Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters from the Inuyasha universe, but I sure do love playing with them. The rest is mine.

Chapter 24

Kagome turned around to look at her reflection in the bathroom mirror, and she smiled wryly.

Hadn't she just done this just the other day to go out with Haruto? Now, she was doing it with Inuyasha...and she shook her head, banishing thoughts of Haruto from her mind as the bathroom light danced off of the gold cuff on her arm. Correction: her gold shock collar. It wasn't aesthetically unappealing - it was just a simple cuff about two inches wide that clung to her skin.

It was weird thinking that she was tethered to him now...and yet...in a roundabout way, hadn't she already been? Or rather, hadn't she tethered him to her? She had put a "collar" on him, quite literally, before he had her. He didn't even have a warning before she could hurt him. Didn't this just...even the playing field? Make them both equals? If she looked at it like that, it became a bit more palatable to wear the cuff.

She rolled her eyes and placed it behind her back, not wanting to dwell on it. She didn't want to think about that, or Haruto and that wreck of a date...

She wanted to focus on the pure, unadulterated joy on Inuyasha's face when she agreed. She wanted to think about how he had happily celebrated with his friend. She wanted to think about that tender first (but really second) kiss. She wanted to enjoy the excited butterflies she felt flying around in the pit of her stomach.

She gathered up her hair onto the top of her head, scrunching up her face as she tried to decide if she liked how that looked. She didn't think Inuyasha cared, though. He was drawn to her when she was just wearing a sweatshirt and leggings...and they had such different customs when it came to fashion anyway, so really, this was all for her…

Kagome gave herself a mental nod and decided to just go for it and put her hair up. It drew more attention to her neck and chest anyway, and that's what she was going for, right? Why else wear this off the shoulder little black dress? She loved the way it clung to her every curve, and the chiffon draping knotted sleeves were so cute…

Thank you, sozo box! She would have loved this dress on Earth, but she would have never spent the money on it.

She quickly threaded her long, gold bar dangle earrings into her lobes, slipped on her heels, and opened the bathroom door before she could continue to second guess everything.

She caught Inuyasha rapidly typing something on a glass tablet splayed across his lap, and he paused the second the door opened. He looked up at her and his face instantly softened as his jaw dropped ever so slightly when he saw her. He tossed the tablet off to the side and rose, coming to stand before her.

"Kagome…" he breathed, unable to take his eyes away from her, and she glanced down bashfully.

She couldn't help but notice that he had taken the time to freshen up as well. He had taken care to braid his long silver locks, and he wore a strange black and red color blocked jacket that was in no way similar to his military uniform. His black pants clung to him perfectly, yet they looked soft and rather comfortable.

He hesitantly held out his hands and she placed hers into them, taking a step closer to him as he rubbed his thumb across her knuckles.

"Kagome is a beautiful woman," he murmured in his signature thick English, and she felt her cheeks redden at the attention.

"Inuyasha is a handsome man," she replied huskily, and he grinned stupidly back at her in response before his expression changed and he seemed to clam up.

"Will you let me kiss you?" he asked nervously, and she found herself smiling even harder than she already was.

"Before we even start the date?" she teased, and his ears lowered as he looked away, not understanding that she had been joking. "Hey," she whispered, letting go of his hand to reach up and cup his face, turning him back towards her. She tilted her head up ever so slightly, softly pressing her lips to his in a warm, chaste kiss.

When she pulled away from him a few seconds later, she couldn't help but giggle at the awestruck look plastered across his face.

"So...dinner?" she asked, and he nodded dumbly.

"D-dinner. Yeah. S-shall we?"

"We shall."

"This is beautiful," she breathed, walking out into the empty observation deck. A soft jazz-like music filled the room, making her smile at the mood he was trying to create for her. It sounded a bit ethereal, and she asked if it had come from Inusekai. He blushed and told her it was, and nervously mentioned that he hoped she liked it. She just squeezed his hand and reassured him that she did.

He had gone through so much trouble for her…

This was what Haruto had wanted to do with her...but he had failed miserably at it. Possibly because he hadn't really tried...possibly because he didn't have the same influence Inuyasha did on the ship.

