Archive of Our Own ^beta

Inuyasha stared at the stone with blank eyes. The village had constructed it, engraved it with her name, and they’d helped with the cremation that she’d requested. The service had been short, but everyone showed up to give their condolences.

Because everyone had loved her.

Inuyasha had not said a word the entire time.

His eyes were dry. That was fine— he’d cried all the moisture from his body the night before, and was not sure if there were any left. He had grieved. She would understand if he did not shed tears now.

He’d known it would happen. He’d prepared himself. She had prepared him. They’d spent every last moment that they could together. Even their fights lasted for hardly a moment before he would catch a glimpse of a graying hair and forget what he’d been mad about. 

He’d known the consequences of falling in love with a human. Of living a life with one. He’d known how much it would hurt. But that didn’t stop the ache that creeped up in his chest, threatened to suffocate him.

He was alone now. 

Sango and Miroku had long passed. There was Myouga and Totosai. Hachi was still around, and though Kirara was a mother now, he knew he’d be welcome if he sought her out. Shippo was off training and he could visit him as he pleased.

But the word would not stop ringing through his head. 

Alone.

Alone.

Alone.

Not even the thought of Sango and Miroku’s children set him at ease.

Everything seemed meaningless without Kagome.

So when he noticed Sesshomaru’s scent on the wind, he gave no visible reaction. Since the defeat of Naraku and Kagome’s return, seeing his brother was not unusual. Just another mundane thing in their new mundane life. Sesshomaru had come to visit Rin frequently, given her gifts, she’d eventually decided to return to him. Even after that the visits were less, but not uncommon. 

If there was anything to be surprised by it was timing.

“Will you not acknowledge my presence, Inuyasha?”

Inuyasha’s ears twitched when the other’s voice met them, but he could not be bothered to turn around. He thought his brother might spare him a penalty for rudeness, this once. “Sesshomaru. You need something?” His tone was as bland and lifeless as the ashes that rested under the stone in front of him.

Sesshomaru’s footfalls were silent against the grass, but he could tell from the cold and slightly floral scent that Sesshomaru had come closer. “I have come to pay my respects.” 

These words made Inuyasha look over. His brother moved to stand beside him, in front of the grave that looked far too small and insignificant for the once vibrant life it contained. For a long while they stood in complete silence, the only sound the wind tousling their matching silver manes. 

Inuyasha’s quiet reflection of the years they’d spent together— her sweet smile, the sparkle in her eyes when they met his, the twitch of her eyebrows when she was angry, her warm embrace— was interrupted by wondering over Sesshomaru’s thoughts. Surely he could not remember Kagome the way Inuyasha did. The way he’d treated her after Naraku’s death spoke of tolerance and little else. Of course, by Sesshomaru’s standards tolerance was certainly nothing to scoff at. 

After a time Sesshomaru reached into one of his long sleeves and pulled out a single flower. It was no longer strange to see his left arm once more as a complete part of his body.  

As the demon laid the flower upon the grave, Inuyasha did not have to ponder who it came from.

“Rin sends her condolences. Forgive her for not accompanying me. She is not able to travel as she once was.”

 Rin had not been that much younger than Kagome. Her time would come soon, too. 

Inuyasha nodded. 

 Sesshomaru had never been one to mince words, and indeed after this he turned, leaving as silently as he came. 

Inuyasha let him go without turning around. He would marvel over the fact that his brother had bothered showing up at another time. At this moment, he was still holding tightly onto the bond he and Kagome had shared. Even as he felt himself unraveling.

Inuyasha bowed his head.

There were still a few tears left, after all.

.

. 

Life went on. He saw Hikaru and Kaoru often, as the twins were part of his last link to a life that was slowly passing. Thankfully the girls hadn’t picked up any of Miroku’s bad qualities. Their families were able to curb the sorrow that sometimes threatened to consume him.  

When the visits were over he was left with nothing but memories of wide smiles, and sore ears from the tugging of playful children. It was still a better life than he’d had before it all started, but the emptiness he felt was not something that could be healed or filled. He knew he would not love another woman as he had Kagome, that he would not be loved by another. He could not bear to give his heart to another human only to have it crushed when they were destroyed by their mortality. And no demon would accept his tainted blood. That was fine. He had no desire to find another.

Years passed. It was a long time before he could think of Kagome without wincing. Time was the only thing he had to heal his wounds. 

He journeyed to Kouga’s new tribe, finding the rumors of him happily mated with the female wolf demon to be true. Ayame. Kouga took the news of Kagome’s passing well, but Inuyasha could see the sorrow in his eyes.  

Inuyasha took to traveling by himself again. There were no more techniques for his sword to learn but there was always some way that he could become stronger, better.  

.

“I wondered when I would see you here,” was all Totosai said when he passed by the old man’s den. Inuyasha scoffed. “It has been a long time, Inuyasha... you look different.” 

The half demon raised an eyebrow, leaning casually against one of the boulders outside his home. 

“And you look as wrinkled as always.”

It was very shortly after that he felt a too familiar pinch on the side of his neck, reaching a hand up to slap a hand against it. He closed his eyes, sighing in irritation. When Myoga recovered from the blow he mumbled something in his tiny voice that Inuyasha ignored, flicking him towards the old sword-smith.  

Totosai gave him a blank stare. “Is that anyway to talk to your elders?”  

Inuyasha’s hands slid into the sleeves of his kimono, and he rolled his eyes skyward. He knew Totosai would see the words as bluster and nothing more. The elderly demon lifted a kettle Inuyasha had not noticed before, watching him with those wide, unblinking eyes. 

“Tea?”

A shrug was his response. Totosai took it as an affirmative.

The tea was made while Inuyasha sat cross-legged in front of a gently crackling fire, his eyes drawn towards the flames. He grudgingly allowed Myoga to rest on his shoulder. 

“Tell me Inuyasha, what brings you here?” Totosai asked as he poured two cups. 

“Yes,” Myoga chimed in. “It has been quite some time since we last saw you.” 

Inuyasha closed his eyes, taking a sip from his drink and grimacing at the bitter flavor. “I’ve been in and out of this area for a few days now. Figured I might as well stop by.” 

Totosai hummed.

“Could it be that Inuyasha has grown restless with no foe to chase after?” Myoga questioned, and Inuyasha flicked him again, ignoring his shout of pain. 

“If it is a task you seek, I do have something you could help with.” Totosai nodded his head, setting his own cup aside after taking a sip. 

Inuyasha snorted. “Figures. I’m here for two minutes and already you’re giving me shit to do.” In truth, he was relived. All the wandering aimlessly with no clear objective was beginning to drive him mad. He would never say that he wanted Naraku back, but he was almost beginning to miss the adrenaline rush of battle. Or at least having a purpose.

Totosai stared at him. “Well Inuyasha, if you’d rather I handle this myself—”

“Just tell me what you need me to do old man.”

The sword-smith nodded. “Very well.” He moved into his den, followed closely by a hopping Myoga. “Several weeks ago I was visited by your brother, much to my surprise.”  

Inuyasha tilted his head, frowned. “Sesshomaru? What does he need another sword for when he has Bakusaiga?”  

Totosai pursed his lips. “How cruel Inuyasha, to assume that Sesshomaru would only come see me to ask for something. He could have just been saying hi.” 

“So did he come to say hi?”

“No, he had a request.”

“Thought so.” Inuyasha nodded his head ignoring Totosai’s sigh.

“He wanted me to repair a dagger I made for him a few decades ago. He has not since returned to claim it.”

Inuyasha’s ears twitched. Sesshomaru was not one to use such a small, easily concealable weapon. He had far too much honor— and pride— to resort to the sort of technique a dagger required.

“You are on good terms with him now, yes? Seek him out for me and return it.”

 The half demon blinked, frowning at the words. “I’m not a delivery boy,” he grumbled. Totosai ignored him. He handed him a small, elegantly crafted blade sheathed in a maroon case that gleamed as if it had been recently polished. There were flowers engraved on one side.  

“This is Sesshomaru’s?” Inuyasha asked skeptically.

Totosai shrugged. “I don’t ask questions, I just do the job.”

“I don’t even know where Sesshomaru is,” he complained, but his heart wasn’t in it.

Totosai tapped a finger against his lip, and Myoga piped up from his spot on the sword-smith's shoulder. “I have heard rumors that Sesshomaru had a house built in the Western lands not too long ago. It is likely he still resides there.” 

“A house,” Inuyasha repeated. He had never put too much thought into where Sesshomaru lived, what he did when he wasn’t... there. When Sesshomaru wasn’t visiting or flying over head he simply ceased to be for the time being. It was strange to think of him doing something as normal as sleeping, bathing, eating at a table... 

“While you’re at it, remind him next time that promptness or lack there of does affect cost.” Totosai stroked his beard, and Inuyasha stood. 

“He’s paying you?”

“No, but it’s the principle of the matter.” 

Inuyasha snorted. “Right.” He stood, not caring for the tea enough to finish and not polite enough to feel shamed into doing it anyway.

Totosai watched him rise, nodding his head. “Give Sesshomaru my regards.”

Slowly, he pulled the dagger from its place and inspected the polished case, testing it's weight in his hands. He pulled it from its sheath, ears twitching at the faint sound of wood against metal it made. 

The blade was beautiful. It was obvious Totosai had taken time on it, and it was obvious that it was one of Sesshomaru's possessions. The edge of the blade was engraved with the same rigid pattern that Bakusaiga bore. He ran a finger along the flat surface, testing the texture. The line that created the pattern was covered with something, he noted, and underneath what he had thought to be a decorative green line proved to be giving off a faint aroma that was vaguely familiar.

Inuyasha hummed to himself, returning the blade to its proper place and tucking it into his sleeve. He turned his head, attention leaving the strange puzzle Totosai had burdened him with. His only reply to the elderly demon was a nod before he darted off, lifting his nose to the wind and seeing if he could catch his brother’s scent.

.

Though he went west he had no idea where to begin looking. Sesshomaru could be anywhere, he wasn’t exactly known for staying in one place. Inuyasha turned his head idly from side to side, staring down at the ground with each long leap across the barren land.   

He wasn’t sure how he felt about seeking out Sesshomaru. The feeling of purpose, however small it may be, was nice, but he was never eager about seeing his brother. Even if they had gotten along in the recent past, more or less. A history like theirs wasn’t just erased after a few times of speaking without trying to kill each other. Admittedly though, he was curious about the dagger. Sesshomaru was not forgetful by nature, it didn’t make sense for him to leave something with Totosai and then not return for it. 

Inuyasha watched the dirt and soot slowly change into grass and trees, relieved when the smell of the forest reached his nose once again. He was much more comfortable moving about in the relative cover of the leaves and branches.

. 

Though the further he traveled without catching a whiff of Sesshomaru’s scent—he would know it anywhere— the more frustrated he became. He knew he could not expect his brother to simply present himself, though that would have made things far easier.

No matter how hard he tried he simply couldn’t imagine Sesshomaru staying in one place. Living in a home. For as cool and collected as he was there had always seemed to be a restless sort of energy about him. The dog demon would walk and walk and walk without any destination in mind. It was as if he didn’t know what to do with himself when he was still. It was the action he most strongly associated Sesshomaru with, next to attempting to kill him, that was. Whether it was walking away from battle, a conversation, a problem too trivial for him to deal with... 

.

Inuyasha paused on a patch of grass amidst a forest of vast trees, staring up at the canopy of green overhead. Sesshomaru could damn well wait for the stupid thing. Clearly he hadn’t planned on returning to Totosai anytime soon. 

Beyond the trees, he could see the sun just beginning to set, and for a moment admired the colors play across the greenery around him. Inuyasha leaped up into the tree to his left, landing on a high branch and quickly making himself comfortable. He was in no hurry, after all. From the higher ground, the view was beautiful. He’d always somewhat appreciated the tranquility of a quiet moment to admire nature, but lately it seemed more privilege than right. He drifted off when the last few sunbeams fell beyond the horizon, head lolling lightly to the side.

 .

The grass beneath them was cold and damp, but neither cared. Inuyasha’s hands were resting in his sleeves, the warm weight of Kagome’s head pressed against his shoulder enough contact for him. It was dark, the others long since sleep. With three children Sango and Miroku often took whatever chances to red they could get, and that often ended up being right after they could force the little monsters to bed.  

“Aren’t they beautiful, Inuyasha?” Kagome’s voice caused his ears to twitch as he came out of his thoughts, and he turned his head to look at her. 

 “What?”

 “The stars.” She gestured towards the sky, her hand coming to rest on his arm when she brought it down. There was a gentle, tranquil smile on her lips that he couldn’t help but stare at.

When she glanced over at him, waiting for a response, he let out a snort.  “Hmph. I guess. Once you’ve seen one star you’ve seen them all.”

Kagome hummed. “In my time you never see this many stars... too many lights. This view will never get old...” 

Privately, Inuyasha agreed. 

Suddenly she perked up against him, hand shooting up to point at something in the air. His eyes immediately flicked in that direction.

“Look!” She exclaimed, moving to rest back against him. “A shooting star. Make a wish! Quick!

Inuyasha furrowed his brow, watching said star disappear somewhere far off beyond the clouds. A frown tugged at his lips. 

“Why?” 

Kagome clapped her hands together. “Because! If you wish on a shooting star hard enough, it’ll come true,” she explained. Her tone was light, full of good humor, and he turned to raise an eyebrow at the declaration. 

“Sounds stupid.”

She rolled her eyes. “It’s not stupid, Inuyasha.” 

“Yeah, it is.” 

“No, it’s not.”

“Yeah, it is.”

“It’s not.” 

It was clear that she was quickly growing irritated at the silly argument, but he was firm in his convictions. She gave him a look, the one that was a warning to cease and desist immediately. “It’s just a silly little game Inuyasha, why do you have to ruin it?” She mumbled. Her weight was no longer pressing against him, and he turned his head, seeing that he’d upset her. 

He knew he was treading on thin ice, but he didn’t think an explanation could make it any worse...

“I mean, it’s stupid because I don’t have anything to wish for. I’ve got everything I need.” 

Her lips formed a small ‘o’, and she glanced up at him quickly, before looking away. He could sense her embarrassment more than see it, but he was just satisfied when she leaned against him once more. 

They sat in a comfortable silence for a long time, before Kagome pointed up again.

“It’s Sesshomaru...” 

Inuyasha’s eyes followed her finger to see said dog demon soaring through the air, presumably leaving from a visit to Rin. He watched the trail of fur shudder in the wind for a moment, before turning his attention back to the broken clouds. 

Kagome hummed. “I wonder what he would wish for?”

Inuyasha hadn’t the faintest idea.

.

He woke to the sound of someone crying. Inuyasha snapped to attention, the last memories of his dream fading as confusion clouded his thoughts. His feet hit the forest floor with a thump, and he looked around, ears swiveling in all directions as he tried to pinpoint the noise’s location. It was coming from deeper in the trees, and he headed towards it without a second thought.

Likely some human that had gotten lost, he imagined. For a moment he was annoyed by how helping people had become second nature.  

As the crying grew louder, his footsteps grew faster. They were not large, heaving sobs, but soft, desperate tears of someone in real danger. It drew him far off the path, through trees and over tall shrubbery that he swiped away with his claws. Gradually he slowed, ears flicking back and forth as he searched. 

Finally, he saw the source. It was a small, human, girl, covered with scratches and cuts that could only have come from the forest. Inuyasha approached slowly, sniffing the air. She reeked of wet leaves and pine, but very little else.  

Her head rose at the sound of his footsteps.  

Their eyes met, hers teary and brown, and his an impassive amber. "What's a little thing like you doing out here by yourself?"

The girl swallowed, turning her gaze back to the ground.  

"A weak demon like you should know better than to stray from their territory." He drew the Tessaiga with a fluid motion, wielding it lazily with one hand. 

The girls face quickly changed from one of despair to a sly, wide smile. "I see you are more intelligent than I gave you credit for, half breed."

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. He'd heard this all before. "If you're going to pretend to be a human you're gonna have to do a little better than rolling around in the leaves."

"I had hoped to handle this quickly," the demon said while standing, the illusion slowly melting from its skin. "But I don't mind getting my hands dirty." Across its narrow face was an oddly shaped scar, the skin puckered. The demon was not much taller (and didn’t seem much stronger, for that matter) than the child it had been imitating, but it bore a cocky stance. At one time this might have amused Inuyasha, but now it only bored him. "We'll try this the easy way first, half breed. Give me the poison of the demon named Sesshomaru." 

"What're you talkin' about?" Inuyasha demanded to know, surprised to hear his brother's name pass from this thing's lips. 

The demon hissed. "I can see that you are going to feign ignorance. Do not even try, half demon. I can smell it even from where I stand.” 

Inuyasha drew his arms more tightly against his chest.

"Who are you?" Inuyasha narrowed his eyes. "What do you know about Sesshomaru?" There weren’t many alive who held a grudge against his brother— at least, those stupid enough to proclaim it aloud. The demon did not seem to be a threat, but he would rather not take any chances.

The demon’s beady eyes darkened as it drew up claws to barely brush it’s face. “He is the one who gave me this scar. One day soon I will return the favor. But for now, my business is with you."

Inuyasha barely resisted the urge to laugh at the bold statement. He could hardly believe after a battle wound like that that the demon still wanted to fight his brother. He was lucky Sesshomaru hadn’t killed him and gotten it done with. "You wouldn't even get within arms reach before you'd end up with something a lot worse than that little scar."

"Silence!” The scarred demon’s face grew red with anger. “Give me what I desire." 

Inuyasha lifted the Tessaiga higher, scoffing. "Sesshomaru would never let me hear the end of it." 

"Then I shall take it by force." 

The demon flipped backwards, drawing something from its arm guards and flinging them with deadly accuracy. Inuyasha dodged the first two and then jumped high into the air, eyes following their trajectory. The projectiles glinted in the sun, and he could tell they were thin and sharp, but not much else.  

It didn't matter, he'd finish this quickly. 

He jumped forwards after he'd landed, swinging the Tessaiga to block more of the pointed objects as they flew at him. The demon was agile, but he was faster. They danced back and forth for a few moments, Inyuasha scarcely having to try to avoid the others wild attacks. It made him lower his guard. 

As a result, an unexpected jab caught Inuyasha by surprise, and he grunted as Sesshomaru’s dagger was jostled from his sleeve. For a few tense seconds it sailed through the air, and tiny claws grabbed for it blindly. Inuyasha caught it before the other demon could, flicking the sheath off with his thumb and swinging around, slashing a line across the demon's chest. Instantly there was a howl of pain, and Inuyasha was surprised to see the flesh begin to melt from the other's body. A familiar sizzling noise reached his ears and as the demon fell he realized it was Sesshomaru's poison that was slowly eating away at the demon. The single cut appeared to have turned into a fatal blow. 

Belatedly, he was glad he hadn’t run his finger along the edge of the blade. Why the hell hadn’t Totosai warned him the thing was so dangerous? He took a step back, glancing down at the dagger as his opponent fell to his knees. Inuyasha looked away, towards the sheath that had been flung to the ground. He walked over, reaching for it, but grunted when he felt a small pain in his wrist. 

One of the fallen demon’s needles was embedded in his skin, and he tugged it out flicking it over his shoulder and frowning.  

As soon as he took another step forward however, a strange, dizzy feeling filled him. He swayed, eyes darting towards the dart he’d pulled out. 

“Dammit.“

When he hit the ground, the last thing his conscious mind registered was the wind picking up, and a familiar scent reaching his nose.

.

Upon waking Inuyasha felt sluggish, his limbs heavy. It took him several moments before he could find the strength to lift his eyelids. He exhaled heavily, waiting until the tingling left his body before attempting to stand. The dagger lay next to one outstretched hand, the case remained where it had fallen before. In fact, everything was exactly where it was before. Except for the pair of boots he could see in his peripheral vision.

Inuyasha shot up off the ground, startled at the sight. The panic didn’t last long however, and he took a few steps back, tossing a glare in his brother’s direction.

“How long have you been standing there?” he snapped, rubbing at his wrist. A large red welt had formed where the dart hit him. The wind was blowing harder than Inuyasha remembered, the skies dark.

Sesshomaru stared at him with his usual expression—or rather, lack there off, then looked away, blinking slow. “You should be more aware of your surroundings, Inuyasha.” The tone did not match the words. 

Inuyasha was mildly irritated at the way the other seemed to disregard him so quickly, brow furrowing.

“Had I less than honorable intentions you would be dead at this very moment.” 

Inuyasha snorted at that. He was finally beginning to regain his bearings, the thick fog clearing from his mind. Once his body was working properly he realized how strange the demon lord’s presence was, and a scowl crossed his features. Even if he had been looking for the other, he could have found him on his own, dammit. Leave it to Sesshomaru to indirectly make him feel incapable. 

“What are you doing here, anyway?” He asked, keeping his eyes fixed on the other’s face. Sesshomaru looked... bored, for lack of a better word. 

“I caught the scent of my poison on the wind and followed it. I’ve been waiting for you to wake.”

Inuyasha nipped at his bottom lip with his top fangs, a grunt leaving him. “Oh, how kind of you.” The sarcasm was thick, but Sesshomaru just stared at him blankly as if to say ‘yes, it was kind, and you should thank me now’. Inuyasha turned away from him, looking at the remains of the scarred demon. 

“Who was that demon, anyway?” He asked, too curious to resist. Sesshomaru did not turn his head, instead merely languidly glancing over to the corpse and then returning his gaze forward. 

The sheer stillness in Sesshomaru’s body was unnerving. 

Inuyasha shifted, stuffing his hands in his sleeves and waiting for a reply. For a long moment, he thought Sesshomaru was simply going to ignore him.

“That demon was an opponent of mine some years ago. He tricked Rin into trusting him and then attempted to devour her when her guard was down. Despite this she requested that I spare his life.”

That made sense. Sesshomaru was not one to show mercy, especially to those who made him angry. But for Rin... 

When Inuyasha next looked over, all he saw was Sesshomaru’s back. "Where are you going?" Inuyasha followed him for a few steps, before turning around, finding the dagger on the ground. "Wait." He jumped back, snatching it up and putting the sheath back on carefully. Sesshomaru had not stopped moving. He caught up with him, but was unable to help the growl that left his throat. He was even more irritated when Sesshomaru didn't even look over. 

"It's going to rain," was all the demon lord said. 

Inuyasha looked up at the sky and frowned. "Here." 

"I see you've visited Totosai."

Inuyasha thrust the weapon in his elder brother’s direction. "Yeah, and he asked me to give this to you, so take it already."

Sesshomaru's eyes returned forward. "Keep it." he obviously had no intention of stopping, so Inuyasha jumped in front of him, using his presence as a barrier. It worked, but only because he knew Sesshomaru could not be bothered to walk around an obstacle that could just as easily move for him. 

"I don't want your stupid dagger, just take it so I can go." A raindrop fell onto Inuyasha’s nose as he spoke, and he looked up at the sky, ears instinctively flicking down to avoid water getting inside of them. Sesshomaru’s eyebrows lowered in what was probably going to be Inuyasha's only warning before his mood turned less passive. Inuyasha decided to try a different tactic. "Why don't you want it?"

Sesshomaru’s eyes narrowed. "I no longer have need of it."

Inuyasha growled. "Then why'd you give it to the old man in the first place?"  

"Cease these pointless questions, I tire of them." Sesshomaru appeared to be finished with the conversation. He walked past Inuyasha's shoulder with an annoying lift in his head.

Inuyasha moved again to block him, watching as Sesshomaru's face soured almost imperceptibly. "Look, will you just take the damn thing so I can leave? I didn't plan on spending my day dealing with you." He found that it was nearly impossible to control his temper around Sesshomaru. Something about the other continued to get under his skin. Particularly when he was acting like this.  

"You can blame Totosai for being inconvenienced, I did not ask to be sought out." Sesshomaru's eyes were sharp enough to cut glass, but Inuyasha held his gaze. The silence seemed to have weight. When Sesshomaru spoke again, it was like a sudden explosion in the quiet. "It was Rin's."

For a moment the words meant nothing, and then Inuyasha noticed the use of past tense. Immediately his shoulders fell. Sesshomaru's face had gone blank, and while this wasn't unusual it was oddly telling. 

