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Giyuu wakes up to his lower back aching and his legs feeling like they’ve been disconnected from his body. That confirms it, then. He’s on his period.
It’s a good thing he had the foresight to wear an overnight pad before sleeping since he’d gotten an all-too-familiar ache in his lower abdomen the night before. He’d been saving up to get top surgery and start a hormone treatment, but had to use the money to take in Tanjiro and Nezuko and help pay for their parents’ funeral. Kie and Tanjuro had taken care of him for a time after his own parents' deaths, and he wanted to ensure their kids a future after they’d helped secure his. And of course, he’d rather have the two live happily with him than somewhere else with who knows who. To him, it was worth it.
Nezuko found out after hearing him talk on the phone with a doctor once, and she cried afterwards. They both agreed not to tell Tanjiro.
Now, he’s removing said pad after dragging himself out of bed and hoping that he doesn’t spill anywhere as he hurries to the shower. His haste leaves him a little lightheaded, which is never a good sign, so he takes a moment to steady himself, one hand on the shower wall. The ache in his lower half has intensified since he got up, but he manages to clean himself and steps out of the bathtub with a towel wrapped around him, ready for the rest of his day and his students.
He’s also particularly excited for lunch with a certain white-haired math teacher, but that’s his own little secret.
He quickly gets dressed and brushes and ties his hair up even though it’s still wet. He’s never really cared all that much for it aside from basic washing and brushing, and at this point, it’s a miracle his split ends are minimal. He heads downstairs to start making breakfast, making sure Tanjiro and Nezuko are up and moving in their rooms before he does so. They both shout greetings at him, which make him smile despite the volume.
“French toast sound good?” He calls from the bottom of the stairs, and both of the siblings yell their affirmations and advance thanks.
With that, he gets the ingredients out, preparing bread slices, butter, cinnamon, and powdered sugar. He sets out two plates, telling himself he’ll eat when he gets to campus. He smears butter on four pieces of bread, checking the time and deciding he has enough to make them some bacon. He’s gotta get his kids their protein, after all. He’ll tell them to eat extra vegetables in their lunch later. As he moves to fetch the bacon from the freezer, his stomach throbs again. He makes a mental note to take some pain medication before they leave, and retrieves the bacon, cutting open the package on the counter and getting a batch started while he returns his attention to the french toast.
He’d been so focused on his routine that he hadn’t been paying attention to how weak his legs felt until now. He looks down at them, clad in his regular blue tracksuit, willing them to strengthen and stop interrupting his day. He can’t have this right now.
“Giyuu?” Tanjiro asks, and Giyuu startles a little at his sudden presence. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, just some aches,” Giyuu responds, nodding as steadily as he can. “Period started, is all.”
Tanjiro seems to mostly accept that answer, his lips only slightly thinned. “Do you want help with the bacon?” He asks instead.
“Yes, please, the french toast is almost done.”
Tanjiro takes over cooking the bacon, flipping the strips over while Giyuu finishes up topping the french toast and places them in the toaster oven.
“Are you not eating?” Tanjiro questions, noticing the lack of a third plate.
“No, I’ll eat later, it’s alright. I don’t think my stomach can take anything right now,” Giyuu explains. He doesn’t need to look to know that Tanjiro’s brows have furrowed with concern. “I’ll get something from Suma-san later, don’t worry,” he insists.
“Worry about what?” Nezuko asks as she reaches the ground floor.
“Giyuu’s feeling unwell,” Tanjiro says before Giyuu can respond.
“Just aching a little bit,” Giyuu lies, downplaying his condition. It’s actually gotten worse in the few minutes he’s been standing in the kitchen, but he’s not about to tell either of them that. The toaster oven dings, announcing the finished french toast, and he uses that as an excuse to avoid Nezuko’s scrutinizing stare. For a fourteen year old, she has a frightening ability to be uncannily intimidating. It’s like she turns into a demon. Tanjiro fixes the two of them with bacon, putting them on the same plates that now have french toast as well. “I can stay home today, if you’d like, rest up and get back to everything tomorrow.” He doesn’t mention the slight disappointment at missing lunch with Sanemi, but that just means he’ll have something to look forward to when all this is said and done.
“Okay,” Tanjiro agrees, more satisfied now that Giyuu’s putting himself before his work. “We can take the bus so you can go straight to bed.”
“No, no, I can drive, I can handle that much right now,” he reassures them. “Go on and eat, we’ll leave in fifteen minutes.”
