I had this one ready for a few months now and it was begging me to take it out from my files and threw it in the open. So here it is, I've always thought this crack pairing looked cute.
I'll consider this my contribution for Valentine's Day (kinda late tho lol)?
Disclaimer : I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho.
Pairing : Botan/Hagiri (again lol, I still have one more OS featuring this ship but it won't come out until a long time passes by)
themes : romance, hurt/confort, friendship
rating : T - M ?
contains some graphic french kissing ? yo, I'm dumbfounded at my own work.
Strawberry wasn't that bad after all.
Synopsis : It started with a joke, but neither were complaining.
"You look pretty down." she observed as she took a seat next to him at the counter. They had recently closed the bar for the night, and no sooner had the last patron left that Hagiri grabbed a beer and collapsed on a stool.
He put the can down, and took a long puff from the cigarette he lit up a few moments ago, before acknowledging her with a drawled out answer "How observant."
"Did something happen?" she cut to the chase, ignoring his sarcasm as she was more preoccupied with the disgusting smell emanating from the piece of tobacco. It was probably the third or forth one he had lit up that evening, and even though she was not one to comment on her friends' smoking habits, it had become a bit too much.
She never understood how something as smelly and harmful to one's health could hold any appeal.
"Somewhat."
Botan hummed and thought it wiser to not press the subject any further, for now. She glanced at the clock and heaved out a sight at the displayed time. Midnight.
It was very late compared to their usual shifts, but neither of them could afford to leave the bar before Mr. Maeda had returned. The owner had to take his leave earlier that night to attend to some "issue" he preferred not mentioning to either of them. She figured he was trying not to worry his dear temporary employees but sometimes she could not help the irritation she felt. They told him he could open up to them when needed, that after all the help he provided in the recent cases, they would always be there for him. But he always brushed them off.
She suspected the man felt more likely indebted to the Spirit World. But as far as it concerned her, she did not feel like being credited for the courtesy of her superiors.
A sigh escaped her lips for the upteenth time. She took out a notebook and laid it before her on the wooden surface. If she was going to stay here for another hour or two with a cardboard of a colleague, she should be smart and use that time to be productive.
That's what she should have been doing, but she did not.
She stole a quick glance at her right and playfully asked "It wouldn't be because you miss Mr. Maeda, would it?"
He gulped down the remaining liquid and stood up to throw the container in the trash. "You're being very annoying today."
"Or you're just being very sensitive." she stood as well and followed him around to the fridge, trotting behind him like an excited puppy "So...something happened but you won't tell me more? And here I was, thinking we were friends." she dramatically brought a hand to her chest "I'm hurt."
He rolled his eyes at the show she was putting on "Your concern doesn't seem genuine either."
"Why, I thought that keeping it light hearted would put you at ease."
He sighed and decided, this time, to not grant her any answer and instead focused his attention on the second drink he just took out. Strawberry beer, not his favorite but he would do with it.
"Ooh strawberry? Not only you're hot but you seem to have great taste too." she teasingly pointed out as he was taking a sip. The first part of her statement made him momentarily stop.
She never made any effort to hide the fact she found him good looking. And although he was not sure whether she was being honest or just a very bad flirt, he never really made any move to tell her off either. In a way, it was flattering. Very.
But sometimes she could become a tad bit pushy. He didn't know if it was the nature of their job that made her more straightforward or if she just liked spouting anything to annoy people when she was bored.
He thought for a moment.
Probably a bit of both.
He scanned her briefly from the corner of his eye. She had her head slightly tilted on the side and her hands behind her back, studying him in a quite intrusive way. Her eyes were following his every moves, but they were pausing longer on the drink he was forcing himself to guzzle down. He lowered the drink from his mouth, and internally growled when he felt she had not moved an inch.
All of this because he did not want to tell her what was bothering him? Yeah, she was definitely pushy.
He turned to face the petite woman, noticing at the same time how close they were actually standing, and handed her the drink "That's kinda gross, take it."
She blinked and hesitantly grabbed the can he thrusted in her hand "Hum…"
"I thought you liked it?"
"I do! But, you know what that means?"
He raised an eyebrow, genuinely confused at what she was implying "What?"
"Such an ingenuous soul," she shook her head. "If two people drink from the same recipient, it becomes an indirect kiss!" a girlish squeal escaped her as she finished her explanation.
