Title: Romance in the air

Author: enchanted nightingale

Beta: pussycatadamah

Disclaimer: The characters do not belong to me. I only use them in my plot for fun.

Chapter 38 (YAOI version of chapter 37)

The shades of yellow, the dancing animals, the larger than usual crib. It all looked amazing. The boys and girls had given it their all. There was a need for a changing table and furniture with drawers. A rocking chair maybe. She had most of it planned in her head. She and Itachi had both discussed this. They had a lot of plans. One of the few subjects that could get Itachi talking was anything concerning his children. The soft smile that had appeared on the miko's face slowly fell.

Why had Sesshomaru told her this? Why? She was happy now. No longer alone, no longer a wanderer in a strange world. She now had friends and a family. Kagome touched her stomach and rubbed a spot that had just been kicked.

"Sorry little ones," she whispered. "Your mother is being silly."

Meanwhile…

Hokage Monument

Naruto kicked another pebble off Yondaime's head. He watched it bounce and fall below. Feeling not the least bit better he lay on his back and stared at the sky. Worry had settled in his stomach and for that reason no closed space would hold him. That was the reason he had come to the monument. There had not been any need lately but this… It changed everything.

Flashback…

The Uchiha's, Naruto and Kagome were all seated around the table, eyes focused on the dog demon.

"We've found the ritual needed to get me back," Sesshomaru repeated.

"That's good news, right?" Naruto asked the people in the room.

"Miko."

Kagome closed her eyes. "How does the ritual work?" she asked.

And Sesshomaru explained that it took great energy and a high demon's energy to work. The runes were complex, the star alliances difficult to calculate and the requirements looked like spells demon priests used. No human could do this. No demon vessel could do this. The only demon in the land was Sesshomaru.

"It is a onetime thing miko. Do you come with me to the Feudal Era or stay here?" Inuyasha's brother stated. "It's your choice. So what will it be?"

…end flashback

Naruto let out a sigh.

The apparition of the fox demon he played jail to appeared next to him.

"My, my. You would be less gloomy after getting dumped. All this for the miko?"

"She…"

"I was there. I always am," Kyuubi told him. "And what did you want? The pup has responsibilities, his lands, his people. You say you want to be Hokage. Would you leave your people on their own? Abandon them to their fates?"

Naruto frowned. "No!"

"Sesshomaru won't either," the fox demon replied. "And he had to tell Kagome. He could not just perform the ritual one day and not let her know! That miko has family back there. And I do not mean that mismatched gaggle of friends she mentions in her stories. She has a mother, a brother and a grandfather too. She has not seen them in so long."

"She must be so sad," Naruto whispered.

"She is whenever she thinks of them," Kyuubi told him. At the blonde's confusion the demon tapped his nose. "I can smell emotions and sadness envelope her so fast and so completely, it becomes almost acidic. Not a good smell on the miko."

Naruto's face grew sadder. "I hate this."

"You idiot!"

The blond lifted his head and saw Sasuke linger on top of the mountain and slowly hop down till he reached Naruto's side.

"Hi, Sas- Hey! Why did you bob your fist on my head?"

Sasuke was seething. "Why did you leave me alone?"

"Sorry. I just… I needed to be alone," Naruto told the other teen.

Sasuke sat down next to the blond. "Yes well, I needed company too."

"I- I acted like an idiot."

"You did. Are you okay now?"

"Yes. I just… I like Kagome. I don't want her to go."

"Neither do I Naruto, neither do I. None of us wants her gone, not you, not Itachi," Sasuke told the blond. "She's part of our family."

Naruto sighed and rested his head on his team mate's thigh.

"I've never had family," Naruto whispered. "Not really. Old man Hokage was nice, but not family. Ero-sensei is just that, not family though. The old hag, she's nice but… not family. Our Team, Team 7… We were a joke. Never a family, not even friends really. We had, still have, a bond but… we're Team 7, that's our ninja identity, our 'family' on the field but we go our separate ways after that. Kagome, she's family for me. She's… home."

Sasuke laid a hand on Naruto's hair and started combing through the tangled strands.

"That was eloquent," he joked, trying to defuse the tension. Soon though his shoulders sagged. "I don't want to think that she might want to leave. Everyone leaves. Even Itachi left."

"The old man ordered…"

"He left," Sasuke insisted. "Kagome might leave too."

"You left me once too," Naruto reminded him.

The fingers tightened in the blonde's hair. "Never again," Sasuke promised.

