As much as I try not to, I can't help but enjoy her sleeping body curled up against me. This isn't because she's into you, stupid, I remind myself, it's only because you make her feel safe. She's in no frame of mind for romance… even if she was it'd be with the mutt. A small growl rumbles through my chest and I quickly look down to see if I'd woken or disturbed her at all. My eyes widen in shock as she nuzzles in deeper, rubbing her head slightly against my shoulder as her arm tightens around my waist.

She likes it, my inner beast practically purrs. I can't even argue back as all signs point to yes. She likes us. This time I roll my eyes.

She doesn't know you, I remind him, more than a little grateful she hadn't seen me when I'd give up control back in the day. Before we stopped hunting humans. So lost in my thoughts, I don't notice that hours have gone by since we went to bed and she hasn't so much as whimpered yet. I glance down at her sleeping face and smile. For the first time since she got here, she doesn't seem to have had a single nightmare yet. Her eyes are closed, not pinched shut as they have been in previous nights. Her brows are also relaxed, no puckering or wrinkling in her forehead to betray any unapparent distress. Even more shocking, still, the corners of her lips are tilted ever so slightly upwards in the smallest of smiles. I brush a strand of hair from her face only to freeze, arm stuck in mid-air as she rolls over onto her other side, back to me. Her breathing remains even and her pulse slow, telling me she's still asleep. I slowly lower my arm to rest on my stomach and breathe out a sigh of relief.

A few moments later, her hand begins searching behind her for something. I watch, puzzled, wondering what she could possibly be dreaming about. Her hand pats her own leg, the very small space between us, and when she makes contact with my leg I find myself holding my breath, waiting. Her hand makes its way up my thigh, passed my hip, only stopping once it finds my wrist. Dainty fingers wrap around it before she pulls it over her, cradling my hand to her chest where she intertwines our fingers and rests her chin on the combined digits. My chest tightens and my breath catches in my throat as I try to comprehend what just happened. Kagome, the woman I've been in love with for the last five hundred years, the woman who was always so uncomfortable around me, just wrapped my limbs around her in her sleep, I realise with a start, holding still in case she should wake up and realise what must surely be a mistake. I'd been careful to keep my distance thus far into her stay, knowing physical contact would only increase the bond from the claim I'd made all those years ago. Going over each encounter we'd had in the last month, I'm sure I only touched her or used my energy on her when she'd really needed it, and not a second more, so that I didn't inadvertently influence her into something she couldn't possibly want.

But what if she's beginning to want it? My inner beast challenges. Surrounded by her soothing scent, I allow myself to relax, feeling my eyes suddenly fighting to stay open. It had been weeks since I'd really slept, surely a few hours wouldn't hurt anything. I wake up around mid-morning when she turns over, wrapping herself around me once more, but not waking up. Her heart rate is steady, still no signs of panic or distress, and no movement beneath her eyelids, No dreams. Her first full night of real sleep in over a month. Hell, I can't remember the last time I slept this late, I realise. The circles under her eyes are noticeably lighter than they have been, proof she's finally getting real rest and not just dosing through the night. I feel a smile tug at my lips at the positive change in routine, especially after the day she'd had yesterday. A few hours later, her eyelids flutter as she shifts in her sleep again, a sign she's waking up, and I make sure to stay as still as possible just in case she manages to fall back asleep. No such luck as she rubs at her eyes, blinking them slowly as she recalls where she is. Upon making eye contact, her cheeks flush a warm shade of pink.

"Mornin' sleeping beauty," I greet, keeping my voice low. She hums in response, seemingly debating rolling back over to sleep some more.

"Morning… what time is it?" She asks sleepily. I smirk, glancing at the clock.

"Little before one." Her eyes shoot open, wide blue irises staring at me for confirmation of what she'd heard. "Sleep well?" Her eyebrows lower even as a smile pulls at the corners of her mouth.

"Yeah, actually," she admits, her tone betraying her disbelief. "Really well. Better than I have in…"

"Centuries?" She chuckles at the joke before nodding her head, snuggling in a bit more.

"Mhm." Her eyes flutter closed again as a yawn overtakes her. God, she's adorable.

