a/n: As promised, here it is (finally lol) and finished! I decided to put it through some edits which is why it took a little longer than planned... Anyhoo, as always, reviews are greatly appreciated!

Disclaimer: If I owned Aoshi-Sama, I would have better things to do than write for pleasure... (as in, I would have a personal body-slave for my pleasure.)

Something to Talk About

Kaoru stared at herself in the mirror. She clapped her hands to her cheeks when she found a rosy blush there. People were talking again. Not that that was unusual. But they were talking about her. About him. About them. But there was no them.

Or was there?

She didn't know. She groaned in frustration. They were making her think again. Thinking and Kaoru didn't go together. At least not when the thinking was related to Kenshin. It made her think crazy things.

She walked away from the mirror and flopped on the bed. Maybe he already knew. About all the talk going around town. She highly doubted that there was anyone left in Tokyo that didn't think they were together. She sighed and gazed at the ceiling fan.

She didn't know what to think of Kenshin anymore. She just didn't know. She hadn't talked to him for a while. And she wasn't sure she wanted to. He was making her think more than she should have to. And she didn't like it. The phone beside her bed rang and she glared at it as if to make it stop ringing.

Unfortunately she hadn't developed supernatural powers in a matter of seconds so it continued ringing until she leaned over and picked it up.

"Hello?"

"Kaoru! Long time to talk."

It was Kenshin. "Hey..."

"What's up?"

"I'm guessing you've heard everything that's up," she answered, laughing slightly. "It's actually kind of funny what people think now."

"I haven't heard anything funny," he said. "What happened?"

"Just your usual rumor mill," she told him, twirling the phone cord in her fingers.

"What are they saying now?"

She laughed for a few seconds before collecting herself. "Th-They think we're together."

"We usually are," he said reasonably.

"No, not like that. Like together. As in a couple, Kenshin," she corrected him.

He was silent for a minute or so.

"Kenshin?"

"I don't think it's funny."

"Huh?"

"It's not funny," he repeated. "Is it so impossible for you to picture?"

She was taken aback. There was no way...

"Kenshin... I have to go!" She hung up without saying good-bye.

He was confusing her again. He shouldn't say things that he didn't mean. He just shouldn't. She felt her eyes water up and she hissed. She wasn't going to let him get the best of her.

She swiped at her eyes ferociously and snarled. She hadn't thought he'd react that way. It just wasn't like him. She really thought he'd find it funny, so she'd put on her game face and played to what she thought would be her advantage. Instead she got slapped in the face.

She was back in front of that mirror. Admittedly, she didn't think it was funny. She wanted it to happen. Really. She had been in love with him for as long... Funny how it took something like this to make her really think about it...

Honestly, she'd never thought about him this much before... Now he was haunted her dreams, ruling her thoughts and taking over her brain in general. She slapped her hand to the mirror. She closed her eyes and pressed her forehead to the mirror as well.

"What am I going to do...?" she wondered aloud to herself.

She really had no idea.

--------

For the next few days, Kaoru ran heavy duty avoidance tactics. She couldn't really afford to face Kenshin so soon after their fatal conversation. Of course, rumors followed her everywhere; people inquiring as to where her lover had ran off to and such. She merely rolled her eyes and continued on with her business.

Which included shopping. One couldn't live without groceries and it was useless to try and hide in her apartment when she needed to shop. At least that's what Misao had finally convinced her of.

So with a sigh and a large winter coat, she left her apartment to head towards the car. Unfortunately it was only a short ways away and her car didn't have time to heat up properly. She was still shivering and rubbing her hands together when she entered the store. She shuddered from the cold, regretting the fact that she had to buy frozen goods. Which of course meant she had to go to the freezer aisles.

"Hmmm," she thought out loud, gazing at the many options. "What to buy this month..."

She was still trying to make a choice when a hand tapped her on the shoulder. Somehow she managed to keep a lid on the scream that was just barely staying inside her as she turned around sharply.

"Megumi!" she said breathlessly, holding her heart. "Don't do that when someone is doing intense thinking! I could have gone into cardiac arrest!"

She giggled. "Sorry. You haven't been answering your phone," she pointed out.

