sal

There's a brief pause of static on the other line before Lila answers with, "It couldn't possibly have been that bad." There's another break of silence, and then, "What was wrong with this one, anyways?"

It doesn't take much thought for Five to answer. "She was so dull. We spent half the date in silence, and not the good kind, either. And she kept complimenting my lips,” he adds, fingers unconsciously tugging up his collar, “which was creepy. Like, go for something normal like the hair or something.”

Five frowns and rakes his teeth over his bottom lip. Frankly, he’s grateful that he did not indulge that girl in her hope for a good night kiss from him. He could care less about what she wants out of him. "No more blind dates," he repeats again. "I can find my own dates, thank you very much."

"... If you could find your own dates, I wouldn't need to set you up." At this, Five rolls his eyes. But there's a truth to Lila's words, under all that snark—not that Five would ever give any of his siblings the satisfaction of admitting that aloud.

"I wouldn't be complaining if you picked a few people worth my while," Five mutters, unable to stop the obvious annoyance from trickling into his tone. "Where do you even find these people from, anyways? And why do you care so much about my love life?"

"But you don’t even have one," Lila replies, sounding just a little over frustrated. "Let’s just say we’re all getting a little tired of your snarkiness, maybe a girlfriend would help brighten your ass up."

Five rubs a hand over his face with a strangled sigh, because that's what’s important here. Now that the apocalypses have been successfully avoided, suddenly, finding himself a significant other is the highest priority? What a joke.

He's about to reply, when Lila continues, "But Allison said she has someone she thinks you'll really like. Someone who used to work with her." Five wrinkles his nose at the idea of another blind date. "This is the last one. I swear," She adds, like she can see the expression he is making.

"Lila, just leave me alone—"

"Just this one, last, time, okay? And then I'll leave you and your nonexistent love life alone."

Hesitation is still bubbling inside of him, stomach churning with uncertainty, but Lila sounds sincere enough. So maybe… that one last date couldn't hurt, considering how many he's been on up to this point. What’s another drop in the bucket?

Five pinches the bridge of his nose and lets out a soft, "Fine, fine, one more date," that makes his newfound best friend cheer loudly on the other line. If anything, it only makes him wince more.

"I'll give you the details soon. Oh, and, one more thing," Lila says when he's stopped making all that noise. Five hums in acknowledgement. "Leave the sassy attitude at home—you're never going to get any if your date can't sit through a whole dinner with you."

—

In the morning, he wakes up to his text inbox chock full. Every single message is from Lila, debriefing him on his lady of the night.

It's the same as most of the other messages Lila sends him when it comes to these blind dates. Name (L/N, Y/N), Age(—). The reservation is scheduled for 7:00PM tonight, and the address of the restaurant is attached near the bottom of the text message along with a threatening note that reads “you stand her up and i’ll make sure that you’ll never be able to stand up again — Allison x”.

Then, another message with a number of multi-colored heart emojis, like she’s trying to soften the blow. Typical women.

Tongue feeling like cotton in his mouth when he pushes himself to his feet, Five grumbles irritably, “I need new siblings.”

—

He gets to the restaurant first, a little earlier than planned. An annoying nervousness winds its way through him, and he isn’t sure why. He’s about 90% sure that this date will be just as boring as the rest of them. But he feels restless, long fingers tapping across the tabletop as he waits for you.

The longer he waits, the more he starts to feel annoyed. Seconds turn to a minute, then five, and he starts to wonder if he's being stood up when an unfamiliar voice asks, "Excuse me, are you … Five Hargeeves?"

"That would be me," he replies instinctively, craning his head up to see who's calling him. He half expects it to be the host, telling him you’re not showing up.

Instead, he is surprised when he's met with your strikingly pleasant face, lips curled into a kind smile and eyes strangely glinting under the lowlights of the restaurant. He blinks at you for a moment, until he realizes that he should probably say something. "And are you Y/N?" He manages to give you the most dazzling smile he can manage.