As she stepped into the room, she noticed that it was empty except for a table. It held an exotic arrangement of flowers in the middle, and she was surprised to see food from Earth spread out on it. Seeing her confusion, he explained that he didn't want to upset her stomach with Inusekai delicacies. Instead, he had been trying to take some of the information they had learned from the internet to give her a little bit of Earth.

She just grinned at him and walked toward the wall next to the table. It, like the meeting room from earlier that day, was covered in floor to ceiling windows that allowed them to look at the stars.

"Inuyasha," she breathed, placing a hand on the window and looking back at him. He came to stand beside her and offered her his hand.

"I want to show you something," he grinned, and she allowed him to lead her to the window in the far corner of the room. "There," he pointed, his finger landing just under a small ball in the distance with a ring around it.

"Saturn?" she gasped.

"Mhm..." he confirmed as she stared at the small, warm colored spec. It was like she was in a trance, unable to move her eyes away from the sight. No one...no one from Earth had ever seen these planets in the way she was being able to see them.

She turned around to thank him and jumped at how close he was to her, placing a hand on her chest.

"Sorry," he apologized, taking a step back from her. "I didn't mean to startle you. I just love watching you see these things. The look of awe and wonder on your face...it reminds me of when I first started traveling."

She felt her expression melt into a warm smile, and she asked him to tell her about it. He nodded and began, leading her to sit down at the table and eat. He had been young - a boy in his early teens when his father had decided that he was old enough to begin his time on a ship, taking his training to the next level. He was tested physically and mentally, pushed to his limits and then beyond. Kagome could feel her heart shatter when she asked what that entailed, and he began to explain what they had forced him to do.

He had been placed into isolation chambers where they had changed the environment, forcing him to endure burning and freezing temperatures while he meditated for days on end. He had become emaciated from lack of food and water as he tried to hone his mind, allowed to do nothing but focus on this one task. He admitted that he had almost broken a few times...but he knew he had to keep going. He knew what this meant...so he persevered. He wouldn't allow himself to be beaten.

His physical training had been barbarous too. He told her about the time he had broken his right arm sparing, and how he had been made to keep going with the left. He told her about the different planets he had been taken to, simply so that he could become stronger by fighting in different gravities and environments.

He had been to well over a hundred different planets by now from this and in search of the jewel, but he described the wonder and awe he felt those first few times...the beauty he saw in each new place, despite what he would be forced to do every time.

"You're incredible," she murmured in awe, tears prickling her eyes. His ears perked up at her words.

"Oh?"

"To have survived everything you have...and to still be as caring and tender as you have been with me...to have maintained this beautiful, sweet innocence...you're amazing," she explained, blinking to banish the burning sensation she felt.

He looked down at the table bashfully, his cheeks reddening from her admiration and praise before his eyes filled with sorrow.

"Thank you," he mumbled, unable to look back up at her.

"You don't believe me," she observed, her brow furrowing in confusion.

"I think I'm not worthy of such high praise from you," he finally confessed, looking back up at her. "I've done things...things that can't be undone…" he sighed and looked away in shame, his ears flattening to his head. "I've done things to you...I've hurt you, ruined your life, and...and a part of me has been glad for it, because if I hadn't, I never would have stood a chance for getting to know you."

"Inuyasha…"

"I'm not the good person you think I am, Kagome. I'm not worthy of your praise. I wish more than anything that I were, though."

She reached across the table, grabbing his hands and startling him.

"You stayed by my side for two whole days when I was imprisoned, never once leaving...not even to sleep in a bed. You kept me company and you kept me sane. You brought me things to make my stay more bearable. You've kept me safe, protected me, fought for me, and rescued me...how are you not deserving of my praise? How do you not see the goodness in you that has somehow thrived despite everything you've been through? You've led such a hard life, Inuyasha. Your sweet goodness is extraordinary. It's...it's like a tree growing on the side of a rocky mountain peak. Remarkable."

"Kagome, I—"

She cut him off, standing up from the table to lean over it and press a gentle lingering kiss to his cheek. When she sat back down, she grinned bashfully at his awestruck expression and the way he cupped the side of his face shakily - like he couldn't believe she had just bestowed upon him some great gift.

Now she knew why affection affected him as much as it did - because he had led a hard life which had, against all odds, molded him into the beautiful being before her.

