"Knock, knock!" Kagome announced as she walked into Sesshomaru's work room with two cups of tea. He glanced at her and held out his hand for the tea. With a devilish smile, Kagome placed the tea on his desk and gave his hand a pat.

Sesshomaru frowned at her, but Kagome could see in his eyes that he was amused. On the seventh day of the tea proposition, Kagome and Sesshomaru were beginning to settle into a familiar pattern. Kagome would bring the tea and then they would talk about something. Their topics ranged from books to politics, and they found they shared common interests and ideas.

The most important thing Kagome found out was that he was willing to listen to her. She had conducted her own background check before they married, and had found out he used to be a brutal and strong warrior. He had been the heir to the Western Lands, and had engaged in various battles. He wasn't known for his sympathy or kindness, but known for his lack of. Her worries had been confirmed when she'd met him, and found him to be cold and emotionless.

Now, though, Kagome felt her opinion changing, just a bit. He was cold, but he wasn't frozen solid. There were times when she would've bet money he had a sense of humor, even if it was a bit warped. Some emotions were more prevalent in his personality, like disapproval or arrogance, but Kagome didn't mind that as much as she had a few days earlier.

Kagome sat down on her comfortable couch and took a sip of her tea. "How's work going?"

Sesshomaru glanced at his papers, and then looked at her again. "As usual."

"How's the business deal with Monks United going?"

"Naturally it is progressing well."

"Of course." Kagome swallowed a large drink of hot tea and slowly shook her head at him, while smiling softly to herself. He really sucked at small talk.

As if Sesshomaru could feel her pitying him, he narrowed his eyes at her and asked, "How is your sister? Doing well, I presume."

Kagome nodded, "Rin's recovery is nearly complete. Thank you for asking."

"Hnn." He took a sip of his tea. The tea still tasted sweet to him, but he found that now, he preferred sweeter tea to bitter.

"Oh, I almost forgot," Kagome said after a few minutes of comfortable silence, "I need to tell you something."

He remained untouched by emotion so she continued. "It's about my job. I took a week off, but I'm going back to work tomorrow."

When she met his eyes, she saw hostility.

"What?"

He remained cold and reserved. Kagome fumbled in her mind for something to say. "It's just a job. I'm sure you knew I had a job before we got married."

He took another sip and stared at her coolly. "I knew, yes. However, you have no need of a job now that you have married me, so you will resign."

Kagome's emotions quickly switched, from being fearful of making him angry, to being furious. "It's my life, and you can't control me like that. I'm not some doll you can keep locked away in your house. I thought we already established that."

"I told you that you may visit your sister each day, not work in some low-class lingerie shop."

Kagome seethed. "Miroku's shop is not low-class. Don't talk about my family that way."

They glared at each other until Kagome closed her eyes and leaned back against the couch. She wouldn't give in—Miroku needed her as a worker. When she had needed to work three different jobs and quit her internship at Taiyoukai Enterprises. Miroku had been understanding to her, giving her easy hours and a tiny raise. Now that she was married to Sesshomaru, she didn't need the job, but Miroku needed her to continue to work because he was short on staff.

"I swear, you won't be able to stop me. Talk to Miroku if you want me to stop working, but even if I don't work there, I will work somewhere else."

Sesshomaru watched his little wife massage her temples. He, too, had felt a bit of progression in their relationship, and he hadn't necessarily wanted to back track on it. He wouldn't give in, because he was the head of the house, and once he made a decision, that was final, but he was willing to wait. He would wait for her to tire of working, and become the pampered, expensive business man's wife he had viewed in the world. It was only a matter of time until she would beg to quit her job.

He thought for another moment, and then told her what would happen. "I will let you resume your internship at Taiyoukai Enterprises in a month. You will have until then to end your job at the lingerie shop."

Kagome made an angry noise at the back of her throat and said, "I will decide where I work and who I work for. If I wanted my internship back, I would get it myself. I don't need my husband throwing his weight around in his job to get me special privileges."

"After the internship, I would arrange for you to work at Taiyoukai Enterprises. You have one of two options: become my secretary at this point, or work under my division. Either way I would be your boss."

"I don't want my husband to pay my paycheck. That's not the kind of work I need."

"This is not up for negotiation, woman."

"I never said it was."

They sat in silence again, frustrated and hostile. Kagome was at her patience's end with his arrogance, the very thing that she hadn't minded a minute ago. Sesshomaru was irritated with his wife's defiance—he knew she was not youkai and wouldn't understand the importance of submitting, but he had at least thought she had enough of a self-preservation instinct that would stop her from provoking him.

Finally Kagome ended their fight. "Look, I don't want to fight with you, Sesshomaru-sama. We don't have to decide anything about my job right now."

He shifted his gaze over to meet hers. He understood his wife, and knew what she was planning, but also wanted their fight to end. Though he preferred her angry to stiff and proper, he liked her relaxed best of all. "You will be going to work tonight?"

"Yeah…"

He resumed work on his papers without another word. When the clock chimed two, Kagome felt reluctant to leave his room, even though they had just been fighting. Something about him was just so interesting, that sometimes she would catch herself watching him. Making up her mind, she invited him to dinner.

"I know that we usually eat on our own, but Miroku and Sango have invited me to dinner tonight. I was wondering if you wanted to go with me."

He looked up and responded with his deep voice. "I will think about it."

Happy Easter! (And for those of you who don't celebrate, happy weekend!)I hope you enjoyed their fight. And I am a bit sorry they fight so much, but hey! At least they made up! (sort of) It's going to take a bit of time for them to completely love each other, but if you look closely, they are already starting to. Right now they're almost friends-that awkward relationship that's more than being acquaintances, but not ready to be called friendship. Anyways, have a good day.

~Gracie

All characters belong to Rumiko Takahashi