Sesshoumaru was every four letter word Kagome could think of. She realized this as soon as she woke up alone in her bed, with the sunset pouring in through her window and a sore throat itching against her vocal chords. She held onto that thought as a black haired Inuyasha dragged her out of bed and hoisted her onto her feet, and almost missed what the hanyou said. Her ears finally seemed to unclog themselves as she stared blankly at him.
"-mated, and that's a huge thing, but there's more to it than whatever he said because-"
Her ears clogged again as she tuned him out again and her eyelids felt heavy. She just wanted to cry and drink some water so she could cry more. She wanted to take her son and fly back to her small house and tend to her garden. She wanted to be able to feel soil under her fingers and-
"Kagome, please, just come with me. I'll be there the whole time. I just want to help you, and show you that he's holding back and needs to tell you-"
She blinked, eyes widening. Was he still talking? She watched the movement of his lips, and the furrow of his brow as he leaned over, wrapping his arms around her.
"-do it myself, then!"
And with that, she felt the whoosh of air as she was almost floating for a moment before crashing into Inuyasha's shoulder. She attempted to knee him, but his torso was too long, so she settled for using the arm that hadn't become trapped between her chest and his to beat on his back. She grunted and shook the lower half of her body as well as she could, but his grip was strong, and soon she realized they had already left the room and were heading out the front door.
"I explained everything, Ms. Higurashi! We're leaving now!" he smiled, bowing to the older woman, then turned so Kagome could see a clear view of both her mother.
"Mom!" She called out. "Come on, mom!" She reached out with her free hand, temporarily relieving Inuyasha of pain and instead enforcing her own.
"Don't worry, honey. I sent Souta and Hiroshi to a movie, and they should be back by the time you are." She smiled hesitantly. "I don't want another child growing up not getting to know their father."
Her saddened eyes were what stopped Kagome from screaming out 'But he's an asshole!' Instead she went limp, trying to force the growing tightness in her chest to go away. She took deep breaths and soon she heard the opening of a door before feeling herself moved to a car seat.
"I already told you he doesn't have the right to know about Hiroshi," she said, putting the seatbelt in place and crossing her arms as she watched him maneuver the car backwards and then switch to drive before pulling out onto the road.
"Y'know, Kagome, if what he said was the whole picture, I'd completely agree. But after you cried yourself to sleep, I called the bastard and confronted him. He told me you were leaving, and if memory serves me correctly, you've only been here what, not even four days? And your mom told me you were here all month. You're running away and you'll never get to find out the full truth until it's too late, just like your son will never know his father until he doesn't need him anymore." He pulled up to a red light, watching pedestrians pass by, all brightly colored by summer themed outfits. "You and I both know what it's like not growing up with a father, and you really want to do this to your own kid? If my old man was twice as uncaring as Sesshomaru, I'd still have liked to be able to ask him questions. I'd have liked to see the face that I got mine from. This pack doesn't do broken families; not anymore."
She felt her eyes water and her throat- her already very scratch throat- clench. He was right, and as they continued the road toward what she now realized was Saito Electric, she was sniffling, trying her best to wipe her tears away as she stepped out of the car, following Inuyasha through a throng of concerned employees standing around the lobby. She heard the ding of the elevator, and saw the opening and closing of the doors, and felt the rise of the metal box before it stopped completely, the process repeating before they stepped out and into his apartment, a huge wave of youki washing over her like waves on the beach.
The youkai it was attached to, however, was far from comforting. He sat in an armchair with the newspaper in hand, looking up and glaring at his brother. "You said it was to be only us."
"So I lied to you. Got you here, didn't I?" the younger replied with a shrug, sitting on the couch and forcing Kagome to follow suit. She did, hesitantly, remembering that this was the same one she had woken up on just this morning. It occurred to her then that it was still the same day.
Silence stretched over the three before Sesshoumaru broke it, which Kagome felt almost out of character. "Why is the miko here?" Ah, not speaking directly to her. There was the jackass behavior she knew was missing.
Inuyasha leaned forward, trying to make eye contact with both of them, but receiving refusal on both ends. He sighed. "Your lunch went horribly- I get that. But both of you omitted something huge from what you said to each other, and if neither of you say it now, them I'm gonna let it out."
A growl erupted from Sesshoumaru's throat, and Inuyasha looked eager, right hand twitching for what Kagome assumed was Tetsusaiga. A moment of staring passed before Inuyasha turned to Kagome.
"You can't mate someone if there isn't something there," he stated, standing and gaining a more suitable position to defend from in case there was more than an empty threat behind the noise his brother had previously made.
It took less than a second to see that there was, and Kagome also stood, prepared to do... something as she watched the younger sibling attempt to throw the older sibling off of him. "Stop it!" she yelled instead. "Sesshoumaru, stop!"
And surprisingly, he did. The room went silent again as the daiyoukai froze, eyes narrowing not simply at the command, but also at the smirk underneath golden eyes currently glinting at him.
"Do you know why most youkai don't truly mate, Kagome?" Inuyasha asked from underneath Sesshoumaru.
"...No." An honest answer, although hesitant.
Sesshoumaru continued to glare as the explanation was given. He made no move forward or back. "Mates are equals, and respect each other. When they mate, it is not without love, because a true mating is never created out of simply lust. It has to have something, even a spark, or it's just kinky sex." Another growl was given in warning. "Although I'm sure now that I got that out there, the rest will be explained. All I'm saying is that this bastard loves you, Kagome- Even if it's just a little, and buried somewhere deep in his withered heart."
His head turned from his friend to the man on top of him, whose own eyes were reddening, irises a deep green that slowly was turning into blue as he struggled to maintain his control- something that had slipped more and more over the years. "And you have a kid."
Kagome began regretting saying anything and not simply allowing Sesshoumaru to tear out Inuyasha's throat.
I actually based Kagome's mom partly off of a less... emotional(?) form of my own mother. She's very much about keeping families whole no matter what.
Anyway, so this came out a little later than expected, and before anyone says anything about Inuyasha- he's got a background story that hasn't been presented yet.
