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Chapter Text

Giyuu's like 78% sure he's been dreaming this entire day up.

At some point in the morning, he had gained the ability to hear the thoughts of whoever he had touched and it's driving him insane.

The comic books made it looked so fun to be a telepath, but if Giyuu had to hear someone in the office thinking [Damn, I need to take a shit] one more time, he swears he's gonna lose it.

The worst part was that he didn't even know how this.. this ridiculous curse even happened!

Just yesterday, he was a mere socially stunted accountant at the Demon Slayer Law Inc. and then boom, today he's a socially stunted accountant with too much knowledge about the people around him and nothing he could do about it.

The only notable thing that happened yesterday was that the most respected CEO, Mr.Ubuyashiki had wished him a Happy 30th Birthday right before Giyuu tripped and faceplanted ungracefully onto the floor in front of him.

Giyuu winced at that memory. Yeah, not his best moment. Anyway, he highly doubted that utter embarrassment would be the source of his newfound powers, so there's that.

You would think that avoiding physical contact with people would solve the problem, but given his daily routine of squeezing in crowded buses, traffic light stops, lifts, and the occasional pat on the back by his too-friendly colleague(mostly just Rengoku), it was beyond impossible.

With his senses overwhelmed by all the unwanted thoughts(I get it, Rengoku, you really love sweet potatoes!), it's only reasonable that he's currently curled into a ball under his desk.

"What the fuck are you doing?" A gruff voice asked from above his desk.

Giyuu sighed. Sanemi's usual hostile temperament is not really something he want to handle right now.

However, he knew that ignoring Sanemi would just start another fight, so he patted the floor noncommittally before replying, "Finding my pen."

There was a snort, and then silence.

Giyuu assumed that he had left and blew out a breath, leaning his head back onto the side of the desk. 

"You know I can see you, right?"

Giyuu jolted in surprise and hit his head on the bottom of the desk with a muffled groan. He reluctantly got out of his safe space and turned to face Sanemi, who was leaning against the open side of his cubicle with a raised brow.

"I lost the pen," Giyuu concluded.

Sanemi gave him a flat look.

They held each other's gaze in silence. 

Aaaaand they were doing it again. 

It being a staring match for god knows why.  For Giyuu's part, it's because he doesn't have anything to say so he's waiting for the other to start the conversation. For Sanemi's part, it always seemed like he had something to say but he just.. doesn't. And then somehow it became like a challenge to keep eye contact anyway, from the determined look on Sanemi's face.

A normal person would probably find it awkward but since Giyuu had never gotten the hang of social etiquette, he finds that he didn't really mind. Sanemi has quite an interesting face and Giyuu likes to map out his scars mentally. It always seemed like each one has a story to tell - if only Sanemi wouldn't mind him asking. 

He had witnessed his intern, Inosuke, making that mistake once - and the ensuing chaos almost got Sanemi suspended from work. Although, Giyuu admits, Inosuke's question of "Did you fight a squirrel with your face?" would make anyone go berserk, least of all Sanemi.

Nonetheless, Giyuu had tried asking once, if Sanemi had something he wanted to talk about. He had said "No?" defensively and continued staring, so there's that.

Giyuu waits until Sanemi's cheeks gets increasingly red from the inevitable awkwardness from prolonged eye contact and looks away with a huff.

Then, Sanemi abruptly whipped out a pen from his back pocket and held it out to him wordlessly.

"..That's not my pen," Giyuu stated, because it really wasn't. He had bulk bought his preferred brand of blue ballpoint pen so he could tell the difference at one glance.

Sanemi narrowed his eyes dangerously and Giyuu realised that that was the wrong answer.

"Just take the damned pen, Tomioka," he growled.

Giyuu vaguely wondered how he got himself coerced into taking a random pen as he reached for it and felt their fingers brushed.

[I can't believe I'm in love with this fucking idiot.]

Giyuu startled at the sudden voice in his mind and dropped the pen.

"W-What?" He gasped.

"What? I didn't say anything," Sanemi grouched with a scowl.

For awhile, Giyuu had his doubts about this telepathy thing being real or just a trick of his mind. Now though, he's a 100% sure that it's definitely imaginary because there is no way in hell Sanemi would ever have those thoughts about him. 

The next question was why had Giyuu been hallucinating about Sanemi liking him. Was he secretly harboring a crush on this perpetually angry man? Well.. he is pretty much your classic mysteriously grumpy guy with a not-so-secretly soft heart but no, hold up. Giyuu's not going down this rabbit hole of falling for a straight man again - even though his friendship with Sabito still turned out fine in the end. His heart can only take so much breaking in a lifetime.

"Oi, stop zoning out on me, asshole!" 

"Right, sorry," Giyuu shook his head to clear his mind and retrieved the pen.

"What the fuck is up with you today?" Sanemi scoffed in annoyance and watched him expectantly.

Giyuu blinked. Was he.. actually concerned?

No wait, stop it, brain. Stop imagining things.

A sudden cool hand on his forehead pulled him out of his thoughts.. right into Sanemi's voice in his mind.

[Is he running a fever? Maybe I should bring some lotus soup for him tomorrow.]

Giyuu jerked away from his hand, feeling his cheeks heat. Sanemi retracted his hand jerkily and cleared his throat.

"If you're sick, you better rest. If it burnt any more of your meagre brain cells, you won't have any left," he commented gruffly.

Giyuu nodded with averted eyes and Sanemi finally left him to his devices after a hard glare.

Giyuu sat down heavily in his chair and held his hot face in his hands.

God, what was wrong with him? How could he have thought of such absurd things?

He closed his eyes and exhaled out harshly.

It's okay. Everything's fine - today was just a fluke. He's gonna go to sleep tonight and wake up tomorrow to realise that it was indeed all just a crazy dream...

Chapter Text

It was not a dream.

How did Giyuu know? Long story short, apparently he had a mole at the back of his neck in the shape of a heart - so as Mitsuri thought while she stood behind him in the crowded lift the next day.

Giyuu had skidded to the toilet mirror to check for it in vain and was caught by Tengen in the midst of turning himself in various angles.

"What are you doing?" The tall man froze at the entrance with a skeptical look.

Giyuu blinked. "I'm trying to see something at the back of my neck," He admitted.

"Oh, lemme help you take a look," Tengen had said, apparently not a stranger to weird statements. He then proceeded to help him snap a picture with his phone.

Giyuu squinted at the screen and zoomed in on the picture. Sure enough, at the base of his neck, was a small mole in the shape of a heart. His phone cluttered to the ground.

"You alright, man? What did you see?" Tengen asked as he retrieved his phone and took a look for himself. "Aww, a heart mole? That's cute."

Meanwhile, Giyuu's brain short was still short circuiting at the implication that Mitsuri's thoughts were proven real. There was no way his brain could have cooked that very specific fact up. Which means, he hasn't been delusional at all but had been truly reading others' thoughts through contact. Most importantly, it meant that Sanemi -

The toilet burst opened and in strolled in someone else. Speak of the devil.

"Oh, Sanemi! Hey, did you know that Giyuu has a heart shaped mole behind his neck?" Tengen greeted loudly, to Giyuu's silent breakdown.

"How the hell would I know that?" Sanemi replied gruffly and gave them a dirty look before elbowing his way to the sink right beside Giyuu.

[How did he know about that? I didn't know anyone else except for me would notice. What is Tengen fucking up to this time?]

Giyuu felt his face flush immediately at the bombardment of thoughts as Sanemi rinsed his hands with unnecessary aggressiveness. He quickly took a step away from him.

"Hey, man, it's fine! Nothing to be embarrassed about. I think it's pretty cool," Tengen reassured as he handed his phone back over to Giyuu.

[Hah, as if Sanemi didn't notice..]

Giyuu felt his hand jolt at that thought. Did.. Tengen know about this too? He felt like he was about to hyperventilate.

"Thanks," he mumbled breathlessly before escaping the confines of that area.

***

So here he was, in the pantry alone, finishing up on his cup of tea absently in thought.

So.. apparently Sanemi liked him. Big deal, right? Everyone has a small crush on one and another at any point of time. Except that it was a big deal, because.. because nobody ever had a crush on Giyuu before. And Sanemi sure had a funny way of showing it. Giyuu wouldn't know love until it smacked him in the face - quite literally the case with Sabito - and Sanemi had to go do the opposite. No matter what, dry insults and staring do not constitute as showing interest. Now Giyuu's more lost and confused than usual.

He groaned as he clutched at his hair with both hands. Why was this so complicated? How was he supposed to respond? Does he even like Sanemi back?

"Do you actually get paid to stand around staring into blank air?"

Giyuu spun around at the voice, accidentally knocking his cup off the counter.

Crash! The cup broke into pieces on the floor.

"Oh," Giyuu commented at the mess.

"Fuck," Sanemi cursed and shot a glare at Giyuu. "Don't move," He ordered with a stern finger before taking off.

Giyuu felt his heart pick up the pace again upon the sight of Sanemi. God, how many times did he have to face his source of crisis in one day? He didn't even realised how often they meet in the office until now. Wait, was Sanemi always actively seeking him out? He swallowed and decided not to go down on that train of thought.

Giyuu inspected the damage done around him instead. It was not too bad - the cup was almost empty and the shards didn't flew too far. He felt like an idiot standing around not doing anything so he squatted down to pick the pieces up.

Well, he thought belatedly as he eyed a drop of blood oozing out of his finger, maybe that's why people used a broom.

"Hey, I said don't move!" Sanemi caught Giyuu with one hand filled with shards and sucking on the other thumb, putting together two and two.

"Are you fucking stupid? Why the hell are you picking the shards up with your bare hands?!" He scolded as he shoved a plastic bag to the other for him to throw the debris.

"I... thought it'll be faster," He replied.

"Faster in slicing your limbs, then yeah!" Sanemi spat as he swept the floor harshly with the broom he brought. "I can't believe you're single-handedly managing our finances with that nonexistent brain of yours!"

