Chapter 5- #15- Perfect Blue

Woo! Lookit me churning this shit out! I'm so proud. :D)

I was sick last week, so I took one day off of class, and we had the next day off anyway, so I had a nice five-day weekend to write. Conveniently, I have another five-day weekend this week, so more chapters to come soon! :)

Uh, Soundtrack! Yes! I listened to "Chocolate Love" by SNSD during the first few scenes because I'm on a serious K-Pop kick right now. I listened to "Shots" by LMFAO and Lil Jon when R and S venture out at night…'cause I love that song (don't judge! XD). For the smexy part I listened to Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong's version of "Summertime" (not an aria version, 'cause high pitched opera is a mood killer ;P). Finally, for the end of the story I listened to "Still Fighting It" by Ben Folds.

Rin is in her late twenties.

Sesshoumaru is…?

Youkai do exist in this particular AU.

"…"- speech

"…"- thought

-"Ano" is Japanese for "um/uh"

Rated: T+ for alcohol use and mild lime-y content.

Perfect Blue

Rin lowered the plane slowly. The small metal craft slid beneath the clouds and sailed loftily above the now visible Indian Ocean. The pilot smiled and switched to autopilot, lifting her now cold tea from the cup holder beside her. She leaned back in her chair and sighed, looking ahead.

In the early morning light, without a cloud in the sky, the horizon had vanished. Both sky and sea were connected, nearly mirror images of dusky blue. It was Rin's favorite thing in the world, when everything seemed to come to order. Earth and sky were connected as one, as though the world were a painting and the master stroke dividing sky and sea had yet to touch the canvas. A perfect blue.

Then, as soon as the infinite blue had appeared, it vanished: the sun's light hit the ocean and clouds began to appear again in front of the small plane. Rin sighed and gulped down some more tea. In a little over an hour they would land at Narita, and then Rin would finally be able to sleep.

The day had been a long one, and it was only 12:30. Up since 3:00 am and having performed three flights in that time with no breaks, she was dead tired. Not to mention the fact that she had tripped and fallen in the middle of a terminal, spilled the contents of her thermos all over herself twice, and had her rear end groped in an airport shuttle. Rin grimaced and took one more sip of tea. At least things were peaceful and quiet up in the air, just the way she liked them.

As she put her thermos in its holster she switched back to manual function and thought about how glorious her five hour nap was going to be. The little plane began its slow descent to earth.

Sesshoumaru was frustrated. He would have said beyond frustrated if he did not think emotions were so trivial. Frustrated, however, would serve well enough, as it meant his ireful youki would clear people out of his way as he strode through the Tokyo airport.

Narita seemed even more crowded than usual and the people milling about him seemed even slower than usual, especially the Americans. They frequently stopped in the middle of the terminal to take a picture or talk loudly on their cell phones.

Damn InuYasha for taking the plane again! It was the fifth time this month! Just because the brat was his half-brother did not mean he could steal Sesshoumaru's jet and fly around the world promoting his newest album. Now here Sesshoumaru was, scrounging around the Narita airport in search of a pilot and a plane to get him to Shanghai in time for his conference.

As he pushed open the doors to the small, secluded lounge, he saw exactly what he was looking for. She was standing at the counter in the corner of the room waiting for the beverage machine to spit out a cup of tea. Sesshoumaru saw the machine flash "out of stock" briefly before the woman made a high pitched squeal of anger and began to kick the counter.

He cocked his head to one side and watched her continue her ministrations on the machine, which now included whispered American curses and childish foot stomping. He could not say it was unpleasant watching her move in her tailored navy blue pants, her high ponytail of long brown hair swishing about as she attacked. Sesshoumaru had assumed she wouldn't be flying today, but here she was: the pilot that had hauled him practically everywhere, rain or shine, when his brother had stolen the jet on earlier occasions. He watched her shoulders slump as she gave the cabinet one last pathetic kick.

"Rin-san."

She jumped at his voice and turned to face him, surprised: she hadn't expected to see him. Not that she ever did expect to see him- Sesshoumaru only came her way when he had no other mode of transportation available. But, she was happy to see him nonetheless, her tense shoulders relaxing and her face instantly smiling up at him.

"Sesshoumaru-san," she said, folding her arms across her chest, "and what brings you here? Lose your plane again?"

