.
"Now, Shuichi," Kazuya said with barely maintained patience. "You have to understand how important it is that you make a good impression on this girl. This deal is very important, and if all goes well you two will become engaged."
"But, sir," Kurama protested. "I'd really rather not-"
His stepfather cut him off with a glare and a sharp "You don't know what you want!" Shiori placed a soothing hand on his arm, murmuring softly in his ear. He cleared his throat. "Look, Shuichi, I understand how you feel. My marriage to my first wife was arranged. But I grew to love her, anyway. The deepest and most sincere love is the love that grows over time." He nodded firmly to emphasize his words, then grinned at his stepson. "Besides, she's a real looker, Shuichi. As pretty as you, I'd say."
Kurama bowed his head. As his parents left the room he asked softly, "Is there any way I can get out of this?"
"Of course you can," Kazuya growled irritably over his shoulder. "But you damn well better have more of an excuse than "I don't want to"!"
His mother paused and gave him a sympathetic look. "Don't worry, son. I'm sure everything will be all right." She bit her lower lip thoughtfully. "You know... they'll be over for dinner at 6:30. You have four hours, if you...?" Shrugging, she followed her husband.
Kurama frowned. Four hours? Leaning back, he considered the problem. In four hours, his "engagement" to some girl he'd never met would become official. They'd be married in a few months, when school ended. Unless, of course, in the next four hours he came up with a really good reason why he couldn't marry her. And if "I don't want to" didn't cut it, then "I'm gay" probably wouldn't be enough, either. Maybe he could develop some horrible, testicle rotting disease.... nah. There were some things a man just couldn't do.
His lips curled as he stood and grabbed his coat. Four hours, huh? A lot could be accomplished in four hours, if one used one's time wisely.
"Will you marry me?" Oops. It wasn't the right time, but... the clock was ticking.
The girl, Kochou by name, blinked big eyes at him. "M-marry? Demo, Shuichi... we've only known each other for about an hour."
He bestowed upon her his most dazzling smile. "I feel as if I've known you forever, Kochou."
She blushed deeply as he leaned closer. "I know this seems abrupt, but... I feel as if we were made for each other." And they could (and undoubtedly would) always be divorced later. His lips hovered just above hers. "You see-"
"Kurama-kun!"
Kochou jerked away. "Ah, it was really nice meeting you, Shuichi-san. Really, it was." Before he could protest, she turned and fled. He hissed in frustration, then turned to face the approaching girls.
"I hope we didn't scare away your girlfriend, Kurama-kun," Shizuru grinned at him. Keiko gave him a concerned look.
"Iie. She was nobody."
"Then why did it look like you were about to ki-"
"Shizuru-san! That's nobody's business but Kurama-kun's." Keiko scolded her friend. But she watched, eyes wide with curiosity, the back of the retreating Kochou more openly than Shizuru.
"Of course, of course." Still, she continued grinning. Kurama sighed softly to himself. He had- maybe- two hours left. He had decided the best course of action would be to find himself a fiance. Surely his stepfather wouldn't force him to marry another girl if he was already engaged. Unfortunately, most girls preferred to know a man for at least a couple of months before they'd even consider marrying him, which left him with a very frustrating problem- how was he going to produce a woman for tonight if no one wanted to marry him?!
There didn't seem to be an answer, at least not one he liked. But there was no need to burden Shizuru and Keiko with his troubles. Forcing a smile to his face, he inquired after the girls' health, then offered to take them out to a late lunch.
Keiko shook her head. "I'm going to meet Yusuke at the arcade, and then we're going shopping. Would you two like to come?"
Kurama declined, silently wishing her good luck. Shizuru declined also, saying they should have some time alone together before Yusuke ran off and did something stupid again. They both watched Keiko leave in silence.
"Well," Shizuru said abruptly, slapping her thighs. "Why don't you come over, Kurama-kun? I don't think Kazu is home, so you don't have to worry about being irritated by that idiot."
"Kuwabara-kun doesn't bother me at all," he told her with a smile. "And I'd love to come over."
They chatted inanely as they walked, and Kurama was able to forget his impending doom- er, engagement. He found that he rather enjoyed her company, and felt a pang of regret when they reached the Kuwabara home.
