Rurouni Kenshin
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Fandom: Rurouni Kenshin:
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Title: .073 Return
Characters: Kenshin/Kaoru
Prompt: .073 Return
Word Count: 1301
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Kenshin’s Parents Visit the Married Couple
Author's Notes: Random drabble



Kaoru kicked the vacuum and then grabbed her foot, swearing at the pain in her bare toes. Sighing, she rubbed her eyes. This wasn’t the way it was supposed to go. There wasn’t supposed to be this much stress! This was why she had wanted to stay single. Avoiding the need to feel the pressure of a family. Dropping the end of the handle of the machine that refused to work, Kaoru stomped her way across the apartment, ignoring the fact that her neighbors probably hated her, and walked into the bathroom, flopping down onto the lid of the commode and glaring at the man in the shower.

“The vacuum broke!” Kaoru declared fiercely, crossing her arms. There was only the sound of the water hitting the wall for a moment and then Kenshin peaked around the curtain, his damp hair clinging to his cheekbones and neck.

“What?”

“The vacuum stopped working. The fish they gave us for our wedding died last week. Sano ate the lasagna you made last night for tonight’s dinner and now we don’t have anything to feed your parents.” Kaoru gave him a frustrated look. “There going to be here in an hour! You,” her voice was accusing, “are in the shower.”

Her husbands violet eyes watched her from behind dripping bangs. “You’re nervous.”

Kaoru pursed her lips together. “I am not. It’s the first time they are going to see us since the wedding and nothing is going right. I’m frustrated!”

A dark brow inched its way upwards. “You’re nervous.” He repeated. When his wife’s features didn’t move he shook his head. Reaching upwards, he wound his hair into a coil, ringing as much of the water out as he could. The last thing he needed was Kaoru letting him have it because he had made a mess on the floor, never mind that there were two showers and his parents would never see the inside of this one. Pulling back the curtain, and shivering at the cold air, Kenshin stepped out of the shower.

Kaoru’s eyes were wide as he moved forward. “My parents love you,” he reminded her before reaching down and picking her up, ignoring the way she spluttered his name before he set her directly under the facet. The way she shrieked was faintly amusing, but he ignored it in favor to step in after her, closing the curtain in the hopes of keeping some of the hot air in the little shower area. “You,” he told her as he pulled the bottom of her shirt up to her chin, waiting until she finally lifted her arms to help before he pulled it off her head and tossed it out of the shower carelessly. “Are being silly.” Kenshin paused to admire the way her bra turned sheer with the waters help.

Kaoru swore at her husband, unzipping her jeans and leaning against him as she attempted to keep her balance. “I just want things to turn out all right.” She confessed, leaning against him with a sigh. She rolled her eyes when Kenshin unsnapped her bra while she shoved her panties down before kicking them off the end of one foot out the curtain. “You realize that all my clothes just made a really big mess?”

“Honey,” Kenshin scolded, shifting them so the spray of hot water hit them both. “Shut up.” He grinned faintly at the utterly furious look she shot him. “I already talked to my mother and she was okay with the idea of ordering out tonight. I can remake the lasagna for tomorrow.” When her features remained grumpy, Kenshin leaned down and kissed her nose. “I’ll fix the vacuum when we finish here, okay?”

Kaoru kept her stubborn expression for a moment before she allowed her shoulders to slump. “Alright.” Sighing she rose up to kiss his jaw. “Thank you.” Before she could slide back down his body and reach for the shampoo, his had tilted his head and caught her mouth with his, his hands settling on her hips. Kaoru opened her mouth willingly, her back hitting the steam slick tile on the wall as Kenshin accepted her offering.

Kaoru relaxed against him, enjoying the press of his skin against hers and the way his mouth moved over hers. Threading her fingers into his hair she allowed him to hold her up as she pressed against him, shifting so that her breasts rubbed against the muscles of his chest. He groaned, sliding a hand down her hip to settled against the curve of her bottom. As her heels left the floor she stiffened, pulling away from his mouth to stare at the door of the bathroom with a growing horror.

“Was that the doorbell?”

Kenshin paused and sighed, his breath ghosting across her ear. “Yes.”

