Author's Note: I'm in a really weird mindset right now…if my sporadic and random postings are any indication.
Romaine Calm
"Mr. Nishimura!"
Kagome's head immediately shot up from its position on her lover-slash-boss' chest when she heard the panicked squawk. She glared at him when he followed suit.
"You said Jaken was off today!"
Dazed, he answered as arrogantly and confidently as he could, "It is his day off."
He was almost positive anyway, but she didn't need to know that. Sesshoumaru was skilled in the art of bluffing—which was how he had managed to secure his empire by the age of twenty-four—and the key to it all was sheer unfathomable confidence, which he had been told on numerous occasions was a dominate gene inherited by all of the males in his family. He had also pointedly ignored the disapproving tone from the large mass of commenters.
Sesshoumaru's mind quickly thought back to the last time he had seen the date, but it got sidetracked for a moment when he remembered what his little chef did the night before with the whipped cream and her very skillful use of that tongue of hers. Perhaps that raise was in order after all.
Seeing her still glaring, he thought back even further into the day, remembering seeing the day on his cellphone. He gave her another haughty look, repeating his earlier claim with renewed confidence. The sense of superiority was quickly dashed away when they both heard the approaching footsteps.
Squeaking, she quickly stumbled out of bed, gathered her apron and his pants from their respective positions on the night lamp and ottoman, and made a quick sprint for the connected master bathroom.
As the door opened, Sesshoumaru was only mildly annoyed that she didn't leave his pants behind before he remembered her clothes on the floor in the living room.
…Fuck.
"Mr. Nishimura?"
"You are supposed to be off today," he responded, voice automatically cold. It immediately sent the desired chills down his assistant's back, though it wasn't nearly as satisfying as his previous plan to spend the day in bed with his favorite chef in the world and exploring her culinary taste.
"Forgive me, sir!" the short man immediately groveled, which lightened his mood just a bit, but still not nearly enough to warrant any feeling of generosity from the dour tycoon.
"What business do you have to be here on your scheduled day off, Jaken?"
"Y-your mother has requested your presence for lunch today."
Silence followed the assistant's comment, which the short man felt was not a particularly good sign for him or his health. As much as he greatly admired his young prodigious boss, he was completely terrified of being in his bad grace, which surely was a very probable and very imminent situation.
"What," Sesshoumaru started, feeling the need to drag out each word as he was suddenly overcome with the biggest migraine in the world, "Does. She. Want. Now?"
Jaken swallowed hard. "It seems Fernando found out about Henri."
The migraine seemed to have intensified. "And how is that my problem?"
"They are outside the building fighting."
He blinked.
"And your mother was hoping Ms. Higurashi will stop by to prepare lunch as 'her boys' finish their 'little squabble'."
He blinked again, trying to follow his flighty mother's logic.
"Um, Mr. Nishimura?"
"What?"
"I seem to have noticed clothes that look remarkably like what Ms. Higurashi wore last night in the living room?"
"She accidentally gotten flour on them," he said automatically, "She must have left them there after changing into her backup clothes."
"Is-is that so?"
"Do you doubt me, Jaken?"
"N-no!"
"Then leave before you annoy me even more."
He watched as his assistant quickly shuffled out of the room after a brief bow. He listened for the sound of the door closing before he sighed and gotten out of bed and walked to the bathroom. He opened the door and saw Kagome sitting on the edge of the bathtub, wearing his pants and her apron. Despite the loose and large flannel pants on her petite form, her crossed legs still managed to hold a tempting appeal.
"Always ahead of the fashion trend, darling?"
She smirked in response. "But I like this birthday suit look you have going on. Very Garden of Eden-ish."
His lips were about to quirk up in amusement, but it faltered when he heard her next thought.
"I was wondering what happened to Fernando."
He scowled.
"So what time should I be here 'Mr. Nishimura'?"
"You are a very frustrating person."
"Frustrating. Vexing. Insolent. You need some new insults," she responded, turning around to turn on the water to fill the tub.
He raised a brow.
