Author's Note: I had to. It was so...shiny. I said I would eventually add more too.

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha. I do not profit from this story.

Shotgun Wedding

Inuyasha looked over at his best friend. "I think I'm going to pass out."

"You, my friend, are screwed," Miroku replied, laughing and clapping him on the back. "What's even funnier now is that I can get that fifty bucks off Sango for the bet we made."

"There was a bet?"

Miroku, all slicked back dark hair and startling blue eyes, grinned widely. He'd known Inuyasha from their younger years and things? Really didn't change. "Sango thought I would get a woman pregnant before you. I told her that that was wrong."

The silver-haired half-demon narrowed his eyes, taking a pull from his beer and setting it down. The two of them were currently in some bar, all dusky smoke and dim lighting. They usually went out on game night and tonight was no exception. The only thing was… Kagome was pregnant and Inuyasha was going to become a father.

Holy shit. Holy shit. Holy shit.

Okay, so maybe his panic attack set in a little late. When Kagome first told him, she was the one freaking out, yelling about beans and other ridiculous things like shoes and clothes (what was with women and the shoes and the clothes?). Right at that moment, when she blurted it out and he put the puzzle pieces together… Nothing was particularly scary.

Sure, they were having a baby. That's okay. They could have a baby, it was totally possible. He'd learned sex education in high school, he understood the basics. He wasn't one-hundred percent sure as to how it happened, because he was positive safe sex was the only thing they practiced, but whatever.

They were going to have a baby bean. So be it.

Of course, that night as Kagome's naked body was wound across his, her sleep-even breathing a steadying, rhythmic pattern… He couldn't fall asleep.

BECAUSE HOLY FUCKING SHIT A BABY BEAN MEANT A BABY.

HOLY SHIT THEY WERE HAVING A BABY.

So maybe, just maybe, this game night was a bit more important.

"Sango's odds of winning were low anyways," Inuyasha finally grumbled, pulling away from his thoughts. "Kagome and I are in a relationship so it was eventually going to happen."

"But I get sex twice as often as you do," Miroku reminded him, saluting him with a shit-eating grin and a full beer. "Funny how that works."

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. A long time ago he'd comment on STDs and the resulting money problems Miroku constantly had but it never got him anywhere. There was no point in beating old bones, so he buried them instead. "What do you think I should do?"

"Honestly?" Miroku asked, blue eyes landing on his. Usually his best friend was full of shit, never taking more than sex seriously (and even that could be questionable). The fact that Miroku was trying to help Inuyasha made him feel almost calm, lulled into a sense of security. "Honestly I think you should start crying because man, sex goes downhill from here."

A false sense of security.

"I don't know why I even communicate with you on a basic level," Inuyasha grumbled, rolling his eyes. "No, I want to know. What should I do? Kagome wants the baby and I…well I think I want it too. It's just a huge step, you know? Having a baby is a really big step. I thought that I'd have another couple years before I thought about kids."

"You're not that young," Miroku admonished. "Look, okay, fine. So you skipped a few steps, big deal. It's not like you haven't blabbed to me years before all drunken and sloppy about how you're going to propose to Kagome and how she's your forever girl."

"Forever girl?"

"Your words, not mine," Miroku pointed out, a finger wagging at him. "Yes, maybe you're younger than the average but this happens a lot more than people think. I'm going to ask you again: do you love Kagome?"

Inuyasha stared at him strangely. The answer was far too obvious. "Well yeah."

"And do you want this baby?"

It took a second longer to answer, but it popped into his head the split millisecond the question was out of Miroku's mouth. "Yes."

His best friend nodded, taking a pull from his beer. When the empty bottle was set back down, he shrugged. "Well then it looks to me like in order for this to not be such a huge step, you need to make it a small one."

"Genius!" Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "How the hell do you make having a baby a small step? Please be realistic here, too. I don't want anything about evolutionary jumps or time machines, okay?"

"Inuyasha, you have such little faith," Miroku commented dryly. "You can make a big step smaller if you do all the tiny steps in between."

…Hey. That wasn't half bad.

