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Chapter Text

"Thank you for coming here, my boys" Tanjiro and Inosuke don't have an option. As one of the elders, Kagaya has all the right to call any member of their tribe and they have the obligation to go. "Some rumor came to my ears in the past days and I called you to listen to you"

Tanjiro freezes and Inosuke tries to stay calm and not to touch the omega. They are kneeling on the floor and it would be uncomfortable to move closer to each other.

If the rumor Kagaya mentions is what Inosuke is thinking, it's a sore topic to his soon-to-be mate.

The silence is uncomfortable, so Inosuke tries to break it, taking the responsibility of speaking from the red haired.

"We don't know…!" Inosuke starts explaining (more like yelling) but with a soft movement of his hand, the elder makes him stop. It's funny how one of the strongest hunters in the pack can be silenced by a fragile, blind beta.

Tanjiro is starting to shiver and Inosuke suddenly feels the need to hug him and tell him everything is fine, that he doesn't care about his medical condition and he doesn't need to worry.

"Don't lie to me, Inosuke" he stares back at the elder, something he isn't supposed to do "I can smell it in your scent" a lonely tear slides down Tanjiro's cheek and Inosuke, not minding all the times his mother told him to be respectful in front of the elders, ignores the beta to look at Tanjiro and he wipes away his tears.

Kagaya's blank eyes are directed at Tanjiro then.

"Inosuke…" half a plea and half a scold, Tanjiro allows the alpha to console him for a brief moment before offering him a look that clearly indicates this is not the moment nor the time and Inosuke reluctantly places his hand back on his lap. "We're sorry, sir" Tanjiro takes a deep breath before speaking again "What is that rumor you mentioned before?"

Inosuke admires his assigned partner for always being polite and kind, it talks a lot about the strength of his partner.

If he would have lost almost his whole family in hands of the rival clan, he would be seething, his soul wouldn't be able to find peace, no matter how many years have passed by after the attack.

"It has been said that you're unable to produce a heir for your alpha, Tanjiro" Inosuke can feel the sadness in Tanjiro's body, he starts to collapse in front of Kagaya. This time, he leaves his place to position himself by the omega's side and holds him before he crumbles. He's shaking again and that isn't a good sign. The hunter's inner wolf wants to growl at the elder for hurting Tanjiro with his unconcealed words, but he knows better to behave.

"It- it seems that…" Tanjiro is struggling with his words, trying to find his voice "That attack not only took away most of my family, but the possibility to have one myself" he sobs and Inosuke thinks it's enough.

If Kagaya called them to make Tanjiro feel bad about himself, they don't need to be here.

Inosuke stands up, ready to pick up Tanjiro and leave the hut, but the beta talks again.

"That's not what is worrying you, Tanjiro" Inosuke looks back at the elder, feeling like that blind old man is staring right through their souls, conscious that he can't see them. "Speak to me, my boy"

"I- I don't want to leave Inosuke… sir" Inosuke hugs him tighter.

"Why would I leave you, Monjiro?!" he realizes he's growling when Tanjiro starts to cry in earnest. The hunter takes a deep breath, calming himself.

"Your omega is worried that the pack wouldn't allow you to mate him because he can't give you children, Inosuke" the alpha frowns. What are they talking about now?

"He's one of the strongest hunters, sir. I'm afraid our union won't be allowed" Tanjiro sobs, still allowing the alpha to cover him with his scent. The red haired can smell the moment the realization hits Inosuke because his smell changes into something bitter.

If Tanjiro can't have puppies, then Inosuke's genes will get lost. The whole idea of mating a suitable omega is to have the best descendants. That's why there's this huge ritual to find the perfect mate, so the elders can find perfect partners to assure the future of the pack.

Now it is Inosuke who starts to shiver, unsure of what's going to happen.

"What makes you say that, dear omega? Did I not say you are perfect for Inosuke?" Tanjiro stops shaking, wiping away his own tears.

"But I can't…" again the hand gesture, Tanjiro stops talking.

"That unfortunate accident when you were thirteen took enough from you already. It's unfair that ten years later, this still haunts you, don't you think? No, my child, dear omega, we can't take your predestined mate away from you for something as superficial as not being able to have heirs" he pauses "I'm sure your alpha agrees with me"

Inosuke finds himself nodding at all the words Kagaya is saying. His mouth is full of reason, Tanjiro shouldn't suffer because of the attack anymore.

"But the pack-" Tanjiro protests.

"Let me take care of the pack, Tanjiro"

"That won't be necessary, I'll kill everyone who dares to say something to Kentaro!" Tanjiro elbows him slightly, remembering about being respectful "...sir" Kagaya chuckles slightly, taking care not to cause himself a cough attack.

"Thanks, sir" since Inosuke is already standing, he helps Tanjiro to stand up.

"You'll have a wonderful mate, Tanjiro" Inosuke rolls his eyes, but he's pleased with what he listens "The healers will visit you after the mating ceremony to see if there's something we can do with your infertility" Tanjiro shakes his head, but the eldest ignores him  "You may leave now"

Inosuke walks with Tanjiro to the hut he shares with his sister Nezuko, at least until the mating ceremony, when he will move to Inosuke's hut.

"Do you need me to stay the rest of the day with you, Takiro?" the omega shakes his head.

"You need to attend to your duties, Inosuke. I don't think Genya will be happy to track those deers by himself" Inosuke knows Tanjiro is right (that's what he was doing before he was called to Kagaya's hut), however he doesn't want to leave him, not when he's feeling down "Don't worry about me, alpha. I'm fine" he offers a shy smile.

"I don't want you to think more about that topic, Gengoro. It only hurts your little head"

"I know" he sighs "I'll be helping Nezuko with the firewood for a while, so my mind will be busy. You can come before sunset and we can have dinner together, how does that sound?"

"I'll bring the dinner, Gompachiro! The best piece I can hunt, just for you and your sister!" Tanjiro knows Genya will get mad that Inosuke is bringing him food even when the courting time has already expired.

"I'll be waiting then, Inosuke" before the hunter leaves, he pulls Tanjiro from the neck and gives him an Eskimo kiss, rubbing their noses together and then stroking his hair before he finally turning around. "Take care" the red haired mumbles to himself watching his alpha leave.

Chapter Text

Tracking the deer they've been trying to hunt takes them almost the whole noon and when they finally kill it, the sun is getting down already, which leaves Inosuke with no time to hunt something decent.

"I'm sure your omega would have hunted something better if you had asked" Genya comments half amused, half annoyed, watching his companion getting into the river to fish some salmon. "I bet Tanjiro and Nezuko would be able to kill a bear themselves if they were hunters" and that's true. Even if they're omegas, they're both strong (they needed to be, they were alone since they were young, they needed to take care of each other).

"Shut up already" Inosuke growls, increasing Genya's teasing smile. He knows they're absolutely capable of hunting (more like fishing this time) their own food, but Tanjiro seems to like being taken care of, which is exactly what he needs after the news he got recently.

Genya reluctantly lends Inosuke a basket for the fishes he caught.

It takes them only a few minutes to hogtie the deer they caught to take it to the village (a skill they learned since their training as hunters). Inosuke takes the back side while Genya starts to lead their way back.

It's incredibly quiet for the other hunter, who finds it weird that Inosuke isn't talking.

"Man, are you ok?" the basket with a few fishes rocks along Inosuke's rhythmic walking.

"Why you ask?!" he growls in his characteristic loud voice.

"You recently found out your potential mate won't be able to give you pups. I for sure would be at least a bit scared-" Genya doesn't want to bring out the topic (if he knows it's not because Inosuke told him, he found out in his own way), but there's no other way to make him take out whatever is inside his thick skull.

"I'm not" Genya isn't looking at his friend, but he knows his voice, which is incredibly moderate this time. He frowns, even when he decides not to mention anything. Inosuke has enough on his plate already (hunting, preparing his messy alpha's hut for an omega, mating ceremony, an infertile mate...).

"I was just saying. You can express yourself with me, you know? No one hear us here, in the middle of the forest" Inosuke growls again, exasperated "Do whatever the fuck you want then, asshole" Genya won’t insist, it’s Inosuke’s problem after all.

They walk in silence for a while, with the sound of the fallen leaves crashing and the wind howling as background.

"I'm not scared" Inosuke repeats himself after a while, his voice low "I'm not even sad. I grew up alone, my mother died when I was a child. I never thought about having children, I don't care what people say or think" Genya listens carefully, making his walking purposefully slower to give time to Inosuke to finish his thoughts.

"Is Tanjiro who worries you then?" he asks, realizing that Inosuke won't continue by himself.

"What kind of stupid question is that?! Of course Kanjiro worries me! I'm terrified I'll come back one day to find my mate killed himself because he isn't able to give me kids!" that fear isn't unfounded. A while ago, one of the female omegas took away her life while her mate was recollecting food in the forest.

Inosuke stopped walking a while ago, and Genya stopped with him.

“Have you talked to him, Inosuke?” he shakes his head. "Maybe you should" Inosuke doesn't answer "I think, and this is just my guess, that he would like to know if something is bothering you because it will affect him too" by this time, they already took a seat on a tree trunk, by the river.

“It’s not alpha-like to show fear” the alpha with the green eyes counters, but Genya only pats his shoulder.

"But it's alpha-like to care about those who they love"

After leaving the deer in the storage to skin it (it's not their job) and dry it, Inosuke comes back to Tanjiro’s hut bringing the fishes with him.

"Don't postpone it or I'll know" Genya warns before heading to the east, while Inosuke goes south. "I'm serious, Inosuke" he knows, damn it. He doesn't answer as he walks to Tanjiro's hut, where he is already waiting for him (he can sense his presence out of the hut).

For a second, he is worried Tanjiro might do something stupid with the sharp thing on his hands, so he walks faster, trying to reach his destination soon, only to find his potential mate using an axe to cut firewood, forming a pile that will later end up inside the already full shed.

"Are you still working, Tontaro?" Inosuke is awful with names, he rarely calls someone by them, but with Tanjiro he tries, even if more often than not the name is not right. "It's freezing outside, you're gonna catch a cold" Tanjiro turns around and offers Inosuke a smile.

"Oh, there you are, Inosuke. I was worried you might not come after all" he ignores Inosuke’s worry.

"Why would I do that?" the red haired shrugs his shoulders, not knowing the answer "Well, I'm here. I brought salmon" Tanjiro sniffs the air and chuckles.

"Yes, I can tell that. You didn't need to get into the river for that. It's freezing" Inosuke usually forgets about Tanjiro's good sense of smell, of course he would notice that he got into the river to fish for their dinner. He reacts when he watches him taking off his green and black haori.

"Hey, don't take that off! You're gonna get ill!"

"Says the one who's shirtless?" he arches an eyebrow.

"That's different! I'm an alpha, my body radiates more heat. You're an omega, you don't do that" Tanjiro stops in the middle of the action of covering Inosuke with his clothes.

"Among other things" he sounds hurt and Inosuke reluctantly pulls the haori to cover himself, and Tanjiro ignores him. He wants to yell at him that he's being ridiculous, but he controls himself. This is not the time to be reckless. Inosuke pulls Tanjiro into a hug, covering him in his smell once again.

"I can't make pups either" Inosuke offers and Tanjiro snorts, unamused.

"That's different, idiot"

"How so? It doesn't mean I'm broken, I just have different abilities" the silence is unbearable, Tanjiro leaves his mouth open trying to argue against that logic but there's no sound coming out of it "I don't know any omega that could use an axe like you do" he shrugs his shoulders, trying to ease the tension.

"I guess you don't" Tanjiro finally relaxes, but he doesn't let his guard down "Do you really not care about it, Inosuke? You could ask the elders for a new mate, you are still young, if you wait one more year-" this time Inosuke has enough and pulls him into an aggressive kiss, in which he bites his lower lip, possessively.

"Enough, Tanjiro" Inosuke uses his alpha voice and the omega listens to him. It’s so captivating that he ignores that his name was said right this time. "Stop saying you're not enough. Stop blaming yourself for something out of your control that happened ten years ago. What's done is done and we can't change the past. Focus on the present instead"

Inosuke is awful with words, he doesn't know how to express his feelings. Tanjiro understands, though.

"I'm sorry, alpha" he apologizes in a weak voice.

"I know you're scared of the future, but I'm here. I'll help you to be brave, and I'll be brave for the two of us when you can't" it’s Tanjiro who kisses him this time, with more strength than any omega would do. Inosuke loves that, his omega isn’t a weakling that needs to be treated with care.

“Thanks”

The place smells wonderfully. Inside the hut, Nezuko is cooking with the help of Zenitsu, a beta who is courting her (with the permission of the elders, of course). He usually talks and talks and talks, but Nezuko never talks back, Inosuke can’t recall a single time he has heard her say a word, but Tanjiro never mentioned anything about her being mute or something like that. Maybe she’s shy and that’s it.

“Come in, the fire is ready” Tanjiro gets into the house behind him, pushing him slightly. “Since we didn’t know what you were bringing, we cooked something neutral. White rice goes with everything, right?” Inosuke nods “Well, you can start to cut the fish, you know where the knives are. I’ll get more firewood”

Neither Nezuko nor Zenitsu mention anything about the reversed roles.

“Big chunks or thin slices?” Inosuke asks, knowing the answer by heart. Tanjiro only turns around with an arched eyebrow and Inosuke nods “Something in between, I knew it” he’s not picky about the food. He grew up with the hunters since his mother died when he was six, out in the wild there’s not much to do with the food but cook it and put some salt, if you’re feeling fancy. Most of the time he’s just thankful to eat cooked meat instead of fruits and vegetables.

“You’re the best” Tanjiro says it in earnest and Inosuke blushes. He kind of wishes to have his boar mask with him now, but it’s forbidden when he’s inside Tanjiro’s house. You can hunt your prey naked and only wear that mask for all I care, but you’ll respect this house. Am I clear? Clear as the river. 

Has Inosuke mentioned that he loves Tanjiro’s strong character?

“Whatever, Kentaro” he starts with his task while Zenitsu keeps talking to Nezuko and the woman only nods to whatever the elder is saying.

“You should help Inosuke, Zenitsu” that is the first time Inosuke hears Nezuko’s voice, however it doesn't seem to surprise Zenitsu.

“He’s the one courting Tanjiro, he should do it alone” he pouts but Nezuko offers him a pleading glare “Yes, my sweet little princess, I’ll help the awful boar-boy with our dinner” Inosuke wants to slice his throat open, but he guesses that won’t make Nezuko very happy, and in consequence, Tanjiro won’t be happy either. “Move over, boar-breath” Zenitsu elbows him purposefully, trying to camouflage it with clumsiness. Inosuke stamps over his foot with a devious smile.

“I’m sorry, Monitsu” Zenitsu knows he’s not sorry at all.

Chapter Text

"I'll see you later then, Monjiro" Inosuke leaves the hut Tanjiro shares with his sister for the last time.

Tomorrow, Tanjiro will mate with Inosuke and he will no longer live with Nezuko. It makes him feel nostalgic, though he will only move a few huts away.

"My beautiful princess, I'll see you tomorrow" Zenitsu parts too, just after Inosuke gives Tanjiro his goodbye. He and his sister remain in silence for a while, watching them disappear in their own huts not too far away (it’s not like their village is a huge place after all).

"Brother, you're thinking too much again" the soft voice of Nezuko brings him back from his thoughts "I hope your thoughts are directed at the mating ceremony and not something else” Tanjiro smiles softly, before he nods.

