What To Expect by Inugirl294

What to Expect

Written for the Dokuga Holiday Challenge 2014

Thanks so much Miss Ceysna!

Song prompt: Jingle Bells

Quick Translation Note  Kuso~ Shit

In a quiet apartment on the outskirts of Tokyo a young woman paced her living room floor impatiently.It was the 23rd of December. This was Kagome’s first Christmas as a married woman. She sighed, glancing at the clock again at the hour struck 9pm. Tapping her foot irritably, and her mate was due home hours ago! He knew how she felt about Christmas, it was her favorite holiday of the entire year! Where was he?! ‘Well, I guess this time it’s going to have to wait..’  The tree farm that she always went to was 45 minutes away from the city by car. Sesshomaru had taken their collective car to work that day. She had no way to get out of the city and into the more rural area the farm was located without it.

Sighing once more, Kagome felt disappointment sweep in. The feeling crashed through her chest in painful waves. Holding her hand over her heart protectively she wondered. ‘Oh Sesshomaru… Where are you?’  This wasn’t the first time he had been late coming home from working ridiculously long hours, in her opinion anyway. She knew why he did it why he worked himself so hard everyday. Even since Sesshomaru had started a new company money had been tight. With Sesshomaru working late into the night, both at the office and at home when there was just too much work. All the while Kagome was working two minimum wage jobs to help out as much as she could. Sometimes it just didn’t seem like enough when she was home alone while he continued working so late. Like now.

 Kagome shook her head collecting herself from her mean thoughts directed at Sesshomaru. He was working hard to support their dreams. She waited for little bit longer before giving up waiting and going to bed. She had a shift at 4 the next morning at the diner down the street. She quickly divested herself of her festive clothes and put on her ragged old t-shirt and a pair of cloth shorts. She nestled into bed and promptly fell asleep.

~~~***~~~

Sesshomaru glanced at the clock on his desk. It read 8:45 pm  ‘Kuso! Kagome wanted to go shopping today’ He had been reading the last bits of an important contract. This contract would be the stepping stone for he and Kagome. The way that the contract was written was more like a merger than anything. It ensured that Sesshomaru had some say in how his little baby company was run while being protected by the larger company. Since he was selling a large portion of his stock, he finally had the down payment for the house of Kagome’s dreams. He was hoping that she would forgive him for forgetting. He hurried, shoving the papers into his briefcase and putting on his shabby trench coat all while walking out the door. He rammed the key into the lock on the car door, movements rushed and scrambled as he opened the door and slid in. The car roared to life quickly. He whipped out of the office’s driveway and sped through the somewhat abandoned city streets. He slowed down when he hit the traffic light came at the cross street Sakura Drive. Right there on the corner was the home Kagome wanted.  Just two blocks down from the Higurashi Shrine. He scanned the for sale sign for the realtor's number. While he was at the red light he punched the numbers into his cell phone.

“Hello, you have reached the desk phone of Lani. Our office hours are from 6am to 8pm. Please leave a message after the beep.” A voice answered cheerfully.

Sesshomaru left his name and number and a detailed offer for the house, by the time he was done with his message, he was pulling into the apartment's driveway and parking the car. He slid the key into the lock with no trouble and opened the apartment door as quietly as possible. He put his briefcase and coat on the designated chair by the door and left his shoes on the mat. He slowly rubbed his hand over his forehead and let out a sigh. He saw the note across the room on the microwave. He supposed his dinner would be in there. He strode over and pushed the buttons mechanically. He really hated disappointing Kagome. But as he ate the warmed through leftovers, he found hope. Tomorrow he would put in an offer on the house of their dreams.  He put his dishes away, meandered through his bathroom routine and quietly tucked himself in behind Kagome.

~~~***~~~

The couple woke at the same time. They started their morning dance, quietly trading places in the bathroom. Kagome started breakfast humming her favorite tune. Sesshomaru couldn’t place the song until she started belting out the words.

“Dashing through the snow

In a one-horse open sleigh

Over the fields we go

Laughing all the way

Bells on bobtail ring

Making spirits bright

What fun it is to ride and sing

A sleighing song tonight!”  

Kagome got a twinkle in her eye and clasp her hands in front of her chest. “Wouldn’t it just be so amazing to ride in a real sleigh with jingle bells?” Kagome sighed in bliss over her daydream. “I can almost feel the wind whipping on my cheeks and taste the hot chocolate on my tongue. Can’t you?”

Sesshomaru knew as soon as she started talking about it, that he had to find a tree farm with sleigh rides, to make it up to Kagome. Little did she know that he would really be taking the day off to work on getting the house. His deep baritone spoke softly “Mate, you have only a half day of work right?”

“That’s right, do you have something in mind?” Kagome asked slyly.

“Actually I do. How about we get a late lunch and then go tree shopping?” He mentally smirked knowing she wouldn’t say no.

“Sure,” She gave a half smile while sipping her coffee “I’ll call you when I’m done shopping for presents?”

“Hn” He nodded. Kagome kissed him quickly and then prepared to leave their apartment. Her shoes were on when Sesshomaru jumped up and walked to her side. He pointed up and Kagome realized the trap she had walked into. The day before when she was decorating she put up a small bunch of mistletoe by the door. “It appears that I am obliged to kiss you.”

