A/N: I have a legitimate reason for my delay this time- I was busy WRITING THE LAST WORDS OF MY SECOND BOOK! I mean... there's a lot of editing on the horizon, but I'm beyond excited to finally have that off my plate. Now I just need to power through an entire other book... nbd.
But yeah... I've been giggling over this one for days. ^.^
^.-
Can't Deny
Misao had a grin that seemed to make the sun pale in comparison. It had been there for hours, and was only ever interrupted by peals of giggles and minor bouts of minor whimpering about how much her cheeks hurt. It really was painful, but she had less than an hour left until midnight, and she'd be damned if she didn't savor every single second.
"What do you guys say to another round of drinks?"
"Hell yeah!" Sano shouted, shamelessly allowing relief to wash over his expression.
Misao snorted and motioned for the bartender. "What'll you have, darling?" she smiled prettily at Aoshi, who didn't skip a beat.
"I'm hooked," he intoned, holding up his nearly-empty cup.
"I'M HOOKED!" Kaoru repeated, thrilled at Aoshi's cleverness. She laughed and spun around giddily as the others also repeated the words gratefully.
Glowering, Misao relayed their orders to the bartender. When she turned around, Kaoru, feeling guilty for taking the easy way out, locked eyes with her. "I'm down to get the friction on."
Immediately beaming, Misao bounced on the barstool. "Yes!" she shouted over the loud music. "Before or after the drinks?"
Kaoru floundered for a moment before confidently stating, "Beggin' for a piece of that bubble."
"Okayyyyy," Misao huffed before swinging her gaze around to the others. "So how about it? We down these drinks and then go back on the floor?"
"You can have them," Aoshi stated, but amended his statement once his girlfriend rolled desperate eyes in his direction. Taking a deep breath, he told her, "Please don't lose that butt."
"You got it, Sugarbear," she grinned, just as the bartender pushed the first of the drinks over to her. As the one sitting closest to the fresh beverages, she deftly handed them out to their new respective owners and watched everyone's expression light up. "Surprise! Doubles!"
"It is so big!" Kaoru exclaimed, feeling her hand dip with the weight of the additional alcohol.
"I know!" Misao grinned. "Even though it's my birthday, I think you guys deserve the extra fuel for being so awesome."
"A word to the sistas," Kaoru shouted before taking a large gulp. "I'll keep my women."
"I can't resist her," Sano exhaled, latching onto the cold glass and shoving it toward his lips, successfully upturning the drink into his mouth.
"Oh baby!" Megumi grinned, teetering on her heels almost alarmingly. If Sano wasn't within arm's reach, Misao would have felt a bit more nervous. As it was, Sano threw his arm out just in time to drag her against himself… and somehow, neither of them spilled a drop of their drinks, nor allowed the glasses to leave their lips.
"I'm strong," Kenshin breathed to himself before throwing back the contents of his drink.
Aoshi silently downed half of his drink, but stopped himself from continuing, knowing that this was the one night his Misao would appreciate his words more than his actions. Pulling the drink away, he caught her gaze, laid a heavy level of smolder on her, and waited until he knew her breath was stolen. "My anaconda don't want none, unless you've got buns, hon."
Squealing in unrepressed delight, Misao latched onto him and kissed him senseless. After she'd pulled away, she allowed him five carefully counted seconds to empty the contents of his glass before heaving him out onto the dance floor.
Sano watched them leave, carefully waited until they were well out of earshot, and then released heavy sigh of relief. "I'm runnin' on fumes," he admitted. "This one's killin' me."
"Yeah, this one's brutal," Kaoru breathed, even though her grin never faded.
"You guys are insane," Kenshin told them. "You do this every year?"
Megumi nodded as she leaned in. She wobbled slightly, but was so eager to explain to the newest addition to their group, that she didn't seem to notice Sano reach out to steady her. "Every birthday for the past six years. We were all spectacularly broke back then, thanks to uni, and Misao ordered us not to get her anything for her birthday. Instead, she requested that we speak in nothing but 'Can't Touch This' lyrics for the entire day."
"My! My-my-my music makes me so hard! Makes me say, 'oh my lord!'" Kaoru belted out automatically and then squealed happily. The laughs that shook her body brought tears to her eyes and after a moment, she gasped for breath. "We couldn't stop saying that for weeks!"
Sano nodded, his eyes briefly glazing over in memory. "Since then it's been tradition. She picks the most ridiculous songs, man."
Kenshin laughed. "Was there any reason she picked 'Baby Got Back' this year?"
"We have no clue," Megumi confessed. "All we know is that she spends weeks searching for the perfect song."
"We better get out there before she comes and drags us," Kaoru told them. They all snapped back into Lyric Mode and downed the last of their drinks before grinning at each other.
Tucking his features into a saucy gaze, Sano locked eyes with Megumi. "I want to get you home," he told her.
Without skipping a beat, her smiled widened. "I'd rather stay and play," she responded coyly, and then flitted out of his grasp and away into the sea of people.
"I just can't help myself," Sano muttered, launching himself to his feet and quickly following her.
"My homeboys tried to warn me…" Kaoru shook her head, watching her friends disappear.
Kenshin visibly fumbled with his thoughts as he looked over to his only remaining companion. "Use me, use me?" he offered, clearly uncertain.
Kaoru, deciding not to give in so easily, admitted, "I ain't down with that."
"But I gotta be straight…"
"Then turn around," Kaoru granted magnanimously. "Stick it out!"
Clearly having offered him access to an additional pool of confidence, Kenshin surprised her by narrowing his eyes, latching onto her hand, and exclaiming, "To hell with romancin', Rump-o'-smooth-skin." Before the peal of giggles could bubble to her lips, he had dragged her after the others.