"Hungry?" She hums again, actually rolling over this time, turning her back to me but still keeping my arm as a pillow. I breathe out a silent chuckle, resisting the urge to curl up against her. "If you want food, I have to get up to make it." She breathes out a heavy sigh before ever so slightly tightening her grip on my arm.

"Five more minutes," she requests. Unable to deny her, I feel the corner of my lips pull up into a smirk and run a hand through her hair. She tilts her head a bit, granting me better access to her long tresses.

"Five more minutes," I agree, watching as a smile pulls at her lips. After a moment, I hear her mumbling but can't quite make out the words. "What was that?"

"Thank you for sleeping with me," she whispers, embarrassment lacing her tone.

"Anytime." We lay in silence as she slowly wakes up, occasionally shifting to stretch but always returning to holding my arm. Five minutes turned to ten which then turned to fifteen and she had long since rolled over to rest her head on my shoulder, wrapping her limbs around my torso to keep me in place. "I thought you were hungry?" I ask, teasingly. Before she can answer, her stomach makes its protest at the lack of meals clear and her face flushes an instant red.

"I am, but…" she trails off, looking embarrassed again.

"But?" She takes a deep breath against my side as I run my hand through her hair once more.

"But… this is really nice." Her voice drops at the confession and, for once, I'm glad she's not looking at me to notice the heating of my own cheeks.

"Tell you what," I begin, keeping my voice soft. "You stay here, I'll grab breakfast and bring it back. We can hang out in bed for a while longer, until you get sick of it, and then figure out what to do with the rest of the day. Sound good?" She glances up at me from under her bangs, clearly tempted by the idea.

"You wouldn't mind?" I chuckle, smirking.

"Wouldn't have suggested it if I did. Breakfast or lunch?" She's quiet for a moment, deep in thought.

"Breakfast." I smirk down at her, Should have known.

"You got it. Wait here, I'll be right back." She nods her head, reluctantly untangling herself from me and watches me stretch on my way out the door. I start the hot water and throw some bread in the toaster as I pop my neck. She's not the only one that slept great. I can't recall a time I had ever slept that well. I pour hot water into her tea, my coffee, and two bowls of oats, stirring them while her tea steeps. The toast pops just after my coffee is finished and I throw them on a plate before balancing it with the two bowls. Once I make it to the doorway, she moves to get up but I shake my head before she can. Biting her lip, she watches me carefully as I pass her oatmeal and set the toast down in the middle of the bed.

"I would have dropped all of that," she admits, clearly impressed. I shrug, setting my own bowl on the nightstand so I can go retrieve the two drinks.

"What can I say, I've got skills." Her laughter floats out of the room sending a smile to my face. When I return, one of the toasts is already gone. She smiles as she takes the tea from me, breathing in the aroma.

"Thank you." I shrug, settling in next to her. "So, how many other girls got breakfast in bed?" She asks, nudging me with her elbow. I roll my eyes at her teasing tone.

"Only the really special ones," I admit, remembering the few girls I had dated, briefly, in the past.

"Any of them still around?" I shake my head, taking a sip of coffee.

"Nah, that was a long time ago." She nods her head in thought as she makes her way through her breakfast.

"Do you miss them?" I hum in thought, wondering how best to explain it to her. She waits, patiently, while I work it out.

"Not in the romantic sense. More like how you would miss a friend you had grown apart from." I see her nodding out of the corner of my eye. "It'd be nice to see them again, if that were possible, but it's probably better we didn't."

"That makes sense."

"Do you miss your friends from here?" I ask after a moment. This time, she quiets as she gathers her thoughts.

"As horrible as this might sound, I don't." Her voice is quiet, not sounding completely sure. "I think we started growing apart long before I was -" she cuts herself off, breath lodging in her throat, before she shakes her head and tries again. "Before I disappeared, I already felt so different from them. The time-travelling, the fighting, I was in a completely different place mentally from them and we had less and less in common every time I came back. I missed you guys more than I ever missed them." Her jaw clenches, clearly still thinking about something, and I wait for her to figure out whatever it is she's working out. She opens her mouth to say something only to quickly close it and shake her head. Sensing that's all she's going to say on the matter, I shrug.

