A Winter's Tale

AUTHOR: Angelhart
GENRE: romance/humor
STORY: one shot
STATUS: complete
RATING: M (this story contains adult content!)
DISCLAIMER: Kamisama Hajimemashita (Kamisama Kiss) ©2008 Julietta Suzuki/Hakusensha – Viz Media – TMS Entertainment
All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. No money is being made from this work. No copyright infringement is intended.

This story is written for the tumblr event KamiHajiWinterWeekend. Prompt: 'Baby it's cold outside'

It is sort of post-manga. It takes place in the timeline after Tomoe and Nanami's wedding and before the final scenes of chapter 149. So yes, Tomoe is human.

I hope you're all not disappointed that I chose this timeline for this story. I know kitsune Tomoe is of course most popular, but the draft I had set up seemed more fitting in their already married life.

Happy reading!

"Wake up." Placing his hands on either side of her, he bent forward to whisper the words softly, yet firmly close to her left ear.

This had become rather of a standard ritual. Nanami was a vast sleeper and not a morning person. Even in their married life it was something that had not changed and he was certain it never would. He himself was always awake just before dawn. He didn't need a human alarm clock to aid him in that. He was used to early mornings when he worked for Mikage at the Shrine. The only thing he did miss, on occasion, were the afternoon naps. In a hard-working human life, there was hardly time for dozing off or slacking on the job.

Being human was hard and he might even admit that he had underestimated it. But as he stared at the female beauty that was lying on the bed they shared, there were no regrets in his heart. In his centurie's, old life, he had never known this kind of happiness before. That made all the struggles of mortality something he was willing to bare.

"Wake. Up."

She stirred and a moan left her lips.

He smiled eyeing her body. Her legs had pushed the sheets just past her waist, leaving her upper body partially exposed to his gaze. The cami top she wore during the nights was pushed up slightly, leaving her lower back uncovered by the fabric. Her panties had shifted in her restless slumbering, one part pushed aside and sort of stuck in the crack of her lovely curved behind. A round left cheek left exposed to his scrutiny gaze.

He chuckled silently and looked at the watch on his right wrist, while in his mind he calculated the estimated free time he had before he really had to go to work and to not be arriving late. He was, fortunately, an early riser which left him with enough time to spare to 'play around' if the object of his desire was willing.

After repositioning his right hand on the futon he moved his left towards the exposed skin of her lower back. Her body cringed at the feathery touch.

"Tomoe… your hands are cold…"

Yes, they probably were. He had taken out the trash this morning just before he thought it was time for his beautiful wife to wake up. It didn't make him relent, though. His hand moved down to stroke the firm curved skin towards her left hip.

"Tomoe," she giggled, "you're cold."

"That's because it's snowing outside."

She jumped up, forcing him to retreat and to a full stand. "Snow!" she let out excited as she stood on the matrass. She turned to face him. "That's so great, Tomoe! We can have snowball fights with the kids in the schoolyard!"

And she was gone. Right after those words he watched her slim body disappear towards the bathroom in a hurry. He let out a sigh in disappointment and gave a tug on the crotch of his pants to get some relieve of the uncomfortable swelling. It had started to form the moment he had planned out their morning quicky and romantic shower, before they both had to dash out to get to their work places on time.

Now he had to settle with a quick morning kiss somewhere between breakfast and the brushing of teeth and the cold chill outside that would relieve him of his starting erection.

He sighed again and walked towards the kitchen where he sat down at the breakfast table and grabbed the morning newspaper that was lying next to his empty plate. Although it was utterly cliché, yet enjoyable romantic to have their breakfast together, it rarely occurred. He'd preferred in giving her the time to sleep in as late as possible, rather than to face her cranky mood. Nanami was NOT a morning person.

As a Youkai he had little fear of the objections and scoldings of a struggling human that he had to drag out of bed to get her to school in time. As a mortal man, her feisty attitude had suddenly become more frightening and a thing to reckon with. He had not expected his physical strength to have downgraded so drastically. It had shocked him. He had found it rather difficult to drag her lightweight physique out of bed when she clutched to the futon and sheets for dear life, because the bed was just too comfy to leave.

