A/N: Thank you all for the reviews and the loves you all leave me. It means a lot! To answer a frequently asked question: When will Kagome wake up? Answer: Soon. But right now... I'm just doing flashblacks of how their relationship came to be. It wouldn't be a great story if I just skipped all of that and went to when they were married, that's terrible for a sequel. I just need patience from you all, because soon she will wake up... but I just need that build up.
Anyways, enjoy the chapter. Excuse any errors you find. Leave some loves. I love loves. Enjoy! XO

3. Iris

Two years prior to accident:

Anxiously, Kagome watched the time on her computer, silently willing for time to go faster and for the work day to be over. She would have had the whole week off but for her wanting to buy early Christmas presents, she had to make up for the money she spent and she was already regretting negotiating with Sesshomaru on that. She would have enjoyed being out of town and visiting her brother and catching up with him and what has been going on since they have last seen each other, but no… she was sitting in the quite building office watching the time creep by slowly and Sesshomaru locked away in his office.
She huffed out and glanced over her shoulder at Sesshomaru's large wooden door and waited to see if he were going to come striding out like he normally does around the time they leave, but sadly for her, the door stayed closed. Another irritated huff escaped her and she looked back at the computer, clicked on some files to look busy but kept staring at the time. She grumbled a little under her breath but didn't dare to go in and ask if they could leave early, she couldn't do that to him when he had so graciously given her this job and is paying her a lot of money.

Bored, she looked around her desk for some work to do but she had already gotten everything done for the day and decided she would go into his office and hope that he wouldn't mind her being in there with him. She stood up and straightened her clothes a little and went to the door, gently she knocked then entered only to pause at the door when she saw him on the phone and was glaring.
It had been a while since she had seen Sesshomaru glare, well more at her and she had to say that she never liked it when he glared at her. Scared, her heart dropped to her stomach and she tried to think of what all she did wrong in the day and was about to confess about a murder, because well… that's what his glaring does, she would confess to something she didn't do. He let out a heavy sigh and looked away from her and waved her in.
Visibly she relaxed and her shoulders slouched as he looked somewhere else other than at her. She made her way to the couch then sat down. She peeked over her shoulder at him; he was still on the phone and was now typing something on the computer and not making one damn sound. Jesus, how can the person on the other side be sure that he was even still on the line, other than of course the soft sound of the keys being tapped by his claws.
Shaking her head, she turned back and looked at the coffee table and let out another bored sigh, her eyes then caught a magazine on the coffee table and a sly grin spread across her face. What in the world was he doing with a Cosmo magazine in his office? She chuckled darkly to herself, leaned forward and grabbed the magazine and flipped through it. Things you would never find in Sesshomaru's office: Cosmo magazines. But low and behold, he had a magazine that had 12 dirty moves to try tonight, as if the cocky bastard needed that anyways. She blushed at her own thoughts of him being cocky and his dirty tricks in bed.
Don't even start thinking about that, Kagome.
She quickly composed herself and flipped through the magazine some more in her wait for Sesshomaru to get off the phone. A few articles caught her eye and she would read then move on and eventually ended up to the grand '12 dirty moves to try tonight' tidbit. She didn't know any dirty moves in bed, other than what she had learned from Sesshomaru that one night, so the article was interesting… and embarrassing… and naught… WHY would Sesshomaru have this laying around in his office?!
Eagerly, she read through the article and her eyebrows were hidden under her bangs from some of the stuff they listed. Bondage? She didn't do that with him and from reading some of the stuff that couples could do, it just seemed weird. Pictures of her being tied up and him having his way with her flashed through her mind and made her blush. She is not even with Sesshomaru; she shouldn't be thinking this of him! But he was her only experience and was curious if he ever did anything bondage like. The next suggestion was peep show, like him watching her pleasure herself. How in the world would watching her diddle with herself be sexy at all? She looked over her shoulder at him, he was still on the phone and not looking at her, she then looked back at the article and imagined if she walked in on him masturbating. Yeah, she would find that sexy… but she would be so embarrassed and shy if he saw her pleasuring herself. Handle his package, dear God. Give him hand-jobs when he can't react the way he wants to… meaning give him hand-jobs when he is on the phone with someone. What if she went over to him right now and gave him a hand-job? Would he be upset?
She shook her head at her thoughts. The last time she tried to make a move on him he got upset and claimed that she was using him, not only that she said that she wanted to start over with him and act like what they did never happen. But it was hard to forget at the moment with the Cosmo magazine enticing her and making her want to go over and try these things with him, he would teach her a whole lot more. Have Stranger Sex, she already did that really. She didn't really know him that well and it was her first and he was teaching her the new world of pleasure. Test-drive twisty, torrid positions, plan a sneak attack… tried a sneak attack and that got her in trouble. Moves that cross the line.

