Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho.

Stuck With You

Summary: AU, Kurama Minamino and Botan Fukuyama are sworn enemies. What happens when one day, they are handcuffed together and they don't have the key? Will they be able to put aside their differences and form a friendship… or something more?

Chapter 14

Kurama wasn't one of the most temperamental people on earth. Ever.

Patience was one of his many virtues; it was one of the reasons he managed to be able to stand Botan's personality for years, on the first place. And although he'd snapped at her on more than a few ocassions before, he had never been known to lose his temper at someone other than her.

Which was why, it seemed odd to him that he was slowly losing his cool at Shishi Wakamaru's futile and pathetic attempts to get Botan to agree to be his date for the school dance. His mouth was tempted to scream that she's mine, goddammit! But he resisted the urge to.

"Come on, Botan-chan... it'll be a one time thing! I promise!" Shishi practically begged, stopping in from of them once again to block their only route to the school gate. Kurama's eyebrow visibly twitched.

Botan gave him an awkward smile. "I don't know..." she mumbled uncertainly.

It wasn't as if she didn't know how Shishi was; granted, she wasn't that close to him, but she wasn't stupid enough not to notice the way he would handle some things: say one thing and do the exact opposite.

"Aww, but-! I already told my mom to prepare a limo..." the bluehead started to rant, the annoyed expression on Kurama's features and the nervous grin on Botan's didn't go unnoticed, but was not acknowledged either.

Kurama held back a scoff. As expected of Mr. Rich Boy. Preparing a limo. 'I could certainly do better than that,' he thought to himself, and rolled his eyes. But could he? Logic seemed to differ. He wasn't as rich as Shishi was.

He hated to admit it, but he was actually kind of jealous. He pondered for a moment how Botan would be if she were to go out with Shishi: she would be definitely happy; the bluehead had everything he could give to her.

Kurama paused in his musings. He scowled.

Let's not think about it.

"I'm sorry, Shishi, but I'm afraid I have to decline the offer. I'm sure many other girls would love to go with you though, and they are prettier and nicer than I am," Botan used the words she'd said over a million times.

Shishi's mouth formed a pout. "But..."

Kurama inwardly groaned as the other male made another excuse to once again, persuade the girl to agree. Was he that stupid? Did he not notice the uncomfortable way Botan was acting? Did he... did he... The redhead paused as a thought occured to him. Emerald eyes darting downwards, Kurama spared a brief glance at the handcuffs before looking back at Shishi's face.

A small smirk slowly tugged at the corners of his lips, his eyes mischievous and cunning, like a fox at play.

"You won't be able to take her to the dance, Shishi-san," Kurama spoke, voice curt, despite the idea coursing through his mind. The blue head regarded him with a death glare.

"And why the hell is that?" he snapped.

"Because," the redhead lifted his left hand, automatically raising Botan's left, the metallic handcuffs sticking out in the air, "she will be going with yours truly."

Botan's eyes widened, and she almost jumped in surprise and joy. Although the redhead told her not to go to the dance with anyone but him, she hadn't expected him to just go up and inform someone about it, much less Shishi. The prospect made her... sort of happy.

For some reason.

Shishi's glare intensified, but this time his heated stare was fixed on the thing connecting Kurama's and Botan's wrists. His eyes threatened to burn a hole through it, to find a way to get Botan out of them, but of course, nothing happened.

"I know someone who can get you out of the handcuffs," Shishi spoke after a while, voice calm and even despite the scary look on his face. The words came almost immediately, before he could stop himself, but as they passed his lips, he realized they were true.

"If you'd just allow me to assist you..." Shishi didn't manage to finish when Kurama raised one hand, silently ordering him not to say another word.

He frowned deeply, but the redhead smiled, almost too smugly for his taste.

"I'm afraid that won't do," Kurama said, voice low and chillingly cold. The smile felled from his face, emerald eyes darkening into a dark forest green: the jealousy, rage and possessiveness evident within them. "Because I'm planning to take her to the dance." He paused, a smirk crossing his face. "With or without the handcuffs."