"They are" Nezuko still doesn’t believe him though, so she starts to comb the hair of her elder brother and she feels somewhat sad, remembering those times when she braided the hair of her young sister. "I just think I will feel lonely without you-"

"Don't think like that, I can always visit you and you can always visit me-"

"Usually” Tanjiro interrupts again “Omegas don't need to worry about being alone because as soon as they mate, they get pregnant” Nezuko wants to protest because that sounds awful “I'm not saying that having a child is a hobby, but it must be wonderful to have someone that reminds you of your mate when they aren’t with you" Nezuko then hums, understanding.

Since they were children, Tanjiro wanted to have a big family. Back then, he didn't know if he was going to present as alpha, beta or omega, but he was sure he wanted to have as many pups as humanly possible. It devastated him to know that the attack that took his parents and siblings’ lives made him infertile.

Just when everything started to look brighter again.

"I'm sorry, Nezuko" he rubs his eyes to avoid the tears from falling. “We should be spending our last night as siblings, right?” Nezuko is about to shake her head, because she is ok with his brother letting his thoughts out, she’s more than glad to help, but Tanjiro interrupts her “What do you want us to do tonight?”

“You know it’s not like we won’t be able to spend time together ever again, right?" Nezuko offers half amused, half worried "Inosuke isn't going to murder you tomorrow, though it may look like it" she sticks her tongue out when Tanjiro frowns "Laugh a little, dear brother. You're too worried about mundane stuff, let's enjoy this night, even when it won't be the last one"

Tanjiro is proud of his sister.

"Sure, Nezuko”

Rare occasions were when they could have a peaceful night together as they grew up.

Most of the time, Tanjiro was busy preparing charcoal to trade in the village for some goods, and when he wasn't, he was recollecting food with the other omegas (the other omegas loved being with Tanjiro since he was really strong, almost like an alpha would be).

Nezuko repaired clothes, since she is particularly good at it.

When they weren't doing chores to keep themselves alive and without hunger, Tanjiro would tell his sister a story of far places with unknown dangers while she combed Tanjiro's hair first, and then her own.

The rest of this night is spent like that.

Tanjiro takes out the book their father used to read to them and he reads two or three stories while Nezuko combs his red hair with a wooden comb. This time, she doesn't focus on herself and she claims that Tanjiro will thank her for it later.

He smiles even when he blushes.

"I don't think Inosuke will notice it, though" he chuckles. Nezuko shrugs her shoulders smiling. "Alphas don't care about that much"

"You might be surprised, dear brother" she stands up and offers her hand to help Tanjiro "Let's go to sleep now, we need to wake up early to get you ready tomorrow" Tanjiro wants to tell Nezuko she doesn't need to worry about it, but he only nods. "Are all your things already packed? Don't you leave anything behind?"

"Only my clothes for tomorrow" Nezuko tries to ignore the nostalgia in his voice.

Tanjiro turns off the fire enough for its light to not bother them while they sleep. While he does that, he wonders if Nezuko will truly be fine without him. He knows she can survive without him, and he probably needs her more than she needs him, but his mind doesn’t stop troubling him.

He's been taking care of her for a really long time after all.

He takes off the upper part of his clothes to sleep in Nezuko’s bed, just for tonight. He already took most of his belongings to Inosuke’s hut.

It’s not the most common procedure, to be true. Usually after the mating ceremony, the whole family helps the newly mated couple to move the omega’s stuff to their new home. Since Tanjiro's only family is Nezuko (and probably Zenitsu), and Inosuke is by himself too, they are just being practical. Tanjiro has a few belongings to move them quickly, but enough to make them need a few trips to do so.

The fur covering the bed smells like his sister, a comforting floral smell. It’s too different from Inosuke’s fresh scent, but the soothing effect is similar. Nezuko hugs him, like she did when they were kids.

Tanjiro sighs.

“Your mate seems like a barbaric caveman, but he has a beautiful heart. He will protect you from the world, even at the cost of his own honor or his life”

“I know, Nezuko. But that’s exactly what scares me” he whispers. He has never talked about this to anyone. He’s absolutely sure that Inosuke is his soulmate, but the next step terrifies him. Inosuke, as Nezuko beautifully put it, it's feral. He rarely saves his thoughts for himself and he isn't afraid of speaking, loudly most of the time. He never talks about love, but his actions are louder. He's just too much and Tanjiro is afraid he wouldn't be able to answer him the way Inosuke expects.

"You're thinking too much again, Tanjiro" he chuckles, nervously.

"Let's go to sleep now"

Zenitsu's rooster wakes them up just before the sun rises.

Tanjiro wants to growl that's is too early, but before he's able to protest, Nezuko is already pushing him out of the bed and covering his shoulders with a thick wolf fur.

"You should wash to get rid of my smell" she shoves a bassin on his chest, and the soapy root.

"Inosuke wouldn't mind smelling you on me" Nezuko rolls her eyes.

"It's mandatory, silly brother. Inosuke probably won't mind, and he'll be the first one to send you back here so I can scent you once the ceremony is over, but the elders won't let you in" Tanjiro pouts unconsciously and Nezuko relaxes "You'll feel better once you're clean, Tanjiro"

The river is luckily not far from their hut and even when it's winter, at this ungodly hour in the morning, the water isn't as cold as it may seems (though it still hurts if you spend a lot of time washing yourself).

At this hour, some of the members of the clan are at the river too. He can see Kanao washing some clothes and Kyojuro taking his traditional cold bath (a crazy habit, if you ask Tanjiro, but Kyojuro affirms it keeps him young).

He tries to ignore the fact that they're going to see him naked before he gets in the river and rubs his skin with the root, using the foam to clean his skin and his hair. The water barely covers his lower half.

"Good luck today, Tanjiro, my boy!" Kyojuro yells before leaving the river, without anything covering him. Kanao doesn't seem disturbed at all to watch two naked men.

She's a mated alpha, under the wing of the healer of the village. Probably that's why.

"Thanks, sir!"

When Tanjiro comes back, Nezuko is already waiting for him with his clothes warm.

"Are you going to style my hair too?" Nezuko smiles softly.

"There's no reason why you can't have the whole ritual, brother" Tanjiro wants to cry again. He was resigned to prepare himself for his ceremony, when this is something the omegas and betas of the family do for you. "A braid will suffice, don't you think?" Tanjiro's hair isn't long enough to do a proper braid, but Nezuko can create a tiara with his short hair (what you'll later call french braid).

Tanjiro dries his hair and gets ready while Nezuko does her own hair.

"All ready" this is the first time the roles are reversed, Tanjiro feels like a kid going to their first day of collect. Nezuko looks beautiful, a gorgeous woman, Zenitsu is truly lucky to be his designed mate.

Nezuko starts to braid Tanjiro's red hair, love irradiaties from her movements.

"Could you sleep well?" Tanjiro nods "Aren't you nervous anymore?" he nods again "I'm sure as soon as Inouske claims you, everything will be fine. Aoi says all her worries vanished as soon as she received the mating bite"

"My scent will change" Tanjiro is afraid of losing his identity, that his sister will no longer recognize him.

"Strawberry mixes well with mint" she eases the atmosphere with a smile, Tanjiro mirrors it and remains in silence, allowing her to finish her work. Nezuko hums a traditional lullaby as she moves her fingers, just like she does everytime she's focused on something. "You're ready, dear brother. Soon, our family will be slightly larger"

The words sting him.

His back is uncovered while the blind elder beta paints some symbols on his skin. Besides him, there's another omega and a beta ready to be claimed by their respectives alphas.

"You're shivering, my child" Kagaya speaks in a soft voice.

"I can't control it" the red-haired explains "This ceremony is always I ever wanted since I presented, I'm excited" Kagaya smiles and Tanjiro has the sensation he's staring at him.

"It's indeed a time to be excited" Tanjiro nods.

"I've never been in a mating ceremony, sir. Will Inosuke claim me in front of everyone?" Kagaya chuckles "No?"

"I don't think that would be appropriate, Tanjiro. That should be an intimate moment between you two, it's not for everyone to see" Tanjiro opens his mouth slightly "The mating ceremony is about asking the gods for your protection as a couple, to guide you, to make you strong, to give you-" he pauses, as if he remembered something "Well, it doesn't matter"

"Will it take long?"

"Usually the rituals take about two or three hours, inside the hut it seems shorter, I promise" the symbols are finally done and Kagaya helps him to cover himself with a blue haori, made from wool. It's a bit itchy, but Nezuko told him it was because it's new, after a few washes it would be perfect.

"It will be only us inside the hut, right? Nezuko will have to stay outside"

"Don't worry, my child. It's not her time yet, I'm sure young Nezuko will be able to wait a few hours outside for you, with all the other members of the pack. Young Zenitsu will keep her company, I assume" Tanjiro wants to frown, but nods anyway and Kagaya chuckles again.

Inosuke opens the door for Tanjiro and allows the omega to get in before him. The first thing he does is take off his mask and place it over a table. Neither of them are speaking.

Tanjiro gets distracted by the filtered light from the sunset and he thinks he can get used to it. All his belongings are already ordered inside Inosuke's- Ehm. Inside their hut.

"Did you do this, Inosuke?" the place is cleaner, the cleanest he has ever seen it. Suspicious. Inosuke doesn't like to do these mundane chores.

"Genya and Aoi helped" ah, that's more like it. Tanjiro smiles softly as Inosuke growls. They don't move from their position, separated by a few steps.

"That makes sense" Inosuke rolls his eyes before turning to turn on the fire "Do you want help?"

"Do you say I can't turn on a simple fire, Monjiro?!" Inosuke raises his voice and ironically that calms him.

"That's not what I said!" he raises his voice too. "I just want to help!"

"I'm here for that, you idiot!" Tanjiro frowns, but inside he's smiling. He remembers the other couples, calling themselves pet names. He only calls Inosuke by his name and some insults when the occasion requieres it, Inosuke doesn't get his name right one out of seven times "I will care for you and you will like it, Kentaro!" See?

"Thanks for taking care of me, Inosuke! You're a very strong alpha!" he says in his same loud voice, yelling. Insouke stops mid-action, his mouth slightly open as the blush spread from his face.

"Don't make me feel like that, damn Kanjiro!" Tanjiro chuckles, but he nods.

Of course he will do it again.

Tanjiro feels nervous again when Inosuke is shirtless and sighs "Finally". That makes him think this is probably the night when Inosuke will ask him to mate him, in the literal sense of the word.

"Should I take off my clothes too?" Inosuke turns his head around so quickly Tanjiro thinks his neck will break.

"What the hell are you talking about, Tontaro?! You're not comfortable without clothes" he's frowning and Tanjiro feels completely exposed, a blush forming in his cheeks and neck.

"I thought- For claiming-" Inosuke frowns deeper.

"People says I'm stupid, but you're more stupid than me" he complains, probably it was only meant for him to be heard, but Tanjiro heard it too. "I wasn't planning to go all the way with you tonight, Tanjiro. I know you're nervous, and I want to give you time" Tanjiro opens his eyes in realization and Inosuke smirks. "We're finally understanding each other. So, tell me Tanjiro, where do you want my mark?"

Tanjiro always thought it was romantic to have it on the neck or on the shoulder, that way everyone could see it. But now that he has to take that decision, it doesn't seem like the right option.

Tanjiro is a collector and artisan, he rarely takes off the layers of clothes covering him, and when he does, it's inside his hut, where he can do his work in peace. Inosuke is a hunter, more precisely a tracker. He leaves for indefinite periods of time.

Having his mark in a place where no one, not even him, can't see it, makes him feel anxious.

"Here?" he whispers, Tanjiro nods, as Inosuke folds his sleeve to place a kiss on his forearm. "No regrets now, Monjiro" he says, trying to feel confident. Tanjiro sees through his facade, so he nods.

"I'm yours, Inosuke"

Chapter Text

Inosuke doesn’t tell Tanjiro to move over before he gets in their ‘bed’ (a nest made of warm furs and some of Inosuke’s clothes, which Tanjiro thinks it’s a nice touch). The alpha didn’t even bother in telling Tanjiro to get comfortable to sleep when he’s already pulling him into a warm embrace.

“Are you going to let me take off my clothes?” Tanjiro sounds amused, but he’s touched, he can’t erase the soft smile on his face. Inosuke only arches an eyebrow, not moving at all.

“Will you?” Inosuke knows him, Tanjiro doesn’t take off his clothes to sleep. The omega chuckles as he shakes his head. “Why do you ask me then?! I’m going to hug you until you smell like me!” Inosuke presses him tighter against his chest and Tanjiro squeaks in protest.

“You know... you have your whole lifetime for that, right?” Tanjiro gasps, still smiling despite the lack of air starting to burn his lungs.

“Ah?! Faster is better, Monjiro! The fastest you smell like me, the less it takes for the pack to know you’re mine!” Tanjiro kicks him, not as soft as he thinks though, and Inosuke releases him to rub his knee.

“You’re so dumb. The whole pack knows we’re mated now” Inosuke comes closer again to hide his nose in the curve of Tanjiro’s neck. “Inosuke, you’re tickling me, let me go!” the alpha loves how Tanjiro’s voice cracks at the end of the sentence, leaving him breathless. Inosuke stops, making Tanjiro fix his eyes on him “What? Is there something on my nose or what?” Inosuke shakes his head, smirking. A second later he licks the red haired’s nose and smiles, pleased.

“Now there’s something on your nose, Kanjiro!”

“You’re so gross!” Tanjiro uses his sleeve to clean the spit.

“Do you not like my spit then?” Inosuke is teasing, Tanjiro knows that. He rolls his eyes.

“That’s not were it’s supposed to go, idiot!” Inosuke laughs “Dear gods, don’t tell me you don’t know anything about-'' Inosuke pulls him over his chest again, ignoring him. He yawns, absolutely tired.

“It’s ok if I don’t know, right? It’s not like we’re going to do anything tonight. We can figure it out or I can ask Genya-”

“You’re saying this only to make me mad, Inosuke! You don’t ask Genya for advice ever, he always gives it to you against your will” Inosuke shrugs his shoulders. “But seriously. You know what you’re doing... right?” Inosuke smirks again, before he buries his nose in Tanjiro’s hair.

He shivers, slightly aroused, but it stops as quickly as it starts. Tanjiro realizes that it doesn't matter if Inosuke knows what he's doing or not. It doesn't even matter if he doesn't know either. What's the point if his body won't cooperate anyway? So, if Inosuke does something wrong, or if he does something wrong, they will never know.

His mood suddenly becomes gloomy, Inosuke realizes as soon as his smile disappears completely.

“You’ll never know until you have to know" the alpha tries to sooth him by scenting him, which seems to work to some extent. That's the best he can do for now, Tanjiro's demons won't stop haunting him after he mated Inosuke, if anything that will only make it worse "It’s time to sleep now, Santaro”

Well, future-Inosuke can worry about that later.

It’s not even been ten seconds and Inosuke is already snoring, loudly, in Tanjiro’s right ear. Should he be thankful not to hear as good as Zenitsu? Probably, or he would be already deaf. He kind of envies the ability of his partner to fall asleep within seconds, though.

Tanjiro doesn't care. At this distance, he can count each one of Inosuke's long eyelashes and he can see the turquoise glint of his irises, an uncommon sight for an alpha. His breathing is steady, a drop of spit slides down his open mouth and Tanjiro uses his thumb to clean it. Inosuke immediately closes his mouth, and the snores change into deep breaths. His pink lips are dry, probably from the cold, so Tanjiro leans forward to lick them slightly before pressing a quick peck.

