Author's note: Here's a little something to tide you over until the next chapter of the gift. I'm not very satisfied with how this turned out, so any kind of feedback is highly appreciated.

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Three nights.

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No matter what situation, no matter how injured he was, Kenshin always kept calm.

For the entire year that Kaoru knew him, she had never seen him unbalanced. She had seen him angry, determined and resigned and even revert to his old Battousai self when fighting Hajime Saitou but she had never seen tears in his eyes or anguish in his expression. When she was kidnapped by Jin-e Kenshin had met them with anger in his gaze and a stubborn set to his jaws. No fear, just the quiet conviction that he would save her and that he was willing to risk his life accomplishing it. When Sanosuke had called him out in the restaurant, saying that he knew his head protected her, Kenshin had merely closed his eyes and smiled a harmless smile and revealed absolutely nothing of his thoughts.

If he was ever sad, he always hid it behind those friendly smiles and when his past haunted him he always carefully tilted his head to hide his eyes behind his bangs. To call Himura Kenshin a reserved man would definitely be an understatement, no matter how much he seemed to draw people to him with that quiet unwavering strength.

He once told her that the fall of the cherry blossoms only reminded him of the rains of blood that he had caused during the war. At the time that statement had surprised Kaoru because he had looked so normal, just a man sitting with a friend, and she had not known that his mind had wandered to such dark places. Had not known that even in an area of peace, all he remembered was war.

She promised herself then and there that she would work hard to see him smile, genuinely, happily smile, even if it was only just once in her lifetime.

Shishio happened, and Kenshin resigned himself to once more put everything that he was into serving the country, taking the heavy responsibility of protecting innocent people on his shoulders. He left her, left her and everybody else, to face his fate without knowing whether or not he would return. For the first time he expressed how, in such a short time, she had come to mean something to him. He had said goodbye, he had held her to him and yet, even as her mind had become numb in shock and tears gathered in her eyes, Kenshin had not allowed her to see anything other than that calm restraint she had become so familiar with. He had turned away from her and not looked back. No matter how anguished her cries, his head had never turned and his walk was the same as always: arms pulled into sleeves and a steady rhythm dictating every step.

Seeing her show up in Kyoto had shocked him enough for him to even drop the bucket that he had been holding. After just a second however; he picked the bucket back up and moved past her as if nothing happened. When she had asked him how he felt he revealed that half of him had been upset but nothing of that had shown in his face. Instead Kenshin had chosen to offer her his smile and gratitude and he had never mentioned it again.

So when Sanosuke told her that seeing her dead had upset the rurouni enough to banish himself to the slums she had had a hard time believing it.

Having been occupied with being kidnapped at the time, she had not seen Kenshin's reaction to her supposed dead body and in either case the idea of her unwavering Kenshin breaking down was impossible to phantom. Kenshin had looked shocked when confronted with the sign that had hung above her dojo that announced Enishi's plans, she knew that, had seen it, but even then there had been a limit to how much the man revealed.

In the hours after that first sight of that sign, shame had weighed heavily on his shoulders but Kenshin had only hid his eyes behind his bangs as he told them of his past. No matter how disturbing Enishi's appearance must have been to him, the swordsman had always seemed in control of himself. In private moments both Sanosuke as Yahiko had told her of the way he had chained his sword, how life had left his unique eyes and he had refused to budge even as they demanded revenge but to her they were nothing but words. By the time she had seen Kenshin again, he had had his usual steady smile and unwavering confidence as he promised her safe return. He had beaten Enishi and they had returned home together and that, really, had been that. It was impossible for her to think of how Kenshin, according to Sanosuke, had all but fallen to pieces just because she was believed to be dead.

But it only took a few days after the fight with Enishi for her to start seeing the signs and realizing there was truth to what her apprentice and friend had told her.

Kenshin had already had a habit of watching everyone around him far more carefully than the ordinary man so it took a while for her to catch on to it. Yet when she did, it seemed ridiculous that she had missed it before. Every opportunity they had, his violet eyes seemed drawn back to her as if he was not quite certain that she was really there. He seemed unwilling to let her leave his sight, always accompanying her on her way to buy tofu or on some other errant. Even when she had to leave to teach at another dojo, Kenshin would find some excuse to walk her there. And when she was finished teaching, she learned to no longer be surprised when greeted by the sight of Kenshin with arms folded in his sleeves, waiting on her. He treated her as if she was a fragile thing, something akin to a ghost that could disappear the moment he stopped paying attention.

