UNEXPECTED ENDINGS

I

   Rolling over on her back, unconcerned as the sheet slither to her waist she stretched, like a contented, feline creature. "Where are you going?" she murmured, focusing on him across the bed. The alarm clock read 11:00pm in bold green numbers and she would have slept through the night if she hadn't noticed the empty area next to her.

  He turned his head and found her studying him with a curious frown. "I have to leave at night if I am going to get to Sendai early." He explained while grabbing an ironed polo shirt that lay over the back of a flowered pastel chair and slipping into it one arm at a time. The bed shifted as he sat down and started snapping the row of buttons.

  "Seiji," She crooned at him and exasperatedly shoved his back with her bare foot. "Leave in the morning."

   He concentrated on tucking his shirt in his khakis, ignoring her protest to his leaving. He had wanted to leave quietly, avoiding the questioning he knew would come if she were to awake. Well, so much for quite departures. "No," Continuing to ignore her gripes he began pulling on his socks. "I promised father I would stop by tomorrow in the morning. I'm going to have to switch off bullet trains to travel there and would like to do that before the rush hour hits. If I wait until morning I'm going to have a heck of a time finding an empty spot on those trains. You know how crazy it is over the weekends; you can't even take two steps without someone stepping on your toes. Plus Section 9 has a new case I'm working on; I have some inquiries in the Kagoshima Prefecture. It will be easier if I can do it in person rather than over the phone. " He turned around and exchanged a forced smile with her. "Go back to bed Nasuti."

She shot him a dark look.

"I'll call you as soon as I get to Sendai."

"I hate being married to you," she grumbled and dragged a pillow over her face.  "It's always something. Never time-You're horrible."

  His gaze roved, lazily studding the smooth satin sheet that draped over her bare body. "I could have sworn hours ago you were signing quite a different tune." He reached over and slowly prided away the pillow that covered her face, revealing a sly, coy smile. "Am I so horrible?" he asked idly.

   "Worse. But," Moving she rotated her entire body, coming up on her knees to be eye level with him. She held the tangled top sheet with one hand while the other snaked around his neck before he had the chance to retreat.  "If I said no would you stay?"

  "Fat chance." He chuckled at the disappointed look on her face when she heard his response. "I'm sorry."

  "A normal person would stay," The grooves beside her mouth deepened into a full smile that was lazy, complacent and smug. "Especially when their significant other is in need of proper ministrations. All those long hours and brown nosing at work really drags a girl down. A little TLC would be nice, I'm needy."

  "You mean greedy."

   That, too, Nasuti thought, chagrined. 

   "I can't." Seiji sighed, trying to lift her hand away from his neck. Unfortunately for him, she had a stronger hold than he imagined. "I really need…to….go-" He trailed off as she started to teases his features with feathery kisses. "Nasuti…I mean it…I really, damn you…I have to leave early-"

  "I know." Dropping the hand that held the sheet she allowed it to splash into a mass of tangles and eventually slide off the bed to the floor. He visibly shuddered at the new contact and gritted his teeth when she slid her hand through the soft strands of his honey-gold hair. "What part of no do you not understand?" Reluctantly he encircled her, one hand at the small of her back. "Nasuti?" When she didn't respond his eyes flashed with a seriousness calm as he tried to hold onto his restraint (what was left of it anyway). "Naste, I have to go."

   She glided her hand over to touch his cheek, "I know," her fingertip moved smoothly over his ivory throat, "But do you really want to leave?" underneath the collar of his shirt to his baby-skin shoulders.

 "Yes, I_REALLY_need_to-I-uh," he turned his head away as she kissed the corner of his mouth.

 "Really need to what?" she asked before directing his head back to her and kissing him hungrily that belied her outward gentleness.

 "You're doing this on purpose." He mumbled against the soft touch of her lips brushing his. "Just so we're clear, you're not getting your way."

