Sharing a room with InuYasha had already been weird, but upon seeing there was only one bed they both started texting SOS to their respective comrades.

Sango was entirely unhelpful in the way that she still wasn't talking to her after an ill received question about last night's debauchery and it would seem that Sesshomaru had only ordained it necessary to send a red heart in response.

"You take the bed," InuYasha grunted when their options all fell through, "I've slept in trees before. A hotel floor is nothing." But that didn't feel right. She was the last minute addition and -upscale or not- the floors were dirty.

"We're friends. There's no reason we can't share the bed. It's plenty big and it's not like it's weird." She was all bravado as she dragged one of the decorative pillows to the middle of the bed. "It's not like I roll in my sleep."

He seemed to resent the 'not weird' comment with his entire chest, but after a few more moments of deliberation he agreed anyway and quickly changed the subject.

Apparently, he'd overheard Sango telling his brother about her desire to go to the beach, "I don't usually like the beach," he admitted, yet he still planned to go.

She'd never understand his obsession with being liked by Sango. It wasn't as if she disliked him so much as she didn't think they had much in common. Yet he continued to force himself to do things he didn't really enjoy- only for Sango to ask why he bothered to do something he hated.

But it wasn't her business to say. "I'm surprised that Sesshomaru likes the beach. He's so pale, I feel like he'd burn."

InuYasha snickered, "like a posh lobster. He's gonna spend the entire time hiding under an umbrella with his mother. I'm pretty sure he only agreed because Sango looked so excited. She was practically bouncing in place."

"He's not doing a great job at pretending he's not wildly in love with her." Kagome dug through her suitcase in search of her emerald bikini. She hadn't had much occasion to wear it since summer had begun and she was excited to show off for once.

"It's because they fucked. It's only going to take the barest amount of attention to keep him hooked now."

Kagome wondered if that's what happened to InuYasha, but didn't think she could stand to hear the sordid details.

"Sango's love language is touch," Kagome told him helpfully, "if you want to relay the message."

And he snorted, as if he couldn't imagine how such a simple thing could make someone fall in love, "humans are weird. I mean… our parents didn't waste their time coddling us-even if mom did try for a bit."

"You expect me to believe that dog demons don't like cuddling?"

"Petting goes a lot farther."

She didn't know what came over her, but the hair between his ears was soft and he didn't immediately push her off, "what do you think you're doing!" His voice was shaky and his cheeks were flushed.

"Petting you."

"If I just likened petting to cuddling-."

She pulled her hand back, hesitant all of a sudden, "do demons not believe in platonic cuddling? I cuddle with Sango and Rin all the time."

"Fine then." He grabbed her hand and dragged it back to the space it once occupied, making it seem like he was doing her a favor. But she didn't mind. His hair was soft and his twitching ears were their own reward.

"Are you two done or...?"

Neither of them heard Sesshomaru break in.

"You weren't supposed to interrupt!" Sango hissed. She looked far less angry and Kagome could only wonder if the fresh splotches she wore like badges of honor were anything to go on.

Kagome was quick to rush away from InuYasha and shove herself into Sango's arms, "sorry."

"It's fine."

"Tell me what you'd like, but I won't push for answers again. Fair?"

Sango let out a shaky breath, "I'm sorry I'm being so possessive."

But Kagome insisted, "You have every right."

Strong arms went around her middle and they stayed that way for a long bit as InuYasha argued with Sesshomaru about what they were up to. "It's not weird."

"Mm. Kinda weird."

"Oh? Then what were you doing?"

"I don't see how it concerns you."

"Then how does this concern you?"

"Because I had to see it."

"You could have knocked!"

"I have a key."

"That you stole."

"Didn't steal it."

Sango broke free of their hug to show off her pale yellow bathing suit, once appropriate compliments were paid she held up a bag, "and look what our ever kind host bought you."

"A bathing suit?" She didn't know how Sesshomaru thought that buying her something so skimpy was helping either of them, but she accepted the bag anyway and ducked into the bathroom.

The fabric was candy apple red, but there wasn't much of it. It covered the important bits in the most loose definition of the word, and she only popped her head out of the bathroom to insist that she simply couldn't be seen in it.

But Sango was strong and Kagome was not.

