Don't Say it With Flowers!
By Starhopper
Disclaimer: I don't own anything except my sketchbooks and DVDs. Everything else belongs to Nobuhiro Watsuki and many other respected businessmen who make RK available to the masses.
Well, I decided to do the whole celebration in installments.Anyone Hungry? Not even for some mouthwateringly sweet, whipped fluffy Aoshi and Misao cream?
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- Say it With a Celebration! Part Three: Afternoon
Misao just couldn't stop smiling.
She didn't care that the size of the grin took up half of her face. She barely noticed anything that didn't begin with 'A' was bridged by 'osh' and ended in 'i'. She ignored the whispers of surprised travelers as they walked off the platform, her head tucked against his shoulder and legs swinging freely over his arms.
No, she didn't care that they were breaking the codes of public display of affection. After all, she had taken a nasty tumble down the stairs of their passenger car . . . even if it was for the purpose of feeling his arms around her again. As soon as he had settled himself back on the bench from his compromising position from the floor, he had pulled her into his lap and snuggling back into the corner between the window and the train seat, smiled a broad, content smile.
One that she freely kissed away when the look in his eyes touched hers and sent shivers down her spine. Not because of the icicles hanging from it, but from its sensual warmth that rose the hair at the back of her neck. His ice blue eyes had melted to a decadent sky blue that put her in mind that she was lying on her back and watching the ceiling of the world roll above her. The look was one of relief, and incredible longing. After some moments of shared shy nervousness, she had reached up and caught his chin with her fingers, and smiling her typical genki smile, guided his head down to meet hers. The granite truly was gone, nothing but soft flesh remained to kiss her back. She remembered dozing off to the sound of his voice after breaking away from his passionate return, the continual stroking of his thumb against her neck having soothed the beating of her heart. He had been talking about the future; their future to be more delightfully precise.
Turning her head up to glance at him, she knew he didn't want her to pull her lips down from their natural upwards curve anytime soon.
He had after all, told her he loved her smile. Especially when it was for him.
And this was all for him.
Didn't he know that it had never been for anyone else?
Misao was so lost in her delirium that she almost missed the frantic waves of a tall, fox-like woman dressed in her purple working smock, standing just far enough away from the station platform to draw attention to herself.
"Misao-chan!"
With a dazed look on her face, Misao swung her head over to the place where Megumi stood and lazily drew a hand away from Aoshi's soft hair to wave back with an even lazier smile and slurred speech pattern, "Konnichiwa Megumi-chan!" Even a twenty-three year old doctor was going to be called "chan" today in this current move of optimism, Misao thought to herself with a mental nod.
Misao noticed the wave of shock wash over the doctor as Aoshi edged his way out of the current of passengers and embracing friends to stand in front of Megumi with a deliriously happy ninja girl supported firmly in his embrace.
After some moments of silence, Megumi recovered enough to manage a bow. But she was still too shocked for words . . . her jaw was moving, but her mouth was completely shut.
"Misao," the soothing masculine voice interrupted the silence, if that was even possible, "Can I set you down now?"
The gaping Megumi forgotten, Misao turned her attention to the soft gaze he was bathing her in, and nodded reluctantly. As he set her back on the ground, the doctor finally snapped to.
"Well," she fanned herself with a paw as Aoshi's hands lingered just a little too long on Misao's slender waist. "I can see I'm not the only one who's getting som-"
Misao flushed bright red, missing the dark flash in Aoshi's eyes towards the chortling fox as she fought with her hands to clasp or stay clung to the sides of her boyfriend's trench coat. Damn her height - or lack thereof.
As the ninja observed how Megumi backed away slightly at the shift of warning in her former guard's eyes, the doctor nodded in acknowledgement of her mistake and added, "Nice to see you too Shinomori-san, Gomen,"
Replying in his usual monotone, Aoshi's disapproving frown broke into a small smile and polite nod, "Likewise, Megumi-san."
