Disclaimer: See chapter one.
Notes: Come on, people. Only a few have guessed as to the personality that showed up in chapter three (as well as ch.1). And no one has guessed correctly yet. There is the next logical guess, of course. If that confuses anyone, just ask, and I'll give you all the reasons why I chose that one.
Hi reviewer peoples! (Note: anyone who didn't review, or plain just doesn't care to read my babble, feel free to skip this part. It may not make much sense if you didn't read the reviews anyway.)
Funkegirl: Thanks for guessing. Try again. And what? You don't like Stewart Little? Next time they'll call it Mortimer.
Isis: Nope. Not Battousai. First, most logical choice, admittedly. Get it right the next try, and I'll keep my promise to give you a pretend cookie. *eyes pretend cookie jar in pretend kitchen*
Jason M. Lee: *snicker* I love reading your reviews. And JML. Jason M. Lee… yeah, I knew that. Really. Yes, isn't biology grand? I remember trying to open the mouth of our rat. It never happened, actually, but we got those teeth out. Accidentally. Never did find one of them. It's probably crushed down in hundreds of layers of trash in a landfill by now. But we kept the other tooth in an envelope made from a paper towel. Teacher found that amusing.
Eliz: Sick sense of humor? Was that sick? You should see something I co-wrote with a fellow author. It will never make it to this place, though. Too juvenile. Too much potty humor. We decided that a person would have to be under the age of ten to enjoy it.
nemo: Poor cat. It's a pity about Prom, but I understand. I've got stories that have just sat in my computer for well over a year. I think they're dead, but I just keep beating at them.
test: Not a lot I can say to that. So um… thanks. Yeah.
Vesca: Ooooh. You're catching on little details. Wait a couple chapters, and I'll answer some of those questions.
Nikouru Nagasawa: Heh. I had to look back at that name several times to get it right here. (Notes that it would be terribly embarrassing if I got it wrong anyway.) Glad you like my fic, but you've got me confused. It's um… it's not a K/K story. Yeah, but they like each other anyway.
marstanuki: Glad you like. I think. I'm recalling that I use 'interesting' as one of those delicate words when I really don't like something. That, and 'different.' That's really different! Yeah… anyway… question for you. What's the 'mars' part stand for? I've been puzzling over that for awhile now.
WARNING!!!—definite Shonen ai content ahead. You have been warned. On with the story.
Life's a Dance
Kaoru and Aoshi's parents were pleasant people, known to their friends as Mr. and Mrs. Kamiya. They welcomed Kenshin just as warmly as they did the rest of the people that showed up that night. In spite of his late arrival--at the back door no less--they did not hesitate to let him into the house. It could have been the heads up Kaoru had given them that afternoon, though.
"You look like you're going to go rob something," Sano declared when he first saw the boy.
Kenshin pulled off his black wool cap, a thick red braid falling down his back as he did. He ran his hand through his bangs to fluff them out a bit. When they were no longer plastered to his face, he grinned and stuffed the hat into his dark backpack. He was wearing a pair of black jeans and a black tee shirt, complete with a dark gray, hooded zip-up sweatshirt. Even his shoes were black.
"Oh, I've already done that," he said lightly. "Actually, this was just so I could get out of my own house without the reporters seeing me."
"Did it work?" Okita asked, intrigued.
"No," Kenshin sighed and glanced at the clock. He pulled a small plastic bag out of his backpack, dumped the contents into his hand and threw it back with a swig from his bottled water. After he had swallowed, he offered a roguish smirk. "Actually, I just ducked into an alley and outran them. It's because I had to take a roundabout way here that I'm so late."
"So are you ready to have some fun?" Sano flung his arm around Kenshin's shoulder and dragged the boy over to the table. "You're just in time for dinner."
"Ah, ah, ah!" Mrs. Kamiya took the plate of pizza that Sano was about to offer Kenshin and instead handed the redhead a brown bag. "Mr. Hiko already dropped this off today. Apparently, Kenshin's got a strict diet."
"Mr. Hiko did that?!" Misao asked incredulously. "He seemed like a grade A pain in the butt before!"
"He's not that bad," Kenshin smiled tolerantly. "He's just not one to show what he feels."
