***MANGA SPOILERS AHEAD***

A/N: Hello everyone! I have absolutely fallen in love with Demon Slayer and Tankana! They are so sweet, I wish we got to see way more of them :(

This will be a collection of one shots about Tankana! They will be all over the place with timeline and theme, and most will be post-manga. I hope you enjoy it!

First up: "A Sweet Surprise"

Theme: Fun and cute romance!

I've always had this idea in my head, and it's time to finally write out how I think it went. For the timeline, I'm going to say that this is a little over a year after the defeat of Muzan. One of the official fan books, which is canon, is Tanjiro giving a status report one year after the end, so this would take place not long after!

Disclaimer: I sadly do not own any of the characters unless I made some up.

Chapter 1: A Sweet Surprise

"That should be enough," Tanjiro thought in his head, chopping the last log of wood and loading it into his basket. The air was chilly and crisp, with Spring beginning, the top of the mountain was still covered in snow; but it was finally warming up enough that it wasn't completely miserable going outside.

Using his good arm, he carefully secured the basket onto his back, and began his short journey home.

After losing his ability to use his left arm, he found these fairly simple tasks to be quite a bit more challenging. While he had adjusted to this life about as much as he could, it still caused issues from time to time.

"Tanjiro, why don't you let me do that? It would be easier!" Zenitsu had asked as Tanjiro packed the tools he needed for the wood chopping. "Don't you get tired using just one arm?"

"Zenitsu, it's okay! If I can't do something like this, what can I do? I'm not useless just because I only use one arm now."

Tanjiro felt a twinge of annoyance at Zenitsu's comments, but chose not to act on it. If he couldn't do this, then what good was he? If he could sell coal, he could chop some wood.

He turned and smiled at Zenitsu and Inosuke. "It's my turn. We have to keep things fair and rotate these kinds of chores! I will be fine." And with that, he walked out the door, closing it softly behind him.

The memory ran in Tanjiro's mind as he walked home. Ever since the defeat of Muzan, his friends, while meaning well, tended to try to take on all of the physical work. The red headed former swordsman didn't like feeling like a hindrance. He wanted to take on his share of the physical work, just like normal. But every time it was his turn, Zenitsu or Inosuke would try to do it themselves.

He chuckled a little bit at their persistence. At the end of the day, they thought they were doing something nice, and they meant well, so it didn't bother him too much. But, he was thankful for the little physical activity and challenge. It was hard to find at this point in his life, and even though he enjoyed the quiet, non-demon-hunting life, he was finding life getting a little boring from time to time.

"Eh?" He said out loud, noticing a different but familiar scent as his house came into view. His heart skipped a beat, knowing what it was. He knew that sweet, beautiful scent anywhere. Kanao.

His heart skipped another beat, his mind instantly wondering why she was there. Normally, he would travel to the butterfly estate once a month for a check up. At first, they were exactly that - a medical check up. He was, in all honesty, the worst off of the bunch. Sustaining two permanent injuries, he would see Kanao to make sure that everything was healing correctly. But, after a few months, she had stated that he was fully healed, or at least as healed as he could get, and that he would just have to live with his arm and eye in the shape that they were in.

Tanjiro couldn't help but keep visiting her, though. He enjoyed their conversations, especially since Kanao had grown so much and was able to speak freely and with her heart. The teenaged boy had grown rather fond of her, and noticed that every time he saw her, he couldn't help but hear the words "beautiful", "amazing", and "wonderful" in his head at all times.

She had never visited him at his house, as it was a rather treacherous journey, and her eyesight was worse than his. He had visited her just two days ago; because of this, he felt a twinge of worry hit his stomach, thinking of the worst case scenario.

His steps picked up as he approached the house, the fear growing that she came bearing bad news. Even in a world devoid of demons, bad things could happen.

"Kanao?" Tanjiro stated as he slid the door open, breathing heavily due to his quick sprint the rest of the way. "Is Kanao here?"

Nezuko, Zenitsu, and Inosuke all sat on the floor, playing a game of cards. "Hi, Onii-Chan," Nezuko ran to Tanjiro to give him a hug.

