[Week 97][Oneshot--Overlook]
When Sesshoumaru had invited Kagome to live in his castle, he’d overlooked the fact that he hadn’t really lived with any women for long periods of time.
After his mother had pupped him, she’d wanted nothing to do with his father (except for protection and a good deal of material and monetary compensation in exchange for birthing his son), and Inuyasha’s mother hadn’t lived long enough for him to warm up to. The servants shied away from him, even the demons, and no women of his equal had attracted him enough to let them stay. And Rin-she was a girl, not a woman. He’d thought it would be similar, but experience was proving that to be false.
She’s driving me insane, he thought reluctantly.
She’d insisted on bringing some ‘necessities’ from home. He’d been fine with that. It wasn’t as if he didn’t have plenty of space.
But when his bare walls started accumulating mysterious pieces of paper (Kagome called them ‘photographs’, and showed him how to use the capturing device called a ‘camera’) of people he didn’t know, and of him in embarrassing poses (sleeping, rubbing his temples, sitting with his feet in the koi pond), he started to draw the line.
She also snored. It was endearing some nights, those where he was perfectly content to watch her sleep and run his claws through her hair absently. On the other hand, after a day (or week, or month) of long political debates with foreign lords, he usually wanted nothing more than to sleep in peace and quiet. Quiet.
And mysteriously, with every month came a period of two to five days where she was insufferably cranky. She snapped at guests, servants, and even him and Rin. Although she usually shared a bathroom with him, she’d go and share the servants’ bathroom. He was utterly confused by her behavior. The other servant women seemed to understand, because they’d give her sympathetic smiles and cook up comfort food, but he and Rin were mystified.
Living with her had its benefits, of course. When he was hunched over a battle plan or a speech preparation, she’d give him a silent shoulder massage or divert his attentions elsewhere (specifically, the bedroom).
And it was nice to have her home. The castle was fortified, and he rested easier knowing that she and Rin would be well taken care of. There was no loneliness tugging at him when she decided to pop into her era, as both of them knew she’d be back.
Those quiet evenings where both of them curled up by the fire and read a book were his favorites, although he’d never admit it in company.
One of those evenings was what he was longing for now. He’d been out on a long-lasting political campaign, and he’d been away for far too long.
“Lord Sesshoumaru, sir!” His soldiers at the gate saluted respectfully. “It is good to see you safely home, sir!”
“Ladies Kagome and Rin have been nearly inconsolable, sir,” the soldier on the right put in. “They’ve taken to keeping watch for you. We persuaded them to go to bed, but we’re on strict orders to alert them as soon as you’d returned.”
The left soldier nodded. “They’ve been quite worried, sir. It might be best to go and see them.”
He inclined his head, unable to keep a slight smile off of his face. He’d have preferred to go have a long soak in the hot spring, but perhaps he’d put that off.
Rin was in the stables, as he’d suspected she would be. He was amused to see that Jaken and Ah-Un both had elaborate flower necklaces. “Lord Sesshoumaru!” she cried, running at him and throwing her arms around him. He knelt, allowing her to hug him. “We missed you!”
“Hm.” He reached into the folds of his armor and gave her the present he’d been saving-jeweled hairpins. He had a new kimono for her, too, but that was in one of his other packs traveling more slowly back to the castle.
“Ooh! Thank you!” she exclaimed, immediately shaking Jaken awake to make him put them in her hair. He took his as his cue to leave, and went into the castle through a side entrance.
A servant saw him coming and bowed. “Welcome home, Lord Sesshoumaru.”
“Kagome?” he asked, not needing to elaborate.
“Last I saw, she was in your personal quarters,” she said, and he nodded, striding off quickly.
As it turned out, Kagome was on their bed, skimming one of her ‘textbooks’. When he saw her, his eyebrows shot up.
She was wearing one of his yukatas-the one he’d slept in the night before he left, specifically. Her scent and his mingled, and a possessive instinct flared in him.
She only had time to gasp before he tilted her chin up, kissing her deeply. He’d missed her more than he’d realized. She dropped her book, moving forward to wrap her arms around his neck.
“Hi,” she said, after they finally broke apart. “Welcome home.”
He gave her a small smile. “You should keep it,” he said, tugging on her sleeve.
She laughed. “No ‘I missed you desperately, let’s have sex right now,’ just a comment on my clothing?”
He chuckled. “I was going to bathe first,” he said, leaning down to her ear. “But if you’d rather, we can skip that step.”
She slipped her hand in his and pulled herself off of the bed. “Come on. I’ll join you, and we can multitask.”
