(inukag week 2019, day 6: au)
"Inuyasha? Inuyasha?" A pause. "Nunu?"
"Gah, ma! Quit it with that nickname! I'm a grown ass― erk, I'm grown up now!" he yelped, ears flattening against his skull.
"I'm sorry, honey." His ma's smile was anything but apologetic, amusement hanging on her lips. She was fuckin' teasing him about this old ass nickname he got for himself back when he was a brat and badly lisping: whenever his ma called him by his name, he tried to mimic her, but with little success. Eventually, he shortened "Inuyasha" to "inu," more palatable to eleven-months-old him, and completely dropped the "I" over time, thus creating "nunu."
Unfortunately for him, the nickname stuck. Since that fateful day, he was forever referred to as "nunu" by his parents, and it didn't change even as he turned into an adult.
His ma sighed, as if she could read his thoughts. Her eyes were glazed, faraway and nostalgic, seeing something that couldn't be seen. "Oh, Inuyasha, you could be one hundred years old and have three thousand grandchildren of your own, and you'd still be my baby nunu. I remember when I could hold you up in my arms: you weren't longer than my forearm."
"That one of those 'you'll understand if you have kids of your own' lessons, huh?"
His ma nodded. "Right. Today's is 'my child is hiding something and I'm wondering what.'"
"W-what makes you think I'm hiding something?" Shit, was he that transparent or was that just his ma's mom senses?
His ma sipped her coffee calmly before pointing out, "You keep looking at the time and brushing your hands through your hair. Also," she grinned, impish, "your ears were twitching all day long."
Of fucking course! He covered the traitors with his hands with a low growl. "These damn ears stand out too much…" he muttered.
His ma laughed. "So, I was right, you were hiding something. Let me guess…" she brought a hand to her chin, supporting her elbow with her other hand, a gesture she had taken from his old man.
He was going to have to tell her anyways, so might as well be now since they were on the subject. "I'm meeting someone," Inuyasha explained.
"Ooooh," his ma cooed, clapping her hands in anticipation, eyes bright. "Who is it? Tell me, tell me!"
"Uh…" He looked away as heat crept up his neck and cheeks. Suddenly, he was way too warm, palms sweating, his heart thudding in his chest like a jackhammer and his mouth dry. "It's… y'know… Higurashi Kagome."
"Higurashi?" she repeated, something in her tone making the hair at the base of his neck rise and a shiver crawl down his back. "From the Higurashi shrine, near the park with those swings you loved so much?"
"Yeah."
"Oh…" was all his ma said in answer, face frozen into something impassive, but eyes glinting with dark memories.
Fuck, he thought, nails digging into his palms as his heart gave one last throb before dropping to his stomach. That wasn't the reaction he was expecting: he thought she'd be surprised, excited, supportive. Anything but this half-hearted, half-disappointed "oh".
Worse is that he genuinely liked Kag― spending time with Kagome, but he also wanted his ma to be happy with his choice of partner: she was a good judge of character, and all the previous people he associated with that she didn't like turned out to be shit.
His past relationship with Kikyo was another mess of its own.
"So, you don't… approve?" he asked at last, voice tight because of the hard lump that had formed in his throat.
His ma blinked, as if she had woken up from a nightmare. "Oh no, not at all! It's just…" she bit her lip, brows furrowing in worry and sadness, "little Kagome's said to have the most spiritual power in her family in generations."
Ma… She really was afraid of a repeat, wasn't she? "Don't worry, ma. Kagome can't purify my ass― erk, my butt."
His ma reached for his hand, rubbing a thumb on his knuckles like when he got sick as a kid, but Inuyasha thought this was more for her comfort than his, this time around. "I know being half-human protects you from total purification, but it doesn't mean that it's not painful or unpleasant."
"Bah," he drawled, waving a nonchalant hand, "it aint too different from the new moon nights. I trust Kagome not to zap me."
Hi ma smiled a bit at his choice of words, slightly cheered up. "So, how did you meet her?"
He scratched the base of his ear, flushing a bit at the memories. "Eh, it ain't nothin' too glamorous. Her little brother Sota's in one of my classes and it's usually his ma who picks him up."
"Oi, Sota! Ya still here?"
The boy looked up from where he was sitting, smelling of dried sweat and fresh tears. "Mama's not here," Sota said with a little smile, trying to appear strong, but his wobbling voice betraying his worry and fear.
"She's probably late or somethin', kid," Inuyasha crossed his arms, pointing with his head at the mess left behind him. "C'mon. Since ya're here, help me clean up." That would distract the kid and change his mind until mom came to get him.
It was a good hour later, when it grew dark outside and Sota babbling away, that a girl barged in, clearly out of breath. "Sota!" she called, pushing her dark hair away from her face with both hands, revealing worried blue eyes and flushed cheeks. "I'm sorry I'm late!" she breathed.
"Kagome!" Sota yelled, flinging himself in the girl's arms. "You really came for me!"
