Of Leaves and Flower Petals by Marino Sakuraba

Of Leaves and Flower Petals

The sakura flowers fluttered around the girl as she sighed mournfully. "I always wanted to be like a flower. Beautiful, elegant..." She clenched her fist, digging her hands into the ground and pulling up some leaves. "But I'm more like a leaf, I suppose. Common, not special..."

"Leaves bring life to the plants, make the food and keep everything balanced."

She smiled slightly, eyes still shadowed, "Thanks."

He frowned, "What has happened, Kagome?"

She shook her head. "No, it's nothing."

"It is obviously not--"

"Just drop it, okay?!"

Kagome grimaced. She knew she'd just proved to him there was a problem, but still, she just--

"Come then. It is time for lunch." Sesshoumaru sighed and resisted the urge to drag his hand through his hair.

--wanted to forget it for a while. She smiled. "Hai."

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"Kagome."

Turning around, she put on a smile. "Yes?"

"For whatever reason, I still do not know what bothers you." He held up a hand, stopping her from interrupting. "I do trust you will tell me when you're ready. However, this sulking of yours is not acceptable."

Kagome narrowed her eyes. "Not acceptable?" She scoffed and turned back towards her papers. "Sorry my emotions bother you so."

Growling, Sesshoumaru moved forward and swiveled her chair around. Glaring at each other, he growled out. "Let me finish, woman. You said you were like a leaf, correct?"

Wide-eyed now, she nodded. "I told you that leaves give life to everything, but you chose to continue the sulking ways."

"That's because--"

"Wait." He stuck a hand up again and walked towards the door. Kagome looked on confused as he grabbed a large bag and returned. "Here. Open it."

"O-okay." Kagome cut the tape and reached into the bag. "Ah!" She pulled her hand back after the cool felty feeling on her fingers. She looked up at Sesshoumaru, who gave away nothing, "What the-?"

She pushed the bag down around the item inside. It was a beautiful plant. Large leaves, large white petals with a slight pinkish tint to them. She frowned, "I- I don't understand."

"This is Euphorbia pulcherrima, a poinsettia. It is a beautifully deceptive plant."

"A poinsettia? Like from Christmas?" She felt the leaves again. "But aren't they red?"

He nodded. "Yes, but they can also be white or pink." He paused momentarily. "The leaves of this plant are special. Many people mistake them for petals, while the actual flower is..." He leaned over and pointed at the yellow-green bulbs in the middle, "that."

Silence filled the room for a minute as Kagome stared down at the plant. Then a small chuckle drifted through the air as she grinned up at her mate, tears in her eyes. "You idiot. Thank you"

Sesshoumaru blinked. Idiot? He frowned down at her. "This Sesshoumaru is not an idiot."

She wiped her eyes. "No, of course not. How dare I even think such things?" Grinning, she threw herself at him and began bribing him with kisses. "Forgive me? I was being so mopey for such a stupid reason."

"...If you'll tell me why?"

"I'm not holding you back, am I?"

Sesshoumaru nodded and tucked a rebellious strand of hair behind her ear. "You are, but it's a good thing. If it weren't for you, I'd still be on the same path of conquest. If you weren't with me, I have no doubt that I would have control over this ningen world."

Her eyes were beginning to water again and he kissed the forming tears away and continued, "But I wouldn't change what is for anything. I chose you for my mate and even if I didn't love you to begin with, I do now. I apologize if I haven't mentioned such in a while."

Kagome smiled up at the taiyoukai. "Only about a hundred years." A peck on the cheek. "But, I love you too."

A/N: I feel weird writing this. It felt kinda wordy, which is sad considering it's less than 700 words. But hey, I ignored this story for many a months but found it and wrote it in time for Christmas and other such holidays! =D So... this is my ode to all such celebrations occuring in the late december time. Hope you enjoyed it!!