She missed Yash, to be specific.

The week had gone by slow, but she had gotten better, she had accepted the truth even if she didn't exactly want to. She'd sat around for three days, tired and sick. Sick of waiting, sick of pregnancy, sick of Eri, Yuka, and Ayumi, sick of Rin, even though she didn't want to be, and sick of Sango and Miroku waiting on her hand and foot. And god, she was tired of all these things.

But she had hope. He had to come back tonight, he had to.

So instead of moping around, doing nothing, she had gotten off her ass, fixed his favorite meal and prayed he'd come home so it wouldn't get cold. She'd told Miroku and Sango they didn't have to worry today, that she was doing better and she'd wait for him. After all, she needed answers, and she missed him. A lot.

She felt vacant and hallow. It was dark outside. Mama hadn't called to tell her how Souta was doing. It was quiet, so quiet. She ate extremely slowly, hoping he'd be here soon. She was restless.

She was only twelve weeks. But still, bigger than most. Most of the time, she sat by herself and wondered what it would be like to have her body to herself again. Sometimes, that was really all she wanted. Her son- or daughter- made her feel terribly uncomfortable. But she knew that once the biggest part of her at the moment was external, able to laugh and play and feel and love, she knew her mind would be overloaded with possibilities of terrible things. Things like disappearance, pain, and all other sorts of danger, and she knew she would wish to have that part of her that's closer to her than anything or anyone, back to a place where she could keep him or her safe.

It was 11:00pm. Feeling dejected and feeling weariness sink in, she let out a sigh and picked up her plate to wash it. She was sure his plate was cold by now, but she didn't pay any mind. She covered it, kept it there on the table and prayed that she'd wake up to his arms around her in the morning.

XXXxxxXXX

To be honest, he absolutely hated hospitals.

This thing was making his leg itchy, and sure, the hot nurses were a plus, but he missed his sister. He missed Inuyasha, and even though Mama assured him that she was here to stay for him, he couldn't help feeling guilty.

Mama sat in that chair next to him everyday since he'd been here. They'd tried to convince her that he was okay and he'd be safe and she could go home, but she refused. She was sleep, now. She was so tired, so worn and so worried. He looked away guiltily. He wished that she would understand that he was okay.

Today was a Saturday. Usually, he'd be out playing soccer with his buddies. He couldn't do that at all for months, now. Kagome still hadn't came to visit, and he wasn't so sure over what she was so angry about. All he knew was that his sister was scary when she was angry, and sometimes, he felt sorry for Inuyasha.

Cartoons played before his eyes. And he'd rather be home, eating that cereal with Kagome, Mama, and Jii-chan surrounding the table, eating along with him. He'd rather sit around in Kagome's room and watch cartoons with her and Inuyasha when he came over. He was scared that things would never be the same.

But he smiled anyway. The sun was shining last night, and it reminded him that he'd gotten through the night.

When the door opened and one of the many hot nurses came in, he shot her a smirk and she smiled sweetly back. She came in with breakfast and carefully placed the tray over his lap, a smile still on her face. And he swore that she was in love with him, just like all the other nurses who often visited him.

"How're you feeling this morning?" she asked, ruffling his hair slightly.

"I'm feeling great, actually. I wish I was home, though." He told her honestly, looking out the window again.

Her voice was quiet as she spoke, obviously aware to his sleeping Mama. Souta watched as the nurse shot her a sympathetic look, and then looked back to him. "She's pretty tired, huh? I feel sorry for the woman. She must be stressed out a lot. Nothing can wear you out like caring about people, right?"

He knew she didn't mean it in a bad way…but still. She must've noticed his dejectedness, because she covered her mouth with a hand, looking at him guiltily. "I didn't mean it that way, I'm sorry. Listen, as far as I can tell, she's a great mom. She really cares about you, staying here this long and everything. But no need to worry. You only have a few more days and you'll be out of here. You're a strong kid, so hang in there."

He simply nodded, waited for her to leave, but instead, she opened her mouth to speak again.

"I almost forgot. There's someone here to see you," she said with a sickly sweet smile, one that had him almost worried.

