So Little Time

The slight clank of a kettle and the splash of water woke the sleeping young Miko. She blinked slowly, trying to reacquaint herself with the conscious world. It was still dark in the room, she noticed, but the nights were becoming longer as of late. It was colder too. She snuggled into the thick covers, realizing her favorite heat source had left her.

"Did I wake you?" came a quiet voice from behind her. She rolled over to shake her head where her husband could see it. He grunted in return, sitting back from the central fire. The warm light danced across his face, though the heat of it had not reached her yet.

"Although, I got chilled when you left the bed. It's really cold this morning, huh?"

"Keh, it's not that bad." He broke another stick to shove into the fire.

"Keh. There's tea if you're cold," he suggested, rubbing his thumb against his chin…it was there, he was sure of it.

Kagome shook her head.

"I'm not ready to get up yet. I'd rather you just come back to bed." With that, she scooted a ways back and held the blankets open for him to climb under. "Honestly, it's too early to be up anyway."

Inuyasha made a sour face, as if getting back in bed to serve as an extra heat source were some sort of chore. He made tea and everything. Then again, Kagome had been working hard as of late up at the shrine with the year's harvest festival. The festival itself had been delayed because of the damage done by the Ne no Kubi, but it went on as usual, a few days ago. He may as well let her stay in bed a little longer—even if she wanted him as extra warmth.

Inuyasha crawled in under the lifted covers and Kagome draped them over him before laying her own arms over her husband. 'Maybe this wasn't such a good idea,' she thought. His clothing still held onto the chill of the outside air. She ducked one hand under the hem around her husband's collarbone and he swore with the touch. It was the hand she had been using to hold the blanket open briefly.

"Why are your hands always so cold?" he said, gripping her by the wrist. He wore an annoyed expression as he trapped her small hand between the two of hers.

"Yours aren't much better," Kagome commented on the cool temperature of his own hands. He muttered that he was outside, so at least he had an excuse as to why his hands were cold. He brought their hands to his mouth to warm them with his breath. Kagome shivered, though not from the cold. How long had it been since she had felt his breath on her skin? Inuyasha had been just as busy within the forest's bounds as of late. He knew from experience that there would be demons looking to fill their bellies with humans before winter came, so he had been hyper-vigilant since the start of autumn. Come winter things would die down, animals and demons alike going into their nests for the long season. Inuyasha had been on edge, staying late into the afternoon out in the woods, and never venturing more than a day's walk looking for work with Miroku, nor staying late working out with Sango.

Kagome kissed Inuyasha's hand, making him freeze for a moment. He blinked once, pondering the action, before opening up his hands to return the kiss to Kagome's palm. He closed his hands back over hers, lifting his eyes away from her hand. The pretty young Miko's eyes didn't hide much; he was just bad at picking up the signals. It had been a few weeks, but he could definitely recognize this look.

He was anything but gentle when he pressed his lips against hers. His wife pressed back just as roughly, her hand gripped about his jaw.

"It's been a while," she whispered during a break from his crushing lips.

"I guess so," he gave in reply. Until that moment, he hadn't realized just how much he had wanted her. They had been either too busy or too tired—the latter being mostly Kagome—to give this sort of thing much thought. Not to mention how weirded out Kagome felt when Inuyasha kissed her with Shippo around. Or hell, even the do—

"Where's the dog?" Kagome breathed, pushing his face away by a hair.

"Already let her out this morning," he answered, pushing a rough palm under the hem of her kosode, over her hip.

"Oh goo—"

He cut her off with another fierce kiss, diving his tongue between her parted lips. Oh, how she loved her hanyou's tongue. He moaned into the kiss when she sucked on his tongue. He pulled away with a smirk before nipping her chin. He felt her legs open for him and he shifted his hand across her leg, pushing the front of her panties aside to gently stroke down and back up. Her hips twisted against him, and he teased her with soft circles right where she wanted.