"I don't think that's horrible." She looks at me in surprise. "Happens all the time. If not then, it probably would have happened when you came back for university." She settles back against the pillows, a thoughtful expression on her face. We finish breakfast and settle back into the covers, taking it slow. "Got anything you wanna do today?" A smirk tugs at her lips.

"Other than beat you at that card game?" I chuckle, suppressing an eye roll.

Throughout the day, Kagome is noticeably more relaxed. Not just compared to yesterday. There's a noticeable shift in her posture, her reactions, she's less on edge and doesn't startle as easily. I can't tell if it was because she finally slept through the night or if it was our prolonged proximity. Whatever it was, I made sure to keep my distance so as not to encourage anything, just to be on the safe side. I wasn't surprised when, just before we decide to go to bed, she asks if I could sleep with her again.

"It's just," she begins, looking down as she picks at her nails. "I feel bad taking over your bed and I know you say it's fine and you wouldn't offer if it was a problem, but I can't help but feel selfish, and I…" Her voice cuts off as the muscles in her neck tighten. "I really liked sleeping through the night… I know you noticed the difference today too," she whispers into the empty air. Embarrassment clouds her scent, along with a bit of shame at having to ask. Before she looks up, I've already crossed the room and pulled back the covers. She stares at me in shock as I settle into my side of the bed, nodding my head at her space.

"Can't turn out the light until you're in," I inform her, a slight grin on my face. A grin that quickly turns into a smile at her relieved expression as she quickly jumps into bed. Once the lights out, she hesitantly scoots a little closer and I raise my arm, waiting for her to settle against my chest again before wrapping it around her shoulders.

And so began our new routine. There are still bad nights, of course, where the dreams are too much, but they're much fewer and far between than they had been the first month. I'd carefully remove myself from her side in the morning, careful not to wake her, and get ready for work. On my way out, one of the wolves would take my place, taking turns each day now that Kagome seems to be adjusting more and more. They report fewer incidents while I'm at work and fewer nightmares even after I leave.

As if their testimonies, and my own experiences with her, weren't enough, there is a visible difference in her from the time she arrived on my doorstep to now. The circles under her eyes have all but disappeared, she has more energy throughout the day, often going on walks with the wolves during the day within the barrier I have set, and I find her pacing while she reads when I get home if she's not cooking dinner. Her appetite has fully returned, finishing more meals than she doesn't, and her weight is officially in a healthy place. The clothes that used to hang on her now fit perfectly. She's still not completely healed, but it's a very large step in the right direction.

It's about a month and a half later that she surprises me with a request. We're sitting on the couch, dinner already cleaned up and dishes put away, watching a movie. It's colder than usual out, so Eri, Minako, and Dai are inside, along with a few pups and their parents. Dai is curled up at Kagome's feet, Eri sprawled on the couch between us, and Minako on the floor to Kagome's right. She'd been spacier than usual over dinner and isn't quite focused on the show, one of her favourites, so I knew she had something on her mind, but I wasn't about to force her into talking about something. Suddenly, she draws a deep breath.

"I think I'm ready." Her voice is soft but steady. I glance over to find her already looking at me, biting her lip slightly as she rubs the edge of the blanket in her lap.

"For what?" I keep my tone light and casual, not wanting to put any pressure on something she already seems nervous about.

"To see InuYasha and Shippou." I can't help the corners of my lips quirking upwards into a proud smirk. "I want to. If that's okay with you, of course."

"It's perfectly fine with me if that's what you want." She nods her head, slowly turning to face the television again.

"I do." Her whisper floats up to my ears over the actors on the screen.

"I'll text them tomorrow. Got a particular day in mind?" She shakes her head, trusting me to sort out the details. As promised, the next day I make a group text between us, telling them Kagome's ready to see them and asking when they'd be free for dinner. We settle for Thursday night, in two days, giving Kagome time to back out in case it's too much for her, and they're taking one car up to draw less attention. When I tell her Tuesday night, she seems genuinely excited. Nervous, of course, but excited. The next day, before bed, I notice she seems distracted again and wait for her to bring it up. We get settled into bed, lights shut off, she's almost asleep when her grip on my shirt tightens.