He sounded really mad. Giyuu blinked, momentarily doubting Sanemi's previously indicated interest in him. There's no way he would like someone he thinks was as dumb as Giyuu. Maybe it was all a ruse, after all.

A sense of relief washed over him, followed by a small feeling of disappointment. Wait, what? No, Giyuu was glad that everything was back to normal. Yeah.

He watched as Sanemi swiftly cleaned up the rest of the mess and grabbed the first-aid kit from the cupboard.

He turned to Giyuu and gestured to his hand. "Show me," He demanded gruffly, to which Giyuu reluctantly complied, readying himself for an onslaught of angry thoughts.

[Fucking idiot, I swear to god.]

As harsh as Sanemi's words were, the way he handled his hand were nothing but gentle and careful. He dabbed the cut softly with a cotton bud and antiseptic cream. Giyuu winced slightly.

Sanemi shot him a glance before moving on to bandaging his finger.

[So stupid. Why can't I stop causing trouble?]

Giyuu furrowed his brows at redirection of anger in that thought. Was Sanemi actually blaming himself for this accident?

"It's not really that painful.." Giyuu quickly clarified to ease his redundant guilt.

[As if he doesn't already hate me.]

Giyuu cannot be anymore confused by Sanemi's self-loathing. Where were all these coming from? Did he think like this all the time? No wonder he was so grouchy.

"I don't-" Giyuu caught himself from replying directly to Sanemi's thoughts. "I mean, erm.. you look upset," He said instead. 

"What am I supposed to be, jumping in joy?" Sanemi scoffed humourlessly. "I don't hate you that much."

[Quite the opposite, actually. Does he really think that I'm such a dick? Argh, of course he does. All I do is insult him and make his life difficult.]

Giyuu let out a breath of frustration. "I don't hate you," He emphasised. "Either," he added as afterthought.

Sanemi did not respond but there was a telltale tinge of red on the tip of his ears.

[He... doesn't? Well, he should. It'll make this stupid crush much easier to handle.]

Giyuu inhaled sharply. Right, he almost forgot about that. He could feel his heartbeat start to quicken at the mention.

Sanemi looked up at him quizzically before he lowered his eyes to Giyuu's lips.

[Fuck, I wish I could kiss him.]

Giyuu startled at that transparent thought, snatching his hand out of Sanemi's grasp nervously. He felt like his face was on fire as he steadily avoided his questioning gaze.

"I-I remembered that have a meeting to attend! Sorry! Thank you, bye!" Giyuu barely stammered out to a baffled Sanemi before booking out of the place in record time.

***

The next day, Zenitsu was furtively lurking around his desk.

"Tomioka-san," He greeted with a formal bow. "H-Here's some extra soup my gramps made. The rest of the office had their share." He held out the usual old-fashioned flask with floral prints on it.

"Oh, thank you, Zenitsu." Giyuu said absently as he accepted it without a thought. 

However, when their fingers touched in the exchanged, [a first-person perspective view of Sanemi grabbing his collar and threatening "If you let him know that I made the soup, you are dead meat."] flashed past his mind.

Giyuu gasped back to reality as Zenitsu abruptly caught the dropped flask in mid-air with a muffled sound of alarmed.

What on earth was that!? A vision? Great, now the thoughts come with visuals? Wait.. does this mean that Sanemi was the one who made the soup?

"Are you alright, Tomioka-san?" Zenitsu asked in a loud whisper, looking around them warily.

"Right, I'm fine. Sorry, you said your gramps made this soup?" Giyuu probed as he reached for the flask again, ensuring that their fingers touch.

"Y-yes." 

[Sorry for lying to you, Tomokia-san, but I value my life very much.]

Giyuu gulped. "That's.. very nice of him. Do pass on my thanks."

[Like hell I will! I don't even know why Shinazugawa-san tasked me with this!]

"Ah.. you're welcome. Please enjoy... you can leave the flask at my desk when you are done," Zenitsu said with a meek nod and scrambled off.

Giyuu slumped back onto his chair, looking at the flask suspiciously. He opened it delicately to the smell of lotus soup wafting up his nose and he felt his stomach squeeze at the confirmation.

He shut his eyes and thought back to the first time Zenitsu brought him soup. 

It was during last winter when he had gotten a cold the day before - evident by his frequent sneezes and piling mountain of tissues. He remembered Zenitsu nervously approaching him with the same flask and excuse. The warm lotus soup then was like a holy grail that cleared his nose like a miracle. He didn't questioned much about why exactly Tengen's intern was giving out soup. He was just glad it always came when he most needed it.

He felt his heart warmed at the thought that Sanemi had been behind it all along, even though he had always been the one mocking at Giyuu's unfortunate predicaments. He belatedly realised that it meant Sanemi had been harbouring this crush on him for.. almost half a year? He felt his nerves singed at that new information.

As quickly as it came, though, Giyuu quashed that feeling down, not wanting to pursue this daydream.

The thing is.. the thing is Sanemi's a lawyer. In fact, all of them are. The lawyers of Demon Slayer Inc. are on a whole new league of their own in the law industry.

Gyomei's a tax lawyer, one of the best in his field. He may be blind but he has the entire state laws memorised in his brain, information ready right at his fingertips as ammunition for his cases.

Shinobu, who also has a doctorate, handles medical malpractices and has taken on many famous cases from established hospitals. And won, obviously.

Mitsuri's a family lawyer - dealing with divorce, custody support and whatnot. However, she's known to mend relationships prior to court and have thus lost many client businessess while gaining them as loyal connections.

Tengen puts his charming personality to good use as a corporate lawyer, winning cases while somehow still able to sooth over strained corporate relationships. His oppositions also tends to hire him for their future cases.

Not forgetting Obanai with his sharp tongue, who specialises in civil litigation. He is known to be blunt with his words and likes to cut to the chase. He holds the fastest record in finishing a court case within 5 minutes of ruthless debate.

The passionate Kyojuro very aptly expertise as a workers compensation lawyer, seeking justifyable compensation for his clients. He is only one of the few in the profession who has successfully went against big-named conglomerates.

And of course, there's Sanemi. He's a notoriously known badass criminal defense lawyer who isn't afraid of going against people in power, be it politically or in the underworld. Giyuu also noted that Sanemi also has a penchant for taking on cases of defending selected juveniles, who opens up to him about their troubled situation easily. Some of them even get attached to him - case in point, Sanemi's intern, Inosuke.

In stark contrast, there's Giyuu, your average accountant amongst the Hashiras - the strongholds of Demon Slayer Law Inc and legends among the law world.

He's sure the only reason he's here is because he's the only one who hasn't ran off or died yet. Sure, they may be a highly reputable company located at the top level of a skyscraper raking in big bucks, but working at the Demon Slayer Law Inc was actually.. pretty dangerous. 

Thanks to aforesaid mention of lawyers pissing off rich capitalists according to their whims, there have been several incidents of paid attacks on the employees.

Admittedly, Giyuu should have saw it coming when some of the interview questions included "How well do you fight?"(Giyuu still has his gold medals in mixed martial arts during his college days), and "Can you handle a gun?"(He took up shooting classes as extra-curricular). Anyway, these kind of things became something of the ordinary when you get used to it. The Hashiras were all very well skilled for some reason, and handled the altercations fairly easily themselves. So Giyuu usually just heeded their advice to stay by the sidelines while he watched them kicked asses.

But anyway the point is, Giyuu's already out of his depth being in this company. He barely even fits in - opting to eat lunch out by himself since the lawyers are always eating takeaway food at their desks according to their busy schedules. They always seem to have exciting cases to share with each other, while all Giyuu has are his numbers. Even though they all share the same office space in their spacious desk cubicles (Mr.Ubuyashiki's transparency policy), he just feels out of place. The last thing he could imagine was getting into a relationship with any one of them. There's just no way things will work out, he sighed in resignation. 

What did Sanemi see in him, anyway?

Chapter Text

1 year ago…

The first time Sanemi had saw Giyuu Tomioka, he immediately hated him. Mostly because he had spilled hot coffee onto Sanemi's favourite white shirt (no matter that he had 5 of them, he likes them all, sue him). It was Giyuu's first day of work and being a newcomer, he was tasked as the coffee boy (There was no such role, Shinobu had just asked him to do it). 

Sanemi was having a bad day, having taken on a tough case with a delinquent even more stubborn than Genya was. His opponent had even hired one of the Moon's lawyer, which obviously meant war or so he complained loudly to Tengen beside him while they headed to the pantry. He was giving a very realistic demonstration of how he wanted to throttle Douma's slimey neck at the turn into the pantry doorway just as Giyuu exited holding a mug of coffee in each hand. As expected, the two men collided with piping hot coffee sloshing over the rim to spill onto both of them.

"Fuck!" Sanemi cursed as he jumped back, quickly unbuttoning his soiled shirt to cut off contact with it on his skin. He finally raised his eyes to meet whichever idiot and was ready to give him hell.

The first thing he registered was pretty, - blue eyes, long dark hair (seriously, did Mr.Ubuyashiki hire this guy out of a model magazine?) and the words died in his mouth. The second thing he had noticed was that the guy's gaze was glued to Sanemi's own chest. Suddenly self conscious and defensive about the scars littered there, he barked, "Hey, watch where you're going, asshole!"

"Oh," Giyuu finally caught his eye and Sanemi felt pinned by his steel blue gaze. "I apologise, I did not see you coming. Are you alright?" His voice was soft and calm, the total opposite of Sanemi's, and for some reason that got on his nerve. Was he trying to make Sanemi look like the bad guy here?

"I'm sure as hell not! Are you saying this is my fault?" He snapped, the frustration building up from the day ready to be unleashed on this unsuspecting victim. He took a threatening step forward, but was stopped by two strong arms hooking under his arms and lifting him up.

"HEY, FUCK OFF! LET ME DOWN!" Sanemi demanded as his legs kicked ineffectively at the air.