Standing over him, your smile does not waver, and you echo a soft, "That would be me."

Five grins wider to himself as he gets to his feet and holds out his hand in a friendly gesture. "In that case, it's very nice to meet you," he says, trying his best to be charming. You take his palm and give his hand a polite shake. Nice manners, soft hands, Five thinks distantly. I like that.

"I'm sorry I'm a little late," You say as you take your seat across from him, knotting your fingers together neatly. "I got held up at work and in traffic, and you know how that can be." Your tone is apologetic, and all of his previous distress melts away with the sincere upturn of your lips.

“Eh, it’s not that big a deal,” he assures you with a casual flick of his wrist, like he’s waving away the idea entirely. "At least you made it, right? That's what's important." He smiles again, fingers rubbing the side of his neck nervously. That’s strange, when was the last time he felt this churning feeling in his stomach that isn’t associated with danger?

You hum in agreement, lifting the menu. Then you look at him over the edge of the menu. "You're right," you say lightly. "I'm starving. Are you ready to order?"

Five nods, opening his menu as well. He grins, bright and genuine. "Ready if you are.”

—

The date is nothing short of spectacular. Five surprises himself with how much fun he has, laughing and speaking to you like it’s something he’s done time and time again. It’s scary, but a good type of scary. The kind that makes Five feel like things just might be looking up.

He drops you off on his front doorstep just moments before midnight, right on his heels until you reach your porch.

“So, this is the end of our night,” he says sincerely, turning to give you a grin. He has to look down at you to talk to you, but he thinks he does not mind the height difference at all. “I had fun.” It feels weird saying that aloud, but he means it.

You grin back, nodding politely, tucking your hands into your coat pockets. “It was fun,” you agree.

Five smiles wider back. This is it, he thinks, excited, this is the part where she asks me for a goodnight kiss and a second date. He waits for you to say it, for you to stare at him from under your lashes expectantly.

Except, you don’t.

You do, however, stand on the tip of your toes, high enough to give him a kiss, right on his cheek. Your lips are soft, and he can still feel the touch even after you’ve pulled back. “See you around, yeah?” you say, turning around to unlock your door after giving you a sincere smile.

He blinks, bewildered, before realizing you’re not even waiting for him to answer so he quickly replies, “Yeah.”

If you noticed something’s off about him, you did not say anything. You just give him the same smile and tells him to sleep well tonight. Then, you walk into your house and close the door in front of him.

Five stares at your door for a second before he turns around to go back home. Disappointment pools into his stomach, and he frowns, wrecking his brain to replay the date he just had. He can see the light turn on inside your house before he was pulled back into his thoughts.

—

For the second day in a row, Five wakes up to his phone buzzing loudly at his side. It makes him jump, cursing under his breath as he blinks blearily at the bright screen.

“Lila,” he spits bitterly as he gropes around his bedside table blindly for his phone.

He clicks his phone on, squinting at the bright light. The messages aren’t from Lila, but from Allison, which is odd. What could his sister possibly want at this hour of the day?

Curiously, he opens the message and sees a simple did you have fun last night? on the screen.

A part of him wants to lie, and say it was terrible. Mostly because the one person he has met through this series of blind dates who he is very interested in, didn’t seem to be interested in meeting up again (And I forgot to ask for her phone number so I can’t even reach out to her or anything, Five thinks begrudgingly) and because admitting he had fun would be like admitting defeat to everyone about the whole dating fiasco.

But this is Allison, and strangely Five does not have the resolve to be snarky today. So he replies with i did have a lot of fun. you have much better taste than Lila. He hits send and kicks off his covers, staring up at his ceiling.

from: Allison

[10:11am] i’m glad. i knew you’d like Y/N. does this mean there will be a second date?

Five frowns again, and types out an honest i don’t know. Quickly, he adds, but i want there to be. i don’t think she did, though.

from: Allison

[10:15am] :C

Blind dates just aren’t meant to work out, he tells himself, turning off his phone and burying his face into his pillows.

