Note: It's a very short sequel, I know. I just had the tiniest itty bitty idea and wanted to write it up. Enjoy! Go back and read Strictly Taboo if you want to remember some of what they refer to. Maybe leave a review or two. Hinthinthint.

Kagome's tongue poked out and Inuyasha thought she looked like a parody of herself as she attempted to wedge her shorter-than-short shorts on. His mate jumped up and down a little and wiggled about, not noticing the affect she was having on the still naked half-demon who had been too lazy to get out of bed. As she had not put on a shirt or even a bra, her breasts were bare, the full orbs bouncing enticingly just out of his reach. Inuyasha moved to the edge of the bed, quickly rectifying that problem.

"Nothing fits anymore!" Kagome whined, moving her hips from side to side in a futile effort. "It's only been three months! I only have a tiny bump and yet I can't—get—these—on," she complained, jumping up and down between words. Turning her big gray eyes on her fascinated partner, she whispered, "Help, please."

Still on the bed, lying on his stomach, he brought his hands to her hips and caressed her over the jean material. "Your ass is fucking huge," he marveled in astonished admiration. Inuyasha had been prepared for her boobs and stomach to get bigger. That was to be expected. But her butt? He thought it had been perfect before, but this was certainly a wonderful surprise. She'd make an ass man out of him yet.

Meanwhile, Kagome's eyes filled with angry tears. Nose twitching, he looked up at the girl in question, not knowing why she was suddenly upset but knowing he needed to fix it. Pulling her closer, he kissed her on the bare skin of her mons made visible by the open, straining zipper. The scent of tears dimmed and was replaced by the smell of something he much preferred. Dragging her the short distance back to the bed, he pulled her down next to him and set to work kissing her mouth, going from I-love-you-so-don't-cry sweet little smooches to I-know-we-just-did-this-but-please-take-your-pants-off nibbles and sucks.

"Inuyasha," she hissed as he kissed her the way only he could. "We were supposed to get food," she murmured, allowing him to drag down her shorts in spite of her growing hunger. "And talk," she muttered as the shorts—which had certainly shrunk in the wash, it was the only explanation—slipped from the bed to the floor.

"Later," he grunted, eyes on her breasts.

She had begun to lactate early on, which surprised him and distressed her. He honestly didn't mind. Long ago he had gotten used to liking everything that was a part of her. Privately, he even thought her occasional breakouts were cute, but she didn't get many of those anymore. It was weird, he knew, but only about a quarter as weird as the rest of their relationship. Taking a breast into his mouth, he closed his eyes and sucked, not enjoying the taste of the milk that dribbled into his mouth so much as he enjoyed the sensation. His ears twitched at Kagome's half-hearted protests, but he knew she enjoyed it just as much as he did. In his mind, he was also helping her for when the baby would be born, getting her breasts used to being milked. They wouldn't always be used during a sexual encounter, no, but better this way than trying to get over being sensitive while having a screaming baby demanding nourishment. For now, these were all his.

Her arms wrapped around his head, pressing him into her, fingers rubbing at his ears. He groaned at the feeling, some of her milk leaving his mouth to run down her breast, and she spread her legs wider for him, beckoning. Grabbing onto her newly larger ass, Inuyasha surged into her, the path as familiar as his destination. This was where he wanted to live, where he wanted to die, where soon a small part of him and her would be born. His hands left the plumpness of her backside and went to her shoulders, his mouth on her collarbone, neck, chin and cheeks. Her lips sought his this time and he exhaled heavily through his nose at the contact, wondering if he'd ever not have a strong reaction to such small touches. They moved together, the sound of skin hitting skin fading to their ears as they stared into one another's eyes, occasionally breaking their gaze to kiss whatever area called out to them at the time. It was over far too soon for them, though they did this often enough that they weren't too upset about it.

"Ugh," Kagome grunted, flinging a leg over Inuyasha's as she rested her head on his chest. She was a little more out of breath than usual. "How long is this going to last again?" she asked, referring to her pregnancy.

Bringing his arms around her, he reminded himself that she had not been prepared for the pregnancy, ignoring the voices that whispered he hadn't been either yet he was accepting it and anticipating it joyfully.

