Chapter 2

The cacophony of loud and startled voices was almost as deafening as the previous silence had been.

"Oi! Asshole, what the hell do you think you're doing?"

"Kagome? What's wrong with Kagome?"

"Mama!?"

"Does this mean that Kagome is Rin's mama, too?"

"I need more saké!"

His voice a low growl, Sesshoumaru made himself heard, "Rin, you and Shippou will take command of hosting duties. I shall take the miko outside for some fresh air. Mother, do try and behave yourself until I have the opportunity to speak with you on the topic." With that, Sesshoumaru swept from the chamber, Kagome held firmly in his arms.

With a word to a passing servant, Sesshoumaru strode quickly to a bench in the snow-covered garden. The warmth from his body and mokomoko wound about Kagome would keep her from feeling the cold. The servant appeared soon after with a tray holding cups, water, and a kettle of tea. With a bow, the tray was left beside him and the servant went back to the hall.

Sesshoumaru lightly nuzzled at Kagome's hair then placed his nose at the juncture of her neck. Her scent was free from illness or harm. Likely she had just been overwhelmed. Perhaps the combination of the suddenness of the announcement and a bit too much saké.

"Miko, you must awaken," rumbled Sesshoumaru as he patted her hand. "Miko…Kagome. Wake up." Kagome began to stir.

"What? No, just five more minutes," she mumbled. Her lashes fluttered as her eyes slowly opened. "Sesshoumaru? What's going on? I must have fallen asleep. I had the weirdest dream," she said, with a self-conscious laugh. "Don't get mad at me for presumption, but I dreamt your mother was here and you told her we were going to be mated. Isn't that weird?"

Sesshoumaru gave her first a cup of water, then a cup of hot tea. "That was not a dream, miko. That is what happened. By the laws of both youkai and humans, we are wed and, except for the last step, mated."

"No, no that can't be right? Did I miss the ceremony? I don't recall a priest, or 3 sets of three bowls, or walking around in a circle, or going to a courthouse or, well, anything like that," questioned Kagome. "You must be so upset. Wait a minute - you aren't acting upset. You are actually looking," she peered up into his face, trying to decipher his impassive visage. "If I didn't know any better, I'd guess you were pleased by this. What the heck, Sesshoumaru!" She started to wiggle, trying to get out of his lap. "Dude, let me up!"

With a slight smirk, Sesshoumaru held her firmly in place, removing the tea cup so it wouldn't spill. "No, I don't think I will. Miko," at that word, she scowled at him. He corrected his address, "Kagome. While this was not precisely the way I had intended to present my suit, this Sesshoumaru is far from displeased at the outcome. In the eyes of pack and court we are wed. The plan had been to offer to court you after this celebration, and then to propose at the new lunar year, assuming the official agreements could be made. However, this is acceptable. All parties reached agreement quickly. You are my mate and my wife now." His smirk broadened into a pleased and smug smile. "This was perhaps even better than my initial plan, as we do not need to wait."

Kagome wiggled even harder to get out of his lap. Her expression was far from pleased. "Hold it right there, Buster! We are NOT married or mated or whatever you want to call it! No one ASKED me! I can't be married without giving consent. It's a thing, ya know." She paused in her rant to process his words, stilling her movements. "Just a sec, you were already planning on asking me before this? You….want me? As your wife? Where did that come from?"

"It has been so for quite a while. I enjoy your company. I did not want you to leave last year. I had hoped that this year you would stay, as my mate or at least as my betrothed. I care for you a great deal, Kagome. And yes, I do indeed want you."

His eyes took on a slightly red cast with those words. Holding her head still, he placed his lips upon hers, lightly at first. At her gasped inhale, he took the opportunity to deepen the kiss, slipping his tongue inside her mouth, thoroughly exploring it. She broke away, breathing heavily. "Wow! Ummm, I mean, umm, wow!" she said, somewhat inarticulately.

"I want you. More than that, I need you. I want to be the one to go to sleep with you beside me. I want to wake up next to you. To share forever with you. To make a family with you. While Mother witnessing my initial declaration may have hastened our union, it was not a mistake. Is there no possibility that you feel the same?"

