Chapter Text
Zenitsu Agatsuma didn’t always hate Tanjiro Kamado.
It started in back in late spring, when the Wisteria flowers had started to bloom and the feeling of new beginnings overwhelmed Zenitsu as he hugged his Gramps and Kaigaku tightly before heading off to university, and essentially, starting his new independent adult life. The first couple of days in Zenitsu new dorm was when he heard the sound for the first time.
He was only away from Gramps and Kaigaku for a mere couple of days before he had become unbearably homesick.
But then he heard that heartbeat.
He was walking through the cafeteria of the Butterfly Residency with his then newly acquainted roommate Kanao, who, for the most part, had been extremely quiet since Zenistu had met her a couple of weeks back when they were assigned to one another. At a glance, she was kind of stand-offish, always passively smiling and fiddling with the small butterfly clips that seemed to be always clipped throughout her hair. However, he could tell she was warming up; she was talking to him more often and even offered to go explore on campus with him. Zenitsu thought that, in a world he was attracted to women, he would have been obsessed with someone like her.
The two had been talking about their first day of classes mindlessly, headed to get some food when he had first heard the heartbeat.
It was a soft pitter patter, gentle and melodic, and so incredibly kind. Zenitsu could swear the sound of it was calling to him. As if the universe gifted him his super hearing was just so that he could hear that heartbeat.
And, it was the first time that Zenistu had let his homesickness slip from his mind.
When he searched around to see where the sound was coming from, his eyes handed on a boy sitting at a table with people encapsulated by him. He almost tripped on his feet when the boys burgundy eyes connected with his own, his Hanafuda earrings dangling on each of his ears as he turned his head to look at Zenitsu.
The boy scrunched his nose as he stared, before breaking eye contact with him and returning to one of the many conversations he was having around the table of people staring at him awe. Zenitsu couldn’t help have his heartbeat thump so uncomfortably in his chest.
Did he smell? No, he wouldn't of been able to smell me from so far away.
Why was he scrunching his nose like that then?
“Kanao. . .” He started, his eyes still curiously lingering at the boy. “Do you know who that is?”
“The shirtless guy with the blue hair?” Kanao voiced asked in confusion, Zenitsu had been so focused on the boy with the earrings he had not even noticed there was another boy sitting beside him, another shirtless boy.
Who would go shirtless to a cafeteria anyways?
“No, the one with the green and black checkered haori.”
“That’s Kamado Tanjiro.” Kanao said, “He lives down the hall from us, we have a class together.”
Zenitsu simply nodded.
Kamado Tanjiro. Huh.
The first time Zenitsu had decided he didn’t like Kamado Tanjiro was also the first time he had ever spoken to the boy. It was a couple of weeks into the semester, when his university exam week had passed like a hurricane, and the burnt out Zenitsu just needed a break.
Over the weeks, he had heard about Kamado Tanjiro, from almost everyone he knew. Not only did everyone love Tanjiro, everyone was also seemingly obsessed with him.
Zenistu on the other hand, felt resentful at this very fact.
No one could possibly be that great.
“We are drinking in Tanjiro and Inosuke’s suite tonight.” Aoi Kanzaki asserted, walking into Zenitsu and Kanao’s suite that Saturday morning. Aoi was a friend with fierce blue eyes that the two had met at the beginning of the semester, and they three had become somewhat of a trio over the past couple of weeks. Zenitsu really liked Aoi, but she was so sure of herself, and that made him nervous.
“We need to get alcohol.” Zenitsu and Kanao said simultaneously.
Zenitsu had been somewhat of an experienced drinker; with a brother like Kaigaku around who let him have some of his beer and get drunk with him and his older friends at the ripe age of sixteen. Somehow, it was a bonding moment for the siblings, a secret shared and kept from Gramps, even though the boy didn’t care for the taste of beer too much.
That’s why he settled that night on a pack of peached flavored canned wine, which made him a lot more tipsy than he had originally intended on being.
