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My Life: Chapter 18 - Stillwater

by Fitz

The evening of the day Kamatari left, Kaoru and I sat in a booth at Applebees, sharing a plate of onion rings. I apologized again to her for ruining her spring break.

“Stop worrying about it so much, Kenshin,” she flicked a little salt off her fingers at me and smiled. “These things happen. We’ll go another time, okay?”

It was not so much the fact that we were stuck at home over the break. In fact, the prospect of going halfway across the country without any ‘adult’ supervision had been rather intimidating, and I was not sorry to put it off a little. But it had taken me so long to gather up the courage to actually ask Kaoru to go with me! And for what? So I could mooch off her for another week? All that stress for naught.

“You ever been to Stillwater?” she asked out of nowhere.

“I don’t know,” I replied honestly. What was in Stillwater? I may have been there before. I knew where it was, but I did not remember anything about it.

“Want to go?” Kaoru pressed. “Just you and me. We’ll make a day of it. Two days!”

“What’s in Stillwater?” I had to know.

“Little shops,” she answered. “A lake. Beautiful streets and trees.”

Sounded like a blast. Despite my aversion, I found myself nodding.

“Sure,” I glanced at the last onion ring and let it sit. Odd how that worked. That onion ring would never be eaten unless we shared it because neither of us wanted to be guilty of stealing the last one in the event that the other person would want it. “Two days? Where would we stay?”

“Considering the season, I’ll bet we could find a Bed and Breakfast place that’s open,” Kaoru smiled, apparently pleased at this thought. “What do you say?”

If it would make her happy, I was willing to agree to just about anything. I felt terribly guilty about those tickets, and I had been saving up for the trip.

“That sounds interesting,” I managed to say without cringing. I was getting good at this. Smile and nod. That’s all it took to make some people content. It did not always work for Kaoru, but this time it did.

“Great! I’ll ask Mom for advice on this,” she announced. “You want that last onion ring?”

“You can have it.”

“Are you sure?”

What was that I said about that last bit of food on a shared plate? I chuckled.

“Want to split it?”

^_^

Little note: I think Bed ‘n’ Breakfasts are pretty much a weekend commodity, so I’m stretching the story a little bit with this. I like it better than a hotel, though, so I’m using it.

^_^

So, we went to Stillwater. Kaoru stopped back at the dorm on Tuesday, which, of course, left me with all of Monday with nothing to do but repack my bag, do homework, surf the Internet, eat, and sleep. It was a dull day. I prayed that someone--anyone--would stop by the dorm just so that I would not be alone on the floor, but no one came. I thought I would go crazy.

I was waiting outside when Kaoru pulled up to the curb. My bag and pillow went into the back seat with her stuff, and we were off.

“Music?” Kaoru offered, pointing at a CD case on the floor by my feet.

“How far away is Stillwater?” I asked, flipping through the CDs until I found one I liked to some extent. She had a very mild selection--lots of instrumental things and that Celtic stuff. I located a Metallica disk near the back and held it up. Kaoru wrinkled her nose, then shrugged.

“What the heck,” she gestured to the player as she pulled the car onto the main road. “I haven’t listened to that since high school.”

“This is the one where they’ve got that orchestra background, isn’t it?” I smirked. So familiar... I looked at her again. “Stillwater? How far?”

“Oh!” she grinned. “Forty-five minutes to an hour, depending.”

“On traffic?”

“On whether or not I follow the speed limit!”

I shook my head and went about adjusting the seat to my liking. Whoever had last sat in this seat had been painfully tall, and I felt like I was falling away from the front of the car. The chair hummed softly as I pushed the button that moved it forward.

“I’ll help pay for gas,” I offered as the thought came to mind.

“Don’t worry about it,” Kaoru replied immediately.

I frowned, considering a scathing retort.

“All right, all right!” she said quickly. She must have seen my scowl. “You can throw away your money as well.”

“I just don’t like feeling like I’m racking up debts,” I grumbled. “You make me feel like a pauper.”

“Sorry.”

