Author's Note: /ignores RL responsibilities because lbr I would just rather be a wet croissant than deal with stuff

An A-peel-ing Offer

Kagome had managed to head home by midafternoon, leaving Sesshoumaru and his mother to explain the whole "Fernando/Henri" fiasco to the police, who had arrived to clear up the rowdy fight after numerous calls of complaint from the other tenants. As she left, Kagome noticed Sesshoumaru's mother was casually flirting with a young female police officer and managing to secure a phone number. As flighty as she was, Kagome had to appreciate and respect the woman's confident sexual prowess.

She barely had the door open before she was accosted with numerous questions:

"Where on earth have you been, young lady?"

"Do you know what time it is?"

"Were you wearing that last night?"

"What would your mother say?"

Kagome answered all of those questions with a simple raise of the tote bag she carried that held numerous containers of food. As expected, her roommates were quickly appeased with the prospect of free food.

"No, seriously, were you at the bastard's house all night?" Sango asked, opening the container that had the grilled chicken breasts that Kagome had made just a few hours earlier.

"Yeah, it was late, I didn't want to head home alone," she said in half-truth, "I slept in one of his rooms." That he had happened to be in as well, her mind helpfully reminded her. Kagome quickly shook the thought away. "I told you I was going to be late."

"Nearly a whole day late?" Kikyou asked wryly, reaching for the sautéed kale with garlic.

"I cannot plan these things, guys." Except I totally could.

She wondered if she should be worried that she exhibited less and less guilt the more she fibbed and hid the exact nature of her relationship with her boss. What had started out as an innocent, drunken one-night stand somehow led to a two-year extravagant farce full of half-truths and dodgy comments in the eyes of the public, or in this case, everyone she personally knew, including her two closest friends.

"Did you ask about some vacation time?" Sango asked, arranging some salad on her plate.

"Oh, um, actually no," she said, completely thrown off by the question.

Her friends looked at her.

"We were too busy discussing my raise."

She gave herself her second mental pat on the back that day.

"Are you getting one?" Kikyou asked excitedly.

She nodded, grinning. "He thinks I deserve one too."

"That's good! Whatever argument you gave him, you should use it when you ask for some time off," Sango commented.

Whipped cream and chocolate syrup. He is so simple. Kagome considered next time adding some strawberries into the mix.

"Do we have any ice cream left?" she asked, heading for the freezer. "I'm suddenly craving a sundae."

.

It was nearly nightfall when Kagome received a phone call from Sesshoumaru. As they spoke on the phone together, she could hear how weary his tone was, and she smiled to herself in sympathy that his planned day was shot to hell thanks to his mother and her numerous paramours.

"So what happened to the whole Fernando/Henri situation?" Kagome asked, grinning when she heard an annoyed growl as a response.

"The three of them decided to…" Sesshoumaru paused to grimace, "practice polygamy."

"Well, they are three consenting adults," Kagome responded. "I would never imagine you to be so disapproving of others' lifestyles."

Sesshoumaru sighed. "I am not bothered by others' lifestyle," he explained, "What I am bothered by is Mother constantly causing trouble and interfering with my own personal life."

"She just wants to spend time with her only son."

"Most mothers and sons would just have a simple meal together occasionally," Sesshoumaru responded, his tone implying that he was also rolling his eyes at the entire ludicrous situation, "Mine has to involve the entire police force in the city." Then he muttered under his breath, though Kagome caught every single word uttered, "Not to mention seducing all of them as well."

Kagome grinned. "She is one of a kind."

"Which reminds me," Sesshoumaru started, tone dripping heavily with sarcasm, "Mother would like me to extend a message to you to prepare an extra plating next month for Valerie as well."

Kagome's brows furrowed in confusion. "Valerie?"

"The female police officer she's met today."

Kagome grinned again. "Noted."

.

It was daytime.

And he was shirtless.

Again.

Might as well just take those pants off anyway, her mind unhelpfully added, It's not like anyone else is in the penthouse.

Kagome yelped suddenly when she accidentally nicked herself while peeling some vegetables. She immediately placed her injured finger under cold running water, a little relieved that she didn't cut herself enough to draw blood. When she looked up, she caught Sesshoumaru staring at her briefly in confusion before he resumed the conference call he was on.

