Part Ten:
The truck wasn't any more difficult to drive than the many open bed cargo trucks she'd maneuvered through dense forests of South America, but at least when she'd traversed the roadless stretches sometimes with little more than a compass to direct her to the next dig site, there weren't pedestrians and other vehicles to contend with.
When the plane had landed, she'd caught a taxi to the moving company that had shipped her pod several thousand miles, and had then paid to have every box and scrap of furniture she'd kept into the moving truck for her short trek across town before venturing to the storage space she'd be keeping everything until she found an apartment. Kagome absolutely refused to move back in with her parents.
It had been almost four weeks. Kaia had told her by email that her maestro had called after she'd requested an extension of a week and a half and had said in the warmest and in the most gentle terms that the company was willing to release her from her contract if she promised to return for the Carnival gala for a single farewell performance. She knew Kaia was happy with the development, and had no doubt that Yash was elated at the news that they wouldn't need to be separated for any duration.
She'd been too afraid to ask about Maru in her return email. She hadn't called or contacted him at all since she had gone, but she had known she was returning. Only she knew at the time, but she had been afraid to voice what she was feeling. She'd spent so much of her adult life trying to be and do something for Maru without really ever focusing on taking care of her own heart. She knew if she'd stayed… Talked to him about what she was planning, eventually it would take on the flavor of her making the choice for him. She never wanted him to believe that she'd made the choice just because she knew he wanted her home with him. She wanted him to know and fully understand that she had chosen because it would make her happy… It was exactly what she wanted. He… He was exactly who she wanted.
The drive to the house was completely empty. She sighed and smirked as she parked the truck in front and then jumped down to the street. It was still damned cold outside, and she'd gotten so used to the swampy heat of the South American jungles. Even three weeks were enough to screw up her internal thermometer. She sat on the stoop of the front door and leaned her head back against the jam, gently turning the ruby ring on her left hand ring finger in circles as she waited for someone to come home.
Kaia had never been very good at waiting when she knew something was coming. She was almost certain her lateness and the faint nausea that was creeping into each morning's waking were signs enough that she was more than likely pregnant, but she wasn't willing to rely on a store bought test. Now she was sitting on a doctor's table awaiting the results of their test in a paper gown so she could be examined one way or the other.
She gently rested a hand over her abdomen and tried valiantly not to cry. She hadn't said a word to Yash, but she knew he could count just as easily as she could. They hadn't needed to stall in their rather voracious appetites for each other for very nearly two months due to her monthly cycle. Sooner or later it would become apparent to them… If she was… If… There is no if in this equation.
She ached for Kagome to be there… To be a part of the life that was being rebuilt. Kaia wanted her family back and whole, not broken the way Maru had seemed every day waiting for some word back… Some hint whether she would ever return. Her email had been so vague, Kaia really couldn't answer the question Maru was always silently asking her… But then he knew she wanted Kagome home almost as much as he did.
Yash had dropped her off at her doctor's appointment before going to work. He'd kissed her so gently and made her promise not to tell him until he made it home that night. He wanted to have her in his arms when he was told he'd be a father. She smiled at the memory, the crooked smile on his face when he'd said the word "father" and then kissed her again with that same tenderness.
She almost jumped when the doctor knocked. "Come in…"
The doctor was a plump middle aged woman with curling red hair just at her shoulder. "Well, now… We have so many thing so talk about…"
Kaia blinked and trembled. "What do you mean?"
"Well," she had Kaia lay back, gently pulling up her paper gown as she began her exam. "According to what you shared, your due date should be some time in October, so we need to schedule you for regular check ups. There's also the question of what kind of birth you would like…"
A soft sob escaped her, her doctor's playful smile falling away. "Oh, dear! You seemed to be so excited at the prospect…"
"I am," Kaia glowed as more tears fell back into her hair. The doctor smiled and nodded knowingly and continued with her examination. She'd been through so much… Nearly lost everything she'd ever really wanted, and now… Like magic, she had more than she'd dreamed.
He closed the dusty tome and sighed, leaning back in his chair. His computer glowed in the half light of the university library's basement reading section. For four weeks, he'd kept himself occupied secretly with his doctoral thesis. No one really knew how close he'd come when he'd stopped. He had maybe a month of work, and he could submit it, defend it, and be finished.
