#taniko

“A child?”

Akiko looks up from her tablet, a finger hovering over the medical journal she was reading to look at Tanjirou. She thought he would be a bit nervous about bringing the matter up, but he looks focused on the task at hand instead.

Her feet are in his lap, and his eyes scrunch and his tongue is sticking out a bit as he tries to make sure that he doesn’t mess up painting her toenails a navy blue.

Tanjirou’s book lays face down on the coffee table, and the bright red nail polish that Akiko used to paint Tanjirou’s toe nails remain right by the book.

“Well, I mean yeah! Why not?” He’s finishing up, wiping some of the excess polish on the sides of the bottle.

Akiko’s face pales, “You mean you want me to birth a baby?”

This catches Tanjirou’s attention, and his head snaps up to quickly shake his head, earrings flying around his face.

“No! Oh my gods, no! I would never force you to birth a child or have sex! I meant adoption!”

Akiko can’t help the breath of relief from leaving her lips, shoulders loosening and heart slowing in pace. Tanjirou looks guilty, but when Akiko points her foot to have him resume his task, he knows that all is forgiven.

But she remains quiet, continuing to scroll through her tablet. The stillness in the air makes Tanjirou feel like he can’t breathe, but he can tell that Akiko’s mind is going through her usual pros and cons list.

For starters, Miyuki and Chiyo have already had their children. Miyuki first with Jin, who is already in her terrible twos. Then Chiyo had the twins, Tsutako and Yasu, a year later. And then the year after that Miyuki had Kousuke.

Akiko and Tanjirou aren’t too worried about being the only family without a child. Akiko could care less, and considering the fact that the two of them have to babysit so much, she already feels like she has four kids of her own.

But Tanjirou can’t help but care a little bit. Akiko doesn’t blame him. She knows that he’s wanted a big family since they were kids, and it’s mainly due to the fact that he himself grew up in a large family.

She’s just glad that Tanjirou is understanding of the fact that she isn’t comfortable having sex, and the idea of having children of her own isn’t very exciting.

But adoption doesn’t sound too bad.

“...Google says that there’s an orphanage about an hour’s drive away from here. Let me call the hospital to see if I can get a day off soon,” Akiko buries her face deeper into the tablet, shielding herself from Tanjirou’s radiant smile.

“Really?!”

“Well, we should talk to our parents about this… And we have the spare guest room to use, so I don’t think space will be a problem. I’m sure I can ask my dad for money if we’re ever in a pinch, but we’re pretty steady right now…” Akiko’s mumbling grows quieter, and Tanjirou has to lean over to lower her tablet from her face to get her to look at him properly.

His smile is softer now, shoulders no longer tense and the feeling of his hand warm.

“We’ll figure this out together, Akiko. I know we can,” and then he returns to painting her toenails.

---

“We’re so fucked.”

Chiyo and Miyuki both extend a hand out to cushion Akiko’s face from slamming into the coffee table, and Mikyuki sighs under her breath over Akiko’s bad habit.

“Hit your head on this table any more and you might loose your medical brain cells,” Chiyo chastises, and Akiko gives her a look of pure, ‘It doesn’t work like that.’

“Besides that,” Miyuki waves off, “Why do you think you’re fucked?”

The two cradle Akiko’s cheek in their hands now as she tilts her head to look at the two. When Akiko finally sits up she takes a quick sip of her coffee, rubbing the bridge of her nose.

“I know I babysit for the two of you all the time, but I honestly don’t know how I’ve been able to do that so far. Honestly I think Tanjirou has been the one babysitting for all of us.”

Chiyo tilts her head, “Why do you say that?”

“Because I’m really bad with kids.”

There’s an odd pause between the three and Akiko shifts uncomfortably under their wide eyed gaze.

Then Chiyo and Miyuki look at each other, and then back at Akiko before chorusing, “Yeah, we know.”

“Wow alright I guess I’m not babysitting anymore.”

Miyuki shrugs, “Trust me hun, we’ve known since day one. I had to show you how to hold Jin, remember? Still a work in improvement too.”

“Please stop rubbing in the salt…”

Chiyo laughs, pouring Akiko her third cup of coffee of the day before setting a reassuring hand on Akiko’s shoulder.

“I know you have trouble connecting with kids, but a part of your job is to get along with kids, isn’t it?”

Akiko sips a bit, mulling over her thoughts, “Mmm, well, yeah. But I just wave a lollipop in front of their face and promise that they get it in the end if they’re a good kid. I can’t do that with my child every day, or they’ll get cavities!”

Now it’s Miyuki’s turn to laugh, and she claps Akiko’s back harshly. Chiyo laughs along and the two laugh even harder when Akiko’s face grows beet red.

“That’s exactly what a parent would say! See? You’ll be fine!” Chiyo lightly punches Akiko’s arm, but Akiko still rubs some of the pain away. Chiyo’s arms are no joke…

Miyuki then pipes in, her own cup of coffee lifted to her nose with the steam slowly warming up her cold nose. “And besides,” she starts gently, “you have Tanjirou. Raising a child is all about teamwork, alright? You’ll be with each other every step of the way.”

---

With traffic, the drive to the orphanage took an extra half an hour. Akiko’s leg bounces in the car and her eyes read the license plate of each passing car, her mind memorizing letters and numbers in an attempt to focus on something else.

When Tanjirou moves his hand to slip his fingers through Akiko’s, she calms down a little. And then she remembers that she should be more excited than scared of having a child.

“We’re here!” Tanjirou’s bright voice breaks Akiko out of her thoughts and she blinks, clearing her vision to focus back on the hands folded in her lap.

She and Tanjirou are dressed a bit more formally for the occasion, as Akiko is in blue pencil skirt and usual billowy poet shirt. Tanjirou is wearing black pants that cling to his nicely defined legs and he’s pulled on a tight white shirt tucked into his pants. Basically, walking eye candy for Akiko to look at.

When the two step out of the car, Akiko has the chance to look up at the building.

It’s big and daunting in Akiko’s eyes, and the plethora of windows look like eyes glaring down at her. Then, she sees a couple heads pop up from the windows, and the eyes of children light up upon the sight of a car with a couple adults.

She pales at the thought of disappointing a child, and there’s a guilty feeling within her stomach when she sees older children that know they won’t be adopted. The eyes of hopeful toddlers and twins that clutch each other tightly in fear that they will be separated one day.

