Epilogue

A/N: Wow. It has been a long road, but here we are, eh? Those who've been with me from the beginning, thank you for joining me on this journey. Those who are just finding this story for the first time, I hope you've enjoyed it! This story has meant a lot to me. I know I've taken a long time to finish it, but... (shrug) I know there are things unanswered, but that is okay. The important things are taken care of, right? If not, go write your own story. ;) Well, here we go!

"Wedding? Whaddya mean, wedding?" Kagome fell out of the bed in her haste to get answers—forgetting that she was still hung over. She also noticed that she was no longer wearing the amazing dress she had remembered, but what appeared to be a men's dress shirt…

"And where the HELL ARE MY CLOTHES?"

Inu Yasha had gone back to the window and Kagome wondered how she had managed to go so long without noticing that the hanyou was shirtless. Hmm. Shirtless. Despite her mind being greatly impaired, it seemed like a good idea to linger on that last thought for a moment…

"Keh. Look, I know I look good, and the staring is flattering, but really, Kagome…?"

Shaking her head to break the bare-skin-spell and quickly regretting the painful action, she went back on the defense. "Don't change the subject, dog-boy!"

"'Dog-boy'? That hurts, babe." He seemed to be enjoying this. And he called her "babe". This was too much. She was so confused and in pain and frankly disturbed at his behavior that she didn't even notice the smirk disappear when she started wiping tears on the sleeves of the borrowed shirt. "Oi," he said it gently and she could tell he was worried. "Hey, why are you… um, don't cry? Please?"

He knelt beside her and wiped the tears away with the back of one hand while straightening her hair with the other. He was sincere! This was just too much for Kagome.

"Wh-why are you being so nice and mean at the same time?"

"Huh?"

"You tease me, tell me we're married, won't tell me what happened or where my clothes are or why I'm wearing your shirt and then turn around and comfort me?"

"Hey, now! I'm not teasing—not intentionally, I mean," he amended quickly at her dark look. "Don't you… " he looked uncomfortable, but was smiling and –could it be—blushing? "Don't you remember?"

Kagome sniffled unattractively. "Remember what? Last thing I knew, we were in the casino and there was a waitress and some really tasty drinks…" At the memory of the alcohol, Kagome felt a wave of nausea. From the look on his face, it seemed this last statement produced similar feelings in Inu Yasha.

"You… you don't… Nothing after that?" he looked pale.

"Nope." She slid backwards on her rear, not trusting her legs to hold her weight, and leaned against the side of the bed. There was a heavy silence. "Actually," she suddenly blurted, causing Inu Yasha to jerk his head so fast it should have flown off, "Actually, I think I may have had a dream or something…"

Inu Yasha nodded eagerly and encouragingly. "Yeah? What kind of a dream?" He tried to keep the hope out of his voice. Kagome seemed to not have noticed it.

"It was so… strange…"

"Strange?"

"Yeah."

"…was I in this dream at all?" The tone in his voice caught Kagome's attention. He was looking at her almost as if he were pleading with her. Bewildered, she answered honestly.

"Nope."

Her response hung in the air for a moment before Inu Yasha fell back onto his bum, too, defeated. Confused, Kagome continued, wishing she had her dream journal with her now… this would have been perfect for it!

"Yeah, it was really weird! There was a big man named Sally and I told him to get a manicure or—no! A pedicure! I told him to get a pedicure and he did!" Kagome took a moment to marvel at her imagination. "But that's not the weird part: after Sally left, I saw my reflection!" She tried to say this in a mysterious and mystical and thoroughly impressive way, but Inu Yasha seemed to be ignoring her. She tried clarifying, since this was the creepiest part of the dream. "No, it wasn't like the reflection you see in a mirror, you know, it was diff—hey!"

She broke off her explanation when he suddenly stood up and began walking away. Okay, maybe this wasn't the most thrilling story ever, but still! She used the side of the bed to steady herself and stand up. "What is your problem, mister?"

