Settle Down, a rurouni kenshin fanfic

Disclaimer: RK is Nobuhiro Watsuki's and Settle Down is Kimbra's.

AN: Another songfic. The song is Settle Down by Kimbra. Yes yes, I know, so last year, right? Who cares, good songs stay good even after a thousand years. This is the result after having a kimbra marathon this afternoon. I guess I'm easily brainwashed. I would probably add another chapter to this fic, you'll know why when you read it. Anyhoo, please read, review and enjoy the story!

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Settle Down

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I wanna settle down

Won't you settle down with me?

Kenshin fidgeted as he looked at his Kaoru happily picked up one ring after another, bringing it close to the light and checking the diamonds as if she was the expert on gems. The shopkeeper was patiently standing in front of her, occasionally threw in some words that he thought might help her to pick a ring, or tried to flatter her by saying stuff like how the white gold complimented her complexion… of her fingers. Yes, it was absurd, white gold, yellow gold, blue gold, red gold, everything looked the same, it's not going to make a difference.

Settle down

"Honey, don't you think that this is nice?" She asked him. He forced out a smile, and then coughed in an attempt to relinquish his parched throat. Sure, it was his idea to buy her something for their one year anniversary. Sure, he was the one who took her to the jewellery shop. He just never expected her to choose a ring, of all jewelleries.

"It looks amazing on you." He finally said after she glared at her with one of those you're-not-answering glare.

"Great! I'll take this one, then! Thank you soo much Kenshin!" She said as she kissed his cheek. Kenshin nodded weakly. He couldn't wait to go home.

We can settle at a table..

A table for two

Won't you wine and dine with me?

Kenshin stared at his bathroom shelf. There were two toothbrushes, one was his and the other one was… pink.

The second row was worse. There was a small baby blue plastic box. He opened the box and saw a razor, a PINK razor, a few tubs of some cream that smelled like Jasmine, and something that looked like a long tube wrapped safely inside the packaging.

He quickly closed the box and put it back to the shelf like it was Pandora's box.

He could hear some loud banging in the kitchen, followed by a few ouch and curses. He inhaled, trying to look as normal as possible, before stepping out of the bathroom.

"Honey, you don't have to cook." He said. That was actually his way of saying 'stay away from my precious kitchen', but of course Kaoru only took it as a polite gesture. She waved her hand to Kenshin, while the other hand was busy mixing something that was too watery to be called dough. Kenshin bit his lips as Kaoru used two of his spatulas to mix the dough. Cooking was his life, and his kitchen was like his sanctuary, so looking at the messy kitchen was like an apocalypse for him. Moreover, Kaoru could possibly burn down the entire kitchen, or worse, the entire apartment building.

"Oh come on, Kenshin. I need to once in awhile cook for you! I need to learn how to do this!" Kaoru insisted. Kenshin sighed. He could never say no to her. He wondered why, was it because she had a punch that could send anyone to next Thursday?

Settle down

"Let me at least help?" Kenshin said as he rolled his sleeves.

"Sure! Sure!" Kaoru replied happily. She smiled as she looked at Kenshin. "Ne, when we have a bigger place, we should cook together like this. You could teach me how to NOT burn down the kitchen." She said humorously.

Kenshin laughed, his eyes weren't laughing with him though.

When WE have a bigger HOUSE… TOGETHER? TOGETHER? He never promised her that!

Or… did he?

OOOOOO

I wanna raise a child

Won't you raise a child with me...

"Soooo cuuuuteee!"

Kaoru smooched the baby's cheek over and over again with a happy face. Megumi, their friend and the mother of the baby, chuckled.

"Can't believe that the brat is Sano's. He's too cute to be true." She said with a snort, but her face blushed with happiness.

Kenshin chuckled. "It's true that married couples are slowly become more alike to each other. Look at you calling your son, brat. That's something that Sano would say." He said, and Megumi laughed.

