Midnight Kiss by mynightshining

Midnight Kiss

The minute hand of Kagome’s trusty watch ticked on.

Yet time crawled.

Only ten minutes to midnight and a new year would start.

Only ten minutes to midnight, but it already felt like hours.

Only ten more minutes then she could drag herself to her empty, cold, and companionless bed.

Cheering voices and festival music ebbed and flowed from the Western Shiro’s jokamachi below. The town glowed under flickering lanterns. Despite the frigid weather townspeople – yokai, human, and hanyo alike – excitedly milled about the snowy streets, stopping at merchant carts for food, crafts, and games. The castle grounds seemed eerily vacant in comparison with all the staff, courtiers, and guards attending the festival.

Only Kagome remained behind.

Well, Kagome and one other.

Sapphire eyes nervously flicked over to the daiyokai who joined her on the balcony a moment ago. Under the moonlight, Sesshomaru appeared utterly ethereal, and her breath caught at the sight: angular jaw more prominent in the depth of shadows the cold light cast, locks of silver hair rippled iridescent as he moved, snowy white lashes accentuated golden irises. Having divested himself of his signature furisode many years ago, he stood tall and confident draped in an elegantly patterned burgundy and white silk kimono paired with an elaborately tied gold obi. Mokomoko was customarily draped over his broad shoulder. Armor, though not currently worn, was surely in his rooms ready for battle and Bakusaiga resting nearby.

To Kagome, he looked every bit the lord he grew to be.

Seeing him in his finery made her feel somewhat drab in the single decorative kimono she owned, one deep blue and covered in floating sakura blossoms with a simply tied pink obi, all of it buried under a threadbare shawl to hold back the winter chill. After dressing, she couldn’t muster the motivation to do anything with her hair. The curly locks remained unhindered framing her face and cascaded down her back.

Anxious, she tucked a strand behind her ear, and his golden gaze, a beacon of warmth in the cold night, met hers. A heated blush warmed her chilled cheeks.

One pale hand gestured to festivities below, claws glinting in the moonlight. “Do you not wish to experience firsthand the fruits of your labor?”

It was a curious question coming from him. Sesshomaru put as much effort, if not more so, into planning the festival as she did. Often choosing to stay up late with her each night as they organized the event, contracted vendors, and strong-armed the budget. He’d been more help than she ever expected when he first approached her with the position – an opportunity to be the liaison between human and yokai relations in his lands. The road to forging something new and unknown hadn’t been easy, but this New Year’s festival celebrating new beginnings was worth it.

“I could ask you the same thing.”

“Hn. I believe I asked you first, Miko.”

“Better view of the fireworks here,” Kagome responded with a small smile. It was a half-truth; the view would be better once the show started. However, being a twenty-six-year-old, unattached woman in a sea of happy couples and families ringing in the New Year wasn’t appealing to her.

She looked at him expectantly for his answer, eyebrows raised.

Sesshomaru glanced at the town, the corners of his eyes pinched in irritation, “Crowds are… infuriating.”

Her laughter danced between them, “I suppose that’s enough of an excuse.”

The corners of his lips twitched upwards, gilded eyes sparkling. A fang slipped past his lips. Waves of warmth flowed from her chest to her toes.

“Had I attended,” he continued, resonate bass sinfully low. His eyes met hers, “you would remain here. Alone.”

Hope gripped Kagome’s heart like a vice.

“That’s very kind, but please don’t feel obligated to keep me company,” she hedged, waving a dismissive hand and ignoring the pang of longing that twisted her gut.

In the simplest terms, Sesshomaru was her boss. She tried and failed over the past year to only see him as a superior, but his quiet and steadfast determination to bridge the gap between all beings in his lands claimed her heart. They formed a comradery. Being in his presence became easy. It was something to look forward to upon waking. Before she knew it, Kagome fell head over heels for what was undoubtedly another unrequited love. She cursed herself for it. Upon discovering her heart’s desires, she became overly respectful of his boundaries: kept a healthy distance when they worked side by side; desperately avoided physical touch when passing him a scroll or an inked brush; carefully treading conversation so as not to fall into personal details; always addressed him with proper titles.

