Title: Sandman (Thank you The Pinball Wizard!)

Author: Venus

Pairing: OkitaxKagura

Rating: PG-13ish

Warnings: It's Okita and Kagura, do I need to warn you? Actually, they're probably OOC but that's cause I wanted a fluff ending so deal.

Word Count: 1,270

Spoilers: Slight Yagyuu arc reference.

Notes: Bored. Oh so bored. Just a small ficlet written in Poe class; unedited. Sorry for typos or any other silly grammatical errors; Poe has burned my brain. Reviews and comments are more than welcome.

*****

It all seemed like a great idea at first. Okita had better things to do than deliver Kondo's silly gifts to that violent woman. He had buildings to blow up, Hijikata to ki-- torment. Certainly sneaking inside the Yorozuya (he had knocked first, mind you, and did not want to walk the extra blocks to Otae's) to drop off goodness knows what the contents of the oddly shaped box was not a bad idea.

He had more than expected the darkness and stillness of the home. He figured no one was around, could hear no one shuffle on the inside, so the quiet did not surprise him. However, China, asleep on the floor beside the kotatsu, did surprise him. His eyebrow twitched in disgust as he stared at her sleeping form, the gift slipping from his fingers, landing with a soft thud on the ground.

Oh, the things he could do to her while she slept soundly, with no worries in the world. Thoughts about dipping her hand in warm water, spraying whipped cream on her hand and tickling her nose, and other mundane tricks sprang through Okita's mind. It would be too easy. The girl, out cold, snored softly with every exhale, completely unaware of the danger a mere two metres away. With a smirk in place, Okita pulled out a black magic marker. You see, often time, when Hijikata was napping, Okita liked to scribble obscene words across his vice-commander's face. It took several days to wash off, which always proved to be the most amusing thing to watch, taking into account the redness left behind on Hijikata's face as he Hijikata fruitlessly struggled to scrub the residue off.

Now Okita would get his revenge on Kagura. It was an awesome idea! He had not forgotten about being slammed into the wall when they were supposed to be working together. Oh yes, he held grudges. Held them for a very long time, in fact. By the time she woke up she would regret ever messing with Okita Sougo.

Or so was the original plan. This is where his awesome idea began to take a turn and become quite un-awesome.

While plotting away in his mind, he had carefully positioned himself directly above Kagura, legs on either side of her small torso. He preferred this position, even with Hijikata, since he had perfect access to the entire face. He did not, however, count on being distracted.

Okita watched in fascination as Kagura's chest heaved up and down, slowly, breathing steady and relaxed. Her mouth formed a small circle and, with every breath, a small sigh barely caressed Okita's cheeks.

Cheeks? Wait – the proximity between them was just a little too close for comfort. Gross. Still, as Okita's eyes remained glued to Kagura's face, he could not help but compare her to a China doll, of all things. Her skin, translucent, he dubbed it, looked almost like porcelain. Her eyes resembled oceans, he thought as he lost himself in memories of death glares. Oceans of hate with more depth than the sky. He disliked the colour, now that he thought about it, and was glad she had not stirred from her slumber. He knew once those big, empty eyes opened there would be hell to pay.

That thought did not stop him from idly wondering if her skin was soft though.

His marker, forgotten and dropped aside, did not hold his interest any longer. He leaned down, closer to Kagura, and pressed his cheek to hers. Warmth and silk, he decided, and unconsciously rubbed his flushed face along her cheeks. His brain, obviously affected by China's contagious stupidity, shut down.

He took note of how warm her skin felt; almost as hot as her breath, now softly hitting his lips, mingling with his own heated breath. When awake, Okita could not look at her without making faces or wanting to puke, but while asleep she was rather cute to look at.

Cute? Oh yes, his brain no longer functioned properly. But never one to forego an opportune moment, Okita used this excuse to do something he would never do. Never, ever do. That is what he told himself, in any case.

"Oi China, if you don't wake up I'll molest you." An empty promise, really, for rather than entertaining ideas of running his hands down Kagura's soft, milky skin (and to be honest, he had entertained those ideas on occasion, wondering if she would squirm at his touch or swiftly kick him across the country), his attention remained glued to her parted lips. Her hot breath tickled his cheeks into a blush, causing him to fidget uncomfortably on top of her. Okita blinked, trying to dispel the hex, failing horribly. Well, he warned her, had he not? It was her own fault for leaving herself wide open to an attack.

Tentatively, Okita pressed his lips against Kagura's, mouth slightly open, mirroring hers. She mumbled something unimportant, moving against Okita's experimenting mouth. He pulled away then, just enough so there was no contact, and wondered why he did not suddenly suffer some form of nausea. China was disgusting, he reminded himself, so why did he not find kissing her just as gross?

Maybe she was a girl after all. What an epiphany!

Instead of carefully kissing the sleeping girl, Okita eagerly united their lips again. His tongue ran along her bottom lip, a mix of sukonbu and sugar flooding his senses, and dipped inside, a small groan vibrating in the back of his throat. Oh, did she taste nice, much nicer than he would have ever dreamed. He pressed his body closer to hers, trying hard to mold their bodies into one while their tongues danced together.

Together?

Wine coloured eyes flew open and met bright, questioning blue ones. Now he would pay with his life, wouldn't he? Slowly, keeping their eyes locked, Okita pulled away, giving her bottom lip a small suck before releasing it. Her eyes widened, mouth open, an eyebrow lifted in confusion.

"Bastard," she breathed heavily, voice monotone.

"China," he answered, a smug expression now covering his face. "You're blushing."

Kagura frowned, fingers touching her warm cheeks, "So are you."

Okita's cheek seemingly twitched at that. And it twitched all over again when Kagura began to grin, knowing all too well she had won whatever battle they were now involved in. He sighed, exasperated, and rolled his eyes, "Don't flatter yourself, China. I was just curious to see how long it took you to realize I was taking advantage of you."

A laugh. Not mocking, as were Kagura's usual laughs directed towards Okita, but a normal laugh. Whatever normal was for China, anyway.

"You have 5 minutes to kiss me, hand me my sukonbu, and leave before I punch your face in." A pause, "And --"

Okita blinked in confusion, but quickly caught on and shook his head, "And?"

"Admit I win. You can't resist me." She crossed her arms and stared straight into his eyes, snorting at the end of her claim.

With a gleam in his eye, Okita closed the space between them, kissing her quickly, "You win for now China, but I'll have you on your knees before you see what's coming." And when he said knees, he literally meant on her knees. The thought alone was enough to make Okita lick his lips.

Kagura pondered over that idea momentarily, missing its real meaning, "We'll see about that, jerk." She grabbed his collar and pulled him down, smashing their lips together all over again.

At least losing this way was a little less painful.