He gave her a nervous, shy smile, and she swore he was going to ask her to do it again...but he must have changed his mind at the last second, deciding to not press his luck as he closed his mouth with a snap. Each little act of affection she bestowed upon him he seemed to treasure like a king and his gold.

"Thank you," he breathed instead, and she twisted a little on her seat under the warmth of his gaze as she felt her heart melt.

To distract herself from the overwhelming conversation they had just shared, she asked him to tell her more about what he would do if he weren't training to be the perfect vessel for the jewel. She already knew the answer, but she didn't care, and she listened as he told her about how he would love to study another planet up close and learn everything he could about it.

He told her how he would love to hear the purple, singing trees of Coloca* in the spring, bathe in the freezing springs of Isyrate*, or visit Oceatar* to dive for tarxa* with the people of Asharka*. When she tilted her head to the side, he explained that the tarxa were like these little oysters that created little balls of energy, and their meat tasted like sweet coconut. There was a great harvest each year where the locals would dive into the green waters of their planet and search them out.

More than anything, though...he wanted to go to a planet that they knew little about and educate himself on it.

Like Earth.

Earth was perfect to him. It had a thriving, primitive species on it, and he wanted to learn everything he could...from its history to its technology. He was simply fascinated.

She couldn't help but absently wonder what it would be like if he did...what would it be like for Inuyasha to come to Earth and stay with her?

She mentally shook her head, banishing that thought from her mind as she felt herself flush. She wasn't going to daydream about the look of wonder and joy he would get on his face when she took him through the city or to the museum where she was working...or had worked? She had probably long since been fired from her role as a curator, but she didn't want to think about that right now.

Oh how he would love their museum...it was everything he was dreaming of - a compilation of history and artifacts where he could learn about their culture and past, both good and bad.

Instead, she focused on replying to him when he asked her about her family. She told him about her mother and grandfather and brother...and how her father had passed when she was young. Her mother had never been able to move on and never dated another man, let alone remarried.

"I understand that pain…" he whispered, his eyes turning soft and his smile turning sad.

Of course.

His late wife and daughter...who had been murdered.

"Tell me about her," she asked, placing her hands atop the table, palms up. He glanced down at them, gently placing his own over them.

"What do you want to know?" he replied quietly, avoiding looking her in the eyes.

"I don't know...everything you're willing to share, I guess. What was she like? How did you meet? How old were you when you met?" she prompted, her thoughts trailing off.

"Well," he began, his breath coming out in a rush, "She was smart...not just intelligent, but wise too. She saw everything from every angle, and she was able to make calculated decisions. And she was witty...funny...elegant and refined...beautiful...no, stunning...no, gorgeous…"

"She was very attractive," she smiled weakly, and his eyes widened before he rushed to amend himself.

"As are you! I didn't mean to offend…"

"I can't be offended by you thinking that your late wife was lovely. She was your wife…" she reasoned, and he searched her face, looking for some form of trickery. Finding none, he squeezed her hand and granted her a soft, appreciative smile.

"You are both the two most beautiful women I have ever seen, and ever will see," he continued, and her lips quirked up at his words. "As for how we met...I was visiting her home planet, Hanutaki.* She was a…" he trailed off, looking for the right words. "Shrine maiden, and when we landed, I was interested in learning more about their culture.

"I had heard about their Goddess, Tsulaka,* from the locals and was intrigued. Our timing was perfect - there was a festival coming later that week that people were preparing for. It was to honor and pay tribute to Tsulaka.

"I remember walking through the market...it was so full of life and excitement! There were spices everywhere, and I wish you could smell the different foods being cooked! I swear I started salivating on the spot as they wafted through the air…and there were men unloading these giant barrels of drink in the square as women hung these great draping cloths everywhere in reds and oranges and yellows," he explained, reliving those moments and animatedly gesturing with his hands.

"Those are the colors of life," he elaborated when she tilted her head slightly to the side.

"Tsulaka is their Goddess of fertility and life and women. When a woman becomes pregnant, the family goes to Tsulaka's shrine and lights a candle and bathes her statue in nectar and milk from a krintak* for an easy pregnancy and birth.

"The festival is to thank her for looking after their women and for the many blessings she has bestowed upon their families. There was this golden statue in the center of the square that had been brought in from the shrine, and I wanted to get a closer look at it. It was this humanoid mix of a fawn woman...her upper body was exposed so you could see her breasts, and she wore this draped cloth around her hips. The craftsmanship was lovely...but at her base laying flowers down, I saw her.