Kagome had been nose deep in the article that she didn't notice Sesshomaru had been off the phone and was standing next to her and watching her with his penetrating golden eyes. She felt the burning sensation of being watched, lifted her head and jumped up and let out a squeak then blushed. "You scared me." She huffed and put a hand over her chest where her heart was pounding.

Sesshomaru raised an eyebrow and looked her over then at the magazine that was now sprawled on the ground, "Find anything interesting?" his lips quirked just a little.

A blush burned her fair cheeks and she shrugged and ran a hand through her hair, "Um, not really."

Again, his lips quirked and he turned away so he was walking back to his desk and sat down at his chair, "What were you needing?"

Kagome leaned down to retrieve the magazine then put it back on the table and sighed out, "I didn't have any work left for the day so I just wanted to visit with you." She shrugged trying to act normal.

She didn't think his arched eyebrow came back down since it was still raised, "Hn, you came for a social call?"

"Well now that you say it that way, no." she huffed out annoyed and turned away from him in her little fuss.

"Kagome," his voice was deep and held a warning.

She turned and put her hands on her hips and pouted, "I'm bored, I'm tired and I'm ready for some of your food dang it. Besides, I'm sure it's already time to go."

Sesshomaru's eyes lingered to her then to his clock on the computer, without a beat he stood up and closed everything down on his computer, gathered his belongings and looked at her with the raised eyebrow, "Some of my food?" again, his lips quirked. Is she amusing him or something?

She fake pouted and stomped out of the office and grumbled a yes. She grabbed her purse and shut everything down on her computer. Never, would she have thought she would be teasing Sesshomaru and look forward to spending the evening with him. She in fact wanted to make him watch chick flick movies and sit through it all, just for the fun of it all. Underneath his rough exterior, she had seen glimmers of a secret soft side of him, and she was slowly starting to understand him.

"What exactly sounded good then?" he asked from behind her, breaking her thoughts.

She jumped a little and looked at him then followed him to the elevator, the whole way thinking of something that he could cook. She grinned up at him and rubbed her stomach in anticipation, "Baked chicken filled with parmesan cheese, mashed potatoes and your awesome bacon green beans." She about drooled thinking of that special meal. The man seriously knew how to cook.

"Hn, that's quite a meal."

They stepped onto the elevator together in unison as the doors slid open. She looked up at him with her puppy eyes, "I will help." She pouted. She could wrap him around her little finger with that look.

He looked down at her and pushed the ground button as he did so. Feeling a little defeated from her infamous puppy eyes, he nodded once and looked away from her.

XxX

"You're taking too long!" Kagome yelled from her spot on the couch. They had already eaten, cleaned the kitchen, cleaned the dishes, cleaned the whole condo it seemed and he was taking his sweet time changing into more comfy clothes. She had already been changed into her pajamas since they arrived home. "I know you are taking your time because you don't want to watch these movies, but suck it up mister!" she tried to say seriously but a few words came out in a fit of giggles.

Footsteps padded in his room then he appeared and sat next to her and let out a soft sigh. She grinned at his profile and it grew wider as he looked at her from the corner of his eye. "You ready?" she giggled then hit play.

His eyes narrowed then glared at the TV in his silent fuming of watching chick flicks. But he stayed and that's all that mattered to her. She didn't know why she liked torturing him that way, but she did enjoy having him there to watch movies with her and relax. A few times during the movies when she would tear up and cry, he would pat her leg gently or look over at her worriedly. She scooted in closer to him and rested her head on his shoulder as they continued to watch the movie.

During the middle of the movie, Sesshomaru shifted and wrapped an arm around her shoulder and held her gently against him. Her heart raced against her chest and she felt butterflies in her stomach. It had been such a long time since she had gotten the butterflies from him, and they were back and she didn't know what to do or how to act. She sneaked a glance up at his face and smiled then looked back at the movie. He was staring at the TV and hopefully hadn't notice her looking at him. She scooted in closer until there was no space between them and she nuzzled her face against his warm shoulder. During that time she the urge to lean up and kiss him, even if it would be on his cheek, was strong; but she felt like he deserved that. She didn't want to seem too clingy or all over the charts with giving him a sweet kiss on the cheek. She peeked back up at him and looked over his face and decided to take a deep breath and try. She leaned up and placed her lips against his soft cheek and gave him a short sweet peck to the cheek.
His entire body went stiff and he looked down at her flushed face, his eyes moving around her face and his nostrils flared. She smiled sweetly at him and chewed on her bottom lip, "Sorry if I pushed any limits…" she whispered nervously.
His golden eyes scanned her face and were looking for something; she wasn't sure what exactly he was looking for but after whatever it was, he relaxed just a little and a gentle smile played on his lips then it disappeared. She smiled a little and leaned up and kissed his other cheek, she reached up and ran her hand through his silky hair then leaned back down and stared up at his face. "Thank you so much for everything." She said shyly.
One of his eyebrows rose elegantly but he stayed silent and watched her. She smiled and turned her head and watched the movie.

