I hope you guys feel privileged, I am passing up my desire to play Skyrim so I can write more for you today :)
So without further ado, Chapter 4.
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"I can't believe you did that, Yusuke!" Botan giggled as Yusuke revealed his plan from the day before, "That was brilliant!"
"Of course it was," Yusuke said proudly, "I am the sneakiest guy in Japan."
Kurama laughed gently.
"I actually believe that," he said, pouring water gently on a plant on the windowsill. He, Yusuke, Botan and Keiko had met up at his house to discuss the next plan. "I honestly find it hard to believe that plan of yours didn't work."
Yusuke shrugged and rolled his eyes.
"Well, you know how it is," he muttered, "Kuwabara would never make a move on her, he's way too much of a gentleman for his own good."
"Maybe the trick is...to get him to make the first move without him knowing he's making the first move," Botan said, placing her finger against her chin in her thoughtful pose.
"And how is that possible?" Keiko asked as she walked around the room examining the various plants that filled every surface, "These are so beautiful, Kurama!"
"Thank you," Kurama said as he sat on his bed next to Botan, "I've been developing a plant specifically for this endeavour of ours. Look."
He reached behind him and took a small clay pot from the windowsill next to his bed and held it out for all to see. It was a small, but strong looking little plant with fuzzy leaves and stems, a single stem stood higher than the rest and had a tiny bud starting to form at the top.
"This is the first time it's formed a potential flower," he said happily, staring at the bud with soft eyes. "When it blooms, it's going to be a perfect mix of colors to remind him of Yukina and I'm going to give it to him to give to her."
"That is the sweetest thing I ever heard!" Keiko swooned, running her finger gently over the soft leaves of the plant. "It's as soft as fleece."
"But," Kurama stated with a grin, "If a leaf happens to be damaged, it will mend it's self quickly and begin growing a new leaf from the mending site. Every time it is injured, it grows bigger and stronger."
"Like Yukina," Botan mused, "Being tortured by humans didn't break her spirit, it only made her stronger and more appreciative of good humans."
"Exactly," Kurama smiled gently at the plant and then replaced it in the sunshine by the window.
"How long until it blooms?" Keiko asked.
"It should bloom in two days."
"Two days is perfect!" Botan squealed suddenly, causing Yusuke to fall sideways off the bed. Botan stood up and began pacing the room, muttering to herself and rubbing her chin. "Yes, I think it would be a perfect plan!"
The other three exchanged glances and wondered what the blue haired Grim Reaper had on her mind.
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Shizuru was brought into confidence about Botan's plan, and everyone was surprised how well she was playing along. She, Kurama and Botan had taken the responsibility of the Kuwabara side of things while Yusuke and Keiko agreed to take care of the Yukina end of things.
Kuwabara was laying flat on the floor of his room with Eikichi sprawled across his stomach when the three of them walked in to get the plan started, loud snoring filled their ears and Botan cringed slightly at the sound.
"Good grief, someone either wake him up or flip him over," she groaned. Eikichi blinked open her eyes and meowed happily at the sight of Kurama, leaping off of Kuwabara to come wind around his legs. Kurama smiled and picked up the cat and began scratching behind her ears.
Shizuru crossed the floor quickly and slammed her foot down directly where Eikichi had been sleeping. Kuwabara let out a earth shattering howl and he sat up to clutch his stomach, his eyes shot daggers at his sister.
"What is wrong with you?" he hissed painfully through his teeth, "Why can't you wake a guy up like a normal person?!"
"Because I'm not a normal person, I'm your sister," Shizuru said simply, lighting a cigarette and leaning against the wall.
"Get out of my room if you're gonna smoke," Kuwabara growled, "Just because you like to smell like an exhaust pipe doesn't mean I have to!"
Shizuru eyed him with annoyance for a moment but she shrugged and tossed the cigarette out the window.
"Could have just asked nicely," she said with a huff, "Especially when we're here to help you."
Kuwabara released his abused abdomen and looked up at them in confusion.
"Hey, Botan. Hey, Kurama, please don't eat my cat!" he said quickly, his eyes settling on Eikichi in the demon's arms. Kurama simply laughed and set the cat back down, she immediately ran over to curl up on Kuwabara's lap. "So, what's going on? What are you helping me with?"
