Okay, here's the last chapter! It does function primarily as an epilogue more than anything else, but I hope it's enjoyable nonetheless. Thank you to everybody for your patience and reviews; I truly do appreciate both.
The sun glinted off the ripples on the pond as Rin casually touched the surface. The water was cool upon her fingertips, as was the smooth stone beneath her feet. While the air was not hot, there the heaviness to it that whispered of the summer that was soon to come, and the stone felt good.
As she stared idly at the pond, she wondered when Sesshoumaru would return. It had already been two weeks that he had been gone, patrolling his vast lands, and she found that each day was becoming harder to bear than the last. While there had been many occasions in the past when he had been gone for much longer, back then there had been distance between them even when they were near; with that space she could not cross, he had seemed as distant when he was with her as when he was gone. Now, with no barriers to separate them, she felt any separation vividly.
Watching the koi avoid the disturbance of her fingers, Rin thought back on the last few months, the fuzzy rush of activity, and smiled wryly. While there were no words to describe her happiness at becoming his wife, it had come with the unconsidered string of being the Lady of the Western Lands. It had seemed as though within hours of the announcements, the responsibilities demanded of her in regards to decorum increased tenfold.
But Sesshoumaru had never demanded such things from her. He had never told her to change her behavior or opinions to conform to the expectations of the court. If anything, he had forbidden her to do such a thing, procuring her word that she would not alter who she was because of what the people thought she should be.
Although she had hardly been able to remove the smile from her face, Rin was well aware that her happiness was shared by a select few. The people might recognize her as the Lady they had to serve, but that did not mean she was accepted. And while the atmosphere inside the palace complex was cool, it was frigid outside.
Sighing, Rin recognized this as the reason why Sesshoumaru had left to patrol, although he would never say as much to her. As ever, he tried to protect her, now by attempting to insulate her from the rebellions he had to quell on account of taking her as his wife.
But she knew all the same. Having reasoned with herself for years about why she could never hope to be any more than his ward, she had considered the strains that their present relationship would cause. They would be scorned by both humans and demons, detached from the world in which they lived. There would be those who challenged him for accepting and returning the love of something as weak as her. Of course he would have to leave to patrol his lands; otherwise, they would fall apart.
If the present conditions irritated him, he never allowed it to show around her. Even though so much had changed and shifted, his love had been as constant as he had promised it would be. In the presence of his subjects, he might remain aloof and remote, but the moment that it was just the two of them, all of the cold edges of his personality softened. While he might not have spoken of his love often, he now allowed the emotion to show plainly in his eyes, and she could always see it.
One of the pale blooms on the sakura tree fluttered onto the mirror of the pond, light touch upon the surface creating frail ripples. In the broken image, Rin suddenly realized how late it had become; soon she would no doubt have to attend dinner, and she had not yet changed into her more formal kimono.
She rose, turning to her rooms, but instantly stopped in surprise. In the shade of one of the heavily blooming trees stood Sesshoumaru, the light breeze tossing petals down onto his hair and pelt.
Smile instantly lighting her face, she ran across the distance to him. Minding his armor, she wrapped her arms around his neck, smiling into the collar of his kimono as she held him as closely as she could. In turn, she felt his arm slide around her waist, embracing her wordlessly.
Lifting her head after a moment, she shifted her arms, allowing her to pick the petals from his hair. It was not long before her hand made its way to his face, gently touching his cheek. "I have missed you," she whispered.
His eyes closed briefly at her touch. "I was only gone for two weeks," he said, eyes slowly opening again to consider her, the subtle light of amusement in the bright gold.
"It felt like an eternity," Rin said seriously.
The hand upon her back pulled her closer. "It did," he agreed quietly.
Rin quickly forgot that she had intended to prepare for dinner, instead quite willing to remain in his embrace as long as he provided it. Presently, however, he leaned back and surveyed her. There was a hint of scrutiny in his gaze, his brow furrowing slightly. "You are well?" he eventually asked.
"Now that you are back, I am," she replied, laughing with her joy that he had returned. She was unfazed by the seriousness of his expression. "Please, tell me about your time away. Did you find the condition of the lands to be satisfactory?"
Although his gaze remained skeptical for a moment longer, it finally softened. "Let us have dinner first," he said, gracing her with the shadow of a smile. "Then you may ask your questions."
----
Sesshoumaru had kept his word; upon finishing their meal, they had returned to the gardens. Having made his appearance to allow everybody to badger him with problems and news that had arisen while he had been away, he could assume with a fair amount of certainty that the rest of his night would be uninterrupted.
