Points Of Contention
"Your claws are a disgrace," Sesshomaru stated to Inuyasha as he felt the rough texture of one particularly scratchy talon against his tongue.
"I didn't ask you to lick my fingers, did I?" Inuyasha asked sleepily as he awoke to Sesshomaru's new method of calling him out of dreamland.
"No, but you really should keep these claws in better shape," the taiyoukai murmured as he pored over the rather overgrown and uneven-edged but extremely sharp weapons at the tips of his half-sibling's digits. "They ought to look perfect to match your new diamond ring."
"I try," Inuyasha mumbled into the pillow. "But there's not much to work them on these days."
It used to be that they could keep their claws honed on kills, in battles with other demons, or by the simple routines that came with living in massive forests – scaling trees, digging earth, and climbing over rocks helped keep their talons in good shape. Now, they got by with scratching pieces of wood they retrieved from their nature treks, surreptitious kneading against tree trunks along suburban streets, and even repetitive clawing of a large boulder they had positioned in one corner of the living room and which they passed off as a conversation piece to humans who had reason to enter their apartment.
Sesshomaru was particular about taking the added step of neatly buffing his claws smooth with a long file, but Inuyasha could never be bothered with such fussy grooming. So the edges flaked and got ragged, while the tips tapered to dangerously sharp pinpoints. When out and about in their human disguises created by their magical spells, no one noticed; but back at home or in private among other demons, when they showed their true forms and the claws literally came out, proper grooming was essential.
"You need to file these babies," the taiyoukai persisted.
"Too lazy."
"I'll file them for you, then."
"Absolutely not. Why should I sit around letting you buff my claws as if we were practising to set up some stupid manicure salon?"
The half-demon tugged his hand away from Sesshomaru and tucked it under his pillow, snagging the sheets in the process, then promptly went back to sleep.
Sesshomaru glared at first, but softened as he gazed at the cherubic face beside him, and rose elegantly from the bed to leave the apartment for a bit of pet-shop browsing.
***
"The best way to keep your dog's claws down is really to walk him every day," the pet shop assistant said helpfully. "Especially on tarmac and concrete – that works the nails way down."
"He does go for walks every day," Sesshomaru replied, suddenly getting turned on by the memory of Inuyasha in the forest on all fours, at the end of a collar and leash. "However, I need something for his… dewclaws."
"Yeah, dewclaws are a bother. Some owners I know have them surgically removed, but I don't like the idea of that myself – I don't suppose your dog would like it either!"
Getting another mental image of Inuyasha being told that he ought to get his thumbs removed, Sesshomaru answered: "I don't suppose he would."
"Well, for dewclaws, a lot of people like these guillotine-style clippers for sheer speed and convenience – the rounded points and the fact that the claw goes into a fully enclosed gap between the blades means there's little chance of nicking the rest of the paw with the tips."
"But that crushes the claws, and damages the layers," Sesshomaru commented, examining the clippers.
"Which is why others prefer the nail files – we have a good range here made from very durable, rough-surfaced metals, which should last you a long time. Or you could just get a file from a DIY shop – they're pretty much the same thing."
"I already have a file, and he refuses to let me use it on him."
The shop assistant inched further down the aisle. "Then you might want to consider this battery-powered product which grinds nails down smoothly and painlessly. You simply insert each nail into this opening, and a rotating grinding drum inside gently and safely grinds it smooth."
"Hmm. That might work," Sesshomaru said thoughtfully, and agreed to purchase the item.
***
"What the hell is that?" Inuyasha asked suspiciously the moment Sesshomaru removed the nail grinder from the packaging and started putting in the batteries.
"It's a nail grinder. It should help smoothen your claws without clipping or filing."
"No way I'm letting that thing near my claws."
Sesshomaru sighed. "Just put the tips of your claws, one at a time, into this hole, and the grinder inside will take the edge off the points. Those things are turning unnecessarily lethal – you've ripped up three bedsheets already, and you might just pierce a hole in my eardrums the next time you play with my ears."
"
I play with
your ears? You're the one who's always fondling
my ears!"
"That's because they stick up so much. Now behave and try using this."
"Uh-uh," said Inuyasha, putting his hands behind his back.
"Come on, boy, give paw," Sesshomaru said sarcastically as he approached him.
"Nope. You keep that thing away from me."
"It's harmless!" the taiyoukai snapped.
"You stick your finger in there first, then!"
"My claws are in perfect shape and I have no intention of grinding them down more than is absolutely necessary. Yours, on the other hand…"
"
Still not going near it."
Sesshomaru switched the grinder on, and Inuyasha jumped, flattening his triangular ears against his hair. "What is that ghastly noise?" the half-demon yowled. "How does that tiny thing produce so much whining and grating? Ow, my ears! My eardrums are bursting and you have the nerve to talk about your own?"
The taiyoukai had to admit that the noise from the motor was gratingly loud and annoying on his sensitive ears, but he was bent on getting Inuyasha's claws trimmed, and was not about to give up. Gritting his fangs, he moved in on his brother and seized a hand.
"Let – go – of – my – OW, you've just twisted my finger!"
"I have
not," Sesshomaru grunted. "Stop fighting me and put your claw into the hole!"
"You may have a thing for sticking stuff into holes, but I don't have to bloody follow suit!"
