Chapter Thirty-Four: Festival

"The festivities would continue, probably well into the night, with flirtation and merriment and ggrauitous use of mistletoe. It was an inexpressibly wearying thought."

-Lauren Willig

Kagome went in her room after Kaiba stormed off, taking a deep breath and trying to calm down. She was pissed, downright livid at the reaction she got from Kaiba...here she'd been concerned it was Albel that would ruin her party and in the end it was Kaiba that had driven her to the point that she wasn't sure she'd feel better about the night. What the hell? Sure they were arguing but he didn't have to just storm out like that or treat her so poorly. Maybe they each had issues in their little spat but she didn't feel in the wrong for being annoyed about his just doing what he wanted. It wasn't as if she'd been dishonest with him – once he asked she told him about the curse and he was still pissed. It's his fault he waited until she found out what he did to finally ask her about what he wanted to know. Was she supposed to read his mind?

She hit the door behind her and grit her teeth – determined not to cry despite the heightened emotions at the exchange. If she cried absolutely everyone would notice her red puffy eyes – and she still at least wanted to try and have a decent holiday for everyone else. Just had to try to calm down – maybe someone brought liquor – if her parents were there she'd be legal so she figured now as a good a time to start as any. Didn't Albel always talk about Ghaleon having a flask?

Braving that thought she straightened her hair and then exited her room to go downstairs, putting a smile on her face as she nodded to friends and gave the excuse that Kaiba had an emergency with one of his businesses. People bought it and that saved her the drama of the truth.

"Kagome, your house extensions are great, I didn't know your mom was having all this done – did you come into money?" Eri asked, curious as she glanced slightly past Kagome at Roy. "Your cousin is adorable. You never told us you had such a cute relation."

"I didn't know...not until recently. He's on my dad's side of the family." Kagome went with the lie – apparently that's what they were telling people. "And Grandpa finally won a fair amount gambling and we thought it'd be good to put it back into the shrine and house as much as we could."

"It's great." Yuka chimed in, putting an arm around each of the other ladies. "Ayumi's off helping to make a new bowl of punch with Professor Curtiss. Did you invite Hojo?"

"I did but he said he wouldn't be able to make it." Kagome said with a smile. "I'm glad you guys could come. I don't get to see enough of you with the school having been closed."

"Yeah, it's been horrible, we keep getting homework in the mail – though I gotta say it's a good idea inviting some of the staff to suck up. Wish I'd of thought of it." Yuka commented. "Did Eri tell your cousin is cute?"

"Yes." Kagome was starting to lose interest – was Ghaleon still in the kitchen? "I'm gonna check and see how the meal is coming. Should be ready soon."

The girls seemed content to stare at Roy, Kagome rolled her eyes as she went back into the kitchen where the boys were setting stuff out and still working – it looked great. All sorts of dishes were already set out and they were moving the turkey over now. The various scents left her mouth watering and she couldn't help but smile. The presence of so many people that cared about her helped to dispel her sadness about Kaiba.

"Wow guys, it looks amazing...like out of a movie sort of great." Kagome said, smiling at the table as she looked it over.

"Don't forget the desserts." Ishida remarked. He was settling a pie on the side table – it too was full of wonderful looking treats. Fudge, pies, chocolates, a setting of fancy cupcakes – Kagome had to blink in surprise at how much time and effort they'd put into this. Ghaleon in particular seemed to go above and beyond with the lovely looking chocolates – she was really looking forward to those... "Man, you guys are going to make me fat..."

"That's the point of a holiday meal." Ed remarked with a shrug, grinning at the spread himself. "This is pretty impressive."

"Want me to tell everyone it's ready?" Winry asked curiously, peeking her head in to grin at the rest of them. Kagome glanced to the guys and everyone nodded so she affirmed herself. Still just looking at everything before people lined up to snatch it all. She snapped a picture with her cell phone before Sephiroth could start cutting into the bird and then waited to make certain everyone else got into the line.