"Dunno," he said for what felt like the thousandth time. "They're all different. Since you aren't purifying the baby, the pregnancy will be shorter and you won't get quite as big. That's why I scheduled the press conference for later on this week."

His eyes went wide at her horrified gasp. Shit, he had meant to tell her when there was food in front of her, minimizing the risk of castration.

"Oh no!" she moaned, her heart beat audibly picking up speed. "You should have told me! What are we going to do?! What do we say?!"

Inuyasha rolled her onto him, being careful to leave her partially on her side so as not to put her full weight on her stomach. Too tired and hungry to really kiss her, he instead dragged his lips across her face from her temple to her cheek to her mouth, managing to comfort her with the contact. A press conference was necessary, they both knew that. She had gone missing years ago, he had become a recluse. He was her step-father (and her real father, but nobody had to know that) and going public with their relationship would be even more difficult now that Kikyo had been found brutally murdered in his home on their anniversary. Conspiracy theories, which were uncomfortably close to the truth, still abounded and he had only made it worse with his madness and all the rumors that sprang from it. His mind flashed back to the naked and bloodied bodies of all the dark-haired girls and women who had the misfortune to wander onto or near his property. Kagome didn't know, and she didn't need to know.

"Well," he said, affectionately brushing a lock of her hair back, forcing his tone to be confident to the point of arrogance and even somewhat jovial, "the best lies are mostly truth."

O/\o/\O

Uncomfortably sweating, Kagome's hand sought his under the desk, nervously avoiding the gazes of the army of journalists sitting in Inuyasha's office at Tetsusaiga. Instead, she studied the room, the place she had always wondered about and imagined but had never been. It was all masculine, with dark wood and leather, the paintings very old and expensive landscapes she thought to be boring. She was sitting in a large leather chair, the sweat making her shift about intermittently, which caused some rather unfortunate noises to spring from underneath her. Her face was red, she was sure, the make-up the silent stylist had applied just minutes ago probably all gone or worse—smeared. For just a moment, she was glad she was wearing a sleeveless dress, if only because she avoided sweat stains in the armpit area. It was a certainty she had sweat through her deodorant twice over already. But her arms were so cold! A grumbling in her stomach that hit her the same time her bladder began to feel a little fuller than comfortable let her know her suffering was only just beginning.

"Uh, you okay?" he muttered, his eyes on the media he'd gathered.

"What?" she asked, snapping her head to look at him. Grimacing, she realized she had been squeezing his hand hard enough to seriously injure him had he been human. Loosening her grip, she replied, "Oh, uh, yeah. I just want it to be over."

Inuyasha nodded and gave a queasy-looking grin to the crowd. She sighed. There was no way she could tell him what was really bothering her, what had been bothering her since the morning after she returned to him. It would only make him angry, and that was the last thing she wanted at this point in their lives, right when they were finally getting their happily ever after.

A man came over to Inuyasha and muttered something to him she could not hear over the beating of her heart. A countdown began, and the cameras that were pointed on them suddenly seemed frightening, animated things akin to dragons. Taking a deep breath, Kagome allowed herself to clutch her love's hand just a little harder.

Prompted by a signal she did not notice, Inuyasha began to speak. It was a boring thing he had practiced in front of her several times, talking about Tetsusaiga's history, their highs and lows, where they were now and where they wanted to be. Finally, that part was over and he glanced at her, smiling a little, his love shining in his eyes before he turned back to face the camera.

"As you've noticed, Kagome has been found." There were some applause from their audience in the room. "And it is with a joyful heart that I announce our mating and engagement."

It was like all the breath was sucked out of the room. Kagome felt faint. She had known it was going to be bad, they both did, but this was something else. A couple men in suits outright laughed and shook their heads, a woman covered her mouth as her eyes became moist (whether happy for them or disgusted, Kagome had no idea), and one of the cameras jerked a little, quickly being righted by the man behind it. Most of the people, however, were busily taking notes on their tablets, their faces filled with the kind of glee only the best of terrible stories could bring. It seemed like every camera was flashing at once, and Kagome tried to smile in a demure way, a satisfied way, one that showed her sorrow as well as her joy without being too stiff.

