"I will eat somewhere else!" Tanjirou shouted to them before he rounded the corner and was out of sight, his steps echoing in the hallway as he went farther and farther away, a small bento box in his hand. Nezuko looked worried at the spot where her big brother had been seconds ago, her chopsticks holding a ball of rice unmoving in the air in front of her mouth. The boar just grunted at Tanjirou's unexpected retreat and continued to eat albeit slower than before, a sharp tune of distress emitting from the man's core.

Zenitsu furrowed his eyes and frowned as he listened to the gentle sound of Tanjirou getting quieter the farther away he went before it vanished altogether, not understanding the reason why the large forehead didn't join them even though it was so painfully obvious how much he wanted to. With his sharp hearing, the blond could tell right away.

It wasn't the first time this happened in the past few weeks ever since their group came to Tanjirou's and Nezuko's old home after their wounds from the final battle against the demons had healed – well, at least mostly. The scars on their bodies would remain forever and Tanjirou's right eye and left arm would never return to what they once were.

It was a constant reminder of the pain all of them went through, physically and emotionally, but at least they survived. With all the demons gone, they could finally start the happy life each of them wished for. At least that was how it should be, but something was off with Tanjirou and it irked Zenitsu.

The redhead was blessed with a big and gentle heart, always caring so much for others, but when it came to his own pain, Tanjirou fled the scene and left the reason shrouded in darkness. But it didn't work on Zenitsu because the blond not only knew the redhead like the back of his hand by now and could tell when he was anything but fine. Also, he could hear Tanjirou's distress, sounding so much like a constant shriek emitting directly from the man's heart.

Something was off, very off and Zenitsu wanted to know what it was. At the same time, however, he was aware that Tanjirou would never tell them what was bothering him because he didn't want to burden them. Zenitsu sighed mentally at that before he returned to eating. Stupid Tanjirou with his way too big forehead and tanjirouness.

"He will tell us eventually," Zenitsu said as he stuffed a piece of fried chicken into his mouth, munching away on the delicious meal they had cooked together. It was his attempt to lighten the mood and to some extent it even worked. Inosuke was already continuing eating and Nezuko did too after a few more moments of staring at the empty spot of their table.

The rest of the dinner felt almost normal. Zenitsu and Inosuke bickered back and forth, the blond pointing accusing chopsticks at the boar several times which took the motion as an invitation for a fight. Nezuko chuckled under her breath as she watched the two friends that have become parts of her family with fondness. It was pure mayhem and without Tanjirou around to calm them down, it lasted far longer than it usually did.

After what felt like hours, the commotion died down at last. Inosuke went to sleep even though it was only late afternoon and probably wouldn't wake up until morning unless someone would woke him up. Nezuko went to the town at the bottom of the mountain, having promised one of her childhood friends to come later this day. She said she would probably return tomorrow morning at the earliest because there was a lot to catch up to. Tanjirou was still gone, probably taking a long stroll through the forest. He was not close by, that much Zenitsu could tell because the unique and warm tune he loved to listen to evaded his sharp hearing.

That left him with two choices. Stay at the house and listen to the stupid boar's snoring or do something else that led him away from his home. It wasn't a difficult choice to make when Inosuke snored loudly, almost sounding like a freaking bear. He slipped into his zori and stepped outside, already having an idea what he could do.

"Chuntaro!" He called out, waiting for a response from his loyal sparrow. Only a few seconds passed by before he heard a mixture of excited and annoyed chirps coming his way. Chuntaro emerged from the crown of leaves of a large tree close to the house, flapping his wings in wild motions. There was a tick mark on the small bird's head and Zenitsu could easily tell the sleepy expression on Chuntaro's face. The little feather ball must have been asleep and Zenitsu woke him up.

"Oh well, nothing I can do about it now," he muttered lowly to himself, secretly snickering because it was his little revenge for all the times Chuntaro had brutally pecked him to work with his beak. Still, when the sparrow landed on his head and made himself comfortable, Zenitsu didn't say anything. It would be nice to have some company even if it was a sparrow who was about to fall asleep again. The blond man waited for a few minutes, listening to Chuntaro's surprisingly loud music despite his size until it had evened out, telling him that Chuntaro was fast asleep again. Raising his hands and grabbing the back of his hand, he began to move, a soft whistle flowing from his lips.