Another second passed and Megumi was smiling broadly at his subtle apology, taking an assured step closer, and bowing once again. "Gomen for the confusion, demo Ken-san and Kaoru-"
"We heard," Misao waved her explanation off, "It seems Himura finally realized his feelings,"
"Actually it was Kaoru, surprisingly," The last word was mumbled under the doctor's breath in disbelief, "I don't know exactly what happened, but she told him how she felt and he took that as a sign," Megumi stopped her rambling with a blush, as if anticipating the next question. "It was bound to happen sometime,"
"And what about you?" Misao grinned knowingly, unwilling to swerve the conversation so easily from its directed path. Drawing from one of Aoshi's pockets the package she had brought with her from Kyoto, she urged her to go on as it she presented it to Megumi.
A hand fluttered to the woman's throat, while the other tucked the package closely against her side, "Me? I'm fine,"
"More than fine, as can be expected,"
Megumi blinked at the tall stoic figure standing patiently alongside his ninja. Misao nodded, yes she had indeed heard her Aoshi-sa, her Aoshi correctly. He was no longer a mouthless piece of rock.
Megumi shook her head, throwing the blush that had lit her cheeks on brilliant fire far into the stream of passerby. "But Sanosuke on the other hand," they could see her eyes sparkle beneath the bangs at the mere articulation of his name on her lips, the fox ears appearing at the sides of her head as she chuckled in that distinctly Megumi way.
Exchanging looks and respective sweatdrops, the two ninja shared a smile and as Misao took a step forward without a grimace of pain on the foot whose ankle she had supposedly twisted, Aoshi burst out laughing.
" . . . "
"I knew it," she barely heard him whisper before she turned her head to see the look of mirth wiped clean from his face and replaced with his now normal features held at the ready to convey his emotions to her at the slightest notice. But she shrugged off the feeling that he was plotting and laughing behind her back as Megumi's ears faded and the sudden "Oh, ho ho hos" came to an abrupt end.
"Completely clueless that we all know?" Misao mused as they began to walk in the direction of the Kamiya Dojo.
"Well," Megumi paused, bouncing in place on the balls of her feet, "Yeah, but in the name of revenge, I'm refusing to tell him that our secret affair isn't quite so secret as he thinks."
"We know that too,"
With an irritated snort at Kaoru, no doubt for blabbing the doctor's personal life in her invitation, Megumi stopped with hands at her hips and demanded, "What don't you guys know then?"
Aoshi, who had watched the conversation with his Okashiran eye, suddenly spoke up with a "We don't know when your little revelation occurred," Speeding up his pace, he came beside Misao and walking a stately gait, managed to slow the teenager down.
"It's okay Megumi-san," Misao conceded with a sigh as she was pressed against his side, their pace falling into sync as his hand came to rest softly at the curve of her neck. "Don't tell us if you're just going to stand back there and blush," And apparently the insanity had worn off, but with renewed bodily contact, who knew what terms of endearment she was going to use next?
But wait, had she really said "us"? It was going to take some time for her to digest that 'us' meant 'them', and 'them' meant Aoshi and herself in the intimate sense . . .
Her own cheeks on fire and a tingle sparking at the base of her spine, Misao quickened their pace, intentionally to outrun him, but he stepped up his pace with hers.
Over the heated protests of a woman blatantly in love, including "I am not a lady who blushes easily, or a little girl who giggles like a moron when she talks to the boy down the street," Misao was more than amused when the woman slowly trailing behind them started to giggle insanely. Turning around with Aoshi's hand moving down to palm the point squarely between her shoulder blades, Misao and her boyfriend were less than surprised to find Megumi talking to none other than Sagara Sanosuke, looking every bit as scruffy as the first day Misao had met him while he was out cold and being patched up by the woman who was now practically collapsing into fits of laughter at his flat feet.
"Oi, Shinomori, Itachi!"
From her sedated slouch against his side, Misao turned to an infuriated pounce in the chicken-head's direction. "Ooh, if you call me Itachi one more time!" her leap was blocked by the figure of her protector, pushing her back to stand behind him. "Aoshi-sama!" Peeking around him, she saw the reason he had stopped the attack. It was some policy number in the Oniwabanshu code of ethics that she could never remember -
Never attack an injured man.