Inuyasha helf the dagger tighter. "Sesshomaru..." He trailed off for a moment, and the others eyes left him, looking off somewhere over his shoulder. "...You should take it." He knew he was repeating himself, but now it almost felt wrong of him to be holding the weapon.

“There is no reason for me to."

Inuyasha frowned. "It's a memory."

Sesshomaru began walking away. 

Inuyasha watched with slightly widened eyes, before he followed, the anger beginning to creep back. "Are you really that heartless?" He asked, and almost ran into Sesshomaru's back when he stopped. He spoke again, this time to a curtain of white hair. "Rin would have done anything for you, and you won't even remember her?"

Sesshomaru whipped around, and Inuyasha barely avoided his blade in time. 

"Do not speak of matters which you know nothing about."

Startled by the unprovoked attack, Inuyasha could only stare dumbly at Bakusaiga. He watched without saying a word as Sesshomaru then sheathed his sword, turning and continuing his long, even footsteps. Not once did he turn around.

Inuyasha was left again in silence. He dropped his eyes back to the dagger, noticing he'd scratched the case with his nails while dodging Sesshomaru's attack.  

Carefully, he returned it to his sleeve, folding his arms across his chest. 

It occurred to him that perhaps Sesshomaru was grieving, in his own way. 

.

.

.

.

. 

It was the anniversary of Hideki's death. Sango and Miroku's son had not lived to be older than two, but every year Inuyasha visited the tiny grave and paid his respects regardless. The rain was coming down heavy. His hair sagged with the weight the water put on and his clothes were plastered to his skin.

As he left the graveyard the sun began to set, turning the air from cold to frigid, and the skies from gray to black. Inuyasha took shelter in the forest amongst the trees and watched the rain fall. 

Lately when it rained all he could think about was Sesshomaru. His brother did not lose his calm easily. He had become even more passive after Naraku's death. The existence of his sword proved that he had finally accepted their father's decision to bequeath the youngest son with Tessaiga, and there had been very little else that could anger him.

Over a year had passed since he’d found out about Rin's death, yet the vision of his brother's lips pulled back, his eyes flashing red as he swung his sword had not left his memory. 

He would forever believe Sesshomaru to be cold, but it was obvious the demon lord had been shaken by the loss of Rin. It was probably the first time since their father had died that Sesshomaru lost someone he truly cared about. Despite himself Inuyasha felt guilty for questioning that when they’d last met. 

He had not known anything about Rin’s passing, yet Sesshomaru had come to Kagome’s funeral.

.

.

.

. 

The next time he saw Sesshomaru, the air was starting to grow chilly with winter. He’d just finished a visit with Shippo and was in a rare good mood. Whenever he saw him he couldn’t help but think back to when Shippo had come scarcely up to his knee. He was fully grown now. 

Parting was bittersweet, even more so because the ground was cold, and hard, and it was a long way back to the place he called home. He traveled so often he hadn’t really found a need to stay in a town again, and even if he had helped past generations the humans in Kaede’s village were still wary of demons. That didn't stop them from requesting his help, when it came time to prepare for the cold weather. 

He came across a hot spring with steam curling up from the warm waters, and his body gave an involuntary shudder. His feet were freezing from all the running.

Coming closer revealed a form he hadn't noticed before, the scent covered by the chill and the wet leaves. 

Sesshomaru.

Inuyasha slowed, studying him.

The demon lord was sitting in the spring with his long limbs draped over several rocks, his hair splayed out like tiny bridges all ending at the crown of his head.

He had never seen Sesshomaru this exposed before. There were more magenta markings that he had never noticed on Sesshomaru's wrists, sloping across the skin and bone in a delicate curve. The same marks also decorated his waist, arcing down his hips, and his ankles.

It was almost surreal to see the demon at rest. He looked even paler than usual with so much flesh bared. The toned lines of the muscle usually hidden by his clothing barely hinted at the strength Sesshomaru possessed. 

Inuyasha came to a halt at the edge of the spring, and waited. Sesshomaru did not stir. Inuyasha briefly wondered if he was asleep, but knew that was unlikely.

He was probably being ignored. 

Finally Sesshomaru spoke."Do you have a purpose, Inuyasha? How long will you continue standing there?”  

“Don’t flatter yourself, I wasn’t looking for you.” 

Sesshomaru finally opened his eyes. Inuyasha struggled to find a hint of his mood. There was none. The demon lord’s leg shifted in the water as he spoke. “Now that you have found me, what do you plan to do?” Sesshomaru’s tone barely indicated that the sentence was a question.

Inuyasha was mystified at the way Sesshomaru’s dignity remained even without even a scrap of clothing. He felt like the naked one. He thought over the question, but didn't have an immediate answer. 

“Disrobe, Inuyasha.”  

Inuyasha frowned, eyes flicking down to Sesshomaru's bare collarbone.

After a moment of no speaking or movement on Inuyasha’s part, Sesshomaru raised an eyebrow. “Did you not come here to bathe?” 

Inuyasha nodded his head once. 

It was strange. Very strange.

After Inuyasha removed his clothing and arranged it carefully on a rock near the water, he chose to sit at the opposite end of the spring from Sesshomaru, who's eyes had closed again.

Regardless of the odd company the water felt good against the chill in the air, and slowly Inuyasha felt his muscles begin to relax. 

He thought to say something about when they last met, but no words came.

“You have been visiting the young fox demon,” Sesshomaru observed.

Inuyasha was a bit disgruntled that Sesshomaru could tell this, when his own nose had not picked up on the other’s familiar scent until he'd seen him. “You know his name,” he pointed out with a glare.

Sesshomaru’s hand came up to drip water over his pale shoulder’s. “I do.” 

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. “He’s not so young anymore.” He knew Shippo would have had the same defense. 

Sesshomaru said nothing for a few moments, and Inuyasha watched his body ripple as he sank further into the water. 

Eyes topped with magenta finally looked back at him, eyelids lowered in what could have been boredom or contentment. “It was my understanding that he is somewhat like a son, to you. Is this true?”

The question caught Inuyasha off guard, because it was personal— it mattered, and they just didn’t do personal. “Er— I guess.” 

This seemed to satisfy Sesshomaru's curiosity.

Inuyasha watched him for a time after that, a curiosity of his own building. He had not known about his brother’s residence in the Western lands, nor of the dagger he’d given to Rin— which had held his very own poison, none the less— who knew what else he didn't know about. “Do you... have any?”

Sesshomaru’s eyes met his, but his face was blank. Finally he raised one silver eyebrow in question.

Inuyasha cleared his throat. “Children?”

The demon lord’s upper lip twitched. His eyes narrowed, and Inuyasha had to resist the urge to sink deeper into his seat. 

“No.”

Inuyasha persisted. “So you and Rin never...?”

Sesshomaru’s eyes narrowed further. “Our relationship was not as such.” He pursed his lips. 

“Oh.” Despite how young she’d been when they met, after she’d grown and Sesshomaru had come to take her... he’d assumed that they were... Well, with the way he was always visiting to give her presents...

Sesshomaru's expression smoothed, his gaze shifting towards the trees. “Had she wanted children, I would have given them to her,” he said simply. “However she realized it was not practical.”

Inuyasha imagined he never would truly understand what it was—what it had been between Rin and Sesshomaru. He nodded his head, looking down at the water.

An old pain began to grow in his chest, but he pushed it away, idly drawing his fingers through the steam that billowed upwards.  

“You and the miko?” 

Inuyasha didn’t respond for a moment, though he’d expected the question. Eventually he gave a small shrug, glancing up only for a brief moment. “She... couldn’t.” The words were hard to say, even after all this time. He wondered if that would have made it worse. If their human blood remained strong and they aged as Kagome had, he would have to suffer through all of their deaths. Yet, if their demon blood affected their mortality then they would have to watch their mother get old and die without them.

Perhaps it was better this way, as much as he had wanted that kind of bond with Kagome. 

Sesshomaru nodded, and left it at that. 

His attention needed a focus, and so he looked at Sesshomaru once more, wondering if he would speak again; but the demon lord seemed to have finished. Maybe it was because he'd just finished talking to Shippo, but Sesshomaru's presence was not unwelcome. Better than being alone. And when had that happened?

He wondered if Sesshomaru felt the same. He could ask, but no matter how he phrased it, the words sounded like a stupid question. So he stayed silent.  

Then, Sesshomaru stood. Long strands of silver hair that seemed luminescent in the moonlight clung wetly to his body. Inuyasha watched him move to the edge of the spring. He almost had more grace in the water than out. 

Inuyasha stood as well, plastering a scowl on his face as he waded closer. "Hey, Sesshomaru."

There was no response, but Inuyasha still took it as an okay to continue. "Are you... Do you ever get... Lonely?" He started strong but when the sentence ended his voice was small. The scowl remained, as it was the only defense he had at the moment. An anxiousness filled him as he waited for a response...

And waited...

And waited.

Sesshomaru only continued with his task, doing the ties on his armor with deft, agile fingers. Inuyasha watched on until he looked as he always did, but with wet hair. 

The more he was made to wait, the further Inuyasha's brow furrowed. He pressed his lips together, folding his arms tight across his chest. 

Sesshomaru began to walk away. 

Inuyasha turned to stare at the water. 

"Are you coming, Inuyasha?"

He turned to see Sesshomaru staring back at him expectantly. Without another thought, he got out of the spring, dressing quickly and putting Tessaiga at his hip. 

They were both damp and while Inuyasha found the cold entirely unpleasant, Sesshomaru did not seem to notice. They moved in sync, younger brother following the older's lead. It was obvious Sesshomaru had a destination in mind. He wanted to ask, but knew Sesshomaru was unlikely to answer. He had a bad habit of ignoring things he didn't deem worthy of his time. "What were you doing over here?" Inuyasha asked instead, figuring this was a safe enough question.

"I had affairs to handle in the east."

Inuyasha hummed. He had to wonder if that spring was a regular spot the demon lord frequented, or if he'd only recently found it.

As they walked the skies grew darker, clouds rolling in and smothering the moon with their girth. This silence was surprisingly companionable. The frigid stillness in the air seemed to Inuyasha the perfect atmosphere for walking next to Sesshomaru. It was as if the demon lord's personality had been personified in the weather itself, and Inuyasha found himself slowly adjusting to the temperature and the older dog demon simultaneously.  

The scenery around them slowly began to change, from a tall forest cramped with trees to a dense bog, mud frozen and stiff, to a wide field with dying grass just waiting to be buried with snow. It wasn’t too far off. Very soon there would be white as far as the eye could see. 

Eventually they entered into another forest and Sesshomaru’s footsteps finally began to slow. 

They moved through a thick curtain of tangled, hanging vines. On the other side was a house that was nothing like Inuyasha would have expected. It was not grandiose, didn't reflect the power that Sesshomaru had no qualms reminding people about. In fact from the outside it was rather quaint. The trees that surrounded it had long lost the leaves on their branches, but the half demon could imagine the picture it would make had everything been in full bloom. 

As they grew closer, a figure popped into view.

“Lord Sesshomaru!”

Inuyasha wrinkled his nose. “That thing is still alive?” 

Jaken waddled over, his expression changing from that of joyful relief to suspicion and disdain upon noticing Inuyasha. 

“I am glad to see you have returned safely! I do wish you would send word so I know when to expect you... er, not that there’s anything wrong with the way you choose to do things, my lord!” As usual Jaken groveled before all else. Inuyasha swore he kissed more and more ass every time he saw him.

Sesshomaru didn’t slow, and Jaken hurried to keep up with his long strides. “Er, Lord Sesshomaru, might I ask what the half breed is doing here?”

Despite himself, Inuyasha bristled. He’d long since gotten used to that phrase, but it pissed him off to hear jaken, of all demons, using it.

“Jaken.” Sesshomaru finally spoke, immediately capturing the smaller demon’s attention. He had reached the door, which he slid open in one graceful motion. “Prepare tea for our guest.”

Both Inuyasha and Jaken’s expressions warped into the same look of confusion. “... My lord?” 

Sesshomaru said nothing else, stepping forward and removing his shoes inside the deceivingly large entrance hall. The two other demons followed, and Inuyasha looked around curiously.

Even standing inside, Inuyasha could not picture Sesshomaru living in this place. The house was fairly plain. He supposed Sesshomaru had never needed much. 

He followed Sesshomaru into a room off to the side, leaving the sliding door open behind him.  It was interesting—the buildings in the villages were changing, slightly, as he watched the years pass. This was almost like stepping back in time. 

Inside the room there was a table with a pale blue futon set underneath that looked warm and inviting after being out in the cold weather. He couldn’t help but feel wary. It seemed so far out of Sesshomaru’s element.

Sesshomaru sat down, and Inuyasha followed suit. Sesshomaru looked entirely too passive. He was waiting for the other to draw his sword, or to growl, insult him. Something. Sesshomaru's eyes closed, so Inuyasha found himself staring at the lines of magenta over the eyelids.

He leaned back with a scowl, ears twitching. “…Look Sesshomaru, what are you playing at?” He asked, too curious to remain quiet any longer.

The demon lord finally opened his eyes to look at him. “I am not ‘playing’ at anything, Inuyasha.”

He rolled his eyes. “You know what I mean. Why did you bring me here?” There were a few more questions he wanted to ask, but that seemed the most pressing issue. 

Sesshomaru turned his head to look out the window, and Inuyasha found himself growing impatient. “Lately, I find myself less and less inclined to travel.” 

Inuyasha blinked. That hadn’t really been an answer to his question, but it came as a bit of a surprise. Almost as much as the demon lord having someplace to stay to begin with. He’d assumed it had been for Rin.

“There is not much left I care to see, and I have already surpassed father as a great demon." 

Cocky as always.

“I require even less than before. I find this place has a… relaxing effect on the body. Particularly during the winter.”

Inuyasha finally relented and looked out the window as well, surprised to see that it had started snowing. They watched the white flakes fall in silence for a moment, and Inuyasha felt the tension begin to leave his shoulders. 

“I’ve brought the tea…”

Sesshomaru turned his head to look at Jaken, nodding when he set the tray down on the table. Inuyasha glared at the toad, and received one back before the thing waddled off. Sesshomaru ignored the exchange in favor of bringing one of the small cups to his lips. 

“…I can’t stay long, ya know. I told some of the villagers I’d help them prepare for winter.”

Sesshomaru’s eyes had closed again, and he set the cup down once he’d finished. “This does not surprise me.”

Inuyasha frowned, but took his own cup, downing the beverage in one gulp. He wiped his mouth with his sleeve afterwards and ignored the disapproving look Sesshomaru gave him.

“You may go as you please.”

Inuyasha grunted, disgruntled by this response, even though he wasn’t sure what else he’d been expecting from the other. Honestly, he’d already spent way too much time in Sesshomaru’s company. When he looked over, Sesshomaru's head was tilted down as he poured himself another cup. Inuyasha wasn’t sure if it was because he’d been with Kagome for so long, but being around someone who was so damn hard to read was really starting to piss him off. 

He stood rather abruptly, turning around and carelessly waving a hand. “Thanks for the tea,” he drawled, unable to help a bit of sarcasm. 

He hated tea.

What a waste of time.

“Inuyasha,” Sesshomaru said as Inuyasha walked to the door, making him pause. “Should you ever get… 'lonely'… you know where to find me.” 

If Inuyasha didn’t know any better, he would say Sesshomaru was teasing him. It was a good thing he did. 

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

It was too dark to see, too dark to move, almost too dark to breathe. Inuyasha winced when he stepped on something sharp and foreign, but didn’t bother looking down to try and figure out what it was.

It was well into the night of the new moon, and he couldn’t believe how stupid he’d been.  

He should have started looking for shelter a long, long time ago, should have already built or found someplace to stay. He couldn’t help that nowhere he went felt like home. He knew he could have stayed in the village, but he had been getting more unwelcome looks than welcome ones lately.

As years went by, as humans expanded their territory, Inuyasha found that there just weren’t any places where a half breed like him could go anymore. 

It was even rare to run into demons. The humans were getting better and better at slaying them, and the demons were consequently getting better and better at hiding. Demon slaying was no longer necessity—it had become a sport.

That was another reason why he didn’t like going near the village so much these days. He'd tried staying with Shippo for a time, but the fox demon had a new family. Despite helping out where he could there was just no room for an out of place, old friend when there were two kits that needed taking care of and a third on the way.

No, he would continue to visit, but he couldn’t hold Shippo back just because he wanted company.

The past few months he had been traveling further and further away from his usual haunts, and though he told himself he had no real destination he knew it was a lie. 

He’d been stubborn.

Every time he asked himself "would it be so bad?" He responded with "yes, it would," and before he knew it days, weeks, months were slipping by, until years had passed since he’d seen his brother. They'd been lonely ones.

When finding a new forest, a new structure, new mountain to explore no longer gave him a thrill, with no one to fight and no one to argue with, Inuyasha finally admitted he wanted more.

He had almost made it when he realized he’d lost track of the moon phases. Without his nose and ears to guide him, he felt like he was wandering blindly through the dark forest— which, if he were being honest, he was. But he had been positive that he was going in the right direction, and he kept telling himself as long as he could continue straight, he would make it there. 

His legs ached, his head ached— everything ached. But falling asleep out in the cold was a death sentence. Snow had not yet stuck but outside was cold, especially without the heat of the sun. He really should have known by now how to time this better.

Despite his bitterness, nothing could stop the warm feeling of relief that flowed through him when he finally parted an annoying wall of hanging leaves and saw Sesshomaru’s house there, waiting for him. He took a step forward, cursing when his knees buckled out from under him.

He took a few moments to catch his breath, curling his hands in the cold dirt and trying to suppress a shudder. He relaxed the tense muscles in his body. 

Sometimes… dangerous thoughts entered his mind. Like, what was the point of continuing on any further?

His love was dead. His friends had their own lives that he did not feel right intruding upon, and his only family was… well. The brief bout of depression faded a bit, at the thought of Sesshomaru. He may have been a heartless bastard, but he was a heartless bastard who had extended an invitation. 

Besides. If he died Sesshomaru would probably just bring him back with Tensaisga saying "This Sesshomaru will be the one that takes your life, half breed." 

Inuyasha snorted.

There was a faint breeze, and when he opened his eyes there were boots in his line of vision. He craned his head up with great effort, blinking against the barely there figure of Sesshomaru in the darkness. 

A sigh left his parted lips, and he lowered his head, letting it rest on the ground.

After a moment, he felt warmth come around him, lifting him up into strong arms.

“I can walk by myself,” he muttered, but it was a half-hearted complaint. Sesshomaru knew this, and did not respond. Sesshomaru carried him into the house and into a room where a futon already lay waiting, putting him down in a surprisingly gentle fashion. 

.

It wasn’t until Inuyasha opened his eyes that he realized he’d fallen asleep.

Sunlight streamed in through a window, and from the way he could smell Sesshomaru’s scent saturated around this place he knew that he was a half demon once more. Then he picked up the sound of squawking and rolled his eyes while he stood.  

Jaken was going on about something or other— he didn’t care to listen— but abruptly stopped when he slid open the door into the main room, finding Sesshomaru sitting on the tatami next to a low table, legs folded under him and eyes turned towards the window. It was a weirdly… normal sight, and Inuyasha knew it would take a lot of adjusting to get used to the other doing something other than walking away. Or trying to kill him. 

“Inuyasha, you’re awake,” Jaken pointlessly observed.

Inuyasha walked over to sit by Sesshomaru, hesitating only a bit as he did so. He felt a strange sort of nervousness fill him as he considered what to say. 

He glanced at Sesshomaru from the corner of his eyes, unable to help the scowl that rose to his face when he saw the other already looking at him. “Well? What are you starin’ at?”

Sesshomaru’s head lifted slightly, but gave no other visible reaction to the words. “Inuyasha. That was careless of you.”

He winced, not having to ask to know what the other was talking about. That didn’t mean he had to take it. His lips parted to reply with a few choice words of his own, but was distracted when Sesshomaru went on.

“As usual.”

“Hey!”

“Jaken, you may leave.”  

“But my lord…” 

Sesshomaru gave the toad a look, but it was tame by Sesshomaru's standards. Almost too tame. Still, Jaken obeyed, bowing slightly and turning to leave the room, though he glanced over his shoulder a few too many times.

Inuyasha wouldn’t have been surprised to find the other listening at the door. 

“Have you a reason for coming, Inuyasha?” Sesshomaru asked once they were "alone," “Or is this a social call.”

The words were too flat to be a serious question. Inuyasha briefly suspected sarcasm, but the thought of Sesshomaru with a sense of humor was too much for his mind to handle. He dug into one of his sleeves, pulling out Rin’s dagger and setting it on the table, sliding it over to Sesshomaru. “Here, I’m tired of carrying this thing around.”

Inuyasha watched Sesshomaru's face carefully as his eyes slid to the dagger, waiting for a reaction. He really hoped the other didn’t try and kill him again. Perhaps he should have led into it, but the other reason he’d come was… well, it was a bit too embarrassing to just blurt out like that. 

After what seemed like ages of Sesshomaru merely sitting there, Inuyasha grew impatient. “Well?” He snapped, knee twitching up and down.

Sesshomaru drew up his eyes, lips pursing briefly. “You kept it."

Inuyasha hesitated a second before nodding.

Sesshomaru spent a few more unnecessary minutes staring, making Inuyasha feel like he was going to jump out of his skin, before he stood slowly, picked up the dagger and walked from the room.

For the first time Inuyasha noticed Sesshomaru wasn’t wearing his usual attire. It was still white, so it hadn’t been immediately obvious. It was such a strange paradox. To see his brother in casual clothing, so non-threatening, yet knowing what he was capable of. If he was only looking at his face, in those hard golden eyes, the illusion his change of dress brought with it faded entirely.

Sesshomaru returned after a moment without the dagger. Inuyasha felt a small pulse of relief go through him. He’d thought for sure the gesture would be rejected again. It was also bittersweet… he’d sort of gotten used to carrying around that small part of Rin with him.  

Sesshomaru sat and stared out the window again, at the snow.

Inuyasha found himself growing anxious as he waited for more questions. He knew Sesshomaru probably didn’t buy that he’d come all the way out here, on the night of the new moon no less, just to give him that dagger back. 

But Sesshomaru didn’t ask anything else.

And he still didn’t say anything when he retired for the evening, either, leaving the room without so much as a "goodnight." The only reason Inuyasha knew he was sleeping was because heard the others deep breathing, when he finally mustered up the courage to return to the room he’d woken up in.

Sesshomaru sleeping.

Another thing he’d never seen before.

He had such mixed feelings about staying the night… again. On one hand, oddly enough, he didn’t want to overstay his welcome. On another, he didn’t want to give Sesshomaru the wrong idea… he had no intention of staying for a long while. He’d just… needed a visit to the one normal thing that remained. Even if the "normal" between them had changed undeniably. Sometimes it was nice to have familiar. Just for a little bit.

That’s what he told himself the next few days days. Sesshomaru continued to do the not asking question things, which was nice, and they developed a sort of routine. He’d wake up, wander into the main room where Sesshomaru would inexplicably be, they’d eat, then have a conversation that was far more pleasant than it had any right to be.

He noticed that Sesshomaru seemed to spend a lot of time reading, and he wondered where the demon had gotten the collection of literature. It was also surprising to find that Jaken wasn’t responsible for all of the meals.

Not surprising was Jaken constantly giving him suspicious, hate filled glares, or surreptitiously asking Sesshomaru when "the half breed" would be leaving, when he thought he was out of earshot. He could put up with that, though.  

.

It got to be so comfortable that soon, he didn’t even bother telling himself the arrangement was just for a short while. The excuse became that it was too dangerous traveling in the snow, that it would be better to wait until spring. 

The daily "tea time" whilst watching the snow fall with Sesshomaru also became something to look forward to. And man that was hard to say. His life had become so boring that something as mundane as drinking tea with his brother was exciting. 

.

One morning, he was awoken by Tessaiga falling hard on his chest.

“Ow! What the hell?”

“Wake up, Inuyasha.” 

Sesshomaru’s even voice was not the thing he wanted to hear first thing in the morning.

“I am awake you jackass, no thanks to you,” He grumbled, sitting up and scratching at his bare torso. “What’s the idea? What time is it?”

“Far later than you should be waking up." 

Inuyasha frowned. The look on his brother’s face seemed to say: Yes, I let you sleep in, and you should be grateful for it. He hated that he could read the other only at times he really didn’t care to.