"Oh. Yeah. Sorry about that," she answered sheepishly, rubbing the back of her head. "Been busy lately."

She waved the apology off. "Don't worry about it. I'm not the one that's worried about you."

"Oh? I'm hurt," she said, feinting her pain. "Who is then?"

"Kenshin. He said he's been trying to get a hold of you since Saturday. He wants to know if you're okay," she said seriously, frowning. "We're all worried, Kaoru."

"I'm fine. And you may tell anyone who is pestering you about my health that I'm in perfect condition. Eating right..." Megumi arched an eyebrow at the frozen dinners. "Well, mostly eating right, sleeping good, and doing lots and lots of paper work."

"Just... take it easy, okay?"

"I promise," she assured. "Now, I have to buy dinner for the next month or so... See ya later, Meg!"

Megumi waved before they went their separate ways. Kaoru stayed where she was and finally made a decision which involved another shopping trip somewhere in the near future. She frowned for a moment as she popped her trunk in order to put her precious frozen foods in.

Kenshin had tried to contact her again. She snorted in a very unladylike fashion. He knew where she lived. Apparently he wasn't trying that hard. And she could definitely live with that. She didn't want to talk to him. Not after he gave her all that false hope over the weekend.

She got back in her car and waited for it to heat up before she moved. She didn't want to wait until she made it back to her apartment to be warm this time. She pulled her gloves off her fingers and sat there, fiddling with the radio until she found a station that was playing a song she knew the words to.

Sadly, it didn't distract her the way she'd wanted it to. He was still on her mind. And she couldn't get him out. Sure she wanted him in her life as more than just her friend. She couldn't tell if he wanted it to, though. The way he'd spoken to her on Saturday certainly indicated that the feeling was mutual.

But he had this annoying habit of saying things he didn't mean... And she had this terrible habit of hanging on his every word.

"Stupid, stupid, stupid," she muttered, putting her car into drive.

She pulled out easily and never looked back.

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

Kaoru still hadn't plugged her phone back in. There several messages on her cell phone, but she hadn't bothered to listen to any of them. She stared at the dark ceiling above her bed with something akin to disinterest.

She couldn't find any comfort in sleep. A quick glance at her clock with sleepy eyes told her it was well past her usual bedtime, but he was always there... Waiting. She couldn't, wouldn't face something that was fake.

Not anymore.

She groaned and rolled over, pushing her face into her feather pillow. It cradled her face comfortably and she sighed at the thought. She wasn't going to escape him in her dreams. Who was she to think she could?

'Crazy, that's who,' she answered herself with a frown.

It wasn't long after that thought that her eyes began to drift shut. She was surrendering. At least for tonight, anyway. She'd deal with it all tomorrow, she promised herself. After sleeping for a few hours to meet her body's demands...

She was barely asleep when the doorbell rang. She made a sound of frustration and burrowed deeper into her cocoon of blankets and pillows. No one was going to get her out of bed at three a.m. after she just barely fallen asleep. No one.

It rang again and she threw another pillow over her head in an attempt to drown out the sound. For a moment it seemed to work for the doorbell didn't ring again. She was in the hazy stage between falling asleep and grasping onto consciousness when she heard it.

Someone was opening her door. She waved the thought off dismissively. Her door was locked. Had been for hours. And she checked it before she retired. Besides no one else but her had a key...

She resumed trying to fall asleep. And that was when she couldn't ignore it any longer; there were keys jingling in her lock. Suddenly panicked, she threw her covers off and reached for the bokken she had under her bed.

She crept out to the living room and looked around. Clear. She was slightly hesitant in her trek towards the door as every area she passed was empty. She was beginning to wonder if she'd heard anything at all.

Her body relaxed as she saw the shut and locked door. She was about to chide herself for being silly when she noticed an extra pair of shoes by the door. Her brows furrowed and she flicked on the lights in the hall. Nothing.

She started making rounds and turning on all the lights. There was only one place left to check. Her bedroom. She slid into a defensive stance as she approached the closed door. She opened it quickly and entered.

No one... But she was so sure... The shoes...

With a sigh she threw the bokken down. "Forget it Kamiya. You're going mental..."

