Love is a Beautiful Thing by thetroll

Chapter 1

Kagome was outside, tending to Jinenji's garden, when Rin arrived. Not long after Kagome had returned from her home—a home that Rin knew was very, very far away, though how far, she'd never quite figured out—she had settled in with Jinenji and his mother to learn about herbs, after she'd first learned all she could from Kaede.

Though it had been a few years now, Kagome had shown no interest in returning to the village permanently, even though she had probably learned all that she could from Jinenji over the last few years. Kagome would visit, but she seemed more at peace here and now that Rin was an adult herself, she thought she understood why.

Jinenji was a giant soul—and a peaceful one. She always felt comforted and relaxed in his presence and found it enjoyable to talk with him. No one else—not even Kagome herself—understood Rin's passion for flowers and plants the way Jinenji did. And no one else was content to spend hours discussing those topics with her, either.

He always seemed pleased to have her visit. He would listen to her chat for hours about whatever was on her mind, but more often than not, she would prod him into talking about his garden, the herbs and flowers he tended, or Jinenji himself.

The more she learned, the more she liked. And now that she was eighteen, she knew what she wanted.

She wanted to be Jinenji's wife.

Rin wanted to marry him, cherish him, and have his children. She wanted to spend her life tending his garden side-by-side with him, teaching their children all about the plants and flowers they both found so interesting.

But no matter how much she hinted, no matter how hard she tried, Jinenji didn't seem to understand. She didn't think there was anyone else—he didn't even seem to realize Kagome was a woman, let alone act interested in her—but she didn't know how to reach him, either.

At a loss, she went to Kagome for advice, since Kagome spent the most time with Jinenji of all of Rin's friends.

"What's up, Rin?" Kagome asked, looking up from the herb patch she was weeding to smile gently at Rin. "It's only been a few days since your last visit. Is everyone okay?"

Everyone, Rin knew, mostly referred to Sango, Miroku, and their children, as well as Kaede, Kohaku, and Shippo, whenever he visited. Since InuYasha was often away yokai slaying, Kagome rarely bothered to ask how he was doing. "Everyone is fine, Lady Kagome," Rin said, striving to offer a smile that she hoped didn't betray her nerves.

What if Kagome said that Jinenji wasn't interested in Rin? Or worse, said Rin wasn't his type?

Rin swallowed nervously. "Can we talk somewhere more private, Lady Kagome?"

Kagome looked surprised but she recovered quickly, nodding as she brushed the dirt off of her hands before rising to her feet. "I need to refill these buckets but I could use a hand," she said, indicating the empty buckets next to her with a wave of her hand.

Rin took two in her hands and left the other two for Kagome to scoop up. She followed Kagome to the stream not far from the house, but far enough that Jinenji wouldn't be able to hear the conversation while he was inside the hut. Still, she had to make sure that Jinenji was inside. She'd be humiliated if he overheard them before she verified if he was, in fact, interested. "Is Jinenji inside?" she asked hesitantly.

Kagome looked up from the bucket she was filling with water. "He is," she confirmed, an odd expression on her face. "Why don't you tell me what's wrong, Rin? It's not like you to be so nervous."

Rin fidgeted as she tried to think of the best way to ask what she wanted to ask without sounding too desperate. After a moment, she blurted, "I think I'm in love with Jinenji."

Kagome pressed her lips together for a moment. "I see," she said, her lips quirking slightly as she nodded. "And I take it that he doesn't know."

Rin wrung her hands. "He doesn't understand at all, Lady Kagome!" she practically wailed. Now that she'd started, she couldn't seem to stop herself. "I've tried everything! I don't know what else to do. Do... Do you think he likes me, too? Maybe he doesn't," she added on a horrified whisper, hating how self-conscious she felt.

Kagome made a big production out of looking around before cupping her hand to whisper to Rin, "He has a big grin on his face whenever he hears that you've stopped by." She swapped her filled bucket for an empty one and began filling it. "Just last week, Jinenji was blending a tea for you to help boost your immune system because he thought you had been sniffling too much the last time you visited. You're very important to him, Rin."

