Holiday Challenge: Present
Title: Silent Night
Author: Silverhawthorn
Word Count: 1725
Prompt: Present
Genre: Romance
Rating: G
Warnings: none
Characters: Kagome, Inuyasha
Summary: It's Christmas Eve, and Kagome has a gift for Inuyasha.
“It’s cold! It’s cold!” Shippo hopped from one foot to the other, trying to stay as close to the fire as he could without falling in. Kagome glanced up briefly to give him a sympathetic smile, but made no other response. Cutting up fish wasn’t something she did very often, and a makeshift cutting board laid across two spare chunks of wood didn’t make it any easier. At least Inuyasha had cleaned the catch before dropping it off.
“Come here, Shippo,” Sango said. The little demon hustled around to the other side of the campfire, gratefully letting Sango gather him into her lap. Kilala was already there, curled up tight in a warm and purring circle. He snuggled in and sighed, happy to have the pads of his bare fox feet off the ground.
Sango looked up into the solid grey sky. “I wonder if it will snow tonight.”
“Even if it does, we’ll be safe and sound,” Miroku answered her, suddenly reappearing and plopping down nearby. He gestured to the large tree behind him. “See? I’ve made us a shelter.”
The two women looked at the pile of pine boughs stacked against the wide trunk, then at each other. Kagome decided she’d better focus on finishing chopping the fish, but a giggle escaped all the same, and she heard a matching sound from Sango’s side of the fire.
“What? It’s a very sturdy construction!”
Kagome tuned out Sango’s tart response in order to safely balance the knife and lift the board laden with chunks of river trout. Into the pot the pieces went, to simmer along with the last of the roots, and the last two packages of ramen. It was almost time to go back home and get more supplies. Kagome glanced at her pack; it still bulged, but with the year-end gifts she had been gathering for her family. Inuyasha had been such a baby the day she told him she’d be going home for New Year’s, but she had never spent the holiday away from her family before. And maybe he’d understood her feelings more than he’d let on; she’d only had to osuwari him once to get him to agree. Anyway, Kagome’s plan was to bring back gifts for her friends here - medieval gifts for the modern people, and modern gifts for the medieval ones, she thought, pleased with the idea.
Kagome stirred the contents of the soup pot to make sure nothing was sticking to the bottom, then moved it to the edge of the fire so it wouldn’t boil. It wasn’t much of a Christmas Eve dinner, but she didn’t want it ruined, all the same, even though no one here even knew what Christmas Eve was!
In fact, since all that was left to do was to wait for the stew to finish cooking, it was the perfect time...
Kagome rummaged through her pack, then stood up. “Everyone, keep an eye on the stew, ok? I’ll be right back.”
She cringed. Her voice sounded so awkward! But everyone just answered in the affirmative and went back to teasing Miroku. Ok, good. Step one: leave the camp without anyone suspecting - check.
Step two: find Inuyasha. Kagome zipped up her coat the rest of the way and made sure the little package she had pulled out of her backpack was safe inside. She had never done this before, never given a gift to a boy on Christmas Eve, and after going through all the trouble of trying to figure out what to give him and then get it here, and keep it hidden in her pack - especially with Shippo always mooching around in there! She’d be so mad if she lost it now.
Or relieved?
No, no, you’re gonna do this, so get going!
Kagome took a deep breath, and headed into the trees, following the sound of water until she came to the stream. This is where Inuyasha caught the fish, so he probably wasn’t far. Kagome didn’t want to call out for him, even though that’d be the easiest thing to do. She wanted to find him on her own. She walked downstream a little way, until the brush got too thick, then turned and went upstream. Every once in a while she stopped and closed her eyes. Outdoor cooking wasn’t her only area of improvement, she was also getting better at sensing the energy of the people around her, even though it was often just a faint half-imagined tingle.
This time, though, when she opened her eyes, she saw a glimpse of red through the trees in exactly the direction she had been facing.
Across the stream, of course.
Kagome paced up the bank a little further. She wasn’t going to wade across, that’s for sure. Finally, the streambed grew shallow, and Kagome gingerly hopped from stone to stone until she was close enough to scramble up the opposite bank. She could still see that glimpse of red through the bare branches; thank goodness it wasn’t summer, or else she’d be lost already.
