For those of you on Tumblr, I am having an "Ask Me Anything" for ANY of my stories from 10am -4pm CST on Sunday March 8th, 2020. Ask your questions, pose your theories, tell me how crazy you think I am for having all these WIPs! Tumblr: dangerouspompadour


"You're home late." Her voice wasn't accusatory or upset, simply curious.

"Worked on the house longer than I meant to. It should be done by the end of the week. I brought dinner though," he replied, presenting her with several fish, already scaled and cleaned. She smiled at him, taking the catch and laying them on her cutting board to prepare for dinner. She already had rice in a pot and cleaned and cut vegetables waiting to be added to a steaming pan. Inuyasha went out again to clean up, removing his suikan and hanging it up by the door when he came in. Kagome flashed him a quiet smile when he sat to watch her work. "How'd your day go?" he asked her.

"Fine," she murmured while focusing on slicing the last of the fish. She added it to the vegetables, searing either side. She then set about removing all of them, placing them in a ceramic dish and covering them with mild seasoning before placing the lid on. The dish was set near the embers of the fire to roast. Inuyasha continued to be impressed by Kagome's ingenuity when it came to cooking their meals. No one had taught her these things, she just... knew. "Sango sent me in early today."

This caught Inuyasha's attention. Sango had been teaching Kagome some very basic hand-to-hand fighting skills. Kagome had insisted that she liked the challenge and it made her exercise. He had to admit that he liked the way her muscles had toned up and she looked healthier and more confident than she had in months. But today she looked apprehensive.

"Why? Did you get hurt?" he questioned, sniffing to smell for any injuries. The food was blurring his sense of smell and he couldn't catch her scent properly.

Kagome smiled and shook her head. "No, no. I just... got overheated I guess."

Inuyasha frowned. "It's almost winter, Kagome. It's barely warm enough for you to go out without a coat on." Something was going on here that she wasn't telling him. He stared at her, trying to catch a glimpse of what she was thinking. "You got lightheaded again, didn't you?" he finally said. It wasn't really a question. He'd sensed it from her when he probed their connection. "This is the third time this week Kagome. I'm taking you to Kaede," he sighed, moving to stand.

"No! I'm fine. Please don't make a big deal out of this, ok?"

He stood up, stepping over to where she sat. Kagome's look was so pleading, so vulnerable that he just sat beside her, releasing a deep sigh. She smiled at him, thanking him silently for understanding. He leaned over and took her chin in one hand, bringing her mouth to his. She relaxed into him and into his kiss slowly. He felt their souls greeting one another excitedly, reflecting the emotion they both felt in being together and alone again. Inuyasha closed his eyes, focusing only on his mate and the way she felt against him. She was melting, her small weight leaning against him, her lips molded beneath his and her soul dancing with his own. In their bubble of "them" he could ignore the entire world and everything in it.

But something felt strange. An intrusion on their little bubble. It didn't feel wrong, necessarily... Just completely out of place. And with the force of a tsunami, the knowledge hit Inuyasha. He gasped, pulling away from Kagome to stare down at her. She looked confused and yet she too seemed to know something was amiss. "K-kuso... I... kuso!" he swore, standing up and pulling Kagome with him. His reaction clearly frightened her and he fought to calm himself. "Kagome."

"What? What is it?" she cried, nearing panic levels. Inuyasha took a rasping breath before gently pushing her back down to sit on the floor. She stared up at him until he yelped that the food was going to burn. She gasped, taking the dish away from the fire and setting it on a mat. She lifted the lid off and allowed some of the steam out before replacing the lid. Her hands were shaking and Inuyasha was glad she hadn't burned herself. "What the hell is going on?" she tried again, now that their dinner was safe.

Inuyasha paced back and forth, staring at the floorboards under his feet. "I can't believe this. I mean... this wasn't supposed to happen yet, not so soon." Kagome's soft terrified sob brought the inuhanyou back to her side. "Kagome, don't cry. I just... A pup Kagome?"

"W-what?" Her face had gone slightly pale and Inuyasha held tightly to her arms to keep her steady. "I don't understand."

"Yes you do. Fuck, Kagome. I'm sorry..." he murmured. Tears continued down her cheeks, her breath coming in short gasps and whimpering sighs. After several moments of staring at him, searching his face for something, she stood, fumbling at the genkan for her shoes and pulling her overcoat from the peg by the door. Inuyasha stood to go after her.

