Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters from the Inuyasha universe, but I sure do love playing with them. The rest is mine.
Chapter 27
If he hadn't been turning human he would have smelled it in the air much earlier in the day. He would have realized long before it happened that the sky was going to open up again and rain. It felt like the clouds had come out of nowhere right as the sun began to set...And that sealed their fate for the evening. Trapped inside a flimsy fabric tent.
A tent that had been much harder to set up than he remembered.
But...he also wasn't sure if that was because of the tent or because Kagome had chosen to wear a loose low-cut shirt that day. A shirt that she might not have realized gave him a little show every time she bent over. Which, when you're setting up a tent, is a lot. He shouldn't know that she had chosen to wear a white, lacy bra that day...And yet…
He internally whimpered at the reminder and told himself for the hundredth time that he needed to calm the fuck down. It wasn't ok to keep ogling or remembering, but apparently, he had no fucking self-control. And if he wasn't careful, he was gonna pop a boner.
The rain picked up outside the tent, and Kagome chewed the side of her thumb, looking like she was trying to think of a distraction. The guitar on his lap was not helping, apparently.
Probably because she was. She did not want to be out here right now. Not because she was alone with Inuyasha - don't get her wrong. That was the part she loved. No. She didn't wanna be here right now because she wanted to survive the night and not die in a rainstorm.
"Hey," Inuyasha tried, the air mattress they both sat on squeaking a little as he shifted, moving the guitar he had been playing off to the side. "Why don't we play a game?"
She looked up into his taupe eyes as he pulled his midnight locks into a bun at the nape of his neck.
"Y-yeah. O-ok," she nodded, glancing up at the tent as it began to rain harder. He reached into his backpack and found a deck of cards he had packed next to the oh-so innocent tin of Altoids and pulled it out. He tried to keep them discreetly hidden, but apparently, that was a bit of a fail.
"Oh, nice! You packed Altoids? Can I have one?"
She watched him freeze in panic for a moment before he shook his head.
"Tin's empty. Sorry...I checked earlier. I guess I forgot I finished them off and didn't throw out the case."
"Ah...Oh well. Not like we didn't buy enough junk food, right?" she replied pointedly.
"Still upset with that?" he snorted, opening the cardboard box the cards came in and expertly shuffling them.
"Nah - I don't think we needed that extra bag of marshmallows though. We're not going to be able to make s'mores tonight anyway."
"I'm sorry...I knew you were looking forward to that...If I'd known…"
"It's not your fault, Yash. This wasn't on a weather report. You were losing your sense of smell. There was no way to know."
"Yeah," he sighed, tapping the side of the cards. "Still…"
If he were still a half-demon, his ears would be drooping. She knew it. She knew that tone. It was his defeated tone. The one that said 'I should have been able to fix this, even though there was nothing I could do to fix it.'
"So...Whattya wanna play? Strip poker?"
"Nice try buddy," she snorted, a wry smile spreading across her lips. "I'm not in the mood for regular poker either."
"Can't blame a guy for trying," he smiled sheepishly, continuing to shuffle the cards. "Ok...well...Hm," he pondered, scratching his head. "Gin?"
"Nah. How about something more old school…"
"...Go fish?"
"War."
She had her reasons for it. It was a simple game. One that took no thought or effort. You simply divided the deck into two even piles and kept your cards face down. You'd then each flip the card on the top up, and the person with the higher number won the battle, and got to keep both cards. If you both flipped the same number card up...Then you would go to war and place four additional cards face down, and a fifth card face up. Whoever had the highest number on that fifth card won the whole lot.
So...
Simple.
Easy.
Mindless.
The perfect game to play so they could also have a very important conversation.
"Really? War?" Well...Fuck. He wouldn't have guessed that in a million years. They used to play that a lot as kids. And then as teens...they added some extra rules to the game. Rules that involved a lot of touching and caressing and cupping. He didn't know if her choice had anything to do with those rules or not...but...He was encouraged by it.
"Really," she nodded, pushing her hair behind her ears.
"Sure...Why not. It's been a few years and it lasts forever," he chuckled, beginning to dole out the cards into two piles, all while trying to get his racing heart under control. The idea of touching Kagome right now like that...
"My thoughts exactly," she nodded, pulling him out of his thoughts. She winced when there was another burst of rain, and he put down the deck. Inuyasha took her hand, causing her to look back up into his eyes and he internally swore at how uneasy she looked right now. Why the hell had he been thinking about copping a feel when she was as nervous as she was? Why hadn't he picked up on the storm sooner?
