Innocent Beginnings

Chapter 15: Pink Clouds With Silver Linings

“C’mon Rin, open them.”, Sesshomaru prodded, nudging the beautiful pink gift bag closer to me. We were sat on the front steps of my Aunt’s home, having walked back from the cemetery only moments before. The rain had finally ceased to fall and a bit of sunshine was just now peeking from behind the clouds.

We’d walked silently side by side, our hips and arms touching ever so often as we strolled back home. I could feel his eyes on me from time to time but refused to meet them just yet. I needed more time to get myself together and if I knew Sesshomaru as well as I thought I did, he wasn’t going to be going anywhere anytime soon. Time was something I’d have plenty of.

He’d ducked into his car as we’d past it, pulling out a medium sized creamy pink colored gift bag tied together with a huge silver satin bow. The smile on his face when he’d turned to offer it to me was hesitant but hopeful and I, not wanting to hurt or anger him more, took the bag and walked with it cradled in my arms up to the front porch.

“Let’s sit out here.”, he’d said, touching my elbow as I’d started for the front door. “I met Kikyo, she knows I’m here!”, he grinned.

We’d sat on the porch steps, the bag placed between us right where I’d put it. I wasn’t quite sure how to proceed as I’d been a bit of an ass about his bringing me the gift in the first place. Truthfully, I now felt a bit ashamed of myself and found myself watching for a signal to come from him. I hadn’t long to wait.

“Since when do you not like surprises?”, he asked, leaning into me, his shoulder pressed to mine. “Hmm?”

“I do like surprises.”, I said, looking over at him as I lifted a brow.

“Then open the damned bag, Rin!”, he huffed, straightening his legs out in front of him and crossing his arms over his chest.

I looked at him and smile cou couldn’t help it. The puffy lipped pout he’d crafted to perfection was firmly in place and who was I to deny him when he sported such cuteness?

I reached down for the bag and placed it in my lap, untying the soft satiny ribbon to reveal what was inside. Peeking in, I noticed that he’d wrapped every little thing he’d bought, all in coordinating pink and silver striped paper.

Pulling out the first one, I sat the bag aside and slowly edged around the paper with my fingernail until I had it pulled apart.

“You drive me crazy opening stuff so slow!”, he groaned, reaching for the box as if to take it from my hands.

“No! It’s mine!”, I laughed, pulling the paper completely off to reveal a small box such as jewelry would normally come in. I looked up at him, wondering what it could possibly be. The silver dolphin necklace he’d given me had never been taken off and the bangle bracelet he’d gifted me with for my birthday, I kept in a very special place to wear only when I had occasion to.

He smiled at me as I lifted the lid, leaning over to press his cheek against my temple.

“What is it you got in there, Rin?”, he chuckled, watching as my fingers fluttered about the lid. Finally, taking the top away, I sucked in a breath, spotting a pair of gorgeous butterfly earrings. Thookeooked as if they contained every single color of the rainbow and they glistened when I turned them this way and that in the light. They were beautiful, delicate, and just perfect!

“Do you like?”, he asked, pressing a kiss to the exact spot where his cheek had lain.

“More than like… I love…”, I whispered, turning to hug him.

“Good! That was what I was hoping for. You’re my little butterfly!”, he grinned and dipped into the bag to bring out another pink and silver confection. Taking it from him, I opened it just as slowly, driving him to complain even more.

“What’s this?”, I asked, peering at the label on the bag.

“Swedish candy.”, he laughed, taking the bag from my hands to open it. Withdrawing a piece, he twirled open the wrapper and held it toward me. An orange star-shaped candy was popped into my mouth and with a satisfied grin, he sat back and watched.

I rolled it around on my tongue and nodded. “This is good!”, I grinned, biting into it. Immediately, a tart peach flavored powder filled my mouth and grimacing, I slapped playfully at his arm. It wasn’t all that bad, it was just such a surprise! Swallowing, I took the bag of candy from his hands and peeked inside to see what else it had to offer. Lollipops, lemon sherbets and polka pillows along with more peach stars and a few strawberry stars greeted me.

“You remembered!”, I exclaimed, my mouth still puckered from the tartness of the tangy peach flavored candy.