Tomoe lowered the newspaper when he heard the shower being turned on and her voice singing some tune of a song. Her vocal cords trying to reach the high notes with a dreadful pitch that would formerly have hurt his fox ears. She sure was in a cheerful mood and he immediately blamed his own stupidity for not having acted out his earlier plan. He had missed out on a playful scuffle between the sheets, but he could have had some fun in the shower.

He was already on his third cup of coffee when Nanami's figure rushed passed him and started gathering her things.

"I'm late, I'm late!"

He raised his head at the desperate tone in her voice. Suddenly she came to a mid-stop in front of him. "Don't you have to go to work already?"

He gave her a smile and turned his wrist to look at his watch. "Nope."

"But…but…"

"I set the clock in the bedroom a half hour ahead, so you can relax. You're not late."

Her jaw dropped and before the vain of aggravation could appear on her forehead, he placed the newspaper on the table, stood up and placed a kiss on her open mouth. She tasted of minty freshness and he realized she had expected to miss out on breakfast, because of her tardiness. He brushed her cheek and gave her a wink and then make quick work of wrapping some of the things he made for her so she could at least have something inside her stomach, before her day would start. She could eat it on their way to work.

"That is so mean," she sang, her voice filled with accusation.

He pushed the bag with her partial breakfast in her hands and turned her around. "But now we can take the bus together. Let's go." And he didn't give her time to protest more as he pushed her forward and reached for his jacket that he had already hung on the kitchen chair.

Tomoe leaned back in his chair and rubbed his head and eyes. Who would have thought that staring at a screen with nothing but numbers could be so tiresome? During his studies, he had discovered he was a genius when it came to human finance. The numbers spoke to him like a lot easier than the English language he had learned during his school period with Nanami. And he never thought that, that gift could supply with a sufficient pay check to earn a respectable place in the human world and live a comfortable life.

But he wanted more. And it was not caused by greed or the lust for power. What he wanted was the luxury of free time. And that was something that was even harder to come by, then currency. He wasn't afraid of hard work. He was used to that at Mikage's shrine. But he was afraid of losing her. Losing the time, they could have spent together.

They had told him, Nanami had told him!, that a human life was fleeting. Fleeting but unimaginable precious, Mikage had said.

He was scared.

Not at first. But as they had found a home together and he became more and more acquainted with his mortal life, he became more and more worried. Where he would check his body in the mirror every morning to see if he was already 'dying'. Where she would cut her finger and he wanted to rush her to the hospital. And she scolded him for acting silly.

He had never felt so frightened in all his life. It had been their first real huge quarrel, one that ended up in a heavy make-up session, as he remembered amused. But it left him to deal with reality in the end. That, yes, they were going to die, and it would happen quickly from his perspective – of one who had been immortal and had lived over hundreds of years, seventy years could be compared with seventy minutes – but they would be together and make the best of it.

And to make the best of their life together, he wanted to arrange that they could spend as much time together as possible. Another crude realization that to be able to live as a human and to become part of humanization, you will have to work. And in worst case scenario one would spend ten hours to twelve a day a part from their loved one, just doing that. Work.

Nanami was determined that they didn't squander Mikage's gold to live their lives in luxury. And she was right, for they didn't need much, except each other. And apparently, a lot of things could go wrong in a human life and in order to fix those things you had to have money. So as soon as they had settled and both found jobs, they set the rest of it aside to safe it 'for a rainy day' as it was called.

Yet it still wasn't enough. He had come to learn that with a better position, you could make demands in life. And he could care less about a raise, although any upgrade in salary would be more then welcome, what he wanted was to control his work hours. And if it meant staring hours a day at a stupid screen and calculating numbers, it was worth it. Meanwhile he would scan the morning papers every day for a better job application. One that held all the benefits he wanted. A steady paycheck and – to him – acceptable office hours.

He straightened his back, bend his neck and moved his shoulders to give his slightly sore muscles some relieve of tension. Pushing his sleeve aside he checked his watch. He wasn't going to do some over time today, damn it to hell. Looking out of the window he noticed it was still snowing. That meant delay in traffic, most likely. That meant less time to spent with his wife.

