"The longing to touch / be touched. I feel gratitude when I touch someone—as well as affection, etc. The person has allowed me proof that I have a body—and that there are bodies in the world."
—Susan Sontag, As Consciousness Is Harnessed to Flesh
There was a weird awareness that a person got of themselves when another watched them. The idea that there was an audience, captive or otherwise, made someone almost hyperaware of the way that they moved and looked. It was a mixture of anticipation and that tingly feeling at the base of one's neck. That primal, giddy feeling inside that almost felt like the precursor to something. It was heady and addictive and definitely not the way Rin normally felt while she was washing her clothes.
She was knelt on her knees next to the bank of a river, working up a very impressive sweat as the sun beat down on her and she slapped her clothes against her washboard. Rin normally didn't mind doing this specific chore, mostly because she was one person who made very little laundry to begin with, and what laundry she did have was pretty mild, but it was so hot outside today that she felt miserable. With a sigh, she sat back and swept her hair back in her fist, lifting it off of her neck to wave her hand against her clammy neck.
She swallowed and twisted her hair into a bun, tying it back as best as she could with what she had, pushing the small flyaway strands that were sticking to her sweaty face out of her eyes. She leaned forward and slid her bare arms into the river up to the biceps just to let the cool water touch her overheated skin. It was so tempting to just abandon her chore and slip all the way in. Who would stop her? No one would and no one in their right mind would be working on a day like this anyway.
But then she would need to do it tomorrow, and Sesshomaru was supposed to be back home tonight. Rin dropped her head forward as she conceded that she would much rather spend time with her husband. If you don't do it now, you won't do it, she told herself encouragingly, making her new goal to just be done and take a bath. With all of the dignity and solemn resolve of someone walking to the gallows, she sat back again and reached over for another garment when all of a sudden she got a distinct feeling that she wasn't alone.
She froze for the barest of moments, catching sight of him out of the corner of her eye as he stood a short distance behind her where Jaken had been resting moments before. A slow smile spread across her face but she did not turn to greet him, instead, she grabbed her kimono and turned back towards her work as if she hadn't noticed him at all. Back turned to him, she sat back on her heels and weighed the consequences of her steadily forming plan silently, lathering the soap in the cloth slowly, thoughtfully.
On the one hand, she was sweaty and hot and ready to go inside, not even taking into account how badly she probably smelled. Sweaty, manic, washer lady wasn't exactly an appealing sight, much less a particularly tempting one. On the other hand, though, she hadn't seen him in a few days and it was so very fun to tease him.
Rin pursed her lips and let a secret, naughty smile slip out as she changed the way she held herself, the decision made. Earlier, she had hunched over her laundry, all splashing and scrubbing and irritation at the task set before her. Now, actually making sure that her clothing ended up clean was the furthest thing from her mind. She arched her back, doing her best to make herself look attractive, sweat stains be damned, her movements slower and more deliberate.
She let her whole top-half rise and fall as she drug her clothes along the washboard, accentuating her movements and making sure that he got the show he hadn't asked for but deserved from his vantage on her rear. She swirled the soap out of her clothes and leaned back, wringing the water out, to throw it in with her other wet clothes to be hung up, casting a surreptitious glance towards where he was standing. With a start, she realized he wasn't there anymore and she gave up on pretense and craned herself all the way around, looking for him.
Not being able to spot him, and feeling more than a little silly, she sighed and turned back around. She gave a yelp of surprise when her husband's legs blocked her from the river, falling back a bit. Rin recovered quickly, grinning up at him as he looked down at her, eyes passing over her face and body.
"Welcome home," she chirped at him, standing up quickly and reaching her hands out to slip them around his waist. He looked down at her, expression softening, and his lips were welcoming and familiar as she reached up to place a cheerful peck against them. "I missed you," she murmured to him, a sentiment he heard from her every time they were apart from each other but was no less true.
She stepped back, letting her fingers slide along him until she was far enough away that she couldn't physically maintain contact and she let her hands drop to her sides. She turned and bent over to pick up her laundry but was stopped by pressure against the ties she had on her back to keep her long sleeves pulled back out of her way. She stopped, confused, and turned to look back at Sesshomaru who had reached out one, long, delicate finger and hooked it in the cloth there. His gaze was as warm as the sun blazing down on her and she raised her eyebrows in response, walking backward as he pulled on her until her back was pressed flush against him.
She craned her head over to look up at him as he looked down at her, his free hand coming around her to help tip her chin up. She drew in a shaky breath and couldn't stop herself from quickly licking her lips as her eyes zoned in on his own pale, soft mouth. In her position, she couldn't reach up and pull him to her as she was wont to do, and so she was at his mercy as he leaned forward and softly ran his lips against her sweaty forehead, down to her cheek, over her lips brushing against them too quickly and gently for her tastes, barely touching.
She wiggled against him, trying to get her hand up to him and add a little urgency but he caught her and held her fast. He leaned back from her and the two stared at each other. She pinched her brows together and all but stomped her feet like a petulant child, wanting to kiss him so badly and knowing he wanted to do the same but this was his revenge for the show she had given him earlier. He always took his time to savor her like the most decadent meal and while she normally loved the attention, she wanted to kiss him now, not in an hour. Rin caught the smirk that twitched up his lips before he leaned forward and sealed his mouth against hers.
Against her back, she could feel his contented sigh and she echoed the sentiment, moving her mouth against his. She wished that she could turn around and mold herself up against him to really get into it, but he held her fast, the arm around her waist like a vice. That didn't stop her from pressing her lips more insistently into his, opening her mouth to catch the air that suddenly had become a scarce commodity. Her legs felt shaky and she marveled at the power he held over her body even after all this time, like magic.
His large hand pressed into her ribs and his thumb brushed against the cloth there but it felt as hot as a branding iron on her and she pitched her eyebrows together pitifully as she realized she was way in over her head, gasping into his mouth as tingles ran up and down her body, gathering in her brain like static and blocking out rational thought. The hand that he had previously restrained was set free and she quickly slid it up and onto his cheek, her fingers brushing along the skin there lightly.
For all the torment that he was putting her through emotionally, the kiss was really just a slow, needy, meeting of two people. The happening of it was so unimportant and disinteresting to the world around them that even if there had been people around, no one would have noticed that the two of them were engaging in some, frankly appalling, displays of affection. Such a sharp contrast from the way Rin felt inside, but honestly, she couldn't deny how nice it felt to just be in a place with a person that she trusted implicitly and lose herself to him, even if it were just for a moment.
And what a short moment it ended up being.
With a pained gasp, Rin pulled away from him and he let her go immediately, hands dropping from her. She put her hand against her neck and winced, Sesshomaru's form casting a shadow over her as he leaned over with an air of concern on his face. She smiled sheepishly and pointed her free hand towards her neck. "Sorry, I, uh…" she couldn't stop the sputtering laugh that eeked out, "Neck cramp." She finished lamely, fingers massaging the knot that had appeared while she had had her neck cranked around and up.
He blinked at her once and she caught the shadow of a smile on his lips before he turned away and picked up her basket of wet clothes. Taking the cue that they were leaving, hopefully to continue their rendezvous in their much more comfortable bedroom, Rin quickly collected the rest of her supplies and the two of them fell into step beside each other, heading home.
Thank you for reading!