She left, probably to tell the visitor it was okay to see him, now, and he reached over, gently shaking his Mama on the shoulder to wake her up. She slowly opened her eyes. They were red and puffy, and once again, guiltiness took over him, but he quickly tried to rid himself of the feeling and almost wished that she didn't care so much.

He was lucky. So lucky.

"Souta?" her voice was sleepy, but she sat up quickly, her eyes instantly alert. "Is everything okay?"

"Everything's fine…" he replied, a slight smile on his face. "But the nurse says I have a visitor."

Mrs. Higurashi simply smiled. He had gotten lots of visitors. Most of them from his school. There were cards everywhere, flowers, too. His whole soccer team had sent him get well cards, and they'd also came to visit- all of them. It was hectic at times, but hopefully, there was just one of his friends this time.

She sat there for a while, still feeling tired. She'd been here for days, and she missed her bed and she would love to know how her baby girl and grandchild were doing, and this was something she'd been worried about for a while.

Because Kagome had to figure out the truth sooner or later.

Souta sat there, still watching cartoons, his face blank. He was bored, and he couldn't wait for those few days to be up. However, his thoughts were interrupted when he saw the door open. The nurse stood there holding the door open for whoever was to come, still smiling sweetly. He looked on expectantly, wondering who it could be.

However, he was not prepared for her appearance.

He felt heat in his cheeks and suddenly, he couldn't hear the cartoons. His heartbeat was all he could hear, really. The nurse was still smiling and she said something about walking out to leave them alone, but he wasn't really listening to what she was saying. Mama was smiling, too, he could feel this.

This was horrible. God, it was so wonderful, too. So horrible he wanted to cower under the sheets of the hospital bed. Yet, so wonderful that while he was cowering under those bed sheets, he wanted to smile and giggle like a school girl or…or something.

Her eyes were big and blue, her hair brown was short and voluminous, full of curls and waves and perfect. Her cheeks had a pink tint to them, but he didn't bother himself with a million of questions because of this little observance.

It was…odd, to be specific. It was weird seeing her without that group of girls she was always with. Her smile was big and once again, he reminded himself that her eyes were the most beautiful he'd ever seen.

"Souta," Hitomi said, her voice filled with worry. He loved it when she said his name, even if she was lecturing him for his foolish words and stuttering whenever he was around her, trying to spit out how he really felt.

"Souta, if you have something to say to me, just spit it out!"

"Souta," she said again, gulping this time and stepping forward, her big, dark blue eyes luminous in the light that poured through the shades that covered the window. He'd always known how beautiful she was, and his affections for her had always went unnoticed, it seemed. And right now, he felt like the luckiest man- rather, boy- in the world. "I was so worried about you. I would've came to visit you earlier, but I've just been busy with school…and I'm so sorry, Souta."

Her words were rushed and by the time she was done, she was slightly panting and he was still spellbound, his eyes wide as saucers and his cheeks red as a tomato, and beside him, his Mama was chuckling, smiling at the young girl.

"It's fine," his mother spoke up, "Hitomi. Souta's doing much better, and he should actually be out of here in just a few days and they're expecting him to make a full recovery. Although, he won't be able to play soccer for a while."

His wide eyes turned to stare at his mother. She looked back at him and then smiled, then looked back at Hitomi. "You know, I believe you're the girl he talks about all the time. He really admires you, Hitomi, and right now, I'm sure he's just a little…astonished…that you're here. He never really expected this, I believe. But I'm sure he's really happy that you've came to visit him."

At his Mama's words, Hitomi turned as red as a tomato, too, and this time, he slid down under the sheets, eyes still wide and cheeks still red as if he'd been slapped extremely hard.

For a few moments, there was silence. But then, Hitomi, the girl of his dreams, cleared her throat and spoke up. "Uh, Souta…I'm really happy I came, too." And then, she was giggling, making him feel like an absolute fool, making him want to murder his Mama. But he couldn't do that.

Finally, he found some bravery deep within himself and showed his face to her. She was looking at him, her cheeks still red and his still red, too. This was the time to be valiant.

