A/N: Thank you to the people who reviewed/commented on the last chapter! And look, I uploaded the next chapter within a week! It's a miracle!

Also, I wrote a bunch (read: 3) of AUs on my tumblr and I'm thinking of publishing them here just as a random collection of stories, so just a heads up!

A Crazy Confession

Kagome stood nervously at the front door of her home. Her keys were fisted so tightly in her hands that her knuckles were turning white.

"Ms. Kagome? Is everything okay?" Shippo asked, tugging at Kagome's sleeve. Even though it was way past his bedtime, the young boy, who had fallen asleep on the bus ride home, was now wide awake and eager to see his favorite teacher's home. No, wait— his mother's home. His new home.

Kagome forced a smile. "Yes, darling," she said, hoping her voice sounded as confident as she wanted it to. With a deep breath, she inserted the key into the lock and opened the front door. She was greeted with the smell of ramen, which was strange; she had asked Inuyasha to stop eating it. I forgot to make dinner for Inuyasha, she realized with a start. The sinking feeling in her stomach intensified. He's going to be so angry with me…

But as she stepped into the apartment, he was nowhere to be found. An empty bowl and pair of used chopsticks decorated the otherwise empty table, and the plastic packaging for Inuyasha's favorite brand of ramen was littered on the kitchen counter.

"Wow!" Shippo exclaimed as he walked through the front door. "This is cool! Is that a real sword?"

"Huh? Oh, yes," she answered distractedly when Shippo gestured to Inuyasha's favorite sword on display above the electric fireplace. Where was he? "Why don't you stay here for a bit, Shippo? Feel free to grab some snacks, I'm sure there's stuff in the pantry or the fridge. I'll be right back."

Leaving the boy to scavenge for food on his own, she walked slowly into the rest of the apartment. The doors to the bathroom and office were wide open, the rooms empty, but the door to the bedroom she and Inuyasha shared was closed. She swallowed nervously and knocked quietly on the door.

"Inuyasha?"

Silence. She knocked again, a little louder. "Inuyasha? Are you in here?"

This time, she received a response in the form of a grumble. Despite her anxiety, she allowed a small smile to form on her lips. He must've been sleeping… Oh no. Not only had she adopted a child without telling him, she had also forgotten to prepare dinner and had woken him up? He's going to kill me…

"Inuyasha? May I come in?"

"Why the hell wouldn't you be able to?"

"…right. Okay."

She entered the dark room and found Inuyasha sprawled across the bed. When he caught sight of her, he sat up and rubbed his eyes, his dark hair cascading around his head like a shadowy aura.

"Sorry," she said, unsure of what else to say.

"S'okay," he mumbled over an enormous yawn. "Where were you earlier? I thought you didn't have any meetings tonight."

She approached the bed and sat cautiously on the edge. "I didn't."

"Huh?"

"Inuyasha, I have something to tell you," she said finally. She cringed when she felt him stiffen next to her.

"Is this a bad thing?" he asked, his voice deceivingly calm.

Kagome gulped again. "Um, maybe? Depends on how you look at it…" her voice trailed off and she fidgeted with the edge of her blouse.

He sighed and leaned back onto his elbows, regarding her with narrowed eyes. "What is it?" His eyes widened, suddenly, and he sat up, a look of panic in his eyes. "You're not calling off the engagement, are you?"

"What? No! No, I would never!" Kagome responded immediately. His posture relaxed and he rested on his elbows again.

"Good," he said gruffly. "Then whatever you're trying to tell me can't be as bad as that would've been."

"Heh," Kagome laughed nervously. "Well, you see, the reason why I was so late tonight… I'm so sorry, I was totally caught up in the moment and I forgot… I would've called you if it weren't so emotional but I only just found out this morning and I lost track of time and a lot of other things, if we're being totally honest, but I—"

She was interrupted by Inuyasha's arms wrapping around her, drawing her close. "Slow down," he whispered in her ear. "What's got you so distressed? You can just tell me whatever it is. I won't be mad. Probably."

She sniffled, thoughts of Shippo's parents entering her mind. "I…"

He hugged her closer and rested his cheek on top of her head. "Tell me whenever you're ready," he said. She nodded against his chest but did not speak.

"I'm sorry for not telling you I was going to be back late," she whispered into the darkness.

His hands stopped rubbing circles in her back. "That's it?" he asked incredulously. "That can't be it, right?"

"No… Inuyasha, I'm sorry for not preparing dinner, too. I should've told you so you could have had a warning, and then maybe you could've gotten some real food instead of having to eat ramen."

He chuckled and resumed the circles on her back. "You make it sound like eating ramen is something horrible."

"It is! It's terrible for you, and it's—"

"Delicious," he finished for her. "But that can't be what's upsetting you so much, right? Just tell me."

A sudden crash sounded from the kitchen and Inuyasha tensed. "What was that?" he growled.

"No, no, Inuyasha, stay, please!" Kagome pleaded as he stood up and started for the bedroom door.

He paused and looked back at her, incredulous. "Someone could be robbing our fucking home right now and you want me to stay here?"

"That's not a robber," she rushed to assure him, standing up and joining him in the middle of the bedroom floor. "That's actually what I was trying to tell you earlier. Something terrible happened to my favorite student, Shippo and—"

The bedroom door slammed open, revealing an innocent Shippo, who was holding an unopened jar of peanuts in his hands.

"... I adopted him," Kagome finished timidly.