This is my first one- shot on this website, reviews are very, very, very much appreciated. (Emphasis on the 'very'). This was inspired by 'Fotografia,' by Juanes. I do not own InuYasha, its characters, or Fotografia. I also do not own Santa Claus, the folding chair, or Panda Express, just in case you were wondering.

Summary: It is true, a picture is worth a thousand words, and that's all for the best, considering Sesshoumaru is a demon of very few. Something blooms within Kagome when she sneaks a picture of Sesshoumaru as he sleeps.

Memory Frozen

Kagome grunted as she thrust herself up from the tangled vines of the well and peered over the top, the straps of her bursting yellow backpack cutting into her skin.

"InuYashaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!" She shouted as she attempted to hoist herself over the top, but failed miserably. "InuYashaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!" It was only a few minutes until she could hear him approaching, mumbling under his breath.

"Would ya' shut up, wench?! I have sensitive ears, and that bastard back at the camp almost came over himself to kill you for making so much noise!" Kagome glared at him as she tried again to pull herself up again.

"Will you quit complaining and help me up?" She snapped. Still grumbling, InuYasha took her backpack in one hand and slipped the other around her waist to heave her onto the welcoming grass.

As they approached the camp, Kagome could not help the joyful grin that pulled at her lips, and her former irritation at InuYasha washed away. The camp was just as it always was, and its perpetual rhythm always made Kagome smile. Sango and Miroku sat in the corner, arguing amongst themselves. A new, festering hand mark was plastered on Miroku's face, and Sango was glaring at him furiously while he gave her that easy, sheepish smile of his. InuYasha had taken his seat at the foot of the fire, waiting expectantly for her to start boiling the ramen, his ears pricked. Shippo was off playing with Rin, one of the new additions to their group, and he was giggling at something Rin had said as the two busily scribbled pictures with the crayons Kagome had brought back for them from her last trip down the well. Of course, Sesshoumaru was sitting Indian style in the far corner, leaning against a tree and ignoring everyone while keeping a close watch on Rin out of the corner of his eye.

"Oi, Kagome! Are you gonna start with the ramen, or are ya' just gonna stand there with that goofy look on your face?" InuYasha interrupted her fond observations loudly.

"Sit." Kagome growled smoothly as she moved to boil the water. Ignoring the stream of profanities InuYasha let loose as he went plunging to the dirt, Kagome knelt beside the fire and began to stir the noodles into the pot as she always did, a feeling of peace and tranquility settling over her. This was as it should be- she was home.

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"Sesshoumaru-sama, why do you not eat with us? I always make an extra bowl, perhaps you'll like it!" Kagome coaxed after yet another day of Sesshoumaru disdainfully ignoring her ramen.

"This Sesshoumaru does not eat human food." Sesshoumaru gave his usual reply, his expressionless gaze on Rin as she slurped contentedly at her ramen. Kagome huffed and set the bowl down beside him anyway.

"Well, ok then, Mr. Grumpy, but it's there just in case." As she shuffled away, InuYasha finally peered up from his bowl, one long, winding noodle dangling from his mouth.

"Why do you even waste your breathe, Kagome? That bastard is never going to unfreeze. Might as well just ignore him like he does to us."

"InuYasha, don't be mean! He's right there!"

"Feh. I don't care. I hope he hears me." InuYasha raised his voice, looking pointedly at his half-brother, who didn't even tilt his head to acknowledge that he had heard their conversation. Kagome sighed at the Hanyou's insensitivity and shook her head. He would never change.

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"Hey Kagome, what's this shiny thing in your backpack?" Shippo called to his surrogate mother, who was braiding Sango's hair. Kagome swiveled her head and gave a surprised laugh.

"Oh, I'd forgotten about that! Bring it here, please." Shippo bounded to her side and thrust the object in her face, his eyes wide with curiosity. Fingering the object delicately, Kagome explained.

"This is a camera, Shippo. It lets us capture little moments in our lives to remember them later on. Here, I'll show you. Smile!" Shippo grinned widely as Kagome held the camera to her face and focused it on the little fox youkai. A blinding light flashed through the camp as she pressed the button atop the camera with a laugh. Shippo squealed at the light and jumped backward, hissing quietly. "It's fine, Shippo. Come here." Kagome beckoned him over and held out the camera for him to see. On the tiny screen, was Shippo, his lips wide in a toothy smile and his emerald eyes flashing. "See? Now I have a picture of you, and I can remember this moment always." Shippo looked touched and pulled his mother into a tight hug.

"Hey, wench, what's that?" InuYasha strolled into the camp, his ears twitching and his arms full of firewood.

