"There's eh." Kouga struggled to word it. "There's nothing going on with you and that lecherous monk right?"

His cheeks had flushed and he refused to look at her opting instead to bury his mouth in her soft hair. She smelt off—from that demon attack—but still sweet like his Kagome.

"Miroku? No…trust me. Nothing going on there." Kagome said and then had to laugh.

The group had dispersed some. Kouga had volunteered to go on first watch and Sango and Miroku curled up under a nearby tree to sleep. Naturally, Kagome stayed up a bit to talk to the wolf prince. Even in the midst of chaos, she wanted to make sure they were still on the same page. Or any page for that matter. She didn't know where they were at. But she knew that it was delicate.

And then he dropped that question on her after slowly wrapping his arms around her from behind—to help her aura, he said. In turn, she leaned against the hot metal of his armor and let her head fall just underneath his chin.

"Then why do you think it's funny he tries to bed you like that?" Kouga growled.

He couldn't help but take it personally when the monk had made that comment. And had that woman not gotten to the monk first, he would have slammed his fist into the monk's head. Kagome was his woman and they were going to have to accept it eventually.

"Miroku's kidding." Kagome said. Well, maybe he was half kidding. "He's in love with Sango. He wouldn't do that to her. And besides, it sure beats being doom and gloom all the time."

She relaxed her back and subsequently leaned into his embrace more. She couldn't see his eyes from where she was and missed the ability to read his changing emotions. But the warmth of his heavy arms around her did lift her spirits. The wolf prince had nuzzled his mouth into her hair and bubbled her in enough that Kagome could have forgotten they were outside with their sleeping companions not even ten feet away.

The fire had quit burning and had died out to mere embers of its former self. The sun had set and the stars came out in a neon and blue sky. The village activity had virtually died off as everyone slept. But Kagome knew Kaede had placed some night watchmen out at the village's edge. The last thing they needed was a youkai outbreak.

Still, it was quiet. Quiet enough to only hear the steadiness of their breathing and the occasional hissing rustle of the tree branches in the wind.

"You should sleep." Kouga said after awhile.

"You should stop telling me what to do." Kagome replied—abruptly embarrassed when a sudden yawn bit through her words.

Kouga's chest rumbled but he didn't quite laugh out loud.

"Shut up." Her cheeks burned pink and she was suddenly glad they weren't exactly looking at each other.

"And I can't exactly sleep on you. How rude is that?" She amended.

"I don't mind." The wolf prince whispered in return and Kagome's cheeks hurt from the extra blood flow.

"We can't wake up wrapped up in each other." She cast a quick glance at her sleeping friends. Shippou occasionally tossed and turned but he already knew. And then his quiet snores would start up again.

Kouga withdrew some letting a rush of cold replace him.

"What are we doing?" Kouga asked suddenly.

Dread made Kagome hesitate.

"What do you mean?" She asked carefully.

"You really afraid to tell them? I thought it was just the stupid puppy you didn't want to tell."

Kagome snapped her mouth shut afraid to respond because she honestly didn't know how to respond. The dirt floor instantly seemed more interesting.

Yes, initially she had told Kouga the reason she wanted to keep them—whatever they were—on the downlow was because of Inuyasha. And just as abruptly, Inuyasha seemed all too out of the picture. He'd chosen Kikyou over her. And though the rational part of her brain held no bones about it, some part of Kagome hadn't accepted it yet.

She drew her arms around herself and pulled off of Kouga just as her mind started to spin. The wolf prince released her accordingly. In a flurry of movement, he sprung to his feet. Kouga hesitated in his spot, unsure of where to move.

Kagome didn't stand up to follow at first. Her legs didn't want to let her.

Kagome could bear to tell Miroku and Sango. In fact, it didn't seem to matter what they thought. She knew, as her friends, they would stand by her. Kagome shook her head, desperate to clear it.

It wasn't her fear of telling them. It was her fear of making it something serious. If she told them, then she and Kouga would be like…a real couple. A real couple that had a real possibility of making it and getting married. A real couple that had the possibility of staying together forever.

Kagome's heart could have stopped.

She'd never thought about it with Inuyasha. She'd never had to. There was nothing steady there. But if there was with Kouga, things would change. How willing was she to give up her life in the future or her friends? She'd probably end up living in the wolf den. A human among youkai.

