InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Purity 9: Subterfuge ❯ Abominable Snow-Cain ( Chapter 115 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

Rolling her eyes, Valerie scooped up a huge wad of snow and chucked it at Evan's head.  He laughed and ducked in time to avoid the hit.  "What?  Didn't like my song?" he teased.

"You're so wrong," she muttered, packing more snow into a nice little snowball.

Evan stopped long enough to grin at her before resuming his task of packing snow in a huge ball.  He was making a snowman, or so he said.  Valerie wasn't sure if she believed him.  If he really was making one, it had to be the biggest one she'd ever seen . . .

"Aww, come on, V.  You like my Christmas carols."

Wrinkling her nose, she brushed her gloves together, knocking snow off her hands.  "Hey, I was wondering something."

"Oh, yeah?" Evan asked, only paying half attention since he was rather busy, building his ginormous snowball.  "What's that?"

"Didn't you say you owned properties up here?"

"I do," he agreed easily enough.

"Then why are we staying here?" she queried.  "I mean, I think your parents are fantastic.  It just seemed a little weird."

Evan paused long enough to cast her a cheesy grin.  "Well, Miss is going to be using my house for the holidays to be closer to Deet's family, and my other place is way up near the Canadian border."

Nodding slowly as she pondered that, she smiled.  "That makes sense then," she allowed.  "Besides, your mother is a hell of a cook."

"Damn straight," Evan agreed, winking at her.

"Who-o-oa . . .!  What's that?" Bailey asked as he dashed over, only to skid to a stop in front of the huge snowball.  Craning his neck as he gazed up at the top of it, the boy's mouth was rounded in a perfect little 'oh'.

"It's gonna be a snowman," Evan replied, grinning down at the child as he packed another huge hunk of snow onto the six-foot-ball.

"Wow!  Can I help?"

Evan chuckled and paused long enough to tug on the top of Bailey's bright green sock cap playfully.  "Sure!  Start gathering snow up for the next one, okay?"

Bailey let out a loud yell and sped off to gather more snow.

A second later, the noisy bustle of four dogs—one of which could not be seen as it tore through the snow—erupted in the distance as Evan's dogs rounded the corner of the mansion, making a beeline straight toward their master, and Evan gave one loud, long whistle.  Valerie eyed the oncoming pack and quickly stepped behind the giant snowball.  Evan, however, laughed hysterically as the animals leapt at him, bearing him back into the snow in a mass of wagging tails, happy whines, and licking tongues.

"They look like they're trying to eat you," Valerie remarked warily from her spot behind the giant snowball.  Peering around it cautiously, she made a face.  Not only were Evan's three dogs molesting him at the moment, there was another one—a huge one, bigger than Munchies—and that one was really, really ugly.  Caught somewhere between 'brown' and 'mud' with a huge white spot around one of his eyes, the beast was as big as a horse with a wide, flattish face like a bulldog with very floppy, very loose skin around his jowls, but the grossest thing about the beast was the huge trail of white, foamy drool hanging from the lowest corner of his mouth.  One of his ears was shorter than the other, like he'd gotten into a fight and lost somewhere along the way.  All in all, he looked rather rabid, and Valerie slowly, carefully backed away before those creatures figured that she'd be a good snack . . .

"Okay, okay," Evan said, pushing himself up into a sitting position—no small feat, considering the mauling dogs.  "You guys go in the house and see if Grandma left anything out for you to eat before she left," he commanded.

The dogs actually stopped and stared at him for a moment before carting around on their heels and galloping off toward the deck on the back of the mansion.

Valerie slowly, carefully scooted back over toward Evan though she didn't take her eyes off the retreating dogs.  "Tell me that fourth one isn't yours," she muttered darkly.

Evan chuckled, wiping his cheek on his snowy shoulder.  "Nah, that one is Mama's—she calls him 'Lovey'."

Valerie blinked, her head snapping to the side to pin Evan with a look as she tried to decide whether or not he was being serious.  "Lovey?" she repeated.

He nodded.  "Yup."

