Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Her initial reaction to him was fear.  In hindsight it shouldn't have been.  However, try pulling laundry down from the line and coming face to face with a man you've never seen before, and then realizing that there is something different enough about him to make you certain he shouldn't exist.  She guessed most people would have reacted far worse than she had.  In all fairness, his reaction to her wasn't exactly pleasant either.

“Oh, for crying out...” She tugged again on the comforter hanging on the clothesline which was refusing to come down.  It was too large for her bed and it was really too heavy for her to be hanging, but she had no other choice.  Tugging again, it finally came free, nearly suffocating her under all the fabric.  She struggled with it until it was at least folded enough to fit in the laundry basket and promptly dropped it.  Remaining stock still, not even wanting to blink, she stared at the tall man standing just across her yard.  He had long silver hair and what she swore were animal ears on the top of his head.  They twitched in her direction as if to confirm her thought.  He appeared equally startled to see her, as if he hadn't expected to find anyone this deep in the woods.

When he took a step in her direction, Kagome took several back, blindly reaching for anything to defend herself with.  She wasn't stupid, she knew the dangers of living in the wilderness on her own, she just hadn't had to utilize any of the preparations she'd made for such an occasion yet.  He seemed to know that she was afraid, not that it was hard to tell, and remained where he was.  She could tell that he was both curious about her and yet wary.  Finally latching onto the rifle leaning beside the tree at her right, she managed to lift it without her hands shaking, sighting down the barrel just as she'd been taught.  Unexpectedly, he snarled in her direction, disappearing in the blink of an eye.  Kagome felt her heart slowly calm from a racing flutter to a dull thud in her chest.  What...who on earth...Terra was that?  I've never seen anything like him!   Not wanting to risk another run in with the strange man or anyone else like him, she gathered up her laundry and bustled herself inside.

Making sure every door and window in the house was locked and pulling the shades herself, Kagome felt only slightly better.  She knew the house was resistant to being broken into by any traditional means, even fire-resistant to a certain point.  The house computer system already knew not to let anyone in that was not her, but she felt the need to remind it.  Just in case.  It replied with a soft “Understood Mistress.”  She hadn't been in the house long enough for it to have imprinted on her so she had yet to convince it to call her by her name.

Coming to this planet had been a dream come true.  Hundreds of thousands of miles of open wilderness, no people, no cities, no pollution.  Also very little technology and even less help if she needed it.  Stop it.  You don't need help.  You're a big girl .  Her pep talk didn't have the desired effect.  The strange man had seemed as disconcerted as she was to find someone out this far.  She had to remember that there were other people out there even if she hadn't seen any since the Ranger dropped her off with her things over a week ago.  Not only were there other people, there were other species.

As this was her first real foray off the planet Earth, Kagome was fairly limited in her experience with other species from within their galaxy.  Space travel of any kind had only become even mildly affordable in the last few decades and it meant that most humans had yet to venture very far from home.  Like Kagome, many of them made the journey a one-way trip to one of the few terraformed planets that had yet to be inhabited.  Land was cheap, housing even cheaper, with the travel there marking the largest total on the budget.

Despite the fact that the planet was in fact owned by several companies from Earth, they chose not to put much into defending it or the people that chose to immigrate there.  The Rangers, a combination of sheriff, magistrate and tour guide, were the only direct connection to anyone off-world.  Kagome had received a few messages from her mother and brother back on Earth and been able to send some in return, but they took days to transfer so it was somewhat like playing the worst game of telephone tag ever.  Kagome missed her family a lot, especially now that she was finally coming face-to-face with the danger she could be in out here on her own.  “This was my choice.  Freedom, space and fresh air,” she reminded herself aloud.

The rest of the day went by quietly, nothing setting off any alarms and no noises to make her nervous.  Kagome knew better than to assume that meant there wasn't anything out there at all, but it at least made her feel better that the man hadn't returned.  Dinner was a pot of stew using vegetables grown in her hydroponics unit.  They would be planted in the garden in a few days so she wanted to harvest as much as she could before putting them outside where they might die or get eaten by the local critters.

He didn't know why he was surprised by her reaction.  He knew better than to approach humans when they were alone.  Humans were relatively new out in the galaxy, inexperienced with meeting other races from the various inhabited worlds.  Her little house had been empty for the months since he'd arrived, so he hadn't expected to find anyone there.  Helen hadn't said a word about the owner coming, but maybe she hadn't known either.  Inuyasha shook his head as he lurked in the woods just beyond the edge of what seemed to be her property.  His most interesting and nonjudgmental conversation partner was a house computer.  Right now she was his only conversation partner.  But now this woman...  She was locked up tight in her house with all the blinds shut.  He couldn't really blame her, at least not now that he'd calmed down.  He couldn't be absolutely sure just off the initial scent, but he was guessing she was out here alone.  A lone human woman in the wilderness of a newly terraformed planet had every right to be jumpy.  She'd probably never seen an alien life form before.  Inuyasha snorted to himself.  Certainly nothing like me.  I've seen dozens of species and no one looks like me. She was probably terrified.   Of course, he hadn't smelled terror either.  Surprise, certainly.  Curiosity, confusion and determination.  She was going to protect herself.  He couldn't begrudge her that either, especially if she really was on her own.

To say he was intrigued was an understatement.  A woman who was brave enough to come from who knew where to a fairly new and wild planet all alone gained a few points in his book.  That she could and was willing to defend herself on top of that was another plus.  Too many times he had seen women, even ones that came with mates, that ventured out into the edges of the galaxy and perished because they didn't take the precautions they should have.  Inuyasha sighed, still watching the house.  It pained him to see the terrible things that happened to good people because some scumbag wanted an easier way to make some money or was so twisted they delighted in other people’s suffering.  That won't happen to her.  I won't let anyone get this one.   He flinched at the direction of his own thoughts, surprised by the easy dedication to her protection.

“Don't get roped in, stupid,” he muttered to himself.  He didn't want to see anything happen to her, sure, but he wasn't about to tie himself down to guard duty on a woman who would sooner draw a pulse rifle on him than speak to him.  With a rough growl, he headed back out into the wilds in search of dinner.  There were some animals he still wasn't sure were edible, but he knew the wild poultry he could hear rustling in the bushes a few meters away were good eating and easy prey.  Dispatching both of them fairly quickly, he cleaned them up before leaving one as a sort of peace offering on the woman's doorstep and taking the other home.  So much for not getting roped in...

Kagome made a concentrated effort to leave her house the next day.  Well... not the very next day, maybe the day after .  She was careful to bring her pulse rifle with her, but she wasn't going to let the strangeness of this place make her cower.  It took a few tries to actually head out the door, but she finally made it.  The weather was a little cloudy, likely bringing rain later.  She smiled.  Since she planned to plant her seedlings the day after tomorrow, the rain would soften up the ground for her a little, making tilling her garden easier.  She looked around the porch carefully.  There had been a dead bird of some kind left on the porch the same day she'd locked herself in.  She would have taken it as some sort of threat if it hadn't been so carefully plucked and cleaned, laid out on a large leaf.  Kagome understood a peace offering when she nearly tripped over it.

Despite the kindness of the gesture, she had been nervous about leaving the house just yet.  What if it was a trap?  Stupid, he would have killed you already if that were the case .  Just her quick study of him told her he was strong, clearly very fast and possibly aggressive.  He was obviously a good hunter and probably cooked his food.  She had read of bipedal species that did not cook their food.  They didn't nicely clean their kill before eating it.  

Putting that aside, she knew from the house computer – who had finally confessed to liking being called Helen – that the man she saw before was called Inuyasha.  The name had a strangely familiar ring to it, as if she had heard it before, or should know what it meant.  Helen had conversed with him several times but didn't have much information on him aside from what she could speculate from what he'd told her.  He had been in the area at least a few months, appeared intelligent, perhaps a little gruff, but had been polite enough to the computer.  Helen had been able to provide her with a still frame from some of the camera feeds from when he came around before she'd arrived.  She'd studied his face, his golden eyes, the animal ears on top of his head.  He seemed fierce, but she hoped she saw kindness in his eyes too.  

Kagome also knew that he was keeping an eye on her.  He had brought by another bird the night before, one that reminded her a lot of the turkeys from Earth.

“Hallooo!”

Kagome had her rifle up so fast she nearly knocked herself in the chin.  I knew I shouldn't have left the house! she thought, turning each way to see where the voice had come from.  Just at the edge of her property, on the “road” that led up to her house was a young man, probably her age, with long rusty blond hair in a high tail.  Distinct black stripes lined either side of his neck and seemed to disappear into his shirt collar. Definitely not Inuyasha.  “Who are you and what do you want?” she called, still sighting down the rifle.  She could see his bright smile from where she stood, but she didn't trust it for a second.

“Just came by to say hello.  You're new here, aren't you?” he called, taking a few steps closer.  Kagome rolled her shoulders to better hold the rifle and he stopped.  “I'm Seff, I live in Terra City, but I'm looking to buy out this way.”

“I'm not selling,” Kagome said, but slowly lowered her weapon.  “There's an open parcel a few kilometers that direction and another back that way,” she pointed East and North.  Seff didn't even look which way she was pointing.  He took a few steps closer, eying her openly.  “I don't know much about the land over there but I don't think either of them are much good for farming.  Livestock maybe.”  Seff only nodded as though he were listening.  Kagome tapped the butt of her rifle on the porch support, which got his attention fairly quickly.

“Is your male out getting supplies?”

Kagome twitched, bringing her rifle back into a better position to shoot from.  “Why do you want to know?”

“I only ask because a pretty young female like you shouldn't be out in this great wild by yourself.”  Kagome refrained from staring at him with her mouth dropped open.  This guy had some nerve!  He took several steps closer with his arms out as if to prove he meant her no harm.  She could see now as he smirked at her that he definitely had fangs and there was something... predatory about him that she didn't like at all.

“Even if I needed a man to protect me, it wouldn't be you,” she told him, making it clear with a flick of the safety that she was done with his games.  He lifted his hands even higher to show submission.  “Please leave, I don't want to have to hurt you.”

