Author's Note: This is the first part of a series of 'connected' drabbles. I don't think I'm going to post them all back to back, though. There will be interruptions…bear with me. Thanks.

Disclaimer: I do not own Rurouni Kenshin.

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Marriage, Denial, Love Pt.1

Words: 322

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"I'm getting married."

There was something wrong. He could tell by the way she stood - the sudden tensing of her shoulders, the holding of her breath. Though her back was to him, he could almost imagine what her expression would look like.

Frozen.

She tried to cover it up valiantly, but having known her for the length of time that he had, there were some things that she couldn't hide.

When she turned to face him, Kenshin felt the expectant smile on his face dim slightly.

Her face was suddenly too white. Her smile was suddenly too fake. Her eyes had drained of the sparkle that had danced so beautifully in them minutes before. For some reason, the Kaoru he knew so well had retreated abruptly, and before him now stood a dim shadow.

Kenshin didn't know what to think.

So to fill the silence, he spoke of his feelings for his fiancé. "I fell hard. Apparently, so did Tomoe." Despite the forced expression he noticed on her face at those words, Kenshin couldn't help the welling of excitement that spread within him, his expectations for his new future near fulfillment. "She's coming tomorrow to celebrate before the semester starts. We're planning to get married around Thanksgiving and move into an apartment adjoining the school campus."

Kaoru voiced objections about the lack of longevity of his relationship with Tomoe. In turn, he tried to lighten the suddenly solemn atmosphere by asking her to be his best man, but the smile she allowed on her lips was a mere shadow. And the amusement that so often sparked her gaze was absent.

If he deluded himself, he could pass off her strange reaction to thoughts of protectiveness for her best friend. She was concerned. She was shocked. She was thrown out of her element.

But…deep in his gut, he knew there was something else. Something deeper.

And he didn't know what to do.