Somewhere on Autumn Woods Drive

By Rikku Minouke

Disclaimer: Don't own YYH

Chapter twelve

Sometimes I try to imagine what it would have been like if I had stayed with him. Then those thoughts turn into a waking nightmare and I am thankful that we were fortunate enough to end up where we did.

My hand rubbed a tender muscle on my shoulder as I poured an espresso shot for the Red Eye. The headache pounding away at my skull wished to indulge in the coffee and espresso that the customer was getting. Dumping the liquid into the cup, I capped it and handed it to the brunette at the other side of the bar. As I thanked them, the bell on the door ring and Juri greeted the new comer from the register.

I rubbed the back of my hand across my closed eyes. Upon opening them, I saw Kurama standing at the bar counter. My throat refused to speak, so instead I just looked at him like a deer in headlights.

"Hello," he said quietly.

I coughed lightly, trying to clear away the blockage. "Hey."

"You aren't wearing your black sweater," he pointed out and I looked down at my arms with a shrug.

"No, I tried to spice things up a bit," I commented. The lavender long sleeve shirt I was wearing was rolled up to the elbows.

"I like the color," he told me and I thanked him politely. We had a moment of silence before speaking again, "Is there any chance we could talk?"

I glanced over at Juri who looked like she was trying hard to appear like she wasn't listening. "Yeah, let's go to the back room."

"I'm allowed back there?" Kurama asked, raising his eyebrows.

Shaking my head, I started to round the bar. "No, but I think Koenma will understand." I walked through the back door with him close behind me. It was a small area, but we weren't squeezed together. Puffing out my cheeks, I let a breath escape my lungs.

"Can we talk about what happened the other day?" Kurama asked while I leaned against the refrigerator. His hands pushed into his pockets as he looked uncomfortably into my eyes. The lids of my eyes felt droopy. I felt like this was taking so much energy just to look at him.

"You mean when you walked out four days ago?" I asked and couldn't stop the snap in my voice. Whatever, I'm pregnant, he can handle it.

"Three days, buy yes," he said and I bit my lip to stop a snotty remark. I remained silent, waiting for him to continue. "You need to understand that this is a big deal for me-"

"For you? I'm the one pregnant," I snorted.

"I'm not trying to undermine your situation," Kurama spoke softly. "But please try to see it from my point of view. I hadn't expected this in any way. I probably should have."

"What's that supposed to mean?" I could feel myself getting tense and defensive.

"Botan," Kurama lifted one hand as if he was going to place it on my shoulder, but must have decided against it as his hand fell to his side. I'm sure that had something to do with my outburst last week. "I came here today to tell you that I want you to stay with me."

That shut me up completely. For the last few days I had been debating about going to find more moving boxes again. Five moves in one year wasn't pushing it, was it? "You aren't kicking me out?"

"No," he shook his head slowly and I looked skeptically into his eyes. I saw raw compassion. Without thinking, I pushed forward and hugged him tight. His body stiffened momentarily before wrapping his arms around my shoulders. He smelled so good, like the fresh air after a hard rain. Laying my head on his chest, I refused to let go for anything at the moment. Kurama rested his cheek on the top of my head and held me, one hand around the top of my shoulders while the other gently rubbed circles on my lower back.

"What made you choose this?" I asked against the red fabric of his thick red long sleeve. He must be going to work after this.

I felt the breath he took against my cheek. "After I left the other day, I went to visit my mother. At the cemetery, I had time to think about what my mother would do and I know that she would never let me turn my back on someone in need. That's how she raised me." He paused for a moment, as I nuzzled my face a bit more in his shirt, closing my eyes. It felt so nice to be held again. "I can't let you go through this alone. I may barely know you, but I know you enough to realize that you are a wonderful person and would be an amazing mother. If given the right support along the way."

A soft smile coated my lips. "Thank you Kurama."

"You are very welcome Botan."