You have brought this upon yourself

Inuyasha stood in the middle of the room he’d chosen for his mural. It was near three weeks after he topped his brother and the mural was finished. He stood, staring at the centerpiece, dragging the scarf from his head with a limp hand. His hair swayed at his waist, long since re-grown to the proper length.



He felt…empty, drained utterly faced with the finished product of his labors. There was nothing within him, nor elation or sense of completion. The new moon was that night and it was no coincidence that he finished his masterpiece the very day. There was nothing more to hold the hanyou to the shoin-zukuri.



Except Sesshomaru.



They had copulated every day, sometimes twice a day (depending if Inuyasha woke his brother up or slept through his early morning exit). The hanyou was always on bottom and he’d never attempted to top the youkai since. There was always bondage, submission and pain, yet it was moderate compared to the escapades Inuyasha was accustomed to.



There was compromise on both sides.



It wouldn’t be enough to hold the hanyou. He was restless. He had desires beyond that of the flesh. He had dreams, wants and needs. Being cooped up on a mountaintop, tending house like a wife was nowhere near what he wanted. It almost seemed that the youkai was embarrassed at bedding the hanyou and treating him as an equal.



It was better when they just fought senselessly.



Inuyasha knew where he stood there. Pain had been something he’d always unknowingly craved, deep inside. His body flourished on it, which is how he managed to continue despite the many wounds he accumulated during battle. He understood injuries and blood far better than the emotions that ran high. He never felt more alive than during a fight, toeing the line of life and death.



He never felt more alive than during sex with Sesshomaru.



Fighting with his brother had always been a rush. Defeat was always inevitable, but it was a drug the hanyou could never refuse. They achieved a kind of intimacy deep in the throes of conflict, testing and needling one another.



Maybe his brother had been courting him since the beginning.



That was an interesting thought, but not likely in any case considering the first time they met up after so long, Sesshomaru plucked out his eye to find their father’s grave. No, somewhere along the road the youkai decided to claim the hanyou.



Ensnaring the unsuspecting younger brother and leaving him with an experience he could never duplicate without the elder brother.



His human and youkai side had fallen into harmony with each other. Something inside had settled and now purred with content. He wasn’t wrong or different in his lust for agony driven sex. There would be no children between Sesshomaru and him, so it wasn’t even much of a moral issue for the human in him to be with his brother.



He was half youkai and he accepted the untamed part of him yearning for the sex just as easily as it did for combat.



He was half human and he accepted the often-inferior part of him demanding emotions to help color the lovemaking just as it did for everyday friendship.



Inuyasha’s psyche thrived on the contradictories, chasing them continuously about his mind. The youkai prince gave the impression of caring for the hanyou, the thoughtful things he did for Inuyasha’s comfort confusing the hanyou. He had often been tricked by falling for appearances. His was a different individual than he had been when he first arrived. Far different from the hanyou the youkai first took possession of. He was more thoughtful in his decisions, always trying to see beyond the surface.



The only conclusion he could arrive at was that he would leave if the youkai didn’t fess up to affection beyond a bed partner.



He wouldn’t settle for less. Tonight his brother would see him at his weakest, see the mural that spoke far louder than words. The real question was if the youkai would understand them?



Art was a language that was always misunderstood and interpreted differently. Inuyasha saw a declaration brought to life on the rice paper walls. A promise of a future and readily given respect, both tenuous and easily lost if Sesshomaru wasn’t careful. That cold, distant gaze that pierced through the hanyou and seemed to read, but not understand his core.



What could the perfect youkai see with eyes that held the appearance precious metal that melted with the barest touch of heat?



-----------



Sesshomaru stepped onto the hisashi, toeing off his boots as the fusuma slid open and closed with a quiet clack. He glanced up, eyes following his brother treading across the tatami towards him. There was an unusually somber air about the hanyou, the gold eyes shimmering and shifting in the sunlight with a dreamlike quality. It was as if he were looking at another creature wearing his brother’s skin.



“You’re back early.” He commented neutrally, eyes flicking over the youkai’s person till it locked on the laden handkerchief in his hand. Everything in the hanyou’s stance was off and youkai felt his hair prick in response.



“I did not have much in the way of affairs to attend to today.” The youkai admitted, striding past his brother to remove his armor and slip into something lighter. When he turned back around, his brother would be back to normal, he was sure.



