Convivial
Chapter 7: New Years Eve
Disclaimer: I don't own the rights to Inu Yasha or the Manyoshu
"I don't want to go to a party again," Kagome groaned as Eri pleaded and cajoled with her to go to another party. As of yet the other woman was unaware of her move, and she wasn't sure how much longer she could keep it a secret. As it was, they were only a few blocks away from her building at a small cafe, and Kagome worried her friend would offer to give her a ride back home because of the quickly brewing storm.
"I promise it won't be like last time. That guy, the one you told me about, he ended up in the hospital. Apparently someone decided to stick up for you, although he won't say who," Eri told her. "Said it was a demon, but you're the only person I can remember being dressed like a youkai that night, and I know you couldn't have broken his arms like that."
Kagome did not want to remember that night, or the fact that her alpha had decided to exact retribution on her behalf.
"I don't want to go to a party Eri. I have something to do tonight," She lied. She didn't even know if Sesshoumaru had plans, but she would be happier with Kirara in the apartment than at another party at Jigen's.
"Come on Kagome, it's new years eve. Don't you want a new year's kiss?"
"A what?"
"You know, a kiss at the stroke of midnight. It'll bring you luck in love for the next year."
"I don't need luck in love next year. I need luck in school. And dealing with the men already in my life," She complained.
"What? Souta and your grandpa can't be that bad," Eri chortled. "Or is your grandpa trying to plaster ofuda to any guy that comes within ten feet of you again?"
Kagome thought about Christmas, where her grandfather had been giving Sesshoumaru the stink eye right up until she had opened her present. After that the older man had been respectful and genial to the youkai, which had startled her and amused Sesshoumaru to no end.
"No, not exactly. Just, it's a really long story."
"We've got time," Eri told her as she glanced at her watch. "I need to be back at my place by nine to grab my stuff, and then we can go to your place and then Jigen's."
"Umm," She started, trying to figure out how to explain that she was living with a man that wasn't a boyfriend to her best friend.
"Sounds good," Eri giggled, leaning forward.
"Remember that guy I dated in middle school?"
"Hojo?"
"No, not that one. The one you never met."
"Oh, the loser. Yeah, I remember him." Kagome couldn't help but flinch at her friend's choice of words.
"Well, I ran into his brother that night," She hedged.
"Wow, small world I guess," Eri murmured before taking a long swig of her soda, never once taking her gaze off of Kagome. Trying not to feel pinned by that stare, she searched for a believable explanation.
"Yeah. Sesshoumaru lives in the building. I didn't have my cell to call a cab and it was too late for buses, and he offered to let me come up and get cleaned up. I ended up crashing with him-"
"Kagome you sly dog. You slept with your ex's brother?" Eri whispered, face flushing and eyes growing wide.
"No, nothing like that happened," Kagome snapped, then calmed herself. "I slept in a guest room. Nothing happened, so stop looking at me like that."
Eri pouted and went back to sipping through her straw, looking exceptionally put out at the news.
"He gave me a ride home the next day and saw my apartment and found out I was taking out a higher student loan to pay for it while I studied. And-" She paused, unsure of her friend's reaction.
"And?"
"He offered to let me be his roommate." She flinched, knowing it had come out in such a rush that her friend might not be able to understand it, and she wasn't entirely sure she could repeat it.
"You live with him?"
"Well yeah. He's a nice guy and quiet-"
"Rent free?" Eri sputtered, incredulous.
"Yeah," Kagome said slowly.
"In that building?" Her friend screeched.
"Eri, stop it, people are staring!" She hissed, panicking when everyone in the small cafe peered at her and her friend with a mixture of curiosity and annoyance.
"Kagome, you live with your ex-boyfriend's brother, for free, in one of, if not the most, expensive condos in Japan. And you didn't think to tell me?"
"I didn't know how to bring it up," Kagome groaned, burying her face in her hands. "It was just really, perfect timing and I knew how it would look."
"Kagome, are you sure you're not sleeping with him?"
"I think I'd remember something like that," She snapped impatiently. "He's just being nice and helping me out while I'm in school."
"I want to meet him," Eri declared, standing abruptly and almost upsetting her drink. "I have to make sure he won't take advantage of you."
