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2020-06-13
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2021-12-29
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Of Art, Medicine, and Technology

Summary:

"Sorry..." the boy--Inosuke, was it?--mumbled out. "I'll keep it down next time." 

"Yeah, you will, you fiend. I've been trying to work for so long, but you keep making all these noises and I can't focus! What the hell are you even doing in there?!" Zenitsu screamed.

The boy's perfectly plucked eyebrows furrowed together, and he turned to glare at the blond boy. "I already said sorry, what more do you want?"

"I want you to shut the fuck up--"
. . .

Notes:

hello, thank you for taking time to read this story!! i know the summary didn't tell you much but reading the tags should give you a better insight for what this story has to offer. any and all feedback is tremendously appreciated!!

Chapter 1: Generic art boy cries in front of a stranger and meets two potential friends

Chapter Text

Zenitsu was pretty stressed out, having just started his first year in college. He was almost fully settled into his dorm, with all his personal furniture already in place with the help of his adoptive brother. However, the two had been waiting for the rest of his stuff to arrive for the past hour and a half, and he was starting to believe he wouldn't be getting his luggage. But he really needed them; all his art equipment was inside, and he still had a commission to finish animating. 

"Kaigaku?" He called out. His brother turned to him, and cocked an eyebrow in question. "Can't we just call Grandpa? Ask him to call the company?" 

Kaigaku huffed, his face twisted in a grimace. "I already asked. He said the movers were on their way." His face softened as he seemed to notice Zenitsu's distress. "Would you like me to call them again?" 

"Please." The older boy nodded and pulled out his phone to call. 

"Hello, this is Agatsuma. I'm calling to ask about the packages that were supposed to be delivered...you already dropped them off? Where? Oh, okay, thanks." Kaigaku ended the call and looked back at Zenitsu. "They said they left them at the school's office, and someone should come by to give them to you."

Zenitsu dragged his hands down his face, and screamed. "But they're not here!" As if on cue, there was a knock at his door and he shot up from where he was sitting to slam it open, where he saw a young man with fiery hair balancing a bunch of boxes on his arms.

"Are you Zenitsu?" He asked. "'Cause these are yours."

"Yes, thank you so much...uh...what's your name?" Zenitsu asked as he began to take the boxes from him.

The man smiled as he stepped inside to help the blond boy put down the packages. "Kyojuro Rengoku. I'm the third floor's RA. Your RA was busy so she asked me to help you out."

"Ah, well I really appreciate it, Rengoku. Are these all the boxes?"

"Yup. I carried them all. If you need anything else just ask, alright? I'll be in the halls helping out the rest of you young freshmen."

"Thank you, again. I'll see you around." Rengoku waved back as he left the room, immediately rushing towards some other freshmen who had called for him.

Kaigaku began opening the boxes, and upon realizing they were just Zenitsu's art things, left them alone. "You'll be fine on your own, right?"

Zenitsu nodded, already starting on organizing his materials. "You can go now, Kaigaku. Thanks for helping." Kaigaku bid his farewells and left, leaving Zenitsu alone to finish the commission.

 

About three hours in to animating, Zenitsu started to get tired. It was already pretty late at night and he really wanted to get some sleep so he could wake up early the next morning. But he couldn't think about that right now; he had to focus on his work so he could finish this dumb animation that was taking forever. God, Zenitsu was trying his best to focus, he really was, but there was so much fucking noise coming from outside his dorm. Why are people awake right now anyway? It's almost two in the morning, they should be sleeping. Then again, he wasn't asleep either. 

Zenitsu sighed and slammed his face down onto his desk. "The legs look like shit," he groaned out. He closed his eyes and let himself drift off. He was tired, so tired. He had been been doing hard labor all day, but now he just wanted to sleep. He was almost done with it anyway. Putting it off for a bit won't harm anyone...

A loud crashing noise came from one of the other doors, followed by an 'Oh fuck' and a couple people exiting their own rooms to check up on the source of the sound. Zenitsu was jolted awake, and the overall crappiness of the situation caused him to get frustrated. So, the blond boy got up from his seat, opened the door to his room, marched down the hall to the crowd of people that was forming, and pushed his way through them, where he saw the RA scolding a boy with dark hair and highlights. 

"Inosuke, you need to keep it down, some of us are trying to sleep." She said to him. Despite the smile on her face, it was clear that she was a tad bit agitated.

"Sorry..." the boy--Inosuke, was it?--mumbled out. "I'll keep it down next time." 

"Yeah, you will, you fiend. I've been trying to work for so long, but you keep making all these noises and I can't focus! What the hell are you even doing in there?!" Zenitsu screamed.

The boy's perfectly plucked eyebrows furrowed together, and he turned to glare at the blond boy. "I already said sorry, what more do you want?"

"I want you to shut the fuck up--"

"Okay, guys that's enough, " The RA interrupted. Wow, she looked gorgeous, even though she was mad. "He said sorry, and he won't do it again, right, Inosuke?" He nodded. "Then that's all. Everyone, go back to your dorms, everything is okay. Blondie, can I talk to you for a second?" 

Ah, shit. He pissed her off and now she'll tell him to leave his dorm, except he's not even from this state, so he'll have to live on the streets, and he'll be homeless, and his Grandpa will never know what happened to him and--

"I just want to know if there's a problem between you and that boy."

Oh. 

"Uh, no. H-he was just really loud and I couldn't study..."

She smiled at him, an actual sweet smile and wow Zenitsu couldn't help but admire her delicate beauty. "I see. Are you perhaps sensitive to sound?"

Zenitsu blinked at her. How did she know that? "Y-yes I am. How did you--"

She laughed and patted his head. "You're three rooms away from him but you spoke like you could hear everything. I know the walls are thin, but they're not that thin." She pulled her hand away and instead pulled out a pen. She took Zenitsu's hand and scribbled down a number. "If you ever need anything, or if the sounds get too much, just find my room or ask around for Shinobu and they'll lead you right to me, okay?" He nodded, attempting to ignore his burning cheeks. She patted his head once again before leaving for her own room. He looked down at his hand to see the number 209 scrawled in slanted writing.

Is it possible to be attracted to words? Because he really thinks he's about to ask this girl to marry him.

He shook his head to clear his thoughts and reentered his room. He changed into pajamas and got ready for bed, but just as he rested his head on his pillow, the noises from the weird guy started up again. Zenitsu groaned, and cursed his keen hearing ability. 

Maybe if he ignores the sounds, they'll go away...

 

 

Surely the boy will get tired soon enough.

 

 

He'll stop in just a few more minutes.

 

 

Jesus Christ, he's not going to stop, is he? Zenitsu had enough of this torture, and just as he was getting out of bed to demand the boy stop whatever he's doing, his alarm went off.

And if Zenitsu cried while getting ready for the morning, well, no one was there to see it. Still crying, Zenitsu pulled on a green tracksuit and grabbed his keys and a water bottle, opened the door, and began walking down the hall to an elevator. He pretended people weren't staring at him and got inside the elevator. Just as it was about to close, a boy with maroon hair and a scar on his face walked in, and immediately began to just...stare at Zenitsu. Said boy tried not to squirm under his sharp gaze and instead focused on pressing the button for the ground floor.

"Are you sad?" the stranger asked. Zenitsu side-eyed him, and wondered if this guy was an idiot. No shit he was sad, there were tears rolling down his face.

"No, I'm not," he replied sarcastically. 

"Then why are you crying?"

Another round of just staring. "Dude, I was being sarcastic."

"I see...so then why are you sad?"

"Because I couldn't sleep all night! There was this guy making noise the entire time! I don't know how he didn't get tired, but he kept me up all night and I'm so tired--"

"Then why didn't you sleep in?" The guy asked.

Zenitsu sighed once more. "Because I have a routine; wake up, go on a thirty-minute jog, take a shower, work on any commissions, and if I don't have any, I skip to painting. It's a very delicate balance, my friend, that keeps me from having a breakdown."

"Well, sleeping is actually very important for your health. If you don't get enough sleep then your immune system will start to weaken, making you prone to diseases. It will increase your chances of getting cancer, diabetes, and even getting into car accidents. It'll also slow down your thinking, causing you to be sluggish and thus less efficient in your work. You don't want to fail your classes, do you?" 

The blond boy gave him a teasing smile, and said, "What, are you a doctor or something?"

The red-head returned the smile with a bright grin. Gosh, he almost blinded Zenitsu. What is this brilliant light? "I plan on being one, actually."

Zenitsu rolled his eyes jokingly. "Of course you are, Golden Child."

"My name is Tanjirou, actually."

"I didn't--"

"What's your name?"

Zenitsu sighed for nth time that day, mumbling out his response. "Zenitsu. Now tell me, Tanjirou, what are you doing up so early?"

Tanjirou shrugged. "I'm just going to explore the town, you know? It seems pretty cool."

"Yeah, I get that." The door to the elevator finally opened. That was a suspiciously long ride. "Maybe I'll see you around?"

"I hope so." 

The two waved to each other, and Zenitsu began his daily run after setting a timer on his phone. He let his mind wander, and found himself thinking of the boy from last night. What was he doing all night? He was extremely attractive--Zenitsu would even call him pretty--so maybe he had a girl over. Oh, but boys and girls aren't allowed to be in the same room at night, despite the dorm halls being co-ed. So then what exactly was he doing? It sounded like he was jumping around...was he jumping on the bed? That would take extreme stamina, and no one had stamina like that--

"Augh!" 

Oh my god, he just fell on his face in public, what are people going to think of him?! Zenitsu quickly got back up just as his timer went off. He stopped it, and was about to head back to the campus when he realized--

He had no idea where he was. Which is fine, he could just use his phone for directions...but of course it dies. How typical, just when he needs it, it becomes useless. Grumbling, Zenitsu shoved the device back inside his pocket and began formulating a plan for how to find his way back. He looked around, hoping to find someone he'd seen on campus. He continued to scan the crowd for a couple of minutes, trying to find anyone who may know the way back. Suddenly, he spotted a man with long hair wearing the college merch, and rushed over to him.

"Oh my god, dude--sir, do you--can you tell me how to get back to the campus. Please? I'm lost like a fucking idiot and my phone's dead, please!"

The man smiled down at him and pointed his finger in front of him. "I was just heading back, actually; you can tag along if you'd like."

Zenitsu bowed down at the man, thanking him profusely. The guy laughed him off and the two chatted a bit as they walked.

"So, what's your name?" The stranger asked.

"Zenitsu Agatsuma. What about you?" 

"Uzui Tengen, I major in fine arts," he told the blond.

"Oh, we're pretty similar then; I major in animation."

"So you want to be an animator, huh? What do you plan on animating? Cartoons?"

"Ah, no actually I want to animate for video games...I've always thought that was really cool," Zenitsu replied.

"Woah, that's awesome. That means you know computer graphics, right?"

"Yeah but it gives me a headache sometimes. I wish it was easier, but it's still really fun, you know?"

Uzui nodded his head as the two arrived back at the dorms. "So I'll see you in the art studio one day, right?" he asked.

"Probably. It was nice talking to you, Uzui, maybe we can hangout later?"

The older laughed and took out his phone. "Are you propositioning me, kid?" Zenitsu flushed deeply and hid his face in his hands.

"N-no I meant as friends!" Uzui clapped his shoulder happily, and extended his phone to the boy.

"I'm just teasing, bro. Put in your number so we can hangout." Zenitsu's face heated up once more as he dialed in his digits. After sending himself a text to make sure it worked, he shoved past the elder and ran up to his room. He slammed the door shut and banged his head against it as he silently berated himself for being an idiot. 

But hey, at least he made a friend.

Chapter 2: Local gamer trialed for attempted murder

Notes:

did i have to include overwatch in the story? no.
but did i want to? yes

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Zenitsu spent the rest of the day animating characters from video games after finally finishing his commission. He was almost done graphing Princess Peach's dress when those obnoxious noises started up again. The blond pinched the bridge of his nose and pushed himself away from his desk; he refused to put up with this torture for another second, let alone the rest of the day. 

He quickly patted himself down to make sure he had his room key and phone before leaving and heading straight towards those sounds. Stopping in front of the same door as last night, he knocked twice and waited for it to open. 

There was a loud thud before the boy swiftly opened the door, looking suspiciously disheveled. "Ugh, you again, " he said.

Choosing to ignore that for his personal self-esteem's sake, Zenitsu took a short moment to study the other male. His hair was tied back in a loose ponytail, although there were multiple strands that had escaped. Despite his pale skin tone, there was a distinguishable redness to his cheeks and beads of sweat rolling down his forehead. Along with his erratic heartbeat, Zenitsu had a growing suspicion that he had been doing something physical for the past few minutes. 

"Inosuke, right? My name is Zenitsu, can I come in?" he asked. The other cocked an eyebrow but nevertheless let the blond in. He allowed his eyes to sweep the blue-haired boy's room, and noticed the game in queue on his TV. 

Completely forgetting the reason he came here in the first place, Zenitsu happily sat down in front of the TV and grabbed the Xbox controller. "Dude, you play Overwatch too? Who do you main?" 

Inosuke sat down next to the blond, his emerald eyes sparkling as he watched Zenitsu pick out a character. "I main Roadhog. He's amazing! It's so easy for me to control him--it's like second-nature." He quieted down a bit as he began to focus on the game. "Plus," he mumbled, "Roadhog is an embodiment of a boar." 

"And you like boars?" Zenitsu asked. 

"I love them. They're strong and never back down from a fight. I actually wanna get a tattoo of one on my thigh." Inosuke replied. 

The blond nodded in acknowledgment, and only turned to look at the other once his character died. "Wouldn't it be cooler if it was on your arm? You know, so people can see it." 

"It's not for them, it's for me. As long as I can see it, I don't care where it goes." 

"But why specifically on your thigh? There has to be a reason, Inosuke." Zenitsu inquired.

"Because it--wait that reminds me, why are you here?" the former demanded. 

"Oh yeah! I came here to ask what the hell you were doing in here." He couldn't believe he actually forgot the reason he asked to be in the boy's room; what weak resolve he has. His Grandpa would be disappointed.

"What do you mean? I was jus' chilling in my room." 

"No, no no no, you were jumping around like some chimpanzee. God, you were so loud, I thought I was going to die! You know I stayed up all night because of you?!" The blond screamed.

The paler boy squinted his eyes at the slightly older boy, and the two stared at each other while Inosuke tried to make sense of what Zenitsu was talking about. How did an idiot like him get into college? "OH!" the blue-haired boy loudly exclaimed, shocking the blond. "You mean when I was fighting!" 

"Who the fuck were you fighting? Your sleep paralysis demon?"

"Be real, Monitsu--"

"It's Zenitsu--"

"I slayed that wimp when I was 15!" the boisterous boy carried on. "I was practicing my fighting moves in case someone ever tries to ambush me. So yes, I was fighting."

"I don't think you'll ever get ambushed," Zenitsu deadpanned. "But if you do, I'm sure you'll defeat them with your amazing super human strength."

Inosuke let out a booming laugh as he smacked the other male on the back. "I know right?! I'm so cool and strong. You should be more like me, Monitsu."

"Wow, okay, I'm actually pretty strong. I bet I could take you down in a fight within seconds." 

"No way, I've been teaching myself martial arts my whole life. I'm the strongest person ever."

"So have I! My Grandpa made me learn Aikido all my life; he still teaches me."

The emerald eyed-boy waved him off, saying, "Aikido is stupid. Who doesn't want to hurt their opponent? Babies, that's who."

"Um, also people who care? 

"Fine then, fight me and let's see who's stronger!" 

"Excuse me?" Zenitsu spluttered. This was not what he had planned for the day. 

"C'mon, fight me! Let's go!" 

Zenitsu quickly stood up and pushed past the wild boy, despite the latter's protests. There was no way he was fighting him. He might get killed! So he ran back to his own dorm and briskly entered the room. 

"OPEN UP, MONITSU! I WANT TO FIGHT!" Inosuke bellowed as he thumped on the door. "FIGHT ME, YOU COWARD!" 

"GO AWAY, YOU FREAK!" The blond shrieked. The banging on the door continued, as did Inosuke's cries. Zenitsu heard a couple people's doors open as they looked to see what in the world was going on. "Help me!" he cried to the others. "Get him away from me, he might kill me!"

After what felt like was hours but was really a few minutes, all the sounds ceased. The blond cautiously opened his door and peered through, where he saw the guy from the elevator talking to their RA. When he realized Inosuke was no where in sight, he flung himself at the boy and cried out in relief. 

"Tanjirouuuu! You saved me! Thank you, thank you. I really thought he was going to kill me."

The tan male chuckled as he gently patted Zenitsu's head. "Don't be silly, he would never kill you. And I'm not the one who helped you--he did," Tanjirou said as he pointed towards an upperclassmen with long dark hair. How he didn't see him before, Zenitsu had no idea. But a hero deserved proper recognition and so he moved forward to embrace the mysterious man.

Except just as his arms were going to wrap around him, he pulled back, causing the artistic boy to stumble as he fell down. 

"Now, now, Tomioka, don't be mean to the poor boy. This is why people don't like you," Shinobu remarked. 

The man's eyebrows furrowed as he looked at the girl. "They do like me."

"They don't," she responded promptly.

"They do."

"They don't."

"They do."

"They don't."

"They do."

"They don't--"

Tanjirou turned to Zenitsu and helped him off the ground as the two continued to argue in the background. "Anyway, mind telling me why that guy was attempting to break down your door?" He asked.

The blond shivered as he thought back to the confrontation. "He wanted to prove he was stronger than me by fighting but I ran away 'cause I knew I was going to die." The maroon-haired boy laughed at that and shook his head. It was only then that Zenitsu noticed his hanafuda earrings. They shimmered beneath the artificial light and swung as he moved his head; it was quite mesmerizing. "I like your earrings," he blurted out.

Like instinct, Tanjirou's hand moved to touch them. He smiled sheepishly as he thanked the blond for the compliment. "They were my dad's," he told him. "He died when I was 14, though." 

"I'm sorry for your loss," the older replied. Tanjirou only smiled, and the two talked for a little more before the aspiring doctor asked for the other's number. They quickly inputted each other's digits before saying goodbye and going their own ways.

Zenitsu was heading towards the art studio to do some painting,--he had a map with him now, so he won't get lost again--and as he walked he remembered Uzui. Having nothing better to do, he decided to text and ask if he would like to tag along.

me: hey uzui wanna come w me to the art studio 6:54 pm

me: i'm gonna paint for a while, could use some company 6:54 pm

Uzui Tengen: sure 6:55 pm

Uzui Tengen: i'm already in studio 5, i'll see you there 6:55 pm

Zenitsu put away his phone and continued walking towards the aforementioned studio. He quickly arrived and knocked on the door which opened to reveal Uzui's face. 

"That was fast," he said, surprised. 

"I was already on my way when I texted you," the smaller responded. He entered the room and looked around. It was a fairly big studio with enough room for five painting easels. On one wall there were about seven or eight easels propped up, and next to them were canvases. He continued looking around and noticed an open drawer filled with various types of paints. Zenitsu grabbed a canvas and an easel and set them up for him to paint. "So what are you making?" He asked his companion. 

"I'm just practicing my calligraphy," he responded. "What about you? What are you gonna paint?" 

Zenitsu pondered on the question for a bit before he turned and smiled at the silver-haired man. "I'll paint you!"

Uzui laughed, taken aback. "Do what you like, kid. Just make sure not to make me ugly." 

The blond chuckled a bit before the two fell into comfortable silence as they worked on their art. Zenitsu first worked on sketching Uzui's side profile, although he struggled a bit with the nose. When he finally got it right, he went to the paint drawer to find the water colors, where he began to mix them to get his skin tone. This was fun, even though they weren't talking. The sounds around them made up for their silence; he could hear the soft scrape of Uzui's brush on the canvas and the satisfaction the man felt as he got the stroke right. He could hear the groan of the floorboards everytime either one of them would shift their weight. He could hear the birds chirping outside, the trees rustling in the wind, people laughing and talking as they explored the campus. He heard someone on their phone arguing. He could hear the sound of the wind howling as it pushed against people. All the different noises brought forth a sense of peace in Zenitsu as he began to apply the paint onto the canvas. The sun began to set, and its rays leaked in through the window, creating an orange hue inside the room. The blond allowed the sun's warmth to seep into his skin, into every pore. He focused on the sensation as he allowed himself to relax into the comforting heat. His wrist twisted to accommodate the curves and edges of the sketch as he brought warmth into the painting's skin. He dipped his brush into a more peach-pink tint to replicate Uzui's warm tone. As he stroked the brush upon the cheeks of the portrait he felt a presence looming over his shoulder. He chose to ignore it in favor of focusing his concentration on the task at hand. He continued applying the color on different sections of the face. He took a moment to analyze the coloring and found himself to be satisfied and dipped the brush into a more pink-red for the lips. As he layered the paint onto the drawn appendage, he felt Uzui's breath hit his ear in small exhales. 

"It's beautiful," he whispered in an awe-stricken voice. 

"Thank you," Zenitsu responded, his voice just as soft as the other, almost like they were afraid of leaving the haven they created for themselves. Alas, you can't stay hidden forever. He dropped his hand from the artwork and let the color drip from the brush onto the floor. "Is it time to go?" he asked, in an almost heart-wrenching tone; it was as if he was saddened to leave this place, like this was his retreat from the harsh reality of the world. 

"Yeah," Uzui responded, still speaking in that delicate tone, like he was aware of the suddenly fragile state Zenitsu was in. The younger allowed himself to be pulled up by the man's strong arms as they began to gather their things to leave.

The two looked back at the room as they stepped out and slowly closed the door behind them, stepping further and further away from their perfect world.

 

 

Notes:

hm i dont know why that got so melancholy at the end, but i assure you there is not any major angst in this story.

 

maybe

Chapter 3: Pignite challenges Pikachu to a battle

Notes:

i dont wanna sound needy or selfish, but i'd really appreciate it if more people commented bc im getting a lot of hits but not a lot of kudos, so if someone can tell me if that's just cause ur coming back for the chapters or if ppl are reading and not liking that'd be awesome--

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Zenitsu fell asleep peacefully and without interruptions that night, and decided to use that extra pep in his step for some extra running. He had just gotten back and was innocently walking down the hall to his room when he heard a strangely familiar heartbeat--he knows he's heard it before, but he hasn't heard it enough to pinpoint it to a specific person. The blond shrugged it off and continued on, too wrapped up in his after-exercise tiredness to realize there was someone barreling towards him.

That is, until he suddenly remembered who's heartbeat it was--and he immediately booked it, running to who knows where. Certainly not Zenitsu, he was just trying to delay his inevitable and and hurriedly impending doom.

"Zenitsu!!" That cursed (and yet strangely pleasant, he had to admit) voice called out. "Fight me, right now! Let's see who's stronger!"

Getting called out only increased Zenitsu's pace as he desperately looked for any way out of this mess--and there it was, at the end of the hall, in all it's blinding glory.

"TANJIROUU!" He screamed. "Help me!" Said boy's head snapped up at hearing his name, and he looked around for a bit before spotting the blond. 

Determined, the maroon-haired teen grabbed the other's wrist and lead him into his room, where they leaned up on the door as they waited for Inosuke to leave. The blond's breaths came out in short exhales as he listened carefully to the heavy footsteps, although it was mostly out of fear rather than fatigue. While Tanjirou relaxed rather easily and began walking around his dorm, Zenitsu didn't allow his body to slacken until he knew the wild boy was a safe nice distance away from him. 

Zenitsu, two. Inosuke, zero, the scoreboard counted. Maybe he would live long enough to get married. 

The elder of the two rose from where he rested on the floor to follow the owner of the room into the small kitchen. He stood by as he watched the boy pour two cups of tea, which he set on a small wooden table placed on the edge of the kitchen. He gestured for Zenitsu to sit and he obliged, not knowing what else there was for him to do. Instead of continuing to watch the tan boy, he took to looking out the window in hopes of not appearing as some sort of creep who liked to watch boys cook--not that he wasn't enjoying the domestic vibe of the scene.

Tanjirou placed a plate of scrambled eggs and toast in front of Zenitsu as he sat in front of him. The two began eating in silence as the blond began formulating his day's schedule. He really wanted to go back and finish that painting of Uzui, but he didn't know if he was available today. He'll have to text him--

"I have a favor to ask you," Tanjirou proclaimed. 

Well, even if he didn't want to help, this boy provided refuge for him so there was no way he could say no. "Okay."

The maroon-haired teen smiled at him and nodded his head once. "Okay!"

Zenitsu patiently waited for him to elaborate, but the boy just kept sparkling and smiling. He sighed and said, "Aren't you going to tell me what you need help with?" 

"OH. There's a spider in my bathroom."

"Nope, sorry. You're on your own, buddy." Spiders are a big no-no. He got bit by one when he was fifteen and ended up getting poisoned. (Un)luckily, it wasn't lethal and he was better after a week in a hospital.

"Please, Zenitsu! I can't kill it no matter how hard I try!" He pleaded. "It's basically immortal!"

"No. I'm scared of spiders!" 

Tanjirou dragged his hands down his face as the two bickered back and forth. 

"What do you want? Money? Food?"

"I don't want anything! Although your food is really good..."

"I'll cook for you! Everyday! I-i'll make all your meals for the next month! Please, just kill the spider for me."

Zenitsu let out a long, exaggerated sigh. "Make it two months and it's a deal."

The other boy grinned at him as they shook hands. He led him to the bathroom where the spider was but...it was no where in sight.

Zenitsu turned to Tanjirou and looked at him skeptically. "Are you sure you didn't already kill it?"

"Well, um...I can see it now..." he replied. 

The blond squinted his eyes at him. Is everyone is this school an idiot? "Okay, so where is it?"

"On your leg."

"What?" He immediately began patting down his leg and shaking it, trying to get it off. 

"What are you doing?! Stop moving!"

"STOP MOVING?! Are you dumb? Are you fucking dumb?"

"Hey, that's kinda mean--"

"SHUT UP. You just wanted to kill me didn't you? I'm gonna fucking die because of this dumbass spider and I won't even be able to see Attack on Titan's premiere of season four and it's gonna be all your fault and you better be at my fucking funeral explaining to them exactly how and why I'm fucking dead and you're gonna be the one to hold my Grandpa when he cries because IT'S YOUR FAULT I'M DYING! Look, I can't breathe anymore, I'm choking! I'M FUCKING CHOKING--"

Slap.

"I killed it! Zenitsu, look, I killed it! Wow, you have very strong thighs..do you work--"

"Did you just slap me?" Zenitsu asked. 

Tanjitou's brows furrowed across his adorably large forehead. "No, I slapped the spider. Dummy." He giggled a little before he continued to examine Zenitsu's legs. "They're so firm and yet squishy! What's your workout--"

"Stop groping me," he demanded as he slapped away the boy's wandering hands. "Also, my thigh hurts now." 

Tanjirou stood up straight as he grabbed both of Zenitsu's shoulders. "I will give you a massage." He said.

Zenitsu was starting to really question this guy's sanity. God, what is wrong with him? He pushed away from the maroon-haired teen's hands. "Don't be a pervert, dude."

"Sometimes it's okay to be a pervert."

"Sir, it most absolutely is not. " The blond responded, face contorted in horror.

"You're wrong, but okay." He side-eyed the elder for a moment before looking away, attempting to seem nonchalant. "You sure you don't want a massage? I have a really soothing cream I could apply--"

"Goodnight," he shrieked as he sauntered away from the doctor-in-training.

Tanjirou followed the boy as he began walking around the dorm trying to put as much distance as he could between them. "But it's only afternoon."

"Oh look at that, I have to the stomach bug, wouldn't want to stink up your bathroom! Gotta go!" 

And with that, he successfully escaped the room.


Despite having left Tanjirou's room over three hours ago, Zenitsu was still getting spammed with messages from him as he met up with Uzui. After taking a quick glance at his phone, he determined they were all just unnecessary apologies about his earlier behavior towards his thighs, saying he was just playing around. While they were appreciated, the blond didn't feel it was needed, considering he knew the boy was joking with him. He was in the middle of finally texting back when Uzui spoke up.

"We're here," he told him. Zenitsu nodded absentmindedly, too preoccupied to really pay attention to the long-haired man. He only sighed softly as he pushed open the studio door and pulled in the younger teen. He hastily put away his phone and headed straight towards the painting of Uzui. 

"I need to paint your hair and your eyes, then I'll be done." He looked at Uzui who was simply standing in front of the window, watching the students walk by. Class had still not started, although they did get their schedule, and it seemed most of them were looking to see how far classes would be. "What are you gonna do?"

The man in question hummed thoughtfully. "Not sure. I think I'm just gonna sketch whatever's in the window." The blond nodded as he began mixing the watercolors and once again a comfortable silence fell over them.

Zenitsu began applying the silvery color onto his art and was in the midst of re-dipping his brush when Uzui suddenly gasped really loud. 

"Uh, you okay?" 

"LOOK!" The older man grabbed his face and turned it towards the window, where he saw...nothing really. Just a lot of random students going about their days. "Do you see it?"

"Thee whah?" He pushed out, voice distorted due to his cheeks being squished. Since when was touching people without asking a normal occurrence? 

"There, Zenitsu, near the fountain! The boy with dark blue hair!"

Zenitsu squinted his eyes as he tried to find someone who fit that description. Unfortunately, this was a big school and a lot of people have dark blue hair. "Could you be a littew mowe spethific?" 

Uzui rolled his eyes at him and pushed his face directly onto the window. He let out an 'oof' as his face smooshed against the cool glass but ignored the slight throbbing it caused and his breath fogging up the window in favor of looking around once again. "The guy is standing next to the dude with orange hair, right there, see?" Zenitsu followed his finger with his eyes and--

Oh.

