Short chapter, I know. I tried to beef it up a bit, but I didn't want to say so much that it takes away from the emotion. You'll all probably hate me by the end...sorry! Just remember that this is purely a romance fic and not heavy on angst or drama, so there will be a happy ending.

Chapter 6: Regret & Winning the Bet

But your eyes are drawn of charcoal
they're black, they're so cold, they're so imperfect.
Because they see a sleeping world,
where waking isn't worth it.

Sesshomaru woke the next morning to find a petite, dark-haired girl sleeping contently in his arms. He allowed himself to enjoy the sensation of her bare skin settled perfectly against his for exactly 10 seconds before his golden eyes narrowed in anger. It was anger at himself, for being so stupid as to give into his desires the previous night.

At that moment, while gazing down at Rin, Inuyasha's voice came back to haunt him "I'm the one who's gonna get an ear full from Kagome when you break Rin's heart..." he had said.

Sesshomaru cursed his idiot half-brother because deep down, though it pained him to admit it, he knew that statement was true. Sesshomaru was a use-'em-and-lose-'em man, never having a relationship last longer than a month. Women were plentiful, and as soon as one got too clingy or annoying, he could simply toss her aside in favour of one of the many others who would eagerly jump at the chance to be in a relationship with Sesshomaru Takeda. After all, he was good for nothing more than pleasing women with his money and his body. As far as he was concerned, "real" relationships based on things like respect and friendship were nothing more than fiction; fairy tales created by romance authors and television writers. That kind of love was reserved for people more deserving than him...

...like Rin.

As he watched her curled around his body, face beautifully relaxed and lips parted just slightly, his heart constricted painfully. She was far too special to be used then discarded like a piece of trash, but that would be her fate if they were to continue down this path.

I am not capable of caring, he thought, I cannot be what she needs me to be. He was broken, damaged and heartless. He needed to cut his ties now. It would hurt her, of course. She would cry and yell and it would make his chest ache and his throat tight, but she would suffer less now than when he inevitably messed things up later.

He slipped out of bed and quietly dressed before shaking her awake. He dreaded this, but it would be better if she hated him. Then she wouldn't beg and plead and he would not be tempted to keep her in his bed, in his heart, forever.

"Rin."

"Mmph.." she groaned and buried her face further into the pillows.

"Rin, get up now." He spoke in his coldest, most demanding tone.

"Sessh, wha..?" She mumbled, pushing herself up onto her elbow to gaze at him with still-sleepy eyes.

"Get dressed and go. This isn't a hotel and I don't provide breakfast for morning afters."

Her mouth dropped open and she swung her legs over the side of the bed to sit facing him, blankets clutched firmly against her bare chest.

"Morning afters? What's that supposed to mean?" Her tone was a mixture of teasing and dread. She hoped that he was joking, but deep down knew that he was dead serious.

"It means," Sesshomaru replied calmly, gathering her clothes from the floor and tossing them into her lap, "that if I fed every woman who occupied my bed, I would be eaten out of house and home."

That did the trick. Immediately, he saw the light in her eyes die and her cheeks went red with shame. She looked utterly dejected and sickened by his words. It took every ounce of self-control for Sesshomaru to stay rooted in place when he wanted nothing more than to cross the room and take her in his arms, making her sadness go away.

"I see," her voice was rock hard but he could hear it wavering with unshed tears. She refused to cry in front of him, "I'll just be on my way then." She dressed hurriedly, not caring that he was standing right there as she wiggled into her jeans and shoved her bra into her purse, too flustered to struggle with putting it on.

She stomped to the door while Sesshomaru followed quietly behind her, his mouth set in a firm line to prevent him from saying anything he shouldn't, like 'don't go' or 'I'm sorry'.

Rin yanked the door open angrily, then turned back to face him, "Well, congratulations Sesshomaru," she said harshly, "looks like you won. Pretty stupid of me to think that I could change you, huh? I should have known, you can't fix douche."

Her words hurt Sesshomaru more than she could know. Did she really think this was still about their wager? He had forgotten all about that stupid bet long before this moment.

Sesshomaru forced these thoughts aside and merely raised an eyebrow in response, "'You can't fix douche?' That's your best insult?"

Rin shook with anger, "I hate you," she muttered darkly.

"That's better," he replied in an equally low voice, though his held sadness instead of fury.

Rin slipped out the door without so much as a glance backwards. Only when the elevator doors closed did she let the tears fall freely.

-I-

He didn't know what to do without her, so he painted.

He painted with angry strokes and harsh colors, but it looked so ugly. Not at all like his Rin.

He punched through the canvas, leaving globs of red and black paint on his hands.

Then, when he couldn't possible hate himself any more, he painted with regret. Soft browns that made him think of her eyes as she would smile at him. Creamy white as he recalled how her smooth, iridescent skin appeared in the moonlight. Soft pink when her lips would do torturous things to his body, leaving his head full of foreign thoughts that both excited and scared him. Did he love her? It felt like love...

It was then that he realized she had been wrong. He didn't win their bet, she did. She had changed him more than he could ever admit. Kami, he had even sat through (almost) an entire dinner with Inuyasha that did not end in broken noses and a 911 call!

The realization had him unconsciously grabbing his keys and walking to the door, eager to share his breakthrough with her. But then he remembered her dead eyes and hurtful words and he stopped himself, just as his hand reached for the doorknob.

He had done the right thing and she hated him now. Slowly, he set the keys down and returned to his art room, picking up a discarded paintbrush. After all, she had won their bet fair and square, and Sesshomaru always kept his word. He would paint for her. It would be her prize for winning.

And his parting gift.