Disclaimer: I do not own Rurouni Kenshin. I am not, in any way, profiting from this story. Rurouni Kenshin™ and its characters are rightfully owned by Nobuhiro Watsuki-san.

Et nos cedamus amori

It was a lovely weekday morning in Tokyo University. Students were milling about preparing for their classes. A light breeze was moving throughout the campus. It was the typical epitome of a 'perfect day'.

However, a certain lady's mood did not match the good weather.

There was trouble in paradise.

"I'm sorry, Misao. I just can't." Kaoru shook her head.

"Why not? I can see the way you look at him when he's not looking." The ebony-haired girl's cheeks took on a pinkish hue.

"Misao," She started patiently, as a teacher would a stubborn child. "I can't just walk up to Kenshin and confess! He's my best friend, but what if he doesn't return my feelings? What if he-"

"Stop with the 'what ifs'!" Misao stamped on her foot. "And how'd you know he doesn't have the same feelings?"

Her companion fell silent. Misao sighed.

"Look, I'm sorry if I'm prying into your personal business, but I don't like seeing my friend down like this." She had a devilish glint in her eyes. "And besides, I know he asked you out on a date with him some months ago." Hook, line and Sinker!

"H-h-how did you know about that?" Kaoru was dumbstruck. "It wasn't a date!"

"Sure, whatever you say." Misao waved her had dismissively. "Anyways, a 'very reliable source' told me that you two shared a kiss."

The Kamiya Kasshin Shihandai was mortified. No, that was an understatement.

Wishing that 'the-ground-opened-up-and-swallowed-her-this-instant' was more apt.

"How was it? The kiss, I mean." Misao asked conspiratorially. Kaoru shook out of her stupor and glared daggers at her friend.

"I don't need to tell you." She flipped her hair haughtily. Misao smirked.

"Fine. If you don't tell me, I'll tell Himura about your feelings!"

Kaoru immediately stiffened. Who knows what Misao may do? She might just follow up on that threat of hers!

"W-well," Kaoru fidgeted. "I-it was awkward to say the least. He p-placed his lips oin mine t-then…"

"Then…?" Misao urged her on, eager for the 'gory' details. Kaoru blushed furiously.

"H-he slipped his tongue in and got caught in the braces."

A strange, eerie silence pervaded between the two. Misao clutched her sides attempting to smother her laughter but it was of no use. She suddenly fell to the floor and rolled around laughing. Students around the yard gazed curiously at the laughing sophomore. Noticing the stares, Misao quickly got upon and shot them a look. The students directed their gaze elsewhere, suddenly fearful of short-haired youth.

"Oh my God! This is hilarious!". Misao said as she turned to her friend. Kaoru looked like as if she were ready to throttle the smaller woman. Noticing the look, Misao gave an apologetic smile at Kaoru.

"I have a feeling that you're happy you've gotten rid of those braces." Kaoru narrowed her eyes at Misao. What was she implying?

Misao swallowed at the look of silent fury. 'Good thing she didn't have her bokken with her.'

"Going back to the topic." The young Makimachi cleared her throat. "If that didn't make his feelings obvious, I don't know what will. I mean, people just don't go around kissing others with no reason!"

"That's not the point! A kiss doesn't prove anything!"

"Then why don't you ask him?"

"I told you, I can't. I…I'm too afraid."

"Afraid of what? Rejection?" The young Kamiya nodded her head sadly.

"Y'know," The young Makimachi said with a thoughtful look. "We had this reading in English literature. You know Tennyson, right?"

Kaoru nodded, unsure of where all of this is going. Misao continued.

"Some lines in one of his works caught my eye. Does, 'Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all' ring a bell?"

The Shihandai nodded again, this time with comprehension and amusement in her eyes.

"I didn't know you were into poetry, Misao" Kaoru said, taking the opportunity to push the topic away from her. The smaller girl glared before rolling her eyes.

"S-shut up!" She said defensively. Kaoru had to laugh at her friend's discomfort. Misao just crossed her arms but soon sighed.

"Just think about what I said. Anyways, I have a class. You know how Professor Saitou gets when you're late for class. Bye! " With a last wave, she was gone, leaving the young shihandai alone with her thoughts. With a last look at her quickly disappearing friend, Kaoru began walking towards the entrance of the university.

Kamiya Kaoru had a lot of thinking to do.

A certain redheaded male with a low ponytail was walking alone. His Social Science class was just dismissed. He was supposed to proceed to the cafeteria when a raucous bellow called his attention.

"Oi, Kenshin! The aforementioned looked back at and waved a greeting to his spiky-haired friend. He resisted the urge to roll his eyes at his friend's very predictable behavior.

"Hello there, Sano." The redhead greeted back with a friendly smile. The next question caught him off-guard.

"Have you told O-jou-chan yet?"

"Told her what?" Kenshin was confused. Sanouske ran through a hand in his hair to ease his exasperation. 'How dense can a person be, anyway?!'