Where before Kenshin had barely touched her, needing something as big as a farewell to hug her, now it seemed he was always finding excuses to let his fingers linger over the edge of her sleeve, the small of her back, or catching on the ends of her hair. They were light, almost shy little touches that half of the time she didn't even catch him doing. She didn't call him out on it, afraid of losing this sign of that tentative bond between them, but she noticed and in private moments they still made her blush.

Quiet as Kenshin was, it took her almost a week before she noticed another change in his behaviour.

It had been close to midnight and Kaoru had turned in her futon, lingering in that place between sleep and awakening and searching for a more comfortable spot to lie in. It had caused her to turn her face towards the paper door that separated her room from the dojo's garden, a paper door that was quietly sliding shut just as she turned.

Still half-asleep it had taken her a little longer to realize what that meant, that quiet thud of the door meeting the wall, and belatedly she tried to blink sleep from her eyes. With the moon as full as it was, she could see the silhouette of what was undoubtedly Kenshin. He was still holding onto the door on the other side, kneeling with his head bowed like a man struggling with himself.

With the moon as high as it was, she could see how his sword rested against his shoulder and how his hair danced as the night's air toyed with it and somehow it struck her as strangely intimate that she could see so much detail with so little light. As she watched he seemed to release a shuddering sigh she could not hear and released her door along with it, turning smoothly towards that part of the wall that hid most of him from her sight as only the door let enough light filter through for her to see the details in his shadow. But she could see that he had settled against it, his back resting against the wall and his sword resting against his shoulder.

Now there was more than just the thin paper wall protecting her from the outside world: Kenshin was as well.

Though Kaoru felt it was unbelievably selfish of her, pretending not to see him and not putting an end to it, it nevertheless made her feel safer than she had felt in years. And with sleep still so heavy on her mind, she found herself settling her blanket around her and closing her eyes in acceptance. With the knowledge that Kenshin was there to protect her, it was easy to fall back into the soft embrace of sleep.

The next day nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

Kaoru had awoken to find Kenshin gone, as if he had never even been near her bedroom, let alone stand guard outside it. Instead she found him doing the laundry like any other day and the day had continued just as typically when Yahiko found her to do some training before she had to go and teach at other dojo's. Again, the red-head accompanied her but if she expected some kind of awkwardness between them she was relieved to find nothing of the sort. Walking with Kenshin had been just as the rest of the day had been: normal.

Yet it dawned on her, as she was instructing a boy to hold his sword properly, that it might not have been the first time that Kenshin, awake in the middle of the night, felt the need to check on her. Had her supposed death remind him too much of how he lost his former wife? Or did he expect to just wake up one morning and find her gone? It would be very much like the man that had literally wandered into her life to think of himself as unworthy of the small happiness that a home could give and ending up being afraid to believe it was real.

She lacked the courage to ask him about it on the way back. Instead, while feeling like a coward, she merely enjoyed his presence and put her worries from her mind.

When she woke on the second night, she knew what it was that had awoken her. She turned to find the shadowy form of Kenshin sitting in front of her paper door, already closed. His head was bowed again and not for the first time she wondered what that movement meant. In anyone else it was a sign of defeat, perhaps submission to a stronger force but in Kenshin it never really seemed a form of weakness. Even when he used his long bangs to hide his eyes with that movement which, in anyone else, was an admission of a kind weakness on its own it never seemed as a sign of weakness to her.

Kaoru watched him. Saw the way his hands moved to his sword with such familiarity that only came after years of living by it, saw the way he set it against his shoulder when he settled against the wall again. She saw the way he crossed his legs and when he bowed his head she knew his eyes were closed. He meant to sleep outside her bedroom as he must have done the night before, his sword against his shoulder and his hands wrapped around it. Kaoru imagined that he had probably spent most night during the revolution in this manner, ignoring the soft blankets in favour of being ready to meet an unexpected sword. Just how much of his war-time habits still remained in this era of peace?

