An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
Summary: Genya and Inosuke were two very different people who are more alike than they think.
For one, they both revolve around the same sun and were warmed by him.
InoGenTan Week 2020 day 1: [intimacy] / confessions
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Genya wasn’t sure what to feel about Inosuke. He felt like they were polar opposites and he couldn’t stand the aggressive man, but also, he felt like he knew him.
Genya wasn’t the most emotionally intelligent person out there. Inosuke was probably worse.
Well, Genya would like to think he was better off than Inosuke. He knew his emotions, but he had a limited spectrum of the ones he could actually feel . Since he entered the Demon Slayer Corps, he’s lost touch with soft stuff like love or giddiness or contentment. Most days were just empty or maybe determination and frustration at not being able to catch up with his brother just yet.
Then he met Tanjiro...who broke his arm.
Well, then he met him again in the swordsmith village and seeing those eyes of innocence brought up a soft feeling he hasn’t felt in a while: the urge to protect. With it came an exhilarating feeling to do better, to be better.
Yeah, he was embarrassed by the Love Pillar but that was different. This whole Tanjiro thing was different.
Tanjiro was like the sun. He was just so damn bright and he made him feel like he could be a better person. He didn’t mean that Tanjiro made him feel like he was being reborn, but instead, he felt like he could be a better person as he was then and just changing a few things about himself. He didn’t have to go through a whole reset to be better. He just had to probably socialize more and let himself feel soft every now and then and use that to fuel his strength as a human and as a demon slayer.
So he tried.
Then he had to rest in the Butterfly Estate and met Inosuke and he thought, ‘thank the gods I’m not as emotionally stunted as that guy.’
That guy being someone who could only use anger and violence and other explosive actions to express all emotions he felt. Emotions that he wasn’t even sure what they were called but he had them anyway because, well, humanity.
Genya was glad he wasn’t like Inosuke, but he could empathize with the boar-headed man and see himself in him somewhat.
He knew what it was like to only have strong emotions for the longest time. Genya knew what it was like to just simmer in said emotions for long periods of time, to rely on only these emotions when things happened. He knew all too well what it’s like to have no other outlet for anything else rather than shout-growl-anger-violence-threaten.
So, yeah. While Inosuke was annoying and stressful to be with, Genya kinda got him.
Not to mention that Genya and Inosuke were just in the same boat when it came to Affected for the better by Tanjiro the Sun club.
Genya wasn’t stupid. He’s seen how the boar-headed man sees the redhead. He wasn’t blind to not see those...those little balls of yellow or something, all bright and fuzzy, floating all around Inosuke when Tanjiro complimented him. Genya felt that he probably had something similar to him, he wasn’t gonna deny that.
The little pats on Inosuke’s head, the sidehugs, the cheers, and the little taps on the back and shoulders; Genya watched all those happen and see the little fuzzballs of light surround the perpetually half-naked man while he kept his face hidden under that mask. Genya would bet all his brother’s precious ohagi that Inosuke was either blushing or grinning under that boar mask every time. Or both, that was likely too.
After doing some small time missions after the swordsmith village incident, Genya began spending more time at the Butterfly Estate to restock on ointments and to recuperate. Multiple times he’d see Tanjiro there (because of course that guy would get injured). Every time though, he was very aware of how Inosuke just hung around, training or not, and stuck to Tanjiro whenever he could.
And in those little moments, he saw...something that differentiated him from Inosuke, besides the emotional smartness thing.
Inosuke got a lot of touches from Tanjiro, Genya knew this when compared to him. But Inosuke also initiated sometimes. He would hug the redhead from behind, would sling his arm across his shoulders, and would lean on the crook of his neck whenever their positions allowed it. Sometimes, he would nuzzle his head in the roots of Tanjiro’s head, staying silent the whole time.
Sometimes, Tanjiro would hold back. Sometimes, Tanjiro would reciprocate; he would nuzzle back, maybe, or he would hold the hands hugging at his neck or midsection.
Every time, Tanjiro had what Genya would call the softest and warmest smile on his face. Tanjiro would look so soft, so content, and Genya would be torn between ‘ I wanna make Tanjiro look like that too’ and ‘ I wanna look like that too .’
But Genya, unlike Inosuke, wasn’t as headstrong. He was cowardly compared to him. Cowardly, but determined.
He started small. The Pillar Training was the perfect time to start small and Genya, while he was dying from the stress, was glad that Himejima-san’s training got them socializing. Well, socializing more than when Tanjiro stood up for him to Sanemi, which just made Genya feel so flustered, happy, sad and in awe all at once that he physically couldn’t take it--
Anyway, yes. Himejima-san’s training.
It wasn’t the fact they were shirtless or anything, but being so close to Tanjiro in proximity got Genya feeling so many things. It made him so warm to feel his shoulders so close to his, to feel the other’s body heat just radiating and permeating through his clothes.