“I only want to talk,” he almost crooned.  Awfully confident!   “I didn't mean to offend you... you never told me your name.”  Kagome hesitated a moment before telling him.  “Kagome, what a lovely name.  There's no need to shoot me,” he told her gently, a crooked grin on his lips.  Kagome wasn't so sure.  His smarmy attitude alone tempted a stun shot at the very least.

“Look... Seff, was it?”  He nodded.  “I came here to get away from people, not meet them.”  Kagome saw his nose twitch and his green eyes sparkle at the lie.  He knew.  Somehow, he knew she was lying.  She changed tactics and decided to tell the truth.  “My family will be coming to live with me soon.”  A stretched truth, but still the truth.  “I have a lot of work to do before they get here, so if you don't mind...”  She waved the end of her rifle in a dismissive gesture.  Seff slowly lowered his hands and backed up.  Kagome could tell by the look on his face that he was still calculating an angle.

“Perhaps I could help.  I'm pretty handy...”

“No.  I'm perfectly capable of handling it myself.  As long as I'm not disturbed,” she added sharply.  He raised one eyebrow and gave her a condescendingly knowing look.  He nodded as though conceding to her wishes and backed up further.  She thought to tell him her fencing would be up by the end of the day, but if she couldn't get it done, he might be on her porch before she could blink.  She wasn't sure what exactly he wanted, but he made her nervous and she didn't think the feeling was unfounded.

“Well, if you change your mind, there's only one Seff in Terra City.”  Kagome gave a noncommittal hum in reply.  “Or if you're lonely, you know, and need some company...”  Kagome wrinkled her nose at the suggestive tone in his voice.  That was certainly taking a leap.

“I'll be just fine.  Thank you.  Have a good day.”  She watched the man leave, not relaxing her hold on her rifle until he was completely out of sight.  She was in the house a breath later, had Helen locking down the house and extending her sensor range.  “I want to know the moment he comes around again, if he does.”

“Of course Mistre... Miss Kagome.”  Kagome smiled slightly at the computer's revision.  No matter what people said about computers being too human, she liked that she felt like she was talking to a real person while she was all alone here.  “Would you like for me to automatically contact the Ranger's office if anyone approaches again?”

Kagome had to give the idea serious thought.  “No.  Not yet.  Once the fencing is up and we've established the perimeter, then we can decide if that is best.”  She didn't want to say aloud that she was still trying to decide if she wanted to approach this Inuyasha guy.  She didn't want to deter him from coming closer to the house... yet.

“Hello, Inuyasha.”

“Helen,” he returned stiffly.  He sniffed and listened again, not sure he should be taking this risk, no matter what the computer seemed to think of her new mistress.  Well not new really, she'd been installed for this Kagome woman in the first place.  He'd just had a chance to talk with her first before Kagome arrived.  It was late and Kagome had gone to bed hours ago.  He'd watched her lights go out and had listened as she settled in to sleep.  “How's she been the last few days?”

“Miss Kagome has been well.  A bit nervous, but well.”

“Nervous?”  He sniffed around again and silently cursed the rain from the day before.  Everything smelled of fresh earth, rain and clay.

“Yes,” the computer replied.  “The big cat you warned me about came by the other day and Miss Kagome did not like the way he spoke to her.”  As soon as Helen mentioned the tiger, Inuyasha started growling, increasing in intensity as she went on.  He had thought he smelled him in the area, but he thought for sure he'd made it clear that this place was off limits.  He'd left his scent all over the place to warn the bastard off!  “I see that you do not approve that he spoke to her either.”

“He has no business sniffing around here.  It's my territory.”

“Technically, it's mine.”  The new voice startled him and he almost leaped away before her voice stopped him in his tracks.  “Don't run off on me.  There's no way we'll get to know one another if the only one you'll talk to is my house computer.”  Inuyasha paused before settling back onto his heels and taking her in.  She was beautiful, not that he hadn't noticed it the first time he saw her... or every time he'd prowled near her place to get a look at her.  The rifle pointing in his face had distracted him a little the first time.  Now, seeing her in the faint light of the stars and the twin moons of the planet, he allowed himself to admit that he could be attracted to her.  “Helen tells me you're Inuyasha?”  He nodded.  “I'm sure you already know my name.”  Another nod.  “Thanks for the turkey before.  It made some great stew.”  He raised an eyebrow before acknowledging her thanks.  “Would you like something to drink?”  This time he just blinked at her for several moments.  Was she... inviting him in?  She knew nothing about him, he could be dangerous.  He was dangerous.  Maybe not to her , but in a more general sense.  Had she welcomed the big cat in too before he made her uncomfortable?  “Well come on then.  You can decide what you want inside.  I have a fresh batch of sun tea in the fridge.”

He followed her silently, clearly unsure as to her motives.  Kagome motioned to a chair at the table, but he remained standing, watching her warily with those beautiful amber eyes of his.  She'd had dreams about those eyes, especially since Seff had been by the other day.  Something about Inuyasha's presence made her feel safe when Seff had left her feeling a little slimy.  Trying to shake off the memory of the tiger's presence, she went to get glasses and something to drink.  She poured them both a tea and sat down, setting his glass on the edge of the table closest to where he was standing, watching her.  After a few moments of simply staring, he finally slid into a chair and took a sip of the tea.  Kagome gave him a smile and relaxed a little.  “You're from Earth.”

“Yes.  You're... not,” she said a little awkwardly.  The corner of his mouth lifted the tiniest bit.

“My mother was born there.”  He glanced down at his glass and then up at her again.  “My old man was Youkai, inuyoukai,” he explained with a wiggle of his canine ears.  Kagome's face lit in a smile at the gesture, fascinated by his features.  “He lived on Earth a long time ago, then made his way back home, wherever that is.  He didn't make it.”

“I'm sorry...”  Inuyasha waved away her sympathy.  “My father died in space too.  Coming here.”  His golden eyes widened and took a look around the house once more.  “Not when I was on my way,” she reassured him.  “It was a long time ago.  Travel was much more dangerous then.  The ship was hit by an asteroid or something.  That's why I came.  It took years to save up for the travel expenses.  If things go well, my mother and brother will probably come too.”

“Go well?”

“You know, if I can get myself set up well enough to support several people.  I want to sell vegetables and that kind of thing.  The soil here is much better than Earth.”  Her voice was sad as she spoke of Earth.  Inuyasha knew from reports here and there that the human homeworld was in sharp decline.  There were too many people, not enough space and too much pollution.  “People pay an arm and a leg for good fruits and veggies back home.  The Ranger has already helped me get in contact with the transport authority to get the paperwork started.”  He had to commend her on her determination.  It seemed likely she would need help to get something like that started...  As if reading his thoughts, she tilted her head and bit her lower lip.  “I was hoping to lure you in here to ask you if you wanted a job.”  Blinking at her, he opened his mouth to say something, then closed it again.  She wants me to work for her?  A hanyou?   He'd been turned down for work on several planets because of his animal traits in the past, now she was making the offer to him?

Kagome winced.  He might already have a homestead of his own to work, but it didn't seem like it.  Helen didn't seem to think he did either.  “I can't pay much, but you would have a roof over your head if you want it and whatever you need to eat.”

That startled him even more.  “You would... want me to stay here?  With you?”  Despite how much it surprised him, he couldn't help the surge of longing it brought up in him.  To have someone who actually desired his presence instead of merely tolerating him.  But she needed his help, not his companionship and he had to remember that.

“Only if you wanted to.  I have the room, but if you have your own place you'd rather stay to have your own space, that's understandable.”  He thought about it for several minutes, alternately eying her and looking into his glass of tea.  “Oh, stupid Kagome!” she said suddenly, smacking herself lightly on the head.  “I didn't even ask.  Do you have a family here?  I should have thought of that before,” she trailed off into a mumble.

“No.  It's just me,” he replied quickly.  He couldn't believe she thought it possible for him to have a family of his own.  Him, a hanyou, an abomination.  Had he been alone he might have openly laughed at the idea.  He sighed.  “I've never... grown things before.”

Kagome smiled that he was at least considering it.  She tried not to be too glad that he didn't have someone waiting for him at home.  As if that were really any of her business.  “I'm still learning things myself.  It's not difficult, it's just a lot of work.”

Staring at her openly as if trying to decide if he could trust her, Inuyasha finally nodded once.  “Alright.  I'll help.  What do you need me to do?”  They spent a couple of hours going over Kagome's plans for her little farming operation.  She tried to answer what questions he had, surprised by the insightful things he asked about.  “I'll be back in the morning,” he finally said when they'd gone over most of the crop layouts Helen had printed for them and the fence designs they would start on the next day. She was yawning behind her hand every few minutes, and he had a feeling she would be up with the sun regardless.

Kagome nodded but hesitated in standing when he did.  He quirked a look at her, silently asking what was wrong.  “I was just...  I mean....  You can stay here if you want.  It's late.”  Inuyasha blinked at her several times before his shoulders relaxed and he twitched a tiny smirk at her.

“I think I'll stay at my place, at least tonight.  Maybe tomorrow.”  Kagome nodded, trying not to blush.  Why was she embarrassed at his rejection of the idea?  It's not like he's rejecting me , she thought as she stood to follow him to the door.  She watched him go, disappearing into the dark forest.  Kagome felt sad to see him go, startled by the emotion.  Shaking her head at herself, she made sure all the doors were locked properly.

“Helen, make sure...”

“No one is allowed entrance aside from you, Miss Kagome.”

Kagome hesitated. “Inuyasha is allowed access as well.”

“Understood, Miss Kagome.”

Chapter Text

The sun was barely in the sky when Inuyasha arrived on the edge of Kagome's property.  She noticed he kept a slight distance, as though worried she'd changed her mind.  She smiled softly and waved at him, going back to tilling and fertilizing the square of earth by the house she'd designated as her own personal garden.  She felt his presence come up beside her, confused by her awareness of him, but said nothing about it.  “Can you grab me those trays?” she said, motioning to the line of hydroponics' trays sitting on the porch of the house.  He went without question, tenderly lifting the rows of plants with new fruits and pods.  Kagome smiled at the care he took with the tender young vegetables and thanked him with a nod when he set them beside her, kneeling when she did.  “Beans down this row, squash here, tomatoes there,” she explained as she pointed out the markers she'd placed at the end of each row.  He stared at the plants in the trays blankly and Kagome fought down her grin this time.  “These ones are the beans...”  She took one of the little squares out of its holder in the tray and showed him how and where to place it in the ground.  He tried to follow her lead, painfully gentle with the plant.