"Hijacking my personal jet seems to be InuYasha's favorite activity," Sesshoumaru replied blankly. Rin put a hand over her mouth to try and stifle her laughter as everyone else in the lounge turned to glare at Sesshoumaru: didn't he know not to say "hijack" in an airport?

"So," she said, "I suppose you're here to ruin my day then?"

"Why else would this Sesshoumaru be here?"

"Well," she replied with a wave of her hand, "you're too late, it's already ruined."

Sesshoumaru quirked an eyebrow.

Rin sighed and, realizing he was not going to ask 'what's wrong', ploughed on.

"When?"

"Now."

"No, fifteen minutes."

Sesshoumaru said nothing and turned to make himself some coffee. Rin knew this was as close to an "okay" as she was going to get, and she left the lounge to get her plane ready to fly.

The grey clouds grouped around the airplane as it climbed into the sky, leaving the wet runway behind. Just as the wheels began to tuck themselves into the plane's belly, Sesshoumaru wrenched open the cockpit door, leaned against the doorframe, and looked out the window blankly. Rin stared at him incredulously.

"Excuse me!" she cried, "we're still in ascent! See how the plane is tilted? Sit down!"

Sesshoumaru looked at her quizzically and slid into the foldout seat in the corner. Rin rolled here eyes.

"Put your belt on."

He obliged. As he did so, a loud thud could be heard, followed by the sound of something sliding across the floor. Rin glared ahead.

"Was that your laptop?" She asked venomously.

"No," replied Sesshoumaru.

He leaned his head around the door to look into the cabin.

"Yes."

Rin sighed and shook her head as Sesshoumaru went right back to looking out the window for the next ten minutes.

It wasn't that she didn't like having Sesshoumaru in the cockpit: on the contrary, Rin enjoyed his company. They rarely spoke, seeing as his attention was usually on his laptop, a report, or a newspaper, but she didn't mind. She liked silence and enjoyed having someone to keep her company anyways.

He was so nonchalant about everything, though! Sometimes Rin just wished he would yell or do something completely random to prove that he was still alive. Like coming up behind her chair and clasping his hands around her shoulders, his breath tickling her neck and ruffling her hair as he trailed kiss after kiss down her gullet and onto her collarbone…

Sesshoumaru stood suddenly and made his way into the cabin to retrieve his laptop from wherever it had fallen. Blushing headily, Rin pursed her lips and tried her best to keep her mind blank for the rest of the flight.

Once they had landed and Rin had said goodbye to her baby with a kiss to its metal snout (Sesshoumaru shaking his head in the background all the while), they set off towards a small building near the airstrip, outside which Sesshoumaru had a car waiting.

As the car started off, Rin asked Sesshoumaru where he was staying.

"The Hotel Nikko," he said in a bored tone. Rin grinned. She had intended to stay at the exact same hotel as kind of a splurge in celebration of her birthday. Sesshoumaru grunted in reply. Rin frowned and turned to look out the window.

"Not even a 'happy birthday?' or a 'you must be ancient by now' or…or… something?"

Rin's mood only worsened when they arrived at the hotel. Sesshoumaru scurried off to take a call as Rin reached the receptionist.

"I would like a room for tonight, please," she said, smiling.

The woman looked at her pityingly. "Ano, we only have a few of our luxury suites left, I…I'm sorry."

This was the icing on top of Rin's miserable dry-as-dirt birthday cake.

"What?" She asked, hoping she'd heard wrong.

"I… we don't have any rooms left…" repeated the poor young woman, looking pale under pressure.

"None?" Queried Sesshoumaru from behind Rin.

The receptionist looked from Rin to Sesshoumaru in confusion.

"Well, as I was telling her, we have several luxury suites left, but no other rooms available until tomorrow. I'm so sorry, it's our busiest time of the-."

"A suite, then," said Sesshoumaru in an almost disdainful tone, producing a credit card and handing it to the woman. Rin sighed and brought a hand to her face in frustration. The receptionist looked at her apologetically as she scanned Sesshoumaru's card.

"I guess I'll get a cab…" said Rin, raising the handle of her suitcase.

"There are two bedrooms in a suite, Rin-san," said Sesshoumaru like it was something every three year old knew. Rin blinked, confused.

"You will stay there."

Rin was sure her mouth was open. "…Share?" She said, utterly bewildered. The receptionist looked between them both curiously.

"Yes," said Sesshoumaru, as though having to say it was completely redundant.

"But…I… you already paid-!"

