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The skiing instructor was perky and pink . Sesshoumaru wasn’t sure what to make of her and a part of him felt dubious. Especially of those bright pink pompoms of her hat, that matched the chunky-knit muffler wrapped three times around her neck. But the steady stream of cheerful chatter was taking his mind off from that nervous and peeved part that glowered in a dark corner of his brain.
Sesshoumaru hated learning new things. Or to be precise, he hated that awkward initial phase of learning something new; the part where he felt like a clueless, bumbling idiot. What he wanted was to excel but alas, to get to that point some bumbling around had to be endured.
Whatever could be said about his bubbly bubble-gum skiing instructor, she seemed to know her stuff. She’d guided him through getting the rental equipment and putting on the stiff and weird ski shoes. She’d given him an overview of the slopes. And dispensed such a wealth of tips and tricks on him that Sesshoumaru wasn’t able to remember them all.
And now they were standing on the top of the trainer slope, which looked like an anthill compared to the other ones. Sesshoumaru was starting to get nervous again.
"We're gonna practise the snowplough for a while," the skiing instructor told him with a bright smile. "Then we're going down all nice and easy and slow . We'll take all the time you need. And we're not going down until you're comfortable enough to try. Safety first, ok?"
Sesshomaru nodded, and the tightness in his throat eased, his shoulders relaxed the tiniest fraction at his instructor's reassurance.
"Great! I'll show you the snowplough now. It’s very simple."
Sesshoumaru watched raptly as the skiing instructor demonstrated the funny-looking pose.
"Now, your turn to try it out! Tails out, noses together. Make sure to leave a gap between your skis, though!"
Sesshoumaru tried to manoeuvre his skis into the right position. They still felt weird on his feet.
But his skiing instructor kept coaxing, encouraging and advising him. Gradually, his nervousness and awkwardness slipped away.
"I'm ready now," he informed her after a while.
"Great!" The instructor chirped. "Let's go down the hill! Remember to shift your weight to turn. And I'll be right behind you, so if you fall, I'll help you right back up."
That comment finally elicited an answering smile from Sesshoumaru. "All right. I'll be in your care."
What scattered crumbs of his nerves were left morphed into exhilaration as he made his way down the much too short slope. He might have been slow and his turns awkward, but the slide of the skis had been easy and smooth, the cold slap of wind in his face invigorating. At the bottom of the hill, Sesshoumaru turned to his instructor, grinning.
"I want to do that again. And go faster."
"That’s the spirit," she laughed. "Up we go!"
And so, they did.
Sesshoumaru loved every second of it, so much so that he stayed on the slope after his lesson concluded and he and his instructor parted ways.
He was almost reluctant to part with his skis when the time finally came to return them. The red-haired young man behind the counter accepted the skis and then slid a business card to him.
"Was supposed to give you this," he said and winked.
Sesshoumaru picked up the card. His eyebrow ached at the neat print of his ski instructor's name. Flipping the card over, he saw a handwritten phone number. And there, just underneath it, there was an intriguing addition in a looping scrawl.
"If you need instruction for the after-ski portion of the whole skiing experience, let me know. XO -Kagome"
Sesshoumaru grinned, thanked the young redhead, and pulled out his phone.