Tanjirou smells smoke from Akiko’s head, and her tightens his hold on her hand to anchor her back down. Then, he offers her an excited smile.

“Are you ready?”

“I need an inhaler.”

She waves off his concerned look and assures that she’s just joking around, and the two climb the steps of the orphanage building. Tanjirou does most of the talking when they reach the front desk and he fills out most of the paperwork. They’re given little visitor stickers and someone steps forward to help give them a little tour.

There’s a small craft room where kids play with clay and popsicle sticks, and Akiko sees a couple older kids working hard at japanese calligraphy.

Most of the kids are in the back playing on the playground, cheering and screaming with each other. Upon seeing Tanjirou and she, a few start to crowd around them, and Tanjirou is tugged along to play.

He has a few in his lap when they go down the slide, and he pushes a little boy on the swings to the point where the boy almost goes flying away.

A few kids grow curious of Akiko, since all she’s doing is standing by awkwardly.

“Are those your real eyes?”

“Yes.”

“What do you do?”

“I’m a doctor.”

“Are you gonna give us shots?!”

“That depends. Are you up to date on your vaccinations?”

Yeah.

She’s killin it.

She’s somehow roped into braiding a girl’s hair, and she’s struggling dearly. Tanjirou laughs when he sees how hard she’s trying, but she’s only making a mess out of the girl’s dark locks.

So Tanjirou steps in, guiding Akiko’s fingers through the girl’s hair and creating a beautiful braid.

“I’ll let you practice on me when we get home,” Tanjirou promises, and Akiko lets out a sigh of relief.

Some time later, Akiko finds herself watching Tanjirou with love filled eyes as he is turned into the playground. He easily holds a few children in his arms with another on his shoulders. When he turns around to show Akiko, the proudest smile on his face, Akiko smiles back twice as wide.

The kids laugh when they see Tanjirou turn red, suddenly shy in the face of his beloved.

“Kids look good on you,” Akiko says softly, patting his chest before the two are taken back inside to see the nursery.

Most of the babies are sleeping when the two quietly step inside with the guide. But there’s one playing by himself with a couple legos, and Akiko rushes over to wrestle a brick out of his grubby hands when she realizes that he’s about to shove it into his mouth.

“Choking hazARD-“

Tanjirou places a finger to his lips to shush her but she opens his mouth to peer inside his mouth, checking to make sure there isn’t anything else lodged into his throat.

Akiko really isn’t in the mood to have to flip this baby and slap his back.

“U- Uhm, ma’am? Please be gentle with him…”

“I’m so sorry! She’s a doctor, so she’s just doing a part of her job,” Tanjirou laughs weakly, bowing a bit to the guide before turning his attention back to Akiko.

When Akiko deems the baby okay, she sets him down. He’s a little fussy after Akiko handled him roughly, so Tanjirou steps in to pick up the baby and rock him to calm him down.

But when Tanjirou notices something, his eyes widen in surprise.

“Oh! Akiko! Look! His eyes!” Tanjirou beams, and Akiko finds the baby stuffed into her arms.

She’s holding him under his arms, blinking owlishly at the sudden predicament, but nonetheless she leans in a bit to look the baby in his eyes.

The same ginko leaves, the same molten gold, the same sunrise blend.

Akiko looks into a carbon copy pair of her own eyes.

Zenitsu’s eyes are close, but they’re a bit different. His are brighter, most hopeful, and they don’t change like Akiko’s does.

This baby has eyes that flicker between topaz and autumn leaves.

The baby tilts his head when he looks at Akiko, and Tanjirou comes closer to brush some of his inky black hair out of his face.

“He’s so cute!” Tanjirou gushes, and Akiko can’t help but smile the least bit.

“Yeah, he’s pretty cute I gues- OW?!”

Out of pure curiosity and wonder, the baby decides to shove his chubby little fingers into Akiko’s eyes.

This. Little. Fucker.

—-

“Yeah and then we adopted you I guess.”

Hiyoshi, now 16, looks at his mom with a tired expression.

Tanjirou is in the kitchen, making breakfast for the family while Akiko pets Shyoutan in her lap.

Hiyoshi looks at his mother through his thick frames, eyes no where near as blessed as his mother’s (as ironically enough.) He’s fiddling with his fingers, and Akiko sighs at his habit to hide his face behind his hair.

“And, uhm… What about Shyoutan? How did we get Shyoutan?”

The great big golden retriever has been with the family for as long as Hiyoshi can remember, and he doesn’t really know the full story as to how his parents got the dog when she was still barely been born.

Tanjirou laughs, setting a bowl of rice for each member of his little family before returning to the kitchen. Akiko chuckles under her breath as well and Hiyoshi can tell that there’s a funny story behind Shyoutan, but Akiko mercilessly stands from her spot on the couch and Shyoutan moves to let her leave.

Then, she strides over to her son and smothers his cheek with kisses, Hiyoshi trying to push his mom away from him and whining in protest.

“That’s a story for another day, Hiyoshi,” Tanjirou says, finally laying out the miso soup and the fish for his family. Everyone moves to take their seats, but Akiko turns a 180 on her son and swipes his chopsticks away.

“You know the drill young man,” she narrows her eyes. “Go feed Shyoutan before you eat.”

Hiyoshi groans, “Sometimes I feel like you guys treat the dog better than me.”

“Oh? So you don’t want to spend the day with your uncle Inosuke?”

“Have you heard? There’s going to be a new shop across the street,” Akiko says, looking out the window at the construction team that’s pointing at blueprints. 

“Hah? Why the hell should I care?” Sanemi snaps, not bothering to look up from his client. Akiko rolls her eyes, directing her attention away from the busy scene outside and instead to her two co-workers, whom she hates with a passion. 

The ever so quiet Giyuu that once snuck up on her, tapped her shoulder, scared the shit out of her, and made her fuck up on a client. 

Sanemi, a royal asshole that can’t control his temper and snaps at Giyuu and herself. 

Yup, Akiko is living the life at her job. 

Unfortunately, the three of them are the best of the best, and they get clients from all over the world. 

What with Akiko’s talented eye for precision, Giyuu’s incredible watercolor designs, and Sanemi’s bold sense of style, their names are well known by other tattoo artists. 

It’s such a shame they all hate each other. 

Well, maybe Giyuu has no hate in him, but tensions are high. 

