"Oh the weather outside is frightful, but the fire is so delightful, and since we've no place to go, let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!" Kagome sang the old tune joyously as she moved about the apartment, decorating every square inch with garland, lights, tinsel and what ever else she could fit into the small space. Unbeknownst to her, her husband leaned against the doorway between the hall and the living room, his arms crossed over his chest and a small smirk playing at the corners of his lips. InuYasha truly enjoyed watching his wife get into the holidays like she always did, though admittedly this year she was going a little more overboard than normal since this would be their daughter's first Christmas.
Moroha was 10 months old but despite the young age, Kagome had purchased no less than 75 presents for their little girl. She had proclaimed with each one that this would be the last, though InuYasha knew better. He didn't mind, though. He wanted Kagome to be happy and if showering their baby with endless gifts on Christmas morning would do that, then by God he wouldn't let anything stand in her way, least of all himself. He continued to watch her move about the room, completely oblivious to his presence, all the way up until she was struggling to reach the spot above the faux mantle that she always placed the sprig of mistletoe.
Her toes were stretched as far as they would go and she still couldn't quite make it. Pushing himself away from the wall, InuYasha came up directly behind his wife, reached up to pluck the plant from her hand and placed it in it's designated place. Without turning around, Kagome asked, "And just how long were you standing there watching me?"
Wrapping his arms around his mate, InuYasha replied, "Oh, just long enough to know that you can't live without me." Kagome giggled and turned to face her husband. Her caramel colored eyes met his amber and just like the force of two magnets coming together, their lips met in a sweet and tender kiss full of all the love the couple shared. The spell was soon broken by the sound of Moroha waking from her nap with her typical loud wail, demanding that she be paid attention.
Pulling away just slightly, InuYasha whispered against his wife's lips "I'll get her, you finish up in here," before planting a soft kiss on her forehead and turning to tend to the newly awakened child.
Kagome watched her husband go, admiring the view of his backside in the form fitting jeans that hugged him in all the right places. Shaking herself free from the hold that her hanyou always seemed to have over her, Kagome returned to her decorating, humming various holiday tunes as she worked.
After about an hour more of continuous work, Kagome was finally able to stand back and admire her handiwork. The tree was in the corner by the window surrounded by beautifully wrapped gifts of all shapes and sizes, garland hung from the walls, lights twinkled, and she couldn't help but smile to herself that she had created this beautiful setup as a backdrop for tonight's little gathering. Their best friend's, Sango and Miroku, were coming with their three young children to spend Christmas Eve with them and Kagome couldn't be more excited for this tradition to start with their baby girl. Speaking of which, Kagome realized it was entirely too quiet in their apartment, especially since InuYasha had been with Moroha for over an hour and she hadn't heard a peep from them in almost that entire time.
Making her way down the hallway to their daughter's bedroom, Kagome stopped at the barely cracked door and peeked inside. The sight that met her eyes made her put her hand over her mouth to prevent herself from bursting out laughing. In the middle of the room Moroha was sitting watching her father, absolutely captivated by what he was doing. InuYasha had tied one of Moroha's blankets around his forehead, his shirt lay forgotten on the floor and he was using the baby's toy broom as a sword, pretending to fight off hoards of demons. He held the broom in both hands, facing the closet with a very intense look on his face. "Come face me, demons!" he said with false anger. "No one is going to hurt my precious little girl!" Swinging the 'sword' wildly, he moved into the closet and attacked the hoards of demons pretending to be baby clothes. Moroha squealed in delight and clapped her hands together.
No longer able to hold her laughter, Kagome snickered loudly, causing her husband to step out of the closet. He turned and looked at her, his eyes holding a gleam of mischief as he pulled one of Moroha's onesies off of his head. Kagome just laughed even harder, leaning against the wall to support herself as the hilarity of what she had witnessed tore through her. Moroha turned to face her mother, giggling when she saw how red her face had gotten. Slowly, Kagome brought her laughter down to just a light snicker every few seconds and InuYasha used this opportunity to confront his wife.
Using his demon speed, he was in front of her in the blink of an eye, a move that never seemed to fail to steal Kagome's breath away. His eyes narrowed down at her in mock anger as his fists found their way onto his hips. Biting her bottom lip to stop herself from beginning another laughing fit, Kagome looked up at InuYasha's face and feigned innocence. Instead of keeping up the game, InuYasha fell into his own laughing fit after seeing that look.