As they ran through the corridors, muttering hasty apologies to servants who crossed their path, Sesshoumaru noted that this was his favorite part of her living with him. He always loved coming home.
After his mother had pupped him, she’d wanted nothing to do with his father (except for protection and a good deal of material and monetary compensation in exchange for birthing his son), and Inuyasha’s mother hadn’t lived long enough for him to warm up to. The servants shied away from him, even the demons, and no women of his equal had attracted him enough to let them stay. And Rin-she was a girl, not a woman. He’d thought it would be similar, but experience was proving that to be false.
She’s driving me insane, he thought reluctantly.
She’d insisted on bringing some ‘necessities’ from home. He’d been fine with that. It wasn’t as if he didn’t have plenty of space.
But when his bare walls started accumulating mysterious pieces of paper (Kagome called them ‘photographs’, and showed him how to use the capturing device called a ‘camera’) of people he didn’t know, and of him in embarrassing poses (sleeping, rubbing his temples, sitting with his feet in the koi pond), he started to draw the line.
She also snored. It was endearing some nights, those where he was perfectly content to watch her sleep and run his claws through her hair absently. On the other hand, after a day (or week, or month) of long political debates with foreign lords, he usually wanted nothing more than to sleep in peace and quiet. Quiet.
And mysteriously, with every month came a period of two to five days where she was insufferably cranky. She snapped at guests, servants, and even him and Rin. Although she usually shared a bathroom with him, she’d go and share the servants’ bathroom. He was utterly confused by her behavior. The other servant women seemed to understand, because they’d give her sympathetic smiles and cook up comfort food, but he and Rin were mystified.
Living with her had its benefits, of course. When he was hunched over a battle plan or a speech preparation, she’d give him a silent shoulder massage or divert his attentions elsewhere (specifically, the bedroom).
And it was nice to have her home. The castle was fortified, and he rested easier knowing that she and Rin would be well taken care of. There was no loneliness tugging at him when she decided to pop into her era, as both of them knew she’d be back.
Those quiet evenings where both of them curled up by the fire and read a book were his favorites, although he’d never admit it in company.
One of those evenings was what he was longing for now. He’d been out on a long-lasting political campaign, and he’d been away for far too long.
“Lord Sesshoumaru, sir!” His soldiers at the gate saluted respectfully. “It is good to see you safely home, sir!”
“Ladies Kagome and Rin have been nearly inconsolable, sir,” the soldier on the right put in. “They’ve taken to keeping watch for you. We persuaded them to go to bed, but we’re on strict orders to alert them as soon as you’d returned.”
The left soldier nodded. “They’ve been quite worried, sir. It might be best to go and see them.”
He inclined his head, unable to keep a slight smile off of his face. He’d have preferred to go have a long soak in the hot spring, but perhaps he’d put that off.
Rin was in the stables, as he’d suspected she would be. He was amused to see that Jaken and Ah-Un both had elaborate flower necklaces. “Lord Sesshoumaru!” she cried, running at him and throwing her arms around him. He knelt, allowing her to hug him. “We missed you!”
“Hm.” He reached into the folds of his armor and gave her the present he’d been saving-jeweled hairpins. He had a new kimono for her, too, but that was in one of his other packs traveling more slowly back to the castle.
“Ooh! Thank you!” she exclaimed, immediately shaking Jaken awake to make him put them in her hair. He took his as his cue to leave, and went into the castle through a side entrance.
A servant saw him coming and bowed. “Welcome home, Lord Sesshoumaru.”
“Kagome?” he asked, not needing to elaborate.
“Last I saw, she was in your personal quarters,” she said, and he nodded, striding off quickly.
As it turned out, Kagome was on their bed, skimming one of her ‘textbooks’. When he saw her, his eyebrows shot up.
She was wearing one of his yukatas-the one he’d slept in the night before he left, specifically. Her scent and his mingled, and a possessive instinct flared in him.
She only had time to gasp before he tilted her chin up, kissing her deeply. He’d missed her more than he’d realized. She dropped her book, moving forward to wrap her arms around his neck.
“Hi,” she said, after they finally broke apart. “Welcome home.”
He gave her a small smile. “You should keep it,” he said, tugging on her sleeve.
She laughed. “No ‘I missed you desperately, let’s have sex right now,’ just a comment on my clothing?”
He chuckled. “I was going to bathe first,” he said, leaning down to her ear. “But if you’d rather, we can skip that step.”
She slipped her hand in his and pulled herself off of the bed. “Come on. I’ll join you, and we can multitask.”
As they ran through the corridors, muttering hasty apologies to servants who crossed their path, Sesshoumaru noted that this was his favorite part of her living with him. He always loved coming home.