At any rate, a few more months pass, and Akiko is able to tell that the new store across the street is a flower shop. There are colorful buckets lining the outside of the store, and the windows are big and tall to allow for sunshine. The two stores line directly parallel from each other, and Akiko catches sight of three people that constantly walk in and out of the new shop. 

She doesn’t even realize she’s looking at one particular guy until he turns around, and their eyes meet. Akiko blinks once, twice, then she quickly turns away from the window of her parlor. 

It’s the next day that Akiko actually meets someone from the new store across the street. 

The bell to their parlor rings, and Akiko looks up from her phone to tell them that they’re still closed, only to see that Giyuu is already at the counter. 

“Hi! Sorry to just walk in, I read your sign I swear. But we’re your new store neighbors!” A bubbly voice says, and Akiko finds herself look at a pearl haired girl wearing a light green apron with a small batch of flowers in a small mason jar in her hands. Her white short sleeved shirt allows for Akiko to see her muscular arms, and she’s impressed by the size. 

Giyuu makes no move to talk, only blinking stoically at the girl. Akiko can’t help but find this odd. 

Sure, he doesn’t talk much, but he would at least greet customers or visitors. 

Her smile turns a bit wry, she looks nervous in Akiko’s eyes, and she awkwardly places the jar of flowers on the corner of the counter. 

“Uhm, anyway, there are two other workers over there, and if you ever want to stop by and say ‘hi’ you’re more than welcome to!  No pressure or anything,” she mutters a quick ‘fuck’ under her breath, twiddling with her thumbs. 

“Yeah, I’m Takenaka Chiyo, and uh… yeah, I think I’m gonna leave now so… bye!” Chiyo jets out of the store, the bell ringing a final time, and the store is quiet again. 

Sanemi walks into the store a few minutes later, an eyebrow cocked at the odd sight of Giyuu and Akiko staring off into the same general direction. 

“What? The fuck you guys lookin at?” 

Giyuu bursts into a fit of red, and both Akiko and Sanemi’s jaws drop. 

---

It’s been a week now, and Akiko finds herself looking out the window more often. 

She hates it.

Why? 

Because she’s looking out of the window to stare at some burgundy haired guy that works at the flower shop. 

He wears a forest green apron that reminds Akiko of a Starbucks employee, and Akiko can see that he also wears hanafuda earrings. There’s also a scar on his left temple, but she finds herself drawn to his bright smile every time he gifts a child a small daisy. 

She’s getting caught more often now though, and it’s embarrassing as hell for her. She tries to play it off nonchalantly, but she can’t help the quick blush that spreads across her face. 

“Oh my! How cute! Did you get these from across the street?” A lady gushes once Akiko is done with her tattoo and is ringing her up at the counter. Akiko turns her attention to the batch of wisteria, peonies, camellias, and white roses. 

Akiko smiles at her customer, handing back the change and replying, “Yeah! Our store smells a lot nicer ever since they’ve come into town,” she laughs, and the lady laughs with her. 

“Well I think it’s a nice touch to the store. Perhaps you’ll get a discount and can have more flowers in the parlor?” 

Akiko glances over at the window, catching the burgundy boy looking at her, before flicking her eyes back at her client with a polite smile. 

“Y’know? I couldn’t agree more!” 

---

“Sanemi go across the street and pick up some flowers I ordered.” 

“HAH?! Why me?” 

Akiko and Giyuu hold up their tattoo guns, continuing to scroll through their phones on a lazy Sunday before chiming in, “We have clients we’re waiting for.” 

Thank god Akiko found out she could purchase the flowers online. 

Otherwise she would have stayed staring out the window and sent in a telepathic order. 

Sure, she wants to walk over and say ‘hi’ to her store neighbors, but she also doesn’t want to meet the burgundy haired boy. Her heart might not be able to handle his smile up close. 

Sanemi glares at the two lazy asses before stomping over to them, his own tattoo gun in hand.

“Fuck that. I have clients too. Akiko you go,” he points his gun at Akiko, and on instinct she lifts her gun to point it right back at Sanemi. 

He’s giving her the nastiest glare now, and Akiko glares right back at him, slowly standing from her seat to square him up. 

“Wait, guys,” Giyuu makes the mistake to point his gun in their general direction, and the two whip their tattoo guns straight at Giyuu within a snap. 

And now Giyuu can’t help but actually point his gun at Sanemi out of feeling threatened, and Akiko slowly slinks back to her work area to grab another gun. 

The two other idiots do the same, grabbing another gun while moving back and forth between each other and glaring menacingly. 

“Put the fuckin gun down you brat,” Sanemi snaps at Akiko, one gun pointed at Giyuu and the other at our golden eyed protagonist. 

She scoffs, “You first, twat.” 

“Guys maybe we should stop before customers walk in-” 

“KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT!” 

“YOU HAVE YOUR GUNS POINTED AT US TOO DUMBASS!” 

“How cool! What do you think is going on?” Miyuki smiles, resting her chin on her hand as she leans over the store’s counter to look through the window. She’s watching the three world famous tattoo artists and their stand off, and to say she’s interested is an understatement. 

Chiyo looks up from the register, squinting her eyes at the scene then tilting her head to the side. 

“Are those… Real guns?” 

“Do I call the cops??” Tanjirou suddenly shows up, quickly putting down the watering can in his hand to pick up the store phone, only to be stopped by the two older women. 

“Put the phone down,” they chorus without moving their gaze from the window. 

“Miyu, are you recording this shit?” 

“Do you take me for a fool?” 

“I- I really think we should call in some law enforcement to make sure no one dies…” 

“Oh wait? Oh? Tea? They’re putting their guns down- THEY’RE UP AGAIN!!” 

“This is gonna go viral.” 

“Guys I don’t think-” 

“OH SHIT ABORT ABORT! OLD MAN IS WALKING OVER!!” 

Miyuki scrambles to turn her phone off, shoving it into her apron pocket as Tanjirou scrambles to pick the watering can up again and rushes to the back of the store to hide. Chiyo, for reasons unknown, ducks under the counters and sits there, so Miyuki is left to defend the fort. 

She picks up a random rag, wiping the counter and making sure she doesn’t look into the eyes of an oddly hot hell beast, finally hearing the bell chime. 

“Hi! Welcome! How can I help you today?” Miyuki goes for a smile. 

There’s a crash and a bang from the back of the store, a miserable, “Ow…” then Chiyo popping up from the counter to dash back and check in on a certain baby. Needless to say, the store isn’t making the greatest first impression. 

