Tanjirou Kamado, a bright-eyed 16-year-old, grew up in a slow-paced town right on the coastline. The blazing heat gave him sun-kissed skin adorned with light freckles, and it bleached the ends of his dark reddish hair a lighter hue. His eyes also obtain a dark red color that matches an oddly shaped burn scar that takes up about half his forehead.

His family home was right on the beach, so the view was always amazing. The weather was always hot, and the waves were always prime for surfing.

He works at a little ice cream shop right on the sand called Urokodaki's. He was great with people, and the customers loved his gentle attitude and kind eyes. He always made excellent tips during his shifts.

Tanjirou also liked the fact that his best friend since middle school, Zenitsu Agatsuma, lived next door to him.

Zenitsu was an odd guy with his constant bouts of crying and trying to woo every woman in a 20-mile radius, but Tanjirou still loved him.

He had blonde hair that framed his face and faded to a soft orange toward the ends (Zenitsu told him it's because he was struck by lighting. Insane, right?). His eyes were the color of thick honey once it crystallized; they never failed to make Tanjirou hungry. He was also surprisingly pale for living in such a hot climate, but maybe that was a side effect from the lightning, like his hair and the Lichtenberg scars on his back.

But what Tanjirou loved most of all was when temperatures hit the 90's, and he and Zenitsu could cruise down the backroads on the last day of school in the blonde's yellow convertible.

It was a 1967 Ford Mustang, and it was a gift from his gramps after getting his license when he was 16. The paint was pale from years of exposure to the elements, and it was prone to not starting if the key wasn't turned to a specific angle, but the friends considered it their child, especially with how much work Tanjirou had helped Zenitsu with fixing it up.

Tanjirou stands up in the passenger seat, holding onto the windshield tightly as he lets out an excited yell before flopping back down into his seat. "We get to do whatever we want now, Zenitsu."

A hazy love-struck expression overtakes the older boy's face as he daydreams. "You're right, Tanjirou. I have all summer to make sweet Nezuko-Chan fall in love with me."

Tanjirou rolls his eyes as he smacks Zenitsu, mumbling, "Gross."

Zenitsu has had a massive crush on Tanjirou's sister since he first laid eyes on her. It made Tanjirou want to rip his eyelashes off one by one, so he didn't have to think about his little sister getting together with his best friend. It was utterly absurd to him.

Though Tanjirou also didn't fully understand the concept of falling in love. Sure he's had crushes on his classmates, but they were always fleeting as fast as they came. No one to him was quite that memorable. So he pushes aside notions of dating and decided to focus on his family and friends as well as himself.

He knows it'll happen when it happens, so why rush it?

The rest of the ride home consists of fast spoken words and exciting plans of how they're going to spend the next three months. Working at the ice cream shop, surfing—well, Tanjirou will be surfing while Zenitsu worries himself into thinking they're in the plot of soul surfer, late-night drives, and going to parties with their other friends.

All in all, they know this summer is going to be one to remember.

•

Now Tanjirou does love the heat, but sometimes it can be a bit unbearable. It was currently 103°F, and he's sweat through his work shirt after barely moving for the past four hours. He would have to talk to Urokodaki about making new shirts that aren't black and don't retain as much heat.

He pushes himself off the register counter and turns around to see Zenitsu with his head shoved into one of the ice cream freezers. The blonde's been whining about how the heatwave was going to kill him since their shift started four and half hours ago.

"If it's bothering you so much, just go jump into the water, Zenitsu." Tanjirou deadpans as he fans himself with his hand.

"How dare you suggest that you know how much the ocean scares me!" Zenitsu whips his head up, and his previously sweat-slicked hair was stood on his head like icicles.

Tanjirou can't hold in his laughter at the visual, and it only offends the blonde more.

Zenitsu slams the freezer shut as he yells, "What the hell is so funny!?"

Still laughing, Tanjirou takes his phone out of his shorts pocket and snaps a quick picture of the enraged blonde. After admiring it for another moment, he twists the phone, so his friend can look at the screen.

Zenitsu squawks as his hands fly up to his hair, trying to push it back into place. All he ends up doing is making other pieces stick out at odd angles, and Tanjirou falls deeper into a laughing fit.

