A/N: Hi there. I'm still riding out the wave of this fandom now that Yashahime revived it (for better or worse). I've had a lot of post-manga ideas bumping around in my brain with a focus on how Inuyasha used to be this wild and feared forest spirit, to a gentle and domestic protector. So I thought why not make it all one story? And thus "Domestication" was born.

Keep in mind this strictly follows manga canon, meaning Inu/Kag spent a majority of the story essentially being "together" (albeit with some complications concerning Kikyou - who was still overall less of a "thing" with Inuyasha) with way more development and far less pussyfooting around each other. If you're coming in from only seeing the anime, just be aware that a lot of that was cut.

I hope you enjoy!

"I am looking for friends. What does that mean - tame?"

"It is an act too often neglected," said the fox. "It means to establish ties."

"To establish ties?"

"Just that," said the fox. "To me, you are still nothing more than a little boy who is just like a hundred thousand other little boys. And I have no need of you. And you, on your part, have no need of me. To you I am nothing more than a fox like a hundred thousand other foxes. But if you tame me, then we shall need each other. To me, you will be unique in all the world. To you, I shall be unique in all the world..."

...

"I remembered the fox. One runs the risk of crying a bit if one allows oneself to be tamed."

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince

If you had told Inuyasha four years ago that he would settle into – and even crave – domestic life, he would have scoffed in your face. Sure, he had wanted it to an extent in his desire to be accepted, but he'd always leaned more towards his wild and free youkai side. He'd wanted power to earn respect and carve out his own place in life by force. Domestic life and human affairs were a thing he'd left behind in his childhood, once his mother died – and they had fully died out with Kikyou's perceived betrayal.

If you had told him he'd crave that domestic life with Kagome of all people, he probably would have laughed. Even though he'd fallen for the girl pretty quickly, he'd never really wanted to settle down and integrate into human society for her. She was a cushy girl from a cushy life, and he had just assumed she would go back to her world for good at some point. His relationships with people had never lasted, after all.

But still, she had given him a reason to stay in Kaede's village. A reason to visit and help other human settlements. A reason to care whether his youkai nature devoured his human heart or not. She'd taken it upon herself to stay by his side, and in doing so had become a living, breathing home for him.

After he'd found her in the Shikon Jewel, after she'd been pulled away by the Well for three whole years, he'd lost that home. He'd rarely been away from her for a day when they were journeying, and understanding that he wasn't the only one who needed Kagome didn't necessarily make that separation any less painful. He was used to being homeless. He was used to losing people he cared about. He was used to being alone – but it didn't make it any less painful.

Miroku and Sango's family had helped, some. They made it clear he was not to be a stranger, often inviting him to meals or outings. He guessed they didn't want him to withdraw into himself again to go live in the forest, and he was never going to admit that Kagome's influence was so strong that he now couldn't be away from people even if he wanted to. When Sango had gotten pregnant with the twins, Inuyasha felt a little bit of purpose again. Whether it was leaving pheasants and rabbit at her door so that she could have some nutrients with less risk of nausea, or doing the heavy lifting for Miroku during their extermination jobs so that the monk could negotiate for provisions for his growing family. After that, it was like something had ignited inside of him, and he had thrown himself into village life. Helping with Kaede's garden here, silently keeping watch – wary of predators – over the kids playing close to the settlement's border there. Running errands for Sango, keeping Miroku out of trouble – though honestly, if that man could settle into domestic life, anyone could.

Then, as sudden and brilliant as lightning, she was back. Inuyasha had once admitted to himself that he'd regained his lost heart upon meeting Kagome, and he felt that sensation again the day she returned to him. He told her as much this time, a few days later. He'd even repeated the words he had mustered up inside that hellish black void that was the corrupted Jewel's domain – that he was born for her. It wasn't so much a confession by that point as it was a vow. She was his home, his family, and he was never leaving her side.

And so, the stray forest spirit Inuyasha dove head-first into domestic life.

When he awoke, it was to the first lilac streams of light peeking through the thatch door, pooling on the wooden floor and his skin. It was warm and roused him out of his drowsy state quickly. Yawning, the hanyou's ears twitched, listening to the morning dew drip off a tree branch as a bird took flight. The air smelled like soil, sweet and fragrant like the whole earth was yawning out a breath of spring.