For all her efforts, their hands still met. They still stood much too close. Still shared stories of childhood, adventure, and loss.

It didn’t help that he was the most beautiful being she’d ever met either. As the years passed since her return to the feudal era, she grew to find him devastatingly attractive, long before he offered her the job at his shiro. Inappropriate thoughts about what he could do with those claws, hands, and tongue, and the things she would do to him if ever given the chance kept her from sleep too many nights to count.

It was inevitable, looking back. She felt stupid and ashamed for testing fate and expecting any other result.

Kagome completely resigned herself to living out the rest of her life single and hopelessly in love with the one person who would never reciprocate.

Sesshomaru was a yokai lord. He had responsibilities and obligations to his people. One day, he would need to carry on the legacy he was born into. According to everyone in his circle, that meant marrying or mating another yokai.

As a human, and a miko no less, she didn’t stand a chance.

“I’m used to being by myself,” she finished softly.

Kagome checked the watch again and pulled her worn shawl tighter against the chill. Teeth chattered regardless.

An impossibly warm cloud landed on her shoulders, frozen muscles immediately melting under the comfortable heat. Soft fur brushed her cheek, and Kagome fought the inane urge to burrow into the pelt. Out of the corner of her eye, she glimpsed a striped wrist pulling away and tried not to feel disappointed at the loss.

He was closer now, hovering on the edge of her personal space.

“Are you truly so eager for the night to end and a New Year to begin?” Sesshomaru merely studied her, silver brows slightly furrowed.

“No…” she started flustered, but she couldn’t come up with a good excuse. Regardless of what she just told Sesshomaru, she was lonely on a holiday meant for spending time with family, but hers was separated by 500 years. Gone with a choice that seven years later she wasn’t positive was the right one. Slender fingers dug into thick fur, grounding her. “I’m just… tired. Blending all the cultural traditions into one festival was a challenge.”

“Hn,” he seemed to agree, stepping closer. Kagome watched the moonlight paint his striped cheeks. How she wanted nothing more than to trace the twin lines to his lips with her own. “Lies are not looked upon favorably in the West, Miko.”

Kagome’s grip on mokomoko tightened, heart racing. Keeping her tone light, she asked, “What’re you talking about, Sesshomaru-sama?”

Maybe it was a trick of the light, but she swore Sesshomaru grimaced at the title.

“You have not been forthcoming regarding all the traditions of your home’s New Year’s celebrations.”

Wracking her brain, Kagome rapidly ticked through the list: making resolutions, time spent with family, viewing fireworks, a visit to the shrine on New Year’s Day for blessings. That was everything, wasn’t it?

“I’m positive that I have.”

“Then perhaps you will enlighten me why my staff and courtiers exchanged excited whispers regarding a ‘New Year’s kiss’?”

Deep and telling, a blush bloomed crimson across her cheeks. Heart hammered against her ribs, and Kagome prayed he couldn’t hear it.

“Oh, that…” A nervous giggle escaped her lips.

“That, indeed.” Golden eyes narrowed as he took another step forward. Something lingered dark and heady in his gaze that Kagome couldn’t quite place.

“It’s just something silly I mentioned to Akasuki. She has a crush on one of your guards, and I suggested using it as a way to begin courtship. I didn’t think she’d tell the entire court,” Kagome finished lamely.

“Tongue wagging is the most popular pastime of the courtiers. You of all people should know that by now. However, you still have not told me everything.”

Kagome furrowed her brows in confusion, “Haven’t I?”

“The purpose of said kiss, Miko?”

The blush devouring her skin was going to burn her alive.

“It’s only a superstition. Really.”

“Enlighten me.”

Kagome swallowed hard, determinedly looking at anything but him.

“Well, the…” she cleared her throat as he took another step toward her, “The tradition is… I mean, when a couple shares a midnight k-kiss on New Year’s the belief is they’re destined to be together forever. It’s nonsense. I made it sound more appealing for Akasuki’s sake, but it doesn’t mean anything.”

