Archive of Our Own

“Happy birthday, Mama!”

Towa and Setsuna grinned up at their mother and presented her with the card they had made out of cardstock and pressed flowers. Rin beamed as she took it then reached out and kissed both of her daughters on the forehead.

“Thank you so much, my little flowers,” she said brightly. “I will treasure this always!”

“Hurry and open your presents, Mama!” Towa exclaimed.

The family was sitting around the dining room table celebrating Rin’s birthday. They had already eaten a lunch prepared by their father Sesshomaru and had showered Rin with bouquets of her favorite flowers. (“The girls insisted that they each choose their own bouquets for you,” Sesshomaru had explained with mild amusement as Rin was presented with sunflowers from her husband, hydrangeas from Setsuna, and primroses from Towa.)

“Towa, don’t rush your mother,” Sesshomaru said lowly as he finished his coffee.

Rin laughed. “It’s alright, dearest. They’re just as excited as I am!”

She opened her packages and was amazed to see that Setsuna had stitched a pair of sunflowers and a pink butterfly in an embroidery hoop; she had been teaching her youngest daughter embroidery for the last few months and was impressed that Setsuna had mastered the art so quickly. Towa had saved her allowance money to buy a DIY succulent growing and decorating kit so that Rin could decorate her desk at the clinic where she worked as a children’s psychologist.

“Come here, you two,” she said, pulling both girls in for a hug. “I am the luckiest woman in the world to be your mama. What sweet, thoughtful daughters I have!”

“Papa!” Setsuna said, turning and pointing an accusatory finger at Sesshomaru. “Where’s your present for Mama? Don’t tell us you forgot!”

“Of course he didn’t!” Towa said, coming to her father’s defense. “Papa would never forget Mama. Right, Papa?”

Sesshomaru smirked. “I couldn’t even if I tried.”

He stood up and walked around the table to Rin and the girls. He reached into his shirt pocket and presented Rin with a small white box.

“Happy birthday, love.”

Rin smiled and took the box, with the twins eagerly crowding around her to see inside. All three gasped when she removed the lid to reveal a necklace of citrine accented with tiny emeralds.

“Mama’s favorite colors!” Setsuna exclaimed.

“I know,” Sesshomaru said with one of the small, soft smiles he reserved only for his family.

Rin grinned. “Will you help me put it on, love?”

She pulled her hair up as Sesshomaru walked behind her and fastened the clasp around her neck.

“Mama, you look like a princess!” Towa squealed.

“No,” Setsuna countered. “She looks like a queen.”

Rin stood up and kissed Sesshomaru’s cheek. “Thank you so much, anata. I absolutely love it.”

Sesshomaru fingered a strand of her dark hair and gently tucked it behind her ear. “Anything for my lady, Rin.”

“So, what are we going to do now?” Towa asked, interrupting the moment between her parents.

“That’s up to your mother,” Sesshomaru said. “We are celebrating her this weekend, after all.”

Rin glanced at the clock and saw that it was only one-thirty.

“Hmm, we’re not due to drop the two of you off at Aunty and Uncle’s until six. We should go to the park to see all of the spring flowers in bloom!” She turned back to the twins. “Why don’t the two of you go ahead and pack your overnight bags so that they’ll be ready to go when we get back?”

“Okay!” The girls said in unison and scampered off to their rooms.

The family spent several hours at the park admiring the flowers at the botanical garden. Towards the end of the afternoon Towa and Setsuna complained that they were hungry, but Rin insisted that they wait until they arrived at their aunt and uncle's.

“Aunty Kagome is going to have dinner ready when we drop you off. I don’t want you ruining your appetites.”

When they arrived home their parents sent the girls to freshen up before gathering their things and packing the car. Rin texted Kagome that they were en route as Sesshomaru drove them to the shrine that Kagome’s family had tended for five hundred years. Moroha was already outside when they arrived and bounded to the car to greet them.

“Towa! Setsu!” she squealed, throwing her arms around her cousins the moment they stepped out of the car. “Tonight’s gonna be so much fun!”