"You'll have to tell us which you like best." Jade remarked, earning an echo of agreement from the other chef's in the room. Kagome blushed a little and shrugged, she wasn't sure it was a good idea to play favorites with anyone. Kaiba had clearly overreacted – she didn't want to face that from anyone else. She wouldn't pick any 'best thing' if she could help it. That didn't save her from being asked to sample a little of everything – her plate had such a pile on it when she finally got the front of the line that she had to get help carrying it out to a seat. Thankfully a dining room and a large table were a part of the addon's the other's had put into the home. Just as well since they were staying with her in what could end up being an indefinite capacity.

She grabbed the closest chair – glad it wasn't close to Albel and nearer to her friends, there was even less chance of people seeing favorite's if she sat near them. The food though...

The turkey was great- just moist enough and juicy...with the side of gravy it was perfect. Even the stuffing was stellar – she'd sort of assumed she'd be least impressed with it since it was the go-to item for this time of year and was always overcooked. Nope, Sephiroth hadn't lied to her that he was a great chef.

The curry was really good too though – she hadn't had pumpkin curry before but it was the right blend of slight sweetness, and savory with a touch of spice. Out of the two savory entries she had to admit it was the exotic one...and it was just great...not really Christmas'ey but still great. The sides weren't half bad but not as good as the meal itself. She managed to get a short break before Albel suggested people break into the desserts – though his mood seemed better now that he was eating.

She got as small a pieces of pie as she could and then grabbed a few of the chocolates and agreed to share half a cupcake with Eri – relieved someone was taking a few of the calories from her. If the dinner was good, the desserts were divine. The cupcake was chocolate with white frosting and a peanut butter filling that she loved. The pies were good but the small fancy chocolate's were divine. Even her friends were raving about how wonderful they were – they'd gone on a little about all the food but these they kept chatting about.

Kagome had to admit, she wouldn't have expected Ghaelon to be a baker but she didn't mind it. All of them cooked well enough – or at least the ones that cooked. The top three culinary wise had to be Ghaelon, Jade, and Sephiroth though – but that was staying with her.

"So which do you like?" Why was Ed being such an instigator?

"I like all of them." Kagome answered in her best nice voice. "I couldn't pick one over another."

"Cop out." Albel remarked. "I hate to say it but pasty won this one, the chocolate is the best thing. Everyone knows it."

She made a mental note to keep Albel and Ed away from each other in her house from now on – they were only egging each other on. Kagome didn't remark as people began to talk without her and after a while managed to slip away to take a break from the busy room. She liked having all these people but it was still awkward. She had to play a line of what to say...her friends didn't seem any wiser about what was happening – or to have any clue about the special nature of her many guests but it still frightened her that something could change that. Was it selfish to invite them when it could put them in danger?

She put on her coat and stepped outside, the quiet would help her focus a little more – maybe this many people needed to be a rare thing. She'd forgotten how chaotic it could be to have a whole group together. She was so lost in thought she didn't hear the door open and close after her, jumping slightly when someone spoke nearby.

"Penny for your thoughts?" The light voice drew her attention, the pale elf-like professor standing near her where he'd also slipped from the kitchen. He reached up to fix a strand of her hair. "I didn't mean to frighten you. I'm merely concerned. You've seemed distracted all afternoon, are you all right?"

"Yeah, just...still pretty unsure about all of this. I think Kaiba is out, we fought for a while and he stormed away." Kagome explained, it was always easy to speak to Ghaelon. She offered him a small smile,it was sadder than the ones in the dining room but not as much as earlier. "I was actually thinking about asking you for a drink. Probably better I didn't – what with other students here. I sort of wish I wouldn't have invited them, they could be in danger."

"We'll keep you and your guests safe Kagome." Ghaelon assured. "And you shouldn't fear, even if they see something we can augment their memories. Have you forgotten that I am a magician?"

"No..." Kagome felt a bit more relief at the reminder. "Just everything you can do sort of get's lost over time. You only mentioned it when we first met."

