Expectancy

Expectancy

It was very late, around midnight. The moon was hiding behind the dark clouds of the night sky, so the stars were the only source of light. Their soft light and a bit misty weather made everything seem very magical and beautiful tonight.

In a certain hut in a certain forest, however, a certain hanyou paid no attention to the gorgeous area that surrounded his home. Instead, he was staring at his wife with a deep frown on his face. Or actually he was staring at his wife's belly. The round, big belly where their child grew.

Inuyasha remembered how he had reacted when Kagome told him she was pregnant. He had been speechless, just staring at her blankly. She had, of course, panicked a little and, being emotional because of the big news, started crying. When he had finally snapped out of his daze, and calmed her down (which had been surprisingly easy) he finally really realized what she had said. He was going to be a father! For a moment, the world had been spinning wildly around him. Then it had suddenly stopped. A weird feeling had swelled inside of him. He didn't know how to describe the feeling, he didn't know any name for it. It scared him, just a little. But he hadn't said anything about it to anyone. Of course he was happy about having a child with Kagome, why wouldn't he be? But the weird feeling had made him less enthusiastic, and thus he had just smiled a little at Kagome. She had beamed at him, but seemed somehow disappointed. She had gotten really worried when he had been a bit distant for couple days after that. It hadn't had anything to do with her though. He just had been very bewildered about that weird, indescribable feeling swelling inside of him and had thought that he could figure out what it was. He had given up soon though. But it had still made him wonder. Only later, when Miroku had told him that feeling a bit weird about suddenly becoming a father was normal, Inuyasha calmed down. He had gotten a bit more excited about the pup, and Kagome had been happy again. Still, he was having that weird feeling often nowadays too. And it still confused him. The whole thing about having a baby still confused and amazed him.

Now he kept staring at Kagome's belly. He seemed to be thinking something very hard, as if he was battling with himself.

Finally, he looked like he had decided something, and slowly, carefully, so he wouldn't wake up Kagome, he edged closer to her.

Trembling slightly, though he didn't have any idea why, he laid his head on Kagome's stomach and listened. The pup was awake, apparently. He/she was kicking pretty enthusiastically. Inuyasha frowned and rubbed his wife's belly gently, hoping that would calm his child down. He didn't want the child to wake Kagome. She should sleep as much as she could, she was pretty tired nowadays because of her pregnancy.

The pup did calm down a little, and so Inuyasha decided that now was a good time to do what Miroku had suggested.

Earlier that day, Inuyasha and Miroku had been walking together, coming back home from a journey to another village. They had been talking and suddenly Miroku had brought up Kagome and her pregnancy.

"Have you pressed your ear against her stomach and listened?" he had asked excitedly, his eyes shining brightly and to Inuyasha he had seemed a bit scary.

Inuyasha had given him a confused look, so he had continued. "Have you listened to the little noises your child makes?"

"Huh?" Inuyasha had just stared at him, not understanding.

Miroku had looked at him incredulously. "You mean you've never heard the noises your child makes in Kagome's belly?"

Inuyasha had just shaken his head, feeling a bit uncomfortable. Miroku had been looking at him weirdly and talking like he had missed something wonderful.

"Um…Should I?" Inuyasha had asked after a moment.

Miroku had nodded enthusiastically. "Yes, you definitely should. And you should talk to your child too. It can strengthen your bond with him or her."

"Talk? Really?" Inuyasha had asked, surprised. "You mean… the pup can hear me if I talk to it?"

Miroku had nodded with a grin. "Yes. The baby can hear things even when it's still in the womb. And if you talk to your child often, it can even learn to recognize your voice."

Inuyasha had looked at Miroku, still a bit confused. His friend had been humming happily, smiling broadly and- was he skipping?

Inuyasha had sighed. It seemed like Sango was pregnant again…

Inuyasha shook his head slightly to clear his flashback. He focused his attention to Kagome's belly once again. He looked determined. But at the same time he felt quite stupid. Was he really going to talk to his wife's belly?

If someone saw him now…they would get a good laugh.

But… he wanted to strengthen his bond with the pup. He wanted him/her to know who his/her father was.

Inuyasha sighed and looked at Kagome's face, making sure she was asleep.

Looking at her belly again, he gulped and began.

"Uh…Um… Hey," he whispered. He paused for a moment, thinking what he should say next.

The weird feeling was swelling inside of him again.

"Um… It's me. Your papa..." he continued, the word 'papa' sounding still a bit strange to him, even if Kagome often liked to call him that, now that they were having a child.

"I…uhm…" he paused again. What should he say to the kid?

The pup kicked under his hand that was still resting on Kagome's stomach. Inuyasha frowned.

"Oi… Stop that, kid. Don't wake mama. Calm down. You should sleep too…"

The pup just kicked again.

Inuyasha couldn't help but chuckle a little, quietly. "You're as stubborn as your mother."

The pup kicked again, harder this time.

"Shh…" Inuyasha rubbed his wife's belly soothingly again. He wondered would the pup calm down if he talked to him/her more.

"Listen, pup. I…um… I just wanted to talk to you... So that you'd know I'm here too. I'm sure you know your mama already. I've heard her talking and singing to you sometimes. So… I just want you to know that you have a father too."

Inuyasha nodded to himself, thinking over what he'd just said. "Yeah…"

He felt a kick again. This time, though, it was gentler.

He smiled.

"We… we can't wait to see what you look like. Your mama and aunt Sango are especially excited. Maybe you've heard their conversations," Inuyasha continued talking, still stroking Kagome's tummy gently.

"We can't wait to see if you're a boy or a girl. It doesn't matter to us though. Just like your mama says, we'll love you whether you're boy or girl. Though Miroku's girls would love it if you were girl. They say if you're girl you're more fun to be with. Keh."

Inuyasha was silent for a while.

He just looked at his hand that rested on his wife's belly. He had stopped rubbing it.

He swallowed.

"I…I… I promise to be the best father I can," he whispered. "I don't know much about being a father, but I'll try my best…"

"And that's enough for both of us."

Inuyasha jumped a little and looked at his wife.

"I thought you were asleep," he whispered, blushing.

Kagome smiled at him. "I was. I woke up just a while ago," she said.

"How…how much did you hear?" Inuyasha asked, blushing even more.

"Not much. Were you… You were talking to our child, right?"

Inuyasha nodded a little.

Kagome's smile widened.

"Miroku suggested it…" Inuyasha mumbled, looking away from her.

They were silent for a while. Then Kagome spoke up.

"I think you calmed the baby down."

Inuyasha turned to face her, smiling proudly. "The pup knows when it's time to listen to papa," he said with a newfound confidence.

Kagome beamed at him. Inuyasha grinned. He was always proud of himself when he got her to smile like that.

When he lay down next to her she inched closer and kissed his nose. Inuyasha hugged her and started to rub her belly once again. She stoked his ears.

"I love you," she whispered.

He looked at her lovingly and kissed her.

"Inuyasha… You're going to be a great father. I know you've been anxious because our baby is going to be born very soon. Don't worry, we'll be fine," Kagome whispered after the kiss.

Inuyasha nodded and nuzzled her neck.

Soon Kagome fell asleep again in Inuyasha's arms. Inuyasha was spooned against her back and he held her gently, his hands on her belly. He breathed slowly and calmly, realizing that the feeling swelling inside of him had begun to ease up.

He hugged Kagome closer. "I'm here… I'm waiting... " he murmured before falling asleep.

Under his hands a tiny little foot kicked gently against his fingers.