It feels warm.

He blushes, but as he expected, Inosuke doesn’t wake up nor move. Tanjiro snuggles to find a comfortable position while his mate hugs him (he doesn't let go, no matter what). Then he chuckles at the new word.

Inosuke is now his mate.

Tanjiro can get used to this.

Inosuke wakes up to find himself alone. At first, it's another morning, nothing new in the hunter's life, but he suddenly pinpoints the new smell.

“Tanjiro!” he yells as soon as his brain processes it. He sprints off the bed, ready to look for him, totally foregoing his boots (sandals are for warmer months).

“What?!” Tanjiro gets in the hut, covered in snow, bringing some wood for the fire. "You said my name right this time~" he's smiling, Inosuke doesn't mind.

“Where the fuck were you?! Why are you covered in snow?! And why didn’t you wake me up?!” the string of sounds is barely comprehensible. Tanjiro tilts his head to the left slightly, trying to understand until the words click in his head, and he nods.

“The fire was dying, so I left for some firesticks, I took your axe, I hope you don't mind. It started to snow a bit after I left, I wasn’t far though. But probably today is not a good day for outside activities” he leaves the pile of sticks on the ground, the snow is starting to melt “I tried to wake you up, but it was like you were dead, so I decided to let you sleep a bit more-”

“Don’t do that ever again!”

“Wake you up?" Tanjiro is confused, Inosuke shakes his head furiously. The red haired frowns "Do I need to ask permission to leave the hut, alpha?” Inosuke takes a step back as he shakes his head, almost scared. Tanjiro laughs.

“Don’t sound like that, dumbass! Just tell me you’re going to leave, so if something happens to you, I know where to look for you first” Inosuke is blushing when he turns his head to the other side, to avoid looking at his mate. Tanjiro relaxes his expression and walks to pat his head (he doesn’t need to use his tiptoes since they’re almost the same height).

“Oh, I’m sorry for making you worry, Inosuke. I kind of forgot you are taking care of me now-” Inosuke pushes his hand off.

“Stop making me feel like this, stupid Gonpachiro!” Tanjiro chuckles when Inosuke hides his face in his hands. "How are you feeling?" the question takes the red haired unprevented. His eyes open widely, his hands are shaking slightly. "You don't need to answer that if you don't want to" Tanjiro nods and Inosuke sighs.

So, Tanjiro isn't ready to face his demons yet. He pats his head roughly, Tanjiro blinks away his tears and smiles.

“Do you want breakfast, Inosuke? I collected some wild berries while I was outside-” Tanjiro avoids the topic, but Inosuke doesn't press further. To be honest, he doesn't want to talk about Tanjiro's infertility and how does that make him feel about sex. He doesn't know what he feels about it either.

“Berries?”

“Do you not like them? Maybe some chestnuts-” Inosuke offers a confused look. “What is it?”

“I never had berries for breakfast, the hunters always give us jerky, they say it is faster than cooking” Tanjiro opens his mouth to say something, but immediately closes it. He nods instead “You don’t need to cook, Kentaro”

“I’m used to it. I have cooked for Nezuko every morning since I was thirteen, let me cook for you now. I can make some bread and berry jam, you’ll see it’s delicious” Inosuke frowns again, Tanjiro comes to realize it is a characteristic Inosuke’s trait, something that isn’t noticeable behind his mask. “It won’t take long, I promise!”

Inosuke thinks cooking is a great distraction for his mate, so if he wants to spend two hours preparing something it will take five minutes for him to devour it, it's totally fine.

“Do whatever you want, Tenkaro” once again, he stops facing the red haired. This time, his expression is serious, but he won't allow Tanjiro to see that. “I’ll go get clean water for you to cook”

“Thanks, Inosuke!” he wants to tell him he’s so considerate, but he decides he made his mate giddy enough for today. Inosuke has the feeling processing ability of a rock, he doesn’t want to overwhelm him. “I’ll start cooking then”

When Inosuke leaves the hut, Tanjiro's smile erases from his face as he sighs.

He thought after the talk he had with Kagaya, things were going to be better, but they are exactly the same. He knows he has support from the clan and her sister and his mate, but that doesn't make it easier. He still doubts he will be a good mate, he still worries about loneliness, he still feels lost.

He sighs again, before he starts cooking.

When Inosuke brings the water, he feels Tanjiro's distress. Instead of yelling him and tell him to cheer up, he only awkwardly hugs him from behind, leaning his chin over his shoulder, watching him cook.

That seems to do the trick, because Tanjiro relaxes after a while and when the food is ready, he turns around to rub their noses.

"Don't you have somewhere to be today, Inosuke?"

"Ah?! Do you want to get rid of me already, Tontaro?!"

"No, idiot! I want you to stay here with me!"

"Oh" silence. Tanjiro freezes, Inosuke rubs their noses again "The underlings can manage without the great Inosuke Hashibira for one day! They must understand that my omega wants to be with me!" playful wink, Tanjiro pushes him, ending the romantic moment.

"Don't make it sound like that, you dumb!"

Chapter Text

Tanjiro totally forgot Kagaya said the healers were going to visit him after the mating ceremony, and he only remembers it when they're at his door and Inosuke isn't there.

The alpha left early that morning after their first week together as mates, something about the hunters needing his tracking abilities for finding a wolf pack eating their animals. Inosuke was reluctant to leave, but Tanjiro said it was fine.

"I don't know how much time it will take me, Santaro" he sounded slightly annoyed/worried.

"I'll be waiting for you, just make sure to come back, Inosuke" the green eyed man pressed a rough kiss, splitting Tanjiro's lower lip.

"Try not to die, omega!" Tanjiro doesn't know why, but when Inosuke calls him like that, it doesn't sound derogatory, (maybe it's because of the alpha's feral manners) and it makes him feel dizzy.

"Hello? Kamado Tanjiro?" he blinks confused when the eldest of the three women speaks, Shinobu has a kind smile on her face, contrasting with Kanao's blank expression and Aoi's frowning one "You talked with Kagaya about our visit. Is it bad timing for us to be here?"

"Oh, no, no” he smiles. After he remembers what Kagaya told him, the initial shock disappears. “Do you want me to follow you to a hut or do you want to get in?"

“Can we go in?” Tanjiro steps aside, allowing the three women to get into his hut. For a mere second, he worries they are going to criticize the way they live, after all, it’s not the flashiest place in the village, but Tanjiro has done a wonderful job giving it a neat appearance despite Inosuke’s messy being.

“Do you want some tea?” he offers, but in reality he’s trying to hide his nervousness. What are they going to tell him? He’s almost sure they are going to confirm the diagnosis he already received. “Or water?”

“We’re fine, Tanjiro. You know what we came for, right?” he closes his mouth and nods, looking aside “There’s no need to be nervous or ashamed, we’re just going to perform some tests and see if there’s something we can do for you, unless you want to wait for your alpha to be here?” Tanjiro hesitates for a moment, but then shakes his head.

He does want Inosuke to be here because that will make him feel less vulnerable, but at the same time he doesn’t. How will Inosuke react if they receive bad news? Will he be still with him?

“It’s ok, I’ll tell him when he comes back. He left this morning and I don’t know when he’s coming back” Shinobu nods.

“Well, then. Let’s proceed. I know the elders already did a quick ritual and they told you you’re infertile, right?” Tanjiro nods, flinching slightly (her straightforward words hurt him). “What we’re going to do here right now isn’t a ritual, so it will be more accurate. Are you still willing to keep going or do you want us to wait?” Tanjiro shakes his head again, less sure though.

“It’s ok” he repeats, more to himself than to them “What do I do?” Kanao closes the door of the hut behind them and Tanjiro sighs.

“Get on your bed, please” Aoi asks and Tanjiro nods. “Tell us what happened that day” the red haired man is uncomfortable, it’s been years since he last talked about it. It was a million times he had to give every gory detail and he swore he was never going to do it again. Aoi seems to notice his uncomfort, so she corrects herself “We just want to know what they did to you... Can you describe what happened? Did they-?” the word remains unspoken, but Tanjiro understands. He shakes his head.

“They threw me to the ground and stabbed me” he whispers, barely holding his tears.

“On your belly?” Shinobu asks and Tanjiro nods “Can you show us the scar?” he trembles but still raises his shirt and lowers his pants and underwear slightly, showing three scars under his belly button. They look somewhat faded, with irregular borders. “Did you get a fever when you were healing?” Tanjiro hums and Shinobu nods to herself “Can I touch them?”

“Yes” he breathes as Shinobu’s cold hand presses slightly over the hardened tissue. Tanjiro closes his eyes.

“It seems like they were deep. Do they still hurt?”

“From time to time when I’m walking a certain way or when I lift very heavy stuff” Shinobu touches a bit more and then stops.

“You can cover yourself now, we are finished with this”

“Is something wrong?" Tanjiro’s voice is barely audible, Kanao presses her lips tight as she stares at the eldest healer. Aoi tries to ignore them, she hates bad news.

“I will be honest with you, Tanjiro” he gulps. “There’s a high possibility we can’t remedy this. The infection and the stabbing probably left permanent damage on your body, but we can’t be sure yet. Come back with us when Inosuke is already back”

“Are we not done with this yet?” there’s a tiny hope in his voice.

“I’ll examine your body in more detail to see if your organs are in the right position, but that will hurt. It’s better if your mate is with you, for moral support. Until then, you’ll have to drink chamomile tea to relax your muscles. Four times a day. Oh, and no heavy work from now on, at least until we check you again”

“What’s going to happen next?”

“We’ll see after that”

It’s only after three days that Inosuke finally comes back, recently washed (he won’t appear in front of Tanjiro reeking of sweat, even if he doesn’t mind his own odor) and with his mask on his hands. The dirty item is left on a corner before even thinking about calling his mate.

“The great Inosuke is back!” the scent of Tanjiro is camouflaged with chamomile and Inosuke sniffs the air, trying to find where the omega is. “Monjiro?” he asks “Where are you?” Tanjiro comes out of the bedroom, waving his hand slightly, with a cup of tea on the other hand “Are you sick?!”

“No” he sips the tea “The healer Shinobu asked me to drink this so she can perform a new test-”

“Did they already come?! Why didn’t you wait until I was here with you?! Do you have good news?! Or bad news?!” Tanjiro feels overwhelmed with all the questions. He walks to the small table they have near the kitchen and he invites Inosuke to sit with him.

“They came just after you left, and to be honest I just wanted to finish with it quickly”

“So?”

“I still don’t have a definitive answer. They checked my scars and asked me about the attack, and there’s not really a high possibility of being able to conceive, but there’s still hope” Inosuke nods, not knowing what else to say. He is ok with any outcome to be honest, whether they can have or not children, he’s happy to have Tanjiro with him. “How was the hunting?”

“Great! At first, the trace was barely there, it took me a while to track the pack, but the second day I finally found them and we could kill their alpha” Tanjiro smiles.

“That’s good to hear, Inosuke! Aren’t you hurt?” Tanjiro didn’t notice if Inosuke was limping or anything of that sort (not that he would, because Inosuke is so proud he rarely shows something is hurting him), nor did he smell blood.

“Do you think I am weakling, Gonpachiro?! I’m fine! I even brought you something!” Inosuke looks in his pants (why is he always shirtless?) and takes out a small package enveloped in worn leather.

“What is this?” Tanjiro opens it carefully “A fang?” Inosuke nods proudly.

“For our battle” Tanjiro tilts his head because he doesn’t get what Inosuke is talking about. He inspects the fang once again, it probably belonged to the wolf they killed, but it can’t be used as a weapon in whatever imaginary battle he's talking about... Maybe Inosuke wants him to use it as a lucky charm?

“Like... for good luck?” he asks, unsure. Inosuke smiles brightly.

“You’re not as stupid as you seem, Tontaro” Tanjiro frowns and he’s about to protest, but Inosuke pulls him into a warm kiss, still a bit clumsy (they haven’t kiss each other much, even during the courting time). “I couldn’t have asked for a better mate”

That definitely shuts Tanjiro up.

The wolf fang hanging from his neck thuds softly with each step he gives. Inosuke is walking by his side, puffing out his chest, proud of his strong mate.

They're not holding hands because the alpha seems beyond that. Instead, Inosuke is walking behind Tanjiro, protecting him. He is against the idea of having the omega at his back, because he isn't as strong as himself (and he can't see his rounded ass that way).

"What are you looking at, Inosuke?" Tanjiro sounds amused.

"Your ass" Tanjiro shakes his head as Inosuke releases a maniac laugh.

"You're a lost case" Inosuke doesn't stop "Try to behave when we are with Shinobu or she will kick you out"

"She can’t kick out the great Inosuke!”

“If you don’t shut up you’ll have to wait outside” Aoi’s voice is firm. “And take out that mask, this is a clean place” Inosuke huffs, reluctantly pulling off the mask. He leaves it hanging from his hand, trying not to look up, but Aoi still can see the concern reflected in his feminine features “You don’t have nothing to worry about''

“Ah?! I’m not worried, woman!”

“Of course you’re not. Follow me, please. They should be about to start” Inosuke follows Aoi inside a different room, where Tanjiro is laying down shirtless, and Shinobu is rubbing him with a strong scented ointment.

“Inosuke, we’re about to start. You can hold Tanjiro’s hand if you want to”

“Don’t tell me what to do” Inosuke mumbles, but he places himself by Tanjiro’s side and holds his hand as he offers a reassuring squeeze that is returned when Shinobu starts to massage him. “Are you ok?!” Tanjiro nods but Inosuke frowns when he gasps in pain.

He decides not to say anything because Tanjiro is strong, he can fight the pain.

“I know it hurts, Tanjiro. I promise you it will be over quickly” Shinobu is also gasping because of the effort.

“O-ok”

“We leave you so you can get dressed, Tanjiro” Shinobu pulls Inosuke and Aoi and Kanao follow them, closing the door behind them. “I don’t have good news, Inosuke” she says as soon as they are out of Tanjiro’s ear reach.

“I see” Inosuke sighs, oddly serious. He doesn’t ask questions, nor yells at her, nor does he seem sad. He remains in silence, staring at the floor and fidgeting with his fingers. He only raises his head when he hears Tanjiro coming out of the room.

“That bad?” the red haired tries to lighten the tense atmosphere with a sad smile. Inosuke limits himself to holding his hand as he stares at Shinobu.

“We can try to fix it, but I’m not assuring anything” Tanjiro stares at Inosuke for guidance.

“I’m with you whatever you choose, Tanjiro”

“We can try” Shinobu nods and Inosuke squeezes his hand once.

“Are you mad, Inosuke?” Inosuke frowns, slightly uncomfortable.

“Why would I be, Tontaro?”

“You look mad” Inosuke takes a few deep breaths and shakes his head.

“I’m not, I just don’t like to see you in pain”

“Oh” they remain in silence for some minutes “Are you ok with my decision?”

“It’s your body” Inosuke shrugs his shoulders “I won’t be the one in pain”

“But do you also want me to go through this? Do you want us to have heir?" Inosuke sighs, frustrated.

“I already told you I don’t care about that, Gonpachiro” he pulls him into a tight hug “I won’t say I’m ok with all this, but if that will make you feel better about yourself, I’m willing to give it a chance”

“Thanks, Inosuke” he’s crying again. Inosuke doesn’t know what to do, except for pulling him to their bed and cuddling him until he’s feeling better.

“You should stop crying or your eyes will bleach” Tanjiro chuckles slightly and Inosuke finally relaxes.

