Well, this is the end. I had some writer's block with the beginning but I find that I write well while I'm watching mindless tv, so you can thank the shopping channel for this chapter. On a slightly unrelated note, it's quite funny to see a 50 year old man trying to sell t-shirts by saying "sequins are so hot right now!"

Chapter 8: Mending & The Happy Ending

You perceive all of these things I'd never have known.
Love, will you turn out the lights 'cause we're already home.

Rin shuffled out of her bedroom, clad in pyjamas and bunny slippers, and headed to the kitchen, intent on making a big pot of Sunday morning coffee to enjoy while grading her student's spelling tests.

She hummed a song that had been stuck in her head after last night's outing as she added a few spoonfuls of coffee grinds to the filter, smiling to herself as she recalled Miroku's ridiculous attempts to start a congo line solely for the purpose of feeling up Sango's butt. As much as Sango claimed to hate him, Rin had a feeling that she would be seeing far more of Miroku in the future. Something about the pair just clicked...unlike Rin and a certain heartless, brainless, incredibly attractive artist who went by the name of Sesshomaru Takeda.

Rin huffed and turned the coffee pot on with an angry poke of her finger. She had tried to convince herself that she was past the point of caring, that he was such a rude, insensitive jerk that he didn't deserve space in her mind or her heart, but deep down she knew that was a lie. Something kept her connected to the artist, unable to just brush him off.

She hated to admit that last night when he approached her table, Rin's heart sped up with anticipation and she had a sudden impossibly crazy thought that maybe he was there to apologize and fix everything that had gone wrong.

But then Rin had seen the sleazy woman attached to his side and her fantasy had come crashing down.

It made her blood boil to think of how Sesshomaru had the audacity to stare directly at her while agreeing to take that fake Kagura chick home for the night.

Unbelievable.

"Useless jerk...can't believe I liked him...waste of space..." She muttered to herself, grabbing the stack of spelling tests and plopping into a kitchen chair.

She uncapped her red marking pen and dove into the tests with vigour, channelling her anger towards Sesshomaru into the task of correcting the spelling of her 8-year old students.

When she came across one sheet where a clever attempt at the word "temperature" included the letter "w", she flicked her wrist harshly, pen scratching a hole right through the page.

The realization that she was taking her frustrations out on her students suddenly hit Rin and she dropped her pen, leaning back in her chair and closing her eyes for a moment. Her eyes started to prick and she took a few deep breaths, forcing the tears back. Why did he have such a huge affect on her?

Rin had never given much thought to the idea of soul mates or that 'meant-to-be' kind of love you see in movies. Growing up an orphan, she figured at a young age that she was fated to be alone and so that idea just seemed natural, never really affecting her the way it would for anyone else. It was a sad way to look at life, now that she thought about it, but being used by Sesshomaru did nothing but reinforce the idea that she was destined for heartache.

Rin rested her arms on the table and dropped her head down, sniffling against her pyjama sleeve.

For the first time in her life, she was lonely.

Yes, she had Kagome and Sango and a few friends from work, but they didn't fill her deeper feelings of isolation like Sesshomaru had.

Rin straightened in her chair a little, finally understanding why she felt a connection to the artist. He may not have been orphaned, but he understood how it felt to grow up without a solid family to be unconditionally loved by. They had unconsciously filled their respective gaps with each other.

The realization made Rin almost laugh. It was so obvious now. She wondered if Sesshomaru had realized this and the idea of needing and depending on Rin had scared him away. Something told her that was exactly what Mr. Independent 'I-don't-need-anybody' had discovered.

It didn't solve any of her problems, but knowing that she had affected Sesshomaru just as much as he had affected her made Rin's whole body feel lighter and clearer than it had in weeks.

She lifted her pen to continue marking papers in her new happier mood but a muffled scratching noise outside her apartment door suddenly caught her attention.