He was still careful about his claws, despite Kagome's assurance that he wouldn't hurt her. It was morning, though. He would rather not bite off his claws with an entire day ahead of him. Today's extra stimulation would have to remain external. He watched her face as he rubbed a little more assuredly. Her eyes closed to slits and her lips parted. Sometimes she would press her tongue against her top teeth, though she wasn't doing that today. He left the view to kiss and lick her jaw. He could feel her breath becoming heavy where he licked over her throat. Her hands had wormed into his hair, massaging his scalp. His little wife was focusing on the task much too easily for his tastes. He wanted her helpless to do anything.

Nipping her one last time on the collarbone, he pulled the covers over his head and ducked underneath. Finally, warmed palms bent her knees and opened her up to him. Inuyasha pushed the hem of her kosode up. He noted that it really had been a while, since the tally marks he had left on her thigh were all gone—as far as he could tell with what he could see under the covers.

He stroked up and down her thighs before gripping just under her backside with one hand. The other he used to push her underwear to the side. He loved how immediate her reaction was whenever he stroked her with his tongue. In general, she wasn't as loud as he had been lead to believe women were, but she was definitely responsive. He could do nothing but listen to the barely-audible hitches and huffs in her breath all day and be…well, decently happy. He wasn't about to say he preferred listening to her and feeling her writhe over actually moving inside her, but it was a good portion of what he liked.

He felt cold air on the tops of his ears and he glanced up. Kagome was trying to see what he was doing. Briefly.

A firm circle with his tongue had her dropping the covers and flopping her head back down. Her thighs squeezed a bit on his head, and he adjusted his grip to keep her legs apart. Licking, sucking, kissing—she was murmuring his name soon enough. Her hands made their way back to his hair. Gripping, clenching her hands in it. He didn't really like when she pulled his hair—not when it was hard enough to shift his head—but the grip and slight tugging he could handle. It was only fair, since he often ended up doing the same thing, and she never complained. A stray thought crossed his mind, that maybe he could get her to return the favor in a minute—but he decided against it since what he really wanted was her body beneath his. That, and he really should have his focus on the present. He heard a soft hiss from her as he felt her body tense, before she started to quiver, and he knew that was his que to stop.

She surprised him by flipping the covers off both of them, panting heavily, but staring up at him.

"It's warm," she said between breaths. Inuyasha snorted while he wiped his mouth on the back of his hand.

A scratching sound drew both their attentions. Then came a loud whine.

"It's just the dog," Inuyasha said, shaking his head. He crawled back over his wife, fully intent on continuing when a series of whimpers from the door drew his attention again. He even saw Kagome shake her head at the sound, before reaching up to wrap her arms around Inuyasha's neck. A warm palm pushed inside her clothing for the pliant flesh beneath. The whimpering continued, despite their attempts to ignore it by way of groping about their spouse. Finally, Inuyasha groaned, dropping his head to his wife's chest.

"She's gonna keep doin' that until we let her in," he said. Kagome sighed as Inuyasha pushed up and away from her. He shuffled over to the door and slid it open. With a loud yelp, the dog sprinted inside the door and tried to hide in the far corner. She was still whimpering pitifully, and Kagome shot up when she noticed how swollen one side of Aki's muzzle was. Inuyasha noticed a second later and came to join his wife. The dog shrank away when Kagome tried to get ahold of her. Inuyasha grabbed her by the collar, but that didn't stop the dog's flailing. Finally, Inuyasha sat down and held the dog's body between his knees. She still jerked her head away when Kagome tried to take a look at her face.

"You're alright, I just want to see what happened, sweetie," she cooed. Of course, that didn't work. Inuyasha growled a warning to the dog, and the little thing went stiff, just as he intended. Still scared of him, but a healthy dose of fear keeps dog packs in order, anyways. He held the sides of the dog's face, far enough from her swollen muzzle he didn't think it would hurt.

Kagome stroked the top of the dog's head with one hand and gently worked her fingers between the dog's teeth to examine her mouth. She almost jumped when she got the shiba's mouth open and something fell out. She eased Aki's mouth back closed before she looked at what had fallen out. Then she really did jump, because the thing was still twitching.

"A bee!"

"What?" Inuyasha followed Kagome's eyes to the twitching yellow bug on the floor before the dog.

"Hold her, I'm going to get tweezers. She probably still has the stinger in," Kagome declared, standing and padding over to her cabinet. Inuyasha looked down at the dog.

