AN: Happy SessRin Spice Week, everyone! When The Wall ended, I promised a spicy one-shot follow-up centered on SessRin, and I thought there'd be no better time to deliver than during Spice Week! Then I started writing it and ended up having a bunch of little scene ideas that interspersed both family life and sexy times, so I decided to try to make this a SHORT multi-chapter fic with those snippets. On that note, some of these snippets may be more sugary sweet/vanilla than spicy (this chapter, for instance), but I promise there are some very spicy times to come! Also, sorry I'm technically late with this first one. I didn't quite cement this multi-chapter plan until the week started.
SPOILER ALERT: If you haven't read The Wall yet but you plan to, beware that this story WILL inevitably contain spoilers about where everything ends; if you don't plan to read The Wall and you're just here for the smut, that's fine too, and by all means, please continue. I think I give enough background that you shouldn't be too lost. (And anyway, you're just here for the smut, so what does plot matter? đ)
Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or Yashahime.
Living Arrangements
By: LuvinAniManga
Prompt: Kissing/Biting
Chapter 1: Sleeping Arrangements
Living in a cabin with two half-demon, teenage daughters was not conducive to resuming marital relations with one's wife, Sesshoumaru noted. That became apparent the first night Rin and Setsuna moved into the Zone of Neutrality with him and Towa.
While their family compound was still being built, Sesshoumaru had commandeered some cabins at Camp Half-Demon to use as temporary homes. Given that said cabins in fact used to be Rin's as well as Inuyasha's and Kagome's homes, he had thought it fitting and hoped the nostalgia would make life a little easier during this massive transition.
But back when these cabins had been houses, not only had they been fully functioning, but they had also had walls between more than just the rest of the house and the bathroom. The wall that had once separated Rin's bedroom (and his, when he had been able to stay overnight) from the living room was gone in order to fit six bunk beds. The kitchen had had every appliance ripped out of it (a fire hazard, apparently) and replaced only with a large table.
Setsuna went straight to one of the beds like it was hers (perhaps it had been). Towa, unsurprisingly, picked the one just above hers.
"Mama, you should sleep here by us!" Towa exclaimed, gesturing to the bed kitty-corner from theirs.
Setsuna looked over with a frown. "That bed will not fit Mother and Father together comfortably. It's not big enough."
"You lived with him for months, and you still don't know Papa rarely sleeps?" Towa asked.
Setsuna turned to face Sesshoumaru with a question in her eyes. "You're just going to let Mother sleep by herself then?"
Rin laughed. "Setsuna, you make it sound as if I haven't been sleeping by myself for the last fifteen years."
But now Setsuna's brows were puckered in confused distress. "ButâŚUncle and Aunt have always slept together, so I assumedâŚ."
Sesshoumaru looked over at Rin, who met his gaze. They shared the brief telepathic communication that most couples shared: What do we say?
"Setsuna, the truth if, your father was very rarely here even when we were first married," Rin said, bringing her suitcase over to the bed. "He had military affairs to see to back then, andâŚhe didn't want word to get out about our family. Besides, Towa's right; he doesn't need sleep like Inuyasha does. He much prefers to be outside watching the moon. Isn't that right, Sesshoumaru?"
His wife looked at him with a hesitant smile, as if to ask, Do I still know you, or have you changed in the past fifteen years?
Rin was absolutely correct. Whenever he was indoors, it felt like the ceiling weighed on him or the walls were closing in and cutting off his escape routes. He could relax outdoors.
This affliction hadn't bothered him as a childâlikely because the Dog Demon Palace was so large that he did not feel suffocated (except in spirit by his mother). For that reason, he had been able to abide living there for so many centuries. But when Rin had first invited him to see what would be "their" own house when they got married, the cramped space had set his hackles on edge. He didn't think he'd be able to live with her in such a small space, and yet he didn't have the heart to tell her so. Besides, it wasn't as if they had any other options.
To his surprise, however, he found that those feelings vanished as soon as she was in his arms. With his attention wholly devoted to her, he had been able to forget all of his misgivings.
But they had already sacrificed fifteen years of their marriage to politics. While time had not made its mark on him, he already noticed the small marks it made on Rin: a slightly fuller face and figure, more pronounced bags under her eyes andâmost distressing of allâa few white strands of hair near her temple.
He was losing her, and he had barely had her in this life.
So, Sesshoumaru had a choice: see to work or enjoy the night air while Rin slept, or do nothing more productive with those hours than hold his wife in his arms.
Decision made, Sesshoumaru walked over to the two furthest bunk beds from their daughters. Lifting the massive pieces of furniture like they weighed no more than a couple of chairs, he positioned them so that the beds were pushed together.
The crevasse in the middle was not ideal, but it was the best he could do in this situation unless he procured a futon.
Rin stared at the new double-bed with her fingers tented over her mouth, as if she didn't dare show the smile that no doubt wanted to bloomâas if she was afraid to reveal her hope. "Are you sure, Sesshoumaru?"
"War will not keep me away this time," he answered.