He blinked at her statement and stopped himself short from laughing out loud at what she had just said. Was that really what a grown ass would believe? Then again, thinking about it, it was not that surprising. She could be a very strange fellow, which originally took him aback, but could be expected from ... whatever she really was.
He leaned against the wall and crossed his arms around his chest, all the while narrowing his eyes at her "If i wanted to kiss you, do you think I'll do it through a stupid indirect kiss or whatever you call it? I'm not a kid." he made sure to put emphasis on every single word, satisfied at her expression once she got the message.
"What are you saying now?"
"That you're childish." he replied, not in the slightest intimidated by her scowl.
Botan huffed, muttering a small "you're no fun", and reluctantly brought the can to her mouth. He watched as her eyes fluttered close and her lips parted to allow the liquid to flow inside.
He was not really the type to observe people doing mundane actions like drinking but for some reasons, this time it looked different. He didn't know if it was just circumstances or if it was the effect of alcohol in his system, but he could not help finding the scene to be quite sensual.
The way her chest was rising and falling with each sip and respiration she took was somewhat of a show stealing movement. The rather tight crop top she was clad in, which was displaying most of her lovely figure to him, did not help either. He wondered if she was not feeling cold like that. If he remembered correctly, she was wearing something a bit more covering when she first came to work earlier. Wherever that cardigan went is a mystery, but he did not get to ponder much on it as her voice caught his attention once again.
"I don't know why you find it gross." she put down the can she had visibly emptied and whipped her lips with the back of her hand "It's actually pretty sweet."
"I don't like strawberries." his eyes landed on her still faintly wet lips.
"Oh? Then why did you look so disappointed when I finished it?"
He stayed silent for a moment before a nice comeback popped in his mind. He smirked, "I was thinking about the kiss we just shared."
"Excuse me?" she frowned, a mixture of confusion and disbelief adorning her features. Did he just attempt to get into her game? She was not sure.
"I was thinking that it was a bit too brief, truly kindergarten level," he continued.
"Now sir… wait a min. Weren't you the one making fun of me earlier?"
"Well, I did. Indirect kisses aren't really my cup of tea."
She raised an eyebrow and smiled, tilting her head on the side "My my, when you talk like this, It's almost as if you actually want to kiss me" it was meant to be a joke, and she expected him to take it as such but his next words took her by surprise.
"To be frank, that's exactly what crossed my mind."
She gulped, all of this didn't seem like a game anymore but she still had an inkling feeling he was playing her "Uhm … Really?"
"Yes." he answered without hesitation, his smirk from earlier gone.
She became self conscious all of a sudden, self conscious of his stare, of her state of dress, of her own words. They had been in each other's company long enough for her to know when he was serious and when he was not, but this seemed a bit too out of character for him still.
If she was being honest, she had been watching him drink earlier as well and did not find it in herself to tear her eyes away from the way his hand contracted around the can nor from his lips. She secretly wondered how it would feel to have them moving against her own.
Her cheeks started to warm up as her thoughts became a complete mess "You can't be serious."
She needed confirmation.
A confirmation that came pretty quickly "I am serious."
"How do I give you a pass without sounding too awkward?"
"Sometimes, you don't need to talk." He took quiet, cautious steps towards her, his unreadable gaze locked firmly into her trembling one. Her eyes kept flickering from his lips to his own pair of lavender orbs, impatiently and anxiously waiting for his next move.
Then, everything happened so quickly. In a matter of seconds, the paleness of his face had already taken over her whole field of view and his cigarette and alcohol soaked breath was fanning over her mouth, hot and erratic. But despite the initial disgust she should have been feeling, the raw scent only helped to turn her on even more.
She felt fingers grasping against the thin fabric of her shirt and immediately gave in, meeting him halfway.
It started somewhat slow, maybe too slow for him, but he wanted to savor every instant of it. He did not quite register her reaction at first, because the things he cared about the most at that moment were how soft the texture of her lips felt when they moved against his own and how perfect her body felt in his arms. How petite and burning it was against his front. He groaned and leant in even more.
The sudden weight his upper body added and the dizziness that followed the kiss made her lose some of her balance. Her legs started to wobble which gave him enough control to push her up against the icy surface of the wall. She yelped at the coldness that assaulted the exposed skin of her back but did not have time to complain as he took advantage of her surprise and thrusted his hot tongue inside her mouth. This strange combination of cold and hot was an unexpected kind of pleasure.
