Denial
By: pnaixrose
Disclaimer: I don't own RK or its characters.
Chapter 10: Permanence
It was nearing midnight when a familiar face stepped off a carriage, hauling her luggage off along with her. She gave a weary yet content face as she looked ahead of her and observed the restaurant. It was well past closing time, yet she dragged her heavy bag as she entered the quiet, dark restaurant. Looking around, she saw that it was in good condition and smiled to herself.
She was right after all. Her little protégé had done an amazing job taking care of the place.
After taking a quick look around, she continued on to the back entrance and headed towards her little house nearby. She sighed in relief when she finally entered the lantern-lit living room and stretched her aching arms, while walking further into her home.
"Tsubame? Yahiko? I'm-"
She stopped mid-sentence and widened her eyes in surprise. The sight before her was indeed quite a shock.
Before her, the table was full of papers and documents concerning money and employee wages. It seems as if the teens had been organizing the restaurant's finances tonight by lantern.
But what really surprised her were two figures lying sleepily on the floor, each with their arms and legs comfortably entangled with the other's.
A sly smile caught her lips as she stared in astonishment. "Well, well, well…guess I missed a lot while I was gone, ne?"
A tired groan erupted from Yahiko's throat as he held Tsubame closer to him. "Did you say something, Tsubame?"
She gave an equally sleepy moan as his actions caused her to cozy up to his chest more. "No…"
It was then that they suddenly realized that they weren't alone. They slowly opened their eyes to see the one and only Tae standing above them with a delighted smirk on her face. They both gave a short scream of surprise as they hastily disentangled themselves before sitting up and staring up at her, both with a bright red blush on their cheeks. Unfortunately for them, even the darkness couldn't hide how embarrassed they were.
The room was silent for a moment as Tae simply stared down at both them coyly.
"Ano…welcome home, Tae-san!" Tsubame exclaimed with a nervous, embarrassed laugh. Yahiko only scratched the back of his head and looked up at Tae-san's expression uneasily.
Boy, did she look scary when she was looked at them slyly.
The woman laughed as she smiled down at the two. "Well, at least you two are wearing clothes."
Yahiko almost choked as Tsubame's eyes widened. They both turned an even darker shade of red as they exclaimed, "Tae-san!"
"That's great that your father is feeling better, Tae-san," Yahiko said as he munched on some food.
It was early morning and the three decided to get an early start by having breakfast together. Seated around Tae's dining table, they all ate their breakfast just as the sun began to peek out from the horizon.
The woman nodded happily. "I was quite worried when I arrived. But by the time a week passed, I guess seeing me made him feel better because he was practically back to normal."
Tsubame looked at her boss in concern. "But you took quite a long ride back and arrived late last night," she said, "are you sure you don't want to take a break for just today and get back to work tomorrow?"
Yahiko grinned. "Yeah, Tae-san, we'll hold down the fort here! Ne, Tsubame?"
"Of course." She giggled. "But I think I'll be carrying the water bucket to the kitchen from now on. Remember yesterday when you spilled it all on your front?"
She laughed as Yahiko frowned. "Th-That was not funny! I was tired and I had just come from training where the busu gave me a big bruise on my arm." Stupid busu…making him look like he soiled himself. But Yahiko smiled at Tsubame's laughter and couldn't help laughing along. She's been making him smile and laugh a lot recently.
And he had to admit…he quite liked it.
As the two teens laughed, Tae looked at both of them and smiled. Looks like things had gotten interesting while she was away. It was exactly what she had wanted.
"So it looks like you two are quite close now," she said. Her eye twinkled, "especially from looking at it when I walked in last night."
Tsubame and Yahiko both blushed on cue and suddenly started to avoid each other's gazes. "Oh Tae-san," Tsubame said, "w-we were just tired. We just fell asleep. Believe me, Tae-san, we're just friends." She glanced somewhat sadly at Yahiko and forced a smile. "Ne, Yahiko-chan?"
He hesitated, gave a forced smiled back and nodded. "H-Hai. It was nothing."
Unknown to both of them, both their words had made the other's heart drop and they sat in a suddenly awkward silence.
Tae gave an unbelieving, "Mhmm…" But now she knew the situation. The two teens might've gotten closer and realized their feelings about each other. But they hadn't even confessed it? Darn! They were farther from what she had expected them to be.