I sighed and sat back, humming along softly with the symphony. Kaoru looked at me, an odd little smile on her face, and I stopped humming. I had not thought she could actually hear me. Damn it all. This was weird.

“Ever play any highway games?” she asked abruptly. I had no idea what she was talking about.

“No.”

“That’s a crime!” Kaoru laughed. “It’s really easy...”

She spent the next few minutes teaching me several different little games. The one she seemed to like the most was the ‘alphabet game.’ This was where a person had to locate each letter in the alphabet from signs and license plates starting with ‘A’ and continuing until you finished the alphabet. Wouldn’t it figure, I got stuck with ‘Q’ and sat for about ten minutes until we passed a Dairy Queen and the game continued. Kaoru thought it was funny how I sat there, looking at the license plate of every car we saw and checking out small towns for liquor stores.

This game lasted until we were barely a mile out of Stillwater. Then, Kaoru made me grab a map and use it to find the place where we were going to stay. Thank you very much, but I got us there right on the first try.

^_^

It was just like a big house, except each room was like a hotel room with its own bathroom and bed and smelled like flowers. We got the only room (out of four) in the place that had a second bed in it. That was because... well, share a bed with Kaoru? That was just uncomfortable. It was strange enough sharing a room and bathroom with her. Even when I was at her house, I stayed in a separate room. There was that one night, granted, but that was different. I was too tired to care at that time.

Only one of the other rooms was being used those nights we were there. It was an elderly couple on their fiftieth wedding anniversary. It was kind of a cool thought when it came right down to it. How many couples actually lasted that long anymore? Not to mention most people married later and were dead before they could get to the fiftieth anniversary. Morbid, but true. These people were probably in their early seventies, maybe even late sixties, so they must have married almost right out of high school. I wondered if Sano and Megumi would end up like that. I hoped they would.

That first day, we did not do a lot--well, nothing we could not have done at home. After settling into our room, we left again. Kaoru said she had the next day planned out completely, so the rest of the first day was just for relaxing and walking around.

I never knew so many antique shops existed in one town. My opinion was that the whole ordeal of puttering around through a bunch of musty junk that nobody else wanted was about as dull as dirt. Kaoru disagreed. It seemed that she could look at those old chairs and tables and toys for ages. I trailed along behind her as she went from one display to the next. All the while, I tried not to fall asleep.

I convinced Kaoru to stop at Starbucks, where I got myself the strongest cappuccino a person could get. That caffeine in my system, I no longer had to worry about dozing off in an old-stuff pawn shop.

“Is this boring you?” Kaoru asked while we wandered through a doll shop. How many dolls could a person want? There were a dozen bride dolls, dolls dressed for the theatre, Marilyn Monroe dolls, period dolls, baby dolls... there were too many for any one person to take in. There was a stuffed animal collection over in the far corner that I found myself glancing at periodically, wishing we could look at those instead.

“It’s okay,” I said, mustering what certainly was the least convincing smile I had offered in days. It must have been weak because Kaoru frowned at me skeptically.

“What would you like to do?” she demanded. “We can find something both of us like!”

“I don’t really know anything about this place...” I protested, trying to wave it off. Better to let her decide, really. If I was bored, that was fine. If Kaoru did not enjoy herself... well, surely that was different. This was for her anyway, right? I messed up the vacation, so I had to make it up to her. If that meant walking through the most mundane places around, then so be it.

After an exasperating argument over what we should do--Kaoru was exasperated, actually, as I just shrugged helplessly through most of the conversation--we ended up watching a movie at the local dollar theater. Even then, it took us awhile to agree on something. We finally settled on re-release of My Big Fat Greek Wedding. At least it was a good movie.

After the movie, we had dinner at a little restaurant on the corner across the street from the theater. I had no idea what the place was called, but the hamburgers were edible, and it did not cost an arm and a leg.

I wondered what Kaoru had planned for the next day. Thus far, all attempts at finding out had been fruitless. She just smiled at me and said, “you’ll see.” It was enough to make any sane man uneasy. Even so, I tried again over the last of my French fries.

