He was not fucking ready. But Kagome held his hand and looked at him with all that hope in her eyes and he would not deny her. He had to trust her, and that was hard.

The door opened, and Inuyasha froze. Chocolate brown eyes looked back at him - and he could feel himself falling into their depths. They contained the same unimpeded warmth he'd come to recognize in Kagome's.

"Mama, meet my boyfriend," Kagome's voice sounded like the ringing of bells, and Inuyasha watched Mama Higurashi's chocolate brown eyes glow with even more warmth.

Mama's going to love you. He could hear it echoing in his mind, louder and louder as he stood there. He thought she was just trying to assuage his worry when she said it. He had honestly never thought it to actually be true. But then again, this was the amazing woman who had raised Kagome Higurashi. The mother of his girlfriend.

"Inuyasha!" Mama Higurashi pulled him in for a hug, "Kagome has told me so much about you! Though I must say, you're much handsomer in person. Those ears!"

Kagome told her mother… about me?.. Before Inuyasha could react, his knees nearly buckled as a pair of gentle hands began stroking his ears.

"Mama!" Kagome's voice broke Inuyasha from the trance he was going into, "At least ask before you grab someone's ears! It's rude."

"Sorry honey, I couldn't help myself. They are as adorable as you described," Mama retorted.

Inuyasha could tell his face was red, not only had Kagome told her mother that he was a half-demon, she'd described his ears as adorable. He could feel the joy building in his gut. Involuntarily, his ears began to wiggle and he heard both Higurashi women coo at them. Fucking hell, they're not goddamned cute. But… as long as it's Kagome and her family. I guess I don't mind.

"Come on in, both of you," Mama Higurashi looped her arm into Inuyasha's, and walked them all into the house.

"I told you she would love you," Kagome whispered the words, so only Inuyasha would hear them. Inuyasha could only squeeze her hand to try to tell her how much this meant to him. But he suspected that she already knew.

Inuyasha had barely made it through the door when he gazed into yet another set of chocolate-brown eyes. They were wide - with fear? - no. with… awe.

"Whoaaaaaa," the boy said it quietly, but not enough to evade Inuyasha's ears, "Hey sis, is this your boyfriend?"

Kagome giggled, "Yes Souta, this is Inuyasha, my boyfriend."

"What are you?" Souta's question made Inuyasha flinch.

"SOUTA." Kagome growled the words.

"Oh, sorry sis. Um, I mean…. " Souta was bright red, "What's your superpower?"

He thinks I'm some sort of superhero? Kagome seemed to have come to the same conclusion, and she relaxed against him.

"Super strength kid," Inuyasha grinned, and knew Kagome had just rolled her eyes, "And I'm half dog demon if you must know."

"That's so cool!" Souta squealed, "So do you like… fight bad guys and stuff?"

"Not for a real long time kid," Inuyasha replied.

That was mostly the truth. He only killed those who hunted him, and he made it a point to only harm humans when he had no other options. But the last time he'd actually used his strength - his real strength - had been centuries ago. Inuyasha felt her press herself closer to him, musta noticed I was thinkin' about my past.

"Wanna play video games?" Souta's voice had gotten more excited.

"Maybe later little bro - we're here on a mission," Kagome exclaimed.

"Oh! What kinda mission? Can I help?" Souta yet again sounded too excited for his own good.

"We're learning Mama's ramen recipe - does that mean you're gonna help? Maybe even wash the dishes?" Kagome teased.

"Ew no." all excitement was out of Souta's voice.

"Thought so," Kagome laughed, "We'll see you for dinner."

"Hey kid," Inuyasha couldn't help himself, "Video games. Maybe another time."

"Demon Hunk, defender of the innocent," he heard Kagome whisper only for him. Kagome Higurashi, the opener of my heart.

"Kagome! Gramps just got back from the store. Can you go help him?" Mama Higurashi's voice came from the kitchen. Fuck. This was a setup.

Kagome groaned, "On my way….."

Inuyasha threw a panicked look at Kagome. Kagome's returned look very clearly said everything will be fine. But Inuyasha didn't buy it. He almost missed being chased away from villages with rocks being thrown at him. At least he never had to figure out how people felt. Modern folks had gotten a lot better at hiding their prejudices behind nice manners, so he knew exactly what the conversation was going to look like once Mama Higurashi got Kagome out of the house. But something in him was not ready to go running yet. Something in him keened to trust this family, this woman who brought Kagome Higurashi into the world.

Inuyasha steeled himself and walked into the kitchen, stiff and scared. But he'd been prepared for this day since Kagome hit send on that email. The earlier reception threw him a little, but he'd had enough experiences with the rejection that he could brace for it. It would hurt more than any of the others, but he could handle it. What he was unprepared for was the warmth in Mama Higurashi's eyes when she turned to look at him.

"It's been a long time since my daughter took a shine to someone," Mama Higurashi then smiled in the same way that he'd seen Kagome do it, "I can see why she likes you so much."