Oh well. It just makes it all the more fun to watch them squirm.
"Well, I'm going to go to my friends' houses and drop a few things they had asked for," Tae said while getting up off the floor. "I'll be back in time for opening, don't worry. Oh! But I was thinking that we have a small party after closing time. I miss everyone and would like to see them all together. What do you think?"
Tsubame smiled weakly, still thinking about Yahiko's words. "Sounds like fun Tae-san. Be careful while walking around."
Tae nodded and gave a quick wave and smirk. "Don't do anything I wouldn't do while I'm gone!"
Blushes rose up on both of their cheeks, but the woman was gone before they could protest anything. They were left with an uncomfortable silence between them as they forced themselves to finish their breakfast.
"T-Tae-san's a little silly," Tsubame said weakly, looking up at the boy. "I'm sorry. I-I keep trying to tell her that we're just friends."
As Yahiko's dark eyes gazed into hers, she suddenly had to look away. Surely he would know she was lying through her teeth if he got a good look into her eyes. She didn't want to be just friends. She wanted to be more to him, she wanted to always be able to feel like she had been feeling for the past few days: just complete and utter happiness with him.
There was a chance that she would lose his friendship and damage this happy relationship they had if she ever told him how she felt. Even though it seemed as if he felt the same, she never knew with Yahiko. Before he started living with her, sometimes he would sometimes do the sweetest things for her without her even asking. Hold a bag for her, suddenly look up and smile at her, sling his arm around friendlily if they happen to sit next to each other. Other times, she willed him to do those things and he wouldn't do them.
It was always a surprise with Yahiko.
The boy she was thinking of gave a short nod in response. "Y-Yeah. It's okay. It's not like…like we'd ever be more than that." He almost outwardly winced. What a lie. What a complete damn lie.
But he couldn't tell her that that was exactly what he wanted. To be more than friends. These newfound feelings of his were too fragile and although he wanted more than anything to tell her…
He just couldn't.
There was a silence after that and sadness filled the air between them.
Tsubame felt her eyes starting to slowly well up with water and she quickly took her and Yahiko's finished breakfasts. "I-I'll get things cleaned up. You should go open the restaurant."
Her back to him as she cleaned off the plates in the sink, he looked down at his feet, defeated. "Hai."
As he walked away, Tsubame held in the tears that were threatening to spill.
"Mou!" groaned a frustrated black-haired boy. "Kaoru! Would you please get off your busu butt and train me like you're supposed to?!"
The woman he addressed was seated on the floor outside the dojo, bellowing in loud laughter. Kenshin was sitting nearby on the floor as well, taking a break from cleaning it. He gave Yahiko a feeble smile. "If you haven't noticed by now, Tae-san was here to greet us." Momentarily giving Yahiko a knowing look, he then looked at Kaoru and sighed. "I'm afraid she'll be like this for a while. Sorry, Yahiko."
Yahiko crossed his arms as he tried feebly to hide a growing blush on his cheeks. He had just arrived for lessons and it seemed that as soon as Kaoru had seen his face, she started snorting with laughter.
Tae definitely told her about finding Tsubame and him last night.
Damn.
"Dammit, Kaoru! It's not what you think!" he blubbered. "We were working late last night so we fell asleep–"
Kaoru stopped her hyena laughter for a bit to look at him slyly. "In each other's arms?!"
That shut him up and caused him to turn a beet red.
As Kaoru simply went on laughing again, Kenshin sighed and smiled at the boy. "She's just happy that things are going well for you and Tsubame-dono."
Yahiko gave a snort. "Yeah, right," he mumbled. "She's just ecstatic to see me embarrassed. At least Sano isn't here…"
"So you and Tsubame are what Kaoru and Tae-san call…" Kenshin raised an eyebrow, "…an 'item' now, ne?"
The young boy sighed. Ha. He wished. Yes, they've been closer than ever, and yes he did have an idea of how she felt by now through how they acted together. Yet she hadn't said anything about having any feelings towards him that implied that she liked him more than a friend. And surely, he could never confess how much in love he was with her.
So did she like him more than a friend then? Sure, they were closer than before and more open than before, but maybe it was only because he started living with her?
Yahiko had been thinking so hard that he didn't even notice that Kaoru had stopped howling. Both she and Kenshin noticed how much in a gloomy daze he was in. Glancing at each other, they both knew what was on his mind.
