Chapter Thirteen

Another week passed. One day it would seem like he was making progress is gaining Inuyasha's trust, the next it would seem that he still had a long way to go. Inuyasha hid in the cave and wouldn't let him near for two days after he had let Sesshomaru hold the pups for those few, precious minutes. On the third day he had walked out, put the puppies in his lap, and ran off. He had come back 10 minutes later, snatched the pups up, and disappeared again for three more days. The only time Sesshomaru saw him during those days was when he came out to get food. And he wouldn't talk except to tell Sesshomaru to stay out of the cave.

Inuyasha was currently sitting across from him wearing his familiar fire rat robes. Sesshomaru had mended them as best he could. There was a small piece that had been missing from one of the legs, but it didn't look too bad. The hanyo was eating the deer he had brought in that morning. He kept glancing nervously up at the sky.

"Be calm. I won't let anything happen to you or them. You're safe."

Inuyasha gave an involuntary shiver and turned his eyes to his brother. "I'm never safe on these nights."

"You are tonight. Finish eating, go inside, curl up with your pups, and just sleep. The new moon won't hurt you. And neither will anything else. They would have to go through me."

"And what is to protect us from you?" Inuyasha glanced up at the sky again. It was getting dark. The sun would be set soon.

"I'll be sitting right here all night. I told you before and I will say it again, you have nothing to fear from me anymore." He handed the hanyo a cup of tea. "Try to relax."

"You can't sit out here all night."

"I always do."

"It's going to rain."

"It doesn't matter. A little rain isn't going to hurt me. You just focus on keeping your pups warm and getting some sleep."

Inuyasha huddled in on himself and pulled Sesshomaru's fluffy thing towards him. For some reason the stupid thing comforted him. "I don't want to be alone."

"You can take that with you if you want." Pulling the thing off his shoulder, he passed it to the trembling hanyo.

"Can I take you with it?" His voice was small and he silently hated himself for sounding weak.

"If you wish." He watched Inuyasha carefully. He was frightened. Very much so. He was visibly trembling. "Inuyasha, I swear to you that I will protect you. You don't need to worry."

"I have a hard time keeping them warm on these nights. The first time, after they were born, they got so cold." A tear ran down his cheek and he didn't bother to wipe it away. "I was so scared I was going to lose them. All I could do was bundle them up in furs and hope they survived."

"The featherbed and blankets will keep them warm. Go on inside."

Inuyasha stood, wrapping the fluffy thing around his shoulder. He bent, took Sesshomaru's hand, and pulled him into the cave with him. He could hear the pups fussing. They were due to be fed again. He crawled into the bed, pulled the pups to him, and started to feed them. "Get in."

Sesshomaru raised an eyebrow. "In the bed?"

"Yes. Get in."

Slowly, he crawled onto the bed. He laid on his side, facing Inuyasha, the pups between them. He propped his head on a hand and watched them nurse. Inuyasha was still trembling. "If I make you uncomfortable, I'll go. I don't mind the rain."

Inuyasha shuddered. His hair went black, his ears becoming human. He huddled around his pups and shivered. He was suddenly very cold. "Keep us warm."

Sesshomaru smiled sadly, but he moved the blankets around so that he could pull them up over all five of them. His body heat would keep Inuyasha and the pups warm. "Sleep. I'll be right here."

While the pups nursed, he tucked himself closer to Sesshomaru. "Don't let them get cold. Please."

Putting a hand over the pups, Sesshomaru wiggled out of his shirt. One of the pups turned and nuzzled against his bare skin, making fitful noises. "She's hungry."

Inuyasha turned the pup and she latched onto a nipple. "Oddly enough, I keep the extra set of nipples when I turn human. I can still feed all three of them at the same time if I'm lying down." Inuyasha scooted closer to his brother. He set his forehead against the heat of his shoulder. "You're really warm."

"As are you, normally." He ran a gentle hand down Inuyasha's back and the hanyo moved even closer, pressing as much of his cold body against him as he could without squishing the pups.

The pups nursed and fell asleep, cradled between their mother and their uncle. Inuyasha fell asleep as soon as they were settled, his face against Sesshomaru shoulder, arm around his waist, and knee ticked between his legs. He was very warm and very comfortable. And for the first time in a very long time, he felt truly safe.