"Do you need any help, Kagome?" Inuyasha asked his wife as they ascended the grassy hill overlooking the lake together. He was able to pick up her labored breath that she was trying to keep hidden, but it really was no match for his heightened sense of hearing.
"No, I can make it. Just a little tired is all."
"I can carry you. It really won't be a problem."
"I've been on bedrest for a solid week. I just want to do this on my own."
"At least let me carry her."
"I've got this, Inuyasha. Trust me." So he did. But he stayed close, ensuring neither she nor the little bundle that Kagome carried in her arms would come to any harm. Together they climbed the rest of the hill, the sight at the top drawing a gasp from Kagome.
"It's beautiful," she gasped in wonder. Before them was a towering tree, it's lush branches shadowing over the green grass that covered the hill. The sun reflected off the crystal clear water of the lake below, creating a breathtaking scene that even Inuyasha stopped to appreciate. In fact, he could hardly keep the soft grin off his lips. It hadn't even left his face at all this whole past week because someone new had entered his life. Someone he had never thought he would ever meet.
Inuyasha was now the father of the beautiful little girl that Kagome held close. Their daughter. Five years ago if you had told him that he would one day have not only one, but two women in his life that were his actual family, he would have scoffed and whacked you on the head. Hanyou don't have children. At least that's what they thought.
But the day he smelled a life growing inside Kagome, he knew that they had overcome the impossible yet again. They had been together for years under the assumption that they wouldn't be able to conceive a child. Especially not between a hanyou and a miko. They thought their powers would contradict each other. Yet Inuyasha had walked in the door of Sango and Miroku's hut carrying a barrel of rice they had earned from the exorcism they were just returning from. As soon as he smelled Kagome inside, he halted where he stood, causing Miroku to bump into him from behind, and it fell from his arms and crashed to the floor, the contents spilling out.
Kagome and Sango had both looked over in surprised agitation and jumped up to clean up the mess.
"Inuyasha!" Kagome had said in an annoyed fashion. "What was that for?" But she stopped as soon as she saw the look of complete and utter shock on his face.
"What's wrong?" was all she could ask as he immediately pulled her into a hug, his grip tight.
"Inuyasha?" she asked. He knew she sounded embarrassed but he had forgotten anyone else was even in the room with them.
"Kagome," he began, pulling her in even tighter. "You're pregnant."
He heard her sharp gasp and immediately smelled her tears.
"A-are you sure?" her tiny voice let out, as if she was afraid there was a chance he could be wrong.
"I can smell it. It was the same when Sango got pregnant with the twins then later with Hisui." He pulled away from her just enough to look at her, desperate to see the emotion on her face. And she was beaming up at him, tears beginning to pour in streaks down her face.
"I can't believe it," she said as she shook her head. "Us...we...we're having a baby."
"Yeah," was the only response he could muster as he felt a sting in his own throat. He gulped it down, not wanting to cry and embarrass himself.
"Congratulations, you two," he heard Sango say. He looked over and saw the other couple, Miroku's arm around his wife's waist as they watched the scene before them. "Looks like our little family is getting even bigger."
Kagome let out a tinkling laugh that filled Inuyasha's already overjoyed heart and he didn't even try to hide the smile that she had given back to him over the years. He couldn't hold down his own tears as he pulled his wife back into his embrace. How he would ever let her go after, he didn't know and didn't plan to for at least the next few hours.
Yes, Inuyasha would never forget that day. But even that couldn't compare to the day that he held his own daughter in his arms. He had refused to leave Kagome while she gave birth, despite Kaede and Rin's initial objections due to the impropriety of having a man present while a woman was in labor. But he and Kagome had never been a normal couple and he was not about to leave her when she needed him the most. Even if she had screamed out several sit commands while she pushed. For once he hadn't minded. It was kind of his fault that she was in that much pain after all.
That was a week ago and already he was adapting to his new life as a father. He stayed up every night so Kagome could sleep, holding Moroha and rocking her back into a slumber anytime she became fussy. And for whatever reason, Moroha responded to him so well. Anytime she cried, all it took was a few seconds in her father's arms and she would immediately calm down and return to being the happy baby she naturally was. Kagome would often well up with tears whenever this happened and to be honest, so had he a few times.
His sense of smell was both a blessing and a curse. He could tell the second Moroha needed her linens changed, but the smell alone nearly knocked him out every time. Still, it had taken him a few tries, but he now considered himself an expert at changing the cloth Kagome referred to as a "die-per." It was a small price to pay for this happiness he never thought he would be able to call his own.
"You still have the flowers?" Kagome asked him, bringing his attention back to the present.