He failed. "Um…so…uh, I-I guess I'll…see you around, huh, H-Hitomi?"

She hated boys who couldn't admit that they favored her, and he was constantly in fear that some boy who could admit these things would someday come and sweep her off her feet and she'd drift away from him.

She seemed a little disappointed. "Uh, okay, so when will I see you again, Souta?"

The question made his stomach hurt. And then, he remembered Kagome telling him about how when you really like someone, you get this stupid feeling in your tummy and they call it butterflies. He remembered these things perfectly.

Flashback;

His stomach was aflutter, anxiety ran through his veins, and he suddenly felt light-headed. However, he took a deep breath and knocked on his bedroom door where he knew his sister and her boyfriend- or whatever you wanted to call him- would be. Kagome had told him that Inuyasha wasn't her boyfriend a million times before, but he couldn't bring himself to believe that, especially when he had saw Inuyasha kissing his sister.

He considered kissing to be gross. But when he thought about doing something like that with Hitomi, it seemed beautiful, dare he say it. But still, seeing his sister do it with Inuyasha was the most disgusting thing he'd ever seen, especially when he swore he'd seen them doing something with their tongues…

He shuddered, not wanting to think about the sight that had only a week ago, been displayed to his virgin eyes.

He wasn't expecting her to open the door so quickly. But when she did, she had an angry look on her face and his eyes widened and he instantly wanted to turn away, but he was frozen in spot.

Kagome put a hand on her hip, tapping her foot again the wood floor impatiently, and behind her was Inuyasha, smirking down at him.

Inuyasha was nineteen, and Kagome was only sixteen, so Mama didn't favor him that much. But he did. Inuyasha always stayed around to play video games with him, and even though he wasn't much help with homework, the dude knew how to make him laugh, and he laughed extremely loud whenever he managed to piss his big sister off. And even though Mama hated the fact that Inuyasha had skipped out on college, Souta loved it. Inuyasha always seemed to be around.

"What is it, Brat? You came to my room and knocked instead of screaming something stupid, so you must need help. Now what is it, Souta?" Kagome asked, an eyebrow twitching.

"I-I…uh…" he was a wreck.

Inuyasha smiled, grabbing a hand and pulling him forward while Kagome shot him a disapproving look. Anyway, she closed the door behind her, Inuyasha pushed him down on the bed, and they both looked at him expectantly. He didn't know if he could do this. He was feeling queasy and he was calling himself all kinds of degrading names in his head while wondering why he had decided to come to Kagome out of all people.

"Souta, if you have something to say, spit it out!" Kagome said, clearly agitated. Inuyasha smirked and flicked her arm, saying something about how she shouldn't be so mean to her brother. And then, they were arguing because that's the only thing the both of them seemed to be good at. There were foul words coming out of Kagome's mouth, and he didn't know that his big sister could speak like that. Inuyasha argued back, looking amused.

He wanted nothing more than to leave, but still, he sat there, wondering what he could do to shut the both of them up. He cleared his throat and then took a deep breath, his voice courageous. "Sis, there's this girl…"

Instantly, all arguing was pushed aside and Kagome had nearly tripped over her own feet rushing over to him, and Inuyasha laughed at her, causing her to send him an icy glare that even had him shivering.

Her smile was big and her eyes were shiny and Souta was taken aback. She took his hands in hers, opening her mouth not to speak, but rather squeal. "What's her name? Is she pretty? Do you like her? Do you wanna…you know, marry her? When can I meet her, Souta? How old is she? She better not be older than you or so help me god-"

He simply shrugged and opened his mouth to speak and interrupt her before she went on and on and on and on. "Her name is Hitomi. She's beautiful. Of course I like her, if I didn't, there is no way in the world I'd be in your room with you and Inuyasha. Why are you talking about marriage? We're just kids, Kagome. You're not meeting her…ever. And we're both nine. God, sis. It's not like you and Inu are the same age, either."

At that, Kagome recoiled away from him, her eyebrows twitching, her cheeks reddening and Inuyasha snickering under his breath. She let out an exasperated sigh. "Me and Inu are not like that, Souta, for the millionth time. And I promise you, we will never, ever, ever, be like that, so keep your mouth shut, Twerp." She leaned over and punched Inuyasha in the arm, her cheeks still on fire. "Have you talked to her yet?"