There was already the promise of winter in the air and the night held its chill. Even with the thick cloth of his clothing, she was sure that Kenshin would still feel the cold. The thought broke her heart and decision made Kaoru tossed her blanket from her body and sat up. Kenshin's shadow didn't move but she nevertheless tried hard to be as quiet as possible as she slid open the door of her closet. She had already pulled thick blankets to the front of her closet in preparation of the colder weather and now she easily tugged it free. With the blankets in her hands she moved to her door, kneeling before it before quietly sliding it open.

Kenshin didn't move, his eyes closed, head bowed and hands so familiarly holding that sword against his shoulder while his back rested against the wall. His right was facing her and now seeing his face without that familiar scar Kaoru felt that Kenshin looked slightly alien, even more so with the moonlight making his face pale. Yet that same moonlight also provided her with enough light to see the slight smudges under his eyes that proved the lack of sleep he had been getting.

Kaoru wondered what kind of dreams Enishi put in his mind.

She was certain he tried to sleep in his own room, every night, before some unknown force drove him back to hers. It was too late for her to draw any other conclusion and somehow the thought of Kenshin plagued by nightmares bothered her more than the fact that he had fallen into the habit of checking up on her.

Wanting to comfort, wanting to give back to this man who had already given her so much, Kaoru partially unfolded the blanket in her arms. She grasped the corners of the thick cloth before shifting on her knees to bring her closer so that her arms could reach out and carefully place the blanket around his shoulders. The cloth was heavy, her touch was shaky and though the woman knew he could probably feel it, Kaoru couldn't help but softly press the fabric against his shoulders as she wrapped the blanket around Kenshin. As if by doing so she could force some of her own warmth into his skin.

Kenshin's eyes opened just as she drew back her hands, and his head turned to so that he could meet her gaze with his own. His eyes had darkened to that deep purple that she only saw rarely, it was the closest Kenshin came to looking vulnerable. There was guilt there; mingling with just a hint of shame and the last time she had seen it was when they had watched cherry blossoms together.

"Kaoru-dono," He said her name softly as if afraid to wake Yahiko sleeping several rooms away. His voice was slightly husky, evidence of the way he tried to sleep before and it would have given her goose bumps if she didn't hear the self-deprecation in it. She knew what was coming before he even continued.

"This one appo-"

"Kenshin…thank you." Kaoru interrupted him quite deliberately, lowering her eyes a little and folded her hands in her lap. She felt nervous, exposed, as if confronting Kenshin about these new nightly habits put what was between them at risk.

"Oro?"

"I feel really safe when you're out here," Kaoru said and felt a blush not just creep over her cheeks but extend all the way to the tips of her ears. It was rare for either of them to express themselves so clearly but perhaps it was about time that they did. "And I know it's a little silly to still be a little afraid of the dark but you really help make me feel better,"

Kenshin paused and looked at her and Kaoru could guess the things that went through his mind. Wondering whether he should correct her seemingly mistaken interpretation or whether he should let it slide. Or perhaps realizing she saw through it and deciding on whether he should correct her nevertheless. In the end, though, he merely smiled and closed his eyes as he did so.

"This one is happy he can help, so I am." Kenshin answered calmly, warmly, and not for the first time Kaoru wondered at his ability to remain level headed no matter what the situation.

Every time she came close, every time she looked at him in admiration that did nothing to hide the affection she felt for him, he merely looked at her with that confident steady gaze: neither encouraging her forward nor pushing her away. Tonight was no different, despite the fact that the swordsman had been found sitting outside her bedroom door.

Kaoru didn't think anyone but Kenshin would be able to get away with such an indiscretion so easily.

If only she knew what to say now that she had thanked him. Kenshin's eyes had been as warm as his voice when he spoke to her but now he was turning his gaze away from her again. He didn't seem ready to tell her of his reasons for sitting outside of her door and the sword instructor felt that it wasn't her place to ask, not yet. Not now that his gaze was fixed on her garden and his body was still curled inwards, crossed legs and hands pressing his sword against him, and it left no room for anybody else to join him in his nightly vigil. Perhaps some other night, he might let her stay.

