A/N: This is the followup to A Not So Far Quest. I'm loathe to call it a sequel exactly because to me those feel like they take place shortly after the ending of the first one, and this is set a little over a year from the first one. They're in their 4th year of college, and anyone that's hit crunch time towards the end of your degree knows it's hell. This chapter's safe for everyone, but if you're "eugnh" about sexy times, you might want to pass on chapters 2 and 3. For full tags, check it out on AO3.

"Did you get settled in, darlin'?"

As frustrated as Kagome felt, hearing Inuyasha call her that still caused a pleasant shiver to run over her. Or maybe it was what that they did when he last called her that – she shook her head. Not the time or the place for those thoughts! Especially not when she was using the phone in her family's living room… "Not…exactly."

Suddenly his tone changed, and Kagome knew she wouldn't be able to talk her way out of this one. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing -!"

"Kagome."

She huffed, not bothered by the undertone of the growl, but that she couldn't get off the hook with a basic answer. He'd just keep pecking until she caved anyway. "It's nothing, really. Some of my mother's family came into town on a whim, and they didn't think to reserve hotel rooms…so they're staying here at the shrine."

"And they're staying in your room?"

"And with my brother. And on our couch. If there's a place someone can set up a cot, it's occupied." She sighed. Her mother was very sympathetic, having had so many family members suddenly appear that the addition of her oldest child returning for spring break had slipped her mind. It didn't help that her mother's sister-in-law had taken one look at Kagome and said that she was capable of getting a room.

Inuyasha grunted in response, and she had a feeling he would accept that for the time being. Still didn't mean she wouldn't have to explain later, but at least for now… "What're you gonna do?"

She shrugged, forgetting he couldn't see her. "Cal Sango as soon as my phone charges. Maybe I can stay with her –"

He made a noise that sounded like a horn. "Wrong answer, darlin'. You're gonna stay with me."

"But-"

"No buts, except yours walking through my front door." There was a finality in his voice that did things to her. Things that he had no business doing to her while she talked to him on the landline in the family living room. It was amazing how he could flip her libido into high gear and irritate her at the same time.

"Why did you even ask me?" she replied.

"I dunno…I thought my girlfriend would ask me if she could spend spring break at my place, not think that her first choice should be her girl friend's apartment." He was teasing her of course, and she knew it. She could almost hear the grin as he talked. "Hell woman – I've seen every last inch of you! You've spent more time in my bed than your own in the last month. Not to mention all the times we –"

"Alright!" Kagome squeaked, feeling her face heat up. "What part of my phone charging did you not hear?! I am in the living room, Inuyasha! It's one thing that my family knows we're dating but I'd rather they not know all the details!"

There was silence from his end, then – "Are you ashamed of me?"

Kagome slapped her hand to her forehead at his mock-hurt question. "Somedays I really have to wonder why I love you."

He snickered. "I'm a delight and you know it."

She hummed. "You're something alright."

"And I can make your eyes roll back and your toes curl. Don't forget that, darlin'."

"Inuyasha…" she warned.

"Alright. I'll behave. Give me your address and I'll head over there to get you."

Inuyasha couldn't hide his grin as he ended the call with Kagome. This was too perfect. As much "time" as they had spent together in the last month, very little had been what they really wanted. It was why Inuyasha had been looking forward to spring break. No classes and no commitments to anyone. He wanted Kagome all to himself for whatever amount of time he could get.

But thanks to her extended family, Kagome was basically dropped into his care. The circumstances could have been better, but he wasn't about to complain. It gave him even more time to figure out his plan. They had been official for almost a year, and in a couple of months they'd both be through with college.

Inuyasha checked his pockets, nodding in satisfaction when he decided he had everything. Keys, phone, directions to Kagome's house, and the ring box. He wasn't sure how or when, but he had every intention of asking Kagome to marry him.

