Disclaimer: Nobuhiro Watsuki is the owner of Rurouni Kenshin and all of its characters.
A/N: Hello everybody! Thanks so much for reviewing thus far, and I'm afraid to say this fic is close to its end! There will be, however, a few more chapters. But those will probably be mostly epilogue ones. ^^;; So anyway, I really hope you all enjoy this last bit!! Happy reading!
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
He took his time, examining each and every ring he set his eyes on. The sweet little man followed him all the way, giving him tips and bits and pieces of history for every ring he wished to see. (Note: the old man speaks French, but I'm afraid no one will understand him if I do so, therefore I will be typing his English translation.)
"This one here," he said, "was given to a poor peasant woman by a rich man, saying he didn't care of her lack of wealth, but only of her inner heart. It was said they were married to become to happiest husband and wife in all of France."
"And why is it here?"
Kenshin asked the man curiously. He held the ring in his hand, skimming its silver roundness with his thumb.
"After the man's wife died, he came to me one day and placed it in my very hand."
The old man showed Kenshin his palm.
"He told me to sell it to another, so that he too will find great joy in the heart of his loved one, just as he did many years ago."
Right then, the old man's face turned to sadness.
"The man, my good friend, died several days later."
Kenshin bowed his head. It was almost as if the man's sorrow was rubbing off on him.
"I'm sorry."
The man shook his head and put on an innocent smile.
"No need to be, chap. Come now, what will it be?"
Kenshin looked down at the ring again. It was a small silver ring, with three breathtaking sapphires on top, all cut in a thin, rounded diamond shape. In between each stone of shining blue, two tiny crystal diamonds were placed snuggly in between.
"Do you suppose..." Kenshin started. "That the man who found joy in his lover would mind if one so worthless as I gave it to the one who I adore?"
The old man then, let his mouth curve upwards greatly, almost ear to ear, and his round glasses slid down his nose. He placed a wrinkly hand on Kenshin's shoulder and grasped it.
"He would be honored, lad."
* * *
Megumi looked up to the sky, where all the stars were starting to show. The clouds masking the white moon slowly began to make their way outwards to join their kin against the night sky.
"You asleep?"
She looked over at Sano, who was lying down next to her where she sat. She smiled and brushed away a few strands of hair from his face.
"Of course not. Did you?"
"No."
He sat up, and put an arm around her. Together they stared upwards, thinking about their own thoughts.
"Sano?"
"Mm?"
"Are you feeling what I'm feeling?"
"..."
"I mean, I feel like something's going on..."
"Between who?"
She smiled at him.
"Tanuki and Kenshin."
He laughed.
"You read my mind. I was thinking the same."
Megumi growled playfully.
"They'd better not be fooling around without us knowing..."
The two of them laughed at the thought. And between pauses, they saw a single star go shooting by, disappearing into nothing.
"Did you see that?" Megumi pointed to the sky.
"Yea."
"How much you wanna bet that star sprinkled love dust on Kenshin and Kaoru?"
Sano held her tighter.
"Are you sure it's just them?"
She looked at Sano from the corner of her eye, then gently began to giggle. He looked at her quizzically.
"What?"
Megumi leaned against his shoulder, and she hugged him closer for warmth.
"Yea, there's dust on us too."
* * *
Outside on the little garden of the Aoiya, Misao looked up to the full moon with her arms folded, her hair not bound and cascading down her back, with her large t-shirt and pair of flannel PJ bottoms. She'd stepped out barefoot in the snow, not bothering to wear even a jacket or a sweater to step outside. The cold touch of the powdered snow went creeping up her spine, and the world was silent, without even the slightest breathing of the winter wind. She let her thoughts settle in the hush.
'So much has gone by today...I wonder what Himura and Kaoru-san are doing now..."
Without a single notice, she felt the brushing past of a small object go zooming past her head, barely missing by an inch. The snowball thudded into a nearby tree, and it crumbled into what looked like clumps of sugar. She turned around abruptly, and she saw Aoshi standing there in his PJs as well. She was at first, startled, being that Aoshi never let himself be seen in such a casual state. She'd only seen him in his long trench coats or suits, or if not those it was his kendo and martial arts uniform, but certainly not his PJs! And furthermore, Aoshi having the sense of humor as to throw a snow ball at her bare back!
"A-Aoshi-sama..."
"Misao, what are you doing out in this hour?"
"I-I...urrr..."
He was wearing his gray sweatpants, along with a large t-shirt. He looked around for some sandals, but eventually gave up and joined her out in the snow, barefoot.