Oh, that was an awful idea. It ranked right up there with her idea to annoy Sesshoumaru by hiding alarm clocks throughout the apartment, all of them set to go off within minutes of one another in the middle of the night. That plan had ended with her locked in the shower after being pulled from a dead sleep.
"I don't think-"
"Kagome, I will find a way to meet him. It's either now or later. Your choice."
She wondered how long she could postpone 'later', but the look in Eri's eyes bespoke determination and curiosity. Not once, in the entirety of her travels in the past or her life in the present, had that mix led to anything good.
"Fine," She groaned. "He's home now. Let me call and make sure it's okay to bring a guest over."
She took out her phone and called Sesshoumaru. It wasn't often she called him since they saw each other every day, so she knew he would pick up immediately. Unfortunately, he did.
"Kagome, it everything alright?"
"My friend Eri would like to meet you," She groaned. "She's pretty determined."
"That's fine," He intoned. She had no idea if he was angry or not, and she worried that bringing a human into their home would make him angry, especially an inquisitive human.
"We'll be home in a few minutes," She warned. He made an affirmative noise and hung up.
"Come on," She sighed, not even bothering to finish her drink. Her stomach was roiling dangerously, and she wasn't sure if she was going to choke or vomit first. Eri followed her out. The storm was beginning in earnest, small drops of cold rain beginning to pelt the ground. They ran for Eri's car and got in just before the storm broke, thunder booming and lightning washing the world outside in a blinding flash if light.
"Kami, it's going to be bad," Eri said as she pulled out of the parking lot and drove through the traffic that was quickly growing worse. Kagome punched her code in and directed Eri to where she and Sesshoumaru normally parked their cars. There was an empty space for guests and they got out.
"So, anything I should be worried about?"
"He can be a bit brusque," Kagome sighed. "So if he seems rude, it's just his normal self with people he doesn't know that well."
"And how is he with you?" Eri pressed.
"He's my friend. That's. It." The words came out through clenched teeth, and Eri seemed to take the hint. The ride up to the top was a long, silent one, and Kagome felt strangely weightless as her stomach swam with butterflies that she was sure had consumed some sort of speed. When the doors opened with a ding, she walked over to the door and unlocked it.
"Top floor?" Eri asked.
"He's an architect."
"Wow," Her friend breathed as she stepped in. Sesshoumaru was nowhere to be seen, but the storm raging outside of the glass windows was nothing if not impressive, especially at their altitude. Eri walked over to the glass and stared out into the quickly descending darkness as rain pelted against the windows.
"This is amazing. Your really live here?"
"She does," Sesshoumaru intoned, his human guise firmly in place as he came in from the kitchen. Eri jumped at his abruptness, turning to him, mouth open with a volley of questions that died before reaching her lips.
Kagome wanted to bang her head against a wall. Or to jump through the glass and into the storm.
Sesshoumaru had perfectly disguised himself as human. However, he was barefoot in a pair of slacks, with his shirt unbuttoned just enough to be rumpled looking, and his cropped hair was in disarray. He looked like he had stepped out of a fashion magazine. Or bed. Possibly both.
And she knew what Eri was going to think.
"Eri, this is Sesshoumaru, my roommate. Sesshoumaru, this is one of my best friends, Eri."
"Does your ex look anything like him?" Eri asked bluntly, making her want to fall through the floor. "If he does, I can totally understand you forgiving him for being a two timing jerk."
"Eri-" She began.
"My brother and I are similar in looks," He intoned flatly. Kagome could tell he already disliked the female standing across from him, sneering at how she gawked. He turned to Kagome, eyes filled with ice. "Would our guest like anything?"
"I can get it," She muttered, rushing to the kitchen. Any space from the ten square feet of ice that had formed around Sesshoumaru and Eri was a better space, a safer one by far. Looking through the fridge, she ignored the bottles of chilling wine and opted for one of the flavored waters. Neither Eri or Sesshoumaru spoke as she poured, or when she gulped down an entire glass before refilling it. When she walked back over, glasses held out in offering, it felt like walking between a predator and it's prey. For the life of her, she couldn't figure out who she should be more worried about.
Eri accepted one glass, eyes still focused on Sesshoumaru, who accepted a second. She retreated back to the kitchen for her own, finger running over the rim to express her frustration.
"Perhaps sitting?" Kagome suggested, hating the way her voice cracked.
