This story is dedicated to my funny friend as well as perverted roommate. For you K.
"Imagination is more important than knowledge." -Albert Einstein
Fever
Kaoru felt tired when she lifted the now full bucked from the family well. This had turned to be something else than the relaxing weekend she had planned… Sanosuke had left to Wakayama to help Megumi as a payback for the broken wall he had used with his training on her house. So with the sudden trip of Megumi and the much eating freeloader, she had already felt a great deal of mental stress leave her system. And knowing that they wouldn´t be back for a whole week was like winning in a lottery for her. Even if that wouldn´t have been enough, she got an extra price, when Tsubame had come in urgent need of Yahiko´s help for the weekend at Akabeko. Tae had gotten a message telling her that a very large group of performers were coming to Tokyo for the weekend for an annual meeting. So she would need all the hands available to help her. Yahiko just didn´t have a no to say in the matter.
She had it all planned. They would be able to fix the roof that had been letting rain to come on her floors in two different rooms for god knows how long. She would also finally be able to get more private training to herself. And maybe during the evenings she could just sit on the porch with Kenshin sipping tea and watching stars. Maybe she would be bold enough to lean against him… the thought brought a pleasurable blush to her cheeks.
Then she blinked and remembered why she was doing extra tasks and having none of the free time she had hoped. She poured the cold water into a different platter and went to bring them into Kenshin´s room. "Kenshin, I´m coming in." Kaoru didn´t hear any answer but it wasn´t like she was expecting the redhead to be able to function at all with the fever he was having. She found herself sighing. But still, when she kneeled to sit beside his futon, she couldn´t but feel little satisfaction of the fact that at the moment, she was here the one to tend Kenshin. She was the one to touch his face with the wet fabric on her hand and move his hair away from his eyes. She was the one who had the privilege to feel his burning skin beneath her fingers and see, how he would let out a little sigh of contentment when her cool skin eased the feverish hot one he had.
When the strong, beautiful warrior before her was so vulnerable, she couldn´t help but feel herself soften to the man. She took slow motions when, as gently as possible, wiped the sweat away from his face and hairline. She dipped the clothing into the cold water and squeezed extra liquid out before pressing it against his chest. The contact made Kenshin to wake from his slumber, but he didn´t have strength to open his eyes fully. "Kaoru-dono…" "Oh, I´m sorry Kenshin. Did I wake you? Is the cloth too cold?" She started to lift it off, but Kenshin grabbed her hand and pressed it back against his skin. "No… it feels very nice, that it does. Thank you Kaoru-dono." Kaoru smiled in response. "You´re welcome, Kenshin. Are you comfortable? Could I do something more?" Kenshin´s eyes were starting to close again, but the corners of his mouth raised slightly. "No, Kaoru-dono has already done more than enough, that she has." Kaoru wasn´t completely happy with his response. It was good, if he felt her help to have a good effect on him, but the always too modest rurouni would probably left it unsaid even if he did have something he wanted.
Kaoru let her eyes to move on Kenshins´ body to find out if she could help him be more comfortable. Then she looked at his hair and pictured the thick strands press against his back and neck. "Kenshin, can you sit up for a second?" But he could only mumble something that Kaoru couldn´t understand. She tried leaning closer. "Kenshin? Can you hear me?" Kenshin opened his eyelids slightly but his eyes weren´t focused. "I´m going to help you sit up. It takes just a second. Then you can get back to sleep." Kenshin didn´t respond but his eyes remained open, so Kaoru took it as a silent yes. She put away the wet fabric and moved slightly closer to Kenshin so that her leg was touching him. Then she leaned almost on top of him and pried her other arm behind his back and the other to take a gentle hold of his neck. Then she pressed Kenshin against her and lifted them both up. She had some trouble finding balance, for she had expected Kenshin to be able to stay up himself – but at the moment he was putting all of his weight on her. Kenshin wasn´t heavy build, but he was a man.