"Yahiko," Kaoru said suddenly, waking the boy from his reverie, "tell her, you baka."
He was flustered at her frankness and couldn't do anything but snort a curt, "I-I don't know what you're talking about."
But both Kaoru and Kenshin simply gave him a look.
"Yahiko, we all see what's going on. Isn't it time to confess it to at least us?" Kenshin asked.
God how he hated it when Kenshin was right…which was all the time.
He heaved a huge sigh and plopped down on the floor with them, all the while scratching the back of his unruly head. Yahiko looked at his two mentors – friends, really – apprehensively. It felt like there was a huge bubble in his chest just waiting to burst. He had to tell someone, and the busu and Kenshin were the perfect people to confide in. He had never been sure of anything as he was sure of this feeling…but he was scared all the same.
"…I love her..."
There. He had said it out loud. It was out in the open.
And damn did it feel good.
He looked down at his feet as he spoke with the outmost sincerity. "…but, I'm way too chicken to do anything about it. I want to tell her though. In fact, I want to shout to the whole world that I love her and that I would do anything in the world for her. It's like there's something welling up inside of me everyday I waste not telling her. Sooner or later I won't be able to take it. But…" he paused and sighed, "…I can't do it. I-I'm …scared."
There was silence for a while. It was quite stilling to hear Yahiko to talk to seriously about something that Kaoru and Kenshin knew that this was the real deal. Furthermore, he had admitted being scared to something. And to think, it was a sweet, little girl who made him do all this!
Surprisingly, it was Kenshin, not the crazy matchmaker Kaoru, who was the first to talk. "Yahiko," Kenshin said with a gentle smile, "do you want to know the three steps in fighting?"
Both Yahiko and Kaoru looked at him in confusion and wondered where this was going. Yahiko nodded and listened intently, already knowing that this was no ordinary theory of Kenshin's.
"What you did just now, confessing your fears, was a very brave thing. In a fight, that's the first critical step indeed, confessing to yourself that you might be scared of possibly facing death, that you do have weaknesses that can be found out. The next step is to assess the reason of the fight, why you would be willing to fight and whether or not that reason is worth fighting for despite your fears." Kenshin placed a comforting hand on the boy's shoulder. "The last…is to actually fight while keeping in mind the consequences of the battle, your motivation, your weaknesses. But all you have to do then…is fight for your beliefs. And usually, if your heart and mind are in the right place, you succeed."
Confessing your fears. Figuring out if the fight is worth fighting for. And then fight.
Well, the confessing your fears part of it was easy. Yahiko knew he was scared shitless of Tsubame's feelings, of being rejected, of having his first feelings of love shot down just after he figured out this wonderful but gut-wrenching emotion.
But was it worth it? Was it worth having his feelings known, of telling her all of this, despite possibly having his heart torn in two?
Yes. It was. Even if she doesn't feel the same, even if their relationship seemed like it could go further – and boy, does he want it to go further – but actually can't, he would still tell her.
Yahiko smiled triumphantly to himself. He knew what he had to do now.
He had to fight.
It was dark out now. Only the stars illuminated the night sky as a small group of people gathered inside the Akabeko.
It was past closing and a continuous chit chat and laughter wafted from the restaurant. Employees, cooks, friends, and of course, the Kenshingumi – minus Sano – had met up to celebrate Tae-san's safe coming home and the recovery of her father. Drinks and food were passed along and the group simply enjoyed their time together.
As people welcomed the woman back and told her all the latest happenings going around, Yahiko took time out of his conversation with Kaoru, Kenshin, and Dr. Genzai to look around at what everyone else was doing.
...Okay, so maybe he only cared what a certain waitress was doing.
Tsubame was still doing some last minute cleaning as she swept the floor hurriedly. Yahiko frowned. She was such a perfectionist! Couldn't she take a break and enjoy herself for once?
Walking over to her, he placed a hand on her shoulder, which seemed to startle her. She looked up and saw his concerned face. "Y-Yahiko? What's wrong?"
He gave a crooked smile. "You dummy. Stop cleaning! Have some fun!"
Tsubame giggled. "Alright, alright. In just a second, okay?" She placed the straw broom against the wall and headed out the back entrance. "I just have to wash the remaining dishes in the kitchen."
He rolled his eyes as he smiled to himself and shook his head. "Oh no, you don't!" he yelled running after her.
