A/N: This is something I thought of late at night when I couldn't sleep. I finished Inuyasha: Final Act a couple of days ago and I feel so inspired and complete-it's like my childhood can rest in peace knowing that Inuyasha is finished with a happy ending. So this is an idea I got of scene between Inuyasha and Kagome during the night of their reunion. Hope you like it!

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Inuyasha...but if I did *devilish grin* Oh the things I would make him do...MWUUAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAA

The full moon cast itself over the horizon, and Inuyasha rushed to Kaede's hut faster than he wanted to. It was hard, he admitted, to keep up his stoic demeanor when a certain someone was inside waiting for him.

Waiting for me…Kagome…

He landed on the base of her steps just as Kaede slid the door to a close. "Hey, hag!" he stopped her. "Why are you closing Kagome's door?"

"Lady Kagome is tired, Inuyasha, and ye dare not disturb her after making such a surprising journey back here. The houshi and taijiya's children have indeed played out all of her energy. She has a lot to catch up on, so ye should give her some space."

But Inuyasha was unmoved, and stared down the old miko while crossing his arms in defiance. "Move or I'll move you, old hag. I have just a right as anybody to see her."

"Have ye two not rekindled enough earlier?" Then she sighed. "I guess it can't be helped. With friends and acquaintances around longing to greet a returning Kagome, it would be hard to have the alone time ye so desperately seek."

Inuyasha narrowed his gaze while trying desperately to fight the surfacing blush. "Just…just let me through, alright?"

Kaede smiled and walked aside for her hanyou friend. She knew more than anyone what the cursed time apart had done to Inuyasha, and she knew how the young miko's presence affected him. Every night for the past three years he slept alone underneath the stars as his friends slept peacefully in the village. Hopefully, he would no longer have to sleep alone tonight.

She chuckled to herself as she thought. "Ah…the tired mind of an old woman has no boundaries, does it?"

Inuyasha raised his brow before stepping inside. "Huh?"

"Don't mind me, Inuyasha. Just enter and have the time with young Kagome ye need," and she left.

Weird old lady… he shook his head and entered, being first greeted by the small fire burning in a pit in the middle of the room. A small silhouette was shadowed against the wall, and a strong yet familiar scent wafted heavily through the air.

"Inuyasha, I knew you'd come…"

He froze. Kagome…

She loosened herself from her bedroll and laid on top of it, ignoring the sudden breeze dancing across her legs. "Everyone else headed off to bed for the night," she continued. "I was beginning to feel lonely."

Fighting the urge to run to her, he made his way over to the back wall and sat cautiously behind where she lay. It was not his first time seeing her that day, for everyone huddled around her constantly while they made their way through the village. But this time, they were truly alone, and it finally hit Inuyasha with full force:

She had returned.

"Can you help me out here," she spoke again, "it kinda feels as if I'm talking to myself."

"Kaede said you were tired," he finally made out, "and that you probably needed rest."

"My body is fine," but a yawn escaping her lips contradicted her.

"Fine, huh?"

"It's just a yawn," she tried to cover. "And besides…I couldn't fall asleep even if I wanted to."

"And why's that?"

"A homecoming's too exciting to sleep through. I want to enjoy every second of this day before it's over."

A shock coursed through his veins when he heard her utter those words: homecoming. Did this mean that she considered this world her home now? Did this mean that she was going to stay?

"Sota sort of misses you," she began again, laughing to herself and sucking him out of his thoughts. "I know, weird huh? He jumped through the well one day, wondering if it would work for him. Hm, good thing it didn't. My mother does, too, and even though you annoy Gramps a lot, I can tell he sort of feels the same."

"Your family was happy to have you back," he lingered, making it more a statement rather than a question.

"Very. And I missed them, too. Despite being apart from you, I was able to make them happy, and finally complete my school work. No more textbooks to carry, can you believe it?" she smiled.

"I guess it's what you needed, then."

"Mm. I felt such resentment for the jewel because of what it did. But now I realize the power I needed to return was in my heart all along."