But Sanemi pays the incident no mind, shoving his hands into his pockets before nodding his head back to the tattoo parlor. 

“I work there, and one of my stupid co-workers bought some flowers from you guys.” 

Miyuki can’t stop staring at his toned chest, which he so brazenly displays with the top half of his silk black shirt popped open. The shirt is tight fitting too, and Miyuki is about to ascend, her mind repeating ‘NICE’ on repeat like some mantra. 

“Uhh, yeah, lemme go get that,” she mutters under her breath, then stumbles to the back of the store. 

When Sanemi gets back to the tattoo parlor with another small batch of flowers, Giyuu looks up from his work and Akiko swings her legs off a nearby chair. She stares at him quizzically, in no way used to seeing him with a light blush on his face. 

“What? You embarrassed you scared the flower fairies?” Akiko scoffs, and Sanemi moves to slam the jar onto the counter but stops himself, setting it down gently instead. 

Now Akiko knows something is up. 

“She kept me there longer than she should have. Rambling on and on and on about flower language and what the flowers we ordered means and the colors and stuff. God she’s annoying,” Sanemi snaps, and Akiko raises a brow and the newly budding love. 

“Yeah, sure Romeo…” 

“CALL ME THAT AGAIN AND I’M CARVING AN ‘L’ ON YOUR FOREHEAD!” 

---

Akiko almost drops her tattoo gun and through her foot when she sees sunshine boy walk through her parlor doors. 

She’s just finished up with a client and rather than setting the gun down onto the metal tray, she starts to cough on her own spit and freaks out a bit. 

Sanemi and Giyuu look over at her, and she discreetly mouths at them to casually ‘fuck off’, before helping her client to their feet and assisting them to the counter. 

Sunshine boy is accompanied by his oddly attractive friend, but they wait patiently while Akiko quickly explains the steps for aftercare while ringing her client up. She’s quick to notice that she better hurry up though, since sunshine boy’s friend looks to be a bit… energetic. 

When her client leaves, Akiko tries her best to smile at her two customers, shutting the cash register door with a clank. 

“Hi! How can I help you guys today?” 

Sunshine boy looks apologetic, gesturing to his friend, who looks around the store at the examples of what he can possibly get tattooed onto himself. 

“Sorry, uhm, my friend Inosuke has been wanting to get a tattoo for a long time, so I thought this would be the best place…” 

Akiko starts tapping into the computer, spelling out Inosuke’s name before frowning at the screen. 

“Sorry, but did you guys make an appointment?” 

“Huh? Why would we do that? Just draw a boar on my arm,” the Inosuke guy stands before Akiko now, his arms buffer that the Chiyo lady Akiko met a few weeks ago. Akiko raises a brow, and sunshine boy quickly rallies his friend back. 

“S- Sorry! I didn’t know we had to make a reservation. We’ll just go now-” 

“Hold up,” Akiko raises a hand, clicking through the computer to check her schedule for the day. When she sees that she’s all clear, she looks up from the screen with a smile. 

“It’s your lucky day. I can squeeze your friend in,” Akiko says, but sunshine boy looks distressed. 

“No, that’s okay! We can schedule a real time and date and come back, honest!” He says, but Inosuke rolls his eyes and starts to waltz over to the chair that Akiko’s previous client was sitting on. 

Akiko smiles at sunshine boy’s abrasive friend, not too bothered by this attitude since Sanemi is leagues worse, so she turns to sunshine boy and winks. 

“Consider this a store neighbor special.” 

Wow. 

When has Akiko ever been this smooth? 

Akiko tunes out her embarrassed thoughts, shoving aside the last 20 seconds to get out her sketch pad and asking Inosuke what he wants. 

“A BOAR!!” 

“You’re gonna have to give me more to work with. Else you want me to ink Peppa on you.” 

So Inosuke rolls his eyes, and Akiko’s pencil dances across the pad of paper. She works quickly, listening to Inosuke ramble on about how cool boars are and how he used to live with a bunch of them when he was a kid (this mildly worries Akiko). 

By the end of it, Akiko’s drawn the head of a boar with sharp tusks, and Inosuke marvels at her drawing, claiming it to be badass and worthy enough to be inked on his arm. 

Even sunshine boy looks impressed, softly clapping for Akiko from his seat across she. 

Akiko ignores her subtle blush, deciding to get to work as she fills up her tattoo guns and swabs the arm that Inosuke wants inked. Then she quickly redraws the boar onto her ipad, gets it printed out, then applies the art onto Inosuke’s arm. 

“Is it done already?! That’s fast!!” 

The sudden buzzing noise from Akiko’s tattoo gun makes Inosuke jump a bit, and his face pales enough for her to notice. Even sunshine boy takes note of his friend’s alarm, and he offers his hand with a smile. Inosuke turns the offer down though. 

But once Akiko starts to get to work, Inosuke becomes oddly quiet, eyes trained on the flowers on the counter with the sound of buzzing clouding his mind. 

Akiko looks up from her work to glance at sunshine boy, who is watching with wide and curious eyes, and their gazes meet once again. 

She decides to strike up a conversation while she has his attention, flickering her eyes back down to make sure she isn’t messing up then casually saying, “I never got you name.” 

He blinks to snap himself out of his concentrated daze, flushing a bit and scratching at his cheek. 

“Oh, sorry! We’ve been store neighbors for months and I never properly introduced myself. I’m Kamado Tanjirou.” 

Akiko smiles to herself, “Finally, I can call you something other than sunshine boy,” she chuckles. 

Throughout the rest of the conversation, Tanjirou remains red in the face and Akiko busies herself as to not flush red too. Of course, the minute she puts down the tattoo gun, it’s over for her. 

hhhh so for some last minute notes, ill,,, explain a few things :) 

that tattoo gun scene? yeah think of that one episode from the office. cant picture it? literally type “the office showdown gifs” into google and bam, a live action of the scene. 

this was such a joy to write!! and i cant wait for you guys to read the next part! this was like,,, the set up of the ships so :) 

Akiko is pissed that Giyuu stole her spot. 

“Hey. Move. I want to look out the window,” Akiko glares up at Giyuu, but he remains unbothered. 

So she looks at his eyes, then follows to where he’s looking at. 

And now she’s glued to the store window by Giyuu’s side. 