He smiled as she jumped into his arms. Not a day went by that he wasn't thankful to have his sister whole and human again. "Nezuko," he said as he released her, "I was only gone for a little while. What's this all about? Is Kanao here? I caught her scent!"

Nezuko smiled. "I'm just happy you're back, that's all," she said in a happy tone. "But yes, Kanao did just get here! She's in the kitchen now."

Tanjiro was unsure why Kanao would arrive and then instantly go to the kitchen, but he noticed Nezuko tilting her head that way, as if to signal him to go see her. Tanjiro, confusion all over his face, obliged.

It was a short distance, their house was really only three large rooms, and so he was there in an instant.

"Hi, Tanjiro," she said with a smile, Kabarumaru hissing happily as if to greet him as well.

Tanjiro felt a warmth in his face that was common when he looked at her. He felt an urgent need to walk up to her and wrap his arm around her, but instead, opted to walk up to her and say, "what brings you all the way up here? Did I leave something behind a few days ago?"

Kanao giggled and shook her head. To Tanjiro's surprise, she closed the gap between them and grabbed his right hand. "Kanao," he whispered, his face growing warmer by the second.

"Tanjiro, I…" Kanao trailed off, looking away from Tanjiro's bright eyes as she tried to search for the right words to say. "I'm…. I'm…"

Tanjiro squeezed her hand. He was so proud of how far she had come since they had met, but she still had a little ways to go. He was very determined to stick by her side and help her though it all.

"I'm… I'm in love with you!" It came out as a shout, enough for the others to hear, and Tanjiro's eyes grew wide.

"What?" He said, rather shocked, freezing up that she was the one who said it first.

The others poked their heads around the walls, peaking at the conversation. "Tanjiro, I can't stop thinking about you. I imagine your face when I close my eyes at night, and you're the first person I think of when I wake up. I.. I don't really know what that is, but from what Aoi has said to me, she thinks that's what it means! I don't know why I came all the way here to say it-"

"I love you too."

Kanao's eyes also grew wide as Tanjiro cut her off, shifting closer, releasing his hand from her grip and softly placing it on her cheek. "Thank you, Kanao."

"Huh? What? Why?" Kanao's voice was filled with confusion.

"Just now," he said with a smile, "you helped me understand my feelings."

"Me? How?"

Tanjiro chuckled. She really had grown. Grown enough to teach him a lesson in listening to his heart. "I also think about you all the time. When I go to sleep, and when I wake up, I picture your face and smile. Every time I see you, my face feels hot and all I can think about is how beautiful and amazing you are. You helped me realize that this was what I was feeling."

"You really do?" Kanao searched his eyes earnestly, knowing easily how to tell if he was telling the truth.

He moved even closer, now mere inches from her face. "Yes, I do Kanao. Thank you for coming here, although I'm sorry you had to travel all this way. I love you, Kanao. I think I have for a while, I just didn't know."

With that, Kanao, making the first move again, closed the gap between them, and placed a soft, timid kiss straight on his lips.

This surprised the red headed boy yet again, but he didn't think twice before returning the favor. This one was deeper, his hand still softly touching her cheek. Her sweet scent filled his senses; it was as if flowers were dancing around them. They released after a few seconds, gasping for air.

"Woah," he said, not fully understanding the sensation, but loving the thrill that it brought.

"I agree," the purple eyed girl returned, making them both chuckle. It was perfectly awkward, perfectly new, but also, just perfect.

The red hue in both their cheeks grew darker. Feeling a mix of embarrassment, excitement, and joy filled each teenager.

Not wanting the moment to pass, Tanjiro leaned in again. It would take him some time to fully understand how to kiss a girl, but he felt like that was something he would love to learn with her. Kanao wrapped her arms around his waist this time, making his heart flutter even more. It felt like they were the only two people in the entire world for just that moment. And he loved it.

"HUHHHH? DID THEY JUST KISS?"

And then they were quickly reminded that they were not alone.

A/N: Alright, there you have it folks. Short and sweet, but my take on the start of their relationship! Please like, follow and review!