Disclaimer - I don't own Rurouni Kenshin.

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Toy Store

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His Office

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"Kaoru?" Kenshin said in surprise, standing behind his desk. His long-sleeved shirt and tie were green, respectively pale and dark. His suit jacket hung behind him on a chair.

"Hi. I took the day off from work," she said, shutting the door behind her. "Do you have time for a visit?"

"Sure," he said, walking around his desk and motioning her to sit down in one of the two chairs in front of it while he sat in the other. "How's your sister?"

Kaoru took a moment before answering to watch him. She thought she was in love with that particular suit and tie combination. His skin was tan enough so that the pale green of his shirt complimented its tone, and the fact that he'd worn a lode green tie proved he could match colors. They worked the same amount of hours, Kenshin maybe even worked more, but he spent more time in the sun. She'd have to figure out his secret.

"Elaine's fine," Kaoru said, "I took her to her gynecologist this morning. Everything's perfect with the baby." She glanced around his office. She'd never visited Kenshin at work before. "Wow, this is formal," she commented. "But I like it. Nice desk."

"Thanks. Is something wrong?"

"Am I that readable?" she asked before she could stop herself. God, Tomoe had made her paranoid.

"Kaoru, you can tell me."

She took a calming breath. "After Tom left Elaine's the other night, he tried to drive somewhere and wrapped his car around a telephone pole. He's in a coma. He's been transferred to Hope Hospital, so my sister is moving in with me so she can visit him everyday. She's in between jobs right now."

"I should have taken his keys away," Kenshin said flatly. He was good at blaming himself, Kaoru realized.

She shook her head. "No, I should have. But I didn't. Anyway, he used his spare set. Apparently he couldn't find the set that was in his pocket." She sighed. "Elaine and I told our parents the story. As expected, they flipped out, but at me for not calling the cops. And Misao and Elaine hate each other, so Misao's pissed at me too, and I'm going to have to share a room with Elaine since Kamatari's already in the guest room." Kaoru sighed again. This seemed like the time for it. "I feel guilty that I didn't call the cops. If Tom dies I don't know what I'm going to do." She sat up straighter in her chair. "And that's my sad story. I'm sorry I bothered you with it."

"You're not bothering me," Kenshin assured her. "And if anyone should feel guilty for not calling the cops, it's Elaine."

Kaoru shook her head. "Oh no. She blames me. She says she's in love with him, so she can't be expected to make rational decisions."

"That's bull," he said flatly.

"Do tell." Kaoru hoped he had a good reason for saying that, because she was feeling pretty miserable. She wanted Kenshin to make her feel better, but a part of her was going to feel guilty no matter what he said. She'd settle for feeling mostly guilt-free.

"She's using you to alleviate her own guilt. She should have called the cops instead of calling you and putting the responsibility for her situation on your shoulders."

"But she did give me that responsibility and I botched it," Kaoru said, "She just didn't want to be alone. If she'd called the cops, she still would've been by herself in a scary situation. I can't blame her for calling me."

"You're defending her for making your life miserable."

Kaoru shook her head no, but was she? She didn't want this sense of obligation towards her sister, but that was how it went with family, wasn't it? You stuck with them through everything because blood's thicker than water, and come hell or high water you're always going to be connected to them. That was what her parents had taught her to believe, but the world was proving the old saying wrong. Misao's parents were divorced. She hadn't seen her dad in fifteen years, but Kaoru had been around for twenty-two years of Misao's life. Blood runs thin, hadn't Kaoru heard that somewhere else?

"Kaoru, I don't want to argue about your sister. How about I take off work early and we go out to dinner?"

Kaoru shook her head. "I can't. I've gotta leave to pick up Elaine in an hour. She's moving in tonight. I just wanted to drop by for a little and talk to you before I drive back to her house. Did you know that you're the only person who knows about this and isn't mad at me or suffering from severe depression?"

"I guess the severely depressed one is Kamatari."

"You got it."

"Wanna dance?" he asked, standing and offering her his hand.

"What?"

He shrugged. "It'll cheer you up."

"Now?" she asked. He nodded. "To what music?"

"I'll hum," he offered.

"You're weirdin' me out, Kenshin."

He grinned down at her and started humming an old Motown song. Kaoru smiled her first real smile all day. Earlier, she'd been happy to hear her sister say the baby was fine, but Kaoru still hadn't gotten used to the fact that the baby existed in the first place. Once that sunk in though, she knew she could be happy for its existence. But that time hadn't come yet. Which was why she'd come to Kenshin- she'd known he'd make her feel happy.

"Take the hand, take the hand," he blurted out between bars, grinning down at her as he resumed humming.

And who could resist that? Certainly not her. There really was no reason to resist Kenshin anyway, unless she was insane, which she clearly wasn't, so she took his hand and smiled back as he pulled her close and started them swaying. He wasn't a bad hummer either. He could carry a tune, and the song brought back memories of happier times, back when her parents had listened to Motown music and she was four and wasn't in school yet, so she stayed home with her mom and played with her sister behind the couch. Elaine was different back then. She didn't need a boyfriend, and she'd gone by her Japanese name, not her American one. They used to half-watch the old Motown music videos their mom put on television while she worked around the house, back when men wore pink suits and sequins on stage. Back when they were both innocent and Kaoru's favorite dress was the one with the tiny ducks on it and white lace trimming at the hem, the one her grandmother had made for her.

She wished she'd known Kenshin then. How much fun could they have had - climbing trees, playing with toys, watching Disney movies? She'd loved Aladdin, been scared of Beauty and the Beast. If she'd known Kenshin years ago, they would have gone through the getting-to-know-you stage as children, not strained twenty-somethings whose lives were already full with family and jobs and responsibility. And what a fiasco discovering each other had been. Not that it was truly over even now. But it was almost over.

Kenshin had almost finished the song. Songs used to be shorter, only about three minutes long, tops. Had that been because they had to fit on the vinyl record? One of her history teachers had explained why in high school when they'd done a popular culture unit, but she'd forgotten long ago. But she'd never forget the music. Yeah, four years old the summer before school started had been a lot better than high school. You didn't have a job when you were four, or a pregnant sister you had to take care of.

Kenshin finished the song with the return of a smile she hadn't realized had left his face. He'd watched her seriously while she drifted off into the past.

"Feel better?" he asked. Somehow his voice made her feel like they were alone in his bedroom after love, even though it sounded the same as it always did.

She nodded and closed her eyes as she kissed him or he kissed her. She didn't know which, but it was happening. She kissed him back, or he kissed her back, and she willed the moment not to end. His hand was gentle touching her cheek, his other arm wrapped around her waist, holding her to him as if he was afraid she would pull away. Kaoru's arms moved up and around his neck of their own accord, brushing against the collar of his shirt. A French kiss and she discovered he tasted like cinnamon. Kenshin had a habit of drinking cinnamon tea, of carrying around cinnamon candy. He said it was the best kind.

The moment did end; she'd known it would. They had to break for air, but he only kissed her again. It was better than the last time because this second kiss was so long overdue, even more overdue than the first. So what if an office wasn't the ideal place for a romance to take off? Sordid romances were carried out in offices – romances between secretaries, bosses, clerks, page boys. But she loved the feeling of Kenshin's arm around her waist, of his hand, no longer afraid and now drifting through her hair.

She finally loved him.