Disclaimer: I don't own Kenshin. Also, I know absolutely nothing about the study of physics, so please forgive any rookie mistakes… ;)

Author's Note: So, I promised myself I wouldn't do this anymore, but…I need a kick in the rear to keep me moving on my original project. ;) So using a certain perverse logic, I've decided to start posting this half-finished multi-chapter fanfic in the hopes that it will give me the ego-boost I need to keep plugging away on other things.

Just so you know, even though this story is only half-written at the moment, I do promise to finish it. My outline calls for ten chapters, and it's already more-or-less written through ch 5. (I started it as a lighthearted counterpoint to the more serious thing I'm working on—didn't really intend to post it anywhere, but now I'm sort of getting into it…) It's also my first foray into RuroKen AU territory. And it is rated M for a reason, but I'm hoping to keep things clean enough to be FF-safe…

Hot For Teacher

Chapter 1: Thermodynamics

The room was much too hot for comfort. It was always a hit or miss situation on this campus—some of the newly renovated buildings actually had decent air conditioning systems and even fresh, unstained carpeting, and chairs with writing desks that weren't broken or squeaky. Her French class even had a nice view of the park. But unfortunately Kaoru's 9 a.m. theoretical physics recitation was not in one of the new buildings—it was in the great hulking dinosaur that housed the College of Arts and Sciences, where each floor looked like an entirely different building from all the rest, and occasionally you had to wind through a twisting maze of windowless corridors and up and down funny little half-flights of stairs to find the right classroom. She'd been almost ten minutes late today because she had accidentally taken a right instead of a left and circled around back to where she'd started without even realizing it. And someone else had been another five minutes later than her.

But the heat was the worst part. It was still unseasonably warm outside, the last strains of August bleeding into the beginning of September—and Kaoru highly suspected that some idiot had turned on the boiler in the basement already, because she could hear the radiator give a small clunk every now and then. Even with the ratty, paint-chipped windows pushed up as far as they would go to let in the sixth-floor breeze and the light sounds of traffic from the streets below, the air hung around them like a cloak, making it quite difficult to pay attention to anything but the sound of chalk scraping and squeaking against the blackboard.

So really, Kaoru could hardly be blamed for daydreaming a bit.

It didn't help at all that physics held no interest for her whatsoever. She had hoped to take something a little easier on the brain for her general education science requirement, but the physics class was the only one that fit into her schedule this semester, and she wanted to get it off her list. It also didn't help that the graduate TA who was teaching the recitations was a uniquely gorgeous specimen of a man.

He had a relatively small frame, barely taller than hers, but she could tell even through the rumpled and rolled up sleeves of his button-down shirt that he was strong and quite well-defined—especially for a physics teacher. The professor for the class, who gave his lectures in one of the larger halls once a week, was over sixty and had a belly that strained the buttons of his fussy brown sweater to the breaking point, so Kaoru had not expected much from her TA in the looks department. But this man, with his strong slender fingers, long red hair, and cheerful violet eyes was really…something else.

She found her gaze following the line of his throat to the dent of his clavicle as he reached up to write a series of complicated equations on the blackboard. She saw his Adam's apple bobbing up and down beneath the smooth skin, heard his mellow voice explaining something or other to do with Newton's third law of motion, but she wasn't listening. In her mind she was running her fingers along the warm stretch of skin just inside his collar, then listening to his fevered exhale as she leaned in to press her lips to the juncture between his throat and his shoulder.

She felt his hands on her waist, one pulling her closer, the other sliding swiftly beneath the hem of her cotton shirt, unsticking it from the drops of sweat that had collected along her spine. She felt those long fingers gliding over each vertebra as he leaned in to kiss her neck, his breath warm and shallow against her damp skin. He kissed his way up her throat and along her jaw, hesitating for a moment just inches from her lips as she silently begged him to come closer—and then his lips closed over hers, and she leaned into him, trapping him between her body and the blackboard. His kisses grew hungrier, a sound like a growl rumbling low in his throat as he dragged her knee up over his hip, desperate to get closer.