Maybe he really shouldn't have done this. Kagome was just depressing him with her questions. But he sighed anyway, shaking his head.

"And why's that?" Inuyasha spoke up. "You're not chicken, are you?"

"I…I don't really know what to say, I guess," he answered truthfully, his eyes going downcast with disappointment.

"You know what's wrong?" Kagome asked him, her voice volumes softer. "You're scared. If you really like the girl, talk to her, Souta. That's the only way. Staring at her and talking about her to your friends and other people really won't get you anywhere. Be brave for once and tell the girl how you feel. I'm sure she'll feel the same."

Inuyasha smirked, his voice almost taunting. "Your sister's right, Twerp. You've got to show her how you feel. Stop being such a pussy and-"

Inuyasha growled and covered his puppy ears when he received a smack upside his head from his sister.

"Inuyasha!" she scolded him, crossing her arms. "God, he's only nine! You could at least be a little bit more aware of your language when he's around, you baka!"

Before Inuyasha could call her a bitch, which was a usual thing that made him laugh most of the time, which was something he unfortunately knew about that Mama would kill him if she knew that he knew, he spoke up. "Uh, sis? How do you know if you really, really like this person, like, uh, for sure?"

There was silence in the room, and he almost regretted asking the question when he saw Kagome fold her hands together, a dreamy look fogging up her eyes. His sister was a creep. "I don't know, Souta. But I guess it's when you realize it's something about that particular someone. I guess it's something that makes you feel like you're about to fall. Or turn to pure liquid, or completely burst into flames. And then, you get this nice, fluttery feeling in your stomach. It's a really good feeling. You probably recognize it if you really like her. It's called butterflies."

He was looking between his big sister and his hero, now. Inuyasha was looking at her, and he thought about people falling in love with other people when they were completely unaware in their small moments and when they thought no one was really looking at them. He, as Inuyasha, also knew there was something beautiful about a person who's lost in thought, daydreaming, twirling a stand of hair between their fingers or even that person looking at someone else.

"Just talk to her, Souta. What's the worst that can happen? You can do this, I know you can." Kagome spoke after finally snapping out of her dreamland. Inuyasha was still staring at her, a strange look on his face. So Souta smirked to himself, his brain already formulating a plan, even if it grossed him out.

"Uh, sis?" Souta asked before she could kick him out of her room, probably to finish up studying with Inuyasha trying his best to annoy her.

"What else, Souta?" Kagome asked him, her voice still soft. It was as if she'd been thinking about someone…

He smiled.

"So, what if I want…what if I want to, you know, um, kiss this girl? How do you kiss?" He was trying his best to hold in his laughter as he watched his sister's eyes get wide and her cheeks go red. He looked over to Inuyasha to see him froze, looking away from Kagome before muttering a small 'feh', leaning back on the bed coolly, resting his hands on the back of his head and stretching himself out as if he owned this room. But still, his tan cheeks had a tint of red colored on them.

"Souta," Kagome said, but not before clearing her throat. "I wish I could help you, but, uh, I'm really not sure about what to do with your problem, Squirt."

"But I saw you and Inuyasha together! Could you two show me how it's done? You two knew exactly what to do!" Souta exclaimed, laughter threatening to spill from his mouth when he heard Inuyasha choke, his cheeks getting redder, and when Kagome's whole face turned aflame and when her eyes turned murderous.

"Get out of here, both of you! Leave now!" his sister raged, pushing both him and Inuyasha out of the room, threatening to do horrible things to both of them if they didn't leave at this moment. And then, her bedroom door slammed loudly in both of their faces, and Inuyasha refused to look at him.

It was definitely worth it.

End of Flashback.

It certainly wasn't a nice feeling. Kagome had lied to him, and more than anything, he felt incredibly stupid, knowing she didn't feel the same.

She was looking at him, her eyes expectant, and he realized he hadn't said anything and he realized that she had probably thought of him as a freak for as long as they knew each other.