Gods, how did Inosuke deal with this feeling? How did he revel in it all while shirtless himself? Did Tanjiro’s clothes help then?
Aside from the physical closeness, though, Genya found himself having fun and feeling light and fluttery inside as he helped the redhead with his training. He got to see the warm smile Tanjiro gave Inosuke, and sometimes, he got that smile directed at him. Whenever it happened, it got him smiling the same too and it was...nice. It was really, really nice.
Then, one night, after Tanjiro made them all rice balls and cooked them fish, he leaned over to Genya’s side and sighed contently.
“Tanjiro?”
Tanjiro, who was beginning to close his eyes, sat up abruptly. His cheeks were pink and Genya had a primal urge to just. Squish. “Ah, sorry! Does this bother you? I, uh, tend to be more physical than others. It’s a habit from, uh, a big family, sorry.”
Genya shook his head. “No, just wanted to ask you something.” Then, he added as an afterthought, “You can go back, if you want.”
Tanjiro, still flustered (?), smiled sheepishly and slowly but somewhat stiffly leaned back to Genya’s side. Genya kept his face looking straight and, listening to his gut, decided to lean his head atop the other’s. He felt Tanjiro’s stiff form relax a bit, and bury himself a bit closer into Genya’s arm. Now, no way was Genya going to look down.
“So, what did you want to ask, Genya?”
“Uh,” Genya swallowed. It was now or never. “When this is all over, what do you plan to do? You and after your sister, I mean.”
“Hm…” Mindlessly (Genya assumed), Tanjiro played with Genya’s fingers on the floor. “Maybe go back to the mountains? Go back to making coal? Or maybe I’ll move somewhere nearer to the city. Nezuko would look so pretty as a city girl, I feel it!” Tanjiro humed. “Well, I’m not sure but those are my options right now. For sure, though, I’ll keep at it with practicing Hinokami Kagura.” He plops Genya’s pinky to the floor and Genya dies a little bit inside when he feels Tanjiro move his head to look up at him. “What about you, Genya?”
“Me?” Genya blinked, still pointedly not looking at the other. This moment was too much for him right now: Tanjiro on his side, his body warmth...it all felt too much yet still so right. He wasn’t sure what was going on. “I, uh, also don’t know. I just want my brother to accept me, I’ll start with that.”
“Ah, same! I hope the Wind Pillar stops being so mean to you--”
“After this is all over, the great Inosuke-sama will drag you on more adventures, Gonpachiro!”
Genya’s conversation with Tanjiro was cut short when the blue-haired man pops out of a random bush, unmasked. “Inosuke, I wasn’t asking you.” He huffs. There goes his moment with Tanjiro.
Inosuke snorts. “Doesn’t matter, underling. I’m always in the conversation, even when I’m not.”
“What does that even mean?!”
Tanjiro breaks their soon-to-be fight with laughter and Genya notices they both immediately turn to look at him. Tanjiro remains stuck to Genya’s side but gestures for Inosuke to come closer. Genya, confused, watches Inosuke’s ready to fight face morph into something...calmer as he makes his way to them. Soundlessly, Inosuke sits himelf down beside Tanjiro and buries his head on his lap, the redhead using his free hand to play with the blue locks sprawled out on him.
“What about you, Inosuke? What would you do when this is all over?”
Genya suddenly felt both in place and distressed all at once. He felt like he was suddenly intruding on a special moment. Slowly, he tried to raise his head and remove himself, but Tanjiro’s hand on his hardened, keeping him in place.
“I told you, I’ll be taking you with me on more adventures, Monjiro,” Inosuke said, no bite or aggressiveness in his words this time. From his position, he looks up and meets his eyes with Genya. Then, in the flatest voice ever, he says, “This guy can come too, if you want him to.”
And Genya. Genya wasn’t sure what to make of that. Of. Of this .
Inosuke’s green eyes peered at him with something akin to understanding when they darted from his face to Tanjiro’s hands on him on the floor. Then, Genya, watches him look up at Tanjiro with a different look. Understanding was still there, but there was something else--
Ah, that soft, content look again. The one he wants for himself and wants to give to Tanjiro. The look that, now that Genya looks closer, is aware that it’s the same look he sends out to Tanjiro.
Genya was intruding, wasn’t he? He was here first but now he’s here for too long and now he’s intruding.
As he trailed Inosuke’s eyes, he inadvertently locks his eyes with Tanjiro and freezes.
Ah.
It’s that look.
The look.
His eyes grow wide and he feels his chest grow warm and his hand grow clammy. Tanjiro keeps that one hand above his and smiles up at him. Genya wants to cry and possibly punch Inosuke all at once because now, Tanjiro is giving him that look that he knows is reserved only for Inosuke. Given only to Inosuke. So far.