—

Lila, of course, is way too smug with the turn of events.

Five just wants to watch his TV reruns in peace, but it’s difficult to focus when all he can hear is, “It’s about damn time you’re on the opposite end of the spectrum. You know, the rejected end.” He rolls his eyes when she starts to laugh again, and he has to squeeze the remote to resist throwing it at something. Instead, he settles for turning up the volume to drown her out.

Diego lifts his head from where it’s been in the compartment under the sink, eyes squinting to re-adjust to the bright natural light filtering in from the window, obviously interested in being a part of the ongoing, one-sided conversation. There are beads of sweat rolling down from his hairline, and his sweaty forehead shine in the light of the late afternoon sunlight. Five wrinkles his nose and turns away. “I wouldn’t say you got rejected,” Diego says, like he’s trying to soften the blow of Lila’s words. “She said ‘see you around’, didn’t she?”

Five nods solemnly. Lila starts to snicker again.

He rolls the phrase “see you around” around in his mind for a moment, lips pulled into a frown. Did you really mean you wanted to see him again or was that the most casual way you could brush him off without having to grind his heart to dust?

Just thinking about this is giving me a headache, Five thinks, and resists the urge to squeeze all the feathers out of the couch cushion he is currently holding in his hand.

The three of them go quiet for a minute, and then Diego says, suddenly. “I have an idea.” Five and Lila turn to look at him curiously.

“What idea could you possibly have?” Five asks with a bite, sitting a little straighter.

“Why don’t we invite her with us to the movies on Saturday? You guys could spend some casual time together, and, if it goes well, ask her out again.” He likes what he’s hearing from his brother so far. “And, this is the most normal date you never had the chance to experience during your teenage days.”

At the sound of that, Five shoots Diego a grin. “I like the way you think. And I’m demoting Lila from her position as my dating consultant. Sorry to say man, I’ve got to let you go.”

Diego rolls his eyes, winding his arm tighter around Lila’s waist tighter. “Now, there’s no need to come for my wife like that,” he counters. “Or else that double date is not gonna happen.” She simply smiles, obviously pleased by her husband coming to her defense.

"Why are you so mopey over Y/N anyways?" Lila asks for what feels like the millionth time since Five’s date night with you. While the said younger-brother-in-law is still sprawled on the couch, she’s leaning against the island to watch her husband restock the shelves of their pantry, fingers twining around the strings of her sweater. "Is it because she's ridiculously pretty or—"

Five turns and gives her a sharp glare, one that she does not even catch, and that’s his best attempt at pretending that his neck isn't burning red in embarrassment. "I am not mopey," he says defensively.

"Mopey, hung up, bitter... Does my word choice really make a difference? What makes this girl so great?"

Five frowns, looking down at his phone, empty of notifications. "I don't know. She was just nice. It felt like a real date, you know? It was comfortable around her. I liked her," he replies awkwardly, dying to end this conversation. "And I want her to like me too."

Lila slides up next to him with a shit eating grin, slipping an arm around his neck and laughing at the way he recoils. "You have a crush!" she coos, grinning wider when the younger boy seethes, cheeks darker than the rest of him. "That's so cute."

"Shut up!" Five barks back, rubbing his palm over his cheeks furiously. He wrinkles his nose. "What are we, twelve?" he mumbles, ignoring how Lila snickers.

She waves her hand in a grand gesture. "Don't worry if you are too nervous to properly ask her out this time. Diego and I will be your wingman, and we’ll do whatever it takes to get you that second date!" she assures, giving his arm a comforting squeeze.

Five does his best to hide his growing hope at her promise, choosing to deal with it by giving her a snide remark. "You kind of suck at being a wingman,” he says flippantly.

"Yeah, yeah. Let's see if you'll be saying that in a few weeks."