“Fine, fine. What… what are you wearing?” That hadn’t been what he was intending to ask, but the question came out as he sat up fully, hands pressing against his knees. His eyes trailed down Sesshomaru’s body, not stopping until they reached his feet, still bare. The rest of his body was decked out in his usual armor, complete with chest plate and fluff. He’d gotten so used to seeing the older demon in casual clothes, hair tucked back behind his ears, that the sight of him seemed to take him back a decade.

He frowned, eyes staying at the feet, trying to hold on to the image of Sesshomaru as he knew him now.

“I believe you are familiar with my armor, Inuyasha.”

“Yeah, well… I meant, why?” 

Sesshomaru gestured to his sword. 

“We are going to train.”

“Wha?”

“Are you still tired, or are those ears just for show?” 

Inuyasha scowled, getting on his knees to grab his shirts. “I heard you, asshole… but— why?” Seshomaru hadn’t made any mentioned of training before.

“It is necessary to keep the body in top performance. You are growing soft.”

“Hey!” Inuyasha’s scowl grew darker. He looked down at his stomach, which still held enough muscle definition that he wasn’t self-conscious, but he could easily enough conjure to mind the image of his brother bathing in the onsen a while ago, and as usual he didn’t compare. “I am not getting soft.”

Sesshomaru turned, heading towards the door. “Come, Inuyasha.”

The half demon grumbled, dressing quickly and following his older brother down the hall.

They stopped briefly only for Sesshomaru to get his boots on.

Inuyasha scowled. “That’s not fair,” he complained, thinking to the snow covered plains that awaited him outside. His feet were not going to enjoy that.

Sesshomaru’s only response was to cast him a glance, before sliding open the door and walking out. Inuyasha sighed, but followed. Like hell he was going to back down from a direct challenge. 

It was a little strange, going into it knowing they weren’t actually trying to hurt each other.

Sesshomaru drew his sword, and an expression slid onto his face that Inuyasha was no longer used to seeing. While he was distracted, Sesshomaru went for the first blow. 

Metal flashed, Inuyasha’s muscles sang, body vibrating from the force of the demon’s hit as he blocked. Nearly too slow. He hadn’t realized just how long it had been since he’d fought… It took him a bit to get back into the swing of things, but after a little while his body seemed to remember the intricate dance of battle, and his hits grew more aggressive. 

It wasn’t enough to match up to his brother (and he hated that) but it was enough to keep up. He suspected Sesshomaru was going easy on him. 

They broke apart after a while, the half demon panting and the full demon with not even a hair out of place. Inuyasha couldn’t help but glare. How did he make it look so fucking effortless?

“You’ve gotten even worse. I have to admit that is a surprise.”

Inuyasha growled. He sheathed Tessaiga, to which Sesshomaru raised an eyebrow at. “All right, come on you bastard. No swords." 

Sesshomaru seemed to consider this for a second, before sheathing Bakusaiga. “Terms?”

“First one to end up flat on their back in the snow loses.”

Sesshomaru’s eyes narrowed. Inuyasha’s lips twitched at the thought of him hitting the ground, snow dampening the back of his head. That image alone was motivation enough to ignore the fact that his brother was far stronger than him.

“I accept these terms.”

Inuyasha nodded, tensing as he readied himself. Sesshomaru stayed as he was, straight backed, hands at his side, that same cool expression on his face, and so Inuyasha decided to make the first move this time. He ran towards the other, getting a rush of adrenaline that he hadn’t felt in some time as his feet flew over the ground. His brothers face came closer and closer into view, and his lips curled up as he braced for impact, entire body thrumming with anticipation.

Thud.

Inuyasha blinked, finding himself staring up at the sky, something cold seeping into his back. 

“…”

“Is that it?”

Inuyasha growled, jumping up and giving a full body shake to rid himself of snow. “Okay, lets go again!”

He charged again, and this time was paying enough attention to notice when his bother moved. He managed to avoid being grabbed this time, ducking out of the hold and circling around to grip Sesshomaru about his waist, in the hopes of throwing him down. Sesshomaru didn’t budge, but somehow Inuyasha found himself losing his balance. 

He couldn’t let himself be bested twice in a row. 

He jumped back, startled when Sesshomaru turned and came after him almost immediately. Inuyasha kept moving back, chased across the snow covered ground as he searched for a way to gain an advantage. He could see no openings in his brother's defense and so finally just decided to stop with traditional fighting methods, and play it dirty.

He lunged and they locked grips, briefly caught in a standstill before he swiped the demon lords feet out from underneath him.

There was a brief second where he felt his brother’s body crumble, and he felt a rush of triumph. But then there was a distinct lack of stability in his own footing, and a rush of wind indicated he was falling once more. 

He hit the ground, harder this time, and then something landed heavily atop him, stealing most of his breath. 

When he could open his eyes he glared up at his brother, who was resting his weight fully atop him in what looked like an effort to avoid the snow. 

Sesshomaru staring down at him, somehow indifferent and disapproving at the same time. 

“…What?” He grunted, trying and failing to push the other off of him. “You win, you win. Now get off.” 

Sesshomaru spent a few more moments laying on him—probably as punishment—before rising, impossibly elegant, and turning back towards the house. “That should suffice for one day.” 

Inuyasha scowled. Yeah, because he wasn’t the one who’d hit the ground twice. Still, it had been an accomplishments of sorts dragging the demon lord down with him. His face had been sort of priceless. He stood, walking after the other, watching his back with sly eyes. He sort of wanted to just tackle him into the snow and face the consequences…

“Don’t even think about it.”

Inuyasha blinked, pouting when Sesshomaru noticed him sneaking up close. “Hmph.”

Nothing could save Sesshomaru from the snowball, though.

Nothing could save Inuyasha after that either.

.

.

.

.

When Spring rolled around, it almost caught Inuyasha off guard. He’d noticed the snow melting, of course, the steady lack of drafty weather, Sesshomaru wearing less layers around the house; but when he stepped outside one morning to take a piss, he was surprised by just how nice it was. It was actually warm. That was certainly unexpected. 

One day after his and Sesshomaru’s daily training session, when they were walking back to the house, he couldn’t help turning to him, completely serious. “Did you know it was Spring?”

Sesshomaru stared back at him, blank faced. “Yes, Inuyasha.” 

Where had the time gone?

With the warm weather, his excuse for staying with Sesshomaru had also left, whether his brother realized it or not. He felt a little uncomfortable as they ate breakfast, sneaking glances at him.

As Sesshomaru ate the magenta stripes on his wrist stood out starkly against his pale skin, drawing Inuyasha’s eyes even as nervousness bubbled in his stomach. 

He couldn’t just stay… that’d be admitting that he needed Sesshomaru, and he wasn’t sure he was ready for that… but even as his pride demanded he leave, another part of him was tired of all the bluster. This was far better than wandering aimlessly, searching for purpose that wasn’t there.

“Why do you stare, Inuyasha.”

Inuyasha blinked, dragging his eyes back up to the other’s face. “…I wasn’t.” As if to punctuate the truth of this he ate his portion of fish almost whole, stuffing it in his mouth and chewing loudly. 

Sesshomaru gave a disapproving look at his lack of manners. “Honestly… its bad enough you smell like a true dog, must you eat like one, too?”

“Hey!” Inuyasha lifted an arm and sniffed himself a bit self-consciously, frowning at the odor that greeted his nose. He couldn’t help it if Sesshomaru had some sort of freak smell good thing that made him fragrant all the time. Or maybe that was due to the times he made the excursion to the hotspring that was definitely not close. In winter, Inuyasha just couldn’t be bothered as often. Sesshomaru could fly, he had to walk across the snow barefoot. He thought he was fairly justified. “I don’t smell that bad…”

Sesshomaru let out a breath of air that might have been a scoff. “Perhaps not to your dulled nose. Since it is ‘Spring,' as you pointed out, I suppose you wouldn’t be opposed to joining me for a bath.” 

Inuyasha scowled, folding his arms across his chest. Looking at his brother, he could see a slight tilt to the others head, a glint in his eye, one corner of his mouth briefly lifting a fraction. When he added these things up, he realized belatedly that Sesshomaru was just being playful.

Sesshomaru. Playful.

Truly it was the end of days.

“Yeah, whatever…” He sort of wished it was winter again. Snowballs proved to be an effective weapon that Sesshomaru just couldn’t predict. Although he had started catching on after a little while.  

Sesshomaru hummed his acknowledgement of the agreement, going back to eating.

Inuyasha returned to watching, narrowing his eyes and wondering what the stripes felt like.

Jaken stayed at the house, tidying up as they left for the hot spring.

It was nice walking in warm weather again. Now that it was warmer out maybe he could force his brother to show him the area. He could go by himself, but somehow it seemed more fun to force Sesshomaru out of his normal routine. 

When they arrived, Inuyasha was undressed in seconds, but it took Sesshomaru ages. Inuyasha didn’t know why he’d bothered changing into his armor just for the trip, especially since he intended to spend a majority of it naked. He claimed a spot in the spring and then narrowed his eyes at his brother, irritated by the sight of him spending so much time on such a mundane task. Untying the breastplate, the obi, folding everything and stacking them in a meticulous, ordered way… he could only imagine what it was like when Sesshomaru had only had one arm. He’d probably found a way to do it gracefully.

“Will you hurry up?” Inuyasha complained after a moment, reclining back against a rock. 

Sesshomaru’s long fingers paused, head turning to give the younger a blank stare. 

Inuyasha frowned, not entirely certain why the speed—or lack there of—was bothering him so much. He didn’t say anything else, folding his arms across his chest and sinking deeper into the water. He closed his eyes as the warm liquid covered his mouth, ears twitching as the steam that rose caressed them.

A few moments later he was able to hear Sesshomaru enter the water. Sesshomaru was sitting deeper than he normally did, gathering his hair over one shoulder. Inuyasha laid back, tilting his head up to stare up at the trees. “Hey… what do the stripes feel like?” He asked after a moment, voicing the question he’d been pondering earlier.

Sesshomaru looked at him, running his fingers through the long silver hair that floated up in the water. “I beg your pardon?”

Inuyasha turned his head towards him, resting his arms on a rock and enjoying the contrast of the cooler air on his upper half. “Your stripes. You’ve got ‘em all over.”

Sesshomaru frowned, looking confused, or maybe irritated. Inuyasha hadn’t studied him quite enough to learn which. He could see the question on his face, though. "Why."

“Just wondering.” Inuyasha suddenly felt a little self-conscious. It was normal to be curious about… things. he was raised by a human, so he didn’t know those little nuances about demons. What the marks meant, what they felt like… why Sesshomaru was stuck with such a girly color. His eyes moved from the moon on Sesshomaru's head, to the lines curving perfectly around his cheeks, down his arms, to the ones wrapped around his wrists, imagining his hips hidden by water, the magenta following the taut lines of muscles. 

“Does it matter, Inuyasha,” Sesshomaru asked, continuing to wash his hair. Inuyasha’s eyes rose back to meet Sesshomaru's, and his golden gaze fluttered over to the water. There was something strange about that, but Inuyasha couldn’t tell what it was. He didn't understand why such a simple question was being deflected. “Just tell me,” he insisted, shifting close enough to pick up on his brothers scent even through the steam. Sesshomaru turned to face him, sinking a bit further into the spring and letting his hair float freely.  

“Inuyasha,” Sesshomaru warned, though at that moment he wasn’t entirely sure what he was about to do. It occurred to him in the next moment though. If Sesshomaru wouldn’t tell him he’d just find out for himself.

Strange how the idea of touching Sesshomaru no longer seemed odd, or repulsive. Or how he was no longer worried about his brother having similar feelings.

When he reached out to drag his fingers along the others cheek, Sesshomaru moved back effortlessly, a frown tugging at his lips. “Inuyasha.” This time the word came flatly, furrowed brows attempting to ward him off.

Where Inuyasha might have once accepted the warning with an eye roll, living with his brother had given him a bravery that wasn’t mixing well with his naturally stubborn nature. “Come on, just let me touch one.”

“No I will not,” Sesshomaru insisted, backing away again when Inuyasha reached for his wrist. 

“What the hell, what’s the big deal?” Inuyasha advanced, successfully herding the other towards the large rock wall that made up one side of the hot spring.

“I could ask you the same question. Let me bathe in peace.”

Inuyasha was starting to see it as a game. If Sesshomaru truly wanted him to back off he would have been trying far harder than this. A smirk twitched at the corners of his lips as he made another grab Sesshomaru's wrist.

“Inuyasha, your antics are quickly becoming irritating.” He was too fast to be caught in such a simple trap, but now Inuyasha had him cornered. 

“Yeah yeah.”

Sesshomaru rose a little, likely to gain the advantage, and Inuyasha caught a peak of magenta just out of the water. Realizing he didn’t have to limit himself to just the others wrists or cheeks, his hands shot forwards, gripping those magenta-striped hips tightly between his hands first, so they couldn't get away, and then dragging his thumbs over the stripes he was so curious about. 

They weren’t like Sesshomaru’s skin. He could feel the softness of the pale hips against his curled fingers, and for a moment he was too fascinated by that to focus on his goal. The stripes— they felt… rougher. Almost… furry? There was a gentle texture, one that took him two swipes across to really place.  

He tilted his head at the results of his experiment, lifting his eyes back to Sesshomaru with a smirk firmly in place. He’d won, after all. 

But the look on Sesshomaru's face gave him pause. Golden eyes were wide, nostrils flared, and he was staring like Inuyasha had suddenly grown a second head. He faltered, instinctively loosening his hold on the other.  “Sesshomaru?” He asked, confused, suddenly feeling a little guilty for his persistence. “Are you-” He was cut off when a wave of water crashed over him, making him scramble away and sputter. “Pbbth— pftht— hey! Fuck that’s hot…”

When he managed to open his eyes he found Sesshomaru had returned to his original spot in the spring, back towards him, as if the whole thing had never occurred.

“Is your curiosity assuaged?” Sesshomaru asked almost lazily.

Inuyasha glared. “Weirdo.”

It was pleasantly cool on the walk back. Jaken squawked something or another as they arrived, and Sesshomaru went to his room to change out of his armor.

Inuyasha wandered around restlessly for a few moments, before pausing in front of the half open door to Sesshomaru’s room. He caught a brief flash of pale skin, before it was covered by the blinding white of the other’s kimono. Moments later, that was replaced by golden eyes. 

“Have you no respect for privacy?”

Inuyasha crossed his arms. “You shouldn’t have left your door open.” He’d had a reason for waiting for the other, but at that moment he couldn’t seem to recall. 

Sesshomaru pushed open the door, standing fully in front of him, irritatingly tall. “If you have the free time to watch me dress, then you have time to go hunting.”

Oddly, Inuyasha felt his cheeks grow warm. “I wasn’t—ugh! Hey, that’s the toads job.”

“If you are to stay here, then you will earn your keep.” It was the first time Sesshomaru had acknowledged… this thing. His presence.

Inuyasha felt a little awkward at hearing it said aloud.

Sesshomaru said nothing else, brushing past him, probably to go do his stare out the window thing.

“…Tch.” Inuyasha strode past the main room out the door, stomping out just a bit grumpily, but it was mostly for show. Hunting again actually sounded sort of exhilarating. And it would give him a chance to explore a little bit, which was what he’d been wanting anyway.

As he got started, it occurred to him that he was a little out of practice. Sesshomaru had been keeping his sword muscles strong (and occasionally they had a little wrestling match— he could almost beat the guy every time), but hunting required a different skill set entirely. 

Still, it was one of those things that came naturally. He was sure he’d get back into the flow of things easily.

.

Or not. A couple hours later Inuyasha was growing a little frustrated. All he’d managed to kill was a weirdly large squirrel, and that wasn’t enough for him and Sesshomaru plus Jaken. His irritable mood drove him farther and farther away from Sesshomaru’s territory, hoping that further from his powerful aura the animals wouldn’t be quite so scarce and skittish.  

He was just about to try fishing when he heard the scream. His ears perked up immediately, and he straightened. He darted away, instinctively towards the sound, mind conjuring up images of an injured Kagome unbidden.

When he reached the scene he saw he wasn’t far off. There was some girl—human—backing away from a large, growling grizzly, and Inuyasha drew his sword without a thought. 

He’d never seen or smelled any humans this close before, and he didn’t think there was a village nearby… but there was time for questions later. The bear jerked towards him, as he wasn’t exactly trying to be quiet, but it was dead seconds later.

Lucky. This was plenty. He bet Jaken had never killed anything this big in his life. He smirked, imagining the look on Sesshomaru’s face when he dragged back a bear.

Having almost forgotten he turned to the girl, blinking at the shocked look on her face. “…You all right?” 

Her chest was heaving from her scared, heavy breaths, black hair in messy tangles about her face. She looked more than a little worse for the wear. He could tell her eyes were fixed on his ears, twitching faintly with every sound she made.

After a moment she let out a squeak, scurrying away. 

Inuyasha made no move to stop her. He had more important things to worry about. He’d done his good deed for the day. 

The grizzly wasn’t too heavy for him, but its weight was cumbersome and it was hard to see around its bulk. He was thankful that one, his bones were durable as he tripped over tree roots struggling to find a good way to carry it, and two, Sesshomaru wasn’t there to see his clumsiness. 

Having already moved so far it was well past dark when he returned, yelling for Jaken.

When the toad thing exited the house (frankly Inuyasha was surprised he’d been listened to at all) he just stared for a few seconds, and Inuyasha smirked. “Take care of that, will ya?” 

“B-but…”

Ignoring his stammering, Inuyasha stepped inside. He’d probably have to come help the damn thing later, but now was the time to brag. Before he could loudly call his brothers name, even with ears and nose telling him exactly where the other was, his eyes spotted him in the main room, sitting by the table. 

He strode over, tilting his head when Sesshomaru didn’t stir. Upon closer inspection, he found magenta-striped eyes closed. No greeting, no reaction came. 

He couldn’t be asleep... right?

Inuyasha frowned, kneeling in front of the other and waving a hand. He paused after a moment, watching the other's relaxed face. 

His nostrils twitched, so Inuyasha knew he could smell him. That should have been enough to get the others attention, but still he didn’t move. He was breathing so deeply…

Inuyasha waited, debating just shouting at the other or something, before deciding it wasn’t worth the bitch face he’d receive in return. He found himself drawing a little closer, tugged by the other’s scent. It seemed even more concentrated since they’d just bathed earlier in the day. 

The faint moonlight leaking through the window suited Sesshomaru's face. Inuyasha wrinkled his nose, scowling. His brother was too pretty for his own good. Pretty things shouldn’t be so deadly. It would be like if a flower suddenly grew arms and knew how to handle a sword. Snorting softly at the image, he leaned away, eyes drawn to the stripes on Sesshomaru’s face. He had the urge to touch again, but remembering how adamant the other was about it earlier managed to curb it. 

Inuyasha sighed. Maybe he was asleep. 

Before he could really consider his actions Inuyasha moved closer, wrapping an arm around the others back and pulling him close, trying to slide a hand under Sesshomaru’s thighs. 

“What are you doing?”

The voice startled him into freezing, feeling as though his little half demon heart might give out at the sound of the deep voice so close. Once he calmed down enough to scowl, Inuyasha did so. “You were sleeping, idiot… I was taking you to your room.” He turned his head enough to see the other’s face, startled by how close it was even though it was his doing. He could probably count Sesshomaru’s eyelashes if he wanted to. 

“Inuyasha, how could one possibly sleep with you yelling and stomping about.”

“…Well… hey, if you weren’t asleep why didn’t you say something!” He accused, leaning back a little so he could glare more efficiently. Sesshomaru stared at him.  

“Say something to what, Inuyasha.”

“To… I don’t know, I came back…” Suddenly he felt foolish. “…Whatever. I killed a bear.” He couldn’t help but pout a little bit. That hadn’t been how he wanted to brag about it… 

Sesshomaru hummed. “I’m allergic to bears.”

“What?!”

All that time and effort for nothing?! Shit, he’d been all over that bear, was he gonna make Sesshomaru break out by being so close? Would he die? Would—

“Calm yourself, Inuyasha.” 

Inuyasha focused his attention back on Sesshomaru, staring nervously at him.

“I wasn’t being serious. There’s no need to grip me so tightly.”

“What?! That’s not the kind of thing you joke about you…” The other part of Sesshomaru’s words registering, Inuyasha blinked, glancing down. He realized that his hand was still on the others thigh, clutching at the muscled appendage. He tugged it away, stuffing both arms into his sleeves. “…Did you seriously just tell a joke?”

Sesshomaru stood, walking past Inuyasha to the door. “Let us see this bear.”

Inuyasha blinked. After a moment he jumped up, trailing after the other. “Way bigger’n anything you ever brought back!”

.

.

.

It got easier. More normal, maybe. Sesshomaru said nothing about wanting him to leave, and Inuyasha said nothing about wanting to stay. His brother didn’t seem to need the concreteness that words brought, and that was just fine.

Spring withered into summer. Sesshomaru’s clothing became lighter, and Inuyasha wondered for the first time when he’d obtained them all. The fire rat robe was still fine for him. He was just a little too paranoid to put on anything else. The fact that he still teased Sesshomaru about wearing his armor whenever they went to bathe didn’t matter. 

Jaken, surprisingly, seemed to adjust to him as well. He still called him half breed, and squawked about him sharing a table with "Lord Sesshomaru," but his glares were half assed at best and there didn’t seem to be any real venom behind his quips.

.

On a particularly hot day, the doors had been left open to let what little wind there was circulate throughout the house. Inuyasha had eventually given in and just taken off both of his shirts, leaving them piled in a heap in his room that he was sure his brother would bitch about later. Their water was growing unnaturally warm and he was dying to go to the river. He could just imagine the cool water on his back, in his hair, that seemed to be doing nothing but collecting sweat and tangling, lately…

Naturally, the first order of business was complain to Sesshomaru. Sesshomaru was spending a rare moment in his room, the door half open, and Inuyasha entered without so much as a thought to ask permission. 

Sesshomaru was sitting, Bakusaiga laid out on his lap as he polished the blade. He somehow maintained the illusion of perfection even in the heat. long hair looking groomed and well taken care of. His yukata though, was parted more than usual at the neck. Due to the monotonous cleaning motions, one side had slipped enough to see a sliver of pale shoulder. “Do you need something?”

“S’hot,” Inuyasha mumbled, leaning against the door frame. For some reason his eyes kept catching on Sesshomaru's collarbones.

Sesshomaru didn’t appear too impressed with his observation. “Indeed.”

“Gonna go to the river.” It was where they collected their drinking water, but on a day like this a cool soak seemed just what was needed. Sesshomaru gave a faint nod of his head, never stopping in his actions. Inuyasha waited, for what he wasn’t sure, but after a while it became apparent that Sesshomaru wouldn’t say anything else. 

He gave a grunt of irritation, moving moodily down the hall and exiting the house. It didn’t occur to him until he was out the door that he’d wanted Sesshomaru to accompany him.

When he’d first come to see Sesshomaru, he'd assumed the demon lord would largely ignore him. He knew a conversation or two was inevitable, of course, but he certainly hadn’t imagined what they had now. His days were filled with Sesshomaru, whether they were training together, bathing together, hunting together, eating together, reading together… he was always around. He’d gotten used to that. It was a weird thought. 

It was just better than being alone, that was all.

He removed his shirts again once he reached the river. That first cooling splash as he jumped in had his ears flicking back in relaxation. He surfaced with a gasp, sighing as his heated body slowly began to cool. One hand came up to brush away silver hair that was plastered to his forehead, ears twitching to get rid of the water that had gotten inside. 

Now cool, the small headache that had been forming in his head finally got some relief. 

He let himself float for a bit, closing his eyes. The harsh rays of the sun beating down on his nose were annoying, so every so often he’d let himself dip below the surface, cooling his face before returning to floating. It was nice… relaxing. Sort of lonely.  

A soft noise drew his attention, and he stood upright, idly looking around as he realized he’d floated downstream a bit. He should head back to where he entered soon, he thought to himself. He didn’t want anyone running off with his clothing thinking it abandoned. But, after a moment the source of the noise became apparent, and he blinked upon seeing the visage of a familiar woman. 

It took him a moment to remember where he’d seen her before. 

“Ah… you’re that girl.”