Kagome's silence had given him perspective. She'd not answered his emails or calls. She'd distanced herself for reasons he knew but hated and didn't really fully understand. Not even Kaia could get her to say anything about the situation. It was like she was deliberately avoiding talking about anything concerning him, and it both hurt and provided him with the distance he needed to take care of his own concerns.
It had been hard going through the year hanging off emails and text messages, waiting and yearning for one month with a woman he could feel gradually pulling away from him. He'd taken nothing seriously… Except the way he intended to bring her back to him… And he'd failed. She was gone, and he was left with the revenants of an almost life and career. He'd become more determined than ever to salvage what hadn't fallen into dust. Now… He was finished except for one last step in his defense of his writing.
He saved his work and closed his laptop, returning the books he'd been using to their stacks before packing up and exiting through the stairwell rather than waiting for the elevator. He was sick of waiting… So sick of it, even the thought of a wasted few moments watching an elevator descend seemed like a sin against his very existence.
Once in the parking lot, he settled himself onto his bike once he'd fastened down his satchel and put on his helmet. Closing the visor, he turned the key and revved the engine a few times until it was purring, then made his way home for a quick nap before game time.
As he rounded the corner onto his street, he noticed the large moving truck parked just out in front and scowled. What the hell? Can't you find some place better to park? Maybe outside the house you're going to? Turning into the drive, he didn't notice her sitting on the stoop half lost in meditation as she waited for him.
Her eyes fluttered as she heard him ride up the drive and into the back, curious that he hadn't stopped. Kagome stood and walked to the driveway and then followed to the spot he usually parked next to the back door. His back was to her, so she paused at the back corner of the house and watched him as he dismounted his bike and removed his helmet, entirely oblivious to her presence for the moment.
His tall, muscular build spoke for his good genes and I general love for using his hands, building beautiful cars and motorcycles with his father, and years of kendo practice and tournaments in his younger years. He had a natural grace and an easy sense of humor and fun she had always admired. Handsome as he had always been, what really had drawn her to him had been his mind as his ready desire to laugh at the world.
"You know, sitting out in the cold so long…" She smiled softly as he tensed and turned his gaze onto her as if unsure she was really there. "I might have caught a cold. Would you mind letting me in for a bit? If only to warm up."
He blinked and stared at her for a moment, seemingly dumbfounded at her sudden appearance. "Kagome… You were in South America…"
"Until early this morning, yes," she stepped forward, joining him at the back door. "Now I'm here."
"Kaia…"
"Kaia didn't know," Kagome shook her head and chuckled at his surprise. "I'll explain, but can we please go inside? I've been waiting an hour, and my toes are numb."
Maru nodded and unlocked the door, opening it for her. He watched her as she entered, shivering slightly as she hugged herself in her coat tightly. "Would you like some coffee?"
"Some of Yash and Kaia's batch if there's any left…"
He moved to the cabinet after putting his computer bag on the counter and poured her a steaming cup. "Yash won't be home until late this evening, but Kaia should be back from her doctor's appointment in an hour or two."
She took the mug as he offered it to her, grasping the body of the mug so the heat of the dark, rich liquid could warm her fingertips. She sipped it slowly, feeling her shivering cease as her body was doused internally with warmth. "That's alright… I planned to see them both soon enough, but I was hoping to see you first. And here you are."
Kagome watched Maru as he seemed to study every part of her with a quizzical look, as if entirely focused on framing this picture of her in his mind forever. "I thought we'd said everything…"
"We hadn't," she said softly, then turned to sit at the table. She looked utterly exhausted, but there was a light in her eyes that he'd seen dim over the years… Now it seemed like her gaze was lit by inferno from within. "I don't think I could find an end to what I might say to you, Maru. I think I knew the moment I first saw you that I'd never have enough words to say between us."
His eyes finally found her hands as she slipped them from the mug. She gently ran her fingers through her hair and he saw the flash and glimmer of the ruby ring on her left hand as it caught the light. He met her gaze, finally seeing her since she'd walked up behind him. "Why did you come back?"
