Alia was cold. And wet. And muddy.
They day had started out normal enough. They had sex and breakfast. Read the paper and planned out the day. Jason had suggested a jog through the park, since their trip to the gym last night had been abandoned due to a severe thunderstorm. Alia readily agreed, wanting both to get out of the house and to take advantage of the nice fall day.
Well, it had started out as a nice day, if a bit nippy. But jogging soon warmed her up, so she didn't really notice the sky becoming overcast and the temperature cooling a bit. She did notice the wind picking up, however. She enjoyed watching it toss around the fallen leaves until they wound up in some of the big puddles remaining from last night's downpour.
On the cool down walk home she really noticed just how cold it had gotten. Jason too, had commented on the change of weather. She could tell he was feeling it as well, since when she stopped to retie her shoe, he walked on a few paces before turning and shifting in place to keep warm while waiting for her.
It was then that the semi barreled down the street. She understood that the furniture store down the block did need deliveries, and no doubt the large semi was required for those things. But did it really need to splash the entire puddle of muddy water all over her?
Shocked and wet, Alia froze for a moment. Which of course was long enough for an SUV to spray up the remaining dirt, leaves, and runoff that the semi had failed to dump on her.
Jason, of course, had miraculously avoided getting wet, with just a few stray droplets visible on his red sweatshirt. She, however, was filthy and soaking wet. And getting quite cold, since the now waterlogged shirt she had been wearing seemed to encourage the wind to blow through it.
By the time they reached her apartment, Alia's teeth were chattering and she was definitely moody and snappish. As soon as they entered Jason shoved her toward the bathroom, saying "Go take a nice hot bath. Use some bubble bath and soak as long as you want. I'll have a hot lunch ready for us when you get out."
An hour or so later, completely clean and finally warm, Alia decided it was time to get out of the tub. She was tempted to stay a bit longer, but she had heard the oven timer beep and thought she smelled biscuits. Fresh, hot, biscuits with butter sounded divine, and the growling of her stomach no doubt indicated agreement.
Slipping into her bedroom, she turned to stare at her bed in shock. It was stripped completely bare, no sheet or pillowcase insight.
"Jason!"
He was at the door in no time.
"What happened to my bed?"
"I threw the bedding into the wash," he said, shrugging nonchalantly.
"You washed my sheets?" Alia asked, befuddled. "Why would you wash my sheets?"
"Well, they were in dire need of cleaning, especially after last nights activities, not to mention this morning…" He leered. "They're in the dryer now."
Alia blushed. "Well, yes, I understand that, but, still, you really didn't need to do laundry for me."
Kenshin smiled easily. "Don't worry about it. I find doing laundry relaxing. Besides I planned on getting them dirty later tonight. Now get dressed, there's homemade soup and buttermilk biscuits waiting for you in the kitchen."
'I have buttermilk?' she thought…
Alia found time with Jason rather enjoyable. She had no qualms about arguing politics with him, dressing casually for their outings, or even telling him to go home because she wanted time to herself. The fact that he was a benefit and not a boyfriend freed her (at least in her mind) to speak her mind and be herself without having to worry about possible relationship repercussions. And since they were already sleeping together, it didn't feel like the sex question was hanging over their activities.