Rin had shown him where the seeds she had planted earlier were now nearly to bloom, some of the flowers daring to open their petals. She also made sure to point out the growth of her herbs; they were in an area of the garden he had cleared to allow more room for her plants. Listening to her chatter so happily about the new growth, something so simple, made him smile faintly. She was full of such joy at the simplest of things that, at times, he would find himself drawn into her experience from the sheer force of her emotions.
After walking through the portion of the garden that she tended, they returned to his rooms, sitting on the boardwalk in the dying evening light. She sat so that she could meet his eyes as she asked her questions, which he answered as directly as he felt comfortable doing. While he knew that she was worried and more than likely aware of the true motivation he had for patrolled his lands, there was no reason for her to know every detail. He did not want her to dwell on things that were outside of her control.
By the time he finished, the sun was quickly sinking, turning the airy pink of the cherry blossoms to deep fuchsia. Rin had changed her position so that she was curled at his side, head tucked beneath his chin. For a while she told him the few things she had done while he had been away before she grew quiet. Her fingers traced the patterns on his kimono before eventually growing still, her arm slowly falling to lie across his lap as she drifted to sleep.
Sesshoumaru listened to steady rhythm of her breathing. Carefully he removed his hand from her waist, lifting it to gently brush the bangs from her forehead so that he could see her face. He looked at the dark line of her long lashes upon her cheeks, at her lips parted slightly in sleep.
He breathed deeply, taking in her scent, and wondered when she would tell him that she was with child.
As he softly ran his fingers through her hair, he reminded himself that Rin did not have the senses he did. Perhaps she did not even know. When he had returned, he had smelled the faint difference in her scent, something familiar but strange. It had not been until halfway through their meal that he realized what it meant.
A child. They had spoken of it once before, but looking back, it had been so abstract. For so long he had seen his life as a continuing path of conquest, a road stretching through a landscape of war and destruction. Being a father had never even been a consideration then.
So much was different. Back in his youth, caring for somebody would have seemed ridiculous, and a human would have been disgraceful. For years he had cursed Inuyasha for his mixed heritage, and now… now he was to have a child who was the same.
But Sesshoumaru found that he did not care. He merely felt a steady wash of emotion, fluxing between happiness and apprehension, at the knowledge that Rin was carrying his heir. Suddenly, it seemed impossible not to view her as something even more fragile than he was prone to believe already.
As the evening deepened, he thought of all the things that would need to be prepared. His thoughts stopped as Rin shifted, cuddling closer to him as the coolness of the shadows settled over them. Smiling softly at the sleeping woman, he slowed the rapid pace of his considerations. There was still time.
So for now he just enjoyed the present, her warmth where she was pressed next to him. What was, was, and the future could only be dealt with when it drew close. All he could do now was continue to protect her as he always had, do what he could to make sure she was content.
A cool breeze brushed them, making Rin shiver. This time she awoke, blinking sleepily before looking up at him. Upon meeting his eyes, she gave him a crooked smile. "I'm sorry," she said. "I'm sure it was rather boring serving as a cushion."
Running his fingers along the curve of her neck, Sesshoumaru shook his head. "I did not mind. There is much to think of."
"Yes?" she wondered, shifting so that she could look at him more directly.
"Are you happy, Rin?" he asked, considering her intensely. "Even with the things the people say, and the fact that I must leave at times, are you still happy that you chose this life?"
She scanned his face, eyes soft in the darkness. "I have what I have always wished for." With a gentle hand, she cupped his cheek. "Being with you has brought me more happiness than I could have dreamed of."
Sesshoumaru leaned down, kissing her. The sensation would never lose its novelty, the odd way it stirred an uncontrollable flurry of emotions within him. He wondered that he had ever been able to resist the touch of her lips; it was now an indulgence he doubted he could deny himself.
"Besides," Rin began, smiling when the kiss eventually broke, "I do not care what the people have to say of me, remember?"
"People can change," he pointed out.
"Yes," she agreed quietly as she again leaned against him. "Isn't it wonderful?"
Sesshoumaru caught the meaning of the statement. While he did not reply, he recognized the truth of her words, wondering what things would be like if on that winter morning he had not allowed himself the one thing he had come to desire above all else. There would be no joy, a strange, light feeling to which he was still attempting to become accustomed.
Yes, people could change like everything else, morph and shift as the seasons did. The cold austerity of winter eventually thawed when spring arrived; the warmth of the sun melted the snow, allowed life to stir where there had been ice. If such changes could be brought to the earth, to something that existed long before him and would continue long after his death, it was not so strange that one mortal girl could touch his heart.
As he looked up into the sky, at the stars they had watched together on so many nights, Sesshoumaru held Rin a bit closer, feeling her hand tighten into the fabric of his kimono in response.