~~OO~~II~~OO~~

((Epilogue))

~~OO~~II~~OO~~

A sigh escaped him the moment the bottle was plucked from his clawed hands and a fairly irritated looking face appeared mere inches from his. Letting his face fall into one of up most innocence, the half-demon muttered, "It was one bottle, wench, let it go."

"And I told you," the miko retorted, turning away and practically marching away to the kitchen sink, dumping the alcoholic beverage. He pouted at the loss. "Inuyasha, seriously. Stop. I could handle the occasional drink like this before, but now it's just not allowed. If you want to have something like this, accompany Miroku out to the bar or something. Goodness knows the guy could use a break from those twins of his. Though I think Sango needs the break more..."

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "The pup's literally a year old, wench. Yeah, he's already crawlin' around, but he can't reach the- damn it, runt, stop proving me wrong," he growled as a small clawed hand tugged lightly on his pant leg, the growl holding no real malice towards the innocent golden-eyed child that blinked up at him. The growl became a playful rumble as he scooped the kid into his lap, leaning down to nuzzle his head affectionately. The child squealed, then winced, his ears flattening against his head at the sound he had made.

Sighing, Kagome returned to the living room to prop her hands on her hips, her face softening at the sight before her. "Okay, Mr. High and Mighty. Hand him over and go get dressed. We're going to be late. And I don't feel like feeling the wrath that is Sesshomaru's anger when we miss things like this."

Inuyasha's gaze darkened considerably. "I don't want to go," he muttered irritably, making his son whimper in confusion. He handed the boy up to his mother, and the small child curled up against her, nuzzling his face against her collarbone for comfort. "This kinda thing isn't fun."

"A funeral is never fun," Kagome said bluntly, propping her son on one hip and placing her hand on the other. "But it's someone we both knew fairly well, so get a move on and stop moping. If you get ready in under five minutes, I'll make it up to you tonight." She arched an eyebrow when she suddenly found herself speaking to an empty space. Rolling her eyes, she told her son, "You see this, kid? I swear to any god out there, Kouki, you end up like your father, and your butt's landing itself in a crib for life."

Kouki blinked innocently up at her, cooing happily as he tugged gently on her hair. She giggled, dropping her head down to lightly press a kiss to his forehead. His ears twitched against her cheek, and she smiled before glancing up at the familiar presence that appeared beside her. "Huh. Two minutes. New record."

Inuyasha smirked, carefully maneuvering his arms so that he could wrap his arm around her waist without upsetting Kouki. Waggling his eyebrows suggestively, ears pricked forward happily, he breathed into her ear, "You owe me now, wench. Better be ready to make up for this the second my pup's asleep."

"One, he's ours, and two? How many times do I have to tell you, dear?" Kagome gave his ear a sharp tug, frowning as he yelped. "He's a baby. A child. Not a puppy."

"Found my sock all chewed up this morning," he muttered back. "I wouldn't rule out our son being completely dog just yet, Kagome."

She just shook her head and kicked at his shin, making him yelp. "Move, stupid. I need to get him dressed." Inuyasha stepped back, watching his mate with a warm look on his face, his golden eyes softened.

It had been nearly four years since his mate had finally been freed from Hiten's grasp and the terror he'd lain down on Kagome. In that time, she'd returned to her music, becoming even more well known around the world and had even signed on to do a tour of the country, though she'd made him promise that he'd come with her. Naturally. As if he'd let his mate run around by herself and leave him with their son alone. They'd become mates, and around the same time that Miroku and Sango had had their twin children, he'd discovered the suspicious scent on his mate. Months later, they'd had their own pup.

And currently, he thought he was starting to smell it again.

Kagome soon came back out, a fancily dressed Kouki cuddled against her chest. She flashed him a smile. "Ready to go?"

He pouted. "Feh. I really don't see why I need to go, wench."

"Because this guy was one of your coworkers, and even though he deserved what he got...you need to go." She hissed this out, scowling, and Inuyasha gave a proud sort of snort. The funeral of the man they were attending was to honor someone both had passionately hated. He'd openly made moves on the miko, even in front of Inuyasha, and it wasn't to anyone's surprise when he'd shown up dead on someone's doorstep.

Grabbing the keys to the car, Inuyasha nudged her towards the front door, breathing in her scent.

At last, he thought. At last everything was at peace.

And with that thought, he closed the door behind them.

~~OO~~II~~OO~~

A/N: AND...EPILOGUE! I'm kinda sad. ;-; This is over. Anyhow, hope you enjoyed. ;) THANK YOU SO SO MUCH TO ALL OF THE REVIEWS, FOLLOWS, AND FAVORITES! You readers have been the best! ^_^