-xxXX*^a week later^*XXxx-

"goodnight, Al."

"good night, Kagome. good night, brother"

"night Al." Ed smirked ever so slightly, he was glad Al wanted the bottom bunk, it meant he could nuzzle and whisper sweet nothings to Kagome without a guilty conscience of seeing his brother watch.

"so, what are the plans for tomorrow?" Kagome asked, she was currently curled into his side. it felt so good to be pressed against him the way she was.

"was there something in particular you wanted to do tomorrow?" Ed asked

"you could show me around, I haven't been seen Amestris in years."

"hey, Kagome?" Al's slightly echoed voice asked

"yeah? what is it, Al?"

"why did you have to come to Amestris, anyway?"

"oh, it's...kind of a long story"

"I'd like to hear it"

"shouldn't you be getting to sleep? and why are you still wearing that armor? it's got to be really uncomfortable"

"I-uh...l-long story?"

"uh...huh. I'll tell you what, you tell me YOUR long story, and I'll tell you mine, we got a deal?"

"brother?"

"you wanna tell 'er? or should I?" Ed replied

"we can take can take turns telling the story, if you want. I just was asking where to start"

"I know where we can start." Ed pulled Kagome a fraction closer and recounted the tragic past.

"oh my god...you two have been through so much! my travels feel like a picnic compared to what you two have endured." Kagome gasped, her heart twisted and cracked at the details of their story.

"you promised to tell us your story if we told you ours, Kagome"

"yeah...I did, didn't I?" she giggled ever-so-softly. she took a deep breath, then let it out in a heavy sigh, "it all started when I was 16. what a horrible day that was.." she giggled softly, recounting her travels in the feudal era, her battles with Naraku, and assorted youkai. "the first thing I remember seeing after the wish was made on the jewel, was Inuyasha. he seemed so worried, but I should have known it wasn't for my sake. with the jewel gone, Kikyo had no reason left to stay. it was so hard on him. I don't know if he ever realized how I felt about him. a part of me wanted to ask him if he wanted me to stay with him. he had often said he only needed me to sense the jewel shards. but on rare nights he would be so affectionate. he'd bury his nose into the crook of my neck. he'd hold me so close, much more than usual. it felt like he was afraid I'd leave him all alone." a few tears rolled down Kagome's cheeks. but her voice remained level, "I would let him sniff my hair for as long as he wanted."

"sniff your hair?" Ed asked confused

"he's a half dog demon, remember, Ed?"

"oh, right.."

"I never knew when he'd be affectionate like that again, so I'd enjoy it while it lasted. it's sad, really. it was like he was afraid I'd leave him when he'd be so sweet and cuddly. yet I knew that he WOULD choose Kikyo over me if he was given the choice."

"but she was already dead, why would he choose her over you?" Al asked.

"she was his first love. that's a bond I could never have hoped to compete with."

"must have been hard on you" Ed said, pulling Kagome closer

"it was. but Shippo was very helpful in cheering me up. he was such a good little kit" a few more tears fell, "he-...he'd always look like a five-year-old on christmas morning when I'd give him a sucker or a new toy. it was so heartwarming, he'd take it, yell out, "yay!" or "thanks, mama!" he'd hug me, then run off to enjoy it, a lot of times he'd even share it with Kirara. heh, he was a good boy..." Kagome had pause her story to reign in the coming sobs.

"you ok?" Ed was worried, he didn't like to see her so upset. especially when he knew there was nothing he could do to ease the pain. he pulled her closer and gently stroked her back, "you're with us now. you'll never be alone again, Kagome."

"you promise?"

"yeah, I promise" he smiled

"I promise too, Kagome!" Al agreed happily

"you're stuck with us forever." Ed simply laughed

"heh, yeah." Kagome smiled, then crawled forward slightly, and pressed her lips against Ed's for a heated moment, tsp..."then you two are stuck with me, as well."

"unless Roy decides to split us up for some crazy reason that only he can think is sane"

"I'll just use the sleep card again. he knows how I get when I'm too sleep deprived. he'd want to avoid facing that whenever he can."

"what happens?" Al asked

"I get horrible mood swings, my miko powers go completely crazy, lashing out at everything nearby. strangely enough, when it happened about two months ago, the only one who could get to me was my chubby cat, Buyo. he rubbed up against my ankle and meowed. hmm, he wanted me to nap with him. he's a good fat cat"

"you won't have to worry about that ever again, Kagome" Ed smiled, pulling her close for a moment so he could return the heated moment for a quick second

afterwards, Kagome let out a loud yawn, "I'm really tired, you guys. we can talk more tomorrow."

"ok, goodnight, Kagome." Al smiled

"night, Al" Kagome smiled, "night, Ed..." she whispered in a low sultry tone, her expression slightly lustful. slowly a naughty smirk pulled at her lips.

Ed's heart was pounding in his chest. 'there is NO WAY this is real! I've gotta be dreaming! this-I don't think I want to wake up any time soon...' he smirked ever-so-softly when she crawled forwards a just a fraction of an inch more and crashed her lips against his. 'damn I love the dream world!' Ed thought to himself, his arms securely fastening her to that spot while their tongues silently battled for dominance over the other. Ed won for a short while, taking his time to enjoy each and every inch of the cavern before her tongue shoved his out, so she could do the same to him. damn it felt good!

tskp..."hmm, much better" she smirked softly, then curled into a ball and snuggled into his side, perfectly content in his arms.