Chapter 65: Epilogue

Disclaimer: InuYasha belongs to: Rumiko Takahashi, Viz Media, Shogakukan, Sunrise, Yumiuri TV and the other foreign manga rights companies that I have not dealt with. Twiknham owns intellectual rights only to the original characters including: Michael, Lucy, Logan, Armaund, Jin, Sesshoumaru's household staff (minus Jaken) and any characters in this story who reside in Texas. Twiknham makes NO monetary gain from this story, it is a completely free fanfic and Twiknham will not accept any payment. Reviews would be great, but are not required for updates. Also, as with any Twiknham fic, criticisms are welcome but please keep the language clean. Reviews do not come with ratings and are open to all viewers. Thx! –TK

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When Sesshoumaru came in from work the following Friday, he was startled by what he saw. Kagome was sitting at his desk, in front of the computer. Tairam was sleeping in the bassinet, his white hair flowing over the sides. It looked like he'd been that way for a while. However, Namiru was sitting on the desk and Kagome was poking at his black fur with the soft end of a pencil. He was still in dog form and he would growl and nip at it. While Sesshoumaru watched, Namiru grabbed the pencil in his teeth and ripped it out of her hand. Growling furiously, he whipped it back and forth.

Giggling, Kagome rubbed his fur. "Ru, you can't eat the pencil, mommy needs it. Give it back and I'll play a little more."

Cocking his head to look at her, he dropped the pencil and barked at her, his little puppy bark causing goose bumps to form on Sesshoumaru's skin. Namiru was going to be his heir and it helped to know that he was not shy about voicing his opinions. Although at this age, the barks had no true meaning, Sesshoumaru could tell he was going to grow into both the paws and the attitude. Stepping into the room, he watched as Namiru noticed his entrance and sat down on his haunches.

"What's wrong Ru?" Noticing his attention was behind her, she turned and looked guiltily at her mate. "Hi Sesshoumaru."

He walked over and picked up his son, taking a second to tickle his belly before gently rubbing his ears. Namiru would turn into his human form when he was ready. Until then, they would train the skills emphasized in his inu form. He laid his son over his shoulder and leaned down to kiss his wife gently on the lips. "How was work today?"

She smiled. "Pretty busy. I couldn't keep up with the kids and play with VR, so I worked with pencil and paper today."

"Hnnn." He again picked up his son and checked out the spot where the umbilical cord had been attached. It was healing properly, so he tussled an ear and set him in the basket with a quiet growl telling Namiru not to wake his younger brother up. "So I can see."

"Buyo used to like playing with pencils, so I thought the kids might too. Was I wrong?"

"No, just be careful not to poke him with the point. Their skin is very thin for the first two years." He pulled a chair up and sat beside his wife, looking over her paperwork. "What is this?" He pointed at a line of letters.

"This is a line of genome coding. I'm comparing a mutant gene with a normal gene. If I can find a difference in the pattern, I will start looking at repeats in other cells." She rubbed the bridge of her nose before putting the pencil down and smiling at him. "How was your day?"

"Fine. So these symbols are supposed to be identical?"

"Yes. Why, do you see a difference?" When he held out his hand, she handed him the pencil. He circled three small differences before handing the pencil back. "Wow! You're quick. Want to come work for me?"

"You cannot pay my consulting fees. One of us has to bring in the money so that we can afford to keep the family fed." He stood up and held out a hand.

She growled and took the offered hand. "I work too damn it!"

"Now, now. Watch the language in front of the children." He picked up the bassinet and carried it towards their bedroom. "Do you feel good enough to eat dinner in the dining room?"

Kagome smiled. "Yes. I feel a little tender still, but much better than earlier this week."

"Do not push yourself. You gave birth last week. It was a very difficult delivery and I am not so sure you should be doing so much."

"I was bored!"

He almost smiled at her petulant tone, but he knew he had to be firm in order to keep her from overdoing things and hurting her body. Although she healed extremely fast, she was still a human. "Are you still able to feed the puppies as much as they want?"

Kagome blushed. It was strange enough having given birth to a puppy and a human instead of two humans, but nursing puppies was just odd. Tairam had shape-shifted during the stress of the delivery, feeling more comfortable in his human form. Nursing him was normal, but Namiru exalted in his inu form and refused to transform. Sesshoumaru had repeatedly told her he would change when ready, but it was strange nursing him in puppy form, and his teeth hurt!

At her grimace, Sesshoumaru stopped and put a hand against her cheek. "What is it, mate?"

"I was just thinking how strange my world has become since meeting back up with you."

"And this caused you to grimace?"

She smiled and patted his cheek in return. "No. Something else made me grimace."

"And that would be…"

"Your eldest son has very sharp teeth in his inu form. And since he won't change, he's gnawing me something painful."

He raised an eyebrow. "Show me."

She crossed a free hand over her breasts. "What?"

"I need to see."

"Need or want?"

He sighed. "Take your pick." When she didn't respond, he stopped and turned towards her. "In the room, just the two of us."

"I haven't been cleared by the doctors, letch. Ever since I gave birth, you can't keep your hands off of me, what's the deal?"

Sesshoumaru just shook his head and continued down the hall. "Impertinent woman. I meant nothing untoward in that statement. Come here." He opened the door and ushered her in. Setting the basket on the floor beside the bed, he patted a spot. "Sit here. Let me see what my son is doing in his exuberance."