“What the hell’re you guys starin at this time,” Sanemi snaps at his idiotic co-workers. 

“Art.” 

“Fuck that supposed to mean.” 

“Art.” 

Chiyo wipes some sweat off her brow, huffing with slight exhaustion as she sets the box down. Miyuki looks over with a smile. 

“Kidding! Move the box to the right again?” 

“I’ve had to move this box six times already, so what the hell are you aiming at?” 

Miyuki looks across the window to see the three tattoo artists staring at Chiyo. Or, more specifically, her arms. 

The three nod to themselves, finally finding something to agree on. 

“Art.” 

--- 

Akiko’s heart goes into overdrive at least three times a week. 

Why? 

Tanjirou walks in just to say ‘hi’ to her. 

The bell chimes and Akiko quickly looks up with bright eyes, only to see that Sanemi has come back from the flower shop with another small batch of flowers in his hands. 

“Oh. It’s just you.” 

“Y’know? You really piss me the fuck off sometimes,” he growls out, swapping the flowers out from the counter and disposing of the old flowers. 

Akiko looks back down at her client, resuming her work before piping up, “So? How was your weekly visit? Have you hit on that girl yet?” 

Sanemi begins to sputter out protests, but he doesn’t yell at Akiko like she expects he would. So she smiles down at her work. 

“You’re so whipped already…” 

“I HEARD THAT!” 

Nevermind, he’s back to yelling.

---

 “I’m gonna do it.” 

“Do what?” 

“Science.” 

Miyuki looks at Chiyo oddly, wiping her hands on her apron as Chiyo looks at the new shipment of roses. 

It takes a second to click in Miyuki’s head, but once it does she stares wide eyed at Chiyo. 

“Are you gonna cross breed them?” 

She doesn’t get an answer, Chiyo’s mind tunnel visioning on the roses that she’s gathered into her arms and brings to the front of the store, a few roses left behind. 

“You know, you can always just text Giyuu to go out for some coffee!” Miyuki calls out, waving her phone into the air. Chiyo stops in her tracks. 

“How the hell am I supposed to slide into his DM’s?” 

“Just… Just ask him for his number…” 

There’s silence, and Chiyo breaks it with a loud laugh. 

“Ask for his number- what year were you even born?” 

“HEY! We’re the same age!!” 

Miyuki’s phone suddenly goes off, and she glances down at the text before smiling. 

“Cool! Giyuu and I are hangin out after work!” 

“HAND ME THE PHONE OR DIE!” 

--- 

Tanjirou’s daily way of life consists of working at the flower shop and staring at Akiko from the store’s big windows. Her workstation is right in front of the window like some sort of high school anime protagonist, but it allows for Tanjirou to see her work diligently. 

And she dazes off from her spot by the window too, often times looking up at the clouds or scrolling through her phone. And whenever she catches him staring at her, he quickly turns back to over watering the flowers. 

Even Chiyo and Miyuki have caught him a number of occasions, and they now tease him relentlessly for it. 

“I’ll be taking my break now!” Tanjirou says, hanging his apron on a spare hook before quickly trying to escape through the front entrance. 

“Are you going over to the tattoo parlor?” Chiyo wonders aloud, and Tanjirou freezes in his tracks. 

“N- No? I’m uhh… Getting a coffee!!” 

He runs out, barely hearing Miyuki call out, “Make sure you get Akiko one too!” 

The two girls laugh when they see Tanjirou’s red ears and they get back to work when new customers walk in. 

The next time the bell chimes, Akiko is happy to see that it isn’t Sanemi or Giyuu, but rather Tanjirou. She finds herself smiling giddily, then quickly directs her attention back down to her client while attempting to hide her happiness. 

“Hey kid,” Sanemi calls out, and Tanjirou jumps a bit. 

“You need something?” 

Tanjirou stares at the cup in his hand before setting it down on the counter, “Ah, if Akiko is too busy, just give this to her later if you can.” He smiles, and he’s about to zoom out of the door in fear of Sanemi, but he stops himself. 

Then, with all the courage in his soul, he turns around and shuffles close to Sanemi, beckoning him closer to whisper his question. 

“Do you… Do you know Akiko’s favorite type of flowers?” 

Sanemi cocks a brow, “How the hell am I supposed to know that-” 

“Camellias.” 

Two heads whip to Giyuu, who has just finished up with his client. He probably overheard them when he turned his tattoo gun off, and he peels his plastic gloves off. 

“She likes camellias.” 

Tanjirou smiles as bright as the sun, overwhelmed with joy, and he speaks up to say, “Chiyo likes peonies and Miyuki likes white flowers!” And with that quick bit of information, Tanjirou skips out of the store and back to the flower shop. 

--- 

“Just to let you know… purple roses mean love at first sight and true love.” 

Giyuu looks over at Miyuki, the two oddly close as friends. She’s laying on her bed and he sits on the floor, the two scrolling through their phones and enjoying each other’s presence. 

“Why do I need to know that?” 

Miyuki rolls over onto her stomach, flashing Giyuu a cheeky smile, “Just cuz!” 

He sighs at her odd behavior, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose once again before turning back down to his phone. When he doesn’t hear Miyuki move or say anything, he turns back around, in no way used to her silent nature. 

Giyuu finds her staring at his right ear, and he tilts his head in confusion. 

“What?” 

“You have a piercing.” 

He reaches up to touch the helix piercing, fiddling with the ring and reminded that he does in fact have a piercing. 

“Oh my god, Chiyo will eat that shit up!” 

Giyuu sputters in embarrassment, face turning red before he shoots back, “Sanemi has one too.” 

Now it’s Miyuki’s turn to burst into a fit of red, and the two end their conversation there. 

--- 

“Oh, this?” Akiko touches her helix ring before taking another sip of the coffee Tanjirou has brought her. 

She tucks a lock of her hair behind her ear, showing the piercing off for the world to see before shrugging. 

“Giyuu, Sanemi and I have matching piercings,” she says nonchalantly, but Tanjirou’s jaw drops. 

“But don’t you guys hate each other?” 

“We were drunk.” 

“Makes sense- wait how old are you?” 

Akiko hums under her breath, taking another quick sip before saying, “Nineteen?” 

Tanjirou is happy to know that they’re the same age, but he backtracks and frowns at her answer. 

“Aren’t you underage then?” 

“Yeah, but we were celebrating Giyuu’s 21st birthday. Sanemi bullied him into buying alcohol for us.” 