   They hadn't been married long, only three years, though it was more of a year than thee years that they actually started sinking into the marriage life. This union at first was not expected by either, it merely played out that way. The marriage came to be when Seiji was going to be forced into an arranged marriage and Nasuti denied promotion because of her unattached status. The events that followed were rather confusing, but when faced with marrying a stranger or somebody he actually knew, Seiji chose the later. It was a scheme to trick his family. Nasuti at first thought it was insane. However, when she realized her job couldn't make any more excuses for not promoting her and that after two years they could ask for a divorce, she didn't think it was so bad after all. Simply put, it was a matter of convenience. It didn't bother them that they were using each other because they were not interested in finding a partner and were more concern with their social life than marital life. Seiji and Nasuti went along with the façade for the first two years. They even had planed on an annulment that they rehearsed before the union took place.

   Unknown to them at the time, everything they planned would come crumpling down. First it began with settle unwanted thoughts, hinting nothing more than curiosity.  Then curiosity went to desire and no matter how hard they tried they couldn't deny them. That desire never disappeared; in fact, it grew into something stronger. Nasuti was more open and understandable but Seiji wanted to brush off the feelings completely. To him, those emotions were signs of a weak man. It didn't take long for his primal instincts to take over though.  His weakest moment was at the hands of a woman. The worst fate he could possibly imagine and Nasuti enjoyed every moment of it.

   "Seiji, leave in the morning." Nimble fingers snapped open the first two buttons of his pink Polo shirt. "I'll go with you then," She looked up, casting a sweet smile. "Sound good?"

   NO! He really needed to go. He had a plan and his route was set. All he had to do was sidestep her and leave through the bedroom door. That didn't sound too hard, just lean back and move those reluctant feet. His mind heard the words clearly but his body acted the part of a deaf man. "I can't. I told you, it's not only family I'm visiting; I have business down there too. You know how I hate it when you stick your nose into my work." The line of his mouth tightened a fraction as she shook her head. "That's exactly what you'll do if I go down there. You do it all the time. It's in your nature to jump into things you shouldn't."

Sarcasm was always guaranteed to rile Nasuti up. "The only official government information you're going to get done down there," she grimed, snatching her arms away from his shoulders, insulted by the injustice of his attitude. "Is chasing around a bunch of old villagers or sitting in a hot, itsy-bitsy police booth looking up gibberish!"

   "Naste, you had to say that, didn't you?"

   She permitted herself a withering stare, one that matched his. "Fine, go ahead. Leave, there's nothing for you to wait for." Shoving her hand outward she waved him off. "Just go!"

   His eyes flashed silver before his lids came down swiftly over them. He didn't need this and he sure as hell didn't need the added guilt and responsibility from a naïve French-breed professor who didn't know the difference between assisting and prying. Worst off all, he 'damn' well didn't need the "fine-go ahead-nothing" words! "Fine" was the word Nasuti used to end an argument, meaning, it's over, I'm right, you're wrong and for him to shut up. "Go ahead" was a dare. Go on, I dare you, and when you get back I dare you to even walk in the front door. "Nothing", always follows "go ahead". Nasuti usually say's this to describe a feeling she's having of turning him inside out, upside down, and backwards. "Nothing" always signifies an argument that ends with "fine" and "go ahead".

   "You're impossible…" he muttered and reached down to snatch the sheet that pooled at his feet and held it out for her to grab.

   She stiffened as she realized her state of nudity. Confidence was a rather funny thing; it appeared and disappeared at the snap of a finger. But she managed to keep the humiliation out of her voice and just concentrated and cold sarcasm. "And while you're at it, why don't you forget the fact that without me, you and the rest of the guys would have been flambé for Arago's d'oeuvre!" Fuming she jerked the linen from his hand and tugged the unwilling fabric around her body. "You know what you're problem is…you're full of yourself!'"

  Instead of walking out of the room silently, which she half expected him to do, he made a grab for her, roughly sliding his hands down her arms and tightened them around her wrists. "You have no idea how much I resent that statement." Bringing his knees on the bed he tugged on her wrists harder. "I don't have the energy to argue with you. Just stop with the sassy remarks before we both regret it."

  "Fine."

  "Don't say that!"

  "Go ahead!"

  "For crying out loud!"

  "It's nothing!"

   Sage sighed irritably. This was impossible! Absorb! Stupid! Just like home, he never wins. It was like his whole female family was behind him rooting Nasuti on. He wouldn't be surprised if they gave her some pointers on how to aggravate him. Though she didn't need any, she did fine on her own. He crawled closer and heard her gasp as he lowered his body over hers. She fought him the whole way, cussing ghastly words in French. He was thankful he didn't understand what she was saying; he probably would not have liked it. "I'm not leaving the house. I'll take the damn train in the morning." He said in her ear as she squirmed. Grandpa was right when he tried to warn him; "She's a red head, the worse kind of firebrand."

