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Sesshomaru checked the placement of the table once more, stepping away from it and looking it over with a critical eye. Rin rolled her eyes from across the room.
“Nii-san, it’s fine.” She told him. “You’re just eating fried chicken. You don’t have to make this as elaborate as you’re making it.”
Sesshomaru frowned at her, then sighed, agreeing with Rin. At this point, there really wasn’t more he could do to fix the table or spruce it up; at least anything more than he’d done already. He’d already spent hours combing stores for the perfect linens and the best crockery and anymore additions would be unwelcome, and impossible to get at this late hour.
Besides, Rin did have a point: fussing with the table now, after an hour spent arranging it perfectly wasn’t going to change anything.
The doorbell rang and the siblings both perked up. He made to go towards it, but Rin stopped him with a hand.
“I’ve got it.”
She left the kitchen and answered the door, returning a few minutes later with a large box that let out an enticing aroma and the logo of a familiar chicken restaurant. Walking over to the oven, she pulled the top warming drawer with one hand and placed the fried chicken box in it.
“Are you making the cake?” Rin asked turning around to see him fussing over the table again despite his earlier indication that he refused to do just that. She sighed and shook her head at him in fond exasperation as he nodded.
“I’ll get the ingredients ready then.” She murmured turning towards their pantry closet.
By the time she’d finished getting the ingredients together for him to bake the cake, the doorbell rang again, and Sesshomaru went to answer it, this time knowing who it was. He stopped at the foyer, checking his appearance in the mirror, frowning and using his one hand to adjust the shirt he wore, wanting to look perfect for his special guest. Once satisfied with his appearance, he opened the door.
Kagome stood on the other side as expected, cheeks rosy from the cold, a blue beanie decorating her head. She shuffled from side to side to get some warmth into her. His eyes widened as he saw she was wearing a coat over a short black dress and leggings.
“Silly woman.” He scolded moving aside to let her into his warm apartment. “It’s freezing out there, and you’ve worn such a short dress.”
“Oops?” Kagome ventured as she entered the warm apartment. He sighed, frowning, using his one arm to help her remove her coat and place it on the nearby coat rack.
“Nii-san?” Rin called stepping into sight. “Who is that…. oh!”
“Oh.” Kagome parroted, eyes wide. “I, uh…I didn’t realize that this was a family dinner.” She shuffled and tugged the hem of her dress down a few inches feeling extremely awkward.
“It’s not!” Rin exclaimed, wanting to clear the air. “Oh man…nii-san, you were supposed to let me know so that I could leave beforehand." Rin wrang her hands. “I left the ingredients for the cake out on the counter, okay?” She stated quickly, making her way to the coat rack and slipping into her own coat, grabbing some keys from a nearby peg. “I’m going to spend the night at Kohaku’s, bye.”
Within seconds she was out the door, leaving Kagome and Sesshomaru staring after her in silence for a moment.
“I apologize.” Sesshomaru muttered, finally closing the door and leading Kagome further into the apartment. “Rin is…”
“She seems like a sweet girl.” Kagome told him, stopping him before he spoke further. “And what’s this I heard her saying about ingredients?”
Sesshomaru hesitated, then pointed to the counter where Rin had indeed measured out flour and sugar, butter and milk too, along with eggs and baking powder and soda, a set of neat steel measuring cups and spoons next to them. Kagome took a glance at them, and felt a smile bloom on her face as the realization of what Sesshomaru had planned for their first Christmas together sank in.
“You want us to bake together?” She asked, turning to face him. “As in bake our Christmas cake together?”
He nodded, not willing to speak, and her heart melted at the genuine warmth and affection in his gaze.
She reached out, threading her left hand through his right, giving it a squeeze. “That sounds nice.”
He squeezed her hand back, then led her to the counter where the ingredients sat, moving a little hesitantly. He moved her to stand in front of him and then laid a hand on hers which rested on the counter. “I can show you?” He asked, the words whispered against her ears and said with just a touch of worry that she might pull away.
Kagome leaned back against him, then entwined their fingers together, trying to show him she understood. “Well, it wouldn’t be right if the pâtissier didn’t teach me now, would it?”
He relaxed and together, they made the cake. His hand guided hers and steadied them as she measured ingredients, chin resting on her shoulder as she stirred, helping her whisk the ingredients together and murmuring in her ear all the special tricks he’d learned in his career.
All the tricks he used to do on his own before the accident had robbed him of his left arm.
I t was intimate and sweet and romantic. And Kagome felt special, trapped in this little bubble of love and warmth and trust with him. They laughed as some powdered sugar spilled over her dress, and then shared smiles of amusement when some dough splattered on it as she poured cake batter into the tin.
Turning in his arms, once she’d placed the cake in the oven, Kagome brought flour and batter-stained hands to his face, running thumbs over his cheeks as his one hand rested on the curve of her back.
“Best Christmas date ever.” She whispered, leaning forward to kiss him.