"Well…" Kaoru started, wringing her cold hands together and feeling that in comparison her face was far too hot, "I guess I-I should just try to get some sleep…"

Imploringly she looked up at Kenshin again but the red-head was hiding his eyes behind his bangs and it was impossible to guess what he was thinking whenever he did that. How was she supposed to know how to handle this moment with him hiding like that?

"Good night then, Kenshin." Kaoru finally sighed and began to shift her weight so that she could stand.

A warm, calloused hand suddenly stopped her, covering her much colder one and holding on tight. The sword instructor paused, looking curiously up at the man but other than that hand reaching for hers, the red-head hadn't moved a muscle. His bangs still shielded part of his face from her but perhaps it wasn't so important to know what was in his eyes when she felt the tremble in the hand gripping hers.

Lowering her gaze to their hands in her lap, she moved her free hand to cover his as gently as she possibly could and studied the sight of her lighter skin against his slightly darker one. Smiling a little, because Kenshin reaching out to her always made her happy no matter what the situation, she tilted her head to gaze at the garden in front of them in silent acceptance. If Kenshin wasn't ready to reveal his expression to her, then she wasn't going to force him to but she could hold onto his hand and quietly give him support as he struggled with himself.

His hand twitched, tightening briefly just once before relaxing back into a more gentle hold that allowed her to turn her hand beneath his so that they could intertwine their fingers. They sat like that for a long time, their hands in Kaoru's lap and not looking at one another. It was peaceful, being together without words, and the assistant instructor felt something loosen around her shoulders, as if it were a weight falling away.

Perhaps she wasn't so unwelcome after all.

It wasn't until her head began to fall, far too heavy with sleep that Kenshin moved: lifting away his sword to gently set it down on the patio before turning towards her.

When his arm came around her shoulder, Kaoru was far too tired to think about it too hard and instead gratefully sunk against his chest. She could feel him releasing her hand so that he could slide his other arm beneath her knees but sleep was already tugging far too much at her senses for her to be embarrassed. She let him lift her and made no protest as he carried her back towards her bed.

Her neighbours would have been shocked to see the familiarity with which Kenshin moved through her bedroom but then, they probably would have already gasped in horror just at the thought of him sitting outside of it.

Kaoru couldn't find it in her to care. Not with Kenshin's warmth seeping through her yukata and his familiar scent in her nose. Kenshin would always mean safety to her, no matter how improper the situation.

She felt him lowering her to her bed and sleepily she caught hold of the blankets before turning to look at him. It could be the haze of sleep but she could swear that there was something new in his eyes, something tender that painted the violet colour of his eyes just a shade lighter.

"Good night, Kenshin," She yawned for lack of anything profound to say and already lifted the blankets to tuck them under her chin. She felt his battle worn hand briefly smooth the hair from her eyes before she heard his quiet voice.

"Good night, Kaoru-dono."

When Kaoru woke the next morning it was with a sense of peace of which she couldn't immediately remember the cause.

Then she remembered what happened the night before and with a squeak of embarrassment she sat straight up in her futon. Had she really let Kenshin carry her back to bed? Instinctively she looked around her room but naturally the wanderer was no longer there.

The thought of Kenshin in her room made her blush hotly and with a groan of embarrassment she fell back against her futon and dragged her blankets over her head along with it. Her heart was pounding, her belly felt twitchy with butterflies and not for the first time the sword instructor found herself hoping, hoping, that they would finally move forward. Surely her feelings would finally reach Kenshin after last night?

Well, she wouldn't find out if she kept hiding under her blankets.

Kaoru tried to dress quickly but she couldn't help but pick her favourite kimono despite the many layers that it carried and those always took time. She didn't have to teach until late in the afternoon and the soft pink of the fabric always set off the blue glow of her hair. Feeling a little impatient by the time she finished putting on the final layer could barely find the patience to pull on her socks before rushing out of her room. She went to the living room first and found that the paper door to the kitchen was open, giving her a view of part of it.

Again, just like the night before, everything seemed normal. Kenshin was cooking breakfast, Yahiko was blearily rubbing his eyes in an attempt to wake up and their greetings were the same as always.

"Mornin' Ugly."

"Good morning, Kaoru-dono."

