"Fuck! Stupid little shit-"
Inuyasha snarled loudly and brushed his brow in annoyance, wincing as the sweat stung his blistered hands. He peered down at them forlornly and fisted his right to test its tenderness. A sharp throb shot up his forearm, wrenching an involuntary shudder and twitch from the hanyou. He shook his head negatively and shouldered his sword with a lengthy sigh. It wouldn't take long to heal, but his agility was compromised and it wouldn't be any use to try to track another one of those little bastards down.
Golden eyes narrowed at the surrounding forest, blaming its rich, embracing depths for his current predicament. It was probably long gone by now, and hiding somewhere in there. His brows furrowed further as he examined his one viable catch. It was dirty, misshapen, but still relatively intact. For today, it would have to do.
"W-what happened!" Kagome's panicked cry made a small part of him shrink in guilt. He hated making her worry, and he'd been damn good about it for a long time too. The last pain in the ass got him a little better than he gave it credit for, and the ache was starting to bother him.
"Keh. Just a scratch woman." He kept his eyes closed serenely with a tight jaw, and tried to pass off his slightly charred hands with indifference. Kagome prodded his fingers gently, and turned his hands over and back to inspect the damage. He couldn't help the small hiss that snuck out and instantly regretted his weakness when he visibly saw Kagome wince. She turned wide, apologetic eyes to him before getting up to gather strips of cloth.
An old routine established itself. He grumbled, she fretted, he sighed, and she soothed. After tying a neat bow, something Inuyasha would only admit to himself as endearingly cute and Kagome, she gathered his hands in her lap and held them gently. As he tried to think of a passable excuse he was startled by her soft kiss. She smiled up at him lovingly and shook her head, then manoeuvred herself into his arms.
"That's it?" he eyed her suspiciously. Her gentle, secretive smile irritated him.
"That's it."
It had taken nearly four more months and five excruciating rounds of cat and mouse before Inuyasha accumulated what he required. The hardest part was explaining his sudden desire to journey alone for two entire weeks. He told her he was going north, and it was much too cold for a delicate human in these winter months. She seemed weary, a bit suspicious, but asked no further questions. That night he made sure to hold her extra close, a silent apology for his recent bout of secrecy.
The next morning, he kissed her goodbye and parted the reeds to exit their home. The air was cool and crisp, invigorating if not for the settling loneliness in the pit of his stomach. He was so used to her company, so used to having her awake in his arms with a kiss ready on her lips. It would be the first time in nearly a year that they'd part for so long, but it was a necessary evil.
With a deep breath he shouldered his burden and shot up into the sky.
It took days to wash and even longer to dry. Inuyasha growled at the mean old bat who scolded his every move and resisted her when she attempted to shove him aside. It wasn't his fault the fucking things kept mending themselves! Finally, time came to beat the stiffness out of them – something he enjoyed immensely. He had been away from home for almost a week and he was beyond irritable.
Halfway through the second week, shrewd eyes glared at claw tipped toes that were tapping rhythmically against the stone floor. A gnarled hand grasped an old wooden bucket and launched it, surprisingly skilfully, at a dense, silver covered head. The ensuing curses made the smallest flicker of a smile appear on her thinned lips.
Finally, after a few too many hits to the head, Inuyasha cradled his precious cargo and started out of the decrepit forest – for even the trees seemed melancholy – and started a fast pace back home. Within a day and a half he burst through the front door, dusty and sweaty, and tossed a cloth wrapped package to the ground. Kagome barely had time to stutter a hello before she was in his arms and melting into his wandering hands. She kissed him back just as feverishly and the world around them seemed to mute and blur as nothing but the touch of their skin mattered. He growled in impatience, she giggled, and soon they were tangled on the floor, unable to even make it their sleeping quarters.
"Inuyasha?" Kagome questioned languidly, tracing invisible lines on his arm.
"What?" He was tired and hardly in the mood to talk. He couldn't sleep properly without her at his side and her scent was lulling him into a state of semi-consciousness.
"Where have you been?" Had it not been for the worried inflection in her voice, he would have brushed off her questioning in favour of a nice nap. Instead, he suppressed a sigh and lifted his head off the futon to peer into her eyes. She was resting her chin on his chest and if he peeked just a little lower he could make out the exposed curve of her-
"Oww!" Inuyasha twitched horribly to the side and turned hurt eyes to Kagome. She bit her lip to hold in her laugh and shook her head negatively.
"I know where your head's getting to." Rather than retaliate he merely grinned and received another exasperated roll of her eyes. Inuyasha pillowed his arm under his head and watched her as she soothed his abdomen with light scratches. He could tell she wanted to say more, and waited patiently for her to come up with the words.
"You've been gone for two weeks..." she finally murmured, refusing to meet his eyes. He grunted and soothed her cheek with a knuckle. He felt like a jerk for leaving her for that long with no explanation, but it was only because he wanted to keep it a surprise. Besides, what else could he have been possibly- The answer dawned on him and he wanted to smack his head against the blunt side of Tetsusaiga. It never even occurred to him, but he was almost certain that was the conclusion she had come to herself.
