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Tanjiro sighed heavily, mindlessly stirring his food with his chopsticks.
“Alright, man. You gotta tell us what’s going on because what the fuck,” Zenitsu’s tone came out firm and his brows furrowed. “You look so stupidly depressed and unfocused lately.”
The reddish brunet just sighed heavily again, shaking his head as he took a single bite out of his rice. “Kaizen has banned me from sleeping with him indefinitely…” his voice came out absolutely weak and strengthless. “He barely even lets me hug him, and I’m not even allowed to kiss him.”
“I mean…” the blond slayer started. “You did make him cry for a whole day over nothing but sheer stupidity, are we even surprised here?”
“I know, I deserve it, but… Ugh…” his forehead slowly landed on the low table with a soft thud. “You have no idea what this is doing to me… It’s driving me insane.”
“Jeez, you look like a starved dog… I almost feel bad for you…” Zenitsu sighed, softly patting Tanjiro's head.
“He won’t even touch me, this is torture!”
“I’m sure it’s not that bad… he’ll come around, eventually,” the thunder breather tried to console his friend.
“He made up four haiku on the spot just to tell me he’s angry and won’t be hugging me to sleep!”
“Okay, perhaps it is that bad,” the blond conceded, wrapping one of his arms around the reddish brunet. “Seriously, though… you have to get yourself together for training.”
“I want to, but… I can’t stop thinking about how much I want him.”
“Aaand I did not need to know that.”
“You don’t understand what this does to a man, Zenitsu… It’s destroying me inside out,” the reddish brunet’s eyes were fully depleted of life, a look of hopelessness adorning them.
“Why are you telling me this!” the blond shook the young Kamado’s shoulders, trying to snap him back into reality.
“He just smells so good; it hurts not to hold him close-”
“Tanjiro! Are you seriously depressed just because you can’t get laid?” he pulled on the reddish brunet’s hair as he shook his head back and forth.
“…not just that.”
“I DON’T NEED TO FUCKING KNOW THESE THINGS, YOU HORNY BASTARD! AND HERE I THOUGHT I WAS BAD! CLEARLY, YOU’RE WORSE!”
“You don’t understand, Zenitsu… You’ve never been forced into celibacy like this,” Tanjiro’s soul seemed to have left his body as he spoke, his expression becoming more depressed by the second.
“…Tanjiro, I am celibate.” The young Agatsuma stated, with a neutral expression.
“You can’t mourn what you haven’t lost.” The reddish brunet replied, his tone as dead-inside as his face.
“WHAT’S THAT EVEN SUPPOSED TO MEAN?!”
“I fucked up… I had it so good with him, I was stupid to hurt him,” the young Kamado seemed to be mourning a loss even though Kaizen hadn’t even broken up with him, he was just taking some time to recover.
“SINCE WHEN DO YOU CURSE!”
“I ruined my own birthday surprise by being stupid… He was writing a whole collection of love poems just for me,” he sighed heavily, his life energy leaving him behind with each molecule of air he expelled.
“Tanjiro, it’s going to be alright… please, let’s talk about something else!” Zenitsu squished the young Kamado’s cheeks with his hands, though he didn’t even get much of a reaction.
“Kaizen does that a lot…” he sighed once more. “I miss him so much…”
“Tanjiro, it’s just been one week, for fuck’s sake!”
“I took him for granted, now I’m paying for my mistakes…” he spoke, his voice dying out at the end of each sentence.
“Seven days! You’ve been on a break for just seven days!”
“Maybe I should let him hit me more during Upper Moon Training… it’s the closest I’ll get to him touching me.”
“STOP IT WITH THAT ALREADY!”
Inosuke, who had been focused on eating, finished his food and started eating Tanjiro’s without even asking. “Stop being so dramatic, Gonpachiro! It’s ruining my meal!”
The reddish brunet seemed to deflate as he sighed heavily one more time, his body weight resting against Zenitsu now.
“Holy shit, Tanjiro… This is too pathetic, even for you!” the blond exclaimed, trying to reanimate the young Kamado. “I’ll talk to Kaizen myself!”
