Chapter Text
Monday came by in a blur, after a whole weekend of teasing at the hands of his siblings.
So, here poor Tanjirou was, walking with his sister to school.
"Mm mhm!" Nezuko hummed. To translate, she said, ‘I'm sure Zenitsu will be excited to see you, after how he said goodbye to you on Saturday.’
Tanjirou sighed, feeling the heat return to his face.
"Nezuko, please.."
Nezuko smiled innocently at her brother, pretending to not know how she was making him suffer.
"RAHHH!" a familiar roar could be heard near the school gates, followed by screeches that the two Kamado's had heard way too many times.
"JUST BUTTON UP YOUR SHIRT! IT'S NOT ROCKET SCIENCE, DUMBASS!"
"HUH?! WHAT DID YOU JUST CALL ME?! I'LL FIGHT YOU, MONKITSU!"
"INOSUKE! FINE! JUST- JUST GO!"
"HAHAHAH! COWARD!"
"WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?!"
The two bickered back and forth, failing to realize that Tanjirou was now standing before them. (Nezuko had left to go to the junior school, seeing no point in greeting the two that morning.)
"Hey, guys! A bit early to be fighting like this, you know..?" Tanjirou spoke, hoping to end the meaningless argument then and there.
"Oh, it's Monjirou! I heard from Monitsu about your hang out on Saturday! It's a shame I wasn't there, I know you both must've missed me.." Inosuke snorted, finally letting go of Zenitsu's hair that he had yanked.
"Morning, Tanjirou." Zenitsu smiled at him. Like he usually did, nothing special about it.
Had he forgotten about Saturday? And- speaking of Saturday, how much did Zenitsu tell Inosuke?
Wait, why was he thinking this? What happened then was just a joke!
Nothing special worth remembering, of course.
"Inosuke, you scared Nezuko away!"
"No I didn't! She must've been repelled by your unmanliness!"
"That's rich coming from you, boarboy!"
"I'm the manliest of all men, Monitsu. You should take notes if you want to find love. I'll even give you lessons for free, since you're my best friend." Inosuke said and ruffled Zenitsu's hair, like Zenitsu wasn't at all older than him.
"Like I'd take lessons from you! I'm sure someone out there has seen me for what I'm worth!" Zenitsu retorted, even if he wasn't confident in what he said at all.
“I definitely have!!” Tanjirou thought to himself.
"Oh? Wait, for once, you're right! I know of a certain 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙗𝙤𝙙𝙮 who 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 likes you." Inosuke smirked.
"Who?!" Both Zenitsu and Tanjirou asked in unison.
"Hm? Why are you so desperate to know, Gonpachirou?" The smirk on Inosuke's face grew wider.
"Oh, errr.." Tanjirou looked away, feeling a familiar heat return to his face.
"Shut up about Tanjirou! Tell me! I don't know why he wants to know, but if there's anyone you should be telling, it's me!" Zenitsu clutched at Inosuke's shoulders.
"PLEEEEAAAAAASEEEE!"
Inosuke cackled.
"Come on, Monjirou! Let's leave Monitsu by the gate since he has to keep checking uniforms! I'll tell you who likes him." Inosuke grabbed Tanjirou's wrist and the two walked through the gates towards the school, effectively ditching Zenitsu.
‘INOSUKE, YOU PIECE OF SHIT!!’ Zenitsu thought to himself, half fuming, half laughing because then again, what did he expect of Inosuke? And, to his credit, maybe it 𝘸𝘢𝘴 a little funny. Even if the joke was at his expense.
‘Just.. Focus on the bright side, Zenitsu! Somebody likes you! If Inosuke was being truthful, that is..’ Zenitsu muttered quietly, trying to calm himself down.
‘Wait. Somebody.. Likes me..’ Zenitsu repeated, and raised an eyebrow.
———
"Ahem... so.." Tanjirou cleared his throat as he and Inosuke walked down the crowded halls towards their classroom.
Inosuke grinned.
"The person who likes Monitsu is.."
"Is..?" Tanjirou held his breath.
"You! Duh! Who did you think I was gonna say? You've made it so painfully obvious, Monjirou, I bet you even he's figured out by now."
"YOU THINK HE HAS?! Oh God, Inosuke, I told him I was into boys on Saturday, then he asked me who my crush was, and then he kept guessing until he asked if it was him and then I froze, and then he laughed, and he had me pinned against my bed, and, and, and—"
"And, this, Tanjirou, is why you always consult me before you do anything stupid." Kanao sighed as she approached the two.