“That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard”

“My mother used to tell me that when I was a child, she said that was the reason my eyes were green and not brown”

“Well, in that case...” he wipes his tears away. "Thanks, alpha”

Inosuke doesn’t blush, it is just that suddenly it is too hot in there.

He kisses Tanjiro to stop him from saying nonsense.

Chapter Text

The weather now is warm enough for Tanjiro to leave his winter haori behind and use a lighter one. In his hands, he's holding one of his ever-present cups of tea that he sips calmly as he watches Inosuke chopping wood from the entrance of their hut.

"Is my brother home, Inosuke-san?" the alpha raises his head to stare at Nezuko and he frowns before he gives a short nod, signaling her the hut, where Tanjiro waves his hand as a greeting. "Stay here, Zenitsu-san” she instructs the beta “I'll be back in a few moments" Inosuke doesn't protest but he growls as soon as Nezuko disappears inside the hut.

"What are you doing here, Monitsu?" Inosuke looks intimidating while holding an axe. It's even scarier if the axe is raised above his head in a threatening way and his voice is a mere whisper.

"Nezuko-" Inosuke clicks his tongue as Zenitsu starts explaining.

"I mean you" he pokes Zenitsu with his index finger "Stupid blond. Nezuko can visit her brother whenever she wants. It makes well to Gonpachiro anyway" the frowning doesn't disappear from his face and Zenitsu wonders what the raven haired man feels.

"How are you dealing with it, Inosuke?" the alpha puts down the axe this time and Zenitsu breathes in relief. The frown doesn't disappear though. "I heard you before you mated with Tanjiro. You are terrified, aren't you?" Inosuke kind of wants to hide his face in his mask (which he inconveniently left inside), so he decides to yell at the beta.

"I'm an alpha, Zenjito! I'm never scared!" the axe is raised again, but Zenitsu sees through Inosuke's nervousness.

"Yes, I see that" he puts a hand over Inosuke's naked shoulder to show him his support, but nothing else.

"Aren't you going to ask me what Nezuko said, Inosuke?"

"Aren't you going to tell me anyway, Monjiro?" Tanjiro chuckles and Inosuke rolls his eyes. "Let me just finish moving this" he leaves the wood on the floor.

"Do you want help?" Inosuke shakes his head.

"Butterfly-girl told you not to do heavy work until the treatment finished" Inosuke doesn't mind, he is strong. Tanjiro is pouting and Inosuke rolls his eyes again, Tanjiro was so used to doing all that kind of work by himself that now he feels trapped  "Oh well, there's a small pile you can help me with"

"Right on!" it does something to Inosuke's heartbeat to watch Tanjiro more lively (just for doing a single chore). The cup of tea lies forgotten over a flat surface (and Inosuke will later complain about it when he hits it accidentally and spills everything).

Warily, Inosuke walks behind his mate, taking care he's not overexerting himself.

"Is that all?" the disappointment in Tanjiro's voice is tangible, but Inosuke nods, even when that causes a small pout "Oh well, you almost did all the job already. Thank you, Inosuke!"

"Don't get sidetracked, Tontaro. Tell me about your sister" Inosuke sounds impatient, but it's not because he wants to know. That sort of story gets him bored, but Tanjiro enjoys it when he talks to him.

"Oh, oh. Nezuko gave me this" he shows an orange root to Inosuke, who only arches an eyebrow "She says it will help me with the inflammation" Inosuke sighs, of course his sister will team up with him. It's been months and he hasn't seen any real progress on his mate, only bruises and emotional discomfort. Tanjiro changes his happy face into a somber grim "She also told me to take a break, she said this whole issue has been affecting me negatively"

"Brother, I can see it in your eyes. You long for the satisfaction hard work gives you, your hands may have softened but your heart is hardening"

"Do you think we should stop this for a while, Inosuke?" Tanjiro's eyes are full of unshed tears and Inosuke doesn't know what to do for a second. The red haired blinks. "Is it ok if I give up?" this time is a whisper and the alpha knows he has to do something.

"Come with me, Monjiro" he grabs his hand softly and takes him out of the hut, and it's only when they're outside that Inosuke shows Tanjiro all the weapons they have at hand "Pick one, we're going hunting" Tanjiro is not following Inosuke's train of thought. "I know Lenka and the others are looking for ducks. You like ducks" the omega is confused, were they not talking about abandoning the treatment? He still picks a bow and Inosuke smirks "Good choice, omega"

"Thanks?"

"Let's go, or they will take the best pieces" Inosuke also has a bow and he brings the arrows for both him and Tanjiro. "Can you tell me where they are?" Tanjiro wants to tell him he's the tracker, but his nose has always been good at picking traces. They smell a bit far, somewhere near the beginning of the river.

"This way, Inosuke"

"Lead the way, Kanjiro!" he sounds happy and Tanjiro relaxes, smiling. It's the happiest Inosuke has seen him in weeks. Maybe his alpha only wants him to forget about the question he asked? That's enough for now.

"They are a few kilometers away, so we'll need to run to catch them" Inosuke starts running then "Inosuke! Wait!"

"I'll see you there, Gonpachiro!" Tanjiro runs behind him.

"I thought we were a team!" Inosuke laughs with a maniac sound and Tanjiro can't help but frown, even when his heart feels warmer "Insouke! You idiot! Wait for me!"

"Catch me up first, Kentaro! I'm faster than you!"

Inosuke arrives at the river gasping for air, and five seconds later comes Tanjiro, who gives him a headbutt on his shoulder. He is gasping too.

"I told you... to wait for me... Inosuke" the alpha only grins.

"I thought you weren't coming with us today because you had enough food at home, asshole" Tanjiro recognizes Genya's voice and he suddenly feels exposed. It's that moment when he remembers that only alphas hunt and that's not a place for an omega, they will send him back.

"Well, change of plans" Tanjiro is looking at Genya, so he cannot see the gesture Inosuke makes at him, he only sees the other alpha's face softening (if you can call it that way to frowning less).

"Ok, take your position and get some fat ducks. Come on, Tanjiro. You're coming to the front with me" Inosuke pushes him slightly and gives him an assuring smile, Tanjiro doesn’t know what’s going on. “I won’t bite you, you can relax now” Genya offers and Tanjiro nods, only looking back to see Inosuke already disappearing on a tree. “You aren’t scared of some inoffensive ducks, are you?”

“Of course not!” he raises his voice, only to regret it a few seconds later “I mean-” Genya laughs.

“I like you already, Tanjiro. Come on, it’s time for you to show us what Inosuke always brags about you. You know how to use that, right?” Genya is pointing at his bow and before he gives time to Tanjiro to answer, he gives him some arrows “Since your mate is stupid enough to not give you arrows, I’m giving you some of mine”

“What’s the strategy?” Tanjiro starts to charge the bow.

“There’s none. Just attack as you see fit, I’ll take care of you”

Tanjiro and Inosuke come back all covered in feathers, leaves and mud, completely soaked, and limping, but happy.

One of the ducks Inosuke caught wasn’t dead, so it tried to escape, making half of the group fall in the freezing water in an attempt to catch it back. At the end, the duck escaped, taking two of the other captives with it, though Kyojuro and Giyuu tried to kill them.

“You can’t always win” said Rengoku with a gleeful smile. Tanjiro thought he wasn’t only referring to the ducks.

“Where are we going, Inosuke? The hut is right there” they’re heading back to the river.

“You’re seriously not planning to sleep like that, Tontaro” Tanjiro looks at himself and he concedes Inosuke a point “I’m going to wash you and then we can go home” it’s getting dark, they should be inside the hut soon to have enough light to turn on the fire. “It won’t take long” Inosuke confirms.

Tanjiro thinks Inosuke is going to wash himself and wait until Tanjiro finishes, but the alpha surprises him when he starts to undress him before he undresses himself.

“Come with me, Tanjiro” they get into the water and Inosuke leads Tanjiro to a rock where he sits “Let me help you, ok?” Inosuke is using crushed flowers as a soap and Tanjiro’s shirt as washing cloth. The red haired doesn’t protest though he notices that little fact.

“Thank you, Inosuke” the elder (some months make him elder, fight him) tries to be soft despite his rough manners, but Tanjiro doesn’t complain. Trying to be careful, Inosuke washes Tanjiro’s face.

“Do not open your eyes” he whispers, making his partner stay still despite the cold breeze. “Your skin looks funny”

“I’m cold” he explains, with his eyes still closed. Inosuke decides to press a chaste kiss over his lips before he finishes his task in silence. After that, he instructs Tanjiro to walk to the shore while he finishes. By the time Inosuke is done, Tanjiro is shivering. Inosuke covers him with his own body as they walk to their hut.

Inosuke turns on the fire while Tanjiro gets dressed. After he’s done, Inosuke only looks for some underwear and pants and proceeds to brush Tanjiro's long hair.

"You asked me something before"

"Mmh?" Tanjiro honestly doesn't remember, but then he does. "Oh. Right" his voice becomes a mere whisper and the alpha kind of expects it.

"You told me if I thought it was ok for you to give up" he pauses (maybe for dramatic effect) "I don't like watching you suffer. I told you I was okay with whatever you chose, but the truth is I'm not ok" Tanjiro tries to turn his head but Inosuke doesn't let him "You've been under a treatment we don't know if it works and I agreed with that because that's what you wanted back then"

"Inosuke-"

"Let me finish, Kentaro. This is important" the red haired stays still once again, he didn't realize his mate has started to braid his hair "It's my duty as your mate to protect you. And I'm going to protect you, even if it's from yourself and if you're not sure anymore this is what you want, you can stop right now. I'm not going to judge you nor blame you, because I'm proud of you for what you are"

Tanjiro is crying now, and he keeps crying in silence while Inosuke finishes the messy braid.

"What are the others going to say?"

"Do you care?" it's not a scold, but it also doesn't sound soothing "I knew you were going to say something like that" Tanjiro turns his head to show his glassy eyes to the alpha. Inosuke wipes away his tears carefully before continuing "That's why before answering you I took you with the hunters" the omega looks confused "I told you we were hunting ducks and you picked your weapon accordingly. You ran against me, an alpha, and I only won for a few seconds. You were with the idiot who only gave you arrows and no directions and you managed to kill not one, but two ducks"

"I don't-"

"Did any of the pack today see you as if you weren't worthy? Did they told you that you were useless?" the answer is Tanjiro shaking his head "Not being able to have children doesn't mean you're less than any of us. You have different abilities"

"You already told me that, dumbass" Tanjiro's voice sounds nasal.

"It's because it hasn't got stuck in that thick skull of yours, Gonpachiro" Tanjiro chuckles. "I'll say it as much as you need me to"

"Inosuke"

"Mhhm?"

"Can you kiss me?"

"Idiot" Tanjiro opens his eyes widely "That's something you don't ask for" a moment later, Inosuke pulls him into a rough kiss, the most feral they have shared (before, there have only been long tender kisses, here and there). Tanjiro is breathless, but he still manages to open his mouth to allow the other's tongue to explore and play.

Inosuke takes his time, savoring his moment, while also taking as much as he can.

Tanjiro moans inside the kiss and Inosuke grins. It seems Tanjiro is finally letting himself go.

Interesting.

Chapter Text

Inosuke walks with Tanjiro towards the forest.

“I don’t think it is a good idea for you to leave so soon, Monjiro” he is hesitant, but the omega shakes his head. “Are you sure you aren’t hurt? Like... at all?" he sounds concerned and his eyes scan his partner upside down, trying to find any sign of discomfort.

“I’m not fragile, if that's what you're trying to say, Inosuke”

“I’m not saying you’re fragile, dumbass!” Inosuke seems to remember he shouldn’t yell at his mate because he lowers his voice after that “I wasn’t particularly gentle with you yesterday, I just want to make sure you’re truly okay before I leave for the next two weeks” ah, that.

“I’m fine” Tanjiro trips with a rock and Inosuke now pinpoints what is wrong.

“You’re limping” he sounds strangely amused and proud (?).

“What are you talking about?! I tripped” Tanjiro counters, Inosuke clicks his tongue. Tanjiro blushes.

“Then why are you blushing, Tontaro?” the smirk is what makes Tanjiro push his mate away from him, complaining and Inosuke laughs.

“It’s because it’s hot!” Inosuke arches an eyebrow. It’s nearly six in the morning, even the alpha (that never gets cold) is wearing bear fur over his shoulders and Tanjiro dares to say it’s hot. “Don’t look at me like that, Inosuke” Tanjiro looks at the other side of the path,

“You’re terrible at lying, you know that?” they stop when the other omegas are in sight. “Are you sure you don’t want to stay at home?” Tanjiro shakes his head again.

“I’d rather come with you, but you already said that was out of discussion”

“You are in no condition to pick berries! Why the hell would I let you come with me to kill bears, Kentaro?! Are you dumb?!” the red haired chuckles and Inosuke doesn't understand what's so funny.

“There’s no need to yell, Inosuke. I understand” he sighs “It’s just that I’ll miss you” Inosuke rolls his eyes (he’s not really fond of love words), but he pulls Tanjiro into a tight hug “Try not to die while you’re out there, Inosuke”

“Same goes for you, Tanjiro. You aren’t as strong as me, so-” take care. The words remain unspoken but Tanjiro understands.

“Have fun" Inosuke gives him a short nod and a smile, camouflaged behind the mask.

"You finally did it" it's the sentence that Inosuke receives when he meets Genya and the group of other alphas.

"What are you talking about?" he changes the soft smile for a frown.

"Don't lie to your best friend, you little brat. I know what it looks like when someone mates" Inosuke frowns deeper inside his mask, Genya probably doesn't notice it. He wonders if there's something different in him, he's pretty sure Tanjiro didn't leave marks "Your skin just radiates something" Inosuke sniffs himself, but nothing seems different.

"You're stupid"

"But you know I'm right"

"Can you kids stop the gossip now? We all know Inosuke fucked Tanjiro yesterday, now we need to go ahead to catch bears" Tengen growls at them and Rengoku recriminates him for being cruel to the boys.

"I'm twenty-three" Inosuke protests. Genya is twenty four, but it's the same.

"You look like twelve years old boys! Stop complaining and move over or we'll leave you here" they follow the elders in silence after that.

"You're absolutely telling me everything"

"Whatever, asshole"

Tanjiro tries not to think about how much he smells like Inosuke as he adjusts the basket at his back with the leather straps. The group conformed by betas and omegas is almost complete when he arrives, his future brother-in-law is already there, looking at him as he arrives. He's accompanied by Aoi, the beta partner of Genya.

"Tanjiro-" it's the first time the woman talks to him after he dropped the treatment.

"You filthy-" Aoi steps over his foot to shut the blond up "H-hello, Tanjiro" Zenitsu mumbles something that sounds suspiciously like one of those curses Inosuke recites in a low growl. "You finally finished your treatment, I assume" Tanjiro shrugs his shoulders. Aoi must have told Zenitsu (they are great friends after all).

"We decided to take a break from that" he looks aside when he has the impression Zenitsu doesn't believe him, he is waiting for the wave of questions that will follow that affirmation.

"Maybe it's more like you decided to take a break and, because Inosuke is such a pussy, he let you do as you wanted. What a great alpha is he" Tanjiro smiles softly before laughing openly, nodding.

It's the first time he laughs like that in months. He feels like a weight is lifted from his shoulders.

