttered.
Ah. He didn’t hear him. He’d just have to say it louder then.
“MARRY ME!”
More silence as the other three teens stared at him, seemingly baffled by what he had said. But as he began to take a deep breath to shout it louder, Zenitsu cut him off in an instance.
“Eyy?! Just what do you think you’re trying to pull, asking another guy to marry you?” The blond began, pointing at him in an accusatory manner. “Do you even know what marriage is? Huh? Do ya?!”
Inosuke simply scowled at him, narrowing his eyes at him from beneath his fur as Tanjiro attempted to calm Zenitsu down, gently putting a hand over his and pushing it down. “Let’s just take a moment and think abou-”
“Marriage is sacred! It’s a bond between a man and a woman, like me and Nezuko!”
Nezuko made a confused vocalization at her name, still unsure as to what exactly was going on.
“But Zenitsu, you aren’t married to Nezuko,” Tanjiro pointed out with a deeply disappointed pout.
“I was using that as an example!” His voice cracked slightly as he clarified that, shutting his eyes and trembling slightly as though he was going to cry from the very mention of it.
“Whatever it’s supposed to be doesn’t matter,” Inosuke huffed. “I want Bonito!”
Tanjiro looked as though he desperately wanted to say something, but once again, he was cut off by Zenitsu who was still upset by Inosuke’s declaration.
“And I’m saying that you can’t do that!”
That’s when it clicked in Inosuke’s head that in spite of the words coming from Zenitsu’s mouth -- though he hadn’t really been listening to them -- his packmate was obviously competing with him for the other teen’s affections. A low growl began to bubble up Inosuke’s throat and he started to tense up, raising his hackles, ready to defend what was to be his.
Zenitsu yelped and pulled up his bedding around him, frightened by Inosuke’s intimidating stance. “I’m not trying to steal him from you, dumbass! I’m just saying-!” He must have realized that that wasn’t working on Inosuke because he immediately changed his angle. “Well, what about kids then, huh?”
“What about ‘em?” Inosuke grumbled, unrelenting.
“Guys, please. Let’s-”
“Obviously you can’t have kids together! You’re both guys and you need a woman for that!”
“I’ll go get some!”
“You can’t just steal other people’s kids, stupid! That’s illegal!”
Inosuke huffed derisively. He didn’t care about stupid human laws.
“And how would… well, you know... it work?” Zenitsu stuttered out, twiddling his fingers, his face flushing.
Completely oblivious and unaware of what he meant, Inosuke scoffed. “How would what work?”
“Sorry about this, Nezuko,” Tanjiro murmured and covered his younger, still baffled sister’s ears as she let out another confused trill.
“Haven’t you ever heard of the birds and the bees?”
“Of course I have! They’re all over the place,” Inosuke grunted.
“Do I have to explain everything myself around here?” Zenitsu grumbled frustratedly to himself, before clearing his voice, his face still flushed as he began an explanation. “What I mean is, you know that thing that happens when a man and a woman get together and they decide to make babies by-”
“I already know about that,” Inosuke responded dryly.
Zenitsu went stockstill, his frame rigid and his voice small, “Ah. I see…”
Suddenly, a yellow blur darted across the room, leaping over Tanjiro’s bed and into Inosuke’s face, clutching his pajama top tightly.
“You bastard… I’ll kill you,” Zenitsu hissed, his intense expression bearing down on Inosuke, whom was almost entirely unfazed by it. “How dare you make me say such embarrassing things in front of Nezuko-chan?! I’ll kill you! I’ll curse you for a thousand years! Ten thousand years! You’re a dead man!”
Tanjiro sighed and unfolded himself from the bed. “Okay. That’s enough of that,” he said, wrapping his arms around Zenitsu and pulling him off, the blond angrily flailing to get back at Inosuke with all of his might, begging, pleading, and even demanding that Tanjiro release him.
“Zenitsu, please calm down,” Tanjiro pleaded, “you’re scaring Nezuko.”
And like that, a switch was flipped and Zenitsu went pliant as he looked over to Nezuko who had slid off Tanjiro’s bed and was cautiously looking over at the three of them.
“N-Nezuko-chan…” Zenitsu murmured, tearing up again, slipping out of Tanjiro’s arms to go over to her and apologize, begging for her forgiveness, which didn’t quite put her at ease but at the very least, it’d keep Zenitsu from starting a fight with Inosuke.