Kaoru whipped her head around and stared at him. “Kenshin… are your parents outside our door… right this instance? Without the floor being vacuumed and the dishes in the sink and your shirt across the back of the couch and the load of jeans that you needed for work still across the chair and….” The look he gave had her teeth clicking shut. Her eyes were wide with panic and the way her fingers were twisting almost violently in his hair as the doorbell rang again had him wincing.

“Kaoru… I’ll get dressed and see who it is, alright?”

“The apartment is a mess.” Kaoru managed, her voice high and panicked.

“I’ll even clean the apartment before I open the door.”

“But…”

“Kaoru.”

She shut up because he had only used that tone on her a handful of times before. Biting her lower lip hard enough it stung, she continued to watch him. The loud noise of the doorbell broke into their moment and he kissed her nose.

“Trust me.”

Then he was gone, leaving her alone in the hot water.

….

Kenshin opened the door, a towel between his damp hair and his shirt. His mother lifted a brow and then smiled, her blue eyes dancing. “Did we interrupt something?”

“I had just finished. Kaoru is still washing her hair.” He kissed his mother and on the cheek after he had hugged her and accepted his fathers handshake. Kenshin eyed his father and sighed mentally. His hair was greyer than at the wedding. He held his tongue though, waving them inside. “I have until she gets out to finish cleaning things up. Mother, do not touch those clothes. Kaoru will murder me.”

Aimi snorted at her son, folding the jeans neatly. “Go and do the dishes, Kenshin. You father can finish vacuuming.”

“It’s broke,” Kenshin said in a matter-of-fact tone. “Kaoru probably sucked up the cat’s yarn again.” He paused and looked around, searching for Moto, Kaoru’s fat tabby. “Who I think is hiding under the bed.” The sound of the pipes groaning as they turned off had Kenshin shifting into a flurry of activities.

By the time a pink faced Kaoru came out of the bedroom, dressed in a different pair of jeans and a red sweater, he had finished cleaning and was pouring ice-tea into several glasses. Aimi and Katashi stood and Kenshin hid a smile at his wife’s startled features as she was pulled into hugs and several kisses on her cheek, firmly planted on the couch, the re-emerged cat settled into her lap, and warm questions being directed her way. The fact that Kaoru was an orphan had always endeared his mother to her, and it wouldn’t surprise Kenshin in the least if there were several presents for his easily startled wife in their suitcases.

“So,” Kenshin questioned as he set the tray down on the table, settling next to Kaoru easily, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. “Have you decided where you want to eat?”



Title: .075 Positive
Characters: Kenshin/Kaoru
Prompt: .075 Positive
Word Count: 1047
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Lazy Sunday for an Assassin
Author's Notes: Random drabble



Kaoru folded her knees under her chin and considered her husband of three years, as he lay sprawled out on the couch. He had fallen asleep after lunch. She had wanted to do some vacuuming, maybe even do the dishes, but the smallest noise would wake him. So instead, she curled up in her favorite recliner and watched him sleep.

There were circles under his eyes again. She was going to have a talk to Aoshi soon if he didn’t start letting him get more sleep. He *only* needed four to six hours to sleep, if that. How hard was it to work in a schedule so that he could sleep properly? Rubbing the tense muscles at the base of her neck, she decided she could at least fold the laundry. Moving as silently as she could, knowing she would probably wake him anyway, she kept one eye on his back as she unloaded the dryer into the basket at her feet to cart over to the couch before putting in another load.

Kenshin didn’t stir. It didn’t mean she hadn’t woke him, just that he didn’t feel the need to see what she was doing before he let himself sleep again. It was possible he was tired enough to be actually sleeping, but it was unlikely. He didn’t sleep that soundly unless some part of her was touching him. She had gleaned that information once from a stray comment Sanosuke had made while he was wolfing a ham sandwich. Well, he was just going to have to settle for knowing she was in the same room with him.

She had trained herself to ignore suspicious holes in his clothing. Ripped jeans were in style, and even though he looked like he was only a few days older than 22, her 33 year old husband wasn’t particularly worried about fashion outside of its purposes of making her happy. Jeans with worn knees were good for mowing their lawn, when they had had one. Their current apartment was just another stand-in place until Aoshi deemed it clear for them to settle into something more permanent.

