"best friends!"

"the hell are you two doing?" KNY

- zenitsu's childhood friend thought they could get a good night's sleep for once, but no; so zenitsu decides to help them out a bit. 998 words.

warnings: swearing from the reader, Zenitsu, and one from Inosuke

headcanons/au's mentioned: insomniac!zenitsu
reader info: insomniac, demon slayer in the main group, they/them pronouns
element/power: not mentioned

"the hell are you two doing?"

It's been hours. The moonlight has been pouring into the room for a while, and _____ has been making shadow puppets for so long, they've gotten annoyed by their own hand. They sighed, lightly punching the yellow wall next to them.

Wait..

"Ow! What the hell, _____?!" Zenitsu angrily grumbled, waking up and turning towards the insomniac.

"Shit, sorry, Zen-Zen. Thought you were a wall."

"A WALL-" Zenitsu started to yell at them before Nezuko angrily whined and punched the floor in his direction. The two winced and offered an apology before she went back to sleep in her brother's arms. "Why the hell did you think I was a wall?!"

"You sleep like a brick, man. My bad." They both sigh before trying to sleep again. Zenitsu eventually went out like a light but, again, _____ didn't have much luck. They sighed and walked out of the Butterfly Estate, wrapped in a little blanket, and sat outside.

They really never had luck with sleeping. Ever since they were little, they'd lay awake at night, either reading, playing games, or talking to Zenitsu. It was always windy where they lived, especially at night, so they'd send paper planes back and forth until someone (usually Zenitsu) messed up and flew it into a tree, to which they collected in the morning.

But, as they grew up, his grandpa taught him how to sleep properly and _____ was left alone through the nights.

Now, they sat outside of the Butterfly Estate in a blanket, watching the moon and reminiscing at their childhood. The wind swept through their (h/c) hair, swirling around their shoulders, as if it was happy to be with them. Light steps came from behind, slow but staggering, as the unknown night walker was anxious. The insomniac turned around to see a very sleepy Zenitsu looking around the mansion.

His soft yellow hair sticking out in some places, folding only slightly over his eyes. The blanket he held only dragged behind him and his eyes were ever so slightly open, indicating that he only just woke up. _____ lets out a soft laugh.

"G'morning sleepy head." His eyes meet theirs, a small gentle smile forming on his lips before frowning into annoyance.

"What are you doing? It's so late...!!" He whined, slowing swinging his arms side to side.

"Couldn't sleep."

"Like usual?"

"Yeah.." Zenitsu took a seat next to them, their blankets touching behind them.

"Guess it hasn't changed since we were kids.." They shook their head and returned back to the stars. The blond frowns, swinging his feet. "Wanna go for a walk? There's a path behind the mansion that Tanjiro showed me." _____ nodded, hopping off the edge of the step and helping Zenitsu down as they walk down together in the soft wind.

Fallen cherry blossoms float around their feet as they walk through the hidden path. The moonlight was the only light around, brightening the path only slightly. _____'s (h/c) hair swept back from the wind, Zenitsu's only flying in his face. He flinched and shook his head to get the hair out his mouth. _____ started laughing, trying to help him out. They sat by a tree eventually, pulling their blankets closer around their shoulders.

"Hey, you know what this looks like?" The Demon Slayer leans against the tree. _____ tilts their head. "That tree by the river! Y'know, the one from when we were younger..."

"You mean the one you kept throwing our letters into?" They snickered.

"YOU DID IT TOO!"

"NOT AS MUCH AS YOU DID!" Zenitsu threw his blanket over their head, crossing his arms. After a second, they start to laugh. The air between them was never tense; If it was for even a second, they'd laugh it off.

Wind swept against the fallen cherry blossoms, swirling them in delicately, tiny tornadoes as they fly down the path. The moon reflected beautifully _____'s shining (e/c) eyes. But, _____ was reflecting in Zenitsu's electric yellow ones.

He wondered why they drifted apart. He knew that the nights were their time to hang out, as his grandfather trained him during the day, but he started sleeping right eventually. That time was gone for them. They didn't talk again for so long. He belived part of that was his fault... Then, years later, _____ saved Zenitsu from a hypnotic, violin demon, while training to be a Demon Slayer, same as him. That rescue was what finally rekindled their friendship once more after so long. Another flower fell from the trees, right on the other Slayer's (h/c) hair, making them shake their head and watch it fall, like a child watching snowfall, with absolute joy and calmness in their eyes. He'd missed this. He missed them.

After an hour of after talking, laughing, reflecting and remembering, _____ finally let out the first yawn of the night. The two celebrate for a moment befote smiling sleepily at each other, sharing more yawns, one after another like their in the string. The two returned inside, trying being as quiet as possible. The moonlight was still shining in their corner, just in a different position to where it wasn't right in their eyes. The blankets they had around their shoulders had fallen down to the floor as they stepped in the room, their steps weaving over sleeping bodies and less wrinkled blankets that smelled like lavender and not fallen cherry blossoms.

They continue to talk as they try to drift off to sleep, catching the attention of a barely awake Inosuke.

"The hell are you two doing...?" He grumbled, annoyed at the sudden noise. The slayers share a look and smile, like twins with an evil plan.

"Remencing!"

"Well, can you shut up and do that when it's /not/ 4 in the morning?!"

The two never flipped over under their blankets so fast. After that night, let's just say that their nighttime hangouts became a very common thing again and they definitely didn't complain about it.

- oh my god this one ended up being so much longer than anticipated... but y'know what, fellow insomniacs, take your story and run with it. run like the wind and enjoy it !!