Inosuke stared at Tanjirou - dumbfounded.
"My eighth sense is telling me that theres now a 60% chance that he knows." Inosuke concluded.
"And just how did you reach that conclusion?" Kanao asked with a deadpan expression.
"My eighth sense is never wrong." Inosuke stated, refusing to elaborate.
"And when he left my house on Saturday, he blew me a kiss goodbye... As a joke, presumably!"
Both Kanao and Inosuke deadpanned.
"Give us the full story." Inosuke demanded after a moment of silence.
—
"What you did was as good as a confession. At this point, he must just be humoring you and saving you from embarrassment!"
"I know, Inosuke, I know! But he hasn't said anything, and he said he was only joking on Saturday! Plus, Zenitsu likes girls." Tanjirou said in a pained voice.
"Don't say that, Gonpachirou! Zenitsu would date anything and anyone, all in the name of love!" Inosuke attempted to reassure him.
"You know, I'm starting to believe Inosuke's eighth sense. If anything, with how you're acting, he's at least suspicious now." Kanao spoke.
Tanjirou flushed even more red.
"Also, I told Monitsu that there was somebody who liked him this morning, and then Panchirou, being the idiot he is, asks, ‘Who?!’
"Because of that, my eighth sense is telling me that there's now a 70% chance he knows." Inosuke said.
"Did you really?" Kanao turned to look at Tanjirou, who in response, grinned sheepishly.
"I'm really starting to think he does know." Kanao sighed.
Tanjirou let a strangled sound, while the latter facepalmed.
"Okay, let's ask this. Do you plan on confessing?" Kanao asked with a tired huff.
Tanjirou clenched his hands and sighed deeply.
"I.. No. It's not fair to Zenitsu, and I want to keep our friendship. He couldn't have made it more obvious that he likes women, so asking him out would be disrespectful." Tanjirou explained, his voice growing more and more quiet with each word.
Both Kanao and Inosuke froze, momentarily rendered speechless by Tanjirou's words.
"Zenitsu likes my sister. I.. I can't ruin our friendship for this. It would be selfish of me."
"But, not confessing is also unfair to you, ain't it?" Inosuke tilted his head in confusion. Darn it, why has the mood suddenly changed?
"I guess. But, I love him, Inosuke. And if loving him means supporting who he likes, then that's what I'm going to do."
"So, you're just gonna watch the love of your life potentially be taken by someone else?! That's bullshit, Gonpachirou!" Inosuke grabbed him by the shoulders.
"You're gonna go confess to him, and I don't know when, but you definitely will! And when you do, you'll let him know about your darn feelings!
"I know you're all generous and goody-goody, always willing to give to another person, but there's never gonna be another Monitsu out there!"
"Ino-"
"But he needs to know, Kanao! Being selfish ain't always a bad thing! You don't even know if Monitsu still feels that way about your sister, and you don't know if he's secretly crushing on you too! So, how do you plan on fixing that?!"
"By confessing to him.." Tanjirou muttered out weakly.
"I can't hear you, forehead!"
"By confessing to him!"
"That's the way! So, stop trying to act all selfless, and go for it, Tanjirou!" Inosuke beamed.
"But, then... Zenitsu will get all uncomfortable.." Tanjirou whispered.
"No way! You and Monitsu are always so touchy with each other, it'll be fine."
"..." Tanjirou fell silent. This was seriously starting to make him feel dizzy. Seriously, all he had was a crush! Why were things so complicated?
"So, are you going to confess?" Kanao asked.
"What choice do I have? Inosuke's making me.." Tanjirou sighed heavily, even if he did feel a little bit giddy deep down. Maybe Inosuke was right. Maybe it was a okay to be a little bit selfish, and put yourself first.
——
The first period of the day for Tanjirou was art.
The art teacher was mostly chilled about work, even if he was a bit excessive at times.
Like, the time he blew up the wall during class.
And, the other time he blew up the wall during class.
And, that other time he blew up the wall in class.
Oh, did I forget to mention that one time he blew up the wall in class?
It was a mystery to Tanjirou how he even got his hands on the explosives, much less bring them to school and get away with destruction..
Regardless, there was hardly any work handed out during the period which gave poor Tanjirou's brain plenty of time to think.
He was torn. He wanted so desperately to confess to Zenitsu, but was also reluctant - not because he feared rejection (he totally did), but because he still thought that the action would be selfish.
