Sesshomaru hates Christmas. There are a lot of reasons for it, but, frankly, he doesn't see the point of celebrating holidays for a religion he doesn't observe, anyway.
His mate, however, has other ideas. She decks the halls. She sings carols. She buys so many presents he wonders how she can fit them all under the tree.
And then she invites both of their families over in a massive celebration that lasts several days, which means days of people roaming their shiro and spending far too much time wanting to speak to Sesshomaru about whatever inane topics come to mind.
He doesn't want to talk about what he's been up to since the last gathering.
He's not interested in their opinions of his home's decorations and aesthetics.
He doesn't care a whit what his guests think of one another's clothing.
And if he hears one more person offer their unsolicited advice regarding when Sesshomaru and Kagome should choose to conceive a child, Sesshomaru promises himself as he escapes dinner on Christmas Eve, he will personally ensure thatindividual is never able to reproduce.
If it were anyone else, there would be no Christmas parties at his home. No gifts, no carols, no grand feats.
But Sesshomaru is unable to deny his mate anything. She wishes to celebrate the holiday, so he bites his tongue and suffers through it as he has for the last five years.
"Hey." His mate peeks her head into the study where Sesshomaru has retreated from their guests, far on the other side of the shiro. "Are you okay?"
He exhales as he contemplates how best to answer his mate without revealing his loathing of her favorite holiday traditions. "All is well, Kagome. Return to your guests. There is merely something that requires my attention—"
"'My' guests?" she repeats, entering the room and approaching his desk.
He curses himself for not taking greater care with his words. "Our guests," he attempts to correct quickly, but his mate isn't fooled.
"You don't like any of this, do you?" She heaves a big sigh as she sits down across from him at his desk. "Sesshomaru, do you even like Christmas at all?"
"I enjoy seeing you pleased," he begins, but when her eyes narrow, he concedes, "though I do not especially enjoy this holiday."
"Why didn't you say anything?" She brushes a lock of hair from her face. "We could have done something else, Sesshomaru!"
He remains silent for a moment, well aware that he deserves her ire for the farce. He doesn't regret it, not knowing how happy the last five years of celebrations have made her, but he does not risk her ire by admitting that, either. "It mattered to you."
"I wouldn't have done all of this if I'd known!" She clicks her tongue. "I don't want you to be unhappy just to make me happy, Sesshomaru. That's not how marriage is supposed to work."
His eyes widen. "Pleasing you pleases me," he attempts to explain, but she holds up one hand.
"No." She shakes her head firmly. "I mean it, Sesshomaru. We can do something else." And then she reaches for him, pulling him down into her lap as her fingers run through his hair. "It's a bit too late to change our plans now," she admits, "but next year we'll do something else, okay?"
His eyes close as he gives her a short nod, enjoying her attention as she runs her fingers through his hair.
"Besides," Kagome adds mutinously, "I'm tired of your great-aunt asking when we're going to pop out a baby. At this point, I'm sorely tempted to give her a baby doll with a bow on it just to shut her up."
Sesshomaru surprises them both by chuckling at the mental picture. He can already imagine the chaos it would cause. "It is not too late to procure the doll—"
"Bad," she says with a teasing smile. "You're so naughty, Sesshomaru."
He doesn't discount the rebuke. "I would enjoy seeing Haha-ue’s aunt's reaction to such a gift." His eyes gleam. "It would greatly increase my enjoyment of the holiday."
She snorts. "You would." But she doesn't seem entirely opposed.
"We can obtain a doll from the shiro village later," he decides as she chuckles. Her hands feel too good in his hair to wish to leave now. "Perhaps it will be the reason I come to appreciate this holiday of yours, mate."
.
Later, when they do provide the doll—at Sesshomaru's insistence—to his great-aunt, he finds a new reason to appreciate the holiday season. His great-aunt's face when she opens 'her' gift is well-worth the frustration of the rest of their holiday.