"Oh, InuYasha! Say cheese!" Cackling, Kagome flashed InuYasha, her smile only growing wider as he leaped backward, dropping the firewood with a clatter, his ears flattened to his head.

"What the hell was that?"

"It's a camera, InuYasha. See?" Frozen on the screen now, was InuYasha, his lips pulled back in a threatening snarl and his eyes narrowed and accusing, staring directly into the lens. "Now I have yet another memory of you being an idiot."

Throughout the day, InuYasha, Kagome, Shippo, Sango, and Miroku played around with the new contraption from the future, snapping pictures of each other in mid-sentence, and when they were making a particularly stupid face. They posed and danced and played until the day was done, and Kagome had never had so much fun in her life. Finally, the sun had sunken below the horizon.

"Sesshoumaru, may I take a picture of you?" Kagome questioned lightly as she approached the stoic lord, who was in his regular position at the base of a large oak, watching Rin play. He turned to her, his brilliant amber orbs piercing, as usual. Kagome always felt uncomfortable under his intense gaze, it was always as though he was searching for something, and Kagome constantly worried if she had the 'something' he was looking for.

"No." He answered in his usual silky monotone. Kagome frowned, disappointed.

"Please? It won't hurt you, I promise."

"This Sesshoumaru is not frightened of a worthless human invention."

"So, is that a yes?"

"No."

"Fine." Scowling, Kagome turned on her heel and tucked the camera into her backpack, mumbling about stuck-up demon lords with giant superiority complexes.

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Kagome lay there, her gaze on the stars, waiting, waiting, waiting for the sounds of her comrades' deep, rhythmic breathing. When she was sure that everyone was asleep, she quietly wiggled from her sleeping bag and stood up, turning to her backpack. Silently extracting her camera, she tiptoed to Sesshoumaru's side and knelt. She had never seen Sesshoumaru sleep before, and prior to this, she hadn't even been sure that he did sleep, but now, she had her answer. Her deep, stormy sapphire eyes unconsciously softened as she stared at the snoozing demon lord; he looked so peaceful, so serene with his eyes closed, his perfect, full lips slightly parted, and his hard, lithe chest rising and falling leisurely. Without his intense stare, his frowning mouth, and his downturned eyebrows, he seemed…vulnerable. Snapping out of her trance, Kagome aimed the lens at his face and quickly jammed the button, tensing, waiting for him to awaken and lop off her head. But his eyelids didn't so much as flutter, and ever-so slowly, a triumphant grin spread across her face. Relishing the feeling of her victory, Kagome padded back to her sleeping bag and folded the camera back into her pack carefully, before sliding her eyes shut and wandering into a light doze.

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"See you, everyone! I'm just going back for finals, I'll be back in a few days, ok?" Kagome called as she teetered on the edge of the well, preparing to jump.

"Bye, Kagome!" Her friends shouted back, waving and grinning widely. Kagome sighed contentedly as she felt the familiar swirl of magic around her, and the tug in her heart, which always meant her return to her family in the future.

"Momma! Grandpa! Sota! I'm home!" Kagome sang as she slid the door closed behind her, welcoming the warm light and smell of her mother's cooking wafting to her nostrils.

"Hello, Kagome." Her mother greeted as she ambled into the kitchen, clothed in her cooking apron. "How's InuYasha?"

"Same as ever: loud and obnoxious."

"Good." After embracing her mother and enjoying her comforting scent of grass and vanilla, Kagome made her way upstairs and into her bedroom, flipping on the light with a soft click. Immediately, she took a seat at her computer, excited to print the pictures and show them off to her family. As the photos popped up one by one on the screen, Kagome clicked on each one and printed it, smiling reminiscently. At one, she paused, and her eyes got a new sparkle to them, unbeknownst to her. It was the picture taken last, which she had almost forgotten about: the one of Sesshoumaru. In the glare of the camera, added to the light of the moon as it had filtered through the canopy, he looked ethereal, his smoky eyelashes contrasting against pale, fair skin, and his snowy, pure hair falling gracefully around his cheeks and pooling on the ground. A light blush tinged Kagome's cheeks as she stared, just as she had done the night it was taken. She clicked the widescreen icon, and his face ballooned across the screen, making clear the details of his face, sharpening the lines of his jaw, his neck, his cheeks. A gasp came from behind her, and Kagome swiveled, flushing embarrassedly. Her mother stood, slightly bent, behind her, her large doe eyes glued to the screen.

"He's beautiful…" Her mother whispered, entranced. Kagome turned her head back to the computer and a ghost of a smile crossed her lips, while something stirred deep within her heart.

"Yes. He is."