"Your date!" Botan clapped her hands excitedly.
"Huh? I don't have a..."
"You do now," Shizuru cut him off and flung open her brother's closet door, she pulled out a clothes bag that looked like it had never been opened, or at least not for a long time. "You're gonna wear this and I don't want to hear anything about it!"
"I don't know what's going on," Kuwabara whined, "Did I miss something?"
"You're taking Yukina out," Kurama informed him. "She told us all that she's very bored of doing homework and being cooped up in this town..."
"So, march your ass down those stairs and ask her to go on a date with you," Shizuru finished Kurama's statement for him, grabbing her brother by the front of his shirt and yanking him up from the floor.
"Alright! Alright!" Kuwabara cried, his voice full of panic and his arms racing to protect his face in case Shizuru got the idea to hit him, "But what if she doesn't want to?"
"Why wouldn't she?" Botan asked, sounding surprised by his sudden lack of confidence. "Come on Kuwabara, you've never been nervous around her before."
"Yeah but..." he glanced over at the clothes bag on the bed, "This is different."
Botan ran to the clothes bag and unzipped it to see what lay within, and she grinned at the sight. It was a tuxedo.
"Oh, my goodness," she squealed, "If you're going to get so dressed up then you might as well go all out!"
"Now go," Shizuru shoved him out of the doorway towards the stairs, "She's out in the backyard."
Kuwabara obediently made his way down the stairs and out the backdoor. He found Yukina sitting cross legged in the grass, a flock of birds were perched on her shoulders, head, arms and legs and she was talking happily to them. Kuwabara halted on the doorstep and just watched, afraid to scare the birds and ruin her moment, but she soon noticed him standing there and she smiled and motioned for him to come over. He made his way across the yard and was pleasantly surprised when the birds simply moved aside for him to sit across from her.
"Birds really seem to like you, Yukina." he commented, the gruffness of his voice made a few of the birds take flight and Yukina giggled, "Sorry."
"Don't be afraid, birds," Yukina reassured the bird left around her, "Kazuma is the nicest human I know, he'd never hurt you."
The birds chirped happily and two of them fluttered onto his shoulders and settled comfortably there, Kuwabara grinned from ear to ear. She didn't know it, but it wasn't because of the birds, that smile was because of what she had said.
"Um...Yukina..." he tried to work up his courage, clearing his throat and dropping his eyes to the ground as his nerves threatened to take his voice away, "I, uh, bet you're tired of school and stuff..."
Yukina blinked, remaining quiet and waiting for him to continue.
"So...would you like to...do you want to get out of here for a while with me?" he finally managed to get the main point out.
"Of course, Kazuma," Yukina replied, she was about to say more but Kuwabara was already halfway across the yard, scattering the birds as he whooped and hollered excitedly to his bedroom window that she was going with him. Yukina stared in surprise for a moment before shaking her head with a smile and going back to speaking to the birds.
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"This one is perfect!" Keiko squealed happily, pulling the dress off the rack and holding it up for Yukina to see.
"Oh, Keiko...it's far too fancy for me," Yukina blushed brightly at the sight of the dress in front of her.
"Well this is going to be a very fancy night, Yukina," Keiko claimed, holding the dress against Yukina's front to judge the length. "Yes, perfect."
Yukina blushed even more.
"Go try it on!" Keiko happily pushed her friend towards the dressing room, pausing to grab a few accessories on the way there.
As Keiko waited for Yukina to come out, she browsed the shoe selection for the perfect pair to complement the dress.
"Is this good?" Yukina's quiet voice reached Keiko's ears and when she turned to look, her jaw dropped.
"Yusuke! Come here!" Keiko squealed happily, clasping her hands as she stared at the girl in front of her. Yusuke came trotting to them around the dress racks, looking uncomfortable, but he skidded to a stop and stared with wide eyes when he saw Yukina.
"Wow." Was all he had to say.
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Kuwabara stood in the living room of Keiko's house, shifting nervously from foot to foot as he tried to calm his nerves by looking around the walls at the pictures and decorations. Keiko's mother and father were smiling brightly at him from the couch and that only succeeded in making him more nervous than ever. He gulped down the lump forming in his throat and ran his finger under his collar to ease the itching it was causing. He wasn't fond of wearing a tux but he had to admit that it made a man feel like he could go anywhere and do anything.