"The steps in between," Inuyasha repeated, rolling the words around in his mouth to judge the taste of them. They sounded good, making sense in his head. "So things like buy a house or get married."

Miroku clapped him on the back again, waving at the bar server to bring them more drinks. "Exactly, but your apartment is big enough, isn't it? At least for now it is."

"So we have to get married," Inuyasha stated, nodding. "That's a good idea."

"It is a good idea."

"You know, smart and efficient. The baby isn't making me propose, I was going to do it anyways. The baby is just…hurrying the process."

Miroku sighed. "You don't seriously need to think about this that hard, do you?"

But Inuyasha was already lost in his own little world, because the ideas he had in his mind…

Oh the ideas.

So Inuyasha went out making this ideas become a reality. It wasn't too hard. The only problem with his ideas was that…well, the problem was Kagome.

Who the hell would've figured that out?

Inuyasha certainly hadn't.

It started out well enough. Inuyasha took her out for dinner, like he normally did every other week. This time the restaurant was maybe a little fancier. He smiled at her when she rolled her eyes at the fact she had to wear a dress out – why can't we just order take-out Inuyasha, huh? Tell me why not – and heels – the things I do for love, I swear.

But he let her complaints roll of his back. Because tonight was the night: he was going to propose to Kagome.

After dinner, they drove back to the apartment. Inuyasha proceeded to lavish her with kisses, making a flourish of sweeping her off her feet and carrying her to their bedroom. He plan was to take off her clothes, but he figured the sex would be even greater after she said yes, and as much as he could have sex first, then ask and have sex later… Well, there was still turn around time. It wasn't that long but could he really wait?

So he kissed up her neck, distracting her as he reached into the inside pocket of his suit jacket and pulled out the tiny velvet box. Her ring was inside, all white gold and sparkling diamonds. Miroku nearly had a hernia when he saw it, actually stumbled a little when he heard the price.

"Hell, you're actually going to buy that?"

But Inuyasha had loved it. It was so Kagome that he didn't think anything would compare. "Yes. Yes I am."

And now, as he sat back up on his legs and presented her with the box, he couldn't help the small smirk on his face at Kagome's bewildered expression.

"Kagome–"

"Oh my goodness!" Kagome yelled, eyes wide. "Inuyasha, don't you dare open that box! Don't you dare propose to me!"

… Huh?

Inuyasha blinked, looking at the tiny box he still had yet to open and then back at her. "I'm sorry, what?"

"You're going to propose, aren't you?" Kagome demanded, sitting up. "You were! Why? Why would you propose?"

To say he was confused was an understatement. "I love you?" He couldn't help how it sounded like a question. He was far too puzzled with Kagome's reaction. That was nowhere near what he was expecting. The entire time he had known Kagome would say yes.

Kagome sighed, but it wasn't suffering or upset. She looked at him fondly, big brown eyes full of the adoration he was used to by now but still managed to make him a little silly. "You're doing it because of the baby."

"What?" Inuyasha shook his head. "No–"

"So you always planned to ask me today?" Kagome raised a brow at him.

"Well, not exactly," Inuyasha murmured, shifting on the bed so that he could lie down beside her. "The baby is hurrying up the process, sure, but I've wanted to marry you for a long time."

"But you never asked before, not until this baby came up," Kagome said, sounding like she was explaining something important but Inuyasha couldn't really grasp the concept. "I want you to ask me when it feels right. Not because of this baby, not because you feel obligated to before the baby is born. You," she said distinctly, pointing a finger at his chest, "are going to propose to me when you want to, on your own time. Not on the baby's time, your time. Got it?"

No, he really, really didn't. He nodded anyways, flipping over to put the box in the nightstand drawer. When he lay back down, Kagome wrapped herself around him, kissing his jaw, his cheek. "You're adorable," she whispered.

"That makes me sound like a child," Inuyasha muttered, kissing the top of her forehead when he could. "Call me something better, like sexy or handsome."

Kagome laughed. "I think I was right the first time: adorable." She rested her head on his chest, taking a deep breath and snuggling closer to him. "You know I love you."