"Well that's just great. What I need to do now is to spike up my hair and chew some fishbones." She said with a grin. She then looked at Kaoru, who was still busy smooching the annoyed baby. "So when will yours due, Kaoru?" Megumi asked, and Kaoru looked up.

"What?"

"Come on, I know you're pregger. You didn't drink at all when we went out last night!" Megumi snickered, and Kenshin felt that his heart stopped. Kaoru blushed.

"I… I'm not pregnant! I just didn't feel like drinking!" She said.

"So, you're trying to have a baby then?" Megumi asked, raising one of her eyebrows. "You love drinking, Kaoru! If it's not for an important reason, I don't think you would reject alcohol!"

Raise a child

Kenshin felt like something clogged his throat, preventing the oxygen to reach into his lungs.

For the past six months he hadn't been wearing any protection in bed because Kaoru said she would "handle these contraception stuff". Was she trying to… What was she trying to do?

He looked at Kaoru, who looked at him with a blushing face. Kaoru then tugged her hand into Kenshin's arm and smiled shyly at him.

"Well, we'll decide about that later. But if it happens, even without us planning it, it would be the best gift ever. Right Kenshin?" She stared at his dilated pupils.

We'll call her Nebraska

Nebraska Jones

"We'll call him Kenji. Himura Kenji." Kaoru mumbled absentmindedly as soon as they entered the car. Kenshin frowned and looked at Kaoru.

"Huh?" That's all he could blurt out. Kaoru looked at him with a big, dreamy smile.

"I want our son to have some part of your name. If it's a girl, then we will name her Kaori. What do you think?" She asked.

Kenshin could feel the sweat soaked his hands as he grabbed the steering wheel tighter. He started the car and started driving.

She'll have your nose

Just so you know

"Red hair from you, blue eyes from me. His features should look like you. Handsome and kind." Kaoru said with a giggle.

Kenshin stepped on the accelerator even harder. He wanted to go home and go to sleep. Maybe he should send Kaoru home first? Her talks were scaring him a little.

No, that was a lie. Her talks were scaring him a lot.

I wanna settle down

Won't you settle down with me?

Settle down

Their relationship was a textbook relationship. They met by chance, became somewhat friendly to each other, and then he asked her for a date, and then they kissed, second date, third date, fourth date, and then by the fifth date she decided that she didn't want to go back home. After that night, they decided to make the relationship official.

It's been a year since they got together, it was only been a year. Sure, he was 36 years old and should be thinking about settling down and everything, but for some reason, he just didn't.

No, he didn't wanna settle down.

OOOOO

Run from Angela Vickers

I saw her with you

Monday morning small talking on the avenue

"Here."

In front of him was a perfectly manicured hand offering him a can of sports drink. He looked up and saw a beauty staring back at him. Her black, rather expressionless eyes stared at him curiously. She was the woman he always saw when he was jogging in the morning. After five years of running to each other almost every morning, they started doing polite nods to greet each other. They never stopped to talk to each other, though. Apparently that day was a little different.

"Are you sick? Usually you would run at least four laps before stopping." She asked, somehow she looked a little worried. Kenshin chuckled.

"Well, I kinda have a lot in my mind right now." He said with a sigh, but then smiled politely. "This is the first time we talk to each other, Miss…"

"My name is Tomoe."

"I'm Kenshin. Himura Kenshin. Thanks for the drink, by the way." He said before opening the drink and drank it. Tomoe sat beside him.

"So, troubles in work? Or at home, I suppose?" She asked.

Kenshin shrugged. "I guess I just need some me time or something."

Tomoe nodded. "I guess everyone needs that…" She murmured. She then took out a namecard.

"My new restaurant is having an opening night this Saturday. Please do come if you have the time. Call me and I will add you to the guest list." She said politely.

Kenshin looked at the card and smiled. "Sure. I will call you."

