Inuyasha crossover Iron Man
Christmas Special (One-Shot)
"Merry Christmas Mr. Stark"
Kagome had to rush a flight down from New York to Tokyo and with much thanks to both Sesshoumaru and Shippo who will not take 'no' as an answer to their invite of a Christmas Party. It is an annual gathering that no matter what, youkai and human alike that are still within the same realm in which they are residing will come gather on this neutral day.
And she as a figure of legend now is without a doubt unable to reject this or not make an appearance, not only will it reflect badly upon her two now most closest family members and best friends, but also because of a pact that they had create ages ago. Though she had to admit that it is good to be able to see everyone again, and it was also a break from her usual travelling and seminars or talks that she was always invited down to or hired by a client or through her agent. And not to forget the occasional book signing that she was obligated to attend due to a contract that she signed.
In actual fact, Kagome did not really hate these socially gathering that has now become an annual headache that she would have to make an appearance as an intimate member of the family that belongs to the Taisho and Gitsune. Usually this kind of connection will call for a form of formality in appearance to everyone and also as a silent testament to Court that they had created and still belonged to. Kagome had long began drinking earlier in the afternoon, allowing herself to be pampered and fussed over by the private team of Stylists that was hired to take care of her every needs today. She has to appear nothing short but perfection, and it was also a treat that she allow herself to indulge upon the most during this time of the year.
It was a lifestyle that she slowly grew into habit of when she progress further into her current reputation and fame, not that she was not often thrown to be pampered by Shippo. Not so much from Sesshoumaru who would rather it be more practical that will benefit her in the long run, and she was glad for that. His actions brought a sense of nostalgia to her, especially his acceptance of her after so much things had happened between them from the long ago past. For him to get over their difference, which slowly grew into the affection that he now held for her in his cold and sometimes almost, demeaning ways was something that even she in the past would not have believe but now she trust him with her life despite of his attempts against hers so many centuries ago.
They have most definitely made a huge difference in her life, and another person who had most recently made a significant impression would be Mr. Anthony Edward Stark. A person that Kagome feel at conflict of her emotions of being excited at the possible prospect that he might be there at the party tonight or someone that she should avoid because of his reputation and the possibility that he might be a new working acquaintance with both Sesshoumaru and Shippo should he make an appearance tonight. It was hard to determine, and tonight was all about enjoying themselves and as a form of thanks to the various vendors, clients, business associates and partners that has been working with Sesshoumaru and Shippo, no talks of business were to be mentioned. The only taboo that a lot were glad a abide by despite of their eagerness to hopefully engage various others there for future purposes.
"Security here tonight is rather slack don't you think," the sound of hearing his voice again had almost made her smile, but instead hide it behind a mask of disinterest as she glanced around the room full of guests.
If only Tony knows how dangerous the people gathered here tonight are, maybe he might not think so of the lack of more security, but then again that is something that people like him are not suppose to know despite of his position in the Avengers Initiation or even as a stand alone superhero.
"Still dating 'Ms' Veuve Clicquot? Or did you prefer her as a mere one night stand," Kagome could not help but to tease him a little as she sipped on her own glass of champagne before she turned to face him, giving him her full attention.
Her hair it was beautifully styled and swept to a side to cover the left of her front as she looked at into his eyes that now held a little more emotions that she had expected, especially after their last meeting at Halloween. He looked good once he clean up, but she saw the dark circles under his eyes as his eyes seem to hold less life in them, and that's what caught her concern.
"Something the matter?" Kagome asked, and was again met with silence as she watched Tony downed his own glass of drink, it was unlike his usually behavior and she kept her silence, going back into Doctor mode despite of herself.
"That dress it really suits you, especially this dark duo shade of green and gold sheen, you're breathtaking tonight," he complimented politely, too politely and keeping his distance from her respectably.
He's changing the topic, she thought, an indication that there is something he is trying to avoid. Whatever it was that he's trying to run away, he's trying really hard it seems to forget as well, and she could not help but to smile fondly at it but still worries of what might be worrying him.
Kagome refreshed their glasses of drinks as she signal for the waiter to clear his nearly empty glass. Drinking is not something that she will recommend professionally to drown one's problem, but it just seemed so appropriate tonight, and she in all honesty had already began drinking since the early afternoon in indulgence. Tony took the drink without much of a word as they clinked glasses and drank silently. This was a first between them, and something that she felt almost awkward in despite of her own profession and experiences.
She was about to open her mouth to say something, but was cut off by Tony as he grabbed her hand to dance with her in the middle of the dance floor, uncaring of her soft protest or the heads that turned in their direction. He can so willful sometimes and stubborn, but ended up giving in to him as she humored him and danced with him with all the grace in the unnatural world.
"You know you can always talk to me, professionally or as a friend," Kagome told him softly, her eyes looking beyond his should, knowing that he heard what she had said.
