As Tanjirou opens the front door of his house, it creaks faintly, and he curses silently under his breath as he makes a mental note to put oil on the hinges.

It was well into the early morning, so his mother would be getting up for work soon, and he didn't need her catching him sneaking back in.

Especially since he thinks there's a high chance, he's still dangerously teetering the line of drunk and tipsy.

He locks the door behind him and starts a slow ascent up the stairs, avoiding the noisy parts until he makes it to his bedroom.

Once he's safe from being caught, his brain no longer filters out the thoughts at the back of his mind in favor of getting home in one piece.

The simple fact that Inosuke is leaving at the end of the summer completely overtakes his mind, and it injects a heavy sadness inside his bones. He can barely lift his legs as he strides across the room to his bed.

Of course, the first person he's ever developed a real crush on was someone who was only visiting for the summer and had to leave at the end of it. There was a twisted poeticness to it that made him want to laugh and cry and everything in between.

The teenager flops onto his twin mattress and pulls his phone out of his pocket, shooting Inosuke a text telling him he was home safe.

He suppresses the urge to scream as he stars up at his glow-in-the-dark stars.

.oOo.

The next time Tanjirou sees Inosuke, it's not planned; from his end, at least.

The surfer was feeling too cooped up in his house a few days after the party and decided it would be a good idea to drag Zenitsu to the beach so he could rant in person about how the ravenette was making him feel. They haven't seen each other much since then because the blonde's gramps was keeping him pretty occupied on the peach farm.

The best friends had just finished setting up their spot close to the water when Tanjirou heard a loud yell of his name a little far off. He looked up to find the culprit, only to see a flash of dark hair and feel a heavy-weight topple into him, knocking him to the ground.

So now here he was holding a bag of ice to Inosuke's forehead as he sulks about still not having a hard enough head to knock Tanjirou out.

"You're doing great, Inosuke, but I'd appreciate it if you didn't come at me like that anymore." Tanjirou leans back, letting Inosuke hold the makeshift icepack himself.

Zenitsu watches the ordeal from a few feet away, clearly holding his breath, considering the redhead hasn't seen his chest move since the other teenager arrived. When Inosuke tackled Tanjirou, the blonde moved his towel a few feet away, wanting to make sure he had an eye on the wild man but wasn't within a harmful range.

"Then how am I going to beat you, Monjirou?"

Tanjirou bites his tongue, holding the urge to correct Inosuke at bay.

"There's no need to beat me, Inosuke," Tanjirou hums lightly. "You're already strong in your own ways, and I was just born with a very, very thick skull."

Inosuke grumbles and scowls as he keeps holding the ice to his head. He looks around at the people passing their setup as Tanjirou makes eye contact with Zenitsu.

The blonde's eyes are wide, and his hands are clasped tightly in his lap, knuckles pale white. His golden irises signal to the ravenette before resuming their gaze at Tanjirou.

Tanjirou raises his eyebrows and scrunches his face in confusion, but the blonde repeats his cryptic action more intensely.

Then it hits him what Zenitsu is trying to tell him, and he looks toward Inosuke.

"Inosuke, do you want to hang out with me and Zenitsu today?"

After the questions leaves Tanjirou's lips, Zenitsu shakes his head frantically and waves his arms in an X motion, but it's too late; Inosuke is already standing straight up with sparkling eyes screaming yes.

Tanjirou blushes softly at his excitement, and he clears his throat, looking down at his lap. He can't allow himself to become entranced by someone who's going to leave at the end of the summer; he shouldn't put himself through the hurt.

"Where to first minions?" Inosuke grins wickedly with his hands on his hips, ice pack on the ground forgotten.

Zenitsu collapses back on his towel with a drawn-out groan mixed with a whine while Tanjirou grins back at the wild man.

"Well, we were going to hang out here for a bit before going bowling tonight with the rest of our friends if you want to come." Tanjirou bites his cheek and holds his breath as he waits for an answer.

Inosuke seems to contemplate for a moment, staring into the sea with furrowed brows before chuckling cheekily. "I could never pass up a chance to dominate everyone with my superior skills."

Tanjirou's expression shifts into something soft without his permission, and he curses his heart as Inosuke runs off towards the ocean, saying he wanted to beat up a fish or something of the sort.

When he's far enough out of earshot, Zenitsu crawls over and starts lightly smacking the redhead's shoulder repeatedly.

"Why the hell would you invite that moron to spend the day with us?" Zenitsu hisses as Tanjirou grabs his hands and pushes him a bit away to sit on his legs. "He scares me."

Tanjirou chuckles nervously, hoping he can blame the pinkening of his cheeks on the sun, but his best friend sees right through him as his mouth falls open in realization.

"Oh, you really do like him, huh?"

Tanjirou slaps a hand over the blonde's mouth, shushing him harshly. "I-," he glances down at the water where Inosuke is bent down, feeling throughout the water. "I kinda really do, but I can't."

Zenitsu pushes the surfer's hand off his mouth and follows his gaze to the boy in the ocean before it falls back to Tanjirou.

"Why not?"

