Warmth. It pervaded each of her senses. Sunlight heated her eyelids while the blanket made the rest of her body warm. Her own hot breath she inhaled again, just as her hands were warm against her face. The soft sounds of heater air blowing into the room did nothing to persuade her towards a decision to get up.
Her bladder on the other hand...
Kagome pushed back the blanket, opening her eyes. Panic flared before she remembered, with embarrassment, that she was at Sesshoumaru's apartment. The floor was cool against her bare feet as she padded to the bathroom to use the toilet and try to rinse some of the dry, sticky feeling from her mouth.
Yawning as she re-entered the living room, Kagome glanced around for a clock. 9:13. No that more immediate needs had been taken care of, her hunger made itself known rather loudly. Kagome hesitated, casting a glance towards Sesshoumaru's closed door, not having pegged him for a late-sleeper. Chewing her lip, she looked back to the kitchen.
Her stomach made the decision for her, growling to be attended to. So she shuffled to the fridge and took a peek. It was fairly empty, containing some ketchup, orange juice, French dressing, half a loaf of bread, beer, butter, some eggs, two pears that should be eaten soon, and some salsa. Eggs and toast it was then...
After a minute of searching for a frying pan, Kagome set it on the stove and cracked eggs into it once it was hot. She smiled at the soft sizzle that promised good things to eat and then turned to put some bread in the toaster while the eggs cooked.
She poured two glasses of orange juice and then cut up the two pears, stirring the eggs occasionally. Buttering the toast, Kagome found two plates, split the goodies, returning to the eggs to turn off the stove and give them one last stir.
Kagome glanced towards Sesshoumaru's room, a grin spreading her lips as she giggled quietly. Tiptoeing to his door, she waved the food back and forth, wafting the scent under his door before hurrying to the table. She sat quickly only to rise again in search of utensils.
Sesshoumaru's door, predictably, opened, and a very tired, half-naked taiyoukai stumbled from the room, his nose before him.
Averting her eyes, Kagome waited until he was close and then pushed a fork into his hand. "Good morning, sleepyhead."
"G'morning. Wass'is?" He ran a hand through his dishevelled hair and sat down in front of a plate.
"Breakfast," Kagome replied shortly so she could shovel a bite into her mouth. "Mmm..." She smiled. Not bad if she said so herself.
Sesshoumaru was looking at her.
"What?"
He blinked slowly and then shook himself. "Ah...nothing. Sorry. This is delicious."
Pleasure and amusement made her smile. "Thank you. You should probably restock your fridge though."
"Right. Yes. Groceries."
Sesshoumaru and groceries. She shook her head. Strange. She watched Sesshoumaru through her lashes. He downed the orange juice and shovelled half the piece of toast into his mouth. She couldn't help but be reminded of Inu Yasha's eating habits, though she'd never tell him that.
"Something wro—" Ding! "Ah." He looked to the counter.
"What was that?" A gurgling noise filled the kitchen.
"Coffee. Want some?"
Kagome shook her head. "No, thanks."
When the coffee was read, Sesshoumaru dragged out a mug and poured himself a cup. The change over the next five minutes was astonishing. He was almost instantly more alert.
"Good morning," she said as he sighed and set the mug down.
"Good morning?" He looked so confused. This must be Sesshoumaru without barriers. She giggled.
"Yes. Are you still asleep without coffee?"
"Oh... Apparently," he muttered dryly. "Why didn't you tell me to put something more on? I apologise for my nudity."
There was Sesshoumaru... She grinned. "I thought it was kind of funny. You're quite... different in the morning," she teased.
He dropped his eyes and looked almost embarrassed. "We're all human..."
Almost gaping, a laugh bubbled up as the corners of her mouth were buoyed as well.
"Something funny? You seem—"
Kagome tried to hold back, but the giggle turned into a laugh and she was soon cackling so hard she couldn't breathe.