Shishi's eyes widened in surprise, before narrowing dangerously at the other male. "What? You're shitting me!" he roared in a mixture of fury and disbelieve, "Are you shitting me?"

Kurama didn't respond, but the smirk visibly widened, further increasing the raging fire inside him. "But why on earth would you-? I thought you hate her! What, did you just suddenly take an interest in her or something, Minamino?" he hissed, ignoring the weird looks he received from the students that passed by.

"I would be lying if I told you I had never despised her. But, it would be another lie if I also said I still feel the same way." Emerald eyes narrowed. "So, stay away from her. She's not yours for you to take."

"Oh yeah?" Shishi shot back angrily. "Well, she's not yours either!"

The tension in the air seemed to grow as the confident smirk faltered on Kurama's smooth features. The animosity in his eyes darkened to a point it almost looked as if he was trying to light Shishi on fire.

Botan noticed that the redhead had gotten dangerously quiet. Fearing that something bad might happen if she didn't stop this, Botan swiftly spoke before the other two could beat her to it, "Ookayy... you guys are acting weird." She laughed to try to ease the tension a little. "Anyways, Shishi, Kurama's right. I wouldn't be able to go with you, even if I wanted to. What's with the handcuffs and all," she continued as a matter of factly, trying to sound logical as to not show that she, in fact, did prefer Kurama over Shishi.

The blue headed boy seemed to calm down a little after she spoke, and Botan heaved a sigh of relief. "Okay, fine. I'll let you have her, Minamino, but heed my words, this will not be the last time," Shishi warned, narrowing his eyes at the redhead. Then, he turned to look at Botan, sending her a warm and friendly smile.

"I'll see you later, Botan-chan," he said, voice so sweet Kurama had to resist the urge to puke. He ignored the disgusted look he earned from the other male. With a wave (and one last glare at Kurama), he bid Botan goodbye, before procceeding to stroll off.

Botan watched his retreating back for a while, and after she made sure he was gone, darted her eyes towards Kurama.

"Did you mean that?" she asked, eyes wide, with a hopeful edge in her voice.

Kurama regarded her with a quirked eyebrow. "Hm?"

"That you would take me to the dance." Her cheeks began to heat up as the words passed her lips. "With or without the handcuffs?"

She earned a smirk in return.

"What do you think?" Kurama sarcastically replied.

Botan threw her bag, the blue material landing unceremoniously at the corner of the room. She heaved a sigh, rubbed the back of her neck and strolled towards the bed. Kurama watched her as she flopped down the bed, her back bouncing a little as she hit the mattress. Botan was exhausted. She laid there for a while, before propping herself on her elbows and fixing her gaze on the boy.

"How can you stand them?" she asked with a deep frown, voice slightly aggravated.

The redhead merely shrugged his shoulders in response. "Well. I'm kind of used to them by now. I mean, they've been doing it for years," he answered dryly. Botan managed to pull a disgusted look.

She couldn't understand how everyone would get used to the sort of attention the famous and handsome redhead obviously received. A little while ago, they had been stalked by a couple of Kurama's fangirls, and had to pretend that they were boyfriend and girlfriend, just for the sake of avoiding them. Botan got most of the hatred for it, but she didn't really mind it at the time: she was just glad she was able to get rid of them.

It wasn't as if she didn't know of Kurama's reputation, and frankly, it wasn't really that strange that most girls acted that way around him. But it was suffocating, and not to mention, very annoying at times. Hell, she couldn't even handle Shishi sometimes.

"You don't seem interested in any of them though," Botan stated more than asked. She lifted her upper body from the bed, eyes following Kurama's movements as he moved to sit beside her.

"No, not really," came his absent-minded response. Kurama bent down to take off his socks, Botan followed his actions, and the two threw them somewhere in the room.

"Why? They're really pretty." The girl paused for a moment. "Well, most of them anyway."