Sanosuke stood in front of them, the left lower corner of his face, from the side of his jaw to his cheekbone was one giant bruise, blackened at the center to slowly fade out into shades of green and blue.
"Quit yer starin," Sano growled in warning, tossing a quick menacing gaze over to his fox who just laughed all the harder. "Oi, Kitsune, stop that," he set his eyes back on the couple standing in the road before him, eyes wide in shock. "THAT GOES FOR YOU TOO!"
Both Misao and Aoshi were leaning together to keep from falling, tears streaming down their faces. "Demo, it's so - "
"Painful? Degrading? Humiliating?" Sanosuke's arms were crossed over his bare chest now, puffing himself up to the stature of a maned lion. He certainly looked the part with his hair tousled, fluffing out at the sides rather than sticking straight up . . . he looked like he had just woken up from a forced sleep. "C'mon out with it!"
"Funny!" Aoshi blurted out-of-pitch startling everyone but the frustrated man.
The fighter groaned, running a hand through his hair and drawing it away as if it was covered in hot lava. "Nani?"
"Oh yeah," Megumi fought to catch her breath, grasping the material at his hip and hoisting herself up from the ground, "I forgot to tell you that I slipped some soap into your bath yesterday,"
"NANI?!"
"Well," Misao took note of how the older woman pouted sweetly, thrusting her full lower lip out under the top one. "I wanted you to be clean for the dinner," A finger found its way to the darkest part of the bruise and pressed lightly to turn his head. "And you can't be clean when you're dirty,"
"That has got to be the stupidest logic I've ever heard fox," he kept up the act, looking all the more hurt and pitiful so she could baby him the way he wanted her to, as well as make her feel some remorse for whatever she had done to make him look like that.
"Sanosuke," Misao's eyebrows rose at the tone she took with him, something close to a feral growl. Megumi tilted her head down in a submissive gesture, "I'm starting to smell dirty,"
"That's just fine with me, kitsune,"
"But it's not fine with ME, tori-atama,"
From somewhere far removed from the raspy sexual tension Aoshi coughed, "Would you mind if I take Misao to the Dojo myself?"
"You do realize that I've lived this way for a whole twenty years, and I've never had any OTHER complaints,"
"And just what would you be insinuating?"
"I'm not insinuating nothing, I'm hinting at the fact that maybe you're not the first - "
"I'm not the first to give you a black eye?"
"You didn't give me a black eye fox, you gave me a black chi - yow!"
Misao and Aoshi turned on their heels in what they hoped was the direction of the Kamiya Dojo as they heard the sickening sound of a lady's fist slamming itself into the eye socket of man who had dug himself way too deep a hole that both he and all his ego couldn't fit in.
"Kuso Megumi, what the hell did ya do that for?"
"I did what any self-respecting woman would do when her personal life is being threatened by her boyfriend!"
"Boyfriend?"
"That's what I said, Tori-at - "
"Remind me why those two didn't get together sooner?" Aoshi murmured to Misao, trying to cover the telling silence burning up the atmosphere behind them. What a display of public affection that must be!
"Why Aoshi," Misao glanced up at him and felt the urge to copy the couple they had just left arguing in the street. "I thought you didn't care about trivial social things like that."
"I do when it affects the environment I work in, and that letter Kaoru-san sent you has definitely affected me in more ways than one,"
"Like getting you on a train?"
His head bent down in a nod of acknowledgement. "Aa," Suddenly he knelt down on one knee, tucked his pointer under her chin, and drew her in for a soft, lingering kiss. "And driving me to finally kiss you like that," his hands grazed her shoulders and came to rest clasped at the small of her back. "And this," his mouth closed over hers, teasing her return with a slight tug on her small frame into his larger one.
As they came up for air, Misao inhaled deeply, "As well as making you more spontaneous," She looked at him, hoping that the delight she felt while in his arms was warming her eyes and blushing her cheeks so he would keep her happy forever by letting her stay in his embrace until the end of time . . . just like this.
