In His Arms

All previous disclaimers apply.

Sesshomaru couldn’t help the frustrated growl that came from his throat the moment he was in Kagome’s room. Despite how angry and annoyed he was, it did not displease him to notice that she no longer flinched every time he growled. Instead, she simply put down the bottle of sweet smelling lotion she was rubbing into her skin and turned to look at him, a calm and questioning expression on her face. He knew he was acting less dignified than he had in almost seventy years when he sat heavily on her futon with a great sigh, but he found that he couldn’t care when Kagome simply moved to him and began massaging his shoulders firmly. His low growl was one of pleasure when her talented hands began to loosen the hard knots brought on by strain caused from annoyance. He hated the Great Gathering, he always had, but this year it seemed to be particularly bothersome. The young heir to the North was an arrogant fly he wanted to swat more than anything, but protocol demanded that unless he was overtly insulted he could to nothing. Beside that, the Lord of the North had been a friend to his father and was an honorable yokai. It was not his fault that his eldest son had ended up as a foul rat with no back bone.

The first of the formal councils held this evening just after all of the lords took their meals separately had seemed to go on for hours. He had always gotten along well enough with the lord of the North, but, for obvious reasons, the Dragon Lord of the East did not trust him any more than he trusted the reptile. It was almost a miracle that their lands had been at peace with each other for so long. Speaking with the Eastern Lord was always an exercise in covert insults to be given and ignored when more were given back to him. Some years it was almost a game, an amusement, but this year the Dragon Lord had almost lost his human mate and had lost their first child to a difficult birth. The Lady had recovered, but the death of her child had left her in a constant state of mourning that the dragon could do nothing to assuage. This put Sesshomaru on edge, thinking about what might happen when Kagome was ready to give birth to their pups, and so the insults he and the dragon traded carried the anger and fear that they would never actually voice behind them. More than once, both tempers had almost been lost and it was only due to the cool heads of their respective generals that there had not been blood shed in the council chamber.

The Wolf Lord of the South was more an annoyance than anything. Though three of the four lords were quite young, he was the youngest and the least experienced. Kouga was a good leader to his many tribes, but his people were the least civilized of any of the yokai still roaming the lands. Sesshomaru had to fight not to turn his nose up at the furs they still wore, the caves they still lived in. There was no finesse to the way Kouga handled his negotiations, nor his lands. He was not entirely stupid, having many older and more experienced elders leading different tribes until he was completely certain that he could take over the leadership of so many spread so far apart, but he had no idea what he was supposed to do at these gatherings and it showed. His father had been killed before Kouga could be completely trained and his arrogance had demanded that he refuse training with one of the other Lords, though ancient law demanded that they offer it. He made it clear again and again that he would rather be running free with his core tribe than in the chamber until Sesshomaru just wanted to reach over and smack him upside the head and snarl that he go.

Sesshomaru’s annoyance with Kouga was only amplified by the fact that he knew Kagome had met him and that he had declared that she would one day be his. Because he travelled so much it was obvious that he had not heard that Kagome now belonged to Sesshomaru or he would have put up a scene as soon as he entered the castle city. Sesshomaru had made sure that he entered the city as far away from her as possible so that he would not see her quite yet. Inexperience and youthful arrogance were no excuse to kill him. He was not like the Northern heir. He would be a great ruler some day, but if he found out about Kagome in any way other than a very specific, private way Sesshomaru had planned already he would cause a scene that ancient law would dictate Sesshomaru kill him for. And if he killed the princeling he would have to take over the Southern lands as well and it would be too much of a headache to do so. So, he would tell Kouga about Kagome tomorrow, perhaps have an entertaining fight with him, then watch as he simmered when she entered the formal dinner on his own arm. It would be quite entertaining, indeed.

“What causes this stress, My Lord?” Kagome whispered close to his ear, placing a quick kiss just where his jaw met his neck, “You’re so tense.”

“The Great Gathering is tedious at the best of times,” he murmured as she cleverly began to loosen his robes around him so that she could touch her soft hands to his skin as she continued to massage.

“Hmm,” she hummed from the back of her throat and moved his hair so that she could kiss the back of his neck, “I found the formal procession rather boring this afternoon. Will the formal dinner be as boring tomorrow evening?”