—

Five down more than half his drink before the movie previews are even over. He can’t shake the nervousness he feels, not when you have your thigh pressed close against his own, and he can see the reflection of the movie screen in your eyes. She’s so pretty, he thinks to himself and starts sinking against the seat cushions. He wishes it would swallow him whole and put him out of his misery.

He's dragged out of his thoughts when you lean over your seat, elbow jostling into his side as you whisper, “That one looks like it’s gonna be good.” You’re pointing at the screen, where the title card for an upcoming feature film flashes in huge letters.

Five hasn’t even been paying attention to the trailer, but he still gives you a half smile. “Yeah,” he says, voice hushed. He wishes he had something witty to say, something to keep you this close to him, but you are already starting to pull back and away. He watches you go, woefully, and turns back to his (more ice than beverage) drink.

Out of the corner of his eye, he can see Diego and Lila snuggling in their seats, whispering too softly for him to hear. He thinks, distantly, that this would be a great time for some sort of telepathic powers to kick in, so he could scream at them for help.

The lights in the theater dim further, and the movie starts. Five slouches in his seat and wonders how he somehow managed to feel like both the third and fourth wheel.

—

“That was good,” Diego says after the movie, when they’ve stepped out into the night air. It’s colder now than it was when you arrived, and the pavement is slick with rain water. Five hadn’t even heard the rain. He’d been too busy wondering how it would’ve gone if he had found the courage to hook his arm around you and tuck your head into his shoulder.

“The ending could’ve been better, though,” You add thoughtfully, the sound of your voice catching his attention again. Lila just shrugs, hooking her arm through Diego’s comfortably and leaning on him. ”What did you think, Five?”

The other two turn to look at him and the sudden attention causes him to raise his guards up. “I liked it, too,” he agrees slowly, glancing down at you, “but you’re right, the ending did fall flat.” When you look up, you smile at him, and his eyes curve along with the upturn of your lips. Five’s heart thrums at the side of it.

“I think I better get going,” You say abruptly, staring down at the clock displayed on your screen. “It is getting quite late.”

Panic rushes into Five’s system, turning to look at Lila and Diego for help. Ask her, Lila mouths with a nudge to his side, making a gesture towards you when she does. His throat closes up on him in nervousness.

It comes up like a word vomit when he practically shouts, “Let me walk you to your car!”

You turn your attention towards him and nod, still smiling. “Alright,” you reply simply, waiting for him to come to your side. Out of the corner of his eye, Five can see Diego flashing him a thumbs up and he mouths a go get her. It doesn’t bring him much reassurance.

They walk in silence, and the closer they get to his car the more high-strung he feels. It’s now or never, he thinks.

“Do you want to do something like this again sometime?” he blurts, ears turning bright red. He’s staring at your face for any kind of reaction, wishing the wet ground underneath the sole of his shoe would open up and swallow him whole. His heart rattles in his ribcage, reverberating all the way down to his fingertips. He hates the way this feels.

“See a movie, I mean. Just the two of us. Diego and Lila don’t need to be there with us,” he rambles and has to bite down on the tip of his tongue to keep himself from saying anything else. You look surprised, eyebrows raised high on your face and mouth forming a little ‘o’.

He’s about to apologize when you say, “No.”

His heart deflates like a balloon, eyebrows slumping and eyes falling back to the floor. “No?” he echoes tentatively, gearing himself to run away from this whole mess. “Um,” he starts again, trying to find the right words.

“I don’t mind having them around,” You finish, holding up your hand, as if to silence him. “They are fun to have around, so you don’t really need to send your brother and his wife away, you know.” You are grinning now, and Five looks at you in disbelief.

“Really?” Five asks, eyebrows still furrowed in confusion. But you nod, disarming his fears as you approach him with hesitant strides.

“Or… it can just be the two of us. Whatever you prefer.”

He does his best to hide the swell of his heart. It feels like he could jump back to another timeline, purely out of the burst of energy that came after your statement. “Just the two of us then,” Five replies, unable to hide the growing curve of his lips. “Can’t wait.”