“I hope it doesn’t rain tomorrow,” I said mildly. It was a sad attempt at tricking her, but it never hurt to try.

“It’s supposed to be sunny all week,” Kaoru replied with a cheerful smile. “I wouldn’t worry too much.”

Expertly avoided. Or naively unnoticed. It was difficult to tell sometimes. I could only try yet again.

“Good,” I nodded, agreeing with her assessment. “I would hate to walk around all day in the rain.”

“Nah, we’ll be inside most of the--” Kaoru cut off with a soft yip, her hand over her mouth. She glared at me. “You jerk! You did that on purpose!”

I sighed and absently stirred my ketchup with a rock-hard fry that I would not be eating.

“Not that you told me much,” I muttered, then looked up at her hopefully. “What are we doing?”

“I told you! You’ll find out tomorrow,” she retorted, still glaring at me. “Little twerp. Just give it up. And stop trying to trick me!”

I did not even try to deny that accusation. It would have been lying, which I was trying to stop doing. I just shrugged and let the French fry drop.

“What about tonight?” I asked, changing the subject. “We’ve got a couple hours of daylight left.”

“Well, I’m kind of tired,” she admitted. “You?”

“I’m okay.” Tired already? It was barely after six o’clock. How could she have been tired? “You want to go back and rest awhile?”

“I brought a couple books along,” Kaoru said with a blatantly hopeful smile.

“You’re the driver,” I smirked, picking up the bill the waiter put on the table. Glancing at the prices, I quickly figured out my share and pulled out my wallet. “We can go whenever you want.”

“Sounds good to me!” she laughed and reached for the bill. “I’ll pay.”

I glared at her, and she giggled nervously.

“...For my half,” she added. Lame, but nice try. I chuckled and shook my head, dropping some money on the table and standing.

“Let’s go.”

^_^

Kaoru seemed content to read the evening away, and I was too restless to do the same. Of course, she had driven us there, spent the day rushing from place to place, and done all the proper monetary negotiations, while I had merely followed along. It made sense that she was worn out--and I was not.

“I’m going to go for a run,” I announced while Kaoru gathered her bathroom supplies and ran the water for what she had called a ‘long, luxurious soak.’ She looked at me, eyes wide in surprise.

“Alone?” she demanded.

“Unless you really wanted to join me,” I replied, digging through my bag for something suitable to wear. I pulled out my jogging pants and a tee shirt. “I go pretty fast.”

“It’s going to be dark soon,” she protested, disappearing only for a second into the bathroom before reappearing without her stuff. “What if you get lost?”

“I’ll stick to the main road,” I assured her. I wished she would go into that bathroom and close the door so I could change. My hands were already tugging at the hem of my sweater, and I stilled the motion, looking at Kaoru uncertainly. “I won’t get lost.”

“But we don’t know this area very well, and... well...” she stumbled over her words, but I patiently waited for her to continue. She stomped her foot once in frustration. “Dang it! We don’t know what kind of people are out at night here!”

I blinked at her, momentarily confused. She was worried about me? I had to smile.

“I can take care of myself,” I took off my sweater out of reflex. I probably should not have, but if it would help cut this argument short, then why not?

Kaoru’s cheeks went pink, but she did not go into the bathroom. Instead, she just glared at me. I paused, tee shirt poised to tug over my head, wondering what she was planning to say. I did not have to wait long.

“Take my extra cell phone with you,” she ordered abruptly.

“Extra...?” EXTRA?! For god’s sake! And Kaoru was oblivious to my gaping, digging through her purse and producing a small phone and a holster.

“This hooks to a purse or the waist of your pants,” she explained, reaching for my waist.

“I’m changing pants, Kaoru.”

“Oh! Okay, then.” She turned around and sat on the bed, once again rumaging through her stuff. “My back’s turned. Go ahead.”

While she was still--! My face felt awfully hot. I snatched up the pants and made a beeline for the bathroom. Kaoru said something behind me when I closed the door, but I could not hear it. I stood in front of the door to block it, kicked off my pants, and yanked on the new pair. It took a total of maybe twenty seconds before I was back in the main room again.