She snorted since there wasn't a thing that was 'lovey' about that beast, as far as Valerie could tell.

"What the hell is that supposed to be?" Bas Zelig asked as he ambled over with Olivia nestled carefully in his arms.

"What's it look like, Bubby?" Evan shot back with a grin.  "It's a snowman—or at least, it will be one."

"Snowman!" Olivia echoed happily.

Bas looked dubious at best.  "Good God, they'll see that from the Mir Space Station . . ."

"V!" Olivia said, turning her body, stretching her arms out toward Valerie.

"Oh . . ." Valerie breathed, smiling as she took the child from her father.  All bundled up in a white wool coat with white fur lining the hood and trimming all the edges, it made the startling brightness of her eyes stand out even more, her hair even more brilliant where it peeked out from under her hood . . . It was the first time that Valerie had seen Olivia wearing anything other than her cute little dresses, but her tiny white boots, also trimmed in the same white fur, were possibly the some of the cutest things that Valerie had ever seen . . .

"What?  No love for Uncle Evan?" he complained despite the grin on his face as he stood back and smiled at Valerie and Olivia.

Olivia giggled and hid her face against Valerie's coat.  "No," she said, her voice muffled.

"Well, now, doesn't that just figure," Evan grouched as his grin widened.

Bas chuckled before turning his attention to his brother.  "Remind me later.  I had a couple things I wanted to give you," he said.  "Come on, sweetness.  Want to go see Grandma?"

Olivia turned her little face to look at her father but held onto Valerie.  "No!" she said, flashing her dimples at her father.

"Mama went shopping," Evan remarked.

Bas nodded and rolled his eyes.  "But it's cold out here," he pointed out.

Olivia giggled and shook her head.

"Aw, she's okay, right V?" Evan drawled.  "We'll keep an eye on her."

"It's fine," Valerie said, smiling at the little girl in her arms.

"If you're sure," Bas said slowly, obviously not wanting to impose upon them.

"Go on," Evan said, waving a hand dismissively.  "'Sides, Cain probably wants to bark at you or something anyway."

Bas snorted but leaned in to kiss Olivia's cheek.  "I'll be inside if she wants to come in," he told Valerie.  "Bailey!"

"Yeah?" the boy called back where he knelt in the snow, piling together huge lumps as he tried to build a snowball.

"Come inside if you get cold, okay?"

Bailey didn't answer, but he did wave a mitten-covered hand to indicate that he'd heard his father.

Valerie nodded, and Olivia waved as her father started to walk away.

Evan laughed and turned back to examine his work in progress.  Then he sighed and shot Valerie a cheesy grin.  "Hey, Liv, you want to help me build a snowman?" he asked.

The tiny girl just giggled.


"So . . . How are you going to get that up there?" Valerie asked, her tone flat, unimpressed.

Evan stopped and straightened his back, idly scratching his chin as he gazed at the top of the first snowball then slowly looked at the second one.  "Hmm . . . Well . . . I guess I didn't think about that," he admitted with a sheepish grin.  Considering that the second snowball was almost as big as the first one?  He chuckled.  "Eh, no problem!  I can do it!"

She nodded slowly, her arms crossed over her chest as she, too, stared at the monstrosity.  "Do you have a board or something?  You could probably roll it up a ramp . . ."

"Hey, Bailey, go get your daddy," Evan called.

Bailey glanced up from the snow fort he was building.  "Okay," he hollered back, clamoring to his feet and taking off toward the mansion.

Valerie giggled as she watched the boy's retreat.  "He's wearing as much snow as that snowman," she remarked.

"Hope Mama didn't mop the kitchen this morning," he chuckled.

"Evvie!"

Evan whipped around in time to see his sister as she dashed straight toward him.  He caught her when she launched herself at him and swung her around in a wide circle.  "Hey, Jilli.  How's it going?"

Jillian laughed and kissed his cheek.  "It's fine," she assured him with a bright smile.  "Hello . . . Valerie, right?"

Valerie nodded, offering Jillian a rather measured little smile.  "Yes, that's right," she said.