Pressed against her she felt how suffocatingly hot he was. The fever probably had went up little bit. When Kaoru was confident she could hold them up without falling, she reached for the band that was holding his hair together and pulled it off. She let her fingers separate the hair that had hold the hot air and sweat against his neck. When her hand moved the hair and cool air had better access against Kenshin´s scalp he let out a relaxed breath and let his head fall more against Kaoru´s shoulder. "Is that better, Kensh..?" He pressed his face to her cool neck and his lips moved on top of the skin. "Kaoru-dono…" Kaoru had panic hitting her with full force. Her face had probably turned darker than his. "Kenshin! I… I´m going to help you lie down now, so you can… Kenshin!" Kenshin had suddenly given a lot more pressure against Kaoru. She wasn´t able to hold her balance and fell backwards. She felt sharp pain against her back when it hit the floor and Kenshin´s body came crushing on top of hers. "Ouch… Kenshin are you okay? I…" But she was unable to finish another sentence when Kenshin raised himself to lean against his hands that were on both side of Kaoru. When she looked at him in the eye her blood run cold. His eyes were golden.
Kenshin took a strong hold of her gaze with his predatory eyes. Neither moved. Their faces were too close for comfort and Kaoru felt their breaths to mingle with each other. He watched her intensively behind the blood red hair that had fallen to hang around them. Some sweat drops were glistering on his skin and Kaoru felt she had couple of those forming on her forehead and temples also. "Kenshin..?" Then he lowered his eyes to her parted lips and brought his own lips so close, Kaoru wasn´t sure if she actually felt them already against hers. "Kaoru…" Her eyes grew bigger and as a after come, she regained her will and tried to slap him across his face. But Kenshin had an iron grip on her wrist before she could make the contact. Without thinking she tried the same with her other hand, but the outcome was same. He pushed her hands on both side of her head and a little smirk formed on the other side of his mouth. The excitement fired in his eyes after Kaoru´s poor attempt of fighting and he lowered himself closer again. This time he moved his head slightly to the right so that his lips slid faintly against her cheek to her ear. His grip grew stronger and Kaoru heard a low growl from him. She felt paralyzed. And suddenly Kenshin bit her ear. Without thinking her body decided to use her last effort and she drew her knee up as powerfully as she could. That strike Kenshin didn´t have time to avoid.
He slumbered down from the pain and lost consciousness on top of Kaoru. Kaoru lied there and tried to calm down her heartbeat, breathing heavily. Without the fever she probably wouldn´t have been able to deliver that last strike, but on the other hand without the fever Kenshin wouldn´t probably act like this. She breathed deeply in and let the air out. With little struggle she was able to have Kenshin laying back on his own futon. Kaoru finally let herself grasp the event that had occurred and turned deep crimson. Maybe she was coming with a fever also? She took the wet cloth and pressed it against her own face to stop it from burning.
"Kaoru-dono…?" Kenshin´s raspy, but gentle voice made her peek behind the white fabric. "Kenshin! I.. Are you…?" But when looking at him, two round violet eyes were looking at her with confusion. He was back to himself. But even if his eyes held their usual color they weren´t more focused they had been earlier. And it seemed his face still had a feverish red hue on it. Kaoru smiled and resumed to her tending she had started when coming to his room. "How is your fever? Feeling any better?" She placed her hand on his forehead to feel the skin there still glowing. Kenshin closed his eyes and let out a small sigh. "Yes… but this one feels like… there is something important…" He mumbled something again and Kaoru couldn´t help feeling he was as cute as a child. Without much more thought she leaned in to give him a little kiss on the cheek. When near his face, Kenshin suddenly had his eyes open and he bolted upwards. "Kaoru-dono! This one remem…!" But he could say no more when his lips clashed against Kaorus. Everything stilled for a while. Kenshin almost started to lift his hand slowly to her face, but before he could move Kaoru pulled back and slapped him back to unconsciousness. "Kenshin, you idiot!" Kaoru run from the room only to take support from the porch pillar. She definitely felt fever rising on her…