“What did you say?” I asked blandly. Kaoru shook her head, but she seemed amused.

“Nothing,” she murmured. “The phone?”

So, I stood still while she hooked that thing to the side of my running pants. I felt like I was standing in front of Uncle Hiko with the way she ordered me around. It was ‘call nine-one-one if you think you’re in trouble’ and ‘my number is in there if you feel nervous, went too far, or you just want me to come pick you up’ and ‘stay on the lighted roads.’

“Yes, mother,” I mumbled.

“I’ll call you if you’re not back by eight,” she said, completely unaware of my comment.

“It’s seven-thirty, Kaoru,” I protested. “I’ll barely be warmed up.”

“Eight-thirty, then,” she amended.

“Fine, whatever,” I groaned and grabbed my spring jacket. “I’ll be back in a bit.”

“If you twist an ankle, don’t try to--”

“Kaoru, I know how to deal with injuries!” God, wouldn’t she get the hint! I was going to be fine!

“You’re still training, so if anyone challenges you, just run away,” she said quickly.

“I’m leaving!”

And I did. I had the key on a chain around my neck--courtesy of one Kaoru Kamiya--the phone at my waist, and I was ready for anything. I greeted the hostess briefly and ran out into the dusk.

^_^

Contrary to Kaoru’s concern, the portion of the neighborhood where we stayed was perfectly safe. Because of the warm night, I was not the only person out. I ran down the sidewalk, passing children playing in their yards, families having barbecues, a woman running with her dog--which tried to chase me for awhile--and a pair of girls playing hopscotch on chalk squares.

I got some stares, actually. I was used to that, so it didn’t bother me, but it was interesting. I got the distinct impression that it was more because I was a stranger rather than my appearance. The lady with the dog even admitted that the big Husky usually did not chase people and that it must have been because I was unfamiliar. That was an amusing enough situation, considering that dumb dog very nearly outweighed me and was horribly aggressive--I got a bruise on my side to prove it.

The stores were not yet closed for the night when I found my way to the main street. I got a couple of curious glances as I jogged past the casual shopper, but for the most part people ignored me. It was just as well. Then, I could study everyone else without getting into trouble. I ran past a few diners, several of those antique and gift shops, a flower shop, and a general store. By the time I reached McDonalds, I decided I was getting too close to modern civilization and turned around. It was about ten minutes after eight at that point, and I fully expected to get a phone call from an annoyed and worried Kaoru, demanding to know where I was. Nevertheless, I kept up my pace. It would have been stupid to sprint and waste myself trying to make it back by eight-thirty.

I took more time in getting back than I predicted, though. A few of those kids who had been playing catch the first time I ran by were on the sidewalk by the time I returned. They saw me coming and huddled around the edge of the sidewalk suspiciously. I glanced at them uneasily, wondering what they had been doing that they would look so guilty when a person chanced by.

Of course, I no longer had to wonder when a shock of cold hit me. I was so startled that I yelped, staggering and flinching away from it. I stopped in the middle of the sidewalk, shocked at what these kids--total strangers--had done. My clothes clung to me uncomfortably, and it was not from the usual sweat. I certainly had never sweat that much in my life. Water dripped down me, puddling on the sidewalk beneath my feet.

What the hell was that?! I stared at them in disbelief, not quite certain how to react. I was soaked. The evening was not that warm, so I quickly started shivering, and those boys just hovered back, snickering and grinning nervously. There were three of them, and the front one had light brown hair and blue eyes. Oddly enough, he reminded me of Yahiko, Sano’s little brother--insolent and cocky.

“Oh, my god! YUTAROU!” a girl’s voice shrieked, presumably at one of the three in front of me. The front boy ducked his head, and he and his friends darted away, laughing their heads off. I, of course, just stood there like an idiot, wondering what the hell had just happened. “My god, I’m so sorry! Are you okay?”

It was so stupid it was almost funny. I chuckled despite myself and nodded, looking to the girl who had come to my rescue. She had blue eyes like that boy, but her hair was lighter, more of a dishwater blond. She moved slowly, almost awkwardly. A quick glance to her swollen stomach explained why. She was probably eight months along.