"Kikyo came to me shortly before our marriage," Inuyasha continued, seemingly oblivious to the uproar they had just caused, "and requested I look after her daughter." There was laughter, louder than it had been before, and some began to talk. His golden eyes flashed and his face became stern. "Hold your questions and comments until I am finished." When there was silence, he brought their joined hands up from under the desk and placed them on the cool surface. "Obviously, she did not expect something like this to develop. Neither did we. Kikyo, my late wife and Kagome's mother, was ill. She had breast cancer. It was inoperable. She knew and she came to me to make sure her daughter, her legacy, would be cared for by someone she could trust.

"I believe it was also her wish to die the way that she did. Alone with the man she loved," his voice broke at the end, not genuinely, she knew. She'd been the one who suggested it, after all. The gasps and the silence that followed his words made her nervous, but seemed to make Inuyasha stronger, more in control than he already was. "My wife, my dear friend Kikyo, knew about Kagome and I. Kikyo had been pushing us together without us even realizing it, but we never discussed our feelings, never acted like anything more than family until just recently." The lie made Kagome's lower lip twitch uncontrollably. "And how could we? I didn't even acknowledge the feelings I had for this girl beside me until Kikyo took me aside and pointed them out. Even so, I swore to her I would never touch her, not even when she came of age.

"But Kikyo, in that loving, kind way only she had, told me she understood. She told me it was okay, that she felt more secure knowing she'd be leaving her daughter with someone who would love her. And I do love her. It's been a very strange thing to experience for the both of us, and while we still mourn Kikyo and always will, we need to be together. Kikyo's death does not and will not invalidate or prevent our love."

A smattering of applause was heard. Kagome relaxed just a bit. One of Inuyasha's employees, acting where before Myoga would have, gave the reporters permission to begin asking questions. She tensed up again, even more than before, knowing that this was the part where she'd have to participate and give her own rehearsed answers to the pre-approved questions. Inuyasha had invited only members of the media he could trust, meaning those he had paid, and had given them all some questions he'd written up himself with her help, including a few that would be perceived by the public as difficult so as to avoid accusations of doing exactly what they were doing. Inuyasha nodded at one man in the front row and Kagome mentally ran through what she was about to say.

"Thank you for clarifying all that for us, and I am so sorry about Kikyo Higurashi's passing. I understand you are releasing her medical records to the public and allowing us to see her diagnosis for ourselves?"

"Yes," Inuyasha said firmly. "It's time to put these harmful rumors to rest."

"Of course," the man said, nodding. "And if I may address Miss Higurashi for a moment?" Kagome looked at him and gave a small smile, expressing her consent. "Were you really missing? Where did you go? Why didn't you come back even when there were search parties and national events organized to find you?"

Kagome took a few seconds before answering, clearing her throat and letting her gaze drop down before coming back up. "When Mother died, I felt so guilty," she said honestly, her expression showing the pain that still lingered in her heart. "I wasn't there when it happened; I had been living with my father, Onigumo Naraku," this was another big reveal that made people gasp, but she pressed on, acting like it was common knowledge, "for a while and we hadn't seen each other. I didn't understand at the time why she wanted me to leave, and I was so angry, but then I heard about her and Suikotsu and I knew she wanted to protect me, wanted to leave this world on her own terms.

"I couldn't face Inuyasha. Some part of me thought he'd hate me, that I'd remind him of Mother, and I loved him too much to ever see him look at me like that. So I ran away. I stayed with friends." Tsubaki could hardly be called a friend, but Kagome resisted the urge to smirk at the reminder of her departed mistress. "I gardened a lot, learned to let peace in. I learned so much in that time, and only realized later that I was preparing myself the way Mother would have to inherit Shikon. And one day, I just knew I had to go back. I couldn't stay away anymore. There was nothing left for me to learn."

The questioning continued, and she answered robotically, putting just enough feeling into her words to make it appear genuine. She was tired, her ankles were swollen, she was starving, and her bladder was about to burst. When would the damn thing end?