"It's nothing," he said through gritted teeth, his jaws tensed as his eyes hardened over with a coldness and deadliness in them.
Kagome stood still, her eyes boring into his own tired and almost soulless brown ones as she assessed him for a moment before taking his hand as she grabbed two bottles of wines and shoving them into his hands whilst she grabbed two fresh empty glasses and another bottle in her own as she told him to follow her. It was almost shocking to her when she glanced back to see him following her, but then again, it could just be the alcohol that he was his reason for following her.
"You asked for my expertise once, I'm offering you that," Kagome told him as she led him to the private terrace that she had sealed off with some of her powers. This was to prevent unwanted people from eavesdropping or interrupting them and seeing in.
"This is a free session and off the records of course," she added, handing to him the newly poured glass of wine as she watched him down it and had it refilled again within seconds.
He was rather quite and it was not until they were starting on the second bottle that Kagome noticed she had one accidentally grabbed a white wine instead of 3 bottle of reds, and he was growing weary, worried and almost scared even.
"I-I feel that I've failed them all,"
Silence again as Kagome drank her glass of wine, as she watched the swirl of the dark maroon liquid swish lightly in her glass leaving thick water mark on the glass whenever it would create a marking of sorts, like that of the currents backwash on a sandy beach.
"They're all in danger because of me, I…" and he swallowed hard unsure of how to follow as he down the glass again, whilst Kagome poured him more.
"Everyone that I hold dear," he whispered into the cold night air as silence weighs heavily down between them again.
"Mr. Stark…Tony…what happened had happened, you know better than anyone that you can only try to create precautions to maybe prevent or help curb the problem," Kagome supplied as though it was common sense.
"I know that," he replied dryly, glancing at Kagome from the side of his eyes as he took the bottle this time to drink from it after draining his glass. Kagome made a move to take it to prevent him from doing so, but instead took the bottle and drank deeply from it.
"Look it is not your fault, no matter what you do, trouble will always follow you," she said, reminiscing a little about her own past as she took a swig from the bottle itself.
"Hear hear, and leave me some too,"
"Mr. Stark," Kagome continued with a sigh as she took another mouthful of alcohol, "life tends to make things difficult and you've been handling it just fine up until now. And worrying too much needlessly will only give you unnecessary problems and that will lead to even more problem and trouble,"
Kagome stopped as she turned her head to the side, her hand still around the neck of the wine bottle as she drank deeply from it. She was once like him in such a situation, except that she was only equipped with a bow and arrow as well as running for her life at the normal speed of a human being. The memories of her constantly on the running and sometimes not even being able to sleep for fear that possible enemies might kill her where she sleeps or even when she was taking a bath with Inuyasha nearby enough to protect her. Those were dark days that filled her teenage years as compared to her friends' whose memories contains much more sweeter things like hanging out after school, dating or even simply shopping. All the normal things that a girl of her age should be experiencing were robbed from her when she fell through the well.
"Waooh there, take it easy goldfish," Tony said, taking notice of her behavior for once as he reached out to take the bottle out of her hand.
She resented that nickname, and how her bottle of wine was taken away from her. "There are easier ways to deal with certain things Mr. Stark, and sometimes you cannot do a thing about it but to take things when they come,"
"Maybe you're right," he said, slowly inching her way closer to her as he leaned into the heat emitting from her body. Kagome did not say anything to reply him, but instead reached out with her hand to grab hold of the bottle that he had taken away from her.
"Don't think about trying to get fresh with me Mr. Stark," Kagome told him as she placed a hand upon his chest to keep him at bay in case he did something more.
"I wasn't thinking of it," Tony protested, releasing his hold on the wine bottle as he held both his hands up in surrender.
They both drank in silence, sharing from the bottle directly instead of pouring into the glasses that she had brought along. It was a comfortable enough silence, even if Tony did try to start a conversation, but would more often cough to cover it up or just close his mouth again. The alcohol helped keep her warm, and their wine chilled, and in this time of the year, she felt that even Tony Stark would need some company on this lonely night.
"Ms. Higurashi, Mr. Taisho is asking for you," someone said from beyond the door leading to where they are as Kagome sighed silently, standing as she dusted and smoothened her dress before going to the door.
"I hope that you enjoy the party tonight Mr. Stark, I'll see you around later,"
Tony raised the bottle of wine in her direction with a smile before drinking it as he watched her leave. Staying was one of the things that he had in mind, and also he needed some time and quiet to himself to think through what she had said. For the first time that night, he saw a vulnerable side to her, and though it was fleeting, he saw the side of her. It tempted him strongly to hold her, to comfort her and be her pillar of strength, but that will be too much to ask for, even more so he was not someone worthy of it with his own track record.