“I’m sorry,” she said again. “My brother can be a bit brash sometimes... I...” It was odd how she stared at me, narrowing her eyes as if she had a difficult time seeing such a distance (and we were less than an arm’s length apart). “Kenshin?”

Well, that explained things. I looked at her curiously, trying to figure out if I knew her. Her face was pale, her plain blue eyes looking darker with those purple smudges under her eyes. The pregnancy, it seemed, was not treating her kindly. But that look in her eyes--concerned and gently prying--was familiar.

“Jenny?” the name found my tongue before I realized I recognized her. She smiled.

“I’m surprised you remember me,” she murmured.

“Barely,” I admitted. “We had a few classes together, didn’t we?”

“Yeah...” she nodded. “You look good! Well, wet. But good.”

“Yeah,” I echoed. “And you... you’re...” I choked on the ‘you’re pregnant!’ comment. Too many times had I seen people embarrass themselves by declaring that only to discover the woman was not, indeed, pregnant. “You’re looking...”

“Like a whale?” she offered. I bit my lip and shook my head, knowing my face was red and unable to stop it. She laughed. “I know. Baby’s due in early April.”

“Wow...” was all I could think of to say. She was my age. Nineteen seemed far too young for having a child.

“My second,” she said, shocking me even more. “My first boy is almost fifteen months. I’d show you, but his dad is putting him in bed now.”

“His... dad?” I stammered. Too... much... brain... overloading... This was worse than Sanosuke and Megumi’s engagement announcement! This girl--a girl I graduated with--was already married and pregnant for the second time!

“You wouldn’t know him,” she shook her head. “His name is Miroku... and I’m being really rude. Come on in. Let’s get you dried off.”*

Her house was certainly not the model of prosperity. It was quaint and small, messy from not enough time spent cleaning and more time spent keeping up with everything else life had to offer. Even so, the towel she handed me was clean and warmed me nicely. The kitchen was small and cozy, comforting in a way.

I scrubbed my hair as dry as I could get it, glancing around the little kitchen curiously. Jenny picked up what looked to be her dinner, which consisted of rice and burnt chicken.

“Would you like something to drink?” she offered. She smiled while I shook my head. “I’d offer something to eat, but I’m not a good cook, and Miroku doesn’t know the difference between a spatula and a frying pan.”

“I’m sure you’re not as bad as--” I cut off before I finished that. Whoops. I needed to banish such thoughts from my head before they came out at the wrong time and got me into trouble. “Uh... I’m fine anyway. I had dinner not too long ago.”

Jenny smiled, apparently amused by my blunder. That smile changed a little, looking strange. It was kind of sad... rueful, but warm and glad at the same time.

“You really do look good,” she said again. “Healthier.”

“Oh... yeah.” The kitchen that had seemed so nice a second ago suddenly felt suffocatingly small. I wished she would not have brought that up. “Yeah, I am.”

“What are you doing?” she asked mildly.

“I’m on break,” I replied cautiously. “I’m taking classes at the U of M in Minneapolis. I live on campus there.”

“An apartment?”

“The dorms still,” I shook my head. “What about you? Do you work?”

“A little,” she nodded. “Miroku works with the bank in their Auditing department and does well enough. He does a lot of volunteer work for the Lutheran church a few blocks down. You might have passed it.”

I nodded absently, even though I did not remember seeing any church. Jenny smiled again.

“I work at the flower shop in town,” she said. “It’s a nice little job, and it gives me a break from the baby.”

“That’s good.” It was getting awkward. It got even stranger when Jenny set her fork on her plate, which was balanced in one hand, and reached over to brush at the hair that hung in my eyes. She smiled that funny smile again. I clenched that towel in my hands to keep from pushing her hands away. It was weird... I barely knew her, even in high school, and she was touching my hair. I was not sure I liked it.

“I’m glad you’re doing well,” she murmured. “I always felt bad for you, you know? You looked so unhappy... and sick.”

I frowned uneasily.