She wasn’t going to try to sneak up on him, even if she thought she could, but still, she stepped carefully through the underbrush and around the trunks. At the last moment, she stopped next to a large moss-covered tree. Inuyasha was sitting not far from her, on a large stone outcrop. He was watching the sunset, one knee pulled up against his chest and tightly wrapped by his arms, the other laid out straight along the curve of the rock’s surface. His Tetsusaiga was at his side, almost hidden in the shadow cast by his leg. He didn’t make a single move, not even a tiny twitch of his ear, so Kagome held still, too. Maybe he hadn’t heard her come up?
But that was ridiculous, of course he had heard her, of course he knew she was there. He always knew where she was.
Something made her wait, though. The air was crisp and growing colder, chilling her cheeks. The tiny mountainside glade was filled with a satisfying sort of silence, the kind found only in the wilderness, as if one sat companionably with the spirits of nature. Everywhere she looked, the short winter sunset painted the stones and branches and slopes with a fragile golden light, and it made her want to hold her breath. The pale light outlined Inuyasha, too, gilded his red-clad limbs, and softened his usually fierce features. He was like a statue, looking out over the treetops at the sky.
The light faded, and the gold in the tiny clearing slipped away. Most of the time, there’s never a single moment one can point at and say there, right then, daytime just turned into night. It happens so gradually it can only be a remembered thought - but tonight, Kagome saw that moment, saw it exactly. It was that second when Inuyasha’s silver hair, which had shimmered in the setting sun, turned black, like silk soaking up a spill of ink.
Kagome had forgotten. Tonight was the night of the new moon, the night of Inuyasha’s transformation, his human night. She had been so wrapped up in trying to figure out what to give him tonight, she had completely forgotten. Her heart ached. It felt like a betrayal.
If she hadn’t come looking for him, Inuyasha would have come walking back into camp on his own in a little while, acting as if nothing was different. But he would keep to himself all night long, and leave again before dawn. Even though their little group had been travelling together for almost a year now, it must be so hard to break the habit of a lifetime of hiding, of sitting awake and alone and vulnerable. This wasn’t a night of magic for him, it was a night of fear. Not that he’d ever admit it.
But he wasn’t alone anymore.
Kagome stepped away from the tree. There was just barely enough light left in the sky for her to see to pick her way across the tree roots and small stones to him, a fading remnant of twilight or maybe just her own night vision. Halfway there, Inuyasha turned his head to watch her approach. She almost expected him to be more startled by her arrival, since without his keen night vision she was now just a shadow moving in the darkness, but he truly must have heard her earlier, even though he hadn’t said anything. He stayed quiet now, too. Kagome came up to the stone and leaned against its side. It was cold, colder than the air.
“Inuyasha?”
She looked up at him. He was just a dark silhouette against the dark sky, but she knew he returned her gaze, even so. Nothing she could give him would be enough to erase all those years, but he didn’t have to be afraid anymore. He didn’t have to sit alone through the loss of half his self anymore. Kagome stretched out her hand, her arm reaching up along the rough curve of the stone. After a moment, he reached back. Their fingers met and entwined, warmth to warmth. Kagome wanted to ask him if he was okay, wanted to tell him he needn’t be alone ever again, to comfort him for all those lonely nights past, but there were no words. She could only just stand there, pressed against the stone, holding his hand and gazing up into his face.
And maybe once again, he understood her more than she thought, because he sighed softly, and squeezed her hand, and climbed down off the stone.
Inuyasha led Kagome back to camp, though she could see the glow of the campfire through the trees probably just as well as he could, tonight. He let go of her hand only twice, once to help her across the stream, and then in the last shadows before returning to the bright firelit circle of their friends.
It was only while dishing out bowlfuls of stew that Kagome remembered why she had gone looking for Inuyasha in the first place. She looked across the fire at him and met his gaze, human-dark but still warm with everything that made him special. The little gift still lay snug in the inner pocket of her coat, completely forgotten, and somehow, no longer needed.