"Aoshi-sama, shall I fetch you your jacket?"
He shook his head, and smiled. She touched his arm, and was surprised to feel it shaking. He was holding in laughter.
"Aoshi-sama?"
He put a hand to his mouth and spoke between small laughs.
"You surprised me." He said. "Seeing you in your pajamas, barefoot, in middle of a cold, night after a snow storm in January was one of the most random scenes I'd ever seen."
She stood there blankly for a second, then began to laugh along with him.
"Aoshi-sama is in the same state!"
He looked down at himself and nodded, smiling.
"Funny how that works, isn't it?"
She nodded and neared him.
"Aoshi-sama, can I hug you?"
It was such a random question, Aoshi nearly fell over, but being that they'd embraced earlier that day he didn't really mind. In any case, he was getting cold, so it benefited both of them.
"Aoshi-sama, look!"
He looked and saw a single star go shooting by. The first one he'd seen in his life. Misao looked up at him happily.
"That's good luck. For all of us."
He nodded, and remained in Misao's tight grasp, savoring the moment. Even the unyielding cold weather began to subside in her warmth.
* * *
Kaoru was checking up on the tiger lilies when Kenshin came in, the little bell at the door tinkling in response. She looked up with a smile, her orange apron matching the color of the lilies.
"Kenshin!"
He walked over to her, with his hands casually stuck in his pockets of his khakis. She held up the lilies to his face as he neared.
"Aren't they lovely? The old woman seemed to have picked them this morning!"
She sniffed them again before placing them back into the fridge. Kenshin spoke.
"You know...I saw a really unique flower that day when you brought me into the greenhouse over in the back."
Kaoru looked up.
"Which one?"
Kenshin smiled and gave her his hand.
"I'll show you."
She took it tenderly, and they walked back to the greenhouse. As always, it was filled with flowers, all diverse in both color and shape. They stopped in the middle of it all, and Kaoru gazed around curiously.
"Which one is it, Kenshin?"
He lightly took both of her shoulders so she faced him. The light shined down on his amethyst eyes as she gazed up at him.
"Ken...shin...?"
"Kaoru...look into me."
She stared into his orbs of violet, and as she watched she saw her own reflection, clearly shown in his eyes as if she was looking into a mirror. He smiled as she looked at him, slightly confused.
"Did you see it?"
"See what, Kenshin?"
"The flower."
She thought hard, but to no avail.
"What flower?"
He blushed slightly, and shyly looked away as his cheeks turned pink.
"The flower I saw that day was you."
Kaoru was so shocked, she could do nothing but gape at him for a second. But before she knew it her blood rushed up to her head like a flood, and her face went bright red all the way up to the roots of her hair. She smacked Kenshin lightly on his shoulder and headed back towards the front of the shop.
"Aaaaaah, Kenshin you little flattering rascal!!!!"
She didn't notice the victorious grin that pasted itself on his face as he followed her.
* * *
It was finally 9:00 pm. One by one the two of them blew out the candles, and left the shop in proper order. Kaoru closed the door behind them and locked it. They looked to the streets and saw that it was empty, which was very rare. Even all the romantic couples that strutted along the sidewalks had disappeared.
"Oro?"
Kaoru laughed at his reaction.
"It's Sunday Kenshin. The stores are obviously mostly closed, and most of the people must be at church."
She linked her arm with his and began walking. Kaoru whispered up at Kenshin.
"Can we go to our secret spot?"
Kenshin smiled.
"So it's OUR secret spot now, eh?"
She blushed, but nonetheless he took her hand and they ran. They ran through the empty street, past the deserted park, and up through the silent tunnels of trees where the leaves and branches spoke whispers to the sleeping birds.
The little clearing was moonlit, with the white snow on the ground like carpeting, illuminating everything. Kaoru breathed at what she saw.
"Beautiful..."
Kenshin reached out a gloved hand and let the snow fall on his palm, eventually being absorbed into its wool material.
"Kaoru-dono, might I tell you a story?"
"Eh?"
She looked at him with curious eyes, then smiled.
"Sure."
Kenshin breathed and slowly began.
"There was once a young man who believed he had what he desired. Through his talent in several things, he was able to make a somewhat happy living with his relatives, though he never married.
Then one day, the man was called to some important business in a far away place. He left his home, promising his loved ones he'd be back, and he set off. Yet on his way there, he came across two stones, utterly beautiful and shining in their magnificence. One was fully in tact, round and nestled among the rocks. The other had been smashed, and lay scattered about in pieces. The man thought perhaps someone left them abandoned here, but he wanted one so badly that he simply took one of them, the undamaged one, and continued on his way.