"Perhaps," Sesshoumaru intoned in a cold voice that was more than just reminiscent of the youkai she remembered from five hundred years before. Eri, seemingly oblivious, sat herself on one of the comfy couches and stared as she and her roommate took a seat across from her.
"Are you and Kagome sleeping together?" Her friend asked bluntly.
"Eri, I told you, he and I-"
"We are not," He rumbled, interrupting her and quieting her objection.
"Are you going to take advantage of her?" Eri shot out.
"Oh for the love of-"
The room seemed to drop another ten degrees, and she hoped, prayed, pleaded with the gods that it was because of the storm that was gathering intensity outside.
"I have no interest in taking advantage of Kagome," He answered in a dangerously calm voice. "Or betraying the trust she places in me."
His tone was lost on the inquisitive and obviously interested female across from them, and Kagome wondered if the evening would end in bloodshed. Not caring if they noticed anymore, she downed her glass and moved to for a refill. Sesshoumaru handed his to her and she accepted it, casting a longing glance at the kitchen.
"Are you gay?"
She was supremely thankful she had swallowed the water in her mouth before her friend had asked that. There was no telling who it would have ended up on otherwise.
"No."
"Are you single?"
Another silent plea to the gods, this time asking what she'd done in a prior life to deserve this moment.
"Yes."
"Want to go to a party with us?"
There was a dangerous silence that echoed through the room, punctuated by a flash of lightning and the following boom of thunder. Dramatic. Kagome hated that her life had fallen into such a cliché.
"I would rather have my internal organs cut from me with a dull knife."
Kagome gave up any pretense of being comfortable, getting up and walking back to the kitchen to get some distance from the inevitable fallout. If she was lucky -and she had no illusions that she was- Sesshoumaru might forget she was even there. Eri too.
"You are such a jerk!" Eri snapped. "It was a simple question."
"I prefer being perceived as a jerk than whatever else you automatically assume," He intoned flatly.
"Who pissed all over your shoes today you arrogant-"
"Okay, time's up. I knew this was a bad idea," She groaned as she walked back to the living room. "Eri, Sesshoumaru is a good guy, and I trust him implicitly. He is one of my best friends. Sesshoumaru, Eri is one of my best friends, and she is one of the few people that has stuck by me. You don't have to like each other. But please, please don't resort to name calling. It's new years eve."
"And you were going to stay stuck up in this place with him? Kami, he can't even get a date and you're going to take pity on him and miss out-" Eri babbled, hand waving in Sesshoumaru's general direction.
"I do not like parties. I do not like the idea of going to Jigen's, especially after last time. I don't care about a new year's kiss, and I don't care about being lucky in love next year. I don't even know if he has a date or not," She snapped, feeling lightheaded from a combination of anger and fear. Eri looked at her with narrowed, angry eyes before stomping up to her.
"You'd rather stay here by yourself than hang out with me?"
"You said we'd hang out at the last one, then ended up in one of the bedrooms with some guy!" Kagome bit out. Eri's face flooded with red and she stepped back, looking both embarrassed and angry.
"How did you-"
"I walked in on it right before Mr. Cool tried to assault me in a bathroom. If you want to go party, that's fine. But it is not for me, alright?"
"How do you know if you don't try it?" Eri pointed out.
"Because I did, and I didn't like it then," She muttered. Eri spun on her heel and looked at the now standing Sesshoumaru, who looked poised and ready to pounce on the girl and throw her out at any second.
"You, I don't like you at all."
"The feeling is mutual," He rumbled.
"But you're helping her out big time, and I respect that. Don't try to take advantage of her, because Kagome is an amazing woman and deserves only the best. If I ever hear of you hurting her or trying to force her to-"
"Are all the men you associate with such stunning examples of masculinity?" He quipped, interrupting her.
"What do you mean?"
"That you jump to these accusations with every strange man you meet."
"Most of them aren't that bad, but they're college guys. I bet even you had a phase where you were an idiot. It's just how guys are."
Kagome couldn't stop the amused noise that escaped, although her attempt to made it come out a snort. She covered her mouth and shrugged when Sesshoumaru leveled a glare in her direction.
"I will not take advantage of her. You are correct, she deserves to be treated well, and I have no designs on her. However, I would appreciate it if you do not come back until you can speak to a stranger with some civility."
Eri bristled and opened her mouth, stopping when his hand came up.
