Work Text:
Inuyasha stood in front of the well house, absentmindedly sweeping away the leaves that had fallen during the blustery afternoon. It was almost dinner time, his stomach reminded him. The after school crowds would be making their appearance soon, and so usually that meant it was time to make himself scarce. But Kagome was late getting home, and he wanted to be outside so he could smell her as soon as she got to their neighborhood.
It didn’t matter how many times Kagome told him she was more than capable of getting to her office at the University alone: he didn’t like it when she took the job and he still didn’t like it now. He’d gotten away with turning up unannounced a few times when Midori was little; i.e. small and quiet. Now, bringing their hyper-active four year old daughter to Kagome’s place of work was a sure-fire way to start a fight. Kagome loved her daughter with all her heart, but her office was absolutely not a good place for bonding time. The room was barely larger than a closet and Kagome used it exclusively for storage and meeting with students-- students who were entirely too distracted by the little girl with bright amber eyes, thick black hair, and the most beautiful collection of bandanas she always wore.
No, he knew it was important for Kagome to get some face time in with her students without Midori as a distraction. She only went onsite once a week, and so if she was late it meant she was busy, and if she was busy she would be in a sour mood when she got home. He could be patient and keep himself busy. He scoffed to himself, thinking of Kagome’s response to him being ‘patient’. “That’ll be the day,” s he’d mumble to herself, knowing full well he’d still be able to hear her. They’d both grown so much in the last six years, but some things never really change. He stopped his sweeping and looked down at the small silver band on his left hand, suddenly finding himself lost in a memory.
*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_* six years earlier *_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*
Inuyasha sat on his knees, his back rod straight, and his ears pointed forward. He was nervous as hell but he was absolutely not going to show it. He was going to be polite to within an inch of his life. He was going to be as formal and as courteous as any human man. He could do this. As the old man continued to stare him down, he felt his ears lowering towards his skull.
Maybe he couldn’t do this.
But he had to.
Ever since he realized the significance of the drawer he couldn’t stop thinking about it. That night he’d had a dream -- already an unusual occurrence since he didn’t usually let himself sleep deep enough to dream, it just wasn’t safe-- and in that dream he was showing Kagome a drawer he’d carved into the Sacred Tree. It was a ridiculous vision, but he certainly wasn’t laughing. The dream was a horrible reminder of just how little he had to offer.
He and Kagome actively avoided talking about what she was planning to do once the quest was over. Miroku had asked her once and made her cry, and the solid thumping the monk had received made it clear to the whole group that the subject was off limits. Honestly, Inuyasha didn’t care where she went… as long as he could come with. There was so much uncertainty in their lives, so many things unsaid. Partially because Inuyasha knew he was terrible with words and partially because they just didn’t know what was going to happen next with so many things out of their control. But damn it, this was one thing he could control. He could make sure Kagome knew, with no half assed attempts at being coy or clever or cute, that once all this was over he was going to marry her. By his time’s standards they’d already crossed multiple lines- sleeping in the same bed, dressing unusually, being a hanyou- but he’d be damned if he damaged her reputation in this time, too. Based on the movies Kagome was always making him watch, that meant getting engaged, and that meant a ring.
At home, well his other home, he would trade for it, but no jeweler would sell to a hanyou especially if they knew what it was for. Totosai might be able to do it, but Inuyasha didn’t want to try and explain his multi-day absence to go find the old coot and keep him focused long enough to do the job right. Besides he’d still need the raw materials. No, it was a better idea to buy her a modern ring.
But that was step three.
Step one was to get Grandpa’s approval.
Step two, earn the money for a ring.
Then he’d worry about how he’d go about actually buying one.
As the moments ticked on and gramps continued to sip his tea, Inuyasha began to worry that maybe step one would be harder than expected. He should have known even after all this time that no reasonable man would want his granddaughter to marry some creature out of a dry well, he was stupid to think--
“I will help you find a job so you can propose--”
Inuyasha finally felt himself able to breathe again.
“--but first we need to speak to Kagome’s mother about this.”
Well, fuck.
Twenty-minutes, two glass breaking screeches, and several awkward questions about future children he wasn’t even sure if Kagome would want later, and he had Mama Higurashi’s unwavering approval as well. Inuyasha had wondered if his ears would survive the noise of modern Japan… Clearly, he should have been more worried about damage from within the Higurashi household.