As he struggled to get the plant in line with the one she'd shown him and at the right depth, Inuyasha sucked in a quiet breath when he felt her hands cover his own.  She was only helping him do it correctly, adjusting his grip on the delicate stems and helping him cover it with damp earth, but it meant she wasn't afraid to touch him.  The thought sliced through him like lightning, making his heart race.  He had expected her to be kind to him, to be polite, but he had never thought she would be willing to touch him in any way, not even just in a perfunctory manner.  And this was only the first day of them working together.  “I... I think I get it now,” he mumbled after a moment.  He was too pleased by her small gesture, one he quickly realized she didn't even think about, and he needed a small amount of space from her to calm himself.

The two of them worked through the morning, getting all of the sprouted plants in the ground and making sure they got water.  Next Inuyasha helped Kagome set up the fencing system that would keep any animals out of her small garden and deterred any insects from infecting the plants.  “Not bad for a morning's work,” Kagome said, glowing from both happiness and the heat from the sun.  Inuyasha took her in with his senses, surprised by how much she still affected him.  He was generally repulsed by any sort of overt body odor, but the thin film of sweat on Kagome didn't bother his nose in the least.  

The rosiness of her face and the back of her neck did bother him though.

“You have a hat or something?”  She frowned at him in confusion, looking at the top of his head then back at his face.  “Not for me,” he said with a small huff of laughter.  “You're getting burned already,” he explained.  Her eyes widened and she beckoned him after her as she scurried inside.  He heard her rifling through something in the bathroom.  When she returned she smelled of a plant substance he didn't recognize and she had a wide-brimmed hat under one arm.

“I didn't even think about the sun.  I haven't been spending that much time outside.”  Inuyasha nodded, knowing why she'd been sequestering herself in her house.  First he'd frightened her when he accidentally came upon her, then he'd been lurking around trying to find out more about her, then Seff had shown up to sniff around an unmated female.  At least that was Inuyasha's assumption as to his arrival.  Nothing else much interested the big cat bastard.

“What did he want?”  She looked confused by his question, so he clarified.  “What was the tiger's excuse for talking to you?”

It took Kagome a moment to process what he was asking.  Was he worried, angry, jealous?  No, don't be stupid, Kagome.  Why would he be jealous?  I'm no prize .  “He said something about...”  Come to think of it, she couldn't remember what his initial reasoning for showing up on her property had been, just that the conversation turned inappropriate very quickly.  “You know, I don't know?  He started asking me if I had a man coming back from town to protect me though.  He already seemed to know I was alone.”  She shivered at the thought of him knowing she was on her own and the glint in his eye made it seem likely he'd take advantage of that fact.

“He likely smelled it.  Only your scent in and around the house.”  Kagome took in what he was telling her while pouring them both glasses of water and digging in her fridge unit for something to eat.  “He's Youkai, if you didn't guess already.  Tora.  Mangy tiger's been sniffing around my territory almost as long as I've been here.”

“Where do you live?  Is it near here?”  Inuyasha stared at her a moment before shrugging lightly.  Well that wasn't exactly an answer .  She let it go for the time being.  The fact that Inuyasha didn't trust easily was all too obvious and she didn't want to scare or bully him off on his first day.  “Why does he 'sniff around' here?” she asked, making quotes in the air.  “Is he looking for something?”

Inuyasha frowned.  “He's looking for a woman.”

“Someone in particular, or just any woman?” Kagome questioned while trying to hold back her mirth at the ridiculousness of the suggestion.  Inuyasha's face told her he wasn't joking and he didn't think it was funny.  “You mean he's just in search of any female?”

With a shrug, he nodded.  “I'd like to say he's picky, but I don't think he is.  He's tried to warn me out of the area a few times, trying to remove any competition.”  Inuyasha snorted impolitely at the thought that any woman would want him over a full Youkai.  Regardless of that fact, there were too few unattached women on the entire planet for it to matter.  Most of the women on the planet were human, certainly humanoid, and most of them had come with their mates to settle the new planet.  Kagome was one of only a small handful of women there alone.  “Just look out for him.  He's already scared a few women off the planet.”

“Scared them?  I thought he was looking to hook up with them.”  Not entirely sure of the idiomatic phrase she used, Inuyasha frowned.  “Hook up with... have sex with?”

Inuyasha snarled at the idea of Seff even thinking about trying to “hook up with” Kagome.  Inuyasha knew that was exactly the big cat's intention, but there was no way he was going to allow that to happen.  “Don't worry, once we get the fencing up around the property, he won't be coming near you,” he growled.  Finishing off his glass of water with renewed vigor, he marched outside with Kagome on his heels.  He gathered the fence posts from her tiny shed and made sure she had the testing equipment.  There could be no weaknesses in the fence.

It was nearing dark when they finally finished the perimeter of Kagome's property.  Putting the last fence post in near the house, and in line with the emitter, Inuyasha stood back as Kagome flipped it on.  A whine and then a crackle of singed grass alerted them that the fence was connecting around the property, Inuyasha leaping inside at the last moment.  “Excellent!  Let's get your DNA in the system so you can come and go as you please,” Kagome said, dusting off her hands, a pleased smile on her lips.  The pair of them went inside and washed up some before Kagome pulled him over to the scanner Helen had presented from one of the wall panels.  “Sorry, it's not quite as high tech as other DNA scanners.  It still needs a tiny blood sample.  That's... that's ok right?  I mean, I guess we could try a cheek swab...” she trailed off in a mumble, clearly contemplating if she even had something to take a swab with.

Inuyasha only nodded in response.  Kagome flashed him a bright smile and went about placing a sterilized pin in the machine.  She went first, quickly pricking her finger and letting the scanner soak up the tiny drop to process her blood.  Helen's voice announced that the DNA was accepted and recognized.  Inuyasha hesitated as Kagome replaced the pin for him.  “I don't know if this is gonna work,” he said softly.  The pin was pretty tiny and fragile looking.  It might not even pierce his skin.  Kagome chewed her lip and asked that he at least try it, taking his hand without warning and pulling him closer.  Her scent overwhelmed him, forcing his eyes closed in an attempt to calm himself.  He felt the tiniest pinch and then felt wet warmth surround his finger a moment later.  His eyes popped open in surprise as the house computer's voice repeated its acceptance.  He wasn't worried about that anymore, the sight of Kagome's delicate lips wrapped around his finger too surprising to be distracted from.  “K-Kagome?”  She glanced at him and then realized what she'd done, letting his finger go and blushing under her faint sunburn.

“Sorry, force of habit,” she gulped, turning away quickly.  “A-Are you hungry?  I can make you something before you go... if you're going that is?  Were you going to stay?”  Inuyasha fought a grin at her blatant rambling.  It was sweet that she was embarrassed, but he still couldn't believe she wasn't disgusted.  She didn't even try to rinse out her mouth .  Anyone else he'd met wouldn't have even gotten that close to him, let alone touched him with their mouth.  And that was his blood that she'd gently stopped the flow of with her tongue.  Inuyasha watched her bustle around her kitchen, looking for something to feed him, all while stemming a rising heat in his blood.  He needed to go.

“It's fine, Kagome,” he stopped her with a soft tug on her sleeve as she passed nearby.  She swung around to face him, surprise in her eyes.  “I'm going to head home.  I'll see you tomorrow, same time?”  She nodded mutely.  “Til then.”

“Bye,” she whispered as he released her and turned to go.

Right on time, just as she suspected he would be, Inuyasha arrived on the edge of her property.  Helen, now connected to the fencing system, alerted Kagome that he was near.  He hesitated at the fence line, seemingly waiting for, or deciding, something.  A faint crackle went through the system when he finally stepped through.  Kagome went to the door, trying to see him coming up the road to make sure he was alright.  Before he realized she was watching him, she caught a smile on his lips and felt a responding smile on her own mouth.  “Worried I wasn't going to let you in?” she teased gently when he got close enough for her not to have to shout at him.  He only shrugged, that same slightly nervous tension in his expression that he'd worn most of the day before.

“What do we have today?” he asked, leaning against the porch support and trying to look as nonchalant as possible.  He turned his head when Kagome pointed behind him to the area she had planned for her more long-term cash crop garden.  She'd already stuck a few tools in the dirt in preparation.

“That all needs to be tilled, fertilized and fenced before we can start planting anything.”  She brought out a mug of coffee and offered it to Inuyasha.  He sniffed it several times before taking a tentative taste.  His nose wrinkled slightly, but he took another sip.  “Have you never had coffee before?” she asked with a small smile.

Inuyasha tilted his head.  “Not like this.  It was always swill they called coffee...  But if this is what it's supposed to taste like, whatever that was wasn't coffee.”  Kagome laughed outright.  “So what are you planning on planting there again?”  Kagome smiled, motioning him in behind her and leading him to the table.  She showed him the specific planting schematics for the plots they were going to work on that day.  “Fruit trees?  Huh.  They'll add privacy too,” he commented as he looked at the layout.

“That's the hope.  All the trees are still saplings right now, so it will be at least another year before they bear fruit, if not several.  Some of the smaller ones here,” she pointed to a line of trees on the map, “they're a pear hybrid that fruits very quickly.  We might see some as early as this next season.”  She pointed to the next row that was depicted by much larger trees.  “These I know will take several years to be productive, but there is a chance that the soil here is good enough that they give us apples sooner than I'm planning on.”

“How would that happen?”

“I've heard from a few different sources that the soil here is ten times as rich as the soil on Earth ever was.  It's one of the main reasons my father chose this planet.”  Inuyasha almost missed the twinge in Kagome's face at the mention of her father.  Despite her brave front, his loss still hurt.  Inuyasha could definitely understand.  His mother's death was still hard for him to remember.  “Not enough people are growing Earth-native plants to know what the effect will be.  I'm optimistic, but I'm not going to get my hopes up too high,” she said.  He didn't miss the wistful smile that slightly twisted her mouth and the way she looked away from him.  Did he remind her of the fact that this should have been her with her family, not some stranger?  A hanyou stranger at that.