“Of course I remembered! You have to be the only girl I know that wouldn’t just die for Swiss Chocolate! That’s why I love you, cause you’re weird!”, he grinned, ducking when I swung the filled bag of candy toward his head.

“Thank you just the same.”, I muttered, digging for a lemon sherbet. “Want one?” I asked, holding out the bag for him. He selected a lemon sherbet for himself and opened it, popping it into his mouth as I watched him with a smile. I loved him so much in that moment… so very, very much!

“Open the rest of your surprise!”, he insisted, reaching into the bag to pull out another carefully wrapped package. Taking it from him, I smiled and proceeded to open it in the same manor as I’d done the other two… slowly. This time he kept his comments to himself until I’d carefully opened the wide, flat box to glimpse inside.

“Oh my goodness!!”, I breathed, withdrawing a beautiful bejeweled headband. It sparkled and glittered with brilliant clarity as I held it in my hands. “It’s the prettiest thing I think I’ve ever seen!”, I whispered, turning it around and around in my hands. Jade green, ruby red, sapphire blue and more shone from the thick velvet blue band they were attached to and I looked at him with something like wonder. It was fit for royalty!

“I can’t accept this!”, I whispered, tears filling my eyes. “I just can’t…”

“Rin! Of course you can! I found it and bought it for you and only you! Come here, let’s see how it looks once it’s in place!”, he smiled and with one hand, took the sparkling piece from me as his other hand slid my hair back from my face. Gently, being careful not to aggravate the scratch I’d gotten for myself in my fall, he adjusted the band and pushed it back into my hair.

“Gorgeous! Just as I knew it would be!”, he grinned and hugged me.

“You shouldn’t have…”, I said, a tear dropping into my lap.

“Nonsense. Do you want to hurt my feelings? Of course you don’t so hush with this talk. Enjoy what I brought you half as much as I enjoyed picking it out and I’ll be happy!”, he said, running a thumb underneath my eye to catch the remaining tears.

“One more…”, he smiled, leaning down to remove it from the gift bag. As he moved, I saw the shimmer of the silver dolphin necklace he’d bought himself to match the one he’d given me. It warmed me to my toes to see him wearing it… for as long as we both wore them, I knew we were bound at the heart.

Taking the package from him, I opened it up and giggled. In a bright yellow, purple, and pink striped frame he’d placed a picture of himself. It was a lovely picture of him in all his beauty - all flashing white teeth against tanned skin, big amber eyes and soft, shiny hair.

“Thank you!!”, I cried and flung my arms around him once more. How could I have ever doubted his feelings for me? How could I have thought he’d wanted to brush me out of his life? Every single one of the gifts he’d brought back for me had meaning and memories tucked behind them and I’d cherish them until the day I died.

“I love you!”, I whispered against his cheek. And oh how I did!

“Me too you!”, he chuckled, hugging me tighter as he rocked side to side with me in his arms before releasing me.

I slid everything back into the bag, including the majestically beautiful jeweled headband and then looked over at him.

“Are you hungry?”, he asked, leaning back to support his weight on his elbows as he looked at me.

“A little…”, I admitted. “Are you?”

“Yeah, but since you FORBADE me to take you anywhere, I’d say we’re stuck!”, he frowned, blowing a breath so that his fringe fluttered out of his eyes.

“I can order pizza.”, I offered.

“That would be cool.”, he said.

“I’ll be right back.”, I smiled and headed into the house with my pink gift bag firmly held in my hand. Once inside, I took my pressies up to my bedroom and went looking for Kikyo. I found her in her bedroom, writing in her journal. Knocking lightly on the door, I stepped inside and smiled at her.

“So he found you….”, she grinned, biting end end of her pencil. “He’s just so CUTE!”, she giggled.

“I know!”, I laughed, leaning a hip against heesseesser.

“He looked kinda mad when I told him you weren’t home but I thought it was probably ok to tell him that you were at the shrine. That WAS ok, wasn’t it?”, she asked, her eyes big with worry.

“It’s fine. Have you eaten yet?”, I asked her.

“Yeah, I had a sandwich a few minutes ago, why?”, she asked.

“I was going to order a pizza, do you want some?”, I asked.

“No. I think Sesshomaru wants to be alone with you, Rin. You might not think he’s your boyfriend but his eyes say something different!”, she said sagely, nodding her head as if to prove her point.