"Calm down, calm down." Tanjirou can't tell if he's talking to himself or the blonde. "The ice just has to melt, and It'll be back to normal."

"TANJIROU!" Zenitsu whines as he falls into a blubbering heap on the floor, tears already springing to his eyes.

This goes on for the last half hour of their shift; Zenitsu crying on the floor while Tanjirou serves any customer that comes up to the counter.

When Sabito and Makomo arrive to take over, Tanjirou grabs the blonde by the back of his uniform and drags him to his car.

Zenitsu sniffles before wiping his nose with his wrist going basically back to normal as he rummages through the back seat of his car, looking for a casual T-shirt. Tanjirou does the same, both boys not a stranger to sharing clothes with one another.

When they both find one, they take off their work shirts, slipping the new ones on.

"What're your plans for the rest of the day?" Tanjirou hums as he straightens the green tank top he put on.

"Gramps wants to take me out into the peach orchard, and I'll be doing everything I can to avoid him." A shiver runs through the older boy's body at the mere thought of seeing his grandfather in work mode.

Tanjirou chuckles as he nods knowingly. There was one occasion where he accompanied his best friend and his grandfather while working in the orchard, and let's just say he hasn't gone back since. Though he will admit watching Zenitsu faint to get out of doing actual work makes him chuckle from time to time.

"Have fun with that. I'm hitting the . . ." Tanjirou trails off as his eyes catch sight of the most beautiful person he's ever seen.

Standing on the other side of the parking lot is a boy about his age with shoulder-length black hair, and the tips fade to a vibrant blue. His pale skin is stretched over incredibly defined muscles in his arms and abdomen (How the hell did this kid have a six-pack!?).

Tanjirou feels his mouth pooling with saliva, and he swallows thickly. He can't help wondering what color his eyes are until pale emeralds lock with his rubies.

Why are they getting closer? Oh shit, the guy's running! Why is he coming over here?!

"What're you staring at, red?" His voice is deep and gruff; Tanjirou's knees are weak.

It takes him a moment to find his voice. "I didn't- I wasn't trying to. I'm sorry."

The ravenette growls, and Tanjirou doesn't want to admit how it makes his stomach flip.

"You wanna fight? Okay." The boy takes a hair tie from around his wrist and starts putting his hair into a high, short ponytail.

Tanjirou stutters, words leaving him once again as his mouth goes dry. The boy's milky white neck looks soft, and all he wants to do is reach out and gently stroke over the visible tendons.

"No, he doesn't want to fight you, idiot." Zenitsu chimes uncharacteristically from beside the redhead.

The boy laughs maniacally as a sharp grin splits across his face; Tanjirou thinks he's going to faint.

But Tanjirou is instantly knocked out of his trance when the stranger swings his fist at Zenitsu. The blonde jumps back with a high-pitched scream as Tanjirou makes the split-second decision to lunge forward and headbutt the beautiful boy. Hard.

The stranger stumbles back as he holds his forehead—a bit of blood dribbles through his fingers and splats against the sandy asphalt. He laughs louder than before as he stands up straight, making intense eye contact with Tanjirou, his hand falling away from his head.

"You're worthy of the king." He grins brightly, a hint of feral-ness behind it. "My name is Inosuke Hashibira, and don't you forget it!"

Tanjirou feels his face heat to an intense degree; he decides to blame it on the heatwave, not the boy in front of him who still looks ethereal with blood dripping down his face. The tips of his fingers feel like living static, and the feeling spreads up to his wrists as he watches Inosuke wobble before falling down.

"TANJIROU, YOU KILLED HIM!" Zenitsu shrieks as he jumps around, waving his hands frantically.

"NO, I DIDN'T!" Tanjirou shrieks back as he grabs Inosuke from the ground bringing him over to the blonde's car, lying him in the back seat. "Get it together, Zenitsu!"

The older boy starts pacing around the vehicle, wallowing about how jail is going to be where he dies and how he'll never be able to make Nezuko his bride.

Though the only thing Tanjirou can think about is how silky Inosuke's skin was under his fingertips.

What. The. Fuck.