Inuyasha sat in silence absorbing in her words. "If I blindly followed suit," she continued, "I would have probably lived such a different life. I might have gone off to university, started a career, married…" but she ended her thoughts, for a sharp pain singed in her chest. Living a life beside anyone else that wasn't Inuyasha was impossible to imagine.

Inuyasha clenched the fists tucked inside his yukata. It was unbearable to imagine Kagome marrying another, even if he had no rightful claim to her. "Kagome, while you were in your time...have there been...others?"

There was a long pause, and he noticed the slow rise and fall in her chest. She was so calm lying there, and the lithe form was just as he imagined her every night that he spent alone. He felt as if he as was going to die from the tension until her soft voice spoke again. "I have never loved anyone else, Inuyasha. You're the only one who is ever able to touch my heart. I'm sorry I've been gone for so long. I probably left you lonely. Forgive me."

Kagome...

It's not as if the thought had never crossed the hanyou's mind. It's not as if she had never said those words before, but hearing her pronounce them so boldly, so proudly, made his heart swarm with emotion. It was what he missed about her most: her ability reach inside of him and touch him so deeply.

"I had no right to keep you here," he spoke low, "not when your family was in so much pain. I wasn't gonna have that guilt in me at night. You deserved to be in a place surrounded by people who love you."

"...Aren't I not in a place like that now, surrounded by those who love me? I want to believe that's true..."

Inuyasha noticed the sharp shift in her scent, and knew all of what she was thinking. He set Tetsusaiga aside, and with bolstering his resolve he rose to his knees to lie cautiously beside her, elbow supporting his weight, and back pressed against hers.

"But could I have been so selfish as to keep you with me when there were others who needed you just as bad?"

"No, you couldn't, and I understand that. But I couldn't deny what was in my heart any longer... I needed to see you."

He felt her shift against him, and soon delicate fingers snaked across his waist and a deep warmth was brought inside of him.

"Usually you are more selfish than this," she said with a muffled breath.

"Can you blame me?"

"I can try."

He found himself grabbing onto her hands and pressing them tightly to his chest. It was hard to deny the want he had for her after so long.

"Kagome... I promised to protect you with my life, and that promise still stands. But protecting you also means protecting your happiness. I need to make sure I'm doing that, too."

Could you truly be happy with me, Kagome?

She read the thoughts of the one she knew all too well and snuggled her head deeper into his silver mane. "You can't protect me from you, Inuyasha. You can't protect me from my heart."

"Am I...really what you want?" he slipped, meaning for the thought to stay locked inside his mind.

He heard a laugh in her voice, which threw him off more than before. "Yes, but your concern for me is getting irritating. What does Inuyasha want? After three years, I want to know what you are feeling."

He couldn't argue with her anymore. It was a confession she needed to hear, one he needed to give. Inuyasha turned, needing to see her reaction more than anything. It was strange how the girl who made him the most anxious was the one he could confess the most to. He slid his thumb across her knuckles, amber eyes meeting a deep brown.

"I want you, Kagome. I need to be with you, always... Is that selfish enough?"

The young miko smiled, a sight he missed way more than he let on, and moved a slow and steady palm across his cheek, fighting the tears that were beginning to swell. "Yes, just what I was hoping for."

Inuyasha pulled her arm closer to him, wrapping hanyou claws around her waist and letting her sink into his chest. The folds of his haori draped over her, sealing in her warmth and protecting her from the world, just as Inuyasha longed for all these years.

"You are frustrating, you know that?" he growled as he nestled his chin on top of her head.

"I know that. But you make me that way."

"Keh..." and he held her tighter, enjoying the opportunity to soak in her scent to imprint into his memory once again.

Damn it, Kagome, you were right... I don't have the strength to let you go again.

A/N: Ah...Imagine how lonely Inuyasha must have felt those three years alone. Watching the last episode made me cry so much, so I just had to post this story. I really hoped you liked it!

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