So when he later stumbled into said dorm suite party and greeted Inosuke with a tight bear hug only to have him try and wrestle Zenitsu to the ground, he didn't mind it too much. Zenitsu had met Hashibira Inosuke around the same time he met Aoi, and of course he was shirtless just as he had been the first time he saw the boy sitting next to Kamado Tanjiro weeks before.
He had learnt three things about Inosuke since then; that the reason he always seemed to be shirtless was because he grew up on the mountains and it made him feel closer to home, that the blue haired boy was always ready for a fight and finally that he never seemed to pronounce anyones name corrected.
Inosuke’s room was crammed with too many people with music that played loudly through a speaker that made his ears hurt. Zenitsu eyes were drawn to Kamado Tanjiro as soon as he walked in. He was standing by Inosuke’s window talking to random person he didn’t know, holding a red solo cup in his hand and not looking back at Zenistu.
Yet, he was scrunching his nose, again.
This was something that had become a regular occurrence because now Zenitsu and Tanjiro shared the same group of friends, and they would be in the same room often enough, but two things would always happen. Tanjiro would scrunch his nose whenever Zenitsu walked into the same room as him, or whenever Tanjiro walked into the same room as himself, and the brunette boy would never utter a word to him.
So what exactly was his problem?
This was why he had decided that the sound of his heartbeat was not a testament to his character, no matter how pretty it was or how much it drew Zenistu in.
As he stood and stared at Kamado Tanjiro and the stranger, his ears couldn’t help but listen to what the two were talking about.
“-messy, and his hair is so orange.” He heard him say, and he knew for certain he was the only one in the room with hair even close to the color orange. Zenitsu cheeks turned bright red.
And now he’s talking about my hair.
“Henistu!” Inosuke yelled, snapping him out of it, “Why do you look so bothered?!”
“It’s Zenistu.” He said, somewhat repetitively.
“It’s a party Yenistu!” The shirtless boy responded. “Let’s drink!”
So that’s what they did, and Zenitsu found himself finishing up to five of the six cans of his peach wine.
“He was talking about my hair.” Zenitsu snickered to Kanao, because of course he hadn’t mustered up any courage to actually go and talk to Tanjiro about it. “He’s never said a word to me yet he was talking about my hair.”
“I’m sure he didn’t mean anything by it,” Kanao slurred, “Tanjiro is so nice.”
“I’m going to the bathroom.”
It was then when Zenistu, attempting to stumble into Inosuke’s and Tanjiro’s shared bathroom, that he stumbled into the other bedroom in the dorm suit instead.
As he took slow steps into the room, the music seemed to drown out little by little which allowed his ears for a little relief. He couldn’t help but notice just how neat the room was. It was much more tidy than any other dorm room he had walked in during his time at the Butterfly Residency, and a lot neater than his own. The bed was made up with dark grey sheets, with a singular pillow, and his desk had books perfectly stacked. On his windowsill, stood a singular picture frame.
I shouldn’t be in here.
Yet, Zenitsu, with liquor swimming through his veins and his decision making skills at a halt, he couldn't help but slowly walk towards the windows and pick up the frame. In it, Zenitsu recognized, was Kamado Tanjiro, and what he would assume, was his family. They all had the biggest smiles Zenitsu had ever seen, and he couldn't help but wonder what it would have been like to grow up with a big family like that.
“What are you doing in here?” Zenitsu jumped at the sound the voice behind him, surprised at himself for not noticing that heartbeat come closer. “Didn’t you see the keep out sign?”
The voice was coming from Kamado Tanjiro, and Zenitsu knew for certain that this was the first time the other boy had ever spoken to him, and he sounded angry, the beat in his heart was thumping louder than usual with the sound of his song slightly off key.
