It's my day off and I'm working on two fics at once! This is another collaboration chapter between kuwayukifan91 and myself (practically this whole story is one big collab!) so kudos to her and much thanks and recognition :D
Onward!
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The next morning, Kazuma was the first to wake up to the beautiful sound of birds chirping in the trees and he smiled happily at the weight of Yukina's body pressed up against his side, his arm was tingling and asleep underneath her but he dared not move it and wake her up. He was enjoying looking at her face in the morning light, like Sleeping Beauty herself.
He thought back to the night before and smiled softly at the memories. She'd been so satisfied by the time they went to bed, it made him feel pretty damn proud of himself and he was pretty damn proud of her too, she'd given him as much back in return. He leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to her temple and very carefully slid his arm out from under her and slid quietly off the bed.
He stretched his arms over his head and glanced at the alarm clock. Only 7:30. He got an idea and grabbed his clothes, slipped them on and headed to the bathroom to get ready for the day. He walked down the steps, brushing his teeth as he walked, and started gathering stuff together to make breakfast before walking back up to spit and put the toothbrush back. He wondered why he'd even taken it down with him in the first place, but he was far too nervous about the day he had planned to think straight. Today could make or break his plans for after school ended.
He shook his head and tried to be confident about his chances and he went back downstairs. He started making a breakfast of pancakes and eggs with orange juice on the side and he arranged it perfectly on a tray. He turned to take it upstairs but then stopped in his tracks and looked down at the fairly average tray and set it down, turning to go out the back door. He eyed the rosebush Kurama had planted there months ago and he plucked a single red rose from it. Placing his freshly picked rose perfectly on the tray beside the glass of juice, he smiled at the way it completed the look of the whole thing and made his way upstairs to his room.
Yukina was still sleeping soundly, but she'd turned onto her other side and had her back to him now. He thought about the job he would be applying for this afternoon, the first step in his plans to start their future together. Having their own place to live together was his second goal and he imagined how wonderful it would be to have their own bedroom instead of constantly trying to decide between their two current ones...sleeping together EVERY night would be fantastic!
"Yukina," he said out loud as he set the tray on the desk, he leaned down and gently shook her small shoulder with his large hand, "Yukina, baby, it's time to get up. I made you breakfast."
Yukina blinked slowly, her eyes squinted against the bright light of the morning sun and she turned over on her back to look at him and she smiled gently.
"Good morning, Kazuma," she whispered happily, her voice thick with sleepiness. Kazuma smiled and placed a light kiss on her forehead, "You made me breakfast?"
"Yep!" he held the tray out to her and she sat up to accept it, the blankets slid down her frame and pooled around her legs, revealing her naked torso to him. He couldn't help but stare at her for a moment, and he considered suggesting they go another round, but he shook his head and looked away...he didn't have time for that just now, today he had things he needed to accomplish. He glanced around the room and grabbed one of his shirts and offered it to her, "Here you go."
Yukina accepted the shirt and pulled it on, then she lifted the tray onto her lap and smiled as she lifted the rose up to examine it closely. She raised it to her nose and took a long sniff, her eyes dropping closed as she took in the scent of it.
"Oh, Kazuma, this is beautiful," she said softly, and she immediately began to dig into the food he'd prepared, making his chest puff out a little bit with pride as her face took on the look of someone thoroughly enjoying their meal.
"Eat up," he said happily, standing and picking out some clothes for her to wear after her shower, "I got a few plans for us today. Well, I mean the first thing is more work related than fun...I'm going to apply for the Firefighter's training at the station. They have an open position coming up because someone is retiring and I want to be ready to go when the spot opens so I have a better chance to get the job!"
"That's excellent, Kazuma!" Yukina replied happily around her mouthful of pancake, "That's the job you've been wanting, right?"
"Right," he assured her, "The training starts right after graduation, so it all lines up perfectly!"
Yukina set aside her tray, a good sized pile of the eggs still remained.
"Here, you eat them," she offered kindly, "You need to eat and be ready for the day! I'll go shower and then we can get going."
"Ok," Kazuma agreed. She left the room with her arms full of stuff for her shower and he sat down on the bed and finished off the eggs in record time then began stripping the sheets from the bed, wrapping them in a ball before heading to the laundry room. He didn't mind playing the role of attentive boyfriend, not for Yukina...she deserved everything he did for her.
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Yukina sighed as she turned the shower knob to stop the water, the grime from her sweaty activities last night had washed off and she felt like she was shinyy and new as she stepped out onto the bath mat and grabbed her towel to dry off. She dressed and brushed her teeth, loving the feel of minty fresh breath as she straightened the front of her pink dress, her fingers traced the daisy flowers that lined the hem and she smiled, Kazuma always did like this dress.
