A/N: Warning of COMPLETE and UTTER fluff. LoL. Anyway, this was *also* written for the story exchange for Dokuga through LJ's dokuga_exchange comm. I was asked to stand in for someone who wasn't able to make the deadline. Unlike "Gifts of Silver", I wasn't on complete crack for this one-shot. I don't think so, anyway. :P Anyway, I wrote this for tenchi no mai. Hope she enjoys it.

Twelve Christmases

In the first year, on Christmas, my true love gave to me...

"Inuyasha, stop!" She stepped in front of the transformed Tetsusaiga with her hands on her hips. "We're not going to get anything accomplished like this! Just listen, for once, to what someone else has to say." She leaned in closer. "Don't make me say it, Inuyasha. Please. It's Christmas."

"Who cares about your stupid holidays?" he muttered.

The miko sighed. "Inuyasha," she began.

The hanyou scowled, but let the heavy blade of his sword fall to the snowy ground. "Fine," he interrupted. He looked over her shoulder. "What do you want, you bastard?"

Kagome rolled her eyes and turned to the taiyoukai. "I'm sorry, Lord Sesshoumaru," she murmured. "You took us by surprise. You said you had a proposal to discuss?"

"Hn. Naraku is close, but powerful with his nearly completed jewel. I had arrived to suggest a combination of our forces for the strongest attack, but I see that my half-brother prefers to go blundering about without any plan," the dog demon replied.

"Oh, no! Don't think that!" she protested, as Sango and Miroku held back the swearing hanyou. "I think you're right. We should work together."

His golden eyes flickered over to his sibling. "Hesitation in this will only lead to our deaths," he said.

She bit at her lip. "I give you my word that Inuyasha will behave," Kagome said. "Just... try not to rile him up intentionally?"

He nodded, accepting her terms.

In the second year, on Christmas, my true love gave to me...

Sesshoumaru wasn't sure how he had been dragged into this. All he could remember was that the young miko had asked him to come to the celebration of Naraku's death, and something in her large, hopeful eyes made him want to say 'yes'. He must have actually said it, since she had clapped her hands and tugged him towards the center of the village.

The villagers were giving him a wide berth, but the miko didn't seem to notice. "I'm so glad you arrived in time for this!"

He wanted to explain that it was nothing but a coincidence - he had come with the motley group of fighters and miko to the village to retrieve Rin, Jaken and Ah-Un after the battle, not to dance and drink. Certainly not to share any sort of war stories, like the monk was currently doing, under the watchful eye of his betrothed. "I do not care for crowds of humans," he muttered.

She smiled at him. "I think it shows just how much you've improved that you can even stand to be here for a moment," she said.

"I needed improvement in some way?" he asked, arching a brow.

The miko laughed. "I'll get Rin and Jaken for you. You can get out of here while everyone's distracted. I'll give you a good escape plan, too."

"Ridiculous. Why would I require such a thing?"

"Because there are some women here that don't care what you are," she said pointing to a few, giggling women that were trying to make eyes at him. "Enough sake, and they'll chase you just to touch your hair."

He stared. "My hair?"

Kagome laughed again. "Well, among other things."

In the third year, on Christmas, my true love gave to me...

He was watching over Rin when she sat down in the snow next to him. "Hi."

He glanced at her and saw the unshed tears in her eyes. "My brother has been an idiot again," he surmised.

"Inuyasha is always an idiot!" she fumed. "You know, the Jewel's completion closed the well and left me here forever - fine. I can live with that. Inuyasha decided to marry the undead woman I wished back to life, because I was just a 'great friend' and nothing more - fine. I want them to be happy. But I will not be told by anyone - especially him - that I need to move on with my life, find a husband and have some kids. Just because that's what everyone else I know is doing, doesn't mean I have to, as well!"

Sesshoumaru waited until her breathing evened out again. "What do you plan to do?"

Kagome shrugged. "I don't know. That's the problem. I guess I'll train to become the next priestess. Kikyo's alive again, but married. Kaede isn't getting any younger."