Rin sighed and made her way to the door, "Mr. Sugar Whiskers, is that you again?" She called out. Her elderly neighbour's cat was constantly escaping and favoured Rin's apartment for some odd reason.

She opened her door, intending to find a large calico cat on the doorstep but instead seeing a pair of shiny black shoes.

Her stomach fluttered, already knowing exactly who she would see once she raised her eyes from the floor.

Sesshomaru.

He was bent over at a funny angle, mouth slightly open as if she had caught him doing something he shouldn't have and an explanation was on the tip of his tongue.

He straightened up and cleared his throat, gesturing to a large package wrapped in brown paper that sat just outside her doorframe.

"Sorry to disturb you," he spoke in an awkwardly polite tone, "I was just leaving this."

"Oh, um...ok." Apparently Rin's brain couldn't process anything more than two-letter words and she felt her cheeks heat with embarrassment.

"It's your painting," Sesshomaru explained, "seeing as how you won our wager."

"I won?" Rin frowned, regaining her voice, "You insulted me in the worst way possible and threw me out of your house after what I thought was an amazing night. Then you make a point of flaunting your cheap-ass date around at the club last night, and now you're telling me I gave the great Sesshomaru Takeda a conscience?" She crossed her arms and gave him her most sceptical look.

"So where is your girlfriend? Kagura, right?" Rin couldn't resist asking. She tried to keep her voice indifferent, hoping that it didn't sound as pathetic to Sesshomaru as it did to her.

Sesshomaru looked uncomfortable – well, as uncomfortable as a person could look without changing their expression at all, "We had a slight misunderstanding. She now refuses to speak to me."

"Really?" Rin's eyebrows shot up in surprise, "What happened? I mean...if you don't mind me asking." She added, cursing herself for sounding so eager.

"Hn. I suppose you may as well know, seeing as how you are responsible for the situation." Sesshomaru easily replied.

"Me?" Rin squeaked out, "What did I do?"

"You haunt my dreams and fuel my fantasies," Sesshomaru admitted, "I now know that during an intimate encounter, a woman does not appreciate the man saying another woman's name."

Rin's mouth dropped open and she was pretty sure her brain ceased to function for at least a full minute while she tried to process Sesshomaru's confession.

"You-you said myname when you were with her?" She whispered.

Sesshomaru gave her an annoyed look, "We did not have sex if that's what you're implying."

Blushing beet red, Rin stammered, "W-well, when you say 'intimate encounter' like that..."

"We were both fully clothed at the time of the incident." Sesshomaru explained, "I hadn't so much as removed my socks when you took hold of my mind."

"So, what does that mean?" Rin asked, using a quiet tone because she knew her voice would crack with emotion if she were to speak any louder.

"It means," Sesshomaru replied slowly, weighing his words carefully, "that I have been a fool to ignore my feelings for you."

He locked eyes with her suddenly and the honestly radiating from those golden orbs made Rin want to capture him in a hug and start sobbing simultaneously. The flood of emotion was hard to suppress, but she managed to force it down and settled for stepping forward and lightly touching his arm, a timid smile spreading over her lips. She kind of doubted that turning into a crazy, hysteric mess was the response Sesshomaru was hoping for.

Sesshomaru cleared his throat and shifted his arm so that Rin's hand slid down into his. He squeezed her fingers tightly and pulled her closer until her nose was almost touching the fabric of his shirt.

She craned her neck, wanting to look him in the eyes and Sesshomaru bent forward so he could also meet her gaze. His loose long hair fell forward, spreading around them like a protective cocoon.

"Haven't we been here before?" Sesshomaru murmured into her ear.

Rin smiled softly, remembering that afternoon, "The zoo. After we called each other out on why we are the way we are."

Sesshomaru nodded, moving so his arms were now wrapped firmly around her waist, keeping her close against him, "You called me a jerk and spilled coffee on my favourite sweater."

Rin blushed, partly out of embarrassment and also out of his closeness. She turned her head away, "Yeah...sorry about that."