"Oh. Honestly. I know I'm not that funny..." he arched an eyebrow at her, probably trying to look stern, but only serving to make her laugh harder. "You can stop now, you know." He leaned back and folded his arms, settling for a glare.
"You...Ha!" She chortled gleefully, holding her aching sides. He was different—oh was he different. The realisation struck her hard. This was a new man, time worm—not so rough around the edges anymore, like a stone before the elements.
"You're quite mirthful this morning." He waited. "If there's a good joke, I'd like to hear it," he tried. Finally he sighed. "Really, Kagome... I'm sure it wasn't that funny... You can stop laughing at me now..." Poor thing sounded so wounded.
She gasped and panted for breath. "Ah... Sorry..." She wasn't. "To hear those words from you of all people, Sesshoumaru... I didn't realise you were so domesticated," she teased.
"What?"
And he didn't realise it. She stared and then grinned broadly. "You said, 'we're all human.'"
He still didn't register, and then she watched it bloom suddenly before fading to melancholy. "Ah... It seems I have... Turn of phrases... You know..."
The silence then was maudlin and strained. Kagome suddenly wished she hadn't made such a big deal out of it. Their plates were empty, but Kagome didn't feel like moving them yet. "Sesshou—"
"I should get some clothes on." He stood.
"Oh. Okay. I'll...clear the plates. I should probably get my keys and get home then..."
He nodded and then moved awkwardly towards his room. "I'll drive you." And then he vanished into his room.
Kagome sighed and took the dishes to the sink, leaving Sesshoumaru's half-full coffee mug on the table. When the dishes were all dry and in their proper place, she looked around for anything else to occupy her time. The pan was clean, blanket folded, kitchen organised. So she refilled his mug, sniffing it tentatively before taking a furtive sip. "Ick..."
"You probably wouldn't like it black."
Kagome jumped, nearly spilling the hot mug. "Ah! Sorry! I didn't—I'm not sick. It's fresh; sorry, I—"
He chuckled and took the mug from her, taking a long draw, ego apparently restored.
Kagome took the opportunity to note how good he looked in worn blue-jeans and a simple t-shirt. He paused by the coffee table to slip the charm back over his head, restoring the light brown eyes and platinum blonde hair, his marking winking out like a light.
"Wow. That's weird."
"Mm. Are you ready to go?
"Oh. Yes. I guess so." She looked around, feeling guiltier for laughing at him. "Yeah. My purse is by the door."
He led her there and paused at the door. "Thank you."
"Hm? What for?"
"For making breakfast. You didn't have to. I appreciate it. The food was delicious. And, it seems, you are very good for the state of cleanliness of my apartment." Then he turned before Kagome realised he was being humorous and led her down to the parking garage and unlocked the car.
Her cheeks still warm from praise, she settled in and put on her seatbelt, the ride to the bar just as silent as the ride from the bar. "Um... sorry!" Kagome blurted when she could stand it no longer.
"What for?" He didn't look at her.
"For laughing at you so hard. I didn't, I mean, it really wasn't that funny. I just... I don't know. I'm sorry."
She saw him glance at her from her peripheral vision with a smile she was sure was genuine. "It's fine. My ego hasn't taken a bruising in a while. It is, I suppose, entertaining. From your perspective." He shrugged. "Human colloquialisms aren't so bad. You knew what I meant."
"Yes. I did. I—"
"Would you like me—sorry. I interrupted. Would you like me to just wait here?" He asked as he pulled over in front of the bar.
"That's fine. Yes. That's fine." She unclicked and slid out of the car, peering in the door before walking into the bar. "Excuse me! Hello! Anyone here—" Kagome squeaked as a man appeared in the doorway.
"Sorry to startle you," he said mildly. "Need something?"
"Um... Yes, please. Did you find a keyring from last night?"
"Set 'a keys? Yeah, what's yours look like?"
"Well, there's a little stuffed panda on them and my campus ID, and—"
"Alright." The man disappeared back into the doorway and then came back. He tossed her something and Kagome's hand cupped automatically to receive her keys.
