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Zenitsu’s life was over. No, that’s not an exaggeration.
What more can he do? The demon was too strong. With his and Tanjirou's joined strength they managed to behead it, but at what cost? Now he has to deal with his right arm unusable forever unless they find a way to amputate it--
“Zenitsu?”
He’s pulled back into the present and realizes to his horror that yes, his hand was still clasped together with Tanjirou’s; fingers remaining interlaced with his, days after their battle with some weird demon.
“What?!” The blonde screams at Tanjirou, who doesn’t even balk at his volume. “Can’t you see I'm sulking here?!”
“My nose is itchy.” Tanjirou says, gesturing to his free hand washing the rice. “Scratch it for me?”
Zenitsu angrily complies.
Blood demon art that fuses skin together. It sounded painful, but when it actually happened, Zenitsu didn’t really feel anything. He only noticed he was joined together with Tanjirou when he moved to pull his hands away and found it stuck against the redhead’s.
He screamed and panicked for a good hour until Tanjirou got fed up and kicked him in the gut, effectively making him pass out.
After that, they stopped by the butterfly estate for advice.
Shinobu peered at their joined hands curiously.
“It’s a blood demon art I’ve never seen before.” She says, running a finger through the seam where their hands should part. “I wouldn't worry too much though, most blood demon arts disappear after a while.”
The news didn't sound too good to Zenitsu's ears. Obviously, the fact that it'll disappear without consequences eases his anxiety.
But that part about it taking a while amps up his blood pressure to a hundred.
Shinobu rustles through the infirmary drawers, taking out a suspiciously sharp object. “Still, I’ll need a blood and skin sample from you two.”
Now that shot up Zenitsu's blood pressure to thousands.
Zenitsu couldn’t really say no, since Tanjirou won’t say no, and he’s inevitably stuck to him so he can’t just run away.
So the tears just come naturally falling as he clings to Tanjirou, who soothes him with sweet humming into his ears. He doesn't know if Shinobu does it on purpose, but she ends up taking more samples out of his skin than Tanjirou's.
“Alright boys, you’re done.” She giggles, but Zenitsu's interacted with her long enough to know it was a snicker. She enjoys the blonde in misery, really. “I’ll give you the results when they’re ready. In the meantime, try to keep each other alive, okay?”
Zenitsu raises his hands.
“Yes, Zenitsu.” She nods to him.
“How long do you think it’ll last?”
“Not more than a few weeks. Or maybe 2 to 3 months.”
The blonde gapes, months?! At his surprise, Tanjirou raises his hand next.
"Yes. Tanjirou." Shinobu says again, looking amused.
"But what if I had to go to the bathroom?" He asks nonchalantly, as if he's just genuinely curious and not thinking about the fact that they're going to have to deal with each other being naked--
"Absolutely not!!" Zenitsu screeches, and he might sound like an ass depriving Tanjirou of his necessities but he does not want to see his dick!! "We're not drinking water for a month!!"
Tanjirou looks as if he's actually pondering this.
“If you have to go to the bathroom, you do it together.” Shinobu says, stopping the both of them from entertaining any more dangerous thoughts. “Think of it as some sort of bonding exercise!”
Zenitsu almost wants to cry again, Tanjirou comforts him awkwardly, since his other hand has to stretch in order to reach the blonde’s shoulder and pat it there.
And so began their life adjoined like twins.
Their first obstacle was dinner.
Zenitsu’s right handed, so holding his utensils in his left left him rather crippled. He was starting to make a mess of his tray with all of the food flinging off his bowl and he’s just about to give up until Tanjirou tugs on their joined hands.
“Ah.” Zenitsu turns only to find Tanjirou offering a bite to him, like the gentleman he is. He supposes he should be flattered, being offered help to eat.
Unfortunately, this has an opposite effect on Zenitsu. “What are you doing?!” He shrieks, face red as he trembles. Their hands bind him down to his seat, unable to run away.
“Feeding you?” Tanjirou raises a brow, he tries to give the food again, but the blonde only turns his head stubbornly away. “Zenitsu you’re barely eating.”
Barely eating was not a problem for Zenitsu, he's been a master of that for years. “Do that to a girl not me!! Go away!!” He adamantly shakes his head so Tanjirou doesn't get the chance to just shove it in his mouth.