Inuyasha was propped up against the wall of his and Kagome's little hut. The woman in question was still not awake, and he didn't particularly feel like bothering her yet when she was clearly so cozy wrapped in her bedroll. So with a quietness few could accomplish, he stood up and tucked Tessaiga into his sashinuki's tie, then slipped out the door and into the morning. Though they were surrounded by trees here, Inuyasha could still see the rays of sunshine washing their little clearing in a muted light of indigo and rose. There were still some puddles left over from yesterday's rain, stained peach and white in perfect reflections of the sky. Kaede's village could be seen through the treeline. The man stretched his arms above his head and basked in the peaceful quiet.

Framing the front of their hut's silhouette was a half-finished garden, modest in size. Rin and Kaede had been helping Kagome transplant some wild herbs, but Inuyasha was still in the process of turning the soil more thoroughly and building the fence. He had been able to acquire some seeds from other villages he'd been to on jobs, though. He was getting quite good at bargaining.

With nothing better to do yet, he set to work on the fence. The foundations had been laid out for how big the garden was going to be, so it was easy to build around the markers. The first sounds of life from the village were reaching him by the time he'd tied off the first three bits of lumber and staked them into the ground.

He heard her soft footsteps before her voice, "'Morning..."

Turning to return her greeting with a small smile, Inuyasha almost laughed at the picture she made. She was dressed, but still wrapped in her blanket, obviously half-asleep. The woman had been back for a little over 6 months, but her sleep schedule was still stubbornly modern at times. Not that she'd ever been good at managing her sleep back when she had those 'tests.'

"Thank you for working on the fence," she said, rubbing the sleep out of an eye. "I'll be able to plant a lot more, soon."

Inuyasha made a sound in the back of his throat as he remembered something. "That reminds me. I got these for you." Reaching into his suikan, the hanyou pulled out four small satchels, and plopped them into Kagome's hands.

"More seeds?" she asked, peeking inside the bags.

"Yeah. Ginger, leek, and some adzuki and soybean, I think it was. I tried to get things we could plant right away."

Kagome's smile was bright, and her arms wrapping around his shoulders surprised him as she said, "Thank you, Inuyasha." She then gave him a little room, but did not remove her hands from him. "Were you sleeping against the wall again?"

He gave her a slightly confused if not sheepish look. "Where else would I sleep?"

Kagome pulled the blanket off her shoulders to drape it over his. "Aren't you cold? You can use a bedroll, you know... I don't kick that much. I know you've never liked lying down, but I worry about you sometimes. The frost only just let up a few days ago."

He indulged her for a moment. The blanket smelled like her, and was still warm, which lent a more intimate weight to wearing it. "I'm okay," he assured her, for once choosing not to scoff at her worry and keeping his voice soft. "I don't get as cold as a human."

"I know that, but it's okay to let yourself have a little luxury, you know. I'd say you of all people earned it, and..." she bit her lip, "I'd be happy if you chose to lie down with me."

That statement was as touching as it was embarrassing, and apparently she felt the same if the slight blush across her cheeks was any indication. It had indeed been six months, and Inuyasha definitely considered them a couple, but that didn't mean they'd gotten around to doing many things couples might. His sleeping habits while living with her being one of the more obvious things withheld.

"I know. I'll get there, I just... want to make sure you're safe." He wrapped the blanket back around her.

In truth it was precisely because they were a couple that he felt he had to remain vigilant. Half-breeds had a lot of natural enemies, and the last thing he wanted was for Kagome to get caught in the middle if their ire turned towards her for being with him. But he really didn't want to bother her with those thoughts when he knew what her response would be, anyway. So he took as subtle of precautions as he could – sleeping on alert, following her out to collect herbs or tend the wounded and sick, and patrolling his forest as often as he could. He'd even been taking her on some extermination jobs, just to make sure he was with her.

"I am," she assured him. "Sometimes I think you forget that I can protect myself, too. I've been training to create barriers and channel my powers without an arrow as a conduit. You don't have to shoulder my safety by yourself. I worry about you, too."

Again he had to tamp down the gut instinct to scoff. He'd grown up a lot in those three years, but some old habits died hard. "I'm fine, too," he said instead. "And I do know you're strong. I just got you back, though. It's kinda hard to relax, in case something happens again."

Inuyasha almost jumped at the feeling of her hand on his cheek, bringing his attention fully to her next words. "I understand. I'll let you do things at your own pace. You chased after Naraku for so long too, that it's harder for you to adjust."

