This is a last-last-minute item for the Christmas-themed contest someone instigated. It's a short piece of fluff that I wrote just now; I liked the mental image. Besides, it's gotten me from 6am to 7am...surely I'm justified in waking my family up *now*, right? *gryn* ************************************************* Christmas. Kenshin had never thought much about Christmas; it was a Western holiday. He knew very little about Christianity, and even less about Western traditions. But Tae had been talking to Kaoru, and she had decided that this winter, they were going to celebrate Christmas- what could he and the others do but follow along? Her enthusiasim was endless. She told all of them about Christmas- the original story of the birth of Christ, and all the traditions that had built up around the holiday. Ayame-chan and Suzume-chan had listened to stories of a white-bearded man who flew all over the world delivering presents to good children with wide eyes and obvious delight; they had behaved so well since then that Genzai-sensei said he was tempted to celebrate Christmas every year, just so that he could be sure of a few days during which the girls wouldn't get into any mischief. Sano had contributed by bringing a tree to the dojo, which Kaoru and Megumi had decorated- though Megumi's side was much neater than Kaoru's. Kaoru. Kenshin smiled to himself. She was overwhelmed with delight lately; it spilled over into everything she did. She sneaked about buying a few small presents, and hiding them- then hiding them again as soon as she suspected that Yahiko might have discovered where they were. Now that it was Christmas Eve they were under the tree, and the boy was doing his best to look disinterested, and failing miserably. Every so often he would look up from his conversation with Tsubame and glance wistfully at the tree. Everyone was here. Tae and Tsubame, Genzai-sensei and his granddaughters, Sano and Megumi, Yahiko. Kaoru. She's arranged a Chrismtas party for all of them, and everyone was enjoying themselves. Yahiko and Tsubame were chatting and trying not to wonder about the gifts under the tree, some of which bore their names. Genzai-sensei was talking with Kaoru. Ayame-chan and Suzume-chan were sitting determinedly in front of the door, waiting for Santa Claus to walk through. He hadn't seen Sano and Megumi for a while...but he **had** noticed them kissing beneath the mistletoe a while ago, and it wasn't hard to guess that they might be snatching a few moments of privacy. There was so much love here, so much joy...it was almost painful to watch. Kenshin hated winter; he hated snow, hated being cold. Most of all, he hated remembering the events of winters past. The smile slipped from his lips. Tomoe. Had it been ten years since that fateful night? Eleven? It seemed like yesterday, and like forever. His life was measured not by the years he had lived, but by the years he had lived since that time. Blood, pain, retribution...death. That was what he associated with winter. And such horrible cold, of body and spirit both... his eyes closed briefly, in an attempt to block out the memory of Tomoe's death. There was a sudden warmth next to him, a brush of lips against his cheek. With surprise, Kenshin looked up. To find Kaoru smiling down at him, blushing furiously and holding a small sprig of mistletoe above his head. "Merry Christmas, Kenshin." His eyes widened; fingers reached up towards the place her lips had touched. She had so much warmth, so much joy...maybe enough for him, too. Perhaps he could make new memories about winter. Starting now. Perhaps it was time to start measuring his life not by how many years he had been without Tomoe, but by how long he had been with Kaoru. She was still smiling, kneeling beside him. He smiled back, and reached up to wrap his larger hand around her small one, so that the mistletoe was crushed between their fingers. With his other hand he drew her face down to his, kissing her softly. "Merry-Christmas, Kaoru-dono." ************************************************* =) Ashley B. AKA Ashfae ashfae@duct-tape.mit.edu http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Pagoda/8264/anime.html "I have no life! And I can prove it mathematically!" --------------------------- ONElist Sponsor ---------------------------- GRAB THE GATOR! FREE SOFTWARE DOES ALL THE TYPING FOR YOU! Tired of filling out forms and remembering passwords? Gator fills in forms and passwords with just one click! Comes with $50 in free coupons! Click Here ------------------------------------------------------------------------ -- ======================================================================== To UNSUBSCRIBE from this community, send an email to: kffdisc-unsubscribe@onelist.com and reply to the confirmation email we send you. ========================================================================