"I don't care, Tohru, it's not a good idea!"

Kyo was in the kitchen, finally putting away the groceries that had been sitting, forgotten, on the entryway floor for the past half hour. He was trying very hard to keep his voice level, but it was extremely difficult just then.

And if Kyo was annoyed, Tohru was downright peeved. Her jaw was set in a hard straight line, and her eyes were glinting dangerously as she glared through doorway that connected the living room and kitchen. "And I already told you, Dr. Watanabe said it should be fine, as long as I went very slow and was very careful!"

"Dr. Watanabe only said that because you didn't give her the whole story! If she thinks your only choice is to go upstairs, then of course she's going to tell you you can go upstairs. It's not like she's going to tell you you have to sleep in the yard." Kyo finished putting the last of the groceries into the refrigerator, catching himself just before slamming the door shut. "But you don't have to go upstairs, we have other options. And we're going to use them."

Tohru was more upset with her husband than she'd been in weeks, possibly even months. She'd known this was going to be a bone of contention; they'd been pushing this discussion off for over two days now, ever since her OB/GYN had given her her list of c-section home care and restrictions. Kyo had focused like a laser onto the part where the literature had said 'avoid stairs for at least one week,' and even though Tohru had told Dr. Watanabe that both their bedroom and Hajime's room were on the second floor of the house, he had been completely unwilling to even consider the idea of Tohru sleeping up there.

Tohru and Kyo's house was much larger than any apartment they could have gotten in any city fresh out of high school, but it was still very much a starter house. Downstairs in a circuit off the entryway were the 'not-hall' as they'd always affectionately referred to the middle-sized, awkwardly situated room just off the entryway, which lead into both the kitchen and the living room, which also lead into each other. There was a toilet off the other side of the kitchen with the washing machine, and the bathtub/shower room just off the toilet. Then upstairs was another toilet, Tohru and Kyo's bedroom, the little room that now belonged to Hajime, and their very puny balcony.

Tohru had been dreaming of her own bed the entire time she'd been in the hospital, and almost as soon as Kyo had walked back into the house from his shopping trip she'd decided it was time to grab the proverbial cat by the tail. Hajime had finished eating and was taking another nap, and there was nothing that sounded nearly as good as taking a nap herself. So after she and Kyo had exchanged quick greetings and he'd asked after Hajime, she got straight to the point.

"Kyo, could you please take Hajime for a while for me? I'd like to take a nap, if you don't mind."

"Sure, that's no problem. Just let me run upstairs and grab the bassinet first. Do you want to just stretch out in the chair, or do you want me to set up the futon for you?"

Tohru took a deep breath. "Actually, I thought I'd just go upstairs and lie down in bed."

Kyo's jaw immediately hardened. "No, Tohru. We've talked about this."

"No, you've talked about this," Tohru corrected, her eyes narrowing after Kyo's back as he turned and disappeared out of the room and up the stairs. In a couple minutes, he reappeared, carrying Hajime's portable travel bassinet.

He wasn't surprised, or rather he knew he shouldn't be. Tohru had managed to sidestep making any sort of agreement each time they'd talked about sleeping arrangements once they got back home. He'd pointed out the relative spaciousness of the living room, the fact they always had their guests sleep there and no one had ever been too crowded; the fact the kitchen would be right there, the fact the shower and bathtub and laundry were all right there...basically, there had been a multitude of arguments for why the living room was simply the better choice for right now.

Tohru had accepted the validity of those arguments, but kept coming back to the fact that she wanted to be in her own bed. It was bigger. It was more comfortable. Her things were there. Hajime's things were close at hand. There was still a bathroom upstairs, even if it didn't have laundry or a tub or shower.

At the hospital, Kyo had decided not to push it. Tohru had been too newly into her recovery, and there was enough going on just by being at the hospital. But now that they were home, he wasn't going to let the topic slide any longer.

He knew his wife could be stubborn. That fact was no surprise, not after how long the two of them had been together. But if she was stubborn, then when it came to her welfare then he could be even worse.

