Satoru stifles a yawn as he scrolls through his phone. None of the houses so far fit what he is envisioning. He doesn't want much, just something with at least three bedrooms, a backyard, maybe a balcony, and a decent-sized kitchen wouldn't hurt. They could move to the Gojo estate, but eh- then they would have to deal with all the servants and noisy relatives, which would be a buzz kill. No privacy would just make him cranky.

"You coming?" Kagome asks. The silk robe clings to each dip of her curves, and for a moment he's tempted to ask for a round two. He really loves the color green on her, but she's staring at him with concern. Is it because he elected to kick off the rest of his clothes and chill on the couch naked? Oh yeah, she asked a question and he should probably answer.

"Only if you do," he replies, his lips tilting upward as he scrolls to the perfect house. At 180,000,000 Yen, the house is practically a steal. He'll have to make sure that the agent leaves out how much it costs until after they sign the paperwork. She would probably say that it is too much, even though money isn't an issue for him.

"Perv," she huffs out, turning on her heel.

"Be there in a sec!" He types in his information. Schedules a visit for tomorrow morning. A part of him is annoyed—well, pissed that the school was attacked. But a small part of him is also okay with having a couple of days off while the students recover. He and Gome-chan can look at a couple of houses and do some digging around about the Shikon jewel. He sets the phone down on the coffee table and heads to the master bath. "What's with all the bubbles?" He gives Kagome a lopsided smile, taking in how she's covered in bubbles with her hair piled on top of her head in a messy bun.

"No reason."

"You dropped the container," he teases. A jolt of desire passes through him at her appraisal. He tells himself that he's stretching because his muscles need it, not because he's showing off. Even though it's so cute how flustered she gets.

"Noo." She sinks down lower as though some bubbles can hide her from him. He steps into the shower. The jets of water hit the stress in his shoulders, easing some of the tension away. For a moment, there's only the sound of running water hitting the shower floor and his own soft breathing. He doesn't towel himself off. Instead, he joins her in the bath, stepping in behind her. It's a snug fit with both of them, but it makes no difference. They could be in an onsen and he'd still drape himself over her.

"Glad you're feeling better." He wraps his arms around her waist, spreads his legs out, and pulls her in closer.

"I think the Shikon was trying to warn me."

"About that," he says, resting his chin on her head—messing up her bun even more. "You talk about it like it–"

"Has feelings? Yeah, even though it merged with me, the Shikon still feels as though it has its own mind." She places a soapy hand on his. "I feel it beat more when I'm around you. That curse with the patchwork face could touch the Jewel. I'm guessing because his thing is manipulating souls."

"He didn't go after you today. Possible that Naraku is pulling the strings." There are too many variables floating around that just do not sit right with him. Despite everyone's agreement to keep what happened today under wraps, Satoru would not put it past Gakuganji to spin some tale to the higher-ups about Kagome. It's actually surprising that he has yet to receive any summons back to the estate. He figured Naoya would have blabbed about him having a fiancé by now.

"Maybe. We don't know how long Naraku has been in this world. I thought he had found peace when we destroyed the Shikon in my world." She shifts, the water sloshes between them. A few stray bubbles cling to her. "Yakeru may give us some more answers without Yuji around."

"Smart. Anything revealed around Yuji, Sukuna will know about too." He presses a kiss behind her ear, breathing in the floral smell of the bubbles and freshness of her. "I made an appointment for tomorrow morning."

"Sounds ominous." She chuckles. Her fingers trace the infinity symbol into his hands. "Doctor's appointment?"

"It's for a house. Hoping that the house we see tomorrow is the one." He'd look at a dozen if he has to.

"What's wrong with the apartment?"

"Nothing. Figured we would want more room and a backyard for whenever Megumi and Buyo Jr come to visit." He strokes her stomach. It never ceases to amaze him how one so soft can house so much power. "And a bigger kitchen, and living room, and bedroom," he trails off.

"He does like Megumi. I know what your scheme is. You can't pull one over on me."

Satoru gasps. Him, pull a trick? "I do not scheme. I have only the purest of intentions."

"Now, I'm scared." Kagome shudders, shaking her head.

Perhaps he was too gentle with her earlier.

"Rude." He unwraps his arms from around her waist, trails his hands up and down her sides. He moves faster than necessary- any hesitation in his touch would give her an opening, and tickles her underneath her arms. She squeals as she tries to move away from him. Some of the water gets onto the floor. There're bubbles sticking to him now. He's drunk on her laughter and the weightlessness of being in the moment.

"I yield, I yield!" He pulls her closer to him, secures her arms because he knows her too.

"You can make it up to me," he says.

"Uh, you attacked me."

"Self-defense." He tilts his head down and tilts hers to the side. "One kiss."

"You don't even deserve one," she whispers but meets him for one, anyway. He never thought himself to be a romantic or anything sappy like that, but her lips are as soft as rose petals. Sometimes he has to stop himself and make sure he isn't flying from each breathless sigh that escapes from her lips. "Why do you really want to get a house?"

"I think it's pretty obvious that I want to build a life with you." He rubs his thumb along her bottom lip, pulling it down slightly. "The apartment is fine, but it's something that I got way before you. I want something that's us. I even looked into buying a shrine, but the upkeep—" Kagome turns around and places a finger to his lips. Her legs go on either side of him until she's sitting on his lap. She moves her finger and cups his face, taking his breath away.

"You're the sweetest."

"Must be from all the chocolate I eat," he quips. "Kagome?"

"Satoru."

"You don't have to say it back," he says, his heart rate speeds up. His ears burn, which if she brings it up, he'll blame it on the steam rising from the bath. He laughs as he looks everywhere but at her. No fear, he reminds himself—the life of a sorcerer is too short to be ruled by such an emotion. And with everything going on, he does not want to live a life full of regrets. He meets her attentive gaze and lets out a shaky breath. "I love you. It's okay if you don't…" He blinks as she takes his hand and kisses each knuckle.

"You're silly," she replies, "to think for one moment that I don't love you too."

"Should I be worried?"

"Worried?"

"Yeah." Her skin glows a soft pink that's only visible to his six eyes. "That the Shikon loves me too."

"Guess that means you're stuck with me."

"Earlier, you said that you got rid of the one in your world. Why?"

"Well," she says, leaning back. "The demon inside the jewel wanted to be free. Long story short, a priestess named Midoriko and the souls of many demons created the jewel. It could grant power to anyone, but the only ones that could keep it pure were Kikyo and me. It was an unholy jewel. It tainted everyone else that tried to use it."

"This is just a theory, but I don't think this one is evil." He runs his hands down her spine. "We know that the only one that can control it is you. Naraku never made a move against me. He tried to sow seeds of doubt instead."

"He tried to turn me away from you as well," she murmurs. "I doubt he knows that the jewel wants you too."

"No, but if he can get in your head, he controls the Shikon." A flash of worry crosses her face. He places a kiss on each winkle. "Don't worry Gome-chan."

"Why? Because you're the strongest."

"Because you're mine."

A/N: Thank you, everyone, for the kind reviews :) I took a mini-vacay and got another husky puppy lol. If you are wondering what their new house will look like, you can look up: Dragon Well House Kamakura. I just googled homes in Japan. Hope everyone has a great weekend!