"Breathless" by the Coors
Go on
Go on
Leave me breathless
Come on (Come on) (Come on)
The sun was setting, glinting off her hair.
Sano lay on his belly in the yard, Ayame-chan and Suzume-chan climbing on his back. He was pretending to be an impassable mountain range--at least, he thought that was what it was, from the girls' chatter. He was grateful for a game which gave him an excuse to lie still and just watch Megumi.
She was clipping herbs from Kaoru's overgrown garden, dropping them into a basket at her side. She'd twisted her hair into a rope and flung it over her shoulder to keep it out of her way, but it was starting to fall out already. She'd taken off her jacket and tucked her sleeves up to keep her arms free. The practical efficiency of her movements held a seductive grace all her own.
The daylight's fadin' slowly
The time with you is standing still
I'm waiting for you only
The slightest touch and I feel real
"We've climbed Mount Sano-nii!"
"Wai! Wai!"
Megumi lifted her head and shook her hair back. The girls were sitting on Sano's back, shouting and waving their arms in the air. "Mount Sano-nii" looked over his shoulder at them, and she smiled in spite of herself. He might pretend they were little pests, but sometimes she wondered if he didn't get a bigger kick out of fooling around with them then they did.
"And what if--Mount Sano-nii has--" He turned over on his back, gently tumbling them to the ground as they squealed in delighted fear, "--an earthquake!"
She had to laugh, sitting back on her heels with her scissors held loosely in her hand. "You have to watch out for those earthquakes, chibi-chan. They'll sneak up without you noticing."
He looked up at her and her laughter stilled in her chest, caught by the look in his eyes.
I cannot lie, from you I cannot hide
I'm losing will to try
Can't hide it, can't fight it
He rolled again, getting to his feet. "Mount Sano-nii needs a break, monkeys. Go play with Kenshin."
"Ken-nii!" they shrieked, crossing the yard at top speed to jump on the rurouni, sitting on the porch with his sakabatou leaning against his shoulder. Sano grimaced an apology in his direction, but Kenshin only laughed and allowed the children to drag him away.
Sano went into the kitchen and rooted around for several moments. Finding what he was looking for, he brought the empty basket out to Megumi. "That one looks like it's gonna overflow," he said, dropping to a crouch and setting it next to her full one.
"Oh. Arigatou."
She reached for it, and he deliberately let his hand stay where it was so their fingers brushed.
So go on, go on
Come on, leave me breathless!
Tempt me, tease me
til I can't deny this loving feeling!
She looked up at him, raising a brow. He grinned at her, his eyes sparkling with laughter and heat. He wore the look of someone playing with fire for the sheer reckless joy of it.
Make me long for your kiss
Go On Go on
Yeah
Come on come on
Her lips curved, and her eyes returned his promises. Soon, we'll see what you're made of.
Hell, yeah, we will.
Kenshin glanced over and smiled. They weren't fooling anybody, but it was Sano and Megumi's business, after all, what they chose to tell their friends. And, really, they were having so much fun teasing and tempting each other when they thought nobody was looking. Sometimes Kenshin wished he were confident enough--in himself, in Kaoru--to play like that.
And if there's no tomorrow
and all we have is here and now
I'm happy just to have you
You're all the love I need somehow
Sano looked up and saw Kenshin watching them. He got to his feet, forcing himself to appear casual. Sometimes he wondered if Kenshin knew--or suspected. Sometimes he wondered if he should just give in and tell him.
It would be nice to have the right to touch her out in the open without having to make it look casual, or like an accident, or go home with her at night without a web of deception covering his true motives.
It's like a dream
although I'm not asleep
I never want to wake up
don't lose it don't leave it
But something else held him back. The way it was now, it was like a magical secret. Just them. If they admitted it to their friends, even, reality would intrude, and reality was harsh. Reality would make him admit truths to himself that he was deliberately not looking at right now.
Truths and fears.
In this soap bubble they existed in right now, there was no room for either truths or fears. Just them, and the sweet, breathless tangle of sex and secrecy that bound them together.
So go on, go on
Come on, leave me breathless!
Tempt me tease me
til I can't deny this loving feeling
Kenshin looked down at Suzume-chan, curled in his lap and clutching his gi in one tiny fist. She was sound asleep. Ayame-chan was looking a bit droopy-eyed too. "I think," he said, "that it's time for these two to go home."