At the same time, the young man's friends had passed by that day. They saw the scattered pieces of the remaining stone, and thought it a shame, so each one took some of the shards and tucked them away into their shirts, and continued on their way as well.
But through all this, someone had been watching. The young man had stolen one of his precious gems, the only one in tact, and furious, he set off after him in hopes to steal it back.
When the young man finally reached his destination, he realized that he'd been fooled by his friends. There wasn't any important meeting, but his long lost comrades had come together in hopes to see him. For several days, he remained there, happy in his reunion.
But throughout it all, the man kept the stone with him. And the more he looked at it, the more he yearned for the other stone that he had left behind, despite the state it'd been in. It was then that the friends realized that the shards they kept belonged to the twin stone to the one the man had. Thus, without him noticing, each one of them began to return the shards of the other stone to the man, and day by day the other stone began to return to its original form. And finally, on the day the second stone became complete, was when the strange follower came in, attempting to snatch away the stone the young man held, and the other that his friends had worked so hard to piece together to give to the man.
Then it happened. The stones began to glow lightly, then without hesitation floated into the air and suspended themselves before them. The young man stared into the shining surface, and looked into his blue reflection. The blue turned into a pair of eyes, rimmed with long lashes. Around them formed a face, then hair, then a body, and finally to transform entirely to a stunningly beautiful woman. She turned to the man, defiled by evil, and gently comforted him, nourished him with encouragement and love. And all his hatred washed away, and he left the place with a thankful heart. And when the woman turned to the young man, who stared at her, shocked, he-"
Kenshin never finished his sentence. He bent his head over and took Kaoru's awaiting lips with his own. The warm touch of her mouth seemed to fend off all the cold from their chilled bodies. They encased each other in warm embraces as they kissed. They finally hesitantly withdrew, and Kenshin continued with his story as their foreheads touched.
"-he kissed her."
She smiled.
"Why did you tell me this story, Kenshin?"
He breathed and smiled.
"For all this time, there were people bringing us together. Have you realized it?"
He watched as her eyes widened.
"Megumi-dono, Sano, Misao-dono, Aoshi, Tae-dono, Tsubame-dono. Day by day the were giving back to me the shards that had been broken."
Kaoru listened intently as he continued.
"When I first found you on that flight, Kaoru-dono, I took a whole part of you with me. I practically took in half of you, one entire stone, just so that I could remember you. Of course, I had to leave behind the other half, the shattered stone, being that we just met. And when our friends found out, they've been trying to piece us together, step by step.
And then, Enishi, who thought that he owned you as his lover, tried to take you back, away from me. You were his two precious gems, which he adored, and he couldn't forgive me for 'stealing' them. But by then it was already too late. The other gem had been completely formed, and we'd already bonded. Already by that time, I felt that I couldn't last long without you.
Our bonds were tight. You didn't let Enishi's hatred overpower everything. Instead you comforted him with your loving words and he left us be. And so I, in the end-"
Kenshin leaned forward.
"-was utterly bewitched."
Kaoru couldn't believe it. He'd just made up an entire story about THEM. She was still gaping at his wide span of imagination to notice his hand reaching into his inner pocket of his jacket.
"Kaoru-dono..."
She looked down at his hands, then at the little black box that they both held between his fingers. He took both of her hands as well, and encased them tightly around the box. He lightly adorned the occasion with a second kiss, and he guided her fingers so that they wrapped themselves around the velvet material and opened it towards her. She stared down at the ring in disbelief. She would have dropped the little box in shock had Kenshin not had his hands around hers. His warm breath whispered the delicate words, soft as rose petals, and they brought tears to her blue eyes.
"A ring of sapphire radiance for the woman who I wish will do the honor of becoming my wife."
Kaoru couldn't control herself. She held the box with one hand tightly, and she faced her dark-lashed rimmed eyes to him, already close to dropping tears.
"Kenshin......"
She finally collapsed onto him, holding him tightly to herself, burying her face into his chest as his arms found their way around her, enveloping her warmly with affection. And the two of them let time pass slowly, as her joyous cries rung through the forest, and she repeated 'yes' over and over to Kenshin's delight.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
TO BE CONTINUED...