“Tell him that I love him… and I miss him… and I am very sorry…”
“Alright, that’s enough. Shut your mouth,” the young Agatsuma just shoved a piece of food into the reddish brunet’s mouth, preventing him from uttering any other words.
When Zenitsu finally arrived at Kaizen’s location, the demon was comfortably lounging around Tomioka Giyuu, his adoptive older brother. He was sprawled across the hashira’s lap on his stomach, writing something on a notebook. Giyuu, on his part, was quietly reading a book and using Kaizen’s back as a table to place a couple of other books.
“Kaizen…” Zenitsu approached the two of them, looking alternatively at both the water hashira and the demon boy, who lazily looked up from his notebook.
“Hey, Zenitsu,” the golden-eyed one greeted, displaying a lazy smile.
“Can I… Can I talk to you in private? It will- it will be just a moment.” The human boy kneeled in front of the demon, softly caressing his curls. “Please.”
Without saying a word, Tomioka picked up the books from Kaizen’s back on his hands, allowing the demon to stand up from his lap.
“Sure,” the curly-haired boy smiled as he spoke. “Let’s talk… See you in a bit, aniki.” He patted the hashira’s head softly and walked towards the exit of the room.
Zenitsu quickly stood up, bowed to Tomioka and ran after Kaizen, closing the door behind himself as he left.
As soon as they were by themselves inside the demon room, secluded from everyone except for Nezuko, who slept inside her box, the blond slayer finally spoke.
“Kaizen, please, I know you’re mad, but can you go back to normal with Tanjiro? He’s driving me nuts!” he practically fell to his knees as he begged, his hands together in seeming prayer.
“I’m not mad at Tanjiro anymore,” the demon answered, crossing his arms and sighing heavily. “I’m just… heartbroken. I can’t believe he really thought I had a thing going on with Kanao.”
The blond slayer blinked, perplexed. “He thought what?”
“Didn’t he tell you?” the raven-haired boy inquired. “He thought I was cheating on him with Kanao just because I showed her a draft of a love poem which, by the way, was meant for him.” He finished his explanation.
“He definitely did not tell me about that… he was vague enough about the poem part that I didn’t really understand the situation,” Zenitsu confessed, his hands dropping to his sides now. “So, you’re not torturing him back for making you cry for a whole day is what you’re saying?”
“Huh? No, why would I do that?” the demon’s eyebrows furrowed. “I’m not that petty, alright? I just… I can’t bring myself to look at him without remembering how much he doesn’t trust me.” He sighed heavily, sitting on the tatami floor with his legs crossed. “I would lay down my life for him, I don’t understand…”
Zenitsu sat on his knees, still looking at Kaizen with a slightly pained expression. He now understood where the demon was coming from, and he felt really bad for him. He had seen him cry for that whole day when the misunderstanding took place but, at the same time, Tanjiro was driving him insane and he really wanted him to finally shut up!
“Why don’t you just talk to him?” the thunder breather took one of the demon’s cold hands. “I’m sure he’ll listen…”
“I’m scared, alright? After that stunt he pulled on me a week ago, I’m afraid he’ll do it again,” the demon confessed, looking at their hands. “I really can’t afford going through anything remotely similar to that again. I’m already hanging by a thread, that would just cut it.”
“He won’t do it again, I think he’s learnt his lesson already,” the blond tried to argue, looking up at the demon’s now strained visage.
“Has he, though? Zenitsu. I can’t. Afford this. Again.” He looked up at Zenitsu with his golden eyes, his slit pupils narrowed to lines as he grabbed the human’s shoulders. “It’s killing me inside and any little push will literally drive me insane.” Even his eye slightly twitched as he spoke.
“You guys should really have a serious conversation… there’s not much I can do about this, now, is there?” the young Agatsuma placed his hands on Kaizen’s arms. “Talk to him, give him an ultimatum or whatever… But, please, do something… he’s been bitching about this all week, and I don’t think I can take it anymore. Even Inosuke is done with him.”
The demon’s slit pupils widened slightly, no longer looking like those terrifying thin lines. He sighed heavily, letting go of the slayer’s shoulders as he nodded his head slightly.
“You’re right… Thank you, Zenitsu… you’re a good friend.” The demon boy smiled slightly and patted his head. “Please, take care of Tanjiro if I’m ever absent,” he stood up and left the room.
