When she came to, the world was dark. Snowflakes were still drifting down from above and she realized she was lying down. Her clothes were sodden and she violently shivered as she sat up. She glanced around her and as her eyes adjusted to the lack of light, she discerned a pair of dress shoes on the ground, pointing upwards to the dark clouds. Her stomach sank as she realized it was not just a pair of shoes, but a person in said shoes.

She scrambled over, frantically patting over his body to try and discern any injuries or sign of life. She kneeled down by his head, only just able to make out that his eyes were closed. She choked back tears that were threatening to spill over at the thought that she had just killed the last demon in existence. Kagome brought her ear down to his mouth to listen for him breathing while simultaneously placing her hand on his chest to feel for a heartbeat. After a few seconds of not feeling anything through his coat, tears did spill over, but she refused to believe it. She unceremoniously shoved her hand into his coat, under the clothes beneath and flush against his chest. Before the searing heat of his flesh registered in her mind, she heard his sharp intake of breath.

'Your hand is cold, miko,' he blandly intoned.

As she sat back and stared at him, she became aware of a rumbling beneath her hand that she inferred to be a chuckle, and briefly deliberated on purifying him all the same. With that thought came the realization that she still had her hand over his heart, and she pulled it back as if he'd burned her. He sat up and shook the fallen snow from his hair. After staring at him a little longer, she blurted the question that was on her mind most pressingly.

'Why did you come to seek me out?'

He looked her square in the eye. 'I made a promise, one to InuYasha, and later, to Shippou. I would keep you safe.'

Hearing only his sense of duty made him come back hurt her more than him keeping Shippou's situation from her, and her hurt scared her. She stood quickly, dusting herself off and turning away from him, lest he see her tears fall anew.

'Well, don't let duty bind you any longer,' she quavered, 'I'm sure they'll see I'm safe with my family. Goodbye, Sesshoumaru.'

He grabbed her wrist as she made to move away.

'Duty brought me to you, but it does not bind me.' He stood fluently, without relinquishing hold on her wrist and towered over her. His hand was like a hot vice, searing into her skin. She tugged futilely and it only made him pull her closer. Refusing to make eye contact, she stared ahead at the buttons of his coat, until he brought up his free hand to her chin and forced her face up to meet his. She could feel his warm breath on her cheeks as she reluctantly looked him in the eyes.

'You bind me, Kagome,' he murmured before capturing her lips with his. His kiss was light, belying the intensity of his feelings. He was nothing if not a perfectionist in control, however, and he did not want to scare her off. He was surprised, therefore, when he felt her arms around his neck, pulling him into her. With a growl of approval, he acquiesced.

Kagome, for her part, was surprised at herself. The despair she had felt not moments before had melted away at his words, replaced by elation she had not felt since her Feudal days. Elation that was fed by all those stolen glances, touches and subsequent flutterings on their roadtrip.

They broke apart, slightly breathless. Despite the warmth in her heart, Kagome shivered mightily from the cold seeping into her from her sodden clothes. Sesshoumaru silently took her hand and led her back to the house. As they made their way into the warmth of the kitchen, they were greeted by her family.

'Ah, Kagome, there you are,' her mother said before turning back to the stove, 'quickly go and change out of those clothes before you catch your death. Is your friend staying for dinner?'

Kagome looked at the demon beside her in askance, a slight shrug was her answer.

'Yes, mama, he is. This is Sesshoumaru. Sesshoumaru, my mother, brother and grandfather.'

Souta and her grandfather merely nodded in his general direction, but there was a clatter from the stove as her mother threw a spoon into the pot she had been stirring. She turned around to face them, a smile on her face that Kagome had never seen before. She wiped her hands on the apron she was wearing as she crossed the short distance to where they were dripping melting ice on the kitchen floor.

'Sesshoumaru?' she asked, throwing her daughter a glance, 'the Sesshoumaru?'

'Er, yes, mama, the Sesshoumaru. He took me on that tri-'

A slap resounded in the small kitchen. Yuu Higurashi rubbed her hand as Sesshoumaru lightly touched his cheek in surprise. All of the Higurashi's stared at the matriarch, completely flabbergasted as the rage in her face quickly melted back into the welcoming smile they were used to.

'Never keep secrets from my daughter again,' she said pleasantly, before making her way back to the stove, all the while commenting that dinner would be served in about twenty minutes and that were probably some of her husbands' old clothes that would fit their guest.

Kagome quickly whisked Sesshoumaru away to her bedroom before he could retaliate.

'I am so sorry, I never expected my mother to hit anyone!' she hurriedly spoke as she close the door behind her. 'If anyone was going to attack you, it would have been my grandfather. You know he tried to purify InuYasha once? But not my mom, she has trouble killing flies, for goodness sake. I have never see-

A clawed finger to her lips put an end to her babbling. She looked up at him, ashamed to see a slight redness spread across his cheek.

'It is of no consequence,' he rumbled quietly, 'she was only looking out for your best interest.'

'As you were when you waited all these years to take me to Shippou? To even contact me?'

The question sounded harsher to her than she intended, bringing tears to her eyes all over again. In truth, she understood. As she looked back on the nine years since she'd come back to the future, she had never felt stable enough to see her emotions through, let alone end Shippou's suffering. But knowing she had inadvertently prolonged it by nearly a decade did nothing for her tenuous grasp on her newfound stability.

Sesshoumaru gently cupped her chin, brushing away a tear with his thumb as he lifted her face to his.

'The kit knew,' he told her, 'I consulted with him regularly from the moment you returned. We were in agreement that you were not to be contacted until such time that it was determined that you would be able to bear the additional grief.'

Kagome sniffled in his hold, but did not pull away. 'So, why not come to me directly when I returned? I was-'

'In denial then. You threw yourself into your education, and the kit was adamant that your studies were important to you.'

'But after that-'

'You withdrew completely. You were already in a crisis, adding another one would have been detrimental to your health.'

'But Shippou was-'

'Prepared to wait.'

She tried to turn from him then, but he placed his other hand on her chin and brought their faces even closer, noses almost touching. Kagome had no choice but to look into his golden eyes, staring at her steadily and filled with a warmth that both scared and delighted her.

'You mental health was worth the wait, miko,' he rumbled, smirking slightly as she bristled at the title before placing a light kiss on her lips. 'You were-' another light peck 'are worth the wait.'

She sighed in quiet acceptance and threw her arms around his neck, pulling herself against him. He received her gladly, embracing her waist and growling his appreciation as she nipped at his lower lip. Before they could lose themselves to each other, however, there was a knock at the door.

'Hey, sis? Mom says to stop canoodling and get down to dinner. I've put one of dad's nagagi by the door.'

Kagome drew back with a sheepish grin before calling out her thanks to Souta. They heard him stumbling back down the stairs in a hurry, before he called for them to hurry up because he couldn't take anymore of their mothers talk of canoodling. Sesshoumaru released her, and the sudden loss of his warmth made her realize how cold she actually was. She gathered some clothes for herself, handed him his change of attire and skipped off to the bathroom to change. She did not really trust herself to be able to focus on her own clothes when Sesshoumaru was effectively stripping not three feet from her.

She joined her family at the diner table, blushing and still grinning slightly. Her mother pursed her lips at her, throwing her a knowing look. A few moments later, Sesshoumaru entered the kitchen, dressed in a midnight blue kimono. There wasn't a hair out of place and looking at him, no one would know he had been waterlogged scant minutes before. He silently took the place that Kagome indicated and thanked Miss Higurashi as she served him. Kagome was amazed at him and her family at the ease of it all, but decided to do nothing but bask in the warmth of her loved ones.