She was staring at him with eyes wide, kneeling by the riverside to refill a bucket, presumably with the cool water. He was surprised to see her out here, so close to Sesshomaru’s territory. Surely she couldn’t live close by? They would have definitely noticed some sort of human settlement. 

She tensed, her lips trembling as her eyes darted back, seeming to try and anticipate her chances of successfully running away. 

“Tch, you don’t have to be scared. I’m not gonna hurt ya.” It felt like he was trying to reassure a small child. Unsuccessfully. Still, her gaze reluctantly moved back to him, lingering on his ears before finally meeting his eyes. Her own were a deep brown, fear reflected in them. The half demon wasn’t sure why he was even bothering to placate her. He moved back a bit in the water, to ease her worries. Indeed, with the increased distance between them her shoulders seemed to relax.

“What are you doing out here?” He asked, curious about the human’s presence. Despite her obvious uncomfortableness, he was expecting an answer, and was disappointed by the lack of one. Her fingers fidgeted on the edge of the bucket she held, and she frowned. “…Getting water then?” That much was obvious, he’d been hoping for a more concrete answer.

Still, she nodded. Her gaze then dropped to the other bucket, and he lifted his head to try and see inside, despite being too far away.  “And what’s that one for?” He really must have been desperate for socialization. The only people he was ever around anymore were Sesshomaru and Jaken, and while he’d come to like conversing with his brother there was something about this human girl and her warm eyes, her long hair, that reminded him of…

Memories that he’d long buried threatened to float to the surface, and he tilted his head as she held up the bucket for him to see the single loan fish still twitching inside. “Fishing eh?”

Another nod, and she drew the now filled bucket of water onto the shore with her, watching him hesitantly. 

“Need any help?”

 .

It wasn’t hard to fill the woman’s bucket to the brim with fresh fish from the river, the actions also helping cool himself off as he swam through the running water. She seemed nervous when he approached to place the first few fish inside the bucket, so he had taken to merely tossing them inside, playing a small game of accuracy with himself. She seemed in awe at his physical prowess, and he wondered if she’d ever actually been in contact with a demon before.

Once it would have become impossible for her to carry anymore Inuyasha let out a sigh, pulling himself up onto the bank and ringing out his hair. “That should do it.” The sun felt nice on his now chilled skin. The day was stretching out, shadows moving across the ground. 

The woman looked up at him from where she still sat, eyes looking back down at the bucket, after a moment.  

He found her silence almost endearing, something within him happy to be… helping someone, again. It was such a small thing, but he hadn’t had such pleasant contact with humans in years, even if she hadn’t said anything the whole time. 

After a moment she stood, bowing deeply, hair pooling over her shoulders. Inuyasha scratched a hand over his neck. “Eh, it was nothing.” 

She looked up at him, a small, grateful smile curling her lips. The silent woman picked up the two buckets, resting one on each shoulder, starting to head back into the woods, presumably back to where she’d come from. She looked back only once, after which Inuyasha turned and started to head home himself. 

Home…

Figuring he might as well catch a few more fish while he was at it Inuyasha did so, finding his shirts abandoned on the bank where he’d left them afterwards. He took his time walking back, eyes watching the clouds, mind on the mysterious beauty from the river. She hadn’t seemed scared of him, by the end of things. Why didn’t she talk, he wondered? Was she capable of it?

So distracted by these thoughts was he, that the smell of blood snuck up on him. Inuyasha immediately tensed, the fish slipping out of his hands. Panic spread through him, rendering him momentarily useless as his mind raced. He inhaled, taking a few wobbly steps forward. The scent flooded his senses again, and something within him clicked.

It wasn’t Sesshomaru’s. 

Somehow newly energized, he began to run. It didn’t take long to reach his destination at the breakneck pace he took, and he leaped over the house to reach the front, where the smell was strongest. His nose wrinkled at the unpleasant odor, landing with a practiced ease. 

Sharp eyes searched for the cause, hand flying to Tessaiga, but it was immediately apparent that the fang of their father wasn’t necessary.

There was a dead human, body splayed out broken in the grass, blood seeping into it and staining the ground. Sesshomaru wasn’t paying the body any mind, however, all his attention focused on what was in front of him. Inuyasha had to walk over to see what it was, blocked by Sesshomaru's body.

His breathing stuttered.

Jaken’s body was there, just as limp as the dead human, body littered with wounds that Inuyasha could only imagine the human had inflicted. Jaken was nowhere near his brother’s level in terms of strength, but to be killed by just one human… the man must have been powerful. Probably a demon slayer.

From the blood on his brother’s hands, it was obvious how that demon slayer had met his end. 

Inuyasha walked closer, his immediate thoughts on Sesshomaru, wondering if he’d been hurt in the fight as well. It was doubtful, and he couldn’t smell the other’s blood, but there was so much of it filling the air it was hard to tell… “What happened?”  

The orange light of the sun that bathed over them seemed to make the dark blood burn bright. Sesshomaru did not turn to face him, and Inuyasha frowned, walking closer.

“Sesshomaru…?” Inuyasha circled around his elder brother’s still form, eyes rising to his face. 

It seemed impassive, upon first glance, but the silence told another story entirely. Nervousness filled him. He had never been that close to Jaken, no, but his death was regrettable. He… for Sesshomaru, he could only imagine the toad had reflected ties to a past that… could never be brought back. He wasn’t sure how to handle this. What to say. Something, though something had to be appropriate. “Uh… what about- Tensaiga?” He knew that the sword could bring the dead back to life, but he also realized there had to be a reason that Sesshomaru had not taken advantage of its powers, yet. It made him feel like a fool for asking, but it was the first thing that came to mind. 

“Tensaiga’s holy power will only work once for those it revives.”

All right, at least Sesshomaru was speaking. Inuyasha swallowed, walking closer. “Did…? What happened?” He lacked the grace and know-how to comfort Sesshomaru, stumbling over his words. He wanted to… rest a hand on the other’s shoulder, or—make him stand up, force the other’s eyes away from the corpse of his former vassal, but was unsure about what sort of reaction Sesshomaru would have to any of these things. And the smell was addling his head, his stomach flopping over on itself.

Sesshomaru gave no response for a long while. Inuyasha began to wonder if his question had been heard. 

“I left to handle a personal matter. I returned too late to protect Jaken. The human attacked and was dealt with.” 

There was something in the succinct, flat tone that made Inuyasha flinch. He could remember the demon lord’s reaction to Rin’s death, remember the seemingly unfeeling way he’d handled it. Yet the anger that had shown once he’d brought it up… what must Sesshomaru be feeling? It was rare for Sesshomaru to tolerate anyone's presence for an extended period of time. And now the only two people he’d ever allowed past his walls were dead.

Inuyasha knew the pain of losing a loved one. He knew it several times over. But he had also been blessed with many friends. He had been surrounded by people who cared about him. What would it be like, if instead his whole world had simply revolved around two people?

Had Sesshomaru ever had anyone else? 

Inuyasha watched his brother with searching eyes, trying to understand, trying to read the other with nothing but guesses and assumptions. 

He didn’t know how much time passed before Sesshomaru stood. He left Jaken’s body where it was, untouched, save for bloody fingerprints on the deceased demon’s eyelids that only reaffirmed Inuyasha’s certainty that the demon lord was more affected than he appeared. 

“Come, Inuyasha. We must—”

“It’s okay,” Inuyasha blurted.

Sesshomaru’s eyes met his own with an unusual slowness. “I beg your pardon?”

Inuyasha took a step closer, giving into his original urge to place a hand on the other’s shoulder. In that moment he was once again reminded of Kagome, not in someone else, but in himself. He could see her taking this route, always trying to be the reassuring, mothering one. He knew that he could never be like her, but this much, he could do. 

“It’s okay… you can—” It seemed presumptuous, or just plain ridiculous to tell Sesshomaru he could do something as normal as crying. The lord of the Western lands, crying. Still, surely there was some emotion he wanted to express. He’d learned many times over what repressing those could do. “Just… I won’t laugh at you, or anything.”

Sesshomaru only stared. Thinking of something else, Inuyasha looked away. “If I hadn’t of taken so long at the river, maybe…”

“There is no need to blame yourself, Inuyasha. The blame lies solely on the shoulders of a human who desired to kill only for the sake of killing.”

Inuyasha brought his eyes back to Sesshomaru’s face, lips pressing together at the anger he could see there. He noticed for the first time then, the small trembles that seemed to run through his brother, the paleness of his knuckles from how tightly his fists were clenched together. Hatred rolled off of him in waves. Meeting his eyes, Inuyasha was surprised to see a hint of red bleeding into the white, Sesshomaru’s nostrils flared as he stared off at something only he could see. 

He had to be calmed. Again, Kagome ran through his mind, and he wondered to himself what she would do. Only one answer ran through his mind, and he followed the advice of his deceased mate without once considering the consequences of his actions. 

He buried his head in Sesshomaru’s neck, arms wrapping tightly around the demon lord’s slender waist and holding him close. The very first, immediate response was the demon tensing what seemed like every muscle in his body, startled at the sudden movement and affection seemingly out of nowhere. Privately, Inuyasha thought that maybe the contact was just as much for him as it was for Sesshomaru.  

He was always feeling sorry for himself, for the people he’d lost, for what his life had become… he’d never once stopped to think about what it must be like for Sesshomaru. Maybe his older brother needed him, too.

“Inuyasha.” The voice came after about a minute of stretched out, surprised silence, Sesshomaru's hands rising as if he would shove him away. 

“Yeah?” His voice was muffled against the skin of Sesshomaru’s neck. He inhaled, the scent a welcome reprieve from the smell of death and blood that surrounded them. Inuyasha closed his eyes. 

“What is this?” Sesshomaru’s tone was completely flat, hardly a question, and in response Inuyasha merely tightened his grip, well aware of how ridiculous this must seem to the other. But he knew better. There was a power in physical contact that he’d always taken for granted. Sesshomaru probably did too.

Sesshomaru said nothing else, but he didn’t try to push him away, either. After what seemed like an eternity, Inuyasha felt the other gradually relaxing in his arms, Sesshomaru’s body becoming pliant against him. Then, he seemed to lean into his hold, not reciprocating, but Inuyasha bore more of his weight, taking what burdens he could from the demon, no matter how small. 

. 

They stayed like that until the sun set.

Then, they took the human deep into the woods and buried his remains. They did the same with Jaken, far more careful with the body. Sesshomaru said nothing at the impromptu funeral, and neither did Inuyasha. But the demon lord left a single flower there that he suspected was honoring another memory rather than Sesshomaru feeling the need to leave flora himself. 

It was pitch black by the time they finished. They did their best to remove the scent of blood from the area, not wanting a curious demon or animals to come sniffing around, but nonetheless the smell lingered. They washed their clothes in the river, but Sesshomaru still seemed unsatisfied with his state of cleanliness, insisting on visiting the hot spring as well.

He made it abundantly clear that it was not necessary for Inuyasha to come—and Inuyasha didn’t even really want to, the day's activities having exhausted him in a way that had nothing do with his body—but he felt that he should regardless. 

For once, Sesshomaru stripped before he did. He sat with his back against one of the larger rocks, watching his hands through the nearly clear water. It took a moment before Inuyasha could tear his worried gaze away long enough to join him.  

The quiet that fell over them was not like their usual silence, not one of camaraderie, comfort, or even relaxation. Sesshomaru’s face was almost the same as always, and had Inuyasha not been living with him for so long he probably wouldn’t even have noticed the difference. But he had, and he did. 

Sesshomaru washed his hair on autopilot. With each drag of his clawed fingers through his hair his eyes would linger on his hands before he let them touch the strands, as if he were afraid of dirtying himself. Inuyasha didn’t quite understand the ritual. 

Again, unusually, Sesshomaru was faster than him. He finished his bath in a fraction of the time it normally take, and Inuyasha stared— even harder than he already had been— when the demon stood, heading back to shore. Inuyasha didn’t like it. It couldn’t be helped, he knew. Less than a few hours ago someone important to him was killed. But Inuyasha wanted to help. He wanted to be able to help. To do something. It made him feel just a bit selfish.

“Sesshomaru,” he said insistently, grabbing at the demon's wrist still from his sitting position. He expected more resistance than he received. It was like Sesshomaru just went limp, resulting in both of them tumbling down, long limbs ending up half on Inuyasha. 

Inuyasha waited for the anger he thought was sure to come, frozen in place, his hand still reflexively curled around the other’s wrist. But Sesshomaru said nothing, did nothing but stare at him with half-lidded, lifeless eyes, as if just waiting for Inuyasha to explain what he wanted. 

It was disconcerting.  

“Sesshomaru,” he tried, helplessly, grip tightening just a bit. “Just… say something.”

“I’d prefer to be alone.” 

All right, fair enough… Inuyasha sighed, releasing the other’s wrist, ears twitching. “You know… it’s—I mean, we have each other… still.” The words were hard to get out, because it was a fact he didn’t really want to acknowledge.

Sesshomaru looked away, but Inuyasha imagined his eyes were not quite as glazed. He stood, removing himself from his position so close to Inuyasha, long hair tumbling down his back and thighs. “…Indeed.”

It was a small thing, just one word, but it still eased some of the tension in Inuyasha’s back. He watched the other dress, and start to head back, before sinking into the water up to his neck. If Sesshomaru wanted to be alone, he’d let him be alone. Give him some time… then, maybe, his attempts at cheering the other up would be met with more success.

He silently shook his head at himself, wondering when he’d become so sappy.

.

.

.

Inuyasha woke up gasping, sweat dripping down his temple. His room was still pitch black. Something had woken him from a… restless sleep. Yes, that was right… He rubbed at his forehead, trying to collect himself.

That dream…

It had been so vivid, but it was as if as soon as he opened his eyes all the details fluttered away. All he could remember was soft skin, heat, pink lips and silken hair… and fuck, he was still hard. Inuyasha shuddered, pressing a hand against his stomach as he resisted the urge to just wrap his hand around himself and finish. It was embarrassing enough that he’d been having that sort of dream in the first place. If he'd said anything at all, even in a mumble, Sesshomaru definitely heard. He could probably already smell him.

There was no way he was going to do that with the demon in the house.

He was so hot.

He bit his lip, dragging frustrated fingers through the jet black hair atop his head. He could hardly blame himself. It— it had been so long since… 

He closed his eyes, trying to conjure up memories from the sensual fantasy, hands gripping at his thighs. It was useless, though. And trying to imagine what could have possibly made him so horny only made his condition worse. A flush lit up his cheeks as his eyes snapped to the door, wondering. Was Sesshomaru awake? 

Inuyasha stood on slightly shaky legs, not willing to take any chances. Plus, he didn’t think Sesshomaru would appreciate him doing something so like that so close to him. The walls were thin. He pushed open the door to his room slowly, trying to avoid noise. If Sesshomaru was asleep he wanted to keep it that way. 

His eyes flicked down the hall, to Sesshomaru’s door, satisfied to see it closed. Then he was unable to help the way his gaze traveled to the other door, to the room now unoccupied.

Admittedly, the house had seemed empty after Jaken's death. Inuyasha found he actually sort of missed his squawking. Inuyasha had thought that Sesshomaru would become more distant after the incident, but if anything, he'd gotten nearly... clingy. Which meant he'd had even less time to himself than usual, so really, this was only to be expected.

Inuyasha didn’t bother closing the door behind him, instead just walking slow. He’d go off into the forest and take care of his problem there. With any luck Sesshomaru would sleep through the whole ordeal and he wouldn’t have to deal with any reproachful looks from his older brother. 

What the hell was he being so embarrassed about it for? It was normal. Sesshomaru acted like he had a stick up his ass all the time but even he had to get horny sometimes, right? Right?! It was… kind of hard to imagine Sesshomaru in any way than impeccable. He was always so in control, never a hair out of place. For him to be desperate, out of breath, eyes hooded... to imagine Sesshomaru moaning... it just seemed impossible. 

He’d never once seen Sesshomaru with a woman, aside from Rin. And he’d said that they didn’t have that kind of relationship. Maybe Sesshomaru just wasn't a man who enjoyed carnal pleasures. That seemed like the most likely option. Despite his beauty and strength, ever out of reach, untouchable, immune to all temptations.

Inuyasha found his breathing was getting a bit heavy, and he tried to hold it back, finding it difficult in this weaker form. Everything was difficult. In fact it was hard to not just say fuck Sesshomaru and take care of himself right in the hallway. Thankfully he still had the sort of foresight to be able to imagine the consequences of that. 

Moonlight poured in through the windows, guiding the now human male’s way and dousing everything in pale light and shadows. His mind wandered back to the dream. Even if he couldn’t remember the details, he knew it was most likely Kagome, that had once again penetrated his subconscious. But he didn’t want to think about her. Not like this. It felt… weird. 

“Inuyasha.”

“Uwaah!?” He nearly fell on his ass in surprise as the quiet voice reached his dulled ears. His eyes sought out the voice’s owner in the darkness, eventually finding Sesshomaru half bathed in it, wearing his sleeping clothes and watching him with an unreadable expression. “S-Sesshomaru— shit you scared the hell out of me.”

Inuyasha could see the demon tilt his head. “I hardly believe such a dramatic reaction was warranted.”

“Shut up— you have an advantage over me right now." 

“Isn’t that always so?”

“Asshole.” A small chill swept through his body. With the surprise he’d nearly forgotten about his state, but as it slowly settled and his body temperature once again rose, he started to feel more than a little awkward. Sesshomaru… there was no way he hadn’t noticed. Why was he just sitting there so calmly? Then again, he hardly doubted that was the sort of thing the demon would just bring up without prompting. He swallowed, angling himself towards the door. “Uh…”

“Where are you going?”

“Out.” Inuyasha took a few steps in that very direction, but was stopped by his brother’s voice. 

“In your current state? Isn’t that rather looking for trouble, Inuyasha?”

A shiver ran up the human’s spine, knees wobbling just a bit as his eyes widened. Heat coiled in his stomach. Fuck, he must really be desperate if just Sesshomaru saying his name could result in reacting like that. There was something about his voice. He’d always envied how eloquent Sesshomaru could sound, even with the simplest of sentences. He did something to the words with his tongue that… 

…Shit he needed to get out of here. “I’ll be fine,” he grunted, continuing forward. 

He heard Sesshomaru stand. “I don’t think it’s wise. Inuyasha—”

“Stop saying that! I said I’ll be fine. I’m not going far— geez Sesshomaru can’t a guy have some privacy?!” He stomped off, the breeze on the night air feeling nice against his flushed face. When he looked back, it was impossible to miss the confusion all over Sesshomaru's expression, but he brushed away the guilt. He didn't think alone time was too much to ask for.

He’d been feeling so frustrated lately. 

Inuyasha let out a breath when he finally reached the woods, slumping against a nearby tree and letting out a groan. He was far enough away that Sesshomaru wouldn’t hear him—if he didn’t get too loud.

He snaked a hand underneath his clothing, not bothering with removing it entirely. Finally he allowed himself to indulge, a breathless gasp leaving him when his fingers finally wrapped around his swollen length. 

When Jaken was around the toad could distract Sesshomaru, but without him it was like the demon lord watched his every move.

Inuyasha groaned, bucking up into his hand as his eyes snapped open. Shit, he was farther gone than he thought. He finally had this time to himself but he didn’t want to be away too long. It was too weird, knowing that Sesshomaru knew where he was, what he was doing.

He tried to fix his mind on nothing in particular, just soft flesh and a tempting mouth beckoning him inside, but he was too distracted. He once again thought back to Sesshomaru, the look on his face just before Inuyasha left. As much as he loathed admitting it he might have to apologize, later.

Inuyasha grunted, a full body shiver running through him as he started stroking faster, using the liquid he was already leaking to give his hand a slicker surface to work with. Arousal coiled hot and thick in his stomach, rooting its way into his thoughts. He panted, his free hand digging into the dirt as he pleasured himself. It must have been some dream, he noted, as he could already feel himself growing close. Breath came from his mouth in soft pants.

His mind wouldn't stop wandering.

Sesshomaru.

Why wouldn’t that guy get out of his head? If he wanted to get off he’d need a more appealing vision.

On a whim, his mind turned to the silent girl, glazed eyes recalling her smooth skin, her calm smile. His breathing steadily grew heavier as he worked himself closer to completion, palm twisting around the base of his erection and making him dig his heels into the ground. He dug his teeth into his lower lip, closing his own eyes so he could picture warm ones staring into his own, clouded over with lust. A flush covering pale cheeks, mouth ever wavering between open and close, allowing a peak at the wet tongue hidden behind petal lips… 

He came to that vision, deeply held in that amber gaze and stifling his groan with his wrist in his mouth. His hips jutted up off the ground as his seed spilled over his hand, and Inuyasha panted from exertion, eyes staring up at the star filled sky. He sat there for a few moments, just enjoying the air on his skin.

It was a while before he realized just what he’d been imagining when he came.

It irritated him at how completely the demon lord seemed to consume his thoughts, even going so far as to interrupt his fantasies. That was all it was though— a mild interruption.

He cleaned himself off idly on some leaves, letting himself relax for a moment. He closed his eyes, and let out a deep sigh. Reluctant to return as he was, it didn’t take long for him to fall asleep.

.

“Inuyasha.”

Heat the sound of his name, turning his head away from the source. He was still tired, dammit. Why the hell did Sesshomaru always have to wake him up so early? It took him a moment to realize that he wasn’t lying on his soft futon, back instead pressed against the hard bark of a tree. 

He opened his eyes, surprised to find it was still night, his senses still dull. Something moved next to him, tickling his cheek and the half demon’s hand swatted at whatever it was. He became a little more awake when he felt Sesshomaru—for who else could it be—grab at his wrist, and he turned to look at his brother fully.

There was a strange expression on his face, lips slightly twisted down. “Do not touch my hair.”

“What?” Inuyasha snapped groggily.

“Your hand is… soiled.”

Inuyasha blinked, and it took longer than it should have to realize what traces probably remained on said hand. A furious red blossomed across his cheeks, and he jumped up to arrange himself, anger following shortly after the embarrassment. "I said I wanted to be alone didn’t I?!” He shouted, stuffing his arms into his sleeves.

Sesshomaru stood up straight, that look gone from his face. “You were gone for some time. I told you, it is not safe for you to be out here on this night.” 

Sesshomaru was right, of course… still though… 

“Tell me. Do you often come out here solely for that purpose?” 

“Wh-what?!” All right, how the hell could Sesshomaru ask that with such a calm face?! “I-it’s not like I’m going to just…”

He stomped past Sesshomaru to lead the way back to the house, irritation prickling at his edges and ruining any good feelings he’d gotten from that release. Stupid Sesshomaru. Stupid no hormones having oblivious asshole. 

“Do you not know how to suppress your scent?” 

“…Wha?”

“It’s no wonder you have such a hard time hunting.”

“…Wha?”

“I will teach you.”

Sesshomaru was still walking, but Inuyasha couldn’t help but stop and stare. Suppress his scent? For that? Did… did that mean this whole time Sesshomaru had been…? Just… two rooms away? He couldn’t blink, let alone move, and that was how the demon lord found him when he turned.  

“Inuyasha?”

The voice snapped him out of his stupor, just barely, and he turned his dumbfounded expression to his older brother. 

“…You…?”

Sesshomaru raised one slender brow. “I…?”

“That’s— aw come on Sesshomaru what if I just walked in or something!?” 

“You have seen me unclothed before, Inuyasha.” He spoke as if he truly did not see the problem with this.

Inuyasha stared in exasperation. “Not like that! Gah Sesshomaru!” Something about that just did not sit right in his stomach. Especially after having been so sure that Sesshomaru was… he didn’t know, above such "crass" behavior…'"This Sesshomaru has no need for something as base as masturbation"… and at that thought, it became simultaneously stomach churning and hilarious. He couldn’t help laughing, the sound carrying on the wind as he doubled over.

Sesshomaru had a disturbed look on his face. “Why do you laugh?”

“AHAHA, I just can’t— you’re so— PFFT!”

The demon lord’s brows lowered, lips pursing slightly. “What do you find so amusing.”

“You!”

“Me…? …We are dog demons, Inuyasha. It is in our nature to-”

“HAHAHA!”

“Silence.”

“AHAHAHAHAHA!”

“Cease your chortling at once.”

“PFFFT!”