Oh my.

They were kissing. 

That guy who helped him yesterday and some dude were kissing. In front of everyone. 

"Is that Tomioka?" he asked. Uzui laughed and nodded his head enthusiastically. He stopped suddenly and glanced down at the blond with one eyebrow cocked as he leaned in close.

Does no one is this damn school know about personal space?

"How come you know him? What's your affiliation with him?" He demanded. 

Zenitsu got flustered as he explained that he had just helped him with a situation earlier in the week, and didn't actually know him. Uzui thought for a bit before shrugging and deciding he actually didn't give a shit. Instead, he grabbed the small boy and hauled him over his shoulder as he made a beeline towards the large fountain.

Zenitsu just laid on his shoulder allowing himself to be taken away because he knew he wouldn't be able to escape even if he tried. He briefly wondered why the man was taking him with him, but just as he opened his mouth to ask, he was promptly dropped onto the ground in front of the two men he stalked earlier. 

"Hey that hurt--"

"TOMIOKA GIYUU!" Uzui bellowed, despite being literally two feet away. "I SAW YOU KISS SABITO!" 

Sabito blushed and turned away from Uzui, while Giyuu simply blinked. "Okay. Weren't you the one asking me when I was going to ask him out?" Uzui nodded his head vehemently as he grasped the dark haired man's hand. 

"So you are saying you are now in a relationship with Sabito?"

"...yes."

"So I was right!" Uzui cheered. He swiftly pulled up Zenitsu from the ground and threw him over his shoulder once more as he typed away at his phone. He pressed a contact and put the device to his ear, all the while grinning manically. "Rengoku, you owe me fifty bucks--Giyuu just kissed Sabito!...I honestly can't believe you thought he was straight....BWAHAHAHA, Shinobu?! You really thought he was gonna confess to Shinobu? God, you're a fucking idiot. Hm? No, I can't meet up right now I'm painting with a friend. I'll meet with you later, okay? Just gimme like three or so hours...'kay, bye dumbass." 

"Do I weigh anything to you?" Zenitsu asked. Uzui only patted his butt as he laughed, completely dismissing him. The blond only sighed as he was dragged back to the studio, where the man finally put him down. 

He walked inside as he dusted his clothes, ridding them of all the non-existent dirt that had collected from being tossed around like a rag-doll. Zenitsu went to examine his painting and started to color the hair again. And like that, the two spent the rest of the warm afternoon in the art studio together, Uzui cackling at his phone every so often while Zenitsu painted away.

Notes:

if u think the chapters have too many things happening/it's too fast-paced, pls let me know. also, comments and kudos are appreciated! thanks for reading :))

Chapter 4: Blond Edogawa Conan investigates

Notes:

enjoy this dumb chapter

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

When he woke up for the new day, Zenitsu really hadn't expected his phone to blow up with messages from an unknown number. As he skimmed over the text, it was clear who it was--that damned pretty boy, Inosuke. Even while he was freshening up in the bathroom, Zenitsu was preoccupied with one thing and one thing only--how did the boy get his number?

Instead of going for his usual run, Zenitsu decided to stay in and find out who gave it to him (actually,the real reason he stayed in was because he wasn't allowed to go outside due to the dangerous storms expected to hit the city soon, which was a shame really; Zenitsu always felt stronger around thunder.) And so he sat at his desk with the window open slightly, allowing the scent of rain to waft through and into his room, a pencil in his mouth as he thought of everyone who had his number. The list said:

Tanjirou Kamado

Tengen Uzui

...That was it really. He didn't have much friends. He let out an exasperated sigh and leaned back in his chair. He had a hand in his hair to rub against the side of his head, where a headache was starting to form. Was he always this lonely in school? Mm, probably. People were constantly screaming at him to quiet down, especially during class. Did they think of his as anno--

Ah, best not to let his thoughts wander. Zenitsu put down the pencil and slammed his head onto the hard surface of the wooden desk. He sighed again as he turned his face, and closed his eyes to focus on his thoughts. Even though I gave Uzui my number first, he's not a first-year, so it's unlikely that he knows Inosuke. And even if he did, he probably wouldn't give it to him without me explicitly giving him permission. So then it's gotta be Tanjirou...ah, but he's too nice to do that. Hmm, could it be that it's really all an act to hide an ulterior motive? But then, what good would giving him my number do? OH! Maybe I was right about him wanting to kill me, but in order to not seem suspicious, he's given the task to Inosuke so he can do all the dirty work! Yes, yes, I need to call him right now and demand an explanation.

He grabbed his phone and opened Tanjirou's contact, pressed it, and patiently waited for the other teen to pick up.

"Zenitsu, hey! I'm at your door right now, open up so I can give you--food." Tanjirou looked at the older boy in slight shock at the speed and force in which the door was opened, but nonetheless he came in with two plates of food. "Okay, so I made you pancakes with chocolate chips and--why's your window open? You know it's going to rain in like, twenty minutes."

Zenitsu took the plates from the other and set them down on a table. "The weather people said three hours, though."

"They're wrong, I can smell it," he responded, poking his nose.

Zenitsu cocked an eyebrow. "You can smell that they're wrong?" 

"No, I can smell when the rain's gonna hit." 

"Ohhh, yeah that makes more sense. But it's fine, I like the rain." The blond said as he pulled a chair for Tanjirou. They both sat down and began to eat the food the latter prepared, when the maroon-haired teen spoke up. 

"You smell like rain." 

"Uh, is that a bad thing?"

"No! I like it, it was just an...observation." He responded hurriedly. 

"Hm. OH! Hey, did you give that weird guy my number? The one with long eyelashes?" Zenitsu asked.

Tanjirou stayed silent for a bit, thinking. "You mean the dude who looks like a girl?"

"He's the one!"

"Yeah I did--"

"I KNEW IT! You wanted him to--"

"He said he wanted to talk to you," Tanjirou cut in. "And I thought, well, why would that be a problem? And gave it to him. Why?"

"Dude, he's blowing up my phone." 

"So? What's he saying?" As if on cue, a ding sounded throughout the room, indicating a new message. "Is it from him?"

Zenitsu grabbed his phone and unlocked it, reading the message out loud. "Open your door, I'm coming in.

Tanjirou laughed as he leaned back in the chair, a sweet smile gracing his lips. Zenitsu had to admit that being around the boy brought him much joy, and he wished they could hang out more. "Sounds like he wants to be your friend," he teased. "Or he might even be trying to make a move on you!" 

The blond felt a fierce heat blaze within his face as he stammered. "W-what? NO! We're not even friends!" Tanjirou began laughing again, except it got louder and louder as time went by. 

"S-someone's flustered, " he chaffed as he finally began to cool down, wiping the tears from the corner of his eyes. 

"Shut up, I'm not even gay," the blond muttered. Almost immediately, the other teen's lighthearted demeanor was gone, replaced by a disappointed expression and a sour heartbeat. 

"You're not?" He questioned. 

"Well--" Zenitsu was interrupted by three sharp knocks on the door, and he forced himself to leave and open it instead of staying with Tanjirou. He can just tell him the truth when he came back. 

He opened the door, and rolled his eyes when he saw Inosuke standing there. He forced himself to keep his eye trained on the boy's face and not on his amazingly muscled arms. "Do you need something?"

Inosuke tilted his head and squinted his eyes. "Didn't I tell you I was coming?" 

"Well yeah, but I didn't think you were being serious." 

He blinked. "You gonna let me come in or what?"

"Ugh," Zenitsu complained as he threw open the door. The blue-haired boy only smirked in victory as he walked in and made himself comfortable on his bed. 

He ignored Tanjirou and opened the blond's laptop, which he almost broke with his fat ass, and tried to guess the password. 

Zenitsu rolled his eyes as he sat back down with Tanjirou and continued conversing with him. "Anyway, I am technically gay I just didn't want to say anything so early on in our friendship because--"

"Monitsu, what's the password?" Inosuke intervened. Fucking dumb ass bitch, I was talking, you know.

"Shut up, Eyelashes." Zenitsu quipped. 

Tanjirou's lips turned up in a tiny smirk as he leaned his face on his hand. "Eyelashes?" He questioned. 

"You shut up too, Golden Child," he retorted, slightly flustered. "As I was saying...what was I saying again?"

"You were gonna tell me the password," the emerald-eyed boy spoke up. 

"Oh it's--Hey! Stop being mean, Inosuke!" Zenitsu threw whatever it was in his hand, which was apparently a fork and just barely missed the guy's face. "Damn,"  he muttered under his breath (okay fine, he knew what he was throwing.)

The maroon-haired teen poked the blond's cheek as he giggled. "Heard that." Zenitsu clicked his tongue as he turned his back to the rowdy boy, who was observing the way the fork stuck to the wall in fascination. "You were actually gonna tell me your sexuality."

Zenitsu narrowed his eyes at the latter in suspicion. "Are you lying to me?"

"No," both Inosuke and Tanjirou responded.

"That just makes it more suspicious!"

"Aw, come on. Would I lie to you?" Tanjirou said. Zenitsu sighed for what was maybe the third or fourth time since the former's arrival and slumped in his seat. 

"I'm bi," he murmured. Inosuke and Tanjirou were both leaning towards him, trying to hear. 

"Can you say that again," the tan boy asked. 

"I'm bisexual." 

"I see. I'm also bisexual," the tan boy said in response. The two of them turned to Inosuke, who was still trying to get into Zenitsu's computer, and waited. 

The blue-haired boy continued toying with the PC, oblivious to the pairs of eyes burning holes into his head. He finally glanced up, only to glare at them. "Is there something wrong with my face?" He demanded.

"What are you?" Tanjirou explained.

"Uh...a homo sapien?" 

"Augh, no, dumbass, what's your sexuality? " Zenitsu pressed. 

"Pan-sexual. Now can you please give me the passwo--nevermind." Inosuke began clicking on the keyboard for a couple of seconds before he looked back up Zenitsu. "You were watching Boku no Hero?" 

"How did you unlock my computer?!" The eldest shrieked as he flung himself onto the bed. 

"Hey, get off me! You're heavy," the blue-haired boy retaliated as the two of them began wrestling over the laptop. Tanjirou looked on at the scene before him with a slight frown on his face. He was about to step in and force them apart when his nose caught the scent of an immediate storm. 

However, right when he opened his mouth to warn them, the sharp crackle of thunder echoed throughout the dorm, and Tanjirou couldn't stop the bubbling laughter that escaped him as he watched Zenitsu fall off the bed, and Inosuke to grab on tightly to the sheets.

"Owwww..." Zenitsu cried as he rubbed his butt. He stood up slowly as not to aggravate his injury and very carefully made his way over to the window. He closed it and began to wipe away the spare droplets of water that sneaked in. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Inosuke still clutching the sheets between his fingers. He snapped his fingers in front of him to grab his attention, and when his eyes finally focused on him, Zenitsu pulled back and asked if he was okay.

"You good? You seem, um...scared."

Inosuke clicked his tongue and flicked him off. "It just startled me." He said. 

Tanjirou raised an eyebrow in disbelief and hummed thoughtfully. "Mm, I don't know, dude. You're still holding on to the blanket."

Inosuke looked down at his hand and snatched it away with a sharp 'tch.' He laid back down on the bed and closed his eyes. Zenitsu and Tanjirou observed the loud teen for a bit, looking for any signs of discomfort. The blond was seconds away from tearing his eyes away when he noticed the boy's jump at the second clap of thunder. 

Only when Inosuke whimpered did Zenitsu actually start getting concerned. "Are you scared of thunder?" He asked him.

"N-no! Why would you think that?"

Tanjirou spoke up from behind Zenitsu, playing with the leftover syrup. "I don't know, maybe 'cause you jump every time it happens?" 

The emerald-eyed boy didn't answer for a long time, leaving the blond and the tan boy in a slightly awkward situation as they patiently waited for a response. 

"'m not scared of thunder," he finally spoke up. "It's just the vibration of a severe storm that scares me." 

"How do you deal with it?" Zenitsu asked. He felt bad leaving the boy to fend for himself in this situation, especially because he was no stranger to strange fears; he planned to help him in anyway he could. 

"I don't really do anything. I just try to ignore it."

"How do you do that?" Tanjirou inquired. 

Inosuke began fiddling with his hands and avoiding their eyes; the sudden timidness was highly endearing to Zenitsu, and he wanted nothing more than to grab his hands and pull him close. "I just...distract myself."

Tanjirou groaned as he finally stopped playing with the syrup. Kinda gross, if you asked Zenitsu. "Yes, but what do you do?

"What's with that tone? You got something to say?" Inosuke yelled as he leaped up to his feet. Ah, there goes the cute shy display. 

The maroon-haired boy rolled his eyes and glared at the other. "I'm just asking--"

"Let's just forget it, okay? You guys up for some anime? I'm watching season four of My Hero right now," Zenitsu intervened. 

"I already watched it," Tanjirou responded, his usual cheerful self replaced by an unnerving poker face and cold attitude. 

The blond grabbed his hand and pulled him onto his bed, forcing him to lay with him as he propped his laptop on his..well, lap. "Too bad," he said to him as he reached out an arm to Inosuke, who was still standing to his side, and made room for the other boy to join him. Although he grumbled and complained beneath his breath, the blue-haired teen rested near Zenitsu, head placed on his shoulder as he resumed the episode he had left off on. 

"I finished watching it too, you know," Inosuke whispered near Zenitsu's ear. 

"Just shut up and watch," he retorted. Despite his snarky response, Zenitsu was enjoying the little cuddle session the three of them had going on, and was especially gleeful when Inosuke pushed up against him at the sound of more thunder. He smiled to himself as he grasped the boy's hand, smile shifting to a grin when held it in a tight squeeze. 

The blond began feeling around for Tanjirou's hand as well, and when he found it, held it tight as well. It was like this, sandwiched between two boys who may or may not hate each other, watching Boku no Hero Academia, did Zenitsu really start looking forward to his first year of university.

Notes:

kinda slow compared to how many things were happening in the other chapters, but i think it's a cute lil chappy
also
*SPOILER FOR BNHA SEASON 4*

sir nighteye did not deserve to die. mirio didnt deserve to lose his quirk. eri didnt deserve the abuse overhaul put her through
on the other hand,,,overhaul was very attractive.

Chapter 5: Breaking News: Homophobic mall kicks out gay couple

Notes:

its raining and thundering rn smh i predicted the future

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

"I-I can't believe h-he dies!" Zenitsu wept as he desperately wiped away the fat tears making streaks down his face. "H-how could he d-do this to his f-fans?!" 

"There, there, Zenitsu," Tanjirou said in a soothing tone, pulling the blond close to his chest and rubbing up and down his back. "It's going to be okay, I promise."

Inosuke scoffed next to the two, swiping away at his phone. "Dude, he wasn't even given that much screen-time. Relax, will ya?" His hair was pulled back again and he brushed away the strands obscuring his vision. Zenitsu only sobbed harder at his words, clinging on to Tanjirou's mint shirt tighter. 

"Inosuke!" The maroon-haired scolded. "Be considerate of his feelings! Besides, I cried watching him die too." 

"It's been three fucking hours," the other deadpanned. 

"Yes, but still. He just needs time, okay?"

Inosuke only rolled his eyes, instead diverting his attention to his phone. 

Zenitsu took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, attempting to calm himself down. Inosuke had a point; he watched the death scene almost three hours ago. He can't let himself be so affected. He rubbed at his eyes, mumbling, "You guys can go if you want." 

Tanjirou shook his head as he pulled the blond's hands away from his eyes. "'s okay. I like being here with you!"

Zenitsu could feel a flush creep up his neck as he hid his face from the boy's view. "Is this some shoujo anime?!" 

"Personally, I prefer the genre ecchi--ow! Who hit me?" 

"I did. Shut up, weird pervert," Inosuke berated, looking down at the man with disgust written all over his cute feminine features. 

"Yeah? And who gave you the right--stop hitting me, bastard!" 

The blue-haired boy stuck out his tongue at Tanjirou, and--damn, who knew a tongue could look so soft? 

Okay, that was a strange thought. 

"Fucking make me, Fivehead." 

Tanjirou's hands shot up to his forehead, and he glared at Inosuke while rubbing at his head. "My forehead is a perfectly normal size," he retaliated. 

Inosuke laughed at him and poked his head as he mocked his words. The two continued to bicker back and forth while Zenitsu was having a mental breakdown over finding an appendage cute. 

That's not a creepy thing to say, right? It's a common thought, right? It's not like he's a pervert, right? 

"Is it still raining?" Zenitsu cut in, attempting to rid himself of thoughts about the blue-haired boy's wet appendage. 

"No," the tan boy answered. "It's actually pretty sunny now." 

"Really?" Inosuke spoke up. 

Tanjirou side-eyed him, a condescending look on his face. "No, I was lying. It's actually raining right now." He paused to think for a bit, wondering about how to get Zenitsu to hang with him for longer. "OH. We could go somewhere! Right, Zenitsu?"

"Hm? Oh yeah, sure. Sounds fun. Where do you wanna go?"

"The mall?" Inosuke suggested. "I have something I need to do there, anyway." 

No! Fucking butt out you stupid pig, Tanjirou thought to himself. But of course, Zenitsu being the oblivious boy he is, didn't notice the heated glares the other two were throwing at each other, and instead was occupied with planning what he wanted to eat for lunch. 

"Can we go to the food court first? I'm hungry," He said to them. Tanjirou sighed in defeat but nodded nonetheless. Even if he had to go with the rodent, there was no way he was going to pass up an opportunity to be with the blond. 

"Alright then, let's go!" Inosuke cheered, fist in the air in celebration. Zenitsu eyed him from head to toe and grimaced, imagining the chill of the rain if he went out in a muscle shirt and shorts. 

"Shouldn't you change first?" Please don't you look so hot right now--

Tanjirou looked over at the boy and nodded in agreement with Zenitsu. "Yeah you get might sick, man. Make sure to wear something warm," he warned.

"Hm? Oh, yeah. I'll be quick," he responded as he bolted out the door, waving back at the two other teens. 

Tanjirou smiled at Zenitsu, telling him he was going to bring a sweater and also headed out, leaving the blond alone to change. He stripped off his shirt and sweatpants, instead putting on a pale yellow over-sized shirt and khaki pants. He tucked in the shirt into the pants and put on his glasses, then grabbed his phone and keys before departing, heading down to the main office on the first floor. He sat on one of the lobby chairs and passed time by playing a Naruto Tribe game, and had already gotten through six levels when someone finally tapped his shoulder. 

And damn, Inosuke looked even in better in those ripped jeans than in shorts. The emerald-eyed boy grinned at him, and Zenitsu had to resist the urge to to run his hand through his hair when he realized it had been released from its confines. Ignoring the strong temptation, he offered back small smile and the two chatted while waiting for Tanjirou.

"Sorry I took so long, I was looking for my wallet," Tanjirou explained rather sheepishly. He was still wearing the mint green shirt, but he had a black windbreaker layered over it paired with cuffed jeans. He smiled and Zenitsu was momentarily blinded by his radiance before the trio went out to the main street, hailing a taxi. The long-haired male sat in the front, telling the driver where to go while the other two squeezed into the back.

"You look really cute," Tanjirou said to the blond, causing him to flush a deep red. "Although I didn't know you wore glasses."

Zenitsu absentmindedly pushed up his glasses. "Well my vision isn't bad really, I just wear it so my eyes don't get worse. Plus, I like glasses."

The maroon-haired teen nodded along, thinking about how adorable the blond looked in them. The rest of the ride was quiet, everyone concentrated on their phones, and Zenitsu stifled a chuckle when he heard the driver grumbling about "these damn kids and their phones.

The ride was quick, and the cab dropped them off at the front of the mall. The trio thanked the driver while Tanjirou offered to pay, to which Zenitsu declined and said it's better to just split the money. They hastily payed the impatient driver and entered the large building. 

"Okay, the food court is on the third level so let's go up," the blond said. 

"Where are you gonna eat?" Inosuke asked. 

"Taco Bell."

"They have a Taco Bell?"

The blond rolled his eyes as he pulled his friends into the elevator and began discussing where they wanted to go. 

"I'm not gonna have Taco Bell," Tanjirou began. "I'm getting Panda Express."

"Okay but Taco Bell is really good too," Zenitsu responded rather bitterly. He had a special connection to the fast food chain that didn't really make sense, but no one ever thought to make sense of it anyway. 

"Okay! I hope you enjoy it," the maroon-haired teen exclaimed cheerfully. Inosuke stood behind them with a pout on his face, still trying to decide on what he wanted to eat when Tanjirou turned to him looking for an answer. The boy shrugged and kicked his feet as they got off the elevator and walked to the Taco Bell stand. 

"You don't know?" Tanjirou asked. 

"Nope. Why, do you have a suggestion?" 

"Well, you could get what I get. It's really good, I promise, but if you don't like it I'll get you something else, okay?"

Inosuke hesitated for a moment before grasping the other male's hand in a handshake. "Sure." 

Tanjirou lead Inosuke towards the Panda Express stand while leaving Zenitsu to order his own food. The tan boy spent a good amount of time analyzing the menu and by the time he chose to get the grilled teriyaki chicken and Beijing beef with a side of chow mein for him and Inosuke, Zenitsu was already digging in to his rice bean burrito. It was a busy day at the mall, and the line for Panda Express was especially long so when they were given their food ticket they decided to go ahead and start shopping. 

"Didn't you have something to do?" The blond asked Inosuke around a mouthful of food. The blue-haired boy waved him off, saying that it could wait. 

"If that's the case then can you guys help me shop for my sister? I've been wanting to get her something for a while now, but I don't know what to get," Tanjirou spoke up. 

Zenitsu was mildly confused. Didn't this guy have other siblings? Why is he only getting his sister something? Also, what are their names?

As if hearing his thoughts, Tanjirou explained, "I didn't get her anything the other day when I got the rest of my family a souvenir and its been eating at me ever since." 

Ah. Of course Tanjirou would feel bad about that. 

"How old is she?" Inosuke asked.

"16."

"Then why don't you get her clothes?" The blond suggested. "You can't go wrong with that."

Agreeing, the three of them entered a random clothing store and shopped around for nice clothing for Tanjirou's sister. They spent a good hour in there, and finally the left the store with a big bag of items for her, and stopped at Hot Topic for Inosuke. He walked in and immediately made a beeline towards a boar jacket he found and bellowed in laughter the entire time he waited to pay for it. They eventually went back to Panda Express to get their food and sat on one of the tables while Tanjirou explained the order to Inosuke who didn't really look to be paying much attention, mostly just staring longingly at the food. 

"You have to grab one piece of chicken, okay? And when it's in your mouth you add some of the noodles--"

"Just shut up, Tentarou!" He finally snapped.

"Um, that's not my--"

"Do you ever stop talking? God, you've been going on and on about this for ten fucking minutes! It's not that serious, it's all gonna be the same once I shit it out, damn! Now gimme the food!"

Zenitsu shrunk down in his seat as people started staring at the two other boys screaming at each other, Tanjirou desperately trying to get the rowdy boy to eat the food the "right" way, while Inosuke was screaming and stuffing his mouth at the same time. In all honesty, most of the food was actually falling on the ground instead of landing in his mouth, but the blond was too busy trying to not be associated with the two than worry about the waste of money. 

The maroon-haired male finally gave up when Inosuke started trying to run away but only ended up slipping on the food chunks on the floor and stabbed himself in the back of his throat with the chopsticks, and was instead attempting to dislodge it from his mouth. Once the situation finally calmed down, the two boys sat down and ate the Chinese food like they weren't seconds away from getting kicked out of the mall. 

"Hm, you were right, Kentarou. This food is pretty good."

"Yes, yes, I'm so glad to hear that! I'll take you out to eat more often, alright?"

The emerald-eyed boy shrugged around the chopticks, pulling it out and wiping it down on a napkin. "Sure, but it's my turn next time."

"Great! I look forward to it, then." 

The two shook hands once again, cackling like maniacs for a good forty seconds before stopping and followed Zenitsu like baby chicks when they realized he had gone to throw away the trash.

The blond turned to the duo as he sanitized his hands. "Inosuke, do you wanna do whatever you were here for now? 'Cause I didn't want anything, just came her for food."

"Sure. Uh, Claire's is on the fourth floor, yeah?"

Tanjirou snorted from behind the muscular teen, Zenitsu also attempting to contain his laughter. "Uh...yeah. It is. Let's head up."

 

 

They got to the store and walked in with Tanjirou and Zenitsu giggling to themselves about Inosuke liking a kids' store. A female call of "Inosuke!" rung out from one of the employees, where they saw a pretty girl with pink and green hair gesturing him over. "Are you here to check-in?" She asked. 

"Yeah, I just wanna make sure it's fine now," he replied. The blond was confused. Why was this guy coming in to Claire's for a check-up? Isn't that what doctors are for? And why is this girl touching his lips?

"Open wide," she drawled out, an award-winning smile on her face. 

Oh fuck. Oh fuck. He doesn't--there's no way he has a--Oh fuck oh fuck oh fuck oh fuck.

Yup, there it was. A fucking tongue piercing. This guy has a tongue piercing. Is there a piercing fetish Zenitsu didn't know about?

"Alright, Inosuke! You are now free to use your tongue for whatever you like! French-kissing? Go right for it! Crunchy food? You've got the green light! Oral se--mmph!"

"Okaaaay, Mitsuri. I think he's got it. You boys go on ahead, Inosuke, like she said, your piercing has healed up nicely. Have fun, okay?" An employee cut in. As the three of them walked out, Zenitsu could hear the pinkette getting scolded, but his mind was preoccupied thinking of all the dirty things the blue-haired boy could do with that piercing--

"Why are you staring at me like that?" Inosuke demanded. 

Tanjirou hummed thoughtfully, his eyes fully concentrated on the other man's lips. "I was just wondering what that feels like, you know?"

"Well, if you wanna know..." he started, trailing off as he cocked an eyebrow. Noticing the tan boy's confused gaze, he rolled his eyes before grabbing Tanjirou by the collar and smashing their lips together and forcing his tongue inside. He rubbed their tongues against each other, swallowing the whimper the boy let out.

Oh my fucking god. They're french kissing. 

Notes:

ohohohohohohohohohohohohohohohohohohohoho

ngl ive never eaten panda express before, but taco bell is life

comments and feedback are appreciated! also my "schedule" is post a chappy wappy within a week of whenever the previous one was posted, in case u were wondering. uh....have a great day :)
<333333

p.s. rainy days are op

Chapter 6: Warning: pre-marital hand-holding

Notes:

take a shot everytime you see hands

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

What the fuck, are they really kissing each other right now?! 

Zenitsu's face turned a burning red as he continued watching the two kiss; he just couldn't tear his eyes away from the not-so-family-friendly scene. It was strangely and embarrassingly arousing to him and he cringed inwardly at himself when he had to suppress his own groan after Inosuke and Tanjirou parted, connected by a single strand of saliva. Gross, he thought, but the shiver that went up his spine said otherwise. 

Inosuke wiped his mouth, breaking the string and Tanjirou did the same. The latter's face was only slightly flushed as he caressed his lips with the pads of his fingertips. Inosuke, too, seemed indifferent, and the eldest of the three wondered what he would look like had he been in one of their positions. He figured he would have probably passed out by now.

N-not that he wanted to kiss them or anything! It was purely hypothetical, a completely, totally not realistic situation that would happen, like, never. 

Okay, so he really wanted a kiss too. But them liking him?  Absolutely unheard of. One-hundred percent improbable.

Still wiping at his mouth with the back of his hand, Inosuke called out to Tanjirou. "So? What did it feel like?" 

Tanjirou contemplated for a short while, fingers still playing with his ever-so-slightly chapped lips. "I don't know how to explain it...but it felt so nice? I never thought I would be one for piercings, but here we are, I suppose," he explained.

"You should get one too," the blue-haired boy suggested.

Oh hell no I barely keep my boner at bay with just you--

"You wish! My mother would kill me if I ever got a tongue piercing!" 

"But your ears are pierced," Inosuke responded, slightly confused. 

Tanjirou hummed thoughtfully, hands finally falling to his hides. "Mm, I guess, but any other piercing other than an ear piercing gives my mom a heart attack. She almost passed out watching my sister Nezuko have needle poked through her ears! It was funny, but also a bit embarrassing, as my brother said."

"Oh, that's too bad. It would've been so cool if we were matching, right, Zenitsu?"

"H-huh?" The blond stuttered out. He had been lost in his thoughts, inattentive to the conversation happening right in front of him.

Inosuke leaned up into his personal space, smiling maniacally. "Should we pierce Tanjirou's tongue?"

"A-absolutely not!" Zenitsu guffawed. He began screaming at the other boy, hands flailing around him as he shrieked. Tanjirou patiently waited for the two to finish, but he was getting tired of standing around after ten minutes had passed. Eventually, the verbal argument turned into a brawl of sorts when Inosuke shoved the older, telling him to shut up. The blond retaliated, shoving back the male with a surprising amount of strength that had him falling to the ground. However, Inosuke swiped at Zenitsu's ankles, making him topple over, and now they were rolling around the floor like animals. 

I wonder how much bacteria they're gathering, Tanjirou thought as he observed them. He began counting the minutes it took for them to get kicked out, having reached three minutes and twenty-eight seconds by the time a mall-cop walked over to them. 

"I'm going to need you boys to leave," he said. "This violent behavior is absolutely not prohibited in a public area, and you're disturbing the other shoppers. Please make your way to the nearest exit."

Inosuke clicked his tongue as he stood up, dusting himself. He glared at the middle-aged man and flicked him off with his hand. "Fuck off," he growled. 

