Chie: This is also an independent sequel for my older one shot One Step Closer!
Happy Holidays, everyone! Mwah!
* * * * * * * * * *
The courtship had gone on for a little over a year.
It had begun on the night of Rin and Kohaku’s wedding, when the miko had been feeling bittersweet and, infuriated by her self-deprecating attitude, Sesshoumaru had proceeded to cross over the line on which he had been teetering for quite a while.
And since then he had not looked back.
While a snowstorm had raged outside during the winter solstice, Sesshoumaru had sat together with Kagome in her hut, sipping warm sake in the comfort and flickering light of the paper lanterns.
He had been present in Edo for the spring festival and stood by, amused by the irony of it all as Kagome helped the old miko ward off evil. Thankfully, she had refrained from throwing any soybeans at him, though she had met his eye during the ritual and a smile had tugged at the corner of her lips.
When the cherry trees had been in bloom, they had gone out together with Kohaku and Rin to enjoy a meal outside, under the gently falling pink petals.
In the stifling heat of the summer, he had helped Kagome light one of the floating lanterns which the humans set out along the rivers and lakes to guide the spirits home on the day they honoured their ancestors.
In the cool of the autumn, when the leaves were just beginning to turn into a riot of colours, he had taken Kagome out on a boat along the river, to properly view the full harvest moon.
And while Sesshoumaru had been enjoying all of that, the time had come for it to end.
It no longer was enough.
He did not wish to keep paying frequent visits to Edo. Instead, he wanted Kagome to be with him every hour of every day – and night.
And therefore, the time had come to pose the miko the question; to finally make her his. Forever.
The unfortunate crux of the matter was that Sesshoumaru knew very little of human customs and even less of those Kagome would be most familiar with.
And he did wish to honour the traditions she was used to because he knew too well the longing the miko carried for the home she had left behind.
He had vowed to himself once he’d made his intentions clear that he would do all he could to make everything right by the miko.
After all, their courtship had begun with the miko explaining to him some of the customs she feared she would never get to experience if she were to get married in the feudal era.
That was why Sesshoumaru was currently in need of advice… and there was only one person he could ask it from.
But for Kagome, he would do anything.
Even ask for help from the halfbreed.
* * * * * * * * * *
Inuyasha scowled at his older brother, his triangle ears twitching.
He must’ve heard that wrong, because there was no way in hell the bastard would ever come to him for anything.
But no, there he still was, standing in front of him and regarding him silently.
Inuyasha crossed his arms and scowled a bit more.
He’d love nothing better than to tell him to go screw himself…
Except that it was obvious that the icy prick’s motivations revolved around Kagome.
And… There was a part of him, a very small and stupid part, that felt happy that Sesshoumaru had come to ask for his help.
Small pieces of him, the lingering remnants of the lonely hanyou child he had once been, longing for acceptance more than anything.
So, grudgingly, Inuyasha opened his mouth.
“I don’t know much. But I saw this thing on the television once – well never mind,” he cut off, knowing the bastard would have little patience for hearing about all these modern concepts and devices he was clueless about. “Anyway, I’m pretty sure that when the humans in Kagome’s time propose marriage, they offer the girl a ring.”
“A ring?” Sesshoumaru repeated. “What kind of a ring?”
“I don’t know, a ring,” Inuyasha said, impatient. “Gold, I think. With a stone on it. Don’t know why that’d be so great to have.”
“A ring can certainly be arranged,” Sesshoumaru said.
Inuyasha squinted.
He almost sounded happy.
Man, that was creepy.
“Also when they’re doing the asking, they kneel before the girl,” Inuyasha added, a gleeful smirk lurking in the corner of his lips.
Because really, much as Sesshoumaru seemed to care about Kagome – which was really too weird to even consider – Inuyasha simply couldn’t see his over-proud brother to submit in front of anyone.
Ha!
“Don’t know much more about the whole getting married business.” Inuyasha shrugged.
