Scene Nine- The Switch

"Hey—ey!"

Kagome greets him with more emphasis than she likely means to, no doubt surprised that it is him knocking at her door.

"I know you were expecting someone shorter and more feminine, but unfortunately it seems you are stuck with me instead," he tells her, though making sure his face looks jokingly grave at the task before them. Keiko had insisted she was far too busy preparing for their holiday party to assist Kagome that very night, although Kurama has his suspicions she may have exaggerated her duties to instead force him in her stead.

"So Hiei isn't coming then?" Kagome asks, trying her best to put as much fake disappointment in her voice as possible. His mouth twitches with a smile.

"I will warn you, I have precious little baking experience."

Leaving his coat and shoes by the door, he follows her into the small apartment kitchen. A wonderful, sweet aroma already envelopes the room. The sight is not quite as pleasant as the smell, however, given it appears as though a raw cookie bomb has detonated. Chocolate chips cascade across the table in a line leading to a few dropped pieces on the floor while spots of sugar and flour adorn most surfaces in the kitchen. Kagome has not come out unscathed with bits of dough sticking to her apron as well as a dusting of flour upon her hair.

Kagome seems oblivious to the obvious chaos, which he finds endearing. "That's okay! The first batch is already cooking, we just need to whip up the second. I can teach you." As if right on queue, a timer goes off. Grabbing a towel, she turns away from him and toward the oven. "It's actually really easy. You'll probably enjoy it since it's basically science—"

She squeaks suddenly and jumps away from the tray she has pushed back into the oven, still needing a few minutes, cradling an injured finger in her other hand. Instinctively, she pops the burned fingertip in her mouth to soothe the pain.

"Here, allow me to see," he tells her.

He offers his hand to her and she gazes at it with wide-eyed suspicion, like a deer inspecting a would-be predator. It lasts only a moment before she gingerly extends the hand to him and allows him to inspect the wound.

"It's fine," she assures him. "Not bad at all. I have some ointment in the bathroom."

"Then, let's go, shall we?"

Although it is not a job that requires two people, she does not object as he loosely holds her by the wrist and leads her to the bathroom. Under her instruction, he locates the ointment and places a small dab on her pointer finger. He ever so gently rubs it over the burn.

Kagome sighs and leans back against the sink as the pain relief sets in. "Good as new," she says, awarding him a small smile of gratitude.

"Ah, hold still."

She flusters as he moves in closer, trapped now between him and the sink. He tries not to intrude too much into her personal space, but it is a very small room to begin with and they are standing only inches apart.

"Cookie dough," he explains further. He brushes his finger across her cheek, sweeping away the offending object. He brings his hand back to show her the evidence, but does not step back. Instead, he moves his thumb to his lips and tastes the treat.

Her hand reaches up to touch the spot on her face where the cookie dough was removed from. A blush spreads across her cheeks. Her eyes have trouble meeting his again, lingering on his lips. Realizing he is watching her do this, the red on her face only deepens.

The display has its own effect on him, and he finds a smile playing across his lips. She looks rather cute in her embarrassment and it only makes him want to tease her further.

"It's quite good," he says.

She lets out a small laugh and admonishes him. "It's even better when it's cooked."

"Are you sure?"

He takes her challenge, leaning forward to brush his lips against hers. His tongue darts forward to make sure she gets a taste of the treat. The sweetness only intensifies as he discovers she must have been stolen a few tastes herself as she baked. The thought makes him smile against her. He wants so badly to move in closer and press his body against hers, but he resists the urge and leaves just the one point of contact.

It is enough. The kiss is short and chaste, though every moment of it feels like an eternity. There is something different this time, different from any other, and Kurama cannot quite put his finger on it. The fact that he was tempted at all is new, but he decides that he is just enjoying the playful atmosphere.

He pulls away first in a slow move, tempting her to come back for more. He hears her take in a shaky breath. She appears dazed, but not unhappy. Confusion is the dominant emotion on her face, if her furrowed brow tells him anything.

"What was that for?" she asks, her voice somewhat faint, distant.

"I was not aware I needed a reason," he replies, his tone amused.

The fog clouding her thinking seems to dissipate as she takes in what he has said. Curiosity with another deeper emotion he cannot fathom are the motivation for her next question, clarifying her previous one.

"Why... Because you want me, or because you don't want anyone else to have me?"

His thoughts flitter back to the date he witnessed a few weeks prior and the twinge of a foreign emotion that he had felt.