"You could not afford it anyway," he replied in his best bored tone, marching off toward the elevator.

"I- that's not the…Sesshoumaru!" She spluttered angrily as she darted into the elevator after him leaving a very bemused receptionist in her wake.

"This Sesshoumaru was not under the impression we were on a first name basis," He said, his tone still edgy.

"We are now that we're sharing a room-!"

He visibly rolled his eyes. Rin stamped her foot.

"You can't just act like you own half the world, dishing things out to the lowly peasants when you feel generous-!"

"I do not own half of the world, Rin, merely a 32nd…"

Sesshoumaru stalked out of the elevator with Rin marching furiously after him.

"Oh! A 32nd! So that means you can shower random people with friggin' hotel rooms-!"

Sesshoumaru slid his card through the slot in the door and threw it open.

"This Sesshoumaru has just flown two and a half hours only to find his conference is cancelled!" He said angrily, throwing his bags onto the cream colored couch.

'That must've been what his phone call was about…" Rin realized, shortly before realizing she didn't care.

"I was the one who actually flew the damn plane, you forget! I've been up since three, having a terrible day, herding strangers around, and it's my birthday no less!" yelled Rin as she shut the door. She flopped onto the couch, head in her hands, exasperated.

Sesshoumaru stood in the center of the room and looked at her quizzically. He then looked at his watch: 8:30.

"Do you want a drink?"

Rin lifted her head and nodded slowly. "Yeah… a drink sounds really good right about now."

Sesshoumaru nodded and picked up his hanging bag. "I will go change," he said, moving to the "master bedroom".

Rin slumped against the back of the couch and exhaled heavily. A drink, good: that was exactly what the doctor had ordered.

Rin wasn't exactly sure how much the first expensive cocktail she ordered cost, but by the time she was through with it, she didn't care. Sesshoumaru had downed five shots of God-only-knows-what by that time and was infinitely more pleasurable to be around as a result. They chatted and laughed (or rather, Rin laughed,) talked about how horrible their days had gone, and consumed a fair amount of booze. Conversation became more like playful banter once Sesshoumaru's eyes seemed unable to tear themselves away from Rin's black-dress-encased silhouette and Rin could do nothing but blush and giggle ridiculously in response.

When at last they reached the hotel (babbling stupidly the whole cab ride back), they decided that another drink was, naturally, in order. So they raided the minibar, stumbling to the couch. Sesshoumaru then proceeded to harass Rin about her bottle of Bailey's, gesturing to the Absolut in his hand.

"I have a sweet tooth," Rin explained, unable to sit up straight.

"It's a girl's drink," said Sesshoumaru, taking a large, messy swig of vodka.

"Well, I am a girl, thanks fer n-noticing!" Rin hiccupped. Sesshoumaru cocked his head to the side and slowly got up, walking towards his bedroom.

"Hey…Hey where you goin'?" Rin whined. Sesshoumaru didn't respond, turning the light on and moving around the room vaguely. Rin sighed and slumped down even further on the couch, shutting her eyes for a moment.

The sound of something hitting the coffee table got her attention. She sat up, looking at a small, dark blue rectangle sitting in front of her. Sesshoumaru took his seat slowly, staring at her.

"Well…." He said with a hint of a glare.

"Well what?" asked Rin.

"Open it," said Sesshoumaru, rolling his eyes like a teenager and taking another swig from his bottle.

Rin put down her Bailey's and cautiously began unwrapping the parcel. It was a picture frame. She turned it over.

It was a picture she had taken on Sesshoumaru's phone the last time he had flown with her, a picture of her plane sitting on the air strip, the setting sun shining off its wings. She had made it his phone wallpaper. She thought he'd deleted it.

"You…when…?" She asked, flabbergasted.

"This Sesshoumaru knew he would run into you eventually," he brushed it off with a wave of his bottle.

"You…knew it was my birthday. And you got me a…present?" Rin blinked incredulously.

Sesshoumaru said nothing, downing the last of his drink and setting the empty bottle on the table.

Rin was so unbelievably happy she felt like crying. She grinned at Sesshoumaru, but he paid her no heed, staring off into space.

She leaned over and kissed him gently on the cheek, below the corner of his eye, right where his facial markings started to appear. He turned to look at her, eyes clouded with thought. Rin smiled softly, her face nearly as pink as her lips. Sesshoumaru noticed how soft they were through some kind of alcohol-induced wave of clarity.

