a/n: Last part! Hope everyone enjoyed this story as much as I enjoyed writing it!

Disclaimer: I don't own RK

Waking Up
Part IV

Kaoru was a nervous wreck. She swallowed and eyed the door of the cafe, wondering if leaving was an option. She wanted to bolt out that door more than anything right now. She wasn't ready to face Kenshin again. Not by a long shot. Not only was she worried that she wouldn't be able to keep her emotions off her face, but her guilt was practically eating her alive.

She bit her lip and started to stand up just as the door opened. She dropped back into her seat with a heavy sigh when she saw who was walking through the door. Kenshin.

"Kaoru."

She gave him a weak smile and a wave. He returned both and headed towards her. He pulled out the chair across from her and sat down.

"Hey," she said, nervously wrapping her hands around her coffee cup. "What's up?"

"I talked to Tomoe."

She blinked, unable to process what he'd just said. "You... What?"

"I broke the engagement."

She felt her eyes widen as she stared at his calm face. "Kenshin, why? You love Tomoe! You didn't have to do this. I'll talk to Tomoe-san and-"

"Kaoru, stop."

"No, I can fix this. I can." She was desperate. This was not helping her guilt. She'd ruined a relationship, oh God... She fumbled through her bag, searching for her cell phone. She had to talk to Tomoe. She had to explain. She had to.

"Kaoru." Kenshin reached out and stilled her hands as she continued her frantic search. "I don't love Tomoe."

She stopped struggling against his hold and stared at him in wonder. "What the hell are you talking about?" she choked out. "You do so. You have to."

"I don't. And Tomoe knew it. She was going to break the engagement tomorrow. She's been seeing someone else for close to three months," he said gently.

He watched her process the information. Her mouth was hanging open ever so slightly as if she didn't believe what she was hearing. Honestly, he hadn't believed it when he first heard it either. After he'd gotten over the initial shock, he'd been relieved. And Tomoe had been relieved, too. They had parted on good terms, still friends if nothing else.

"I... What?"

He nodded. "She's been having an affair. She was going to tell me everything tomorrow and break the engagement. Turns out neither of us were very happy in our relationship." He gave her a small smile.

"But... I thought you loved her. You kept telling me how happy you were with her," she protested.

He shook his head. "I wasn't, not really. I didn't want you to worry. I was only dating Tomoe to get over someone else anyway."

She gave him a look, her eyebrows furrowing. "What does that even mean?"

He sighed. "Oh, Kaoru. It means I've been in love with you for a very long time."

She opened her mouth as if she was going to say something and then promptly shut it again. She had no idea what to say to that. She didn't even believe that it had come out of his mouth.

He laughed as he watched her. "Last night, you said a lot of things to me. Do you remember anything about last night?"

"We were drunk," she said simply, still in shock.

"No, you were drunk. I was not. You told me you loved me last night." He paused, watching the heat rise in her face before continuing. "Did you mean it?"

"Did I mean... Kenshin, I'm not sure I understand. I'm not even sure any of this is really happening." She didn't wait for him to respond, finally addressing his question. "I did mean it. Did you?"

"Of course I meant it. I've loved you for so long." He reached across the table and grasped her hand in his. "I just never thought you felt the same. So when you told me you loved me last night... I knew I was going to break the engagement with Tomoe right then."

"I don't even know what to say. We wasted a lot of time," she said lamely, squeezing his hand in hers.

"But we have a lifetime ahead of us," he replied, standing up and pulling her out of her chair with a smile. "Starting right now."