THREE
Chapter Five
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Rurouni Kenshin or any of Nobuhiro Watsuki's characters -- but if you're reading this, Watsuki-sensei -- I'll trade you for a turkey sandwich and a juice box. No? Not even if I throw in a chocolate chip cookie? Wait... Come back... I have sour cream and onion potato chips!
"Share me with Saitou?" Kenshin whispered.
Oh crap. Did I really just say that?
"Kaoru, you don't really mean it."
Did she? Did it matter? I just told Kenshin that I don't mind if he has sex with Saitou. It's not like this could get any worse, right?
"Kenshin... I've shared your heart with Tomoe all these years, and she's not even alive." Kaoru was careful to keep her voice even, her tone casual. "At least I know I'm prettier than Saitou."
Saitou laughed, and the sudden loudness of it startled her. I've never seen him smile before, she realized. His cheekbones were still sharp, his nose still angular, but the smile softened the tension around his eyes and rounded the line of his jaw.
"Are you sure, Tanuki Girl? Do you realize what you're getting yourself into?"
Kaoru glanced at Kenshin. Kenshin wasn't smiling. He was studying her the way he'd study an opponent, searching for the opening that would reveal her motives, allow him to predict her next move. This intensity: this is what it's like to have the Battousai's undivided attention. I can almost understand how he and Saitou could go from enemies to lovers. The only other time Kenshin had ever looked at her like that was when he was inside of her. Kaoru squirmed, crossing her arms over her chest to hide the sudden hardening of her nipples.
The movement triggered something in Kenshin, and he leaned back, the corners of his lips twisted downward into a skeptical frown.
He doesn't think I'll go through with it. Kaoru squared her shoulders and forced herself to meet Saitou's gaze. "Yes. I'm sure."
Saitou's smile broadened, and he turned his attention to Kenshin. "What about you, Battousai?"
Kenshin's eyes narrowed, the frown becoming a scowl. I just let him off the hook for kissing Saitou behind my back. Shouldn't he look happier than that? Kaoru wondered. Is there something else I don't know?
"What about Kenshin?" Kaoru asked.
"You said you're willing to share Kenshin with me," Saitou licked his lips slowly, as if he'd just eaten something delicious and the flavor still lingered. "I'm wondering if he's willing to share me with you."
What? Kaoru bit her lower lip. Being shared by Saitou and Kenshin. I will not think about what that could mean. "But..."
"What's the matter, Tanuki?"
"I..." Is he serious? Kaoru imagined the warmth of Saitou's hands pressing against her back while he kissed her like he'd kissed Kenshin, slow and deep. Can Saitou tell what I'm thinking? Can Kenshin? She forced herself to adopt a neutral expression, but she couldn't stop the heat that boiled out from her navel, engulfing her entire body. I'm blushing so hard my toes are probably pink. Kaoru, you pervert. How can you sit there and think about kissing Saitou while Kenshin is watching? Even worse, how can you be excited by it?
How did I get to the point where I'm even considering kissing Saitou at all?
Kaoru peeked up at Saitou through the fringe of her bangs. There was a flicker of disappointment in his eyes, then that familiar smirk returned. How many times have I mistaken that smirk for arrogance instead of recognizing it for what it is -- armor to protect him against the sting of rejection?
"I thought you said you weren't afraid of me, Tanuki."
"I'm not," Kaoru protested. She'd said it before, but this is the first time she'd meant it.
"Why don't you prove it?" Saitou challenged, patting the tatami-covered floor in front of him.
"Saitou! Kaoru-dono, you don't have to--"
"Stop calling me Kaoru-dono!" When she'd first met Kenshin, Kaoru had found his formality charming, but lately, it seemed to be just another way that he distanced himself from her. "I hate it."
"And you!" She pointed an indignant finger at Saitou. "I am not a tanuki!"
"True." Saitou's fingers closed around her wrist and Kaoru felt herself being pulled off balance. As she began to fall forward, Saitou hooked one arm under her legs, slipped the other around her waist, and pulled Kaoru up into his lap.
Oh no.
Saitou slid his hand up the back of her calf and began to trace tiny circles over the sensitive skin on the back of her knee. His eyes -- she usually thought of them as amber-colored, but they were really quite unusual -- a ring of dark brown around the edge of the iris, a wider ring of lighter brown around the pupil, with yellow-gold flecks. His pupils were wide in the fading light of early evening. He looked... Feral.
"Kiss me, Kaoru-chan."
Oh yes.
Kenshin was on his feet now, fists tight at his sides. "Stop it, Saitou!" He took a step closer. "Stop it right now."
Saitou chuckled. "Finally figure out what you want, Battousai?" Without taking his eyes off of the red-headed man, Saitou moved his hand an inch higher up Kaoru's leg and tickled. She gasped, arching her back as she shifted to escape from Saitou's fingers. The sudden movement caused her yukata to gape a little, exposing the tops of her breasts.
"Saitou..." He tickled her again, and she giggled, wiggling against him. "Saitou!"
"Saitou--" Kenshin said in a pleading tone. "She's never... She's..."
"What, Kenshin?" A few minutes ago you were the one kissing Saitou, and now you have the nerve to tell me I can't? "Go ahead -- what am I?"
"Kaoru," Kenshin said gently. "Is this what you really want?"
"You're jealous." Kaoru said. Kenshin blushed. His fingers flexed nervously: open, closed, open, closed.
"Are you jealous of Saitou, or are you jealous of me?"
"I have no right to be jealous," Kenshin admitted.
But you are.
Saitou carefully parted the folds of Kaoru's yukata to reveal the top of her thigh, his fingertips brushing her skin as the silk slid away. He slid his hand slowly down the length of her leg -- thigh, knee, shin, ankle, down to the arch of her foot -- and back up again. "It's up to Kaoru whether she wants to kiss me or not, isn't it Kenshin?"
"Yes," Kenshin whispered unevenly, as if the word was being forced out of him. He was watching them, his eyes wide, like a mouse who sees the cat coming but can't bring himself to run.
Saitou smoothed his hand up her thigh, over her hip, up along her spine to the base of her neck. Kaoru moaned softly. When he touched her, her body became liquid, and she wanted to pour herself over him.
Saitou leaned forward until his breath fluttered Kaoru's bangs lightly across her forehead.
"Kiss me, Kaoru-chan." He tilted her chin up, bringing his lips to hover a few inches away from her own. "I dare you."
Here comes the pop quiz:
1) Did the dialogue in this scene work, or was any of it stiff or unrealistic? (Was there any point where you were reading and thought 'he/she wouldn't do that!')
2) Did the descriptions of how each character was feeling ring true, or were there any places where it seemed awkward or intrusive?