"That too," Aoshi mused with a bob of his head, his embrace still tight. The image of the feather flying out of the train window had yet to leave his mind. Moving his mouth to her ear, he whispered, "But enough of this," with a tender enough tone that stilled her fearful heart. It almost stopped as he kissed her quickly and fiercely, his lips leaving a burn along hers that she gingerly touched as he bounded back up to his feet.
"Ao-"
He smiled down at her while holding out his hand. "Come Misao, let's get going,"
Wondering at the past events the seconds prior had brought, Misao touched a fingertip to his palm and drew back as if she had touched molten lead and shook her head. "Aoshi,"
His smile was faltering by her every gesture and his tone conveyed his confusion. "Nani?"
She blinked up at him through her innocent wide ocean-set eyes and took a long-suffering breath. "Are you trying to realize this as well?"
He considered her question as the breeze lazily blew his bangs clear of his eyes. Finally he answered her with a half-hearted nod. "Somehow," he began, ignoring her reluctance to take his hand as he rightfully grabbed a hold of hers. "I've always realized that this would be an emotion I would have to fight,"
"Fight?"
"Aa," he bent low to her, folding their clasped hands up to cover his heart. "And lose to,"
"Aoshi-"
"It's true," he caught her chin, and drew her lips back to his and breathed more than spoke "I'm not used to showing my emotions," over her slightly open mouth. "Be patient Misao,"
"Your eyes tell me all I need to know." And they did as she searched through the absence of ice in those deep halved circles of blue. She could feel his reluctance, his struggle with the thought of holding her again, steaming up the train widow . . .
"What do they tell you now?" Aoshi's voice was low and smooth, his gaze vaguely piercing for any signs of want.
"That you love me," her eyelids closing as he dropped their clasped hands to twine themselves in her braid, Misao wrapped her arms around his neck and with one last breath between them, she found herself swept up in the current of his emotions.
"Perceptive," From somewhere outside of the fire spreading from the small of her back to consume her entire body, Misao could feel the ground under her feet fall away as he gathered her up to his chest. She soon found herself pressed against a wall, pinned down by his build, and held aloft by his strength.
"You," she paused before moving her mouth to tug at his earlobe, her voice coming in jagged rasps, "Taught me," and bent her right knee to side his hip, "well,"
Rolling her head to the side, Misao could barely make out the hazy form of what looked like a slightly flustered Kaoru with her free hair swinging wildly behind her as she jogged down the path. The ninja's eyes narrowed as she passed, trying to discern who or what was intruding on her moment of ecstasy. Especially now that her kimono were being coaxed off her shoulders and his embrace had traveled lower to curve around her waist.
Her attention returned to massaging the base of her boyfriend's neck, just as her giggling friend took off past them, swerving off to collapse in a fit of giggles on the riverbank. "Aoshi," she moaned into the air, praying to Kami-sama that this moment would never end. Or at least end with her Aoshi's trench coat lying in an unceremonious heap on the ground behind them.
"Misao," it was this possessive growl emanating from his throat that sent her thoughts flying into every different direction imaginable. "I'm so sorry,"
"It's alright," she ground her teeth together to keep from exhaling in a most unbecoming screech as his lips brushed against her collarbone, "You're with me now, that's all that matters,"
Again, the outside world dared to intrude as she cradled the back of his head in a hand, the other one sliding from his shoulders to stroke his chest fervently.
It arrived in Himura's playful voice trailing after his beloved, "You shouldn't have run off, de gozaru na!"
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AIEEEE! That was so much fun! And mighty *tasty* with Aoshi and Misao against a wall . . . how incredibly wonderful. *hentai grin*
And don't worry, that somewhat OOC Aoshi is really in character for this story, as you will all find out why in the next few chapters. Now I just have to interrupt them, though I absolutely hate to do that to couples who have finally found each other.
Ah well, so are the troubles with being an author and manipulating her favorite characters. Another trouble with being an author is getting some constructive criticism or REVIEWs. Please do so, then/or move along to the TICKLE FEST and then the DINNER! How much fun is this gonna be? Hmm? Any guesses?