She's got a fancy car

She wants to take you far

From the city lights and sounds deep into the dark

Her restaurant was one of those hip bistro located between branded stores in the city, with big glass windows, chic, minimalistic decoration and jazz music playing, creating a cozy atmosphere. The first thing he saw after entering the restaurant was Tomoe, smiling politely at him. She took a glass of champagne and walked towards him.

"You came." She said, giving him the glass of champagne. Kenshin smiled.

"This is a great place." Kenshin complimented. "Congratulations." He said while gesturing a toast. Tomoe clunk her own glass to Kenshin's before drinking the remaining champagne.

"Thanks. You're alone tonight?" She asked.

"I didn't realize that I could bring a plus one." He said, and she smiled.

"Well since you're alone, do you want to dance with me?" She asked.

"I'd be happy to."

Star so light and star so bright

First star I see tonight!

Talking to Tomoe was a lot of fun. Both of them had the same interest, cooking. She was a graduate of a famous cooking school and was willing to share all of her tricks in cooking, and both of them were so immersed in talking that they didn't realize that they had been dancing for a long time. It's been awhile since he met new people and heard new stories.

Star so light and star so bright

Keep him by side!

His gaze landed outside the window, to the main street, and met with a familiar gaze. A pair of dark blue, somber eyes were staring back at him with disappointment, before disappearing into the night. Kenshin stopped moving and looked at Tomoe.

"I… have to go." He said.

"Why?"

"My girlfriend… She's waiting for me." He replied. Tomoe smiled and nodded.

"Ah, sure. Thank you so much for coming. Next time please bring your girlfriend as well, and call me. I promise that you and your girlfriend will get the best food and services possible." She said.

OOOOO

"Honey, are you mad?" Kenshin asked. Kaoru shook her head.

"No, I'm not. I'm just a little disappointed that you didn't tell me about it." She said.

"But I did tell you about this."

Kaoru looked at him, and sighed. "Okay, rephrase. You didn't tell me CLEARLY that you're going to meet some woman in some hip restaurant. You told me that you 'want to meet a friend'. You know that things like this would cause a suspicion, you should've explained to me more clearly." She said.

"I'm sorry, okay? I just need sometime off. I've been feeling really overwhelmed nowadays." He told her. She looked at him with a worried face.

"What happened? Why didn't you tell me instead?" She asked.

I wanna settle down

Tell her? Could he even tell her that she was the cause of his anxiety without getting a punch in the face?

"Listen, it's nothing." He said.

"No, Kenshin. It's not nothing. We have to know about each other's worries so that in the future. If we want to take this relationship to the next level, we have to-"

"I DON'T WANNA SETTLE DOWN!"

I wanna settle down

Baby there's no need to run

Kaoru went quiet. She never heard Kenshin screamed like that. Kenshin also realized that he never screamed like that, so he inhaled and grabbed Kaoru's hand.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scream. It's just that, nowadays, you've been pressuring me with all of these future things…"

"Huh?"

"The ring, you moving half of your stuff into my cabinet, the babies… It's… overwhelming. And to be honest, it suffocates me a little. I don't want to settle down, Kaoru. I don't want to get married, and I don't want to have a baby."

"But, Kenshin…"

"I do love you, Kaoru. But I can't… I'm sorry… If that's what you want now, maybe it's best for us to just not see each other anymore. I can't take it, kaoru."

I'll love you well

I wanna settle down

A hot, hard punch landed on Kenshin's cheek. Kenshin blinked and then looked at her, a little surprised. Not surprised because of the punch, because it had become his daily diet already. He was surprise because of Kaoru's tearing eyes. It was the first time in one year of their relationship that she cried. She never cried, not even when they were watching sad movies. Not even when he got hospitalized after an accident. Not even after she lost her job. She always smiled and told him that life was good.

