No money,no sue.

June 8th, 2000 10:00 PM

Teo kicked off her shoes inside the door. The apartment was dark, except for a faint light coming from her room. She could hear Bessie Smith singing, sweet, low, and sad. It was an appropriate time for the blues, all right; she hadn't been this down in quite a while. Walking to the door of her room, she leaned against the frame. Kenshin was sitting in the middle of her bed, pouring a glass of wine. One already sat on the bed stand. He was barelegged, dressed in one of her big button-downshirts she liked to sleep in, his hair down across his shoulders. A big five-wicked candle burned on the dresser, giving the room a golden glow, making his skin gold as well.

"Excuse me, Mrs. Robinson – are you trying to seduce me?"

"Got it in one try, dear lady. Drink?"

"Definitely." They clinked glasses. "Compai! God that's good. No don't try to kiss me, Nezumo-chan - I'm filthy. Let me wash up and brush my teeth." She locked her gun up in her small room safe.

"I'm ready for you, Shinju-sama, come here." He took her by the hand and led her to the bathroom. She opened the door upon a steaming tub and another candle, scenting the room with vanilla, her favorite. "How did you know?"

"I have my sources."

"Donna the dispatcher. I hope she enjoys doing the stairs for her tattling. They could use a scrubbing."

"If you give up being a hard ass, we'll have to do more housework, dear. Get in the tub and I'll wash your hair for you."

"No, thank you. You know I prefer to do that sort of stuff myself." She stripped off her grimy feeling clothes and tucked them in the hamper. Kenshin looked at her tall firm body, the heavy breasts, wide hips, and softly rounded belly. If he bruised easily, she scarred. Her olive skin showed the march of time in marks and old scrapes, never forgotten. The scars of the beating that drove a sixteen-year-old girl out into the world on her own still were visible on her back and buttocks. She was ashamed of them, and almost no one but he had ever seen them. She had to be in control with every one but him, with him she could relax and be gentle and open. . Burns and cuts from a hard life on the street marked her as well, especially the round red spot high inside her left thigh. The curving scar on her right thigh when she had risked her life to stop a killer was still a thick high ridge of flesh – all these made her wear trunks and a shirt when she swam to hide the marks. Even her tattoo had raised up, giving it the look of a true armlet.

She slid down into the scented water. He had dropped a little vanilla into it as he was filling the tub, and she relaxed in the scent. Teo pulled the clip out of her hair and took a breath, then submerged into the hot water. Kenshin was there to hand her a cloth for her face when she came up, then she shooed him away. She didn't mind bathing other people, but she preferred to bathe herself alone.

"Are you hungry, darling?"

"No, I grabbed something at the station. Have you eaten? Well, if you're not hungry, how about pouring another glass of this? Thank you."

He took his time, sitting on the crisp white sheets waiting to hear her get out of the tub. He sipped his own glass of wine and tried to relax after a very nasty day. They needed this; this was their way of making and keeping the connection between them that had lasted for so long and through so much. Most people didn't understand, like Dave hadn't earlier today. He felt a little stir at the thought of that beautiful, strong body, but pushed it away. He had some kind of thing against Teo, and she was part of him, they came together or not at all. He had learned that the hard way. Their marriage was a protection, providing both insurance and keeping either of their families from interfering if something should happen. But it was also much more, a meeting of hearts and souls hard to explain to others. So they often didn't bother to try.

He heard the gurgle in the old pipes that meant the tub was draining. He got up and brought the glass of wine with him. Teo was wrapped in a bath sheet, hair up in a towel, brushing her teeth. He smiled at her. "Minty fresh?" She stuck out a foam-covered tongue at him and wrinkled her nose to make him laugh. When she was finished, she walked back to her room, rubbing her hair.

"No wine yet, kobito, it doesn't go well with toothpaste."

"How about kisses then?"

"Yes, thank you. They go very well with toothpaste. Mmmm. You are an excellent kisser, Mr.Boldt."

"You taught me, Ms. Gaudro. I owe it all to you." He had lived with her for six months and had become a little possessive. And jealous. He had his own little room in the tiny apartment and a job to help with expenses. She was always sweet and kind to him, but she hugged and patted him like a kid. She always kissed Hank. He knew what they were to each other now, and didn't want that kind of relationship with her. But he did want to be important to her, like Hank was. So one day, when she was saying good-bye to him, he kissed her.

She gave him a funny, grossed out kind of look. "What was that supposed to be, Kenshin?"

"It's a kiss. What else?" He was a little ticked off and insulted.

"Who taught you to kiss?"

"Are you trying to piss me off? I know how to kiss!"

"Like a beagle puppy. Tell me, has anyone ever kissed you who wasn't trying to get into your pants? ... Thought so. Come here, and keep that tongue in your mouth, I've already washed my face today, thank you." She took him by the hands and pulled him close. She lightly pressed her lips to his forehead, cheek, chin, and then she brushed across his lips, making him shudder with a sudden chill. She came back, a little firmer, and the kiss became so sweet; he wanted her never to stop. She pulled away. "Now that's a kiss. See the difference? Kissing like a beagle pup – all tongue – has its place, but this is where to start, okay?"

"How did you learn to do that?" He held his hand up to his tingling lips.

"Girls like to think about kissing. They like to practice kissing. On toys, on pillows, on each other. I was very good at thinking of better ways to kiss, so I got asked to practice a lot. So began my downfall from good Catholic girl to dyke to Dom queen of Greenwich Village. I was the girl stupid enough to get caught practicing." She gave him that sad smile she had when she talked about her past. Kenshin pulled her close and tried to kiss the sadness away. "Whoa boy! Slow down! This is a little queer, isn't it? Stop laughing, you know I meant odd you little shit! I mean you're gay- I'm gay. We're gay, god that sounds like an English lesson. Let's parse the perversions, kids!"

"I don't care if you're queer or I am. I want to learn to kiss! Teach me." And she had. Over the years they had taken comfort in being in each other's arms and kissing. It was just how it was. When men raved about his kissing he just smiled and never told them his secret. It was years later that it led to more.

Teo dropped the towel from her head and Kenshin sat behind her to comb out her long dark hair. "Jake called earlier. The poor kid's mom is broken up bad. He's going to meet her at the Port Authority when she gets in tomorrow. Was it really bad?"

"Please, don't ask me now, little one, I'll be seeing it in my dreams soon enough. Did you talk to Sanos? What's wrong?"

"He's an asshole."

"Oi, not another one! What did he say?"

"Let's not talk about it, okay? I told him to fuck off."

"Oops, no more sweet cheeks for Mr. Sleaze! Ow! Don't pull my hair!"

"Shut up then."

"Big bully."

"Little witch."

"Love me?"

"Constantly."

They sat that way for a while, Teo's head on his chest, both of them sipping wine and listening to the music. Hank had been a blues fan and Teo had picked it up from him. Her collection was exhaustive and extensive. Kenshin leaned down for another kiss. Her eyes were magic in candlelight, not hazel or green but a shining brown-gold. He could drown in her eyes. His Shinju, kuro shinju, the precious black pearl of his heart.