Chapter 14
Sesshomaru straightened out the last artifact in the "museum." Kagome would be out soon to see his work. A presence behind him made him turn. A man stood in a suit and tie, peering into the sunlit shed.
"Can I help you?" Sesshomaru asked.
"Ah, yes. I'm Riyosoke. I'm from Tokyo museum. I came to see the museum at the Higarashi shrine," Riyosoke said.
"I just finished. Word spread quickly," Sesshomaru said.
"Mr. Higurashi is a friend. He called me this morning to tell me about it."
Kagome's grandfather. "I see. Please, take a look around." Sesshomaru stood back as the man tentatively entered. His hesitation was soon forgotten as soon as he laid eyes on Sesshomaru's work.
"Why this is… I've never seen… Just look at…" Riyosoke wondered around and whispered to himself.
Kagome came out of the sliding door in the kitchen. When Sesshomaru turned to look at her she smiled brightly.
"Your first visitor?" Kagome asked.
"Hn."
"Are you nervous?"
"I do not get nervous," Sesshomaru huffed. Kagome laughed softly.
"How is your friend?"
"Sango's good. We just got off the phone. She's complaining about swollen feet but I'm pretty sure you can't get them this early in a pregnancy."
"I see."
Riyosoke emerged from the small hut with wide eyes. "You did this all yourself?"
"I did."
"What a treasure trove."
"Sesshomaru is a great historian." Kagome patted his arm and looped her hand over Sesshomaru's bicep.
"That much is clear. You know I have a large collection of artifacts from this same era waiting to be sorted at the university of Tokyo." Riyosoke straightened and held his hand out to Sesshomaru. "How would you like a job?"
Sesshomaru shook his hand. "Offer accepted."
"See you Monday morning." Riyosoke bowed, turned a left.
The look on Kagome's face was priceless. "That's it? I feel like you're doing life on easy mode. Do you know how hard it was to get a job at the zoo and I had lots of volunteer experience and a degree."
Sesshomaru smirked at her.
Kagome growled.
"Kagome! Dinner," her mother called from the house.
"Coming!"
Kagome and Sesshomaru sat down at the table. Her grandfather wouldn't stop talking about the museum.
"My museum is going to be the talk of the town."
"Don't you mean Sesshomaru's museum Gramps?"
Kagome was happy. Her grandfather was so proud of the work Sesshomaru had done and Kagome loved the connection between her family and the man she'd fallen in love with.
Sesshomaru sat back and watched the chaos of Kagome's family whirl around him. This is likely how Kagome feels when she's with the clan. Kagome and her grandfather yelled lovingly at each other, she stole food from Sota's plate and Kagome's mother laughed while she scolded all of them.
Later that night, in the quiet of their apartment, Sesshomaru ran his fingers through Kagome's hair. She lay with her head in his lap, both of them snuggled on the couch. He wasn't sure what a quiet life would look like for him. Nothing had been quiet since Kagome freed him from his curse.
He had a job. He had Kagome. That was enough. And there was plenty for him to see. Things he had seen five hundred years ago that would look vastly different together.
Kagome turned her head to look up at him. "What are you thinking about?"
Sesshomaru looked into her eyes and answered in a way that he hadn't been able to in five hundred years.
"The future."
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