Disclaimer: I don't own Love Hina…

"Kitsune-san? Are you ready, Kitsune-san?"

"Almost," she called from the upstairs hallway. Keitaro glanced nervously up at the hanging clock then back at the stairs. As it stood, they had approximately fifteen minutes to get across town and claim their dinner reservation at 'Senbonzaukura Teishoku-ya'. Leave it to Kitsune to suggest eating at the most popular restaurant in town on a Thursday night; and leave it to Keitaro to get suckered into it.

"Oh man," Keitaro sighed, "if she takes much longer, we're going to lose our reservations…"

"Don't worry, Sempai," Shinobu reassured him, "I'm sure she'll be down, soon." Keitaro couldn't help but crack a soft smile. He liked Shinobu. No matter what happened, she always did her best to make those around her comfortable, even at the expense of her own comfort.

"You're probably right," he agreed. Out of the corner of his eye, Keitaro spotted a scowling Naru poking her head out from the kitchen doorway. He shuddered. She had been like this for the better part of the day. It had almost become a routine; every ten minutes she'd stop what she was doing to drag her soggy mop to the entryway and glare hatefully at the uneasy landlord before returning to the kitchen to resume her chores. 'Why me?' he sobbed, inwardly.

"She's ready!" Su cried, bounding down the stairs. "She's ready, she's ready, she's ready!" Keitaro sprung from the sofa just in time to catch Su around his neck. The momentum of her slender body sent him reeling back onto the cushions.

"My, my," Kitsune chuckled from the stairs. "I see you're as energetic as always, Keitaro." Keitaro squinted through the tangled mass of limbs that pinned him to the sofa and nearly felt his heart skip a beat.

Time seemed to slow to a near stop as Kitsune stepped out onto the living room floor. She practically lit up the room in her spaghetti-strap evening dress, each curve and dip accentuated under the fiery-red fabric. The ceiling light glistened off of the sequin pattern that covered the front. A sheer red scarf and a pair high-heels complete the ensemble in a manner that could only be described as… perfect.

"Are ya just gonna stare like that all night?" Kitsune chuckled, observing Keitaro's slack-jaw expression. Quickly, the landlord snapped out of his stupor and, blushing, wiped the drool from the corner of his mouth.

"S-sorry," he stammered, "it's just that… Wow…!"

"You like?"

"Of course, but…" Keitaro examined his plain white dress shirt and black slacks. "I… uh… feel a little under-dressed…"

"No, you're fine… Oh geez! We'd better get goin'!" Before he could agree, Kitsune snatched Keitaro up by the arm and hauled him to the door. "Hey guys, we're leaving! Don't wait up!" No sooner had the door slammed shut, Haruka and Motoko joined Shinobu and Su in the living room.

"Oh, so they left already, did they?" Haruka noted aloud.

"Regrettable," Motoko sighed. "I would have liked to have seen them off."

"I don't see what the big deal is anyway," Naru griped from the kitchen doorway. The group turned, curiously, to meet her gaze. "I'll bet you he screws this up before they even get to the restaurant, the big idiot…!"

"Judging from your position, I don't think you should be wagering on anything, Naru," Haruka quipped with a soft smile. A hot blush scorched the red-head's face.

"Very funny!" she growled. With that, she turned away and stormed back into the kitchen, rattling the cupboards and cabinets with each step. Behind her, the remaining residents tried their best to stifle their laughter.

XXX

"I can't believe we lost our reservations!" Keitaro howled. "What difference does two minutes make, anyway?!" Throwing his arms in the air, the ruffled landlord dropped onto the sidewalk bench overlooking the crowded 'Senbonzaukura Teishoku-ya.' He was physically (and emotionally) exhausted.

"My bad, my bad," Kitsune grinned, nervously rubbing the back of her head. "I guess I did hold ya up for a while…"

"No, no," he sighed, "it's not your fault. I should've called ahead and told them we'd be late… Great. Now what are we going to do?"

"How about that place?" Keitaro adjusted his glasses and looked up to see Kitsune pointing at a nearby pub.

"There? But that's… Are you sure?"

"Why not?" she shrugged. "No point in wasting the evening away, right?" Keitaro eyed the building warily. Why did she want to go there of all places?

"Well, okay, then," he sighed. The two briskly made their way across the street and onto the opposite sidewalk in front of the pub. Keitaro, being the gentleman he was, held the door for his date, receiving a smile of gratitude. As they casually entered the bar, Keitaro took a moment to examine his new surroundings. The interior was dimly lit, and what little illumination the red hanging lamps provided was heavily filtered through a canopy of smoke. A glowing jukebox warbled an old love song from the corner adjacent to the bar counter. Kitsune greeted a table of rough-looking older men, each one more than twice Keitaro's size, covered in muscles and scars. They sat shoulder-to-shoulder, huddled around a stack of cards and a few rolls of poker chips.

