My Comfortember 2022 contribution for the prompt : Cold.
I'm sorry for the mistakes, English is not my native language. I hope you like it.
Disclaimer : Demon Slayer belongs to Koyoharu Gotoge.
Cold
Zenitsu sneezed loudly and shivered. He pulled the blanket over him a little more to give himself some warmth. It was all Inosuke's fault, Zenitsu fumed. He had gone on a mission with him and Tanjiro and during their fight against a demon, that idiot boar pushed him into a river. Of course, Zenitsu knew he did not do it on purpose. But because of that, he ended up catching a cold. The sliding door opened and Tanjiro entered. He knelt down beside him.
"Zenitsu," he said softly. "I came to see how you were doing."
"I'm sick," Zenitsu whined. "I have never been so sick."
He was exaggerating. He had always been one to exaggerate. But he had a fever, he had a sore throat, he was coughing and sneezing, so Zenitsu did not care about exaggerating. Tanjiro looked at him, pained. He hated seeing one of his friends sick. But he knew that in this kind of situation, he could not do anything. Only time and rest will allow Zenitsu to get better.
"I'll let you rest."
He patted his shoulder to give him some comfort. He stood up and left the room. Zenitsu ended up falling asleep.
~00~
Zenitsu slowly opened his eyes. Night had fallen. He still had a fever and a sore throat. But, he felt appeased. He closed his eyes, still tired, and turned his head to the side. That's strange, he thought. His pillow was softer and warmer. He felt a hand stroke his hair and he heard a voice hum. Zenitsu should have been scared to know that someone had come up so close to him while he was asleep. But he was not. On the contrary, he felt safe. He opened his eyes and he looked deeply into Nezuko's eyes.
"Nezuko-chan," he whispered.
Zenitsu wondered for a second if he was dreaming. Yet the warmth of Nezuko's hand in his hair was very real. She continued to hum. She must have sensed that he was sick and she was trying to help him any way she could. Zenitsu smiled. He was falling a little more in love with her.
"Thank you Nezuko-chan."
It had been a long time since he had felt so appeased. His eyelids grew heavy. It was impossible for him to keep his eyes open. He ends up falling asleep, lulled by Nezuko's voice and warmth.
The end