KNY | The Mechanics Of Love (Tanjirou X Zenitsu)

Chapter 23 | The Morning After

Tanjirou's POV

I woke up on my back, facing the blank dusty ceiling. I hummed softly, my voice horse. Zenitsu was curled up next to my side, a thin arm over my chest. He snored slightly and half of his hair flopped onto the bed.

I stared at his soft, pale skin and long eyelashes. Clusters of small purple hickies dotted his neck, collar bone and a few on his shoulders. A reminder of everything that went on last night, I blushed a little. I shifted slightly in bed, then a dull pain ran through my shoulders and upper back. I cringed a little, 'I wonder when that happened?' I thought to myself.

Zenitsu shifted, groaned slightly and then his eyes fluttered open. The deep yellow orbs stared right at me with a sleepy gaze. Then his face broke into a soft smile.

"Good morning" he mumbled.

"Good morning" I replied, "How do you feel?"

He scrunched up his eyes and groaned in an exaggerated tone, "Ugh, soreness"

I laughed slightly then sat up, I was only in a pair of boxers. Zenitsu stifled a small gasp when I stood up from the bed.

"What, what is it?" I asked as I turned to look at him. He had wide eyes and a flushed face.

"Um, it's nothing" he mumbled as he turned to look down and fiddled with his hands.

"What's wrong? Really tell me" I said.

He shook his head 'no', "It's nothing, it'll go away in a while"

I gave him a confused look, "Is it my back?" I asked.

"Um..."

"What's wrong with it, do I have like a cut on it or something, it kinda hurts" I said.

"You definitely have some scratches on it" he nodded, "But they're not deep, nor require band aids. You'd probably be good with just some cream or something"

"Hm, alright" I said as I walked over to the bathroom.

I pulled a small handheld mirror out of the medicine cabinet and used it to reflect the image of the mirror on the wall above the sink and see the 'scratches' on my back.

Now I understood why Zenitsu was acting so embarrassed when he saw my back. I had long, thin scratches running down my back and shoulders. "Oh" I said, "I guess that explains it." I blushed at the thought of it, I hadn't even felt him digging his fingers into my back last night. Just like I had left a mark on his skin, he had left a mark on mine.

I walked back over to the dresser near the bed, I took out some grey sweatpants and pulled them on. I saw Zenitsu had moved to sit on the edge of the bed, though he wasn't moving, only gripping the sheets tightly.

"What's wrong?" I asked him softly.

"My butt hurts," he said plainly.

I laughed slightly, "Ok, here" I said as I handed him one of his pastel coloured hoodies. I saw the small, cold goosebumps on his arms.

"Thanks" he said as he pulled the hoodie over his bedhead.

"I'll get you some painkillers if you want," I offered.

He nodded, "Yeah that sounds good."

I brought him two small pills and a glass of water. He swiftly swallowed them then laid back down and pulled the sheets back over himself. "Didn't you say that you wanted fresh sheets?" I asked with a small chuckle.

"Yeah, I'll wait for you to get back from the store then" he said as he snuggled his head into one of the pillows while taking the other into his arms and hugging it.