He closed his eyes, resting his own hand over hers. "Please don't... I don't want to think about him... ever again, if I can avoid it."

"Okay." Her voice was almost a whisper, now. Then, almost as if it had never gone, her chipper attitude was back, as she clapped her hands together in determination. "Well, we'd better get some work done on this garden before I have to check in with Kaede-obaa-chan!"

Breakfast was a fairly modest one of rice and pickled vegetables. Inuyasha had even caught some river fish to cook over the fire and complement it. When the couple had entered Kaede's hut, the old miko offered them some of her own breakfast leftovers, which Kagome denied but Inuyasha accepted. Kagome had shot him a quick glare that he promptly ignored.

"I need lots of energy!" was his only argument.

So now with Inuyasha eating his seconds, Kaede's hut was relatively quiet. The only sounds were the clink of chopsticks, and the push and pull of Kagome's sewing needle on fabric. Kaede gave her one or two pointers, but otherwise left her apprentice to her own devices.

Swallowing the last of his miso soup, Inuyasha finally paid attention to the two women. "I still don't see why you need to do that. You've always been able to stitch your clothes up when you needed to."

Kagome gave him a tolerant look. "There are a lot of reasons to be better at it. Not just for repairing, but for making my own clothes. There's also medical reasons, in case I have to give somebody stitches. I never really learned that, since you heal so fast."

Inuyasha let out a half-interested hum of acknowledgment, moving his forearm to rest his chin on his hand and observe. It didn't take him long to get bored though, as Kaede corrected or gave soft instruction on the different stitches. With a small yawn, the hanyou closed his eyes to rest, ears still tuned in to Kagome's voice as she settled into chatting with the old woman, discussing the weather, the garden, and even indulging in some gossip about which village woman was dating which village man.

The quiet did not last long. Inuyasha had just been dozing off when Rin burst inside, followed closely by the twins, Kin'u and Gyokuto. Rin greeted them all while the kids toddled immediately over to Inuyasha. He let them, but kept a wary eye on them both, unwilling to let his ears get tugged on today. Luckily they seemed fairly worn out from whatever they'd been doing with Rin prior and made no real effort to climb on him, merely plopping themselves down, one on each of his knees. Inuyasha didn't make them move, but didn't really acknowledge them, either.

"Kaede-sama! Kagome-sama!" Rin chirped, "I brought the ofuda and ink from Miroku-sama!"

The girl held out some papers with an unmistakable shape to them, and Kaede took them gratefully. "Thank you, child. These will do nicely." Turning to Kagome, she continued, "I will teach you how to write out a proper ofuda today. We can worry about varying purposes later, this will just be the basics."

Over an hour later and Inuyasha was getting a little concerned about Kagome's mental strain. She was biting her lip with a look of perturbed concentration while she struggled to memorize and write all the necessary Chinese kanji, names of varying deities to invoke the protection of, as well as imbuing them with the correct amount of spiritual power to make them effective. If these were the basics, then Inuyasha was suddenly a little more sympathetic to Miroku charging a bale of rice for just one blessing.

"You're doing well, Kagome," Kaede interjected patiently. "This is the hardest part, but later you will get the chance to test out your hard work. I'm sure Inuyasha wouldn't mind volunteering to help out with that, hmm?"

The man in question was snapped right out of his reverie at that. "I'll what?"

Kaede gave him a sly look. "What better way for Kagome to improve than to have a training partner? These ofuda will react most strongly to a youkai's energy, after all."

"You mean 'violently!' I'm not getting my ass purified! Use Kirara or Shippou if you need youkai power so bad."

To his horror, Kagome was looking at him pleadingly. "Oh, but... I don't need to use them directly on you! You can do stuff like testing my barrier strength, or letting me seal Tessaiga for a bit!"

Inuyasha blanched and clutched the sword closer to himself.

"Besides," she continued, "I really don't think my powers will hurt you if I don't want them to. After all, I was able to purify you in Naraku's body to undo your transformation without hurting you."

He couldn't really argue with that, and if Kaede seemed confident in Kagome's control then it would probably be okay, right? Kagome's willpower was incredible to the point that she was able to use the bow of Mt. Azusa to fire an arrow that could pass through innocents and only strike evil.