The girl, Kagome, placed a hand on Sota's shoulders, patting his head. "Yeah, Mama's had a problem with the car and I wasn't home until recently. I'm sorry I took so long to come, kiddo."
Sota shook his head. "It's okay, sis! I helped Inu-sensei put away the benches and he said he would teach me a new move next time!"
Kagome tilted her head. "Inu-sensei?"
"That'd be me," he drawled, finding it a good time as ever to inject himself in this conversation.
The girl looked up, eyes first stopping on his face before continuing their way upwards, catching… "Dog ears?"
Inuyasha bristled, the hair all over his body rising. Fuck, he forgot to put back his cap after the parents left earlier, having picked up their children from their martial arts class. Sota was a good kid and didn't mind his dog ears: if anything, kid seemed to have a bit of a hero worship going on with him. Inuyasha's half-demon status was, in his eyes, something amazing rather than fearful.
That didn't mean it applied to his sister.
Kagome approached him, the top her head barely coming up to his clavicles. She even had to tilt her head a little, curled hair fanning over her shoulder and held back by a plaid headband (which matched her shirt), to look him in the eyes properly, crystal blue against his yellow-gold.
Well, at least she had the decency to face him, instead of avoiding his gaze. He'd give her that.
Suddenly, without warning, Kagome's hands shot up towards his ears, fingers tweaking them this way and that. Her brows rose and her eyes shone with surprise. "Wow! They're real!" she exclaimed with child-like joy.
He didn't even have the time to react before she flushed, pulling her hands away. "Oh my god, that was so rude! I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me!"
Inuyasha's words tapered off as his ma broke into a fit of laughter, doubling over and strands of dark hair pooling over the table. His ears stuck to his skull in his embarrassment and he carefully pulled her hair away from falling into her cup of coffee and the plates of food. Eventually, his ma straightened up, brushing tears that had gathered at the corners of her eyes.
"Oh, nunu," she said at last, shaking her head in amusement. "This is priceless."
"Glad to know you get a kick outta your son's ear misadventures," he huffed, not really hurt by his ma's reaction.
"That's not why I'm laughing so much. It's just… when I was pregnant with you, your father and I didn't know what you'd look like. We knew you'd be half-demon, but we didn't know which features you'd inherited: his hair or mine? His eye color or mine? His demon strength or mine?"
Inuyasha raised a brow, a bit interested in hearing about his early days and how this tied in with Higurashi Kagome tweaking his ears and getting his ma to laugh her ass off.
"When I first held you, I was a mess. It took me over a day to give birth to you, I was exhausted, hungry, half-loopy from all the painkillers, and couldn't tell your dad from the nurses. And apparently, the first thing I did when I met you was blubber "puppy ears!" and nuzzle them."
A groan left Inuyasha's lips and he smacked his face in exasperation. This damn obsession with his ears… It cursed all the women in his life! Even his freakin' stepmom, his old man's first wife, slipped a comment about it when they first met! His ma, for her part, never failed to give him funny looks when it happened: he thought that she had grown desensitized to her son having odd features, even for someone part demon, but nope.
Turned out she was the fucken original Inuyasha's ears fanclub member!
"So, how did you react?" his ma asked and he rolled his eyes.
"Y'know exactly how."
"And yet, if you're meeting up with her now, it means your grumpy attitude didn't discourage her," she teased.
Kagome was stubborn and gave back as much as she got. While most people cowered when his temper made an appearance, she had yelled right back, claiming he was "rude" for exploding on her when she had apologized for tweaking his ears.
Despite their rocky start, Inuyasha got to know Kagome better, since she became responsible for picking Sota up once his classes were done: she was stubborn, she was reckless, and she drove him absolutely nuts. Kagome was his total opposite: an optimist to his cynic views, openly kind to his gruff attempts at comfort, cheerful to the almost permanent scowl on his face, and so on.
Worst of all? She was a master sneak: slowly, so gradually he didn't realize it, she had slipped past his walls, picking a spot in his heart and nestling there as if she owned the place. It wasn't long before he had her name on his lips almost every day and before the syllables "ka-go-me" made his ears perk up in interest and his heart beat hopefully.
Inuyasha from a year ago would have been disgusted at his open vulnerability when it came to Kagome. Inuyasha of the present wouldn't have it any other way.
"She gets attached too easily," he answered in the end, voice fond and eyes soft, unable to find the words to properly describe Kagome.
His ma raised a brow, one corners of her mouth tilting up not quite in disbelief, but more like she knew something that he didn't.
"What?"
Her smile grew wider, like the cat that ate the canary. "Nothing. I'm just glad you seem to be looking forward to that date. Speaking of which," she said, tone pitching at the end, "when are you leaving?"
"Uh…" he took a quick look at the clock. "In an hour or so. I'm meetin' Kagome at her place."
"And what are you going to do?"
He shrugged. "Eat a bit, see a movie, hang out." Honestly, he hadn't planned this far ahead: being in Kagome's presence was enough. He didn't mind following what she had in mind as long as she was happy.
