Chapter Seven

To Wine and Dine in Style

Due to immense nervousness – the same one which had been plaguing him for the last two weeks – Kenshin forgot to take the actual ring while proposing. He realised it only later. Kaoru had already gone to take a shower while humming happily and he himself was in the middle of trading his work suit into a more comfortable outfit. It was then that the box with the diamond ring in it fell out of his pocket.

As he waited for his fiancé to get out of the bathroom to give her the said ring, that damned nervousness clouded his eyes again. Kenshin felt as if he was about to propose for the second time. Once Kaoru found him at the bathroom door – waiting for her with that puppy dog look in his eyes – she laughed lovingly, letting the older man slide the elegant, yet simple silver ring with two small diamonds on her right hand's ring finger.

... ∽∾●∾∼ ...

When the giddiness passed, the two of them sat down to discuss the actual marriage over a meal.

"Actually, I don't want to rush into marriage." Kaoru admitted. "I always thought that I'd like to finish university before taking another big step."

She seemed a bit anxious while talking about it. An awkward smile playing on her lips and the way she kept messing with the mashed potatoes on her plate as she said those words gave it away. It went without saying, Kaoru was afraid of Kenshin's was so happy, and the last thing he wanted was to horribly disappoint him now.

"You're a cruel woman, you know that, Kaoru?" The said redhead began, trying to contain the mischievous grin which he felt his lips forming into.

"What are you talking about?" She gave him a perplexed look. The last thing Kaoru expected was for the violet-eyed man to call her cruel. Maybe accuse her of being afraid of commitment or something along those lines. Just not cruel.

"I know what you're doing." He continued. "You're going to string me along until a newer and better model comes around and piques your interest. This is what I call cruel."

Probably, because Kenshin knew that this time he was in complete control of the situation, his mask didn't crumble and he managed to keep any cracks at bay. He could see a scowl forming on Kaoru's face and almost felt sorry for her. If only he wasn't having as much fun, he would've probably stopped then and there, as well as apologised his wife-to-be.

"But what should an old man like me expect. You're young and funny, and pretty... and young... In retrospect, I think I threw my back out while putting on the suit so hurriedly this morning." He sighed, it was getting harder not to crack. "What could a youngster like you be doing with an old geezer like me? I ask myself this question every single morning I wake up next to you."

Kenshin felt immense pride due to his stellar performance. He never had even a slightest suspicion that his acting skills were that good. Nonetheless, the moment he felt a bunched-up serviette hit his shoulder softly, the man broke and started laughing madly. From the side, it might have seemed as if he had a few screws loose.

"Why is it, that though you no longer live with my brother, you act more like him than ever?" Kaoru fumed, though Kenshin could clearly see that she was doing her best to keep her face twisted in a frown.

"Can't a man be happy once in a while? I promise, I'll get my serious face back in few days. Well, maybe months... Or years... Let's just see how things go." Another serviette hit him, only this time it was aimed at his head rather than a shoulder. "Love, you wound me." He teased again.

"Oh, just shut up-!"

"In all seriousness though," he interrupted Kaoru as she was about to give in to her anger. "We can take as long as you want. Of course, with the condition that you're still going to marry me. Or are you having regrets already?"

"Of course not." The look in her eyes softened. The irritation was replaced by gratefulness.

'Then, I don't see a problem."

... ∽∾●∾∼ ...

The pair, however, did end up deciding to let their friends and family know about their new relationship status right away. Partly, because the decision they made was huge, but also because of the reaction they received for not telling anyone about taking their relationship to the next level the last time.

Kenshin called his father the same day, arranging to have a meal together the following week. All while Kaoru called their friends inviting them to have a dinner at their place the same weekend.

Truthfully, Kaoru was a bit frightened at the thought of meeting the famed Seijuro Hiko. It made sense though, as she had heard a lot of interesting stories from Kenshin about the said man. And besides – even without those snippets of her fiancé's childhood she happened to have the knowledge of – the redhead's father was a quite well-known man.

Most of the people interested in law in any way, had heard his name come up in a conversation at least once. The man by the name of Seijuro Hiko just happened to be a vicious persecutor whom no attorneys – even the experienced ones – wanted to meet in a hearing. By that point, he had even turned into a sort of an urban legend used to scare newbies, as he was often described as a monstrous being who ate inexperienced lawyers for breakfast.

According to Kenshin, those stories were a very harsh exaggeration of reality, probably spread by his father himself. With his stories, the redhead painted a picture of a very human man, nowhere near the monster he was made out to be. From what Kaoru gathered, in his personal life, Hiko was quite a crude man with a biting sense of humour. An eternal bachelor – few times engaged but never married – with a huge love of women and good booze. Quite strict as well, but above all else – very kind.

The redhead claimed, that his father was one of the kindest people he had ever met, despite the fact that he rarely chose to show it. Actually, according to Kenshin, he didn't know a single person who would have accepted a nine-year-old boy – whom they were seeing for the first time – into their own home and even feed him a warm meal, except for his father. Of course, that moment of gentleness was followed by a thorough interrogation, but the prosecutor did let him stay none the less.

