Merciful Kannon, they’re asleep. Kenshin’s bright head was pressed against Kaoru’s bosom as though even in sleep he needed the reassurance of her heartbeat. His arm was around her, holding her the way a small child hugs the blanket that carries his mother’s scent. And Kaoru was curled protectively around him, her fingers knotted in his hair. Megumi turned away, her eyes stinging, and closed the cabin door behind her.
“Oi, fox-lady. Got time to check my hand?”
Megumi nearly jumped out of her skin. “Sano!” she gasped. He’s almost as bad for the heart as Ken-san! “What are you doing sneaking around so late?” she snapped, fatigue and annoyance at being caught off guard sharpening her voice.
“Told ya. Been usin’ my fist a lot lately, figured I oughtta have it looked at. I came by before, but you were pretty busy.”
Busy hadn’t been the word for it. In addition to Kaoru, Kenshin and Yahiko, there had been an endless stream of wounded policemen. She had spent the afternoon bandaging, splinting and stitching. By the time everyone was treated, her eyes were crossing and her fingers were almost too cramped to hold a needle.
“I know it’s late. If you’re too tired it’ll keep till morning.”
She sighed. “It’s all right. Come on in.” She motioned him into the tiny cabin she had taken over as an improvised infirmary.
Whatever he might have done to the bones, the bandages had definitely seen better days. The cotton wrappings were dirty, torn and frayed. She unwound the ruined cloth and felt his hand, her sensitive fingers probing the tiny bones. Such fragile things to carry so much power… “You’re lucky this time, rooster-head. No new breaks. Maybe you’re finally learning to do that two-hitter thing of yours right.”
He grinned. “A compliment? From you? You feel okay, Fox?”
She reached for the roll of bandages. As she wound the soft fabric around his hand, a thin line across the palm caught her attention. She traced it with her fingertip, remembering how he had gotten that scar, the roughness of his hands and voice as he snatched the knife from her…
“Oi. Somethin’ wrong?” Sano’s voice brought her back to reality.
She shook her head. “Not really. I’m just tired.” She blinked against the tears that threatened to escape her control, hoped he hadn’t heard the slight quaver in her voice, and finished the bandaging.
“I guess it’s been pretty hard on all of us, na?” He put his hand on her shoulder, and at his touch her defenses crumbled and she broke down completely.
Ken-san… I couldn’t be what he needed… and when he came back all I could think of…
All I could think of was this idiot…
He pulled her toward him, folded her in a tight embrace. “Aa. The fox-lady takes care of all of us, but who takes care of the fox-lady?” he murmured. “It’s all right, Megumi.” Strong fingers dug into her aching shoulders, loosening the knotted muscles. Slowly she relaxed under those warm, gentle hands. He smelled of sweat and seawater and the faint, ineradicable odor of stale tobacco smoke that clung to his clothing. “Sorry I ain’t sweeter. A bucket over the side ain’t exactly a real bath.”
Her laugh was part sob. “It’s all right, Sano. You smell wonderful.” His scent coiled into her brain, intoxicating and seductive as opium, making her feel safe, protected, cared for…
Sanosuke gazed down at his burden, slightly surprised. Che, I don’t think I ever put a woman to sleep before. At least not that way. She looked much younger like this, her face relaxed, without the flirtatious, challenging sexuality of her fox-lady persona. It touched him, seeing this side of her. I wonder if she… chikusho, what am I thinking? Megumi’s smart, educated, a real class lady… she’d never look at a dumbass loser like me.
He laid her down on the narrow cot and spread a blanket over her. She murmured something he didn’t understand, but did not wake. “Sweet dreams, Megumi,” he whispered.
Out in the corridor, he slid down with his back against her door, folding his long legs against the door opposite. If anyone wanted to disturb Kenshin and Jou-chan or the fox-lady they were going to have to go through Sanosuke Sagara to do it.
He closed his eyes, thinking of Megumi.
NOTES, EXPLANATIONS ETC.
I was still feeling my way with the Sano-Megumi relationship when I wrote this, but I wanted to write something showing Sano’s softer side, and showing Megumi as vulnerable and not so much in control. I think that despite their attraction, he’s somewhat intimidated by her education, to say nothing of the fact that respectable women are, for the most part, outside his experience, and I think she’s also put off by his roughness and fecklessness. The fun in writing them is in their getting beyond that.