PROMPT 2: Im one of the five shipper of Zen/Tan so my request its about au wedding between the two. Could be the actual wedding, the question or Tanjiro asking for the hand of Zenitsu to his grampa, or something like that. I love your fics!

When even Tomioka starts sending him weird looks, that's when Zenitsu starts panicking.

He's quite proud of himself for not doing it sooner, thank you very much! This craziness has been going on for two weeks (two!) and yet Zenitsu managed to accumulate everything he's built up from his training as a pillar to his numerous victories on the battlefield to definitely and calmly not freak the hell out.

It started with the girls at the Butterfly Estate sneaking glances at him and giggling behind his back when they think he can't hear them. Never mind that they usually make a point to stay as far the heck away from him as possible, Zenitsu wasn't blind enough anymore to believe otherwise, they were still acting strangely.

Then there were their subordinates in the black masks. Zenitsu usually sympathized with them. With their nine to five jobs in addition to overnight shifts acting as everyone else's pawns, the blond occasionally wonders how he didn't end up on that side of the job chain. But when he returned to his room after hearing a rustle under his bed from across the yard only to discover one of them snooping around in his belongings- one of those belongings being a painting of Gramps' peach blossoms, that's when Zenitsu officially lost all sense of camaraderie for them.

There wasn't much change in Kanao. She was acting the least suspicious, possibly due to the fact that she was the best at keeping a straight face out of everyone in their friend circle. At least, Zenitsu thought so until she came up to him after a meeting on a rainy afternoon and asked if he wanted to get his hair braided. At that, he runs a finger through a strand absentmindedly. He's grown it out in the three years since they first met.

"It couldn't hurt to try." He told her then, oblivious to Kanao's slightly increased smile.

"Great!"

They emerged not even an hour later. Zenitsu was not amused at the outcome. A three-strand braid hung loosely on his left side while a completely embarrassing golden butterfly clip was fastened on his right. Everyone stared horribly at him. He knew he looked ugly, okay?! No need to rub it in-! When even Tanjirou ran out of the room without a word, red-faced and sound playing a quickened drumbeat that shook the leaves, Zenitsu vowed to never get his hair done ever again.

Genya was positively awful. Granted, he didn't have the calmest countenance but whatever little peacefulness he reached inside of him was thrown out the window whenever Zenitsu so much as walked in his peripheral. His face would twist like he was constipated, knuckles white, and just when Zenitsu expected the guy to pounce on him in absolute rage, complete with the blond himself squeaking and cowering in the corner, all the man uttered out was a wheezy "good luck." Then he bolted out of there. What three words described this more than what the hell?

The worst of them all was Tanjirou.

To put it simply, Tanjirou was avoiding him. There was no sugar-coating it. They'd been together for two years now. Sharing short pecks on the cheek, lips, forehead, even wrists, anywhere they felt like kissing that day in between missions was often times what kept them sane when demons were tough and losses were great. The nights that he spent curled up against him and sharing fears and hopes, drowning in the summer that was Tanjirou's sound were plenty. When they were unfortunate enough to be sent to different towns, at least one of them always made it a point to bring a trinket or story back for the other. Overall, it was the happiest two years of Zenitsu's life.

So when all of that was suddenly gone, Zenitsu couldn't help but wonder where he went wrong.

Evidently, that had to be the case. He'd happily jump back into Tanjirou's arms if the other didn't stop offering them, so Zenitsu had to have been the one to mess up somewhere. It made sense, so much horrifying sense! Those looks everyone sent him, why Kanao and Genya had been so kind, why the girls kept gossiping about him behind his back, it had to have been pity! Pity at what, you ask…? Don't be idiotic! The signals were all there. The targets were set and all Zenitsu could do was sit and wait for the inevitable shooting.

Tanjirou was going to break up with him.

Zenitsu did not cry. He felt like he couldn't until he heard the words directly from the source- the beautiful and harmonious source containing all the warmth in this world who finally and rightfully decided that he was too good for Zenitsu.

So when Inosuke knocked on his sliding door at the inn they were staying at for the night, something about Tanjirou wanting to speak with him, Zenitsu took a deep breath, keeping the tears at bay. When the boar man led him outside at the dead of night, fireflies littering the garden with light, Zenitsu focused on the silent buzz of life so to not scream. The echoes of Genya and Kanao's presence somewhere nearby so to watch the disaster that was Zenitsu unfold kept him grounded.

There Tanjirou was. Seated on a bench under the cherry blossoms, he looked and sounded as lovely as ever. Amber eyes turned to him, hair illuminated into a warm brown by the reflection of petals in the pond. With nerves frayed at the edges of a fond smile, he let out an almost inaudible "Zenitsu."

