Ha ha ha ! Updates! Sorry guys, but I've got three hundred million things on next week (including three midterms) so not many updates.

Enjoy!


Tender feet moved across the wooden floor, the young woman adjusting the squirming baby in her arms, the bag slung over her shoulder adjusted carefully as Rin pulled open the front door, a very tired-looking Izayoi, her lips pulled into a sad yet honest smile.

"Hello Izayoi," the young woman smiled, "dare I ask how you are?"

"Getting better… piece by piece," Izayoi admitted, her eyes looking towards the baby in Rin's arms, "and how are you… little Aimi?"

The baby mumbled something incomprehensible to her grandmother, her arms fidgeting in her Godmother's.

"She's a bit of a handful," Rin admitted, "but she's much better, especially since her ears have cleaned up."

"Oh good," the elder smiled as she reached for the infant, "so no more messy drops Aimi?"

"Nope," the young woman told the elder almost happily, "she's all better!"

"That's wonderful!" Izayoi told the baby as he lowered to kiss the child on the crown of white hair, "I always hated giving drops, InuYasha would kick up such a fuss-"

Her words stopped as she became aware of what she was saying, her throat thickening while she tried to force down her tears, her hand reaching to brush the fine white strands while her husband became concerned.

"Izayoi-"

"I'm fine," she informed the other two, "it just… hits me sometimes…"

"If you're sure-"

"Surprisingly, I'm getting better," the elder tried to assure the younger, Rin smiling understandingly as she passed off the baby bag to the elder dog demon.

"Be good Aimi," Rin told the baby, "and enjoy your weekend with your grandparents."

"And you enjoy yours," InuTaisho told her kindly, "don't worry, we'll make it."

"Thank you," the young woman nodded, her cheeks flushing as she felt like admitting her inadequacy.

"Don't feel bad Rin," Izayoi told her as through she could read the young woman's thoughts, "everyone needs help when it comes to these things… I did too… and so did Kagome…"

"Still… I just… I just feel bad that I'm not what Aimi deserves…"

"What she deserves no one can give her," the elder dog demon interrupted with a soft smile as he slung the bag over his shoulder, "now, enjoy your weekend of R and R."

"And enjoy yours of noise and chaos," Rin teased lightly.

"Frankly, we need a little chaos," InuTaisho told her with a smile as he turned down the driveway, "might give us the life we need."

The young woman continued to smile as she shut the door, her shoulders sagging lightly as she sighed, the house now eerily quiet with the absence of the vocal baby.

Light feet padded across her wooden floor as Rin moved towards the kitchen, her mind adjusting to the emptiness as the dog demon had left early in the morning for work but not before informing her that he would be out for most of the weekend, leaving her alone in the house, her afternoon to be filled with piano practice before curling up on the couch with an old movie and a bowl of popcorn with a glass of red wine.

The ringing phone startled Rin, her hand over her heart as she picked up her phone.

"Hello?"

"Good afternoon Rin, it's Sesshomaru."

The young woman swallowed thickly as she took a seat on the couch. While the demon had told her he was off for the weekend that morning, the two had barely spoken since their fight, the atmosphere bordering on uncomfortable, Rin thankful that the baby was only around them for three days at most, meaning that she didn't pick up on the tenseness.

"Oh… hi," Rin swallowed thickly, "um… your father and step-mother stopped by, so Aimi's all set for the weekend."

"That's good," Sesshomaru commented, "was she any trouble?"

"No, she was well-behaved," the young woman informed him, her hands gripping her slim ankles as her body sat cross-legged on the couch, "she seemed very happy to see them… and them the same."

"They would," the demon murmured, "father's been looking forward to this since I suggested it to him… it's like he's back again."

"I hope so," Rin admitted, "Izayoi seemed a lot brighter with the baby in her arms… I hope that's there to stay."

"If Aimi's there, it will be."

The young woman laughed softly as her fingers ran through her long black locks, the air between them heavy with words unsaid.

"Listen-"

"I'd like to apologize once more."

Rin paused as she heard the demon suck in a deep breath, her own lungs holding her air as she waited for him to continue.

"For what I said, three nights ago," Sesshomaru murmured, "I never meant to snap at you like that, I shouldn't have snapped at you like that… there is no good excuse or reason."

"You've already apologized to me," Rin told him, thankful that Sesshomaru couldn't see her as her cheeks flushed a light red, "and… we're trying to work it out… so it's okay."

"Alright," the demon chuckled, much to Rin's confusion.

"What's so funny?" the young woman asked, her eyebrow raised in confusion and a teasing smile on her lips.