"Okaaaayy," Tengen placated as he carried Sanemi away like a feral cat. "Sorry for that, he's had a bad day!" He called over his shoulder as they left.

They steered clear of each others' ways after that, which was wise, on Giyuu's part. To Sanemi, he was just another nameless accountant that will no doubt change in a few months.

If Sanemi had to pinpoint the day he saw Giyuu in a different light, it'll be that day he decided to get shit-faced drunk.

Sometime 2 months later, Sanemi found out that one of the juveniles he had defended in court had overdosed and passed away. She was a young girl brought up in a bad home and hung with the wrong people. Way too young to go, he thought grimly as he finished his second bottle of sake.

He slumped on the bench with his eyes closed, wondering if he could take a nap here. He didn't want Genya to see him like this, so he was drinking at a park near his workplace instead. The midnight breeze was cool, accompanied by the rustle of leaves and cicadas chirping. 

He didn't really expect his mourning to be interrupted by a mellow, "Shinazugawa."

Sanemi pried his eyes opened to see a double image of the - whoever that pathetic newbie was.

"Shinazugawa," Giyuu repeated as his eyes darted to the empty bottles. "Are you alright?"

"Fucking peachy."

"You don't look so."

Usually Sanemi would start a fight, but now he's just not feeling very up to it. Might have been something to do with his fuzzy mind.

Unfortunately, Giyuu was undeterred by the lack of response and took a seat beside him on the bench.

Sanemi scrunched his nose up in irritation.

"What the fuck are you doing here so late, anyway?"

Giyuu paused, then held up his phone to show Sanemi his Pokémon Go screen.

Sanemi snorted. Seemed like Genya wasn't alone in his nerdy adventure.

"Alright, you can fuck off and catch your Pokémon, then."

"It's dangerous for you to be alone in this state, Shinazugawa."

"I don't give a flying fuck," Sanemi huffed as his eyes slipped back close "Maybe it's better if they get me," he mumbled softly.

There was a beat of silence.

"That's not true."

"No one asked for your opinion, newbie."

"You're a good lawyer, Shinazugawa. Your heart is in the right place and you did your best."

"Doesn't mean shit if people died because of me," Sanemi spat.

"There's no point blaming yourself for things outside of your control."

"Maybe if she went to juvie, she wouldn't had overdosed-"

"- Maybe if went to juvie," Giyuu interrupted. "she might have a fatal fall down the stairs,"

"Huh?"

"If it's hypothetical, anything can happen. There's no point thinking how the grass could have been greener on the other side because there was never another side to begin with."

Sanemi huffed at that pragmatic mindset.

Still not wanting to admit that Giyuu has a point, he challenged, "You're a therapist now or something?"

"No?" The man furrowed his brow in utter confusion. "I'm still an accountant.'

Sanemi let out an unexpected bark of laughter at that display of oblivion. God, his CEO really did know how to pick 'em.

Suddenly, five men dressed in black appeared out from the trees, surrounding them. Sanemi jumped to his feet and wobbled, realising he was a little more drunk than he thought. He shook his head to sober up, holding an arm out to Giyuu as a sign to stay behind him.

He took stock of the assailants - just five of them armed with bats. Probably some new rookies that wanted to exploit Sanemi's drunkness to teach him a lesson. Well, jokes on them, because drunk Sanemi doesn't pull his punches.

Within a few minutes, all of the assailants were groaning in several degrees of pain on the ground.

"Next time you guys want an even fight, at least bring a gang," Sanemi spat in offense. He didn't make his mark as the Gangster Lawyer to fight a handful of barely-armed noobs. He grabbed his alcohol bottles and started to stalk off before remembering that he wasn't alone.

Sanemi paused in his step and turned around to see Giyuu hovering uncertainly around the fallen men. Like he wanted to offer help, but also felt that he shouldn't. "Uh, should we-"

Sanemi rolled his eyes and made the decision for him. "You coming or what?"

"Okay," Giyuu followed after him and Sanemi turned back to continue his path.

Suddenly, there was an enraged cry from behind him. By the time Sanemi had whipped around, Giyuu's hand was straight out in front of his chest. With a knife sticking out from the forearm.

"What the fuck?!" He looked up to see one of the lackeys sitting up with his one hand still out, possibly from throwing the knife at him. He paled visibly upon eye contact with Sanemi's murderous glare.

"Shinazugawa," Giyuu's voice stopped him from going on a rampage with the motherfucker. "C-Can you call for help?" 

"Try to run and I'll make sure even the ambulance can't save you," Sanemi snarled at the culprit in warning while he fished his phone out and hit speed dial. Thankfully, the man knew what was good for him and stayed down in fear.

After a quick call, Sanemi tore a strip of cloth from his sleeve to tie a tourniquet on the man's arm. Giyuu stumbled the moment it was done, of which Sanemi supported his side and slowly help him to a sitting position.

"What were you even thinking, catching a knife with your bare hands?!" He hissed.

"I didn't have anything else with me," Was the weak explanation.

"You should have just leave it be, it's not like it'll be my first time getting stabbed!"

"I don't want it to be your last one," Giyuu mumbled, eyes feeling heavy and consciousness slipping through the blood loss.

"Shut up. Oi, don't fall asleep on me!"

Giyuu suddenly perked up at the memory of something. "Don't.. don't tell my sister I got hurt."

"Why the hell not?"

He blinked slowly. "She'll want me to quit working at Demon Slayer Law Inc."

"Maybe you should."

"I don't want to... please," Giyuu pleaded softly before he passed out in Sanemi's arms.

"Ah, fuck."

***

The accountants at Demon Slayer Law Inc usually don't last beyond their probation period of 3 months.

They usually are:

1. Scared off from being attacked

2. Scared off by Sanemi Shinazugawa.

He prefers for number 2 to happen before number 1, saving everyone the hassle.

Unfortunately for him this time, it seemed like Giyuu was here to stay.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?" Sanemi growled at the sight of Giyuu in the hospital bed typing on the work laptop with his uninjured arm.

"Um, using the computer?"

"Yeah, no shit. Aren't you on hospital leave?"  He scowled as he placed some get well gifts from the office down on the table.

"There's a lot of backlog and I'm the only accountant, so-"

"-I don't give a flying fuck, the numbers will still be there when you're back," was all the warning Giyuu got before his laptop was snapped shut and stolen away.

Giyuu pouted petulantly. "But I have nothing else to do."

"Watch TV or something," Sanemi suggested as he turned to leave with the laptop tucked under his arm. "Not my problem." His token visit guilt-tripped by the Hashiras was done here.

He heard Giyuu sighed sadly from behind him and he paused. God, this man was so pathetic. Sanemi knows that this loser's sister can't visit because she doesn't know about this, so maybe he's just lonely.

Sanemi tsked, fishing out a manga that he's been reading from his bag and threw it at Giyuu. He definitely was not impressed by how the man was able to catch it easily from the air with his uninjured hand.

"Wha-"

"-Shut up. Read it or not, I'll want it back," Sanemi instructed before leaving the hospital room. 

Over the next week, Sanemi came back for his book while Giyuu shamelessly asked for more of the series. As much as it irked the lawyer for being treated as a walking library, he was secretly glad to find someone who enjoyed his favourite manga.

Sanemi had never really shared this hobby with the others, a little embarrassed of enjoying shoujo manga. But Giyuu looked like he had never had a thought in his life, let alone any judgement. Like, that guy's still playing Pokémon-Go, for god's sake! 

On the rare times when Sanemi was more free, he would stay back a bit to discuss the about the story. Unfortunately, he quickly realised Giyuu had an understanding of an amoeba. 

"That senpai is definitely into Yuki-chan, so he'll do whatever he can-"

"-Huh? How do you know?" 

"Are you fucking blind? He's been finding all sorts of excuses to hang out and making all her lunch-" 

Sanemi had to spend the whole afternoon explaining the intricacies of manga relationships, feeling a little awkward after his passionate rant. But Giyuu simply gave him a small smile and said, "Thank you for explaining to me. The story makes more sense now."

At that moment, Sanemi felt his heart beat a little harder and frowned. That's probably nothing to be concerned about.

After Giyuu was discharged in a month, things were back to normal. As much as he enjoyed his reading sessions with Sanemi, he didn't have any excuse to get the books himself instead of borrowing from the other man, so he didn't. 

He had also noticed that Sanemi was a lot less antagonistic when he had returned to the office. Angry shouts and murderous glares were toned down to snappy remarks and a new form of contemplative staring. Of course, there's still the occasional threats of bodily harm, but that's Sanemi for you.

Giyuu supposed saving his life changed things, but he'd like to think that they had bonded a bit in the hospital, too. Nevertheless, he's glad that his life in the office will be easier now, because he plans to stay in the company for a long, long time.

***

The night where Giyuu had passed his 3 months probation at the Demon Slayer Law Inc, Shinobu had called for a celebration. Giyuu usually declined any of these after-work drinking invitations, but seeing that he was the cause for this party, he couldn't really back out. Not that he didn't like his colleagues, but he had never really gotten drunk before and he didn't want his first experience to be in front of them.

Giyuu decided to keep his alcohol intake to the minimum. Unfortunately for him, his colleagues has other plans.

"Drink up, drink up!" Rengoku bellowed as he slapped his back heartily. Giyuu barely refrained from spilling his drink by the force of it.

"Congratulations on being the first accountant to survive probation, Tomioka, very flamboyant!" Uzui praised as he clinked his own giant glass against his tiny one, prompting him to drink it.

"T-Thank you, Uzui-san." Giyuu took a sip and suppressed a wince. Blergh. He forgot how horrid alcohol tastes.

"No, no, no, Tomioka-san, that's not how you should drink it!" Mitsuri chided from opposite the table with her face already flushed. "You have to drink the entire thing in one go!"

"Right." Giyuu complied. He chugged the cup and coughed at the burn down his throat. The whole table except for the quiet Iguro erupted in cheers, and Giyuu felt a little happy at being the source of their merriness.

