As promised, Rin is practically vibrating when I pick her up from school from excess sugar intake. By the time we arrive at the park, I can only hope the extra walking will be enough to tire out the already energetic girl. Upon entry, I receive several sympathetic looks from workers passing out more candy to children as they enter. Two and a half hours later, I take my phone from my pocket to find a new message from Kagome, stating that she has made it safely inside the park and inquiring as to our location. Rin tugs at my hand, not so subtly trying to read the message, and I show her. A smile spreads across her face quickly and she tells me to tell Kagome to meet us at the Western River Railroad. After sending the message, we backtrack from Westernland to the agreed-upon location and find Kagome already waiting off to the side. Looking up in excitement, I release Rin, allowing her to run to the older human, surprising her with a hug. Kagome quickly grabs her, grinning widely as Rin spins in front of her to show off her costume, a dramatic red dress with ruffles and a long skirt that twirls around her ankles when she spins.
"See? Rin even has a flower in her hair just like Kagome said!" Kagome beams down at her, the scent of saltwater hanging around her as her eyes shine with happy tears.
"You look beautiful, Rin, I've never seen a prettier dancer." Rin bounces excitedly, looking back and forth between the two of us. "Hey, Sesshomaru!" Kagome quickly wraps her arms around my neck in a quick hug, tip toeing more than usual to reach out of her dancing heels. "So, what's next?" She asks Rin. I watch as my daughter takes her hand and leads her away, not once glancing back to ensure I am following. I chuckle at the sight of the two girls practically running to get in line for the Pirates of the Caribbean ride, following behind at a more leisurely pace even as I keep them in my sight. At each ride, Rin receives more candy, much to my own displeasure and Kagome's amusement.
"She'll crash later," she assures me. I am not so sure. In previous years she had not been able to consume so much before she began to feel sick. This year seems to be a different story entirely.
"Rin wants to go on that one!" The girl in question yells, pointing at the tea cup ride. Kagome shrugs, following her in line while I wait for them at the exit, not particularly interested in the ride. I watch as they both get into a pink and green cup, Kagome letting Rin control the cup itself as they rotate around the large pot in the center. When the ride stops, I notice Kagome looking a bit paler than usual, her smile forced rather than easy-going as she follows Rin's excited footsteps out of the ride. I fight back a smirk as her eyes widen in mild horror when Rin asks to go again and take her place instead after showing her to a table nearby where she can wait for us. She seems all too grateful to accept. When we return, her head is laying on the table, arms folded in front of her. She jumps at Rin's excited squeal and scrambles to stand up when she takes off in the other direction. I offer her my arm, which she gratefully takes and rests her head on as we walk a few paces behind the sugar-crazed eight-year-old.
"How is it that you can handle repetitive turns and spins in dancing, but become ill from a ride?" I ask, curiosity and amusement lacing my tone. She groans in response as she shakes her head.
"I have no clue, but I am never going on that death trap again." I chuckle and reach over to lightly rub her head. She leans into my touch slightly before attempting to stand fully upright again. Though her steps are still wobbly, her feet crossing in front of each other every so often, she is able to hold herself up. "Thank god," she whispers upon finding Rin waiting at the entrance of the Snow White ride. Rin gives me a cheeky grin before taking slow steps into the line, hands folded behind her back. A few rides later, as the skies grow darker, I notice her shivering, pulling the sleeves of her sweater down to cover her fingers.
"You are cold." She jumps a little before her cheeks flush a light rosy pink.
"I'll be fine." Raising an eyebrow in disagreement, I take off my jacket. "Sesshomaru, really, I'm fine! You need it."
"It takes a great deal more than this to make this one cold." She bites her lip as she averts her gaze.
"Rin might need it later, really, I'm okay." The girl in question is busy playing with the books on the shelf by the line, trying to push them all in at once with a few other children.
"Rin has a jacket should she require one," I assure her. "I insist." A breeze blows through the line, sending a particularly large shiver down her spine and her teeth start to chatter ever so slightly. Looking a bit embarrassed, she nods her head, allowing me to help her into the much too large brown leather. I smirk, more than pleased to see her wearing something of mine, wrapped in my scent, and chuckle at her suddenly missing hands, the hem grazing her mid-thigh.