"Bees? What're you doin' eatin' bees, ya damn fool?" He looked up towards where he had accidentally left the door cracked, and noted that it was just before dawn. Damn. By the time they finished with the dog he would need to head out to meet with Sango. He was about to get laid, and in just enough time to wash up and meet his friend but no…damn dog had to butt in.

When he finished up with Sango, he wondered through the edges of the forest, trying to pick up on any scent of demon or vermin, little dog in tow. Bears had moved through not long ago, but they didn't appear to linger in this part of the forest. Luckily, bears followed the river this time of year, where berries still grew and fish still swam. He made his way to an old den, just in case, to find no scent of the lumbering animals.

The dog, he learned, had a habit of chasing anything that moved. It was no wonder she chomped on the bee. He hoped she had enough sense not to chase after a bear or some other manner of beast. He would hate to see Kagome's reaction upon finding the carcass of the dog eaten by some larger animal. Although, he guess he liked the dog too. She was kind of neat now that she didn't cower from him. He supposed she had figured out he was only harsh with her when she misbehaved…but watching her sneeze after snuffing up a bit of sand near the water, he seriously doubted that kind of intelligence. He really didn't like dogs all that much.

He whistled for Aki and circled back around to his friends' house. The twins enjoyed playing with the dog, and he hadn't been spending a whole lot of time around Miroku and the kids lately…that and it was about suppertime, so he wondered what Sango was making.

He had a knack for timing, since Miroku had just come back with the girls for their mealtime as well. Upon seeing the hanyou and dog, the two girls ran up to play with her. Miroku eyed the dog, and watched carefully over his daughters as he spoke with his friend.

"You know, you should really come up with me one of these days. The kids really enjoy the lessons."

"Bah."

"Literacy is a valuable quality. You never know when it's going to be needed." Miroku smiled at the replying scoff from his friend. Inuyasha gave a sideways glance.

"I can read a little, but there's no point in me tryin' to learn any more than I already know. I ain't a kid, I'm probably too old for that kind of thing." He ran his hand over his jaw, lingering on his chin, once again.

"Can't teach an old dog new tricks, eh?" Miroku could feel the glare on the back of his head. He quickly continued with, "And it doesn't matter. Some of the women come to watch as well. They've picked up a bit already." Inuyasha rolled his eyes. What good does it do for farmers and village folk to read anyways, least of all women?

"Sango can write and read. When my eyes get tired, she helps me finish my transcriptions," he countered. Every so often, Miroku would pass his old temple and pick up an armful of documents and paper to rewrite. Which, he always did promptly, staying up for days until every bit had been translated or transcribed into proper, legible, Japanese. Of course his eyes suffered strain when he stayed up with only the firelight to see by. Sango was usually able to read some of the worse handwriting and faded inks aloud to Miroku. Of the two, she had the better handwriting, but she could only read one language.

"And Kagome, too. I've seen her writing in that scroll a lot today."

Inuyasha quirked an eyebrow. He had visited Kagome today?

"Yes? She watches the little children in the early mornings. When I get there, I begin the lessons, of course." Of course. Like Inuyasha should know that. He had never actually seen her with the village children though she always smelled of them, so it made sense. He had often seen Kaede followed by a gaggle of small children, so Kagome taking on the role of designated babysitter to a string of dark-haired children seemed logical…for a moment, he could almost see Kagome watching over a few light-haired children, as well.

His thought was disrupted by the scent of supper being made in the hut behind him. He stuck out his tongue at the unsavory odor.

"Ah man! How can you guys stand that spicy crap?"

Miroku chuckled.

"Your preferences differ vastly from mine, my friend. Besides, you'll get your own meal when your wife returns, ne? No point mooching a second helping then." Inuyasha huffed at the playful scolding. He set a hand on his hip before taking a step in front of the monk.

"I guess I better see if she's ready to go home then." He waved the man off and called for the dog, then found his wife's scent and followed it up to the shrine. There he found both Miko, standing beside a woman in her mid-twenties. The woman wrung her hands in her sleeves and Inuyasha paused. The woman spoke softly, and her voice was shaking ever-so-slightly.

