Disclaimer: RK and all the characters don't belong to me. I merely borrowed them for my tale.

A.N. Okay, here's chapter two. Sorry for the slight delay, I would've had it out sooner but when 8 family members descend upon you in 2 days, everything seems to get REALLY hectic. So I had to put off writing for a little while. I managed to get some 'alone' time to finish off this chapter. Of course it's like 1am and I'm in zombie mode, but THAT'S OKAY!

R&R pls!

Enjoy!

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A Forgotten Night

Chapter 2

Okay, the attempt to not panic was in vain. Seeing those black words "Certificate of Marriage" seemed to inflict the opposite of not panicking. Kenshin gripped the document tightly in his shaking hand as he tried with all his might to comprehend the magnitude of this new piece of information.

Wow. All those movies and TV shows about people getting drunk and getting married in Vegas are certainly looking more and more likely right about now.

Kenshin's eyes skimmed over the document looking for anything. ANYTHING that might cause the simple piece of paper to be null and not binding.

There wasn't.

So, being a lawyer was proving to be useful at a time like this, unfortunately, he knew the law and the paper in his hands was totally, 100% legal.

Yes, Kenshin Himura was a lawyer. Or as Sano liked to teasingly call him, 'a blood-sucking leech who only cares about the money'. HA! As if Kenshin was anything like that for real.

'Okay Himura, WAY off course here. What are you going to do now?!'

The body under the blankets moved, and a very low, very feminine, very sexy groan issued from underneath the pile.

Kenshin stamped down the urge to climb into bed again.

The blankets were moved and the girl sat up.

Kaoru looked around the blurry room, taking in nothing except that her head was pounding and her stomach felt like it was ready to leap out of her mouth and run away screaming.

"How much did I drink last night?" she mumbled, placing a hand over her eyes to block out the painful brightness. "Misao, please please order some coffee from room service? I really need some."

"Uhm.." Was the reply. A very masculine reply.

Kaoru's eyes snapped open and looked at the man standing at the other side of the bed. He had flaming red hair which hung loose down his back. He wore not a stitch of clothing save the black boxer-briefs and he held a piece of paper tightly in his hands.

If she hadn't been absolutely shocked and frightened at the strange man at her bedside, she would have thought he was downright yummy and invited him into bed.

Kaoru's eyes widened to the size of saucers and Kenshin watched as her shoulders rose. She was taking a deep breath and preparing to let out what would most likely be the loudest scream to ever be heard in the world. Only one thought crossed his mind as he watched her reaction. Screaming wouldn't be taken lightly in a Hotel.

In a lightening quick movement, Kenshin dropped the marriage certificate and leapt onto the bed. His hand clamped down over Kaoru's mouth, stopping her scream and his other gripped her bare shoulder.

'Oh GOD! He's going to kill me!' Kaoru's mind screamed as she looked up at the man with wide frightened eyes.

Kenshin inwardly winced at the look on her face. He didn't want to frighten the poor thing, just make sure she didn't scream and bring the entire hotel security as well as the police and whatever other law enforcement agency bursting into his room.

"Please, don't be frightened Kaoru. I swear on everything I hold holy that I will not hurt you in any way. Just please don't scream." Kenshin whispered. He couldn't seem to find the volume control on his voice at the moment. Well, he could, but he knew if he raised his voice above a whisper not only would his head pound and would he become violently ill again, but from the looks of it, Kaoru was suffering just as much as he was.

Last thing he wanted was to increase the look of pain in her beautiful blue eyes.

Wait. beautiful??

Kenshin shook his head, ridding his mind of the thoughts he had begun to think as he looked at the woman before him. SHE was the owner of the blue eyes and the long silky hair from his fragmented memories.

She was absolutely stunning. Her eyes spoke volumes, as if Kenshin could look into them and see directly into her beautiful soul. Her long midnight black hair was strewn about her, some tendrils were splayed across the white pillowcase and sheets of the bed, her skin was soft and painfully smooth under Kenshin's hand. Her lips. Kenshin wanted nothing more than to remove his hand from her mouth and claim her lips with his own.

At least he drunkenly married a very desirable woman.