Nine cities in three years, and nearly three times that in fake identification papers, and she couldn’t say she regretted it. It hadn’t been a comfortable transition. She had grown up in a stable, one-parent environment her entire life. She had gone to the same school with the same kids, and chosen a college close enough to home that she didn’t have to live in the dorms. Change wasn’t a large part of her life.

Figured it would be a redhead who messed it all up. That was what she got from declaring to some friends in high school that she did not find redheads attractive and the next person who mentioned it got *creamed*. Karma… either that, or just dumb luck. This redhead had paraded into her life and by the time he was ready to leave again, she was ready to go with him. She didn’t particularly regret that decision, but there were times when she was tired of having to watch her back all the time. Weary of the worry that settled into her chest every time he disappeared and came home with the faintest smell of blood and soap on his skin.

That was the price she paid for marrying an assassin. Not an accountant like she had thought while realizing how much work it was to earn a living. Not something safe and practical that would always have job security and good insurance. She had fallen for an assassin.

She had liked to tell herself, when he was still trying to bribe her into going on a date with pastry and coffee at the café she liked to study at, that she could walk away. That even if there was something terribly attractive about his smile and those eyes she was so very fond of… could walk away.

Ten minutes with her arms around his waist, fingers digging into the muscles of his back, his hair tickling the side of her neck, cold brick behind her as he pressed every line of his body into hers had changed her mind. She could still feel the way the world had tilted the first time he had dragged her into an alley for some privacy after she had pushed all his buttons. Deliberately. She still enjoyed pushing those buttons. There was just something satisfying knowing she could push hard enough that he could drag her somewhere secluded, tangle his hand in the back of her hair, heft her up by the back of her thigh, and do things with his mouth and tongue that made her forget… everything.

Her eyes cut to Kenshin’s body when he sighed. Lifting a brow and debating if he was finally getting tired of sleeping, she shrugged and went back to matching socks. She could have sworn that she had gathered them all for the load of whites… looks like she was going to have to buy more again. Aoshi owed them more money for the price of socks alone these days.

Satisfied that things were as clean and folded neatly as they were going to get without Kenshin redoing her progress, she headed into the kitchen to see if she had pre-made meals left. Kenshin kept several of them on hand, frozen and in single serving sizes, for when he was gone. Really, she had only melted two pans. It wasn’t like they were that difficult to replace. It wasn’t like she had blown up his sword or accidentally dropped his gun into a vat of bleach!

The sound of Kenshin sighing, and the rustle of the blanket falling away from his body had her checking the coffee she had started earlier. He probably needed a cup if the groggy way he walked into the kitchen said anything. Reaching for the folder magnet clip holding the take-out menus, she dropped them in front of him while she went digging for a clean coffee cup. Feeling triumphant, she set that in front of him, dropped into a chair, and threw her feet over his knees and leaned back.

Take-out, coffee, and a movie sounded like a good way to spend the rest of the afternoon.



Title: .080 Ignorant
Characters: Kenshin/Kaoru
Prompt: .080 Ignorant
Word Count: 1965
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Vampire Hunter Kenshin
Author's Notes: Random drabble



She told herself she should have known better. That things had been simple in a time when shadows were mixing freely with daylight. Except she hadn’t. She didn’t. Even now, she was confused and uncertain how things had spiraled out of control so quickly.

A year after college, she found herself in sole custody of her 12 year old brother. She had packed her bags, quit her job, and headed home to deal with a teenage brother, a mortgage, and all those adult responsibilities that made life exciting and painful. The change had been difficult and painful. Just as she thought she had gotten her fingers firmly around whatever trouble she and her brother could get into, Yahiko had come home with bite marks on his neck.

Two hours later they were on a train and she was trying to erase their lives. It didn’t matter that Yahiko had escaped. He had left behind his taste on something’s tongue and that someone would do what he could to find his prey. They ran hard east. It took six months to delete every record that she could find. Six months for them to have never existed. What little saving she had left, what she dared spare from the sell of her dojo, she put into paying hackers. Nothing was as important as her younger brother’s life.