"I admit, it was a distracting moment." Ghaelon remarked, smiling at the slight extra redness in her cheeks at the reminder. "Glad to see you haven't forgotten me."

"I could never forget you." Kagome answered.

"I appreciate the sentiment." the albino moved closer to put his arms around her from behind. "You are still cold. Allow me."

The static that she always felt accompanied his murmur's and her body relaxed – suddenly warmer despite the fact that they were still outside. She turned to stare curiously, glancing at her unloved hands – they didn't need warming – which given the cold on the ground left her unsure what he'd done.

"It's a spell to make one comfortable no matter the temperature around them. A fairly minor cantrip really." Ghaelon explained, grinning slightly at her waving her hand to see if it would get cool. "It won't work in truly extreme circumstance such as being tossed into ice water or lava but otherwise it is a useful spell."

"That's why you almost never have coats on." Kagome realized, the time she brought him the jacket while he was working probably didn't actually help at all. "That's so neat...I wish I could do that."

"As a priestess you have the ability if you wish to try and learn magic." Ghaelon replied, "though if you choose to I'd consider carefully as there are a number of ways to approach the art. You'd need to pick one of us to act as a teacher."

"Wow...I...yeah...I'll have to think about it. That sounds really useful." Kagome was interested, and while the way they stood near each other could easily get either of them in trouble she didn't care right then. His arms around her were comfortable, she always felt safe with Ghaelon. It made her recall their short times together in the past. Their first kiss...

She never did get much time with Ghaelon, it was a pity because she would like to get to know him better. She would need to get to know all of her potential suitor's if she was ever going to choose a single one.

"Do you like snow Kagome?" The question caught her a little off guard but she nodded thoughtfully.

"Yes, I like it more now that I'm not freezing, but snow on Christmas is always nice." She told him honestly. "Why?"

"As a professor I couldn't get you a gift, it might be misunderstood – I thought while we have a moment before anyone comes to find you that I could give you something else." Ghaelon nodded upward, bringing her attention to the fact that it was snowing gently – small flurries fluttering around them. Kagome stared, a slow smile creeping onto her face, she glanced back at Ghaelon before returning her attention to the precipitation.

It was perfect, not too heavy, gentle and gorgeous, the sort of snow that was just beautiful instead of a danger or annoyance. She held out a hand to catch a few flakes, drawing it back to dry it off- the spell might help with the temperature but the melting snow was still cold on her skin.

"You made it snow, for me?" Kagome was marveling at the concept. What couldn't Ghaelon do if he could control the weather?

"I'd make anything happen for you." The whisper was resolute, a promise. "The world would bow on it's axis if it would earn an honest smile."

Kagome felt her heart racing, the snow and words were extraordinary...would she ever adjust to these grand gestures? She doubted it...how could she possibly compare to a gift like this...suddenly the small gift she'd gotten him beneath the tree was unequal. The people inside be damned...

It wasn't a peck on the cheek with Ghaelon, it had been far too long since her lips had met his – and it felt like coming home when they did now. As if pressing herself into him was where she belonged – putting aside the coals in her abdomen she broke off the kiss before it could move into anything too much deeper. Though her breath was already unsteady and his eyes seemed to reflect the heat she felt while near him. She wanted it to be more chaste – something as soft and gentle as the flurries coming down around them – as perfect as the pale elf she entwined her fingers with.

She had to have a moment that didn't involve lust in that moment, and the fact that he was willing to just hold her helped to patch up some of her unsteady heart. They would have to go back inside soon so they weren't missed but for now she just wanted to watch the snow – her snow – as it drifted through the sky.

End Chapter

Ghaelon's so sweet this chapter. I really like his 'gift'. In general I think most of the gifts from the dudes aren't too bad. I'm enjoying them. Whew, so much Christmas stuff still!

-Aura

To my reviewers:

Thanks for all the kind words. I hope that you continue to enjoy my fic.