Chapter Two: AA
Def.: Alcoholics Anonymous
"Kagome, you are drunk."
Kagome sagged heavily on Sesshomaru's shoulder as he carefully led her out of the pub where they had spent their evening. "Sesshomaru, you've been my friend sinsssss…" she trailed off, slurring her words. "Since forever."
Sesshomaru rolled eyes uncharacteristically. "Three years is not forever."
"Long enough," she replied.
"You are still drunk," he said.
"And you're still… Still… an ass," she countered lamely. She went into a fit of drunken giggles.
Sesshomaru sighed. He still could not believe how he had unexpectedly run into her about three years ago. He had not expected to see her after she had made her wish on the jewel, had thought that their paths were not destined to cross again. However, it seemed that fate had other plans. He was reluctant to acknowledge her claim that they were friends but at the same time, he could not deny it. Maybe that was why he worried for her so. "Kagome, you are drunk," he said again. "And I have no idea where you live." He had never been to her house before, something he was now regretting.
Kagome blinked blearily. "You know the street… with the sign… and the lights… and the house… That's the one."
He sighed again. This wasn't helping. Thinking fast, he decided he'd just take her to his home. Had she brought her cell phone with her (something he was constantly getting on her about) he could have called her family. But alas, she had not, and he did not know their numbers. Resigning himself to his chosen course of action, Sesshomaru led her to his sleek black sports car and helped her into the passenger seat. He would explain to her in the morning. She was already asleep.
He drove carefully for about ten minutes until he reached his destination. Turning the engine off, he climbed out of the car and walked over to Kagome's side. He opened the door and carefully gathered her into his arms. Awkwardly closing the door with his foot, he began climbing up the stairs to his apartment. After ascending the stairs he shifted the sleeping girl just enough that he could unlock his door. He once again closed the door with his foot and then moved through his dark living room to lay Kagome down on the couch. He had just put a pillow under her head and was about to cover her in a blanket from the hall closet when she stirred. He paused when her eyes fluttered open.
"You're a sweet guy, Sesshomaru," she murmured. "Most guys would've taken advantage of a girl like me, but… not you. I can trust you." She yawned, her eyes drifting slowly shut. "You make it easy to love you…" With that sleepy comment, she drifted off again.
Sesshomaru slowly let out the breath he had been holding and covered her with the blanket. He walked down the hall and to his room. Not bothering to change out of his clothes, he kicked his shoes off and allowed himself to fall into his bed with a soft groan. You make it easy to love you. He only wished that she had meant it. But he knew that it was likely just the alcohol talking. He was well aware of the fact that alcohol made people say things they didn't mean. Certain that she hadn't meant it, he closed his eyes and let himself go to sleep.
When Kagome woke up the next morning, she was surprised to find herself lying on a soft black couch. A dark blue blanket covered her. She lifted her head slightly to look around only to be beset by a horrible, pounding pain in her head. She slowly laid her head back down. 'Oohh… Drinking all that vodka last night was not a good idea…' She moaned softly in pain, absently rubbing at her temples. 'Where the hell am I, anyway?' She vaguely remembered being with Sesshomaru outside the pub, and she knew he wouldn't have left her alone in such a sorry state. Which meant… 'This must be his place.' There was no other logical explanation. After all, he had no idea where she lived. Curious in spite of her pain, she sat up and looked around. She wanted to know exactly what his home looked like. 'I never expected him to live in an apartment,' she thought. 'I expected a mansion or a penthouse or something.'
She was in the living room. The room was rectangular. Looking in from the door, the couch was to the right against the wall. A small mahogany coffee table, also rectangular, sat about two feet in front of the couch. Not far beyond it was dark wooden buffet with three drawers. Atop it sat a decent sized television. The whole floor was carpeted. Dark blue, not unlike the blanket that still covered her legs. The entire room was immaculate, just as she'd expected his home to be. She expected nothing less.
Standing, she slowly reached out her aura and attempted to locate him. He barely responded, his aura pushing hers away almost sleepily. There was little to no strength behind the action, further proving to her that he was asleep. She crept quietly down the hall to the right of the buffet. Following the feel of his aura, she found herself drawn to the last room in the hall. The door was open but the lights were off. She tiptoed over to it and turned left to stand in the doorway. It wasn't dark due to it being around eight in the morning, but the curtains he had over his solitary window ensured that the light was dimmed. She didn't pay any more attention to the things in his room after noticing that because there, below the window, was the bed where Sesshomaru lay asleep.