Kaoru turned looked at Kenshin first, hoping to find something new in his expression but his back was already turned to her. He seemed busy with the rice, it was a good enough excuse but she would have liked to see his usual smile. Her shoulders slumped a little but the teacher didn't let it bother her for longer than that one second.

"Just for that you're getting a hundred extra swings today, Yahiko." She thus told her apprentice in her usual firm I-am-already-annoyed-and-haven't-even-had-breakfast-yet-voice. Nevertheless as she passed where he was sitting, she briefly ruffled his hair in an affectionate manner that he would pretend annoyed him. Sure enough she caught his scowl just as she sat down and in order to hide her grin she turned to look expectantly towards the kitchen.

"It's almost done, so it is." Kenshin calmly told her without even glancing back and feeling chastised she busied herself with pouring tea for all of them.

It seemed that today was going to be just like the other days: normal, even routine. It seemed that their nightly meetings were like a secret even to themselves during the day, when the sun set everything against blazing light that did not allow for any soft emotion. During the day they could pretend Enishi never happened that Kenshin did not need to be reassured that she was alive and that Kaoru had not promised herself that she would do everything, anything for the sake of this man.

Kaoru was just resigning herself to this fate when the subject of her thoughts entered the living room, his hands carrying the last bowls that contained their breakfast. He set them down carefully before shifting his sword in his belt as he prepared to settle down and join them for breakfast.

Kenshin chose to sit beside her, not Yahiko, and when his cushion shifted with his movements and brought him close enough for his knee to press against her leg; he did not move. It took Kaoru a moment longer to notice, most of her attention on stealing her favourite food before Yahiko could hog it all to himself, and even then she had to wait a few more moments to be sure. To know that it wasn't just an accident.

She waited several heartbeats before she felt a blush beginning to creep over her cheeks that betrayed her thoughts and awareness of the swordsman's presence. Kenshin's knee was still there, gently pressing against her folded leg and slowly warming the fabric where they touched. Unsure, the sword instructor looked up only to find that the red-head was ready to meet her gaze. The corner of his eyes crinkled into a smile that just barely tilted the corners of his mouth, reaffirming her belief that he had done it quite purposefully.

They sat like a couple. The way they were sitting, touching ever so slightly, was in a way one would expect a couple to and doing so in front of her apprentice and somehow that was alright.

Yahiko's dark eyes couldn't have missed their small contact, especially since they usually made such a point of not touching, but for once the boy did not make a comment. Perhaps a warrior's prudence was finally getting through his thick skull.

But it was more likely that he was too embarrassed to point it out.

Heck, Kaoru felt embarrassed. She was elated and ridiculously overjoyed over such a small gesture, yes, but embarrassed nevertheless. Kenshin was nudging them carefully into new territory and it was a territory that she had never been in before. No one had ever courted her, no one had ever expressed their interest like that, and she wasn't quite sure whether that was what he was doing, not in the traditional sense at least.

Her heart was in her throat and her palms were sweaty.

In the end she decided to pretend she didn't notice their legs touching because she didn't know what else to do. Other than that slight touch of his knee against her leg, Kenshin acted as he always did and easily started conversation as he ate, looking modestly pleased with his own cooking. The assistant instructor barely tasted breakfast but somehow knew that it was the best she ever had and when she teased Yahiko about eating with his mouthful; things felt normal again.

Normal but better.

In hindsight, Kenshin's courtship with Tomoe had been just as out of the ordinary. Kaoru didn't know much about it but she knew that their marriage had started out as a cover. Somehow that had turned into a real marriage, she didn't want to know the details, and Kenshin had never seemed ashamed of that unorthodox start.

Then again, he had enough to feel ashamed about to start worrying about things like courtship and rumours. Not when he would probably never forgive himself for accidentally murdering his wife.

Nevertheless, the red-head had a strange disregard for traditions that seemed so at war with the quiet, mellow man that he seemed most of the time. He never judged others within the same sense of boundaries, of propriety that others did. Whether it was a female doctor shamelessly flirting, a vagabond challenging him to a fight or a small boy stealing his money, he treated them with a ready friendliness and never paused to think what that did to his reputation. Perhaps it was the bloodshed that he had seen, the senselessness of murder in the streets, which made him unable to worry about the same things as the common man. Perhaps it was simply the things he had seen during those ten years of wandering and the people he had met during his journey.