Tanjirou huffs, arms tired from hovering in the air for too long. He just goes back to eating his own food with a frown.
Zenitsu tries to pick up food again, and he ends up doing just as good as earlier. He gets a one bite of meat in, but only because he stabs it with chopsticks in a fit of rage.
Tanjirou finishes before him and observes on, raising a brow when Zenitsu flicks another perfectly good tower of rice from his bowl.
Amazing. He is just amazing with this.
How come when Tanjirou's stubborn he can do things?! Zenitsu thinks in his head pitifully, When Zenitsu's stubborn he just gets the same results.
The blonde lets go of the chopsticks with a whimper, staring at his lap in defeat and embarrassment. He gives the redhead a sidelong glance after a moment, and Tanjirou sighs.
Tanjirou picks Zenitsu's chin up with a finger and gestures for him to say ah. He assembles a perfectly rationed bite of rice and meat before dropping it into the blonde’s open mouth.
Zenitsu doesn't forget to say thank you later, ashamed. Tanjirou just replies with a kiss to his forehead, which Zenitsu definitely doesn't think about for the rest of the night.
Next was the baths.
Zenitsu only realized their predicament when he was halfway through shedding his uniform, and Tanjirou was already naked.
“What are you doing, Zenitsu?” Tanjirou asks, staring at Zenitsu's remaining underwear and jacket. “You can’t get in the baths without getting naked.”
Easy for you to say, the blonde thinks as he tries to keep his gaze anywhere but down, you have no shame!!
“I will and I can!! Watch me!!” Zenitsu crosses his arms, or at least tries to, forgetting halfway that yes their hands were still joined. He ends up only wrapping one arm around his middle in protest.
They stare at each other, with Zenitsu’s gaze noticeably wavering. He’s not well equipped to handle a naked tanjirou, or a naked anyone, really.
Tanjirou breaks the silence first with a grunt, opening the shower overhead with a raised brow, daring Zenitsu to prove himself.
The blonde ends up feeling gross having all those layers of clothes sticking to his skin, and he promptly lets a smug Tanjirou peel all of it off him--or rip it off, since the other half of his sleeves can't be slipped off--before they continued on.
It was surprisingly pleasant, but only because Zenitsu had lost all his strength to scream from being right next to a bare Tanjirou.
For the most part, the shower was him just sitting there red faced as the redhead washed his hair and body. His hands were still clumsy, even moreso now that he's trembling under Tanjirou's gaze.
It doesn't help that his friend looks so different with his hair down!! Where is Zenitsu's glow up?!
He drew the line when the redhead's hands wandered too low though, and promptly snatched the soap out of a chuckling Tanjirou's hands.
Their soak in the bath was awkward too--
"You can sit on my lap?" The redhead had suggested, noticing that Zenitsu sitting in front of them had an uncomfortable effect on their twined hands.
As expected, the blonde protests. "No!!"
--well, awkward for Zenitsu. Tanjirou didn't really seem like he cared about personal space.
“Ah.” Zenitsu blinks as Tanjirou helps him ruffle his hair dry. “Hey, what about our clothes?!”
Tanjirou hums, “Don’t worry, it's on the way.”
“On the way?”
The bathroom door slides open and in comes a triumphant Nezuko, holding a set of freshly folded pajamas.
Zenitsu screams and scrambles back to the water in an attempt to hide himself. Tanjirou has to steady himself so that he doesn't slip on the floor from the sudden movement.
"Tanjirou!!" He screams, pointing at the demon who tilts her head sweetly. "Why Nezuko?!"
Tanjirou doesn't answer his question, only tugging him out of the bath gently with an impatient frown. "Come on Zenitsu, time to get dressed."
When the blonde still doesn't budge, he motions for Nezuko to leave the clothes for them. "Nezuko. Mind waiting outside for us?"
She hums curiously, not knowing why they're hesitating, but follows Tanjirou's words with a happy huff, closing the door behind her.
"I can't believe you, exposing me to a girl like that." Zenitsu whimpers, pulling himself out of the baths. Tanjirou patiently helps him wipe himself dry again. "Now I'll never get married." He mutters in despair.