Sesshomaru turned, starting back to the house at an increased pace, and Inuyasha was having trouble finding the strength in his legs to follow him he was laughing so hard. He just couldn’t—Sesshomaru, all propriety and pride and—and—the guy who only ever had one expression on his face, just… it was too much. There was still a part of him that thought of Sesshomaru as he’d used to—so distant, cold… something just tickled him knowing the demon lord needed something to warm him up at night. Even if it was just his own hand.

Finally he was able to follow the other, still chuckling softly. Sesshomaru seemed to be ignoring him his head turned as if he didn’t even want to see him in his peripheral vision.

“Oh come on Sesshomaru.”

“I see nothing amusing about it.”

“You’re just…!”

They reached the house, and Sesshomaru stepped unceremoniously ahead of him, hardly even stopping his movements even as he took off his shoes and went further inside. “I know what I am. Forgive me for not finding anything humorous.”

Sensing his brother might actually be getting irritated with him Inuyasha coughed, trying to contain himself. He reached for Sesshomaru with his, er, clean hand, snagging hold of his sleeve. “Come on Sesshomaru you’re just so…”

Sesshomaru turned head to look down at him, golden eyes nearly luminescent in the dark. The moonlight couldn’t light up all of his face, catching only a delicately sculpted cheek and some of his nose, the side of his lips. Inuyasha blamed his tired, sleep addled mind for what came out of his mouth next. “Pretty.”

If Inuyasha had thought his older brother looked confused before he looked downright flabbergasted now. A confused noise rumbled out of the taller male’s throat, and Inuyasha blinked, trying to think of an explanation. 

“You… are aware that you’re attractive, right?”

This only earned him another confused stare. Inuyasha released him. “You’re just always so calm and stuff… you never—I mean… ah, never mind.” Inuyasha shook his head, yawning. he was still too tired to function properly, he was only going to talk himself into a deeper hole. “I’m going back to bed.”

He could feel Sesshomaru’s eyes on him as he returned to his room, but tried to ignore it. Sesshomaru… a snort left him.

.

It was just impossible not to think about. He wasn’t some kind of pervert, or anything, nor did he have a thing for his brother, but something that required such blatant abandonment of all restraints and the most restrained person he knew just seemed like such an odd combination. He couldn’t picture it. 

“Inuyasha.”

He jumped to attention at the sharp tone, blinking at the demon sitting in front of him. 

A week had passed since the masturbation incident, a rather uneventful one, both of them just trying to get back into a normal routine that had been upset by Jaken’s death. Sesshomaru now did most of the hunting, save for the times he would give the half demon an expectant look and hint about dinner, which didn’t happen as often as Inuyasha complained it did. The half demon kept their fresh water supply restocked, when he remembered. He often saw the silent girl at the river, and when he did he was more than happy to help her with fishing. It was a nice little change of pace. His sparring sessions with Sesshomaru continued as usual. But it was impossible not to notice what was missing. It was just a matter of accepting that and moving past it. It was easier for him than for Sesshomaru, but that was only to be expected.

“What?” The half demon asked gruffly, a little peeved that he’d been pulled out of his thoughts. 

“You can not properly meditate if you are staring at me the whole time,” Sesshomaru chastised. He actually looked a little irritated.

Inuyasha blinked in response— he hadn’t even realized he was staring. “Tch, whatever. I don’t even like meditating,” he complained, feet shifting against the grass. It was so hot outside, he had no idea why Sesshomaru would think sitting out in the middle of a field, sun roasting the top of their heads would be relaxing in any way. 

“You have been restless lately. You would do well to learn the art of clearing your mind.” 

Inuyasha frowned, shooting the other a look. Sesshomaru had closed his eyes again, breathing so deep and quiet he could scarcely tell the demon was doing it. “…I have not,” he couldn’t help but mutter, flicking a bug off his knee. He started to try again, a long winded sigh that would let Sesshomaru know just what he thought of this whole ordeal leaving his mouth. 

He did what the older demon had told him, taking deep breaths in, trying to focus only on breathing and releasing the rest of his thoughts, starting to count. In, out, in, out… One eye peeked open. Sesshomaru, somehow, looked completely relaxed. His posture was impeccable as always, clawed hands resting on either knee, long fingers curling gently over the fabric of his pants. His lips were parted just a fraction to allow for ease of breath. How the hell could he be content with being so still? It was so fucking hot outside, and he felt… well, restless. 

No, bored. He continued to study Sesshomaru’s face. In particular the stripes decorating the other’s cheeks caught his attention. Sesshomaru was still against him even hinting at touching those… he’d have to wait until sometime when the demon had let his guard down.

Right. That was like waiting for jewel shards to rain from the sky.

He could see Sesshomaru’s eyes moving underneath his eyelids.

Aha, not so relaxed after all, eh?  

He wondered what the other was thinking about.

For a brief second he wondered if Sesshomaru could somehow see him, by using some strange demon power he didn’t know anything about, but then realized that was ridiculous and stopped being paranoid, staring even harder just to prove it to himself. 

Perhaps Sesshomaru was imagining someplace cooler. Or maybe he was just thinking of more ways to yell at him to concentrate. Who knew? Maybe he was caught up in a fantasy. Sesshomaru was capable of that, apparently. Maybe he meditated before he got himself off. That seemed like something he would do.

"One must clear their mind to prepare for self love."  

Inuyasha bit the inside of his cheek to stop from laughing, eyes drawn towards the other’s mouth when he noticed movement.

It was Sesshomaru’s tongue. He wet his bottom lip in a casual gesture that Inuyasha thought he might have seen before, the movement lasted no longer than three seconds.

“Inuyasha,” Sesshomaru snapped again.

He jerked his gaze upwards to the now open eyes, slamming his mouth shut. “I wasn’t doing anything!” He insisted, glancing briefly back down to the other’s mouth before focusing on his eyes once more. 

Sesshomaru glared at him as if to say that was the point, and the Inuyasha sighed, flopping back onto the grass. “Can’t we wrestle or something?” He grumbled, closing his eyes against the sunlight. At least then they’d be doing something that warranted them being outside… 

“All right.”

Inuyasha sat up on his elbows. “All right?”

“All right. We will wrestle, and then we will meditate.”

Inuyasha smirked. “Only if you win.”

Sesshomaru raised an eyebrow. “I wasn't aware there was another option." 

Inuyasha scoffed, but the words made his lips twitch. “Asshole. If I win, you have to…” Hmm, he had to think of something good… something that Sesshomaru would actually agree too. Then again, Sesshomaru was so cocky he probably could have told him to go jump off a cliff and he’d enter the bet sure of himself. Of course, Sesshomaru could fly, anyway. He thought about saying the other had to take over water duty, but if Sesshomaru did win and went to the river, there was a chance of him seeing the silent woman, and he'd probably scare her into never returning.

“I’m not going to do anything.”

“What? But those are the rules!”

“I don’t recall any rules as such.”

Gaining inspiration, Inuyasha sat up fully, rocking forward up onto his haunches. “Come on. If I win you have to do whatever I say for a day.”

“I refuse.”

“Ya can’t refuse, those are the rules.”

“I believe we just had this discussion.”

“Oh come on Sesshomaru, it’s just one day. But if you’re that scared I’m gonna beat you…”

Sesshomaru stared at him with a face that would have been a glare on anyone else. “I cannot be goaded. However, since you have no chance of defeating this Sesshomaru, I see no harm in accepting this wager.” 

Inuyasha grinned. “All right, now things are getting interesting…”

“To win?”

“Shoulders pinned, five seconds.”

They both nodded.

Sesshomaru was wearing his armor, like a weirdo (they were seriously like ten feet away from the house) and so he took a few moments to detach everything, assumedly to avoid gouging out one of Inuyasha’s eyes. Once he was more suitably attired they both moved to their knees, Inuyasha with his hands out at his sides, ready, and Sesshomaru with his own resting lightly against his legs.  

“Ready?” Inuyasha asked, eager to get started.

“Indeed.”

Inuyasha wasted no time in trying to drag the demon lord down to the ground. Sesshomaru’s own arms came around him, jerking him towards the grass with much more success. 

Inuyasha grunted as his back hit grass, growling when Sesshomaru’s arm pinned him down by the neck. He writhed underneath the other, managing to roll them over, legs and arms lashing out, trying to get a hold of older demon any way possible.

Sesshomaru didn’t appear to be going easy on him.

They rolled around in the grass, Sesshomaru's displeasure about this expressed in soft grunts and a dangerous expression that just made Inuyasha want to laugh.

Sesshomaru pinned him again, this time with both hands at his shoulders. Inuyasha thrashed, brain racing as he tried to think of some way to gain the advantage. Thinking quickly, he reached a hand out, yanking at a few strands of long hair dangling near his face.

Sesshomaru made a surprised noise, reeling back and giving Inuyasha just enough leverage to flip them over again. Sesshomaru refused to let him remain on top though, and they ended up landing hard on their sides, arms and legs still locked around each other. “I wasn’t aware hair pulling was permitted,” Sesshomaru snapped.  

“We never said what was and what wasn’t permitted,” Inuyasha claimed.

“I see.”

“Fuck!” Inuyasha cursed loudly when Sesshomaru’s fingers were suddenly tugging at one of his sensitive ears, a growl escaping his throat shortly after.

The two began thrashing again, yanking, clawing, snapping at each other, the wrestling match turning into a game of "anything goes" in a split second. Despite their mean spirited gestures, some of Sesshomaru’s more creative moves had barks of laughter tumbling from Inuyasha's lips—he hadn’t even known his armpits were ticklish.

They rolled around for what seemed like ages, Sesshomaru nearly always with the upper hand, until Inuyasha could feel sweat gathering at his temples from the heat of the sun.  

This was way more fun than meditating. 

More hair pulling, at his bangs this time, finally allowed Inuyasha to pin Sesshomaru, a triumphant noise leaving his throat. But Sesshomaru was strong, and five seconds was just not going to happen. He had the other’s legs trapped beneath him, hands pressing at muscled arms, and Inuyasha grunted as Sesshomaru thrashed beneath him, coming dangerously close to dislodging him after barely half a second.

Their heads were close. There was mirth on Sesshomaru's face. The older demon's body was warm and solid beneath him.

Inuyasha sucked in a breath as he felt Sesshomaru get a leg free, struggling to think of something he hadn’t tried yet to keep the other down. His eyes were drawn downward, and he struck. His head snapped down, mouth opening, fangs clamping down around Sesshomaru’s neck. He didn’t bite hard enough to break skin, just enough to startle.  

Sesshomaru went completely limp.

Inuyasha pulled away triumphantly, gloriously counting to five (maybe quicker than he should have) and letting out a whoop of glee when Sesshomaru still didn’t move out from underneath him. “Ha! Pinned ya! I…?” 

Sesshomaru was staring up at him, eyes wide, and… he still wasn’t moving. Well, that wasn’t quite right. He wasn’t staring up at him, per se… he was just… staring up. His eyes were glazed over, like he couldn’t even see Inuyasha there.

Inuyasha frowned, waving a hand in front of his face. “Uh… Sesshomaru? …What the hell?” Inuyasha leaned a bit closer, hand pressing against the ground to support himself. “…Shit, did I hurt you?” He wasn’t even sure how that was possible, but Sesshomaru was acting really weird, and… “Hey, say something. You’re freaking me out.”

Finally, hard, golden eyes seemed to focus on his. “…Inuyasha…”

Inuyasha watched the other, a frown twitching at his lips. His eyes moved to the other’s neck, where he’d bitten. He hadn’t even left a mark. But Sesshomaru’s face… “…What the hell is wrong with you?”

Sesshomaru blinked. “…What?”

“Don’t ‘what' me, you’re acting weird!” He took some of his weight off the demon lord, hovering over him instead. Recalling what Kagome used to do when people were feeling sick, he brushed Sesshomaru's hair away from his forehead, pressing pressing the back of his hand against it. He felt silly. He didn’t think Sesshomaru could get a fever. 

“I’m acting…? What are you doing?”

“What are you doing?” Inuyasha challenged. 

Sesshomaru went still again, staring up at him with an entirely blank face.

Now that Sesshomaru was responsive again, Inuyasha couldn’t help but notice the other’s body beneath his, lithe and long, the folds of his shirt all in disarray from their tumbling around. He could see Sesshomaru’s pale collarbones, guiding the path up the unblemished flesh of his neck.  

“Inuyasha.”

Everything seemed to snap back into place. Inuyasha blinked at the sudden change in Sesshomaru’s face, the way his eyes hardened, lips twisted downward. His hand was still on the Sesshomaru's forehead, and he pulled it away. 

“Get off of me.”

“Huh? Wait, what…” Inuyasha grunted as he was shoved violently backwards, hitting the ground with a thump that nearly stole all of his breath. “Hey Sesshomaru what the hell!” He sat up, staring as Sesshomaru walked towards the house.

He didn't even stop to pick up his armor. “What just happened?” He received no response. Inuyasha leaped in front of Sesshomaru, blocking his path. “Hey, I’m talking to you!”

Sesshomaru frowned. “I’m aware.”

“So say something, asshole!” 

Sesshomaru let out a long winded sigh, as if it were he who was the one who had the right to be frustrated. “Leave it, Inuyasha. I only forget, sometimes, that you were not raised as I was.”

“What, are you saying I’m stupid or something?”

Sesshomaru slipped past him. “No. Merely that you do not know even the most basic things about demon traditions and culture. You know only of… humans.”

“Tradition…? What the hell kind of tradition was that!”

“I said leave it,” Sesshomaru snapped. His tone grew so cold in such a short span of time Inuyasha stopped in place, staring after the other male. 

After that Sesshomaru went inside his room, and closed the door behind him.

.

.

Sesshomaru didn’t come out of his room for the rest of the day. Inuyasha thought many times about bursting in and demanding answers, or even just knocking and asking if the other was all right, but he chickened out every time.

As night fell and it became very apparent that he was still being ignored or Sesshomaru was asleep, Inuyasha went into his own room, closing the door behind him as his ears twitched, listening for any faint sounds his brother might make.

He’d heard a scarce few throughout the day. Him moving around, mostly. It was a bit worrying, just how quickly Sesshomaru's mood had changed. It ate at Inuyasha's mind even as he lay down himself to sleep.

What did he mean, demon traditions and culture? It just didn’t make any sense… they’d just been wrestling. 

He thought back to what had started it—the bite. He recalled how present Sesshomaru’s scent had been with his nose pressed against his throat. He’d tasted him, too. Just for a moment. Sesshomaru’s taste was as his smell—fresh, sweet. Inuyasha idly ran his tongue over his teeth, eyes straying to his closed door, and the walls that separated him from his brother. 

A soft, barely there noise made his ears twitch, and he went still against his futon, trying to discern what it was. A handful of long seconds passed. The room once more gradually filled with the silence of the night, darkness hindering his vision. After a wait that felt longer than it probably was the noise came again, and Inuyasha recognized it this time. A deep, long sigh. 

Sesshomaru always breathed quietly. In fact if it weren’t for the steady rise and fall of his chest Inuyasha would doubt the male breathed at all. He did not breathe as frequently as humans, either. So to hear Sesshomaru from two rooms away was… odd.  

Inuyasha rolled onto his back, ears twitching every so often, when another one of those deep, even breaths would reach his ears. Even the slightest movement of the futon, or his clothes would hide the sound in a rustle of fabric, so he lay perfectly still, a troubled expression on his face. 

As long as he’d been here, he and Sesshomaru hadn’t really had a real fight.

Was Sesshomaru mad at him? 

Why the hell was he worrying about this so much?

Inuyasha frowned. He rolled onto his side again, gaze returning to the door. His eyes closed, just to keep himself from staring. If he walked into Sesshomaru's room that very moment… what would he see? 

From the way he was breathing...

High on the humor of thinking about Sesshomaru impassioned with anything but anger, he couldn’t help but imagine how hilarious it would be to walk in on the other in the middle of some private time.  

Sesshomaru’s head would jerk towards him as he opened the door, embarrassment and shame written all over his face. Maybe he’d blush, the color matching the perfectly formed stripes on his cheeks. His mouth… it would need to be open, to breathe as he was… tongue wet and shiny. It would flick out to wet Sesshomaru’s bottom lip, like he did sometimes, but not often enough to discern a pattern.  

Would he be clothed? 

No… Sesshomaru wouldn’t want to risk getting his expensive fabrics dirty. So he’d be spread out on the floor, silver hair spilled out all around him in a haphazard pile. The battle hardened muscles would be twitching from the unsatisfied arousal coursing through his body, chest heaving. Glazed over eyes would focus on him, at first in shock, then anger… He’d probably growl at him to leave… but Sesshomaru wouldn’t be able to hide how much he wanted to continue. What would he look like with that cool control shattered…?

Inuyasha blinked.

“…Ah.” He gasped as he snapped himself out of the daydream, finding himself once more staring at the door, suddenly feeling unbearably hot.

What… what the fuck had he just…? Inuyasha sat up quickly, panicked, startled to find the beginning of a little problem pressing against the fabric of his pants. Was he seriously getting off to the idea of Sesshomaru touching himself? 

Sesshomaru, from his room, let out a long sigh, and a shudder ran down Inuyasha’s spine, newly formed erection twitching.

O-oh, shit, no, he just, it was just… 

Frustration, that was all. Sexual frustration. He hadn’t been with anybody in a long time, and he saw Sesshomaru every day. He could freely admit that his brother was attractive.

But that was it. Nothing more. 

Inuyasha turned his back on the door, and the weirdly scintillating sounds Sesshomaru was making (he was just breathing for fuck’s sake!), trying to clear his mind and get rid of his arousal. Just the thought of him having a thing for his brother was more than enough to make his erection start to flag. He really needed to leave the house more if this was going to be the result.

So he decided that was just what he would do.

.

Inuyasha spent that night in a tree, staring up at the moon and telling himself it did not remind him of the one of Sesshomaru’s forehead. 

. 

The next morning, he didn’t go home right away, instead deciding to go and have a dip in the river to counteract the humidity in the air. It was nice to get the sweat off the back of his neck, to feel the cool water on his scalp and let the droplets dry on his chest as he got out. 

Inuyasha let out a sigh, sitting on the bank and letting his feet hang in the water. 

He couldn’t help wondering if Sesshomaru was still mad at him. He had no idea what he’d done to piss him off so much, but whatever it had been it couldn’t warrant how long he’d been ignored. Sesshomaru was being way too dramatic. Inuyasha rubbed a fist against the side of his head, sucking in a deep breath and releasing it with an unnecessarily loud breath. 

A noise caught his attention and he turned, ears twitching atop his head. It was the silent girl, again. Inuyasha jumped— literally— at the excuse to get Sesshomaru out of his head, rising to his feet and walking over. “Doing some more fishing?” He asked, seeing the bucket in her hands.

The woman nodded, setting it down and giving him a rather shy smile. 

Inuyasha placed his hands on his hips, lips twitching up faintly. “I got ya, I got ya.’ 

Doing the mindless work for her was exactly what he needed at that moment. It was so much simpler than trying to figure out what the hell was going on in Sesshomaru’s crazy mind. 

She watched him work, and Inuyasha was not above showing off a little, enjoying the way it made her small smile grow wider. He gave her a playful splash and she giggled, tucking long strands of black behind her ears. Morning turned into day. 

When Inuyasha finally got out of the river, pants sagging on his hips, and bucket full of fish, the silent girl bowed deeply, showing her thanks. 

“Nah, no need for that, come on.” He walked over, but made sure to stay far away enough that he wouldn’t get her wet. He tried to refrain from shaking when he got out of the water, now. At least when there were others around. Kagome had definitely trained him out of it. 

The raven-haired girl looked up at him from underneath her lashes, eyes so large and filled with gratitude. Despite his attempt to keep his distance, she seemed to be getting closer. 

Inuyasha blinked when the silent girl was suddenly pressed against his chest, her arms and head resting against it, so close, and then going very still. He wasn’t sure how to react. Probably the normal thing to do, would have been to just detach himself and say his goodbyes.

Probably.  

But she was so warm, and fetching, he couldn’t resist wrapping his arms around her. 

The raven-haired beauty relaxed into his arms, and they stayed like that for a few moments, still. Then she looked up, wetting her small mouth with her tongue, and looking so hopeful that Inuyasha could do nothing but lean down and connect their lips.

It felt nice.

Not in the way that it should have, but it had been so long since he’d had this sort of connection with someone he couldn't complain.

They kissed, and she trembled in his arms, and her chest pressed against his stirred a warmth in his stomach that he welcomed readily. 

Her obi slid to the ground, and Inuyasha’s mouth found a place at her neck, sucking and listening to her breathing increase it’s pace. It felt wonderful to press against her, lower her down. He loved the way her legs wrapped around his waist, the quiet sounds that slipped from her throat. It wasn’t until her kimono slipped all the way open that he began to feel vaguely… guilty.  

Maybe it was because he was just using this girl. He was fairly certain she was just using him, too, and in his mind that kind of cancelled it out.

It wasn’t because of Kagome… though he doubted she’d approve.

He didn't really know why.

But it stopped him, much as his body protested, and he pulled away from her warm embrace, meeting her inquisitive look with a shamed one of his own. “Ah… sorry… this isn’t a good idea…”

She blinked at him, expression changing into one of hurt, and he had to leave before— gods forbid— she started crying. 

.

The run home felt like it took twice as long with how much he was beating himself up about the whole ordeal, but he continued to firmly tell himself that he hadn’t done anything wrong. He’d even left before they did anything serious.

Remembering what he was going home to didn’t make his mood any better. How long would Sesshomaru hold this grudge?

 With these thoughts, Inuyasha was more relieved than he probably should have been when he arrived back at the house and didn’t immediately see his brother. He wasn’t in the sitting room, nor the kitchen, and so Inuyasha entered the latter, wishing he’d thought to take some of the fish for his own.  

Sesshomaru wasn’t immediately visible, but his scent was strong, so Inuyasha knew he had to be home. This didn’t stop him from jumping when he turned and saw the demon himself there, glowering at him. He felt immediately defensive. “What’s with the look?”

“Inuyasha, must you come in here reeking?” Sesshomaru's words were clipped.

Inuyasha wrinkled his nose, giving his sleeve a tentative sniff. He didn’t think he smelt all that bad…It occurred to him after a moment, what his older brother might be smelling, and he felt immediately even more defensive. “I didn’t, uh…” Actually, he didn’t know why he felt the need to explain to him. Sesshomaru had nothing to do with it, after all. 

“I don’t require your explanations." 

Exactly.

“I should expect no less from a half breed mutt who can’t control his baser needs.”

“Say what?!”

Sesshomaru moved past him, and Inuyasha grabbed his arm, holding tight when the demon lord tried to rip it away. “Hey, what’s the big deal, Sesshomaru? Ever since yesterday—“

Sesshomaru didn’t let him finish, forcefully tugging his arm away and turning on his heel, ignoring him like he’d never even spoken. 

That was the last straw.

Inuyasha didn’t even realized he’d tackled the other down until they hit the ground, Sesshomaru’s arm catching them before buckling under the momentum. Sesshomaru didn’t stay defensive for long. Before Inuyasha could even get a word out he’d flipped them over, snarling, warning him with his eyes to back down. 

Yeah, right. 

They became a violent force as they struggled to best each other, knocking against walls and ripping through doors, neither willing to yield first. Inuyasha didn’t even know what they were fighting about, but he was damn sure not going to lose. Biting, clawing, yanking, much less gentle than their wrestling outside had been, and the half demon could feel his blood boiling, that same distaste he’d felt for Sesshomaru all those years returning to the forefront of his mind. 

It had been idiotic, to think they could actually get along.

Quite suddenly, it all came to a screeching halt. Sesshomaru suddenly stopped struggling, letting Inuyasha pin him down with a bit more force than was required, once the resistance was gone. 

They stared up at each other, panting, the younger with blood dripping from the side of his face and the older with ugly red claw marks across the side of his neck. 

“…Inuyasha,” Sesshomaru said after a minute, blinking so slowly it looked like he was just closing his eyes. “Let us cease this ridiculous fighting.”

“Wha— you started it!”

“Yes I know.”

That was just like Sesshomaru, to deny anything could ever be his fault. “Fuck you! You— oh.” Realizing what had actually been said he blinked, sitting up a little. “Oh… well… yeah. Yeah you better.”

