Week 3 Picture 4 - Nerves
Title: Nerves
Author: Priestess Skye
Rating: G
Genre: Romance
Word Prompt: Picture Prompt #4 in Everyday Love by Youkai Yume
Word Count: 710
Pairing: Sess/Kag
Notes: Continuation to the Candidacy series. Back history: Candidacy follows the relationship between a presidential candidate and his aide through the use of IY no Kakera prompts. It is completed and Presidency is its continuation. I had my heart set on this pic for a piece for Presidency, had even written Youkai Yume about, and look, it just pops up right here :) How could I resist *g* I’ll probably use at least one if not two more of the others for this series as well at a later date, so thank you Youkai Yume for such wonderfully inspiring fanart!
March should typically signify the beginning of spring, Kagome thought as she looked out the window at the gardens. Instead, there was a freshly fallen bed of snow covering the lawn of the White House, and the temperature had once again dipped below freezing. She had just pulled out her spring jacket as she enjoyed the mild thaw only days before. Sighing, she filed the last of her papers into her briefcase. The day really just begged for her to stay in. The winds were high, the sky was overcast, and if the forecasters were right, there would be more snow later.
But this wasn’t the real reason she wanted to stay in and just relax. No, it was the upcoming talk at George Washington University that caused the butterflies within her stomach to flutter about again. Feeling anxious, nervous petrified all at once, Kagome again questioned her judgment and state of mind when she had agreed to this fiasco. ‘It was good exposure,’ Miroku had told her upon booking the talk. It would only serve to help her own image, and thereby Sesshoumaru’s.
And it would give her some insight into her role as the president’s significant other. She may not be First Lady, but at the moment she was closest thing to it.
Swallowing the rising bile in her throat, Kagome double and triple checked her briefcase for her speech. “I can’t go through with this,” she muttered, clenching her fists on the hard leather of the cover. It was one thing to help with a campaign, and to stand next to him as he spoke. It was quite another to do the speaking herself.
“The car is waiting for you out front,” Sesshoumaru informed her as he stood in the doorway.
Taking in his appearance, she frowned. Even on the most hectic of days he was impeccably groomed. His suit tailored to perfection and not one hair was out of place as it was tied in a low ponytail behind his back. Her own hair would be blown out of place within ten seconds once she stepped outside. “I’m dressed all wrong. I need to look powerful,” she murmured, dropping the briefcase before turning toward the closet. “How can I make the impression I need to if I look like one of them?”
“Them being the students of course,” he replied easily. A steady hand on her shoulder stopped her as she reached for another blouse. “You look fine. You don’t need to be anybody other than who you are.”
“So says the youkai in disguise,” she smiled as she saw the stripes on his wrist, the ones he took such great pains everyday to keep hidden from the general public.
“That is entirely different and you know it. Physically I look like a human because I must. But, you are not First Lady, and until you are, you don’t need to look like one. Just be yourself and you’ll do fine.”
Until you are…
Those words sent her stomach spinning and tumbling all over again, but for an entirely different reason. She found herself smiling brilliantly over his words. Even in the middle of a panic attack she could feel hope. Not so much for today, or her future with the people, but for them, and for their future. “I’ll be okay.”
Grabbing her beige coat and her briefcase, she shuffled past him and was nearly out the door when he stopped her again. His lightening quick reflexes still caught her by surprise at times. Turning to look at him, she saw him holding the light blue cashmere scarf he had bought her the month before while they were out to dinner in New York City. The soft material caressed her skin as he placed it around her neck. “Humans are forgetful,” he murmured, tying it in a knot. “It’s too cold to go without it.” Leaning down, he allowed his mouth to brush lightly along hers, the subtle contact causing her breath to catch in her throat.
The ability to both relax and strengthen her often caught her by surprise too.
“Good luck.”
Grinning, she ran out the door and down the hall. She didn’t need luck to get through this.
She had him.
Author: Priestess Skye
Rating: G
Genre: Romance
Word Prompt: Picture Prompt #4 in Everyday Love by Youkai Yume
Word Count: 710
Pairing: Sess/Kag
Notes: Continuation to the Candidacy series. Back history: Candidacy follows the relationship between a presidential candidate and his aide through the use of IY no Kakera prompts. It is completed and Presidency is its continuation. I had my heart set on this pic for a piece for Presidency, had even written Youkai Yume about, and look, it just pops up right here :) How could I resist *g* I’ll probably use at least one if not two more of the others for this series as well at a later date, so thank you Youkai Yume for such wonderfully inspiring fanart!
March should typically signify the beginning of spring, Kagome thought as she looked out the window at the gardens. Instead, there was a freshly fallen bed of snow covering the lawn of the White House, and the temperature had once again dipped below freezing. She had just pulled out her spring jacket as she enjoyed the mild thaw only days before. Sighing, she filed the last of her papers into her briefcase. The day really just begged for her to stay in. The winds were high, the sky was overcast, and if the forecasters were right, there would be more snow later.
But this wasn’t the real reason she wanted to stay in and just relax. No, it was the upcoming talk at George Washington University that caused the butterflies within her stomach to flutter about again. Feeling anxious, nervous petrified all at once, Kagome again questioned her judgment and state of mind when she had agreed to this fiasco. ‘It was good exposure,’ Miroku had told her upon booking the talk. It would only serve to help her own image, and thereby Sesshoumaru’s.
And it would give her some insight into her role as the president’s significant other. She may not be First Lady, but at the moment she was closest thing to it.
Swallowing the rising bile in her throat, Kagome double and triple checked her briefcase for her speech. “I can’t go through with this,” she muttered, clenching her fists on the hard leather of the cover. It was one thing to help with a campaign, and to stand next to him as he spoke. It was quite another to do the speaking herself.
“The car is waiting for you out front,” Sesshoumaru informed her as he stood in the doorway.
Taking in his appearance, she frowned. Even on the most hectic of days he was impeccably groomed. His suit tailored to perfection and not one hair was out of place as it was tied in a low ponytail behind his back. Her own hair would be blown out of place within ten seconds once she stepped outside. “I’m dressed all wrong. I need to look powerful,” she murmured, dropping the briefcase before turning toward the closet. “How can I make the impression I need to if I look like one of them?”
“Them being the students of course,” he replied easily. A steady hand on her shoulder stopped her as she reached for another blouse. “You look fine. You don’t need to be anybody other than who you are.”
“So says the youkai in disguise,” she smiled as she saw the stripes on his wrist, the ones he took such great pains everyday to keep hidden from the general public.
“That is entirely different and you know it. Physically I look like a human because I must. But, you are not First Lady, and until you are, you don’t need to look like one. Just be yourself and you’ll do fine.”
Until you are…
Those words sent her stomach spinning and tumbling all over again, but for an entirely different reason. She found herself smiling brilliantly over his words. Even in the middle of a panic attack she could feel hope. Not so much for today, or her future with the people, but for them, and for their future. “I’ll be okay.”
Grabbing her beige coat and her briefcase, she shuffled past him and was nearly out the door when he stopped her again. His lightening quick reflexes still caught her by surprise at times. Turning to look at him, she saw him holding the light blue cashmere scarf he had bought her the month before while they were out to dinner in New York City. The soft material caressed her skin as he placed it around her neck. “Humans are forgetful,” he murmured, tying it in a knot. “It’s too cold to go without it.” Leaning down, he allowed his mouth to brush lightly along hers, the subtle contact causing her breath to catch in her throat.
The ability to both relax and strengthen her often caught her by surprise too.
“Good luck.”
Grinning, she ran out the door and down the hall. She didn’t need luck to get through this.
She had him.