She supposed that's what a lack of sleep would do to her... Her eyes felt heavy again and she was making her way towards the bed when a hand fell on her shoulder. She screamed and jerked away from the hand, poised to fight.

Kenshin was standing in front of her, his hand still outstretched.

"Jesus Christ, Kenshin, don't do that!!" she told him, panting heavily. "What's the matter with you?!"

He smiled slightly. "You weren't answering either of your phones," he replied simply.

"And that's reason to break into my house at three in the morning?" she demanded.

"You're never home during the day and you don't answer the phone. What did you want me to do?" he asked, crossing his arms. "It's not like I didn't try to be rational about talking to you. You just didn't cooperate."

"I... I've been busy! With work and everything at the dojo! Megumi was supposed to tell you that I was fine. Just fine and dandy. There's no logical reason for you to be worried about me," she said, crossing her own arms.

"Kaoru," he said. "I know there's something wrong. I can tell when you're avoiding me."

She looked offended. "I am not avoid-"

"Please," he begged. "I don't want you to lie to me. This is about our conversation on Saturday, isn't it? I'm sorry I said it."

Hurt flashed in her eyes briefly, but she pushed it down. "It's fine."

He smiled, but it didn't quite reach his eyes. "I guess I should let you go back to bed now that that's settled."

"Yeah," she agreed, dropping her eyes. She didn't want him to be sorry. She wanted him to mean it.

"I'll see you later sometime," she said, turning back towards her bed. "Good-night."

She heard her door click shut after he had whispered the words back and she let out the breath she'd been holding. It was over. She didn't have to worry anymore. But the way her heart was crumbling... it told her that things weren't right.

A choked sob escaped her throat. It was time to sleep it off...

She got back into her bed and buried her face in the pillow as she fought the tears. At least until he was out of her house. She heard her front door slam and it all came out in a torrent. There. She didn't have to hide like a little girl anymore.

The thought only made her sob harder. She was going to be hiding a lot more now that she'd had her fears confirmed. He could never love her. Not someone like her...

It took a long time, but she finally cried herself to sleep.

----------

Kenshin sat behind the wheel of his car, wondering what was wrong with him. He didn't want things to go back to the way they were. He wanted to be with her. He leaned his head on the steering wheel and sighed heavily. She was so distressed. She didn't look happy.

He had no idea what she wanted him to do.

He knew what he wanted to do. He wanted to go back up there, tell her everything. He sighed again. He would give her tonight. After that he was going to start pursuing her. Actively. He finally started up his car and started off towards home, his thoughts still reeling.

His mind was no more settled when he pulled into his driveway.

With a sigh he got out of his car and headed inside. He locked his door behind him as he came in and shut it, still thinking about Kaoru. He glanced at his phone, wondering if he should call and say good-night.

He fought with himself for a few moments before finally picking the phone up and dialing the seven digit number that had been engrained in his head forever. It rang four times and the machine picked up.

"Hi! You've reached Kamiya Kaoru, you're friendly neighborhood kendo instructor. Leave a message and I'll get back to you ASAP. Bye!"

Kenshin hung up without leaving a message. He should have known that she wouldn't answer the phone. It was almost four o'clock in the morning after all. He sighed and looked over at his bed. It looked very inviting.

So with a sigh he changed into light sleeping clothes and crawled under the covers.

----------

Kaoru didn't want to get up. Her alarm clock went off and she jabbed the snooze button down rather violently. When it went off again she hit the snooze once more before throwing it across the room. Ten minutes later another alarm went off and she made a noise of frustration.

And then she looked at the clock.

"Gah!"

She was so late. She didn't even have time to shower... The thought made her grimace. She hated missing her morning shower. She maneuvered herself into her training clothes and managed to shove a piece of toast in her mouth as she pulled her hair back into a ponytail.

She managed to finish the piece of toast in record time before she made it to the bathroom to brush her teeth. She took the time to make sure her teeth were nice and clean before she rinsed and spit. Then she was out the door.

A few hours later she was dead on her feet. Yahiko had been particularly brutal when he realized his sister hadn't slept well as he saw it as an opportunity to finally beat her. Unfortunately for him this had just made her angry and she'd beaten him into the ground.