His ma pouted, tracing the rim of her coffee cups, as if disappointed he didn't give her more meat to chew on. "And are you bringing her a gift?"
"Why would she need one?" Inuyasha blinked, genuinely confused.
"To commemorate, to show you were looking forward to that date, to show you care or simply to make her happy. There are many reasons, honey."
To show I care… to make her happy… the words looped in his mind. What could he get for her without acting like that Hodo guy from her middle school days? Well, for starters, nothing related to illnesses or "get better" gifts! He could also scratch shrine/priestess-related stuff: she already had all a girl could dream of in that matter, thanks to her family.
"What about jewelry?" he asked his ma, looking for advice. Yeah, that sounded good: a necklace, to match with the black pearl hanging around his neck!
"Mm, it might be my own experiences talking, but I think it's better to keep jewelry for later dates or for when you're in a stable relationship," she answered, fingering the thin silver chain around her wrist, a memento from his old man. She looked up with a small smile, "But what about flowers?"
"Inuyashaaaaa!" Kagome called from above, waving his way before she went down the stairs as quick as she could.
His heart lurched at the sound of her voice and he clutched the bouquet tighter behind his back. Shit, hope she didn't see the flowers!
In the end, he had picked them as a gift, per his ma's suggestion. They were a deep pink, almost red, their smell soft and their petals velvety. He also made sure to pick sturdy flowers which needed little care, so that Kagome could keep them for a long time.
Or at least, he hoped she would.
Kagome skipped over the last few steps, her momentum carrying her forward. Inuyasha stepped in front of her to catch her, breath knocked out of his lungs when she collided with his chest with an oof! He had to place a hand on her back to steady her, fingers sinking into her fluffy green top and drawing her closer instead.
"Thanks for stopping me, Inuyasha!" Kagome chirped, tilting her head back to catch his eyes. Her red lips curved up into a pleased smile, blue eyes soft, the tip of her ponytail brushing his hand.
He flushed. "Ya're welcome."
Kagome glanced at him up and down, taking in his outfit. "You clean up real nice!" she said. "I really dig your jacket too. I'm almost jealous!" she laughed, tugging lightly on the lapels, teasing.
Inuyasha never really had much of a reason to wear his red bomber jacket in the past, despite it being his favorite. It was one of his old man's mementos, and he didn't want to risk ruining it during fights with arrogant demon punks who got too frisky with him.
He also avoided wearing the thing, as its vibrant color would draw in people's eyes and bring out scowls. It was like painting a big fat target on his back, turning himself into a matador's red cape and the crowds into enraged bulls, as if he didn't get enough flack for being half-demon.
It figured Kagome would enjoy his jacket: she seemed to appreciate about him what other people derided him for.
"Thanks. You… uh," he swallowed, mouth dry and ears twitching. "You look good too." Real cute.
She beamed, blue eyes glittering, twirling on the spot to show off. "Thank you! I almost didn't wear this top, because Sota said I looked like 'a green caterpillar'." She mimicked her brother's voice at the end. "The brat!"
Inuyasha smirked, teasing. "He ain't wrong."
Kagome mock-gasped, bringing a hand to her chest. "Well fine! Guess I will go back home to change into another shirt, since some people don't have an eye for fashion." With a huff, she whirled around, ponytail swinging, hands on her hips. Her brown skirt clung to her legs as she took the first few steps towards the shrine.
"Oi, Kagome," he called, following after her. He waited until she turned around, a questioning look on her face. Inuyasha swallowed hard, throat working, heart damn near vibrating in his chest. His hand shook behind his back.
"If you're going back up, t-take this too!" he managed, voice breaking at the end. Inuyasha whipped out the bouquet of flowers as his face erupted in flames, blushing so hard he was sure he was as red as his jacket. He avoided looking at Kagome, eyes settling on her bright earrings instead.
The blood rushed in his veins and his heart pounded in his head like a headache, so loud his ears barely caught Kagome's faint gasp, a small hitch in her breath. When her hands wrapped around the bouquet, cool fingers brushing against his, he almost flinched, the muscles in his arms spasming.
He risked a quick glance at Kagome's face: she was staring at the flowers with stars in her blue eyes. Her mouth was slightly open in wonder, cheeks as red and bright as the flowers he had offered her. Inuyasha was pretty sure he also saw sparkles shining around her.
Kagome brought the flowers to her face, inhaling deeply a few times. "They smell so good," she whispered, as if afraid to break the moment. She then touched his hand and when he didn't pull away, slipped her hand in his, squeezing.
"Thank you, Inuyasha," she told him, voice gentle and full of feelings. "They're wonderful."
"Ya're welcome."
He squeezed her hand back.
(a/n: Inspired by a post from nokaninja, on tumblr, depicting Inuyasha in his red bomber jacket giving Kagome flowers. One of the tags was "the flowers were his moms idea" which, for some reason, made me imagine Izayoi calling her son "nunu." It all devolved from there.
Also, thank you so much for the feedback on my previous story, Cold! :)
[May 8th: fixed some typos. Also, thanks for the warm reviews! :D]