"I said – what the fuck are you doing?"

Human Inuyasha took a step back into the side of the desk. That tone, that growl…that wasn't normal, even for the youkai that was currently sitting on the bed. And from the alarmed look on his face, he knew it too.

Youkai Inuyasha slipped out of Kagome's embrace and stood, placing himself between the hanyou and their mate. "You know exactly what we were doing," he said calmly. He made a point of putting emphasis on the "we" in that statement to let the hanyou know that he in no way put Kagome up to anything she didn't want. He knew the hanyou was dense at times – fuck even he had his moments – but he had to know that he'd never force her into sex, right? The snarl that came from the hanyou immediately after suggested otherwise, or at least that he didn't care to hear it. "Right now though, I think you need to calm down, Hanyou."

That was another misstep.

"Calm down? Calm down?! You fucker!" Inuyasha snapped, reaching out to grab the youkai. He may have been split three ways but he was still capable of seeing red and right then he wanted to rip anything off his youkai side that dangled. The youkai knew he shouldn't have touched Kagome, yet he did it anyway, and now he had the balls to tell him to calm down?

What followed was bizarre, to put it bluntly. The youkai made use of every available space in the room to evade the hanyou. Inuyasha looked as though he were one step away from destroying the bedroom. All the while, Kagome sat on the bed trying to call out to the pair to get them to stop and find out what was going on.

The human by the desk dodged the chase and helped Kagome from the bed, shaking his head at her when she tried to ask him what happened to cause the split again. This wasn't his place to tell, and he knew the youkai wouldn't have said…even if he did go against Inuyasha's wishes. He also knew that they wouldn't hurt her in the pursuit, but he still stood between her and them as she dressed in fresh clothes in front of the closet. Just because they wouldn't hurt Kagome didn't mean that there wasn't a chance that one of them would use something as a projectile. Better to be safe than sorry.

Or sat.

Inuyasha finally caught the youkai by the hair, jerking him backwards hard. Youkai Inuyasha reached behind and grabbed the shoulder of the fire rat, and with a roar he lifted the hanyou overhead and pinned him to the floor. Inuyasha fought the whole time, but the youkai had a knee between his shoulder blades and his arms had been twisted backwards in a painful grip. Between the two of them, it was getting harder to tell who was snarling and spitting more. "Let me go so I can kill you."

Youkai Inuyasha leaned down and hissed in the hanyou's ear. "You listen to me. I never told Kagome anything."

The struggling persisted until his words sunk in. Not that it mattered, but that was a small bit of relief. "You still slept with her – after everything!"

"Yes and if you'll act normal I'll explain, jackass." Youkai Inuyasha wasn't about to let the hanyou loose until he agreed. Moments passed before Inuyasha mumbled "fine" and he slowly released his hold. The youkai crossed his arms as Inuyasha stood, still glaring. "You can glare at me all you want but that won't change the fact that I did nothing wrong."

The hanyou blinked and sputtered. Fucking hell, he was going to have one of those stroke things Kagome'd talked about once. Or at least rupture something. He was pretty sure his left eye was beginning to twitch. "Nothing wrong?" he hissed. "You went against me! You slept with Kagome, knowing what we know! What if she gets pupped? Did you think about that?"

"I have faith in our mate's medicine," the youkai retorted. "I trust that Kagome has faith in it, but apparently you do not. If she were to carry our pup, I would cherish it and her. Care for her, just like I should. We'd find a way to make it work. I'm not about to abandon Kagome because I'm scared!"

"Abandon? Where the fuck did –"

"No," Youkai Inuyasha cut him off. "You don't get to talk. You're going to listen for once in your goddamn life. Obviously what Kikyo told you went out your fucking ears, so let me make it simple: You're being an asshole. By shutting Kagome out, she thinks she's upset you. She thinks she's done something to make you not want to even kiss her. When I came here, do you know what I saw? She was pleasuring herself because you weren't around to see to her needs. She wants you. She was calling out for you.

When she saw me standing next to the bed, do you know what happened then, Hanyou? She cried. She cried because she thought it was a fucking dream, since you haven't shown any interest in even kissing her recently. So yes, I gave our mate what she needed. I kissed away her tears. I apologized to her for being wrong. I gave her the pleasure that she'd been aching for. I told her that I love her, because I'm her mate and I mean it. You didn't see her eyes, Hanyou. She looked so heartbroken. If I didn't know better, I would think that she thinks that you no longer love her."