“Oh REALLY!”, I smiled.

“I MEAN it! He was so worked up when he found out you weren’t here! And I watched him when he walked down the street toward the church too! He was stomping along and talking to himself nearly the whole way! Did you have two fight?”, she asked, sitting up on the bed.

“No. I just forgot I was supposed to meet him here, that was all.”, I lied, crossing my fingers behind my back to protect myself. I hated having to lie but I didn’t want ANYONE knowing how I felt about Sesshomaru that might break the news to him without meaning to or not.

“How could you FORGET about THAT?”, she asked, as if shocked.

“Trust me, it’s not easy….”, I mumbled and then deftly changed the subject back to pizza. “I’m sure Sesshomaru would love for you to come down and have pizza with us. Why don’t I order and you come down with me?”, I asked.

“Alright”, she asked, her grin widening.

“OK, go ahead, if you want, while I find the number for The Leaning Tower of Pizza. Any special requests?”, I asked.

“None.”, she said.

Ordering Sesshomaru’s favorite - extra cheese with hamburger and sausage- I went out the door to find Sesshomaru had moved, now sitting idly on the wooden swing that hung from the ceiling of the front porch.

“You have to go to Italy to order pizza this time?”, he asked, cocking a brow at me.

“NO! I was simply putting my THINGS away first before calling to order pizza for us!”, I said with a frown. Sometimes he could be so incredibly bossy! “I asked Kikyo to come out with us.”, I smiled, reaching for her hand to pull her from behind me. Reaching out a hand toward me, he impatiently wiggled his fingers at me and leaned forward a bit to take my hand. Pulling me down into the swing next to him, he cradled my hand in his own, his thumb sliding gently up and down the outside of my index finger. I found I could hardly swallow, sure as anything that he’d be able to HEAR it when I did.

Kikyo had seated herself on the floor of the porch at our feet, leaning back against the wooden pillar that stood there. Sesshomaru was laughing at some comment she’d made but for the life of me, I hadn’t a clue what it was. His hand was warm and soft around mine, his fingers ceaselessly caressing. I felt myself go hot all over! If I started to sweat, I knew I’d be in trouble!

Leaning back, he slid his hand from mine but then hooked his arm over the back edge of the swing so that it barely touched my neck. The tips of his fingers grazed my shoulder and I bit my lip, wondering how I was supposed to sit right there and act so unaffected? What would the brunette I’d seen him pictured with do? Would she sweat and worry or would she lean back into him, take his hand and bring it to her breast so that he could mold it with his fingers… lightly stroking over her nipple…

“Rin!”, Sesshomaru barked and I literally jumped against him, shrieking in surprise!

“Zoning again. Damn it!”, he growled, shaking his head as he frowned at me. “What the HELL is wrong with you?”, he muttered, his fingers tightening over my shoulder.

“Nothing… just… OUCH!”, I complained, slapping at his pinching fingers. “That hurts!”

“Good! Then maybe you’ll remember not to be so damned RUDE when someone else is speaking!”, he nodded, as if he’d done me a great service!

“And I’m to assume that YOU are always the epitome of grace, manners and CHARM?”, I smirked.

“Around ladies, yes!”, he grinned, flashing a charming grin with a wink attached in Kikyo’s direction. I groaned, shoving myself away from him until I was in the farthest corner of the swing, bringing my legs up to put a barrier of sorts between us.

“She’s a zoner.”, Sesshomaru muttered in Kikyo’s direction.

“What’s a zoner, Rin?”, she asked.

“Somebody that can block out Sesshomaru when he’s into his ‘listen to me talk about MYSELF’ mode!”, I grinned, laughing when he reached over to rap his knuckles sharply against my upraised knee.

“That’s not true at all!”, he frowned, reaching down to pull at my foot.

“It IS!”, I laughed, kicking out at him. “You love to talk and you KNOW it!”, I said.

“But you said you LOVE hearing me talk!”, he pouted, his eyes sweeping closed before artfully glancing back up at me through those deadly lashes.

“Awwww…”, I playfully soothed. “Whasamatter little baby? You’re not getting the attention you so richly deserve?”, I giggled.

“No.”, his lower lip jutted out even further, making Kikyo and I both laugh harder than ever.

