Disclaimer: Rurouni Kenshin and all characters therein belong to Nobuhiro Watsuki.

Bliss

Genius

Kaoru looked up from her book at the distinct sound of the door opening. A slow smile spread across her lips at the shuffling thud of a bag being dropped carelessly, and the rhythmic pounding of little feet on the floor. She slipped her bookmark between the pages and put the book on the kotatsu table just as Kenji rounded the corner and came running into the living room.

Kenji skidded to a stop in front of her, flung his arms out to the sides, and declared proudly, "I'm a genius!"

Kaoru's brows rose, and an amused smile played across her lips as she pressed both hands on the couch to lever herself up. She winced slightly as her muscles protested and in a flash, Kenji hurried to climb onto the cushion beside her. Squirming down until he could get both hands on her back, he pushed helpfully and urged, "Up, babies, up!"

She almost lost the progress she'd made under a rush of giggles, but she stubbornly kept going until she was sitting upright. Resting both hands on her considerably rounded stomach, Kaoru watched her son meticulously select one of the couch pillows and tuck it behind her back the way he'd seen his father do countless times before. Kenji fussed with it, tucking and tugging until he had it arranged to his satisfaction, and then wrapped both arms around her shoulders in greeting.

"Tadaima, Kaa-san!" Kenji kissed her cheek and then dropped down to repeat the process with her stomach. "Tadaima, babies!"

Kaoru laughed again and threaded her fingers lovingly through Kenji's hair while he continued to smooth his hands down the curve to make sure the babies knew he was home. A flicker of movement in her peripheral vision drew her focus up to find Kenshin leaning against the doorframe. Kenji's afternoon snack was arranged on the tray in his hands, but he seemed perfectly content to stay where he was. He watched her for a long moment, letting his eyes speak volumes until she cleared her throat and dropped her eyes to Kenji.

Kenshin smiled warmly at the blush on her cheeks and finally made his way across the room to his family. Setting the tray beside the remains of Kaoru's own latest craving, he took up his place on her other side and murmured his own greeting intimately into her ear, "Tadaima."

Kaoru sighed and closed her eyes, leaning into his embrace. "Okaeri."

Kenshin kissed her temple before letting her go in favor of sneaking a drink from her tea cup. "How are you feeling?"

"Round, but they're mostly behaving," Kaoru answered wryly, but she chuckled and smiled at him reassuringly when the familiar concerned gleam snuck into his eyes. "Don't look at me like that, I'm perfectly fine."

Kenshin arched an eyebrow, but reluctantly let it slide. Giving her one more suspicious look, he handed Kenji his juice and waited patiently for his son to work the straw into the box. As soon as it was in place, Kenji held it up to show off and Kenshin brought his hand up to his chin with a vague hum. He dragged his exaggerated contemplation out until Kenji started to fidget anxiously before finally agreeing, "Just right."

Kaoru gave Kenshin a pinch for being overdramatic and tilted her head to gesture down at Kenji. "Did your son tell you that he's a genius?"

Kenji straightened his spine regally.

Kenshin passed Kenji one of his onigiri, brows raised in awed curiosity. "Is that so?"

Kenji took a bite, chewing as he nodded in enthusiastic agreement.

"Did something happen at school?" Kenshin absently reached behind Kaoru, lightly digging his fingers into the tense muscles along her spine to soothe the ache.

Kenji nodded again, starting to open his mouth when Kaoru gave him a look that had him quickly closing it. Swallowing the rice, he opened his mouth to his mother to show her it was all gone.

Kaoru laughed softly and tapped him on the end of the nose. "You keep that up and we might just be able to take you to a restaurant tonight."

Kenji beamed and took a sip of his juice before remembering why he'd almost made the breach of manners in the first place. He sent a vague gesture in the direction he thought the school was in and told them, "Arashi's mama is having babies too! He told us today, but when he asked Tanaka-sensei where they came from, she didn't know."

Kaoru blinked, her brow furrowing in confusion as she shared a look with her equally bemused husband.

"So I told them!"

Kaoru immediately bit down on her lip at the smugness radiating off him following that, almost afraid of what was going to come next. When Kenshin hurriedly brought her cup up to his mouth to give himself a way to avoid speaking, she shook her head in exasperation. Even so, she took a deep breath to steel herself for the potential responses, and gave him the encouragement he was waiting for. "You told Tanaka-sensei where babies come from?"