By Starhopper
Disclaimer: I don't own anything except my sketchbooks and DVDs. Everything else belongs to Nobuhiro Watsuki and many other respected businessmen who make RK available to the masses.
Well, I decided to do the whole celebration in installments.Anyone Hungry? Not even for some mouthwateringly sweet, whipped fluffy Aoshi and Misao cream?
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*
- Say it With a Celebration! Part Three: Afternoon
Misao just couldn't stop smiling.
She didn't care that the size of the grin took up half of her face. She barely noticed anything that didn't begin with 'A' was bridged by 'osh' and ended in 'i'. She ignored the whispers of surprised travelers as they walked off the platform, her head tucked against his shoulder and legs swinging freely over his arms.
No, she didn't care that they were breaking the codes of public display of affection. After all, she had taken a nasty tumble down the stairs of their passenger car . . . even if it was for the purpose of feeling his arms around her again. As soon as he had settled himself back on the bench from his compromising position from the floor, he had pulled her into his lap and snuggling back into the corner between the window and the train seat, smiled a broad, content smile.
One that she freely kissed away when the look in his eyes touched hers and sent shivers down her spine. Not because of the icicles hanging from it, but from its sensual warmth that rose the hair at the back of her neck. His ice blue eyes had melted to a decadent sky blue that put her in mind that she was lying on her back and watching the ceiling of the world roll above her. The look was one of relief, and incredible longing. After some moments of shared shy nervousness, she had reached up and caught his chin with her fingers, and smiling her typical genki smile, guided his head down to meet hers. The granite truly was gone, nothing but soft flesh remained to kiss her back. She remembered dozing off to the sound of his voice after breaking away from his passionate return, the continual stroking of his thumb against her neck having soothed the beating of her heart. He had been talking about the future; their future to be more delightfully precise.
Turning her head up to glance at him, she knew he didn't want her to pull her lips down from their natural upwards curve anytime soon.
He had after all, told her he loved her smile. Especially when it was for him.
And this was all for him.
Didn't he know that it had never been for anyone else?
Misao was so lost in her delirium that she almost missed the frantic waves of a tall, fox-like woman dressed in her purple working smock, standing just far enough away from the station platform to draw attention to herself.
"Misao-chan!"
With a dazed look on her face, Misao swung her head over to the place where Megumi stood and lazily drew a hand away from Aoshi's soft hair to wave back with an even lazier smile and slurred speech pattern, "Konnichiwa Megumi-chan!" Even a twenty-three year old doctor was going to be called "chan" today in this current move of optimism, Misao thought to herself with a mental nod.
Misao noticed the wave of shock wash over the doctor as Aoshi edged his way out of the current of passengers and embracing friends to stand in front of Megumi with a deliriously happy ninja girl supported firmly in his embrace.
After some moments of silence, Megumi recovered enough to manage a bow. But she was still too shocked for words . . . her jaw was moving, but her mouth was completely shut.
"Misao," the soothing masculine voice interrupted the silence, if that was even possible, "Can I set you down now?"
The gaping Megumi forgotten, Misao turned her attention to the soft gaze he was bathing her in, and nodded reluctantly. As he set her back on the ground, the doctor finally snapped to.
"Well," she fanned herself with a paw as Aoshi's hands lingered just a little too long on Misao's slender waist. "I can see I'm not the only one who's getting som-"
Misao flushed bright red, missing the dark flash in Aoshi's eyes towards the chortling fox as she fought with her hands to clasp or stay clung to the sides of her boyfriend's trench coat. Damn her height - or lack thereof.
As the ninja observed how Megumi backed away slightly at the shift of warning in her former guard's eyes, the doctor nodded in acknowledgement of her mistake and added, "Nice to see you too Shinomori-san, Gomen,"
Replying in his usual monotone, Aoshi's disapproving frown broke into a small smile and polite nod, "Likewise, Megumi-san."
