Chapter 14: 57 Days

"How are you feeling?"

Inuyasha shrugged softly, Shina sitting across from him with Mizuki. Sesshomaru was in his office while they talked about his due date. Because he had lactated they had predicted he would have the pups four days ago. When he didn't go into labor they kept a very close eye on him.

Inuyasha didn't believe it was necessary. He was still scared of the pain of labor, but shouldn't it be a good thing that his pups were given more time to grow? Inuyasha wasn't sure how anything was supposed to be, sighing softly as he leaned back with a sigh. He grunted when his stomach throbbed with a false contraction, Mizuki narrowing her eyes.

"I'm going to Sesshomaru's office," Inuyasha said with a sigh when he got tired of being stared at like an insect. A maid helped him up, Inuyasha waddling over to the shoji. He looked over his shoulder when he heard footsteps, the hairs on the back of his neck standing up when he saw Mizuki and Shina standing behind him.

"I'm fine," he barked, getting very irritated and tired of this act. They followed him all the way to Sesshomaru's office, grinding Inuyasha's nerves to the point he wanted to explode. He stopped at the shoji of his office, growling softly as he turned to face them.

"Stay out!" He barked, opening the shoji and slamming it shut in their faces.

"Inuyasha?" The hanyou turned to meet the confused eyes of his mate, waddling over to him. Sesshomaru helped him lay down on his side, placing his head on his lap. Inuyasha wasn't nearly as comfortable as he wanted to be, but for right then it didn't matter.

"They won't stop following me," Inuyasha grumbled, Sesshomaru smirking as he ran a hand through Inuyasha's hair as he tried to read his scroll.

"You are four days late Inuyasha. They are worried," Sesshomaru inputted, Inuyasha rolling his eyes as he lightly jabbed Sesshomaru's side.

"Whose side are you on anyway?" Inuyasha asked with a soft growl of annoyance, Sesshomaru giving up on the scroll to look to Inuyasha's face. His little hanyou was frustrated, used to having some sort of privacy. Sesshomaru was glad this frustration wasn't directed towards him anymore, moving a strand of hair from Inuyasha's face.

"They care for you Inuyasha." Inuyasha frowned at his words, looking into Sesshomaru's eyes as he tried to see into his mind.

"Why do you not like your mother?" Inuyasha whispered, Sesshomaru's smirk pulling into a frown. He tried to close himself off, but Inuyasha wouldn't let him. He raised a hand up, touching it to Sesshomaru's cheek. Sesshomaru closed his eyes, leaning into his hand with affection Inuyasha only ever received in private.

"Tell me why it's so hard to love me," Inuyasha whispered, Sesshomaru opening his eyes to show a barrage of turmoil and sadness. Sadness, Inuyasha had never seen in his eyes. It was usually always anger, which made Inuyasha wonder what his mother had done to hurt him so.

"When I was born, my mother and father had been close. But even so, I always felt like she was always waiting on her knees for him. Their mating had been arranged, but when I was a child I couldn't understand that. I couldn't understand that she had loved, while he treated as a job."

Inuyasha ran his fingers through Sesshomaru's hair, keeping their eye contact so he wouldn't shut him out again. Sesshomaru sighed in turmoil, looking to the shoji to ensure his mother wasn't standing there.

"After I turned fifty they stopped talking to each other. By the time I was a hundred my mother was already sleeping in another room. After that, she moved away. There was no love, it was just work to them. When I went to visit her, she wouldn't talk or touch me. I was just a burden to her." Inuyasha frowned, sitting up with a few grunts of effort. Sesshomaru helped, Inuyasha turning to face his mate. He touched a hand to his cheek, Sesshomaru's eyes trying to block him out again.

"Am I work Sessh?" Inuyasha asked, Sesshomaru looking away from him with a frown.

"No."

Inuyasha forced Sesshomaru to look at him, anger building up in his chest.

"What am I to you then?" Inuyasha questioned, Sesshomaru hearing the anger in his voice. Sesshomaru parted his lips, wondering what Inuyasha really meant to him. At first he was just a good lay, but over the weeks he became more than just an ass he could fuck.