He was an ass. Fucking new moon dulling his fucking senses...
"Hey...It will be ok. Worst case...We make a run for the truck, yeah? Just go home. Come back for everything tomorrow."
"No!" She all but yelled, making his eyebrows rise in surprise. "I-I mean...No...I'm ok. It's fine. I don't want to go home - I want to stay. I know we will be ok," she insisted.
She didn't want to leave. Or even risk it in the truck. She wanted to be right where she was. She wanted to talk to him, and leaving meant that they weren't going to have another chance at this. She wasn't going to give that up.
"Oh...Ok, then," he replied, tilting his head to the side. "If you change your mind though, even for a second, you just tell me, yeah? Ya don't gotta stay out here with me."
"Yash, I want this," she replied softly, running her thumb across the base of his palm, making his skin tingle in delight. His heart beat a little faster. A blush spread across his face.
He couldn't help but wonder what else she wanted?
"Ok then," he smiled picking up the deck again, and continued to dole out the cards until they were in two equal piles. When he was done, he handed one to Kagome and kept the other for himself. "So. Rules. Is the ace high or low?"
"High," she smirked, shuffling her cards.
"And are there...any other rules you would like to implement?" he asked carefully. He knew she knew what he meant, but he didn't wanna say it. Just in case her answer was no. Because he was chicken shit and the idea of getting a direct no...while understandable, wasn't one he really wanted to hear right now.
"Inuyasha Takahashi...Are you trying to use this card game as an excuse to feel me up," she smirked mischievously, and try as he might, he couldn't exactly deny it.
"Just making sure you don't wanna do anything else is all. Like, change the number of cards we dole out when we war. That's all."
"Mmm...See...I could have sworn that you were just trying to use this as an excuse to grab my boobs again. Weren't you the one who came up with that rule?"
"Wha-No! You did!"
"Me?!" She replied indignantly, cutting her cards one final time before flipping the first one up and placing it onto the air mattress. An eight. He took that as his cue to start playing and flipped his card. A two.
She smirked and swept both cards away, placing them onto the bottom of her deck.
"Yeah, you! I was bored and we were hanging out in your room and you said you wanted ta play war. Next thing I know, my hands are on your boobs-"
"-Excuse you! They were your hands! You're the one who put them there!"
"But I'm not the one who made up tha rules!"
"And if I didn't, you never would have touched them either, would you?"
"...Maybe not then, but certainly not never."
She rolled her eyes and flipped her next card. A ten. His was a Jack. He won, and she pouted.
"Fine, but it would have taken you forever to make a move. You're notoriously slow when it comes to that stuff, Yash. It took you forever to kiss me."
"I-Well...You could have kissed me too! I didn't need ta be the first one ta do it!"
They flipped their cards, and she won.
"No...You're right...I could have just as easily done it...but...I was too scared to. I didn't want to ruin what we had."
"There was nothing to ruin, Kags," he smiled softly, flipping his card. "Nothing changed. Not really. Well...Yeah, they did...but...things were…Well…"
"Deeper," she murmured, flipping her card. "Things only intensified for us."
"Yeah. We became more than just...friends."
"We did," she mused. "We were friends who could kiss."
"Mmmm...Best kinda friend there is…"
"Really?" she smirked. "Better than fuck buddies or friends with benefits?"
He sputtered as he placed his card down on the bed, his eyes widening in surprise.
"W-wha...What the hell do ya know about that?!"
"I know only idiots attempt it," she shrugged, flipping her card. "Sex is never 'no strings attached'. Not unless it's a one night stand, and even then, you better not know the other person."
Inuyasha shifted his gaze away from her, fighting with himself. There was only one question burning in his brain, and he wanted to ask it...but he didn't know if that was a smart choice right now. The idea of her in that kind of relationship...He didn't like it. Then again, he weren't too keen on tha idea of her in any relationship if it weren't with him.
But, He wanted to know more about her life without him too. And this...this was an important question to ask.
"Have you ever done that with someone?"
Kagome looked at him in surprise as she flipped a card and shook her head.
"Friends with benefits? No. Never...I just know it's not smart. I've...had my fair share of sex," she blushed. "But I've never done something like that."
"Your fair share of sex, huh?" he smiled weakly, and she rolled her eyes.
"Don't start - I know you have too."
"I mean...Yeah...I…" he sighed, shaking his head before mumbling, "If I coulda done it all with you, I woulda…"
"I'm sorry," she winced.
