A couple of days after Tanjirou is told to stay away from Shinazugawa, the wind Pillar himself appears behind the redhead as he's trying to make some dinner for the tired slayers.
When Tanjirou notices him, he leaves what he's doing behind, and starts walking away; he was allowed to stay in the wind hashira estate to help others, as long as he made sure to give the Pillar his space.
"Wait," the hashira's voice sounds different this time, softer, perhaps in a way that only Genya was allowed to hear when he was younger. "I told Okayata-sama to forget about the restraining order."
Slowly, Tanjirou turns around to face the taller man, and notices that he's rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment.
Shinazugawa clears his throat, and blushes under Tanjirou's kind gaze; he has to look away for a moment to collect himself. The redhead has the feeling that he's getting a glimpse of his old self. He really believes he could've been good friends with him under different circumstances.
"I've been observing Genya, and he looks happier now," he clears his throat. "I... I want to keep him safe, but by trying to I've been pushing him away, and making him miserable. I'm glad he met you."
"You can still get close to him," Tanjirou says then, smiling gently at the Pillar. "He wants to."
"Of course! But first, I need to finish cooking the guys' meals!"
It's the second time a Shinazugawa ends up helping him make food; when Tanjirou calls the slayers, most of them pale when they spot the wind hashira right next to him.
After that, Tanjirou stays up all night talking to the hashira about his little brother; he listens patiently and tells him the best way to start, even if it sounds a bit difficult, is to try to speak to Genya in person.
Tanjirou is not sure when he falls asleep, but the next day he wakes up in a room, and under a couple of very comfortable blankets.
He and Shinazugawa keep talking to each other, and spending a lot of time together; the wind Pillar also starts training him again, but he's not as wild as he was before, and promises Tanjirou to treat the others not so hard anymore.
When Tanjirou notices the two Shinazugawa brothers finally speaking in front of the other, and the Pillar no longer looking like he's about to take out both of Genya's eyes, the redhead feels very happy for his new friend.
However, despite knowing Shinazugawa doesn't have the impulse to murder Tanjirou every five seconds anymore, the redhead blinks in surprise when a couple of strong arms lift him from the ground and pull him closer to a broad chest for a very tight embrace.
He blinks a couple of times, realizing that the wind hashira is smiling and smelling quite happy at the moment.
"Does that mean you and Genya are okay now?" He grins, earning a fond smile from Shinazugawa.
"Indeed," the wind Pillar mumbles, still staring at the redhead with fascination. His smile is gone, but the content scent coming from him is still there. "Thank you."
Tanjirou waits a few seconds, but when it's obvious Shinazugawa doesn't plan to let him go anytime soon, the redhead has to remind him that he's still hugging him.
"You can let me go now," he says, making Shinazugawa blush and put him back on the ground immediately.
"Well, I'll go see my sister. I'm glad I was able to help y-"
"Can I go with you? I'd like to apologize to her for what I did during her trial."
Shinazugawa keeps surprising him.
The demon girl is not very happy with him at first, but she listens as the Pillar tries to explain to her that he's, indeed, very sorry for what he's done.
After a while, Nezuko pats the hashir'as white head and nods at him. The wind hashira thanks her right before leaving the two siblings alone.
But that doesn't end up being the last time Tanjirou sees Shinazugawa, no, the Pillar keeps appearing whenever he is, sometimes to help the redhead with something, and others giving him advice on how to use his katana.
The fact that he has mellowed out around Tanjirou and his sister doesn't mean he has stopped hissing or growling at other slayers when he gets particularly annoyed with them, In fact, it seems that he gets slightly more irritated when the slayers try to get the sunshine's attention when Shinazugawa is with him.
After a few weeks, the wind hashira starts nuzzling Tanjirou quite often; it occurs to the redhead that maybe it's because Sanemi is secretly touch starved, so the sunshine doesn't protest and even initiates physical contact himself every now and then.
The turning point of their relationship, that keeps the butterfly estate so intrigued, is when Tanjirou comes back from a hard mission with a lot injuries and when Sanemi finds out, he gets there in a few minutes, and after making sure none of the wounds look serious, and scaring all the kakushi boys and girls around, he hisses at the sunshine for not being careful enough.
Tanjirou doesn't start arguing back, until Sanemi suggests it'd be better if the redhead stopped going on missions at all.
"Really? Because those seem to tell me otherwise," Sanemi growls, narrowing his eyes at the redhead as he points at the cut on his leg and his arm.
"You know these are scratches," Tanjirou retorts, feeling as if the air has turned heavier around them. Something has changed.
"Next time will be worse."
"It won't!" The redhead insists, feeling a bit emotional. "You've been training me! Why don't you trust me?"
"It's not about that, you idiot!"
Tanjirou barely finishes his heated question when lips crash on his, and after realizing it's Sanemi the one kissing him, the redhead starts kissing him back.
He's not sure what's going on, but his heart tells him it's something they both should've done a while ago.
When they have to pull away for air, Tanjirou realizes that they're both alone in the room now; he blushes thinking about all the kakushi who watched them before they decided to leave them.
Tanjirou likes the way Sanemi's voice sounds when he says that; he doesn't even bother to protest.
"I still can make my own decisions." The sunshine says, stubborn.
Sanemi rolls his eyes, but he smiles fondly at him.
"There's a couple of things we should talk about before we start dating..."
"Yeah, yeah," Sanemi says, desperate. "But first let me kiss you again."
Sanemi nods, but even before he leans dangerously close to Tanjirou, the redhead knows it won't be just one kiss. And he's okay with that.
