I Think I Broke Him
By: Ryu Katanna
Beta:
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
One-Shot
Kagome hummed happily as she finished scrubbing the last of the dishes before pulling the fresh mackerel out of the fridge. Setting the fish on the counter she wiped her hands on her apron, and glanced at her phone. It was almost six, and she smiled as she heard a loud splash from the outdoor pool. The first splash was followed by another soon after. She shook her head in fond exasperation as she made her way out the back door and onto the deck that overlooked the pool.
Long gone were the days of chasing down jewel shards and battling demons. Kagome had been sixteen when Naraku had been defeated, and the Shikon finally completed. It had been a long and hard fought battle, but they had finally done it. The jewel had vanished from existence after her deepest wish she had then been returned to her own time. The well had not worked since.
Needing a distraction when she entered high school Kagome had joined the swim team. All the traveling around the country in search of the shards had left her physically fit, and swimming had been a good distraction from the past. Surprisingly enough, the sport had suited her, and she had gone on to compete throughout the rest of her time in high school and on into college.
It was there that she had met her boyfriend of the last four years.
"I see you decided to come home with him today, Rin. It's nice to see you." She called out to the redhead as the young man surfaced in front of her.
"Kagome. How you been?" He replied as his black haired friend came up next to him.
"I'm good. I would be even better if my boyfriend had greeted me before he did the water." Kagome replied with a huff as the said man pulled himself out of the pool and pulled her into his arm with a light kiss to her cheek.
"I'm home." He said with a lazy drawl and she turned to him with a smile.
"Welcome home, Haru. I was about to start on cooking. Will you be staying for dinner, Rin?" Kagome greeted him back before turning to his old friend and rival.
"He's going to stay with us for a couple days before heading back to Australia." Haru told her before diving back into the water and she shook her head fondly at his typical behaviour before looking at Rin.
"Oh?"
"My sister is out of town. Haru said you wouldn't mind." Rin replied as said friend swam to the other side and back while seemingly ignoring their conversation.
"No, of course I don't mind. I'll just go pull out a bit more for dinner then. How did the competition go?" Kagome asked, and received a sharp toothed grin in return.
"My best time yet. Haru was right behind me this time." Rin replied with a smug look that Haru just brushed off his boasting as he floated on his back.
"That's great! Oh, before I forget. Makoto called for you Haru. He wanted me to ask you if you would have time to meet up with him, Nagisa and Rei sometime soon. Seeing as Rin is here for a few days it might be nice to have them over." Kagome said as she thought about the call from a few days ago when Haru had been in China.
"Sounds good. Makoto and Rei are back in town then?" Haru asked as he glanced at her from the corner of his eye.
"Makoto came back about a week ago, and Rei was supposed to have arrived yesterday." She confirmed before turning to head back inside.
"Make sure you call him!"
"I will." Haru replied back as he and Rin got ready for another small race between them.
123
A little over an hour later, and Kagome had just finished dinner. Placing the dishes out on the table she had everything set up before making her way back outside. Blue eyes watched as the two swam for a minute. Even after five years of dating; Haru hadn't changed much from what he had always been like.
He was still stoic even with her, but he showed he cared in other small ways. His love of the water was ever present, and she had learned the hard way on their first date how great his love of the water was, when he had tried swimming in the fish tank at the restaurant. His friends sure had a good laugh when she had told them about it, and had explained to her that he had always been like that. He never went anywhere without his swimsuit under his clothes, and it was needless to say that they had never been back to that restaurant.
Sometimes she could swear that he was part dolphin with the way he move through the water, but it was his quirks that had drawn her to him in the first place. His passion for the water was ever burning, and Kagome found that she didn't mind. He had never given her a real reason to doubt him. Had never turned her away, or looked for someone else. Oh, they'd had their fights, but he usually diffused them fairly quickly. It was difficult to argue when the other person just walks away and submerges himself in water.
"Haru! Rin! Come on guys." She called out to them and waited as they both pulled themselves from the pool.
She could hear Rin's good natured ribbing as they both reached into the towel bin, and she thanked her forethought to have recently washed and replaced the old ones. They dried off as they picked up their clothes before joining her in the doorway. Haru's blue eyes gleamed when they entered the house, and he'd seen the food laid out on the table. Rin only shook his head as he looked at the spread. It had all of Haru's favorites.
"So what'd he do?" Rin asked as they sat down and Haru had already started filling his plate.
"Do?" Kagome asked innocently and Haru froze at her tone with a bite of mackerel and rice part way to his lips.
He hadn't even thought about why she had made his favorites. Honestly, he never gave much thought to why Kagome did the things she did. She had always done small things like this when he had been away for a while. It was only one of the ways she showed that she loved him. Just as he would do the same later before they went to bed.
Being with Kagome was comfortable. She had never expected him to be someone he wasn't or to act differently than the way he did. She was always so accepting of everything about him, and it was one of the reasons their life together was so easy for him to fall into.
