InuYasha sat on the roof, looking up at the stars, worrying. Suddenly Kagome's sweet voice reached his ears. He had built a ladder so she could come up onto the roof with him on nights like this.
"InuYasha? Is something the matter?"
"Kagome! Shouldn't you be asleep? You're sick! You need to take care of yourself!"
She sat beside him and cuddled against his side. She smelled so good…He buried his face in her hair and breathed in her scent, loving her, worrying for her.
"InuYasha, I need to tell you something…Have you…Have you noticed anything different in my scent lately?"
He thought back, wondering why she'd ask him such a thing…Actually, he realized he had noticed his scent on her more…but they'd only been married three months, and only within that time had they been completely physically intimate. He'd assumed the change was merely caused by that new intimacy. Now that he thought about it, however, he realized that the scent hadn't changed right after their marriage, but a while after that…a month and a half? He wasn't sure…but now something was beginning to dawn on him…
"Kagome…are you…is it…I…"
She smiled and reached to brush her lips against his.
"I'm pregnant, InuYasha. We're going to have a baby…or a pup. You can choose which you want to call it."
For a moment he sat in silence, speechless. Then he wrapped her in his arms and kissed her soundly, laughing in pure relief and joy.
…..
"Sesshoumaru…How did…how did we get here? Why are we like this? It's not like either of us…"
Kagura sighed as he trailed kisses up her neck to her ear, whispering softly.
"It is best not to question the good things. We ought both to enjoy these moments…for they will likely as not be gone with the dawn."
She didn't like that rather negative outlook, but she couldn't help but to agree with him. They sat on the edge of the well again, looking at the beautiful starry sky. She smilingly reached to trace the moon on his forehead, looking up at the matching crescent in the sky.
Earlier, they'd both left the village, headed in different directions. Yet somehow they'd both ended up back here as night fell. It was as if they were drawn to each other, unable to resist the pull of the connection between them.
He was no longer hiding anything from her. He was no longer locked behind a pretense of coldness or even of dignity. Here, alone with Kagura, he was simply Sesshoumaru…not a lord, not a Dai-youkai…just a man…a man who, to both his horror and his joy, was falling in love with a very special woman. He stood and walked a few paces away from her; trying desperately to regain himself, to clear his head of the intoxication brought on by her scent, by her warmth, by her kiss.
"Sesshoumaru?"
He turned to draw her to her feet and into his arms, with her back to him, resting his chin on her head.
"Allow me a moment to think."
"Hmm."
Think he did…but not in the clear, organized, logical way he's intended to. Rather, his thoughts were a series of possible situations, mental images he longed to make into realities. He could see it so clearly, hear it so clearly; the kind of life they could have together. Gentle kisses and mating ceremonies. Silk sheets and soft moans. A baby's cries. Rin's bell-like laughter ringing through bright, rich, tapestry lined hallways. All of it centered around Kagura. Kagura as his mate. Kagura in his bed. Kagura bearing his children. Kagura taking the place of Rin's long deceased mother. Kagura, Kagura, Kagura. Her name had become synonymous with all the joy he could have, and yet would probably deny himself.
She turned to face him, looking up at him with a tiny, somehow sad smile that reminded him far too much of the day she had died. He wrapped his arms tighter around her, as if to ensure she stayed with him; as if to inform Death that she was his, and could not be removed from him without a fight, not this time.
"Kagura, is something upsetting you?"
She shook her head slowly. Her ruby eyes looked different in the moonlight…darker, more mysterious. Or perhaps sadder…
"I love you, Sesshoumaru. You know that, don't you? I have for a long time…since before I died. Even during those years, as the wind…even when I was an element rather than a person, I loved you. But…You are who you are, Sesshoumaru. I wouldn't think of asking you to change. I…I'm happy that you gave me a little time…a little time to see who you are inside…I'm happy you kissed me…happy you showed me some emotion. But…it's not in you to be tied to someone. You are a wanderer by nature. You'll only mate to preserve your line, no other cause. I know I have to let you go…You have to go your way, and I have to go mine. That's okay…Tonight, we'll stay here and stargaze…and tomorrow…the good things will be gone with the dawn."
Though everything in him cried out to deny it, to tell her he loved her, to demand if necessary, that she be his mate…
He remained silent.