'Man this place is seedy on a whole new level…!' he thought. 'Why would Kitsune-san even come here? And how does she know these goons?!'

"Hey, Keitaro, I want ya to meet some friends of mine." Keitaro followed her hand with his eyes as she went around the table, naming off each brute. "This is Matsushita… He owns the bar. That's Ohba, This is Tanemura, and that one over there is Miwa."

"H-hi," Keitaro squeaked.

"So, you found yourself a new jerk, eh, Konno-chan?" Matsushita grunted before polish off his beer. "I swear I just don't understand you…"

"Hey now, Keitaro here's a nice guy, really…! You worry too much…" The burly man looked the scrawny landlord over for a moment then frowned, coarsely.

"Yeah, whatever. I've seen 'em all before… You just come lemme know when he screws up, okay?"

"Yeah, yeah," Kitsune sighed. Bracing herself against the table, the young blonde leaned over and placed a gentle kiss atop the man's bald head. "I'm gonna go back to my date. You boys take care, okay?" A cloud of compliant grunts rose from the table.

"Help yourself to anything ya like," he called after her.

"Wow…" Keitaro shuddered, once they were out of earshot. "Uh… Nice bunch, there…"

"Aw, they're harmless," she grinned. "Matsushita's been looking out for me ever since I can remember. He's a great guy… Been like a daddy to me…"

"I see…"

"Don't worry. He may look a little rough, but he means well."

"It must be nice having someone to look out for you…" Kitsune looked as though she were about to say something, but decided it was better to keep her thoughts to herself.

"So," she lilted, slipping back behind the counter. "What can I get ya, 'Mr. Toudai'?"

"Hey, you're not going to bring that up again, are you? I told you guys it wasn't my fault… You were the ones assuming things…!" Keitaro looked up to catch that all-too-familiar Cheshire grin creeping across her face and instantly realized he had been the butt of yet another joke. "Oh, funny."

"Well… What'll it be?"

"Umm… I-I'm not sure," he blushed.

"Well, we've got grilled salmon over fried rice… That's actually pretty popular."

"Oh, alright… That sounds good."

"Alrighty, then." Kitsune slid her purse from her arm and tossed it down onto the counter. Her left hand flew to the burner knobs while her right and reached up to retrieve a low-hanging wok from the overhead rack.

"W-wait, are you going to cook, Kitsune-san?"

"Ya got a problem with me cooking?"

"Well, n-no, but… It's just that I've never known you to spend much time in the kitchen… That's all."

"Well, I'm no Shinobu, but I can hold my own in front of a stove, Keitaro."

"Oh, right! S-sorry!" Kitsune stifled a light chuckle and turned back to her cooking. She was surprisingly proficient, Keitaro noted as he watched her work, maybe even more-so than himself. She moved back and forth behind the counter, adjusting temperatures and adding spices. Every-so-often she would pause to chew her lip, thoughtfully when she'd overlooked something. Then, as quickly as she'd forgotten, her face would suddenly light up with recollection and she would resume her busy rhythm.

Keitaro watched her back as he sipped quietly at the beer she'd place in front of him. To be perfectly honest, this was the first time a girl had ever cooked exclusively for him. He was genuinely pleased with the situation. The smell of sizzling fish… The sounds of popping grease… Between the food and Kitsune, it was a challenge just to hold back his urge to drool.

"There ya go," Kitsune said, sliding a plate over the counter. Keitaro leaned over the food, relishing the rising steam as it billowed up to meet his cheeks.

"Wow, this smells great!"

"Told ya," she grinned with a wink. After fixing herself a plate, she slid into the stool beside him and began eating. Keitaro studied her closely as she lifted the chopsticks to her mouth, watched the way her lips moved when she chewed. Her lips… They looked so tender and moist. They were the ideal shape and size; not too thick, not too thin… As the warm of a growing blush blazed his cheeks, Keitaro realized that he had never wanted to kiss someone so badly.

'Gah! What am I doing?!' he screamed inwardly. 'I can't believe I'm thinking that kind of stuff about Kitsune!' But as hard as he tried, he couldn't shake her lips from his thoughts.

"You okay, Keitaro?" Kitsune asked, one eyebrow arching with concern.

"Oh, yeah, I'm fine!" he laughed. "Just fine! I wasn't thinking anything! Nothing at all!"

"Nothing?" she prodded with a grin.

"N-nothing!"

"You sure it wasn't… something?"

"I'm sure! It was nothing!"

"Oh… How boring." Keitaro's shoulders slumped in a sigh of relief. He was safe… for now. "So, ya like the food?"

"Yes, it's delicious! I had no idea you could cook like this. You're full of surprises…"

"Am I, now?"