Another second passed and Megumi was smiling broadly at his subtle apology, taking an assured step closer, and bowing once again. "Gomen for the confusion, demo Ken-san and Kaoru-"
"We heard," Misao waved her explanation off, "It seems Himura finally realized his feelings,"
"Actually it was Kaoru, surprisingly," The last word was mumbled under the doctor's breath in disbelief, "I don't know exactly what happened, but she told him how she felt and he took that as a sign," Megumi stopped her rambling with a blush, as if anticipating the next question. "It was bound to happen sometime,"
"And what about you?" Misao grinned knowingly, unwilling to swerve the conversation so easily from its directed path. Drawing from one of Aoshi's pockets the package she had brought with her from Kyoto, she urged her to go on as it she presented it to Megumi.
A hand fluttered to the woman's throat, while the other tucked the package closely against her side, "Me? I'm fine,"
"More than fine, as can be expected,"
Megumi blinked at the tall stoic figure standing patiently alongside his ninja. Misao nodded, yes she had indeed heard her Aoshi-sa, her Aoshi correctly. He was no longer a mouthless piece of rock.
Megumi shook her head, throwing the blush that had lit her cheeks on brilliant fire far into the stream of passerby. "But Sanosuke on the other hand," they could see her eyes sparkle beneath the bangs at the mere articulation of his name on her lips, the fox ears appearing at the sides of her head as she chuckled in that distinctly Megumi way.
Exchanging looks and respective sweatdrops, the two ninja shared a smile and as Misao took a step forward without a grimace of pain on the foot whose ankle she had supposedly twisted, Aoshi burst out laughing.
" . . . "
"I knew it," she barely heard him whisper before she turned her head to see the look of mirth wiped clean from his face and replaced with his now normal features held at the ready to convey his emotions to her at the slightest notice. But she shrugged off the feeling that he was plotting and laughing behind her back as Megumi's ears faded and the sudden "Oh, ho ho hos" came to an abrupt end.
"Completely clueless that we all know?" Misao mused as they began to walk in the direction of the Kamiya Dojo.
"Well," Megumi paused, bouncing in place on the balls of her feet, "Yeah, but in the name of revenge, I'm refusing to tell him that our secret affair isn't quite so secret as he thinks."
"We know that too,"
With an irritated snort at Kaoru, no doubt for blabbing the doctor's personal life in her invitation, Megumi stopped with hands at her hips and demanded, "What don't you guys know then?"
Aoshi, who had watched the conversation with his Okashiran eye, suddenly spoke up with a "We don't know when your little revelation occurred," Speeding up his pace, he came beside Misao and walking a stately gait, managed to slow the teenager down.
"It's okay Megumi-san," Misao conceded with a sigh as she was pressed against his side, their pace falling into sync as his hand came to rest softly at the curve of her neck. "Don't tell us if you're just going to stand back there and blush," And apparently the insanity had worn off, but with renewed bodily contact, who knew what terms of endearment she was going to use next?
But wait, had she really said "us"? It was going to take some time for her to digest that 'us' meant 'them', and 'them' meant Aoshi and herself in the intimate sense . . .
Her own cheeks on fire and a tingle sparking at the base of her spine, Misao quickened their pace, intentionally to outrun him, but he stepped up his pace with hers.
Over the heated protests of a woman blatantly in love, including "I am not a lady who blushes easily, or a little girl who giggles like a moron when she talks to the boy down the street," Misao was more than amused when the woman slowly trailing behind them started to giggle insanely. Turning around with Aoshi's hand moving down to palm the point squarely between her shoulder blades, Misao and her boyfriend were less than surprised to find Megumi talking to none other than Sagara Sanosuke, looking every bit as scruffy as the first day Misao had met him while he was out cold and being patched up by the woman who was now practically collapsing into fits of laughter at his flat feet.
"Oi, Shinomori, Itachi!"
From her sedated slouch against his side, Misao turned to an infuriated pounce in the chicken-head's direction. "Ooh, if you call me Itachi one more time!" her leap was blocked by the figure of her protector, pushing her back to stand behind him. "Aoshi-sama!" Peeking around him, she saw the reason he had stopped the attack. It was some policy number in the Oniwabanshu code of ethics that she could never remember -
Never attack an injured man.
