She woke with a start, sweat was dripping off of her forehead. The faint light filtering in through her shoji told her that it was only the earlier hours of dawn, surely everyone else would still be asleep. She glanced to her side, almost expecting the red headed Battousai from her dreams to be lying there, sound asleep, resting after a passionate… Kaoru blushed, the dream was so vivid, it was as if she had lived it. She wiped the perspiration from her forehead and sighed. Today would be the 25th day of December; it was almost new years, what would they do to celebrate this year?

At that thought, she was reminded of the tumultuous year that they had had. It started off with Kenshin arriving at her dojo at the lowest point of her life. When an impostor calling himself the Battousai had killed many innocent people in the name of the Kamiya Kasshin style. Then, he showed up, the real Battousai, but no longer the bloodthirsty demon that all men feared ten years ago. She still remembered that foggy meeting the first time they had come face to face. She remembered his clueless look when she named him as the Battousai, not knowing just how correct she actually was. Thinking back, it was impossibly foolish for her to be chasing after someone whose skills she would never hope to emulate. She smiled, and the hateful image of Gohei, the man who sought to ruin her, faded from her mind.

After that, they had met the young thief whose soft snoring she can hear coming from across the hall. The little brat had called her ugly since day one. To this Kaoru wrinkled her nose. At first he just seemed like any other rude child of the street whose family was too poor to send him to school. But who would have thought that behind the little boy's lowly conduct, there was a noble intention: to pay off his family's debt. Little did he know, he was nothing but a money-making tool for the mafia, and there was no debt to begin with. Through all of this, his samurai spirit shown through, and Kenshin saw this too. Maybe this is why he had intervened at the last moment and saved Yahiko from a miserable life. She smiled again, she can't exactly say that the little boy's stay here at the dojo has been a smooth one, he is constantly getting on her nerves, but he has become more of a brother than a boarder to her.

Then they had met Sanosuke the street fighter. She remembered the intense look in his eyes the first time she had seen him, he looked lawless and carefree. He was invincible. Buried deep under his tough exterior, however, is a boy whose childhood is filled with hatred for those that killed the only one he has ever admired. She had known that Kenshin was atoning for his past before this, but during that fight, she saw him actually doing it. He isn't just a swordsman who has unrivalled skills, his life is nothing to him, he could die at any moment and not care, but he lives for others. After that, when she was kidnapped by Jineh, she saw his other side, the one where he has locked away since the revolution. She understood why he struck fear into men. When he wants to kill, there is nothing that can stop him, she feared what he was capable of.

When Saitou showed up at her dojo doorsteps, she didn't know that her life was about to be turned upside down. From the terrifying duel between the two old rivals in her dojo, which destroyed several walls; at this, she cringed, remembering the cost of replacing all those walls; to the tearful good bye, and the process of picking herself back up, and finally defeating the Jupponkatana and nervously waiting for Kenshin to come back. She realized that Battousai the manslayer, the demon, isn't infallible, he is capable of mistakes, injuries and even death.

She pushed the covers off of herself and crawled in front of her mirror and stared at her reflection. Surprisingly, she looked reasonably presentable despite having just woken up. She folded her hands in front of her and laid her head down on them, contemplating herself. Her large sapphire eyes stared back blankly. In her head she relived the now fading dream, she blushed again, but her expression soon turned to a sad one. She knew that Kenshin was far from ready to love her, or love anyone for that matter. For now, he would always be a distant protector and a tortured man hiding behind the mask of a pleasant rurouni, she had known that for many months now. She turned away from the mirror and hid her face in her arms. There was nothing more that she wanted right now than to be with Kenshin and show him the love she felt for him, but she knew that that is utterly impossible. For now, she can only be there when he needed her, and slowly coax him out of the shell he had formed around himself and maybe, one day he'll finally accept her. She felt tears starting to well up in her eyes and blinked them away. Kamiya Kaoru is not one who'll cry so easily. She looked at herself again, now she saw the feisty Kaoru in the mirror, and not the helpless one merely moments ago.

"Kenshin will never leave me, I won't allow it." She whispered, the resolve in her voice both surprised and frightened her. She decided to let the matter rest for now. She stood up and patted her rosy cheeks gently, today would be a good day. She threw a long coat around herself, vaguely remembering it being the same coat she had worn when she first met her red headed boarder and padded over to the shoji and slid it open. Kenshin is probably still asleep, I think I'll fire up a bath and wash up before everyone wakes up… I'll surprise everyone with breakfast when they wake up! She thought cheerfully as she slid out of the hallway and into the yard. Walking towards the bathhouse, she clad the coat closer around her thin frame. The light was getting brighter now, and there was not a sound except for the gentle crunching sound she made as she trudged through the snow that had collected on the ground overnight. She wiped a strand of hair out of her face and hauled five buckets of water from the well and dumped them into the tub inside the bathhouse, thankfully the water hasn't frozen yet. She stood beside the stove and bent down to pick up some fire wood that were neatly stacked beside it. Retrieving a match from inside the bathhouse, she quickly started a fire under the bathtub. As the wet wood crackled and popped inside the stove, she appreciated the work that Kenshin does everyday when he had to heat her baths. She pulled her overcoat even closer to herself as she sat easily on the bench beside the bathhouse after clearing it of snow with her sleeve. She looked over the yard, everything was white, and the sun was beginning to peek over the dojo walls shyly. A slight breeze blew through the yard, carrying with it some flakes of snow, making Kaoru shiver, she absently threw a few more blocks of wood into the fire, still looking out across the yard. It's beautiful. She thought.

