A/N: I'm so sorry that it's taken me so long to update this. I haven't forgotten about the story, and I'll try to be better at updating. Here's a little cuteness and angst to brighten up your day (^^)
I do not own Inuyasha.
Sesshomaru felt a wave of contentment wash over him at the sound of Rin's laughter. By the high-pitched yelps that were punctuating Rin's laughter, he could tell that Katsumaru was with her. They must be playing again.
Sesshomaru noticed that Rin treated their son much the same way a female dog demon would: getting down on her hands and knees to better interact with him, pressing her cheek to his, and engaging in quite a bit of roughhousing. He wondered briefly if Rena had given her some tips or if Rin had come up with those things on her own. He mentally shrugged. Whatever it was, mother and son were getting along magnificently.
Sesshomaru rolled up the scroll that he had out to dry, and put the one he'd just finished in its place. He sighed quietly and stared out into space. Rin and Katsumaru were getting along a little too well, which could be a problem when . . . He couldn't even finish the thought. Sesshomaru looked out the window and decided he needed a break.
He stood, walked over to the door and stepped out into the hallway. He'd determined after Katsumaru had busted through the door to his workroom one too many times that it was easier to leave the door open, than to risk his hyperactive son tearing it down again.
Sesshomaru walked the few steps that would bring him into view of Katsumaru and Rin. They were standing in front of a door that led outside. Rin was bundled up in a heavy winter kimono holding a squirming ball of white fur in her arms. Rena stood quietly beside Rin, a tender look on her face as she beheld the heir to the Western Lands.
Sensing his presence long before Rin, Katsumaru's wiggling became even more vigorous, which caused Rin to almost drop him several times. When Rin saw the cause for her son's excitement, she immediately put the pup down.
Katsumaru ran up to Sesshomaru and sniffed his leg, tail wagging furiously. His demonic traits had yet to emerge, so Katsumaru looked more like a regular puppy than a demon pup. His eyes were big orbs of gold, his fur impossibly soft and his teeth incredibly sharp. He was still very small despite being close to four months old. He must have weighed only seven pounds.
"Katsu come on," Rin called. Katsumaru promptly stopped his perusal of his sire and galloped out the door that Rin was holding open.
Sesshomaru walked to the door and watched as Rin stepped off the wooden walkway and onto the ground. She turned around and picked up Katsumaru, who was still too small to jump the distance himself. Once his feet touched the ground, Katsumaru sniffed the cold winter air, one paw raised off the ground. It had snowed quite a bit the day before, but a small patch of land had been cleared away for Katsumaru.
After sniffing the air, Katsumaru quickly ran the width of the small cleared patch, barking the whole way. Upon coming across the deep snow, his speed was reduced dramatically. Katsumaru turned around and trudged back to the cleared area as quickly as possible. Once he was no longer buried in snow, his son resumed his barking. Rin laughed and told Katsu to hurry up.
Sesshomaru was just about to go back into the house when he saw something that almost made his heart stop. His son was squatting to relieve himself. Sesshomaru watched through eyes that were slightly wider than usual as his son started kicking up the ground upon finishing the offensive act.
Where the hell had Katsumaru learned something like that, he wondered. Sesshomaru glanced at Rena from the corner of his eye, before quickly dismissing the idea. The time that Rena spent alone with Katsumaru was very limited. Besides he had forbidden all the female dog demons from assuming their true forms while Katsumaru was still young. No, his son must have learned that lovely little trick by himself.
Sesshomaru stepped back into the house mind made up. Tonight he would show Katsumaru how to pee like a man.
Rin threw her head back and laughed as Katsumaru splashed her with water. She was leaning against Sesshomaru's chest in the large tub that occupied the bath house, while all three of them took a bath. Every so often, one of Sesshomaru's hands would come up and tickle Katsumaru in some random spot, causing the small child to squeal and bring his chubby hands down on the surface of the water.
When her son had settled down, Rin moved to the edge of the tub and began to wash a wiggling Katsumaru. Once she was finished, she put a small bucket in the water and brought Katsu to her chest. He tucked his head under her chin as Rin gently poured water over his back. Realizing that he was finished with his bath, Katsumaru assumed his demonic form and attempted to climb out of the tub by himself.
Rin picked him up and placed him on the floor, then dropped a large towel on him and attempted to towel dry him. Quickly realizing that it was useless unless she herself got out of the tub, Rin called for Rena.
"Rena, will you finish drying Katsu and then put him outside," she asked of her maid in a loud voice. Rena's response was to open the door a few minutes later. Katsumaru stopped his rummaging in the large towel and raced out the open door.
As Rin turned back to Sesshomaru her mind was awhirl. They were alone.
She'd been told weeks earlier that it was okay for her to resume intimate relations with Sesshomaru, but he had yet to touch her. She knew that the healer had spoken with him. Maybe now . . .
Rin tried to fight off her blush. It wasn't very often that she initiated the act and she still wasn't used to it. She wondered if she ever would be.
