Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha.

Rated M for some things of a mild smut nature.

Dedication: to icecreamapparition and icegirljenni! They are honestly the nicest people you will ever meet in the fandom. I want to take the time to thank them for these 3 years of friendship.

Yes, this is Sesshoumaru x Rin! It's been such a long time since I've last written anything for this pairing. Please enjoy this oneshot.

~oOo~

Library x Librarian

~oOo~

A home without books is like a room without windows. At least, that is what Rin believes. Literacy and knowledge come practically hand in hand, and Rin considers herself a very practical person. The wealth of information obtained from printed pages brings with it a sense of satisfaction borderline smugness, especially back in the younger stages of her life. But being an adult does not mean that learning ever stops. Rather, it should be all the more motivation to do something great. Prior to death, humans have the desire to leave behind a legacy, a footprint, something – however it may come about – to contribute to the history of this world without their names becoming totally forgotten.

So Rin decides to write a book.

She has not progressed very far with it, though is not troubled. A lifetime of research and application will be bound together by the time of its completion. Until then, accumulating enough ideas will surely have a positive impact on the final product when she finally puts pen to paper. Enjoying the numerous books available to her hungry eyes is all that concerns her for the moment.

There is SO much potential, she thinks gleefully.

"Are you reading smut again?" Kagome asks, glancing suspiciously at the title of the book Rin has taken refuge behind. Her friend glares disapprovingly before tapping her glasses farther up the bridge of her nose. She pretends not to have heard her. The young man sitting two seats down the long table from her is distracted from his work, intently leaning one ear in their direction in order to catch her answer. She would have none of that.

Kagome Higurashi sighs, smiling softly. The wooden seats are hard and rigid, uncomfortable, though Rin has been sitting there in that same spot for hours. The library, she says, is the only place to get anything productive done, no offense to her roommate. The issue is not so much the priestess as it is with her choice in noisy men to come around. Honestly, Rin could probably tolerate Inuyasha's foul mouth, unsightly eating mannerisms, and the tendency to (unintentionally) break their valuables through bouts of anger. No. Despite all the knowledge that sits stored away in the cupboards of her brain, he seldom accepts any of it.

"You believe everything…?" Inuyasha questioned one day, on one of his routine visits to their apartment, "Just because you read it in a book?"

"Of course, if it were not true, it would not have been published." Rin reached up to tuck the loose strand of her long hair back into its bun. Her bookish features beautifully complimented the sprawl of novels that littered every inch of her bedroom floor. Kagome flushed in embarrassment, biting her bottom lip as she tried to usher Inuyasha back into the living room, but he was persistent.

The silver-haired youth scowled. "That's stupid. There ain't no such thing!" he declared. "What if they're trying to trick me? Huh?!"

"They're not," Rin replied coolly. "In fact, they give me peace of mind."

Inuyasha was unconvinced. "I don't believe the word of anyone. I have to see it for myself." He crossed his arms with an air of superiority that caused the young woman to roll her eyes in amusement.

"And that is why this city is all you will ever know," she said.

The library came to be her solution of avoiding further conflicts of the like.

Kagome hands Rin half a sandwich, which she accepts with quiet dignity. Another thing Inuyasha points out is that she spends too much of her money on books instead of food. There is no reason to argue with him on that point, fully aware that he has the upper hand. Rin is thin, though she has always been petite. She does not need as much to eat, she reminds herself, even as her stomach grumbles in protest. When Kagome turns to take care of her own work, Rin hastily stuffs her cheeks with the morsel of sandwich.

"Ah… HA!" The priestess snatches her book away once Rin is distracted. They wrestle for a bit, disturbing the other inhabitants of library with their ruckus, but neither of them takes any notice. Rin pouts, unable to reclaim her possession as Kagome stands much taller than she does. Her ears tinge a red color as she watches her scan the current page she has bookmarked.

"Oh.. wow…" Kagome tosses the novel back to her with a lazy flip of her wrist. Fumbling to catch it, Rin presses it tightly to her chest. "Now I know where you get all of your fanfiction material. Who recommended that one to you?" Kagome has never met any of the members of the Book Club her roommate claims to be a member of, but envisions them all to be just variations of the nerdy little person that Rin is.

"No one… I found it myself," she murmurs quietly. It is a lie. "You're mean."

At this, Kagome chuckles. "You're mistaken. I'm not mean, Rin. But I do agree with Inuyasha to an extent." She begins to gather her belongings. "Books are great and all, but experiencing life is much more impactful than reading about someone else's or one that is completely made up." She winks encouragingly. "I think you should write an autobiography. Once you start living, you'll have plenty of writing material without the need to depend on other authors' works for inspiration."

"Alright, fine. Just sit down," she murmurs, thankful that people are beginning to go about their own business again. "I'll keep that in mind, Kagome."

"I'm heading out anyway. I just came by to check on you, and to pick up the textbook Inuyasha's brother reserved for me." She pats her large yellow backpack appreciatively. "It saves me from having to purchase them out of pocket."

Rin nods. "That must be nice."

Now Kagome's eyes narrow suspiciously at her detachment. "I'll see you later then."

"Yeah." Rin pretends to return to her work as the priestess takes her leave. She knows that Kagome means well, and is not really bothered by her teasing. On the contrary, Rin feels more alive than she has ever in her life. There is just so much going on at the moment that Kagome does not have to know, at least not right now. The thrill of keeping something so secret is a precious thing to her. So she returns to her novel, adjusting her sore bottom in the wooden chair the best she can.