He could’ve stopped it at that. He’d done his part, helped his half-brother out.
But then, this wasn’t really about helping Sesshoumaru at all. In the end, this was all for Kagome, and Kagome deserved the best.
Better, certainly, than his bastard of an older brother, but if he was whom Kagome had chosen, so be it.
And that’s why Inuyasha cleared his throat.
“If you really want to know about customs from Kagome’s time, there’s this thing called Christmas.”
Sesshoumaru frowned. Sounded out the word.
“Christmas?”
Inuyasha nodded curtly. “It’s a celebration they have. Sometime in late December. It’s supposed to be very romantic.”
“How does one celebrate this… Christmas?” Sesshoumaru asked.
“You celebrate together with your partner. You eat together. You have cake. You give each other gifts. If you want to propose to Kagome like humans in her time do, you should do it on Christmas. I think she’d like it.”
“I think you are correct in that presumption,” Sesshoumaru said.
Inuyasha gaped at him, shocked. The great bastard, telling him that he, the hanyou, was right?
Surely any second now the world would come to an end.
But the world went on and Sesshoumaru asked: “What is a ‘cake’?”
“It’s a sweet. Baked,” Inuyasha said. “Kind of like bread. The kind the foreigners make.”
“Foreigners such as the ones making their trade out in the west?”
“Yeah, I guess.”
“All right. You have given me much to think about. Thank you.”
“Keh!” Inuyasha huffed, flustered. “It’s not for you I’m doing this – it’s for Kagome!”
His brother inclined his head. “This Sesshoumaru is aware. You are a good friend to her.”
That admission both caught Inuyasha off-guard and lifted his heart.
Maybe his brother wasn’t a complete bastard after all, and Kagome really did deserve the best.
So as Sesshoumaru started walking away, Inuyasha called out after him.
“If I can remember anything else I’ll let you know,” he said, voice gruff.
Sesshoumaru nodded, and left.
* * * * * * * * * *
A subtle flare of youki at a distance had Kagome sit up straighter. A smile bloomed on her lips, a wave of relief stirred in her chest.
She got to her feet and crossed to the door of her hut.
Over the past year, Sesshoumaru had been visiting her in Edo frequently.
They had spent much time together; sometimes conversing for hours on end, sometimes sitting in comfortable silence, on a few occasions even laughing together. They had stolen glances at one another, exchanged fleeting touches here and there.
The last time he’d visited, Kagome had gathered her courage and gone for a kiss, which Sesshoumaru had eagerly and thoroughly reciprocated.
That had been several weeks ago, and he hadn’t come to see her since.
Kagome had started to worry – first that something had happened to Sesshoumaru, then that she’d scared him off or misinterpreted those lingering glances and brushes from his fingers.
But now, he had returned.
Kagome leaned against the doorjamb, pulling the quilted haori she wore over her kosode tighter around her for warmth, as she watched Sesshoumaru walk across the village to her.
He stopped before her, and, before she had a chance to greet him, had tilted her head back with a claw-tipped finger and claimed her lips in a searing kiss.
Kagome’s stomach performed several spirited somersaults and she smiled against his insistent lips, her heart beating a giddy rhythm in her chest.
“Hi,” she whispered, her voice hoarse when he finally pulled back.
“Hello,” he greeted, allowing his finger to trail down her cheek before he backed away a step.
“Come in,” Kagome said, making room in the doorway.
“No,” Sesshoumaru said, holding out his hand. “We have another destination today.”
Curious, Kagome slipped on her straw sandals and nimbly tied them on before taking Sesshoumaru’s hand.
He led her to the edge of the village – but when Kagome expected him to walk past the last hut at the edge of Inuyasha’s forest, he instead turned towards the doorway.
“We’re going to visit Rin and Kohaku?” Kagome asked.
Sesshoumaru squeezed her hand. “They have been kind enough to render me their aid.”
Kagome tilted her head, confused. What on Earth would Sesshoumaru need help with?
And why hadn’t he come to her for it?