'ARGH! I shouldn't be thinking like that!'

"I'll remove my hand if you don't scream, deal?" Kenshin said softly. Kaoru nodded. Kenshin slowly removed his hands from her and sat back on the bed, not touching her at all.

Kaoru gathered the sheets up around her neck as she surveyed the man sitting before her.

Oh yes, he was unbelievable gorgeous. There didn't seem to be an ounce of fat on his finely toned body. His hands had been callused and rough, but very gentle when he touched her. The mere memory of his touch sent shivers down her spine. She could tell just from the brief contact that he was a very strong man, physically, despite his smaller stature. His deep amethyst eyes caused her breath to be caught in her throat as he gazed at her. His soft voice, so soothing, so gentle, saying her name..

Hold the phone! Saying her name?!

"How do you know my name?! What are you doing in my hotel room?! Who are you?!" Kaoru exclaimed. She almost shouted, but the moment she started speaking her head started screaming at her to shut up. Kaoru winced and put her hand over her eyes again.

She was obviously hung over. And she was experiencing a very painful hangover. Kenshin sighed and left the bed and walked over to the mini bar where he fished out another bottle of water. He walked back to the bed, scooped up the two Tylenol on the bedside table and presented the water and painkillers to Kaoru.

She took one look at the items in his hands and took them gratefully.

"Thank you." she murmured.

"My name is Kenshin Himura. I think we met last night, but please forgive me, I don't remember much." Kenshin said as he watched Kaoru take the tablets and drink some of the water.

Kaoru squinted up at the man. She didn't remember much of the previous night either, but somewhere in the back of her pounding head, she remembered his eyes.

Laughing eyes, glittering eyes, amber eyes..

Amber? But his eyes were amethyst, not amber! Who the hell owns amber eyes anyways?!

"Kenshin." she said softly, staring down at the water in her hands.

Kenshin's heart skipped a familiar beat when his name passed her lips. God, if his heart continued the way it was, it would probably stop beating pretty soon, fed up with the strange abuse it was getting this morning.

Stamping down the urge to kiss her, AGAIN, Kenshin swallowed and lowered down to his knees at the side of the bed. He avoided getting on the bed so he wouldn't scare her into thinking he wanted something different.

"We're not in your room, Kaoru. We're in mine." Kenshin said softly, blushing slightly and playing with some of the fabric of the sheets.

Kaoru's head snapped up and looked around the room again, this time taking in her surroundings. Yeah, she was defiantly not in her own room. She dropped the sheets and blankets as she surveyed her surroundings. The room was magnificent. Decorative wallpaper, paintings, a bar, a living area, a huge bathroom that looked like it was made entirely out of marble, and one huge ass king-sized bed.

"And you're not wearing anything on top." Kenshin added, bowing his head and hiding his blush beneath his thick red bangs.

Flushing a bright red in embarrassment, Kaoru snatched the blankets back up, covering herself once again.

'Oh God, in a stranger's room with nothing on. This is so unbelievably embarrassing I could die right here!' she thought.

What had they DONE?!

A thought suddenly struck Kaoru. For one, she knew she had been far too drunk the previous night to be able to do anything like doing. IT with Kenshin. But for another, she knew without a doubt that she had been far too drunk to even undress herself! Which meant...

"Kenshin you jerk!!" she screamed picking up her pillow and flinging it at the poor unsuspecting red-head. It connected and sent him reeling. The already pounding headache exploded into a blazing inferno within his skull.

"Oro!" he exclaimed and scrambled to get out of the swinging pillow's path before it connected again.

"You perverted old man! You dragged me to your room just to undress me and heaven only knows what else you had in store! How dare you! I ought to call the police! Pervert!!" she screamed. She ignored the pain in her head as she crawled off the bed and advanced on poor Kenshin. She ignored his attempts to escape. She even ignored the look of pain on his face that told her he was just as hung over as she was. All she paid attention to was the fact that she was partially undressed and she needed to blame someone.

Kenshin turned out to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Isn't THAT the understatement of the year?

