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If anything was out of Giyuu’s comfort zone, it would be crowded places or anywhere that involved mandatory socialization. When you combine those two things together, the room might as well burst into flames because it just sounds like hell.
Tomioka must’ve been really unlucky, considering that was the setting around him. Hashira Game Night , as Tengen dubbed it— which was quite odd considering it wasn’t only the hashira who were invited.
He wished it was.
These things were barely tolerable when it was only the original nine of them, maybe the master too if he decided to pop in. Unfortunately, someone had the fantastic idea of letting some of the younger demon slayers in. To be fair, Giyuu got along better with Tanjiro and his group of friends than the other hashira, but them being there only added to the amounts of chaos. Fuck, he hated that.
Giyuu looked around blankly, acknowledging that absolutely none of this appealed to him at all. One group consisting of Tengen, Rengoku, Misturi, Tanjiro, Inosuke, and Zenitsu were playing some board game that he had zero interest in. Obanai was also spectating— Giyuu understanding that he also thought the game was dumb.
In a far corner, he noticed that Genya and Muichiro were chatting. The taller of the two leaning against the wall and seeming a little more panicked than usual. Not that Giyuu would really know, considering the amount of times he’s really seen Genya was limited.
His other (only) friend that he could think of talking to was Shinobu, but she seemed too busy talking to Himejima about who knows what. Average people might walk up and start conversations, but Giyuu was definitely far from average when it came to talking to people. Plus, intruding on a conversation felt rude.
He briefly considered leaving while nobody was paying attention (not like he thought anyone would notice anyways), but he ultimately decided against it. Instead, he allowed his feet to carry him to the minibar that was set up for the of-age hashira. Tengen had stopped by it earlier, which explained why he looked far from sober.
The water pillar didn’t consider himself much of a drinker, but if that was the only option other than approaching someone on his own and striking up conversation, he’d gladly take it. So he poured himself a shot.
Of what? He wasn’t really sure. He didn’t really care either.
“You’ve gotta be fuckin’ kidding,” Said a gruff voice from behind him. Giyuu didn’t react, recognizing who was speaking almost immediately. The black haired man looked up, nodding in acknowledgement towards the wind pillar.
“Hello Shinazugawa,”
“Tsk,” Sanemi grumbled, grabbing a shot glass and getting himself a shot as well. “Just as I thought this shitty party couldn’t get any lamer.”
Tomioka didn’t respond, instead downing the liquor that filled the small glass in his hand. His face scrunched up slightly, feeling the heat in his throat from the trail the alcohol left.
“Can’t take shots well? Need a chaser?” Sanemi jabbed in a sarcastic manner before taking his own shot. Tomioka opened his mouth to say something in retaliation, but couldn’t after realizing that Sanemi’s face hardly changed from the taste. Giyuu opted to stay quiet.
Tomioka really wasn’t planning on getting drunk, but it seemed like the better option in comparison to anything else happening around the butterfly estate. So, he poured himself another shot. He had almost forgot that Shinazugawa was next to him until a snort broke the silence in Giyuu’s mind.
“You won’t even stand up for yourself?” The black haired man didn’t have to lift his head to hear the eye roll in Sanemi’s tone. “You really do think you’re too good for the rest of us, huh? Won’t even speak.”
Giyuu’s eyebrows furrowed. Too good?
Where the fuck did Shinazugawa get that idea? If anything, it was quite the opposite.
He took a breath and took his second shot, the taste and burn shocking him a little less than the first time.
“You talk too much,” Giyuu said straightforwardly before finally turning back to look Sanemi in the face. He looked surprised— that quickly turned to irritation.
“Excuse you?”
“Words are hard, Shinazugawa. Sometimes it’s best to just stay quiet. You can come off rather aggressive.”
Right, because the wind pillar was bad with words, just like Giyuu. That’s the way he’d always seen it, at least. The ways they handled it were just different. While Giyuu didn’t like speaking to limit communication, Sanemi seemed to speak whatever what was on his mind and hope he wouldn’t have to elaborate. So Giyuu never took anything Sanemi said to heart.
“You do realize you just sound like a fucking asshole?” Shinazugawa laughed bitterly, taking a shot that Tomioka didn’t even realize he poured. Sanemi made sure that he was looking into Giyuu’s eyes as he downed it, trying to get some sort of message across.
Giyuu didn’t get the message, clearly.
“I’m sorry if I came off that way. I’m not good at expressing, especially not to people I respect.”
Sanemi had a half puzzled, half irritated look on his face. “What?”
“What?”
“Did you just fucking say you respect me?” Sanemi asked, some sort of twisted expression on his face. “Are you mocking me or some shit?”