"I, uh, I-I'm-" he was definitely a failure. He felt like one in this moment more than he ever had in his whole life. He couldn't even say her name without stuttering. But before he knew it, Mama was smiling at Hitomi even wider, opening her mouth to speak for her dazed son.

"When he gets home, he'll probably be home for about one week and a half. But you know, you can come visit him anytime you want. I'm sure he'd love that, Hitomi." Mrs. Higurashi said, her smile still brilliant as her son nearly cowered under the covers again.

He watched in fascination as Hitomi blushed bright red and opened her mouth only to close it. She brought a hand up, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear while she smiled widely, her eyes glistening in the morning light. He had to remind himself that she was just Hitomi, the girl from his class that he really, really liked, and not a goddess.

"Uh, um…okay then, Souta. I-I'll stop by and visit as soon as I can." Hitomi told him, and then, she was walking towards him, and he was still watching her, still fascinated. She refused to actually look him in the eyes, and his heart was beating faster and he had no idea of what she was going to do.

And then, he felt her soft lips against his cheek. When she pulled away from him very swiftly, the cold air hit the spot and he wanted her lips right there again, right there to keep him warm. His mouth fell agape and he stared up at her, watching as her face turned as red as he'd ever seen it.

Her eyes held onto his for a while, and then, they went wide with realization of what she'd done and she began to swiftly walk away, walking as fast as her legs could carry her. Souta didn't know what it was that made him call out her name.

"Hey, Hitomi, wait!" his words surprised Mrs. Higurashi, but they surprised himself the most. A sudden hope filled him to the brink, and he needed to say something, something to let her know that she wasn't the only one feeling this weird things that his sister called butterflies. "H-Hitomi…" he paused a while when she looked back at him, cheeks still red and eyes still wide. "Y-you look really…pretty…today. I-I just…I wanted you to know."

Her face seemed to turn redder, and a smile took place on her pretty lips. And he knew she wasn't embarrassed anymore. "I…uh, well, thank you, Souta. You look pretty good yourself. Um, I-I'll see you soon…hope you feel better!"

Then, she rushed out of the room, not waiting for any response and he smirked to himself. So this time, he hadn't been a failure. He stuttered, sure, but she couldn't say much because she had done the same thing. Pride ran through him and he wasn't afraid to show it or feel it. But then again, there was his mother and her big mouth.

"So, this is the girl you like," Mrs. Higurashi said, ruffling his hair. "She's a pretty one. Will I be having more grandchildren soon? I'd like to think so."

At this, his face reddened again and this time, he really did hide under the sheet. "God, Mom, we're only twelve! Gross!"

He heard his Mama laughing, and he was still under the sheets with a racing heart, a reddened face, a big smile, and little, stupid giggles threatening to fall from his mouth.

XXXxxxXXX

She woke up to the feeling of someone's lips against hers. Her first instinct was to punch whoever the intruder was, but when she opened her eyes, she almost screamed. His body was heavy atop of hers, and she didn't really know what was going on. His hand was on her stomach, caressing the bump that rested there and she could feel him smirking against her mouth.

Inuyasha.

She pushed him off of her, rolling over so that she was on top of him, a smile daring to break through the angry façade she'd put on. She pinned his arms above his head, looking down at him with pride and her heart thundering in her chest. It wasn't a dream.

"And just what exactly did you think you were doing, kissing me in my sleep like that?" she asked, giggles threatening to break through.

He simply smirked up at her and shrugged, his eyes glistening in the sun that poured through the window. "I missed you. And no matter what I did, you wouldn't wake up, and I kinda wanted to see those beautiful eyes. Duh, Kagome." He told her, rolling his eyes.

With that, she molded her body against his, sighing softly at the contact. Maybe it was because she hadn't been touched by him in a week, but mainly because she hadn't seen him for a week and she missed him dearly. So she smiled as she kissed him, slowly and steadily, still on top of him and reaching a hand up to run her slender fingers through that silky hair she had missed feeling.

