A/N: This took so long because I was trying to write how Kenshin would ask her out, but everything seemed cliche and I was bored while writing. Me bored = you bored, so I finally scratched that idea and moved on. Hopefully this makes up for the long wait. :)

Equivalent Exchange

Kenshin's breath danced across her earlobe, and it made her chest seize like a game of Red Light-Green Light. The warm fingers at her hips helped her mental capacity in no way, but thankfully they gently guided her body in various directions. He'd been clutching onto her for longer than ever before, and far more intimately than she could handle while still clinging to her sanity. The fingers of one hand ghosted across her slightly exposed skin, and the gentle caress made her skin tingle hotly. "A little bit more," he rasped against her skin, and she nearly exploded.

"AUGH! I know, you miscreant!" she squealed, somehow managing to duck underneath his arms, despite having been held there rather firmly. Meeting dark violet eyes, she backed away a bit more for good measure as her chest heaved up and down. "I know! More bread crumbs!"

She'd been on edge ever since he'd come over and he'd said six evil words that had her wishing for take-out. "You're going to make chicken parm." His offer to help had immediately calmed her nerves that were related to cooking, yet somehow simultaneously made her glower semi-permanent. He was deliberately taking something she had undeniably been horrible at and was using it to his advantage. Which came predominantly in the form of him curling his arms around her and kissing the back of her neck while she tried desperately to concentrate.

The seconds during which he stared at her after her outburst made her want to crawl in a hole with a syringe that she could jab at anyone who came close. But he just had to be smiling the whole time, didn't he? He just had to know how flustered she became when he enveloped himself around her like that. And damn him- he did it intentionally!

To make it all the worse, in the four days since she'd officially ended her four-year relationship hiatus, she already felt her carefully maintained walls withering away as if he'd snuck in when she wasn't looking and sprinkled anti-wall potion all over the damn place. Before she fully realized what she was doing, she'd allowed herself to be swept away in the current of the almost-unbearably adorable affection he showered her in- which was so weird! She'd been so certain that she'd continue to be stubborn and more than a little awkward- not to intentionally be difficult, but because that was all she knew. But instead, she realized that she felt remarkably comfortable around him. Almost as if aside from some amazing lip work, nothing had really changed between them. Almost as if they'd kind of already been in a relationship. Without her realizing it.

In fact, it was almost as if this had been his plan all along…

Realization dawned on her, and she felt her eyes narrow dangerously at him. Raising the canister of bread crumbs between them like a shield, she eyed his easy stance and bright eyes. "You've been angling your way into my life for months!" she accused. "All the dinners and the brownies and spending so much time together- it was all to catch me before I could even be suspicious of you!"

Kenshin's throaty laugh was warm as it tumbled between lips that had been grazing along her neck just minutes before. "Consider it equivalent exchange."

Spluttering incoherently at both the fact that he confessed and that he was so ruthlessly bold while doing it, she tried to formulate words. What came to her mouth first was less than tactful. "But that's not fair!" He grinned wolfishly and took a step forward, but stopped again when she defensively shook the bread crumbs at him, as if she were warding off a bear. His grin widened. "No- you stay right there! WHAT equivalent exchange?!"

"When we met, neither of us were looking for any kind of romantic relationship, so I didn't know that I had to fight against your delightfully stubborn charm, but before I knew it, it was too late to turn back. There's no 'off' switch, Kaoru, so I thought I would return the favor and win you over. Now we're even."

Trying to ignore the butterflies that took flight in her tummy at the admission that he had no 'off' switch, she retorted petulantly. "But I didn't do anything intentionally! Everything you did was intentional!"

His eyes twinkled, and he slowly took a couple of steps forward. "Are you saying this isn't a good outcome?"

Red flags sprang up, and Kaoru matched his steps backward. "Don't even- you stay right there."

"Answer the question, koishii." It was the first time he'd called her anything other than her name, and she couldn't deny how attractive it was. Both the endearment and the way his smoldering eyes met hers made her want to wrap her arms around him and kiss him senseless.

Cheeks flaring, her grip tightened on the bread crumbs. "Yes, it's a good outcome," she muttered.

He inched forward. "Are you happy with me?"

"That's a silly question," she blurted, far too entranced by the way he was looking at her. His eyes widened and lips quirked up at her candor, which made her lungs constrict abruptly. "I mean yes."

"Then I really don't see what the problem is," he told her. His voice was rich and low and sent curls of warmth dancing in her bloodstream. He was suddenly much closer, but Kaoru was too entranced to even entertain the idea of fleeing. "Now we're even," he said, removing the bread crumbs from her numb fingers and placing the canister on the counter beside her. His left hand wrapped around her waist, tugging her close, while the other hand came to rest on her cheek. He leaned closer, until his lips were beside her ear, his next words feathering against her earlobe, "and now we both have exactly what we want."