CHAPTER THREE
A/N: I quit my job today. I told my soon to be husband that now I can get on to making the big bucks with my writing. He laughed and told me to go apply for jobs while I'm working on that.
Botan and Kurama walked up to the wood door hand in hand and he reached into his pocket with his other to dig out the pouch. He pushed the velvet down with his thumb to swipe the key out, slipping the now empty bag back into his pocket.
He sighed, letting his jaw sag, as he pushed the tip of the key in and turned. In the deserted hallway on the second floor, the click of the lock releasing was as clear as a car door slamming. The two remained silent as they pushed back the door. Papers crinkled as they were forced out of the way by the door, leaving a few feet of cleared carpet space for them to enter. There once was a potted plant with swirls of purple on its leaves that sat on the corner of his desk. Now it was embedded into the carpet.
"Oh Kurama," Botan's voice was a little over a whisper. Her hand reached up to lay it on his left shoulder blade.
There were drawers turned upside down around his file cabinet. A black curly cord was hooked in the wheel of his office chair. One end connected to the headset while the other had been amputated. It's body thrown against a newly cracked window. The wire that was supposed to connect to the wall was now peeking out from behind the file cabinet.
"He really didn't want us to have a phone," Kurama let out a sad chuckle. She nodded in agreement and followed him a few steps into the room.
"Only a week into the semester and you already have a million papers to grade?" Botan stared at the packets blanketing the floor. "You must be a hard ass of a teacher."
That got him to lift the corners of his mouth. "Some of this is my own personal work."
"Personal work?" Botan raised her blue eyebrows at his back. "What are you a mad scientist? Can I call you Frankenstein?"
"Only if you put 'Doctor' in front of it every time," Kurama turned to give her a full heart stopping smile.
"Okay Doc Frank-N-Creepy, what's your personal work?" Botan poked his surprisingly hard bicep. "Aren't you a botanist professor?"
"Well yes, but that doesn't mean I can't continue being a plain scientist," Kurama picked up some papers from his desk and started flipping through the pages.
"There's nothing plain about you…." Botan mumble under her breath.
Ignoring her comment, he glanced over his shoulder to gaze at her face. "Have you ever watched anime?"
"No sir, I never understood that stuff," Botan gave him an apologetic smile.
"How about any of the Batman movies?" he returned to the papers in his hand.
"Yeah, I've seen a few." Her eyes lit up with potential hope.
"Do you know who Poison Ivy is?" Kurama glanced at her with humor sparkling in his green eyes.
"Uh…." Botan's face dropped as she ransacked her memory for clues. "I know the name….?"
Kurama set the papers down in a neat pile and picked up another cluster. "Maybe some time I'll introduce you to the movie and my life's work."
"Sounds like a date," Botan blurted out and then felt her face heat up.
His chuckle made the thumping of her heart slow slightly. "IF that's what you want to call it. Although I hope we at least have a proper date before we watch the worst Batman movie ever created."
"Then why watch it?" She asked and then the rest of his sentence caught up to her brain. "Wait, proper date?"
"Yes, you know, a sit down dinner. I make you blush several times by complimenting your beautiful hair," he turned to face her, setting the pile down. His free hand reached up to twist a tendril around his index finger. "Or the unique sparkle in your eyes that stays in my mind all day."
And like he had predicted, a deep blush crept across her cheeks. "Kurama…"
"Just. Like. That," he smiled softly before releasing her hair and returning to sorting out the papers on his desk. "Maybe afterwards we could take a walk through Munger's Garden and if you get cold, which I'm sure you will," he winked at her, "I'll wrap my arm around your shoulder to lend you my body heat."
"It seems you've thought about this." Botan shifted her feet and brushed her hair back from her forehead. Her bottom lip was nestled between her teeth as she peered up at him from under her lashes.
"Only slightly," there was warmth coating his words. She watched his hands move to another pile of papers; barely pulling her attached appendage with him.
"What else?"
He looked at her with raised eyebrows and an honestly confused glimmer in his eyes. Bringing his arms back with more papers, her hand came to settle at her side again.
"What else would we do on this proper first date?" Botan swallowed and she was sure he heard it.
"Depending on the weather we could go to the benches-"
"The ones that swing by the river?" she asked with big eyes.
"Yes," he smiled. "And I could hold your hand like this." She silently gasped as his fingers slid between hers. "We could talk about what our families are like, our friends, our hobbies, or places we wish to see some day. The sun will set over the water and you can lay your head on my shoulder.
"Later I will walk you to your front door-"
"I live in an apartment," Botan whispered, hypnotized by his story.
"I'd walk you to your door even if it was on the seventh floor," Kurama let his free hand stroke her cheek.
"It's a shame then that I live on the eighth floor," she smiled, letting out a tiny giggle at her comment.
"I'll make an exception and go up the extra flight," he told her. "Once there, I'd wait for you to unlock your door and you'd turn to tell me how great a time you had with the same happy-at-peace smile that's on your face right now. And I would lean down to give you a kiss and tell you I want to see you again soon. I can almost hear you say, 'Well you will just have to wait until work on Monday."
She giggled at his imitation of her. "Probably right about that."
"And I would reply with 'I can't wait," Kurama smiled down at her. "Then I'd kiss you again before I said goodnight and headed home."
"What an imagination you have," Botan said, her eyes playfully glittering. "You definitely must have been thinking about this for some time now."
"I'm quick on my feet," Kurama let his hand drop from her face. "Like a fox."
"Uh huh," Botan laughed. "That was very detailed Kurama."
He gave her a mysterious smile and turned back to his desk, keeping his other hand tangled with hers. "It didn't look like you minded too much, my dear."
"I never said anything about whether or not I enjoyed it," Botan started to slip into a nervous fluster. "In fact, if you must know, I-I… I … oh hell."
Botan reached over with her free hand and grabbed the front of his shirt. Tugging enough to get him to face her, she stood on her toes and planted a kiss on his lips.