"I am a stranger to you. I do not appreciate a woman I don't know coming into my home and asking questions of such a personal nature. I also do not appreciate that you pushed Kagome into doing something she obviously did not want to do."
Eri deflated at the last comment, turning to her and getting ready to apologize. However, something must have put her off, because she stopped.
"I'm sorry Kagome. I was just worried about-" Eri gestured to the apartment around her. "Even you have to admit it's suspicious," She added, looking back to Sesshoumaru.
"Understandable," Sesshoumaru conceded stiffly.
"Kagome-" Eri began, then stopped. "I'll see you at school."
"Yeah," Kagome mumbled, face hot.
The apartment was filled with the sound of the storm outside as Eri walked out, the door closing gently behind her.
"That went well," She groaned, bracing her elbows on the counter and cradling her face in her hands.
"Your friend is rude."
"I'm sorry. I didn't think it would be quite that bad," She sighed. "I'm going to go change."
He said nothing as she exited, and she felt an irrational surge of guilt. She had given in to Eri's demands, and she shouldn't have. Sesshoumaru was different. With pack. With her. But not with other people. The tolerance and geniality he extended to her family had been for her, and wouldn't extend to friends. She should have known Eri's personality would grate against his temper.
After a long, stern discussion with herself about house rules, she changed into more comfortable clothing. Finally she stepped out of her room, ready to face the music.
The bracelet was off, and he was watching the storm outside with a neutral expression. He was surprisingly calm, although she supposed that would be natural. Calm and cool was his default personality, and he didn't often use it with her anymore.
"I'm sorry-" She began again.
"It is not your fault. I can understand that she would be concerned. Her questions and scent-" He sighed, relaxing a little.
"Her scent?"
"She was-interested."
"I figured you'd get that pretty often," She retorted wryly.
"It was the combination. Her concern was false from the moment she saw me. I do not appreciate such deceptions."
"I suppose it doesn't matter, I don't think she's coming back. Probably for the best."
"Probably," He sighed. "Did you really wish to stay in tonight?"
"The party is at Jigen's," She pointed out. "And I didn't feel much like partying before. I certainly don't now."
"Would you like to help me cook dinner?"
"Aren't you going out?" She asked.
"I avoid going out on New Year's Eve."
"Dinner it is," She said with a laugh. Equilibrium reasserted itself, Eri's visit seeming less like the catastrophe it had surely been.
"Are the males at your school really-"
"I don't know. I haven't had a group project at this school, and I don't really hang out with anyone from there besides Eri. Any opinion I have is sort of biased anyway," She told him, thinking about the guy that had ended up with broken arms because he couldn't take no without being hit.
"Has becoming part of the pack isolated you at all?"
She heard the concern in his tone and couldn't help but chuckle a little.
"If anything, being part of the pack now has kept me from being so isolated. I've been trying to pack in as many credits as I can, so I don't socialize much with the other students. Being here has helped a lot. So don't worry, okay?"
"Your friend seemed to think-"
"Eri was just reacting to you and your descriptive way of rejecting her offer, which is something people don't do often. She's president of two clubs and she's never been out of a relationship for longer than a day or two. I'm not sure anyone has ever told her no so forcefully," She chided.
"Human males have strange tastes," He intone as he opened the fridge and pulled out two wrapped steaks. She heard the way he said strange, and knew he was being kind. She also knew it wasn't an apology, by a long shot.
"Guys like what they like," She said, ignoring the lack of remorse. "Eri is the kind of girl guys like."
She heard him mutter something, but she couldn't make out the words.
"What was that?"
"I question their taste. And sense."
She had a feeling he was being nice again, and she knew for a fact that wasn't what he had said. The water in the sink turned on, and she grabbed the hose.
"I wouldn't recommend it," he said, back still turned toward her.
"Tell me what you said."
"I questions their taste-"
She pressed down on the trigger and a burst of water hit the back of his shirt. He turned, looking more than mildly annoyed.
"The truth, Sesshoumaru."
"And sense."
Another burst of water, and he was stepping to her,. She pressed the trigger down and watched as the front of his shirt was soaked.
"Fine, miko. Have it your way."
He didn't haul her over his shoulder as she had expected, which was-Surprising. However, he bent over and opened the cabinet beneath the sink, completely ignoring her nearness. She clung to the hose.
