Inosuke wasn't always the best at meeting new people. It made his mind swirl with unwelcome thoughts, and that's something he hated; thinking made his head hurt.

He wasn't from an area that homed many people, just some every couple of miles unless you went to the town half an hour away. So it was just him and his mother living in a rundown two-story ranch house. The only other living things on the estate were animals; Inosuke could do animals easily. They're a lot less complex than people.

But she had decided to drop a bombshell on him last minute, right before the summer started. They would be staying with his aunt in a hot, sunny, crowded beach town Inosuke couldn't be bothered to remember the name of.

Though right now, the pain of thinking and the annoyance of being here was nothing compared to the pulsing of his forehead as the sun burned him from above.

What had he done again? Oh yeah, he challenged the redhead who dared to stare at him.

Inosuke groans as his eyes blink open slowly. Something cold and wet sits on his forehead, soothing the ache, but the pain quickly returns when he hears a girlish scream.

"Tanjirou, he's moving! He's a zombie!" Inosuke recognizes the screech as the blonde boy's voice.

Huh, so his name was Tanjirou, the one worthy of his time.

Inosuke sits up, holding what he assumes to be an icepack to his head as he slowly eyes the pair in front of him as his vision returns. The blonde is hiding and peeking out from behind another car, and Tanjirou is yelling at his companion to pull it together.

He thinks he hears something along the lines of Monitsu? Zenitsu? No, it was definitely Monitsu.

"Oi, Gonpachiro, where do you live?"

The redhead whips around to face him, eyebrows up in his hairline. "Who are you talking to?"

"You dammit," Inosuke growls, baring his teeth slightly.

The redhead's pink lips part as offense takes over his face, and Inosuke can't help snapping his eyes down to the movement. They looked soft, and he wanted to brush the pad of his thumb over the boy's bottom lip.

"I don't know who that is; my name is Tanjirou Kamado." The tan boy puts his hands on his hips. "And I live down there in one of those houses."

Inosuke turns around to look at a line of houses along the beach that Tanjirou points at. He makes a mental note of that in the back of his brain, where he keeps essential information.

The blonde, Zenitsu, peers out a little farther from the car he's behind before standing up and walking over to the pair. He's slightly hunched over, arms raised and close to his chest as he hides behind his friend.

"Please get him out of my car. I would like to leave," he whispers into Tanjirou's ear, eyes never leaving Inosuke.

Inosuke hears him and scoffs, standing up from the seat and striding over to them.

"Scram then, I'll deal with you another day." A feral smile takes over the ravenette's face once more.

Zenitsu doesn't have to be told twice as he mutters a quick goodbye to Tanjirou before getting in his car and driving away down the road.

Inosuke observes Tanjirou's profile while the redhead watches his friend flee the scene. Being this close, he can see the dusting of light freckles from years of sun exposure along his cheeks and the tops of his shoulders. They look at home on his tan skin, but what Inosuke is most fascinated by is the dark scar on Tanjirou's forehead as well as the thickness of his skull.

He managed to take down the king; of course, he was intrigued!

Inosuke's examination is interrupted when Tanjirou turns to face him, a kindness in his dark eyes the ravenette isn't used to seeing from anyone but his mother.

"How about I take you back to mine, and I clean that wound up for you?" Tanjirou's head tilts to the side in question, a few pieces of red hair falling in his eyes before he pushes them behind his ear.

"All right, Kentaro, let's go." Inosuke is already walking off in the direction Tanjirou pointed in earlier.

"It's Tanjirou."

•

Tanjirou's house was bigger than Inosuke's old farmhouse by a great deal. The three-story home was raised on high support beams, so a staircase led up to the front door as well as a porch off to the side of it. The white paint of the railing looked pristine and fresh, so Inosuke was scared to touch it out of fear it would be wet. The paneling of the house was a bright turquoise that's been weathered over the years to match the color of the ocean.

Inosuke follows Tanjirou up the stairs and through the glass front door, shaking off the sand from his slides before he enters.

The ceiling in the entryway is high, and he can see a balcony from the second floor. The floors are wide hardwood planks; they're a light tan color to easily conceal any sand that may sneak in.

The atmosphere of the place is cozy and makes Inosuke feel warm in a different way than the heat does; he feels content here.

Inosuke follows Tanjirou down a hallway off the living room, and he swears he can hear muffled voices coming from somewhere. Th redhead must see him looking around because he says, "You're probably hearing my little brothers and sisters upstairs. My mom must be getting them ready for an outing."

Inosuke nods as Tanjirou guides him into a small dark grey themed bathroom. Rectangular white tiles climb halfway up the walls, and he admires the plants hanging off a white windowsill.

The ravenette stays uncharacteristically quiet as he takes a seat on the lip of the tub and watches Tanjirou open the medicine cabinet above the toilet. He pulls out a dark cloth and a package of children's bandaids, placing them on the counter.

Tanjirou wets the cloth with warm water; he can see the steam rising from the sink. The redhead turns and tenderly pushes Inosuke's bangs off his forehead before he begins gently wiping the dried blood off his skin.

Inosuke can't keep his eyes off the focused look on Tanjioru's face and the light barely noticeable dusting of pink on his cheeks. The sight makes his stomach do an odd backflip, something that's never happened to him unless he was sick, and he didn't feel sick.

Eventually, the delicate ministrations have Inosuke's eyes slipping closed as he lets himself fall into a pleased trance. He liked being fawned over and taken care of like a real king back in the day. He feels safe around Tanjirou to let his guard down already.

But soon, the touches stop, and he instead feels a bandage being placed over the growing bump. He opens his eyes to see Tanjirou's sheepish smile as well as a deepening blush.

"Sorry that it's Care Bears, but your bangs hide most of it," Tanjirou laughs lightly.

Inosuke stands from the lip of the tub and looks in the mirror as he pushes his bangs aside to take in the bandaid.

"I'll make it work," Inosuke hums gruffly as his hair falls back into place and he turns to the redhead. "Give me your number."

Somehow Tanjirou's blush deepens further, turning a dark red that rivals his hair, and he stutters, "Oh uh yeah, sure."

The pair exchanges phones, putting their respective numbers into each before handing them back. Inosuke leaves shortly after that, an airy feeling in his chest.

•

Neither of them text or see the other for the next few days. That is until Inosuke feels his phone buzz in his hoodie pocket while cleaning the table after dinner.

He takes his phone out of his pocket with plates still in one hand and reads the notification.

Tanjirou
<What are you doing tonight?>

Inosuke brings the plates over to the sink and sets them down as carefully as someone like him can before typing out a response.

Inosuke
<Nothing>
<Why?>

Tanjirou
<Would you like to come to a night surfing party tonight?>
<You don't have to surf or anything>
<I just might want to see you>
<A teeny tiny bit>

Inosuke laughs deep from his chest as he types, walking to his room for clothes.

Inosuke
<The king will be there>

The ravenette doesn't get a response other than a heart on his message and the place and time. He rummages through his suitcase, changing into dark quick-dry shorts and a gray hoodie with the sleeves cut off.

He does the dishes until the sun sets further. When it does, he yells at his aunt and mother that he's going out with a friend and he'll be back later. He doesn't wait for a response before he's running down the sidewalk toward the beach.

Inosuke's stomach does another backflip at the thought of seeing Tanjirou again, but he pushes the feeling down until he mostly forgets it exists. Though it all bubbles to the surface again when he sees Tanjirou smile brightly at him with the glowing sunset behind him.

Inosuke doesn't know why but he feels screwed.