"Thank you," Rin all but whispered. Sesshoumaru could tell she meant it. But, just in case he hadn't gotten the message, as men were sometimes wont to do, She planted a kiss on his lips, gentle and loving.

It was a while before either of their minds caught up with their actions, and by that time they were laid out along the couch, hands in each other's hair and under each other's clothes. Rin laughed softly, a little embarrassed to find herself unbuttoning Sesshoumaru's shirt. She nuzzled her face into his chest, planting a warm kiss on his clavicle as she ran the fingers of one hand along his body, resting them shyly on the bulge in his pants.

Sesshoumaru was unsure why her timid actions were so alluring, or why her simple human frame had him so extensively aroused. But at that moment he did not care, and some part of him realized that he never would.

Instead of dwelling on the matter, as his typically rational and logical mind would normally have done, Sesshoumaru pulled Rin against him tightly and began to unzip the back of her dress. His hands clasped her shoulders as he trailed kisses down her neck, his breath tickling her face and rustling her hair. Rin laughed so hard she nearly choked, but Sesshoumaru was too lost to care. He rolled her skirt up to her waist and placed a hand on her pale stomach. His hands clasped the heat between her legs gently and he covered her face in kisses until her laughing lips formed a silent "O", her eyes fluttering closed.

Sesshoumaru kissed her then, and they both melted at the touch, exhaling all of their tension and frustration and relinquishing their hold on the rest of the world. What did it matter now? Now that their pulses raced in throats connected, now that the touch of a finger to a finger was like a silent shockwave?

They stood, almost as one, and moved like molasses towards the nearest bedroom. Slow because they were drunk, on alcohol and sudden love; slow because they had all the time in the world to explore one another. Slow because time meant nothing to two people in such a blissful state (though they probably would have blamed it solely on the alcohol). Slowly they turned out the light and slowly they shut the door, and slowly they found their own euphoria.

When Rin woke, it was early. Her skull was throbbing, but she smiled as she looked at Sesshoumaru, asleep beside her. She knew she should be afraid that their night in white sheets had been a onetime affair, but somehow she knew otherwise. It filled her with a strange sense of joy, warming her from top to bottom.

She slid out of bed as quietly as she could and pulled on one of the yukatas hanging in the closet. As she turned to leave she caught Sesshoumaru's yellow eyes. She smiled at him warmly as she slipped through the door.

A beautiful sight greeted her.

The sun was just beginning to rise, not yet glistening on the water of the bay. Rin looked out through the large glass windows that paneled the room. The silver buildings of Shanghai were barely touched by light, and the bay and sky met in one perfect shade of blue. Rin grinned helplessly, headache gone.

She felt him there before she heard his footsteps. He stood silently behind her, looking out at the same blue sky and the same blue sea.

"It's almost…perfect… don't you think?" she asked, not taking her eyes off of the view. Sesshoumaru wrapped his arms around her in response. Rin closed her eyes briefly, holding his arms as she leaned her head against his chest.

"InuYasha's birthday is next week." Sesshoumaru said.

"Oh?"

"Yes."

The buildings had begun to glisten with the first light of morning.

"Perhaps I will give the jet to him. As a birthday present."

Rin smiled.

"I think that's a good idea." She said, still looking straight ahead, beaming out at the world.

They watched the sun crest the horizon and rise above the water, casting its rays throughout the city. Everything glowed in the gaze of the morning sun, pink and gold with its attention. And when the colors had faded, and the sun had climbed to its rightful place, Sesshoumaru turned Rin away from the window, one arm still wrapped around her.

Their cell phones began to ring almost simultaneously from different ends of the room. They shut them off.

And in the silent bedroom, dark but for a sliver of morning light on the floor, they shut their eyes and left the world behind them for the rest of the morning.

Woo! And I didn't end it with a one liner: how bout' them apples?

Remember the ps. in my last A/N? Well…

Pps.- I know jackshit about planes and the Hotel Nikko Shanghai. I don't even think it's called that…

Y'know, the more I write, the more I realize that I always use the same words to describe Rin and Sesshoumaru. I guess it keeps them in character, but it's still amusing to me. Sesshoumaru's always doing something blankly, nonchalantly, or noncommittally and he's always uninterested or bored. Rin is always blushing, blinking, or smiling at something and it's always done incredulously or with her mouth open. XD Predictability….

Thanks for reading y'all: please review! Pwetty pwease?