Inuyasha felt his chest constrict. Kagome couldn't possibly – could she? There was no teasing in the youkai's tone, and for once he really wished he had been. He looked past the youkai to see Kagome pulling on a t-shirt. His human side opened his arms to her, and she slipped into his embrace, burying her face in the crook of his neck. The look the human shot him – it wasn't as lethal but still didn't look happy. At least with his human side he got some understanding, even if he was in the wrong on this. Inuyasha swore softly under his breath, running a hand through his hair.

This was not how he planned on telling Kagome the truth.

"Kagome," he called out softly. "I can explain." He knew not to say the words "we need to talk" from past experience. The first time he'd said them to her without immediately following up with the reason she'd sat him. Repeatedly. It was safer not to start a conversation like that.

Human Inuyasha let out a sigh when the hanyou spoke. Finally, the youkai had gotten through to him. Now if Kagome could, maybe they'd go back to normal? He felt her turn in his arms and loosened his hold when she stepped back. When she moved to sit at the edge of the bed, he wanted nothing more than to follow her. Sit with her as the hanyou explained why he was being stupid, offer some kind of comfort. He nearly did if the youkai hadn't subtly jerked his head towards the desk where he stood. The hanyou didn't need them getting in the way right now.

Kagome sat down on the bed, silently bracing herself for whatever Inuyasha was about to tell her. a month of no affection, and then all of a sudden he wanted – Of course. There had to be more to it than she expected. There always was. She couldn't have been lucky enough for it to be a simple thing. That her husband would want to give her affection like she'd craved after being denied even a little kiss. Before he had even said anything she was already feeling a wave of stomach acid creep upwards. Kagome swallowed, saying "Whatever you're about to tell me, Inuyasha… I'm not going to be angry with you."

Inuyasha didn't like the flat tone that came from her as he sat on the floor at her feet. "I wouldn't blame you if you did. I… I screwed up, Kagome." He snorted, waving his arm out behind him at the evidence. "Obviously."

"Can I ask you something first? Why did it take this happening again to tell me?"

"Because I… I'm scared," he mumbled. Inuyasha tucked his hands in his sleeves, letting his claws dig into the skin of his arms. He was not going to avoid this any longer. He couldn't. After what the youkai had told him, Kagome really needed to hear the truth. "I'm scared that I'll get you pupped before you finish school." His ears drooped as he continued, looking at Kagome's feet. He was afraid to meet her eyes. "I want a family with you so bad, but not at the risk of your honor, Kagome. So I thought if I stayed away, I wouldn't be tempted to risk it."

There was a pause as she rolled what he said around in her mind, and it was almost deafening in the room while he waited for her response. Inuyasha used his nose to tell if she was upset before he even dared look up. He'd smelled the faint scent of tears, but that was earlier, when she thought…

"That's it?" Her expression wasn't sad, or even angry like he expected. She looked puzzled. "I told you about the birth control. Why? You were fine months ago. What brought this on?"

Inuyasha hesitated, and it was his youkai side that answered. "You can blame that damn flea for putting it in the hanyou's head that being the son of the daiyoukai means that his seed is highly potent. Thinks that it's stronger than what your modern herbs are capable of doing."

"And what did you do?" said hanyou barked, turning his head to glare at the youkai. "You went and – and did what you did to Kagome! After I told you –"

Kagome reached out, slipping her hands under the sleeves of the firerat to grab his hands. She'd seen the movement under the fabric and wasn't surprised to see a faint trace of blood across the tips of his claws. She didn't admonish him for hurting himself; he'd just say that he'd heal in a few minutes anyway. Instead she reached for the folded handkerchief on her nightstand and silently wiped at his claws. "I've been taking this birth control for a long time," she pointed out. "I haven't gotten pregnant yet, have I?"

