A Little Obsession by Sora-chan

A Little Obsession

This was written for the SessKag Prompt Raffle where I received Akane’s prompt of: Cats!

While this piece of work is a stand-alone, it is also a part of the LoveStruck universe.

Happy Holidays!

.:o0o:.

The rays of the evening light stretched their nimble fingers through the large clear windows, bathing the room in its golden glow. An equally bright-eyed man sat comfortably in an overstuffed chair, one leg crossed over the other, while he brought a snifter to his lips for a languid sip of dark liquor.

Hazel eyes swept around the room, gazing at the small intricacies that at a glance, showed how well enmeshed their lives have become since the start of their relationship. They still lived in the penthouse, both preferring it to stay close to the hustle and bustle of business and all the socializing that came with city life. They still spent copious amounts of time at the Manor, requisitioning the guest house that Kagome initially stayed at as their own space while there. Izayoi was all too happy to oblige, knowing it meant they’d spend more time there.

Since their marathon of weddings and engagements, Kikyo and InuYasha announced their pregnancy, much to the delight of the Families. This was both a boon and a curse as the tide of attention flowed immediately to the blissful couple, but tributaries of interest in whether they were ready for the next obvious step, crested corners. It had initially been a sort of snide aside; within every sentence glorifying Kikyo or the upcoming baby, there was a short phrase vilifying or wondering if Kagome would put it off as she did the wedding. They ‘speculated’ if she would buckle under the attention that Kikyo received, as they claimed she did when the other couple had been preparing to get married.

He knew she hated it, and she was determined to not let it get to her. Upon the advice of Izayoi and her own mother, she beautifully fielded every interview and conversation. She openly gushed about how thrilled and excited she was for the pair and artfully side stepped any questions about the status of her own womb.

A small smirk slashed his lips, and he hid it with another sip. Glancing to his side, he ensured his wife was still suitably distracted and that she didn’t see his small deviation in expression. Grateful that she was still blathering on, he glanced to the heavens for a moment; taking note that the rays of golden hour had shifted to the cooler colours of magenta and indigo, signaling the oncoming evening.

His thoughts shifted unfortunately from the pleasant topics of married and family life. To the bombshell that had been dropped upon him and led him to sample his favourite cognac. He’d only ever poured this brand during the heights of the drama prefacing their engagement and the launch of the marketing arm of the company. He’d found himself drinking and staring listlessly into the snowy grounds while he morosed over what he could have and should have done differently in the grand scheme of things.

Now he found himself leaning to the drink once more, to cope. His brain seemed to work best when his tongue was dissecting the different flavours in the bold liquid. That’s what he told himself. Being the heir of a large conglomerate felt a lot easier to grasp and understand in this moment and he secretly wished his phone would trill with a business emergency so he could extricate himself from the current post dinner conversation.

He would admit to enjoying watching his wife speak excitedly about a topic she enjoyed. The glow she emitted extended her attractiveness to unheard of levels. Her cerulean eyes would brighten with glee and she’d spend half the time talking with her hands and the other half batting her long bangs from her eyes. Her words would spill eagerly through her half open supple lips that were forever stuck in a half smile. He enjoyed her passion and thought it beautiful.

Tonight however, his love of her passion was doused quite literally by his disgust and confusion of the topic at hand. Humming at what he assumed was an appropriate moment, he listened in to see if he could pick up what she was talking about now. She’d been going on for quite some time and he’d purposefully lost himself in his thoughts to get away from her.

“...and Mr. Mistoffelees was…” she was saying and he tuned her out again, adding that phrase to the other words he’d heard and wished to forget. Jellicles, Grizabella, Old Deuteronomy and Heaviside Layer, so far. One couldn’t argue that he was a bad husband, this running tally would no doubt save his hide if she were to ask him any questions.

This all came to pass when they started talking about musicals, a topic now obviously close to Kagome’s heart as she immediately started gushing about her favourites and which didn’t need to be made into movies. This had led to a short deviation about how filmmakers were out of ideas and really needed to leave well enough alone with certain popular movies. He had hoped this topic would have kept them rather occupied and they would have continued on the path, straying as far away from the previous topics as they could. But it wasn’t meant to be as she had immediately taken them back because of the imminent release of a live action version of one of her favourite shows to streaming services.