All Kasugai crows were released from their service after the final fight and could do whatever they wanted. Chuntaro chose to stick with Zenitsu and even though the blond would never admit it, he was more than happy with that outcome because he would miss the little feather ball no matter how often he drove him against the wall.

Zenitsu still vividly remembered the night after the day when it had been announced that the Kasugai crows would be released. He had cried so much during that night and shed so many ugly and big tears. Luckily, Tanjirou had been with him, offering him the shoulder to cry into he desperately needed.

The redhead said nothing, only humming a comfortable tune while he simply rubbed soothing circles on Zenitsu's back as the blond lay in his arm. It has been months since that night, but Zenitsu could recall every little detail precisely, whether it was the heat emitting from Tanjirou and enveloping him like a blanket or the untie tune that thrummed stronger than ever before in Zenitsu's ears, reaching even his very heart and soul.

As he followed his memories, a prominent blush formed on his cheeks because something he said in the fits of his misery about Chuntaro's upcoming departure then and there changed his life entirely. Zenitsu had known that he was viewing Tanjirou as someone more than a close friend. He was family just like Nezuko, the stupid boar and Chuntaro. However, he didn't see Tanjirou as a brother or sister. He wanted something else, something he had always envisioned he would find with a beautiful woman.

He should have known that his plans wouldn't work out the way he imagined though. Still, he didn't think he would fall in love with a man instead of ending up alone for the rest of his life. Yet, if he looked back now, it was hardly a surprise that he had fallen for the redhead and his large forehead. Those damn ruby eyes of his worked like charms every time Zenitsu looked into them, bewitching the blond with some kind of spell. Not to mention the tanned skin that was always so warm and soft to the touch. Zenitsu absolutely loved to be as close as possible to it which ended often with him waking up right next to Tanjirou. And of course, there was the mop of burgundy hair. If Zenitsu had the chance, he would run his fingers all day through them and he knew Tanjirou would let him because that was simply who he was.

Zenitsu had fallen hard, very damn hard, for the redhead, but knew he was fated to pine from afar because there was no way in hell Tanjirou would reappropriate his feelings. But it was okay. Zenitsu would be happy as long Tanjirou was happy because this was how love worked. Of course, he wanted to be the one who made the redhead smile and laugh, desperately so but would accept if someone else did this instead. It was Tanjirou who mattered, not him.

However, everything came differently on that night and Zenitsu groaned from embarrassment, his blush intensifying as he recalled the exact events. His ears were on fire and he was honestly surprised no steam emitted from them because there were many reasons for that.

While laying in Tanjirou's good arm and sobbing like a freshly born infant, Zenitsu did what he could do best. Letting his emotions run freely, so freely that he lost complete control over them, even those he had hidden in the deepest and darkest corner of his heart.

"Tanjirouuuuuuuuuu," he had whined back then, thick streams of tears running down his cheeks. "I don't want this stupid sparrow to leave me behind because as much as he drives me nuts, I like that stupid feather ball. I don't want him to go! I know it's egotistical, but I just-"

A strong hiccup and new tears swallowed his words to which Zenitsu responded by burying his face deeper into Tanjirou's shoulder, wailing even louder than before. There was already a dark wet spot on Tanjirou's shirt, but of course, the redhead didn't mind and instead pulled Zenitsu even closer to him.

"It's okay, Zenitsu. I'm sure you can visit each other. It's not like he will be gone from this world," Tanjirou tried to reassure while patting the blond's locks, but he only got stronger sobs in response.

"You don't understand Tanjirou," Zenitsu cried.

"What do you mean?" The redhead asked confused.

"Chuntaro is the only one I can trust on this. The stupid boar would just spill everything and I can't tell Nezuko-chan either because she's your sister."

Tanjirou frowned at that new piece of information, slightly offended that Zenitsu didn't trust any of his friends, including him. Before he had the chance to ask what all of this was about, the blond continued his rant.

"I mean, how possibly could I tell any of you that I'm in love with Tanjirou? There's no way that I-"

Zenitsu stopped and blinked, once, twice, slowly realising what just happened. His face became crimson red at the fact that he confessed his feelings by accident. It didn't help in the slightest that Tanjirou's melody suddenly changed to something Zenitsu had never heard before. Angst rose within him, trashing like a feral beast. He was scared to look at Tanjirou's expression, to see the disgust and rejection of his feelings.

