Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha.
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Chapter 2
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Mai climbed on her toes and smooched her husband on his cheek, making him look at her with surprise and dissatisfaction, as he was clearly expecting more enthusiasm coming from her. He frowned, when she gently pushed him away and hurried to unpack the contents of the basket, she had brought.
He narrowed his eyes as his wife marched to the kitchen, completely ignoring his display of affection. After a moment, Sesshomaru followed her and leaned himself against the doorframe, so that he could see Mai without setting his foot inside the kitchen – it was Mai's kingdom and he would rather die than his male pride would let him step into the place reserved for women.
The girl began emptying the basket, putting everything on the large table, before deciding, which part had to be stored and what to use for making the dinner. After stuffing the jar with pickled cucumbers and a couple of other things into the storage room, she sighed and looked at her husband, who was glaring at her, obviously expecting something. However, today the certain "something" was only a thing, he could dream about. Calmly, she washed vegetables and began chopping them.
"Wasn't you supposed to be on a trip today?" Mai asked, not tearing her eyes off the chopped carrots.
"Tomorrow." Sesshomaru answered shortly, not happy, that she was giving him so little attention. His stare intensified. "Come to me."
The girl rolled her eyes and carried on with the chopping.
"I need to grade the papers today. I'll be busy." She made an excuse.
The demon furrowed his brows, as his claws grazed the wood of the doorframe. However, he was behaving like some vampire, who couldn't enter unless given a permission. With the difference, that even if being invited and dragged, Sesshomaru would never go into the kitchen. Mai suspected, that it was giving him an illusion, that his wife was a proper, obedient one, whose place is in the kitchen. Had he stepped inside, they would have made them equal in this matter. She shook her head, thinking, that her husband was adorably silly at times.
"Woman, stop making excuses and come to your husband." Sesshomaru kept insisting, his voice returning Mai to reality.
The girl sighed, tossing the chopped vegetables into a pot, filled with boiling water.
"I have work to do. Besides, I'm tired." She said, stirring in the pot.
"Perhaps you should quit if you are so tired." Sesshomaru suggested, only one thought occupying his mind. Mai glared daggers at him.
"I'm not tired because of my work, but because you!" she exclaimed angrily.
"Hn." The demon folded his arms with a cheeky look on his face, as though she had just complimented him. Unfortunately for Mai's hopes for a good rest, Sesshomaru was not the one, who got easily discouraged – he was persistent to the level of being a pain in the ass. "You will be tired tomorrow too, then. Now come."
The girl took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, calming herself. Damn, she wanted to whack the sex-obsessed jerk with the ladle and beat some common sense into his thick skull. She took another calming breath, as one wasn't enough.
"Maybe later." Mai was stalling, wishing, that Sesshomaru would let her cook the dinner in peace.
However, her husband had enough time to learn her usual tricks and wasn't falling that easy for them anymore.
"When?" he asked.
"Later." The girl responded immediately, giving an imprecise answer on purpose. She broke the eye-contact, seeing the impatient expression in Sesshomaru's golden eyes.
"Do not try to trick me, you damnable woman." The demon said, gracing his wife with an epithet.
"So you found out?" Mai more stated than asked, calmly adding herbs and spices to the pot, making a delicious soup. She heard the demon let out an irritated growl, but it didn't really bother her – as long as she was in kitchen, she was perfectly safe, for Sesshomaru would never brace himself and come inside for her.
"Woman!" The inu-youkai snapped, her defiance apparently starting making him mad.
"Keep dreaming." Mai said in a sing-a-song voice, flashing a cheeky smile at her husband before turning to stir in the pot again.
Sesshomaru narrowed his eyes, being led by his wife to the brink of having the urge to throttle her. He glared at her back and flexed his fingers. Then, his hand moved, the green lightning whip sprouting out of the ends of his clawed fingers. One swift movement with his arm and it flew towards the unsuspecting woman. Mai screamed from surprise, as the whip entwined her waist. Before she realized, what was happening, Sesshomaru jerked his hand and his wife flew right into his direction.
"Ouch!" she breathed out, as her back collided with the demon's chest. He put his arms around her and smirked with satisfaction. Once the girl regained senses, she sighed heavily, as her mischievous husband leaned down to kiss her behind her ear.
"Sesshomaru." She said his name in a meaningful way, but he happily ignored it, carrying on with the caresses. "I said later."
Mai felt the demon's hands slip down to her hips, as he kissed the side of her neck. When the girl noticed, that he was already tugging at her kimono, she grabbed his wrists firmly.
"After I eat the dinner." She said harshly. Sesshomaru huffed with annoyance, but thankfully stopped. Reluctantly, he took his hands off and pulled back, freeing Mai from his clutches. She whirled around and kissed his cheek, expressing her praise for not insisting further. However, the demon didn't seem to be satisfied with this.