Author: Silverhawthorn
Word Count: 1725
Prompt: Present
Genre: Romance
Rating: G
Warnings: none
Characters: Kagome, Inuyasha
Summary: It's Christmas Eve, and Kagome has a gift for Inuyasha.
“It’s cold! It’s cold!” Shippo hopped from one foot to the other, trying to stay as close to the fire as he could without falling in. Kagome glanced up briefly to give him a sympathetic smile, but made no other response. Cutting up fish wasn’t something she did very often, and a makeshift cutting board laid across two spare chunks of wood didn’t make it any easier. At least Inuyasha had cleaned the catch before dropping it off.
“Come here, Shippo,” Sango said. The little demon hustled around to the other side of the campfire, gratefully letting Sango gather him into her lap. Kilala was already there, curled up tight in a warm and purring circle. He snuggled in and sighed, happy to have the pads of his bare fox feet off the ground.
Sango looked up into the solid grey sky. “I wonder if it will snow tonight.”
“Even if it does, we’ll be safe and sound,” Miroku answered her, suddenly reappearing and plopping down nearby. He gestured to the large tree behind him. “See? I’ve made us a shelter.”
The two women looked at the pile of pine boughs stacked against the wide trunk, then at each other. Kagome decided she’d better focus on finishing chopping the fish, but a giggle escaped all the same, and she heard a matching sound from Sango’s side of the fire.
“What? It’s a very sturdy construction!”
Kagome tuned out Sango’s tart response in order to safely balance the knife and lift the board laden with chunks of river trout. Into the pot the pieces went, to simmer along with the last of the roots, and the last two packages of ramen. It was almost time to go back home and get more supplies. Kagome glanced at her pack; it still bulged, but with the year-end gifts she had been gathering for her family. Inuyasha had been such a baby the day she told him she’d be going home for New Year’s, but she had never spent the holiday away from her family before. And maybe he’d understood her feelings more than he’d let on; she’d only had to osuwari him once to get him to agree. Anyway, Kagome’s plan was to bring back gifts for her friends here - medieval gifts for the modern people, and modern gifts for the medieval ones, she thought, pleased with the idea.
Kagome stirred the contents of the soup pot to make sure nothing was sticking to the bottom, then moved it to the edge of the fire so it wouldn’t boil. It wasn’t much of a Christmas Eve dinner, but she didn’t want it ruined, all the same, even though no one here even knew what Christmas Eve was!
In fact, since all that was left to do was to wait for the stew to finish cooking, it was the perfect time...
Kagome rummaged through her pack, then stood up. “Everyone, keep an eye on the stew, ok? I’ll be right back.”
She cringed. Her voice sounded so awkward! But everyone just answered in the affirmative and went back to teasing Miroku. Ok, good. Step one: leave the camp without anyone suspecting - check.
Step two: find Inuyasha. Kagome zipped up her coat the rest of the way and made sure the little package she had pulled out of her backpack was safe inside. She had never done this before, never given a gift to a boy on Christmas Eve, and after going through all the trouble of trying to figure out what to give him and then get it here, and keep it hidden in her pack - especially with Shippo always mooching around in there! She’d be so mad if she lost it now.
Or relieved?
No, no, you’re gonna do this, so get going!
Kagome took a deep breath, and headed into the trees, following the sound of water until she came to the stream. This is where Inuyasha caught the fish, so he probably wasn’t far. Kagome didn’t want to call out for him, even though that’d be the easiest thing to do. She wanted to find him on her own. She walked downstream a little way, until the brush got too thick, then turned and went upstream. Every once in a while she stopped and closed her eyes. Outdoor cooking wasn’t her only area of improvement, she was also getting better at sensing the energy of the people around her, even though it was often just a faint half-imagined tingle.
This time, though, when she opened her eyes, she saw a glimpse of red through the trees in exactly the direction she had been facing.
Across the stream, of course.
Kagome paced up the bank a little further. She wasn’t going to wade across, that’s for sure. Finally, the streambed grew shallow, and Kagome gingerly hopped from stone to stone until she was close enough to scramble up the opposite bank. She could still see that glimpse of red through the bare branches; thank goodness it wasn’t summer, or else she’d be lost already.