It's probably fine. He can take a few drinks.

"So how's your work so far, Tomioka?" Shinobu asked conversationally after Giyuu had a few shots in. Hopefully the alcohol will allow the usually quiet man to speak out more.

Although, she did not really thought that he would answer, "Work is.. very boring." 

There was an abrupt silence at the unexpected honesty before Sanemi barked out a laugh like he saw it coming. "Then why the fuck did you want to join the Demon Slayer Law Inc?"

"Accountant work is always b-boring,"  Giyuu admitted with a hiccup, "but at least here.. I get to contribute to something meaningful.."

"Awww, that's so sweet!" Mitsuri shouted as she tried to fling herself over the table to give Giyuu a hug. Both Obanai and Tengen held her back by the arm to prevent her from spilling all the drinks in front of her.

"Ara ara, are you just saying that to get into our good graces?" Shinobu teased with a smirk.

Giyuu turned to her with glassy eyes. "Say what?"

Shinobu giggled. He's totally drunk.

Rengoku laughed loudly, as per usual, as he gave Giyuu another back clap, making him jerk forward.

"So Tomioka, what made you want to be an accountant?" Rengoku asked curiously.

Giyuu squinted his eyes in thought in a way Sanemi definitely did not find adorable. "I was.. good at math."

They all waited for more explanation but nothing else came.

Sanemi snorted. "No shit, Sherlock."

Giyuu frowned with a confused tilt of his head. "My name is.. Giyuu."

Mitsuri bursted out in snickers. "You're hilarious, Tomioka-san!"

"Do you like working with us, Tomioka-kun?" Rengoku asked enthusiastically.

Giyuu nodded absently. "Everyone's been.. very nice to me."

"Then why don't you eat lunch with us?" Obanai pointed out sharply.

"Mmm.. Takeouts," Giyuu gestured with his hands vaguely, "Plastic waste.." 

There was a moment of collective shame felt by the Hashiras before Mitsuri concluded, "Alright, we'll try to go out for lunch for the earth's sake, then!"

They all nodded in agreement.

"So," Tengen started with a mischievous twinkle in his eye, "Which Hashira do you like the most?"

Giyuu stared blankly for a few seconds as his brain processed the question in slow-mo.

"Of course it's me," Shinobu said confidently, "I talk to him the most."

"To ask him to make coffee," Obanai added.

Not one to miss out, Rengoku declared,"I shared with Tomioka some of my delicious sweet potato last week!" 

"Oh, don't fight guys! Let him answer for himself!" Mitsuri placated, although she shot him a set of her best puppy eyes. 

Giyuu flashed Sanemi a small smile. "I like Shinu.. Shinazugawa best."

They turned towards the mentioned man, whose face had turned red with a sputter.

"W-What?!"

"He's very kind.. to lend me his-" Giyuu started but was interrupted by Sanemi's loud, "-OKAY, THAT'S ENOUGH DRINKS FOR TONIGHT!" 

He abruptly stood up, chair dragging back to  grab Giyuu's none too lightly and hauling him out of the place. "I'll take the idiot home now," Sanemi called out behind him to the confused Hashiras.

Giyuu stumbled over his feet the moment Sanemi let go of his collar outside the bar. "Is something.. wrong, Shinaza.. Shinazuwa.." He slurred.

"For fuck's sake, just call me Sanemi!"

"Sane..mi," Giyuu repeated airily. "Why is.. every.. spin.." was the last thing he said before Sanemi had to catch him fall.

"Aniki! Uh, who's that?" Genya asked curiously as his brother threw the man from his back unceremoniously onto the couch.

"A fucking idiot."

"Okaaay." Genya watched in skepticism as Sanemi removed the stranger's shoes and jacket gently despite his harsh words. 

"Go back to bed, it's none of your business."

***

Sanemi didn't know what to make of Tomioka. He knows that as a lawyer, people aren't back and white - usually falling in between the greys. But this guy just gets on his nerves. On one hand, he's so unbelievably clumsy Sanemi's not sure how he's not actually dead and on the other hand, he's so meticulous in his work Sanemi can't use his incompetence as an excuse to get rid of him. He's jumpy like a skittish deer and yet has swift reflexes at times. He's awkward and aloof when interacting with people but readily sacrifices himself for others. He's a walking contradiction and Sanemi really, really hates him.

Especially when he's been sneezing non-stop for the whole afternoon and distracting Sanemi everytime he got into the zone.

After a particularly loud blow of Giyuu's nose, Sanemi kicked himself out of his chair and stomped over to his desk.

"Oi, idiot. If you're dying, then fucking go home."

"I'm fine, thank you," He replied with a stuffed nose before continuing typing on the laptop.

"How the fuck is this," Sanemi gestured the growing pile of tissues in disdain, "Fine? I don't give a shit about your work, just do it tomorrow. "

Giyuu blinked. "It's the end of the month so I have to submit this by today."

"You're not curing cancer, nobody fucking cares."

"It's not a good look on the company."

Sanemi narrowed his eyes. This guy is stubborn as balls. "So isn't having a dead employee. Listen up, if I hear you so much as sneeze one more time, I'm throwing you out of the window," he warned lowly.

Giyuu paused.

"Alright," he agreed amicably.

Sanemi threw him one last death glare before he retreated.

Sure enough, there seemed to be a cease of noises from Giyuu's cubicle. Sanemi definitely did not feel relieved when he saw that it was empty.

However, he was positively furious when he found Giyuu typing away on his laptop at the pantry.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?!"

Giyuu sniffled with one tissue stuck up his nose. "Could you hear my sneeze from there?"

"Are you really this stupid? Do you really think that hiding in the pantry and contaminating all the food was a good idea?"

Giyuu blinked slowly, processing his words with a lag time. "O-Oh. I apologise, it didn't cross my mind, I'll just move-"

Sanemi had just about enough of this guy's idiocy. He pulled Giyuu's laptop away and close it shut, tucking it under one arm.

"You're going home. Right now," Sanemi growled as he grabbed the Giyuu's collar with his other arm and hauled him towards the exit.

He shoved the sickly pliant man into the elevator and let go, dialing a taxi for pickup.

"If I see your face again in the next 12 hours, I'm smashing your laptop to smithereens," He threatened before shutting the taxi's door in Giyuu's face and shoving a wad of cash at the driver.

"But-" Giyuu started to protest.

"Drive!" Sanemi barked at the taxi driver, who quickly complied.

"Idiot," He muttered under his breath as he watched the car drive off.

This stubborn fuck. This stubborn motherfucker.

"Shinazugawa," Giyuu croaked by his desk the next morning. "I'm feeling much better now. Can I have my laptop back?"

Sanemi looked at him up and down. Hair messier than usual, puffy eyes, red nose, pale lips and crumpled clothes. This guy was one wind blow away from keeling over and still had the audacity to ask for his laptop back?

"Fuck off. You're not getting any work done in this state."

Giyuu looked like he wanted to protest but a fit of coughs proved otherwise. Sanemi gave an unimpressed look. 

Giyuu sighed and trudged to the exit with slumped shoulders.

The moment he left, Sanemi went back to work, oblivious to the Hashiras in the office sharing a mischievous look. He took a sip of his coffee to calm his blood pressure that inevitably shoots up with Giyuu's presence.

"So," Shinobu came over to his seat to ask casually, "On a scale of enemies to lovers, which stage are you and Tomioka at?"

Sanemi sputtered, coughing up his coffee. Fortunately, he had turned away from his computer just in time to avoid yet another laptop replacement request. 

"Yikes," Tengen commented as he offered a packet of wet wipes, to which Sanemi grabbed and started cleaning up.

"Are you alright, Sanemi?" Mitsuri had asked worriedly from the cubicle opposite his.

"M' fine," Sanemi grunted as he turned to glare at Shinobu, "But what the fuck, Shinobu?!"

"Ara ara, seems like it's still 'in denial'."

"Shut your mouth. You're clearly insane to think there's anything going on between me and that block of wood."

"You can tell us, you know, Sanemi, we won't let Mr.Ubuyashiki find out!" Mitsuri reassured with misplaced sincerity.

"There's nothing to tell, what the hell!?"

"Wait, really? You two aren't at least like," Tengen made a crude gesture with his hands, to Sanemi's abject horror.

"Fuck no!"

There was a collective noises of disappointment. Sanemi hates this place.

"There's a lot of staring going on for two people with nothing between them," Obanai pointed out. Sanemi shot him a look of betrayal. He shrugged noncommittally.

"Yeah, you've been real chummy with him ever since the hospital visit," Tengen said with thoughtful look.

Sanemi was astounded. He was pretty sure he threatened bodily harm to Giyuu at least twice a day.

"Do I look fucking chummy to you? Let alone with Tomioka!" He screeched.

"I think that it's good that Sanemi is making new friends!" Kyojuro chimed in uselessly.

Tengen snapped his fingers. "See, even Kyojuro noticed!" 

"Shut the fuck up, Tengen!"

Shinobu sighed. "Denial stage, everyone. No worries, we'll see how long this last," She concluded before returning to her seat.

If Sanemi didn't know her since their childhood, he would've throttle her then.

Nonetheless, that marked the end of the day's gossip and he was thankful to be out of the imaginary spotlight.

"Fuck y'all, I rather be shot than date Giyuu Tomioka!"

***

It was later on when Sanemi was shopping for groceries that the Hashiras words were back to haunt him. He looked at the carrot he had picked up with fronds that reminded him of the ponytail Giyuu sported.

There's literally nothing between him and Tomioka, right? Just because Giyuu had saved him once, and exchanged opinions on books a little doesn't mean anything. 

Sanemi had wanted to continue their manga discussion but held back due to their office audience. He also considered asking him to somewhere else private to talk, but realised it would sound even more incriminating. In Sanemi's defense, usually other people will avert their gaze after recieving his death glares but Giyuu's the only one clueless enough to simply return it. And of course, who is Sanemi to back down from a challenge? Hence the occasional silent eye contact between them that made everyone else in the room uncomfortable.