"Yeah, you're right, it was more like that" he's thankful because neither of his friends are asking him about the procedure or why he decided to quit (let's be honest, the break it's indefinite, and it probably will never stop, but Tanjiro is coming to terms with that). "I'm sure Inosuke doesn't care-"

"The man adores you, Tanjiro" Zenitsu groans. "If you told him to jump off a cliff, he will probably do it without thinking"

"Inosuke has been a great support to Tanjiro during all this time, if I may add. I read him wrong, but don't tell him" Aoi is cautious with her words. How much of what she saw is ok to share? Tanjiro nods, letting her know it's fine if she wants to say something else, but she doesn't.

"He is"

"Are you ready to go? We're traveling a good distance today, you haven't lost condition, have you, Tanjiro?" Mitsuri is the lovely collector leader from the village, her hair is always braided in long braids, mixed with flowers to cover her scent.

"No, ma'am. I haven't" the truth is Tanjiro doesn't know. He was out of his usual chores for months, but given that just yesterday he ran against Inosuke and hunted ducks, he's more than ok to walk a few miles to collect some fruits. "I'm ready to protect you"

"Oh~ so sweet as always, Tanjiro~" she gives him a small pat on his shoulders before she walks to the others in the group to give them instructions. Tanjiro takes the bow and arrows hidden in his basket and Zenitsu pales.

"I thought that mating was going to soften you, Tanjiro" Aoi chuckles as she also prepares her own bow and arrows "You're all mad! What kind of monsters are you?!"

"There are no alphas in sight, idiot. Who do you think is going to protect us if something attacks us?" Tanjiro raises his voice while Zenitsu screams in panic, forgetting he also brings a sword in his belt.

They're only at the beginning of their trip.

"How was it, then?" the cadence of their steps is soft enough to allow them to talk as they reach their destination. They have enough time to discuss a lot of mundane stuff during the two days trip.

"What?" he asks hastily, turning back to face the taller hunter.

"You know" he mimics some thrusts with his hips. The smirk he gives Inosuke is meant to be teasing, and the purpose is achieved when Inosuke jumps at Genya, holding his twin swords on both hands, threatening.

"Can you stop, you fucker?!" a rain of rocks comes from the front and Inosuke has to hold back his murder attempt.

"Calm down back there or I'll tie your hands and mouth!" Tengen threatens again "You know I'm not lying!" this time, it is Tomioka Giyuu who gives him a glare to stop him, but Tengen doesn't care.

"Will you tell me or what?" Genya smirks and Inosuke rolls his eyes under the mask 

"Will you stop if I do?" the smirk grows wider and that promises nothing good.

"What does he smell like? Do you like his scent?" Zenitsu wants him to shut up, but Aoi keeps asking questions. Tanjiro thanks innerly this time Nezuko had to stay to help at the village, because it was going to be very embarrassing to talk about his first time in front of her.

"He smells like the forest, fresh and woodsy. When he undressed the smell amplified, it was irresistible" Aoi nods.

"Yes, alpha pheromones are something amazing, don't you agree, Zenitsu?" how will he know? He has never been with an alpha, but he knows omegas drive him crazy.

The conversation is quiet with them at the back, the weapons ready in case of any misadventure.

"Were you nervous?" Aoi asks and that's all Zenitsu is willing to support for the day.

"Is he loud?" Inosuke grips the hilt of his sword tightly and takes a deep breath before he nods, shortly "A screamer?"

"No, he's more like... gutural groans and long moans? He also whimpers... Why am I even telling you this?!" Genya knows it will be hard to get all the juicy details, he hopes Aoi is doing her part too.

"Because you like me and I'm your best friend in the world. Don't try to be so innocent, I know alphas like to brag about it. And I'm very nosy, so it's a win-win" Inosuke takes another deep breath. "So... did you satisfy him?"

"What kind of stupid question is that?! Of course I did!" Inosuke is now folding his arms over his chest, his alpha's pride hurt. "I did my best and Monjiro enjoyed it very much!"

"Why don't I see you covered in marks then?"

"Ah?! Does being covered in marks mean I did a good job?!" Inosuke takes of his mask and gives his friend a psycho smile "Well, you lost because Tanjiro left marks, but it's where none of you assholes can see them!" he shows his chest proudly and Genya's curious side gets the best of him.

"Can you shut up back there?!" they remain silent for some minutes before another rain of rocks is thrown at them.

"Does he like it rough then?" Genya asks after enough time, in a whisper.

"I was, the gods know how much. My body is covered in scars, I'm not thin and very omega-like, I thought maybe he wouldn't like it, but as he started to undress me, he kissed every part of my body, groaning that I looked so delicious, or something of that sort" Aoi chuckles. "He's surprisingly a good kisser, even when it was a bit rough in the beginning"

"Do you like it that way?" Tanjiro blushes "Come on, nobody is listening" Zenitsu snorts a few meters away (he has super good hearing).

"Yes- I mean, not all the time. Inosuke tried to take it slowly first, he was very kind. You would think he had some sort of experience, or maybe hearing at the elder alphas helped him somehow, but he was very thoughtful with the preparation"

"Is he big?" Tanjiro looks to different places before answering with his face tinted in a beet red color.

"Decent, not something that hurts, but I would say it's above the average? Not that I've seen much, you know. He's bigger than me, so-"

"He got carried on, I guess. It started slow, he was shivering but he was also moaning. I told him if he wanted us to stop but he shook his head so I kept going. He smelled like the ground when it finishes raining, like wet soil and cozy fire, his skin was incredibly warm" Genya notices Inosuke is remembering the feeling because his skin is bristling.

"What did he thought about your-?" he points at Inosuke's crotch and Inosuke smirks.

"I'll never forget that delicious expression he made"

"I licked my lips, it looked so tempting. I'm embarrassed of myself but also proud? Inosuke growled and kissed me, hard. Then he started to stroke me and I just couldn't help it-"

"Did he cum that fast?! Man, you're a sex god. I've never been able to do that with Aoi" Inosuke puffs his chest again, proudly. "And then? You kept with the foreplay?" the younger nods.

"I used my fingers to get him ready, but he was wet and anxious. I didn't need to do much"

"I rode him" he whispers and Aoi shrieks with an annoying enthusiastic scream. Zenitsu wants to kill them both "He guided me, and then pulled me to be underneath him. It was a whole different level, more deep, it felt amazing. I just can tell you that the moan he made in my ear right before he came was... thrilling"

"You do seem like you had a great time"

"I don't know why we haven't done it earlier"

"I'll tell you why. To spare the poor souls to hear your moans in the middle of the night! We get Inosuke is a fucking beast that mates you so good, but there's no need to scream!' Zenitsu is angry red and Aoi and Tanjiro tilt their heads in confusion.

"You heard us?" Tanjiro asks in a low voice while Zenitsu keeps complaining. Aoi shakes her head slowly.

"So that's why you were worried to let him go with the others to pick berries" Inosuke nods quickly, pulling back his mask before Tengen approaches them. They instinctively cover their heads.

"I'm glad to hear young Tanjiro enjoyed the night with his mate and that you're very energized by it, because you're in charge to build the camp for the rest of the journey, boar-boy" Inosuke points at himself, frowning so deep he thinks his mask is frowning too "Your friend too, so you can finish to discuss how to give an omega five orgasms in one night"

Genya has the decency to look away.

Chapter Text

Tanjiro comes back to the village tired but satisfied, dragging Zenitsu with the help of Aoi to his hut before heading to Nezuko's place.

"Go, I'll take care of him" Zenitsu has a bad case of rash for running like there was no tomorrow across a poison ivy field in his rush to escape from a wasp. It's okay since Genya isn't home, as well as Inosuke.

"Are you sure you don't want to come have dinner with us?" Tanjiro raises the dead duck, still somewhat warm and Aoi shakes her head, trying not to gag (she doesn't like hunting).

"I don't want to intrude and I assume you have a lot to talk about with your sister"

"Alright then, Aoi. But if you change your mind, you're welcome" 

"Thanks" Tanjiro closes the door, muffling Zenitsu's pitiful whining and feeling bad for Aoi, but he imagines she doesn't really care since she's Shinobu's apprentice.

"Nezuko! Are you here?" the young woman opens the door and smiles as soon as she sees her brother. "I brought dinner" he offers, but Nezuko doesn't let him finish. She hugs him tightly, making the bow crunch awfully and the duck falls on the floor. "Hey- We saw us only yesterday"

"You finally look like yourself again~" she sounds happy and Tanjiro blushes "You decided to listen to me, I assume" Tanjiro looks mortified "Right, maybe this isn't the right place to talk about this. Come in, you know this is your hut too"

"I don't live here anymore, Nezuko"

"You're still welcome whenever you want" Nezuko raises the duck from the ground and dusts it off "It's a great piece, how should we cook it?" Tanjiro it's about to reply that it's up to Nezuko, but she interrupts him again "I don't have enough firewood. Can you cut some?"

"Okay!" Nezuko is not as good as Tanjiro with an axe, but she can do the basic chores by herself. She just knows how much satisfaction it gives to Tanjiro to take care of those he loves. "Don't start without me, Nezuko"

Tanjiro grabs an old axe from one of the corners and takes off his haori, feeling free for the first time in a while. Nezuko sniffs the air, however if he smells different (as Aoi and Zenitsu remarked) she doesn't mention it.

He spends a while outside, chopping wood for the stove until he has a decent enough pile.

"Wash your hands before we start cooking, brother" Tanjiro leaves the firewood next to the fire his sister already started and leaves the hut again to wash his hands in the river nearby.

Kanao waves her hand at him (there's no naked Kyojuro in sight this time), and in an unexpected move, she walks to him, though she doesn't speak, she only stares at him.

"Hi, Kanao" she nods as a greeting "Good night outside, isn't it?"

"You're really brave, Tanjiro" the red haired tilts his head.

"Uh? What do you mean?" she seems to think of her next answer for a bit.

"I've been here during your whole treatment, and if I were in your place, I would have quit in the first moment. I know Shinobu-san can be rough" she pauses and then she adds "You're also strong" Tanjiro blushes and looks aside.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Kanao. I- I decided to quit" Tanjiro then bites his lip to add a low "...for now" Kanao smiles at him and squeezes his shoulder slightly "I'm not brave"

"It requires a lot of bravery to stop something that is hurting you, even if that's something you want. I'm proud you realized it"

"You knew?" Tanjiro is confused.

"It's not my place to tell you what you should do, it's your body after all" she smiles again and nods, ready to leave.

"Wait" he pulls her softly "Did you tell Inosuke about this?"

"You have a very good mate, Tanjiro" with that last phrase, she leaves. Tanjiro is confused, but still happy.

"What took you so long?"

"I was talking to Kanao"

"Ah, that explains why I saw her. She never comes here after you left this hut. I think she doesn't like me" Tanjiro shakes his head.

"She's just too shy"

"A shy alpha? This village is upside down" she chuckles "The duck is waiting for you, brother" the duck's body is now going into rigor, partially rigid "Save the liver, we're going to prepare something for Inosuke with that"

"Do you have a knife?" Nezuko takes a sharp knife out of a drawer and hands it to Tanjiro, who starts ripping the duck out.

"Say, brother..."

"Hmm?"

"Do you want to talk about how you are feeling?" Tanjiro shrugs his shoulders.

"Not really"

"How did Inosuke take it?" Tanjiro smiles.

"He took me hunting with the other alphas"

"Very much him" he hums to herself "Did it help?"

"Very" they work with their dinner in silence after that. Tanjiro thinks of how different it is from the times it was only the two of them, and how alike it is at the same time "Do you think I'm doing the right thing, Nezuko?"

"Does it feel right to you?"

"I'm not sure... A part of me still holds onto my desire, but the other part is not sure anymore of what I want. If being under treatment for having a little possibility of having a child means I have to give up the things I like, then I don't think I want it. I know it's selfish-"

"It's probably less selfish than deciding to go under a treatment, considering Inosuke is not a great fan of watching you suffer-"

"I did it for him too..."

"But maybe he didn't want it as much as you. Have you ever thought Inosuke only agreed because you wanted it?" Tanjiro nods. "Of course you have. That's partially why you chose to stop?" this time he shakes his head "No?"

"No, I was doing it for myself mostly. After what you said, I realized this was consuming me and I wasn't me anymore. At some point I thought if Inosuke would still like me-"

"He will always love you, Tanjiro. No matter what"

"I know, Nezuko. That is the problem, you see? It's been only about me these months. I know Inosuke doesn't care, but for me it's important. If I can't give Inosuke the same he gives me, then I shouldn't have a mate at all"

"You're being too harsh with yourself-"

"Isn't it true, though?" Nezuko pats his head as he did when they were children and offers him a smile. That's enough for him.

After two weeks, Inosuke comes back to find his mate busy in his workshop, repairing a basket with threads of dry grass. He seems concentrated, so Inosuke gets in the separate room almost tiptoeing, even when he's almost sure that Tanjiro smelled him from a kilometer away.

Once he's placed behind Tanjiro, he clumsily places a kiss on the top of his head (Tanjiro is sitting on the floor) and stays there, inhaling his scent.

"What are you doing, Tontaro?" Tanjiro turns his head slightly, trying to see the alpha, but his position isn't very helpful. He growls in protest, and though Inosuke smirks, pleased with that reaction, he doesn't move.

"Repairing this for Aoi, I broke it the last time we went fishing"

"You fell?" he sounds suspiciously amused.

"No, dumb. I... kinda threw it at Zenitsu" Inosuke laughs now and Tanjiro follows him, not that it was funny hitting Zenitsu with a basket (as Inosuke clearly thinks), but because of his mate's contagious laugh. Now, Inosuke laughs a lot (not more than he yells, but still), but he's always had that devious glint in his eyes when he does so. But this, Tanjiro notices, comes out of pure pride.

"Was he crying?" he sounds way too curious and Tanjiro blushes.

"Before or after?" Inosuke thinks about it, before he finally lifts his weight from Tanjiro and helps him to get up.

"Good point. I'm not interested in the answer" Tanjiro rolls his eyes at the sincerity but he doesn't pressure his mate "How are you? Did you miss me? We can repeat what he did before I left~" he smirks and Tanjiro hits him. "You don't want to go duck hunting?" Tanjiro hits him again and Inosuke laughs again.

"You're impossible"

"You still like me"

"No, what makes you think so?" Tanjiro counters.

"Huh?! What do you mean, stupid Gonpachiro?!" the red haired omega can smell the spike in Inosuke's pheromones, alluring him "I'm very likable, am I not?!" the alpha tries not to sound unsure, but Tanjiro knows him.

"I don't like you, idiot. I love you" Inosuke tackles him into the bed, as he growls and sniffs him, almost biting.

"Damn Monjiro" he protests but Tanjiro can feel the tears sliding down his cheeks and his goofy smile.

Inosuke wakes up after a night of well deserved rest. Tanjiro cuddled him until both of them fell asleep, call him crazy but it was the most perfect night in months. He yawns, turning slightly to take off Tanjiro’s hair from his face, and watching him sleep with his mouth slightly open, breathing peacefully.

He then leaves their nest and walks shirtless and barefoot to the small place of the hut that works as a kitchen, and starts to prepare water for Tanjiro’s tea in auto-pilot. For the light filtering under the door, it’s about time for Tanjiro’s medicine. When he’s at home, it’s his duty to take care of his mate.

The soft smell of chamomile starts to flood the place and Inosuke can finally sigh in peace, Tanjiro will be up in just a second.

Tanjiro wakes up, confused.

