Questions of Power

by broomclosetkink

Sequel to Power, Perceived. In the aftermath of the Revolution, Kaoru and Kenshin must learn who they are outside the war, who they are together, and how to make a new way of life. AU, drabble collection.

8. Distance

A/N: Thank you to everyone who has been so incredibly supportive!

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Kenshin returns late in the night. At some point Kaoru fell asleep, and she doesn't wake until she hears him rustling around. She bolts upright on the futon, pushing her hair from her eyes and blinking at the shadowy form of her husband.

"Kenshin?" she questions.

"Yes," he answers quietly, "only me. Go back to sleep now, Kaoru."

This night he lies beside her. His hair is still wet from a bath, and there is something...distant about him.

"Are you...alright?" she questions after a few moments of silence, turning to rest her hand on his chest. She receives no answer.

Until - after so long that she thinks he has forgotten her inquiry, when sleep is just beginning to take hold of her once again - Kenshin whispers, "No. I'm not."

Kaoru has no answer to this. She simply presses close, allowing Kenshin to curl his arm around her shoulders and hug her tightly.

She wakes in the morning to find him already gone.