"I mean, my family can live off of what we have left, but we can't sell or trade any vegetables. There's just…" Kaede rubbed the woman's arm reassuringly as she wiped her eyes.

"It is going to be alright, child," the older Miko conveyed softly. The woman nodded and crossed her arms over her chest. Kagome looked up from the woman and made eye contact with her husband. She shook her head in a gesture of 'not now,' as both Miko and woman walked towards the center of the shrine grounds.

Inuyasha scowled at being brushed off by his wife. He hated being dismissed like that. However, as he watched the three women entering one of the small structures, he knew it couldn't be helped. He wondered if that had something to do with those recent landslides. He growled and propped himself against the torii gate. His fingertips went to his face again, rubbing with special attention to his chin.

When Kaede stopped before Inuyasha, he had slipped down to sitting at the base of the gate—boredly—resting his cheek on his fist. The dog had beside the hanyou for a nap that Inuyasha didn't really appreciate.

"You guys done yet?" he grumbled to the old woman. Kaede shook her head in amusement.

"I'm going, but one of us had to stay ba—"

Inuyasha groaned.

"Inuyasha, why don't you go find something to do? There are many things to be done in the village." Her tone held a bit of whimsy. She smiled slightly and slowly made her way down the first few steps.

Inuyasha scoffed with the old woman's parting words and returned to his annoyed position back against the pillar. Not at this time of day there weren't. Everyone should be packing it in before sunset. His hand returned to touching his face, lest he twiddle his thumbs. If he knew it was going to take this long, he would have gone home for a nap, or one last check over the forest. The sky was beginning to swim with shades of pink and yellow. It was too late to get a nap in now. He watched as the colors became more vibrant, then faded as the sun dipped below the horizon. When he deemed it late, he stood, disturbing the sleeping dog resting against his leg.

"What're you doing up here so late for?" Inuyasha said as he came up beside his wife. She looked to the sky as the first stars poked through the veil of twilight. It wasn't exactly late, but it was getting dark.

"Bad omens." She said simply. She took another deep breath, standing straight and walking past her bewildered husband. He snorted, thinking she was in a bad mood.

"Ain't you gonna tell me what you mean by that?"

"Ah, well," she started, collecting a few items and crossing in front of Inuyasha. "You've seen the damage done by the landslides, well, that's not the only unusual thing that's been going on in the area."

Inuyasha scowled. Was that answer supposed to mean something to him? He didn't have time to voice his thoughts on the subject when the young Miko commented that there was still a lot to be done at the shrine. He nearly growled, but she sent him a look that worried him. She looked worried. He watched her for several more seconds before he had any thought to ask what was going on.

"I don't know that there is anything going on…but…it's hard to explain, so let's not worry about it, okay?"

He sent the back of her head a suspicious look.

"Yeah, whatever." Although he spoke facetiously, as usual, he tucked Kagome's current mood away for later. He would ask about it then.

He sniffed the air and brought his gaze back down to his wife. She had better wrap this up, a drizzle was on its way.

She had a bad habit of doing this. Kaede's back was going, and Rin was busy off wherever the hell she was, so the hanyou's wife had been picking up the slack around the village. Coming home late at night, barely staying awake for dinner—which she had been letting him cook most nights—and working herself ragged. He still didn't really understand what kept Kagome so busy into the night, but he knew he had not seen that worried expression in a few days.

Today was even better, Inuyasha thought with heavy sarcasm. Kagome had stayed late to watch a pair of kids who ended up with a cold and fever. She popped back in to check on the siblings every few hours, and was glad to see that their coughs had improved and their fevers had come down. That didn't change the fact that it was now nearly mid-night and she was exhausted from a long day.

Inuyasha crouched down for his wife, and felt the weight of her drop heavily onto his back. She had elected to be carried by her husband rather than stumbling home half-asleep in the dark. Smart decision.

Inuyasha looked down to her pinkened hands as she climbed on. She was good about illness since the last bout she had. She made sure to wash up well and in near-scalding water afterwards. She tried to make sure she wouldn't get sick, and she couldn't get anyone else sick. While it couldn't be good for her skin, Inuyasha appreciated it. It kept the smell of illness down to a minimum for him, leaving Kagome smelling mostly like Kagome.