—

“Why are you staring at me like that?” Diego asks incredulously, setting down his mug and looking across the counter at Five, whose eyes are squinted at him. “Do I have something on my face?” His fingers fly to his chin, feeling around with a pout, but the younger one just shakes his head.

“There’s something I want to ask you,” Five tells him, leaning forward on his elbows to look at him more closely.

Diego raises a brow, eyeing his dear brother curiously. “Is this about Y/N?” he asks cautiously. Five nods vigorously, and he adds, “alright, what is it?”

“What is she into? No, no, not like that,” Five corrects himself hastily, waving his hands around when he sees the horrified expression cross onto Diego’s face. “I mean what do girls like in a guy? How can I make her like me, you know, romantically or whatever?” he says with a nonchalant wave of his hand.

The older man still looks a little bit wary as he thinks it over. “They like people who can make them laugh and feel at ease. And, people who can make them feel safe.. I think you’ll be able to do that much,” Diego gives him an answer after a good pondering. Five nods in consideration smile at the advice. “You’ll be fine, trust.”

Five comes to Diego’s side and claps him on the back with a grin. “You really are a better wingman than Lila,” he sighs dramatically, and Diego laughs. “I’ve gotta get going soon. Do you have any last minute advice for me?” he asks jokingly, snatching his phone and wallet off the counter.

Diego hums, sucking on his thumb thoughtfully. “Try not to get too nervous. Otherwise she’d be able to hear your heartbeat, you know.”

—

Five suppresses a laugh as he stares at the screen. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees you grinning, and he smiles to himself, too, and he goes back to trying to focus on whatever the characters on screen are saying. He fails miserably, and despite knowing that you are wrapped up in the plot, he decides to lean over and whisper, “Are you cold?”

The sound of his voice makes you jump, eyes wide in surprise as you turn to look at him, just a breath away.

“A little bit,” you admit, voice hushed. He looks over your face again and again. This close, he thinks he can look into your eyes forever. Fuck the movie, he thinks, chest tightening.

“I’ll go get us a blanket. Don’t move,” he says, pushing up from the couch and disappearing into the dark hall before you have a chance to blink.

Five hears Diego’s teasing voice in the back of his mind, saying she can hear your heartbeat, you know, and he wonders distantly if you heard it over the sound from the television system. Sudden nervousness gathers in him, but he wills that thought to go away from him. Fifty years on this Earth and he still has no control over the beating of his heart? That’s insane to think.

Just relax, he tells himself, bunching the blanket in his arms as he walks back out to the living room.

This time, he walks with confidence when he steps back into the line of the television’s light and watches as you turn your head up to flash him a smile. He cannot mess this up now.

“So, there’s a small problem,” he begins, sitting down an arm’s distance from you, fingers smoothing over the blanket’s fabric draped over his lap. “The blanket is kind of small, so you’ll probably have to sit a lot closer to me, if that’s not too forward,” he concludes, still grinning.

Who could say no to that, right?

“Perfectly fine with me,” you say shortly, going for nonchalant, but he’s almost positive he caught the catch in your voice. His smile only grows wider as you scoot yourself closer to his spot on the couch and fingers tugging to unfold the blanket. Five watches you tentatively, the way you gulp and look at everything but him. For once, he is granted with the satisfaction that you’re probably just as nervous as he is, and you’re clearly scrounging up the nerve to scooch closer to him.

He lays the blanket over you, kicking his feet up comfortably on the coffee table as you tuck your legs under you neatly. His first instinct is to get you to snuggle up to him, but he wonders if you would like that, if you don’t want to cuddle—

Before he can overthink his decision anymore, he winds his arm around your hips and asks, “Is this okay?”

He did not miss the way your breath catches in your throat and for a second there he was nearly overcome but worry again, before you let out a short, “Perfectly okay,” and takes advantage of the opportunity to melt into his side, cheek pressed into the fabric of his shirt comfortably. He’s incredibly grateful that you can’t see how wide his smile is from down here.

