Title: One Love

Author: inuyashagirl5

Rating: T (Rating may change)

Genre: Action/Romance

Pairing: Yusuke/Kagome

Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha or Yu Yu Hakusho. InuYasha is owned by Rumiko Takahashi and Yu Yu Hakusho is owned by Yoshihiro Togashi. I only borrow their characters to amuse myself and others.

Chapter Two:

They laughed quietly together as they watched their cousin snuggle closer to Yusuke while still sound asleep. The pair had fallen asleep within minutes of each other the night before, and neither Shizuru or her brother had wanted to disturb them. They had looked happy and content and that had been something the siblings had hoped for. There was just something between Yusuke and Kagome that was not ordinary, something that needed to be pulled to the surface and discovered.

Something the Kuwabara siblings fully intended to help with.

So, they had covered Kagome with a blanket and left them there, only to wake up in the morning and discover them in their current positions. Yusuke was leaning to the side, his head resting against the couch and his right arm draped over the shoulder of the girl using him as a pillow. Kagome's head was resting against the side of his chest, her own arms around his waist.

The scene they made looked as natural as their interactions had been the night before, like they had known each other for many years. Kazuma realized, this scene was quite similar to the day he found them together on the roof at school all those years ago. Of course, they had been young and he had been overprotective of Kagome, so he didn't recognize the signs. He had only seen the bully, his rival, touching her, letting her rest her head in his lap. He had been angry and he had forced them apart.

He learned later that Yusuke had rescued her. He had defended and protected her from a group of older boys that had hurt her when she refused to give them her lunch money.

It was different now. Kazuma could see it. There was no one better suited for his cousin than Yusuke, just like there was no one better suited for his best friend than Kagome. The fact she knew about and was able to fight against demons made things easier too. They didn't have to explain what they did or even what they were. She knew and she was okay with it.

"Should we wake them?" Kazuma kept his voice low so he wouldn't wake them.

"Nah. We'll let them sleep while we fix breakfast." Shizuru smiled one last time at the sight on the couch, then turned and walked away. Kazuma followed behind her.

Kagome slowly awoke to the scent that could only be Shizuru's banana pancakes. She yawned and pushed off of her warm and sturdy pillow. Said pillow groaned at the push to his ribs and Kagome gasped.

"Sorry!" she squeaked and scrambled to put some distance between them on the couch. She blushed vividly as Yusuke gazed at her with sleepy, half-lidded eyes. He looked very cute in this state of awakening.

Yusuke stared at Kagome and wondered why her face was turning bright red. The fact his side was growing cold clued him in quickly that she had been using him as a pillow.

"And people call me a pervert." He muttered and smirked at the offended gasp Kagome released. "If you wanted to touch me that badly...umph!"

Kagome was fast, covering his mouth both hands and giving him a glare that clearly was telling him to shut up. He inwardly grinned and licked the palm of her hand.

"Oh! Gross!" She pulled her hands away and wiped her now wet palm on his shoulder. He laughed loudly, feeling a lot better than he had in weeks. He took the hand on his shoulder by the wrist and pulled her back in against him. "W-What are you doing?"

"I'm warming up. You make a nice blanket, Kagome." He teased. He went silent as she shifted and let her head rest against his chest again. He wasn't used to girls cuddling against him. Keiko had done her best to avoid touching him and he refused to include Botan because he hated when she touched him.

It was nice with Kagome though. Very nice and she wasn't against. But, she wasn't repulsed by what he was either.

"You still owe me a story." He reminded her as she settled against him. "Pay up."

"Alright. Alright."

She started from the beginning. The tale of becoming a time traveling priestess on her fifteenth birthday and meeting an inu hanyou named InuYasha was the easy part to tell. She enjoyed telling it and re-telling it to her brother and she had enjoyed telling it to Kazuma as well. She was especially happy to be able to tell Yusuke such a fascinating experience.

Yusuke listened as she explained how helping her brother find their lost, fat cat brought her face to face with a demon for the first time. She explained how the large, female centipede pulled her into the well, demanded that she hand over something and only let go when Kagome had unknowingly released a burst of her purifying power.

After that, she spoke of finding InuYasha pinned to a tree, her being mistaken for a fox demon and then being once again chased after by the centipede demon. That resulted in the Shikon no Tama being ripped from her side and InuYasha being freed.

"Wait. He tried to kill you?" Yusuke stopped her, which was fine. She was tired of talking.

"Yes, but Lady Kaede put a subduing spell on him and from then on I could sit him when I needed to. Which was often, mind you. He really could be a jerk sometimes."

"What happened after that?"

"A story for another time. We should go see about breakfast." Kagome pulled out of his embrace and rose to her feet. "Come on now, Yusuke. If you don't hurry, Kazuma will eat all the pancakes!"

Breakfast was full of laughter and jokes. Kazuma made it a point to tease his cousin about using Yusuke as a human pillow, while Shizuru only laughed and grinned at the things he said. Kagome had done her best to ignore the playful jabs, but Yusuke's threats needed to be thwarted and she found herself touching his arm to distract him. Of course, the motion only made Shizuru smirk and Kazuma to tease them more. It was still fun and Kagome enjoyed being with them.

"If only I could stay here more often." She gave a wistful sigh, "Too bad I have school to still deal with."

"You could always come stay with us this summer after school is over. We'd love to have you stay here." Shizuru replied and nudged Yusuke. With a wink she added, "Wouldn't we, Yusuke?"

