Happy Father's Day, Inupapa! by MissTeak

Chapter 1

I do not own Inuyasha or any of the characters. I simply borrow them for my muse to torture!

A/N: Here's my response to the Father's Day Challenge put up by InuYoukaiLiz, and here you go! It is done in Kagome's POV. Enjoy yourself at Sesshoumaru's expense, I hope you have a great laugh and please drop a review!

Title: Daddy Dearest

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"Sweetheart..."

I smirked inwardly, knowing how difficult it was for my husband Sesshoumaru to articulate his thoughts. His icy cool mask was cracking though - I could see his temple twitch ever so subtly.

"Yes?" I replied, flashing my sweetest and most innocent smile.

The twitch came again.

Five...

 

Four...

 

Three...

 

Two...

 

One.

Crrrrraaack.

"...please."

I knew it. I knew he would crack sooner or later.

"Please what?" I smiled brightly at him, though I had a feeling I knew what was going to come next.

He said through clenched jaws, his eyes looking to the side as he said it.

"Don't make me do this."

I sighed, placing the mixing bowl in my hands down on the kitchen counter.

"Darling. Inupapa's your father-"

"I know."

"He's not feeling well, and he's all alone upstairs in his bed-"

"I know."

"Inuyasha, Kikyo and Izayoi's flight back to Japan got delayed because of the tropical storm-"

"I know."

"-so there's no way they can make it back in time to celebrate with him."

My husband remained silent at this point. Good. I was about to bitch slap him if he said another "I know".

"And that leaves?" I prompted, giving him my trademark endearing, I-totally-understand-how-you-feel smile.

"The two of us..."

"Precisely, darling!" Giving him a big smile, I lumbered over to him and gave him as big a hug as I could manage in my state of pregnancy. Six months, to be exact.

Oh!

Did I tell you it's a little boy?

You see, I went for the scan some time back and saw the loveliest, cutest, little penis in my entire life (Maybe except for my husband's but his is strictly lovely, cute and NOT little in the least) right in my face on the screen, and immediately after that, I bought a month-long supply of the cutest little baby blue jumpers and socks and he is going to be most handsome little dude in the entire neighborhood. I know it - there's no way he wouldn't be. Sango was screaming for joy over the phone because she foresees herself teaching him karate in future and he could marry the little girl she believes she would expect with Miroku in future and we would end up being relatives on top of best girlfriends and-

Oops. Heehee.

I tend to get carried away when I think about my baby.

Sorry about that.

Okay. Back to my husband. He was still trying to find the right words, anyway.

"But...it's so..."

From his facial expression, you might think I was asking him to jump into a pit of hissing cobras...you know, Indiana Jones' style.

"...so...mawkish. Overly-sentimental. It's just...not ME."

I shook my head in disbelief, glaring at him the entire time.

"I mean, look at this mess. I am not cut out for this."

"It's not that bad."

That was a lie. An hour of Sesshoumaru-time in the kitchen had resulted in a scenario which might make a good setting for World War Three, but there was no way I would encourage him to chicken out.

"Whatever. Still, I can't do something so mawkish and overly-sentimental. It's...gross."

"No. You didn't just say that. No."

I exclaimed in horror, crossing my hands protectively over my baby bump.

My husband's eyes widened and he started shaking his head with his arms out in front of him in a reassuring manner.

"No, darling, I don't mean that-"

"Gross? Baking a cake for your lonely, retired and unwell father on Father's Day morning is gross? Taisho Sesshoumaru! How could you have said that?

"Please, let me explain-"

"Little Sesshy's listening to all these crap!" I pointed my finger accusingly at him. "You're corrupting my son even while he's just an innocent little fertilized egg which evolved into a mass of cells??"

I took a deep breath and continued. "So much for all the prenatal education efforts! Baby yoga, swimming, classical music, Bali water spa, Zen meditation...bah! He'd grow up remembering this conversation and how his Daddy refused to do something nice for his Grandpa on Father's Day!"

"Sweetheart, he doesn't understand Japanese. Yet."

"No. He does."

"Okay. I am sure he does."

"He'd grow up to be just like you, ice king, and you'll never receive a cute little card made by him or any family drawings or any hugs or kisses or whatsoever on Father's Day. And when you are feeling all left out and dejected-"

I made it a point to incline my head in the direction of Inupapa's room upstairs.