"Working it out," he repeated, "you make us sound like a real couple."

Rin froze at the words, her brown eyes widening as she managed to swallow thickly.

"Y-Yeah… I guess," she admitted weakly, her grip on her ankles unintentionally tightening on the slim joints, "um… listen, I'm sorry, but I have to let you go… I have some piano skills to mark so…"

"I understand," the demon murmured, "I wanted to see how you were faring without Aimi. I'll see you on Sunday then."

"Right," Rin nodded, "ha-have a good weekend."

"And you."

The young woman pulled the phone from her ear to look at the phone as though it held the answers to her unasked questions.

Shoulders sagging slightly, Rin moved over to her Grand piano, her fingers ghosting over the keys before she filled the house with music.


Longfingers ran over his cell phone as the demon slid it into his pocket, his lungs sucking in a deep breath as he tried to turn back to his computer, his mind lost on other thoughts.

He was honest when he wished to apologize to Rin. The uncomfortable aura in the house when the two of them were in the vicinity of each other was unbearable, and it tore him to pieces to think that he had been the cause of it.

Arms raised over the back of his head as Sesshomaru stretched from his long day, his head tilting back as he sighed deeply for what felt like the umpteenth time in the day.

Normally, women weren't confusion creatures to him, their needs and wants easy enough to understand and fulfill. Rin, however, was an enigma, and confused him to no end, causing his mind to continually spin with thoughts of her. Thoughts he didn't find himself minding.

Sesshomaru wasn't perverse or lecherous when he thought of her, though he did find himself almost enjoying memories of her smile and light. The happiness she seemed to exude when she held his niece was nothing if not infectious, the little girl unable to contain her joy and laughter as she snuggled against the closest thing to a mother she would ever have.

His jaw tightened slightly at the thought, guilt in him as he knew that, no matter how good and natural a mother Rin was, he could not be the father that his brother would've been. Of the two of them, it was always the half-demon was better with kids at their massive family reunions. While Sesshomaru busied himself with the adults and acing as proper as he could, InuYasha, though he'd complain about how annoying the kids were, would sigh deeply and entertain the screaming children, InuYasha himself laughing.

Pushing himself up from his desk, Sesshomaru slipped quietly from his office, many of his employees already leaving for their weekends, leaving empty desks and chattering people. Silently, the demon slipped down the hall, his amber eyes flickering up from the floor to the door to the office beside him, his throat tightening as his fingers ran over InuYasha's name plate.

The demon slipped inside his brother's office, his eyes trailing over the boxes on the floor and only a handful of files packed away, his head hung slightly as he remembered Izayoi being comforted by her husbands as she sobbed the unfairness of it all.

His body had moved past all the boxes to the incredibly messy desk, his head shaking at his younger brother's organization. Long fingers reached to touch the face-down pictures, something his father had done as it was too painful to look at. Amber eyes ghosted over the photos on the only clean space on the desk, pictures of a smiling Kagome staring back at him sitting beside their wedding photo and a third of the tree of them with their happy baby girl.

Sesshomaru felt his throat thicken as he reached to take the picture of the wedding and the family photo in each hand, his thumb running over the picture of the happy babe.

The demon's knee bumped into the slightly open desk drawer, confusion on his face as he slipped both framed photographs into one of his hands, his other pulling open the remainder of the drawer. Curious, Sesshomaru shuffled aside the spare pens and office supplies, his fingertips brushing across something velvet-covered and soft.

Pulling out the tiny box with care, Sesshomaru used his thumb to flip open the container, his eyes widening at the sight of the small circular locket resting comfortably against the padding. The platinum chain sported a locket that was detailed with a white crane, the demon smirking as he remember his brother's joke that, because Kagome's name means "birdcage", he should be giving her bird jewellery, a joke that was received with a smack from his then girlfriend.

Moving quickly out of the room, the demon felt overwhelmed by his memories, the photos and necklace still in his hand, a quick note left for his father as an explanation in case the elder demon came and worry where the photos were. Flicking his wrist, the demon glanced at the watch, figuring he'd only need a moment or two for what he needed.


Delicate fingers punched in the number on the microwave for her popcorn, her hands on the counter as she hung her head, her thoughts spinning.

She had never expected Sesshomaru's words to affect her as they did. Her day, as occupied as she tried to make it, was overshadowed with the words that he had told her, that they were acting like a romantic couple rather than friends.

It wasn't as though she saw nothing in Sesshomaru, she knew why all the women wanted him. He was incredibly attractive, intelligent, and was incredibly successful; she would consider herself a fool if she didn't see the obvious. He was also, however, stubborn, prideful, and at times seemed selfish, though she was slowly starting to notice a change in him.

