There were few things Inuyasha would describe as beautiful. Sure, he could admire a full moon, a sunset, or a tree in bloom as much as any other person, but that kind of thing wasn't usually high on his appreciation list. He'd always had more pressing things to think about. But there, on his wedding day, it was like his mind was suddenly unable to think about anything except how everything Kagome did was steeped in beauty. Pushing her hair behind her ear, how she adjusted her robe self-consciously sometimes, or her smile while she was thanking people for coming to give their well-wishes.
The morning had started off so ordinary that if he were not sure of the date, Inuyasha would have thought he'd gotten it wrong. He and Kagome woke up within roughly twenty minutes of each other as usual, had eaten a normal breakfast, and gone about work in the garden before they even headed to the village. Kagome had even brushed his hair, working it into a snowy shine that he had to admit to himself he was grateful for. It was probably best if he looked presentable for his own wedding.
Part of him hadn't really believed Kaede when she'd said the village would gather to celebrate with them, but the crowd of people seemed like more people than Inuyasha had ever seen in close quarters here. They were all abuzz with drinking, festive eating, and merriment. It was a little overwhelming, but also quite touching.
Sango was talking to him now – one of the few sober people there – and Inuyasha tried to focus on her words as baby Hisui tugged at one of his forelocks. The twins were at her heels, but she must have drilled it into their heads to behave today, because they were not immediately trying to climb him.
"Kagome-chan looks happy. I don't think I've seen her smile quite like that before."
He stole a glance back at the girl in question, who caught his gaze and waved. Her smile was a little shy under all the attention, but made her eyes sparkle and her cheeks rosy. It felt like one of the smiles he'd fallen for back when he'd first met her. His own cheeks pinked, but he kept his voice nonchalant. "Think so?"
"Don't play coy. You and she had that talk, didn't you?"
"Well, yeah."
Sango patted his shoulder good-naturedly. "I'm glad it went well. You both deserve happiness more than anyone I know."
She left him then, rejoining the crowd where her husband and several others seemed to be getting tipsier by the moment. Inuyasha wasn't sure whether he should join them in the toasting or keep his wits about him for propriety's sake.
He didn't have to think on it long, as Kaede approached him bearing a sake cup and several plump sakura dumplings. "So," she addressed him, "a husband, huh?"
The old woman extended the gifts to him, which he took, sniffing gingerly at the liquor to test if it was too strong. "Yeah. It still feels a little weird to call myself that, though. I'm getting used to it with how much everyone's called me 'Kagome's husband' today."
Kaede chuckled. "You'll make a fine one, Inuyasha. I'm just glad I'm alive to see it." He looked at her, surprised by the statement. She only nodded towards his cup. "You'd best drink some of that if you're going to keep up with your wife."
"What?" Whirling his head around back to where he'd last seen Kagome, he caught sight of her amidst a gaggle of village women, all giggling and red-faced, with Kagome well on her way to being drunk as well. He sighed, but took a drink of his own. Kaede laughed again before being drowned out by the mob of men that chose that moment to ambush Inuyasha as well.
Miroku was at their head and slung an arm around his friend's shoulders, making the hanyou recoil a little from the strong smell of alcohol. "So, my friend," began the monk, "you're officially one of us now, eh?"
"What does that mean?"
It was one of the village men that spoke up. Inuyasha couldn't remember his name, but he knew him from the fields. "You took so long that we were starting to think you'd never marry Kagome-sama! Some of us were even taking bets about when you'd finally tie the knot!" The man clinked his cup against Inuyasha's in good humor.
"Don't bet about things like that."
His response was only met with a roar of laughter and a none-too-gentle shoulder pat from Miroku. "He's innocent 'til the end," the monk joked to everyone. Then the next few minutes were a bit of a blur as more drink was pushed on him, as well as a few gifts of crops, fabrics, and overall well wishes. Once his head was beginning to fog, Inuyasha managed to escape to where his wife was facing the same besiegement. He let her have her fun, but kept a careful eye in case he needed to cut her off from getting too carried away. Luckily he didn't have to, as Kagome – tipsy though she was – excused herself to come giggling up to him.
"It's a shame Shippou-chan had to go back a few days before," she started casually. "He always liked parties."
"We weren't entirely sure of the date," he replied. "He'll be back soon enough."
She smiled at his reassurance. "I know. It just would have been nice to have him here, too."
"Keh, he would've just gotten annoyed being hugged by a bunch of drunk women."