“Hi Moroha!” Towa said in a squelched voice as her cousin squeezed her into a tight hug. Setsuna gave Moroha a trepidatious pat on the shoulder.

“Don’t suffocate your cousins, Moroha,” Kagome said, coming out of the house with Inuyasha.

“Kagome! Brother!” Rin smiled at her sister- and brother-in-law. She reached back into the car for a bottle of sake, which she handed to Kagome. “Thanks again for offering to take the girls for the night. We appreciate you so much!”

“Aww, Rin! It’s your birthday, you didn’t have to do that.” Kagome said, giving her a hug. “Besides, we love spending time with our nieces!”

Inuyasha smiled. He and Rin had formed their own friendship over the years since Rin and his older brother met in middle school. She told him once that he reminded her of the brother she had lost in the home invasion that took the lives of her family when she was eight, and he himself really did think of her as his sister. No one else could have possibly gotten through to my brother’s iceberg of a heart, he had thought to himself more than once.

“Hey, Rin,” he said as she turned to hug him. “Moroha has something special for you. Why don’t you run in and grab it, Moroha?” he asked, turning to his daughter who was carrying both of her cousin’s overnight bags into the house.

“Okay! I’ll be right back!”

“So, what are your plans for tonight?” Kagome asked.

Rin smiled. “Well, Sesshomaru made us all lunch and took us out this afternoon, so I’m thinking we’ll keep things low-key and get some nice takeout and watch a movie at home.”

“Sounds lovely! Well, rest assured that I have a healthy meal prepared for the girls.”

Moroha sprinted down the front steps and almost crashed into Rin, the twins following behind her. “Happy birthday, Aunty Rin!”

“Oh my goodness, another handmade card?” Rin exclaimed, admiring the pink construction paper card covered with doodles of flowers and butterflies. She scooped Moroha into a hug. “One from my daughters and one from my sweet niece. I’ve been spoiled so much today!”

“Alright, girls. Let’s get this show on the road,” Inuyasha said, patting each twin on the shoulder. Towa and Setsuna hugged each parent goodbye before turning to follow Kagome into the house.

“Hey Sesshomaru,” Inuyasha said with a smirk, “be careful not to make Rin an extra birthday present when you get home.”

Sesshomaru narrowed his eyes at his younger brother. “Hn.”

“Inuyasha.” Kagome said pointedly.

Rin giggled softly. “You’re too much, Brother.”

Setsuna blushed, while Towa and Moroha turned to each other and snickered. Both sets of parents had already explained the basics of sex to them.

“Maybe you’ll have a little brother when you get home!” Moroha said, elbowing Setsuna.

“It would take nine months, Moroha,” Setsuna said coolly.

“Oooh, if we did get a little brother, maybe he would have puppy ears like Uncle!” Towa chirped.

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. “I hope for the kid’s sake he wouldn’t,” he muttered. He remembered the days when his toddler daughter and nieces would look for any window of opportunity to assault his ears.

Kagome sat a plate of teriyaki salmon and vegetables in front of each girl. “Dig in, loves!”

Moroha gave her mother a sideways look.

“What?” Kagome asked.

“Mom, can we have something a little less...healthy?” Moroha asked.

Kagome narrowed her eyes. “Is there something wrong with my cooking, Moroha?”

“No, it’s just that Towa and Setsuna never get to eat anything fun at home, so I figured we could have ninja food or something.”

“We do get to eat fun stuff at home,” Towa countered. “Sometimes Mama makes cookies.”

“Pfft, yeah, Aunty Rin’s idea of cookies is oatmeal and raisins.”

“Don’t insult my mother’s cookies,” Setsuna growled.

“Rin and Sesshomaru don’t like for your cousins to eat junk food, and while they’re here with us your father and I are responsible.” Kagome said.

“Uh, fine.” Moroha grumbled.

“Thank you for the meal, Aunty,” Setsuna said graciously.

“It’s delicious,” Towa added, taking a bite of the salmon.

Kagome smiled and left the room.