"Because…" She felt her eyes well with tears, and she smiled, letting out a little laugh strangled with a sob. "Because this is home, Maru. You are- have always been my home since the moment I saw you."
He watched her, aching to brush the tears that fell and marred her perfect cheeks, but he couldn't move. He could barely find words to speak. "I thought you were finished with me."
"No," she replied in a sharp whisper. "Not ever… But I couldn't say the words. I knew if I paused even for a minute to explain myself, I'd never be strong enough to take the chance… When I left that night and drove away, I wasn't running away from you, I was running to you… Just the long way."
Maru recalled Kaia the night she'd been standing at their door, those impossible green eyes staring up at him like she was looking into a world she couldn't touch… Like a child turning a snow globe and staring at a world in longing. She'd said she had come without warning anyone because, had she, she might have lost her courage and never left Italy. As he gazed into Kagome's eyes, little more than an arm's reach away, he saw that same shimmering in her deep azure pools… That soft, desperate request to be let in even if it shattered everything to pieces. "Why are you still wearing the ring?"
"I couldn't take it off," he saw fear flooding her features as she gently pressed her right hand over her left. "Not for a moment… And I don't want to. Please… Please, Maru," she stood and stepped forward, resting her brow against his breastbone, her hands gently clutching at his jacket. "Please don't ask me to do that."
He gently rested his hands on her shoulders, holding her steady when she trembled. "I don't think I'll survive watching you leave me again. I can't play this game anymore unless it's for keeps…"
Kagome laughed sadly, finally looking up at him. She could smell his clean, soft scent that was everything male and strength, entirely devoid of the cigarettes he'd begun smoking before she'd departed. All she wanted was to breathe him in and be in his arms. "Maybe that's our problem, Babe… I've never been playing a game. I never knew there were rolls to be made or rules for actions made during a turn. I just kept making up my own set of rules as I went along, and I hadn't even considered for a minute how unfair that was when you were trying so desperately to just win…"
His hold on her shoulders tightened as he listened, seeing the surety in her gaze and how easily she seemed to accept everything he said. "So you have come back?"
She nodded, feeling another tear fall. "I needed the time to put things in order here and there. I went back and packed everything I owned and shipped it here. It's outside in that truck ready to be put into storage until I find a place."
"Why do you need a place?"
"I can't very well sleep on the streets."
"I wasn't suggesting you should," he scowled, seeing the mischief in her eyes. "You're playing with me."
Kagome let out a small sound of protest as he released her and stepped back. "Maru, I'm not, I just… I didn't come here expecting anything; I know I owe you so much more than I could ever amend in a few hours. I don't expect you to forgive me… I don't expect anything, I just hoped… I hoped you'd be happy to see me." She noted the soft quirk of his brow as he processed the words, not stepping away as she rested her hands on his chest again, and smiled as she felt his rest softly on her hips. "I love you. I'm so sorry for what I put you through- all of it."
"Stop," he breathed sharply and saw the sudden pain in her gaze. He gripped her hips and leaned to kiss her. "Just stop."
She wrapped her arms gently around his neck, jumping softly as he began to lift her, and wrapped her legs tightly around his hips. He deepened the kiss, clutching her rear and lower back, pulling her tightly against him as he broke the kiss and looked questioningly down into her eyes. Kagome reached up and caressed his jaw, smiling in wonder at the soft look he returned. "I want to stay."
Maru nodded and held her tighter, carrying her toward the stairs. He smiled as she rested her head against his chest below his chin as they ascended to his bedroom, his arms protectively cradling her as he might a treasure. Not bothering to close his door, he lay her down onto the bed and began undressing her as she did him. Wordlessly, they caressed and worshiped every inch of each other, falling into a dance of promise and devotion both had thought lost to them until that moment. They'd put such distance between themselves, neither had thought the gulf surmountable without one of them losing something precious… Now they both knew better. All they'd lost was pain, and they'd found themselves left with hope.
His first day as an editor for his uncle's publishing company had been exactly as he'd hoped. He'd worked for years, slowly making his way to the position, and he was proud of his accomplishments. His uncle was set to retire in ten years, and was glad to know his position as head editor and CEO would go to Yash who had put so much effort into being worthy. Now Yash could sit in his chair at his own desk in his own office with a fair view of the city streets a few floors below and work to his heart's content at a job he'd always felt born for.
