Title A Christmas Present
Author landofthekwt
Rating K
Promp Present
Word Count 2000
Pairing Sesshoumaur/ Mrs. H
Warning none
Summary Sesshoumaru and Mrs. H share chcken and Christamas cake
She gazed at the dirty dishes on the table. For some reason she did not feel like doing the dishes tonight. It was Christmas Eve. for kami sake. A special time for romance. She had always been told that it was magical.
She had served Souta and Hitomi their KFC chicken and Christmas cake after school. Souta had seen her home and already gone to bed. Ji-chan had eaten leftovers and retired for the night.
Kagome should have come home today and brought Inuyasha with her. Souta and Hitomi might be cute together, but she knew that Inuyasha was serious about Kagome. With the right encouragement he might say and do the right thing.
Unfortunately,this was the first Christmas without Kagome. She had never felt so alone. So tied up in others relationships that she did not have time for her own.
This year she had hoped for more. She had been seeing Lord Sesshoumaru off and on since summer. Granted only they had met at soccer games and gone on graving field trips
Sbe was hoping that she meant as much to Sesshoumaru as he meant to her. Reaching for her purse, she pulled out his card. Would he even be in his office at this time of night? Trembling she dialed his number. It rang and rang. She was just about to give up when he answered.
"Lord Sesshoumaru, this is Mrs. Higurashi. Would you like to come over for Christmas cake and chicken."
Sesshoumaru looked at his mother who had invited herself for tea at the Western Shiro. Tokyo was nearly 800 miles by car. Of course, Mrs. Higurashi had no way of knowing where he was since she called his Tokyo office number.
His mother waved him away " Don't mind me. Don't keep your Lady is waiting. Tonight is the most romantic night of the year. Japanese humans. She is the first woman you have spent any time with since Rin died. Don't forget to bring her a gift"
Sesshoumaru nodded " I can be there in about two hours."
He could almost hear her smile as she replied " I will look forward to seeing you,Lord Sesshoumaru"
Two hours. Barely enough time to clear the table, wash the dishes, reheat the chicken, bathe and change. Everything needed to be just right tonight for him. She had never done anything like this before.
A midnight supper with a man on Christmas Eve. It was not the commitment that a night at a hotel implied, but it was a start. This would mark their first date. She was treading a narrow line. After tonight they would no longer be just friends.
Sesshoumaru reached a flower shop near the Higurashi shrine without being noticed. Rin had liked flowers. Surely, she would too. He tried to remember what flowers Rin had liked, but it had been too long.
He stared at the flowers in his hand. The florist said that this bouquet was romantic. How was he supposed to know? Hidden in the bouquet was a little white plush dog which poked its head out of the flowers.
The florist said that women were pushovers for such cute things. Rin had always loved cute things, but he never understood why. He had no concept of cute. Rin had tired to explain, but everything about Rin was unexplainable.
He was so nervous. She was just the mother of his brother's wife nothing more. He was just watching out for her as he had promised his brother when he died nearly five hundred years ago.
Rapping on the door, it opened revealing a woman in a traditional kimono. He did a double take She always wore those dowdy Western clothes to the soccer games and day trips.
They did not show off her figure like the kimono did. He had always loved Rin in the kimonos he bought her mostly because they marked her as his.
So much like Rin. Beautiful without even trying to be beautiful. Alluring without attempting to seduce. Honest with her own feelings for him.
He stood awkwardly in the doorway. The suit had been a mistake. He wore it now just as he had his armor in the old days. When he transformed, it transformed just like his traditional clothing had.
"Are those flowers fro me?"
At just that moment all the bells in Tokyo seemed to chime at the same time, sounding out the news that Christmas had come to Japan. Not even his sensitive ears caught what Mrs. Higurashi had to say.
He felt like an idiot. She had caught him like a fish out of water. Everything she did seemed to entrance him. Finally, he held out the flowers to her and bowed. She returned his bow and motioned for him to follow her.
He did after taking off his shoes and putting on the sandals placed by the door. By the time he found the dining room the flowers were already in a vase on the kotatsu sans dog.
She motioned for him to sit. Although he rarely ate, he knew that he could not refuse whatever she set in front of him. She scurried to the kitchen and retrieved with tea service.
He waited for her to pour knowing that she was a very traditional Japanese woman. Rin had always insisted on serving him even after they were mates.
The bells finally ceased their tolling. They were able to have their tea in peace. Sesshoumaru stared into the cup. He and Rin never dated. She told him that courting was she had always wanted to be his.
Mrs. Higurashi looked at him quizzically. Sesshoumaru was always so hard to read. She could never tell if he was happy or sad. Just that he kept coming back to her when she called.