"Sorry for what? Being a kid and not ready to go that far with me? Kags...We went pretty damn far as it was. I ain't blaming ya for not doing that with me."
"It should have been with you though," she mumbled quietly, flipping a card over. Nine. His was a four. She won. "My first time was...Horrible, and it wouldn't have been with you."
"Horrible how?" he pressed gently, trying to keep his emotions in check. She was opening up to him about something private and personal and he wasn't gonna make this about himself.
Right?
Right.
"Oh god...Do you really want to know," she laughed, her heart racing in her throat. That wasn't a story she ever thought she would be sharing with him of all people.
"I'm all ears if ya want me ta be. I can drop it too," he shrugged, trying to be dismissive about the whole thing, but now he really wanted to know. He was sure she was making it out to be a bigger thing than it was. "I told ya about my first blow job after you - couldn't have been worse than that," he smirked, and she giggled.
"Oh yeah...It...was not nearly that bad," she laughed, remembering the story of him scrambling out of the car after he came in some poor woman's mouth, ass hanging out for all the world to see.
"See?" he grinned cheekily, flipping another card. "And a worse man mighta told ya that since he told you his...You should tell him yours...but I am not that man."
"You're not, huh?"
"Nope. I'm not gonna pry. I'm just gonna sit here, playing this card game, pretending that we're totally even with swapping horrible sex stories."
"You are, are you?"
"Yup," he nodded, flipping another card. "Not gonna say a thing. Not. A. Thing."
"You're such a bad liar sometimes," she laughed. "I don't even need a special nose to know that! Fine! I'll tell you, you stubborn ass…"
"I'll remind you that my breed of demon is dog - not donkey."
She giggle snorted, and he felt himself smile despite himself. It had been a while since he had made her make that sound. He hadn't realized how much he had missed it, and how much he wanted to make her make that sound again and again and again…
"Alright," she began, shaking her head. "So...It was about two years after we broke up. I didn't really date at first because...well…"
"Yeah," he nodded, letting her know she didn't have to explain. He understood all too well what that had been like.
"Yeah…" she agreed, nodding her head as well as she flipped another card, winning that round. "Well, Ayame, that roommate I keep talking about?"
"Uh-huh," he encouraged, moving and making the air mattress squeak a little as his weight shifted.
"Right. Well. She thought that it was time I got back out there, and she knew this guy from her English class she thought would be great for me. He was an English literature major-"
"-Nerd!"
"He was not! He wanted to be a professor-"
"-Neeeeeeeeerd!"
"Oh stop! Ayame thought he would be great for me!"
"That was a mistake," he smirked, and she reached out to pinch his arm. "Ow!"
"Behave yourself or I'm not going to tell you!"
"Fine," he sighed dramatically. "I won't say shit. As you were. What did the nerd do?"
"That's saying 'shit', Yash…"
"You said it was a bad date," he whined. "Can't I make fun of the guy a little?"
She paused, narrowing her eyes at him. He really wasn't going to let that drop, what he?
"Fine. Only a little though...And only because it was bad."
"I can live with that," he smirked, his eyes dancing in amusement as he giddily flipped the next card. "Alright. So. How did this guy fuck up?"
"Well...the date itself actually wasn't all that bad. He was sweet and cordial...Pulled the chair out for me at dinner...Opened the doors for me…"
"And that stuff impressed you enough to make you want to sleep with him?"
"It wasn't that," she mumbled, looking down into her lap. "He...reminded me of you a little."
Inuyasha's hand stilled on the top of his deck. Kagome had his full and undivided attention now.
"Really? How?"
"It was...I don't know!"
"Yes ya do or you wouldn't have slept with him," he shook his head, not willing to give up this one little nugget of information now that he had it. Fuck! Saying anything had been a mistake. She should have kept it locked up and not said anything…
"Fine! He looked like you. Kind of. He was a dog demon. Same hair. Same eyes. Different ears...Different markings on his face than yours when you go full demon...But it was the way he acted. Trying to be all tough when really he was a softie. I could see it in his mannerisms. He did that same thing you did when you kissed me. The whole push the hair behind the ear thing...I don't know. Maybe I just...wanted to see you in him too. And his physic made it easy."
She watched Inuyasha roll what she had said around in his head as he slowly flipped his card. Six. Her's was a five.
"Alight," he nodded, clearing his throat. "So he looked kinda like me, and was a dog demon too. So you slept with him because you couldn't sleep with me anymore?"