Tanjirou smiles at him as he dumps the towel on his head, "I'm sure you still can." He says, and Zenitsu doesn't know if he's being genuine with his words or teasing. "Just not to a girl."
Zenitsu whines. Tanjirou just throws him his pair of clothes.
"Come on, pants on. I'm not sure how we can wear the shirt, but you can drape it over you if you're cold."
Sleep came slow.
They pushed their futons together to accommodate themselves and their predicament, but with their joined hands, he's forced to sleep on his back.
Unfortunately for Zenitsu, this is the absolute worst position for him. He usually finds sleep faster on his sides, being on his back just makes him feel alienated.
So he shifts himself to the side.
The only problem now was his arm, he kept putting weight on it. It was sure to lose circulation in the morning.
"Zenitsu." Tanjirou grunts when the blonde moves too many times, unable to pull his hands away and get some peaceful rest. "Go to sleep."
"Can't." Zenitsu hisses, "I'm not used to lying straight on my back."
"Then turn to the side?"
"My arm gets in the way."
Tanjirou groans. "Zenitsu."
"I'm figuring it out!!" He whispers angrily next to the redhead's ear. He shifts a bunch more times on the futon, and he can hear clearly hear the sounds of Tanjirou getting annoyed, but he needs to figure this out or it's another all-nighter for him.
And that's where he gets his brilliant, but shameful, idea.
"Lend me your chest." Zenitsu pokes Tanjirou's sides, effectively waking the red head up reluctantly.
Tanjirou, as tired as he is, doesn't protest and just nods for Zenitsu to do what he wants.
The blonde rolls over, his head on Tanjirou's chest, right over his heart. It's not really a side lying position, more of him lying prone on Tanjirou, but he'll take what he can get.
"There." He sighs, "Comfort at last."
Tanjirou huffs, ruffling his hair and placing a gentle kiss on his ears. "'Night Zenitsu."
Zenitsu, doesn't end up sleeping at all due to the kiss.
At first, it continued to be awkward for both of them.
Being constantly near Zenitsu meant dealing with a lot of noise and fussing, and being constantly near Tanjirou meant unwillingly going off on errands and chores.
Still, somewhere in the middle they managed to make compromises, like how Tanjirou won’t listen to Zenitsu if he’s picking up too much of a fuss or how Zenitsu won’t tolerate favors that goes beyond at least five times a day.
They've begun to work in tandem, with Tanjirou taking most of the lead in their tasks, because he still had control of his dominant hand. Zenitsu would occasionally join, but intense emotions usually made his hands tremble, so he wasn't much of a help. Luckily Zenitsu can still hold his grip on his sword if Tanjirou just doesn't terrorize him with small affections. So despite their clear disability, they still accepted missions.
Their joined hands were clearly no hindrance against the demons they faced, if Tanjirou's water breathing doesn't work, Zenitsu would join him with his lightning.
“Let’s slice it open!!” Inosuke declared one time, when Tanjirou relayed their predicament to him. He had just come back from a three-day mission, confused to find his friends always holding hands.
Zenitsu didn't know whether to be happy or not, judging from how normally Inosuke had taken their new 'development'.
They ended up being chased for more than half an hour around the hallways, at least until Shinobu showed up to reprimand the boar and confiscate his swords.
Another time, Genya asked curiously with tinted cheeks. "What if you want to, uh, you know--"
"Oh, that? I help him." Tanjirou had answered nonchalantly.
Zenitsu choked on his mochi, trying to reassure a shocked Genya that absolutely nothing like that has happened please don't believe this guy Tanjirou I'm going fucking kill you--
Months pass and it seemed like the curse wasn't any close to wearing off.
Still, Zenitsu enjoyed it, because getting spoiled by Tanjirou felt nice. And from the way Tanjirou treated him--with gentle touches and kisses on exposed skin--the redhead enjoyed it too.
That was until that faithful morning, at least four months into this whole mess.
"You're still holding hands?" Shinobu asks with a smirk. "The effects stopped weeks ago."
Zenitsu stares at her, then back at Tanjirou, who shrugs vaguely.
Sure enough, when Zenitsu tries to pull his hands away, it slips away with ease.
Zenitsu screams bloody murder as Tanjirou watches on in amusement. It seemed that the redhead had known the whole time, but found it too cute to stop him.