He and Zenitsu were already best friends. Why did he want more? And, for the final time, he liked girls! No matter how many jokes he had made about dating a boy.
And, it didn't help that Zenitsu just so happened to be sitting at the same table in art as him.
Although, luckily, Aoi just so happened to be there, too. He didn't know if he could handle being alone with Zenitsu at this point in time.
If not for her anchoring him, he likely would have done something stupid by now..
"Hey, maybe you should go ask Mr. Uzui for love advice, Zenitsu. I mean, he does have three wives." Aoi teased with a smirk.
Zenitsu clenched his hand, his expression instantly souring. "Don't even remind me! Someone like him doesn't deserve a wife, much less three! And they're all beautiful on top of that!" Zenitsu grumbled, a small pout beginning to form on his face.
Tanjirou smiled at Zenitsu. The sight was so adorable that he-
"Hey! Are you laughing at my pain again, Tanjirou?! You- you stupid forehead! I always knew you were 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 kind of guy, Tanjirou! Just because you're also attractive, and hot in everyone's eyes and are the perfect person and everyone likes you and are the greenest flag EVER and will probably have no struggle in finding love, it doesn't mean that you get to laugh at me!"
Tanjirou felt his face begin burning up, for the millionth time. Did Zenitsu really mean all those things he said just now?
"Wait-! You misunderstand, I was just.."
"You were just what? Laughing at the common mans' struggles?! I can't believe you, Tanjirou! These days, you've been acting different." Zenitsu huffed as he inched away from Tanjirou.
Tanjirou, however, sputtered.
"Different? How so?" He asked, hoping and praying that Zenitsu wasn't implying what he thought he was implying.
"You've been.. Meaner! Okay, maybe that's a lie.. But.. You've definitely been acting strange.. And.." Zenitsu's voice trailed off and Tanjirou could hear the suspicion creeping into his tone, confirming his own suspicions.
He was beginning to figure 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 out.
This was the best and worst possible thing that could have happened.
On the one hand, maybe Zenitsu would make a move! And on the other, he just might begin to distance himself from him.
Which by the way, in Tanjirou's mind, was the end of the world.
What if he was disgusted? What if he didn't mean it on Saturday when he said he supported him? What if he called off their friendship? What if he laughed at him? What if he-
"So, it 𝘪𝘴 me?" Zenitsu grinned.
Oh.
"Huh? What are you talking about?" Tanjirou asked, his heart beginning to race in his chest.
"Yeah, what 𝘢𝘳𝘦 you talking about?" Aoi asked, genuinely confused.
In response, Zenitsu's grin smoothed into a smirk.
"Well, Tanjirou could tell you, now, can't you, Tanjirou?" Zenitsu smiled coyly, even making sure to maintain direct eye contact.
Tanjirou bit his lip and swallowed. Hard. "I..."
This was most unexpected.
"You...? Are you going to answer my question, Tanjirou?" Zenitsu tilted his head innocently. Though, despite it all, Tanjirou still couldn't tell whether or not the other reciprocated his feelings. Since when did Zenitsu get so hard to read, anyway?
And, why did he keep saying his name like that? Didn't he see how he was making him want to explode? There's no way he'd miss that!
Tanjirou quickly bat an eye at Aoi, hoping that she'd change the topic of the conversation.
Aoi, seeing the look on Tanjirou's face, quickly got the hint.
This, however, was not lost on Zenitsu.
"Zenitsu, do us all a favor and shut up, won't you? Mr. Uzui's teaching."
The smirk on Zenitsu's face was instantly replaced by a scowl.
"You seriously expect me to listen to that douchebag?" With the look on his face, you might've thought that she'd insulted his entire family.
"Well.. yes!" Aoi smiled brightly at him.
Zenitsu looked at her incredulously and turned to look at Mr. Uzui, then back at her.
"He's not even doing anyth—"
"Shhh! Shhh, shhh! Zenitsu, you're making a noise, can't you hear that?"
"I'M NOT EVEN..!"
"Zenitsu! Come on, you're the vice class captain. You should know better than that." Aoi scolded.
Zenitsu rolled his eyes at her, before his gaze landed back on Tanjirou.
A feint smirk appeared on his lips, but as quickly as it appeared, it disappeared.
"Tanjirou, you know, I'm not stupid." Zenitsu whispered, knowing full well that Tanjirou could hear.
"You're still ranting?" Aoi gave him a disapproving look.