Once Mama had calmed down, she and Grandpa immediately set to work making a plan for Inuyasha to work. He outright refused to take money from either of them for the work he did at their shrine, claiming the money they spent on ramen and medical supplies for the quest was more than enough. Instead, they contacted other shrines across the city, acting as references and contacts for Inuyasha’s unofficial moving and cleaning services. Even with government support and donations, most shrines ran on a shoestring budget and wouldn’t look twice at the opportunity for under the table, below market price help. They also wouldn’t hold Inuyasha’s lack of papers or his unusual appearance against him with a reference from Mr. Higurashi behind him.
Despite both Mama and Gramp’s personal feelings, both agreed to his demand for secrecy. It wasn’t Kagome’s business what he did while she was in school and he wasn’t going to let this turn into one more thing that would happen eventually. He didn’t want anything said to Kagome until he had the ring in his hand. Not to mention the fact he had no real idea how he was going to propose to her. This whole not-talking-thing was working, kind of. She was happy with things as they were. What if she didn’t want the formality...the finality… of an engagement? What if, even after everything they’d been through, she was looking forward to a future without him?
Thoughts like that only made him work harder. He would prove to her that he was able to provide, to fit in, to make a home for her in either time. He worked quickly, and he worked hard. Two, three shrines a day, all over the city. He could run faster than any of the buses, and Mama had shown him how to ride the trains after his disastrous attempt to sit on top of one of them. He cleaned, he moved heavy boxes, he curried packages from one shrine to another. Some days he even slept in the tree next to Kagome’s house overnight so he could get to a shrine first thing in the morning. If any of the priests had any inkling that he was anything other than a diligent human worker, they kept it to themselves, happily handing over his wages from the petty cash as he finished their list of chores.
Things had been going great for two months-- which only actually translated to three four-day long visits for him to work. Still, he’d managed to gather a decent little nest egg that he kept in a box in Mama’s closet. Then, as things tend to do, it all fell to hell.
Kagome had come home early, pleased as punch that her sensei had rescheduled an exam. No one was home, so she decided to pop through the well and invite Inuyasha to dinner. He’d been having dinner with her family most nights lately, always sitting at the kitchen table with Mama or Grampa when she got home from school. Her pleasant demeanor turned to suspicious ire when Shippo informed her that, not only was Inuyasha not in the village, but he’d been gone for days and hadn’t told any of them what he was up to.
This was the Kagome Inuyasha returned to, sitting on her bed with arms crossed and a scowl plastered across her face as he climbed through her window.
“Where have you been?” she’d asked in a clipped tone.
“The village, why wait around here when you’re off at school?” he lied. Big mistake.
Kagome wouldn’t let it go. She demanded to know what he was up to-- assuming he’d been back in the Feudal Era but intentionally hiding from their friends. At first she’d simply been upset that he was lying to her, but with each refusal to tell her why she became more and more irate, finally sitting him so hard she shook her bookshelf, sending a small figurine smashing to the floor.
“Why don’t you trust me!?” he’d shouted at her, pulling himself up from the ground and glaring at her.
“Trust? You’re nothing but walls!” she’d shouted back, “I thought we were finally making some progress! I thought you were finally letting me in! But no, you’re still doing everything you can to keep me at arms length and I’m an idiot for thinking anything would ever change that.” She’d started with a shout, but she’d ended with such horrible calm that Inuyasha’s blood ran cold. She walked past him and he heard her slam every door between her and the well house. He felt the tingle of the time slip activate and knew she’d run off, probably to find Sango. In any other instance it might have been comforting to know she ran to the well in an emotional crisis no matter which side it started on, but in that moment he felt nothing but panic.
He rushed downstairs and went right into Mama’s closet to retrieve the box. Coming out, he nearly walked right into her- the look on her face making it clear she’d heard the argument. She nodded at him, then went and put on her shoes and coat. “I know this isn’t exactly how you planned it,” she said softly as they walked down the street together, “but I’m sure everything will work out.”
She helped him choose a ring: two thin coils of silver holding a small ruby.
Heart in his throat, ring in his hand, he went back to the shrine and through the well.
It wasn’t hard to find her, the smell of her tears still hanging fresh in the air. She wasn’t with the slayer, or at the hut they all used, but instead her scent trail went right to Goshinboku. He found her sitting in its roots, her back resting against the trunk with her knees pulled up to her chest. She didn’t move as he came and sat beside her. They sat in silence for a long moment before finally Kagome broke it.
