Heee~ Keeping up my reign of terror in the Mankin fandom. :D And well, with more Ren/Jeanne. I wrote some of these a while ago, but I'll be posting them in intervals, as opposed to all together. XD Some of these may have little bits of my headcanon, but that'll either be mentioned up here or in the notes section~

Oh! And before I forget, this was originally for the 100-theme challenge over at LJ. I'm still making some final edits before I post them to the comm, though. :D

WARNING: SPOILERS FOR FINAL CHAPTER.
Title/Theme: Analysis / He
Genre: Gen with a hint of romance? Or romance with a hint of gen?
Characters: Asakura Yoh, Tao Ren, Iron Maiden Jeanne (all in the future~)
Notes: To make this work, let's say that Jeanne joined the Five Warriors later on during their reunion. And for the record, ages are as follows: Yoh is 21, Ren is 21, Jeanne is... well, 17 or 18. She wasn't given an official age.
Summary: During the course of their reunion, Yoh pays close attention to how his friend treats his wife. Needless to say, he's a bit surprised.
Word Count: 783

There were many times when people would confront Tao Ren about his wife. They had questions, comments; some even dared to voice their criticisms. It was simple to say that most people were more than a little bit skeptical of their relationship. But what they seemed to neglect noticing was that Ren had the same skepticism himself. Asakura Yoh, however, knew his friend well enough to notice the hesitance and caution in his actions.

Questions were abundant concerning the two; especially so once the five warriors had their reunion. Horohoro especially couldn't seem to let go of the topic. And it was clear that Ren couldn't help but find a certain satisfaction from the Ainu's jealousy. Especially when the holy girl decided to join them (dressing in a more contemporary fashion in comparison to her previous flowing dress), it only added to the questions.

Yoh observed from his seat, watching the two interact. He continued to talk and mingle, but he spent most of his time noticing how the Chinese shaman treated his wife. Ren would occasionally watch Jeanne's movements with a distant interest, and that much wasn't a surprise. Plenty of people noticed the maiden's fluid movements and natural beauty, and the latter only enhanced as she grew older. But her manners were still impeccable and the grace with which she held herself remained, though the intimidation others felt from her presence had definitely been toned down. She had no reason to impress anymore, after all.

Judging from how Ren had grown accustomed to allowing Jeanne to draw closer to him, it was a good enough guess that they had been together for a while. (As if the silver haired child playing in the other room with Hana wasn't enough indication.) There was easiness in their relations, where they had no problem paying attention to other people, but remained constantly aware of each other.

Should Ren even reach for his drink, Jeanne's glance would flicker to him for an instant before returning her attention to the conversation. If Jeanne would look towards the other room where her son and the Asakura heir played, Ren didn't even need to glance her way and would instead adjust his arm's position to either move behind her or close the proximity between them. The simple gesture was enough for Jeanne to turn to him and smile.

Despite how comfortable Jeanne seemed though, and how happy she looked, it was easy enough to see the doubt in Ren. Golden eyes still held the same impassive trait, simply observing, and not making any comments, but on occasion there was a hint of doubt. And Yoh was rather sure that he had not seen any such doubt before Jeanne had arrived.

It had not been long ago that Yoh had informed Ren that one day, what remained of his heart of hatred would be purified with love. Falling in love with someone and having a family would be the cleansing method, he said.

Watching Ren interact with his wife now, Yoh was definitely sure that it worked. While the occasional curse and insulting remark would still make an appearance, there was no true malice for anyone. But it seemed that uncertainty had taken its place.

His movements were riddled with hesitation, as if he wasn't sure what to do in the situations that Jeanne placed him in. Even years into their marriage (or at least what Yoh guessed was years), she was testing his every barrier and rule. It was an unending exam to see whether he had really matured and begun to care for his fellow man. For if a man couldn't care for his wife, his beloved, who could he truly care for?

Was this hesitation a good kind of doubt then? Was it a sign that Ren cared enough for Jeanne to be careful about his movements and was compassionate to her emotions?

Yoh almost laughed aloud, and did his best to silently chuckle at the thought. He cared for his friend, but the idea of Ren being that considerate was just funny. Like a bad romance novel. No matter how far Jeanne pushed Ren's limits, he would never turn into one of those husbands who couldn't let go of his wife's hand. Or one of those people who wrapped their arms around their loved one at every chance they got. That wasn't Ren's style, Yoh decided.

…

And yet, as Ren's glance would flicker towards Jeanne every time she laughed, or the way his eyes softened just the tiniest bit for a fraction of a millisecond whenever she directed a smile in his direction, Yoh thought it was better than any expectation he ever had.

Simple to say, expect the next chapter to tell a little bit about Jeanne's part. :D Reviews are loved, criticism is warmly appreciated! I'll even take flames if you got 'em.