Silence.

It was never something she was good at and it did not help when the situation was awkward and uncomfortable. She sat there, her legs crossed and her hands resting on her thighs and she waited. She could not be the first to speak, especially not considering everything that had happened. Plus, she could feel Kouga's eyes on them and it was doing nothing to ease up the situation. However, she could hardly blame him for being angry. Plus, he was only doing it to assure her safety. It had already taken her over an hour to convince him to let her speak with Izu.

It was not like she had wanted to talk to him. He was the one who wanted to have a conversation. Kouga had been suspicious from the beginning but she had decided to give him a chance. He had been less than pleasant towards her but he had also been gone for a while. If he had something to say, the least they could do was hear him out. She knew people made mistake, and she knew he had a rough time and her presence amongst the pack had disturbed his life slightly. If he wanted to make amends, who was she to say no to that? She wanted to help the pack have a peaceful life. She was the stranger among them and she needed to make her place.

She wanted Kouga's life to be easier and she wanted the pack to have a certain harmony. They had stood behind her when she needed it and she wanted to return the favor. Izu had made a mistake, he paid for it and maybe now he wanted to return.

She was the key to his return.

Although, she was not sure he would be able to get a word out. Not with the way Kouga was intimidating him. She turned around, and frowned at him, hoping he would get the message and back away slightly. She was not mad at him but she could not take another minute of this silence.

"So," he finally said, despite the daggers Kouga was throwing at him with his eyes.

"So," she replied.

"Listen… about everything that happened…" He tried to make it on his own. He had decided that he did not need a pack, especially a pack who did not have his interest at heart. It was easy, it could be done. You could do a lot even without a name and without a lot of money. But he was by himself. It was the only way he could live. He had tried mingling and it had blown up in his face. Loneliness was the only answer for him. And when he was bored? He fuelled himself with the rage he felt towards all of them. They had let him walk away because they had picked a human over him.

And then days turned into weeks and it began to let darkness swallow him whole. He was not made to leave by himself; it was no way of life for a wolf. It began slowly eating at him and in the end, he was leaving the house to work and that was it. The rest of the time he would remain in the darkness of his apartment. He would think, and he would brood and it would lead to nothing good. This world was no longer made for his kind. Facing it in a pack was hardly difficult, but going through it alone was nearly impossible.

He did not agree with everything Kouga was and everything he did. But he realized that was not everything. Nobody was going to agree with someone all the time. And his anger towards Kagome? Some of it was well placed, a lot of it was misdirected. He did not have to consider her pack if he felt like she was not, but nothing she had done had been to harm him. She had tried to help the situation and she had tried to help her friend. Much like the pack helped one and another. He still felt pain towards what happened but he could not hold it against her. She did not get him in that messy situation and she did not play a part in the decision making.

She had been there, and she had been a good punching bag to take it out on.

"I'm sorry." He could go on forever, but he was not one to talk much. He was stepping on his pride by coming to see her, and he was the one taking the first step. She was well within her rights to refuse but - but he was trying. Which was more than he could say about Kouga who had not reached out to him. Though, he did understand that he threatened a woman who was - apparently his mate to be. If he based himself on the new mark on her neck.

Kouga was the one who had mostly gotten harmed in all the fighting. He had been the bloody one, he had been the one risking the pack's safety. All of it to defend her. She felt like he deserved more of an apology than she did. Izu said some mean things about her, but she could move past those things. As long as he was being honest.

"Are you saying that to come back, or because you mean it?"

She did not need another person causing trouble for Kouga or for the pack. If he wanted back in, it was not her decision. Although she knew Kouga would be influenced by her reaction.

"I fucked up." He sighed. "I was hurt, and I fucked up." He twisted his mouth, wondering if he should say the next part. Then again, she was expecting him to be honest. "To me, pack is pack. Ya gotta participate, you gotta get involved and you gotta be a member." Being a girlfriend did not qualify. Helping once, did not qualify. It was a life long engagement.

"That's okay." She was not going to force anyone to accept her. She knew that some were set in their ways and she would not close the door to possible friendships but she was not going to force herself into their lives. "I just - I'm here to stay." She had told Kouga she loved him, she had accepted the mark he had left on her neck. She might have been uncertain a long time ago, but she no longer was. She was in it for the long run. Nothing was set in stone, and she still had to make a path, a way for herself, but she knew this would be a constant in her life.

