Darkness had fallen and he could not sleep.
His sensitive ears twitched with every breath, with every single sound his sleeping comrades made, one in particular. Golden hues rested upon her sleeping form, the dying firelight shrouding her in shadows. He wasn't quite sure how long he sat there, propped up against the tree trunk, just watching her as she slept. Finally his eyes began to tire and his lids swept across his amber eyes, his breathing slow and even, not quite asleep though not entirely awake. Being a hanyou, he needed a lot less sleep than his human comrades, but in truth it had been a few days since his last proper slumber. There was a lot to keep him awake, after all.
Across the campsite, a pair of brown eyes opened; startled awake by something the female blinked into consciousness, silently cursing the world around her. She was fully prepared to turn onto her other side, pull her sleeping bag over her face, and drift back to sleep when... Ahh, there it was. She sat up, the distant yet sharp awareness of the Shikon No Tama coming to life within her. It was faint, but it felt pure, untainted as it was meant to be. Rising up from her place beside the fire, she put on her shoes and tiptoed out of the campsite, unaware that the hanyou's eyes had already flickered back open, watching her as she slipped away, lost to the darkness. Just where was she going?
Treading along the pathway, Kagome's feet took her to the river, which earlier that day they'd crossed, their trek everchanging and unmapped. Standing before it, she reached her hands up, stretching out her slim frame, which felt tense and cramped from her many nights of sleeping on the ground. She felt flighty, full of anxiety and what she could only describe as pent up energy. Sighing softly, she stepped closer to the river, kneeling down to reach her hands into the cool, rushing water. Bringing the water up to her face, she relished in the coolness as it ran down her cheeks and down her neck, slipping beneath the cotton of her blouse. She turned her gaze eastward, the direction she'd felt the aura of the jewel... But now it had faded and she could not help but to wonder if she'd imagined it.
She'd been gone too long.
After much debate, InuYasha rose from the ground, his feet taking him the same direction which Kagome had gone. He'd thought that perhaps she'd gone to relieve herself but she'd been gone much longer than that usually took her. Worry took over, forcing him up and after her, inhaling her sweet scent which was carried along the breeze. All was quiet, all was still; there were no other scents, nothing suspicious... So what was she doing? He came to the clearing, to where he could hear the rushing river, and then he saw her. She stood with her back to him, completely illuminated by the moonlight; her dark hair was tumbling over her shoulders, longer than ever he noticed, much longer than when they'd first met. His fingers twitched and he was suddenly overcome with the desire to run his hands through those dark locks, to feel the smoothness of her skin beneath his palms... He coughed, clearing his throat, giving her the very first indication that she wasn't alone. He watched her nearly leap from her skin and then spin around, fierce determination set into her eyes. At the sight of him instead she softened, her eyes widening and her pinks curving with a smile. "InuYasha..." Her soft vocals carried and his ears twitched, his heart turning over at the sound of her voice. He approached her, tilting his head, silver locks swaying, tucking his hands into the long sleeves of his red cloak. "I'm sorry, I woke you..." She apologized, suddenly looking concerned, her hand reaching out to touch his arm. "You need rest."
She wasn't all that surprised to see him standing there, really she wasn't. His ears were sensitive, even while sleeping, so it wasn't surprising that he was wakened by her leaving. "No, it wasn't you." He replied moments later, golden eyes meeting brown and he offered her a rare, but charming smile that always sent her heart a-flutter. "Why are you up?" He asked her then, coming to sit on the bank of the river, knowing she'd follow suit.
As she took her place beside him, Kagome chuckled softly, reaching up a hand to run through her tousled locks. "A dream," she said, suddenly remembering the real reason she'd woken so suddenly. She had been dreaming of the Shikon No Tama, of it whole and complete, hovering between her palms... Filling her with power... Overwhelming her as it urged her to make a wish. InuYasha's voice had broken through and that was when she'd snapped back to reality. "It's gone now," she said after a moment, shaking her head, not really wanting to give him any indication of the fear that dream had given her. Besides, now that he was here, she didn't feel any fear. "You?"
InuYasha shrugged, as if he meant to say it didn't matter much but in truth he couldn't sleep because he'd been watching her. He'd been mesmerized by her. He always had been, though at first in a much different way. At first, she'd frustrated him, had even infuriated him... Never her fault, always his, simply because he could never look past her being Kikyo's mirror image. But as the days had turned to weeks and the weeks into months, he had come to know her for her, and without ever realizing it, he had fallen in love with her. She who had unfrozen his heart and taught him warmth and joy once more... He turned towards her, his heart beating wildly, his lips moving but no words coming. "You..." He murmured finally, so softly that at first Kagome couldn't be certain he'd even spoken. InuYasha watched as a blush spread across her cheeks but her eyes were widening in her surprise. And then it was his turn to blush and he turned away, silently berating himself for uttering such a thing.
Swallowing, Kagome reached out, her hand enclosing around his, forcing him to turn back to her; how many times had they been in such a moment? How many times had they come this close, only to back away, to completely move on as if it had never happened. How long would they deny the truth? She opened her mouth to speak but she found she could not find the words to say. He had turned his body fully towards hers and without warning, he was reaching for her himself; he threaded his fingers through hers, but his other hand reached up to cup her cheek into his palm. Seeing her there in the moonlight, he swore he had never seen her look more beautiful. She was blushing furiously, the crimson color staining her cheeks, warming them beneath his palm. A tilt of the head, a silent question, and she moved in as if to say yes. His lips found hers only a moment later- a long, deep kiss full of so many unsaid things, so many unexpressed emotions. Her hand pulled away from his and he felt them in his hair, on the back of his head; his hand freed, he could not help but to entangle his digits in the softness of her dark hair.
Moments later, they pulled apart, breathless and grinning, hearts beating in perfect time. "We should get back," he murmured, tipping his forehead against hers, their lips meeting one last moment, both in need of one last, but brief kiss. He stood, extending his hand for her to take; as he pulled her up, he came to realize just how perfectly her hand fit within his. He held fast to her hand, keeping her there, giving him one last chance to take in the sight of her, as if he still yet needed to memorize her every feature. Still yet hand in hand, they walked back along the forest path that led them to their campsite, where their comrades still sloundly slept. For a moment they stood beside the ashes of the fire, InuYasha hesitant to let go of her hand, but then she could not stop herself from yawning and he smiled, slowly unfurling his fingers from around hers. As she slipped back into her sleeping bag, InuYasha returned to his place against the tree, his eyes watching as she rolled this way and that way, until finally she was comfortable. She cast him one last glance before another yawn took root and she snuggled deeper into her bag, lids falling closed against her brown eyes. As she drifted off, her thoughts were of him, and her lips curved into a smile as sleep took her completely over.
As her breathing softened, InuYasha closed his eyes, his heart full of something stronger than anything he'd ever felt in all of his life.