"It wasn't Kagome's original ambition to be the next commander-in-chief of Shikon," Inuyasha cut in. Kagome glanced at him, puzzled. They hadn't rehearsed anything like that. He merely smiled at her. "When I met her, she wanted to be a nurse. She has a duty now to Shikon and its employees, and she understands that, but even so, I want her to live her dream. I want everyone to live their dream, and with the way the economy is now, that's hard to do. I'd like to announce that I'm building a hospital across town, Higurashi Memorial, as my wedding gift to Kagome. It's also my gift to the community, in gratitude for the hours spent looking for her, and for the time spent mourning her mother."

Kagome's eyes misted. He hadn't brought up anything like that before! Inuyasha said his goodbyes and thanked everyone in the room and the viewers at home. Then the cameras were shut off and everyone filtered out of the room, talking on their phones to their bosses and other contacts, attempting to calculate the number of new jobs the hospital would create. When they were the only ones left in the room, Kagome finally allowed herself to kiss her fiancé.

"Thank you," she whispered as they parted. When Inuyasha went in for another kiss, she stopped him, putting a hand on his mouth. "You never proposed to me, you know."

His brows came together in confused anger. "Yeah, I did!" he protested. "Tons of times!"

Kagome laughed. "No, you always said stuff like 'I'm going to marry you' and 'We're getting married after this'. You never asked."

"Do you really want me to get down on one knee?" he said, voice full of disdain. "After everything? You've got your ring, you're getting a hospital, and you have my kid inside you. Would you reject me?"

"No, but—" she began to protest.

"Then what's the point? It's all just a formality."

Though Kagome saw his point, she was still upset. A little romance would have been nice. "I have to pee," she muttered with a glare, sliding off the now disgusting leather chair.

"Wait," Inuyasha said, grabbing her by the wrist. Just as she turned around, he went down on both knees, his golden eyes boring into her gray ones. "Kagome. I love you. I didn't think I could love anyone even half this much, and I definitely didn't think I could ever love anyone more than I love myself, but I do. I love you enough to do this right now. I love you enough to do a million things I don't want to do or wouldn't think to do every day. I love you. Will you marry me?"

Flipping over and opening one of the hands that had been on her wrist, Kagome saw the small ring he had given her what seemed like forever ago, the gold one studded with jade and little pearls, the one that had belonged to his mother. The one she had been wearing just a second ago. With a smile, Kagome grabbed it back from him and put it back on the finger he had stolen it from.

"Yes, you sneak. Now kiss me quick, I really do have to pee."

O/\o/\O

To avoid what would probably be a crazy flood of reporters to his private home, which he was seriously considering burning down now that everyone knew about it, Inuyasha and Kagome went to the old beach house. He had other residences, sure, but as he had just found out, Kagome hated flying and wanted to stay at least sort of close to home. So the five hour long drive to the beach house was made, taking a couple hours longer because Kagome had to pee every mile or so and her appetite was monstrous.

The house was as they had left it, only cleaner, due to the caregivers actually doing their job perhaps just minutes before they arrived. Trying to keep with the romantic theme, Inuyasha captured Kagome in his arms and carried her over the threshold, valiantly not commenting on the weight she had put on in what seemed like just minutes. She squealed in happiness, not at all like a pig, he told himself, and he went to the beginning of the stairs.

"Kitchen first!" Kagome demanded. "I want cream cheese," she explained when she saw the look on his face.

"Eh, alright…"

He brought Kagome to the kitchen, setting her down at the table. Now he could flip pancakes and tell her stupid stories, just like he'd always wanted to. They had the time and they had the desire. The rest of their life would be out in the open, with him showing her the entire world, not shutting her up like everyone in her life, including himself a time or two, had done. Smiling, he got the cream cheese out of the fridge, taking the everything bagels from the bread box without asking her. He had called ahead and requested (really demanded) these things be available for her. She had recently developed an insane craving for those things, sometimes eating an entire tub of the cream cheese in hardly a day. Inuyasha understood the phenomenon, knowing children of demonic descent required more nourishment than human children and took quite a toll on their mothers. But still, it really unnerved him sometimes, especially when he had to watch it.