She loved him and she wanted her life to be with him.

He was not a second place prize. He was not the best she could get now, he was what she wanted. He was what she needed. There were some adjustments to make, but this could be it for them. This could be the beginning of it all.

And she did not want their relationship to be stain with conflicts and lost pack members. She wanted a good start for them.

"If you can deal with me, I can deal with you." It came out a little less polish than she intended but then again, he never feared telling her what he thought about her. Fair was fair.

He was forced to chuckle. "I think I can learn."

"Then I think Kouga is the one you should be apologizing to, not me."

"I'm still sorry."

"Thank you."

She offered him a smile, wishing him luck. She was a little more patient than Kouga was and she had a feeling that discussion would not go down as smoothly as this one had. She rose to her feet and finally met Kouga's glance. She could see the way his features were still hard as he harbored a little of rage. She knew that once they got talking, it would be better. Plus, the fact that she was so calm was probably helping him stay in control of his rage. She walked to the door and grabbed his shoulder, squeezing it. "Try not to kill him," she warned, amusement present in her tone.

"Easier said than done," he replied as he walked away from her.

He was harmless. They both were. Kouga had punched him to protect her, and Izu had attacked her to unleash the pain he had kept locked away inside. Both were simply doing what came naturally to them. Kouga had been Izu's alpha for a long time and she knew there was a way for them to fix it. She closed the door behind her as she walked into the house. Kouga might not have offered them a lot of privacy but she was a bit kinder. Plus, the further she was, the better. It would help Kouga forget what happened.

She hoped it would work out. She wanted the pack to be happy and united.

She wanted this to feel like home.

-U-

She was not good at keeping secrets.

It had kept her up for a night or two but now that it was all said and done, she could breathe a little easier. Actually, now that she had actually gone and done it, she could talk about it with Kouga. It was not like she was trying to keep something from him or that she did not trust him. She simply did not know if she could trust herself to go through with it. She had spent a lot of time being uncertain and it was scary thing to take control of her life. But it was a good thing. It was insane to think she needed a fight with Ayame to truly realize what she had and what she wanted out of life.

Someone to threaten to take it all away, and she finally woke up and realized she had to fight to keep it.

Obviously, she still needed to learn how to navigate life but she decided to take it one step at a time.

Once she reached the house, she did not knock. A habit she had finally managed to completely learn. Instead, she opened it and walked in only to be welcomed by a bunch of smiles. She was over quite often, although the sleep overs were still rare. There in the corner, was Izu. He offered her a small wave and she returned it with a nod. There was still a bit of tension between Izu and Kouga but she hoped it would get better soon. They had talked - a conversation that had lasted for hours. It had also included a lot of shouting and one or two punches. However, for the most part, it had been calmed and it had been handled well. Once the two males got to say what they had to say, Izu was welcomed back into the pack.

Some acted as though he had done something horrifying, and others welcomed him as though he had never left. Kagome tried to pretend none of it happened. He was under enough stress with Kouga analyzing his every move. He had welcomed him bag with a probation. If he did anything Kouga did not approve of, he was leaving. Kagome knew there was a bit of pride and honor involved in that and she did not argue it. He did seem better than when he came to apologize. Wolves were supposed to be together. The pack would never be able to be apart - and she was okay with that. It was part of her reality.

"Hey guys, do you know where Kouga is?" she asked while clutching her envelope.

"He's in the kitchen," Ginta said with a smile. "Do you have a gift for him?"

"Not really," she said as she walked past them. She mostly had something to share with him and she did not know why she was nervous. He was always behind her, he was always supportive. That was not about to change.

She barely had time to enter the kitchen that she felt his body near hers. He pressed a kiss to her cheek and she leaned into his embrace. "Hey."

"Hey you." He had heard her come in, but he had decided to give her a chance to come in before invading her space.

Lately, something had been bothering her. He did not know what it was because she had not shared it with him. He had simply felt it through her aura. At first, he thought it had something to do with Izu's return but - then he decided against it. She had been the one who wanted it more than he did and he knew she would have told him if she was uncomfortable. Plus, there was no fear in her, it was something else. It had bothered him, and he had almost asked a couple of times but he had decided to keep himself in check. He could not force her to over share and there was no reason to be worried. Anything that was a problem, they had gotten rid of it.

