A/N: Hi guys. Sorry this wasn't up yesterday, but whatever I had at the beginning of the week came back with a vengeance. I'm feeling much better today, I actually slept until almost 2 in the afternoon. This one will be pretty long though. And there will be fluffiness abound.
Disclaimer: That's it! I'm not saying it any more!
The 12 Pains of Christmas: chapter 12
"Kagome! Would you hurry it up already?" shouted Souta up the stairs. "You're gonna make us late!"
"Shut your mouth, brat! I'm done, okay?" his sister yelled back seconds before she appeared on the landing. Inuyasha took a sharp breath. She looked absolutely stunning in that dress. It was almost as if she were sparkling with some inner light. She smiled at him and started down the stairs, forgetting to pick up the corner of the long skirt. Halfway down she tripped, but before she could tumble the rest of the way down the stairs, a pair of warm arms caught her. Opening on eye, she looked up and saw Inuyasha's smiling face. Laughing was heard from the little boy waiting by the door.
"Souta! Stop it!" she snapped, pushing out of the hanyou's arms and straightening her dress, trying to regain some dignity.
"You klutz! You can't even walk down the stairs without falling!" he managed to gasp out between chuckles. A sharp bop on the head killed his laughter as he saw his sister towering over him with a purely murderous look in her eyes.
"Never before have I been so tempted to commit fratricide," she said, eerily calm. How dare he embarrass her further in front of Inuyasha! They were going to the church Christmas party and not only did she make a fool of herself, but Souta has to rub it in! Her brother quailed at her feet, and her date was quietly laughing at their antics on the side. Her three cousins stood, gaping, looking very uncomfortable in their little suits.
"Enough, you two! Let's just go, alright?" Mrs. Higurashi had been watching patiently, but now she truly feared for her son's life. She shuffled everyone out the door and into the car, making sure that her children were as far away from each other as possible.
"Auntie Ami, put on some music!" Riku called from the back seat.
"Tsk! How do we ask for something, Riku?" Kagome responded from the middle row before her mother could answer.
"Can you please put on some music, Auntie Ami?" he corrected himself.
"I sure can," she said, pulling out a random CD from the compartment between the two front seats. Putting it in, she was surprised to hear the song that came on.
"Mom, I didn't know we had the Twisted Christmas CD!" Souta was busy turning the volume up as 'The 12 Pains of Christmas' opening began to play. All three teens sang along to the hilarious spoof, and before they knew it, the car was pulling up in front of the old church building. 'That song seemed kinda fitting,' Kagome thought as Inuyasha helped her from the car. Hand in hand, the couple made their way inside.
"Kagome! Hey, Kagome!" someone shouted from behind them. The rumble emanating from the hanyou's chest warned her of who it was. Only Hojo could evoke that response from him. She plastered a smile on her face before turning to face the boy.
"Hi, Hojo," her voice was laced with forced enthusiasm. But the naïve boy didn't catch on.
"Oh, hi there, Inuyasha was it?" he asked, coming to stand with them.
"Yeah. I'm actually here as Kagome's date," Inuyasha said, trying to warn the guy to back off. Hojo's smile faltered slightly.
"Oh, I see—" he was cut off as Yuka and Ayumi came over, waving and calling their own greetings.
'Thank goodness,' Kagome thought. She didn't want to be mean, but seriously, Hojo needed to give up on her and find someone else who liked him that way. From the looks Yuka was giving him from the corner of her eye, there was already one person who did.
"I love that dress, Kagome. Where did you get it?" Ayumi asked, looking enviously at the white silk that clung to her friend's body almost as possessively as the boy on her arm.
Kagome grinned, gazing up into Inuyasha's honey eyes for a minute before turning back to her friend. "Inuyasha got it for me as a Christmas present. That, and he asked me to come tonight as his date." The girls oohed and aahed for a moment, gushing about "how very romantic" it all was. Inuyasha excused himself quickly, using the excuse of looking for Mrs. Higurashi and the pups to get away from all the girliness. Sure, he liked Kagome and all, but three squealing females were way too much.
He finally spotted them sitting at a table at the other end of the room. Souta was sitting looking very bored while Riku and Kurai tugged and pulled on various parts of his clothing. Ryo was gurgling happily in his booster seat, and he all but shrieked when Inuyasha walked up.
"'Yasa! 'Yasa!" his voice got the attention of the other runts. All three heads popped up simultaneously. In an instant, the two little pups were clinging to his clothes while Souta looked at him gratefully.
"Thanks, bro," he said before zooming off in the direction of the refreshment table, where Inuyasha saw a pretty young girl waiting for him. 'Bro?' he thought, before trying to remove the munchkins from his jacket sleeves. He finally disentangled their tiny fists and plopped them down in their seats on either side of Mrs. Higurashi.
"Thanks, Inuyasha. Have a seat. I'm sure Kagome will come looking for you soon," she said, motioning him towards the empty chair across from her.
~*~
"Hey, did either of you see where my date went?" Kagome asked a few minutes later when she noticed Inuyasha wasn't standing behind her anymore. A quick look around proved he wasn't in the mass of people surrounding them.