Back inside the Akabeko, Tae's friends had seen the scene and smiled up at each other knowingly.
"Tae-san, looks like your restaurant's heir has a king."
Tae smiled. "Of course! That's how it was to be from the beginning!"
"I wonder how things developed while you were away."
Another friend grinned slyly. "Did you hear that the boy walked in on her in the bath and saved her from some restaurant robbers a few days ago?"
The restaurant owner's eyes bulged as she giggled evilly. "I didn't know that! I guess things developed a lot faster than I expected!"
"Oh, Yahiko-chan, I don't need help," Tsubame said, laughing as she reached into the well for a bucket, leaning over the stone edge of the well, "besides, we all know what happens what you carry water." She looked at him momentarily to give him a smirk.
"Sh-Shut up!" he said with a fake pout. "I still want to help! You shouldn't be working during a party."
He reached in the well from behind her, unknowingly placing a protective arm on her waste while reaching for a bucket with the other.
They fumbled around for a bucket for a few seconds before they both realized how close they were to each other. Tsubame could feel his muscular chest on her back and the flexing of his arm as he reached into the well. She blushed as she clumsily felt for the bucket handle and often collided with Yahiko's hand instead. "S-Sorry."
"Th-That's okay," he grunted. Yahiko almost grew dizzy from the faint vanilla smell of her hair, which would easily graze his cheek and his nose. He almost couldn't stand how perfect her small frame felt standing there, practically in his arms – well, right now arm.
"I can't find it," Tsubame said and she felt the boy behind her agree with a nod. She suddenly looked up and spotted the bucket not far away lying on its side next to the restaurant building's wall. "Oh, there it is!"
She turned around suddenly, about to go get it when she realized that she was trapped between the well's edge and Yahiko and his arms. She looked at him and he was startled. She probably should've told him that she was going to move. Tsubame felt heat rise to her face as she realized that their noses could touch within just a few inches. She could feel his warm breath hitting her forehead.
The boy was startled. Now with both hands on her waist, he didn't know how they got into this position, face-to-face, practically nose-to-nose, lips-to-lips.
Oh, those lips…soft and full and-
Yahiko willed himself to stop thinking about them. But the stars and moon illuminated her face so delicately, as if she was an angel. Unconsciously, he pulled her closer so that her hands rested gently on his chest and his hands rested on the small of her back, wanting to feel how this angel felt in his arms.
Tsubame was drunk by being so close to him. "Y-Yahiko?"
With her soft whisper, he suddenly realized what he was doing and quickly, but reluctantly, let go and took a few steps back. He scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "S-Sorry, Tsubame! I didn't…I shouldn't-"
"I-It's alright, Yahiko," she said as she walked toward the bucket and picked it up. She turned around to him, bucket held in her hands in front of her. She looked up at him shyly as he stared back.
It took Yahiko a few minutes to recover from being so close to her. Then suddenly he wanted to tell her. Confess everything. Let her know how much he loved–
"Well, I better get back inside," Tsubame said as she quickly filled up the bucket with water.
Before Yahiko could open his mouth and say anything, he suddenly grew fearful again and was frozen in place.
Tsubame hurried, not wanting anymore of this awkwardness between them. "I'll see you inside."
Yahiko watched mutely as she retreated back inside the Akabeko.
"I-I love you," he heard himself say.
But naturally, she was already inside. Only the wind seemed to hear his confession.
He cursed at himself and sighed. "Oh okay, now you say something! Yahiko, you baka!"
He slapped his forehead in frustration as he walked back into the Akabeko.
It was getting late and all of Tae's guests had left except for the three residents of the Kamiya dojo. They were sitting and talking with Tsubame at a table as Tae said farewell to some of her friends that were leaving.
"Water all over his pants?" Tae heard Kaoru say while laughing as Tae walked back to them.
Tsubame giggled and nodded. "It was actually really funny. It was right in front of all the customers so they were laughing as well."
Yahiko frowned and held his head with a hand. "Must we always talk about my embarrassing moments?" He heard Kenshin chuckle and gave him a quick glare. Kenshin coughed suddenly at his pointed glare, stopping his chuckling altogether.
Seeing Tae arrive, Kaoru stopped howling and gave her a smile as she stood up. "Well, Tae, I'm glad you're back! Who am I supposed to gossip with while you're gone!" Kaoru said. "But it's late and we shouldn't intrude, especially since it's your first night back."