He was distracted when she pulled another sheet from under the one she had been showing him.    “An addition to the house?”  She nodded slowly.  Inuyasha glanced up at her with a question in his eyes before looking more carefully at the plans she had gingerly set in front of him.  Another bathroom, two more bedrooms in the addition while removing the hydroponics to a separate building and turning the space into an office.  The addition would allow for a larger main living space with separate dining and family areas.  “I thought you only had the one brother,” he commented, finger tracing over the other bedrooms.

The nervousness that suddenly entered her scent brought his eyes to hers and he realized why she had added the other bedroom to the plans.  She had said she wanted him to have his own space.  Even after her family came to live with her, she was making it clear he would still be welcome.  “I wouldn't want to get started on this until after all the planting is done for the season.  With the hydroponics cleaned out until we start over for next season, it will be easier to build a new space for it.”  Inuyasha suppressed a smile at her need to explain herself.  He thought her logic was sound and her structural plans made sense.  Did she feel the need to get his approval?  No.  She wants me to give her an indication of whether or not I want to stay here.   Part of him was really pleased that she wanted him nearby.  At the same time, he knew it wouldn't be good for their working relationship.  

Inuyasha had never had to care about his boss's feelings before.  It was strange, a little scary, and yet he couldn't help caring.  He wanted Kagome to like him.  He needed her to feel safe around him.  At least she seems to feel safe with me so far , he thought with a slight nod of his head.  “The house plans look good, structurally sound.”

Kagome gave him an encouraging smile.  “Do you... know a lot about house building?”  Allowing himself a smirk he gave a curt nod.  “Excellent!”  Kagome clapped her hands together in a pleased gesture.  “That will make this so much easier.  The fewer people we bring onto the property to work the better.”  At Inuyasha's confused face, Kagome's mouth twisted.  “I just... After Seff snooping around...”  Clarity lit the inuhanyou's eyes and he nodded in understanding.  Of course she wouldn't want a bunch of strangers lurking around and knowing the ins and outs of her house.

“There are a few of people in town that are pretty handy, I think.  A couple I’ve run into a few times that built their own place.  They might be willing to help or know someone who is.”  Kagome gave him a look of surprise.  “What?  I talk to people!”

Her laughter filled the room and, a little unexpectedly, filled his heart up.  “That’s not what I was thinking, Inuyasha!  I was just a little surprised that they might want to help.  Don’t they have their own farm?”  He shook his head, a tiny smile curling his lips.

“Nah.  Sango works for the ranger’s post and Miroku is some manager for the immigration office.  They seem kinda bored, honestly.”

Kagome mused over this information.  “If you think they’re trustworthy, I would be willing to approach them.”

Inuyasha fought a blush at her words.  She… trusted him?  With a decision like who to let into her home?  “I… I could take you to meet them.”

Her beaming smile nearly undid him.  “That would be great!  But first, tilling and fertilizer.”

“Yea.  Tilling and fertilizer,” he echoed, a soft chuckle bubbling out of him as he followed her out the door. He could get used to this… if he let himself.

Kagome cursed softly to herself while reaching as far as her arm would allow. Letting Inuyasha put things away in her kitchen was a good idea in theory. Until she needed the cooking oil and it was too high for her to get on her own. She was determined to reach it herself, but without a step stool, she was falling just a bit short. Her fingertips tapped the bottom of the container, accidentally pushing it further back. "Seriously?" she huffed.

"Having trouble?" came a smooth chuckle from behind her, making Kagome jump. She fought down her heart from her throat, still fluttering from the surprise. “Sorry,” he murmured, stepping in to reach for the canister without much effort, his long arm stretching past her ear.  Kagome bit both lips and thought hard about pears and beans, anything to take her mind off of the lithe man at her back very thoroughly in her personal space.  And, more importantly, the fact that he couldn’t know that she very much wanted him there.

She inched sideways to give him more room, squeaking out a “thank you” and then clearing her throat to hide it.  She took the container and poured a small amount of oil into the pan on the stove. Kagome realized the pan was a bit too hot as the oil skipped across the surface, shifting it off of the heating element to allow it to cool a little so as not to burn their food right off.  Inuyasha still hadn’t completely moved away from her space, eyes fixed on the faint smoke coming off the pan.  “I just… Um…” Reaching across him for the two cuts of “turkey” on the plate beside the stove.  He stepped back, a quick frown lowering his brows as though she had taken him by surprise this time.

The real shock came when she placed the meat in the pan and oil immediately spit out of the bottom, catching the inside edge of Kagome’s index finger.  She squealed in pain before she could catch it, moving to put her hand under cold water. It felt better for a moment, then felt like it was on fire the moment she pulled it out.

“Wait,” he barked. He caught her hand before she replaced it under the stream and examined it while flicking his golden gaze to her confused and pained eyes. He cradled it gently, the throbbing in her finger fading to the back of her mind as she watched him study the reddened spot. His much larger hands cupped her smaller one as he gently rinsed her entire hand clean then pulled it out again to sniff it carefully with his sensitive nose. Kagome nearly stopped breathing when he placed her finger in his mouth.

Despite how thoughtless she had been about it at the time, she had repeatedly thought about that moment when she’d stopped the bleeding on his finger.  Was he completely disgusted by her?  Was he offended by how familiar she acted with him?

Now, staring at him, wide-eyed, mouth gaping, Kagome felt all those doubts fly out of her mind.  His tongue swiped softly over where she’d burned herself, his eyes half-lidded, unfocused. The pain dulled, then slowly disappeared as he kept her still.  There were so many points of contact to focus on the pad of his thumb in the middle of her palm, the rest of his finger flexing against the back of her knuckles, his hot tongue across the tender spot on her finger... His eyes entranced her, dark amber and smouldering with a heated look she almost thought she imagined. Finally, the pain gone entirely, his golden eyes lifted to hers as he slid his mouth toward the tip of her finger. He left the pad against his lips, an almost kiss, then released her hand and stepped back.  His left hand braced her back, a point of contact that neither one of them had noticed until then.  His right dropped and gripped the edge of the sink where they stood.  “Inuyasha?” she breathed, curiosity and concern shading her tone.

“I…”  He swallowed hard. “I shouldn’t have done that,” he hissed.  The metal of the sink creaked under the pressure of his grip.  Kagome smoothed her hand down from his shoulder to his hand, fingers lightly brushing over the raised veins in the back of his fist. His firm hold lessened at her gentle touch, an apology starting to leave his lips.  Kagome startled him into silence with a soft kiss on his cheek.

“Thank you, for taking care of me.”  Then she was back to cooking and feeding them a meal.  Inuyasha stared at her for a while, unable to look away from the way she moved, the swaying light and energy that was his boss.  Right… my boss.   He shook himself out of his daze and went to set the table, if only to give his hands something useful to do.

Chapter Text

He hated it here. There was nothing really soft or inviting about his cave. It was functional, at best, and it was honestly better than some places he'd lived, but it was still a literal hole in the wall. He had carved out a deeper space, leaving the entrance small to keep most of the weather out. He hadn't been planetside long enough to have experienced a winter yet, but he wasn't looking forward to that either. The cold would seep in no matter what. “Maybe I should take Kagome up on…" Inuyasha scowled at himself. He didn't need any more temptation than what he was already struggling with.

Kagome was his boss! She hired him to help her. She paid him to help her cultivate her land. He was getting pretty good at it too.  He liked the work.  That was the first time in a very long time that he could say that about any type of employment. Inuyasha was typically relegated to jobs that required him to be neither seen nor heard.  Mining asteroids had been dangerous work, but probably his least despised job prior to this.  He was decent at it, due to his strength and resilience, and he liked the solitude it afforded to some degree.  He’d worked on a salvage ship for a while, which had ended abruptly when the captain shoved him into a life pod before he was arrested for having an illegal on board.  Which had brought him here.

Fortunately for him, he healed quickly, because a crash landing in the mountain range of a newly terraformed planet was not the ideal landing for anyone.  He’d had at least a broken wrist, a faint concussion and a dislocated shoulder. The captain had shoved him into the pod with just an emergency survival kit and a few meal rations.  Not a bad guy really.

The truth of it, however, was that Inuyasha was here illegally as well. He had no immigration or homestead papers.  He had avoided the rangers completely until he’d had a run-in with Sango and Miroku a few months ago.  They were trying to help him get the documentation he needed, but it was a slow process, even working from the inside. He kept telling them that he didn’t want them to risk their jobs by helping him, but they insisted.  Miroku had been a nomad, borderline conning his way around the galaxy before they met, and had a fair share of run-ins with the law prior to Sango “straightening” him out.  His words.

Now Inuyasha was hoping for those papers more than ever.  If… if he wanted to pursue his feelings with Kagome…  But I can’t! he thought as he shook out the furs that lined his sleeping space.  They were a bit musty and would need cleaning soon. He would still be a drifter if he had any way off this planet.  He had no formal training in any trade, no income outside of what she paid him.  What kind of life could he possibly offer her?

Inuyasha contemplated his bleak future as he stretched out on his makeshift bed.  Really, his best option was to carefully save what he earned from working for Kagome and buy himself a ticket off of this planet as soon as Miroku could come up with the papers necessary to allow him travel. Something inside him howled at the thought, but he tried to quell it.  He had no right to even hope for what that beast inside him yearned for.  What all of him yearned for… His face scrunched with frustration, Inuyasha rolled onto his side and curled up, firmly shutting his eyelids and trying to force himself to sleep. 

Dawn arrived far more quickly than he felt it should have and he groggily slithered out of bed.  A splash of cold water to the face helped a little, but he was still haunted by the gripping dreams he’d suffered through most of the night.  Whispers of feeling - the touch of Kagome’s hands on his, her lips against his skin - had grown to caressing and soft whimpers of his name as his dreams allowed him to return her easy signs of affection.

He did not feel rested in the slightest.