Everything Inuyasha was prepared to say, every defense he was mounting to get himself out of that house without his soul completely shattered disappeared. He could only look at this woman, who had all the warmth of her daughter, and gawk.

Mrs. Higurashi laughed slightly, beckoning him closer, "I don't know what pain in your past made you think you would not be welcome in our home, especially with how well you are treating my daughter, but I want to put all that to rest right now."

Then Mrs. Higurashi pulled him in for another, tighter hug.

"Uhhh… thanks," Inuyasha was not forming words all that well, "But I mean… since it's only been a week and all and I'm a… a..."

"Half-demon?" she offered. Inuyasha tried to look away from her chocolate eyes, but could not, her gaze steadied him, calmed him. Mrs. Higurashi then offered him another smile.

"Sometimes a mother just knows things," she whispered, "Take good care of my girl."

He understood now. Somehow, the prejudices that had stalked him his entire life, the hate and distrust of what he was that plagued his existence did not exist in this house. He wondered if it was all because of the wondrous woman in front of him, who seemed to be X-raying his soul with the same fervor as her beautiful daughter. He wondered how different his life would have been if he had found a family like this one when he was young and starving, how many years of pain would have been erased by the uncomplicated acceptance that he felt. But then I might not've found Kagome.

"How old are you Inuyasha?" Mrs. Higurashi's voice cut through his thoughts.

"Uhhh, 400 years… ma'am," it seemed absurd to use the word ma'am, but there it was.

Mrs. Higurashi "hmm"ed at that. He had a feeling he knew where her thoughts were going. He was damn near immortal, having fallen for the woman's mortal daughter. He thought about that a lot too, honestly. There were ways around it, secrets passed through the hidden demon circles that still existed in the world. And for dog demons (and dog half-demons), he knew his instinctive loyalty to her should she choose him meant there was a bonding ritual capable of extending her life to match his own. But he also knew that he would commit to her even if Kagome wanted to live her life out naturally. He was not sure exactly how to say this to her mother… but the way Mrs. Higurashi was looking at him, he wondered if he even had to.

"We never quite know when our time is up, do we?" she spoke, "I had 10 wonderful years with Kagome and Souta's father. He was the light of my life, except of course for my children. But one day, he didn't come home. And you know what? If someone had told me that I would only get those 10 years with him, I wouldn't hesitate to do it, so precious those years were to me."

Inuyasha understood what she was saying. He smiled.

"There are some people who make marks on us so profound that we will never be the same," Inuyasha could not believe the words coming out of his own mouth, Kagome's mother is as good as she is at this.

Mrs. Higurashi just smiled and nodded. They didn't need to say anything more. They understood.

"Well! I hear you are quite the hound for ramen!" Mrs. Higurashi chuckled as Inuyasha pinned his ears back, "Sorry sorry dear! I couldn't help myself!"

"Keh." he folded his arms, another Higurashi has found her way into my heart.

"Mama! We're back!" Kagome's voice sent Inuyasha retreating to find her. He was not sure that he could take more moments with her mother and continue to hold himself together.

The rest of the afternoon was more or less as smooth as Inuyasha could have ever hoped. Kagome's grandfather was not quite as open and welcoming as the rest of the clan, muttering to himself things about "kids these days and their damn trends…" But Kagome and Mama Higurashi came to his rescue. It was only when Kagome innocently (not-so-innocently in his opinion) mentioned that Inuyasha had lived through feudal times did the old man seem to forget his distrust and grill him about what that was like, keen interest replacing suspicion.

Kagome and her mother chattered on in the kitchen. He listened as Mama Higurashi repeated instructions, whispered about the secret spices, discussed how to test her burners to make sure that the heat was just right, and finally got into a debate about the merits of clear versus cloudy broth. (Inuyasha interjected that both were delicious and not worth fighting over. He still had not recovered from the look that both Higurashi women shot him….)

The dinner that came at the end was glorious. The ramen was perfect (and they'd made him a triple serving, even over Gramps's judgmental muttering). Souta had peppered him with questions (No he had never wrestled a bear with his bare hands. Yes, he did have a sword. Yes, demons aged really slowly. No, he did not have some secret superhero identity. No, he was pretty sure no one had ever made him a Mortal Kombat character…)

When the evening was over, he was mentally exhausted. He couldn't say why that was. Whether it was for the acceptance of the family, the questions about his life that came from genuine interest, or the knowing looks that Mrs. Higurashi kept throwing him when she caught him staring at Kagome, he was spent. But… he might have also been the happiest he had been since his mother was alive. So, as he and Kagome walked arm-in-arm back to his apartment, Inuyasha simply let himself rejoice. Now he was certain. Kagome came into his life to change it forever, and he was so fucking glad that he let her.

Because now, he was also certain that he would be asking her to spend the rest of it with him.