Unbeknownst to him, you haven’t spoken much throughout the movie, because you have been feeling hyper aware of his presence— the weight of his arm on your hips, the way he drags his thumb idly against the strip of skin where your shirt has ridden up, making you shiver a bit.

“Y/N,” Five whispers, not showing any signs that he is about to move from the comfortable position the two of you were in. The movie is in its falling action, and the credits are about to roll. You hum in acknowledgement, noticing how his thumb comes to a pause in its trail over your hip bone. “Are you not interested enough to get to know me after our first date?” If he’s being honest, he thought he didn’t want to know the answer, but curiosity has been eating at him for weeks.

“I was,” You say without hesitation, “But Lila—she told me that you don’t usually even like most of your blind dates, and I didn’t want to come off as overly eager and scare you away, on the off chance you were not interested.”

He raises his eyebrows at the mention of Lila’s name, and he feels a twinge of petulant betrayal. You make a face, and then let a little giggle out. “Now that I think about it, you’ve always been awfully flirty since we met. I probably should’ve taken the hint.”

Five is surprised at how wide he’s smiling, now, you can see how deep his dimples actually can go. “So you do like me.” He says excitedly, all his previous nervousness melting away as he unconsciously squeeze the flesh of your hips tighter. “I’m actually glad.”

You are grinning now, too, and you realize that your noses are almost touching. You can hear the film credit’s in the background, but you forget them when he lifts his free hand and presses it gingerly to the nape of your neck. You do your best not to shiver.

“Now that we’ve cleared all that up,” You say idly, voice half a step above a whisper. “Does that mean I can ask for a real kiss now? The movie is over so, technically, a proper goodnight kiss is in place.”

His cheeks must be hurting from smiling so hard. “It’s about damn time,” he replies and yanks you down, closing the space between your lips with a triumphant sigh. You let yourself melt into him, his fingers roam down the side of your neck when he takes your bottom lip between his. It’s everything he has wanted and more.

He remembers something you’d said almost a year ago, while having a friendly date at a cafe just beside Kuro’s office one early morning…

“You know, Kenken? When I get married, I’ll ask my husband-to-be to make me pancakes like this one day,” you say to Kenma as you take an IG-worthy photo of a plate of kiwi fruit pancakes drizzled—no, heavily soaked—in maple syrup on your phone.

“Ehhh… really? Well, good luck to him, I guess.” He looks at you with a shit-faced grin plastered on his face. “That ‘one day’ is going to turn into ‘one week’, ‘one month’, and so on—ow!”

“Zip it, Puddinghead. As if I would force him to make pancakes everyday, you know?” you tell Kenma poutily, waving a forkful of pancake in front of his face before stuffing it up to your mouth. “I’m not that cruel~”

He sighs in defeat and smiles sheepishly before taking a sip of his latte.

“Okay, okay, if you say so…”

After slightly mixing the batter, Kenma adds the minced kiwi fruit that he prepared earlier and whisks it in until fully mixed. He then proceeds to dip a ladleful of the batter into the preheated pan, quickly shaping some of the corners with a clean toothpick to resemble cat ears before the bottom side completely cooks.

“Cute,” he chuckles softly, looking proud of his ‘artwork’.

“It sure is…”

Kenma suddenly jumps from where he’s standing, his golden cat-like orbs widening. He slowly turns his head around to see you peeking over his shoulder, sleep still evident on your face.

Your husband holds his breath in for a second before letting it go as butterflies start fluttering inside his stomach. “H-hi, Y/N, my love. Morning.” Fuck. Kenma internally slaps his mouth after messing up his greeting.

“Hi, Kenma, my love… g’morning~” Kenma feels your arms snaking around his waist as you snuggle closer to him from behind. He notices you looking at what’s into the pan and—Kenma finds this adorably endearing—your eyes twinkle as they widen a bit, sleepiness a thing of the past.

“Pancakes! And they’re cat-shaped, too!”