Inu Yasha had gone to the mini-bar and was downing a shot of some random clear alcoholic beverage. When she spoke, though, she expected a trademark reaction: abrasive, blunt, and hiding what he really meant. What she didn't expect was for him to throw the shot glass against the wall, shattering it and leaving a wake of shocked silence.

Not knowing what to do or say, Kagome stood stock-still, waiting for him.

It took a few minutes before he seemed to have calmed down enough to speak. He still didn't look at her and when he spoke, there was a horrible tremble that she'd never heard before.

"I want you to listen. Don't say a word; just let me say this." He waited and she swallowed hard, sat on the bed and nodded mutely.

"Kagome," he said her name and she nearly cried. There was so much pain, so much emotion when he said it, she bit her lip to keep from interrupting. He took a deep breath again. "Kagome, I wasn't teasing. I wasn't lying or being mean. Not purposely, at least." He paused again and gripped the counter of the bar. "It seems there's been a mistake. I am sorry that I misunderstood. Your dress is in the bathroom. Keep the shirt and the ring, if you want. I don't give a damn."

Panic began to well up within Kagome as his words started to sink in. He turned to her finally and stared for a moment before walking over to the closet and getting his jacket. He didn't look at her again, but with his hand on the door, he paused to say, "For the record, I'm sorry. I thought… Have a nice life."

Time seemed to stop for Kagome.

Oh my god.

She looked down and saw a ring with a breath-taking, pea-sized diamond on her left hand.

His hand was on the doorknob.

He was leaving.

She had hurt him.

Oh my god!

As all the pieces fell into place, she tried to make her mouth call out to him, to stop him, tell him not to go! The only thing she managed to get out was in Japanese:

"O-OSUWARI!"

"S-SIT, BOY!"

His hand slipped off the doorknob and nearly caused him to completely loose his balance. "Oi! What the fu—"

Before he could finish swearing, she was there, wrapping her arms around his neck and smothering all chances of cursing with a kiss that nearly made him fall over again.

When she finally, slowly pulled back, she still didn't let go of him. There were tears stuck in her eyelashes. Her cheeks were rosy again and her eyes were intense.

"S-sorry. It was the first thing that popped into my head." She giggled softly and gently bit her lower lip in an embarrassed sort of way. He felt his cheeks heating up and years of programming warned him that he was dangerously close to letting emotions take control. Apparently, she saw this coming and put a finger to his lips. "Don't. It's my turn. I do love you, Inu Yasha. I really do. Don't let those from your past tell you that's impossible or any other kind of non-sense! I've really seen who you are in these past few days—don't try to deny it!" She smiled when she pre-empted his attempts to interrupt.

"I know it was fast, but… I am my own person and being drunk or whatever isn't going to make me do something that I wouldn't want any way! So: don't be sorry!" He looked confused and amused at the same time. "If you want me to be happy, mister, well that's up to you!"

She kissed him again, softly, and moved away from him. Suddenly remembering what she was wearing –or rather was NOT wearing, Kagome blushed and looked embarrassed but pleased. "That was really weird to say," she giggled.

"Keh. But it was good to hear." His blush was brighter than hers. Realizing that this was the most honest they'd been with each other (in her memory), Kagome started laughing out of joy. Inu Yasha smiled back. "You little lush. You're still a little drunk, aren't you?"

On cue, Kagome's laughter was interrupted by a loud, painful hiccup, causing her to lose her balance. Before she could fall, though, Inu Yasha was gone from in front of the door and catching her gracefully. Instead of steadying her, though, he swept her up into his arms and carried her over to the bed. Setting her down and kissing her forehead again, he smiled at her.

"Wow. A girl could get used to this kind of treatment." She turned on her side to look out the window at the strip below them. He turned off the light and she felt his weight next to him. As she turned back to him, he paused before she could kiss him.

"Keh. Silly wench. Didn't I tell you tonight was special?"

A/N: Thank you, all so much!