Inosuke allows the obnoxious sound of Zenitsu's voice to drift away as he watches Tanjirou's skin explode in blossoms of red, dark enough to hide the hearts he drew on his cheeks a couple of hours earlier.

The sight makes his chest summersault as that unnatural, sick feeling returns with a vengeance, and he moves a hand to hold his belly. He excuses himself gruffly and makes his way to the bathroom, looking over his shoulder to make sure no one follows him.

When he enters the restroom, no one's in there with him, so he strolls up to one of the sinks, holding onto the white porcelain as he looks into the mirror. He admires the easy design Tanjirou painted on his skin and feels his face warm at the thought of the redhead's fingers, just barely grazing his face.

Ugh, how was it so easy for Tanjirou to get inside his head and make him feel weak like a silly little child?

It's not like the other teenager seemed to be doing anything on purpose; he was just being the kind soul he obviously is, and it pisses Inosuke off.

And to make matters worse, he can't stop thinking about how pretty the local boy is when he subconsciously tries to push his hair behind his ear like it used to be long, or how he wears hair clips to keep his bangs out of his eyes, or how the freckles on his tanned skin look like an undiscovered milky way, or . . .

God, how does he make this end?

Inosuke doesn't want to allow anyone the right to make him feel this helplessly weak.

But then again, when he thinks of those gorgeous, deep red eyes with the world hidden in them, maybe he doesn't mind feeling weak.

.oOo.

When Inosuke returns to the group, he sees Tanjirou waving his hands around frantically with an even deeper blush than before going down his neck as Nezuko smirks smugly from the chair across from him.

"I-It's not like that!" The redhead stutters and starts swatting one of his hanafuda earrings.

"What's not like what?" Inosuke slides into the seat next to the flustered boy and feels him freeze up beside him.

The ravenette looks around at the faces of his companions but finds nothing helpful to figure out the context of the prior conversation.

Tanjirou is still blushing, Nezuko is still smirking, but it's directed at Inosuke now, Zenitsu's head is in his hands, and Kanao is currently doing her turn.

"Is no one going to tell me?" There's a tinge of annoyance seeping into his voice as he raises his eyebrows.

Nezuko waves her hand, expression turning innocent as she stands up from her chair, getting ready for her turn. "Like Tanjirou said, it's nothing, Inosuke."

She walks away with a small giggle, and Kanao takes her seat.

For the remainder of the game, Inosuke can't figure out what everyone was discussing when he was in the bathroom, and it drives him mad enough to lower his performance even more than before.

But he still beats Zenitsu, much to his joy, even if it wasn't hard.

.oOo.

Inosuke is a lot less rowdy on the drive home. He stays sitting in the seat behind Zenitsu and watches the wind whip through Tanjirou's hair so harshly it knocks one of his black hair clips out.

Inosuke reaches up and snatches it out of the air before it flies away, and when he goes to offer it back to the redhead, he finds he's already staring at him in awe, and it's his turn to freeze.

Having such a look directed at him has his brain shutting down, and he grips the clip tighter in his palm before he takes a deep breath and holds it up to Tanjirou.

"How did you learn to get your reflexes that fast?" The boy in front of him grins widely as he puts the clip back in its proper place.

"Well, I uh-," Inosuke stutters.

Why is his voice shaking? Better yet, why are his hands shaking so much? This is so unlike him.

"Me and my mom live on a farm back home, and sometimes the animals like to get loose, and you have to chase and grab them."

Inosuke watches as Tanjirou's face falls slightly, even if the kind boy tries to hide it with a bigger smile, a smile that lacks any of its previous awe and wonder.

"That's so cool you haven't actually told me anything about you except shallow stuff so far," Tanjirou hums as he twists fully around in his seat.

Inosuke swallows and puts his hands under his thighs as his gaze between Tanjirou's pink lips and his dark eyes while the redhead waits for a response.

"I don't really talk about myself often." His voice is scratchy, and he blames it on the lack of moisture in his mouth.

"Well, I want to know more." Tanjirou's expression matches the softness of his voice once again as his words float away with the wind.

Inosuke thinks he's drifting away with the words because if Tanjirou keeps looking at him like he's the moon and the sun and the stars, he'll no longer exist.

.oOo.

Inosuke tries not to allow himself to see Tanjirou for a few days, so the unfamiliar emotions he's feeling have a chance to disappear.  But every time his phone chimes and Tanjirou's name lights up the screen, it feels like a stampede of boars is raging in his stomach.

After a week goes by and the feelings never subside, he doubts they will and decides to consult his mother.

He waits for a night his aunt goes out with her girlfriend, so he and his mother can have some privacy.

