++++This short takes place right after Kagome and Sesshomaru's heart-to-heart in Chapter 10 and right before they go back to the feudal era.
After their talk, Kagome was feeling much better about being around Sesshomaru. She would almost admit to feeling comfortable. He had allowed her to ask all her questions and now that unsettling feeling that clawed at her heart whenever she was around him was gone. She could finally breath in the youkai's presence. She was so carefree in fact, while she was making sure she had everything she needed for the trip she found herself humming along to one of her favorite songs during this time of year, Santa Baby.
"Miko, from what tune do you hum?" Sesshomaru sat on the miko's bed without his armor. She didn't know when, but at one point in the night he had ditched the cold metal and placed it in the well house. It made the daiyoukai's lean figure more noticeable and the graceful lines of his body had an odd sensuality to them as they laid beneath the pure, white silk. Get your mind out of the gutter Kagome! Its not like you need more incentive to think about those strong arms holding you all… Stop it!
Kagome laughed off her embarrassment at her own impropriety and she answered Sesshomaru's question. "Ah, it's a Christmas song…" Seeing the blank look on the demon lord's face, Kagome remembered that Sesshomaru would have no idea what she meant by 'Christmas.' "Well, you see, Christmas was originally a religious holiday celebrated in the West but today it is more for couples, at least in Japan. It's actually really fun and just so happens to be my my favorite holiday!" The little miko's eyes lit up like Christmas lights as an enthusiastic smile bloomed across her pretty face. "Christmas has a lot of cool traditions like decorating the Christmas tree, giving presents to your loved ones…" Kagome stuck a finger to her chin and plopped down on the bed across from Sesshomaru as she tried to remember some of the more basic traditions of the western holiday. "Oh, and baking cookies for Santa Claus! I love icing gingerbread men but my mom insists that Santa's favorite cookie are oatmeal raisin (which coincidently were her grandfather's favorite…)."
Excited blue eyes returned from her reminiscing of Christmas' past to find a very perplexed daiyoukai. He had looked at her like this a number of times over the course of their time together and Kagome knew exactly what this particular look meant. (1) Sesshomaru didn't have a clue what she was talking about, and (2) because the 'all-knowing' lord didn't know what she was talking about he assumed she was crazy. In an attempt to defend herself, the miko gave a slightly longer and more thorough explanation of what she knew to be 'Christmas,' but that damn look never left the youkai's face.
"Miko, you humans not only allow, but encourage, this strange magical being's entry into your homes? All in the hope that this 'Santa Kurousu' will be merciful and leave gifts behind without reason or motive except for the mere enticement of baked sweets?" The 'look' now appeared permanently etched into the daiyoukai's stone mask and Kagome was helpless to the fit of giggles that chimed like bells in her amusement at the youkai's rendition of 'Christmas.' It did sound absurd when he put it that way.
"No, Sesshomaru, contrary to what you might believe humans aren't that foolish. At least, not all of them." Kagome laughed as she nervously fiddled with the small bag she had snagged of the ground. She agonized over this little bag for an entire day before Sesshomaru showed up but now it seemed like fate was giving her a nudge in a certain direction. "Um, Santa isn't really the one's who brings the gifts, that's just a story for children. For adults, you receive gifts from your relatives, coworkers and friends, or even you lover…" Kagome's face flushed a Merry Christmas red as she shoved the small bag in the confused inu's face. Seeing what was presented to him, Sesshomaru paused as his usually quick witted mouth became dry. He was a smart youkai so he could connect the dots. The miko was presenting him with a gift, and what did she just say? That adults receive their gifts from family, something called a 'coworker' and comrades, and finally 'lovers.' Under which pretext was this gift being given to him?
The daiyoukai's sculpted brow arched slightly as his surprise was too much to endure as he hesitantly took the offered object from a crimson faced miko. We would rather she be the gift that needs unwrapping. Quiet! Sesshomaru scolded his beast who was urging him to claw the odd paper material to shreds in order to discover what lie hidden beneath. However, Sesshomaru refrained as he was still the stuck up, posh Western Lord who knew how to show decorum even if his beast was hoping around like an excited puppy in his cage.
