FicWad

(A/N): so all of you who have stuck with me I feel as though you will be rewarded in this chapter. At least I hope so. Also just as a reminder she got to Japan in November. :)
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Inora woke up feeling a strange sadness, and it took her a second to remember why. It was December 25th, it was Christmas. Usually the day would be a happy one for her but this was the first year she hadn’t spent it with Dan. She had already talked to Tohru about it about a week ago, the same day Dan had left.
**
“So Tohru, what do you guys do for Christmas here?” Inora had asked.
“Oh nothing really special, new years is a much bigger deal to us here,” she replied. “Maybe a nice dinner, and sometimes some presents.”
“Oh,” Inora had said trying to hide her disappointment. “Yeah, it’s just weird not seeing any decorations around, you know?”
“Well we could put up some if you want,” Tohru said kindly.
“N-no! I mean, it’s not a big deal really,” she blurted; she didn’t want to seem needy.
“Oh… well if you’re sure,” Tohru said studying her.
“I am, really don’t worry about it,” Inora said with a fake smile.
**
Inora got up to get dressed, and she decided that she wouldn’t say a word about Christmas. She would just call Dan and call it good; it wouldn’t kill her to miss one Christmas. When she slid open her door she gasped, in the doorway there was a curtain of Christmas lights hanging down. She parted the lights and stepped into the hallway, and then she just stood there taking it all in. The hallway was completely decked out with garlands, lights, holly, and of course mistletoe. She eventually made her way to the stares and saw that the whole house was the same.
As she made her way down the stares she trailed her hand along the garland that was wrapped around the banister. As soon as her foot hit the bottom step she darted into the living room to see if Tohru had thought of everything. When she flew into the room she wasn’t disappointed, there was a huge tree with a ton of colorful lights and twice as many ornaments. She felt like she was five years old as she stared at the tree in amazement. After a minute of staring she felt that she needed to find Tohru, and she knew just where to look.
“Tohru!” she yelled as she burst into the kitchen. She grabbed the girl around the waist before she even had a chance to turn around. Inora lifted her up and spun her in a few circles before putting her back down again.
“Wha-” Tohru tried to say but she was blushing bright red and was trying to catch her breath from being squeezed so hard.
“You are the most amazing person ever!” Inora gushed.
“N-no! I- uh,” she stuttered waving her hands in front of her face. Inora was about to tell her to ‘just shut up and take the compliment’ when a familiar voice came from the doorway.
“These are quite amazing decorations, you outdid yourself Tohru,” Hatori said. Inora spun around and gave him a huge smile.
“Hatori, I didn’t know you were coming,” she said a little breathlessly.
“Yes, Tohru told me a week ago what she was planning so I was able to clear my schedule,” he said still looking at all of the lights. “I’m glad I did.” He looked back at Inora and gave her his warm smile.
“I’m glad you did too,” she almost whispered. Hatori opened his mouth to say something then his eyes shifted to Tohru and he closed it.
“Do…you want to go for a walk of something?” Inora asked nervously.
“You read my mind,” he said quietly and stood to the side of the doorway so she could pass. She walked by him, noticing the heat coming off of his body as she did, and made her way to the front door. She slipped on the coat that Tohru was still letting her borrow, and they walked into the cold air. They walked side by side down a path in silence, but it was a comfortable silence, like they were just enjoying each others company.
“I can’t believe it hasn’t snowed yet,” Inora said finally breaking the silence. “I wish it would…”
“You like the snow?” he asked. She nodded then thought about it.
“Well to a certain point anyway, after too long or too much, I want to go at it with a flame thrower,” she said then laughed and she heard him laugh as well, it was one of his real laughs, not the chuckle that he usually gives.
“I know exactly what you mean,” he said.
“I love your laugh, you should use it more often,” she said beaming at him. He slowed to a stop making her double back a little, wondering what was wrong. When she turned to look at him he was staring intently at her.
“Believe me, you already hear it more often then anyone else ever has,” he said while taking a step closer to her. She didn’t know what to say, his simple statement made her heart race. They stayed like that for a second; the wind picked up and blew Inora’s hair around her face. He reached out and touched her cheek for a second then moved his fingers towards her ear brushing her hair behind it. He left his hand there then slowly moved it further into her hair; she could feel her whole body shaking and it had nothing to do with the cold. He moved forward so their body’s were only about six inches apart, then he froze searching her face.
She pleaded silently with him to continue and he got the message. He leaned down and pressed his lips softly to hers. He wove his hand even further into her hair until he was gently cradling her head. He brought his other arm up and wound it around her waist leaving his hand in the small of her back. She ran her hands up his chest to snake them around his neck, and she wound her fingers into his incredibly soft hair. Everything just seemed to be right, the way his soft lips moved perfectly against hers, and the way that his hair brushed against one side of her face. Everything was perfect, she felt like she was being held even though she wasn’t against his chest, and his uneven breathing sent shivers down her spine. Eventually they broke apart.