Kyo could feel Tohru's narrowed eyes on him the entire time he was setting up Hajime's bassinet, and he finally met them when he stood up to take Hajime and gently settle him down. "I'm not backing down on this, Tohru."

"I'm sorry, but you don't get to decide for me, Kyo!" The way he'd spoken was so calm that it was downright infuriating. Tohru knew it was all coming from a place of love and concern, but she hated the way that he was brushing her off. She was the one who'd had the baby; didn't her needs and wants count for anything?

"And I'm sorry, but on this I think I do, Tohru!" The calm was slipping, and Kyo's own eyes were narrowed as he looked back at his beautiful but exceptionally infuriating wife. "There is absolutely no reason you need to go upstairs, not for a long time yet. I know it's more comfortable up there. I really do. And I'm sorry. If I could take apart the bed and put that in the living room, I would. But I can't. So we've got to make do with the futon."

He was aware of his voice creeping louder, and he turned to give Hajime a glance. Luckily, so far their son had been proving nearly as deep a sleeper as Tohru, and if his parents' disagreement bothered him you'd never be able to tell.

Still, Kyo stepped away to the opposite side of the living room and crossed his arms as he looked at Tohru. "You're not supposed to do stairs, Tohru. Not for at least a few more days. At least a week, and it hasn't been a week! You just got out of the goddamned hospital!"

"You don't have to tell me, Kyo, I'm the one who was the patient! I'm the one who's been looking forward to being in my own bed for days now!" She was aware that Kyo had been sleeping in the hospital too, but while she very much appreciated his presence, he wasn't going to get any credit for that now. Him sleeping in a chair was hardly comparable to her surgical recovery.

"And I get that, and I'm sorry! Don't you think I want you to be in our bed, too? Hell, I'd carry you up and down myself, if I thought it would help, but that's not what you need either. What you need is to take it easy," he stressed, grabbing her empty water glass and stalking into the kitchen to fill it.

"And I will take it easy from upstairs. What do you expect me be doing, running up and down the stairs just for fun? I'll plan to go upstairs and stay upstairs, except when I have to go downstairs."

"What if you get hungry?"

"I'll just keep some food up in our room for the time being."

"What about actual meals?"

"You can put something in the small cooler for me before you go to work."

"What if you need something else to drink?"

"I'll be fine with water, and there's a bathroom upstairs."

"What if Hajime spits up all over you, or has a blowout or something?"

She glared at him for a long moment, then admitted, "I'd probably need to go downstairs. Carefully."

Point for Kyo, and he wasn't going to give up the advantage. "What if the doorbell rings?" They both knew the doorbell was one of Tohru's weaknesses; she loved having friends and neighbors stop by. During the last few weeks of Tohru's pregnancy when she'd been on maternity leave, visitors had been one of the few things that had helped lift the tedium and she'd been very open in telling people they'd have to stop by after the baby was born.

Tohru stared at Kyo, biting the inside of her cheek as she tried to figure out a counter for that one. "If it's in the next few days I'll just...ignore it?"

Neither one of them believed that, not even for a moment, and that was all the ammunition Kyo needed. "See, it's a bad idea. It won't work, Tohru, and we're not even going to try. It's fine. It'll be fine. I'll just move the table, and we'll set up the futon in the living room just like we discussed."

There he went, unilaterally making decisions about her without listening to her. Again.

Tohru felt hot tears stinging in her eyes. "We didn't discuss anything, Kyo. You decided, all on your own."

Kyo hated going against Tohru. Time had done nothing to lessen his desire to please her, or to see her smile. One of his greatest joys in life was seeing the way she looked at him when he did something to make her happy. Tohru had never abused her power, but the facts of the matter were that if she wanted something, Kyo almost always went along with it.

Almost.

There was one very hard and fast exception to that rule, and that was when it came to Tohru's own well-being. He'd had to square off against her multiple times just over the course of her pregnancy, and he'd hated it every time. She'd raged, he'd raged, she'd argued, he'd stood firm. And in the end, after they'd each had some time to calm down and think about it, she'd usually admit he had a point.

Though that didn't mean it didn't suck in the moment.