Yet, Rin had made it sound like he had done something. He couldn't remember anything that would have upset her. Yes, he had been gone for the last three weeks for the competition in China, but he always answered her calls if he wasn't in the water. He had called her before bed as well. Her expression didn't say anything to answer the question. Was she upset that he had been gone longer than he had initially planned?
"I can't be happy he's home after almost a month?" Kagome asked gently as she only smiled and grasped Haru's free hand in reassurance that she wasn't angry.
"If you say so." Rin shook his head lightly before going back to his own food.
For all he tried to understand the relationship between Haru and Kagome he'd come up blank more often than not. He knew Kagome could understand his and Haru's obsession with swimming. She was a swimmer herself, and had a few medals from the woman's division to show for it. Wheat he couldn't get was what held their relationship together. Kagome was an affectionate person and he had seen Haru show little bits in return. Rin had asked once, and that was all he'd done.
She'd explained that she was happy with Haru just as things were. He may not have been overly affectionate, but at the same time the little affection he did show her was all for her. Since they had been together he had never lied to her or cheated on her. She understood that he had his quirks, but she could live with that. He didn't hurt her, and that seemed to be enough for Haru to have both her love and her loyalty. Rin was somewhat jealous his friend had the love of such a great woman, but he was happy for him as well.
The meal passed quietly with only light chatter as the food vanished, and soon it was time to clean up. Haru and Rin both picked up the dishes and moved into the kitchen as Kagome wiped down the table. Once that was finished she went into the kitchen to see Haru washing up as Rin dried and put everything away. This was a domestic scene that had happened a few times when Rin would stay on the rare occasion.
It was something that Makoto and the others hadn't believed when they had heard about it. The rivalry between Haru and Rin would always be there, but over the years the friendship between them had also only grown stronger. It was a friendship that some might miss if they didn't know them. After almost five years of dating Haru she had spent more than enough time with both of them. Kagome would still compete with them sometimes, but over the years she had taken more to things at home.
Eventually she had decided to end her own swimming career. Now she worked at a small firm and took care of things at home while her boyfriend continued to travel. Kagome smiled as she watched the two from the doorway and leaned against the wall. She had no regrets. Sure she sometimes missed competing, but she was just as happy to cheer on Haru.
"Will you swim some more, or would you rather have a shower? It's getting dark." She asked once they had finished and Rin turned to her with a smile.
"I think I'll take that shower. I'm kinda beat after the flight." He answered before disappearing down the hall to get a fresh change of clothing.
"What about you?" Kagome asked softly as she wound her arms around Haru's neck and felt his own come up to hold her.
"I'll call Makoto before it gets too late." Haru answered as Kagome kissed his jaw before nuzzling her face into his shoulder.
"I think we should have them over for dinner tomorrow. I'll stop by the store in the morning and pick a few things up. It will be nice to have them all over. It's been a while." She said and sighed in contentment when she felt his hand lazily rubbing up and down on her back.
"Are you sure? Last time we had them all over you weren't very happy at the end of it." Haru asked with a soft squeeze to get her attention, and she looked up into his own deep blue eyes.
"Well what did you expect. Rei and Nagisa got a little too excited and almost drowned me. I can swim just fine on my own, but not when two full grown men suddenly land on me." She replied with a small huff of annoyance at the memory.
"Hm. So dinner tomorrow." He confirmed with a nod.
"Yes. We can tell them the news then." Kagome confirmed with a bit of a mischievous smirk as she heard Rin moving back through the hall.
"News?" Haru asked in some confusion.
"Well… remember how I wasn't feeling well just before you left for China?" At his nod she continued.
"I didn't want to distract you while you were away at the competition, but I went to see the doctor."
"Is something wrong?" Haru asked, and she could see the concern in his eyes as Rin hesitated in the doorway.
"Well, no there's nothing wrong, but I need to tell you. Haru, I'm pregnant. We're going to have a baby." Kagome said gently with a big smile, and Haru froze.
"A baby?" He asked in a short breath like he was confused.
"Haru, you're going to be a dad." Kagome confirmed as she pulled away and took his hand into hers before placing his palm on her stomach.
A minute passed in silence, and Haru was unresponsive. Rin, however, was not. With a snort and a laugh he came up to the couple and rested his arm on Haru's shoulder. He looked down at Kagome with a smile.
"That's great, Kagome." Rin said before looking at Haru only to see he had a blank stunned expression and just stared at where his hand rested against her stomach.
"Haru? Haru? Are you okay?" Kagome asked, getting kind of worried.
"Hey, man. Say something." Rin also tried to get his attention, but it didn't work.
"I… I think I broke him." Kagome mumbled before reaching up and poking him in the cheek.
Rin laughed for the rest of the night.
123456
Not very long, I know. This was done of the line prompt of "I think I broke him." This was the idea that came to mind. I hope you liked it. Let me know what you thought.
~ Ryu