A laugh began to build in Kurama's chest, before erupting from his throat. "Ouch," he sounded off teasingly. A smirk tugged at the corners of his lips as his fit of laughter subsided, fading into thin air. Mirth danced in his bright emerald eyes as he spoke, "That's kinda mean."

Botan laughed, before raising her arms up in the air. "Hey! I was just saying," she said defensively, but her voice was dripping with playfulness. "Can't help it if it's true."

Kurama's smirk widened slightly. "You are a really bad person, Fukuyama," he told her jokingly, and playfully flicked her forehead.

"Ow!" Botan whined when the redhead flicked her in the forehead. She rubbed the smooth skin a little, mouth forming a pout, as she feigned hurt. "Oh yeah? Well, if I'm a bad person, then you're an utter and complete jack-ass," she retorted back half-heartedly.

He fake-rolled his eyes. "You just realized?"

"No." She gave him a toothy grin, revealing her pearl white set of teeth. "I've always known that about you," she went on in a teasing voice.

Another laugh escaped him, but Kurama didn't say anything. Instead, he stretched his arms, a yawn managed to find its way out of his lips. Botan seemed to notice this, and arched an eyebrow his way.

"Are you tired?" she inquired, voice soft.

"Uh-huh," Kurama answered, the words that escaped him muffled as he stifled another yawn. Tears formed at the back of his eyes, and he extended a hand up to his face to wipe them away.

"Let me guess." Botan leaned in closer to him. The redhead darted his emerald eyes at her, a pink tint beginning to color his warm cheeks as he realized how close they were. Her shoulders brushed against him, and he resisted the urge to pounce on her.

"Fangirls?" she guessed, voice as low as a whisper, her hot breath fanning against his lips. He avoided her gaze, his blush darkening. The reaction made her want to giggle, the sound building in her chest, but she held it back, biting her lip.

"T-That," Kurama tried to sound calm and even, but his words passed his lips as a stutter. He cursed at himself: why did he have to act like that in front of her? He took a few deep, calming breaths to calm himself.

"That?" Botan prodded, giving him a questioning gaze.

"That," he went on when his head finally cooled a bit, voice sounding more casual now as he spoke, "And Shishi." The blush was gone completely from his face when he realized his vision was starting to become a blur, his eyelids heavy. It took him a moment for him to realize he was sleepy: he didn't know he was that exhausted.

Blue brows furrowed in confusion. "What? What do you mean?" she questioned in curiousity, despite already suspecting what the answer was.

"Isn't it obvious?" Kurama retorted sarcastically, rolling his eyes at her. A yawn finally escaped him, and he raised a hand, brought it to his mouth to stifle it. "The guy couldn't leave you alone..." he mumbled, voice trailing off as if he was drowsy and was about to take a deep slumber.

"Well, he likes me after all..." she muttered back, eyes blinking when the redhead once again rubbed a hand at his eyes.

"Well," Kurama started, copying her, "If you just have the guts to just straight up and tell him you're not interested in him the way he is with you, then maybe he would come to his senses, and stay away from you," he spoke in a matter-of-factly way, but when he thought about it, he realized he didn't mean the words. If he was Shishi, and even if Botan told him that the feelings weren't mutual, he would probably never stop chasing after her as well. She was too precious to let go so easily, he realized. A warm, soft smile slowly curved itself at the corners of his lips at the thought, only to fall as quickly as it crossed his face, as his eyelids grew heavier.

Maybe... he should... take a nap... Just for a little while...

The frown that had never left Botan's face considerably deepened at his words. "It's not my fault! I've been telling him subtly that I don't like him that way, but it's him! He's the one who just doesn't want to leave me alone, ya know? Maybe he likes me too much or..." Botan's rant came to a stop, her feminine voice trailing off as she felt something at her shoulder.

Darting her eyes downwards, Botan fixed her gaze at the redhead. His crimson strands tickled her cheeks and her nose, but she didn't mind it. He was asleep. How cute.

She smiled, a loving stare replacing the indinant expression on her soft features earlier.

"Idiot..."