XxX

Beep beep beep beep beep…

Snooze.

Beep beep beep beep beep…

Snooze.

"Kagome, get up!" Sesshomaru's voice called outside of her doorway.

She groaned and buried her head into the pillow and pulled up the warm covers around her and tried to ignore the fact that it was already time to get up and go to work. She only had that day and the next day left of work then it was Holiday break. Slowly, she started to drift back to sleep, thinking that Sesshomaru would be gracious and allow her to sleep.
The bed jolted from weight and Kagome popped her head up from her pillow and was looking right into Sesshomaru's golden eyes. She gasped and jumped back and stared at him shocked.
"What are you doing?" she whined out and rubbed her eyes.

Sesshomaru didn't move from his spot on the bed, he was crouched and his hair was cascading over his shoulders to create a curtain around him. It was very rare for her to see his hair down and every time it was down, she couldn't stop staring.
"I do not like to repeat myself, Kagome." He growled softly.

Kagome whined and did a fake cry as she lie back down and tried to cover her head with a cold pillow but only to have it ripped out of her hands and thrown on the floor by Sesshomaru. She turned over on her stomach and nuzzled her head into her arms and pulled the covers over her.
"I'm too tired." She mumbled.

"Then maybe you shouldn't have stayed up late watching those trashy movies." He pulled back the covers and threw them on the ground as well.

Kagome curled up in a ball and whined more, "They aren't trashy. You weren't complaining last night."

"You are worse than a child in the mornings." He sighed out annoyed.

Kagome turned her head and glared over at Sesshomaru tiredly, "I'm not a morning person."

"You'll become one very soon, I will be sure of that." He got up from the bed and made his way back to the door, flipped on the light switch and smirked smugly at her.

"I'm calling in sick." She grumbled and turned over and tried to cover her eyes from the light.

"Then I will write you up with a warning." He warned.

"How many warnings until I get fired?"

"Would you really accept getting written up just so you can sleep in? Are you not thankful that I even gave you that well wanted position when there are others out there that would kill to have that job?" he sounded hurt and irritated.

Kagome sighed and jumped out of bed and tiredly made her way past Sesshomaru to the bathroom in the hallway, "I want some coffee please." She grumbled as she closed the door and did her morning business.

After leaving the bathroom, Kagome made her way into the bright kitchen and grabbed her warm cup of coffee and took gentle sips. She sleepily looked at Sesshomaru who watched her for a couple of seconds then left the kitchen. She sighed and rubbed her face and ran her hand through her hair, she then took another sip of coffee and sat it down.
Guilt washed over her and she started to feel bad that she might have made Sesshomaru think that she wasn't grateful for everything that he was doing. Sluggishly, she made her way to where Sesshomaru was and found him in his office. Slowly she approached him and decided to encircle him in a bear hug and placed her head against his chest.

"Sorry." She mumbled into his broad chest.

He went stiff and didn't move for a few seconds then his arms were around her and held her gently against him and he let out a heavy sigh. "You are not a morning person but yet you are affectionate. You astound me." He whispered.

Gently she pulled away from him and looked up at his face and smiled a little, "I am thankful for the job. If it weren't for you, I would be in a pretty bad situation. I will try harder."

Sesshomaru's golden eyes lightened up a little and his lips quirked just a little then he stepped away from her and pulled back his hair into a low ponytail. "Get ready for work." He dismissed.

Kagome looked over her shoulder to make sure Sesshomaru's office door was closed when she pulled out her phone and looked through her text messages. She opened a new text to her brother letting him know that she will be heading out tomorrow evening that way she could spend the night at his place and have the whole Thanksgiving Day with him. She put her phone down and continued to work on some of her work and heard her phone buzz from a text. She grabbed the phone and looked at the reply and raised an eyebrow.
"What?"

I thought I was spending Thanksgiving in town with you and Sesshomaru's family? Sesshomaru called and made plans with me coming there instead so we can have a big feast… really nice of him. I will be in tomorrow evening. Love Souta.

Kagome's mouth dropped open and went dry. She closed her eyes and tried to breathe normally. So Sesshomaru had planned this all along and he didn't even tell her about it? She felt embarrassed that she had no idea what was going on and now her brother must think she lost her mind. She opened her eyes and texted a quick reply.

Oh yes, sorry. Losing my mind from work. Can't wait to catch up with you. XO Kag

She stood up after she sent the message and went into Sesshomaru's office without even knocking. He looked up from his computer and raised his eyebrows, he opened his mouth about to say something to her but she walked up to the desk and slammed her hand down on it and interrupted what he was about to say.