When she rolled off of him, laying a head on his chest to hear his heart racing, too, she relished in the realization that she had made him just as breathless as she was. There was a comfortable silence among them, and tears nearly formed in her eyes. But she looked up at him, the man she loved, and she smiled. He didn't ask because he knew why those tears had begun to fog up her eyes.

She was too tired to hit him. So instead, she spoke. "You baka, where were you? I missed you."

He took a deep breath, closing his eyes. "I missed you too, Kagome. But I told you I was coming back. I always come back."

She sat up, her eyes scanning over his body, over his face. His eyes were still closed, so she allowed her fingers to trail over his skin. His shirt was stained with blood, and she felt her heart dropping. She raised his shirt up, gasping when she saw his wounds. Even though they looked better than what she expected they had looked like fresh, she was still worried. Her touches were light, almost featherlike, but he was still groaning out from that simple, light contact.

She really did want to hit him. Because what if he had left for good, never came back? What if he was murdered and she would've never known? What would she do? What would she do about the kid that was taking up the space in her growing belly?

"C'mon," she stated, grabbing an arm and lifting him up from the bed. "They need cleaned. Whoever covered those wounds didn't cover all of them. I'm worried, Inu. You need a bath, so get up."

So she got up, quickly led him to the bathroom, surprised that he wasn't protesting. When she was finished setting the water to hot, he lifted up his hands for her, and slowly and carefully, she took off the blood-stained shirt, tossing it in the hamper and reminding herself to wash it for him later.

She cupped a cheek, forcing him to look at her. "I don't want you doing anything today. Or the rest of the week. You've got to listen to me, Inuyasha. We can talk about all this shit later, but right now, you need rest and I'll be damned if you don't obey me. You got that?"

He knew exactly what she was doing. She was toughening herself up so she wouldn't cry, so she wouldn't break down. There was fear in her eyes, and he hoped that she knew he never meant to hurt her, and he hoped she would listen to the truth and understand him. He wanted to tell her now, get all this shit off his mind.

She unbuckled his belt, throwing it somewhere on the floor and bringing down his pants, along with his boxers. So there he stood naked, looking at her expectantly as she looked back at him. He grabbed her, pulling her into him before sliding a hand up her shirt, feeling her stomach, his hand resting on the bump that was still forming. He kissed her on her temple, letting her know how much he'd missed her and his kid. "Don't leave, Kagome."

She looked up at him and nodded, letting him pull her shirt over her head, undress her like a lover would. He kissed her where their child lay, kissed her forehead, and he was gentle in everything he did. And she felt herself melting into him, falling into him because god, she'd missed him.

They were so naked and oh so crazy. He pressed her tight against his figure, kissing her over and over again. "Kagome, just promise me that you didn't put any girly shit into that tub, or else, I refuse to step in."

She giggled at his words, smiling brilliantly. Taking his hand, she pulled him along with her, letting him in first. He sat there, his legs cross, and she got in, tangling her legs with his. "Can I explain?" He asked, his voice a little husky.

She smiled a little. "No. I don't want any answers right now. I'm just glad you're safe."

He leaned forward, kissing her forehead, letting the hot water soothe his sore muscles.

"Thank you, Kagome," he told her. "Thank you for everything."

She cupped his cheek once more, scooting closer to him and placing damp kisses on his shoulder, trying to soothe some of his pain. At least she hoped she could. He was definitely healing her pain. Her mood had lightened amazingly, and somehow, she felt like the life inside of her seemed to be fluttering. It wasn't just butterflies. "You don't have to thank me for anything."

So they sat there, a comfortable silence resting between them as she pressed her naked body as close as she could to his, his shoulder still in her mouth and her hand on his cheek while he carelessly ran his fingers through her hair. She didn't realize it, but tears ran down her cheeks, but she kept her eyes closed and kept holding him as if he'd disappear if she didn't hold him tight enough.

He held her the same way. She pulled away briefly, taking her time to ran her hand along his chest and abdomen, just ghosting over those horrible wounds. She frowned as she did so, biting her lip when she heard him groan in pain.

"I'll dress them for you again. I have to. They look bad, Yash. Really, really bad," she bit down on her lip hard, her brown eyes catching his gold. "How'd you get them? What the hell were you doing?"

