Living Life by UnknownRandomness

Future

Prompt: Love (Sakimitama)

It had been too long since they had seen one another. Far, far too long. 'Almost three- no, four- years... ah I can't wait to see Angel-sama!'

Kagome's knee bounced excitedly as she struggled to remain in her seat. The taxi driving her to Sesshoumaru's house was being way too slow for her liking. Glancing out of the window, the woman was delighted to see that she recognised the area; it wouldn't be long now before she saw him again.

With her family's and the Tashio brother's encouragement, Kagome had pursued her desired career in international relations, and had, for the past four years, been living abroad whilst studying for her degree- and had left the university (unsurprisingly) as valedictorian. She had made many new friends- her closest were a fearsome but lovely woman called Sango, and a wise yet perverted rogue by the name of Miroku. He loved Sango dearly, but Sango was too stubborn to see how genuine it was. 'Although his interesting antics haven't really helped matters.' Kagome thought with a giggle.

The vehicle turned a sharp corner, and her heart started to sputter in her chest- in mere minutes she would come face to face with Sesshoumaru after a horrifically long (or so it seemed) four year deficiency. Kagome couldn't wait to soak up his presence again. Of course, she had seen her family already; they had picked her up from the airport at some god-forsaken hour in the morning, and she had spent a joyous day with them, marvelling at how they had changed and yet remained the same. Souta had certainly grown! When a tall, slim yet strong young man had greeted her with a hug, the blue-eyed woman thought she was being accosted by a stranger... only to tear up when the familiar spread of freckles across the bridge of his nose and his lop-sided grin greeted her vision.

What if Sesshoumaru had changed? Suddenly feeling slightly nauseous, Kagome removed her seatbelt, thanked and paid the driver, before stepping out of the taxi and gripping the handles on her over-night bag determinedly. Well, she wouldn't find out if she remained outside the gates all night! Breathing in a deep, reassuring breath, the graduate raised a finger and pressed the buzzer.     

The receiver crackled before a very comforting and masculine voice emitted from the speaker,

"Kagome? Is that you?"  

For a terrifying moment, her voice failed her. Almost choking on her nervousness, Kagome smiled as she replied, her voice wavering tremulously.

"Hello again, Angel-sama." 

When nothing but static met her reply, Kagome was worried that she had taken too long to reply- perhaps he had already gone back to whatever he was doing before?

With a jolt, the small side entrance opened and a dishevelled, pajama-clad, lightly panting kami stared at her. His pale skin seemed to glow in the streetlight that reflected off the silver crown of his hair. His mouth was slightly agape, as if he couldn't believe what he was seeing, and his feet were bare. But his eyes were the most startling thing about his appearance- they were alight with energy and smiling, beaming at her through the tears that welled up in the corner of his lids.

Dropping her bag, Kagome flung herself at him, arms wrapped around his strong frame as if afraid that he was as insubstantial as a dream. His warmth and smell surrounded her, transported her back in time through the many years they had known one another, through the times he had comforted her, helped her, held her when sobs racked her body, when he had laughed at her terrible jokes and simply loved her. 

Stepping back from his body, but still caught in his embrace, the two friends spent a few minutes just looking at one another, and Kagome felt her breath catch when he gave her that little grin reserved just for her. Throwing caution and common sense to the wind, the young woman leaned in and kissed that small expression- cradling its shape with her lips, imprinting the feel of that smirk against her skin.

Imagine her surprise when his lips changed, molded to hers and moved with her own. It was tender and sweet and lovely and passionate and sensuous. It was a kiss and yet could never be justly described by such a common word. It was them in a shared experience, all their emotions exchanged in a few short seconds. 

Breaking apart, they grinned at one another as Sesshoumaru picked up her bag and escorted her inside his house, before setting down the luggage and holding her in his arms once more.

"I missed you, Kagome."

"I missed you too... and I couldn't have asked for a better welcome. Thank you."

His smile was both ecstatic and contrite. "I meant to be better attired to greet my best friend and the woman I love."

Kagome's answering smile was as radiant as the first she had ever given him, thirteen years ago. "You are perfect, Sesshoumaru. I couldn't have asked for anything else."

Kissing her forehead, Sesshoumaru breathed in her calming scent and chuckled. At her inquisitive glance, he told her something that had been weighing heavy on his mind for a long time. 

"I was worrying about my feelings for you and how to express them; after all, our age gap is considerable- I have known you since you were a child- and we are of different species. This Sesshoumaru thought that you did not think of me as anything more than a companion, and would scare you with my love."

The miko felt like grinning until her cheeks were permanently frozen in a smile. "Angel-sama, you don't have to tell me things I already know; it's a waste of energy. I love you... I think I always have. It just took a little distance and time away for me to realise what these feelings were."

Sesshoumaru glared at her. "Seven thousand miles and four years are not little."

She smiled sheepishly at him, before sweetly pressing her lips to his. When he pressed forward to return the kiss, she raised her head, licked the tip of his nose, and danced up the stairs, clearly heading for his bedroom. 

"Well, then we'd better make up for lost time, hadn't we?"

Her laughing invitation prompted the inuyoukai's rumbling laughter as he followed his love and whole world up the stairs and into a loved and brilliant life.

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A/N: And that's the end folks! I would like to dedicate this story to Stella Mira, for providing the wonderful prompts that inspired this and all her wonderful works that have inspired me to be a better writer. Thank you guys for reading this short story which (hopefully) you all enjoyed. As always, please leave a review :)