His mind drifted, though, to Kaia. He hadn't mentioned to her that, in addition to being entirely able to count and having noticed she was multiple weeks late, she was slowly filling out in areas. He liked his life, so he hadn't uttered a word, but there was a part of him that delighted in feeling her curves soften against his body when they slept entangled. He'd ached to be there when she'd heard the news, but she wouldn't allow him to be late for his first day at work. It didn't matter how much he'd attempted to lull her into believing his uncle wouldn't care- he might have for a whole five minutes until he heard the reason, but Kaia had been correct. There really wasn't a good reason to risk what he'd worked for years to grasp.
Yash put down the red pencil at the sound of a knock at his door. "Come," he called out, and smiled when he saw Kaia enter with two large paper cups from their favorite shop and two bags clearly meant for a late lunch. He stood and helped her, kissing her deeply as she closed the door. "What is what?"
"I can't remember.."
He smirked, then sipped one of the cups without removing the lid. He'd expected either twelve shots of espresso without any flavoring, of the same with cinnamon and ginger- something she'd been adding for a few days to her coffee every morning that confounded him beyond words. They both had been purists for years, so the shift in taste made little sense to him, but he again said nothing. If what he believed was true, there would probably be far greater oddities in palate shifts to come.
What his tongue was greeted with tasted like he'd just taken a mouth full of dead leaves. "Oh shit… What is that?"
"Tea. It's herbal made with rose hips, lemon zest, and lemon grass," she smirked at the horrified look she gave him. "I'd rather be drinking coffee, too, but… That will need to wait for a little while."
He grinned and scooped her up, kissing her passionately as she giggled and clung to him. "Mmm, god, I love you… Both of you," he breathed before capturing her lips once more, reveling in how tightly she clung to him. He could have never dreamed she would be back in his arms. He'd ached to imagine her so surely pressed and melded against his body, the only things between them their garments and the little life growing inside her, but it had seemed so far flung it hurt to picture… And now he had all of it in what seemed a breath of time between the moment she'd returned and the one he was currently living in such perfect bliss.
"Should we elope this weekend?"
"I think I want to wait to get our license rather than taking a day trip for some cheesy wedding at some gaudy chapel out in the desert," he sat with her in his lap, opening the bags so they could eat their sandwiches. "I was thinking maybe we could wait for spring and marry out back. You know Roku always wanted to use his standing of cleric to the Flying Spaghetti Monster at a wedding… Ouch! What? Don't you want to have pasta as the main course at dinner?"
She laughed and pinched his ear again, kissing him tenderly. "Mmmm, I don't care how we are married, I just want it to be soon, Love… I've been aching for this life with you longer than I want to remember."
"Do you think you can wait long enough to convince Kagome to come and be a witness?"
Kaia sighed and caressed his jaw gently. "We can try, but… Yash, I don't know. She may never want to come back again."
"She loves him," Yash said softly and took Kaia's hand, kissing her ring. "Raine, she loves my brother the way you and I love each other… That insistent, trembling, fearless love, and I know Maru will always feel the same way. I keep thinking that if we could just get them back into a room together, everything would turn out ok."
"I know, Yash, and I want it, too. But right now there's not much we can do but invite her to the wedding and hope."
"Maybe that's enough, Raine," he smiled at her wistful expression. "Maybe they just need an excuse."
The light from his western facing window was dying when they finally found their rest in each other's arms. It had painted her skin in amber hues as she'd slowly moved atop him, held gently as he sat with her in his lap, kissing her throat and jaw softly as he trembled in bliss. He'd been afraid at first- afraid of history repeating itself until she'd assured him she was on a contraceptive shot she'd be taking every three months to ensure she could not become pregnant. When they decided they wanted children, she'd stop the shot long enough to harvest viable eggs to be fertilized for Kaia to carry to term. Going to the doctor for the prescription had been one of her tasks while she'd been away.
Between long cycles of lovemaking through the late morning and afternoon, she'd told him she was employed at the university. She'd completed her thesis, and she would begin in the fall term once she had successfully defended her work. His pride in her had welled up and he'd seen the same in her when he shared the same news about his doctoral thesis.