Sesshomaru pushed him off, more gently than Inuyasha was expecting, sitting up and running his fingers over the scratches on his neck. Inuyasha reached his hand up towards the source of the blood on his face, grimacing when he realized Sesshomaru had bitten his ear. Jackass, he thought to himself, glaring at the demon in question.

Sesshomaru stood after a moment, beginning to straighten the folds of his clothing. “I… apologize for antagonizing you. It was undeserved.”

…Sesshomaru? Apologizing?

The he was walking away, presumably back to his room, and Inuyasha rose to his feet after a few seconds of stunned silence. “Hey, wait uh…”

Sesshomaru did wait, but Inuyasha found he didn’t really know what to say. There was a danger here, a danger of everything falling right back into the way it used to be, and despite his anger earlier, that wasn’t what he wanted. He enjoyed Sesshomaru’s company, his quirks, taking meals and bathing with him, just.. he didn’t want to lose that. Especially over something he didn’t fully understand. “Can we… I mean, are you mad at me or what?” He asked, exasperated. “I just want things to… you know, be normal…”

Sesshomaru turned his head just so, looking at him from over his shoulder. “…As you wish.”

For some reason, the words seemed to hold much more weight than they should.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Despite Inuyasha’s worries, things did seem to go back to normal. For the most part. 

They took their meals together again, trained together, bathed together… and Sesshomaru began leaving his door open in the day, when he had things to do in his room. Yet, distance still remained. Inuyasha couldn’t quite put his finger on it, but it bothered him. He had no idea how to address it. Because, for all intents and purposes, it was normal. And maybe that was it. It was a little too normal. 

They didn’t talk anymore. There were conversations yes, but all general, all relevant to their current situation, all necessary. They no longer had talks that almost made Inuyasha believe his brother had a sense of humor. Sesshomaru never brought up a passage from the book he was reading at random to reflect over whatever poor decision he believed the protagonist had made. There were no more nonchalant digs at his ears or his mannerisms, and no matter how much Inuyasha stared, questioning, he couldn’t get that damn eyebrow to raise, not even once.

He just wished he knew what the fuck he’d done wrong, because for whatever reason, Sesshomaru clearly wasn’t going to say anything.

The first few weeks of the new behavior, Inuyasha remained passive, feeling like whatever was going on had somehow been his fault, and not knowing how to fix it; but it wasn’t too long before he grew impatient with this new Sesshomaru.

The wrestling match. He knew it had to do with that fucking wrestling match. When he’d bitten Sesshomaru's neck… Was that some sort of last straw, or something? He knew Sesshomaru didn’t like it when he touched his stripes—maybe he just really liked his personal space. But if that was the case he would have just told him to fuck off and left it at that. And anyway, when they’d been tussling Sesshomaru had bitten him too! 

It didn't matter. He was confident he could overcome the demon lords almost impassive attitude towards him now. If anyone had ever been good at getting a rise out of Sesshomaru, it was him.  

A couple days after he’d decided on this plan, and got up the nerve, he set it in motion at dinner. He sat down first, plopping down with legs folded, and Sesshomaru followed gracefully afterwards. The food was already on the table, and when Sesshomaru reached for his Inuyasha stopped him with a hand on his wrist, immediately drawing his attention. 

But even though Sesshomaru looked over, obviously curious, his eyes were still rather blank. And so Inuyasha deliberately ran his thumb across one of the winding magenta stripes, meeting Sesshomaru’s gaze in a challenge.

His eyes widened, and his brow furrowed in confusion. There was a brief moment of resistance, as if Sesshomaru had been about to snatch his arm away, and stopped himself, and Inuyasha deemed that a victory. That was a stronger reaction than he’d gotten out of him in weeks. 

“I want that one,” he declared, taking the bowl Sesshomaru had been reaching for and beginning to eat. He then acted as if nothing had happened, just the way Sesshomaru was, and silently dared him to say something about it. But, while Sesshomaru did stare at him for a few seconds more, afterwards he merely picked up the free bowl and began to eat as well.

Phase One, success...?

Inuyasha was determined to wear him out.

Instead of slinking around their house like a dog with its tail between its legs, worrying about upsetting the other, he was going to flood the demon with his presence until he was impossible to ignore. He started after Sesshomaru had had time to recover from the dinner incident.  

His brother was sitting in his room, polishing Bakusaiga for what had to be the fifth day in a row. Inuyasha swore he was only doing it now to avoid him. After all, it wasn’t like he used the sword for anything anymore. How dirty could it possibly be? Inuyasha poked his head inside, and waited for his presence to be acknowledged. It wasn’t, but he stepped inside anyway, moving over to Sesshomaru and sitting down at an angle that allowed him to see the demon’s hands moving over the blade.

“Whatcha doin’?”

“Isn’t it obvious, Inuyasha.” 

Ah, already breaking out those statement questions. Sesshomaru was irritated and he hadn’t even started yet, perfect.

“If you polish that thing any more you’re gonna break it.” 

This earned him a glare from the corner of Sesshomaru’s eyes, and Inuyasha’s lips twitched up, pleased at how easy it was to rile him up. It was very apparent that Sesshomaru wasn’t even paying attention to his sword anymore, if the way he was just rubbing the same spot over and over was any indication.

“When are you gonna be done with that?” 

“A job done well takes time.”

“Soooo you plannin’ on just keeping it up until I leave you alone?”

“If I thought this were deterring you I might actually try that.”

“So you do want me to leave you alone!”

“I never said that. …I also never denied it.”

Inuyasha, feeling particularly brave, scooted closer, until he could elbow the demon’s side. “Come on give it a rest. Go take a bath or something. You’re starting to smell—”

“I would watch my tongue if I were you, Inuyasha.” Sesshomaru finally put the sword away, probably a bit rougher than he meant to. He stood, fingers twitching at his sides as he walked to the door. He paused just short of it. “Are you coming?” 

There, perfect. “Nah, I need some ‘me’ time, you know?”

Sesshomaru’s hands formed fists briefly, before he moved swiftly out of the room, leaving Inuyasha snickering softly behind him. Nailed it. Maybe by his seventh attempt at irritating him Sesshomaru would actually go back to the way things used to be.

.

.

Sesshomaru took his frustrations out in their little training sessions. Inuyasha had always suspected the other went easy on him, but it was never more obvious than the next time they practiced. Sesshomaru swung at him with enough force that he was pushed back every time their swords clashed. Bakusaiga was a blur of metal and sound and predicting where it would be next was nearly impossible. 

The sword swiped at his ankles and Inuyasha jumped, flipping out of the way and regaining his balance, before charging at his brother, aiming for his midsection. He swung, perfect form, perfect timing, and Sesshomaru’s hand came up, catching the blade against his palm and stopping it like it was a twig. Inuyasha was so caught off guard by this that he didn't have a prayer of seeing the fist that nailed his cheek shortly afterwards.

He went tumbling to the ground, sliding back a few feet and grunting as he flipped over, struggling to catch himself. 

Tessaiga had fallen out of his hands, now useless at Sesshomaru’s feet.

The demon walked towards him, sheathing Bakusaiga with one effortless motion, and Inuyasha panted hard, staring up at him. 

Sesshomaru said nothing. He walked past him, into the house, and Inuyasha stayed on the ground, head swiveling slowly as he watched him go, heartbeat refusing to slow. Sesshomaru was strong. He rubbed at his cheek, glad that he’d at least held that back.

Sesshomaru was strong, and it seemed obvious and a pointless thing to repeat, but it was just another one of those things that drew Inuyasha towards him. At one time his strength, his arrogance had been annoying, but now it was just Sesshomaru. His quirk, his power, and even though Inuyasha’s body ached from the rough treatment, he felt rather enthralled… and wanting. He didn't want another fight—he’d had enough of that for one day. 

But just watching him, the force, the grace behind every movement, it was…

Inuyasha swallowed, trying to slow his still rapidly coming breaths. He realized, after a moment, that he’d gotten a little too excited in the heat of battle, and glanced towards the house, where Sesshomaru had long disappeared inside. Shit. he hoped he hadn’t noticed.

The thought of Sesshomaru giving him a boner wasn't as horrifying as it had been before. If he got horrified every time it happened he'd be spending way too much time being melodramatic.

.

Because of the rather vicious training session, Inuyasha thought that perhaps he had finally broken through the wall of indifference Sesshomaru seemed to have erected. Instead, Sesshomaru began ignoring him even more than before. Gone was the open door, leaving nothing but a closed off room. Despite Inuyasha’s new found determination he couldn’t ignore that big of a hint. Still though, he was far from giving up. 

So much of his life revolved around Sesshomaru, now. He wasn’t going to let the rest of their time spent together be mucked up with a petty argument. …Especially one that he didn’t even know the cause of.

.

The one thing that stayed consistent was meal time. They always ate together, even though Sesshomaru insisted on being frigid. They shared the meat, and so Inuyasha would periodically brush his wrist against his brother’s, just often enough that he couldn’t ignore it. To make his presence known. Sesshomaru had gotten better at ignoring it, so he wasn’t sure if it worked or not, but he liked to think that it did.

Every so often, when he did it, Sesshomaru’s eyes would half close, and he’d give the faintest of shivers, and wasn’t that interesting?

.

.

Summer was finally giving way to fall, the weather getting cooler, leaves losing their verdant color. Inuyasha knew it wouldn’t be long until winter made it too cold for the walk to the hot spring to be pleasant, and he wanted to take advantage of it while it still was.

“Hey, Sesshomaru,” he called, walking up to the demon’s closed door. There was no response after a second or two, but he knew the other was in there, so he continued. “I wanna…” He trailed off, a familiar nose catching his ear. Sesshomaru’s deep breathing, the kind he’d heard before, and the half demon felt a small tingle of warmth in his stomach at the memory. For a few minutes he just stood, waiting, for what he wasn’t sure.  

The noises continued, and he swallowed, curiosity getting the better of him. He reached out a hand and slid the door open. 

What seemed like ages of pale skin was there to greet him. Inuyasha’s eyes widened at the sight of Sesshomaru’s bare back, muscles stretched out with the other’s arms reaching above him, before the demon leaned forward. Inuyasha’s imagination ran wild. That heat in his stomach seemed to engulf him, keeping him off balance, and Inuyasha's fingers twitched against the door, wondering if he should close it again.

Sesshomaru looked over, hair neatly braided around his head. He watched Inuyasha with one baleful eye. “Inuyasha. Do you need something?”

“Uh…”

Sesshomaru made a noise of displeasure at the lack of coherency, and Inuyasha shook his head to clear it, focusing on the scene before him. It took longer than it should have for him to realize Sesshomaru wasn’t naked, merely in his undergarments. He had stopped his contorting, sitting up straight and turning to properly watch his uninvited guest. 

“What are you doing?” Inuyasha blurted, taking a step forward, since he hadn’t immediately been told to leave.

“Stretching,” was the curt response. “It relaxes the mind and is good for the body.” 

Inuyasha swallowed again, throat feeling a little dry. “Stretching…”  

Sesshomaru appeared to hold back a sigh, eyes closing briefly. “Did you need something, Inuyasha?” He repeated, standing and walking over to where his clothes sat in a neat pile. This snapped the half demon from his stupor.

“…I’m gonna go to the hot springs. You coming?”

“No.”

Inuyasha frowned, stepping further into the room as Sesshomaru tied the sash around his waist. “Baths are relaxing too.”

“Yes, but you give me new kinds of headaches these days.”

That was a little harsh. Inuyasha held up his hands, shifting his weight onto his heels. “Come on, I promise I’ll be on my best behavior.”

Sesshomaru scoffed in response, and Inuyasha moved closer, grabbing gently onto his wrist.

Sesshomaru eyed the point of connection with contempt, and Inuyasha released it after a moment—he'd only wanted his attention.

Maybe honesty would help. He’d learned the hard way with Kagome that pretending not to care didn’t get you very far. “Hey, I just wanted to uh… spend some time together.” 

Sesshomaru’s brow furrowed. For a moment it looked like he might snap, or refuse again, and Inuyasha’s ears flicked back in anticipation. Sesshomaru’s eyes burned into his, for seconds that seemed like minutes, and then finally he gave a single nod.

.

The day was waning, sun already beginning to set, so the air was crisp, cool. Inuyasha stepped purposely on the few leaves that had fallen to the ground, enjoying the crunch. He privately thought that if Sesshomaru happened to step on one he’d somehow be able to do it without making a sound. Inuyasha laughed softly to himself, enjoying the ever present joke of Sesshomaru’s flawlessness. It made the times the demon did make a mistake, or fall flat on his ass even more hilarious.

And it did happen.

“What is so funny, Inuyasha?”

Inuyasha turned his head to see his brother staring resolutely ahead, and slipped his arms into his sleeves. “Nothin’. You just looked funny with your hair up is all,” he teased.

Sesshomaru scoffed. 

They reached their destination and as usual Sesshomaru took his time entering the water. By the time he walked in Inuyasha had already gotten his entire body wet, as well as his hair. He pushed the now damp bangs from his face, blinking hard to get the hot water out of his eyes. 

Sesshomaru went through his normal ritual of starting with a soak, resting his head against a pair of rocks and letting his eyes close.

Inuyasha stared.

He was so close, he felt… so close to getting Sesshomaru back to the way he had been, but he wasn’t any closer to finding out what he’d done wrong in the first place. Maybe after the demon got over whatever it was he’d deem it fit to explain, but… 

Inuyasha relaxed back himself, trying to just enjoy the warmth for a time, and the comfortable, rather than icy silence that had fallen between them. In his mind's eye he could still see the other’s face, so serene, blocked partially by dancing steam. It was these moments he really missed… just being able to be… quiet together. It didn’t make a lot of sense, but as much as he liked talking, fighting with his brother, he liked being quiet with him just as much

Inuyasha’s eyes opened when he heard movement in the water, seeing Sesshomaru move to a deeper part of the spring to wash his hair. Inuyasha watched as he pulled the long curtain of hair over one shoulder, baring the lines of muscle in his back, the taper of his waist, the promise of more just beneath the surface.

That was when an idea hit him. 

He started out small. It was barely a splash at all, just some flecks of water hitting Sesshomaru’s arm, and it was ignored. Inuyasha waited a beat, and then did it again.

This time Sesshomaru paused. He looked over his shoulder, but by this time Inuyasha was reclining again, eyes almost closed, holding back a smirk. Sesshomaru returned to what he was doing, and Inuyasha struck again. This splash hit Sesshomaru square in the middle of the back, and Sesshomaru visibly tensed, fingers flinching. 

He turned again, slower, a warning in his eyes. “Inuyasha— PBTTH.”

Inuyasha didn’t give him time to finish the slow, threatening word, cut off by another splash, this one in the face.

Sesshomaru stumbled a few steps back in surprise and Inuyasha could no longer hold it together, delighted laughs spilling from his mouth.

“Your face!” He declared. “You should have—and then—”

“The water is hot,” Sesshomaru stated rather obviously, rising to his full height and pushing his hair away from his forehead. It was obvious the little joke didn’t amuse him, but how could Inuyasha care about that when he’d just gone "PBTTH"? So Inuyasha didn’t respond, merely continuing to laugh, falling against the rocks behind him. It was because of these loud guffaws that he nearly choked when Sesshomaru struck back. 

He coughed, falling down into the spring and sending a challenging glare to his brother, who had a look in his eyes that was just daring Inuyasha to splash him again. Well, he had to accept the challenge didn’t he? 

It was a splash war of monumental proportions, both sending large quantities of the hot water onto the other before Inuyasha decided that this was too easy, and went about trying to dunk Sesshomaru under instead. He jumped on the demon’s shoulders, which only staggered him, but was thrown off almost immediately, his back hitting the rocks on one side of the spring. 

Sesshomaru followed and pinned his hands against his shoulders. There was a brief struggle which ended in Inuyasha managing to get the demon lord’s feet out from under him. It sent them both falling down into the water, Sesshomaru writhing as he sank under for a few seconds. He surged back quickly enough though, claws digging into Inuyasha’s shoulders. That drew a grunt from the half demon as he was slammed back into the rock again, knocking his head against it.

The blow made him a little dizzy, but none amount of roughhousing could knock the smile off his face at having Sesshomaru this playful, again. Sesshomaru removed one of his hands in order to do more splashing, and Inuyasha’s own hands shot out, grabbing at him and landing on his waist. 

His first intention was to thrown Sesshomaru off, but he was briefly distracted by the smooth, wet skin beneath his palms. He attributed it to the dizziness. He wanted to feel more, somehow believing Sesshomaru wouldn’t mind. His hands slid down to those ever intriguing stripes that Sesshomaru was so defensive of, dragging his fingers against them, gliding lower, craving more flesh.

“Inuyasha.”

He shook his head, realizing he was breathing heavily from all the exertion and stopping it all together, feeling like the sound was somehow an interference. Sesshomaru was so close, the long body tantalizing him with its perfection, and suddenly the heat no longer felt entirely external, just from the water, there was a fire inside as well, one that he didn’t quite understand but was compelled to indulge anyway-

“Inuya— Inuyasha!” Sesshomaru’s voice demanded his attention, nearly panicked, and Inuyasha blinked, shaking his head again. 

The first thing he saw when his vision cleared was Sesshomaru’s face. The demon was looking everywhere but his eyes and his tongue darted out to wet his lips, even though they weren’t dry. The next thing he noticed was that he’d been pulling Sesshomaru’s body towards him, not yet close enough to touch, but enough that the distance was noticeably closer from when they’d been having their war. And then he realized what he’d been doing with his hands.

In the moment it had seemed so innocent. But Inuyasha knew he’d been very nearly groping his brother, squeezing his hips, palms running over his ass and thighs and— 

Shit. 

The first thing to do of course was to let go. Inuyasha flushed a deep red, avoiding Sesshomaru's eyes and pressing his back even harder against the rock. “I— shit Sesshomaru I don’t know…” He was so hot… Inuyasha covered himself just in case.

As panicked as he was it took him a moment to realize that Sesshomaru wasn’t moving away. He still wasn’t looking at him either. “Why—”

“I don’t know,” Inuyasha cut him off, able to guess where the question was going. He slid past the demon and sank down into the water, praying that Sesshomaru wouldn’t notice his problem. “I’m sorry,” he added quickly, wanting that to be clear. “I’m so sorry— I don’t know why I— I mean I didn’t mean to…” He finally got the nerve to look at Sesshomaru’s face again, ears laying back against his head at the expression he saw there. 

Fuck, he really was pissed. He didn’t even know how the fuck that had happened. Sesshomaru was attractive yeah, but he’d just completely lost his head. One thing was quickly becoming… rather obvious though.

He… he wanted Sesshomaru. He wanted to touch him, to feel the texture of his stripes against his skin, he wanted to hold him, to kiss those lips, flick his tongue against them, like Sesshomaru was always doing.

He wanted.

He hadn’t even known that he thought of men that way. He’d only ever been with Kagome, so the thought hadn’t even crossed his mind. It could have just been loneliness, and the fact that Sesshomaru was just so damn pretty, but somewhere he knew that wasn’t it. He liked Sesshomaru too much for it to just be that. He liked him, and he wanted him, and he had no idea how he’d let that sneak up on him. He also had no idea what to say. “I…”

“You ‘didn’t mean to’?” Sesshomaru quoted, looking angrier by the minute.

“Well uh…” Gods this was awkward. He stared up at the other, helpless. He couldn’t just tell him. Sesshomaru would— he’d— well he couldn’t imagine he’d be very happy about it. He had to… was there any way to…?

“I fail to see how that could be the case, Inuyasha,” Sesshomaru snapped, and Inuyasha winced. “You were practically rutting against me.”

All right, that was an exaggeration. “I didn’t—I was not!” He defended, hunching his shoulders. “I just—”

“You just what?” Sesshomaru advanced, head raised imperiously. “Caressed me? Teased me? Played with my emotions as you have for months?” 

Inuyasha’s eyes widened at the accusation, mouth opening to speak but no sound followed. Play with— he hadn’t been… hadn’t meant to… 

“I absolutely despise those who don’t know what they want.” 

Sesshomaru had never looked so cold. The demon lord left the spring before Inuyasha found his voice, and then was gone, just like that.

Inuyasha stared after him, face falling as he wondered what could be done to fix this.

.

Inuyasha was afraid to go back to the house. With how angry Sesshomaru was, and how guilty and confused he himself felt, he just… didn’t see any good coming of it. At least not until he’d gotten this figured out. He just had no idea how to do that.

Sesshomaru had said he was… playing with his emotions. He hadn’t been doing that, he hadn’t. He’d only been acting that way so that Sesshomaru couldn’t ignore him. And… the way the demon had phrased that, it implied that there was emotion there to be felt. That was almost scarier than Sesshomaru just being pissed off that his brother had molested him. 

This wasn’t asking Kagome to marry him, after knowing for three years that they were meant to be together. He would never have imagined their relationship over the past few years developing into this. 

Demons took mates. Sesshomaru said he knew nothing of demon traditions and culture, and he was right. He only knew the human way of doing things. If anything was going to happen, even an apology, he needed to educate himself.

He couldn't ask Sesshomaru about it.

Myouga came to mind first, and then Totosai, but Inuyasha immediately disregarded the thought. Next was Shippo, but how embarrassing would that be, asking the kid for help courting a mate? 

Inuyasha looked down at the water. He didn't want to leave Sesshomaru alone in that house, without even Jaken's squawking to keep him company. But he couldn't go back just yet. He couldn’t go back unsure. That would only make Sesshomaru angrier.

Inuyasha slowly stood from the water, a shiver running through him as his wet flesh hit the air. He dried off and dressed with his brow furrowed, staring hard at the ground, mind racing. He needed answers, needed a place to get them. A demon he could talk to… The answer hit him suddenly. A second later he couldn’t help but grimace.

Still.

Better than Shippo or the old geezers.  

Inuyasha replaced the Tessaiga at his hip, looking off once more in the direction Sesshomaru had left, before taking off. 

North. Towards the wolf tribes and that annoying fur ball. He wasn’t used to coming from this way, and so it took him a little longer than usual to get oriented. He knew that if he paced himself, he could be there and back in about five days. That was enough time to let Sesshomaru cool off without the demon starting to think that he’d left for good… he hoped.

There was an odd excitement buzzing about in his chest, that old familiar feeling, similar to what he used to feel whenever he saw Kagome smile.

He could be happy, he realized.

He had been happy.

With Sesshomaru.

He’d been perfectly content to live out the rest of his days there with his brother, just as they were. And this was just one more way they could be happy together. He’d never been with a man, no, but… He thought that Kagome would be glad that he had found someone else. He wouldn’t, and couldn’t replace her, but it was an empty part of his life that Sesshomaru could fill… that Sesshomaru wanted to fill. Maybe.

Sesshomaru had said he despised people who didn't know what they wanted… well, he wasn’t going to be one of those people.

He knew what he wanted, and he was going to do his best to get it.

.

Inuyasha wasn’t in wolf territory for very long before he could smell Kouga approaching. He slowed, beginning to walk, slipping his hands into his sleeves and waiting for that Kouga to appear, kicking up dirt with his speed. The determination that had been burning bright in him the whole journey faltered at the very idea of asking Kouga for advice, of admitting he had no idea about things that many demons knew instinctually from birth. 

He could swallow his pride this once, though. Thinking of the cold look on Sesshomaru’s face was incentive enough.

“Well, if it isn’t the mutt!” Was the greeting that came flying from the burst of wind that ruffled his clothing, Kouga appearing shortly after. His cocky smirk had mellowed in the decades that he had been living with Ayame. The blue eyes held more wisdom now than bluster.

Inuyasha wondered what his old friends thought when they saw him, after so long. “Long time no see,” he greeted, unable to help smiling. It was good to see a familiar face.

“No kidding!” Kouga turned and beckoned for Inuyasha to follow, beginning to guide him through the mountains. “What brings you here mutt? It wouldn’t have been just to say hi, by any chance?” 

It was a good thing he knew that nickname was spoken fondly. “Can’t I say hi and have other reasons?” Inuyasha pointed out.

His companion chuckled, hands resting on the fur at his waist. “I suppose so… But if you need my help with some demon I’m afraid you’re on your own. I’ve got grandkids to feed.”

