Disclaimer: I do not own Christmas. I also do not own Takahashi Rumiko's InuYasha, nor do I own any of her characters. I do own the chemical synapses that allowed me to write this story.

Four days passed before Rin came back to the shrine. Kagome was still leaning against Go-Shimboku, but she had lost weight. Rin was appalled at how bad Kagome looked. Taking action, she grabbed her by the wrist, and pulled her up. When Kagome tried to fight her, Rin smacked her across the face. "Snap out of it. Rin has been around for 500 years, I'm too old to be fighting with someone as young as you." Kagome thought that was funny since Rin had been 6 years old just a few years ago. Her laughter caused Rin to laugh too, having just realized the same thing; and they both walked into the house still chuckling.

"Old huh?" Kagome smiled as she put the teapot on to boil. "How old are you in respect to how long you could live?"

Rin thought for a moment, then smiled. "I don't know. This Rin was supposed to die over 400 years ago. Jaken's gift of longevity could have been for a day, or a thousand years. I'm hoping there's a codicil to his gift that would allow this Rin to live as long as Sessho, but no longer. He dies, Rin dies." Kagome looked shocked. "Miko, stop being surprised by life. When you have had many wonderful years with a man that shows you how much you are loved with both his body and spirit, life without him is worse than death with him." Rin placed two cups of tea on the table, and sat down across from Kagome.

"I wasn't shocked by what you said." Kagome clarified. "Sesshomaru basically said the same thing once. That is what shocked me. You both are very similar."

Rin looked at the young woman sitting before her, and realized that she was the only one who knew what the old Sesshomaru was like. Rin had died, and Sessho had continued to live. Curious, she asked. "Tell me what that Sesshomaru was like, Kagome. Was he bitter, was he sad, did he even know Rin existed?"

Kagome chuckled. "Nothing like good honest words from a curious woman to make me forget about my worries. Since I can do nothing to find out about InuYasha's current situation, at least I can entertain you with a story."

"I will start by asking you how you could even ask a question about whether Sesshomaru thought you existed. He moved time for you. He did things that only God should have the power to do. The Sesshomaru I met two weeks ago first appeared to be a cold businessman. However, he took me to his apartment to dry off, and pointed me to the back room. While I was changing, I noticed a beautiful oil painting of an older woman. She was dressed in a floral kimono, her graying hair pulled back in the traditional style. After I walked back into his office area, I asked him about her. He only replied that she was the only woman he'd ever loved."

Rin felt tears come to her eyes. It saddened her that the old Sessho had not loved again. Maybe if he had…no, it was meant to happen this way.

"He told me the story of the two of you. I admire your bravery in expressing your desire for him. Maybe if I'd done the same with InuYasha, our path could have been different."

Rin smiled coyly. "As much as Rin loves Sessho, he is one DENSE youkai. I all but threw myself at him for a year before giving up and taking the less honorable, more direct, approach. I once saw you touch InuYasha on the shoulder, and noticed the way he would scoot away from you as if he was afraid to get too close. Sessho did the same thing to me. I sat there and laughed at him. Rin knew exactly what was running through that man's mind."

"He'd thought of Rin as a child up to that point, but I knew the love was there. I just had to make him realize Rin was not a child. More importantly, Rin was not HIS child, so physical love was not incest in our case. I think that he had a problem with that for a minute or two. But suddenly, something clicked in his head. I saw it happen. One instant, he was trying to crawl out from under me, the next, he had his hand on the back of my head, deepening my kiss in a way Rin could never have imagined."

Kagome looked at Rin, she was blushing. A five-hundred year old woman blushing. How very strange.

"Rin knows that you would rather not hear the details, but I will tell you that night forever changed our relationship. It wasn't very many days after that before he had me standing before a priest, exchanging vows. We never had any children. We didn't prevent, nor did we actively seek, to have them. Sessho had already experienced his fatherhood by raising me, and Rin is still a child in many ways; so I don't believe either of us has missed anything by that. It doesn't matter now, Rin is too old to have children, I think."

"So, now that you have heard all about this Rin, tell me about you. I have heard many stories from InuYasha, half of which I know he has to be making up." She smiled broadly. "He once told me that as a Hanyou, he was under a spell that would allow you to subdue him by saying 'sit boy.' Rin knows he had to be lying."

"Heh…well…" Kagome laughed. "Actually, the word is Osuwari, and I used it to good measure." She leaned closer. "Once he was sitting in a tree above my head. We had first met the day before, and I was explaining to him that if he caused me any trouble, I would just say "Osuwari" and he would be subdued. However, when I said that, he was pulled off the limb and ended up face-down beside me. If I'd been any closer, he'd have ended up in my lap, and then we both would have been mad. I apologized, but I don't think he accepted it that day."

"He used to make me SO mad! He'd go off with his first love, Kikyo, and not tell me what they talked about. I was angrier about him not being honest about his discussions than I was about him going off with her. I mean, she had been reformed out of clay. If he wanted to screw around with a clay doll, I didn't want to know. I did want to know what they talked about. I loved him for his mind and personality, not because of his body. I wanted to know what he shared with her, because he wouldn't share that part of himself with me."

"So he'd come back from a meeting with Kikyo, tell me they didn't talk about anything. Or worse, tell me he couldn't find her. I'd Osuwari him until he called me a bitch, then I'd Osuwari him again until I knew I had enough time to get away from him. I wonder if he still has that necklace, and if it still works."

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A/N: Merry Christmas!
For my reviewers who feel my chapters are too short, I have already completed this story; but I will certainly take this under consideration for my next one.
However, what consists of a good chapter length? Please let me know.