He quickly put down the frame and turned around to face the boy, who stood a few feet away from him with tight fists and an uptight demeanor. Zenistu knew that rationally Tanjiro was reasonably angry, Zenitsu was a stranger who he caught looking through his things.
But Zenitsu was drunk, and there was no way he was going to apologize to him.
“I heard you talking about my hair earlier.” Zentisu said instead, his face turning red again.
Tanjiro’s facial expression changed from angry to something completely different, and the sound of Tanjiro’s heartbeat shifted. Zenitsu almost thought that the boy who stood before him sounded embarrassed.
“I-“ Kamado Tanjiro began, but Zenitsu cut him off.
“Don’t talk to me.” And with that he stormed out the room without another word.
That was the beginning of it all.
Zenitsu was almost a third year now, who lived off campus in an apartment with his very best friend Kanao. He had been working at the same café for a couple of months now, and at the beginning of summer, Tanjiro applied to work at the very same place.
It wasn’t like he never saw Tanjiro either since moving out of the Butterfly Residency, they shared the same friend group, so of course they would see each other, but he would limit the amount of contact he would have with the boy as much as he could.
So when Tanjiro applied to the place he worked, Zenistu was more than displeased with him for putting an abrupt stop to his plan, because now he forced to work with him often, and then when he would go hang out with his group of friends, he would have to see him again.
He remember’s the argument about it clear as day, it was late May and the group was hanging out at Aoi’s apartment. Of course, it didn't take long for all of their friends to discover that Zenistu and Tanjiro had an audible discontent towards one another. But, for the most part, they kept it civil, because they both loved their friends, and that was one thing they could agree on.
That didn’t mean there weren’t back handed comments, or slip ups, every once in a while; like when Zenistu had found out that Tanjiro had applied to the place he had already been working at for months.
“I just don’t understand why of all the places you had to chose the one where I work.” Zentisu threw his fits up, “I actually like my job.”
“Agatsuma.” Tanjiro breathed, “It’s not all about you, the job is close and I have experience.”
“There are a million cafés in the area!”
“So? I like this one.”
The bickering went on and on, while Nezuko (Tanjiro’s sister and roommate who was a year younger than the rest of them), Aoi, Inosuke and Kanoe simply stared at the two boys unsure of what to say or do. Kanoe had always told Zenistu that she never understood what his problem with Tanjiro was.
“Tanjiro is kind.”
“Tanjiro and you would be great friends if you both weren’t so stubborn.”
“You guys just misunderstand each other.”
Zenitsu would always have the same, calculated, responses.
“Remember when ignored me for weeks and made fun of my hair.”
“I would never be friends with someone like him.”
“You’re right! I don’t understand him, and I don’t want too!”
It was always the same argument, like clock work, always going around and never changing.
It was late August now, with second semester of third year on the horizon.
Zenistu opened his eyes to his alarm going off on his phone and the sun seeping in through his blinds. He had always loved summer, to the point he didn’t mind having to wake up early to go to work because the warm mornings were his favorite. His vision was blurry as he forced himself out of bed, wondering if Kanao would be awake. As he made his way to the kitchen with the smell of coffee luring him in, he was greeted by his roommate sitting at their small dining table.
“Morning.” Zenitsu yawned, walking towards the kitchen cabinets.
“Hey.” Kanao whispered, not looking up from her phone. “Work with Tanji today?”
“Don’t remind me.”
Zenitsu reached for his favorite mug, and made a cup of instant coffee. He knew he would be able to have as much as espresso as he pleased once he arrived at work, so the instant coffee would be able to hold him over.
Once he finished his first cup of the day and scrolled on his phone for a while, he quickly washed up and got dressed before making his morning commute to work. It was a lovely walk, and even though it was short, Zenitsu loved that he could be outside before most people were. The sky was a beautiful shade of lilac, and the air felt sticky against his skin.
When he arrived to Café Sagiri, the door had already been unlocked which meant Tanjiro had gotten there before him. As he walked through the glass door and turned the sign to open, he saw the brunette setting out the pastries into the display case, and of course, scrunching his nose the way he always did when Zenitsu walked into a room.
