Summary: an unexpected emergency on a plane leaves Sesshoumaru in a foul mood, and Kagome discovers that even the esteemed daiyoukai will sink to juvenile levels of low to get revenge…


Cool, recycled air hit her face, and Kagome stuck her third book back into the purse stashed at her feet. "Planes are so boring."

"Then nap. Or stop grousing so others can."

A quick glance to the left showed one gold eye cracked open, somehow managing to pointedly glare with just the one, and she gave into the urge to stick out her tongue before opening a puzzle game on her phone. "Real rich coming from the one with the window seat." She grumbled again and looked at her screen. "I'm blocking anyone from seeing you drool."

"I do not—"

"How would you know?" Turning a cheeky grin his way, she flicked to a new app.

Sesshoumaru huffed and folded his arms over his chest, closing his eye again. "Doubtless you would have held it over my head by now."

"Maybe." She snickered and playfully tugged the braid hanging over his shoulder. "But only in good fun."

"Your entertainment standards are lacking."

"Well, someone's prickly today."

"I am not."

Her nose wrinkled, and she shifted a bit in her seat. "Yeah, I'll give you that one. I may be the prickly one." She wriggled again, her expression pinching more. "I forgot to get waxed."

Both eyes shot open at that, incredulous.

"What?" she asked.

Sesshoumaru tilted his head back as two claw-trimmed hands dragged down his face. "There was a time you were demure and sweet."

"Hey, I'm still sweet!" She shifted again. "Age has just added a few extra qualities."

"Extra?" He snorted. "Is that what we are calling it?"

"Hey, you're not perfect either, Lord Charming." Her lips twitched as she looked straight ahead. "Or do you not remember when you discovered tacos?"

A belligerent, pugnacious energy radiated from beside her, and out of sheer self-preservation, she kept her eyes forward.

The taco jab was fair—that was awful.

Still not looking at him, Kagome returned her focus to her phone, and when he mumbled a string of half-hearted threats under his breath in Japanese, she smiled at the rumbling, cantankerous tone.

He'll perk up after some time at the beach.

It had been a few years since they had taken time for a vacation. Between his job, the schooling it took, managing underground youkai affairs, moving, and then trying to settle into a new life, every rare moment they had managed to snatch had some other responsibility attached to it.

It really has been too long.

In truth, she could use the break too. Volunteering as she did in her church nursery didn't take up much of her time, but the book she was still working—and stuck—on sapped her of her energy most days.

Never mind that she fielded most youkai-related issues, determining what truly needed his attention and what could be delegated to others.

It made her miss Jaken.

The threat of tears pricked behind her eyes, and she fought to stop them before he noticed.

Happy thoughts. Happy thoughts. This isn't the time for…

"Attention, Passengers."

Eyes widening in alarm, Kagome sat straighter. She automatically reached for Sesshoumaru's hand, finding a small measure of comfort when his fingers wrapped around hers before she could look at him.

But when she did, her concern returned.

Straightening in his seat, he sat staring ahead, head tilted, focused.

Listening.

"Sesshoumaru—"

He shook his head.

Kagome tried to ignore the knots in her stomach. She didn't have the benefit of being able to decipher the bits of info hidden under the sounds of the plane, so she waited, knowing he'd speak when he had something useful.

Unless the stewardess spoke first.

As luck stood, it was left to the stewardess. All of a sudden, Sesshoumaru's jaw tightened, and he closed his eyes, settling back into his seat once again.

"Hey." She turned to him, squeezed his hand. "What's going on?"

He shook his head, his jaw ticking. "Do not say anything."

"What are you talking about?"

"We apologize for the delay."

Throwing her silent mate a look, she kept his hand and turned to the front, craning her neck up over the seat ahead of her. But even in First Class, it was hard to see over other passengers.

"Hello, this is your pilot speaking. Everything is alright. Please remain calm. But a fellow passenger in coach has unexpectedly gone into labor, and we'd like to ask if there is a doctor on board who can assist? Our route is currently being diverted, and we will be landing shortly, but sooner assistance seems to be required."

As if on cue, a scared, pained screamed echoed from the back of the plane, and Kagome only let the chill run halfway down her spine before her brain clicked, and she urgently shook his hand.

"Sesshoumaru," she hissed. "What are you doing? You're a nurse!"

His eyes snapped open and shot her a warning. "Statistically, there will be a doctor on board this plane." She opened her mouth to argue, and he shook his head again, dropping his voice lower. "Do not say anything yet."

Another scream shot over the plane's engines, and she yanked her hand back, angrily folding her arms across her chest. "This is ridiculous. That poor woman is in labor now."

"Kagome, it is ideal for a doctor to handle this, and I am not risking my license unnecessarily." He settled back into his seat, eyes closing again. "And I do not wish to unnecessarily be covered in afterbirth. Wait."

It was her turn for incredulous looks. "Afterbirth? I've seen you drenched in blood, youkai guts, and other unmentionables, and you're worried about—"

"Wait."

"You did not just use your Jaken tone with me."

When he didn't respond, her irritation spiked, the tension between them and surrounding them nearly palpable in the confinement of the plane.

