Mr Brightside

by TheMadKatter13

SUMMARY~Unrequited love is always difficult. Especially when she's in love with your brother. AU. Sesshoumaru/Kagome.

DISCLAIMER~The rights to Inuyasha reside with Takahashi Rumiko and I receive no financial gain from the writing of this story.

AN~Second to last chapter and I plan on there being a LOT of drama. Also, according to Anil on Dokuga, the story is more exciting with the orchestral theme from the 4th movie playing (especially when Sesshoumaru runs away) sooo...there's that to try...

16 Open Up My Eager Eyes

Kagome didn't know how long she had been suspicious of Inuyasha's attentions turning elsewhere, but it had been a while in coming. Almost as long as the night she had discovered the true father of her child. After the depression of feeling like you husband was ignoring you turned to knowing he was avoiding you, the sadness faded and all she felt when she thought of Inuyasha now was a numbness in her heart. She wanted to know the truth and she doubted any of the other three main males in her life were going to tell her. They would never want to hurt her and this information would be devastating. Or would it? She wasn't so sure anymore.

So, one day, she decided to put it to the test. She told everyone that she was going to be leaving for several hours and drove her car away, parking it where they wouldn't think to look. Their senses couldn't find everything, especially when they were expecting something else, and she never lied to them before. Once she was sure Touga wasn't there, and that Sesshoumaru and Katsuya had left, she crept out of her car and through the wooded area back to her home. She was almost there when Kikyou's car peeled in to the spot right in front of the door, spraying gravel as she went. She shook her head and sighed. Her cousin couldn't even drive nice. When she was alone. She stayed where she was for several minutes, letting everything settle before creeping forward, hiding her aura and staying on her tip toes.

When she finally reached her house, the door was unlocked and opened silently under her fingers. She paused when it was cracked, listening hard for any noises. There were none that she could tell in at least the foyer or the living room. She crept in further, leaving the door open behind her. She tiptoed through the foyer towards the end of the wall that separated her sight from the dining room and the attached kitchen, familiar-type sounds filtering into her ears the closer she got. Heavy breathing, moaning, the sound of skin on skin, and then ear-splitting screams that made her jump. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and snuck a peek around the corner.

Kikyou was laying on the dining room table, her dress split down the middle, her heaving chest exposed, her legs spread wide for Inuyasha's pistoning hips. Her eyes fell closed and she drew back, sneaking back out the foyer, leaving the door cracked so she could get a clean getaway. As soon as her feet hit the gravel, she sprinted back to the forest line, slipping between the trees with ease until she was back into her car. Once there, she just sat on the seat, breathing heavily from her run. Her chest was empty though, hollow. She had gone through this during high school after Kikyou had woken from her coma, and again before Katsuya was born, and then tonight. Unless she asked, she wouldn't be able to know for sure how long this had been going on for but as she examined her husband's behaviour for the last several years, she knew deep in her heart this had been going on for some time. She wanted to cry. She did. But they weren't coming. Nothing was.

This was it for them. He had been distancing himself from her so much in recent years, now she knew it was from his long-time affair. And here she was feeling guilty for that one night, and for the feelings she had been developing over the last decade for someone else. Feelings she made sure to keep hidden from everyone, including herself for the longest time. Apparently it wouldn't have mattered either way. She was shaken from her stupor by a shrill ringing and she was surprised to find that night had fallen outside her little car. Her phone rang again and when she went to go pick it up, she found her hands were shaking violently and she was barely able to answer the call, and she knew it was going to be Sesshoumaru without looking at the screen.

"Where are you?" She would have laughed at the concerned, protective voice. If she could.

"The service road to the south of the house." There was a click and then a shadow at her door, and then it was opening, dark gold eyes peering down at her.

"Are you alright, Kagome?" She wanted the smooth baritone of his voice to calm her like it normally did but it wasn't having an effect this time. She looked up at him, finding that only now were tears forming in her eyes. She gave a weak chuckle and tried to turn from the car but found her limbs wouldn't obey her.

"I can't move, Sesshoumaru. I can't move," she mumbled. Even as she spoke though, she knew her body was shaking uncontrollably. Frowning, he leaned in and pulled her into his arms and out of the car and it was in that moment that she broke down into tremendous sobs. "Please, don't take me home. I don't want to be there any more." His arms tightened around her and as the wind rushed against her body, her tears dried out, and so did she.

