AN: Little bit of Kurt/Juna for your hopeful enjoyment! S'about it, short set of author's notes today, folks :P

Washing Up

"Kurt?" a familiar voice rang out, making the distracted swordsman look up from the stack of plates in front of him and stop mid-wipe to greet his friend with a polite nod.

"Oh, Juna. Did you forget something after dinner?"

She shook her head, her pink ponytail waving to and fro. "No, nothing like that. I was actually trying to find Louise to ask her about something and thought she might be back here – how about you? What are you up to?"

Kurt slowly looked at the freshly washed dishes before turning his attention to the plate and rag in his hands, his eyebrow raised all the while.

"I'm sorry, is this a trick question…?"

"Not what I mean, smartass," she muttered with an annoyed huff and a roll of her eyes, pointedly ignoring how she had walked right into that one. "Doesn't Gina handle this kinda stuff?"

Kurt shrugged, conceding the point. "Normally she does, but there was some kind of issue at the inn that required her attention. Thus, I volunteered to help out."

"Ah, I gotcha," Juna said, unable to keep her eyes from widening when she saw just how much he had left to go through. "Y-Y'know, I never realized how many plates and cups and other stuff we use in a day until I see it all laid out like this…"

"Neither did I, but it makes sense when you consider that it's for an entire campus." He set the plate down and reached for another, and if Juna's gaze happened to linger for a second too long on toned forearms exposed by rolled-up sleeves… well, that was just coincidence. Really.

"Yeah, that's true. You're really okay with doing all this though? I mean, there's so much…"

He nodded. "Of course. I find it relaxing."

"…"

"W-What's that look for?"

"No, nothing," she laughed, holding up both hands. "It's just… I never really thought of stuff like this as relaxing, I guess. To be honest, I'd always try and blast through chores and stuff so that I'd have more time for fun outside with Ken and Nana or the other kids. Used to drive my parents crazy."

"That's perfectly understandable," Kurt said, looking thoughtful. "Though in my case, I always used household chores as a way to wind down after training; our exercises were designed to bolster both body and mind, so I was always fully engaged from start to finish, you see. As mundane as washing dishes or sweeping the training floor may have been, it was a good opportunity for me to let the world go and… stop thinking, I suppose."

She laughed warmly at that. "You? Stop thinking? Sorry, can't see it. It's too weird."

Now it was Kurt's turn to roll his eyes, a fond smile gracing his lips in spite of himself. "Believe what you like, though if you want to find out for yourself I'm sure I can find another cloth somewhere."

Juna paused, considering.

"Yeah, sure," she said, unbuttoning the cuffs her of uniform jacket and rolling them up to match Kurt's, much to his surprise. "I can track Louise down at the dorm later, and I'd feel bad if I left you here to do this all by yourself."

"Y-You really don't have to," Kurt mumbled, more than a little concerned that he might have inadvertently guilted her into helping. "I was only kidding."

"Well, I wasn't. Pass me a rag?" and he couldn't help but chuckle when she caught it with a flourish and started on the cutlery, a determined expression on her face.

They worked in silence, and Juna had to admit; there might have been something to Kurt's idea that this was relaxing. All things considered, it was a welcome change of pace not having to think about things like archaisms. Or field studies. Or jerk professors coming up with different ways for Einhel Keep to try and kick Class VII's ass.

Her sharp ears twitched then, snapping her out of her trance, and she flicked a glance at Kurt wondering if she was hearing what she thought she was.

Was he actually humming…?

A second later, she bit her lip.

"He's totally humming," she noted with a burst of glee, more than content to watch and listen as a blissfully oblivious (and remarkably on-key) Kurt went on with his task. After all, Aidios only knew that he was just so serious most of the time, even when he was reading or playing chess - you know, doing things he enjoyed - and seeing him completely at ease for once was... nice, she decided.

Different, sure. But still nice nonetheless.

"… You're giving me that look again."

"Don't worry about it," Juna said, flashing him a playful grin. "That's a happy little tune you've got going there, by the way."

He blushed and stammered while she giggled and kept drying, though somewhere in the back of her mind she couldn't help but wonder if maybe, just maybe, she might have been the first person to hear him hum like that, so calm and utterly carefree.

Years later, her smile would put the sun itself to shame when he told her that she was.