Frowning, she ducked through the doorway after Sesshoumaru – and stopped to stare at the sight that met her eyes in the light of the merrily blazing fire in the cooking hearth.
“What…?” Kagome asked, struggling to form a sentence.
She untied and kicked off her footwear and hurried into the hut. Rin and Kohaku were nowhere to be seen, but on the raised flooring at the back of the hut, a veritable feast had been laid out.
She noticed many of her favourites – and oddly enough, roasted chicken.
In the very centre, there was a curious piece. It… looked like a baked good of some sort.
Which was both baffling and bizarre, since as far as Kagome knew, there shouldn’t be any bakeries in Japan for another 300 years or so.
And yet there it sat, this baked thing.
Kagome stared at it in confusion for several more seconds, until it finally clicked.
She gasped.
Her gaze flickered from the cake to the roasted chicken and then to Sesshoumaru.
“Merry Christmas, Kagome,” he wished her carefully enunciating the foreign words.
Kagome felt perilously close to tears. She cradled her hands to her chest.
“How…? How did you know? How did you do all this?”
“I am aware of how important your customs are to you,” Sesshoumaru said, his golden eyes piercing. “Therefore, it was my wish to honour them. Celebrating Christmas was Inuyasha’s suggestion, so if there are any inaccuracies they are the hanyou’s fault.”
Kagome let out a startled laugh.
“I was also told that giving gifts was customary, so I took the liberty of preparing something for you.”
“Oh you shouldn’t have, that’s just too much, putting together all this is more than – what are you doing?! Sesshoumaru?”
Kagome clutched at her throat, her mind whirling, her gaze focused on the lacquered box Sesshoumaru was holding out to her, presumably containing her gift.
“Inuyasha told me this was customary as well,” Sesshoumaru deadpanned, from the kneeling position he’d assumed before her.
“Perhaps he was playing a prank on you,” Kagome said, shaking her head. “This isn’t how Christmas gifts are – oh. Oh.”
Sesshoumaru had opened the lacquered box and the tears were now burning in Kagome’s eyes.
Inside the box, there was a ring. A simple golden band, with a deep blue stone crafted in the shape of a crescent moon.
“I…” Kagome had to swallow past the lump in her throat. “Is this why Toutousai paid a surprise visit to the village a couple of weeks ago and seemed overly interested in my hands?”
The upwards twitch of the corner of Sesshoumaru’s lips was all the answer Kagome needed.
Then he cleared his throat and started to speak: “Much as I have enjoyed this past year with you, I have come to yearn more than what a mere courtship could offer. I am ready to make a commitment to you and therefore ardently hope that you would consent to be my mate.”
A lone tear sliding down her cheek and her lips trembling into a smile, Kagome nodded.
“Yes,” she breathed, voice hoarse with emotion.
And then, abandoning all decorum, Kagome rushed to him, fell to her knees and hugged him fiercely. She turned her head, found his lips and kissed him. He kissed her back with equal fervour, but then grabbed her shoulder to push her back.
“Before we forget ourselves, miko, there is one thing more,” he told her as he took her hand.
With care that made Kagome’s heart swell even more it already had, Sesshoumaru slid the ring onto her finger.
It fit perfectly, and Kagome could feel it give out one faint pulse.
She smiled down at it, wondering what Sesshoumaru had given to Toutousai to use in the forging of the ring; only he would think to create an engagement ring that carried a trace of his youki.
Kagome cupped Sesshoumaru’s face, the ring resting against the skin of his cheek, and gave him a new kiss. Slower, more tender, and filled with the love that was overwhelming her.
Then, she let her fingers intertwine with his and followed him to the feast he’d prepared for her.
She met his eyes and marvelled at how wonderful it was to be celebrating Christmas here in the Sengoku Era, and with the person who mattered to her the most.
Accepting the cup of tea from him and noting the glint of the ring on her finger in the firelight, Kagome was filled with more happiness than she could’ve ever wished for.