'He didn't even change his clothes,' she thought, casting a soft, loving look to his face. He looked so peaceful when he slept. No even the faintest traces of a frown remained on his face, despite the fact that he did tend to frown a lot. It was the only thing to mar his usually calm visage. 'He's not even under the blankets.' Unable to resist, Kagome walked over to him and gently brushed his fangs out of his face. His already tousled bangs were ruffled slightly from sleep and their usual part had become hidden, covering the crescent moon on his forehead. She gently parted them again, watching as he frowned a bit in his sleep and stirred slightly. She soothed him by murmuring something softly to him before slowly tiptoeing out of the room. She didn't want to wake him.
Kagome entertained herself for the next forty minutes by watching T.V. quietly in his living room. She didn't know what channel he'd left it on, but the show that was playing when she turned it on was some sort of documentary on the moon. It struck her as oddly appropriate, and she snuggled back under the blanket for a while as she watched. She looked up when she felt him walking down the hallway. She lifted her head to look at him. "Morning," she murmured.
He mumbled something in response that she didn't quite understand, running his fingers through his bangs and ruffling them even further. He walked through a corner of the living room and through the doorway into his small kitchen. He knelt down and opened a cupboard as she sat up and walked over to him. She entered the kitchen just as he pulled out a frying pan.
"Making breakfast?" she asked.
"Eggs."
"With bacon?"
"Yes."
"Sweet." She opened his fridge and pulled out a carton of eggs. She set them down beside the stove as he turned the burner on.
"Fried?" he asked.
"No, scrambled, please," she said with a shake of her head. He nodded and began cracking eggs while she searched his cupboards for a loaf of bread. Once she found it, she hunted down his toaster. She already knew that he liked toast, much like she did, so she popped four pieces of bread into the toaster. Two for each of them.
Not long after her toast popped, the eggs were done and he was starting on the bacon. Her stomach rumbled in anticipation. He cast an amused glance at her over his shoulder, smirking a bit at her slight blush of embarrassment. She stuck her tongue out at him, forcing herself not to blush even harder at his smirk. He looked so damn sexy! She violently pushed that thought away. Sesshomaru was her friend, yes, but there was no way he would ever love her. After all, he was Sesshomaru. Perfect, beautiful, powerful, dangerous, sweet, funny, charming, caring… and she was just Kagome. He could never love her.
He interrupted her by turning off the burner and pulling two plated down out of another cabinet. He served them both before putting the plates down on the table. He sat down across from her with his back to the living room while she sat with her back to the sink. They ate in relative silence before he finally spoke. "How is your headache?"
She had actually managed to forget about it for a while, but now it came back full force. "Bad," she admitted. "I don't suppose you have some Ibuprofen?" He nodded once and stood fluidly, walking out of the kitchen and back down the hall. She didn't know where he went, but he returned moments later with a bottle of pills. He handed them to her and walked somewhere behind her. She heard a cupboard open and then close, soon followed by the sound of running water. He set a glass of water beside her and returned to his seat. She nodded her thanks and quickly downed a couple pills before starting to eat again.
She watched as he finished his last piece of bacon and calmly ate his eggs. When he was finished, he stood and placed his plate and fork in the sink, not bothering to wash them. She finished a moment later and did the same. "So why don't you have an actual house?" Kagome asked, picking up the dropped thread of conversation.
Sesshomaru shrugged, moving into the living room with her at his heels. He sat down on the couch, idly pushing the blanket and pillow aside. She plopped down beside him. "I do not have the need for so much space," he said. "This is more than adequate."
She nodded her understanding. It made sense. He was never one for material possessions, anyway. Which brought her to her next question… "Since when do you watch T.V.?"
He glanced to the machine, shrugging once again. "For a while," he replied vaguely. "It is entertaining, at times."
"At times?" she repeated, raising an eyebrow in much the same way he often did.
"Yes," he replied enigmatically. "At times."
"Your hair is messy."
"So is yours."
"I don't have a hairbrush."
"You can use mine."
"Okay."
She followed him back to his room and he grabbed a slender, black colored hairbrush off of his dresser and tossed it to her. She caught it with both hands and walked back out into the hall to locate the bathroom. She opened the door and walked in. she began brushing her hair in front of the mirror ad his bedroom door closed, presumably so he could dress. It opened again moments later and she finished brushing her hair not long after. She walked back down the hall and, completely making herself at home, sat down on his bed. He glanced to her in surprise. She said nothing, just smiled and patted the bed beside her. He came over and sat down, arching a brow at her curiously. She motioned with her hand for him to turn around. With a huff, he obliged. "Why?" he asked.
