Chapter Text
Incomparable in beauty and grace, the statuary figure elegantly draped over a fallen stump in the breezy autumn evening was arguably the first and most glaring culprit of what perspired between them next. The sun had just begun to set, bright azure bleeding to a darker shade to welcome the shy moon peeking from the horizon, and the peaceful silence that had suddenly befall them felt too precious to disrupt.
Not for the first time that day, she found herself staring, her mouth dry and oddly silent.
How to resist him?
His golden eyes were set to the sky and her own moved to follow the long shiny locks of impossible white pooled behind him in heaps of wonder. Rin could feel the warmth radiating from the white fur on his shoulder and clasped her cold hands to the chest to make them stop tingling for heat.
They’d have to part soon. Him, to the unpredictable wander of uncrossed paths and foolish enemies that stood no chance against his sword and claws. Her, to the uneventful yet safe and simple little life among humans.
How unfair.
A frown threatened to mark her features and she fought against it, afraid it might taint their mood.
Unwilling to say goodbye and craving one last moment to relive till his next visit, her lithe body moved before her mind could catch up with what was happening.
Maybe she’d gone totally insane; utterly cherished by him like no one else, but was she truly allowed to invade his personal space like so? That was his prerogative, standing too close for comfort.
A limit must exist between them indeed, no matter what others – and at times, herself – might believe. Was she in fact bold enough to discover it today?
By then, she had already found her way between his bent knee and the stretched out leg.
Golden eyes glanced her way when ten freezing cold digits stretched on each side of his beautiful face. With bated breath, she applied the slightest pressure on his jaw to make him tilt back just enough.
He allowed it.
She was granted the long, glassy eyed observation of his pale pink lips, her trembling eyelashes discovering smooth porcelain skin and bright magenta makings. Unfairly beautiful, impossibly so.
Mind blank, the loud pounding of her increased heartbeat deafened her from anything else and Rin decided right then and there to grab every ounce of courage she possessed.
Then, tentatively yet stupidly brave, she leaned forward.
Their lips met for a quiet, exhilarating moment she would treasure for the rest of her life.
He was even warmer than she had expected. Her upper lip fit like a dream between his where she remained still, waiting for a press back that never occurred.
And when she finally leaned back, Sesshomaru was staring.
Not the usual side glance of curious patience he usually bestowed upon her. Something darker, intense. Breath-hitching. Dangerous.
Had she seen it before, she might have associated it with lust sooner.
Oh...what had she done?
The spell broke and Rin couldn’t stand the burning inquiry of that unblinking stare. Face ablaze to the tip of her ears, she took a single step back, almost stumbling on his leg, and clenched her fingers together, the palms still warm from the borrowed heat of his skin. He didn’t look angry or disgusted, yet she couldn’t bear to hold his gaze and twirled around, her heart beating painfully inside her chest.
“I-I’m sorry, I don’t know what-…” she cracked an embarrassed smile and coughed under her breath, thickly, then ran a hand on her blushing cheeks. “It’s late, I should return home,” then, firmly despite the tight throat.
Afraid of a reprimand or worse, to watch him leave to never return to the bold little human that dared step into the demon’s lair, Rin sprinted her escape.
But she couldn’t go far. Long, bony fingers wrapped firmly around her wrist in a vice grip and Rin choked on her own spit, staggering back. Wide eyed, she watched his hand clench and dared a look back to his face but didn’t manage to seize much more than the flash of golden eyes through the impending darkness.
To her surprise, he pulled on her arm again until the back of her knees collided with his wide leg.
“Don’t start what you're not willing to finish.”