Kouga scented the air, unable to read Kagome properly. Sorrow slipped into her scent—the smell of bitter burning plastic. But he couldn't tell from what. Puffing up his chest, he did his best from stopping his heart from sinking.

"I don't know Kouga." She finally whispered. Her large brown eyes had glazed and trained on the floor. Her shoulders shook from the stress of the cold, exhaustion, and anxiety. She drew into herself and into her blankets but it didn't help. It didn't feel like she could ever feel good again. "I can't say I'm ready for it yet."

She glanced at him just long enough to catch a look that could have broken her heart. Wolf youkai were born ready to mate forever. But humans…

Kouga's face had dropped.

"Ready?" He echoed the words loosely. That could only be Kagome's way of saying she didn't want it. The stupid mutt out of the way and she still didn't want it.

Abruptly, he whirled on his heels, putting his back to her. In a fluid movement, he put some distance between them. The air wasn't clear there. Kagome's scent mixed with the burning rubber of anxiety made the air stink. Suddenly desperate to clear it, he headed towards the villages edge in swift, jewel-shard enhanced movements. Kouga didn't look behind him.

He couldn't imagine how he looked. He couldn't even comprehend exactly how he felt. But he could explain one thing. It hurt.

"Kouga. Kouga don't take it the wrong way. I think I—" He didn't stop when she hollered to him. Suddenly desperate not to let him slip away, she pushed herself to her feet. Her legs wobbled beneath her. Pushing the extra weight of the blankets off her shoulders and let them collapse to the floor. Her pulse quickened. She followed his path, her sneakers scuffing over the dirt. She staggered and almost fell but managed to keep her balance until she reached the first line of trees that lead into the forest. He stood there, back away to her. His tail swooshed from side to side. His black hair had been let out of the tie to fall downward over his shoulders.

"Kouga-kun." She said quietly, reaching him.

It was almost inaudible against the moving and swooshing of the trees. The leaves had began to drop with the coming fall and drifted downward with the wind.

The wolf prince noticeably stiffened but didn't run this time.

"Kouga-kun, please don't take it the wrong way." She reached out for him, desperate to feel his skin. He didn't even budge when she touched him. The fleeting rush of emotions made him want to pick up and leave but he didn't dare move. She slid her hands down his arm and grasped his elbow. He didn't respond to her.

"Kouga. You know I'm not from this time. You know what I'd have to give up to stay here. And you know that even if I did, I'm no youkai—don't keep expecting me to act like one."

He didn't answer. She pressed on before her throat closed up any farther. The situation was spiraling downward fast. If she couldn't get through to him, the dark feeling in her stomach knew it was over. His straggly black hair had fallen in front of his face. His eyes had darkened.

"Just listen to me. Kouga, I have to be sure…. I can't make any promises yet. But I do think…" Kagome's throat went dry and her heart pounded a deathly rhythm in her chest. But determined, she rolled the last thing off her tongue without thought. "I think I'm falling in love with you."

The truth of her words resonated back into her ears and her heart fluttered. The familiar tingling sensation that wracked her from head to toe when Inuyasha used to be around returned. It made her forget to breathe sometimes.

Kouga's ears twitched and his tails stopped swaying.

"About time woman." He said after a moment. The changed tone in her voice could have made her laughed with hysteria. He turned then and met her eyes draining the hysteria away.

His blue eyes were nothing but serious flickering with love.

Kagome forgot how to think for a full moment. Then instead, she smiled at him.

"You were beginning to worry me for a second."

"You always worry me." Kouga suddenly kicked into action and drew his arms around her. She had chased him out with nothing but thin jacket and had to be freezing. He wasn't going to end up being what killed Kagome. Especially now.

Kagome greedily leaned into his embrace and tried to slow her heartbeat. She shifted her cheek to rest it against his armor and relaxed her shaking muscles. Okay, that hadn't exactly gone to plan. In fact, Kagome wasn't entirely sure just where they were at now. But at least it was a good place.

"Hey Kouga—" She whispered, pulling away enough just to look him in the face. But the wolf prince had frozen, his hackles up and muscles drawn tight. His blue eyes pierced into the dark forest behind her.

"Kouga?" She asked uncertainly, fear smacking her hard.

Instinct made her freeze. Then the wolf prince growled out slowly and quietly.

"Kagome, tell me if you see that."

And then she slowly turned around to face the darkness.