Finally an update! I was delayed because I uploaded the first chapter of my InuYasha/Kagome drama/romance- "In Order To Break Me." Once you're done here, go to my profile and check that one out if you'd like. It's kind of a different fic for me, but I do like where it's going.

This chapter is really just kind of an "interlude" perse. It's a little bit of fluff before they go back to Shuurei's to try to break that oh so disastrous spell. (Which, no the way to break it is not sex, I'll tell you that right now.)

Anyway, thanks for all the feedback on the last chapter. Once again, it really does mean a lot.

This chapter was revised and reposted on April 9th 2004.

As a random note- Chapter Six is being evil and showing the text as chapter 7 because ff.net is acting up. To see chapter six "This is Where Home is" in actuality, just add something to the url. storyid = 1541472 & chapter= 6+ (Like that.)

So without further ado- Read, review, and enjoy. ^^

"A Fortuitous Blunder"

Chapter 5

A Few Sweet Moments

By Kelly O'Connor

Kagome hummed lightly to herself, every now and then taking a moment to flip her hair a bit in attempt to dry it. The heat of the summer night did its job well, but the modern day schoolgirl was eager for it to stop dripping on her back nonetheless. Sango had left the spring where they bathed a bit early, noting that Kagome seemed to be lost in her thoughts, and that she should get back and check on the kids.

Kagome had been thinking a lot, the spell placed on her and InuYasha, as well as the new feelings she'd encountered regarding their relationship had been a lot for her to handle in one day. I wonder how InuYasha feels about all this… she sighed to herself as she continued walking back to the village by herself. "I can't wait until this is all over," The girl murmured to herself as she readjusted the bag her towel and dirty clothes were in.

She came to a sudden stop when a figure nimbly leapt down from a large tree along the path. "Hey, InuYasha," Kagome said casually as the Hanyou landed directly in front of her. InuYasha nodded in return greeting. "What were you doing out here? I thought you were with Miroku-sama and the kids." The white haired boy crossed his arms in irritation.

"Miroku was being his usual lech self and the kids… they were all..." He paused and thought back over the conversation, a tinge of blush appearing on his face, "They were being stupid"

"Okay so Miroku-sama was being perverted, and what were the kids doing that drove you out here?" InuYasha gulped.

"They were talking about… us," His cheeks reddened considerably more. Kagome caught on; she knew children and their ability to innocently say the most embarrassing things.

"Oooh I see, so you came out to sulk in a tree?" Kagome inquired with a small smile. InuYasha "Keh-ed," and then let out a deep sigh.

"Kagome," He ventured cautiously after a bit of silence, "I am… I… I'm sorry," The Hanyou finished quickly. Kagome's eyes widened in slight surprise.

"For… what InuYasha?" She asked, not having any idea what he was apologizing for. InuYasha fidgeted a bit and looked up.

"For… umm… what I did when Miroku walked in on us," He clarified. Kagome blushed lightly at the memory.

"You mean… kissing me?" The schoolgirl questioned. InuYasha nodded. "Why would you apologize for that?" He remained silent as if trying to collect his thoughts. "Do you think I minded it?"

"Keh- well Miroku walked in and…"

"Well then it's Miroku-sama who should apologize for his behavior, not you," Kagome said gently. InuYasha gave her a look of puzzlement. "InuYasha, you know how I feel about you, and as long as you meant that kiss then…"

"Keh- Of course I meant it!" InuYasha interrupted without thinking, and then blushed deeply at his outburst. Kagome smiled.

"As long as you meant it, then I don't care if Miroku-sama walks in on us," She took a breath, "InuYasha you can do that whenever you like, there's nothing to be sorry for… I--I like kissing you." InuYasha's face brightened a bit.

"Um...you...really?"

"Yes, really. If it didn't mean we'd fall on top of each other I'd let you do it now." Kagome reassured him. InuYasha growled in aggravation as the thought of the spell crossed his mind once again. There was a moment's silence before Kagome took a good look at the Hanyou, and found herself with a huge grin on her face. "InuYasha… what are you wearing?" She asked, pointing to the wreath of flowers around his neck. InuYasha blushed and grabbed the wreath subconsciously, desperate for an excuse to save his masculinity.

"It's umm…" The teenage boy quickly slipped the ring of flowers over his head, "It's for you!" He handed it over to Kagome, carefully not to directly touch her. Kagome gave him a sincere smile, knowing that Rin had probably been the one to give it to him.

"Thank you InuYasha, if I could kiss you on the cheek right now… I would," The black haired girl placed the string of flowers around her neck. "How does it look?" She asked playfully.

"Keh… half the flowers are dead," InuYasha shrugged. Kagome frowned and looked down to notice that he was absolutely correct. Ah well, way to ruin a moment.

"That's okay," She replied, "It's the thought that counts, right?"

"Whatever," InuYasha grumbled.

"You wanna come back with me InuYasha, or are you going to stay out here a bit longer?" The Miko questioned. InuYasha glanced around at the night sky a bit before settling back on Kagome.

"Yah sure, I'll come back," He replied.

"Good, I'd like to walk back with you," She stopped herself from taking his hand in her own and began the walk back to the hut with him at her side. "Say InuYasha," She grinned in slight mischief.

"Hmm?"

