Kagome stared at the well in disbelief.

Three and a half years she had been traveling back and forth between her time and the Feudal Era. Three and a half years, the well had never sealed her out.

Until now.

No matter how many times she jumped, her feet collided with dirt in her time. The blue glow never enveloped her. She never saw blue skies overhead, or smelled the forest she had come to love.

NO! This can't be happening!

They had just completed the jewel. Naraku was dead. Kohaku was alive. Everybody was happy. Kagome was going home, to share the news with her family. Her mission was complete, her friends were safe. She left the Jewel in Inuyasha's care, knowing he could protect it better than anybody. She trusted him. He promised to remain a half demon for her, and she knew he would. She was only supposed to be gone for two days. She was going to tell her mother she wanted to live in the Feudal Era. She was going to spend her life with Inuyasha.

But she couldn't get back.

After everything – the well had sealed. After what seemed like her 100th try, she gave up. She collapsed beside the well. Her mother found here there two hours later, still sobbing. She hated herself. The jewel, she thought. That's why I can't get back.

But that couldn't be true. She'd traveled home without it before. And Inuyasha had been able to get to her without it. Is it because we completed the jewel? The confusion was only hurting more. Her mother helped her back to her room, where Kagome collapsed onto her bed. Mrs. Higurashi waited patiently, as her daughter explained what happened between sobs. Once Kagome's crying subsided, Mrs. Higurashi ran her daughter a bath.

"Come on dear," she said sadly. "You need to calm down. This will help."

Kagome soaked for an hour, sobs still racking her body every few minutes. Kagome barely registered what happened over the next couple of days. She had barely finished school the year before, so she didn't have work to focus on. She spent most of her time sitting by the Sacred Tree, reading through her journals. Her mother urged her to stop, but Kagome refused. The journals contained every memory she had of the Feudal Era. She couldn't let them go.

A week later, after reading through her memories nearly a dozen times, her mother appeared in the door of her room. She was trying to hide a look of shock, but Kagome barely noticed.

"I'm running to the store with your Grandfather before Souta returns from school," her voice shook. "Do you need anything?"

Kagome shook her head, laying back on her bed. She knew she would have to snap out of this sooner rather than later, but she wasn't ready. She heard her mother head backdown stairs, speaking with who she assumed was her grandfather. Moments later, she heard the door close and then, silence.

Until there was a knock at her door.

Her Fuedal Era instincts kicked in. Nobody was supposed to be in the house. I wish I had my weapon – but wait, why would an intruder knock?

Carefully, she padded over to the door. She opened it slowly – and nearly fainted.

Standing before her was Inuyasha. He looked different than his Feudal Era self. He wore modern clothes, but the color scheme hadn't changed much. He wore black jeans, with black sneakers. A red button down was left open, a white t-shirt underneath. His hair was still long but normal standards, but significantly shorter than it had been 500 years ago. It was now shaggy, about as long as Miroku's had been all those years ago. It was even held back in a ponytail at the nape of his neck. His white ears were still perched on top of his head. He appeared slightly older now, maybe mid-20's rather than late teens.

"Kagome," his voice was barely a whisper.

"Inu … yasha?" her voice cracked. "What … how – how is this …?"

She couldn't finish her thought. It had been two weeks since she left his time. Two weeks since she realized she would never see the man she loved again.

"Kagome, maybe you should sit down."

Inuyasha gently guided her back to her bed, taking a seat opposite her in her desk chair. He wheeled it closer to her, so their knees were just millimeters away from touching.

"Kagome I know this is probably a shock – "

She couldn't answer that. She was still staring at him, unsure of what to say or feel.

"The Bone Eaters Well sealed behind you," he explained. "It took us a while to figure it out, but Naraku had hired a Dark Priestess to put a curse on it. It would only work one more time after his death. He must've figured out that you'd been using it to get away, somehow."

She didn't say a word as he continued. The curse was Naraku's final bit of revenge, should he fail to collect the jewel. It would separate his two greatest enemies. No matter what Inuyasha did, he couldn't break the spell. Nobody could. Years passed by, and nothing changed. The well refused to open.

Finally, Inuyasha had an idea.

He remembered Kagome telling him stories from her time. She had told him how demons were no longer part of her world. Somehow, they had vanished over time. Or at least, so she assumed. Inuyasha had of course smelled faint traces of them when he visited her time. He just never told her. He knew the demons were in hiding for a reason.

Inuyasha decided to finally make a wish on the jewel. He wished for demons and humans to live peacefully together, in the future. She hadn't noticed the changes yet, because she hadn't left home. Her family likely didn't notice anything strange, as it was now considered normal for demons and humans to mingle. Inuyasha suspected Kagome's time traveling kept her memories from being affected by his wish.