“I am actually anticipating that it will be very amusing,” he dropped his head forward as she kneaded his lower neck, “There will be someone you know there tomorrow and his jealousy over the fact that you are mine will be quite obvious.”

“Who is it?”

He turned to look at her when her voice seemed off to him. He couldn’t help but turn and take her in his arms when he noticed that her face was deathly pale, her eyes distant. She had a hand set over her womb, just beginning to show evidence of her pregnancy, protectively and was biting her lip in a nervous habit that he hadn’t seen her use in quite a long time. His voice was low as he responded to her.

“Kouga, the Wolf Prince of the South.”

She drew in her breath quickly and had him tense again in seconds, “Please, My Lord, I know that I am not supposed to speak to any other man without your permission. May I please have your permission to speak to Kouga?”

“Why do you want to speak with the Wolf Prince?” His voice was harsher than he meant it to be when he let her go and stood. He needed air, and so walked over to the sliding door that led to the porch of the private garden. He leaned against the frame when he had opened the door completely, looking out at the peaceful garden.

“I . . .” she stood and walked over to him, stayed just behind him, “He may have news of my son, My Lord. And of my travelling companions lost to me so many months ago. I have not forgotten about them, Lord. I could not.”

Sesshomaru’s breath caught in his throat momentarily though his voice was stable when he spoke again, “You wish, perhaps, to leave Nishi if you find Inuyasha again? After all I have done for you, you would leave me so quickly?”

“After all you have done for me?” Kagome felt her temper flare, but did nothing to stop it, “Sesshomaru, you came upon me when I was out of my mind with grief, unable to think for myself at all. You wounded me almost to the point of death, and then you enslaved me here. Just what do you think you have done for me?”

“You will have a care how you speak to me, Miko,” His voice was a warning growl, but she did not heed it.

“I will not!” She realized that she was screaming at him, but instead of feeling nervous about it, she only felt liberated, “I have never known someone more arrogant! You act as if I owe you something! You made me a whore, Sesshomaru! And yet, I’m still here or haven’t you noticed? I could walk out of this city at any time I wanted to, I could take Rin with me and purify your ass! But, I’m still here!”

“Why, Miko?” he demanded harshly, turning too quickly for her to see, grabbing her arms and digging his claws into her soft flesh, “If you believe all of this, why are you still here?”

“If I have to spell it out for you, you’re more stupid than I thought!” She screamed straight into his face.

“You will have a care how you speak to me!” He finally lost his composure and shook her a little. He knew it was a mistake the moment he did it. His beast howled at him that he was shaking the female carrying his pups. But, before he could release her and utter the first apology he would have spoken in many years her spiritual energy flared and burned his hands, forcing him to release her.

“You will not touch me in anger!” She screamed, “You will not raise a hand to me while I carry our pups within me or any other time. If you ever do so again . . .” he believed her when her aura flared around her “. . . I will kill you without a second thought.”

“Kagome,” he turned to face the garden again, “I am sorry.” The words were like choking on a sword, but he forced them out despite the fact. She knew how hard they were for him and felt her heart break a little for the man who could not express his emotions, though he felt them, she was sure. Her anger left her as quickly as it had come and she found herself pressing against his back, wrapping her arms around his waist before she could stop herself. An apology was all she needed to know what she had been hoping in her heart for months.

“Sesshomaru.” she whispered, “Don’t you know by now that I don’t want to leave you? I want to find them, it’s true. I need to know what happened to my son, but I don’t want to leave you. I couldn’t. I carry your pups within me. Do you think it means nothing to me?”

He couldn’t answer her, but found himself turning around slowly, allowing her to keep her arms around his waist. Though his beast demanded once again that he take her and make her his, especially now that she had all but given him her consent, he simply took her face in his hands and pressed his lips to hers in the first gentle, chaste kiss he had ever given. It was a kiss meant to express all he was feeling and would never say.

“You may speak to the wolf tomorrow,” he whispered as they pulled apart gently only to hold each other close, her cheek to his chest and his chin to her hair.

“Thank you,” she whispered back, “My Lord . . . my love.”