Kagome looked into Sesshoumaru's eyes. It felt like she was delving into his soul. "I like you. I like spending time with you. I was really looking forward to hanging out with you after all the other guests are gone. But you hadn't given me a clue that you were interested in me that way. This isn't the way people get married in my home. I'm kind of confused about what happened. How can we be married already? I don't even know what to think or what to do."

Sesshoumaru pondered her words as he turned and placed her on the bench beside him. "If we were in your time, how would a marriage agreement be negotiated? Perhaps we can allocate some time and accommodate your customs. It will not change our status, but it may help you adjust and allow me to better understand you."

Kagome covered her face with both hands, trying to understand his words. "Well, first we would meet, maybe by going to school together, or our friends might introduce us. We'd hang out together in a group, doing fun things. If we got along well, we might then go out on dates, just the two of us. We'd talk and get to know one another. If things went well, we might start holding hands. Eventually, one of us would confess to liking the other a lot, or even being in love. Then we'd probably kiss. Probably a lot of kissing. We'd meet each other's families. Maybe we would ask permission to marry, because my family is very traditional. But maybe we'd just tell them we'd decided, because I'm very independent. Then after a long while, maybe a year so we could save money, we'd have a traditional ceremony at my family shrine, then we'd probably take my name off the family koseki and add it to yours. Then we'd go on a honeymoon, move in together, and after that start our lives together."

Sesshoumaru contemplated all the steps involved in her recitation. "We met through your friends and my brother. I am not sure what is meant by 'hang out' or 'dates', but we did spend time together during the fight against the spider."

"Yeah, we did," interrupted Kagome, "but for most of that, you weren't exactly friendly. And 'hanging out' means to spend time together in a casual way. Just because you enjoy each other's company. Dates are more planned activities to explore interests and be romantic."

"True, we did not start off as friendly as we became later. Toward the end, we were at the very least allies. Certainly we were more than that once you returned to us through the well. While you were gone, I … missed you. I thought of you, often. By last midwinter, I felt we were closer. I had hoped that by placing you by my side, as hostess for the celebration, you would understand my intent. In the weeks after, when we spoke, played Go and Shogi, when I consulted with you as to the running of my household and territory, would those be dates? I know I enjoyed your company, your conversation. While I cannot meet your family in the future, we know each other's families here and now. We have shared meals and our children see us as a unit, as pack. Your son, my daughter, my mother all approve. We have drunk saké together in agreement. I am happy to supply more kisses and hold your hand as often as you would like. Your name is to be added to the family registration. You are mostly moved into my home. All that is left is a ceremony. We can plan for that and make it happen as soon as possible."

"Well, when you put it like that, I guess, yeah we kind of have done all the steps. But, I'm not used to thinking of you like that. No, that's not really accurate. I…thought about you. I just didn't think that you thought of me and well, I mean… Absolutely, you are hot…I mean, attractive, gorgeous. I enjoy spending time with you, too. I just…I don't…I guess…" Kagome lost her train of thought as Sesshoumaru stared into her eyes, leaned in, and captured her lips again. She lost herself in the sensation, feeling warm and tingly.

After many minutes of kissing, she broke away. "Okay."

"Okay?" he repeated. "What does that mean, exactly?"

"Oh, it can mean a bunch of things, but for right now, it means I'm okay….err….comfortable with exploring our relationship. I'm not ready for what your mom seems to want us to do," she blushed as she said this, "but I like you. I like this, whatever it is, between us. You said you were planning to court me and then propose at the Lunar New Year, right? Can we take that time, now that I know that you like me? We could plan a ceremony, get closer, give me a chance to wrap my head around things? I guess I understand that somehow, we accidently got married - and I'm still not sure how that happened. But I'm going to need more time to process."

"We can do that. And then you will tell me how to procure a 'honeymoon' for you. I do not want to lack as a provider."

Kagome laughed. Sesshoumaru stood up, held out his hand. Together they walked back inside, hand in hand, out of the cold garden. Kagome explained what a honeymoon was, with much blushing on her part, and much interest on his.