Rin pulled down her hands, revealing the smile that lit up his world. She jogged over and hugged him.
The mar in Setsuna's brows had relaxed some, but she still appeared troubled. She went over to one of the bins labeled "Linens" they had unloaded from the military truck that had brought most of the family's belongings from the South. She took out a large sheet and then went over to the double-bed, tucking it into the bottom of the top mattresses and letting it hang like a curtain around the bunks.
"There," she said, stepping back. "That will afford you some privacy."
Rin's eyes widened. "S-Setsuna, just what do you think your father and I plan to do in here?"
Sesshoumaru's eyes flew to his wife. He had plenty of ideas of what they should be doing in there. Apparently, he and Rin weren't on the same page. Why?
Setsuna had the decency to blush. "N-Nothing. It's justâŚI know FatherâŚprefers to keep his affections private. Even if it's justâŚholding orâŚkissing you."
He inclined his head in thanks to his daughter. She understood him well.
"Well, it's been a long day, so we all should really get some sleep! We've got a bit of unpacking to do tomorrow, since we'll be staying here for a few months."
As the girls were getting ready for bed, Sesshoumaru removed his armor and outer clothing, revealing the white yukata he wore underneath. He loosened it a bit around the front so that it didn't not cross right at the base of his neck. As he was setting his clothes aside, Towa bounded over in her own sleeping yukata and hugged him.
"Goodnight, Papa!" she said with a smile, kissing his cheek, as she did every night. He nuzzled her cheek with his nose in his customary reply. Then, in a conspiratorial whisper, Towa said, "Make sure you and Mama sleep well, okay Papa?" She winked at him with a downright conniving grin.
He frowned. "Don't be cheeky, Towa."
The apples of her cheeks only grew more rounded with her giant grin in reply, and she skipped off to bed. Then Setsuna edged over a little more shyly.
"Goodnight, Father."
He reached out and cupped her cheek. "Goodnight, Setsuna."
She smiled, reaching up to hold his hand between both of hers against her cheek before letting it go and heading to her bunk. Seeing his two girls safely beneath the covers, he parted the bedsheet curtain on the right (Rin had always preferred to sleep on the left) and sat on that bed. It creaked under his weight like the squeal of a gutted pig demon, and he winced. Pulling his legs up onto the bed yielded the same noisy result.
Stealthy as he was, he wasn't sure he could get away with quietly romancing his wife when the beds were determined to announce their every move.
A few moments later, the curtain to the left pulled back to reveal Rin in a long-sleeved, button-down, striped purple pajama set. She froze when she spotted Sesshoumaru sitting relaxed on the bed.
"What's this? A half-naked model sitting on my bed? A girl could get used to this," she murmured with a smile as she climbed in.
Half-naked? Sesshoumaru looked down at himself. He had loosened his yukata earlier, and indeed, it now gaped open over his chest.
At the same time, repressed sniggers from the other side of the room pierced Sesshoumaru's ears, though the carefree smile on Rin's face noted she could not hear them. His brows furrowed in annoyance. Keeping their actions private was going to be that much more difficult.
As soon as she was seated on the bed, he leaned overâwith another damn creakâand tucked her wayward hair behind her ear before whispering into it in such a low breath that he hoped his daughters wouldn't hear, "I could remove the other half, if you wish."
He kissed the soft spot right in front of her ear, and she shivered. With a grin, he skimmed his lips over her cheek until he found her mouth.
She gasped as he slid his tongue across the seam of her mouth, allowing him to plunder it in a way he had not been able to since he first saw her again six months ago at the deportation meeting. Mint flooded his tongue as he swiped it along hers, and an unexpected moan escaped him. How did his Rin always taste so sweet?
She pulled back to take a breath, but he followed her, sucking lightly at her lip, unwilling to let her go quite yet and promising her more if she wished for it. She looked up at him with flushed cheeks and heavy-lidded eyes and slipped a hand up his exposed chest, sliding it over his neck and fisting her hand in the hair at the base of his neck. He fought back another groan as the tension reminded him just how those hands used to thread his hair in their days of lovemaking. Was he about to feel that again?
His heart leapt as she pulled his head closer for another kiss.
But then she pulled him to the crook of her shoulder instead and kissed his cheek before placing her lips against his own ear. "As much as I'd like that, I fear the temptation would be too much." Even as she said the words, a hand snaked into his yukata, tracing the indentations of his musculature.
"You can always give into temptation with me, Rin," he murmured back, nipping the shell of her ear.
She sucked in a breath and shivered again. She had always been sensitive there. "Not in the same room as the girls, we can't."
Ah, perhaps she had heard them, though they had been blessedly quiet for the last few minutes.
"With this curtain, they all but gave us permission," he answered.
She chuckled under her breath and shook her head. "I don't want to scar my babies for life." She pulled back and looked up at him again with those half-lidded eyes. "Besides, it's been a long day, and truthfullyâŚI'm exhausted. Would you mind if we just go to bed tonight?"
