A/N: A little gift for all of you guys' support! Another chapter right behind chap 32! I enjoyed writing this and the next few chapters and I hope you do as well. Of course, constructive criticisms are always welcome! xo
THIRTY THREE
The sun is steadily crawling down from its highest point in the sky and both Ren and Kurenai said a silent prayer of thanks that the breeze blowing through New York is still pretty chilly or they would've melted all over the white vintage car they're on under the direct glare of the sun in the middle of a cobblestone street.
"Look at me both of you, tilt your head down a bit Kurenai. Yes. Gorgeous." the photographer crouching in front of them instructed, followed by multiple shutter sounds after they did as they're told.
The first shoot's concept is high-end fashion street photography with the Brooklyn Bridge as the backdrop.
Ren leaned on the rear door of the car looking dapper in a midnight blue cashmere overcoat over a buttoned brown cashmere blazer over a white t-shirt, gray cropped pants, and a pair of black velvet loafers.
Kurenai is wearing a mid-thigh length deep teal belted trench coat with gold buttons and wide collar and lapels, a pair of frayed black jean shorts barely visible from her sitting position on the roof of the car, and a pair of black suede stiletto ankle boots with three-inch heels that Sango helped her put on after she's positioned atop the car because stilettos, cobblestone streets and bad ankles don't mix.
Her friends' jaws drop when she first emerged from the trailer looking absolutely stunning. The color of the coat, her loosely curled, tousled hair and her smoldering black and brown eye makeup intensified her crimson eyes.
A certain daiyoukai has a problem with how incredibly ravishing the miko looks because all Sesshoumaru could think about as she threw her mesmerizing gaze at the camera is ripping those luxurious clothes off of her, wrapping her creamy legs around his waist, her feet in those sexy shoes across his back, and making her scream his name over and over in ecstasy.
Sesshoumaru discreetly shifted and groaned when he felt his erection straining in his pants and tried to shift his attention elsewhere to calm himself which came in a form of a panicked yelp from what the siblings called the Creative Director of the shoot.
"Oh, Oh, Oh!" he sprung from his director's chair to steady the screen where he's viewing the photos from after Shippo knocked it over while having a little too much fun with Rin.
"Whoa! Shippo!"
"Oh gosh! Kids!" Ren and Kurenai almost had a heart attack, "I'm so sorry Owen! Ren, help me down." her brother carefully hoisted her off the car and assisted her towards the kids.
Sure that the screen's steady, Owen sat back, "It's fine Kurenai, there's no damage." He smiled casually but the mist of sweat on his forehead confirmed how much of a close call it was.
"I'm really sorry about this." She squeezed his shoulder before looking down at the children, "Kids, we said you can enjoy the shoot but be careful not to get in the way of people's work." She gently chided.
"We're sorry mama, uncle Ren…" the kids mumbled with their heads down.
Kurenai patted their heads, "Alright, as long as you're sorry and don't do it again okay? And apologize to Mr. Owen."
"We're sorry Mr. Owen."
"It's okay, but can you stay on the side for now?" Owen asked of them and the kids nodded.
"Keh! What's the big deal? Standing around, people yelling instructions, and a guy hovering around you clicking a button, that's work?" Ah, Inuyasha and his big mouth.
"INUYASHA!" Kurenai roared, startling everyone who already had their attention on them since Inuyasha made his remark. The miko took a deep breath and looked at the crew apologetically, "I apologize for my behavior and his disrespectful remark, my friend is new to all of this and has no idea so please forgive him. Let's carry on with the shoot." She walked over to the hanyou,
"Don't impulsively give comments on things you have absolutely no idea about. You don't understand the immense work that goes into succeeding in this industry. If you think we just stand around and get paid for it, try doing what we do for a week and tell me if it's so easy!" her voice a controlled hiss, yet she sounded angrier than they've ever heard her.
"Don't get so heated sis, you don't want your makeup to melt. Can you help her back to the car Sango?" As the two women walked back to the car, Ren looked at the rattled hanyou with eyes brimming with disappointment, "Inuyasha, you crossed a very serious line. You don't know how much every one of us here dedicate ourselves to achieving success. So please, be mindful of what you say and where you say it," He calmly said before walking back to the car, leaving a petrified Inuyasha to regret his stupid actions.
"That's what you get for not bothering to think before opening your mouth." Sesshoumaru also served his brother a scolding.
"I don't need to hear it from a cold-hearted, arrogant bastard!" Inuyasha growled.
"If this Sesshoumaru recalls correctly, you're the bastard." The daiyoukai coldly retorted.
"Okay, that's a good stopping point. Calm down you two, you don't want to piss Kurenai off even more." Miroku stepped in before the brothers get into a full-blown fight and it was interesting to see both dog demons flinch at the idea of an angry Kurenai, especially Sesshoumaru. It's odd, but interesting.
The gang later found themselves in an underground nightclub peppered with neon signs—its main feature that made the creative team go for this location in the first place.
"Mama look! Shippo's glowing in pink and blue!" Rin pointed at Shippo who's standing between blue and pink neon signs.
Kurenai smiled and pointed her phone at the grinning kitsune for a photo, "Yeah, that's so cool! Try it Rin!" the doting adoptive mother giggled.
"Hey sis! Send me those pics yeah? Send them to dad too, he'll be happy to see the kids enjoying the trip." Ren called out while the hair and makeup team are busy bouncing a sponge on his face and finger combing his waxed hair.
"Of course! I'll send it to our group chat, I'm sure V would love to see these as well."
"We're ready you two," the Creative Director said, standing by a brown leather couch with a blue neon sign above it that read 'Everybody wants a thrill' in curved writing.
