Um… hi.

*Ducks rotten tomatoes*

I know, I'm sorry I didn't update yesterday! I am a very bad person, and very sorry. I was busy, and then I didn't have internet access, and… yeah. Loser-ish. But this one is almost fifteen hundred words!

Thank you to my darling reviewers who have stuck with me anyway: Syolen, hislips, SRAS9, donhisiewen, kokoronagomu, geckohawaii, Rihannon, SeaSaltChocolate, Emi Violet, Lime Grass, caseyedith, Crau-san, and Scarred Sword Heart.

I do not own Rurouni Kenshin.

Also, apologies for the overuse of italics. But it is grammatically correct. There they go again-!

Couchant

-adjective

Lying down; crouching; reclining.

Kenshin is lying on his back on his futon for the nth day, recovering from his battle with Enishi. According to Megumi he has overtaxed his body above and beyond, and she has made some very pointed threats if he does not rest regarding extended stays at the clinic, sedatives, the use of leather restraints, etcetera.

This last is delivered with a saucy wink that makes Kaoru-dono turn an interesting shade of purple, and Kenshin does his best to look clueless as he says, "Oro?"

He knows Megumi-dono has his best interests at heart, in spite of her teasing; he is no longer a teenager to brush off hunger, anemia, and exhaustion, and for a time it is good to simply be, to bask in the warm feel of Kaoru-dono's ki, to drink the tea she makes (not too sweet, but not bitter, the way he likes it), to listen to the ring of hammers as workers repair the damage Enishi did to the dojo. Someone (Kenshin suspects Saitou) made the government cough up money for the expenses, ostensibly as 'payment' for averting the Shishio fiasco. Kenshin is caught somewhere between mortification, old bitterness, and vindication. In the end he lets it go, because it's already done and he can't fix it himself and Kaoru-dono doesn't have the money.

Now, however, the repairs are done and the dojo is quiet. Yahiko is gone to his shift at Akabeko, and Kaoru-dono made noises about grocery shopping, which was let go in their paired absence. She was loathe to leave him alone, but as Kenshin pointed out, they did need to eat.

It should be safe, after all; all of his old enemies are gone. Mostly. He's pretty sure.

In the lazy heat of the autumn afternoon, boredom is beginning to make him lose his mind. He's counted the number of crinkles in the shoji on the eastern wall, picked at a loose thread in his yukata, reviewed the principles of Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu, tried to meditate (for about four minutes, he sucks at meditation and always has), and now a fly has wandered in through the thoughtful crack Kaoru-dono left in the outside door for light and fresh air. The buzzing is grating on his last nerve, but he can hardly kill the little creature: one, he has strict orders to stay in bed, and two, there are laws now about killing things just for being annoying.

The heat is soporific. The buzzing is annoying. There is an ache in his lower back. And by his estimation, Kaoru-dono only left about half an hour ago.

That's it! There is laundry to be done; there is always laundry to be done, and Kenshin can't bear another minute in bed.

Just a few gis, he tells himself. Just enough to get Kaoru-dono and Yahiko-kun through until she's less busy, and then I'll go right back to bed.

For some reason he feels guilty as he smooths the covers over the futon—he's coming right back, so no reason to put it away—and puts on his hakama and hakama-shita. He sneaks a little bit in spite of the empty, quiet house. It requires little of the hitokiri's stealth to slide the shoji silently shut, and less to avoid the creaky board in the hall by the kitchen threshold. In spite of the slight dizziness and weakness in his limbs, it feels good to be moving again.

While he takes the laundry tub down from its accustomed place, Kenshin's thoughts turn down a well-worn path: To Kaoru-dono. They had a long and serious talk yesterday, when he was finally able to stay awake long enough for a real conversation, regarding permanence and plans for the future. Kenshin searches for the soap—has someone hidden it?—and remembers some of the things she said. It almost made it sound like… if he dared hope… that she might…

Idiot! Kenshin thought as he searched behind yet another bundle of winter clothes, She came right out and said that you'd better marry her! It still seems too good to be true.

The thought makes his neck turn red, even as a slightly goofy smile finds its way onto his face.