Rin's face instantly heated at the insinuation. "I-I am?" she breathed, her heart beating too fast at the thought that Jinenji might feel the same way. "But then... Lady Kagome, I love him so much. I-I want to marry him."

There, she'd said it aloud, though she hardly believed she'd dared.

Kagome set aside another full bucket and reached for the third empty one to fill it up. "Rin," she said, her gaze never leaving Rin's own, "if you like him that much, why don't you just ask him to marry you?"

Rin blinked. Somehow, the thought of asking Jinenji herself had never crossed her mind. "Oh," she breathed, feeling a little faint. "D-do you think he'd agree?"

Kagome pressed her lips together for a moment. "If it's you, Rin, I think he just might," she said casually, setting aside the third bucket to fill the last one. "Sometimes, Rin, it doesn't hurt to be open about what you want. You just might get what you're looking for."

Rin opened her mouth and then shut it as she mulled over Kagome's words. After a moment, she nodded. "You're right," she said, feeling invigorated. She loved Jinenji and she wanted to marry him. If he really cared about her as much as Kagome thought, then she would be brave and tell him the truth. "I'm going to go tell him right now!"

And with that, Rin turned and ran off back towards Jinenji's hut. She simply couldn't wait a moment longer to tell him how she felt.

Kagome looked down at the four full buckets of water beside her and chuckled. She had the feeling that Rin was going to get her 'happily ever after' after all. And Rin deserves it. Gods know the poor girl has had enough heartache, but Jinenji will protect and cherish that girl with everything he has.

She hummed 'here comes the bride' as she picked up two of the buckets and carried them back to the herb patch.

. 

Rin raced towards the hut, uncaring that the bottom of her simple kimono had caught on one of his thorny herbs. She simply tore it free and kept going, unwilling to delay even a second longer. "Jinenji!" she bellowed excitedly, waving her hands.

Jinenji instantly came barreling out of the hut, a panicked look on his face. "What's wrong?" he asked in that soft voice of his, his blue eyes searching her body for any possible hint of injury or illness. "Where are you hurt?"

Her eyes widened at how panicked he seemed. Kagome was right. She inhaled sharply at the revelation. He really does like me.

"I'm fine, Jinenji." She held out her hands, hardly believing how daring she was as she placed them on his chest to prevent him from checking her over any further. "I'm not hurt," she was quick to add when he didn't seem convinced. "But I have something to tell you."

He froze beneath her fingers as she touched him for the first time, his eyes wide as he looked down at her. He didn't say anything at all—in fact, he seemed to be holding his breath.

She took a deep breath and then said in a rush, "I love you, Jinenji, and I want to marry you. D-do you love and want to marry me, too?"

Jinenji's eyes grew even rounder as he stared, a faint flush forming on his cheeks. He opened his mouth and shut it a few times as Rin grew more and more apprehensive.

Was I wrong? Did I push him too far?

"Of course he'll marry you." Suddenly, Jinenji's mother leaned out of the window of the hut. "Gods help my boy but he's a fool for you." She began cackling. "And I think you'll find that he takes after his father in the best of ways," she added with a wink.

Jinenji flushed even harder as he swallowed. After a moment, he hesitantly said, "I-if that's what you want."

Rin grinned, her heart bursting with happiness at the tiny smile forming on Jinenji's face. "It is what I want," she assured him, ignoring how Jinenji's mother was practically crying with laughter as she made another raunchy comment about horses and men. "I want to spend the rest of my life right here with you."

She wished she was tall enough to cup his cheek but she wasn't. She wished she was tall enough to kiss him and show him how she felt, but she wasn't tall enough for that, either. After a moment, she gave in to the feelings welling up inside her and she breathed, "Kiss me, Jinenji?" It was half a question and half a plea.

