Disclaimer: As of yet, I have not gained the rights to any of the Inuyasha characters, or the original Feudal Fairy Tale plotline. I did, however, write this story originally. Please don't steal.

A/N: Dearest readers, I apologize profusely – at the risk of sounding like Ritsu from Fruits Basket - for the delay. I had an idea of how I wanted the concluding section to be, but I had no idea how I wanted to go about it. I am finally putting it out here for you, and humbly request that you give me your sincerest opinions, for I shall be nothing but honest to you now: I think it could have been much better. I, as an author, am uncertain of my satisfaction with the final ending, and as such, it is subject to change. I ask that you please review with your own esteemed suggestions and remarks on this piece both as a whole and in sum.

I must say, though, that I am learning to like it a little more day-by-day. It is definately a relief that this story is completed, and just in time for my birthday! Wish me luck tomorrow, as I add another candle to the cake!

Many thanks, Lonelylark

Happiness Happens

Sesshoumaru froze, aware for the first time that something was very wrong. He had just gotten engaged to and had mind-blowing sex with the only woman he had ever loved, but it seemed the Gods did not plan to give him a chance to bask in their first intimate afterglow. He hadn't even had the chance to slide his member out of her before he was assaulted by his brother's voice.

"What the fuck is going on?" Inuyasha cried from the doorway.

How appropriate, thought Sesshoumaru wryly. It was the same question he had on the tip of his tongue.

Sensing the lack of a rising chest against his, he looked down to find that Kagome was just as surprised at their impromptu guest, and equally mortified. Not bothering to withdraw from her body, he settled over her quickly to preserve what modesty she had left.

Kagome's mouth opened to speak, but all she could seem to muster was a choked rendition of the first two letter of Inuyasha's name. The horror on her face was understandable, of course – it had been almost six months since she'd even seen Inuyasha. For them to meet again under these…complicated circumstances was needless to say the worst way possible. To spare his fiancé any more awkwardness than was necessary, Sesshoumaru took the initiative.

"I believe this is called 'breaking and entering', Inuyasha," he said scathingly. Somehow, he was able to block Kagome's body from his brother's view and pull a coverlet off the couch to conceal their naked torsos. "It would seem you've sunk to a new low."

His words seemed to snap Inuyasha out of his confused stupor and throw him into rage.

"Shut the Hell up, you bastard! What the hell do you think you're doing?!"

Cocking a dark eyebrow, the elder brother answered plainly, "I think it is very obvious what I am doing."

"You son of a bitch!" Inuyasha growled out lowly. "You couldn't get your own girl, so you had to steal mine?!"

"I-Inuyasha," Kagome stuttered, regaining her voice, "It's not like that!"

"Then how the fuck is it? 'Cause it sure fuckin' seems like he's just got his dick up your cunt!"

Kagome flinched at his crude language, and the debasement she felt at the way he said it. "I-It's…Sessh…" she tried to explain feebly, hating how pathetic and weak she sounded. "Sesshoumaru and I…"

"We're engaged," Sesshoumaru proclaimed firmly, proudly. He cut her a quick glance, and from it she understood what he wanted to tell her. 'It is okay to be weak. When you are weak, I will be your strength.'

Inuyasha's gaze flicked to the feminine hand that clutched his brother's shoulders above the blue throw blanket, and to the glittering band that adorned its ring finger. The realization that hit him only served to anger him further.

"So you wouldn't marry me after three years – wouldn't even let me touch you – and you open your legs to this asshole in five months?!"

Inuyasha didn't know what to do with his hands – whether he should ball them up in fists, or let them flail, or pull his hair. What they really itched to do was lunge across the room and strangle them both. The living room was hot, thickening the scent of their coupling. Kagome, ever the conscious consumer, always left the air off when she wasn't home, especially in the summer months. The thought sickened him; they hadn't even bothered to turn the air on before they'd thrown their clothes off and began having sex beside the couch that he had picked out with her. They hadn't even bothered to turn on the lights, to lock the door!

That they could share such passion for each other, something he had never been allowed to experience, he felt physically like a punch to the gut.

Five months. She'd turned him down, just to get engaged again in five months, the bitch!

"What, did you use me to get to him?" Inuyasha sneered, using a front of disgust to hide his pain. "Figured you'd get a better catch with Sesshoumaru Taisho, the rich businessman?"

"No!" Kagome protested just as Sesshoumaru growled out Inuyasha's name in warning. This kind of treatment of Kagome he would not stand for, whether it came from his direct kin or not. "No, that's not –"

Her ex-boyfriend continued without restraint, throwing aside her negations and his brother's threatening glare. "I bet you two knew each other even before New Year's!" he accused. "So, how long have you been fucking, eh? When did you start cheating on me, you –"

"That's not how it happened!" Kagome cried out. At her insistent pushing, Sesshoumaru knelt back on the carpet and pulled her against him in a seated position, wrapping the blue blanket around them like a cocoon.

"Then how the fuck did it happen, Kagome?" Inuyasha demanded, yelling louder than he had all night. Kagome felt herself turning red, knowing the neighbors could hear him next door. "How the fuck did it happen, because he sure as hell didn't just drop his prick in your hole!"

"It just happened!" she bellowed back. Tears had begun to leak from her eyes in an uncontrollable torrent, and she breathed hysterically with both outrage and upset. "Things happen, Inuyasha! Love happens! Happines happens!"