"You look hot," Sango assured her, "at first I thought it'd be too much, but…," she screwed up her face and said, "I guess Sesshomaru was right."

He nodded his approval, "I'm always right," then he turned towards InuYasha, "thoughts on my eye for lines and color?"

She wanted to cover up, to hide away from their gazes in an attempt to avoid the distaste that she feared she'd find in InuYasha's eyes.

There was no such thing there.

His eyes seemed to rove along her skin against his will and she found her racing heart kicking into double time for an entirely separate reason.

"You are still undefeated," he finally admitted.

There was a bit of pride that filled her when he tripped over his own feet on the way to the bathroom.

The door shut and the two descended upon her like flies, tugging at her hair and setting to work on her face. Sango insisted there was no need for makeup at a beach, but Sesshomaru was forcing Kagome to pick the lip color the same shade as her nipple.

"What-," she was silenced by an invasive, pale finger pulling the spandex-like material away from her chest so he could choose the color himself. "What are you two doing?"

"Playing God," was Sesshomaru's simple reply, "now shut up and sit still."

She could admit that they'd worked magic in a few minutes, but it was for nothing. InuYasha wouldn't even look at her and -honestly- she wasn't sure she wanted him to. Never again did she want to be the other woman, but that was where everyone seemed to be shoving her.

On another note? There was nothing more uncomfortable than watching Sesshomaru watch Sango eat ice cream. He made something innocent dirty and she was happy to see Rin riding along her grandfather's shoulders in their direction.

"Did you work everything out?" Toga asked once he was close enough to be heard, his wives were on either side of him, smiling their ever knowing smiles and whispering amongst themselves.

Sesshomaru nodded once, letting his gaze finally leave Sango's form.

"Thank you for watching over her."

"It was no problem," Izayoi assured him, "we had a wonderful conversation about the meaning of jovially shouted expletives."

Kimi added, "and the origin of infants."

Toga was the only one who seemed even mildly ashamed of the turn their conversation took, "I'm afraid she's dead set on a baby sister now."

Sango scooped the girl out of her grandfather's arms and ran her hands along her ribs, "not likely you nosey girl!"

They went back and forth while Izayoi turned on Kagome, "what a wonderful color. Did you know that InuYasha's favorite color is candy apple red? It has been since he was Rin's size. When the times changed and things became more commercial he made us buy him everything in that color."

"It was a gift," Kagome said quickly, she didn't want to be accused of trying to seduce him.

"I don't doubt it," she said pleasantly, "that bikini is more Kagura's style. You know! InuYasha once had a huge crush on her because of her beautiful eyes. We all had a nice giggle about it when it came out that she was a lesbian-."

Sesshomaru shot his second mother a stern look, seemingly demanding that she fall quiet, but she ignored it.

"This era doesn't require that I listen to you-," Izayoi hummed happily, "or anyone really. So consider me a modern woman and keep your scathing little pouts to yourself."

He rolled his eyes, but she was in a spicy mood it would seem.

"And keep those pretty eyes in your head. It's not polite to roll your eyes at your mother."

"Isn't it a little early to have let her into the wine?"

She stuck her nose in the air, "it's never too early. I'm a modern woman. I'm on vacation. And there's not a man alive who can tell me what-," she poked his hickeys as she spoke, "to. Do."

So he let her be.

InuYasha returned from the shop at that moment and so Izayoi pulled her wine from the bag on her husband's back and meandered away.

"I don't know why I had to go buy you sunblock."

But Sesshomaru offered no explanations and turned his back to them as he set to coating his alabaster skin in cream. It was thankless work, but he and his mother were diligent.

"Don't like tanning?" Kagome teased when she saw the large globby handfuls they applied.

"Burning," InuYasha snickered, "they'll be as red as your swimsuit in twenty minutes if they aren't careful."

Cream snapped across his face in retaliation.

"Some of us have delicate skin," Kimi sniffed. She was letting her husband cover her back. "Besides! You burn faster in the water. It's science."

"I didn't think you or Sesshomaru liked splashing around."

Too quickly, Kimi giggled, "well, of course not. That's stupid. Instead, we like playing Finders and Drowners. And it's a good day for it, because humans never want to be drowners."

InuYasha was happy to explain, "we separate into teams of two and the drowners from each team target one another. Once they drown the defense they go for the finders."

