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Perhaps it was simply the suffocating hot summer air making his brain unable to form a coherent thought, and making him watch the clouds with a vacant stare. The ice cream melted in the cup he held, the sickeningly sweet smell of artificial strawberries made his nose twitch.
But when Tanjirou breathed in, it wasn't the ice cream he inhaled, but rather the unique scent of damp earth, salty on his tongue.
He looked back at Inosuke, sprawled on the wooden porch, burrowed yukata just barely covering his chest. He'd been unusually quiet since the heat wave hit them, as maybe it stole his energy to complain—instead, Inosuke settled for grumbling to himself and brushing his hair away from his neck for what felt like the hundredth time.
A drop of sweat slid down his cheek, and hit the floor below him. Tanjirou breathed in.
"Inosuke," he started, but trailed off without completing his thought.
In the brief silence, Inosuke turned towards him and made a little huffing noise—like an irritated animal would. Tanjirou took it as encouragement to keep going. He risked a glance in Inosuke's direction, and found him blinking up at him, eyebrows furrowed. Tanjirou smiled at the sight.
"I was wondering, you…," Tanjirou stopped himself again, looked down at his hand stained bright pink and wiped them on his pants.
"If you have something to say, just say it," Inosuke growled.
"Yeah, okay," Tanjirou said, chuckling. "Have you ever kissed someone before, Inosuke?"
"Hah?" Inosuke sat up, and his face contorted in a weird grimace. "The hell you're talking about?"
"I was just curious." Tanjirou tilted his head, and thought if maybe Inosuke didn't know what a kiss was. "You see, remember when we went to the Red Light District, and there we people touching lips? I'm talking about that," he explained patiently.
Inosuke didn't seem too pleased with it, however, as he kicked Tanjirou in the shins. "I know what a kiss is! Why I would do that, there's no point in it!"
"I feel like I've heard you say something like that before," Tanjirou commented with amusement, more to himself than anyone else.
Nothing more came from Inosuke, as he seemingly lost interest in the conversation. Tanjirou took a sip of his mostly melted ice cream.
"Would you like to try it?" He asked.
"Try what?" Inosuke said.
"Kissing."
Inosuke sat up and pointed an accusing finger at Tanjirou. "What's with you, I already said I don't care about that. You're getting on my nerves!"
"I'm just asking! Because you have a face people would like to kiss, right?" Tanjirou pointed out. He'd noticed that before: as soon as he saw the round, smooth cheeks, Tanjirou was sure Inosuke was the kind of person who got cheek kisses from family or friends (until he found out Inosuke didn't have anyone like that in his life).
Despite the sound reasoning of his argument, it only served the purpose of further angering Inosuke, who was now scowling menacingly at him.
"What did you say about my face?"
Even with Inosuke's features warped like they were now, Tanjirou could still see the faint sunburn on the bridge of his nose, giving him a permanent pinkish blush. Tanjirou nodded to himself. "I said it's a face others would like to kiss."
"I'm seriously going to kill you, fight me."
"No, it's too hot."
Inosuke clicked his tongue. "Fine, then," he said, and plopped right back down on his stomach. Tanjirou watched him shuffle around in search of a comfortable position.
"Do you want to try it, then?" He asked again.
"Shut up, I'm trying to sleep!" Inosuke yelled and moodily pulled on his own hair. "Are you mocking me?! I'll kiss you right now, don't think I won't!"
"I'd be honored to be your first kiss!" Tanjirou said earnestly.
Inosuke frowned further, if that was even possible, sitting back up and scooting closer to Tanjirou.
"What now, huh? You're the one who knows about this kissing stuff," Inosuke said.
His nose was scrunched up as he looked down at Tanjirou's lips like they held some sort of deep secret, and Tanjirou chuckled in response.
"First you have to close your eyes," Tanjirou instructed.
"What for?" Inosuke said and narrowed his eyes.
"It's part of kissing."
"Don't think I'll have my guard down just because my eyes are closed," Inosuke warned, still not doing as Tanjirou told him.
"It's fine, so just do it!"
They stared at each other for a long moment, then finally Inosuke's eyes slipped closed. His eyelashes really were very long.
Tanjirou carefully set his ice cream down and, unsure of what to do with his hands, he settled for folding them in his lap, politely keeping them to himself.
It was a little strange to see Inosuke's face from up close like this, which made Tanjirou a little nervous the more he looked at it. When he felt a spike to his heartbeat, Tanjirou swallowed the knot that was forming in his throat and touched his lips to Inosuke in a brief kiss. Inosuke's lips were warm and smooth, he noticed, while Tanjirou's were cold from the ice cream, and slightly chapped (he hoped Inosuke didn't mind).
He stayed only enough to let the forest scent fill his lungs, though it was muted by the layer of sweat and summer breeze that clung to Inosuke's skin.
He smiled as he pulled away, his eyes fluttering open and a praise on his tongue, but the words died out when he found Inosuke staring back with a foul scowl on his face.
"Why are you making that face? Was it really bad? I'm sorry, Inosuke!" Tanjirou said and put a hand on Inosuke's shoulder, who jumped at the contact.
"It was weird," Inosuke grumbled. He raised a hand to his lips, but didn't touch it, hovering close to it. "Kissing, it's weird."
Tanjirou stared at him. "Oh." Then, it clicked. "You're embarrassed, right? It's okay, kissing is a little embarrassing, so I understand."
"That's not what I mean!"
"There's no need to lie about it, if you're too shy for kissing, that's okay!" Tanjirou told him, patting him once on the back.
"Who's shy?! I'll kiss you again and I'll do it better than you!"
"Oh, okay, do your best!" Tanjirou barely finished the sentence before Inosuke pulled him by his yukata and crashed their lips together without much finesse or care.
Tanjirou groaned in pain, but adjusted his position so their lips fit more nicely. Once he did so, it was more pleasant, though Inosuke pressed himself so close Tanjirou feared he would soon lose his balance—Inosuke's grip on his clothes kept him from falling on his head, but Tanjirou can't help clutching a hand to Inosuke's bicep.
Spurred on by the touch, Inosuke grabbed his ankle and not so gently dragged Tanjirou closer, not at all put off by the knee now pressed to his stomach. Tanjirou gasped at the sudden manhandling, his other free hand finding its way into Inosuke's hair.
His ribcage ached, and his eyes were squeezed so tight they started to hurt.
It was only when he started to get dizzy that Tanjirou realized he had forgotten to breathe. In search of much needed air, Tanjirou pulled away, at the same that Inosuke decided to bite down on his bottom lip. The sharp teeth caught on the fine skin of his dry lips, and Tanjirou winced when it ripped and blood dripped from the small injury.
Without hesitating, Inosuke leaned closer and licked the droplets away, then frowned when that didn't do much to stop the bleeding. When he moved to repeat the motion, Tanjirou frantically put a hand to his chest, keeping Inosuke at arm's length. Tanjirou took in a deep breath, only then realizing his heart was pounding in his ears.
"Who's the shy one now?" Inosuke said, smug. "How was that for a kiss, I definitely did better than you. So, I win!"
Tanjirou, with his face burning and lips stinging, puffed out his cheeks. "It isn't a competition!" Then he took ahold of his melted ice cream and downed it in one go.
He could do with some cooling down right about now.