If only she had known how that would have made her fair game. If she had know then what she knew now, she would have falsified records, changed names and dates, but she would have given herself something to cling to that was human. Some sort of link to humanity. But she hadn’t, couldn’t have known that without at least the shadow of humanity to protect them, some link to their past grounding them…

The bite had changed Yahiko. He was too sensitive to shadows even in the daylight. The marks had healed, but no amount of Neosporin could keep it from scarring. He would wake at night in a cold sweat, gasping for air as if he couldn’t breath, insisting that something was there.

Still, they could have managed. They would have managed. Kaoru read every single book she could get her hands on, and the herbs had seemed to help. Yahiko slept better one she found the proper combination of herbs to hand in small satchels around the home. Salt on the windows to keep out the shadows. Neither of them where comfortable, but nothing they had done or could have done would have prepared them for the arrival of the vampire and the hunter who had stalked him right into her home.

….


After months of nightmares, the shifting of the air woke her. Sitting up straight in bed, her fingers closed around the hilt of her bokken. Yahiko was asleep, buried under blankets and pillows. Rolling out of bed, she rubbed her eyes and checked the clock. 2:30. Not early enough for the threat of the sun to send shadows closer to walls and scurrying to whatever lairs they had dug out for themselves.

Rubbing her hand over her face, she stood and headed into the compact kitchen. Her stomach trembled with adrenaline from whatever it had been that woke her, and she needed something to distract her. Two nights ago, a young woman had been killed four buildings down an hour before dawn. Any time someone was murdered so close to her brother, she was nervous. She would have yanked him them, putting them onto a train to find someplace new, someplace safe, except she didn’t have enough to pay for the break in the lease yet.

Maybe she should have risked it.

Resting her hip against the counter, she studied the tacky pattern on the tile. How much longer could she risk staying here? Yahiko wasn’t showing any signs of unease but… Tugging her fingers through her bangs, she tried to mentally calculate how much money they would need to move to a new city. The move two months ago had been strained their resources and they hadn’t recovered yet.

The hairs on the back of her neck stood up. Twisting around, she slammed her bokken out in a frantic, drilled move. Very few things could hurt a vampire, but wood and cold iron were two of those things. The collision sent a hard vibration up her arms. The thing hissed, fangs glinting in eerie light of the microwave and Kaoru swung again.

“Yahiko!” The scream came out panicked, too high. She side stepped another clawed swipe and used her bokken to buy her some space. How many where there? She didn’t have his ability to sense shadows. She twisted against, brining her bokken down hard on the arm reaching for her. This one was too slow. There had to be more than one.

The sound of the shot gun hurt her ears. There was a loud scream and she slapped the bokken out, catching the thing in front of her in the head. It couldn’t be a vampire. They were too fast. This was slow. Scrambling forward, she rushed back to where she had left Yahiko. The shotgun blasted again as she skidded into the room and her heart stopped as she attempted to find the source of blast, half a second terrified it would hit her.

Her terrified gaze found Yahiko, and something inside her stilled at the expression in his eyes. He was facing the window, fingers scrambling to reload the gun. There was a snarling behind her, and she twisted into the wall to protect her back. Out of the corner of her eyes, she caught sight of two figures falling towards the window just as hot air ghosted down the side of her neck. Bony fingers grasped her wrist and she was flung out of the room. Glass shattered as she wrestled for control, fighting to keep the jagged fangs away from her neck. Fingers twisted into her hair and her neck arched as her head was lifted and then slammed back into the floor. The world darkened as she heard Yahiko screaming.

….

Her tongue felt like cotton candy and she was wrapped up so tightly in a blanket that she had to wiggle to breathe. Trying not to throw up at throbbing nausea that movement brought, she took deep even breaths, suddenly becoming aware of voices coming from somewhere else.

“She isn’t going to like it!”

“I’m not giving you a choice.”

The second voice was not Yahiko. Shivering, she kept her eyes closed and tried to make sense of what was being said.

“You don’t understand,” Yahiko started again.