"No toaster. I'm so hungry I'll eat them raw!" Kagome said, her face looking pale and eager.

Inuyasha didn't bother correcting her that the bread was not "raw", the look in her eyes making him jump to obey. They had stopped for food at a couple of drive-thrus on the way, so the fact that she wanted to eat now was actually kind of impressive. Like she had said just that morning, she really did only have a small bump. It wasn't even noticeable beneath her clothes. Her breasts had become huge, however, and her ass had recently followed suit, something he wanted to explore in depth later on that night when she was done eating her king's ransom in bagels.

"I was looking forward to recreating that night we spent here before," he said softly, sliding the plate in front of her. A strand of dark, wavy hair had escaped her high ponytail and he twirled it around his finger, bringing his face in to give her a kiss on her cheekbone.

Kagome didn't respond, her mouth wide open and ready for her bagel. Inuyasha laughed and moved to sit next to her, but then she dropped her food to the floor. Rolling his eyes, he went to retrieve it, vaguely wondering if she'd insist on eating it even though it was now dirty, having fallen face first. Stopping halfway, he noticed her shaking hand and even paler face.

"Inuyasha, something's wrong," she said, so quiet he could barely hear her. "It—It hurts i-inside."

No sooner than she had spoken did she begin to shake all over, her seat making a clattering noise on the tile floor. Inuyasha panicked. He knew what was happening. Letting instinct drive him, he grabbed her, laying her down on the floor. Thinking fast, he took her dress off, rolling it up and putting it underneath her head as protection from the hard floor. She wore no underwear, but did have a bra, one of the kind that prevented her milk leakage from showing. Quickly, he took his claws and slit the front, dragging it off her wildly shaking arms. Every part of her was moving, her stomach especially. Kagome's eyes were filled with tears caused by pain.

Taking a deep breath, Inuyasha prayed for strength and spread her legs, keeping them bent at the knee and as far apart as he could get them, holding onto her ankles. He really, really hadn't wanted to be a witness at this angle. He'd assumed they'd have at least a couple more months before he'd have to put her in the demon's hospital maternity ward, but guiltily remembered that he'd been in his mad state during the conception, his humanity buried, so of course the birth would happen sooner. And now he had to be the one to do it. There was no time to call emergency, not at such a late stage. Shit, he should have put her in the hospital right when she'd begun to eat everything in sight. That was such an obvious sign!

Before he could prepare himself for what was going to happen, he saw the head. It was wriggling its way out without the use of its limbs, surging towards him and the light. Inuyasha groaned audibly. True, it wasn't as bad as it would have been watching a human birth, those things could get super nasty, but this was certainly not the way he wanted to see his favorite vagina. Taking a hand from where it still gripped Kagome's ankle, Inuyasha put it on the table's surface, keeping his eyes on the birth of his child while blindly searching for the cloth placemats he knew were there. He didn't want to leave to get something more appropriate, not at the moment. A couple more minutes, and the baby was out, red and squirming, followed by a whole mess of blood and an assortment of other things. Quickly, Inuyasha wrapped it in the placemat, knowing that dog demon children needed to be warm immediately after exiting the birth canal.

"Why is it so small?" came Kagome's voice, sounding sleepy and far away.

Inuyasha held the baby to his chest, able to do so now that Kagome was no longer shaking. "All dog demons are born the size of puppies," he explained, his voice soft even though he felt horrified at the sight of all the blood staining the thighs he had kissed so many times. "They grow really fast, though," he managed to choke.

"Boy or girl?" she murmured with a soft slur.

Inuyasha checked under the placemat, having been too frantic to even realize before. "Boy."

A loud sob filled the room, followed by a few whines from the baby in his arms, already reacting to his mother's pain.

"I prayed for a boy," she said in relief. "All this time, every day."

"Why?" Inuyasha asked, confused. Without realizing, he rocked the baby. "I told you I didn't have a preference and you never said anything before."

"You know," she claimed, sending him a weak glare.