"And if the finder doesn't want to be drowned?" Kagome was already reevaluating her priorities.

"Then they can forfeit and then that team is out." Kimi's expression told Kagome everything about their view on calling chicken. "It's the worst."

Sango piped in, "when you say drowning…?"

"We're not going to kill each other," Toga told her happily, "once you run out of bubbles we bring you back to the surface."

"Are you out if you get drowned?" When they nodded she was even less sure that she wanted to play, but the others were already excited and she didn't have the heart to be the odd man out.

To summarize, Sango said, "find the shell before your team gets drowned and humiliated. Sounds easy enough. How are teams decided?"

"Dad always wins," InuYasha griped, "so he's with Rin since she's the weakest player. Ma and Mom usually work together. Then it's between you, me, Sesshomaru, and Sango."

"You work with Kagome. She's a great finder." Sango said happily. She was shoving Sesshomaru towards the water.

So. It was decided. The shell was cast into the water and the humans dove in, searching for the shell marked in Sharpie with the kanji for gold. Izayoi was a little drunk and Rin was a little slow so it was just Sango and Kagome that took off into the water, diving the moment it was feasible.

Kimi was avoiding the deft hands of her husband, aiming for the weakest link -InuYasha. The rules said that it was acceptable to rescue the drowned, but in rescuing InuYasha she would be allowing Sango to get ahead.

She tagged Kimi in the back and dragged InuYasha to the surface.

"Don't worry about me! It's not ma I'm worried about." He shoved her forwards when his dad popped up like a siren, golden eyes watching them in that friendly, but predatory way. "It's him."

She rushed forward, diving at random only to see Sesshomaru holding his mother underwater. Her efforts to free herself were in vain and it wasn't too long before the bubbles came rushing upwards.

The first person was out.

Sango was digging nearby, searching for the shell in the shifting sand while Rin swam at her side. She didn't know when she'd gotten out there, but she hovered at the other woman's hip.

The sand was unforgiving in its venture to suck up everything in sight and her attempts at digging left the water murky and hard to maneuver in. And? Her lungs were screaming for oxygen.

"InuYasha out yet?" If there were ever a time when Sesshomaru looked like his father, it was when he was poking out of the water like an ill tempered hippo, watching her with a subdued kind of mirth in his eyes.

She took a few moments to breathe before saying, "no." He seemed like he's say something else, but InuYasha interrupted.

"He's distracting you!" The brothers tussled a bit before Sesshomaru forced him underwater.

"I was baiting you, little brother."

She wasn't fast enough to chase them, but she figured that she would have a better chance fighting Sango for the shell than she would with Sesshomaru.

A very wrong assumption to make.

With InuYasha out there were two people after her, neither of which had any qualms about dragging her deep underwater, but she dug anyway- fighting against her lungs' capacity and time.

Sango returned from the surface to find Sesshomaru and Toga scrambling for dominance. Sesshomaru had youth where Toga had technique, but it was Toga who came out the Victor.

Kagome rushed to the surface, passing bubbles of surprise when someone grabbed her ankle, and she was too busy flailing to think to hold on to the shell she'd found.

And then his grip loosened. They were free to float to the top and Kagome saw -before her vision fluttered- both Sesshomaru and InuYasha floating behind their father.

It was up to her to get to the shore and declare them the winner, but Sango was competitive and it didn't take long for her to turn on her.

A hand slid into her bikini top without a moment's remorse and she pulled the string holding Sango's together in a last ditch effort to win the game for her and InuYasha. She knew that Sango would understand after an apologetic shot of tequila.

Izayoi was gaining on her, strategic in a way that was unexpected of a drunk woman, and Kagome rushed through the water, heart pounding and mind blank aside from the need to be free of the ocean.

It felt surreal when she staggered onto the shore -shell in hand- and realized she'd broken a streak.

InuYasha bounced out of the water and inspected the shell, checking again and again to be entirely sure it was the right one, and then he spun her around. He was unconcerned with her weight, unconcerned with their audience, as he yelled into the ocean.

"Full demons and you still lost to a priestess and a hanyou!"

His family ascended from the water, ethereal and magnificent, with competitive joy shining in their eyes.

It was the only time she truly thought they resembled dogs.

"Again!" They demanded and she couldn't say no.