He sighed in resignation. "F-Fine. I'll help," was all he said as he stood up, grabbing Kin'u and Gyokuto by their little obis and tossing them carefully to the side. With that final sentiment, the hanyou exited the hut, jumping noisily onto the roof to assure them he was still there even if he didn't want to talk anymore. From inside, he could still hear the twins giggling and prattling on in their one-word sentences, no doubt being entertained by Rin now. The sound of Kagome's brush sliding over vellum, albeit with almost zero grace, is what finally lulled him into a mid-morning nap.

"...-yasha."

His name was being said, but in his muzzy state he couldn't tell if it was someone calling for him or just talking about him. His ears twitched, trying to focus on sounds again.

"Inuyasha!" Louder this time.

Sitting up, Inuyasha peered down the roof at Kagome. He didn't think he'd been asleep very long, but she looked exhausted. Exhausted yet satisfied, he noted. She was rubbing her wrist, likely sore from writing so much, yet had a self-contented smile on her face.

"You got so quiet I thought maybe you'd left," she said. "Wanna head home? I can make us some tea to relax for a bit before we practice."

He didn't admit that he'd fallen asleep. But some down time with her did sound nice, and she definitely looked like she needed it. His only response was to hop down to land beside her, offering his back to carry her, which she accepted. Their short trek back was leisurely, the silence only broken by Kagome occasionally pointing out a notable plant or giggling at some cute squirrels bickering on a tree. When they arrived, she set about lighting their little fire to boil some water for the tea. Inuyasha watched her sit down and tie her hair back into a high ponytail so that it wouldn't get in the way of her sorting through her herbs. He sat across from her.

"Let's see... We have ginger, ginseng, and some marigold to add in with the tea leaves. That's not too spicy, is it?"

"Keh, a little spice in tea is okay. As long as it's not that curry stuff."

Kagome smiled and began preparing her chosen plants. "Don't worry, I'm pretty sure that spice hasn't been imported, yet."

"Imported?"

"Brought over from other countries."

"Oh..." A moment of silence ticked by before he asked, "Kagome?"

"Hmmm?"

"Back home, did you ever visit any other countries?"

She looked a little surprised by the question before looking down at her work again, gathering up their tea ingredients to drop them carefully in the pot. "Sadly, no. But we definitely know a lot more about them where I came from. I think it's mainly the Dutch and Portuguese trading with Japan right now. They're both very far away. Why the sudden interest?"

He grunted, staring at the fire. "No real reason. I saw some of the drawings in your books once. Didn't know there were so many places away from here."

Using a cloth to lift the tea kettle and pour out two servings, Kagome handed Inuyasha his cup. "Luckily I don't remember reading about any major battles in the Edo area, so you won't have to worry about it much."

"I'm not. I can handle a few guns."

"Sure, sure," she said indulgently.

He narrowed his eyes, taking a sip of his tea. "I beat Ginkotsu, didn't I?"

"So I've heard. I was poisoned at the time, remember?"

"Keh."

After that, they seemed to come to a mutual agreement of silence. Inuyasha listened to the bird calls outside and heard the quiet thudding of a rabbit's feet – hopefully not getting into the garden. He'd have to start catching more rabbits now that spring was here and they would be flourishing. For some reason, the sound of the little creature startling at something and bounding away reminded him of what he'd promised to do this afternoon.

"You're sure you're not gonna purify me, right?"

Kagome blinked owlishly at his change in subject before laughing. "Inuyasha, why are you so worried about this? I've never voluntarily hurt you before."

He huffed indignantly at her laughing. "I've been subjugated by a priest before and it's not fun. Neither was getting purified at Mt. Hakurei."

"Okay, okay. I promise not to do anything to you. We'll just start by seeing if you can break any of my barriers. You can use Tessaiga if you want."

The hanyou eyed her a little warily before giving in with a sigh and sliding his cup over in a silent request for seconds.

"Fine."

"So I just break this?"

Kagome had erected a rather large barrier over part of his forest, and it stood proud and tall before both of them, anchored with her handwritten ofuda.

"Try to break it," she corrected, a little smugly.

Inuyasha grunted his acknowledgment, pulling out Tessaiga from its sheathe at his hip. He scanned the barrier, looking for any weaknesses. Finding none, he decided to just go for it and leapt forward to slam his sword against the resistance. The barrier crackled and sparked but didn't yield to his pressure. She had been right in that it didn't hurt him to try this, but it wasn't necessarily comfortable either, to feel the tendrils of energy coiling down Tessaiga and onto his own arm. Giving up to let the feeling abate, Inuyasha landed back beside Kagome, who looked very pleased.