Sanemi thought back to those soft blue eyes, inquisitive yet content to just look at him. No demands, no judgement and yet not quite empty. He felt his heart rate increased a little at the memory and dropped the Giyuu carrot in shock.

Absolutely fucking not! Not going down that route, nope! Sanemi blindly grabbed another carrot, and threw a bunch of his other groceries into his basket. He'll rather have his freakout in the comfort of his home, thank you. He paid for the items and hightailed home, praying that that was merely a moment of delusion.

Five hours later, stirring a pot of his miracle recovery lotus soup, Sanemi thinks that there's seriously something wrong with his taste in men. 

He pulls out his phone to shoot a text to Shinobu, who Sanemi thinks is 100% to blame for his current predicament.

Sanemi > Fuck you

Shinobu > Ew, no thanks.

Shinobu > Don't think I'm the one you want to fuck, though

Sanemi > Shut up

Shinobu > Oh?????? No denial???? Are you finally advancing to the next stage?

Sanemi > the next stage of annoyance, yeah

Shinobu > Congratulations on getting your head out of your ass!

Sanemi > I'm telling your sister you killed that plant she gave you

Shinobu > what do you mean, it's perfectly alive on my ledge

Sanemi > Tell that to the picture of the dead plant I found at your dustbin on my phone

Shinobu > You wouldn't

Sanemi > Try me.

Shinobu > Fine, what do you want?

Sanemi > Breathe a word of this to anyone, and I'll kill you.

Shinobu > Hmm, I'll think about it. Are you going to ask Tomioka out?

Sanemi > Fuck no.

Shinobu > Why not?

Sanemi > You ever heard of not shitting where you eat?

Shinobu > You have such a way with words

Sanemi > Fuck off

Shinobu > Our CEO doesn't care about office relationships. Pretty sure he seated Obanai beside Mitsuri on purpose. He's a shipper.

Sanemi > Idfc

Sanemi > whatever I'm feeling will go away in like, a month anyway 

Shinobu > You should give it chance, Sanemi. You know you deserve to be happy with someone, right?

Sanemi > I'll give it a chance if it ain't someone Giyuu fucking Tomioka

Sanemi > but thanks

Sanemi > and don't tell ur sister, I mean it

Shinobu > Fine. Delete that picture.

***

It's been 6 months and Sanemi is horrified to find that instead of fading, whatever attraction he had towards Giyuu grew deeper.

Shinobu had been keeping her promise and not mention his crush anymore, although the knowing looks she gives him are bad enough.

It started with just subconsciously noticing Giyuu's presence at the corner of his eye. They don't really interact during office hours thanks to the lawyer's hectic schedule. But whenever Sanemi does overtime, it seemed like Giyuu followed. In fact, the accountant was always working beyond his hours.

Nonetheless, Sanemi was secretly thankful for the chance to be with the man alone. They kind of have a routine - Sanemi declaring that he's done for the day with a loud, "Fuck this!" and there'll be shuffling noises when they both start to pack up. Then, they'll take the elevator down in silence and walk home together for the next 20 minutes discussing about the manga he had shared.

Sanemi knew he was in trouble when Giyuu mentioned that he had continued reading the manga on his own. He just couldn't resist using the other man as an outlet for their shared interest, cluelessly endearing as he is.

At this point, Sanemi is resigned to his affections for one Giyuu Tomioka. He just don't really know what to do about it - he didn't exactly have much experience in the romance sector. Hence the teasing. And the staring. Anything for those glimpse of emotions he can get out of his crush.

But these days, Sanemi definitely noticed Giyuu acting odd, well, stranger than usual.

It all started straight after his 30th birthday..

Chapter Text

In present times...

It all sounded fairly simple in Giyuu's head, but as everyone stared at the pair of thick winter gloves he wore to work, he's starting to reconsider his plan.

"Woah, woah, woah, hold up Tomioka, what on earth is that?" Tengen questioned after he one look at his hands and followed him to his seat.

Giyuu frowned.

"Gloves," he answered. Did it not look like them?

"You feeling cold, Tomioka?" Shinobu joined in out of nowhere with her signature smile. He got a feeling that he was being mocked but what does he know about human interaction anyway.

Suddenly, the lawyers were all gathered around his desk, taking turns to remark on his new feature. He vaguely felt like an exhibit at the museum.

"No wait, I bet he's hiding something under those gloves! Do you have red hair dye on your hands?" Kyojuro asked as he leaned over the partition eagerly.

Giyuu blinked in confusion. "No. Why would I-"

"-He wouldn't need such thick gloves to hide them, idiot," Obanai cut in from his side with crossed arms. Everyone pointedly did not look at the thin scarf that he wore that covered half his face. "It's clearly for protection. Are you going to punch someone, Tomioka?" He questioned with a raised brow.

Everyone looked at him expectantly.

"No. I will not be punching anyone."

They deflated.

Please leave me alone..

Obanai narrowed his eyes in skepticism. Mitsuri butted in from the side. "Giyuu-san! Are you trying to be fashionable? Because I think it suits you very well!" She gushed with a supportive smile that he can't help but return with a grimace.

"I..-"

"What the fuck, it's so fucking hot!" Sanemi burst into the office pulling his tie loose while popping his top few buttons open. The Hashiras momentarily turned their attention towards him. Giyuu swallowed as he averted his eyes from the newly exposed chest muscles. He slowly put his hands under the table.

Sanemi seemed to notice the crowd around his desk and marched over.

"What's going on?" He demanded with a skeptical glare.

Shinobu unceremoniously pulled Giyuu's gloved hands from underneath the desk to on top of it.

[Let's just hope Sanemi doesn't turn down the air-conditioning just for this.]

Giyuu exhaled in resignation as he heard the voice in his mind. Guessed the gloves didn't work their part.

"Why the fuck are you wearing that in the heat of summer?"

Giyuu sighed dejectedly, taking the gloves off to reveal perfectly normal hands with his bandaged thumb from the previous day. He drilled his brain for a random excuse.

"I wanted to keep my bandages from getting wet," He lied, wanting the Hashiras to get off his back about the whole matter already.

"Oh no, what happened, Giyuu-san?" Mitsuri questioned with wide eyes.

"This idiot was picking up the pieces of a broken cup with his bare hands," Sanemi explained gruffly.

"If only one thumb was injured, why did you have to wear both gloves?" Obanai questioned sharply. Giyuu could see the skepticism in his eyes. He grasped at the straws for an explanation.

"I.. thought that it'll only be weird to wear one glove."

"As opposed to.. two?" Shinobu asked, her eyes twinkling with amusement.

"Yes," He replied plainly, prompting snickers from his audience. Giyuu doesn't get the joke.

"Alright, I'm out of here," Sanemi announced in annoyance as he sauntered off. "Call me when something more interesting than wearing fucking gloves happens."

It was the cue for the rest to disperse, but not before Rengoku gave Giyuu a friendly pat on the back.

[Man, I think I need to take a shit. Ooh, I wonder what's for lunch.]

Giyuu wiped a tired hand down his face. It was time for plan B.

***

Actually, he didn't really have a plan B. He can't exactly stay home for eternity to avoid everyone. And honestly he's kind of getting the hang of all the stray thoughts except for Sanemi's. Those still gave him anxiety.

Giyuu had tried avoiding Sanemi for a day but unfortunately but there was only so many times he could lie about having diarrhea when he approached. Eventually, he stopped when Sanemi suspected him of having Irritable bowel syndrome. That was one more lie he can't commit to.

But Giyuu can't continue on like this indefinitely. He decided to ask someone for help.

Giyuu > Nee-san, can I ask you a question?

Tsutako > Anything for my baby brother <3

Giyuu > I am 30 years old, nee-san.

Tsutako > Baby 😘 

Giyuu > ...

Tsutako > So what's up?

Giyuu retyped his message a few times before finally deciding to hit the send button.

Giyuu > What do you do if someone likes you?

Tsutako > Ahh, has someone finally see you for the gem you are?!

Tsutako > Who is he?!! Is he from work? Is he handsome?

Giyuu > Nee-san..

Tsutako > Okok, sorry! I'm just so excited for you. You deserve someone good!

Tsutako > So what's the problem? You don't like him?

Giyuu hesitated for a beat.

Giyuu > I don't know.

Tsutako > That's okay! Feelings aren't easy sometimes. Maybe you can take some time with him to find out more, and decide then.

Giyuu > It's not that easy.

Tsutako > Why not? You already knows he like you, you have the ball in your court! It's up to you if you want to do anything about it. Say, how did you know about his little crush on you anyway?

Giyuu > I overheard it.

Tsutako > Where? When?

Giyuu > Sometime ago.

Tsutako > You're not making this very easy for your sister to give you good advice, you know!

Giyuu > Sorry, nee-san.

Tsutako > I'm just kidding, little bro. On an unrelated note, will you be working tomorrow?

Giyuu > It's a Monday, so yes. Why?

Tsutako > Just asking ;)

Giyuu > Okay.

Tsutako > It's getting late, I'll talk to you tomorrow?

Giyuu > Sure. Thanks, nee-san.

Tsutako > Thank you for telling me this, Giyuu. Don't hesitate to ask me anything else, alright? We hardly talk anymore. :(

Giyuu > Sorry. I'll call you more often.

Tsutako > You better! Okay, goodnight! Love you.

Giyuu > Love you too.

***

Tanjirou, his intern, covered the mouthpiece of the office phone before turning to Giyuu.

"Tomioka-san, there's a lady looking for you," He informed.

Several of the lawyers around him perked their heads up from their desk at that.

"Oh? A lady?" Tengen inquired with a teasing lilt.

Giyuu frowned a little in confusion.

"I.. do not have a meeting with anyone. Tell her that she's looking for the wrong person," Giyuu said before turning back to his work.