... ∽∾●∾∼ ...

The designated place of meeting was one of the more upscale restaurants in the city in which Kenshin spent his teenage years. For the couple to get there, they only needed to endure a two-hour drive by car. In theory, it wasn't that long, but to Kaoru, those two hours went by excruciatingly slow.

During the whole ride, she just couldn't stop sweating buckets and no amount of softly whispered words coming out of Kenshin's mouth could help her. All her mind seemed to be able to do was worrying about being disliked by her fiancé's father.

Various scenarios of how the events were going to turn out flashed before her eyes. She could just feel the awkwardness which was bound to hang in the air when she won't be able to find a suitable conversation topic. Or stick a foot in her mouth in the way only she could. Or, the worst of all, be too afraid to even start talking.

Of course, Kaoru trusted Kenshin. Even believed him when he claimed that things will turn out well, that his father isn't as scary as she was imagining him. Despite all that, that picture of a merciless prosecutor she heard so often talked about, just wouldn't leave her mind.

... ∽∾●∾∼ ...

The man by the name of Seijuro Hiko seemed to be nothing like Kenshin. For one, he was very tall and towered over both his son and Kaoru alike. He was also quite muscular – compared to Kenshin who was, admittedly, short, quite petite and nowhere near as macho as his father. The only exception was their hair which both men chose to grow out. However, Hiko's hair was black, nowhere near the vivid hot red colour of his son's hair.

Despite how patronising the man looked in his expensive black suit, Seijuro Hiko turned out to be friendly in his own way. Just as Kenshin had warned, his father kept making sarcastic remarks – almost going too far at times – and kept calling the redhead next to Kaoru his 'idiot son'.

The young university student was more than grateful that her fiancé's father had such a personality. Thanks to it, the tension, which enveloped the table at first, was soon dispersed. It didn't take a long time before the three of them were joking around while having their dinner. Most of, regretfully, was at Kenshin's expense. However, the redhead seemed only a bit irritated, as his annoyance was greatly overshadowed by the fact that the two most important people in his life were getting along quite well.

"So, why is it my idiot son?" The older man inquired after putting down the knife and fork which, only moments prior, he had been holding in his hands.

"Excuse me?" The bright-eyed woman was caught off guard by this question, while in the middle of taking a bite out of her steak.

For some reason. The conversation had taken a bit more serious turn as soon as Kenshin left the table to take what seemed to be an important call from work.

"No, that isn't the right question. You're young and beautiful. From what I've witnessed, you seem to also be a great woman. That makes me glad that you took pity on my son and agreed to marry him. However, there are still so many things you haven't experienced in your life, so many places you haven't visited and so many people you have yet to meet. Are you sure getting married is the right decision for you to make right now? You're what?"

"Almost twenty-four." Kaoru replied, having put down her own utensils a long while ago as well.

"My son is thirty-two. I'm sure that you've already noticed, but he's not only very tender-hearted but an idiot as well. Maybe, he didn't think about all of those little details when he asked you to marry him, and if so, it remains my responsibility to do that. So, are you certain that you won't feel trapped after getting married? That you won't hurt him by changing your mind because you wanted something more or someone else?"

As the man sitting in front of Kaoru went on with his rant, the young woman realised why he had become an urban legend. He had accurately pointed out all of the things she had been insecure about during her whole relationship with Kenshin. The only exception was that Hiko seemed to be certain that she will leave his son after getting bored, opposed to it being the other way around.

His words also strangely mirrored her fiancé's on the day he proposed. Though Kaoru knew that her husband-to-be said them in a jest, it still made her wonder if Kenshin was also insecure about the age gap between them.

Kaoru came to a conclusion that the last thing she wanted was having to face him in a court of law. Even if she was confident in her abilities as an attorney, the dark-haired woman was sure, she would crumble under Hiko's precise attacks.

Nevertheless, this time she had no other choice than to hold her ground against him.

"Kenshin and I have our differences, but I'm completely confident in making this decision, despite being perfectly aware that being married won't be that easy." The university student finally began her rebut. "I know that living with another person will be hard, but we'll be able to do that. Having lived together for over two years, we know what pushes the other's buttons and how to talk them down. I know that we will fight, but we also have fought daily up until now. Some of those fights will be minor, easily forgotten. Of course, some will be serious. They might even make us consider divorce. However, if we put in the work, I'm sure that we'll be able to find a middle ground."

Kaoru took a deep breath before continuing. She was making up her answer as she went, and due to this she was beyond terrified of saying a complete nonsense, repeating and contradicting herself.

"And I'm not sure about a change of heart. Honestly, I'd rather find suspicious the person who could say with certainty that it will never happen."

Seijuro Hiko picked up his utensils and was about to speak once more when Kenshin came back apologising for taking such a long time. They resumed their previous conversation – the one they were having before the redhead's phone rang – pretending as if nothing happened. Hiko changed gears quickly and professionally, while it took Kaoru a few moments to adjust, but Kenshin didn't seem to notice.