"What?" she gave him a mock innocent look. "I should freshen up before I have to cook lunch for you and your mother. I could whip up some more kale, if you like."
He glared.
"Now go get me my 'backup' clothes," she teased, but then said in all seriousness, "I think I left it in a duffle bag behind that trench coat you never wear."
.
Kagome was washing the romaine lettuce as she listened to Sesshoumaru's mother recount Fernando's surprise visit in the middle of the night and the immediate shock as the two young men began a verbal assault match that somehow resulted in the three of them at Sesshoumaru's apartment building and entering into a physical fight.
She tossed a look of sympathy at her secret lover as he nursed his third glass of scotch. In this case, it was not at all too early to begin the day with some much needed alcohol.
"I mean, how can I choose?" the older woman bemoaned with a pout, "Fernando is the epitome of the Latin lover we all aspire to have! Tanned skin, the sensuous accent, bulging muscles—"
"Stop," Sesshoumaru interrupted, glaring and wondering what past sin he had committed to warrant this type of punishment.
His mother ignored him, continuing, "But Henri! Oh, dear sweet Henri, the romantic. Bright blue eyes that remind you of the endless summer sky."
"And Dmitri?" her son asked wryly, earning a daggered look.
"Is not to be mentioned, at all."
"So we should also keep quiet about Alfred as well?"
"What are you implying, son—that your mother is a tramp?"
"I'm sure one of these gentlemen will make a lady of you yet."
His mother looked scandalized as Kagome continued to keep her eyes on the lunch she was preparing. She quickly placed a marinated chicken breast on the hot grill, the sizzles and smell of lemon and thyme immediately cut through the tensed atmosphere and reminded the two of her presence.
"Kagome," the older woman started, startling the younger girl as she was preparing to place the second breast on the grill, "As a young and beautiful woman, certainly you have had your fair share of male gazes?"
"Um," Kagome bit her bottom lip, casting a wary look at her boss and his sudden acute interest in the impending response. "I wouldn't know. I'm always working."
She gave herself a mental pat on the back for her quick response, though the sour expression from Sesshoumaru didn't escape her notice. She realized that was going to be an uncomfortable conversation in her near future. She vaguely wondered if she would have time to buy another can of whipped cream before that happened.
His mother didn't notice either reaction, sighing instead. "You poor thing. Stuck here with the one human in the world who lacks the primal instinct for companionship."
Her son gave her a quick look of annoyance, though he refrained from treading into that topic. Unfortunately for him, though, she continued with her thought anyway.
"His father was certainly not like that. I, myself, just happen to appreciate these male adorations," she explained, though the attitude she gave off implied she didn't really feel the need to justify her relationships. "At this rate, it will be a miracle if he ever finds someone to spend his life with!"
Kagome kept her eyes on her chicken, glad to have hidden the blush that had arose a few comments earlier. She kept her back to them as she flipped the poultry. "Oh, it will be alright, Mrs. Nishimura. He still has Jaken to keep him company."
She felt chills down her back after the last word left her mouth. She didn't need to guess that he was glaring at her back.
His mother sighed again, weary and unaware of the subtle, silent exchanges between the other two. "But you understand what I am talking about, right, Kagome?"
"To each their own," she answered instead, pacifying both parties.
As Kagome removed the chicken breasts from the grill, they heard the sound of approaching sirens outside.
"It seems 'your boys'' playtime is over."
His mother tutted, stood up, and headed for the door. "Insolent child," she said with a hiss, eyes narrowing at her only son, "It's no wonder Inuyasha is our favorite…and he's not even my child!"
She slammed the door shut.
Kagome held up a box of dry pasta. "Do you think she will be back?"
"Undoubtedly," he answered, standing up and heading for the bar to replenish his glass, "She enjoys showing her appreciations for the men in blue. It works up her appetite."
"In more ways than one?" she teased, earning an instant glare, "Oh, come on! It was right there!"
"Vexing minx."
"Um…" Kagome's brows furrowed. "Me or her?"
"Yes."