Today, she smelled really good. She would smell best four days from now…but despite the scent of her, Inuyasha knew this was the proper time not to get close to her. At least by her standards. Her body wasn't quite ready to conceive, but she insisted on a five-day waiting period. He couldn't remember why though. She wanted to wait a couple years before getting pregnant, after all. Not that Inuyasha entertained the idea of doing that with her now—saying to hell with it, he knew how to pull out—anyway. Kagome was exhausted, and she should probably spend any free time she got sleeping—not sleeping with him.

She was already asleep on his back.

nuyasha was surprised to see Kagome standing with Sango when he came to visit around mealtime. The young mother was bouncing the baby in her arms, trying to get him to stop crying. His ears folded down to try and keep out the infant's cries. Sango asked Kagome to fold her laundry while she tried to calm her wailing son.

Kagome looked up from her friend and gave Inuyasha a little wave before she disappeared inside. The dog had followed Kagome today, but when Inuyasha looked around, she was nowhere in sight. Smart dog had probably left when the baby started crying. Sango looked up from her baby to her hanyou friend standing awkwardly by her garden fence. He took two steps back when his friend approached him with the baby.

"Inuyasha, would you please hold him," she told more than asked him.

"Sango, that's not—" he started.

"You were always able to get the girls to quiet down," she plead. The poor thing must have been crying for some time if Sango was taking that tone of voice.

"Yeah, yeah, give him here." Inuyasha held his arms out and Sango transferred Ichiro over. The hanyou shifted his weight from one foot to the other, awkwardly trying to rock the child. Sango took a few steps back and rubbed her temples. She had a headache since early in the day, and her youngest child having a fit was not helping.

"What do you think's wrong with him?" Inuyasha asked after a minute without the baby quieting.

"I don't know, he's not wet, I already fed him—he just started crying when we got back and—oh, Miroku!"

Inuyasha looked in the direction Sango indicated. Miroku came up the road with a daughter holding either hand. The girls looked worried when they heard their brother crying. Miroku came to join his wife, asking what was the matter with him. Inuyasha wasted no time depositing the child into his father's arms and darting inside the house to help Kagome fold.

She had finished up early today, and was happy to be going home before dark, for a change. He wondered how long that would hold up—coming home at a decent hour. His ears twitched to noise at the roof—rain—and no sooner than he noticed that, the family of five swept themselves into the house. It was then that Inuyasha noticed the entire reason he had been able to hear the light drizzle—the baby had stopped crying.

"I think he just missed his daddy," Sango replied to Kagome's inquiry.

Inuyasha shrugged and pulled Kagome to her feet. They'd have to get home quickly before the rain should get any heavier. It didn't look like the rainclouds were very heavy, but it was as good an excuse as any. Inuyasha watched her smile when he grasped her hand. Then she yawned.

Kagome stretched her arms over her head at the start of a new day. She hadn't slept that well in weeks, it felt like. She hoped she would be able to come home early again today. It was a pleasant thought as Inuyasha handed her a cup of hot tea. He always made it a little weak, but she never complained, since on chilly mornings it felt good to start the day with a warm drink in hand. She had to admit, though she had come home early, she still didn't spend much time with Inuyasha—at least while conscious—having gone to bed early. She'd barely talked to him in days, and she felt bad about it. She knew how cranky he got when he felt ignored, but he had been remarkably quiet in his complaining as of late.

Kagome had the village children following her around much of the day since Miroku was taking today off. She didn't mind the kids, having gradually clung to her side as their parents were working hard to prepare the fields for winter. During the summer, she had gotten pretty good at entertaining Koyuki and Yukie, so she felt prepared to watch the smaller ones that toddled along occasionally.

Inuyasha found her already in-route to their home when he finished patrolling the woods. She almost laughed when she saw his quirked brow as he came up to her. Even he had gotten used to her coming home late. Inuyasha brought back a pheasant while Kagome picked vegetables from the garden.

While Inuyasha cleaned the catch, Kagome stood next to him, reminding him to cut with the grain, since the meat was too tough last night. She had become more comfortable with him doing the butchering in the house, but he was still haphazard in how he cut the meat sometimes.