“You saw Rin?” Inuyasha sounded intrigued, his normal aura sparking as he plopped into a tailor seat and watched his brother with pricked ears. The youkai glanced back at the hanyou.



The older brother felt relief wash through his veins. This was the little brother he had grown to know. He handed Inuyasha the bundle, turning his back as he began the slow task of undressing.



“Yes. She sends her regards.”



There was the sound of cloth rustling and a satisfied growl as the hanyou’s suspicions were confirmed.



“Bento…” The hanyou murmured and the older brother could almost hear him salivate as Inuyasha dug into the meal without so much as a thank you. Silence beyond the thrumming hum of the eating hanyou filled the air, but not unpleasantly. Rin had commented that the hanyou probably missed human food.



Women are strange beasts. Sesshomaru mused. She knew without seeing the hanyou. Maybe humans are not all so useless.



There was a pause in the raucous chewing and slurping at the youkai’s back.



“She’s going to have a baby.”



“Yes. Her first.”



“Due in a moon or so.” He commented off handedly as the youkai turned back around in the forest green yukata, Mokomoko wrapped about his shoulder. Sesshomaru gaze flickered into the almost empty bento. It looked, to the youkai, like the waste after a grueling battle where survivors were few.



“She is meant for motherhood.” Sesshomaru admitted, settling beside the zataku (low table), propping as arm and opening a book. He missed the little urchin. He’d told Inuyasha that Jaken stayed behind to protect the little human after he parted ways with them. Being with his brother reminded him how much he missed traveling in a mix-matched group. Now Rin was starting her own family and he was still drifting.



Perhaps not so much, the youkai confessed silently. Inuyasha has anchored me. I no longer spend all my time with the youkai I rule or hide by myself. I am anxious to return here, even just to sit next to him. I find it odd to find concord with a hanyou I could not stand before.



There was a pureness in the younger hanyou that Sesshomaru found himself drawn to. It was in the way he expressed and didn’t express himself. He was an open book that could easily be misinterpreted if one allowed themselves to be fooled by the brash attitude. He was essence of dawn, a perfect meld of night and day but signaling a beginning instead of end. His very existence was erratic and questioned, often favored over the perfect youkai brother that was the quintessence of night and the chilly, distant moon.



The male in question scooted behind his brother and rested his back against the youkai’s in an unusual display of affection. The quiet between them grew, broken by the munching and shoveling. Even the noisy eating only lasted for a few moments before the hanyou abandoned the bento, turning and combing through the thick silver curtain.



The younger brother glanced over the clad shoulder, wincing away at the difficult kanji scrolling down the bound papers. He wondered when his brother deemed it necessary for him to learn human writing. It was odd for his brother to live in a dwelling obviously crafted by human hands.



“Who built this place?” Deft hands separated the hair into three thick sections. The heavy, cool strands felt wonderful sliding between his fingers.



“Hnn? Humans.” A page turned, the voice sounding distant. Pleasure pricked the youkai’s scalp as the hanyou began to braid. Rin was the last to play with his hair in such a manor.



“How did you manage to get them to do it?” Inuyasha imagined an Imperial looking Sesshomaru looking down his nose at the peasants, soft voice making them cower as he stated his demands.



“The villagers in the valleys. They worship me, so I protect them from invading youkai.” The older brother leaned his head on his fist, eyes stilling on the page before him as he focused on the soothing sensation.



“Surprised you didn’t demand a castle.”



“Beggars cannot be choosers. I still receive offerings in compensation. Your paints and the zutaku are the most recent I have asked for.”



“Heeeh…”



Sesshomaru sensed the question filled thoughts bubbling beneath the hanyou’s monosyllable reply. “They deny my first request, in spite of my wrath.”



“What’s that?”



“Sacrificing their virgins to be my slaves.” He turned a page, lips fighting the beckoning twist of a smile. “They claim they would not be enough pre-pubescent females to satisfy my voracious appetite for innocence.”



He felt his brother shift, disbelief bubbling against his senses before transforming into wary amusement. The hanyou tugged the long silver hair lightly.



“You pick the weirdest fucken’ times to get a sense of humor.”



----------------



OK! I'm getting really anxious! The end is nigh!!!



MsDesperate - I'm flattered! ^-^



Aini & Nikkie23534 - I appreciate y'alls encouragement! Y'all both are the reason I was able to push this out! I just hope it's up to snuff.



The next chapter will be all angsty...and I'm not sure about a smut scene as of yet...Anyway! Please bear with me!