Tanjirou nodded but before he could reply, Tengen reached his long arm over the partition and snatched the phone. "Ring her right up!" He instructed before hanging up.

"Um." Giyuu looked at him hesitantly.

"Uzui-san!" Mitsuri chastised.

"What? Don't pretend that you guys aren't curious too! Anyway, she could always be a potential client," He quipped with a wiggle of his brows.

Giyuu deliberated escaping to the toilet to avoid interacting with a random stranger but the lift dinged before he could stand up. His eyes widened in shock as the lift doors opened to reveal his elder sister, Tsutako. His sister, who lives on the other side of japan with her husband and child, is right now approaching him with a luggage in toll.

"Giyuu!" She called happily and pulled him into a hug and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"What are you doing here?" He asked, a little shocked.

She pouted and pinched his cheek playfully. "Is that how you are suppose to respond, huh?" 

"I- " He wanted to say more but abruptly remembered that the whole office was watching them, to his chagrin.

Tsutako had seemed to realise this, letting him off easy with a pat on the cheek. She spun around to greet his colleagues with an apologetic bow. "Hello, everyone! So sorry to disturb!"

"It's alright!" Tengen said easily, "It's rare to see visitors for our dear Tomioka, especially ones who look as pretty as you."

The whole office rolled their eyes at Tengen's flirtation. Shinobu barely muffled a groan.

Tsutako took the compliment in stride. "Thank you. If there's any other pretty girls visiting Giyuu, please do let me know,"  She replied with a wink and his colleagues chuckled.

Giyuu blinked in confusion, not getting the joke.

"Let's go somewhere else to talk," He tugged her over to the pantry.

"Nee-san! You didn't tell me that you were coming," He chided when the door was shut.

"You wouldn't let me in if you knew!" She retorted and pitched her voice low, "So, which one was it? I'm guessing Mr. White Hair Angry-face?" 

Giyuu felt blood rushed to his face at the mention of Sanemi. Wait, what? Did his sister seriously travelled all the way over to poke her nose into his love life? Urgh, he's so not prepared to have this conversation.

"N-No! I don't know what you are talking about!"

"Aww, there's nothing to be embarrassed about, baby bro!" She pinched his cheeks and cooed. 

[He's a terrible liar.]

Giyuu exhaled a breath of resignation. "How could you tell?" He muttered sullenly while fiddling with his fingers.

"Because he's the only one who's looking at me like I've killed his entire family in front of him."

[It would be pretty cute if it weren't kind of scary.]

Giyuu swallowed. "That's just how he looks all the time."

[Facial scar and a sense of righteous anger? Yeah, Giyuu definitely has a type.]

"Lucky guess, then," She says with a twinkle in her eye.

Giyuu groaned.

***

"Giyuu!" Sanemi watched with a sinking stomach as the unnamed lady pulled Giyuu into a hug.

The pen in his hand snapped when she gave him a peck on Giyuu's cheek.

Who. The. Fuck. Was. This!?

"What are you doing here?"

She pinched his cheek. "Is that how you are suppose to respond, huh?" 

"I- " Giyuu looked a tad uncomfortable and Sanemi resisted the urge to break her fingers.

Fortunately, she pulled back and turned to the rest with a bow. "Hello, everyone! So sorry to disturb!"

"It's alright!" Tengen said easily, "It's rare to see visitors for our dear Tomioka, especially ones who look as pretty as you."

Fuck you, Tengen, whose side was he on?!

The sickeningly sweet lady straightened up with a smile. She took a sweeping look at the office, momentarily locking eyes with Sanemi, who wished his gaze could incinerate her on the spot.

"Thank you. If there's any other pretty girls visiting Giyuu, please do let me know," She replied with a wink and his colleagues chuckled.

Sanemi felt his heart clenched turned at that implication. Was she.. really Giyuu's secret girlfriend? 

Giyuu hurriedly pulled her into the pantry room.

The moment the door clicked shut, the lawyers jumped out of their seats to gather around Sanemi's desk.

"Ara ara, guess you have some competition, Sanemi," Shinobu quipped in amusement.

"Fuck off," Sanemi growled in annoyance. He didn't need that rubbed into his face.

Tengen snapped his fingers. "Fifty bucks says that it's his ex-girlfriend." Sanemi's stomach flipped in discomfort.

"I think they just looked like really good friends to me!" Kyojuro commented, which meant nothing because he is physically unable to Get The Hint.

"Don't you feel like they look similar? Maybe they are related," Mitsuri suggested, shining a ray of hope into Sanemi's predicament.

"Do they? Just because they are both pretty doesn't mean that they are related," Tengen wagged his finger in her face, to which Obanai slapped it away.

"There's only one way to find out," he said and they all turned towards Sanemi.

He scowled deeply as an ominous feeling thrummed in his veins.

"The fuck are you guys looking at?"

***

"Where will you be staying at?" Giyuu asked.

"Your apartment, of course!" His sister replied.

"Oh? I guess I can use the futon.."

The door burst opened and Sanemi was unceremoniously shoved inside with an "Oi, fuck y'all!" And the door slammed shut behind him.

Giyuu and Tsutako looked at the sudden intrusion in surprise, the former feeling his heartbeat starting to pick up speed at the prospect of having his sister interacting with Sanemi.

Sanemi's eyes dropped to their joined hands and felt his teeth grind. He exhaled harshly and averted his gaze, mumbling a terse, "Excuse me," as he walked over to the coffee machine and started it up.

Tsutako regarded the newcomer with a considering look before she turned to Giyuu and said, "Actually, is there anywhere else you can bunk at? A girl needs her space, you know."

Giyuu frowned a little. His sister has always slept over together without issues.

"Uh, not really?" He replied in confusion.

"I'm sure there must be somewhere you can go. Maybe your colleagues have extra space for you to stay over!" 

Giyuu frowned. "I don't think -"

"- You looking for a place to crash, Tomioka?" Sanemi interrupted from the other side of the kitchen. They both turned to look at him.

Tsutako broke into a smile. 

Chapter Text

Giyuu thinks he must have done something wrong in his past life to end up here.

How is it the further he tries to run, the closer he gets?

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, letting the warm water wash away his thoughts for a moment. He stepped out of the foreign shower to wipe himself dry with the towel Sanemi provided.

Belatedly, he realised that he had forgotten to bring his clothes into the bathroom.

He sighed, wrapping the towel around his waist and peeped out of the toilet door. The corridor was dark.

"Shinazugawa," he called out tentatively. 

There were banging sounds in a distant part of the house. Sanemi must be too far to hear him.

Giyuu bit his lip.

Sanemi was frantically cleaning up his room in a last minute attempt to look kept. Usually he was a tidy person but the past few late nights had left his room quite messy. Well, who knew he would have Giyuu staying over that very night? 

His heart picked up the pace at that thought. Not that he was expecting anything to happen in his room - it was just a proximity thing, he tells himself.

Satisfied with his impromptu cleanup, Sanemi left the room to see if his guest was done with his shower.

Do not think about him showering in your house do not think -

Sanemi startled when he walked into the living room to see Giyuu freaking Tomioka half clad in a towel, pulling out his clothes from his briefcase. 

Understandably, as Sanemi only saw the man in his boring blue long-sleeved shirts, he felt like a deprived Victorian being flashed a scandalous ankle.

Of course, it didn't helped that there was an unexpected tattoo* of intricate ocean waves inked on the center of the back that was facing him. It rippled as his back muscles flexed. What the actual fuck?

The lawyer momentarily wondered if this was the start of a very good dream.

Giyuu stood up and turned to return to the bathroom, but not before noticing Sanemi lurking in the dark corner like a creep. He jumped, dropping the clothes in his hand, and Sanemi turned around before he could see the entirety of his towel slip too. Un(fortunately) not before he could caught a glimpse of finely toned abs.

"S-Sorry, I forgot to bring in my clothes," Sanemi heard Giyuu explained over the roaring of blood rushing to his ears.

Sanemi grunted in assent, fervently hoping that Giyuu couldn't see how red he was in the dark.

He only let out a deep breath when he heard the bathroom door lock behind him. 

Giyuu Tomioka was really going to be the death of him.

***

Sanemi opened the door of his closet to be met with emptiness on the top shelf.

"What the fuck?" He did a double take before quickly pulling out his phone to hit speed dial.

"Hey, aniki," The voice on the other end greeted happily.

"Genya, where the fuck is my futon?" He demanded.

"Huh?"

"The futon you use whenever you sleepover at my place," Sanemi clarified impatiently.

"Ohhh. Uhh," Genya hesitated, "I kind of borrowed it?"

"What? Why on earth would you need a futon for- You're literally staying in a uni dorm room with your own bed!"

"Sometimes Tanjirou, Zenitsu or Inosuke stays over after late night studying, you know how it is-"

"-No I don't! Why didn't you tell me this?"

"I did! I texted you! What's the big deal, you don't even have anyone else over anyw- wait," Genya's defensive tone suddenly turned inquisitive, "Are you having someone over?"

"It's none of your goddamned business," Sanemi deflected but Genya knew him too well.

"Who? Oh my god, is it that accou-"

"-Shut the fuck up," Sanemi hissed harshly into the phone. "And don't think this matter is over, I want my futon back by this week."

"Aww come on, anik-" He cut the call.

Sanemi closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He turned around but was startled by Giyuu standing by his bedroom door. Shit, how much of that conversation with Genya did he hear?

"May I ask where can I get some water?" Giyuu asked, seemingly oblivious to the conversation.

"Follow me," Sanemi replied gruffly as he shouldered past the other man at the door. "And there's been a change of plans."

"You can have the bed instead," Sanemi announced.

Giyuu's brow furrowed in confusion. "Then where will you sleep?"

Sanemi jabbed a thumb towards the living room. "The sofa. My idiot brother borrowed my futon without my knowledge."

"Oh. I don't mind taking the sofa instead, I don't want to impose."