"M-Miss Kaoru! Please! Stop! I'm no pervert! I didn't 'drag' you to my room to have my way with.. wait a second! OLD?! What do you mean old!?" Kenshin exclaimed. Okay, he wasn't a vain man. But when you're only 32 years old and some wisp of a. a. girl!... calls you 'old' you tend to want to defend yourself.

Kaoru whacked him with the pillow again. This time, he grabbed it and stopped her onslaught. He easily took the pillow from her grasp and threw it back onto the bed. She kept her position directly before him, and she was glaring up. She wasn't as tall as Kenshin, he had a few inches on her.

Thank God.

Kenshin was really sick of women being taller than him.

'Once again Himura, WAY off topic!'

"You are nothing more than a perverted OLD man!" Kaoru yelled, emphasizing the 'old' part especially since it seemed to grate on his nerves a lot.

"I am not old, girl! I may be older than you but I'm in no way a perverted old man!" Kenshin replied.

"Then tell me, Kenshin, why is it that I'm only partially dressed when I KNOW I was too drunk to undress myself last night. Which means YOU must have!" Kaoru jabbed a finger into Kenshin's chest. Her other hand remained fisted in the white bed sheet she had wrapped about herself and dragged with her when she attacked the unsuspecting man.

Kenshin threw up his hands in frustration.

"Granted, I probably did help you remove your clothes last night, but I can guarantee you that I was also far too drunk to undress MYSELF! Which means, Miss Kaoru, that YOU must have helped me!"

Kaoru froze, and Kenshin had the great delight to watch her face turn a very becoming red. Her hand dropped away from his chest and she hung her head.

"Oh God, what did we do last night?" she whispered. Kenshin sighed and hung his head. How the hell was he supposed to tell her that they were married?! She wasn't too happy with finding herself next to a strange man when she woke up! He just introduced himself to his WIFE for crying out loud!

'Geeze, now I know what it felt like for men from the middle-ages when they were forced into an arranged marriage. Hours AFTER the wedding, the couple are formally introduced..' Kenshin thought.

"Do you remember much from last night, Kaoru?" he asked quietly.

"Only fragmented memories. there was a lot of booze. I remember Misao. I remember loud music." she trailed off. She slowly raised her eyes, starting at his feet and working her way up his body until she found herself staring into his unbelievable amethyst eyes.

The urge to melt into his arms and experience what, she was willing to bet her whole life on, would be the most phenomenal kiss, she would ever be a part of, was overwhelming.

In a completely unconscious gesture, she raised her hand and gently brushed the tips of her fingers against his left cheek. She didn't know why, she couldn't help herself.

He watched her intently, not moving at all, barely breathing and just enjoying her fingers on his face.

Somehow it just felt.. right..

"I remember your eyes. I remember them the most." Kaoru whispered. Kenshin slowly reached up and clasped her fingers in his left hand. He raised his right and brushed her bangs out of her eyes.

"I remember your eyes too." he whispered huskily.

What had possessed either of them to act as they were was unknown. Both man and woman were completely out of their regular characters while in each others company. Standing in the middle of a very expensive hotel room staring into each others eyes while wearing next to nothing seemed so unbelievably natural for them both. it was hard to explain.

All of Kenshin's resolve to keep his hands off the girl had crumbled when she had reached out a tentative hand to touch his face. Her soft fingers against his cheek soothed any pain his body was experiencing, and everything around him seemed to melt away. As if they existed in a world for just the two of them. His hand, that had brushed her hair aside, brushed lightly over her cheek. He cupped her face and found that his hand was pulling her towards him.

Kaoru felt the pull, whether it was from his warm, callused hand on her face or if it was some unknown force pulling her towards the strange red- head, she didn't know. Nor did she care. All she knew was that she wanted this man to kiss her, and damn the consequences.

Her eyelids slid closed as she tilted her head to receive his kiss. As Kenshin nosed forward to kiss Kaoru, his eyelids shut of their own accord.

It was in this compromising position of partial-dress, closeness, and near kiss that Sano decided to barge in.

"Good morning my frie.." Sano began to bellow, only to have his words die in his throat.