“What’ll make it all better, Sesshomaru?”, I grinned, easing my legs down and sliding nearer him.

Tapping his lips with a finger, he puckered and looked down at me, amber eyes dancing devilishly.

Kikyo was rolling now, laughter bubbling from her very toes, it seemed, as she held her belly. Sesshomaru grinned in delight at his performance as he swung his eyes toward her for a moment and then turned them full on me once more.

“Nothing but one of Rin’s kisses will make Sesshomaru feel better”, he said, his face as suddenly more serious than I’d ever seen it.

“Really?”, I smiled, playing it cool even as my heart thundered away inside me. I could’ve sworn the evidence of my rapid heartbeat could be seen against the thin fabric of my shirt. For one insane moment, I stringently resisted the horrible urge to simply look down and see for myself!

“, re, really”, he said softly, his hand sliding into my lap to grab one of my own. “You haven’t even kissed me hello today. Do you realize how long it’s been since you DID last kiss me?”, he asked, inching just a bit closer toward me on the seat of the swing. Something had changed in the very air between us… it was as if it were electrically charged somehow.

I was dimly aware of the telephone ringing from inside the house. Barely conscience of the fact that Kikyo had quickly jumped up to answer it.

“Do you remember Rin? Do you?”, he whispered, his eyes drifting down to rest on my mouth.

“I… Christmas night.”, I murmured, swallowing hard.

“Yeah, Christmas night… in the carriage…”, he said, his hand gently squeezing my own.

I stared at him, my eyes glued to his gorgeous face. Whatever was he doing to me? I couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe, couldn’t speak. What was he expecting me to say? To do?

“It’s April now, Rin. I haven’t seen you since Christmas. You said you missed me but do you have a clue how much I’ve missed you?”, he asked. I could only shake my head. He’d mentioned missing me earlier when we’d been in the woods at the cemetery but he’d been angry with me then and I hadn’t been too sure of just how to respond. I was no more clear on that now than I’d been then.

The sky had darkened to a ripe plum color. The sun that had previously graced us for just a short while after the light shower, was now gone. I could hear crickets singing in the wet grass just as clearly as I could hear the beat of my heart. I lowered my eyes, unable to look at him any longer for fear I’d lose what slim bit of control I had and end up doing something I’d regret later. If he wanted to kiss me, then by God, he’d have to take the initiative. I wasn’t throwing my heart to so so carelessly again.

“Look at me.”, he said softly, the tips of his fingers moving up to rest underneath my chin. I kept my eyes downcast even as he lifted my face toward his. Scared, excited, hopeful…

Please don’t disappoint me Sesshomaru, Please don’t break me heart, please…

“Look at me, Rin.”, his voice deepened and I raised my eyes, looking into twin golden pools. “I don’t know what it i he he murmured as his eyes closed and as if in reflex, mine followed suit. His lips then molded themselves softly to mine as he moved his hands up to tenderly cup my face.

Kissing… he’s… he’s kissing me… .kissing me!

A soft sweet sigh then escaped him as he, at long last, took a breath before pressing his lips even more firmly against mine for a few more seconds, minutes, hours…

My mind was reeling, my body all aquiver. Gently, he broke the kiss, pressing his forehead firmly against mine, his breath coming fast. I kept my eyes closed, not trusting myself to look at him. I’d have given my life for him in that moment, the feeling was that damned strong. It threatened to overpower me… and it scared me.

“Oh Rin…”, he murmured, his lips resting now against the cup of my ear as he breathed slowly in and out… in and out…

What do I say? What do I do?

I felt his hand trail softly from my face down my shoulders and to my arms. His skin was hot to the touch, burning a trail of fire over me with each downward sweep. I suddenly wished everything and everyone in the world to disappear except for the two of us. Given that, I knew I could capture this man of my heart in the moment and we’d be lovers forever!

Laying his head against my shoulder, he slid his hand into mine and rocked us gently forward on the swing, his foot dragging along the wooden planks as the crickets continued to sing their song all around us.

I could hear Kikyo chattering away in the background, hear the sound of the TV as it droned on, hear the soft beating of my heart as it thumped along in perfect time with his…

He loved me but when would he ever be able to say the words in the way I needed to hear them?