Disclaimer: He's cute, he's lovable and he's a jerk…but he doesn't belong to me.

This chapter is dedicated to the obnoxious ramblings that were pleas for another chapter from SSCereriEnjeru...thank you for making me laugh and throw this out...just for you. Sorry it took so long.

Well…you asked for it…and here it is. This chapter is SO not what I expected it to be. I expected to do a little fluff for the first half…but it just kept getting fluffier and fluffier until the whole chapter was one big fluff ball…hopefully no one thinks that Inu is too OOC…I tried my best to keep him…himself…because he can really be a real fluffy character on certain occasions. I think that this was one of those occasions.

Inuyasha: Isn't Sesshomaru 'Fluffy'?

Different fluff my dear hanyou. Fluffy Sesshomaru= clothing Fluffy Inuyasha=cute scene with Kagome!

Inuyasha: Kagome again? I thought we were supposed to go shopping…and when the hell am I going to school?

(sigh) I know….things happen…at least things in the actual plot will happen next chapter at the mall (I SWEAR) The new Inu-gang will get a little action and I don't mean the kind Shippo and Makoto want. You go to school on Monday. It is EARLY Sat morning in the story…who knows what will happen between now and then.

Chapter 21

It took a moment for Kagome to get her bearings upon waking. Immediately she knew she was not in her room. Something was holding her down, No, not something, someone. She found herself wide awake when that thought assaulted her. Inuyasha?! Sure enough, the hanyou's hands were wrapped around her waist, tightly. Not only that, but she found a fire rat robe clad leg was draped across her thighs. If that was not enough of an awkward position, she could feel his slow breathing on her collarbone.

He had tangled himself around her while she slept.

If the slow breath he exhaled didn't soothe the ache she felt beneath it, she would have probably screamed in a panic. The pain seemed to dissipate with each breath he took. Wait, what pain? Why do I hurt right on my collarbone? Slowly she attempted to pry herself from beneath him. Her cheeks had to brighter than the walls of his room. The slight movement of Kagome prying herself from beneath the hanyou's weight caused an unexpected reaction from Inuyasha.

Kagome felt him wrench her tightly against himself as he sleepily sighed, "Mine….Kagome."

She found herself back in the exact position she had tried to get out of mere seconds before. She sighed, glancing at the clock, it was still dark outside. 3:12 am. She made another attempt to get out from beneath him again. Inuyasha's reaction made her realize exactly why her neck her so badly. "Aiee!!!" She screamed as she pushed him as hard as she could manage, trying to get away from him. The damned dog had just bit her.

Still half asleep and confused, the hanyou let her go. "Oi, wench! What's the problem? Get back in bed." He grabbed for her, but she jumped out of reach before he could get to her.

"Inuyasha! Sit! What the hell did you do to me while I slept?" She stormed from his room, not giving him a chance to defend himself; or even see what he had done to upset her. Her command left the hanyou slammed into the comfort of his mattress, the softest sit of his life. He made a mental note to ONLY piss Kagome off in bed from then on as he lay face first in to the cushiony punishment, waiting for the spell to release him. He needed to find out what he had done to upset her this time; one moment he was sleeping peacefully with Kagome in his arms. The next moment he found himself wide awake with an angry miko yelling at him.

"Aie!!!" A loud screech came from the room next door as Inuyasha felt the sensation of feeling in his limbs again. He quickly leaped out of bed, yanking Tetsusaiga from its sheath as he ran for Kagome's room.

Mere seconds later, Kagome's door slammed open to reveal a frantic hanyou holding a transformed Tetsusaiga in his hands. "What's wrong? What happened?" Assessing the situation in front of him, he breathed a sigh of relief to note that she was safely standing in front of her desk.

"What's wrong? What's wrong?!" Instantly he could tell she was livid. All her rage was directed at none other than himself, he swallowed hard; preparing for the inevitable sit that would follow. "You! You! Inuyasha!" She yanked down the collar on her pajama top to reveal her lower neck to the hanyou. "You used my neck as your chew toy last night!!!!"