"W-well," Keitaro flushed, "I mean, there's that book you've been working on and your cooking… You know a lot about architecture and law… It's like… Nevermind. It's silly…"

"Aw, c'mon…"

"I dunno… It's like there's an infinite number of sides to you… It's pretty… amazing…" Kitsune's grin fell away, replaced by a faint blush. "S-sorry!" he blurted. "I shouldn't have said anything! Forget I even mentioned it!"

"R-right," she agreed, "so, anyway…" As the night wore on, the pair passed the time with beer and conversation. Nothing deep, really. Every once in a while Kitsune would insert a teasing innuendo, earning a few stammers and a blush from Keitaro's end. But, despite her suggestive banter, he had to admit he was enjoying the attention. As he sat there, exchanging words and glances, he couldn't help but feel a pleasantly surreal tonality to it all.

'I really like this,' he thought to himself. 'I wonder if things could always be this way…?'

XXX

"Hey, Konno-chan," Matsushita called from the other end of the shop, "I'm gonna head out. Lock up whenever ya decide to leave, okay?"

"Gotcha," Kitsune waved. With that, the burly owner departed, leaving the two alone beneath the crimson glow of the bar lamps. Keitaro slumped over the counter, resting his head beside his empty beer mug. He was drunk, pure and simple. It was practically a certainty when he was drinking with Kitsune; one drink always led to two more, then four more, until at long last he found himself staring vacantly at the wall of a spinning room. It was as if the slightest movement would send him reeling off the ground and into oblivion. Oddly enough, he found that if he closed one eye, his vision improved, significantly.

"I… I think I overdid it, Kitsune-san," he murmured into the cool surface of the bar counter. Kitsune chuckled lightly at him over the rim of her glass, but said nothing. It was clear from the misty look in her eyes that she too was beginning to feel the alcohol's effects. "What time is it?" Kitsune craned her neck and cast a lingering glance at the digital clock perched atop the liquor cabinet.

"Umm… A quarter 'til two."

"Oh, man," he groaned, "we should probably start heading back…"

"You're probably right… Lemme just clean up real quick." In spite of his diminished coordination, Keitaro managed to slide safely from his bar stool and help her clear the remaining plates and glasses from the countertop. After everything was more-or-less in order, Kitsune turned out the last set of lights and ushered him out onto sidewalk, locking the door behind them. They stumbled a few blocks before finally catching a late-night streetcar to take them back to the inn. The ride was surprisingly quiet, due in large part to the fact that they were the only two people on the entire cart. Every-so-often, Keitaro would glance down to see Kitsune staring fixedly at the city lights form behind the trolley window. At last, they reached their stop, and with a considerable difficulty, stumbled out of the streetcar and climbed the steps of Hinata Inn. As they slowly made their way up the seemingly endless flight of steps, Keitaro suddenly realized how exceptionally beautiful Kitsune looked, tonight. The way the pale moon bathed her smooth skin and hair in a silvery glow nearly took his breath away. Had she always looked so good?

"Well," she sighed, stopping just short of the dormitory door, "I guess this is goodnight, huh?"

"Y-yeah, I guess so…" he nodded. "By the way, thanks for… you know… everything. I had a lot of fun…"

"Yeah, me too."

"You know, if you ever want to-?" Before he could finish, Kitsune closed the distance between them and gently pressed her lips into his. The landlord's initial instinct was to pull back, but for some unknown reason, he couldn't move. The warm, tender feeling of her lips, the smooth motions of her tongue as it moved alongside his; it was as if her touch was holding him in place. He couldn't move. He could barely think. The mental gears of clarity and reason quickly gave way to the mix of hormones and alcohol that flooded his bloodstream. 'What's going on?!' his "inner Keitaro" screamed. 'Is this a dream?! This has to be a dream! There's no way this is happening! It's too amazing!' Suddenly, she stopped.

"Oops," she chuckled, nervously. "I guess I shouldn't have done that…" Even though her alcohol-induced haze, she could clearly make out his speechless expression in the moonlight.

"N-no," he managed. "I… liked it…"

"Oh…? Well, in that case…" She kissed him again, bolder this time. Reluctantly, he returned the embrace, until, at last she withdrew to stare mistily up at him. "Listen... Do you wanna come up to my room?"

"Y-your room?"

"Don't worry. It's okay…"

"A-are you sure?" She nodded. "A-alright…" Kitsune's lips turned up in a gentle smile. Taking him firmly by the hand, she turned and led Keitaro into the shadows of the darkened house.

Author's Note: I'll be perfectly honest with you: I'm not completely happy with this ending paragraph, but I figured I've stalled long enough. I'll more than likely come back and revise it when I've figured out exactly how I want it to sound. I dunno… Let me know what you think.