Moroha leaned towards Towa. “Don’t be a kiss-ass, I know you want yummy junk, too.”

Towa rolled her magenta eyes. “I don’t want to be ungrateful to Aunty.”

“Indeed,” Setsuna said in between bites.

“Well, it wouldn’t be ungrateful if we snuck some after we eat,” Moroha said slyly. “I can always ask my dad to help us out.”

“I’m already on it.”

All three girls looked up to see Inuyasha walking through the kitchen door. He smirked as he headed towards the pantry.

“I know how rigid Sesshomaru can be about certain things.” He snuck a package of pocky, a bag of potato chips, and a small assortment of snack cakes underneath his sweatshirt. “But as long as you finish dinner first, I don’t see the harm in letting you all have some fun.”

Towa and Setsuna smiled in unison. “Thanks, Uncle,” Towa said. “This is why we love coming to visit.”

Moroha hopped up from her chair and tackled her father into a hug, almost causing him to drop the packages.

“You are the best EVER, Dad!”

Inuyasha laughed quietly and shrugged her off. “I only have so much time before your mother gets out of the shower. I’ll stash them under your bed and you can enjoy them later tonight.”

He quickly snuck out of the kitchen, leaving the girls to finish their meal.

The twins helped Moroha wash up before changing into their pajamas. Towa changed into an oversized blue sleeping shirt and white shorts, Setsuna into a long sleeved lavender nightgown, and Moroha into a pink PJ set with a strawberry print.

“Mom and I got matching sets last time we went shopping!” She explained.

“It’s super cute!” said Towa.

Kagome chose that moment to knock on the door. Moroha opened it and mother and daughter grinned at one another seeing that they were wearing their matching sets.

“Do you want me to set you all up for a movie before Inuyasha and I turn in?”

“Yes, please!” said Towa. Setsuna nodded.

They followed their aunt and cousin to the family room. Kagome flipped through the streaming service until the girls found a movie they were interested in watching under the Fantasy/Adventure label.

“The Four Perils?” Kagome asked skeptically.

“Betrayed by his own sister,” Moroha read from the film description, “a noble Beast King must enlist the help of four perilous beings of legend to acquire the mysterious Rainbow Pearls to end a curse on his kingdom. But to succeed on his quest, he must pay a great price.”

“Sounds intriguing,” Setsuna said.

“I’m game!” said Towa.

Kagome shook her head. “Okay. It’s your night, after all!” She pressed the play button. “I’ll get you some snacks.”

She went to the kitchen and returned a few minutes later with a tray of carrot sticks, grapes, and green apple slices.

“Enjoy yourselves, but don’t stay up too late.”

“Yes, Aunty.” The twins said together.

Moroha sprang up to give her mother a good-night kiss. “Good night, Mama!”

As soon as the trio heard Kagome and Inuyasha’s door click shut, Moroha sprang up and bolted to her bedroom. She returned minutes later with the stash of forbidden snacks.

“I get first dibs on the dried potatoes!”

“Ugh, fine,” Towa said. “What else do we have?”

Moroha sifted through the packages. “We have pocky in strawberry, chocolate, matcha and milk, and we have some red bean cakes and sweet plum cakes.”

Setsuna stared at the assortment. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen that many snack foods in my life.”

Moroha grinned. “It’s mainly thanks to my dad, but Mom’s got a sweet tooth as well even though she won’t admit it.” She stuffed a handful of potato chips into her mouth. “Guess it’s genetic or something.”

Towa grabbed several sticks of chocolate and milk flavored pocky, which she ate together. Setsuna took a red bean cake and nibbled it lightly.

The movie was good and kept their attention. They had finished all of the snacks by the halfway point when Moroha suddenly hit the pause button. Setsuna glared at her.

“Hey! It was getting good!” Towa snapped.

“But I just had an idea. Since we finished all the snacks, why don’t we bake a cake?”

“A cake?” Setsuna asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Yeah! We have some cake mix in the pantry. We can bake it up really quick and eat it while we finish the movie.”