All the same, the index claw was firmly inserted into the hole of the nail grinder, and the rotating drum made contact.
"This needs to be done gently, because otherwise the drum will –"
As the words left Sesshomaru's mouth, the jerky movements and intermittent pressure from Inuyasha's resisting finger made the wheel grind to a halt and fly right off the holder.
Sesshomaru pinned Inuyasha under him, flat against the floor, and groped for the grinding wheel. Finding it and putting it back on, he grabbed another finger and pushed the claw tip into the hole.
This time, it worked better, especially because Inuyasha couldn't say much as Sesshomaru was sitting on him and pushing his face flat into the thick carpet with one muscular thigh.
However, the grinder clearly wasn't made to withstand the toughness and supernatural hardness of half-demon claws, and in very little time, the grinding wheel disintegrated and the motor broke down.
"That didn't last long," Sesshomaru cursed, tossing the grinder aside and reaching for the nail file in his pocket, which he had tucked in there as part of his back-up plan.
He succeeded in making only four quick buffing passes against one of the hanyou's claws before Inuyasha executed a powerful one-armed push-up and flipped Sesshomaru over onto his back, then sat on him.
"I'll take care of my claws my way – no fussy filing," he growled down at his half-sibling.
"It wouldn't be fussy if you would do it more regularly," the taiyoukai responded, looking calmly up at him.
"I'll do it when I
feel like doing it."
"Which is
never."
"Love me, love my claws."
"I do. That's why I want your claws and all other parts of you at their best."
"I never complain about your toxic breath."
"That happens only when I'm trying to kill someone in my full-dog form, a method I haven't used in
centuries," Sesshomaru snapped. "At all other times, my breath is perfect."
"Oh yeah, too perfect even to have morning breath, aren't you?" Inuyasha growled. "Well, some of us like having our little imperfections!"
"Which have to go when the sheets keep getting destroyed," Sesshomaru hissed, tossing the file aside and switching tactics in a second as he threw Inuyasha over, slammed his back against the carpet, and started nibbling away furiously at one claw.
"Hey, hey – watch those teeth of yours!" the hanyou snarled, feeling the sharp incisors raking his fingertips.
Sesshomaru had just succeeded in paring down two claws when Inuyasha freed his other arm from his brother's grip and punched him in the face. Sesshomaru reeled, but recovered and hurled himself at Inuyasha with a throaty rumble. The two dog demons rolled over in a ball of swirling white hair like two fluffy pups from a litter sparring ferociously, until Sesshomaru changed tactics again by kissing Inuyasha hard.
"Mmmfff!" Inuyasha gasped in surprise, not expecting a kiss right at that moment.
Seizing the opening, Sesshomaru pushed his tongue into the hanyou's mouth, wrapped his arms around his mate's back, hauled him into the air, and pushed him right back against the claw-honing boulder. In another swift movement, he spun Inuyasha around, shoved him face-first into the boulder, and pinned his shoulders to the rock while swiftly applying his kisses to the back of his neck. One pale, striped hand slipped into Inuyasha's trousers and went to work immediately, reducing the half-demon to a rather more compliant package of muscle and energy.
"Mmmm…" Inuyasha moaned, quite turned on by the primal demon violence of it all, clutching at the rock and scraping his claws against the surface.
Sesshomaru heard the scraping noises and was instantly encouraged to push on. And push
in. A second to undo the trousers his mate was wearing, a dollop of salivary lubrication, and he was inside, finding and stroking the perfect spot which rapidly turned Inuyasha into a panting mess, clenching and unclenching his fists against the rock as Sesshomaru pleasured and teased him all at once.
"Sesshomaru…" Inuyasha groaned, grinding back against him and making Sesshomaru grunt with satisfaction as they found a good rhythm up against the rock, and the half-demon was steadily working his claws down as his excitement climbed.
"Do you like it?" Sesshomaru growled into one furry ear.
"Faster," Inuyasha panted, gripping the rock.
Increasing his pace, the taiyoukai found his own levels of engagement escalating, all the more so as the
scrape,scrape,scrape of Inuyasha's claws told him that those overgrown talons were coming down very nicely indeed.
"Hmm… Inuyasha…" the elder demon rumbled with pleasure, thrusting quickly into him several more times and stroking him firmly before he felt his mate climax and the rush of his hot seed over his hand. He then allowed himself to peak as well, and finally came to rest against Inuyasha, pinning him gently against the rock.
The half-demon drew deep, heavy breaths for half a minute more as they recovered, then murmured contentedly: "I think we can get off this rock now that you've got your rocks off, Sess."
"Mmm," Sesshomaru murmured back in a deep purr, nibbling Inuyasha's neck.
"Though I'm not sure if actually taking me got your rocks off as much as taking my claw tips off," Inuyasha grumbled.
"Both," the taiyoukai growled into the thick white hair of his mate as he felt his body get interested all over once more.
"Again?" Inuyasha asked, trying to turn back to look at him but not being allowed to as his youkai half-sibling pressed against him.
"That's what happens when you get stuck between a rock and a hard place, Yasha," Sesshomaru hummed into his ear, making sure Inuyasha could feel the 'hard place' perfectly.
"This is a very interesting grooming session."
"Indeed. Now let's get another two millimetres off those claws…"