Tanjirou continues to frown at which Akiko smiles teasingly, claiming that that occasion was the only time she’s ever had alcohol, and that she hasn’t had any since then. Tanjirou can only sigh, gently taking her hand into his and asking her to promise that she won’t drink till she’s legal. 

Somehow, despite being a stuttering mess, she promises, and the two keep their fingers intertwined for the rest of the time Tanjirou stays. 

--- 

“Today?” 

“Today.” 

Miyuki and Chiyo look at the purple roses with pride, and Chiyo wipes some imaginary sweat off her brow. 

Lo and behold, Chiyo has achieved the perfect crossbreed of purple flowers. They’re finally in full bloom, and Chiyo has just wrapped them up nicely in some wrapping paper. There’s an elaborate bow she’s tied on too, something she’s especially good at. 

“Do you think he’ll like it?” Chiyo mutters, suddenly growing worried. Giyuu isn’t one to show his emotions, and Chiyo barely catches his rare blushes. She can only hope that her first batch of crossbred roses will be to his liking. 

Tanjirou pops into the room, a smile on his face, “I’m sure he’ll love it!” 

That’s when the two girls notice the small batch of camellias in his hand, differently assorted with pinks and white and reds, and some white with pink or red tips. 

“Are you-” 

“Confessing to Akiko?” Miyuki finishes for Chiyo, and Tanjirou blushes before reaching up to scratch the back of his neck. 

“Uh, yeah! We just got the new shipment of camellias, so I thought now would be the best time…” 

Chiyo’s eye twitches. 

“Tanjirou, no offense, but it’s my day to shine. I poured my blood sweat and tears into this shit,” Chiyo points at her purple roses, and Miyuki runs off into the store. 

“Can’t we both give them flowers?” 

“Not to be petty but I want to be first.” 

“Not if I’m first!” Miyuki pops up with some white roses, and Chiyo nearly slams her face through the wall. 

“Miyu, those are your favorite flowers!” 

“LET ME FEEL INVOLVED, OKAY?!” 

“Wait where’s Tanjirou.” 

The two girls snap their heads to the front door, where Tanjirou is quietly trying to sneak out. When he sees that he’s been caught, he tries to make a break for it, and all of a sudden he sees two pairs of glowing red eyes zoom towards him. 

Akiko, Giyuu and Sanemi stop ignoring each other to glance up from their phones, wondering where the screaming and yelling is coming from. That’s when their door is broken down, and the three florists from across the street fall in. 

“SANEMI THESE AR-” 

“WAIT ME FIRST GOD DAMMIT-” 

“You guys I can’t breath-” 

“Time out!” Akiko yells loud enough for everyone to stop. She lets out a tired sigh, hand on her forehead.

“Can this be solved by rock paper scissors?” The youngest of all six asks, and the three fighting on the floor slowly nod their heads. 

So they comply to the resident baby, gathering their flowers and hiding them behind their backs (thought it’s no surprise anymore.) 

“Rock, paper scissor-” 

“Wait do we shoot on shoot or scissors.” 

“Shoot.” 

“Alright cool. No cheating.” 

“I don’t need to cheat to win.” 

“That’s not how rock paper scissor works.” 

“JUST PLAY THE DAMN GAME!” 

The three jump in fright before quickly yelling ‘rock paper scissor shoot!’ and dealing out whatever is on their minds. Akiko releases another sigh when Chiyo yells in victory, extremely pleased over her simple win. 

Tanjirou gives Akiko an apologetic smile when he loses again, and Miyuki is willing to accept second. 

All of a sudden, Chiyo doesn’t really want to go first. She’s gripping her purple roses from behind her back and she can feel her hands sweat a bit. But for all Giyuu knows or cares, she’s just giving him a bouquet of flowers. 

So she shoves the flowers into his arms, a blush on her face as she says, “I crossbred these for you!!” 

Giyuu stares blankly at the flowers in his hands. They’re fragrant, more so than the flowers that are normally left on the counter, but he can’t even bring himself to take a quick whiff out of curiosity. 

How should I say this. 

Giyuu.exe has stopped working. 

Chiyo stares at his blank expression and dread slowly begins to fill up within her, a pressure wrapping itself around her throat tight enough to make her feel like she’s being choked by vines. 

“You good…? Do you not like my flowers…?” 

“Does Chiyo know?” Miyuki whispers to Tanjirou. 

“She doesn’t know.” 

Giyuu blinks once. 

Purple roses mean love at first sight and first love. 

As if reliving the day he first met Chiyo, his face bursts into a fit of red. 

He’s fallen in love all over again.

Sanemi rolls his eyes at the two awkward, possibly new, couple(?) before he makes a move to split the two up. But Akiko yanks him by the back of his collar, effectively choking him, and she turns her hard ass co-worker into Miyuki’s direction. 

“Take it away, Miyuki,” Akiko gestures, and Miyuki’s already pink dusted nose deepens in shade. 

Akiko can see both Miyuki and Sanemi look nervous. She doesn’t know why Sanemi is in any way nervous, considering Miyuki is the one that’s about to do all the leg work here. 

“So… What flowers did you get me,” he demands an answer, and the bouquet of white roses is chucked into his face. 

Akiko sighs at the two as they quickly start to bicker, Sanemi spitting out a rose petal and asking why the hell she threw the bouquet for, and Miyuki yelling at him to be a bit nicer. 

“AND WHAT’S WITH THE WHITE ROSES?! AREN’T THESE YOUR FAVORITE FLOWERS?!” 

“YOU’RE NOT ALLOWED TO CALL ME OUT ON MY BULLSHIT!” 

Miyuki blinks, reeling at some sudden information before holding an incredulous look on her face. 

“How and why do you know that?” She interrogates him, and he’s fuming, suddenly grabbing her shoulders and yelling: 

“BECAUSE I LIKE YOU!!” 

God he’s so whipped for her. 

Now no one is talking. 

Sanemi is panting from yelling so much but Miyuki looks like she’s not breathing at all. Akiko almost calls the ambulance out of pure fear (that, and she doesn’t want a lawsuit on her hands). 

He knocks on her forehead with the back of his hand, “Hey, you still alive in there? Y’know I just confessed my shitty feelings for yo- OMF!” 

Miyuki jumps into his arms, the roses flying everywhere and scattering onto the floor. 