"Sounds like someone else I know," Misao sighed heavily, eyeing Aoshi longingly.
"Keep your tongue in your mouth, Misao," Kaoru growled, her grin belying her amusement. "You're starting to drool."
"Oh!" Kenshin shot out of his chair abruptly. "I've got to call Hiko and let him know I made it here all right."
"What will he do if you don't?" Aoshi wondered, grabbing the cordless phone on his way into the dining room.
"Probably come here and wake up the entire neighborhood demanding to know where I am," Kenshin accepted the phone with a grateful nod and took it into the next room for some privacy.
"Talk about overprotective," Sano grumbled.
"What movies did you guys rent?" Misao asked, dragging the conversation back to their night.
"Um... The Matrix," Kaoru said after a minute.
"Miss Congeniality," Aoshi lifted his eyes heavenward.
"Hey!" Kaoru glared at him. "That's a good movie!"
"It's a chick flick," Sano declared. "What else?"
"The entire Star Wars trilogy," Kaoru finished.
"Someone save me," Sano groaned. "Can't you guys ever pick out something good?"
"Like when you last chose the movie?" Kaoru challenged. "We spent the night watching Terminator and Terminator II."
"Those are quality movies!"
Okita snickered and waved his pizza in Sano's face.
"I vote for Miss Congeniality," he announced. "I could use a good comedy."
"Sounds better than our last movie," Aoshi muttered, a rare tinge of pink rising to his cheeks.
Everyone around the table nodded in agreement, too sick at the memory to laugh at Aoshi's blush.
"A Clockwork Orange wasn't one of our better choices," Kaoru groaned.
"It got rave reviews!" Misao protested.
"It was still a bad Friday night movie!" Sano pointed out. "My vote is for The Matrix."
"I'll go with that," Aoshi added.
"Dang it!" Misao chewed on her lip. "And I wanted to watch Star Wars."
"My vote is still on Miss Congeniality," Kaoru winked at Okita. They both lifted their slices of pizza in a mock salute toward each other.
"We're tied," Sano said doubtfully. He chuckled. "How much you want to bet that Kenshin comes back here and votes for Star Wars?"
"No more bets," Okita tugged on one of the tails of Sano's bandanna, grinning when the taller boy tried to shove him away. "We're still working on the first one."
"You guys still have that bet going?!" Kaoru gasped.
"What bet?" Misao asked blankly.
"They put a bet on if Kenshin is straight or gay," Kaoru said, frowning to show her disapproval.
"Really?" Misao squealed. "Oh! Gay, definitely! What are you guys betting?"
"Ten bucks apiece," Okita replied immediately.
"Dolt," Aoshi sipped at his soda calmly. "It's only two bucks, Misao."
"Where are the bets?" Misao asked.
"Aoshi is the only one here who thinks I'm straight," Kenshin filled in helpfully, setting the phone on the table and taking his seat between Kaoru and Sano. "Everyone else thinks I'm gay."
The others sputtered, shocked at Kenshin's nonchalant comment. Across the table, Aoshi nodded and passed a glass of water to the boy.
"Kamatari thinks you're bi," he added. "Chou thinks you're straight." Kenshin had a funny little smile on his face as Aoshi continued down the list of people who had placed bets. "Yumi thinks you're straight, and Shishio thinks you have no interest either way."
"And just how will this bet be decided?" Kenshin looked around from person to person. Other than Kaoru, who blushed and lowered her eyes, they all just smiled knowingly.
"We hope to learn straight from the horse's mouth, of course!" Okita said finally. "Unless you're going to leave us hanging in the dark."
"And then the bets will move to whether or not I'm a virgin," Kenshin mused, pretending to think on it. He grinned. "Nope. I think I'll keep this one to myself for now."
"Aw, Kenshin!" Misao whined.
"I want to see how many bets I can get racked up," Kenshin teased the dejected girl. "Besides. Did I hear something about movies tonight?"
"Oh yeah!" Misao jumped in quickly. "We've got Star Wars, The Matrix, and Miss Congeniality. Oh, and it's the entire Star Wars trilogy. You've got to vote on which one you want to see. You know, Star Wars or one of the other two."
