𝙎𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙏𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙨 | 𝙐𝙯𝙪𝙯𝙚𝙣

𝙎𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙏𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙨

⋆⁺₊⋆ ☾⋆⁺₊⋆𝗡𝗼𝘁𝗲𝘀⋆⁺₊⋆ ☾⋆⁺₊⋆

As always a big thanks to neoconservatism0nive for beta reading!

This fic belongs to the Seasonal Crushes Series! It could be read alone, but makes much more sense if you've read the former parts.

✻ Zenitsu and Uzui are in a consensual relationship
✻ They are teacher and student, Zenitsu is 18 which I don't consider underage (German Viewpoint)
✻ Tanjiro is only aware of the physical aspect of their relationship
✻ One-sided feelings from Tanjiro
✻ Rated T for language

─── ☽ · ❉ · ☾ ───

It was Saturday noon, and Zenitsu found himself in a rather... special ... position. He sat on his bed, huddled into his thick, yellow blanket with white triangles all over it, a familiar pattern he grew up with and learned to love, especially thanks to his Gramps, and watched his best friend fiddling with his thumbs. Of course, he had already picked up on Tanjiro's heart racing a marathon in his chest. He wondered what the other was bothered by. He was nervous, and perhaps even frustrated and angry about something.
It made him anxious; It was strange and not like him at all.

Zenitsu cleared his throat to gain the redhead's attention, who sat on his chair next to the desk. Long forgotten homework and papers about color theories laid on it. Tanjiro had noticed them while sitting down as well.
"What's wrong, Tanjiro?". Zenitsu's voice sounded concerned and his scent reflected the same emotion. "What did you want to talk about?". Maroon met honey as Tanjiro finally looked up. Since getting there a few minutes ago, their eyes hadn't met. The blond couldn't help himself but be seriously worried about his best friend. It had been strange, as he demanded them meeting up spontaneously, after avoiding him these past days. The fact that Tanjiro would usually help out in his mother's bakery at this time, concerned him even more.
Zenitsu even went so far as to cancel his lunch date with Uzui.

Another few seconds passed, causing the blond to get jittery as well. Naturally, Tanjiro wasn't the chattiest person, but he wasn't the quietest one either. He wanted to say something; Zenitsu knew that, yet he seemingly couldn't bring himself to speak up.
His best friend sighed deeply, for the second time since he arrived, which was strange as well, and rubbed a calloused hand over his face. He was definitely frustrated. But why?
"I wanted to talk about something... rather private.", admitted the redhead. He averted his gaze, and turned towards the door. Zenitsu understood, no words needed. "Gramps and Kaigaku aren't home right now.", he gulped down the lump forming in his throat, "We can talk about anything you want.". Tanjiro nodded shortly.

A deep, thoughtful hum left his throat and his eyes met Zenitsu's once more. "I noticed something about you, Zenitsu. You... changed. You don't have that much time for Inosuke and me anymore and you vanish randomly during some lunch breaks...", Tanjiro hesitated for a short moment, "You're in love, am I right?".
The blond swallowed, and his throat felt incredibly tight all of a sudden. His eyes widened as various thoughts began racing through his mind.
'He knows, he really really knows, doesn't he? I am so going to die-', his breath hitched.

Tanjiro gulped loudly and his eyes filled with determination. "Zenitsu!", he began loudly, "I know that you have a physical relationship with Uzui-sensei!".

Silence filled the room.

Zenitsu flushed a bright red. His heart sped up rapidly and filled with a feeling of uneasiness. Anxiety. He gripped his blanket tightly, and a choked-off sound escaped his bitten lips.