Now her eyes took on a whole new meaning: tiredness rather than lust. (Although he still liked to believe he had seen the latter in them.) Still, even though part of him was disappointed, he would never force her to do something she wasn't willing to do.
He pressed one last kiss to her mouth and then pressed her down onto her bed (why didn't her mattress creak as much as his?). He leaned downâcreeeeakâand hovered over her.
"Then rest, my love. But permit me to check your wound. It has haunted me for months."
Her eyes widened in realization, and she nodded, although it was obvious she did not quite understand what she was agreeing to, because when he smirked, her eyes flashed with suspicion.
He placed a kiss at the base of her throat before he undid the first two buttons of her pajamas. He pried the halves apart until he revealed the fleshy part of her right shoulder. A puckered, pink scar branded her like a thumbprint. He traced the small ridges of the scar with the tip of his talon, causing Rin to suck in a breath and hold it.
His heart lurched as he took in the wound. "Does it hurt?"
She shook her head. "No. Sometimes, the muscle still pulls when I overexert it, but for the most part, I can carry on as I always did."
He continued running his finger over the scar. "I let down my guard. There was a time when I expected your life to be in danger. I did not anticipate this."
She reached up and cupped his face, turning it to meet her gaze. "How could you have, Sesshoumaru? You didn't know what was happen on our side of The Wall. Even the military was unprepared. It's not your fault."
Then, another piece of guilt rose up from the depths, freed of the chains that had lashed it close to his heart. "Setsuna diedâŚand I could do nothing but watch."
The tears he could not shed filmed over her eyes. "You did do something, Sesshoumaru. You gave Towa the Tenseiga." Rin swallowed thickly. "I blame myself too, you know. I was asleep for all of that. Towa and the others suffered watching Setsuna die, and I, her mother, woke up thinking nothing had happened until they told me." The tears pulsed out of her eyes and slid down to the pillow beneath her.
Sesshoumaru bent down and kissed her lips again, murmuring, "Be thankful you were spared the memory of it. I will never forget seeing her on the path to the Netherworld."
Rin gasped. "You were with her? She never said that. But thenâŚshe doesn't remember dying either."
"I would not have let our daughter walk to death alone," he answered.
"Oh, Sesshoumaru," Rin gasped, grasping his head and pulling him against her in a fierce kiss.
He comforted himself in her mouth for a moment before slipping his lips off hers and down her throat. When he met the juncture of her collarbones, he kissed his way up them until he reached her scar, pressing a kiss against it.
But it was not enough for him. He had to check more of his wife's body.
He undid the rest of her buttons, flipping open her top and causing her to tense at the sudden coolness that ran over her chest. Her dark nipples puckered in the cool air. The last time he had seen her breasts, they had been rounder and full of milk for their daughters, but they had often been sore and her nipples chapped as well.
He did not hold back this time as he had back then, latching on and tugging with his sharp teeth. Rin gave a soft yelp and shoved a hand in her mouth to muffle it as he sucked on her tit, his hand reached up to grope the other one. His talons dug into the soft flesh, and he had to be careful not to puncture that skin.
She had one wound on her body. He would not give her another. He would only give her pleasure.
He let go of her nipple then and skimmed his lips down into the valley, laying a deliberate kiss on her breastbone before moving up and suckling on the other tit. Rin writhed beneath him, and when he bit her nipple, she bucked.
CREEEAK.
A short gasp sounded from the other side of the room, followed by a quick shush that was none too subtle.
He met Rin's gaze. She bit her lip in a helpless sort of expression, her head nodding towards the other side of the room.
That would have to be enough for tonight. They would have to figure out a time to be intimate when their daughters weren't in the same room.
Even so, Sesshoumaru took his time buttoning her back up, placing a kiss on the skin below each one before closing over that piece of flesh. Her trailed up from her belly button to the base of her throat once more.
He held Rin's gaze for one last moment, reaching out to brush the bangs out of her eyes, before pressing a kiss to her forehead.
When he pulled back, Rin pulled his head back down towards her and kissed the moon mark on his forehead. "Goodnight, Sesshoumaru."
Then he lay down on her side and spooned her against his body. His limbs felt like liquid. All at once, he recognized the feeling.
Relaxation.
Years of stress had drained from his muscles. His wife and daughters were safe. They were together. Rin was in his arms again.
He pulled her closer, careful not to let her fall in the gap between the two beds. He nuzzled the back of her head, and she shifted herself closer to him. He had not felt her body flush against his like this in far too long.
Yes, for tonight, this would do.
"Goodnight, Rin," he murmured.
May it only be one of many, many more to come.
AN: I believe the SRIC_NSFW tweet yesterday said, "Let's keep it nasty and not too classy folks." Pretty sure I failed on that account, but given that this was already a developed world and there were a lot of leftover feelings from the end of the story, I felt I needed to do it justice. But DON'T WORRYâthe "nasty" IS coming, I assure you!
I'll see if I can get up another prompt today; otherwise, it will have to be tomorrow. Either way, I hope you enjoyed this, and be on the look out for more!