“Huh? What are you even on about! Tanjiro is supposed to be the one taking care of me!” he yelled, though it was in vain as Kaizen was already gone. “Jeez…”
As soon as the demon went into the training room, Tanjiro dropped his sword and practically rushed towards him, taking his hands in his own warm and rugged ones.
“Kaizen, how are you doing today?” he asked, the grip on the demon’s hands tightening.
“I’ve been better… regardless, we need to talk,” he slightly shook his head as he softly held the slayer’s hands too.
The reddish brunet nodded his head eagerly, his body shaking ever so slightly. “Kaizen, I-” he started, but was cut off by one of the demon’s fingers resting on his lips.
“Not here, let’s go somewhere people won’t bother us.”
Said and done, after Tanjiro picked up his sword, they both went to the cleaning supply room, which was, of course, devoid of any people.
“Kaizen… I’m so sorry, I messed up and I feel so stupid,” the reddish brunet spoke, grabbing the demon’s hands again. “Both you and Nezuko are the only family I have left… please…” his eyes glazed over as he spoke, his voice coming out lighter and softer than usual.
The demon boy sighed heavily, the human’s reddish eyes causing his hearts to skip.
“Tanjiro… While I understand that you didn’t hurt me on purpose, I cannot take another one of these situations again,” the demon boy stated, going straight to the point. “This is the first and the last time you lash out at me, give me no explanation and leave me in the dark for a whole day. I will not be able to handle it again, do you understand?” He asked, giving the human’s hands a light squeeze.
“I understand…” the reddish brunet answered, tears involuntarily streaming down his cheeks.
“Also… I’m hurt that you jumped straight to the conclusion that something was going on between Kanao and me…” he continued, letting go of the human’s hands and slowly wiping his tears with his thumbs. “I would die for you. I might be an asshole sometimes… most times, but I am loyal.”
“I know… It’s not you, it’s me…” the young Kamado sighed, closing his eyes. “You’re so charming and good-looking, so I tend to think that you would be better off with someone else,” he sighed heavily as he let those words escape him.
Kaizen blinked, bemused at his lover’s words. “Tanjiro, what are you even talking about?” he asked, wiping more of the slayer’s tears. “Stop spewing such nonsense. I’m just some guy and you’re putting me on a pedestal for literally no reason,” he continued, sighing softly. “You are the one who is charming, amazing, kind and strong. I couldn’t be luckier, so stop saying stupid shit to yourself like it’s real.”
“But…”
“No buts, dude. I don’t give a shit about anyone else, I don’t even know how to get that through your hard,” the demon boy flicked his forehead before he finished his sentence. “Head.”
The reddish brunet laughed lightly, finally opening his eyes and wiping the remainder of his tears.
“I see…” Kaizen spoke softly, finally wrapping his arms about the human in the first hug he had given him in a whole week. “That one is on me, I’ll compliment you more for now on.”
The human hugged him back with all his strength, breathing the demon’s scent in deeply. His muscles, once tense, started slowly relaxing.
Kaizen ran his hands through the young Kamado’s back in a slow, soothing motion, enjoying the closeness he hadn’t even noticed he was missing. He got close to the young Kamado’s ear, whispering softly into it.
“I’m sorry I didn’t talk to you about this sooner,” he accompanied the whisper with a kiss. “I want to do better for you too,” he caressed the human’s lower back softly. “You’re the best,” he could feel Tanjiro relax in his hold. “I only have eyes for you,” he added, kissing his ear again. “You’re family.”
Each sweet word that went through Kaizen’s mind, he whispered into the young slayer’s ear. Perhaps, if Tanjiro felt more reassured, he would stop seeing each person that dared look at Kaizen as a threat. Or perhaps Tanjiro really needed to stop thinking everyone wanted him… seriously, why on Earth did he always think every living, breathing person remotely close to their age wanted to date him? That was peak delusion, or so Kaizen thought.
“Kaizen…”
“Tanjiro, I swear… if you’re planning to tell me you’re turned on during the most unbefitting moment again…”
“…should I not tell you then?”
Sigh.
“I fucking knew it.”