He pressed Ctrl-P so hard that he risked of getting the buttons stuck in the keyboard, permanently. The printer on his desk turned on and spat out the sheets he had selected with the same aggressiveness as he attacked his keyboard again and started typing.

"Time to wrap this up," he mumbled and this time he glanced at the clock on the wall a couple of meters in front of him.

All stress left his body when he opened the door of their home and the scent of burned food reached his nostrils. He laughed. He was used of making dinner after the long office hours, but this time she had beat him to it. Obviously to surprise him.

And she looked darn straight adorable as she ran towards him with her oven mints still on and gave him a big hug. He pressed her to him and buried his face in her neck to absorb the sweet scent of her mixed with burned-

"What are you making?" he chuckled.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, it went terribly wrong." She stepped aside to let him pass, but took hold of his arm when she noticed his direction was the kitchen, the place of the 'crime'.

"Please, don't look. I will clean it up later."

His chuckling turned into laughter as he pulled his arm free. She followed him and try to stop him again by tugging on his jacket.

He had witnessed battlefields in his life, even the burned mess of villages that Akura-ou normally left behind paled in comparison of what he encountered in the kitchen. It was a blackened mess of a lot of things combined. Pots, pans and cutlery scattered on the floor, including one banged up smoke alarm that had obviously been knocked down from the ceiling. The oven was still slightly smoking and on the ceiling and the wall closest to the oven was a big dark spot.

He turned around. "You alright?"

She nodded and then suddenly bursted into tears. In between sobs she gave him her explanation of what was meant to be a surprise. He picked up the cook book that was lying on the floor and brushed it off. Well, she had surprised him, all right. Only, not in the way she had wanted to.

Placing the book on the kitchen counter he walked towards the phone hanging on the wall. As he passed her he pressed a gentle kiss on her forehead first and said: "Let's order in, shall we." Cupping her face with his left hand he dried the tears on her cheek with his thumb.

As he dialed the number he could hear Nanami starting to clean up the mess behind him. After he made the call to assure them there would be at least some nourishment, he walked towards to where she was squatting on the floor and kneeled down to aid her.

There was a kistunebi damage joke on the tip of his tongue, yet he remained silent. It would remind them both of the previous life he had and although it was obvious meant to be humorous and to make her laugh, he knew it would only make her feel even more guilty. He knew that somehow, she still felt that she had stolen his life away from him. And it didn't matter how often he told her that it had been his own choice and that he made it because he loved her.

Maybe it was because his eyes and heart couldn't lie. That somehow, she did know that he missed his old life of thrills and magic. Looking at the mess that was called 'kitchen' he could have cleaned it up with just a wave of his hand. Now it would take hours of cleaning and probably a paint job to bring the place back to its original and unscathed state. His old life was filled with risks by challenging other demons and tormenting gods. These days the top two of his main risk list in life was drinking milk that was close to the expiration date or allowing Nanami to cook.

He had turned from an untamed wild beast to a domesticated homo sapiens.

Because I love a human.

And he did love her. Every day. And unknown to her, for she wasn't facing him, he smiled, watching her cleaning the counter top. All this… It didn't matter. Every day he could be near her was a bliss. She could burn their house down and it wouldn't matter. As long as she would be safe and in his arms, he could be happy forever.

He bent down to look inside the oven. Reaching into it he took hold of what appeared to be the tail of a fish and took it out. Nanami was staring at him, biting her trembling lip and it seemed she was about cry again.

"Well," he said, eager to lighten the grim atmosphere, "It seems you're improving. See, only this side is black."

For a moment, she stood there and it almost appeared that his comment would not be taken well. Then she laughed – finally – softly at first, a giggle, then louder. And the tears that had been burning behind her eyes now escaped due to a different emotion.

Yes, smile, always smile like that. Because when she smiled, her eyes would sparkle and he would get lost in them and see eternity in them. And when she turned around to wash her hands he embraced her from behind, pressed his face against her hair. This was what he missed every day, all those hours he had to spend at the office staring at dull computer screens. Her scent, her presence. For he may had become human, his heart still remembered the loss he felt centuries ago when he had to let her go.