“Yes, well--”

“You have a girlfriend?” she interrupted.

“No, I--”

“Too bad,” she set the plate down and smiled at me, this time with a self-conscious flush of pink on her cheeks. “You know, I used to have a crush on you?”

God, why? I was such a loser in high school. Hell, I was still kind of a loser. A blushing loser, but a loser.

“Oh, umm...”

“You know why I didn’t ask you out?” she asked. She seemed to be against letting me talk.

“Actually...” Of course I didn’t. And did I really want to know? Probably not.

Something buzzed against my side, joined with a clearly audible ring, and I jumped. Damned vibrating mode. I hated that. But it did give me an excuse. I fumbled for the phone and put it to my ear.

“Kenshin, are you okay?” was the first thing Kaoru asked.

“Fine, Kaoru,” I sighed. “I should be back soon.”

“How far did you go?” she asked conversationally.

“I don’t know,” I muttered, glancing at Jenny uneasily. The girl just smiled knowingly. “I ran into someone I knew--”

“A guy from the U?” she interrupted me. She had been doing that a lot. We needed to discuss that. It was rude.

“A girl from high school,” I retorted. “Her brother doused me with a hose, and I’m drying off.”

“You’re... what?” For god’s sake. What was not to understand? I was wet, so I dried off, courtesy of the towel provided by Jenny.

“I’ll see you in a bit,” I said, hoping she’d get the hint and let it finally drop. Jenny just kept watching me. “Stop worrying so much.”

“I’ll talk to you later--”

“Yeah,” I broke in. I wished the pregnant woman standing three feet away from me would stop smirking at me like that. “Later.”

I hung up and put the phone back in its holster. I shifted, ready to leave this grinning girl in front of me.

“Sorry,” I said, folding the towel and draping it over the back of a nearby chair. Jenny seemed to get the hint, and she started moving toward the door.

“That must be the girlfriend you don’t have,” she decided.

“No...” I grumbled, frowning at her. “That was Kaoru. She’s... a good friend.”

“Which brings me back to why I never asked you out!” The woman had a one-track mind. I had the feeling she was going to try to embarrass me.

“You would have had everyone talking about you if you hung out with me,” I predicted. I unzipped my jacket and shook out some of the water to keep myself busy while she answered. However, I was thoroughly drenched, and only a new pair of clothes would solve that problem.

“Well, there was that,” she giggled. “Mostly, I did not think you’d go for it.”

“Go for it?” I asked against my better judgment.

“Rumor had it you were a girl in all ways but the most rudimentary.”

I froze with my hand on the doorknob. It was something that should have embarrassed me--and it did, to some extent--but I did not blush this time. I looked at Jenny, a little leery of what, exactly, she meant by that statement.

She smiled like she had some wicked thoughts in her head. I did not doubt for a minute that she did. She was the one who was twice pregnant, after all. I was certain those things did not embarrass her quite as much as they did me.

“And your total disinterest in the girls around you seemed to support it,” she added.

I had not been interested in anything in high school. My only interest had been getting out. Her words did not surprise me, although they did not please me either.

“Ah,” I nodded absently. “I see. I guess it’s all for the best. You found someone else.”

“Someone who got me pregnant my first semester in college,” she shook her head. She smiled wearily. “But he takes care of me.”

“You’re lucky,” I agreed, stepping outside.

“No way!” a boy’s voice cut through whatever Jenny had been planning to say. We both looked to see her brother and his friends, once again playing catch in the yard. One of the other kids had shouted, but Yutarou was laughing as much as his friends. They were staring at us, so it did not make me very comfortable. “I thought you said that was one of your sister’s friends!”

“I thought it was!” Yutarou called back. “How was I supposed to know he was a guy?!”

“Can I do something really rotten to your brother, Jenny?” I asked quietly.

“Please do,” she laughed. “As long as it doesn’t hurt him.”

“Good,” I nodded and smiled at her. “It was nice to see you.”

“Likewise,” she clasped my hand briefly, squeezing it, and let it drop. “Stop by the flower shop before you leave town. I’m working tomorrow afternoon and Thursday morning.”