As she had expected, he tasted just like beer, mostly strawberry beer. With some aftertaste of something she could not pinpoint. He darted his tongue in and out of her mouth, licking away the faint taste of beverage from the corner of her mouth before pushing inside again. He pressed the sides of her appendage with his own tip, the sensation ticklish but pleasant. They battled for dominance, their tongues tangling and pushing against each other, her teeth lightly nibbling at the soft mound of lips, but surprisingly, he ended up winning. For how passive he usually was, she would have never expected him to be this assertive. She tried to take over one more time, but the results were the same. Bitter by the defeat, she smirked and playfulling tugged at his tongue with her teeth, which made him moan and break off the kiss.
"What was that for exactly?" he asked, his ragged breath fanning all over her skin.
She smiled as her respiration settled down "That's for being a dominant asshole."
She thought she had won this, but the look he gave her made her strongly suspect otherwise. His left hand disappeared behind her head and soon she felt him tug harshly at her ponytail, exposing her whole throat to him "You didn't think I'd let you get off the hook this easily, did you?". He did not give her any time to reply and immediately stole her lips again. When he felt her tightly pressing them shut, he drew back and dipped in to run his tongue against her neck instead.
The sleazy bastard!
She did not stop him though, and did not attempt to conceal the small contended moan that left her either. It just felt too good. The way he caressed her sensitive skin just the right way was pure bliss. She sighed again, louder than the first time, which seemed to amuse him. She felt his lips curl up into a grin and was about to push him away when he suddenly started to press open mouthed kisses against her soft skin, his teeth delicately grazing the mound in the process.
"Oh god." her right hand flew to her swollen lips while her left was desperately clutching to the back of his leather jacket. Standing her ground and not sliding down was a challenge, but for some reason, she did not want to throw her arms around his neck, which would definitely give her a better support but would also make him know he had successfully taken the lead.
Call it pride or just being a bitter player, she did not care.
He released the skin in a painfully slow motion, the friction of his lips and saliva against her neck creating a very lewd noise.
Her cheeks were on fire. She was sure of it.
He drew back to study her face. Despite his calm and albeit cocky demeanor, his eyes that were searching hers were hungry, restless.
Her breath momentarily caught on her throat. He was usually very attractive but seeing him like that was maddening. His lips were swollen too, though she suspected hers were probably worse. His beautiful, almond shaped eyes were now a very dark, murky purple, a gaze that was making her mind venture into a more dangerous territory. How could anyone resist throwing themselves at that bastard when he looked like that?
She noticed small droplets of sweat damping his bangs and fought the urge to wipe them away and expose a bit more of his forehead.
His throat contracted as he swallowed "You seem to be enjoying yourself."
"I could say the same!" she shot back, her blush impossibly darkening.
"I never claimed I wasn't, actually…" he started to brush circles with his thumb on the spot he was formerly sucking on "I might have been enjoying myself a bit too much."
Her eyes widened as the hand that was shielding her lips flew to the sensitive spot on her skin "Don't tell me you left a ma-"
He did not let her finish her accusation, not that she was wrong, and slammed his lips against hers again, this time moving them more urgently in a bruising kiss. Taking advantage of her messy attempt at stabilizing herself between the wall and his body, he let his fingers slowly descend from her neck to her collarbone, tracing the delicate contours of her bones and relishing at the goosebumps his touch provoked. He groaned as she started to lick his lips, trying to push past them with her tongue.
He was tempted to bite it, to take a small revenge after her little stunt from earlier but he did not and, instead, parted his lips, this time letting her attempt to take the lead.
The first few licks she gave to his tongue were light and cautious, as if she was prudently waiting for him to move and forcefully strip her from the control once again. But she soon became bolder, pushing her organ even deeper in his cavern, and he gladly welcomed it.
Their tongues danced and tangled, untangled, hotly and urgently. They would only stop once in a while, just short moments to regain their breath and then would kiss again, over and over. Soon the only noises echoing in the bar were the quiet buzzing of the refrigerator, the ticking of the clock and the pair's lewd, saliva soaked sounds.
Botan grabbed at his back even tighter to not wobble down, her chest pressing upward against his own in the process. They pulled apart once more to regain their breath, this time their break a little bit longer than the previous ones, but they did not talk.
They stared at each other, things that did not need words being communicated between them, the heat filling their gazes being enough to make them realize and accept where all of this may be leading to. There might have been a little bit of hesitation at first, but neither found the strength or will to reject it when their lips met again.