What was that supposed to mean? "-Tanjirou."

"N-Nice evening we're having, right?"

"Yeah…" This was so wrong. Both of them were nervous. Their conversation was awkward, their greetings so formal that Zenitsu suddenly felt like they went back in time and regressed to before they were even friends. The thought stung. Some part of him registered Inosuke retreating back to the building with a strange gait in his walk. Zenitsu plowed on before he knew Tanjirou could pick up on the utter misery in his scent. "Look, let's just get this over with."

At that, the other's face scrunched up in confusion. "What do you mean?"

God, Tanjirou didn't deserve the guilt and burden it took to utter the words. He was too kind. Despite the context, not once did Zenitsu ever detect a hint of pity or disgust in the rhythm of his soul. He had to take the initiative for him, no matter how much each breath drove a knife somewhere inside of him.

"I know the signs, Tanjirou. I-I really appreciate it, you know?" At that, his voice broke an octave. The off tune made Zenitsu want to hide away in shame. "All this time that we spent together. Even though I clung to you and screamed and yelled so much, you stuck by me anyway." Zenitsu blinked back tears, god what was he even saying?! Why on EARTH was he dragging it out? It took him a while to realize that he was choking on something invisible that felt like his stomach. "You en-encouraged me so much. You encourage everyone and bring the best out of all of them. Being with you-"

"Zenitsu, wait." Seeing those golden eyes wet with an emotion that he never wanted to see, Tanjirou scurried off the bench in panic. Leaving behind the box of mochi that Genya taste-tested for him, dropping the embroidered fan that Kanao helped him sew, he made to encircle his arms around the blond only for the other to step back. The motion hurt in a deeply embedded way that had Tanjirou realizing just how much power Zenitsu had over him. "Zenitsu…?"

"Let me finish." He breathed. If Tanjirou were to hug him now, Zenitsu knew he would break and beg for him not to leave. He had to make this easy for him despite the sobs he knew were raiding his throat. "Being wi-with you was like a dream-! It's a dream that I never want to wake up from but that I know I have to some day."

"What are you… saying?" Tanjirou reached for him again but failed when Zenitsu took another step back. It began to frustrate him. It frustrated him that he continued looking at Zenitsu like that. It frustrated him even more when his sound jingled a mix of worry and confusion.

"Tanjirou, for Pete's sake- PLEASE stop playing dumb! You're breaking up with me, aren't you?" And the cat was out of the bag. He felt it like a bucket of ice cold water when Tanjirou's song suddenly went quiet; not silent but slowed by horror and guilt. "It-It's fine!"

It was not fine. "I TOTALLY get it! Why be stuck with the guy who cries and complains all day, right?!"

He was even crying and complaining right now. Damn it! Zenitsu was such a virus on everyone's skin. He wished he could just stop! "When you're so brave and strong and willing to help everyone in your path, having me cling to you must be annoying. I GET IT! Tanjirou, you're not wrong for wanting to cut me off and- and, it's totally OKAY! We're OKAY! I'M OKAY! AND-"

Zenitsu's voice dies when Tanjirou does the last thing he ever expects. Rather than slap him or walk away or even comfort him, the sun breather plows his knee into the ground, practically attacking the grass with the force of his legs. Unsheathing a small black box from his pocket like he would a sword in battle, flames burn in his eyes and he screams at the top of his lungs. "WILL YOU MARRY ME?!"

There's silence, nothing but the splash of koi fish next to them.

Zenitsu thinks he hears Inosuke give a whoop from somewhere in the building only to be shushed.

Tanjirou snaps out of it first, cheeks flushed red in embarrassment as he realized what he just did in an attempt to clear up the misunderstanding. "W-What- no, wait…! I was supposed to give you the gifts first a-and…! There was this fully paid dinner we had waiting inside- that's why you were brought t-to this town. I even a-avoided you so you wouldn't find out about the surprise because I can't keep a straight face but… oh my god!"

"Tanjirou…" Zenitsu couldn't think. He couldn't see. He couldn't hear. Everything that he dreaded in the past two weeks was magically gone from his head. All he could comprehend was Tanjirou. "Is that true?"

"Is what tr- yes. Everything I just said is true." The boy before him, still on one knee, is flustered but not enough to mess this up any further. "I truly want to marry you, if you'll have me…"

Could Zenitsu really be blamed for bursting out crying right then?

He thinks for once in his life, he couldn't.

So he cries, bawls like a baby before tackling the love of his life into the floor. Inhaling the sound of his summer and life- his Tanjirou- right by his neck, fingers buried in the other's clothes, Zenitsu feels his entire soul uttered alongside his next word.

"Yes!"