A/N: Special thanks to my beta for editing this on Christmas morning last minute. Hope you're all having a wonderful holiday season. Merry Christmas and have a Happy New Year!

For Wenchster.

A Christmas Story
Chapter 8: Falling in Love at Christmas

Kagome frowned and puffed out her cheeks, narrowing her eyes at the man towering over her. "But Inuyasha," she began, a growing list of excuses already perched on the tip of her tongue.

He silenced her with a shake of his head. "No buts," he replied, pulling on his jacket and looping his gray scarf around his neck. "You've been stressed out for months, Kagome. Tonight is supposed to be stress-free. Just trust me."

Still unhappy with their plans for the evening, she begrudgingly followed him out of the house, stomping her boots rather childishly through the snow. Deep down, she had to admit she had been feeling very disorganized as of late. Months ago, she would've had plenty of time to hang out with her friends and study for school. But recently, it felt like her schedule had been stretched to its limits – like she had to squeeze in time for everything.

Inuyasha had taken note of her anxiety rather quickly, used to being on the receiving end of her short-tempered responses. Once school had finished for the semester, he had forced her to keep an entire Saturday night open to spend time alone together – just the two of them.

Gnawing on her thumbnail restlessly, she stayed quiet as the soft tunes of Christmas music played over the stereo in his beat-up red Ford truck. Glittering lights flashed by the window as they drove to a nearby pond that always froze over during this time of year.

Under a black marble sky, Kagome climbed out of the truck and surveyed the area. People already mingled together around the rim of the pond, some making snow angels or having snowball fights, others huddled together to enjoy cups of hot chocolate they had purchased from a vendor nearby. A few had taken advantage of the seasonal ice rink, spinning expertly or helping their children wobble along the sides.

"I'm not really up for this," she grumbled, folding her arms around herself, not at all in the mood for the cold weather.

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. It wasn't like Kagome to be so uptight during the holidays. He figured something must be on her mind, but she wasn't one to divulge her secrets so willingly. If he couldn't fix whatever it was that bothered her, the least he could do was get her mind off of it for a few hours.

He pulled out two pairs of skates he had stashed behind the driver's seat. Kagome's eyes widened. "Ice skating?"

"Yeah," he said, locking up and trudging over to one of the benches that framed the pond. "We never had a chance to go last year."

She frowned, skeptically looking between the pond and the rusty old pair of skates that had been buried in her closet for close to two years. "I'm out of practice. I'll probably fall."

"Nah, I'll be there," he assured, sitting down and slipping off his boots. "But if you fall, we'll fall together."

A rosy tint grew in her cheeks as she slowly lowered herself onto the cold bench beside him. She looked out across the smiling faces of the other townsfolk, laughing cheerfully and enjoying the winter weather. The small hills in the distance remained practically untouched, the lights bordering the pond sparkling off the blanket of snow that had fallen earlier in the day. Everyone had donned their winter coats, each hue darker and richer than the next, a stark contrast against the snow-covered trees.

Inuyasha finished lacing up his skates before turning to her expectantly. Kagome huffed with reluctance and slid on her skates, which he quickly began to lace up.

"I can do it," she mumbled.

"I know."

Her heart pounded in her chest like reindeer hooves as his fingers skimmed the flesh of her ankle, his warm breath mingling with her own as he bent his head close to hers. Confusion fluttered just beneath the surface of her troubled thoughts. Her puppy-dog love for Inuyasha had changed and she didn't know why or how. They had been together for the better part of almost two years, but it felt different now, and she had begun to wonder if they had a future together – not just a future in the spring, but a future that would last a lifetime.

She had confessed her feelings to Sango a few weeks ago, and the brunette had laughed.

"You're in love with him, aren't you?" And although Kagome had chuckled and waved it aside, she had never actually answered Sango's question.

Was she in love with Inuyasha? Was this what love felt like? Did… Did he feel the same way? Or was she still just a crush to him?

"Kagome, you comin'?"

She snapped out of her thoughts to see Inuyasha had stood and held out his hand to help her up. She blushed and took his offered gesture before they both staggered over to the entrance of the pond. She tried to keep her legs as steady as possible as she stepped out onto the rink, trying to get used to the friction of the ice beneath her feet. Inuyasha wrapped his hand tightly around hers, letting her hold onto the edge for balance.

Kagome clutched onto the side, people flying past as she attempted to hobble along. She was frightened, her body stiff, making it hard to have a fluid movement with her skates. "Loosen up," Inuyasha instructed as he glided easily next to her.

She sent him a cold glare, mentally cursing his ice hockey habits from when he was a kid. He had only played for one season, but his skills from skating had stuck with him since then. Every year, ice skating was just like riding a bike for him.

"I don't want to fall," she bit back, a tad annoyed at his easy-going attitude right now.

He scoffed. "You can't be afraid to fall," he said, pulling her free from the wall. "Otherwise you'll never have any fun."

Eyes wide, Kagome watched almost helplessly as the wall moved further away, and she clung to Inuyasha's arm with a death grip.

He rolled his eyes, gently peeling away her hands and holding her at arm's length. "Just put one skate in front of the other," he coaxed, letting go.

"Inuyasha!" she called after him, arms flapping to keep her balance. "Don't let go!"