The two accept his answer for now, settling with their plates and digging in. They finish eating soon enough, washing their plates and heading to the door to put their shoes on. Giyuu stands by the dining table, learning on it with his hands flat on the surface. His binder feels more uncomfortable than it’s ever felt in his life.
“Are you sure you’ll be okay by yourself?” Tanjiro worriedly asks. “I can stay home and—”
“No, no, you two have exams with Kochou-sensei today. I’ll be fine, I promise.” Giyuu grabs his keys and follows them to the door. “I can just drop you both off and call in—” A brand of nausea that he’s only felt a handful of times before sinks in and makes him lean on the doorway for support, cold sweat forming on his skin.
“Giyuu, are you—?”
He falls forward, his vision tapping out almost immediately.
“Giyuu!”
~
When he wakes up, it’s to a harsh throbbing in his lower abdomen, twisting and tightening the more he lays there in his bed. The nausea persists as well, and he can feel stickiness in his underwear. One quick check tells him his pad has thankfully prevented any damages to his bedsheets.
Giyuu manages to shift himself and find his phone, which is now connected to the wall, likely thanks to one of the siblings. He unplugs it, and the screen turns on, showing a number of texts from Tanjiro.
Hi, Giyuu!!
You passed out in the doorway, but we managed to catch you before you fell fully. We called Genya and Shinazugawa-sensei to pick us up because the bus would take too long.
Shinazugawa-sensei also helped carry you back to bed, and he said that he’d let Ubuyashiki-sama know you were sick since we didn’t think you’d wake up again before class started.
Nezuko left some water and acetaminophen for the pain on your bedside table. Please be careful and eat something nutritious! See you later! :)
Giyuu slaps a hand to his face, which does nothing to help his nausea. Sanemi carried him? He’s glad he wasn’t awake for that, or else his face would’ve been burning the whole time, and his secret—well, one of them—would definitely be out. But another part of him wishes he were awake; the most traitorous parts of his brain wonder what it felt like to be held so tenderly and carefully by the infamously furious math teacher.
Did he insist on carrying Giyuu by himself, brushing off the offers of aid from the Kamado siblings and Genya? Had he delicately covered Giyuu with his comforter, making sure to tuck the edges in? Did he press a light kiss to Giyuu’s forehead afterward?
The thought makes him want to scream. In a good way.
To distract himself, he slowly sits up and takes the acetaminophen, then lays back down while he waits for the painkiller to take effect. He opens his phone again and sees some texts from Nezuko as well.
your binder’s still on, you better take it off when you wake up >:[
AND IF YOU TRY TO DO CHORES ON YOUR DAY OFF I’M GONNA BITE YOU
He chuckles. Typical Nezuko, then. He goes back to the messaging app menu and sees one more notification, this time from Amane, the principal of Kimetsu Academy.
Hello, Tomioka-san, Shinazugawa-san informed me of your condition. I’ve already contacted a substitute for your classes, so please rest up and take care.
Giyuu types out a reply thanking her, and just after he sends the message, a new text rolls in from none other than Sanemi himself:
hey did u eat yet?
Slightly confused, he checks the time, almost dropping his phone on his face after seeing that it’s nearly half past noon.
Not yet, just woke up again
Thank you for taking the Kamados to school :)
On the other end, Sanemi pinches the bridge of his nose. Giyuu should not be allowed to be this cute, and even just through a handful of text messages. Maybe he’s just whipped. Or a combination of the two.
np, ofc
He presses Giyuu’s contact name, then hits the call button. Giyuu almost throws his phone at seeing Sanemi’s name pop up with the calling buttons on his screen, but clears his throat and answers it.
“Hey,” Sanemi greets, and Giyuu doesn’t remember when just the sound of his voice started bringing him so much peace.
“Hey,” he parrots. “What, did you miss me too much?” Giyuu teases.
“That’s for me to know and you to never find out,” Sanemi counters, and Giyuu can hear the smile in his voice. “You doing okay? You looked half dead when Genya and I got to you.”
“I’ve improved, but could be better,” Giyuu explains with a chuckle. “Nothing contagious, so you and Genya should be fine.” He slowly pushes himself up, unclasps and removes his binder, and gets up again, putting the phone on speaker so he can hear Sanemi.
“Even if it were contagious, I—we wouldn’t have just left you there,” Sanemi laughs. “Tanjiro did well keeping you standing, though, even if he looked like he was going to fall himself.”
“I’ll have to thank him, too, then. Oh, and Sanemi?”
“Yeah?”
“Thank you.”
Giyuu hears a light laugh through the phone. “‘Course, Giyuu.” Sanemi has to suppress the smile bubbling up to the surface. “You better eat or I’m gonna come over there and bring you something.”