“Inosuke? What are you doing?” the confusion moves something inside Inosuke’s brain, whose only answer is to blush and shake his head. How could he be so stupid? Tanjiro is no longer under treatment. Now, he will think he isn’t in total agreement with his decision to stop, but he honestly forgot that he didn’t need to prepare tea for him anymore, and he enjoys that part of his morning so much and “Are you okay, alpha?”

“Tanjiro, I’m sorry” his voice is a low growl, and this is the first time the red haired sees his mate about to cry. All that sleep still in his system vanishes in a second, as he stands up and hugs him.

“What are you apologizing for, Inosuke?”

“I totally forgot-” Tanjiro places a kiss on his lips as he combs Inosuke’s hair with his fingers.

“It’s okay”

“But you-”

“It’s okay, Inosuke. It's been a long time” the conversation doesn’t make any sense. Inosuke keeps getting interrupted and Tanjiro reassures him it’s okay, but somehow he gets it. “It took me a while to get used to it too” he explains “It’s new, isn’t it?” Inosuke remains silent but he looks at him and Tanjiro feels his heart dropping to the ground when Inosuke it’s indeed crying. Tanjiro decides to wipe the tears away in silence too. “We’ll learn together”

“I’m sorry”

“Are you going to keep repeating yourself? I’m going to keep saying it’s okay and the tea will get cold. Let’s drink it now that you prepare it”

“But it’s medicine, Monjiro”

“It’s not medicine, silly. Chamomile has always been something people drink, I like the flavor, I don’t know why I can’t keep drinking it” Inosuke blinks as he processes the information. So... he didn’t mess up?

“Pour me some too, Tontaro” he as well can see what Tanjiro loves so much about it.

“You’re an idiot!” Zenitsu laughs so much he doesn’t care when Inosuke throws him a rock and it hits his leg. “Have you not ever drunk hot tea?! How can you get your tongue burned?” Inosuke is angry, but Tanjiro arches an eyebrow and Inosuke stops.

“Zenitsu, you’re being rude” Tanjiro looks scary when he’s holding a knife, more if it’s pointing at you.

“Tanjiro!” Zenitsu complains but he’s ignoring him.

“If you want to come with us, you’ll have to behave. Don’t think because I’m an omega I won’t tackle you” he warns.

“I liked you more when you were under treatment” Zenitsu whines.

“You didn’t mean that!” Inosuke screams, but Zenitsu hides behind Tanjiro before he yells that yes, he means it.

“He was more delicate, he didn’t hit me, or threaten me!” Tanjiro laughs and Inosuke realizes the comment didn’t affect him, so he calms himself.

“Why would I want a delicate mate, stupid Monitsu?!” Zenitsu shrugs his shoulders, but he thinks about it. He can’t picture Inosuke with some other omega, nor beta, for what matters. He’s too rough and feral, he has never heard him complimenting Tanjiro, but somehow the omega doesn’t seem to care. Still, Inosuke sounds protective, but not possessive.

He’s about to reply something clever (in his mind it sounded like that), but he shuts up when Inosuke jumps over a boar and Tanjiro cold-bloodedly throws it his knife and then shoots it an arrow right after. The boar jumps in pain, almost making Inosuke fall, but Tanjiro jumps over the boar too, holding it in place.

When the animal is finally dead, they are all covered in dust, blood and leaves.

“You almost hit me, Tontaro” Inosuke sounds amused.

“I’m sorry, Inosuke! I've lost practice”

“Whose fault is that?” Inosuke is testing the waters, is it fine to joke about the issue already?

“Shut up, Inosuke!” Tanjiro is blushing when he pushes him, Inosuke smirks.

“Fine, underling. I’ll train you again” Zenitsu tilts his head confused. Did Inosuke just called Tanjiro underling?  “I can’t trust you to don’t die if I’m not here, and that’s not acceptable”

“As you say, Inosuke” Tanjiro seems happy and Zenitsu doesn’t understand their dynamic at all. He guesses they’re finally getting used to each other, as it should have been since the beginning, with no pressure for heirs or fertility treatments.

Just remind him not to got walking to the forest with them again, they were only picking mushrooms and ended up hunting a fucking boar.

Chapter Text

Inosuke brings back a wild chicken from one of his hunting trips. Kyojuro saved it and though Inosuke told him to kill it so they could have more food, he told him they didn't need more food and brought it with them. Giyuu wasn't exactly thrilled with the idea to carry a chicken all the way back home, but provided them with a place for the chicken to stay (an empty basket).

"W-what am I supposed to do with it?" Tanjiro is confused, the feathered animal stares at him as soon as he opens the basket. "Inosuke..."

"Don't look at me like that, Monjiro! Tomioka made me promise the damn chicken wouldn't be our dinner" Tanjiro tries to pet the animal, but it tries to bite him "But if you want me to kill it, I'll say it was my fault" Tanjiro shakes his head, though he feels slightly endeared. To think that his mate will blame himself if Tanjiro finally decides he doesn’t want the chicken as a pet.

"No, it's ok. We can have it, but I'm afraid it would have to stay in the basket until I build him a place to stay"

“Yeah, do what you want”

Inosuke doesn’t know how to take care of chickens, and it seems Tanjiro doesn’t know either. They have to visit a few members of the pack to ask about basic care for a chicken.

“If we don’t kill it, we are ready for a child, Inosuke” the phrase leaves Tanjiro’s mouth smoothly, neither of them think about the meaning a lot and Inosuke only groans “Do you think we can do it?”

“I’m sure you’ll do great, Tontaro” and Inosuke means it. He has never doubted Tanjiro’s skills, he was more than capable of taking care of his sister when they were both children, he’s sure he can take care of anything he desires, let it be a child or a chicken.

“You’re helping me, Inosuke” Inosuke isn’t fond of the idea, he has only hunted animals in his life, he has never taken care of them.

“I don’t know what you expect me to do, Monjiro” still, he isn’t disagreeing.

“I think it needs more straw on the roof, Kentaro” Inosuke observes while Tanjiro brings dry grass and piles it beside the hen house his mate is building. To his surprise, the alpha is very good at building things, even if he doesn’t have basic knowledge about engineering. “It will keep it comfortable”

“Watch your fingers, Inosuke” Inosuke is careless, as always.

“I know what I’m doing, idiot! Don’t give me orders!” Inosuke is flustered, he still doesn’t know what to do when Tanjiro takes care of him “Hold this here, underling. And then tie it” Tanjiro is absolutely better at building hen houses (or anything in general). “Keep on, underling. I’ll help you with the other stuff”

“Inosuke-” Tanjiro shakes his head, his mate is really clever, or maybe he has good timing. Probably, he did it without realizing that the remaining parts of the hen house are heavier than the other he already brought, but it’s nice for Tanjiro not having to worry about hurting his pack. “Don’t forget the straw”

Taking care of a nameless chicken seems to be a good hobby for Tanjiro. Inosuke is thankful to Kyojuro for bringing back his old mate (they met and have been together since they were teenagers. As Zenitsu said, no other beta or omega was up to spending time with Inosuke or receiving his courting gift, not that he offered them often either. Let's just say that Tanjiro won Inosuke since he cheerfully received a dead bird and thanked him for that. What did he do with the dead animal? Probably cooked it and fed Nezuko with it too, Zenitsu doesn't like to think about that).

"If you find lettuce on your trip, bring it back. He seems to enjoy it" Tanjiro didn't bother in naming the chicken since Inosuke would forget it, but he does know he's a male (he asked Kanao).

"Do you think it's lonely?" Inosuke doesn't care about the gender (chickens don't care about that either, he said). "Maybe I can find some other chicken somewhere-"

"I don't think he cares about it, but if you find some abandoned chicken you're welcome to bring it here" Tanjiro is making sure the boar mask is placed correctly, he also has Inosuke weapons on his hands, ready to hand them to him. "I prepared you some lunch-" Aoi said it makes the hunter's flustered, but they are thankful for having something to eat made by their mates. "Be sure to give some to Rengoku-san and Tomioka-san"

"I think they already know you're thankful, Gengoro" Inosuke displays a playful smirk and Tanjiro hits him with one of the swords. The alpha doesn't complain, still smirking.

"Aren't you late already?" Inosuke laughs before pulling Tanjiro into a rough kiss.

"See you later, Tontaro" he leaves their foreheads pressed together for a while, as a way to say 'I love you' to Tanjiro, he's not really good with words. "Try not to die while I'm not here"

"You too"

"This is getting out of hand, Tanjiro" Zenitsu looks panicked in the middle of an ocean of chickens making noises around him. Inosuke is carrying back to the corral a midsize black goat, recently showered.

"I think they're cute" of course Nezuko approves this, with how much Tanjiro needs to do to take care of their animals and garden, he barely has time to think about some other issue. "Maybe we can have some too"

"Absolutely not!" Zenitsu is scared of being bitten or pursued. He doesn't move from his spot when Tanjiro brings a basket with seeds for the chickens. "We have enough with helping Tanjiro!"

"What are you helping with, stupid Monitsu?" Inosuke looks menacing, shirtless under the sunlight, sweating, his long hair picked in a high bun (Tanjiro's doing without doubt) and pointing at him with a sickle, frowning "You've been just screaming the whole day! You're a coward!"

"Repeat it back, idiot!"

"It seems that apart from being a coward, you're also deaf! Stupid Kenichi" Nezuko chuckles, she enjoys watching these two fight. She just hopes this doesn't change when she finally mates Zenitsu in a few months.

"Inosuke, leave him alone" of course, Inosuke ignores Tanjiro and starts running behind him, and he's not satisfied until he traps him in one of the hen houses, laughing like a maniac "Inosuke!"

"A little bit higher!" Tanjiro yells, trying not to shiver, but watching Inosuke shirtless getting wet with cold water under the pouring doesn't make it better.

"Go inside, Gonpachiro! I have this!" one of the ceilings of the hen house was totally destroyed by the wind, and they're trying to repair it, but with all that raining is impossible "You're gonna get sick!" Tanjiro doesn't want to leave Inosuke alone but he knows he's right "Go back inside, I'll be fine!"

Tanjiro follows his command and gets inside the hut, worried.

A few minutes later, Inosuke comes back with some hens and chickens. He leaves the hut again, and brings some more, including the rooster.

"They're all"

"Are they sleeping here tonight?"

"Any better idea, Takiro? It's pouring and they're going to die! We can't leave them outside!" Tanjiro understands. They're part of their pack, and as the alpha, Inosuke cares for all the members, humans or not. He smiles, before shaking his head.

"I'll make a nest for them, go dry yourself" Inosuke frowns "Fine, I'll do it, but take off your clothes"

"Kinky~" Tanjiro rolls his eyes.

Chapter Text

During his tracking, Inosuke finds some members of the rival clan, including the pale black-haired one with red eyes, responsible for Tanjiro’s inability to conceive. His opportunity to avenge his mate has arrived and for the first time he doesn’t know what to do.

Don't misunderstand him, if the circumstances were other, he would have kill the source of Tanjiro's suffering in a blink, but he’s alone, with no back-up from his clan, and though the man seems old, he wouldn’t trust he won’t be able to fight back and probably kill Inosuke (considering he killed almost Tanjiro’s whole family). It freezes him on the spot.

They are walking along the river, probably looking for the best place to set a fish trap. The group of hunters doesn't seem to realize Inosuke's presence at all.

After some minutes, they start to leave. Inosuke thinks about what he should do next (he's not very good at thinking, though. His instinct guides every and each one of his decisions – that includes mating Tanjiro, obviously).

"I'm nuts" he says to himself as a little voice in his head, that sounds suspiciously like Genya's, confirms him that he's indeed crazy, when he's already covering his face with his mask and preparing himself to follow the clan to wherever they go.

To be honest, Inosuke never imagined he would be face to face with the rival clan that killed Tanjiro's family, but he's thankful his mate is not here. How would Tanjiro react to it? Back then he was a child, he would probably be scared. Would he also be scared now? Tanjiro is stronger now, he's very good with tools and weapons. Would he attack them? Would he forgive them?

Inosuke at least doesn't need to worry about protecting Tanjiro and he can focus himself on his revenge.

"You fucking-" his aura is absolutely murderous. Inosuke wants to kill the way other animals kill to protect their families against danger, even when Tanjiro is not endangered anymore. He wants to be able to cause the same hurt they caused his mate, he wants them to suffer what Tanjiro suffered for years.

He keeps following them to their village, very close to the river. Inosuke is far from his own home, looking for traces of beavers. However, he's not lost, his espacial orientation makes him the best tracker in his clan, and he's able to remember every place he has been, each special characteristic the land has, which makes him perfect to plan traps and hunting strategies.

"If only the idiot was here" he regrets. His best friend Genya would have helped him to get into the village in silence to kill the old hunter, but he would have also told him that was an awful idea and that Tanjiro wouldn't approve it. Inosuke now growls at the imaginary conversation. "Stupid Gonpachiro"

Of course his mate wouldn't be fine with him killing someone, no matter how much harm they did him (Tanjiro's is just so pure, bless him) and no matter that his mate isn't here with him, he doesn't want to make him mad (Tanjiro is still able to smell the scent of blood even after Inosuke has washed himself in the river).

Inosuke stops when they finally reach the village, and he follows them at a safe distance to identify where the old man lives.

They reach the high part of the village, at the beginning of the mountain, and Inosuke can't help his devious smirk when he finds they have chickens.

"Do you honestly want me to believe you found this by the river, Inosuke?" Tanjiro squints, poking Inosuke, covered in dirt, leaves and feathers. His back is all scratched in unknown marks and he smells like something the red haired has smelled somewhere, but he doesn't remember where or when.

"I promise, Monjiro" Inosuke is smirking, clear proof that he's lying. Tanjiro worries that he stole chickens from other members of the pack, but no one has this specific color and-

"Is that a swan, Inosuke?" a larger bird appears from the basket, this one, contrary to the others that looks like a dirty mix of black and white, it's completely white. "Where did you get them?"

"I already told you I found them by the river, I just trapped them" Inosuke's pupils always grow wider when he lies, but this time his green irises remain the same, Tanjiro is confused, Inosuke's smirk deepens. He's technically not lying, he found them inside the hut of Tanjiro's attacker by the river and he trapped them in a basket to steal them. "They deserved a better home, so I brought them to you"

"I don't know how to take care of swans, Inosuke"

"It's just a bigger chicken, it's not too hard"

"I don't think that's how it works, Inosuke" Inosuke seems tired, how long did he walk with an injured leg to bring him one of his courting gifts? (they're mates, he shouldn't be bringing courting gifts anymore). Tanjiro appreciates the effort, even if he doesn't approve of the method, so he accepts the gift with a soft smile "They're cute, let's find them a place then. I don't think they will fit in the hen house we built a few months ago"

"I'll bring wood to build it, Tontaro!" the omega chuckles, Inosuke already running to the forest with an axe on his hand "Get them inside because it's going to rain soon!" and to think Inosuke wasn't happy with the idea of having chickens, but Tanjiro has found him talking to them when he feeds them, taking care of them (in his own rough way) and running behind them like a crazy man, laughing maniacally in pure glee.

They aren't food anymore, even if they don't have names.

"Bring us some berries, alpha!"

"I will, but not because you're ordering me, Tanjiro!"

the pleasant smell of pride coming out of Inosuke is distinguishable even at the distance Tanjiro is.

"Tell me the truth, Inosuke. I know you didn't catch them in the wild" Genya can read him like an open book, Inosuke should have known he would ask at some point.

"Promise me not to tell your woman" Genya smirks and Inosuke frowns. "At least don't let Ganjiro know the real story" he sounds concerned, so Genya puts on a serious face, he offers his hand.