"Where did you learn how to make flower wreaths anyway?" Kagome finished with amusement in her tone. InuYasha took a moment to process what she had just said, before the expected outburst.

"What?!" He raised his voice in embarrassed irritation. Kagome just laughed.

********

The stars shone down on the small hut Kaede lived her life in, and a certain young Houshi and his Taijiya bride found themselves sitting outside it and gazing up at that moonlit sky. "Miroku," Sango ventured. Miroku looked at her and she continued. "Even though it isn't what you thought it was, it does seem that Kagome and InuYasha's relationship is changing in many ways."

"Ah, yes it does," Miroku nodded, "I've never seen anything like what we saw today with them. It's about time though, they've been together for quite a long time."

"It's obvious how much they love each other, but they're both very shy and cautious," Sango slid her hand across the ground and placed it in Miroku's hand. The Houshi squeezed back lovingly.

"Well I suppose every couple is like that at some point," The black haired man nodded sagely. Sango smiled lightly.

"Hmph, we weren't Miroku," She replied in slight amusement. Miroku gave her an innocent look.

"We… weren't?"

"Well… I was, but it's not like you ever had any problems showing your "affection" through physical contact." She gave him a slightly teasing glare.

"Eheehe well Sango…" He held up one of his hands in defense as he recalled the days when one of his main ways of showing affection was an occasional not so subtle rub on the rear. Not that he still didn't do it every once in a while, but at least now it was a bit more permissible. "Well… I suppose we were quite a bit different than those two."

"Yes, yes we were," Sango replied.

"And every couple shows their love in different ways," Miroku added. Sango gave her husband a warm smile. The Houshi chanced a look around, and grinned when he saw two approaching figures, still quite a fair amount away. "The kids are all asleep right?"

"Yes, Miroku… Rin-chan was the last to fall asleep." The Taijiya replied in slight confusion.

"Ah then," Miroku smirked, "Perhaps it wasn't fair to walk in on Kagome-sama and InuYasha earlier." The Houshi slipped his hand out of Sango's grasp.

"No perhaps it wasn't…"

"So perhaps," Miroku scooted over and wrapped his arm around Sango's waist, pulling his face close to his own with his other hand. "Perhaps we should let them walk in on us as well," He finished as he brought his face down to hers- catching her lips in a kiss. Sango was about object to his train of thought when she saw InuYasha and Kagome approaching, but wrapped her arms around him instead, deepening the kiss and pulling herself closer to him.

"Miroku-sama, Sango---" Kagome called as she walked up, cutting herself off when she noticed the married couple's current position. "Umm, well, I guess InuYasha and I will leave you two be." The teenage girl grinned sheepishly. InuYasha just blinked and shot a glare at Miroku.

"Keh! Hey! This doesn't make up for...for...yah, it doesn't make up for it- Bouzu!" The Hanyou retorted unconvincingly. Miroku laughed lightly and pulled away.

"Ah well I suppose if this doesn't make up for it then Sango and I could…"

"Miroku…" Sango gave him a dangerous glare. He gulped.

"Never mind, just joking!" Miroku put his hands up in surrender. Kagome sighed to herself; disappointed the Houshi had ruined a moment between he and Sango once again.

"Come on InuYasha, let's go inside," Kagome motioned. The Hanyou followed and the two quickly settled into their sleeping spots in the hut, leaving Miroku and Sango outside.

"You'd think he'd get better after all this time with her, but Miroku-sama is still so bad at spoiling the mood between him and Sango," Kagome voiced as she cuddled into her sleeping bag.

"Keh- Not the stupid 'mood' stuff again Kagome," InuYasha complained with a yawn, and leaned back against the wall he had chosen to sleep against, directly next to Kagome's sleeping bag. The schoolgirl smiled lightly and took the wreath of flowers from around her neck, placing it around her sleeping bag. She took a moment to glance at the sleeping figures of Rin, Kohaku, Shippou, and further back in the hut- Kaede.

"Neh, InuYasha," Kagome ventured. He didn't reply, but she continued anyway. "I guess we'll be going back to Shuurei-sama's tomorrow," She paused, blushing lightly. "And… thank you for today. I know we had some arguments earlier, but this evening… I really liked being around you. InuYasha I…" Kagome cut herself off when she realized the Hanyou in question hadn't made a sound. Is he… asleep? I didn't even notice he was tired. Quietly as she could, the teenage girl slid across the couple feet between her and InuYasha. She smiled when she noticed that indeed, he'd already fallen into a peaceful sleep, Tetsusaiga in the crook of his neck as usual. His sleeping face was boyishly content. Kagome blew him a gentle kiss. "Goodnight InuYasha… we're going to have a long day together tomorrow."

************

End

Next Chapter- Morning breaks in Sengoku Jidai, and InuYasha and Kagome have to head back to a certain clumsy Miko's village, but first they have to deal with warding off some unwanted potential tag alongs.

FukashiOni- InuYasha's age was originally listed as 15-17 from an interview with Takahashi. We were never told if that's how old he was (plus the years on the tree) or he was actually older but only that age in mind. As such it would not have been incorrect for me to place him at 15, since there was no official exact clarification. It was author's liberty there. However, in the new character book released by Takahashi at the beginning of 2003 he is listed at 15, so it seems she's made up her mind. Miroku and Sango are 19 and 16 respectively, I've never seen them listed as anything but that.