He hated the fact he'd made her cry, but he wasn't about to waver on account of her tears. "Yeah, well, if you were thinking rationally, you'd be agreeing with me."

Tohru had been in the process of wiping her eyes, but she looked up, incredulous, at his comment. "Are you saying I'm being irrational? That's it's irrational to want to actually be someplace comfortable and convenient and completely okayed by my doctor after I've just spent four days being cut and poked and pinched and prodded every time I could blink?" Her voice was increasing in pitch, and Kyo reflexively took a step back.

Never, ever call a newly postpartum woman irrational.

"I'm not the one who's being irrational, Kyo. The one who's being irrational is the man who thinks that I'm suddenly made of glass just because I had a baby!"

Kyo ran a hand through his hair in frustration and gritted his teeth. He'd realized as soon as he'd spoken he'd screwed up, and Tohru's hackles were now a full mile high. He needed to fix this, somehow.

He also needed to put away the groceries.

Tohru watched him as he stalked back out to the not-hall. "We're not done, Kyo!"

He stooped to pick up the grocery bag, then stalked into the kitchen. "Damn right we're not, but we're not gonna make any progress when you're being so-"

"Irrational?" Tohru's normal gentle voice was now laced with a hefty dose of venom.

Kyo growled, then sighed. "Look, I'm sorry, ok? I didn't mean for that to come out that way. You're right, it's normal to want...all of that after what you went through." His voice had softened slightly, and that was enough to help take Tohru's edge off, too.

Or it did, until he steeled up again. "But that makes it all the more important that you take proper care of yourself! That means no pushing yourself when you don't have to!"

"I won't be pushing myself!"

He couldn't understand her. Absolutely, completely, fully could not understand her. As Kyo saw it, it should have been a non-issue. Tohru could and did trip on level ground. In the almost five years they'd lived in this house, she'd fallen down the stairs at least four times he was aware of, including one time that had resulted in a broken ankle. Even if she wasn't recovering from abdominal surgery, he would have been extremely hesitant to have her navigating the stairs so soon after birth; with the c-section, there was absolutely no way.

But he knew he had to get Tohru onto his side and have her actually agree with him. He'd been extremely lucky Sensei had given him the extra days of leave, but he only had three more days at home with Tohru before he'd be going back to the dojo. At that point, there would be nothing keeping her downstairs except her own best judgement, and right now he was definitely questioning that judgement.

Though at least by then, it would have been an actual week since her surgery!

Kyo rested his hands on the kitchen counter, drumming his fingers aggressively against the acrylic as he glanced into the living room. Tohru wasn't even looking at him right now; she had turned her head and was staring furiously at a point on the wall on the opposite side of the room. But in profile, he could see just how angry she was by the rigid line of her jaw.

His brow furrowed again and he felt his mouth twist into an annoyed scowl. It was all so goddamned simple, why did she have to be so goddamned stubborn? Couldn't she see how stupid she was being?

While Kyo had been thinking, Tohru had been gearing up for another attack. She loved Kyo, practically to distraction. And she loved how considerate he was of her. But that consideration could sometimes creep into infantilization, and she hated how he had the tendency to decide things for her, as though she were a child instead of a grown woman, his partner. Usually, the two of them had good communication and were able to talk things out, but usually she wasn't a sore, tired, hormonal, newly postpartum mess, either.

Maybe she was being a bit childish. She didn't care.

"I know you're trying to take care of me, Kyo. I really do, and I appreciate it. I love you for it. But you are being ridiculously controlling, and you need to back. Off." Her voice was hard, and so were her eyes when she turned to look back at her husband. "I need you to trust me to take care of myself, too."

She was expecting to see a similar set in Kyo's eyes when he looked back at her. She wasn't expecting to see tears.

"Don't you see that I can't?"

Tohru was unprepared for the raw emotion in Kyo's voice when he turned away from the counter and strode into the living room. He'd been tense, and he'd been angry. But she could see now that it was more than that; his eyes were teary, and his hands were shaking as he dropped down beside her chair.