He was growing slowly with Aimi, his smile seemingly to come easier when Aimi was in his arms, the demon caring for her without Rin needing to utter a word, and she could've sworn that she had seen the demon sitting on the carpeted nursery floor with the soft blocks in his hand, the girl encouraged to crawl towards him, impressing the demon and her Godmother with her development.

Rin pulled the popcorn from the microwave, her fingers careful with the steaming snack as she peeled the bag open and dumped its contents into the bowl she had ready. Slipping a piece into her mouth, Rin munched on the snack, her legs folding beneath her as she curled up on the couch, her bowl settled between her thighs and her glass of wine in front of her on the coffee table.

Her black and white movie was resumed while an afghan settled over her shoulders, her lips pursing as she sipped her glass of red wine, her thoughts still unfocused on the movie and still drifting to the handsome demon she shared a house with.

"Too quiet," Rin murmured softly, her fist in her cheek as she sighed softly.

"I agree."

The young woman nearly jumped a foot in the air at the sound of the deep timbre, her head of midnight locks turning to the sight of the tall demon standing in the front hall.

"Sesshomaru!" she scolded as she threw off the blanket, "you startled me! Don't do that!"

"My apologies," the demon chuckled lightly, "I thought you heard me come in."

"Clearly not," the young woman grinned for a moment before her thoughts returned to her, her smile fading for a moment before a voice brought her back to the world.

"I apologize for surprising you," Sesshomaru told her, "but… before I head to my apartment, I wanted to drop something off… for Aimi."

"For Aimi?"

Silently, the demon dug through his briefcase to pull out two silver-framed photographs and the small velvet box, the young woman taking the pictures with tender hands, her face pulling into a smile with a hint of sorrow in her eyes.

"Lucky girl," Rin commented gently as she pulled aside the family photo to see the wedding one, a small laugh escaping her lips. "I remember this," she murmured softly, "it poured rain… my feet were orange for a month."

"I still can't believe she convinced you to weak those shoes," Sesshomaru murmured as he remembered the chiffon bridesmaids dress Rin had dawned, the sleeves and skirt floating around her in the wind though the bright orange shoes Kagome gave her were a vibrant orange and stuck out when the dress floated up.

"Yeah," the young woman laughed lightly, her brown eyes moistening as she smiled, "she… she promised that if I wore those to her wedding… she'd wear something equally as hideous to mine… I had this gaudy blue daisy hairpiece for her," her finger ran along the bottom of her lower lash, "sorry… didn't mean to-"

"It's my fault," the demon told her softly, "both times in a week you and I have a conversation and I make you cry."

"This time it's because of a good memory," Rin commented, her fingers running over the picture of her lost friend, "sorry… is there anything else."

"Yes," Sesshomaru nodded, his fingers unfurling to reveal the velvet box, Rin taking it in her own free hand, "I warn you… it's a little… heart-wrenching."

The young woman nodded as she popped open the box, her throat catching at the sight of the platinum locket sporting the pearl crane made her eyes moisten once more, tears threatening to fall as the photo of InuYasha, Kagome, and their baby staring happily back at her.

"My brother would tease Kagome," the demon explained as the young woman sniffled, "give her bird jewelry…"

"Because of her name," Rin finished with a soft laugh, "'birdcage'", her lips pulled into a wider smile, "he teased Kagome that they should name Aimi after a bird. Kagome nearly drowned him in a fountain… not that I blamed her."

"That was my brother," Sesshomaru smiled lightly while the young woman laughed lightly.

"He was… always rough around the edges and blunt," the young woman admitted, "but that's what Kagome liked about him."

"He must've had something that attracted Kagome," the demon murmured almost wistfully, "he got married and had a child."

"He was chivalrous," Rin told him softly, "and he was charming," her tearful but happy brown eyes turning up to look at the other, "I think that comes from his brother and his father."

Sesshomaru smiled gently at her remark, the locket and pictures pressed to her chest.

"I want to give this to Aimi when she's old enough," the young woman told him sincerely, "so she can have her mom and dad wherever she goes."

"That sounds perfect to me," the demon told her sincerely, his hands reaching to grab his briefcase, "I'll let you have your weekend, I'll get out of your hair."

"Um, wait."

Sesshomaru turned to look at the young woman, Rin swallowing thickly as she moved towards him, her hand reaching to touch his arm before her lips pressed to his cheek.

"Thank you," she smiled kindly up at him, "for thinking of Aimi."


Well? Reviews please!