Rockefeller Center
New York City
Three years ago
She stood there tapping her foot and glanced at her watch periodically. Well, maybe a little more than periodically. He was late, really late, and the crowds from the night were starting to dissipate.
It did give her an unhindered view of the tree, but she was upset, they had decided to share the moment together and he missed it. It just wasn't the same. Sure, she had watched the lighting of the tree by herself before, and she thoroughly enjoyed it, but truth was, she had become used to his company, and had even started to thrive on it.
Their moments this past year were few and far between as he spent a lot of time out of the country opening new businesses around the world, and when he was in town, she was busy with papers and assignments and exams. Even now she should have been at home studying for a tough final she had tomorrow afternoon, but instead she was here waiting for him.
She had surprised herself, she thought. Of all of her friends and acquaintances from the feudal era, she never thought she'd be spending time with Sesshoumaru, one of her hated enemies. Nor had she ever thought she'd be meeting him almost monthly for dinner and to catch up. After about three months she had gotten the nerve to ask about her old friends. Miroku and Sango he knew nothing about, she didn't expect him to though. Humans were beneath his notice at that point in time.
Inuyasha had spent some time with Kikyou before she released him from his promise. After Naraku was defeated, she seemed to have forgotten some of her anger for a few months, she had gotten to know and fall in love with Inuyasha all over again. When you loved somebody, you didn't drag them to hell with you. She was especially happy to have learned that Inuyasha had fallen in love again and ended up taking a mate.
She was most worried about Shippo though. Nobody had heard from him in the last four hundred years. He stayed with Inuyasha and his mate for a time, but Sesshoumaru had said he just disappeared. One day he left the village he was staying at and never returned. He wouldn't have known about it if Inuyasha hadn't asked him about it one day. However, she maintained hope that if Sesshoumaru was still alive, Shippo was too. Maybe he was just restless and after spending several years on an adventure, he just needed another one.
It seemed as if everybody else really got along well enough without her. She didn't quite know how she felt about that.
She sighed. She really wanted to see him as it had been a month since she last had dinner with him. So where was he? He wasn't like his brother, he usually kept his promises, which is why she had chosen to stay as long as she had. She gripped the bag in her hand tighter. She must look like a fool walking around the square by herself carrying a present. Those who had been there as long as she had probably knew that she brought the gift with her, and was being stood up. If she were lucky, everybody else would think it was given to her.
And she had spent the two months working on it, making it perfect.
In August, she had taken a knitting class to keep the boredom from setting in. It gave her hands something to do, and it occupied her mind as she concentrated on making sure each stitch was perfect. By the end of September, she had made a very crooked scarf.
Well practice made perfect right?
She spent hours at the malls looking for the perfect wool, knowing that he wouldn't wear anything that was cheaply made, and spent a good chunk of her paycheck paying for a nice off white cashmere wool. She cringed at the price of two balls, but knew it would be worth it. She wanted him to have something nice, something he would appreciate and know that it came from her because she appreciated all that had given her over the past year.
A year of companionship, a year of knowing that when she left, everything turned out all right, and most of all, a year of understanding. She had somebody she could talk to about the past with without looking like a lunatic or a history geek. Essentially, he knew where she came from, and how she ended up the way she did.
For two months, during her spare time, she worked, making sure each stitch was perfect, perfectly aligned. She spent late nights in tears, tearing row upon row out as the sides became uneven, or whenever she dropped a stitch and caused a run.
And finally, late last night, when she should have been studying, she finished it, a cream-coloured cashmere scarf that would keep him warm in the winter, that he would wear remembering who it came from. It was perfect, and with care, she wrapped it in tissue paper and placed it in a bag. It was such a small gift to so many, but to her, it meant so much.
She sniffled and held back some tears when she realized he wasn't coming. She didn't know why she was so upset, after all, he was a very busy man. She knew this when they started to get together for their nights out. She turned to walk around the skating rink one last time, looking at how happy each of the skaters was, watching the couples smiling at each other, or families playing with their kids. She wanted that, something inside her wanted to be like one of those couples.
But she held no hope if he wouldn't even show as promised.
She sighed again, checking her watch. She had an exam tomorrow afternoon, she needed to get home and put in a few more hours of studying. Turning toward the street, she made the move to hail a cab, and turned suddenly when she felt a hand on her shoulder, a strong one.
She smiled and turned around.
"Flight got in late," he said as he took her hand and walked her toward a bench. "Snow delayed it from taking off in Chicago."
She nodded, realizing nowthat he wouldn't purposely stand her up. He had too much honour to stand her up without a word.
"Merry Christmas," she said as she handed him the package.
The past year had given her ample opportunity to learn how to read his eyes and to study how he expressed himself. She didn't miss the slight, very slight widening of his eyes that showed her he was shocked.
He gingerly accepted the package before turning back at her, "I didn't realize we were exchanging gifts."
She blushed slightly and hoped he would think it was the wind against her cheeks that was.responsible for reddening of her cheeks "We weren't, but I wanted to do something small to thank you for this past year. Besides, you paid for all of the dinners."
"Well you're still in school and earn a meager salary," he smirked. "I am considerate enough that I'm not going to make you spend what little money you have catering to tastes as refined as mine."
She was sorely tempted to stick her tongue out at him, but it was true. In her wildest dreams she'd ever be able to afford a meal for two at the restaurants he ate at. She watched as he peeled back the tissue paper in the bag and pulled out the scarf. He ran it through is fingers and she could tell he was luxuriating in the feel of the cashmere, before wrapping it around his neck.
It looked good on him, she noted.
He took her hand in his again before looking at the skaters on the rink ahead of them, before speaking to her again. "Thank you."
Author's Notes
Inuyasha and gang do not belong to me, they belong to Rumiko Takahashi.
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