"Young man--"

"We're going! Have a great day, sir. We apologize for the inconvenience!" Tanjirou hurriedly interrupted, pulling Zenitsu off the ground and pushing both teens away from the livid man. As soon as they were out of his sight, the maroon-haired boy slung one of the bags to hit Inosuke. 

"The hell's wrong with you?" He demanded. "Why would you do that? Are you trying to get us in trouble?"

Inosuke ignored him, the only indication he had even heard him being an exaggerated eye-roll as he stomped further and further away from him. Tanjirou sighed defeatedly as he hiked up the bags for his sister. It was silent as the three of them exited the mall, and the bitter smell of the blue-haired boy scent left him in feeling slightly awkward. Zenitsu was also feeling a awkward with the boy's sudden change in mood.

The maroon-haired teen turned to the blond with a tired smile on his face. "Can you call an Uber for me? I'm planning on meeting up with my sister." 

"Sure," he replied. He pulled out his phone and tapped away on the app, eyes trained on the device. "You're not gonna come with us?" He asked. In all honestly, Zenitsu was scared of getting into a car alone with Inosuke; the boy clearly had issues controlling his temper, and while he typically tried to be calm, Zenitsu also could get carried away quickly and he didn't want to end up actually fighting with him. 

"Ah, no. I'm meeting Nezuko at a park nearby. But I'll be back in time to make you dinner." 

"Your ride will be here in about fifteen minutes." He tucked away his phone and pushed up his glasses. "Do you want me to come with you?"

"No, it's okay. Besides, I don't think leaving Inosuke by himself is a smart idea."

Zenitsu sighed as he walked back to the other boy. He had already called a cab over and was waiting for the blond. The two waved back at Tanjirou as they drove away. It was silent, with just some soft music playing from the radio, which was strange because the driver also had earphones on.

He waited for the emerald-eyed boy to say something, sitting idly as he looked out the window. However, Inosuke only scowled as he stared ahead, brows furrowed together and arms crossed against his chest. He had his shopping bag laid across his lap, and when he finally gave up on carrying a conversation with him, he rested his head against the car window and let his eyes close. He tried to take a nap, but his mind kept wandering to the kiss he witnessed earlier and he internally cursed his brain. 

The two arrived back at the university quickly, and Zenitsu payed while waiting to walk in with Inosuke. 

It was silent again, unfortunately, but the blond sucked in a deep breath before turning to the boy. "Are you okay?" He asked.

"I'm fine," came the reply. Zenitsu didn't miss the exhale of air he let out but chose not to say anything. "I just got annoyed," he continued. "I hate people who think they can just boss you around. I'm allowed to do what I want! Who has the right to tell me to stop? And that guy was so fucking annoying, too! Did you hear the way he was talking to us? Dude was acting like we were fucking dumbasses or some shit. He just pissed me off. Man, I wanna punch his fat fucking face so damn bad." Inosuke held up his hand and stared at it, curling and uncurling it repeatedly. 

Zenitsu put his hand over his, so dainty and feminine compared to his, and he allowed the older to wrap his fingers around his. He turned to the blond, blushing when he realized he was already staring at him with a sweet smile on his face, but let his arm fall to his side while still holding hands. He hesitated for a second, rough fingers twitching over Zenitsu's, before he finally allowed them to tighten around the other's graceful piano hands. They arrived at the university, thanking the driver and paying him, before entering the dorm building hand-in-hand and went up the elevator together, however when they arrived at the second floor, Zenitsu ran into Uzui. 

"Oh, Uzui. Are you going to the studio?" He asked, rubbing his nose from where he had smashed it against the older's rock-hard shoulder.

"Yeah, come with me. I want you to meet my friend, I think you'll like him."

"Oh, okay. I'll be right there." The blond slipped his hand out Inosuke's embrace, not noticing the way said male was staring down at his hand. Zenitsu hastily changed his clothes into a plain baby blue shirt and gray sweats, not wanting to accidentally get the other clothes dirty. As he was exiting his dorm, he realized Inosuke was still standing there.

"Inosuke, you wanna come with me? I'm not sure you'll enjoy it but..."

"Fuck off!" He screamed, but still followed the blond to the studio. Zenitsu smiled as the three of them walked together, enjoying both of their company. 

He pushed open the door and walked in with the younger, shocked to see another two-toned hair guy already inside and painting. Said boy didn't look up when they entered, but did mumble out a quiet greeting. Uzui stalked over to him and slammed his large hand over his small back, causing Zenitsu to panic because he could've sworn he heard a crack. However, the small male didn't even flinch as he continued painting. 

"Don't hit me," he called out to the older man, who hastily pulled his hand away. 

"Did I hurt you, Muichiro?" He asked.

"Of course not," the boy--Muichiro--sneered. He finally put down his brush and turned in his chair to look at Zenitsu and Inosuke. "Is this the guy?" He asked. 

Zenitsu was, to say the least, confused. How did that not hurt him? He ignored the question that burrowed into his mind in favor of talking to the very long-haired boy who was now staring at him.

Uzui turned to the young painter as well, a lopsided grin present upon his face. "This is him!" He called excitedly. 

"H-hello," Zenitsu stuttered out. Muichirou's empty eyes suddenly trained on him was quite frightening, especially with how it looked as if the young boy were analyzing every little thing about him, as if he knew everything about him; his weaknesses, his insecurities, what can be easily manipulated about him--the very thought that this boy could understand and use the things Zenitsu himself barely understood sent a chill up his spine. 

"So? What's so good about him?" The fragile-looking boy sneered, the smallest hint of emotion peaking through his otherwise perfect poker face. The blond would have felt accomplished, had he not pinpointed that emotion as superiority. Why does everyone think I'm so pathetic?! Should I buff up more...?

"Ah, but you forget, Muichirou. Things are not always what they seem. Do not fall victim to the deceit. You're smarter than that," Uzui drawled out, a challenging smile making its way upon his face. "Aren't you?"  

The young boy ignored him, instead choosing to stand up and walk over to Zenitsu. Every step the seemingly-elegant boy took reverberated inside his ears, and the closer and closer he got, the more he mentally deranged he looked. The hollowness in his eyes was ravished by the young teen's growing hunger, and it almost seemed as if he were preparing the upmost excruciating end for the older blond. Zenitsu didn't know when he fell to the floor, but he became aware of having fallen when Muichirou bent his knees, up close and personal with him, noses brushing against each other in the slightest. A demented smile stretched across the younger's unblemished face and Zenitsu distinctly wondered when the genre of the story changed as he prepared for the impending torture that would lead him to his inevitable demise. 

"I hope you're ready,"  he dragged out, hands reaching up to knock against his forehead. "I haven't had any fun in a while."

Notes:

i've finished so many animes in such a short amount of time i--
i watched erased in one day, bungou stray dogs season 1 the day after, season 2 following the next day, and then the movie at night, and now i'm watching fire .

that being said, pls leave some suggestions for any animes you enjoy, or your opinions on the ones i've mentioned above. (but dont spoil for other ppl, thats mean u fucking pricks)

anyway, i appreciate all the kudos and comments you guys leave for me; it really gets me going!! i hope you guys are enjoying this story, and please dont be afraid to leave suggestions for me. while i may not immediately include it, if i like it i'll probably include it later on, since i've already got the basic outline of the next chapter ready

happy reading <33

Chapter 7: Hatsune Miku takes down Kagamine Rin

Chapter Text

"Come on, you can still move, can't you?" Muichirou said as he prodded at Zenitsu's motionless hand, the latter's fingers twitching with effort of trying to move them. His hand slowly started to crawl towards Muichirou, latching themselves onto the edge of the table. The younger boy sighed and moved back, pushing his hair away as he watched the blond's hand go still and promptly drop down to the side. "I thought you would last longer," he complained. "Now what am I supposed to do?"

"Please...I can't anymore...I...I'm so tired. Jus' wanna sleep, please. Let me leave," Zenitsu begged. Muichirou clicked his tongue and leaned forward, long fingers stroking the other's soft cheek. 

"I think you can keep going," he whispered. "Maybe two, three more times, right?"

"Fuck off!" Zenitsu shrieked as he pulled at his hair. "This is the twenty-third game we've played, how have I not won once?! You're fucking insane!" He flipped the table, chess pieces flying around the room. 

Uzui plucked a knight out of Inosuke's unmade pizza, wiping off the sauce with his sleeve as the two of them observed Muichirou and Zenitsu's game. 

Despite the table now on its side, and the blond screeching as he paced around, Muichirou was still seated in his chair, fingers linked together in his lap, legs crossed and two-toned locks splayed across his shoulder; the epitome of calm, cool, and collected.

"Are the highlights natural," Uzui asked Inosuke, who was now sprinkling cheese over his food. The older man popped a chip into his mouth as he continued watching the contrast in the two boys in amusement, side resting against his partner. 

"Yeah," Inosuke replied, tongue darted out between his plush lips in concentration. "I was just born with it."

"That's cool. I have a friend with yellow and red hair and it's also natural." He stuffed a handful of chips into his mouth and chewed as he spoke again, bits of food spewing out. Inosuke discreetly flicked some chunks off his shoulder as he was laying down the second layer of cheese. "Kinda wish I had cool hair like that," Uzui continued."

"Uh huh, nice. Can you help me make this fucking pizza? The cheese keeps spilling over."

Uzui rolled his eyes at the younger boys incompetence, but alas he began helping him stack the cheese. His ears continued listening to Zenitsu's bickering, Muichirou still pursuing his attempt to play another game. 

"Come on, Zenitsu, just once more. Then you can stop," he said to the blond.

He screamed, hands tangled in his hair as he fell down to the floor, rolling around exaggeratedly. "I can't! My heads gonna explode, I can barely keep my eyes open, my fucking ears are ringing, and I'm starving!"

"You should've asked Tengen to get you something when they left for the cafeteria!" Muichirou retaliated. 

"I didn't know they left! I was distracted!" The older of the two sighed loudly as he ceased the rolling, instead choosing to lay on his back and look up at the dim light of the art studio. "Why do you even wanna play me so bad? I keep losing."

Muichirou rested his face on his hand, cheeks squishing against his eye. "But you have the potential to win," he replied. 

Zenitsu's face curled in on itself as he propped himself onto his elbows. "Dude, you're acting like like this is some shounen anime. Fuckin' weirdo," he snorted. 

The other male hummed thoughtfully, delight clear in his voice. "Wouldn't that be fun though? We could've been these talented swordsmen fighting monsters. Right, Inosuke?"

"We'd fight demons!" He cried out excitedly, cheese-covered fist in the air and a wide grin on his face. Uzui smacked the boy on the back of his head and dragged his hand down, gesturing for him to shut up. 

Muichirou smiled sweetly at the other and nodded at him, hair slipping past his shoulders and obscuring his vision. He pushed it back with his hand as he turned back to Zenitsu who had rolled over on his stomach. A low growl echoed across the room, followed by a groan emitted from the blond, his hands clutching his stomach in pain. Muichirou stood up from where he was seated and leaned over him, hand reaching out towards him. 

"Let's go get food, then," he said to him. "I'll even pay for it."

Zenitsu rolled his eyes at him, but nevertheless he grasped his hand and pulled himself up. "We don't pay for food, dumbass. We just flash our IDs." He got confused when he felt the other boy still, frozen in his place. 

"Are you serious?"

"...yes?"

"Then...who's taking my money?"

 

 

 

"I can't b-believe your friends tricked you into giving them money for a whole week," Zenitsu laughed, arm wrapped around a sulking Muichirou. 

"I hate everyone..." he said to himself as they arrived at the cafeteria. The two got in line for the food and were just about to order when the blond remembered Tanjirou saying he would make dinner. He told Muichirou he would meet him back at the studio with the others and sped off, running up to his room. 

When he got there he saw a wrapped up plate of food with a small note from Tanjirou, telling him he was sorry for being so late and that he decided to just leave the food at his door since he wasn't answering. Zenitsu sighed as he carried the plate back down with him. He was just passing through the dining hall when he spotted his new friend wandering around aimlessly, holding Indian curry in his hand. Zenitsu walked up to him with a smile gracing his face but was promptly ignored. Weird, he thought.

"Uh, Muichirou? You okay, dude?"

Said boy only blinked at him as he stopped moving. "Who are you?"

This definitely struck Zenitsu as odd. They were together until just a moment ago, how does someone just...forget?

"Did you hit your head or something," he asked, hand reaching out for his shoulder. In the blink of an eye, Zenitsu was on the ground, face flat against the dirty floor, Muichirou's knee pressing down on his back and keeping him in place while his arms were pulled behind him. The younger boy pulled harder on them, and Zenitsu groaned out in pain. "Fuck, stop!" He pleaded. 

"What are you doing here?" Muichirou demanded, applying more pressure on the boy's back. The blond whimpered as the pain spiked higher. 

"I-i go to this school..." he said, meekly. The other boy narrowed his eyes at him. 

"Who are you?" 

"We were talking seconds ago--fuck! Muichirou, please!" Zenitsu cried out. The younger teen was tugging his arm so far back he was sure it was going to pop off any second now. Despite his lean figure, the boy was strong."Muichirou!" 

Suddenly all the pain ceased, and there was no weight on top of him. Zenitsu pushed himself off the ground and rubbed at his right shoulder. He slowly turned to face Muichirou, who was standing off to the side, eyes cast down. 

"Sorry," the long-haired boy mumbled. "Let's go back."

"...yeah." He bent down to pick up the plate of food that was dropped at the start of the ordeal and grunted when his shoulder throbbed. The two walked in awkward silence, Muichirou standing a good distance away from him. Zenitsu wanted to ask about what happened but it didn't take a genius to see that the young boy was hoping to avoid the topic. Besides, they're not really that close yet so he can't just ask about his mental health. That's rude. 

"Oh, you guys are back? What'd you get? Gimme some," Inosuke demanded. 

"Dude, we're literally making pizza," Uzui replied, huffing. Zenitsu looked down at the pizza and-- oh my fucking god that's disgusting. Who put fucking ranch on pizza?

"You guys are fucking disgusting," the blond hissed at them, grabbing Muichirou's hand and pulling him away from the horrendous sight. "Shhh, baby, it's okay, I'll protect you," he whispered into the younger boy's ear, rocking him back and forth on his lap. Muichirou's brows furrowed together as he feigned a look of detestation towards the blond. 

"I'm not a damsel in distress--"

"SHHHH. It's okay, Princess, your Knight in Shining Armour has arrived."

Inosuke plopped back down next to Uzui and poured a bag a Barbecue chips onto the food. How have they not finished making it is beyond Zenitsu at this point. "Y'all are gross," he said to the two as he handed the silver-haired man a jar of pickles. Where are they even getting this shit from?!  "Fucking homos," he joked.

"YOU'RE PUTTING PICKLES ON PIZZA! The only way you could make it even more revolting than it already is, is by adding sardines." 

The two didn't say anything as Uzui reached into his hoodie pocket pulling out a bag of, you guessed it, sardines. Zenitsu watched in horror as Uzui and Inosuke carefully placed them in specific locations, all the while staring the blond dead in the eye. Zenitsu could feel the bile rising up in his throat and he quickly slapped a hand over his mouth to prevent it from getting out. He screwed his eyes shut and turned away, rethinking his friendship with the both of them. 

When the nausea finally subsided, Zenitsu grasped Muichirou by his frail shoulders, ignoring the way his curry fell off his spoon and onto the cloth of his shorts. "You are now my only friend," he declared. 

"I mean, sure, but like that looks good, not gonna lie dude," the younger teen responded, once again gathering rice and curry onto his spoon before raising it to his lips. Unfortunately, it never made it to his mouth, and Muichirou watched, defeated, as the food fell pathetically to the floor. The reason being, of course, Zenitsu, who gasped as loudly as he could, shocking the boy. "Can I fucking eat?" Muichirou murmured to himself.

"You guys are disgusting!" Zenitsu cried as actual tears streamed down his face. He watched in horror as Inosuke put the pizza into a microwave--what's a microwave even doing in here? It was silent as the heater hummed, and it was ready in no time. The blue-haired boy took out the pizza, cheese sizzling and hot, layers upon layers of horrendous ingredients, the dead sardines staring into the darkest depths of Zenitsu's soul. He quivered at the sight of their lifeless eyes.

Uzui walked towards the younger boy and helped slice the pizza, offering one to Muichirou who did not hesitate to accept. The blond only sobbed harder as he watched the three teens cheerfully eat the appalling meal. It seemed as if time was moving in slow motion, watching Inosuke chew off the heads of the dead fish without a care in the world. He continued bawling out his eyes, desperately attempting to disassociate himself from the current situation. Oh shit, here comes the throw-up--

The blond gagged as he emptied out his stomach into the trash can, fingers digging in on the hard-ish plastic. Even as he was spewing out chunks of food, he could clearly hear Uzui stifled laughter bubbling up, Inosuke not even bothering to hide it. Muichirou, the traitor he was, was also close to giggling himself, and Zenitsu really wished he could gouge out his eyes and his ears and just erase all memories of the past two hours, maybe even convince Inosuke to kill him--

"You okay, buddy?" Uzui forced out, hand massaging up and down the blond's back while he calmed himself down, amusement still evident in his voice. 

"Y-you guys are s-sadists," Zenitsu croaked, throat sore and burning and head splitting open. 

Muichirou smiled deviously, and Zenitsu was reminded of the pretty girl with purple hair--she also smiled like a maniac. "I can show you what other things I'm into," he teased. Uzui choked as Inosuke guffawed, doubling-over as he slammed his hands onto his knees repeatedly. 

"Just how old are you anyway?" Zenitsu asked as he leaned against Uzui for support. 

"I'm sixteen," Muichirou responded. "I'm a prodigy, see," he explained. Show-off, Zenitsu thought.

"Dude, you're still a minor! Don't say things like that!" The blond chastised, albeit meekly. Muichirou only rolled his eyes at him and was about to retaliate when Inosuke spoke up (actually eating and enjoying the pizza.)

"Is that Tanjirou's girlfriend?"

Chapter 8: Bubble-headed blond bimbo tries to murder Japan's best girl of the century

Notes:

why was the tanjirou + art room so hard to write oh my god
it took so long for me to push past and change scenes bc i strangely couldnt think of anything to say smh

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Zenitsu rushed towards the window, leaning over Inosuke who was complaining about being squished, hands splayed over the glass panel. His face was so close to the window that his breath started fogging, but he payed it no mind and instead was trying to find Tanjirou and see the girl who had taken him away  was his alleged girlfriend. 

"Where?" He screamed to Inosuke, still beneath him. "I can't see him!"

"He's on the right, dumbass, with that shorty. The girl in pink overalls," the emerald-eyed boy responded, hands squeezing the blond's thighs. He was probably trying to shove him off, but after feeling the firmness of the thick muscle couldn't help but get enraptured by the dazzling thighs sculpted by Michelangelo himself. 

Zenitsu raked his eyes over the large sea of college students, straining his eyes to spot his maroon-haired friend. His eyes picked up on a smiling Tanjirou walking with a delicate-looking girl, large, bright eyes staring up at the boy. The blond wanted to cry right in that very moment. The girl was so fucking pretty, beautiful pale skin encompassed by flowing dark hair. Her eyes were sparkling with life, a small smile gracing his plush pink lips; in all honesty, Zenitsu would probably have started crushing on her is he wasn't filled with red hot fury aimed at her for stealing Tanjirou's heart. 

How dare she!? 

"You alright, Zenitsu?" Uzui asked as he placed a comforting hand onto the boy's shoulder. With his massive stature, the silver-haired man was able to see right over Zenitsu's brightly covered head, eyes immediately zoning in on the newly discovered couple. "Oh, is that his girlfriend? She's adorable," he commented. 

"Doesn't she look a little young for him?" Muichirou spoke up, standing on the very tips of his toes in order to see past the blond teen. "She looks sixteen, at best. And Tanjirou's what...eighteen? Nineteen?" 

"Eighteen," Inosuke grumbled from beneath the three men. "Tanjirou's eighteen." He let out a barely audible 'oof' when someone's foot pressed down onto his groin, and he groaned in pain as he finally escaped the torturous situation. 

They payed him no mind. 

"Oh my god, Tanjirou's a pedophile! I knew there was no way someone is that nice!" Uzui exclaimed. 

The youngest of the quartet rolled his eyes, arms crossing over his chest. "A two-year difference is hardly enough to call someone a pedophile." 

"But...she's a minor..."

"She's only two years younger than him."

"But he's an adult recognized by law, she is but a child, probably in her sophomore year. She has no place dating a college student," Uzui retaliated. 

"You act like freshmen don't date seniors," Inosuke called from behind them, pain finally residing. 

"True."

"Then again, I don't think he's actually allowed to kis--"

 Zenitsu interrupted the trio's discussion, hands flailing all over the place, successfully smacking Uzui upside the head. "Guys, he's gone! Tanjirou's gone! That girl must've kidnapped him! We need to help him! Uzui, call the police and report a missing persons--"

"Dude, he just went inside," Inosuke replied. "Let's call him and see if he wants to join us. Maybe we can interrogate him!" 

"And he can meet Muichirou," Uzui added, nodding along. Before Zenitsu could protest Inosuke had already pulled out his phone and was dialing Tanjirou. The boy picked up quickly, and the blond started to build a sweat as he heard the maroon-haired teen cheerfully agreeing to meeting up. 

He began to chew at his nails, anxiety rising withing his chest. What if his girlfriend turned out to be ill-mannered? Would he believe them if they told him? Or would it turn out to be the typical "How dare you say that about my girlfriend, I'm not hanging out with you anymore?" situation. What if her discourteous ass turned them against each other, severing their bonds of friendship? What if she was planning on--

"Hey, everyone!" A familiar voice called. Zenitsu's brain short-circuited when he saw the girl holding hands with him--not only that but the girl herself had such an alluring appearance; she was as pretty as a picture. She possessed the most precious button nose Zenitsu had ever laid eyes on, and her confident aura made him feel like he was supposed to be bowing down to her. His knees were actually locking from how hard he strained to keep himself from dropping down. "It's so nice to meet you, Uzui! And who are you?" He asked, looking towards Muichirou who was sitting on the floor, unbothered. To be fair, he's also extremely attractive.

"T-this is Muichirou," Zenitsu introduced. "We also met him today."

Tanjirou beamed at the younger boy and introduced himself as well. He moved on to Uzui, acquainting with him and getting to know both of the new people. 

After a while, Zenitsu realized Tanjirou seemed to forget about the girl, who was now playing with Inosuke's hair completely unbothered by him trying to swat her away. The blond cleared his throat, effectively gaining everyone's attention, including the unfamiliar girl. 

"Are you going to introduce us to your girlfriend, Tanjirou?" He spoke up, wiping his sweaty palms on his pants. The girls hands fell from Inosuke's hair and Tanjirou stood as still has possible before turning his head to Zenitsu with a very disturbed look on his face. 

"That's my sister..." he said. 

The girl nodded along frantically, and said, "I'm Nezuko Kamado. It's nice to meet you."

Fuck. This is awkward. 

"So you're single?" Inosuke asked unabashedly. Tanjirou blushed as his eyes darted around the room, Zenitsu holding his breath as he waited for his answer. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Muichirou and Uzui making bets but who/what it was about he couldn't tell--his ears had starting ringing from the lack of oxygen and tuned out almost everything as he stared hopefully at the younger boy. 

"Yeah, I'm single," he answered, rubbing at his neck. "But uh, l-let's see Zenitsu's art! I've never gotten a chance to see it before!"

"Yeah, show him the one you made about me," Uzui suggested as he sat down near Muichirou. He started shuffling a deck of cards and passed them out, Inosuke and Nezuko joining in. 

"It's not that good, though," the blond mumbled as he led the tan boy towards where he had the painting propped up. 

The boy smiled sweetly at him as he observed the artwork, eyes sparkling in awe of the amazing craftsmanship. "Are you kidding? Zenitsu this is amazing! You're so talented." He paused for a moment, hesitant as he pondered over what to say next. "Do you..do you want to go to a pottery class with me? I joined one last week and it's really fun, and since you're, uh, you know, an artist, I thought, 'Oh, I should ask him to come with me!' But you obviously don't have to if you don't want to! I mean, not that I don't want you to come I just don't want you to fell pressured to agree just because I want you to, you know? But like, I would really like it if you did. But there's no problem if you don't i-it's your choice--"

"Sure." Zenitsu interrupted, tired of hearing the boy ramble on and on as his panic grew. "Sounds fun." He turned away from Tanjirou, hoping that the visible flush on his face was unnoticed by him. 

The other teen grinned excitedly, and it seemed as if the whole room had gotten brighter. "Great!" He cheered. "When are you free?" 

"I'm always free, I literally don't do anything," he responded, ignoring the snickers from behind him. Tanjirou also laughed, but it sounded so pretty that Zenitsu couldn't find it in him to be offended. 

"Then I'll see you tomorrow? At whatever time is best for you." 

The blond nodded, not trusting his voice as he knew it would crack. Fucking relax, dude! It's not a date, he just wants to hang out as friends.

"It's a date!"

OH. 

 

 

Zenitsu checked his appearance one last time, smoothing down his perfectly ironed neon green hoodie. He wanted to look good, but not like he was trying too hard, but also not like he wasn't trying enough. He also didn't want to overdress, and he sighed before relenting and moving on to slip on his shoes. He quickly patted himself to make sure he had everything he needed before heading down to meet up with Tanjirou, who was already down at the lobby. The boy looked up from his phone and smiled at the blond, reaching for his hand. Zenitsu allowed their fingers to intertwine as they headed out. 

"It's only fifteen minutes walking, so I hope you don't mind. Unless your feet hurt! I can call a cab right now if you'd like--"

"Tanjirou, it's okay," Zenitsu butt in. "I did track in high school, and I jog everyday; I think it's safe to say that my legs can handle a little walking."

"Oh, so that's how you got those thighs!"

"Why is everyone obsessed with my thighs!" The blond whined as he hid his face in his hands. The maroon-haired teen chuckled as he pulled Zenitsu's hand back into his embrace and began swinging their arms, humming thoughtfully.

"They look and feel really nice, in our defense. Also, who else is talking about your thighs?"

"Not really talking about them, but Inosuke was groping them yesterday before you came in," he mentioned. "By the way, he has unusually warm hands."

"Hmm. They're also very muscular," the other added. 

"Can hands be muscular?" Zenitsu mused, holding up his free hand in front of his face to observe. 

"Who knows? But his are definitely nice."

"Yeah, he's got a lot of protruding veins, too. But not in the gross way, it's the perfect amount of in and out. Does he get his nails manicured? Because his nails are so even--"

"Sounds like someone has a hand fetish~" Tanjirou teased. Zenitsu turned bright red and he vigorously shook his head.

"I don't! I don't!"

"Mm, I don't know, Zenitsu. You seem pretty defensive for someone who doesn't have a hand fetish." 

The blond never got the chance to reply, for as soon as those words slipped the tan boy's mouth, a woman cradling a baby to her chest sent them a disturbed gaze and the two of them tried to play it off by bowing respectfully. The woman ignored them, scurrying away as fast as she should while protectively pushing the child closer to her. 

"That was...awkward," Tanjirou noted, scratching the back of his neck sheepishly. "Uh, anyway, we're here!"

Zenitsu glanced up at the two-story pottery building, admiring the aesthetic of outdoor decor. They entered with a soft 'ding' of the door, and looking around he couldn't help but enjoy the pleasing mix of warm colors. He leaned in towards the maroon-haired teen, breath fanning his cheek as he whispered, "Isn't this just a store?"

"The pottery class is upstairs," Tanjirou responded, pulling the blond further into the store. "But our guide doesn't seem to be here yet, so do you just want to walk around and look at the items?"

He didn't respond, instead choosing to pick up a glass figure of a fox. It was small, around the size of his pinky, but the precision in details was outstanding. It was standing up, it's little feet balanced by a plush tail and head tilted ever-so-slightly in curiosity. The snout protruded cutely, eyes dazzling and shining. The figure was painted in a marble-y mix of browns in different shades, and Zenitsu couldn't help but feel in awe of the charming craftsmanship. He turned towards a cashier and asked for the price of the glass fox. 

"It's seventy-five bucks," he called, looking up from cleaning his nails for just a moment before going back. "Do you wanna pay in cash or credit?"

"Credit," Zenitsu replied, already fishing for his wallet. 

"Woah!" Tanjirou exclaimed, grabbing hold of the blond's arm and pulled him in close. "Don't you think that's a little much for something so...small?"

"Tanjirou, this is clearly handmade, of course it's going to be expensive," he hissed at him. "Besides, this store looks like it's private-owned and yet really good; I'd pay way more than seventy-five bucks for this!"

The other male sighed and let go, watching as Zenitsu walked up to the cashier and handing his credit card over. "Thank you for shopping here, we hope to see you again soon," the man said in a voice completely void of emotion. 

"Monitsu! What did you buy?"

Notes:

i have a stray kids fanfic in my draft rn lolol if u guys like stray kids please keep an eye out for it, it's gonna be a one-shot but i'll make sure it's written to the best of my ability!! also, if u guys want to see any specific moment play out in the story dont hesitate to ask!! this whole story started off as me just wanting to write a specific scene (that i no longer remember lmao) so i definitely know how annoying that itch to see it play out feels and would love to bring life to your idea. thanks for reading, pls leave a comment, they make my day so much brighter!! and kudos is also greatly appreciated <3

Chapter 9: Dandelion boy learns some things

Notes:

dude its like i KNOW what i want to write, but not how to make it happen. its so aggravating

Chapter Text

"Inosuke! What are you doing here?" Zenitsu hissed. No offense to the boy, but he was really looking forward to his date with Tanjirou; he was not about to let anything ruin it. 