Her arms gave up their previous fight as they slipped around his neck, and his left hand left her waist to travel further down, until it took ahold of her tight and helped her leg up, which she gladly wrapped around his hip.
This could have been the start of something more intense than they had originally planned, had the place and timing been any better.
A loud ringing sound exploded nearby, tearing both of them out of their intimate streak.
He was startled at first but surprise dissipated to make room for irritation. He reached out his arm to the wall phone as he pecked her lips once, and pulled away, mouthing her to be quiet before he inquired "Hello?"
She stared at his face and listened to the conversation closely, her shoulders gradually dropping as she heard the owner was now only a few streets away from their location. Not that she was disappointed to know the older man was fine, but he could not have chosen a worst ever timing to come back.
"Fine, have a safe trip back." Hagiri replied, his voice barely hiding the displeasure he felt, but Mr. Maeda did not seem to catch on it as he kept his cheerfullness even as the young man hung up on him.
He took a deep breath and leaned forward, reposing his forehead against the crook of her neck " He will be here any minute," he whispered, "it would be a bit embarrassing if he found us in this state."
He waited for her to talk. He did not know what he wanted nor expected her to say, but the answer she gave reassured him "Right…" he felt her hang her head and stagger a bit against the wall "Besides, alcohol probably got a bit to our heads, right?"
Hagiri drew back and prodded her chin upward so she could meet his eyes "In case you're wondering, I don't regret any of this. And I hope you didn't either… But maybe that call was a sign for us to stop. We aren't in the right state of mind to take things further. If you know what I mean."
She nodded and allowed a small smile to creep up her face at how teasing he sounded. It was refreshing in a way she could not explain "No, I completely agree with you. We should leave it here for now."
It was his turn to smirk "For now, yeah"
Without breaking eye contact, they parted from each other, Hagiri's hands steadying her so she wouldn't fall on the ground. She was still trembling, he noticed, which prompted him to hold her a bit longer. Once he was sure she was stable enough, he took out his jacket and wrapped it around her thinly dressed figure. He tried to not look at the exposed flesh he had been devouring earlier, in fear of losing it once again. He was already doing all he could to calm down and hide and suppress arousal.
She gladly welcomed the sudden warmth that evelopped her body, muttering small words of thanks to the young man. She would have been lying if she said she had not been disappointed at the sudden halt. Earlier in his arms, she felt amazing, in a dream almost. Granted she did not have many experiences to compare with when it came to that kind of thing, but that experience was not like any other she had before.
Most of what they did was only kissing, but her excitement had been off the roof. There was no doubt that she was soaked down there, if that burning heat she felt earlier was anything to go by.
They stayed like that for several minutes, standing close but not too much as to not violate each other's personal space's limits, limits that had disappeared previously to let the pleasure of a night flourish between them.
There was still the hope in both sides that this session could pick up where it ended and maybe continue, but common sense had already settled by now.
He was the first one to break the silence, with a grave declaration he uttered in the most detached tone "She cheated."
Startled, she looked at him, noting briefly that he had taken another cigarette out and was busy trying to light it up.
When the fire had finally taken off, he brought the cylinder to his lips and turned completely to her "You wanted to know why I was so moody earlier."
"I'm sorry." she managed at last.
He took a long puff, his eyebrows knitting before continuing "That's fine...I guess. I don't think I was being truthful to our couple either. I felt like her fucking up this bad just saved me from having to end things by myself… and from the fear of hurting someone in the process."
"So, things were already dead on your side?"
"Yup." he nodded "I met someone. I didn't think I'd get particularly fond of that person but there was that one...day, when my heart wavered at her sight." he paused and walked to the counter, seemingly already bored of that cigarette. As he crushed the remnants on the ashes holder, she could see a troubled but somewhat dreamy veil coating his orbs.
She took a few steps towards him but instantly stopped, startled, when he suddenly looked at her again. He cocked his head to the side, staring at her with a different type of intensity "That waver...that was a pretty ugly feeling. I knew that my couple was destined to end at that moment."
"I see…" was all she managed to mutter.
He sighed "Tsk, I don't even know why I'm telling you all of this."
She let out a quiet chuckle at this and walked up to sit at the stool opposite of his "It's probably that damn and very gross strawberry beer that's making you talk."
He snorted "Probably."
A new silence threatened to install between them again but Hagiri broke it instantly "Now, tell me," he started as he laid his head on his folded arms, all the while not looking at anything else but her "There is something bothering you as well, am I wrong?"