Actually, he was very displeased and was making the girl know it. The whole time, when she was cooking her soup, she could feel the piercing gaze on her back. When she was eating in the garden, in Sesshomaru's company, it got even worse. The demon was following the moves of the spoon warily, as though he was a cat hunting the pigeons. Mai had to force herself to swallow the spoonfuls of soup, even though it was tasty and she was hungry, because being watched like that was simply stripping her off her appetite.
"Don't stare like that." She scolded her husband. "If you want some of my soup, just ask."
"It is not your food I want." He replied immediately, sending Mai THE look. The girl yawned in response. She stood up and, having washed the dishes with Sesshomaru following her like a shadow, she seated herself in the main room at the low table. She took out the math papers and the writing utensils. Ignoring the ominous presence towering in front of her, she began grading papers.
"Woman." Sesshomaru said in a warning tone, but Mai didn't let herself be distracted, as she was reading another work and correcting the wrong calculations.
"After I grade these." She muttered, not tearing her eyes off the paper.
She had to use all of her concentration ability, as she was being observed by a certain youkai, who had seated himself at the opposite side of the table and kept glaring at her across it. Mai avoided lifting her head not to see the accusing look in her husband's eyes. No that she was neglecting him… He was just too vigorous.
Finally, after three long hours, she finished and organized the things on her desk.
"At last." Sesshomaru said after sitting motionlessly for such a long time. Before Mai had the time to think of another way to stall, he circled the table and scooped her into his arms, nearly running to the bedroom.
"Sesshomaru!" she protested, when he placed her on bed, before joining her and silencing with a kiss.
Her husband knew too well, how to coax her into surrender, when she was being hesitant. First, he gently brushed his lips against hers in light, innocent kisses, while embracing her in a not-too-intrusive manner. When she was okay with that, the caresses were being gradually intensified – Sesshomaru pressed his lips firmly against Mai's and he fluently lifted her and placed on his lap, bringing their bodies closer. The girl returned the kiss, wrapping her arms around Sesshomaru's neck. She reached to stroke the demon's long silver hair, taking her time to caress him between the pointy ears, what made him purr with satisfaction. As on the mark, both of them grew more aggressive and they deepened the kiss, their tongues clashing together. Mai nearly desperately pulled herself closer to Sesshomaru and he almost crushed her ribs in the embrace. One of his hands slipped under her kimono and impatiently made its way up her leg.
"Wait!" Mai exclaimed breathlessly, after suddenly breaking the heated kiss and pulling back. "After I bathe."
Sesshomaru made a face, as though he was just performing a mental face-palm.
"Hurry." He nearly growled, as his arousal had grown strong. Mai nodded, relieved, that he gave up so quickly and darted to the bathing room. Not that she was so willing to resist now, but she preferred to refresh herself first.
Quickly, as though she was fighting with time, she darted to the bathing room. She undid her obi with a jerky move and nearly tore her kimono off, leaving it to fall on the floor. Mai jumped into the tub and washed herself as fast as humanly possible, not wanting to make her sinfully handsome husband wait too long. She grabbed the towel and began wiping the water from her skin, when she noticed something.
"Shit!" she cursed loudly, seeing the glowing red lines on her belly, that looked like a big tattoo. She huffed from anger, realizing, that she had to keep Sesshomaru at distance today. Just, when he got her all aroused… "Damn."
Feeling disappointed and unsatisfied, she dressed, covering the cursed charm. Since her wedding it showed only two times before and it was the third. She never had told Sesshomaru of it and she had no intention to do so – if she did, her husband would surely make a good use of it and impregnate her as soon as possible. The charm turned out, quite unexpected, to be very useful, despite being creepy. Considering, that the whole year passed and she was still not pregnant, it was an effective contraceptive. In a condom-less-world it was a precious thing – it prevented her from getting knocked up before she was ready for the motherhood. Nevertheless, it sucked, that the mark had to show today.
Depressed, she marched to the bedroom. She opened the door and saw Sesshomaru, who was waiting for her on the bed, already naked. Mai sighed and went to bed. The anticipating smile fell from his face, when the girl dived under covers, still in her clothing.
"Goodnight." She mumbled and wrapped the covers tightly around her body, laying with her back to Sesshomaru.
The demon knitted his eyebrows in confusion, seeing her strange behavior. He made an attempt to warm her up by embracing her through the covers and light kisses on the neck, but Mai stopped him.
"I'm sorry, but a serious no." she said firmly, wriggling her neck out of Sesshomaru's reach. "I'm not feeling well."
