Kouga couldn't keep the happiness to himself, even if he had wanted to. His meal with Kagome the evening before had been the best he'd had in his thirty one years. It didn't matter that he'd had dinner alone with her often enough in the past, or that the meal itself had been simple takeout from a Tai restaurant. What mattered was that she knew, and all evening he had been able to see the curiosity and wondering in her eyes. And he hadn't imagined the emotion and warmth in the gentle good night kiss they had shared when he had dropped her off at home.
Now he couldn't stop his eyes from wandering to her every few minutes, and would in fact have been constantly at her side, had she but allowed him and he had stayed out of the way in the kitchen. But with the urge to keep her at his side, he'd simply gotten in the way one too many times and been exiled from the female domain. So he contented himself, only a little sheepish, with listening in on her conversation. It wasn't exactly eavesdropping, since they were already speaking loud enough for him to hear anyway.
He liked Sango, and generally found her amusing. Tonight was no exception, especially when she sent a killer glare to the younger Daiyoukai in the room. Not bothering to suppress the smirk when the Inu glanced his way at the mention of a date, Kouga was unbothered by the seeming cold look in those gold eyes. Before he could make any kind of comment though, Miroku stepped between the two and took the chair to the left of his. "Monk," he muttered, still eyeing the Inu.
"Kouga." Entirely too amused at the entire situation, Miroku decided that discretion was the better part of valor. "Tonight is not a good night for…goading," and motioned slightly to the two women in the kitchen.
Turning, Kouga felt his heart skip as Kagome broke into laughter at something Sango had said. Her cheeks were flushed, her eyes bright with happiness and her body language was utterly relaxed. "I put that there," he said softly, turning back to the Ambassador.
"Perhaps, perhaps not. But do you want to be the reason she stops again?" The words were spoken lightly, but there was a world of warning in them as he watched the Ookami with patient violet eyes.
Pale blue eyes trailed slowly to the Daiyoukai, and he was only mildly irritated to notice that the Inu was listening in on this conversation as well. "No, I don't. And I won't be."
"Good. Now, as Kagome's honorary big brother, I believe I have another duty to fulfill." His gaze suddenly hard as he leaned forward in his chair, Miroku offered up a deceptively charming smile. "If you hurt her, or make her cry for any reason what so ever, I'll do everything within my power to make you suffer. Are we clear?" He didn't bother to mention that the only reason he hadn't done the same to Sesshoumaru was because Kagome had asked him not to.
It was on the tip of his tongue to say he was like her brother too, but he stopped himself, because really, he had never been able to think of her as his sister, no matter how hard he had tried. And now, considering the gift of her acceptance, he was glad he had never been able to. "I won't hurt her," he said, voice gruff, and though he didn't speak it, the promise in the words was clear.
o.O.o
Word Count - 601
