InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Deep Wounds ❯ A Christmas Surprise ( Chapter 13 )

Chapter Thirteen: A Christmas Surprise

 

“CHRISTMAS! IT'S CHRISTMAS! WAKE UP!” screamed Shippo as he bolted down the stairs one snowy morning. Kagome was already sitting by the tiny fake tree in a sweater, pajama bottoms, and Santa hat, giggling at his wide-eyed, happy expression. InuYasha, who'd been in the bathroom tying back his hair, managed to snatch the boy as he leapt off the bottom step and twirled him around.

 

“Merry Christmas!” InuYasha said, giving the boy a hug before setting him down. Shippo broke out into a run again towards the tree, smiling a huge cheerful grin as he read the names on the brightly wrapped packages.

 

“Presents! I have presents, Uncle Yasha.” Shippo said with awe, turning to his uncle a moment. “Santa must have been able to figure out where we lived this year!”

 

Kagome gave InuYasha a puzzled look and stood up before walking over to him. She pulled him aside as Shippo dug through the small pile of presents, pulling out all that were his and stacking them in a pile. “He's never had Christmas presents before?”

 

“No.” he replied. “We've moved around so much that I haven't had the time to go out and get him something. I've felt horrible about it. At least with me, he knows about Christmas. Most of his life with my brother was spent in a small room with nothing besides a bed and a few broken toys. He didn't know anything about the world until I came along.”

 

“That's horrible. I'm glad he's got you, and I'm glad I've got you too.” Kagome said with a smile as she stood on her toes and kissed him. InuYasha blushed slightly as she took his hand and pulled him back into the living room. “Come on, you've got presents this year too!”

 

“I do?” he asked, glancing down at the tree and seeing two packages intended for him. One was small and neatly wrapped in candy cane striped paper with a single red bow on top, while the other was bulky, wrapped in green Christmas tree paper, and bedecked with six different colored bows. InuYasha turned back to her and smiled boyishly.

 

“OPEN MINE FIRST!” screamed Shippo, rushing over to the tree to snatch up his gift for his uncle. He thrust it at him, a huge grin wide across his face as he bobbed with anticipation.

 

“Okay.” InuYasha said with a laugh, taking the gift from the boy and sitting down in a nearby lazy chair. He tore at the wrapping paper and discarded in a pile at his feet as he looked at what he'd gotten. It was a white t-shirt with a custom screen print on it. “It's wonderful.”

 

“I drew the picture myself.” Shippo said with pride. “That's you, that's Kagome, and that's me. It's our family!”

 

“Here, you can open this one next.” She said, handing him his other gift and smiling sweetly at him. He opened it and looked inside. It was a brand new watch.

 

“This is great. I've needed a new one of this. I stepped on my last one.” he said, taking it out and looking at it. On the back, there was an engraving of a key. “What's this?”

 

“The key to my heart.” she told him, leaning up to kiss him. Shippo groaned and went back to playing with his gifts, ignoring the other two and their icky displays of love. InuYasha returned her kiss and went over to the tree again, reaching into the way back where he'd hidden an extra special gift for her.

 

“Kagome, this is for you.” he said, handing it to her. It was a small black box that jewelry came in. She lifted the cover and her jaw dropped. It was a ring. A beautiful ring with a silver band and a heart-shaped ruby in between two smaller, sparkling diamonds.

 

“It's so beautiful.” Kagome told him, tears in her eyes as she looked at it again. She let out a gasp at how wonderful the ring was, at a loss for words, as he took her hand.

 

“Kagome, this ring is a symbol of my love for you.” he said, taking the ring from the box and sliding it onto her finger, leaning in real close to her and whispering quietly near her ear. “Think of it as an engagement ring.”

 

“Oh my goodness.” she said, putting a hand over her mouth as she looked at the ring on her hand. She could feel a few tears fall from her eyes as she reached out and embraced him. It had been so long since she had felt genuinely loved that it seemed so impossible that she had it now. Still, she couldn't help but feel that same love for him, a love she never thought she could be capable of. Not after the life she had lived before. And that former life seemed so far and distant, another reality, from what she had now, right before her.

 

She turned her head up and slowly kissed him, taking in his warmth and his love, hoping to preserve that moment in her mind forever. For it was such a perfect moment that she wanted it to last and last. He returned the kiss and held her. It felt so right, being with her. After everything in his life that was so damned wrong, she was the one right thing he had found. He wanted to keep her in his arms forever and he was almost afraid in that same moment, because this was so new to him and he knew that now he could never lose her. He would die if that happened. When the two finally pulled away all they could do was smile.

 

“Does this mean we're a real family now?!” Shippo's voice surprised them as the little boy came running into his uncle's arms, his eyes wide with happiness. Kagome leaned over and kissed the little boy on the cheeks and tousled his rusty red hair.

 

“Yes. We're family now and forever.” she told him. He smiled and hugged her, jumping back out of InuYasha's arms and back to his new toys.

 

“Family? For once that doesn't sound so bad.” he reached for her hand, staring deeply into her warm eyes. Finally, what they all had dreamed of had become reality. Kagome had someone who loved her and would never hurt her. InuYasha found someone who made his life seem good for the first time in his life. As for Shippo, he had gotten something he had never known: parents who loved him or at least, people who loved him like he was their own child.