Mama was delighted to hear that Kagome had arrangements. "I still feel terrible, sweetheart. So many things happened, and before I knew it –"

"It's okay, Mama. Inuyasha insisted, actually." Kagome dug through the drawer for a knife to cut vegetables. Since her things couldn't be unpacked, she had nothing to occupy her time until Inuyasha arrived. The least she could do was help her mother prepare dinner.

"Everything is going well between you two?"

"It's been great. Although… with classes and everything, we mostly talk about homework and tests." She shrugged. It was boring conversation, but they could commiserate over their workload together. Especially now that she was a walk down the hallway from his room. There really was a perk to having a boyfriend with connections to the dormitory's resident advisor.

"So that doesn't leave you both time for –"

"Mama!" Kagome was horrified that her mother would even suggest that. She wasn't wrong, per se, but still!

"What?" I know that you've slept with him," she laughed. "I'm not stupid, Kagome."

"Yeah, well…" Kagome blushed. "It's not like I'm trying to broadcast it or anything."

Michiru hummed. "Not intentionally, no." She moved to the oven to start the broth. "When you came in here to tell me that you were staying with Inuyasha, you were smiling far too big for someone who hasn't gone to bed with her boyfriend."

"Oh my god," she groaned.

"Save it for Inuyasha, dear."

Kagome made another strangled noise and Michiru laughed again. She had been looking forward to meeting him personally for a while now. Face to face, that is. She'd spoken with him through video chat when they were in school, and she could clearly see how happy he made Kagome. She looked forward to the day she could welcome him as her son-in-law. Kagome hadn't mentioned any talk of marriage, but a mother knew. She turned to Kagome to ask how she was coming along with the vegetables when a shrill voice echoed in the room.

"What on earth is that smell?"

Michiru counted to ten with a sigh. Next to her she could feel Kagome tense up. 'Count to ten,' she chided herself. 'Be the lady your mother raised.' She plastered on a fake smile. "Hello Audrey. Kagome and I were preparing dinner."

"Oh? Is that what you call it? I thought you were boiling your boy's gym socks!" The woman let out an overly loud laugh at her comment, missing the brief flash of annoyance from the two women cooking. She strolled into the kitchen and eyed the dinner preparations with a critical eye. "You ain't one of them that feels it's necessary to make every meal with healthy choices," she prattled on, making air quotes at the end.

"I'm not sure what your aversion is to healthy foods, Audrey –"

"I didn't say I had one," Audrey sniffed haughtily. "I just think that it never hurt to add butter to a person's diet every once in a while."

Kagome quietly excused herself to check her phone's battery charge. She could only handle her aunt's attitude in small doses. It wasn't even that she was from the states; she was pretty sure she'd have disliked the woman if she was from Tokyo instead. The woman was overbearing, obnoxious, and looked down her nose at their family in particular. Yet when her uncle was around, it was like she was a different person. Luckily it was her cousins who bunked in her room and not her aunt and uncle, so she faced no issues coming and going in her own room. The kids were fine, but their mother was a piece of work.

In the time it took to collect the phone and its charging cable and return it to her bag, Kagome had heard her aunt change the subject of belittlement to her.

"What's your daughter plan to do?" Audrey asked. "It's almost dinnertime. Does she have plans?"

Kagome knew what that meant. She wanted to know if she was going to be inconvenienced by her niece. Before her mother could respond, Kagome spoke up. "Actually I do, Aunt Audrey. I'm going to be staying with a good friend from college. They're on their way here to get me."

"Good," Audrey said simply, which meant "I'll be damned if I give up my bed because you were late coming home". But then she looked Kagome up and down, and the interrogation really began. "When do you plan on getting married?"

"I don't know."

"What about kids?"

"I don't know."

"You don't know?" Audrey was exasperated. "Michiru, I'm intrigued – Do you intend on ever giving your mama grandbabies? These are not difficult questions."

Kagome's brows lowered. "Mama would like that I'm married before I start a family. Do things in order?" It was a low blow to remind the older woman that she had shacked up with her uncle for four years and had one kid - with another on the way – the day she walked down the aisle. In a blinding white wedding dress with a 6-month pregnancy bump. And the first child was the ring bearer. As it was, Inuyasha was on his way and she'd be gone soon, so she wasn't worried about a fallout. A knock at the door had her exiting the room. 'Speak of the hanyou.'

