Convivial

By: The Hatter Theory

Kiss Your Mate Day

Disclaimer: I don't own the rights to Inu Yasha

A Note: Due to FFNet policies regarding adult content, I will no longer be posting exclusively to FFNet. A link in my profile to ArchiveOfOurOwn will take you to my page where my uncut works will be posted from now on.

A Second Note: Due to real life events, I was unable to post this yesterday, but yesterday was Kiss Your Mate Day.

She was asleep when she felt it, the insistent prodding of youki. Blinking several times, she stared at her door, wondering if she could get away with pulling the blanket over her head. A quick glance at her alarm clock proved that it was two in the morning. Why would Sesshoumaru be waking her up at two in the morning?

"No," She muttered, knowing he could probably hear it on the other side of the door. She ignored the intensifying of the pull and put her pillow over her head. Maybe he would get the hint and let her sleep. It had been the first time all week she had gotten to sleep before midnight and she had hoped to enjoy several uninterrupted hours before getting up and spending the whole day studying.

But apparently, whatever it was that had him poking her with his youki was important enough for him to open her door and walk in uninvited. Despite their comfort with one another, that was one of the few unspoken rules they had.

"Kagome, I know you're awake."

"I don't want to be," She muttered.

"This is important," He promised. "Get dressed and meet me downstairs. Hurry."

She groaned, sitting up as he walked out of the room and shut the door behind him. Muttering about crap excuses and lack of sleep, she walked over to her closet and pulled out jeans and a shirt, then thought and added a sweater for good measure. Grumbling, she quickly dressed, to even bothering to throw her pajamas in the hamper, letting them stay where they dropped on the floor.

Kagome quickly brushed her teeth and pulled her hair back, grabbing a pair of socks and, still half asleep, stumbling out of her room and walking downstairs to see Sesshoumaru already waiting. He was dressed casually, although he looked as if he was merely going out for a morning jaunt. Not somewhere at two in the morning.

Ignoring his amused glance she sat and pulled her socks on and then walked over to the door, pausing only to pull on her shoes. They rode the elevator down, and she refused to ask what hare brained adventure he was dragging her into so late...or early, whichever it was.

He only seemed more amused when they got into his car. Ignoring his unnaturally good cheer she tilted the seat back and closed her eyes, intent on getting whatever sleep she could. It was easy to fall asleep. It was more difficult to keep from growling when he gently shook her awake. Somehow she had developed a crick in her neck.

Groaning, she looked around and saw that they were at the airport. Not feeling charitable in the least, she got out and walked towards the jet, ignoring the man standing by the stairs completely. She felt Sesshoumaru following, could feel that he was still amused by her glowering and grumbling.

He was still smiling a small, secretive smile when he sat across from her in the jet.

"Sesshoumaru, why are you doing this?" She whined plaintively.

"Because I was asked."

"Not by me," She muttered.

"You're far less curious than you were last time."

"I was awake last time," Kagome retorted.

"There's coffee."

"I'm going back to sleep."

He didn't protest, and she buckled the seat belt and tilted the chair back, grateful that at least it was his jet and that it was luxurious. And that, should she snore, he would be the only one to hear it. Annoyed as she was, she almost hoped she did, because it would be sure to annoy the stubborn inu.

But her curiosity was sparked. He had been asked to drag her out of bed in the wee hours of the morning? Who would want them to fly out in the middle of the night?

"Are Tala and Inu Yasha alright?" She asked, panic beginning to form a tight knot in her stomach.

"Everyone is fine," He assured.

And because it was obviously not an emergency, she refused to satisfy his smug smirk by asking any further questions. Even if, as they pulled away from the ground and flew over Tokyo, she was really, very curious.

However, exhaustion and good sense won out. When they were over the ocean she finally fell asleep, lulled by the quiet hum of the engines. Restless, dreamless sleep pulled her under.

The bump of the landing shocked her back into waking, and she moaned incoherently, running a hand through her mussed hair.

"We've arrived," He announced.

"I got that," She muttered.

He looked slightly chagrined, and she wondered if he was growing tired of her attitude. But he said nothing, merely waiting patiently for the pilot to tell them it was alright before he open the door and waited for the stairs to be brought to the jet. Following him quietly, she got into the rental car and crossed her arms petulantly.

She refused to ask.

She really wanted to.

But it was the principal of the thing at this point.

Half an hour later her curiosity was killing her.