"Don't," she whispered. "Just don't." He took a few more steps forward in preparation to chase after her. "Do not make me send you through the floor of this house, Inuyasha," she whispered, not turning to look at him as she stepped out of the doorway.

Inuyasha watched her go, unsure if angering her further was wise. He knew better than to provoke her, especially after a threat of a sitting had been voiced, but this was his mate... the mother of his child. And she was walking away from him. He waited nearly half an hour before following after her. She had gone to look for Sango, who wasn't at Kaede's, then had headed straight out of the village toward the well.

He ran into the slayer on the way, her face showing her confusion. "Where's Kagome? Miroku said she stopped by. He said she was obviously upset. What did you do?" she finished, an accusatory finger in his chest. Inuyasha scowled at her, a low growl beginning deep in his throat. "I'm not stupid, Inuyasha. Both you and I know why I sent her home early today. She's been denying it for almost two weeks now and I was willing to let her up to a point. What did you say?" she pressed again.

With a sigh he explained having just discovered it himself and then how he'd reacted. "What was I supposed to say? We weren't planning on... on kids yet, Sango. She's barely healed for fuck's sake!" he cried.

Sango stared at him in disbelief, shaking her head and then scoffing lightly. "You really have no idea do you?" At his angry and confused frown she continued. "Kagome wants to have a family with you. It's been her dream for months now. But you ignored her and fought with her... brushed her off." Inuyasha snarled. "It's true! She told me that she was afraid, after her injury, that she wouldn't be able to do that. That she wouldn't be able to fulfill her duties to you… And you apologized to her like it was something to be pitied for? You had better go find her. Fast." She hurried him off in the direction of the well, going to the Goshinboku herself just in case they were mistaken. Both of them were certain of one thing, Kagome shouldn't be left alone in her mood.


The chill breeze of fall lifted her hair as she stood, staring into the depths of the well. Was it worth the risk? She might see her family again. She might break her leg at the bottom. She might never see Inuyasha again. She closed her eyes tightly against the anger and fear swelling in her heart. She had told her mate several times that she had no desire to know if the well worked or not. She knew that he knew she was telling him a lie and yet he let her say it, only giving her a soft look and then changing the subject.

She missed them so terribly. Her Jii-chan's bumbling stories of the history of everything. Her brother's silly arguments and his constant fascination with anything Inuyasha-related. Her mother's warm arms wrapped around her, holding her, loving her. "Mama," she whimpered, lowering herself next to the well and finally allowing herself to cry for her family. She wanted so badly to see them, hug them, tell them she loved them, let them know she was alright. But the risk was so great. She might not be able to return here to her friends, her son... her mate. Thinking of him brought another round of tears.

How dare he be upset! She had tried to deny what she'd been feeling for weeks, not wanting to get her hopes up. But when she nearly fainted that morning, the third time in about as many days, she knew that something was not right. When she got back to their hut, Kagome had sat and meditated, trying to search out what was making her feel so strange. And she'd been fairly sure that she'd been wrong until Inuyasha confirmed it. But the way he reacted... How was she supposed to deal with that? After what he'd said to Kouga, telling her he would be building a room just for children in the house... His pity, his anger, terrified her. He thought it was a mistake, that their child was a mistake!

"No." The voice startled her into standing, one hand bracing her against the well. Her head swam from standing too quickly and she closed her eyes to settle her balance. "Your voice is so strong when you're upset." Kagome stood in silence, unsure how to respond. "It's not a mistake. I was just... surprised."

Inuyasha approached her slowly, afraid she would do something rash if he frightened her at all. He could see she was dizzy and the fear that she might faint and fall into the well made him move forward. She thankfully remained upright, a frown on her face.

"But you were angry," she whispered, her eyes still closed.

"Not at you," he replied. "You're barely healed from... from before. I thought that it might hurt you t-to have a pup. I was angry at myself for putting you at risk."

"You're afraid." He too closed his eyes, swallowing the growl that instinctively rose in his throat at the idea that he was afraid of anything. But she was right. He had been afraid. He wasn't ready to be a father. "You're not ready? What makes you think I am?" Inuyasha's gaze snapped to her face, startled that she'd read him so easily. He thought back to his conversation with Sango. Hadn't she said that Kagome had wanted this for a long time? She had told him she was worried about not being able to have a family. He just hadn't known she would want one so badly and so soon. He shook his head.