There was a shuffling of papers and a flurry of activity around her, and Kaoru jerked herself free of the daydream. She realized somewhat belatedly that the TA had replaced the chalk on the rail at the bottom of the board and was dusting off his hands, the rest of the students already gathering up their books and papers and beginning to trail out of the room. Kaoru hurried to do the same, stuffing a few loose sheets into her textbook and getting up to slide everything back into her shoulder bag. Just as she was heading for the door, already the last to leave, his voice called out to her from behind.

"Oh, wait."

She stopped in her tracks, hesitating just long enough to curse herself before turning back with an attempt at a casual smile. She had to consciously remind herself not to focus too much on his lips or his throat or his eyes or—really any part of him, actually. He was very pretty.

"Yes?" she said.

"Sorry to keep you," he replied with a sheepish smile, looping the strap of his messenger bag over his head. "Do you know where the Carlson Building is?"

"Um," Kaoru mumbled, frowning slightly in thought, "I think it's down on 3rd Street. If you walk over to MacDougal and then hang a right and carry on about two blocks I think you'll find it. But don't quote me on that."

"Thanks," he said, "I'll give it a try."

"New around here?" she asked, before he had a chance to leave, and before she could stop herself.

He nodded. "My first week. I'm still getting my bearings."

Kaoru grinned. "I know, it can be a little confusing, can't it. This building alone is practically a labyrinth. I've been here two years and I still got lost this morning."

"So it wasn't just me?" he said wryly, and she laughed lightly.

"No, believe me, it's not just you. Anyway, if you ever need help finding your way around, I'm your girl." Inwardly she kicked herself even as she said it. Not just for the turn of phrase, but for the offer itself. Stop hitting on the teacher, she admonished.

"Thanks, I'll remember that," he said politely, not revealing any awareness of impropriety as he moved toward the door. She followed him out into the hallway, and they walked together down the winding path back out to the elevator.

"Hopefully they'll get the climate control worked out before tomorrow's class," he said, pulling innocently at the front of his shirt to air himself out in a manner that made Kaoru nearly drool. She caught herself melting at his side and straightened up, clearing her throat and studiously looking up at the floor-indicator for the elevator, willing it to arrive sooner. "Yeah, it's pretty bad, isn't it?"

"At least we know we'll be warm in the winter."

"Not necessarily," Kaoru said wryly. "They only turn the boilers on in the summers."

The TA chuckled at that, and she felt a little flutter in her chest at the sound. And then she immediately kicked herself again.

They rode down to the first floor, and the TA gave her a little wave as he stepped out into the lobby, heading for the main doors. She waved back and wandered off to the side, busying herself with something in her bag so that she could let him get a little ahead of her. When he had disappeared around the corner out onto the street, she heaved a sigh and hitched her shoulder strap back up onto her shoulder, walking across the lobby and pushing through the doors back out onto the sidewalk glumly.

She had a crush. Second day back, and she already had a crush. This was going to be so uncomfortable.

It occurred to her as she moseyed down the street, wallowing in self-pity and dread of the semester to come, that she hadn't even bothered to catch his name. Stepping out of the flow of pedestrian traffic and over next to the wall of the building, she dug through her bag again and pulled out the class syllabus, skimming it for the name of the teaching assistant.

Himura. Kenshin Himura.


As Kaoru pushed her way into the coffee shop by the corner of the park, she breathed in the relief of decent air conditioning at last. The line was long, wrapping halfway through the maze of couches and armchairs that filled the art-housey space, but at least she could stand in it in the cool air. Her second class of the day had been just as sweltering as the first—though at least the middle-aged woman who taught Kaoru's English seminar had inspired much less interesting daydreams…

Once she'd picked up her iced coffee, she circled around the end of the counter to find Sano, Megumi, Aoshi, and Misao already occupying their usual spot at a pair of couches that surrounded a low table back in the corner. Ostensibly everyone was there to study, but Aoshi was the only one really taking that idea seriously. Sano had his arm around Megumi's waist and was nuzzling her neck, clearly trying to goad her into snapping her pencil in half and punching him in the face—their usual game. Misao on the other hand had an open textbook in her lap and a half-filled notebook open on top of it, but she was talking quite animatedly to the rest of them about something she'd overheard at a bar the night before, her hand on Aoshi's knee and her work going completely ignored. Aoshi sat quietly beside her, reading his textbook yet somehow still managing to nod in all the right places to satisfy his end of their conversation.