Kenshin nodded in agreement and stood up, following Kaoru in suit. "You must be quite exhausted right now. We'll get out of your hair."
Tae smiled and bowed a bit. "Thank you guys again for coming, and for all you've done while I was away, especially taking care of Tsubame and the restaurant."
Kaoru shook her head. "It's not a problem at all. We were glad to do it, especially Yahiko." She glanced at him with a smirk. "Ne, Yahiko-chan?"
Still seated next to Tsubame, he grunted in reply, his arms crossed in front of him.
"Well, are you ready to go? Are you all packed?" Kenshin asked the young boy.
Yahiko looked up in confusion. What was he talking about? "Huh? For what?"
Kaoru rolled her eyes. "For going home, silly. Don't tell me you didn't pack yet."
Slowly, realization sunk in. He wouldn't be staying in Tae-san's house any longer. This was it.
He grew gloomy thinking about leaving the Akabeko and Tsubame. He had enjoyed himself so much even if there was a lot of work to do. Plus…
He glanced at Tsubame who glanced at him back. She looked sad, as if she too hadn't realized that their fun together would end, that he would eventually have to go home.
Yahiko looked away quickly. He couldn't stay, although he wanted to. This wasn't his home. He would have to get back to reality soon anyway.
The reality that Tsubame and he were not together although he willed it so.
"I-I'll go get my stuff."
Damn, this was stupid. It felt so wrong.
It was the second time that Yahiko had to sleep back in the dojo ever since he started temporarily living at Tae's. And just like the first, he couldn't sleep, couldn't get his mind of Tsubame and how he should be with her right now or at least near her.
He frowned as he rolled around in his futon, trying to get his mind off things. Of course, his brain and his heart didn't listen to their master.
It just felt so wrong.
Every time he tried to close his eyes, he would picture her, how the moon had illuminated her face tonight, how angelic she looked, how soft her hair felt as it brushed against him, how amazing it felt to hold her in his arms.
God…if only she could be his so he could taste those lips of hers.
Yahiko decidedly threw his futon aside as he got up. Okay, that was it. He was going to go and tell her. He didn't care if it was in the middle of the night or that he would be waking her.
He needed to tell her. It would be the only remedy to his constantly pumping heart…
…or it would make his heart pump even faster.
She hated this feeling, knowing that he wasn't sleeping in the room beside hers. She felt so…empty without his presence here.
She sighed as she attempted to sleep in different positions, trying to close her eyes and gently fall into a deep sleep. It was no use though. It was impossible.
Tsubame opened her eyes, the moon illuminating some light in through the windows. She hadn't realized that Yahiko would actually leave. She had just assumed that he would be with her, near her…always. She didn't get a chance to tell him her feelings. And now…she probably never will. Everything will probably just fall back into the rhythm of how things were before Tae had left.
But oh, how she wanted to tell him. To have him hold her in his arms again like they had tonight near the well. To see him smile back and reply that he loved her to. Oh how she wished it.
Then she realized something. She couldn't just lie here thinking about him, wishing him to do something she wanted him to. She had to take action, to confess her feelings first.
And suddenly a great surge of courage welled up in her as she got up from her futon and exited her room. Suddenly it didn't matter if he didn't feel the same, if they would never be friends. She just wanted to tell him. And she knew that if he didn't feel the same, he would still be there protecting her, caring for her anyway.
That was just how Yahiko was.
Walking from her house to the restaurant, planning to go through it to use a shorter way of getting to the Kamiya dojo, Tsubame couldn't help but grin to herself. This was it. She was going to tell him after all this time.
As she unlocked the back entrance of the Akabeko and tiptoed in, she was assuredly confident in herself for some reason. Maybe it was the horrid thought that things might go back to the way things used to be, before Tae took her trip. She didn't want that and she was sure that would happen gradually if she didn't tell her feelings to Yahiko right now.
Suddenly she saw a figure in the darkness ahead. It had just entered the front entrance. How it entered she had no idea because it was sure to be locked. She had always tripled checked that it was locked ever since the attempted robbery.
She was scared suddenly, but somehow she felt a surge of courage as well. No way she was going to let some petty robber ruin her defiant stride toward telling Yahiko how she felt. No way she was going to feel weak against some thief.