Kenshin hid a smile behind his hand.
"Not hard to tell which one she voted for," Sano muttered.
The thrice mentioned Star Wars was not lost on the others either.
"I've never seen Miss Congeniality," he said, then blinked at the groans coming from Misao and Sano. "What?"
^_^
It was a good night. The group talked, watched Miss Congeniality, and played games befitting a group of high school students--Spoons. Of course, they played that particular game before ten o'clock. For after that, Mr. and Mrs. Kamiya were planning on going to bed, and Spoons was just too noisy for them to easily sleep while it was being played. The game came down to a match between Kenshin and Okita. In the end, neither won because Kaoru and Aoshi's parents announced that they were going to sleep.
After that, they went to the family room to watch the movie. Kaoru and Misao claimed the couch, sprawling across it with the bowl of popcorn between them--in easy reach. Aoshi dropped into the large armchair, stretching his feet out to rest on the ottoman. He had his own bowl of popcorn, which he ended up sharing anyway. Okita shoved Aoshi's feet out of the way and settled down onto the large ottoman himself. Finally, Sano and Kenshin took the floor, Sano hovering near enough to the couch so that he could reach for the popcorn.
By the end of the movie, Misao was sound asleep, curled around a plush ferret. Kenshin, too, was dozing, his head on Sano's arm causing the larger boy's hand to go numb. Sano grumbled and pulled his arm out from under Kenshin's pillow, waking the other boy in the process, and massaged his fingers lightly.
"Well, that was comfortable for awhile," he muttered.
"Sorry," Kenshin yawned and stretched, shaking his head to wake himself up. He blinked a few times, then turned wide eyes to the rest of the group, once again alert. "That wasn't bad."
"So says the person who slept through half of it," Okita giggled. "Who wants to watch another one?"
The others groaned, and Sano threw a pillow at him. Okita grinned.
"Should we wake the girl or let her sleep?" he asked, jerking his head toward Misao.
"Let her sleep," Aoshi suggested.
"She'd be peeved in the morning if she missed anything fun," Kaoru countered, nudging the girl with her toes. "Wake up, Misao."
"What now?" Sano asked, glancing at the clock. "It's only twelve-fifteen."
"We could play Truth or Dare!" Kaoru grinned.
"The last time we played that, I ended up singing the National Anthem outside in my underwear," Aoshi glared at Okita, who just snickered at his expense.
"What's the point of a dare if it's not something embarrassing?" Misao retorted. She grinned at Kaoru. "I'll second that proposal."
The guys in the room groaned.
"Only girls like this game," Sano complained.
"It can be very informative," Kaoru countered.
"I'm only playing if you promise not to ask about my sexual orientation," Kenshin smiled knowingly. "Or I'll be doing dares all night."
"That was the only perk to playing this game," Okita said dramatically, falling back against Aoshi, who shoved him away. He slid to the floor. "Okay, I'll play too."
"Four to two," Kaoru grinned triumphantly. "We win."
"Yeah, whatever," Sano leaned back onto his elbows on the rug. "What are the rules this time?"
"Let's see," Kaoru glanced at Misao. "No obscene or overly noisy--"
"Or illegal!" Misao interjected.
"Or illegal dares," Kaoru nodded. She smiled at Kenshin. "And no finishing the bet you've got placed on Kenshin with well-worded 'truth' questions."
"Awwww!"
"Begin!" Kaoru raised her hand high. "I'll start! Sano!"
"Shit."
"Truth or dare?"
"Ah... truth," Sano sighed. "It's safer."
"What's the deal with your Human Physiology class?" Kaoru asked. "Will you ever actually touch your rat?"
"I touched it today!" Sano protested. "Kenshin took all the notes today, and I cut Nicodemus up."
"And he did a wonderful job at it," Kenshin offered brightly.
"Better than you did with notes," Sano muttered, looking a little pale. "Next week, we go back to you doing the dissection and me taking the notes."
"I'll rewrite those," Kenshin retorted.
"I don't care," Sano grinned. "I just don't want to touch that dirty, wet rat again!" he shook his head, shuddering visibly. "Ugh. My turn! Misao!"
The girl smiled brightly. "Dare!"
"Of course."
