"Dance me to the children who are asking to be born
Dance me through the curtains that our kisses have outworn
Raise a tent of shelter now, though every thread is torn
Dance me to the end of love"
It was too foggy to see the sunrise, so Sesshomaru watched Kagome sleep.
Her small body rose and fell with her dreams. She was lying across the couch, her hair spilling over his lap. Heavy breaths fell out of her slightly parted lips and brushed over his knee.
She was beautiful, he thought. He still didn't know why; his logical mind took notice of her flaws: a crooked tooth, a wrinkle there, a split end. But they weren't flaws--they were her.
The other feeling though--not the sexual one; the thick pull at his chest when she looked at him--that was the feeling that worried him. It was the same feeling that struck him when he remembered his father, and to a lesser extent, his mother.
Attachment.
He was becoming close to her. He no longer saw her as 'human' in his head: she was Kagome. That fact alone should have set off alarm bells. It didn't though; he was content to lay beside her, her hand still in his. Their relationship was growing, and he did nothing to change that. He was fuller when he was near her, as if sadness and joy were suddenly a hundred times brighter.
The intensity scared him.
Kagome woke up, sweaty and dribbling spit over Sesshomaru's jeans. She had had a nightmare.
The air was humid and cool; it soothed her flushed skin. The muffled pitter-patter of rain enveloped the house like a soft blanket. She tried to remember her nightmare, but all that she could recall was that she had been running away from something.
"Breakfast," was all that Sesshomaru said as he slid out from under her and walked into the kitchen. Kagome yawned and rubbed her eyes, missing his warmth.
He made rice for her, as well as a pile of yogurt plopped into a small bowl. Kagome lurched into her chair and dug into the odd combination. "Thanks," she mumbled, her mouth stuffed full of food.
Sesshomaru nodded slightly. He was across from her, with his hand folded together and his shoulders straight. He looked at the wet air past the window, drifting in between cold branches jutting out of the valley. "It will rain until nightfall," he said.
"Probably."
The cloudy sky shone gray light over Sesshomaru's serious face, sliding over his cold eyes and pale skin. Noise came from the upper floor of the house; the family was awakening.
"I've always liked rain," Sesshomaru stated.
Kagome turned her eyes to the sky. A few skinny drops of water were already whittling through the fog to splatter against the windowpane. "Why?"
He didn't answer; he simply shook his head very slowly. His hair as bland as the clouds, and his eyes were sad.
Kagome steered away from the dead-end conversation. "What do you want to do today?"
The drops of water swerved down the glass in jerky lines. The valley and trees were distorted: the entire scene wavered and shifted like a mirage. "I don't want to leave the house."
She smiled and leaned back into her chair. The plates before her were nearly empty. "A rainy day, huh?" Truth be told, she didn't feel like venturing out either. It would be nice to have a day to just rest and play around.
"Yes." His eyes never left the glass.
In the morning, they entertained Souta. His mother had given in to his persistent demands and let him skip half a school day to be with his sister. After the news of Inuyasha's death they were all rattled; she figured that routine could fall behind fun, for once.
"So how many people have you killed?" Souta was bouncing up and down beside Sesshomaru, who was reclining on the couch with a bored expression.
"Many." The taiyoukai said. A playful spark ignited in his eyes.
"How many?" The child was trembling with excitement. Kagome watched the scene with amusement from her seat on the carpet, near the curtains.
Sesshomaru moved so suddenly that her hair fluttered. Before she could stand up Sesshomaru had Souta by the ankles and was holding him a few feet off the ground. The boy stared at the floor bug-eyed, a wide grin on his face.
"Once," Sesshomaru said, "I captured the demon who killed my father." The boy flew up into the air, his thin limbs flailing, and landed safely on a couch cushion. "When I first saw him," Sesshomaru continued, "I snuck up to him." The demon disappeared from the room. Kagome was on her feet, searching the corners and alcoves for him. She played along with a happy expression.
Suddenly a blur raced through the air and stopped behind the back up the couch. Souta scrambled up and tried to launch himself at the demon; Sesshomaru sidestepped his attack, catching the boy before he hit the ground. "He was so surprised…" Souta's feet dangled inches above the floor. Sesshomaru lifted him towards the ceiling. "That he nearly died."
Souta let out a squeal as the arms supporting him suddenly vanished. The boy plummeted towards the hard floor, only to land atop soft cushions. He rolled off the fabric onto the wood and marveled at how fast the demon managed to rearrange the living room.
"First--" Sesshomaru was directly behind Souta's back. "I blinded him." Gently and quickly, the Taiyoukai secured a piece of cloth around the boy's eyes. Souta sucked in a breath.
"Next, I put him in a cave." Souta was maneuvered onto the couch, then swiftly buried beneath blankets.
"Lastly, I disappeared." The taiyoukai flew out of the room. He stopped to stand in the doorway to the kitchen. "He never did find his way out."
Souta laughed; he enjoyed roughhousing with someone once and a while. He wriggled underneath the blankets, eventually managing to untangle himself and pull off his blindfold. He looked at Sesshomaru, still and serious in the doorway to the kitchen. A cheeky grin lit up the boy's face as admiration flickered in his eyes.
That was how Kagome learned that Sesshomaru liked children and stories.
In the afternoon, they played chess.
Kagome taught it to him as the games progressed. He caught on quickly; it mirrored shogi, in many ways. They sat on the floor in the center of the living room. Water slid down the large window, and the rhythmic sounds of steady rainfall sounded against the house's wooden walls.