“Do you have any idea how long I’ve wanted to do that?” Hatori asked her quietly, their faces were still inches apart so she could feel his warm breath on her face. She tried to speak but nothing came out, she swallowed hard and tried again.
“No longer then I have,” she said in a shaky voice, she could still feel her knees shaking. He chuckled lightly and brushed his fingers down her hair, and then something seemed to occur to him.
“Oh yes, I got you a Christmas present,” he said digging in his pocket, still keeping his arm around her waist. He held it up for her and she reluctantly took an arm from around his neck to take it. She stared at the wrapping for a few moments; the paper was maroon with a rich purple bow on top.
“How… how did you know?” she asked in awe.
“That those were your favorite colors? The night you stayed at my house and I… put you to bed, you became rather insistent that I know that,” he said with a chuckle as she blushed.
“Yeah… sorry about that by the way,” she said gently tugging on a corner of the wrapping; it was too beautiful to just rip off.
“I’ve been meaning to ask… do you really not remember anything from that night?” he asked slowly as she kept unwrapping the paper. She decided that, given there current situation, it wouldn’t hurt to tell him.
“Actually I remember most of it, but after you wrapped my hand and I started to fall asleep I only remember flashes,” she said, pausing in her unwrapping project and looking at him.
“So you remember… what you said about my- my eye?” he asked looking deep into her eyes as if he was looking for the answer there.
“Oh that. Of course I did,” she said simply.
“And do you know what happened?” he asked slowly, like it was hard for him to say the words.
“Yes,” she whispered. “Shigure told me… my opinion is still the same if that’s what you were wondering. If anything it’s gotten stronger.” They stood there in silence for a time while Hatori processed that. Inora finished unwrapping her present carefully too find a silky black box, she opened it and gasped. It was a rose, the peddles were expertly cut, see through stones that had a pink-purple tint. Gold metal made up the border of each petal and it hung from a delicate gold chain. It looked like the ones that were in front of Hatsu’s house.
“Do you like it?” he asked, she couldn’t believe that he was unsure.
“Like it? I love it! This is the best present… anyone has ever given me,” She whispered. “The Rose of Winter…right?”
“You remembered,” he whispered grinning at her for a second before pressing his lips to hers again. She got shaky again and wondered if she could possibly ever get used to this, she decided that she couldn’t. When they broke apart again she tried to find her voice again but ended up having to settle for a whisper.
“Of course I remembered, that was the first time I heard you laugh,” she whispered into his neck. She realized for the first time how much taller he was then her, the top of her head only reached the bottom of his chin.
“Same here,” he said simply. He gently took the necklace out of her hand and walked behind her. She felt goose bumps erupt on the back of her neck when he moved her hair around to the front of her shoulder. He slipped the necklace over her head and fastened the clasp, she gasped slightly when she felt his lips press gently over where the clasp rested.
“As much as I hate to say it… we should probably head back and enjoy Tohru’s work,” She said once she caught her breath again.
“You’re probably right,” he said with a sigh. He took her hand as they headed towards the house. They walked silently back but Inora suddenly stopped when she caught glimpses of the house through the trees.
“Wait, we don’t need to keep this secret or anything right?” she asked awkwardly, but it seemed to be a good question because he thought about it for a while.
“No,” he finally said. “Not from the people in this house anyway, but the ones living at the estate, yes. You see Shigure has worked very hard for this house to be…freer. So I’ll think we’ll be safe here, well as safe as possible for a Zodiac member anyway…the people in this house are fine,” She decided not to comment on how unfair that was, how they always had to live in fear of Akito.
“And Aya,” she said with an evil grin. Before he could respond she took off toward the house with him hot on her heels. He had way longer legs so he caught her around the waist quickly and turned her to face him.
“Actually let’s not say anything to him just yet,” he said with humor in his eyes.
“HA, scared?” she asked.
“Hell yes I am,” he said letting her go.
“Fair enough,” she consented, and they stared towards the house again. Once she got inside she remembered what she was going to do this morning.
“Oh I have to call Dan to say merry Christmas,” she said and reluctantly left him to get her phone out of the kitchen. She dialed his number just hoping, unlike this morning, to get this over with quickly.
“(Hello,)” Dan said.
“(Dan, Merry Christmas! How has you week been without me?)” she asked.
“(Oh it’s been fine,)” he started and then launched into a story about work. She had stopped listening because she felt someone’s hand on her back; she turned to just get a glimpse of Hatori before he was kissing her. She twisted the phone away so the receiver was pointing to the back of her head; she forced her self to take her mouth away from his.
