Chapter Text
“How’s it feel to have this section of our lives over and done with?!” Zenitsu asked, wringing an arm around Tanjiro’s neck, leaning heavily on his friend as he tip-toed forwards, armed with their newly acquired high school diplomas in hand.
“It feels good,” Tanjiro wheezed, laughing as he shouldered his friends’ weight. “Especially after sitting through all those speeches.”
“Uuugh, tell me about it,” Zenitsu groused, dramatically falling into Tanjiro’s arms. “Torture, absolute torture!”
Tanjiro didn’t bother to keep the blonde up, allowing him to thud to the soft grass of the yard with a yelp before falling to sit next to his fallen friend with a laugh.
“Oh, hey, check it out,” Zenitsu said, noticing a certain teacher talking with some graduating girls. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen him out of that god forsaken tracksuit.”
Tanjiro followed Zenitsu’s eyeline, and let out a long, deep sigh. “It’s going to be so hard not seeing him everyday.” Tanjiro said, taking in the sight of his favourite teacher one last time.
Zenitsu scoffed. “Seriously? You’ve been going to this school for four years- since middle school , and you still think the sun shines out his ass? How many detentions has he given you at this point?”
“Tomioka-sensei isn’t so bad, and he was just enforcing the rules,” Tanjiro said, shaking his head. “He always kept my earrings safe when he had to confiscate them.”
“I don’t know what you see in him,” Zenitsu said mildly.
“He wrote you that recommendation letter that got you that big scholarship, didn’t he?” Tanjiro said, nudging Zenitsu’s head. “Isn’t that worth anything?”
“Maybe,” Zenitsu pouted. “It’ll be a cold day in hell when I tell him that I’m grateful, though.”
“Well, it won’t be when I tell him,” Tanjiro huffed, getting to his feet.
“Go right ahead,” Zenitsu said, very much lounging on the grass still. “He might give you one last detention before you go!”
Tanjiro had always felt it rather useless to try and hide his feelings- he wasn’t particularly good at it to begin with but regardless of that fact, trying to be dishonest about his affections had never appealed to him.
So he’d never hid the fact he had a raging crush on the school disciplinarian and P.E teacher, and Tanjiro did what any other school boy with a crush would do- gave his favourite sensei chocolates on valentines day, chocolates that Tomioka-sensei legally could not reciprocate, took every class and club Tomioka-sensei was teaching as possible, which was probably how Tanjiro had managed to score a kendo scholarship at his dream university where he would study the forensic sciences, and just generally get all gushy and moony whenever Tomioka-sensei or the subject of love and crushes came up in conversation.
Tanjiro did all sorts of things with Tomioka-sensei in his day dreams. Imagining the dates they could go on, fantasising a wedding, what home they’d live in, what sort of cat and dog they would adopt and their names- it was a lovely and relaxing pastime.
And, of course, the naughtier things…He was a healthy young man, of course! He’d gone through his puberty!
But those daydreams were firmly kept between Tanjiro, his bottom left dresser drawer, and drama CD’s with that one voice actor who kind of sounded like Tomioka-sensei.
Tanjiro waited as the graduating girls finished whatever they were saying to Tomioka-sensei, approaching when they were waving as they left, giggling to themselves.Tanjiro was momentarily struck by how handsome Tomioka looked in a proper suit, before he steadied himself enough to talk to the man.
“Ah, Kamado,” Tomioka greeted, turning to face the young adult fully. “I was hoping to see you before you left.”
“Yes, sensei-”
“You’re a graduated adult now," Tomioka reminded him. “I’m not your sensei anymore.”
“Ah…T-Tomioka-san,” Tanjiro said, a bit flushed with the familiarity of the name. “I just…I know, I’ve not been the best student, and probably one of your most troublesome, but…You’ve always been so patient and kind with me when circumstances allowed it, and I really appreciate it. I-I wanted to thank you, for these past few years of instruction you’ve given me, so…t-thank you.”
Tomioka made a soft sound of acknowledgement. He took a deep breath, and Tanjiro noticed the subtle scent of…nervousness? From the unflappable Tomioka-sensei? It caught Tanjiro’s attention, looking up at the man.
“You were quite troublesome,” Tomioka admitted, rubbing the back of his neck. “But probably not for the reasons you think, Tanjiro.”
Tanjiro’s spine went straight. It was the first time Tomioka-sensei had ever used his given name! It made his stomach twist in an oddly pleasant way. “O-oh…? Then, like how?” Tanjiro asked, curious.