His cheeks heated at the unspoken words. They'd been…enthusiastic was putting it lightly…since they marked each other and formed the bond. "N-no, but –"

"I get why you're nervous, Inuyasha…but it's okay." Kagome debated trying to explain that it would still take some time for the effects of the pill to get through her system, but she knew it would only confuse him. "If…if something were to happen, we'd figure it out." The idea of getting pregnant before graduation was not one she was excited about, but there was no way in hell that she'd let Inuyasha take the blame all on himself if it did happen. Though, depending on when, if it did happen she wouldn't have to worry about the bump being an issue for her uniform…

"See?" the human said from his spot at the desk. "That's what we've been trying to tell you! Why of all times you decided to listen to Myoga I'll never know!"

"I stand corrected," Peaches huffed. "If there's anyone to be angry with, it's that flea. We could've gotten pounded seven ways from Sunday a lot sooner if it wasn't for him!"

Kagome shook her head to chase away Peaches' thoughts. Her horny side needed to stop. She'd gotten her playtime, there was no reason for her to chime in with her opinion. After the rumble she'd had with the youkai earlier she should've been sated, but apparently not. "Why didn't you come talk to me about this sooner?"

"Thought you'd be angry with me," he shrugged. "I… I did come here once to talk about it, but you were at school, and…" Fucking hellfire in his ass, this was about to get really awkward. "I wanted to talk to Mama about this, but she wasn't here and…I ended up talking to the old man."

'Oh. Oh no.' Kagome bit her lip as the realization that her husband had gone to her grandfather to ask a sex question sunk in. 'I can't laugh.' No matter how much she wanted to, she couldn't – but it was so damn funny! Deep breaths through the nose wasn't working to stave off the giggles, though he probably thought she was trying not to blow up at him. She tried not looking directly at Inuyasha. All that ended up doing was making eye contact with either his human or youkai sides, and before she could stop it she let out a snort. His frown deepened as his cheeks began to redden. "I'm sorry Inuyasha, but it is kinda funny. What did Grandpa say?"

'At least the old man didn't laugh.' Grandpa had treated his questions just like Kaede would have if it had been about medicine in his time. Inuyasha felt like even his ears were hot as Kagome tried to quell her laughter. It was embarrassing, but maybe later he'd see the humor in it.

Maybe with Miroku in his place instead, asking the awkward questions. Yeah, that'd be funny.

"He said that the only surefire way to prevent it was to not. He didn't have anything bad to say against those things you take, but with what Myoga said…"

All of the amusement of the situation left her when his ears drooped low. "You were worried it wouldn't be enough." His small nod made her heart ache. "Oh Inuyasha," she sighed. How was she supposed to get it through to him? "It really is going to be okay. If you wanted to, we could try other things as an extra measure of protection?"

Inuyasha wasn't sure what she meant by extra protection, but he still couldn't be certain. "I… I don't know, Kagome…"

"Then, do you… not want to?" The way his head bobbed made her stomach sink. She wasn't trying to guilt him or anything. She wasn't going to fight with him on this. If he really didn't want to touch her for however long, she'd respect his wishes. She wasn't going to be selfish about this. The "oh" that followed moments later must have told him of her disappointment in his response, because his head snapped up to look at her.

"I want to, Kagome! Believe me!" Inuyasha took the forgotten handkerchief from her and tossed it on the bed, squeezing her hands in his. That look, the way her scent was quickly changing – the youkai was right, and he had to fix this and fast. He couldn't bear the thought that she might think he'd changed his mind about them. "Kagome, I love you – with all of my heart and soul. I want… I want so much, but I don't trust myself. It never had anything to do with you, Kagome. You didn't do anything wrong. I never meant to hurt you."

He knew that pulling her into his lap was going against what he was trying to say he couldn't do, but fuck it. He couldn't handle seeing her cry. Kagome let herself be pulled into his arms as he held her close to his chest as she cried into his shoulder. Inuyasha's ears lowered as her tears turned to sobs, but it was the broken words that the youkai had told him earlier that broke his heart.

"If I didn't know better, I would think that she thinks that you no longer love her."

All he could do was hold tighter to Kagome and whisper how sorry he was, repeating that he did very much love her.

Kagome thought that she was done crying. Between crying to Kikyo, then the youkai, and now Inuyasha… she was amazed she had any tears left to fall. It wasn't even that he said that he never wanted to initiate physical contact, anyway. No, what had did the waterworks in this time was that he'd told her he loved her – just like the youkai had. They were tears of relief, knowing that her dark thoughts weren't as founded as they were trying to make her believe. It was a wave of comfort to know that his feelings hadn't changed, that her fear that had cut her so deeply was being healed.