He came back up holding a water gun. Not just a normal water gun. She wasn't that lucky. A watergun with what looked like a three gallon bottle. The whole thing would have been monstrous if it were any color besides neon green.
She pressed down on the trigger even though she really hadn't meant to.
She got soaked, head to toe. For that matter, so did he. And the floor.
"Are you happy now?" She asked, feeling petulant after his demonstration.
"I am. Not only have I made my point, this is the first reasonable suggestion my brother has ever made."
"That was Inu Yasha's idea?"
"And gift."
"I'm going to strangle him," She muttered, walking from the kitchen and over to the couch.
"Aren't you going to change?"
"I just changed. Bite me."
"Careful miko, you're speaking to a youkai."
"A dog youkai. Do you chase tires too?"
"Fair point," He chuckled as he stored the watergun back under the sink. She made a note to destroy it later, or at least hide it somewhere it would be useful to her and not him. He walked over to her making strange squishy noises and sat down next to her. She could feel the water spreading over the fabric of the seat.
"Take out sounds amazing right now."
"Take out it is."
"I've never had beer," She added. Beer sounded like a great idea.
"I will speak to the concierge."
He pulled his phone from his pocket and checked it. It wouldn't even turn on.
"We should get those indestructible ones, you know, the ones you can put through a dishwasher and they live?"
"Perhaps," He muttered as he walked back to the kitchen and retrieved the cordless. He dialed a series of numbers and she heard him ordering beer and takeout. After he came back and sat down next to her, his motion punctuated by more lightning and thunder.
"Am I weird?" She finally asked.
"In what sense?"
"Eri just makes dating and parties seem so normal. Every time I even mention being too busy with my studies she gives me this sad look. And this whole new year's thing, I could swear she thought I'd lost my mind."
"New Year's thing?"
"It's nothing, just more teenage girl stupidity that apparently carried into adulthood."
"Would this be the new year's kiss you told her you didn't want?"
"It's not just that, it's what it means. Luck in love the next year. I don't need it, but there's this part of me that wonders if I'm weird for thinking that way. I don't need it," She reiterated.
"I suppose the question becomes if you want it," He finally answered.
The power chose that exact moment to go out.
"Oh hell. If that wasn't a sign, I don't know what is," She muttered. "I'll go grab some candles."
She fled, feeling foolish for even bringing the subject up. But a part of her did wonder. Her answer to questions about dating and kissing and even love was always the same. No time, no need. After all, her degree came first. But in all of that time, she hadn't thought about wanting it. And even though her studies were fulfilling and the pack was perhaps the best support system on the planet, there was a tiny part of her that did sort of want it, or the romanticized version at least, which she knew better than to expect.
Maybe giving in to that romanticized vision is what had Eri going through one relationship after another, always excited by a new prospect after quickly growing bored with the old one. It seemed dangerous at best, self destructive and futile at worst.
"Better off with the degrees," She muttered sourly as she gathered several thick candles and their bases in a towel. When she got back downstairs, he was still sitting on the couch, staring out into the storm.
"Can you still make magic fire, alpha?" She teased as she set the candles up. The moment she stepped back the candles lit, casting flickering shadows around the table and couches. She looked to Sesshoumaru saw was frightened for a moment by the picture he presented. The shadows flickering over his face reminded her of what he had been, beautiful and terrifying. A killer. Staunchly reminding herself that he was a friend, that he would never hurt her again, she forced her heart to slow down.
"You are not strange," He finally told her. "You see clearer than most."
"Well that's vague," She told him, plopping down unceremoniously onto the couch next to him. He inclined his head in acknowledgment, but didn't elaborate.
"I think it's for the best," She finally told him. "I was thinking about how Eri looks at dating and guys, and she believes in the fairy tale scenario. A guy that comes in and saves her, sweeps her off her feet, does the little things and the big things, and makes her feel like the most important woman in the whole world. And no man is perfect. They'll leave the toilet seat up, or let their laundry go until there's nothing clean left, or burp without covering their mouths, something. And I think there's a bit of that in me, and it would get me in a lot of trouble to give in to it."
"You have explained my observation," He finally said.
"How so?"
"You recognize your own weaknesses, and deal with them in your own way."