"I love you," he said and she turned in his arms, her hands reaching out to take hold of his face. She was his and forever would be and as she softly spoke the same words back to him he lowered his face, aided by her hands, until he felt her lips against his own. As the kiss deepened he was certain it would have ended into something much more intimate if they suddenly weren't interrupted by the sound of the doorbell.

Dinner.

Reluctantly, he released her to grab his wallet and walked towards the door. It seemed interruptions were always unavoidable. In the shrine, it always had been that annoying serpent. Today it was the delivery guy who held up his hand in expectation to get a tip. Instead the man got a door slammed in his face the moment the order had been paid and the bag was in Tomoe's hands.

The little hope he had to just drop the bag somewhere and continue where they left off died immediately when he noticed Nanami had already grabbed to plates and had sat down in the living room ready to eat. Defeated by a hungry human and his own empty stomach he took the bag with him and sat down beside her on the floor.

After their dinner, he was content in holding her as she was snuggled up against him as they watched some television together. Silently he watched her as she fell asleep against his shoulder, gently brushing a lock of her hair out of her face and curling the strand between his fingers. And when the movie was over he used the remote to turn the television off and lifted her up in his arms.

She woke as he carried her towards the bathroom. Her nimble fingers pulling gently on his tie and loosening it. He grinned at her as she opened op the buttons of his shirt one by one, almost teasingly. When he slowly lowered her to the floor she slid the fabric over his shoulders. He was about to aid her in undressing when she tugged on the loose tie and forced him to bend forward. Her kiss, normally tender and sweet was hard and caught him off guard. As she released him and started to undress he just watched her, still baffled by her sudden forwardness where he would usually take the lead. It was a surprising turn of events that left him anxious and thrilled.

Even after over two years she was still shy when it came to undressing herself in the same room with him. He found it adorable. Today there was however a slight change in her undressing routine. A tempted seductiveness that had him intrigued. It was when she stepped into the shower and turned on the water that he realized he had just been standing there, staring like fool. He took off the remainder of his clothing and entered the shower to join her.

He loved the feel of her fingers roaming through his hair as she washed it and he returned the favor. His forehead pressed against hers as he gently massaged her scalp and toyed with the long ebony locks of her hair. Allowing the water to rinse the shampoo their mouths engaged into an intimate kiss and soon he let his hands wonder down from her head to her neck and further downwards to her chest. The force of his kiss and the pressure of his body had her pressed up against the tiled wall and when she pushed against his shoulders he gave her a reprieve, expecting her to be in need of breath like he was. But when he wanted to kiss her again and had placed one hand against her lower back to feel her more against him, the hands resting against his shoulders, didn't budge.

Her sudden rejection made him step back to create the distance her hands were asking and he eyed her questionably.

"Not here," she said in reply to his silent question. A finger was placed against his lips to prevent him from replying. "There is something… I want to try."

His eyes widened and he cocked his head in curiosity. Then with a wide spread grin he asked "Really? What?"

She turned away from him and stepped out of the shower. Too quick for him to anticipate and react. He turned around to face her and was able to catch a glimpse of the red blush that appeared rapidly on her face just before she averted her head. She quickly wrapped a towel around herself and replied with a soft and timid voice something about what she heard her colleague teachers talk about in the early morning gossip before the school would open and classes would even start.

He chuckled because he couldn't picture her or any of the other female teachers talking about such a daring topic and he became awfully curious now.

"What is it?"

Her hands against her cheeks where trying to hide the still reddening blush. "It's too embarrassing."

"Come on," he pushed, "there isn't much that I haven't done before."

The moment the words left his mouth, he regretted it instantly. She tried to hide it, but he could still see the damage he had not wanted to inflict upon her. To remind her of his previous sexual escapades.

Shit.

This could ruin everything and in worse-case scenario have him sleeping on the couch.

When he was about to step out of the shower she stopped him, by placing a hand on his chest. "No. Could you just… uhm… go the bedroom and wait?" she asked carefully. "Uhm… after I'm gone, that is?"

"Gone? Where are you going?"

"I just… need to get something. And, no," she moved her hand away from his chest and moved her finger in front of him, "You may not follow me."