It bothered her that these thoughts were worse than even the ones she had years ago, when she thought that he would choose Kikyo over her in the end. She knew differently now, of course. Kikyo had no interest in her husband. Could these thoughts have been blown out of proportion because of their link? Had they been feeding off of each other's insecurities this whole time?

Kagome felt additional touches around her, and she lifted her head to see that Inuyasha's human side was pressed against her back. Youkai Inuyasha had dropped to his knees and laid his head on her thighs. Even the hanyou that held her was creating a rumble within his chest to soothe her.

If she wasn't convinced that Inuyasha loved her then, she really was a fool.

She shifted in the embrace to wipe her cheeks with the back of her hand. "I'm sorry," she sniffed. Maybe she was a fool. After all, who goes without sex for a month and immediately jumps to the conclusion that her husband doesn't love her anymore? Inuyasha hadn't even given any indication that he had wandering eyes; he was too loyal to do that anyway. She sighed, reminding herself that this wasn't a modern man she was bound to. This was a hanyou from centuries ago who balked at the mention of infidelity. Even if he was split into three parts currently. Kagome gave another sniff and absently reached down to rub the youkai's ears. If he was going to lay in her lap she was gonna play with them.

"Can I ask why you split again?" she said at last.

The rumbling against her chest stopped but the youkai in her lap didn't hesitate to start as she caressed the furry appendages. Inuyasha frowned, more at the youkai who was eating up the attention than at her. "It's because of these two assholes," he said finally. "They were in agreement that I was being stupid by avoiding you."

Human Inuyasha shifted and dropped his chin on Kagome's shoulder, slipping his arms around her waist. "The only reason we bitched at you was because you were avoiding Kagome entirely," he pointed out. "All because you're a chicken shit about the tiniest possibility of getting her pregnant."

Kagome tried not to shiver as his breath tickled her ear when he talked. 'Not the time,' she reminded herself. 'Definitely not the time.' She swallowed, trying to stay focused on the conversation. "I guess Myoga's to blame for that, or is it Grandpa?"

"N-neither. It's me," Inuyasha admitted. "No one ever said to stay away from you, Kagome. That was all my fault. Even…even Kikyo yelled at me about it."

"She did?"

"Oh yes," Youkai Inuyasha grinned up at her. "It was delightful. Backed the hanyou up into the framing of the hut and gave him an earful on your behalf."

Human Inuyasha snickered. "You've successfully got her to say she's your friend, Kagome. All it took was the hanyou being an idiot."

A small part of her wanted to give the other woman a high five when she got back to the past, but she was still trying to understand. "This doesn't explain why you split."

"Go ahead Hanyou, tell Kagome why we're here in this proverbial dog pile."

Inuyasha glared down at the youkai. "I'd think your actions earlier should've said it all."

"Our mate needed attention and it didn't sit right with me to stand there and watch her do it herself when I was perfectly capable –"

Kagome squeaked and tried to cover her face, but the human behind her grabbed her hands. "Oh really?" he teased, dropping a kiss to her shoulder. Human Inuyasha could only grin as she huffed in response.

The hanyou and the youkai continued to argue over whether what he did was right or not, and Kagome just wanted to disappear. It wasn't that Inuyasha didn't know that she'd touched herself in the past, it was the embarrassment of being caught doing it that made her want to hide. Of course – the one time that she decides to just go for it solo is the one time that her husband catches her. It wasn't like he was going to do it anyway – oh shit, did she say that out loud?

Inuyasha's eyebrows nearly hit his hairline as the words fell from her lips. He knew she wasn't mad at him. He was more shocked that she'd said it out loud. "I… I mean… I could've, but…" Was it really necessary to repeat that he was scared that he couldn't control himself?

Kagome took a deep breath before she spoke. "I didn't mean it that way, Inuyasha. I know why – now, anyway. But… I needed you, and you kept turning me away, so… I thought that if you were going out of your way to avoid me, then I'd handle it." Why was she even blushing about this? They were married. Bound. Couples talked about this kind of stuff. "Does it….does it bother you?"

"Huh?"