Megumi glanced over. "Hai," she said with a smile.
Kaoru leaned over from her position on the porch. "Megumi, do you want a bag for all those herbs?"
"Hai, Kaoru. That would be nice. Can you help me tie them together?"
"Aa. Yahiko, go get some string, would you?"
"Why me, busu?"
She smacked him with his own shinai, eliciting a yowl of half-pretended pain. "Because I'm your shishou. Now go!"
"Hai, hai . . ." he grumbled, waiting until he was inside to add, "busu!"
Sano laughed as Kaoru squealed in outrage.
"Sano, are you going to stay any longer?" she asked.
Sano stretched his arms over his head, the movement emphasizing the play of muscles in his chest and abdomen. Megumi watched from behind her hair, knowing that she could touch in just a little while. She wanted to touch now, or at least, to not hide behind her hair to watch him.
She wondered what he would do if she got to her feet, crossed the yard, and put her arms around him like she wanted to. Jump a foot, probably.
Make a joke out of it, more likely.
Frustration, not entirely sexual, curled tight in the pit of her belly.
"Iie," he answered Kaoru, lacing his hands together and hooking them behind his neck. "It's practically dark. I think I'll walk the fox and the monkeys back, just for safety."
"Don't do me any favors, chicken," Megumi made herself say.
"I'm not. Don't want those poor gangster to get a taste of your wrath, is all. Some of 'em are still my friends."
Since they were so involved in each other, Kaoru felt safe in letting herself smile. They were so funny when they were pretending they still hated each other. Come to think of it, they'd been pretty funny when they really did hate each other.
Her eyes went to Kenshin, who was smiling too. Her breath caught when his eyes connected with hers, and then left her lungs in a whoosh when he looked away.
Oh, if only . . .
Make me long for your kiss
Go On Go on
Yeah
Come on come on
Suzume-chan was sleeping on his back, drooling on his shoulder. Ayame-chan was clinging to his pants, slowing him because of her short, weary strides. Megumi was on Ayame-chan's other side, holding her hand. Above, the stars were just starting to twinkle. Normally, he'd be deep in a game or a sake bottle by now, or both.
He looked over at her, and knew he was just where he wanted to be.
"Sure you won't come in for a moment?" Genzai-sensei offered after they'd brought the children to his house. He had a girl on either shoulder, snoring in soft little whuffles.
Megumi shook her head. "I want to get home. I've had a long day."
"All right. Good night, Megumi-san. Good night, Sano-san."
"Good night." "Good night!"
Genzai-sensei sighed as he closed the door behind them. How long would they keep this pretence up? And what would it do to them?
And I can't lie, from you I cannot hide
I've lost my will to try
Can't hide it, can't fight it
They walked down the Tokyo street, quiet and slow in the middle of shouting and laughing night people. Someone called to Sano, inviting him to a game. He declined with a light excuse.
They didn't look at each other. They didn't speak.
With every step, their bodies swayed towards each other, but they didn't touch.
A soft little breeze had started up. Strands of Megumi's hair flicked Sano's shoulder. The hem of her kimono lightly tapped his ankles.
The breeze reversed direction, and the ends of Sano's bandanna drifted over to brush against her cheek.
Their hands touched once, the fingers tangling briefly before falling away, a sweet, stolen caress in the most public of places.
So go on, go on
Come on leave me breathless!
Tempt me tease me
until I can't deny this loving feeling
The houses surrounding the clinic were dark, the lamps all blown out and all the families tucked into bed, all the husbands and wives already caressing each other in the dark.
Megumi climbed the steps slowly. Sano had stopped at their foot, waiting.
She looked at him over her shoulder, then reached out to open the door. The sound of the wood rasping against itself was loud in the still night.
She went in, and then turned, holding the door open.
He mounted the steps, his eyes intense, and stepped over the threshold. Just before her arms came up to wrap around his neck, he reached out backwards and closed the door behind him, shutting the world out and themselves in.
Make me long for your kiss
Go On Go on
Come on leave me breathless
go on go on
come on leave me breathless
go on go on
come on leave me breathless
go on, go on!