Later that evening, when Kenshin and Kaoru were finally driving home, her fiancé mentioned that his father seemed to be quite taken by her. Not knowing how to respond to that statement, the dark-haired woman had no need to feign the surprise which washed over her face.

... ∽∾●∾∼ ...

Kenshin and Kaoru told their friends and the only remaining member of Kaoru's family about their engagement the next day after the redhead proposed.

With such a short notice, it would have been hard to book a table at a good restaurant and the couple didn't want to impose on Tae more than they already did on daily basis. Hence, the two of them decided to hold a small gathering of their closest friends in their flat.

Since early that morning, the two of them had been frivolously preparing to receive their guests. Kenshin – making the main dish – lasagne – as well as few other side dishes, and Kaoru – cleaning the flat. Her task, to be completely honest was especially meaningless. Firstly, because both of them liked neatness and kept everything quite clean regardless. Secondly, because the relationship between the small group of friends was closely knit and no one would've even batted an eye at a bit of messiness here and there.

The redhead had also prepared the ingredients as much as he could the night before. Hence, in reality, there was no way it could have taken him that long to prepare the said meal. However, those idle tasks prevented them from trying to predict their friends' reaction, so neither of the pair muttered a word about it.

... ∽∾●∾∼ ...

When the evening came, Kaoru couldn't tell how much time she spent sitting on the bed, just gawking at the engagement ring on her finger, mesmerised by the piece of jewellery. It was the ring of the doorbell that knocked her out of her daze. As soon as she regained her senses, Kaoru exited the bedroom she and the redhead shared, intent on letting their waiting friends inside.

"I'll take care of it, you should get dressed." She stated while looking at her fiancé and his state of undress. With having just taken a shower, the man's hair was still wet and he was clad only in a bathrobe.

Kaoru herself was already fully dolled up – her body wrapped in a knee-length semi-sweetheart neckline royal blue dress, which made her bright sapphire eyes pop so much more. Her dark midnight hair was scooped up into a high ponytail and her lips were drawn on with a bold red lipstick, enhancing the contrast created by those striking colours against her pale skin.

"Kaoru..." The red-haired man whispered her name, admiring her appearance. By the time those words left his mouth, the said woman had already crossed half of the living room area barefoot.

"Yes?" The woman stopped in her tracks. She turned around to face the man while trying to clasp the plain silver necklace which she decided to get herself as a birthday present last year.

"You look beautiful." He crossed those few meters separating the two of them and pulled his wife-to-be in for a hug. The older man was about to catch his fiancé's lips when the woman pushed away his face while laughing.

"I can't let you have red lipstick smeared all over your face, now can I?" Kaoru joked as the man in front of her stared at her with a pleading look in his eyes.

"I can wash it off while you open the door." He tried again.

"So, you're okay with me looking like a clown?" Her statement was followed by a coy giggle, so unlike Kaoru herself.

Any other evening, without a doubt she would have given in easily. Truthfully, she was about to do just that when the doorbell rang again, indicating how impatient people behind the locked door were getting. Hence, Kaoru maneuvered out of Kenshin's hold and tried to continue with the task he had distracted her from. No matter, how hard it was to resist the redhead.

"How about I remove it later tonight, then?" A soft and seductive whisper came from Kenshin's mouth as he took over and clasped the necklace for Kaoru, before running his fingers along her back.

"I'll think about it." A sly smile graced the bright-eyed woman's lips as she took few steps she had left towards the door of the apartment the two of them shared. In response, Kenshin triumphantly made his way to their bedroom to get dressed in private.

Once she opened the door to see a group of four people – consisting of Misao, Sanosuke, Tae, and Aoshi – standing there. A slight irritation was evident on all of their faces, with the only exception being Aoshi. As the young woman let the small group in, she apologised for taking such a long time to get to the door.

Of course, the moment the two women saw Kaoru they noticed the engagement ring on her finger. Misao's reaction was exactly what Kaoru anticipated it to be – she shrieked and asked so many questions it made the university student's head spin. Tae, on the other hand, hugged her and didn't bother asking her anything, planning to get every detail out of her later when the woman would be lulled by the feeling of false security.

Once Kenshin finally returned fully dressed, he was surprised by the beeline the small commotion in the hall. Everything cleared up when Sano noticed him and shouted while laughing: "I'm warning you, brother-in-law! Somewhere along the way, I might make your couch my new home!"

AN: Yes, I uploaded another chapter surprisingly quickly! And this one turned out to be probably the longest I've written so far, so that gets me excited. If I manage, I might upload another chapter before my winter break ends, because I'm afraid I'll get lazy when school starts. I really can't promise you anything since I've been feeling like death for the last week and a half. I might just end up laying in my bed the rest of the holiday and just watching musicals on my computer...

Anyway, I hope that you enjoyed this chapter. Positive and negative comments are appreciated.