PROMPT 6: Not to b nsfw or anything but h*nd holding n playing w each others hair

It's only been eight hours and fourty-nine minutes since Tanjirou Kamado and Zenitsu Agatsuma officially became a couple.

And Zenitsu is already sure that he can't take much more of this.

Waking up with the chirping birds like he always did, Zenitsu crawled out of his futon in the direction away from his snoring boar friend and made to fold it against the wall. Noticing the spot on the other side of him empty, the only conclusion was that Tanjirou must've started his day even sooner.

Looking for his (boy)friend- oh my god, that's what he was now, wasn't it- Zenitsu padded out of the room with yawn. He found his target leaning over a bowl in intense concentration. The thrumming drums of nervousness radiated from him in waves. The only thing that snapped him out of it was the sound of the sliding door gently slamming shut.

The effect was immediate. Tanjirou turned, face brightening like the sun. A warm blush colours his tan cheeks pink. Nerves almost completely disappeared. "Zenitsu, g-good morning!"

The blond covered his eyes with a sleeve. His heart was already racing at the sight. "Ugh, too bright… You're too bright at this time of day, Tanjirou!"

The sun breather only laughed. And for the life of him, Zenitsu couldn't understand why he looked so delighted to get such a snippy response. He didn't have time to dwell on it though, not when the other suddenly stood up from his seat. Zenitsu didn't have the mental power to react. Rounding towards him, Tanjirou wastes no time landing a kiss with the sound of spring on the blond's cheek. "I made breakfast for you."

Zenitsu flushes red. His skin buzzes like a bee covered in pollen where gentle lips touched. "Y-You…!" The lack of shame from the other seriously annoyed him! Zenitsu declares but he's dragged to the table, swaying left and right as a decidedly warm happiness bursts near his chest. He may have giggled, swooned a bit and he's sure if he were a painting, there'd be hearts emitting from his ears. But he doesn't care.

Especially not when he finally sees what the fuss was about. Sitting innocently on top of the simple rice dish is an egg, sunny-side up and in the shape of a heart.

A heart…!

"Tanjirou, what's going on?! My organs feel like they're going to explode out of my mouth. Is this a disease? Is it fatal? Th-THAT'S IT! I'm dying! You've killed me…!"

"Don't die, Zenitsu!" Despite the dire situation, Tanjirou is smiling. That bastard…! But ah, he can hear now that the ocean of nerves in his spine was subsiding as a calm peace replaced it. Maybe, perhaps, there was that very small chance that Tanjirou actually really cared what Zenitsu thought of his work?

The sentiment burns his eyes wet. He wheezes.

"IT'S TOO LATE." Zenitsu clutches his stomach dramatically. "I thought I'd leave this world after having my brain giblets guzzled out and my limbs sliced to bits. I thought it'd be less depressing than this. BUT MY true end is THIS-! You've killed me with second-hand embarrassment, you fool!"

"That's a weird way of saying love."

"ARGH…!" Zenitsu covers his red face with his palms. It's too much. Tanjirou was so impossible! His heartbeat runs a marathon in his ears, blood rushing, yet the kind sound of a flute and a crystal stream still embracing him is as clear as ever. Suddenly, he feels the light brush of fingers in his hair, and that stream reflects a rainbow.

Tanjirou hummed. His eyes never leave his boyfriend, taking in the tinge of teary golden orbs peeking from between shaking fingers. Yellow locks are still tussled wayward from sleep. It fluffs adorably between his own rough fingers. The cherry blossoms colouring his face contrast nicely, bringing out the image before him nearly as much as the scent of home. His mouth runs away from him, powered purely by his desire to have Zenitsu all to himself. "You're so cute. I love you."

Silence.

Finally realizing the weight of the statement, Tanjirou withdrew himself with a horrified squeak and red cheeks.

"Really? That's what makes you realize how EMBARASSING you're being?!" He whines. "TAN-JI-ROU…!"

That's when Zenitsu officially decided that he couldn't take anymore of this. Tanjirou was too much for him.

But maybe that was just fine.

(he loves him too)

-U-U-U-U-U-

It's only been two weeks, five days, seventeen hours, and eleven minutes since Tanjirou Kamado and Zenitsu Agatsuma officially became a couple.

And Tanjirou is already sure that he can't take much more of this.

He just returned to headquarters, haori tattered and blade vibrating with intense aftereffect. Some part of his brain still thinks he's in battle. Bloodied, surrounded by the corpses of innocent children all under the age of twelve, his mission did not end well. No matter how long he works as a demon slayer, no matter what he sees, he can never stomach the sick feeling of being the only one to come out of it alive.