"That wasn't the only reason, but it played a factor. It's just...By the time I was twenty, everyone else I knew had already had sex and were fucking around with people and...I was in college. It got to a point where it was like...because I had waited so long, my...virginity," she winced, "was a bigger deal than it really was. Or it felt like it was?"
"So you just wanted to get laid," he pressed, tilting his head to the side, just trying to understand what the hell her motivation had been.
"I just wanted sex to not be this big thing anymore. It was like an albatross around my neck. So, when Ayame set me up on this blind date, and we seemed to mesh...I just...Said fuck it. He walked me back to our place. I shot Ayame a quick text to give her a heads up, and then I invited him in for coffee."
"Which is just code for sex."
"Yeah," she nodded, a blush on her face. "So...He came in. And then we started kissing a little on the couch...Should I...skip the details?"
"If you don't mind," he winced, for more than one reason. As much as he wanted to know about this, he also didn't want to picture someone having sex with her. Even if they did look like him. And because the guy looked like him, he didn't wanna start picturing himself having sex with her neither. It weren't gonna do no one any good if he popped a stiffy right now. Fuck, why was it so easy to get hard around her?
"Probably wise," she agreed, nodding her head and absently flipping a card. "So...Yeah...the sex…"
"The sex…" he nodded, placing his own card next to hers. He won. He didn't care.
"The sex was...He looked like you, but he was in no way as attentive as you were when we...When you used to…"
"Eat you out?"
"Yash!"
"Well! You're bumbling around it so I'm trying to help. Was I wrong?"
She pinched her eyes shut and shook her head.
"God, it was awful. I don't know if it was me or him or...What. But, I didn't like it at all. And so when it came time to actually do it, I wasn't really...ready…"
"You weren't wet."
"Would you stop!"
"Stop what! You're the one being all vague!"
"You told me you didn't want specifics!"
"I mean, do I wanna hear how he fingered you or ate you out or what techniques he used? No. But do I still wanna know what you're talking about? Yeah!"
"Ok fine! I wasn't wet enough because he didn't know what he was doing, and I was too scared and nervous to tell him, so when he put his dick in me, it hurt a lot, and then he never called me back anyways so it didn't even matter!" she snapped, slamming her next card down onto the air mattress and Inuyasha looked at her in shock.
"Kags…"
"Don't…"
"The asshole never called you?"
"Yash…"
"Kagome!"
"Please?" she pleaded, her shoulders slumping. "I made mistakes. I know that. I know it would have been different with you. I know that you would have taken your time and not rushed it and I know that you would have made sure I was warmed up before moving forward...And I know I shouldn't have been scared when we were together, but I was, and when we weren't...I just…"
She sighed, shaking her head and running her finger along the edge of her cards.
"Please?" she repeated one more time, looking back up at him again and he nodded.
"Yeah...We can not," he murmured softly, placing his hand onto her knee. "We don't have to talk about it anymore. We both have regrets. That's ok though...Because...We wouldn't be us if we didn't have 'em, right? And...those mistakes and regrets only makes everything else in life that much sweeter, right?"
"Right," she whispered, slowly and absently spinning the cards between her fingers. "I just...wish that I had done it with someone who cared about me more and that I didn't just...rush. Especially after not doing anything with you."
"You weren't ready," he shrugged. "It's ok Kags. Really. I weren't never gonna push ya. You might had frustrated the hell outta me sometimes...And left me with blue balls more than once...but...it weren't nothing I couldn't handle. I'd always thought, when you're ready, you're ready, and I could wait."
"I should have been ready with you though."
"But ya weren't and that's ok," he shrugged. "I...never pushed ya too hard, did I?"
"No, Yash. Not once. I felt guilty a few times because I could feel how much you wanted it - in more ways than one, I'll add. But you always made it clear that the ball was in my court."
"Ok...Yeah...Good," he nodded, flipping his card. "So...It sounds like...I did my job as your guy then…"
"You were perfect as my guy, Yash," she smiled, relaxing a bit more. "You let me set the pace with just about everything. You let me decide when I was ready to touch you and...be touched…You were good about leaving the ball in my court."
"Good...Yeah...Good," he nodded nervously as she flipped her own card. "I, ah...I wanna leave something else in your court, then. Since that's my move…"
She looked up at him and tilted her head to the side slightly before her gut started twisting.
Was this…
Were they about to finally talk?
"Kagome, yesterday...Are you...Can we...We should…"
"Yeah. We should," she agreed, nodding her head. It was. They were finally going to put it all out there. "Yash, what did that mean for us, exactly?"