"I suppose I should be going now," he murmured as they reached the door.
"Going? You just got here!"
"Ah, yes.. well, you see, there's something I have to take care of..."
"Oh," she said knowingly. "Is that what's been bothering you?"
He stiffened, then relaxed and shook his head. Of course Shizuru had noticed. She was a strong psychic, after all. "Hai."
She patted his arm before opening the door. "Well, why don't you come in and we can talk about it? Talking helps, you know."
He doubted that talking would help this problem, but followed her in anyway. He sat on the couch, and Shizuru settled beside him. "Now, go ahead and tell me what's troubling you."
So he told her. Put into words, his feelings sounded childish and stupid, and he felt heat rising in his cheeks. This was ridiculous! If Shizuru thought so, her expression didn't show it.
"That's quite a mess you're in, Kurama-kun," she said, lighting a cigarette. "I'm not sure what to tell you... have you tried getting a mail-order bride?"
He chuckled. "I don't think she'd arrive on time."
"Well, you could always spend an extra couple thousand yen and have her flown in immediately."
They joked like that for several minutes, and Kurama's spirits had lifted considerably when he finally stood to go. She stood with him, and they walked to the door. Hand on the knob he paused, then turned to face her. "I want to thank you, Shizuru."
"Thank me? Whatever for?"
"For listening... and for not thinking I'm a complete idiot, which is how I feel."
Her expression softened. "You're not an idiot, Kurama-kun."
He found himself quite suddenly captivated by the way her lips moved. Hesitantly he leaned forward and gently brushed his lips against hers. Shizuru's eye widened with shock and something else. Desire.
"Kurama-kun..."
He took his hand off the knob and wrapped his arms around her. She dropped her cigarette. One trembling hand reached up to stoke his cheek. "Kurama.."
He reclaimed her lips in a kiss filled with passion, and her arms twined around his neck. She opened her mouth against his and his tongue darted in. He moaned softly, drawing her closer, wanting to feel the warmth of her body against his.
Shizuru broke the kiss, gasping for air. He nuzzled her cheek, then ducked his head to nibble and suck at her neck. She tangled her fingers in his hair, tilting her head back to give him full access. He licked and nipped his way down to the collar of her blouse, one hand moving up to the buttons.
"Not here," she gasped, pulling away from him. He growled softly, then before she could protest he lifted her into his arms, and stumbled in the general direction of her room while using his teeth to undo the first few buttons on her blouse.
He used his foot to nudge the door shut behind them, then set her on her feet next to the bed. He went to finish what he had started, unbuttoning her blouse the rest of the way and letting it drop to the floor. Deft fingers unhooked the clasps of her bra, and she shrugged out of it. Kurama stepped back for a moment to admire her smooth skin and ample bosom. With one hand he gently caressed the side of one of her breasts. They were beautiful- round, full, and perky. Her nipples were dark splotches on her creamy skin, and very much erect. He dropped to his knees before her and tilted his head up to take one hard nub into his mouth.
Shizuru moaned loudly as Kurama's skilled mouth gently bit and teased first one nipple, and then the other. She gasped with delight as his mouth moved down, exploring her belly. His tongue dipped into her navel, eliciting a pleased cry from his lover. He brought his hands up and unzipped and unbuttoned her jeans, slowly pulling them down to reveal soft, enticing flesh covered by a scrap of cloth that couldn't rightly be called underwear at all. His fingers slipped into the elastic band, brushing the first glossy strands of pubic hair before tugging her panties down.
"K-kurama..."
He planted a gentle kiss on her crotch before standing and lowering her to the bed. He hastily tugged of his own clothing before joining her. Nude, he stretched out beside her, taking Shizuru into his arms and kissing her with all the passion a nymphomaniac Youko who'd been chaste for seventeen years could muster. It was very passionate, indeed.
They explored each other with hands and mouths, each endlessly fascinated by the other's body. Shizuru took his member in her hand, stroking it as he pushed a finger inside her. She gasped, arching her back, spreading her legs invitingly as his clever finger caused waves of heat to course through her body. Excited by her delightful moans, but not yet willing to bring their lovemaking to the final stages, he slithered down and positioned himself between her legs.