The doorbell rang, and he walked over to it. The wallet he produced was soggy, but then so was the delivery boy, who also seemed a little winded. She guessed that he had used the stairs since the power was out. Sesshoumaru came over carrying take out and sat it down.
"From the cartons," She demanded.
"The beer should be here soon."
"Does that mean we wait?"
"It is your choice."
She decided they would wait, and tried to figure out something to talk about, anything to detract from the creepy atmosphere of the apartment in the storm.
"On the seas of the heavens, waves of cloud arise. The moon, a boat," He recited, as if sensing her disquiet.
"Amongst a forest of stars, rows on hidden, or so it seems," She finished, relaxing. She scoured her brain for a moment, trying to figure out another, and could only come up with those she'd been studying on her break for fun. Almost all of which were love poems. She wanted to smack herself for not sitting down with a mirror and having a long talk with herself sooner.
"Up till dawn will I wait for you," She began.
"Lily-seed dark my hair, upon which frost has formed," He finished. "The leaves of bamboo grass,all over the mountain with silken rustles sound."
"Yet I dream of my darling, for I am parted from her," She finsihed the waka with a sigh. "Well, that proves it. I am one of those girls. If I bring home a guy, please tell me I'm being an idiot."
"You would resent me for it."
"Remind me of this," She groaned. "I'm such a dork."
"The manyoshu has many beautiful poems in it," He told her. "And many of the love poems contained therein are perhaps some of the finest ever written."
"I never pegged you for a romantic," She chuckled.
"Dawn and dusk is the time I see my darling, yet seeing her is as if I've seen her not. How much do I love her," He recited in a gentle cadence, pulling the poem from memory.
"I wish I had that recorded," She finally said, needing to break the strangeness that had settled over the room.
"Doubtless my brother would pay a fortune for such," He retorted wryly. A knock sounded at the door and he walked over. She could hear whoever delivered the beer complaining about the stairs before Sesshoumaru gave one of his signature growls and slammed the door in his face. When he turned, he held a much bigger box than she had anticipated.
"Wow," She said when he brought it over and sat it on the table.
"You said you had never tried beer before. There are many kinds, and people have their own preferences."
"What's yours?"
"This one," He said, pulling an ornate bottle from the box. It almost looked like a wine bottle. She knew a little english, but couldn't translate what was on the bottle. "Chimay," He said, the name sounding strange as he said it. "I will go retrieve glasses."
He brought back several, and she wondered if she would be ushering in the new year drunker than Eri. When he poured, the dark liquid that came out foamed and he handed her the glass. She took a tentative sip and gagged, earning a laugh.
"It might be too dark for your tastes. Try this one," He told her as he opened another bottle without the aid of a bottle opener. This time the beer was a pale gold in the candlelight, and she inhaled before sipping it.
"This is delicious," She said, taking another sip.
"It is from another brewery, located in California."
She sat her glass down and took the cheap wooden chopsticks from their slip and broke them open.
"So how did you get into drinking beer?" She asked. "You don't seem the type."
"Business meetings. I do not like the smell of liquor, and wine is generally frowned upon in certain circumstances. Since I have discerning tastes-"
"You're picky," She accused, taking another sip of her beer.
"I began trying some out. It turns out that beer is not unlike wine for some people. There are those that put years into making it, and those that critique it like wine tasters. I've invested in a few local breweries that seem promising."
"Maybe in your next life you can make beer," She suggested.
"It would be too much like being a chef," He said, sipping from his glass. "I am content to find what I like and indulge from time to time."
"Is that the beef?" She asked, eyeing the container in his hands.
"It is."
She reached over into it and deftly grabbed a piece of the beef with her chopsticks. It was almost to her mouth when it disappeared from the ends, vanishing into thin air.
"Not funny, alpha," She muttered.
"I'll make you a deal. I ask a question, you answer, you get a piece."
"Fine, go ahead and shoot."
"Why literature?"
"I like it," She said, maneuvering her chopsticks into the box.
"Not specific enough," He said, yanking the box away.
"You didn't say I had to be specific."
"I have the box," He pointed out.
"I like poetry, especially in the manyoshu."
He rewarded her with a piece of beef, which she snatched with her chopsticks.
"Favorite poem," He asked.
"No."
"Fair enough," He said, turning away just enough to make getting more impossible without climbing over him. She really wanted some too. The first taste had awakened a craving, and she eyed the box before shrugging her shoulders.