Suddenly, without thinking, Tsubame felt herself leap against the shadow, yelling an assailant's scream.
Yahiko stepped into the restaurant quietly, using an extra key Tsubame had given him. He was lucky he had forgotten to return it, or else he would have had to wait till morning to confront Tsubame. And he was sure that by then, his willingness to tell her would be gone.
He felt somewhat like a stalker or a thief as he quietly tried to sneak through the restaurant. But somehow he didn't feel like a trespasser. He had gotten used to the Akabeko, knew all of its nooks and crannies.
This was like home to him now.
That thought alone caused him to smile.
Suddenly he spotted a shadow up ahead and immediately got on the defensive. His first thought was that it was another robber and that he had to get to Tsubame as fast as he could to protect her, or else finish this guy right here and now. He couldn't have Tsubame as frightened as she was that night when thieves had raided the restaurant. His heart wouldn't be able to take it if he knew that she was in danger again.
But slowly, as his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he saw the figures of a yukata and medium-long hair. And since when were there robbers who were smaller and more petite than he was?
Could it be?
"Tsu-"
But suddenly she yelled and tackled him to the ground. He felt the wind knocked out of his lungs as his back hit hard wood. Now he knew that it was her. Cracks of moonlight illuminated into the restaurant and revealed her pale, soft skin and her brown hair. But as she pelted him with her punches, she closed her eyes and she didn't realize it was him.
Still feeling the wind knocked out of him because she was straddling him and punching him at the same time, it was hard for him to speak, especially when she started aiming for his face.
He desperately tried to stop her, and finally after a short while, caught her thin wrists with his hands. He watched her struggle in fright. "I-It's me!" he heaved. "Tsubame, it's me, Yahiko!"
It was then that Tsubame opened her eyes in confusion. She saw that her "assailant" had indeed been the one person she had been going out to see. "Y-Yahiko!"
"God, Tsubame…you sure do know how to pack a punch!" But damn…that physical aggression, how she straddled him was…sexually exhilarating? He forced the thought out of his head as Tsubame laughed in relief and suddenly hugged him, her face buried in his clothes.
"Y-Yahiko! You don't know how glad I am to see you! I was so scared!"
He hugged backed momentarily and slowly lifted her off of him. She stood up and gave him a hand to help him up as well.
Taking it, he rubbed his sore shoulders and chest. Ouch. And did he feel a bruise forming on his cheek?
"I-I'm sorry, Yahiko. I thought you were a thief." Yahiko rubbed his face as he slowly looked up at her. She furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. Why did he seem so upset? Was he that mad that she had tackled him?
Anger and some fear suddenly welled up inside of the boy. "Tsubame, you mean to tell me that you unknowingly lunged at a possible assailant?" He watched as she looked at him guiltily and he suddenly blew up. Was she crazy? Did she want to get hurt? "T-Tsubame! Did you realize that if I was a robber that I could have had a weapon! I could've had knife o-or a sword o-or a gun or…" He gave her a long, hard look as he continued to ramble. "God, Tsubame, you can't just go running to your death so easily! W-What would I have done if you did get hurt! Didn't you realize how fucking scared I was that night when those real thief bastards had sneaked in!" He grabbed her hands in his and brought them to his chest, a sincere look in his face. "Don't do that okay? Leave the bad people to me. It's my job, I'll protect you. God, don't you realize how I'd feel if you got hurt, Tsubame? Don't you realize how much I care about you? How much I love y–"
Suddenly, he realized how far he had gone. He widened his eyes as he watched Tsubame look up at him, startled, no doubt, by his outburst and his sudden confession.
He didn't want it to happen this way. He had wanted it to be romantic, perfect, a confession that all girls would have wanted.
Yahiko's hands, still holding Tsubame's, started trembling. She saw his anxiousness and his fear in his eyes. But she was frozen in shock. He had just said that…he loved her?
"T-Tsubame…I-I meant…you…I…" Yahiko nearly cursed out loud at himself. He sounded like a blubbering fool! No way Tsubame would ever love him back now! As if he had a chance in the first place…
He was pulling his hands away from her when she suddenly firmly gripped them with her own. He looked up in confusion and saw that she had a determined look in her eyes. "Tsubame?"
Slowly she brought herself closer to him. And when she could get no closer she stood on her toes and reached up to finally feel those soft lips on hers, pausing a moment before finally contacting with him.