"Promise" Inosuke shakes it, in agreement.

"I'm positively surprised you didn't kill the fucking bastard" Genya sounds furious and he wonders how mad Inosuke must have been at that moment. "I would have taken out his guts and spread them out in the whole village" Inosuke smiles at the thought, but then shakes his head.

"I wanted to tear him into pieces, slowly, painfully. Make him suffer before I cut him into small slices I would feed the squirrels with, but that wouldn't bring back what Kentaro lost, also he wouldn't approved, so I thought-"

"You think?" Inosuke throws a rock at his face that Genya catches and laughs.

"I thought" the shorter alpha continues "The asshole seemed to love his chicken, probably not as much as Monjiro loved his family, so I'm taking his happiness away to gift it to my mate"

"Mating did you well, Inosuke"

"Ah?! What are you talking about?!" 

"Forget it. Let's go back or Aoi and Tanjiro will come looking for us"

"Where the fuck are my chickens, Daki?!" the elder hunter is absolutely enraged when he finds there are no eggs for his breakfast. "Your only job was taking care of them"

"A boar-man stole them" the girl answers in a shriek.

"What in the world are you talking about?! Listen to yourself, a boar-man doesn't exist, idiot!"

"But it's true…" she pouts.

"Muzan-sama, she's not lying. I saw it too, it caught them in a basket mumbling something about revenge for its mate, fought with one of the swans and left the place all covered in feathers"

"Gyutaro, lying is bad. Don't lie to protect your sister. Just tell me already you forgot to close the door again-"

"We're not lying-"

"Enough! Go hunt some other chickens and bring my breakfast, I don't care if you need to steal eggs from some nest, I need them for being functional"

Chapter Text

"Isn't it working, Tontaro?" Tanjiro jumps from his chair, slightly startled. He barely manages to catch the broken pieces before they fall or they would be crushed into smaller pieces, something that wouldn't be fixable anymore.

"Inosuke" he calls his partner, leaving the pieces over his table "What have I told you about interrupting me when I'm in the workshop?"

"Not to?" Inosuke offers a crooked apologetic smile and Tanjiro sighs. He doesn't know why he bothers anymore.

"What is it, Inosuke?"

"The other alphas want you to come hunting with us"

"Do they really?" Tanjiro doesn't believe him. It wouldn't be the first time Inosuke lies to him to take him hunting. "Or will it be like the time we went to catch frogs?" ah, the frogs. Inosuke has the decency of blushing before he folds his arms over his chest.

"No, not like the frog time, I promise"

The frog episode started with Inosuke deciding it was a good idea to take Tanjiro with him. Inosuke sort of forgot omegas weren't allowed in frog hunting because their scent allured frogs.

That wouldn't be bad per se, but when you're in an open field covered in ponds where thousands of frogs can (and will) jump at you at any given opportunity it starts to get dangerous.

To sum up, Tanjiro was there to hunt but he ended up being used as bait and the alphas caught a feast for the tribe. The outcome was beneficial but Tanjiro hates frogs now (he's traumatized, poor thing).

"Rengoku was the one who asked you to come, indeed. He knows you like hunting and that your sister's mating ceremony will be soon, so we're taking you with us so you can get a nice present for her" Inosuke's voice is still loud but he sounds confused, not really knowing how one thing is related to the other.

Tanjiro understands the subtle insinuation. He forgot about the tradition of gifting a newly mated couple something useful because neither he nor Inosuke have alive mated relatives who can give them anything. But with Nezuko the story is different, she has him. And now Tanjiro has to think about her present.

"Dear gods! I totally forgot" Tanjiro feels guilty for not remembering that little something.

"Forgot what?"

"We're supposed to give them something useful for their new life, Inosuke" the alpha tilts his head.

"Ah?! Why?!"

"Because we're their family" Tanjiro tries to explain, but Inosuke isn't convinced. Tanjiro knows what's going through his head and it feels like a stab in his chest. Why did no one give us anything then? "We didn't receive anything because we don't have any other family, Inosuke" his voice breaks as soon as the words leave his mouth and Inosuke relaxes his posture to hug him, even when he's still frowning.

"I knew that, stupid Kentaro" his voice is also a hurt whisper. Tanjiro thinks that maybe Inosuke also misses his family, and with the chance of having their own big family taken, there's really nothing he can do to comfort him. "We didn't need anything, though! I provided you with anything you needed! That makes me a good alpha!" Inosuke is loud again as he rubs his eyes to wipe away the tears roughly.

"The best alpha" he whispers, and Inosuke stops to press a clumsy kiss over the red haired's forehead.

"What kind of present will we get, Hanataro?"

"It's a tradition to give food or something for the house, maybe some furs? I don't know if I'll have time to prepare them, though. The ceremony will be in three weeks, when are you leaving?"

"We're parting tomorrow"

"Tomorrow... Wait, what do you mean 'we'?"

"I told eyes-like-plates you accepted beforehand so we're leaving tomorrow. I just told you because you need to prepare your weapons and something for the journey because it's a four days long trip"

"Inosuke, you idiot! What about my chickens?! I need to feed them!"

"Ah, right. The chickens. Uh, don't know, ask Monitsu to take care of them" Inosuke shrugs his shoulders. The blond beta can take care of the chickens for a few days, right?

Inosuke hates to wake up early, even if it's for going hunting, and he loves hunting (almost as much as he loves Tanjiro). Today they have to leave early and his morning is a little bit better because even when he sun hasn't raised already and it will take a while for it, his hut is already filled with the delicious scent of Tanjiro cooking them breakfast.

"You're finally awake, Inosuke. I was hoping you stayed asleep so we didn't need to leave and I could take care of my chickens"

"You wish, Tanjiro" Inosuke growls in a hoarse voice that sends shivers through Tanjiro's spine (don't tell anyone, but Inosuke's deep voice can send Tanjiro over the edge at the right moment, it's a plus if his name it's said correctly).

"Get up now so I don't need to eat alone, Inosuke" the alpha still growls protesting, but he does as he is told since he knows his mate hates eating alone as much as he hates waking up early.

"You didn't need to do this, we can eat something on the way"

"Tea, eggs and bread will always be better than wild berries" and that Inosuke concedes to him.

"Kamado boy, it's good to see you're doing fine!" Kyojuro's voice is always loud, louder than Inosuke's and that's something. His partner, Tomioka Giyuu couldn't be more different if he wished, always quiet, even to omega standards. "You aren't scared of frogs anymore?"

"I'm-"

"He's brave, he's not afraid of anything!" Inosuke offers and Kyojuro smiles widely, Giyuu rolls his eyes.

"Don't worry, my boys. We're not going to see any frogs on our trip"

"Where are the others?" Tanjiro asks since there are only the four of them.

"What others?" Kyojuro doesn't fade his smile, but he doesn't know what the omega is talking about. "Didn't the boar boy tell you it was only going to be the four of us?" Tanjiro shakes his head.

"Isn't it dangerous to only have three hunters in a hunting group?"

"Kamado boy, we're not only three, we're four!"

"But I'm not-"

"You are not too disappointing" Giyuu offers as an explanation and Kyojuro laughs, nodding. "Hunters don't invite useless people to their hunts" Tanjiro looks at Inosuke for reassurance, but he seems oddly proud. The omega thinks then this is some sort of compliment.

"A-alright. Let's go then" hunters certainly aren't as good with words as they are with their weapons.

Tanjiro has his bow ready in case he sees something that catches his eye, but the alphas don't seem to care about small prey.

"If I were you, I'd save my arrows for later" Kyojuro offers. He's walking side to side with his mate (Tanjiro has never seen a couple of two alphas apart from them), so he turns around to look at Tanjiro. "The real treasure is at our destination. This is the place we came looking for my brother's present"

"Thanks, Rengoku-san" he saves his bow and arrow. Inosuke is walking slightly behind him, picking stuff.

"Here" Inosuke gives him a handful of small bright colorful stones in odd shapes, one of them looks like a heart "They remind me of you" Tanjiro smiles.

"I'll make a collar with them once we get back"

Bear fur is the most precious possession one could have. It's warm and it protects you from smaller animals due to the odor, there's no better present than bear fur. Hunting one it's difficult though.

"Boar boy! Shoot him!" it's a big animal, and females are dangerous when they're taking care of their cubs. Thankfully (or whatever) it is not mating season, and this one is a male. "Kamado boy, you'll need to take it down!"

Kyojuro is guiding them while he's also attacking from a shorter distance (he's really good with swords). His mate Giyuu is also trying to take the bear down from a shorter distance, trying to guide it to the trap they set without being dragged to the river.

"Rengoku-san! Watch out!" Kyojuro lost one eye in one of the huntings and he lost peripheral vision. Inosuke didn't want to tell him what happened, but it caused him a big X shaped scar on his chest. He said they were lucky to be alive with that little damage.

"Focus on taking him to the trap!" Giyuu yells slightly exasperated, but still with his usual calm tone "Kyojuro, I'm going to drag it, watch my back" before the eldest alpha can answer, Giyuu already took a rope and threw it to one of its hands and starts to pull.

"Giyuu!"

"Keep going, I'm fine" the bear growls and Tanjiro feels exhausted. He knows nothing will go to waste, but he always felt sad about taking some other animal's life. "Tanjiro, shoot"

They're already over the trap, once the bear steps on it it will be activated and he'll have to kill it. He will need to shoot right on his neck to numb it.

"When Kamado boy numbs it, you'll slice its throat boar boy! You know where the artery is?" Inosuke nods, also exhausted "Good! On my count!" Giyuu can't keep fighting the bear to avoid its claws "One!" Tanjiro prepares his arrow, Tomioka starts to loosen the rope "Two!" Inosuke takes his position at the other side of the bear, Kyojuro gets ready to push his partner out of the trap "Three!"

Giyuu loosens the rope completely and the bear steps on the trap, raising it. Tanjiro shoots right through its neck, numbing it for a mere second before Inosuke slices the artery and the blood starts to flow in a red river.

"Good work, everyone!" Giyuu stands up form the ground and Kyojuro goes to check if he's alright. Inosuke does the same with Tanjiro, who is shaking.

"First big prey?" he asks, Tanjiro nods. He has never killed something so big in his life and it felt awful. Poor animal, it didn't want to go. "If you don't like this, we will never do it again" Inosuke trained for this his whole life, he's used to it now. Tanjiro nods, he wouldn't do it again to save his life. "If you want, I'll skin it and cut it for you, so you only need to prepare the fur and dry the meat"

"Thank you, Inosuke" he's about to kiss his mate when he smells the other alphas, offering him some sweet scented flowers to calm him.

"You were so brave, Tanjiro. We're so proud" Tanjiro smiles shyly at the elder alpha. "I know you haven't trained for this, and being an omega you probably hated every minute of it since killing is not in your nature, but your sister will be very thankful you got him such a nice present"

"Thank you Rengoku-san, Tomioka-san. It means a lot"

"We won't tell anyone about our great adventure, don't worry about having to repeat it again" Giyuu offers.

"But you're surely invited to any other hunting you'd like to come, Kamado boy!" and so they leave, leaving Tanjiro and Inosuke alone again. Inosuke smirks knowingly.

"What?"

"You're already one of us, Kentaro" Tanjiro shakes his head as he laughs nervously.

Chapter Text

Surprisingly enough, the big day doesn't make Tanjiro nervous. It should have, considering that his only sister is in a way leaving his side and mating with Zenitsu, making their family officially bigger. However it probably helped that Inosuke was with him during the whole process of his sister's mating, since the selection, courting (that happened when Inosuke was also courting him), hunting a bear for the gift, skinning it and preparing the meat.

“Do you not take the gifts with you, Tontaro?” Inosuke doesn’t know much about mating ceremonies, though he participated in one already. It’s justified because their case was different, Nezuko and Zenitsu were waiting for them, and with them being unmated, they had no obligation to give Inosuke and Tanjiro anything.

“No, we’ll give it to them later, after the ceremony has finished, Inosuke”

“Do you need me to bring them outside the hut?”

“No, this is for later, much later, after Zenitsu claims Nezuko” Tanjiro clarifies and Inosuke nods, but there's still something that doesn't seems right with him “Is there something bothering you, Inosuke?” the alpha folds his arms over his chest and frowns.

“I won’t help Kenitsu to prepare himself for the mating ritual” Tanjiro arches an eyebrow.

“Why would you do that?” the elder shrugs his shoulders, suddenly confused. “You don’t remember much about our mating ritual, do you?” It’s not that. He thought that if Tanjiro was going to help his sister to get ready for the big day, he should do the same with Zenitsu, given that he’s going to be part of the family. “He needs some time alone because he’ll perform the claiming, it’s some sort of purifying ritual. You can't be there because you're an alpha, even if you're mated”

“I knew that” Tanjiro rolls his eyes.

“Sure, Inosuke” the alpha still looks uncomfortable. “What is it now? It’s getting late and I need to leave...”

“Sit” Inosuke commands using a soft voice and to emphasize his order, he pushes Tanjiro down to make him sit over their bed. Tanjiro starts to protest, but Inosuke starts to braid his hair clumsily. The red haired stays still, surprised. Inosuke struggles with Tanjiro’s hair mumbling how Genya’s hair was easier to braid, probably because it is longer (and Tanjiro can’t take off his mind the mental picture of two alphas sitting together at the edge of the river, Inosuke braiding Genya’s hair so he could do the same with Tanjiro later, and he feels endeared).

It’s not the same soft way Nezuko combs his hair, but somehow it is definitely better.

“There” Inosuke finishes, using his own ribbon (the one he uses to tie his long hair).

“Thanks, Inosuke”

“You don’t need to worry about your appearance anymore. Take good care of your sister”

“I’ll do that”

“Just to clarify... I don’t take the bear with me, right?” Tanjiro shakes his head again. “You’ll tell me when to take it? Or you’ll take it?” Tanjiro is more than capable of bringing it to his sister himself, Inosuke understands that the omega doesn’t need him at all, but he still likes to help.

“I’ll tell you, Inosuke. Don’t worry”

“Can I take my mask to the ceremony?” after months and months and months, Inosuke finally learned to ask before doing something socially unacceptable. Before mating Tanjiro, Genya was his reference, but since his mate seems to know more about socializing, he finally came to terms with the idea of asking him.

“Will you feel alright with it?” Tanjiro usually takes Inosuke’s likings into consideration when it comes to rules. If his introverted mate doesn’t want to show his face, who is Tanjiro to make him do what he doesn’t want? “Nezuko wouldn’t mind if you take it, and neither would Zenitsu” Inosuke frowns with the boar mask still in his hands, deciding if he should wear it or not. “It’s part of yourself, I don’t think no one would mind, alpha”

“Don’t call me that, Kanjiro! You’re making me feel giddy!” Inosuke blushes and Tanjiro smiles softly.

“Alright, sorry. I’ll be leaving now so you can get ready too” the alpha knows the glare his mate is giving him, he just doesn’t want to acknowledge it. Tanjiro doesn’t leave though, and despite his best intentions, he needs to talk.

“Wash myself, right?” Tanjiro is scary when he’s politely making him do stuff. The mask is totally allowed, but reeking like a wet dog is an absolute no-no.

“Wash yourself, Inosuke. I’ll see you later in front of the hut. Alpha” that was on purpose, the black haired man yells when the omega closes the door, smirking. Of course.

"You look gorgeous, Nezuko" the omega woman jumps slightly startled and turns around to find his brother, looking at her from the entrance.

