Disclaimer: Neither Rurouni Kenshin nor its characters belong to me. Sigh.

AN: Thanks for bearing with that long hiatus between chapters, my dear readers. Festival season has eased up now that I've got a good handle on material shipments and stuff. So boring, so time-consuming, and yet, so necessary. Blah.

To my reviewers:

Thanks so much for your kind words!

Jester's Pet Oriole – I don't know why it's called Sundance. It is cold as hell in Park City in January. (No, no, I'm kidding, I really do know why it's called Sundance.)

LittleDragon5 – good catch on the propriety issue (you'll see. I'd already written this next part addressing that)

It really is the weirdest thing when you go looking for an old story online (missing the last chapter of one of my favorites) and instead find one of your own, written over a decade ago. I totally forgot I wrote that, so of course, I read it. I have a pretty good idea of when and why I wrote it, but it's still totally weird, nonetheless.

Chapter 14:

Kaoru blinked a few times, trying to get a hold of herself. She leaned back in her chair, attempting to come to terms with what had just happened. Her brain was a little hazy from recent events. Aoshi had just kissed her. He had kissed her, and she had enjoyed it. Immensely. He had kissed her in a restaurant full of people. Suddenly mortified, she looked around. Though it didn't seem as if anyone took any particular notice, Kaoru swore she could feel eyes staring at her, ladies judging her to be an improper woman. Her face burned with embarrassment. If it were possible to die of shame, Kaoru thought she was giving it a good try at the moment.

"You kissed me." She hissed lowly, leaning forward to glare at Aoshi.

"Yes." Aoshi looked infuriatingly blasé about the whole thing.

"You kissed me." Kaoru wondered if he could hear her unspoken question.

"Yes, I did." Apparently not.

"Why did you kiss me…" Kaoru could feel her temper spiking, "In public?"

Aoshi debated for a moment, then decided to simply tell the truth. "I couldn't help it."

"You couldn't help it. What do you mean, you couldn't help it?" Kaoru struggled to keep her voice from rising. "Of course you could help it, you're Shinomori Aoshi! You don't do… things… like that in public! I'm not even sure you do things like that at all! I know I don't!"

Aoshi's lips twitched, but he knew that now would be a really bad time to laugh at her. She saw it, anyway.

"This isn't funny! That was totally inappropriate! I can't believe I even let you do that!" Kaoru was really working herself up into a snit, her voice going a little shrill. "Why did I let you do that? Oh god, what must these people think of me? It's not so bad for you because you're a man, but for me… Oh, this is unfair. This is so unfair. Why did you kiss me?"

"Kaoru, have you any idea what you've been doing to me? This whole trip, I… I…" Aoshi frowned – how could he explain what he felt without overwhelming her?

"You…?" Kaoru's jaw clenched. She wasn't sure what she was expecting to hear.

"You make me forget myself, Kaoru."

Confused, Kaoru asked, "What does that mean?"

"With you, I'm not so mired in the past. I feel like I can move forward. I don't have to forget what I've done, but I don't have to keep being punished for it. I feel like there is so much possible, so many things I hadn't considered before." Aoshi leaned close. "You make me feel, and I haven't felt anything but hate or obligation for a long time. Every day, I do what I have to, for the Oniwanbanshuu looks to me for guidance, though I no longer lead them, for Misao, who constantly idolizes me though I've never given her cause. I haven't thought about what I really want in this new era."

Aoshi took a deep breath, his jaw working. He closed his eyes for a brief moment before opening them again to stare unwaveringly into Kaoru's shocked eyes. "But you, Kaoru. You make me want to reach out for something different. You make me want to build a future with you."

Unbidden, tears welled in Kaoru's eyes. No one had ever said something like that to her before. Kenshin had always spoken of her ideals as sweetly naïve, something to protect, and something he could not have for himself. This man, however, another former killer with just as dark a past, had just told her that he was unafraid of finding happiness for himself…with her.

Kaoru's eyes slipped closed, the brimming tears finally spilling over. Aoshi reached out to wipe her tears away. She flinched a little at the feel of his calloused fingers on her cheek, her eyes popping open and going straight to his mouth.

He laughed a little, chagrined. "I'm not going to ravish you, if that's what you're thinking. Well, unless you want me to, but that would have to wait until we're somewhere more private."

Kaoru gasped indignantly. "How dare you…"

"I didn't mean to make you cry. I apologize, Kaoru, for kissing you in public." Aoshi interrupted. "But only for that. I won't apologize for kissing you. I'm not sorry I did it."

Fighting to keep her composure, Kaoru began, "But what about Misao?"

"She is not who I want, Kaoru. I'm pretty sure I made that clear to you."

"But why would you want me?" Kaoru whispered. "I can't cook. I'm not delicate. I'm not pretty…"

"Cooking is nothing but a skill that can be learned. And I certainly find you most delicate. You're beautiful, Kaoru, inside and out. As for what the people here think about that kiss…" Aoshi paused, considering.