Rin enjoys this author's writing style. It is fluid with sentence variation and full of vivid descriptions, perhaps overly so, if she is to be honest. She manages to turn a conspicuous shade of pink when she reaches the intimate scenes, but they are also her favorite part of the series. The heroine is likeable, making it an easy task to slip into her shoes. As for her love interest, well, Rin thinks that not many real-life men would be able to live up to the standards that this fictional character has set. That does not make him any less charming or – dare she admit it even to herself - desirable. Rin begins to lose herself within the pages, until the world no longer revolves around the affairs of the beautiful Yamamoto Yuuki, the author's creation, but rather Kato Rin, the bookworm, slip of a girl who appears to care little for social interactions. The young woman imagines that the gentle hand caressing the small of her back does not belong to Yamada Reizo. She replaces him with someone else who has a physique that is more to her fancy. He is tall and strong and handsome and perfect…

His long, cool fingers traced the soft line of her jaw for a moment before slipping behind her to tug at the pins that held her hair back. The dark curls soon tumbled downward, catching his eye as they pleasantly frame her bosom. He decided he liked it much better with her hair this way. Those glasses… they were cute, but they needed to go too. He distracted her with a chaste kiss as he pulled them away. A slight smile tugged at the corner of his lips as her large doe eyes blinked up at him in surprise. She renewed her hold on him, and it was tighter, so he felt every distinct curve to her body and it did things to him that no other woman could ever provoke. A sense of desperation lit as a flame in his stomach and seemed to burn rapidly the lower it travelled through him. On their own accord, their hands did away with the bothersome buttons on their clothing, ruffling and wrinkling them in the process. They did not care. He cautiously pressed her back against the wall, allowing the shadows to cast darkness upon them. The room was nearly desolated, though he could not be certain, but not a second longer should pass without ravishing this delectable woman. They kissed again, with more fever, pressing the bare skin of their abdomens together, trembling in want. He felt his hips surge forward impulsively, and she made a small sound, a moan, and he responded with one in kind. The friction was tantalizing. He just desired it once, with no barriers or boundaries. The adrenaline rushing through his veins made it resoundingly more difficult for his usually skilled hands to readjust the position of the articles of clothing that still remained on their scantily clad bodies. His encouragement came from the exciting methods in which she entangled her hands in his long hair, tugging sharply, and the hot pants of breath that brushed against his ear as she tried to keep herself quiet so that they would not be discovered. There was a swift, pleasing change in the pitch of her voice when he finally freed them from the confinements of fabric and they slipped together as a man and a woman.

He stilled, half listening for the signs of an unwanted intruder, and at the same time, slightly overwhelmed with the incredible, warm feelings that washed through him. She clenched him tightly and he snarled, giving in to what she wanted and touched that place deep within her that made her see the stars. If anyone was there to hear them, she no longer cared, gazing into his amber eyes, making him the only other person in her universe. Then he abruptly halted, clawing the wall to stop before it was too late and tried to retreat. Her loving hands pulled his hips back to hers, thwarting his efforts. The sound of satisfaction rumbled in his throat when he felt himself fill her with his essence. A connection between them seemed to cut deeper in their hearts. Their lips greeted in hot urgency, unlike any of the kisses they had shared before. This one was perfect, as if they would never be apart from one another ever again.

Rin shrieks, realizing that a new set of eyes is reading over her shoulder, and has been doing so for quite a while. She slams the book closed and hastily hides the title from view. She turns to scold the intruder. The person whom she sees causes her breath to catch.

"Sesshoumaru-san," she says, the pink in her face now becoming beet red. The tall male librarian stands with his arms crossed, letting his eyes drift in a careless gaze from the book she is vainly trying to conceal and her worrying expression. Rin cannot decipher what he is thinking. Though, there is hardly a reason to act childishly like this. He is, after all, the very person who told her to read this series. "H-How are you?" she asks, casting her eyes to his feet.

Sesshoumaru arches an eyebrow, the only hint that he finds her antics entertaining. "Pleasant," he replies tonelessly. Rin flinches. After reading such a sensual love scene, his voice awakens something in her that should not be present. "And you… Rin-chan?" The new ache in her gut twists painfully as he addresses her like that. Normally he does not call her anything at all, and if he does, it is always with her surname, Kato.

"I…" She is not certain of herself, and his eyes are intense, distracting her mind from functioning properly.

He graciously overlooks her obvious troubles with a change of subject. "Did you come to return that novel?"

Her large eyes blink uncomprehendingly behind her glasses. "Oh, I… I guess so…"

A few more moments of silence pass on as she stares up at him dumbly.

"Would you like to discuss it?" Sesshoumaru offers, taking it upon himself to retrieve the book from her grasp, neatly tucking it beneath one arm. He is dressed smartly with a white buttoned-down shirt, a tie, and black slacks. Rin is too fascinated with the physical image of him that he is forced to repeat the question.

Her stuttering becomes worse. "W-w-w-what d-do y-you m-mean?!" More strands of Rin's hair falls loose from the bun, giving her a disheveled, unruly appearance.

Sesshoumaru is unfazed by her hesitation. "I want you to tell me, or better, show me, what you've read." Without further elaboration or caring to hear her protests, he takes her hand firmly and pulls her along with him, passing rows upon rows of bookshelves, to the quiet place in the back of the library where they would not be disturbed.

~oOo~

End