Before he could respond and say he had no idea what she was talking about, the shaking began again. Panic renewed, Inuyasha laid the baby to his side, forgetting about the placemats and instead taking off his shirt and mentally preparing himself. The second birth was much like the first, only a lot quicker, with the opposite sex making her way out of the birth canal and straight into the warm t-shirt. Inuyasha wrapped the baby well and took her and her brother into his arms.

"A girl!" he shouted, forgetting about the sensitive ears of his new family members. He was full of adrenaline, his heart pounding like mad, so happy he thought he just might go crazy. "Holy shit, Kagome, there are two of 'em!"

Kagome just sobbed, more blood and finally the afterbirth followed by even more blood going onto the floor making a puddle so large it soaked through the knees of his pants. His stomach began to hurt at the sight, dread like a tumor inside him.

"I don't want it happening again!" she cried out, all remaining color draining from her already fair skin.

"Shhh," he said soothingly, "The shaking has stopped, Kagome. It's twins and that's it."

"That's not what I'm talking about!" she shrieked.

Taken aback, Inuyasha placed both babies on her chest at once. Kagome was leaking, and the children needed to eat right away. Caring for newborn dog demons required almost non-stop feeding and cuddling for the first three or so days. The new mother groaned as the babies found their way to her breasts by themselves, each no bigger than her hand. Her eyes took in the sight of thick dark gray hair on both heads that she instinctively knew would lighten to silver soon. They were covered in blood and bits of tissue, bits of her, and she felt sick. Looking to her right, she saw a sluggishly moving puddle of blood, her blood.

"It all happened too fast," she groaned, her eyes going to Inuyasha's. Concerned, he wiped the sweat from her brow. Kagome looked down and saw the twins feeding hungrily from her engorged breasts. "I can't feel anything," she whispered, eyes big with terror. "Inuyasha, I can't feel it! Am I—"

Before she could ask that question, Inuyasha kissed her, silencing her. He knew she would be fine, that this was normal, but seeing her panic made him panic, and the birth had been very unexpected, taking a toll on his already fragile nerves. The earlier excitement of the press conference had been enough stress for months, and for this to happen mere hours later had him on the verge of some kind of breakdown, and he really couldn't afford to go back to his feral demonic state at this point in time. He needed Kagome to be herself, to be his sanity. The pool of blood made its way to her hair, soaking it. The imagery did him in.

Whipping out his phone, Inuyasha pressed the number of the one person he could rely on. "Myoga, you fuck, bring Kagome a doctor! We're at the beach house, make it quick!"

"Sir, you placed me on unpaid leave—"

He ended the call, bringing Kagome's hair away from the blood, leaving a thick smear of a trail. The slurps and little sounds of his babies feeding brought him back to reality, and he looked at them, contentedly curling up on their mother, who was cold to the touch. Worried, he placed a hand on both their backs, rubbing them through their makeshift blankets. Kagome's eyes were blank, tears slipping out every so often. The numbing effects of a dog demon birth were doing their job, he saw. It would be a few hours before she'd be responsive again.

There was a knock on the door, and Inuyasha felt secure enough again to go answer, knowing it was the doctor Myoga sent, the one that would sew Kagome up and get the blood to stop. She would heal quickly naturally, as all human mates of demonic beings did, and tighten back up again, but the scent of her blood was stinging his nose and he wanted to get her in bed and warm again.

O/\o/\O

The doctor had come and gone hours ago, having successfully stopped the flood of blood coming from Kagome without needing to put in stitches. Inuyasha watched his mate's sleeping form in the dark room, the babies next to him in a newly purchased cradle, heated mattress pad doing what he should. Without Kagome there, he hardly had the strength to look at his offspring. Finally, she stirred, something she hadn't done since the shaking during the births.

"Inuyasha?" she murmured, feeling his presence but not seeing him in the dark. The babies mewled at hearing her voice, already hungry again.

He was at her side in an instant. "Hey," he said, turning on the bedside lamp. Kissing her forehead, he felt she was back at a normal temperature, much to his satisfaction.

"Was it real or just a dream?"