He slide back into the party, for the first time, not at all interested in taking the limelight or even being the centre of attention. Tony blended into the shadows like a wallflower, keeping to himself as he kept track of Kagome wherever he went. And with his now ex-girlfriend, he worry more than just that now, but what she said was true, he could do nothing much at the moment but to wait for it to happen and take action against it. The best he could do now was to enjoy the moment or maybe get therapy to help ease the problem, or find another way to get over his own problems and issues.
Music played as he watched her dance across the floor so elegantly as though she floats on her feet and changing dancing partner so smoothly that it seemed as though she never stopped dancing. He inched closer to the edge of the dance floor awaiting for the right moment as he cut in to takes a dance with her.
"Thank you," he suddenly blurted out, startling Kagome as she looked up at him with a questioning look, unsure of his sudden thanks.
"For your advise, and sorry about being a dick in the past few meetings," he continued on, seeing her eyes widen by a few fraction, caught off guard with his sudden change in personality.
"Mr. Stark?" she asked with a frown, her dance posture as perfect as ever as they glided across the dance floor.
"Look Kagome…Mr. Higurashi, I doubt that I will act differently even if time were to turn back, but as advised by you, we could currently live in the present and look forward to the future, and I want to thank you for that advise,"
"This is… "
"Well the music has ended, and if you would not mind joining me for a drink or supper, maybe we could start again?" he asked, leading her to the side again as others took to the floor with a new piece of music being played by the live string band hired for the night.
The hand that was holding hers, was suddenly feeling somewhat more damp, but she did not take heed of it. She smiled at him politely, unsure of his sudden change or if it were an act, but she has to look at the best in people, even if they are promiscuous and very much so questionable. And in his case, someone who is a genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist and not to mention Iron Man himself. It is quite a lot and hard for her to imagine a person like him to change.
"I guess Mr. Stark that a drink will be just fine," she said after a while of thinking and perhaps mentally torturing him for a moment too long worth of thinking as she allowed him to lead her away to the open bar that they had set up in one of the corners.
Tony Stark is surprisingly a really alright person to be with, give or take some of the daddy issues that he seem to have and maybe a few other issues with his psychological health. Kagome was not one for sharing much, instead held herself back with her own stories if not vaguely gave him an answer enough to throw him off or direct a question to find out more about him. And if he noticed that she was diverting away the questions he thrown at her, he did not push her for an answer, and Kagome was glad for it.
It was a pity though that their conversation were often cut off or interrupted by guests of Sesshoumaru and Shippo, and other members of the Court as well were all thrown in together in a mix together. Kagome was often whisked away from his side, but usually returned without help from him and he was enjoying himself so much with her company as well. Kagome was more fun than she let herself have, but she was withholding a lot of things in regards to herself, and it made him even more curious about her.
The party is ending and their time was up, he did not know when will be the next time he was able to see her again, actually if going by the times that they meet, it might just be at the next big holiday. And he was conflicted, if he should make it sooner but then that would make him appear to be a stalker. Then again, he did not really care what most think and did what he wanted, but this time, he was afraid of ruining it with his aggressiveness that she made apparent a few times of the more hard-on approach he had with her.
"Mr. Stark? Are you alright?" Kagome asked out of concern, having called his name a few times but got no response from him.
"Yes, another drink?" he asked already requesting for two more fresh glasses from the bartender.
She had originally wanted to reject his offer, having already drunk too much that it is affecting her, especially with the lack of food that she did not manage to eat tonight.
"Just one more then," she mumbled, reaching out for the glass of water mix in front of her as she took sips from it, grimacing a little at the alcohol taste in her mouth.
They did not really talk much or make small talk, the company was enough as Kagome leaned against the table, to prevent herself from swaying or the world from spinning. Starting her drinks early in the afternoon was most definitely not the best of idea, but it was an indulgence, and now it was just overflowing.
"Thank you again," Tony said out of the blue, placing his glass down on the table as he studied Kagome, "For tonight, I really enjoyed your company," he continued as he took one of her perfectly manicured gold nailed hands into his a gentleness that she had not expected in his hold.
"Any time Mr. Stark," she said taking her hand away but finding his grip becoming firmer, not allowing her to take her hand back as she looked at him with a slight questioning tilt of her head.
When she did managed to pull her hand back, Kagome finished her drink as she stood up from the bar stool which she had perched herself on, allowing Tony to help steady her when she got back on her feet. She led him to the entrance of their event venue, this time feeling eyes that no doubt belonging to two particular youkai as she glance around to confirm her suspicion before stopping at the entrance of the exit as the valet drove the respective car over once the ticket stub was handed over to them.
Tony was about to say something but shock instead that Kagome had leaned forward to place a long lingering kiss upon his lips before pulling back with a smile as she whispered softly,
"Merry Christmas Mr. Stark,"
A/N:
Hello Readers!
I thought that instead of posting this on Christmas itself, I would place this up 5 days before Christmas. This is Part 3 of ? from "The Vegas Trip". I hope that you enjoy it, take care and have yourself a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Holiday Cheers~