The Start of Something Beautiful

Sesshoumaru blinked. Stirring with a start, not remembering where he was for a moment. Darkness swirled before him and he jerked slightly. He was groggy and confused and something was on top of him. He couldn't move. He reached down to investigate and felt his face immediately flush.

There was a person on top of him, curled sleepily into his chest, breathing little, hot wasps of air up at him. He blinked again, his eyes slowly adjusting to the lack of light. Realization washing over him as the previous events played through his mind, tugging at his senses.

He sighed deeply as he looked down at the sleeping girl across his chest, placing a hand on her cheek and smiling slightly. He had found her, and for whatever reason, he was finally satisfied.

"Rin.." He whispered, softly coaxing her from her slumber. The girl twitched slightly at the sound of his voice, stirring against his body. She yawned and wrapped her arms up and around his neck, burying her face into the crook of his neck and nuzzling that spot. She took in a deep, satisfied breath, 'he smells so good..'

Her eyes shot open at this thought, her sudden realization hitting her like a mack truck. 'He? Who the hell am I smelling? Where the fuck am I? What the hell is going on?' She let out a little squeak and pushed away from him, panic taking over.

Sesshomaru's arms instinctively wrapped tightly around her, not wanted her to fall to the floor. "Rin!" He said, annoyance coating his words.

The sound of his voice ran through her like a calming river and she ceased all movement suddenly. Tensing up and breathing heavily into his arms. "Oh my fuck..." She breathed out, leaning her forehead against his cheek. "You scared the crap out of me. I thought.." She managed to say before he started to laugh.

Sesshoumaru couldn't understand it but, he was laughing now. Everything leading up to this moment had been so confusing, so stressful and so time consuming. But, now he was here, she was in his arms, he had finally slept and he was overtaken by an insatiable need to laugh hysterically.

She widened her eyes, picking her head up from his to stare in shock. His whole body was shaking from the loud laughs he was letting out. "What the hell is so funny?" She demanded, trying once more to break their embrace.

He stopped her of course, pulling her closer as he laughed.

He just wasn't ready to let her go. The anticipation for their next meet had nearly killed him and he wasn't going to let her go so easily this time. "I.." he began, trying desperately to stifle his laughter. "I just.." But, he just couldn't get a hold of himself. He was just so goddamn happy. His ribs were starting to hurt and he desperately needed air but, he just couldn't stop.

She began to giggle herself, his laughter slightly intoxicating her. She couldn't put her finger on it but, something about this very strange encounter seemed more natural than actually being strange. She lay there, strapped tightly to his chest and laughed with him.

A few moments passed and the quiet grew gradually louder. This was getting a little awkward now. He thought as he finally relinquished his grip on the girl. She slid off of him, wrapping her blanket around her tightly, sitting next to him on the couch, staring off into the distance as her thoughts bore down on her.

He took in a deep breath and watched her for a moment. Not sure where this was going and starting to get annoyed with himself.

He threw the blanket off him, the cold lapping over him, shocking his body from his previously calm state. He leaned forward, grabbing her chin and pulling her to face him. "Rin.." He uttered only her name, each letter coated in unmistakable affection.

Rin's breath hitched as she felt her face being pulled. She blinked at him, slightly shocked. "Do you feel better now that you got some rest?" She asked, trying to ignore this awkward exchange.

He smiled at her. "I'm finally beginning to feel like myself once more." He answered, releasing her chin. Not really knowing why he'd grabbed her in the first place. He couldn't seem to control his impulses when he was around her. It was like she was the key to unlocking the cage in which he kept his innermost demons. She and only she made him feel, think and act in this absurd way.

His eyes looked deeply into hers. His heart started to race and he felt his face flush at he sudden contact he'd just forced between them. 'What the fuck am I doing here?' he started to think again. He had that sudden urge to retreat again.

She suddenly threw the blanket off her, standing. She walked out into the kitchen, pulling open the fridge. "I don't have much but, if you're hungry.." She said, looking through her embarrassingly bare fridge for anything edible.

His body tensed slightly at the sudden distance between them. "Actually, I was just thinking maybe we could go out and get something to eat." He answered, standing now.

He grabbed his tie and coat and walked over to her, towering over her with his immense height. Looking down at her expectantly.