Kenji nodded and shoved the rest of the onigiri into his mouth, chewing and swallowing as he wiped his hand on his uniform shorts. Finished with that bite, he patted Kaoru's stomach with an air of great authority. "Babies come from business trips!"

Kenshin promptly choked, coughing reflexively to clear the misdirected tea from his lungs. His eyes watered as hurried to set the cup aside, covering his mouth with his wrist while his shoulders shook with a mixture of strangled laughter and awkward, involuntary coughs.

"Tou-san, are you okay?" Kenji leaned across Kaoru's legs, worried at the way his father had doubled over.

Kaoru cast a mildly baleful look down at her husband and promised Kenji, "He's fine."

Kenji didn't look entirely convinced, continuing to watch skeptically until Kenshin waved one hand to indicate Kaoru was right. Lips compressed, Kenji looked up at his mother with both brows raised in question.

"Trust me, sweetie." Kaoru rubbed her palm soothingly down her stomach when the twins picked that moment to squirm. Doing her best to ignore Kenshin without letting her own expression slip, she asked, "What did Tanaka-sensei say?"

"She acted all weird." Kenji puffed out his cheeks and frowned as he thought about how best to explain his teacher's reaction. "Kaa-san, I don't think anyone ever told her about babies."

Kenshin hunched his shoulders even more, hiding his face in his lap in his struggle to keep quiet.

Kaoru elbowed him in the side, digging her nails hard into his leg while she smiled down at Kenji and suggested, "Why don't you go change out of your uniform? Then you can be comfortable when you tell the babies what you learned in class."

Kenji's face lit up with excitement and he scooted off the couch to very precisely set his juice box back in its place on the tray. He turned back to Kaoru and wrapped his arms around her stomach. "I'll be right back!"

Cheerfully patting her belly to seal that promise, Kenji turned one more brilliant smile up on his parents and hurried off to his room.

The moment Kenji's footsteps faded, Kaoru twisted and smacked Kenshin on the back to punctuate each word. "Every single time you make me be the serious one, you stupid, stupid man!"

Kenshin rolled onto his side, weakly trying to catch her hands as he finally allowed his laughter to escape. Tears slipped from the corners of his eyes, and he struggled to control himself enough to form words. "H-honey!" Awkwardly, he rocked himself up and wound his arms around her, dropping his head to her shoulder while he continued to shake. "Business trips!"

Kaoru's cheeks turned red, but her own lips finally started to twitch in helpless amusement. "Stop it, I'm mad at you."

"Aw, but y-" Kenshin barely managed to get out that much before he lost the battle with his laughter all over again.

Kaoru twisted her face aside, unable to hold in her own smile at the infectious provocation of the sound. She smacked the back of her hand against his leg again, but her own shoulders were already shaking too much for Kenshin not to notice. He sat up and wrapped his arms around her, tugging her back against him.

"This doesn't mean you're off the hook," Kaoru warned him. "I mean it, Kenshin! Every time!"

Kenshin wound down to snickers, rubbing his cheek against hers in affectionate apology. "You're right, honey, I'm sorry. Next time I'll be good."

Kaoru shot him a suspicious glare.

Kenshin's lips twitched.

In the next instant, they both cracked. Simultaneously dropping their foreheads together and giving in to the overwhelming need to share their amusement. Kenshin absently stroked one hand over her hair, grinning widely and repeating, "Business trips."

"What have you been saying where he can hear you?" Kaoru demanded.

"I guess he must have overheard when I told Aoshi," Kenshin guessed with a decidedly sheepish expression.

Arching an eyebrow at the faint blush spreading across his cheeks, Kaoru flicked his forehead in half-hearted chiding. "How many times have I told you not to do that?"

Kenshin rubbed the spot with a faint pout and defended, "I had to tell someone. And you used him to set the whole thing up in the first place, so it's not like he didn't already know."

Kaoru folded her arms across her chest.

"Come on, honey!" Kenshin wheedled, rocking her from side to side cajolingly. "How could I keep that to myself?"

"I'm sure Aoshi wonders how you could inflict it on him," Kaoru countered with a snort.

"Sano didn't let me finish when I tried to tell him," Kenshin admitted ruefully.

"Sano refuses to come to the house without advance warning and backup ever since he interrupted you building a pillow fort in a half-open yukata." Kaoru clucked her tongue disapprovingly. "What made you think he'd want to hear it this time?"

Kenshin grinned broadly, his eyes vaguely distant with the pleasant memory before he shook it off and returned to the topic at hand. Nuzzling her temple, he brought his hand down possessively on her stomach and murmured smugly, "Because that time, you started it."