"What did you want it to mean?" he pressed, placing a card down, and not even looking at it.
"I asked you first!"
"I-that...But…Kags!"
"Yash!"
He chewed the inside of his lip, looking down at his lap for a moment before looking back up at her. They couldn't hold anything back. That was the point of waiting until now. They needed to be 100% honest with each other.
"I want you, Kagome. Like I've never wanted anything else in my life. I-I want you ta be my girl again."
There. He'd said it. It was out there. He made it clear. This is what he wanted...And now his heart was racing in his chest and his ears were ringing and he felt light-headed and-
"I want that too."
The smile that broke across his face was positively radiant, and she couldn't help but return it. This giant ball of tension she had been feeling in her chest all night...Ever since they had kissed again suddenly dissolved.
"Ok...So...We're back tagether then. It is law," he nodded, and she giggled.
"Law, huh?"
"Yup. You're mine. I'm yours. No seeing nobody else. You're all mine."
"I like the sound of that," she smiled coyly, before darker thoughts began to seep in around the edges of her mind. She was his...and he was hers...sure...But...For how long?
"Yash, how is this going to work though? I...have to leave again at some point. That hasn't changed."
His face fell a little at that reminder.
"Right...LA…"
"LA," she whispered, placing her card down next to his, just so she could do something with her hands.
"Yeah, that's...Yeah…" he sighed, running his fingers through his bangs.
"It is…"
He shifted on the air mattress, making it squeak again.
He couldn't ask her to stay. He knew that. But...Dammit…
"You have to go?"
"It's where my life is. My career, my friends...You have to stay?"
"Montana is my world. What would I even do out in LA? Bus tables? Drive an Uber? Work at Starbucks? I don't have a fancy degree, Kags. I never needed one. Not for what I do. I couldn't...I can't…" he sighed, looking down into his lap. "I can't support you if I moved there."
She wanted to tell him that he wouldn't need to. They would work together to support each other. And if he wanted a degree to do something else? Well...They would make that work too. She wanted to say all of that. But she knew that he wouldn't like it, and they would start fighting. She could feel it in her chest.
Now wasn't the time to say that.
This was the time to just...get a game plan together for now. Talk about expectations and boundaries and go from there.
"Then...Why don't we just...take everything one day at a time. I'm yours in whatever capacity you want me, for however long you want me. If...If we need to do long distance, then we will do long distance."
But for how long? You couldn't be married to someone who lived in another state, only seeing them once a month. You couldn't raise a family that way. He wanted his kids to have a mother who lived there with them. Not off in another state.
Deep down...he knew that they had an expiration date. He didn't know when it would be or how it would happen...but if he couldn't leave Montana and she wouldn't leave LA...What else was there but an eventual break up looming over them?
And he told her that.
And she worried her bottom lip between her teeth.
"Does that mean we don't do this then?" she whispered, fear clawing at the pit of her stomach, twisting it into a thousand knots. "If neither of us can budge...Does it even make sense to start?"
Inuyasha's eyes scanned her face, seeing his own emotions reflected back at him. The same fear and nervousness. The same longing and desire. He wanted to hold her tight and never let go of her again but...With the way their lives were…
Maybe it was smarter to just...not. He had been scared before for that exact reason.
But...Maybe he was a glutton for punishment because the thought of not trying...Of not at least giving them a chance...It made him sick. He couldn't do it. If he knew that she wanted him, he wasn't about to write them off.
"No...You're right. We take this a day at a time, with the understanding that maybe this won't end in a happily ever after," he sighed. "I want whatever you can offer me. If all we do is rewrite the ending of our story then...Then I can live with that. I'd rather spend the next seven years thinking of you with a smile on my face from fond memories than a scowl."
"I'd like that too," she replied softly. "So...We want each other. We want to be exclusive...And...We agree to take us a day at a time. Does that sound right?"
He nodded, shakily exhaling.
"Yeah. That sounds right."
"Ok then," she smiled, her posture relaxing. "What are the rules?"
"Rules?" he replied, furrowing his brow.
"The terms. Expectations. Boundaries. Shouldn't we have some in place? Like...I don't think you want to go home and tell your mom that we're a thing again...She won't exactly be thrilled," she mumbled, wincing at what she imagined Izayoi's reaction would be.
"Ah...Yeah...Perhaps...we keep this to ourselves. At least for a while?"
She couldn't help but agree.
