a/n: all right! I'm done tweaking it (for now) and have decided to post it! Lemme know what you think!

Disclaimer: I don't own RK in any way shape or form.

Atmosphere

"This is dumb," Sano announced, rolling his eyes. "Why do you even own this movie, Jou-chan?"

"I happen to love this movie, Sanosuke," she defended, snuggling deeper into her corner of the couch.

"It's a kid's movie," he pointed out.

His girlfriend, Megumi, gave him a well deserved smack to the back of the head. "You're never too old to enjoy a Disney movie, rooster," she told him.

"Thank you, Megumi," Kaoru acknowledged. "Now shut up so we can watch."

"Look, I'm not going to sit through this," he informed them before turning to his friend sharing the couch with Kaoru. "Kenshin, man, you want to get out of here and leave the girls to their movie?"

"Sano! This is supposed to be a movie night for the whole entire gang! It's bad enough that Aoshi and Misao decided to ditch, you can't leave now, too!" Kaoru scolded, sitting up.

"I agree with Kaoru-dono, Sano. It was their choice tonight and we must respect that choice no matter what it is," he replied calmly.

"Even if it's "The Little Mermaid"?!"

"Yes, Sano."

"Besides, it's a kick ass movie!" Kaoru said, throwing a pillow at his head. "And Jodi Benson has an amazing voice!"

"Hey, hey! Keep your pillows to yourself!" he said, catching the pillow before chucking it back at her.

She caught it and stuck her tongue out. She picked up the DVD player remote and clicked play. With that simple motion, Sano groaned. If there was one thing he hated, it was watching girly movies, but this was ten times worse. He hated Disney movies with a fiery passion.

"What was that?!" Kaoru demanded, glaring at him.

"I didn't say anything."

"Yes, you did. You said, 'I hate Disney movies with a fiery passion,'" she quoted.

"You did," Kenshin confirmed, shrugging his shoulders.

Megumi rolled her eyes. "All right, fine, come on." She stood up. "Let's go. I don't want to have to deal with your comments and I'm sure Kaoru-chan's sick of it, too."

"You're leaving?" Kaoru said, sitting up again. "You can't leave! It's girl's pick! He has to deal with it!"

"We'll do it again. And I'll bring duct tape next time," she promised with a wink, dragging Sano towards the door.

"Thank God!" Sano said, looking skyward. "Megumi, you are an angel, a saint, my savior-"

"Save the flattery, rooster. You're not getting off that easy," she assured him.

"You're not leaving too, are you, Kenshin?" she asked a little desperately when the door shut behind the two. "I don't want to watch it alone."

"No, of course not, Kaoru-dono," he said, settling into the couch a little more.

"Yay!" she celebrated, sliding back into the couch for what she hoped was the final time. She pressed play on the movie and gave a happy sigh as the movie began for the second time that night.

Fifteen minutes later Kenshin was wondering why exactly he had decided to stay. And then Kaoru pushed off her end of the couch and climbed towards him sleepily.

"You don't mind, do you Kenshin? You're more comfy than the couch is," she confessed.

"N-no," he acquiesced, opening his arms for her.

She dropped her head onto his chest and smiled as the movie played.

And that, he thought, was why he was here, why he had stayed. This woman. She had a way of making everything seem so... perfect, even when it wasn't. He smiled and gently wrapped his arms around her figure.

----------------------------

They were almost through the movie. Kaoru didn't want it to end. She was enjoying the warmth that was radiating from Kenshin's body and she knew they would probably never have an evening like this again. She wanted it to last.

"Oh, I love this song," she whispered, blinking.

He laughed. "You say that every time they sing."

"I know. But this song is so... just everything is great," she mumbled, trying to make a coherent sentence. "You know what I mean?"

"Uh huh," he agreed, hugging her a little tighter.

Kaoru was watching the scene, something she had seen a thousand times, with rapt attention. It was, after all, her favorite part of the movie. Ariel couldn't speak and they were on the date that could change everything. Sebastian was setting the mood with the help of his sea critter friends in an attempt to make Prince Eric kiss her. Hence the name, "Kiss the Girl."

The song started and Kaoru hummed under her breath as the scene unfolded before her eyes. It came to the point where everything was winding down and it seemed a kiss was evident and everything was perfect. She was just noticing, for the first time, the romantic atmosphere that Disney had created.

"Whoa," she said out loud, cocking her head at the TV. "That's some crazy intense atmosphere," she finished her thought.

Kenshin had to agree. There were fireflies floating around them and the fish were making a impromptu fountain around the boat and the moon was full. Not to mention the lyrics.

"Yeah, it is," he answered after a long time. His eyes strayed down to the girl on his chest. It couldn't get anymore perfect. The song was on, she was there, he was there.

Her eyes skirted up to his and widened as she realized he'd been staring at her. They flickered from his eyes down to his lips, her thoughts clear. 'Oh my God,' she thought, 'he's finally going to kiss me.'

And he did. Just as the evil eels working for the sea witch dumped Ariel and Eric out of the boat, ruining their chance for romance, he slanted his lips across hers. For a moment, Kaoru was unresponsive. But over the span of that moment she reawakened, pushing against his chest in order to get a better angle.

Kenshin did all he could to help and pulled her in closer, as she straddled his torso and her arms wrapped around his neck. His own hands were dancing along her sides, running down from the sides of her breasts to the curve of her hips.

He pressed his tongue against her lips, begging for an entrance. She opened her mouth without hesitation as her fingers worked their way up into his red hair, finding and dislodging the tie that held his low ponytail in place. She sighed into the kiss when she felt it fall around them, running her hands through it.

Kenshin chuckled slightly at her amusement and pulled away so they could breathe. Kaoru lifted eyelids and gave him a hooded stare coupled with a wicked smile. She tucked a lock of his hair behind his ear and gave a small giggle.

"Do you know how long I've wanted you to do that?" she asked, laying her head back down on his chest.

His arms automatically wrapped around her. "Probably about as long as I've wanted to do it," he admitted.

She smiled and hugged him tighter. "I love you, Kenshin," she told him softly.

He kissed the top of her head. "I love you, too, Kaoru," he returned. "I always have."

Her smile, if possible, got even larger and she turned back to the TV. They were just in time to watch the ending.

As the credits started to role, Kenshin thought that maybe, just maybe, "The Little Mermaid" was his new favorite movie.

Owari

a/n: Please drop a comment!