Kenshin, Mr. Responsible, Mr. Dependable, Mr. Lets-think-everything- through-before-acting, Mr. I-don't-have-time-for-a-woman-in-my-life, was standing near his kind-size bed wearing nothing but his boxers and was leaning in to kiss a woman wrapped only in a white bedsheet.

Sano's mouth dropped and he gaped openly at the sight. If his jaw hadn't been attached to his head, it would surely have been resting comfortably on the floor at that moment.

Kenshin immediately broke away from Kaoru, leaping back almost as if he had been burned. Kaoru flushed a brilliant red and bowed her head. Her heart was beating a mile a minute.

'What the hell has gotten into you Kamiya!' her mind screamed at her.

Kenshin on the other hand was mentally yelling at himself for taking advantage of the situation.

But then again... she didn't try to stop him in any way......

"Holy shit man. You two were pretty hot and heavy last night, but I didn't think you were THAT hot and heavy! Way to go Kenshin!" Sano exclaimed. "Oh, and you too Missy. If not for you, our little Kenshin here would still be his regular cold-fish self."

Kaoru's head snapped up at Sano's use of 'Missy' on her. More fragmented memories entered her head. Visions of this man talking about a bachelor party and offering to treat her and Misao to drinks.

"Sanosuke. You're name is Sanosuke." Kaoru said thoughtfully as she stared at the brown-haired man in the room. Sano grinned and walked over to the flustered couple and sat down on the bed.

"So you didn't drink as much as I thought if you remember me. So, was he good?"

Sano lived to tease Kenshin.

"Sano!" Kenshin barked. He was in no mood to deal with his friend's teasing. First off, he was deathly ill with a hangover-from-hell, and secondly, Sano had walked in and shattered his opportunity to kiss his wife..err.. Kaoru.

"I did drink a lot last night, I just barely remember you, Sanosuke. I remember your name, and the fact that you bought me and Misao drinks." Kaoru replied haughtily, intentionally ignoring his question.

"Aww, that's too bad, I wanted to know what happened to you two. We lost you about 9ish last night. I never figured I'd find you guys here this morning! Although from how you too were looking at each other, and everything. MAN! It's a wonder the place didn't catch fire!!" Sano said happily.

Kenshin and Kaoru glanced at each other blushing crimson red. Kenshin matched his hair perfectly.

Sano leaned down, still smiling at his new found piece of information on his buddy and the girl, and fished the folded piece of paper on the floor by the bed.

"Judging from the pieces of clothes in the other room, and the state of the bed, you guys had some fun last night!" Sano smirked. He absolutely LOVED torturing the lawyer.

He loved Kenshin like a brother, and he knew that his company would never have been very successful if not for Kenshin's legal advice and expertise. However, the red-head never socialized. He never went out. He worked, he ate, he slept. He was a machine.

Half the reason why Sano wanted to go to Vegas was to guarantee that Kenshin and Aoshi wouldn't work for one full weekend. He had every intention of breaking the cool exterior of Aoshi and shattering Kenshin's monotonous, boring, SEX-LESS, life.

Now he was sitting on Kenshin's bed watching the two mostly nude people as they blushed furiously and scrambled to remember what they had done the night before. Sano wasn't about to tell them he knew they were too drunk to get it on... watching them both and teasing them both was way too much fun.

'Mission one accomplished. I wonder what kind of compromising situation I'll find Aoshi in? Better get outta here quick.' Sano thought as he unfolded the paper.

He was vaguely aware of both Kenshin and the Missy yelling at him. But all his attentions were placed on the single piece of paper that explained what happened to his friend after 9pm the previous night.

'Certificate of Marriage'

The words practically screamed off the page. Sano felt his eyes widen in total shock.

Kenshin and Kaoru had turned their backs to Sano, so they didn't see him staring at the paper. The just continued to yell at him until..

"YOU TWO GOT HITCHED?!?!" Sano yelled.

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A.N. Okay, I'm having WAY too much fun with this one. I'm so evil to Kenshin. And I love Sano too much to let him miss an opportunity to embarrass the hell out of K&K.

Anyways, thanks everyone who reviewed! Much appreciated! This new chapter is dedicated to you guys :D You made me want to write more. I just hope you like it.

R&R this chappie, thankie!

^_^