Sesshomaru placed a finger under her chin, raising her face to his, "Do not be sorry. That was the moment I knew I was falling in love with you. I tried to deny it and push you away, but even when I succeeded in making you hate me, I still could not bring myself to stay away from you, my Rin."

His lips came down forcefully onto hers, kissing her with more warmth and sincerity than Rin ever thought possible. The possessiveness in his kiss and his last words left Rin flushed with pleasure. She returned his kiss deeply, allowing her hands to fist in his hair as Sesshomaru gave a low moan of approval.

She pulled back reluctantly, suddenly remembering that their hot and heavy session was taking place in the hallway.

"So you're falling in love with me?" She asked shyly.

Sesshomaru shook his head 'no' and offered her a small half-smile, "I was falling in love all those months ago. Now I am in love." He took a deep breath and met her eyes with his own steady gaze, "I love you, Rin."

"Oh..." She squeaked out, feeling her face flush red. No one had ever admitted their feelings to her so openly before and it was leaving Rin a little flustered.

She wanted to jump around and scream "yes, yes, yes!", but the logical part of her cautioned that he left her once and it was possible for him to do it again. Could she take the chance and ignore her so-called destiny of loneliness?

Meeting his eyes, she decided to be honest, blurting out the first thought that popped into her head, "I love you too. I think I always did but couldn't admit it to myself."

Sesshomaru's golden eyes shone with a mixture of relief and happiness as he pulled her back towards him, "Perhaps we are more alike than we first thought."

"Mmmhmm.." Rin agreed, burying her face in his soft shirt. It felt so right to be with him, any doubts she had faded away the moment he touched her. It was an instant reaction and from the way Sesshomaru held her possessively and kept kissing the top of her head, she could feel that he was thinking exactly the same thing.

"So do I get to see it now?" She asked, pulling back from him slightly and eyeing the package on the floor.

Sesshomaru gave one of his amused half-smiles and reluctantly dropped his arms from where they had been wrapped around her.

Rin eagerly unwrapped the thick brown paper and pulled out the already framed painting.

Her breath hitched and a ball of emotion formed in her throat as she stared at a watercolour version of herself.

It was a night time scene depicting Rin sitting in a window sill wearing a gauzy white nightgown. The window was open and a breeze made the long strands of her hair float around her face. The moonlight caused her skin to glow like some beautiful, unearthly being.

"T-this is me?" She asked, 'It's gorgeous."

"You are gorgeous." Sesshomaru answered simply, "I only paint what I see."

Gently setting the picture back on the floor, she threw her arms around Sesshomaru, pulling his face down and into a deep kiss.

"I love it. I love you." She whispered against his lips.

"And I you," Sesshomaru replied quietly, running his hands up and down her back.

Slightly out of breath, Rin turned and bent to retrieve her painting from the floor, "come inside," she said, "I could use some help hanging this. I've never been good with a hammer."

Sesshomaru's arm snaked around her waist as they walked into Rin's apartment, "I will, but I see no point in hanging it here when you will be living with me before long."

"Is that so?" Rin grinned and gave him her best Sesshomaru-esque raised eyebrow look.

"Hn. Considering how I plan to never let you leave my sight, let alone my arms or my bed, moving in with me is the logical answer." He whispered huskily in her ear.

A shiver of delight ran down Rin's spine and her knees suddenly felt like rubber. "I don't know..." she teased, "I might need some convincing."

She gave a high shriek of surprise when Sesshomaru swept her up into his arms, "You may regret saying that, Rinnnn..." his voice was low, dangerous and teasing.

Her heart hammered wildly at the meaning behind his words. "I don't regret anything," she replied truthfully.

Painting long forgotten on the floor, the artist and the teacher eagerly made their way to the bedroom where their happy ending was, in fact, just beginning.

-END-

Nothing like a little cheesy fluff to end a story! Thank you all for the wonderful responses, I really appreciate your feedback.