"Meeting in dreams is painful indeed, starting awake and reaching out, the questing hand finds nothing."
He awarded her with the box before reaching for one on the table. Seeing his movements, she quickly snatched the box up, tucking it into her lap.
"Same deal," She told him, smiling widely. He seemed resigned. "Favorite poem?"
"At least in dreams did I see you, now even that is lost to me. Should I die of love then?"
She stopped, surprised that a love poem had been one of his favorites.
"I'm sorry," She mumbled, handing the box to him.
"It's alright. As with your feelings for Inu Yasha, it is long past."
"Maybe we should pick new favorites, for a new year."
"And how would we do that?" He asked.
"I have a copy in my room. We pick at random."
Before he could say anything one way or the other, she was out of the room and flying up the stairs. When she came back down, he was refilling both his and her glass with their chosen beers and eating from one of the boxes. Ignoring propriety, she jumped over the back of the couch and settled at the end.
"Open and flip it to a random page for me," She commanded as she handed him the book. Grabbing her glass, she took a healthy swallow and closed her eyes. The pages of the book flipped.
"Now," He told her.
Her finger moved to the page and settled on a spot. She opened her eyes and began reading.
"On heaven's river, the mists rise and drift across. "'It's today! Today!" My awaited lord has set off in his boat, I think.'Another love poem?" She groaned.
"Perhaps it is a sign of things to come in the new year," He mocked, laughter filling his voice. She stuck her tongue out at him, not liking his teasing in the least.
"Your turn," She told him, taking the book from his hands. Closing her eyes, she flipped through the pages, back and forth for several minutes and then stopped. His eyes were closed as he reached for the book with a long, claw tipped finger. When he touched it, his gold eyes opened, and he rolled them.
"Was this intentional?"
"No, I closed my eyes. Why?"
"On the eternal course of heaven's river, over the upper shoals, spans the bridge of jewels; by the downstream shallows, a boat floats ready; when rain falls without a breath of wind, and wind blows without a drop of rain, "Not wetting your skirt, don't wait, come to me!" I cross the bridge of jewels."
"You got the first part?" She shrieked, looking down at the book. Sure enough he had chosen the part part of the waka, considered a separate poem from the one she had chosen.
"It seems the gods are laughing at us for our foolishness," He laughed as he finished his glass, draining it of the dark liquid.
"I don't think it's foolish," She muttered, feeling a little stung by his mocking. "It just had weird results."
He seemed to notice her hurt, because he shook his head and sighed. "You're correct, forgive my teasing."
"Forgiven," She told him, smiling at his reticence. "Is there any more of the beer I liked?"
"No," He chuckled. "But there is another similar."
He grabbed one of the clean glasses and poured her beer from one of the larger bottles. It foamed at the top and she took an eager sip, surprised by the lightness of the taste.
"So what will you do differently this year?" She asked. It was a familiar game with her own family,
"I can think of nothing," He laughed, a rich, relaxed sound.
"There's got to be something," She wheedled. "You're not perfect."
"Then perhaps you should tell me," He quipped, although not without a smirk. She tilted her head and imitated being deep in thought.
"You won't throw me in the shower as much?"
"That is dependent on your own behavior," He rumbled through a laugh.
"You'll read more thrillers?"
"I might be amenable to that," He conceded graciously. "And you?"
"I'll study more."
He made a rude noise and she leveled her best glare at him, wondering what he found so funny.
"If you study any more, you will disappear inside your books."
"Okay then, tell me what I should do," She quipped smartly, not smiling at all.
"You should take more time to enjoy life."
"And how would I do that?" She demanded as she poured herself another glass of beer, feeling more than slightly tipsy and warm.
"It is your choice. But life is not all about your books," He told her.
Despite the rain, which had lessened, fireworks began to go off in the distance, small bursts if colorful light.
"I think it's New years," She said with a sigh. Her chin was tilted gently and she looked up at Sesshoumaru, who was staring down at her warmly.
The kiss was soft and chaste, the kind of kiss a friend would give. Despite that, his lips were still vividly warm and soft on her own. Too shocked to do anything but sit still until he sat back, her hands came to her lips.
"I wish you luck in love this year," He told her.
"That- you stole my first kiss!" She accused, too stunned to censor the words.