He chuckled at her expense. "Come on. Just relax and have fun."

She swallowed thickly, sending him another glare, before taking a deep breath. I can do this, she told herself, working up the courage to start moving her skates.

Kagome precariously skated forward, taking longer and longer strokes, one foot after the other. Then she glided forward a short distance, and slowly her fear began melting away. Inuyasha had disappeared ahead of her, lost in the crowd of other skaters, but she knew he would come back for her. He always did.

She listened to the crunch of metal against ice as she skated around the pond. The murmur of voices and children's laughter reached her ears as other people flew past her. Her thoughts were lost in the blur of wind blowing through her hair, making her feel like she was floating above the ice.

All the stress and anxiety she had felt over the last few months slowly melted away. For the first time in weeks, she felt free – like she was a kid again, gliding across her kitchen floor in her socks.

It brought back memories of years ago, when they had all been innocent children. One particular snowy day had been too cold for them to enjoy the ice rink, so Kagome, Inuyasha, and the rest of their friends gathered at her house to sip on hot cocoa and watch Christmas movies. Her mother had been baking cookies, the warm smell of gingerbread and brown sugar filling the air, as they all curled up on the couch.

She had brought her knees to her chest, feeling the sofa rock beneath her as Inuyasha shifted beside her. The glittering white lights of the Christmas tree sparkled off the linoleum floor and wind howled outside with the first snowfall of winter.

A soft smile came to her lips. The rhythmic pacing of her skates – ice, metal, crunch, swift, crunch – helped her to completely zone out. She forgot why she had been so anxious, forgot her concerns regarding her feelings for Inuyasha, and even forgot how annoyed she had been for being pushed to come here in the first place. She forgot all her troubles, and everyone around her. She focused on the cool night air in her lungs, the icy breeze whispering against her cheeks.

"Watch out!"

Kagome whipped her head around just in time to see a boy in a blue jacket flailing toward her. She screamed and tried to get out of the way, and even though he missed her, the action sent her off-balance. Arms waving in the air like a propeller, she struggled to keep composure, but found the slippery ice too much for her uncoordinated skating skills.

"Kagome!"

Strong arms wrapped around her waist just as she started falling, pulling her toward a warm-bodied chest as they both fell to the ice. Kagome squeezed her eyes shut on impact, but only felt the person underneath her instead of the hard, frozen water.

She looked down to see Inuyasha's amber eyes peering up at her, a hiss of pain escaping his lips. "Kagome… You okay?"

Her eyes widened. "Inuyasha! I'm fine, are you okay?" she asked, glancing over him quickly as she climbed off him and to the side. "Did you hit your head?"

He sat up, rubbing his right shoulder where he took most of the impact. "Nah, I'm fine. Just a little bruised."

"I'm sorry," Kagome began to apologize, feeling terrible for her clumsy balance.

"Not your fault." He nodded his head in the direction of the kid, who was crying to his parents more out of fear than any actual injuries. "Besides." He looked back at her and smirked. "I told you we'd fall together, didn't I?"

Amber eyes glowed from the bright lights surrounding the pond, and Kagome felt her breath catch. People skated around the couple as they sat there on the cold ice, but Kagome didn't feel cold at all. Her stomach pooled with unfamiliar warmth, their breath mingling in their close proximity, her cheeks painted a rosy red, and she leaned in to capture his lips in a kiss.

Caught by surprise, Inuyasha almost fell backwards again, but managed to catch Kagome's weight with his own, and leaned one hand against the ice as another curled into her long, raven hair. The kiss was rough and passionate, so different than what they had shared before.

As they broke apart, breaths shaky and uneven, she looked down at him. "Not that I'm complaining," he said, sitting up straighter with a boyish smile. "But what was that for?"

And just like a Christmas night years ago, Kagome found herself fearless and the words were falling from her lips before she could stop them. "I'm in love with you."

He froze, eyes widening a little in bewilderment. She watched his Adam's apple bob up and down as he swallowed hard. "Ka-Kagome…"

She pulled away, fear suddenly clutching at her throat. "S-Sorry, I-I mean…"

Inuyasha furrowed his brows, cupping her cheek with his hand. "Kagome… Is that what's been bothering you lately?"

Her breath hitched. He knew? Inuyasha had never been the perceptive type. He always took everything at face value, and never looked deeper than the surface. But somehow, he had known she had been troubled this entire time. He had known something had been ailing her.

He sighed, smiling as he brushed his thumb over her cheek. "You silly girl. Haven't you been paying attention?"

Kagome's eyes flickered over his with confusion.

"I've loved you since we were kids," he confessed, his face growing warm. "And I've been in love with you since that night under the mistletoe."

She shook her head. "I-I don't understand."

But then, just as those words left her mouth, she suddenly did. All the days he would walk her home from school or silently sit beside her as she studied. All the nights he would wrap her in his arms to comfort her or watch a cheesy romance movie he never cared for.

All the winter evenings, just like tonight, that they would spend together on a cold, starry night.

Her heart eased as she smiled, laughter bubbling in her chest as she realized how silly she really had been. How could she ever doubt that Inuyasha loved her? How could she ever doubt she would spend forever and a day with him?

Before she could say anything, Inuyasha wrapped his hands around her scarf and pulled her in for a kiss.