He licked his dry lips as he blushed again. "I-I haven't kissed anyone before," he admitted in a small voice as his gaze dropped down to her lips.

Rin wanted to laugh with giddiness at the thought that he wanted to kiss her, too. "I haven't, either," she confessed, patting his chest gently. "We'll figure it out together."

As Jinenji slowly wrapped his large hands around her waist and lifted her so that her own blushing face met his, his mother shouted, "Don't worry, girl! He's a horse yokai—mating comes natural to them. Ahh, they're the best lovers you'll ever have!"

Rin pretended not to hear her as she closed the distance between them and gently pressed her lips to Jinenji's own. The kiss they shared was so sweet, so innocent, and so full of longing and yet, within moments, Jinenji deepened the kiss so naturally that she couldn't imagine anything feeling more right than this.

She sighed with happiness and threw her arms around his neck. They were going to live happily ever after; she just knewit.

.

Within the week, they were married, and Rin moved into the hut with the few possessions she owned—most of which were gifts from Sesshomaru himself. It seemed natural, the routine she settled into, helping Kagome and Jinenji in the garden while also working with Jinenji's mom to prepare the daily meals. Rin would often find edible flowers or herbs for the garden to hide in Jinenji's meal, taking great delight in waiting for him to find them as he ate and in the quiet happiness he exuded as soon as he located his 'prize.'

Jinenji, in turn, often hid little presents for her to find in the hut as she cleaned or cooked. Sometimes he simply left flowers, but more often than not, he left gifts like a new herbal tea he'd blended just for her, a satchel of potpourri he'd made from his own flowers, or flower wreaths or other small, crafted presents that must have taken him even longer, given the lack of dexterity he possessed in his large hands.

And she reveled in the simple joy of his love.

Jinenji let Rin set the pace of their relationship, never asking for more than she offered, and the chivalry he gave so effortlessly was so rare that she treasured their new love all the more.

She enjoyed sleeping beside him, cuddling with him, but after a few weeks, she began to desire more. She wanted children—his children. But she didn't want to force him into anything and ruin this easy camaraderie between them—even if his mother regularly dropped comments about how she never heard them working on giving her grandbabies at night; comments that Rin tried her best not to blush and ignore whenever she heard them.

But it was on his human day that she realized how much Jinenji truly trusted her.

He had always remained hidden from her before their marriage, but for the first time, he silently took her away from the hut down to the stream at sunrise and let her see his other side. As his yokai features disappeared, she gasped in surprise.

The gentle man she loved, the one whose inner beauty was breathtaking, was also a truly handsome man. His yokai side was handsome in his own, gentle giant sort of manner, but she hadn't realized that he would look so beautiful as a human man.

His hair, long and black, draped to hang just below his shoulders, and his eyes were a stunning honey brown. He had a strong jaw, square and manly, and his physique showed the muscles and strength his yokai form possessed. His lips, full and soft, had her aching to trace them with her fingers.

He was still a large man, though it was due to a large, muscular build, than any hint of fat on him, but she couldn't fathom why he hid himself away. Why was he afraid of such beauty? Though in Rin's eyes, he was beautiful either way, her heart was pained at the thought that Jinenji didn't like this side of himself. He wouldn't even so much as glance at his reflection in the water beside him.

"You're handsome, Jinenji," she told him and she meant it. "But I love you no matter what you look like. You're simply beautiful because you are Jinenji."

He flushed in quiet delight as he lifted her hand to press a small kiss in the palm of her hand. "You're beautiful, too, Rin," he whispered, his voice a little lower than it had been as a yokai. "I never dared to believe you would ever return my feelings..."

She lifted her free hand to gently stroke his chest, wishing she had some way of showing him how she felt. And then, after a moment, she flushed and realized there was one way she could. "Love me," she whispered, a little embarrassed to ask but she meant every word. "I want to be yours, Jinenji."