"Are they not the same?" he asks.

The timer dinging again in the kitchen perfectly coincides with the shift of mood in the room. The temperature might as well have dropped a full 10 degrees.

She does not meet his eyes as she speaks the fateful words. "I think you should leave."

It catches him off-guard. He does not try to stop her as she brushes passed him to rescue the cookies threatening to burn in the other room. He stays behind, trying to process the sudden change.

For her to just brush him aside like that was unlike her. She had enjoyed the kiss, he knows that for sure. She had been responsive to the soft brush of lips. He does not know why he has kissed her. The moment just felt right. Still, he cannot figure out her sudden change in mood. Her mischievous responses to his words, the blush spread across her cheeks, that coy smile on her face...

He moves back into the room as she is turning off the oven and placing the baked goods onto the tray. She has not heard him come back into the kitchen, and he is grateful for this, for when she turns around, she is caught by surprise as his lips crash into hers again.

This time he does not hold himself back. She initially tries to protest, or perhaps it was a small startled cry, but his mouth on hers muffles it. He pushes her back against the nearby counter, leaving her nowhere to run off to this time around. He hears no more complaints from her though, as she starts to return the kiss.

One hand tangles in her hair and tilts her head back as he deepens the kiss. A small mewl escapes her, and the sound holds nothing less than pleasure as she quite literally goes weak in the knees. He feels her legs start to quake and wraps his arm around her waist as he hoists her up to sit on the nearby counter. She leans back as though trying to escape him, resting back heavily against the cabinet, but he follows her, his body coming to rest between her knees. The kiss becomes no less desperate on either of their parts.

Part of him wishes he had not lifted her up onto the granite, for he can no longer feel her body pressing up against him. He wraps his arms around her and tugs her closer again, causing her to half stand, half sit on the counter, her skirt dangerously riding up her thighs.

His hand untangles itself from her hair and moves down to her waist just as she tears her lips away from him.

"Stop," she says. She leans her forehead again his with eyes closed, both their breathing coming out in laborious puffs.

He does not understand this emotion coursing through him. This... lust. Especially not where a human is concerned. He wants nothing more than to ignore her plea and to continue, possibly finding new places to put his lips, but the foreign thought coupled with his wish to keep her happy is enough to restrain him.

"What is wrong?" he asks her.

He feels the slight motion as she shakes her head, still not looking at him. She leans back and noticing the disarray of her skirt, busies herself by smoothing it down. His hands are on either side of her on the counter, still leaning in fairly close.

"It's not the first time we've kissed," he reminds her.

"That time in the woods, that doesn't cou-"

"As well as during your recent delirious spell."

Her eyes widen, affronted. "You…"

It had transpired only a week prior, but she had given no indication since then if she remembered the day. It would seem not.

"You kissed me," he assures her, and baiting her, adds, "You thought I was him."

There it is. A certain sadness creeps its way into her eyes and he falters. A miscalculation on his part; he has no wish to upset her. The urge to apologize rises, but he keeps his silence as different emotions play out over her face.

"I don't want you to be," is the statement she settles upon.

He smiles softly and tucks a stray hair behind her ear with the others. "Good."

He leans forward to capture her lips again, but misses when she slides forward to plant her feet firmly on the ground. The movement puts them impossibly close, forcing him to sway backwards to make room for her.

"But I don't think you know what you want."

Her words confuse him as much as they frustrate him. She was the one who expressed desire from him. He doubts those feeling have subsided. In fact, he knows they have not. His actions should tell her plainly what he wants, yet here she is denying him.

Kurama takes two sweeping steps back, giving Kagome more than enough personal space. He smooths down his shirt, his face a pleasant mask. He bows ever so slightly to her. The change in atmosphere is so immediate and stark that the last few minutes may not have even happened.

"Please, allow me to remedy my… transgression by assisting you," he tells her. Relief registers on her face, but not fast enough to hide the momentary disappointment. Humans were such complicated creatures. Before she can decline, he continues, "perhaps in cleaning up as you continue?"

Her face lights up at the suggestion. "Sure."

He allows the moment to continue to slip away as the evening continues. He does not draw attention to the way her body temperature raises any time he is closer than usual, nor the blush that spreads across her cheeks when their hands accidentally touch when passing a tool.

Like every kiss that came before, he allows the memory to be forgotten as they play at pretend. And like every kiss that came before, this one was different. This time, however, he is certain it would not be the last.

Oddly, the thought makes him smile.