"I think that might be for the best. I don't want to leave you with a town of gossips to deal with. They will be relentless if they catch wind of this. I'm sure they all know all about you and Kikyo...If not from her then from the liquor store," she sighed, shaking her head to dispel the memory. "I don't want to leave you with a mess."
"Nothing I haven't dealt with before. I don't...Kags if people talk, they talk," he gently reassured her, reaching out to take her hand. "Just means they ain't got nothing better ta do. What they say ain't gonna keep me from ya. But...I know you care. And Ma will be hard...So we can keep it a secret. 'Sides...Sneaking around can be quite thrilling," he murmured, swirling the pad of his thumb across her wrist and the base of her palm in a way that made her heart beat a little faster. It was meaningful. They weren't just talking about the long term aspects of them anymore. They were talking about the physical side of their relationship.
And god, she wanted a physical side again.
"There's a lot that can be thrilling if it's done right," she agreed, trying to ignore the pounding of her heart in her throat. "There's a lot that can be exciting and pleasurable if one is open to exploring it…"
"I am...very open to exploring...everything."
"Y-you know that I'm talking about...sex, right?"
His face broke into a wide grin, as his head fell back onto his shoulders, amused laughter erupting from him. She watched his whole body shake and she tried to not feel insulted by his reaction.
"Yeah Kags...I know we're talking about sex," he replied, his head rolling to the side onto one of his shoulders as he gave her a rather cocky and self-assured smirk. "And I'm open to going as far as you want to. Just...not tonight."
She blinked slowly at him, surprised that he was the one to not want more as soon as he could have it. If this had been them seven years ago, he'd already be stripping.
"Don't look so shocked," he admonished, rolling his eyes. "Look - if you're open to sex, I'm open to it. We're adults. Our firsts are behind us. We're more experienced now...but if you don't want it...fine. We won't. Won't change much of what we have going on now. Just might need a buncha cold showers or time alone, but it's fine. Ain't nothing I never dealt with before. But...If you want it too, I don't want it to happen tonight. I wanna be...me when we...for the first time I wanna be…" he sighed, frustrated with himself for being unable to just spit it out.
Why was it so hard to say he wanted to be a half-demon and not a human? It wasn't a big deal, and this was Kagome. It weren't like was gonna make fun of him for wanting to be more himself when they...for the first time…
"I just wanna be more me, is all," he finally whispered, and she smiled reassuringly at him.
"Of course," she nodded. "You can tell me when you're ready. How about that?"
"Tomorrow?" he asked hopefully, and she couldn't help but giggle.
"Yash!"
"W-well! W-why not? I'll...Be...Um...Normal again tamorrow. A-and I-I...I brought c-condoms," he admitted nervously, watching as her eyebrows rose in surprise. "It weren't intentional or nothing!" he rushed to explain, even if he were lying through his teeth. "I don't want ya ta think that I was expecting that of ya! I just realized that I left some in my-"
"Yash, it's fine," she giggled, trying to reassure him as she watched him spiral and slowly lose his shit and freak out. Honestly, it was kind of adorable, but she didn't want to make him torture himself. "I don't mind, and it doesn't matter. I'm still on birth control," she blushed. She supposed it was her turn to be embarrassed.
"Still?"
"Zach," she explained, and that was enough for him to understand.
The cat.
Of course. Of course. God. He was an idiot. Yes. Obviously. That made sense. They would have...And...If it was strong enough to keep her from...With the cat...a demon...It would work with him, a half-demon...God...Fuck...He was an idiot! And he had been stressing over the fucking condoms for no reason!
"We can use them still though," she continued. "If that's what you want? If you'd feel more comfortable with that?"
"N-no! We don't have to...Unless...You want to? I can use them. I don't mind. I-I always have before. I'm f-fine with whatever you want," he stammered nervously. Fuck! Why was talking about this so much harder than admitting to each other that they wanted to be together again? He was sounding like such a pussy...Fucking human emotions…
"Yash, bluntly...It's your penis, and I'm telling you that if you don't want to wrap it, you don't have to. Take that as you will," she shrugged. "I'm clean. I'm guessing you are as well. It's entirely up to you."
"Ok then," he nodded. "This ain't something we need to decide now, right?"
"Not at all. You have a night to think about it…"
"A whole night?" he teased, relaxing a little again. "You sure you're gonna be ready for it tomorrow, Sweetheart?"
Sweetheart.
She missed hearing him call her that. All his little endearments. It had been so long...And it made her heart deliriously happy to hear him say that again.
"We have a lot of lost time to make up for," she smirked, a shiver of anticipation running up her spine at the thought.