He pondered over it for a moment before answering with a hesitated 'all right'. She gave him a smile and disappeared towards the bedroom. When she was out of sight he faced the shower head again to finish rinsing the soap from his body. Anxiety in his chest out of fear of losing her by the unknown, her words, although they didn't hold the binding power anymore, were still causing an uneasiness inside of him. To not follow her was something that went against his very instinct. His need to protect her. And not knowing why or where she would be going. But he was also anxious for the obvious surprise she had in store for him.

It was hard to surprise him when it came to bedroom activities. And although Nanami was playful in a way in bed, she was also still timid. Today she was obviously in for something new and after drying himself he walked towards the bedroom, only to turn his head when he heard the sound of the door and felt the draft of the cold nights' air. Anxiety hitting him again knowing she left the house to go outside. He forced himself to remain calm and did what she had asked him to do.

He put on a kimono – did not bother to use an obi – and made himself comfortable on the bed. Lying on his side, his chin resting on his right hand, he eyed the small opening of the sliding shoji panels and waited for her to return. If he still would have had his tail it would have either swayed back and forth in aggravation or excitement. Or maybe both. He hated it that his human ears couldn't pick up the sounds he wanted to hear. Her footsteps, her breathing, any sign that she was near and doing okay. Relieved when the tension left his chest when he heard the door being closed and felt the draft disappearing.

The cold air had been a wondrous tool to cool of the previous evidence of his arousal. It allowed him to enjoy thrill of the anticipation without having to worry he wouldn't last that long. Unfortunately, the alteration to the human body had a negative influence on his stamina as well. Long tortures minutes, for what seemed like over an hour, went by before Nanami finally reappeared. One hand closing the panel behind her while the other remained behind her back.

The way he looked at her had her startled a bit. He could tell by her reaction and the way she froze that he must have looked like his old self for a moment. Predatory. And he did feel like that. His heart pounding in his chest as he locked his eyes with hers. The doors now closed, trapping her inside the room, with him. But she found her resolve quickly and requested for him to lie on his back and close his eyes.

It took all of his self-control to not just grab her and pull her into bed with him. Slowly he turned onto his back, folded his arms underneath his head and closed his eyes. He felt the futon underneath him shift as she moved on top of it. But when it took her too long to do anything he dared to lift an eyelid to see what was going on.

"No peeking!" she shouted right away.

Before he closed his eye again he had caught a quick glimpse of her wearing the sleeping yukata of her wedding night. That sure brought back pleasurable memories. To keep him entertained and to keep his patience in check, he relaxed while he allowed the images of her during that specific night to enter his mind and warm him up. And he was warming up nicely. Every body part of him.

Then suddenly something cold and wet was on his chest and it shocked him back to reality. His eyes shot open and he flinched, ready to back away when he realized it was Nanami who had placed a kiss close to his right nipple. A shiver ran through him caused by an unexpected pleasure as well as the chill. His eyes were drawn to the bowl that was standing next to her on the futon and suddenly realization hit him of what she had done.

Fresh snow filled the stone confinement and he watched with a certain amusement as she scooped up a bit with her fingers and placed it in her mouth. This was not something he was unfamiliar with, but to see her to come up with this idea by herself. Well… not completely by herself apparently… was something he had not expected. And it was all the more exhilarating.

As she moved forward to place her mouth on the skin of his chest once more he moved swiftly and captured her mouth with his own lips, tasting the icy substance that was already melting on her tongue.

"You like it?" she asked tentatively after the kiss ended.

He smirked wickedly. "I think I married myself a little vixen."

There was a nervous giggle and still a bit unassured Nanami reached out for the bowl to place it closer in between them. He could tell she was still surprised by her own forward act. Whatever the cause, he liked it already.

"Uhm… but I don't really know what to do."

He watched her eyes move to glance to his pelvis that was covered by the kimono, before she quickly averted her gaze and her cheeks colored a very cute crimson. Her intention was obvious and it had a very stimulating effect on his arousal, already. Feeling her need for confidence he moved his right hand to stroke through her hair and pulled her towards him for a tender kiss. Then he cooed softly: "Whatever you want to do is fine." And as the smirk returned on his face he added, "I'm sure you can sprout a few ideas."