"What do you mean?" Inosuke asked. "I'm here to do pottery, obviously! Aren't you supposed to be smart or something? Shouldn't you already know?"

Tanjirou laughed from beside Zenitsu, his attempt to muffle his chuckles futile against the blond's keen ears. He sighed exaggeratedly as he ran his hands down his face, sounding suspiciously close to tears. "Inosuke," he groaned, "Please, please don't get in our way. Okay?"

The teen in question simply shrugged his shoulder, not caring at all about the blond's dilemma. "I'm just here to a make a bowl." 

"Oh," Tanjirou exclaimed, clapping his hands. "Our guide is here!" He waved goodbye to the blue-haired boy and stalked off with Zenitsu, dragging him away before he actually burst into tears. "Why are you so...distraught?" He asked once they were out of Inosuke's earshot. 

"I just don't want him to ruin our da--uh...t-today. I don't want him to ruin today." He replied as they went up the stairs to the second floor. It had the same color scheme as the first floor, but instead of art pieces for sale it was filled with half-finished pottery with names and dates labeling them. Tanjirou smiled sweetly at him, a light pink dusting his cheeks. 

"Zenitsu," he began, his thumb stroking the other's hand comfortingly. "Just because Inosuke is here doesn't he's going to ruin our date. He's our friend, so you might even find yourself having more fun than with just with me," he explained. He paused for a moment as they found a table in the back to get ready. "Give him a chance, you know? Don't let your feelings get in the way of actually enjoying yourself."

The blond exhaled deeply and let the air out slowly, calming himself down. Tanjirou was right; he was just assuming everything would go bad because of Inosuke's presence, but if he was being honest, the long-haired male was a lot of fun, even when he was being annoying. He nodded to let the maroon-haired teen know he was feeling better, and they sat silently as the woman explained what they would be doing. She told them how to make a tea cup and decorate properly, then left them to deal with another customer after giving them what they needed. 

Just as Zenitsu and Tanjirou were squeezing out the clay, Inosuke barged in with a loud 'bang.' 

Just breathe, Zenitsu reminded himself. It's gonna be okay. The emerald-eyed boy spotted them from across the room and stomped over, grinning happily. He dropped down onto the same table, almost causing the items to fall over. Zenitsu huffed in indignation while Tanjirou simply smiled, amused by the situation at hand. 

"Hey, Inosuke," he greeted. "You gonna work with us on this?" Why the hell would you say that, now he's gonna want to--

"No, I'm gonna make my own bowl and I'm gonna beat you 'cause I'm so much better and cooler than you--"

"Oh, but we're making a tea cup," Tanjirou cut in, subtly trying to get the boy to hang around with them. Zenitsu doesn't pick up on this, instead just thinking that Tanjirou was a huge idiot who didn't understand social cues. "I guess we can't compete now."

"Huh?" The blue-haired boy sneered. "Fine then, I'll make a fucking tea cup. I can beat you in anything!"

"Sure, Jan."

"What--"

"Okay! Zenitsu! You wanna wet the clay or should I?" The maroon-haired teen asked, ignoring the youngest of the trio as he tried to remember where he heard that quote from. Zenitsu shrugged but nonetheless reached his hands out to the small basin of water, dipping them in and getting them wet. He began kneading the clay, attempting to make it easier to use so they could start molding while Tanjirou got the pottery set up and ready for them. Inosuke also prepared for his own pottery, except that he didn't use a wheel.

"Inosuke, are you not going to use a wheel? You're just gonna do it with your bare hands?" Zenitsu asked in disbelief. The other boy merely grunted as a response, more focused on creating a dip for the cup than on the conversation. His hands moved skillfully, fingers rubbing down the clay expertly as he succeeded in making the basic structure of a tea cup. He wet his hands again and began working down the outside walls, thinning them down for more practical use, and smoothing it down for a better texture. It was only when the rowdy teen starting molding a handle did Zenitsu finally set to work, placing the blob of clay onto the wheel. He looked to Tanjirou for confirmation, who nodded his head eagerly. 

"Actually, wait. Tanjirou, you should do this part so that I can do the painting. That way it'll be fair and we'll both have fun," the blond suggested, secretly wanting to show off more of his superior artistic skills to both boys. The younger boy agreed without protest, redirecting the wheel to be closer to him as he hastily wet his hands and started wearing down the clay in order to mold it. With both Inosuke and Tanjirou making tea cups, Zenitsu didn't have much to do, so he instead chose to go back down to the main level of the store to look for more figures to buy--maybe he could even get one for Tanjirou, as a gift.

Determined, the painter headed down to the bottom level and carefully searched for a nice possible present for the boy. Not that any of them were ugly, they were all amazing, mind you. He just wanted to get one that was special, one that reminded him of Tanjirou and would hopefully remind Tanjirou of their fun little date. He continued looking around, picking up a numerous amount of figures to inspect attentively. After a while of him searching, Zenitsu came across a captivating figure of a bull ready to charge, the work a lot more detailed than the fox, which was more cute rather than elegant and enticing. There wasn't much of a paint job on it, just the legs dipped into a rust brown color, the rest of its body transparent; it strangely reminded him of a certain blue-haired, emerald-eyed boy, but he tried to ignore it and move away. Except now that he had seen it, he developed a strong urge to buy it and gift it to Inosuke. He really didn't want to, especially because he was on a date with Tanjirou, not him, but the next thing he knew, he was paying a whole hundred-thirty dollars for it at the counter. He sighed to himself as the cashier carefully wrapped the glass bull in bubble-wrap, securing it and making sure it wouldn't break before handing it to Zenitsu in a cutely designed bag. 

"Thank you for shopping here, we hope to see you again soon," the man behind the counter said. Zenitsu nodded, not knowing what he was actually supposed to do. He decided to continue looking for a gift for Tanjirou, figuring there was enough time to find one. 

He circled around back towards the animals, and it didn't take long for him to find a glass figurine of swan, large wings spread out behind it majestically. This one was also left unpainted, only the beak and eyes colored. The transparency of the glass created an alluring sight, light bouncing off in colorful disarray. He picked up the figurine carefully and went to pay for it. The cashier looked at Zenitsu oddly, wondering why he had payed for three different item three separate times. He didn't voice his questions, instead just announcing the price of the object. The blond payed calmly, indifferent to the amount of money he spent in one outing. The cashier repeated the process of wrapping the fragile glass in bubble-wrap for protection, handing it over to the young teen in another bag. He thanked the man and took the bag, now heading up to join Tanjirou and Inosuke. As he pushed open the door, he thought about when to give them the purchases--now, after they left, or at a later date? He continued pondering the question as he walked inside, but his thoughts were ruined when he saw Tanjirou and Inosuke giggling and teasing each other. 

"Zenitsu!" Tanjirou called out when he spotted him. He waved him over, still laughing, and Zenitsu noticed a smudge of clay on his cheek. "I finished making the cup. It's...not the best, but it'll look so nice once you paint it." 

The blond nodded absentmindedly, and tried to ignore the ugly feeling clawing at his chest. Is Tanjrou on a date with me or with Inosuke?

"Is it drying?" He asked, taking a seat in beside the two boys. He got a confirmation, that yes, it was currently being baked, and it would be about thirty more minutes before it was ready. As they patiently waited, Zenitsu noticed Tanjirou stealing glances at Inosuke constantly, and he was touching him a lot more than necessary. The blond poked the bags he shoved under the table with his feet, moving them around as he observed the tan boy's behavior more closely--the rotation of his body angled more towards Inosuke than to him, his eyes were on Inosuke the entire time, he had touched Inosuke on the shoulder once, twice, three times, and the amount just kept increasing as time went on. Everything he did somehow connected to Inosuke, Inosuke, Inosuke, Inosuke. Maybe Tanjirou was just using him to get to him, not actually interested in the blond. He couldn't blame him, not really, not when he knew he wasn't anything special. At least, not compared to Inosuke. Inosuke and his pretty, smooth skin. Inosuke and his large green eyes. Inosuke and his long soft hair. Inosuke and his plush lips. Inosuke and his thick eyelashes. Inosuke and his strong muscles. Inosuke and his fun personality. Zenitsu didn't say anything, silently sitting as he realized how pathetic he seemed compared to the blue-haired boy. 

"Um, is there a bathroom?" He asked, desperate to leave. Inosuke looked up at Zenitsu, and it seemed like even he was aware of Tanjirou's strange attitude, judging by the way he discreetly tried to push himself away. 

"No, you'd have to go to one of the cafe's or something," he replied. The blond sat back down, legs touching at the knee as he curled his hands against his lap. It wasn't even like he was sad, in fact he was completely okay with the thought of Tanjirou and Inosuke being together. That was what had him so distraught. Was he not as into Tanjirou as he thought? But then when he thought of them being together he also enjoyed the thought. Same for him and Inosuke. What was happening? Why was he suddenly shipping all of them together? His brain felt like it was going to explode from how hard he started thinking about what could be wrong with him. When he first walked, he had, in fact, been jealous of the two, thinking about that should be him and Tanjirou not Tanjirou and Inosuke. But the more time he spent with them, the more he realized how well they fit together, how good of a couple they would be. And he did want them to be a couple. But he just...wanted to be included as well. He wanted to be able to call Inosuke his boyfriend, to call Tanjirou his boyfriend. 

To hold them close, to be able to kiss them whenever he wanted to. Would he have to choose between them? Or would it be easy for him, and he would just end up with the person that was actually interested in him in the first place. Or could they all--no, that's not possible. There's never been a couple with more than two people, none that hadn't been ridiculed, anyway. So Zenitsu sat still, creating an ideal fantasy in his mind, one where they all could be together, him, Tanjirou, and Inosuke. Where they all love each other equally, happy with one another.

The loud rumble of the oven sounded throughout the room, pulling Zenitsu out of his thoughts, out of his fantasy. As he walked over to the oven, taking out the cup and carefully setting it down, allowing it to cool off, he remembered that's all it was--a fantasy. One that had no chance of becoming reality. And he knew, over time, he would come to accept it as it was. He would be satisfied with just one of them. At least, that what he kept telling himself.

Chapter 10: Zenitsu writes fanfiction

Notes:

hey so i seem to have lost motivation for writing, and since i dont wanna pull chapters out of my ass im going to take a small break--one month, tops. i might also just start updating once every two weeks bc im getting a lot of terrible migraines, but i want you guys to know that i will NOT be abandoning this story!!! im just going to basically recharge bc my insomnia is making it so hard to actually do shit without half-assing and, like i said before, i dont wanna do that. i hope u guys understand, n if youve read this all the way through, thank you :)

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Classes finally started for everyone, and keeping up with his class and personal schedule had cut down on most of Zenitsu's free time, making it all the more easier for him to avoid Tanjirou and Inosuke. He had just gotten back from his last class, sighing as he entered his room. Immediately, his eyes focused on the two white bags near the side of his bed, and Zenitsu nibbled on his bottom lip—a nervous habit. He’d been wanting to give them their gifts ever since he bought them, but coming to the realization that he liked not one, but two guys understandably caused him to become slightly antsy around them. 

He took a quick shower to refresh himself then fell onto his bed, mind and body worn out from his long day. He closed his eyes, hoping that he would be able to some rest and relax his brain. The blond turned over on his back and let the cool air of the air conditioner brush over him, goosebumps rising over his exposed arms. Maybe if I ignore Tanjirou and Inosuke for long enough, my feelings will go away. He brought up a hand and shielded his eyes from his luminous ceiling light. That, or we’ll just stop hanging out and I’ll my chance of ever confessing—not that I will, either way. So technically, it’d be a good thing. He brought up the sheets of his bed to his chin, allowing the warmth to seep into his skin. He cuddled into the warmth and promptly fell asleep, thoughts of kissing Tanjirou's lips and snuggling into Inouske's chest circling his mind. 

 

An alarm sounded throughout the room, Zenitsu waking up slowly and shutting it off. He could hear the pitter-patter of the rain outside, and it soothed his mind. Rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, he pushed away the covers and got up, washing his face and fully waking himself up. He checked the time and saw that it was only 4 AM, sighing as he knew he would not be able to fall asleep again. Instead, he took to sitting himself at his desk, pulling out his laptop and began writing. Now, Zenitsu was no author, but he found that writing small stories or anecdotes was an efficient method he used to waste time when he had nothing else to do. He did it particularly at night, seeing as how any other time he could just head to the studio and paint. Of course, he couldn't do that now, not without getting into trouble with the administration, so he opened up a new Google Doc, his cursor blinking as it waited for him to start typing. He wondered what he should type as his delicate fingers hovered over the keyboard, searching his mind for an idea or prompt to start him off. 

He couldn't think of anything, only thoughts of Inosuke and Tanjirou occupying his mind, and so he decided he would write about a boy who couldn't decide between two girls who liked him. While this was not the situation he was in, it still possessed the same basic gist of it and it was nice to write out some of the feelings he had swirling inside of him. He worked fast, his mind reeling with words to say and scenarios to make, that by the time the sun rose up he had written three and a half pages of romance. He was a sucker for happy endings, so of course he allowed the three of them to be happy together, in a way he knew he couldn't be. He smiled as he shut down his computer and tucked it into its protective case, leaving his desk and getting ready for a new day. 

Zenitsu was lucky, really, that he didn't have classes today, and chose to go out for a longer run to shake off the heavy wight of those gifts, of the burdening reminder that he would need to confront them soon. Wording it like this made the situation a lot more worse than it actually was but Zenitsu was just too much of a pussy to gather his balls and simply talk to them instead of ignoring his feelings and to pushing them away, and like anyone who's ever read a romance novel can tell you, it never works. Nevertheless, he put on a pair of sweatpants and a shirt and headed out for his run. As he was stretching his legs in preparation, he spotted Muichirou walking near the front of the building, where he seemed to be observing the many flyers pinned on to the glass. 

"Muichirou!" He called, waving him over. The younger boy rolled his eyes when he saw the blond, but still came over to him. "What are you doing?" he asked him. 

Muichirou buried his face in the collar of his sweater, voice slightly muffled as he responded, "'m just looking at the flyers."

Zenitsu completed his final stretch for his back and stood up, facing the boy. "Did you see anything fun?"

He shrugged. "There was one talking about an upcoming festival, this weekend. I don't know..."

"Do you...wanna go?"

Muichirou shrugged again, but Zenitsu took it as a 'yes' and threw his arm against his narrow shoulders. "Then let's ask everyone if they wanna go!" Once more, he shrugged, but he didn't let himself get put off by the other's nonverbal responses. 

"So what are you doing?" Muichirou asked him. "Why are you outside?"

"Well, I'm gonna go for a run," he replied, laughter bubbling out of him at Muichirou's scrunched nose. 

"Gross, but okay. I'm not going with you," he said as he started to break free from Zenitsu's embrace. 

"No!" the other complained. "No, come back! We can just walk, if you want!"

A pause. Then, 'fine' as the blue-black haired boy joined the blond again. He cheered and looped his arm around the other again, and the two began their trek down the street. They were silent for the first couple of minutes, simply enjoying each other's company and admiring the scenery around them. Zenitsu found himself feeling a lot brighter and jollier than when he first woke up, but the urge to talk about it still bothered him. Eventually, when they reached a woody park, he decided to speak up and ask Muichirou for his advice. His hands were sweating as he opened his mouth to tell him about his dilemma, but the words died in his mouth when the other turned to look at him questioningly. He cleared his throat and wiped his hands on his pants, gathering his courage (or balls.) 

"C-can I ask you something?"

"You just did," the other joked, a coy smile pulling at his lips. Zenitsu rolled his eyes but smiled despite himself, noting the way it seemed to relax his nerves. 

"I mean, there are these two...people who I like, but I think they might like each other? I don't know, to be honest, but um. I really like them, yet at the same time I want them to be together because they'd honestly look so good with each other. So...what do you think I should do? "

Muichirou took some time to ponder over his words, lips pursed in thought. "I'll be frank, Zenitsu, I don't think I'm the right person to be talking to since I don't have any experience in romance. But, as cringey and cliche as it is, I think you should do whatever you feel like is right, while also remembering you deserve your happiness--don't let fear stop you from taking risks. Confess to them and see how it goes., maybe go on some dates and see if you enjoy being with them. If you feel like they're more into each other than you are into them, let them be together."

It was silent as Zenitsu let Muichirou's advice sink in. He turned to him and smiled, thanking him as they continued walking. Muichirou nodded in understanding but still told him to talk to Uzui about it--"That man knows a lot more about love than me, and I think he could really help you." And so as morning changed to late afternoon, Zenitsu found himself walking to the studio with plans of talking to the older man. When he arrived, he saw that Uzui was already there, sitting down in one of the chairs and relaxing. He looked up when he heard the blond come in, smiling in greeting as Zenitsu thought of the best way to bring up his predicament. Fortunately, it seemed like he didn't have to do it himself, as Uzui poked his forehead and asked:

"Is everything okay? You seem distracted."

"I'm fine, I just...could maybe use your help in something?"

Uzui’s brows furrowed together as he straightened his posture and set down his phone. “Okay, I’m listening,” he said, gesturing for Zenitsu to start.

The blond took a deep breath and opened his mouth, explaining everything to Uzui. “Ok, so I may or may not have a crush on two people, but I’m also fairly certain they like each other, or at least one of them likes the other, but instead of feeling jealous I lowkey ship them? Like I think they’d be a perfect match as a couple, but I also really wanna date both of them and I just can't choose who I like more.” He rambled, sighing as he finally finished.

Uzui seemed a little shocked, bur quickly recovered as he thought about Zenitsu’s situation. “I’m gonna take a wild guess here,” he began, “and say that ‘the two people’ are Inosuke and Tanjirou. And if it is them, then I think you’re right; there does seem to be romantic feelings between them. But—“

”I KNEW IT! That’s perfect! So then if they like each other we should get them together, right, Uzui?” Zenitsu interrupted. 

”W-well, yes, but also—“

”Alrighty, then. Let’s think of a plan.”

The long-haired man sighed exasperatedly as he pushed back his hair. “Dude, will you shut up and let me talk?” Silence. “Thank you. Back to what you were saying before, about how you liked the both of them, I wanted to tell you that you do realize you can be with both of them, right? You don’t have to choose, dude, as long as both of them are okay with it and you’re all happy, go for it. You can do polyamory or an open relationship, whichever suits you guys better. I’m actually in an open relationship with three girls, all cool with each other. So all of...whatever it is you’re thinking is probably super unnecessary.”

The blond chewed on his bottom lip as he listened to the others’ words. This is what he hadn’t allowed himself to think about, because as appealing as it may seem he knew that it was practically impossible for the three of them simply because there was no way Zenitsu wouldn’t have negative feelings towards them after he would inevitably start feeling jealous. (And also because, even with how much he tried to ignore it, the opinions of the people around him went straight to his heart.)

”I know,” he said after some time. “I know that.” I know that it would make me so happy. But it’ll go bad eventually, just like everything does. 

”Okay, buddy. Just making sure. One last thing, though. Do you really wanna get the two of them together? Wouldn’t that hurt you?”

”You know, you would think it would but for some reason I don’t seem to mind when I think about it. Like, as long as they’re happy and also ‘cause I just ship them that much.”

The silver haired man laughed at that and slapped the younger’s back, and the two began formulating a plan to get Inosuke and Tanjirou together. Uzui hoped that everything would work out for the two, but also for Zenitsu and that, eventually, he would chase after what would bring him happiness.

Notes:

sorry, half of this chapter isnt AT ALL beta read
like i wrote 50 words and dipped lmao
enjoy ig

Chapter 11: The Notebook(s)—Mission Impossible

Notes:

im backkkk
started watching avatar (finally omg) and i just love toph

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

"Zenitsu."

"Hm?"

"You've been staring at Tanjirou for almost ten minutes now. Why?"

Zenitsu slowly turned his head to look at Muichirou, brows furrowed. "I'm thinking," he replied to him. The other snorted, taking a sip out of his carton milk. 

"Of what? Sucking his dick?"

The blond's face burned as he choked on air, hand clenched into a fist and slamming repeatedly onto his chest as he attempted to calm himself down. Muichirou watched in horribly hidden amusement as the boy gasped for air, leaning back in his chair. Once the blond had finally calmed down, he turned and glared at the younger boy. 

"No," he spat. "I was thinking of how to get him and Inosuke together, you impure, despicable lowlife.

Muichirou sighed around the straw in his mouth, ignoring the small trickle of milk that flowed down his chin. He wiped it away with the back of his hand as he held up a finger with his other. "Okay, one: don't be such a prude. Two--" he put up another finger--" you're seriously gonna do that? I thought you would have realized what a bad idea it was by now." He shoved his finger against Zenitsu's lips when they opened, effectively shushing him and allowing himself to continue. "Three: wasn't Uzui supposed to help you come up with an idea?" He retracted his finger and let Zenitsu speak, wiping away the spit that had gathered on his finger from his lips .

"Yeah, he was supposed to. But he didn't. Every idea we had was terrible," he complained, throwing himself over the table. He turned his head to the side to start at Tanjirou for a while longer, but quickly turned away when the other caught his eyes. 

"You're blushing," Muichirou commented.

"Am not."

"Are too."

"Am not."

"Are too."

"Am not."

"Are to--"

"Okay! Just shut up!"

Muichirou hummed in victory as he went back to drinking his milk. After a while of Zenitsu sulking in silence, he asked, "Do you have a specific way you want them to realize their feelings for each other?"

Zenitsu straightened up his posture, back pressed flat against the plastic chairs of the school cafeteria. "Why? Did you come up with something?"

The blue-eyed boy simply shrugged as he finished the last of the milk, setting it down onto the table. "Just a thought, really."

"Muichirou, I'm so desperate for an idea. Trust me when I say me and Uzui have thought about every possible way--"

"Did you think about setting them up on dates?"

Zenitsu blinked. "No."

Muichirou sighed through his nose as he sneaked Zenitsu's strawberry milk onto his own tray, popping the straw inside and taking a long sip as watched the blond pull his backpack onto the table. He rummaged around for a bit, pencils and pens falling out every now and then, before he let out a small 'Aha!' and pulled out a pink notebook with the word InoTan scribbled in black sharpie.

"What is that?" He asked as Zenitsu opened it up. He smiled broadly at the younger boy, an excited gleam in his eyes as he uncapped a pen. 

"This," he began, "is my Mission Notebook. This particular notebook is for the 'Getting Tanjirou and Inosuke Together' mission. Not much progress, but thanks to you--" he pointed the pen at Muichirou, its cap flying off and rolling away--"that will all change." He started scribbling down some notes onto the first page, and the raven-haired boy scooted his chair closer in order to be able to look over his shoulder. In all caps, written in bright red ink, it said 'SET UP DATES.'

"That's it?" He asked. "That's too vague. Add more stuff."

Zenitsu rolled his eyes. "It's good enough," he responded. 

"It's not."

"Fine then," the blond huffed, pushing the notebook towards him. "You write something." He handed over the pen to Muichirou, and he immediately began writing something down. This time, it was Zenitsu who was looking over his shoulder, watching with sharp eyes the words he jotted down. 

SET UP DATES

- ask inosuke to go see movie

- ask tanjirou to go see movie (same one)

- set up specific time for said movie, and have them text once they arrive

- after receiving texts of confirmation, respond back about not being able to go, but 'oh i think ino/tan is there as well, why dont you try to find him?'

He finished writing, flicking the pen back over to the Zenitsu, who huffed once more as he leaned back in his chair.

"I told you--"

"Shut up."

Muichirou smiled in victory.

"I said shut up."

"I didn't even say anything."

"Yeah, well, I know what you're thinking," he complained. Muichirou's smile broadened and Zenitsu groaned into his hands. 

 

 

"Tanjirou!" Zenitsu called, waving his hand. "Tanjirou, come here, I have something to ask you," he urged. The maroon-haired teen made his way over to the blond, a small smile gracing his face. 

"Yes?" he asked. He paused for a short moment, before speaking again. "I feel like we haven't been seeing each other as much."

"Um, yeah. That's why I was wondering if you wanted to come...see a movie with me? You know, since we don't get to hang out as much." He fiddled with his hands, unable to look into the other's eyes out of nerves. He needed this to work, he had no other ideas. So when Tanjirou cheerfully agreed with a short chirp of 'I'd love to,' it felt as if a weight was taken off his shoulders, and he was finally able to relax.

"Great!" Zenitsu replied. "I'll text you the time and date later, okay? See you around!" He waved goodbye as Tanjirou gave him a small nod, and turned to leave. Now he just had to find Inosuke, which shouldn't be hard at all; the guy never left his room, anyway. 

He made his way to the familiar dorm, and knocked twice. "What?" a rough voice called out from inside. Zenitsu knocked again, hearing that same voice curse. He was about to knock a third time when the door was pulled open. Out popped Inosuke's pale face, pieces of rice stuck on the skin surrounding his plush lips. 

"Oh, Chuitsu, it's you," he said, sounding mildly surprised. He pushed the door open for the blond, but Zenitsu didn't move.

"Uh, I'm not staying for long. I have to meet up with Muichirou soon," he explained. It wasn't a lie, though. He really was meeting with him soon; they had to make sure everything was going according to plan. 

Inosuke raised an eyebrow as he crossed his arms across his chest, biceps bulging. "Okay? So what do you want?"

The blond shifted his weight from foot to foot as he gathered his words. "Y-you wanna go see a movie with me?"

"Now?"

"No."

A short, awkward pause. Again, Zenitsu readjusted his balance. "Alright, then when?" Inosuke asked.

"Oh, uh, I don't know. I didn't think that far..." His lips pursed in thought. "Look, you wanna watch a movie with me or not? The details are unimportant."

The blue-haired boy shrugged his broad shoulders. "I don't really care, man. Just text me whenever you wanna go." He turned, hand resting on the threshold of his door. "Is that all?"

"Yeah."

"...okay," he mumbled. He slowly shut the door behind him, and Zenitsu let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. He pulled out his phone from inside his hoodie pocket and called Muichirou, telling him to come to his room. Only fifteen minutes later, the boy showed up at his dorm, a bag of convenience store goodies hanging off his arm while he slurped on a chocolate milk. 

"Did you do it?" He asked, pulling away from the straw. 

"Yup." He moved to make space for Muichirou on his bed, and the boy sat down next to him as he pulled out his pink mission notebook. He opened it up and put crossed out the first to items under 'SET UP DATES.' 

"So when should we plan the date?" The raven-haired boy asked. "Make it a day where you know there's nothing for them to do, so they won't try and get out of it."

"I don't think they would do that." He paused for a second. "Well, Tanjirou wouldn't. Inosuke probably would." Muichirou snorted, once again a trickle of milk slipping past his lips and dribbling down his chin. He wiped it away and sat closer to Zenitsu, peeking down at his phone, where the blond’s thumb hovered over the messaging app.

”How about tomorrow? Ask them to go see Hero’s Rising and then we’ll stalk them and see how it goes.”

“That’s smart and all, but we can’t just walk in there and expect them not to notice us. We need to hid ourselves,” Zenitsu added. Muichirou’s nose scrunched in distaste as he munched on a potato chip. 

”What, like disguises?” He laughed as he imagined the scenario. “Yeah, lemme just put on some sunglasses real quick and—oh my god!—they’ll never notice me,” he finished, rolling his eyes. 

“No, I mean actual disguises. Not stupid ones like on TV.” Zenitsu pulled open his bedside drawer, shuffling through as he pushed various items out of his way. He slammed down a blue notebook that said ‘DISGUISES.’

”Why the hell do you have that?”

”Because you never know when you’ll need them!” 

”When would you—yeah, okay, that’s kinda fair,” Muichirou muttered as he realized that they were looking for disguises right now.. Zenitsu smiled sweetly at him as he leafed through the pages, eyes quickly scanning the words. 

”Oh, this one is good!” He announced, placing his finger on a specific word. The younger boy peered over at where he was pointing, and almost immediately backpedaled. 

”For you or for me?” He asked in slight shock. No offense to any boys out there wearing skirts and dresses, but there was no way Muichirou was going to pretend he was a girl. 

”You, obviously,” Zenitsu replied.

”No. No way. You are not making me wear a skirt no matter what—“

”I’ll buy you whatever snacks you want tomorrow.”

”...fine.” 

"Good, because you look a lot more feminine than I do," the blond commented, slightly smirking at Muichirou. 

"That's great to hear," the other boy said sarcastically, eyes rolling. "Where am I even going to get girl clothes?"

"Um, Tanjirou's sister?"

"He has a sister?"

"Well I just said he did, didn't I?" Zenitsu scoffed. She's your age, I think. Very pretty." He let his eyes roam the other's body for a bit, calculating gaze set on Muichirou.  "I think you're about the same size too--maybe even smaller." He smiled broadly at him as he tore his eyes away. "Everything is going so well!"

"Yeah, well, you're not the one who has to wear a skirt," the raven-haired boy complained as he emptied the bag of food, contents spilling across Zenitsu's bed. "Do you have her number something?" He asked after smacking the blond's hand away from his Kit-Kat. 

He snatched his hand away and began rubbing at it, attempting to soothe the pain. "Uh...no."

Muichirou smacked his forehead and groaned, dragging his hand down his face. He pinched the bridge of his nose and counted to ten before abruptly grabbing Zenitsu's shoulders and pulling him in close. Real close. Like, I-can-see-the-freckles-on-your-nose close. "Just how badly do you want this plan to work?" 

Zenitsu blinked away his momentary shock. "Very."

"Okay," he said. "Okay." He took in a deep breath and let it out slowly, letting go of the other boy. "Then let's ask my friend for some skirts." 

"Will she be okay with it?" Zenitsu asked as Muichirou pulled out his phone.