Ladies and gentlemen, this is the second to last chapter of 'Close at Heart'! I really hope you enjoyed this fic, and I thank you all so much for reading. ^__^
~Momori^^
A/N: Hello everybody! Thanks so much for reviewing thus far, and I'm afraid to say this fic is close to its end! There will be, however, a few more chapters. But those will probably be mostly epilogue ones. ^^;; So anyway, I really hope you all enjoy this last bit!! Happy reading!
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
He took his time, examining each and every ring he set his eyes on. The sweet little man followed him all the way, giving him tips and bits and pieces of history for every ring he wished to see. (Note: the old man speaks French, but I'm afraid no one will understand him if I do so, therefore I will be typing his English translation.)
"This one here," he said, "was given to a poor peasant woman by a rich man, saying he didn't care of her lack of wealth, but only of her inner heart. It was said they were married to become to happiest husband and wife in all of France."
"And why is it here?"
Kenshin asked the man curiously. He held the ring in his hand, skimming its silver roundness with his thumb.
"After the man's wife died, he came to me one day and placed it in my very hand."
The old man showed Kenshin his palm.
"He told me to sell it to another, so that he too will find great joy in the heart of his loved one, just as he did many years ago."
Right then, the old man's face turned to sadness.
"The man, my good friend, died several days later."
Kenshin bowed his head. It was almost as if the man's sorrow was rubbing off on him.
"I'm sorry."
The man shook his head and put on an innocent smile.
"No need to be, chap. Come now, what will it be?"
Kenshin looked down at the ring again. It was a small silver ring, with three breathtaking sapphires on top, all cut in a thin, rounded diamond shape. In between each stone of shining blue, two tiny crystal diamonds were placed snuggly in between.
"Do you suppose..." Kenshin started. "That the man who found joy in his lover would mind if one so worthless as I gave it to the one who I adore?"
The old man then, let his mouth curve upwards greatly, almost ear to ear, and his round glasses slid down his nose. He placed a wrinkly hand on Kenshin's shoulder and grasped it.
"He would be honored, lad."
* * *
Megumi looked up to the sky, where all the stars were starting to show. The clouds masking the white moon slowly began to make their way outwards to join their kin against the night sky.
"You asleep?"
She looked over at Sano, who was lying down next to her where she sat. She smiled and brushed away a few strands of hair from his face.
"Of course not. Did you?"
"No."
He sat up, and put an arm around her. Together they stared upwards, thinking about their own thoughts.
"Sano?"
"Mm?"
"Are you feeling what I'm feeling?"
"..."
"I mean, I feel like something's going on..."
"Between who?"
She smiled at him.
"Tanuki and Kenshin."
He laughed.
"You read my mind. I was thinking the same."
Megumi growled playfully.
"They'd better not be fooling around without us knowing..."
The two of them laughed at the thought. And between pauses, they saw a single star go shooting by, disappearing into nothing.
"Did you see that?" Megumi pointed to the sky.
"Yea."
"How much you wanna bet that star sprinkled love dust on Kenshin and Kaoru?"
Sano held her tighter.
"Are you sure it's just them?"
She looked at Sano from the corner of her eye, then gently began to giggle. He looked at her quizzically.
"What?"
Megumi leaned against his shoulder, and she hugged him closer for warmth.
"Yea, there's dust on us too."
* * *
Outside on the little garden of the Aoiya, Misao looked up to the full moon with her arms folded, her hair not bound and cascading down her back, with her large t-shirt and pair of flannel PJ bottoms. She'd stepped out barefoot in the snow, not bothering to wear even a jacket or a sweater to step outside. The cold touch of the powdered snow went creeping up her spine, and the world was silent, without even the slightest breathing of the winter wind. She let her thoughts settle in the hush.
'So much has gone by today...I wonder what Himura and Kaoru-san are doing now..."
Without a single notice, she felt the brushing past of a small object go zooming past her head, barely missing by an inch. The snowball thudded into a nearby tree, and it crumbled into what looked like clumps of sugar. She turned around abruptly, and she saw Aoshi standing there in his PJs as well. She was at first, startled, being that Aoshi never let himself be seen in such a casual state. She'd only seen him in his long trench coats or suits, or if not those it was his kendo and martial arts uniform, but certainly not his PJs! And furthermore, Aoshi having the sense of humor as to throw a snow ball at her bare back!
"A-Aoshi-sama..."
"Misao, what are you doing out in this hour?"
"I-I...urrr..."
He was wearing his gray sweatpants, along with a large t-shirt. He looked around for some sandals, but eventually gave up and joined her out in the snow, barefoot.