She closed the fridge, slightly relieved because there was literally nothing edible to offer him. She smiled up at him, a bit awkward now. "Okay, but, you're paying. You make more than me." She chided, sticking her tongue out at him.

He chuckled softly at her statement and looked away from her, fighting down the sudden urge to wrap his tongue around hers. "Obviously." He stated simply. The fact that she'd even consider paying for herself kind of irritated him. He couldn't understand why someone so annoying to him could also be so enticing at the same time.

She ran out of the room quickly, a bright light reaching out from the depths of the darkened hallway. He stood there, staring after her, the sudden brightness stinging his eyes slightly. He could hear her rummaging through drawers and complaining to herself about what to wear.

"Just throw something on. It's not a big deal, it's very late anyway." He yelled out to her as he put his coat on and grabbed his phone to call a cab.

They found a late night diner, she ordered desert before her meal, he committed that to his memory, finding it both cute and for some reason annoying. 'This girl..' He kept thinking. They ate and talked and laughed. He told her about his day, about basically telling his coworker that he had no fucks for what she was presenting, and how he just walked out of an important corporate meeting. She laughed and chided him for his tactlessness.

She wondered privately if he was always like that at work or if she was a bad influence on him.

The sun was coming up as they left the diner, still laughing and talking excitedly to one another. It was in that moment that clarity bore down upon sesshoumaru. It was six in the morning, he had a day packed full of boring meetings and he was dreading it. but, he finally knew fully and completely what his problem had been. He had been slowly falling for this bartender since the very first night he wearily stumbled into that noisy little bar.

He could feel himself falling harder and harder for her the more time they spent together and it had only been one night. One night and not a single sexual advance. He had even, literally, slept with her. But, all he could feel was this overwhelming calm and happiness.

He looked at her as she laughed, taking in her breathtaking beauty as she threw her head back into her laughter. The sound vibrating down his ear canal, sending shivers down his spine. 'This girl will consume me entirely, I'm sure of it..'

Sesshoumaru's phone had been going off all throughout their meal. He sighed heavily, annoyed, and pulled his phone out of his pocket. "Sesshoumaru." He said into the phone, irritation thick in his words.

Rin watched the exchange, transfixed on him, the sudden change in demeanor as he was handling his business, kind of turned her on. 'Such a grown ass man..' She found herself musing, really impressed with him.

His brow was furrowed and he was unconsciously nodding to the person on the other end. "Listen, you can't do it that way. You're only going to make things worse. Get Mr. Crestwald on the phone and tell him I said to wait and make an appointment with me to meet with him, in person, this afternoon." He said, a touch of anger in his voice. The words seemed to roll off his tongue though, cool and confident with a slight edge of boredom.

He sighed heavily, pressing the end button on his phone and shoving it impatiently back into his coat pocket. Noticing Rin's observing eyes, he smiled, giving her a shrug. "Sorry about that. Heh, if I'm not there, all hell breaks loose." He said airily, giving her a little chuckle. But, she saw right past him, she could tell he was irritated with the woman who had called and she suspected it was because their time together was interrupted.

Sesshoumaru was irritated. He did not want to go back to work, had not wanted to answer his stupid fucking phone and desperately, more than anything, wanted to never part with this beautiful, little distraction of a woman ever again. He'd only just got her back.

'Back?' He'd have to get a grip on himself. This was moving way too fast, it was like jumping out of an airplane without a parachute.

"Well, I guess I'll see you later then..." Rin said, looking up at him with a slightly sad smile. She wasn't ready to separate yet either. But, they had been together all night. She needed to go to bed so she could go back to work that night. "Meet me at the bar?" She questioned, smirking seductively at him.

He smiled, the memories of their last night at the bar flashing through his mind, "Straight after work." He assured her, opening her cab door for her. He leaned in through the open front seat window and paid the driver in advance. For some reason, after seeing where she lived, he couldn't stand the thought of her paying for anything, ever.

'That might have been a bit much..' He thought after they pulled off. But, he pushed that thought away quickly as the memories of their night together took over. He smiled widely, looking up at the clouds as he walked towards the office building. A heavy, happy sigh passed his lips. Finally content.