“Goodness, you don’t have to, your lunch is only so long. And the pain medication’s kicking in, so I’m heading downstairs now. How’s your day going?” Giyuu asks, keeping one hand on the stair railing as he listens to Sanemi talk about some students he’d tutored before he called. One of them was failing, and the two friends they’d come with were there to help them get back to a passing grade. He thinks the student will end up with a decent grade in the class after all. “That’s sweet,” Giyuu hums, smiling softly to himself.
“Giyuu Tomioka, is that running water I hear? Didn’t Nezuko threaten to bite you if she caught you doing chores?”
Giyuu laughs. “I’ll just have to trust you not to tell her, then.” He hears an exasperated but affectionate sigh.
“You’re lucky my lunch break is up. I’d better go, try not to die, alright?”
“I’ll do my best,” Giyuu responds, not even trying to hide his smile. “Bye, Sanemi.”
“See you, nerd.”
One of them hangs up, Giyuu’s not sure who, but he’s definitely sure of the buzzing warmth in his chest. It’s short-lived, though. He makes it about halfway through washing dishes before his stomach swirls the same way it did earlier and he breaks into a cold sweat once more. He rinses and dries his hands, making his way back to his bed almost bent in half. He drops himself onto it, curling up and trying to use his breathing to ease the pain.
He hates this. Regular ailments have symptoms and solutions. If Tanjiro had a cold, Giyuu would give him cold medicine, ginger tea, and some sliced oranges to go with his lunch. If Nezuko had a sore throat, he’d give her honey lemon tea, some lozenges, and tell her to rest her voice.
But he’s never had a cure for the way his lower abdomen keeps him in a state of wanting to throw up but never pushes far enough to let him do it and be done; it keeps him suspended in the gap between being able to go on with his day and needing to lay down until it subsides enough so that he can stand without using the wall for support. Waiting it out has been the only tactic that’s ever worked despite how long it always takes.
It doesn’t help that his folds feel swollen, and as if he’s slowly being stretched open and torn apart. It’s definitely uncomfortable and borders on painful, but no healthy amount of acetaminophen or ibuprofen could stop it. So he’s stuck here in the fetal position until his cramps calm down to a manageable level and he can continue doing chores. He closes his eyes and hopes that he can sleep it off.
When he wakes up again, Sanemi, the Kamados, and Genya are there, with Tanjiro and Nezuko kneeling nervously by his side.
Frankly, he feels completely delirious, but he reaches out to pat both of their heads.
“How was school?” he asks, his voice rougher than he thought it’d be.
“It was good, Nezuko got full marks on her chemistry quiz,” Tanjiro says with a soft smile. “Have you eaten, Giyuu?”
Giyuu hums, searching around for his phone to check the time.
“It’s 3:14,” Sanemi says, answering his unasked question. “Did you eat yet?”
Giyuu shakes his head. “I was supposed to start cooking after I washed dishes,” he starts, pushing himself up. Sanemi gently stops him with a hand on his shoulder.
“It’s alright. We picked up food and some Cheerios on our way here ‘cause Tanjiro said you usually eat bland stuff when you’re sick.”
“Plain?” Giyuu mumbles.
“Honey nut,” Sanemi says fondly, “You don’t like the plain ones.”
“You’re right,” he hums, smiling softly. “The plain ones are boring, even with milk.”
“Mhm,” Sanemi chuckles, suddenly noticing how all three of the kids there are staring at him. “C’mon, Gen, let’s give ‘em some space.” He lightly pushes Genya out of the room, who is on the verge of stifling a laugh.
“You owe me a hundred yen,” Nezuko nudges Tanjiro, who laughs softly. He whispers something to her that Giyuu doesn’t have the energy to question, and she says, “Oh, you’re on.” She whispers something back, Tanjiro agrees to it, and she scurries out of the room. He turns to Giyuu again.
“Shinazugawa-sensei will come back with food, and we’ll let you rest.” He smiles brightly, hugs Giyuu tight, and follows Nezuko.
True to his word, Sanemi comes back a few minutes later with a bowl of cereal and milk, a glass of water, and chicken nuggets and sauce from the restaurant they visited before coming home, all on a breakfast tray that Tanjiro had directed him to. He balances it in one hand, gently carding his hand through Giyuu’s hair. Giyuu’s eyes are closed, and Sanemi takes the opportunity to appreciate his features; he must sigh wistfully by accident, because then Giyuu cracks an eye open and smirks.
