Kagome hadn't showed up in days. Inuyasha was starting to get restless, so he decided to go to the well and see what was wrong.
Emerging to the other side, he immediately started sniffing the air to track Kagome down. He picked up her scent easily.
He liked the way she smelled. Although the features she shared with Kikyou were strong indeed, he had learned to see her as quite distinct from the latter. At times, he would have found it hard to choose between the two of them. However, that was in the past. Circumstances had made the choice for him. Kikyou was dead - all that was left behind was a bitter shell. To say he cared for Kagome was to express only a small fraction of his well-hidden emotions. He had decided long ago he wouldn't let her get involved with him, that he wouldn't allow himself to show his feelings. After all, what good did it do Kikyou?
As he neared the house, he noticed there was something out of place about Kagome's scent. As he followed the trail, he felt all the more overwhelmed by this peculiar change. It seemed as though she had been frightened by something. Could she be under some kind of threat? Even here?
Having finally located her room, he leaped to her window, and tapped. She was lying coiled in her bed. Roused by the sound, she looked up only to see Inuyasha looking through the window. He seemed worried. She got up, and let him in. Without a word, she returned to her bed, covering herself and returning to her formed foetal position, her back turned to him.
Amazed at her behaviour - she hadn't even given him an annoyed look - he entered the room. He stood watching her breathing deeply for a while before kneeling by the bed and putting his hand on her shoulder.
"Are you alright?", Inuyasha asked softly.
"Couldn't get any shut-eye last night. Just bad dreams, though", Kagome replied, her voice muffled by the pillow.
Having discovered the reason for the change in her scent, his worry was alleviated, although his caring for her had not.
"Is there something I can do?"
She sighed then, and slightly turning her head towards him, she said: "Would you mind just holding me until I fall asleep?"
He nodded, and hesitantly put his arm around her, spooning her.
"Is this OK?"
She just mm'ed and grabbed his sleeve.
Soon afterwards, he noticed her breathing had slowed down. She was sleeping. He took the opportunity to bury his nose in her hair, at the base of her neck. How wrong the hair demon had been. She possessed a beautiful raven mane that was soft to touch and sweet to smell. Nuzzling there for a while, he too drifted to sleep soon enough, not noticing Kagome turning towards him and draping her arm around his waist.
At some point, Kagome's mother went to check on her daughter and bring her some food. As silently as she could, she opened the door only to find Kagome sleeping in the arms of that dog-eared friend of hers. She laid the tray on the desk, and as noiselessly as she had entered, she left.
Walking down the stairs she pondered what she had witnessed. Although she thought her child too young to get involved in a relationship of that kind, she had educated her the best she could. Was whatever went on between them something completely innocent or was there more involved? The image of scent-sensitive dogs chasing after females in heat crossed her mind, but she quickly erased it reminding herself of the peace that seemed to prevail on both their faces as they slept.
Trying to come to terms with the fact that her daughter was on the fast lane to womanhood, all she could do was hope to see her as little hurt as possible if at all. And yet, she was unable to stop herself from smiling at the thought that they actually looked good together.
She didn't know many of the particulars, only that the boy was only half-human. Even though, that alone should be reason enough to remove Kagome from his influence, she really didn't give it much ground. In fact, her own daughter being "special" from the day she was born, she couldn't think there would arise many eligible suitors who would accept her as she was. So in this aspect, their relationship was perfect.
Making up her mind not to give the matter any more thought, other maybe than discussing it with Kagome, she decided to go to bed herself.
When Kagome started to wake, she found herself using a somewhat hard but warm pillow. It smelled nice and felt rather comfortable. She rubbed her face against it before opening her eyes to search for her bed-side clock.
The sight of Inuyasha sleeping beside her with his arm around her startled her at first; she hadn't expected him to stay the night in any case. He looked peaceful and beautiful, just like the day she found him sealed on the scarred tree.
He looked so good she felt the need to kiss him. Chastising herself for her naughty thoughts, and knowing he would be angry if he woke up, she held back at first. Her resolve didn't last long as she realized she might never get another chance as this. So she decided to steal a kiss from him.
She pressed her lips against his, first softly, then a bit more confidently. She felt his hand tighten at her back as he returned the kiss. Terrified at his being awake, she pulled away, only to find his eyes were still closed. She heard him sigh and whisper her name. At that, she approached his lips once more, weaving her fingers though his silver hair and gently pressing her body against his.
When she felt his tongue lapping at her own lips, demanding entrance, she felt she would die of bliss as she opened herself up to him. A soft moan from deep down his throat reaching her ears was enough to increase her passion, and extract in turn a somewhat more violent response from him, as he bit on her lower lip.
Pulling away from him to catch her breath, she noticed his amber eyes were intently recording her every move. She blushed as she realized he had been awake. As she began to utter something, he stopped her by claiming her lips even more forcefully than before. When he released her, she felt grateful she was lying down, otherwise she thought she would have turned into a puddle of boneless flesh and hair.
She merely looked up at him, gathered all the guts her dazzled mind would allow her to and asked: "Is it really me you want?"
"Do you really think I would settle for something less that what I want?", he replied, looking more hurt than angry that she had doubted him.
He approached her ear, and whispered words from his heart that he never meant to tell, words that touched her heart more than she had ever let herself hope.