Kaoru blinked, waiting for his response.

"Let them think I am but reassuring my affections for you in the wake of that abominable woman who disturbed us." He raised his voice, ensuring that at least the nearest tables could hear him. "There is only you."

Well, that certainly was a statement. Kaoru didn't know how to respond. She could feel the stares of the people nearby. When she hazarded a glance around, she noticed that quite a few of the previously disapproving women now wore love-struck looks on their faces. Pained, Kaoru thought, ugh, he doesn't even have to try and women are drooling over him. And when he does try… this is so, SO unfair.

Kaoru closed her eyes, trying to think.

"Aoshi… I… this is very overwhelming. I can't deny that I feel something for you."

Aoshi smiled at that, though Kaoru did not see it.

"But…" Kaoru opened her eyes and looked down at their table. Her brows knitted as she thought about her words. "I'm concerned… No, I'm going to be perfectly honest. I'm afraid."

Aoshi's smile dropped.

"Kaoru," Aoshi began. "There's nothing to be afraid of."

"No, I know, but… I'm just… I'm afraid that maybe this is happening too fast and I don't know what I'm doing. I'm afraid I might just be turning to you because I've been so hurt. I'm afraid of what could go wrong…" under her breath, she murmured, "I'm afraid Misao's going to try to murder me."

Kaoru looked up and gave Aoshi a wry, sidelong glance. "You must think I'm so foolish."

"Of course not. You've been through a lot over a relatively short period of time. We can take this slowly, and you can take as much time as you need to feel certain. Just know that I will be here for you."

Kaoru took a deep breath. "OK. That sounds… OK. Slow. I can do that."

Aoshi gazed at Kaoru gently, saying, "So can I."

The rest of dinner passed quietly, though Kaoru constantly snuck glances at Aoshi. For his part, Aoshi remained unperturbed on the surface, but sometimes, when their glances met, Kaoru could feel his eyes burning into hers. After that kiss, she knew now that his gaze was full of desire and carefully banked passion. Kaoru felt flattered by his concern, but it also made her feel like an inexperienced tomboy. Well, Kaoru thought, I am an inexperienced tomboy. Megumi always said as much. Kaoru sighed. I should stop overanalyzing it. I should stop making it harder than it is. I should…

"You should stop worrying." Aoshi voiced. "This is a vacation for you, and you shouldn't trade one set of worries for another."

Kaoru flushed at the fact that she seemed so transparent to Aoshi. She nodded once and gave a reflexive little half-smile, but said nothing.

Aoshi's right. I should just enjoy my time with him right now. Kaoru stuffed some of the cooked beef in her mouth. At the very least, I should enjoy this dinner. It's delicious! She resumed eating with a little more gusto than before.

Aoshi's thoughts turned inward. All four of his original objectives had been met, fairly successfully. Now he just needed to show her that her feelings were perfectly natural, and there should be no guilt on her part for moving on.

They walked side-by-side back to their waki-honjin, not holding hands, but close enough that their sleeves would brush occasionally. Kaoru gazed straight ahead, trying to calm her tumultuous thoughts. Aoshi peeked down at the top of her head from the corner of one eye. She didn't seem that troubled on the outside, but Aoshi knew how adept she had become at hiding her most private turmoil.

He reached over and touched her shoulder. She did not flinch, but she did look up at him questioningly. His hand slid down to her upper back, rubbing light circles in a soothing gesture. He thought about what he would say.

"I hope I haven't made it uncomfortable between us. I never meant to trouble you." He let his hand drop away from her back.

Kaoru smiled gently up at him and hooked her arm around his. "No, you're not troubling me. It's nothing."

Aoshi decided to let the matter drop. "We shall leave early in the morning. Next stop: Nakatsugawa. After that, Sekigahara, and then we will reach Kyoto. The last two legs of our journey will go much more quickly. The towns tend to be a little smaller, but there are more of them, because the road is a little more difficult. All in all, with this good weather, we should be in Kyoto in three days or so."

"That's exciting. I've seen so much, but I won't deny that I can't wait to see everyone. It really has been too long." Kaoru smiled. And hopefully Misao won't want to kill me, she thought.

Aoshi hummed noncommittally. It would be good to be home, but that meant his alone-time with Kaoru would be at an end. Plus, he still had to face Misao. He was fairly certain that, if he did not receive a letter in the morning before he left, there would be one waiting for him at the waki-honjin in Nakatsugawa.

To Be Continued…

AN: Ahaha… I almost forgot that I have to get them back on the road again. Sorry it's a little short, but it's a pretty good stopping point. Next chapter should be up in about a week (I'm moving office locations pretty much by myself, so that's sucking up all my time, boo.)