"Right, right," he mumbled. He changed the angle of the knife and Kagome smiled. Cooking dinner beside her husband was simple, calm, domesticity. She just felt so comfortable. Although, Inuyasha felt a little odd with her staring like that. He turned his head to stare back, hoping his wife would get the message. To his surprise, Kagome placed her hand on his cheek and turned his face further to her. She gazed at him with a curious sort of look.

"What're you doing?" Inuyasha squinted.

"I dunno, I just thought I saw…" she smiled and shook her head, dismissing the thought. She dipped forward and pecked him on the cheek, then turning back to her portion of the meal. Inuyasha blinked rapidly and touched his cheek with the hand that had been holding the knife. 'That was weird,' Inuyasha thought with a touch of heat in his cheeks. Aki's claws clicked on the wood floor beside him, and he went back to cutting the pheasant. He dropped a few scraps down for her, which the dog gobbled without question. No wonder she got into so much trouble eating things she wasn't supposed to.

As they sat down for dinner, Kagome felt herself watching Inuyasha again. He would take a bite, and every so often he would wipe his lip or chin, before continuing the conversation with Kagome. They were talking about Sango, though Kagome wasn't paying as good of attention as she could have. Inuyasha mentioned a trip he and Sango would be going on, and while Kagome wondered why it had to be Sango and not Miroku, she wasn't paying enough attention to details to really get a reason.

"You gonna finish that?" Inuyasha asked, wiping a piece of rice from his chin and gesturing to the small bit of pheasant left in her dish. Kagome blinked. She scooted over to Inuyasha and gave him the rest of her food. She took what dishes she had and what he hand finished to wash. By the time she finished, Inuyasha handed her the final vessel and she washed that out too.

She looked back to her husband to find him stretching his arms over his head and the light then caught…

No way.

She crouched beside him and touched his jaw again. Inuyasha gave a confused grunt before her hand shifted to his chin and she yanked.

"Ouch!"

She twirled the silvery hair between her thumb and forefinger before she looked up to the glare of her husband as he held his hand to his chin.

"It's a hair. A facial hair," she stated dumbly. Since when did he have facial hair? And this one was long enough to pull, so it must have been left for some time. Why had she not noticed her husband was growing facial hair?

"Yeah I know, and it was my only one!" This earned another confused glance from his wife. She looked back down at the hair, then back to her husband.

"Are you trying to grow a beard?"

"Well, I…I, uh…I definitely don't want to look like a punk kid forever!" Inuyasha's face was suddenly turning red at the admission. Kagome cocked her head to the side. Inuyasha glared, telling her not to give him that look. Miroku shaved. Miroku had been shaving since he met the guy. He once asked why he didn't just shave his head like a real monk since he spent time shaving in the mornings...he pursed his lips at Kagome's laugh.

"What the hell is so funny?" he growled.

"Oh, it's nothing, nothing," Kagome said, waving her hand, "It's just…my dad was the same way. He couldn't grow facial hair either. I remember asking him why my friend's dad had to shave in the morning and he didn't, and he just kind of…" she broke into another laugh.

"Don't make fun of me, god damn," he growled again.

"I'm not, I'm just…you're not gonna grow a beard, whether it just won't grow or you have to shave in the morning." She took his unamused face in her hands. Inuyasha fought the urge to roll his eyes, but got an idea instead. He held the back of her head in place and leaned forward to kiss his wife. He pulled away, and she blinked at first, then laughed, then placed a kiss right back on his lips.

Okay, he had to admit, when she wasn't making fun of him, he loved the sound of her laughter. She dipped down to his hair-free chin, leaving little kisses that lead up to his jaw. Her hair smelled so good. His hand came up to stroke the soft strands and she leaned into his touch, stretching her neck for him. Her skin smelled so good. She was kissing his face again, then his lips again. Her lips were soft.

Kissing was good. Kissing was great but…Inuyasha hadn't noticed exactly when his wife had come to sit in his lap—straddle his hips. He had, however, noticed when she yanked open his clothing and her tiny hands rubbed up his chest. That left no room for wondering about his wife's intentions. As much as it pained him, he pushed her body—her mouth—away by the shoulders. Tonight was not the night.