"It is an honorable vocation," he said. "Far more use than bringing quarter-demons into this world."

"I'll pretend I didn't hear that," she said, although she was smiling. "But thank you."

"I was only being honest."

She leaned into his shoulder for just a moment. "You know, Sesshoumaru? I'll give you this - you aren't at all like your brother. You actually know what to say to a girl."

"Hn." He nodded. "Thank you."

In the fourth year, on Christmas, my true love gave to me...

She had her own hut, now. When he visited Rin, he would stop to take some tea in her home, preferring hers over the old woman's. She wore the robes of a priestess, too, but ignored the whispers that his visits created. He tried not to appreciate her the more for it.

"This is for Kikyo and Inuyasha's new baby," she told him when his eyes fell on all the bits of cloth scattered around the room. "And these are for Sango and Miroku's twin girls. And this is for Rin. And this, for Shippo. It'll be a little late this year, but I don't think they'll mind. There's no Christmas here, after all."

"Aside from the one you create," he said.

Kagome beamed at him. "Right." She turned and pulled another bit of cloth from the wooden chest. "Here's yours, by the way. I finished it first."

The taiyoukai accepted the long strip of wool. "An obi?" he questioned.

She leaned over him, so that he could smell every dried herb she had been working with that day. "No, silly. It's a scarf!" she announced, looping around his neck. "To keep you warm."

"I do not experience cold and warm weather as humans do," he pointed out, pulling on one end to inspect the careful stitching. "It is good work, however."

Kagome grinned and sat beside him. "I know it's pointless, but it's what people did in my time. We give presents to our family and friends."

He leaned back and looked at her, wondering which category he fell into.

In the fifth year, on Christmas, my true love gave to me...

"I wish there was some snow," she lamented.

"That would impair our ability to collect suitable firewood," he pointed out as he tucked another log under his arm. "You should have done this earlier."

"I did!" Kagome protested. "But what was I supposed to do? We're in the baby-making capital of Japan these days, I swear. I delivered five babies over the past few weeks, and every one of them took a huge share of my supply. And then, there were those travelers that were sick. I had to keep the fire going for them. And then..."

He held up a free hand. "I get the picture," he said, borrowing one of her phrases. "Next year, I will ensure that you are prepared for the coming winter."

Even his demon reflexes couldn't react in time for the bruising hug she gave to him.

In the sixth year, on Christmas, my true love gave to me...

He pressed a hand to her forehead. "You have a fever."

"I know," she croaked, "but so does half of the rest of the village. I have to get medicine to them."

Sesshoumaru glanced at the herbs strewn across the strips of linen. "What is required?"

"Everyone has to chew some of this mushroom, and it would really help if they drank a tea of this herb."

"Give them to me," he said. "I will attend to them."

Her bleary eyes widened. "Sesshoumaru, that's crazy. Just because they're used to seeing you, doesn't mean they aren't terrified."

"Would they rather see me or Death?" he asked.

Kagome placed the mushrooms in his outstretched hand. "I trust you," she said.

In the seventh year, on Christmas, my true love gave to me...

She held Inuyasha's son on her lap, tickling him as he squirmed and laughed. "He looks almost entirely human," muttered Sesshoumaru as he watched.

Kagome brushed back the little boy's black hair and smiled into his golden eyes. "Not entirely though," she said. "Right, Ichiro? You're strong, like your father and your uncle."

"And grandpa!" Ichiro added, giggling again.

The miko glanced at Sesshoumaru with a smile. "I would imagine so," she agreed.

Inuyasha appeared at the door, brushing aside the woven flap that hung over it and letting in a rush of cold air. "Oh, you're still here," he huffed.

"Your brother was helping me look after Ichiro," said Kagome.

"Half-brother," both Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru said in unison.

"Right." She stood up and kissed Ichiro goodbye before depositing him in his father's arms. "Did you have any trouble with the exorcism?"

