Series: Inuyasha/K (K-project)
Pairing: Kagome/Mikoto
Prompt: The way you said "I love you" - A whisper in the ear.


Legs were tangled together under the sheets as Mikoto laid behind Kagome, arm draped over her waist while she played with his hand and fingers. They were both awake and simply enjoying the other's presence. Safe and content, it wasn't a moment that either wanted to break; a quiet moment, room barely lit by the soft gray of pre-dawn, seemingly frozen in time.

Kagome smoothed her thumbs across Mikoto's large palm before moving her fingers up to trace his fingers. She knew every line of his palm, every scar from old fights, knew exactly how warm his hands naturally were. She knew how dangerous these hands could be and understood how they could inspire fear in others, but she also knew that she would never have anything to fear from them. She was the safest person in the world exactly where she was.

Bringing his hand closer, she kissed the center of his palm before pressing it to her cheek. She smiled when his thumb gently stroked her face and breathed a soft laugh when his pinky stretched down to tap the tip of her nose. Hugging his arm closer, she pressed her back further into his chest.

Mikoto responded in kind, squeezing her tighter with his arm. He laid a kiss on her neck right behind her ear before tilting his chin up and whispering, "I love you."

Kagome smiled, a little flutter in her heart every time she heard him say the words, but it was accompanied by a pressure in her chest that strangled the breath from her lungs and made her throat ache.

Mikoto's thumb was still tracing the curve of her cheek as tears gathered in her eyes. When they finally spilled, they ran in the opposite direction of his hand, but he didn't miss the way her breath shuddered with her next inhale. "What's wrong?" He asked quietly, still not wanting to disturb the room's tranquility.

Shaking her head, Kagome's voice was small as she answered, "I don't know." And she didn't. The sense of dread and heartache in such a peaceful moment were a mystery to her, but Mikoto's words had simultaneously warmed and broken her heart. "I'm just-" she tried to speak before her throat tightened and she had to try again. "I'm just…scared. I love you, but I'm afraid you're going to leave, that one day you aren't going to be here anymore."

"I'm here now," he told her, nuzzling his nose into her dark hair. "I'm here and I love you." Holding her as she shook and continued to cry, Mikoto let her get it out of her system as he continued to reassure her, "I'm here. I love you. I would never leave you if I could help it."

Kagome nodded at his words, hearing the sincerity in his voice and feeling the conviction in his hold.

Waking with a sudden gasp, Kagome blinked bleary eyes against the soft gray pre-dawn light that had taken over the room while she slept. As her mind cleared from her dream haze, she realized that she was cold. And her pillow was damp. Wiping her eyes with the heel of her hand, she rolled over to her other side to where her pillow was still dry.

Before she closed her eyes, she stared at the empty spot on the other side of the large bed where the sheets were still smooth, cool, and undisturbed. A fresh wave of tears started to fall as she grabbed the unused pillow and hugged it to her chest.

It was cold.