Sanemi almost drops the tray, quickly balancing it while Giyuu laughs at him. He’s got half a mind to punch him in the arm and curse at him, but the other half of his brain telling him to listen and savor the sound of Giyuu’s laugh is winning. By a long shot.
“You done?” He jokes, once most of his laughter has died down.
“Pretty much,” Giyuu grins, and his expression is just so warm that Sanemi has to avoid his gaze and focus on putting the tray on the bedside table in order to prevent his heart from setting ablaze. “Thank you.”
“Yeah, yeah,” he grumbles playfully, making sure the tray isn’t going anywhere. “Do you want to change clothes before you eat?”
Giyuu realizes he’s still wearing his tracksuit, which is slightly wrinkled now that he’s been wearing it in bed for a few hours now. “Oh. Actually, yeah,” he agrees, starting to get up. He grabs his binder from where it’s still sitting on the bed, and Sanemi makes himself scarce while Giyuu changes. He decides to forgo it for the rest of the day, because he’s uncomfortable enough as it is (though not at all because of the other teacher in his home), and frankly, at this point, if Sanemi finds out, then Sanemi finds out. He’s rather small-chested, anyway, so all he has to do right now is throw on a shirt with a large graphic on the front. He moves to let Sanemi back in the room, who suddenly looks uncertain.
“I’m—realizing now that I never asked if it was okay for Genya and I to come over,” he explains. “Is all of this alright with you?”
“Are my eyes blue?” Giyuu chuckles, and tosses Sanemi a clean shirt and pajamas.
Sanemi smiles, looking utterly relieved. “I’ll go change, then,” he laughs softly. By the time he comes back, Giyuu’s halfway through his cereal and looking much better than he had just ten minutes ago. More color has returned to his face, and he looks content, happily popping one of the chicken nuggets into his mouth.
This man is just too fucking precious.
Giyuu freezes, face going instantly red. He said that out loud, didn’t he?
He feels his face heat up. His heart is pounding, his throat is tightening up, and Giyuu’s still staring at him with those big, stupid, blue eyes. “Y’know what? Fuck it! Giyuu Tomioka, will you go out with me?”
“As—as in, on dates? As a couple?” Giyuu blurts out.
“Yes. To both. To fancy dinners, and beach days, and cheesy movies, and anything else you can think of. Today’s felt ridiculously domestic, and being here with you has just been. Really nice. I want to give us—”
Giyuu’s lips are suddenly pressed against his, with slender but sturdy hands cupping his cheeks. When he pulls away, he’s wearing a sneaky but shy smirk.
“Thank goodness one of us finally got the courage.”
Sanemi smiles. “Tell me about it.” He kisses Giyuu one more time for good measure, and they sit back on the bed to watch silly videos while Giyuu finishes eating. He’s seated just in front of Sanemi in the space between his legs, with Sanemi’s arms wrapped around his middle and Sanemi’s chin resting on his shoulder. It’s comfy like that, with nothing but warmth flowing through him as he eats the last of his chicken nuggets.
He finds himself yawning when he finishes his food, fully leaning back into Sanemi with his eyes closed. Sanemi kisses his cheek.
“Come on, bed time,” Sanemi says, readjusting their position to let Giyuu sleep properly. Giyuu only wraps his own arms around him, not letting him move. “I’m not going anywhere, Giyuu, it’s alright,” he laughs. Instead of waiting for Giyuu to let go, he just lifts him up and fixes his pose, earning a small noise of surprise from him. It makes him laugh again and pull the covers over both of them. “Sleep, you dummy. I’ll be up if the kids need anything.”
“You sure?” Giyuu mumbles, his speech slightly slurred.
“Mhm,” Sanemi promises. “Now, sleep.”
Giyuu doesn’t protest any more, just lets his eyes drift closed with Sanemi beside him.
~
When he stirs again, his abdomen is cramping painfully, dragging him out of sleep only to bring attention to the mind-blurring throbbing near his stomach. One glance to the side shows him that Sanemi is still there, watching videos on his phone without sound.
“Sanemi?” he calls, and his voice is so small.
“Yeah? What’s up?”
Giyuu looks embarrassed now, looking everywhere but at him. “…How warm are your hands?”
Sanemi thinks for a second. He always sleeps in a tank top and shorts underneath his blanket, and that’s never bothered him, so he’d guess he’s pretty warm. He tells Giyuu this.
“Can you…” He trails off, probably due to a mixture of being mortified that he has to ask this to Sanemi of all people and because of how uncomfortable his cramps are. It’s been too soon since he last took pain medicine, so he can’t take more. “...Can you put your hands on my stomach?” Giyuu requests, his face burning.
