Drunk

Sesshoumaru tossed back another cup of saké, and glowered at the dancing kitsune, blocking his view of Kagome. He had been keeping an eye on her since she began chatting with the bride.

Kiyomi was cunning in that she had taken Kagome deliberately to the center of the party's excitement. The loud music, dancing, and just the copious amount of people made it hard on him to hear anything they were saying. He found if he focused hard enough he could make out a word or two.

"Our lord..." The bride's lips moved but he couldn't hear the rest. "...take a lover."

He raised an eyebrow in interest. It wasn't surprising to him in the least that they would talk about him. Kitsune loved to play matchmaker, and it seemed as if Kagome might have fallen victim to it.

He focused on Kagome's voice, trying to find it in a sea of noise.

"...jump at the chance to be with him."

His heart beat quickened. If only he could hear their conversation! He knew that she was still grieving over her dead idiot husband, but perhaps she did harbor some affection for him. If he were to be honest with himself, he would admit that he too held affections for her. She was strong, beautiful, and honorable: three things that he held in very high regard. These past months he had found himself craving to touch her... Since when had he ever wanted someone so badly?

The emotions he had for her made him feel like a weak human, and that was potentially dangerous. His father died because of his attraction to a woman and he would not repeat his father's mistakes.

Sesshoumaru knew he would have to eventually marry her, but he would have to keep his desires for Kagome at arm's length.

Perhaps if he moved closer to the two of them, he could hear more. As he moved to sit up, and the world tilted and spun, leaving him to ungracefully flop back onto the zabuton.

He didn't realize he had drunk so much sake. His eyes narrowed on the large empty bottle on the table.

"Ah! Sesshoumaru-sama!" A friendly voice shouted.

He slowly turned his head to see the kistune groom approaching.

"Are you enjoying yourself?" Hajime asked as he reached Sesshoumaru's side and couldn't help but notice the empty bottle of sake on the table

"The sake is...good." Sesshoumaru managed to not completely slur his words.

The kitsune grinned. "I am so glad that you approve! I see that you are appreciating the view." Hajime tilted his head towards where Kiyomi and Kagome stood deep in discussion and Sesshoumaru's eyes followed.

He didn't really have an answer that would not be lying.

"Hn."

Hajime blushed just from looking at his beautiful bride. "They are quite a lovely pair. I hope they will become good friends."

Sesshoumaru had nothing to say to that. It would be good for Kagome to have more people to rely on, but he really didn't want to encourage more meddling in their lives. And now, all he really wanted was for the kitsune to leave.

"Well, I'm going to dance with my wife. Care to join us? I'm sure that gorgeous miko would love it if you did."

A deep growl escaped his throat. "No."

Hajime smiled. "In that case, I will see you later, my lord."

"Would you see... that she is returned safely to... her room?"

Hajime bowed dramatically. "Of course my lord."

Sesshoumaru pulled Hajime's sleeve with more strength then he intended. "If anything happens to her..." he slurred trying to keep his speech normal. His eyes narrowed dangerously and his voice became a low, gruff whisper. "...I'll kill everyone..."

"I understand. She will be taken care of." Hajime nodded in agreement, suddenly extremely uncomfortable even knowing that his lord was intoxicated.

He nodded and loosened his grip on Hajime, who quickly made his way to the dancing circle.

Sesshoumaru sat drunkenly staring at Kagome. A rosy blush covered her cheeks in the light of the fox fire. The kitsune woman had probably said something to embarrass her. He wanted to walk over and take her in his arms and drag her away from all the noise where he could just speak to her alone. Shaking his head, he dismissed the thought. He should get back to the room now. It would be a challenge to not embarrass himself if he stayed any longer. Getting up slowly, he managed to not fall over. He considered walking back to the room, but decided that he didn't trust himself to walk straight.

With that thought, he sailed into the air.

xxxxxxx

Author's note: I should have another update in the next few days. Admittedly, Saruwarui and I discussed how amusing it would be if Sesshoumaru had drunkenly flown into a tree. So there's that.
Thank you everyone for the reviews. I love and appreciate every single one!