“Good morning,” Zentisu said half-hearty, but Tanjiro didn't respond, the boy didn’t even look up at him.
But Zenitsu could hear his heartbeat unsteady for a moment before it turned back to normal.
This is how it had been most mornings over the summer when Zenitsu had to open with Tanjiro alone, which only occurred once a week, but it had become somewhat of a routine. They never really talked during their shifts, and if they did it was in short sentences that always had something to do with work.
Zenitsu went to the back of the café and put down his things before grabbing his apron and making his way to make his first real coffee of the day.
An iced latte, with lots of honey and peach flavored syrup, of course.
Once Zenitsu had finished making his drink, the sound of Tanjiro trying to snort quietly filled his hears. He wondered if Tanjiro knew that he could hear things better than the average person. He must of, because the topic came up in their friend group often. Nezuko had even questioned him about it once.
“Is there a problem, Kamado?”
Tanjiro’s head shot up and looked at him confused, and the first customer of the day walked in before he got the chance to respond. Zenitsu was sure the scoff had something to do with the obscene amount of sugary delights he had put into his latte. Tanjiro was the type to drink just plain espresso, he had never seen the boy do otherwise, and Zenistu was quite positive that he had some type of superiority complex about it.
The day went on slowly, with customers trickling in and out. Most days over the summer went like this while everyone who went to the university nearby was either back home with their families or working themselves.
Zenitsu and Kaigaku had visited Gramps right as first semester had ended, just as they had done the year before. He could tell Gramps was lonelier without them then he would care to let on, with his heart beat shifting as he always assured the two brothers that he was an old man who keeps himself busy.
Which wasn’t untrue, Gramps liked to live simply, which meant he did a lot of physical activities, like gardening and training to be in the best physical shape he possibly can.
But he sounded sad, and that broke Zenitsu’s heart.
Gramps had taken both him and Kaigaku in from the orphanage when they were little, and admittedly living with Gramps wasn’t the easiest, when he would force the two boys to train and compete with one another. While also making them learn to cook and clean for themselves and pushing them hard over their studies. But he had also taught the two boys about what hard work really was.
He had also loved the two boys unconditionally.
“Are you sad?” Tanjiro interrupted his thoughts.
“What?” Zentisu responded, caught off guard by the brunettes words. He turned to face the boy, who was sitting by the cash register fiddling with the handle of the little cup of espresso he had made, being careful not to look up at him.
“You smell sad.” Tanjiro said simply, his heart beating steadily with out any real sense of emotion in his voice.
Over the years, Zenistu had been made aware of Tanjiro’s sense of smell, which is why it made him feel so insecure when the boy scrunched his nose in a type of way Zenitsu couldn’t decipher every time he had entered a room.
“I smell sad?”
“Yeah.”
It was quiet for a while, and Zenitsu couldn't help but wish a customer would come in to make the air around them feel less uncomfortable. He couldn't think of anything to say, but the silence was deafening enough you could here a pin drop, so he opted on the truth.
“I was just thinking about my Gramps, Kamado.”
“Is he alright?” Tanjiro asked, and as far as Zenitsu could tell, the sound of his voice was genuine.
“He’s lonely I think.”
“You’re sad he’s lonely.”
Tanjiro wasn’t asking, it was more like a known fact that lingered in the air between the two boys, and Zenitsu could tell Tanjiro was about to say something else, but was interrupted by the sound of a door ringing as a customer walked through the door and they both jumped up with welcoming smiles on their faces.
The two of them didn’t talk after that, aside from hesitant glances and a mumbled goodbye after closing. On Zenitsu’s walk home that bright evening, for some unfathomable reason, he felt phased by this interaction, because for the first time since he had met Tanjiro, the two had had a real conversation.
He was probably overthinking it.