He became his mate, his desire, and his addiction. He became the mother of his pups, which would arrive only days or hours from this moment. Inuyasha had become his and his alone, and even had the willingness to love him without being forced. Their mating might not have started the way he had wanted it to, but it was going on in a way he would have never expected. Inuyasha had become everything to him.

"Everything." Inuyasha frowned at first in confusion, and Sesshomaru quickly tried to clear his words to ensure nothing was missed.

"You are everything to me. My mate, the mother to my pups, and the only person I would ever want."

Inuyasha stopped breathing. He was pretty sure that was a declaration of love, but he wanted to hear that word. He needed to hear it. Inuyasha thought he would explode, leaning in closer to Sesshomaru who looked to his lips.

"Inuyasha…" They both looked down when water gushed from between Inuyasha's legs, Inuyasha doubling over in agony. Sesshomaru at first didn't know what to do, stuck in a state of shock. In his numb state he picked Inuyasha up bridal style, carrying him over to the shoji and opening it.

"Shina," he yelled, his mother and Shina running from the birthing room. Inuyasha was shaking in his arms, his teeth clenched tight as he gripped onto Sesshomaru's sleeve. Shina led Sesshomaru into the birthing room, a futon placed on the floor. It was surrounded by cloths and a curtain, Sesshomaru gently laying Inuyasha down and snapping out of his shock when Shina moved him away.

"You need to leave," Shina told him, Sesshomaru frowning in anger as he shook his head. His mother grabbed his hand, Sesshomaru about to protest.

"Sesshomaru, he needs to concentrate, he can't do it with you here." Sesshomaru looked to Inuyasha, the hanyou starting to sweat as he tried to hold back his screams. Sesshomaru tore his arm away from his mother's, moving to Inuyasha's side. Shina was prepared to move the demon away by force when Sesshomaru looked to her, his jaw set.

"Tell me what to do." Shina sighed, touching a warm cloth to Inuyasha's head.

"Hold this here. Wipe away his sweat. But I warn you, one noise out of you and I will kick you out." Sesshomaru nodded, taking the cloth and dabbing Inuyasha's forehead. His mother sat down next to him, her eyes watching as Shina lifted Inuyasha's legs. She put a blanket over his legs, lifting it up just enough to see Inuyasha's private areas.

"Inuyasha, can you feel my fingers?" Shina asked, Inuyasha growling out in agony. Sesshomaru grit his teeth when the growl became a scream, Inuyasha's eyes wet with tears. He screamed for it to stop, the sound making Sesshomaru feel helpless. He did the one thing he could do at that moment, dabbing away his tears and sweat.

"Inuyasha, I need you to breathe," Shina told him, Inuyasha gritting his teeth as he tried to force himself to calm down. Inuyasha had not expected this magnitude of pain though, his body jerking as his body tried to prepare for what was to come.

"Breathe with me Inuyasha," Shina told him, breathing loudly so Inuyasha could hear. Inuyasha whimpered but managed to calm down some, Shina getting a small cloth and wetting it. She pressed the warm cloth against Inuyasha's hole, looking to Inuyasha's face.

"Do you feel it?" Shina asked, Inuyasha nodding as he gripped onto the sheets to ease some of the pain.

"Push towards the warmth," Shina told Inuyasha, the hanyou sobbing softly as he tried to concentrate. Even though his water had broke, they waited for what seemed like forever. Hours went by as Inuyasha worked just to push the baby down, his body in shock over the sudden onslaught of labor. Just when Shina started to worry, the head of the pup started to show.

"I see your pup Inuyasha!" Shina proclaimed, the small glimpse of skull something magnificent. Inuyasha groaned in agony as he grabbed onto Mizuki's hand, completely unaware of Sesshomaru's presence. The demon had been brought to his knees. To see Inuyasha in such pain affected him to the point he felt the urge to show his emotions.

He wanted to leave but couldn't, doing his job the best he could. When Inuyasha screamed again as the pup's head started to come out more, Sesshomaru couldn't take it.

"Isn't there anything to help?" Sesshomaru asked, Shina giving him a look that told him to shut up. Inuyasha screamed louder, Sesshomaru feeling like somebody tore out his heart.