Mai squeezed her eyes shut, feeling guilty for lying to her husband. But, her lie worked – her husband stopped trying to smooch her into oblivion and pull the covers down. Instead he loosened his hold on her, spooning her gently now. The girl smiled to herself, thinking, that Sesshomaru made progress in treating her properly. She reached for his hand and entwined her fingers with his in an innocent gesture full of love.
"Are you sick?" Sesshomaru asked, concern in his voice.
"No, I just need rest." Mai replied, falling deeper into his embrace. She sighed lightly, when her husband slipped under the covers and she felt the warmth of his naked body. The sleep deprivation was quickly doing its work, for the girl felt like melting in her husband's arms, as she was drifting off to the kingdom of sweet slumber.
"Perhaps you should visit the old bat." Sesshomaru's voice tore her and the sleep apart, when she was on the brink of dozing off.
"Old bat?" she repeated, remembering, who was graced by such a name both by Sesshomaru and Inuyasha. "You mean Kaede? Why should I visit her?"
"I spoke with her in the morning." The demon admitted, making Mai curious. "She promised to give you herbs for your ailment."
The girl furrowed her brows, still half-asleep and not linking the facts very well.
"There's nothing wrong with me." She stated, according to the truth, but her husband was set on delving deeper.
"I think it is." Sesshomaru shared his suspicions with her, making the girl baffled. What did he mean? She was totally fine – healthy, maybe she gained a kilo or two, but that was to be expected without a daily dose of marching.
"I'm fine." She protested. For a while, silence fell. It seemed, that the demon finished with her. Unfortunately it was just wishful thinking.
"We are married for a year and you are still without a child." He stopped beating around the bush and voiced his concern straightforwardly.
Mai stiffened at the mention of the issue and sighed heavily. The baby-problem was back. Again.
"Isn't it better that way? I think, that such matters shouldn't be hurried. We have plenty of time and I'm not feeling ready for having a baby yet." She explained her opinion.
Sesshomaru frowned, hearing it and suspicion began to sprout in him.
"Are you taking any potions?" he asked with disapproval in his voice. Mai rolled her eyes. Of course, she heard, that women were making some suspicious mixture, which caused miscarriages in early stages of pregnancy. Apparently rumors reached her husband too. Of course she had another way of keeping herself in a child-less state, but she didn't want to enlighten Sesshomaru.
"Not your business." She muttered.
Sesshomaru sat up abruptly.
"I am your husband! This concerns me as well!" he raised his voice.
Mai sighed, not eager to quarrel with her husband right now. She pulled herself to the sitting position and faced the demon.
"I know." She answered, still being patient and surprisingly calm, given her temper. "Please, understand, that I don't want to have kids yet. I'm too young for that! I just want to wait some time before deciding on a child."
Sesshomaru frowned.
"How long?" he asked, his face expressing his opinion on this matter – according to Mai's dear husband she should have had the second child on its way already. However, that was clashing with her own plans and expectations. She furrowed her brows, thinking at what age she could be mentally ready to become a responsible mother.
"Five, six." She said aloud.
"Months?" the demon asked.
"Years." Mai corrected him and silence fell, as both of them were staring at each other for a longer while.
"It is unacceptable. You will become infertile before that time. Besides, I want to see my son before year passes. It is your duty to give birth to my pup." Sesshomaru finally voiced his opinion on the matter.
Mai didn't respond to his demand, knowing, that it would only lead to argument. Her husband was sometimes horribly block-headed and simply refused to accept, that it was possible, that his opinion wasn't the only one. She decided to end the discussion in other way than screaming at her husband. She made her best poker face.
"Actually, dear, I'm not taking any potions. Maybe you have some problems with fertility?" she suggested innocently.
Sesshomaru glared at her.
"Hn." He snorted arrogantly. "Do not be foolish, woman. It is women's ailment."
Mai refrained herself from rolling her eyes at the medieval stereotype.
"You know what, in the future scientists will discover, that it was a mistake. Really, men are the ones, who are the infertile ones. And the scientists from my times are always right." She lied with completely straight face, before looking at Sesshomaru with fake concern. "Maybe you should visit Kaede."
"Foolishness." The demon muttered.
"That's absolutely true." Mai said, nodding, as though it would make her words more true. "Don't worry, though. I'm sure, that Kaede will help you."
Sesshomaru furrowed his brows, visibly less convinced, that he was right.
"Go to sleep, woman." He barked out.
Mai kissed him goodnight and laid down. Oddly, Sesshomaru seemed to be… distracted? Just before falling asleep, she heard Sesshomaru get up and start pacing around the room. She smirked to herself mischievously at her little prank – served him right for sprouting out such bullshit. In the morning she would tell him, that she was only joking.
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Author Note:
I sense some marital problems brewing... Oh, I shouldn't be the one reviewing.
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