He'd definitely gotten a cold, but this had progressed far worse from no treatment and poor maintenance of his body. I sent Jaken out for herbs while I placed a cold ran on his burning forehead, partially blaming myself for this. If only I could wield the Tenseiga, then I wouldn't have to worry so much anymore. But alas, I can't, so here I was, recharging from the jump still and trying to keep Sesshomaru sane. He was so hot, I was sure the fever was melting his brain because he hallucinated once just a few minutes ago that his brother had come to kill him, but a quick smack to the face stopped that.
"Azralea...?" he asked hoarsely, turning his head slightly as I rung the old water out of the rag and dipped it back into the bowl, folded it and replaced it. "You're here..."
"Yes, I am," I whispered to him, placing my chilled hand to his cheek. "I'm going to take care of you whether you like it or not."
He chuckled, a sound induced from the fever. "Go ahead, I learned my lesson." He rubbed his stomach where I'd found some light-brown but still-existing bruises like the Nine Words spell grid. And like his ribs, the headboard had been fixed and all the splinters cleaned out.
"Hurt, didn't it?" I mused, helping him take a drink of water.
He swallowed, looking a little pained because of his sore throat. "Yeah, but worse than now."
A frown came to my face. "Don't worry, I'll get you feeling better soon."
A few minutes passed as he dropped into sleep, but soon he was trying to get his pillow more comfortable but apparently it didn't work.
"Would you like one of the feather pillows from your room?" I asked but he shook his head.
"I know this may sound strange, but your touch is soothing. Without it, the aches come back and my fever burns hotter. My skin feels like it's getting pricked everywhere with tiny needles, so nothing, not even the sheet, feels right."
"Then..." I started but tried to rethink saying what I was going to but ended up saying it anyway. "Would you like to use me as a pillow?" No sooner had the words escaped my mouth did my face burns hot as his fever.
But instead of calling me stupid or something, he grinned and said, "I'd like that."
My heart missed a beat but my reaction didn't. While he propped up onto his elbows, I removed the pillow and sat where it had been so he could use my thigh instead. Apparently what he said wasn't just fever-induced flirting; he looked much more comfortable once I was the one he was sleeping on so I left him, reacting oddly whenever he shifted, freezing up for no real reason, though when he turned his head I sighed, thankful he wasn't situated directly on the crease between my legs, otherwise his face would be someplace where hormones would riot about.
It wasn't much later that Jaken returned with the things I asked him for, first becoming dumbstruck at what he saw, but when I put my finger to my lips and pointed down, he refrained from hollering something lest he invoke the wrath of a rudely-awakened inuyoukai lord. And despite my position, I was still able to make the throat syrup and medicine so when he did finally wake up I had him take it, though it did require force-feeding him at one point because he clearly doesn't like honey. Thankfully I could overpower him right now and managed to get it down his throat, but it required sitting on him and trying to shove the syrup in his mouth, which he prevented at first by commenting on the panties I wore, which were dead-on because he could see right up my kimono and I had to fix that, much to my utter embarrassment, before going at him again.
"I'm never letting you get sick again," I told him, holding his arms down with my knees and covering his mouth with my hands until he swallowed the goo, "you're way too immature when under the influence of medicine, viruses and fever."
He finally gave in and gulped, getting a fever-smile on his face before pulling a switch-up and holding me to the bed. "And is there a problem with that?" he mused, breathing on my neck.
"Yeah, because if you acted like you were supposed to you wouldn't be such a pervert." I narrowly escaped a few bad moments due to well-placed interruptions from Jaken. Unfortunately, today I sent him out for more medicine for the last dose of the cure-all I'd found which would knock the virus out of Sesshomaru after 12 hours. So now I could either put up with his sick personality or knock him out again; as much as I'd like to play around with him, I don't think it'd be easy to explain to neither him nor Jaken afterward.
"I thought you liked me being a pervert?" he muttered to me, licking my neck.
"No, that was a natural reaction to whatever you did, not my liking it." Though I still did... I stifled a moan as he bit me gently, heart about to explode form my chest.
"Then why's your heart beating so fast?"
"Get off."
"Make me." There was much more contact between us than usual, and him being so much heavier I would have difficulties, unless I did 'that' but once was enough, otherwise I wouldn't be able to forgive myself. Though a bluff never hurt anyone...
"Fine. Women's Self-Defense Class Special Move: Groin-" and he was off before I could finish, quivering at the foot of the bed. "Yeah, and I would of done it, too. Now lay down and stay put!" I pointed to the pillow and he did what I said; his being sick had its ups, but I prayed to as many gods as I could think of that he wouldn't remember anything later. "Are you going to be good?"
He thought a minute. "Depends on how long."
"Twelve hours, minimum, depending on when Jaken gets back."
"Okay," he shrugged and I thought he'd leave it at that, but as I went to check the medicine cooking in the kitchen, he grabbed my wrist and yanked me back, locking his arm around my waist and putting his mouth near my ear. "If I've got to be good for twelve hours, I should at least get one naughty thing to hold me over."
If he ever gets sick again, God forbid, I'm killing him. "What exactly?"
The hand not around my waist went south, between my legs while he nibbled my ear. "Two guesses."
As much as half my brain wanted that, I turned around to place a sleeping sigil on his forehead which he misinterpreted as my wanting to participate and kissed my neck, making me hesitate and groan. "Stop it."