Apparently Giyuu wasn’t clear enough. Talking to people is such a nuisance.
“No, I really respect you, Shinazugawa.” He said again, trying to make sure he is as straightforward as possible. That seemed to be relatively hard to do though, considering the alcohol was starting to set in. Giyuu’s mind was becoming a little fuzzy.
Sanemi didn’t say anything. Giyuu felt like he could finally have a breath of fresh air. Instead of pouring himself another shot, he decided to mix a drink so his intake of concentrated alcohol wasn’t too much. Being tipsy was probably enough, but he wasn’t quite there yet.
Shinazugawa on the other hand, was pouring shot after shot. Tomioka couldn’t help but wonder how he was even still a little sober at this point.
He watched silently, noticing how his face barely contorted at the intake of each shot and he couldn’t help but wonder just how often he drank. He did notice however, the red that was beginning to tint Sanemi’s cheeks. The flushed skin was telling enough that the alcohol was starting to affect him.
“The fuck are you looking at?” Sanemi asked, eyebrow flicking up. Giyuu’s eyes widened the slightest bit, not realizing that he wasn’t casually observing, but staring. That was definitely embarrassing.
“Sorry,” He said quickly, shifting his gaze so he was staring back down at the table top. An amused breath of air left Sanemi’s lips.
Tomioka was a man who often enjoyed silence, but for some reason he couldn’t help but want to talk to Shinazugawa. It was probably the alcohol, considering Shinobu has told him he’s a chatty drunk (not that he believed her). But this was the most Sanemi has spoken to him without threatening to kill him, and Giyuu was hopeful that something good could come out of it.
Giyuu looked back up, preparing to say something. To his surprise, the wind pillar was already looking back. The expression on his face didn’t seem so stand-offish, though Giyuu couldn’t tell if it was from the shots he had taken or not.
“Uh-“ He took a breath. “Why aren’t you hanging out with everyone else?”
Sanemi rolled his eyes in response, though Giyuu could have swore a ghost of a smile appeared on his lips.
“Because Uzui is drunk off his ass and they’re playing fucking Monopoly, which lasts seventeen fucking years.” Sanemi tilted his head in the direction of the group. “Plus Genya just joined, and I’ll be caught dead before anyone sees me playing with him.”
“Oh.” Giyuu said, nodding slowly. “You’ve said that once about me too,” He threw in, remembering that Tanjiro sometimes makes connections in conversations to keep them going. “And now you’re drinking with me so-“
“Shut the fuck up.”
“Okay.”
They were quiet again for another minute, Giyuu taking small sips of his drink and avoiding eye contact with the other.
“I didn’t mean that,” Sanemi said after the short period of silence. Giyuu looked back up at him again. “Why aren’t you hanging out with the others?”
They just stared at each other.
“Ah,” The white haired man said, answering his own question. Apparently Sanemi forgot who he was talking to.
They fell back into another silence and Tomioka felt a pool of disappointment settling in his stomach. He mentally cursed himself for not being able to hold a conversation with Shinazugawa. In all of the years they worked together and all the years he’s wanted Sanemi to be his friend, this is the closest he’s gotten.
Giyuu subconsciously shuffled to stand a little closer to the other man, allowing his eyes to rake over his face and form. He was a little shameless about it, so he was sure Sanemi noticed. He didn’t say anything about it.
“Shinazugawa?” Giyuu tried again, not ready to give up yet. Sanemi grunted in acknowledgment, a sign for Giyuu to continue talking. “I think your scars are really cool,”
Sanemi looked up, lavender eyes meeting his own blue ones. He seemed to scan Giyuu’s face for any sign of mockery, but didn’t find any. He watched as the other’s mouth opened as if to say something, his cheeks turning a brighter red than the drunken blush from before. No words came out. It made Giyuu think that maybe Sanemi wasn’t complimented very often.
“Your haori is still ugly,”
“Oh.”
Giyuu rolled his lips over his teeth and bit down, starting to get frustrated at the lack of words. Maybe Shinobu was right— maybe he was a chatty drunk.
“Shinazugawa,” He started again, reaching out a hand towards Sanemi’s face and gently tracing over the scar that stretched from his cheek and across his nose.
Sanemi flinched at the contact, clearly not expecting the directness. His eyebrows furrowed, hand reaching up to grab Giyuu’s wrist in a tight hold.
“What the hell are you doing?” He asked, a bite to his tone but nothing to make Giyuu back away. Giyuu just gave him a small, drunken smile. That seemed to shock Sanemi even more than the touch.