"I figured it was my best chance at seeing you again," he finished, reaching up to brush away the tears streaming down her cheek. "I'm so sorry Kagome. I thought I timed it better. I didn't realize it's already been two weeks since the Well sealed. I wanted to come to you sooner."

"You're apologizing?" she finally found her voice.

"Of course," he looked confused.

"It's only been two weeks for me," she breathed. "You've been locked out for 500 years."

He couldn't answer that. He only nodded, while she struggled to collect her thoughts.

"How … how did you stay away for so long?"

"Not easily," he chuckled. "Luckily, I remembered some of the things you told me, so I knew what time period you came from. Once the world started to modernize, I made sure to stay in other parts of the country. It helped keep the temptation at bay. Sometimes."

"But –"

"As the time for your traveling got closer, I moved back to this area. That was about a year ago. Since then I've been sticking to the shadows. It's easy to follow the gossip from your friends. They aren't exactly quiet when they're out in the city."

She smiled at that.

"I was able to figure out when you were out 'sick' from school. And depending on how long you were 'sick' I could almost figure out what you were off doing. Almost. Sometimes it was trickier than others. It got easier to come closer after you were out of school. Neither of us were here much after that."

"So all these years … you've been waiting?"

"Of course," he looked at her like she was crazy. "Kagome I meant what I said to you. I love you, and I wasn't about to spend my life with anybody else."

Something finally snapped inside Kagome, and she jumped forward into his arms. He seemed taken aback, but caught up after a couple of heartbeats. He adjusted her on her lap, so her legs were off to one side of him, his arms wrapped around her waist. She had her arms wrapped around his neck, her face buried in his chest. He nuzzled her neck, breathing in her scent for the first time in 500 years.

"Kagome," he whispered against her neck. "I'm so sorry to cause you this much pain. I had to make sure the well had sealed before seeing you again."

"Stop apologizing you idiot," her breathing finally steadied a bit. "I'm not the one who's been waiting five centuries."

He leaned back and hooked a finger under her chin, gently forcing her to meet his eyes.

"That doesn't make me any less sorry," he said softly. "I know how I felt waiting – I didn't intend on making you feel that way."

Inuyasha closed the distance between them, placing a gentle kiss on her lips. He pulled away after a moment, resting his forehead against hers.

"I love you too," Kagome whispered. "I'm sorry it's been so long since I could tell you that."

"Don't you dare apologize," he growled softly. "This was Naraku's doing."

It was her turn to kiss him, but she wasn't so gently. She gripped the front of his shirt like her life depended on it. One of his hands gripped her waist while the other traveled up her back and neck, his fingers tangling in her hair. Her name tumbled from his lips between kisses.

"Gods, Kagome I missed you so much," he breathed, trailing kisses across her cheek and down to her collarbone.

"I've missed you too," she leaned back into his chest as his kisses slowed down.

They remained silent for a few moments, before Kagome sat up to look at Inuyasha.

"So what happened? After the well sealed?"

He smiled, and brushed the hair from her eyes. Miroku and Sango finally married, he explained. They had six children: four girls, and two boys. Their latest descendants now lived not too far from Tokyo. Yes, he would take her to meet them soon. He kept in touch with them throughout the years, so they were very familiar with their family's history. They even watched over Kirara until she died about 100 years ago. Kaede died about ten years after the well was closed off, and was laid to rest by her sister.

"And Shippou?" Kagome asked, making Inuyasha chuckle.

"Pestering me non-stop to see you again."

Kagome breathed a sigh of relief. She never thought she'd see her adoptive son again.

"He agreed to give me one day to see you first, and I had to fight for that."

"Where has he been? Given how little you've aged he can't be that much older?"

"Well, demon aging works differently than you might know. Age progression slows when you reach your late teens, like I was when you met me. Helps us blend in with the world a bit easier. He looks about your age when you first came through the well."

"Being fifteen for decades? That can't be fun, especially in this time."

"He has already done school a few times, but luckily now – demons are expected to be through with school at a fairly young age. He'll tell you his full story when you see him tomorrow. Just ignore the parts about me picking on him."

"Of course," Kagome laughed for the first time in weeks. Then something finally clicked in her head. "Did my mother see you, before she left?"

"Yes. She was about as surprised as you are. I assured her it was me, I just needed to speak with you alone first. She offered to leave, and I promised the full story when she returned."

Inuyasha shifted his arms, picking Kagome up as he stood. She kept her arms wrapped around his neck even as he set her down on her feet. He placed a hand on her cheek, pulling her in for another kiss. His other hand moved to her lower back, pulling her body against his.

"Come on," he said against her lips. "I highly doubt your mother actually went to the store. She'll be back soon, and I have a lot to explain."

Kagome smiled, placing one more lingering kiss on his lips.

"And first thing in the morning, I have to take you to Shippou or I'll never hear the end of it."

I know my time travel logic isn't that solid, but it's a fairy tale so please let that one slide : )