But he had a full day’s work to do and he couldn’t let Kagome know what he had been dreaming about.  He had to be a machine.  He was going to get the entire back acre tilled today.  With his - likely  unattainable - goal in mind, Inuyasha set off down the side of the mountain and toward Kagome’s property. The smell of rain tickled his nose on the breeze, speeding his feet with the knowledge that he would have even less time to accomplish what he set out to do and an increasing risk of being wooed into the comfort of Kagome’s dry and cozy home. And the increased risk of saying or doing something he could not afford.

Exactly as he'd feared, the beginning of lightning on the horizon made Kagome nervous about them remaining out with any machinery or tools. Inuyasha had offered to keep working while she went inside, but Kagome was insistent. “The storm seems like it's gonna be a big one,” he told her, nose lifted to the air and sharp eyes scanning the horizon.  “I should get home before it moves in completely.”

“Where do you live?” Kagome asked with an exasperated smile.  She'd asked him a dozen times and he only smirked and shrugged at her.  It was kind of cute, but it worried her that he didn't seem to trust her enough to tell her where he lived.  What if I needed to find him?  I'd have no idea where to look .  She shook her head softly, as much at him as her own thoughts, when he gave her the same response he always did.

Inuyasha knew that Kagome didn't like that he wouldn't tell her where he went when he wasn't with her, but he was... embarrassed.  He didn't want to tell her that he lived in a cave in the nearby mountains because he had nowhere else to go.  It wasn't homey, it wasn't even all that comfortable.  With her consistent offer for him to stay with her, it would seem even more ridiculous that he kept leaving. It did the job, keeping him mostly warm and dry, but it certainly wasn't someplace he'd take Kagome willingly.  I don't want to go back there.  The furs need to be cleaned and I can't get that done before the storm comes in .  “I should really go,” he said again, even more reluctantly than before.

Kagome caught his wrist as he turned toward the door, pulling him back toward her.  “Stay.  Stay here,” she whispered.  Inuyasha closed his eyes, wanting so desperately to agree.  He wanted to stay with her, in her warm little house in the wilderness.  But he knew all too well that he didn't deserve her.  Opening his eyes again to take in her beautiful face, he studied her.  Kagome was light, laughter, hope... love.  Things he couldn't dare dream of.  “Please.” Kagome wanted him to stay now, but there was no way to know if she'd still want him around in a few weeks, let alone years down the road.  “You don't have to be alone all the time.”  Her dark eyes widened slightly, filling with tears.  “Unless you... want to be alone.”  Inuyasha's eyes widened in response to her painful assumption.

“No.  I'd rather be here with you,” he admitted softly.  With a sigh and a wince, he muttered, “Kagome, you should have more.”

“More what?” she asked with a confused frown.

Inuyasha shrugged.  “More... from a Mate.  He should be able to take care of you, provide for you, make a home for you.”  He hesitated, hanging his head.  “He should love you with all that he is.”

He watched Kagome blink several times, tears sliding down her cheeks.  Her chest heaved a moment as she restrained a sob.  “And you can't do that.  The last part.”  She pulled back from his arms, trying to put distance between them, to protect herself.  It physically hurt to have her warmth fade from his skin.  All he wanted to do was gather her close again and feel her against him, close to his heart.

“No.  That's the only part I can do,” he murmured brokenly.  She just doesn't understand .  He had no money, no real skills to provide for her.  Kagome had her own house, she grew most of her own food, the land on which she lived was her own.  She had no need of a mate who couldn't enrich her life.  “I can't just... take from you.  You deserve better than that.”

While he'd been speaking and clearly thinking very heavy thoughts, Kagome's world had just brightened considerably.  “You love me?” she whispered.  He glanced at her and then away quickly, chin lowered, but nodded slightly.  Kagome's face split in a grin and she threw herself back into his arms without warning.  With an “oomph” he caught her, his hand coming up to tangle in her long hair as it slowly came loose from its braid.  “That's all I need from you.  You hunt for us and help me here on the land.  That's providing.  I couldn't do those things without you.”  He nodded faintly, his eyes trained on her lips.  “You protect me.  I don't need anything more than that.  We protect each other, provide for each other, a-and love each other.  That's the way it should be.”  Inuyasha's lips twitched with a smile, a rare and beautiful gift.  Kagome melted as their noses brushed just before his lips found hers.

Inuyasha couldn't get enough of her.  Her warmth in his arms, her heart beating in his ears, her scent in his nose, and the taste of her on his lips...  It would never be enough if he had her for a million years.  Maybe just a thousand, a couple thousand at most.  I can manage to live a couple thousand years, his mind supplied idly.  With a gasp he pulled back from her as he realized where his mind had automatically gone without any trouble.  Claiming her as his Mate and bonding her to him.  He couldn't ask that of her… could he?   “Kagome,” he murmured anxiously, only to be caught by her lips in another kiss, distracting him from his thoughts for a long moment.  A low rumble drew them both back to reality and Kagome turned to look out the window.

“You don't have to stay permanently, just stay through the storm.”

Inuyasha watched her in the dimming light, a sharp spear of lightning illuminating her profile.  “I'll stay.”  She nodded that she'd heard.  “As long as you want me here, I'll stay.”  At his quiet admission, she twisted to look at him curiously and he turned his head to hide his embarrassment.

“And if I don't ever want you to leave?” she breathed.

Inuyasha bit his lip a moment, closing his eyes against the swell of emotion at her words.  The feeling was almost too big for his chest, making it a little difficult to breathe as he swallowed back what definitely were not tears. “We'll see,” was all he could manage to squeak out.  She seems so sure she won't want me to go, but what about in a few years when there are plenty of humans on this planet like her? She might find a human male she wants as her mate.  Or it could be we can't even mate properly.  I'm a hybrid, I might not be able to...   Then what would he do?  If Kagome wanted a family and he couldn't give her that, what could he possibly offer her?  What would he do when she decided to find someone who could be a "real" mate to her?  What would he do if he was incapable of fully bonding her and she withered away with age before his eyes? 

Keep going like he always had.  He had no other option. 

“Come here,” she whispered, drawing his attention back to her.  He took her outstretched hand, the softness of her skin against his palm drawing him forward almost as much as the pull of her grip did.  He'd only been in her bedroom once, helping her carry a laundry basket full of clean sheets and clothes.  It felt different now to go in with her, the soft light through the window as the storm clouds rolled in making it seem dreamlike.  Her scent was much stronger here than anywhere in the house.  He knew that was partially because it was the one place she spent the most time in being still.  Another part of his brain supplied that it was because she was likely wearing less when she slept, making more skin contact with the things in her room.  She probably pleasures herself in that bed , his blood purred.  Inuyasha gulped, hesitating at the door.  Kagome turned to him, taking both hands in hers and gently rubbing her thumbs across the backs of his knuckles.  “You don't have to come in if you don't want to,” she soothed him, her voice a husky whisper.

Inuyasha couldn't have refused her even if he'd wanted to.  Deciding not to let his insecurities keep him from this beautiful woman, he surged forward, lifting her into his arms and kissing her soundly as he carried her to the bed.  Kagome wrapped both arms and legs around him as best she could, dragging him down with her when he tried to set her down.  Not that he was complaining.  He didn't want to be apart from her either, but he needed more skin to touch and he couldn't get to it with her clothes in the way.  “Dress. Off.  Now,” he panted between nibbling her ear and kissing her just as breathless.  The two of them struggled with the fabric, almost hindering each other more than helping.  Inuyasha finally gave over and let Kagome do it, knowing in his sudden impatience that he'd likely rip it with his claws.

Instead of letting him remove his own clothes, she pushed his hands away, peeling his shirt over his head and tugging down his breeches all while kissing him solidly, relentlessly.  Inuyasha was so dazed by her persistence that he remained slightly boneless as she pushed him to sit on the edge of the bed, the slightly rough texture of her quilt tickling his bare ass.  As he sat there stunned, Kagome shyly undid the few buttons that kept her simple dress closed at the top, more and more of her lovely shoulders and neck open to his gaze.  He desperately wanted to kiss and lick the pale expanse and promised himself he would... just after he remembered how that breathing thing worked.  Kagome slid the fabric away from her body, the heavy skirt dragging the rest to the floor.  She had nothing on underneath.  Breathe .  With tentative fingers he reached for her, the soft flesh of her hips giving just the right amount under the pressure of his touch.

Inuyasha let out a ragged breath as he pulled her to stand between his knees, nuzzling his face against her stomach.  Feeling it was the right thing to do, Kagome wrapped one arm around him while the other lifted to gently trace her fingers over the soft fur of his ear.  He let out another sigh, the heat of his breath on her bare skin making her shiver.  The passion from before was still simmering under the surface of her skin, but it felt like the right moment to just take a breath together and take in what they were doing.  “I want you to know you will always be welcome here,” she whispered before realizing she was even thinking of saying it aloud.  She felt a huff of a laugh against her stomach.

“Are you trying to convince me you'll still speak to me if I totally fuck this up?” he finally looked up with a tiny grin, just a little fang showing in the curl of his lip.  Kagome smiled softly at his derisive tone.

“I just don't want you to get it in your head that you should feel awkward around me tomorrow, no matter what happens or doesn't happen now.”  Kagome paused a moment, realizing she was still operating under the assumption that this was something he wanted and not something he'd just given in to.  “Unless you already feel awkward now...”

A soft growl was his answer as he pulled her tightly against him.  She almost had no choice but to slide her knees onto the bed on either side of his hips, the suddenly fierce pressure of his kisses drawing her in.  His tongue traced her prominent collar bones, leaving little nips against the skin as he explored.  Kagome groaned, letting her head fall back to give him more room to roam.  Inuyasha growled sharply.  “Kagome, be careful,” he whispered harshly.  She lifted her head to look down into his brilliant amber eyes.  At her confused look he took a deeper breath to try and settle his blood.  “Don't submit to me like that unless you mean it,” he told her hoarsely.