"Ah, well, I'm too good in a mood to bother. I'll spare you for now." Zenitsu said and looked out the window.
"Oh? What's going on, Zenitsu? Spare me from what?" Tanjirou asked, even if he was now 70% sure he knew what he was referring to.
"You know very well, Tanjirou."
"..." And with that, Tanjirou's face flushed slightly pink for the umpteenth time. He really and truly was weak for this boy. Did he have to keep saying his name that way?
Just before Zenitsu could get another word out, the bell rang, signaling the end of the lesson.
And whether it was a blessing or a curse was unknown to Tanjirou, but in his next period he didn't see Zenitsu.
"Ehe.. You've always been so lucky, Tanjirou. I guess you'll have to answer my question another time." Zenitsu smiled at him, then took his bag and walked away.
"..."
"..."
Aoi looked at Tanjirou.
"Well, that's all the confirmation you need, isn't it?"
Tanjirou groaned in response, feeling the heat travel down from his face to his neck. Awesome! This was JUST the way he wanted to start his Monday!
————
"Inosuke, he knows! He knows, he knows, he knows, he knows!"
"Yeah, me and Kono told you not to make it obvious, but look what happened!"
"Inosuke! He-" Tanjirou swallowed, "𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘴. As in, he's 100% aware!"
"Well, what do you expect? You might as well have just been walking around with a sign declaring your feelings." Inosuke deadpanned.
"I know, I know! I made it obvious.. I screwed up big time.." Tanjirou whispered as he buried his face into his hands.
"Well? Are you gonna avoid him at break time?" Inosuke asked.
"Yes! YES! I haven't even prepared him a gift or anything! I don't think I can handle this, Inosuke! I'm not ready! I don't even know if he likes me back! What if this ends out friendship?! And then, I can never smell- I mean, I'll never get to see him again!" Tanjirou gasped out, frantically, gripping at Inosuke's shoulders. Inosuke was momentarily shocked, caught off guard by how panicked Tanjirou was. It wasn't like the boy, after all.
"Fine! You can.. Run away from him like a coward for now, and me and the group will make sure he doesn't find you. At break, of course." Inosuke relented.
"Oh, thank you Inosuke! You really are the best! Did I ever tell you how grateful I am to be your friend?! I promise to make you baked treats, too!" Tanjirou let out a sigh of relief.
"Yeah, yeah, I know, I know. But you better keep to your word! And confess to him soon! You won't be able to hide from him forever, you know."
"I will.. at least try to." Tanjirou felt his heart race at the idea of it. Actually confessing!
Sure, he'd had dreams of it and Zenitsu said yes in all of them, but this was different! This was real life! And Zenitsu.. He was acting in a way that Tanjirou hadn't even anticipated! As much as Tanjirou loved and absolutely adored him, couldn't he at least be more clear about where he stood? And could he 𝘯𝘰𝘵 tease him about it?
"This really is the best and worst possible thing that could have happened.." Tanjirou whined in a defeated voice.
——
"Inosuke, could you not?! Don't your parents feed you at home??" Zenitsu bellowed as Inosuke tried and failed to steal his lunchbox.
"Just hand it over, Ponhitsu!"
"Oh, you have to be kidding me! Why are you so persistent today?!"
Inosuke grinned. The two were making their way over to where the group usually sat, although, Zenitsu immediately noticed something amiss.
"Hey? Didn't you just have geography with Tanjirou now?" Zenitsu asked, noting the burgundy haired boys absence.
"Hah? Gonpachirou? Meh, he said he had something else to do." Inosuke lied and shrugged.
"Oh? Did he mention what?"
"Nah, nothing at all. Whatever he's doing is probably nothing special at all, anyway."
Zenitsu stared at Inosuke for a short while before grinning widely.
"Ahaha! Did he tell you to say that?"
"What? No he didn't!" Inosuke denied almost instantly.
Zenitsu only laughed harder at this.
"What are you laughing about, Monitsu? Did you take drugs or something?" Inosuke asked, trying (for the sake of Tanjirou) to convince Zenitsu that he was wrong.
"Huh? No, I feel quite alright, actually. Amazing, even! You guys actually put me in a really good mood, today." Zenitsu said after his laughter had died down.
In response, Inosuke gave him a side eye.
"You're weird." He spat out.
"I guess that's why we're such good friends, aren't we? Connected in our mutual weirdness." Zenitsu shot back, the smile still clear on his face.