"Miss Kaoru?" Kaoru snapped out of her thought and noticed that Kenshin was beside her. So caught up in her work was she that she didn't even notice the red head approaching her from across the yard. His sleeve was tied back with a rope, signalling that he had just come from the kitchen where he most likely had started cooking.

"Mou Kenshin…" She pouted, looking at the ropes, "I wanted to cook for everyone today." Her mock displeasure turned to a smile as she stared at him, who returned the smile in kind.

"If you want to, you could help me."

"You're just flattering me, I know what everyone thinks of my cooking, I doubt you'd want me to ruin your masterpiece." She laughed easily, and before Kenshin would come up with some retort, she continued "If the little brat doesn't like my cooking, I won't let him blame you as well because you were involved in the cooking." She laughed.

"I think your cooking is very delicious miss Kaoru," Kenshin said, making her flush and feel silly that such a simple remark could make her blush at the same time, "when he insults your cooking, it's his way of showing his appreciation, as strangely as that sounds."

"Or he can just be an ungrateful brat." They both laughed lightly.

"Miss Kao.." Before he could speak, she cut him off.

"Kenshin, can you stop putting miss in front of my name every time you say it? Please?"

"But…"

"No if, ands or buts!" She said forcefully, bringing her face close to his menacingly in mock aggression.

"Yes M'am." The red head squeaked, and she sighed exasperatedly.

"Kenshin, why do you insist with this politeness, we're friends aren't we? Why do you still keep up these silly formalities, you don't treat Sano the same way, so why me?" A dull pain shot through her when she acknowledged that their relationship is nothing more than friendship. She was so caught up in the simple emotion that she didn't realize a sad look had crossed her face, Kenshin had noticed this, and he looked more serious.

"Because you are important to me, Kaoru" Kenshin said seriously, she stared at him, "you helped me face what I truly am, and you are part of the reason why I am still alive today, and not laying dead on mount Hiei, and for that, I am grateful." Kaoru struggled to find something to say, but nothing came out, what was it that today, now, that Kenshin would suddenly open himself up to her like this? Not knowing what to say turned out to not be a problem, because after standing for a second in silence, Kenshin closed the distance between them and embraced her. It was full of warmth; she could literally feel his happiness at being here, in this dojo, with her on this beautiful morning, very much unlike the embrace they shared when he said goodbye before heading off alone for Kyoto. Moment later, they had separated, and Kaoru felt her face heat, and it was not at all from the fire that was burning merrily right beside them. Kenshin stuttered something incoherent and tried to remove his hands from around her, but she stopped him as she circled her own arms around his waist and leaned into him.

"Kenshin, do you think we could ever be more than friends?" She whispered quietly, forgetting everything and ignoring all consequences and just living in the moment. In this moment, her, with Kenshin, in her beautiful home, with her adoptive brother sleeping inside the house, she could be happy forever. She felt Kenshin tighten his hold around her. She pushed away, one hand resting lightly on his chest. Moving almost automatically, she reached up and cupped his scarred cheek with her slender hand and brought her face up close to his. She closed her eyes as she felt his lips against hers in a gentle kiss.

The kiss only lasted for a second, but to them it seemed like it could have been forever, that moment would be forever etched into their memories. He pulled away and looked into her eyes intensely, she didn't smile, but instead rested her head in the crook of his neck, pleasantly aware that his hands were still firmly held around her shoulders and waist.

"I love you." She whispered softly, almost deafly, so quietly that she wasn't even sure if the red head had heard her.

"Kaoru…" Kenshin said slowly, he was struggling to find the words to say. She pulled back and put a finger to his lips.

"You don't have to answer me right now," she said quietly, "I just wanted to be honest with you, if you're not ready, then I understand." His hand came up and held her hand.

"Kaoru, I can't say I love you now," he started, a sharp pain shot through her, "but please wait for me, one day, I'll be able to say those words without the burdens of my past on my shoulders." He explained. At first she looked confused, but then some understanding, "I want to love you when I can do it with my whole being, when I have conquered all of my demons, however long that takes, I'll come around, so Kaoru, please wait for me." Tears once again welled up in her eyes, but Kaoru Kamiya would not cry, not when her lover hasn't even told her he loves her!

"Mou," she complained, "You always have to make things so complicated." He laughed, and so did she. "But okay, I'll definitely wait for you," she smiled, "however long you need, I'll always be here, and so will you." and he caressed her soft cheeks with his calloused hand.

"Have I ever told you that you're beautiful?"

"No…"

"Well, you're beautiful." He bent down and kissed her again, this time with more passion. When they separated, flecks of gold danced in his eyes. "I think it's about time I got back to cooking breakfast." he said hastily, as if finally realizing what had just transpired between them. He removed his hands from around her and turned to head back towards the kitchen.

"I don't think so." Came a forceful reply.

And Kaoru, one hand firmly grasping Kenshin's wrist, pulled him inside the bathhouse.

Merry Xmas and Happy New Year!

Author's Note: THis one shot is canon, but I've set it up so it happens after everything has happened in the RK manga. It's just a nice relaxing one shot I decided to write at the end of the years with the winter holidays upon us. So happy holidays everyone!