Falling For The Taisho's by PeriwinkleRamen

The Break Up

Setsuna sighed as she put her elbows on the table, then her chin in her hands. "I can't wait for my dad to get home."

"I'll say," Kagome said as she put a spoonful of peas into her mouth. She almost gagged as she began to chew, but she had to set a good example for the girls. She tried her best not to make any faces as she swallowed. She hated peas.

"He's been gone for a long while this time," Towa chimed in, with concern lacing her voice.

Kagome grinned at the other little girl. "I know it seems like it. But it's only been two days. He's been gone longer than this before."

Towa sighed. "Yea, but I've never missed him this much," she said dramatically.

"Hn." They heard from the entryway of their kitchen.

Both girls jumped down from their chairs at the kitchen table and ran the short distance to their father. "Daddy!" they screeched in unison. 

They did a lot of things like that.

"Towa." "Setsuna." Sesshomaru addressed each girl as if he were in one of his board meetings at work with clients. His briefcase rested on the floor beside his foot, Kagome was sure the papers inside it needed to be sorted.

"You were missed!" Setsuna told him as she reached her arms up in hopes of being picked up. He lifted her as she jumped into his arms.

"I missed you more," Towa said, hot on her sisters' heels. They were forever competing with each other.

Sesshomaru bent down and put his nose on Towa's. He waited for his daughter to move, which she did with a glee of happiness. She moved her nose back and forth against his own. "You missed me the same amount," he informed her. "And I missed you two, too."

"How long are you home for this time?" Setsuna asked.

Sesshomaru regarded her for a moment. "For at least three nights," he answered, as he scooped his other daughter up and brought them back to the kitchen table, a little girl on each hip. "What is that smell?" he sniffed

"Shake 'n Bake pork chops, mashed potatoes and peas," Kagome responded.

After another sniff, his face told her all she needed to know. Kagome stifled a laugh.

"Don't worry boss Lord, your medium rare steak is waiting for you in the oven."

"Hn." Sesshomaru almost smiled in appreciation. Almost.

Kagome caught it. She always could read right through his aloof mask.

"Sick of take out?" She asked in amusement.

He nodded.

Kagome stood from her stool at the counter and grabbed her plate to put it in the dishwasher.

"Stop," he said as he put the girls down.

"What?" she asked.

"You've been watching my kids for three days. Do not do my dishes, too."

"Sorry," she said with a laugh as she closed the dishwasher door. "Habit."

He nodded at her. "I'm in the process of hiring a housekeeper," he told her.

She gasped. "Am I not good enough Lord Sesshomaru?" She clutched her pearls in fake hurt.

He shook his head.

"All right then," she said. "I am off and outta here." She smiled and threw up a peace sign.

"Hot date?" he inquired, not that he cared, he was curious is all. Grabbing his prepared plate from the oven, he looked at the plastic princess plates on the table. "Towa, Setsuna, finish your supper," he said to his daughters.

The girls climbed up into their chairs without argument.

"Yeah. Hojo is waiting for me at home. With dessert," she said with a grin.

Sesshomaru glanced at her from the corner of his eye. He was a cold man, but not clueless. He knew what her little wording entailed but he didn't think it would be appropriate to entertain her, per to say, in front of his girls. "Hn. I see. Well this Hojo is a lucky man, Kagome," he said in a no nonsense tone.

"So you keep telling me," she shot back. She went over to Towa and kissed her on the forehead, then did the same to Setsuna. "See you girls next time," she said.

"Bye, Kagome!" they said in unison.

She smiled at them over her shoulder.

"8 a.m. sharp Monday," Sesshomaru reminded her.

"Yep," she returned.

••••••••••••••••••••

"So..." Hojo said with a grin. "What do you think about a vacation?"

"I think it sounds amazing," Kagome said longingly.

"I was hoping you would say that." He reached for the drawer of the nightstand beside her bed and pulled out two tickets. "I got us tickets to Cancun."

Kagome gasped and grabbed them from his hand. "Cancun!" She looked at the date and her face fell. "These are for two weeks away," she said.

He nodded. "I know. The sooner, the better."

"I can't just go to Cancun in two weeks," she told him.

"Why not?" he asked.

"Well, Sesshomaru isn't gonna be able to find someone to watch the girls on such short notice if his presence is needed out of town," she told him.

"That's not your problem," Hojo argued.

Kagome's eyes widened in disbelief. "Well, it kind of is," she argued.

"How?"

"Because I've been watching them for him for a while now. I couldn't just desert him like that."

"So, let me get this straight. You can't go on vacation because your boss might need you?"

"Yes," she muttered.

"That sounds a little stupid," Hojo said angrily

"Are you jealous of two five year old little girls?" Kagome asked.

Hojo scowled. "Jealous? No. Fed up with? Yes."

"Hojo, they don't have a mother. She died, remember?"

"I'm asking you to go away with me for six days," he told her. "I'm not asking you to die on them."

"I..." Kagome sighed. "I can't do it. Believe it or not, Sesshomaru is my friend. And he needs me. So do the girls."

"Is it going to be like this every the time?" Hojo asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, what if I get promoted after we're married and we have to move for my job?" he asked.

"We'll discuss that if it happens," she told him.

"We're discussing it now," he told her.

"I..." Kagome was at a loss for words. "I...wouldn't be...able to leave the girls," she said quietly.

"And what happens if Sesshomaru meets someone and gets remarried?" Hojo asked.

Kagome shrugged. "Then he probably wouldn't need me anymore."

"And you're just going to put your life on hold until then," he said irritated.

"My life isn't on hold," she argued. "I'm engaged to you and...I thought we were happy. I'm living my life. It's just a little...out of the ordinary right now."

Hojo shook his head. "That's not good enough for me, Kagome."

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"You can put your life on hold if you want to. But I'm not gonna do that, anymore.."

"Are you breaking up with me?" she asked.

He nodded. "Yeah. I guess I am."

"But you knew they were a part of my life when we got together!"

"Yes, but I thought your priorities might change once we got engaged and then married. Clearly that's not going to happen," Hojo deduced.

"Hojo, look, I'm sorry if—"

"You're doing a good thing, Kagome," he said softly. "But I'm not willing to share you with Sesshomaru and his kids."