"..." Inosuke huffed in response, but didn't deny the sentiment.
"Fine. I won't go looking for Tanjirou. I'm sure he'll come around eventually." Zenitsu mused, more to himself than to Inosuke.
‘Well, I tried, Tanjirou. But, my eighth sense is telling me that there's a 95% chance that he knows, now.’ Inosuke thought to himself.
———
Fortunately, for the rest of the day, Tanjirou had successfully managed to evade Zenitsu.
Unbeknownst to Tanjirou, Zenitsu deliberately let him do so. For whatever reason Zenitsu may have had, he couldn't help but find the whole situation hilarious.
Anyway, what was so funny? Tanjirou's feelings? The fact that he had a crush? Was he laughing about how he planned to turn him down? Or was it something else entirely? Tanjirou couldn't tell. But he did know that the uncertainty of it all was killing him.
Oh, how he yearned to see Zenitsu and kiss the answers out of him. And yet, simultaneously, he wished to not see him at all.
And on top of that, Zenitsu was likely to walk home with him and Nezuko, so unless he made a beeline for the school gates and sprinted his way home, avoiding Zenitsu was near impossible. Not to mention that now they had their last period together.
Maybe he really should just run home after school after all—
"Why didn't you sit with us at break?"
"Ah, Zenitsu!" Tanjirou jumped in his seat and quickly looked away.
"Did something happen? Are you alright?" Zenitsu asked worriedly as he took a seat beside Tanjirou. To make matters worse, he reached out to place a hand on his shoulder.
"I'm alright, thanks for asking. I just.. needed some time to myself."
"Oh. Right. Of course, mustering up the courage to answer my question must be really difficult, huh?" Zenitsu smiled sympathetically.
"No need to pressure yourself. I'll just pretend like I didn't ask for an answer."
And for the second time, Tanjirou felt a part of him die.
"You're also really mean, Zenitsu.." Tanjirou mumbled as he forced himself to meet Zenitsu's gaze.
Zenitsu chuckled and leaned in.
"Am I? Why are you saying something so rude to me, Tanjirou?" Zenitsu may as well have spoke into Tanjirou's red face.
“𝘖𝘩𝘮𝘺𝘨𝘰𝘥, 𝘖𝘩𝘮𝘺𝘨𝘰𝘥! 𝘩𝘦'𝘴 𝘴𝘰𝘴𝘰𝘴𝘰𝘴𝘰𝘴𝘰𝘊𝘓𝘖𝘚𝘌! 𝘐'𝘔𝘙𝘌𝘈𝘓𝘓𝘠𝘎𝘖𝘐𝘕𝘎𝘛𝘖𝘋𝘐𝘌𝘛𝘏𝘐𝘚𝘛𝘐𝘔𝘌! 𝘚𝘏𝘖𝘜𝘓𝘋𝘐𝘒𝘐𝘚𝘚𝘏𝘐𝘔?? 𝘈𝘈, 𝘐𝘏𝘈𝘝𝘌𝘕𝘖𝘐𝘋𝘌𝘈𝘞𝘏𝘈𝘛𝘛𝘖𝘋𝘖—” Tanjirou thought, blanking out completely.
Well, it didn't matter! Zenitsu very well knew what he was doing, clearly! So, at that point, Tanjirou didn't even bother trying to hide the fact that his eyes were roaming all over Zenitsu's soft face, and how they continuously kept drifting back to his lips.
Zenitsu giggled and pulled away, as if taking pleasure in Tanjirou's crisis.
"Will you keep avoiding me, Tanjirou?" Zenitsu asked, placing his chin on his hand as he leaned back into his chair.
"There's no point in doing that at this stage.." Tanjirou spoke after finally managing to find his voice.
Zenitsu's smirk genuinely softened into the smile that Tanjirou had come to love so much.
"I also really like you, Tanjirou." Zenitsu said after a brief period of silence.
Tanjirou's breath hitched as he snapped his head towards Zenitsu.
But unlike himself, Zenitsu wasn't blushing at all. Just giving him that friendly smiles that all friends gave each other.
Of course. How could he even hope to think? Maybe this was just how it was meant to be.
"I also really l-" Tanjirou stopped himself, debating whether to use 'love' or 'like'. Eventually, he decided to use the latter. '—Like you, too. You're someone dear to me, Zenitsu." Tanjirou finally finished, swallowing his feelings down.
Even if restricting himself from saying all the things he really wanted to hurt, he would do it if it meant getting to see that smile.