The thought brought a tiny smile to her face for a moment. Yahiko had at least managed to distract her the way she needed him to. She hadn't spared Kenshin a thought while she was sparring with the brat.

And then she frowned. She had no distractions to work with now. He was swimming just underneath the surface of her thoughts. She sighed and closed her eyes.

He didn't love her.

At the four words that ran through her head she violently flicked the bathroom light on. 'I don't know what I was expecting,' she chided herself. The fact that he seemed to think the rumors could turn out to be true someday gave her hope. Even if it was only for a little while.

She had thought he could love her like she loved him.

'Apparently I was wrong,' she thought as she started the shower.

She'd tried so hard to push his casual dismissal from last night out of her head. It just wasn't working. She had tried reasoning with herself that Kenshin did love her, as a friend at least. It didn't help. She didn't want him to love her has a friend. She wanted Kenshin to love her as someone he could kiss before bed at night.

She wanted him to want her.

'I'm being so stupid... Things are back to normal. I should be happy!' she kept telling herself.

"Who am I kidding?" she asked herself out loud. "I didn't want things to go back to normal!" She threw the shower door open and climbed in before slamming the door shut again.

---------

Kenshin sighed and pounded on her door again. He checked his watch. She should be home. Her car was in the driveway and he'd even stopped at the dojo to try and catch her there, but he'd been told that she left around four. It was now five-thirty.

He was about to resort to the key when she yanked her door open violently.

"What do you want?" she demanded as she opened it. "Oh. Kenshin. Hi."

He blinked a few times before asking, "Where have you been?"

It was her turn to blink. "What do you mean? I've been home since quarter after four."

"Well I've been knocking on your door for close to a half-hour," he told her. "Is there a reason you weren't answering your door?"

"I was in the shower," she replied, pointing to her wet hair and bathrobe. "Can't you tell?"

"For a half-hour?!" he asked with wide eyes.

She smiled innocently, but it was strained. "It's been a long day."

He nodded in understanding and held up the grocery bag he had in his hand up. "I figured as much. That's why I thought I'd come cook you dinner."

Her eyes lit up. "That sounds great! Much better than what I was planning on having..."

He didn't want to ask which frozen dinner she would have been eating if he hadn't come to her rescue, so he simply smiled and walking in after her.

"Sorry about the mess," she apologized. "I was late this morning..."

"I understand," he answered, setting the bags on her kitchen counter. "It should be ready in forty-five minutes, okay?"

She nodded. "I'm just gonna go finish what I was doing, then. You know where everything is."

He didn't answer as she started walking out of the kitchen towards her bedroom to get dressed. She took a deep breath and opened the door before sitting on the bed. She could do this, she told herself. She just had to learn that he didn't want her they she wanted him to.

This wouldn't be the last time they did things together and if she couldn't even control herself through a single dinner, she didn't know what she would do when they went out for drinks and dancing. No, she had to get through this. She was stronger than this. She could do this.

"I can," she whispered. "Yes."

With the positive words ringing in her brain, she stood up and got dressed in casual attire a.k.a. pajamas. After all, it was just Kenshin.

When she emerged from her bedroom she had a bright, semi-genuine smile on her face. Kenshin returned her smile when he looked up from his work, glad to see she was smiling. After he looked back down, Kaoru took another deep breath and sat down on the couch.

She absently picked up the remote and started flipping through channels, not really paying attention to what was flickering before her eyes. None of it was really interesting anyway. She left it on a music channel and picked up the book she had sitting on the coffee table; it was due back to the library in two days and she had barely started it.

She decided now would be a good time to get some reading done. Kenshin said dinner would take a while so she had some time. Besides, it would keep her mind off the man who was so attentively cooking said dinner in her kitchen.

----------

Dinner was a silent affair with only the occasionally polite question about work or classes. It was awkward, Kaoru thought. They had never been awkward before. It was still because she couldn't keep her big mouth shut, she realized. That's why they were so awkward tonight.

She briefly wondered whether they would ever be the same again. She doubted it. Their friendship would probably always have weird undertones now that it had been mentioned that they could potentially be a couple.

She dropped her eyes to her food; she didn't like this (not the food, for that was as phenomenal as always). It was the atmosphere, she finally decided. She hated it. Never wanted to sit through a dinner with that much tension ever again.