"She's been begging me to let her dress me up in her clothes for a while now, anyway," he replied, putting the phone to his ear. It rang twice before a strangely familiar voice picked up. 

"Hello, Tokitou!" the voice cheered. "What can I do for you?"

"Kanroji, I'm finally letting you put me in a skirt."

Notes:

ive decided i'll be uploading chapters once every two weeks, but like before, uploading in two weeks time is my limit

i hope you're still enjoying the story!! i love comments so pls dont be afraid to show your thoughts--i always respond :)

Chapter 12: All aboard the femboy train toot toot

Notes:

im so sorry this is so late but my teachers all decided to give us tests last week and this week so—
also um its significantly shorter than usual but i HAD to get it up right now
ALSO half beta-ed

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Two weeks had passed since the second step of their plan had been confirmed, and the two boys now found themselves standing in front of an unfamiliar door. Muichirou raised his fist and knocked once, immediately hearing a girlish squeal from inside as the locks clicked open.

“Ooh, I’m so excited!” Mitsuri cheered as she opened the door for Zenitsu and Muichirou. She grabbed the younger of the two in a tight hug, hopping as she screamed incoherent phrases. He pushed her away and slumped down near her dresser, gloomy and depressed, but she paid him no mind. Zenitsu smiled awkwardly when she turned to him, extending his hand out for a handshake, although she only used it as leverage to pull him in for another hug. “This is so exciting!” She said once more.

”You already said that,” Muichirou grumbled. “God, I shouldn’t have done this,” he groaned as he slumped his face into his hands. 

”Um, what are you gonna do to him?” Zenitsu asked, a bit timid. She grinned, her glossed lips stretching across her face as she sat down at her dresser.

“It’s a very delicate process,” she began. Putting up a perfectly manicured finger for each step, she said, “First, I do the make-up, make sure it looks perfect. It’s gotta be stylish but not too glamorous so it doesn’t draw too much attention. Second, we pick the outfit and put it on, making sure it’s a perfect fit. Third, we style the hair. Last, but certainly not least, we pick out shoes.” Mitsuri paused and counted the steps on her finger again, before smiling at them as she swiveled her chair to face the mirror. “I’m especially looking forward to getting a new face to experiment with!”

’That’s you!’ Muichirou mouthed to Zenitsu, snickering when he saw the apprehensive look on his face. 

”You’re only doing his make-up, right, Mitsuri?” He asked. She only laughed as she began to pick out everything she needed, setting them up in order and motioning for Muichirou to grab another chair and sit with her. He sighed dramatically, heaving like an old man as pulled himself up off the ground and plopped onto a wheely chair, letting the woman wipe down his face.

”Sit down,” the raven-haired boy said to the blond. “It’s gonna be a while.” 


See, Zenitsu was happy with the plan right up until the moment Mitsuri told him to wear a dress. Sure, he was making Muichirou do it, but the younger boy’s features were prominently more feminine than his. The girl sighed as he explained to her for the third time since replacing Muichirou’s place on the chair that it simply wouldn’t be believable, and it would be quite obvious he was a male, but she kept insisting on it.

”At least try it,” she said.

”I’m telling you, I’m not gonna look any different—they’ll know it’s me!” 

”How?!”

The two bickered back and forth while Muichirou sat back on the woman’s bed, careful not to let the make-up smudge anywhere. He tried to savor his last few hours in pants, but the two of them were making it quite difficult. Eventually he gave up, instead choosing to listen to their (pathetic) arguments. 

”You know, I think Zenitsu is right—putting him in a dress isn’t a smart idea. It won’t alter his appearance in the slightest, seeing as how he has a surprisingly sturdy build. See, his shoulders are pretty broad, so even with his small waist, he would have awkward proportions if he were put in a dress,” he spoke up. Mitsuri pouted, crossing his pale arms over her purple tank-top.

”But I really wanted to dress him up,” she complained.

”You still can,” Muichirou replied. “All I said was he’d look weird in a dress—uh, no offense, Zenitsu.”

”None taken,” the blond answered back, although offense was taken—he could totally rock a dress!

”Just dress him like a typical lesbian,” he continued.

”What’s the point?” She cried out, throwing her arms up. “He’ll look like a normal boy!”

”Aren’t you supposed to be a fashion major? Look, put him in leather pants and a muscle shirt, and add a flannel over top. The trick to The Lesbian Look is in the hair—you gotta slick it back, and maybe add some extensions to make it a little longer. Or better yet, spray-dye it brown. You could also—“ 

“Ooh, I just got the perfect idea! Thank you, Muichirou!” Mitsuri cheered as he suddenly sprang out of her seat, pushing Zenitsu—who was still on the chair—back towards the dresser mirror. She dug around in her closet, pulling out a brown hairspray, like Muichirou had suggested. 

 

She worked carefully and efficiently, her skillful hand flying over Zenitsu’s hair as the color turned brown. She wrapped it in a hair protector and set to work on his makeup. Mitsuri applied the primer to his face, rubbing it in and making sure it seeped into his skin. After giving it some time to dry, she applied foundation, making sure to cover his freckles. The pink-haired girl also colored his eyebrows with eyeshadow, and drew in a slit with the foundation. She then applied a brown to red fade on his eyelids, clapping her hands once she stepped back to take a look. She swiped some red onto his lips, and drew in a mole under his eye for increased effect. 

”Muichirou, come look!” She exclaimed. “Doesn’t he look great?” 

”Looking nice, Lemon Boy,” the younger boy replied, clearly impressed. Zenitsu blushed from the praise, red from both the compliments and from the growing anticipation to see what he looked like. 

”Can I see now?” He asked, taking his lip between his teeth. 

”Don’t do that,” the woman scolded, not wanting the lipstick to smudge. The blond mumbled an apology while Mitsuri glued fake eyelashes onto him, and when she announced she was done, felt the nervousness inside him bloom. She pushed him towards the mirror and—wow. If he were a separate person, he would definitely be simping right now. And he just looked so different, he was unrecognizable even to himself. However, he didn’t get a chance to really appreciate and analyze the woman’s work as she hurriedly pushed him along, getting both him and Muichirou into their selected outfits. 

Muichirou stepped out of the bathroom clad in a long-sleeved grey shirt, tucked into a flowing skirt that reached mid-calf. His hair was put up into a high ponytail and decorated with sapphire berets. His make-up was natural, a thin layer of mascara to accentuate his already long eyelashes and a smidge of lipgloss for that feminine look, fake freckles decorating his pale cheeks.  He was the textbook example of a girl, and though Mitsuri would be protesting at having made this an example of what a girl looks like, she had to admit that it was the best option for the young teen’s lean figure. Besides, she thought, Zenitsu’s look makes up for it. 

Speaking of said boy, he exited the same bathroom moments later, hair newly colored and slicked back, extensions on the ends to create a short bob, sleek and shiny. His usual doe eyes were manipulated into a more foxy shape, the power of a good cat-eye, as they say. He wore an ACDC shirt that was stolen from Mitsuri’s boyfriend, and black skinny jeans ripped at the knees. He had fishnet underneath the shirt, covering his arms and shoulders, and a red flannel wrapped around his hips. Zenitsu pulled at the end of the shirt, rings catching the light as he nervously twiddled his fingers. 

 

“You guys look great!” The pink-haired girl encouraged, proud of her reinvention of the two boys. “All you need now are some shoes. Muichirou you wear these—“ she handed him a pair of bohemian style heels—“and you wear these,” she finished, passing over the combat shoes to Zenitsu. “That’s all, right?” She grinned at their nods of confirmation, and pushed them out of her room the second they put on the shoes. “Have fun on your date!” She told them, and slammed the door shut.

”It’s not a date!” Zenitsu shrieked after her. Muichirou rolled his eyes and grabbed the blond by the arm, dragging him along. 

”Hurry,” he said to him. “We might miss them if we’re late.”

 

 

Notes:

yuh scream at me if you want, i deserve it

Chapter 13: Zenitsu stop eating butterflies for breakfast

Notes:

hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahhahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahhahahahahahahahahahahahaahahahahahahhahahha

two weeks, i said. two months, i took. LMAO
had fun w the end of this chapter, i shall not lie

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Muichirou and Zenitsu entered the large theater, the latter unconsciously fiddling with the rings on his finger as they mixed into the crowd. 

"Come on," the younger of the two ushered, elegant fingers wrapped around his bicep. "Let's get tickets and try to find them. They're watching that anime movie, right?"

"Uh, yeah. They'll be here any second so let's hurry up and go in," Zenitsu added as he allowed himself to be pulled towards the ticket booth. They quickly bought said tickets and hurried off into the screening room, sitting in a position that allowed them to see everyone who came in and out. 

"Alright," Zenitsu started. "I'm gonna text them that I'm not coming only once they're here so that they can't back out, okay?"

Muichirou nodded his head as he tucked some hair behind his ear. Only then did the blond notice his painted nails. They were a soft pink gloss, pale and pretty. 

"Didn't know Mitsuri painted your nails," he commented. "They're nice, though."

"She didn't. But thanks." 

Zenitsu paused, momentarily taking his attention off his phone. So the younger boy painted his own nails? Interesting. 

"Look, they're here!" Muichirou hissed at him, forcing his head to the right. As the other said, there stood Inosuke, eyes sharp and observant. Just the sight of him had Zenitsu's heart beating a mile a minute, but he forced down the flush that crawled up his neck and looked back down at his phone to send the text. Immediately there was a change in Inosuke's demeanor; his back slumped as he looked at his phone, eyes scanning the device. A scowl pushed at his lip, brows furrowed as his hand reached up and tangled itself in his small ponytail. 

Moments later, Tanjirou walked in, and although he was not as lively as he usually was, Zenitsu still felt the butterflies in his stomach take flight, wings flapping against the walls of his stomach. He watched as the two hugged each other, smiling a bittersweet smile when he noticed the slight pink spots on Inosuke's otherwise pale face. It really shouldn't hurt this much when he was the one who agreed and made the plan to get the two together, but Zenitsu couldn't help the piercing stab in his heart. 

"Looks like everything'll go well," he said to the younger. "Should we stick around or...?" 

Muichirou brushed back his bangs, squinting slightly as he strained to see the scene splay out in front of him. Did he need glasses?  "Let's watch them for a bit, yeah, then we can dip," he replied. They watched in silence as Inosuke and Tanjirou made their way to the seats, getting scarily closer and closer to where the two of the were. "Shit!" Muichirou hissed under his breath before dragging the blond--brunet?--down and out their sights. Out of sight, out of mind, right?

Wrong. The two boys walked and chose a seat right behind them, allowing Muichirou and Zenitsu the pleasure of eavesdropping into their conversation, but also the added stress and paranoia that they had been able to look through their disguises. Fortunately, the lights in the theater dimmed as the opening credits rolled onto screen, and Muichirou pulled down Zenitsu so they would be out of Inosuke and Tanjirou’s sight. "Okay," Muichirou whispered. "Let's stay so we can make sure their date is going well, and if anything, happens, we'll just...crawl away," he said to the blond. 

Zenitsu shrugged in response. "Sounds like a plan."

And so the two of them returned to their seats, sitting comfortably in the cushioned seats as they pretended to watch the movie. Just before the first scene played, they heard Tanjirou say, "It's too bad Zenitsu is sick. I was really looking forward to going out with him. I feel like we haven't seen each other as much."

Inosuke took a long moment to slurp at his drink, before he turned and replied to Tanjirou. "I agree with you," he began. "Thought he was avoiding us, to be honest."

The maroon-haired teen popped some popcorn into his mouth, chewing carefully and swallowing. "How come? You think we did something to make him uncomfortable?"

"I don't know. I didn't think about it that much, but it just felt like he was going out of his way to be away from us to me. I don't fuckin' care though. Also, I've seen this movie."

The other boy let out a soft laugh, eyes crinkling at the corners. "So have I," he said." It's not really a movie you watch multiple times, but..." he shrugged as he let the sentence carry off, leaning back in his chair. 

The emerald-eyed teen crushed the plastic of his drink as he stood up, reaching his hand out to Tanjirou, who only blinked at him. Inosuke wiggled his fingers, urging the other to grab hold of them. Once he felt him grasp on, he pulled him up and said, "Let's go play with the machines."

Tanjirou smiled sweetly, linking their fingers together. "Sounds fun." And so he was pulled along by Inosuke out of the screening room and into the main area, slipping out the double doors and beyond Muichirou and Zenitsu's view. 

"So," Zenitsu began. "Should we follow them?"

"Definitely," the raven-haired teen said as he dusted off his skirt. "But let's wait a bit so they don't get suspicious." The two waited for the time to pass, and after deeming that it was now okay to exit without being caught, they snuck out, both vehemently searching for the couple. 

"There!" Muichirou called out. "Over in that corner, near the Miku plush crane machine." He grabbed the blond and pulled him over, ducking right behind where he saw Inosuke trying to win a plush, making sure he was hidden behind another crane machine. "So what do you wanna do--Zenitsu?" He glanced over at the older boy, brows furrowed to meet in the middle as he watched the boy's deft fingers insert a coin into the machine's coin slot. 

"You wanna play?" He asked the younger male, as he got ready to play. 

"Nah, I'm keeping an eye on them," he responded, flicking his head in Inosuke and Tanjirou's general direction.

"'kay. Keep me posted, I guess." Despite (poorly) feigning interest in the true task at hand, Zenitsu was fully concentrated on the game, putting in one hundred percent of his focus into winning a Love Live figurine. And while he was majorly invested in the development of his two friends'--are they really friends if he keeps blowing them off--he really was addicted to beating "impossible" games, and so he kept inserting new coins as he lost, the total cost spent neither recognized nor important. Muichirou, who was admittedly smarter than him in maybe everything (not maybe, definitely,) clicked his tongue in distaste as he shoved away Zenitsu's hand.  

"What are you--" 

"You're going for the wrong one," Muichirou interrupted, pushing the blond away as he took his place. "Go for the plush near the hole so that you have a higher chance of winning. And you see the box tilted on its corner? That's easier to grab then from a flat level." The younger inserted a coin into the slot and did exactly as he said, and, unsurprisingly, managed to win Setsuna Yuki. He pulled it out of the slot, smirking over at Zenitsu and waving it in his face. "See?"

"Shut up," he hissed. "And give that to me! I was working hard for it," he complained. Muichirou pretended to ponder over it, shrugging his shoulder, and shaking his head no.

"You didn't win it but I did. So I don't really see how you deserve it," the younger said to the blond. He could feel a small smile creep over his face as Zenitsu began to rant and complain about the "absolute insubordination and insolence and impudence and--"

"If you want it so badly, why don't you just win one?" The raven-haired male cut in. 

Zenitsu huffed as he crossed his arms over his chest. "Maybe because I can't? Or did you already forget about me struggling with the stupid machine for like thirty minutes?" 

"So then, you admit to your defeat to me?"

"Uh...no. But I admit that I can't beat the crane machine."

Muichirou sipped at his soft drink, letting the cold liquid slip down his throat, fizz bubbling against the walls. "And I was able to beat it. That means I'm better than you, does it not?" 

Zenitsu swung out his wallet and took out his credit card. "I don't lose to brats."

"Hm. I wonder what I am then."

"A fuckin' pussy is what you are, Muichirou," Zenitsu snapped, honey-colored eyes zeroed in on the crane machine, deft fingers maneuvering the machine's joystick as he focused on winning a figurine (and with it, his honor.) He was so close to grabbing one with the claw, just needing to make sure that he kept his hand stable as it went down so it wouldn't fall off kilter and cause him to lose--again. But just as he was tasting the sweet, sweet taste of victory, the raven-haired teen said: 

"You are what you eat, I suppose." And just like that, all of the blond's progress was thrown out the window, his hand slipping, claw falling downwards and no where near any figure, but Zenitsu hadn't even noticed. He stared in shock at the younger boy, jaw dropped open and incomprehensible phrases falling from his mouth every now and then as he gaped at the other male.

"Your eloquence never fails to amaze me, Zenitsu," Muichirou spoke after a while, feeling more than slightly uncomfortable with the prolonged staring. 

"You're a minor!" He finally managed to spit out. 

"I turn seventeen soon," he responded, popping a piece of gum into his mouth. He ignored the elder's continued rambling and rapid speaking as he noticed something from the corner of his eye, and, thinking fast--and thus less rationally--said "You look so sexy today, babe."

Notes:

i am back again, yes

also im moving n im so exicteddddddddd

Chapter 14: Strawberry Shortcake dies in a blender

Notes:

merry christmas and happy holidays everyone :D

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Zenitsu felt his eyes burn with unshed tears from both holding in his laughter from the complete absurdity of the situation, and from just the plain brain-splitting headache he was getting as he was hit with whiplash. "Muichirou--what? Pardon?"

"Come on, babe," the younger continued, fluttering his long lashes as he latched onto Zenitsu's arm, lips pursed into a cute pout. What is happening? "Let's go over there," he said in a classic feminine voice, linking his long fingers with the blond's and tugging him along as he ran to a concession. Am I the only one confused right now? 

“Hi!” Muichirou cheered as he stopped in front of a smoothie shack. He linked his fingers through Zenitsu’s smiling brightly at the cashier. 

“Good morning,” the boy replied. “What can I get for you ladies?” The blond tired not to laugh and covered up the chuckle that escaped by coughing into his free arm. 

“Hm, can I get a strawberry smoothie?” The younger teen asks, lips pursed innocently. 


The boy smiled at him as he pressed in his order and noted it down. “Of course! Would you like to add anything with the drink or get anything else?” 

“I’ll just add in some extra whip-cream,” he added, swinging his and Zenitsu’s interlocked fingers back and forth. 

“Alright, anything for you, ma’am?” The cashier asked the blond. 

 

“Uh...I’ll get a chocolate milkshake.” 

 

“Okay, your orders will be right up. We’ll call you when they’re ready, so if you could just state your names—“

 

“Wait, wait,” Zenitsu interrupted. “How much am I paying?” 

“Oh, there’s no need to pay, ma’am; couples get two free drinks and a desert of your choosing! That being said, what would you guys like for desert?” 

Oh, I see now. He was using me for free food! That stupid brat!

”Oh my, that’s so sweet of you,” the raven-haired male exclaimed. “We’ll get a slice of cheesecake.” Zenitsu rolled his eyes but let the boy choose as he wished, remembering the fact that he had dragged him into the helping him with Tanjirou and Inosuke. Speaking of, he hadn't seen the two of them in a while--did they leave? The blond waited for Muichirou to verify the order and grab the ticket before dragging him away. 

“Really, Muichirou?” He hissed at him, fingers coiled around his forearm. “Really? You just had to get your free food? Dude, if anyone recognizes me, I’ll be in jail! I can’t be seen dating a minor!” 

“We’re not actually dating though...”

”They don’t know that! I’ll get on the sex offenders list and then I’ll never get a job and my grandpa will be disappointed in me and I might even get disowned and Tanjirou will be disgusted by me—no, everyone’s gonna be disgusted by me! I’ll never make another friend! I’m gonna be a loser my entire life! I’m gonna be living on the streets, Muichirou! The streets!”

The raven-haired teen clicked his tongue as he pulled his arm out of Zenitsu’s grasp, turning to the side and striking his open palm against the older’s cheek. “Get a hold of yourself! You’re gonna be fine, dammit. Now come with me to get the food, I can’t carry it all myself.”

”W-w-wh-why did you hit me?!” The blond whined, scurrying after the younger as he walked back to the stand. 

“Shut up for a second, Zenitsu. Here,” he said, pushing over the slice of cheesecake to him. “I got this for you. That’s my favorite flavor. You’ll like it, I promise.” 

Zenitsu sniffed, blinking away the tears and trying to snort the snot back into his nose (it didn’t work, if Muichirou’s face was anything to go by.) He hesitantly grabbed the small rectangular package, holding it in his hands as if a snake were to jump out and bite him. “You promise,” he asked, eyes bright and watery, and the raven-haired teen couldn’t help but think he looked adorable in the moment. 

“Yes,” he replied, voice softer and lower than usual. He reached out and wiped away Zenitsu’s dripping snot with a napkin provided with his food, making sure to be gentle so as not to irritate his skin. “I promise.”

“M’kay...” He carefully opened up the package, taking the plastic fork Muichiro offered him and sliced a small piece off. He raised the slice to his lips, carefully letting the dessert rest on his tongue, allowing the taste to be fully absorbed. It was...really fucking good. Zenitsu quickly cut another piece off, and another, and another, the cheesecake being absolutely delectable--he was already almost finished with it, only one more bite left. He plucked it off, but instead of eating it himself, he pointed the fork towards Muichirou, offering him the last (and most important) piece. The younger boy was taken aback, usual stoic expression breaking, but just for one fleeting moment. He quickly regained his composure and leaned forward to eat the slice. (It was a strangely domestic moment, but if you asked either of them, it would because Tanjirou and Inosuke had been looking their way [side note: they were not--they had left the movie theater just a few minutes prior.])


Time flew by, and finals began to take place. All of their time had been consumed by studying, even Inosuke deciding to study; they barely saw each other anymore, only a quick smile thrown at each other's way as they passed by one another in the halls (which wasn't often, despite being roomed near each other.) Luckily, they had just one more day of tests before being let out for Christmas break. 

Zenitsu sighed happily as he skipped back to his dorm, backpack filled with overpriced textbooks he barely reads. Finally he had finished his last exam and had the rest of the day off. Unfortunately, all his friends still had either one or two more exams to take, with the exception of Tanjirou, who had an extra day of exams tomorrow. He arrived at his dorm, happy he finally had free time again, already thinking of different ways he could spend his time. Maybe he could go and start a new painting, now that he had finished the one of Uzui. He entered his dorm and tossed his bag down, shoving it off to the side. 

Ah, forget being productive, the blond thought to himself as he began slipping out of his clothes. I can finally get proper sleep now, he thought wistfully, falling onto his bed, sinking into the plush cushion, exhaustion from exams making itself known. Unfortunately, just as he was getting lulled to sleep, he suddenly jolted awake, realizing what was coming up. Christmas. He had to get gifts for his family and his friends. Sighing loudly, he pushed himself back out of bed, stretching and trying to get his energy back. He quickly got himself ready to be seen in public, attempting to hide the fact that he had gotten approximately six hours of sleep during the past two weeks, giving up when he realized his eyebags would give it away anyway. Making sure to grab his keys and phone, he exited his room.

”Hey, Zenitsu,” a tired voice greeted, the blond looking up to see Tanjirou smiling at him. He smiled back at him, although sheepishly. 

“It’s been a while, hasn’t it?” The maroon-haired teen continued, adjusting his backpack on his shoulders. “Hopefully we get to hang out properly once I’m done with exams.”

”Speaking of, how come you’re back at your dorm?” The other asked, walking down the hall with Tanjirou. “Shouldn’t you be in the exam hall?” 

“That’s where I’m headed now, actually. But there was a pretty decent interval between my last exam and now, so I wanted to take a quick nap.” The tan boy suddenly turned to Zenitsu, scaring him a little. “Did you hear about the news on leaving the campus?”

”No...why, did something happen?”

Tanjirou sighed, once again readjusting the weight of his bookbag on his shoulder. "Travel is too dangerous due to the storms expected for the next couple weeks, and they're apparently heavy enough that most airports are cancelling all the flights. I wanted to make sure you knew, since I know that your grandpa lives out of state and you would probably want to go out and see him."

"Oh...yeah, thanks," the blond responded. The maroon-haired teen noticed that the boy was feeling down to what he had said, when an idea popped into his mind. 

He chewed his lip thoughtfully, wondering if this was really the best course of action. He didn't want to overstep any boundaries but...he also really like the thought of having his friend come over to celebrate the holidays. It would be more...intimate then anything they had done before. Gathering his courage, he spoke up. "Hey Zenitsu?"

"Yeah? What's up?" The other replied.

"Do you...wanna come over to my house for Christmas? You could celebrate it with me and my family. I'll even ask Inosuke." 

Zenitsu pondered the suggestion for a short while, imagining being able to spend time with the two people he was infatuated with. The thought made him blush but...he didn't want to continue feeding his feelings, and keep making it worse for himself when Inosuke and Tanjirou would eventually get together and leave him out of the loop. Then again, just a little indulgence won't hurt...

"That sounds like fun, Tanjirou. I'd love to come over." 

The boy beamed brightly at the reply, and Zenitsu felt his heart throb. "I can invite Inosuke for you, too." He told Tanjirou.

"That's sweet of you, Zenitsu, but I'll just text him later. I doubt he wants anyone to wake him up right now. Thanks though, I appreciate it. I'll text you later?"

"Yup, no problem. See you." 

Tanjirou began to walk back down the hall, before once again turning abruptly. "Ah, wait! I noticed you've been hanging out with uh...Muichirou, I think? You should invite him too. It'll be a fun get together. And Uzui, too."

"Uzui's gonna hang at his girlfriends', but I'll make sure to ask Muichirou." The blond responded.

"Okay! Uhm...see you."

"...good luck."

"Thanks--"

"Just go, dude. You're gonna be late." 

Zenitsu smiled fondly as he watched the boy scurry down the hall and to his class. He sighed dramatically as he imagined all kinds of romantic scenarios starring Inosuke and Tanjirou, and some...spicy scenarios. He blushed as he made his way off campus, head swirling with thoughts of classic, corny, and cringey Christmas love. 

Notes:

*laughs in hasnt posted since november*

Chapter 15: Tone-deaf Christmas carols ft. Inosuke, Tanjirou, Zenitsu, and a knock-off Hatsune Miku

Notes:

karenkm, i dont know if youre even gonna read this since its been so long since the last update, and honestly you probably forgot about this story, but this is for you.

i was loosing motivation to continue this story, but looking through comments and reading through all of yours made me so giddy and made me recognize my passion for writing, both in general and for this story. you brought my out my unmotivated stupor, and im very thankful for that.

keep bein' dope, bro

(also no beta LMAO)

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Zenitsu was up to 5 am talking with Muichirou about the invitation from Tanjirou, making sure the younger was also coming, and then switching to discuss what he should wear—he didn’t want to look basic. But he also didn’t want to draw too much attention to himself, or wear anything too eccentric, in fear of having Tanjirou’s family see him as a stuck-up rich kid (which couldn’t be further from the truth.) 

“Should I wear this sweater?” The blond asked, holding up a muted cyan sweater with an ironed patch of Armin from Attack on Titan for Muichirou to see. 

The two-tone haired boy looked up to see what Zenitsu was holding, and said, “Sure but won’t you be cold in that? It seems pretty thin.”

”It’s fine, I can wear a jacket. Besides, it’s not that cold,” he responded. Muichirou shrugged, bringing the straw of his strawberry milk to his lips and taking long sips as he observed the older male. He was slightly stressed, he could tell, considering his stiff shoulders and hunched back. He sighed through his nose as he chugged down the rest of the pink liquid, standing up and making his way over to the blond after tossing away the empty carton. 

“Zenitsu.”

”Hm?” 

“Why are you stressed?”

”What?”

The raven-haired boy turned away from Zenitsu, observing a pair of jeans the other had tossed away in his search for an acceptable outfit. “Why are you stressed? It’s a simple question, really. Even a fool like you should be able to understand,” he teased. Zenitsu clicked his tongue and threw a stray snack at the younger, who caught it and began to open the packaging. “Actually though," Muichirou continued. "Why are you getting so worked up over this? Both Inosuke and Tanjirou have seen you in sweats, which always makes you look like you're homeless, so why are you worried about your clothes now?"  

"Okay, first of all, everyone look like they're homeless in sweats--it's not just me. Second, I'm not worried about them, I'm worried about Tanjirou's family. I want to leave a good impression on them," Zenitsu responded. 

"Does that include looking like a rich egoist filing his third divorce?" Muichirou asked, eyeing the navy suit on the blond's bed.

"Stop making fun of me and help, if you hate my choices so much!" Zenitsu huffed, falling back onto his bed, arm draped over his eye. 

"Well," the other began, "what kind of impression are you going for?" 

 

 

Zenitsu tugged at the black, rose-patterned suit vest he had over his red dress shirt, trying to get a better fit. Muichirou glanced over at him from where he was fixing his own clothes, and asked him, "Is the vest too tight?"

The blond sighed quietly, his hands pressing down his sides. "Not really...it just feels uncomfortable."

"Mm. I can still make it more loose, if you'd like. I'm sure that it'll make it feel better." 

"Nah, it's fine." Zenitsu's eyes raked over Muichirou's slim form, eyeing the cyan blouse tucked into gray semi-formal pants. "Hey," he started. "Do you think we're overdressed?" 

The younger paused, tilting his head towards Zenitsu as he began to tie his hair into a loose bun. “Weren’t you the one sorting through suits to wear? Besides, it’s too late to change now. If we gonna be there on time, we gotta go now.” He turned to fully look at the blond who was still fiddling with his vest, and dramatically offered him his hand as they ubered to the address Tanjirou had given them. 

“It’s snowing a lot, isn’t it?” Muchirou noted, pushing his face into the collar of his jacket. 

“I know,” Zenitsu whined. “I feel like my fingers are gonna fall off.”

”Mm,” Muichirou hummed in response as he pulled the blond up a staircase to what Tanjirou’s text said was his address. He took a quick glance at the other, quickly brushing aside some snow that had found its way on his nose, before knocking on the red door. 

Almost immediately the two could hear footsteps thudding from indoor, and heard the clinking sound of the lock before the door swung open to reveal a little boy with short black hair and a mole under his eye. 

“Why are you dressed so...fancy?” The little boy questioned, his nose scrunched in distaste. 

“I knew it! Didn’t I tell you, Muichirou? God, this is so embarrassing. Let’s go home before we make humiliate ourselves even more!” Zenitsu cried, burrowing his face into his hands, red adorning the tips of his ears. 

