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Tanjirou sits next to Zenitsu under a tree, they talk about their training and their respective missions, but then his friend decides to have a conversation about matters of the heart.
After a while of listening to him praising his sister Nezuko, the yellow haired guy sighs like he's exasperated.
"What is it?"
"Don't you think the mist hashira is acting like a creep?"
"What? No! Why would you say that?" Tanjirou is very confused; Tokito has saved them a couple of times and he's now very kind towards him and his sister Nezuko.
He's still a bit strict, and sometimes even cold towards the other slayers, but he cares about them as well.
"He always appears in the butterfly estate when you are here."
"I'm sure it's just a coincidence. I haven't seen him toda-"
Zenitsu clears his throat to cut him off, before pointing at something in the distance; the mist hashira is talking or perhaps just asking Aoi something, who just rolls her eyes and then makes a gesture towards the backyard, where Tanjirou and his friend are resting.
"Oh."
"Tanjirou!" Tokito beams, rushing towards him like he hasn't seen him in ages, but it's been just two weeks. "I missed you!"
As Zenitsu rises from the ground, he makes an "I told you" expression before mumbling something about looking for Nezuko to show her a flower he just found.
Tokito doesn't pay any attention to him, instead he kneels next to the redhead before hugging him tightly. For a moment, Tanjirou swears that he hears him purr.
Despite what his friend said, he doesn't think the Pillar is there just for him; sure he's seen him a lot lately, especially after his missions, but that doesn't mean anything.
Bating his eyelashes at him, Tokito smiles before resting his head over the redhead's lap. Tanjirou grins back before running his fingers through the Pillar's long hair.
Tokito seems to enjoys physical affection a lot, especially when Tanjirou is the one touching him.
"You know our crows are getting married?" The mist hashira asks after a while; he looks content and relaxed, although there's something in his eyes that glimmers in a mischievous way.
"Yes, Matsunemon told me about it," Tanjirou chuckles, he's really happy for the crow, even though his future bride still doesn't like the redhead very much.
"It got me thinking..." Tokito continues, with a very intense look in his eyes; he even moves from his position, even though it's usually very difficult to convince him to get off Tanjirou's lap.
"About what?"
"Marriage." The Pillars says, like it's obvious; his aqua eyes staring at Tanjirou with a bit of hope, longing and a smidgen of a possessive feeling lurking in the shadows of his irises.
"Aren't you too young for that?" The redhead blinks a couple of times, surprised.
"Oyakata-sama got married when he was 13."
"Well, I believe he had to do that in order to not let the curse consume him before he had children," Tanjirou says, hoping they can solve this problem before Ubuyashiki gets worse. He's a good man and he appreciates him a lot; in the end he was the one who decided to keep Nezuko alive and help Tanjirou in his mission to turn her back into human.
Tokito pouts, and Tanjirou can't help but smile at his expression, but his good humor fades a bit after the next thing the Pillar says:
"We don't know how much we got left either," he mumbles after a while. "Being one of us is dangerous, we are in constant risk of getting killed."
"That's why we should do our best to keep going, and return to the ones we love," Tanjirou says in response. "But... I guess you have a point. So if you find someone you love and that person loves you back, you should start by dating them for a while and then think about marriage."
"But why not marry them right away?" Tokito pouts again, leaning closer to Tanjirou until he's all over him. His arms wrap themselves around the redhead's waist and he rests his chin over Tanjirou's chest as he stares at him with a fond look on his face.
"You could regret it later. I mean, if they're not the one for you."
"I won't regret it!" The Pillar smiles, determined. He nuzzles against the sunshine's chest, like a very happy cat.
Tanjirou chuckles again; he had no idea Tokito could be that stubborn. Then, he gets curious: it seems that he has someone in mind already, but Tanjirou has never seen him interacting with anyone besides himself. Perhaps someone who lives near his estate?
As he thinks about it, Tokito takes the opportunity to turn his head up to give Tanjirou a quick kiss on the lips.
The blush on his cheeks feels like fire, and he finds himself blinking a couple of times at a very smug Tokito.
"Me? But-"
"I love you, Tanjirou! Please, marry me!"
He's too shocked to answer right away, but that gives him time to think about what he feels for Tokito; he certainly finds him cute and he could even say that he admires him, and even though Tanjirou can see himself growing to love him, he doesn't want to be irresponsible with his and the Pillar's feelings.
"Let's date first, alright?" He mumbles gently, Tokito narrows his eyes at first, but melts when Tanjirou gives him a kiss on his forehead.
"Alright!" He beams, giving the redhead a lot of kisses all over his face, until Tanjirou can't help but giggle. "I'll make you fall in love with me in a couple of weeks! You'll see, Tanjirou!"
When the redhead looks into Tokito's eyes, and smells the sweet, undeniable romantic feelings coming from him, his chest warms up, leaving him very happy at the thought of having someone who loves him very much.
Yes, he can see himself falling in love with Tokito.