It had been three weeks since Kagome Higurashi had returned, three weeks of her scent surrounding Inuyasha, three weeks of her smiles, of her touches. It was everything he had secretly wanted, both before she had been stolen by the well and after the blessing of her return. Yes, he was clinging to her, but after three years without the touches he had come to crave, she had wisely not complained.
In fact, she had been just as wrapped around him, her hand reaching out to touch his leg, his arm,his ears...,every few minutes, as if she was making sure he was still there too.
Like he would be going anywhere that didn't have her near him.
So he couldn't really say what had caused the situation they were in now, him glaring at her as he stood plastered against the wall, her hand still raised towards him.
Whatever it was had started when they were at Sango and Miroku's hut, Kagome laughing at the antics of their children. They had been watching their daughters play, and one had pushed the other a little hard, causing the one to fall to the floor with a stunned look in her eyes. As Sango and Kagome had rushed to soothe her, Shippo had laughed, saying it reminded him of old times on the trail.
That was when Kagome went quiet, withdrawn.
When her touches , like he wanted them to stop. But no matter how close he got to her, hell he had almost climbed into her lap, she hadn't reached out to him.
The entire walk back to Kaede's she had been quiet, her bottom lip drawn into her teeth as she walked, her gaze never leaving the path before them.
so why was he avoiding her touch?
Because when they had gotten to Kaede's, the old baba still out on her rounds, Kagome had turned to him, but not to touch him, that would have been fine. In fact, its what he had hoped for, her arms wrapping around him so he could wrap his around her, hold her close, get lost in her scen...
That was until her hands had clasped his Kotodama and lifted them. She had them around his ears before he snapped out of his shock and put the length of the hut between them.
"Don't touch them." He growled, not to scare her, but to show her he meant it.
"Inuyasha, I just wanted to..."
"I said DON'T TOUCH THEM."
"But Inuyasha..." Kagome's hand dropped as she drew it back to her chest, and his ears flattened against his hair as he saw the slight tremor in them. "I just... what Shippo said, I just... I kept thinking of all the times I hurt you. Why would you still want them, when all they brought was pain?"
"It was the first thing anyone gave me." He said quietly, his growl easing.
"But... It's not like I handed it to you, they snapped around your neck because you were trying to kill me and..."
"Keh, I wasn't trying to kill you, I was just..." Inuyasha felt his cheeks warm as he thought about just how much of an asshole he had been back then, that wasnotwhat he wanted her to think of, "anyway it doesn't matterhowI got them, they are from you so I am keeping them."
Kagome's face curled into a small frown, her confusion clear. "Ok, but if I take them off you can just put it back on an..."
"NO." Inuyasha grabbed the beads and held them close to his chest. "During the last 3 years it was the only thing that kept me sane, knowing they were YOURS and that you would come back to me, so they are STAYING."
"I..." Kagome's hand rose to cover her mouth, her eyes beginning to fill with tears, which made all of Inuyasha's anger fade in an instant.
"Like I said..." he muttered, his grasp easing as he met her eyes, "they were the first thing you gave me so they are staying on."
This time when she came close her arms slid around his waist, and he felt the tension in him ease as he lowered his nose into her hair and took a giant sniff. His arms wrapped around her, holding her close, her forehead resting near the beads that would now be a permanent fixture around his neck for the centuries they spent together.