"Nah. Miroku did most of the work for once. I didn't even use Tetsusaiga."

Kagome grinned, and Sesshoumaru felt the ease of their old friendship settle around him. "Maybe next time," she teased. "Get home to your wife."

The hanyou thanked her and left with Ichiro waving a farewell to his 'Aunt Kagome' over his father's shoulder. It was only when the door flap had closed and the warm began to fill the hut again, that Sesshoumaru noticed the sadness in her eyes. "You still wish for him?" he asked.

"What?" She looked up at her companion. "Who? Inuyasha? No, of course not. It's been years."

"Then, what?"

She shrugged. "I'm twenty-one this year," she said. "That wasn't old in my time, but here..."

"You once said that you had no wish for a husband and children."

"I didn't want to be forced into it," she corrected, "but that doesn't mean I don't want it. And with Ichiro and the twins and all the other kids around me, sometimes, it's hard to remember why I went down the path of a priestess."

"It is not necessarily permanent," he said, wondering why he felt the need to comfort her.

"It doesn't need to be," Kagome admitted. She paused and looked back at him, before giving up her secret. "But I'm afraid it will be, anyway."

In the eighth year, on Christmas, my true love gave to me...

The wedding feast of the headman's daughter was winding down, although Rin was still dancing with Kohaku, and Sango and Miroku were laughing quietly on the steps of their hut. He watched Kagome began her walk back to her own home, alone, and met her halfway.

"I see that there will be another marriage soon," he said, surprising her by speaking first.

She followed his line of sight to his ward and the young, male taijiya. "She likes him a lot," Kagome admitted. "Kohaku is growing into a good man. You shouldn't worry too much though. She's still a little young to get married. I know she hasn't kissed him yet."

He blinked. "How do you know this?"

"Rin told Sango. Sango told me. I do have other friends, aside from you," she said with a smile.

"I find him to be honorable for a human," Sesshoumaru said. "However, a demon slayer's wife was not what I had imagined for her."

She smiled, and he knew that she found his concern charming. He huffed and turned his face away, refusing to say anything more. "Come on," Kagome said, taking his arm and leading him back towards her hut, gently giving him the assurances he said that he did not need. And yet, by the time she had put the water on for tea, he felt his heart had grown lighter again.

In the ninth year, on Christmas, my true love gave to me...

He had gone to her - to a miko, instead of his own healers. She had taken one look at his bloodied haori and ordered him to lie down beside the fire. "I know that you'll be alright," she said, when he moved to push her away. Her hands dipped the cloth into the warm water, and she continued to wipe away the dirt and blood on his chest. "That doesn't mean you should just suck it up. You came to me for a reason, I would think."

Sesshoumaru gave a labored sigh. "You were closest."

She eyed him, and he wondered if she could see through his lie. "Well, I do know something about treating demons," she said, side-stepping the issue entirely. "So you have that going for you." She pressed on wound that was spilling the most blood onto her floor, staunching the bleeding with most of her weight. "Did you win?"

"Of course, I did," he murmured as she reached across him for some foul-smelling medicine that she pressed into his injuries.

"I can't imagine anyone looking worse than this," Kagome replied.

He caught her hand - even in his weakened state, he was far stronger than her. "Why do you sound annoyed?"

She scowled at him. "Because you shouldn't be getting into these fights! We would be... I mean, Rin..." She stopped, and her scowl deepened. "You should realize that people care about you and don't want to see you hurt."

Sesshoumaru released her. "I do not need your concern."

"Well, I'm giving it to you anyway," she snapped back. "Deal with it."

He brushed away a tear that began to roll down her cheek, and they froze for a long moment, staring at one another. When she turned back to attend to the rest of his wounds in silence, he didn't try to draw her into a conversation again, too startled by what he had seen in her eyes.

In the tenth year, on Christmas, my true love gave to me...

"You haven't been here in awhile," she murmured. "Months."

"Rin does not need me as much as she once did," he replied with a shrug.