"What if I forget they're real?" The fear rolling off of her, coating her whisper, nearly chokes me in its intensity. I tighten my hold on her and run a hand through her hair, the tension slowly leaving her body.

"I'll take care of it," I promise her, "I'll be right here the whole time. Long as I'm here, you know I wouldn't let anything hurt you." She hums in response before finally succumbing to sleep. Thursday morning, I tell them to enter one at a time and have something ready to tell her to prove they're really themselves, briefly explaining the few times she's confused illusion with reality. I go home early to make sure she still wants them to come over, that she's okay. She's fidgety, clearly nervous, but there's still a bit of that hesitant excitement lingering in her actions and behind her eyes. We start making dinner, giving her something to do and take her mind off of things. Watching her in the kitchen, I can't help the way my eyes linger on her shoulder, exposed by her sweater slipping, remembering how prominent it had been just a couple of months ago, or admire the way her jeans cling to her legs, showing off what she had worked hard to gain.

InuYasha texts me when they're coming up the mountain. I tell Kagome, watching her reaction carefully for any signs of hesitation. The second she's not comfortable, I'm calling it off. She takes a deep breath, washing her hands, eyes on the door. After a moment, she nods, sending a small smile in my direction. I squeeze her shoulder reassuringly, both of us glancing up when headlights shine through the windows. She bites her lip, her breath catching momentarily before she shakes her head and moving to stand by her seat at the table. I move to stand just behind her, resting a hand on her shoulder. She flinches slightly but doesn't move otherwise.

"Hey." She glances back to face me, eyes wide. Her heart's racing. I smile down at her and move to push a few strands of hair behind her ear. "I'm right here." Her smile widens as she nods her head, gently squeezing my hand briefly before staring at the door again, her arms crossed over her chest. Kagome tenses slightly as the door opens, Shippou letting himself in and carefully closing it behind him so it doesn't bang. I watch her look him over from head to toe, clearly wanting to believe her eyes but still unsure. Even as Shippou smiles at her, the woman who helped raise him, with tears in his big green eyes. I hear InuYasha pacing on the porch.

"Hi, mama." His voice cracks a bit and I see Kagome's arms fall to her sides, torn between wanting to run to him and away. Slowly, Shippou reaches into his jacket pocket, pulling out a large red lollipop. Kagome's eyes widen in recognition, her hands rising to cover her mouth. "They're still my favourites." At this, Kagome's knees buckle and I let Shippou catch her. They collapse to the floor, tangled up in each other as Kagome takes in all of the changes in her adopted son. I watch as she wipes away a few tears, resting her hands on either side of Shippou's face, smiling from ear to ear.

"You're so grown up," she whispers, pulling him against her once more as she cradles his head. His arms quickly wrap around her waist, nuzzling into her neck. "I can't believe you're here."

"I missed you so much," he whispers into her hair, breathing in her scent, no doubt reassuring himself that she is, indeed, here after so many years of wondering. I cross my arms over my chest and lean against the counter, trying to ignore InuYasha's increasing pacing and worry. Shippou stands, helping Kagome up, and she immediately pulls his head back down to kiss his forehead.

"I can't believe I can look you in the eye now." Shippou chuckles, rubbing the back of his neck as we briefly lock eyes. Neither of us has the heart to tell her he's just a bit taller than her. The door opens again, both Kagome and InuYasha freezing in place. He takes a few steps in, Kagome's slight flinching stopping him before he can make it too far in. Her breathing becomes more shallow and I step away from the counter in case she needs anything. Shippou steps back, trying to give her space as she takes in the sight of her old love standing across the room from her, largely unchanged except for a few wrinkles that hadn't been there in his younger years. His hand reaches out as though he meant to take her hand before he quickly shoes them in his pockets, golden eyes falling to the ground for a moment. When he looks back up at her, Kagome takes an involuntary step back. Given the difference in her reaction, it's not hard to guess who Naraku spent the most time attacking her as.