Her last nerve frayed at the edges with the next scream, and Kagome looked around, trying to spot if another medical professional hid in their seats. But instead of any carefully averted faces, she only saw concerned, nervous passengers.

"This is ridiculous," she finally said, standing. Shoving aside the hand that shot out to hers, she waved her arms in the air. "My husband's a nurse!"

A harried stewardess rushed over, relief clear as day on her face. Luckily, she was ignorant to the dark, murderous cloud of youki that suddenly erupted beside her.

Inwardly, Kagome rolled her eyes and—unseen to others—tangled her energy in his, shoving it back. "He can help."

Sesshoumaru stood, pointedly avoiding the stewardess as he smoothed the creases out of his pants. "I do not work in labor and delivery."

"You've delivered a baby before," Kagome shot back for his ears alone.

She ignored the hole currently being drilled in the back of her head and offered a reassuring smile to the stewardess. "It'll be fine now. He's done this before."

Somehow, she managed to not jump—or laugh—when Sesshoumaru pinched her in the ass as he shuffled past.

"This way, please," the stewardess said, starting down the aisle.

Kagome sat, her look smug as Sesshoumaru bent to her, still mad but with no one to blame but himself.

"Kagome"—he kissed her hard and then pressed his lips to her ear—"they will never find your body."

He was gone the next second, and she just sat there, laughing. "Ganbatte!"

A wave of youki blasted back at her, and she laughed harder.


Eight hours, one change of clothes, an overnight layover, and a comped hotel expense later, Kagome tried to ignore the simmering storm that emanated from the shower.

"He's got himself in a snit," she murmured, phone pressed to her ear.

"Yeah, well, the bastard's never liked getting dirty. He's gonna be bent out of shape for a while."

She smiled at Inuyasha's words, the familiar tone a balm after the unpredictable, trying day. "I think it's more than that."

"How so?"

Sighing, Kagome glanced back at the bathroom. "Turns out there was a doctor on board. He just didn't want to do anything."

"Was he dumb enough to admit it after?"

"I had to physically hold Sesshoumaru back."

A too-amused snicker echoed over the line, and she bit her lip to keep from laughing. "Don't know how you managed that one."

She did laugh then. "I zapped him. He wasn't happy."

"He's had worse. Though I can understand the doc not wanting to do it. Plane births—that'll give you nightmares."

"You've done it."

"Emergencies are kinda my thing. What was this guy? A shrink? Someone who hadn't seen a birth since med school?"

"An OBGYN."

"Oh, fuck him."

She snickered, mentally able to picture the scene that would have gone down had Inuyasha been there. How both he and Sesshoumaru had ended up in medicine after centuries still surprised her, but the dedication they both gave it did not. "Yeah."

"You shoulda let Sessh go."

She grimaced. "I don't think we'd have walked out of there without questions."

"He can afford to get the mess cleared up. That asshole doc deserves a chunk or two missing from his ass." His voice grew distant for a second as he shouted something at one of his kids. "Where is he anyway? Still in the shower?"

"No doubt scouring away the 'human.' We'll be lucky if he doesn't bleach himself."

"Well, it's not like he could've scrubbed that makeup off his face in the airport. That had to suck."

It wasn't untrue. Just after the plane landed and emergency responders came on board, Sesshoumaru had walked back to first class, covered exactly in what he had been worried about with streaks of something in his hair.

She hadn't laughed then.

"Yeah, he was less than thrilled."

It was Inuyasha's turn to snicker. "Let me talk to him before Mom calls and insists on being put through."

"Okay, hold on." Kagome pushed to her feet and headed for the bathroom. "Just remember he's not in a great mood."

"Yeah, yeah. I've dealt with his moods. It's fine."

Turning the bathroom doorknob, she was met with a cloud of steam and the herbaceous scent of complimentary hotel soaps.

She wrinkled her nose. It said a lot that he was willing to suffer the strongly scented products. Normally, he would refuse—nose in the air to boot—to use what wasn't unscented or at least something mild he was familiar with. The fact that he did said any lingering bits of the birth were bothering him.

Enough that he would take the frizz that was sure to come.

Trying not to think about wrangling the mass of silver on his head, Kagome cleared her throat. "Sesshoumaru?" The curtain flew open just enough for him to glare, and she pressed the speaker button. "Inuyasha's on the phone."

So quick she didn't see it, the irritated daiyoukai snatched the phone out of her hand and pulled the curtain shut again.

"What is it?" he snapped.

The sound of Inuyasha's laughed echoed in the hotel bathroom. "Bad day?"

Another sudden flare of youki gave her just enough warning to split, and Kagome was shutting the bathroom door just as deep, angry yelling erupted on the other side.

Sesshoumaru didn't yell often, but when he needed to…

Kagome tuned out the shouting in the bathroom and dug a magazine out of her purse. "We'll just let Inuyasha be the venting buddy tonight."

Stretched out the bed, she lay there, caught between reading and eavesdropping as she waited for the brothers to finish up. And before she realized it, a quiet smile had taken over her lips.

