Say No
It wasn't a problem, right? Ok, she would concede that it might be a problem. Just a tiny one, of course. It was nothing to lose her cool over. The dress didn't matter, right? Fifty years down the road, it wouldn't matter. What she wore, what songs played, what flowers were in her bouquet; all of those wouldn't matter. The only thing that would matter was that she married the man she loved.
Oh, who was she kidding? All of it would matter and if one tiny, miniscule detail went wrong she would flip out.
Kagome stood in front of the mirror, staring in disgusted awe at the revolting white dress that adorned her body. She took a deep, shaking breath and tried to calm herself.
She had wanted this, right? It had been her dream, when she was a little girl, to get married in her mother's wedding dress. Wasn't it every girl's dream? Too bad it turned out to be…rather unsightly.
"Kagome?" Sango peered into the bedroom. "Oh God, get that off! It's hideous!" Kagome winced.
"It is, isn't it?" Sango nodded solemnly. Kagome sighed. "What am I going to do Sango? It's not like I can go out and buy a new one! I don't have the money for that! Besides, how am I going to tell my mom that the dress that she wore to marry my father is so ugly that it shouldn't see the light of day?" Sango frowned.
"This is quite the dilemma, huh?" Kagome groaned and sat down on the floor, bringing up her knees to her chest.
"I'm going to be the ugliest bride in the world." She whispered her voice barely audible. Sango sighed.
"No you won't. I promise, we'll think of something."
Kagome plopped on the couch, a pint of chocolate ice cream in her hands with a spoon. After today, she needed it. She turned on the TV and opened up the carton, digging her spoon in. Taking a large spoonful into her mouth, she pondered her situation. There was no actual way of saying "no" without hurting her mother's feelings. It would be a different story if she had enough money to buy her own dress, but she didn't. Neither she nor Sesshoumaru were all that wealthy. They could make ends meet, but if she had to spend thousands of dollars on a wedding dress, she wouldn't have a place to live.
She sighed into her ice cream before taking another big bite. The front door opened and shut but she didn't look up to see who it was. It could only be one person.
"What's wrong, Kagome?" Sesshoumaru asked as he took off his coat and tossed it on the back of a chair.
"Nothing." He raised one eyebrow.
"You have chocolate ice cream. You only eat that when you're upset." Kagome sighed again.
"Just stressed about my dress I suppose."
"Is there something wrong with it?"
"Other than the fact that it was the ugliest dress ever made in the seventies, no, none at all." Sesshoumaru smirked and tried to contain his chuckle.
"Talk with your mother, I'm sure she'll understand." Kagome scoffed.
"Right. And what will I say. I'm sorry Mom, I don't want to wear your dress because it's ugly? Because that won't offend her at all." Sesshoumaru frowned as well, his eyes calculating.
"Perhaps there could be an accident?" Kagome's eyes widened.
"Are you suggesting that I purposefully destroy my mother's wedding dress?"
"Possibly." Kagome stared at him for a moment before bursting out into a fit of giggles. She leaned her head on his shoulder and smiled.
"Thank you. You always know what to say to make me feel better." Sesshoumaru wrapped an arm around her.
"Have you though about altering it? Isn't your friend Jakotsu a designer?"
"Hmm, I didn't think of that. I'll take the abomination to him tomorrow."
"Good, now enough of this talk. I brought a movie." Kagome smiled.
"You're the best fiancé anyone could ever ask for."
"Oh my goodness gracious Kaggy darling! What died on your dress?!" Kagome grimaced.
"I know it's bad. That's why I brought it to you. I know you can work miracles."
"Honey, not even a miracle can save this poor dress. It should have been put out of its misery before it was made." Kagome stared at him, her eyes pleading.
"There's nothing you can do?"
"Oh I didn't say that!"
"You-you mean you can fix it?" She asked hopefully.
"God no! But let me call Bankotsu, I'm sure we have a chainsaw somewhere at home." Kagome sighed.
"Seriously Jak, I need some help."
"Ok hun, you let Jakotsu do what he does best."
"You'll make it look pretty?"
"I'll do my best but I'm a designer not a cosmetic surgeon. I can't promise you anything." He looked at her with sympathy.
"I'll take all that I can get."
"Kagome?" Kagome looked up from her planning book.
"Yes Mama?"
"How does the wedding dress look?" Kagome paled.
"Oh, um, beautiful Mama. It fits like a…glove."
"Ah so that explains why your friend Jakotsu called to apologize about spilling coffee all over my dress." Kagome's eyes widened. "He said that you should shop around for a new dress as it won't be back from the cleaners in time. Tell me Kagome, why won't it come back in time when you haven't even set the date for your wedding yet?"
"Oh um, I sent it to him to do some alterations. He said that he would be able to fix the few problems." Mrs. Higurashi looked at her daughter skeptically. "Really, I thought he would be more professional than to spill coffee on what he was working on."
"You know dear, if you didn't want to wear my dress you should have said no. I would have bought you a new one, if that is what you wanted."
"Really?" Mrs. Higurashi nodded.
"I was planning on it from the beginning. God knows how ugly that dress is. It's been out of style for quite some time. I may not be fashion forward, but even I know when something doesn't look good. I wasn't going to make you wear it if you didn't want to."
"Can I say no now then?" Mrs. Higurashi laughed.
"Sure dear, we'll go shopping tomorrow."
A/N: Something to celebrate the fact that today was the last day of school! Cute little piece of fluff with not a lot of romance or anything like that.
Obviously, the sequel to "Say Yes". And it won't be the last! It has turned into a little series (Series title: Speak Your Mind) that I started plotting out after my finals. So keep a look out for anything with "Say—" in the title. I promise though, that they'll be married by the end of the summer if not sooner.
Hope you enjoyed this little piece of plotless fun.
Review if you want to.
Emily
Notes-and-Photographs