Sanosuke stood in front of them, the left lower corner of his face, from the side of his jaw to his cheekbone was one giant bruise, blackened at the center to slowly fade out into shades of green and blue.
"Quit yer starin," Sano growled in warning, tossing a quick menacing gaze over to his fox who just laughed all the harder. "Oi, Kitsune, stop that," he set his eyes back on the couple standing in the road before him, eyes wide in shock. "THAT GOES FOR YOU TOO!"
Both Misao and Aoshi were leaning together to keep from falling, tears streaming down their faces. "Demo, it's so - "
"Painful? Degrading? Humiliating?" Sanosuke's arms were crossed over his bare chest now, puffing himself up to the stature of a maned lion. He certainly looked the part with his hair tousled, fluffing out at the sides rather than sticking straight up . . . he looked like he had just woken up from a forced sleep. "C'mon out with it!"
"Funny!" Aoshi blurted out-of-pitch startling everyone but the frustrated man.
The fighter groaned, running a hand through his hair and drawing it away as if it was covered in hot lava. "Nani?"
"Oh yeah," Megumi fought to catch her breath, grasping the material at his hip and hoisting herself up from the ground, "I forgot to tell you that I slipped some soap into your bath yesterday,"
"NANI?!"
"Well," Misao took note of how the older woman pouted sweetly, thrusting her full lower lip out under the top one. "I wanted you to be clean for the dinner," A finger found its way to the darkest part of the bruise and pressed lightly to turn his head. "And you can't be clean when you're dirty,"
"That has got to be the stupidest logic I've ever heard fox," he kept up the act, looking all the more hurt and pitiful so she could baby him the way he wanted her to, as well as make her feel some remorse for whatever she had done to make him look like that.
"Sanosuke," Misao's eyebrows rose at the tone she took with him, something close to a feral growl. Megumi tilted her head down in a submissive gesture, "I'm starting to smell dirty,"
"That's just fine with me, kitsune,"
"But it's not fine with ME, tori-atama,"
From somewhere far removed from the raspy sexual tension Aoshi coughed, "Would you mind if I take Misao to the Dojo myself?"
"You do realize that I've lived this way for a whole twenty years, and I've never had any OTHER complaints,"
"And just what would you be insinuating?"
"I'm not insinuating nothing, I'm hinting at the fact that maybe you're not the first - "
"I'm not the first to give you a black eye?"
"You didn't give me a black eye fox, you gave me a black chi - yow!"
Misao and Aoshi turned on their heels in what they hoped was the direction of the Kamiya Dojo as they heard the sickening sound of a lady's fist slamming itself into the eye socket of man who had dug himself way too deep a hole that both he and all his ego couldn't fit in.
"Kuso Megumi, what the hell did ya do that for?"
"I did what any self-respecting woman would do when her personal life is being threatened by her boyfriend!"
"Boyfriend?"
"That's what I said, Tori-at - "
"Remind me why those two didn't get together sooner?" Aoshi murmured to Misao, trying to cover the telling silence burning up the atmosphere behind them. What a display of public affection that must be!
"Why Aoshi," Misao glanced up at him and felt the urge to copy the couple they had just left arguing in the street. "I thought you didn't care about trivial social things like that."
"I do when it affects the environment I work in, and that letter Kaoru-san sent you has definitely affected me in more ways than one,"
"Like getting you on a train?"
His head bent down in a nod of acknowledgement. "Aa," Suddenly he knelt down on one knee, tucked his pointer under her chin, and drew her in for a soft, lingering kiss. "And driving me to finally kiss you like that," his hands grazed her shoulders and came to rest clasped at the small of her back. "And this," his mouth closed over hers, teasing her return with a slight tug on her small frame into his larger one.
As they came up for air, Misao inhaled deeply, "As well as making you more spontaneous," She looked at him, hoping that the delight she felt while in his arms was warming her eyes and blushing her cheeks so he would keep her happy forever by letting her stay in his embrace until the end of time . . . just like this.
