Brave Hearts (Sesshomaru Fanfiction)

14. That One Word

“Um,” Hana flushed. She didn’t believe her cheeks could get any redder than they already were.

She’d thought Sesshomaru had been kidding, when he’d mentioned them bathing together. But here he was, sitting in front of her in a hot spring.
 
Then again, she thought, Lord Sesshomaru was never really one to kid.

She looked at him as he sat in the water waiting for her – his back turned towards her. His hair that was already slightly wet glistened under the moonlight.

Of all the challenges she’d had so far, she was almost certain that this one was the most nerve-wracking.

After a moment’s hesitation, she let her kimono fall to her feet, also removing her bandages from her body, and stepped into the water, shyly covering her chest with an arm as she did. Sesshomaru brought his eyes over to her and Hana soon found that she’d been wrong in thinking that her cheeks couldn’t have gotten redder. He seemed quite calm about being nude in front of her – at lot calmer than she was, at least. Then again, he was always calm.

He looked down at her as she drew closer to him, and, with a hint of amusement in his voice, he said:

“You act as if I have never seen you like this before.”

With her cheeks turning an even deeper shade of crimson (it felt as if her entire face was red, actually), she looked up at Sesshomaru just in time to see him reach forward and take her hand in his, removing it from her chest. She looked at him curiously, bemused by his sudden tenderness.

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She was……beautiful.

He thought to himself as he looked upon a nude Hana making her way towards him, the moonlight shining down on them complementing the paleness of her skin.

He would have had to do it sooner or later – he would have to tell Hana how much he had grown to care about her (to love her). He wanted to ensure that there were no doubts in her mind.

“Sesshomaru, you’ve grown soft,” he imagined hearing his mother telling him that. He ignored the thought and instead focused on the shy wolf demon standing before him.

She seemed so insecure being in front of him – being so close to him – and a part of him wished to change that.

He ran his free hand through her long hair which had grown much longer since the first time she’d met him, and this seemed to have startled her slightly. Sesshomaru suppressed a smile that had been forming on his lips.

He closed his eyes.

To her, it must have probably looked as if he were thinking about something. But for once, he wasn’t. He was merely enjoying the scent of cherry blossoms that emanated from her – the scent that had aided him in finding her so many times before, the scent which he loved: her scent.

He opened his eyes and found her looking down.

“I see all your boldness from earlier has suddenly disappeared.”

She brought her eyes up to his, and a small smile became evident on her face.

“I guess it died with the demon that had interrupted us,” she joked. “I’m sorry.”

“There is no need for sorry.”

He looked at her thoughtfully for a moment and then tilted her head upward, leaning in for a kiss.

Tonight would be the night that he would make her his – officially – and he would make sure that, after tonight, she knew how much he’d grown to love her.

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His hands were soft. And she'd never noticed before, but Lord Sesshomaru had a scent somewhat similar to that of a Jasmine flower. It reminded her of spring time - the time when the flowers begin to bloom and it seems that nature could get no more beautiful. It was strange seeing that he was such a fearsome and powerful daiyokai, but she did not mind - she liked his scent. 
She had closed her eyes as Sesshomaru leaned in for a kiss, and as he began to kiss her, she felt his hands roaming all over her body, sending shivers up her spine. Hana enjoyed the moment - made evident by the sound of pleasure that had escaped her lips soon after. 

She broke their kiss, looking up into Sesshomaru's golden eyes. Somewhere in the midst of it all, she had placed one hand on his shoulder and the other one on his bare chest. 

"Um," she blushed as she spoke to him, "please be...gentle."

He didn't reply, but as he leaned in for another kiss, Hana thought she saw Sesshomaru give a familiar smirk.   

And though she often felt slightly uncomfortable admitting it, that night had been the best night in her life.  

∞

Hana remembered being quite flustered and embarrassed afterwards – she’d never thought she was capable of doing such things – though, at the same time, she had felt deeply happy. She was happy to know – after so long – that he loved her.  

The sun was now beginning to rise and she was still in his arms, lying under a tree, resting. She had expected Lord Sesshomaru to have already been fully clothed and ready to leave by now, with that uninterested and indifferent look on his face, but he wasn’t. His eyes were closed as he held her in his arms and she lay on top of him. For once, he seemed to be relaxed.  

Hana closed her eyes and rested her head on Sesshomaru’s chest, listening to the calming sound of his heartbeat. There was no pain in her shoulder and all her wounds had finally healed with nothing but two large scars left as reminders of what she’d been through.  

To think that if her wounds hadn’t been properly taken care of, she would have most likely died from loss of blood, and this moment would have never come to be.  

“Lord Sesshomaru,” Hana murmured, with her head still on his chest.  

Though his eyes were closed, she knew that he was awake, not only listening to her, but listening to everything in their surroundings also - listening to make sure that they were alone; to make sure that no one would dare interrupt their moment.

He opened his eyes slightly to look down at her.  

“What is it?”  

"I forgot to thank you for taking care of my wound" She smiled faintly. "I don’t know if you were to one to actually put bandages on me, but even so, I didn't think you had it in you to do such a thing."

 “Nonsense,” he said. She had expected him to say something like that.  

Though, she hadn’t quite expected him to have uttered the words that followed:  

“Is that not what one is supposed to do for the person that they love? Protect them?” For a moment, she felt him wrap his arms around her a bit tighter.  

At his confessing to loving her, Hana sat up, looking at Sesshomaru, unsure of what to say. There was a moment of silence first as she looked at the dog demon. He then brought his eyes up to meet hers and with a calm look still on his face, he said:  

“You act as if you did not know this before.”  

She blinked, the blush in her cheeks suddenly returning.  

“Well yes,” she said sheepishly as she pushed some of her hair out of her face, “but I don’t think I’ve ever heard you use the word ‘love’ before. It’s… refreshing to hear you admit something like that.” She smiled at him.

  “Do not get used to it.”  

She smiled even more at his response.  

Looking right into Sesshomaru’s eyes, Hana said:  

“I love you, Lord Sesshomaru,” her heart fluttering at bit as she spoke.

  And though he did not reply, he placed a hand on her face and then kissed her softly on the lips.

  That was enough for her.