"There was business to attend to, Kagome. How else was I supposed to keep you safe? I was training." He told her simply, cupping her cheek and forcing her to look at him when she tried to look away.

She shook her head to herself, standing up a little to quickly so that she almost lost her balance. When she felt his hand on her arm, trying to pull her back and figure out what he'd done wrong, she jerked away from him, sauntered over to the cabinet and threw a towel around her body, and then stormed off.

He stood up a little too quickly, groaning at the pain of his wounds as he walked over to get a towel for himself. Didn't she know this was all for her and the kid she was carrying?

Once again, her heaviness sunk him deep down under him and he felt what she felt. She sat there on her bed, staring blankly but worry evident in her eyes. And he wanted nothing more than to swoop her up in his arms and promise her that she'd be okay, that everything and everyone would be okay, but he didn't know anything and he'd never felt more worthless.

So he hesitantly walked over towards her, a sudden pain in his chest as he watched her. No, she wasn't crying. She wasn't raging on and on and on. She just sat there, looking extremely blank and apathetic with a hand on the bump that rested on her stomach. She looked up at him, watching him as he neared closer to her.

"You're really an idiot, Yash," she said to him as she looked away. "I would be lost without you. Matter-of-fact, I would disappear without you. I was so worried when I woke up that morning and you weren't there that I nearly had a nervous breakdown. All because of you. Those wounds are pretty deep. We," she told him, rubbing the bump on her stomach once for an emphasize, "could have lost you.

"I would have never let that happen," he told her as he sat down beside of her, wincing at the pain that ran through him without any mercy. "If you really want the truth, I was training for you. We all need to be strong." He gave her a small smile and she laid back, looking at him expectantly. "We'll talk about who I was training with later on, maybe tomorrow. You look tired, Kagome. Get some rest. Also, there's someone I want you to meet tomorrow."

She raised a brow at his words before reaching up to cup a cheek, leaning up just a bit so she could smash her lips against his. He fell softly against her, careful of his wounds, and with caution, she climbed atop of him, kissing him again until she was panting and until their arousal filled the air.

But still, she was tired. So tired and she didn't no why. But she wanted him. She wanted him inside of her and she wanted him to finally make her his. She wanted him so much.

Their towels had fallen away, so it was just skin against skin and Inuyasha didn't seem to mind. He kissed her again heavily before finally pulling away for good, the sound of her panting feeling his ear.

"Rest, Kagome. I missed you, too," he chuckled a little, and being too tired to even glare at him, she complied and laid herself down beside him, taking his hand in hers after pulling the sheets over them.

"Who am I supposed to meet tomorrow, Yash?" she asked him, her voice soft.

"It's a surprise, wench. Now really, get some rest. You're tired. You were up all night waiting for me, anyway. I'll wake you up later on this afternoon. Sleep." He told her, his voice a whisper.

"Yash…your wounds…" she tried, but he interrupted.

"They're fine. Remember, I'm a half demon, wench. I'll dress them myself. I'll be okay," he reassured her, kissing her temple and running his fingers through that long, raven hair again.

"Will you be here when I wake up?" she asked, her eyes closing.

"I'll always be here, stupid. I love you, Kagome," he told her.

It should have been a big moment where she jumped into his arms, cried and declared that she loved him, too. But she was too weary to do any of those things. But still, he found himself smiling when he seen a wide smile on her face, those perfect teeth of hers showing and her cheeks turning red.

It hadn't been a hard thing to say, really. After all, he expected that she already knew.

"I love you too, Yash. Thank you."

Instead of kissing him hard on the lips, she kissed a red cheek and he held her till she couldn't keep her eyes open, until she felt warm and sated and finally safe.

A/N: I've been busy with school, sorry guys. Anyway, didn't get much reviews on the last chapter. Hmm, you know, reviews are the only thing that keeps a girl writing! So review, please. Feedback is always lovely.

This chapter didn't end the exact way I wanted it too, cause honestly, my ass is too lazy and too tired to do a better job. But at least he finally said he loves her!

Anyway, hope to see you guys again soon. Love you all, and thanks for all the reviews so far.