"I dare you to kiss Inosuke."

When the phrase falls from Butterfly Clip's (he thinks he heard someone call her Shinobu?) mouth, Inosuke is unsure what to make of it.

Considering his family's farm was so far out of the town line, his mother decided homeschooling him would be the best option for him. Unfortunately, that meant he didn't have friends his own age―or even the same species―to learn social cues or simple friend etiquette from.

And he never watched TV because the cable box was always on the fritz, instead opting to hang out with the hogs or the bunnies, so he's never seen coming-of-age teen movies to learn from either.

Though Inosuke is pretty sure you don't kiss your friends because even he knows something like that is reserved for someone you love harder than anybody else. Even if the friend in question makes his chest raddle like his heart is about to burst out of it and makes his mind move faster than a sunset in winter.

Even though he was in the freezing ocean only moments prior, his face feels warm as he glances over at Tanjirou, who's already staring at him. The surfer's wide eyes and parted lips are the only things he can see under his tightly pulled hood.

How do you even kiss? He's never seen people kiss, let alone done it himself.

Oh shit, does he looks okay? Does his breath smell too much like alcohol?

Inosuke is so wrapped up in his anxious thoughts he barely registers when Tanjirou suddenly leans in, hesitantly cupping the back of his head with trembling hands, eyes slipping closed as if to hide the panic displayed inside them.

His lips are warm and soft, and they taste like bitter cherries picked too soon from their blossoms.

He feels like there's an abundance of lightbulbs above the pair, and they fizzle with so much electricity until they burst, and the sparks rain down on them.

He feels alive in a way he never has before.

Inosuke's eyes slide closed as Tanjirou moves his lips timidly, barely opening his mouth. The ravenette tries to push back with the same energy, but his attempt comes out slightly rougher as he reaches up to thread his fingers through the redhead's hair, effectively knocking off his hood.

He won't lie; he's wanted to know if you could feel the ocean salt in it since that day in the parking lot, and now he can confidently say the answer is yes. But what he's not expecting to feel is the vibrations against his lips as Tanjirou whines after Inosuke tugs on his partner's hair without thinking.

It's such a quiet, and dainty sound that sends an intense pulsing through his stomach to his very core like the sparks are burning him.

And god, does Inosuke want more.

He wants to take.

Before he can elicit that same reaction again, Tanjirou pulls away with shiny spit slicked lips and a flush dipping below his neckline. Both of their chests rise and fall in rapid succession as they welcome air back into their lungs.

Why is Inosuke feeling sick again? He's not sick; he doesn't get sick.

.oOo.

For the remaining duration of the game, most of Inosuke's attention stays on Tanjirou while the rest catches what's happening around him.

The feeling of Tanjirou's lips pressed against his is seared into the front of his mind, and he doesn't think he'll be able to forget it. Somehow the sensation split open his perception of reality before entirely shattering it. Now he can't seem to fit the pieces back together correctly, and he can't even remember what it looked like, to begin with.

How was Inosuke supposed to look at his new first friend normally from now on? He thinks it's near impossible, considering he wants to grip Tanjirou's hair tightly and just tug to hear that beautiful noise again.

His body moves on autopilot without its usual exuberantness as he does dare after dare before everyone calls it a night.

Beside him, Tanjirou yawns, arms stretched high above his head, and Inosuke can hear his bones pop. A minute after their kiss, the redhead pulled his hood back up, pulling the strings tighter than before, so he hasn't been able to see his face.

"Tanjirouuuuu," Zenitsu whines as he wraps his arms around the aforementioned boy's neck and hangs off him. "Take me homeeee."

A small prick of disdain punctures Inosuke, and he bites the inside of his cheek as he pulls his sweatshirt cut off back on.

"You're walking home with Nezuko," Tanjirou giggles, and the wild boy bites down harder on his cheek. "I'm walking Inosuke home."

Inosuke perks up, the pressure on his cheek lessening as he grins sharply and exclaims, "Ha, Monitsu! Gonpachiro likes me better!"

Zenitsu gasps as he slips off Tanjirou's neck, stumbling over to the ravenette. He's about the jab his chest until he falls face-first into the sand and stays there, only turning onto his back with a groan.