"If you break her, I'll have to hurt you," Gavin Jamison remarked as he ambled over, his hands jammed deep into the pockets of his jeans.

Jillian laughed, extricating herself from Evan's hold so that she could wrap her arms around her mate instead.  "Don't be silly, Gavvie!  Evvie would never, ever hurt me!"

Gavin snorted and didn't look at all convinced, but he shook his head.

"Hi," Valerie said, smiling warmly in greeting.

"Uh, hi," Gavin replied, his cheeks pinking just a little as he glanced at Jillian and then back again.

"Anyway, just the man I wanted to see," Evan said smoothly as he grinned wide like a used car salesman.

Gavin blinked.  "Me?  Why?"

"Because," Evan continued, waving a hand at the smaller of the two snowballs, "I've gotta get that up there."

Gavin's gaze slowly shifted from one of the snowballs to the other and back again, then finally looked at Evan.  "Damn," was all he said.

Evan chuckled then stopped abruptly as he glanced back at his sister once more.  "I thought Mama said you weren't going to get here until tomorrow," he said.

Jillian giggled.  "Well, that was originally the plan," she admitted with a candid shrug.

"It's supposed to snow pretty good tonight," Gavin explained, walking around the base of the second snowball, inspecting it with a marked scowl of concentration.  "We figured we might as well head out early."

"Makes sense to me," Evan agreed.  "So you think you can help me out here?"

Heaving a sigh, Gavin slowly shook his head.  "I don't know, Evan . . . I mean, maybe if we had one more—"

"Bassie!"

Evan laughed as Jillian took off once more, this time making a beeline at her other brother, who had just stepped out of the mansion with Bailey tugging insistently on his father's hand.

"That'll work," Gavin remarked, leaning back on his heels as they waited for Bas to hug Jillian before he lumbered toward them.

"Bailey said you wanted him to get me," Bas said when he finally wandered over.

Evan grinned.  "Sure.  Give us a hand here, will you?" he asked, jerking his head toward the second snowball.

Bas rolled his eyes but smiled good-naturedly.  "Figures," he muttered, shaking his head as he stepped over to inspect it in much the same way that Gavin had.

Between the three of them, it wasn't too difficult to heft the giant ball onto the other one.  Adjusting it until it was straight, however, did take a bit more concentration.

"It's off center," Jillian said, standing back with a frown on her pretty face as she watched the men's work.

"No, it's not," Bas replied, grunting as he tried to ease his arms out from under the pile of snow.  It wasn't that heavy, no, but it was awkward, and that's the real reason why Evan had asked for help, in the first place.

"It is," Jillian argued.  She glanced over at Valerie and shook her head.  "It is, isn't it?"

Valerie paced around the snowman slowly, examining the creation from every conceivable angle.  "Yeah," she agreed at length.  "It needs to go that way a little—toward Evan."

"It's fine," Bas maintained, pinning his sister with a rather droll stare.

"It'll slide right off if you don't move it over," Jillian predicted.

Rolling his eyes, Bas shook his head but carefully shoved the snowball toward Evan.  A little bit of snow crumbled away from the larger ball, but it held together well otherwise, and Jillian nodded happily.  "Perfect!" she said, clapping her hands.

Evan stepped back to examine their handiwork and grinned at the overall effect.

"You ready for my snowball now?" Bailey asked, hopping up and down as he tried to get Evan's attention.

Grinning at the boy, Evan nodded.  "Sure thing!"

With a happy yelp, Bailey carted around on his heel and ran over to heft the last snowball off the ground.  He tried for a couple minutes before realizing that it was too big for him to handle, and with a little shrug, he rolled it across the ground instead.

Bas picked up the snowball and managed, just barely, to shove it up to the top of the snowman.  By the time they were finished, the darn thing had to be a good eight feet tall, maybe nine . . .

"That is a hell of a snowman," Gavin remarked as he stepped away to shake his head at the immense size.  "It's like . . . Bas . . . only taller . . ."

Bas snorted.  "Thanks, Gavvie," he muttered, his cheeks pinking as he made a face at the very idea that the snowman resembled him.