"-he will tell you this. 'It is so mawkish. It is not ME. It's gross.' How does it feel?" I imitated the way Sesshoumaru said it, and from his eyes, I knew my attempt to drag him on a guilt trip worked spectacularly.

Victory will soon be mine...I thought.

My husband looked at me, his eyes revealing a little bit of the hurt he was feeling at the prospect of being neglected by little Sesshy. Without a word, he walked over to the kitchen counter and picked the wooden spoon up, furiously stirring the batter for the chocolate fudge cake we were making.

I won! Scored again! Officially. The mental scoreboard flashed away merrily.

Kagome - Bazillion.

Sesshoumaru - Nil.

I tend to win most of the time, or rather, all the time, if you haven't noticed.

"Changed your mind?" I pretended to ask spitefully, walking over to help him with the slow addition of melted chocolate into the mixture.

"Yeah. I guess."

Any threat made in the name of little Sesshy junior always works. I do not need to be reminded to make use of this excellent opportunity until the final day of the nine-month period of royal treatment.

"Awww. You're so sweet, Sesshy-poo." I crooned, giving him a peck on the cheek as he gave me the you-know-I-can-never-win look. "I absolutely adore you."

He gave me a forced smile.

Oh well. That was good enough. At least he was working furiously at the cake.

A little too furiously, as seen from how the batter was spilling out from the side of the bowl.

"Darling, you might want to go easy on the poor batter."

"Oh." He paused, inspecting the mess he created. "Right."

"Inupapa loves chocolate fudge cake. It has to be perfect, alright?"

"Hm." He agreed, throwing in a handful of chocolate chips and chocolate rice into the batter.

"Ummm...was that in the recipe?"

"No."

"Alright..." I really hope he did not see me grimace.

"He likes his sinful delights extremely chocolate-y."

Awww. Now that was really sweet. This has got to be my favorite side of Sesshoumaru - you know...the marshmallow, cotton candy, fudge center of his beneath the icy, aloof exterior. He actually remembered his father's preferences.

I shall spare all of you the gory details of the chocolate fudge cake's baking process. Let's just say that we finally succeeded in sending the batter in its tin into the oven safely and created a new batch of hot fudge after we threw out an entire saucepan of it.

You see, Sesshoumaru's hair accidentally got dipped into the hot, gooey fudge he was painstakingly creating. We bickered over that, (and the "F***!" he yelled instinctively) but it really wasn't my fault. I did not mean to push him forward in the direction of the saucepan - the baby bump was making my steps somewhat unstable sometimes, and I was dying to see what kind of excuse for fudge he would come up with.

The fault lies with him and his hair.

I mean, he shouldn't have lurched forward when I pushed him, and his hair...well...it shouldn't have been long enough in the first place to fall into the hot fudge.

Now you know why he claims I can justify everything under the sun.

He smacked me on the bum though, when I told him brown hair suited him pretty well.

But anyway, it was not long before the basic chocolate sponge cake emerged from the oven smelling rather delicious. Sesshoumaru, with the glowing expression of a new father, (I hope he'd look as happy as this when little Sesshy finally comes out) started slicing the cake horizontally across and applying generous amounts of fudge on the sponge base.

"It looks fantastic, darling." I said, smiling reassuringly. It did not look that fantastic, actually. But it smelled pretty good.

"I think so too."

"Now, having a perfect cake for dear Inupapa is not quite enough, don't you think?"

Sesshoumaru paused in his actions. "What do you mean, sweetheart?"

I could sense caution in his tone, and somehow I knew it would become horror in a matter of seconds. But it was so fun torturing my husband.

"Well, it would be perfect if you could present it to him personally with Father's Day wishes, along with a tiny speech as to how grateful you are to him for his love and upbringing, and eventually, a nice warm hug. How lovely!"

"No."

"Huh?"

"No way. That's...that's too much."

"What did you just say?" I demanded. If this was a scene from an anime, I would have the flames of hell roaring behind me, with my head magnified a thousand times, in a fantastic display of anger, threat and disbelief. Sesshoumaru would have a huge sweat drop by his head as he huddled in a corner.

"I can't-"

"Poor little Sesshy...so this is what your father thinks makes good prenatal education! In future, there'd be no need for you to do nice things for him on Father's Day! He thinks it's too much and-" I started dramatically, talking gibberish to my baby bump while watching Sesshoumaru's face from the corner of my eye.

He appeared expressionless.

