The Affair

A/N: Ok, well, me and "Inuyasha" broke up. For good. We're just not working out. But I think I'll give myself a happy ending here. *fake smile* But he's going to be here for Noah. There's that, at least. I think he'll be a good father for my boy.



So. We shall continue "The Affair."

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You're a part-time lover and a full-time friend.

I don't see what anyone could see

In anyone else

But you.



- The Moldy Peaches, "Anyone Else But You."

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Chapter 16: The New Life, the Good Life.



Kagome stretched as much as her body would allow, but she stopped and smiled when she felt her foot graze an unfamiliar leg. She turned over, careful of her casted arm, and gazed at the snoozing hanyou laying in the bed beside her. Kagome snuggled her head into Inuyasha's bare chest. He shifted a little, making a sighing noise.



The hospital had released Kagome just the day before, after keeping her there for a week for observation. They determined that there was no brain damage, just a mild concussion and an enormous bump. They put her arm in a cast and sling and sent her home with some painkillers, telling her to take it easy. She invited Inuyasha to stay with her and Shippo for a while. The night before had been their first night sleeping in the same bed since Kagome left Japan.



Inuyasha opened his eyes and watched her. She lifted her hand up and started drawing swirls and writing words on his flat stomach. He smiled and chuckled, his chest bouncing and rumbling. She giggled softly, closing her eyes and taking it all in. "This is amazing," she mumured, kissing his chest. "I keep thinking that I'm about to open my eyes and wake up alone."



He laughed. "Same here," he said.



Suddenly, they heard the thunder of small feet running against the hardwood floors. Kagome giggled and dived under the blankets; Inuyasha watched her, sitting up and asking, "What the hell, koi?"



Shippo sprang out of nowhere, landing gracefully on the bed with a triumphant look on his face. "Dad!" he yelled. "It is SO great to find you in here with Mom instead of stupid old Hojo!" He made a disgusted face. Inuyasha laughed at his son and ruffled the boy's hair. He blinked when he found the pup's ears, and then he laughed again at his surprise.



Kagome had gotten out of the bed and was starting to dress. She smiled at her two boys. "Inuyasha, why don't you take Shippo to the park or the zoo? I'm sure the two of you could use some male bonding time." She made a soft laugh.



Her mate got out of the bed and stood there beside it in his boxers. "And what will you do today?"



"I have to run down to the courthouse before we open, and then I've got two appointments," she told him. "It's getting close to graduation time around here."



He nodded and looked at Shippo. "So, runt, which one do you feel like? The park or the zoo?"



The boy shrugged his shoulders. "I don't really care. I've been to both with Mom, like, a GAZILLION times." He looked at his mother meaningfully, which pulled yet another surprised laugh from Inuyasha. He hadn't expected his son to be so welcoming of him; it was almost as though he had always been here for them. 'Which, to a point, I was,' he thought. 'I just wasn't HERE here.'



Inuyasha agreed to take Shippo to both the park and the zoo, and he sent to boy off to get dressed.



With their son out of the room, Inuyasha took the opportunity awaiting him. Kagome had disappeared into the bathroom to take a shower, and he followed slyly, his long dormant mischeivous side getting the better of him once more. Without knocking or waiting for an invitation, he slid quietly into the running shower, coming to stand right behind his bathing mate.



She was a truly magnificent sight, he thought as he surveyed her. He loved the sight of her completely nude body; her long, slim yet muscular legs. Her soft, olive skin; he could practically feel the warmth radiating from her. Her wet, raven hair was stuck to her back with moisture, and it gleamed and shined in the fluorescent bathroom light.



Kagome turned right then, licking her lips, and she smirked at her mate. "Inuyasha," she said, her tone a little reproachful. When he didn't meet her gaze, she looked down, realizing that he was caught up in the sight of her naked breasts. She stood there under the running water for a minute before finally taking his chin and pulling his eyes up to meet her own. He grinned sheepishly, flushing a light pink. "I'm sorry," he murmured, but she only kissed him.



"It's all right," she told him, and he leaned in for another kiss. It started off small, as most kisses do, but it quickly deepened. Kagome moaned loudly into Inuyasha's mouth as she felt his tongue graze over hers, and he grasped her shoulders roughly, pulling her into his embrace.