Inuyasha sat up and pulled her with him, tightening his embrace and refusing to let her go. He brushed her hair to one side and nipped the exposed length of her neck in reassurance.
"I wasn't with her, if that's what you think." She stiffened and he instantly felt like a complete idiot.
"Okay." Her answer didn't soothe him, and the unsettled beast in his belly made him lash out.
"I wasn't! I left to get you-" he paused and she tipped her head back curiously. "Fuck it." Kagome barely had time to stabilize herself as he freed himself from her. Inuyasha quickly strode over to the forgotten package near the entrance and tossed it to her. She eyed the simple blue carrying cloth and flickered her gaze back to him before cautiously pulling apart the folds.
"Oh!" she gasped as she pulled back the final wrapping.
"Keh."
"Y-you...is this?..."
"It's for you, you crazy wench. Now you have your own, so stop stealing mine." He meant to be gruff, at least a little peeved at her mistrust, but the moment she wrapped her arms around him he lost the ability to stay mad. And as she rained kisses on his face he simply forgot why he was even irritated in the first place.
"Oi...I thought I told you to stop stealing mine woman." Kagome jerked out his reach and secured the tie around her waist.
"I'll wear that on special occasions." Inuyasha shrugged on his kosode and eyed his missing firerat, currently swaddling a very happy and humming Kagome.
He watched as she practically skipped across the room and hung the silky robe on a modernly fashioned hanger. She ran her fingers through the thin material lovingly and sighed with what appeared to be complete contentedness. Inuyasha bit back a sappy grin and shook his head. She was so heart wrenchingly pure, so easy to please. And he'd be damned if he ever let her go.
Inuyasha groaned in annoyance as the blankets were pulled back from his naked torso and exposed to the frigid, winter morning chill. He groped blindly for his firerat and came up short. Peeking an eye open he spied his sneaky wife stirring the embers from last night in none other than the very article of clothing he wished to wear. Sighing, he noticed the yet to be worn robe he made for her – thinner and longer as he knew she'd like it – and contemplated the value of his near half year long ordeal.
Snow turned to rain, and rain turned to dust.
That was another reason he wanted it back. It was fucking hot outside and his kosode was clinging to him like a second skin. He longed for the breathable outer layer Kagome refused to give back to him. When he threatened to wear hers she simply laughed and threw the garment at him. How could she hog two? Once a wench, always a wench.
"Kagome?" he mumbled, his inquiry muffled by her shoulder.
"Mmm?" he watched as she soothed her swollen belly with light touches, giggling every so often as a kick surprised her.
"Why don't you wear the one I made for you?" he was slightly hurt, but covered it up with a harshness he hadn't intended. Kagome hummed quietly and brought his large hand into hers and threaded their fingers together. The warmth radiated through the soft fur of the robe and he breathed in the mixed scents of him, her, and... His heart did another one of those funny flutters he was so prone to lately. "What?" he gruffed, "do you not like it?"
She turned surprised eyes to him and shook her head. The gentle kiss miffed him and he made the effort to not return the gesture. He had worked pretty fucking hard on that robe, and she had only wore it a few times. What kind of thanks was that? And, worst of all, she still took his!
Kagome hugged the comforting material closer to her body and fully reclined upon a bare chest. She fingered the matching hakama that protectively cradled her and leaned backwards to meet Inuyasha's eyes. One of those damn flutters attacked him again and he felt a small blush rise on his cheeks. Kagome had found a new sense of serenity, a peace that came only after the discovery of the little trouble maker growing inside her. She positively glowed and that alone made his breath short at times. His eyes darted away from hers as the feelings got too intense.
"I wear yours because it smells like you...and because it makes me feel safe."
Her eyes closed and he envied her ability to stay so calm when it felt like his heart was going a mile a minute.
"The one you made for me is beautiful Inuyasha, but it doesn't...it's not the same."
Vaguely he remembered the few times he saw her in the robe, her robe. It moulded to her body and hugged every curve and swell, and she looked fantastic in it. He tampered down his less than pure thoughts and appreciated the fact that hers was ankle length. But when she wore his... It overwhelmed her, made her look tiny and vulnerable. It made him want to protect her with everything he had and chase away all the demons in the world to keep her safe. And when she reluctantly returned his armour, it always smelled strongly of her scent.
"Do you want me to give it back?" she asked cutely with a pout.
He shook his head and nudged her cheek with his nose. Rather than respond, he just held her tighter.
"Sankontessou!" The small battle cry rung a wiry smile from him. The kid was a ways away from being a threat to anyone, but that didn't really matter. As the wooden blocks tumbled to the ground with a clatter, Inuyasha scooped up his son and tickled a series of breathless squeals from the young boy.
No more than two, the toddler was fully enveloped in the lengthy folds of his firerat. Inuyasha considered fashioning his son one of his own, and probably would when he was a little older, but for now, his own was more than fine. The older of the two golden eyed boys gazed briefly at the silken robe hanging on the wall, next to the amused eyes of their owner.
Kagome had taught him a lot of things, some of which took more effort than others. Not beating Shippou nearly caused something inside him to pop, and to this day, tolerating Miroku's stories still gave him headaches. But sharing, he supposed it just got easier with time.