"Shut up, I've slept at worse places."

"But it's going to be for a few days-" 

"-Look, the bottom line is this: guests take the the bed." Sanemi cleared his throat and suggested in faux casualness, "Unless you're comfortable sharing, then.."

"Sharing?"

"The bed," He coughed.

Giyuu swallowed. On one hand, he really didn't want to sleep beside the biggest source of his anxiety. On the other hand, Sanemi didn't deserve to sleep on the sofa because of his problems. He knew Sanemi didn't orchestrate this intentionally based on the conversation he had with his brother on the phone. The universe just really loves to put him in a box.

"Um. I guess that's fine.." Giyuu acquiesced, hoping he won't regret his decision.

Sanemi grunted in assent. "I'll go brush my teeth first, then."

The moment the bathroom door shut, Sanemi did a fist pump and a silent victory cry. He looked up to see himself grinning sharply in the mirror. Man, this day really took a turn from the worst when Giyuu's sister appeared to now, which is quite possibly the most exciting thing in the year. And Sanemi was almost kidnapped twice.

He took extra care to rinse his mouth with mouthwash and splash cool water on his cheeks to calm himself down. God, was he pathetic. They aren't even going to get physical - doubts Giyuu is even interested in him like that. But it's the closest he'll ever get to be with his crush, so sue him.

Sanemi's just gonna act totally normal, not scare off his bedmate and just bask in his proximity for the next few days. With a determined nod, he schooled his expression and left the safety of his bathroom.

It's fine. Everything is fine as long as Sanemi doesn't touch Giyuu in his sleep, or like, at any other time. He's so deep in his thoughts he almost didn't hear the question his bedmate asked.

"You've been acting weirder than usual since your birthday."

"Oh.. have I?"

"You're a shit liar, Tomioka."

"Sorry."

"I didn't ask you to apologise. So, what is it? Quarter-life crisis or something?"

"...Something like that," Giyuu sighed.

"Well. Don't work your one brain cell too hard about it. You're better off asking someone who knows their shit," Sanemi said with a yawn and a big stretch.

[Don't overthink things, you're not alone in this.]

Giyuu jerked abruptly when he felt something brushed against his leg.

"Sorry," Sanemi grunted as he quickly retracted his limbs from his stretch.

"It's fine," Giyuu assured, thinking over the other man's thoughts. It was always unexpectedly sweet in contrast to his words.  Could he really confide in him?

He inhaled deeply. Somehow the darkness and blanket makes him feel safe.

"I've.. overheard something I'm not supposed to know and I don't really know what to do about it," Giyuu confessed in one breath. It's the closest he can admit without opening the entire can of telepathic worms.

"Is it something illegal?"

"Uh, no."

"Does it concern you?"

"Yes."

"Is it bad?"

"No."

"Is it good?"

"It's.." He paused. "Confusing."

A chuckle. "When is it not to you?" 

Giyuu pouted petulantly.

He felt an elbow nudge by his side. "Just kidding, dude."

[I bet he's doing that cute pout right now.]

Giyuu felt his cheeks heat. He cleared his throat. "So what should I do?"

"Seems to me you either forget whatever you know, or you confront the person for clarification."

Giyuu sighed. "I want to forget, but I keep.. getting reminded of it."

"Then it seems like you don't have a choice. Talk to the person and get it over with."

It sounded all logical and easy from Sanemi's words, but Giyuu's sure if he had told him, 'I heard you're in love with me' - he'll immediately be thrown out of the window.

"Have you.. ever had someone you think you know, but realised you actually don't?" Giyuu pondered aloud.

There was a beat of pause, and then a deep sigh.

 "Yeah," Sanemi said softly. "I grew up with this.. friend. I thought we were on the same page. But when I finally wanted to ask her out, she told me that she only liked girls."

Giyuu felt a little hurt at the mention of Sanemi asking someone else out, although he knew he had absolutely zero rights to. Was it bad that he's glad to hear that it didn't work out?

"Not that I have a problem with that or anything, I'm bi, so, uh," Sanemi rambled to fill in the silence.

Giyuu swallowed at that. "I understand, really. I also previously confessed to my childhood best friend, but uh... he's straight," He blurted out.

There was a pregnant pause before Sanemi barked out a laugh.

"Hah! So we're just two sad idiots getting fucked by the world, aren't we?"

Giyuu felt his lips tugged up at the side. Somehow, it sounded better when Sanemi put it like that. Like he wasn't alone in this soul-crushing heartbreak experience. It's.. nice. To have someone to laugh with about the bad things in life.

"Yeah."

***

Giyuu awakened from the best sleep of his life to the sound of a foreign alarm. He immediately shot up in bed when he remembered that he wasn't in his own home. He turned to find Sanemi's phone ringing on the empty side of his bed.

Giyuu took it and stumbled out of the room to find a spread of food prepared on the dining table. He wondered if Sanemi was expecting other guests that morning.

The man himself seemed to be humming a tune while he flipped the pan in the kitchen.

"Morning," Sanemi greeted cheerily upon noticing his presence.

"Good morning," Giyuu returned blearily, a little taken aback by this happy version of his co-worker. "Um, your phone was ringing."

He passed the phone over.

"Thanks."

[Fuck, I knew he'll look this adorable just woken up.]

He startled. Sanemi looked at him in question.

"I need the bathroom," Giyuu excused himself abruptly before escaping to the toilet. 

He took deep breaths to calm his beating heart and groaned when he saw his crow's nest in the mirror. What a start to his morning.

"Is.. anyone else joining us?" Giyuu asked when he was seated back at the dining table.

Sanemi sliced the omelette on their rice open, making it spillover perfectly like those seen on food blogs.

"No, why?"

Giyuu eyed the eight dishes filling the table. "That's a lot of food for two people."

"Leftovers are packed for lunch. You got a problem with that?" Sanemi challenged with a raised brow.

At that moment, Giyuu's stomach grumbled loudly, answering the question for him.

Sanemi snorted. "Dig in, idiot."

Giyuu meekly took a bite and his eyes widened in shock. Damn, the law industry has deprived the world of a great chef.

"This is amazing," Giyuu commented in awe before shovelling a few more spoonful into his mouth.

"Slow down, idiot! The food's not going anywhere!" Sanemi chided with a laugh.

Giyuu stared at the other in surprise. Sanemi in the morning seemed so different. Someone.. softer. Like he hasn't properly put up his walls for the day. He felt his heart skip a beat and choked on his food.

"If you die because of my food, I'm not claiming responsibility." Sanemi reached over the table to thump Giyuu on the back.

[Does he really like my food that much? I wouldn't mind cooking for him everyday...]

Giyuu felt his face burn red while he coughed, escaping to the bathroom once again.

Chapter Text

Tsutako > Let's meet for dinner!!!

Giyuu > Alright.

***

"So sorry to spring that up on you like that yesterday, Yuu-chan! But I thought it'll give you a chance to learn more about your colleague," Tsutako rambled the moment they met.

Giyuu blinked. Oh, so that's why his sister suddenly needed space.

"It's alright."

"So how was it? If you're uncomfortable you can come back home, nee-san is so sorry!"

Giyuu paused to think. Sure, he was kind of on his toes most of the time but.. he still enjoyed Sanemi's company and the late night talk they had. He remembered Sanemi's cooking and how soft he was in the morning. It was a side he would like to see more.

He looked down and shook his head. "It's fine."

Tsutako grabbed both his hands with a smile. "I'm glad to hear that. So, tell me more about what happened!"

"We slept and ate breakfast before going to work," He recounted plainly.

"Okaayy and how do you feel about it?"

"Fine."

Tsutako winced internally. Trying to get her brother to talk is like pulling teeth. Giyuu pouted when he heard her thoughts.

"Would you like to spend more time with him?"

"I.. suppose so."

She nodded to herself. They are on the right track at least. She let go of his hands and gestured at the menu.

"Alright, let's order dinner first. My treat!"

"So you slept in his guest room?" Tsutako asked while they dug in.

"No, we shared his bed."

His sister immediately choked on her food. Giyuu quickly patted her on the back.

[That bastard really took the chance with my baby bro, huh! What have I done?!]

"Sanemi's spare futon was borrowed by his brother without his knowledge, so he offered to share the bed," Giyuu rushed to clarify.

She coughed.

[How convenient.]

She finally recovered and swatted his hand away. "Actually.. I'm feel a little lonely in your apartment these days. How about you come back and accompany me?"

"Oh," Giyuu can't help the small feeling of disappointment at ending the sleepover at Sanemi's. He shook his head to clear those thoughts. He should be happy to spend time with his sister instead! "Alright, nee-san."

Tsutako eyed him for a moment before sighing. "Fine, maybe you can stay a few more nights. Then you're mine for the week!"

"Okay, nee-san."

She laughed at the slight flush on his cheeks.  She shook her head with a sigh. "My Giyuu is growing up."

"I'm already 30, nee-san."

"Oh! Speaking of which.." She hesitated for a beat before grabbing his hands across the table and caught his gaze.

[Testing, testing. Can you hear my thoughts?]

Giyuu's eyes widened as his jaw dropped. Tsutako froze at his obvious reaction and let go abruptly. 

"Oh dear."

"Nee-san, you-?" Giyuu was beyond shocked. He didn't expect that his sister would be aware of this predicament that has been turning his recent life upside down.

"Shhh, don't speak so loud." She looked around warily but everyone in the cafe was caught up at their own conversations.

"Listen, Giyuu. You cannot tell anyone about this.. skill you have."

"How did you know about it?" There were a million questions racing through his mind.

At that, his sister gave a wince. "It's hereditary."

"Here..ditary?" He echoed in disbelief.

Tsutako snorted. "Apparently one of our ancestor used to pray for their descendants to always be able to carry on the bloodline or something, so we are now cursed with telepathy if we hit 30 and are still virgins to 'aid our love life'."