"When were you going to tell me that you had this whole Thanksgiving planned out and that my brother is coming to town instead of me leaving town?" she asked, her voice laced with anger.

Sesshomaru's eyebrow continued to stay up and wrinkled his forehead. He leaned back in his chair calmly and cleared his throat, "It was supposed to be a surprise."

"A surprise? A very late surprise indeed. I was going to leave tomorrow evening and texted my brother to tell him my plans. Now I look like an idiot."

Sesshomaru sighed and looked away from her mumbling about how her brother apparently can't lie to keep her from leaving. He rubbed his temples and closed his eyes. "You are angry about this surprise?"

Kagome plopped down in the chair in front of his desk and leaned forward, "I'm embarrassed and angry. It's like you didn't want me to leave or something! Are you trying to control all aspects of my life now?"

Sesshomaru's eyes snapped open and he narrowed his eyes on her.

Kagome shook her head angrily and looked down at her lap and tried to calm herself down and think clearly. She didn't want to fight the hand that was feeding her. She leaned back in her chair and rubbed her temples, just like Sesshomaru does.
Perhaps Sesshomaru didn't want to be alone during Thanksgiving? Oh God, how could she have forgotten? Did he even celebrate Thanksgiving? She wouldn't know because she had never been around Sesshomaru much, what with her being all moon eyed for Inuyasha in the past. She opened her eyes and relaxed her posture and smiled gently at him. Sesshomaru was trying to be nice and surprise her, and also let her know in his own weird dry shy way that he didn't want to be alone.

"I'm surprised." She whispered with a little smile on her lips.

God how could she have been selfish and not think about him? She had been so caught up in herself and wanting to get away that she didn't think of what he wanted and how he felt. His words went through her mind that he loved her and always had and always will.
Sesshomaru's eyebrows rose once again and he leaned back in his chair a little shocked from her sudden change of attitude. "Horrible way of showing your surprise." He mumbled.

Kagome blushed and looked away from him and let out a little puff of air, "Sorry." She mumbled and looked back at him and smiled a little more, "I don't react very well to surprises I guess." She laughed nervously and played with her fingers. "So uh, Souta is coming to town. Have you met him?" she couldn't remember if he had or not. Shows how small minded she was back then.

Sesshomaru relaxed and shook his head gently, "No. I only spoke to him once before. He was quite surprised by my call but very thankful. I do plan on having more people over for Thanksgiving, but due to your… reaction of the first surprise… I might as well tell you what the other surprise is." It's been a while since he had actually talked that much.

Kagome's cheeks reddened more from the burning blush and she pouted out her lip, "Sorry."

His lips quirked a little in the corners, but he fought back the smile and kept the same stern look on his face, "Your friends will be there… as well as Inuyasha and Kikyo." He said slowly.

Kagome's eyes looked up into his and her heart stopped as she heard Inuyasha's name. She knew Sesshomaru was watching her carefully and looking for some sort of response to his outing of the surprise. She felt surprised, definitely… but she didn't feel the same excitement she had felt before about Inuyasha. She smiled broadly, "So you invited your annoying half-brother for a family feast huh? How are you taking that?"

Sesshomaru still watched her carefully and after her question he sniffed and turned his head to look at the computer as if he were bored. "It is what it is, Kagome. I do not favor him by any means, but he is the only family I have."

Kagome stood up from her spot and grinned at him. So for her, he was willing to invite his half-brother and suffer through that. She made her way around the desk and sat down on his lap and wrapped her arms around his neck. She gave him a big kiss on the cheek and smiled as she pulled away to look at his face. His golden eyes looked down at her and faintly, she could see a blush on his cheeks. "It will be the best Thanksgiving ever. We should decorate and start preparing. Can we not work tomorrow please?" she fluttered her eyes and smiled sweetly at him.
Sesshomaru's arms snaked around her waist and sent butterflies in her stomach and chills through her body. Yes, she liked the way he touched her and made her skin heat up. Sesshomaru's golden eyes hazed and stared down at her longing. She knew her pouting and begging would work, but she needed that one little push. She leaned up and rubbed her nose against his cheek and purred and giggled. "Please? Pretty please? We will have fun getting everything ready. We can cook, well I can try to cook and you can supervise." She begged and continued to nuzzle him.

Sesshomaru's breath hitched and he squeezed her closer to him and he let out a shaky sigh and nodded. Did she understand what she was doing to him? Only a mate would ever do that and she was acting that way. "You need to stop." He whispered sternly.

Kagome nuzzled a few more times and pulled back to look at his face and saw his cheeks reddened more and his eyes were swirling with lust. She leaned in and kissed his cheek then stood up and clapped her hands together happily, "I can't even think of the last time I had a great Thanksgiving. Thank you so much, Sesshomaru." She left the office excited and went to her desk and tried to work.