Perhaps, Kaoru thought, it was simply because they had been through too much to worry about traditions now.

Kenshin had left her, she had chased him, they had returned from Kyoto victorious together and then his past had come to haunt him. He had thought she had died, she had thought she would live her life as a hostage and then they had seen each other again and known that there would never be anybody else.

Perhaps it came down to the fact that their courtship had started the moment she had said: welcome home. And he had answered: I am home, that I am.

The third night Kaoru was already kneeling behind the paper door when the shadow of Kenshin appeared.

She hadn't been able to sleep, not without knowing whether the nightmares would come again, and she wasn't sure which emotion dominated when she saw him approach. Nightmares were unpleasant for anyone but if they were bad enough to send a man who had outlived a war to her room to find comfort it had to be of a different level altogether. Kaoru's heart ached at the thought and she could only be glad that there was some way for her to help him, to comfort him, and that he was ready to let her.

The moon was hiding behind clouds, no longer full, and the sword instructor could not make out the same details as before. But she knew that Kenshin had sunk down to a kneeling position in front of her door and she could imagine the way his fists were probably holding onto the fabric covering his thighs as he hesitated. She felt she could feel him on the other side, feel his warmth straight through the paper of her door, and it took no courage at all to grasp the wood of the edge of her door.

On the third night it was Kaoru who slid open the door but she was greeted by the same sight she had seen the other two nights.

Kenshin's head was bowed, shame, grief, she could not begin to guess what weighed down his shoulders but she could tell that it was heavy and that her wanderer was tired of bearing it all alone. His shoulders were tensed, his fingers curled against his thighs as she had imagined they would be, and his jaw seemed impossibly tight. There was a thin layer of sweat clinging to him that she hadn't seen before, a testimony of those nightmares that drove him to her, and it made his trademark red hair stick to his skin.

Kenshin had come to her for comfort, looked to her now for reassurance as she had looked to him so very often this year that she had known him. Kaoru would give him all she was and hope that it was enough.

Slowly she leaned in and bowed her head to lightly press her forehead to his, closing her eyes as she did so. She didn't immediately speak, couldn't think of something that would help now that his hands were holding so tightly onto the fabric covering his thighs. Close as they were she could feel the trembling that Kenshin didn't allow to show and the sweat clinging to his bangs and desperately she searched for the right words.

"I'm here," Kaoru breathed and she felt his shudder in response.

She tried to think, tried to imagine what she would have needed to hear if she had been in his place. But all she could do was rely on instinct and hope that it was enough. Carefully she leaned back so that she could try to meet his eyes with her own but his bangs still hid his eyes from her. Surely if he could meet her gaze and look into her eyes and see the life there, the strength there, he would feel better?

"I'm here." She repeated, firmly, and reached out to cover his larger hands with her own. "Kenshin, I'm alive. I'm safe and I'm not going anywhere."

Kaoru heard him release that shuddery sigh but she didn't see his movements coming. Kenshin pulled his hands out from under hers and reached out to her, wrapping his arms firmly around her shoulders and pulling her to him with more force than she expected from him. Her face was suddenly pressed against the cloth covering his shoulder, her nose inhaling his scent, and his unexpected embrace had pulled her out off balance so that most of her weight now rested on his torso.

Kaoru didn't hesitate, reaching around to return his embrace as she felt his hands dig into the sleeping yukata that covered her back. Kenshin was still trembling; she could feel how tightly wound his muscles were under the fabric that covered his back, and affected by his mood she curled closer against him with equal intensity.

"I'm here, Kenshin," She breathed, turning her face so that her nose was pressed against his neck instead. In response Kenshin held her just a little tighter, squeezing briefly, before loosening his hold into a more comfortable one thinking, as always, of her comfort only.

"Kaoru-dono," He spoke, hoarsely and shakily.

She could feel his breath warming the collar of her sleeping yukata and knew that he had buried his face in her shoulder, curled around her as if to shield her from the outside world. She stroked his back, letting her fingers briefly tangle in the long ponytail that fell over it before closing her eyes and relaxing. Close as they were she could already feel his body heat pressing against her where her chest met his and all it did was make her feel as safe as that first night she had found him guarding her door.