“HeY- GET OFF! YOU’RE JUST TRYING TO TOUCH MY ABS!” 

“SO WHAT IF I AM?!” 

The two revert back to their bickering, going back and forth between each other but this time with Sanemi wrapping his arms around Miyuki’s waist, a light blush dusting their cheeks. 

“Is… Is it my turn?” Tanjirou continues to stares at the other adults in the room. Two of which just,,, aren’t talking. And the other two of which are talking a bit too much. 

He decides to start, blushing before producing a small batch of camellias from behind his back. Akiko blinks in surprise at the display, thrown off from her usual level headed demeanor and quickly sporting a blush of her own. 

“Anyway, these are for you! Giyuu told me your favorites are camellias.” Akiko carefully takes the batch into her hands, handling them like she would a newborn. She faces down, attempting to cover the blush on her face with her bangs as she quickly mutters her thanks. 

He then plucks a flower from the small bouquet, only to carefully tuck it behind Akiko’s ear for the world to see her helix. 

“There! Now I can see your face a lot better!” 

Tanjirou, as per usual, smiles as brightly as the sun, and Akiko’s eyes reflect his soft rays. 

just to make this very clear, PLEASE DONT DRINK UNDER AGE!! shit guys sorry akiko is such a bad influence rip 

but if youve read this far,,, THANKS FOR READING SUCH A LONG AU!! it took me a while to write, so i really appreciate it! 

writing this was fun and thats mainly thanks to the fact that we would come up with so many stupid ideas for these fools, and it fed me to actually complete this behemoth of an au 

Tanjirou and Akiko take their time learning about each other all over again. 

He’s coming back from a solo mission with a handful of fish he just caught and he’s excited to cook it for Akiko. Upon seeing her patiently wait for him at the front gate, he smiles and rushes up to her. 

“Look! I brought us some fish! I can cook for you tonight,” he smiles innocently, but Akiko looks distraught. 

She actually shrinks from the fish, which is odd considering the fact that she used to love fish. 

“Ah, sorry… I don’t eat any meat anymore, Tanjirou.” 

“E- Eh? Really?” 

Akiko nods her head, “I haven’t been able to eat meat since I came to the Butterfly Estate. I actually, uh… I physically want to throw up when I put meat in my mouth…” Tanjirou can tell that it probably has to do with the fact that she shifts through organs daily, so he doesn’t comment. 

He smiles anyway, hiding the fish behind his back, “That’s okay! I’ll cook some for Inosuke then! I know he likes fish.” 

Akiko’s lonely for half a day when Tanjirou comes back from another solo mission. 

She doesn’t have any more patients, and Aoi says that she’ll willing to stay in charge of the estate if Akiko decides to leave with Tanjirou and explore the town nearby. 

When he comes home, she rushes out to greet him, a smile on her face before jumping into his arms after seeing that he has no injuries. He squeezes her close, stealing a quick whiff of antibiotic before setting her down to her feet. 

“I- I have time off today! Do you want to go into town with me?” 

But when he looks troubled, she glances down to her hands. 

“Sorry Akiko, but it might be best that we stay at the estate. What if someone is rushed in and they need you?” 

Makes sense, but Akiko wants to be selfish. 

She nods nonetheless, and they spend their time entrapped in the estate together. 

But it’s days where Tanjirou comes home with an orange that he picked off a tree, laughing as he says that they look like her eyes only for Akiko to laugh too because, “They look nothing like my eyes- pfft, stop it- haha!” that Tanjirou feels happiest. 

Or days where Tanjirou gets to rest his head on Akiko’s stomach as they both nap under the sunlight in the garden, Tanjirou reaching up to wrap his hand around Akiko’s. 

Tanjirou’s abs get in the way of being a nice headrest, and Akiko complained once that it felt like sleeping on the wooden floor. He took it as a compliment, despite Akiko blushing and telling him that he wasn’t supposed to. 

They come up with new routines, a new rhythm. One much more complex than the one they were used to when they were kids. 

Because now their worlds are so much bigger, and for the best too. 

They’re busy and their work is important, but they still value the time that they share. 

Tanjirou waits for her to finish her shower after she’s done with long operations, and they share the same futon when they sleep. 

Akiko waits patiently by the entrance gate, a first aid kit, snacks and tea ready for the two of them inside for when Tanjirou returns home. 

And while they spend their time together, either Miyuki or Zenitsu spends time with Nezuko. Either that, or they both do. 

Akiko is wearing his haori and eating some dorayaki Tanjirou brought home, the two lazily cloud watching in silence. 

She’s talking about the mist pillar now, and how he would cloud watch for hours in the middle of a mission. 

“I don’t even think I was there to make sure he didn’t die by the hands of an Upper Moon… I was probably just there to make sure he didn’t trip over roots and skewer himself with his katana,” Akiko sighs, and Tanjirou bursts out into laughter. 

She wraps herself up within the sight of his smile, the smell of his haori and the sound of his laugh. 

Sometimes, Akiko doesn’t talk to Tanjirou for days. She doesn’t receive any letters, but it doesn’t bother her too much anymore. 

And even when he is at the Butterfly Estate, Akiko might be shut in the OR for half a day saving someone’s life. 

So she’ll find random things in her room at times. Tanjirou’s gifted her some flowers he found on his way back, and he’s gifted her an omamori from one of the local temples despite the fact that she isn’t one to believe in gods and spirits. 

She probably should, though, considering the fact that demons run amok.

One day, Tanjirou returns with a book in hand. 

He was walking through town when a small bookstore caught his eye, and he remembered the promise he made Hanako the day she was killed. So he bought a book, intending to read it to Akiko in Hanako’s stead. 

“Akiko! Are you free later tonight?” Tanjirou smiles at her, and Akiko sees the book in his hand. She’s quick to understand his intentions, and she flushes at the idea before shooting him down. 

“I- uhm, I have to monitor a patient tonight, actually… They might run into some complications tonight, so I have to make sure they’re not dead by tomorrow morning…” 

Tanjirou slumps at the idea, but he understands that her work is important and he leaves it be. Perhaps he can read to Nezuko instead. Zenitsu might volunteer to read to his sister though. 

Akiko is drinking tea by the patient late at night when Aoi walks in, surprised to see Akiko by the patient’s bedside. 

“Isn’t Tanjirou back? Why aren’t you with him?” She wonders aloud, setting down some medicine for another patient. Akiko remains calm as always, her back straight as she observes the breathing pattern and heart rate of the patient. 