"Calm down, Kuwabara," Yusuke scolded from his spot on a chair, "Isn't this what you've been wanting since you met her?"
"Yeah, of course," Kuwabara replied, fighting the urge to chew his thumbnail as the minutes ticked by, "I just...can't believe it's actually going to happen!"
Mr. and Mrs. Yukimura smiled and he managed a polite smile in return before looking down at the floor.
Keiko appeared in the doorway then, making Kuwabara snap his head back up.
"Da da da daaaaa!" Keiko fanfared loudly, bending over with a flourish in the doorway, "Kuwabara, I am proud to present your beautiful date for this evening, Yukina!"
Yukina walked nervously into the living room and the only sound to be heard was a gasp from Mrs. Yukimura; Kuwabara could only stare, his breath completely taken away by the sight in front of him.
Yukina looked absolutely stunning. She wore a one shoulder white evening gown with gold trim along the edges of the bust and around her waist; there was a slit in the side that ran up to just above her knee and a sheer gold shawl draped over her shoulders. Her small feet were bare on the wooden floor, her toes freshly manicured and in one hand she held a pair of gold sling-back heels.
Yukina's sea foam colored hair was brushed mostly over to one side, curled and framing her pale face. Her neck was adorned with a string of pearls and a pair of matching earrings dangled from her ears. Her eyes were lined beautifully and highlighted with gray eyeshadow, her lips were lightly colored with nude lipstick.
Kuwabara couldn't move, he couldn't even think of anything else besides the woman standing before him, the woman he would be spending the entire evening with, just the two of them...finally.
A sharp jab in his ribs jerked Kuwabara back to the present and he shook his head to clear his mind and smiled brightly at Yukina.
"Yukina," he said, reverently, "You look...absolutely beautiful."
Yukina smiled brightly, looking up at the young man with appreciative eyes.
"Thank you, Kazuma," she said softly as always, "You look very handsome."
Kuwabara ran his hand along the back of his neck and blushed, grinning like an idiot. But he recovered a moment later and gallantly offered his arm to her which she took happily and they headed towards the door to put their shoes on and get the night started.
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Boy, I sure am glad I got my license last month. Kuwabara mused to himself as he opened the passenger door of his sister's Honda for Yukina, this was certainly no date to be getting by train or bus...no, this was special.
He closed the door once she was in and trotted around to the driver's side, sliding in and smiling at her as they buckled up. Kuwabara grinned at the feeling of the wad of money in his jacket pocket...Shizuru had insisted on helping him pay for the date, claiming she didn't want him to take Yukina somewhere lame on their first official date.
"Where are we going?" Yukina asked as they pulled into traffic.
"Well...I have an idea...but I want to surprise you..." Kuwabara stuttered nervously.
"I love surprises!" Yukina said cheerfully, "I know whatever it is you have planned will be very fun."
They drove for quite a while, chatting and singing along to the radio and laughing at each other's terrible attempts to carry tunes until they reached the city. Kuwabara scouted around until he finally found a spot to park and then he jumped out and ran to open Yukina's door before she could even reach for the handle. Yukina giggled as he opened the door with a bow and a smile, offering his hand to help her out which she took happily and stepped out onto the street with a shake of her hair.
Kuwabara caught a scent from her hair that made him feel giddy, it was sweet like vanilla but it was mixed with something uniquely her. His stomach tightened and he closed his eyes for a moment to savor the scent before she moved away and he lost it to the familiar smells of downtown Tokyo...which were not nearly as pleasant.
"Where are we headed, Kazuma?" Yukina asked, bringing him back to the moment.
"I hope you're hungry, Yukina," Kuwabara said with a grin as they began walking, "Because I hear from a reliable source that you love sushi."
Yukina giggled and nodded excitedly.
"I think sushi is my favorite thing about the human world!" she said, her eyes bright.
"I agree with you one hundred percent!"
A small walk later found the pair sitting in a dimly lit circular booth, munching on Ika Nigiri, Unagi and California Rolls.
