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A sweltering heat wave had recently struck the Butterfly estate. Anyone who was previously unaware that summer had arrived did not presently have that luxury.
The heat was so overbearing that not even Inosuke (that crazy wild boar) was up for training. In fact, Shinobu had practically banned all three of them from training for fear of heatstroke.
Zenitsu was thankful for the excuse to sleep in. He might even decide that Summer was his favorite season because of the lack of training. Hard work was not his style and he had no love for working up a sweat. Plus the bed was comfortable. He deserved it for all he put up with when it came to willingly walking towards scary demons instead of running away.
And yet, despite the comfortable bed and nowhere to be, Zenitsu was not asleep. Something was interrupting his nap time. He could hear water splashing and laughter. What was going on outside?
He should just keep his eyes closed and ignore it.
~5 minutes later~
Ugh, he was too curious and distracted to go back to sleep now. Ok, new plan. He would walk over, open the door, satisfy his curiosity, and then go back to relaxing in bed. Never mind the fact that Zenitsu had clearly heard the giggling trio of young butterfly girls dragging Tanjirō outside to have a water day. He wasn’t making excuses so that he could see the bright smile that surely graced his friend’s face. He wasn’t.
Maybe he should walk over to Nezuko’s room instead? She was probably lonely since her brother was outside. He could keep a cute girl company and that was a heavenly thing.
Laughter rang out once again and Zenitsu found his feet bringing him to the door that led outside instead of Nezuko’s room. Unfair Tanjirō, why is your laugh such a precious sound?
The door slid open. He was blasted with an uncomfortable amount of hot air. His eyes watered a bit at the brightness of the sun.
Where was that big dumb forehead? Once he saw the smile then he could go back to sleep. Wait no he was only there to satisfy his curiosity. Nothing about smiles.
At that moment, Tanjirō’s nose noticed the new arrival. He turned around and greeted Zenitsu with the very smile that the yellow-haired boy had been hoping to witness.
“Are you here to join us, Zenitsu?”, Tanjirō asked brightly.
Zenitsu wanted to say yes or was it no. Words? What are words? Those things didn’t matter when he was confronted with Tanjirō’s appearance. He had seen Tanjirō without a shirt many times before but the water made everything ten times worse or maybe better. Zenitsu couldn’t keep his eyes from tracing a water droplet that was making its way from collarbone to abs.
Tanjirō tilted his head, earrings making that unique crinkling noise. This time he spoke with worry, “Zenitsu?”
Zenitsu quickly snapped his eyes upward to look Tanjirō in the face. It didn’t help. The other boy’s hair was no longer in its usual slicked back style. The water made it darker and weighed it down so that it trailed into his eyes. It was incredibly attractive.
Get a hold of yourself, idiot. Think of cute girls with nice thighs and burgundy eyes and a sharp jawline... Ok no, get rid of that train of thought. Pretty girls… pretty girls… hanafuda earrings. Failure. He was a dismal failure.
No, no, you bastard don’t walk closer. Tanjirō, repent for your heartbreaking good looks.
Tanjirō’s voice was even more worried, “Zenitsu, your face is all red. Are you feeling ok?”.
I’d be perfectly fine if you weren’t so damn close and putting your hand on my forehead. Curse you and your tendency to take care of everyone around you. I take it all back. I wanna go back to training.
Worry made way for Tanjirō’s infamous determination, “I’m gonna carry you back inside. I don’t want you to hurt yourself if you collapse.”
EHHHHH?! Tanjirō you shameless idiot. How could you do this to me? I’m never gonna forgive you….oh.
Tanjirō scooped up the red-faced Zenitsu who made no noise other than a small squeak. That small noise did not accurately reflect how his mind was in absolute shambles.
Bridal style. He was being carried bridal style. His hands were squashed against Tanjirō’s chest.
Zenitsu was ignoring it. He was ignoring how strong Tanjirō’s arms felt around him. He was ignoring how firm his chest felt. He was ignoring how he could look up at the perfect angle to better appreciate the way Tanjirō looked with his hair like that. Yup, totally ignoring it the whole way to his bed.
Who was he kidding? Zenitsu was hopeless. He was hopelessly attracted to his best friend. Probably just a little in love.
At last, Zenitsu managed to say, “Thank you, Tanjirō.”
To which Tanjirō responded cheerfully, “No problem! I care about you Zenitsu. I’m gonna get Shinobu to check on you just in case.”
With that Tanjirō left the room but not before giving Zenitsu a quick kiss on the forehead. There were about 10 seconds of stunned silence before Zenitsu’s screeching could be heard ringing throughout the Butterfly estate.
All in all, Zenitsu couldn’t decide whether he loved or hated Summer.