Tanjirou's sister, Bright Eyes (Zezuko? Nezuko? He doesn't know), rushes over to the idiot and pulls him onto his feet, letting him slump his weight on her.

"I will get you next time, you absolute freak!" The blonde glares at Inosuke while Nezuko pulls him in the opposite direction to get their stuff. Inosuke fake lunges at him, and he screams, clinging to Nezuko like a koala.

Inosuke cackles and turns to Tanjirou, who is gazing at him with what can only be described as a soft expression. The corners of his lips are tugged upward in a tiny smile, and his eyes look like they're caught in the middle of a dream in some faraway place.

It pulls the air out of his lungs and makes his laughter fade into the night as his cheeks heat up like a kindling fire.

Though Inosuke knows he's not meant to see it when Tanjirou shakes his head aggressively and looks down at his feet when he catches the wild boy staring.

His palms clam up, and he clenches them at his side before wiping them on his shorts. "All right, Banjirou, time to follow the great Lord Inosuke home!"

Inosuke tries to put the same oomph he does behind all his words, but it's lacking, and he hopes Tanjirou chalks it up to how much he's had to drink in the last few hours. He stands there like a statue for a few long seconds before turning on his heels to start walking to his aunt's apartment.

Tanjirou's footsteps are faint but present as he follows him, catching up to the ravenette until their wrists brush together. The contact sends a spark through his arm that travels down his spine and creates an unruly ball of electricity and desire inside his stomach.

"So, did you just move here?" Tanjirou's voice slices through the charged air. "I've never seen you around."

Inosuke takes a sharp breath as he looks over to see the redhead peering at him curiously.

That's right; he doesn't live here; he's just on vacation; he'll have to leave at the end of the summer.

He almost forgot with how quickly the surprisingly rowdy little beach town started to feel like home with more family and new friends.

"Actually, me and my mom are visiting my Aunt Renho for the summer." He swallows thickly as he looks forward again, kicking a pebble with the lip of his slides. "Then we go back home."

Inosuke can't see Tanjirou anymore, but he can feel the other boy's sadness permeate through the air at the new information. The simple fact strips him of his joy too, and he's never felt so cheated of something in his entire life. And he's not even sure of what he's being cheated out of.

"Oh," there's a slight pause in Tanjirou's words, and it makes Inosuke go rigid. "I guess we'll just have to make the most of our summer together then."

Inosuke didn't realize his shoulders had tensed up until they relax after the other boy's sentence. He hasn't known Tanjirou long, but he can sense he's the kind of person to always try and put a positive spin on things.

A sharp, toothy grin stretches so wide over his lips he feels them crack a bit, and he cackles. "We so will."

.oOo.

Inosuke was now safely tucked into his bed in the guestroom with burning cheeks as he recalls the rest of the walk waiting for a text that told him Tanjirou was home safe.

It was mostly uneventful, the only disturbances being their footsteps and the crickets chirping in the grass until they reached the building.

Tanjirou had given him a tight embrace at the door that lasted a tad too long before waving and running off down the street without so much as a word.

The everyday interaction felt anything but mundane. To him, it felt like a religious experience that would forever change the course of his life.

Inosuke could smell the faintest touch of hibiscus shampoo under a layer of salty ocean where his face pressed into Tanjirou's unruly waves. He could how big his hands were on the redhead's waist as he grabbed them before fully hugging him.

He wanted to feel him without the sweatshirt in the way, but before his thought could fully form, Tanjirou was gone, and he was left stunned.

A high-pitched ping from his phone resting on his chest pulls him back to th present.

Tanjirou
Home safe ^.^

Inosuke bites his cheek as he lets out a small huff of hot air from his nose.

Inosuke
Good minion
Now sleep

He takes a deep breath as he presses his palm to his forehead to steady his racing thoughts. At this point, he doesn't know what he's genuinely thinking about.

Another ding.

He picks up his phone.

Tanjirou
yessir

The simple text makes him toss his phone across the room with a yelp.

That kiss on the beach was really going to screw him over, huh?