From the author's desk: Hello darlings! I know I haven't been very good with updating for the last...year?...or so. I'm very sorry! (bows) But for those of you interested in my writing, here's a collection of one-shots that I'm working on for the 10 Snuggles community on Livejournal. If you're interested in doing your own collection, I suggest you checkthem out! But from me, here you'll have a small series of one-shots revolving around Kenshin and Kaoru's married life. I hope you enjoy them!

Disclaimer: Rurouni Kenshin is the property of Nobuhiro Watsuki and his associates. Plus, if I owned this series, that would mean that Iwrote the series, which means I would have made Kenshin and Kaoru finally smooch in the last volume of the manga. Alas, I didn't write the wonderful series, and so they don't smooch in the last volume as I would have liked. Plus, I'd be rolling in dough instead of being a flat broke first-year college student! So there you have it. I don't own the series (except on DVDs), so you can't sue me!

An Album of Memories
captured by IceAngelKaoru

Snapshot: One
Label: Craving Repose
Note: A late, sleepless night during Kaoru's pregnancy.

Kaoru groaned inwardly as she tried to shift into a more comfortable position on the futon. Unfortunately for her, her gradually swelling stomach was being uncooperative with the rest of her body.

She wanted to cry and scream and kick at something. Hell, she was so cranky she wanted to wake her husband up, just so that she and the growing baby inside of her weren't the only ones awake at the unholy hour of three in the morning…for the fourth day in a row.

But she didn't have the heart to torture her Kenshin like that.

She turned onto her side, so that she was facing him and her bulging tummy was nestled comfortably between the two of them, her blue eyes observing the man sleeping next to her.

He was beautiful to watch at night.

His face was relaxed, and a small, contented smile graced his lips. She was thankful that she didn't have a husband who snored at night. His pale skin glowed in the moonlight, making him look like someone from another world. His red hair was tinted in the silver glow of the moonbeams pouring through the open window, and spilled like liquid fire around his head.

His hair was down to his shoulders now, she noted.

She smiled, and reached over to trace the planes of his face with her fingers. She ran a hand through his silken-scarlet hair, marveling to herself at how soft the locks were. From his hair, her hand moved to his forehead, to his eyebrows relaxed in sleep, to the lids of closed violet eyes, to his nose, to his scarred left cheek which felt smooth under her fingertips, to…

She hesitated, feeling a slight blush creep into her cheeks at the thought of touching his lips. It didn't matter that they were married, it didn't matter that she had seen him in less than a sheet -- and, gods above, her husband looked very yummy in less than a sheet. No, that wasn't it at all.

She was just naturally shy around him when it came to touching his mouth like that. Her heart always began to flutter just a little faster, and her knees always felt like jelly when it came to the thought of his lips on the sensitive pads of her fingertips.

Which is why she gave a surprised gasp when she felt his gentle yet strong hand light grab her wrist as he raised his head to lay his mouth in a searing kiss on the tips of her middle and index finger, and to feel him gently nibble on them as well.

And then she blushed harder when a pair of glowing amethyst jewels gazed at her while his mouth worked strange, sensuous magic on her hand, sending pleasurable jolts of electricity down her spine.

"Couldn't sleep again?" he questioned her, his voice soft, soothing, and sweet.

She stared at him, and shyly shook her head no. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to wake you."

He smiled. "It's rather hard to stay asleep when a certain someone kicks your stomach."

She blushed again, understanding that the placement of her tummy gave the baby easy access to kicking it's father. "Sorry. But he won't sleep! And he's keeping me awake, when all I want to do is sleep!"

She could feel her frustration from earlier returning with a vengeance, and with it, an onslaught of fatigue and an incessant need to cry.

His arms snaked around her wide waist, pulling her closer to him, and securing her more comfortably in the crook of his shoulder as the first tears slipped from her closed eyes into the thin fabric of his sleeping robe. She could feel his hands rubbing gentle circles on her back, and the feathery caress of his warm breath against her ear as he whispered warm words of encouragement and comfort. Her hands fisted into the fabric of his robe as her body shook with sobs of exhaustion due to the past sleepless nights.

The warmth of his body was seeping into her, and though she wasn't cold, the heat had the welcome effect of relaxing her, giving her a warm and fuzzy feeling inside. She felt his lips brush softly against her cheeks and closed eyes, kissing the last of her tears away. Finally his lips captured her own in a sweet and gentle kiss, his tongue sweeping in and knocking her senseless as her body turned to mush in his embrace. She could feel his hold on her tighten just slightly, comfortably crushing her as close to him as he possibly could with her rounded belly between them.

Another moment later, he released her mouth, and whispered into her ear softly, "Feel better?"

She quietly giggled in return and smacked him lightly on the chest. "Mou! You did that on purpose."

"But it worked, didn't it?"

She yawned cutely in return, and nestled even more into his embrace as a sudden thought crossed her mind.

"Kenshin?" she murmured sleepily.

"Hmm?"

"What should we name the baby?"

She felt the rumble of his laughter vibrate against her from deep within him. "Go to sleep, Kaoru. We'll figure it out another time."

She nodded lightly, fisted her hands more comfortably in the folds of his sleeping robe, and promptly fell into the welcoming abyss of a comfortable sleep.