"Thank you." When she heard an answering grunt from the man disappearing into a back room she shrugged and returned to Sesshoumaru's car.
"You found them?" He asked as she slid into her seat.
"Mm-hm. Yes. Thank you." Kagome glanced his way just in time to see his small smile. "Thank you for driving me too."
"My pleasure," he murmured, merging back into traffic, heading towards her dorm.
Kagome watched the buildings pass, worrying her lip. Sesshoumaru seemed to have no regard for what happened the night before. Sneaking a glance at him, she wondered if he was pretending it had never happened at all. Or maybe it really wasn't a big deal for him. Did he—well, she had instigated it. Was it her fault? Was there fault to be had?
Kagome winced as she suddenly bit her lip too hard.
The demon's head turned towards her suddenly, brining the car to a halt.
"I'm fine. Just bit my lip," she explained away.
"Mm. We're here."
Licking away the blood, she flashed him a smile, gathering herself. "Thanks again."
"Of course," he replied with that same mild smile and faint amusement in his unnatural eyes.
"I'll...see you for class," Kagome continued lamely as she stood hunched to see back into the car before she shut the door.
"Yes, make sure you're on time!"
"Sesshoumaru, when have I never not been on time."
"When you've skipped."
She paused. "Fair enough. Don't worry. I'll be on time." With a final wave, she skipped up the steps and made her way up to her room.
"NOO!" Someone exclaimed, aghast, startling Kagome as she ruffled through her bag. "YOU DIDN'T."
"Katy?" Kagome looked at the other girl, her jaw hanging open.
"THE WALK OF SHAME!"
"What? Katy, what are you talking about?" Kagome hurried past her and quickly unlocked her room to sidle in.
"Na-uuh! You are NOT getting out of this one, my friend!" Katy blustered her way into the room after Kagome quickly shut the door behind her.
"Shhhee! Keep your voice down!" Her cheeks flamed as she put her bag down on her bed. "What are you talking about?"
"You were out with him all night?"
"I...spent the night at his house," Kagome muttered. "Apartment."
"YOU DIDN'T." Katy gaped.
"Yes! Yes I did, alright! We didn't sleep together though!" Kagome shot back, almost hysterical.
Katy stared at her and then broke her blank expression by laughing suddenly. "I'm shocked by you, Kagome!"
"Shocked? What? Why? Why do you..." She narrowed her eyes. "Stop laughing at me."
"Not laughing, doll, just glad!" Katy leaned forward and gave her a crushing squeeze before yawning widely. "You seem happier. And you're one lucky bitch for having snagged the most eligible bachelor in the entire country..."
Kagome forced a small laugh. "Um... sure... Well, I have to shower..."
"Right-o! Enjoy!" She pulled the door open with a wink. "I want all the details later."
And later she would get them. Kagome smiled and waved her out and then collapsed on her bed with a sigh before summoning the motivation for her much-needed shower.
Food. The smell of tasty food made his nose twitch as consciousness lifted him out of the dream world where the past had been present. What smelled so good? He passed it off as a dream, but as the smell grew stronger, he forced an eye open and threw back the covers. Stretching as he stood, he padded to the door and squinted into the bright kitchen, following his nose towards the smell.
"Good morning, sleepyhead."
His eyes took in the blushing girl at his kitchen table, the smell of freshly scrambled eggs and toast teasing his hungry stomach towards the table. "G'morning," he managed to mutter. "Wass'is?" Moving to the table, he accepted the fork as he walked by her.
"Breakfast," Kagome replied before enthusiastically taking another bite. "Mmm..." Even in last night's clothes, she was still lovely, he realised. Her smile and look of pleasure twitched feelings in him he hadn't had in a very very long time. She was pretty. He held affections for her.
"What?"
He blinked, shaking himself to get his tired mind back on track. "Ah...nothing," he excused. "Sorry. This is delicious." He took a bite and the flavours bloomed on his tongue, the taste of home-cooked food an unexpected joy. As was the flush of unexpected praise on her face.
