I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi

Priorities

Atae jumped up before Kagome sensed anything. He dropped his toys and rand to the door and slid it open. "Daddy!" he cried, running up to the silver haired figure standing in the late afternoon light, leaning under a large carry bag walking up the path.

InuYasha picked the small boy, so much himself in miniature, up in his arms. "Hey there, little guy! You been a good kid while I was gone?"

"Yeah!" Atae said. "I made sure Mama was safe all the time. And I helped her in the garden. And Auntie Rin told me about Kintaro the strong boy and Uncle taught me how to hide from the deer when I hunt and I saw a tengu fly by and Naoya came here to visit his sister at Uncle's and we went fishing." Suddenly, he threw his arms around his father's neck. "But I missed you so much! I'm glad you're back!"

"I'm glad to be home, too, son. Being on the road with Uncle Miroku just isn't as nice as being here with you and Mama." He let his son slide down to the ground, but took his hand as they walked up towards the house.

His right ear twitched as he heard a noise ahead and he looked up and saw Kagome standing on the veranda. She was wearing her blue and brown wrap skirt, stained and patched, and a plain blue linen kosode, and her sleeves were tied back like she had been busy doing some work, but the sight of her he stopped for a moment and swallowed hard.

She smiled at him, and his heart beat a little quicker at the warm brilliance of it.

"Welcome home!"she said, unfastening the wrap that tied her sleeves back. "I'm glad you're back. Did it go well?"

He walked up to the veranda and dropped his travel bag. "As well as spending two weeks in close quarters with Miroku can go. Spent a damn week trying to flush out the youkai and dealing with the village headmen before we got it. But we're back, and I was able to get the stuff you and Rin asked for." His arm reached out for her, and she joined him, resting her head on his shoulder.

"Missed you," she said, playing with a strand of his silver hair.

He took a deep breath, inhaling her sweet scent and the smells of home, and leaned his head on the top of hers. "Me too," he said, and then he realized something. "Haven't started dinner yet?"

"We're supposed to go over to your brother's for dinner tonight," she said apologetically. "In fact, I was just about ready to change clothes. We didn't know you'd get back today. I could start something."

He sighed, then thought a moment. "No, no, that's all right. Gives me a chance to take Rin's stuff to her. I'd like to clean up first, though. It was a long, dusty walk."

"Go run over to your Uncle's and tell them your daddy just got back," Kagome told her son, "And we'll be over a little later."

"Do I have to?" the little boy said, tugging on his father's sleeve. "I wanna stay with Daddy."

"Do what your mother asks," InuYasha said, reaching into his suikan, and taking out a small bundle. "We'll go fishing tomorrow. Here. This is for you." He handed it to Atae.

The boy unwrapped the cloth and revealed a small wooden figure of a monkey brightly painted with a red vest. "Monkey! Now Dog and Pheasant and Monkey can fight the King of the Oni with Peach Boy! Thank you, Daddy!"

InuYasha ruffed the head of his son. "Now you go tell Aunt Rin what Mama told you. And stay there until we get there. We won't be long."

Atae nodded, and reached into his sleeve and pulled out his Dog toy. "Let's go get the Oni King, Dog!" he said, and ran down the path.

The two adults watched him until he went beyond a bend in the road, then they turned back to each other. Kagome turned to move back into the house, and InuYasha catching her hand, followed her and slid the door closed.

"Let me heat up the bath water," Kagome said, moving towards the fire pit.

Suddenly she was surrounded by a sea of red fire rat and two strong arms tugging her into a firm embrace. InuYasha's mouth was on hers, hungry and needy. One hand wove into the back of her hair, the other pulled her tightly, almost roughly, against him. Kagome stood still for a moment, surprised over the intensity of his attention, then melted into his touch.

"Dammit, woman, I know I've been gone too long. I forgot how good you taste," InuYasha said.

"But Sesshoumaru and Rin are – " she said.

InuYasha hushed her with his mouth on hers while his hands fumbled with the knot on her wrap skirt. "They can wait," he said, letting his mouth trail over her ear and down her neck.

Kagome moaned at his assault, tilting her head back at the feel of his warm mouth and the demands of his hands. Her hands wrapped around his shoulders and fisted in his silver hair as she melted under the feel of him. She didn't even notice when the skirt fell at her feet or when the simple wrap that tied her kosode closed fluttered to the ground to join it.

His hands, ruthless in his need, slid under the collar of her kosode, pulling the blue fabric off of her shoulders. "I need you. Now," he said, letting his tongue drift between the twin peaks of her breasts. The blue garment soon joined the others on the floor. Her knees began to buckle as his tongue brushed across a nipple and he took it into his mouth.

Unable to stand any more, she tugged him down. Entwined together, hands and arms and hair and tongues, they sank to the floor lying on top of her clothes too far gone to move to the sleeping room or even a mat. She bucked against him, clawing his back. He ground his want against her thigh. Panting, she tugged impatiently at his obi, and when it released, she tugged his jacket and shirt free. Together, they unfastened his hakama, and using her legs, she pushed them down low enough then wrapped her legs around his hips. With a kick they were out of the way and with a tilt of her pelvis, she captured him. Their coupling was fast and furious, ending with a wordless cry and a howl.

Kagome, coming back to herself, let out a contented sigh. InuYasha grinned at his wife and kissed her on the nose. "Who missed whom?"

She smiled and scratched his ear. "Time for a bath. Your brother's still waiting."

Later, they walked contentedly across the grounds to where Sesshoumaru and Rin were waiting, wearing their good silk instead of fire rat and linen. The daiyoukai looked at them approvingly as they entered the house, but then frowned.

"You're later than we expected," Sesshoumaru said.

"Keh," InuYasha said as he sat down, swinging a happy Atae into his lap. "I had some important things I had to do first."

Kagome just looked demurely at the ground, but Rin couldn't suppress a giggle.