He made the mistake (one he would freely admit), to not masking his confusion and she latched on eagerly. He’d known of the Broadway show, it having been one of the popular ones while they grew up, however he was completely ignorant as to anything regarding the show at all. He hadn’t been aware that it was still an active part of the lineup of shows along the popular strip in New York. He also had no clue what the entire plot was about, nor did he have any interest in it. Of course, his second mistake was alluding to this to his darling wife who sought to educate him and ‘bring them closer’.

She’d launched into a comprehensive explanation of the plot, throwing made up words at him til his eyes glazed. His confusion and disgust progressed as steadily as the crazed and obsessed smile on her face. She relished this topic in a way that could not be healthy, she had mentioned loving it as a child, but a childhood obsession clearly more than spilled over into adulthood. She launched into backstory of different characters and did minor comparisons to the portrayals of the show and the remake. 

“...And so Old Deuteronomy names Grizabella the Jellicle Choice…” she was saying.

He blinked slowly at her, resting his heavy head on an open palm while trying to impress upon her his glaring boredom with the whole thing. She was clearly ignoring him, because if there was anyone who would be aware of his glazed, bored appearance, it would be her. She made enough fun of him for it during business dinners and events. Deciding to put her on the back foot and take over this entire conversation, he interrupted.

“So, do they plan to ‘release the butthole cut’ after all?” he drawled, smirking widely when she froze and turned wide eyes to him. Clearly, unprepared for him to know that pop culture reference.

“I- well.” She stammered, an incredulous smile overtaking her features. “I can’t believe you just asked me that.” She laughed.

“And since you’ve indulged yourself in boring me quite literally into a stupor, I believe it is only fair that I shock you into silence.” He smirked at her and she stuck her tongue out at him.

“I’m so going to let Yasha plan your birthday party.” She threatened with a grin, standing from the couch, and placing her hands on her hip in faux outrage.

He stood to his full height, caging her within the circle of his arms. “You wouldn’t dare,” he murmured, enjoying the feeling of the skin of her neck beneath his lips.

“That’s what you think.” She breathed and he rose to the challenge, ensuring that he erased the thought, well every thought, from her mind.

.:o0o:.

The sports car pulled up to the entryway of the posh hotel, a valet assistant quickly made his way to open the passenger side door as the tall driver alighted smoothly and buttoned his suit jacket. Kagome smiled kindly in thanks at the young man helping her from the car before making her way to her husband as he pocketed the valet tag he was given.

Joining her hands with his, he led her past the small assembly of photographers, ignoring all the questions yelled in their direction and into the lobby.  The couple walked together, the picture of perfection, her in her cobalt blue asymmetrical cocktail dress and him in a casual charcoal suit with a blue shirt. They were fairly dressed down, in comparison to the weekend before where they were dressed to the nines for the black-tie celebration that had been his 30th birthday. Tonight, was a more intimate party for their closest friends.

He’d watched as Kagome ran around like a well-dressed chicken with her head cut off for months, planning the big ball like celebration with his mother. She gave him all the details, from the fabric choices to all the backup menus. She also found the time to plan tonight as she knew he didn’t want all the pomp and circumstance that his mother insisted upon. She asked for his input every step of the way, and he was eager to see how it all came together.

He’d worried for a moment if she remembered her threat to him a few months before, but she hadn’t shown any inkling of pettiness or vengeance. He trusted his wife, and he knew what she looked like when she was thinking evil thoughts, but he couldn’t help but feel a twinge in the pit of his stomach. He told himself that he worried needlessly, that she wouldn’t do that to him. He also reminded himself that his brother hadn’t shown any level of vindictiveness lately either. InuYasha, too, had a poor poker face when it came to any level of calculatedness.

He, the king of stoic scheming, had nothing to worry about. But why did his gut try to warn him otherwise?

They arrived at the restaurant that they booked for the night and an attendant opened the door. Kagome thanked him and led Sesshoumaru into the dimly lit room that was decorated to look like a cityscape and the night sky with a crescent moon in the distance. She glanced up at him to see if he liked how everything turned out and smiled happily when he kissed her temple in thanks.

There were hidden sakura and hexagon patterns along the tables, along with a few other forms and outlines Sesshoumaru couldn’t quite identify. The overall effect was still beautiful, and he was impressed. The restaurant had been completely transformed, the cityscape looked larger than life, and he also appreciated that she altered the perspective so that instead of looking down at the city, they seemed to be looking up and around at it. 