"She was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen, dressed in these flowing red robes...her hair pulled back and away from her face so she could see as she worked, exposing the left side of her neck…" he trailed off in thought, and she smiled at the far away look on his face as he relived that fateful day eighty years ago.

"She didn't notice me at first, and that was fine with me. I was content to just watch her work, until she accidentally cut her finger with her knife. I couldn't help myself. I rushed forward and took her hand and began dressing her wound.

"She couldn't take her eyes off of me...and I was never able to take mine off of her again. We knew...right there in that moment, we knew who we were to each other…and three months later, she came with me to Inusekai."

He shook his head, picking up his glass of clear green liquid and drinking it. He enjoyed the food he had brought for them from Earth - the smattering of cheeses and fruits were delightful, and the pasta had been perfect. How he had discovered Italian food she'd never know, and she didn't care. It was wonderful. However, it was apparently a little hard on his stomach, and the green liquid helped to calm it.

"It sounds like love at first sight."

He tilted his head to the side, furrowing his brow in confusion.

"It's where you know that you love a person the second you see them...that you belong together. Like a soulmate," she explained.

"Would you...can you tell me what a soulmate is?" he asked bashfully, and she smiled as she leaned forward.

"Of course...they're your other half. The person you're destined to be with. You were born for them...and they were born for you."

She watched as his eyes widened, and he noticeably swallowed. Perhaps his mouth had gone dry? She couldn't imagine why, though.

"Tell me, Kagome...is that something your people believe in? Being destined to belong with one other person?"

"Not all of them," she blushed, his question feeling heavier than simple dinner conversation. "Some do."

"And what about you?" he pressed, his eyes burning with a fiery hope that she had never seen in him before.

"I…" she trailed off, the look in his eyes distracting her. He was anticipating her answer with bated breath, and it was making her blush. "Yes. I do believe in soulmates."

"Do you believe in love at first sight?" he continued, scanning her face with that same intensity.

"I like to think people can experience it, but I don't think I ever have," she shrugged, and he nodded his head and leaned away from her, his grip on her hands relaxing. "Do you believe in it?"

"Yes," he replied without hesitation.

"Because of your wife?"

"Because of many things," he replied softly, looking down at their hands. "How do you think you know you've met your soulmate?"

"Me? Or my people?" she asked, trying to clarify what he wanted.

"You - Kagome."

"I think...I think you just know. I think you're drawn to them like a magnet...and you feel at peace and whole. It will feel like you've finally found what you've been searching for your whole life, and everything will just be so easy and right…"

A warm smile spread across his face at her explanation and he nodded, leaning back in his chair.

"I like that...that's how it was with Kikyo."

"Kikyo?" she replied, the name sounding alarms in the back of her mind. She knew that name...how did she know that name…

"My wife," he replied, tilting his head to the side. "Kagome, are you alright? You look…" he trailed off, searching for the right word, "overwhelmed. It was our conversation, wasn't it? It was too much..." he grumbled.

"It was perfect," she rushed to reassure him, her mind still searching for why she knew that name. "It was honest and truthful, and I loved it. I feel like I know you better, even if we did discuss some difficult things."

"I see…" he muttered, his ears lowering before suddenly perking as an idea struck him. "Would dancing help lighten the mood?" he asked hopefully.

"Dancing?" she couldn't have heard that right.

"It's something I learned your people like to do when we went through your phone and your internet. Was I wrong?"

"No," she smiled warmly, appreciating the effort he was putting into making her happy. "Dancing would be lovely."

He nodded nervously and held out his hand as the song in the background came to an end and the next one began. She took it, standing up and allowing him to pull her to the center of the room and away from the table before placing his hands on her shoulders. He held her at an arm's length, and she mirrored his posture as he began swaying with her to the slow rhythm.

"Is this how your people dance?" she asked, the barest hint of a smile playing at her lips. She felt like she was at a dance in middle school again, where everyone was too awkward and shy to get closer.

"No...yours?"

"No," she grinned. "Here," she instructed, removing his hands and stepping closer to him as she adjusted his hold on her. She placed one on her hip, making her blush while she took the other as she rested her free hand on his shoulder. "Is this ok?" she asked, and he nodded as he glanced down with a swallow at the hand on her hip.