"This thing is huge," she whispers in amazement, stretching out her fingers under the material. "I didn't realise you were so much bigger than me. I mean, I knew you were bigger, you're a lot taller, but I didn't know it was this big a difference." She glances up from under her lashes, pushing some hair behind her ear. "Thank you."
"It is my pleasure." We follow Rin into the ride, sitting on either side of her in case the Haunted Mansion becomes too much for her. I smirk as both Kagome and Rin giggle in delight when the ghosts projected in the mirror appear to sit on our cart, or between the two girls. At the end of the night, we watch the fireworks in Tomorrowland until just after midnight. Rin has to cover her ears from the noise but is not discouraged from sitting on my shoulders to attain a better view. She and Kagome sing along to most of the songs played during the display, dancing down the world bazaar as we make our way to the exit, one of them making sure I am still following. In the car, while we wait in traffic, Rin makes a show of counting her candy, offering several pieces to Kagome who insists that Rin earned it and should keep it. We don't make it out of the parking lot before Rin is leaning against the car door, passed out.
"Told you she'd crash," Kagome whispers, only sounding slightly smug. "I'm willing to bet she'll sleep in tomorrow." I hum in agreement, finally making my way off Disney property and onto a main street. "Thanks again for taking me home, you didn't have to."
"I have already told you, it is unsafe," I remind her. She laughs, softly, waving off my concerns.
"And I told you that I have been taking public transport for years and have yet to have any sort of incident. But I appreciate the concern. Are you sure you're not too tired?" I nearly scoff at her question.
"This one does not require sleep the same way humans do," I inform her.
"But you go to bed at night…" she trails off, waiting for an explanation.
"It is more a force of habit learned to better fit in amongst humans." She nods her head, looking out the window.
"Interesting," she whispers. "So, what do you do if you don't sleep?" She asks after a few moments.
"Just because I do not require it does not mean that I am incapable." I see her looking at me from the corner of my eye, interest shining through her eyes. "Like humans, I too have nights on which I have difficulty sleeping. When that occurs, I either read or work." She chuckles a bit, leaning against the door.
"I should have guessed. You ever think you might be a workaholic?" I roll my eyes, turning into her side of town. "All you do is work or hang out with Rin, which is great, you're an amazing father, but that has to get lonely from time to time, don't you ever date?"
"I told you, this one has not found anyone worthy. Not until recently anyway."
"You never talk about her," she counters, clearly questioning the authenticity of my statement.
"I am unaware as to whether she reciprocates my sentiments."
"You mean you haven't told her?" She questions, incredulously. I shake my head, turning onto her street as she sighs, shaking her head. "She must be something special for you to hold onto without any sort of confirmation." A smirk tugs at my lips. It would appear she is unaware, indeed.
"She is," I admit, giving no further information that would allude to her inclusion. Before she can ask any more questions, I park outside of her apartment. I reach for the door handle when she rests her hand over mine, stopping me.
"It's fine, stay in the car with Rin. I don't want the doors to wake her up." She smiles gently and, reluctantly, I nod in agreement. She starts to remove my jacket and I reach over, pulling it right back up. "It's a short walk, I'll be fine until I get inside," she assures me.
"Humans are fragile creatures. We would not want to risk you becoming ill so soon before the competition." She does not need to know that I rather enjoy the idea of her having something of mine on hand for her use. After a moment's hesitation, she sighs.
"Fine, but I'll give it back this week. Promise."
"This one is not concerned." She breathes out a laugh as she rolls her eyes.
"This one needs to chill out," she teases, pulling a small smile from me. "Thanks again. Let me know you make it home alright, crazy people come out at night." I nod my head in response, more than slightly amused, and watch as she carefully gets out of the car, shutting the door as quietly as possible while ensuring that it does, indeed, close all the way. After she unlocks the door, she turns around to wave goodbye before letting herself in. Once again, I wait until I hear the lock click and am sure that she is safely inside before pulling away. The drive home is short and Rin sleeps the entire way. After she is settled in bed, costume put away and pajamas on, I text Kagome to inform her we made it home safely and all is well.
Good, wouldn't want anything happening to my partner so close to the competition ;P
I smirk at her reply, shaking my head slightly.
I wouldn't dream of it.