Kagome awoke from her nap to the sound of bouncy small feet pounding down the hallway to her bedroom. Sitting up and rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, Kagome looked at the bedroom door just in time to catch the little ball of energy crashing through the entrance and rolling onto her bed, stopping with her face only inches from Kagome's. Blinking in surprise, Kagome took in the face which she assumed belonged to the little Rin she had heard about. The young girl had warm chocolate brown eyes which sparkled with mischief, and she possessed dark wavy walnut hair. Her skin lightly tanned and freckled from long hours playing in the sun, and her cherry blossom lips parted in a wide grin revealing brilliant pearly teeth in endearingly crooked little rows with one missing tooth right in front creating a little gap through which her pink little tongue peaked out.
"Hi! My name is Rin. You must be the Lady that Sesshomaru-sama told me about! He didn't tell me you were pretty. You are very pretty! Are you gonna be my mommy? I hope you are. I always wanted a pretty mommy like you!" Rin spoke at 1,000 miles an hour and grinned the whole time. The little girl was such a ball of smiles and energy that Kagome soon found herself smiling right along with her.
"Aw, thanks Rin. My name is Kagome," she replied. "I hope I get to be your Mommy, you seem like a very sweet girl." Kagome looked up to see none other than her silver-haired savior leaning against her door post, watching the little girl fondly. Suddenly their eyes met and Kagome blushed a little.
"Rin."
The little girl whipped around to look at the man. "Yes, Sesshomaru-sama?"
"Why don't you go to the office and do your homework. We'll all have dinner together tonight, and you can ask all the questions you want, then."
"Okay!" the little girl rolled off the bed and zipped back out of the room.
Kagome giggled as she watched the girl leave. "She's cute."
"Hmmm..." Sesshomaru hummed as though he hadn't noticed, but Kagome saw straight through his facade. Walking into the room and sitting on the edge of the bed, he placed the back of his hand on her forehead. "How are you feeling."
Closing her eyes and leaning into the coolness of his hand, Kagome answered him. "Feeling better all the time."Kagome frowned a little. "Why does it feel so good when you touch me?" Realizing the possible implications of her words she immediately amended them with "I mean, Physical contact, in general, feels nice, but what is it about physical contact with you? For example, due to the lack of human contact these last few years, any touch I receive is relished, and it felt nice when the nurse at the clinic touched me. But with you, it's... different somehow. I feel more relaxed, your hands feel good. I don't know if that makes any sense but..." She was so flustered by her first statement, she didn't even realize that she had shared such a personal detail about her life.
Sesshomaru frowned at her remark about her life, but, removing his hand, he answered her question. "A Mate's touch has many benefits, one of which is the ability to calm and placate an anxious Mate. This is usually utilized in cases of an agitated male, where the female would be able to calm and divert his attention, but it works the other direction as well."
"That explains a lot. We aren't technically mated yet though, are we?"
"No, we're not, however, many effects of the bond do occur before the ceremony. They aid in bringing the fated couple closer together, and strengthening their bond."
"Oh, that makes sense" Kagome nodded.
"Care to explain your other remark?" He was staring her down now, and Kagome felt slightly uncomfortable under his obvious scrutiny.
"Right..." she muttered under her breath, suddenly remembering what she had shared...
"If you need to wait then th..."
"No" Kagome cut him off. "This conversation was bound to happen eventually." She glared down at the comforter covering her lap.
"You don't have to share everything at once." He said softly.
She laughed nervously. "That's good. I'm not sure I'm ready to share everything just yet."
He sat quietly, expectantly. Though his posture was stiff, his eyes were soft. Supportive.
"It started in Jr. High I think. This one girl started harassing me. It wasn't anything serious, I don't even think she ever actually hit me, but she made little comments. Said things in the halls, the bathrooms. It didn't take long for her friends, and eventually the rest of the school to catch on. I don't remember everything that was said, but one of the most common things was about how repulsive I had to be to drive my father away from our family."Kagome paused, took a deep breath, then continued "I knew in the beginning that she was wrong. I told myself to ignore her, every time she made the nasty comments, but when you hear the same thing for so long... you start believing it... Eventually, everyone started avoiding me in the halls. It was the opposite of what you might describe as typical bullying. Nobody pushed me in the halls. Nobody hit me or beat me in the bathrooms or during gym. Actually, when I did walk down the hall to get to class, everyone cleared a path to avoid even bumping shoulders with me. It was the cruelest form of abuse they could have come up with. Eventually, I actually started wishing that somebody would hit me. At least it would be some form of human contact."