As she expected, Inuyasha was leaning against the door frame with a grin. "Hey darlin'." His grin dropped as he took in her expression and scent. "What's wrong?"

"Just…family," she shook her head. "Come meet Mama. She wanted to see you before we left." On reflex she reached for his hand and led him to the kitchen. Michiru had just finished adding the last of the vegetables to the pot when they came back. Audrey stood off to the side, offering no help whatsoever. Not that Kagome expected her aunt to be helpful.

Michiru turned as she heard them come through the doorway. "You must be Inuyasha," she joked, feigning surprise. "It's nice to finally meet you in person, dear," she said in all seriousness.

Inuyasha took her offered hand in both of his larger ones. "And it's an honor to meet you. You've raised a brilliant, headstrong daughter –"

A scoff cut his thoughts short. "I don't know about brilliant, but headstrong has her name all over it."

When the hanyou's gaze focused on the woman who had interrupted him, Michiru supplied the introductions when it appeared she wouldn't. "This is my sister-in-law, Audrey. My brother and his family are visiting, as I'm sure Kagome's told you…"

It didn't take a genius to figure out the details that Kagome hadn't told him. Inuyasha tried not to appear annoyed by this woman, despite what she gave as her first impression. This woman clearly had a jewel-encrusted scepter up her ass to make her frown that much. "A pleasure to meet you as well," he said, silently thinking it was anything but. And from the way she was looking at him, she didn't think too highly of him either.

Audrey made a noise at that. "So when did you say your friend was coming to get you?" she asked her niece, ignoring Inuyasha altogether.

"Inuyasha is that friend," Kagome said smugly, slipping a hand around his arm. "My boyfriend."

Her aunt made a startled noise. "Boyfriend? Michiru, did you know –"

"Yes, I did."

"And you're fine with your only daughter dating a hanyou?!"

Michiru looked between them, nonplussed. "Yes, I am."

Audrey was shocked and didn't try to hide her disgust. "You're telling me that you don't care if this half-breed dirties your daughter? That he'll ruin her for any decent, self-respecting, human man, and any hope of grandchildren – and you don't care?"

Kagome saw red the more she heard her aunt speak about Inuyasha. She was trying to be good. She was trying to be respectful, because she was family, but dragging something Inuyasha had no control over into the mix was too far. "I'll have you know that there is nothing unclean about Inuyasha," she hissed. "He's more respectable than most human men I've ever met. He treats me right and loves me. And yes, I'm going to be staying with him over spring break!"

Audrey leaned back as if Kagome had actually slapped her. "You would live in sin with a hanyou? Do you have any morals anymore, girl?"

"She does," Inuyasha said in clipped tones. He'd heard all the spiel over the years about being a hanyou, and that didn't bother him. It did get aggravating that no one could come up with something more clever by this point. However, he didn't appreciate hearing some of his girlfriend's family talk to her like that. "Kagome was raised better than to speak ill of someone so falsely. I may have only known Kagome for nearly four years, but I know that."

He stepped away from her side, reaching into his pocket. His mind was made up. It wasn't the way he'd hoped things would go but fuck it.

"I also know that she has given me a reason to smile each day. She makes me complete when I thought I'd never be. She supports me even when I make stupid decisions, and I want to always do the same for her. I know that Kagome deserves more, but she loves me and I'm going to do everything I can to make sure she wants for nothing." As he spoke, Inuyasha glanced at Michiru. This was more a declaration to her mother than it was putting the other woman in her place.

"Inuyasha?" Kagome started to become concerned when he stepped away, but then turned confused as he turned to face her. 'What is he doing? Is he – oh my god –'

The hanyou was so focused on Kagome that he paid no mind to the outraged noise that came from her aunt when he dropped onto one knee. "I love you, Kagome. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me?"

