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Standing in the kitchen doorway, Sesshomaru took a moment to appreciate his mate.
Busy as she was with preparations for the family dinner they would have that night, Kagome didn't take much notice of his presence after exchanging a brief greeting with him.
Sesshomaru just shook the head as his lips curved into a slight smile, as he watched her run up and down the kitchen.
Like every year since they became mates and formed a family of their own, Kagome made an effort to bring everyone together on that particular date, a custom that he did not fully understand, until the passage of time and the changes it brought, helped him to understand things.
With their children growing faster than they would have liked and with a whole world to explore outside the family home, it hadn't taken long for the pups to leave the nest and heading off to live their own lives and even starting families of their own in the path.
Because of this, there were few occasions when everyone could meet in one place, so Sesshomaru understood the enthusiasm of his mate and the extra effort she put into every detail of the meeting.
That, however, did not stop him from stopping his mate when he saw that she was exceeding her efforts, like at that precise moment, when he saw her take the tenth batch of cookies out of the oven.
Silently and not wanting to spoil Kagome's excitement, he walked over to her and took the cookie tray from her hands, setting the item down on the kitchen counter before fixing his gaze on her.
The questioning look she gave him in return, was soon answered.
"Let's take a walk together." He told.
"Dinner isn't ready yet." She replied, frowning slightly. "I still have to bake more cookies and-"
"The house will be full in a few hours, and it's almost certain that when everyone arrives we won't have a moment's peace." He told her, while his right hand was in charge of cleaning the traces of flour from her cheek. "Is it strange, then, that I want to steal your attention these last hours that we have to ourselves, mate?"
Despite the years, the blush that came to Kagome's cheeks when he was so direct with his affections never failed to amuse him.
After a few babbles and a threat to burn him with reiki from Kagome if he didn't stop taunting her, the two found themselves enjoying a walk together, walking hand in hand through the lighted streets of the city.
Pausing to gaze at a small light show in a nearby park, Sesshomaru couldn't help but gaze once more at his mate, who was clearly smiling in amusement at the spectacle, before turning her bright gaze on him.
They were together, they had been together for more than 500 years now, but even with the passage of time and the ups and downs that it brought, every time he saw himself reflected in those blue eyes, Sesshomaru couldn't help but silently thank for the day she agreed to be his mate.
And it is that even if he enjoyed those family gatherings, where his annoying half-brother and even his mother participated, and which were living proof of how much his life had changed since Kagome crossed his path, it was moments like these, when there was only him and her, the ones that he kept as a treasure in his memory.
Kagome was his friend, his lover, his mate; the one woman who would always be by his side.
And he couldn't be more grateful for it.