Kagome giggled, and it struck Inuyasha as particularly endearing. Kaede had moved to the forefront of the village crowd, shuffling her feet and coughing to get everyone's attention. The marital blessings were very formal, and Inuyasha was sure he would only remember bits and pieces of it later, especially being lightly buzzed as he was. Apparently this village's typical local custom was to tie together two ema plaques with the would-be spouses names on them for the gods of matchmaking to bless their union. Inuyasha wasn't sure if any god would bless one with youkai heritage, but it was a nice thought. Kagome was holding his arm now, and everything felt perfect.
The rest of the ceremony passed pleasantly, as people began to come down from their drunken highs and the loud talks turned to more subdued murmurs. Inuyasha only had eyes for Kagome the whole time. She was really adorable, he noticed. Maybe it was because he was buzzed as well, but everything she did seemed so positively cute right now. Giggly, telling jokes, and squeezing his hand every five seconds like she'd forgotten she just did it. Cute, cute, cute.
God, he really did love her.
Finally they retired, with Kagome draping herself sloppily over Sango in what he assumed she must have thought was a hug. Miroku said his own little prayer over their joined hands and nodded tenderly. The walk back to their hut was filled with Kagome's idle chatter, which he didn't mind a bit. She laughed a little too much at the chickens doing chicken things, but even that seemed endearing.
Upon stepping inside, she suddenly clapped her hands together, a sparkle in her eye. "I want to cook something!" she announced abruptly.
"How 'come?" Inuyasha wasn't sure what to make of her potentially using a knife right now.
"I just really want to make something nice," was her only answer. "Inuyasha, have you ever had mochi?"
His ear flicked. "No. Is it good?"
"Making it fresh is fun! I used to do it with my family on special occasions. Let's do it!"
"Right now?"
"Right here, right now. I borrowed some rice flour from Kaede-obaa-chan after we talked about making sweets from the cherry blossoms, but never got to use it."
She wasn't drunk enough for him to disregard what she said as whimsy, so he decided to agree. At worst they would just made a mess.
…
"No, pound it like this! It makes it way easier to soften it with less force!"
"Damn it, why is this so complicated?!"
"It's not complicated, just relax!"
Inuyasha had thought pounding the mochi would be the easiest thing he could help with, but Kagome had gone from gentle coaching to flat-out laughing at his endeavors within minutes.
"Seriously, why is this stuff so sticky anyway?"
"So that it'll be nice and chewy when we eat it. Trust me, you're doing fine!"
The white ball of dough was much springier than he'd expected dough would be and kept sticking to the large mortar they were using to pound it. He'd almost ripped the long sticky strands a few times by applying too much strength, but it seemed to be going better now with Kagome's guidance. He wasn't sure if mochi would be worth all this trouble, but he had to admit it was kind of fun watching it stretch and mold under his ministrations. After his wife considered it done, they both started the process of making little balls out of their dough. Inuyasha turned out to be better at that than her, and soon enough they had a complete batch ready to be cooked.
"Here, just let it cook slowly over the fire," Kagome instructed, having laid out their hot rock over the open flame. "Then you just turn it like this once it's started browning." She demonstrated how to flip the mochi using chopsticks before leaving him to it. "You make a few, I think we have some miso paste that will go good with it."
It turned out Kagome was right. Mochi was really good. The chewy texture had caught him a little off guard at first, but was addicting with how satisfying it was to munch on. He ended up downing half the batch as Kagome giggled and rubbed her shoulder against his.
"I love you," she said suddenly, making him pause in his reach for another helping. Her fingers curled into the fabric of his clothes.
Inuyasha didn't get a chance to answer as he was pulled in for a kiss. Kagome's lips were soft and pliant against his, and she tasted sweet from the mochi and the sake she'd had earlier. Her face moved a little clumsily closer to his in her excitement, and he almost wanted to pull away enough to ask if she was really all right, but all thoughts of talking left him when her tongue pressed gently to his. The excitement of the day hit him all at once and he pressed his mouth into her with vigor. She was officially his wife. They had taken perhaps their biggest step in their life together – and everyone knew it now. The idea was both terrifying and exhilarating. Inuyasha wasn't stupid enough to think there wouldn't be more than a fair share of people and youkai who would disapprove and maybe even come after them. It was something that still kept him on alert at night. Let them have their death wishes. Kagome wasn't the most powerful miko in Japan for nothing, and she would always have him to protect her.
The thought warmed his chest and caused his arms to tighten around the woman he was embracing. Kagome made a sound of satisfaction when his tongue responded to her stroking and melted into him. She was still a little giggly – obviously enjoying kissing him – but was gradually becoming more and more breathless, until she finally had to break away. He gave her time to breathe, but instead of catching his lips again, she moved to his cheek, then his jaw, and finally tilted her head to press cautious kisses against the column of his throat. Inuyasha tensed at the sensation.
"Sorry," she said, her breath unbelievably hot against his skin, "was that bad?"