"Thank you. You should probably restock your fridge though."
"Right..." Instant food was usually the most convenient, so his fridge was normally similarly untocked. He could cook, but was more and more frequently finding himself too lazy, and, like American culture dictated, was inclined to do it the easy way: eating out and frozen dinners. "Yes. Groceries." Perhaps he should get better about that. This all tasted so good. Downing the orange juice and shovelling in half the piece of toast, he noticed her watching him. "Something wro—" The automatic timer on his coffee maker chimed to interrupt him. "Ah." His gaze shifted to the machine, reminding him once again of some of the amazing contraptions humans created.
"What's that?
"Coffee. Want some?"
"No, thanks," she replied in a tone that said she didn't like coffee.
When it was ready, he was there waiting for it, mug at the ready. Pouring himself a cup, he downed half of it in the first gulp.
"Good morning," she said again as he set the mug down.
"Good morning?" Hadn't they had this conversation?
She giggled. "Yes. Are you still asleep without coffee?"
Taking in his own appearance for the first time, he replied, "Oh... Apparently." He was wearing only a pair of boxers and from the corner of his eyes he could see the fly-aways from his hair, undoubtedly horribly tangled from a rather restless night of poor sleep. "Why didn't you tell me to put something more on. I apologise for my nudity." He hadn't really expected her to say anything about it. She was too polite. She would just ignore it (as she had done) and move on. But she grinned.
"I thought it was kind of funny. You're quite... different in the morning." Her eyes danced with the gentle barb.
Sesshoumaru examined his nails. This was embarrassing. "We're all human..." He looked up at her, her eyes crinkling as her cheeks puffed out slightly with held-in laughter. "Something funny? You seem—"
And then the laughter erupted. He watched her mirth, waiting for the laughter to die down. It didn't.
"Oh. Honestly..." he sighed. "I know I'm not that funny." Arching an eyebrow he continued, "You can stop now, you know." Leaning back and folding his arms, he glared at her, the laughter jabbing his ego more than he liked.
"You... Ha!"
When nothing more came after that he frowned. "You're quite mirthful this morning." And still nothing. "If there's a good joke, I'd like to hear it. Really, Kagome... I'm sure it wasn't that funny. You can stop laughing at me now."
She gasped and panted, wiping beneath her eyes, almost looking contrite. "Ah...Sorry... To hear those words from you of all people, Sesshoumaru... I didn't realise you were so domesticated." She was teasing him again.
"What?" He quickly thought back over what he said, ignoring her brilliant grin.
"You said, 'we're all human.'"
Staring at her blankly, he remembered the phrase that came effortlessly through his lips. His lips twitched into a semblance of a smile, probably looking more pathetic than it felt. "Ah... It seems I have... Turn of phrases... You know..." All of this human inundation had forced the semantics and mannerisms upon him.
He vaguely noticed the girl's discomfort as the silence dragged on.
"Sesshou—"
"I should get some clothes on," he said as he stood in one motion. His lack of proper clothing was suddenly awkward and out of place as if it had some statement to the mental state of vulnerability.
"Oh. Okay. I'll... clear the plates. I should probably get my keys and get home then..." Further hinting at the sudden awkwardness between them.
But Sesshoumaru nodded and then picked his way across the floor to his room. "I'll drive you," he said before slipping into his room to avoid any argument on the issue. Sesshoumaru quickly pulled a pair of blue jeans from a drawer and grabbed a t-shirt from the pile of clothes on his chair that he had yet to put away. Cleanliness? That was becoming an issue. His fastidiousness had been slowly slowly failing over the centuries. He frowned and took in his appearance. His hair was a mess. He took a brush to it, sighing at the time it took to make it straight and neat, but much too attached to actually cut it off. By the time he was back to the kitchen, Kagome had cleaned the dishes and was muttering her distaste over his coffee cup.
"You probably wouldn't like it black."