He didn't want to, but his head moved anyways and honeyed eyes met a pair of crimson ones. Tanjirou's expression was not what Zenitsu expected. The redhead's eyes shimmered from already forming tears and his lips were wobbling, the man's melody turning so sweet that Zenitsu feared he would get cavities from the sound alone.

"I love you too," Tanjirou said with a broken and shaky voice full of emotions before he closed the distance between them and claimed the blond's lips. Zenitsu all but melted against the kiss, pushing back with all his raging emotions. If this was a dream, he didn't want it to ever end. The two young men spent the rest of the night with kisses while repeating their confessions in between over and over again.

Gods, how cheesy that had been. At the same time, Zenitsu couldn't deny the fuzzy feeling inside his heart that lifted him to cloud nine. Being in a relationship with Tanjirou was like a constant dream and Zenitsu couldn't be any happier.

That was also the reason why it irked Zenitsu so much that Tanjirou didn't join them for dinner lately. He always went off somewhere without telling them where to and it worried Zenitsu a lot. Something was off and for once he couldn't tell what it was because Tanjirou was especially secretive about it.

A heavy sigh fell from his lips as he wandered through the lush forest. "I wonder what's up with him," he admitted, hoping Chuntaro could give him the answer he desperately wanted. But the bird stayed silent, fast asleep and showing no signs of waking up anytime soon. The blond sighed again and continued his walk.

But suddenly his ears picked up a sound he was familiar with, so much that he knew it like the back of his hand. Tanjirou. It was the redhead's melody and it was close, coming from the place Zenitsu had in mind earlier when he left home and he could tell the small tune of distress right away.

With hurried steps, he followed the sound, still careful to not step accidentally on a twig or something like that. He feared Tanjirou would flee like a deer and the blond wanted to prevent that no matter the cost.

Soon enough, he reached his goal, a small clearing deep in the forest with a river cutting it in half. At its shore on a large stone sat the man of his desire, Zenitsu was relieved to find him alone, so the redhead was not in any immediate danger. It made him wonder why Tanjirou sounded so distressed though. Also, he was hunched over weirdly. Zenitsu furrowed his eyes at that.

"Damn it," Tanjirou cursed under his breath. "Get a grip already, Tanjirou! You got this!" He said next, pumping himself up. It was a strange sight, but Zenitsu was kinda used to it already. Still, just what was going on with Tanjirou?

Distracted by the strange sight and behaviour of his boyfriend, he didn't notice that Chuntaro sleeping on top of his head rose from his slumber. The little bird stretched his wings before he began to chirp happily, surprising the blond so much that Zenitsu shrieked.

"You damn feather ball!" Zenitsu shouted at the bird. "Warn me before you start your damn chirping out of nowhere!"

It earned the blond a pecking assault to his forehead by the sparrow before Chuntaro flew off. Zenitsu, rubbing the sore spot, was about to shout something after the bird, but another voice pulled his attention elsewhere.

"Zenitsu?" Tanjirou suddenly gasped. "What are you doing here?"

"Ahh, Tanjirou. I was just going for a walk and ended up here," he answered while rubbing the back of his head. When he turned around, he didn't expect Tanjirou to look panicked. It made his heart bleed that apparently, Tanjirou didn't want to see him. But then he took another glance at the redhead and it made him frown.

Food scraps were smeared around his mouth and the upper part of his shirt. It looked messy, to say the least, something Zenitsu was only used to from Inosuke. He had never seen Tanjirou like this and it made him worry.

"You okay, Tanjirou?" He asked concerned, slowly closing the distance separating them.

"Yeah, I'm fine! Don't worry!" He exclaimed pulling a face that cracked Zenitsu up every time he saw it because it was hilarious. But not this time. If anything, it increased his worry that Tanjirou was lying to him.

"Don't lie to me if you can't keep a straight face, idiot," he responded, getting close enough to see the bento box half eaten on Tanjirou's lap. The man's eyes looked at everything but him and Zenitsu didn't like it a bit.

"Tell me what's wrong," he demanded. It wasn't an order nor did it sound harsh, but Zenitsu made it clear that he wouldn't hear anything else except the honest answer.