"I, uh." InuYasha's voice is low, rougher than usual. Kagome's breath catches and she reaches behind her for something to steady herself. The stools at the counter are just out of her reach, so I step just behind her and take her hand, letting her squeeze until her knuckles turn white. I shoot InuYasha a look, a silent signal to spit it out already. A flash of hurt flies through his golden gaze before he shakes his head. "I knew you were awake… when I left to go find Kikyou." Her grip tightens slightly as I scoff, unable to stop myself from rolling my eyes at the stupid dog.

"Which time?" He winces. "Everyone knows about you little rendezvous, what else ya got?" His eyebrows lower in thought and Kagome takes another step back, bumping into me. My eyes widen in shock when she doesn't jump or flinch upon making contact, if anything, she seems to press herself further against me, still gripping my hand behind her back. "Today, mutt." InuYasha's eyes widen suddenly as he looks back at Kagome, a pleading look in his gaze.

"Your brother, Souta!" Kagome flinches at her brother's name. "The first time I came through and met him, when you were dealing with that Noh mask, you remember that?" After a moment's hesitation, she nods her head. InuYasha's face lights up at the small connection he's managed to make. "He called me a hero after I saved him. After you made sure he could get the shard, you ditched us and ran to school." Kagome's grip on my hand loosens a bit, but she doesn't make any move to go to him. I lean forward a bit to glance at her expression, finding her eyebrows furrowed in thought and her lip between her teeth once more. Seeing her hesitation, InuYasha shoves his hands in his pockets and keeps his eyes trained on the floor. "There's also the time I tried to fix your bike but just made it worse, or when I thought I was saving you from a volleyball and you used that damn sit command and slammed me into the roof. Or, or that time your brother needed help telling that girl he liked her! Shit, what was her name… Hideyo, Hiromi…"

"Hitomi," Kagome whispers, startling InuYasha out of his thoughts. He smiles at her, nodding his head.

"Yeah, that was it. Hitomi." He chuckles briefly and crosses his arms over his chest, looking more like himself when she knew him. "Can't forget that school thing you did, with the singing and the play and all that, you remember that? Thought it would be a good idea to cook demon meat for your friends, that worked like a -" Kagome wrenches her hand from mine and sprints across the room, throwing her arms around the hanyou. The smell of her tears permeates the air and, for a minute, InuYasha can only stand there in shock. Finally, he recovers and wraps his arms around her waist just as tightly. Shippou and I can hear her muttered apologies and turn around to give them some privacy. I sneak a glance back to find him cradling her head, whispering in her ear just softly enough that we can't understand. A few minutes later, I hear her soft chuckling and turn around. Her back is to us but I can make out her wiping tears from her eyes.

"God, I'm such a mess." She sniffles, beaming up at him as he pushes her hair behind her ear.

"Nothing I haven't seen before," he teases, tearing a giggle from her lips. I try to ignore the way my heart aches at the sound. This is how it was supposed to be, I remember. The two of them, against the world. If not for Naraku, it probably would have happened. "So, ya got any ramen for me?" She laughs outright, shoving him away as she rolls her eyes.

"No, Kouga and I made real food. Come on, it's getting cold." InuYasha follows her a few steps behind.

"Not sure I trust anything he made, could have mange." Kagome glares at him over her shoulder.

"Don't tell me you two haven't figured out how to get long yet, it's been 500 years."

"I'm here, ain't I?" He yells back, defensively, reminding me very much of their interactions in the feudal era. Kagome just shakes her head and passes him and Shippou a bowl. I reach around her to grab the last two and walk over to the table, setting her bowl in her usual place. She smiles gratefully and sits, InuYasha to her right and Shippou across from her. I don't miss the way he and Shippou keep sniffing in her direction, no doubt confused as to why my scent is so strong on her, but neither ask.

"I want to hear everything. What do you guys do? Shippou, are you in school or do you guys have some way around that? You've obviously grown, so much, but you still look young enough be in high school." Shippou puffs out his chest a bit, clearly ready to brag about his accomplishments.

"Actually, I'm apprenticing with another demon to be an architect." Kagome's eyes widen in surprise even as she smiles at her kit, pride shining through her aura. "We got some paperwork signed stating that I had completed my education through homeschooling and jumped straight to an apprenticeship rather than deal with college."