She stepped out of the bathroom and almost collided with Kazuma as he exited the laundry room, he took in her appearance, her hair long and loose out of its normal style and he whistled approvingly, his eyes bright. She giggled and took his hand as they headed downstairs.
They grabbed their wallet and purse and Kazuma locked the door behind them as Yukina got into the car. Thankfully, Shizuru had left it for them in case they needed it. Kazuma slid in and buckled up and they pulled out onto the street, heading for the fire department.
"So, other than applying, what are the plans for today?" Yukina asked cheerfully.
"Whatever it is you'd like to do," Kazuma replied with a grin, "Today is all about you, my ice princess."
She smiled as he reached his hand out to her and she gladly accepted it, holding it on top of her leg as they drove.
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Eventually, they pulled up to a large brick building with two massive garage doors on the side of it, Yukina stared in awe at the huge, bright red machines that were sitting in the parking lot outside the doors, several people in bulky looking pants were walking around the machines, brushing them down with soap while others sprayed the soap off with hoses. Yukina wondered how these people managed to move around in the thick looking uniforms, although most of them were only wearing the pants half as they worked, suspenders holding them up over dark blue t-shirts with a logo on the back.
These people looked to be mostly young men, but there were at least two women there as well and a few older men stood inside the garage doors, scrubbing down some sort of equipment. They all looked strong, some of them may have even been as large or larger than Kazuma. She eyed his large frame out of the corner of her eyes, comparing the muscles on his arms to those of the men scrubbing the trucks...no, they weren't nearly as strong as him.
"Here we are," Kazuma said, parking them in between two yellow lines. They exited the car and made their way through the glass front doors with the firehouse logo on the front of them and made their way to the receptionist's desk. The sound of loud barking made Yukina jump in surprise and she turned to see what the noise was and was nearly knocked down by a white dog with black spots covering it's fur. She giggled as it put its massive paws on her shoulder and began running it's slobbery tongue on her cheek. The force of the dog's happiness knocked her right on her butt and she broke out into laughter as she tried to push the dog away from her face. Kazuma turned around and looked incredulous for a moment before he began to laugh and reached down to help her up.
"Oh, aren't you cute?" Yukina squealed at the puppy when she was on her feet again, because she realized now that this was definitely still just a baby. She ruffled it's ears and pressed a kiss to his forehead.
Kazuma wasn't the hugest fan of dogs, he definitely preferred cats, but the sight of Yukina squishing it's puppy face between her hands made him smile and he had to agree it was a pretty adorable dog. He began petting it as well.
And older man came walking up to them quickly, his face full of concern. Kazuma looked up and then jerked to attention when he caught the "Captain" on his name badge.
"I'm so sorry about that," the man said apologetically, "She just gets so excited about new people. She's still learning, but she'll make a fine hook and ladder dog in time."
"Not a problem," Yukina replied happily, "She's lovely. She just took me by surprise is all. What's her name?"
"Reiko," the man replied, seeming relieved, he glanced at the completed form in Kazuma's hand, "My name is Gen, I'm the Captain of this fire station. Are you here to apply for the upcoming position, young man?"
Kazuma stood up straighter and nodded.
"Yes sir," he said confidently, "I'm applying for the summer training. My name is Kazuma Kuwabara and this is my girlfriend, Yukina."
Yukina bowed slightly in a respectful way.
"So nice to meet you, Mr. Gen," she said pleasantly, "And it was a pleasure to meet your dog as well. I like her a lot."
Gen chuckled and Yukina decided she liked the looks of him. He was a large man, his hair beginning to grey on the edges, but his grey eyes were alight with life and Yukina thought he looked like he enjoyed his job a lot.
"Thank you, young lady," he said, "And thank you for applying, Kazuma. We need more strapping young men like you interested in this job."
He looked at Kazuma for a moment and seemed to be considering him closely.
"Hey, you look familiar," he commented slowly, "Are you the young man who saved that guy from the apartment fire a while back?"
Kazuma blushed but nodded, rubbing the back of his neck nervously.
"Yeaahhh...that was pretty dumb of me when I look back now, but I just...had a feeling someone was still in there," he admitted nervously.
"It took me a moment, but I knew I recognized you from somewhere," Gen laughed good naturedly, "What you did may have been dumb, but it was brave. A sixth sense is very important for a job like this though...tell you what, you hand me that form and I'll personally take a look at it. I'll have you approved for training for when you graduate and if you pass that test then we'll see about how well you fit in the open position."
Kazuma's jaw dropped but he handed over his papers immediately. Yukina clasped her hands together and smiled up at him.
