Summary: Slightly OOC. Setting is episode 18 of the Final Act. Inuyasha and Kagome share a serious conversation that turns into something much more. {Disclaimer: I own nothing. Rated T for swearing.}

~ How It Should've Happened ~

disclaimer: you already know what i'm going to say, so i'm not gonna say it.

"Well, that's it then. Come back after you finish slaying that Exam demon, okay?" Inuyasha told the lonely miko, propping his feet up against her windowsill, preparing to jump.

"No, wait! SIT!"

There was a thunderous crash as Inuyasha trembled comically, struggling to lift his head from the grovel two stories below the woman who just punished him - for, may he add, no apparent reason.

"AAAUGHH! KAGOME, WHYY?!"

"So you're alone?"

With a sheepish nod of her head, Kagome replied, "Yeah… everyone's on a trip."

"Stupid! You should've come back, then!" Inuyasha scoffed a bit.

"I can't! I have to study! You know my entrance exams are tomorrow!

"Besides, you should be the one going back. That way, you can go to the hot springs with Miroku and Sango," Kagome added sourly, thinking back to why her family wasn't home.

Sweatdropping, Inuyasha assured her, "I'm not going to any hot springs…"

Feeling slightly relieved, Kagome asked tenderly, "Inuyasha?"

"Mm?"

"Once the seal over me is broken… do you think I'll be stronger?"

"Well, duh. Plus, the whole reason why they put that seal over you in the first place is because they're scared of you. You're strong, Kagome."

There was a comfortable silence before Inuyasha changed the subject. "Say, Kagome… what do you think about staying in your era until the battle with Naraku is over?"

Kagome stared at him strangely for longer than necessary before finally slapping a hand on his forehead. "Hmm, no fever."

"I'm being serious, Kagome!" Inuyasha replied, his thick eyebrows creasing with worry and annoyance as she retracted her hand. Inuyasha desperately fought the urge to take it into his own, war-toughened, calloused hands. "You could get seriously hurt!"

Or worse… killed! Like the way Kikyo was killed! And I'll be damned if I let that happen to you, Kagome!

"Oh.." Kagome's body language changed immediately - she averted her eyes just for a second, sparing a fleeting moment of hurt towards the poster behind Inuyasha. She pulled away, her brown orbs now melancholy and locked with the Shikon No Tama charm on the low table next to her desk.

"I got it. You don't need me there."

That's not what I meant! Stuttering frantically, Inuyasha tried voicing his thoughts, but failed miserably. "T-that- that's not-"

"Besides," Kagome said, looking a little happier and more determined, "I'll need to break free of the spell in order for me to become stronger, you know!"

She grinned, still looking at the floor, but felt happy anyhow. "Thanks, Inuyasha. You were thinking of me."

Inuyasha relaxed, relieved she was no longer hurt, but tensed once more when he realized what she was saying. "So you're choosing to fight, then…"

"Of course." Kagome smiled up at him and, resting her head on his shoulder, promised him, "I'm staying with you, Inuyasha. You won't lose me."

Kagome…

Inuyasha grabbed her hand, startling her, and causing her to look up at him in confusion.

"Then I promise," he whispered, leaning closer, "that I'll protect you with my life."

"Inuyasha…"

The mood shifted subtly. Kagome found herself leaning towards her hanyou, while Inuyasha's grip on her hand tightened.

Warm pools of amber shined brightly with an emotion Kagome couldn't put her finger on. Their faces leaned closer and closer and closer…

She half expected her brother to walk in on them and ruin the moment, but then their lips finally touched in a loving kiss; Inuyasha's passion made Kagome's hands tremble, and her taste rocked Inuyasha to the floor and back.

Deepening the kiss, Inuyasha tilted his head and pushed at her lips with his tongue, asking for entrance. The dazed miko obeyed, and he ravished her mouth with flourish, not leaving one area untouched.

Somehow, Kagome found her back pressing against the softness of her carpet, and Inuyasha's weight was pressing against her. Or, rather, on top of her. But she didn't mind. Evidently, neither did Inuyasha, as he took advantage of this new position and flipped her over so that he was now on the bottom.

He wrapped one toned arm around her waist. The other hand traveled slowly from her back to her ass and squeezed it roughly. Kagome whimpered into his mouth and traced his strong jawline with a finger, causing him to shiver slightly.

Soon, their tongues were engaging in a battle for dominance, and while the hanyou won her over and pulled away, Kagome could not be happier about the way things turned out.

Leaning forward again, Inuyasha, breathless and extremely smug, rested his forehead on the girl's, opening his eyes and smiling at her.

Using the last of his breath to capture Kagome's lips once more in a chaste kiss, Inuyasha stood up and brushed himself off. "Let's eat. I'm fucking starved, wench."

And he walked right out of her room with pride that only her beloved hanyou could have (after passionately making out with her).

Kagome shook her head, giggling as she tackled him after she made her way to the living room, where Inuyasha was sitting. A surprised yelp came from her mouth as he tugged her from over his shoulder and into his lap, where he locked eyes with her and said seriously, "I want ramen."

She smiled, placing a kiss at the curve of his neck, and stood up once more before making her way into the kitchen. "Ramen it is."

Kagome's family returned two days later.

a/n: and that's how it should've happened. i hope you're reading this, Takahashi-san. i was really disappointed when Souta walked in and they weren't able to kiss. man, was i looking forward to that! but the way Kagome mercilessly shoved Inuyasha's face to the floor afterwards made up for it, i guess. :')

haha anyway, i hope you guys enjoyed this story! i had a lot of fun writing it ;)

i decided to start this new thing where you can critique my stories (because hello, have you even read them? aaagh. improvement desperately needed!), so feel free to PM me if you have any suggestions for me!

if you're not gonna leave a suggestion, which is perfectly okay too, don't forget to tell me what you thought about this story!

arrivederci,

shadow ^^