"Ah Kagome, no, come on."

She giggled, pushing past his hands and planting her lips firmly onto his neck. Inuyasha sighed and pushed her away again.

"Kagome, we can't," he whispers to her. Kagome's smirk dissipated.

"Th-that's fine." She still didn't leave his lap, but she repeated, "If you don't want to, that's—"

"It's not that I don't want to," he interrupted. Kagome's gaze slowly traveled over his face, curious as to why. Inuyasha shifted his legs under her uncomfortably. He sat back, leaning onto his hands.

"Unless you want a kid nine months from now…"

Kagome was puzzled for a moment. When his words clicked, a sheepish look spread over her features and she removed herself from her husband's lap. She stared at her lap and balled her hands into the cloth there. She wasn't keeping track of her cycle like she was supposed to be. Of course embarrassing situations like this would come up when she got lazy.

"Sorry."

"Keh," he muttered, starting to fix his clothing.

"I was just thinking…the other day we got interrupted so I wanted to…" she trailed off.

"In a couple days," he chuckled. They had gone without for almost a month now, what was a few more days? He jerked when he felt her warm left hand was back under his clothes. Now warm lips were at his throat too.

"Ah, Kagome, come on."

She shushed him as he other hand pulled on the knot in his hakama with her right hand. His hand stilled her wrists. She continued to kiss his throat despite the restraints.

"I told you you'd get pregnant if we do it."

"We won't be doing that, then," came her quick reply. She pulled away from his throat to meet his eyes. Brown and deep and so full of…love? She was asking him something. Asking for his consent. Consent for what? They couldn't do that so—oh. He was a little slow on the draw. Although she was the one hot as all get out, so shouldn't she be the one…

"You got cheated the other day, and I want to do this for myself, anyways." Inuyasha swallowed thickly. That seemed logical. He wasn't about to turn her down when she wanted to pleasure him. He certainly got something out of doing that to her.

He glanced over to the corner of the room. There, the dog had curled up for the night in her usual spot. A moment of worry rolled through his mind, but then, if Kagome didn't care about the dog, neither would he. If he were quiet, he wouldn't wake Aki.

He released the pretty young Miko's wrists. She took that as her que to return to kissing his neck. She pulls on all his clothing ties, parts, untucks, and unwraps everything that covers his front. Her right hand finds skin again and he sighs into her hair. Her strokes are gentle and slow as her left hand presses down his chest. He makes a soft grunt from his throat when she absentmindedly pinches a nipple.

"I forgot you don't like that," she murmurs as she moves her hand back up to his neck.

"Actually it's fine. I just…it's just something you only hear women liking. So I wasn't sure."

"Men like it too. You do, don't you?" she whispers into his shoulder. With his breathy 'yeah' she lowers her hand back to his chest.

"Can I?" with her words, she squeezed around him gently with her right hand, and all she heard was a whimper, but she felt him nod. She replaced her hand with her lips, kissing over his chest and laving her tongue over his nipple. He made a small whine in the back of his throat when she swirled her tongue around it. It was a small noise that she barely caught, but it made her smirk against his skin nonetheless.

She wrapped her left hand around his back as she changed her position to get an easier grasp on him with her right hand. Stroking a little faster earned a little buck of his hips. She lifted her head to look at his face. He was still breathing through his nose, but the look in his eye was one of a man fully enthralled with her actions. She kissed his face, and when she went to pull back, he leaned forward to press against her lips. She wondered if she could continue like this. She had never tried to get him off with only her hand but, with the benefit of a free mouth to kiss—and be kissed by, wow—her husband, it seemed like a good deal.

He broke the kiss to breath heavily for a second with pinched eyes. That was another benefit. She could easily watch his face.

She moved her hand a little faster and his breathing hitched again. She was stroking him and kissing his shoulder while she watched the expressions he made. Sometimes he would look her in the eye after a buck of his hips, and Kagome would wonder if it were odd how much she liked that. After a few minutes he gave her a look of…confusion? It disappeared when she gripped a little tighter for the upstroke and he squinted his eyes.

