AN: A little something to say a great big "thanks!" to Melitot for all of the wonderful art she's created for me over the years. This isn't half of what it should be, but I hope you enjoy it.

Two-fer

"Kaa-san! Tou-san!"

Kenshin looked up from where he was digging vegetables out of the family garden with Kaoru to see his five-year-old barreling toward them, wild red hair escaping his low ponytail, much the way his father's once had.

"Kenji? Everything okay?" Kaoru asked, caution coloring her tone as her son came to a skidding halt next to a pile of daikon. The level of excitement evident on the boy's face, coupled with the hand fisted by his side, could be nothing, but often as not meant that Kenji had "rescued" some less-than-savory creature possessing more legs than she was comfortable seeing on anything. Kaoru suppressed a shudder at the memory of her hair ribbon box being used as a shelter for wayward spiders. Giving herself a mental shake, Kaoru brought herself back to the present and focused on her son.

Kenji nodded excitedly in answer to his mother's question, thrusting out his fist and carefully uncurling his fingers. Kaoru instinctively shrank back, earning her an amused chuckle from her husband even as Kenshin walked forward to see what rested in Kenji's chubby palm. Kenshin's eyebrows shot up in surprise.

"Two of them?"

"Uh huh!"

Kenshin let out a bark of laughter. With his body blocking her view, Kaoru couldn't see what her son held, but given the distinct lack of recrimination from Kenshin, Kaoru's curiosity quickly overcame her wariness.

"Ok, you two. What is going on?" Kaoru asked as she got up, dusting off her hands before joining them.

"Go on," Kenshin smiled, ruffling Kenji's hair. "Show her."

Kenji practically vibrated with delight as he grinned ear to ear revealing the new, and rather sizable, gap in his upper teeth. Kaoru squealed, throwing her arms around Kenji so hard that the little boy let out a small oof as he trying to squirm away. "Kaa-saaaan!"

"Ooo… sorry!" Kaoru apologized, relinquishing her tight hold even though inside, she was dancing happily.

Finally, finally after weeks of wiggling and twisting and pulling those stubborn teeth were out. Gone were the painful, bleeding gums and fights over eating because it just hurt too much. "Let's celebrate tonight. What do you think? Dinner with the A-ke-be-ko?" she asked, punctuating the last word with light taps on Kenji's small nose.

"Yay! Yay! Yay! Then I can show Yahiko-occhan!" Kenji jumped for joy and Kaoru had to catch him in her arms before he trampled the cabbages.

"That's right. But we have something very important to do first, don't we?" Kaoru reminded him, walking toward the house and away from the garden to prevent any potential mishaps.

Kenji wriggled, sliding from Kaoru's arms. Running to the edge of the porch that hugged the house, he peered into the space beneath. He paused a moment, looking at his two baby teeth for the last time before reaching back and throwing them as hard as he could.

"Well done!" Kenshin laughed as Kenji puffed his chest proudly, hands on his small hips. "Let's get cleaned up so we can go out."

xxx

A short while later, the family found themselves seated at their favorite table, while Kenji regaled Yahiko with the tale of his missing teeth, wiggling the tip of his tongue through the gaping hole.

"Careful, brat. You keep doin' that and I might just pull it out," Yahiko teased, playfully making a grab for the little boy. Kenji tried to scramble out of reach, knocking his knees against the table.

"Oww! Kaa-san, make him stop!"

"Kenji, keep your tongue in your mouth. No one wants to see it. Yahiko, leave –"

"Food!" Yahiko exclaimed before Kaoru could finish her scolding. Leaping to his feet, he helped Tsubame distribute bowls of rice and plates of meat and vegetables.

Kenji bounced, clapping his hands excitedly. Lightning fast, he snagged a carrot off one of the plates, popping it in his mouth before his mother knew what had happened. Savoring the flavor of the sauce, Kenji bit down. No pain. He snuck a piece of beef in munched away. Still no pain. Yep, life was good again.

Grinning triumphantly, Kenji tucked in to his victory meal.

AN: Just a little note on cultural customs: while here in the United States, it kids put teeth under pillows to get gifts (usually money) from the Tooth Fairy, in Japan the custom is just a bit different. When a child loses a tooth, it is customary for him or her to throw it onto the roof if it came from the lower jaw, or into the space beneath the floor if it came from the upper jaw.

Thanks for reading. Reviews are always appreciated.