Day One

Muichiro's pov

I woke up early in the morning due to Tanjiro caressing my hair. I flinched away and he smirked, saying "good morning sleepyhead"

I didn't answer, I just moved even further away from him and laid my head onto the hard matrace. The whole night it was so cold and uncomfortable, the matrace was hard and uncomfortable, plus he gave me no pillow or blanket.

"Come on, don't be so grumpy" he grabbed my cheek and frowned. "Those tears are ruining your beautiful face, come on, give me a smile" he said but I didn't give him a response, I just looked away from him.

"So you decided not to talk to me, hm?" He said with an annoyed voice, waiting for my answer but I still refused to say anything. Then he just.. stood up and walked away without any other questions or simple sentences said.

…

Suddenly the door opened once again. My nose immediately sensed the smell of freshly made pancakes, making my mouth water.

He placed the plate in front of me with beautifully decorated pancakes with whipped cream and strawberries. "Dig in" he smiled and.. I was about to but then the fear stopped me again "what if he put something in it..?" I thought to myself and moved away again "I am.. not hungry"

His face fell, clearly disappointed by my answer. He just grabbed the knife and fork, quickly cutting the pancake and placing it close to my mouth "eat" he said, not more aggressively.

I shook my head, about to say something but the second I slightly opened my mouth, he forced the pancake in. I wanted to spit it out so badly, the dead of him putting something in it was overwhelming but the taste was just.. too good, too good for me to spit out.

He smiled "good, right?" He asked and I gave him a tiny nod, not wanting to say anything more. He just sat there with me for a couple minutes, feeding me and touching me in very weird ways.. mainly my thighs which made me really uncomfortable.

"C-Can you st-stop..?" I mumbled quietly. His face fell immediately, saying "don't tell me what to do" he wrapped his arms around me, about to lay his head on my shoulder but I pushed him away which I immediately regretted.

He looked mad.. really mad but didn't do anything.. he just left. I waited there anxiously, thinking that he would come back to do something but.. he didn't.

Day five

Tanjiro's pov

It's been five days since I brought Muichiro here and he refuses to even talk to me. I am trying my best and it's still not enough for him! What am I supposed to do?! What am I doing wrong?!

I slammed my fist into a wall, making a hole there "fuck" I said under my breath and stood up, walking to the room where I kept Muichiro, wanting to have a word with him again, hoping that this time he'll listen.

When I opened the door I was immediately met with the sight of Muichiro who was laying on the bed with fresh test stains on his cheeks. He took a quick look at me before looking back at the floor.

I sat down next to him, trying to keep my temper. "We have to talk," I started quietly, placing my hand on his shoulder but the second my hand touched him, he flinched and pushed my hand away.

"Don't touch me!!" He yelled out and backed away as much as he could. This made me so angry.. How could he hit me like this?! I am just trying to help!

"How dare you hit me?!" I yelled out and slammed him on the bed, getting on top of him and slamming my fist into his right cheek, making him yell out in pain.

He was trying his best to push me off of him, kicking around and hitting me with his arms repeatedly. My anger grew, I was trying so hard to hold back but I couldn't. I raised my fist again and hit his cheek again.. and again.

He was crying hysterically at this point from both fear and pain. I couldn't stop myself, my anger completely took over me. I wrapped my hands around his neck, making him gasp for air desperately.

"Pl-please! I-I am so-sorry!! I-I am s-sorry, Ta-Tanjiro!" He yelled out, trying his hardest to pull my hands away from his neck. My eyes widened when I realized what I was doing to him.

I slowly pulled my hands away, letting him breathe normally. "Why.. Why am I doing this..? Why am I hurting him..? I-I love him.. why.." I thought to myself and looked at Muichiro who was covering his face with his arms, sobbing, apologizing over and over again.

I shakily got off him and rushed out of the room, shutting the door behind me and dropping onto the floor right beside the door. I could still hear his loud cries, screams and wails. I grabbed onto my hair and pulled my knees close to my chest, regretting everything so much.

…

It was around 7pm, I was in the kitchen, preparing a big dinner for Muichiro because I didn't give him anything for lunch.. which I still regret deeply.

I took the plates and went to Muichiro's room. I slowly opened the door to not need him on the bed. Panicked washed over me for a second before I saw his hand peeking from under the bed, knowing that the chain was long enough for him to crawl there.

I laid the food on a nearby table and laid down on the floor to see Mui laying there, curled up in a ball, shaking and sobbing quietly.

"I brought you dinner, would you like some?" I asked gently, seeing how fragile and vulnerable he is now.

He took a quick look at me before turning away again, it was clear that he was scared to even move an inch.

I stood up and grabbed one of the plates from the table, laying it down near his bed where he could easily reach. "Come on, it looks good, no?" I asked and he looked at me again, this time for longer but turned away again.

"I won't hurt you, I promise" I tried but he still didn't even move. "Shit.. I really fucked up.." I thought to myself and reached out my hand to him "please?" I tried one more time but this time it was clear he was thinking about it, eventually shakily taking my hand and I helped him out.

It was clear that he was still scared. Any fast move I made, he flinched really hard and moved away from me the second he came from under the bed.

I sat him down on the bed and placed the plate on his lap, noticing how horribly bruised his wrists were from the handcuffs.. I wanted to take them off but I knew that he would run away.

He sat there quietly for a while before slowly starting to eat. I stood up and grabbed a warm blanket from the closet, wrapping it around his shoulders and getting a pillow for him as well.

He looked really surprised by everything I did and looked really skeptical which saddened me a bit but.. I understood why he looked that way.

"I'll prepare a bath for you, okay?" I said and he froze, not knowing how to react. I wasn't planning on taking his handcuffs off, I'll be there with him the entire time but I thought that a warm bath would be nice for him after days of just laying in bed.

I stood up and went to start the water in the bathtub before coming back to wait for Muichiro to finish food. Once he was done, I took the chain off of the handcuffs and led him to the bathroom.

Once the bathtub was filled, I moved closer to him but he backed away almost immediately, shaking his head repeatedly.

"Come on, you gott-" I was about to say when I realized what was the thing that made him uncomfortable "oh you don't want me to watch"

He gave me a tiny nod. "Okay" I locked the door and grabbed a key out of my pocket, grabbing his hands, saying "I will take your handcuffs off for now, if you try to run, you'll regret it, got it?"

He shakily and nodded and I unlocked the handcuffs. He sighed in relief and immediately touched his bruised wrist before taking a quick glance at me, asking "can you.. turn around now..?"

He rolled my eyes and nodded, turning around slolwy. I heard him taking his clothes off, soon getting into the warm bath.

I couldn't help but take small quick glances at him, seeing how he was washing his hair and body. I wanted to wash his hair for him so badly but I knew that that was a horrible idea now, that I would just make him more scared.

"I'll go get you some pajamas, wait here" I said and unlocked the door, walking out of the room and locking it again from outside.

I took one pair of my old pajamas that were too small for me and headed back into the bathroom. I unlocked the door and walked in, locked it again and placed the pajamas on a sink.

He looked at them and gave me a small "thank you.." in response. I nodded and turned around again, waiting for him to dry himself and put the pajamas on.

Once he was done, I grabbed the handcuffs again and put them on his wrists before taking him back to his room. He laid down on the bed and I pulled a blanket over him, chaining the handcuffs to the bed as well.

I leaned down and gave him a small kiss on his forehead "sweet dreams, Mui… I love you"

...

Word count : 1790