"Aoshi-sama, shall I fetch you your jacket?"
He shook his head, and smiled. She touched his arm, and was surprised to feel it shaking. He was holding in laughter.
"Aoshi-sama?"
He put a hand to his mouth and spoke between small laughs.
"You surprised me." He said. "Seeing you in your pajamas, barefoot, in middle of a cold, night after a snow storm in January was one of the most random scenes I'd ever seen."
She stood there blankly for a second, then began to laugh along with him.
"Aoshi-sama is in the same state!"
He looked down at himself and nodded, smiling.
"Funny how that works, isn't it?"
She nodded and neared him.
"Aoshi-sama, can I hug you?"
It was such a random question, Aoshi nearly fell over, but being that they'd embraced earlier that day he didn't really mind. In any case, he was getting cold, so it benefited both of them.
"Aoshi-sama, look!"
He looked and saw a single star go shooting by. The first one he'd seen in his life. Misao looked up at him happily.
"That's good luck. For all of us."
He nodded, and remained in Misao's tight grasp, savoring the moment. Even the unyielding cold weather began to subside in her warmth.
* * *
Kaoru was checking up on the tiger lilies when Kenshin came in, the little bell at the door tinkling in response. She looked up with a smile, her orange apron matching the color of the lilies.
"Kenshin!"
He walked over to her, with his hands casually stuck in his pockets of his khakis. She held up the lilies to his face as he neared.
"Aren't they lovely? The old woman seemed to have picked them this morning!"
She sniffed them again before placing them back into the fridge. Kenshin spoke.
"You know...I saw a really unique flower that day when you brought me into the greenhouse over in the back."
Kaoru looked up.
"Which one?"
Kenshin smiled and gave her his hand.
"I'll show you."
She took it tenderly, and they walked back to the greenhouse. As always, it was filled with flowers, all diverse in both color and shape. They stopped in the middle of it all, and Kaoru gazed around curiously.
"Which one is it, Kenshin?"
He lightly took both of her shoulders so she faced him. The light shined down on his amethyst eyes as she gazed up at him.
"Ken...shin...?"
"Kaoru...look into me."
She stared into his orbs of violet, and as she watched she saw her own reflection, clearly shown in his eyes as if she was looking into a mirror. He smiled as she looked at him, slightly confused.
"Did you see it?"
"See what, Kenshin?"
"The flower."
She thought hard, but to no avail.
"What flower?"
He blushed slightly, and shyly looked away as his cheeks turned pink.
"The flower I saw that day was you."
Kaoru was so shocked, she could do nothing but gape at him for a second. But before she knew it her blood rushed up to her head like a flood, and her face went bright red all the way up to the roots of her hair. She smacked Kenshin lightly on his shoulder and headed back towards the front of the shop.
"Aaaaaah, Kenshin you little flattering rascal!!!!"
She didn't notice the victorious grin that pasted itself on his face as he followed her.
* * *
It was finally 9:00 pm. One by one the two of them blew out the candles, and left the shop in proper order. Kaoru closed the door behind them and locked it. They looked to the streets and saw that it was empty, which was very rare. Even all the romantic couples that strutted along the sidewalks had disappeared.
"Oro?"
Kaoru laughed at his reaction.
"It's Sunday Kenshin. The stores are obviously mostly closed, and most of the people must be at church."
She linked her arm with his and began walking. Kaoru whispered up at Kenshin.
"Can we go to our secret spot?"
Kenshin smiled.
"So it's OUR secret spot now, eh?"
She blushed, but nonetheless he took her hand and they ran. They ran through the empty street, past the deserted park, and up through the silent tunnels of trees where the leaves and branches spoke whispers to the sleeping birds.
The little clearing was moonlit, with the white snow on the ground like carpeting, illuminating everything. Kaoru breathed at what she saw.
"Beautiful..."
Kenshin reached out a gloved hand and let the snow fall on his palm, eventually being absorbed into its wool material.
"Kaoru-dono, might I tell you a story?"
"Eh?"
She looked at him with curious eyes, then smiled.
"Sure."
Kenshin breathed and slowly began.
"There was once a young man who believed he had what he desired. Through his talent in several things, he was able to make a somewhat happy living with his relatives, though he never married.
Then one day, the man was called to some important business in a far away place. He left his home, promising his loved ones he'd be back, and he set off. Yet on his way there, he came across two stones, utterly beautiful and shining in their magnificence. One was fully in tact, round and nestled among the rocks. The other had been smashed, and lay scattered about in pieces. The man thought perhaps someone left them abandoned here, but he wanted one so badly that he simply took one of them, the undamaged one, and continued on his way.