"I want to brush your hair," she said seriously. He huffed again. "What?" she challenged. He just shook his head, crossing his arms. Deciding she wasn't going to get much more of an answer out of him than that, she didn't press the matter. Instead, she began slowly brushing his hair. The brush went through his silky strands easily and smoothly. It wasn't really tangled, but she still wanted to brush it anyway. She could barely resist touching the glossy locks.
Sesshomaru held his breath as the brush scraped lightly over his scalp again. He refused to admit, even to himself, how good it felt. It was do no good to acknowledge such things. The fact that the slightest touch from Kagome sent electricity racing throughout his body was something she could never know. Much like the fact that his heart raced whenever he saw her, how he seemed to get instant amnesia whenever she turned her smile on him, or the way he got lost in those beautiful eyes of hers… He mentally shook his head. No, she could never know. She would never feel the same. She couldn't. She was perfect. She was beautiful, loving, friendly, outgoing, friendly, passionate, determined, powerful, fiercely loyal… He could never be good enough for her. She was perfection. He was nothing. Just a demon who could never live up to his father's expectations, who could never make amends with his brother, who could never save the little girl he'd once cared for, and who could never be loved. He was just… Him.
"Sesshomaru, you're too tense," Kagome's voice suddenly broke through his thoughts. "You need to relax."
"Why?" he asked.
"Because this is supposed to be relaxing," she said. "It doesn't work if you aren't letting yourself relax. Just… stop thinking so much."
Sesshomaru rolled his eyes but, reluctantly, allowed himself to relax bit by bit. He slowly closed his eyes, savoring the feeling of Kagome lightly brushing his hair. He let his head lean back a bit, enjoying this more than he cared to admit. He didn't think he couldn't not relax if he tried. He sighed softly as the brush scraped gently against his scalp again.
"That feel good?" Kagome asked. She knew that regular dogs liked to have their heads scratched, but for dog demons… That was unexpected.
Sesshomaru nodded a bit, his eyes still closed. He sighed again. He couldn't seem to stop himself from doing that. At this point, however, he couldn't bring himself to care. This felt too good for him to restrain himself as he usually did. Then, without any warning, Kagome's fingers replaced the brush in his hair. It took every ounce of his self-control not to jump in surprise. His eyes, which had snapped open, slowly drifted shut as she ran her fingers through his hair. She scratched lightly at his scalp, nearly causing him to moan. He hesitated, unsure what to but for whatever reason wanting to do something, and finally settled for allowing himself to press back into her touch a bit.
Kagome was honestly surprised when she felt Sesshomaru press back into her touch. She hadn't expected him to respond, except perhaps with another small sigh. Still, he was clearly enjoying it, and so she didn't stop, continuing until she had somehow coaxed him into laying down on his side with his head in her lap, facing her stomach, as she continued to run her fingers through his hair. His eyes were closed, his breathing slow and even, and he appeared for all the world to be asleep. Somehow, though, she knew he wasn't. When she finally finished, she watched as he slowly opened his eyes and lifted his head a bit to look at her sleepily. He seemed disappointed that she'd stopped. She smiled softly down at him. She wanted so badly to do something more, but… He sat up then, killing whatever fantasy she was starting to have before it could even be born.
Sesshomaru glanced at Kagome in surprise when he felt the disappointment rolling off of her in waves. He was about to open his mouth and ask what was wrong when her scent suddenly filled with determination and courage and, before he could even blink, she had closed the distance between them, pressing her lips to his.
Kagome felt him freeze. Her heart pounded almost painfully in her chest. She was certain he could hear it. How could he not? She was certain that even a human could have heard it right now had they been present. Just as she was losing her nerve and starting to pull away, Sesshomaru suddenly pressed back into her, his lips moving slowly but firmly against hers. She felt a moment of surprise, followed by a moment of triumph, before everything faded away and all she became aware of was him and the overwhelming love she suddenly had cause to believe they shared.
When the kiss finally broke, he leaned his forehead against hers as they both panted for breath. They stared into each other's eyes, silently telling each other what they needed to hear without using words.
You're perfect.
You are beautiful.
You're strong.
Your brother forgave you.
Your friends never forgot you.
Your father has always been proud.
You have always been special.
I love you.
And in the end, that was all that mattered for the former demon lord and the miko once misplaced by time. Because, in the end, love was the answer to the question they had both been asking themselves all along.
"Why am I here?"
To be loved.
Edited 02-02-15.