“What kind?” Setsuna asked.

“Funfetti.”

Towa shrugged and turned to Setsuna. “I’m game if you are.”

Setsuna considered it, then gave her twin and cousin a smile. “Okay!”

They followed Moroha back into the kitchen. Towa gathered a mixing bowl and a whisk while Moroha fetched the cake mix from the pantry. She read off the needed ingredients, which Setsuna fetched from the refrigerator.

Moroha poured the cake mix into the bowl while Setsuna handled the extra ingredients. Towa whisked the batter together until it thickened.

“Alright, Moroha,” Setsuna said, “what temperature should I set the oven on?”

Moroha suddenly paused, eyes wide, and ran her hand over her face.

“Oh, man! I forgot…,”

“Forgot what?" Setsuna asked severely.

Moroha glanced at her cousin between her fingers.

“Our oven is broken,” she said in a tiny voice.

Towa narrowed her eyes. “And you only just now remembered?”

“Gah, I’m sorry! Kohaku – you know, Aunty Sango’s brother – is supposed to come by next week to fix it.”

The twins nodded. Sango was Kagome’s best friend and was close friends with their mother as well. They had met Kohaku a few times over the years and knew he was handy with fixing things. Once he had even helped their father with some repair work on the family car.

But they needed a way to bake their cake now.

“I’m thinking, hold on.” Towa said. Her eyes roamed around the kitchen looking for a solution before landing on the dish rack.

“I’ve got it! We could make mug cakes in the microwave.”

She grabbed three clean mugs off the rack and handed one each to Setsuna and Moroha. They each scooped batter into their mugs and placed them in the microwave. Moroha set the timer for three minutes.

“Isn’t that a little long?” Towa asked.

“Nah, it takes way longer than that in the oven.”

“But this is a microwave.” Setsuna said.

“Well, the egg has to cook all the way.”

“Moroha,” Towa said, “you’ve never actually made a mug cake before, have you?”

“Well...no, but clearly neither have you!”

“I’m just saying, I don’t think it needs to be baked for that long.”

“How would you know? Junk food is banned at your house.”

“For the last time, it’s not – ,”

“Stop!” Setsuna barked. “It’s on fire!”

Towa and Moroha gasped. Setsuna reached up and pressed the off button.

“I’ll get some water!” Moroha squealed.

“No!” Towa said, grabbing Moroha by her bicep. “Mama taught us to never open the oven door if there’s a fire, just let it smolder itself out. It’s gotta be the same for a microwave.”

They waited a few minutes, each watching the flames with intent until they died out completely. Towa gingerly reached up and opened the door slowly. All three sputtered and coughed as they were hit with a cloud of smoke.

“Quick,” Towa coughed, eyes watering. “Get me a cloth or something!”

Moroha grabbed a dish towel and handed it over. Towa frantically tried to clear the smoke. Setsuna, whose sense of smell was the most sensitive, could do nothing but stand to the side with her hands over her nose and mouth.

All three jumped and Setsuna let out a small scream when the smoke detector went off.

“What the hell?”

The girls turned to see Inuyasha and Kagome standing in the kitchen doorway.

“You all set a fire in the microwave?!” Inuyasha shouted over the smoke detector, using his arm to cover his nose. His ears tweaked in annoyance and pain.

“Sorry, Dad,” Moroha said quickly. “We were trying to make a cake…,”

“In the microwave?” Kagome said as Inuyasha reached up and hit the reset button on the smoke detector.

“It was my idea to make mug cakes, Aunty,” Towa said quickly. “We let them overcook. I’m sorry.”

“Towa, you know how your parents feel about junk food. While you and Setsuna are in our care, your uncle and I are responsible.”

Towa nodded. “I understand.”

Kagome sighed.

“I think it’s time that the three of you went to bed. Uncle and I will clean up here.”

“But Mom – ,” Moroha started.

“No back talk!” Kagome snapped. “And don’t forget to brush your teeth.”