Yukina's eyes rolled back into her head as she savored the flavor of her sushi, a groan made its way out of her throat and made Kuwabara look up in surprise, eel hanging halfway out of his mouth. Yukina's eyes were closed and she dramatically swallowed the sushi with the most satisfied look on her face he'd ever seen...and it sparked many swallowing related thoughts in his male mind. He shook his head and chewed the rest of the eel in silence.
Damn it, Kazuma, get your head on straight. This is supposed to be romantic.
"This is so fucking good!"
Kuwabara's jaw dropped and several fellow diners looked over in shock at the loud outburst from the innocent and elegant looking girl.
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When they walked back out onto the street, the sun had set and the streets were lit up by the city lights, Yukina looked impressed by the sight and Kuwabara smiled as she pointed out every neon sign that caught her interest, expressing how colorful and bright they were.
"Human cities are lovely!" she declared as they walked along, side by side, "It's almost as if it's still daylight it's so bright!"
They walked along in silence, Yukina excitedly looking around at all there was to see and Kuwabara's eyes softly gazing at her as he took in the sight of her looking so happy. He found himself wishing he could always make her feel this way, and he believed he could if she would only listen to what he tried to tell her every time he saw her.
"Here we are," he announced, stopping suddenly when he realized they'd reached their destination. Yukina turned around quickly and her jaw dropped when she looked up and saw the bright sign above them. It was a moving sign, displaying what was to come on the inside.
"Oh, Kazuma! How did you know I wanted to see this?!" she squealed happily, clasping her hands together as she watched the dancers flit across the LED display. Large letters popped up after the dancers passed: The Tokyo Ballet
"I, uh, heard you mention it to Shizuru one night," Kuwabara admitted, self consciously rubbing the back of his neck again, "I remembered yesterday when I was thinking of what to do tonight. Is...is this alright?"
Yukina nodded with gusto, her eyes drifting from the sign to look at him.
"I said that a long time ago," she said quietly, "How did you remember?"
"I hear every word you say, Yukina," Kuwabara admitted quietly, he met her eyes with gentle sincerity, "Everything you say is music to my ears."
Yukina blinked quickly, her mind trying to process his words, but she found herself being gently led inside by his hand on her back and her thoughts were drowned out by the sights and sound of the theatre lobby. Bright red carpet and gold trimmed balconies and pillars and intricate statues and chandeliers and beautifully dressed people on every side of her...it was all so much and far too beautiful for words.
In the hustle and bustle of the crowd, Kuwabara was afraid tiny Yukina would be separated from him so he glanced at her out of the corner of his eye and reached over, brushing his fingers gently over her palm as a request to hold her hand and he was delighted when she clasped it without a word, her gentle smile was enough to embolden him to pull her a little closer as they made their way up to the balcony to their seats.
He had purposely gotten the front row of the balcony so Yukina could see well with no obstructions due to her small stature and she excitedly sat down in her seat and leaned against the railing in front her to gaze down at the crowd below.
"So many beautiful humans," she mused, "They're all dressed up so nicely."
"Pretty fancy," Kuwabara replied simply, running his finger under his bowtie to pull it away from his neck if only for a moment.
They sat and examined the program guide together, the production was Swan Lake and Yukina pointed at the pictures of the dancers to comment on their beautiful poses and gorgeous costumes until the lights went down and she fell into an awed silence as the orchestra began to play the first song of the night. Kuwabara leaned back in his seat and sighed, preparing himself for the long show...he was doing this for Yukina, and he was glad to do it, but this was not really his cup of tea.
However, halfway through the program, he found himself enjoying it and clapping with enthusiasm and not just out of politeness. Maybe this fancy stuff wasn't so bad...
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Yukina was on cloud nine by the time the show ended, she actually had shed a few tears throughout and she spun around on the balls of her feet as they stepped out onto the sidewalk which made Kuwabara laugh lightly at her attempt at ballet.
"Oh, Kazuma, that was the most beautiful thing I have ever seen!" she breathed dreamily when her spin was done, "Humans are so fascinating. You can do such wonderful things and create such beauty...every day I live here I find something new and fascinating about your species!"
Kuwabara glanced around to make sure no one had heard the ice apparition's musings and then he smiled down at her and shrugged.