She was a little taken aback but she was not sure if it was because of how uncharestically talkative he was being or because he managed to notice something was up with her. There was indeed something that was gnawing at her mind for a few days now, something very personal to share but with how open they have been towards each other this evening, she figured that if there was anyone she could share it with right now, it was him.
"I've been having a rather… special kind of relationship for a couple of weeks now. I had hopes it would evolve into something else, but," she took a deep breath and continued "I think he already has his eyes on someone else and only used me as a practice doll, so... "
"Who this might be?"
"Hisaya. And I believe he's into Tsubaki, I think you met her the other day."
He recognized those names as belonging to a SDF member they had found themselves working with quite a few times these past few months, and to a ferry girl that had accompagnied the gang during a case last week, when Botan had to take care of another mission her boss has entrusted her with.
He had noticed the not so subtle interactions going on with the two culprits back then, but he did not think much of it as he had no idea Botan was romantically involved with one of them.
"I see." he was not good at comforting people with words, but for her he should be willing to try. As he straightened up into a sitting position, his large hand found the top of her head, gently ruffling her hair "He doesn't realize what he's actually missing on, if he did I'm sure he would be the one begging for your attention instead." he stopped and let his hand slide off of her head "I have a hard time imagining someone better than you."
She did not even realize he had retracted his hand by the time he concluded. She did not say anything back either, despite her inner self screaming at her to ask him what he really meant.
He doesn't realize what he's missing.
I have a hard time imagining someone better than you.
All she could do was stare back at him and silently wonder, ponder on these words that, even if simple, had enough power to make her feel like she was worth it. She was about to subdue to her curiosity when the honking sound, outside the bar, tore both of them off this quiet moment. They looked out of the window to see Mr. Maeda's car parked in front of the bar.
"Seems like the old man is here." his head fell back on his folded arms "I hope you get a safe ride back home."
She turned to him, a questioning eyebrow raised "What about you?"
"I'll sleep here, upstairs. I can't really ride my motorcycle in this state. And I'd be cruel to make the lil boss take me home. And no, I don't trust your flying skills yet, not after you dropped Rinku in that lake the other day."
She glared at the shameless jab he took at her but decided to laugh it off. He was not completely wrong.
"Fair points." she grabbed her bag from the floor and as she was about to make it to the door, remembered the jacket he lended her "Wait, I almost forgot-"
"You know the protocole, bring it back tomorrow. Right now, you need it."
She nodded and smirked at him "Thanks, I promise I won't sweat too much in it."
"You better not."
Once she exited the bar, he sat up and brought a hand to his lips, giving it soft strokes. This had been unexpected.
He shook his head and as he was about to stand up, a small flash of white across the counter caught his eyes. He stretched his arm and brought the notebook close, skimming through the odd notes Botan had written inside. It did not seem to be her personal diary, thankfully, or else she would have probably thrown a tantrum at him for prying in her private life. It seemed to be mainly containing notes about past missions, some datas he did not quite understand and a couple of shopping plans.
When he reached the end of the page she left it open at, a small smile found its way on his lips.
Close to the bottom edge, she had drawn a heart with, in its middle, what seemed like the first strokes of his name. He picked up the pencil that had been used as a bookmark, and completed the kanji "Strawberry wasn't that bad, actually."
I DID IT
tbh I hesitated a lot with this one but I couldn't let 4K worth of words just go to waste T.T even if it was cringey and corny as heck. The embarrassment... anyway. Lemme crawl back in my hole and be back with a sequel to Youko's Remember and a sweet/sly Kurama/Botan one shot.
Wendy McCalister : Aw thank you Wendy! I guess I broke both of our heart lol, Youko is paining me so much here. I wondered what a romance with both parts of Kurama differing in judgments and romantic feelings would have been like. I was not sure I pulled it off but I'm very glad you liked it!
sweetcanines : Thank you for the review! Youko needs all the love he can get T.T
kyoandyuya : Hi there! I'm happy to hear you liked it! Youko's feelings definitely had some kind of influence on Shuichi, despite him distancing himself and trying to squash down any remnant of the meaning these memories had for his demon side. And you guessed it right about Botan's affection. I was hesitant at first but your comment encouraged me to work on a sequel! So thanks a lot for your review.
ForbiddenDream13 : Thank you so much! I've always been a bit worried about my portrayal of characters, so your review goes straight to heart.
it really is XD I have a knack for crack pairings in general, so I might post quite a few of these.