The girls obeyed. They quickly gathered up the snack packaging from the family room floor before their aunt had a chance to see them and stuffed them under Moroha’s bed before heading to the bathroom to brush their teeth and wash their faces. Once they were settled in Moroha’s room, Kagome and Inuyasha came to check on them for a final time.

“Is everyone comfortable and ready to sleep?” Inuyasha asked.

The twins nodded. Moroha gave her father a lazy salute.

“Alright, then,” Kagome said softly. “Good night, loves – and don’t let me see your heads leave those pillows!”

She shut off the light. The girls listened intently until they heard they were sure the couple was in bed.

“So,” Moroha whispered loudly. “What do you two want to do, now?”

“We really should try to sleep,” Towa muttered. “We’ve caused Aunty and Uncle enough trouble.”

“I’m not sleepy at all,” Setsuna said. “We could do something quiet in here.”

“Ooh, I have some board games in the closet!” Moroha said, switching on the bedside lamp. “Anyone up for Candyland?”

“You’re really on a candy kick tonight, aren’t you?” Towa said flatly.

“Oh, come on! It’s fun. I’ll show you how to play.”

The three sat together on the floor as Moroha explained the rules. They played for three rounds, Moroha winning the first and Setsuna winning the final two. Towa suggested a fourth round, but paused when she noticed that Setsuna kept shifting around as if she couldn’t get comfortable.

“Are you okay, Setsuna?” Towa asked, placing a hand on her twins’ knee.

“Y-yeah. I just…feel kind of restless.”

“Uh-oh,” Moroha said. “It must be all the ninja food. You’re not used to having that much sugar in your system.”

Towa glared at her cousin. “You knew this could happen to Setsuna?!”

Moroha rolled her eyes. “Relax, it’s not like she’s dying. She just has the jitters.” She stood up and grinned down at her cousins. “You just need to burn it off, Setsu. We can always go outside. Hell, I could even show the two of you the old well!”

“I thought you weren’t allowed to play in the well house?” Setsuna asked, wiggling her fingers.

Moroha made a clicking noise. “What’s wrong? Scared?”

Setsuna narrowed her eyes. “Do you think I’m the type to scare easily, Moroha?”

Moroha moved forward so that she was nose to nose with her cousin. “Weeeellll, then I dare you to go down to the old well. Without a flashlight.”

Setsuna narrowed her violet eyes. “I don’t need a flashlight. Towa and I have sharper night vision than you.”

“What’s your point?”

“Calm down, you two,” Towa said. “Let’s go outside. At the very least we can walk around a bit and Setsuna can work off some of the sugar.”

“There’s only one problem,” Setsuna said. “Aunty said not to let her see our heads leave our pillows.”

“She’s asleep,” Moroha said. “We’ll just be extra quiet.”

“Hey, Moroha,” Towa said, “do you have any ribbon or string or anything?”

“Um, I think I have some old hair ribbons in my drawer. Why?”

Towa grinned. “Aunty said for our heads not to leave the pillows, but she never said anything about the pillows leaving the room.”

Moroha stared at her, then smiled and snapped her fingers.

“Ah, I know what you’re getting at. On it!”

She fished some old ribbons from her dresser. They took turns carefully tying the pillows around each other’s necks, tight enough to hold them in place but not so much that it constricted their breathing. They carefully crept from Moroha’s room as she led the way boldly to the backdoor that led to the grounds of the shrine.

“Mom told me all about the well,” she said once they were outside. “How in the old days her ancestors exorcised lesser youkai and tossed their bones inside.”

“Aunty’s family was probably a big part of the reason that there aren’t many lesser youkai around today.” Towa pondered.

“Here we are!” Moroha chirped, standing in front of the well house. “Well, Setsu, are you brave enough to take on the dare?”

Setsuna rolled her eyes. “I don’t need to prove myself, Moroha. I’m only doing this so you’ll shut up.”

“Deal!”

“Hold up,” Towa said. “Setsuna, I’m not letting you go down there alone. I’m coming with you.”

“Do as you please,” Setsuna said flatly.

“Ugh, okay fine! I’m coming too!” Moroha chimed in.