Sesshomaru was brooding over his next move, cross-legged with his head held high. Kagome was lying in her stomach with her chin in her hands. She watched him think. Chess was something she was patient at. Her father used to play it with her when she was young--she hadn't dug up the game for years.
His face revealed nothing as he slid a piece over a few squares. He surveyed the board, then sat up straight and watched Kagome's mouth raise into a smug smile. "Check mate." She plunked a player down on a black square.
Sesshomaru frowned, piecing together her string of moves. She'd beaten him with an elaborate trap--surprise brightened his eyes. "Congratulations," he murmured.
A light blush spread across her cheeks. She wiped the board clean; wooden pieces scattered everywhere. "You up for another game?"
That was how Sesshomaru learned that Kagome was a graceful winner.
In the evening, they remembered.
Kagome giggled to herself as she laid vegetables onto the counter. They'd volunteered to cook supper again. "Once when I was young I stole a toy from a store." She plunked the pot onto the stove and switched on the element. The world was darkening already; the sun, a dim circle high in the sky, had completely disappeared from sight. Sesshomaru watched her go through the motions of flipping on and off the tap. She had an absent look on her face, as if she were looking at something beyond the dismal scenery.
"I was so scared that I'd get arrested. I walked back to the store late at night to return it. It was only a little plastic figurine; it fit into the palm of my hand." She held onto the rim of the sink and straightened her arms, lowering her hear to look at the floor. Her wavy hair shifted with her movements; Sesshomaru wanted, to run his fingers through it.
"Anyway, I got lost on my way there. Luckily a stranger found me and brought me to the police station. I waited for half an hour as they contacted my parents. I didn't mind, though, because everyone kept giving me candy." She chuckled at herself. "When my parents picked me up, I couldn't understand why my mom was crying. She told me she slammed her hand in the car door." Kagome rinsed her hands in the sink. She hadn't included onion in her inventory of vegetables. "Funny how physical pain is so much more acceptable than emotional."
"Children are strange," Sesshomaru commented. He stood up and usurped her place before the cutting board. Kagome seated herself in his warm chair and watched him set to work.
"Don't you remember the weird things you did as a kid?" she asked.
He rolled up his sleeves and rinsed a carrot. She smiled they scene: it was so domestic, so normal that she wanted to hug him. "Once I learned to walk, I would to follow my father. I had a stick that I'd crudely sharpened, and I pretended that it was my sword. I'd imagine that my father was leading me into battle, and every time we entered a room I'd have to search it for enemy soldiers." He smiled wistfully and raised his head. "It irritated him so much that he took my stick and snapped it over his knee. I cried for three days. Apparently, he found my wails more annoying than my games; eventually he gave me a wooden sword in hopes of quieting me. I threw it away and asked for my stick back."
Kagome laughed. She liked Sesshomaru when he was like this: off guard, relaxed, and content. She felt like it was a side of him only she was privileged to see. "You must have been such a cute boy," she commented.
He diced another carrot into clean, even slices. "I was always skinny," he said. "A picky eater."
"Speaking of which, are you hungry?"
He shook his head. "I do not eat often."
"Oh. Alright."
The rain drizzled around the house and filled up the silence.
Sesshomaru watched his nimble fingers flash in between blades of the knife. "What was school like, for you?"
She adjusted her seat and started talking. He listened, nodding every once and a while. The snow was melting away outside the window, streaming down worn paths to reveal flattened brown grass. The clouds rolled the above scene; Sesshomaru glanced up and watched the night rise every few minutes.
"…Math, because it's all memory and I'm horrible…" Kagome chirped on from her seat in the corner.
That was how they learned that they shared another thing in common: they had been children, once upon a time. They pulled back the curtains of time to reveal happy, sad, and embarrassing memories. Neither of them thought about how natural it seemed.
At night, they planned.
"I'm going back," he said.
Fear rose in Kagome; she didn't want him to leave her alone, surrounded by people who seemed so unfamiliar with who she was. She nestled closer to him after his statement. They were side-by-side on the large couch, her shoulder overlapping his as she leaned against his side. "The war?" She asked, though she knew that was why.
"Yes."
The rain seemed metallic and harsh as it lit up the gaping silence.
"Do you have to?"
"No." Out of nowhere, he started running his claws through her hair and lightly scratching her scalp. She leaned her head back and closed her eyes. Sesshomaru continued. "But I want to."
"Why?" She whispered throatily. Her back was lined up with his chest; her legs were lying over the length of the couch. One of her arms flopped over the side, swinging back and forth.
Sesshomaru shifted, so that her head rolled against his shoulder. Her torso was on top of his; her forehead was brushing his chin. "I want to know what happened. I want to know if I should change it."
"Change it?"
"Why else would I be here? There must be a reason."
She shrugged lazily. "Maybe. We'll see."
He frowned at the girl braced against him. "I did not say you would come."
"Well I did."
A moment passed, in which Sesshomaru was intensely aware that her body was very light, very breakable, and very close to his own. A part of him rebelled against the thought of abandoning her in this dirty, plastic world instead of protecting her. It hit him how much he liked the girl; the way she walked, her little sighs, her voice when she was happy. He didn't want to leave her because he liked being around her.
The rain was quieting. He sensed that the clouds would lift, and the fog would dissipate by daybreak. "We will leave in the morning," was all that he said.
Kagome smiled. "Thanks."
That was how he learned that he was falling in love.
A/N--Again, I am microsoft word-less. If I have any errors, don't hesitate to notify me. Reviews welcome:)