“Yes,” Tanjiro breathes out, his smile growing as he spoke, “I’d like it very much if we could bring Genya with us on our adventures when this is all over.”
Inosuke stays silent for a few moments as he watches Genya and Tanjiro share looks, and Genya is a bit worried. Would Inosuke be mad? He wouldn’t have a problem fighting the man, but it was night time and he wanted to rest. With Tanjiro, preferably. But he’d understand if Inosuke would fight him. After all, he is getting the look that Tanjiro reserved for him only.
But Inosuke doesn’t get mad. He grunts, though, then he sits up and Genya tenses. He was readying himself for a fight when a pair of legs suddenly flopped on his lap, and his eyes trail up the body and sees Inosuke’s head still on Tanjiro’s legs, but in the opposite direction.
“Am I bed to you?!” Genya growls.
“No, you’re an underling, like Tantoko here is.” Inosuke pats Tanjiro’s stomach. “As his fellow underling, you will do what he does too. But he’s more special to me since he’s a long-timer. You’re still new, so you’re gonna start from the bottom by housing my feet. Tantoro will house my great head.”
“Ha? The hell are you on about?” Literally, what the fuck was Inosuke even at this point.
But then Tanjiro laughs and Genya mellows out a bit even though Inosuke looks smug. Genya can’t fight against that laugh, it’ll hurt too much. “That’s great, Genya!” Oh shit, now Tanjiro is looking up at him while edging closer to him. Fuck. “If we’re both his underlings, then us three can go on adventures together! You, me and Inosuke, we’d be having so much fun together!” Then Tanjiro looks up to the stars and starts talking to himself. “Hmm...first I’ll show you guys where Nezuko and I grew up, and then maybe we can go around the mountains there? Then we could see the other cities…”
Genya tuned out Tanjiro’s plans for the future when Inosuke kicks him lightly. He looks down at the man, who sends him a smug and knowing smile. He snuggles his head closer to Tanjiro’s stomach and his legs closer to Genya’s, but he doesn’t look prideful.
He looks content, Genya would say, and soft, as he looks up at Tanjiro’s face then back at him. Though the look at him has a bit more competitiveness in it than that directed to Tanjiro, but that was fine. Genya still wanted to kick Inosuke off, and he felt that Inosuke probably would fight him willingly, but they both reached an unspoken agreement not to. This moment was really nice for them, Genya knows. Inosuke didn’t make him feel overly warm like Tanjiro did, but his warmth on him made him feel nice nonetheless. Maybe Inosuke felt the same way?
Then he thinks about the look Inosuke sent him, and realizes, oh, Inosuke and him were a lot more alike than he thought. Maybe Inosuke wasn’t as emotionally smart or experienced as Genya was, but he was more aware of emotions even if he didn't really realize them. That look of understanding that Inosuke’s been throwing at him since early on, and the lack of jealousy (that Genya assumed Inosuke would do when Tanjiro gave him that look ) on his part all makes sense to him now that Inosuke’s legs were draped over his.
‘I get you now’ seemed to pass between the two of them as Genya leaned his head again atop Tanjiro’s and placed his hands above Inosuke’s knees. Tanjiro beamed at them but kept talking, one hand slowly interlocking his fingers with Genya while the other traces patterns on Inosuke’s scalp.
‘Inosuke,’ Genya thinks, ‘we’re a lot more alike than I thought.’
He squeezes Tanjiro’s hand back, and, bless his long arm span, ruffles Inosuke’s hair without moving too much. Inosuke doesn’t fight him, but he does growl. Genya knows there’s no bite though, not with that teasing and knowing smile on that ridiculously pretty face.
The stars sparkle in Tanjiro’s eyes when he watches the exchange and he gets that look on him again and wow, the stars just made something great even better.
Genya burned this moment into his brain forever.
If this was what life would be like as an underling of Inosuke after all this demon slaying business--quiet nights under the stars, Inosuke and Tanjiro’s soft looks--he was all up for it.
Genya wasn’t quite sure yet what to feel about Inosuke, but right now, he quite likes him on his lap with Tanjiro with them.
this is like the nth post im making about how im gonna rebrand myself but i just never get around to doing it
but anyway
hello its me *fingerguns* its ya girl rosa saying hello but she wont be on for long!! im just ehre to fix my theme and my tags bcs tbh i just dont have enough consistent drive to do anything but i do think of writing and being a weeb so ofc the blog goes back to being abt those two lmao
so yes. im not dead, just tired, and i just wanna write and go through tumblr again, maybe get inspired, see my ships sail, all that jazz
We really out here sleeping on one of the best boi huh? KONOHA AKINORI deserves all the love and support. I mean just look at him????????? He’s so pretty, I’m-
And then we have this panel that shortened my life span by at least 20 hours
romaincrisis
janainaart
origamiaround
gummygunk
areudirty
baratheonpilled
prguitarman
jbbartram-illu
andulkaphoto
