Inu Secret Santa
A New Holiday Tradition
Why was it such a travesty to have Sesshomaru and his wife Kagura over for a simple holiday meal? She got along fine with Kagura and their adopted daughter Rin, and for just once a year wanted peace, was that too much to ask for? The holiday season was stressful enough without having to deal with two brothers feuding over nothing more than brotherly rivalry. Kagome buries her head in her pillow. Ugh! She wanted to scream, and cry, or throw something! This had to be one of the worst Christmas' Kagome's ever had. She loved Inuyasha, oh, how she loved him, but his stubborn pride was at times so infuriating!
Their fight had been three days ago, and although Inuyasha had tried to call, left voice and text messages, Kagome refused to answer. She needed time to calm down, to think, sort out what she should do… and talk to her mother, the one person who would always provide a patient ear and a gentle coax in the right direction. Holing up in her old bedroom was a little awkward that first night. Kagome would be lying if she'd said she didn't miss Inuyasha. His warm embraces, chasing away the cold winter air, all snuggled between the sheets, or the rumble in his chest that lulled her into a peaceful slumber. The second night was just as lonely, and tonight was faring to be no better.
Maybe her mother was right, Kagome had finally relented over dinner as the two women sat with cups of steaming cocoa perched at their fingertips. She had known about the rivalry and still chosen to date Inuyasha. She learned how deeply the rift ran between the two brothers, yet later accepted his marriage proposal. And at least the two men had matured from verbal arguments to silent treatments within each other's presence. It was better than nothing. There may be no changing his mind completely, her mother had cautioned, but are you willing to throw away everything else over this? Okay, fine, the answer ended up being no. But that didn't mean she wasn't still irritated.
Kagome sighs and leans over her desk with her fingers scrolling through Inu's text messages. All the typical, "I'm sorry's," to, "you win, they can come over," and, "please come homes," one would expect, plus sad emoji's and a few gifs scattered along the way. Multiple messages like clockwork sent over the span of three days, but the last was over 4 hours ago. That was odd. Had Inuyasha finally given up?
A slight twinge in her heart gave her pause to think that maybe she'd overreacted just a tad. She needed to remind herself that their world, their line of thinking was at times different from humans, and honor or pride a willful necessity to survive. It wasn't a great excuse, but if she truly loved Inuyasha, one that she could be patient with.
She rises from her chair with a somber gait to her movements. It was getting late, 'I'll call him in the morning.' They can work this out, Kagome was sure of it.
Melody at her back, wafts in through the cracked window. Despite the chilly night air, her room had been stuffy from a lack of residence and required airing. How odd. The temples expanse didn't allow for close neighbors, so who would be playing music loud enough for her to hear it at this time of night? Her head turns to the window in recognition, it was a favorite Christmas song of hers. But the voice of the singer!
The snow's comin' down
I'm watchin' it fall
lots of people around
baby, please come home
His horrid attempt brought the first glimpse of a smile in days to her face. Kagome shakes her head, Inuyasha really was an atrocious singer. She pulls on a coat and opens the window to peer down at the poor soul belting out the lyrics for all he was worth.
The church bells in town
are ringing in song
full of happy sounds
baby, please come home
Cracking tone and off-beat cadences pierce her eardrums and yet, his gesture had not fallen on deaf ears. A dog starts howling in the distance. She chuckles as he breaks form to scream at it to shut up.
They're singing Deck The Halls
But it's not like Christmas at all
'Cause I remember when you were here
And all the fun we had last year
This was the first time she'd ever seen her fiancé put aside his pride, and in such a showy way! Granted it was late at night without another soul around, but still, this meant a lot! She almost wanted to record it. But that would be a bad idea. Kagome sighs, the level of desperation in Inuyasha's voice brings tears to her eyes as he cries out the last of the song… The amount of pain carrying through, from the droop in his ears, to the slump of his shoulders…
Pretty lights on the tree
I'm watching them shine
you should be here with me
baby, please come home
Baby please come home!
"Please come home Kagome!"
Kagome holds up a finger without saying a word, then closes the window. She can hear him shouting for her to come back, but instead hurries from the second floor to the kitchen door. As soon as Kagome opens the door, he rushes over. She swore if he'd had a tail it'd be wagging right now. It took every ounce of her willpower not to immediately cave into his lost puppy expression.
"I'm still irritated with you," Kagome crosses her arms and leans against the door's frame.
"Aww, come on Gome," his ears flatten and disappear into his hairline. "I'm sorry, baby, you're right," voice faltering, "this beef with my brother is dumb, but I don't wanna lose you over it." He straightens out, "if I need to put up with him, I'll do it for you."
Kagome's brow raises, "And for your niece that loves her uncle Inu and wants to see him?"
His voice lowers, softening, with a smile weaving onto his face for he knows she's caving in. "Yes, and for Rin." Inuyasha reaches out tentatively to unfurl her fingers gripped on her arm. "My two favorite girls in the world right now." He smirks and takes her hand placing it over his heart. "Of course, until we have one of our own."
The idea brings a flush to Kagome's cheeks. Damn it, she melted again! "Alright, I'll come home tonight on two conditions."
"Name it."
"Every Christmas Eve we'll host a family dinner, and secondly, you have to sing to me on Christmas morning."
"You seriously want me to sing again?! Wasn't that one time painful enough?"
Kagome laughs and shrugs her shoulders, "it made me smile."
"Okay, fine I'll do it, but only for you, no one else!" He clasps her face between his palms, "you really are too good for me Gome."
She chuckles, "always remember you said it not me."
From inside the house, they hear a female exaggerating the clearing of their throat.
Inu chuckles and drops his hands, "I see we have an eavesdropper."
"I'm not surprised," Kagome rolls her eyes and opens the door wide. "Hi mom."
"Oh, hi dears." She smiles brightly, her eyes flitting above them. "Don't mind me, I was just decorating the door."
The pair follows her gaze to see what she was talking about.
"Traditions are traditions," Mrs. Higurashi winks and walks away.
Inuyasha rolls his eyes. "Yeah, silly traditions. This stuff is poisonous."
"You know," Kagome teases, "that in ancient Greece, Mistletoe is associated with fertility?"
"Oh?" his brow raises with another grin. "Well in that case, who are we to ignore tradition…"