"I don't have a job at the university, though," he chuckles and she kissed him tenderly with a sigh. "But I never wanted that."
"No, the goal was always to travel, research and write," she glowed and met his gaze. "Now we can country hop every summer and you can write while I teach."
"Maybe work down at the kendo school in the afternoons or work with my dad at his customization shop," he smiled, his eyes dancing with a kind of joy and fulfillment he'd never expected to know even that morning. "Or maybe spend some of that time raising our kids and being a good uncle."
"Be a house husband and make us dinner every night?"
He chuckled and kissed her deeply. "There's nothing I want more."
As the last ember of light faded on the horizon, she slept curled atop him, his arms holding her protectively, both barely covered in their exhaustion. He closed his eyes and memorized the feeling of her body so peaceful in his arms as if he expected her to vanish when he woke. For a few moments when she'd first arrived, he'd felt it a valid fear. Now he knew he'd wake every morning the rest of his life to find her there, but this evening was important. It was the evening when their life began again, and he wanted to remember everything.
She'd chosen to spend the rest of the afternoon with Yash curled up on the small couch in the corner of his office reading the materials her doctor had provided at her appointment. He'd been somewhat distracted, and that was certainly and understatement as he watched her every few moments pouring over pamphlets, one hand tangled in her long ebony tresses. There were a few times he'd caught himself attempting to assess if he locked the door and just started making love to her there on the couch if they'd be able to stop once they got started and the risk level of his uncle catching them in the act.
Thankfully, his logic won out and he was able to deem the chance too risky and promised himself they'd make theirs an early bed time after going home and having a celebratory dinner with Maru.
He held her hand as he turned onto their street, scowling at the giant moving truck out front. "Who the hell just parks one of those somewhere in the middle of the night?"
Kaia raised a brow and smirked. "Someone who just wanted to taste your ire, Love."
Yash chuckled and leaned to kiss her deeply when he parked the car. "A likely assumption." As they exited the car, he reached in the back and pulled out two bags full of boxes of Chinese food. He'd promised his brother he'd take care of dinner after work. Maru had been getting better in the last week or so. He actually was eating again, and had tossed out the last of his cigarettes when Kaia told him she'd made an appointment with her doctor.
He had this rather amused look on his face, and he'd kissed her cheek and winked at Yash. "Last thing I want is my niece or nephew to think smoking is cool because Uncle Maru does it."
As Yash began setting up the kitchen table with plates and food, she kissed his cheek and began her way up the stairs. Maru had been killing himself over his thesis and hadn't been sleeping nearly enough. When he came home from the library in the evenings, he often slept several hours, then woke for dinner before returning to his writing. It had become Kaia's job to wake him up after Maru had nearly taken a swing at Yash. To be fair, Yash had grabbed his ankle and attempted to pull him face first out of the bed.
The door was open, which wasn't too surprising considering how exhausted Maru was when he got home. There were some evenings she'd found him still in combat boots and his leather jacket curled up on top of the covers. She wasn't exactly prepared for what she saw when she looked into his room, but shock was soon overwhelmed with utter relief and joy.
They were curled together, Kagome curled on her side with Maru wrapped entirely around her from behind, his arms clutching her tightly to his body, and his face buried in her hair. Her face was so peaceful and youthful, as if she were still the seventeen year old reveling and basking in the brightness he brought to her world. She stirred slightly, her eyes fluttering open and meeting Kaia's with a kind of contentment and joy her cousin had feared lost. Kagome smiled and closed her eyes again as Kaia closed the door on the lovers.
"What's up? Maru being an ass?" Yash asked as Kaia returned alone, then frowned when he saw her beginning to cry. "Shit, what is it?"
She slipped into his arms and hugged him tightly. "Nothing awful… Only good things," she breathed and felt his embrace tighten.
"What is it, Raine?"
"Kagome," she began, smiling when Yash pulled back and held her by the shoulders. "Kagome is here and with Maru. I think I saw more of your brother than I ever wanted to in the whole of my life, but…" She laughed and all but jumped into Yash's embrace.