“I will not explain myself again, Yahiko. What is done is done. Protocol will be met. You two are in my care now. You will be staying with me.” He didn’t raise his voice; instead there was an edge of steel that Kaoru could feel wherever she was. Her first reaction was to sink back into the pillows and to avoid arguing with him.

Except he was ordering her brother around and doing it in her home. Taking a deep, centering breath she escaped from the blanket and sat up. Shutting her eyes tightly, she waited for the world to settle before cautiously opening them again. It wasn’t tilting wildly anymore, even if the edges of her vision were a little fuzzy. She could deal with fuzzy.

“But… you don’t… Kaoru!”

Someone had to teach that kid to use his inside voice, Kaoru thought as she schooled her features into something a little more reassuring. Yahiko looked relieved to see her awake and about, and after a quick glance at him, she concentrated on the man next to him.

He was taller than Yahiko, but only by a few inches. She relaxed a little when she realized he wasn’t physically able to tower over her. The bright red of his hair hurt her suddenly sensitive eyes a little, but that was quickly forgotten as she met his gaze. His eyes were the color of rich toffee and just as warm, framed by dark lashes, watching her just as intently as she was watching him. He hadn’t moved from where he had been leaning against her low counter, his arms crossed over his chest, but it felt like he was suddenly filling the room.

She didn’t like it. “Who are you?”

Those yellow eyes flickered at her, but before he could speak Yahiko jumped in.

“Those were vampires and he,” Yahiko jerked his thumb to emphasize who he was, “says that they tracked me.” For a moment he looked like a thirteen year-old-boy was supposed to look like after almost dying, twice. “He killed them.”

“Thank you,” Kaoru said finally, having considered several different ways of answering the question Yahiko had left hanging in the air, intentionally or not. The man just nodded his eyes never leaving her face, but the lines around his eyes had relaxed a little. Before Kaoru could find a way to ask what she wanted to ask, Yahiko had started again.

“He wants us to come back to live with him.”

“No.” The words were automatic and just as stubborn as the redhead’s earlier order.

The world flickered out before she could censor it, and a brow lifted over golden eyes.

“I told you she wouldn’t like it.” Yahiko said in a slightly triumphant tone. He looked relieved. What exactly had he done to those… that… She swallowed.

“I said you didn’t have a choice.” The statement wasn’t directed at Yahiko, but at her.

“Thank you,” Kaoru repeated. “But no. Yahiko and I will stay here.” She narrowed her eyes at him, determined for him to know that she didn’t like to be bullied. She flicked her eyes to her brother to make sure he was okay, and when her eyes moved back, the redhead was suddenly a lot closer.

You don’t have that option.” He said softly. “If you and Yahiko stay here, you will both die. Since I just spent a considerable amount of time killing the two vampires hunting you, and then mending your concussion, and now protocol must be met.”

Kaoru narrowed her eyes. If he had healed her head, clearly he wasn’t a doctor because all this moving around was making her head swim.

“I have no idea what you mean by protocol, and as much as I appreciate the fact that we are both still alive,” not whatever that… that… thing was, “and…”

Her words were cut off when he reached around her and wrapped the blanket firmly around her shoulders. Before she could connect his movements with the obvious results, she was lifted off the couch and the world spun. Shutting her eyes tightly, she clenched her teeth as she waited for things to stop their maddening spin.

“Even breaths,” the man holding her ordered softly. “Just concentrate on breathing.”

“I’m fine,” Kaoru gritted out, but didn’t open her eyes. “Put me down.”

“Yahiko, please get the bags you put together. Now.” His tone held that edge to it again and Kaoru had the urge to hit him, except her arms were tangled in the material of the blanket. He didn’t seem to care that she was struggling weakly. Instead, his arms tightened their hold and hot breath ghosted along the rim of her ears.

“You should know, I bite.”

Kaoru’s mouth had always gotten the best of her.

“Is that a warning?” She opened her eyes to stare at him, challenging him.

Those long lashes lowered to shield his dark gold eyes from her view, before they lifted again, smoldering with some hidden amusement. “It might be a promise.”

“I’m ready!” Yahiko said as he walked in, carrying the largest bags they had.

‘I’m not.’