"I'm done," she announced, standing up with her dish in hand. "Are you?"

"Not yet."

She nodded and headed towards the sink to rinse her empty plate. It was too damn quiet. It was irritating her. She jerked the hot water on with more force than was really necessary. She hated this so much! She dropped her plate in the sink with a loud clank as she worked her fury into a fine lather. Then she turned the water off and exploded.

"What the hell is the matter with you?!" she demanded, coming out of the kitchen.

"Oro?" He stared at her with wide eyes. "What do you mean?"

"This!!" She gestured around the dining room with sweeping arm movements. "Us!! Why is this so damn awkward!! We never used to have silent dinners!"

Kenshin considered her words and put his fork down. She had a couple points. Things were awkward. As much as he had tried to keep them from being such, they had fallen into complete and utter weirdness. He didn't like it any more than she did.

"I don't know," he answered finally.

She huffed in her frustration. "I hate this! Why does it have to be like this?" she asked, her tears coming to brim at her eyes. She swiped at them furiously, determined to keep her emotions under a tight lock.

"They don't have to be," he said gently, standing up to walk over to her.

"I don't see how they can go back to normal," she responded, blinking rapidly to keep the storm at bay. "I don't want things to go back to normal," she murmured quietly, so quietly he almost didn't catch it.

"What?"

"What what?" she returned. "I just don't think things will be normal ever again."

"No, not that part, The part after," he corrected, grasping her hands as they covered her face. "Don't hide from me, Kaoru."

"I-I'm not hiding!" she insisted, still trying to gain control of both her emotions and her hands.

"Yes," he started, as he finally managed to pry her hands away, "you are."

"Am not!" The dam broke and the flood rushed over her cheeks. "I hate you..." she muttered, not meaning it, as she collapsed against his chest.

"Shhh," she soothed, running his fingers through her hair as she buried her face in his shirt and sobbed.

He fought the urge to smile. He as almost certain that Kaoru wanted exactly what he wanted and she was nearly cracking from the stress of it all. He would make sure that changed very soon. He carefully rubbed her back in a calming motion with one hand while the other continued stroking through her silken locks.

"Kaoru," he finally said, as her sobs gave way to little sniffles here and there.

"I'm sorry," she said quietly. "I don't know what came over me."

"It's okay," he assured her, holding her shoulders in his hands. "I know how you feel."

She froze at his words. Her shoulders tensed under his hands. He knew how she felt? Did he truly? She shot him a startled glance full of terror. He merely smiled at her shaken expression. Surely he didn't...

"I love you, Kaoru. That's why I got so upset when you thought the rumors were funny..." he trailed off and tilted his head.

She shook her head, not quite able to believe it and laughed a little. And then to his surprise she started crying again.

"Kaoru, Kaoru! It's not something to cry about... Do-do you not feel the same...?" he asked, suddenly unsure of himself.

"N-No, it's not that!" she struggled to tell him. "I-I'm so happy!"

He cast her a confused stare.

"But I can't stop crying! Stupid tears..." she muttered, with a small giggle. "I love you, too, Kenshin. That's why I tried to play the rumor off as something stupid that could be laughed at."

"We've been really stupid, haven't we?" he asked, holding her close.

She nodded, still laughing slightly. "Not anymore though, ne?"

"No," he agreed, pulling her away from him to look in her eyes. "We'll do better from now on. No more awkward dinners."

She smiled and leaned forward to kiss him. He responded instantly, threading his fingers through her hair to angle her head for better access. Her hands tangled into the fabric of his shirt and her eyes drifted shut as his tongue slid across the seam of her lips, wordlessly begging for an entrance. She parted her lips obediently and let him inside.

She didn't regret it.

His tongue rubbed against hers, making her grateful she'd waited on Kenshin. He regretfully withdrew his tongue from her mouth just as she thought her lungs were going collapse to due to lack of air. He gave her a few more softening kisses before fully pulling away from her.

He rested his forehead on hers and smiled softly. "I love you."

She returned the smile. "I love you, too."

Everything was going to be just fine.

Owari

a/n: Review! Click the pretty button!!