Chizuru sighed in relief as she unpacked the last of her meager belongings and sat on the western style bed. Packing light had been a necessity since she had left her home to search for her father all those years ago, and living with the Shinsengumi through the war had only reinforced the habit. The small room they had given her near Hijikata's was just right for her needs.

Not that she intended to spend much time there. She had spent enough time sitting and waiting in rooms. Now that she was here at Ezo, she was going to do everything in her power to help Hijikata.

He had dismissed her for the night, saying that she had traveled far and needed to rest—and it was true, it had been a long, emotionally charged day—but she also didn't quite believe that he would do as he had said and go to bed. He hadn't looked all that well earlier, and that was when he tended to push himself the most.

Getting up, Chizuru decided that she would just check and see if he was still awake. If he had gone to bed, then well and good, but if not, then maybe she could slip down to the kitchen and make some tea.

It was only a few yards between her own door and Hijikata's, but even from that distance, she could see the flickering candle light leaking out across the floor. With a small shake of her head, she began walking in the opposite direction. The direction Otori had helpfully pointed out to her as leading to the kitchens when he had first led her to Hijikata's rooms.

At first Chizuru thought the spacious kitchens to be empty, as she hesitantly stepped into the dark room. Presumably the kitchen staff had already finished for the evening and gone home.

So it came as a shock when a deep voice came from her left.

"Yukimura, I take it? Otori-san mentioned that you might slip down here tonight."

Chizuru nodded slowly, not sure who she was addressing. The man smiled gently as he sat down at a small table and gestured her over.

"I would call you Hijikata-san's new page, but the man has been stubbornly refusing one ever since they got here. Has a bit of a reputation for crushing every hopeful prospect's dreams." The man pushed forward a tray with a pair of cups that had been sitting on the table. "This is yours. I can show you a shelf where you can keep it tomorrow. Hot water is over there," he gestured to a kettle warming over some still glowing embers, "Unfortunately all we have is black tea, so you'll just have to make do with that."

"T-Thank you." Chizuru managed to stammer out, surprised by both Otori's and this man's thoughtfulness.

Taking the kettle, she added the leaves to the steaming water before setting it on the tray.

The corner of the man's mouth twitched up as he said, "No, thank you. No one around here seems to be able to make a cup of tea that man likes. Not that he says anything of course, but you can just tell from his expression that it just doesn't cut it."

Chizuru felt her cheeks flush and was infinitely grateful for the darkness of the room. It was nice to hear Hijikata still thought of her tea so highly. She made a promise to herself to take some time to figure out how best to brew this new tea.

She gave a small bow of gratitude before she took the tray and left the room. Only once she was nearly back to Hijikata's room did she realized that she had failed to ask the man's name.

The thought broke off when she heard a thump and a muffled groan from behind Hijikata's door.

Her first instinct was to call out to him, but years of experience had taught her that Hijikata would only try to blow off whatever it was as nothing and send her away. Another moan of pain cemented her decision. She wouldn't be sent away again.

Instead of knocking, Chizuru opened the door and hurriedly stepped inside, before closing it behind her. The sight that met her, tore at her heart.

Hijikata knelt on the floor near his desk, one hand gripping the wooden surface, while the other clutched at his chest. His normally black hair hung in silvery white strands around his sweat dampened face, and when he raised his head to look at her, his red eyes practically glowed.

His eyes widened in shock as he recognized her through the pain of his bloodlust. As she quickly set the tray down on a side table, Hijikata managed a choked, "Yukimura?"

Instead of answering, she hurried over to the stand where Hijikata kept his swords, taking and unsheathing the wakizashi before going to his side. As she knelt down, his hand closed around her wrist, his grip probably tighter than he intended due to the pain. He red gaze held hers.

"Damnit, Chizuru," he said through clenched teeth. "I did not let you stay here so I could use you like this!"

Without breaking his gaze, she said earnestly, "And I didn't come here to sit by and watch you suffer. You said you would share your burdens with me, so let me bear them."

For a long moment neither of them moved, both too stubborn to yield to the other. Chizuru wasn't sure how long the standoff would have lasted, but Hijikata suddenly closed his eyes and hunched over with a groan of pain, his hand leaving her wrist to claw at his chest.

When the pain seemed to ease a bit, he said quietly, "All right, fine."

Carefully, she closed his hand around the wakizashi and caught a brief glimpse of his surprised expression before she turned and loosened the neckline of her shirt.

Almost hesitantly, she felt Hijikata's warm hand settle on her shoulder, his thumb tracing a line up the back of her neck . She almost shivered when his thumb was replaced by the line of cold, hard steel resting against her skin.

"Are you sure," Hijikata asked, his voice hoarse.

She gave a small nod as she said, "Please, take what you need."

With that, the cold of the steel turned into a brief line of sharp pain, and then into the warm feeling of Hijikata's lips and tongue against her skin. This time she couldn't repress a shiver and Hijikata's fingers tightened their grip on her shoulder. Her own heart rate spiked with every trace of his tongue across her skin, even as, behind her, Hijikata's own breathing began to calm.

Finally the small wound closed and he slowly let her go, his lips pressing briefly once more to her skin in a feather light touch as he murmured, "Stubborn Edo woman."

When she turned to look at him, his hair and eyes had returned to normal, though his exhaustion seemed even more pronounced.

Her legs were only slightly wobbly as she stood and collected the tray from the side table where she had left it. She could feel Hijikata's gaze follow her, but he didn't say anything.

Returning to his side, she asked hesitantly, "Would you like some tea?"

Technically she was fairly sure the tea would be well and truly over steeped by this point, but she wasn't quite sure what else to do after such an intimate moment between them.

Hijikata made a sound halfway between a cough and a laugh as he ran his ran a hand over his face.

"Yes, I could do with some tea right now."

The words could have been sarcastic, but instead they felt honest and even tinged with a bit of relief.

A silence fell between them as Chizuru poured and handed Hijikata his cup, but it wasn't uncomfortable. It brought back memories of bringing him tea on those nights in Kyoto and Edo when he would be up into the early hours and she would sit and sip silently at her own cup while he worked.

Hijikata must have been thinking the same thing, because he glanced over at her as he said, "I never realized how much I missed this…"

Chizuru felt heat rise in her cheeks as she stared at her tea; her fingers tightening around the cup.

"Me too…"

Silence again drifted between them, but Chizuru couldn't ignore the small bubble of happiness within her at the thought that at least this much hadn't changed during their time apart. War was coming, but maybe in quiet moments like this, they could find some peace.