Disclaimer: don't own InuYasha or the characters. :)

Their walk home took longer than usual as the couple would move every so often to a secluded area and spend quality time together. Neither one wanted to leave the other. InuYasha stood in front of Kagome's house while holding her hand.

" Do you think your mom will invite me to dinner tonight?"

Kagome smiled sweetly at him, " of course! I'll just tell mom to expect you. She adores you, you know that."

InuYasha and Kagome parted after a passionate kiss which sent them both into a world of bliss.

Kagome ran up the stairs to her house and found her mom making dinner in the kitchen.

" Mom, is it ok if InuYasha eats with us tonight?"

Her mother smiled as she saw the hope in her daughter's eyes.

" Of course, Kagome. He can come early and spend some time with you as well."

Kagome grabbed her cell. The butterflies in her stomach came back as she waited for him to answer the phone.

" Hello?"

" Hey, Inu! My mom said you can eat dinner with us, and she also said that if you want to you can come over earlier to spend more time with me."

By the time the last words left her mouth there was a knock at the door.

" Hold on a sec, Inu."

Kagome opened the door to find a beaming hanyou. He came in and pulled her into his arms. They both relished in the closeness of their bodies as the world seemed to fade from them.

Ms. Higurashi 'hum-hummed' them and they reluctantly split apart. InuYasha looked at the woman and smiled politely and felt slightly nervous. Ms. Higurashi smiled warmly at him.

"Hello ,InuYasha. How are you today? I see you two are just about inseparable now."

Relief flooded his face as he bowed in respect. Upon standing, he winked over at his girlfriend and saw the sweet smile he loved so much as she walked back over to him and led him up the stairs.

They walked into her room and sat down on her bed, just like their first night as a couple. Kagome held his hand and sighed in contentment as she gazed into his golden depths. The happiness radiated from her, " I think my mom really likes you, I get this motherly vibe from her when she speaks to you." InuYasha smiled seductively as he pulled her into his lap. Her sharp intake of breath almost stilled him, thinking he'd gone too far. Until she gripped his arms and wrapped them tighter around her waist, surrounding herself in his scent. InuYasha leaned his head down toward her neck and pressed light kisses there, trailing them up to her ear.

" Good, because I plan on sticking around for a long time. If you want me to."

Kagome snuggled deeper into his warmth, " I think I could spend forever with you and it not be long enough."

InuYasha sighed heavily. She took his reaction as rejection and began to climb off his lap, only to have him hold her tighter to him as he buried his face in her ebony locks.

" Do you mean it? You would spend forever with an outcast? Someone whose hated by demons and humans?"

Kagome hung her head as she thought of all the pain and ridicule her hanyou had been through and felt a tear slide down her cheek. A calloused clawed hand tilted her head up and brushed it away.

" Please tell me why you're crying, cause I don't know why and my thoughts are pretty negative right now."

Kagome cupped the hand that still laid on her cheek and looked up at him with the most intense eyes he'd ever seen. Hatred and disgust he was used to, but what swirled in her eyes was…love? Maybe even adoration?

" I'm crying because I hate that all you've been witnessed to in life is cruelty and discrimination. My chest hurts when I think about it, and it makes me want to cry for you. You're so wonderful, and I'm sorry that I'm the only one who can see that."

InuYasha leaned forward and softly kissed her as he felt his emotions wanting to burst from his chest. He held her face between his hands as he continuously brushed his lips across hers, seemingly teasing her.

" I don't need anyone else to see me the way you do. You're all I'll ever need in life. Did you mean what you said about forever with me?"

Kagome opened her hooded eyes and brushed her lips to his, " yes". She breathed the word as she ghosted over his eager lips and that was all it took. He captured her lips in a passionate kiss, tongues waging war and breaths mingling as their lips created the friction that burned both their bodies.

Kagome moaned as he rubbed circles on her hip. She couldn't stand it, she had to touch him! Her hands hurried and slipped into his shirt. He groaned with pleasure as her hands glided over each muscle, tracing the defining lines. Before any of this got any further he needed to do something, he was thinking about when they were talking. He found it hard to start up that thought process as she started kissing on his neck, so he gently pulled her away from him, only about four inches apart. Enough to where he couldn't feel her body heat quite so easily.

" Kagome?"

Kagome looked confused as all the naughty thoughts of what she wanted to do with the man she loved consumed her mind. Kagome stilled and turned from a second. Her struggling mind processed every feeling she'd had since her and InuYasha began dating. Holy crap! I do love him! I never would have thought I would find my one and only in high school, I was expecting college maybe but not high school! What if I'm too immature to really know what these feelings are?

InuYasha was sitting quietly, twiddling his thumbs so to speak, as he waited for her to say something. Kagome turned back toward him with a blank, almost shocked expression. InuYasha shook her a little and she blinked several times as she came back to reality.

"What is it InuYasha?"

He searched her eyes a second time as he got his thoughts in order, " would you let me court you?"

Kagome felt a bit confused, "I thought that's what dating was.."

InuYasha sighed, "demon courting is different. I would place a mark on you that would give off my scent that would warn any male around you to back off, because you're mine. It's the first step to actually mating."

Kagome hung her mouth open as she realized what he meant. 'He cares for me so much he wants me to be his mate! That must mean he loves me!'

InuYasha sat impatiently as he watched the understanding filter through. Before he knew what was happening, Kagome launched herself and him and showered his face with kissed and she giggled and held him.

" Yes, yes, yes, yes! I want to be your mate! I love you so much!"

InuYasha smiled as he held her. She was the most beautiful girl he'd ever seen and the fact that she was just as gorgeous on the inside made all the difference. He knew he was one lucky son-of-a-bitch to have her! He would take her out on a nice date and give her the perfect night. Then he would mark her. All the plans formed in his head as he looked down at her.

That night, all they did was snuggle up with each other and enjoy the feeling of security and love.