She gave a nervous flinch. "Ah! Sorry! I didn't mean—I'm not sick. It's fresh; sorry, I—"
He chuckled at her nervous rambling, still holding him to some standards of himself in the past. As he swept past the coffee table, he grabbed the amulet and dropped it over his head feeling the sudden damper again over his appearance.
"Wow. That's weird," she remarked, her eyes having followed him.
"Mm," he chose, not wanting to comment on it much more. "Are you ready to go?"
"Oh. Yes. I guess so. Yeah. My purse is by the door."
He headed that way, pausing with his back to her, hand hovering over the door knob. "Thank you."
"Hm? What for?"
"For making breakfast. You didn't have to. I appreciate it. The food was delicious. And, it seem, you are very good for the state of cleanliness of my apartment," he added to lighten the mood before he swept out the door and headed down to the parking garage. The two of them settled into the car, Sesshoumaru driving with practised distraction to the bar.
They were almost there when the girl blurted, "Um...sorry!"
"What for?" He knew the guilt had been weighing on her.
"For laughing at you so hard. I didn't mean, I mean, it really wasn't that funny. I just... I don't know. I'm sorry."
A smile spread across his lips. He understood. She had been nervous. And the sight of him in his early, or, first waking, funk must have been entertaining, as well as his profession of aligning himself with humanity. "It's fine. My ego hasn't taken a bruising in a while. It is, I suppose, entertaining. From your perspective." Shrugging he continued, "Human colloquialisms aren't so bad. You knew what I meant."
"Yes. I did. I—"
"Would you like me—sorry. I interrupted. Would you like me to just wait here?" He slowed the car to a stop in front of the bar, pulling up next to the curb.
"That's fine. Yes. That's fine." She pushed the door open, and Sesshoumaru watched her disappear into the building, hips shifting back and forth as she walked.
He frowned as he considered the girl. Currently there was too little information and too many unknowns. He had explained the situation with Inu Yasha, and that certainly had ill effected the girl's emotional state. However, the two of them were comfortable with each other. This was, of course, because there were no pretences. He knew of her past, and she knew who he was and most of his past. It was just comfortable. Settling back into the leather seat he sighed. There was time to figure things out. If there was anything to figure. He yawned and looked over at the door, watching her come back out, a smile lighting her face.
"You found them?" He asked as the door opened and she got in.
"Mm-hm. Yes. Thank you. Thank you for driving me too.
"My pleasure," he replied absently as he pulled the car back into traffic. The campus buildings plodded by as thoughts began to whirl through his head. He could feel her eyes on him as he remembered the kiss they'd shared. It was true that it had been a while that he had been with a woman. But a small part of his heart told him that it was more than that. Well. He could wait and see. The only way to test the theory was to spend more time with the girl.
Blood.
His head whipped to Kagome as he pulled the car up against the curb in front of her building.
"I'm fine. Just bit my lip," she said quickly.
"Mm. We're here."
He watched her as her tongue flicked out to lick the blood from her lip bringing a sudden heat to his blood. And then his heart swelled with the brilliant smile that she gave him. "Thanks again."
"Of course," he countered, giving her a small smile to hide his reaction.
"I'll...see you for class," she said, seeming to fish for words to say to extend their time together. So he waited.
"Yes, make sure you're on time," he replied.
"Sesshoumaru, when have I never not been on time?"
"When you've skipped," he said, thinking of the days he'd marked her there when she'd been absent. Of course, that had partially been his own fault...
"Fair enough." She gave a small toss of her hair. "Don't worry. I'll be on time." She gave him a wave.
He watched her up the stairs and into her building before pulling away and heading back to his apartment. Tossing his keys onto the front hall table, Sesshoumaru lingered by the couch, closing his eyes to breathe in her scent. Perhaps... Just perhaps, despite their differences, he would woo her. Her bright smell like sunshine and flowers filled his nostrils with another inhale and decided he liked having her around. As a woman. As company. There were feelings there if nurtured properly. He smiled, opening his eyes. He would invite her again.