That left Tanjiro and Inosuke standing mere feet from each other, staring face to face. It was obvious that the red-haired slayer had something to say as he flushed and shuffled somewhat nervously before clearing his throat and finally responding to what Inosuke had asked only minutes before.
"Inosuke," he began softly, "I really appreciate your proposal, I really do! But…" He hesitated a moment glancing away before redirecting his gaze back on the boar, "I'm not looking to settle down just yet. There's something I must do first."
With that, the pair both looked over at Nezuko who was blankly staring at the openly sobbing blond in front of her.
When Tanjiro turned back to Inosuke this time though, he grinned, warm and genuine and continued, "I'll keep you in mind in the future though!"
Inosuke hadn't expected that answer at all. In fact, he had actually expected Tanjiro to accept from the beginning. He's strong, Tanjiro’s strong… they'd be perfect as mates! However, despite being rejected, Tanjiro didn't sound as though he wasn't interested or that he was repulsed by him but rather the timing was off and he'd take Inosuke up on his offer in the future. And that sent the warm fluff in his belly and those annoying bugs buzzing around in there going crazy once again. He felt giddy and happy in spite of it all.
Eventually, several moons had come to pass before the subject of Inosuke’s proposal came up once again.
Muzan had been defeated, demons across the land had been vanquished, and though their recovery had taken long, the former demon slayers and Nezuko returned to the Kamado family home where the group of them paid their respects and tidied up until they were satisfied that it was livable once more. And at some point after that, Tanjiro asked Inosuke to come with him for a moment outside.
A stubborn chill still clung to the air around them but the life of spring chased it away with colors abound and the chorus of birdsong as sleepy animals rustled from their dens. It was a season of new beginnings and the world anew. As good a time as any for what conversation was to follow.
“Inosuke, remember when you asked me to marry you?” Tanjiro asked wistfully, a smile tugging at his lips, offered to Inosuke yet his eyes were far away, lost in distant thoughts and memories. “It seems like so long ago now.”
Inosuke puffed up his chest and proudly shouted, “Of course I do!”
Tanjiro chuckled. “Just checking!”
The boar huffed in indignance. If Inosuke hadn’t been wearing his mask, he might have been scowling.
“Actually… I wanted to ask you about that.” In an unusual display, the typically confident Tanjiro shuffled in an attempt to conceal his crippled left arm, glancing away from Inosuke.
"What about it?"
“Well, I just that…” Tanjiro hesitated once more, until he relented at last with a sigh and set his pained gaze upon the boar, “after everything we’ve been through, with the Twelve Kizuki and defeating Muzan, I don’t think I’ll be a very good husband to anyone anymore. I won’t be as useful or as strong or as-”
“So?”
Inosuke cut him off just at the nick of time, before Tanjiro could finish delving into whatever dark and self-depricating thought he had begun dredging up.
“‘S-So…’ what?”
“I don’t care what you think! You’re still all of that to me!” Inosuke barked at him, and with a huff for good measure he added, “So marry me, Kenpachiro!”
Tanjiro’s lower lip quivered slightly and his voice cracked before he could stop it. “Do you really mean that, Inosuke?”
“Hell yeah! I want you to marry me! So marry me, Tanjiro!”
That was it. He’d actually said his name right for once, making way for the dam to let loose the flood of joyful tears Tanjiro had been holding back. “O-Okay,” he replied tremorously with a sniffle to stifle his seemingly endless pool of emotion, but it refused to be bound.
Inosuke stared right through him, an eyebrow raised. “What’s the matter? Does something hurt? Did someone hurt you?”
“No,” Tanjiro answered, attempting to dab at his eyes with a chuckle. “These are happy tears. I’m so very happy right now, Inosuke.”
The boar puffed up his chest proudly and grinned at his husband-to-be, before something occurred to him. “So how do we do this?”
“Hm?”
“How do we get married?”
That seemed to distract Tanjiro from his feelings long enough to pull that into consideration as he paused, a thoughtful expression on his face. “Um… well, usually there’s a ring and a ceremony.”
“A ring… got it,” Inosuke repeated before making his way to the mountain path to begin his descent into town.
“W-W-Wait! Inosuke! Where are you going?” Tanjiro called after him, padding down the mountain road to follow him.
“To get you one of those rings!”
Tanjiro face flushed warmly, before it occurred to him… “You’re not going to steal it, are you?”
Inosuke did not reply, he only trudged along faster.
“Inosuke! Inosuke! No!”