A/N: I just wanted to say a quick surprise! But I'm for sure going to leave you hanging until next week! There's a bit of a cliff hanger at the end of this chapter which is exciting! Well for me it is! Thank you everyone who has taken the time to review! I read them all and reply to any questions! If I've missed any I'm sorry but you can always message me! Thank you again! I'm so glad that people like this story!

Part Two:

Chapter Eleven:

On the night we had cake for dinner I made a collective decision. We need to do more exciting things.

I want to get out of the house, I want to eat in restaurants and go to movies. My bones ache and I have figured out how to make them stop.

My excitement over flows and I just can't wait to tell someone.

Impatiently, I lie on the bed. Not our bed, not my bed, the bed. We use this bed for nothing but sleeping and reading. Rolling onto my stomach I prop my head onto my hands.

Sesshoumaru is preening, I could hear him finish drawing a bath over an hour ago. I've already done everything I've needed to do and now I wait. Rather impatiently might I add. I kick my feet and tug at loose threads.

He sure does take a long time

Just then I hear it, the pull of the plug, the drain of the water through the pipes.

I wonder if he'll put his clothes on before coming out

The dirty part of my mind hopes not.

He emerges, towel around his waist as well as one in his hair. His skin glistening in the moonlight, demon marks still out for only me to see. Slowly Sesshoumaru pulls the towel from his hair and I gasp.

It's black.

"Your hair!" I scream and his eyes meet mine. Leaping to my feet I close the space between us, grabbing at his long locks between my fingers and feeling it slide though them.

"Are you not pleased?" He sits on the bed, continuing to towel dry his freshly dyed hair.

"It's so… different… That's all…" I stare at him as he sits. My hand wants to trace the marks on his face, his forehead. I want to run my hands through his hair and pull the dye out to reveal the silver I know is underneath.

"It's easier to blend in like this." His voice breathes finality and I leave it.

I understand why he did it but it will still take some time to get used to it. With his hair black and his demonic marks covered he looks almost identical to Inuyasha, the only difference will forever be his eyes.

The golden eyes I think I've melted.

xxx

He's the talk of our small town. I think he secretly loves all the attention.

Of course Bethany informs us of this when we all gather for dinner.

"You know it's not very often that someone so… interesting comes to the neighbourhood." She's looking right at him and my heart races. Are his marks covered properly? What do I say if they aren't? My mind races at a million miles an hour and I can't seem to catch it.

I could say they're a religious thing! But what religion makes you tattoo your face?

I'm furiously brainstorming and almost miss Bill's question before my mind pulls me back into reality.

"So how are the dinosaurs Kagome?" It takes me a moment to register what he's actually asking me.

I work with thousand year old anthropological artifacts. Not dinosaurs.

"Actually, I'm helping the curators set up an exhibit on Japan right now. I'm their resident expert on the Sengoku Jidai or the warring states period." Everyone looks at me with rather impressed faces. Even Sesshoumaru looks a little impressed, although he will never show it. But from the corner of my eye I can see his eyebrow twitch at the question he allows to hang between us.

"That sounds a lot more interesting then dinosaurs" I can hear Terry's shrill laugh as Sesshoumaru and I sit quietly, me rumbling through my thoughts while he does whatever he does when no one is engaging him.

xxx

We continue our adventures everywhere. In the grocery store, at the park near the house, to the movies, to the opera. I even got him to come with me to the ballet.

By the time Mel phones me when they arrive back home, we're tired of this boring little town.

I'm feeling a little restless and I don't know if I want to let this feeling brew and bubble or not.

"Hey Kags! It's Mel. Cancun was fabulous! We're so tan. How's Maine? We miss you already! We should get together soon. This Saturday? Call me back kay?" I listen to her message one morning while sipping coffee at the table.

Sesshoumaru reads the paper silently.

"Saturday? What are we doing this Saturday?" I am the first to break the silence.

"You're going to the professor party at the museum."

"Right! I completely forgot! And not just me, we." He folds the corner of the newspaper and I can see the corner of his mouth twitch in a minuscule smile.

"You humans, always so forgetful." He shoots me a look.

"Hey now, not nice! I dragged your butt out of your old boring life and brought you into this boring life." He stands, opening the waffle maker and placing the most beautiful waffle I have ever seen on my plate.

"Well then thank you for that. I am eternally grateful. What would you like on your waffle?" I stand and face him, the counter the only thing between us.

"Strawberries. I don't appreciate your sarcasm by the way." I stick my tongue out, taking my plate from the counter.

"Well then I guess I'll have to cook for someone else." He raises an eyebrow and smirks. I roll my eyes.

xxx

"Don't forget Professor Langdon is my boss. Don't forget that name. Langdon." I look at him through the mirror while struggling with my hair. Tonight is the night that I present all my hard work to the professors.