"This is very ok…" he trailed off, his eyes filled with disbelieving joy. "Now what?"

She pulled him backwards, teaching him an easy box step. He quickly caught on, pivoting her around the room as they danced together. She was pleasantly surprised by how quick a study he was, but she shouldn't have been - he absorbed English like a sponge, and he was already an athletic man. She shouldn't have been surprised at all at how naturally this came to him too.

Soon, he was even daring to try new moves with her by pushing her away only to spin her back closer into his arms. She let out a joyous giggle when he did that, which only encouraged him to do it again and again.

She was quickly laughing so hard that she was tripping over her feet and almost fell. She felt him pull her flush against his body to steady her, and she buried her face into his shoulder as her body continued to tremble and her laughter echoed merrily around them. She pulled away from him after a moment and walked to the wall, sliding down it to sit on the floor. She then happily patted the empty spot beside her, a lazy smile plastered across her face.

He didn't need to be told twice and immediately sat beside her, propping his arms up on his knees and letting his hands dangle loosely from their perch. She reached out and took his pinky with her own, and he scooted a bit closer to her and allowed her to bring his hand into her lap. She ran her index finger along the edge of his hand to his pinky, crossing it over the pads of his fingers when she reached the sharp tips.

His skin felt rough - calluses from a hard life covering his hand and marring his perfect flesh. She wondered if his skin would have still been covered in calluses if he had been allowed to choose his future?

He kept proving to her how deeply he cared for her...and the lengths he would go to in order to keep her safe. She ran her fingers from his palm and up the middle to the top of his finger where his claw was.

"Kagome?" he breathed, his voice holding the nervous question he was too afraid to ask. She lightly pressed the pad of her finger against the very tip of his claw, testing its sharpness. Her breath hitched in slight surprise when after a moment of pressure, she drew a bead of blood up from her tender flesh.

"Kagome," he swore, pulling her finger to his lips without thinking and lightly sucked it into his mouth. His tongue passed over it a few times before she could see the realization of his actions slowly spread across his face. His ears lowered to his head as he removed her finger, closing her fist and placing it back into her lap. "Sorry," he apologized. "I wasn't thinking."

"I don't mind," she breathed, causing him to raise his eyes back to her face.

"Why did you do it?"

"I don't know," she replied honestly. "I was curious, I think...I knew it would happen...and the fact that it hasn't before now only proves to me how gentle you really are."

She could see the way her words affected him as his face morphed into soft, tender appreciation and aw. She had moved him, soothed his heart, and made him feel things she hadn't seen in a while as his face changed and his thoughts shifted again.

"Kagome," he murmured, his eyes dropping to her lips in want before he shifted them away and turned his head to look straight ahead again. He leaned it backwards and his ears lowered as he closed his eyes and tilted his chin up. She knew exactly what he wanted, but since that first time, he had been too afraid to pursue his desires. She had to initiate...and initiate she would.

She twisted her body and reached up to cup his cheek, encouraging him to look at her as she leaned up and gently pressed her lips to his in a simple, sweet caress. She felt his body stiffen before completely melting, and he reached back out to her to mirror her actions. He tenderly placed a hand on her cheek, turning his body to face her as his lips moved against her own. Each gentle movement of his lips made shivers run up and down her spine, and Kagome couldn't get enough of it. She eventually parted from him with a sigh, and an unbidden, low whimper escaped his throat.

Inuyasha turned away from her in embarrassment, but she wasn't going to allow it. She wasn't going to let him run just because he was ashamed that he wanted to keep going when she needed a second to breathe. She wasn't stopping this...absolutely not.

She grabbed his shoulders and pressed him back against the glass windows they had been sitting against before moving to her knees and swinging a leg over his lap so she could perch herself in it.

He was surprised at first, but that look was quickly replaced by one of excitement before he reached up to her head to pull her lips back down to his. He was being more aggressive now...and she liked it. She liked feeling his need and desire for her as he hungrily worked his lips against her. She liked the way he wrapped one hand around her lower back and the other tangled in her hair at the nape of her neck. She liked the way his chest vibrated in satisfaction when she nibbled at his lower lip. She loved grasping his shirt to try and not lose her grip on reality.