“Submit to you?” she questioned in a daze before a slightly mischievous look entered her dark eyes and she tugged at him until he gave in, letting Kagome pull him over her while she lay sprawled across her bed.  She gave him another slightly wicked smile as she slowly tilted her chin back, leaving herself completely open and vulnerable to him.  “You mean like this?”  Sucking in a breath, which only served to heighten his awareness of her scent, he took in the vision in front of him.  Her body was perfect, certainly to him.  He'd never seen anything so wonderfully soft and yet firm in his life.  Kagome was a strong woman, not just mentally, but still had the soft curves to draw his fingers over rounded hips, the roundness of her breast, the tiny swell of a belly well-fed.  Kagome made a quiet whimper of sound at his caressing, reminding him sharply that she was doing exactly what he'd told her not to.  Submitting to him, supplicating to his baser instincts, encouraging him to dominate her like an animal.

The words to tell her to stop, to tell her that maybe this was a bad idea, clogged his throat when she reached for him, drawing him to her and opening her thighs to let him settle between them.  Suddenly the heat and scent of her was so strong he could barely restrain the intense growl of approval that rumbled in his chest.  Kagome lifted her head just enough to see the passion still in his eyes and smiled gently at him.  “I could hurt you,” he finally whimpered instead of telling her to push him away.

“I don't believe that,” she breathed.  One leg hooked around his hip, bringing him close enough to feel the heat from her center against the sensitive length of his arousal.  “You'll just have to go slow.  I've never done this before.”  The blush that rose on her cheeks and her scent made it abundantly clear to him that she was not lying.

Her first time.  With me?   Part of him, even though he'd never smelled another male on her in the least, had assumed that Kagome had been with some human male on Earth before she left on the long journey to this isolated place.  Even on the transport would have made sense.  She was a virgin.  Even in this day and age, long past the era when women were deemed too incapable of caring for themselves, long after the time of men keeping women "pure" for the honor of a family, taking a woman's virginity was still a sort of prize.  Inuyasha saw it as so much more than a mere prize.  This was a gift, a true honor.  One he wasn't sure he was worthy of.  “Kagome, are you sure you want to do this... with me?” he added when he couldn't help admitting that was his true concern.

“Remember what I said about not feeling awkward?”  In spite of her teasing tone, Inuyasha could see the nervous twist to her mouth.  He couldn't help leaning down to softly kiss her lips pliant again.  “I didn't want to tell you,” she admitted, “but after what you said... I didn't want you to think you'd hurt me when it was, you know, normal.”

Inuyasha tried to remember all the stories he had heard over the years.  Working in the dredges of different planets meant he heard the dirtiest details - most of which he knew weren't true - about the interactions between whatever gender people ascribed to, whoever they felt attracted to.  His very few experiences with sex had been while human and those women had definitely not been virginal in any sense of the word.  “I don't want to hurt you,” he whispered, unable to keep his lips from hers or from her skin.  His tongue slipped out and slid over the smooth plane of her throat, tasting the light sheen of sweat from the heat of the day.

Groaning softly, Kagome arched toward him again, giving him even more skin to nibble and taste.  His lips found a puckered nipple, tongue sneaking out to lave over it. She sucked in a shaky breath, pressing the globe of flesh closer to his mouth to encourage him. “You're not hurting me now,” she reminded him in a breathless whisper.

“Doesn't mean anything,” he responded distractedly.  Again his tongue circled the straining tip of her breast, followed by a soft suckle. Kagome couldn't help moaning at the wet heat of his mouth. His teeth were next, gentle but firm as they tugged. Kagome let out a cry when arousal shot through her. Inuyasha startled, his eyes wide and a little wild. Kagome smiled, reaching for him and molding him against her body.  His growl vibrated through her, a sharp tingle of anticipation tracing its trail along her nerves.  She felt him nudging at where she wanted him most, though she doubted he was truly aware he was doing it.  Making a conscious effort to widen her thighs further, Kagome was able to let him in, his cock sliding slowly but surely into her.  “Fuck, Kagome,” he murmured, his golden eyes shut tight and his forehead pressed against hers.  “Stars, you are so tight.” She blushed, not sure if it was a complaint or a compliment.  He was extremely careful, stopping each time she twitched from discomfort. Kagome was educated enough to know that there shouldn't be any sharp pain from anything tearing, certainly not at this point in her life.  But the aching stretch of muscles unaccustomed to the intrusion did steal her breath.  “Are you alright?” Inuyasha murmured in her ear, his breath leaving him in occasional soft pants.  She took a deep breath, making herself relax, before nodding.  He sighed out his relief as he moved again.

It was an amazing feeling. To be so connected, to feel each other's breath and heartbeats. Inuyasha had never experienced feeling like he might tremble apart before he ever reached orgasm before.  Her thighs sliding against his hips as he pushed into her heat drew his hands there. His fingers pressed into the flesh of her hips and she gasped, simultaneously tightening around him. Did...she like that? Inuyasha tried it again, thrusting into her while squeezing her hips and pulling them up to meet his. The way she cried out might have indicated pain in any other situation, but his nose clearly picked up the rise of her desire. Inuyasha couldn't keep a sly grin from curling his lips.

"Do you like it a little harder, Love?" he crooned to her. Kagome couldn't hold back the cry that escaped her throat when he repeated the movement. Something about his grip on her, and the way his hips struck her when he did it, had her closer to the edge much faster than she would have anticipated. His arms scooped under her knees, widening her thighs and returning his large hands to her backside. She could feel the slight prick of his claws against her skin but, despite the way his cock pounded into her, he was careful not to scratch her.

He wasn't, however, able to keep from grabbing her tight enough to bruise.

Kagome arched and sucked in a startled breath when he let go of one leg to carefully circle her clit with his thumb while still driving into her heat. The added pressure and sensation had her flying off the rails of reason, her fingernails digging into his triceps as she whimpered his name.

Kagome groaned as Inuyasha slowed his pace to give her time to breathe.  “No, don't stop,” she pleaded.  

Panting heavily from the exertion of restraining his release, he hesitated.  “Kagome, I'm gonna...”  A surge of fire in his veins cut him off, forcing him to bite his lower lip to keep from losing what little control he had left.  Despite the fact that he wasn't even sure he could father children, he didn't want to run the risk of whelping Kagome when she might not want that.

She pushed herself up onto her elbows, her cheek pressing to his.  “Go on,” she murmured.  “Just let go.”  Her words sent a pulse to his hips before he could stop it and he moaned softly.  Kagome's eyes glittered in the muted afternoon light, telling him how far gone she was.  “Just let go.  I have wanted to feel you come apart in my arms since that day in the kitchen. I could feel how you were trying to hold back.”  Again he seemed to have no control over his lower body. Inuyasha had the strange thought that Kagome was controlling his cock with just her voice.  Shifting her weight enough to lift her hand, she gripped his ass and pulled him in tight.  He fell to his forearms with a gasp, the press of the length of her body more than his restraint could handle.

“I can't...”  He wasn't sure what he couldn't do, if it was doing what she asked or stopping himself from doing exactly what she wanted.  Hips pumping a few times, Inuyasha felt like he was going to burst.  He caught the faint sound of Kagome mumbling something and had to focus in on it before he could understand what she was breathing like a prayer.  Please.  Please give me your child.  Please.   Over and over again she was whispering it.  A moment later Inuyasha realized that Kagome's voice had taken charge of his body again and he seemed to have no control over his own hips.  His body seemed to be on a mission to do exactly as she asked and the deeply feral and masculine part of his psyche, his youkai instinct, was all too happy to comply.  He wanted to make her his completely, not just by scent and proximity, but by planting his seed deep within her and watching her grow round with his pup.  He wanted her to become his Mate, his wife, the only woman he would ever be with for the rest of his life.

But she had to want that too and she had to be sure.  He couldn't bear to let her go down the road, lose her because she realized he wasn’t what she wanted after all.  “It would be a monster,” he threatened lightly, trying to draw her attention to the risk.  Her eyes popped open and she looked at him with a sharp look of fear.  “If I even can give you what you want, it would be a monster,” he repeated.

“No child that came from you could be a monster.”  Kagome's eyes filled with tears.  “There is so much beauty in you, if you could only see.”  Her words stunned Inuyasha into immobility, hips frozen against hers as he gaped at her.  “I don't know who hurt you, who told you that you were...” she sobbed softly. Hand pressing to his cheek, her thumb brushed down the ridge of his nose, across his cheekbone.  He leaned into her hand unconsciously, seeking the gentleness of her touch. “You are beautiful and brave and caring.  You're so many things you won't let yourself believe.”  Inuyasha could only blink silently in response.  “When you leave me...” she choked out between hard breaths. She closed her eyes a moment to gather the strength to continue.  “If you leave, I want to have something to hold onto.  Part of you with me always.”

Finally he was able to muster up the will to speak. “I told you I wouldn't leave unless you wanted me to go,” he breathed.

“I would never keep you if you didn't want to stay,” she returned.

Inuyasha let out a deep sigh.  “Of course I want to stay.”  Looking down at her, he was almost overwhelmed by how much he wanted to stay with her for the rest of his likely long life.  “You're the best thing that's ever happened to me,” he admitted.  “This is home now... you're my home.”  He huffed out an incredulous laugh.  “Do you know how long it's been since I had somewhere to call home, someone to come home to?”  At her sympathetic look he shook his head, closing his eyes and biting back tears of his own.  “The last place I felt safe was with my mother on a human colony almost... almost fifty cycles ago.”  Kagome's shocked gasp made her body tighten around him, forcing a similar gasp from his lips.  “Fuck,” he hissed.  “I want what you want more than anything, Kagome,” he murmured, slowly pushing into her again.  A moan left the beautiful woman below him.  “I have wanted a mate, a family, for as long as I knew of such a thing.”

“Then we'll be a family, Inuyasha. You and me and... Here, we'll build our home for our family to be safe." He sighed at her words, too awestruck by the sincerity of her love to respond right away. "But I think you need to finish something first."

“Stars, Kagome...”

He lifted her at her nape to take her mouth with his own, delving into her with his tongue as he did with his cock. She moaned, whimpered, clung to him with grasping hands as he thrust as deep into her core as he could. The scrape of her nails against his neck and shoulders hastened the speed of his thrusts even as he struggled not to hurt her. "Please," she begged, shifting against him and trying to roll her hips to meet his. Again he pressed the pad of his thumb to her button as he pumped into her. He whispered for her to cum through clenched teeth, desperate for her to reach completion one last time before he let himself finally succumb. She shuddered at his words, tightening around him again when he caressed her in a faster, tighter, circle. "Inuyasha, I'm so close," she whimpered.