Inosuke picks at his food uncharacteristically as he watches her take a large bite of hers. He feels like he might throw up all over the table if he opens his mouth.

"What's wrong with you?" His mother squint's her eyes at her son as she puts down her utensil. "You've usually had two servings by now, kid?"

The ravenette swallows thickly before opening and closing his mouth like a fish.

How does he just casually bring up that there's a local boy who constantly makes him feel like he's sick just because of the other boy's existence? That doesn't seem very casual.

"On with it, kid, " she sighs, leaning over the table. "Something's clearly bothering you."

Inosuke groans and puts his head in his hands. "Well, there's this kid I met the day after we got here, and we've been hanging out a lot." His hands move up to his hair, and he fists it, the action causing him to remember the noise Tanjirou made on the beach. "And he makes me feel really sick in my tummy, and I hate it, but I also kinda like it."

A muffled laugh pulls Inosuke out of his head, and he looks up to see his mother holding a hand to her mouth as she tries to conceal an evident smile.

He immediately feels silly as rage starts bubbling at the surface of his skin until his mother chimes, "Inosuke, kid, I love you, but sometimes I curse your lack of understanding social cues. To put it simply, you have a crush on him."

The wild boy's eyes widen, and he stands up from his chair so fast, he knocks it over.

How could the great lord Inosuke have a crush on one of his minions?

Even if the said minion is breathtakingly beautiful and kind and patient and . . .

Fuck he has a crush. And he was going to do something about it. Because no one else would ever be worthy of him like Tanjirou is.

"I'll be home later," Inosuke says before stuffing his face quickly and running out the door without his shoes.

He runs around town for what seems like an hour, trying to find Tanjirou until he spots him inside an ice cream place close to where they first met. They make eye contact over the counter, and he starts rushing over as the redhead's eyes light up.

He's so close.

Inosuke is about to just grab Tanjirou's face and kiss him like that night not so long ago until he realizes how many people are surrounding him, and he stops in front of the other boy.

"Gonpachiro." The wild boy's brain goes dead, and he can't say anything else.

The local boy doesn't look pleased as he sighs, "It's pronounced Tanjirou. You have to know that by now."

"It's produced however I goddamn please," he grunts as he notices Zenitsu face down in the freezer. "And I order you as my minion to spend tomorrow with me."

"You order me?" Tanjirou laughs so prettily Inosuke thinks he might combust, considering the heat swelling in his cheeks.

"Yes, I'll find you." He sprints off in the direction he came from, willing his thoughts to slow.

Inosuke's to make it his mission for Tanjirou to like him back no matter how much effort it takes.

He's a fucking catch.

.oOo.

Inosuke barely got any sleep; his brain was too caught up creating fantasy scenarios after he went on a deep dive about relationships on the internet. It started out G-rated, but it promptly became R-rated, and his wrist was sore after putting him and Tanjirou in said fantasies.

All in all, the researching didn't ease his nerves. Instead, it made him feel like he had a higher expectation to live up to in order to impress Tanjirou.

Today they would be spending the day together per Inosuke's request, and he has absolutely nothing planned. He hopes the day will flow organically without any inherently awkward bumps, but one can never know.

But as of now, he was standing outside the front door of the Kamado house, hesitating to knock on the door. However, he's spared when Nezuko opens the door with a knowing smile.

"I saw you walk up the driveway and then just never knock," she laughs lightly.

"I'm here for Kentaro." Inosuke fidgets with the lining of his pockets as he avoids Nezuko's eyes.

"Oh, I know, he had me up all night because he couldn't stop telling Zenitsu how nervous he is." He peaks over at her, noticing the playful tip of her grin.

Inosuke's face warms at the knowledge that Tanjirou is probably just as nervous as he is, and his muscles relax slightly.

He really needs to calm down; he's never been this out of character before. It's stressing him out.

"Tanjirou, your boyfriend's here!" She yells back into the house.

"He's not my boyfriend!" The ravenette can hear Tanjirou yell back, his voice accompanied by loud footsteps bounding down the stairs.

Not yet, Inosuke's brian unhelpfully replies.

The siblings bicker for a moment before Nezuko walks off, and Tanjirou joins the other boy on the porch, smiling softly.

"Um, is there anything you had planned today?" The redhead tries to push his hair behind his ear and when he doesn't find enough he twiddles with his hanafuda earrings. "We've never actually hung out alone."

"No plan." Inosuke takes a deep breath and grabs Tanjirou's hand, holding tightly as he memorizes the curves of his slim fingers. "Just do."

If Inosuke visualizes Tanjirou's body firmly held in his grasp and his lips pressed against his for the majority of the day that's his bussiness.