"Kaoru-dono," He began again and this time Kenshin sounded a little more like himself, a little more in control. He still refused to release her though and when he spoke she could hear the strain in his voice that spoke of the truth that his words carried, "This one will not be able to take losing you again, so he does not."

"You won't," Kaoru answered simply and strongly, stronger than she thought she could sound.

She was highly aware of a tremble of her own starting to take over her body though whether it was born out of nerves or just the sheer intensity of the moment, she wasn't quite sure. Calmingly, for both their sakes, she stroked his back again, like a mother comforting a child, and she fought to urge to press his head against her shoulder and rock him to sleep. That wasn't what he needed from her now.

"Kenshin, I'm here. I'll always be here. I told you, remember? I want to be at your side," The words she spoke no longer made her blush, not after Enishi, but she was still glad that she didn't have to meet his intense gaze when she said them. "I'm not going anywhere,"

"Then…perhaps..this one…that is…" Kenshin struggled for words but he finally lifted his head enough to press his mouth against her temple in something that wasn't quite a kiss, not with the way he held so very, very still. She could hear him inhale her scent and then slowly release his breath and his embrace no longer felt quite as desperate. Nevertheless she didn't want to draw away from the comforting warmth that was Kenshin, and so Kaoru waited for him to find his words and absorbed his warmth for as long as she could.

"Perhaps Kaoru-dono won't mind staying at the side of this unworthy one," His voice was soft, his lips moving over her temple as he spoke, "Forever?"

It took Kaoru a moment to progress what he had said and even when she did, she didn't quite know what to make of it.

Carefully she pulled back so that she could look up into his face and try to read his expression. Kenshin met her gaze readily, as he had done so many times before but this time he allowed her to read what was truly in his eyes. The shadows of what he had seen in his dreams were still lurking in the tense lines of his expression but they were fading rapidly, soothed away by her presence. Instead there was a softer kind of look that was taking over, an expression that she had seen once before. For the second time in just a few days she thought of the relief, the sense of belonging that she had heard in his voice that day when she had welcomed him home.

I am home, that I am.

Something inside of her was reminding her that this wasn't what custom and tradition demanded of them. Kaoru knew what Kenshin was asking, what he was supposed to be asking someone responsible for her instead. But were customs and traditions really that important to someone who had been raised to be a samurai's wife?

In her mind she could see the hundreds of times she had turned to him, automatically trusting Kenshin to make a decision when it came to life choices or even just about what they would have for dinner. The ease she felt when appearing in public together, always walking at his side even if they were walking as a group. She remembered following him to Kyoto and catching him as he fell on that sandy beach, his exhaustion making him hopelessly clumsy.

There was really only one answer to give. One she had been eager to give for so long now.

"Yes, Kenshin," Kaoru said it simply, "I'd like that,"

Relief flooded into his expression first before a quiet kind of joy, private and vulnerable and so sincere took over. The red head lowered his face to gently press his forehead against hers, closing his eyes and just breathing her in. Automatically her eyes closed as well and though she couldn't see it coming with them closed, it felt perfectly natural when Kenshin tilted his head just so in order to kiss her.

Elated, relieved, thankful, there weren't enough words to sum up the burst of emotion that exploded in her chest and spread warmth all the way to the tip of her fingers. It made her blush even as she tenderly answered those chapped lips running over hers and trembled just a little when she pulled one hand away from his back to place it over the scar on his cheek. Softly, tenderly, the kiss lingered before Kenshin broke it so that he could smile down at her and admit the one truth that would always connect them.

"This one loves you very much, Kaoru-dono," His smile widened, "So I do,"

"I love you too, Kenshin," she breathed and she wasn't quite as able as he was at fighting down her blush. He didn't seem to mind, only running the back of his fingers over her cheek to feel the heat, ever so tenderly.

As she looked up into the familiar scarred face of the man that had wandered into her life, Kaoru knew that she would never have him completely to herself. The world needed him and his power and Kenshin would never be able to deny the cries for help. But now, from this point on, he would allow himself to be comforted and let her be the one thing in his life that he needed.

From now on, they would face the night together.

.

Fin.