Kagome was floored. Inuyasha had proposed! She looked down, noticing the ring box in his hand for the first time. It was so sudden, but…it wasn't a hard decision. "Yes," she said in a breathy whisper, feeling the tears well up at how he lit up. Her hand was shaking as he slipped the ring on her finger – a perfect fit. Had he been planning this?

Inuyasha must have sensed what she was thinking. "I know I'm springin' this on you darlin', but we have all the time in the world." He squeezed her hands reassuringly. "We'll worry about the details after we graduate. Right now, I just needed to know that we'd have a future together. Maybe start our own family one day."

"Yes." She was beaming. "Yes, I'd like that Inuyasha." Her happiness was short-lived by the indignant sound Audrey made. She was not going to take the bait. She would not.

"Michiru – you're going to stand there and let your daughter marry a youkai?! A hanyou no less!"

There was no hesitation when Michiru responded. With a proud smile she got great satisfaction at how her sister-in-law's scowl deepened when she said, "Yes, I am." She turned to look at the younger couple. "Kagome is a grown woman. I can't stop her from choosing her happiness, and Inuyasha makes her happy. It doesn't bother me what he is; I know that he is a good person and he loves her." She reached out and placed a hand on his arm gently when he stood. Michiru could tell that he wanted to say something to Audrey. "I couldn't ask for a better son-in-law than you, dear."

Not even hour later, Inuyasha was feeling guilt over his surprise proposal. "I'm sorry for springing that on you 'Gome. I had planned to do it right –"

"And when have we been normal?" Kagome grinned, hanging up a blouse in the walk-in closet. She couldn't see Inuyasha's expression, but she could tell from his tone that the reality had set in. Walking out she added, "We slept together before we even went on one date!"

"Unless you count those raids in Far Quest –" Inuyasha grinned at her unladylike snort. "That…aunt of yours doesn't like me." He briefly considered asking how often that woman visited, just to gird his loins in the off chance they crossed paths in the future.

Kagome scrunched her face up as she reached for another handful of clothes. "She doesn't like anyone really. Unless she finds out that the person has connections and can do stuff for her. Then she'll act like your best buddy until you leave the room; then she'll speak awful about you."

"And your uncle?"

"Lives in blissful ignorance." Kagome sighed. "The one good thing I can say about her is that she's loyal to him and really cares about him and her family. So she's not totally heartless, just an entitled wannabe."

Inuyasha couldn't comment further. His family was far from perfect, so he could relate. Being the second son of the second wife of Touga Taisho was not glamorous. His family had been the subject of gossip for years. On top of that his older brother always knew just which buttons to push when they were in the same room. It was never a dull moment when the whole family was under one roof. It was just fortunate that the ex wife and the current wife got on so well.

Kagome turned from unpacking the last of her clothes to see Inuyasha sitting on the bed, lost in a daze. "Something on your mind?"

"Huh? Oh, just thinking about family."

"Really? Good things?" She crossed the room and perched on the edge of his bed. 'Our bed,' she corrected herself. She was living here now, and most likely after they finished school…

Inuyasha snorted. "Keh. Depends on who you ask. I thought it was worthwhile. Mother… not so much."

"What did you do?"

"I was in the kitchen first!" Inuyasha blushed a moment later, realizing that he hadn't explained anything. "I was still a pup, and Mother was making lunch. I don't remember why I was in the kitchen, but I was in the kitchen first. Then here comes my older brother, and he has this look on his face. You know that face that screams 'I need to be smacked'?"

Kagome had heard stories about Sesshomaru, so she could only imagine his expression. "I'm almost afraid to ask what you did."

"I came up behind him and smacked the ever-loving fuck outta him!" he said smugly.

"And what did your brother do?"

"He kicked my ass." Her laughter made him grin. "We had a wonderful time. Mother wasn't as enthusiastic because she was cooking. Speaking of," he grabbed her hand, pulling her to her feet. "Let's get takeout for dinner. There's a shopping center where you can pick up anything you might need." He didn't want to outright list off any toiletries that she'd need that he couldn't provide. She was only recently getting used to him being able to scent when she was due to get her period.