"That I was…you know." The fact that she was struggling to say the words made her wonder if they had gotten in over their heads four months ago. A wave of panic hit her in the chest as the idea set in, and she couldn't let it sit. "Inuyasha, do you think we got ahead of ourselves with the marks? Are we not as ready for this as we thought we were?"

Youkai Inuyasha grunted as the fingers that were stroking his scalp stalled. He blinked and looked up at the hanyou and their mate. Both of them looked concerned, and he had a feeling that one of them was about to suggest that it was a mistake. He was not going to put up with that.

Not again.

"It's no mistake," he said. "We were meant to be together, Kagome. We decided that it was time then. All this pissing about is nothing more than your emotions feeding off of each other and making things worse. The hanyou is worried that he can't control his dick if he so much as sees your thighs in that skirt and the talk about getting you pupped only made it worse. That's why we split, because the human and I both have more faith in your modern herbs than that damn flea. He doesn't know as much as he thinks he does."

Human Inuyasha nodded. "Youkai's right. Especially about the skirt. The color suits you rather well. Makes it hard to think when all I can think about is having those legs wrapped around me –"

"As I was saying," Youkai Inuyasha cut in. "We're still in the early stages of being bound, Kagome. It's normal to feel like this. We never did properly court all those years we've known each other. Given enough time I'll have you divulging all your dirtiest fantasies to me, mate."

Inuyasha groaned. Some days he couldn't decide which side of him was more in need of an ass kicking. Both his human and youkai sides were currently tied for the title of who could run their mouth more. "Kagome… I… you know I suck at talking, but if… if this is something we should talk about, I'll try. As off color as my youkai side was, he was right. I don't want you to think we got in over our heads because we're not used to talking about this stuff."

"We're okay, otherwise?" she asked. Kagome was fine with trying, so long as it meant that he didn't think they'd made a mistake either. When Inuyasha nodded that time she breathed a sigh of relief. "So… you split because your youkai and human sides were tired of doing without?" Another, albeit slower nod with his face beginning to turn red again. "We don't have to talk about everything immediately, Inuyasha," she assured him. "We don't even have to force it. It can happen when it happens."

The hanyou was relieved that Kagome was calmer now. Yeah, he sucked even talking about his feelings, but more intimate stuff between them? That was out of his reach at the moment. That didn't mean he wouldn't try for her though. He'd do anything for Kagome if it meant she wouldn't cry. At least for the moment, anything he felt comfortable doing. "I…" he started, frowning. "Kagome, I… I can't… I can't let myself get carried away right now. Not until you've finished school. I'm sorry, but I can't give you what you need in that way."

Kagome chewed her lip. She understood what Inuyasha was trying to say. He wanted to hold off on sex until she graduated. That was understandable. "Can I at least kiss you?" she asked softly. "Or is that too much? I don't want to push you if you don't want to even do th-" She let out a small mewl against his lips. It was only a simple kiss, but she didn't care. She just needed that little assurance that Inuyasha still wanted her. If little kisses was all that she could get until graduation she'd be satisfied.

Peaches, however, would be pissed.

Inuyasha pulled back, pressing his forehead to hers. "Maybe…maybe once you're closer to finishing school I can relax," he offered. "But right now, as much as I hate saying it, I can't risk you getting pupped, so I think it's best if we don't have sex." There. That wasn't so hard. He'd talked about intimacy. Kagome wasn't upset either; he couldn't find a trace of sadness in her scent.

Kagome was just about to tell him that she understood, but the sudden "WHAT?!" from behind her had her ears ringing. She had no idea that Human Inuyasha could hit such a high note. Never in a million years would she have guessed that he could hit soprano-level volume.

Youkai Inuyasha scowled up from his position in Kagome's lap. "Fucks sake, Human. You think you could squeal a little louder? I don't think the entirety of Japan heard you that time!"

"What are you getting pissy about! You got lucky!"

"I'm getting pissy because my ears are bleeding!"

"They're not bleeding," Kagome interjected.

"They feel like it!"

"You're such a baby," Human Inuyasha scoffed.

"Rub my ears, Kagome? The insensitive human made them hurt."

"See? You're a baby."

Inuyasha took a deep breath as the two sides continued to argue. Kagome was trying to pacify the both of them, but he knew it was a losing battle. "I said what I said," he ground out.

