Color Drunk
(U2's "With or Without You", Vitamin String Quartet)
Disclaimer: I do not own these character's, I just write poorly imagined story bits featuring them.
Afternoon sunlight, gentle breeze.
The olive branch had been offered, and underneath the beleaguering annoyance of the idea of truce with a half-brother he had detested for more than a quarter of his life, Sesshoumaru thought he could still feel the bark chafe his palm.
Late afternoon sunlight, turning the autumn world copper. Gentle breeze, lifting inky strands to tangle into one another.
The dynamics were off. Inuyasha was as reluctant to follow as the daiyoukai; each of their respective packmates wary, confused by the sudden paradigm shift. They were like dancers who were deaf to the music they struggled to move to. Everything felt clumsy and new, and more than once the only thing that saved him from throwing up his hands and collecting his pack to return them to the relative safety and sanity of the West was that he simply refused to be daunted. Failure in this, or anything else for that matter, was something Sesshoumaru could not accept as his portion.
So they struggled along in their awkward minuet, a set of toes stepped on this evening, a slight stumble in rotation the next afternoon. All across the floor, there were injured feelings, pregnant silences, shouting matches, tussles….frustrated bodies, trying desperately to make the transition together into what they had been able to achieve separately: cohesive movement.
Late afternoon sunlight, turning the autumn world into a spellbinding wonderland of burnished copper. Gentle breeze, lifting the inky, silky strands and tossing them to tangle together.
And so, considering the general unease, it might have helped Sesshoumaru's feelings that he was at least able to save face by pretending at serenity. But sadly, one glaring exception prevented it.
The miko.
All steps faltered about her, and her partners missed positions and failed to take proper turns at the appointed times….but the miko merely glided sure-footedly into place. She absent-mindedly corrected wrongs, soothed injured feelings, mediated disputes, and quickly resolved moments of indecision without making it seem that she had interfered at all. Nothing short of an outright brawl seemed to irritate her.
Even now- after hours on foot,- just ahead of him she stepped blithely along, a mysterious half smile on her face and listening to her strange music box. Some lilting, poignant tune. As Inuyasha sighed heavily again beside him, he indulged in a moment of very uncharitable envy toward the miko's music box induced happiness. Sesshoumaru's eyes narrowed on the back of her dark head. Strange creature.
Late afternoon sunshine, turning the autumn world into a spellbinding wonderland of burnished copper and siren song. Gentle breeze, lifting the inky, silky strands and tossing them to tangle into one another, throwing back toward him her scent which was odd and sweet; biting into a persimmon, breaking the surface of a river after a deep dive.
Lost in his thoughts, he felt the weight of the curious stare from his companion too late, swinging his gaze just far enough to watch Inuyasha's expression shift from slight wonder to an impish smirk. Quickly composing himself, he managed to appropriately recalibrate his expression before the bright, rich sound of the hanyou's laughter split the air. And when startled blue eyes suddenly locked with his, for the first time in his long life, he fought the most peculiar urge to blush.