“What is it with you guys and not letting me make a phone call,” she whispered to him. He didn’t say anything but he ducked his head and kissed her neck right below where her ear met her jaw. She heard someone’s voice from a long way off.
“(Inora? Are you there?)” Dan asked and she quickly flipped the phone around.
“(Dan something just came up I’ll have to call you later,)” she said very aware of how breathless she sounded. She didn’t wait for his answer before she snapped the phone shut and casually tossed it on the counter, and then she gave Hatori her undivided attention. As soon as he knew that she was focused on him he moved back to her lips, his kisses rougher and more passionate than they had been in the woods. When she thought of Hatori she had never thought that he could be like…this. She was insanely happy that he was, however. She gave him a ‘hint’ by opening her mouth slightly and letting her breath wash over her face.
She immediately felt his smooth tongue slide over hers, and he tasted good. She had a sudden thought and she hopped up to sit on the counter she had been leaning on so he wouldn’t have to bend his neck so much to reach her. She couldn’t believe she hadn’t noticed how tall he was before today. She faintly realized that her phone was ringing but she was in no condition to even care at the moment. But once that noise stopped another one picked up, occasionally interrupted by something else. She eventually slid open one eye and what she saw make her jump and hit her head on the cabinet behind her.
“Ow,” she squealed half in surprise. “Shigure! Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t beat the (shit) out of you right now?” He had been standing in the doorway clapping and occasionally whistling.
“Because you love me too much,” he said with an evil grin. “Good thing you stopped when you did, I was about to have to shoo the children out!” Inora looked over to the other doorway that led to the hallway.
There was Tohru, Yuki and Kyo just standing there with their mouths hanging open. She hadn’t wanted Yuki to see that but she was more distracted by trying to figure out why he looked so surprised. Then Inora really took a look at how they had ended up, her sitting on the counter with Hatori’s waist pressed in between her legs. She knew it had been innocent, they were just getting as close as they could without him transforming, but she supposed that they had no way of knowing that. Hatori wasn’t Shigure, and she wasn’t making the same mistake twice.
“I didn’t even know you too were dating,” Kyo said and Inora glanced at Hatori. They hadn’t officially declared themselves as dating or anything, he looked back for a moment then answered after seeing the question in her eyes.
“We just started dating today,” he clarified while smiling at her warmly, then he turned to them. “I would appreciate it if you would keep this within the household… I’m sure you can understand why.”
“And Aya,” Inora said with an evil grin again and Shigure burst out laughing, and Hatori sighed.
“Oh man I like you,” he said in between his bouts of laughter.
“You’re just now figuring this out?” Inora said faking sadness.
“Well no, I just felt the need to express myself,” he said dramatically, and She rolled her eyes at him.
“Shut up Shigure,” Hatori said simply.
“Eh- um, Dinner is ready,” Tohru said sweetly trying to change the subject.
“How long were we outside, then in here?” Inora whispered to Hatori, he looked at his watch and raised his eyebrows.
“A few hours,” he whispered back, they looked at each other then started laughing. Neither one of them had had any concept of time obviously. After Inora called her Uncle and made a bunch of excuses, they went in and sat at the table, Tohru had defiantly outdone her self. It looked like a thanksgiving feast more than a Christmas dinner, and everything tasted amazing. It was actually really nice to have food she recognized again, it was their turn to prod at stuff now.
“This is absolutely perfect, just like my mom made! Tohru, how did you know what to cook?” Inora asked her.
“I had Shigure help me look it up online,” she said blushing. “Same with the decorations.”
“Yeah, you should have seen me running around like a five year old this morning,” Inora said laughing.
“In America how long do you usually keep them up for?” Yuki asked.
“Until April,” she laughed. “I’m just kidding, it’s kinda a joke over there,” she explained when they looked surprised. “If the person isn’t lazy then they take them down in the first week of the new year.”
“I think that will be nice,” Shigure said leaning back a little. “Wow this food is filling.” The whole table launched into conversation after that. They talked late into the night only pausing to clear the table. The moon was high in the sky before Hatori looked at his watch and frowned.
“I really should be going,” he said and sighed. He stood and Inora sprang up with him.
“I’ll walk you out,” she said cheerfully. As soon as they were out on the porch with the door closed, he pulled her close and kissed her sweetly. He pulled back and traced a long finger down her cheek and then across her necklace.
“That looks perfect on you,” he almost whispered. “Marry Christmas Inora.”
“Marry Christmas Hatori,” she whispered back before he kissed her cheek and walked into the night.

(A/N): Yay I finally made it to this point! When I first thought about writing this story I thought I would have them dating by about chapter 5! Buuuuuuuuut… I kept thinking of things I wanted to happen first. I’m so happy I get to start writing about them being together now!!!