"I enjoy being one," he joked with a wink, "But you've shown me that demons can be beautiful too."
Yukina gave him a shy smile and looked up at him from beneath her eyelashes, he felt his heart skip a beat at that look she was giving him and he swallowed thickly as his brain tried to process what his next move should be.
"So...what do you want to do now?" he asked as the rest of the theatre began to empty out onto the street around them.
"Let's go somewhere...quieter," Yukina suggested.
"I have an idea," Kuwabara said thoughtfully, "I don't know how you feel about cats..."
"I adore Eikichi!" Yukina assured him, "I haven't met many other cats but I think I like them."
"Well then let's go this way! It's just around this block."
The coffee house was empty at this time of night, the evening crowd had passed through and the staff were lazily lounging behind the bar enjoying the peace of the final hours of operation for the day. The shelves and windowsills and booths and tables weren't empty of life, however...cats laid out on nearly every sparkling clean surface, their bright eyes focused on the newcomers.
"Hello welcome," the waitress who was wiping down one of the tables greeted them with a smile, "Take a seat anywhere you like and enjoy, can I get you drinks?"
They ordered their drinks and Yukina immediately gravitated towards a huge fluffy gray mass of fur on the table near a booth and slid onto the seat, reaching out to stroke the pile of fluff. The fluff pile's head popped up and bright yellow eyes locked onto hers, a loud rumbling purr erupted from it's midsection under the fur somewhere.
"Eikichi is nowhere near this furry!" Yukina mused as the cat stood up and began rubbing against her hand. "I like these really fluffy ones!"
Kuwabara chuckled and slid into the booth beside her, the cat immediately turned to him and mewed before jumping down into his lap and curling up to continue its nap. A sleek, brown tabby and a small black cat jumped onto the table and Yukina giggled as they mewed brightly at Kuwabara.
"Cats seem to like you," she commented as the black one rubbed his head under his chin.
"I guess they can tell I like them too," Kuwabara replied, gently pushing the small cat away as the waitress set down their respective drinks. "I'd rather have a cat than a dog anyday. Cats are so calm and relaxed...just really personable."
"I like them too," Yukina decided as she stroked the tabby's head, "I don't know about dogs yet, I have only seen them on the streets being led on ropes."
Kuwabara sipped on his coffee in silence, happy just to watch the girl by his side happily playing with the two cats on the table. He absentmindedly stroked the huge mass of grey fur on his lap and he felt happier than he had in a long time...at peace for once.
The hour passed quickly and closing time rolled around, they paid and thanked the workers on their way out. They walked in peaceful silence down the street on their way back to where they had parked the car earlier that night, comfortable just being next to each other, no words were really needed. The wind began to pick up and Kuwabara groaned in annoyance at the sensation that he felt flit across his mind...it was going to rain any second now.
He glanced up at the sky, not that you could really see it because of the bright city lights, and sniffed the air. Glancing down at Yukina, he quickly removed his tuxedo jacket and draped it over her shoulders just as the first drops began to fall, heavy and hard. She glanced up at him in surprise and smiled.
"You knew that was coming?" she giggled.
"Well, I am psychic," he teased, wincing at the feeling of the large drops hitting him as they fell. Yukina pulled the jacket over her head and picked up the pace as much as she could in her high heels, but by the time they reached the car, they were both fairly soaked through.
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When they pulled into the driveway of the Kuwabara house, the rain was still falling heavily despite the decent length of the drive home. They both got out and made a dash for the door but Kuwabara yelped in surprised and smacked firmly into it when he turned the handle and it didn't budge. Mumbling under his breath, he lifted a stone from the walkway and found the spare key for the door and ushered Yukina through first once it was open.
A note laid on the kitchen counter and Yukina picked it up and read it out loud.
"Kazu, I have to go take care of a friend who got completely trashed at a party, I probably won't be home until morning. Make the most of your opportunity, little brother. Shizu."
Kuwabara snatched the note and read it with his own eyes, squinting suspiciously at the last statement. His sister was definitely a shrewd creature...
"Oh my goodness, do humans wear these things often?" Yukina's voice whined from the doorway where she was kicking the heels off. "My feet hurt."