Immediately, he knew she was referring to their children. "Real," he responded, taking one of her hands between both of his. "A boy and a girl, and they're very hungry."

Almost on cue, the babies began a soft whine which he knew from experience would turn into crying. He hadn't allowed them to feed while Kagome was unconscious, which he knew was putting the babies in danger, but he couldn't see them on her when she was like this.

Kagome began to cry, turning her face away from him and letting her tears soak her pillow.

"What's wrong?" he asked. She had been acting weird for a while, the entire duration of her pregnancy, which was their entire reunion minus one night. Inuyasha hadn't wanted to say anything, knew they had a lot to talk about, but he didn't want to talk about it just yet. Couldn't they just pretend to be happy and normal for only a little bit?

"I don't ever want you to love anybody else!" Kagome sniffled into her pillow. After stunning him with that, she turned back to him, her eyes big and watery. "As obsessed as you are with me, I am with you. Do you understand that?"

He just shook his head, wondering what was going on inside hers.

"What if…" she began, interrupting herself with another flood of tears. "What about when the girl grows up? What if our daughter grows up and you like her better?"

Finally understanding what had been bothering her for months, he relaxed, exhaling. Then, he became angry. He wouldn't yell at Kagome, didn't even really want to, but he needed to get his point across promptly and firmly. Calming his anger and disgust, he brought his hand to her face, carefully wiping her tears away with his knuckles.

"You and I are committed, Kagome," he explained softly, his ears twitching at his children's distressed snufflings. "You're my mate and the only one I want, the only one I will ever want from here on out. I'm not giving you up for anything. I've never left you. You were the one who left me, remember? Every time," he stressed, feeling a little bit of satisfaction at the guilty look on her face. "I'd give up everything to keep you with me. I've lied for you, changed my life for you. Hell, Kagome, I have killed for you." Her eyes went wide at the forced memory of his devotion. "So I don't think it's too much to ask of you to trust me, okay? Just trust me. Trust me as much as you love me."

"But what about—"

"Our children will always be our children to me. Always. It probably would have been like that between us if we knew of each other before we met. If I had raised you, at least taken part in it, we never would have become what we are now. And I'm grateful," he admitted, leaning down to kiss her lips. "I don't care, I'm grateful. I'm going to be their dad, you're going to be their mom, but know what? I'll only ever be Papa Yasha when I'm with you," he said teasingly.

Kagome finally smiled and shakily moved to sit up, a surprised look on her face when she realized it didn't hurt. "I leaked through my nightgown," she muttered, annoyed, looking down at her breasts. Without noticing it, Inuyasha licked his lips. "Bring me the babies, please."

His face lit up at that, and he brought them to her, their little noises which had just been on the verge of a full-on wail quieting at his touch. Kagome took them from him easily, arranging them to feed, the smile on her face soft and maternal. Her skin glowed in the dim light, so warm-looking he could not help but reach out and touch, trailing a claw along her collarbone. She shivered and glared at him.

"I don't have enough for them and you, Inuyasha, so get those thoughts out of your head right this second!"

Inuyasha laughed. "You sound like a mom already."

If she didn't have her hands full of twins, Kagome swore, she'd have tweaked his ear a bit harder than was comfortable. Instead, she let it go, rolling her eyes before looking back at her babies, wishing she hadn't talked Inuyasha out of finding baby names all those times in favor of food and sex. But there would be time for that. Inuyasha leaned on the bed and watched them, idly rubbing the back of a twin now and then just to touch them. A new love rose up in her and she lightly rubbed the fuzz on the baby girl's head, steering clear of the tiny ears, content and happy in the small circle of her family.

End note: I honestly did not intend to add lactation in here. It just kinda happened. Sorry. Also, am I the only person who dislikes Inuyasha calling babies "pups"? I don't know, it's just cringey to me. I was so determined to have it up on January 1st, since that's an important date in the story, but surprise, surprise, I procrastinated and wrote it all on my personal due date. I'm posting it at night even though I prefer updating in the morning, since that's the only time anybody ever reads what I write. You're welcome. Enjoy this poorly written crap complete with no editing and a hasty ending. Again.