Inuyasha’s lips twitched, briefly calculating how old Junior, Ginta and Hakkaku’s children must be by now. Ginta and Hakkaku senior had been thrilled when Kouga and Ayame chose to name their first two kids after them, but he knew it was probably confusing with the double names. And considering their third had been named after Kouga, that likely only made things more complicated. “Nothing like that,” Inuyasha assured. “The only thing I’ve been slaying lately is dinner.”

“Haha, welcome to my world.”

Inuyasha took in a breath, steeling himself. He wanted to get at least some of it out before they reached Kouga’s pack, while they still had some privacy. It was embarrassing enough with just Kouga, he definitely didn’t want Ayame, or either set of Ginta’s or Hakkaku’s getting wind of it.  “Actually, I had a few… questions,” he began, glancing over at the wolf demon.

“Questions?”

“Yeah. About uh… courting. For demons. And stuff.”

This seemed to confuse Kouga for a second. But it was only a second, and then a wide grin spread across his lips, and he looked at Inuyasha with a glint in his eyes that didn’t bode well. 

“Ahhh, so you’re lookin’ to court some unlucky girl ‘ey?” The wolf teased. “Who is she? Not a wolf demon I hope.”

Inuyasha had been expecting this, and wasn’t quite ready to correct him. “Uh, no. And does that really matter?”

“So what is it you want to know, exactly?”

“I… don’t even know where to start,” he admitted.

Kouga was briefly pensive, humming. “I guess Kagome was human,” he mused. “Well, you’ve come to the right place Inuyasha. Don’t worry. I’ll have that wench begging you for more before you know it.”

Inuyasha couldn’t help but snort. “I doubt it.”

“Hey have faith. You came to me, remember?”

They reached the tribe shortly after that, and agreed to continue their conversation later. Inuyasha did some catching up with Ayame, surprised to learn that her and Kouga were trying to have another child. Seeing their grandkids running around had given them the thought, he supposed. She was well, and still just as much enthralled with Kouga as she’d ever been. 

At one time it might have been bittersweet, seeing the two of them so happy together, both still in their prime, but not anymore. Not for a while. Inuyasha greeted Ginta and Hakkaku, and then Kouga and Ayame’s grandchildren, finding them all involved in a game with rules that he couldn’t figure out. There was running and tackling and howling going on, but not in any specific order as far as he could tell. 

He hadn’t been watching for more than fifteen seconds before one of the kids dragged him in to play.

He was reminded of playing with Sango and Miroku’s children when they were growing up in the village. But he didn’t have to be nearly as careful with the four young ones, Yuri, Rai, Moeka and Misa not being as fragile as human children. Moeka liked jumping on his back and seeing if she could get him to fall over, regardless of whatever was actually going on in the game at that point.

Soon Rai noticed this pattern, and began to follow suit. This resulted in a dog pile of massive proportions with Inuyasha complaining loudly at the bottom, met only with laughter and jeers. 

It was nice.

He liked kids, but he had never felt any real craving to have his own. Kagome had really wanted a couple… a boy and a girl. And that was what made her unable to have children such a strain. But, they'd watched Sango and Miroku’s often, and played with Kouga and Ayame’s first few children when they'd visited. Eventually that became enough for her. It was enough for him. 

He wondered how Sesshomaru felt about children.

Later on that day, after a dinner that Inuyasha felt guilty not helping with despite eating, Kouga led him away from the pack, towards a rocky overhang where they could sit that was close enough to hear the distant sounds of the wolves on the wind, but far enough to give them privacy. Inuyasha was grateful that he hadn’t had to ask, even though Kouga seemed a bit too amused by the whole thing.

“All right, so you don’t know anything? Nothing at all?”

“We’ve established that,” Inuyasha said dryly, feeling as though he were still being teased.

Kouga chuckled. “Just making sure. Let’s see… well in traditional courting— for wolves, anyway, I can only guess it’s similar for dogs— the woman will make it known that she’s available, and then the man’s free to pursue.” 

Make it known she’s available…? “But—how?” Inuyasha asked, feeling dumb but not wanting to miss anything.

Kouga shrugged. “Depends on the wench. It could be as simple as saying so. Flaunting an empty den.”

“And is there a… certain way you’re s’pose to ‘pursue’?”

“You’ve got to show your strength. …That is if you’ve still got any, mutt.” Kouga grinned. “Strength is really important for demons. Women don’t want a weak man who can’t handle them.”

Well both he and Sesshomaru already knew which one was the more powerful… he doubted that was going to change.

“You’ve gotta prove you’re worthy for her,” Kouga continued. “And if she thinks you are, she’ll submit.”

“Submit,” Inuyasha repeated, doubtful that Sesshomaru would do anything of the kind.

“Yeah. A lot of the times a man will prove he’s worthy by besting his wench in a fight. Then, comes the asking. Biting the neck—well, not really biting, kinda—”

“Biting the neck?!” Inuyasha cut him off, sitting straight up. “What about it? What does it mean?! What happens?!?!” 

Kouga blinked. “Calm down! Like I said, it’s not really biting. It’s more about the gesture, and what it represents. It shows trust. Putting their lives in your hands. The teeth just press agains the skin, without clamping down, ya know? If they submit, that means they accept you.” 

Inuyasha frowned. He thought back to that day he'd been wrestling with Sesshomaru. They’d been wrestling, he managed to pin Sesshomaru down. He’d bitten his neck, and then… and then… nothing. Sesshomaru had just gone limp. He’d stopped moving entirely and just laid there. He’d… he’d submitted.  

Sesshomaru had thought he was courting him… and he’d accepted. Sesshomaru had been aware of his own desires before the thought had even crossed Inuyasha's mind. Inuyasha pressed a hand against his forehead, eyes narrowing.

He’d fucked it all up… he hadn’t known what the hell was going on and he’d—Sesshomaru had gotten so angry. He’d shown a vulnerable side and it had just been… overlooked. Ignored. 

Fuck.

“…You all right?”

Inuyasha looked over at Kouga, wrinkling his nose. There was just… one more thing he had to know. Realizing this, understanding just how badly he’d fucked up, he had to ask…

“Is it… different, if it’s… two guys?”

The words came out with difficulty, and Inuyasha warily watched the wolf’s face for his reaction, muscles tensing. After a long pause, Kouga spoke slowly.

“Uh… I’m happily mated—”

“Not you you egotistical idiot!” Inuyasha punched the wolf in the arm, glaring when he began howling with laughter. “Shut up! This is serious!” 

“AHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHA—”

“Kouga shut UP, just tell me—"

“PFFFFFFT—”

Gods he felt like Sesshomaru. He made a silent vow never to laugh at the other again. Finally Kouga settled down, and Inuyasha kept up his scowl, glancing back to make sure no one was coming over to see what was so funny.

“Oh come on mutt it’s nothing to be embarrassed about,” the wolf said, a few last chuckles escaping. Ginta and Hakkaku have been together for years. I’ve gotten used to it.”

Inuyasha sighed. “I’m not embarrassed.”

“Well, I don’t know much about that. You’d be better off asking one of them.”

Inuyasha wasn’t really sure he wanted to. But he reminded himself that he’d come to be prepared, and so gave a hesitant nod. 

“You plan on spending the night here?” Kouga asked, hopping to his feet. Inuyasha stood as well, nodding.

. 

The conversation with Ginta— the oldest, not Kouga’s child— went a lot better than he was expecting. There was less teasing, anyway. Inuyasha had tentatively asked about the differences in courting a male demon as opposed to a female one. 

“It depends on which of you is the sub,” he answered, completely nonchalant. “Hakkaku and I switch, so it changes depending on our moods.”

Sesshomaru had submitted to him once, but at those words he wondered if the demon would ever want to… take control. What was that like? He knew it had to be at least sort of pleasant if there were demons who liked it. And it wasn’t as if he was worried about appearing weak— Sesshomaru didn’t have a weak bone in his body, yet he’d willingly accepted his… accidental courting gesture.

“So what do you know about sex with a man Inuyasha?”

Inuyasha’s ears flicked back. “I think I’ll just figure that out with him, thanks.”

Inuyasha both loved and hating spending nights with the wolf demon tribe. Everyone was strewn out everywhere, so while there was a real sense of camaraderie and warmth, he almost always ended up with a foot in his face. Moeka cuddled up against his back and despite her twitching in the night her presence was a welcome one.

He said his goodbyes in the morning, and made promises to return soon that he actually intended on keeping. He’d gotten so caught up with the idea that he was alone, an intruder on other’s happiness, he’d forgotten what this was like. Maybe he’d go see Shippo again, sometime. Maybe with Sesshomaru, depending on how this worked out.

Man, he wished he had one of Kagome’s recording devices for the look on the fox kit’s face when he heard that. 

Kouga ran with him to the border, sending him little smirks until the casual run turned into a race at breakneck speeds, Inuyasha bounding off trees for momentum. Without the jewel shards Kouga couldn’t run nearly as fast, but it still wasn’t really any contest— Kouga might as well have been one of those 'car' things from Kagome's time. 

“Still faster than ya, mutt,” the wolf declared as they slowed, a triumphant grin on his face.

Inuyasha waved a hand and scoffed. “For now.”

Kouga chuckled. “Sure you don’t want to tell me about your man? He’s gotta be something if you’re going for him, after Kagome.”

Inuyasha shrugged. “You can decide that for yourself. You’ve met him before.”

Kouga blinked, confused, and Inuyasha smirked before darting off, raising his hand in a wave. He wondered if the wolf would actually figure it out. 

.

As he’d suspected it took him five days to return to Sesshomaru’s, and the entire time a bud of nervousness had begun to bloom in his chest. He now understood that Sesshomaru had been expressing interest in him, but… what if that had changed? Or what if he was too angry to forgive him, to try again? He had no idea what he would face when he stepped into that house and it was fairly terrifying. He’d just have to make sure he apologized properly for everything that had happened.

When Inuyasha stepped up to the door, the sun was only just beginning to set. As soon as he opened it though, it was obvious that Sesshomaru wasn’t inside. He could not hear nor smell the other. Inuyasha's ears fell, disappointed by this turn of events. He walked inside, looking around. Nothing had changed, really. Some of the damage that they’d done when they’d fought in the kitchen remained, but it was clear Sesshomaru had begun the process of fixing things.

Inuyasha sat at the table, pressing his hands against it and turning to the window. 

At the very least, now he had more time to prepare what he wanted to say. He doubted Sesshomaru would take some long drawn out speech seriously, but he still needed to be careful about what words he chose. He could still remember the look on the other’s face before he’d left, how angry he’d been, how hurt.

Sesshomaru always seemed so invincible, he guessed he hadn’t even considered that he’d be able to hurt him in any way. Sesshomaru wasn’t indestructible. Nor was he as cold as he always made him out to be. Inuyasha knew that. Those hard golden eyes could be the softest amber, on his lips the smallest of smiles meant so much more than a grin from somebody else.

Sesshomaru wasn’t anything like Kagome, but… he didn’t need somebody like her. She had her own place in his heart.

Inuyasha chuckled to himself, falling back to lay against the floor, staring up at the ceiling. He could only hope that Sesshomaru would let him talk first and chew him out later.

It was about an hour after that that Inuyasha heard the door open. He’d moved to his room by then. Inuyasha rose to his feet before he’d even worked out how to go about this. The door closed, but Sesshomaru’s quiet footsteps didn’t reach his ears. He moved into the hall. 

The demon was standing a few feet away from the front door, and his eyes found Inuyasha as soon as the half demon was in his line of sight. Inuyasha held his breath, trying to analyze Sesshomaru’s expression. It was carefully blank.

“So you’ve returned,” his brother said, stepping out of his shoes.

That was something, at least. Sesshomaru wouldn’t take them off if he didn’t plan on staying.Though he could still ask him to leave…

“I always planned to,” Inuyasha told the other, forcing himself to take a few steps closer.

Sesshomaru eyed him as he advanced, brow seeming to warn against coming too close. “Is that so.” His tone was too flat. Inuyasha licked his lips, ignoring the silent warning and moving into Sesshomaru’s personal space. He was easier to read, this close.

“I had to figure some things out. Sesshomaru I’m sorry for what happened. How I acted. I really had no idea… how you felt.” That felt awfully presumptuous to say, but he forced the words out, noticing the way the other’s brow twitched. “Or how I did. Uh..." Inuyasha looked away for a second, thinking over what to say next.  

"So you've figured it out now and expect me to be amenable."

Inuyasha winced, figuring he probably deserved that. “I don’t expect anything. It just never occurred to me, the reason why I would always catch myself staring at you. Why I always wanted your attention. Why I couldn’t go through with it when that woman…”

Sesshomaru seemed to bristle at that.

Inuyasha stood a bit straighter, taking in a breath. “I know what I want.”

The taller demon eyed him.

Inuyasha watched him for any negative reaction as he advanced, reaching out a hand to touch his face.

Sesshomaru remained passive.

Inuyasha's palm connected with the warm flesh, thumb brushing against the neatly arranged stripes on Sesshomaru's cheek and causing an almost imperceptible lowering of Sesshomaru’s eyelids. He took this as a good sign, moving until he could feel Sesshomaru lightly pressed against him, enthralled at being so close when they weren’t in combat.  

Sesshomaru’s eyes watched his every move, but Inuyasha felt that if he truly objected he would have pushed him away, before he’d gotten anywhere near this close. He steeled his resolve, wetting his lips again. “What do you want?”

Sesshomaru broke eye contact, nostrils twitching.

When Sesshomaru had no retort, he decided to switch to actions, rather than words, hoping they’d speak louder for him. He connected their lips, not discouraged when there was no immediate reaction, his hand falling down to grip Sesshomaru’s shoulder. His mouth moved tentatively, giving Sesshomaru room to move away.

His lips were dry and warm, and even though he was unmoving the action still sent a small shiver down Inuyasha's spine. 

Inuyasha’s mouth paused, hovering over Sesshomaru’s briefly, before nipping at the other’s lower lip, trying to coax out a reaction. There was a short pause, where neither of them moved, Inuyasha hesitating, not wanting to pull away without a reciprocation, however small.

And then he felt the slightest pressure as Sesshomaru leaned in, lips opening pliantly.  

Another chill of excitement pulsed through the half demon’s body, but he didn’t have time to even taste Sesshomaru before the demon pulled back.

“Inuyasha. I do not think this wise.”

“Why?” Inuyasha blurted, eyes flicking back down to his lips. He rather thought he had all the proof he needed that this was very wise.

Sesshomaru stepped around him, walking further into the house as he shook his head. “You have only just returned… and there are things to discuss before either of us jump into any decisions.”

That was disappointing. Inuyasha nodded though, hands slipping into his sleeves. “You’re right… again.”

“Am I not always?”

Inuyasha’s lips twitched in surprise, spirits raising a little. Sesshomaru walked towards the kitchen, and Inuyasha watched him move, surprised at how happy just being with the other again made him. 

“Have you eaten?”

Inuyasha pulled himself out of his thoughts at the question, shaking his head.

.

Sesshomaru readied dinner for both of them, and they took their meal in their usual spots. It was almost just like before, except there was this... energy.

The knowledge that something more existed, if they so chose. 

Sesshomaru spoke briefly of things that had happened in the area while Inuyasha was gone, and the half demon listened, wondering if he’d gotten any new books. He had. Sesshomaru asked where he’d gone as nonchalantly as if he were commenting on the weather, and Inuyasha rested his free hand on his brother's knee. Sesshomaru didn’t react, but he didn’t push it off either, and so Inuyasha took that as progress.

“I went to see Kouga’s tribe,” he explained, wondering if there was a way to phrase it that wasn’t completely embarrassing. “I wanted to ask him some… things about demons.” If there was a way, that wasn’t it.

Sesshomaru tilted his head, chewing his food carefully before responding. “And did you find your answers?”

“Uh… yeah.” He couldn’t help thinking back to that day, that wrestling match, wondering what would have happened if he’d known exactly what was going on at the time. “I really wish I’d known before.”

Sesshomaru hummed, watching him carefully for a moment before looking back to his food. “It occurred to me that I had no right to react so badly. You were completely ignorant to your actions.”

“If you want to put it that way.”

“However,” Sesshomaru’s tone sharpened. “Your behavior at the hot spring was completely inappropriate.”

Inuyasha winced. “Yeah I know,” he said, wishing they could just forget about that little incident. “I said I was sorry. You were just… there.” He ate a little faster at that lame excuse, not wanting to see the look on the other’s face.

Sesshomaru scoffed, as if he might say something more, but thankfully didn’t comment further.

The rest of the dinner passed with more pleasant conversation, and Inuyasha was thankful for how easily they were able to settle into their old routine. After they finished eating they spoke for a while longer, before Sesshomaru excused himself and retired to his room, closing the door behind him.

Inuyasha tried not to be put off, knowing he probably needed a little time to himself to think. Inuyasha sat outside for a bit and watched the stars, before heading to bed himself.

.

The next day, the events from the night before weren’t even spoken of. Inuyasha wanted to give Sesshomaru his own time to consider things the way he had, and to give what they had between them more time to grow, without the pressures of requiring immediate answers.

Now that he better understood his feelings for the demon however, it was quite a bit more difficult to keep his hands to himself. There weren’t any more incidents like before, no, but he found himself stealing caresses, however small. A press to the small of Sesshomaru’s back as he passed, resting his hand on Sesshomaru's knee at meals, stealing touches of those silken strands of hair between his fingers.

Sesshomaru seeming quite willing to speak and be around him over the next few days, yet never brought up the issue that needed to be addressed.

Four days after he returned, they resumed training.

In the early morning, in the crisp breeze that grew cooler every day they stood across from each other in the field outside the house, eying their target. Inuyasha was glad for it, despite the early hour. He needed something like this to keep his mind busy. To keep it from wandering to Sesshomaru, to what he would eventually decide. To their kiss. To other things they could do together.

Had he missed his window of opportunity? Was it too late, now? Had Sesshomaru forced his feelings away, when he feared they weren’t reciprocated? All of these questions came to his tongue, but he could ask none of them aloud. So he waited.

Sesshomaru struck first. He lashed out with his sword and Tessaiga caught the blow, returning it with one of his own that Sesshomaru flipped over, twirling round and making Inuyasha duck low to keep his head. They went at each other, both holding back, merely practicing form. Speed. Sesshomaru was quick, and as time passed he seemed to flit about even more quickly, studying Inuyasha’s actions and using them to predict his later ones.

It wasn’t long before Inuyasha’s strategy was completely defense, being pushed farther and farther back as Tessaiga rose to block just a half second slow each time, staggering him.

One swing sent him down and Sesshomaru went with him, swords leaving hands. Inuyasha grunted when his back hit the ground, trying to jump up but pushed immediately back by strong hands. They pinned him to the ground effortlessly, his head smacking back and drawing a growl from his lips. One of his wrists was shoved down by Sesshomaru's long fingers.

He looked up at the other, panting, waiting for his next move.

Sesshomaru hovered over him, hair blocking the sun from Inuyasha’s line of sight. His eyes were slightly widened with the heat of battle, lips parted to breathe, nostrils flared. His gaze was fixed not on Inuyasha’s face, but somewhere below it. His neck.

Inuyasha realized then, that their positions were reversed. The heat of battle died down, a different kind of heat beginning to stir, as he wondered what Sesshomaru would do next.

Would he bite him, as he’d been bitten before?

Sesshomaru was already close, closer than he needed to be just to hold him down.

Inuyasha wasn’t even struggling. He was still breathing hard from their fight, and each rise of his chest made it press against Sesshomaru’s. He was surrounded by the other’s presence, his scent, and was very nearly getting dizzy from the overflow of pleasurable sensations, the light pressure of Sesshomaru’s hand against his wrist, the legs pressed against his. He stared up, waiting, hoping, fidgeting.

Sesshomaru looked away.

Inuyasha’s hopes fell a little, and soon enough Sesshomaru stood, leaving him panting against the ground, not entirely from the fight.

Sesshomaru retrieved Bakusaiga and sheathed it, starting back towards the house.

Inuyasha sighed, standing himself and returning Tessaiga to its sheath, willing himself not to be too disappointed. “You’re holding back,” he pointed out when he stepped inside the house, finding Sesshomaru standing by the hallway.

“I’m…?”

“You won’t—it’s never going to work out if you don’t give it a chance.” He knew he’d broken their non existent rule they had against speaking about that, but he didn’t think he could take not knowing much longer.

Sesshomaru turned his back to him again, and Inuyasha was briefly miffed. “I wish to speak in my room.” 

When they were both seated in Sesshomaru’s room, across from each other, Inuyasha waited for Sesshomaru to say something. 

It seemed like ages before he spoke. “…I will admit I am… hesitant to let anything further develop between us.”

Inuyasha swallowed, hands slipping into his sleeves to grip at his arms.

Sesshomaru observed this reaction, before looking away. “It is not because of a lack of interest… I am merely unsure you understand the importance, the… significance of being a demon’s mate.”

Inuyasha’s brow furrowed.

“It is not a bond easily severed, Inuyasha. And were I to take a mate, I would have no intention of parting with them.”

“And what makes you think I would?” Inuyasha asked, beginning to understand where Sesshomaru was headed with this.

Golden eyes returned to him. “If you were so fickle in choosing me, what is to say you won’t be the same after we have become mates?” His expression was serious, but Inuyasha still found himself surprised. Just to hear Sesshomaru… worried about something like that. It broke the illusion of Sesshomaru's all consuming confidence.

“Sesshomaru…” He broke another unspoken rule and rose to his haunches to move closer to the demon lord, knuckles pressing against the ground. “You’re it for me. This is how I’m gonna spend the rest of my life. With you. I may miss the adventure, sometimes, but Naraku was the end of that story. It’s over. Kagome and Sango and Miroku… my time with them is over. And this is what happens after it all. I’m just sorry it took me so long to figure that out.”

Sesshomaru watched him through this short speech, eyes never wavering, and Inuyasha moved closer, hands pressing against the ground on either side of him. It was now or never. Sesshomaru had become his everything. Family, Friend, and hopefully, lover.

Inuyasha went in for another kiss, shifting closer.

Sesshomaru’s fingers twitched against his knees. “If that is the case, I—”

He’d cut Sesshomaru off, but the demon didn’t seem to mind much, if the way he reciprocated almost immediately was any indication. Relief flooded Inuyasha, having been unsure Sesshomaru would believe him, no matter how true the words were.

Sesshomaru’s tongue probed almost curiously at the crease of his lips, and Inuyasha parted them, inviting it inside. Sesshomaru kissed like he did everything else— expertly. His tongue explored in firm, smooth caresses, eventually tangling with Inuyasha's and flooding him with taste.

Inuyasha pressed closer.

Sesshomaru’s ministrations were pleasing, but the lord still sat stiffly, hands flat on his knees, and Inuyasha desired more.

He took control of the kiss, suckling on Sesshomaru’s tongue before plunging his own into his partner's mouth, making it retreat. He licked at the backs of Sesshomaru's sharp teeth, just inside his lips, moving until he could force Sesshomaru down, down, until he was forced to break posture, his back hitting the floor and his arms following shortly after.

Inuyasha went as well, crawling over Sesshomaru and dragging his teeth over his upper lip, knees on either side of his waist. He heard a slight shift in the older male's breathing, and kissed him again, one of his hands finding the part of Sesshomaru’s collar and slipping inside to caress his neck. 

Sesshomaru’s hands rested against his hips, lightly, and then with more pressure. Inuyasha encouraged this with one last, chaste kiss against the other’s lips before moving his mouth to Sesshomaru’s jaw, sucking hard. 

Heat stirred in his body, pooling in his neck, his lower stomach, and Inuyasha shuddered lightly when he felt the hands at his hips squeeze, body pressing closer to the one beneath his. He loosed a pleased noise against the pale flesh, fingers groping lower in the other’s shirt, sliding across his collarbone.

Before he could do anything else, Sesshomaru had a hand at his chest, pressing him away.

Inuyasha resisted the urge to whine, licking his lips and backing off after one last kiss to his future mate’s skin.

Sesshomaru sat up straight again, and Inuyasha couldn’t help staring at the picture he made. Hair disheveled, lips red and wet, collar hanging loosely around him and exposing the oh so tempting collarbone Inuyasha had been touching only moments ago.

Inuyasha's fingers twitched with want.

“Inuyasha,” Sesshomaru finally spoke, and Inuyasha was a little envious of how unaffected his voice sounded. “Let us go bathe."

Inuyasha stared. “What, now?” He asked, feeling that they had things a bit more pleasant they could be doing.

