For the prompt: Tsubame and Yahiko, bruised, pillows

Yahiko trudged into the house, utterly exhausted. First, there had been morning lessons, and the students had been way too energetic. Then, he had visited Maekawa-sensei's new dojo on foot. And just as the sun was setting, a couple of petty thieves had run past, so of course, he had to chase after them. Once he had incapacitated them, the officers finally arrived.

The house should have been quiet. With Kaoru, Kenshin, and Kenji off to Hokkaido, he expected as much. He entered the dining room, only to bump into something.

Instinctively, he grabbed on, despite his aching body. A squeak stopped him from clenching harder. "Tsubame?" In the faint light, he could make out her wide eyes. He was holding her shoulders and tried to act nonchalant as he released her.

"I'm so sorry, Yahiko-kun!" Her apology was a loud gasp. "I should have lit a candle, but I was going to do that afterwards."

"…It's fine. What are you doing here?"

She pointed to the table behind her. "I was only leaving this bento. Rei-san told me that you were at another dojo, so I thought you would be too tired to cook. It's fresh, so please eat it soon. Ah, unless you want a bath…"

That was tempting, but he couldn't ask that of her, not when it was so late. He shook his head. "I'm going to rest first. Man, I'm tired." He moved past her, to throw himself on the tatami. His back hurt, his knees throbbed, and he definitely had more than a few tender spots from practice. They would surely turn blue and purple in the morning.

Momentarily, Tsubame asked. "Yahiko-kun, I brought some pillows. Would you like one?"

"Yeah, thanks." He accepted a large cushion, but he propped his feet onto it. "My feet are killing me."

"I understand. You had a very long day."

He closed his eyes. He had been joking when he offered that they live together. Well, mostly. It wouldn't be bad, to come home to her. But they were still young, and after witnessing Kenji's terrible twos, he didn't want to experience that any time soon.

Quietly, Tsubame lay beside him, and he tensed. She placed the extra pillows between them, yet that sharpened his awareness. "Um, I'll wait too, until I can catch my breath."

He moved, wincing a little, to give her a pillow as well. "Your feet must be sore. From working at the Akabeko."

"Oh, thank you." There was a soft rustle, as she tucked the pillow underneath her ankles. The silence was stifling. "Would you like to hear something funny?"

"Sure."

She excitedly dove into a story about buying squid with the other waitresses, and how one of the slippery creatures had leapt out of the bucket. She was giggling throughout, making him smile. He couldn't see or touch her in the darkness, but it was comfortable, listening to her voice. Yes, he didn't mind this, bruises and all.