The Sweetest Sin
Chapter 10
Author's note:
Hey guys I really like it when you review and tell me what you think of my latest chapters, but I haven't gotten many for this story, and I haven't gotten any for quite some time with this story, so I'm kind of bummed. If you like the story, please take a few seconds to comment when a new chapter comes out, or something, it doesn't seem like a big deal, but it is to me. Because the more you guys review the more excited I get and the more I want to update, but if no one leaves a review it's like well nobody's reading this so why should I keep going? So please just leave something quick when you do read a chapter, it only takes a second and it makes al the difference
Thanks!
The next morning I awoke cheerily, my face shining with excitement. I bounded down the stairs to meet Kaede and Inuyasha in the kitchen or breakfast as usual.
"Good morning!" I chirped, and hugged Inuyasha and Kaede as I entered.
"Good morning, darling!" Kaede greeted me back, warm and merry as ever. Inuyasha grunted. Oh well.
"Someone is extra cheerful this morning!" Kaede observed.
"Yeah, I'm really excited to pick out the tree and decorate it!" I said, grinning.
"You're always really excited for everything." Inuyasha said, rolling his eyes. I slapped him lightly with the newspaper he was holding.
"Yeah, well you're never excited for anything." I retorted, pretend pouting.
"That's not true. I'm excited for you to shut up." He replied emotionlessly, not looking up from the paper.
"Inuyasha!" I protested angrily, gasping at his rudeness.
"Just kidding," He said, laughing a bit, and smiling up at me, "Lighten up."
"Lighten up, ooo, Inuyasha!" I seethed, and chased him around the kitchen before finally realizing defeat; I was no match for his speed. I sighed and slumped in my chair, pouting.
"Jeez, Kagome," Inuyasha said as he strolled back over, and picked me straight up out of my chair, holding me in his arms bridal style. Then he pinched my cheeks and made mocking faces at me as he said in a baby voice, "Learn to take a joke, gosh," And with that he promptly dropped me to the floor.
"INUYASHA!"I yelled, only half angry, and chased him round and round the house until I could run no more, all the while as he laughed and taunted and I tried.
An hour later, I was showered and dressed, and ready to go. I was all bundled up, ready to pick a tree. We all piled in the car and drove a few miles down the road until we got to a quaint little nursery where Inuyasha pulled over and we all hopped out. We went over to the pine tree section, which was full of trees, hundreds surrounding us.
"Wooahhhhh." I sighed in awe, looking around at all the pine trees, and inhaling the deep fragrance of their needles. Inuyasha laughed at me but I didn't care. I began inspecting each one, looking for the fullest, the tallest, the most symmetrical, and the perfect one. Inuyasha made fun of me for caring so much to get the perfect tree, but I was too caught up to pay him any heed. I guess this was something I inherited from my mother, along with her hair and eyes.
I finally found the perfect one, and it was beautiful. I hugged it happily and said, "this is it. The perfect tree"
"Tree hugger." Inuyasha muttered under his breath. "Took you long enough."
"Okay," Kaede laughed, and turned to the owner, "I like this one, too. We'll take it."
"Yay!" I squealed and bounced around happily, hugging Kaede and Inuyasha, who grunted and rolled his eyes again. I glared at him, and smeared some sap in his hair when he wasn't looking. I'd get hell for ruining Inuyasha's perfect hair later, but I didn't care. However, twenty minutes later the tree war ready and packed, and we were climbing into the car again to set off home.
As we were driving Inuyasha sniffed and said, "Jeez, it still smells like pine." I giggled, and when Inuyasha lifted his hand to his hair and found the glob of sap as he was pushing it out of his face, I laughed harder at the look of horror and anger on his face.
"KAGOOOOOMEEEEEE!!!!!!"
After we got home and Kaede has calmed Inuyasha down and helped him wash it out, we had lunch and brought the tree inside. Afterwards he was still glaring at me as we hoisted the tree up in the corner of the living room in front of the window.