She moved back to Sesshomaru and tucked her head under his chin in much the same manner that Katsumaru had done to her just a few minutes earlier. Their bodies were aligned. It would be so easy for either one of them to take the next step. Rin felt his arms close about her, her heart beginning to race. She softly kissed his chest and suddenly found herself being pushed away.
"Not tonight Rin," Sesshomaru said lifting himself out of the tub. Rin watched with wide eyes as he sat on one of the stools located on the far end of the tub and began to wash himself.
She was shocked and more than a little hurt. Was there something wrong with her? Why didn't he want to touch her anymore? Before she had gotten pregnant, he'd barely been able to keep his hands off her.
"Is there something wrong? Because I just thought that we could spend some time alone tonight," Rin said in a shaky voice.
"Maybe some other time. I'm taking Katsumaru out tonight," Sesshomaru replied without looking at Rin.
"Oh," was Rin's barely audible response.
There was no way that she could complain now. Sesshomaru rarely spent any alone time with his son. It was just that ever since her pregnancy, Rin had become very aware of just how short life was. Her life in particular. She didn't want to waste a moment of it; it was working with her son, but Sesshomaru . . .
Rin slid down so low in the tub that the water touched her chin. She was feeling a mixture of self-loathing, depression and defeat. She should just confront Sesshomaru about his whole attitude towards her lately. . .
"I hope you two have fun," was all she could bring herself to say.
Later that evening, Sesshomaru transformed into a smaller version of his demonic form and set off with Katsumaru. He carried his son by the scruff of his neck to a small clearing not far from the estate.
When Sesshomaru set Katsumaru down, he stayed very close to him at first. Right underneath him in fact. But it wasn't long before all the new sights and smells of the meadow proved too tempting for his inquisitive pup. Nose twitching, Katsumaru slowly began to move away from his father's side. Sesshomaru lay down on his side, closely watching Katsumaru while his mind wandered.
He had been very aware of the turmoil Rin had been in at the bath house, yet he didn't know how to console her. Besides he found it hard to comfort someone else when he could barely come to grips with his own fears.
Sesshomaru was realizing just how foolish it had been to get involved with Rin to the extent that he now was. It was very stupid. If only she were a demon . . .
Rin's life was incredibly short, especially when compared to his and Katsumaru's. What's more, Sesshomaru suspected that Rin had been living on borrowed time ever since that episode in the underworld. Perhaps Rin was supposed to die young. Sesshomaru had notice that Rin had lost a lot of energy since her pregnancy. On the outside, everything seemed fine. She had actually created a great deal of respect from the servants because she had emerged from the pregnancy relatively unharmed. But something was wrong. Something intangible, and it made him very uneasy. Sesshomaru was afraid that the next pregnancy would kill Rin, and there would be another one, of that he had no doubt. She had gotten with pup so quickly the last time . . .
It was for this reason that Sesshomaru refused to touch Rin. It was also for this reason that he had begun looking into every type of mating mark there was, but there were none with the power to extend a mate's life. Sesshomaru had been forced to come to the conclusion that this time when Rin died, it would be for good. It was something that he was having a hard time wrapping his head around. Ever since Rin had stumbled upon him, she had been by his side; whenever she wasn't, she was somewhere close at hand. Her death would take her somewhere he wouldn't be able to follow.
Furthermore, there was no precedent for this type of situation for him to use as reference. His father had died before his human plaything. Inuyasha had been placed under a sleeping spell moments before the first priestess died and the second one was still alive. Sesshomaru supposed the closest thing he could use for reference was when Inuyasha had been separated from his woman for those few years. He had noticed that his brother had not been himself: he'd spent a lot of time silently staring off into space, unusual especially for that foul, loud-mouthed half breed.
And yet his situation was very different from Inuyasha's because at the time, Inuyasha had not had been a mate to his priestess in everything but name. He did not have a pup with her. What was Katsumaru going to do when Rin died? What was he going to do? Sesshomaru had a feeling that he wouldn't be of much use to his son for a while, and the last thing he wanted was to leave him in the hands of his mother . . .
Sesshomaru was pulled from his dark musings by his pup. Katsumaru came up to him and cautiously began to sniff at his nose. Sesshomaru realized belatedly that it wasn't a good idea to think about such things with Katsumaru close by and picking up on his every mood. He stood and led his pup further into the clearing. He would have to deal with whatever would come when the time was right.
A few days later, Sesshomaru was walking past a door that Rin had left open. He saw that Katsumaru was outside, once more announcing his presence to the world. Rin stood close by, bundled in a heavy kimono once more.
Katsumaru stopped his barking and started sniffing around for a spot to relieve himself. Once he found his place, he lifted a wobbly leg and started to pee. Rin squealed and started cooing at Katsumaru, who took it as his due. Once his finished, he trotted back to Rin and waited for her to pick him up, where he promptly assumed his human form.
Sesshomaru continued down the hallway, his face a little softer than it normally was.