𝙎𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙞𝙨 𝙇𝙤𝙫𝙚? | 𝙐𝙯𝙪𝙯𝙚𝙣

𝙎𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙞𝙨 𝙇𝙤𝙫𝙚?

⋆⁺₊⋆ ☾⋆⁺₊⋆𝗡𝗼𝘁𝗲𝘀⋆⁺₊⋆ ☾⋆⁺₊⋆

This work belongs to the 𝑺𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝑪𝒓𝒖𝒔𝒉𝒆𝒔 Series, and doesn't make much sense without its context. Make sure to check out the former parts beforehand!

✻ This part is Tanjirou-centric (and somewhat Zenitsu), and doesn't feature much of our favorite couple
✻ At this point Tanjirou is pining for Zenitsu, nearing an unrequited love (poor baby.)
✻ The power of friendships beats anything (except a healthy relationship)
✻ Uzui remains a possessive little shit, but I love him that way ngl
✻ T rated mostly bc of language

The usal big thanks goes to my Beta neoconservatism0nive !

─── ☽ · ❉ · ☾ ───

After an amazing night with Uzui, (which he'd never admit to his older lover, fearing to be teased for it), Zenitsu had to wear that stupid maid dress once again. It was even worse this time, considering he had to ask Kochou-san for a new costume, hence they had ruined the first one the night prior. His cheeks were so flushed, he had looked like a tomato as he stuttered something about 'tripping' and tearing it to shreds in the process.
Even if he wasn't present, Uzui managed to embarrass him greatly. That must be what love is about, it seemed.

Not to mention the fact, that he had to wear at least a ton of concealer and make-up around his entire upper body. Especially his neck and chest had been assaulted by his perverted boyfriend last night, resulting in him looking like the embodiment of obscenity.

At least he'd gotten something neat out of it. Neat. It was definitely way more than just 'neat'.
Zenitsu looked down at his left wrist, with a small smile adorning his lips. Gold glinted underneath the black sleeves of his uniform, and he resisted the urge to fiddle with the bracelet.
Uzui had gifted it to him. Without a reason! Just for the sake of it! The blond was still shocked, on how rich and giving his lover had to be. 'That's how it must feel like to have a sugar daddy.', Zenitsu thought, even though Uzui resented him for the comparison.

A loud, clattering noise caused him to startle. Quickly, he turned around to find the culprit of it all. Honeyed eyes met ones of a deep maroon, and their gazes interlocked, before shifting away hurriedly. Right.
His best friend-turned-ex-best friend had apparently lost his grip on the metallic dustpan, prompting it to clatter onto the floor, which was now littered in glitter and paper scraps once again. Great, it's not like they've been cleaning up for nearly an hour by now.
"Sorry.", mumbled the redhead, before kneeling down in a rushed manner. Zenitsu ignored him. Instead, he returned to his prior duty of cleaning the tables, freeing them of dried acrylics and glue. He could clearly hear Tanjirou sigh behind him and stopped himself from doing it as well, biting his lower lip in lieu. It was shitty of him, to treat his former best friend like this, he knew that. Yet, Tanjirou himself wouldn't even look him in the eyes properly.

The air between them remained heavy and had been filled with an uncomfortable tension these past few weeks, since they had their special talk. A talk that wasn't pleasant for any of them in the end. Instead of clarity, it brought them even more frustrations. 'Stupid.', he had thought. Everything was so stupid!
Uzui had told him that Tanjirou would 'come back around eventually', yet that didn't seem to be the case at all! The redhead avoided him just like before, if not even more, and kept to himself and Inosuke all the time. After two days of trying to get something out of him, the blond had lost his patience and began spending each break with his boyfriend-slash-art teacher, as an alternative. Not that Tanjirou would like that, either.