"I wish I could trust that, Tohru, I do. So much. But I can't, I can't, I just can't!" Kyo had rested a forearm on Tohru's armrest, and as he spoke his head dropped to rest against his arm, shaking back and forth as emotion started to overpower both his voice and body. "I can't trust you to take care of yourself, because you're not! Not enough, not yet. Not you, and not anyone else either!"

Tohru was stunned. For the past few days, Kyo had been so cheerful, so relaxed. Her light-hearted rock. He'd been there when she grumbled, winced with her when she'd hurt. Commiserated with her worries. And given no sign that any of this was still bubbling away beneath the surface.

Because she knew exactly what 'this' was.

"You nearly died, Tohru!" Kyo's voice was ragged, and his face was tear-streaked when he lifted his head to look at her. "Just four days ago, remember? You almost died, and I couldn't do anything about it!"

It had taken a couple days for the reality of Hajime's delivery to sink in for Tohru, to really sink in. But once it had, she'd had a terrible night, unable to sleep over her unbridled fear of what could have happened, even if it hadn't. And Kyo had been there with her, holding her, fiercely reminding her that whatever could have happened hadn't.

How difficult had it been for him to stay so calm, when he'd been agonizing over the very same thing?

"I know you're ok. I know Hajime's ok. I know everything worked out." Kyo was saying the words like they were a mantra, just like they'd both said them that first day, and just like they'd said them that terrible night. But she knew he was struggling, just as much as she had been. "But it might not have. And you're still not ok, Tohru, you're still not whole. Something could still happen if you're not careful, something serious. I swear, Tohru, if something were to happen to you...if I lost you..."

Kyo's voice broke, and he buried his head in his arms again and started full-on sobbing. And Tohru was crying too, her hand resting lightly against his folded forearms.

The days since Hajime's birth had been among the most emotional of Tohru and Kyo's life. Fear, grief, despair, and guilt had warred with joy, excitement, happiness, and relief. There had been pain, so much pain in both body and spirit. It was almost too much to process.

It was too much to process.

For a few minutes, the two of them just stayed like that, Kyo with his head buried in his arms against Tohru's chair. Both of them were silent, beyond the sound of Kyo's sobs. But eventually, even those faded and the room was still.

The silence was finally broken by Hajime, waking from his nap and shifting in his bassinet. "Wehhhhhh... Wehhhhhh... WEEEHHHHH!"

Kyo slowly pushed himself up to his feet. "I'll get him, he could probably use a new diaper by now."

Tohru nodded numbly, watching as Kyo walked over to Hajime and gently picked him up.

"Hey, Hajime, it's ok. Daddy's gonna get you all clean and comfortable, ok?"

Hajime was still making grumbly noises, but his cries stopped as he settled into Kyo's arms. And Kyo was smiling as he looked at Hajime, if a somewhat more subdued smile than usual. Tohru watched as Kyo took Hajime into the not-hall and grabbed the diaper bag, then settled down onto the living room floor to change Hajime's diaper. The whole time, Kyo kept making light conversation with Hajime, and Tohru couldn't help but smile as she listened.

He was such a good dad.

Just like he was such a good husband.

"There we go, all fresh and dry and ready to go. What do you think you want to do now, huh Hajime? Do you want to go for a walk around the downstairs? Or maybe just snuggle for a bit? Would you like to have some snuggles with Mommy, or maybe hang out with Daddy for a bit longer?"

Tohru reached out her arms. "Could I take him for a little while, Kyo?"

"Yeah, sure. I need to get this dirty diaper out of here, anyway." Kyo brought Hajime over to Tohru and settled him into her arms, giving her an awkward smile. "Anything else I can get you two?"

She gave him an awkward smile in return. "There is one thing you could do, after you're done with that, if you don't mind?"

His voice was gentle as he responded, "You know I don't mind, Tohru."

She did know.

Tohru smiled as Hajime grabbed at one of her fingers, and she gently wiggled his little hand as she looked back at her husband. "Could you move the table? I think I'd prefer if we put the futon along the alcove side," she said, gesturing to the other side of the living room.

Kyo's relieved smile was so big it practically lit up the room.

"Yeah, I'll get right on that."

"Thank you, Kyo."

"Thank you, Tohru."