Kagome never budged as she waited for the hanyou to compose himself, which he did almost as slowly as she had. "Are all the closet demons slain?" She asked him in faux seriousness. Smirking down at her he replied, "Yessum, all closet demons have been properly disposed of and Princess Yashahime is free to move about."
Moving to lift her child into her arms, Kagome turned and said, "Good, because this Princess is supposed to help mommy make Christmas cookies in the kitchen." She lightly poked her little girl's nose and Moroha giggled. She stopped to give her husband a quick peck on the cheek as she passed by him on the way to the kitchen.
An hour later, Kagome was lifting Moroha up out of her high chair and informing InuYasha that he would be bathing her and getting her dressed for the party set to begin in just over an hour. Staring down at his flour, sugar, and lord knew what else covered baby, InuYasha simply smiled, tucked his daughter against his side, gave his wife a peck on the cheek and turned to do as she had asked. He had seen the state of the kitchen after her experiment with making Christmas cookies with a 10 month old. He knew when to just shut his mouth when it came to his fiery tempered wife.
Surprisingly, InuYasha managed to get his daughter and himself bathed, dried, dressed and presentable just in time for Kagome to burst through the bedroom door, one hand holding the towel around her body and the other attempting to keep the towel on her head in place. He silently took Moroha to the living room and placed her in her playpen. Kagome had never been good at time management, but he knew she would somehow still manage to make herself ready by the time their friends arrived in roughly 15 minutes.
Sure enough, 15 minutes later she stepped out and InuYasha couldn't help but stare at the woman before him. She stood in the doorway to the living room putting her pearl earrings on. The tea-length emerald green dress flared out from her waist forming a delicate A-line figure, the straps hung off her shoulders, framing her neck for the simple rose pink jewel on a silver chain she always wore. Her long, ebony locks hung beautifully in loose waves around her shoulders. He knew she was wearing makeup, but it wouldn't be anything more than mascara, blush and lipstick. Kagome liked to keep things simple but she still knew how to make his heart stop in his chest.
Smiling at him, she took in his own appearance, having not noticed on her rampage to finish getting ready. He wore dark jeans, something she knew she could never have talked him out of, but they were his nicest pair. The long pure white hair she had always found to be among the most beautiful things in the world was tied high on his head in a fashion he only wore on special occasions. His shirt was a long sleeved button up in a color of burgundy she had always liked on him, though he had already rolled the sleeves up to his elbows and unbuttoned the top two buttons of his shirt, revealing enough of his chest to ruin the effect of his 'nice clothes' appearance. But Kagome didn't care. She honestly kind of wouldn't have minded if he just slipped that shirt right off so she could run her hands all over his chest while he held her in his arms and pressed his lips firmly down on hers.
The sound of Sango knocking and calling through the door to them broke Kagome from her daydream. She shook her head once and giving InuYasha a knowing look, made her way to the door to let her best friends inside. Sango greeted her by wrapping her arms around her and holding her tightly for a moment. Kagome had always adored that her best friend always seemed to want to show affection, so she accepted the hug as Miroku made his way in behind his wife with his 18 month old son slung over his shoulder and his twin 3 year old daughters each holding one of his hands.
InuYasha shook his head at Miroku as he snatched Hisui from his shoulder and greeted the boy with a high five before placing him in the playpen with Moroha. Before he could turn around, he felt his legs become trapped by a pair of arms wrapped around each one. He looked down and saw Kin'u and Gyokuto staring up at him.
"Uncle Yasha, daddy says you and Auntie 'Gome got us presents and we can open them up!" Kin'u asked excitedly. Bending down and grabbing a girl in each of his arms, he replied, "Oh he did, did he?" The girls nodded in unison. Chuckling, InuYasha whispered to the girls, "Well, your daddy is right, but you have to wait just a little longer to open them up. Can you girls be good and wait so your Auntie 'Gome and mommy can talk a little?" The girls faces fell slightly. "Tell you what," he whispered to them, "if you two can wait a little while and let your mommy and auntie have some time together, I'll give you each a Christmas cookie before dinner. Deal?" The girls both smiled and nodded emphatically.
He carried the girls into the kitchen and set them both on the counter next to the sink. Reaching up onto the breakfast bar where Kagome had placed the plate of cookies, he snatched up three of the biggest cookies on the plate and gave one to each girl while taking a sizable bite of his own. The girls giggled at him as they enjoyed their treat. Their attention was drawn by their father walking into the kitchen and grabbing a cookie of his own.