"That's incredible, do you have any photos of your designs or anything?" Immediately, the kitsune pulls out his phone and begins scrolling through to find what she had asked for. "What about you, Mr. Tough Guy? Security detail or underground fighting?" He chuckles at her teasing, his cheeks tinting pink in embarrassment.

"I'm in search and rescue," he admits. Kagome's mouth drops in shock. "You were always hounding me to help people back then, and I wasn't terrible at it I guess. Figured it's something you woulda been proud of." I catch Kagome's proud smile when she turns back to take a bite of her food. "Mayumi hates it, of course, says it's too dangerous, but I've tried telling her compared to the shit we had to deal with, this is nothing."

"Who's Mayumi?" InuYasha's face turns white as he realises what he'd said. Shippou nearly drops his phone and glares at him from across the table. He swallows the rice in his mouth, glancing at me for help. I narrow my eyes before training them on Kagome, waiting for her reaction.

"She's, uh…" he sighs, finally meeting her gaze. "She's my wife."

"Really?" There's definite surprise in her voice but no disappointment yet. The three of us hold our breaths. "When did you two meet?" My eyebrows lower in confusion over the genuine interest in her tone, no hint of sadness seeping in. The others share a look of confusion before InuYasha stammers,

"Uh, a-about… what, two hundred years ago?" Kagome takes another bite before waving with her chopsticks, signalling for him to continue. "She was a, uh, merchant's daughter. Ran into her in a market one day and ruined her kimono, I'd just gotten back from a demon-slaying job, you know how messy that is." Kagome nods, gesturing, again, for him to keep going. "But when I tried to offer to pay for a new one, she told me to buy her dinner instead." At this, Kagome looks shocked.

"That's incredibly forward for a woman in that time period, good for her." The true admiration in her voice is enough for all of us to gape at her in surprise. "How long before you two got married?" InuYasha's lips twist into a small smile, just at the corners, at the memory. "Six years. Her father kept trying to marry her off to other merchants, saying I was just stringing her along, but she wouldn't budge. Wasn't even phased when I told her what I am, just asked if she could touch my ears." Kagome chuckles. "Which is more than I got from a certain someone."

"I thought they were fake, and you were supposed to be asleep." Realising she still hadn't had any sort of outburst, like we had all expected, InuYasha's gaze falls back to his food. "She still around?" Did you mate her, she means. After a moment, he nods. "After I'm… better… I'd love to meet her if you don't mind," she requests, softly. InuYasha nearly falls out of his chair in surprise.

"What?" Kagome laughs at his reaction, just noticing the looks Shippou and I are giving her.

"I'm okay," she assures us. "Really." She turns her eyes back to InuYasha who looks mortified, relieved, and concerned all at once. "I mean it. I'm really happy you found someone, InuYasha. All I've ever wanted is for you to be happy and I can already tell you are. Don't worry, what we had back then, or… didn't have, we were young. It was a crush. I could never ask you to hold out for something that wasn't completely solid and… we weren't." I feel my eyes widen at her words, and the confidence behind them. She's really thought about this, I realise. "While I definitely feel that we were supposed to find each other, I don't think we were meant to be together romantically." InuYasha gapes as she reaches over and rests her hand over his, the smell of saltwater pervading the air once again. "You're still my best friend, InuYasha." InuYasha practically pulls her onto his lap, arms wrapping around her waist and holding her close.

"Damn it, Kagome. I love you," he mumbles into her shoulder. Shippou and I exchange knowing glances at the hoarseness of his voice. Tough guy's trying not to cry. Kagome giggles again, running a hand through his hair.

"I love you, too, Baka." He lets her go after a few minutes, watching her every move as though memorising them. His eyes seem less guarded, his posture more relaxed, as though a giant weight had been lifted from his shoulders. "I do want to ask if she knows about me though." At this, Shippou bursts out into laughter.

"You should ask him what his kid's name is!" Kagome turns surprised eyes on the half-demon who, once again, is flushed a bright pink.

"You have kids?" She asks, incredulously. He pulls out his phone, already knowing she's going to want pictures.