Valerie covered her mouth and coughed delicately as Evan stepped over beside her and slipped an arm around her waist.  "What do you think, V?"

She eyed the snowman for several moments as though she was trying to make up her mind about something, and finally, she shrugged.  "It's nice," she mused at length in a careful, deliberate tone.  "I'm not entirely sure how you're going to get the face up there, but nice, all the same . . ."

Evan chuckled and stepped behind her, resting his cheek on her temple as he wrapped his arms tighter around her.  "You want to go inside?" he asked when she shivered slightly.

"No way," she insisted though she snuggled closer against him.  He wasn't sure if she realized what she was doing, but he wasn't going to complain . . .


"Oh, it's fantastic!" Gin breathed as she carefully leaned toward the snowman's face to place a long, knobby carrot nose.  Eyes sparkling as her smile widened, she giggled as Bas tightened his grip on his mother's knees.  "I never could've made one this big!"

"I don't know how the hell I got suckered into this," Bas grumbled, trying his best to keep from moving, lest his mother should fall off his broad shoulders.

"Because you're the tallest," Evan replied with a grin as he pulled Valerie against him a little more firmly.

"Maybe I should borrow your father's reading glasses," Gin mused as she leaned back just enough to examine her handiwork.

Bas heaved a sigh.  "If you do, warn me before you show this to him because I want to be far, far away when he gets it into his head that he has to punish you for it."

Gin giggled more as her cheeks reddened—at least, it seemed like it to Valerie.  It might have been the frigid winter air . . .

"Why would it bother your father?" Valerie asked, turning her head to murmur the question to Evan as her own cheeks reddened at the very close proximity of the man.

Evan chuckled.  "We-e-e-ell," he drawled but didn't really answer.

"Wow, baby girl . . . you've . . . outdone yourself."

Gin gasped at the sound of her husband's voice as she shot him a very bright grin.  "Isn't it great?"

Cain Zelig crossed his arms over his chest—he wasn't wearing a coat, but he didn't seem to be suffering for it, either—and he looked almost bored as he gazed at the hulking snowman.

Bas grasped his mother's waist and carefully pulled her off his shoulders—no small feat, really—setting her down and stepping back without taking his unsettling golden eyes off his father.

With a soft giggle, Gin darted over to Cain and threw her arms around him.  "I think it's the best abominable snow-Cain, ever!"

Rolling his eyes, Cain heaved a sigh.  "I was hoping that wasn't what that was," he muttered.

Valerie's mouth dropped open for a second, then she snapped it closed again.  "A-Abominable Snow-Cain?" she echoed in a whisper.

Evan chuckled.  "Hush, woman.  This is getting good."

"Don't you think that . . . he . . . is a little too fat to be me?" Cain asked baldly as he continued to stare at the snowman.

Gin blinked and stared earnestly up at him.  "Well, you have to admit, Cain, you've put on a few pounds in recent years."

Cain blinked, his gaze shifting from the snowman to his diminutive wife.  "You didn't . . ." he said.

"It's okay, though," she went on, and if she realized that she'd hit a nerve in her husband, she didn't show it.  "I still love you anyway, even if you are getting a little chubby."

Bas winced.  Gavin blinked.  Jillian's smile widened as she covered her mouth.  Evan chuckled.  Cain opened and closed his mouth a few times like a fish out of water, and Valerie?  Well, she wasn't entirely sure what she ought to think of that, especially since there really wasn't anything 'chubby' at all about the man in question . . .

"Gin?"

She leaned back but didn't drop her arms away from him.  "Yes, Zelig-sensei?"

Cain cocked an eyebrow as a very slow, very lazy grin surfaced on his face.  "It's on, baby girl."

"What's he doing?" Valerie asked Evan when Cain bent down and started slowly, methodically scooping snow together.

Evan chuckled.  "What do you think?" he replied with a wink.  "He's going to build a snow-Gin now."

Valerie blinked and stared at him for a long moment then slowly shook her head.  Evan's family was a strange lot, weren't they?

Strange . . . and really, really cute.