"Ah, no, come on," Inuyasha said with a heavy breath. His right hand came to encase hers, squeezing her hand tighter around him. He then pushed her thumb upwards, to the very tip. Kagome realized immediately what he was doing—showing her what to do—before he told her what she had been doing was good, but a little more of this added was better. Her face was red as can be, but she took his guidance, squeezing, stroking, pressing and touching him just as he showed her. He leaned back again, onto his hands and Kagome continued.

Her lips were at his throat again, leaving soft kisses and little nips as she made her way down his shoulder. His hips bucked again. She smiled against his collarbone, and dipped down further to glide her tongue over his nipple again. His hips moved again when she gripped a little tighter and pressed her tongue firmly into the dark, delicate skin. And she thought his nipples weren't sensitive at one point. She wouldn't tell him this, but he seemed more responsive than she was. He made small, strangled noises that never left his throat when she sucked on that sensitive bit. He was so quiet tonight. It was almost as if he were quiet on purpose—and so she listened closely. Every shaky exhale, near-silent groan, squeak—every sound—made her heart thump just a little harder. He opened his mouth to lick the roof of it when it went dry and Kagome got a chill down her spine with the sound of the small action. She looked up and god, the faces he would make when his hips moved were the best.

She saw his hand moving. Fingers balling into a fist and releasing with every small move of his hips. He laid that hand on her clothed knee, and now pressed against her with the same movement of his hips. She heard a breath and looking up, she saw him mouth something. He did it once more, and Kagome watched his lips form the syllables of her name. The hand on her knee was pushing against her a little harder now. He must be close. She changed her grip around his back to reach around for the other nipple, and pinching it she left soft little kisses over the rest of his chest. She whispered his name back to him and drug her tongue over his Adam's apple when he tipped his head back.

It surprised her a bit when warmth was suddenly on her wrist, then her hand. It was a soft gasp, not a growl or groan like she had always heard from him in the past. She looked down towards the mess he had made of his own belly and her hand, knowing to continue moving her hand until he was completely finished. She released him and leaned down to kiss him—him having slouched back onto his elbows.

"I'll be right back," she whispered to him so she could wet a rag. When she returned to his side, she couldn't help but kiss him a bit more as he smirked up at her. She wiped down his belly as she kissed him, and paused to clean his groin. She almost blushed when she did that. She was so used to handling him while he was aroused, she nearly forgot that wasn't his constant state. He gripped her wrist and took the rag away to finish the rest himself. He glanced down and found a spot of white had somehow gotten onto her hakama, so he wiped that off as well.

"Really shouldn't get that sort of stain on Miko robes, you know?" Then he remembered that she had, in fact, stayed completely dressed the entire time. Now that he looked at himself, his top layers were open, but still hanging off his shoulders and his hakama still mostly on. Neither one had undressed.

He pulled his wife close and commented on this, following up with asking if she wanted anything. She shook her head. That was all she really wanted, plus, it was getting late. Inuyasha wouldn't call it late, but it had already been dark for some time.

"Guess that took a lot longer than it usually does by myself," he said, referencing the times he had pleasured himself in the past. Kagome flushed, but did not still her actions in pulling the covers tighter over herself and husband.

"How long does it usually take?" She asked bravely. She watched her husband frown as he thought over something.

"Remember the night we first moved into this place?" He watched his wife nod and continued, "About like that." Kagome's quiet 'oh' was accompanied by raised eyebrows. Then there was a chuckle from Inuyasha, and a simultaneous one from Kagome. They had both learned a little bit about themselves in seven months, and neither were conceited or oblivious enough the think every bit of intimacy was perfect—was ever going to be perfect—especially those earlier months in their marriage. They understood each other a little better now, with intimacy and day-to-day living…

They thought.

...

Dun Dun Dun. Pointless smut, but with a foreshadowing for a much more intense chapter 24. Chapters 24-probably 28 will include some darker themes, and I will try to warn accordingly before the header. Sorry this chapter got so long! I don't know how that happened I just wanted to write some happy stuff before things became miserable.

This chapter is unedited, so please let me know if there's mistakes from spelling to plotholes.