Sesshomaru's Off Day Dinners by kaoruhana

A Saffron Tainted Kiss

     Kagome sat on a chair in Sesshomaru’s dining room while he worked in the kitchen.  She had all but been banned from the kitchen and was waiting patiently as he cooked.  He had already made a pasta dish that was sitting in the oven and was now working on a dessert since his salad- the endive one that had quickly become Kagome’s favorite was done as well.  Whatever he was making was a concoction of sugar, milk, and a tiny bit of flour making a creamy pudding type mixture.  He’d added cardamom powder and the vanilla extract too making Kagome wonder just what it was that Sesshomaru was making. 

     “Almost done Kagome.  Why don’t you set the table?” 

     Happy to finally be able to do something that night Kagome left to do her task missing Sesshomaru add the last spice to the dish.  Saffron was known to be an aphrodisiac and he wasn’t too confident in its seducing abilities but he was confident in its abilities to set the mood.  All he knew was that no matter what happened tonight he and Kagome were going to be together today and the day after that and so on until the relationship either ran its course or became something different. Nonetheless he was still a little nervous. 

     “Are you ready?”  Kagome asked a few minutes later after she’d set the plates.  In her hand was the bottle of wine and a bottle opener.  Sesshomaru turned the stove off and moved the kettle he was working with to a cooler burner before taking the wine and bottle opener from her hands. 

     “I’ll take care of the wine, do you mind bringing the salad and pasta out?” Kagome shook her head before she placed the dishes on the table. In the meantime, Sesshomaru filled their wine and water glasses so that when Kagome brought the pasta out they were ready to dig in. 

     Dinner wasn’t as awkward as Kagome feared it would be.  Rather it was more like the dinners she was used to but with a more blatant appeal at flirting and one that she kind of liked.  The pasta was wonderful and reminded her of the pasta that Sesshomaru had made at the dinner with Kohaku.  When she asked him about it, she was told that it was the same recipe with a few tweaks.  Kagome quickly realized that the recipes he’d so far used today were ones that she liked quite a bit.  The attentiveness appealed to her and she felt appreciated by it.  After they finished the main course Sesshomaru left to get dessert ready.  He emerged from the kitchen with two glass bowls of creamy liquid and set one in front of her. 

     “Dessert- a milky rice pudding infused with cardamom and saffron.”  Kagome noticed the tweaks of red saffron spices peeking out from the dish.  It seemed Sesshomaru hadn’t left the saffron to melt into the dish but rather had let it mix in.  Seeing him wait for her reaction, Kagome took a spoonful and swooned.  It was milky but tasted like cream and was melting on her tongue immediately.  She looked up at him with a smile. 

     “Sit, if you don’t I might be tempted to steal your bowl too.”  Laughing Sesshomaru did as he was told. 

     Later as Kagome worked on washing the dishes she felt a presence behind her.  Before she could be startled Sesshomaru whispered to her and placed his arms around her waist.  At first, Kagome was a little stiff but soon the relaxing presence of Sesshomaru’s warmth on her back allowed her to enjoy washing the dishes.  It felt right to be where she was right now, she thought, putting the last dish away in the dish rack; she wouldn’t mind doing this again in the future.  Sesshomaru’s arms loosened and she slipped out to dry her hands before approaching him again where he was still standing by the sink.  When she got there she threw her arms around him and pulled him in for a kiss.  He responded quickly but pulled away shortly thereafter. 

     "Kagome, before we go on, what do you want to happen tonight?”  Sesshomaru didn’t want to rush things but he also didn’t want to push her away.  He’d rather have Kagome try to set the pace of their relationship since she knew best what was okay physically. 

     “Whatever happens Sesshomaru, is something that we both want.” Kagome answered slowly.  “We’re both sober since we only had that one glass of wine and we both obviously care for each other. If I wake up next to you tomorrow morning it’s because we both wanted things to be that way.  It will change things but only in the sense that I’ll be yours now.  Is that okay with you?”  After her quick monologue Kagome wasn’t sure about what to say anymore. 

     “Yes.” And with that said Sesshomaru seized Kagome’s lips again in a kiss. 

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A/N: Prompt: Saffron