"YOUR FEELINGS!" Sano bellowed, exasperated with his friend. Kenshin immediately blushed and scanned the area. There weren't any other people. Good.

"Keep it down!" Giving the area another look, he turned to Sano. "And what do you mean 'my feelings'?"

"Don't play me for a fool, Kenshin. I know you have feelings for Kaoru." Sano glared at him. The young Himura just gave a defeated sigh. He knew he wasn't getting out of this one quick.

"We've always been best friends, Sano." Kenshin said evenly, disguising any emotion he might have felt about the subject. "I don't think its right for me to assume-"

"-that she feels the same way you do. Right." Sano finished with an impatient grunt. He gave Kenshin a pointed look.

"Look buddy, did you know that she looks at you when you're not looking? Did you know that she has this 'look' in her eyes whenever you're the topic of conversation? I thought this was obvious to you." Sano ran a hand through his hair again. "And here I was, thinking that being a Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu master and having a degree in Psychology would make you more observant."

"That doesn't prove anything." Kenshin retorted, ignoring the sarcastic barb.

"Then why did she kiss you back when you took her out on a date?"

That came as a surprise to Kenshin. He was gaping openly at Sano now. 'How the heck did he know?'

"W-what?" Sano just smirked at him.

"Well, if you think about it, she could've easily pushed you away." Sano still had that annoying triumphant smirk on his face. Kenshin resisted the urge to bury his face in his hands.

Today was going to be a long day.

Kaoru was lost in thought as she walked the long way to her house. She went over the events of the day, especially her conversation with Misao. When she thought about it, she made some pretty good points.

'Better to have tried and lost than to have not tried at all, huh?' Kaoru thought. 'I guess there's no harm in trying'

But Kamiya Kaoru knew she was just lying to herself.

Her world would shatter if Himura Kenshin rejected her feelings. He meant the world to her.

Kaoru did not even attempt wipe the single tear that rolled down her cheek. As she continued her way to the house, she failed to notice the pair of amethyst eyes following her.

Himura Kenshin had many thoughts racing through his head. Most of it was a jumbled mess, but all of it concerned a certain sapphire-eyed, ebony-haired best friend of his. He couldn't get over with his conversation with sanouske earlier that day. .

--Flashback—

After grilling Kenshin about the 'date', Sanouske promptly rolled around laughing. He had unknowingly mimicked Misao's reaction when she first heard of the gory details. Himura resisted the urge to unsheathe his sakabatou so he opted for a loud cough to catch his friend's attention.

No use. He just kept on laughing.

"This is perfect blackmail material, Kenshin!" Sano managed in between laughs. He had just placed the final nail on his coffin.

Ignoring his own mortification over the matter, Kenshin put his thumb on the hilt of the sakabatou and moved it up with a resounding 'click'. Sanouske quickly stopped laughing and swallowed. He could already see his eyes taking on an amber tint.

Raising his hands in defeat, he attempted to calm down his enraged friend. It wouldn't do if Kenshin went 'all Battousa'i on him.

"Calm down, man. Forget I said anything." A snicker escaped him. "But you have to admit that it IS pretty funny." Kenshin remained silent and went on to regard Sanouske with a cold glare; amber eyes narrowing into slits.

"Alright, alright. I'm sorry. You have it bad for her, Himura. I don't see why you haven't confessed to her. There's no harm in trying…"

--End Flashback—

'There's no harm in trying.' Kenshin repeated the phrase to himself like a mantra.

Just then, he felt a familiar ki approach his current location. It was her.

Not wanting to be found out at the moment, he quickly dove into some bushes, taking great pains in muffling the noise made by the disturbed foliage. Amethyst eyes regarded her with curiosity and longing when she passed by.

He noticed that she was deeply lost in thought and the single tear that slipped from her eye. He had to fight the urge to reveal himself then and there and comfort her in her time of sadness.

Perhaps Sagara was right. Perhaps she shared the same feelings he had for her.

He made a quick prayer and made a silent vow to himself.

He was going to reveal his feelings for her.

Kaoru fumbled for her keys when she felt someone tap her on the shoulder. Resisting the urge to scream, she whirled around and came face-to-face with smiling amethyst eyes. She glared at the intruder, but she was secretly pleased by his unexpected appearance.

She wasn't ready to tell him that. At least, not after confessing her feelings, of course!

"Kenshin! Don't scare me like that!" Kaoru said, before giving him a playful bop. "What brings you here?"

"I just wanted to see a certain someone, that's all." Kenshin said evenly, trying to disguise his churning emotions.

Kaoru looked at his eyes for a moment before she decided that he wasn't telling the whole truth. She let the topic go, for the moment anyway.

"Come on, I'll fix you a cup of tea."

Settling themselves in and taking sips from their cups of Darjeeling tea, they leaned back on the sofa before turning to face each other.

"Kaoru, I-"

"Kenshin, I-"

They looked at each other before they burst out laughing. Both were silently thankful that that 'little episode' lessened the tension between them. Reigning in their laughter, Kenshin made a motion for her to go first. Kaoru nodded, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath.