"Fuck, Kagome," he gasped. Bracing his arms on either side of her head, he stared down into her beautiful face. "I love you." The words were drawn out of him at the feeling of oneness when her dark brown eyes met his amber. He could see when her release took hold of her, pushing upright and taking hold of her hips once more so he could pound into her as her orgasm wrung his from him. Lightning sprinted down his spine at the same time it flashed outside. The subsequent thunder drowned out his howl as he pulled Kagome's hips tight to his, his cock pulsing and twitching with every squeeze of her pussy around him. He whimpered when another spasm rocked her, causing an answering shudder in his legs which threatened to give out on him.

Kagome's cry of his name rung in his ears, reverberating his skull. Inuyasha felt like his entire being was vibrating at the frequency of her voice, the beat of her heart. The feeling like he might tremble apart intensified until his soul seemed to find its fundamental. And it was Kagome. She was the base upon which his whole world was being rebuilt. Beat by beat, Inuyasha sensed a shift in the center of himself. He had said it and believed it without really knowing it to be true. Kagome was Home . 

The panting of her breath against his cheek finally shook him out of his stupefied wonder, reminding him that he was probably squishing her. "I'm sorry, Love. Are you alright?" he murmured as he pressed his shaking hands into the mattress to give her room.  She let out a soft laugh, a sob, nodding.  “Then why are you crying, woman?” he teased her.

“Just a little overwhelmed,” she confessed, pushing herself up to nuzzle into the side of his neck, hiding her face.  Inuyasha’s arms nearly did give out then.  He rolled them to the side instead, curling her into his chest and yanking the opposite side of the quilt over top of them to stave off a chill as the sweat began to cool on their skin.  “Inuyasha?”  He hummed to let her know he was listening.  “I’m glad you chose to stay,” she whispered, slight embarrassment entering her scent.

Inuyasha smiled into the top of her hair.  “I like it here.  Helen makes good coffee.”

Kagome scoffed in indignation, but her eyes were twinkling at him as she smacked his chest with the back of her hand. Lightning lit the room, followed closely by thunder.  The shelves and picture frames on the walls rattled as it echoed. “That was a big one,” she commented.  He nodded before calling out for Helen to put the storm protections in place.  They could hear the lightning rod extend to collect any energy it captured to safely recharge the house’s batteries.  The fencing units protecting the smaller garden plots had energy fields that intensified to help defend the small plants from the more intense wind gusts and the torrential rain that had just begun. The windows were strong enough not to shatter if something hit them, but just in case… The distinct sound of metal sliding and the darkening of the room alerted them that the storm shutters were now in place. “Safe and sound,” Kagome murmured, yawning.

Inuyasha’s heart fluttered as he stared at her in the dark, watching her slowly fall asleep.  He couldn’t help smiling when she let out a little puff of breath, her soft lips parting.  Yea.  Safe and sound.

Chapter Text

Kagome tugged at her dress for the third or fourth time since she’d put it on, adjusting her hat a moment later. “Kagome, quit that.” She scowled at Inuyasha’s reflection in her mirror. “You look fine. Stop messing with it.” There was a pause, then she sighed heavily and sat on the end of her bed. “What are you so worked up about?” he wondered, coming to sit beside her. He watched her partially wrap her skirt around her finger a few times before he took hold of her hand and carefully smoothed the pad of his thumb across her palm.

“What… what if they don’t want to help me, Inuyasha?” she whispered. Despite her words, he could sense that wasn’t so much the issue as whether or not the only people he could really claim as friends would like her. “It’s… a lot to ask of them when they’ve never met me before.”

“But they know me and they are kind.” He swallowed back the urge to explain that without them, he would have died by now and he would have no hope of ever being anything but a stowaway on this planet. “They want to help people who need it.”

Kagome nodded slowly, looking down at her lap and studying the way their hands fit together to calm her nerves. With a deep breath, she was finally able to set aside her anxiety and stood, inadvertently tugging Inuyasha along with her. He barely smothered a chuckle at her sudden enthusiasm, grinning instead until she glanced back at him to see why he was moving so slow.

The day was warm, but overcast, and he was glad she’d worn the hat to protect herself. She seemed cheerful with the change of pace, the change of scenery. He’d offered to carry her, but she had stared at him like he was nuts and just told him she could walk. Inuyasha noticed as she practically skipped ahead of him that she was humming under her breath, a soft smile on her lips. She was beautiful, ethereal… and young. He was reminded how young she was to have made this very dangerous trip out into the galaxy to a newly terraformed planet with no one here to meet her, no one to protect her.

“I protect her now,” he muttered.

“Did you say something?” she called, turning to look at him and nearly tripping over her heel backward. Inuyasha flashed into motion, grabbing her around the waist to stop her backward momentum and keeping her upright. There was a part of him that relished her little gasp of surprise, the way her heart jumped, the dilation of her pupils… Inuyasha couldn’t help pulling her closer to his chest until she was steadier on her feet.

It was her turn to surprise him by placing a quick peck on his lips and giggling, whispering her gratitude under her breath. “C’mon. We’re just standing around getting dusty out here,” he said with a smirk, spinning her to put his arm around her waist and gently lead her in the direction of town. Kagome settled into his stride, walking alongside him and sporadically commenting on the sights. He could have given her a ride on his back, but she had been a bit anxious about the physics of it and had asked to walk instead. Inuyasha couldn’t blame her. While he knew his own strength, she didn’t, not really.

Town rose up from behind the next hill, a strange combination of old wooden settlement and new shiny technology. Inuyasha saw a similar amalgamation in most of the frontier colonies. A mix and match of the advanced materials and computers that people brought with them and things made from the local resources found on the planets being colonized. Government buildings - usually some of the first built upon landing - were the most hodgepodge, scrapped together with whatever could be found, then slowly remodeled and rebuilt as times became less tough. The houses were usually more seamless in their construction, partially built on other planets and then shipped to the colonies to be put together. Kagome’s house was a good example.

Sango and Miroku’s house, however, was a whole different story. It looked like it belonged here all along. Like it had been the first house on this planet even before anyone arrived to terraform it. Obviously impossible, but they had done a phenomenal job of taking local materials and building a home that just seemed to fit with the landscape in which it was built. They were just on the edge of town with enough of a yard to not have their house right on the street. Kagome hesitated at the gate, her hat fluttering in the breeze that had kicked up as they walked.

“W-Wow… They… They built this themselves?” she breathed in awe. Inuyasha only nodded, pressing the button at the gate to let their hosts know they were coming. He could hear a chime inside and then the sound of voices. The gate chimed as well before disappearing in front of their eyes. “Oh! A combination field and holo! Fancy,” Kagome hissed out of the corner of her mouth. Inuyasha rolled his eyes, shaking his head and softly pressing at her lower back to get her moving again.

The door opened just as they stepped up onto the low porch. “Inuyasha! And you must be Miss Higurashi, a pleasure.” Kagome leaned back into her hanyou’s shoulder at the sheer force of friendly welcome from the young man in front of her. She blinked as he took her hand and bowed over it. Inuyasha growled low, a warning sound, and the man released her hand before eying him with a slight smirk. “I see. Yes, welcome, do come in.” His tone changed so suddenly back to chipper that Kagome almost missed the knowing and serious look he had shot Inuyasha.

“Miroku, will you let the poor thing breathe, please? She doesn’t know you.” A tall, slender but sinewy woman came in from another room, wiping her hands on a towel. “Hello, I’m sorry for my husband. I’m Sango. So nice to meet you. Inuyasha had nothing but good things to say,” she smiled slightly, “which is saying a lot because he rarely has anything nice to say about anyone.”

“Hey!”

Sango only grinned and ushered them toward their living room area. She brushed off Kagome’s offers to take off her shoes before they went in, explaining to her that they had a Rosie for that sort of thing. “It was one of the few gadgets that Sango insisted on,” Miroku confided from behind his hand.

Sango lightly smacked his shoulder with the back of hers. “I despise vacuuming, so yes, I asked that we have one. I don’t need anything else.”

And just like that the conversation continued to flow and shift, topics varying from their home computer’s personality quirks, the differences in weather from their previous worlds, to the increasing population. Miroku was able to comment most on that, mentioning that there were more applications than they currently had lots approved for and there were a lot of people applying that had no serviceable skills to contribute in their current environment. “In a few years, it will probably be very different. We’ll need accountants and lawyers and such then. Right now, we need more people like you, Miss Kagome, who can grow food stuffs to support themselves and the community. And Inuyasha’s strength for building infrastructure is invaluable when we’re still trying to get buildings done.” Miroku and Sango shared a short look. “The school isn’t finished yet so we haven’t been able to start accepting any families with small children yet. We probably have the most applications from families.”

“Keh. You aren’t even sure that the lots out there are entirely safe for families yet,” Inuyasha reminded him. “Until they can finish the geological survey from up there,” he nodded skyward, “there’s no assurances that the ground wouldn’t cave in somewhere from an aquifer too close to the surface.” The three humans stared at him a moment in surprise. “Mining remember? Had to learn a few things.”

“I thought that was in space, though, asteroids.”

“Most recently, yea. But I did some mining on terraformed planets before. Some that weren’t as well managed as this one is. Didn’t have the same protocols.” He tapered off into silence and Kagome didn’t like the haunted look in his eyes at all. She would ask him later, when they were alone, what had scarred him. Instead she changed the topic to the progress they were making on the farm and tentatively brought up her hopes to expand her own home to accommodate her family.

“Ah, yes! Inuyasha mentioned you had some remodeling in mind. I would love to see your plan!” Sango’s eyes lit up, surprising Kagome a little.  

“Sango is the one with the engineering mind around here,” Miroku piped in cheerfully, obviously reading the look in Kagome’s eyes. “She is hardly a few credits away from the degree…”

“Psh,” she interrupted. “I don’t really have the patience for all that school. But I do like building things.” Kagome couldn’t help smiling at her enthusiasm. She pulled a small tablet out of her pocket and was able to show Sango the rough plans she had drafted months ago with the thought of having more space for her family while still having all the essential space needed for hydroponics, proper storage of food, and preservation and packaging for shipment back to Earth.

