𝕄𝕦𝕚𝕥𝕒𝕟 𝕆𝕟𝕖𝕤𝕙𝕠𝕥𝕤

𝑰 𝒉𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒅𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒐𝒏 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒃𝒊𝒓𝒕𝒉𝒅𝒂𝒚...

-modern au
-angst
-denial
-talk about death
-Muichiro is 18, Tanjiro is 19

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(Muichiro's POV)
August 8th... my birthday.

Usually, I'd be more excited about it, but I'm not today.

Tanjiro, my boyfriend, hasn't said 'happy birthday' to me. He didn't even say 'good morning' to me, and I haven't seen him all day.

Maybe he's planning a surprise party for me and that's why he isn't here...

Yeah, I'll go with that.

I was pacing back and forth in my bedroom, deep in thought. I had no idea where Tanjiro could be.

He hasn't texted me in a while. In fact, it's been exactly a year since he last texted.

Maybe he just forgot about my birthday...

No, he has a perfect memory. He wouldn't forget something like that.

My birthday isn't that hard to remember... 8/8... even I can remember that.

Why...? Why haven't I seen him today? Why hasn't he texted me in a year? Where did he go...?

'Ring! Ring!'
(Ik that's not what phones sound like. Just go with it.)

I was snapped out of my thoughts by the sound of my phone ringing.

I looked at the number. It was my friend, Shinobu. I answered the phone.

"Hello?"

"Hello, Muichiro. Happy birthday."

"Oh, um, thank you..."

"I just wanted to check up on you. How have you been since, well, you know..."

"I don't know, actually. What was it?"

"You know, the 'incident' last year..."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Muichiro, you can't just keep living in denial-"

"I. Don't. Know. What. You're. Talking. About."

I hung up the phone. What was she even talking about?

An incident last year? Living in denial? I'm not in denial of anything...

"Muichiro!"

Huh? What's that? It sounds like Tanjiro's voice...

His image flashed through my head. He's always had such a beautiful smile and the most gorgeous eyes...

"Mui...chiro..."

The image changed. Most details were fuzzy, but Tanjiro looked very sick in the image.

Is it a memory...? His voice sounded weak too...

Bits and pieces of that day flashed through my mind. I sat on the edge of my bed.

My room turned into a hospital room, and the bed turned into a chair.

What is this...?

'Looking around the room, I could see a bed in front of me, lots of machinery, a heart monitor, and, in the very center of it all, Tanjiro...

He looked sickly and weak, having a hard time staying conscious. I was holding his hand to provide some sort of comfort to him.

The heart monitor was beeping steadily. I looked over at it every once in a while, as if to double check whether his heart was beating or not.

"Mui...chiro..."

I heard Tanjiro's weak voice say. He sounded so tired.

"What is it?"

I looked down at his face when I replied.

"I probably won't... make it much longer... so, I have something to say..."

He coughed before continuing. I gently rubbed his hand with my thumb.

"I love you... more than anything... you are... the best thing that's ever happened to me... thank you for... always being there for me... Oh, and..."

I felt tears prick the corners of my eyes. The hospital room melted away, revealing my bedroom. I didn't get to hear the last part of what he had to say...'

Tears streamed down my face. I buried my head in my hands.

I remember now... he never texted me because...

He was never alive in the first place...

The last thing he said to me when the memory ended... I remember it now...

"Happy birthday, by the way..."

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610 words

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We all love a good angst chapter!

Happy birthday to our favorite Mist Hashira, Muichiro Tokito!

Guess what song inspired me to write this in the comments
(It's really hard totally not at all in the title)

Alright, that's all for now! Bye!

-the author