"..What?" He asked faintly, baffled at the words he had just heard. The last thing he'd expected this phenomenon to be was a power-up from his ancestor to get him laid.

"I know, I know - it's ridiculous! But it's true!"  

"Nee-chan, how did you know all these?"

"Grandpa told me before he passed. He said to keep it from you until you're 30 so as to not worry you."

"Oh," He said faintly. "So.. did you have it when you were 30?"

"Yeah, I did," She thought back and groaned. "It was the worst. I mean, it was fun for awhile, but then it got annoying real quick."

Giyuu nodded in agreement. It was more anxiety-inducing than fun for him.

"So what did you do?"

"Well, I was getting a bit desperate, so I went to a bar..." She reluctantly shared and Giyuu paled. Suddenly he didn't want to know more.

"But no- I mean, yes, theoretically I went there for a solution but in reality, it was terrifying! Especially when I could hear all the thoughts of the men there," Tsutako shuddered in memory. "So I pretended to have come with a friend and sat with the random lone person reading a book at the counter to ward off creeps."

Her face softened into a smile. "And that was how I met your brother-in-law. He came with a friend who left him to dance with some other girl, so he was just reading his book by himself. And I could tell he wasn't lying."

"So you two.. and then it went away?"

"Yeah I mean, we didn't get to it right away, mind you. We went for a few dates, and you know your brother-in-law doesn't talk much, so I might as well put the ancestral 'blessing' to good use. And well. Yeah," She concluded abruptly. "But that's for me. You should do whatever you are comfortable with."

"Okay.." Giyuu was still digesting the all these information.

Tsutako sighed. "I'm so sorry you have to experience this as well, Giyuu. But don't be pressured to do anything you don't want to just because of one ancestor's nosey prayers."

Giyuu gave a weak chuckle.

"Just remember, you aren't alone in this okay! And also, don't just settle for that Shinazugawa or whoever that is convenient. My brother deserves the best!"

Giyuu blushed and his heart warmed. His sister really was his number one supporter.

He sighed, glad to have at least one person to know about his absurd predicament. He guess at least he knows that there is a cure, although he doesn't think he'll use it anytime soon.

What had his life become...

***

"How's your sister doing?" Sanemi asked after they settled in on the shared bed with the lights off.

"She's.. fine," Giyuu replied as he flashbacked to their dinner.

You wouldn't believe the conversation we just had.

"What's she working as?"

"A middle school teacher."

Sanemi gave a noise of assent. "So why did she come to find you suddenly?"

"Uh, for a belated birthday dinner."

"Right.." A cough. "If I had known it was your birthday earlier, I would have gotten you something."

Sanemi had actually bought him a pajamas set same as the one he owned because he had thought that it was good, but realised afterwards the implication of having matching pajamas, and promptly gave them to Genya instead.

"There's.. no need. I don't really celebrate it."

Sanemi grunted.

"So you and your sister seem close."

"Yes. Our parents passed young, so it was only us and our grandfather."

"Oh." Sanemi sighed. "That's like me and Genya, I guess."

"I see," Giyuu replied. He realised he's quite alike with Sanemi in a few ways.

"How's your grandfather?"

At this, Giyuu's heart gave a painful squeeze. "He passed three years back."

"Damn.. Sorry to hear that."

Even though it's been three years, sometimes the grief still feels raw. Giyuu had stayed with his grandfather after his sister moved out. With his only close friend Sabito moving out of town too, he was truly alone without grandpa. The small apartment he had stayed suddenly felt so much bigger and quieter. 

"It's fine," He lied, with a hoarse throat.

Giyuu felt Sanemi's tentative hand on his, and a vision flashed past him.

[Sanemi and Giyuu kneeling in front of a tombstone engraved with 'Grandpa Tomioka'.

"I will do my upmost to take good care of Giyuu," Sanemi said as he bowed low towards the tombstone. "Please give us your blessings!"]

"!!!" Giyuu jerked away so hard he actually fell off the side of the bed with a loud thud.

Sanemi's heart dropped at the extreme reaction. He sat up and asked tentatively, “...Are you alright?”

“Yeah.. I was just, uh.. had a cramp,” Giyuu excused himself weakly as he got back onto the bed, heart still pounding from the vision.

"..Right," Sanemi replied faintly, lying back down. He suddenly felt like he was splashed with a face full of ice water.

He got the hint alright. The other man is not interested, and is in fact, utterly repulsed by him. Maybe this whole time all of Giyuu’s jumpiness was him trying to reject him nicely, yet Sanemi was stuck in his delusion of the other man having a chance of returning his feelings. His room have never felt so cold despite the warm body beside him.

He gave a sad, self-depreciated sigh, before turning his back towards Giyuu. Maybe this sleepover wasn't the best idea after all.

***

The next morning, Giyuu felt like something was wrong. Sanemi was back to his gloomy self with one-worded grunts. The food spread was halved, and the atmosphere between them suddenly odd.

Giyuu was not one to mind awkward silences but somehow the fact that this was Sanemi made him want to cut the tension. He wanted happy morning Sanemi back.

He bit the bullet to ask, "Uh, is there something wrong?"

"No," Sanemi answered flatly without eye contact. "Nothing's wrong."

Giyuu nodded. "Thanks for cooking breakfast, it's delicious as usual."

"Mn." Came the half-hearted acknowledgement.

Giyuu took a deep breath and decisively threw his spoon on the ground close to the other man. 

Sanemi scrunched his brow up in bewilderment at the sudden action.

"Sorry, my hand slipped," He explained.

As Sanemi reached out to pick it up, Giyuu quickly grabbed the spoon as well, making their fingers touch.

[I need a drink with Shinobu tonight.]

Giyuu snatched his hand away, tasting mild bitterness in his throat. He had hoped to finally put his telepathy to good use and see what was bothering Sanemi, but ended up overhearing that he wanted to meet up with someone else instead?

Sanemi's scowl deepened at that abrupt reaction once again. Was Giyuu really that adverse to touching him? He wasn't even the one who initiated the contact this time!

They both returned to their seats unhappily and finished the rest of their breakfast in silence.

***

Sanemi > Drinks tonight.

Shinobu > Ara ara, don't you want to spend more time with your new roommate???

Sanemi > Shut it, he's not fucking interested.

Shinobu > Wait, what happened?

Sanemi > I'll tell you tonight if you buy me a few bottles. The good stuff.

Shinobu > Urgh, fine. Are you sure you're not just spiraling tho?

Sanemi > he can't get any clearer than rolling off the bed when I held his hand, okay?

Shinobu > That's all??? Maybe he's just shocked. You know he's easily spooked.

Sanemi > maybe it's because he thinks I'm a creep

Sanemi > argh, idfk

Shinobu > If you really want to know, I can help you test the waters

Sanemi > by doing what?

Sanemi > ?

Sanemi > Oi

Sanemi abruptly felt something light on his cheek, accompanied with a muah before he whipped his head up to see a smirking Shinobu.

He held his cheek in shock. "What the f-"

"-See you for drinks later tonight, Sanemi!" Shinobu quickly interrupted with a high-pitched giggle that made him break out in goosebumps. 

He watched in mild fear as she walked away. Was she fucking possessed?

His phone vibrated.

Shinobu > You better act normal

Sanemi > wtf did you just kissed me???

Shinobu > A sacrifice I had to make

Sanemi > what's that even supposed to do??!

Shinobu > You said Giyuu's not interested. If he's really not, then he'll be glad that you have me. If he is...

Sanemi > then?

Shinobu > We'll see what happens. Oh, and you're not going home tonight. Gotta make it convincing.

Sanemi tongued his cheek in thought, then stood up to casually glance over at Giyuu's cubicle. They were currently the only two people left in the office.

The other man met his gaze, then abruptly averted it back to his computer. Did it work? Usually, Giyuu would have just been content to hold his gaze. Sanemi's not sure whether to be happy to get a bad reaction or upset at their souring relationship.

After all, these are all just assumptions. Maybe Giyuu had something urgent on his computer vying for his attention. Maybe he was just sensitive to physical touch in the first place. 

Sanemi groaned and ruffled his hair aggressively to clear his mind of these confusing thoughts. Forget it, he'll just drown them out with alcohol tonight.

“Alright, darling, let's go!” Shinobu hooked her arm around the crook of Sanemi's elbow to drag him away from his computer at 6 o'clock sharp.

Sanemi barely suppressed a shiver in his spine at that term of endearment. Shinobu also wished that she could gargle bleach. Sigh, the things she did for her childhood buddy.

“Hold on.” Sanemi stopped and called out, “Tomioka, think fast!” He suddenly lobbed his keys over the cubicles.

“Huh?” Giyuu blinked and instinctively grabbed the approaching item out of midair.

Sanemi licked his lips. “I'll be out late. You can head back to my apartment first.”

Giyuu nodded with a slight pout and it took all of Sanemi to not just ditch Shinobu right there.

Shinobu nudged and dragged him along with a, “Come on, we'll be late for our reservation.”

Sanemi held Giyuu's gaze steadily until the lift door separated them.

Giyuu blinked and returned his attention back to work. It distracted him from thinking too much about what the two were up to, after all.

From the side, the Hashiras were silently observing the whole act, only short of snacking on popcorn. They shared a look of confusion, then of curiosity at the downcast Giyuu.

Mitsuri came over to place a comforting hand on Giyuu's shoulder. 

“Don't mind them, Tomioka! They are just close childhood friends.”

[Not to mention, Shinobu likes girls..]

Giyuu blinked at that thought. Close childhood friend who swings the other way? Could Sanemi's previous crush be Shinobu? Maybe he's still not over her after all…

***

Giyuu trudged back to Sanemi's house alone. Couples on the street laughed and their sweet thoughts flooded his mind when they brushed past him. He sighed glumly.

Wait a minute, he stopped in his tracks. Why was he going back to an empty house that's not even his when the whole point was to spend more time with Sanemi?

He was about to call his sister when he felt a hard hit on the back of his head and everything went black.