Tanjirou sighs as he rips his eyes away from his crush and lets it recede to his lap once more. "Because he's only visiting his aunt for the summer. He's not staying."

The redhead can see the tension leave Zenitsu's shoulders at the prospect of Inosuke leaving even as he tries to comfort him. "Damn, that sucks. I'm sorry, Tan. Maybe ya'll can figure something out, though."

Tanjirou gives a slight nod, biting his cheek as he tries to push the returning heaviness out of his bones.

.oOo.

The ride to the bowling alley is nothing less than chaotic, considering this is the first time Inosuke has ridden in the car with Zenitsu and Tanjirou.

Inosuke stands in the backseat gripping the back of Tanjirou's headrest as he screams up at the stars, wind whipping through his hair as the car reaches 50 MPH on a backroad. Zenitsu screeches an octave above his usual tone as he yells at the wild boy to sit down before he crashes into a tree, gaze flashing between him and the road. All the while, Tanjirou is holding his belly as he laughs with his entire body.

Somehow they make it to their destination with no bodily harm from outside sources or ones within the yellow vehicle.

Inosuke jumps from the backseat, his slides landing on the pavement with a definite smack. He rubs his hands together, chuckling lowly under his breath as he stares up at a bright neon purple sign flashing the words 'Wisteria Lanes'.

Tanjirou cracks his knuckles as he watches the ravenette with bated breath. Seeing his soft features bathed in the faded light makes his body feel warm and airy, kinda like that kiss from the beach.

Right.

The kiss.

Tanjirou has kissed Inosuke. Their lips have touched, and he was forming an addiction to the boy—an addiction he had to curb quickly.

The redhead smacks his face a few times and cringes at how the sound bounces off the wall hoping his companions don't notice. He takes a deep breath and follows Inosuke and Zenitsu inside as they bicker about something Tanjirou doesn't care to figure out.

Inside the building, Tanjirou can hear bowling balls rolling down lanes and pins getting knocked over under the loud chatter of everyone around them. It's blackout night, so everything is glow-in-the-dark-themed, and all the lights are off.

He's distracted looking at the glowing stars littering the carpet, so he doesn't notice anyone coming up behind him until he feels a small presence jump onto his back.

"Tanjirou!" The boy in question laughs when he recognizes it as Nezuko's.

The trio was meeting up with her and Kanao and maybe Gyiuu if he shows up, but Tanjirou doubts he will.

Nezuko hops off her brother's back and steps in front of him, capturing Zenitsu and Inosuke's attention.

Now that Tanjirou can adequately see her, he notices glowing neon flowers messily painted on her cheeks, and he smiles at how cute his sister is.

"How'd you do that?" He hums as he points to the illustrations, and her face lights up in a grin as she holds up a small black leather backpack.

"Kanao and I bought UV face paint the other day." Nezuko unzips the bag and shows the boys all the different paints inside before handing it off to Tanjirou. "Put some on each other while we go reserve a lane."

The girls are gone promptly, and Zenitsu starts rummaging through the backpack, aiming to find the yellow one muttering something about lightning and waiting for Nezuko to do it. Tanjirou tries not to roll his eyes, knowing his sister might have the smallest of crushes on the blonde in return, and it'll be inevitable whether he likes it or not.

Once Zenitsu finds what he's looking for, Inosuke wanders over and starts slowly looking through the paints, glancing up at Tanjirou every so often, green eyes aglow, and the redhead resists the heat rising to his face. He pulls out the red and blue colors before yanking Tanjirou over to a table, forcing him to sit down.

Inosuke sets the blue paint on the table next to Tanjirou and starts opening the red one.

"What are you doing?" The redhead hums, peering up at the standing boy, but he only gets a grunt in return.

Once the seal is broken on the paint, Inosuke squirts a tiny amount on his index finger and concentrates on Tanjirou's face as he starts finger painting on his cheek. The paint is cold, and he recoils slightly because of it before relaxing under the ravenette's surprisingly delicate touch.

The touch that keeps sending electric shocks down his spine in a way he's never experienced before.

Tanjirou tries not to let his eyes settle on the focused expression Inosuke is sporting or think about how attractive it is as he tries to shove all these unfamiliar electric feelings down to the bottom of his chest because the feelings are always going to be tainted if Inosuke isn't going to be staying in this town with him.

Inosuke finishes his work with the red paint and moves on to using the blue, using what feels like the same motions as before.

In order to keep his eyes off Inosuke, Tanjirou lets his eyelids slip closed as he relaxes under the ministrations. He feels like he's laying back on his surfboard as the ocean ripples under him on a day where there's no big waves.

It's calming.

"There!" Inosuke's deep voice pulls Tanjirou out of his trance, and he blinks up at him. "A masterpiece by Lord Inosuke himself!"

A slight smile pulls at the corner of the surfer's lips, and he pulls out his phone camera to see what's been drawn on his face. There are small blue and red hearts scattered around his cheeks, much like how a Snapchat filter would do it, and he smiles so wide the drawings reach his eyes.

