Prompt: Bath house
Fandom: Rurouni Kenshin
Setting: CANON after series
Characters: Kenshin Himura, Kaoru Kamiya
Word count: 1000
The door to the bath house had not been slid all the way shut and the light trickling from the gap in the doorway was warm and welcoming.
An invitation or simply an implicit show of trust? Kenshin paused to wonder, his hand half-extended at the door's edge. Usually, he wouldn't even think twice about stepping in, gods only knew his wife had a mischievous streak a mile wide and she cheerfully took advantage of every chance they got for privacy, no matter whether she had arranged the moment herself or not. But now, he hesitated – why?
She had been tired lately, yes. Every one of her frowns and winces stuck out to his eye like a sore thumb. Worse were the increasing stress lines around her eyes and how she tried to hide it all, to keep smiling for everyone. He wasn't the only one who had noticed, either. Or at least he couldn't imagine any other reason why Kenji hadn't thrown more than a mandatory sulking glance when he had asked his eldest to take over helping Shinta with his homework…
"Kenshin, dear – aren't you going to step in?"
"Oro!" he gasped in surprise. Instantly, her answering laugh rang through the wooden wall and had him shaking his head fondly, muttering his agreement, "yes. Yes, of course."
It was rather dark inside, but even in the oil lamp's light it was easy to spot her training clothes left haphazardly lying on the bench, side by side the clean and neatly folded yukata she had brought to change into. Perhaps, he should have brought a spare robe as well, but then again… Swallowing dryly, he finally acknowledged the creeping fear that had stayed his hand earlier, "Would you prefer bathing alone? This one merely wished to know if you needed any assistance, that he did."
The water splashed at the bathtub, and he cringed inwardly at the low groan escaping her lips as she heaved to her feet. A step, another, and few more, before wet arms slipped around his waist and her protruding stomach pressed against the small of his back. "Please. We would appreciate your assistance as well as your company, dad."
Despite everything, a smile tugged the corners of his lips and he turned to glance at her over his shoulder, "one doesn't ever get tired of that word, that's so."
Her blue eyes sparked with laughter, and then she leaned forward to rest her cheek his shoulder, "father of two teenage boys and still every day of this pregnancy is new to you. Kenshin, everything is going to be fine, don't worry so much."
How can she read this one so well? He huffed softly and turned around in her embrace, "hardly new, nor unexpected… However, it has been nearly ten years since Shinta was born and –"
"Shhh," she pressed her finger to his lips to quell his words, before glancing at him and lifting his hand to her stomach. At seven months pregnant, she was clearly showing and even her usual choice of loose training gi and hakama didn't change the fact. But without layers of clothing to hide her swollen mid-drift and the stretching skin, he couldn't hold back the frown rising to his brow. "Kaoru, please – let us help."
"That bad, huh?"
"You look exhausted," he admitted softly. "This one respects your wish to keep teaching as long as possible, but Yahiko is entirely capable of taking over the lessons. And if it's too much work for him alone, even Kenji could shoulder more responsibility, that he could."
Her scoff told him what she thought of the suggestion.
Sighing, he raised his hand to stroke a wet strand of her hair between her ear, "you know this one wouldn't insist for no reason, that he wouldn't."
She glanced away, her temper crinkling on her brow – he didn't relent, simply moved to stroke her cheek gently. Years ago, before his awkward proposal and their marriage vows, back when they still danced around each other's sensibilities, mutual hesitations, the ties of loyalty, love and attraction born during their shared battles… that weary wanderer wouldn't have even dreamed of clashing against her will like this.
Her stubborn spirit, her heart and loyalty, even her sparking temperament were a never-ending wonder to him. However, these years spent together had taught him much and one of those things was that loving someone didn't mean always agreeing with them. Moreover, when it came to her health, he wasn't going to step aside.
She swallowed, and a faint shiver raced along her skin from the draft. A worrywart in him wanted to usher her back to the bath, or to fetch her robe for warmth. However, he couldn't step back, not now – not before she had had time to quell her temper herself and think through his words.
Around them, the oil lamp's flickering flame casted shadows on the plain wall, and her image melded perfectly into his, like missing halves of a puzzle joined together. Finally, she sighed deeply, about to voice her thoughts, but he was already pulling her to his arms, covering her skin with his wide kimono sleeves as well as he could. Something was lodged into his throat as he whispered, "It's just a few months, that it is."
"Yeah," she agreed faintly. And then in the cover of his arms, she harrumphed, "I know Yahiko can handle it, and Kenji learned a lot during summer at Hiko's… It's just that I hate sitting idly when there is work to be done."
"Isn't that the truth," he agreed with a smile, and pulled back just enough to meet her eyes. The spark of life in them was magnificent, and his heart swelled with emotion, "Thank you, beloved."
She smiled at him, and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him into a deep kiss – a far better reassurance than his clumsy words could ever hope to be.
AN: Somehow, it seems that I accidentally managed to write my first ever marital dispute between Kenshin and Kaoru… well, what do you know. ^^*
