Kagome yawned as she slowly awoke, snuggling closer to her source of warmth, her eyes still closed. Something soft and fuzzy was curled around her... a blanket most likely. She felt comfortable, safe, and happy. The dream she had just woken up from had been wonderful. Sesshoumaru had been in it. He had talked to her, hugged her, and then kissed her.
The miko didn't quite know what to make of her dream, but she really didn't care too much about it. 'It was just a dream... a really, really, really nice dream,' she reminded herself.
Taking a deep breath, Kagome recalled the gentle kiss she had received in her dream. "Mmmmm..." She took another deep breath through her nose, her brain finally registering what she smelled. Her magic surged forth a moment later, informing her that there was a demon near her... a familiar demon.
Her eyes flew open, showing her exactly who she was cuddled up with. Silvery-white hair flowed across the bed and over a masculine shoulder. An almost feminine face marked with a dark blue crescent moon and two sets of red strips was just inches away from hers. A long, fluffy tail was curled around her body, holding her close to him.
Kagome gasped softly, noticing that she had Sesshoumaru's hand clutched to her chest. His other arm was tucked under his pillow.
The soft sound woke the dog demon. His golden eyes quickly focused on the girl in front of him who had begun to look fearful. 'She's scared of me... of what I may do,' he thought sadly.
"Good morning, Kagome," Sesshoumaru said gently, moving his tail from around her. "May I please have the use of my hand back?"
Once she released his hand, she immediately rolled away from him and out of the bed, her face bright red. Landing on the floor with a thump, she made a small noise that reminded the dog demon of a squeak. The miko stood up, and something inside of her clicked. She went from scared and embarrassed to angry and embarrassed in a split second.
"What were you doing in my bed?!" Kagome screamed. "You had no right to be there! I'm not some plaything! You swore that you wouldn't force yourself on me; yet, I just woke up to find you right beside me! What kind of game are you playing? Do you honestly think that you can climb in bed with me now just because I'm free?!"
Sesshoumaru blinked, surprised for a moment, but he quickly went on the defensive. "I did not climb into your bed. You pulled me in," he informed her, voice cold and calm. In a single, graceful movement, he climbed out of the bed. "I keep my promises. You have no right to call me a liar."
She glared at him. "I pulled you in?!" she repeated, blue-gray eyes filling with fire. "I remember doing no such thing! There is no way that I tried to get you in my bed!"
The inu youkai took a deep, calming breath. "Enough, Kagome. Be quiet and let me explain!"
The miko shook her head. "I won't obey orders. I am free. You can't force me to do anything anymore! I can go against the spell if I want."
Growling, Sesshoumaru crossed his arms and glared at her. "You were asleep when you grabbed my hand and accidentally pulled me down next to you. It wasn't my fault that this happened, and it wasn't yours."
Kagome instantly quieted, quickly realizing that what he had said made perfect sense. "Oh." She blinked, unsure of what to say for a moment. After a minute or so, she found her voice. "I am sorry for jumping to conclusions, Sesshoumaru-sama."
"You are forgiven." He nodded his head slightly and gave her a small smile. "I am going to go get changed and check on Telonomaru. Hopefully, he hasn't decided to try and prepare breakfast for us."
"Okay," she replied simply. Then, the taiyoukai left the room, closing the door behind him.
~*~
A little while later, Kagome found out something about Telonomaru --he was a horrible cook. Somehow, he had completely ruined the waffles, making them inedible. The miko's stomach had nearly rejected the one tiny bite she had taken.
"Cousin, you couldn't cook to save your life," Sesshoumaru commented, dumping his breakfast into the trash can. "So, as long as we're here, would you allow Kagome to cook?"
Telonomaru pretended to look hurt. "Hey, last time I checked, you weren't a gourmet cook either," the dog demon said in his defense.
"I can at least follow the directions on a box," the taiyoukai retorted, half-tempted to make a face. Kagome made it for him.
"I hate to say it, but this does not taste good," she admitted, pointing at her plate.
Sesshoumaru gave her a sympathetic look. "You don't have to eat it. I wouldn't wish Telonomaru's cooking on even my worst enemies... not even Inuyasha."
Laughing, the older dog demon shook his head. "If that's true, then my cooking must be much worse than I could ever imagine."
Kagome giggled. "Telonomaru-sama, if you can't cook, then what have you been eating while you've been here?"
"TV dinners," he answered sheepishly.
"And what about for breakfast?" Sesshoumaru wanted to know.
Telonomaru gave a small smile. "Pop-tarts."
The miko looked at him like he had lost his mind. "Pop-tarts?" she repeated. "There's pop-tarts in this kitchen, and you made the waffles from purgatory?"
He raised an eyebrow at that. "My waffles are not from purgatory."
"Are they from Hades?" Kagome asked teasingly.
"No." Telonomaru shook his head.
"Erebus?"
"Ahhh... I don't know."
Sesshoumaru laughed.
"What?" the older dog demon inquired, confused. "What's so funny?"
Kagome gave a small, victorious smile. She had fooled a youkai who was at least three times as old as her. Interesting.
"Erebus is another word for Hades," Sesshoumaru answered with a smile.
Telonomaru just groaned in defeat.
~*~
"Just go on in," Telonomaru gently urged. "Sesshoumaru needs an interruption."
"But..." Kagome looked at the door in front of her. The taiyoukai had been in his study for the entire morning and most of the afternoon. He had told Kagome to bring his lunch into him, which she had done without an argument.