Kagome stared at the inuhanyou in front of her. He looked lost and uncertain, a look she had only seen on his face a few times. He was frightened more than angry, a situation she hadn't been prepared for. What if he wanted a family too? It was a possibility she'd always denied. Inuyasha hated kids and she found it highly unlikely that he would want kids with her. He'd never made it clear before that he would even want a relationship with her. Until the battle with Naraku and their forced mating, she had been almost positive that Inuyasha would send her back through the well with a pat on the head and a "thanks for the hard work." But then everything stopped making sense and she'd been swimming in uncertain waters ever since. She tried to hold onto the small things she did understand and ignore the things she didn't. It wasn't easy by any means.

Then, three weeks ago, when her period was supposed to start and hadn't, she'd convinced herself it was because of her injury. But then her appetite started fluctuating, the Inuyasha-like mood swings, and then the dizzy spells... Denying it wasn't going to make it go away. Sango had known without her saying anything about it, which made her embarrassed. It wasn't like she and Inuyasha hadn't been together several times since she'd been feeling better. She should have known. But she'd held out hope that maybe they were both wrong. Until Inuyasha freaked out.

"Can we go home and talk about this?" he whispered, looking up at her, "It's getting cold. You'll get sick." Kagome sighed. Her eyes were drawn back to the well for a moment. It was the first time she'd been this close to it since before the battle. "Do... do you want to try it?" She could hear the fear in his voice, the worry that she might want to, and yet determined to let her try if that was what she wanted. It was a much harder decision than she was mentally prepared to deal with at that moment. And so she didn't.

"Not today," she murmured.

Rustling in the bushes grabbed both of their attention as Sango appeared. "Oh Kagome," she breathed, obvious relief in her voice. She looked between the two, still several feet apart, and took a step back. "I'm sorry... for interrupting."

"No. It's fine. We were just getting ready to head back." Kagome took a couple wobbling steps before straightening herself and going to her friend's side. The young miko took the slayer's arm and started them walking toward the village. Sango glanced at the lone hanyou watching them leave but the force Kagome was exerting on her kept her moving. Inuyasha watched them go, unwilling to upset Kagome any further.

It did wrench something inside him, to part from her with such sourness between them. His eyes felt like they were burning, his ears ringing a little. Inuyasha knew he didn't usually get sick, but it felt like it now. Was it a side effect of Kagome's condition? He'd heard of youkai males feeling sick when their females were breeding. Sympathy symptoms or something. But this was different. He felt like his skin was crawling. Needing something to do with the energy, he went into the woods.

When he arrived home, after having collected a good amount of firewood at the expense of a section of the forest, Inuyasha was startled to find his mate was not home. The fire had gone out and the hut was cold. He sighed deeply. So it was going to be one of those fights, was it? She didn't want to risk running through the well and so she'd run to Kaede's. He couldn't stand the idea of letting her sleep over there without him, and yet he couldn't bring himself to charge over there and drag her back either.

After debating with himself for a bit, he closed up the hut and marched over to the old miko's. Upon his arrival, he changed his mind about barging in, sitting in the tree beside the building instead. His hearing brought everything to him as it was... And it wasn't good.

"He'll never be ready Sango-chan. He's too used to being on his own." Kagome took a shuddering breath, a sob choking her. "We've been pushing him too hard to want us around. I've been pushing him too hard."

"Kagome-chan, don't do that. You know he wants you by his side. He wouldn't be building you that beautiful house if he didn't." She paused, obviously trying to offer Kagome some kind of comfort. "You didn't ask him to build the house. He made that decision on his own."

"But this is too much!" Inuyasha felt an answering twinge of pain at her cry.

"You're acting like you got in your condition on your own... or on purpose! I may not be as knowledgeable as your books from the future, but I do know that's not how these things work, Kagome-chan," Sango replied in a stern tone. Inuyasha snorted softly. The slayer was right. Kagome was acting like it was all her doing, like he'd had no part in the decision or the act itself. He resented that a bit. "Despite how rough he can be with him, Inuyasha has been a pretty good role model for Shippou. He's toughened him up for the world he will have to live in and he's provided and cared for him the whole time. Most youkai would never do that."