Kagome blushed and unbuttoned her shirt, popping the latch between the two cups. When his hand gently touched her breast, she shivered but continued to look away. Suddenly, a tongue licked across the very sore nipple and she chuckled while pushing him away. "Stop that, it tickles. Why are you doing this?"

"It will help you heal faster. Sit still and quit pushing me away." He leaned back in.

She giggled and pushed him away. "You're being a pervert. Stop it!"

He sighed and suddenly pushed her back onto the bed. "If I was a pervert, I would do this." Gently he leaned into her, pushing himself into the spot between her legs.

Kagome moaned.

Just as quickly, he moved away and pulled her back into a sitting position. "But I was not being a pervert, I was only trying to help my mate heal. We cannot make Namiru change, and he will continue to chew while feeding. Therefore, it is my duty to keep you healthy so that my stubborn son does not inflict more pain than what is unavoidable."

"Oh." Her face was flaming red. "Carry on then."

"I was actually almost done." He gently buttoned her back up before sitting down beside her on the bed. "I apologize for the pain my stubborn son is inflicting on his angelic mother."

"Our son." She gripped his hand, squeezing tightly.

"Our son." He turned and brushed an errant strand of hair away from her face. "I will only say this once, but I was very worried about you."

"There was a spot in which I was worried about me too." She sighed and leaned against him. "While I was in that place, I dreamt that you found me and held my hand and walked me back to here. Was that a dream?"

"Some of it. I searched for you and brought you back, but the process did not involve holding your hand."

"Why did you come after me? You already had your heirs."

"I did not marry you for heirs."

She straightened and looked him in the eyes. "You didn't?"

"No." He stared back at her, unblinking golden intensity searing into her soul.

"Why then?"

"Because I felt something for you other than resentment and hatred." He watched her blink. "Is that so hard to believe?"

"Yes." She turned and pulled away slightly to look at him in more detail. "It is hard to believe. I have felt that from the first day, you were only putting up with me."

"Then I played my part very well. My feelings for you have never been platonic. They were not platonic when you angered me in the past. They are not platonic when you anger me in the present. They will not be platonic if you anger me in the future. I will always have strong feelings for you."

She chuckled. "Are you telling me you love me?"

"Yes." He suddenly reached out and put his hands around her face, pulling her in for a deep kiss. After they both had completely lost their breaths, he let her go. "I am telling you exactly that."

"Since when?" She put her forehead on his chest. "When did you realize you loved me?"

He thought for less than a second, which was the shortest time he'd ever taken to respond. "I admitted it to myself on the way back to the country after a trip to Houston."

"Which trip?"

"The infamous trip." He playfully glared at her, knowing she still felt bad about the extremely expensive phone bill she'd left him with.

"You knew that long ago? And you're just telling me?" She started bristling and he smiled as his mate geared up for a solid rant.

"No, I first told you when I asked you to marry me, but you did not believe me. I told you again when I went to retrieve you. But you do not remember that conversation."

"Oh."

"Why do you think it was so hard for us to sleep in the same bed?"

"I thought it was because you did not want to touch a lesser being."

Sesshoumaru frowned. "Quite the opposite."

"Are you really that horny of a person?"

He chuckled. "No mate, my reactions are just for you." He stood. "Are you ready for dinner?"

"Are the kids coming with us?"

"Of course."

"And you really love me?"

"Do you really need to ask?" He leaned down to pick up their children then offered his free arm to his wife. As she took his offered arm, he wondered at a fate that would bring a woman into his life, torment him with said woman, remove said woman for five hundred years, than put them together permanently. Thinking he was glad he had left his life open to opportunity, he thanked his lucky stars that he had fallen for the Shikon Miko. She was his perfect match. "Speaking of things that I am just telling you, it is past time for us to complete the bonding process."

"I thought I was already your mate." She turned to him.

"That was the marking, the actual bonding requires a little more."

"And that would be?"

"We have to eat a child." He looked at the bassinet. "It is a good thing you had twins."

"What?" She grabbed the bassinet from him but he started laughing before she could turn and glare.

"This Sesshoumaru only teases with you." He grabbed the carrier back. "Our children are perfectly safe." Looking down into the basket, he smiled. "Kagome, I believe your wish has been answered."

Looking over, she saw two babies lying in the crib. One had white hair and blue eyes while the other had jet hair and yellow eyes. She sighed in relief, but stared in horror as Namiru poked his brother and his brother turned into a silver furred dog and growled back. "No! It's not fair."

Sesshoumaru cocked his head to the side. "Interesting. They already know how to change at will. Now all we have to do is potty train them."

Kagome sighed. "That is SO your job."

"I take that as a challenge and will accept it as a fitting punishment since both of my children are fated to chew on my lovely wife's breasts."

Suddenly she reached forward and touched his face. "It's reciprocated you know."

"What is?" His heart thumped in his chest, afraid of what she would say next.

"I love you too." She looked at him and smiled, a warm glow encompassing her entire body.

He wrapped an arm around her waist and led her into the dining room.

She closed the shoji behind them and prepared herself for the future. Looking at her family, she thanked the kami for the journey.

-The End

A/N: Thank you for sticking this out until the end. I hope you enjoyed it. Thank you a thousand times for the wonderful reviews and thank you to everyone who read even if you didn't review. Until later… -TK