She was at ease with him and he was at ease with her. And she was very at ease with his youkai side. Some days, he wondered how in the world he was letting her go home with those marks.

So, he had managed to calm himself and decided that if he were patient, he would be rewarded for that behaviour. Especially considering how unnatural it was for him to act like that.

"I have something to show you," she said as she handed him the envelope. She shifted her weight from one foot to the other, hoping he would not notice how nervous she was.

He cocked an eyebrow as he retrieved the brown envelope from her. Was this the mystery that she had been hiding this whole time? He sliced it open with his claw and retrieved papers from inside. He took them out before letting his eyes scan over them. It took a moment for him to understand but once he did, he grinned. "You enrolled in school?"

She shrugged. "My grades weren't that good. I didn't even know if they were going to accept me. And then I didn't know if I wanted to go back - if I could…" And she did not want to be a failure again. "But they accepted them." It was just basic classes, and she had to re-take a few more classes from high school but it was a start. For the first time in a long time, she had a goal and she had a direction. She was heading somewhere and she was happy about it. Ever since her return from the well, her life had been difficult and meaningless. She did not know what to do with herself. Slowly, she was finding a purpose for herself.

Kagome almost closed her eyes, waiting for him to stop her incessant babbling. And he did. By dropping the papers to the ground and wrapping his arms around her. He could not tell why she had chosen to keep it a secret until it was official, but he chose to respect her decision. Most of all, he did not want her to feel guilty. He wanted to feel open enough to share with him, but despite his insecurities, he was getting the feeling that this was not that much about him. She had said it; she was scared she would not get in. Kagome smiled more than before and she enjoyed life more than when he met up with her again, but she had her share amount of fears and insecurities.

He wanted to take them all away but he knew he could not. He could only love her and hope that eventually, she would let go of them. She used to be happy and carefree and he hoped she would find that part of herself again.

"I never doubted you," he said as he pressed a kiss on top of her head.

"I did."

"I know, that's because you're an idiot," he said with a grin.

"Who you calling idiot, you old man?"

He raised an eyebrow and narrowed his eyes; her best option would be to run. But, she did not take the out he was offering. He grabbed her sides and began tickling her without showing any mercy. She yelped loudly, laughter pouring out of her mouth as her legs slowly gave up on her. Before she could stop herself, she was crumbling to the ground, while Kouga never even gave her a break to catch her breath. Instead, he joined her on the floor, his grip on her like iron.

"Mercy, mercy," she begged between laughters.

"I thought I was an old man?" he said as he freed her from his grip.

"You are, that's why you fall for my tricks," she teased as she leaned against his chest, completely breathless. Her cheeks were painted red as she inhaled deeply a couple of times. She felt like she was going to die.

"Hey Kouga, before you guys have sex, can we have our food?"

And of course, the whole pack was there to make sure that any private moment was not so private. Before, she might have blushed a lot more than she had now. She opted to laugh instead. It had pretty much become a running gag that everyone assumed they were having sex all the time. Of course, Kouga chasing everyone out of the house, saying he would rip their heads off if they did not, was not something that had helped the situation. The guys had gotten their revenge by teasing the heck out of them.

She could live with that.

"None of ya are getting food now," he threatened. He had been kind enough to get some snacks but not anymore.

"This is going to be our life isn't it?"

"Maybe I can kill a few."

"We heard that."

"Good," Kouga shouted back.

Kagome giggled as she pressed her face to his chest. It was lively, it was moving and it was a family. Not that she had anything against her family - she loved them to death. But a life on a shrine was perhaps not the life for her. She had already gone against every miko traditions when she traveled to the past. Clearly, it was not what soothed her the most. Plus, the shrine did not represent the same thing as before. It was a bit meaningless now and people did not believe as much as they used to in the past. However, she still had a passion for helping people, and perhaps she could achieve that through returning to school.

"Hey."

Kagome raised her head and met his eyes. "I love you."

"I love you too."

-U-

"You know, if you want to - it's okay."

"Mom, I told you, I just want to - I don't want to do it permanently."

"If you do, it's okay."

Kagome sighed as she dropped the shirt she had been folding on her bed. "I wanted to… I don't know what I want."