Nodding, Inuyasha brushed a hand through her hair. He was still extremely confused, but then again, he was having a baby bean with Kagome and he had gone to Miroku for advice. All of those things were a bit out of whack. "And I love you."

Everyday Inuyasha carried the velvet box with him.

Four days after he first proposed, he asked again.

Kagome laughed at him, kissed him deeply and then told him, good try babe.

A week later, he asked again. This time it was after the sex. He figured that maybe the orgasm would help her to say yes. He knew she wanted to. He knew that Kagome was it for him, and he was it for her. There were no doubts in his mind.

The problem was that Kagome had it in her head that he felt obligated, and that he was only doing it for the baby. Sure, part of that was true.

But he really did want to marry her. He truly, undeniably did.

So he asked again, kissing along her sated naked body and whispering the words like a caress.

"I can't believe you," she muttered, peeking an eye open. "Inuyasha, I told you not to do this."

"You're not saying no," he pointed out, stretching beside her and pulling her closer.

Kagome smiled a little. "I never would, you know that."

"So that's a yes?"

Rolling her eyes, Kagome kissed him, once, twice and then relaxed back into him. "You're ruining my afterglow."

He asked two days later when she was making dinner. No luck there.

He asked another week later, while she was doing the laundry. He got nada.

"I don't understand it!" Inuyasha groaned, banging his head against the table at the bar. "I hate women."

Miroku was laughing his ass off beside him. "So your girlfriend is a bit eccentric. You knew that a long time ago Inuyasha. Hell, I think Sango warned you."

"Kagome is…Kagome," Inuyasha finally replied. When the bottle of beer slid towards him, he nodded his thanks to the bartender and took a pull. The bitter taste was like heaven on his tongue and he gulped it down greedily, finishing almost half. "I just… I don't get it. She's not saying no. She told me that she would never say no."

Raising a brow, Miroku leaned on his hands and stared at his friend. "So how is Kagome refusing your proposal then? I didn't think her skills were this mad."

"I hope you did not just say that," Inuyasha snorted. "Kagome just…comments on something else. Like sex, or the weather, or what to make for dinner. Or she'll kiss me and then we'll have sex and by that point I'm not exactly thinking at my best."

"So…why? What reason does she have to change the subject?" Miroku took a sip of his own drink, still staring at Inuyasha with his deep blue eyes. It was clear his friend was on the edge of a nervous breakdown. Proposing a hundred-thousand times could probably do that to a guy.

"She thinks I feel obligated."

"You don't."

"I know. I told her that."

"And?"

"And we had sex."

Miroku rolled his eyes. "Wow Inuyasha, way to use that willpower there."

"Oh fuck off, hypocrite."

"I'm not having a baby with my girlfriend. I could have some willpower there if I wanted," Miroku replied with a devilish grin. "How about this? Why don't you stop proposing and see what happens?"

Inuyasha laughed bitterly. "I know what will happen: we won't get married. All I want to do is make the steps smaller, just like you said. Small steps. Baby steps. But no, I have to jump over fucking Mt. Everest to get to where I'm going."

"Fuck your life, my friend. Fuck. Your. Life."

Inuyasha just banged his head on the bar top.

Still, Inuyasha didn't have much else to go on. Every time he proposed, Kagome would do something to get out of it. He tried, he really had tried, but there was only so much rejection a guy could take. After two more weeks of trying, and four proposals, Inuyasha finally gave up.

"Kagome, dammit, why are we in the baby section? The baby isn't due for at least seven more months," Inuyasha whined, staring at the clothing in disdain. Little cartoon creatures like Winnie the Pooh and Dora the Explorer stared at him from the clothing, making him cringe.

Their baby bean was going to be dressed with respect, thank you very much.

"Oh come on, it's just fun," Kagome replied, grinning at him. Clasping his hand, she tugged him down for a kiss before sauntering off, touching this and that along the way. Inuyasha had already spent a ridiculous amount on the child, and it wasn't even born yet. He was severely worried about when the bean did show. He'd have to tie Kagome down to a budget for the sake of eating more than rice and Kraft Dinner. Diapers alone cost more than what he ate in food per day.