"That's for damn sure," he nodded.
The rain started coming down a bit harder, and she glanced up at the top of the tent, trying to not let it get the best of her.
"Hey...I'm gonna change into something more comfortable. Since it's getting late and you're already set."
If he still had his puppy ears, they would be perked up and twitching.
"Oh? Yeah, ok."
"That means no peeking, unlike last time."
Oh fuck! She knew about the time in her bedroom! Shit! Maybe if he played dumb...
"I...What! I never-"
"-Liar. I caught you last month!"
Oh. Ok. Good. Last month. That meant she had no idea he had seen everything a few weeks ago when he had blown that date with Kikyo. Looking back, he couldn't help but wonder if it was perhaps self-sabotage...either way, he felt like he could breathe a little easier.
"I couldn't see too much then anyways," he mumbled sheepishly. "Just fuzzy outlines in the dark. You were too far away to see anything good."
"Admitting it now, I see," she smirked, and his cheeks burst into flames.
"Well, you caught me so it's not like I can deny it exactly! 'Sides...We're tagether now," he smirked.
"Yes, well...Keep your back to me so I can have some privacy please," she replied, rolling her eyes, and she watched as he obliged. When his back was facing her, she slowly shifted around on the air mattress until she could dig through her bag and pull out her pajamas and the fang necklace she had bought, keeping an eye on him the entire time.
Really...She wouldn't be too mad if he looked. It wasn't anything he hadn't seen before. But...She still didn't want to feel self-conscious right now either. He might have seen it all before, but that didn't mean she looked the same she did seven years ago.
He sure as hell didn't.
She bit her lip at that little reminder and tugged her shirt and bra off, grinning evilly as an idea crossed her mind. She couldn't help herself. She tossed her shirt and bra over Inuyasha's head, watching as they landed in his lap, and he let out a strangled noise of surprise.
"Hey!"
"Whoops!"
"Whoops?" he scoffed, holding up the lacy white bra, still warm with the heat from her body. "This ain't a whoops, Kagome…This is just plain ol' mean…"
She couldn't help but snicker as she reached down to pick up her shirt.
"Please...You can wait a night to see them again…"
"You're going to be the fucking death of me, Kagome...I hope you know that…"
She giggled, sliding her pants down her legs.
"At least I didn't throw my panties at you."
Oh fuck him…
He felt the air mattress shift as she kneeled back down on it, and he began to turn his head around.
"Keep looking ahead. I didn't say you could stop yet," she chastised, and he rolled his eyes.
"Yes Ma'am," he sighed sarcastically, obeying her nonetheless. When he felt her hands on his shoulders, slipping something around his neck, he was surprised. "Kags?" he questioned, looking down. It was a necklace? Black waxy thread...One fang with a black bead on either side.
"Mhmm…"
"What's this for?"
"It's a just because," she shrugged. "I found it at the store the other day when we went shopping. It made me think of you," she explained clasping it behind his neck.
"I like it," he murmured, running his thumb across the fang. "It's different."
"Just like you," she teased, and he quickly turned around in her arms, pushing her down onto the air mattress.
"I'm different, huh?" he smirked, pinning her arms above her head as his body slid up to fully cover hers, keeping her in place.
"In a good way!" she rushed to reassure, but he wasn't so sure he bought that.
"Uh-huh," he drawled, pushing her hands together and grab her wrists with one of his hands.
"Really!"
"Sure," he agreed, rolling his eyes dramatically as he brought his free hand down to the hem of her shirt, his fingers slipping beneath the fabric.
"I like you just the way you are!"
"Try again," he smirked, his hand slipping up under her shirt. He lightly dragged the tips of his fingers across the soft skin of her belly, watching as she trembled below him.
"I wouldn't change anything about you?"
"Nope."
His fingers glided against her rib cage, and her breath caught in her throat. She wasn't wearing a bra - was he...going to…
"Inuyasha?" she breathed, and he smirked back at her.
"Yes, Kagome?"
"What are you-Ah! EE!" she squealed as he began to tickle her. She squirmed below him, trying to dislodge him, but she would have had an easier time moving the cliffs just outside of their tent.
He wasn't budging.
And she was dying.
Melodic laughter spilled from her lips, filling the fabric walls of their tent as rain continued to pour down outside. He couldn't even hear the wet splatting sound the drops made anymore. All he could hear was her.
Just the way he liked it.
He loved the way her face flushed, the way her eyes squeezed shut as she tried to control herself.
He wanted her.