He leaned back onto the pillows and to aid her he pushed the fabric of the kimono aside to leave him completely bare. Knowing she probably didn't have the guts at the moment to be so bold.

He caught her gaze. "Well Nanami?" He asked bluntly.

He called upon her stubbornness and her pride to not chicken out, for he was most eager to play this game. And it worked. Her fingers scooped up snow again and this time she took the initiative when she lowered her face and kissed him. He couldn't resist to catch the snow in his mouth and then pull back, only to lower his mouth to her neck and tease and shock her with the cold touch of his lips and tongue.

She gasped and even from where he was kissing her he could tell that her pulse was quickening. He realized that maybe the remembrance of his cold touch from this morning had spurred her further on to this idea. Luckily it would be Saturday the next day. That meant they had all the night to play this erotic winter game.

He watched intently as she placed snow kisses on his torso leaving a trail of goosebumps all over his skin. Muscles cringed underneath the touch of her sweet mouth and with each kiss she grew bolder, her lips tracing a path downward over his abdomen to her obvious ultimate goal.

It was agony, it was delicious torture and he knew the best was still to come. Yet the experience was incomparable to his past acquaintances with this act. Knowing it was Nanami doing this brought the pleasure to a higher level and he was about to give in to his desires and ready to direct her to what he craved when her tongue, hot and cold suddenly touched the base of his cock.

He then realized his eyes had been closed, for they shot open at the feel, his hands digging into the futon and his fingers clutching onto the sheets covering it.

"Aah, Nanami," he let out in a loud moan. And his head fell back and his pelvis thrust upwards. His reaction was giving he the encouragement she needed for next he was suddenly engulfed in the heated space of her mouth and the tortures sting of the cold snow.

She stopped when he made a sound like he was choking and he reacted immediately by telling her not to stop the moment he managed to form words again in the reprieve she gave him. She waited a couple of seconds before she took him in her mouth again. Swirling her snow-covered tongue around the base, her hands now pressing on his hips to keep him as still as possible. He knew he couldn't help it but to try and thrust, yet at the same time, try to pull away. It was when he was certain he could take no more that he took hold of her arms and pulled her up and over him.

Grabbing her face, he kissed her hard and deep, meanwhile his hands pushed the yukata over her shoulders and then moved to her hips to maneuver her so she straddled him. And when she pulled back from his mouth she took hold of him with and with the aid of her hand he was within seconds surrounded by a different heat.

She leaned back, as she rode him and he enjoyed the sight of her as he stared at her beautiful body, glistening with perspiration and her face and parts of her skin all flushed in ecstasy. He answered each move of her hips with a thrust of his own, urging her slowly to a faster rhythm. Her small breasts fit his hands perfectly and where she had been so insecure about their size at first, he had reassured her that they were just right. Her desperate need for comparison to his previous bed partners was understandable, but unnecessary. For no one could give him this amount of pleasure. From the moment he had first laid eyes on her in that old run-down shack in the woods, his heart had been yearning for her touch and her touch alone. Nothing had fully sated him ever since. And now she was his, finally his.

And he sat up and wrapped one arm around her to pull her against him, pressing it against her lower back to aid her in her movements, while his other hand slipped between their bodies and gently felt around the course hairs until she let a soft cry that had him smirking. He loved the way she clenched around him when she came and he wanted to ensure that he could feel it before he could no longer prolong the delay to his own release which felt like only seconds away. Fortunately, he got her off by just a few precise strokes and aimed thrusts and he felt her hands now pressing on his shoulders to keep her upright as she experienced her orgasm and forced herself to still move as she urged him to his.

Clutching her to him he fell back onto the matrass taking her body with him as they both panted for air and enjoyed the afterglow of their lovemaking. Moving his fingers through her damp hair he couldn't help but suddenly think of the tengu living a life of celibacy on the mountain.

Idiot.

Nanami raised her head from his chest and looked at him. "What are you thinking?"

He smiled. "That I'm one lucky man to have you."

* * The End * *

A/N: After I had set up the draft I put out an option for the fans to vote for the pov. It was unanimous for everyone wanted Tomoe's pov.

I hope you all liked it. ^^

For those that are curious, this is a real sexual act. It's called 'snow blowing' ;)