"Lord Sesshomaru, I need you to leave," Shina told him, Sesshomaru on the verge of panicking as Inuyasha screamed for him. Sesshomaru grabbed his hand, almost hyperventilating as Inuyasha squeezed to the point of pain.

"Lord Sesshomaru, you need to leave now." Sesshomaru shook his head, his usual calm façade replaced with the fear of a father to be. He looked to his mother who touched a hand to his shoulder, his eyes daring her to try anything while he was in this exposed state.

His mother gently guided him out of the room, Sesshomaru wanting to rush back in when she closed the shoji. His face was grabbed, forcing him to look into the eyes of his mother.

"Sesshomaru, I need you to breathe." Sesshomaru growled, not in the mood for this. His mother blocked him off when he tried to reenter, Inuyasha screaming his name again and making him go into a frenzy. His mother pinned him against the wall, her eyes narrowing slightly.

"Listen Sesshomaru, Inuyasha needs to concentrate. If you freak out, so will he." Sesshomaru looked to her, his heart trying to beat out of his chest. He felt like vomiting, and oddly even wanting to cry. He took in a shaky breath, letting it out shakily. His mother let him go, smoothing out his kimono.

"You need to be strong for him. No matter how little you can do for him now." Sesshomaru nodded, his hands shaking as his mother turned back to the shoji and opened it.

"Stay out here until he delivers this one. If he is indeed carrying twins I will allow you to come back in." Sesshomaru watched the shoji close, getting a glimpse of his mate. Inuyasha was a sweating mess, tears cascading down his cheeks. His entire body seemed to be covered in hives, shaking to the point Sesshomaru wanted to do nothing but hold him.

But that wasn't what his mate needed right now.

Sesshomaru felt so small as he leaned against the wall, unaware of his tears as Inuyasha screamed for him in the midst of his agony. Sesshomaru grit his teeth, trying hard to stay calm. When the screams finally stopped, high-pitched screams replaced it.

The shoji was opened, his mother smiling as she let him in. Inuyasha was holding their pup, his eyes bright despite the pain he had felt. Their pup stopped screaming as Inuyasha rocked it, shushing it softly.

"It's a boy," his mother told him, Sesshomaru walking over and kneeling at Inuyasha's side. Inuyasha gave him a tired smile, Sesshomaru looking over the face of his son.

He had all of his markings, but Inuyasha's face. He was the most beautiful thing Sesshomaru had seen, gently taking him from Inuyasha. He moved a strand of white hair from the boy's face, already knowing his name.

"I will name you Takehiko." Takehiko opened his eyes, cooing softly. His eyes were the same color as his, Sesshomaru looking to Inuyasha sharply when he doubled over with a cry of pain. Takehiko cried as if knowing his mother was in pain, Sesshomaru kneeling by Inuyasha's side. He held onto his son tightly, calming the little one.

The second one came within a matter of minutes, more impatient than it's brother. The second was also a boy, an identical twin. Sesshomaru was proud of his luck as a father, Inuyasha able to rest as he held their second son. The afterbirth had been delivered and now everything had calmed down, Sesshomaru sitting beside Inuyasha as they admired their two sons.

"What name will you give him?" Inuyasha whispered, Sesshomaru looking to his second son. The only way to tell the difference between the two was by their moon marking on their heads. They were not the same size, Takehiko's a little bit smaller. Sesshomaru knew the name he would give his son within minutes.

"I will name him Kazuhiko."

Takehiko and Kazuhiko. Sesshomaru smiled as he kissed Inuyasha's forehead, knowing his father would have ben proud of them.

"Sesshomaru?" Sesshomaru hummed softly in response, Inuyasha looking to him with tired eyes.

"I don't want anymore."

Sesshomaru was sure he would change his mind in the future. But for right now, this was all he needed to be happy. He had his mate, his son's, and he knew over time his connection with his mother would grow stronger. Inuyasha had brought a light to his life he never thought he would ever have. Sesshomaru leaned down, kissing Inuyasha's lips softly.

"I love you, Inuyasha."

The End!

Author's note: Decided not to include Kagome since she played such a small role in the story. Besides Inuyasha has found someone worthy of his heart.