Sesshomaru was silent for many minutes after hearing this. It was a disturbing concept. "What about at home? Surely your Mother..."
"My mother was too busy drowning herself in romance novels and alcohol to be bothered hugging her children. And my brother was so busy playing video games that he only left his room for food, and for school. I cooked, cleaned, and got a part-time job in high school to help with the rent. Before you ask, my job was sorting mail and paperwork, and I was the only person in my department. There was an occasional handshake with employees, but most of them went to school with me, and avoided me at all costs."
Sesshomaru was shocked. Most demons require a certain amount of social and physical contact with their own kind to survive. Dog and Wolf demons more so than most. In fact, many wolves lived in pack homes, and the single adult wolves in these packs slept in something a friend of his liked to call a puppy pile, wherein they all sleep in one big heap of snuggly wolves. Families acted the same way, children often sharing a bed with parents, unless of course mom and dad needed a night away. In Sesshomaru's family, though nobody was quite that clingy, there was a lot of physical affection. It took a while for Sesshomaru to tolerate his half-breed brother's existence, but eventually, even they shared occasional hugs and friendly "bro touches" which consisted usually of playful punches and shoves.
Sesshomaru didn't know much of human's psychological needs, but he did know that human's also required at least a minimal amount of physical affection and contact, which was why very lonely humans often find solace in a pet such as a dog or a cat. For Kagome to have gone so long without either human or familial contact, He couldn't fathom the damage that could have caused to her psyche. The fact that there was more, that she was unwilling to share at the moment was just depressing.
Sesshomaru knew what needed to be done. He opened his arms and looked her dead in the eye, "Come"
Kagome didn't need any convincing. She untangled herself from the blankets and crawled over to him, allowing herself to be lifted into his lap. She felt his strong arms wrap around her, and her muscles completely relaxed. Closing her eyes, she listened to the steady beat of his Demon's heart. One arm wrapped confidently around he waist, supporting her, while his other hand traveled up her back and began stroking her long black tresses. His long pianist's fingers combing through her hair in a gentle, calming rhythm that sent shivers down her spine. How long had it been since anyone had held her like this? Kagome couldn't remember, but right now it felt so good it almost brought her to tears. Eventually, Kagome found the courage to wiggle her arms free and snake them up around his neck, clinging to him for dear life, her fingers tangling themselves up in his unsurprisingly silky white strands.
"Thank you." She whispered. Those were the only words she could muster in that moment, and they seemed to pale in comparison to the gratitude she was feeling right at that moment, but he understood, and he held her tighter. She needed this, and He was her Mate. Who better than him to step into her life and touch that place in her heart, that place that had been so neglected, for so long.
They sat like that for several minutes until Sesshomaru muttered that they should probably decide what they wanted for dinner and order before it got too late in the afternoon.
"Order from where? Are we getting take out?" Kagome asked him.
"No. This particular apartment complex does "room service" of a sort. Normally Rin's babysitter stays and makes her dinner, but tonight is a special occasion, so I told her to take the night off."
"Oh. That's kinda cool. Our apartment never did that. What's on the menu?"
"Not sure. I don't use it often enough to know. The menu is probably in the kitchen."
Kagome wriggled out of Sesshomaru's hold, and stood up, straightening out her wrinkled dress. "Let's go take a look then!" She waited for Sesshomaru to stand up before she practically skipped out the door and down the hall to the kitchen.
Ever since being forced to actually eat real food at the clinic, Kagome's appetite had improved. Not only that, but Kagome had noticed that after waking up in that hospital bed, her appreciation for food had returned as well. All this, plus the novelty of having room service in her new home, Kagome was ecstatic to try out this menu.
Just as Kagome found the menu, hanging on the wall by the fridge, right where the cleaning lady probably put it, Rin came bouncing into the kitchen as well.
"Da..." seeing Kagome she immediately amended her speech "Sesshomaru-sama... um, can you help me with this problem, it's the last one I have left."
"Of course. Kagome, you can review the menu. Rin and I will be right back." He replied as he and Rin disappeared back to the office.
Kagome took the menu to the dining room table and sat down. Opening it up and scanning the pages.