Kuwabara kicked off his shoes beside hers and took his jacket from her with a smile.
"Only on special occasions, usually," he offered an explanation, "Come on, go get changed into something comfortable and we can relax for a while."
Yukina nodded and made her way upstairs, Kuwabara followed not far behind and Eikichi met him at the top of the stairs with a happy mew.
"Hey, girl, did you miss me?" he asked, scooping the cat into his arms with a grin. He went to his room and set her down on the bed while he peeled off the rain soaked tux, yanking the bowtie loose with a relieved sigh. "Whoever invented ties must have been a masochist."
He hung the clothes up to air dry and made a mental note to take them to the dry cleaners the next day. He grabbed a pair of black sport pants and a loose grey t-shirt from his drawer and threw them on unceremoniously, relieved to be comfortable again. He heard Yukina's bedroom door shut and her footsteps as she made her way back down the stairs to the kitchen so he left his room and trotted down the steps as well.
"Hey," he said gently when he saw her standing in the kitchen starting a pot of tea, "I'll do that, go ahead and sit down and rest your feet, alright?"
Yukina blushed but nodded, handing him kettle and departing to the living room. Kuwabara thought over the night's events as he prepared the tea and smiled to himself when he realized everything had gone smoothly and perfectly...and it seemed that there was more perfection to come. Placing two cups and the kettle and all the trimmings on a tray, he carried the whole thing up to his room and returned back downstairs for Yukina.
"Hey, um...do you want to come watch a movie in my room?" he asked, rubbing his palm along his arm nervously. He shouldn't have worried about her response because she immediately nodded and smiled, following him up the stairs.
Yukina immediately sat on his bed next to Eikichi and began scratching her calico back, smiling gently as the cat arched her back in response to the touch. Kuwabara poured Yukina a cup of tea and watched the exchange with slight jealousy.
"Cats have all the luck," he muttered under his breath as he took the two tea cups over to the bed and handed one to Yukina, she took it with a smile. "What would you like to watch, love?"
After scanning through the collection of movies available, Yukina settled on Shizuru's beaten up VHS tape of Sleeping Beauty. Kuwabara put the movie on and clicked on his desk lamp, turning off the overhead light to make the atmosphere a little more intimate, then he sat on the floor and leaned back against his bed. Yukina sat cross legged on the bed behind him, he could feel her shins pressing against the back of his head and he smiled as an idea came to him.
"Hey, do your feet still hurt?" he asked, leaning his head back to look up at her. She smiled down at him and nodded.
"Yeah, a little bit," she admitted.
Kuwabara smiled back up at her and reached behind him to gently grab her left ankle, pulling her legs out of their crossed position, and laid her left leg over his shoulder. His stomach was in knots, waiting for her to pull her leg out of his grip and kick him in the face for his forwardness...but she didn't, and he was shocked when her felt her other leg slip over his other shoulder. Trying to keep his mind on the task at hand, he took her small left foot in both of his hands and began to gently rub it with his thumbs.
"Oh, wow," Yukina sighed happily, "That feels so good, Kazuma."
The words sounded exactly like he'd always imagined in his mind, breathless and soft in his ears. He smiled and continued working the soreness from her dainty feet, his fingers memorizing the feel of her skin just in case this was their only chance to experience it and his mind memorizing the sounds of her small pleased moans as she soaked in the feeling of her very first foot rub.
He was so engrossed in the noises she was making that he nearly jumped out of his skin when he felt her shift her body slightly, her right heel dug into his chest as she scooted forward a bit and he could tell she had lifted her arms. He was about to release her foot, thinking maybe she was getting up, when he felt her fingers slip into his hair. He was too shocked to move, but his hand automatically tightened on her foot as his body tensed up from the unexpected contact and that caused Yukina to yank her hands back.
"Sorry!" she squeaked, sounding embarrassed, "I just...I...wanted to feel it...it looked soft..."
Kuwabara chuckled and reached for her other foot, beginning the soothing process all over again, hoping she would relax again.
"You're fine, Yukina," he assured her quickly, "I was just surprised, that's all. You can play with my hair if you want to."