Kurenai's blue round mirror glasses reflected the neon sign as she lay across the couch in a white printed shirt tucked under a pair of black leather pants. She rested her head that has a black fedora sitting on top of it on one couch arm and crossed her black leather knee-high boot clad legs over the other.
Ren sat next to his sister's feet on the arm of the couch. Channeling his inner James Dean, the older Moretti's styled with a white shirt under a black Bomber jacket paired with faded blue jeans and white sneakers.
As the photographer smoothed Kurenai's hair out, he said, "One shoot, please?"
The siblings chuckled, "You're still on about this Chad?" Kurenai asked, the photographer's still adamant on Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru doing a modelling gig for him.
Like the siblings expected, the pair of dog demons got the beauty obsessed crew clamoring over them when they arrived on set. Both Chad and Owen began pressing the siblings to include them in the shoot or have them walk on a show which of course they respectfully declined before the inuyoukai brothers blow their lid from all the commotion over them.
"Of course! Their beauty is out of this world! It'll be a waste to hide it." Chad argued and the siblings exchanged a knowing look, They're out of this world alright.
"Hauling them with us everywhere isn't exactly hiding them," Ren pointed.
"Precisely!" Owen finally joined in, "So why not give them a better showcase?"
"That's not what they want, we're bringing them everywhere because we have to. But they're not the type of people who aspire to be in the spotlight." Thankfully, they understood the sentiment in Kurenai's remark and decided to drop the subject.
The shoot resumed and the concept produced some cool results as it played on the glow that the neon lights casted on the siblings' dark silhouettes.
"This is beautiful!" the photographer gushed at the image in his viewfinder; Kurenai, Ren and their extended family standing in front of a red brick wall and yes, Sesshoumaru agreed to join the family photo.
Still wearing the wardrobe from the neon lights shoot, the siblings both crouched in between the kids—Kurenai removed the sunglasses and wrapped her arms around Rin while Ren pulled Shippo to him by the shoulder—smiling from ear-to-ear while the rest of the gang awkwardly stood behind them.
"Just be natural guys," Kurenai advised, "This is a happy occasion, our first photo together. How does that make you feel? You can smile, or you can stay as you are, it's fine."
Sango and Miroku looked at each other, Easy for you to say Kurenai, you're not the one sandwiched between a powerful inu daiyoukai and a sulking hanyou, they thought.
"Alright, 1… 2…" with no other choice, Sango and Miroku tried to follow their red-eyed friend's advice while the dog demons remained as their dog demon selves, "3!" the photographer took the photo and they were done.
"They look a bit uncomfortable, but it's a lovely photo." The photographer showed it to them and the siblings grinned.
Both Rin and Shippo smiled as wide as Ren and Kurenai did, Sango had a timid yet charming smile, Miroku smiled nervously while Sesshoumaru is as icy as ever and Inuyasha scowled. It's not what people usually consider to be a great photo but it's so them, and that's what made it special.
"I love it," Kurenai said and Ren agreed.
"Me too. Thank you for this," he said to the photographer.
"My pleasure, so off to the next location?"
"Of course," Kurenai felt something press against her waist and smiled when she found Rin leaning on her with her eyes closed, "Oh dear," her eyes darted towards Shippo and found the kit also nodding off while holding his uncle Ren's hand.
"I think you guys should head back first and get some rest. We still have a while before we wrap up." Ren said, though it's a shame since the next location of the shoot is on the Brooklyn Bridge itself.
"Ren's right." Kurenai gently picked Rin up and walked towards Sesshoumaru, "We still need Miguel and Sango with us, will you guys be fine on your own?" Out of the bunch, Kurenai noticed the daiyoukai curiously observing how they navigate through the hotel so she's somewhat confident she can count on him.
Sesshoumaru welled with pride to be entrusted with such a task, "Certainly." He gently pulled the sleeping Rin from Kurenai's arms, as he does this, their gaze locked with each other and it added weight to the intimacy of the familial moment they shared.
Rin stirred in Sesshoumaru's hold and her eyes fluttered open, "Papa? Mama?" the parental figures flinched and looked down at the young girl.
"Hey sweetie," Kurenai stroked Rin's hair, "You guys will be going back to the hotel so you can rest. Uncle Ren and I still need to work for a bit."
Rin groggily shook her head, "No mama, we still want to watch! We're not tired."
The adoptive mother smiled, "But you are sweetie. Look, Shippo's also knocked out." She nodded over at Shippo who's napping away at Miroku's shoulder but the pout didn't disappear from the young girl's face, "I'll tell you what, you go back to the hotel for a nap and we will visit my store after dinner. Didn't you want to see it?"
She originally planned the visit to Orphic's New York branch for tomorrow, but if she can convince the tired little ones to go for a nap, then tonight after dinner it is. It's better too since there won't be too many customers by then.
Rin contemplated the offer and reluctantly nodded, "Good girl." Kurenai lightly brushed Rin's cheek.
Sesshoumaru never thought that he'll ever find a scene endearing and yet here he is, filled with warmth and content that this moment belongs to him, excited at the possibility that many of his coming days could be filled with moments like this.
Kurenai looked up at him, "Call me if you need help with anything and you can also ask the hotel staff if you need assistance." They bought smartphones for the adults specifically for times like this when the siblings won't be able to hold their hand through the modern era.
"Understood, we'll manage so don't worry."
Huh? Kurenai watched openmouthed as Sesshoumaru carried Rin to the van, did she just imagine it? Or did Sesshoumaru just genuinely made an effort to put her at ease?
"Kurenai?"Miroku's voice got her to blink her confusion away.
"Yeah?"
"We'll be off then. See you later."
She smiled at him and gently stroke the hair of the kitsune in his arms, "Yes, we'll see you at dinner." Her eyes found the somber amber eyes of her bestfriend and while she hated seeing him like that, Inuyasha needs to reflect on his actions.