Setsuna cracked her knuckles and slid open the door to the well-house. Though there was almost no light except for what came through the open door, her night vision and keen nose enabled her to find the steps without much difficulty. They formed a chain as she took Towa’s hand, who in turn took Moroha’s hand as they descended down to the well.

Sestuna rested her hands on top of the wooden plank that covered the opening and saw the spiritual seal that Kagome’s grandfather had placed over it long ago. All three girls knew that Kagome herself possessed some spiritual powers inherited from her family line; though these days there wasn’t much cause for demon exterminations since the lesser youkai had mostly been killed off centuries ago, they had seen her called to help people deal with troublesome ghosts or spirits several times. Even Moroha had mentioned that she herself sometimes caught glimpses of spirits, though not as frequently as her mother.

“See? Nothing to be scared of. There’s no – ,”

A strange stirring sound from beneath the wooden plank cut her off. All three suddenly detected a sharp smell of decayed flesh, as though it belonged to someone or something that had perished long ago.

Towa and Moroha stared at the well anxiously, Towa standing protectively behind her sister, but Setsuna was curious. She placed her ear to the old wood, minding the pillow still attached to her neck, and listened intently.

“Hmm...maybe there are restless spirits trapped in the well, after all,” she said. “In that case, it would be best to leave them be. We shouldn’t meddle in matters that don’t concern us.”

“Uh, right,” Towa said. “No need to cause extra trouble for Aunty.”

Moroha nodded quickly. “Let’s go.” She turned to run up the steps, but tripped when she reached the top, causing Towa and Setsuna to trip behind her until they were dogpiled on top of each other.

“Oof,” Moroha whined.

“You okay?” Towa asked.

“I will be once you two get off of me,” Moroha hissed.

There was a loud bang from deep inside the yell. All three girls gave out a yelp and scrambled over each other to get to the door, breathing hard. Moroha closed it and slammed the latch closed. Her pillow had fallen off in the scuffle and she dared not go back in to retrieve it.

“You really are a handful,” Setsuna muttered.

Moroha growled. “At least I didn’t put my ear over the well like an idiot!”

“What’s wrong?” Setsuna smirked. “Scared?”

“Cut it out!” Towa interjected. “You okay, Setsuna?”

“Yeah,” she said, rubbing her arms. “I’m starting to feel a little better.”

Towa smiled. “So, what should we do now? Are the two of you sleepy yet?”

“Nope!” Moroha chirped. “I’m up for whatever.”

Towa nodded. “How about you pick this time, Setsuna?”

Setsuna thought.

“Let’s do something relaxing. Do you have any craft supplies or anything, Moroha?”

“We could draw. I have plenty of crayons and paper.”

“Do you have any candles?”

Moroha cocked her head to the side. “Um, I think we have some old ritual candles in the storehouse. Why?”

Setsuna smiled. “We could make wax art, like we learned in art class last term.”

“Haven’t we had enough fire for one night?” Towa asked.

“It’ll be fine. We’ll do it out here so there won’t be any issues. And so Aunty and Uncle won’t smell it.”

Moroha nodded. “The two of you check the storehouse. It’s right over there. I’ll get the crayons.”

Soon the trio was sitting on the patio near the backdoor, holding their crayons over the small flames of the candles until they dripped just enough wax to make splatters on the paper.

“Mmh, very modern, as Papa would say,” Towa said as she glanced around the small circle they had made, admiring their work.

That was when they heard a swoosh.

“Oh, shit!” Moroha yelped.

The wax had caused a spark that sent one of the candles up in a flame that reached two feet into the air. Towa and Setsuna let out a scream in unison as they fell backwards.

“Water, where’s water?” Towa sputtered.

“Don’t pour water directly on it!” Setsuna shouted. “Get a wet cloth!”

Moroha scampered into the kitchen as fast as she could and returned moments later with a wet dish towel. She tossed it over the flame and all three let out a sigh of relief.

“That was close,” Towa muttered.

“Too close,” Setsuna agreed.