His eyes widened but he understood her meaning. He nodded as he led her to the blanket he'd spread out by the river, and gently shifted aside the breakfast she'd prepared for them so he could lay her down upon it. 

Every touch he gave her that morning was full of his gentleness and love and after that morning, neither of them would ever doubt the other's feelings again.

.

Later, when Rin welcomed their son Jin to the world—a beautiful boy who took after his father's human's side good looks, much to Jinenji's relief, who had cried when he'd first seen his son's very human features—she'd spied the envious look on Kagome's face.

Kagome wasn't just envious of their beautiful boy, Rin realized, but of the gentle and loving relationship Jinenji and Rin enjoyed. 

She wants this, too, Rin realized, cuddling her newborn to her as Jinenji pulled them both into his loving embrace. His head tucked against her shoulder as he whispered how beautiful she was, how much he adored her, and how proud he was for delivering such a wonderful son.

Jinenji's hand gently patted his son as Jin began to nurse, and all the while, Kagome tried not to stare—and failed.

An odd thought crossed Rin's mind then. Sesshomaru will be visiting soon. I sent word that I'd moved here and now that the baby is here, he'll be by to see Jin. 

Sesshomaru was lonely, too. He wouldn't say it aloud anymore than Kagome would, but Rin knew he was. He secretly desired a family as much as Kagome did and—Rin stopped as an idea came to her. Sesshomaru and Kagome.

She stared at the priestess eying the tiny newborn in her arms. They would balance each other well, I think. She's so warm and kind but Sesshomaru would keep her safe and protect her from anyone who would harm her.

She mulled over the idea, recalling the odd looks Sesshomaru had given Kagome when he'd believed no one was watching. I think he likes her but he's too proud to admit it, she decided. He'd never make the first move if he didn't believe he would succeed.

And Kagome would never make the first move, either, no matter what advice she'd given Rin almost a year before. Ever since her relationship with InuYasha had fallen apart, Kagome had been more reserved and cautious about a new romantic relationship.

They both deserve to be happy, she decided, even if they were too foolish to chase that happiness themselves.

So, Rin would have to show the two of them what they could have together. She looked up at her mate with a quiet grin. Jinenji would help her because it would make her happy. His mother would probably help too, she realized, because his mother was, besides being the raunchiest woman alive, a diehard romantic.

Just then, Jin let go of her breast and squished his face together in a tiny cry. She immediately raised him, patting his back, as Kagome asked softly, "Can I hold him?"

As a plot began to form in Rin's mind, she handed her son over to Kagome after he'd burped. 

"You're absolutely adorable; yes, you are," Kagome cooed, snuggling Jin to her bosom. "Who is the cutest baby in the world? You are!"

Rin chuckled quietly. "Jinenji, I have an idea," she whispered to her husband as he gave her an indulgent smile. "Will you help me?"

"Of course," he told her, not even bothering to ask what it was. His gaze shifted back to Kagome. "But don't you think she's holding Jin too tightly?" he added, a slight panic in his voice.

Rin laughed. "Jin's perfectly safe," she reassured her worried husband, though she was secretly glad to see how much he loved his newborn son. "Kagome's held babies before. He'll be fine."

Jinenji watched Kagome a moment longer and then blurted, "You don't think she's holding his head wrong, do you?"

"Men," Jinenji's mother snorted from the fireplace where she was making them all dinner. "They know how to make babies, but they sure don't know what to do with them when they come."

Jinenji flushed as Rin gave her husband a calming pat to the arm he'd wrapped around her. "She's holding him exactly right, darling."

He still looked a little uncertain though he nodded, giving into her judgment. "We should probably take him back, though," he added after a moment, the worry still evident in his tone. "I think Jin is hungry again."

And Rin, charmed by her husband's investment in their son, could only laugh as she watched her concerned husband keep a careful eye on their precious little son, her heart full of happiness and warmth in the love she'd found with the man who was absolutely and totally perfect for her.

And soon, she promised herself, Kagome and Sesshomaru will have this happiness for themselves.