He hums and smiles, slightly checking the bottom side for any signs of browning before flipping the cooked side of the pancake with a spatula. Bringing his free hand to gently pat your head, he says in a matter-of-fact voice, “Did I also mention that they’re kiwi fruit pancakes?”

“Huh? Kiwi… fruit?”

Kenma feels your embrace around his waist getting a bit tighter. His cheeks gradually heat up as he silently continues on making another pancake, with you still hugging him.

He finally speaks in a soft voice. “Um… y-yeah. Because you told me to make one for you when we get married one day…”

“Oh. That conversation we had at the cafe that time…” You smile, both of you fondly remembering the memory.

“Yeah.”

Kenma silently cooks the remaining pancakes, the only sound heard in the kitchen is the slight sizzle of the pancake batter cooking. He feels your weight shifting from behind, strands of your hair tickling the side of his neck. He wonders if you can still feel his heart beating loudly just as he can feel yours.

“Y/N, kitten? Still sleepy? I’m almost done here, you should sit down and wait for me. Then we can eat breakfast together—“

A sniffle. “Thank you.”

“For what?” He then glances at your small form in alarm before quickly turning your attention back to the last piece of pancake, bringing the pan to a big plate sitting nearby before tilting it down, the cooked pancake sliding off and on top of the stack. Kenma turns off the stove. “Y/N… are, are you crying?”

You snuggle closer behind your husband again in reply—Kenma can feel a slight wetness forming at the back of his shirt, accompanied by a few sniffles and chuckles.

“Thank you for remembering. Thank you for coming into my life. Thank you for loving me, all my flaws and strong points. Thank you for marrying me. My bestest friend in the entire universe. My love. My everything… I love you, Kenma.”

Kenma holds your hand and kisses it softly, smiling. “I love you too, my Y/N.”

And he really loves you back. More than everything in the world.

your upper body leaned on the low table, chest rising and falling as sanemi approached. the meal you set for him had grown cold a long time ago, but he’ll eat it regardless. first, the boy was going to carry you to your futon. though, the sight of a sleeping genya, whose head rested on your thigh, made him pause.

in his sleep, the young boy clung to your figure. and it was no wonder you only supported your head on the table with one arm, the other one rested on genya’s back. it must’ve been uncomfortable for you, yet you remained in that position for hours, awake or not.

the first one sanemi carried to their respective futon was genya. he was much heavier than before, the older boy thought. he was glad that genya was growing properly, especially with how much you fed him. the black-haired boy loved your cooking so much he almost always ate nearly half of it.

sanemi eventually carried your slouched form to your futon. he set you down gently before placing your blanket over the lower half of your body. you got warm easily, so sanemi knew it would be best to not cover you completely.

the moonlight shone on your sleeping figure as sanemi brushed your stray hairs away from your face. his eyes traveled from you to the cold plate on the table. always so caring, you were. his gaze then landed on genya, who you always treated as your own brother.

sanemi, despite the many things he has yet to comprehend, was sure of one thing— his love for you. the two of you were still teenagers, but he was sure of his feelings. as his fingers traveled from your forehead to your cheek, cupping your face lightly, there was only a single thought that occupied his mind.

one day, in a world free of demons, he’d take your hand and ask you to be his.

it was when you were crying in his arms that GIYUU TOMIOKA knew that he wanted your hand in marriage. although he was skilled, he was rendered unconscious during a mission after slaying two demons with tricky demon blood arts. although he was only unconscious from night till the next afternoon, you couldn’t help but worry.

you were no demon slayer, so the thought of your partner being bedridden had scared you. you rushed to his bedside when giyuu’s crow informed you of his state. and as you sat by his sleeping form, the little butterfly estate girls told you that although he was littered with cuts, none of them were deep.

part of you always believed that giyuu was invincible. even though you knew he was the highest rank in the demon slayer corps, he never came home with worrying injuries. a few small cuts here and there were all treated by you before the two of you fell into bed.