"Shigeru, who's at the door?" cried a voice from inside. 

The little boy squinted one last time at the duo before turning inside to let them in. "I think it's your friends, Tanjirou."

Suddenly, maroon hair popped into Zenitsu's view, and his face burned brightly as the man smiled brightly at him. "Zenitsu! I'm so happy you made it! And you too, Muichirou. Although..." he cut himself, a question going unasked as he pulled the two in. 

"Why are yall dressed like this is the The Bachelor? " Inosuke cut in, walking into the hall where they stood. 

"'cause I'm here to steal your bitch," Muichirou replied smoothly. Everyone--Zentisu, Inosuke, Tanjirou and Shigeru--stood in shocked silence, before Inosuke began to cackle. 

"You got hella balls, man! I like you!" The emerald-eyed boy said, a proud smile on his handsome face. 

"I mean, he is right. You guys are dressed pretty fancy, but that's my fault for not explaining that the event would be casual. I can give you some more comfortable clothes, if you'd like?" Tanjirou cut in, his Golden Boy personality making itself known to Zenitsu once more.

The blond felt his heart hammer in his chest at the prospect of getting to wear Tanjirou's clothes; God, they probably smelled like him, his sweet, sweet scent. He would get to wear a shirt that Tanjirou had worn, have it touch him where it touched Tanjirou. He would get to wear the same pants that had touched Tanjirou's thighs, that touched Tanjirou's butt, that touched Tanjirou's--

"You're making a really creepy face, dude," Muichirou whispered in Zenitsu's ears. The boy snapped out of his stupor, wiping away the drool that was on his lips.

"R-right, we would really appreciate that, Tanjirou." 

The maroon-haired teen cast them a blinding smile once more, brushing away their gratitude with a humble hand, and led them further into the decently-sized home, to the back, where his room was. As they walked down the hall, Zenitsu noticed one door was open just slightly, and preened his head inside to see--

The door shut with a loud slam, a blushing Shigeru glaring angrily at Zenitsu's face.

The blond blinked slowly. "Was that a shrine in your room?" He asked, incredulously. 

"Shut--"

"Of Tanjirou?!" 

"Up! Shut up! You didn't see anything. You...you...you dumb blond!" Shigeru snapped at him. 

Zenitsu gasped, aghast. "You take that back!" He demanded. 

The short boy crossed his arms over his chest. "No." 

The older boy stomped his foot down, his anger rising. "Take it back!" 

"I said no. You can't make me do anything without consent," he retorted, a smug smirk on his face as he looked at Zenitsu. 

"Augh!" Zenitsu buried his face in his hands for the second or third time, sighing for a long time, almost deflating as he let the air out. "Whatever, I'm not the one the brother complex." He walked away from the spluttering Shigeru and joined back up with Tanjirou and Muichirou, waving off the youngest's questioning gaze. 

"Okay!" Tanjirou cheered as he opened the door to his closet. "You can take whatever you'd like from here. And don't worry about being underdressed, either; Inosuke's literally wearing pajamas." He checked his wrist, where there was a watch strapped onto it. "My mom will be here in about an hour, so that's when we'll start eating. I think that's it," he finished, a smile tugging at his lips. "I'll leave you guys to it." 

The two waited for Tanjirou to closer the bedroom door behind him before stripping down and grabbing whatever looked the most comfortable. Zenitsu pulled on a pair of shorts (unknowingly gracing the occupants of the house with his Michelangelo-sculpted thighs) and an oversized shirt. Muichirou wore a pair of sweats and hoodie, but just as he was turning to ask Zenitsu if he was ready to leave, he noticed that the older was checking under Tanjirou's bed. 

"Zenitsu," he called.

"Hm?" the other hummed in response. 

"What are you doing?" 

"I'm looking for something," he responded. 

"That being?" Muichirou pried, arms crossing over his chest. 

"A dirty mag."

Muichirou choked on his spit. "You think Tanjirou is going to own a dirty magazine? A whole porno?"

Zenitsu sat up from where he was kneeling on the ground. "It's exactly because you think it's so unexpected that I think he has one! It's always the least likely person that ends up being the most perverted."

"Okay, but dude, it's like...Tanjirou. Okay? Not fuckin', I don't know, Giyuu or something. It's literally the same man that drops off food at your door every now and then and half-raises you."

The blond rolled his eyes. "He does not raise me, dumbass," he denied, opening the maroon-haired teen's closet once more, continuing his search. 

Muichirou crossed his arms over his chest. "Right, he just makes sure you had all three meals and constantly texts you reminders to stay hydrated--you know, not raising you."

"...Fuck you."

"Yeah, I bet you'd want to," the younger teen replied as he began to look around the small room with Zenitsu.

"Dude, you're a minor." 

"Is that the only thing stopping you? 'Cause I can wait one more year," he teased, jokingly flirting.

Zenitsu, again, rolled his eyes, ignoring the burn in his cheeks. "You act like you get to choose to wait."

The other teen snorted but waved Zenitsu over as he picked up a single paper from the inner-most corner of the closet. "Here's something," he said to the blond. 

Zenitsu plucked out of the other's hands, eyes raking over the paper. "It's literally just a bunch of thighs."

Muichirou snatched the paper back. "Don't kink-shame him! Or...fetish shame? Whatever, don't make fun of the poor guy. At least not when he isn't even here to defend himself." 

"Hey, my mom actually got here early, so let's--what are you guys doing?" Tanjirou asked slowly, taking a step back behind the door. 

Speak of the devil and he shall appear, the blond thought to himself. 

Muichirou hurriedly put the paper back into the closet, using the other's body as a shield to hide himself from view. "Nothing! I was just asking Zenitsu where we should put our clothes."

"Oh. You can just fold them up on the bed and get them when you leave, I don't really care. Um, you guys are done though, right? We're setting out the food right now. 

Zenitsu cringed at the feeling of the raven-haired teen's bony-ass elbow elbowing him in the ribs, playing it off as he moved closer to Tanjirou. "Sounds nice, dude. Tell me, what are we gonna eat?" 

Muichirou was grateful for the distraction as he was able to hide the paper back into its proper place instead of just shoving it somewhere random before hastily shutting the closet door and going out to follow the two back into the dining area. His stomach growled as he smelled the roast chicken and eyed the array of food on the table. 

Inosuke let out a small whistle as he shook hands with Tanjirou's mother. "Looks good, dude!" He complimented. Tanjirou's mother laughed softly, a low, melodic twinge that comforted Zenitsu. 

"Thank you, young man. Please, have a seat. I'm glad to be able to share food with my son's friends over the holidays." She nodded over at who Zenitsu recognized to be Nezuko, and she pulled out a large cardboard box from underneath the table. It was wrapped in a checkered Christmas pattern, and the young girl smiled as she pushed over the box to the three guests. 

"I--wow, is this for us?" Zenitsu asked, eyes wide as he was handed the box. 

"When I heard you kids would be spending the day with us, I thought it would only be appropriate if I gave you guys gifts. It's nothing special, but I hope you'll enjoy it nonetheless." His mother told them, serving a plate to Nezuko as she fed a baby. 

The blond blinked back the tears that prickled at his eyes, muttering a low 'Thank you' as he unwrapped the box. He peered inside, along with Inosuke and Muichirou, and saw three folded items with a note that had their names on it. Zenitsu picked up his note, as did the other two, and picked up what was under it, dropping the box on a counter for the other two, and unfolded the item. He unraveled the cloth to reveal a yelloww-orange gradient-colored hoodie with triangle designs splattered around it, unzipping it to see that the inside--including the inside of the hoodie--was a dark black. 

It looked nice. 

"Wow..." Zenitsu whispered, holding up the hoodie. "This looks so fu--so good! Did you deisgn it yourself?" He asked Tanjirou's mother.

She smiled, proud, and said "I work as a designer for a small-scale clothing business. I'm very happy to know that you like one of my original designs. My son showed me a picture of you and so I based it off of you," she explained. 

"Your talent is amazing," Muichirou chimed in, holding up his own hoodie, black on the outside with a retro design of a milk carton on the back, a very light shade of teal decorating the inside. "Seriously, it's just...wow."

Inosuke agreed with the two, slipping on the off-white jacket, the emerald inside a start contrast against the other color. 

"Thank you so much! It was a lot of fun deciding on what to customize for each of you, and it really means a lot to know you guys like it. " She waved her wand, motioning for them to sit down. "Enough with that, though. Let's eat."

Notes:

rereading my story makes me cringe from the writing but like
sheesh im kinda funny

also!! we're gonna hit my one year on ao3 on may 5th, n in case i dont upload by then, happy one year :D

Chapter 16: Washing dishes is sexier than sex

Notes:

disclaimer: pacing is terrible this chapter smh i just wanted to get the christmas arc over with since we're litERALLY IN MAY ALREADY WHAT THE HELL AM I THE ONLY ONE STILL IN MARCH--

also would u believe me if i said i finished way ahead of schedule? im already working on chap 17

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Inosuke sighed contently, patting his full stomach as the others began to pick up their plates and take them into the kitchen. He ignored Zenitsu's stink eye trying to tell him to get up and do something with his fat ass, and instead chose to get up and 'use the bathroom.' 

In his defense, he really did need to piss. 

After getting directions to the rest room, he followed down the main hallway to the indicated door, and pulled out his phone once he was situated on the toilet. He scrolled through Instagram, liking the pictures of his friends celebrating the holidays and playing in the snow outside. After getting caught up with all the new posts, he began to click through stories, noting how many of them were talking about how heavy the snow was getting. 

He checked his weather app, and lo and behold, they were right: there was a blizzard expected to hit soon. 

He finished his business and washed his hands, leaving the restroom and going back to join the others. 

"Oi, Tontirou" he called. 

"My name is Tanjirou! Tan-ji-rou! It's not hard." The tan boy complained, throwing his head over his shoulder to glare at him. "Are you offering to help us wash the dishes?" He asked hopefully, and excited gleam in his eyes. 

Only then did Inosuke notice his hands covered in soap suds, but before he even got a chance to reply properly, Zenitsu snorted from Tanjirou's right, where he was drying the plates the other passed him.

"Yeah, right. As if Inosuke would help with anything," he said. Muichirou nodded as he drank the last of his Coke, gulping loudly as he swallowed the last drop. 

"I doubt he's ever even washed a dish before," he added, a smirk tugging at his lips. The boy maneuvered his body around the other two men, going to the fridge to grab another drink. "Ain't that right, doll?" He asked, a southern twang hanging on his words. 

"Fuck off," Inosuke retorted, pushing past the raven-haired boy and forcing himself in-between Tanjirou and Zenitsu. (Definitely not because he was jealous of their proximity or anything, and definitely not because he wanted to be closer to the blond. Nope. Not at all.)

He ignored Zenitsu's whining at being pushed around, cocking an eyebrow at Tanjirou's huff of annoyance, challenging him to say anything. The maroon-haired teen clicked his tongue, diverting his gaze away from Inosuke. The other smiled in victory. 

Inosuke, one. Tanjirou, zero. 

"So, Zenitsu..." The latter began, drawling out his words. "You doin' anything tonight?" He asked. 

(Inosuke was so not listening to the conversation. He was definitely not expectantly awaiting the other's response. Nope. Not at all.)

"When is he ever doing anything?" Muichirou chimed in, leaning against the counter as he drank his new can of soda. Sprite, this time. "Dude's got, like, two friends." 

"Shut up!" Zenitsu shrieked, tossing a freshly-cleaned spatula at the boy. He just barely dodged, but at the price of spilling half his drink. Muichirou sighed loudly. "That's what you get, brat. And I do have plans," the blond retaliated. 

"You do?" Tanjirou said, disappointment lacing his words. 

"Well, not tonight, but occasionally! Most of the time! Muichirou, shut up!

The latter continued to laugh at him, stuttering out condescending words every now and then, causing an embarrassed red to cover Zenitsu's pale face. 

Tanjirou ignored him, leaning behind Inosuke to talk directly to Zenitsu. "So then, you're free tonight, right?" 

Inosuke leaned back with the other boy, blocking his view of the blond. "I don't know, is he?"

"Dude," he complained. "Move. I'm not talking to you." Tanjirou leaned forward again, only to have Inosuke following. He leant back again. Inosuke still followed. Forward, he also moved forward. "Stop!" he shouted at the blue-haired boy. "Seriously, I'm not fucking talking to you, get the hell out of my face!" 

Zenitsu and Muichirou watched the scene in amusement, noting how this was maybe the first time they'd ever heard the boy curse. 

"I heard that," came a feminine voice from the threshold of the kitchen. The three boys looked over to see that Nezuko was leaning on the passageway, a kind smirk (can a smirk be kind?) on her face. 

"Sorry..." The maroon-haired teen muttered, a pink hue settling on his tan cheeks. He defiantly stared at the dishes he was washing, pointedly ignoring Inosuke's snickering. 

"Oh, hey. You're Nezuko, right?" Zenitsu spoke up, not noticing the competitiveness radiating from his two friends. 

"Yeah," the girl smiled. "You're the boy who thought I was dating Tanjirou."

"Okay, look!" Zenitsu spluttered, ignoring the booming laughter from everyone around him. Even Nezuko was giggling to herself. "You guys were holding hands! What was I supposed to think?"

"Literally anything else," came a second voice. Zenitsu saw that it was Shigeru, the same boy who had a shrine of Tanjirou in his room. 

"Oh, says you. You literally worship your bro--oof!" He doubled over in pain as he was promptly kicked in the balls by the young boy, falling to his knees and groaning.

"Shigeru!" Tanjirou scolded. "Why would you do that? Nezuko, can you make sure he's okay?" 

The girl hummed a response as she knelt near the boy, hand stroking his back calmly. Zenitsu had to remind himself that she was still only sixteen, and it would be illegal to crush on her. 

Oh, but did she smell sweet. Her perfume must have been expensive. 

"I felt like it," the purple-eyed boy snarked, sneering down at the blond. "What a weakling, getting beat by a fourteen-year old child. Oh, I bet you feel real good 'bout yourself, huh, pal?" Shigeru raised his hand to brush back his hair from his face, continuing to patronize him. "How old are you anyway? Eighteen, nineteen? Pathetic," he scoffed, rolling his eyes. 

"Age has nothing to do with ballsack sensitivity," Zenitsu pushed out, pain slowly residing. He raised his hand and quickly struck the younger boy in the crotch area, smiling as he, too, doubled over in pain. "See?"

Shigeru groaned, falling to the floor as he tried to alleviate the pain. 

"Zenitsu! What the hell?" Tanjirou cried, abandoning his chore in favor of checking on his brother. 

Inosuke snickered quietly while Tanjirou scolded both Zenitsu and his brother, Nezuko leaving the blond's side and instead heading over to Muichirou, who was still sulking over his spilled Sprite. 

"Hey," she greeted him. "This might be a bit random but I was wondering if I could play with your hair, style it maybe? It's fine if you say no, obviously, but I had to ask." 

The raven-haired boy blinked once, shrugging his shoulder and chugging the last of his drink. "Why not?"

She grinned excitedly and told him she'd be right back, running to her room to grab some supplies. 

While he waited, Muichirou helped Inosuke with the last of the dishes, and once Tanjirou had finally finished chastising the two boys and they were fully recovered, the group made their way over to the living room. They passed by his mother, who told them she was taking the three youngest to play with the neighbor's children, and bid her farewell. 

Nezuko came back shortly after, carrying with her a large box filled to the brim with various items, like hairbrushes, hairsprays, and hair ties. She sat on the couch, Muichirou laying between her knees on the ground, while Shigeru sat next to her, watching her work over her shoulder. Tanjirou was by the TV, trying to find a show for them all to watch, and Inosuke was talking to Zenitsu and occasionally answering any questions Tanjirou asked about what to watch. 

"You know, we never fought to see who was the strongest," he said. 

Zenitsu laughed nervously, averting his eyes while trying to dodge the question. "Yeah, see, um...look, Tanjirou, let's watch season 4 of Attack on Titan! It's right there!" 

"Monitsu--"

"Oh no! I spilled my water, better get a new cup," the blond interrupted, successfully getting away from the other boy. He sighed, relieved, as he poured himself another cup of water. As he drank, he thought about his step-brother and his Grandpa, realizing he never called them. 

He poked his head back inside the living room, telling them he needed to take care of something and not to wait on him. Pulling his phone out, he dialed his brother and waited for him to answer. 

"Hello?" came his brother's voice, clearly tired. 

"Kaigaku, hey. Sorry, did I wake you up?" 

"'s fine, it's already...2 pm, anyways. Did you need something?" 

Zenitsu bit his lip, a wave of homesickness washing over him as he heard what he assumed to be his Grandpa in the background, pots clanging together the way they always did when he cooked. 

"No, just wanted to say, um, Merry Christmas. Sorry I couldn't make it home this year. It's weird, if I'm being honest, not being at home right now."

"I'll bet. It's your first time not spending the holidays with us, right?" Kaigaku asked, yawning quietly.

"Yeah..."

"You homesick?"  His brother asked, his voice direct but soft, understanding, even. 

Zenitsu took in a deep breath and let it out slowly, trying to calm himself before he would start to cry. Like, really cry. The inconsolable kind. He shifted his weight from one foot to the other, chewing his bottom lip as he blinked rapidly. "Yeah, no, like. Yeah."

Kaigaku's deep laugh drifted from the phone's speakers. "'Yeah, no?'  Make up your mind, dude,"  his brother teased. 

Zenitsu huffed indignantly, rolling his eyes but smiling nonetheless. "You know what I mean."

"I don't know...do I? Because that was a contradictory statement." 

"Yeah, okay, Mr. Big Shot. Tell Grandpa I said Merry Christmas, 'kay? I doubt I can him without crying."

"I got you, no problem." There was the sound of clothes rustling before the line went silent for a few seconds. "You're doing fine, right?"

Zenitsu smiled, albeit sadly, knowing that, despite the tough demeanor his brother had, he cared a lot about his family. "Yeah, I'm alright. A little sad, but these days, who isn't really?"

Kaigaku snorted on the other end of the call. "Real shit, bro. Real shit."

The two continued to talk for a while longer before they bid their farewells, and the blond tucked his phone into the pocket of his borrowed shorts. 

He entered the living room to join back up with everyone else just as Gabi began to strip on-screen, and he snorted at Shigeru's scrunched-up nose. 

He dropped himself down onto the seat right of the young boy, jostling him and effectively grabbing his attention. 

The older boy flicked his head in the direction of the TV, where Gabi was now walking through the battlefield in her undergarments. "What, you don't think she looks hot? Would have thought she was your type," he joked, a lopsided smile on his lips. 

"Okay, first of all," Shigeru started, turning his body to face the other completely, a finger held up in front of his face. "She's 12."

"Okay? So are you," Zenitsu retorted. 

"I am 14!" 

Zenitsu paused. He tilted his head, squinting his eyes at the younger boy. "You look 12." 

Shigeru's brows furrowed and he glared at the blond. "Well, I'm not. And an annoying girl with a God Complex is definitely not my type."

The blond cocked an eyebrow. "Yeah? What is your type then?" He leaned in close so as not to be heard by unwanted ears, whispering, "Your brother?"

Immediately a deep red blush flamed the younger's skin, covering from the tips of his ears to mid-way down his neck. He stuttered over his words as he tried to defend himself while Zenitsu snickered at his side. 

Tanjirou peeked behind him to see what was going on, brows furrowing when he saw his brother blushing and glaring at Zenitsu, while the latter was laughing smugly at him. 

It was, to say the least, suspicious. 

"Y'all good back there?" He called to them. Shigeru's head snapped towards him, and he nodded vigorously before turning back to scowl at the oldest. 

His frown only deepened. 

"You're not doing anything weird, are you?" He asked. 

Zenitsu turned his face to look directly at Tanjirou, confusion clearly painted on his face. "What? Of course not," he said.

The tan boy contemplated turning around and leaving the conversation at that, but one more glance at his brother's still blushing face and him and Zenitsu's close proximity made him dispel the hesitation. 

"So why is Shigeru blushing so hard?" 

The blond's face stayed blank for a moment after, before he broke out in abrupt laughter. It took a while for him to cool down as he gasped for air, borderline hyperventilating. When he finally calmed down, he wiped away the stray tears in his eyes as he gulped down the oxygen he so badly needed. 

"That's 'cause he has a crush on Gabi," Zenitsu said, effectively telling him a lie while not being too off-the-mark. 

"Ah. Well, okay, then. Sorry to interrupt," the maroon-haired teen said to them, finally turning his attention back to the anime playing in front of them.

The rest of the night consisted of Shigeru scowling while him and Zenitsu whispered to each other, occasional hands thrown and balls kicked. 

It was, in Zenitsu's opinion, a wonderful way to spend his first holiday away from his family--bonding with his love-interest's family after eating a delicious dinner. 

Notes:

your boy's out to watch the demon slayer movie ahaha...probably wont upload 'till after ive watched so get ready for some slightly depressed notes next chapter LMAOOO

(also, as of may 5th, i have officially been on here for a year whattt. seriously, thanks for all the support. both of my ffs are doing so much better than i could have even hoped for n im eternally grateful for that. y'all rock)

Chapter 17: The only beach episode that actually has a plot

Notes:

me just realizing we are 17 chapters in and still the plot hasnt picked up

...this is gonna be a slowburn

I PROMISE I KNOW WHAT IM DOING

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Zenitsu groaned as he rolled over to his other side, wondering what woke him up at such an ungodly hour in the night. He's silent, listening to the quiet of the night, waiting to see what woke him up. For a while, there's nothing, just the chirps of the crickets of the summer nights and the low thump thump thump of the rain. 

But just as he closed his eyes, he heard it; his phone dinging with the tell-tale chime of a notification. He sighed, and for a moment, he contemplated ignoring whoever it was in favor of going back to sleep, but the chimes kept coming in. They're spamming me awake, he realized. 

Groaning again, he pushed down the sheets of his bed as he stood up to reach his phone, unplugging it now that it has full charge. He swiped at it to wake it up, opening his messages app. 

Uzui: you awake?    3:41 am

Uzui: i know ur awake dude   3:42 am

Uzui: okay fuck u, u need to wake up   4:02 am

 

The rest of the messages are just spam of Zenitsu's name, and he scowled at the older man while typing back a response. 

me:  what do u want   4:05 am

Uzui: oh good ur awake   4:06 am

Uzui: wanna go to the beach   4:06 am

Uzui: your boyfriends are going   4:08 am

Uzui: and muichirou too ofc   4:09 am

 

Zenitsu blinked at his phone. Was this really why he was forced to wake up at 4 am? Because he was being invited to the beach? 

He was snapped out of his thoughts as his phone rang, and he swiftly accepted it before bringing the device to his ear. "Are you on drugs again?" He asked. 

"Wha--again? I have never gotten stoned before," Uzui complained. Zenitsu was silent on the other end. "Okay, I have done weed once. Maybe twice, who's counting? That's not the point, anyways."

"Right, you called me at," the blond moves the phone from his ear to read the time, quickly pulling it back. "4:12 am to ask me to go to the beach with you? At 4 am? Have I mentioned it's 4 am yet? Because, in case you didn't know, it is, in fact, 4 am."

Uzui rolled his eyes on the other end of the phone, though he knew the other wouldn't be able to see it. "Oh, boohoo. You wanna go or not?" He asked. 

Zenitsu sighed, the phone picking it up and making Uzui snort. "I mean, sure, whatever, I'm down. Explain why you called me now, please," he begged the older man. 

"Fine, fine. I called you this late because I was actually supposed to call you like. Yesterday? But I forgot so I'm doing it now."

The blond didn't say anything, waiting for Uzui to continue to provide him context. When a few minutes passed and still the man said nothing, he sighed. "Yes, and now explain why you had to call me yesterday."

"'Cause you need to prepare? Duh," the silver-haired man replied, rolling his eyes like it were the most obvious thing. Well, Zenitsu supposed it was, but that wasn't what he was exactly explaining anything.

"Mhm. Elaborate," the younger said, stretching his arms over his head to shake some of the sleep out of his body.

"Right, so, the beach is, like, a decent one, maybe two hour drive, so I wanted to let you know beforehand so you could properly prepare yourself, get everything you need and more. But with having to call six people--including you--I ended up forgetting to call someone, and that someone was you."

Zenitsu hummed in affirmation as he listened, rolling his shoulders back. He put the phone between his ear and his shoulder to hold it in place as he pushed himself off the bed, peaking under it to pull out a backpack for him to gather his things with. "Why six people? Wouldn't it be three if it's Tanjirou, Inosuke, and Muichirou?" 

There was a bit of shuffling on the other side of the phone, a female voice talking in hushed tones with the older man before Uzui turned his attention back to Zenitsu. "Sure, if you guys were the only ones I asked. Remember that depressed dude with the dark-blue hair? The one with the boyfriend?" 

The blond was silent for a moment, racking his brain to remember someone who fit that description. He gasped quietly as he was reminded of the time he watched Giyuu kiss. "Yeah, his name was Giyuu, right?"

Uzui snapped his fingers as he cheered, saying, "That's the one! I asked him and his boyfriend to tag along too. And obviously Kyojurou is coming too. The guy with the flame-looking hair."

Zenitsu didn't respond immediately, instead maneuvering himself to his closet in the dark of the room, turning on the lamp on his desk so he could see without hurting his eyes. "Oh, cool. Will you pick us up or do we need to arrive there ourselves?" He asked as he began to ruffle through his clothes. He nodded to himself as he pulled out a pair of peach-pink swim trunks with white drawstrings, folding it neatly and tucking it into his bag. 

"I'll pick you up if you want me to. I've got a big van that can fit all of us, so it's up to you, really." Uzui responded, stifling a yawn. It really was a late time to be calling someone. But he did it to himself, so there was nothing he could really complain about. 

"Come pick me up, then. I don't feel like driving," the blond murmured into the phone, his neck straining from the position he had it in. He rubbed the side of it to ease the pain while his free hand picked out two full outfits--including boxers; one for him to wear, and the other to change into. "When are we leaving?" 

"At around noon, so we'll arrive at the beach when the water is nice and warm. Sound good?" 

"Sounds good," Zenitsu affirmed, grasping the phone with his hand now that he no longer needed both of them. He dug through the bathroom he had attached to the dorm, grabbing sunscreen and, as a second thought, a scented lotion, throwing both of the bottles in the bag along with his clothes. "Will your girlfriends be coming?"

"Oh, I forgot I told you about them. But nah, they're doing their own thing. Something about a public bath? I don't know, but they seem excited for it." 

"Oh, okay. Just wondering. Is that all?" The blond asked, now digging in the drawer of his bedside table, trying to find his sunglasses. He cheered quietly when he found them, propping them on the table so he could easily access it in the morning.

"Should be it, yeah. Set an alarm for 11:30, and I'll drop by your dorm around then to get you, alright?"  The man said. 

Zenitsu agreed, and the two said their goodbyes before the blond hung up, tossing his phone away as he fell back onto the bed. He nuzzled his way back under the warm covers, falling into a dreamless slumber. 

 

 

Zenitsu woke up to the sound of banging on his door, and muffled voices talking amongst themselves. He groaned, pulling his pillow over his head to try and block the sounds. He sighed quietly, his brain still lagging as he tried to remember why he had to wake up. 

"Zenitsu! Wake your ass up, we gotta go!" Uzui's voice called out from outside the door. The blond blinked once, twice, three times, wracking his mind, looking for the foggy conversation he had with Uzui, before he bolted off his bed and shimmying off his pants, finally remembering that he was going out with his friends to the beach. He panicked, working his clothes off in a hurry as he wobbled his way over to let them in, trying not to be late.

He unlocked the door as he finished buttoning his jeans, smiling at Uzui as Tanjirou, Inosuke, and Muichirou let themselves in. Muichirou greeted him with a small wave as he threw him the coral shirt that had fallen onto the floor, most likely during his sleep, and Zenitsu stripped off his sleep shirt in favor of putting it on, smoothing down the yellow sunset design and grabbing his sunglasses while Tanjirou leaned down to take his bag. 

Uzui swept his hair out of his eyes, pushing them away from his face with a hair tie as he waited for Zenitsu to collect his phone and keys. The group walked out of the dorm and made their way down to the ground floor, and let the oldest of them lead the way to his car. 

"Hello," Zenitsu greeted to what he recognized to be Rengoku seated in the front seat. The man beamed at him as he exited the van to help Uzui sort the luggage, greeting him cheerily, clapping him on the shoulder before he sauntered off to the back of the van. Zenitsu rubbed his shoulder, attempting to ease the pain of the hit, and was thinking of offering his help to the two older men, before Tanjirou grabbed his attention.

"Zenitsu! C'mere, come sit with me," he called, waving the blond over, a bright grin on his face as he patted the seat to the right of him. "Hi," he giggled, greeting the blond with the most child-like innocence Zenitsu had ever seen. 

He grinned back, still a little tired from having just woken up, and dropped himself down next to his friend. "Howdy," he greeted back, tipping his imaginary hat in a mock-solute. He looked past Tanjirou and through the window, his gaze following Muichirou, who seemed to be in conversation with Inosuke before being abruptly pulled away and out of Zenitsu's field of vision. He shook his head and turned his attention back to the maroon-haired teen. He observed the boy's Hawaiian shirt layered over a plain white tee, the under shirt tucked into cargo pants, and rolled his eyes at the basic beach outfit. 

"Are you matching with Uzui and Rengoku or are you all just basic?" He asked, situating himself comfortably in the seat as he hung his sunglasses on his shirt. 

Tanjirou's brows furrowed, and he tilted his head slightly as he looked over at the other. "What do you mean?" He asked. 