He can picture it now. They will adopt the little gray stray cat that he has been feeding, and perhaps wait for the winter to end, while they get the finances straight and Kenshin finishes healing. Then a wedding, something small, maybe just the two of them at the local shrine.

And then…

Ah! Soap! Though why they put it under the false floorboard in the shed where Kaoru-dono usually hides the mochi from Sano and Yahiko is a mystery.

Kenshin balances soap, tub, and bucket carefully in his arms and takes the whole thing to the well. The sun indicates it is more toward evening than afternoon now, but that's alright, he's only going to do a few things…

The first bucket goes down the well without a hitch, but when he makes to pull it up, Kenshin feels a sharp twinge in his side. He hurriedly pulls the flap of his hakama-shita aside to check his bandages; if he pulls his stitches Megumi-dono will kill him, and that's only if there's anything left when Kaoru-dono gets through!

He sighs in relief. No tell-tale red stain, just the lingering sting of a wound not quite closed yet.

More carefully, he tugs on the rope. Maybe if he sort of bends, to protect the stitches, and uses more shoulder and back muscles than abdominal…?

"HIMURA KENSHIN!"

Busted.

How did he not sense her? Ah, well, too late now.

"Ah…" he grins sheepishly. "Hello, Kaoru-dono. How was your shopping trip…?"

"Bed! Now!" Kaoru-dono brandishes a long, paper-wrapped parcel, one of many in her arms, the way she might a bokken; she is very pretty today, in her new green kimono that Megumi gave her, her cheeks pink from exercise—and anger.

Kenshin realizes he should pay attention.

"Ah—sorry, Kaoru-dono, sessha just—"

"Don't 'sessha just' me!" Kaoru-dono is in fine form. "Why do you think I hid the soap, hm? Do you think I was trying to be funny?"

Oh. Now it makes sense. "Sessha can explain—"

"EXPLAIN FROM YOUR FUTON!"

Kenshin feels it is prudent to obey.

Back in his yukata, contritely lying on his futon, Kenshin waits patiently for the tongue-lashing he knows is coming. Kaoru-dono has a surprising repertoire of insults and swearwords that she uses when she's really worked up, and judging by the white-knuckled grip on her groceries, this one in going to be a doozy.

The shoji opens, and Kaoru-dono enters, carrying a candle; Kenshin realizes that while he waited twilight has fallen.

She surprises him by not immediately launching into her tirade; instead she kneels by his futon, sets the candle down, and watches him. Kenshin tries to analyze the expression on her face and in her ki—is that disappointment?

"You're so stubborn," Kaoru-dono finally says. "Why are you so stubborn?"

Kenshin senses that this is a rhetorical question and remains silent.

"You're always taking care of everyone else," Kaoru-dono says. "You're the first up in the morning, and the last to go to bed, even though I can hear that you don't sleep well. You make sure to do all the really hard chores, and when you run out of chores you do them again."

Kenshin is unable to deny this. It is true.

"Did you ever think that maybe I want to take care of you occasionally?" Kaoru-dono says, laying a soft hand on his shoulder, smoothing a wrinkle in his yukata. "If you hurt yourself by being stubborn when just a few more weeks of rest will make you better, I will flatten you."

She is one of the only people he knows who can reduce him to wordlessness. Even Shishou is not so insightful.

"Sessha…" he begins, then founders. "Sessha is very sorry for worrying you, Kaoru-dono."

Seriously, Kaoru-dono says, "Sorry means you won't do it again. You promise?"

Kenshin thinks of the long hours ahead and wilts. "Hai, Kaoru-dono. Sessha promises."

"Good!"And then, just like that, she is cheerful again. "Well now that you're awake more often now I thought you might be bored, so I got some books from the market and the mending basket. It's probably too dark for either of those, but maybe tomorrow…?"

Smiling in genuine relief, Kenshin says, "Kaoru-dono is too kind to sessha. Thank you, that would be good."

They sit and talk until the moon rises, and Kenshin remembers what it is to be loved.

To be happy.

When Kenshin has finally fallen asleep, Kaoru gathers up her things and tucks the blanket more securely around his shoulders. She smiles fondly as she closes the shoji door quietly behind her.

-And goes to find a better hiding place for the soap.