"Wow, Kazuma!" she said happily, "How about that!?"
Gen smiled and accepted the papers, he spoke to the receptionist and then returned a moment later with a tattered old manual book and handed it to Kazuma.
"This has all the information you need for the written test," he informed him, "Study it through and if you pass that test then you can move on to the physical test and gear training. If you pass all that, I think we'll have a place for you here."
Kazuma took the book with a sigh. Great...more studying. He felt Yukina give him a light nudge in the side and she jerked her head encouragingly at the Captain and Kazuma immediately held out his hand to shake the older man's hand.
"Thank you so much for the chance, sir. I'll study hard, I promise!"
Yukina reached down to pet Reiko on the head once more and Kazuma clasped her hand tightly, his excitement obvious in the way he was grinning like an idiot. They both bid the Captain good day and waved as they left the building, the Captain waved back and then headed towards the bay with Reiko at his heels.
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A few hours later, after grabbing some sushi from a nearby restaurant, Yukina and Kazuma sat on a park bench near the duck pond, tossing handfuls of frozen peas to the creatures as they waddled around, quacking happily. *do not feed ducks bread, it is bad for them*
"It sure seems like things are coming together for you," Yukina said cheerfully as they discussed Kazuma's good fortune at meeting the Captain face to face.
Kazuma relaxed against the bench and put his arms behind his head, closing his eyes against the bright sun.
"It's not just for me," he commented, "I'm doing for both of us. With a steady job, I can afford a place of our own and I can take care of you properly. I promise I'll always take care of you."
"I know you will," Yukina smiled leaning her head onto his shoulder, "I'm not a bit worried about that."
They relaxed for a while together, just taking in the sounds of the fountain in the pond and the quacks of the ducks and the wind in the leaves of the trees around them. Kazuma finally opened his eyes and stood, stretching his arms and popping his back. He glanced over to the vending machine near the restroom building.
"You thirsty, love?" he asked thoughtfully, "It's pretty hot out already and it's not even summer yet! Pretty dry day."
"That would be nice," Yukina agreed.
"Be right back," Kazuma trotted off and Yukina began lazily feeding the ducks again, smiling at the way their stubby tails wiggled in excitement as they ran towards the peas on the ground. The sound of gruff laughter made her look up and she felt nervous when she saw three men approaching her bench. They were all fairly tall and dressed in clothes that practically screamed 'troublemakers', one had his finger pointed straight at her and the other two were laughing gruffly.
Yukina chose to ignore them and she turned around to continue feeding the duck, hoping they would get bored of her and continue on their way. But they didn't and they were soon standing in front of her, scattering the ducks away with their unpleasant presences. Yukina looked up at them with an annoyed look. One had red hair, much like Kazuma's but his face was mean and coarse, the other two had black hair and dull features, obviously not the brains of the outfit...
"Hey, girlie," the redhead said, his voice highly unpleasant in Yukina's ears, "You're a good lookin' little thing. You got a name?"
He grabbed her wrist tightly in her hand and Yukina felt a jolt of fear mixed with pain at the contact and she tried to yank her arm out of his grip.
"Please let me go. You're hurting me!" she pleaded in her usual soft way.
One of the black haired boys sat on the bench beside her and put his arm around her shoulders, she hated the way he smelled...like tobacco and motor oil.
"We just wanna have some fun, sweetheart," he said with a sneer, "Don't look to me like you got a boyfriend."
The other back haired boy sat on her other side and brazenly ran his finger through her hair.
"She sure is pretty, huh, Boss?" he said.
Yukina was in too much of a state of shock to respond by using her powers and she found herself being pulled to her feet and dragged away from the bench. The boys were chuckling darkly and she felt herself beginning to tremble, her voice begging to come out in a yell but it was choked off by fear.
"Let's have a little fun, what d'ya say?" the red head hissed, like the snake he surely was. Yukina finally found her voice.
"KAZUMA!"
The three boys didn't even have time to wonder who she was calling for before there were two loud clunk sounds and the black haired boys fell onto their knees with blood dripping down the back of their necks. Yukina noticed a soda can rolling away and she almost wanted to let out an evil laugh at the sight, but her musing was cut off when one of the black haired boys rose to his feet and ran off, screaming in fear. She looked to her left and saw Kazuma approaching, his large fists clenched in anger, another can of soda still in his right palm. He looked very serious...and very, VERY anrgy. Yukina felt a shiver run through her as she felt his Sacred Energy come to life, the force of his rage was obvious in the glow of gold around him as he started to toss the can in the air, his face twisted into a wicked grin as he approached the two remaining boys.