Glancing up, Sesshomaru caught the uncertainty in the miko's glittering eyes and he could scent her nervousness. Was she perhaps worried that he would reject her gift? That he would not like it? Did she really think he was that crass? He was already honored that the onna would think to procure him a gift in the first place. It wasn't like he had done anything to really deserve it.. In fact, wouldn't this gift just put him more in the miko's debt?
"You're supposed to open it." Kagome's voice was barely over a whisper. Gods, she was mortified. Why was he just staring at it? Feeling her flustered nerves become the epitome of frenzied, the brazen little miko reached out, took the daiyoukai's much larger hand in her own, and dove their interlaced fingers into the confines of the red and green tissue paper. Sesshomaru's eyes widened at her assertiveness but he didn't comment as he proceeded with what he assumed was the correct course of action. Just as Kagome was pulling her hand out of the bag, Sesshomaru's fingers encountered something wooden. He pulled the heavier than expected object out of the bag to find a simple wooden box.
He could feel the miko's nervousness as it soured her pleasant scent, and in an attempt to purify her soothing smell of the abnormality the daiyoukai quickly lifted the lid to the box. Inside, Sesshomaru saw a tea cup. The traditional cup was a magnificent work of craftsmanship as its glazed surface glistened like a gem. Picking it up out of the box, Sesshomaru's face became oddly gentle when he saw a design that proved the miko had truly picked out this gift with him in mind—not just given him some leftovers in return for saving her the night before. The cup itself was died in a rich royal blue that encircled the bottom before fading to white as it reached the rim of the cup and on its side was a silver crescent moon.
The silence was killing Kagome as she watched Sesshomaru examine the cup unblinking eyes. Honestly, it wasn't that expensive. It was just something she saw in a shop window while she was looking for gifts for the gang and it made her think of him as it sat on its display, beautiful and alone. She had bought it without a second of hesitation but she gave herself a migraine just thinking about actually giving the demon lord the gift. She had no clue how he would react. He was the Western Lord for gods' sake, doesn't that mean he was used to receiving literal treasures for presents? A cold sweat began to slide down her back as the daiyoukai sat on her bed, unmoving, as he stared at the cup. Thinking that she needed to break the silence, Kagome said the first thing that came to mind.
"There's more." Kagome couldn't wait for the demon lord as she reached into the bag sitting on his lap and pulled out an unassuming tin container. She ignored his heavy stare as she unhooked the container's lid, allowing the demon to smell the rich scent.
"Matcha?" Sesshomaru's deep voice was filled with something Kagome was unprepared for, emotion. The miko realized that the youkai wasn't even trying to hide how he was feeling in this moment as she met his golden gaze. She saw everything from confusion and hesitancy to genuine gratitude and what Kagome even dared to call affection? The look was so unguarded that the little onna nearly dropped the canister in surprise. Luckily, a strong hand caught her and continued her hold her steady, his thumb stroking the back of her hand.
"Yeah," Kagome's blush deepened and her voice remained soft. "Rin said it was your favorite. The cup, too. That was because I noticed we didn't have enough tea cups in our travel set. I thought you might like one of your own and, well, I just thought it would suit you." Her skin was burning. Kagome couldn't even look at him anymore so she tried to pull her hands back only to be met with resistance.
"Thank you, Miko." The daiyoukai matched her softly spoken ramble with a deep rumble of his own. The timber of his voice making Kagome's stomach knot in an unfamiliar way. A devilish smirk and smiling eyes watched as the onna fumbled out of his grip and out of the bed they had shared the night previous. She slung the heavy travel pack on to her back and, after taking his cup and tea away and repacking them, she made her way towards her bedroom door. He was going to tease her a little more when she turned around with the most adorable expression the daiyoukai had ever seen. Yes, the killing machine actually thought the human was adorable. Pink cheeks, shimmering blue eyes that darted from his face to the floor and back, and lips that barely formed a small, gentle smile.