Kaoru slumped down onto the end of Sano and Megumi's couch, crossing her ankles on the floor in front of her and leaning back into the cushions.

"Hey, Kaoru!" Misao said brightly, changing directions mid-story. Her smile faltered as she recognized her friend's consternation. "Uh oh—what's up?"

"Hm?" Kaoru blinked. "Oh. Um. Nothing."

"Right," Misao said, totally unconvinced. "Are we going to play the game, or are you just going to come out and tell us what's bothering you?"

Kaoru glanced around at all of them. Sano and Megumi had stopped cuddling/bickering and were now looking at her as well. Aoshi just continued to read, but he seemed relieved to no longer have to pretend he was paying attention.

"It's nothing, alright?" she insisted, feeling herself blush as she was put on the spot.

They all replied with identical expressions of skepticism.

Kaoru sighed and slumped back against the couch again. "It's my physics TA."

"Ooh, ouch," Sano said. "Nightmare, huh?"

Kaoru winced. "Not exactly. More like a dream."

Megumi raised an eyebrow at this, suddenly fully engaged. "How so?"

"He's…adorable," Kaoru admitted finally. She squeezed her eyes shut, trying not to remember the way his collar shifted when he raised his arm to write on the board. "I'm terrible at physics to begin with, but I'm definitely going to fail at this rate. I didn't catch a word he said today, and I didn't even notice the class had ended because I was so…distracted. Every time I look at him I just want to—"

"Find out if a body in motion tends to stay in motion?" Megumi teased.

Kaoru whacked her lightly on the arm, but the other woman only laughed. "I'm serious," Kaoru grumbled. "This is an actual problem."

"Problem?" Misao said. "It doesn't sound like a problem to me. Or if it is, it's one that's easily solved."

Kaoru frowned. "How so?"

Misao and Megumi exchanged a pitying look, and Kaoru narrowed her eyes at them, annoyed by their condescension.

"Hello?" she said. "Let me in on the secret."

Megumi rolled her eyes at Kaoru. "Isn't it obvious? Just sleep with him."

Kaoru stared from one to the other, half expecting Misao to be as thrown by this suggestion as she was—but no such luck. "He's a teacher," she said, pointing out the obvious.

"He's a graduate assistant," Megumi corrected. "It's not the same thing."

"But he's still my teacher," Kaoru said. "He's still grading assignments and he's still getting paid—it's got to be against the rules one way or another."

"And that's a bad thing?" Misao said coyly.

"Misao!" Kaoru scolded.

"Kaoru, relax," Megumi dismissed. "You see, this is why it would be good for you to go after this guy. You need to loosen up a little. You worry too much."

"Well sorry if I don't think throwing myself at a teacher is the best way to loosen up," Kaoru pouted, crossing her arms over her chest. "Besides, what if he's not interested? Talk about an awkward situation."

"But you'll never know until you try, will you?" Misao said. "And anyway, you shouldn't sell yourself short. Who says he won't be interested?"

"She's right, Jou-chan," Sano added. "Any guy would jump at a chance with you." Megumi elbowed him in the ribs, and he chuckled, adding, "Except me, of course."

"Yeah, well, be that as it may, I'm just not that kind of girl," Kaoru said, taking a sip of her iced coffee. And she knew it was true—she wasn't that kind of girl. She'd never been that kind of girl. For the most part it didn't bother her—she liked her space and her independence, and relationships had always taken a backseat to other priorities. She didn't even mind too much being the fifth wheel around their group of friends, because even though they were all neatly paired off they never made her feel unwelcome. And it was easier not to have to deal with someone else's needs all the time—she could just focus on her own life. At least that was what she told herself.

But there were definitely times when it got lonely. There were definitely times when she wished she could be close to someone, feel a man's hands against her skin. She'd been with men before, but the occasions had been few and far between, and only the first one had been anything like a relationship—her high school boyfriend. But he was halfway across the country now, and they'd fallen out of touch. She was all on her own these days.