Sanemi blinks. He’s not against the idea at all, just cautious that he might accidentally overstep. “Yeah,” he agrees. “Uh, I can. Here.” He puts his phone away, lays on his back, and moves Giyuu so that he lies between Sanemi’s arm and body with his head resting on his shoulder. “Where do you want my hands?”
Giyuu guides his almost-searing hands beneath the waistband of his pajamas, in the space just under his navel. He swallows and lets out a long puff of breath from his mouth. It’s the most relief he’s ever felt when it comes to his periods, and he can’t believe he hadn’t thought of getting a heating pad earlier.
“You okay?” Sanemi asks. Giyuu didn’t notice that he’d sunk into the other man’s hold entirely.
“Mhm,” Giyuu replies, feeling himself already start to fall asleep again now that the pain has dulled down. “Wake me when you need to go or if the kids need me,” he says. Sanemi hums an affirmation, and soon he’s fast asleep.
~
He’s fighting someone. A white-haired, human-like being with too many monstrous-looking arms reeking with the stench of blood and apathy. He’s strong; they’ve been at this for a while, some of Giyuu’s wounds from an earlier fight have reopened and joined in on bleeding through his uniform. He’s tired, there’s poison flooding his system, and he doesn’t know how long he can keep fighting, but he has to. This guy did something to the pink-haired girl and now they’re another person down. Falling at this point would mean the burden on the others will increase, and they’ll be overwhelmed. He can’t let that happen.
Some sort of bony, sharp, tentacle arm comes barreling towards Giyuu at a near-inconceivable speed, and he meets the limb with a slash of a broken blade. But he can’t feel his hands anymore, and the sword is swiftly knocked away. He’s defenseless, one of the strongest swordsmen of his kind, about to die without so much as a weapon in hand. The arm doubles back, heading straight towards him once more.
Maybe this is what he deserved. His sister’s sacrifice, his friend’s sacrifice, they were wasted on him.
He can finally repay them.
He’s weary down to the cores of his bones, has been living without so much as a purpose to keep getting up in the morning. Everyone he loves, cares for, or even slightly gets along with leaves or dies.
The arm is so close.
Can he rest now?
~
Giyuu’s almost used to the way his period nightmares leave his limbs trembling and his heart shaking in his ribcage, but waking up to Sanemi delicately rousing him is entirely unfamiliar. The fear and grief of his nightmare clings to him, sticks to his skin like spiderwebs on his hands, but Sanemi’s whispers, quiet reassurances, and pacific touches brush them off, peel them from his arms and torso and toss them away, freeing him of them for the time being. That’s when he notices the wetness of his eyes and the cold, dampened pillowcase beneath his cheek.
That pillowcase being Sanemi’s shirt.
“Shit,” Giyuu swears, pushing himself up and furiously wiping at his eyes. “I’m so sorry, Sanemi—”
“Hey, hey, ‘s alright, ‘m just worried about you, doll,” Sanemi says sleepily.
“But your shirt—”
“—Is nothing you need to worry your pretty little head over,” he consoles.
Giyuu stays unmoving, staring at Sanemi with sleepy eyes. “You think I’m pretty?”
“Is that okay?” Sanemi asks.
“Yeah,” Giyuu answers.
“Then yeah,” Sanemi repeats, a tired smile on his face. Giyuu hums softly and lays down again, this time with his back to the ceiling. Sanemi places an arm over the small of his back and presses a kiss to his shoulder. “Can I get you anything?”
“Just some water, please?”
“Sure thing,” Sanemi smiles, patting Giyuu’s back before retreating from the bedroom. Giyuu closes his eyes for just a second before Sanemi’s back, placing the newly-refilled glass of water and some acetaminophen on the breakfast tray. He kisses Giyuu on the cheek, kneeling by the bed with one of his hands gently rubbing the top of Giyuu’s back. “Breathe, baby, I got you.”
Giyuu stays there for a few moments, the room and his mind silent save for the quiet rustling of Sanemi’s hand against the fabric of his shirt. Then he hums, sitting up to take more pain medicine now that enough time has passed while Sanemi keeps a comforting hand on his thigh. Afterwards, he pulls Sanemi back onto the bed and cuddles right up to him, which the math teacher has no complaints over. He loves how Giyuu feels in his arms, how he fills the space just perfectly and makes everything feel like nothing can go wrong. It isn’t long before he falls asleep, too.
In the morning, the kids find them tangled in each other’s limbs, holding each other like the last thing they want to do is let go; exactly how Nezuko predicted.
Looks like the boys owe her a thousand yen.