Suddenly, all the pieces in her life were falling in order and it had not happened in a long time. She did not know if she was rushing things or if she was going to the right pace. She was trying to make all aspects of her life function and she did not want to hurt anyone. Especially not her mother. She had been so supportive of her through everything and it would not be fair to abandon her. She did however want to make some choices that might make her life and Kouga's life a little easier. That involved taking adult decisions that she did not know if she was ready to take.

Her mother seemed to believe she was.

"Are you upset?"

Miyu shook her head. "I'm happy for you."

Kagome had been sad for a very long time, and despite Miyu's cheerful attitude, that smile on her daughter's face barely returned. It was not until Kouga came back into her life that she saw joy in her again. She had made her peace with her daughter growing up once she had begun traveling through the well. Sometimes, she did not her from her for weeks at a time. At first, it had worried her sick and she had always checked up on the wall house. After a while, she had learned to let it go and trust her daughter. Kagome always came back. She had been young but she had matured through those travels and she had come back as a young woman.

Now, her life was moving forward and it was normal that she wanted to do the same.

She had learned to live adventures and being at home, it was not an adventure for her. It was the routine. Her daughter was always out to explore and live life to the fullest. It was perhaps another part of the reason she had been so sad upon her return; there had been nothing left for her to explore. It was not like she could have gone on a schooling adventure; she had barely graduated. Instead, she watched most of her friends moved on while she had to pick up a life she had left behind years ago. She had save the world but she had not been rewarded for her efforts - not that she had asked for anything in return of course.

Kagome was a selfless soul.

Even now, she was not thinking about herself; she was thinking about her mother. And she did not want her to do that. She wanted her to go after her happiness, she wanted her to chase it. Kagome had a good head on her shoulders and she trusted her to make the right decisions. If she thought this was a good thing to do, then she believed it was. She was not rushing into anything. As a matter of fact, she had been quite careful since she had begun dating Kouga. At some point, she was afraid she might lose herself in the relationship but she had proven her wrong.

She had set goals for herself, she had found ambitions and most of all, she found a place where she thought she belonged.

Could she really ask for anything more for her daughter?

"I want you to be happy."

"So I'm not making a mistake?"

Miyu smiled. "I don't think that you are. But even if you were, that's how you learn." She thought it might be the right thing to do. She had to follow it through. Worst case scenario, nothing was going anywhere. She could always change her mind.

"But I'm only trying it. I don't know yet."

The shrine had become a safe haven for her since her return from the other side of the well. It was the only thing that had not changed during her prolonged absence. She was attached to it and she found comfort in it. Kagome sighed before sitting down on the bed.

"I think I'll like it."

"I think you'll like it too."

Kagome smiled at her mother while she looked at her three black suitcases. What was she supposed to pack in there? What was part of her that she could not let go of? Or did she want to let go of everything and start fresh? She did not know. Plus, it hardly mattered; it was just a trial. And before she even thought about making such a change, she knew she had one important thing to do; she had to talk to Kouga.

And that made her nervous.

-U-

He was nervous.

He was not often nervous, but today he was nervous.

First, it had been the school thing - that she had not told him about. Now she had to talk to him. Not only did she have to talk to him, but she had suitcases with her. He tried to rattle his brain to find a logical explanation for her suitcases but he could not. They had not planned a trip, they had not planned to go away together… and yet there she stood in front of him. But he was a rational man, he was a calm person right? He was not going to jump the gun, he was not going to panic because she was standing in front of him, wanting to talk, with suitcases.

Only panicky people panicked.

And he was not a panicky person.

Okay, maybe he was a little bit. But he was not going to let her see that. Everything was well between them. He just had to remind himself of that, and it would be fine. If he just breathed and thought about the fact that they had not fought and all was well for once, he would know that there was no reason for him to feel the way he was feeling.

"You're stressing me out," she finally said with a laugh.

The moment she had shown up on his doorstep, he had made a face. Granted, it was mostly due to the suitcases. Granted, she could have talked to him downstairs instead of telling him she wanted to talk to him in private. But really, this was simply not a conversation that she wanted to have in front of everybody. She knew that even in the room they did not even have any kind of privacy but, at least it gave the impression that they did. It was already better. Plus, it was not like the guys were not going to find out - they would. But this way, she would not have to see anyone's face or reaction.

"You can breathe," she added again when he slumped his shoulders.

Maybe she should have announced herself with another sentence. He looked like he was five seconds away from having a breakdown.