“I do trust you, but this has to go both ways. Keeping things from me hurts...” she said in a small voice. Instead of answering he took her hand in his, turning to face her as she looked at their joined hands in confusion, feeling but not seeing the ring held between them.
“I should have told you from the beginning,” he said, trying not to grab her hand too tight in his nervousness, “but I was nervous about what you’d say so I just...didn’t.” He swallowed and let go of her hand, pressing the ring into her palm. She opened her hand and blanked down at the jewelry in her hand. She swivelled her head to look at it, then back to him, then down at the ring again.
Finally she let out a shaky breath and asked, “Is this what I think it is?”
“Yes.”
He barely had time to register the smell of salt before he was suddenly on his back looking up into Goshinboku’s branches. Kagome had launched herself into his chest, her arms wrapping around his middle and taking them both down to the ground. She picked herself up enough to look at him, her watery blue eyes staring through his amber ones and into his soul. She let out a small laugh and-- “ PAPA!”
*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_* present day *_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*
Inuyasha jumped as a loud wail of Paaapaaaa echoed across the grounds. He turned towards the house as a blur of back hair and pink kimono streaked towards him, stopping with a giddy bounce at his feet.
“Papa! Mama’s back, Mama’s back!” Midori continued to bounce excitedly at his feet, waiting as patiently as she could for him to escort her to the torii gate as per their routine.
“I told you to cover your ears when you go out,” he chided, but with no real anger. He knew keeping her ears covered was uncomfortable, and he couldn’t blame her for letting them out whenever possible. He pulled a clean rag out from his pocket and quickly tied it around her head. Taking her tiny hand in his, she pulled him along to go to their usual waiting spot at the top of the stairs. Even though she was only a quarter demon, Midori could scent her mother a mile away, so they still had a few moments before she’d be arriving.
As they waited, two young women walked past them, but stopped on the top stop, turning to stare openly at Inuyasha and Midori. The taller of the two turned to her companion and began to whisper “I’ve seen him here before, I think he works here.” Her friend whispered back, “Ask for his number, the worst he can say is no!”
Inuyasha felt his ears twitch under his bandana and a small blush creeped up his neck. He started wracking his brain for a polite way to turn the girl down, but he never had to.
“Can I help you girls?” came Kagome’s clipped voice from a few stairs down. She walked with a determined presence, confidence and poise having come to her nicely with age. She stepped up to Inuyasha and gave him a chaste peck on the cheek, her eyes never leaving the two now horribly embarrassed girls as she bent to pick up Midori and place her on her hip.
“We were just leaving,” said the shorter one, and she quickly bolted down the steps, her blushing friend right behind her.
Kagome watched them leave, a small smirk on her lips as she turned back to Inuyasha.
“You didn’t have to do that ya know,” he said with a chuckle, “no reason to be jealous.”
“Hmm,” she said more to herself than to him, “I guess this is another new symptom.” She adjusted Midori on her hip and started to walk towards the house.
“Symptom of what?” he asked, coming up behind her. He sniffed at her, not smelling anything immediately concerning. Though, now that she mentioned it, she did smell extra sweet lately. Kagome put Midori back on the ground, sending her ahead with instructions to wash up for dinner. Once the little one was back in the house, Kagome stopped and turned to face him again.
“Well, they always say everything starts sooner with the second one,” she took his hand and placed it on her stomach just below her bellybutton, “and I guess I’m feeling hormonal and jealous already.”
Without preamble Inuyasha grabbed Kagome in his arms, picking her up and spinning her once before crashing his lips into hers. The kiss was mostly teeth, his giant grin refusing to lessen as he continued to pepper her face with kisses.
“Really?” he finally managed to ask.
“Really,” she replied, her soft giggle ringing like bells in his ears. “So no more spinning; you’re gonna make me sick,” she added with a playful swat at his arm.
He gathered her up again, careful not to crush her and their new baby too tightly. He hid his smile by burying his nose into the crown of her hair. When Kagome released him from the tree all those years ago, he never would have guessed that this is where life would lead him.
A wife, a child.
Children as he’d just learned.
He’d said it before, and he would surely say it again. The future was a strange place, but he would never regret his decision to stay here. It had taken a lot of time and effort to get acclimated. There had been grieving for the friends left behind and some hopes that would never really be realized. But every day, every struggle was always more than worth it to see Kagome so happy, to see Midori grow-up cherished by her uncle and grandmother. He kissed Kagome soundly one more time before letting her lead them back towards their home, and whatever new adventure tomorrow would bring.