At the same time, the young man's friends had passed by that day. They saw the scattered pieces of the remaining stone, and thought it a shame, so each one took some of the shards and tucked them away into their shirts, and continued on their way as well.
But through all this, someone had been watching. The young man had stolen one of his precious gems, the only one in tact, and furious, he set off after him in hopes to steal it back.
When the young man finally reached his destination, he realized that he'd been fooled by his friends. There wasn't any important meeting, but his long lost comrades had come together in hopes to see him. For several days, he remained there, happy in his reunion.
But throughout it all, the man kept the stone with him. And the more he looked at it, the more he yearned for the other stone that he had left behind, despite the state it'd been in. It was then that the friends realized that the shards they kept belonged to the twin stone to the one the man had. Thus, without him noticing, each one of them began to return the shards of the other stone to the man, and day by day the other stone began to return to its original form. And finally, on the day the second stone became complete, was when the strange follower came in, attempting to snatch away the stone the young man held, and the other that his friends had worked so hard to piece together to give to the man.
Then it happened. The stones began to glow lightly, then without hesitation floated into the air and suspended themselves before them. The young man stared into the shining surface, and looked into his blue reflection. The blue turned into a pair of eyes, rimmed with long lashes. Around them formed a face, then hair, then a body, and finally to transform entirely to a stunningly beautiful woman. She turned to the man, defiled by evil, and gently comforted him, nourished him with encouragement and love. And all his hatred washed away, and he left the place with a thankful heart. And when the woman turned to the young man, who stared at her, shocked, he-"
Kenshin never finished his sentence. He bent his head over and took Kaoru's awaiting lips with his own. The warm touch of her mouth seemed to fend off all the cold from their chilled bodies. They encased each other in warm embraces as they kissed. They finally hesitantly withdrew, and Kenshin continued with his story as their foreheads touched.
"-he kissed her."
She smiled.
"Why did you tell me this story, Kenshin?"
He breathed and smiled.
"For all this time, there were people bringing us together. Have you realized it?"
He watched as her eyes widened.
"Megumi-dono, Sano, Misao-dono, Aoshi, Tae-dono, Tsubame-dono. Day by day the were giving back to me the shards that had been broken."
Kaoru listened intently as he continued.
"When I first found you on that flight, Kaoru-dono, I took a whole part of you with me. I practically took in half of you, one entire stone, just so that I could remember you. Of course, I had to leave behind the other half, the shattered stone, being that we just met. And when our friends found out, they've been trying to piece us together, step by step.
And then, Enishi, who thought that he owned you as his lover, tried to take you back, away from me. You were his two precious gems, which he adored, and he couldn't forgive me for 'stealing' them. But by then it was already too late. The other gem had been completely formed, and we'd already bonded. Already by that time, I felt that I couldn't last long without you.
Our bonds were tight. You didn't let Enishi's hatred overpower everything. Instead you comforted him with your loving words and he left us be. And so I, in the end-"
Kenshin leaned forward.
"-was utterly bewitched."
Kaoru couldn't believe it. He'd just made up an entire story about THEM. She was still gaping at his wide span of imagination to notice his hand reaching into his inner pocket of his jacket.
"Kaoru-dono..."
She looked down at his hands, then at the little black box that they both held between his fingers. He took both of her hands as well, and encased them tightly around the box. He lightly adorned the occasion with a second kiss, and he guided her fingers so that they wrapped themselves around the velvet material and opened it towards her. She stared down at the ring in disbelief. She would have dropped the little box in shock had Kenshin not had his hands around hers. His warm breath whispered the delicate words, soft as rose petals, and they brought tears to her blue eyes.
"A ring of sapphire radiance for the woman who I wish will do the honor of becoming my wife."
Kaoru couldn't control herself. She held the box with one hand tightly, and she faced her dark-lashed rimmed eyes to him, already close to dropping tears.
"Kenshin......"
She finally collapsed onto him, holding him tightly to herself, burying her face into his chest as his arms found their way around her, enveloping her warmly with affection. And the two of them let time pass slowly, as her joyous cries rung through the forest, and she repeated 'yes' over and over to Kenshin's delight.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
TO BE CONTINUED...
Ladies and gentlemen, this is the second to last chapter of 'Close at Heart'! I really hope you enjoyed this fic, and I thank you all so much for reading. ^__^
~Momori^^