"I love it, Inosuke. You did so well." Tanjirou chimes sweetly as he stands up, patting the other boy's shoulder. "Let me do yours now."

When the praise reaches his ears over the eager chatter surrounding them, Inosuke puffs up his chest as a tiny bit of pink dusts his pale cheeks. It's so faint Tanjirou almost questions if he sees it, but before he can, Inosuke flops down in the chair the redhead was sitting in moments prior.

"Of course I did well; I'm the best there is at everything!" Inosuke crosses his arms and closes his eyes.

Tanjirou scoffs with no malice behind it but rather amusement as he starts looking through the paint and thinking about what he should do to Inosuke.

Maybe just a simple pattern?

Tanjirou grabs the orange, the blue, and the purple paint, placing them next to himself as he gets to work. He starts making dots up Inosuke's cheekbones, stopping halfway up his temples, alternating the colors. Then he does the same thing down his nose.

All the while Tanjirou is painting Inosuke's face, he's internally freaking out about how close he is to the other boy and not being assaulted with an incoming headbutt somehow. It once again reminds him of the kiss they shared during the game of truth or dare.

God, where did his confidence come from? Was that even him or just the alcohol in his system? Or maybe he didn't want to face Shinobu's wrath if he didn't complete the dare.

No, that's a lie. He really, really wanted to kiss Inosuke, and some higher power gave him the confidence to do so.

Maybe he might get that confidence again but would it even be worth it?

"And perfect, " Tanjirou giggles lightly as he smiles down at the boy before him, offering a hand to help him up.

When Inosuke opens his eyes and sees the gesture, Tanjirou knows he's not imagining it now as a deep flush crawls up the ravenette's neck to his face. He grabs the other's outstretched hand and pulls himself from the seat as Nezuko and Kanao return from the desk wearing the establishment's bowling shoes.

Zenitsu is immediately standing close to her, shaking as he builds up the courage to ask her to paint on him, and Tanjirou breathes deeply.

"Okay, we're in the lane on the end, so go get your shoes and then meet us there; we'll set it up." The brunette hums as she takes the paint out of Zenitsu's hands without him having to utter so much as a word.

Tanjirou nods as he pulls Inosuke with him, unaware that he's still holding his hand from a few seconds earlier. When they're halfway to the desk is when it hits him, and he attempts to let go, but all he does is hold tighter.

Inosuke's hand is larger than his own and entirely encases it. Tanjirou can feel the callouses on his palms as well as the ones that run up his fingers and wonders what they could be from.

Maybe he has a job back home that requires manual labor. . . oh, right, back home.

Tanjirou swallows thickly and releases Inosuke from his hold as they reach the desk and asks for a pair in his size, Inosuke doing the same.

There's an ugly feeling swirling around his chest, and he can't quite recognize what it is, but he knows it has to do with letting go of Inosuke's hand.

It fit so perfectly in his, so why did he have to?

.oOo.

Inosuke is anything but a graceful loser, and Zenitsu sitting beside Tanjirou fails to hold in a laugh as the foreigner rolls another gutter ball.

"OI, DO YOU WANNA GO, MONITSU!" Inosuke screeches loud enough to get the attention of the people around them as he stomps up to the blonde who's still laughing.

"No, no," Zenitsu snorts before he takes a deep breath regaining his composure. "I just can't get over how you were talking this big game, and you can't even knock one pin over! ONE!"

Inosuke roars in absolute rage as Tanjirou stands, gently placing his hands on the wild boy's shoulders, looking him in the eye. It seems to catch enough of his attention when he goes from glaring at Zenitsu to glaring at Tanjirou.

"Inosuke," Tanjirou starts slowly. "Have you ever bowled before?"

The fury behind the ravenette's expression starts to dissipate as he looks off to the side.

"No."

"Well, there's an easy solution to this problem. I'll teach you, Nezuko, too," Tanjirou consoles. "You might not win this far into the game, but it'll help."

Nezuko was currently winning the group's minor competition as she has an unusual knack for bowling.

"As long as I beat him." Inosuke returns to glaring at Zenitsu as he points an accusatory finger at him.

The blonde gasps and clutches his chest on offense. He currently had the lowest score of the game under Kanao.

Tanjirou laughs sweetly with a small smile as he guides Inosuke back over to the lane so he can help him with his second shot. He shows the other teenager how to hold the ball correctly and demonstrates how to swing his arm to roll the ball a few times until Inosuke decides he's seen enough.

Tanjirou steps back but stays close so he can see if his teachings have any effect on the ravenette. He watches closely as Inosuke releases his ball and keeps his eyes fixed on it as it rolls down the lane and knocks over three pins.

The wild boy explodes in an excited shout and a flurry of movement as he jumps around their area.

"SUCK IT, MONITSU!" Inosuke cackles.

"I've still knocked down more pins than you, dumbass!" Zenitsu growls, but Inosuke clearly isn't paying attention to him as he glimpses over and locks eyes with Tanjirou.

Tanjirou vaguely feels the rest of the world go mute and fade away as Inosuke flashes the most ethereal smile in his direction just for him.

Fuck, how does one breathe again?