"Shut up, Okita!"
"I dare you to sit for the next ten minutes without saying anything."
"What?!" Misao glared at Sano. "That's not fair!"
"Starting... now," Sano said as the clock changed over to 12:28. Misao's mouth snapped shut. "You can talk again at twelve-thirty-eight."
"Only bad thing about this is that we have to wait for Misao's dare to be finished before we can go on with the game," Okita pointed out casually.
Sano smacked his hand to his forehead. The others, including Misao, laughed. After all, laughing was not talking. She could laugh. Shrugging after a few seconds, Sano grinned as well.
"I hate the game anyway," he decided.
"Hey, Himura!" Okita spoke up abruptly. "While we're waiting on weasel girl, maybe you could tell me something."
On the couch, Kaoru restrained Misao before the girl could tackle Okita. Blithely unaware of the angry girl, Okita laced his fingers behind his head and leaned back against the ottoman.
"Where'd you learn martial arts? You're really good."
For a long moment, Kenshin stared at Okita blankly, trying to figure out when he had ever used martial arts. He blinked, then shrugged.
"Hiko taught me," he said finally. "Mostly kenjitsu, actually, but it all stems out from jujitsu anyway."
"Talk in English, Kenshin," Sano complained.
"Um... sword fighting versus something like karate," Kenshin translated. "Hiko is still better at everything than I am. Of course, given the same skills, the bigger guy will win every time."
"No shit," Sano winced, imagining the bludgeoning Hiko could give Kenshin--hell, could give Sano. "Ouch."
"Could you show me some of those moves?" Okita asked curiously.
"Sure," Kenshin shrugged carelessly. "But not now. We would make too much noise."
"Fair enough," Okita grinned happily. "I know some karate myself. We'll see which one of us is better. And I'm bigger."
"Not by much," Kenshin frowned. "You can't be two inches taller than I am!"
"Not to mention that your skills don't even compare," Aoshi added. "I saw him moving, too, Okita. He's faster than you."
"Speed isn't everything."
"Speed and technique," Aoshi replied.
"I'd like to see you sparring against Mr. Hiko," Okita said thoughtfully, then burst into a fit of giggling. "That must be something! That huge man against a squirt like Himura!"
"I'm not that small!"
"Compared to a mountain like Mr. Hiko, you're an anthill," Okita smirked.
"You're not much better!"
"He has a point, Okita," Aoshi inserted.
"Just because you're the tallest one here--"
"My turn!!!"
"Geez! Has it been ten minutes already?"
The green glow of the VCR clock read 12:38. Yes, ten minutes had passed.
"Kenshin!"
"Oh no," Kenshin moaned. "Um... dare?"
"Man!" Misao slouched back, pouting. "And I just spent all this time coming up with a truth question!"
"All the more reason for him to stick with a dare," Okita observed. Behind him, slouching comfortably atop the ottoman, Aoshi nodded.
"Let me and Kaoru do you up like a girl!"
Kenshin stared at her.
"You're kidding."
Twenty minutes later
"Oh shut up," Kenshin stood with his arms crossed, a pouting expression on his suddenly very pretty face. The group around him was doubled over in hysterical giggles. To say they were amused would have been a vast understatement. Even Aoshi had a hand over his face and was shaking with silent laughter.
Kenshin was pretty. While he had starkly refused to wear foundation, Misao and Kaoru had done a fine job with lipstick, blush, and purple eye shadow. They had let down his hair from its ponytail and brushed all the tangles out of it so that it formed an auburn frame of feathered hair around his face. And finally, he was dressed in one of Kaoru's outfits. The clothes consisted of an ankle-length, black dress with a slit that cut clean up to the middle of the left thigh. The top was tapered, giving the illusion of hips Kenshin did not have, but nothing could hide his lack of bust. Even so, he looked more like a girl lacking in bust line than a guy in a dress.
"Wait! Wait!" Kaoru gasped out between giggles. "Wait! I've... I've got to get a picture of this!"
"A pic--a what?!" Kenshin grabbed her arm as she ran past him toward her room. "No way!"
"Come on, Kenshin," Kaoru shook her arm free of his grip, and Kenshin could just stare after her as she went to get her camera. He stiffened as an arm slid around him, just under his arms, and looked up to see Sano winking down at him.