 Aoi quickly takes notice of what Akiko is doing and she rolls her eyes, standing next to Akiko’s seated form. 

“I’ll take over for tonight, so just go to him!” 

With widened eyes, Akiko starts to sputter protests, but Aoi is quick to retort, “If you’re worried about the patient I’ll ask Kanao to help too! Her eyes are better than mine anyhow…” 

“Oh? So now you just want to spend time with Kanao, huh?” 

Now it’s Aoi turn to sputter her protests, and Akiko chuckles warmly before giving her seat up for Aoi. She goes to call for Kanao, who nods with a smile before leaving her room to spend some time with Aoi. 

Akiko prepares herself for bed, changing into a thin kimono for her sleepwear and washing her face. Akiko sees Kanon seated by her brother’s bedside as she walks down the hallway, and her heart twinges with pain. 

They should be getting a new thing that monitors brain waves soon, since scientists in Europe continue to make new inventions. Akiko is excited to officially start running some tests on Haruki. 

She hopes that Kanon can hold on for just a bit longer. 

Akiko quietly raps the shoji of Tanjirou’s room, and when she hears a quiet “come in,” she does as she’s told. Tanjirou brightens at the sight of her, and she takes notice that Nezuko isn’t in the same room. 

“Ah, sorry… Is now a bad time? You can sleep if you want,” Akiko mumbles, and she’s surprised that Tanjirou can even hear her. 

He takes her hands into his and Akiko looks up at him in surprise, only to see that he’s smiling brilliantly despite the dimly lit room. 

“It’s never a bad time! You can come in whenever you’d like,” he says, and Akiko nods her head. She’s screaming inside, of course, but she won’t let him see that. He can probably smell it off of her though. 

“Well, uhm, Aoi and Kanao took my shift for tonight, so if you want I can… I can stay with you tonight…” 

Akiko has to shield her eyes when he smiles even brighter, and he leads her into his room. He dives into the futon first, opening the covers to let her in too, then grabs a nearby book. 

He doesn’t even have to ask if he can read for her, and she gets comfortable by nestling her head into the crook of his neck, half her body draped over his as her eyelashes tickle his cheek. Tanjirou doesn’t mind having to read the book above his head, and he’s glad he has the arm strength for it. 

So he reads to her for the night, eyes straining to read certain words due to the awful lighting. He can tell that she struggles to stay awake, but he only finishes a chapter and a half before she’s out like a light. 

Akiko snores lightly and Tanjirou stops, looking down at her body before creasing the corner of the page and setting the book by his side. He’ll have to continue it next time, but for now he wraps his arms around Akiko’s waist and shuts his eyes with a smile on his face. 

Zenitsu wakes the two up the next morning with his ungodly screaming. 

“KIDDING ME!! YOU GUYS ARE KIDDING ME!!! I’M GONNA HURL YOU TWO ARE TOO SWEET WITH EACH OTHER!!!” 

Akiko yeets a pillow at his face hard enough to knock the poor boy over before she turns over to go back to sleep in Tanjirou’s arms. Tanjirou laughs at his friend before holding a finger to his lips. 

“Akiko works hard, Zenitsu. So be quiet please?” 

“Eh?” Zenitsu starts to complain, “But I’m injured! See? I have a bruise from my last mission! And they’re telling me to go out again! I need Akiko to help me and another couple strands of Nezuko’s hair-” 

The room suddenly gets colder and Zenitsu freezes when he sees the slightly annoyed look on Miyuki’s face. She stands right behind the boy and sets a chilly hand on his shoulder. 

“Let’s let the lovebirds rest for today, hm? I’ll help you in Akiko’s stead, Zenitsu. But you aren’t getting any of Nezuko’s hair.” 

Zenitsu allows himself to be pulled away from the resting couple, happy that another pretty lady will be the one to help him. Tanjirou sighs in relief before looking down at Akiko, who continues to snore away. 

A couple days later, when all three boys are back at the estate, Aoi has them doing pushups in the backyard. Akiko waves Shinobu off on her mission before walking on back, startled to see Kiyo, Sumi and Naho sitting on each of the boys. 

Akiko looks at Aoi warily, “Is this really okay for them to do?” 

Aoi scoffs, “This is nothing, trust me.” 

When Kiyo looks up from counting, she smiles, “Akiko-san!” Kiyo waves, and Akiko startles when three heads snap up to look at her. 

“AKIKO SAVE MEEEE!!!!! I’M DYING!!!!” Zenitsu cries and Akiko almost enjoys looking down at his agonizing face. Inosuke continues to scream and yell his own praises, while Tanjirou counts how many push ups they have left. 

Tanjirou smiles when he sees his fiance, and she’s about to turn around to go back to the medical ward when Kiyo calls out, “Akiko-san! Would you like to take my place?” 

Akiko nearly chokes on her own spit at the thought and Zenitsu starts to cry blood at the thought. 

“I- uh… I have to go check on some patients!” Akiko flushes, pointing behind her while chewing at her lip in embarrassment. She’s about to turn around and run off when Aoi garbs the back collar of her blouse, and Akiko struggles for air. 

“Good idea Kiyo. Tanjirou looks like he can use some extra weight on him.” 

Akiko glares down at Aoi, who casually looks the other direction. But for some reason, Inosuke throws a fit and demands that Akiko sit on him instead. 

So now both Kiyo and Naho sit on Inosuke, Akiko sitting seiza style on Tanjirou’s back with her face in her hands as Tanjirou does his pushups. 

“Are you comfortable?” Tanjirou asks, counting from 43. 

Akiko keeps her eyes shut, and in a high pitched voice that Tanjirou has never heard from her, she mumbles, “Just keep doing your pushups…” 

And he laughs at her, and Zenitsu continues to cry and Inosuke’s energy skyrockets and Aoi watches everyone fondly. 

Akiko is happy. 

fUCKEN TUMBLR deadass deleted all my work for this ch so im,,,, anyway, i forgot what i wrote for the author’s note :/// 

basically yall deserve some fluff bc i dragged their meet up for a LONG time (ngl it could rly be fleshed out a bit more but i feel like people would lose interest :/) 

also yeah akiko is vegetarian yall can throw hands w me on this. imo it makes sense and that just seems like her type of character!! but in kimetsu academy, full send shes a vegan bc supplements exist