"I'm fine," he finally blurted out.

"I know."

"We're fine."

He was like a fucking broken robot.

Again, she laughed. "We are."

Yes, she had assumed correctly; he was freaking the fuck out about them. Again, the phrase we need to talk, was one she needed to work on.

"I talked to my mother," she finally said. She had tortured him long enough and she felt like if she did not tell him he might die and that was really not what she wanted to happen. "And you, I enrolled in school." Finally, after years of waiting.

He nodded. "Yes, you did. I was really happy for you." Why was he blabbering? Why in the world was he not letting her fucking talk? Shut up, idiot, he told himself. The longer he dragged it out, the worse it was for him. He had already even begun tapping his foot against the floor.

"I know you were," she said as she took a step forward and gently grabbed his face with her hands. He was too stressed and if he did not calm down soon, she might lose it. She gently brushed his cheek with her thumb. "You've been very supportive." Whatever she needed, he gave it to her, even if it was not in his best interests. He sacrificed himself for her, and he put his duties aside to help her. She could not watch him constantly rip himself apart. She was slowly learning to be whole and she wanted him to be whole as well.

"I'm going to be busier with school," she added as she sat beside him. "And you should be busier with the pack too."

"The pack doesn't take that much of my time," he defended. Plus, she was part of the pack. Taking care of her was also part of his duties. Not only that, but she had agreed to keep the intended mark. It meant he even had an extra duty towards her. He did not want her to think that she was an extra burden for him. She was not.

"But it should. You need to look after everybody and I understand that."

"But I still have time for you."

"I know that." He was never going to let her finish was he? "Kouga, you can stop freaking out you know."

"I'm not freaking out."

"I'm not breaking up with you."

"Oh." Oh? Well, now he had pretty much given away the fact that he had been stressed as fuck about that. It was like he really thought she was breaking up with him; he could not find a reason for that to happen. Still, his heart had been beating a little fast.

"I want to make things easier for us, and for you. You put a lot of your duties aside for me, and I want to keep working on us." She knew she was not a youkai and she was not a wolf. It did not change the fact that she believed in them and she wanted this to work. "I need to get use to the pack life - and to my new life that's going to be starting." If she did not learn to juggle it all now, she might never be able to do it. She had taken everything one step at a time and now she was deciding to jump all in.

She inhaled deeply. "I wanna try moving in."

He blinked.

"I mean, I'm asking - I mean, you have said before…" Why was he not saying anything? This was not the reaction she had been hoping for… "You said I could, so I thought…"

And he silenced her by pressing his lips on her. All the worries, all the stress; it left him through that one kiss. Excitement bubbled through him and he wrapped his arms around her, squeezing her. "Are you sure?"

She laughed. "I want to try."

"You want to move in here? With the whole pack?"

She nodded. "With the whole pack?"

"You want to live somewhere where we will never have private sex?"

Kagome was forced to hide her face in his chest. "Yes. I will eventually get used to do."

He could not believe it. He had talked about it before but she had seemed to hesitate and he had decided to not push it. But now, she was coming to him out of her own free will, and she was saying that she wanted to move in with him. This was a girl, he had loved forever, a girl he had given up on. He had actually let her go for her own sake. He had never forgotten her. And after all these centuries, he finally got her. He got the girl. And everything he wanted.

"How did I get so fucking lucky?"

She smiled. "Five hundred years of bad luck, your karma had to turn at some point," she teased.

He grinned, his fangs poking out. He leaned forward and pressed his lips to her another time. He was about to lay her down on the bed when he arched an eyebrow. "You have got to be fucking kidding me?"

She frowned. "What's wrong?"

"Why are you twats in front of the door?"

"Can we come in?"

"You see what I was talking about?" he asked Kagome, exasperated.

She chuckled. "Yes, you can."

And then, eight wolves bursted through the door and ran in their direction. Neither of them had time to brace themselves as the wolves jumped on the bed, hugging them.

"Sis is going to live here now?"

"Oh it's gonna be great."

"We're gonna go camping."

"And movie night, movie night totally has to be a thing now."

"Ohmygod, and cooking. We'll have to cook the meat."

They kept blabbering on while Kouga made eye contact with Kagome. She flickered her glance from him to the boys, a huge smile beaming on her face. It was not where neither of them thought they would end up but…

This was home.

Finally.