Suddenly, there was banging on the door, and Shippo was yelling, "Hey, Mom! Dad disappeared again!"



The pair broke apart almost instantly, and Inuyasha silently thanked the gods that he had thought to lock the door behind him. Kagome giggled. "Don't worry, babe!" she called back to him. "Just... go downstairs and look around the studio for him! I'll be out in a minute to help you look!"



"Okay!" They listened as the thunder of the boy's footsteps faded into the rest of the building.



Kagome turned and shut off the shower, smiling at Inuyasha's disappointed grunts. "Aw! C'mon, Kagome! A quickie! Just gimme fifteen minutes!"



"He's just as fast as you are, Inuyasha!" she replied with a hint of exasperation in her tone. "Besides, I REALLY need to make it to the courthouse." She started to pull her clothes back on. After a moment of intense glaring, her mate joined her, pulling on a pair of his blue jeans.



"What do you need to do at the courthouse anyway?"



"File for a divorce," she shot back. "Duh." That earned her another glare as he shoved his muscular upper body into a t-shirt.



"So you haven't even FILED yet?"



That was when Kagome turned and gave him a look from hell. "How long was I in a relationship when YOU were married, eh, Inuyasha?" she demanded to know, poking him hard in the chest. He made a grumpy face, taking a step back and rubbing the spot where she'd poked him. "I get your point. I just..." He sighed, unable to put into words this feeling he had now when he looked at her and thought of her being married to another man.



She leaned against the sink, the plastic still wrapped around her casted arm. "You're just a little jealous, aren't you?" she asked him.



He scoffed, rolling his eyes and stepping to the door. "I'm much more than a little jealous, woman," he retorted. Inuyasha looked her up and down, and he gave her a small, gentle smile. "You're a lot of woman. Not just any man can give you the treatment you deserve." He twisted the knob and pulled on the door, finding Shippo standing on the other side, tapping one foot impatiently.



"I KNEW it," he said, glaring at them.



Kagome and Inuyasha looked at each other and busted out into loud laughter.

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Two years after that, when Shippo ws eight, Kagome and Inuyasha finally tied the knot. It was a small ceremony; Kagome's mother and little brother flew in from Japan, as did Sesshomaru and Rin. Sango, Miroku, Kenji, and Akiko made it, of course, as did the newly married couple, Ayame and Kouga. Inuyasha joked about inviting Kikyo, but he stopped once Kagome smacked his arm hard enough.



Ten years passed. Kagome's business flourished, and Inuyasha helped her with it, doing mostly behind-the-scenes computer work. He taught Shippo a lot of it.



Things were going very well for the little family. Shippo grew into a heathly, well-adjusted young man, despite some teasing in his younger years over his mixed breeding, but a few calls to the superintendent of the school district and the other parents helped with that. He played football and soccer, and he was in the top ten percent of his graduating class. He was going to be going off to college that fall...



But then that day happened.



It had begun normal enough. Inuyasha had cooked a masterful breakfast for his small family; it was a Tuesday, two weeks since Shippo's high school graduation. The pup sat across the table from his mother, who was asking him some very personal questions while she continued eating.



"She's busy that night, Mom," the quarter-demon told her, his cheeks turning a little red.



Kagome gave her son an exasperated look. Shippo wondered for a moment, 'Does she know she's talking to me right now and not Dad?' "Look," she said to Shippo, "I just think that it's about time we met this girl. How long have you been seeing Ari?"



Shippo looked away from her, chewing on a slice of bacon. "About seven months now," he replied honestly.



"I think seven months is plenty of time to prepare her for the parental interrogation," Inuyasha told his son from where he stood by the stove, still making pancakes.



"But, see, that's just it, Dad!" Shippo said, getting a little aggravated. "It shouldn't BE an interrogation! I really like Ari!"



Inuyasha held his hands up as Kagome stood and took her empty plate to the sink. She started the water running and began to wash the grease off the plate. She smiled at her mate as he stepped toward Shippo. "Look, son," he said.



But he didn't get a chance to finish. The two men heard a crash, and Inuyasha spun, Shippo leaping to his feet. Kagome lay sprawled on the floor, the broken plate on the floor beside her.

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dum Dum DUM!!! Cliffhangerrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. See, I no good at them. But it seems to be the crazy trend with authors these days, so I figure, what the hell?



More later:



Chapter 17: The Decision.