Kaoru turned up her nose, but her hand still came up to cover his and lightly lace their fingers together. Without acknowledging the show of affection, she primly warned, "Keep that up, and that's the last business trip you're taking."

"Oh, I don't know, honey," Kenshin purred as he stroked their joined hands lovingly down the curve of her stomach. "She's a very demanding and important client. It takes a lot of work to keep her satisfied, and it's my most important contract, you know. I have to devote my utmost personal attention on even the very finest detail."

Kaoru sighed heavily in feigned resignation, "Meaning lots of overtime?"

His eyes fairly glowed with delight as he added, "And business trips."

"You're lucky your wife is very understanding of the demands of your profession." Kaoru tugged her hand loose to give his thigh a pinch and smiled at his startled yelp.

"Luck nothing." Kenshin huffed and carefully looped his arms below her stomach, sliding back to the corner of the couch, and pulling her along to resituate her between his legs. Urging her to lean back against his chest, he calmly resumed stroking her stomach and brazenly remarked, "I have carefully hidden boxes full of bargaining chips in the event it becomes necessary to remind my beautiful wife of all the reasons she loves me too much to ever leave me."

"Blackmail," Kaoru corrected.

Kenshin shrugged nonchalantly. "You say tomato."

"You're impossible." Kaoru chuckled helplessly and shook her head. "You're also forbidden from bragging about when and how I got pregnant."

Kenshin rested his chin on top of her head and let out a long sigh, but grudgingly agreed. "All right, honey."

"Either time."

His shoulders shook lightly with his renewed laughter. "But don't you think it's a sign?"

"It's an unfortunate coincidence, and if anyone asks, you're lying just to irritate me," Kaoru grumbled in mild annoyance.

Kenshin turned his head to rest his cheek against her hair and wondered out loud, "Does this mean Master Ninjas can control their mating cycles?"

Kaoru blinked and finally leaned forward to turn a disbelieving look on her husband. "You did not just say that."

Kenshin struggled to hold a straight face, well aware that his smile was strained and overly bright with the effort. "Reliable evidence suggests-"

Kaoru swatted him upside the head to stop him from finishing that. Not in the least bit surprised when that only prompted him to burst out laughing and slump back against the arm of the couch. Muttering several choice words under her breath, she pointedly ignored him and reached for her abandoned tea. She'd barely started to lean over when Kenshin tugged her back, still chuckling as he picked it up and gave it to her himself.

"You have to admit it's funny," Kenshin urged, keeping his hand close just in case the cup slipped.

"You think it's funny."

Kenshin's enthusiastic nod was so reminiscent of Kenji, that Kaoru just couldn't hold her frown. She lifted her cup to hide her giggles, shaking her head again before she took a sip. After a quiet moment, his hands went back to her stomach, rubbing soothing circles over the distended skin. "Can I tell everyone they get their creativity from you?"

"Only if you want them to grow up without a father." Kaoru tapped the empty cup on his hand, letting him move it back to the table. "And no, that was not a suggestion for a lonely, wandering ghost of a tragically murdered husband to haunt the bedroom of the mourning, single mother."

"Ooh, that's a good one," Kenshin praised with delighted admiration.

"No."

"But-!"

"No," Kaoru repeated firmly.

"Ready!" Kenji's cheerful announcement immediately ended the budding "negotiations" and brought their attention to the doorway.

Kaoru blinked, and blinked again before lifting her hand up to cover her involuntary smile. Wearing his favorite gi and hakama, carrying his first bokken in one hand, and dragging his school bag with the other, Kenji hurried back to reclaim his spot on the couch. Under their watchful eyes, he gently set his bokken on the cushion and gave it a pat before climbing up between Kaoru's legs. He dragged the bag up behind him with a faint grunt of exertion and arranged it beside the bokken.

Kenji put one hand on his chin, humming as he examined his handiwork and finally nodding in satisfaction the same way Kenshin had done for him just a short time ago. Opening the bag, he pulled out his workbook and twisted around to more comfortably kneel in place.

Kaoru shared a speaking glance with Kenshin at their son's very serious expression and smiled warmly down at Kenji when he looked to her for approval. Sighing in contentment, Kaoru let her head rest on Kenshin's shoulder while he laced his fingers together just under her stomach.

Kenshin brushed a kiss over her temple, more than happy to put their discussion on hold as Kenji opened his book to start teaching the babies everything he'd learned at school.

Besides, family time always weakened her resolve.

And he had a date with a mourning, single mother to plan for.