Disclaimer: I own it not. It owns me. Join me in the bliss of obsession. ^_^

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Diary of a Manslayer
Akai Kitsune

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Chapter 5) A Woman's Kitchen

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Kaoru couldn't cook.

It was a hard thing to admit - especially to her face - but Kenshin preferred to do most of the cooking in his household. During her pregnancies, first with Kenji, then their second child who'd yet to show itself, he liked to use Kaoru's condition as an excuse to cook all the meals himself.

"Oh Kaoru," he'd tell her, "You look tired today. Is the baby kicking? Go lie down, I'll make supper tonight..."

Of course she didn't fall for it very often, and he was the target of many a glare, but he did it anyway. Anything to help; anything to make her happy. He wasn't sure how happy it made her when she obviously knew his reasons, but he always decided that not cooking was better than getting angry at Yahiko's comments.

She was learning, though, and everyone had to admit it. She would never reach a professional level - it just wasn't her calling - but there were days when it was impossible to tell her cooking from his own. He could tell, of course, but they always enjoying sharing a little smirk between them on those rare occasions when Yahiko complimented the meal between bites, thanking Kenshin for not letting "busu" anywhere near the kitchen.

"If he only knew," he would murmur in her ear when they were alone, making her laugh. He loved the sound of her laughter, and he took advantage of Yahiko's ignorance whenever he could. Perhaps it was cruel, and very unlike him, but Kaoru's happiness was more important than catering to the boy's childish reluctance to praise her.

"Someday I'll tell him," she replied with a mischievous grin. "After a really wonderful dinner, one that he can't stop talking about. We'll both look at him, smile, and I'll tell him that you didn't cook it. Can you imagine what he'd do?"

"Stammer objections, of course."

"Pretend he never said a word!"

They smiled at one another, enjoying their private joke. It was a silly joke, meaningless to anyone besides them... but so were many things they took pleasure in, and no one could blame them if it wasn't known.

Love is a secret.

"I love you," he told her later, whispering the words in the middle of the night, holding her close. He always told her when she was asleep, hoping the words could reach her and echo through her dreams. Often he was tempted to ask her, once she was awake, if she had heard him, but that would of course ruin it.

"I love you." Not for your cooking, or your figure, or your laughter. Not for your blue eyes or your beautiful smile. Not for the home and the family you have given me. Not for your forgiveness or your uncompromising acceptance.

I love you because you're my Kaoru, and you are all of these things.

And he would never know it, but if he had asked if she heard him in her dreams, she would have said no, of course not.... because she was always awake, listening for it, when he told her.

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I really wish I could make these things longer, considering how long it takes to write them... short and sweet is I suppose the theme of this fic. I'll try to avoid delaying the next one by such a huge margin. I've gotten so lazy...

Reviewer Responses:

JML: Interesting. There are so many good doujinshi out there, but it's hard to sort through all the smut first, ^^;;

Sean Montgomery: Hey, if you want to share stories, I'm game, ^_^

Regan84: oO Wow, I can't believe I missed that. It's what I get for editing late at night. Thanks for pointing that out - I fixed it, ^^;;

Crystal Renee: I know, I know! ^^;; I'll try harder next time!

haku baikou: Yeah, the RK fandom has become somewhat disappointing lately, but I'm glad there are still a few fics out there worth noticing.

animefanrk2k: Aw, that's nice to hear, ^^ But I'll try to keep the ego down like a good girl.

Vic'chonn: Actually, I'm the one whacking my muse when I can. *glares at the muse who is reading comic books in the corner*

ShoshanaFlower: There are so many amazing fics out there that focus on one or the other, and I use those for inspiration. Finding fics that tie them together is a bit more of a challenge, so that's what I was going for.

ChiisaiLammy: Yeah, I'd rather keep Yahiko in the story than cut him out. He's too important a character to just drop out of the family entirely! (Er, not to say that Sano wasn't important even though he disappeared... ah, well.)

Bando-Eido no Megami-sama: Yay for random jumping. That's the only reason I can still write this fic, ^^;;

Velda: Yeah, I admit Sakura was at the very bottom of my list for names... besides the fact that I don't even like it much, scary enough. Kenshin as a pushover? *grin* We'll see...