"Yeah," he replied, showing her the bouquet of wild lilies that he had gathered this morning. They were his mother's favorite after all.
Together, they approached the tree and the grave that lay at its roots. Inuyasha cleared away the dead flowers that he had left a few weeks prior and replaced them with the fresh ones while Kagome sat before the tombstone on her knees, Moroha still happily sleeping in her arms. Inuyasha joined her at her side once he had finished placing their offerings.
Mother, there's someone important I want you to meet, he thought.
"She would be so happy if she could see the life you have now, Inuyasha," Kagome reassured him. And he knew she was so right. He remembered the times his mother had cried for him, terrified of the life that he would lead as a hanyou. He could remember her final words to him as she lay in her deathbed, a hand on his cheek to wipe away his tears.
You deserve so much love, Inuyasha. Never forget that…
It had taken him almost 200 years to believe it.
"It's probably for the best that she can't see me now. I'd be terrified if you and her ever joined forces. You would have been an unstoppable pain in my ass," he teased. The air was filled with the tinkling sound of her laughter and it instantly made Inuyasha's heart feel more at ease.
"Do you really think she'd like me?" He gave her a lopsided grin.
"Dummy, of course she would. She'd probably be more amazed that you put up with me at all."
"Hm, that's true. You were already a handful on your own. Now I guess I have to put up with two children," she teased. Normally, he would scoff and pretend to be grumpy when she teased him like that, but the picture of her glowing smile radiating up at him while she was holding his child left him completely speechless. He found all he could do in that moment was kiss her, pressing his lips softly to hers and her eyes immediately drifted closed as she reciprocated his feelings.
He ran one hand through her raven hair and the other he placed on Moroha's head. There really wasn't any way he could be happier than in this moment, surrounded by the women that he loved. He felt a gentle breeze caress through his hair and pulled away from Kagome. They held each other's gaze as they felt the wind spiral around them.
"I think Izayoi approves," Kagome said, her cheeks flushed with color. He could only nod in response, afraid his voice would break from the emotion filling his chest.
"Will you hold her for a minute?" Kagome asked him.
"Sure," he replied, happily taking Moroha from her and being extra careful not to wake her. He watched his wife as she closed her eyes and put her hands together, a vision as she prayed.
Is this what you and father felt, Mother? When I think I can't get any happier, I just look at them and I can't help but fall in love all over again, he thought. He looked down at the tiny bundle in his arms and ran his thumb across her chubby cheek, still completely in awe that he had made this beautiful baby with Kagome. A shihanyou baby. He didn't think that was even possible, yet he and Kagome had already defied time and space to be together so what was one more impossibility they had overcome?
I can't promise that life will always be easy, but I can promise I'll protect you and your mother with my life. He had already made this vow to her many times in both the past week and throughout Kagome's pregnancy. He knew a time would come when it would be put to the test, but knew he would never falter. They were his strength and he would do anything for their safety.
He saw Kagome open her eyes and lower her hands back into her lap, a soft smile gracing her lips.
"Whatcha pray for?" he asked her, genuinely curious.
"I...I thanked her. For blessing me with her son. And promised I would always stay by your side," a blush forming on her cheeks as she refused to meet his eye, keeping her gaze trained instead on her hands in her lap. "And that I would try to make you and our daughter as happy as I could." His eyes widened at this confession. Even after all this time, Kagome could still shock him when she got all mushy.
"S-stupid, you already have," he replied back, aware that his own face was now flushed. She looked back up at him, that lovely smile donning her face again.
"Really?"
"Obviously…"
And with that, no more words were needed as she scooted closer to him so she could lay her head on his shoulder and he rested his atop hers as well. It was a position they often found themselves in. Inuyasha, for one, loved it as it showed her complete trust in him and that he was a source of comfort for her, the same way she was for him.
A cheerful gurgle sounded out from the bundle in Inuyasha's arms, a sign that Moroha was now awake and craved attention, which Inuyasha was more than happy to give. He offered her a clawed finger and she immediately wrapped her tiny hand around it, showing off claws of her own. Brown eyes that held their mother's sparkle met his amber ones and he knew he would never be lonely again.
Unbeknownst to the couple and their new baby, two beings watched over them, one a beautiful human woman and the other a powerful male, hair as white as starlight. After all the years, their son, whom they had loved and treasured, was now finally able to not just accept himself, but could share his heart with those he deemed worthy. They were so proud of Inuyasha and knew that one day he and his wife would join them in the afterlife where they would be met with open arms, but first they still had a whole lifetime of happiness laid before them. Until that day, they would watch over them and guide them as they lived each day, always by the other's side. Always together.