After he finished his tea, she asked him if she could refill his cup. When he nodded, she asked if he was ready for the chicken. While he did not really care for chicken, he could scarcely refuse
When he assented, she left for the kitchen. Staring around the room, he found it odd. It was an island of tradition in a Western sea. A little ancestral shrine was in one corner of the room
Something moved him to stand. On the stand of the shrine was a picture of a man nearly Mrs. Higurashi's age. He was dressed in traditional dress. A candle lit his face making him appear almost spectral
He heard a sound behind him and found Mrs. Higurashi with a plate of chicken staring past him to the picture on the shrine.
"My late husband" She said in a whisper.
He nodded and retreated to his former place at the kotatsu. After a moment she turned and knelt placing a plate of chicken in front of him and retreating to the kitchen.
He stared at the chicken for a moment. Western style chicken from a fast food restaurant. He knew of the tradition, but never understood it
When she returned to the kotatsu, she placed the plate on the table in front of her eyes and clasped her hands together in an attitude of prayer. Sesshoumaru have been well trained by Rin, followed suit. He was still startled when she clapped three times at the end of the prayer.
They both picked at their chicken with their he did not seem to be eating much of the chicken, she asked if it was not to his liking.
He shook his head " I apologize Mrs. Higurashi. It is not the chicken. I just do not seem to be very hungry."
"I could wrap it for you to go,Lord Sesshoumaru."
"No thank you. Mrs. Higurashi. I appreciate your kindness, but I would not want you to go to any trouble."
"No trouble at all, Lord Sesshoumau, May I serve the cake now?"
When he did not answer, she took away the plates and returned with the cake. It was a sponge cake topped with whipped cream icing. Strawberries decorated the top of the cake.
She placed the cake in front of him and awaited his response. He decided to dig in. Just as he did she spoke.
"Be sure to eat it all Lord Sesshoumaru. They say that Christmas cake is just like women over 25
They are both thrown out after December 25"
Sesshoumaru looked up at her. At that moment in the candlelight she looked more lovely than any woman he had ever seen. A rash impulse came over Taking her hand in his he spoke.
"I would never throw you out, Mrs. Higurashi"
She gasped and covered her face with her sleeve to cover the blush on her face. When he realized he was holding her hand, he stared at it. After a moment, he tried to pull away, but Mrs. Higurashi would not let him go.
"Thank you, Lord Sesshoumaru. I appreciate your kindness." she said. After a moment she released his hand. They both finished their cake in silence. She collected the plates and asked if she could get him anything else
When he shook her head, she headed toward the kitchen. He got up from the kotatsu. What should he do now? She returned with some neatly wrapped packages.
She must have wrapped the left over cake and chicken. He protested that he did not need the food, but she silenced him with a wave of her hand and spoke.
"Think of me and this night when you finish the chicken and Christmas cake"
He was in no position to refuse. She offered more tea, but he begged off. Although he did not need sleep, tomorrow was a work day in Tokyo.
Tonight had been a nice respite from his dealings with humans. He had escaped a night with his mother and seen an aspect of Mrs. Higurashi that he had never seen before.
He was caught off guard when she asked him if he would come for the New Year's celebration at the Shrine. He could hardly say no. She smiled and thanked him for coming.
"Christmas is a time to be with loved one I was feeling very lonely until you came, Thank you, for coming Lord Sesshoumaru. "
He stared at her. She mentioned serving the chicken and cake to her boy and his little girlfriend earlier. Even the old priest had eaten some. He should be insulted that she served him leftovers
Instead, he was grateful that she had shared a food that obviously meant so much to her. He mumbled his thanks for the food and the company and accepted her invitation. Her bright smile in reply warmed his heart like Rin's used to.
They walked to the door in silence. When they reached it, she seemed to be waiting for something. After a moment of silence., she bowed and said "See you again on New Year's Sessmoumaru"
For some reason the formal greeting was stuck in Sesshoumaru's throat. All he could say was "Jya ne" when he returned his bow. Those words were enough to make her smile a smile that would haunt him until he returned.
She stood in the doorway as he disappeared into the night. For the first time since her husband died she felt hope for herself. Maybe she was ready to move on.
She and Lord Sesshoumaru had done things together before, but they had never really dated. Graving trips and meeting at soccer games were not dates.
He had come when she called despite the lateness of the hour. When she called, she had been depressed. Now she was elated. He had come for would have a hard time sleeping tonight.
She felt like a school girl after her first kiss. Lord Sesshoumaru might have done nothing more than touch her hand, but she could feel something in his touch.
She rolled out the futon and dressed for bed. On the night stand was the plush dog. Impulsively, she grabbed the dog and flopped down on the bed.
She went to sleep with it clutched tightly to her chest and dreamed of Lord Sesshoumaru. New Year's Day could not come soon enough for her.