Back in the office, Sesshomaru helped Rin to figure out her problem. Just as they were finishing up though, Rin asked a question that threw our stoic Taiyoukai for a miniature loop. "Can I call miss Kagome 'Mommy'?"
Sesshomaru gave the child an inquiring look. The little girl had her head bowed slightly, and she was blushing a little. "You have to ask her that, Rin. It's her decision, not mine."
"So, If she says yes, then I can?"
"Yes. Isn't that what I just said? And also, I believe I told you that you only have to call me 'Sesshomaru-sama' when you are at the office with me, or with the babysitter. Kagome is hopefully going to be this one's Mate. No need to be formal around her."
The girl's eyes lit up like little candles. "You mean it? Is she gonna be with us forever?"
"That is the plan little one." Sesshomaru smiled for the girl.
"Yay!" forgetting all about her homework, Rin jumped up and ran around the room twice, jumped up and captured her Daddy in a big hug before bouncing out of the room to bombard her new "Mommy".
Rin found Kagome still sitting at the table, pouring over the menu still. Clamoring up into the chair opposite her, Rin watched her for a few seconds before calling the young woman's attention. "Miss Kagome."
Looking up from the American section of the elaborate menu, Kagome acknowledged the beaming child before her. "Yes, sweetie?"
"Um, can Rin... I mean can I um..." she suddenly grew nervous, wringing her little hands in the hem of her shirt. "Is it okay if... Would you mind if I called you... Mommy" she whispered out the final word, almost as though she dare not hope that this young woman would allow her such a privilege.
Kagome looked at the trembling child before her. She was almost at a loss for words. She had literally just met this girl not two hours ago, and already the girl wanted to call her "mommy". In fact, from the moment this little girl came careening into her bedroom she had been asking Kagome if she would be her mother. Obviously this girl needed a mother figure, and obviously, the babysitter wasn't cutting it.
The longer Kagome waited to answer, the closer the girl came to melting into a puddle of tears and embarrassment. Until finally the young woman answered her.
"Of course you can sweetheart!" Kagome said "Why would you think otherwise? You can call me whatever you like."
Rin immediately brightened back up and practically crawled over the table into Kagome's lap. Wrapping her arms up around Kagome's neck, the girl asked "Really? You mean it?"
"Of course!" Kagome grinned, then giggled. "Who wouldn't want an adorable little girl like you for a daughter?"
Rin shot Kagome a playfully indignant stare. "I'm not little."
Kagome let out a clear laugh and gave the not-little-girl a little squeeze. "Silly me. Of course, you're not little. You're a mature young lady." She answered the indignant child. "So what would her ladyship like to eat for dinner tonight?"
After pretending to examine the menu closely, Rin came back with the classic childish answer. "Macaroni and Cheese!"
Kagome pretended a little bow. "Your wish is my command Rin-sama." She couldn't help her amusement at the idea of the sophisticated Sesshomaru eating Mac & Cheese. For some reason, she just couldn't picture it.
Kagome grinned as Sesshomaru walked in the door, and she and Rin both shared conspiratorial glances before they both exploded in a fit of giggles.
Sesshomaru, being who he was, raised one shapely brow incredulously as though to ask what he was missing. His facial expression only served to feed the fire of the two giggling females at the table. Their laughter was so contagious that his face soon betrayed him and he cracked a small amused smile.
As the girls calmed down, Rin announced that they were eating Mac & Cheese tonight, and Sesshomaru called the order at the front desk.
As Kagome helped Rin set the table, she mulled over the idea that this could be her life. She was apparently this man... this demon's Mate. If she chose to stay with him after her recovery was over, she could be a part of this little family. She could be needed. She could BELONG. Kagome smiled again, an occurrence that was happening more and more often since she had woken up in that hospital bed. Kagome decided she liked the way she felt here. She still wasn't sure about the whole lifetime commitment thing, seeing as she still hardly knew this guy, but the idea was definitely starting to grow on her. For now, she decided, she would stay, and she would make her final judgment after her recovery time was up. It could be a trial run of sorts.
AN. First of all, I want to say a huge thank you to the people who have stuck with the story so far. The votes and reviews are very much appreciated. I love hearing from everyone.
As always, constructive criticism is welcome, I like to keep my stories as factually accurate as possible.
See you all next week!
~Cassie