She wasn’t going to try to sneak up on him, even if she thought she could, but still, she stepped carefully through the underbrush and around the trunks. At the last moment, she stopped next to a large moss-covered tree. Inuyasha was sitting not far from her, on a large stone outcrop. He was watching the sunset, one knee pulled up against his chest and tightly wrapped by his arms, the other laid out straight along the curve of the rock’s surface. His Tetsusaiga was at his side, almost hidden in the shadow cast by his leg. He didn’t make a single move, not even a tiny twitch of his ear, so Kagome held still, too. Maybe he hadn’t heard her come up?
But that was ridiculous, of course he had heard her, of course he knew she was there. He always knew where she was.
Something made her wait, though. The air was crisp and growing colder, chilling her cheeks. The tiny mountainside glade was filled with a satisfying sort of silence, the kind found only in the wilderness, as if one sat companionably with the spirits of nature. Everywhere she looked, the short winter sunset painted the stones and branches and slopes with a fragile golden light, and it made her want to hold her breath. The pale light outlined Inuyasha, too, gilded his red-clad limbs, and softened his usually fierce features. He was like a statue, looking out over the treetops at the sky.
The light faded, and the gold in the tiny clearing slipped away. Most of the time, there’s never a single moment one can point at and say there, right then, daytime just turned into night. It happens so gradually it can only be a remembered thought - but tonight, Kagome saw that moment, saw it exactly. It was that second when Inuyasha’s silver hair, which had shimmered in the setting sun, turned black, like silk soaking up a spill of ink.
Kagome had forgotten. Tonight was the night of the new moon, the night of Inuyasha’s transformation, his human night. She had been so wrapped up in trying to figure out what to give him tonight, she had completely forgotten. Her heart ached. It felt like a betrayal.
If she hadn’t come looking for him, Inuyasha would have come walking back into camp on his own in a little while, acting as if nothing was different. But he would keep to himself all night long, and leave again before dawn. Even though their little group had been travelling together for almost a year now, it must be so hard to break the habit of a lifetime of hiding, of sitting awake and alone and vulnerable. This wasn’t a night of magic for him, it was a night of fear. Not that he’d ever admit it.
But he wasn’t alone anymore.
Kagome stepped away from the tree. There was just barely enough light left in the sky for her to see to pick her way across the tree roots and small stones to him, a fading remnant of twilight or maybe just her own night vision. Halfway there, Inuyasha turned his head to watch her approach. She almost expected him to be more startled by her arrival, since without his keen night vision she was now just a shadow moving in the darkness, but he truly must have heard her earlier, even though he hadn’t said anything. He stayed quiet now, too. Kagome came up to the stone and leaned against its side. It was cold, colder than the air.
“Inuyasha?”
She looked up at him. He was just a dark silhouette against the dark sky, but she knew he returned her gaze, even so. Nothing she could give him would be enough to erase all those years, but he didn’t have to be afraid anymore. He didn’t have to sit alone through the loss of half his self anymore. Kagome stretched out her hand, her arm reaching up along the rough curve of the stone. After a moment, he reached back. Their fingers met and entwined, warmth to warmth. Kagome wanted to ask him if he was okay, wanted to tell him he needn’t be alone ever again, to comfort him for all those lonely nights past, but there were no words. She could only just stand there, pressed against the stone, holding his hand and gazing up into his face.
And maybe once again, he understood her more than she thought, because he sighed softly, and squeezed her hand, and climbed down off the stone.
Inuyasha led Kagome back to camp, though she could see the glow of the campfire through the trees probably just as well as he could, tonight. He let go of her hand only twice, once to help her across the stream, and then in the last shadows before returning to the bright firelit circle of their friends.
It was only while dishing out bowlfuls of stew that Kagome remembered why she had gone looking for Inuyasha in the first place. She looked across the fire at him and met his gaze, human-dark but still warm with everything that made him special. The little gift still lay snug in the inner pocket of her coat, completely forgotten, and somehow, no longer needed.