And now, right now in the middle of a fucking SuperCentre, Inuyasha was getting aggravated. Because he was tired and unhappy that Kagome wasn't marrying him. All he wanted to do was go home and make dinner with her and go back to the way things were. This damn baby bean… The stupid bean was making his life difficult, and he didn't like it.

Kagome's squeal made his eyes narrow and he crossed his arms. No, he thought adamantly. No he was not going to buy any more toys for the bean. The bean could suffer with the fifty other toys it already owned. The bean could accept the fact that its room would remain blue no matter what sex it was. The bean would be happy that it had both a mom and a dad, even if they weren't married. The bean would love it, dammit.

"Inuyasha, come here!"

No, he would not come there. He would stand routed to the spot and enjoy the picture of a fat baby with a toothless smile holding a green plastic ring on the wall. He would stare at that baby dammit, and make it squirm. He was not going to back down on this. He was mad. He was furious.

And he was in the middle of the store. People avoided him in the aisles because he clearly wasn't moving. And who the hell organized this store anyways, putting the baby shit right in the middle? It was bad, he thought. Just so bad it was atrocious because everyone could see how unhappy he was.

That little tidbit made him even unhappier.

Kagome's beautiful face appeared from behind the racks of clothing and before he could tell her just how mad he was, she grabbed his wrist and dragged him along behind her.

"You know, this is a really bad idea right now. I am not in the mood to look at things that–"

But suddenly, Kagome's hands were fingering softly at a soft pair of white baby booties. They looked so small, so fragile that Inuyasha wondered how anything could ever be that petite. Tiny strips of Velcro held down the tongue, little symbols on the sides like they were already the hippest things ever.

Inuyasha blinked, his anger dissipating. How could he be mad at something so…tiny? A tiny baby bean that was going to wear those white pair of baby booties proudly, was certainly nothing to be upset about.

He didn't think. Suddenly the pair of boots were in his hands, the material so soft. He went down on one knee.

"Kagome," he said, looking up at her shocked brown eyes and holding up the boots. People were milling around them in the store, paying no attention, but he didn't care. He was going to do this because dammit, he wanted it. He wanted this. He wanted Kagome and the baby bean and a family. "Kagome, you mean the absolute world to me and this…this thing- this bean is going to be the best that's ever happened to us. I want to buy him or her these boots, so they can kick their feet into the air with pride. I want them to wear them on our wedding day, if it's after the baby's born because I don't care. I love you and I want you to marry me. So please, Kagome, will you marry me?"

Big brown eyes stared at him stunned. For a second they looked watery, before she blinked and gave a small laugh. "You idiot, you're proposing in the middle of a store. People are looking at us!" Kagome looked down at him, on one knee and holding those adorable booties. It was so random, so not like him that this could only be from his heart. Inuyasha would never have planned to do this here, in a sea of strangers that were now paying attention to them, watching in interest.

"You really mean it," she said, smiling. "Not that you didn't before but I mean- You know- I thought–" She was getting nervous, rambling like she often did when put into situations she didn't have a grasp on. Like when Kagome found out she was pregnant and had to tell her boyfriend for the first time that they were having a baby together. "I really wasn't expecting this and you look ridiculous, I mean you're proposing with baby shoes and–"

"Kagome," Inuyasha said firmly, breaking her speech. "Will you marry me?"

And she laughed. A bubble of high-pitched, uncontrollable laughter overtook her and she collapsed into his arms, kissing his face and nodding. "Yes I'll marry you. Yes, yes."

Around them, shoppers were cheering and clapping, most bewildered by the display. But it didn't matter, Inuyasha thought. Not at all.

Because he was getting married to Kagome, and they were having a baby, and life was more than good.

The baby booties cost him an arm and a leg, but that was okay too. They would be the first things the bean would ever put on – a constant reminder of how much it was loved, and how much its parents loved each other.

Feedback is much appreciated :)

Can you expect more? Possibly. I have quite a few ideas for this story, but updates would never be constant. Each chapter would be like its own story though.