"Tony-"

"Save it; I know it's my fault." Tony reached for another glass of Bourbon, noticing Kagome had to physically restrain herself as to not smack his hand. That was their Kagome, wearing her heart on her sleeve, unless she was in battle, or a business meeting. Eh, same thing.

"It's not your fault, Tony. No one knew this could've happened." Steve said reassuringly. He turned to their girlfriend. "Right, Kagome?"

Kagome, however, wasn't listening.

"Kagome?"

"It must have happened when I was changing him," She murmured, staring into her tea as if it held the answers. "Why didn't I see it? I could have prevented this."

Tony looked up sharply. "I was the one who did the expiriments, Kags, not you. Neither you or Steve are to blame."

"Tony!"

"But I was changing him! How could I have not noticed a spider biting our child?"

"Kagome!"

"It's not your fault-"

"But it's not yours-"
"Both of you shut up! It's not any of our faults, we could not have prevented this as we didn't know it was happening. As long as it's not hurting him, don't worry!" Steve shouted a bit, slamming his mug on the table. It cracked, liquid sloshing out.

Kagome stared at the brown puddles of coffee. "But...what if it does hurt him? What if he dies, oh my god, I've killed our son, my Petey, my baby boy..."

The two men flinched as the woman practicallly melted into despair, tears welling up in her now glazed eyes as her thoughts took a turn for the worse.

"I might have killed my second son. My second baby-" Kagome broke off into quiet sobs, shoulders shaking.

"Shippou's death wasn't your fault, Kagome. He was the size of a pre-teen, a demon at that. He knew what he was doing-"

"I never should have let him go out to fight with us! He died to protect me. I was his mother." Kagome wiped her eyes, but the tears kept coming. "Do you know what it's like, to lose a child?"

Now they were both lost. Neither could give her eye contact, knowing all their eyes would reflect to her was pity, something all three despised.

"To know, that he died a painful death, and it was your fault? Your fault, because you were a horrible parent who taught them to be reckless and stupid, to go into a war and get themselves killed." Kagome rested her elbows on the table, her tears gathering up in her palms. "That was the worst moment of my life, more so than the rape," Again, two matching flinches, "And I'm terrified I have to go through it again. Gods, I'm so selfish."

"No, you're not." Tony said soothingly.

"Yes, I am! You see? Now we're all pitying me, the situation is now about me, poor Kagome, who can't ever be a good mother. We're supposed to be worried about Peter. I...just- I hate this." The miko said spitefully. "I hate myse-" Steve wrapped her in a reassuring hug, his face bitter with sadness.

"Don't. Just don't, Kagome." Tony said somberly, holding her hand from across the table. "Don't ever say that."