"Yeah. I think he wandered over to your mom's table. See, there he is," Yuka pointed him out above the crowd. She stood on tiptoes and barely saw the top of his silver head. 'Curses, why do I have to be short?'
"Alright. Then, gals, I bid you good night," she replied, already making her way over. Just then, soft instrumental music began to play above the murmur of the crowd. A smile played on her lips as she came up behind her date and covered his eyes with her hands.
"Hello, Kagome," he said. 'Darn those youkai senses, too,' she thought as he turned around to face her.
"Dance with me, Inuyasha," she pleaded, grabbing his hands and leading him out onto the floor. She guided his warm arms around her waist, and settled her own about his shoulders. A quick demonstration was all the hanyou needed to get the gist of this modern 'dancing.' Kagome settled her head against his chest, and he rested his chin on the top of her head. Several songs started and finished before the couple broke the embrace and went back to the table. The minister, Reverend Peter, had just come up to the podium and was preparing to speak.
"Good evening, parishioners and guests. Welcome to our church's Christmas celebration. There is food, drinks, dancing and mistletoe. And later, there will be caroling for the younger crowd. So be merry this night, and don't forget to come to church tomorrow morning!" he said, and a few cheers rang out. He signaled the music and jumped down from the stage. A lively tune began to play and more couples began to step out on the dance floor. One of which, Kagome happily noted, was Yuka and Hojo. Of course, Yuka looked much more excited than her partner, but that wasn't a problem.
"Inuyasha, I'll be right back. I'm just going to some punch. Would you like a glass?" he nodded and she walked over to the refreshment table. As she poured the second cup, she happened to look up and saw Souta and a girl from his school standing a little ways away. Then she looked above them and found a small sprig of mistletoe. She smirked.
"Hey Souta! Look up!" she called. Her brother's head jerked up in surprise, and he saw her pointing upwards. He turned his gaze up, and found the reason for Kagome's grin. A blush stained his face and he motioned for Mia, his secret crush, to look as well. She gasped and stared at him wide-eyed. He leaned in hesitantly and pecked her gently on the lips. His face couldn't get much redder, not that Mia was much better off. Kagome was laughing as she returned to her mother's table.
"Guess who got caught under the mistletoe?" she asked Mrs. Higurashi, handing Inuyasha his glass of punch.
"Oh, no. Did you kiss someone other than Inuyasha?" her mother looked horrified by the very idea.
"No! Mom, it was Souta! Souta and a girl from his class!" Kagome watched as her mother breathed a sigh of relief. 'What was that all about?' she wondered.
"That's good. You had me worried for a moment," even Inuyasha looked at Mrs. Higurashi confused. But the woman just shrugged it off. She noticed the dozing children at her side. Time for the sleep test. Kagome's mother lifted the sleeping Riku's arm and then let it drop. It was like dead weight. There was no way these kids would be up anytime soon.
"Inuyasha, would you help me get them into the car. I know they probably wanted to go caroling later, but I think we wore them out today. I'll take them home now, and you guys can walk later, alright?" she asked, hefting Ryo up out of his seat. Inuyasha lifted Riku and Kurai easily and followed Mrs. Higurashi out to the car.
"I'll be back in about 15 minutes, Kagome!" he called before going out the door. Kagome looked around for anybody to talk to, but Yuka was still dancing with Hojo and Ayumi was nowhere to be found. So she settled for sitting and tapping her foot impatiently. It would only be for 15 minutes, right?
~*~
It was almost half an hour later. With much complaint, Souta and Mia had left with the caroling crew. The reverend was taking whoever wished to go over to the nearby home for the elderly to sing. She had shooed Souta out the door with them despite his protests. Kagome was just starting to get worried when Inuyasha burst through the door. His hair was all over the place and his suit kind of windblown, but it didn't matter to her. She leapt into his arms and he returned to hug. Inuyasha let her finger comb his hair back into semi-ordinance without much protest. But the people around the couple were beginning to smile. He couldn't tell if they were a bunch of old romantic coots or there was something he was missing.
"Kagome! Inuyasha! Look up!" hissed Yuka from somewhere to their left. Kagome was almost afraid to. But, sure enough, there was mistletoe hanging above their heads. She met Inuyasha's gold eyes again. He smiled at her, then leaned down and kissed her. Kagome heard the cheers and thought, 'Too bad Mom and Souta missed this. They both played matchmaker so well!' Then the ability to think clearly left her completely. And she didn't have a problem with that.
**That's it. That's the end. Possibly an epilogue, but not likely.
Thankies lots to my best reviewers ever! You guys are great! There must have been 20-something reviews to chappie 11 (plus it's almost 2 in the morning), so I'm not going to do individual thanks and comments. Good night!
The twelfth thing at Christmas that's such a pain to meSinging Christmas carols
Stale T.V. specials
Batteries not included
No parking?!
Wahhhh!
Charities!
Gotta make 'em dinner
Five months of bills
I'm not sending them this year, that's it!
Shut up, you!
Fine you're so smart, you rig up the lights!
And finding a Christmas tree.