"Come, now, Inuyasha," Kaede reasoned, "if we are going to trim this tree you must put away that frown and forget about your hair."
"Fine." Inuyasha grumbled, shooting me a death look and mumbling, "bitch" under his breath.
"Inuyasha," Kaede warned, sending Inuyasha a dangerous look. He sighed and muttered something incoherent but gave in.
We brought up four big cardboard boxes from the basement, filled with glittering and shining balls, lights, stars, crystals, and other ornaments. We strung the lights up first, and then hung each delicate ornament with care, and an hour later the tree was beautiful. We sat back, admiring our work, and Inuyasha built up a roaring fire for us to enjoy as we sat together in the living room, basking in the glory of the tree. Soon Kaede left to cook in the kitchen, and Inuyasha and I were left on the couch by ourselves. We didn't talk much, just let the warmth of the crackling fire envelop us and relaxed, enjoying each other's company.
Soon, I drifted off on Inuyasha's lap as the fire burned low, succumbing to the fire's glow. I dreamed of my mother, dreamed of one winter afternoon when I was about five or so, which was about as far back as I could remember in my life. We were decorating the tree, too, and I could hear my mother's laugh, see her face so vividly, I could feel her warm embrace the dream was so strong. Then the dream progressed, and it was another winter afternoon, and I was six. Then seven, then eight, reliving the memories of each Christmas past with my mother through three years ago, when I was twenty, the last Christmas I ever had with her. The dream shook me, and when I woke up I was crying. Inuyasha must have brought me upstairs because I was in my bed again, underneath the covers.
A wave of emotion hit me like a ton of bricks, left over from the dream, still vivid in my mind. I felt a pang for her, and thought again of how much I missed her. I couldn't help it; the tears started streaming down my face, my knees weak. I brought my knees up to my chest and held them tight, remembering how my mother used to hold me and tell me everything would be okay when I was sad or scared. I remembered her face so vividly, her flowing dark locks that framed her face like a angle's, her loving, deep cobalt eyes, and her rosy, smile that never seemed to leave her lips, lighting up her whole face. I could remember her voice, too, her soothing, beautiful voice, and her soft laugh that seemed to make the world stop for a moment to revel in it's beauty. I cried harder as I remembered that, didn't realize how loud I was. At least, it was loud for a demon's ears. I buried my face in my knees and sobbed.
My face snapped up though as I heard the door opening slowly, and sniffled, trying to wipe my tears as Inuyasha came in.
"What do you want?" I asked harshly, trying to hide my tears.
"Come now, Kagome, You know what I am. You must know I can smell your tears, can hear your quiet sobs from a mile away."
"So? Just leave me alone."
"Hey, hey, calm down." He said gently, sitting down on the bed next to me. "Tell me what's wrong."
"Why so you can make fun of me for another of my human weaknesses?" I hiccupped, the tears still pouring down my face.
"No, of course not, Kagome." He said, taken aback, he wiped the tears from my cheeks and brushed my hair out of my face delicately, "I would never do that. Don't ever suggest that again. I care about you a lot, Kagome, and never want to see you cry."
I was shocked by his niceness; he had never been like this since I was very young. I stared at him, at a loss for words.
"Kagome, you were always there for me as a kid, because we were best friends. We are best friends, so now it's my turn to be there for you. What's the matter?"
His words shocked me, and suddenly the childhood friend seemed to be back, without the hard outer shell. I felt weak and overwhelmed, and fresh tears came as I told him about my mother, and collapsed into his arms. I instantly felt relief and safety in his arms as he comforted me and held me close. He dried my tears and talked to me for what must have been hours, just lying in bed with me holding me close and hugging me tight to his body, making me feel loved and protected, and okay. I buried my face into his chest and he stroked my hair, and held me ever after we had stopped talking. As I was falling back asleep, I could have sworn I felt a tear drop of his plop onto my head, but I wrote it off as my imagination as I drifted asleep in the comfort of his arms.