He swallowed thickly, unsure if he wanted to answer her truthfully when they were in such an intimate state. But he had promised to be more open with her from now on, even if it left him feeling vulnerable. "No," he managed in a soft voice. "I... liked it. You can keep doing it if you want."
Kagome smiled up at him, and pressed her nose to the indent of his shoulder to inhale his scent. "I'll go slow," she promised.
The sensation of her lips against such a tender part of him caused him to shudder, equally exhilarated and nervous. A wet press against the area where a human ear would have been coaxed a soft groan from him, and Kagome paused before continuing her exploration. By the time her tongue darted out to taste the skin her lips had already been preoccupied with, Inuyasha was breathing heavily. His fingers twitched and flexed against her with every kiss, a flush rising in his cheeks that might have embarrassed him if he'd been able to concentrate on it.
He had to bite his lip to smother another noise at a particularly pleasant swipe of her tongue. She paused again. "Still good?" she asked quietly.
"Mm-hmm..." was all he managed. Then, moving almost on instinct, he nosed her face back to his and kissed her in return. It was clumsy and he missed a little, his upper lip coming just under her bottom one, but she didn't seem to mind and only moved the small space to correct it. Then his lips were moving down and across, coming to press first against her chin, then her cheek, temple, and finally he ventured down further for himself. Her neck was soft and her smell was stronger here, alive with her pulse and wafting with her every movement as she tried to give him better access. A fang grazed her by accident and the skin hitched with her pleased gasp, her hands gripping him closer. He wanted to be even closer to her. So his hands gripped her arms tenderly and pushed, trying to urge her down so that he could lay over her.
"W-Wait," she said at that, and he stopped. "I just... I shouldn't get my clothes dirty."
Breathing out a sigh of relief, Inuyasha pulled back for a moment, only to strip off his outer robe and lie it on the floor behind her. She made a sound of gratitude once she understood, and leaned back against it. There was a pretty blush on her face and Inuyasha hoped it wasn't out of embarrassment. She had absolutely nothing to be embarrassed about.
For a while, he merely rested his forehead against hers, letting himself calm down. Even with most of his weight on his elbows, he could feel all her curves and warmth like this, and he decided it was his new favorite position to hold her.
"Inuyasha?"
"Hmm?"
"Are you okay?"
"Yes," he murmured back. "Are you? I didn't do anything that made you feel bad?"
She smiled and he felt her forehead brushing his as she shook her head. He sighed and let his nose rub a little against hers.
"Good."
Kagome, for her part, had begun occupying herself with twisting strands of his hair around her finger. It gave in to the motions softly, having been groomed thoroughly that day, and the feel of it soothed Inuyasha into quietness.
"Am I heavy?" he asked in a muted tone.
She giggled, though it lacked the bubbly note of her earlier drunkenness. "You might be, if you were putting any weight on me. Aren't your arms tired at all?"
He glanced down at where his elbows had been supporting all his weight for him to hold her, but didn't move his forehead from hers. "Nah. I'm really comfortable, actually." Kagome blushed again at that, and he had to laugh a little. "Don't do that. What are you blushing for?"
"I don't mean to, it's just... new. I'm still getting used to this side of you."
"Is it that new?"
"Well... In a lot of ways. And I do like it. A lot... Ugh, don't tease me for it..." The blush stayed, but her lips quirked up in a smile to show she wasn't truly annoyed.
Cute. That sentiment once again rang through Inuyasha's mind as he looked down at her. "You smiled today."
It was a general-sounding statement, but she knew what he really meant. "I did. How could I not?"
That comment pleased him, in combination with the memory of the smile itself. "It was nice."
A gentle look was his reward, and he felt the pull to kiss her again. It stayed chaste this time, though a part of him wanted to continue right from where they'd left off. Especially when Kagome's knee brushed against his hip with her happy sigh. Reluctantly, he pulled away, moving back to sit up and helping her up in turn. They stayed in silence after that, Kagome playfully popping another ball of mochi into his waiting mouth to resume their first meal together as husband and wife.
…
Kagome grew endearingly bold about their relationship after the wedding. It seemed like every night involved a gentle – if not exploratory – make-out session, and every day she couldn't seem to get enough of calling him her husband.
"This is my husband, Inuyasha."
"You should see my husband, Inuyasha, about that."
"My husband would love that!"
It was flattering, if not a little embarrassing to hear, and left him returning the favor within only a week of adjustment. Calling her his wife in front of others became a natural part of his vocabulary. He'd never once thought he'd be happy calling her anything except 'Kagome', but decided this was a nice exception. The object of his thoughts was currently pulling roots and herbs from the garden to place upon the fire for boiling. There were one or two feathers in her hair. The chickens, despite growing quickly, had taken to letting themselves in during cold weather or rain, and the couple had more than once awoken to find them nested around them in the bedroll. Apparently it was better than the shelter Inuyasha had built them. Kagome still insisted on letting them – Eri, Yuka, and Ayumi, he remembered – be pets, and would only laugh at the antics while Inuyasha chased them out come morning.
