A Very Merry Christmas Kludge of Oneshots by tenchi no mai
Chocolate Candy Cane Cookies
Chapter 1 of my oneshot collection: A Very Merry Christmas Kludge of Oneshots
This was written in response to the December 2013 Challenge, using Sunset Mikos’s prompts.
Prompt: Candy Canes
Due: by January 31, 2014
Required Word Count: Minimum 250
Actual Word Count: 1718 Story Only
Universe: Alternate Universe – Modern Day
Rating: T
Warnings: None
Disclaimer: The characters of InuYasha are not mine, they are the property of Rumiko Takahashi, Shogakukan, Yomiuri TV, Sunrise, and Viz Media. Only the plot to this story and my original character, Shun, are my intellectual property. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.
‘Italics’ = thoughts
Dedication: This collection is dedicated to Doukga’s one and only Knifethrower, whose comments motivated me to start writing what flashed in my head after seeing this challenge. It’s a late start, and updates will be slow, but I hope you enjoy it!
Chocolate Candy Cane Cookies
~*~
Bang – Crack – Bang – Crack
A pause.
Whir – Clatter – Clatter - Clatter
Silence.
Sesshoumaru winced. ‘What the hell is going on in the kitchen?’ The pitch of the whirring sound bothered his ears, and the banging wasn’t much better. Starting to rise from his office chair, he sat down again when Shun appeared in the doorway clad in a pair of tartan plaid flannel sleep pants and rubbing his eyes.
“What is that racket? I was trying to get a little extra sleep this morning.” Shun mumbled, glancing towards the kitchen.
When the Whir – Clatter – Clatter – Clatter reverberated again off the hallway walls, Shun grimaced and covered his ears. It was much louder now that he had exited through the wards protecting the family wing. Sesshoumaru began rummaging around in his desk drawer then held out his hand and opened his fist to reveal two pairs of earplugs.
“Shall we go see what Kagome’s up to at this early hour?” Sesshoumaru raised an eyebrow as the Bang – Crack – Bang – Crack started up again.
Extending his arms out to his sides at shoulder level and twisting his upper body Shun stretched then padded after Sesshoumaru as he headed over to the kitchen. Even with the earplugs the noise was still loud, but not the deafening, nerve grating din that had woken him up.
The acrid smell of burning electrical wiring reached their noses at the same time Kagome’s frustrated voiced yelled “Oh, crap!”
Shun leaned against the kitchen doorjamb, crossed his arms over his bare chest and yawned widely, exposing his fangs, as Sesshoumaru ventured into the room to investigate. Their little mate was well known for her rather unusual endeavors, which made him wonder what type of mayhem she was now planning.
Sesshoumaru stopped behind the petite miko at the section of countertop reserved for her baking projects. There was the usual conglomeration of appliances, utensils, baking pans, and ingredients, et al, set up. The smoke and burnt smell was emanating from the small ‘bullet’ food processor. ‘Ah, that explains the annoying whirring sound.’
The oversized wooden cutting board was covered with a towel, and he could see the corner of a plastic bag peeking out from one edge. He watched as Kagome picked up a large hammer and violently brought it down with a loud Bang and the ensuing Crack on whatever was hidden under the towel. The sharp scent of peppermint permeated the air.
“Dang tough candy canes!” Kagome mumbled, using both hands to raise the hammer this time.
Sesshoumaru seized the tool by the head with a quick grab and turned her to face him. “Kagome, what are you doing?”
Shun tilted his head to the side and snickered when Sesshoumaru held Kagome slightly off the floor as he rotated her, since she hadn’t loosened her grip on the handle of the hammer.
“Oh, Sesshoumaru, I didn’t mean to disturb you!” Hearing the noise and turning her head to look over at the doorway she appeared contrite. “Did I wake you up? I’m sorry, Shun!” She knew he had been overly tired lately, as he was having a problem with one of his more difficult clients and was working overtime to try and placate him. Shun gave a quick nod.
Sesshoumaru jiggled the hammer up and down, and the dangling miko finally let go and dropped the inch or two onto the floor. He raised an eyebrow in question, as he wasn’t going to verbally repeat himself.
“Ahh, I’m trying out a new recipe for the cookie exchange later this month.” Kagome gestured towards the open laptop on the counter. “Chocolate Candy Cane Cookies. I need to crush forty candy canes for the topping.”
Sesshoumaru narrowed one eye and pinned her with a glare. ‘Oh, Kami. It’s that time of year again.’ He did a quick mental calculation before he opened his mouth. “Kagome, it’s only December first. There is no reason to wake and disrupt the entire household at this ungodly hour on a Sunday morning.”