He took her hand and placed it on the doorknob. "Go on. He won't mind, I'm sure of it." He sighed at the pathetic look she gave him. "It's either go in and see my cousin, or you can continue to put up with me."
The miko's eyes went wide, and she shook her head. Telonomaru had been trying to convince her to date Sesshoumaru. "I'll go in," she told him. 'Anything's better than listening to him list reasons why I should go out with Sesshoumaru-sama.'
"Good. I'll talk to you later." With a pleased smile on his face, the inu youkai walked off, whistling.
Kagome sighed softly, twisted the knob, opened the door, and walked into the room. She immediately noticed a tense Sesshoumaru sitting at a desk piled at least two feet high with paperwork.
'He's working too hard,' she thought. 'He's gonna give himself a gigantic headache soon if he doesn't stop and relax for a while.'
He was frowning, a large file in one hand, a pen in the other. His golden eyes were determinedly focused on the objects in front of him. Sesshoumaru quickly scribbled a note on one of the papers in the file and then looked up at her. "Yes, Kagome?"
"Sesshoumaru-sama, shouldn't you take a break? You've been working for hours straight." She walked up to stand in front of his desk. "And didn't you tell Sango-sama that this was a vacation for you?"
The dog demon shook his head. "I'm fine, Kagome," he told her. "And this is a vacation. I'm not dealing with any of the papers I deal with at work."
"But you're still working. A vacation means a break from work... all work," Kagome reminded him. "And you do need a break. I can tell that you're stressed and tense."
Sesshoumaru looked at her doubtfully. "How do you know this?"
"Miko magic, Sesshoumaru-sama," she answered simply. "I was trained to be able to sense my master's emotions."
"I'm not your master," he reminded her immediately.
Kagome nodded her head in agreement. "I know. It seems that I can sense your emotions, whether you're my master or not." She reached over and took the file out of his hands. "Break time."
He raised his eyebrow at her. "Break time?" he repeated, sounding amused. "You're acting like you're my boss."
She blinked. "I am?" She paused for a moment, thinking about what he had said. "Is that a bad thing?"
Sesshoumaru shrugged. "I do not believe so."
"Okay." Kagome smiled. "Are you going to take a break now?"
That caused the dog demon to chuckle. 'She is nothing if not persistent.'
"What?" she asked, curious. She wanted to know what Sesshoumaru had found so funny.
He shook his head. "Nothing, Kagome." Reaching up with one hand, he began to massage the back of his neck. 'Maybe I have been at this too long. My shoulders and neck hurt.'
"Here, let me, Sesshoumaru-sama." Kagome moved so that she was standing behind him. She gathered up all his hair in her hands, reveling in the feel of it for a moment; then, she tossed the huge mass of silvery-white tresses over his shoulder. "Could you please hold that out of my way?"
"What do you think you're doing?" Sesshoumaru inquired, frowning slightly as he held his long hair in one of his hands. 'There's no way she's about to do what I think she's about to do.'
The miko placed her hands on his neck and slowly began to knead the muscles, her hands applying just the right amount of pressure. She massaged the muscles in his shoulders next, taking her time.
Sesshoumaru relaxed against the back of his chair, enjoying the massage. He couldn't remember the last time someone had given him a neck rub. 'Twenty, thirty years maybe?' he silently mused.
"Why are you doing this?" he wanted to know, voice just barely above a whisper. Kagome was so good at being a masseuse that he was nearly asleep.
"Because you're stressed, and your muscles are so tight that you needed one," she answered. "Besides, I don't mind giving you one, and I trust you not to take this the wrong way."
The instant she said that, he noticed how enticing she smelled and just how close she was standing to him. The warmth from the hands on his shoulders seeped through his body, making him even more aware of the girl.
'Dear Kami, what is wrong with me? Was Telonomaru right? Am I attracted to Kagome?' Sesshoumaru mentally shook his head, but he couldn't forget the answer to that question. 'I am attracted to Kagome. I like her... a lot. She is not like anyone else I have ever met. She actually has the nerve to yell at me when she sees fit, and she is very kind. She enjoys teasing Telonomaru, and she's lovely... not to mention she can cook.'
His thoughts paused as Kagome worked a kink out of one of his particularly tight muscles. For a few moments, he just let himself enjoy the feel of her hands on him.
'I care about her, but do I love her? No. I don't think so,' Sesshoumaru thought, feeling unsure of himself, even in his mind.
Suddenly, Kagome stopped massaging him, jolting the dog demon out of his thoughts. "I'm finished," she declared, walking around to stand in front of his desk again. "Do you feel better now?"
Sesshoumaru nodded dumbly. "Yes, I do. Thank you, Kagome."
She smiled at him. "You're welcome." She paused. "Now what do we do?"
"What do you mean?" His brain was still trying to catch up with the real world. 'Well, I won't be finishing any paperwork for a while.'
"Well, last night we played chess," Kagome answered. "Can we do something else together right now?"
The dog demon nodded, the perfect idea forming in his mind. "My mother's flower gardens are out back. Would you like to see them? They're very beautiful."
Her eyes lit up like miniature suns. "Yes, I would." She nodded her head, smiling.
Sesshoumaru stood up, walked closer to the miko, and offered her his arm like a lord would offer a lady. "Shall we?"
Kagome giggled. "Yes."