"I... uhm..." Tanjirou stuttered, words failing him as he looked to the side, his eyes darting to his bad arm. Oh. Suddenly it dawned on Zenitsu what was going on. The hunched figure he found his boyfriend in, the food scraps around his face and shirt and the insecure look at his own arm. Zenitsu remembered that after he awoke from his come he was so weak that he couldn't eat by himself, so the butterfly girls or one of them covered this part – except for Inosuke for obvious reasons. It didn't change throughout his recovery and now that Zenitsu thought about it, Tanjirou's strange behaviour only began after they had returned to the redhead's family home. He shook his head from side to side, worry being replaced by amusement.

"Stupid, stupid Tanjirou," the blond muttered. "Why didn't you just say something?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Tanjirou retorted, pulling another grimace.

"Yeah. Right. You totally don't." He dryly replied, seeing through the obvious lie with utter ease.

Climbing on the large rock as well, he sat cross-legged across from Tanjirou and grabbed the bento box and pulled it into his lap. Next, he took the chopsticks as well from Tanjirou. Grabbed some rice and popped it into his mouth.

"Hey!" Tanjirou, who had eyed him suspiciously the entire time, protested. "What are you do-"

The redhead had not a chance to finish his sentence because he suddenly found rice stuffed into his mouth, courtesy of his boyfriend. The food was delicious and this time found its proper way into his mouth since he wasn't distracted to keep his balance when he was bending down to bring his mouth as close as possible.

He munched away and swallowed, barely making it in time before a piece of chicken was shoved into his mouth, not giving him the chance to ask what his boyfriend was trying to achieve. Hearing his thoughts, Zenitsu pointed the chopsticks accusingly at the redhead.

"Stupid idiot,", the blond ranted. "Next time you have any problems, don't run away from us and instead be honest. There's no reason to be ashamed about anything."

"But-"

"But you didn't want to burden us, right?" Zenitsu finished the sentence. "Idiot. You will never be a burden to any of us, so don't face your problems all on your own."

He finished his statement with a kiss on Tanjirou's lip, making the redhead blush from embarrassment. The blond snickered at the reaction although he was sure he was blushing just as hard if the heat on his cheeks was anything to judge from.

"Zenitsu..."

"Don't mention it. Here." Offering another piece of chicken to Tanjirou, the redhead gleefully accepted it, looking much more relaxed than before as he munched away. Zenitsu kept feeding him the rest of the bento box and helped him to clean up afterwards.

Once they were done, they leaned against the large rock, Tanjirou resting his head on Zenitsu's shoulder, their fingers intertwined. "We will work on this together," the blond murmured, listening to Tanjirou's heartbeat as the man slowly fell asleep. Zenitsu lost track of how long they stayed like this, but eventually, he pulled the redhead on his back and gave him a piggyback ride because it was getting late. Instinctively, Tanjirou nuzzled into Zenitsu's neck while he slept, making the blond smile a wide and happy smirk.

After that day, Tanjirou stopped retreating from meals. It was tricky at first, getting accustomed to living his life with only one functional arm. He was used to having two of them, so the loss hit him harder than he expected, but Zenitsu made it clear that his family didn't see him any differently than before. He knew it was a stupid fear, but he couldn't do anything against his brain running wild.

It wasn't the last time that Zenitsu fed him, something he didn't complain about, but after some months and adjustments to the house, Tanjirou didn't need any help from others anymore. He was able to do everything he could before, maybe a bit slower but it was fine. The feeding, however, continued sometimes, not out of need but simply because. Tanjirou learned that puffed-up cheeks worked wonders on Zenitsu and he made use of it because nothing was cuter than his boyfriend fussing over him.

Zenitsu on the other hand, was more than happy to indulge the man he loved even though he didn't admit that to anyone. Tanjirou was getting pretty demanding on his own already, so there was no need to fuel the fire any further than that. He was just so delighted that the redhead was back to His Usual Self.

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Thanks for reading this far! I hope you enjoyed this story. Something I have always wondered about is how Tanjirou dealt with the loss of one of his arms. I can relate to that to some extent because one of my arms was paralysed for a short while when I was a kid. It was pretty frightening when my arm didn't do what I wanted it to and was simply there. Therefore, some of my experiences from that flowed into this story. But luckily, Tanjirou has Zenitsu and the rest of his family by his side who will support him no matter what and always view him as Tanjirou.

Thanks again for reading the story!