Inuyasha paled as he absorbed the varied colors on display; purple, blue, black, yellow, brown…and red, it bled. Rendered speechless by the sight as well as angered about the fact that he had no control over what he had done while he slept.

He watched Kagome glare at him for a moment before returning to her tirade. "Do you know how long this will take to go away? Forever! This is going to take weeks to fade, Inuyasha, weeks!" She attempted to wipe up the minor amount of blood, and missed the hanyou's expression change from pale shock to a disgusted scowl as he jumped for the window to get to the tree connecting their rooms. "Oh no you don't! Get back here, Inuyasha!" She yelled at him, running to the window as the hanyou made it to the safety of the tree, away from her.

Giving her yet another scowl, Inuyasha muttered, "Oi, I didn't climb into your bed last night."

Kagome gaped at the softly spoken words. Why that little... she watched as he leapt for his window. "Heel!" She screamed, deciding their conversation was far from over. She watched as the spell dragged him, cursing loudly, to her feet.

"Lemme go, Kagome!" He growled, refusing to look at her. If it had been anyone else, they would have thought he was mad, but it was Kagome. Startled, she realized he was not angry, but upset. She sat back, calming her anger with him so she could figure out what was upsetting him. He began to stand up as the spell released him. "Leave me alone, Kagome."

She reached out to him as he began to walk away. "Inuyasha, what's wrong? Talk to me!" He shrugged her hand off his shoulder as he walked to the door. Desperate she whispered, "Speak, Inuyasha. What is wrong?"

"Fuck, Kagome! I marked you last night without either of us realizing it." He turned to face her as the spell activated a scowl on his face. "Just stay away from me and it will go away in a few weeks." He glared at the bloody tissue in her hand, before storming out the door.

Mark? He marked me? Shocked, Kagome fell down into her chair to examine the mark. "He marked me in his sleep?" She whispered in amazement. She knew about marking, Sango had talked about things like that occasionally. She just never thought that Inuyasha would be marking her.

She knew youkai's marked their mates, bonding them for life. She wasn't Inuyasha's mate, so why had he marked her? There had been surprise when he saw it, but he hadn't seemed upset at first. She looked down at the tissue still clasped in her hand. Suddenly it all fit together, "Oh kami!" she whispered, close to tears. "I didn't know it was your mark, Inuyasha. Please forgive me." She jumped out of the chair and rushed for the door.

He had screwed up royally this time; it wasn't supposed to be this way. His stupid instincts had wanted her so badly that they made him mark her while they slept. She hadn't even had a chance to agree to it, no wonder she wanted it gone so quickly. He planned on waiting until he felt comfortable in this time, with this new relationship before claiming her. She meant the world to him, watching her try to wipe his mark from her body had crushed him to his soul. He just hoped his damned instincts had learned their lesson not to try anything without his head involved in the decisions; it caused too much pain to his heart. A small knock came on his door, he sighed; Kagome. "Go away!" The door opened instead. I need to figure out how to lock this door, he thought to himself.

Kagome ran in, crying as she launched into his arms. "I am sorry! I didn't know. I would never try to get rid of your mark on purpose, please believe me. I don't want it gone. I am so sorry." She wrapped her arms around him tightly, not wanting to let go. She felt him relax beneath her grasp as his arms wrapped around her. "I'm sorry. I didn't know it was your mark. I just didn't think….I never thought you would want to mark me as your life mate, Inuyasha."

"Feh, I came almost 500 years to be with you. You think I wouldn't want you as my mate sooner or later? Just didn't plan on it this early is all, or like this. You sure you're alright with this? Once I finish this, there's no going back. You're mine forever."

His serious conversation caught her off guard as she realized this was something he had thought long and hard about doing, with her. The thought pleased her immensely as she thought about what he said, 'Once I finish this.' "Inuyasha, what do you mean by finish this?"