“I’ll do that,” I promised, then turned to leave.

“Oh, and Kenshin?”

“Hm?” I looked back at her. She grinned, a slight flush finally coming to her white cheeks.

“Get him good.”

I smirked and turned. It was time to have my fun.

Yutarou and his friends were confused right from the start. I walked to the main sidewalk and paused by that hose. They had stupidly left it where they last dropped it, and it was leaking water from the hand sprayer. I picked it up, getting some dead grass on my hands in the process. I used the sprayer to clean my fingers, wiped my hands on my already-wet pants, and stooped to drop the hose again. And just when I had them feeling safe again, I turned and squeezed the handle on the sprayer.

Payback was fun. Those boys had to go inside for the night after I was through with them.

^_^

*Miroku.... his presence is a bit of a joke. He’s a major character in Inu Yasha and has this tendency to be guided by his um... well, his sex drive. He has been known to introduce himself to women by immediately asking that they bear his child. I just thought he deserved to get lucky.

^_^

I hated this place. How did I get here? I had not done anything in years. I swear to God with a capital ‘G’ that I’ve been good. A cigarette now and then when I was stressed, but even then I’ve only smoked about six in the past three years!

So why did I feel so sick? I sat on the floor in front of the toilet, contemplating throwing up. It never made me feel better when I did, but maybe this time it would. I leaned forward against the rim, staring down into the clear water.

And what was that smell?! It was so strong! It made me feel worse, and I really thought I was going to be sick.

A familiar odor, but I could not place it. Lavender? No... something worse but less flowery. Something sickeningly sweet and... oh, god. Why would they put something like that in here? It’s... ugh...

I scrambled out of bed and promptly crumpled to the cool wooden floor, which was much farther away than I had expected. My gasping breaths were horribly loud, and I hoped I did not wake Kaoru. I also hoped I did not get sick on the floor. That would be difficult to explain and an embarrassing mess, not to mention they would probably charge us extra for the cleanup.

“What was that? Kenshin?”

So much for not waking Kaoru. At least I felt better. Something in the air had cleared, and the sick feeling was fading with it. Unfortunately, it was not quickly enough for me to recover before Kaoru got to my side.

“Kenshin, are you okay?” she murmured, kneeling beside me and feeling my forehead.

“Fine...” I swallowed down the last of the nausea and sighed in relief. “Just something... something smells in here.”

“It’s vanilla,” she decided. “Don’t you like it?”

“No, but that’s not...” I frowned and looked at the bed I was using, a dark shadow pressed against the wall. It was not so strong here, but on that bed...

“Kenshin?” Kaoru was puzzled when I pushed away from her and climbed back onto the bed. I just shook my head and leaned down, reaching between the bed and the wall. My fingers brushed along the wall, and I wondered if I was reaching far enough. I ended up laying flat on the bed, sliding my hand along the wall below me. The odor was particularly strong there.

“Kenshin, what are you doing?” Kaoru asked.

My hand hit something, and I traced it. It was in an electrical socket.

“You’re acting really oddly, Kenshin,” Kaoru said anxiously.

I yanked the thing out of its plug-in and sat up, studying what I had just sabotaged. I could barely see it in the dark, but Kaoru recognized it immediately.

“That looks like one of those plug-in air fresheners,” she said, sounding surprised.

“It’s awful,” I decided, holding my nose and walking the thing into the bathroom where I promptly dropped it into the trash can. “It’s making me sick.”

“You want to sleep in the other bed?” Kaoru offered.

“Then you would have to put up with that smell,” I reminded her. The odor would probably linger for days, but at least it would start to fade. “I’ll just... uh...” What would I do? I certainly was not sleeping in that bed, and I could not move it off that raised section of the floor, especially since closer inspection revealed the bed to be bolted in place. But the floor was too hard.

Kaoru touched my arm, and I looked at her. She smiled.

“It’s a full-sized,” she stated, reaching up again to touch my sweaty forehead. “You poor thing. Come on. I don’t bite, and I can put up with your snapping and growling.”