They had healed. It had begun centuries beforehand, a slow but beautiful transformation that had brought them together as siblings—strange as that still seemed at times. But both Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru relied on each other today in ways she had never thought possible, even if neither would admit it. Regardless, it was good that they had each other now and good that they had been able to move beyond the pain of their past.

They're pretty much BFFs, even if they won't say it.

Ten minutes went by, and the shower was still running, though her mate's shouting had finally leveled off, and Kagome glanced at the clock, eyes widening slightly. It's late.

Shoving the magazine aside, she picked up the room phone while pulling out a room service menu. Better get dinner ordered. I doubt he wants to go out tonight.

Another few seconds and someone answered the call.

"Good evening, Room Service, Michelle speaking, may I have your room number?"

"Hello, Michelle! Room 528, please." Kagome turned her ear back to the bathroom as the shower shut off.

It was about time.

"Thank you. Give me one moment please."

Not in a rush, she sat at the edge of the bed, listening to the sounds of Sesshoumaru milling about the bathroom—drying off, trying the hairdryer, cursing its heat functions…

"Hi, yes, sorry for the wait."

"It's no problem."

"It seems you have an order already placed. Would you like to add something to it before we bring it up?"

Kagome's brows lifted. "Oh, I didn't realize. My husband must have taken care of it. I apologize."

"It's not a problem at all. We'll be bringing your meals up shortly."

The bathroom door opened, and she shot Sesshoumaru a questioning look when he walked out, hips wrapped in a towel as his fingers—claws not quite regrown yet—combed through his hair. Her cell was in his free hand. "That sounds wonderful, thank you."

She set the phone back in its cradle.

"Who were you speaking to?"

"Room service." She paused for a minute to dig through her bag and pulled out a brush. "You already ordered?"

A nod. "Before I showered." He caught the brush when she tossed it. "It is late enough as it is, and our flight is early."

"True." Standing, Kagome walked over to him, took her cell, and tilted her chin. "Feel better after that rant?"

He bent and kissed her before turning around and picking up a suitcase. "Hn."

"Hn," she mimicked. Half-tempted to steal this towel, she settled for swatting his backside. "Hurry and get dressed. They're bringing the food up any"—there was a knock at the door—"minute now."

She waited until he was hidden away in the bathroom again to answer, and a minute later, food was inside. Oh, that smells good.

If the day had made her that hungry, he must be famished.

The bathroom door opened a second time, and Sesshoumaru emerged, clad only in boxers with a wet braid hanging down his back.

She smirked. "Clothes optional?"

"I am eating and going to sleep," he said, carrying the tray to the room's small table for her. "There is no point."

Not able to argue with that, she opened the bottles of water brought with their dinner before sitting down. It was late, and she still needed to grab a shower herself before crashing. "What did you order?"

"I ordered you what you always get."

Before Kagome could guess, he was slid a plate with a burger the size of her head and fries across the table, and she wiggled happily in her seat. "Thank you. I'm starved!"

His lips twisted wryly, but he didn't say anything."

In hindsight, she may have been easy to please, but at the moment that was neither here nor there. Stomach rumbling, she managed to cut her burger in half just as he uncovered his own plate, and she froze.

Sesshoumaru just lifted his brows, the picture of innocence, and picked up his food. "Is something wrong?"

Kagome stared in silence a moment more before the shock wore off, and then she scowled and pointed a finger. "Are you kidding me right now?"

"Does this One look like he is kidding?"

"You're still mad?"

His tone was light as he met her eyes. "What would make you think that?"

A hot rush of irritation crept up her spine, and she felt her face heat just as he lifted a taco to his mouth and bit into it. "Don't even start," she muttered, reaching out and trying to snatch the offending food. "Trade me. Right now."

"No."

He took another bite.

Growling out loud, she lunged for his plate, only to have him catch it first and lift it from her reach. "Delivering a baby doesn't justify Tacogeddon!"

He finished the first taco and took a sip of water, moving too fast for her when she tried to grab the offending tacos again. "Not for you to determine."

"You would've had to help anyway because that doctor was a jerk. And babies are at least cute!"

"The baby," he said, face losing all evidence of levity as he jerked his plate away again, "was in my hair."

"For the love of the kami—you're a brat." She lunged again, unsuccessful. "Sesshoumaru!"

Another taco and another crunch.

Kagome stared, trying to reconcile the boxer-clad threat in front of her wearing regal, silk kimonos and a disdain for the foolish.

She couldn't.

That's it. He catfished you. The Lord of the West completely and totally—

Crunch.

—catfished you.

Snatching her bottle of water, she looked him up and down, taking in the muscle and markings that normally would have driven her a different kind of mad. Ugh. "You're too sexy for this level of petty."

Sesshoumaru refused to drop eye contact as he chewed slowly and then swallowed. "Incorrect, Miko."

A tiny smirk formed at the corner of his mouth, and Kagome grumbled, turning back to her burger.

It was going to be a long night.


A/N: Add it to the list of things I have no excuse for, but...solidarity to anyone who's had to put up with this crap from their spouse. ;-)

Shout-out to Forthright's fic Lord Charming!