“But I wanted to get an early start this year and have a really good cookie recipe ready to bake for the exchange so I don’t end up taking plain old chocolate chip cookies or crispy snack bars again this time. Plus you and Shun get to try all the new recipes! Everyone else makes something really special for the holidays. I’m sure you remember the ones Sango made last year, you couldn’t stop eating them.” Kagome stuck out her bottom lip, put her hands on her hips and pouted.
Mentally reminiscing about the delectable raspberry meringues that the slayer had baked last Christmas made the diayoukai’s mouth water. He could only hope she would make them again this year. Maybe he would take her aside the next time he saw her and ask her to make some for him since Kagome had somehow lost the recipe the slayer had given her.
Shun pushed himself off the door frame, and sidled over to the laptop to take a peek at the recipe. Maybe he could help Kagome out while she was ‘conversing’ with Sesshoumaru. It appeared that she was now upset after remembering what had happened last year, and the conversation would probably devolve into a disagreement of some kind, at least on Kagome’s side.
He tuned out both Sesshoumaru and Kagome’s voices as he read the rather simple recipe. The picture of the chocolate cookies with chocolate icing and the crushed red and white candy canes on top did look scrumptious.
He picked up one of the candy canes, inspected it, and then snapped it in half. It shattered easily enough and it shouldn’t take more than a few minutes to crush these into the small pieces the recipe called for, then he could go back to bed. It smelled like peppermint and he popped a piece into his mouth. There were at least a dozen or more boxes of them on the counter, Kagome wouldn’t miss one candy cane.
Peering over his shoulder, he could see that Sesshoumaru was now leaning back against the end of the island in the middle of the kitchen with a mug of tea in his hand, while Kagome was planted squarely in front of him and waving her arms around. Yep, it sure didn’t take much to get her riled up. Apparently Sesshoumaru must have shown a little too much appreciation for the slayers’ cookie baking skills.
Counting out forty of the confections, Shun proceeded to crush them. The red and white pieces filled the clear glass bowl rather quickly. He double checked the recipe, yes it did indeed call for forty crushed candy canes. The aroma was becoming overpoweringly appealing and he unwrapped another candy cane and stuck one end in his mouth while he finished pulverizing the remaining ones for the recipe. He tuned back in to the conversation when Kagome’s voice rose in a very irate manner.
“Yes, I did make them for you! I made them for dessert on Valentine’s Day, because they were pink. The only thing This Sesshoumaru said was, and I quote, ‘They don’t taste the same as the ones the slayer made. Did you follow the recipe?’, unquote.”
A deep rumbling noise stopped her tirade about the raspberry meringue cookies, and she turned around to see Shun standing at her baking center. ‘Was he… purring?’
She couldn’t remember ever hearing him purr that loud before. Her eyebrows scrunched up as she wondered what was making him do it now.
Shun could feel Kagome’s eyes boring into his naked back and he pivoted to face her.
Her mouth dropped open. Shun had one candy cane stuck in his mouth and several others clutched in one large fist. His fangs had elongated, his eyes were tinged crimson, and the sound of his purring was quickly rising in volume.
‘Think, Kagome… peppermint is in the same genera, lamiaceae, of flowering herbal plants such as basil. Rosemary. Lavender. Thyme. Oh no. The rest of the mints. Nepeta cataria… cat mint.’
Shun took a few swaggering, undulating steps over to Kagome and wrapped his arms around her. He then proceed to rub his cheeks against her hair and shoulders.
He was marking her. Like Buyo used to do when she lived at home. Kagome suddenly felt like a cat toy. Shun’s unshaven cheeks were rough with stubble and she turned her head to look at Sesshoumaru for help.
Sesshoumaru shrugged his shoulders at her and smirked. He had seen this reaction once or twice before, and knew that Shun would, sooner or later, probably sooner, fall asleep after playing with his ‘toy’ and wearing himself out. This Sesshoumaru would then go rescue his miko so she could finish her baking.
He glanced over at Kagome’s disorganized recipe box. After finding the missing recipe for one his favorite cookies. He hooked a claw in the crook of a candy cane then carefully slipped the red and white confection out of the big cat’s grip and stirred his tea with it as he stepped around Shun and Kagome.
~*~
Fin.
~*~
Authors Notes:
Updates will be extremely sporadic, as IRL problems are particularly demanding at the moment.
Chocolate Candy Cane Cookie recipe:
http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/chocolate-candy-cane-cookies/e3162499-df79-4118-8f41-930a797354e0