Summary

She was only taking a moment to make sure the new resident on the floor felt welcome. She just didn't expect said resident to take an interest in her.

A/N: For future reference, this will be known as the Flowers 'verse. Enjoy!

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Kurama looked around his new living room and sighed in contentment. It was so nice to be out of the dorms now! And having his own place that was still close enough to his mother's was an added bonus.

He was excited about starting his research at the university soon. After graduating with a degree in botany and chemistry, the college had offered to let him stay and work for a surprisingly good salary. Apparently he was well liked by the staff and the head of the university. The avatar had snatched up the opening without a protest, as it would be better than a lot of things he woud find fresh out of college with loans to pay.

His mother had been thrilled, of course, but she'd known there had been nothing to worry about with her studious son. Kurama had grown into a good young man with a solid head on his shoulders.

What amused the redhead was the fact that she was beginning to hint at him trying to get out more and finding a girl to settle down with. He'd explained to her that he wasn't interested in a relationship at the moment, but she'd just smiled happily and reminded him that when love came around, it didn't wait for any specific plans to settle into. He'd left it at that and just agreed to disagree with her.

A knock brought him out of his musings and he furrowed a brow in confusion. He wasn't expecting anyone this evening. The others, with the exception of Hiei, had come by a few days ago to get him moved and unpacked for the most part as he settled into his new home for a while. That hadn't come without an almost catastrophic incident. One of his plant specimens from the Makai had taken a particular shine to Kuwabara and had almost eaten the tough man. Yusuke had joked about it for hours and Kurama had apologized again and again to the shivering human as he'd taken refuge in the kitchen where all of the sharp pointy knives he owned were being put away by Yukina.

"Coming!" Opening the door a few seconds later, he was blinking again and just considering the fact that he was seeing things. Standing on the other side of the door was a petite nymph-like woman with waves of long silky black hair and the bluest eyes he'd seen in a long time. Not the icy color that Touya possessed, whom he'd kept in correspondence with after the tournaments, but a deep fathomless ocean blue that he was sure he'd get lost in if he wasn't careful. The other thing that drew his attention, though, was her aura. It shined like a glowing beacon that immediately put him on guard. No normal human had spiritual energy like that.

"Hi! I just wanted to stop by and introduce myself!"

Oh, great. Was she one of those girls?

"I'm one your neighbors, and I had seen you several days ago moving, so I just thought I could welcome you to the building," she continued, smiling brightly and fiddling with something behind her back. "I hadn't wanted to disturb you because I know what it's like getting settled into a new place and all."

"I... That's very nice of you," Kurama managed to get out, trying not to grimace at the insincere words, "You didn't have to do that."

"I know, but when I moved in here, I had to get to know my neighbors the hard way."

"... The hard way?" Why had he asked?

"I ran out of sugar one day and borrowed a couple of cups from Haruka-san down that way," she explained, pointing down to their right. Her smile softened and became more geniune, something that he found he immediately liked, "She's really nice, in a grandmotherly way. But be careful; she likes to talk about her cats, Mittens and Socks."

"Mittens and... Socks?" That was amusing.

The tiny woman shrugged and tilted her head. "I don't really ask."

"I see," the redhead replied, starting to relax a little. It seemed the young lady wasn't some rabid crazy girl after all. In fact, she just seemed nice in a somewhat quirky way.

"I'm just on my way in from work, and I saw this, so I thought it might brighten your place up, if you want it?" A second later, he was presented with a bit of a shock. "So, welcome to the complex!"

He blinked and slowly reached out for the little potted plant, wondering all the while if she knew what she was saying by giving him this.

"... Thank you," Kurama murmured softly, fighting down the urge to flush. It was obvious by her bright smile as he accepted the plant that she had absolutely no idea what it meant to give someone a red tulip. Or a little pot of red tulips, in her case. The poor thing probably just thought they'd be a nice welcome gift.

"If there's anything I can help you out with around here, I'm just down the hall in 312. My name's Kagome," the raven-haired girl cheerfully continued, pointing down to their left before waving to him and turning away. "It's nice to meet you!"

Before she could completely walk away, he stopped her with a hand on her elbow. Kagome sent a look over her shoulder, curiosity painfully easy to read on her pretty face.

"Kurama. My name is Kurama," the redhead decided to spit out after a few anxious heartbeats of silence, "and it's nice to meet you too, Kagome." He deliberately left off the honorific as he rolled her name over his tongue. The flush on her cheeks indicated that she definitely noticed and he smiled inwardly. She may have unintentionally started their game, but he was more than happy to play along until she figured it out. She was an interesting little thing.

'It helps that she is so lovely.' He let her go, a charming smile painted on his features. "I'll let you know if I need anything." And he would. He would also introduce the idea to his mother, knowing the older woman would be over the moon about the entire incident.

Nodding rapidly, Kagome turned on her heel and all but fled down the hall back to her apartment, the heat never leaving her cheeks. She'd only been trying to be nice! Then he had to go and say her name like that and make her think about how handsome he actually was!

'Men! Ridiculous!'

She had no idea what was in store for her.

Chuckling slightly and shaking his head, the former Spirit Detective stepped back into his apartment and closed the door, a feeling of wicked amusement rolling off of him as he debated where to showcase his new little prize.

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Red Tulip- a declaration of love

A/N: Just thought you guys would want to know that. Hahaha! Poor Kagome! Don't give plants to the plant expert without researching first! Heeee! This will be a fun little series to continue. Expect more from this 'verse soon. I apologize about the delay in everything else, but life has just been kicking my butt recently. Technically speaking, I pretty much don't sleep through the night anymore. Baby hasn't even been boirn yet and he's already got me trained. Hahaha! Hopefully, I'll have the next chapters of things up soon, but please understand that FF isn't really my main priority at this point.

Thanks for your patience and I hope to see you all soon!