“I think this one is my favorite.” He said confidently. “It’s the one everyone notices right away, but I kind of think that’s why it’s my favorite. Like it’s yours, you know? It couldn’t belong to anyone but you. It’s like a staple of you now.”
Once again, Sanemi looked to be at a loss for words. His fingertips loosened off of Giyuu’s wrist and he quickly pulled away, turning to the alcohol to take yet another shot.
Even though he seemed to hold his alcohol well, Giyuu was almost positive that Sanemi wouldn’t remember any of this in the morning.
“For someone who told me I talk too much, you really don’t seem to shut the fuck up.” He grumbled, grabbing hold of Giyuu’s wrist once again and pulling him in closer.
Chest to chest, face to face, and Giyuu could feel his heart running a thousand miles per hour. Sanemi was so close now— so close that he could make out every little imperfection on the scarred skin of his face. That somehow made him seem even more perfect.
Just as Sanemi began closing the gap between them, aggravated yelling was heard from the other side of the room. Suddenly there was a pillow being hurled like a fast ball, straight in their direction.
Giyuu gasped and tried to pull away, but he wasn’t fast enough for the plush to smack him directly in the center of his face.
“Booo, Tomioka!” Uzui’s voice rang above all the others. “You’re a demon slayer, you should have caught that!”
Giyuu frowned. “I’m a demon slayer, not a pillow slayer.”
He glanced up at the other male who was once mere inches away, only to see how absolutely livid he was now.
“Tengen Uzui, your days are fucking numbered!” He yelled before taking off to try and fight the 6’6 man who had… assaulted them?
Giyuu didn’t know how to feel.
Deciding to not dwell on it, he downed the rest of his drink in one go and went to go find… not Shinobu.
Tanjiro. He’d talk to Tanjiro.
Giyuu zig zagged through the different demon slayers until he finally found his friend. Inosuke and Genya were there, which made him feel a little awkward, but he continued to approach anyways.
“Tanjiro,” Giyuu called, trying to be mindful of whatever conversation was being had between the three of them. Tanjiro smiled brightly upon seeing him, waving politely.
“Hi Tomioka! Have you been drinking? Your face is all flushed,” The younger boy teased. Giyuu held up his fingers to make a ‘small’ gesture, knowing well that he definitely drank enough to get him intoxicated.
“Weird things are happening,” He said. “I want to go home.”
“You do?” Tanjiro asked concerned, tilting his head. “Are you sure?”
“…No.”
Tanjiro laughed and politely excused himself from his friends. Or tried to, until Tomioka looked directly at Genya and grabbed ahold of his sleeve.
“Hey, wha-“
“Does your brother like boys?”
Genya choked on his spit, coughing for a second or two with a worried Tanjiro patting his back soothingly.
“What?! Why the hell would I know that? He doesn’t tell me anything,” Genya said with a twisted expression on his face, pulling his sleeve away from Giyuu’s grasp. “Ask him yourself, if you’re so curious.”
Giyuu simply nodded and looked back at Tanjiro.
“I want to go home.” He repeated with more certainty this time.
“Oh, come on!” Tanjiro urged, a pleasant smile on his face. “Tengen was just about to start up a game of hide and seek! At least stay for that,”
Giyuu thought for a moment.
“Why would I stay for that?”
“Because it’s fun!”
“But I’m not good at hiding.”
Tanjiro patted his shoulder gently in encouragement. “Just stay for one round and if you don’t have fun, then you can go home!”
No matter how hard he tried, Giyuu couldn’t find any excuse to go home other than the fact that he wanted to. Tanjiro clearly wouldn’t take that answer, so he gave in and decided to stay. Just one round and he could go home.
He sighed and nodded, watching everyone slowly start to band together for the game they were about to start.
“Okayyy!” Uzui said, looking way too excited for a simple game of hide and seek. “Let’s begin. Do we have any volunteers for the seeker?”
“I will do it!” Rengoku piped up, proud smile radiating on his face as usual.
“Wonderful,” Tengen responded. “Then Kyojuro will count for one minute before beginning his search of finding everyone. The whole estate is on limits, the only exceptions being Kocho’s room and anywhere outdoors. So close your eyes buddy, and start counting!”
Rengoku did just as he was told, closing his eyes and beginning to count rather enthusiastically.
Giyuu froze for a moment while everyone else rushed off in a hurry, seeming to already have a spot in mind. He was bad at games sober— how the fuck will he do this while intoxicated?
With no set destination in mind, he ran down the closest hall, running past Muichiro as he did so.
Poor kid probably didn’t know what was going on.
He didn’t have time to stop and help though, considering Rengoku had just exclaimed a very loud “49!”. With that being taken into consideration, he pulled open the nearest door and threw himself inside of it, not realizing that it was a closet.