"Merry Christmas, Sesshomaru." The demon lord could not respond in jest as the onna's disposition left him and his beast breathless. Such a divine creature and she was his to mate. The thought alone was enough to make Sesshomaru forget his long held attitude towards humans wherever she was concerned. For him, the miko was a unique and unparalleled existence, much like himself.
Recomposing his stoic facade, the daiyoukai followed after his little miko. She had told her family farewell earlier in the morning before they departed for their respective duties so neither of them bothered to hid his presence. They could just walk out the front door and be on the merry way, and they would have too, if something strange hadn't caught the demon lord's eye. "Miko. Is this another of your Christmas traditions?" A clawed finger reached over Kagome's head as it pointed to the door frame.
Confused eyes darted up but upon recognizing the foreign object they quickly darted back down. How come Mama had to hang that thing this year of all years? She merely nodded her head as she tried to keep walking but a hand suddenly caught the back of her turtleneck. "Eeep" Kagome squealed as she floundered backwards the few steps she had managed to take before being caught in her attempt to flee.
"Miko, what is this strange plant? Is it an herb? Why does this Sesshomaru have no knowledge of such a plant? The smell is quite peculiar." Sesshomaru took a noticeable sniff. "Almost like pine yet sweeter, perhaps floral in nature?" The daiyoukai's big silver head tilted to the side as he looked at his miko master for guidance to the foreign custom. Kagome groaned at the onslaught of questions but she was the instigator for telling him about Christmas in the first place, she couldn't just stop answering his questions now? Maybe if he was someone else she could, but with a curious Inu Lord Kagome was sure that the avoidance route was no longer an option.
"It's called mistletoe," The miko mumbled reluctantly. "I don't really know much about it except that it is hung in doorways durning the Christmas season." Kagome hoped that would be enough information to sate the beast, but of course it was not.
"Does it serve a purpose?" Sesshomaru stepped closer so he was only half a foot away from Kagome's back, the back she refused to turn around. If she was going to say what she had to say it would not be while she was looking at him! She just couldn't handle that right after giving him a present. He might think she was after something.
"I guess you could say that. The tradition is that if two people are caught under the mistletoe they are expected to kiss. It's silly really, most people just ignore it unless they are involved…" Kagome froze as a cold finger hooked underneath her chin from behind and lifted her face to meet two narrowed pools of gold.
"Have you partaken in this tradition, Miko?" Sesshomaru's voice was as cold as the winter breeze blowing on her cheek and Kagome couldn't suppress the shiver that descended her spine. His voice was so cold yet his eyes were burning her. She shook her head to the best of her ability, and the response seemed to satisfy the demon as the fire receded but that didn't stop the heat from lingering under her skin.
"Hn," The daiyoukai's possessiveness died down to a certain degree but the mental image of his miko kissing some stranger simply because a plant decreed it be done was absurd to the highest degree. If anyone was to partake in such a tradition with his miko it should be him…
As Kagome tried to calm her racing heart, her vision began to darken as an encroaching shadow moved over her face. Startled eyes locked on the approaching demon before instinct told her to shut her eyes tight. Oh gods, was he about to do what she thought he was going to do? Her suspicions were confirmed and denied when a pair of cold, soft lips brushed against her forehead.
Opening her eyes once again, Kagome saw the inhumanely beautiful face of a certain daiyoukai smirking at her. His thumb moved from the side of her face to the side of her neck as he lowered his head once again, this time going for her ear.
"Merry Christmas, Miko. Did you hope there would be more to your present?" His hot breath tickled her ear and ignited the fire in her heart, but this time it wasn't the fire's of attraction. Oh no, our miko was pissed. Pushing him away with all her strength and just a touch of reiki, Kagome escaped his grasp and began marching in the direction of the well house, all the while grumbling her grievances.
"Present my ass, you damn dog. Your next present will be a collar to match Inuyasha's!" Sesshomaru chuckled as he admired the onna's retreating form, prompting the demon to agree with the miko's statement. Such an ass makes a mighty fine present. Indeed.
—Merry Christmas and a Happy Holidays to all my beloved readers!—