Miroku leaned against the counter across from InuYasha and looked at his friend before speaking, "I see my two troublemakers have already conned you into an extra cookie," he said, smirking at his daughters knowingly.
Waving his hand dismissively, InuYasha just said, "Bah, it's Christmas Eve. They can be spoiled a little, can'tcha girls?" he asked the pair as he winked at them. They only giggled in response. Miroku snatched them off of the counter and set them both on the floor.
"How about you two go play with your toys we brought in the living room until dinner?" he told them. "Ok daddy," they said in unison and trotted off to do as they were asked. Miroku shook his head at the sight and stood to face his best friend. He clapped the half-demon on the shoulder and spoke quietly, "Those two are simultaneously the cutest little angels and pure demon spawn, I swear it." Letting out a deep laugh, InuYasha joked, "Well, they are yours, so that explains the demon spawn!" Miroku glared at his friend, but only for a moment before he gave a light chuckle. "I suppose I could've been a bit of a hellion in my younger days," he admitted.
"I think your mother would definitely agree with that assessment, considering she had to deal with your endless string of horrible phases in high school and your obsession with every girl you crossed paths with until Sango knocked some sense into that head of yours."
"Some sense is right," was the surprise response from the doorway. The men turned their heads towards Sango as she continued, "Some days I look at him and wonder what the hell I was thinking, but then I remember that I love the idiot so I just shrug and keep beating a little more sense into that thick skull every now and then." She smiled up at Miroku as she stepped in and planted a kiss on his lips. "You two go do something useful and set the table while Kagome and I finish up in here." She said as she shooed them out of the kitchen with the tableware in their hands.
Before long, both families were seated around the dining room table, joyously sharing their holiday meal with eachother, sharing stories from their past, and reveling in the miracle that was their children. Kagome felt like she was the most blessed woman on the planet to have such beautiful people to share her life with. Her eyes brimmed with tears as she watched her family laugh and smile. She truly could not have asked for a better way to spend the holidays.
As the evening progressed, the children each got to open one gift, as was tradition in their families. The twins each got a new doll, Hisui got a toy truck, while baby Moroha received a white stuffed cat with twin tails and red eyes. She immediately latched onto the toy and refused to let it go, all the way up until she fell asleep next to Hisui in her playpen, holding it in her tiny arms.
The adults spent a few hours talking and enjoying the quiet after the twins also fell asleep in the reclining chair in the corner of the room. But before long, it was after 11 and they began to say their goodbyes to eachother. Sango hugged Kagome and InuYasha and wished them both a wonderful Christmas before she lifted her son into her arms and carried him out to the car. Miroku hugged Kagome and InuYasha as well before he grabbed a daughter in each arm and started out to the car with them. InuYasha opened the door for his friend and watched as he walked down the hallway. He closed the door behind him and silently began helping Kagome clean up. The pair worked in companionable silence for several minutes until the apartment was back in order. By the time they were finished, it was nearing midnight.
Kagome stood in front of Moroha's playpen holding a small glass of wine, just watching her daughter sleep. InuYasha came up from behind and wrapped his arms around her, kissing the top of her head. "Everything was so perfect, InuYasha," Kagome said quietly as she leaned back into her husband's embrace.
"Oh?" he whispered. "Well, then I guess I shouldn't give you this then," he said as he held a small navy blue velvet box in front of her. Kagome gasped and turned to face him, holding the box in her hands.
"What is this?" she asked him.
InuYasha kissed the tip of her nose and simply said, "Open it." Kagome opened the lid and stared down at the object inside. It was a simple silver banded ring with a rose pink jewel in the center that matched her necklace perfectly, on either side was a jewel, one emerald and one ruby, which she knew represented InuYasha and herself. On the inside of the band was engraved My red string. Tears brimmed Kagome's eyes as she looked back up into the face of the man that she had loved for more years than she hadn't.
Taking her face into both of his hands, InuYasha wiped the tears and spoke softly, "Kagome, you and Moroha are my everything. I would marry you everyday if you'd let me, but I'll settle for you saying yes to renewing our vows. Marry me again, Kagome. Marry me forever."
Smiling through her tears, Kagome responded, "Oh, InuYasha, of course I will!" as she threw her arms around his neck and kissed him with every ounce of love she had for him. Without breaking the kiss, InuYasha lifted her up in his arms and carried her to their bedroom, preparing to show her just how much he loved her well into Christmas morning.