“I’m not all that comfortable with this,” I protested weakly, even as she pushed down the covers on the section of the bed she had not been using and made me sit on it. “Kaoru, can’t we ask for another room?”

“The people that run this place sleep too,” Kaoru shushed me with a finger to my lips. I looked down at my lap to escape it. That stupid air freshener had put me into this position, and I could not come up with a good way to get out of it. “Calm down. Tomorrow night, after the smell goes away a bit, I’ll sleep over there, okay?”

“Just don’t kick me or anything,” I muttered, trying to lighten the situation a bit. It worked. Kaoru giggled.

“You’re pretty silly, Kenshin,” she informed me. “Lay down and go to sleep.”

And that was how I ended up sharing a bed with Kaoru that night. Quite honestly, I was not worried about her, or what she would do. Unless she shoved me off the bed again, that is. No, the truth of the matter was, my concern laid with what I would do. Whether it was from years of having a blanket or a stuffed animal in the sheets with me or something else entirely, I had this odd tendency to cuddle up to things in my sleep. It was an embarrassing habit, and I was afraid that it might rear its ugly head if I did this. But maybe... if I held the extra pillow against me...

^_^

I woke before the alarm the next morning. The bed was unfamiliar, and I was a little warmer than I was accustomed to being, and it pulled me out of sleep early. That... and someone was running their fingers through my hair.

The first thing I saw when I opened my eyes was blue cotton. As my eyes came into focus, I realized what I was seeing was not, in fact, solid blue, but white with hundreds of little blue flowers nearly covering it. The cotton shifted a bit, rising and falling regularly.

I sighed and closed my eyes again, too tired to figure out that riddle. I set my hazy mind to the hand on my head. Who would be doing that? Who else was in the room? I shifted slightly, my hand moving out from under me and brushing that flowery cotton. My other hand was on a raised surface that also moved like the rising and falling cotton.

“Good morning, Kenshin.”

How horribly embarrassing. Despite my efforts, I had ended up pressed against the girl’s side. That cotton was her pajama top, and that raised surface was her stomach. But she just kept brushing her fingers through my hair, not saying anything else.

“Sorry,” I muttered. I forced myself awake and carefully pulled away from her. During the night, I had invaded her space, it seemed. My fingers cramped a bit when I made them release the hem of Kaoru’s nightshirt, and I flexed them a bit, massaging my hand as I rolled away. “You should have woken me.”

“I don’t mind,” Kaoru countered, sitting up behind me. I let my legs dangle off the edge of the bed. Damn it, but my hand hurt. “It’s funny, if you think about it.”

“What’s funny?” I grumbled, my face feeling warm. The bed squeaked and shifted, and I felt Kaoru’s hands on my shoulders. She leaned forward against my back, resting her chin on one of her hands, her cheek brushing mine.

“You’re never so cuddly when you’re awake,” she murmured, then giggled. “I have to twist your arm to get you to hug me.”

“Mmmm,” I moaned in protest. The sound was roughly translated as: ‘Leave me alone!’ Kaoru, unfortunately, had yet to master the art of understanding grunts. She was going to have to learn that if she was ever going to survive a life with a man.

“I’ll bet you were just a cute little thing when you were younger!” she was still giggling, as if the very thought of me being a child amused her. “A laughing, huggable, adorable little boy!”

I snorted and stood, turning to look down at her. She blinked at me, startled by my sudden move. She looked so surprised... as if she had honestly expected me just to give in and let her continue to coddle me. While I was asleep was one thing, but while I was awake? Hugging was saved for special occasions.

“Yeah, I was,” I agreed abruptly, startling her again. Her eyes got really wide. “Everybody liked me. Until I screwed it all up.” I offered a wry grin to take some of the sting out of the words. There was no need to dampen the day right from the start. “But that’s in the past. Let’s talk breakfast. When can we eat?”

Kaoru was slow to respond to my forced cheer. She smiled finally and glanced at the clock.

“Eight o’clock,” she told me. “That’s when they serve breakfast.”

It was six. Two hours. I was not going to survive.

^_^