Remodel

With Christmas in less than a week, Kagome was hard pressed not to cringe at the idea of having a party in her new house. She had barely even started any of the repairs, truth be told. As an early Christmas gift, Miroku and Sango had paid to have the kitchen entirely remodeled in whatever fashion she chose, which had been a godsend. As far as the living room went, because of the sheer amount of space it provided, she had divided it into two rooms with screens, shelves and curtains in an attempt to gain privacy for a small bedroom; the whole of the second floor, with all six bedrooms, hadn't been touched. The flooring needed to be completely replaced.

But still. With as quickly as Kohaku and his crew had worked to get the repairs done for her over the past week and a half, and during the holiday season at that, she was hard-pressed to refuse his request. "I don't know, Kohaku. The house still needs a lot of work and I was thinking of just going to Mama's this year."

Kohaku, hearing the hint of uncertainty in her voice, pressed his advantage. "You know Miroku and Sango would never say anything, but they're worried about you spending so much time here alone. It'd make them feel better if you had some kind of Christmas party type thing to show them you're doing okay all the way out here."

'All the way out here,' was barely a half hour outside the city, she thought fleetingly, even as she nodded slowly and a small smile formed. "That's cheating, and you know it, too," she muttered, looking around the kitchen. A few more days and it would be done, and she could stop eating thing out of the microwave and hot plates.

He followed her eyes around the kitchen and his eyes shown with pride. Personally, he had always thought the kitchens made the houses he worked in, homes. It was no different here. And it would be done by Christmas Eve; he'd personally see to it. Turning back to her, he smiled his typical slow, shy smile. "Maybe. But it's the truth."

"You win," she murmured, shaking her head. "You're as bad as your sister you know. She's all blunt force and energy, like you're getting railroaded, but you're all smooth and easy sailing, working your way around to what you want. It's a little scary."

Still smiling, he leaned forward and pressed a light kiss to her cheek. "As your honorary second favorite little brother, I'll take that as a compliment."

o.O.o