He wanted her so badly. His fingers stopped their assault on her, and he watched as she laid below him, slowly catching her breath. Watched as the rise and call of her chest evened. Watched as the flush of her cheeks deepened when her pinched eyes opened and took in his visage.
She was beautiful.
And she was his.
"Yash?"
It was like that day they painted his house all over again. Only this time, he didn't need to hold back. Because now, she was his.
He leaned down, taking her lips with his, and silently rejoiced in the way she responded. Eagerly. Warmly. She matched the soft movements of his lips without hesitation. Without question. He slid the hand on her ribs to just under her back, pressing his blunted fingers into her skin as he pulled her closer. He loved the taste of her on his lips...and she, him. Maybe it was the years of separation and regret that made her want to cling to him and never let go again...but...She found her need for him to be insatiable.
She needed him like air. She needed his lips. His hands. His mouth.
She felt the hand holding her wrists above her head loosen their grip on her, and his fingers slipped up under the hem of her shirt. She felt them tracing her flesh, burning a path as they explored her skin, inching their way up.
Closer.
Closer.
He grazed the underside of her bare breast, and she arched up into his touch, silently trying to encourage him to touch more of her as his teeth scraped against her bottom lip. He pulled away, his hot breath fanning against her cheek as she deeply inhaled.
"Yash…"
His name was a breathy plea on her lips, and he loved it.
"Please…"
The tips of his fingers inched their way up the swell of her breast at an achingly slow pace. Like he was waiting for her to change her mind. Like this was all a dream and he was afraid he was going to wake up at any second.
Because none of this felt real to him. It didn't feel like it could be. He had wanted to touch her like this for so long...to be able to do it now...It felt…
Felt…
Surreal.
"Please," she breathed out again, and he dipped his head back down to her lips, gently grazing his against hers, making them part ever so slightly in the process. She exhaled against him, tilting her head back towards his, trying to encourage him to give her more. He obliged.
He tenderly claimed her lips as his fingers ascended to the peaks of her breast, feeling her skin tighten under his light touch. He could feel the tender shift in the texture of her skin beneath her shirt. Feel the puckering of her areola against the pads of his hesitant fingers. He felt her exhale shakily against his lips, a keening whimper escaping her as he grazed his thumb against the tip of her nipple.
"Yash," she pleaded, and his teeth came to nip her jaw just under her ear. His nose rubbed against her skin, ever so slightly nudging her earlobe. His hand flattened against her breast, feeling the heat of her skin against his palm in full.
"Kags," he breathed. "I've wanted to touch you like this again for weeks…"
"I've wanted you to touch me like this again for years…"
Her words left him whimpering and he moved his lips back to hers, his hand on her breast becoming a bit rougher. His need to feel her becoming more urgent as they laid there, taking pleasure in holding the other in their arms. He felt her hands move to the edge of his shirt, tugging it up, and he moved off of her to kneel on the air mattress and lift it over his head, removing his t-shirt altogether.
The second he had tossed it somewhere inconsequential, he felt her palms smoothing over the plans of his chest, starting at the hem of the basketball shorts he had changed into earlier in the night. He felt warm under her fingers. And hard. And soft. And everything she remembered him feeling like, only better. His eyes followed the movements of her hands as they inched upwards, dipping into the hard lines of muscle she encountered around the way.
"Is this real," she asked softly as her hands came to rest on his bare shoulders. "I'm not dreaming this?"
"If you are, so am I...and I hope I don't ever wake up," he murmured, pulling her back to him, feeling her arms wrap around his neck as he suckled at her pulse point. She was content to keep him there for the rest of the night too.
Afterall.
They never slept when he was human.
A/N:
The two part smut starts NEXT CHAPTER!
ARE YOU READY FOR IT?
If you can't wait…you can catch it elsewhere, because everything through ch 29 has been posted somewhere else. And I'm getting ch 30 up before Friday! CH 6 of AWS has also been updated there. Details are plastered on my tumblr!
Thank you ALL for sticking with me this far and dropping reviews! You help push me to keep posting and keep working, so THANK YOU FOR THE SUPPORT!
Shout out to:
LucyDEU, karachan20, LayLay lives, Momo Neko Hitsugaya, Shayeh923, HammyJessa, Lola1991, Reesexxoo, zizi08, NightOwlSuffersInsomnia
AND.
Another special shout out to the people who recced and linked this fic in Inuyasha Sitposting on Facebook. IT MADE MY WEEK SEEING IT RECCED IN THE WILD LIKE THAT!
Until next time!
-LL