"Two boys and a girl," he replies, pulling up his lock screen. Kagome snatches the device from him. "Shinji's the oldest, named after her dad, he's got a small trading firm. Sesshomaru actually deals with him sometimes, hasn't been the worst uncle to the brats. Yori's the youngest, he's still at home, figuring out what he wants to do." InuYasha takes the phone back, pressing a few buttons. "Middle one… couldn't keep her out of the spotlight no matter what I did. Luckily, no one's noticed her slower ageing yet, so we'll deal with that when we get there." He passes her the phone back, a video of a young woman in traditional hakama and a shorter-sleeved haori, the top half of her long black hair tied back, longbow in hand as she fires at targets roughly ninety feet away. "She insisted on being just like the woman she's named after." Kagome watches in awe as the young woman hits target after target in quick succession.

"Oh no, she is so much better than I ever was." InuYasha chuckles, a proud expression on his face.

"She's been practising since she could walk. I'd say that's a fair excuse." Kagome passes the phone back, a faint blush on her cheeks. "You know how hard it was to get her to stay home when she found out I was comin' here? You're her hero, gods know why, I did all the work." She scoffs, playfully swatting at his arm. "They're ready to meet ya whenever you're ready. Just say the word." Kagome smiles again, despite the nerves clouding her scent.

"Kagome, look at these!" Shippou passes her his phone next, successfully dispersing her nervous energy and replacing it with pride and excitement for her kit. When she's not looking, I nod my head in his direction, grateful he'd stepped in. He smirks back, looking awfully smug as she praises his work.

"So. You tell her yet?" InuYasha asks later on when Kagome is preoccupied watching Shippou show off his fox magic skills. I don't need clarification to know he's talking about why Naraku failed at mating her. I'd watched as her sweater had slipped, exposing the scars from his numerous attempts. Saw his expression shift from concern to realisation to pure rage before he masked his expression so as not to scare her. She quickly adjusted her sweater and moved her hair for extra coverage. I shake my head.

"Nah. She's not ready for that."

"Who'd have thought something so casually thrown out there would count as a real claiming?" I shake my head, having asked myself that countless times since that first night. "Kinda glad it did, all things considered." You and me both, I silently agree. Suddenly, he sighs. "I wouldn't have had a chance even if we had been that serious then, huh." He chuckles a bit, watching as Kagome applauds Shippou's skill.

"I never woulda kept her from you," I reply immediately. "Not if it was her decision. I ain't forcing anything either, if that's your next question. That's not how wolves work. I can't force her feelings, but I'm not trying to influence her into anything."

"I know." The suddenness with which he answers surprises me and I feel my eyebrows lower. "I can tell you're keeping your distance. If ya weren't, with her as she is, I doubt she'd be able to stop herself. You make her feel safe. She needs that." Kagome turns around briefly to smile at us, looking happier than I'd seen her in centuries. InuYasha smirks and waves, pushing off from the counter. "That being said, you might wanna at least consider telling her sooner than later. Judging from the looks she's been sending you all night, you don't have too long before she does something about it and then, well. Good luck telling her it was her decision and not something otherworldly forcing her hand." He starts making his way to the living room where Kagome is sitting on the couch.

"What looks?" I ask, quiet enough Kagome won't hear but just loud enough his heightened sense will pick it up. I watch him shake his head before he flops down on the couch, settling an arm around Kagome's shoulders. She jumps slightly, stares at him for a minute, before shaking her head and smiling as she lays her head on his shoulder. "Damn mutt," I whisper. InuYasha chuckles without turning around.

Hey guys! Long time no see, eh? ^_^' I'm really sorry for the delay, hopefully the extra long chapter makes up for it. I don't really have an excuse, I'm in my fifth year of university, English Lit. major with a double minor in French and Russian studies, I haven't really had time to write anything (shouldn't have done this but it's been in my head for weeks and I need that room unoccupied for finals coming up). Anyway, thank you so much for your patience, I hope this lives up to everyone's expectations if you had any, and I hope you all enjoy! I am sorry for how long it is but I really wanted all of this from Kouga's perspective and I needed it to happen in this order sooooo... happy reading? Have a great day!