Kagome felt the hand in her hair slide up to her ponytail and free it from its restraints, allowing her hair to topple down around them. They were hidden behind a wavy, black curtain now, existing in a world of just them - in a world where nothing else seemed to matter. She moaned lowly as his tongue pressed against her lips, and she parted her own and allowed him the entrance he was seeking. She could taste his hunger for her as his tongue battled against her own, igniting a fire in her.

Never before had she ever felt so desperately needed. Desired. Wanted. Craved. God...it was fucking intoxicating and beyond empowering. She felt like a goddamn Goddess as she straddled him and he worshiped her at the altar of her lips.

He pulled her closer, trying to consume everything she was as her hands slammed against the glass window on either side of his head. She barely registered the cold sting of the glass slapping against her palms. He pulled away from her, gasping as he buried his face in the crook of her neck by her birthmark. She felt her own chest heave as she tried to get her breathing under control, but that failed miserably when she felt his lips press against her skin.

She gasped before a mewling sound poured from her lips as he attached himself in the crook of her neck, sucking and lapping at her birthmark. She felt sudden hot waves of heat wash over her as liquid lava pooled in her stomach, and she felt a throbbing pulse between her legs. She needed a release of some sort...something to help soothe the ache that was making her lose her mind, and she ground herself down into his lap. She felt his need press firmly into her and she groaned in satisfaction, rotating her hips again.

He pulled away from her with a sob, resting his forehead against her shoulder and panting heavily.

"We should go back," he breathed, and she laughed huskily.

"So we can finish this somewhere else?"

"No," he moaned as she rotated her hips again. "I don't want to finish this now. I want you to want it more than you do...because right now, it will mean more to me than it will to you," he confessed, and her breath caught in her throat at his soft words. She looked down into his eyes and saw the burning passion and want within them...and what startled her was the other emotion she couldn't dare name.

"Ok."

Inuyasha opened the door to their quarters, stepping aside to let her enter first. She thanked him and immediately kicked off her shoes and placed them back into the sozo box.

"That was a lovely evening, Inuyasha...thank you…"

"Thank you for letting me court you," he replied, coming to stand behind her and place his hands on her hips.

She felt him drop his head to her left shoulder and turn it inward to gently nuzzle the crook of her neck, and she felt an almost violent wave of heat flood her lower belly. She gasped at the overwhelming sensation and felt his fingers on her hips begin to tremble as a low whine rippled out from his throat. He continued to nuzzle that spot for a moment more before he placed a kiss there, causing her to grip the inside of the sozo box. She rolled her head to the side and a low growl vibrated out from his chest, pleased with her unintentional submission. She felt her knees become weak when he licked her neck before moving his lips up to her ear.

"I'd like it if you would let me court you again sometime…perhaps sometime soon?" he rumbled quietly, his lips ghosting over the shell of her ear. His hot breath sent shivers running up her spine, and she bit the inside of her lip as she tried to take a steadying breath to get herself back under control.

Fuck.

That had completely come out of left field, and she was not prepared for it at all.

"I'd like that too," she finally replied shakily, and she felt him smile against her skin and take a deep breath. It was like he was inhaling her scent before moving away from her.

"I should go and shower - do you mind going after?"

After earlier, she could only imagine why he needed to go first...and the thought left her mentally picturing it in detail. The hot water running down his body in rivulets...the soapy bubbles covering his skin as his hands passed over his torso...those same hands vigorously stroking a part of him she had felt firmly pressed against her backside earlier that same evening...

Oh yeah.

She needed him out of this room so she could calm down too.

"That's fine - I hope you enjoy your shower."

Was she horrible for meaning that in more than one way?

God...one incredibly intense make out session and she turns into this? She needed to get herself in check.

She sat down on the couch as he disappeared into the bathroom and tucked her feet next to herself as she began removing an earring from her lobe. Why had she reacted so strongly to him just now? She felt like a teenager with completely out of whack hormones. She had always said that he was very attractive...but that...that was something else.

It felt like he could set her whole body on fire just by kissing her neck. That had never happened to her before...not with any of her old boyfriends. What was it about him? Was it some weird alien thing? She knew he had enzymes in his saliva that helped with healing...maybe he also had a weird way of setting her body on fire?

Maybe she should talk to him...

"Hey Inuyasha...can you make me want to pounce on you by doing a weird thing when you kiss my neck?"