Yahiko was, with lack of a better word, surprised. His eyes widened, feeling those full lips of hers against hers, feeling an unusual sensation that he had never felt before. It was a good feeling, one which sent shivers down his spine and sent his whole body into a tremble.
Getting over his initial shock, he deepened the kiss, releasing her hands and wrapping his own behind her back, pulling her as close as she can possibly be, as he closed his eyes. So this is what it felt like? Loving a girl, kissing her, wanting to be with her for the rest of his life?
It felt amazing, exhilarating, exciting…even more so than those adventures he had gone on with Kenshin.
…Much, much more.
Then suddenly, he felt her pulling away and he gave a pathetic whimper. Damn…he wanted more…much, much more.
He'd never felt like such a greedy bastard in his life.
He slowly opened his drunken eyes and looked down at Tsubame's angelic face, the tint of red on her cheeks, her sheepish eyes…
…and those oh so full lips he had recently just made look somewhat bruised.
The whole look of her wanted him to kiss her again…and again and again.
"I love you, too," she said with a small, joyful smile on her face, "Yahiko-chan."
Suddenly his heart exploded with those few words, even with the added "chan." He broke into a goofy grin and held her close so that her head rested on his shoulders.
He heard her give a short chuckle. "You…You don't know how long I've been wanting to say that."
Yahiko closed his eyes and breathed into her hair. "Tsubame…you should have said it earlier. I didn't know it would feel this amazing," he whispered. "God, I love you, Tsubame."
Tsubame smiled into his yukata and slowly pulled away to look up at him again, giving him a smile. "If I promise not to tackle potential attackers, will you promise to stop yelling at me?"
"Alright." Yahiko smirked naughtily. "But I have to say I rather liked that tackle."
Before Tsubame can pull her smile into a laugh, she was pulled against him, her lips once again being caressed with his.
He had earned a gasp from her by pulling her and he smiled against her lips as their kiss became passionate and deep. Wrapping her once again as close as she can possibly get to him, he became brave and meekly prodded her lips with his tongue, wanting to fully taste her, to indulge himself in this ecstasy. She answered by allowing his tongue's entrance and she gave a slight gasp yet again as she felt him anxiously invading her mouth.
Tsubame smiled. Boy, did he enjoy kissing. And boy, she didn't know she would enjoy it this much either.
He gave a slight moan when they heard someone suddenly clear her throat. They quickly pulled away from each other in embarrassment and realized that someone had entered the back entrance with a lantern in her hand.
"T-Tae-san!"
She gave a pretend sigh as she smiled. "I thought that something was wrong. I heard a crash and yells." She looked slyly at them. "But I guess I mistook it for lovemaking."
Her comment definitely earned a deep red blush from both teens who she knew were suddenly thinking about her implication of "lovemaking."
"W-We were just…I was just…" Yahiko stuttered.
Tae-san tsked and sighed. "Oh Yahiko-kun, what am I to do with you? I can't have you secretly meeting with my protégé at night can I?"
Yahiko and Tsubame looked at each other sheepishly.
"I guess I have no other choice. I can't have you keeping my most employee awake at night. You'll have to move in with us now, if Kaoru-san allows it," Tae looked up at their hopeful faces and smiled. "Permanently."
"R-Really, Tae-san?" Tsubame exclaimed hopefully.
Tae nodded and then gave a sly smirk. "As long as Yahiko doesn't sleep in your room Tsubame…or else you really will be awake all night."
Both teens looked at each other and blushed. "M-Mou…Tae-san, you sure know how to embarrass a guy," Yahiko commented, frowning and crossing his arms in front of him, but really smiling inside. But he sighed and finally wrapped his arm around Tsubame, looking at her beautiful smile and feeling completely exhilarated.
This feeling...was way more rewarding than any adventure he had ever felt. That feeling of excitement and pure ecstasy - plus more - was here in this sleepy little city, right here in his arms.
Who would've known?
Yahiko smirked, looking down at a smiling Tsubame. "If you insist Tae-san, I guess I'll have to take you up on your offer..."
Tae simply smiled at them. "Ohohohoho."
THE END.
A/N: Alright, alright, so it's been a couple of years...you can kill me! xD But I finally finished this and I'm so glad to do it. Now I feel like watching RK all over again. I hope you guys enjoyed it!