"What does he look like?" He glides behind me and effortlessly tames my horrendous mane. He's done this before, he's taken care of someones hair before.

I look at him through the mirror and let my mind wander, trying to calm myself down. I think of Sesshoumaru, taming Rin's hair for her before she goes to a festival. I think of him brushing out his moms hair or even his own. His kind and gentle fingers brushing effortlessly through the long straight strands.

He brushes each strand tenderly and I'm brought back to the hotel bathroom in Vegas. The moment we share only lasts a second by my scalp still tingles from where his claws grazed it.

My mind races back to the question he asked what seemed like eons ago.

"Like a professor. Dishevelled, absent minded, he wears glasses and an old suit jacket. I guess you could refer to him as quirky." He smiles.

"A male version of you?"

"Psht! No! I don't wear glasses or an old suit jacket. Am I dishevelled?" He kisses the top of my head. My heart thumps against my chest and I can feel myself blush.

"Only sometimes. Come on, we're going to be late."

xxx

"Hello Kagome how are you?"

"Hello Professor, I'm great. This is my... boyfriend, Ichiro." I smile and step aside so they can shake hands. My heart pounds. Please, please, let this be the night I get a raise.

"Hello." Sesshoumaru gives a bow and nods his head. Langdon smiles a toothy grin, his suit jacket tonight is a lovely shade of brown with little elbow pads that don't quite sit where they're supposed to.

"Have you been introduced to the other heads of the museum Kagome?" Langdon ushers me to another group of dishevelled people and I can't help but wear a broad grin. I'm in, I'm part of the club.

We sashay around the party, mingling with the other departments of the on campus museum. I think Sesshoumaru even enjoys himself. Out of the corner of my eye I see a smile tug at his lips.

"That's Borkov, head of Slovak for obvious reasons. Over there is Tomas, he heads the English department." I point out the different professors discreetly as he sips his drink.

"You work with all these people?"

"No. I work on the university campus. The only reason I'm here right now is because of professor Langdon, he wants me to tour the other professors around our collection." He nods.

"Kagome can I have a word?" Langdon asks from a few feet away. My heart thuds in my chest as I leave Sesshoumaru's side.

"Kagome, I'd like you to meet Jeffrey." I smile and shake his hand. He's a tall with curly brown hair and a small amount of scruff, his glasses sit half way down his nose and he uses a single finger to push them back up to their proper home.

"Now I understand you don't normally accept offers like this, but I'm heading a project in Europe and would love for you to travel with the museums collection and help teach it to our curators." My heart stops. It takes a moment to restart.

"Move to Europe? Where will we stay?" WeThe word dances across my mind. That demon has already weaselled his way into my life and I don't want him leaving anytime soon.

"Almost everything will be provided and paid for. All you need to do is do for their museums what you did for ours." Langdon smiles and I feel a smile spreading on my face too. My heart continues to pound in my chest and I'm worried it will break through my ribcage and spill onto the floor.

"Well what do you think?" I nod before I can even think. I did say that I wanted an adventure.

"Good good! You'll leave in two weeks time, that should give you enough time to tie up any loose ends and have all of your things in order." I nod, shake Jeffrey's hand once more, smile then walk back to Sesshoumaru.

I feel his hand find my shoulder. "We're moving to Europe."

xxx

We pack slowly. It takes days for everything to sink in. It takes four days for Sesshoumaru to pack his clothes alone.

We sell frivolous items that aren't needed. We sell the T.V in the living room, but keep the one in the bedroom, and the rugs that don't match the house, even the kitchen table.

We eat our meals on the floor where the table used to be, or huddled around one another in bed, trying not to spill anything on the sheets. Other things, important things, go to Mel's basement, for safe keeping for when we return.

As if that's really safe from her prying eyes. Of course not.

We sell it all and keep next to nothing. Only the bed, the T.V., the couch and of course, his clothes.

I tried to get him to purge while he was packing, but to no avail.

"You don't want to get rid of any of this? Not even this?" I'm holding up a tattered pair of jeans.

"I'm keeping it all." He answers stubbornly. Jeez, he's a pack rat too. So many secrets. "Fine you can keep them."

xxx

On the morning of the beginning of our journey, we pull out all the sheets we can find and cover our meagre amount of furniture. Moichi has already made his home at Mel and Ted's new place in the heart of the city. Hopefully the little dog won't be too much trouble.

Sesshoumaru has just finished loading all of our suitcases into the back of the taxi when I climb in and tell the driver where we are headed.

I wave goodbye to the little house.

xxx

End of Chapter Eleven

End of Part Two