Chapter 21: Mama's Boy

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Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or any of its characters…

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Unable to take her eyes off of her prodigal son, Kagome beamed a smile to the kitsune from across the table. Her hands were holding his in the center of it, both of their drinks perspiring and left alone to the side.

There was such a great love in her gaze that anyone would have thought that they were lovers; none would be able to comprehend their true relationship.

"You've grown so tall," she gave a watery laugh as she patted his hand. "I wish I could have seen you grow." Her smile turned forlorn.

"Hey, it's not your fault," he murmured, reaching forward for the millionth time that day to wipe away her tears with his hand. "None of us would have been able to do a thing, even if we'd known that it was going to happen." He referred to the well closing, of course. They both knew it.

"But still," she interjected. "I would have loved to see you get your tails, to watch you grow taller than me," she choked a little as she smiled, "To hear your voice change, to be there for your 'teenage years'…" Her hands grasped his tighter and she leaned foreword, resting her forehead on the table between her arms as she sniffled.

He pulled a hand once more away from their connection and ran it through her hair, trying to be as comforting as he could. He knew this was going to be hard for her, hell it was hard for him too. But he'd had centuries to deal with the situation, whereas she'd simply had a few years. No doubt a few very stressful years.

"I missed you too," he murmured, his green eyes taking in every detail of her that he could while her attention was elsewhere.

Sniffling some more, she turned her head so that her cheek was resting on the cool wood. Her gaze was still elsewhere, her mind no doubt hundreds of years away.

"Everyday I thought about you," he smiled. "Wondered what you were doing."

"Who took care of you?" she asked, her voice muffled by the sleeves of her sweater.

"Well, Sango and Miroku at first, and then later-" he stopped, not wanting to say the horrible words: After they died. But he knew that she knew. "After that I went to live in the west. It was really the only place I could go."

She hummed a non-committal reply.

"I'm so sorry Ship," she eventually mumbled, the scent of her tears completely filling the air. "So sorry…"

"Shhh, mama…Shhh." He continued to stroke her hair, using his aura to try to calm her. If he wasn't careful she would end up a teary mess again and no doubt crawl into his lap in the booth with him. That would no doubt cause a bit of a scene. Thankfully he'd selected a seat in the darker spot of the restaurant, in the corner.

"Even then," he murmured. "even when the others were gone, you were always my mother." Kagome raised her head up to watch him as he spoke and he made sure to put every ounce of feeling he had into his next sentence. He wanted her to understand just how important she was to him.

"You will always be my mother, Kagome."

Her smile in return was beautiful, even despite the tears streaming down her face. He could see that she hadn't aged much since he last saw her, and he was proud with how well she had to have handled things when she came back. He knew she was strong. She always had been. But he knew first hand how hard their particular separation had been. While Inuyasha had been her first love, she could move on. Sango and Miroku were like her brother and sister, but again there was nothing more that she could have done for them. But he… he had been as good as a son to her and she took that to heart very seriously. She'd wanted to care for him, to raise him and show him the love that she felt that he'd deserved. For her, there was no end to what she could have done for her little kit and to have to leave him behind had been more than heart-wrenching for her. It literally had made her sick; he had heard from his sources of how forlorn and despondent she had been when she had first arrived back in her time.

Feeling a familiar aura brushing along his own, Shippo glanced up to the entrance of the restaurant. He felt relief wash through him and his shoulders sagged a little as he relaxed.

The proud Inu headed in their direction and Shippo watched Kagome for her reactions as well. He knew the instant that she felt him because her heart skipped a beat and her eyes widened minutely as she waited. She sniffled from time to time as if holding in her tears and when Sesshomaru was before their table she immediately turned to him.

"I see that you have found your kit," he murmured in a deep timbre.

Her expression was pained as she looked up at him and it caused the kitsune's own heart to restrict. She released his hands and took a hold of one of the larger males, pulling him into the booth next to her. Immediately she latched her arms around him, burying her face in his shirt and crawling into his lap instead.

To say that Shippo was surprised was an understatement. And to see that the Inu had no qualms with her actions befuddled him even more.

Leaning forward on the table he watched them interact in fascination.

"He's back," she mumbled through her tears. "I have him back. My kit."

The Inu rumbled out lowly as he wrapped one arm around the girls waist, his other hand coming to rest on the nape of her neck. He was murmuring something into her ear, something that not even the kitsune could hear. It almost irked him, because he was a curious creature and could not stand to not know.

Sesshomaru seemed so incredibly calm and relaxed as he consoled the girl and she relaxed in kind. Completely in disbelief, Shippo watched as the girl eventually fell into slumber, out cold in the male's lap. Only then did Sesshomaru meet his gaze.

They stared at one another for a few moments, neither saying a thing.

And then Shippo could not help himself.

He grinned.

"I thought obaasan was exaggerating when she said how close you two have become…But I can see that I was mistaken."

The Inu said nothing, merely continued to rub comforting circles on the female's back.

"Tousan?" Sesshomaru met his eyes again. "You'll take care of her…won't you?"

"Hn."

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A/N: Well that's it for now…hopefully you all like this little development! ^_^ Tousan is a kinda informal way of saying father…kinda…