"Kenshin," She said softly. "I know you're not being completely honest with me. Why are you really here?"

Kenshin swallowed. He knew she was eventually going to ask that. It was highly irregular for him to show up in Kaoru's place without advance notice.

And yet, here he was; about to spill his guts about his feelings.

How was he going to say this? Taking a deep breath, he decided to just wing it. It was no use rehearsing things now.

"Kaoru," He started slowly, cautiously. "We have been best friends, for a long time, right?"

The young Kamiya nodded her head, unsure as to where the conversation is going. Thoughts were racing through her head. What was he going to say?

Himura closed his eyes, silently begging the almighty that his best friend shared the same feeling he has. Muttering a quick mantra to himself, he pressed on.

"Kaoru, I want to stop being best friends with you." He suddenly felt a stinging sensation on his left cheek. He opened his eyes and stared at Kaoru. She was crying.

"After all these years, you're going to destroy our friendship? I hate you, Himura Kenshin!" She turned to leave but was caught on the wrist. She pulled back against a warm body.

If she hadn't been furious right now, she would have found comfort in that position.

"Let me go!" Kaoru said with a muffled scream as she struggled against Kenshin. The young man just tightened his grip on her, but not too tight to hurt.

"Kaoru, please, you didn't let me finish." Kenshin said softly, stroking her hair. Kaoru stopped struggling as she sobbed against his shirt. He savored her jasmine scent and her warmth against his. Pulling her away from him gently, he cupped her cheeks and wiped away her tears.

"I want to stop being best friends with you because…"

"Because?" Her voice was almost a whisper. Kenshin took a deep breath. What he had to say was going to make…or break his relationship with Kaoru.

"Because… I… I l-love you, Kaoru." Sapphire eyes widened.

"Do… do you mean it?" Kaoru asked, disbelief written all over her face. Kenshin nodded solemnly, as if afraid of what her answer would be. Kaoru smiled at him sweetly, fresh tears threatening to pour out of her sapphire orbs.

"Why are you crying, Kaoru? I'm sorry if I-" He was cut off by a finger against his lips

"Kenshin, I just can't help it." Kaoru said, smiling through her tears. "I'm so happy that you love me. Truth is I…I love you too."

Kenshin smiled widely, as if a great weight was lifted off his shoulders. Suddenly noticing their proximity, both blushed as red as tomatoes.

Despite their embarrassment, both unconsciously begin to lean towards one another. After what seemed like forever, their lips met softly.

Coaxing Kaoru to part her lips, he slips his tongue and starts a passionate duel with Kaoru's. Kaoru couldn't help but moan at the pleasurable sensations being created between them. After a few moments, their need for air forced them to part from each other.

Resting their foreheads against each other, both were slightly panting.

"That was-"

"Amazing." Kaoru finished.

"Actually, I was thinking of it along the lines of 'not bad' and 'definitely better than the last one'." Kenshin had a mischievous glint in his eyes. He grinned at her.

"Mou! Men!" She extricated herself from his embrace and crossed her arms. She turned her back on him, huffing in mock-annoyance.

"I love it when you're like this. It makes you so adorable." Kenshin said as he embraced her from behind, placing a light kiss on her nape. He felt her shiver at that. What he didn't see was Kaoru blushing faintly from the kiss and the compliment.

"So what does this make us?"

"Huh?"

"This." Kaoru placed her arms over his. She felt him smile through her ebony locks.

"I suppose this makes boyfriend-girlfriend now." He said slowly, savoring the words of their new… relationship. Kaoru sank back to his embrace, relishing on his warmth.

They were glad they took the chance.

Everything was worth it.

Finis

Author's note: The purpose of this piece is to help me restart my writing. It has been a long time since I have written last, so forgive me if there are any errors. As I've said in my other works, constructive criticism is allowed, but flames are not.

P.S. That 'tongue-caught-in-braces' thing is not really my idea. I just found it really hilarious and would like to thank the wonderful author of that fic for such a great idea. I would personally thank the author, if for not my inability to find it.

It would be greatly appreciated if anyone can give me the title of that particular work!

If I get enough positive feedback, I might do an epilogue of some sort.

Glossary (Please correct me if you find any errors.):

Battousai – is a term used in the fictional universe of the manga and anime series Rurouni Kenshin. The name is romanized as Battōsai in the English manga and Battousai in the English anime. Battōsai is the nickname for a particular swordsman, the protagonist in Rurouni Kenshin, who was skilled in battōjutsu , a technique that requires unsheathing the blade in one fluid motion). Battō literally means "sword drawing" and sai is a suffix added to pen names or professional working names.

Ki- energy / force of life', like the Chinese 'chi'.

Sakabatou - (reverse-edged sword) is a fictional type of Japanese sword.

Ryu - School or style.

Shihandai - A student qualified to lead classes in the master's absence.

O-jou-chan – little miss