One more time (Kamado Tanjirou x Agatsuma Zenitsu from Demon Slayer)

Part 3

Tanjirou loved Zenitsu. His smell, his hair, his eyes, everything about him made Tanjirou's day. But every time Tanjirou conversed with Zenitsu, he could smell a tinge of fear. Did Zenitsu fear Tanjirou? All those stammering, those mumbling, was he afraid? Tanjirou recalled the day Inosuke and the tsuguko approached Zenitsu while he was practicing with Tanjirou.

"Hey, are you two, like, lovers or something?"
Needless to say, it ended up in a heated, one-sided argument between Zenitsu and the others. So did Zenitsu hate Tanjirou so much that he didn't want to be his boyfriend?

"Tanjirou and I aren't dating, you idiots!! We would never go out with each other!"
Are the words that came out of Zenitsu's mouth. Tanjirou only laughed, but in truth, his heart broke into pieces. He left a bit early that day.

Eventually, Tanjirou wished to be like Nezuko. Why? Well, Zenitsu liked her of course. He felt jealous when Zenitsu first laid his eyes on Nezuko and started falling hard for her. Zenitsu was always nice to Tanjirou, but never as nice as he is to Nezuko. Maybe if Tanjirou was born a woman, Zenitsu would look his way instead. Maybe Zenitsu wouldn't be so scared of him. Maybe, just maybe...

Zenitsu would love him.

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The birds chirped as the sky turned a light blue. The hot, summer breeze swept through the room as a blonde boy slept on a futon beside an infirmary bed. The small teen had always been gifted with extraordinary hearing, so the rustling of the trees woke him up. In a daze, he rose up and sat crossed-legged on the sheets.

"Good morning Tanjirou." No response. Zenitsu thought that Tanjirou was still asleep. He sighed and stood up sluggishly. "Tanjirou, good mor-" What greeted him was instead, an empty bed. The raven-haired boy was nowhere in sight. Panicked, Zenitsu searched around the room, beneath the sheets too, maybe Tanjirou shrank?

Under the bed, outside the window, inside the cabinet, gone! Tanjirou was gone! Zenitsu could feel hot tears spilling from his eyes. Did Tanjirou run away because of him? You'd think if Tanjirou wanted to go somewhere he would've told Zenitsu! Zenitsu slammed the door open and ran across the hallway shouting Tanjirou's name.
Then it occurred to him. He zipped towards the sparring hall and found Tanjirou sprawled on the floor, not moving.

"T-t-tanjirou!" In a second, Zenitsu rushed to Tanjirou's side. He sat on the floor and shook Tanjirou's body. Putting the taller boy's head on his lap, he examined Tanjirou's face and held a hand to his forehead. He was sizzling hot, and not in a good way.

"Zen... Zenitsu...?" Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the boy regained consciousness. Zenitsu couldn't say a word and just kept sobbing. Tanjirou tried lifting himself, but after failing, he rested his head back to Zenitsu's lap. When the blonde's tears fell and swept his face, Tanjirou's eyes widened. It hit on him that Zenitsu was crying. "Zenitsu," He started slowly, "Are you... Why are you crying?"

For a moment, the room was only filled with the sorrowful sobs and hiccups of the yellow-haired boy. His hands caressed Tanjirou's cheek softly. Between the whimpers, Zenitsu let out a nervous giggle, "I thought," Zenitsu spoke, but was cut off by his own weeping. "I thought..."

"Zenitsu?" Tanjirou asked and gazed at the light brown orbs, still producing tears. It was a bit subtle, but Tanjirou could feel the smaller boy shivering and shaking with fear. Zenitsu's scent screamed of pain.

Zenitsu couldn't face Tanjirou anymore. He held his head high to avoid the worrying gaze. "I thought I lost you forever."

"Oh, Zenitsu..." Tanjirou replied, his voice a bit quieter than usual. "I'm fine," He whispered softly, smiling even though Zenitsu wasn't looking, "Don't worry about me. I was just, tired s'all."

"You... You always say that!" A shout came out of the smaller boy's mouth. "Don't worry? Don't worry?! Of course I'll worry!" The two of them were speaking quietly before, so the yell made Tanjirou jerk back a bit. Zenitsu turned his gaze back to Tanjirou, this time, his eyes indicated both anger and sorrow. "Why..." His voice trembled, he choked on his own words, "Why do you always do this? You always push yourself and never ask for any help...!"

Tanjirou's face turned pale in shock, he slowly ascended from Zenitsu's lap, but a slam on the floor by the blonde's hand made Tanjirou fall back. He tried to search for an excuse- anything, something! But nothing was coming up, because what Zenitsu said was undoubtedly the truth.

"Tell me Tanjirou," Zenitsu's tone softened out of despair, "Have you never thought of depending on me because I'm weak?"

That statement made Tanjirou's heart stop by shock. He would never! Why would Zenitsu think of that? "That's not true at all!" Tanjirou replied. Honestly, he wasn't in the mood for a discussion like this at all. His body was weak, and his head was smacking him up with nausea. Tanjirou took a deep breath. "Zenitsu, I-"

"Really? 'Cause it sure looks like it!" Zenitsu snapped back. Even with all the anger, his eyes were still crying. He really wanted it to stop. Crying makes him look weak and stupid. He hated the fact that he was a crybaby. "If you don't think like that, then why didn't you rely on me all those times?!"

Tanjirou opened his mouth again, trying to reply, but was halted by Zenitsu saying,

"Honestly, if you think I'm worthless then just say it to my goddamn face!"

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author's note :
before u say "boohoo tanjirou doesnt do that!! he always lets zenitsu help! this is a bad fan fiction!!1!!!1"
listen u fool, im a sucker for cliches and this particular cliche makes me want to jump out the window bc its kinda cute. it may not be true to the source material but atleast it makes for some good angst 😔✌️
and also theres no fluff here bc im going to waste all my fluffy vibes for the next chapter xoxoxoxoxoxo