"Doesn't mean we have to like it," Youkai Inuyasha commented. Kagome had stared to rub his ears again, and in that moment that's all he needed. Then again, the human was right and he had gotten more than just an ear rub, so that might've had something to do with it.

Kagome looked at each of them. "You said that you split because your youkai and human sides had a different opinion about us being intimate?" she ventured, carefully choosing her next words. "Does it go against your choice if your sides did otherwise?"

The hanyou had a feeling he knew what she was hinting at. "The youkai already did it," he grumbled.

"Would that bother you?"

"Kagome, are you suggesting what I think you're suggesting?" he asked instead.

Her cheeks pinkened and her scent told him what she wasn't saying. Inuyasha sighed. He wondered if he'd have told Kagome in the first place if he'd have even split. Then again, they went against him and forced themselves to split from him because he had been withholding more than just the talk they'd had. The what-ifs were meaningless to worry about now. He'd stuck his foot in it and the consequences were sitting around him.

He knew he didn't stand a chance of keeping an eye on both of them for however long they were split this time, and he had a hut to finish. Maybe…maybe there could be some good to come out of this. He could use the extra sets of hands, even if they were his own…

"Inuyasha?"

"Hanyou, our mate is speaking to you."

He swatted away the youkai's hand that had reached up to poke him in the arm when he was lost in thought. Inuyasha looked down at Kagome and scrambled to piece together what she had last asked him. "I…" Would what bother him? Oh – oh. "In a way, it would, but… it's not just my decision, Kagome. I made that mistake once, and look what happened. I think… I think that this is your decision." Would it bother him to know that his youkai or his human side would be giving her what she needed that he refused to? Yes, yes it would. But her being denied entirely bothered him a lot more, and if she wanted affection that they were keen to give her, he'd deal. He'd have to.

The little smile she was trying to hide from him made him grin despite himself. He knew her decision already. It would be worth hearing those two sides of him crow for however long this lasted, so long as she continued to smile. He leaned forward and dropped a chaste kiss to her lips, murmuring that he loved her again. If he was going to try talking about stuff between the more he needed to get comfortable telling her his feelings.

It was a comfortable silence until the youkai spoke again. "What I'm hearing is that you're not going to be mad if I get our mate naked and panting in bed again?"

"Who says you're going to?" Human Inuyasha blurted out.

"You couldn't catch me the first time."

"Excuse you – I was trying not to catch myself in the zipper of these jeans because you took the boxers! And why are you still naked?!"

Kagome blinked, forgetting that Youkai Inuyasha was very much on display as he sat on the floor. He'd turned and reclined on his back at some point, and she was very glad that she'd locked her door earlier. Her brother might not have been home but her mother was, and she'd already gotten a show that time Inuyasha took a bath with Souta. Then she realized what Human Inuyasha had said. "What do you mean he took the boxers? You were in the past? Where did you get modern clothes?"

"Uh….K-Kikyo brought them from Sango and Miroku's hut," the hanyou mumbled. When the youkai began to snicker he punched him in the shoulder.

"So….Kikyo saw you split...?"

"And naked," the youkai laughed.

Inuyasha started to panic at how she'd fallen silent. He knew that she had accepted Kikyo as a friend, but there were some things a friend shouldn't have been privy to see. Sango had even told him that at one point the first time this happened. She'd gotten her fair share of the youkai on display when he shucked the blanket to go hunting that one morning. He was about to apologize again, even though the split had caused him to pass out, he still felt guilty that he hadn't anticipated and done something to conceal himself. It was a stupid thought to have, of course. How the hell was he supposed to know his youkai and human sides would declare mutiny and break free?

But then, Kagome started to laugh. Inuyasha relaxed a little, thankful that she wasn't upset about the ordeal but still just as confused by her reaction. To her credit, she didn't know why the situation was so funny either.

Why she was laughing to the point of tears, she had no idea. Maybe it was the stress of everything catching up to her. Maybe it was the image of Kikyo finding Inuyasha like she had woken up to that morning four months ago. Kagome really couldn't place the reason, but it felt good to laugh. "We'll figure it out," she said again, once she could calm herself. "At least this time the bed doesn't have to be replaced."