Giyu shook his head. “I got you something, a parting gift.” He said instead of answering Tanjiro’s question. He reached into his inner breast pocket, and produced a box, wrapped up prettily with a card in the fold of the wrapping paper.
“Oh, T-thank you, Tomioka-sen-san!” Tanjiro said, catching his mistake just in time. He held the box to his chest gratefully, stars in his garnet eyes.
Tomioka actually…smiled, and it sent Tanjiro’s heart aflutter, and the question of why he was such a troublesome student flew out of his head in an instant.
He wished he could’ve had a camera to capture this moment, to savour it. A part of Tanjiro really did wish he could somehow stay, it felt so strange to know he’d rarely, if ever, see his former P.E teacher again.
Tanjiro was about to say his final goodbyes, and wish Tomioka goodluck in his upcoming endeavours with a new crop of freshmen on the way, when Tomioka reached out, and grabbed the lapel of Tanjiro’s uniform.
Tanjiro’s heart skipped a beat as he was pulled forward, put into Tomioka’s personal bubble, shivering as he felt Tomioka’s breath against his ear.
“I want you to call me by my name.” He whispered huskily, a low growl just at the edge of his tone.
“T-to-” Tanjiro gasped, his senses suddenly assaulted with an onslaught of Tomioka’s sweet, simmering scent- edged with an undeniable heat that made Tanjiro’s mouth water ever so slightly and his heart pound in his ears. “G-Giyu…”
Giyu released him, and it was a miracle that Tanjiro managed to stay standing, feeling his knees clacking and his face flush the deepest of red, still clutching the gift Giyu had given him.
“Good boy,” Giyu said, returned to his unerring calm as he casually smoothed out Tanjiro’s ruffled uniform lapel. “And it’s best to open that gift in private, Tanjiro,” He added, before walking off, seemingly unbothered by the chaos he’d wrought upon his former student, now questioning if the last five seconds had truly happened or if he’d day dreamed it like he day dreamed their potential wedding.
Tanjiro looked down at the gift, spirals in his eyes as he fought to make sense of what just happened. Still prettily wrapped, very real and weighty in his hands. He wobbled back to where Zenitsu was, dazedly sitting down onto the grass.
“Say your last goodbyes?” Zenitsu asked.
“Uhm…no, I don’t…think so.” Tanjiro said, staring out into the middle distance.
“I kinda figured you’d get all loopy and love struck talking to him one last time,” Zenitsu hummed, not noticing how his friend seemed very disconnected, but he did notice the box Tanjiro was clutching onto for dear life. “...Eh? What’s that?”
“A…gift, he gave me a gift.” Tanjiro answered.
“Well? What is it?” Zenitsu asked, sitting up. “Looks kind of like a pen box, but thicker. I always knew you were his favourite.”
“Don’t know…” Tanjiro said, looking at the box he held with both hands. “...I gotta go, see you later, Zenitsu!” Tanjiro said, rushing back to his feet and running, holding the box to his chest as he dashed out of the school yard.
Zenitsu watched him go, very confused.
Tanjiro dashed up to his room as soon as he got home. Everybody was still out at his school, mingling with the other graduates and their families since Tanjiro had cut out early. He sat on his bed, swallowing tightly as he put the box down.
What on earth could it be? There were no hints in it’s scent, nor in the packaging. But that odd interaction with Tomioka- with Giyu, what on earth was that? Tanjiro wasn’t sure.
Tanjiro took out the card from its neatly folded outer layer, opening it.
‘Message inside.’ It read, without any other words or signature on it.
With only one course of action left to take, Tanjiro tore into the wrapping, too impatient to try saving the beautiful printed paper.
He found a simple black cardboard box inside. It really did look like a pen box, had Giyu gotten him an engraved pen?
But then he opened it, and inside, among red confetti, was a note, a bottle of strawberry flavoured lube and a line of twelve extra thin vanilla flavoured condoms- in XL.
His cheeks flaming red, Tanjiro held his hands to his face. Was Giyu so worried about him becoming loose while at university?!
He picked out the note, wondering what his favourite sensei had to say about this gift. As he unfolded the note, there was a light thud on the carpet. Tanjiro bent over to pick up whatever had fallen out of the folded piece of paper, and found what looked to be a house key.
Tanjiro’s attention went back to the note for answers. There was an address, a phone number, and just under that:
‘I want you ready for me when you come over. Bring the condoms with you.
- Giyu’