He chuckled and kissed her tenderly. He knew she'd wanted to come home, and, in Kaia's mind, home meant him as well as Maru and Kagome. She'd been heartbroken when Kagome had gone, and he knew she'd been trying to erect a new definition in her mind for happiness without the four of them being together. Now, she wouldn't need to. "Do you think they're hungry?"
She laughed and kissed him, then gazed into his eyes with utter joy filling her gaze. "No, I want to eat. And I want to leave them alone together the way they let us alone when we'd come back together. I don't mind so much, really… This evening should be about us, anyway. The three of us."
Yash hugged her tightly to him and smiled. For a moment, he couldn't believe how lucky they'd all been to have found each other, to have been given the chance to right all the pain of the years before, but then he realized how wrong he was. Luck had nothing to do with it.
"You're fucking kidding me!"
"Oni, volume!"
"Fine! You're fudging kidding me! She's cheating. Again," he'd managed to soften his decibels a few levels for the sake of the slumbering eighteen month old napping just upstairs.
"I'm not cheating, you just don't want to lose," Kaia retorted. "I'm even using the system of rolls you established to determine the strength of attacks," she sighed and relaxed easily as Yash leaned and massaged her shoulders. "Don't get pissed at me because the dice aren't rolling your way."
Maru smirked at Oni's lip as it twitched and threatened to curl into a smile. It had taken months before Maru felt ready to even answer Oni's texts of apology. It had only been when two bouquets of roses for Kagome and Kaia had arrived that Maru knew Oni was actually trying. When he'd broken up with Kikyo, Maru knew that Oni was serious. He wanted to be worthy of the friendship they'd built on bad habits and stupid choices, because he knew that Maru was the best friend he'd ever be lucky enough to have. He was tired of Kikyo's vendetta against her sister and cousin. He'd realized it was petty and childish and had gotten sick of it when she'd suggested a spiteful anonymous prank to be played on Kagome when she'd returned to Maru involving a headless baby doll. Kagome didn't know, but Maru did because Oni had called him to intercept the package that had been sent. Oni had begged his friend not to open the box, just throw it away or burn it or whatever, and Maru had promised he would. But he'd been curious what Oni was so desperate for Maru and Kagome not to know about the prank Kikyo had sent. It was the only time he considered the possibility of beating a woman to death.
He'd gone and confronted Kikyo about the doll, pushing it into her hands. She'd laughed and thrown it on the floor of her apartment near the garbage, claiming it hadn't been meant for him, just for Kagome. It had taken all his fortitude not to do what his muscles and mind wanted. He'd walked away, then parked his bike outside a liquor store and just stared at the shelves of cigarettes and alcohol before he managed to walk out empty handed.
After his niece was born, he'd talked to Kaia, Yash, and Kagome about Oni. After the first gaming night he'd been invited to as a test run, it was decided he could return regularly under the rule that he keep his voice down and his speech clean when little Kes was present. To their surprise, as Kes grew, Oni became one of her favorite people, and he spoiled her enough that he was given the honor of the name Uncle by Kaia. What had surprised him, really, was the friendship that had developed between Oni, Kaia and Kagome. The once proud and consummate asshole had softened considerably, and even more when Kaia had been impregnated with Maru and Kagome's child.
She now sat on a cushion before Yash across from Oni, her belly just starting to grow at four months. At the first ultrasound, the doctor confirmed there would be two, and the group had rejoiced together at the news.
Kikyo had gone on her own way. Kagome and Kaia mourned that she refused to even try to mend what was broken between them, but they both knew Kikyo had more growing up to do on her own. She needed space, and maybe someday she would realize they'd never been against her at all. All they could do was hope for that day.
"So this is how it ends? My all powerful Naraku defeated? The miko and the hanyou live happily ever after just so they can tease Sesshomaru from the sideline? The wolves get hitched and the monk gets the demon slayer and they have twenty kids?" Oni smirked at Roku's laugh where he sat with San on his lap. "Damn. Can't catch a break."
Maru smiled and winked at Kaia, pulling Kagome into his lap and kissing her as she snuggled against him. "Maybe, but not all campaigns end as well as real life. We can't be so lucky in both worlds."