Unable to hold back, she let out a tired sob and dropped her forehead into the crook of Sesshoumaru's neck. Really, considering how much he hated his brother and how short a time after their break-up it had taken her to get engaged, it was no surprise Inuyasha would jump to the assumption that she had been fooling around with his brother behind his back. Even so, she felt the sting of his words, of his doubt in her integrity and self-worth. She had never had a real boyfriend until she'd dated Inuyasha, and she sure as Hell wasn't immoral enough to cheat on him. If there was one thing Kagome Higurashi was not, and never would be, it was a whore.

Inuyasha watched, entranced by her words, as his brother soothed her with just a tender nuzzle, his hair hiding her face from him. It was difficult to understand what he felt. Though in all rationality, he should have thought her explanation was bullshit, the conviction with which she had said it struck a cord in him. She loved his brother, that made sense – though in a sick, twisted way (considering anyone could love such a stiff bastard), 'love' would at least explain their position.

But Happiness?

"H…Happiness?" Kagome had loved him, Inuyasha, at one time, too. Hadn't she been happy?

At his broken question, Kagome lifted her face from Sesshoumaru's shoulder to look at him.

"Yes, Inuyasha," she said quietly, sadly. "Happiness."

"But Kagome…Kagome, we were –"

"Inuyasha, did you really think that I could be happy knowing you still love Kikyo as much as you do?" she asked. "Neither of us was happy. That's why I said 'no'. There was no other reason."

For a moment, Inuyasha looked down at his feet in thought, noticing vaguely the house keys he crushed beneath his leather loafers. Was this what she felt like every time he disappeared during parties? This sense of defeat, of utter hopelessness?

After all this time…

"All this time," he started softly, gazing at her dazedly with his head tilted to the side. "All this time, I thought I made you happy."

Nodding ruefully, she replied, "So did I."

A silence descended upon the three of them again, and though it was still awkward, the angry tension that had earlier filled the air no longer sparked between them. Sesshoumaru, who had stayed oddly silent throughout the larger part of the argument, stared blankly at Inuyasha over the crown of Kagome's head. Inuyasha found it strange that his half-brother hadn't said more in his fiancé's defense, but in a moment of clarity he understood.

With his arms wrapped possessively around her, cradling her to his body and covering her nude form from Inuyasha's eyes, Sesshoumaru did not need to speak to support Kagome. Though he was a fierce protector, he also understood when one needed to stand alone. There was a time, when they were very young and still on friendly terms, that Sesshoumaru had taught him to ride a two-wheeler. He'd run countless times behind him down the street, pushing the bike as Inuyasha had peddled, until one time he'd forced Inuyasha to do it on his own. It was such a time for Kagome, to stand on her own two feet, and Sesshoumaru would respect that while comforting her in the only way he had left to do so.

It was something Inuyasha had never been able to do, to step back and let her hold her own. Sesshoumaru would take good care of her.

"Sesshoumaru, he…"

Kagome looked up at her fiancé, and there was no mistaking the warm look that entered her eyes, nor the way her face softened and a mild smile stole her lips. "Yes," she whispered, comprehending the unasked question. "He makes me very happy."

The younger Taisho averted his eyes from the heart-wrenching scene, nodding slowly. It seemed there was nothing he could do but nod. With a feeble clearing of his throat, he declared, "I'll be going then," turned, and gently closed the door behind him as he left.

Releasing a weary sigh, Kagome dropped her forehead again on Sesshoumaru's shoulder. His body was very warm against her, and the decorative blue throw he had used to cover them had them both sweat in the unair-conditioned room. Despite it all, she snuggled into his chest more, allowing his hot arms to tighten further around her waist.

"Did I do the right thing?" she couldn't help asking.

Sesshoumaru stroked her spine comfortingly. "You did fine. He was bound to find out at some point in time."

"I know," Kagome nodded, arching into his soothing touch with closed eyes. "I just wish it wouldn't have been like this."

"Indeed." The silver-haired businessman would have chuckled at the night's events had it not been their first time together that had been so unduly interrupted. It seemed his younger brother upheld his record for having the most inconvenient timing. Digging his nose into her hairline and taking a deep, cleansing breath, he smirked. "We will be married."

The notion dispelled all his displeasing thoughts. An urge to skip all proceedings and head directly to the courthouse the next day to sign the papers arose deep within him. He didn't want to wait.

He could feel the subtle smile stretch her lips against his collarbone, as she repeated his words. "We will be married." Kagome's contentment alone pacified his desire to make it official tomorrow. Though unconventional in many ways, Kagome would still want the traditional wedding, and for her he would do anything.

A devious grin spread across his face, and although Kagome could not see it, her reaction was immediate. She gasped in surprise, startled when he flexed his member purposely within her, making her realize that for the entire duration of tonight's episode he had not retreated. As he allowed the blanket covering them to pool at their feet, she shivered involuntarily.

"Sesshoumaru," she intoned warily. The heated glint of amusement in his eyes gave her enough warning, but there was nothing she could do to stop him. With a firm grip on her rear, he stood from his kneeling position, tearing a yelp of fear from her as she flailed for balance against him. Long, toned legs wrapped around his hips, and lithe arms around his neck, she clung for dear life as he walked to her bedroom.

Laughing at her outraged expression, he half dropped her on the bed, leaning with her. His semi-erect shaft shifted half-way out in the process, and he slid back in to the base as he settled over her. Their breaths both caught with similar whimpers. Glaring at him with half-hearted reproach, Kagome scowled.

"You're lucky I love you."

"Yes," he smiled, placing a tender kiss to her lips as he stroked the underside of her breast lovingly, recalling the words he'd said to her months earlier and the secret promise he'd made to be the one to fulfill them:

'He's a very lucky man, to be the one to make you happy.'

"I am a very lucky man."