Kagome x Sesshoumaru
Modern AU
Prompt:
"Dance with me and pretend the world doesn't exist," he pleaded.
And after that, there was no going back.
- sparkingstoryinspiration
Note:
This was one of my stories from a long time ago titled ‘Deepest Wounds’. It was longer site, but, initially, I had only meant to write it as a one-shot. And that’s what I made it. Because I have no idea where the story was going…
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It was a happy day for Kagome...or, at least, it should have been.
Everything was painted and draped in white, crystals dripping from every possible surface. Frosted glass in the foyer, tables arranged just so, a five-tiered white cake depicting winter. Smiling faces of family and friends, joy bursting from the seams as the party moved into the ballroom. There was so much white and sparkling crystal that it was nearly blinding, the floor- a carefully polished white marble- not helping matters at all.
"Time for the couple's first dance," someone called, a slow song coming on as the lights dimmed. A beautiful woman in a hand-designed white dress stepped onto the dance floor, her white-gloved hand held by a man in a black suit with a frosty blue vest and accents. How she had convinced him to wear blue instead of red, Kagome wasn't sure...but he had never listened to her anyway. Not when they were kids...and not as they grew up and stepped into the real world together.
She should have known.
She should have realized it sooner...
Kagome mourned everything she’d lost as she watched her cousin, Kikyo, and the man she had loved share their first dance together. Flowing silver hair, little dog ears atop his head...a joyful expression on his face. Inuyasha had been her first love. Her only. But he never...felt the same.
"Oh, look," a feminine whisper came from behind her. "Is that her? The girl he dumped two months 'till their wedding? For her cousin?"
"Yeah, that's her," another girl confirmed. Kagome's hands balled in the frosty blue and white-silvery gown she had been made to wear, anxiety and dread coiling in her chest. "Worst part of it is...they made her the maid of honor. Poor girl."
"But she's been smiling this whole time…," the other girl whispered. It was true. There was a smile plastered on her face. She was happy that they were happy together, but...a lot more was writhing just beneath the surface…
"She's a better person than I am," the other added on. "I would have wrecked their wedding...this was meant for her anyway... Oh!" They shut up suddenly, just as a hot tear trickled down Kagome's cheek. Others were on the dance floor now, a blur of colors and faces that became nearly unrecognizable.
"Miko," the familiar baritone greeted, Kagome quickly wiping the tear from her cheek.
"Hey, Sesshoumaru," she turned to the man with her trademark smile. He really was handsome in that black suit with blue. It suited him better, in ways. And she noticed he'd tied his hair back for the evening...something he hated to do because it made him look like his father, Toga Taisho. He was probably enduring it at Toga's request.
"Do not smile that way at me, Miko, you know how I feel about dishonesty," he rumbled in reply. Her smile faltered a little.
"I have to smile, though," Kagome argued. "It's a wedding." She saw the briefest flash of sympathy cross his golden orbs before it was gone. Stoic again...but a little softer, if she wasn't mistaken.
"It is alright to be sad," he spoke after a pregnant pause, taking her completely off guard. "Upset. Angry. These are natural emotions that should rise from your situation. I smell them on you, and yet you smile that smile and bear the weight of their betrayal and dishonor... Why?" The smile she gave him next made him regret asking. She looked so fragile he was afraid she might shatter where she stood...
"Because I loved him," Kagome replied simply, another tear streaking down her cheek. "And Kikyo...and I would never do anything half this terrible to them. So, I smile...because I won't dishonor them like that. Despite what’s been done, despite what has been said. I will smile until the last, until I get home...and then I'll let everything out. Probably so long and hard that I'll wake up tomorrow afternoon with a severe headache and makeup smeared all over my face...but I'll feel better after that. I will be better. I'll pick up the pieces and move on...and everything will get better. ...I have to keep believing that." The last was nearly a whisper, more telling herself that than saying it to Sesshoumaru.
This woman...she was stronger and, by far, more honorable than any other female he had ever met. Human, youkai, or otherwise. And she was beginning to crumble in front of him. He needed to act fast so that she could honor her vow… "Dance with me and pretend the world doesn't exist," the words fell from Sesshoumaru's lips before he realized what he’d said, the words almost a desperate plea. But he had spoken the words, and there was no going back now. He extended a maroon-striped, claw-tipped hand to her as she looked up at him with awe and surprise clear in her beautiful glassy azure eyes. "Just you and I and the dance floor. Nothing else has to exist. We can simply...be."
Kagome was spellbound beneath his intense golden orbs, her breath hitched for a long moment. Finally, slowly, she stretched a delicate hand riddled with callouses to rest atop his larger, equally calloused hand. His expression visibly softened, his free hand wiping her tears away with such tenderness it really amazed her. He had slain demons with those strong hands of his...and yet they could be so gentle... The hand holding hers closed around it and guided her onto the dance floor. Kagome went without a word, following his lead as he cleared a path through the dancing people for them.
When they were far enough away from the newlyweds, Sesshoumaru turned back to her, his free hand moving to her waist. His hands remained gentlemanly, and he waited patiently for her mind to catch up, her free hand moving to his shoulder.
The music was slow, she noted, completely out of sorts with her surroundings. Sesshoumaru lead the slow dance with precisely measured steps, like he had done this a thousand times before...and he may well have, as old as he was. Either way, it made it easier for Kagome. She didn't have to think about anything...her body moved along with his almost naturally, the world around them falling away. Caught in his golden eyes, they spun around the dance floor numerous times, through song after song. Slow, fast, they danced to their own beat in a world away from all the nasty realities trying to slap them in the face. It was serene and peaceful...Kagome almost felt...like herself again. And not the shattered, shorn, piece of a person she had become. The smile on her face had become easier, natural...real.
It pleased Sesshoumaru to no end that he had managed to distract her so from her woes, and that she had once again become that easy-going female he had fallen in love with all those years ago. He had kept his feelings to himself because she had fallen for his younger brother. And he respected her earnest love for the hanyou...even if he couldn't see what she saw in him. Even now, though, he kept his emotions carefully bottled. This was not the time nor the place for him to confess such things. The time may not come for months or years...or ever. But he was content simply being by her side and sharing little moments like this...
- End –
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