"You can't promise that…" the demon vessel protested.

"I am now," Sasuke insisted.

"Sasuke…"

"I'll always be there for you," he swore before leaning down and kissing the blond.

The kiss swept Naruto's mind away.

Uchiha compound…

Itachi knew the moment Kagome had fled the room that she would not be leaving the compound. He had tried being angry at the demon but he knew Sesshomaru had done the right thing. If he had not told the miko then the woman would have had regrets and second thoughts. If she made an informed decision now then she would not hate him later and she would not feel angry at herself. So the ninja gave her some space for a while but he soon got restless and worried. He carefully crept towards the nursery and after listening for her soft breathing he slid open the door.

Kagome was seated in a corner, one of the baby blankets she had received at the baby shower in her lap.

"Itachi," her voice cracked.

He was at her side in seconds, sinking next to her and gathering her sobbing form in his arms. Itachi held her as she cried and waited till her tears dried.

"I'm so sorry. I'm behaving like an idiot," Kagome told him. She was wiping away a few stray tears and tried to offer her lover a smile but failed.

"Don't, just don't."

"I…"

"I don't want to see a fake smile. Not from you," Itachi told Kagome.

The miko nodded. "I've missed them you know. Mother, Souta, my grandfather." She sighed and leaned more into Itachi's embrace. "Then there's Shippo, he's my first son you know. I never gave birth to him but he became mine. And I have brothers and sisters in Miroku and Sango, and Rin-chan and Kohaku."

"You miss them, of course you do. They're your family."

"Do you ever miss yours?"

Itachi paused. "The only true family I had was Sasuke. That's what saved him in the end, why I fought to have him spared. I sometimes dreamed what it would be like, a real family. Dreams and regrets, I've had tons of those. I stopped when I joined the Akatsuki, numbness helped. I've only started dreaming again after the second time we met." He smiled. "I thought the first one was a dream too and then tried to wave it off as something futile."

"Itachi?"

"Hn?"

"I love you."

Itachi's dark eyes were smiling at her. "I do too."

Kagome sighed and rubbed her stomach again.

o

Sesshomaru was out by the garden. Kyuubi had kept his promise and the Uchiha compound had gotten three very beautiful gardens within two days of the fox demon's promise. Most of the trees were still growing but the bushes and the flowers were grown and blooming. The Inu Lord sat crossed legged amongst them, looking like he had back in the Feudal Era, in her home world, except there was no Ron running around the demon in circles and no flower wreathes decorating Sesshomaru's hair.

"Miko," he spoke as soon as she stepped in the garden.

"Sesshomaru." She walked over and sank on her knees at his side.

"You've made your choice."

"I have."

"And?"

"I miss my family," Kagome admitted.

Amber eyes were now watching her.

"I've missed them for so long. It hurts too. But I'm no longer alone. I have family now, both of my heart and of my own blood."

"Your heart belongs here now," Sesshomaru stated.

Kagome nodded and smiled. "Konoha is a beautiful place."

"It could be better."

"It could be worse," the miko returned.

Sesshomaru smirked. "You had better write really long letters miko."

"I promise I will."

"Good."

Kagome fell silent for a while and the two allies just enjoyed the silence.

"When are you leaving?" the miko asked after a while.

"Not before you give birth," Sesshomaru told her. "In fact not for a very long while."

"Huh?"

"It's soon for me but about fifty to sixty years in human time," the demon told her. "That's how long I have to wait."

Kagome blinked. Then she started getting angry. "You …. Jerk! You made me think…"

"I had to miko," Sesshomaru responded. "You needed to think about this and decide. Do you want to stay here? Grow old with your human and die? Or do you wish to outlive and outlast your children and your children's children. You are un-aging and unchanging for decades."

"I… I had not thought of that," Kagome whispered. She swallowed the bitterness in her throat. "I don't want to see my children die of old age when I remain young. I don't think I can bear to see Itachi grow old and die. I'd hate myself even if he did not."

Sesshomaru inclined his head. "I had to prepare you for this."

"Prepare me for what?" Kagome asked.

"I have a way to make you age again," the demon Lord told her. "Would you take it?"

"In a heartbeat."

"Good."

"Will you do this now?"

"There's no rush miko. And it would be safer if we did this after you give birth."

"Okay. I can wait."

"Good. Now go back to your mate."

Kagome smiled as she stood. "Thank you Sesshomaru."

The white haired male just nodded back at her.

End of chapter