A/N: So I got my internet taken away because my brother spends so much time on XBOX that our internet bill was really high. I'm going crazy without it!! I'm over at a friend's house, just so I can upload this for you all! So now, enjoy the story! OR ELSE!!
Confession
"I have to tell him," Kagome muttered to herself as she paced around their makeshift hut. The others had gone ahead to do assorted chores- gather firewood, scavenge for food, clear the lesser demons, etc.
She was alone.
"He already knows," Kagome reasoned after a moment, throwing her hands up. "In the future, anyway.... He has to know I can't stay here."
That was, after all, her biggest problem. Choosing. She tried to tell herself that it wasn't really choosing, because either way, she would get Koga. Unfortunately, there was the 500-year wait on his end. Would he find someone else? Would he marry Ayame like he promised?
Again, she realized this wasn't rational. Koga had been waiting for her at her shrine, just like she had made him promise. Her heart skipped a beat and then sunk into her stomach. If she hadn't done that... if she hadn't told him to meet her, would he have met someone else? A woman who didn't have to travel back and forth between time? Did she mess everything up by making him wait? Had her selfish wish for a cure to her loneliness taken advantage of Koga's devotion?
The subject of her thoughts strolled into the hut carrying two snowy white ptarmigans and wearing a vicorious grin, derailing her depressing train of thought.
"Hey, Kagome! Look what I caught!"
Kagome offered him a weak smile.
"Great, Koga! It's been so long since we had anything other than cold rice and vegetables."
His own smile faded at the sight of her troubled features, but he licked his lips as though he hadn't noticed. "I can't wait for dinner. Want help cleaning them?"
"Sure."
They sat quietly together in the hut, plucking feathers and washing the meat in a bucket of icy water. If only Jaken hadn't accompanied Rin and Sesshomaru, Kagome mused, clenching her aching knuckles. He could have heated this water easily!
After awhile, Koga cleared his throat.
"Is everything alright, Kagome? You haven't even complained about how gross this is!" He pulled the assorted organs out of his bird and showed them to her for emphasis, and Kagome let out a disgusted sigh.
"I'm fine, Koga. I'm just thinking about the future."
"About me in the future?" He grinned cheekily, and she finally offered him a genuine smile in return.
"Yes, about you."
"You're going to stay in the future, aren't you?" It wasn't really a question, and Kagome couldn't bear to look at him.
"I don't know, Koga. It's just so complicated, I-"
"It's not that hard," Koga argued, but he was still smiling. "This place... this time, is not home for you. I want to be with you, Kagome, but not here, where you'd constantly be missing your family. I can wait 100, 500, 1,000 years to be with you again. Whatever it takes."
Tears pooled in Kagome's eyes, and she wiped them against her arm. "I wish you wouldn't have to."
"So do I," he admitted, "but I wish for my woman's happiness more than my own. And once I see you again, I will be happy. The happiest man alive!"
"Oh, Koga..." Kagome laughed through her tears. "If you weren't covered in blood and feathers, I'd kiss you." She did anyway, leaning forward to kiss him gently on the lips. When she pulled away, he had a dopey grin on his face, and he looked down at his gutted ptarmigan.
"I won't waste it," he promised. "What you've given me, Kagome, I'll work hard to earn it. Every day."
Kagome was in tears all over again. When did Koga become so mature? When did his feelings become less of a game and more of an oath? The more important question to Kagome was, When had she ever deserved such a loyal, beautiful man?
"Silly," she replied softly. "You're not the one who has to earn it... I am."
A/N: Please forgive me?? I'll post the next chappie ASAP. Please review and tell me how you liked it!! :)
This is for the theme, "11 AM – Confession." (Original chapter title, eh?)