Sanctuary | Tanjiro Kamado x Reader

19.

A week passed and Shinobu ended up having to take over once Tanjiro passed out eating his dinner at the end of the first day.

The infection was bad - nothing you or Aoi could've helped - but since Shinobu treated it, his fever and infection have disappeared and he was back to resting before starting to train.

~

You sigh as you struggle to bring a load of bedding into the infirmary as Zenitsu clings to your ankles, crying, begging not to be sent into rehabilitation training the next day.

"Zenitsu, stop it! If I could do it so can you!" you argue, dragging your leg with him attached as you reach Zenitsu's bed.

"Then at least marry me!" the blonde cries.

"No!" you argue.

"Zenitsu, stop this, now!" Tanjiro says as he picks Zenitsu up by the back of his collar and flings him away from you.

"Thank you, Tanjiro." you sigh in relief.

"Anytime." he smiles

"So unfair!" Zenitsu whines, rolling around on the floor.

"Hush! Now, stop that and get up!" you instruct.

"Cruel!!!!!!!" Zenitsu cries more before Inosuke growls and chases him around the room in circles.

As Tanjiro face palms, you laugh, finally getting to see the side of him he promised that you would.

"You know, Tanjiro, you're doing a lot better." you smile.

"You think so? I suppose that since I'm not scaring you or being delusional,  you're right."

"Don't remind me." you shiver at the thought of Tanjiro's strength when he squeezed your hand.

He frowned, "I'm sure, I know I scared you."

"It's okay, I'm over it. My hand was only bruised." you say as you look at your hand.

"Still, it should've never happened." he admits.

Before you could utter comforting words, both Zenitsu and Inosuke ran up to you in a panic.

"Kiss me!" they said simultaneously.

"What?!" you asked, shocked. "Where'd this come from all of a sudden?"

"Inosuke said he could get a kiss from you, no problem and I beg to differ!" Zenitsu argued.

"Shut up! I can get a kiss from the pretty lady anytime I want to!" Inosuke yelled, running up to you and putting his cheek to your lips.

You laugh to yourself before giving Inosuke a peck on the cheek.

Zenitsu was flabbergasted, nearly popping a blood vessel.

You can't help but laugh aloud at Zenitsu's reaction, "Don't think I forgot about you, Zenitsu." you smirk.

You motion for Zenitsu to get closer before putting your hands on his cheeks and giving him a soft, long kiss on the cheek.

Zenitsu passes out with a nose bleed before you let him go and Inosuke drags him to his bed, bragging to his unconscious friend that he got the first kiss.

"Don think I forgot about you too Mr. Goomy! I know you want one too!" you laugh.

Tanjiro fixes his gloomy, guilt written expression and smiles a bit, "How'd you know?"

"You just admitted it, silly. I was bluffing." you smile.

Tanjiro's face turns a dark shade of red all over as he turns his head.

"Don't be embarrassed." you say as you cup his cheeks, turning his face to yours before placing your lips on his.

Your eyes close as his widen.

The kiss lasts about 10 seconds and as you pull back and look up at him, he pulls you back in and closes his eyes.

"Hey, I want one on the lips too!" Inosuke yells as he breaks the two of you up.

"How unfortunate." you think to yourself, turning your head and covering your mouth to hide the smile you had on your face.

"N-No, Inosuke, you already got one." you protest as Tanjiro also turns his head away from Inosuke.

"That's not fair! Just wait until Zentapsu hears about this!" Inosuke threatens.

"Ahhhhhh!!!! You did what???????!" Zenitsu screams, jumping out of bed and clinging to your ankle.

"Fine!!" you give in.

Inosuke jumps up and puts his lips to yours for a quick peck before running around the room in joy. This made Zenitsu even more jealous so he took the initiative and cupped your face, leaning in.

Both of you melted into the kiss and it almost made you forget about your kiss with Tanjiro.

Almost.

When the two of you broke apart, there was an obvious tension that should not have built up this far.

You shouldn't yearn for one guy but kiss the next.

Who could you choose?

Who is the right choice?

Why won't these feelings dissipate for Zenitsu when you're clearly in love with Tanjiro? Right?

You want to stick by Tanjiro's side and to know every part of him but Zenitsu has been your rock for the last week, listening to your concerns, crying on his shoulder, laughing with him, everything!

"Shit." you think to yourself as you force yourself to pull away fully, trying to focus on your work and not on who you're in love with more.

~

The rest of the day was filled with rest and laughter as you kept the boys company in your free time. As night fell and everyone was in bed, you stayed up crafting individual rehabilitation training plans for everyone.

In the midst of you writing something down, you get a knock on your door. As you crack your door open you notice a crying Tanjiro. "Tanjiro?" you ask as you invite him into your room.

Tanjiro sits on your bed as tears continue to fall. "The.. the nightmares.. they're getting worse."

"Oh no, Tanjiro." you say as you sit behind him and wrap your arms around his shoulders.

"They just.. feel so real." he cries harder. "I don't know what to do anymore it's hell every time I close my eyes."

"Are they still the same?" you ask, hugging him tighter.

"No! Completely different!" he yells a bit. "I can see my entire family as I walk home and then one by one everyone is killed brutally and then I repeatedly stab myself to join them but all you do is burn." he balls his fists. "Every night i get to have dinner with my family where Nezuko is a human in the daylight before I hold the corpse of every sibling I had and my mom as she stares dead at me even though she's dead."

You just continue hugging Tanjiro, unsure of what to say before he spoke again, "I'm afraid to go to sleep. Before it was just Mr. Rengoku but now it's my entire family. Why?" he breaks down.

You slowly shift him to where he's laying down and you're holding him from behind. "I think this is happening because you're afraid of losing others and the death of the late flame hashira must've opened up a wound in your heart from your family massacre." you inform as you turn him to face you. "I'm no expert on the mind, but I'm here and you can always talk to me. You don't have to be afraid anymore." you say as you hug him tightly as the two of you fall asleep.

"No matter what demon I may have to slay or person I have to face, I will protect you."