Disclaimer: Rurouni Kenshin isn't mine. It's owned by Watsuki-sama and all that good stuff. Characters used without permission, and I'm not making any money. Period.
That One Night
by misaoshiru
"...So."
"So?"
"How's your relationship with Jou-chan going?"
A sigh. "Sano, this one has already told you that there is no relationship."
"You know that no one believes that."
"It's true, though. There is no relationship, and there never will be."
"Why? It's obvious that you both want each other."
"Is it."
"Kenshin, come on. You're probably the most sexually-repressed guy I know. Hell, you're older than me, but I've probably had more sex than you. Have you even lost your virginity?"
"Oro! Sano, that's..."
"Never mind. Whether you have or haven't isn't important. Point is, you really ought to go after Jou-chan, you know? She does have really nice hooters."
"S-Sano! That's inappropriate to say...!"
"C'mon, Kenshin. You know I'm not interested. The little missy's like a sister to me; that'd just be weird. But you can't tell me you haven't noticed."
"...Oro. Sano, please..."
"Kenshin, you're a guy. You have needs. You're wound up so tight...you've gotta indulge yourself for once."
There were many reasons in Kenshin's mind why he and Kaoru could never become romantically involved. He tried to focus them as he sat across from Kaoru, sipping his tea and trying hard not to notice the way her training gi was slightly open, beads of sweat dotting the area between her collarbone and cleavage. What was it about her that so tested his restraint, forcing him to toe the ever-blurring line between friendship and desire? It was her personality, the way she wore her heart on her sleeve, her almost blind optimism that enabled her to trust people like him who don't deserve her faith, her stubborn determination to follow him everywhere, even when he withdrew into his own heart and tried so hard to throw away the key. It was the way she looked at him, azure eyes showing both her reluctance to follow anyone and her trust that wherever he led her was where she wanted to be. It was her scent, so unlike that of his previous love but every bit as intoxicating. Something almost masculine: perspiration, a scent he didn't recognize that faintly resembled musk, the faint scent of the soap she used... Mixed with something exotic, flowery, sharp but delicate at once...
He only realized later that he'd crossed the distance between the two of them, surprising her with a sudden kiss, letting her scent envelop him...
Maybe...maybe just one night wouldn't hurt.
One night turned into two, and the two into three, and on and on until the nights they shared blurred together into a kaleidoscope of colors and sounds and feelings. He was addicted. Addicted to her scent, her curves, the sound of her voice, her. He wanted to be with her forever and ever and always in each other's arms, and it scared and excited him. When had been the last time he had felt like this? It felt like an eternity.
But that one night had sealed the ties that bind, and all his reasons and excuses faded away as if they had never been. And he found happiness, once more.