He nuzzled her warm flesh, burying his face in the moist center of her. His tongue flicked out to taste the wet heat he found. She lifted her hips as his tongue found the spot that brought her the most pleasure. He licked and sucked, making love to her with his tongue. She urged him on with moans and ecstatic cries, thrusting her hips forward and quivering when the pleasure became so intense, she felt ready to explode inside. Soon her quivers turned to wrenching shudders of pure delight, and she lifted her whole body in response to his ministrations. She cried out deliriously as her muscles contracted, relaxed, contracted, relaxed, as she rode the waves of ecstasy within her, coming again and again until she dropped back to the bed, exhausted.
Kurama pulled back, licking his lips as he watched his lover. Her eyes were closed, her breath still coming in ragged gasps. She was beautiful. He tenderly kissed her stomach, then pulled himself up so that they were once again laying side-by-side. He nuzzled her, then kissed her gently. She responded, softly at first, then with increasing passion as her excitement rose at the feeling of his hardness pressed against her. She reached down and wrapped her hand around his erection, squeezing gently. Sensing that there was only one thing left to do, she spread her legs and arched her back as he positioned himself on top of her.
"You've done this before," she murmured as the tip of his length pressed against his opening. It was not a question.
"Not in this lifetime," he replied with a grin, pressing against her. "But I read the manual."
"Manual?"
"Sure," he grinned. "You take Tab A, which is here," he wiggled to demonstrate, "and insert it in Slot B, which is..."
She moaned as he entered her, wrapping her legs around him.
"...this. Then, you begin to move Tab A inside Slot B, using a thrusting movement, like so..." He broke of with a hiss of pleasure at how warm and wet she was, slowly but with increasing speed thrusting into her. He could barely hold himself back as their love became more intense, each of them thrusting their hips like there was no tomorrow. They existed in the moment, unaware of anything but each other. His hardness inside her, how hot and slick she was. Everything about her seemed to drive him closer to the edge, right up to the way her breasts bounced and she moaned his name with each thrust.
Finally, he could no longer contain himself. With a cry muffled against her neck, he released himself into her. Seconds later she cried out as well, embracing the heat wave of her second orgasm with more delight than she had the first. Time seemed to stop as they clung to each other in the moment after climax, and their eyes met, doing all the talking for them. Then they collapsed on the bed, basking in the warmth of the afterglow of their lovemaking.
It seemed like forever before he could drag himself from lethargy's embrace. Propping himself up on one elbow, he gazed affectionately down at his lover's face. Tenderly he brushed aside a bang hanging in her face. The action caused her to open her eyes, and they stayed like that until it occurred to him that the answer to his problems was laying there beside him.
"Shizuru?"
"Hmm?"
"Will you marry me?"
She considered the proposal for several long moments. Finally she smiled into his eyes. "Hai."
Kurama let out the breath he didn't know he'd been holding. With a joy-filled laugh, he wrapped his arms around her in a tight embrace, murmuring her name.
Shizuru nuzzled him, then sighed softly. "What's wrong, Shizuru?"
Limpid brown eyes caught his own. "What are your parents going to think of me?"
He considered. "I think 'Kaasan will like you. My stepfather might not... but that's okay. It doesn't matter and besides, our relationship has already been consummated... in case you havenb't been paying attention."
She chuckled softly and snuggled into his embrace. He held her for several minutes before he began to frown, then gently set her aside and sat up. "Kurama? Is something the matter?"
"This isn't right," he declared.
She sat up too, looking concerned. "What isn't right?"
"This." His gesture took her in. "Here you are, engaged... and you don't even have a ring!"
She laughed. "Oh, koibito... a ring isn't necessary."
"I insist!"
She bit her lower lip, fighting a smile. "Well, if you really insist..."
"I do."
"...there's a jewelry store just down the street." She glanced at the clock. "If we hurry, we should be able to get there and get a ring before they close."
He slipped out of bed, pulling her with him. "C'mon, lazy. And we should have plenty of time to get to my house after we get the ring... to let 'Kaasan know we're having another dinner guest."
They pulled apart to dress, but a tiny smile remained on Kurama's lips for the rest of the day.
It was amazing what good things could happen in just four hours.
. .
* * * *