He could imagine Kagome mulling over this tidbit. Again the tajiya made a good point, one he hadn't really thought of himself. Maybe he wasn't as completely unprepared for fatherhood as he'd led himself to believe. He and Kagome had been raising the brat for over a year.

Kagome sniffled loudly, bringing his attention back to their conversation. "I guess." She clearly wasn't convinced and he could hear her breathing as she worked herself up into tears again. "But Shippou is not his. He knows that. It isn't necessarily permanent." Wishing he could see through walls too, Inuyasha frowned deeply at the hut. He kept having moments where he felt like he couldn't breathe. His claws dug further into the bark of the tree he perched in for fear he might fall out of it.

"Is that what you're worried about? That this means your relationship is permanent?" Kagome must have made some sign of agreement because Sango scoffed loudly. "Kagome-chan! Inuyasha has made you his mate. There is nothing more permanent than that! I only know a little about inuyoukai mating. They are so few and very private. But I do know that an inuyoukai is very loyal and extremely protective of his mate."

"But he's not a full inuyoukai," Kagome said weakly, "not that it matters. But he may not feel the same way." Inuyasha barely noticed the rough growl that started deep in his chest and rose into his throat. "A baby is a big deal!"

Sango snorted impolitely. "And I thought it was an afternoon stroll," Sango replied sarcastically. This was the most abrasive he'd ever heard the tajiya talk to Kagome and while he didn't appreciate anyone talking to his mate like that, Sango seemed to be on his side for once. Kagome was apparently startled by it as well. "You need to stop hiding behind your fear that he will leave you, Kagome. He already feels guilty enough for the way he used to treat you and he still thinks you might have been better off dead than mated to him, a hanyou. And the way you've been moping around and crying and accusing him of wanting to leave, I wouldn't blame him if he did!" Kagome gasped sharply. Inuyasha's responding gasp for air was painful and stilted, like his lungs wouldn't fill all the way. "I'm sorry Kagome-chan, that was out of line. What I'm trying to say is... you need to trust him or you will break his trust in you."

This time, Kagome's sobs were deep, but cleansing. She was seeing more of his perspective, thanks to the tajiya, and it was breaking down the barrier of fear she had been hiding behind. He could feel the pain of realization through their connection, of knowing she had been as much at fault for their misunderstandings. At the same time, a heaviness he hadn't entirely noticed was there floated away from him. He could finally breathe. Sango hushed her to sleep while Inuyasha remained in the tree all night, listening to Kagome breathing.

As the sun rose, Kagome quietly left Kaede's hut and made the trek back to her own. The early morning air was very chilly, moving her feet a little faster. Finding the hut closed up and empty was not terribly surprising. She knew Inuyasha wouldn't stay there with her at Kaede's. She hoped he'd been warm enough wherever he chose to spend the night. Feeling his presence very suddenly behind her made her spin on her heel, staring up at him wide-eyed. "Inuyasha," she murmured. She wanted to go to him right away, but he had every right to be upset with her and she assumed he was. A gasp escaped her when he simply pulled her into his arms, nestling his nose in her hair. She could feel his warm breath on her scalp, rustling her hair as he breathed.

"It's cold without you," was all he whispered before lifting her into his arms to carry her inside. He set her down near the futon, rolling it out for her and tucking her in so he could restart the fire. Once that was done, he joined her, removing his suikan and hakama. He pulled her against him, curling her against his chest and showing no signs of letting go. Kagome sighed softly, closing her eyes and relaxing into his hold.

This… This was home. Feeling him curled around her, protecting her… This was where Inuyasha wanted her, where she belonged. How had she not felt the longing in his touch before now? How had she missed how his soul sought hers out, rubbing against hers like Buyo used to nuzzle her cheek in the morning? It was almost unmistakeable now that she let herself feel it. Kagome understood that she had been putting up a wall between them, keeping him at arm's length for fear of having her heart broken. But who was the one doing the heartbreaking up until now?

"I'm sorry," she whispered. Inuyasha's only response was a soft hushing noise and the deepening of his breathing as he fell asleep. Smiling a little, Kagome followed him into sleep, knowing they had a few hours before they absolutely had to get up.