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WINTER VACATION
🕑 Added 2021-12-15 03:16:01 +0000 UTCKagome’s Journal:
If I’m being honest, the last person I thought I’d be spending Christmas with this year would have been Sesshomaru.
But, as my little modern vacation slipped into December I started to realize my favorite prickly demon lord’s adventure into the future needed to experience one more staple of human culture.
A holiday.
And since this was technically my first Christmas as an adult with plenty of free time I decided to do all the things I didn’t know when or if I’d ever get to do again.
Every couple days we went on walks at night, passing by couples and kids who had the same idea as us. The city puts up gorgeous lights and decorations that spring across streets and trees in midtown and the public parks.
I think it was probably the first time I’d ever seen Sesshomaru get a little emotional.
I was just standing there next to him looking up at the multicolored lights all around us when I felt his hand tighten around mine. If I didn’t know any better I would have sworn he looked like he was about to cry.
When I asked him, he said he couldn’t take his eyes off the lights as they glistened above the white snow covered street.
He said ever since he came to my era the thing he’d missed the most was looking up at the stars at night. It had been a little concerning to him when he first came through the well with me. Wondering what had happened to all the stars.
But now…he said the lights looked like we’d plucked the stars from the sky and brought them so close he could touch them.
It was such a sweet moment that we found a nice place to sit around Roppongi Sakurazaka and looked at the lights all night. We finally went home when I started dozing off, my head leaning against his shoulder as he took in the glimmering cherry blossom trees.
Surprisingly, two of the hardest things to get for the holiday involved food.
Thanks to Sesshomaru’s generous gift of “mint condition” antiques that we sold for the apartment, I had quite a bit of spending money and could afford a table at a very nice Italian restaurant about midway through the month. Normally those places are all booked solid with couples around this time of year.
I won’t lie, it was weird to think of us like that even if it's kind of temporary. Weird…but kind of nice too. I don’t think I’d be having near as much fun if I was all by myself. I certainly wouldn’t have had the guts to go to some fancy place like that without an absurdly handsome and confident demon lord by my side. I know he doesn’t know a single word of Italian but he sure pulled off acting like he knew what was going on.
The other food related tradition that took a while to get a hold of was a bit more down to my level.
Some KFC.
Apparently it's not that big a deal in America but around here, KFC at Christmas is huge. Had to pre-order our bucket a week in advance. When we finally got the meal and ate it at the apartment, Sesshomaru didn’t really get the fuss.
To him it was just fried chicken, cole slaw, and a chocolate fudge cake. But he did enjoy the wine we bought for the meal so that was a nice little ‘date night’ as well.
I also took him to Disney Tokyo which he found a bit overwhelming but at least enjoyed the parade we got to see. He seemed a bit taken aback at all the colorful costumes,candy, and performers dancing around. I think he found the absurdity of it more amusing than anything else.
Half-way through December I even took him to the Tokyo Christmas Market where he got to see some more European Christmas gifts and decorations. I don’t think he quite understood the religious aspect of it but I gave him a quick overview of Christianity to catch him up to speed.
I nearly lost him a dozen times in the maze of little shops and huts across Hibiya Park. Honestly, how can someone that serious all the time have the attention span of a goldfish. Every little thing distracted him.
He finally settled down when he got “addicted” to a little hut selling mulled wine and Christmas themed pastries.
As the month wound down and the temperature kept dropping I realized his current clothes weren’t really holding up. So, I took him shopping at the mall.
I think he was a little taken aback at it all for a bit. He described being stuck in the giant building with all its decorations and throngs of people as a sort of surreal dream. Specifically the one shop we found that had hundreds of little Santa ornaments of all shapes and sizes.
We ended up picking one out for the tree at the apartment and even found a very expensive custom scarf shop. I’d placed an order for one that looked exactly like his sash from the feudal era weeks prior. It looked perfect on him.
Or well, it did once we changed his entire wardrobe. Don’t think for one second I wasn’t gonna go to the mall and not play a little dress-up with someone like him. Not every day you get your own obnoxiously handsome model.
And I gotta say, he looks mighty fine in a nice winter suit. Much more his style than the casual wear I cobbled togeather when we first arrived.
We also bought a bunch of toys for Miroku and Sango’s kids back in the feudal era while we were there. Rin, Kohaku, and Shippo are a little too old for toys now but I think we found some stuff they’ll like too.
Finally, right after the mall, we hopped on the rail so I could take him to my favorite spot as a kid.
Just outside the city was an ice rink that my mom took me to back before she had Sota and we couldn’t afford it anymore.
We sat at the little cafe next to the rink where I surprised him with his Christmas gift. And I’m pretty sure I hit it out of the park. Sesshomaru’s practically insatiable when it comes to books. I mean…he made it pretty clear that it was part of the reason he was so interested in coming to visit the modern world.
So, I got him a book the local store owner recommended. A little Christmas comedy called ‘A Christmas Story.’ Apparently it got made into a very popular movie decades ago.
That’s when he surprised me with a gift of my own, an exceptional mug of hot chocolate from the cafe and…a whole Christmas Cake he’d made with my mom.
I can’t believe she told him how I’d always tried to sneak small slices when I was a kid hoping she wouldn’t notice if the piece I took was little enough.
Still, the fact that he, the icy Lord Sesshomaru of the Western Lands, actually cooked something for me…with a little help…was sort of romantic. Also, hilarious when you think about it. I reeeeally hope mom made him wear my pink apron while he was in the kitchen.
But as we settled in at the little cafe looking over the families and couples skating in the rink below, I felt…strange. Me sipping my hot chocolate with a stomach full of strawberry shortcake while he read his book. His custom scarf around both our necks as snow drifted down around us…it was…really nice. Peaceful. Romantic...
One of those moments where, in a different life, I think I could almost see us as…you know…a real couple.
But the best part of the day…I managed to convince him to try out ice skating.
Now, I’m no pro but watching my frustratingly graceful demon lord get on the ice with wobbly legs, walking around like a newborn deer trying not to fall flat on his back…that might be THE memory that made this entire weird little vacation. I was laughing so hard I was crying.
And it all culminated on Christmas Eve.
It was the first time we dropped all pretense and went on an actual ‘date.’ I mean, I would have been fine not calling it that but…it was Christmas Eve. And we were at a restaurant. Alone. With good food, plenty to drink, and when we went home…
We just sort of sat on the couch and watched Christmas movies. Apparently Sesshomaru wanted to see the movie of the book I bought him. Go figure, he’d blown through in one day.
He found a nice recipe for mulled wine and we laid there snacking on treats, relaxing, getting nice and comfy while we cuddled on the couch until we fell asleep under a nice warm blanket.
So, after a whole wintery month with Mr. Ice Lord…I’ve got to say…
Best Christmas ever.
Please leave a comment below and enjoy!