"I would recommend a padded bra," the boy mused aloud, "but I'd take you to prom like this in an instant."
A bold flush of red flooded to Kenshin's cheeks as he blinked in astonishment. His eyes narrowed contemplatively.
"Would you take me if I was a girl in this getup?" he challenged. "Or like I am now?"
"If you were willing to show up like this," Sano lifted his eyebrows suggestively, face completely serious. "I wouldn't hesitate to be your date."
Despite his embarrassed blush, Kenshin grinned up at the other boy. His smile just broadened when Okita offered a less than impressive wolf whistle, Aoshi smirked, and Misao cracked up again.
"My, Sano," a very slight shift had him showing more than a little leg. Any other young man of seventeen would have looked horrible, considering he did not shave, but Kenshin pulled it off nicely. He lowered his eyelids to half mast and puckered his lips in a mock kiss. "Are you asking me to go to prom with you?"
"I'm sure the school board would love that," Aoshi rolled his eyes.
"Can I kiss the pretty boy in a dress?" Okita asked abruptly.
Kenshin sputtered and jerked away from Sano, but not before the bright flash of a camera lit the room.
"Yes!" Kaoru cheered. "Got it!"
"You took a picture of that?!" Kenshin yelped.
"Of what?" Kaoru smiled innocently. "Of you coming on to Sano?"
"I wasn't coming on to him!"
"I think I could use this as blackmail," Kaoru considered her camera.
"You'll have to do better than that," Kenshin glowered, arms crossing again.
"Pose for me, Kenshin," Kaoru held up the camera again.
With a long-suffering sigh, Kenshin uncrossed his arms and planted his hands on his hips. He looked like a pouty girl. Kaoru took a picture.
"Beautiful!" Kaoru giggled. "Smile for me."
"I don't know if I can now!" Kenshin complained. He tried, but he was right. It was pathetic.
"Think of yourself like... like Miss Congeniality!" Misao suggested. "You're going to be Miss America!"
"Miss America?!"
"Miss Central High?" Okita offered doubtfully.
Kenshin burst out laughing. The camera flashed again. Blinking in confusion, Kenshin stopped laughing and looked at Kaoru. She winked and put the camera down on the table.
"Okay, Kenshin," she grinned cheerfully. "Your dare's done. You can change back to your clothes."
"Thank you," Kenshin turned.
"Don't I get my kiss?" Okita protested jokingly.
Kenshin glared at him. Okita chuckled nervously.
"No?" he asked meekly.
Leaning forward, Kenshin grabbed the boy's face and brought their lips together. Okita's eyes went completely round as he sat frozen under Kenshin's assault. Unthinking, his own hands moved up to the boy's waist. Kenshin shied away, jerking his head back with a gasp. He smiled sheepishly, tapping his finger lightly against Okita's nose before turning and walking out of the room.
Everyone stared after him in shock, then turned to look at Okita. For a moment, he remained still, gaping after Kenshin. Then, he grinned and folded his hands behind his head, an expression of extreme satisfaction on his face. He lifted an eyebrow at them, challenging. Silently, they looked away.
After almost a minute, Sano broke the thick silence. "Do you suppose this means he's gay?"
^_^
After Kenshin returned, having washed the make-up off his face and changed out of the dress into worn but comfortable pajamas, the group abandoned the game of Truth or Dare. Apparently, none of them thought they could top the last one. Instead, they took Kenshin's lead and changed into their nightclothes. Aoshi located some spare blankets for Kenshin, who had not found enough space in his backpack to fit any. The group spread their bedding across the floor and furniture, chatting wearily as they did.
"You'd better make doubles of those pictures, Kaoru," Misao said impishly, curling up in her sleeping bag on the couch.
"Why don't you just take them to Kinko's(tm), make flyers, and paste them all over school?" Kenshin suggested sarcastically, huddling against the couch beneath his blankets. He scowled when Kaoru ruffled his hair good-naturedly from where she sat above him on the couch.
"I would never do that to you, Kenshin," she giggled. "I'll send a copy to Mr. Hiko."
"I'll destroy that film."