Little Sesshy gave me a kick from the inside. See? I told you my son would grow up brilliant; he knew his father needed more drama on my part to push him into agreement.

"-and he thinks it is so gross and meaningless for you to show him how much you love him! No hugs, words of endearment or appreciation..."

My husband gave a resigned nod. "I will do it."

"Awww."

Score.

Kagome: Bazillion plus one.

Sesshoumaru: Nil.

Making our way up to Inupapa's room quietly with the slice of chocolate fudge cake which we decided looked the best among all, I stood behind Sesshoumaru as he knocked softly.

"Father, it's me, and Kagome. Are you awake?"

"Come in."

We entered the room. Inupapa was sitting up in bed, his back against a propped up pillow as he read a book titled "A successful grandpa - You can be one!" His eyes widened in surprise as Sesshoumaru slowly walked over to him with a slice of chocolate cake on a small little plate and a pretty silver fork by the side.

"This is...a special breakfast treat for you."

My husband said it with as much emotion as a stuffed electronic Teletubby doll. I clapped the base of my palm to my forehead.

"That's nice, cake for breakfast! It would help my headache." Inupapa smiled appreciatively as he put his book down by the side.

"You see, Inupapa, Sesshoumaru thought it would be sweet to bake your favorite chocolate fudge cake as a nice Father's Day gesture for you. He did it all by himself! I only helped a little here and there."

"Really? Then all the more I have to try it. You sure know how to make an old man happy, Kagome dear."

It was so obvious that my father-in-law knew that I virtually forced Sesshoumaru into doing this. That's the downside of having a very clever father-in-law.

"No, it was Sesshoumaru's idea." I insisted, pushing Sesshoumaru forward as he slowly trudged to Inupapa's side and handed him the plate.

"Please try the cake, Father."

Inupapa took a mouthful of chocolate cake (and though I half-anticipated him lurching over to the side foaming at the mouth) before taking another mouthful with a huge smile on his face, and yet another.

"It is excellent, Sesshoumaru. I never knew you had a talent in baking!"

My husband nodded, his facial expression relaxed. "I am glad you enjoyed it."

"Inupapa..."

"Yes, Kagome dear?"

"Sesshoumaru has something else to tell you."

My husband shot me a LOOK.

"Oh, really? What is it, son?"

Sesshoumaru's face suddenly adopted the constipated look, and I found no trace of the usual confidence he speaks with. It was hilarious, but he would most probably kill me if I laughed out loud.

"I..." He started, "I...want to thank you. For all these years and...I am proud to be your son. You are a good father."

"Sesshoumaru..." Inupapa's face was filled with pleasant surprise and happiness. It must have been a miracle that he did not start questioning if Sesshoumaru was possessed or something.

"So...Happy Father's Day."

Inupapa smiled and nodded. "Thank you, son."

"That's not all! Sesshoumaru has something else for you." I pointed out. "I have no idea why he is being so shy about it."

In the next second, my husband broke the world record for the speediest hug.

My father-in-law smiled and returned the hug, holding Sesshoumaru for around three seconds.

When Sesshoumaru was released from the hug, I could see a light pink flush across his cheeks. I made a mental note to tease him about it later.

"I need to use the bathroom." He stiffly said, walking swiftly towards the door. That was such a lame excuse, but I guess my husband was too embarrassed by the lovely familial atmosphere.

Before he could reach the door, Inupapa called out after him.

"Sesshoumaru."

He stopped in his steps, and looked at his father.

"You'll make a good father too, my son. And you would have my lovely daughter-in-law to thank partly for that."

"Aa." My husband hastily responded and left the room, his cheeks still tinged pink.

I gave Inupapa a big smile and slowly walked over to give him a hug. "Happy Father's Day, Inupapa."

"Thank you, my child. It was such a lovely gesture. I will remember this for life."

"You deserve every bit and more." I smiled. "Now, let me go check on your son. It was quite an over-exertion of emotions on his part."

"Kagome dear, you are the only one who can do this to him and get away with it. The expression on my son's face was priceless." The old man chuckled heartily, his headache apparently dispelled by happiness.

I smiled playfully as I slowly made my way to the door. "It only justifies why I keep doing it!"

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The End.

A/N: I had a great time with this one! Personally I found it funny and pretty cute! Please review:)

 

INUYASHA © Rumiko Takahashi/Shogakukan • Yomiuri TV • Sunrise 2000
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