She scowled. Bastard, she grumbled in her mind, I thought I was the delightful distraction, not you!

Her eyes wandered down to his deliciously sculpted abs, and she couldn't help but think about how they resembled a chocolate bar. She perked up suddenly, seeming to have discovered some sort of revelation.

"Chocolate abs," she unknowingly said aloud, drawing Sesshoumaru's attention again from across the room.

He mouthed the words back to her in confusion.

She could feel her cheeks burning hot. Immediately, she redirected her attention to her vegetables, and proceeded to dutifully peel her potatoes as quickly as possible. Although she wasn't looking at him, Kagome could practically still feel Sesshoumaru's eyes were still on her. She was also quite positive he was sporting the most lecherous smile known to man on that smug face of his.

It should probably bother her, but strangely, she liked his lecherous smiles, knowing they always led to some delightful encounters, particularly ones where she could get nice and personal with those delectable abs of his.

She fidgeted, feeling a little hot suddenly.

Didn't I just get laid recently? she moped to herself as she finished with the last vegetable. He's doing this on purpose. Again.

Kagome proceeded to chop her vegetables into large chunks before throwing them all onto a sheet pan. She then grabbed a bottle of olive oil and drizzled it all over the vegetables before seasoning them with salt and pepper. She looked at the pan for a moment, feeling like she wanted a little more pizzazz to her dish.

"Oh, I know!" she said to herself before she turned to rummage through her spice cabinet. She pulled out a small jar of dried rosemary. Grabbing just a pinch, she sprinkled it all over her pan, giving it a quick nod of approval before she placed it into a preheated oven.

She set the timer on the oven and turned around, startled to find Sesshoumaru looming over her.

"Would you like some 'chocolate abs'?"

Kagome could practically feel all of the blood rushing to her head in that instance. "Wipe that stupid smirk off your face or I will," she threatened to the best of her ability, which really wasn't even that great.

"Darling, I'm not the one who was distracted while working."

"Well, whose fault is it for walking around the place half-naked?"

Sesshoumaru's eyes quickly did a sweep up and down Kagome's body. She instinctively covered herself with her hands, feeling like she knew what was about to leave his mouth.

"Well," he started, his voice intentionally dropping an octave lower, "You could join me, you know." Before Kagome could protest, Sesshoumaru had grabbed her wrist, drawing her closer to his body. He murmured sinfully low into her ear, "It's not like you haven't before."

"Ah, well—" Well, damn, she thought to herself, Man's got a point.

Sesshoumaru's eyes brightened, knowing very well that Kagome was seriously contemplating his enticing offer. His hand wandered to her jeans button, very eager to be helpful in this regard.

Ding-dong!

His hand paused.

He growled.

"Oh, dear," Kagome said with feigned concern, quickly using this opportunity to slip out from under her boss' hold, "Company is here."

"I do not recall inviting anyone here. Ever." Sesshoumaru begrudgingly walked across the room to retrieve the white dress shirt he had tossed over the living room couch. He proceeded to reluctantly dress himself as Kagome answered the door.

"Hello, Mrs. Nishimura!" she greeted brightly to the woman at the door.

Sesshoumaru was facing away from the door, his hands still busy buttoning up his shirt. He rolled his eyes and groaned, "Mother…"

He heard a light tsk, and then he realized the woman's tone was lighter than his own mother's. He turned around, and sighed, correcting himself, "Stepmother."

Kagome stood next to the woman and grinned widely. "Look, Mr. Nishimura, Mrs. Nishimura is here today!"

He answered her with a quick glare, but before he could say anything, his latest company interjected.

"Now, Kagome, I've told you already to call me Izayoi," the woman lightly scolded Kagome.

"Oh, I know," she said, leading Izayoi into the living room, "I just like to bug Mr. Nishimura. You know how sensitive he is around the subject of 'mothers'."

"Well, I'm just grateful he had grown out of his hostile stage," Izayoi responded, settling down onto a seat on the living room couch.