   She tried ignore the sudden knot is her chest at the realization that he conceded to her wishes after all.

   "Did you hear what I said? You win…I'm staying."  He said hoarsely.

   Her heart twisted at the harsh desperation in his voice. She felt so desolate and ashamed. "Désolé…" she whispered apologetically after a few minutes, now plaint under his body. Her pride screamed that she was a fool to give in so easily. Small trifles never did last long with her and in the end she always came out feeling guilty.

   "I'm not, you did this on purpose." he muttered.

   "Sorry,"

   "No you're not. Red heads," He joked tirelessly and began to plant kisses on her shoulder, neck and face. This always helped comfort her or it made her feel worse for her previous actions. Either way, he didn't care. A little remorse would definitely make him feel better. "Quite and sweet all around but behind closed doors they explode like fireworks."

   She jerked her head, shivering from the attention that he was showering her with. "I'm not a red head. I'm a brunette."

   "Red head," Shifting he leaned forward, nose to nose, lips to lips. "And have the temper to prove it."

    "Do not." She wrenched her hand away from his grasp and tugged a lock of hair so he could see. "That's brown. Not red. B. R. O. W. N, brown. And I don't have a temper. You mistake a woman's frustration as full blown rage."

   He picked up the lock of hair and caressed it gently. "Those are red highlights, genius."

   He was mocking her now. The arrogant beast! Mentally Nasuti thought of a bad joke about blondes, but withheld from saying aloud.

   He arched his golden eyebrows in a humorous gesture, knowing that she was about to pass judgment on him for his hair. "Half the time I have the craziest feeling that you're not real…" She swallowed in dread and knew he was just getting started with her faults. In a sense she deserved it but that didn't mean she wanted to hear it. "That you're too naïve to be a know-it-all collage professor…that you are a fifteen year old girl pretending to be a woman."

   She smiled with relief that he hadn't said anything worse. "What about the other half?"

    "The other half is worse…you make me feel like I'm fifteen." He could tell she like liked that from the quick amused sparkle in her eye, and suddenly he felt perversely compelled to stay in bed and not move an inch.

   "Admitting such a fault is very admirable. I commend you, youn-"   He caught her head between his hands, turned it up, and abruptly caught the rest of her words in his mouth, shoving his hands in her tangled hair and kissed her. Trying to atone for his earlier coarseness, he dragged his lips from hers and brushed a kiss along her jaw and cheek and temple, and then he sought her mouth again.  He traced the trembling line between her lips with his tongue, urging them to part, and when they did, he drove fully into her mouth-taking the time to explore, to arouse, to give her pleasure and fall in love with the feel of her all over again. 

~-~-~-~

  Author notes: Well, you must think me cruel to leave you off in such a place. Not on purpose my dears. The next chapter is the "lemon" and I will post it this coming Friday. (I already have the 2 next chapters done.) Anyway, I hope you liked what I wrote? I was motivated to write a steamy-short fic myself for 2 reasons: The first is because of a close friend I have (who, unfortunately for me lives on the same block as I) has been bugging me to write a sexy story with Seiji and Nasuti. The other reason is because I read a lemon not long ago and was disappointed with the lousy piece of crap. *laughs* Now, I do not think that I am a great writer (which boggles me why you guys even read my crap. You probably read my stuff because you're all perverted whack-jobs. "I know I am!!") but I do pride myself on a semi-plot lemon. I leave this story with a possible sequel, should I ever think about it. *evil crackle* I have another lemon I'm writing, but it is much longer, so I guess you cal call it a story. I will not post it until the whole thing is done. By finishing all the chapters before I send it in, allows me not to worry about deadlines. I love all my sisters who review and all the rest of you guys who I don't know but are kind enough to review.  I dedicate this story to all of those who wanted a lemon with Seiji & Nasuti!!!

  I also want to thank Winter Peacecraft-Yuy and Max for going over the story. Though I know not much was corrected, I still appreciate the effort you girls put in.