They greeted their friends who already sat at a long table chatting, everyone was in awe at the decor and signature drinks.

Sesshoumaru pulled out a chair for Kagome and she sat with a murmur of thanks. She glanced over at a grinning InuYasha while Sesshoumaru sat at the center of the table. She noticed an eyebrow quirk from her darling husband as he looked at the name card in front of him and bit her lip to hide her smile before lifting their menu card in front of her face.

Kikyo watched the two of them with guarded glee. She sipped her water and nudged her husband to hide his obvious enjoyment just a moment longer. She had watched and helped a little as Kagome and InuYasha planned this current bout of revenge. She had listened with practiced sympathy as Kagome complained that her husband thought she was crazy and obsessed with the musical and had held her tongue as she pettily roped InuYasha in on her plans to make her husband miserable.

Kikyo knew all about Kagome’s love of Cats! The two women were both in love with Mr. Mistoffelees when they were younger. While she may agree with her brother-in-law about Kagome’s level of obsession with the whole franchise, she knew better than to make it known. 

She sort of felt bad for the man, but had to give it to her cousin and husband for their ingenuity in how they went about planning and how surprisingly subtle everything was. She knew her husband and he was a very in your face person and normally took a literal interpretation and approach to things. With the shrewdness of the approach, she had to wonder if this was Kagome’s tempering or if he’d been so focused on Sesshoumaru not knowing what was happening, that he made his best creation yet.

Sesshoumaru frowned minutely when he read his place card, Mr. Mistoffelees winked back at him innocently, the gold text glinting in the lightning. The prodding in his gut turned almost into a cramp and he felt as if he had stepped into a trap.

Their host for the night collected everyone’s attention and hazel eyes zeroed in on the cat ears sitting innocuously atop her head. 

“Goodnight everyone and welcome to the Jellicle Ball, in honour of our very own Mr. Mistoffelees’ birthday.” She started and Sesshoumaru began wondering if he had died and gone to hell. How was she saying all of this with a straight face?

She continued to go over their prefixed menu, throwing out words he wished he’d never heard or memorized. He began to notice snickers and giggles around him as more and more of his friends couldn’t seem to hold their composure any longer. 

“You were all in on this too?” He asked once their hostess ended her spiel. His accusing tone carried the heady undertones of one who had been betrayed.

“Not initially, but InuYasha made us promise not to react when we all got here.” Kouga was the first to crack, his contrite grin made Sesshoumaru put him at the back of his current list of former friends who were going to die.

Sesshoumaru cut his eyes over at his wife who herself bore an all too pleased look on her face. Her devious smirk told him everything he needed to know. She surely had remembered and was never going to let him forget it. 

“Don’t look at me.” She said innocently, taking a sip of her drink. He glanced at her nametag and saw that she was the night’s Victoria. “This was all InuYasha.” Sesshoumaru looked over at his brother with a raised brow, surprise colouring his face. InuYasha preened, taking the reaction for the high praise that it was.

“You?” Sesshoumaru asked. InuYasha nodded in pride.

“I’m impressed. This isn’t normally your calling card.” 

“Well, when you’ve been listening to Mom forever, you pick up a few pointers.” InuYasha shrugged.

Kagome flagged down a waiter, who also wore a pair of ears atop his head and ordered a round of shots with a stupid name, no doubt taken from the musical as well.

“Don’t be a sourpuss the whole night? Yasha went through so much trouble, and be honest, if it weren’t for the names, you mightn’t recognize that this was Cats! Themed.” Kagome rubbed Sesshoumaru’s thigh, her smile widened when he gritted his teeth.

“You’ve won this battle my dear, and I will win the war.” He challenged with a smirk, taking his offered shot glass, and knocking it back. He was already scheming on the best way to get his lovely wife back. But he would not let it destroy their night. He will admit that his brother really did do a surprisingly great job. And since the menu was prefixed, he didn’t need to read it or the drink menu.

He was feeling a buzz of anticipation for the upcoming year, this just opened a new door in his relationship in his opinion and he was ready to explore all the boundaries.

‘Let the games begin, my dear.’ He thought as Kagome smiled serenely up at him, completely unaware of the petty and teasing terror she just unleashed upon herself.

.:o0o:.

I hope you all enjoyed this :) 

Much love!

-sora