Disclaimer: Rurouni Kenshin does not belong to me. If it did, I wouldn't be stuck sneaking in fic-writing time during work.
AN: OK, here you go. Fluff in all its cliched, unabashed glory. Do forgive any errors. Enjoy.
Nice going, Kamiya. She'd done it again.
She had just been starting to get over the nervousness she always felt when she was alone with Kenshin. When he was near, with no one else to occupy his attention but herself, she'd find herself assaulted by an entire host of emotions – an irrational pleasure at being in his presence brought, an instinct to hide the embarrassingly juvenile crush she'd had on him for years and preserve her dignity, plus an urge to do or say something to make herself seem attractive to him. It was a wonder she'd ever managed to conduct herself sensibly in his company.
Today, though, was different. Kenshin had offered to walk her home from school, and after a few awkward attempts to start a conversation, he'd brought up the subject of kendo. Now that was a topic she was comfortable with. It didn't take long before they were both deep in conversation, comparing notes on the different styles they were studying.
Of course, it was inevitable that she'd somehow manage to mess things up.
One moment, she was extolling to him the merits of the Kamiya Kasshin style, and highly pleased with her newfound ability to form coherent sentences in his presence. Maybe she could actually get through this without making herself look like a fool in front of him.
The next moment, she was pitching forward towards the ground, through no will of her own. As she fell, she realized that the toe of her shoe had caught on a crack on the pavement, and tripped. But knowing that didn't help, now, did it?
Even as she approached the ground at gravitational acceleration, she somehow managed to have the time to lament at her woeful fate. Well, talking to him had been nice while it lasted. After this, she'd probably be too embarrassed to look him in the eye, let alone carry on a proper conversation.
She never hit the ground.
Wrapped up in her bemoaning, it took her a while to realize that she was leaning against Kenshin's chest, with his arms at her sides to brace her. Somehow he'd managed to catch her she could crash into the pavement. Huh, good reflexes. When she only continued to lean against him, surprise rendering her speechless and disoriented, he stared at her strangely. "Um, are you okay?"
"Yes!" Cheeks burning, Kaoru tried to get back on her feet again. In her haste, she nearly fell against him again. Her proximity to him really wasn't helping her embarrassment. "I'm…such a klutz…I'm sorry…I'm really…sorry…" For more reasons than one. He must think that she was a complete spaz now.
She began to pull away from him, but suddenly found that his arms were tightly locked around her waist. Confused, she looked up at him. "Uh, Kenshin…?"
He was staring at her with a disconcertingly intense expression, and Kaoru fell herself redden. She inadvertently took a step back, but he refused to relinquish his hold on her.
He looked down for a moment, as if contemplating something. Then, meeting her gaze again, he reached out a hand, almost shyly, and tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear.
"I'm not."
Now that she thought about it, Kaoru realized she wasn't really all that sorry herself.