Zenitsu pointed his head in the direction of the two older men who were still trying to shove all the luggage inside the trunk of the van, following the younger's gaze as he looked at Uzui and Rengoku. "The Hawaiian shirts," he explained. 

The tan boy laughed, throwing his head back and exposing the smooth skin of his neck to Zenitsu, which he shamelessly ingrained into his memory before snapping his eyes back up to the other male's face as he spoke up. "I guess we're just basic," he grinned, turning in his seat so that he was sitting sideways, back against the window, and facing the blond. "They're kind of cute though, don't you think? With the color coordination and matching designs?" He asked, turning his head to look at the two again. "Are they a couple?" 

Zenitsu snorted, and said, "Uzui's already got three girlfriends, he doesn't need another one." There was a pause in conversation, and red alarms rang through Zenitsu's mind before he realized what he had said and slapped a hand over his mouth.

Shit. He hadn't meant to expose the man like that. He kept his gaze trained straight ahead, too afraid to spare a glance at his companion. He didn't even breathe, sitting completely still, waiting for Tanjirou to voice his disgust with Uzui's relationship with multiple partners. 

"Damn, and I can't even get one girlfriend, let alone three," the maroon-haired teen sighed, leaning back against the wall of the car and placing his arms behind his head, eyes closing as he pitied himself. "I should ask him for some tips on asking someone out." He paused, not yet opening his eyes, before he asked, "Do you think he would know how to ask a guy out?"

Tanjirou opened his eyes when he heard a strangled sort of noise coming from Zenitsu's direction, cocking an eyebrow in question when he realized how stiff the other had gotten. "Zenitsu?" He called, straightening up, reaching out to touch his shoulder. "Are you okay?"

Zenitsu lowered his hand from where it covered his mouth, slowly releasing the breath he was holding. "Um. You don't care? About Uzui having multiple partners?" He asked, still cautious. 

The younger snorted, leaning back to his previous position after toeing off his shoes and laying his legs over Zenitsu's lap. "No? Why should I? It's none of my business what he does in his relationships, and as long as all parties are consenting, I don't see a problem with having multiple partners." 

"Oh," the blond replied, laying his hands over Tanjirou's smooth calves, running his fingers over the shaved skin. He was about to ask another question, one that would make him slightly more vulnerable to the other, but was interrupted before he could say anything when Inosuke heaved his body inside the van, cackling loudly and holding what looked to be one of Muichirou's many snacks, while the latter entered the vehicle looking half-annoyed. 

Uzui and Rengoku came inside too, and the silver-haired man started up the car, pulling out to drive what would be a 2-hour car ride to the beach. 

Zenitsu tired to calm his beating heart from the adrenaline of having almost exposed himself, thankful that the others had come in and interrupted before he could say anything he would regret. 

Notes:

next chapter really will be fun, and will have even more plot

we're finally picking up, yall, get excited :)

side note: demon slayer movie was so good, wow. totally didnt cry. :')

Chapter 18: Cuddling with the homies except one of them ain't wearing socks

Notes:

yall thank you so much for 100+ bookmarks AND 100+ subscriptions <33
AND THE 500 KUDOS YOU GUYSSSS WE HIT A HUGE MILESTONE THANK YOU SO MUCH

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

“Tanjirou,” Zenitsu croaked, blinking away the sleep. He stretched his arms over his head, huffing slightly as his bones popped. "Tanjirou," he called again, slightly louder, as he tried to wake up the sleeping boy. He sighed, realizing the younger was in too deep of a sleep to wake up, but the weight of his legs was numbing Zenitsu's thighs. He tried one last time to wake him up, only to give up when the boy didn't even flinch as he shook him.

"Yo," called out a voice from the front, and Zenitsu looked up to see Uzui making eye contact with him through the rearview mirror, a smirk pulling at the corners of his lips. "How's cuddling with Tanjirou going?" He asked, voice low so as not to wake up anyone else. Zenitsu took a moment to look around, noting how everyone had fallen asleep, including Rengoku, and Zenitsu felt a bit of pity for Uzui. The man was left alone with no one to entertain him, even forced to turn off the music due to the blond's sensitive ears, alone with only his thoughts to keep him company. 

The blond rolled his eyes, ignoring the burning in his cheeks as he flicked a dust bunny at the older man. He missed, and it ended up hitting Inosuke, who's snoring hitched before it returned to its irregular pattern. "I would say I'm enjoying it, but he's killing my legs," he replied, squirming under the heavy weight of Tanjirou's limbs. 

Uzui laughed, soft and low, comforting, like the warmth of the sun during a windy day. "Can you hold out for a bit longer? We're almost there," he chuckled. 

Zenitsu shifted, wincing as a prickling sensation ran up his leg. "Yeah, but not much longer." 

The silver-haired man smirked again, coy, a whisper of mystery underlying beneath it. "Be good and sit still Zenitsu."

The heat in the blond’s face increased as he covered his mouth with the back of his hand, breaking eye-contact with Uzui. “What’s with the heavy sexual undertone?” He hissed, still trying to regain control over the flush adorning his cheeks. 

The silver-haired man’s smirk only widened, sly like a fox, enticing, yet dangerous. “I can always count on you to give me a good reaction,” he teased. 

Zenitsu scoffed, laying his palm back down onto Tanjirou’s calf, subconsciously rubbing the the soft tan skin. “If I knew you were gonna be this horny without your girlfriends, I wouldn’t have come,” he retorted, fingers drumming a steady rhythm over Tanjirou’s calf bone. 

“No, you still would have come; you would never miss a chance to hang out with your boyfriends.” 

A beat passed, and Zenitsu heard the click, click, click of the car’s blinker as Uzui prepared to turn right. Once they were under the traffic-lights, he spoke up, saying, “Yeah, you’re right. Even if they weren’t coming, I would have still come. Who would miss a chance to hang out with hot babes at the beach?” He joked, smiling teasingly as he and Uzui once again made eye-contact through the rear-view mirror.

"Wow, and with your boyfriend literally cuddling right next to you? That’s just disrespectful,” he replied, gasping in faux horror. 

The smile fell of Zenitsu’s face, and he looked back down at the tan skin laying on his lap. He chewed on his bottom lip, observing the barely-there stubble he could feel under the pads of his fingertips. He sighed. 

“What’s wrong, Zenitsu?” Uzui asked, playful tone gone, genuine concern and worry lying in its wake.

The blond hesitated, opening his mouth and closing it repeatedly, before he sighed again and whisperer into the cool air of the van, “It hurts, you know?” He began, fingers now playing with the hem of Tanjirou’s shorts. “Hearing you call Inosuke and Tanjirou my boyfriends so easily. Like, it’s never gonna happen, and just the prospect of it even being possible hurts because...what are the chances? You know?”

Uzui sighed, drawing it out, as if he were deflating. He stayed silent for a few moments as they turned into the threshold of the beach, and he parked, pausing, before unbuckling his seatbelt and turning around in his seat to face Zenitsu (at least, to the best of his ability.)

"I do, actually. I know what you mean. But--and I want you to really listen to me here--I really think that you should confess. To both of them," he said, cocking his head in the direction of Inosuke, whose face was pressing against the window, his shallow breaths fogging up the smooth glass. "It might not seem like it to you," he continued, "but it really seems as though they both share your feelings. I'm not entirely sure if they're into each other too, but I think that, for you, they'd be willing to try. And even if they find it doesn't end up working out, you guys can always compromise, like I did." He paused, turning back to face the car's windshield as he turned off the ignition. "Basically, just take your chances, because they seem like they're in your favor."

Zenitsu snorted, pushing off Tanjirou's legs and getting ready to shake him awake again, now that they had arrived. "You better know what you're talking about, or else I'm in for a world of hurt," he replied. 

Uzui grinned, opening his door. "Does that mean you'll do it?" He asked. 

The blond chewed down on his bottom lip, sucking it in between his teeth. He sighed, releasing it from his confines, and smiled sheepishly at the older man. "I mean, yes? Just don't know when, per se." 

Uzui laughed, loud and unabashed, as he stepped out of the van. "I'm excited for you. Let's wake everyone up now, so we can finally go fucking swim."

 

 

Ten minutes later, Zenitsu found himself holding up a sleepy Muichirou while Inosuke shouted at Uzui and Rengoku to hurry up and unpack the van, arms crossed over his exposed chest, foot tapping on the ground impatiently, hair tied back and sunglasses perched atop his head. 

He turned to Zenitsu, flashing him a quick grin before turning back to face Rengoku, who tossed a few bags for him to carry down to the beach. "I'll see you down there," he said, cackling as he raced down towards the sand, choosing a spot for the group. 

"Oh, the energy of the youth," Rengoku sighed, brushing back his hair, a fond smile adorning his tan face. He glanced at the blond, who was still supporting Muichirou, and blinked. "Is he your boyfriend?" He asked him.

Zenitsu blushed, a violent red marking his cheeks as stuttered over his words. "N-no! You've got it all wrong, we're just friends. Besides, he's still a minor," he stammered, turning and hiding his face in the younger's raven locks. All the talking resulted in Muichirou groaning, blearily opening his eyes as he pushed himself off the blond. 

"Do you have to scream all the time?" He scowled, stretching his back and grunting at the pops, clicks, and cracks that resounded from it. He exhaled, pouting slightly, before shaking his head and grabbing Zenitsu's hand, forcing him to follow as they raced down to meet up with Inosuke, who was setting down the towels. "Let's go before they make us help them."

Rengoku, blinked, slightly confused, before calling out to Uzui, who was enlisting Tanjirou's help. "Are they really not dating?" He asked. 

The silver-haired man shrugged, wiping sweat off his brow as he squinted to watch the two run down the hill, hand-in-hand. "I mean, they aren't but, who knows? Maybe one of 'em's into the other." Uzui contemplated this for a moment, glancing over at an extra-quiet Tanjirou, and began to laugh, albeit a little nervously. "I doubt it, though, I'm sure Zenitsu's not interested in him anyway." 

"I guess you're right. He does often complain about Muichirou's age...Oh well, I was just wondering." Rengoku hiked a bag over his shoulder, grabbing the large cooler filled with refreshments, leaving the box of snacks for Uzui to carry and the rest of the bags with Tanjirou. The three of them made their way down to meet up with Inosuke, Tanjirou, and Zenitsu, who were sitting under an umbrella, waiting for them. 

"Sorry for the wait!" Tanjirou called out, smiling brightly as he placed down the bags, Uzui and Zenitsu setting up chairs for them to rest on. 

Inosuke walked to the maroon-haired teen's side, peeking over his shoulder as he searched for his backpack. "Where's mine," he asked, pushing aside the other bags as he continued to look for his own. "Oi, Gonpachiro, didn't you say you'd bring it down?"

"Yeah--"

"Then where is it?" He interrupted, scowling. 

"Hey," Zenitsu scolded. "Stop being pissy and let him talk. Maybe then you'll find it," he finished, rolling his eyes as he pulled his own bag towards his body. He unzipped it, ruffling through the items and dragging out his swim trunks. He smiled to himself when his hand hit a notebook, eyeing Muichirou, who was ruffling through his own bag. Zenitsu dragged out the notebook, and tucked it behind him, only looking up when a shadow loomed over him. 

"Hello," said a tall man, long hair encompassing his stoic face, eyes big and boring into the very depths of the blond's soul.

Zenitsu blinked, once, twice, three times, before nodding his head in acknowledgement. "Hello," he greeted back. "Um, you're Giyuu, right? I've spoken to you a couple times before."

"Yes," came the curt response. "You are the loud blond from the freshman floor. This is my boyfriend Sabito," he introduced, bringing a hand up to point towards a slightly shorter man with peach hair, who waved at him. 

"Uh, yeah, I remember him." A pause. "We've met before?" No one spoke. "Uzui introduced me to you guys when you kissed at the fountain!" 

"Ohh, I remember that!" Sabito exclaimed, snapping his fingers. "It's nice to formally meet you," he smiled, extending his hand out for a handshake. 

Zenitsu grabbed his hand, and allowed himself to be pulled up to his feet, greeting both of them before the couple went to greet the rest of the group. He shuffled around, watching (like a creep) as everyone undressed, Rengoku's sun-kissed thighs being revealed to the warm, humid air of the beach, Uzui's profound pecs flexing as he pulled off his shirt, Inosuke's abs glistening in the summer heat from where he exposed them, Tanjirou's surprisingly prominent back muscles bulging as he worked off his clothes, Muichirou's flat, ever-so-slightly defined stomach and long, slim legs.

Zenitsu down on his bottom lip, looking down at his body. His hand massaged the sides of his stomach, squeezing, furrowing his brows at the skin that slipped through his fingers. He prodded the skin there, frowning at the layer of pudge layered over his stomach. Zenitsu looked back up at Rengoku and Uzui's muscular bodies, abdomens flat and covered with a layer of tightened abs. 

He chose to keep his shirt on. 

"So," Uzui began, hands resting on his hips. "What do you guys wanna do first?" 

Inosuke opened his mouth to respond, but before he could get anything out, Zenitsu cut in and shouted "Beach volleyball! Teams are Tanjirou and Inosuke, me and Muichirou."

Giyuu furrowed his brows. "What about the rest of us?" He asked. 

The blond waved him off as he pulled Muichirou closer, pushing the almost-forgotten Mission Notebook they made together towards him. He ignored the younger's quiet snort in lieu of responding to the older man. "I don't care about you guys, go on whatever team you'd like." 

"Bruh." 

Uzui laughed, clapping his hand onto Rengoku's shoulder, who was silently shaking his head in mild disappointment. "Fine then, I'll be with Muichirou and Zenitsu." 

"I'll join you," added Sabito, walking over to the silver-haired man. They grinned, shaking hands, a glint in their eyes as they stood side-by-side. 

"Me and Kyojurou will be with Tanjirou and...Inosuke, then," Giyuu said, hesitating when he noticed the strong glares the younger two were throwing at each other.  "Um. Does anyone have a ball or...?" 

"Oh! Yeah, it's right here," Sabito said in response, grabbing the inflatable beach ball off the sandy ground and tossing it over to his boyfriend. 

"Okay," Uzui grinned. "Let's play!"

Notes:

the more i write, just in general, the more i realize i am TERRIBLE at ending things lmfao

(also, potentially 3 more fanfics coming out, idk when, or if i will actually post them, but look out for them, if i do)

Chapter 19: Underwater kiss? Not in my household

Notes:

i finished the kny manga

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

"Zenitsu, right here!" Sabito called, ready to receive the ball and pass it over to the opposing team. Zenitsu hummed in acknowledgement, tossing it over to the peach-haired man and cheering when Giyuu was unable to successfully toss it over to Rengoku, letting his team score a point. Him and Sabito cheered, high-fiving and began trash-talking the opposing team while Giyuu slowly shifted away from them.

"Sorry," he apologized, standing stiffly off to the side while Inosuke laughed at his incompetence. "The water makes it hard to walk."

Rengoku smiled, warm and comforting, effortlessly easing Giyuu's uneasiness while Zenitsu and Sabito continued to scream at them. "It's all good, man!" He said, clapping him on his bare shoulder. Giyuu flinched a little, but was otherwise unaffected. "Just have fun, don't worry about actually winning," the other man continued. 

"Hey!" Tanjirou cut in, pushing off Inosuke who was screaming in his face. "No! We have to win," he cried, ignoring Inosuke who was now trying to pull him down. 

"Yeah!" Uzui called out from the other side of the net, leaning heavily on Muichirou. "If you lose, you pay for the drinks," he added, smirking as he pushed his hair out of his face. 

"But what if we lose?" Muichirou asked, peering up at the older man. 

He shrugged, pushing himself off of the younger teen and getting into position when he noticed Rengoku picking up the ball again. "Then I pay, I guess. You guys are too broke to afford anything on your own."

"Wow, Uzui on his sugar daddy arc," Muichirou joked, also getting himself ready. 

"And that," Sabito started to say, "is my cue to leave." 

Uzui snorted as Muichirou rolled his eyes, Zenitsu not paying attention to the conversation at hand and instead preoccupied with staring at Inosuke and Tanjirou. They seemed to be arguing, but the noise of the people around them and waves crashing against the wet sand drowned out whatever they were saying, even with his keen ears. He sighed quietly, under his breath so no one could hear. 

He had no time to wallow in self-pity, for Rengoku was getting ready to serve. Zenitsu squatted, widening his stance and stabilizing himself as the older man threw the ball up into the air and slammed it over to him and his team. He leaped forward, the water around him rising up into the air and splashing around. He smacked the ball over to Giyuu, who pushed it back to Muichirou. 

The raven-haired teen stumbled for a second, but still managed to hit the ball over to Inosuke, even as he went tumbling down into the water. He was ignored by everyone, left to his own devices as they all waited for Inosuke to make his move. 

The boy leaped forward, and just as his palm was about to make contact with the ball, Tanjirou jumped in, pushing him away. "Dude!" Inosuke shouted, dragging Tanjirou down with him as they both went down into the water. 

"Let go, the ball's gonna fall!" Tanjirou shouted back, trying to claw Inosuke's arms off his waist. "Let go! Shit--Inosuke, LET GO!" 

"No! This is what you get for--don't hit me!" 

"I'm trying to push you off me!" The two continued to fight, and they were ignored for the most part, Giyuu making his way over to them to grab the ball and continue the game. 

Unfortunately for him, just as he reached out to take it, Tanjirou's elbow moved backwards. There was a loud smack as it made contact with his nose, and he groaned. 

"Okay! That's enough volleyball, I think," Rengoku announced, checking on Giyuu. Inosuke and Tanjirou parted, finally, and the latter at least had the decency to look guilty. "It doesn't seem broken," he said to the man. "And not bruised either. Just ice it and you'll feel better in no time!"

"Thanks..." Giyuu responded, holding his nose and wincing as he got out of the water. His boyfriend met up with once he was out, and handed him a tissue with ice. Rengoku watched as they both made their way under the shade, Sabito seemingly laughing at Giyuu while he was sulking. 

He smiled at the scene. 

"He's fine, right?" Tanjirou asked, coming up behind the man. He brought his hands together, wringing them absent-mindedly. "Like, I didn't hurt him too bad or anything?" 

Rengoku turned his gaze down to the maroon-haired teen, and smiled gently. He brought his hand up to caress the top of his head, mussing up the boy's hair. "He's fine, don't worry."

"If you're sure..."

"I am. Believe me, he's completely fine." 

Tanjirou nodded, though he still seemed a little hesitant. "Do you want me to buy the drinks for us? I don't mind," he offered. 

"Me and Rengoku will take care of that," Uzui cut in, sliding behind Rengoku and throwing his arm over his shoulder. "Speaking of, now is a good time to buy some. Wanna go?" He asked the shorter. 

He shrugged. "Sure. You want anything specific?" He said to Tanjirou. 

The boy hummed slightly before he replied. "Anything fruity works for me. I know Zenitsu likes sour drinks, and Inosuke prefers energy drinks. Muichirou...he's into Sprite, I'm pretty sure, but anything works for him, I think."

Uzui and Rengoku nodded as they memorized all of that, and waved goodbye to the younger man, before they headed off to the concession area, leaving Tanjirou standing alone in the middle of the water. 

He swam his way back to the remaining trio, and asked what they wanted to do while they waited for the older men to return. 

"I'm tired, so I'm going to lay down with Giyuu," Muichirou said, stretching his arms over his head before sighing. "Wanna come with?" He asked Zenitsu, who was distracted ogling Inosuke's muscles glistening in the sun's rays. 

"Zenitsu?" Tanjirou called when the former didn't respond. He waved his hand in front of his face, snapping him out of his stupor. 

"Huh? Oh, uh. What did you say, sorry?"

Muichirou shook his head, tightening his jaw as he turned to walk away, muttering under his breath. "Whatever," he said, putting on his sunglasses. 

"Um, ignoring that," the maroon-haired teen started to say, "I'm going back to check on Giyuu. Do you guys plan to stay here?" 

"I do," Inosuke replied, stretching his neck side to side. 

"I’ll stay with him,” Zenitsu added, forcing himself to rip his eyes away from the other’s muscled body. Oh, how he wished to run his hands down his—

“Okay! Have fun,” Tanjirou exclaimed, waving back at them as he swam back to shore. Zenitsu watched his retreating back, watching him even after he had turned around and faced forward, attention now turned to Giyuu, who seemed to be speaking to him. 

Finally, he looked away, smiling at Inosuke, ignoring the quizzical look he had given him, and instead, feeling bold, grabbed his hand and dragged him further into the water. 

The two of them fell beneath the water's surface, water entering their noses and eyes screwed shut, holding tightly onto each other. A few moments later, Zenitsu opened his eyes, the murky water fogging up his vision slightly, and he was surprised to see that Inosuke already had his eyes open, the green of his irises almost glowing. The two looked at each other for as long as possible, holding their breaths, and the blond couldn't help but find it cute how Inosuke puffed his cheeks out. 

Their hands, still holding on to one another, were pushed in front of their faces, and Inosuke, breaking eye-contact with Zenitsu, interlocked their fingers. He smiled, soft and warm, lemonade on a hot summer day, gentle kisses beneath the dim light of the moon, and the blond's yearning hit him harder than it ever had before. 

Zenitsu pulled his hand away as the two of them resurfaced, panting as he brushed aside his bangs. He glanced to his side, observing the younger as he threw his head back, shaking water off his face and hair, droplets flying off in all directions. 

Neither of them said a word, feeling more than comfortable in the quiet they now found themselves in. It was the good quiet, the kind of quiet that you paint your nails in, the kind of quiet that you wake up to, the kind of quiet that made Zenitsu want to be with him. 

Inosuke squinted into the distance, blocking the sun's rays with his hand. "Oi," he called to the blond, brining a hand to rest against his shoulder, warm and grounding. Zenitsu's skin tingled beneath the cloth where his hand touched. "I think they're calling us back," he said, pointing to where it looked like Tanjirou was waving them down.

"Okay," he replied. He jumped slightly when the other's calloused palm slid off his clothed shoulder, sliding down his arm until it interlocked with his hand. He squeezed slightly, and pulled Zenitsu along with him through the water, back up to shore. 

The blond blushed throughout the whole ordeal, but couldn't find it in him to move away, instead allowing himself to be dragged forward towards the rest of the group. They both pulled themselves onto the sandy beach, warm and grainy beneath their feet, and Zenitsu had to force his hand not to chase after Inosuke's once he finally pulled away.

There were two new people sitting with them, a girl Zenitsu recognized from a while ago, and a boy with two different colored eyes. Holy shit they were both hot as fuck.

The girl wore a purple wrap-around bikini, a transparent skirt paired with it, and a sun hat sitting atop her multicolored hair. The boy, on the other hand, wore a black floral Hawaiian shirt, left unbuttoned, and it was safe to assume the two were dating considering they were holding hands, but even so, Zenitsu couldn't help but stare at them. 

"So, we lied," Uzui started to say, and Zenitsu snapped his gaze away from the couple to look at him, where he saw him and Rengoku carrying a bunch of snow cones. "We didn't get drinks. And also we found some friends of ours, so say hello to Mitsuri," he pointed at the girl with pink hair. "And Obanai."

"Hi hi!" Mitsuri cheered, smiling brightly and waving at them. Muichirou waved back, choosing to eat his snow cone rather than waste time talking. "It's good to see you again!” She said to him, letting go of her boyfriend and instead running off to the raven-haired teen. “How did your date with Zenitsu go?”

“His what?”

”Date?”

”Isn’t he a minor?” 

“I thought Zenitsu was a straight.”

”OKAY, first of all, it was not a date!” Zenitsu rushed to explain, his face burning. “Second, how did you think I was straight? I talk more about boys than girls.” 

Rengoku shrugged. The blond rolled his eyes. 

“So, to reiterate,” Tanjirou butt in, moving so he was positioned behind Zenitsu, a protective hand on his shoulder. “You two are not dating, correct?”

”Yes, I promise. We aren’t dating.” 

“Good,” Inosuke added, glaring at Muichirou as he chomped down onto his snow cone.

The teen rolled his eyes, moving to sit with Uzui and Rengoku on one of the lounging chairs instead of staying with the blond and his self-acclaimed bodyguards.

Zenitsu didn't notice how Inosuke and Tanjirou began to follow him around, even as he picked up a cherry snow cone from Uzui and sat with Giyuu and Obanai, who were having a conversation he couldn't be bothered to listen to. Instead, he chose to eat his snow cone and listen to Muichirou and Inosuke ramble about the new anime that dropped this week. 

He was distracted watching Inosuke laugh, with his pretty eyes screwed shut and wheezing that sounded like it hurt, pale skin flushed and neck exposed, that he didn't notice his cone dripping off the side until it fell on his shirt and he jumped from the shock of the cold. 

"Oh, Zenitsu! You got it on your shirt," Tanjirou chastised, pulling him up by his hands and closer to the water, away from everyone, using the water of the beach as he scraped the shaved ice off and attempted to wash away the stain. He clicked his tongue when he noticed it was only spreading the stain, and so he asked Zenitsu to take off his shirt. "It's better if you do, you're already wet and it might just make you sick," he explained. 

“Huh? Ah, wait—“ The blond blushed as the maroon-haired teen’s rough hands pushed up his shirt, and, forgetting why he was feeling nervous about it in the first place, allowed Tanjirou to pull the shirt over his head. 

Then, and only then, did he notice his untoned stomach compared to Tanjirou’s, and he remembers everyone else’s built bodies. He hunched into himself, now overly conscious of his body now on display to the maroon-haired teen.

“Zenitsu,” Tanjirou whispered, low, quiet, and the blond shivered at the breath of air hitting the shell of his ear. “You’re really pretty,” he continued, looking directly into the blond’s eyes. “Like, really pretty.”

”Uhm? Tanjirou, I don't--I don't know--huh?" The blond stammered, hands coming up to rest themselves on the other’s shoulders.

He started to lean in, slow, hesitant, his ever so captivating maroon irises continuously flicking down to the blond’s lips. 

Are we about to kiss right now?

They’re close, so close. Zenitsu can practically feel Tanjirou’s lips on his, can almost taste his breath. “Zenitsu,” Tanjirou whispered. “Can I…can I kiss you?” 

 

Notes:

sorry this chapter is late, i was JUST getting back into my initial schedule :(
also sorry for the super basic ending, im trying to pace things well but now im scared the ideas i already have for the beach arc (LOL) wont be enough for next chapter

thats future me’s problem tho, for now, hope u enjoyed this chapter, even if it was highkey basic and lowkey trash

again, plugging my twitter

Chapter 20: That wasn’t a very Poggers moment bro

Notes:

TRIGGER WARNING for this chapter: there’s a scene where Zenitsu is non-consensually hit on by 2 boys, and it escalates into (not super explicit) sexual harassment in case thats a trigger for any of you (it doesn’t escalate from there, but still)

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

“Can I kiss you?” Tanjirou asked again, the blond frozen in place. 

No way this is real, he thought to himself. Am I dreaming?

Zenitsu watched Tanjirou as he leaned in, his sparkling maroon eyes flicking back and forth from his lips to his eyes. The blond stayed deathly still, scared that even the slightest movement would ruin the moment; he wasn’t even breathing anymore. 

Just as their lips were centimeters apart, breaths overlapping with one another, noses touching, so, so close to kissing, Inosuke stomped over to the two of them, and Zenitsu, having been startled, ripped away from Tanjirou, who looked just as surprised. 

The muscular teen squinted at them, suspicious, and crossed his arms over his chest. “You guys good?” He asked. “Why do you guys look like that?” 

“I-it’s nothing, Inosuke, what’s up? Did you need something from me?” Tanjirou hurried to say, diverting the conversation. 

Zenitsu tried not to scream out loud as he thought about how close he was to finally getting somewhere with Tanjirou, again , but he said nothing and instead listened attentively to the younger teen speak. 

“Rengoku asked if you could help him grill the barbeque,” Inosuke explained, thumb pointed behind him. 

Tanjirou sighed quietly, a brief exhale of air, before smiling and nodding at the teen before him, telling him he would be glad to help. “Um...wanna walk back with me, Zenitsu?” He asked, his hand rubbing at the back of his neck, sheepish, a sort of boyish charm seeping in through his flustered state. 

The blond smiled, and, wow, he has been very bold today, held his hand out for the tan boy to grab. 

Tanjirou flushed, but nonetheless gripped the other’s hand tightly in his own, fingers interlocked as they walked side-by-side, Inosuke walking a few steps ahead of them.

It seemed as though he were talking to them, because he suddenly turned around, pointing at them. Tanjirou and Zenitsu paused where they were, as did Inosuke. For a solid five second, all three of them were left staring at one another until finally, Inosuke took the initiative and stepped forward to grab Zenitsu’s other hand. 

He said nothing as he weaved his fingers through the blond’s softer, more delicate ones, swinging their linked hands together as all three of them walked back to the group. 

“Ah, Tanjirou!” Rengoku exclaimed, grinning wide as he waved the boy over to where him, Sabito, and Uzui were. Tanjirou let go of Zenitsu’s hand, and waved bye to him as he jogged over to the older men in need of his help. 

Zenitsu was left standing looking at the hand that was previously holding Tanjirou’s, and he blushed thinking about how he was the one who initiated it. 

However, Inosuke didn’t give him much time to think about it, instead dragging him along to sit close to where the grilling was happening, but not too close. He pulled the blond down to sit on the ground, where it seemed Muichirou was once again left alone with the adults. 

Although, it didn’t seem like he was complaining. In fact, who looked comfortable sitting where he was, his feet resting on Giyuu’s thighs while Mitsuri played with his hair, braiding it in a similar style as hers, while she conversed with both Obanai and Giyuu. 