Despite the night's rain, the day seemed genial with the songs of birds and the gentle crackling of the fire. Summer seemed to be approaching rapidly, despite some lingering chill. Inuyasha could smell the change in the plants and animals far before any humans would think to prepare for a shift in season. It wasn't an entirely welcome change, as Inuyasha had never been fond of the heat. But Kagome had expressed excitement at learning the summer plants, and talked about some kinds of festivals that she seemed to like.
The day passed leisurely, his wife going about her chores and he helping some in the fields before the desire to patrol the forest border pulled him away. Even without youkai, he had managed to chase off a pair of feral dogs and re-rout a boar that was headed a little too close to the crops. Bears were rare, but he did catch a whiff of a mother and cubs that had passed through, though it seemed they had given the village a wide berth. It wasn't until that evening that a messenger arrived on horseback. In a sweet-sounding accent, the man spoke Kagome's name, seemingly asking for her. Kaede beckoned her apprentice, who talked quietly with the stranger. A little irked at not being able to hear what this person wanted with her, Inuyasha bounded from the tree he'd been resting in to land heavily next to his wife. He took some pleasure from spooking the man's horse to make him lose that careful composure for a moment.
"Inuyasha, don't do that!" Kagome scolded. "I'm sorry, sir. My husband can be a little rude, but I promise he's quite nice." She put her hand on his head at that, as if to advertise him as a cuddly puppy, and Inuyasha suddenly decided that his little stunt had not been worth it.
Kaede was the one to interrupt. "What's this about an exorcism of a curse?"
The hanyou's ears pricked, taking in the messenger's story of a mirror from his lord's family that seemed to be extremely cursed. He remembered that back in Kagome's time, her grandfather had claimed to be in possession of several cursed objects. Surely this job couldn't be too hard for her, then. Still...
"If Kagome's going, then I'm going, too," he asserted.
Kagome herself seemed more hesitant. "I am still in training," she said. "Wouldn't your lord prefer someone more experienced?"
Still atop his horse, the man replied, "You are the miko who purified the Shikon Jewel, yes? Your power speaks for itself. No one is more suited, my lady."
Kagome turned to Kaede, who only gave her an encouraging nod. "Well... I guess if he wants me, specifically..."
"Thank you, kind lady," the horseman said with obvious great relief, still speaking in an accent Inuyasha had never heard before. "You will be most welcome! A palanquin will be sent for you come tomorrow and you will be escorted by trained soldiers. Please feel at ease."
"Yes," Kagome said, sounding more confident now. "Thank you."
The man was not finished. "However, your companion... he may scare the people, my lady."
Inuyasha was just crinkling his nose in distaste and about to spit out a response when Kagome beat him to it. "My husband," she corrected. "And I'm afraid I won't be going anywhere without him. We always work together, you see."
It did not surprise Inuyasha to hear this, but still his chest swelled with warmth. He couldn't help giving their visitor a slightly smug look.
"... Very well, I will alert my lord that you will not be working alone. Until then, your ladyship." With that, the horse was whirled around and urged off in a spray of dust. Kagome seemed to deflate a little as he left, though he could tell it was only from the relief of not having to speak so politely anymore.
"Mirrors are somewhat common among cursed objects," Kaede was pondering. "They can become gateways to the spirit world if one is not careful, yet that in itself makes them easier to exorcise. As someone who came from another world, I have no doubt you can handle this with no problem."
Her words obviously fed Kagome's confidence. The old woman held her in high regard, but hearing it firsthand was a rarity, as Kaede was actually quite adamant about Kagome's spirit coming from a place of her own self-assurance. Inuyasha had no such reservations. "You've learned a lot. If you could purify things without any training it should be a cinch now."
Kagome brightened. "Okay. I'll draw up some sutras tonight, and I'll need to borrow some of the purification salt. Once we hear more from the lord himself, I can think about the best course of action."
Like annoyingly robust and militant clockwork, their escorts arrived at dawn. Kagome was ushered to the luxury of the palanquin almost immediately, with Inuyasha left to trail behind from a watchful distance. Soldiers were not exactly people he wanted to get on the bad side of, as it could put the village at risk depending on how poorly they took to his presence. He could sense that Kagome was on the verge of protesting on his behalf, but she seemed to think better of it, likely coming to a similar conclusion.
He sighed, ears and eyes attuned to the structure that bore his wife. He had a feeling this might be a long job.