Sesshomaru stood, adjusting his shirts until they were neat again.

Inuyasha felt like pouting.

“If you wish to continue.”

This got his attention. Inuyasha stood, nodding his head. He didn’t really see why they had to take a bath, but if that was the end result he couldn’t exactly complain. He felt like something needed to be said something to solidify this, but nothing immediately came to mind. Sesshomaru was watching him though, like he was waiting. So Inuyasha decided to just tell the truth. “I love you,” he offered to the silence, the words feeling so much easier to say than they’d been before. He’d grown a lot though, since his first two loves. And Sesshomaru had been very plain about his feelings, in his own way. Especially now that Inuyasha understood him a little better.

Sesshomaru looked at him for a moment more, before inclining his head, turning and exiting the room. Inuyasha followed, a smile growing on his lips.

The walk to the spring seemed to take even longer than it normally did. The sun rising more had warmed the day a little more, but the wind was blowing hard, and Inuyasha strayed close to Sesshomaru, near enough that their arms brushed as they moved. Neither of them spoke, but it was a companionable silence, one where no words were needed.

When they arrived Sesshomaru began the arduous process of removing his armor, but Inuyasha stopped him.

“Can I?” He asked, looked up at the other.

Sesshomaru gave him a curious look, one eyebrow raising.

“Tch. I’ve watched you do it enough times to know how it goes,” he assured, starting on the ties of his armor. He removed every piece of the other's outfit as carefully as Sesshomaru would have done, arranging them neatly in a pile. He took his time, enjoying undressing the beautiful male, fingers brushing against his skin as he moved to the fabrics. Inuyasha ran his hands over Sesshomaru’s broad shoulders as he pushed the shirt from his torso, the two halves parting and revealing his muscled chest, nipples pebbled and begging to be teased.

Inuyasha couldn’t resist brushing a thumb over one, earning a look of mild disapproval. When Inuyasha finished with the top half Sesshomaru stopped him, continuing the rest himself.

Inuyasha undressed as well, and when they were both in the spring he admired Sesshomaru’s graceful movements as he sat. When he looked up from his perusal of the demon lord’s toned stomach, the dip of his navel, he was surprised to see Sesshomaru watching him as well.

That same heat began stirring in his stomach, roused by the thought that Sesshomaru desired him just as much as he did. He wondered what fantasies ran through Sesshomaru’s mind. Did he want to be the aggressor? Or did he want to be dominated? 

Inuyasha told himself he would be fine with either way, but having no experience being in the submissive role, whenever he thought of being with Sesshomaru all that came to mind was gripping those slim hips, rocking into him over and over, staring down and watching that calm expression slide off into one of want and abandon.

Sesshomaru was so strong he wouldn’t need to hold back, he could pound into that tight heat with everything he had, listen to the other’s labored breathing, watch his pink tongue wet his pretty lips and his eyes flutter shut.

Or maybe Sesshomaru would be astride him, riding, pushing long silver hair over his shoulders, out of the way, Inuyasha’s hands squeezing toned thighs and watching that muscled torso as he moved. Bucking up into his welcoming body and dragging it back down against his hips until he fucking lost it. Sesshomaru would cum all over his stomach and he’d slump down— would he groan? Gods Sesshomaru’s groan was probably sexy.

Maybe he’d let him take him from behind. He’d have a perfect view of that perfect ass and— and—

Inuyasha sucked in a breath, closing his eyes and hitting his head against the rock behind him, wondering why it always seemed to be in a hot spring that he let his imagination run away with him. He risked a glance at Sesshomaru, seeing him running water over his arms, down his shoulders, and he shivered, eyes following the path the droplets left on his skin.

Sesshomaru stood to wet his hair, moving to the deepest part of the spring, and Inuyasha followed, unable to help himself. Sesshomaru dragged his hair over his shoulder, exposing his back, and Inuyasha took its place. He pressed his hands against Sesshomaru’s sides, sliding around to his stomach, dragging the other male back against him.

His already half hard erection nudged against Sesshomaru’s thigh, and Inuyasha shivered, unable to keep his hips from gently rocking. He could feel Sesshomaru stiffen, heard the slightest hitch in his breath, and this only made him rock harder, his hands sliding lower.

Sesshomaru turned, breaking free of his grip. “We are outside in a spring, Inuyasha.”

Inuyasha wrapped arms around him again, his shoulders this time, nipping at his neck. “We’re alone,” he pointed out, hands moving down the other’s chest. He looked down pleased at the sight of Sesshomaru’s own arousal, definitely stirring, though not quite as excited as his own. Before he could indulge his desires he found himself pushed away, grunting when his back hit the rocks behind them.

Sesshomaru’s body followed soon after, pinning him there by his wrists and keeping himself just out of reach. Inuyasha couldn’t resist growling lightly in frustration, wanting so badly. He met Sesshomaru’s eyes after a moment, pleading silently. 

But Sesshomaru shook his head. His mouth was so very close…

“Patience is rewarded,” Sesshomaru told him, eyes watching his lips.

Inuyasha squirmed a little, wanting at least a kiss, dammit, but Sesshomaru held him tight. Finally he gave up with a resigned sigh, nodding.

Sesshomaru released him, returning to what he’d been doing, and Inuyasha sank into the water, attempting to both calm himself and keep his eyes away from the demon who so tempted his hands to wander.

He wished he could imprint his thoughts onto the other demon, let him know how much he desired him.

Inuyasha tried not to be impatient and just bathe properly, but he couldn’t help moving a bit faster than he normally did. Once they were both finished and dressed Inuyasha grew a little bit more restless, casting glances towards Sesshomaru every few steps.

They walked in sync, Sesshomaru’s pace unhurried and Inuyasha attempting to match it, wanting that "reward" for his patience. Sesshomaru stepped inside first, removing his shoes and setting them in their normal place. Inuyasha stepped ahead and watched him, hands slipping restlessly into his sleeves as he waited for some sign that they could continue their activities.

The armor would have to come undone again, just as carefully as before, if he wanted to avoid irritating his brother. That was all right. He’d just think of it like unwrapping a particularly sexy present. Sesshomaru moved further into the house, walking towards his room, and Inuyasha followed, straying closer than really need be. 

“So what’s my reward?” He asked when they stepped inside, walking around until the could see Sesshomaru's face.

Sesshomaru tilted his head, watching him carefully for a few moments. “What do you want?”

There was something in his tone that sent a small shiver down Inuyasha's spine. His ears twitched, desiring more words. He wet his lips, inhaling deeply. “You,” he answered, fingers twitching against his skin. 

Sesshomaru gave a single nod, appearing pleased with this answer. “Then take me.”

A flash of heat surged through Inuyasha’s body, arousal pulsing so strongly at the suggestive words for a moment he wasn’t sure he’d heard right. But afterwards, Sesshomaru lifted long, graceful fingers, beginning to remove his armor one piece at a time, agonizingly slow. There was nothing sensual about the act, his motions were the same as they always were, but just knowing the purpose for which he was undressing now made it all the more interesting to watch.  

“But I warn you, Inuyasha,” Sesshomaru continued, fixing his eyes on him. “I submitted to you once, with unfavorable results. I will not do so again easily.”

Inuyasha’s lips twitched up into a smirk. He looked forward to the challenge. 

As soon as Sesshomaru’s last piece of armor was off his body Inuyasha made his move. He surged forward and latched their bodies together, their hips, so Sesshomaru could feel what the anticipation had done to him already. Their mouths met in a hard kiss, Inuyasha leading at first, before Sesshomaru’s own aggression rose to meet his own. He could feel Sesshomaru holding back in his every movement, and Inuyasha encouraged him to let go, sliding his hands down his back, taking two handfuls of his ass and squeezing hard.

This seemed to stir Sesshomaru into motion, hands coming up pluck at the bow at Inuyasha's waist. It fluttered to the floor, and Inuyasha pulled away to tug off the robe of the fire rat impatiently.

Somehow they ended up on the floor. Inuyasha teased the skin on the back of Sesshomaru’s neck, caressing it through his mane of hair, fingers sliding up to his ears, his own straining to hear the quiet noises made in response.

His fantasies from the hot spring came back to the forefront of his mind, picturing Sesshomaru with all that smooth skin bare, wanting to be able to run his hands over every inch, tease and lick and squeeze and gods, press inside. He rolled on top of the other, wanting to pin him down, but Sesshomaru easily reversed their positions, nose gliding along the side of his neck. Inuyasha shivered, panting, struggling to return on top, managing to throw the other sideways for just a moment before Sesshomaru was upon him again. 

Sesshomaru’s body fit neatly in between his legs, his hands on either side of his head, and Inuyasha grabbed at his wrists, squirming underneath the older male’s strength. He lifted his legs to try and throw Sesshomaru off that way, but froze when Sesshomaru’s hips pressed down into his, rubbing against his fabric trapped arousal and letting him clearly feel Sesshomaru’s.

Inuyasha swallowed, head falling back against the floor as he waited for those first pleasurable tingles to fade, not wanting to let Sesshomaru win this little game but too caught up in how nice that felt to struggle. He tensed when the demon began rocking against him, consistent, firm pressure against his poor, teased erection, making him twitch as he struggled to focus. Sesshomaru’s mouth opened against his neck, warm and wet, as his hips teased.

Inuyasha closed his eyes, expecting a kiss, or suction. Instead, Sesshomaru's tongue pressed against him, just a tap, before giving his skin a teasingly languid lick, almost like a caress. 

Inuyasha’s eyes opened in surprise, lips parting as Sesshomaru continued to grind their arousals together, heat bubbling up ever higher in his stomach. Sesshomaru repeated the motion with his tongue, firmer, and Inuyasha's knees moved to hug his sides. He couldn’t resist bucking up, gasping at the friction this created. 

His fingers twitched lightly against Sesshomaru’s wrists, one brushing against one of the winding magenta stripes. He closed his eyes, a lightly strained noise leaving him as he began writhing against the other with as much force as his position would allow. Now that he could freely touch the markings he’d been so curious about he did so without a second thought, palms trailing lightly over the patterns, teasing the flesh with his nails, scraping the pads of his fingers across them.

As he did this, Sesshomaru steadily began to falter. 

He didn’t notice at first, too caught up in their actions, but when he gripped Sesshomaru's wrist and twisted his hand against the flesh in his abandon, Sesshomaru’s hips first twitched, and then ceased for a beat, the demon’s breath going silent as well. He resumed his motions after a moment, but it made Inuyasha curious. 

He paid more attention to his exploration of the markings, finding their textured start and tracing them as far as he could from where he lay beneath the other, rubbing firm, eyes opening half way even though he couldn’t see Sesshomaru’s face. 

The more he played with them, the more Sesshomaru seemed to get out of sync with the rhythm they’d set up, his breath hitching every so often, head twitching against Inuyasha’s cheek. Sesshomaru began slowing, shivering lightly against him, before stopping completely, breathing hard. 

Curious.

Inuyasha took a chance, rolling them over before Sesshomaru recovered from whatever had happened and reversing their positions. One of Sesshomaru’s eyes were closed, the other half open, watching him. Deciding to test the theory beginning to formulate inside his head, Inuyasha brought his hands to the demon’s face, brushing his thumbs firmly along the strips on Sesshomaru’s cheeks. 

The reaction was slow, but there. Both of Sesshomaru’s eyes fell shut, his body fidgeting in a way that it never did, his head tilting into the motion as his lips parted to allow for easier breathing.

Inuyasha eyed his open mouth with desire, leaning down and connecting their lips as he continued to stroke the other’s stripes.

He thrust his tongue between the parted lips, merely dipping inside before repeating the motion, foreshadowing the actions he hoped to take later. Then he tangled their tongues together, Sesshomaru’s noticeably sluggish as he played with the marking’s on his cheeks. Inuyasha broke off the kiss after a moment, leaning up to drag his tongue over the moon on Sesshomaru’s head.

Sesshomaru let out a long, pleasured sigh, a mix of a groan and a breath.

Inuyasha was fascinated. If they were this sensitive, of course he hadn't wanted him touching them. 

Inuyasha mimicked Sesshomaru’s earlier position and began grinding their hips together, more erratic than the other's rhythmic rocking had been. He needed relief, his body with a mind of its own as it pressed Sesshomaru into the ground with every motion, breaths coming in quick pants. Sesshomaru somehow managed to meet his random thrusts with ones of his own, creating a sliding sensation that made Inuyasha’s eyes roll back in his head.

He could hear Sesshomaru’s breathing get a little heavier, and sat up a bit to divest the demon of the clothing on his top half, tugging off his sash and bearing his neck and chest. Inuyasha’s hands slipped inside, moving down the stripes along the demon’s hips, dragging his fingers along them. His pupils dilated at the soft sound Sesshomaru made, the way his body arched into his hold. Inuyasha buried his head in the other’s neck, nuzzling it lightly, peppering the skin with kisses as he waited to regain a little clarity.

Then he bared his fangs, taking one sharp breath in before biting down on the flesh beneath his mouth, a little rougher than he’d intended. Sesshomaru made a short, soft sound, going limp in his arms.  

Not completely still, though. He could feel Sesshomaru squirm the slightest bit, his hips restless against Inuyasha’s rubbing fingers, the demon lord’s head falling to the side.

Inuyasha pulled away, pleased, sliding his hands out of Sesshomaru’s shirts so he could begin to undress him fully.

It seemed Sesshomaru though, had become the impatient one, for he rose, managing to quickly and gracefully remove the rest of his clothing, pants and undergarments sliding away from pale thighs and drawing Inuyasha’s undivided attention.

Why couldn’t he move this fast at the hot spring?

He wanted to touch, and so he did, sliding his hands up Sesshomaru’s legs, eyes widening as they neared Sesshomaru’s cock. It was longer than his, and so hard. He gripped it in his hand, unused to feeling any but his own, briefly thinking about how he should go about pleasuring him.

But Sesshomaru waved him away, removing his clothing completely and then giving him a look. 

“Inuyasha,” Sesshomaru said, sounding impatient.

That was enough to make the half demon undress even more quickly than he normally did. 

They kissed again, arms holding, legs rubbing, hands squeezing, once more returning to the floor, Inuyasha with his back against it. Sesshomaru straddled him, and he couldn’t resist moving his hands down to feel the wonderful globes of his ass, shuddering at touching him so intimately without any fabric barriers. Their kiss deepened, and their positions switched again, searching fingers finding each other’s lengths and beginning to stroke.

Inuyasha had to break the kiss to groan at feeling Sesshomaru’s long fingers work him over, skin feeling flushed and hot against Sesshomaru’s equally warm body. It wasn’t so difficult to pleasure another man, he found, just touching him as he would himself, hips twitching at every sigh and grunt he earned from the other.

“Inuyasha,” Sesshomaru breathed, teeth nipping at one of his ears and drawing a shiver. “Take me. I cannot wait any longer.” The demon’s palm dragged hot and firm over the head of his cock as he spoke, and for a moment he thought he might cum then and there.

“Gods Sesshomaru,” Inuyasha moaned, tensing at these words. He shuddered, pulling away from the other’s grasp just in case, nodding. “Yes, fuck, nnh how do you want it?”

Sesshomaru somehow managed to look composed and yet entirely debauched, and Inuyasha thought he might be able to get off just looking at the other. The magenta-striped male blinked slowly as they pulled reluctantly away from each other for the moment. His tongue came out to wet his lips, first the top, then the bottom, and Inuyasha grunted, squeezing his thighs to resist the urge to just take himself in hand.

Finally, Sesshomaru moved, turning, gathering his hair over one shoulder and moving onto his hands and knees. Inuyasha stared as he presented himself, eyes wandering down his body, little tremors of anticipation running through him. 

“You’ll need to stretch me,” Sesshomaru breathed, his front half lowering down until his elbows could rest comfortably against the ground.

Inuyasha hadn’t had sex with a man before, but he had an inkling of how it worked. He knew there was more prep time required, but couldn’t bring himself to care, knowing it would be worth it, in the end. 

He moved forward to grip the demon’s hips, rubbing his fingers against those stripes to keep Sesshomaru occupied while he worked. Inuyasha first made Sesshomaru wet with his tongue, enjoying the way the other stiffened and then squirmed lightly in his hold. He worked the appendage inside the tight orifice, imagining what it would feel like wrapped around his cock, his own hips rocking idly from pent up tension. Then he stretched the demon with his fingers and a mixture of saliva and his own pre, beginning with one and working him open until three could fit easily inside, transfixed at the sensation of Sesshomaru’s walls squeezing him so lovingly. His body felt like it was aflame. 

He thrust his fingers inside as deep as they would go to prepare the other for his cock, his free hand continuing to rub light patterns against Sesshomaru’s stripes for a while before eventually moving to wrap around the other demon’s erection, to distract him from the discomfort.

Sesshomaru didn't make a sound, though, pleased or otherwise, so Inuyasha could only assume he was fine. It wasn’t until he was almost ready to pull the appendages out that he heard the demon gasp, suddenly, and he paused, wanting to know what had caused that reaction. He repeated the motion he’d just made, fingers probing within Sesshomaru’s heat, and this time the older male's hips rocked back a fraction, thigh muscles tensing.

Knowing he’d found something good, Inuyasha continued to assault that spot, crawling closer, breathing heavily as he let his own arousal rock impatiently against Sesshomaru’s heated flesh. 

Sesshomaru stayed quiet for a few moments, but the longer Inuyasha worked against that place within him the more his body seemed to respond, soft, strained noises leaving him until he seemed to hold his breath briefly, releasing it in an “Aahnn!” of pleasure that made Inuyasha’s hips surge forward, breathing hard against the demon’s back.

“Inuyasha, cease your teasing,” Sesshomaru commanded, tossing a glare over his shoulder.

Inuyasha didn’t bother arguing that he hadn’t been, merely nodding quickly and giving himself a few strokes to lubricate himself with the fluid his aching arousal leaked.

Then he pressed inside.

Gods but Sesshomaru was tight. And hot, and—and—"fuuuuck." Inuyasha pressed his head against the other’s back as he tried to catch his breath, pausing once he was in up to the hilt. 

Sesshomaru didn’t seem satisfied with this, rocking lightly against him. “Move,” he ordered, voice breathier than Inuyasha had ever heard it. He obeyed without question, knowing Sesshomaru would know his own limits.

He thrust carefully at first, not wanting to hurt the other, creating a steady pace that still managed to make him see stars when he closed his eyes. He huffed, pressing in, biting his lip as he squeezed at Sesshomaru’s hips. Sesshomaru moved with him, meeting his rhythm, and Inuyasha could hear their breathing begin to sync as well as Sesshomaru’s grew more labored.

But after a moment Sesshomaru’s hips began to press back a bit faster, harder, effectively impaling himself as Inuyasha watched him, eyes widening.

“More, Inuyasha,” he demanded, increasing his pace even as he spoke. “I am not your human female.”

Inuyasha was reminded of his earlier thoughts. Sesshomaru was strong. He didn’t have to hold back.

Without any further ado he began fucking Sesshomaru in earnest, leaning forwards and resting one hand against the ground for more leverage, panting as his hips worked hard, pounding into the other. Sesshomaru let out a strained noise before matching him, and Inuyasha groaned as they moved together, Sesshomaru taking him so fucking well, the other’s body driving him crazy.

He had already been fairly close, and he knew it wouldn’t be long before he had to release, the heat in his stomach flipping over and turning into knots. His pace grew erratic, fingers clawing at the ground as pleasure surged through him with each plunge in, each pull back.

Inuyasha moved his free hand to begin groping the stripes on Sesshomaru's rocking hips once more, pressing forward so hard Sesshomaru’s legs had to spread wider to accommodate him. One particularly hard thrust and Sesshomaru’s head snapped to the side, a groan tumbling from his lips, and Inuyasha reveled in the fact that he’d been right. It was fucking sexy. 

So sexy that he felt himself being dragged over the edge. His eyes flew open wide once he realized, hips snapping forward erratically until he shuddered. His hands dragged Sesshomaru back hard against him as he ground forward with a gasp, releasing inside the other’s body and panting helplessly as he rode out the orgasm.

Once it was over he pulled away, sitting back on the floor to catch his breath. 

When Inuyasha opened his eyes again, Sesshomaru was watching him from over his shoulder, breathing hard. It took him a moment to notice that he had yet to cum. Inuyasha colored, feeling guilty.

But Sesshomaru didn't look irritated. If anything, he looked... too turned on to function. “Continue,” he said, eyes closing briefly, before he opened them again, and though there was clarity in his expression his gaze was cloudy. “Inside…”

Inuyasha bit his lip and nodded, not wanting to displease his mate. He moved forward, nipping at the other’s lips and kissing him, laying him back down on the ground until he could over him. His eyes trailed over Sesshomaru’s restless body, the sight making him lick his lips. He leaned down and pressed a kiss to Sesshomaru's cheek while his fingers moved back to the other's entrance, slick with his own fluids. He slipped two inside.

Sesshomaru tilted his head back, and Inuyasha licked along his stripes as he fucked him with his fingers, searching for that spot that had made him so lustful, before.

He found it, and ground against it in earnest, ears twitching as Sesshomaru’s breathing began to deepen. He added another finger, and Sesshomaru opened his mouth to inhale, body trembling faintly.  With his head so close to Sesshomaru's mouth he could hear his quiet, almost moans, each breath ridiculously sexy, could feel his hips grinding back against his touch, and it wasn’t long before arousal began to stir in the half-demon again.

Soon his own need began compelling him, and he moved to position himself, dragging Sesshomaru's hips towards him. Sesshomaru gasped when he pressed back inside, arching his back and shuddering, before his legs wrapped around his back. The strong appendages dragged him closer, making Inuyasha gasp as they pulled him deeper inside, in tandem with the demon lord’s hips rocking, rolling beneath him.

His hands moved to either side of Sesshomaru’s shoulders as he thrust in at Sesshomaru’s pace, letting himself be guided by the insistent legs around him and groaning as their combined force and the new position let him go even deeper.

Sesshomaru’s moans suddenly tapered off, even his breathing going quiet. He was staring up at the ceiling, his lips slightly parted, a flush of exertion on his cheeks, and neck, and Inuyasha panted as he watched him, shuddering at being once more encased in that tight heat, so slick from his orgasm.

It let him move even easier, and Sesshomaru dragged him more desperately with every passing moment. Inuyasha's hips spasmed at the thought of just how far gone the powerful demon was, how much he wanted this.

Suddenly, Sesshomaru gasped once, twice, sucking in a breath before his hips were grinding furiously against Inuyasha, leaving the younger no room to do nothing but loose shaky groans at the sensation, his legs trembling from the overload of pleasure.

Then Sesshomaru was coming, a broken, needy breath of Inuyasha's name leaving his lips.

That was enough to send Inuyasha over the edge a second time, hips rocking with abandon as he panted and filled his lover once more. He collapsed onto Sesshomaru once it was over, breathing heavily, eyes falling shut.

Slowly, their breathing evened out, Sesshomaru’s body relaxing, legs unwinding from around him and moving to rest against the floor. Inuyasha pulled out and moved to lay beside him, tossing a hand onto his chest, holding it there. He could feel Sesshomaru’s gradually slowing heartbeat. 

“Inuyasha.”

Inuyasha blinked, opening his eyes, looking at the other.

Sesshomaru had his head turned towards him, expression once more calm. “I hope you did not intend on sleeping.”

“But I’m tired,” he whined, closing his eyes again. 

“We need to bathe again.”

“Aw come on Sesshomaru,” he mumbled, opening his eyes sleepily. When he did, Sesshomaru’s face was much closer.

Sesshomaru pressed his cheek lightly against his nose, and then licked at his jaw, before pulling away.  

Inuyasha’s lips twitched up, feeling contentment and happiness grow stronger at the gesture.

“Mate,” Sesshomaru said, tilting his head as he sat up.

This caught Inuyasha’s attention, and he sat up as well, rubbing the back of his head.

“We need to bathe again,” Sesshomaru repeated, standing and beginning to gather his clothes. “Come.” 

Inuyasha could see the fluid leaking down the other’s legs, and admitted to himself that they probably should. He nodded, getting his own clothes on and beating Sesshomaru to his armor, helping the demon fasten it.

Sesshomaru allowed him to do this, despite knowing he would do it wrong. As he did, the smallest of smiles pulled at the corners of his lips.