She giggled. “Oh, you’re obliged are you?” She turned to leave, pretending to ignore him.

Sesshomaru let loose a playful growl. “Mate, I owe you a kiss and I intend to pay my debt.” After a short play fight, Sesshomaru got his kiss and Kagome made her way to work.  As soon as he was sure she was gone for the day, he got out his laptop and searched for a farm that did sleigh rides. It took him several hours to find one. They couldn’t get a tree from this farm, but they could do the sleigh ride. It was up in the Mt. Hakurai mountain range, two and a half hours outside of  Tokyo. He was getting up to get a fresh cup of coffee when his cell phone rang. He answered when a cheerful voice responded back,

“Hello,This is Lani. Is this Mr. Taisho?”

“It is. I was calling about the house on  Sakura Dr. I’d like to make an offer. I am willing to pay half the asking price in cash today.”

The voice on the other end of the line gasped “Sir the asking price is 155,000!”

“Very well three-quarters of it today and a handsome realtor fee.”

“Yes Sir,. Mr. Tashio I’ll be in touch soon.”

Sesshomaru smirked. he had more than enough to cover the asking price and keep them comfortable for a little bit. His startup sold for a 1.5 million yen. He called farm in the mountains and booked them an appointment. Everything was in place. He glanced at the clock. He had time to work a little while he was waiting. He was working on a new business plan when Lani got back to him.

“Mr. Tashio, they are willing to take your offer if you can pay the final quarter by the 1st of February.”

“I’ll take it. I’ll be by the office within the hour. Please have the papers ready to sign.”

“Sure thing, Mr. Taisho.”

Sesshomaru finished his plan up before getting ready to leave. He was in the car 10 minutes away from the realtor's office when Kagome finally called.   

“Hey dearest, How are you?” Her voice sounded tired.

“I am fine, are you almost ready for our lunch date?” He questioned hoping she wouldn’t be quite ready.

She sighed heavily in to the phone, “No,” the mopey voice answered, “Boss need me to stay later than normal so I still need to shop.”

“I see. Well just call when you’re ready. We’ll go to that cafe near Sakura Dr.”She squealed in response. That was her favorite cafe in town.

“Alright! Talk to you later!” Kagome chirped

“I love you, Mate.” He rumbled gently.

“I love you too, dear. See you soon.” By the time the phone clicked off he was in the parking lot. The meeting went smoothly. The family that was selling the house had already moved out. Sesshomaru brought the payment he promised Lani and the sellers. The papers were signed and the keys exchanged. He officially had their house. Things were going his way.

Kagome called again and he took off to the diner.  He sat and waited on Kagome. She came in dishevelled and haggard looking. They ate quietly and just sat staring at each other in happy contentment. Neither one of them worked for the rest of the year.

“How do you feel about a date tonight? After we get our tree?” Sesshomaru asked quietly

Kagome hmmed. “That sounds wonderful, but I have gifts to wrap and I desperately need a nap.”

“How about you go get started on wrapping, and I’ll do some more shopping. After I shop I’ll come home and finish the wrapping.” He offered quickly. There was one other thing that he needed to pick out. They went their separate ways with plans to meet up later at the apartment.

~~~***~~~

Kagome dragged the copious bags in the tiny apartment. She efficiently sorted the gifts and wrapped her mate’s first.  After making decent headway on the mountain, she set an alarm and took a nap.

She woke to Sesshomaru gently kissing her brow. “Mate, Its time to go get our tree.” He said into her hair. Kagome mumbled something unintelligible as she slowly woke. She got dressed and and the pair left for tree hunting. Tree hunting was uneventful, until Kagome realized that they weren’t done with their Christmas Eve celebration.

After the tree was set up in their main room, Sesshomaru took her out to a nice dinner. Kagome could tell something was up, but she decided to let Sesshomaru have his way. They drove for a while and Kagome got even more confused. Even though it was only 9 pm by the time they arrived, Kagome was exhausted.

“Sesshomaru, what are we here for? We already have out tree.” Kagome said questioningly.

“Mate, we are here to ride in a sleigh on Christmas Eve. to make up for me missing tree shopping the first time.” Sesshomaru said calmly.

Kagome instantly shook off her sleepiness, and started jumping for joy. The sleigh pulled up, and they climbed in. The ride was short, but the sights that they saw while being driven around the property were just breathtaking. Kagome sang “Jingle Bells” while  Sesshomaru held her close and smiled down at her.

The car ride home was uneventful, or at least it would have been if they had gone to the home that Kagome knew of; however Sesshomaru took her to their newly acquired house. He pulled into the drive. He had timed it perfectly. He helped Kagome out of the car and stood her up.

“Close your eyes, Mate.” He rumbled softly.

She nodded quickly and complied. He led her to the front porch. He uncurled her hand and dropped the key into her outstretched hand. She gasped. Her eyes opened with disbelief and understanding.

“Merry Christmas, Mate” Sesshomaru said whispered before kissing her solidly on the mouth.

The End

I hope you all enjoyed this one-shot!