“Hmm… Do you really need this additional bedroom?” Sango asked, squinting at the blueprints. “That would really decrease your footprint if you used it for your…” A gentle nudge of her ribs changed the direction of her gaze until she picked up on the twin pair of blushing cheeks in front of her. “Well that can be decided later.” She took a breath. “It’s a solid plan and fairly easily done in a short amount of time since you are using mostly prefabbed material. The external buildings you may want later, say if you needed another bedroom…” Kagome wasn’t sure what need they could possibly have of yet another bedroom… “Then that can be made from local materials. The wood from the Gacia trees, here,” she said, getting up to place her hand on the outer wall beside one of their windows, “is very weather resistant and hardly needs any treating before you can use it.”

They continued to talk about materials and some plans for potential building schedules. “I am glad that you felt comfortable asking for our assistance, Miss Kagome. Truly. We know how intimidating it can be on a new planet at the other end of the galaxy with all the risks that can come with that.” Miroku’s eyes, while kind, had lost some of the playfulness from earlier. Kagome nodded slowly before explaining that Inuyasha’s word had been a big factor in her agreeing. “Yes. He is an excellent judge of character, our Inuyasha.”

“Keh.”

Kagome laughed a little. “I hope for your sake that he is, bringing me into your home without knowing me first,” she smiled.

“Oh, I can tell. We have nothing to worry about from you. And neither does he,” he murmured so low that she almost didn’t hear him. There was clearly some kind of subtext going on that she was not privy to. Again, for the sake of being a good guest, she left it alone and decided to wait until they were alone again before attempting to bring it up with Inuyasha.

It came time for supper, and the four of them sat down to a delightful meal with much more sporadic but still nice conversation. They talked more about their previous planets, their lives growing up on Earth or other colonies. Sango’s father had also been a ranger, influencing her choice to do the same when she was older. Miroku’s father had, to Kagome’s surprise, been a monk and had raised his son in the same tradition until he was a young teenager. When his father died, Miroku was raised by a friend of his father’s with far looser morals and eventually Miroku had gotten himself into the life of a swindler. He was open and honest about it, which shocked her a little but she was pleased to see.

Inuyasha did not share much, having heard all of their stories already and having shared his with them all. He did, however, listen closely to the way they interacted. He was watchful for any signs that they were not getting along as well as he had hoped. These were his only friends and his… What exactly is Kagome? He wondered to himself. She wasn’t his wife, yet, nor was she his Mate. They had made a much stronger commitment than “dating” but there wasn’t a word for that in Standard.

He was pulled from his thoughts when a roll of thunder startled them all. Strong enough to rattle the window panes, it heralded a flash of light which was followed by a similarly strong rumble. “Did you know it was supposed to storm?” Sango asked her husband, concern on her face. “These storms have been rolling in quicker and stronger the last week or so. Kagome pulled her tablet out again and quickly set in for the house to go into protective storm mode and made sure their small garden was protected. She took a moment to pull up the weather history and then look at the projection for the next few hours.

“Oh no.”

“What is it?” Inuyasha hissed, instantly at her side.  

“It’s coming in too fast. We won’t be able to make it home in time.”

“But everything is in lockdown already, right?” he asked, worry pulling down his dark brows. She nodded. There was a series of glances between the friends and a nod from Sango. “We can stay here. I’m not risking us getting struck on the road back.” Kagome balked at the inconvenience for their hosts, but found she was given no room to argue. Inuyasha’s face brooked no argument and Miroku was already bustling off to make up the guest bedroom while Sango started clearing dishes away from the table.

An entire childhood's worth of manners pushed Kagome to her feet to help, picking up plates and silverware to bring into their surprisingly cosy kitchen. Sango welcomed her into her space with a quiet thank you and a smile, making room for Kagome to stand beside her so she could dry the dishes after Sango washed them. Kagome, familiar with the less technological version of the chore, was still a little surprised that they didn’t use a dishwasher. “Oh, we try to limit our technology use, but especially in a storm…”

“Are you worried that we may get to a point where we can no longer get the supplies to maintain?” Kagome asked. She had heard mutterings of something similar on the trip over. There were those that feared the corporations would eventually abandon these terraformed planets down the road when they were no longer as profitable and the colonists would be left to their own devices. Without the corporations to fund the shipping lanes that supplied them, the more distant colonized planets, like Terra, would be left without a way to easily trade for or buy materials to maintain their computer systems. Eventually, they would have to be completely self-sufficient or perish. It was a scary scenario, but one that had played out on several planets over the years in the depths of the galaxy.

“It is a possibility that cannot be ignored,” Sango finally spoke up. “I would like to think that we are not so far out and there are plenty of resources here that are useful off-planet. Still, we want to be prepared.” She sighed, a sad smile on her lips. “That is another reason why it is so important for producers like you to be supported, Kagome. If we do lose our routes… Well, we all need to eat, right?” she said with a strained laugh.

“That is very true.”

They continued washing dishes in silence, only small sounds to alert the other of a dish to be passed or of thanks. Miroku came in just as they were finishing, letting them know that the guest room was all settled. A flash that lit the entire yard outside the window startled them all and the crash of thunder that followed caused a tremor of fear in the humans in the room. Miroku glanced at his wife before uttering their lockdown command, the mechanics that made the house nearly invincible whirring into motion. The windows all shuttered and the slight whine of the lightning antenna rising over their head drew Kagome’s eyes upward. “They do seem stronger this week,” she heard Miroku murmur.

“They are,” Inuyasha grumbled from the doorway. “Did we know this place had a monsoon season?” Kagome hesitantly explained that it wasn’t a monsoon, per se, but the thunderstorms were definitely increasing in strength and it was not expected. “Something’s not right.”

Despite their mutual feeling that there was something more going on, the storm was too intense for them to even contemplate investigating. Instead they sat down for after dinner drinks, sipping them thoughtfully while putting out suspicions. Inuyasha suspected something was going on with the terraforming equipment. Sango worried it was an unpredicted side effect of the dual moons on the planet's tidal cycle and therefore the weather. Kagome wondered if it had always been this way but that without humanoids on the planet to observe, it hadn't been recorded properly. Miroku had listened but kept any musings of his own to himself.

As the wind blew and the rain drenched the earth outside, the four of them eventually called it a night and went their separate ways to tuck in. Miroku offered the couch to Inuyasha in a soft aside, even knowing he would get a scoff. Silver hair swung behind as he turned on his heel to follow after Kagome up the stairs.

"Are you alright?" Kagome asked as he barely kept himself from stomping into the room, clicking the door shut behind him.

"Yea. Just…" he sighed, pulling her into his hold and breathing her in. They both flinched at the bright flash of lightning through the slats in the storm windows, the thunder rumbling the entire house. "Glad we're safe here," he murmured into her hair.

She sighed. "Yea, me too." Lifting her chin to catch his gaze, she inadvertently caught his lips instead. Neither seemed to mind very much. Inuyasha let his fingers slip into her hair, thumb caressing the underside of her ear as he took their kiss deeper. The thunder, quieting only slightly with distance, faded from their awareness as they became enrapt in one another. It was easy, soaking in each other's warmth, the feel of silken lips moving together.

Inuyasha's hand drifted down her neck to push aside the strap of her dress, lifting the other from her waist to mirror the action on her other shoulder. She gently bit his lip, then gasped as his hands unbuttoned the front just enough to allow her dress to fall to her elbows. He didn't waste time trying to remove her bra, simply pulling the cups down. His mouth found her left nipple, licking and sucking right away. Kagome's head fell back in acceptance of his attentions, her fingers curling into his shirt.

Something had taken hold of him, pushing him to worship her body. He relished every tiny sound she made, every time her frame trembled in response to his touch. He clutched her waist to keep her close as he continued to nip and suck at her breasts, but eventually could not ignore the rising scent of her arousal coming from her center. Flipping her skirt up with one hand, he dragged her panties down and pushed her back onto the bed, almost all in one movement. Kagome squeaked in surprise, then muffled her cry into her arm when he set his mouth to her a moment later.

He was trying to eat her alive… or at least drink in all of her that he could. Kagome felt the urgency in the movements of his tongue against her, the growl of approval he released when she twitched in response to a particularly sensitive spot being suckled. The combination of his tongue, teeth, and lips had her teetering at the edge fairly quickly. But he didn’t let her fall, backing off to drop his pants. His eye met her s in a clear request for permission before he slid into her in one motion, letting his hands slip up her thigh to her knees to press them a little wider. Kagome groaned at the suddenness of being filled with him, of the connection that seemed to snap into place when they touched so intimately. “Please,” she breathed.

“Don’t worry, I’m right there with you,” he murmured back, leaning down to take her nipple in his mouth again, flicking it with his tongue as he began moving within her. Kagome whined before she could catch it, cheeks flushing with both embarrassment and pleasure. “I know you’re close. I’m almost there, Love, almost.” He grunted into her shoulder as he pumped his hips a little harder and faster, seeking his release as he tried to keep her on the very edge of hers. Finally, his breath coming in pants, he pulled her hand down between them so she could touch herself in concert with his thrusts until they were both biting lower lips or clenching teeth in an effort to keep from crying out loud.

Kagome whimpered as the rush of heat filled her, the warmth of his release filling her as both a physical and an emotional sensation. There was a tiny voice in her head that warned her she was becoming addicted to that feeling. Most of her welcomed it. “Inuyasha,” she breathed.

"Kagome," he hummed back. She couldn't help giggling at his content voice, the silly grin hanging just faintly around his lips.

The storm took that moment to bring them back to their present reality, thunder rumbling the walls once more. They cleaned up and adjusted their clothing before crawling under the sheets together. "This storm doesn't seem to be blowing over any time soon." Inuyasha grunted his agreement. "Probably a good thing we stayed."

"Told ya," he sighed, throwing an arm over her waist and spooning her into his chest. She contemplated arguing that he wasn't the only one that made that decision, but let it go, allowing the warmth of his body and his sheltering strength lull her to sleep. The storm continued to blow throughout the night, making the house creak and tremble now and then before finally moving away from town.