Sesshoumaru sat down in the armchair adjacent to her. He crossed his legs and placed his clasped hands into his lap. After quickly counting down in his mind from ten, he mustered up his best pleasant voice for his stepmother. "So do what do I owe this 'delightful' visit, Stepmother?"

She frowned briefly, seemingly upset by his aloof address to her, but just as quickly she recovered. "Well, actually, Sesshoumaru, I am mostly here for Kagome."

"Me?"

"Her?"

The two questioned the older woman simultaneously.

Izayoi nodded and then smiled brightly. "Actually, your father and I have discussed this with one another and we would like to 'borrow' Kagome for the summer."

"Erm, to do what exactly?" Kagome asked uneasily, briefly remembering that Sesshoumaru's parents and stepmother have engaged in a ménage à trois more times than she would like to admit to knowing. While he was extremely faithful to his second wife, the older Nishimura male was still a lady charmer and absolute heartbreaker. Kagome's eyes darted over to Sesshoumaru, seeing his two hands were now gripping tightly the sides of the armchair he was sitting in. She could practically see him seething in his seat, most likely having the same thought as her.

"Well, catering, of course," Izayoi responded innocently, unaware of the inner turmoil the young couple was feeling.

Sesshoumaru relaxed. Kagome discreetly breathed out a sigh of relief.

"Oh, well," Kagome paused. "Well, we could have discussed this over the phone, Izayoi. You didn't need to trouble yourself with coming all the way here."

"Actually, Kagome, we were hoping you would join us in Japan this summer," Izayoi explained, "Touga wants to have a family gathering with everyone, and well, it seems he just can't get over your cooking. We both can't really."

She smiled brightly.

"Family gathering?" Sesshoumaru inquired with a raise of his brow.

Izayoi nodded. "Inuyasha will be coming home soon, so we'd thought it'd be nice to have you come home as well, Sesshoumaru. I've also spoken with your mother this morning and she is absolutely delighted with the plan."

"Ah, well, in that case," Sesshoumaru stood up, "I am afraid I will have to decline, Izayoi."

The older woman frowned, upset, but not surprised by her stepson's response.

"Well, wait a minute," Kagome interrupted. She muttered under her breath, "This could work out…"

"What was that?" Sesshoumaru turned to Kagome with a glare.

She fiddled with her thumbs. "Well, that is…" She took a step away from him. "That is…" She rocked back and forth on her heels. "I was hoping to…go back home to Japan soon…"

"What?"

"To see my mother," she clarified. "It's just…I haven't seen her in a while. Couple of years, actually…"

Izayoi stood up and instantly wrapped her arms around Kagome. "Oh, you poor dear…" She brushed Kagome's hair gently. "Now, I know Touga would not object to you inviting your family to our manor, Kagome. Why, you can even invite your friends to come along as well!"

"But Mr. Nishimura wouldn't—"

"Very well," Sesshoumaru muttered, surprising both women. "We will go to Japan this summer."

"Splendid!" Izayoi clapped her hands together in delight. "This is wonderful, Sesshoumaru! I am going to call your father right now, and he and I will get back to you with our plans."

She gave Kagome another hug before leaving.

There was a brief moment of silence in the penthouse before a loud beeping resounded.

"Ah!" Kagome cried out as she rushed into the kitchen. She slipped on a pair of oven mitts before she retrieved the hot sheet pan from the oven. She placed the pan on a wooden board, smiling in satisfactory at seeing the crispness of the roasted vegetables.

"Kagome?"

"Hm?" She looked up and was surprised when Sesshoumaru leaned down to kiss her.

"We have some stuff to discuss tonight."

"But I made plans with Sango and Kikyou," she protested.

"Cancel them," he demanded. "Your 'boss' is going to keep you up all night long."

She dropped her oven mitts.

Endnote: So, I don't recall if I've seen this term used recently, but back in 2009-ish K-Pop days, 'chocolate abs' was a term used to describe the perfectly-sculpted abs of male idols (Big Bang's Taeyang, anyone? Or the entirety of 2PM? Though I was more into MBLAQ's Joon's 'honey abs'). So I was just being cheeky here. And now I'm gonna go take a cold shower. Byeeee~