She groaned - saying it aloud sounded so stupid. She had been on such an emotional roller coaster over the last few days…of course she was going to react strongly to receiving any form of comfort or affection.

Kagome shook her head and removed the second earring, noticing that his tablet was still on the couch. He normally didn't leave that lying around, but he had been rather caught up in seeing her exit the bathroom earlier. She should put it away for him - he'd appreciate that.

Jeez.

One date and she was already doing little thankless things to make his life easier and make him happier? Get your shit together, Kagome!

She rolled her eyes and told the little voice in her head to shut up - putting away a tablet was beyond minor.

She tossed her earrings into the sozo box as she opened the cabinet under it and placed the tablet inside where she had seen him keep it before.

There. Not a big deal.

She was about to close the doors when light glinting off of a gold box in the back corner absently caught her eye - the gold box from Noritaka. Her scalp tingled as she reached back to it, and her fingertips grazed the cold metal. She gingerly removed it from its hiding place, ignoring the goosebumps on her arms as she ran her fingers over the beautiful engravings. Kagome nervously flipped the lid open, ignoring the sudden twisting in her stomach as she examined the two objects within.

It was odd to her that Inuyasha didn't want her seeing them...and that he reacted so strangely to the two golden almonds inside. They looked harmless enough - almost like jewelry, really. What was even odder, however, was the feeling that she was left with in the pit of her stomach. They were making her feel like she had a case of deja vu...like she had seen them before but couldn't place the where or the why.

It was eerie.

She must have been feeling this way because she had seen them earlier that day and because of how Inuyasha was reacting.

Pleased with her mental assessment and explanation of the situation, she picked one up and flipped it over to look at the back. Somehow, she knew that it would be flat near the thick side with a gold band that wrapped around it, like a small ring...but she had never seen these before today in her life. She remembered how she had thought they looked like Inuyasha's fangs earlier, and her gut was telling her that they were to be worn that way.

Her heart was pounding in her throat as she tilted her head to the side in curiosity and straightened, moving her hand to the sozo box. She cleared out the contents with the push of a button before getting a small mirror from it, and she then walked over to the table and placed everything down.

This was stupid...trying out "golden fangs"...it was weird, right? Yet, she almost felt inexplicably drawn to them, and she was dying to know if she was right. Her heart began to pound even harder...she could feel each beat vibrating in her throat as she shakily raised a hand and plucked one out of the box. Kagome steeled her nerves and opened her mouth, biting the bullet and putting it on a canine tooth.

It fit almost perfectly.

She picked up the other one and put it on, surprised that it fit too.

A pulse seemed to shoot through her body, and she snapped her mouth shut as her vision blurred.

She was no longer in their room, but in a completely different one. Modern, futuristic finishes and furniture could be seen throughout what looked like the bedroom, and flowers were in vases everywhere. Candles had been lit, and before her was Inuyasha. He reached out to her nervously but excitedly smiling as he drew her into his body. His hand came up to gently cup her cheek as he leaned down to tenderly kiss her. She felt an uncontrollable bubble of love swell up in her chest, and she felt herself excitedly kissing him back, hungrily devouring him and everything he was offering her.

She felt her fingers moving to his military vest and slowly pushed the buttons through the holes, opening it. Her hands slid up his chest and to his shoulders, and she could feel his skin trembling under her touch. It was so warm and soft, yet firm. It was exquisite, and she delighted in the sensations of his flesh against her palms.

"Wife," he murmured, pulling away from her for a moment before leaning back down to capture her lips in another burning kiss that left her panting when they finally parted for air. She pushed his vest down his shoulders, and he released her to toss the garment off to the side.

She jumped in pain and took the gold fangs out of her mouth, having bitten down so hard in surprise that she drew blood from the inside of her bottom lip.

She threw the fangs back into the box and backed away from it. What the hell had just happened?

There was something not right about those things…

*literally just made up a word - I don't think it's Japanese this time.

A/N:

I can see what's happening (What?)
And they don't have a clue (Who?)

Anyways...IT'S HERE. THE ROMANCE. AT LAST.

I hope this was worth the wait!

Thanks as always to Saucy for the amazing edits, and to everyone who has read and reviewed so far - YOU'RE AMAZING!

Until next time!