“Whew! We sure dodged a bullet, there.” Moroha said.

All three felt their eyes widen as the outside light flickered on.

“Or not.” Moroha muttered as her parents appeared.

Inuyasha and Kagome took one look at the scene and quickly sized up what had happened.

“Whose idea was this?” Inuyasha growled.

The girls looked at each other. Setsuna stepped forward.

“We couldn’t fall asleep, so I suggested we make wax art with Moroha’s crayons. We thought we were being careful. I’m sorry, Uncle.”

Inuyasha let out a heavy sigh. “The three of you are old enough to know better than to play with fire.”

“Well, we weren’t playing with fire, per se – ,” Moroha started.

Kagome held up a hand. Moroha knew better than to keep talking.

“Do the three of you realize that you could have burned down this entire shrine? For the second time tonight?!” She placed her hands on her hips. “You know, I once encountered the spirit of a little girl about your age who died in a fire. Would you like to share her fate?”

The trio shoot their heads solemnly. They knew that their aunt was right – it had been a very foolish thing to do. Setsuna felt her face turn red with embarrassment and shame.

“Clean this up,” Kagome hissed. “Then, all of you, to bed.”

The girls did their best to clean up the mess, then returned to Moroha’s room. Towa glanced at the clock on Moroha’s dresser and saw that it was a quarter past four in the morning.

“We really should sleep now,” she said.

“Mmmhmm,” Moroha agreed, collapsing onto her bed.

Towa and Setsuna settled into their sleeping bags and reached for each other’s hands.

It was safe to say that they had burned off all of the sugar.

Rin felt Sesshomaru’s arms around her as she stirred from sleep. Her eyes fluttered open and she saw that he was watching her with a small smile on his face, amber eyes lit with a soft glow.

“Good morning, Rin no kimi.” He said softly.

She smiled and kissed the tip of his nose. “Good morning. You should probably let me up so that I don’t wet this bed.”

He reluctantly let her go. She got up and walked to the ensuite bathroom to empty her bladder and care for herself before climbing back into bed beside him. Sesshomaru instantly took advantage and gently rolled her onto her back, peppering her neck with soft kisses.

Rin giggled. “What time is it?”

“Time isn’t important right now,” he murmured.

Rin managed to steal a glance at the alarm clock on her side of the bed and saw that it was only eight.

“What time do you think we should pick up the girls?”

Sesshomaru paused his ministrations and propped himself up on an elbow to look at her.

“There’s no rush. We can pick them up this afternoon.”

Rin nodded. “I just don’t want them to eat up Kagome and Inuyasha’s whole weekend.”

“It’s your birthday weekend, Rin. You are far too selfless.”

She smiled. “It’s one of the reasons why you love me.”

He nodded and pressed a gentle kiss to her lips.

“Remember that they offered to take them so that you and I could enjoy some time alone. Besides, Inuyasha owes me a favor after the stunt he pulled at the firm’s Christmas party,” he said quietly, a smirk forming on his lips. Inuyasha had had one too many beers and had attempted to lead the office in a drunk karaoke session.

Rin sighed. “Don’t be petty.”

“I can be as petty as I choose.”

She rolled her eyes and stroked the tip of his pointed ear, causing him to emit a low growl.

“Just because you can doesn’t mean you should, anata,” she teased.

“Hn. I can think of other things that I could be doing right now,” he said lowly, running his lips along the bridge of her nose. “Only if you want to,” he added in a whisper.

She smirked and rolled them. Sesshomaru smiled and brought her down for a kiss.

“Stay here with me a little longer,” he said as he rubbed her back. “We don’t get as much quiet time like this to enjoy each other as we used to.”

Rin nodded. “Three.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Hn?”

“We’ll pick up the girls at three.”

“Four.”

“Three.”

“Four.”

She pouted. “Three-thirty.”

Sesshomaru smirked and rolled them.

“Trust me,” he said, running a clawed thumb over her lips, “you’re going to want that extra half-hour.”