"I DON'T WANT TO FRIGGIN' GET MARRIED! Geez, Kenshin! Yes, I do think about it. I do think about us, moving in together, getting married, having a family, settle down somewhere in a beautiful house, with a garden and great neighbours. But it was just something that I like to dream about, like when you're dreaming about… oh, I don't know, being a chef in France or something. I would never force you to marry me. " She slipped her hand under her collar and showed him a gold necklace with a gold pendant. It was a very familiar pendant. "And Kenshin, I was looking for a pendant for my gold chain, when I saw this ring I thought it would be cute if I used it as a pendant. That's it. It's not a message for you to hurry up and marry me or something."

Kenshin looked at her, speechless.

"About my stuff in your cabinet, well I'm sorry I invaded your privacy… or something… But don't you think that it's too late to even talk about me using a small part of your cabinet? I need those things because I stay over a lot, Kenshin. Do you expect me to carry my toothbrush and my razor everywhere, just in case we end up at your place, which we do most of the time?" Kaoru continued, her voice became a little higher now.

"And why can't I think about having babies with you? I love you, so isn't it natural for me to think about it? Did I ever say that we should start trying to have a baby? My god… If I were pregnant, what would you do? Pay for abortion fee? Send me money every month? Find an adoption centre and leave our baby there?" Kaoru screamed.

It's time to bring you down

On just one knee for now

Kenshin grabbed Kaoru's arm and hugged her tightly.

"I'm so sorry, baby, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to… Can we please just forget it? Let's just go to sleep and tomorrow I'll cook you breakfast. Anything you want!" He said, trying to lighten the mood in the room. Kaoru looked at him without a smile.

"So, you never saw yourself settling down with me, huh? She asked. "I guess I'm not the one who could make you think that this is for life." She murmured.

Kenshin looked at her.

He had never given these things a thought, but for some reason, in the back of his head, he knew how she would look in her wedding dress. He knew that she would pick a simple strapless satin white dress with gemstones decoration, and on her neck she would wear a simple diamond necklace, nothing too flashy. He knew that she would carry a bouquet of Jasmine and white roses. He knew that his veil would be plain with embroidery at the end of the veil, and that she would wear flowers instead of a crown on her head.

No, he never talked about it, he never thought about it, he never dreamed about it. He didn't have to, because he already knew. He just knew.

"Kaoru, it's not like that… I do want to be with you forever… Just wait for me…" He said, trying to hug her even tighter, but Kaoru pushed him gently. She looked at her in the eyes.

"Guess what? Now I don't." She said. "I love you, yes. But honestly, now I know what you've been thinking after you freaked out like that. It's good that you finally told me these things. I agree with you, let's not see each other again." Kaoru said. She took her bag from the sofa, took off the necklace and left his key on the table. "I hope you find your happiness, Kenshin." She said with a thin smile on her lips, before leaving his apartment.

Kenshin froze in the middle of the apartment, still trying to make sense of the situation, when the phone rang.

"Hello?" He answered flatly.

"Yo, Kenshin! Guess what? He said DADDY! HE FRIGGIN' SAID DADDY! This is SOOO COOL!"

The screaming person on the other side of the line was Sanosuke, his best friend and a new dad. Right after that one liner, he just hung up without giving Kenshin a chance to reply.

Kenshin sighed and dropped his body on the sofa. The things that Kaoru said earlier… She had been imagining about their future. With the house, and the kids, and the garden… How would Kaoru picture it in her brain? It would probably a cream coloured house, and very simple as well, remembering Kaoru's taste. She would grow the grass flowers instead of roses and such, because she liked small flowers. Kenji and Kaori would be able to play in the backyard, probably in the swimming pool. Of course! Swimming pool! Kenshin had wanted a swimming pool for a long time, and Kaoru knew that if they were to have a house, the first thing that he would build was a swimming pool. It wouldn't be too big, though, because they would have to leave a space for the barbeque stove. Kaoru loved barbeque, and she would want to invite friends and neighbours for some meat.

Lets make our vows

Kenshin covered his face with his hands, and after awhile he finally blurted out one word that he rarely used.

"Oh shit."

Had he realize sooner that he did want to settle down…