Also not realizing it was already occupied.
“Ow, what the fuck?!”
Tomioka quickly made a shushing noise directed to his quite vulgar hiding mate. “He’ll be done soon. Gotta be quiet.”
“…Tomioka?”
Oh fuck.
Giyuu’s heart almost stopped in his chest at the realization that he was hiding with none other than his newfound crush, Sanemi Shinazugawa.
“Hello Shinazugawa,” He said in a hushed whisper, however a bit more shakily than how he greeted him earlier in the night.
“What the hell are you doing in here, dumbass?!” Sanemi whisper yelled, trying to move his hands around as he spoke. That was shut down quickly, given the minimal space between the two. “There’s not even enough room in here for mMPH-“
Giyuu quickly cut him off by shoving a hand against his mouth, followed by another small “shhhh”.
“He’ll find us.”
With that statement, the black haired male removed his hand off of the other’s face, and instead try to reposition himself in a more comfortable way. It seemed the more he moved though, the more his shoulders and arms bumped into the contents of the closet. Sanemi included. There definitely was not enough space in here.
“Will you stop moving?” Shinazugawa hissed, grabbing ahold of Tomioka’s shoulders and pushing him against the small, clear wall of the closet.
Giyuu gasped at the unpredicted movement.
Oh.
There that feeling was again— his racing heart. The proximity was suffocating, Sanemi’s breath against his face in the dark of the closet being more than enough to make butterflies dance around in his stomach.
There was no way he was living through this.
Because here he was for the second time of this godforsaken game night, his face mere inches away from Sanemi’s own. This really wasn’t what he thought would be happening when he chose to drink instead of play games.
Sanemi didn’t move. The dark closet was now silent, the only thing to be heard was the heavy breathing that was exchanged between the two of them.
If he was sober, there was absolutely no way he’d be allowing this to happen.
But here he was, hands carefully trailing up Sanemi’s chest and moving to wrap around his neck, pulling him even closer than before.
“Shinazugawa,” Giyuu called in a whisper tone. Sanemi didn’t answer— not vocally at least. But the soft breath that left his mouth was enough to tell Giyuu that he was listening. “Did you have enough to drink?”
Sanemi understood what he was insinuating almost immediately, letting out a rough sounding ‘yeah’ before leaning forward and finally closing the remaining distance between them.
The kiss was firm and a little messy, which was to be expected from two people who hadn’t kissed another person in years. However, Giyuu couldn’t find it within himself to care.
Sanemi’s lips were slightly chapped, but he didn’t mind at all. The only thing that mattered was that Sanemi was here. He didn’t even know that feelings could develop so quickly, but from the first press of their lips, Giyuu knew that kissing him would be something that he’d need to do again.
Shinazugawa seemed to reciprocate that idea, seeing how his hands moved to rest more comfortably on Tomioka’s waist.
Finally they broke apart for air, taking in the moment for just a second. Giyuu was absolutely dazed. Kissing Sanemi was something that absolutely was not on today’s agenda. He found himself leaning in again, initiating yet another kiss.
This one, unfortunately, did not last very long.
Blinding light filled the small closet as the door was thrown open.
Fuck.
“Ah!” Rengoku proclaimed, that bright grin on his face. Giyuu was confused, but Sanemi looked absolutely horrified. “It seems as though our dear friends Tomioka and Shinazugawa misheard the game! My friends, we are playing hide and seek, not seven minutes in heaven!”
Giyuu felt his face begin to burn. There was absolutely no way this was happening.
“Either way, I found you guys! Therefore, you lost!”
Sanemi was quick to shove Giyuu out first in embarrassment, though there wasn’t any real aggression to it. Together, they both walked to the group of people who were already found.
Giyuu turned around the minute he saw Shinobu’s shit-eating grin.
“Seven minutes in heaven? With Shinazugawa? I had no idea he was your type, Tomioka!” She teased, poking Giyuu in the back. He stayed quiet and stayed faced away from her, absolutely not ready for her relentless bullying.
“Mind your fucking business, Kocho!” Sanemi cursed, rolling his eyes. One glance at him though and Giyuu could see that he was just as red as he was.
With a giggle, Shinobu stepped away and allowed Sanemi and Giyuu their own personal space. For now.
“Shinazugawa,” Giyuu said quietly, just as he did many other times that night. Sanemi sighed.
“Yes, Tomioka?”
The water pillar slowly looked up at Sanemi, giving him a small smile. “Thank you.”
His face contorted in that familiar look of confusion and irritation.
“Did you just fucking thank me for kissing you?”