But she kept her mouth shut as they navigated the island, and it wasn't until he pulled off onto a small road that she began to recognize the area.

"We're on Nago?" She asked. He nodded but said nothing. "Why are we on Nago?"

"You're finally asking?" He chuckled.

"No," She muttered, turning her head to look out of the window.

"Then I'm not telling you."

She huffed quietly and waited. Even if he had never cracked before, there was always a first time. And beneath his smugness there was a sort of...Excitement, she supposed. It was barely felt, but there was a feel to his youki, something anticipatory.

Recognizing the park they pulled into, she got out wondering what he could be up to. But she could feel the presence of other youkai, and was going to ask when he was pulling her into his arms and running, the wind pressing against her.

"Warning would have been nice," She grumbled. A chuckle vibrated in his chest, was lost in the sound of wind rushing past them as he carried her to their destination. Within moments he was stopping so abruptly she was afraid she was going to fly out of his arms.

Her reprimand was lost when she saw the group that had gathered in the darkness.

"Inu Yasha, Tala?" She asked dumbly.

"Hey guys, you made it on time. We were worried."

"On time for what?"

"He didn't tell you?" Tala asked, surprise coloring her words.

"She was sullen after I woke her," Sesshoumaru chuckled. "And since she refused to admit curiosity, I didn't tell her."

"That's shitty of you," Inu Yasha chuckled.

"What's going on?" She demanded, not liking how out of the loop she felt.

"Mom?"

She turned and saw Shippou standing there, a smile gracing his features. Souten was standing next to him, a grin on her face as she fidgeted.

"Shippou, Souten," She said, smiling when she saw their linked arms. After the week before, she hadn't been sure they would even stay together, although she had hoped. The solid confirmation eased a fear she had been keeping to herself since their argument had happened.

And when they walked over to the cliff edge and took one another's hands, she understood.

What words were exchanged seemed superfluous to the meaning lying beneath them, to the gentle cadence of their voices. She watched, chest tightening as the sun rose behind them, outlining their bodies in rose and gold as they sky lightened to pinks, purples and blues.

When the blessing was called for, both she and Sesshoumaru stepped forward in turn, offering blessings. Her voice wobbled strangely and her eyes misted as she offered them hope and love, patience and understanding. Shippou and Souten both nodded and thanked her, never pausing to look at her, so wrapped up in their moment that she knew she could have spouted gibberish and they would not have noticed. Probably, anyway.

Sesshoumaru offered a more traditional blessing, one that was easily twice as long and stilted as as her own, and she fought the urge to giggle when Shippou let out a snort about women creating a home and men protecting it.

But when he finished and stepped back, Souten and Shippou both slid rings onto one another's fingers and kissed, and she let out a loud whooping cheer, echoed by Tala. Even Inu Yasha let out a shout of glee. Sesshoumaru smiled, a rare, true, wide smile that was, in effect, his version of shouting.

"Thank you all for coming," Shippou said.

"Welcome to the pack," Sesshoumaru answered, nodding to Souten, who sniffed once, as if ready to cry.

"We'll meet you guys at the building. I need some fucking sleep," Inu Yasha said as Souten and Shippou disappeared into the forest. Kagome, knowing how sensitive the hearing of inu youkai was, figured they would probably want to vacate the island as soon as possible, at least if the looks her son had been giving his new mate meant what she thought they did.

"Plane seats are not conducive to rest," Tala agreed, linking arms with her husband. They took the stairs in leaps and bounds, quickly disappearing from view.

"You could have told me," Kagome said, linking arms with her alpha as they strolled down the stairs at a more sedate pace.

"You seem to enjoy surprises," He commented quietly. "It was a good ceremony."

"I think everyone walked away happy."

"Or ran," he chuckled.

"I do not want to think about that," She muttered. "He might be your pack mate, but he's still my son."

"Hnn. You are pleased, though."

She was quiet as they walked, the sun still rising and washing away the shadows. For several minutes she looked for words to explain the feeling she carried in her, the warmth that seemed gently held and sustained by the love she had seen shining in the eyes of the two youkai.

"Across this world in June, the petals all have fallen, but the mountain temple's blossoms have just begun to bloom," She recited softly, a soft smile gracing her lips as she spoke. "I regretted so much that spring had gone without a trace, I did not know that it had only moved."

He was quiet, but she knew he understood the meaning she conveyed. It was, perhaps, nothing like what the author had meant for people to see, but the words fit what her heart had felt, still felt.

And she trusted him to understand.