"See? I can make them pretty strong now, right?" she chirped, leaning against him to hug his arm.

"Yeah," he answered, genuinely impressed. Before coming to live here she'd used her powers mostly on instinct and had been unable to perform certain abilities a trained miko might. He looked down at Tessaiga, which had at least managed to stay transformed against the spiritual energy. It might upset her, but he decided it was best if they tested the real limits of her powers right now.

"Hey, what are you doing?" she demanded as the sword pulsed red. "Isn't that cheating a little?"

"Not if there are youkai out there that also have an ability to let them break barriers," was his only answer.

Kagome sighed in annoyed resignation. "Fine. Get it over with, then."

The barrier came apart like paper and Inuyasha had the good graces to look sheepish at her defeated look. He didn't want her to feel bad, he just wanted her to cover all bases. He tried to tell her as much. "It was a good barrier. This just means you'll get even stronger."

"I guess..." she conceded. "I'll have to ask Kaede-obaa-chan about it. Well... can you help me with one more thing?"

He nodded.

"I've also been learning concealing spells. Y'know, to hide things from detection?"

"That's amazing," he said earnestly. "I've only seen that once, and the old woman and Miroku had to work together."

Kagome blushed a little under his praise. "I was going to ask if you can let me try it and then see if you can find me or not."

He agreed, though he was pretty sure he'd be able to track her smell fairly well with how attuned to it he was.

"Okay, well... close your eyes and count or something!" she said.

He gave her a dry look. "This isn't a kid's game."

"No, but I can't very well hide if you're watching me."

Sighing, Inuyasha turned his back to her and internally counted to 20. He wanted to make sure she got far enough, but not too far. When he turned around, she was gone. He was pretty sure she was in the immediate clearing, but whatever spell she'd used had worked and she was completely erased from view. Because she'd told him it would do that, he didn't get alarmed. At least not until he took a sniff and realized her scent had cut off shortly after where she'd been standing next to him.

Inuyasha sniffed again, following what little trail there was and back around again. Nothing. He moved to get on all fours, lowering his nose to the ground where the wind couldn't interfere with his detection. He made the same loop, this time reaching out occasionally to check if she was just invisible in front of him somewhere. Still nothing. Getting flustered now, the hanyou pricked his ears up to listen, but the clearing was eerily silent.

"Kagome?" he tried. Silence. "Kagome?!" he called, louder.

Still nothing. Panic suddenly seized his heart. Memories were all at once replaying of the moment he'd brought her home right before the Well had ripped him away and separated them. The silence, the sudden loss of her scent or sounds. Recalling it still put a lump of ice in his stomach. What if the Well had only been giving them time to say goodbye? What if her being here wasn't forever? If the Well took her back now-...

"Kagome!" he called again, letting the desperation bleed into his voice.

"What's wrong?"

His breath caught and he whirled around towards the sound. She had released the spell now, looking at him with concern, ofuda in hand. Her scent flooded back into the area, as if it had never left.

"Weren't you supposed to be trying to find me?" she asked. "Did you give up, already?"

Before he could stop himself, Inuyasha had moved over to her and pulled her swiftly into his arms. The ofuda fell to the forest floor as Kagome gasped. Reflexively, her arms came up to hug him back, though it remained tentative.

"Inuyasha?"

"I thought... I thought the Well-..."

Understanding must have dawned, because she tightened her embrace. "Oh..."

Still trying to get control over his frazzled emotions, Inuyasha buried his face against her neck. Kagome often discouraged that because of his damp nose, but he needed to reassure himself of her scent. She let him, and even encouraged it with her hand at the back of his head.

"I'm sorry for scaring you, Inuyasha. We won't practice that one anymore."

"Don't apologize," was all he said back.

They stayed like that for a while, before finally heading back home to retire for the rest of the day.

~*~*~*~*~*~

A/N: Inuyasha's mostly okay... but a lil' not. Also Rumiko Takahashi herself has stated in the Profiles book that Inuyasha has a "damp" nose on default, and it dries out if he has a cold. It's canon, so I'm using it. XD (She also detailed what his ears feel like. This is the deep lore I crave.)