"No. Absolutely not." Yusuke replied with a serious face and Kagome did all she could to not shoot tea out her nose. Yusuke laughed at the silly display and pet her back gently a few times, "It's called swallowing, Kagome. It's a basic instinct."

The Kuwabara siblings laughed at their dear cousin as her face went red with her humiliation. Shizuru handed her a napkin for the liquid on her hands, but Kagome chose to use it to cover her face.

"Don't be such a dork." Kazuma laughed and pulled the napkin away.

"You guys are horrible!" Kagome pouted. "I can't believe you're laughing at me!"

"You had tea coming out of your nose, Kagome. Of course we'd laugh at you!" Kazuma grinned.

"Hey, Shizuru, do you still have that Halloween photo of Kazuma from when he was six? You know the one where he was dressed..."

"That is not funny!" Kazuma loudly interrupted and paled at Shizuru's evil smirk.

"You mean the year he dressed as a pink cat? Yes, I still have it. Would you like to see it?"

"Fuck, Kuwabara! A PINK cat?" Yusuke laughed loudly and clutched his stomach, "I have to see it!"

"Hmm. I feel better now." Kagome giggled at the glare Kazuma shot at her. "And on that note, I think I'll go take my shower!"

"Need help washing your back?" Yusuke was quick to jump to his feet. Kagome sputtered and whirled around to face him.

"No! You pervert!" Kagome pointed her finger at him and shouted, "You just stay right here mister!"

She disappeared down the hallway, Yusuke taking a few seconds to watch her go.

'Damn she's really grown up! To think that tiny girl can kill me with a single touch...'

Another knowing smirk was was passed between the siblings as they watched Yusuke's eyes follow their cousin. They had no doubt that he was attracted to Kagome. It was a positive point and it gave them something to work with. Shizuru chuckled softly and stretched her arms over her head.

"I'll clean up in here. Why don't the two of you go watch television or something." She suggested and he brother got the hint.

"Sure." He replied casually, "I'll take the dishes tonight."

He nudged Yusuke as he passed by him, and his friend followed him into the living room. Kazuma turned the television on, but after a few moments of flipping through the channels he released a soft sigh.

"Morning t.v. sucks." Yusuke looked his friend's way, but the guy was looking elsewhere. "What's your problem now?"

"I just wish Kagome would reconsider going home. I don't like the idea of her being at the shrine alone." Kazuma shook his head back and forth a few times before shrugging. "I don't see her often enough, so I'd like it if she could stay for more than one night. But, she seems pretty adamant about returning."

"I'm sure she has her reasons." Yusuke replied. Kazuma inwardly frowned. She did have her reasons, as stupid as he thought they were but she wouldn't listen to him.

"Yeah, well, you can always stay with her tonight." Kazuma resumed flipping through the channels. "We'd feel at ease knowing she wasn't there alone and I know she'd be well protected with you there. When it comes to her, I trust you."

"As nice as that sounds, I doubt she'd like it much if I just invited myself to stay the night." Yusuke replied, feeling rather awkward with Kuwabara's words.

"I doubt she'd turn you away. Kagome's not like that." Kazuma stopped changing the channels to get a view of the following day's weather. "Besides, don't you think you should get to re-know her? The two of you practically picked up where you left off, but, she's not a little girl anymore."

"Yeah, Kuwabara. It's kinda hard not to notice that fact." Yusuke said dryly, "What are you getting at? It sounds like you're trying to hook us up."

Kazuma just offered a noncommittal shrug. It wasn't like it would happen any time soon anyways. Kagome's mind wasn't totally focused on the present, but he wasn't going to give up on getting her to forget the things the hanyou had said before she came home. They were lies and he'd see to it that she learned otherwise.

"I just think the two of you would be really good friends and she needs that... You too for that matter."

Both males paused as Kuwabara's communicator went off. Kuwabara scowled as he withdrew it and flipped it open.

"You're needed! Oh! Hello, Yusuke!" Botan's perky voice greeted them. Yusuke turned away and rolled his eyes.

"Yusuke's with him?" Koenma's voice came over the communicator, "How lucky! We need him too. Now!"

"I'll be right there! Hang tight!"

Kuwabara clicked the contraption shut with a huff, then turned abruptly at hearing his cousin's laughter.

"I positively loathe perky people in the morning." Kagome moved over to them, then smiled up at Yusuke. "I'm sorry that you have to deal with her today."

"I'm sorry that I can't go with you as planned. I'll get your address as soon as we're back and head over."

"I trust you'll both be safe?" She glanced over at Kazuma, who gave a nod in reply.

"Yes. I'm sure Hiei and Kurama will be there too." Yusuke placed his hand on her head, "Don't worry about us. You just stay out of trouble."

She didn't answer, only stared back at him. When the portal opened and Botan appeared, Kagome closed the distance and hugged him. He saw Botan's mouth drop open from the corner of his eye, so he returned the gesture and stepped it up slightly by pressing his lips to the top of Kagome's head.

"Please stay safe." She said loud enough for him to hear.

"We will, Kagome. Don't worry." He tightened his grip a little for comfort, only letting go when she began to pull back.

Kagome stepped away, ignored Botan's scowl and joined Shizuru's side. Her cousin jingled her keys.

"I'll take her home now and stay for a little bit. I haven't been there for some time." She stated, "See you when you get back."

Yusuke gave Kagome one last look and she smiled at him. Perhaps he'd take Kuwabara's suggestion to heart. There really was no reason for him not to get to know her better.

Ignoring Botan, he grasped Kuwabara's ear and tugged him into the waiting portal. Kagome's giggle was the last sound he heard.

He really did like hearing that sound.

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