Kagome's faced was streaked with tears as she screamed at the hanyou in front of her. "I'm going home, InuYasha. And don't you dare follow me cause I'm not coming back!" Before InuYasha could reply she stormed off in the direction of the bone eater's well.
Stupid InuYasha, she thought. Why does he have to hurt me so much? He's always going after Kikyo. I'll never live up to her. She'll always come first. I can't keep letting him hurt me like this. No, it's best to just leave now before things get any worse. Without looking back to see if he'd followed her, she stepped over the ledge and jumped down the well.
InuYasha stared dumbfounded after her. Why was she so stupid? She was always getting so damn upset over nothing. Did she just expect him to let Kikyo die? Surely she understood that it wasn't because he was still in love with her? No, he had long ago let his heart close off that chapter of his life. Ever since he had realized that he was madly in love with Kagome.
He hadn't ever actually said the words, but she knew. Right? She had to. There's no way she couldn't. Not with the way he was always putting her life before anyone elses. Or the way he was always so jealous of any man who even looked at her, though he would never admit it out loud. No, she had to know. He would give her a few hours to cool off and then go get her. She hadn't been serious about not coming back.
Kagome had been home for several hours. It was late and she was extra tired because she had spent a lot of time crying. She wasn't going back, but deep down she had hoped InuYasha would come after her. If he hadn't by now, he probably wasn't going to. He truly didn't want her, she knew that now. Sighing heavily, she resigned herself to never seeing him again and readied herself for bed.
InuYasha had crossed over to her time a mere hour after her but had stayed in the well house. He was afraid to approach her while she was still so angry. He had never seen her so mad, and that was saying something. He paced around the well trying to think of what to say to her to make her calm down. What on earth would convince her to come back with him?
When almost eight hours had passed, he surmised that she had atleast had enough time to calm down enough to listen to him, though he still didn't know what he was going to say to her. Nervously, he exited the shrine house and made his way to her bedroom window.
Climbing through, the first thing he noticed was that she was fast asleep. The second, the thick smell of salt in the air, signifying she had been crying, a lot. His heart lurched. He hated causing her so much pain. There had to be something he could do.
He made his way over to her bed and looked down at her sleeping form. God, was she beautiful. Even with her tear stained cheeks, the puffy eyes, the red blotches, she was breathtaking. When he had first seen her, he had initially confused her for Kikyo. While they did share similarities in their features, he had soon learned the subtle and not so subtle differences.
Kagome was softer. Her face had a more round, full shape where Kikyo's had been straight and rigid. She always had a light in her eyes that he had never seen in Kikyo. Her lips were full and begged to be kissed, Kikyo's had been thin, tight and serious. Kagome's cheeks always had a bright flush to them while Kikyo had always looked somewhat ghostly. No, the two women really couldn't have been much farther apart in looks to him now.
As for personality, the women were like night and day. One always somber, the other always full of light and laughter. One saw her duty as a burden, the other as a chance to help people and she truly enjoyed it. Night was always distrustful, day trusted implicitly. Kikyo saw him as a chance to break free of her chains, Kagome loved him just as he was, dog ears and all, and with no ulterior motives.
Carefully, he sat on the edge of her bed and brushed some hair away from her face. How had he let things get so bad? Never had she threatened not returning to him. When she had said those words, he had nearly crumbled to the ground. He couldn't imagine life without her in it. She was what gave him purpose. She had given him a family when he had never really had one. Atleast, not since his mother had died all those years ago. Somehow he had to fix things. No matter what it took, he would bring her home.
He was trying to work up the courage to wake her when she suddenly stirred. He froze but she must have sensed something because in slow motion, he watched her eyes flutter open and slowly focus on him. As recognition flooded her mind, her eyes widened. She sat up quickly, bringing them within inches of eachother.
"InuYasha?" she whispered.
A moment passed before he responded. Looking directly into her eyes, he asked her, "Would you really never come back?" It hurt so much to even ask her the question that his voice cracked.
She looked away from him. "InuYasha, you don't need me. I know that," she whispered.
"What do you mean I don't need you? Of course I do!" His voice rose a little in frustration.
"No you don't. Kikyo can see the shards. And she's more powerful than me, anyway. You wouldn't always have to protect her. You'd probably find them faster without me holding you back."
Tentatively, he reached out and grasped both of her shoulders. "What makes you think that's why I need you?"
Refusing to look at him, she whispered, "Why else would you need me, InuYasha? The only reason we're even together is because Kaede forced you to help me look for the shards. You don't even like me..." A few tears were threatening to fall.
InuYasha sucked in a breath. Did she really believe that? That he didn't even like her? God, how she couldn't be more wrong. Slowly, he placed one claw under her chin and gently eased her to look at him. "Kagome, you don't really believe that, do you?"
Tears began streaming down her face. "What else am I supposed to believe, InuYasha?"
"How about the truth?"
"The truth? What truth would that be, InuYasha? Because the only things I know to be true are that you're in love with a walking dead priestess who you promised to go to hell with. You only agreed to help find the jewel shards because you want to be a full demon. You tolerated me because I could see the shards. But now, you don't even need to tolerate me anymore. So go, InuYasha. Go find Kikyo. Go find all the shards, defeat Naraku, and then follow Kikyo into hell like you swore to her you would."
"All those things were true. But not anymore. Kagome, God, how can you not know?" His hand gripped her shoulder, imploring her to understand.
"Know what?" she spat out.
"Jesus, woman. How can you not understand what I'm trying to say?" he ground out.
"Because you aren't saying anything!" she yelled.
"Damnit, Kagome..." Unable to articulate what he wanted to say to her, he latched his hand behind her neck and drew her face to his own. He didn't want to give her a chance to protest, so he pressed his lips against hers before she could. At first, she was rigid against him, but slowly he felt her begin to melt into him. Her lips parted slightly and he took the chance to stroke her bottom lip with his tongue. A small whimper escaped her. Barely pulling away, he rested his forehead against hers and whispered against her mouth,"I don't want to follow Kikyo to hell anymore." He drew back a bit more and looked her in the eyes. "I don't want to be a full demon anymore because you seem to like me just as I am." He withdrew his hands from her and fidgeted, nervously. "I hate it when you come back here because I feel like I can't breathe when you're not with me." He looked into her watery eyes. "I stopped needing you for finding jewel shards a long, long time ago, and I just started needing you."
"InuYasha..."
"Please, Kagome, I can't go back there without you. Please, don't leave me." His eyes were desparate.
"I'm not going to be your consolation prize, InuYasha."
"Kagome, you're anything but a consolation prize. Damnit, how do you not know how much I love you?" And there it was. He had finally said it. His breath caught in his throat as he searched her face for a reaction.
Her eyes widened. "Do you... do you mean that?"
"Of course I do, you idiot!" he almost yelled.
Despite his name calling, she smiled at him. A genuine, full smile. "Oh, InuYasha..." She leaned towards him and pressed her lips to his. Pulling back slightly, she whispered against his lips, "I love you, too, dummy."
He smiled as he he drew her whole body against him to fully capture her lips in a deep, passion filled kiss.