"I guess I left the part where I seal the wound for when I was conscious, which is why you're bleeding. That is the end of the first stage. Usually the first and second stage are done together, but occasionally if instincts are so strong to make it known that a pair belongs together, the first stage is initiated without the second unconsciously. That's what happened last night."

"How many stages are there?"

"Three, the first is marking, the second is mating and the third is conception." He couldn't help grinning at her shocked gasp. "Which is why I wanted to wait, neither of us are ready for the other steps yet." Kagome nodded her eyes wide with shock. "An unconscious marking is so rare, in fact I have only heard of it happening once. It is said to happen when a bond is already too strong between a pair that another needs to be created to make it flow easier."

Kagome smiled, "So that is why you were so surprised when you saw the mark, because it was done unconsciously."

"Keh, a little I guess. Looking back it shouldn't have come as such a surprise." Kagome raised a brow at his answer, wondering what he meant by that. "Oi, Kagome! Think about it. The well, you releasing me from Kikyo's spell, our journey for the jewels, this damn necklace was strong enough before I reinforced the spell with our souls. Hell, even my coming here and you releasing me increased our bond together. Add all of that to the feelings we have toward each other, it's no wonder my instincts were dying to mark you last night."

Kagome eyed him with amusement, "The feelings we have toward each other, huh? I think that may just be the most romantic thing you have ever said to me, Inuyasha."

"Oi, don't get used to it wench. What's your answer? Should I finish this or not?"

"We can wait a while for stage two and three?" She asked curious about how he would feel about that.

He visibly relaxed, "Yeah, if I was ready for all that you would have been marked a long time ago."

She grinned at the hanyou in response, "Then there is no one I would rather spend the rest of my life with."

"Umm, Kagome. Not just your lifetime, mine too. If we finish this, you're stuck with me until I'm gone too. That could be two thousand years or so."

"If being with me forever is what will make you happy, then yes. I love you, Inuyasha. I wouldn't want you to be alone another day in your life. I would be honored to be next to you."

He yanked her in to kiss her firmly on her mouth as she finished the sentence. Every fear he had about approaching her with being with him forever had just been dissolved. She wanted to be with him, always. He felt her hands dig into his silver hair as he began to trail passion filled kisses down her neck, feeling her shiver beneath his touch. When he reached his mark, which was significantly larger and darker than any previous mark he had ever seen before. He supposed that would be due to the large connection that held them together, the size of the mark mimicking the size of the bond needed between the pair.

She sighed as his soothing breath hit his mark, realizing that it wanted that breath from him. Inuyasha and only Inuyasha could seal this mark; make the aching subside within her. As he tentatively licked the blood away from the wound, Kagome couldn't help sighing with pleasure. Nothing she had ever experienced felt this good, nothing. His grip on her tightened as the taste of her blood in his mark became an aphrodisiac that had him regretting putting off stage two and three at the moment. Right now, he wanted it all. Feeling the mark finally close beneath his tongue, he moved to taste more of her by claiming her mouth.

Both were suddenly overcome with exhaustion and collapsed down onto his bed, intertwined together in one large heap. Slowly kissing each other until moments later, they both were rendered unconscious again for a few more hours.

The clock read 4:37 am.

Did I say fluffy or what?

Inuyasha: Did you just tie me to Kagome for LIFE?

Of course…you two are just so cute.

Kagome: Life? I mean…my life will be long enough…don't you think? His life? I don't think I can stand the bastard for that long.

You'll be fine. I promise. He really does care about you.

Inuyasha: Lies! All dirty lies!

Anyway…Before I left…I wanted to address the issue of lemons. NO, I will not have one in this story…at least not right away anyway. I am one who does not think fifteen and sixteen year olds should be having sex….seventeen is cutting it close. Since the characters here are sixteen…I most likely will not publish one. This chapter is about as lemony as it will get.