He hoped with all his might that she wanted to...and she did. He closed his eyes and sighed as those small, cold hands wound their way into his thick, un-styled hair and made him tingle from head to toe. He let his head lay back onto her lap and let himself get lost in the sensation of her fingers threading through the ginger layers and the tugs when they snagged slightly from the residue of hair gel that the rain had almost completely washed out.
"Thank you so much for taking me with you tonight," her voice was so quiet and he opened his eyes to look up at her to be sure she had actually spoken and it wasn't his imagination, "I had a lot of fun with you."
"I didn't take you WITH me," he corrected her, "I took you FOR you. I...want to make you happy, baby."
"Why do you do these things for me, Kazuma?" Yukina's hands continued to twine in his hair, but he could tell she wasn't focusing on that anymore from the absentminded feeling behind the movements, "I've never seen you do something like that for anyone else. What makes me so special?"
It was his moment. He'd been waiting for her to notice she was different to him, he'd hoped for so long that she would see that she was special to him. He pulled away from her hands, releasing her foot, and turned around to face her, getting up onto his knees to be on her level. His now entirely loose hair hung into his eyes and around his ears and he shook it away from his face only to have it fall right back to where it was, this made Yukina giggle.
"What makes you special?" he repeated, gently laying a hand on her knee, "Everything, Yukina. The moment I saw your face I knew you were someone I wanted to be around. I know you all laugh when I say we were connected, but I wasn't kidding...the string was there and it led me right to you. When I see you I feel invincible and like I could never fail. When I'm with you I feel the happiest I ever feel and all I want to do is make you just as happy."
Yukina remained silent, blinking quickly with her eyes wide and focused on his.
"You're smart, you're kind, you're beautiful!" Kuwabara continued, on too much of a roll to stop even if she wanted him to, "I would do ANYTHING for you, all you'd have to do is ask. I just...I love you. I love you more than anything in this world or any of the other two worlds as well."
As soon as his speech was done he swallowed thickly and clamped his mouth shut, waiting on pins and needles for her to respond. Suddenly, he was terrified...this was the moment she could utterly destroy him.
"You...feel that way about me?" she whispered softly, "Even though I'm a demon and you're a human?"
"Yes."
"Is that what you mean when you say you love me?" she asked.
"Yes."
A long silence followed his reply and he started to feel very uncomfortable because she hadn't broken eye contact with him the entire time...it was like she was trying to read his mind or something.
"Are you...gonna...say anything?" he finally shattered the silence, his nerves nearly frayed from the intensity of the moment.
"I don't know what to say," she whispered in reply.
The words hit like a ton of bricks in Kuwabara's stomach and he stood up quicker than he thought was possible, he ran his hand through his hair and turned his back to her as a lump rose in his throat and threatened to make its way into a frustrated scream.
"I mean...I really like you a lot, Kazuma," her voice reached his ears again and he felt the stress lift immediately from his shoulders at those words, "But I'm still not sure how to love in a human way. I...I need to learn more."
Kuwabara turned back around and grinned.
"Well then I'll keep trying to teach you," he offered, walking over and sitting on the bed next to her, "If that's what you want me to do."
"I really do," Yukina replied happily, "You truly are my favorite human."
"Well then that's good enough for me right now," Kuwabara said with a laugh, "Maybe soon you'll see me as more than that."
Yukina smiled and laid her head against his chest, he draped his arm over her shoulders and they watched the rest of the movie in comfortable and hopeful silence.
Shizuru found them in this position when she got home that morning at 5 AM, Kuwabara leaning back against a pillow propped in the corner of his bed and Yukina halfway laying against him, her head resting on the center of his chest and her left hand gripping a fistful of his shirt. They both snored softly and Kuwabara nuzzled his nose into Yukina's hair in his sleep, making Shizuru smile.
"Oh, little brother," she whispered quietly, "Looks like there's some hope for you two after all."
YYH YYH YYH YYH YYH YYH YYH YYH YYH YYH YYH YYH YYH YYH
Whew, omg, that was a long chapter. It took WAY longer than it should have because my husband kept trying to read over my shoulder and I didn't want him to think I'm weird for writing romantic fanfics about cartoon characters...
Please review and let me know your thoughts on where to go from here.
Next chapter is Kurama's flower :)