"All right, all right," Kaoru sighed in mock exasperation, stretching out so that her legs were on top of Misao's. Her friend shifted until they were both comfortable, and they settled back. "I won't send any pictures to Mr. Hiko."
"Thank you."
"I would have liked to have seen a photo of Kenshin kissing Okita," Aoshi said with dark amusement.
"All the more pity," Kenshin crinkled his nose and stuck his tongue out as Okita sidled up next to him, his dark-haired head coming to rest on the short boy's shoulder. "Get off."
"Then it was meaningless to you?!" Okita feigned a swoon.
"I guess I was just caught up in the heat of the moment," Kenshin retorted, shoving Okita's head away. Okita chuckled and slouched down to lay on the floor, his pillow still shoved against Kenshin's side.
A soft sawing sound interrupted their conversation, and they all turned to see Misao, once again sleeping. Kaoru sighed and closed her eyes.
"I guess I'll join her," she announced.
"They always fall asleep first," Aoshi informed Kenshin, spreading his own blankets out so that he would lay stretched out, near Okita.
"Kenshin already had his nap for the day," Sano commented as he laid back on the other side of the boy of whom he spoke. "I suppose you're set for another few hours?"
Smiling knowingly, Kenshin scooted down, ignoring Okita's protesting muttering at the pillow that fell with his movement. He curled up on his side between Okita and Sano, shivering slightly beneath the thin blanket.
"Cold, Kenshin?" Sano teased.
"A little," Kenshin admitted, lifting his head from his pillow to peer over Okita. "Maybe I can get Aoshi to get another blanket--" Aoshi was out cold, sprawled out on his back comfortably. "Or not."
"You can share my blankets, Himura," Okita winked suggestively, obviously enjoying Kenshin's leery glare. "Then I can say that not only did I kiss you, but I slept with you as well!"
"...I'll be fine," Kenshin muttered.
"Come on, Kenshin," Sano rolled over, the movement tossing much of his blanket over the smaller boy. "Loosen up. We're all friends here."
Grumbling halfhearted complaints, Kenshin let Sano press up against his back. He was just grateful for the extra warmth. So when a sleeping Okita shifted, one arm flinging over him, the hand resting limply on Sano's back, he did not complain. Sano startled out of sleep at being struck so suddenly, but he did not move to push Okita's hand away. He just sighed and glanced to the side, seeing little more than the hair that spread around Kenshin's pillow.
"You didn't tie your hair back again," he mumbled.
"Not to sleep," Kenshin whispered in response. "Plus, I couldn't find my ribbon."
"That sounds prissy."
"Says the one who can't bear to touch a dead, sterile rat."
"Fair enough," Sano fell silent for awhile, and the two of them just listened to the sounds of their friends sleeping. Then Sano spoke again. "Hey, Kenshin?"
"Hmm?"
"How are you feeling?" the question was completely unexpected. Even Sano was surprised that he had actually asked it. "Really."
For a long while, Kenshin was silent, and Sano thought perhaps he had upset the boy with his nosy questions. With the steady rise and fall of Kenshin's rib cage, so near to his side, the lanky youth considered the possibility that Kenshin had fallen asleep. He was about to join his friends in slumber as well when he heard a very soft, very hesitant answer.
"Safe, Sano," Kenshin cuddled down further beneath the covers. "I feel safe."
^_^
Notes: Yeah, that chapter ending is a little cheesy, but I can live with it. Yes, the guys sleep somewhat together. That's it. Nothing more. It is possible to share a bed without getting all hot and heavy. And as for Okita flailing around like that… I still will never forget spending a night at a friend's house. She was right next to me, I was sleeping soundly, and THWACK! I get an arm in my face. I made it a point to sleep several feet away from her from that night forward.
Most people should recognize those movies. A Clockwork Orange was a good book, according to a friend, with emphasis on the 'book.' She liked the movie too, though. I had it on while I was doing chores, and even then I could not watch the whole thing. All that violence and rape… yeah, it was a little much for me. There was a movie on about Jack the Ripper the other night. Whoooo boy. No thank you. Creepy city. I think I'll go put in a Care Bears video. *nostalgia trip* Now they seem so stupid.