He had waited.

He had been patient with the idea, and found it to be an intelligent move. It had been a very long time since he had been interested in anyone, and he had decided he wouldn't let her slip out of his hands. She had been placed into the perfect situation for him, optimal for all parties involved.

Sesshomaru had decided he would take a lover.

Not just any lover, because he had specific criteria for every person he was involved with. They had to interest him, and they had to fit whatever current situation he was in. Usually that would mean they would have to be high class and well bred, but in this case, things were a bit different. He would have to stay faithful to his wife, as he had previously promised. Luckily for Sesshomaru, his wife was a perfect match to all the criteria.

She was not his usual type; she had more freewill than he preferred. However, she did spark his interest, for some unknown reason. And when she flashed him a smile, Sesshomaru suddenly found himself slightly weaker to his more primal nature. So he would have her for a lover.

Sesshomaru had his idea carefully planned out in his head. He would never even have to breathe a word about their relationship, because it would be clear to her. They would be lovers, but they would not be in love. All of the previous rules still applied: he would not take her as a mate, and they would not have children together, but they would have sex. Sesshomaru figured he could get fifteen to twenty good years out of a proposition like this, and then they would return to the platonic relationship they had now.

Sesshomaru began to prepare for the festival he would be attending with her, and thought over his idea once more. There was no way it could go wrong. She would not dare to love him, and he didn't need to worry about love. Neither would expect more out of the relationship, and both would be satisfied when it ended. Nothing could go wrong.

"Hey Sango, where are you?" Kagome shouted into her cell phone as she jostled her way through the crowd. Rin was carefully treading behind her and holding her hand, and Sesshomaru stood on her other side. The festival had only started a half hour ago, and already the shine grounds were packed.

"I'm waiting at the dango booth. Can you see me?"

Kagome huffed a mumbled retort about how she couldn't see anyone she knew. "Rin, don't let go of my hand!" She said over her shoulder to the little girl who was trailing behind her, watching everything with awe.

The shrine grounds had been decorated with booths of all kinds, ranging from decorations, to games, to food. The booths shone with light, and filled the area with a peaceful yet busy atmosphere, and complimented starry night sky. The festival had a soft had a soft glow that attracted everyone who saw it, with the Japanese lanterns hanging from wires and merry people dressed in yukatas, playing games and enjoying themselves. The fireworks completed the night, like little flowers blooming in the sky, singing with their triumphant roars.

"Oh, wait! Kagome, I can hear Sango!" Rin pulled on Kagome's hand, and pointed to the right.

Kagome shuffled around in the tightly packed crowd and looked at Sesshomaru for confirmation. He nodded, and she turned, "Well that's just fantastic. She's on the other side!"

After a few more haggard minutes, Kagome breathed a sigh of relief as she caught a glimpse of her best friend. Sango and Miroku were leaning against a food booth in a relatively less-packed area.

"Hey, guys," Kagome grunted as she shoved her way through the last part of the crowd and reached them. Sesshomaru appeared behind her quickly with a poised grace that made her jealous.

"Would you like one?" Sango asked after her friend caught her breath. Rin made a grab for one of Sango's offered dangos.

"Thanks," Kagome smiled, "it was hard enough to get out of the house with these two, but then the crowd…"

She made a swooping hand movement to display how large the crowd was, and grabbed the other dango strip from Sango.

Sesshomaru watched her pop a dango into her mouth and grin. After a moment of savoring the treat, she slid another off the stick they were fashioned on and asked if he wanted one.

"No, I do not eat sweets."

"Whatever you say, Sesshomaru," she winked and added, "-sama."

He strode over to her, "I suppose it is a difference in taste, Mrs. Taisho. I do not like sweets, but you do."

"You do know," she crept closer to him and stretched onto her tip toes to whisper in his ear, "you can call me Kagome, Sesshomaru."

"And did you know," he leaned in a watched her smile grow increasingly more sweet, "you keep on forgetting the proper title of respect for my name?"

She laughed lightly and her breath smelled sweet. "I was hoping we could call each other by name."

"Well, then, you should've asked." He murmured and leaned in closer to her face. Her blue eyes looked stormy, wild and beautiful. His breath tickled her nose, and Kagome found she could hardly wait any longer. When his lips touched hers, she inclined her head and pressed hers onto his. His lips were soft and cool, a warm welcome to the heat of the summer.

Each kiss lingered a bit longer than the last. His lips molded to hers and moved, parting her lips so that they could move and taste and touch some more. She responded with fervor, and Sesshomaru deepened their kiss. Kagome felt like she was a teenager again, giddy and passionate in everything she did.

They kissed for a few moments before coming up for air, and then kissed some more. Soon, Kagome could hardly remember where she was, much less who she was. Untangling her hands from his hair, she moved them onto his chest and pushed back slightly.

"I think we'd better go back," she murmured against his lips.

Sesshomaru frowned and parted from her, but remained where he was, arm against the booth, cornering her between him and the wall. They had moved to behind the booth into a quiet part of the festival for privacy, but Sesshomaru doubted that she remembered that. She looked like she had just been kissed silly, and he couldn't imagine why she'd suddenly stopped.

"I definitely don't want to stop," she brushed her lips against his, "but we've been gone for a bit. I don't want anyone to worry."

"Naturally," he replied and led her back to the crowd. Her friends had remained where they were, eating at the dango booth and laughing happily.

Before they reached the others, Kagome tugged on the sleeve of his summer yukata.

"Thank you," she whispered as she stole one last kiss and then passed through the crowds to meet her friends.

Sango watched Kagome and Sesshomaru sneak away from the group and move behind the booths for privacy while they kissed. She had seen their flirtations and then their kiss. And Sango could see the desire they had for each other.

Sango needed to talk to Kagome, and soon. She could tell what was going on, and she knew what it spelled. Trouble.

Dango are japanese sweets, in case anyone was wondering. Hope you liked it, please RxR! ~Gracie

All characters belong to rumiko Takahashi