It was late morning by the time the couple got up. They showered and changed and Sesshomaru told Rin to relax while he made breakfast. She decided to spend some time on the balcony of their condo experimenting with her new succulent kit until he called her inside. Her eyes widened in delight when she saw that he had made her favorite breakfast: orange blossom pancakes with sliced melon, a cheese omelet, and matcha tea.

“Why are you so good to me?” she asked playfully, wrapping her arms around Sesshomaru’s neck.

“Don’t ask such ridiculous questions,” he said as he leaned in for a kiss. She gave his bottom lip a gentle nip.

“Careful, Rin, or I’ll take you back to bed and your breakfast will get cold,” he growled.

“Mmhm, that sounds tempting,” she murmured. “But I would hate to waste this beautiful meal you’ve made for me.”

He gave her a playful smack on the bottom. “Eat up, Rin. It’s your day, you can decide what we do afterwards.”

After they had eaten and made love again, Rin suggested that they go to a spring market in one of the local parks. They spent most of the afternoon there together until it was time to head to Inuyasha’s to pick up the girls. Rin was startled to see bags underneath Kagome’s eyes when she opened the door.

“Rin, Big Brother – thank god,” she muttered.

Rin’s eyes widened. “Kagome...oh no! Were the girls misbehaved?”

Kagome quickly filled them in on the major details.

“I’m so, so sorry, Sis!” Rin reached for Kagome’s hands and squeezed them gently. “I’ll have a talk with them when we get home. We owe you and Inuyasha big time for this!”

“I’ll say,” Inuyasha muttered, coming up behind Kagome.

“Inuyasha,” Sesshomaru said, “did you by any chance give the girls junk food?”

Inuyasha’s ears tweaked as he quickly glanced away. “Uh...just some pocky.”

Sesshomaru’s eyes narrowed. Kagome turned around to glare at her husband. “What?! When did this happen?”

“It’s just I know that they never get to enjoy treats at home since you’re so particular about them eating healthy!” Inuyasha said, pointing to Sesshomaru. “What's the harm in letting them have a few snacks?”

“Only it wasn’t a few, was it?” Sesshomaru asked dryly.

“Keh!” Inuyasha turned away. “You’re no fun, same as always.”

“You’re a little too much fun, sometimes.”

“At least you admit that I am fun!”

Rin and Kagome turned to each other and sighed as their husbands continued to argue.

“What are we going to do with them?” Rin asked.

Kagome shrugged. “These two fools love each other very deep down, but I think they genuinely enjoy hearing themselves bicker.”

“Stubborn boys.” Rin giggled. “But I suppose we’re no better!”

Kagome winked. “That's why they love us! I’ll get the girls.”

Minutes later, Towa and Setsuna stumbled with their aunt to the front door to greet their parents. Moroha could not be roused to see them off.

“Hello, my darlings,” Rin said. “Aunty Kagome told us that you were quite a handful last night.”

“We can explain...but later,” Setsuna mumbled, her eyes still heavy with exhaustion.

“Ugh,” Towa groaned, rubbing her temple. “Can I have some ibuprofen?”

Sesshomaru sighed. “Let’s get the two of you home and to bed.”

The girls hugged their aunt and uncle goodbye, muttering another apology, before their parents escorted them to the car.

“That was an adventure,” Kagome said after they drove off.

“Mmm,” Inuyasha said, turning to her. “But hey, no harm, no foul. The way I see it, they’ll all be grown before any of us know it. Let them make some fun memories while they can.”

Kagome smiled. “You’re right. They’ll be fun for us to remember too, eventually.” She reached up and playfully tweaked one of his ears. “You know, Moroha probably won’t wake up for a long time. I couldn’t even get her up to say goodbye to the twins!”

Inuyasha raised an eyebrow, a smile forming at the edge of his lips. “What do you propose we do in the meantime?”

Kagome smirked. “Take me inside and I’ll show you. We can even open that bottle of sake Rin gave us. Frankly, I think we’ve earned it after last night!”

Inuyasha scooped her up bridal style and carried her into the house. “Keh, you’ve got that right, love!”