"She still wants you here, even if she has Kohaku to look after her now," Kagome said. She stirred the stew, deliberately not meeting his eyes. "I've missed you, too."

He nodded and sat beside her. "There were moments I thought of you," he said. He paused, knowing that all of his inner struggles over the past several months could come down to a word. "Often."

She smiled, and he knew she understood. "Ten years, and we've ended up here," she said with a soft sigh. "I was too young, then. I'm too old, now. We've wasted years. When did that tip in the balance? When did everything change?"

"I do not know," he admitted.

"And why didn't I say anything when I knew?" she breathed.

He shook his head. "Perhaps, you were aware that I was not prepared to say anything in return."

Kagome took a deep breath and pushed it all out, making the firelight flicker. "And, now, it's all over?"

Sesshoumaru reached out and stilled her hand, taking it in his. "I did not say that," he said. "I will be gone for some time to look for an answer."

"I thought that's what you've been doing," she said.

"No," he murmured. "I wished to know whether I should look for an answer at all."

"Took you that long, huh?" she asked, cracking a wry smile. It dropped away after a moment. "Listen, Sesshoumaru. If you don't find whatever you're looking for..." She trailed off and shrugged, and he knew that she was giving him permission to not return.

He got to his feet. "I will come back," he promised.

In the eleventh year, on Christmas, my true love gave to me...

He had been gone for a whole year, and when he returned, she didn't ask if he had been successful. She dropped the basket full of the winter berries she had been collecting with Sango and ran to him, throwing her arms around his neck. He could see the former demon slayer's eyes widen when he returned Kagome's embrace. "You took too long," she admonished gently.

"Hn. It does not look as if a day has passed," he murmured into her hair. And even though it didn't matter to her - or to him - any longer, he added, "I found it."

She smiled up at him. "Found what?" she asked, before giving him a kiss.

In the twelfth year, on Christmas, my true love gave to me...

Sesshoumaru stood outside the small hut with his eyes fixed to the door. Rin, standing with Kohaku and their toddler, whispered, "It'll be alright, Lord Sesshoumaru. You would know if it went any other way, right?"

He nodded, his hand flexing and relaxing over the hilt of Tenseiga. Miroku stared at the ground with remarkable concentration as Shippo fidgeted. Inuyasha was leaning up against the wall, looking bored, save for his ears flicking over to hear the goings-on every other moment. Even the dullest of human ears could hear every cry and plea though. Sesshoumaru turned away as Kagome sobbed.

A moment of silence passed by, and everyone outside let go of the breath they had been holding when they heard the wail of a newborn.

Sesshoumaru opened the eyes he didn't know he had closed to see Sango, sweating but smiling, in the doorway. "She's alright. Everything's wonderful," the former taijiya said. "Go on in."

The hut smelled of blood but also of life, and he hovered for a minute, waiting as the midwife wrapped the baby and tucked it into the futon beside Kagome. The former miko smiled when she saw him. "It's a boy."

He crossed the room with less grace than he had ever had, coming to his knees next to her. "You gave me a son," he said, brushing the pads of his fingers over the baby's downy, white hair and tiny, triangular ears. A crescent moon graced his brow.

She leaned back against the cushions, grinning up at him. "I hope it's alright that this is your only Christmas gift this year."

Sesshoumaru smirked. "I believe it is the best one I have ever received. Even more so than the scarf."

Kagome laughed, reaching out to squeeze his hand. "Now, you get to give him a name," she said.

"You need to rest. The name can wait a few moments," he replied, knowing what it would be already. He stretched out on the futon with the baby between them and watched Kagome's eyes slowly shut as she began to doze off.

"Merry Christmas, Sesshoumaru," she murmured sleepily.

He gave her a real smile and replied, "Merry Christmas, Kagome."


A/N: Okay, that's it for now. ;) Enjoy these two "please don't kill me for not updating BYIT yet" Christmas stories. (It *is* coming along, just at the pace of a glacier...)

Merry Christmas!