As Sano and Megumi went back to not-studying and Misao started pestering Aoshi about their plans for the weekend, Kaoru found her mind drifting back to the classroom on the sixth floor and the imagined feeling of Kenshin Himura's hands on her sweat-dampened skin. This time he twisted so that she was beneath him, her back pressed to the cool surface of the metal desk as he covered her with his body, his kisses trailing down below the scooped collar of her shirt.

She shook herself out of it before the daydream could carry itself any further, reminding herself that he was her teacher, and she needed to keep her mind out of the gutter if she was going to avoid making a fool of herself in front of him—not to mention failing her science requirement. But nonetheless, even sitting here in the well-cooled coffee shop she could feel a light sheen of sweat sticking to the back of her neck.


It was the end of his teaching day and the sky was beginning to darken, the sun long since hidden behind the concrete jungle that surrounded the campus—but Kenshin Himura was not on his way home just yet.

Instead he was walking back up the two blocks from the Carlson building, past the CAS building, taking a left again and carrying on until he was walking past the northern edge of the park. This street was lined with old brownstones, once expensive residences that had now been converted into even more expensive residences and administrative offices for the university. When he was about halfway down the block, he glanced both ways and cut across the street, mounting the steps up to the front entrance of number thirteen and punching in the code to unlock the door. There was a brief buzzing sound from within, and the handle turned under his grip, allowing him to swing the door inward and enter the building.

The wooden floor creaked under his feet as he walked down the narrow hallway. His office—which he shared with a few other graduate assistants—was on the floor below down in the basement, but he didn't turn to take the stairs down in that direction. Instead he rounded the corner to a narrow stairway leading up.

Most of the staff had left the building by now, but he moved silently nonetheless, eyes narrowed in the dim, ears listening keenly for anyone on the approach. He heard someone typing in one of the offices halfway along the hall, but nothing else, not even the creak of floorboards above or below where he stood. When he reached the end of the hall, he paused, listening carefully through the heavy mahogany door in front of him for any indication that the office's owner was still inside.

Nothing.

Casting one more glance over his shoulder down the hallway, Kenshin reached into his pocket and retrieved the duplicate key he'd been given by the handler. Slipping it into the lock, he turned it carefully, wincing at the sound of the aged tumblers sliding back—but they did indeed give, and soon he was in, closing the door just as quietly behind him.

The office was dark, but he didn't dare turn on the light in case anyone saw it shining underneath the doorway. What little light he had to work with came through a pair of tall, curtained windows that looked out over a hidden courtyard garden at the center of the block. The twilight was fading fast, so he knew he had to work quickly. He moved over to the heavy wooden desk and began silently shifting through drawers, flipping through stacks of papers and carefully replacing them exactly as he'd found them. When he didn't find what he was looking for, he turned around to start on the filing cabinet—but he had to give up on that halfway through the B's. It was just too dark. He'd have to remember to bring a penlight or something next time.

Sliding the drawer of the filing cabinet closed again, he silently crossed back to the door of the office and listened once more for any sign of passersby. When he was certain there was no one there to see him, he eased open the door once more and slipped back out into the hallway, closing and locking the office door behind him once again. As soon as he had made it back to the main floor, he breathed a small sigh—half in relief, half in frustration. It had been a wasted trip—but then, he supposed if the job were going to be that easy, they wouldn't have asked him to do it.

Back out on the street again, Kenshin shoved his hands into his pockets and fingered the duplicate key as he made the long walk back to his apartment, already planning his next approach. He was half tempted to stay up for a few hours and do a little more research, but it had been a long day—and after all, the cover had to be preserved. He had a 9 a.m. recitation in the morning, and it would be better for all concerned if he were well rested when he showed up.

As he passed underneath a rumbling air-conditioner, he remembered the sweltering classroom that morning, and his conversation with that pretty young woman who had sat near the door. They only turn the boilers on in the summer…

The corner of his lips tilted upwards with a smile.


A/N: Full disclosure, this story was vaguely inspired by a story I read years ago called Cabana Boy, by Kiesmoon. It's no longer posted on this site, but I think you can still find it elsewhere if you search. Also, the setting of this story is essentially NYU—because that's where I went to school, so that's what I think of when I think of a university campus. Many of the details are invented, though—I'm just sort of using that campus as a mental model.

Reviews are always appreciated!