~X~

When she awoke again, it was in a room that she recognized, but hadn't been in for more than a decade. The bed made her feel safe, comfortable, and she didn't want to leave, but she knew she had to face the day. And judging by the light from the window, it was already a new day. A warm body was snuggled into her and she smiled down at her son, taking a moment to hug him back, to delight in the fact that he was hers and that he loved her.

"You're squishing me, momma." He hadn't called her that in a long time and it made her hold on all the tighter.

"You're half youkai. You can take it so shut up." Her boy laughed and held her back until a knock sounded at the door. She tensed immediately and then sighed before rolling out of bed and walking slowly to the door. Her hand stopped on the handle and she was so close to not opening it, to just going back into her bed, laying down, and sleeping for a week when a small clawed one slipped into her other palm, and she looked down to find her beautiful son, hers and Sesshoumaru's son, smiling up at her encouragingly as he gave a her fingers a gentle squeeze. She gave a simultaneous sigh-and-smile and opened the door like she was ripping off a band-aid and the sight on the other side went a long way towards a healing balm: Touga's warm, smiling face.

"We have breakfast prepared, if you are hungry," he offered, voice soft, unassuming. She blinked once, letting his countenance, his calm acceptance, sink in, and then she broke down into fresh tears, throwing himself into his awaiting arms. She was lifted easily into his arms and he took her down stairs, Katsuya keeping his hand in hers the whole way. When Touga reached the last stair, Sesshoumaru was there waiting for them, and he took her into his own arms. At this point, their son did release her hand and she wrapped both arms around his neck, clutching tightly. He let a rumbling growl build in his chest, the calming sound passing easily from his chest to hers as he sat down to allow their son to groom her hair with his claws, another inu calming practice. Under their ministrations, she slowly calmed, her tears drying, her panicked breaths calming. All three males watched her intently as she unfolded from herself and she blushed under their searching gazes even as she furiously wiped the remainder of her tears away.

"I'm sorry guys," she mumbled, scrubbing at her face. She moved to crawl from Sesshoumaru's lap to her own chair but his arm was suddenly tight around her waist, keeping her anchored. She blushed heavily but didn't resist any further. Katusya took up took up a post at her shoulder, continuing to comb her hair with his claws to keep her calm, relaxed.

"It is quite all right, Kagome," Touga spoke up from by the stove as he fixed her a plate of all of her favourite foods and placed it in front of her with a grin and a flourish. She picked up her chopsticks, poking at the food and occasionally placing a small piece in her mouth, entirely unenthusiastic about the prospect of eating. "Would you like to share what it is that upset you so?" Her chopsticks froze in mid-lift to her mouth and then placed them so exactly on her plate, it took a moment to realize her fingers were trembling. She folded her hands in her lap and bowed her head, staring intently at them.

"I am going to-" she paused to take a deep breath and blurted the words out with her exhale, "-divorce Inuyasha." She waited for some sort of reaction but her son's claws did not stop, Sesshoumaru's grip did not tighten or loosen, and Touga made no sound. She peeked up at Touga from under her lashes and bangs, the other two males firmly behind her, and he was just looking at her, waiting patiently. "You aren't surprised." It wasn't a question.

"No." She was surprised at Sesshoumaru's soft rumble. She wanted to be surprised that they already knew but she knew that they knew. She shook her head lightly, unable to bring up any emotion past the numbness coating her insides.

"And I know it's too much to ask but, while the legal proceedings are going through, I was hoping that Katsuya and I may take up a room here in your home Touga. I will do anything to earn my keep and we'll leave as soon as I can get back on my feet." A loud laugh shocked her and forced her head up with a snap, and she was surprised to find Touga bent in half with the force of his laughter.

"Silly girl," he finally forced out through his chuckles. "You have always been welcome in my home and now is no different. There is no need for repayment of any kind, Kagome. You have been a part of my pack almost since I first met you, and pack always supports pack. You've always had a room here and you're welcome to it as long as you want or need it." She smiled, a blush staining her cheeks even as tears of gratitude fell from her eyes.

"Thank you, papa. Thank you."

TBC

So...I'm hoping that I got her feelings clear on the whole matter, and her overall lack of response to it. And there wasn't a reason for a whole blowout between her and the other three. She knows that they know, and they know that she knows they know. Nobody is stupid. To be clear though, the only thing they don't know she knows is Katsuya's father. They still think she thinks it's Inuyasha. Next chapter is our final/Epilogue-type so don't forget to review!

Update next week.