He was too late.

"Tanjirou."

He stops merely two meters from the entrance. On the stone steps stood Zenitsu, out of breath as if he ran there at the sound of him. If the next sentence out of this beautiful person that Tanjirou loved so much was any indication, he had. "You're sad."

Tanjirou can tell immediately from the frustrated scent of the other that Zenitsu was likely reprimanding himself for the insensitive statement. Of course he's sad, he imagined the blond internally screaming. He couldn't begin to imagine the amount of despair in his being but if it was anything like the scent of rotting flesh and crushed dreams, Tanjirou knew he must've sounded bad.

So he tries to smile anyway to reassure. "Yeah. It's okay though-"

"It's not okay. Don't say that." Zenitsu frowns. He holds out a worried hand, his own bandage wrapped around a yellow head seeming like a paper cut in comparison to the wound in his boyfriend's spirit. The other doesn't hesitate to take it. It's fascinating to Tanjirou just how affected Zenitsu was by the tone in his voice. "There's no way you're okay."

Despite the context, Tanjirou finds himself blurting out. "What do I sound like?"

Zenitsu takes pause at this. Their fingers intertwined, the blond squeezes them with a wistful smile. "Like red poppies."

"That's-" Tanjirou gasps out. It's such a strange phenomenon. It's almost as if the admission itself was enough to break the dam. The anguished memories, that he tried so hard to shove down, return. "That's beautiful, Zenitsu."

"Oi, don't do that."

"Do what?"

"Stop holding back. Cry, scream, whatever… it's okay to be sad."

"I can't. I- I'm sorry." Tanjirou didn't know how. Ever since the first time it happened, ever since he first walked in to a house full of dead bodies, he's found it so difficult to truly be angry or depressed about it. There was no time. He had to save Nezuko. He had to help all the suffering humans and demons. The world didn't have time for Tanjirou to be sad.

"Hey," Zenitsu snaps his fingers in front of him with his free hand. When hazy amber eyes follow the motion in surprise, he sighs. "Follow me."

Tanjirou isn't sure what to expect when he hears that. His wounds were already treated and healing. His sword wasn't broken. His report was already sent ahead of time on the Kasuga crow. There wasn't much else left to do but answer to any lingering questions from the higher-ups and maybe rest. About the last thing he could anticipate is Zenitsu ripping out a wooden instrument from beneath a cloth. Its head was long, its body delicate yet the blond held it with a confidence that Tanjirou knew he had when handling a blade.

It's mesmerizing. Since when did Zenitsu know how to play an instrument? So when the boy motions him to sit on the grass, his own seat on the platform overlooking the garden occupied, Tanjirou obeys without protest. He waits, attention dispersed somewhere between how peaceful his boyfriend looked and the practiced gracefulness of pale fingers on the string.

Sure enough, the first note that rings almost has Tanjirou weeping.

It's sad. It's such a sad song. Children rapt with confusion over why their parents were unmoving, hands reaching out in silent plea for help before the life fades from lively eyes, the crushing sense of helplessness when he digs them out from beneath furniture. Rushing them into the outside, they're gone before he even has a chance to lay them on the grass. The demon was dead but at what cost?

It was then that Tanjirou realized that Zenitsu succeeded. He was sad. The music guided him here and now it was hard to breathe. There was a crushing weight of something horribly foul on his heart. It was awful. Why did anyone want to stay like this all the time?

Before Tanjirou can bury himself in the utter gloom that the melody brought him, the tune lightens. It was quiet, chilling before, but now it strengthens in volume and nearly consumes the entire yard. The notes stumble in rhythm as if tripping but getting back up over and over. And maybe, just maybe, the pungent mass in his chest lessens.

When it's over, Zenitsu finally opens his eyes. He looks down at Tanjirou but the other teen is frozen almost still. Amber eyes stared at him in awe. It was like Zenitsu held all the stars within his fingertips and Tanjirou just couldn't help wanting more. He notices the blond flushing, not sure how to read his look. "Y-You asked me what you sounded like right now. That was it."

"Can-" Zenitsu flinches when he hears just how choked Tanjirou's voice sounds. "Can I have a hug?"

Even with all of the embarrassment in the world to stop him, Zenitsu wouldn't deny him. Tanjirou knew that. The nod only confirms it. He's on him in mere moments, practically pouncing on the yellow-clad body as he buried his face in the older boy's shoulder. Then with all barriers down, Tanjirou cries.

The only thing that anchors him is the sweet scent of citrus and the hand holding his own.

That's when Tanjirou officially decided that he couldn't take anymore of this. Zenitsu was too much.

And he loves him so, so much for that.