"Tanjiro, you're here. Come in"

"I wouldn't miss this day for anything in the world" he walks towards her and Nezuko meets him halfway and they hug each other "How do you feel?"

"Nervous, but also very excited" her voice is just a whisper. Tanjiro feels her shivering under his arms and he remembers the day when Nezuko finally woke up after that awful day when their family died. She was in the medical hut he also was. Tanjiro was too shocked to cry at the loss of his family, but not enough to not take care of his sister. He also hugged her like this and Nezuko was also shivering. Really curious how times change.

"You'll do fine, I'm sure Zenitsu will be very happy with you" Tanjiro releases his embrace and kisses the top of her forehead.

"Thanks, onii-chan" only then Nezuko notices his messy hair and she chuckles. "Do you want me to make that better for you?" but Tanjiro shakes his head.

"Inosuke did them, he practiced and all" that seems to stop Nezuko from doing anything "Today is only for you, Nezuko" she smiles as she nods. Tanjiro takes out a folded piece of clothing from under his haori and Nezuko wonders what that is. "Inosuke wasn't the only one practicing things for today" he unfolds the cloth to reveal a basic set of makeup, just something for the eyes, the cheeks and the lips.

"Tell me you practiced on Aoi-san" Tanjiro shakes his head, holding a laughter "Poor Inosuke"

"He didn't mind" and Inosuke indeed didn't, the sensation of Tanjiro drawing over him felt like the beginning of his alpha training, when Kyojuro or Tengen would do his painting. "Shall we begin then?" Nezuko nods.

Tanjiro first combs Nezuko’s hair and braids it in a single braid. Nezuko has her eyes closed as Tanjiro sings the same soothing song he sang when they were kids, it always gives Nezuko some sort of relief and oftentimes, she finds herself humming it, so she hums along.

“Please keep your eyes closed, Nezuko”

“Sorry”

“It must have been awful to leave this hut alone” when they leave, Nezuko is holding Tanjiro’s arm.

“You were there with me, Nezuko” he says condescending.

“Yes, but I couldn’t take part in the ritual as you did” Tanjiro stops walking to stare at his sister and Nezuko feels exposed. “I know, you don’t care about that, but I’m sorry you couldn’t have a normal experience for once-” Tanjiro chuckles and shakes his head.

“I’m not normal and I don’t have a normal life, Nezuko. Have you seen my mate? It’s a fierce beast” Nezuko blinks, confused. “Destiny works in mysterious ways. Do you think that if we hadn't had the accident that day we would have met our mates? If Zenitsu wasn’t abandoned in our village, he would have married some alpha since people in his village tends to pair betas with alphas”

“I’m glad you get to experience the whole experience though, even from the other side” Tanjiro gives her a bright smile.

“There you are, Kentaro! I’ve been waiting forever!” Inosuke isn’t wearing his mask, and his hair is tied with practiced ease in a ponytail at the back of his head, with some of the shorts hairs framing his face and Tanjiro suddenly decides that Inosuke probably will need a haircut soon.

"Don't be absurd, Inosuke. We're on time. It's you that it's excessively impatient"

"What?! I'm not impatient, Gonpachiro!" by this moment, Tanjiro let go of Nezuko's arm to talk with his mate. Nezuko chuckles and that brings them back to reality. Tanjiro glares at Inosuke who apologizes "Sorry" he doesn't call her by her name, afraid of messing something up, however he clumsily puts a pink flower behind her ear, blushing.

"This is not part of the ritual, Inosuke" Tanjiro comments fondly.

"Mom had one of these when she mated, she told me. I barely remember her, but I remember the flowers. It's for good luck" he's making that up to justify himself, but Nezuko only smiles.

"Thank you, Inosuke. You're really a good alpha, taking care of your family" that makes Inosuke feel oddly proud. Tanjiro pulls Inosuke back slowly, noticing that Kagaya has arrived and it's time for them to stay behind.

"Go already, Nezuko. We'll be here when you get out"

They find a nice tree to rest while they wait. Inosuke pulls Tanjiro's head over his lap and starts talking about random tracing adventures in a soft voice (as soft as Inosuke, who always yells, can manage). He takes the rest of Tanjiro's loose hairs to braid them too.

Tanjiro closes his eyes, focusing on Inosuke's words and fingers on his head.

"And guess what? The mother fucking bird crawled and uncovered me and I had to run away from a furious flock of crows" Tanjiro chuckles slightly, imagining Inosuke running for his life, yelling at the crows. "It was scary at that time, but I only got the scar over my left shoulder"

Tanjiro hums, he knows that, the alpha has told him the story a million times, but he still loves to hear it.

Nezuko and Zenitsu leave the hut when the ritual finishes, smelling like the other and Inosuke raises his head to look at them.

"They finished" he whispers to the red haired.

"Let's give them our good wishes and then we come back home, there's nothing else to do here for now" the alpha helps his mate to lift his head carefully and then to stand up. They walk towards the new couple but they meet them halfway.

"Nezuko, Zenitsu" Tanjiro starts, taking their hands. He opens his mouth to say something, but Zenitsu interrupts him before that.

"Good luck in your new mated life, Tanjiro, Inosuke" the alpha of the group doesn't know what's going on, so he frowns. The elder omega is lost too.

"We're supposed to give you good luck because you're the new couple, not us, stupid Monitsu" the blond beta rolls his eyes, but refrains himself from yelling.

"We know that. But we decided that since no one wished you something good when you mated because you didn't have alive relatives to do that for you, when we were finally a mated couple we would do that first" Tanjiro starts to cry silently and Inosuke feels it, so he decides to hug his back.

"You can proceed now, onii-chan"

"Yes, sorry. Good luck in your new life. We wish you a life full of happiness-"

"And full bellies" Inosuke adds, leaning his head over Tanjiro's shoulders. Nezuko chuckles as Tanjiro smiles apologetically.

"Yes, that too. We'll leave you now so you can- Where are you going?"

"To your hut? Duh" Zenitsu offers, but the red haired doesn't understand.

"You need to be together tonight"

"And we'll be. But we want to spend the first night with our family too. We'll have the rest of our lives for us" Nezuko explains.

"That's against the tradition" Tanjiro wants to know what's going on.

"So it was to not mate on the first night, but here you are. Nothing has happened to you, right?" Zenitsu is impatient, already wanting to look at the beautiful bear fur they're going to give them (it should be a secret but considering Kyojuro was involved in the hunt, everyone in the village knows). "Well, are you inviting us to your hut or not?"

"Family is always welcome, coward" Inosuke growls and Zenitsu rolls his eyes.

"Thank you, boar breath. Can you lead the way?" the alpha huffs but turns around, pulling his mate's wrist in the direction of their hut, with Zenitsu and Nezuko walking behind them.

Chapter Text

Inosuke comes back to their hut with a basket of recently washed furs, still dripping water and leaving a visible trace. Tanjiro is chopping firewood outside his workshop and he smiles as soon as he glances at his mate appearing in his visual field. Inosuke smirks back, given that he can't wave his hand as he usually does when they greet each other from afar (his hands are busy now).

"Are you done, Inosuke?"

"Isn't that too much firewood, Tontaro?" Inosuke tends to not answer the questions asked, but he only sounds intrigued, now used to his mate antiques "Winter is not starting any time soon" and it's true, it's only the end of August, autumn is not even here yet. Did he really spend that much time washing?

"We will be busy when winter comes, Inosuke. I'm just preparing-"

"Ah? Why would we be busy?" he is the same. Inosuke keeps feral even if he's slightly domestic now. "It's not different from the other years" they're twenty-seven now. Nothing has really changed between the two of them, except that Inosuke doesn't really spend much time with Genya anymore, since his friend is busy taking care of his new baby.

"Really, Inosuke? Think again" Tanjiro can't believe how oblivious the alpha is. Inosuke puts the basket on the ground, focusing on trying to remember. Some chickens run around him, but he ignores them. Tanjiro also leaves his axe on the ground as he takes the basket with the still wet furs to hang them so they can dry. He hisses at the cold sensation of the garments but he forgets about complaining when Inosuke growls in frustration. The chickens now follow him and Tanjiro turns his head to help him, but Inosuke raises his hand.

"Stupid Monjiro, don't tell me! Of course I didn't forget!" Tanjiro only smiles at him before coming back to his task, with Inosuke behind, resolving to grab the axe and cut the wood, to see if he can pick up something. The chickens split their attention, half to Tanjiro and half to Inosuke who shoosh them, but neither of them leave.

The only sounds in the background are the chickens running around and fishing from some remaining seeds on the ground from the last time he fed them, Tanjiro tumbling with them each time he moves and Inosuke chopping wood. His first round of chickens are already grown and some became roosters and some became hens. They had eggs that grew and those are the ones he's taking care of now.

Inosuke is still chopping wood when Tanjiro finishes with the furs.

"Should I leave you so you can think better, alpha?" Tanjiro is mocking him,  Inosuke only rolls his eyes.

"Go feed your dumb chickens and take them away from me, Kentaro. And don't call me alpha just like that!" so many heats spent together and he still can't get used to the bubbling feeling that Tanjiro's words cause in his stomach. The red haired laughs and the alpha relaxes, slightly releasing the axe that ends escaping out of his hands. "Fuck" he fumes and Tanjiro only checks visually if his mate is fine, chuckling.

"It's okay if you don't remember, Inosuke. I can tell you what you are forgetting-" he doesn't want to hurt his pride, but he also doesn't want to be ignored the whole day because the elder is trying to remember something.

"Don't you dare, Tanjiro" his voice is a mere whisper, but the command is present. Tanjiro shivers slightly and nods, feeling the need to apologize but not doing it because he doesn't even know why he would be apologizing for.

At the end, it turns out that Tanjiro doesn't need to tell Inosuke anything.

The omega gets in their hut, tired of waiting for his mate to remember what he has told him a million times, telling him to be sure to get in before the sun goes down. Inosuke knows it is because he doesn’t want to be alone (Tanjiro hates to eat by himself).

He’s about to get in their hut, the chickens are already safe inside the henhouse and the firewood is already piled on a mountain that almost reaches his height, the axe resting over his shoulder and his eyebrows still frowning (he still can't remember why they will need that much wood).

“Inosuke, can I steal you for a few minutes?” Nezuko’s voice draws his attention and he turns his head around, focusing on her growing belly. The realization finally hits him in full force, making him slightly dizzy. He looks at the west just to see how much daylight he still has. “You don’t need to worry, it will only take a second. You’ll be with my brother in no time” she explains with a smile and Inosuke nods.

“What do you need-?” he pauses, not sure if he will say her name right. By the end, he decides to leave it like that.

“Zenitsu hasn’t returned and I seriously need to take out the pot from the fire” the alpha leaves the axe against the pile of wood.

“Please, lead the way. I’ll be right behind” his tone with her is always somewhat softer, he doesn’t even talk to Tanjiro like this, but she has something that makes Inosuke wants to protect her, and it has nothing to do with her being pregnant (maybe she reminds him of his mother). “Oh, wait Neruko!” the female omega turns around slowly “I’ll take some wood too”

“Oh, Inosuke, there’s really no need-”

“Tanjiro will kill me if I don’t” Nezuko has noticed that his brother-in-law oftenly says his brother’s name right when he isn’t present, maybe he calls him wrong it to bother him (and not because he’s genuinely confused anymore).

“Alright then, thank you Inosuke”

The sun is giving the last few rays of the day when Inosuke comes through the door.

“What did my sister want, Inosuke?”

“Why didn’t you remind me she is pregnant?!”

“You told me not to” Tanjiro explains cassually, shrugging his shoulders “Why was she here for?”

“Stupid Monitsu isn’t home to take off the fucking pot from the damn fire” he growls. Inosuke doesn’t certainly curse this much when he talks. Tanjiro scans him quickly.

“You got burned” is not a question. Inosuke’s hand is as red as his own hair. “I have told you countless times you need to be careful” his mate doesn’t answer. “Give me your hand”

“What are you going to do?!” Inosuke hisses in pain, trying to take away his hand.

“Help you? Seriously Inosuke, if you’re going to behave like a child I better call Shinobu-”

“Not her! She’s evil!”

“Kanao, then” Inosuke shakes his head. “Then stop complaining, it’s just some ointment”

The dinner happens in relative silence (Inosuke tends to be very noisy when he eats). Tanjiro uses the background noise as a distraction.

“Hey, Tanjiro. Are you ok?” Tanjiro blinks away his thoughts at his alpha’s serious voice.

“Why do you ask, alpha?” Tanjiro is using a defensive posture, Inosuke sighs before pointing out what he sees.

“You’re distracted. You don't like to eat cold food but you have barely touched it” Tanjiro knows that’s not what Inosuke wants to say, but after a few years it is still a sore topic for them to talk about Tanjiro’s infertility.

“I’m just tired” Inosuke rolls his eyes, it’s not that hard to read his mate. He stands up and walks behind him to massage his shoulders, trying to ease some of the omega’s feelings. “Do you seriously think I’m not a useless omega?”

“What gives you that impression?” the alpha’s voice is soothing.

“Everyone is having babies, and we’re here, all by ourselves...”

“You’re that lonely that you need a baby?” he asks, not offended in the slightest, his hands travel from Tanjiro’s shoulders to his neck and finally his hair.

“No, that’s not what I mean, Inosuke”

“I know what you mean, Tanjiro”

“It’s only-”

“I know, your sister” Tanjiro tries to choke back his tears while Inosuke keeps tenderly combing his hair. He doesn’t think about having children on his own, but sometimes he looks at Nezuko and thinks about what could have been, especially when Inosuke helps her (even in his own rough way) “I think she is more than willing to involve you in the baby’s growing-”

“It’s not the same”

“No, it’s not. But I don’t know what else to offer you other than a baby goat and steal a baby from the next village-” Tanjiro chuckles. It only takes this for Tanjiro to realize once again that Inosuke is with him because he loves him and he will do anything for him, even doing something against his will (he doesn't want to have kids, he has told him) to please him.

“A baby goat? Why a goat?”

“Are you more concerned why I’m giving you a goat than stealing someone else’s child?” Tanjiro chuckles again and Inosuke notices his mate is finally relaxed “You’re so dumb, Tontaro”

“You’re not going to say my name right anymore, Inosuke?”

“You don’t deserve it, idiot. And by the way, I found the goat in the forest, she was alone. I was only waiting for the right time to bring her in. Did it work?” for an answer, Tanjiro pulls him into a kiss.

“Now that I’m here" Inosuke cleared his throat "I want to ask if it’s alright-”

“I thought you wouldn’t say it at all, Inosuke” Nezuko rubbed her belly.

“What are you talking about?”

“Aren’t you offering to help with my pup? Tanjiro is very modest, he wouldn’t even comment on it, not even to you. Am I wrong?” Inosuke raised his eyebrow suspiciously. “The answer is yes, Inosuke. I would do anything for both of you, even if you wanted me to have your child-” Inosuke put his hand over Nezuko’s mouth.

“Don’t you dare” Nezuko smiled, still with Inosuke’s hand over her lips. When she didn't do anything else, Inosuke reluctantly let her go.

“Go home already, Inosuke. My brother should be worried by now”

Later, cuddling in their nest, Tanjiro wonders if helping his sister to raise their pup would be truly alright.

“Don’t worry, silly Kentaro. She will be more than happy with the help” Tanjiro turns his head.

“You already asked her, Inosuke” Inosuke only smirks and pecks his mate’s forehead.