“Why did you not share this particular tradition with me?”

Kagome shot him an incredulous look, eyes wide. She hadn’t told him for obvious reasons. Ones she could never, ever confess. When she told the palace cook the romantic meaning it seemed harmless. She was kicking herself for it now.

“I didn’t think you’d be interested in something like that.”

“You elected to keep me uninformed.” It was a statement emphasized by another step forward. She fidgeted at the new proximity but refused to step back. It may be his balcony, his shiro, and his town, but she could command her space too.

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you.” Frustration rose deep in her gut, and though she tried to hold the emotion back, it snapped past her lips when she spoke. “I am.” She wasn’t. “But it’s not like there’s anyone you want to kiss or be with forever, right? So, why does it matter if I didn’t tell you some old wives’ tale?”

“How do you know?”

“What?”

“How do you know there is no one I long to kiss at midnight? What knowledge do you possess in which I deny entwining my destiny with another?”

That threw her, and was he closer now? She had to crane her neck to meet his gaze. The weight of it pressed against her, but she continued to hold her ground.

“You want t-to…? I haven’t seen you with… I mean, are you s-seeing… anyone?” The last word ended breathy, as Kagome’s chest compressed with sorrow. She could feel the telltale sign of tears and rapidly blinked back the sting. She almost laughed. Unrequited love, indeed. He took another step towards her; so close now she could smell his intoxicating scent of sandalwood with hints of citrus. Edges of his yoki buzzed against her senses.

“I am not.”

“Then why?” She blurted out as sweet relief course through her.

“Perhaps there is someone I desire to pursue.”

“O-oh,” Kagome sighed, poorly hiding her disappointment on her own emotional rollercoaster. She held back the urge to laugh hysterically. Her heart couldn’t take much more. “Okay.”  

Wasn’t it time for this night to end yet? She wrestled the overwhelming desire to check her watch once more. All she wanted to do now was bury herself under covers and cry for days.

A massive cheer erupted from the town below, drawing both their attention. The chanting of descending numbers echoed through the valley as the countdown began. Kagome wasn’t sure if she should be joyful or devastated.

Ever the self-sacrificing person that she was, Kagome turned back to him.

“Y-you should probably go find whoever they are,” she forced herself to say, resigned, heart shattering into a million little pieces.

Eight

Seven

Sesshomaru remained before her, his gaze glued to hers.

Six

Fury burned, and she glared at him. “You can scold me about it later, okay? I promise. Now go, or you’ll miss it!” She insisted, breaking her rule of avoiding touch to push him away. It was fruitless. He made no effort to leave. Instead, he grabbed her wrists and pressed them against his hard chest, effectively dissolving the minuscule space between them. Their bodies now flush against each other. Reiki and yoki sizzled around them, sending shockwaves of desire through her. Kagome was sure she’d pass out from the feeling alone.

Five

“Infuriating woman,” he growled, sclera flaring red and fangs glinting as he spoke. “Do you still not understand?”

Four

“Huh?” Flustered and confused Kagome stared at him wide-eyed. Clawed fingers tangled in dark curly locks as large, calloused palms tenderly cupped her rosy cheeks. A thumb slowly brushed over full, pink lips. Kagome sighed at the contact, heart racing as she met his dark, hooded gaze.

Hope choked her as it fought to fly free from the confines of her chest.

Three.

“The one I desire is you, Kagome.”

Two

One

There was no time to think of the consequences, of what the ramifications of this could mean. Euphoric and tenacious, Kagome grasped the lapels of his kimono and yanked him down to her. Lips, teeth, and tongues crashed together frantic and needy.

Happy New Year!

The cry of the townspeople celebrating below was exuberant and palpable. Fireworks exploded overhead lighting the night sky in a kaleidoscope of glowing colors. Great booms echoed throughout the valley and shook the castle’s foundations, but the couple on the balcony paid it no mind as they moved with a frenzy to the lord’s bedchamber, fully engrossed in each other. 

When the sun hung bright and clear on the first day of the New Year, the West announced its new Lady.