seeing giyuu’s bare torso covered in white patches reminded you that giyuu was not invincible, and even someone skilled like him was vulnerable to injury.

compared to the corps members that already died before giyuu was assigned the mission, he was barely harmed. but since you didn’t see it that way, he saw the tears that brimmed your eyes after he woke up. your hug was gentle as if you’d hurt him if you squeezed him tight.

giyuu snaked his arms around your waist as you cried and told him how you worried for him. your words, even your tears alone spoke volumes about how much you cared for him. the black-haired man held you tighter, knowing that he cared for you just as much, and one day hoped to show you by proposing with a ring fit only for you.

you and OBANAI IGURO were lying bare in bed the moment he realized he wanted to marry you. it was late at night and the two of you had your limbs tangled together underneath a thick blanket, skin-to-skin for half an hour in near darkness. the muted moonlight that shone through the shoji door was only enough to outline the other’s figure.

obanai’s skin burned beneath your smooth fingers, the gentle touch scorching his very being. you always had that effect on him, especially when he was most vulnerable to you, when he was bare.

your fingers brushed the skin of his cheeks, lightly touching the part of his face that he always kept bandaged up. your fingers ran over the bumpy skin once more before you cupped his cheeks, pressing your forehead to his.

there were a few nights you’d spend like this. though, it was always so dark. you wanted to see your lover in full, but knowing how he felt about it, you never forced him to. after all, it had taken you some time to get used to the reminder of your own past; the large scar that ran from your chest to your belly button.

you laid your head back onto your pillow before you asked him if it was okay to light up a candle although you expected him to politely decline. instead, he hesitated before saying you could. after you asked once more to be sure, the black-haired man decided to light the candle for you.

his face, illuminated by the candlelight, turned towards you. obanai watched as you crawled towards him and sat on his lap, wrapping your arms around his neck. you told him that his beauty never failed to make you awe as he snaked his hands onto your hips.

you smiled at him lovingly before you laid your head in the crook of his neck, finding comfort in your position. he tucked back a piece of your hair before resting his cheek atop your head. obanai thought someone as tainted as him didn’t deserve such love from you, someone so pure. however, you wandered into his arms with no argument, embracing his being. obanai was sure that when the time was right, he’d marry you under your favorite cherry blossom tree.

the two of you were having brunch when MITSURI KANROJI realized she wanted to marry you one day. being the absolute bundle of joy she was, mitsuri was excited about the brunch the two of you planned days before. you’d be coming over to her estate, so the woman made sure to have lots of food prepared.

you arrived at mitsuri’s estate earlier than planned with a tray of sakura mochi you made just for her. although she ushered you to the dining room while she rushed the rest of her cooking and baking outside, you couldn’t help but wonder what was taking her so long. and when you realized it was because mitsuri was running all over the place to pay attention to everything she was cooking at once, you opted to help her.

you smiled at the love hashira, telling her she didn’t have to do all of this by herself, especially since she was providing for their meal. with a blossoming pink dusted across her cheeks, mitsuri thanked you and the two of you finished soon enough.

with everything set on the table, the two of you dug in. mitsuri babbled about her recent adventures like always, and you listened with a small smile on your face. from the moment you met, mitsuri was always so bright. the happiness she had always oozed out of her being and spread onto you, though you’ve never minded it.

while you found yourself lost in admiring her, another blush made its way onto mitsuri’s cheeks. your fond stare nearly made her heart melt when she noticed it. setting down her bowl, she felt her heart race against her chest as a certain thought crossed her mind.

you seemed to have caught yourself and quickly coughed before eating some of the fluffy pancakes she had made, commenting on how good they tasted. mitsuri giggled before she grinned endearingly. if you got married one day, then maybe the happiness of sharing a single meal would continue forever. truthfully, she wished that day would come soon.

NOTE. i was so into sanemi’s coming up with the other 3’s was a bit difficult 😓 sorry it’s a bit ooc (imo) this is my warm up dw

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