"That too," Aoshi mused with a bob of his head, his embrace still tight. The image of the feather flying out of the train window had yet to leave his mind. Moving his mouth to her ear, he whispered, "But enough of this," with a tender enough tone that stilled her fearful heart. It almost stopped as he kissed her quickly and fiercely, his lips leaving a burn along hers that she gingerly touched as he bounded back up to his feet.
"Ao-"
He smiled down at her while holding out his hand. "Come Misao, let's get going,"
Wondering at the past events the seconds prior had brought, Misao touched a fingertip to his palm and drew back as if she had touched molten lead and shook her head. "Aoshi,"
His smile was faltering by her every gesture and his tone conveyed his confusion. "Nani?"
She blinked up at him through her innocent wide ocean-set eyes and took a long-suffering breath. "Are you trying to realize this as well?"
He considered her question as the breeze lazily blew his bangs clear of his eyes. Finally he answered her with a half-hearted nod. "Somehow," he began, ignoring her reluctance to take his hand as he rightfully grabbed a hold of hers. "I've always realized that this would be an emotion I would have to fight,"
"Fight?"
"Aa," he bent low to her, folding their clasped hands up to cover his heart. "And lose to,"
"Aoshi-"
"It's true," he caught her chin, and drew her lips back to his and breathed more than spoke "I'm not used to showing my emotions," over her slightly open mouth. "Be patient Misao,"
"Your eyes tell me all I need to know." And they did as she searched through the absence of ice in those deep halved circles of blue. She could feel his reluctance, his struggle with the thought of holding her again, steaming up the train widow . . .
"What do they tell you now?" Aoshi's voice was low and smooth, his gaze vaguely piercing for any signs of want.
"That you love me," her eyelids closing as he dropped their clasped hands to twine themselves in her braid, Misao wrapped her arms around his neck and with one last breath between them, she found herself swept up in the current of his emotions.
"Perceptive," From somewhere outside of the fire spreading from the small of her back to consume her entire body, Misao could feel the ground under her feet fall away as he gathered her up to his chest. She soon found herself pressed against a wall, pinned down by his build, and held aloft by his strength.
"You," she paused before moving her mouth to tug at his earlobe, her voice coming in jagged rasps, "Taught me," and bent her right knee to side his hip, "well,"
Rolling her head to the side, Misao could barely make out the hazy form of what looked like a slightly flustered Kaoru with her free hair swinging wildly behind her as she jogged down the path. The ninja's eyes narrowed as she passed, trying to discern who or what was intruding on her moment of ecstasy. Especially now that her kimono were being coaxed off her shoulders and his embrace had traveled lower to curve around her waist.
Her attention returned to massaging the base of her boyfriend's neck, just as her giggling friend took off past them, swerving off to collapse in a fit of giggles on the riverbank. "Aoshi," she moaned into the air, praying to Kami-sama that this moment would never end. Or at least end with her Aoshi's trench coat lying in an unceremonious heap on the ground behind them.
"Misao," it was this possessive growl emanating from his throat that sent her thoughts flying into every different direction imaginable. "I'm so sorry,"
"It's alright," she ground her teeth together to keep from exhaling in a most unbecoming screech as his lips brushed against her collarbone, "You're with me now, that's all that matters,"
Again, the outside world dared to intrude as she cradled the back of his head in a hand, the other one sliding from his shoulders to stroke his chest fervently.
It arrived in Himura's playful voice trailing after his beloved, "You shouldn't have run off, de gozaru na!"
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*
AIEEEE! That was so much fun! And mighty *tasty* with Aoshi and Misao against a wall . . . how incredibly wonderful. *hentai grin*
And don't worry, that somewhat OOC Aoshi is really in character for this story, as you will all find out why in the next few chapters. Now I just have to interrupt them, though I absolutely hate to do that to couples who have finally found each other.
Ah well, so are the troubles with being an author and manipulating her favorite characters. Another trouble with being an author is getting some constructive criticism or REVIEWs. Please do so, then/or move along to the TICKLE FEST and then the DINNER! How much fun is this gonna be? Hmm? Any guesses?