Yukina took the opportunity and ran from the two boys and skidded to Kazuma's side, gripping onto the back of his shirt. He glanced down at her wrist and she knew he saw the red mark from where she was grabbed because his energy increased even more.
"Which one did that to you, Yukina?" he asked grimly, his voice low and threatening. It was somewhat frightening and Yukina didn't say anything, she even looked at the red head thug with concern...surely Kazuma would break several of his bones if he knew...but her look betrayed the redhead and Kazuma was on him in a flash, his fist gripped tightly in the thug's collar, lifting him off the ground entirely.
"H-hey, man, we didn't know she was with you!" the black haired boy begged from where he still knelt on the ground, trying to defend his friend.
"It doesn't matter!" Kazuma growled, pulling his free fist back, the can of soda he'd been holding long abandoned on the ground by now, "You NEVER put your hands on a lady. Especially not my Yukina!"
His fist connected with the red head's nose and a sickening crack sounded in the air, making Yukina feel sick to her stomach as blood gushed like a gyser from the thug's now demolished nose. Thankfully, Kazuma released him and he dropped the ground, clutching his face as blood continued to gush through the spaces between his fingers. The black haired boy grabbed his friend's shoulders and urged him to his feet and they took off together across the park and out of sight.
Kazuma stood there in a fighting stance, his breathing heavy and full of anger, but Yukina gently placed her hand on his upper and tugged, causing him to look down at her. Immediately, his energy began to relax at the sight of her sad face.
"Please, Kazuma, no more violence," she begged soflty, "I just want to leave now. Can we please go home?"
"I'm sorry this happened, Yukina," Kazuma said unhappily, sighing as he spoke, "I tried to get here as quick as I could. Does your wrist hurt?"
Yukina eyed the red mark that her body had already begun to heal on its own and shook her head.
"No," she replied honestly, "It's not bad at all."
"Well then, let's get you home."
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They sat down on the couch together and Kazuma lifted her arm to examine it, the red mark was almost completely gone now and he sighed with relief. He hated seeing her skin marked up...unless it was a mark he made during their lovemaking. Those were the only marks she should EVER bear in his opinion, and even then he had a hard time justifying those sometimes.
Yukina noticed his troubled expression and she smiled softly at him and wiggled away from him, then she motioned for him to lay down so he did and rested his head in her lap, sighing peacefully at the feeling of her fingers threading softly through his hair.
"I'm glad you weren't hurt," she said, making his open one eye to look up at her, "Thank you for rescuing me...I didn't want you to fight though because if someone saw you, it could ruin your chances at getting that job. That scared me the most."
Kazuma closed his eye and grinned.
"Well, job or no job, anyone who messes with my girl gets a face full of fist-sandwich," he grumbled and flexed his arm in front of her to prove his point. Yukina giggled and ran her hand along the muscles.
"Let's forget about the fight, shall we?" she asked, the tone of her voice made Kazuma open his eyes and look up. She had begun to unbutton the front of her dress with a grin on her face, making Kazuma blush brightly as she bent over to give him a peek inside the article of clothing. She had that same expression he'd just seen only last night...her bedroom eyes.
He knew exactly what was going to happen and he sat up, blushing brightly as he turned to face her. She immediately moved forward to straddle his lap and he grinned at the sight of her undone buttons, the opening stopping just under the start of her cleavage. Such a tease.
"I can make you forget all about the fight, I bet," she whispered, "I'll make you feel so good you won't be thinking about anything else."
"What fight?" Kazuma whispered back before he captured her lips in a passionate kiss, then pulling back and tracing kisses down her cheek to that spot behind her ear that always made her shiver and squirm. He was not disappointed and her hips moved side to side as she gasped at the sensation, bringing them closer together where it really counted. He slid his hand into the unbuttoned opening to take her breast in his hand but then he immediately tensed up and leaned back, meeting her eyes with a sad groan. "You better pull yourself together and fix your clothes."
Yukina was about to ask why and then she heard the knock on the door and she sighed. She immediately rebuttoned her front and slid off his lap, smoothing down her skirt and trying to make her hair look slightly tame. Kazuma was taking deep breaths and letting them out through pursed lips, forcing himself to relax. He tapped her leg and she nodded, rising from the couch and making her way to the entry.
She opened the door and came face to face with Botan, Yusuke and Keiko.
"Good evening," Botan said cheerily, "How are you two lovebirds doing?"
The trio made their way inside without so much as another word and Yukina stepped back to let them, then she walked back into the living room and gave Kazuma a disappointed look.
"Well...guess who's here."
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Whew! Sorry this took so long to get posted! My life is insane right now, but hopefully I'll have more time to write again soon. This fic is almost done, but there are still a few more chappies to come so stay posted!