"You like it, I know you do." He smirked, laying sideways with my body half trapped underneath his. "The toad's gone and I'm in the mood to be dirty, so when's the next time you'll get to do this?"
"Maybe when you're not sick and can actually think straight?" I countered, placing my hand over his mouth as he tried to kiss me again. "Now go to sleep." I whapped his forehead and a black symbol appeared, instantly knocking him out, backfiring because I had to get out from under him and ended up falling to the floor. "Tempting, but no, sorry," I told his unconscious form before running out and to the stove.
The medicine worked alright, but Sesshomaru still looked horrible, like he hadn't slept at all once I removed the sigil. Trying to feign innocence, I asked what was wrong and he, rings under his eyes and obviously irritated, replied, "That medicine, or poison I'd like to think, raised my body temperature so high I couldn't sleep."
"It got the fever out, didn't it?" I asked.
He grunted, not looking at me anymore. Jaken had done the smart thing and disappeared to avoid the wrath of the sleepless dog, so I decided to try and cheer him up in a way that might get me killed if he's at that point of irritation. "Why don't we go outside?" I asked, standing beside him as he tried to down some soup I'd made. "Out outside, in the sun? It'd be best to help you get back to your old self."
"Do you have to stand there?" he grumbled.
I frowned, pulling my eyebrows together. "Fine, grumpy, see if I ever try and help you feel better again." I wanted to go outside and since I found out how on my own, I left, sitting just outside the 'door' in a field, picking small flowers to make into a crown. There were all kinds of wild flowers around and an idea struck me but while I was gathering them, I noticed something just a few yards from where I was standing. Two small forms were sprawled on the ground and as I approached I saw they were Shippo and Kirara! "Oh, dear..." I mumbled, hurrying over to see if they were okay.
Both were breathing but they were hurt badly so I dropped my flowers and knelt down, pulling the solar energy above into my body and unleashing it as healing light on them. A few minutes later, they were sitting up, looking around, disoriented, until they saw my face, and though I had new facial marks they still knew who I was. "Yikes!" Shippo squealed, leaping up while Kirara growled. "It's you!"
"Is that how you should thank the person who saved your lives?" I countered, grimacing at them.
This fact seemed lost on the fox but Kirara mewed and he seemed to remember, snapping his fingers. "That's right! Inuyasha and the others were fighting Yamiyo and we got caught in the blast! But why'd you help us if you're with Sesshomaru?"
"Just cuz I work with someone evil doesn't mean I am."
"But why?"
I debated whether I should tell him, but Shippo had no real personal grudge against me so I smiled. "I'll tell you if you vow not to tell anyone else."
"I promise!" he agreed.
"Okay, cuz if I find out you did you won't go unpunished."
No doubt he thought something like, And she said that with a smile 0.o' "I promise," he reaffirmed warily.
"The truth is," I started, meeting his eyes, "I stay with Sesshomaru because I love him."
Dumbstruck. Back in three, two, one. "WHAT?!"
"Believe it or not, I do. I don't feel like explaining, something tells me he'll be coming out to find me any minute now." Shippo squeaked. "How about I send you back to your friends?"
"Please and thank you." Hew seemed uncomfortable and skittish, Kirara keeping a sharp eye out just in case as I stood up and listened to the wind. Inuyasha and the others were a few miles from here (some blast) so I turned and plucked a feather from one wing.
"Don't tell anyone you met me, okay? Or what I told you. I'll send you to the bottom of the hill they're at, just out of sight. Just say it was a miracle you weren't hurt, got it?"
"Yup." He nodded once and I made them vanish just as the light distorted behind me and Sesshomaru appeared, glancing around before spotting me.
"There you are," he stated plainly.
"Here I am," I joked. "I thought you didn't want to come out?"
"I can change my mind, can't I?"
I grinned. "Sure. Nice day, huh?"
"Very," he agreed, looking up. I'm sure he knew someone was here, but they weren't anymore and they didn't smell like Naraku so he didn't ask, just went over to a tree, sat down and shut his eyes.
I went back to what I was doing before Shippo and Kirara showed up and told him, "Don't get sunburned."
"I don't burn," he replied.
"What'd I tell you?" I sighed.
"Freak chance, that's all," the inuyoukai lord countered, eye twitching because of his annoyance. "I don't need you rubbing it in."
"Let's just get you fixed up before Jaken-"
Too late. "My lord! What happened?!"
"Jaken," Sesshomaru said sternly which just freaked the toad out more, "you will turn around, leave this room, sit in a corner and forget what you've just seen and not come out until tomorrow morning."
I got shivers like I usually did and Jaken bolted, wailing.
"Was that necessary?"
"Let's just fix my face, it's starting to itch but it hurts to scratch."
"Maybe next time you'll listen to me. I thought you would of learned by now."
He growled as we got to the living room and he sat on the hard couch, arms and legs crossed as I stood in front of him. "Just get on with it."
"Okay, but you gotta promise not to kill me, hurt me or threaten me in any way, shape or form."
"Whatever, just hurry, it's starting to burn again."
Pushy. Still, I figured this be a good way for me to sate my urge to do something stupid later by feigning this as the only way I can fix that nasty sunburn he got. Before he could change his mind or figure out what I was doing, I placed my knees on either side of his thighs and put my hands on the back of the couch next to his shoulders, placing very gentle kisses on his right cheek, forehead and then left cheek before dashing out the door to sit on the patio and savor the moment.