“I think you should paint your nails purple, I’ll paint mine pink, Muichirou will be teal, and Giyuu will be blue! We can match! Wouldn’t that be super cute?” He heard Mitsuri say to them. It looked as if Giyuu was seriously contemplating it, while Obanai was complaining about purple not being a ‘dark enough color.’

Time passed with Inosuke and Zenitsu sitting and half-listening to the conversations happening around them, occasionally providing their own comments, though they spent most of the time to themselves. 

“Do you think we should do that?” Zenitsu asked, observing his own nails. Reminder, stop chewing your nails. 

“Huh? Do what?” Inosuke asked, pulling his lips away from the drink he stole from Muichirou. Zenitsu pretended not to notice the trail of spit dripping down the side of the boy’s chin. 

“Paint our nails,” he explained, taking the other’s hand in his own. “We could each pick a color and then paint our nails using those two colors, like an off and on pattern.” 

“I choose green,” the younger said, pulling the straw of his soda back into his mouth and sipping it, enjoying the gentle strokes of Zenitsu’s fingers on the back of his hand. 

“I’ll choose lavender then.” 

“That’s kinda random,” Inosuke laughed, more of the drink spilling down his mouth. 

“What? Choosing lavender?” 

“Yeah, I thought you would pick like...yellow or something.” Inosuke continued, finally bringing his hand up to wipe away the liquid that was slowly starting to dry on his face. 

Zenitsu tilted his head, smiling slightly. “Am I really that basic? I chose lavender because its Tanjirou’s favorite scent.” 

“Oh. I didn’t know that.” 

“Maybe ‘cause you don’t bother to listen to him,” Zenitsu snorted, standing up. “I’m gonna check on Uzui and Rengoku. You coming?” 

“No, fuck you. I’ll stay here, content and comfortable, and stay not listening to that fivehead freak.” 

The blond rolled his eyes, choosing not to dignify the younger teen with a response as he walked over to where the others were grilling the meat. 

The scent of the food wafted through the air, infiltrating his nose as he got closer to it. It was mouthwatering, clearly spicy and juicy based off just the smell alone. Zenitsu peeked over Uzui’s shoulder, the sound of the meat sizzling as it cooked, and asked if he could have a piece. 

“Only this one,” Sabito said to him, holding up a drumstick. “Otherwise you’ll get full and then won’t eat with us. Okay? Don’t get full, Zenitsu. I’m putting my trust in you.” 

The blond licked his lips, agreeing hastily, and quickly bit into the chicken once Sabito allowed him to take it. It was really fucking good. 

And also spicy.

”Fuck! Do you have water?” He asked, panting, his tongue sticking out of his mouth as he tried to mellow down the spice.

”Ah, there’re drinks in the cooler over there,” Tanjirou replied. 

Zenitsu ran over to where Tanjirou pointed, grabbing a drink and chugging it down, too preoccupied to notice the presence behind him until he turned around. He jumped, startled, but was otherwise seemingly unbothered by the two men standing before him, a brunette and a redhead. 

”Oh, sorry,” the one with darker hair said, smiling down at him. “Didn’t mean to scare ya.” 

“It’s fine,” Zenitsu quipped, and, assuming that was the end of the conversation, tried to sidestep them. 

He blinked once, twice, three times when the other man stepped in front of him, effectively blocking his way and forcing him to stay put. “I don’t think we got your name, baby,” he practically purred, leaning down into Zenitsu’s personal space. 

“Ah, well, um. My name is Zenitsu.” 

“Pretty name. Guess that’s expected from someone as cute as you,” the brunette added, winking at him as he pushed up the sunglasses obscuring his face. Now fully uncovered, the blond had to admit the stranger was conventionally handsome, a strong jawline supporting his face and purple eyes that looked like none he had seen before.

That didn’t make this situation any less fun, though.  

“Right…um, can you move? I’m trying to get back to my friends,” Zenitsu explained, slowly getting more and more uncomfortable the longer he stayed in the two boys’ presence. It was even worse now that he was shirtless, as the two of them were clearly ogling his body, the redhead even go so far as to put his hand on his waist. 

But, up until this point, nothing drastic had happened, and he didn’t want to cause a scene when unnecessary, so he stayed passive, just silently wishing they would get the damn hint and leave him the fuck alone. It wasn’t as if he could just punch them and walk away casually because, again, they hadn’t really pulled anything. He would be the only one facing consequences.

That was, of course, until Zenitsu felt the redhead’s hand slip lower down his body, fingers dipping beneath the waistband of his trunks as his other hand moved to lay over the curve of his butt. 

He froze. Was he…was he allowed to punch his way out of the situation? Or would he still be the one in trouble? Should he just remove the man’s hand and walk away, or would that not be enough? Would they continue to chase after him? There were so many questions wracking around in his brain that he didn’t notice there were now two other people with him until the hands on his body were gone, and he his body had relaxed.

“I don’t think he’s comfortable having your hands on him,” he heard someone say, and looking up, saw that it was Tanjirou. God, he could cry just from seeing him. “That’s your cue to fuck off before I let my buddy have his way with you,” the boy continued, Zenitsu only now noticing Inosuke standing behind them, his fist clenched tightly and ready to strike at any moment. 

“We’re going, we’re going. How were we supposed to know he was your boyfriend? Sheesh,” the brunette male replied, grabbing his friend by the arm. The three of them watched as the men grew more and more distant, and only when they were completely out of sight did Inosuke relax and pull Zenitsu towards him. 

It took a moment for the blond to realize he was being hugged. 

It took a few more moments for him to actually bring his arms up to reciprocate the embrace. 

“You okay?” He heard Inosuke say, his chest rumbling against Zenitsu’s face as he spoke. The blond nodded, and after allowing himself to stay in the other’s warm embrace for a little longer, pulled away. 

“Yeah, I’m okay. Thanks though, both of you. For, you know, coming to help me.” 

Tanjirou smiled, gentle and soft, loving and kind, and Zenitsu felt his chest physically constrict as the smile was thrown directly at him. “Of course,” he said, patting his head. 

The blond picked up the drink that fell out of his hands when he first was startled, and if anyone saw his hands shaking, they didn’t comment on it. 

The three of them started making their way back to the others, and as they were walking, Zenitsu spoke up. “What made you guys actually come over to where I was?” He asked, curious. Had it been obvious that something was wrong? 

“We were just gonna call you back to eat,” Inosuke replied, shoving his hands into his pockets. “Didn’t know something was up until we got close." 

The blond hummed in acknowledgment, but dropped the subject as they had reached Sabito, who was passing out plates filled with food to everyone. He waved at them in greeting, handing each one of them a plate with their preferred foods on it, and Zenitsu went to sit with Muichirou, realizing they hadn't spoken a lot today. 

Although he didn't know why Tanjirou and Inosuke were following him, but he chose to ignore that small detail. 

"Hey," he greeted as he sat down, flicking the young teen on his forehead. 

"Ugh," Muichirou groaned, rubbing the reddened spot on his skin. "This is, like, the first time you've spoken to me all day and that's what you do? I question my friendship with you." 

Zenitsu rolled his eyes, scoffing as he shoved Muichirou, making the man drop the food he was raising towards his lips. Still, even as he faked annoyance, he couldn’t help but feel immensely grateful at the normalcy of being with Muichirou after what had happened just moments before.

“Dude,” the raven-haired teen complained. “Don’t be a prick.” 

“You are what you eat,” the blond said, smugly popping a piece of chicken into his mouth, priding himself in his truly amazing, groundbreaking, ultra-original remark.

”…You eat pricks?”

”Damn, wait, I messed up,” he muttered,  rethinking what it was he had actually meant to say. 

“When don’t you, is the real question?” 

The two of them continued to bicker back and forth with each other while Inosuke and Tanjirou watched, and neither of them noticed when the latter tapped the blue-haired boy on his leg and walked away, a decent distance away from the group.

“Tanjirou? What’s up?” Inosuke questioned, goosebumps forming on his arms as the chill of the night slowly seeped into his skin.

”I’m just gonna be frank with you, alright?” He started, inhaling deeply before slowly letting out his breath, calming himself. “I’m in love with Zenitsu.”

”…So am I.”

Notes:

i wrote 75% of this chapter at 1-3 am i apologize if it feels off

also HAPPY BIRTHDAY TANJIROU AND IZUKU ILY BOTH SM

also also, i plan on rewriting this whole story once its done bc im aware there are a lot of discrepancies and inconsistencies. im gonna take my time with it and make sure the story is a lot more smooth, but i will still keep all the events.

Chapter 21: Zenitsu do be lacking serotonin right now

Notes:

unbetad and written at 2am last night, good luck reading that lmao

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Zenitsu didn’t know how it got to this. He didn’t understand, nor did he believe it. It was simply...too unbelievable. 

“Zenitsu? Did you hear us?” Tanjirou asked, waving a hand in front of his face. 

“Earth to Goldilocks!” Inosuke shouted, and the blond finally snapped out of his stupor. 

“Uh, could you repeat that?” He asked, still in disbelief. 

Tanjirou pursed his lips. “You weren't listening, were you?”

“No! No, I was. Listening, I mean. It’s just…” Zenitsu bit at his bottom lip. “Could you just repeat yourself so I know I'm not misunderstanding?”

The younger boy sighed, but he smiled, albeit apprehensively, and said “Inosuke and I have been talking to each other for a bit. Ever since we went to the beach with Uzui and the others. And...we’re romantically interested in each other now. So we wanted to let you know that we’ve started dating.” 

Zenitsu felt his heart shatter in two. One half for each of them. “That’s awesome! I’m happy for you guys.”

Inosuke squinted his eyes. “Is that so?”

“Yup! Why wouldn’t I be? You guys look cute together.”

“Oh, really?” Inosuke said, his eyes narrowing even further, and God, could they please leave him alone now?

Tanjirou sighed, and it almost looked as if he were disappointed for a second there, but the expression quickly passed and was replaced by a signature smile of his.

It didn’t reach his eyes. 

“Well, that’s all we had to say. Now that that’s out of the way, you feel like hanging out? The last time we saw you was forever ago.”

Zenitsu shifted his weight from one foot to the other, his eyes darting around. “I actually have plans with, uhm, with Muichirou. We’re going down to the studio to meet up with Uzui.” 

“We can come with you!” Tanjirou suggested, latching on to the door frame with his arm. 

“N-no, that’s okay. I’m sure you guys have other plans.”

“Not really,” Inosuke said.  “And even if we did, we wanna hang out with you.”

The blond chuckled awkwardly, a hand coming up to rub at the back of his neck. “But we always hang out. Are you sure you haven’t gotten bored of me yet?” 

“No.”

“We would never!” 

“Zenitsu, the last time we really spoke to each other was when we went to the beach. And that was a month ago.” 

“Has it really been that long? Wow, time sure does pass by fast. Ah, speaking of which, I really should get going, Muichirou is waiting for me. Uhm, see you later!” 

And he took off, running faster than he ever had in his life. His Grandpa would have been proud of the speed he was producing. 

“That was...weird,” Tanjirou said, watching the blond’s retreating back.

“This is stupid!” Inosuke shouted, throwing his arms into the air. “He’s not gonna fucking do anything about his crush, and we’re only making it worse. Whose idea was it to pretend like we’re dating?!” 

“It was mine, but you agreed, so shut up and start acting like a man. He’s obviously not happy about this either, so at the very least, we now know for a fact that he likes us.” 

“Yeah, that’s cool and all, but now what? We keep ‘dating’ until he gives up on us and moves on? Nice plan, dumbass.”

“Shut up. I’ll figure the rest out soon.” 

Inosuke sighed. “You better.” 

 

 

“They’re what?” Uzui shouted, dropping the paintbrush he was holding. He cursed as paint splattered against his shirt, and tried to wipe the stain away before quickly giving up. 

“Dating,” Zenitsu repeated, his face buried in his arms. 

“Are-are you sure? Maybe you misheard--”

“Uzui, he said it twice. I’m sure.” 

The silver haired man cursed again, and he and Muichirou both seemed at a loss of what to say. 

The younger silently passed Zenitsu a chocolate bar, and he tried not to cry when Muichirou tentatively touched his shoulder. 

This was the worst day of his life. Even worse than the day he found out he was adopted. 

In hindsight, however, he should have realized this was going to happen. Tanjirou and Inouske had gotten suspiciously closer to each other ever since they went out to the beach all those weeks ago. 

And, wasn’t this his goal, anyway? He should be happy; he and Muichirou spent countless hours mulling over ways to get the two of them together. 

If only he knew it was going to hurt this much. 

He sighed, and buried his face even deeper into his arms. He heard some shuffling, and felt a presence loom over him. Suddenly, hands were on him and pulling him up. It took a second for Zenitsu to realize he was getting manhandled into a hug. 

Once he realized what was happening, he let Uzui pull him into his broad chest, and he breathed in the older man’s scent, finally letting the tears he had been pushing back spill from his eyes. He openly sobbed, chest heaving as his hands came around to grasp the back of his shirt. 

His eyes burned, his nose was dripping, and slick was dripping down his chin. Overall, he looked like shit. Felt like it too. It was insanely gross. 

Despite this, Uzui pulled him impossibly closer, his warm palm cradling the back of his head as he gently rocked the two of them back and forth. Zenitsu felt like a child being comforted by his mother, and that thought made him cry even harder, for some reason. 

Eventually, a second pair of arms came around his waist to embrace him, and a face shoved itself against Zenitsu’s back. Small hands clutched at the front of his waist. 

Zenitsu continued to cry in Muichirou and Uzui’s embrace, sandwiched between both of their chests. They grounded him, even as he drowned himself in his sorrow, crying tears endlessly, and it felt like he wouldn’t ever stop crying. 

Fuck, it really wasn’t that deep. People got together all the time so why was he so hurt this time? Sure, he had a crush on the two of them, but that was all it was; a crush. So why did it feel like his entire life was falling apart?

Maybe, a voice in the back of his mind spoke, because you were in love with them. 

Zenitsu cried harder. 


A week passed, and Zenitsu drowned himself into his studies, spending every minute working either on his school work or on commissions. 

He was, quite obviously, overworking himself. 

But what else was he supposed to do? Actually focus on his emotions and work them out like a healthy adult? 

Ha! Funny.

It was unpleasant, of course, constantly feeling like he was a rubber band being stretched thin, ready to snap at any second. But it made him forget about Inosuke and Tanjirou, and it let him stop feeling like he was seconds away from yanking his hair out. 

So yeah, Zenitsu ended up drowning himself in work, sleepless nights awaiting him day after day, headaches every morning and red, bloodshot eyes quickly becoming part of his normal appearance. 

He sighed, fingers clicking against his mouse as he maneuvered the cursor around his screen. He checked the clock in the corner, and the low battery seemed to be mocking him.

He should sleep. It was already so late, and he needed to be up early for a lecture tomorrow morning. The blond saved his work, double, then triple checking it, and shut down his computer. He plugged it in, and pulled himself to bed. 

His head hit the pillow, and he rolled onto his back to stare up at the ceiling. God, he missed them. He missed their stupid faces, their stupid smiles, theire stupid laughs, and the stupid feeling they gave him whenever either of them was around. God, he missed Inosuke and Tanjirou so damn much. 

But it was better for him to stay away from them. Not for forever, of course, but just until Zenitsu could be in their presence without immediately bursting into tears. He turned onto his side, inhaling deeply as he tried to push away thoughts of the two of them. 

It didn’t really...hurt anymore. To know that they were together. It had more to do with jealousy rather than hurt. 

But that only meant it was another problem he needed to wait out.

He closed his eyes, and let the sweet embrace of sleep pull him into another dreamless night. 

The morning came and went, Zenitsu going to all his classes and doing his work early, as usual. It was just another mundane day spent with him doing his absolute best to avoid Tanjirou and Inosuke. Which was harder than it should have been, thanks to their dorms being on the same floor. But not too difficult once it actually came down to going to classes.

He sighed, stretching his tired limbs over his head and rubbing at his bloodshot eyes. He should sleep more, he noted, but then remembered that most nights he found himself dreaming of a life with Inosuke and Tanjirou, a life that he would never get to have. 

Better to stay awake. 

The blond pulled out his laptop from under his bed, and opened it up, shoving away memories of spending time with them as they watched anime together, sandwiched between them. He quickly typed in his password and pulled up his usual streaming site. Scrolling through the different selections, he chose a random anime on his home page, deciding to give it a chance. 

He sat through the first episode, then the second, then the third, and he kept watching the anime. If he was being honest, the anime really wasn’t the best, mostly plotless and all over the place, but considering it was slice-of-life, that should have been expected. Still, even though he wasn’t usually the biggest fan of the genre, he found himself addicted to watching the smiling little 2D pixels on his screen, watching them laugh, cry, scream--watch them be human. It was refreshing, somehow, for him to see. As though the emotions they were experiencing were genuine.

There was one episode where the main male character realized that he finally had people around him--he had friends, a girlfriend, people who cared for him and liked him, people that wanted to spend time with him. Zenitsu watched the character on screen break down, crying, overwhelmed once he realized that he finally was happy and had gotten everything that he had wished for. 

Zenitsu found himself breaking down along with him. While the character cried tears of joy, Zenitsu cried tears of sorrow. Oh, how he wished that were him. What he would do to be able to get all that he wished for. It seemed that there was always something just of his reach, something that he wouldn’t be able to take for himself, and as selfish as it was, Zenitsu wanted everything. He wanted to have friends, he wanted to have romantic relationships, he wanted a boyfriend--no, he wanted Inosuke and Tanjirou to be his boyfriends. And, more than anything, he just wanted to finally let himself be selfish, to be able to take what he wanted and not feel bad about it. 

He choked on a sob coming up through his chest, and, clutching at his throat, he realized something: he could get what he wanted. He could have everything he wanted. 

All he needed to do was fight for it. 

How pathetic was he, sitting in his room, crying in the dark, alone, wishing he had what he didn’t have, when he never even tried to go for it? If you don’t like your situation, change it. Don’t just sit there and complain, he told himself. Get up and do something. Make yourself happy; don't sit and wait for happiness to come around. 

And so he yanked his bed sheets off his body, rubbing away the wetness on his face as he pulled on a pair of sneakers. He all but ran at his door, almost ripping it off its hinges as he threw himself across the hall. 

Before he could start to second guess his decision, Zenitsu knocked on the door in front of him. He didn’t have to wait too long before someone opened the door, although Tanjirou seemed to be slightly startled to see him. 

“Zenitsu--”

“Shut up,” he whispered, his voice hoarse after all the crying he did earlier, and, without really thinking about it, he pulled Tanjirou in and smashed their lips together. 

Notes:

yeah i have nothing to say

Chapter 22:  Mission get Tanjirou and Inosuke together: failed successfully 

Notes:

no one noticed, but the anime zenitsu watched was actually horimiya. miyamura is the only valid character, thanks for listening to my ted talk

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

He pulled Tanjirou in and smashed their lips together, teeth colliding. Tanjirou recoiled slightly from the impact, but he was quick to pull him back in, fingers stretching out the collar of his shirt. Their kiss was desperate, filled with emotions neither of them could put into words, filled with emotions that could only be expressed through actions, through this. Zentsu could taste the saltiness of the tears on his lips, but he was undeterred, pushing himself further into Tanjirou’s warm embrace. 

They clawed at each other, the kiss anything but gentle, almost animalistic with how they were pulling and pushing at each other’s mouths, trying to get deeper, trying to get closer, trying to imprint each other’s taste into their memory. Nails digging into each other’s biceps, the hand behind Zenitsu’s neck tightening as every second passed, bruising the outline of their lips into each other. 

Teeth nipped at his bottom lip, and Zenitsu couldn’t tell if the blood melting on his tongue was his or Tanjirou’s, but he pushed his tongue in deeper, delving into the smallest crevices of the other’s mouth, determined to map out every little detail. 

Tanjirou should be his. And Zenitsu wasn’t leaving without making it clear he wanted him. 

The younger teen whimpered against the blond’s mouth, allowing him to swallow the noise down as they ignored the need to breathe in order to have more of each other, in order to take in the other completely. Zenitsu wasn’t letting go until he devoured Tanjirou. 

“Who’s at the door?” 

Shit. 

Zenitsu ripped away from the maroon-haired teen, hand coming up to clutch at his mouth. What did he just do? 

“Z-zenitsu…” Came Tanjirou’s tentative voice, and the dark blush painting his tan skin a mesmerizing shade of pink made Zenitsu’s stomach drop. 

That sight wasn’t for him

He spared a glance at Inosuke, who was gripping the door frame so hard his knuckles were white. He was breathing heavily, his breath coming out in pants. Or was that his own breath? Zenitsu couldn’t tell anymore. But his vision was blurring, and he could barely discern which silhouette was Tanjirou and which was Inosuke. Noises blended together, sounds indiscernible as the blond struggled to comprehend what he had just done when suddenly everything went black.

Muttering. A lot of muttering. Two voices, it seemed like. They were hushed, for the most part, but urgent. Zenitsu groaned, wishing they would shut up and let him sleep more. 

“Is he awake?” One of the voices asked. 

“Check,” the other replied. 

You’re the one who kissed him!” 

Kissed? Someone kissed him?

Oh. Right. 

He bolted upright, blinking away the black spots staining his vision. He heard someone yelp, and a thud followed shortly after. His vision cleared slowly, and Zenitsu ignored the way his mouth dried out, reaching forward with a clammy hand to grab at Inosuke’s exposed shoulder. 

“I’m so sorry,” he croaked, throat sore and unused. “I wasn’t thinking, I didn’t mean to--I’m not trying to take away Tanjirou, or anything like that. I promise, it was just an accident, a mistake. Well, it wasn’t really an accident, I knew what I was doing. But not like that! I’ve just--uhm, I’ve had a crush on both you and Tanjirou for the longest time, and I know you guys are dating now or whatever, and that’s totally fine, I’m glad you’re happy, but I got all up in my head tonight and I wasn’t thinking straight, and I promise it won’t happen again. Well, I mean, unless you’re, like, cool with it, I guess, but--”

Two soft lips pressed against his own, effectively shutting him up and preventing him from continuinously rambling. It took a minute for Zenitsu to realize that he was being kissed, by Inosuke no less, and before he could think, a tongue poked out and slipped inside his mouth. He moaned softly, the intrusion of the tongue pleasurable and welcomed, and he hesitantly slid his hand up to graze Inosuke’s nape. Upon noticing no resistance, Zenitsu grew bolder, fingers interlacing themselves into the soft hairs of the other’s neck, allowing him to pull experimentally. The hearty groan it pushed out of Inosuke was so worth it.

All that time spent reading fanfiction finally paid off. 

Inosuke pulled away, resting his forehead against his own, and the blond immediately missed the weight of the other's lip on his. His lips sparked with electricity, and he brushed the pad of his fingertips against them, basking in the unfamiliar yet pleasant feeling. 

“That was a solid kiss,” Tanjirou’s voice called out from the floor, sitting cross legged and absolutely beaming, his bright smile lighting up the room, “Ten out of ten, would watch again.” 

Inosuke snorted, falling back into the bed--Tanjirou’s, Zenitsu recognized--and pulling the blond down with him, guiding his head to lay gently against his sturdy chest. The steady--if not slightly fast-paced-- thump-thump-thump of Inosuke’s heart put Zenitsu’s mind at ease, even as his heart raced due to their sudden close proximity. He sighed contently, choosing to relax in the warm embrace for a little while longer before he opened the conversation they definitely needed to have. 

He caught Tanjirou’s gaze, heat rising to his face as he witnessed the other’s eyes drop down to his lips. “C’mere, you dumbass,” he muttered, dragging Tanjirou in by his collar, allowing their lips to connect once again. 

The second kiss they shared was much more gentle than the first, still conveying the need they had for each other, but now with significantly less desperation. Their mouths danced together, a soft push and pull pattern that had Zenitsu feeling nothing but warmth inside him. He pulled away before the kiss could get any more frisky, knowing that they needed to communicate with each other before they did anything more. 

“So,” he began. 

“So,” the other responded. Zenitsu could feel more so than hear the snort Inosuke let out, his chest rumbling comfortingly beneath his cheek. 

“Wanna explain what just happened?” Tanjirou continued, propping his chin onto his bed, still sitting on the floor.
The blond groaned, hiding his face in his hands as his cheeks burned a violent red. “I already did,” he whined. “There isn’t more for me to say.” 

“Mm, I don’t know,” the tan boy teased, a lilt in his voice. “You were talking a little too fast for me to catch all of that.” 

Zenitsu shrugged, burrowing his face underneath the firm muscle of Inosuke’s arm to escape the other’s burning gaze. “I guess we’ll never know.”

“Oh, come on!” Tanjioru whined, pouting his pretty little lips. 

“Actually, let’s get serious,” Inosuke butt in, moving so that both him and Zenitsu were now sitting up, cross-legged and facing Tanjirou. “We need to talk about what happened, and what we’re going to do moving forward. Like, actually. I don’t wanna mess this up.” 

“Uhm, okay,” Zenitsu began, shifting so he was slightly more comfortable. “I like both of you. Have for a little bit now.”

“I mean, we did go on a date together,” Tanjirou chimed in, the tiniest of smiles pulling the corners of his lips upwards. “I sort of figured.”

“I never went on a date with him,” Inosuke retorted, huffing slightly. 

“You literally crashed ours, so it doesn’t even count,” the maroon-haired teen responded, flicking the other’s nose. Insouke grumbled under his breath, rolling his eyes and scowling before diverting his attention back to the blond. 

“How come you never actually said anything about your feelings, though?” He asked, hesitantly laying his hand on top of the blond’s, intertwining their fingers in a show of comfort. 

It was appreciated greatly. 

“Honestly…I was scared to say anything. It’s already stressful to confess to one person, let alone two, and to ask the both of you if you were willing to date me at the same time…there aren’t a lot of people willing to do that.” He snorted. “Also, me and Muichirou were trying to set you guys up.”

Tanjirou drew backwards a little, his nose scrunching up. “Us? Together? Funky.”

The blond’s head shot up. “Wait, so you don’t like Inosuke?”

He snorted. “Not until recently, no. We only ever developed romantic feelings for one another after we both started talking about how we liked you. ” 

“And as we started talking about you, we started noticing small details that hinted you felt the same way about us. That’s where Tanjirou’s brilliant plan to pretend to date in order to push you into taking action--or at least give us the undeniable sign that, yes, you do like us--came in.” Inosuke added, playing with Zenitsu’s pale fingers, tracing them gently with the dull edge of his nails. “At first we thought it backfired since you really started distancing yourself from us afterwards, and we were thinking of ways to come clean, but I guess the mission failed successfully.” 

“Not my best idea, I will admit that,” Tanjirou concluded, sheepishly gazing up at the two above him. 

“Wow,” Zenitsu laughed. “We’re really stupid, huh?” He sighed. “Honestly, if I had just listened to Uzui from the start, none of this would have happened, and we could have actually been together--I mean, only if you guys are willing to actually enter a relationship with all three of us,” he rushed to add, hands flying in front of him. 

Tanjirou smiled that sweet, gentle, heart-racing smile of his, standing and grabbing Zenitsu’s hands with his own, encompassing them with the comforting natural heat of his body. “No complaints from me,” he said to him, leaning down to softly press a kiss into the palm of the blond’s hand, smiling at the rush of pink to his cheeks. 

“I’m down,” Inosuke added, hooking his chin onto Zenitsu’s shoulder. He grinned, his expression slightly feral. 

“So,” Tanjirou drawled out, readjusting himself so he was laying half on Inosuke, half on the bed. “I guess we’re dating now, then?”

Zenitsu shrugged. “Guess so.”



“I’m happy for them,” Muichirou muttered. “I am. I really am. I’m happy for Zenitsu. He finally got the happiness he deserves.”

Uzui shut his eyes, ignoring the sharp pang in his chest as he watched his youngest friend struggle with his emotions. There was no winner here. 

“Muichirou,” he started, a large hand coming out to rest on his small shoulder, “Don’t do this to yourself. You saw what it did to Zenitsu--don’t let it happen to you.”

“It’s much easier said than done,” he hissed, digging his palms into his eyes. Though he could no longer see them, he could still hear the trio as they laughed together, making the mundane task of ordering ice cream seem like it was the best thing in the world. 

Muichirou wanted to hurl. 

“I don’t understand you,” Uzui added. “You did exactly what you were telling him not to do. Why would you knowingly put yourself in this situation?”

“Because,” he groaned. “Because I value his happiness over mine. Shit, I value everything about him more than I value my life. I just wanted to see him be truly happy for once. No matter what I tried…no matter what I said or did, nothing seemed to make him as genuinely happy as he was when I saw him talk about them. His eyes would sparkle, and his face would literally glow whenever he talked about them. I couldn’t…I couldn’t rip that away from him. I couldn’t be selfish enough to knowingly make him less happy with me, knowing that he would only ever be at ease with himself if he was with them.”

The older was silent for a little while. “And now what?” He asked quietly, watching the tremors wrack through the younger’s small frame. 

“Now I watch him be happy with people other than him."

Notes:

hey you guys. This is the last chapter for this series. Honestly it doesnt feel real that after this, i will have completed it. Its been almost 2 years (i think, dont quote me on that) since i started it. It kinda feels like a little bit of my life is ending lmaoo. I spent all my time thinking about what to write for the chapters, though i know a lot of them dont feel like it (cut me some slack, im still in highscool) so im very thankful to anyone who stuck who around with me on this journey. All the comments that were left on here mean the world to me, and im so glad there are people who genuinely enjoy my writing. Ill miss updating the story. Its 12 am and im getting emotional, my god. I actually decided not to go back and update previous chapters/rewrite them so that it could serve as a documentation of my improvement in writing. In other words, im lazy LMAOO. I love you all, and thanks for reading this story <3